STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Jimmy Jackson, a former Olympian and three-time NCAA heavyweight champion at Oklahoma State, has died. He was 51.
Jackson had been suffering from diabetes and congestive heart failure before his death Tuesday in East Lansing, Mich., according to a statement released Wednesday by Oklahoma State. Cowboys coach John Smith said “we lost our great heavyweight, Jimmy Jackson.”
Jackson won consecutive NCAA titles from 1976 to 1978 and competed in the 1976 Montreal Games, reaching the third round in the Olympics.
Jackson had an 88-9-2 record at Oklahoma State and finished his career with a perfect 29-0 senior season. He had 44 career pins and at one point had 46 straight matches without a loss.
He and Richard Hutton are the only wrestlers to win three heavyweight titles at Oklahoma State, which has won more team national championships than any other school.
Services were planned Saturday at Brown’s Funeral Chapel in Grand Rapids, Mich. A visitation was to be held Friday.
Dutrow scratches House hearing
WASHINGTON (AP) — Big Brown’s trainer appears to be a late scratch for Thursday’s House hearing on the safety of thoroughbred racing, removing the most anticipated witness from Congress’ latest look at sports and steroids.
Rick Dutrow said Wednesday he has had a virus for several days and did not feel well enough to travel.
“I would go in a minute, but I just don’t feel well,” Dutrow said in a telephone interview. “To go down there when I’m not on top of my game would not be right.”
The Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection had been looking forward to hearing from the trainer known for his candor and for methods that were brought into question after his star horse’s stunning last-place finish at this month’s Belmont Stakes.
Dutrow said he used a legal steroid on Big Brown — although the last dose was given in April — and the horse also ran the race on a quarter crack in the left front hoof in a failed attempt to become the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years.
S.E. Missouri forced to forfeit 44 victories
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) — Southeast Missouri’s women’s basketball team was ordered to forfeit 44 victories Wednesday and the NCAA placed both the women’s and men’s programs on two years of probation for major and secondary violations.
The NCAA Committee on Infractions said the violations in the women’s program in the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons primarily involved impermissible housing, transportation and meals for prospective student athletes who moved near the university in the summer before enrolling for the first time. The men’s basketball program was penalized for allowing ineligible transfers to travel and practice.
The school was censured for lack of institutional control and a failure by former women’s coach B.J. Smith to monitor the program. Smith was coach from 2002-03 through 2005-06 before resigning in December 2006, compiling a 79-41 record over that span that was the best in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Southeast Missouri was 22-9 in 2005-06, winning the conference tournament and playing in the NCAA tournament, and 22-8 in 2004-05, losing in double overtime to Eastern Kentucky in the conference tournament championship game.
Fresno State lawsuit settled for $9 million
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Lawyers for a former Fresno State women’s basketball coach who sued the university claiming sexual discrimination say they’ve reached a $9 million settlement with the university.
In December, a jury awarded Stacy Johnson-Klein $19.1 million for unlawful termination. She says she was fired for threatening to expose the school’s unequal treatment of women athletes and coaches.
Fresno State attorneys appealed, and Johnson-Klein filed a cross appeal. A Fresno County judge later reduced her total award to $6.6 million, plus $2.5 million in attorneys’ fees.
The $9 million settlement brokered Tuesday appears to end the bitter court battle.
Johnson-Klein is from Stigler, Okla., and played at Northeastern State in Tahlequah. She later spent time as an assistant coach at Oklahoma and as head coach at Cameron in Lawton.
Former Cowboy tries for a chance at the gold
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The first trip to the Olympics was a learning experience for Daniel Cormier. This time, he wants to come home with a medal, and he’d prefer it to be gold.
The former Oklahoma State wrestler, who finished fourth at the Athens Games, earned a second chance at a medal this weekend by qualifying at the U.S. Olympic trials.
“Any time you get to go to the Olympics, it’s an honor and a privilege. Now, it’s not about just going anymore. I went already,” Cormier said in a teleconference Wednesday. “I went in 2004 and I came up a little short. So this time, I worked harder and I’m more focused and determined to come home with a gold medal.”
Cormier was considered a prime medal hopeful in his Olympic debut in Athens before he lost in the semifinals and then fell short in a 3-2 decision against Iran’s Alireza Heidari in the bronze-medal match. He admits now that he was a bit overwhelmed.
“Four years ago, my eyes were wide open. I was in awe of the situation. It was so huge, the Olympic Games,” Cormier said. “I’ve been there now, I’ve experienced it and nothing can surprise me any more.”
Tulsa seeks funds for minor league stadium
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The city of Tulsa is considering implementing a tax increase on downtown properties to help pay for a proposed downtown minor league baseball stadium.
Mayor Kathy Taylor says many Tulsa businesses already have signed on to support the tax district that would charge downtown property owners 6 1/2 cents per square foot.
The City Council will consider the proposal on July 10.
Taylor says construction costs are estimated between $55 million and $60 million, but private donations would cover at least half of that total.
The city has an exclusive negotiating arrangement with the Tulsa Drillers until July 15. After that date, the Colorado Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate can seek an alternate site for a new stadium.
