Super Bowl XLVI
Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
Ryan Callahan scored three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
Buried on the bench a little more than a week ago, the Knicks' Jeremy Lin is now the toast of New York.
Beyond the Arc: No. 14 UNLV's 65-63 victory over No. 13 San Diego State adds spice to the Mountain West Conference race.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
It was a beach kind of day (for seals) on the Monterey Peninsula, but Tiger Woods provided his own heat with a 67 and sits four back.
The United States swept favored Switzerland out of the Davis Cup on Saturday when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Luis Suarez's refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra overshadowed Manchester United's 2-1 win over rival Liverpool that lifted the defending champions to first place in the Premier League on Saturday.
Marlies Schild of Austria won her sixth World Cup slalom of the season Saturday after overall leader Lindsey Vonn and defending champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch crashed out in the opening run on the windy Pyrenees course.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
Reuters
Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson defended the men’s basketball program Thursday, saying the school checks out all potential players.
He would not confirm that Derrick Rose, who led Memphis to the 2008 national title game, is at the center of an NCAA investigation of major violations during that season.
In a letter to the school the NCAA says an unknown person took the SAT for a player, with his knowledge, and then the player used that test to get into Memphis. The NCAA said the athlete in question played for the Tigers in the 2007-08 season and the 2008 NCAA tournament. The only person who played just that season was Rose.
“We wouldn’t play anybody if we hadn’t checked it out pretty thoroughly,” Johnson told The Associated Press.
Johnson would not identify the player involved for privacy reasons. But he said the player is cooperating with Memphis’ investigation into the allegations.
“Nobody has thrown up any road blocks,” Johnson said. “We’re trying to get it resolved and do it the right way.”
The NCAA has asked Memphis to provide copies of the SAT and a Sept. 2, 2008, report by a forensic document examiner who studied the handwriting in the SAT.
Rose’s attorney, Daneil E. Reidy, said in a statement Thursday that the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NBA draft by Chicago and this season’s rookie of the year was aware of the allegations.
“Mr. Rose cooperated fully with the University of Memphis’ athletic and legal departments’ investigation of this issue when he was a student and that investigation uncovered no wrong-doing on his part,” Reidy said. “At this time, Mr. Rose sees no reason to engage in further discussion regarding this matter and will instead focus on his career as a professional basketball player.
“Neither Mr. Rose nor I will have further comment.”
The Chicago Sun-Times reported Thursday that someone with access to Rose’s academic records at Simeon High School changed a D to a C on his transcript. The newspaper reported that Rose was one of our athletes at the school whose grades were boosted for a one-month period after their June 2007 graduation and then changed back after the bogus transcripts were sent to colleges.
Memphis was notified Jan. 16 of the potentially major violations in the men’s basketball program and will appear June 6 in Indianapolis before the NCAA committee on infractions for a hearing. Johnson declined to provide any details on what Memphis has found in its investigation prior to the hearing.
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“We’ve been working on this for some time and continue to get our final presentation finalized and make sure we dotted all the Is and crossed all the Ts,” Johnson said.
The alleged violations occurred under John Calipari, who left March 31 to take over at Kentucky. Calipari, who’s cooperating with the investigation, was told by the NCAA in a letter that he was not at risk of being charged with any violations in the case.
Kentucky president Lee Todd reiterated in a statement Thursday that his university was aware of the inquiry while interviewing Calipari.
“We are confident that Coach Calipari was not involved in any way,” Todd said. “He was very open with us about what he was aware of at that particular time, and since this is an issue between the University of Memphis and the NCAA and not a UK issue, we will not be commenting further on anything related to this situation.”
Memphis faces the loss of its 38 wins that season.
New Memphis coach Josh Pastner said he wasn’t aware of the allegations when offered the job in April to replace Calipari.
“It’s nothing that will affect the current team, which I believe,” said Pastner, who first joined Tigers staff as an assistant in June 2008. “I can’t comment anymore than that.”
Beyond the Arc: No. 14 UNLV's 65-63 victory over No. 13 San Diego State adds spice to the Mountain West Conference race.
Adreian Payne scored 15 points, Draymond Green added 12 and defense-minded No. 11 Michigan State beat No. 3 Ohio State 58-48 Saturday night, ending the Buckeyes' 39-game home winning streak.
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 Getty Images Highlights: No. 14 UNLV 65, No. 13 SDSU 63 Mike Moser scored 19 points, and UNLV forced three turnovers in the final 42 seconds to win. |
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Phil Pressey's first 3-point attempt went in off the glass. The sophomore guard, known more for flashy, no-look passes than his outside touch, took that sketchy success and ran with it.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
The United States swept favored Switzerland out of the Davis Cup on Saturday when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
