Duke's Laettner denies violating NCAA's rules

Duke's pristine image was called into question Thursday by ataped diary Christian Laettner kept for GQ magazine after theuniversity determined the project wouldn't violate NCAA rules.

Laettner and the university said they "categorically deny" anewspaper article that said the three-time All-American signed acontract his senior year with GQ magazine.

"I have never signed any contract with GQ magazine," Laettnersaid in a statement issued by Duke. "The only agreement I made wasto submit a diary to the magazine after my senior year for a possiblefall issue. I am shocked and hurt by the allegations that thenewspaper has written."

The Winston-Salem Journal reported that Laettner's agreementwith GQ during the 1991-92 season may have been a violation of NCAArules. Those rules say a student athlete's eligibility isjeopardized if he makes an agreement for professional services orpromotes a product while still eligible.

The All-America center has used up his college eligibility. Anyviolation could result in retroactive penalties and subject Duke tosanctions that range from a letter of reprimand to forfeiture of allgames, including the NCAA championship, the second straight for theBlue Devils. Sophomore guard Travis Trice will leave Purdue at the end of thesemester and transfer to another school, he said in Lafayette, Ind.

FOOTBALL: Kicker Raul Allegre, whose overtime field goal got theNew York Jets into the playoffs last season, was re-signed by theJets. He was left unprotected by the team in Plan B. NFL Properties, the league's marketing and merchandising branch, hassigned some projected first- and second-round draft picks tolicensing agreements for as much as $150,000, New York Newsday said. Former New York Giants coach Bill Parcells will undergo a heartprocedure today for the third time in four months. The procedure isan atherectomy, where plaque is scraped from the artery walls ordestroyed by laser.

BOWLING: Walter Ray Williams Jr. rolled two 300 games andstretched his lead to 396 pins through three rounds of the TumsClassic in Windsor Locks, Conn. Williams' third 300 game of thetournament matched a PBA standard achieved by seven players, the lastAmleto Monacelli in 1989. Carol Gianotti beat Donna Adamek 182-161 to win the $35,000 LPBT NewOrleans Classic.

TENNIS: Michael Chang and Brad Gilbert won second-round matchesin the Salem (Mass.) Open to gain the quarterfinals. Chang, seededsecond, beat fellow American Jim Grabb 6-2, 6-4. Gilbert, seededfourth, defeated Michiel Schapers 7-5, 6-3. Second-seeded Andre Agassi beat Italy's Claudio Pistolesi 6-1, 6-2in a second-round match in the USTA clay courts championships atTampa, Fla.. Top seed Pete Sampras and second-seeded Guy Forget advanced to thequarterfinals of the Nice (France) Open. Sampras beat former FrenchOpen champion Andres Gomez of Ecuador 7-6 (7-5), 7-5. Forgetdefeated German Lopez of Spain 6-2, 6-3. The Davis Cup semifinals between the United States and Sweden willbe in Minneapolis Sept. 25-27, USTA president Bob Cookson said.

HOCKEY: A federal grand jury is investigating R. Alan Eagleson,founder and former executive director of the NHL players association,according to a story in the Boston Herald. Eagleson is accused ofbetraying the union, which he founded in 1967, with deals thatbenefited him, the newspaper reported. No charges will be filed against Buffalo Sabres players who beat upa Quebec fan in an altercation during a game at the Colisee Tuesday,police said in Quebec. Coach Jeff Sauer would face a one-game suspension from future NCAAtournament play under proposed sanctions against Wisconsin for anincident in which an assistant coach and a player engaged in ashouting match with an official after the national championship gameApril 4, a newspaper said in Madison, Wis.

SOCCER: Soccer's governing body threatened santions after DiegoMaradona defied his worldwide suspension and played in a charitymatch in Buenos Aires, Argentina. FIFA spokesman Guido Tognoni saidin Zurich, Switzerland, that the Argentine Soccer Federation would beasked for an explanation of why Maradona played in Tuesday night'smatch.

GYMNASTICS: World all-around champion Kim Zmeskal, 16, ofHouston, had seconds on the balance beam and in floor exercise duringqualifying in the World Gymnastics Championships in Paris.