Former Louisville coach Rick Pitino believes the school should take legal action against the NCAA after the governing body nullified the Cardinals of the 2013 men’s basketball title.
Pitino Authentic Trent Brown Jersey , speaking from his attorney’s offices, said that the NCAA’s decision to have Louisville vacate the title as part of sanctions for a sex scandal was unfair.
The sex scandal occurred during Pitino’s coaching tenure, though the Hall of Fame coach once again reiterated that he didn’t know about the sex shows. Pitino did take responsibility for the people he hired as assistant coaches – including Andre McGee. It was McGee who an escort said hired her and other dancers for sex parties on campus with players and recruits that led to the NCAA investigation.
As for taking legal action himself, Pitino said he was defenseless in this situation, but he is suing Louisville for his dismissal. He was not fired after the sex scandal, but Louisville let him go in October after the school acknowledged the university was being investigated as part of a federal college corruption case.
That case is unrelated to the NCAA’s investigation of the sex scandal.
NBA
DALLAS (AP) – The NBA fined outspoken Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban $600,000 on Wednesday for comments about tanking during a podcast with Hall of Famer Julius Erving.
Commissioner Adam Silver said the fine was for ”public statements detrimental to the NBA.” The league said the podcast with Erving was posted Sunday, the day the All-Star game was played in Los Angeles.
Cuban said during the 30-minute interview that he met recently with some of his players and told them ”losing is our best option.” Cuban was trying to illustrate to Erving how he believes he is a transparent owner.
After trading veteran guard Devin Harris to Denver at the deadline this season, Dallas (18-40) is tied for the fewest wins in the NBA and among seven teams with 18 or 19 victories at the All-Star break.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Dirk Nowitzki said he was ”disgusted” to read about allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct by former team president Terdema Ussery in a Sports Illustrated report that described a hostile workplace for women.
The 20-year player who has spent his entire career with the Mavericks told reporters after the first post-All-Star break practice in Los Angeles that he was glad the franchise was addressing the situation by hiring outside counsel to investigate the allegations.
Ussery was accused of making sexually suggestive remarks to several women. He spent 18 years with the team before going to the sports apparel company Under Armour in 2015. Ussery, who was investigated by the team over similar claims in 1998, denied the allegations in a statement to SI.
NHL
LAS VEGAS (AP) – Another game Billy Price Youth Jersey , another record for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Alex Tuch scored the tiebreaking goal in the second period and Vegas pulled away for a 7-3 victory over the Calgary Flames. The win moved the Golden Knights back atop the NHL standings with 84 points – a record for an expansion team in its inaugural season – one point ahead of Eastern Conference-leading Tampa Bay.
Vegas improved to 23-4-2 at home to also set the record for home wins by a team in its inaugural season. It topped the previous mark set by the Gordie Howe-lead 1979-80 Whalers (22-12-6).
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – The Arizona Coyotes acquired goalie Darcy Kuemper from the Los Angeles Kings for forward Tobias Rieder and goalie Scott Wedgewood.
The 27-year-old Kuemper was 10-1-3 with a 2.10 goals-against average in 19 games for the Kings this season. He’s 51-35-17 with a 2.52 GAA in 104 career games with Minnesota and Los Angeles.
The 6-foot-5 Kuemper will join No. 1 goalie Antti Raanta as the netminding pair for the Coyotes.
Kuemper and the Coyotes were finalizing a contract extension Wednesday night. He said he is excited to be part of the growth of an Arizona franchise with a lot of young players.
The 25-year-old Rieder, from Germany, had eight goals and 11 assists in 58 games for Arizona this season. He has 51 goals and 60 assists in 292 career games, all with the Coyotes.
Wedgewood was 5-9-4 with a 3.45 GAA in 20 games this season for Arizona. The 25-year-old goalie appeared in four games for New Jersey in 2015-16.
NFL
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Marty Hurney will be calling the shots once again with the Carolina Panthers.
Carolina re-hired Hurney as its general manager, marking his second full-time stint as general manager. Hurney previously worked for the Panthers from 1998-2012, beginning as GM in 2002. He rejoined the Panthers last July as on an interim basis.
Panthers COO Tina Becker said Hurney did an ”exceptional” job in helping the Panthers to an 11-5 season last year.
The Panthers reinstated Hurney as interim general manager last week after an NFL investigation found no wrongdoing into charges of harassment by his ex-wife. Hurney had been on a paid leave of absence during the investigation and had disputed all accusations through his attorney.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have hired former NFL player Brentson Buckner as defensive line coach.
Buckner spent the past five seasons as defensive line coach for the Arizona Cardinals. They had 203 sacks during his tenure – tied for the seventh-most in the NFL.
The Bucs were last in the league with 22 sacks in 2017.
Buckner was a second-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1994. He also played for the Cincinnati Bengals, San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers during a 12-year career.
The Bucs also announced Offensive lineman Wyatt Teller doesn't need a scouting report to see what's happening with the Buffalo Bills.
He knows his newest team made a splash to open the draft, with a potential franchise quarterback and defensive game-changer arriving in the top half of the first round.
Wyatt got a first-hand look at former Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen Authentic Kentavius Street Jersey , whom the Bills selected seventh overall, while blocking for him on the North team at the Senior Bowl. Tremaine Edmunds, taken 16th overall by Buffalo, was Wyatt's teammate in college at Virginia Tech.
"Tremaine, in my opinion, is an absolute stud. He's one of the best players I've ever played against," Teller said. "(Allen's) deep ball is unlike anything I've ever seen. He can chuck a ball and he's a smart kid. I see an identity coming. You're getting both sides of the ball and this is a place I wanted to go."
Teller joined that duo on Saturday as part of Buffalo's youth movement.
Selected 166th overall, the fifth-round pick may help to fill an unexpected hole along the offensive line. Center Eric Wood abruptly retired at the end of last season after doctors uncovered a career-ending neck injury at his exit physical.
Veteran guard Richie Incognito stunned the team by announcing his retirement earlier this month.
At 6-foot-4, 314 pounds, Teller has the size and power to make an impact in the NFL. He bench presses 420 pounds, squats 600 pounds and is known for his ability to handle defenders in the run game. He has already made one successful transition Authentic Weston Richburg Jersey , moving from the defensive line in high school to the offensive line at Virginia Tech.
Some projections had Teller going as high as the third round, and he'll likely compete for a starting job at guard as a rookie.
"Everything comes down to competition," Teller said. "Everything comes down to working as hard as you can. If I want to make that transition from college to the NFL, it's basically like switching a position. It's going to be difficult and it's all about competing."
Here are some observations about the Bills' draft.
KEEPING THEIR EDGE: One key for the Bills was landing two top-end prospects at premium positions without mortgaging the future or giving away their surplus of picks.
The Bills entered the week with a bounty of draft capital and were able to trade up twice in the first round without surrendering their second first-round pick or any 2019 selections.
"I have got to be honest, I did not expect to be able to get a quarterback and Tremaine," Bills general manager Brandon Beane said.
"I thought we were going to have to give up the 22nd pick. Tremaine would have been in our conversation at 12 if we did not move up and we did not have a quarterback we liked. When he was there and he fell a little bit, we just felt it was such a good fit that we had to go up and get him."
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON? : Buffalo's final pick of the draft was North Carolina wide receiver Austin Proehl, son of former NFL wideout Ricky Proehl. Buffalo chose Austin Proehl with the second-to-last pick of the draft at 255th overall. Ricky Proehl played in the league for 17 seasons, making 669 receptions for 8,878 yards and 54 touchdowns while winning a Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams. Austin Proehl had 91 receptions for 1 Jets Sam Darnold Jersey ,265 yards and five touchdowns in four years with the Tar Heels.
Beane has known Austin Proehl longer than any other prospect given his relationship with Ricky Proehl. Beane was with the Panthers when Ricky played for Carolina from 2004-06, and Ricky was a member of the Panthers' coaching staff from 2011-17.
"I've known him since he was eight, so I've known him for a long time," Beane said of Austin. "We were still looking for competition at the slot position and he was on the board. He's a great young man obviously. We know what kind of person (he is). He's a really polished route runner, refined. He was schooled up by a guy who played 17 years in the league."
MORE DB DEPTH: Buffalo's best position group got even deeper on Day 3 with the selections of cornerback Taron Johnson (121st overall) and safety Siran Neal (154th overall). Johnson is the early favorite to land Buffalo's nickel cornerback role. Neal will have a hard time earning playing time to open his career with standouts Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer ahead of him on the depth chart.
STILL NEED: The Bills chose two receivers late in the draft with Ray-Ray McCloud (sixth round) and Austin Proehl (seven round), but they still desperately need help after fielding one of the worst receiving groups in the league in 2017.
Buffalo does have Kelvin Benjamin returning after playing through much of last season with a knee injury. More speed and experience would be a plus, especially with unproven talent at quarterback in Josh Allen and AJ McCarron.