Michigan State Forfeits Its Victories From 1994

Michigan State will forfeit its five football victories of 1994because it used an ineligible player, university president M. PeterMcPherson said Wednesday.

McPherson said NCAA regulations were violated by an academicadviser to keep a player eligible and that a technical violationoccurred when a Florida man gave gifts to recruits.

McPherson said other allegations contained in a NCAA letter ofinquiry were unfounded, including that the university haddemonstrated a lack of institutional control between the 1989-90 and1994-95 school years.McPherson said he hoped the university's decision to forfeit the1994 victories would head off stiffer sanctions when the NCAAinfractions committee meets June 1-3.A trial for Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin on drug chargeswas set for June 24, but a judge took no action on several mediaorganizations' request to lift a gag order.Irvin and two women were indicted April 1 on felony cocainepossession charges and misdemeanor marijuana charges.Whalers Still Struggling to Sell TicketsWith a deadline two weeks away, the Hartford Whalers are 80percent shy of a goal to sell 11,000 season tickets in a campaigncrucial to keeping the team in town.The Whalers, who have indicated they will start looking for anew home should their monthlong ticket drive fail, have sold 2,131season tickets.Publicity surrounding the campaign has been fueling reports theWhalers are definitely leaving before next season. Tuesday, ESPNsaid the team is about to jump to Nashville, Tenn. ESPN stood by thestory, despite denials by state and team officials and NHLcommissioner Gary Bettman.Graf's Father Charged With Tax EvasionSteffi Graf's father has been charged with evading $13 millionin taxes by failing to report as much as $28 million in hisdaughter's income.The prosecutor's office in Mannheim, Germany, filed the chargesagainst Peter Graf and the Graf family tax adviser, Joachim Eckardt,alleging the tax evasion took place between 1989 and 1993.Mannheim prosecutor Peter Wechsung said there was still noevidence that Steffi Graf had a role in the tax evasion, although sheis still under investigation.Pete Sampras - using Asian hardcourts to get ready for the FrenchOpen, the only Grand Slam tournament he has never won - got off to animpressive start in the Japan Open in Tokyo. Serving 15 aces in a52-minute second-round match, Sampras defeated Lionel Roux of France6-3, 6-2.Joining Sampras in the round of 16 after a first-round bye wasNo. 2 seed Michael Chang, who beat Germany's Alex Radulescu 6-2, 3-6,6-1.In women's matches, top seed Kimiko Date of Japan came from 2-4behind in the first set and 0-3 in the second to beat unseeded AnnGrossman 7-5, 6-4, advancing to the quarterfinals. Defendingchampion Amy Frazier, the No. 3 seed, advanced to the second roundwith a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Japanese qualifier Kazue Takuma.Thomas Muster, the world's top clay-court player and the No. 1 seed,coasted to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Spain's Alex Corretja in thesecond round of the Barcelona Open. Muster, the defending champion,is seeking his 38th career title.Mourning's Cousin Faces Drug ChargesThe cousin of Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning, whose home inPotomac, Md., was searched this week by federal authorities,reportedly has been charged with five counts of distributing crackcocaine.The Washington Post reported in today's editions that anindictment released by the U.S. attorney's office in Baltimore onWednesday listed those charges against Earl Lee Nolton Jr.The newspaper said neighbors and other sources identified Noltonas Mourning's cousin, and that he had been living at the basketballstar's home.Connie Mack Jr. Dead at 83Connie Mack Jr., father of Florida's U.S. senator and son ofHall of Fame baseball manager Connie Mack, died Wednesday in FortMyers, Fla., from cancer of the esophagus. He was 83.Mack, formally known as Cornelius McGillicuddy Jr., moved toFlorida in 1951 after 15 years as an executive with the PhiladelphiaAthletics, owned and managed by his father.He played baseball and basketball at Duke before going to coachwith the A's in 1935 at age 22. Mack is survived by his wife of 61years, Susan, three daughters and four sons, including U.S. Sen.Connie Mack, R-Fla.Danny Wiseman averaged 231 after the first 12 games of qualifying totake a 10-pin lead at the Bud Light Championship in Sayville, N.Y.Wiseman had a pinfall of 2,766. Bob Spaulding was a close second,averaging 230.