UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday, April 7, 1997
3B
Former football player arrested
Wagner held for drug trafficking
The Associated Press
DETROIT — Roosevelt Wagner, the former Michigan State football player who prompted an NCAA investigation at the university, was arrested in Ohio on suspicion of drug trafficking, two newspapers reported yesterday.
Wagner, 26, was arrested Friday in Ravenna, Ohio, according to a booking sheet from the Portage County Jail obtained by The Detroit News and the Ravenna Record-Courier.
Wagner was taken to nearby Robinson Memorial Hospital on Saturday,
the newspapers said. The cause of his illness was undetermined, Portage Sheriff's deputy Duane Kaley told the Record-Courier.
"He was incoherent and seemed out of it, so a decision was made by the jail medical staff to have him checked out." Kaley said.
Pam Belfiore, a nursing coordinator, said yesterday that Wagner was in stable condition, but she would not give the reason for his hospitalization.
The arrest warrant listed two counts of drug trafficking against Wagner, the newspapers reported. Two others also were arrested by the Western Portage Drug Task Force, Daniel FitzPatrick, head of the task force, told the Record-Courier.
The three were expected to be arraigned today.
Wagner, who starred at Ravenna High School before going to Michigan State, touched off an investigation into the Spartan football program in October 1994.
Wagner alleged that grades were changed to preserve players' eligibility and boosters gave players payments of up to $700. The alleged violations occurred under former coach George Perles.
The investigation also focused on allegations of improper benefits received by Michigan State athletes from people who were not tied directly to the university but represented its interests.
In 1994, Wagner told the News that he milked a would-be agent out of thousands of dollars and accepted cash and no-work jobs from boosters while at Michigan State.
He also told the newspaper that he stalked Perles for two days with two loaded guns.
Wagner told the News that he planned to kidnap and kill Perles because he believed the coach interfered with his hoped-for professional career.
The NCAA in September placed Michigan State on four years' probation and reduced by seven the number of initial scholarships the school can make during the 1997-98 academic year.
The sanctions were imposed in addition to penalties the school placed on itself, which included two years' probation and the firing of its athletics student adviser.
The school also reassigned others connected to the program during the time the violations occurred.
Johnson back in Mariners lineup
Pitcher strikes out eight in six innings
The Associated Press
SEATTLE — Now that Randy Johnson is back, he hopes his injury troubles are over.
"I just came off major back surgery seven months ago and I'm not expecting too much right now. I don't know how my back's going to respond," he said after striking out eight in six strong innings Saturday night, his first start since last May 12.
Johnson, who underwent surgery Sept. 12, gave the Mariners' bullpen a 3-2 lead, allowing a two-run homer to Wil Cordero in the fourth. But the relievers couldn't hold the lead, and Boston won 8-6.
"It was a big thrill being back out there," Johnson said. "I'm back now, but I still have to continue to take small steps before I can get out there and do the things I used to do. But this was a step in the right direction, and I'm pretty pleased with tonight."
"By the All-Star break, I should know how I'm feeling and how this season is going to go. By the All-Star break, I'll probably have pitched 15 to 16 games. Hopefully, by that time, I'll be above water."
He threw 91 pitches, 57 for strikes, walked none and allowed five hits—four for extra bases.
"Any time your premier pitcher shows no signs of back problems in his first game back, that's great news," said Ken Griffey Jr., who hit his fourth homer in four games for the Mariners.
warmly greeted Johnson when he came onto the field. The fans remembered how important Johnson was in 1995 when he went 18-2 and the Mariners made the playoffs for the first time.
A Kingdome sellout crowd of 57,110
"Randy looked like he was in midseason form," Alex Rodriguez said. "It's great to have him back."
Randy Johnson
Johnson, 33, will make his second start in Boston next Friday night.
"I know Wil Cordero now," he said. "I didn't him prior to tonight other than that he was in the National League. I'll pitch him a little different the next time."
Johnson was scratched from his scheduled start Friday night after his 1-year-old son, Tanner, was hospitalized Thursday with a viral respiratory infection.
The boy was released from the hospital Saturday.
"My son's fine," Johnson said. "He's home now and resting comfortably. Today, he grabs me by the collar and, just 'Just win, dad.'"
Johnson's pitching heroes helped the Mariners win the AL West in 1995 and helped gain approval for a new stadium scheduled to open in two years.
Seattle's loss, however, was its third in four games.
"Unfortunately, it was a rough loss,
but we're going to have some of those games like they won tonight," he said. "Hopefully, the wins will outweigh the ones we lose."
NBA teams strive for playoff seed
By Paul Newberry The Associated Press
ATLANTA — Chicago will be the top seed in the NBA's Eastern Conference playoffs, and there's a spiirted race to which team will get to lose to the Bulls in the first round.
Chicago has locked up another Central Division title, and Miami appears headed for the Atlantic Division championship, giving those teams the top seeds in the Eastern playoffs.
New York (53-23) held onto the critical No. 3 seed Saturday night with a 102-97 victory over Atlanta (51-24), which dropped back to the fifth spot behind Detroit. The Pistons (51-23) have a half-game lead for No. 4 with two weeks left in the regular season.
The most significant events, however, are occurring in the middle of the pack where New York, Detroit and Atlanta are battling to avoid a tough first-round matchup and put off a possible meeting with the Bulls as long as possible
What does all this mean? The team that ends up third gets a couple of key advantages in the playoffs: home-court advantage in the first round and the chance to delay a meeting with the Bulls until the conference finals.
The No. 4 seed gets home court in the first round, but faces a meeting against the fifth seed in a best-of-five series. Right now, that would match the Pistons against the Hawks, meaning one of those teams would be eliminated in the first round—an unfair fate considering they began yesterday's play with the sixth- and seventh-best records in the NBA.
were so downcast after losing to the Knicks, only the fifth defeat at the Omni for Atlanta this season.
Maybe that's why the Hawks
"I don't know what to say about it," Dikembe Mutombo said. "This was a very big test for us, and we just couldn't get anything done down the stretch."
The Hawks can take some solace in their remaining games. Atlanta has an easier schedule than the Knicks or the Pistons, providing a glimmer of hope that No. 3 is still within reach.
"I think there's still a chance," Mutombo said. "We're not going to put our heads down just because we lost to the Knicks. I think the future is still in our favor."
Atlanta's remaining games include two each against New Jersey and Philadelphia, both eliminated from playoff consideration, as well as an April 16 game at New York. But the Hawks have only two contests left at the Omni, where their record is 34-5; Atlanta is 17-19 on the road.
"Nothing is easy," Mutombo said. "All the rest of the games are going to be big for us."
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New York appears to have the toughest schedule the rest of the way, if for no other reason than they still have two games against the Bulls (64-10). The Knicks, who have been maddeningly inconsistent this season, also have a tough home game Tuesday night against Cleveland and a trip to Miami next Saturday.
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