Umass Must Forfeit Final Four Finish, Money

The NCAA erased the 1996 Final Four men's basketball finish of Massachusetts today and demanded the return of $151,000 in tournament money because of agent gifts accepted by Marcus Camby, a former UMass player, campus officials said.

The NCCA's Executive Committee, meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif., voted on the Camby case earlier in the day.

With the 6-foot-11 Camby at center, Massachusetts carved out its best season in 1995-96, finishing with a 35-2 record. Kentucky knocked UMass out of the NCAA tournament in the national semifinals.

Today's action is the first time a Final Four finish has been vacated since Villanova lost its 1971 runner-up spot after the NCAA found agent violations by another star player, Howard Porter. His tournament MVP title also was voided.

TENNIS

Top-seeded Thomas Muster, a clay-court specialist, was ousted from the $2.3million German Open today, losing a third-round match on the clay in Hamburg to Hicham Arazi, 6-1, 6-2.

Muster's ouster followed the exits of Boris Becker, Marcelo Rios, Richard Krajicek and Wayne Ferreira, leaving No. 2-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov and No. 7 Albert Costa as the only top-seeded players to reach the quarterfinals.

-- Spain's Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez reached the quarterfinals of the Italian Open in Rome with straight-set victories today.

Martinez, who is bidding for a fifth consecutive Italian title, beat Elena Likhovtseva of Russia 6-2, 6-1. Sanchez Vicario defeated Sabine Appelmans of Belgium 6-3, 6-4.

-- Fifth-seeded Byron Black of Zimbabwe was upset by little-known American Steve Campbell 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the America's Red Clay Tennis Championship in Coral Springs, Fla.

In another second-round match in Florida, top-seeded Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden breezed past Luke Jensen 6-1, 6-2.

FOOTBALL

The Houston Oilers and the Astrodome today settled a dispute that should allow the NFL team to soon head to Tennessee.

Team owner Bud Adams and Astrodome manager Drayton McLane Jr. emerged from 14 hours of negotiations over two days and announced they had resolved the up-coming final year of the Oilers' lease and settled a lawsuit arising from a canceled exhibition game two years ago. Financial details were not disclosed.

-- The will of the late Jack Kent Cooke, former owner of the NFL franchise in Washington, D.C., was probated in Warrenton, Va., and much of his estimated $825 million estate is going to charity. The will also could set in motion the eventual sale of the NFL franchise and set up his surviving son, John Kent Cooke, to be the team's buyer.

-- Indianapolis Colt owner Jim Irsay said unless the NFL franchise can rework its lease with the city-owned RCA Dome, it will lose $30 million over the next three or four years because of rising player costs.

"Can it (this market) support the Pacers and the Colts? Those are questions that I'm asking. Those are questions I know the city is asking themselves," Irsay told The Indianapolis Star and The Indianapolis News.

Team and city officials are grappling with the Colts' future - and whether Indianapolis can keep the team.

-- Receiver O.J. McDuffie of the Miami Dolphins underwent successful surgery to repair a double hernia. Barring complications, he is expected to be ready for training camp in July.

AUTO RACING

For the second straight day, Arie Luyendyk was the fastest driver during practice for this month's Indianapolis 500. He had a lap of 220.297 mph at the 2.5-mile speedway in Indianapolis.

GOLF

John Daly, who will leave alcohol rehabilitation tomorrow, will return to competition in the Mystic Rock Pro-Am near Pittsburgh on Memorial Day, his agent said. About three dozen pros are expected at the fund-raiser for the Leukemia Society, including Tiger Woods, PGA champion Mark Brooks and Mark O'Meara.

BOWLING

Steve Hoskins rolled a 300 in his six-game block to take the lead of the PBA's Johnny Petraglia Open in North Brunswick, N.J. Hoskins averaged 228 for the six games and had a pinfall total of 2,772.