Illinois president sells out

Rose Bowl tickets may be hard to come by -- unless you have an “in” with University of Illinois President B. Joseph White.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that White’s office sold about 500 Rose Bowl tickets at face value of $135 to politicians, government employees and others.

And because those tickets were going for up to $883 on Internet resale sites, the paper wanted to know who was getting them, so it filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the list.

The school complied, but blacked out more than 400 of the names, saying the FOIA applies only to public officials and the names blacked out were private citizens.

“Illinoisans have the right to assume something sinister’s going on,” said Donald M. Craven, general counsel to the Illinois Press Assn.

There is precedent for Craven’s assumption.

In 2005, the Sun-Times filed a similar request for a list of who received tickets during the Illini’s Final Four run in basketball.

The list included dozens of trustees, lawmakers, lobbyists and even the son of then-indicted former Gov. George Ryan.

Trivia time

The last time Illinois made the Rose Bowl was 1984, when the Illini lost to UCLA, 45-9. Who was most valuable player of that game?

They’re all receivers

Players from Ohio State and Louisiana State will receive a Nintendo Wii -- a hot commodity this holiday season -- as part of the gift packages that will be given to each participant in the Bowl Championship Series title game Jan. 7 in New Orleans.

NCAA guidelines state that a bowl can spend up to $500 per team member. Each school can give additional merchandise worth up to $350 per player.

Rose Bowl participants will receive a Sony Bravia home-theater system. The Sugar Bowl is giving players a Sony digital camcorder and the Capital One and Champs Sports bowls are giving each player a $400 Best Buy gift card, and they will be allowed to shop while the store is closed to customers.

Better late than never

More than 31 years after she reached the No. 1 ranking in women’s tennis, Evonne Goolagong Cawley was honored as the retroactive holder of the coveted top spot for two weeks in 1976.

The Australian star was told by the WTA Tour that tournament records between April and July 1976 were inadvertently not entered into computers.

With all records updated, it turned out that that Goolagong Cawley overtook Chris Evert by 0.8 of a rankings point in late April 1976, before Evert regained the crown May 10.

“I’m very proud of the achievement,” Goolagong said. “I was on a roll for that stretch in 1976. It was a great surprise to hear after all these years.”

Barton’s funk

Joey Barton of the Newcastle United is bringing new meaning to the term “soccer hooligan.”

The midfielder was arrested Thursday after an alleged assault, but by no means was it his first foray into disciplinary problems. Among his past transgressions:

* He was charged with assaulting former Manchester City teammate Ousmane Dabo on the training ground May 1.

* He was fined for dropping his shorts and exposing his backside to fans in October 2006.

* He was fined six weeks’ pay for putting a lit cigar into the eye of a young teammate, Jamie Tandy, at City’s Christmas party in 2004.

Trivia answer

UCLA quarterback Rick Neuheisel, who had 288 yards passing and tied a Rose Bowl record with four touchdown passes.

And finally

Ron Stach has gained his 15 minutes of fame by camping out on the roof of a Baltimore bar for two weeks, saying he wouldn’t come down until the Ravens, who have lost nine consecutive games, won.

The stay ended Wednesday when Stach was arrested after his ex-wife informed police that the so-called “goof on the roof” was wanted for failing to pay child support.

“I just think it’s horrible that everyone out there thought he was this great supporter of the Ravens, and he hasn’t supported his own kid in the last 18 years,” Kelly Stach said in an interview with the Baltimore Sun.

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peter.yoon@latimes.com