8 The Daily Collegian Another Cowboy in trouble, Swi tz er arrested in Dallas By CHIP BROWN Associated Press Writer AUSTIN, Texas So much for the Dallas Cowboys cleaning up their off-the-field image. The prob lem this time, however, wasn't with a player. Coach Barry Switzer was arrest ed yesterday after a loaded revolver was discovered in his carry-on baggage at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Switzer was detained, his .38-cal iber weapon was confiscated, and he was released about two hours later on his own recognizance, said airport spokeswoman Angel Biasat ti. Switzer, after returning to Austin to join the team at training camp, said he had inadvertently left the gun in his travel bag after putting it there with the intention of hiding it from three young chil dren who were guests at his home over the weekend. "I am embarrassed for (Dallas owner) Jerry Jones and the Cow boys organization for an innocent, honest mistake that I made," Switzer said at a previously sched uled news conference. He was clearly shaken by the incident and refused to take any questions. Cowboys spokesman Brett Daniels said Jones was tied up in meetings in Dallas yesterday and was unavailable for comment. "It's unfortunate. It's embarrass ing to me," Switzer said. "But I can live with it because I was more concerned about the safety of those children. "If I have to live with what hap- Philadelphia's Allen Iverson, shown here against the Lakers, was arrested on drug and firearm possession Sunday. Sixer ownership showed great displeasure concerning his actions. Sixers not pleased Yesterday Sixers' owner Pat Croce and coach Larry Brown discussed the arrest of Allen Iverson. By JOHN F. BONFATTI AP Sports Writer PHILADELPHIA The legal system stresses that NBA Rookie of the Year Allen Iverson is inno cent until proven guilty. The peo ple who run his team, the Philadelphia 76ers, didn't sound so sure. One day after Iverson was arrested by police in his native Virginia on marijuana and gun possession charges, the 76ers' braintrust owner Pat Croce, coach Larry Brown and vice president of basketball opera tions Billy King made their disappointment clear. "It upsets me," said Croce, joined by the other two in a tele phone conference call yesterday. "It bothers me." Iverson, 22, was a passenger in a car that was stopped at 1:27 a.m. EDT Sunday for speeding on Interstate 64 near Richmond, state police spokeswoman Mary Evans said. The car was going 93 mph in a 65 mph zone. pened, I'll live with that because I'd damn sure rather have that than those kids get a hold of it." Carrying a weapon into an air port is a third-degree felony, pun ishable by two to 10 years in jail and up to a $lO,OOO fine. The Texas Department of Public Safety said Switzer is not licensed to carry a gun. State law says car rying a handgun without a permit is a Class A misdemeanor, punish able by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. "There was no criminal intent," Biasatti said, pointing out that 38 handguns have been confiscated at the airport this year. "We have to arrest individuals. It's the law. Most of the time they forget that they have them at the airport.... It's an unfortunate situation for Barry Switzer." Switzer said his son, Doug, had been in his Dallas-area home and left the gun lying out on his bed. Switzer said the children, ages 11, 10 and 2, were already in his house when he arrived because his daughter, Kathy, had let them in. He said he was alarmed to find the gun out and put it in his travel bag with the intention of hiding it in his closet to keep it away from the children. "On the way to the closet, the phone rang in the bathroom and I set my bag down on my bathroom counter," Switzer said. "From that moment on, I totally forgot my intentions of hiding the gun in the closet." Switzer said he rushed to the air port Monday morning to catch a flight and put the bag through the airport security. "When the trooper stopped (the car) he smelled marijuana, and that's why he asked them to get out," she said. The trooper found a .45-caliber pistol on the floor mat in front of Iverson's seat during a search. Iverson told the trooper it was his gun. Iverson was charged with pos session of marijuana and posses sion of firearms with a controlled substance. Evans said the firearms charge would be dropped because it only applies if a pound or more of marijuana is found with the weapon. She said one marijuana cigarette was found under the front seat where Iverson was sit ting and another in the back of the car. Iverson owns the car but was not driving, according to police. That's not the point, said the 76ers, who criticized Iverson for poor judgment. "Even if it's not his pot, he's in a car where there is pot and he's implicated," Croce said. "Birds of a feather flock together." Brown, who has yet to speak with Iverson since being named coach in April, said Iverson's arrest is "not something any of us can be very proud of." "You can say you weren't dri ving the car, that you didn't Sports ~ ~, , . °I , , % 10.74- ~ ,es Cowboy coach Barry Switzer faces the media after being arrested with a loaded gun at the Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport. After a delay, Switzer said, "I look up and there's two police offi cers standing beside me. I look at them and they look at me with a serious look, and all of a sudden I realized, 'My God, I didn't take that pistol out of my bag.' That's what happened." Switzer said the police "were professional and courteous and I returned the same. It's unfortu nate. I can see how those things happen to many people." He was arrested around 9 a.m and released at 10:45 a.m. Switzer and the Cowboys were in Dallas for an exhibition game Sun day night against the Oakland Raiders, which they lost 34-27. The team had Monday off before returning to practice on Tuesday in Austin. The timing couldn't have been worse for the Cowboys and Jones, who has worked tirelessly in the offseason putting players on notice that incidents away from the game wouldn't be tolerated. In recent months, Jones has made several nightclubs off-limits, reportedly released a player who violated that edict, and installed security cameras in the dorms at smoke that joint, but that doesn't mean anything," Brown said. "It's not acceptable for anyone, let alone someone who is a public figure and represents so many people." King said he had talked with Iverson since the arrest, but declined to provide details of the conversation. "He's upset with what's gone on," King said. Iverson, who was released after his sister posted a $2,000 bond, has an unlisted telephone number and could not be reached for comment. His agent, David Falk, was "out of town and unavailable," according to Alison Sadofsky of his office. It's not Iverson's first brush with the law. At 17, he was involved in a bowling alley brawl between rival groups of black and white high school students. Convicted on rioting charges in 1993, Iverson was given a five year sentence. He served four months before former Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder interceded, granting clemency, and the con viction was subsequently over turned. After two seasons at George town, he turned pro and was the first overall pick in the 1996 draft. St. Edward's to discourage curfew violations. He also hired former Cowboys star Calvin Hill as a con sultant to help players deal with the fame and fortune of profession al athletics. Just last week, Switzer said, "We've had enough of the off-the field problems displayed for us. We are all sensitive to that area." Their image and, perhaps, their performance has been damaged by the spotlight on off field problems the past three years. Five players have been suspend ed for violating the NFL's sub stance abuse policy, including two of their biggest stars, wide receiv er Michael Irvin and defensive tackle Leon Lett. Lett currently is serving a year's suspension, his second, for drug use. The 59-year-old Switzer, whose autobiography is titled "Bootleg ger's Boy," carries a reputation for having out-of-control teams. He resigned as coach of the Uni versity of Oklahoma somewhat in disgrace after a 16-year career that included three national titles and many off-field controversies, espe cially in his final few seasons. Smoltz baffles Pirates again By ALAN ROBINSON AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH Andruw Jones returned from his first day off in 1 1 / 2 months and hit a two-run homer, backing John Smoltz's second shutout of the season as the Atlanta Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-0 on last night. Smoltz (10-9), who pitched a four-hitter, has limited the Pirates to nine hits and two runs over 16 innings while beating them twice this season. He is 5-1 against them since last season but is only 9-9 lifetime, not counting his 4-0 record in the 1991 and 1992 playoffs. Smoltz did not allow a runner past second until Joe Randa walked to start the seventh inning and moved to third on a double play. Chipper Jones gave the Braves a 1-0 lead in the first by looping a run-scoring double over the outstretched glove of first baseman Mark Johnson, who arrived at the ballpark only two hours before game time. He was Greg Norman watches his tee shot during the first day of action at the Fred Meyer Challenge in West Linn, Ore. Norman is paired with Brad Faxon in the tournament. Perfect pair excels at Challenge By 808 BAUM AP Sports Writer WEST LINN, Ore. When it comes to golf, Greg Norman and Brad Faxon seem a perfect pair. Norman and Faxon, looking for their third consecutive Fred Meyer Challenge title, combined for a Eagles trying to find a leader on offense By the Associated Press BETHLEHEM, Pa. The Eagles don't have a quarterback contro versy. They have a quarterback dilemma, and head coach Ray Rhodes has precious little time to solve it. Monday night's second presea son game against the Pittsburgh Steelers will be Rodney Peete's. "It's an open competition," Rhodes said Monday as his team returned to training camp two days after a two-touchdown loss to the New York Jets. "There's good com petition at the position. I've said that all along." It's just that nobody listened. "You guys kept saying it was Ty (Detmer's) job to lose," Rhodes said. "I've said it's a competition." That competition got a little more intense after Saturday's 31-17 loss to the Jets in East Rutherford, N.J. Detmer, who started the presea son opener, struggled just like he did the last five games of last sea son, which included the Eagles' 14- 0 playoff loss to San Francisco the first playoff shutout ever suf fered by the team. "Ty wasn't very sharp," Rhodes said. "He didn't play as well as we expected." Detmer picked up right where he left off last season, throwing an interception for a touchdown. For the fourth time in his last five games, Detmer had a pass intercepted and returned for a touchdown when Aaron Gleen grabbed the ball and ran it for 97 yards. In that same span Detmer has thrown just three touchdown pass es compared to nine interceptions. What's made it worse for Detmer is the fact that Peete played decently in relief Saturday in his called up from Triple-A Calgary to replace the injured Kevin Young. Pirates starter Steve Cooke (8-11) limited Atlanta to the lone run and three hits until falling apart in the sixth, failing to retire any of the five batters he faced. Fred McGriff walked ahead of Andruw Jones' 439- foot drive into a third-level luxury box in left field, making it 3-0. Jones sat out the Braves' 8-4 loss Sun day to Florida, his first day off in 47 games. Javy Lopez then singled, Ryan Klesko was hit with a pitch and Mark Lemke singled to bring on reliever Paul Wagner, who yielded Jeff Blauser's sacrifice fly. Blauser, dropped from seventh to second in the bat ting order Sunday, broke out of a 2-for-36 slump with two doubles and an RBI. Johnson, demoted twice this season for poor hitting, went 0-for-4 and struck out in his first three at-bats. He is 1-for-8 with six strikeouts in his last two starts against Atlanta and has stranded 11 base runners. He has four hits in his last 43 at-bats overall. tournament record 11-under-par 60 Monday and held a two-stroke lead halfway through the team event they have come to dominate. In their past 90 holes at the Ore gon Golf Club, since 1995, Norman and Faxon are 42-under-par on the hilly 6,914 -yard course carved into the headlands above the Wiliam- Tuesday, Aug. 5, 1997 first action since suffering a sea son-ending knee injury the fifth week of last season. "Rodney did a nice job," Rhodes said of Peete's six-for-11, 69-yard performance. "He had a couple of balls dropped on him. But he played well. He's going to start against Pittsburgh and we'll see what happens. The best guy will emerge." Second-year man Bobby Hoying, who could make it a three-way bat tle, was the Eagles star Saturday night. He completed 11 of 14 pass es for 108 yards and both of the team's touchdowns, while rushing for 40 yards on eight carries. "Bobby played extremely well," Rhodes said. "He got us two touch downs. He showed good composure on the field. He ran well when he had to run. He made good deci sions." Rhodes added that Hoying, who played the entire second half with the Eagles benchwarmers and against the Jets benchwarmers, soon will see time with the starters. "That would be awesome," Hoy ing said. "I want to be out there as much as I can. I was going against their backup players, too, so it's a two-way thing. "But I was just happy to get the opportunity and take advantage of it. That was the first time I got to play an entire half since college. At this point I just have to take it step by step and then let the coaches make up their minds what they are going to do." Peete took the team on an impressive drive in his first series, but settled for a field goal when the drive stalled. "It felt good to be out there again," Peete said. "I'm just trying to make it tough on the coaches. Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?" ette River south of Portland "I walked up to him on the first tee and I said, 'Are you ready to win three in a row?' " Norman said. "He said, `Yes, I am,' and I said, 'Let's go.' " They birdied the first five holes and were 10-under through 12 Please see GOLF, Page 11.
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