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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Ex-Auburn players claim they were paid

Carolina Hurricanes' Jeff Skinner played the hero over Montreal. (Associated Press)

College football: Auburn will investigate claims by four former football players, who have told HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” they received thousands of dollars while being recruited by or playing for the Tigers.

Stanley McClover, Troy Reddick, Chaz Ramsey and Raven Gray told HBO for an episode that aired Wednesday night that they received cash payments – in book bags, envelopes and even handshakes. Ramsey played at Auburn most recently, in the 2007 season.

Athletic Director Jay Jacobs said in a statement. “We have engaged outside counsel to investigate this matter and will spare no resources to find the truth.”

McClover said he “felt totally obligated” to play for the Tigers after getting money – he wasn’t sure how much – in a book bag.

• Fiesta Bowl fighting for place in BCS: The Fiesta Bowl ejected John Junker, its longtime CEO and president, amid corruption allegations and now faces a new challenge: convincing the BCS to let it stay in the lucrative bowl system used to crown a national champion.

If Fiesta Bowl officials can’t sway the organization, BCS executive director Bill Hancock says they have no problem booting them.

Velarde called to stand in Bonds’ trial

Baseball: Retired baseball player Randy Velarde, who last played for Oakland, testified that Barry Bonds’ former personal trainer supplied him with performance-enhancing drugs and injected him during a series of a parking-lot meetings in 2002.

Velarde , however, did not implicate Bonds in his dealings with his personal trainer, Greg Anderson.

Velarde told the jury that Bobby Estalella, who was playing for the Yankees at the time, gave him Anderson’s telephone number in late 2001.

Knicks rally past Nets behind Anthony’s 39

NBA: Carmelo Anthony scored 39 points, including the tiebreaking jumper with 1:08 left, and the New York Knicks rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat the New Jersey Nets 120-116 in New York.

Deron Williams had 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Nets in his return from a six-game absence with an injured wrist

• Hornets jump Blazers with win: Carl Landry scored 21 points and the New Orleans Hornets jumped ahead of Portland for sixth place in the Western Conference with a 95-91 victory over the visiting Trail Blazers.

Skinner keeps ‘Canes playoff hopes alive

NHL: Jeff Skinner had two goals and an assist, defenseman Jamie McBain had his first career two-goal game and Carolina beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-2 in Raleigh, N.C., to continue its push for a playoff spot.

The ninth-place Hurricanes are three points behind Buffalo and the New York Rangers in the race for one of the eight Eastern Conference playoff spots.

Santa Clara claims CIT title over Iona

Men’s basketball: Ben Dowdell had 14 points, eight rebounds and two assists as Santa Clara (24-14) handled Iona (25-12) 76-69 to win the CollegeInsider.com tournament in New Rochelle, N.Y.

Oregon forces deciding game: Joevan Catron scored 18 points and host Oregon (20-18) beat Creighton (23-15) 71-58 to even the best-of-3 College Basketball Invitational championship at one game apiece. The deciding game will be at UO Friday night.

Fish will be No. 1 after victory over Ferrer

Tennis: American Mardy Fish, beat David Ferrer 7-5, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., a victory that will carry him into the No. 1 ranking.

ESPN files lawsuit against C-USA

Miscellany: ESPN has sued Conference USA, accusing the league of violating their contract when it signed a new deal with Fox.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in New York seeks either damages of at least $21 million or for the conference to honor the extension the network claims it agreed to.

The two sides signed a five-year deal in 2005 worth $21.9 million. It included a provision giving ESPN exclusive rights to try to renegotiate the package in 2010.

The league announced in January it had reached a five-year contract with Fox’s networks.

• Former Kansas ticket employee sentenced: A former systems analyst at the University of Kansas ticket office has been sentenced to 37 months in prison for her part in a $2 million ticket scalping conspiracy.

Kassie Liebsch, a 28-year-old Lawrence, Kan., woman, was ordered to pay a $1.27 million in restitution and a $2 million forfeiture along with her co-defendants. She also must pay the Internal Revenue Service $79,863.

• Ware to field truck for Earnhardt: Rick Ware Racing says it will field a Truck for Jeffery Earnhardt this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, after he had previously terminated the contract with the 21-year-old driver. The team owner blamed the prior decision on emotions and a lack of communication.