Turner Station Will Show Pacific 10, Big Ten Games

The Turner Broadcasting System announced Wednesday that it has signed two-year contracts with the Big Ten, the Pacific 10 and the Atlantic Coast Conference to carry live telecasts of football games in prime time.

The 1985-86 games--a minimum of five each season from the Big Ten, four from the Pac-10 and three from the ACC--will be carried on the Turner cable superstation WTBS and a national network of syndicated stations. Also part of this year’s package is the Boston College-Army game Oct. 12.

The Big Ten, which already has a two-year contract with CBS for $10 million, reportedly will receive $9 million from Turner. Turner’s rights fee for the Pac-10 games was put at $5 million.

Games involving USC, Arizona, Illinois and Wisconsin cannot be televised for the next two years because of NCAA sanctions against those schools.

Gary Kranz, the Tulane University student accused of supplying money and drugs to basketball players involved in a point-shaving scandal, pleaded not guilty in New Orleans to multiple charges of sports gambling, cocaine dealing and conspiracy.

An indictment says Kranz, a 21-year-old business major from New Rochelle, N.Y., sold cocaine to Tulane starting forwards Clyde Eads and Jon Johnson. Eads and Johnson have been granted immunity to testify for the prosecution against teammates, Kranz, two other students and two bookmakers.

Manute Bol, at 7 feet 6 inches the tallest player in college basketball, declared himself eligible for the National Basketball Assn.’s June draft.

The 22-year-old Bol, a 190-pound freshman who averaged 22.5 points and 13.5 rebounds a game as a freshman for the University of Bridgeport, told his coach that he has to leave school to assure the safety of his 19-year-old sister, who lives in their native Sudan, where the government was overthrown last week.

Relief pitcher Dan Quisenberry and outfielder Willie Wilson signed contracts with the Kansas City Royals that should keep them with the team for the rest of their careers.

There have been published reports that they would receive $40 million apiece over a 40-year period. Quisenberry, 32, has had 175 saves since 1980. Wilson, 29, has a .305 lifetime batting average.

Clinton Manges, owner of the San Antonio Gunslingers of the United States Football League, is arranging a $10.5-million loan to clear up payroll problems that have resulted in late payments and bounced checks for players.

Leon Spinks says he needs three or four more fights before he’s ready to meet Carlos DeLeon, the cruiserweight boxing champion.

Spinks, who upset Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight title in 1978, continued his comeback Tuesday night with a third-round technical knockout of Rick Kellar in Honolulu.

Jarmila Kratochvilova of Czechoslovakia, the world’s women’s record-holder at 400 and 800 meters, will compete in three track and field meets in the U.S. this spring, among them the Pepsi Invitational at UCLA on May 18. The others the Bruce Jenner meet at San Jose May 25 and the Prefontaine meet at Eugene, Ore., June 3.

The entry list for the Indianapolis 500 on May 26 appears set at 78. The total is lower than recent years, possibly because the Indianapolis Motor Speedway tripled the entry fee to $3,000.

Offensive lineman Andrew Gissinger, who suffered a ruptured disk while weightlifting last week, will probably miss the entire 1985 season for the San Diego Chargers after undergoing surgery. Gissinger started at center and tackle and filled in at tight end last season.

Five cities--Portland, Ore.; Anchorage, Alaska; Reno-Lake Tahoe, Nev.; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Lake Placid, N.Y.--are interested in being host city for the 1992 Winter Olympics. The Winter Games were held at Lake Placid in 1932 and 1980.

San Diego State’s football team will play the University of Hawaii at Melbourne, Australia, probably on Nov. 30, promoters of the game announced. Expenses for the game are estimated to be $800,000.

Names in the News

Ted Owens, fired in 1983 after 19 years as basketball coach at Kansas, was given a five-year contract to coach at Oral Roberts University, replacing Dick Acres, who resigned under pressure last month.

Lou Henson, who led the University of Illinois basketball team to a 26-9 record last season, was given a raise and a four-year contract extension.

Todd Corman, boys’ basketball coach at El Segundo High School for the last four years, was named women’s coach at Loyola Marymount University, replacing Dick Beede, who resigned after a 3-24 record last season.