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 ›

There's a lot of pressure to see your friends and family this time of year. And sometimes, you just need a bus to get you there, whether or not your stop is along its intended route. That's what Andrew Hickey, who stole a Greyhound bus from a Syracuse depot and drove it 70 miles to visit a friend, may have been thinking, anyway. more ›

Among other things, the pair are suing over comments Boeheim made after the resurfaced earlier regarding their case, specifically when he said: "The reason this came open now is that another person has come forward, right? It’s his relative....Well, why didn’t he come forward before? Here’s why: The Penn State thing came out and the kid behind this is trying to get money. He’s tried before. And now he’s trying again." Though Boeheim later apologized for questioning the motives of the pair (and they are now suing for unspecified monetary damages), it was too little and too late for Allred and her clients. 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 ›

Georgina Bloomberg, the horse-riding daughter of Mayor Bloomberg, was seriously hurt this weekend after falling during an equestrian jumping event in Syracuse. The 27-year-old suffered a concussion and fractured her spine when her saddle slipped and she fell off the horse she was riding, Radio City, on Friday night. "Despite the injury, she is resting comfortably. She's going to have a full medical evaluation (Monday.) We'll know more then," her equestrian spokesman Kenneth Kraus told reporters. more ›

Police have identified all four casualties in Saturday's Megabus crash near Syracuse, including an 18-year-old New Jersey girl who seemed to be the only passenger getting off at Syracuse from the Toronto-bound bus. Driver John Tomaszewski, who began working for Megabus in the spring, reportedly missed a turn for the Regional Transportation Center in Syracuse, and used a GPS device to find his way down Onondaga Lake Parkway for a way back to the station, which drivers are not authorized to use when they are lost. more ›

Four people are dead and over 20 more injured after a double-decker Megabus crashed into a bridge near Syracuse. The bus driver, who was taking passengers from Philadelphia to Toronto, reportedly got lost and took a route with height restrictions. While on the Onondaga Lake Parkway, the 13-foot bus slammed into the 10-foot, 9-inch high CSX railroad bridge and flipped. Passenger Reena Raitold the Daily News, "The next thing I knew there was a lady on top of me and her blood was just dripping on top of me profusely. I yelled, 'Help, help!'" more ›

The New York Court of Appeals ruled 7-to-0 yesterday that general warrants cannot be used to search every person at the location unless there is reason to believe each person is involved in criminal activity. The ruling came out of a 2006 drug raid in Syracuse, where the police were issued an all-persons-present warrant after informants bought cocaine at the location on two separate occasions. 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 ›

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 ›

The Yankees' new rally technique might be to turn their jerseys inside-out, as a show of solidarity with one young fan who was forced to do so by his Red Sox-loving fourth grade teacher. Nine-year-old Nathan Johns says he was asked to step outside his upstate classroom and turn his CC Sabathia shirt-inside out by Peter (Mister) Addabbo. The teacher apparently keeps Red Sox paraphernalia on display all over the classroom, the real evil empire. Johns told reporters in what we can only imagine was his most adorable voice, "I thought to myself, 'Is he serious or is he kidding?' But he had this look like he wasn't kidding at all.' It was such a horrible day I don’t ever want anything like to happen again.” more ›