Sports briefs for December 12, 2003

Friday, Dec. 12, 2003 | 10:29 a.m.

More violations found in Baylor's program

The internal committee investigating Baylor University's basketball team has found additional violations committed under former coach Dave Bliss, including improper payments for air travel and meals, officials said Thursday.

The findings -- which would be considered major violations by the NCAA -- are expected to result in recommendations of additional sanctions against the team, committee member Bill Underwood said.

"Several plane tickets, less than a handful, were paid for improperly," said Underwood, a Baylor law prof. "I'm not willing to talk about individual names, but these violations will not affect the eligibility of any players on the team."

A source familiar with the investigation said evidence indicates that travel and meal payments totaled no more than a few thousand dollars.

The Baylor basketball scandal began when player Patrick Dennehy disappeared in June. His body was found five weeks later, and a former teammate, Carlton Dotson, has been charged in Dennehy's death and awaits trial.

In the fallout from the slaying, revelations emerged that improper tuition payments had been made for Dennehy and another player and that basketball staff members did not report failed drug tests.

On tapes secretly made by an assistant coach, Bliss is heard trying to cover up the improper payments by getting others to portray Dennehy as a drug dealer.

On Aug. 8, Baylor President Robert B. Sloan Jr. announced that the school was imposing sanctions on the basketball program, including two years of probation and ineligibility for postseason play this season. He also offered every player in the program the chance to transfer. Bliss and athletic director Tom Stanton resigned.

Kirk Watson, a lawyer working with the three-member internal committee, said Thursday that Stanton has not been implicated in the investigation.

Romo under review

The NFL is reviewing whether Oakland Raiders linebacker Bill Romanowski, who is on injured reserve, should serve as a color analyst on Fox's broadcast of Sunday's Carolina Panthers-Arizona Cardinals game in Tempe, Ariz.

Belmont Park fined

The operator of Belmont Park agreed to pay a $3 million fine and adopt anti-corruption reforms to avoid prosecution on fraud charges. Prosecutors announced the settlement after unsealing indictments against the New York Racing Association and six former employees, contending track tellers ran money laundering, gambling or loan-sharking schemes using NYRA and bettors' money.

Athens will seal sites

All Olympic facilities will be "secured and sealed" by authorities more than a month before the games. The plan, announced today by Greece's top law enforcement official, is aimed at limiting access to the sites before the Aug. 13-29 Olympics to avoid possible surveillance or sabotage by terrorists.

Anchondo tops Vargas

Unbeaten Mike Anchondo won a unanimous decision against former featherweight champion Gregorio Vargas in a 10-round lightweight bout in the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. Anchondo (23-0) scored a knockdown in the sixth round.

Record for Dutch

The Dutch women's 200-meter freestyle team set a world record today at the European Short Course Swimming Championships in Dublin, Ireland.

Goring fired in Germany

Butch Goring, a four-time Stanley Cup winner with the New York Islanders, was fired as coach of the German Hockey League's Krefeld Penguins. Goring, 53, also served as the team's director of player personnel.