Jim "Bad News" Barnes, an Olympian in 1964 and the first player selected in that year's NBA draft, died of heart problems Saturday in a District hospital. He was 63.
Under legendary coach Don Haskins, Texas Western stunned the college basketball world in the 1966 NCAA championship game at Cole Field House. Texas Western started five black players, unheard of at the time, and beat Adolph Rupp's all-white Kentucky team in an outcome that hastened acceptance of black players in Southern programs.
"This just knocks me for a loop," Haskins told the El Paso Times. "He's the guy that, if anything good happened to me, it's because of him. He started it all. He was a great, great player."
Funeral services will be held at noon Friday at Dupont Park Seventh Day Adventist Church at 3985 Massachusetts Ave., S.E.
College Football
Buckeyes' Clarett Has Surgery
Ohio State freshman tailback Maurice Clarett had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee yesterday but still might play Saturday at Cincinnati.
Chris Kaeding, a team doctor, said it was "unlikely but not outside the realm of possibility" that Clarett could play this weekend.
Clarett was injured in the first quarter against Washington State last Saturday. Despite the injury, Clarett ran for 230 yards and two touchdowns as the sixth-ranked Buckeyes beat the Cougars, 25-7. . . .
The NCAA rejected appeals by Alabama and Kentucky to lift sanctions against their football programs because of recruiting violations.
Golf
Woman Qualifies for PGA Event
Suzy Whaley shot a 1-under-par 71 to become the first woman to win a PGA Section Championship and earned an exemption to next year's Greater Hartford Open.
Whaley, the pro at Blue Fox Run Golf Club in Avon, Conn., finished with a 5-under 54-hole score of 68-72-71 -- 211 at Ellington Ridge Country Club to win the Connecticut Section title.
Whaley, 35, also was the first woman to qualify for the National Club Professional Championship last June.
Whaley said she hasn't decided on whether to play at the GHO. Her husband, Bill, is the general manager at TPC at River Highlands, where the GHO is held each summer.
"My household has a lot of discussing to do on that," she said. "That is truly up in the air."
GHO Chairman Dan Baker said the GHO reserves a spot for the section champion and makes no distinction with regard to gender. He said Whaley would have to play from the same tees as the men.
"We'd be thrilled to have her," Baker said. "She's a great player. She earned it."
Soccer
Strong Start for Real Madrid
Defending champion Real Madrid opened the European Champions League with a 3-0 victory at AS Roma, while Spanish league champion Valencia won 2-0 over Liverpool.
Madrid, the record nine-time champion and winner of Europe's top club prize in three of the last five seasons, showed why it is a strong favorite to repeat. Jose Maria Gutierrez, getting a chance with Ronaldo back in Madrid working on his fitness, gave the visitors a 1-0 lead in the 41st minute. Raul made it 2-0 in the 56th and Gutierrez got his second in the 74th. . . .
Former Brazilian star Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa, who helped his nation win the 1958 World Cup, died from liver failure. Santa Rosa, whose playing name was Dida, was 68. . . .
Richard Mulrooney, an all-star midfielder for the defending champion San Jose Earthquakes, will miss the rest of the MLS season with a broken right ankle. . . .
D.C. United goalkeeper Nick Rimando, who yielded one goal during two victories, was named MLS player of the week.
Ohio State freshman Maurice Clarett, who ran for 230 yards against Washington State last weekend, had arthroscopic knee surgery yesterday.
