One of the men who accused longtime Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine of sexual abuse has admitted he made up the molestation story. According to Syracuse Post-Standard, Floyd “David” VanHooser—who is currently serving 16 years to life in prison for various burglary-related charges—wrote in a letter that he lied to police and reporters about Fine because he was upset Fine did not hire a lawyer for him to fight his most recent criminal conviction. He also wrote a second letter (read them both here) directly to Fine, apologizing and explaining his behavior: "I can't put into words how mad I've been at the world...I believe if you had got a good lawyer for me I would have done better than 16 to life or as I see it 16 to death." more ›

A third victim has accused a longtime assistant basketball coach at Syracuse University of sexually abusing him as a child. Bernie Fine, who has coached at Syracuse for 35 years, has already been accused of molesting family friend Bobby Davis “hundreds of times” over a ten-year period, beginning when he was entering seventh grade, as well as Davis' stepbrother Mike Lang. Now Zach Tomaselli, 23, claims Fine molested him in 2002 in a Pittsburgh hotel room when Tomaselli was 13 years old. more ›

A longtime assistant basketball coach at Syracuse University has been placed on administration leave after being accused of molesting two former ball boys. Bobby Davis, 39, said that coach Bernie Fine, who has coached at Syracuse for 35 years, molested him “hundreds of times” over a ten-year period, beginning in 1983, when he was entering seventh grade. The second alleged victim, Mike Lang, now 45, is Davis' stepbrother, and was also a ball boy for several years—he claims Fine started molesting him in fifth or sixth grade. more ›

After being arrested for drunk driving last week, Hofstra's brand new basketball coach Tim Welsh has resigned. Hofstra issued a statement, "The University accepted the resignation in the best interests of the university and of the men's basketball program." Welsh, who had signed a $3 million, five-year deal, had a blood alcohol level of 0.18, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08. The Post reports, "Hofstra athletic director Jack Hayes now has to hire a coach for the second time in five weeks." Is this some kind of karmic payback for sacking the football program? more ›

Hofstra University suspended its very recently hired basketball coach after he was charged with DWI today. According to Newsday (subscription required), "Coach Tim Welsh, his blood-alcohol content more than twice the legal limit, was charged after police found him stopped at a green light with his car running, asleep and drunk behind the wheel, authorities said." more ›

Steve Lavin, who coached UCLA's basketball team from 1996 to 2003, has been selected for St. John's men's basketball team. According to the Daily News, St. John's offered him a "$9- to $9.5-million, six-year deal" and "a handsome budget to hire assistant coaches." The Red Storm hasn't done well lately, so Lavin would be tasked with restructuring the program. ESPN reported yesterday, "Lavin would fit the Red Storm's desire to hire a name coach with personality and charisma that can capture the New York market as it tries to become more relevant in the city." Lavin took the UCLA Bruins to the Elite Eight once and Sweet Sixteen five times. more ›

Butler 63, Syracuse 59: A year after boasting four Elite 8 teams and two squads in the Final Four, the Big East will settle for one in the final eight teams of the NCAA Tournament. Butler answered a Syracuse rally with one of its own to dispatch the top-seeded Orange and move on to the West Regional final. Syracuse, playing without Arinze Onuaku, had 18 turnovers (every player who appeared had at least one) and gave up a late 11-0 run which sealed its fate. Wesley Johnson led the way with 17. West Virginia, however, had no problems beating Washington, and will face Kentucky, which beat Cornell. more ›

Yesterday, the dreams of the Kansas Jayhawks as well as anyone who picked the team to go all the way in their brackets (we're looking at you President Obama) burst as the top-seeded team was upset by Northern Iowa. The No. 9 seed eked out the 69-67 win with Ali Farokhmanesh's three-pointer; Mike Lupica called the upset "one of the biggest and best we've had in a long time." Yesterday also marked No. 2 Villanova's exit from the South Region, thanks to No. 10 St. Mary's. With suggestions that the Big East is overrated, Syracuse coach Jim Boheim said, "Everybody has difficulty in this tournament. It's hard to measure a team or a league by what happens in the NCAA." His team, a No. 1 seed, beat Vermont yesterday. more ›

Later today we will learn the field for March Madness and 65 teams will get a chance to win a championship. It’s an exciting day on the sports schedule and it leads into one of the best three weeks of the year for sports fans. But, the NCAA doesn’t seem content to leave March Madness as is, there are reports that they are looking to expand the field of teams to 96. In the most-likely scenario, that would setup 32 teams with a first round bye. more ›

West Virginia 60 Georgetown 58: Last night, West Virginia won the Big East tournament, defeating Georgetown. WVU's Da'Sean Butler is deemed "Da Man" by the Post—Butler had 20 points, including the game-winning shot with 4.2 seconds left—and he said, "It means the world to me. I grew up around this area.... That's my favorite team, the New York Knicks. I grew up watching this on television. To play so well here since I've been a freshman, it means the world to me." more ›

Georgetown 91, Syracuse 84: Top-seeded Syracuse waited until the third day to play its first game of the Big East tournament. It was a one-and-done. To make matters worse, Arinze Onuaku hurt his knee in the loss, but early signs point to the big man's being ready for the NCAA Tournament next week. Of course, the other story is Georgetown, which got 27 points from Chris Wright and its first win in three games this season against its archrival. more ›

Former Knicks coach and current head coach of Big East powerhouse Louisville Rick Pitino is mired in an extortion scandal where it has come out that he had an affair inside a Kentucky restaurant and then paid for the woman to have an abortion. Karen Cunagin Sypher was indicted back in April of attempting to extort Pitino for $10 million. She had since responded to the charges with her own claims that the coach had raped her inside a restaurant and at a second location in 2003. Now the Louisville Courier-Journal obtained police interviews where Pitino admits to having sex with her at the restaurant after its employees had left; an assistant coach on-hand also told police that he heard "only the sounds of two people that seemed to be enjoying themselves during a sexual encounter." The Long Island native Pitino, a married father of five and Catholic who has a priest travel around with his team, then admitted to paying $3,000 for Sypher to have an abortion because she did not have health insurance, an anecdote unlikely to be brought up by the president in his current town hall meetings. Sypher pleaded not guilty to the extortion charges and prepares to go for trial. Sources say Pitino has no plans to take a leave of absence from Louisville. more ›

Isiah Thomas isn't just leaving the Knicks to coach basketball at Florida International University—he's coaching at FIU for free. The AP reports, "Thomas said his salary the first year from the Golden Panthers will be donated back to the school's athletic department... FIU athletic director Pete Garcia said that when Thomas learned about layoffs and budget cuts, he told the university president that the school should keep his salary." Of course, the Knicks still owe him $12 million for the rest of his contract. Thomas told reporters, "I like rolling up my sleeves. I like taking some from the bottom and building it to the top. There's a lot of risk in that and there is also a lot of reward in that. But that's how I grew up." Remember when Isiah said he would bring a championship to the Knicks? Good luck, FIU. more ›

You may have missed it, but the UConn women’s basketball team just completed what may be the greatest season ever. Not only did they go undefeated, but they destroyed their opponents winning every game by 10 points or more. It’s really nothing new for UConn. The 2009 championship is the sixth they have won in the last 15 seasons and it was their third perfect season. more ›

John Calipari just left Memphis for Kentucky and will receive over $4 million a year to coach basketball there. Jim Calhoun is the highest-paid employee of the state of Connecticut, something you better not ask him about. Roy Williams, the coach at North Carolina, makes around $1.5 million a year. The NCAA itself earns over $500 million a year from its TV contract with CBS. Everyone is making a killing from March Madness except for the people who make it all possible, the players. Why don’t they get a cut of all the profits they generate? more ›

You've got your bracket filled out for the NCAA Tournament and you wanna cheer on the team you picked to win it all. But where does one go to root with like-minded fans? A new map from Mapfaced solves your problem! They have a list of 33 schools and the corresponding bars that will welcome your Carolina Blue, chant "Hoya Saxa!" with you, or enjoy your off-key singing of "On, Wisconsin!" Mapfaced even has the schools listed by tournament region for ease of use. more ›

• Too bad Knicks games aren't this exciting or well-played. The busiest -- and best -- day of the Big East schedule got started with Georgetown's record-setting win over Villanova, which is now squarely back on the NCAA Tournament bubble. The Hoyas won without any points from Roy Hibbert. Those tournament-record 17 3-pointers -- on 28 attempts -- helped more than cancel it out in a 83-62 win.
• The Hoyas will get the Moutaineers of West Virginia, which rode Joe Alexander's 34 points -- two of which came on a sick dunk over Stanely Robinson -- in its win over Connecticut. That game was the first in which won by the team in the darker jersey -- the lower seed. If Bob Huggins' team wasn't in good shape for the NCAA Tournament, it is now. The Huskies, however, lost a chance to help their seeding.
• The first night game had perhaps the most local flavor. Louisville has its share of New York players, and coach Rick Pitino was born in the city and went to St. Dominic's High School in Oyster Bay. Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon loves to recruit around New York and loves to bring his Panthers to New York. Maybe St. John's should get relegated, because the Panthers, including Brooklyn product Levance Fields perform better at the Garden than does the Red Storm. With Thursday's overtime win, they're now 4-0 there this season, with wins over Duke, St. John's and Cincinnati on Wednesday coming earlier.