Senators take on gambling
Betting on college, high school and Olympic sports under attack
By Brandon Schulte
Staff writer
Whether they knew it or not, members of
ancient Mesopotamia likely connected sport to
what many consider its greatest evil today.
In the days long before luxury boxes, stadi
ums, even the pyramids, they invented boxing.
And with the advent of prize fighting, sports
inevitably became linked to gambling.
As sport evolved, so did gambling - to the
point where estimates have amounts as high as
380 billion wagered annually in the United States
on sports at both the amateur and professional
levels.
The true figure isn’t known because some 90
percent of sports gambling done in this country is
outside of the state of Nevada and the Oregon
Lottery - the only two legal places to place bets
on athletics in the United States.
In an effort to curb the illegal wagering, two
U. S. Senators - Vermont Democrat Patrick
Leahy and Kansas Republican Sam Brownback
- have introduced a bipartisan bill to ban all bet
ting on college, high school and Olympic com
petitions.
“Legal college sports betting undermines
college sports across die country and encourages
gamblers to tempt college students into gambling
problems and point-shaving schemes,” Leahy
said.
“A national ban on college and high school
sports betting will send a strong message to stu
dents that sports gambling and point-shaving •
schemes will not be tolerated in this country. And
it will help prevent these ravages.”
But whether the proposed bill, the High
School and College Sports Gambling
Prohibition Act, would be a success or failure is
as complicated to comprehend as the wording of
the legislation itself.
Anatomy of a bill
The Prohibition Act statute would close a
loophole in the Professional and Amateur Sports
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Melanie Falk/DN
Florence says goodbye
to Devaney on Saturday
By Joshua Camenzind
Staff writer
For the Nebraska men’s basketball team, reality has set in.
The Comhuskers have three regular season games remain
ing, and their postseason hopes have been washed down the
ith a 10-16 overall record. ,
NU ’s only hope of playing past March 12 (the Big 12
Tournament Championship) is to win on that date,
which would bring an automatic entrance into
the NCAA Tournament.
So what do the Huskers have left to play
for?
For one, Saturday’s 12:45 matchup
with Colorado is Senior Day at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center. Larry Florence
will play his last hope game for the
second year in a row alter receiving a
fifth year of eligibility last ofF-sea
son.
NU guard Cary Cochran said
expects Florence, who
declined comment for this story,
to play above his low-key per
sona.
“I think he just wants to
come out and play well,”
Cochran said, “so people can see
what kind of career he has had.
He has had an extremely suc
cessful career.
“He doesn’t show a lot of
emotion, but I think he’ll
come out with some emotion
and play well.”
Florence will also be look
ing to better his performance
against Kansas on Wednesday
night. He shot six of 15 from
the floor with four turnovers
and his bad night culminated
'ith a technical foul with 12:15
-
Meoraska uoacn Danny wee
said his senior has gone through
some tough times.
“He is very disappointed
with the losing,” Nee said. “I
Wjk told him that getting a tech
K nical isn’t going to help
■ you.”
After Florence
received the technical,
BMfik Nee took out his senior
MM and had a little chat.
“I explained to
B him about being pos
B itive,” said Nee, who
■ remains tied for the
B school record in
MB wins six games after
tying it. “He said he
had nothing to be
positive about. I said
Br ‘You’ve got a pro
BP career ahead, and we
wHUfF have to get some film
on you.’”
SENIOR FORWARD LARRY FLORENCE finishes his home career
against Nebraska Saturday against Colorado.
—SPORTS OPINION—
Attacking CU team
prayer is ridiculous
Joshua Camenzind
No matter how good a job you are
doing, there is someone always there,
waiting to knock you down. ......
Take Colorado Basketball Coach
Ricardo Patton, for instance. He is well
known fra* teaching his players how to
excel in life skills as well as defending
the pick-and-roll.
But for some, those abilities, com
bined with a 16-10 record and NCAA
tournament hopes, aren’t good enough.
Patton, whose team will face
So the Buffaloes
miss out on a
recruit because he
doesn’t want to
pray. Big deal.
Nebraska on Saturday, has come under
fire recently for organized team prayers
that have become a staple of his squad.
The American Civil Liberties Union
in Boulder, Colo., has filed a complaint
with the university, saying the prayers
violate CU’s own policy and the U.S.
Constitution’!; First Amendment, involv
ing the separation of church and state.
Colorado’s policy was written in
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Lydia S. Gonzales/DN
LONG JUMPER Tobyn Rucker digs his feet in during practice at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center Wednesday.
Track teams to do battle
■ Both men’s and
women’s track teams expect
three-team race in Iowa.
By Jamie Suhr
Staff writer
Nebraska Track and Field Coach
Gary Pepin called both the Big 12
Indoor Conference Men’s and
Women’s Championship in Ames,
Iowa, a three-team race.
Texas, Kansas State and Nebraska,
Pepin said, are expected to battle it out
Friday and Saturday for the women’s
top spot, with KSU as the favorite. On
the men’s side, UT, NU and Iowa State
will do battle.
In the women’s competition, UT,
which won die national championship
in 1998, finished first in the confer
ence championships, while NU placed
second.
Team captain Dalhia Ingram, the
No. 1 -ranked long jumper and triple
jumper in the Big 12, will be compet
ing in her final conference indoor
championship. Ingram was the 1999
Big 12 Champion with a leap mark of
20 feet, i % inches in the long jump.
This year, she and Iowa State’s
Aurelia Trywianska are the only two
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