TALLAHASSEE - The attorney for former Florida State quarterback Adrian McPherson received written plea offers to all three pending criminal cases Friday, a signal the legal battles could end soon.
"I really do not want to talk about negotiations in the media, but there is progress," Grady Irvin Jr. said.
For McPherson, 20, to consider a deal, the offer likely would have to include a plea of no contest, no formal finding of guilt, community service and restitution.
McPherson faces a felony charge for bouncing worthless checks, three felonies and a misdemeanor in connection with a stolen, forged and cashed check for $3,500 from a local business and a misdemeanor charge for gambling via the Internet. His trial on the latter ended last week with a hung jury.
There will be a case management hearing on the felony charges July9; both are set for trial July14. Depositions are set for June26-27 and the list likely includes the owner of R&R Truck and Auto Accessories, Dale Acosta, as well as his investors, Brian and Reagan Hobbs, sons of a prominent FSU booster.
Irvin also said he will try to talk to the NCAA. The NCAA will make its determination whether McPherson gambled regardless of the court proceedings. If it finds he gambled, it would suspend him one year. The suspension is permanent if the NCAA finds he bet on FSU.
"I don't think the trial presented any clear evidence that Adrian had participated in gambling," Irvin said. "There's a great measure of conflicting evidence."
But the NCAA seems more interested in talking to McPherson about possible improper booster activity at FSU. Irvin confirmed an NCAA official recently visited his St. Petersburg office. He declined to answer any questions then. And now?
"If they want FSU, they should do it without Adrian McPherson and they're going to have to do it without Adrian McPherson," he said.
Neuheisel will fight to remain coach
SEATTLE - Lawyers for Washington football coach Rick Neuheisel said he will fight to save his job, and they asked school officials to meet with them today. Athletic director Barbara Hedges announced Thursday she was firing Neuheisel for gambling on the past two NCAA basketball tournaments and for initially being dishonest with NCAA investigators about his involvement. Neuheisel maintains he did not realize he was breaking NCAA rules by gambling in a pool with friends and neighbors. He referred to an athletic department memo, distributed by compliance director Dana Richardson. Neuheisel is on suspension with pay and he has until June26 to appeal.
BCS BACKLASH: Tulane president Scott Cowen is looking for help dismantling the Bowl Championship Series. Cowen wants the presidents of 52 universities excluded from the BCS to join his campaign to change or do away with the system that governs postseason football.
Tulane's trustees voted unanimously Tuesday not to eliminate the football team, but told the school it must reduce the amount of money the athletic department loses each year. Cowen said the BCS hurts nonmembers by excluding them from the big-money bowls and by damaging their ability to build a fan base.
Cowen contends the BCS, formed in 1998 to match the top teams in a national championship game, is unfair because it allows certain I-A schools access to winning a national title. Cowen pointed to Tulane's 11-0 team in '98, which failed to qualify for any of the four BCS bowls. Tulane played in the Liberty Bowl and received millions less than BCS qualifiers. The BCS contract expires after the 2005 season.
KENTUCKY: Three reserves - quarterback Dan Lumley, guard Jared McGowan and defensive end Paul Webb - were granted a release to transfer to another school.
MISSISSIPPI STATE: Athletic director Larry Templeton said an NCAA investigator interviewed nine athletes this week. He would not identify them. NCAA investigators interviewed 12 football players last summer. In March, the school received a preliminary letter of inquiry that said allegations primarily involved football and included improper contact with athletes, offers and inducements to recruits and failure to maintain institutional control. The NCAA is looking into State's recruitment of former Brandon (Miss.) High player Ken Griffith, who said he told the NCAA he received $800 from football assistant Glenn Davis. Davis' attorney denied the charge.
World Series
CAL STATE-FULLERTON 8, LSU 2: Shane Costa hit a three-run homer in the third inning, and three pitchers combined to hold LSU (45-21-1) to five hits in Omaha, Neb. The Titans (49-14) face Stanford on Sunday; LSU plays South Carolina in an elimination game. Jason Windsor (11-2) held the Tigers to one run on four hits in 52/3 innings. Sean Martin and Chad Cordero held them to one hit the rest of the way.
STANFORD 8, SOUTH CAROLINA 0: John Hudgins gave up two hits over eight innings and Ryan Garko drove in three runs in the Cardinal's opening win. It was the third CWS shutout since 1995 and first since last year's opener when South Carolina lost 11-0 to Georgia Tech. The Gamecocks won four straight to reach the championship game, where they lost to Texas. Stanford (47-15) stretched its season-best win streak to 10. Hudgins (12-3) held South Carolina (44-21) hitless until Justin Harris doubled with one out in the fourth inning.
AWARD: Southern University second baseman Rickie Weeks won the Dick Howser Award as the nation's best player. The All-American led the nation in hitting the past two seasons with .495 and .479 averages, respectively. He was the No.2 overall pick by Milwaukee in the MLB draft.
Basketball
INDIANA: The university asked a judge to dismiss a breach of contract lawsuit filed by Bob Knight, who was fired almost three years ago and now coaches Texas Tech. Attorneys asked Monroe Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Todd to issue a summary judgment, which effectively would dismiss the case. No date for a hearing was set. The 17-page brief filed Thursday focused on Knight's employment agreement, which said the university could fire him at any time by notifying him in writing.
MISSOURI: Guard Ricky Clemons was sentenced to two months in jail for beating a woman and holding her against her will at his apartment in Columbia. Clemons pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of assault and false imprisonment April21. Jessica Bunge said Clemons pushed her down, bloodied her nose and choked her Jan.16 after she refused to watch the movie Roots with him. Clemons was suspended for 2003-04 season but will have a year of eligibility if he returns.
NOTRE DAME: Chris Thomas will decide by Monday if he will return for his junior season or remain eligible for the NBA draft. The point guard averaged 18.7 points last season.
WNCC FIRING, FORFEITURE: Western Nebraska Community College fired coach Trace Bevell and forfeited all 29 wins from last season because a fifth foreign player had his scholarship paid with money from a booster group without the school's knowledge. The forfeits included WNCC's Region IX championship. National Junior College Athletic Association rules allow colleges no more than four foreign players on scholarship each year.
Track and field
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: USF's Chandra Brewer of Bartow and Jimmy Baxter of St. Petersburg advanced to today's final in their respective events in Sacramento, Calif. Brewer finished ninth after qualifying in the shot put (52-71/2). Baxter was tied for first in the high jump (7-1). Florida's Rickey Harris was second in the men's 400-meter hurdles (48.83), .28 behind Auburn's Dean Griffiths. The Gators finished fourth in the men's 4x100 relays, .48 behind champ LSU (38.65). Twenty-two hours after winning the 10,000 meters, Arkansas' Dan Lincoln took the 3,000 steeplechase (8:26.25). He is the first to win both and first American to win three straight NCAA steeplechase titles.
- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.
