News Nuggets, 01.28.04
NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...
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Compiled from staff reports
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Pitino hopes to
mend quickly
PREVIOUS NUGGETS |
01.27.04: 'Excruciating'
ailment sidelines Pitino... .. Spike TV gets in on NCAA
tourney action... .. AP hoops poll: U of L ascends to No. 4... ..
More... |
01.26.04: High-flying
Cards too much for Volunteers... .. NCAA nixes FSU
allegations against Gators... .. C-USA basketball standings
& scoreboard... ..
More... |
01.25.04: Rivers
puts on Senior Bowl show for pro scouts... .. Frogs about to
hop to MWC?... .. Colorado, Colorado State confer on new
pact... ..
More... |
01.24.04: Gator
takes command of muscles and fitness for ECU football... ..
Alabama native Rivers finally plays at home... .. Phog
Fieldhouse mystique doesn't faze Spiders... ..
More... |
01.23.04: Rimpf,
C-USA Senior Bowl mates on display for NFL scouts... .. Suit
claims Petrino reneged on scholarship... .. Majerus gets a
pass on discrimination charge... ..
More... |
01.22.04: 2003
was good year at ticket office for C-USA football... .. UNC-CH
brings in former Nebraska assistant... .. Diener on rebound
after neck injury... .. Cards make Cincy's first loss a
doozie... ..
More... |
01.21.04: Lawhorn
named league's best, ECU picked for upper division... ..
Diener goes down in Marquette loss to 49ers... .. Pitino
assistant pleads guilty to DUI... .. Foes feasting on
depleted South Florida... ..
More... |
01.20.04: Tigers'
2004 football slate includes journey to Greenville... ..
Even Hawaii's mascot draws fire for loutish antics... ..
Five C-USA, Carolinas juggernauts gang up in AP Top 10... ..
More... |
01.19.04: Ref
dies during Wesleyan-Shenandoah game... .. Louisville
assistant nabbed for DUI... .. Memphis adds three years to
Calipari pact... .. C-USA basketball standings & scoreboard... ..
More... |
01.18.04: Auburn
CEO resigns over secretive plot to change coaches... .. Nutt
demands on-air apology from 'goofball' Alberts... .. Drunken
fan cuffed after beheading mascot... ..
More... |
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LOUISVILLE — Louisville coach
Rick Pitino might rejoin his team by this weekend after treatment Tuesday
for an undisclosed condition that has caused him pain for months.
Pitino, 51, said Monday he was
taking an indefinite leave of absence to determine the cause of the
``urological-related'' pain in his left side. He arrived at the Cleveland
Clinic late Tuesday morning for a battery of tests.
``I hope to be back coaching
by this weekend and resuming full responsibility with our team,'' Pitino
said in a statement Tuesday. ``It is not a cancer-related or
life-threatening matter.''
Assistant coach Kevin Willard
is leading the team in Pitino's absence. The No. 4 Cardinals (15-1) have
home games against Houston on Wednesday and Marquette on Saturday.
Holy Cross coach Ralph
Willard, Kevin's father and one of Pitino's best friends, said Pitino has
been complaining about the worsening discomfort for the past month.
``I told him, `Get it done.
You have to get to the bottom of this before it becomes debilitating,'''
said Willard, who talks to Pitino daily. ``That's what concerned me.''
Willard said Pitino had tests
for prostate and bladder cancer at a Louisville hospital earlier this month.
Both turned up negative, Willard said.
The Cardinals beat Tennessee
65-62 in Knoxville on Sunday for their 15th consecutive victory. Pitino told
Willard after the game he was going to take a leave and put Kevin in charge
of the team.
Ralph Willard said his
28-year-old son was reluctant to embrace the sudden opportunity.
``Kevin loves Rick. He's like
a second father to him, as well as being his mentor as a coach,'' Willard
said. ``Rick being ill is something nobody wants. It was more a matter of
holding down the fort and keeping things together and praying he'll be
back.''
Kevin Willard was not
immediately available for comment. He was scheduled to fill in for Pitino on
a local radio show at 7 p.m. EST Tuesday. Louisville's players also were
unavailable for comment.
Buccaneers gear up for grabs
JOHNSON CITY — Starting a football team, or
just need some extra shoulder pads, game pants or tackling dummies? East
Tennessee State has equipment for sale.
For budget reasons, the Buccaneers ended
their football program in November after the final game of the 2003 season.
Now the university is preparing to auction off all new and used equipment
starting Feb. 5.
"We determined this was the fairest
method," said David Collins, ETSU vice president for business and finance.
Collins said a few high schools and small
colleges starting new teams had contacted athletic director Dave Mullins.
Each member of the school's last team was allowed to keep his helmet and a
home jersey after the final game Nov. 22.
But the school has new and used athletic
shoes for turf and grass, shoulder pads and other protective gear, jerseys,
game pants, practice shorts, practice shirts, face masks, tackling dummies,
sleds and coaches' communication systems.
All proceeds will be used to fund the
Buccaneers' other teams.
Finley Stadium to host more I-AA title games
CHATTANOOGA — Chattanooga will
remain host of the I-AA national football championship game for the next two
years. The city beat out bids from Cedar Falls, Iowa, and San Antonio,
Dennis Pope, the NCAA's managing director for football, said this week.
The NCAA I-AA Football
Committee, which chose the site, was impressed with the city's support of
the 2003 championship game, Pope said. Chattanooga first hosted the game in
1997. "The community acted positively," he said. "The committee believes it
has a first-rate facility."
The game is played at Finley
Stadium, which is home to the Moccasins of the University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga. Delaware beat Colgate 40-0 in the 2003 title game.
News Nuggets are
compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member
schools, and from Associated Press and
other reports. Copyright 2004
Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be
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