Poll Finds 20% Know World Cup in U.S.
With the World Cup about four months away, only 20% of Americans realize it’s being played in the United States, according to a Harris Poll released Sunday, which also showed that only 25% of Americans know that the event involves soccer and only 8% are aware it will be played in 1994.
Fifty-three percent of Americans said they aren’t interested in watching a World Cup game on television, and 62% said they have no interest in attending one of the games.
The 20% who are aware the tournament is in the United States represents an increase, upfrom 13% in a similar poll last October.
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Jorge Santillana and Antonio Torres scored second-half goals to give the Unam Pumas a 2-0 exhibition soccer victory over the Bolivian national team before about 8,000 at East Los Angeles College.
Bolivia will compete in the World Cup this summer. The Pumas are a professional team that plays in the Mexican Championship League.
Santillana scored in the ninth minute of the second half after taking a pass from Manuel Sol and kicking the ball about 18 yards into the goal, past goalie Carlos Trucco.
Hockey
Dallas Star center Mike Modano will be sidelined for a week to 10 days after being knocked unconscious on a check by the New York Rangers’ Mark Messier during the third period of a game Saturday night in Dallas.
Basketball
Medical tests are scheduled today on UCLA’s Natalie Williams, who suffered a knee injury during the first half of the Bruins’ game against Stanford at Palo Alto on Saturday night. Williams, a senior All-American, fell and landed awkwardly after rebounding.
A warrant was issued for Clarence Haley, 21, of Charleston, W.Va., who is suspected in the shooting of former Marshall basketball player Tyrone Phillips, police said.
Phillips, 22, who played at Fremont High in Los Angeles and was living in Huntington, W.Va., was shot several times Friday after an argument at a Charleston housing development, authorities said. Hospital officials said the family requested that no information be released on his condition.
Cleveland Cavalier guard John Battle will be sidelined six to eight weeks after suffering a dislocated elbow during a weekend game against Dallas.
College Sports
Frederick Hutchinson, president of the University of Maine, accused former school compliance officer Linwood Carville of trying to cover up violations of NCAA eligibility rules.
Hutchinson said Carville, who was fired last week, tried to deflect attention from his role in allowing five athletes to play without enough classroom hours.
Carville was quoted in the Maine Sunday Telegram as saying he was being made a scapegoat and that Mike Ploszek, Maine’s athletic director, initially wanted to cover up the NCAA violations.
Miscellany
World Boxing Council light-heavyweight champion Jeff Harding of Australia suffered a cut eye in sparring and has withdrawn from his March 4 title defense against Randall Yonker of Mobile, Ala. The World Boxing Council has ordered an interim light heavyweight championship fight between Yonker and three-time former champion Mike McCallum of Las Vegas. The winner will fight Harding at a date to be determined.
Three-time defending Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain of Spain won his first stage of the season, the final leg of the Tour of Valencia. Viatcheslav Ekimov of Russia was the overall winner of the multi-day event. Indurain was second, 10 seconds behind.
