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For the Record
November 09, 2009
Suspended
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November 09, 2009

For The Record

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Suspended

For one regular-season game for accepting improper benefits, Kentucky freshman John Wall (above). The point guard, who heads the nation's top recruiting class, was also ordered to repay nearly $800 he received from his former AAU coach. Wall will be permitted to play in an exhibition game on Nov. 6, then must sit out another preseason game in addition to the Wildcats' season opener against Morehead State.

Died

At age 91, College Football Hall of Fame coach Forest Evashevski, who won a national title and two Rose Bowls in his nine seasons at Iowa. A star player for Fritz Crisler at Michigan, Evashevski planned to go to law school in Ann Arbor after World War II but couldn't find a decent apartment there. Frustrated, he took a job as an assistant coach at Syracuse. He ended up in Iowa City six years later, in 1952, inheriting a moribund program that hadn't won the Big Ten since 1921. The Hawkeyes dropped their first four games under Evashevski but then stunned Ohio State 8--0. They won the Rose Bowl in 1957 and again in '59. Evashevski abruptly gave up coaching after the 1960 season, when he was just 42, and served as Iowa's AD for the next 10 years. "I think he would have gone down as one of the greatest coaches of all time had he stayed in it," said Bump Elliott, who was on Evashevski's staff and later coached against him at Michigan.

Arrested

And charged with offering sex for World Series tickets, Phillies fan Susan Finkelstein. The 43-year-old Penn grad student placed an ad on Craigslist describing herself as a "buxom blonde" who was "desperate" for tickets. The ad also read, "Price negotiable—I'm the creative type!" Finkelstein met at a bar with an undercover police officer who alleges that she offered sex for two tickets, a charge she denies. "I was hoping maybe I could get a cheaper price flirting with him," Finkelstein, who is married, told the Opie and Anthony radio show. Finkelstein was charged with a misdemeanor—but ended up getting tickets to Game 2 courtesy of a ticket broker.

Suspended

For two games after insulting his coach in a Twitter post and using gay slurs on two occasions last week, Chiefs running back Larry Johnson (right). After Kansas City lost to San Diego on Oct. 25, Johnson, who is averaging 2.7 yards per carry, questioned the experience of first-year coach Todd Haley, writing, "My father played for the coach from 'rememeber [sic] the titans.' Our coach played golf." Several followers responded by criticizing Johnson, who shot back at one with the insulting slur. He reportedly uttered another slur when questioned by reporters. As of Monday it was still unclear if Johnson, who needs 75 yards to become the franchise's alltime leading rusher, would return to the team when his suspension is over.

Canceled

By Triumph Books, plans to release a controversial book written by disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy. Last week Deadspin.com posted excerpts of Blowing the Whistle: The Culture of Fraud in the NBA in which, among other things, Donaghy accused former colleagues by name of conspiring to fix games. Shortly before the book was scheduled to go to press, Triumph, an imprint of Random House, pulled the plug. Donaghy, who reportedly admitted taking money from gamblers in exchange for inside information, is currently serving a 15-month prison sentence.

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