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FanHouse http://www.fanhouse.com FanHouse http://www.fanhouse.com/media/feedlogo.gif FanHouse http://www.fanhouse.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/ Seton Hall's Lawrence Facing DWI, Suspended Indefinitely http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/10/seton-halls-lawrence-facing-dwi-and-questionable-future/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/10/seton-halls-lawrence-facing-dwi-and-questionable-future/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/10/seton-halls-lawrence-facing-dwi-and-questionable-future/#comments

Filed under: Seton Hall, Big East, Police Blotter

The only good news in this story is that somehow Seton Hall's Keon Lawrence did not kill anyone. This, despite causing a two-car accident while driving the wrong way in the express lanes of the Garden State Parkway.

Lawrence's blood-alcohol level was over the .08 limit -- the exact level not known -- and was charged with driving while intoxicated. Not only that, but Lawrence was driving with a suspended license and had two traffic warrants outstanding. The accident occurred after 3AM Monday morning.

Head coach Bobby Gonzalez suspended Lawrence, who was expected to play this season after transferring from Missouri, indefinitely.

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]]> Keon Lawrence Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-11-10T09:27:00 00:00 Isiah Thomas Will Coach FIU Tonight Despite Mother's Heart Attack http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/09/isiah-thomas-will-coach-fiu-tonight-despite-mothers-heart-attac/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/09/isiah-thomas-will-coach-fiu-tonight-despite-mothers-heart-attac/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/09/isiah-thomas-will-coach-fiu-tonight-despite-mothers-heart-attac/#comments

Filed under: UNC, Mid-Majors, Coaches

Isiah Thomas

With the exception of New York Knicks fans, there will not be much booing tonight when Isiah Thomas steps on the court at the Dean Dome. UNC fans will not be cheering for Thomas or his FIU team, but who is going to boo a guy on the same day his mother has heart surgery after a heart attack on Saturday?

According to Jeff Goodman at FOXSports.com, Thomas' mother told him to go and coach the game. This will be Thomas' national debut as a college coach. Not much is expected from a very bad Golden Panthers team that has to play the defending national champs in Chapel Hill.

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]]> Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-11-09T12:24:00 00:00 Season Quietly Tips Tonight http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/09/season-quietly-tips-tonight/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/09/season-quietly-tips-tonight/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/09/season-quietly-tips-tonight/#comments

Filed under: Syracuse, UNC, ACC, Big East, Campus, Media Watch

Tonight is the opening night for college basketball. Defending champion North Carolina tips off at 7PMtonight on ESPN, followed by Syracuse. Plus teams like California and Ohio State start their season as part of one of the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. All with little hype despite being on one of the ESPN family of networks.

So, the quiet start kicks off what has become the annual lament among college basketball writers. There are no festivities. There is no "celebration." There is no coordination. There is only a quiet and disjointed start to college basketball.

The reasons are familiar. Both external and internal. Pro and college football are dominating most of the market. The NBA and NHL have been underway for a few weeks, as well. Plus the NCAA and basketball programs do themselves no favors with teams no organized start to the season. Teams kicking off their season with no rhyme or reason (other than planning around on-campus football games). College basketball just gets lost in the shuffle.

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]]> Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-11-09T09:54:00 00:00 Never a Dull Moment for SEC Coaches http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/sec-basketball-coaches-almost-as-entertaining-as-football-counte/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/sec-basketball-coaches-almost-as-entertaining-as-football-counte/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/05/sec-basketball-coaches-almost-as-entertaining-as-football-counte/#comments

Filed under: Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, SEC, Coaches

John Calipari

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive might have been hoping that when college football season ends, he would not have to be issuing weekly warnings to his high profile coaches to watch their mouths. But it looks more like he will be chiding coaches some time into April.

The addition of John Calipari at Kentucky means the SEC coaching family gatherings promise to be more entertaining. Calipari has never been one to build warm relationships with other coaches in his conference (right, John Chaney?). His soured relationship with Rick Pitino should make his meetings with Florida's Billy Donovan more interesting.

The warm and special relationship that was built during his time at Memphis, with Tennessee's Bruce Pearl will undoubtedly produce the most entertainment. .

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]]> Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-11-05T09:00:00 00:00 Syracuse Loses Exhibition Game to Complete Lousiest Day http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/syracuse-loses-exhibition-game-to-complete-the-lousiest-day/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/syracuse-loses-exhibition-game-to-complete-the-lousiest-day/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/syracuse-loses-exhibition-game-to-complete-the-lousiest-day/#comments

Filed under: Syracuse, Big East, Fans

There are days that make you question why you put up with the things you do as a fan. For Syracuse fans, Tuesday was that day. The continuing fallout from the football team's best player abruptly quitting (ahead of an apparent second suspension) has been tough enough.

Now the basketball team drops an exhibition game to a Division II school, 82-79. This was not just losing to a D-II program, like Michigan State and Ohio State both did two years ago. That's embarrassing enough. This was losing to the Le Moyne Dolphins, a D-II school located right in Syracuse. It really doesn't get any more humiliating than that. Bragging rights in town for the year.

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]]> Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-11-03T23:00:00 00:00 Tim Floyd Plays Peacemaker in Catfight http://backporch.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/tim-floyd-is-the-peacemaker/ http://backporch.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/tim-floyd-is-the-peacemaker/ http://backporch.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/tim-floyd-is-the-peacemaker/#comments

by Chas RichWell, at least Tim Floyd is not simply spending his free time down in Mississippi waiting to find out what the NCAA investigations will eventually/someday/maybe rule regarding O.J. Mayo and what kind of asylum he was running at USC.

No, Floyd has found time to go to the Morongo Resort and Casino in beautiful Cabazon, Calif. Apparently a place where things can get a little wild. Floyd waded hip deep into trying to break up a cat fight. Blogger Spencer Hall sees this as proof of a future as a bouncer at the casino. Judging by the women in the fight, and willingness to pick up a chair to attempt to go upside Floyd's head, I'd say he should be aiming to be security on the Maury Povich Show. Video after the jump.

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]]> tim floyd Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-11-03T22:20:00 00:00 Arkansas Basketball Players Face New Inquiry Into Rape Allegations http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/arkansas-facing-new-inquiry-into-rape-allegations/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/arkansas-facing-new-inquiry-into-rape-allegations/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/arkansas-facing-new-inquiry-into-rape-allegations/#comments

Filed under: Arkansas, SEC, Campus, Police Blotter

A serious situation at the University of Arkansas seemed to resolve itself last month when it was determined that there was insufficient evidence to file rape charges against three unnamed Arkansas Razorback basketball players. For a program that has had numerous off-the-court distractions and dysfunctional coaching searches, this was a small relief not to have it hanging over its head when the season got underway.

So much for that plan. Questions quickly arose surrounding the prosecutor that determined there was insufficient evidence. Now the Razorbacks are looking at a case that's being reopened by a special prosecutor appointed by the state, just as the season opener looms.

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]]> Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-11-03T14:43:00 00:00 Knight Remains Away from Indiana http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/knight-remains-away-from-indiana/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/knight-remains-away-from-indiana/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/knight-remains-away-from-indiana/#comments

Filed under: Indiana, Big Ten, Coaches, Media Watch

It really shouldn't come as a surprise that Bob Knight would opt not to attend his own induction into the Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame. His departure from Indiana was ugly, well-documented and Knight has never been one to easily forgive and forget.

Or maybe he is mellowing just a bit. Rather than not even respond to the invitation, Knight actually let Indiana know that he would not attend.Not just passing word along through an intermediary or via press release. He called Indiana's athletic director Fred Glass directly. A former sportswriter that is a longtime friend of Knight, will represent Knight at the ceremony.

The reason claimed is that Knight would not attend because he didn't want a media crunch that would ensue were he to attend, to overshadow the induction of many of his former players. That almost seems reasonable except for one thing. Considering Bob Knight is being inducted, regardless of his physical presence, he will overshadow the event.

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]]> Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-11-03T10:08:00 00:00 Billy Gillispie Admits to DUI http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/billy-gillispie-admits-to-dui/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/billy-gillispie-admits-to-dui/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/billy-gillispie-admits-to-dui/#comments

Filed under: Kentucky, Coaches

Twice before in his life, Billy Gillispie had been accused of drunk driving. He avoided an actual admission and penalties the first couple of times. The third time was the not quite the charm as the former Kentucky coach pled guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol in Anderson County District Court in Kentucky.

Gillispie limited most of his responses to the judge to one word answers. He received a sentence similar to most first-time offenders in Kentucky. A 30-day suspension of his driver's license, a fine plus all court costs and being required to complete an Alcohol Drivers Education Program.

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]]> Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-11-02T21:36:00 00:00 Kentucky Will Have to Wait Two More Weeks for John Wall http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/30/kentucky-will-have-to-wait-two-more-weeks-for-john-wall/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/30/kentucky-will-have-to-wait-two-more-weeks-for-john-wall/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/30/kentucky-will-have-to-wait-two-more-weeks-for-john-wall/#comments

Filed under: Kentucky, SEC

Oh, the uber-talented guard is practicing and with the Wildcats and impressing all who see John Wall play. It's just that the NCAA has suspended him for the first two games. Well, an exhibition and the season opener. So it is more like 1.5 games. Wall will miss the exhibition game against NAIA Campbellsville on Monday, November 2. He will also miss the season opener with Morehead State. That means his debut will be on November 16 against Miami (Ohio).

Wall's eligibility was called into question because his AAU coach/adviser/future entourage and hanger-on Brian Clifton had also been failing to be an NBA agent while Wall was being recruited as a high school junior. Clifton had helped pay for some of Wall's travel expenses for unofficial visits to schools. Wall also has to repay Clifton almost $800.

Somehow, Kentucky should be able to find a way to get past those first two opponents without Wall.

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]]> John CalipariJohnCalipariKentucky WildcatsKentuckyWildcats Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-10-30T21:45:00 00:00 Man Charged With Murder of UConn's Jasper Howard http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/27/arrest-made-in-uconn-player-murder/ http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/27/arrest-made-in-uconn-player-murder/ http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/27/arrest-made-in-uconn-player-murder/#comments

Filed under: Connecticut, Big East, Police Blotter

Connecticut police have charged a man with the murder of Connecticut football player Jasper Howard. John William Lomax, 21, has been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit assault.

His attorney insists Lomax was attempting to break up the fight. His bond was set at $2 million.

Police charged Hakim Muhammad, 20, with conspiracy to commit assault, and 21-year-old Jamal Todd with pulling the fire alarm, which reportedly began the fight.

None of the three men are listed as students or employees at the university, according to the school's Web site.

Howard, 20, was stabbed just after 12:30AM, Oct. 18, following a school-sanctioned dance on the Connecticut campus. He was airlifted to a Hartford hospital where he died later that morning.

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]]> jasper howard Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-10-27T12:06:00 00:00 Washington Makes Unserious Opening Offer to Play Gonzaga http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/27/washington-makes-unserious-opening-offer-to-play-gonzaga/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/27/washington-makes-unserious-opening-offer-to-play-gonzaga/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/27/washington-makes-unserious-opening-offer-to-play-gonzaga/#comments

Filed under: Gonzaga, Washington, WCC, Pac-10, Media Watch

Having lost eight of 10 games to Gonzaga between 1997 and 2006, the Washington Huskies felt they needed a break because "the schedule began to get away from us." Apparently, that was code for "tired of being beaten by an in-state team from a non-power conference."

Well, after a few years of finding themselves, Washington would like to renew the series with Gonzaga. Just as long as the games are played for Washington's benefit.

Rather than play a home-and-home type of series with Gonzaga as had been done (and how Gonzaga plays it with Washington State, Wake Forest, Illinois, and Michigan State), Washington wants a three game series to be played at Key Arena in Seattle as a neutral site contest. Apparently playing a scant five miles from Washington's campus still constitutes a "neutral" site to Washington's athletic department as long as the ticket sales are split 50-50.

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]]> lorenzo romarLorenzoRomarMark FewMarkFew Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-10-27T11:37:00 00:00 Gillispie Goes Halfsies With Kentucky http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/13/gillispie-goes-halfsies-with-kentucky/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/13/gillispie-goes-halfsies-with-kentucky/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/13/gillispie-goes-halfsies-with-kentucky/#comments

Filed under: Kentucky, SEC, Coaches

No one really expected ex-Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie's lawsuit against Kentucky for breach of contract to ever make it to trial. Neither side really wanted everything in the open court, and dragging into the actual college basketball season.

So it was not a real surprise that the parties agreed to mediation and a settlement was reached for roughly half of the $6 million dollars in dispute. Gillispie gets $2.98 million and his attorney and mediation costs paid by Kentucky. Or roughly one-tenth of the amount Kentucky is paying John Calipari over the next eight years.

Gillispie gets to put one more aspect of his time in Kentucky behind him. Arguably that was the easiest item. He still has to sell his house in a bad real estate market and settle that DUI charge.

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]]> Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-10-13T23:07:00 00:00 Michigan State Upends Michigan http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/03/michigan-state-avoids-classic-conservative-collapse/ http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/03/michigan-state-avoids-classic-conservative-collapse/ http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/03/michigan-state-avoids-classic-conservative-collapse/#comments

Filed under: Michigan, Michigan State, Big 10

Mark Dantonio

Michigan State has its first two-game winning streak against Michigan for the first time since 1967, but the Spartans did not make it easy on themselves. Blowing a 20-6 lead with less than five minutes left in the game and needing overtime to get the win.

Michigan State's defense finally looked like a legitimate defense for most of the game. They completely held Tate Forcier and the Michigan offense in check for most of the game. While the Michigan State offense struggled at times in the first half, they began to wear down the Wolverine defense with a balanced attack along with some big miscues by Michigan. Especially a fourth-and-inches at the Michigan 16, where a fake punt failed badly.

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]]> Mark DantonioTate Forcier Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-10-03T18:30:00 00:00 Do Not Expect to See Renardo Sidney Suit Up for Mississippi State http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/11/do-not-expect-to-see-renardo-sidney-suit-up-for-mississippi-stat/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/11/do-not-expect-to-see-renardo-sidney-suit-up-for-mississippi-stat/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/11/do-not-expect-to-see-renardo-sidney-suit-up-for-mississippi-stat/#comments

Filed under: Mississippi State, SEC, Media Watch

Sure, Renardo Sidney was academically certified to attend Mississippi State. That's meaningless if the NCAA will not certify his amateur status to play basketball for the single season before he goes pro. At the moment he is not cleared and the NCAA does not even have to make an actual decision as to his eligibility since Sidney and his family will not turn over requested financial records.

The NCAA wants tax and bank records from the Sidney family to help explain how the family could move from Mississippi to Los Angeles and afford to rent multi-million dollar homes to reside. Especially considering that Sonny Vaccaro has stated that he gave the Sidney's $25,000 to make the move and Renardo Sidney's father became a consultant to a sneaker company for no real reason other than because he is Renardo Sidney's father.

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]]> Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-09-11T08:01:00 00:00 Arkansas Players Not Charged With Rape http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/09/arkansas-players-not-charged-with-rape/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/09/arkansas-players-not-charged-with-rape/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/09/arkansas-players-not-charged-with-rape/#comments

Filed under: Arkansas, SEC, Police Blotter

You know it has not been the best couple years for a program when the best news these days is that three unnamed Arkansas players will not face charges after being accused of rape. The players were never named, but speculation was rampant as you would expect.

A woman filed charges with the University of Arkansas Police Department, in which she alleged that she was raped at a fraternity party on August 27. The subsequent investigation found inconsistent evidence from witness and the alleged victim herself. Couple that with alcohol being involved, and it was not terribly surprising that the prosecutor declined to pursue the case.

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]]> Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-09-09T17:04:00 00:00 Billy Gillispie Reportedly Enters Rehab http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/09/gillispie-reportedly-enters-rehab/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/09/gillispie-reportedly-enters-rehab/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/09/gillispie-reportedly-enters-rehab/#comments

Filed under: Kentucky, SEC, Coaches, Media Watch

The rumors have long swirled among message boards and others that former Kentucky and Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie enjoyed the alcoholic beverages a little too much. Following his third arrest in his head coaching career for drunk driving (still no convictions, though) Gillispie seems to have reached a point that he has to admit that he has a problem.

Gillispie has checked himself in to the John Lucas After Care Program in Houston, according to WKYL TV. Lucas was a former NBA coach and player that famously battled addictions for years and eventually began running one of the most popular rehab programs for athletes and coaches.

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]]> Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-09-09T10:02:00 00:00 Cincinnati Still On Top of Big East http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/07/cinci-still-on-top-of-big-east/ http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/07/cinci-still-on-top-of-big-east/ http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/07/cinci-still-on-top-of-big-east/#comments

Filed under: Cincinnati, Rutgers, Big East

You know, the big flaw in thinking of Rutgers as the favorite to win the Big East this year? Most of it was based on a schedule that has the best teams in the conference playing in Piscataway. That theory blows up if the Scarlet Knights cannot win those games.

A 47-15 shellacking at the hands of Cinci puts Rutgers back in the pack of Big East teams that might win. Instead, the Bearcats move to the head of the Big East class. Their offense looked like a machine against Rutgers. Tony Pike picked apart the secondary and dealt with very little pressure. Cinci piled up 564 yards on offense.

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]]> Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-09-07T23:07:00 00:00 ACC Would Like a Do-Over for the Opening Weekend http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/06/acc-would-like-a-do-over-for-the-opening-weekend/ http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/06/acc-would-like-a-do-over-for-the-opening-weekend/ http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/06/acc-would-like-a-do-over-for-the-opening-weekend/#comments

Filed under: Boston College, Clemson, Duke Football, Georgia Tech, Maryland, NC State, UNC, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, ACC

This was not the way the ACC was hoping to start the 2009 college football season. The conference is still trying to establish that it is on par with the SEC, Big 12 or the Big 10. Instead, it has barely kept itself in front of the Big East. The early returns suggest more of the same this year.

Through the 10 games to start the season, ACC teams went a combined 4-6. That's bad enough, considering that the ACC was a collective 0-4 against teams from the other BCS conferences. With Virginia Tech losing to Alabama in a semi-neutral site, Wake Forest suffering a home loss to Baylor, Cal destroying Maryland, and of course the opening night nationally-broadcast loss by NC State as the harbinger for this lost weekend. When the best win of the weekend is Clemson trouncing a middle-of-the-pack Sun Belt foe in Middle Tennessee State, that is not a good sign.

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]]> Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-09-06T22:35:00 00:00 FIU Now Happy to Play UNC http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/01/fiu-now-happy-to-play-unc/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/01/fiu-now-happy-to-play-unc/ http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/01/fiu-now-happy-to-play-unc/#comments

Filed under: UNC, ACC, Mid-Majors

Merely a week ago Florida International, their coach Isiah Thomas and athletic director Pete Garcia were threatening to pull out of a preseason basketball tournament when they found out that they were going to play UNC rather than Ohio State. Forget that their contract specified that it was and either/or situation at the discretion of the organizers, they were taking a stand against being "bullied." They were standing up for the "little guys" in college basketball.

Yeah. So much for that. It's now about the greater good of the Coaches vs. Cancer charity that the tournament supports.

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]]> Chas Rich chas-rich 2009-09-01T23:34:00 00:00