Probe: Gatti's death not suicide

A PRIVATE PROBE into the 2009 death of former boxing champion

Arturo Gatti

will disprove the official conclusion that it was a suicide, Gatti's former manager said yesterday.

Gatti, a popular junior welterweight champion who retired in 2007 with a career record of 40-9, was found in July 2009 at an apartment he and his family had rented in the Brazilian seaside resort of Porto de Galihnas.

Brazilian police initially considered Gatti's wife, Amanda Rodrigues, a prime suspect and arrested her for his murder but released her a few weeks later. They eventually concluded after an autopsy that Gatti hanged himself with a handbag strap from a wooden staircase column in their apartment.

Former manager Pat Lynch said he hired Paul Ciolino, a private investigator from Chicago, about 10 months ago to take a new look at the case. He said the results of the investigation would be released at a news conference at the end of this month.

"There were too many things that were left open, too many unanswered questions," Lynch said. "I just wanted to find out what happened that night. No one's going to convince me he took his own life."

Ciolino, who also has examined the Amanda Knox murder case as a consultant for CBS' "48 Hours," said he believes Gatti's death was not a suicide and called the Brazilian investigation "inadequate and downright incompetent." Ciolino didn't give details about his investigation but said when its findings are presented, "there will be little doubt as to what happened."

Jimmy Harris,

the starting quarterback for much of Oklahoma's record 47-game winning streak in the 1950s, has died. He was 76. Harris played four seasons in the NFL with the Eagles (1957), Los Angeles Rams, Dallas Texans and Dallas Cowboys.

* Oklahoma defensive captain and leading tackler Travis Lewis will miss up to 8 weeks with a broken bone in his left foot. The injury will not require surgery.

* Duke freshman guard Quinn Cook is being shut down until at least mid-September as he recovers from ligament damage in his right knee.

Junior

Dominic Cheek

led Villanova with 17 points in a 69-64 exhibition loss to Senegal's Senior National Team in Paris. Junior

Mouphtaou Yarou

had 15 points and 16 rebounds.

* Senior Earl Pettis scored 18 points and sophomore Sam Mills added 17 as La Salle finished its three-game Canada trip 2-1 with a 66-64 exhibition win over host Carleton, in Ottawa.

* University of the Sciences athletic director Bobby Morgan has resigned and has been replaced by associate AD Paul Klimitas. Morgan, who won 598 games as the Devils' basketball coach and has been at the school for 43 years, will remain in the athletic department with expanding advising and teaching duties.

Retired Houston Rockets center

Yao Ming

could enter the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as early as next year - not as a player, but as a contributor to the game.

John Doleva,

the president and CEO of the Hall, said that Yao has been nominated by a member of the Chinese media and his credentials will be considered by an international panel. As a contributor, Yao would bypass the usual 5-year waiting period for retired players.

* Former U.S. soccer coach Bob Bradley is a candidate to lead Egypt's national team, his agent said.