GMU coach draws Seton Hall’s attention

Seton Hall was granted permission Wednesday to talk to George Mason coach Jim Larranaga, who led the Patriots to an improbable berth in last weekend’s Final Four.

Seton Hall contacted Mason athletic director Tom O’Connor, who gave the Pirates the go-ahead to speak to Larranaga as they seek a replacement for Louis Orr.

George Mason, of Fairfax, Va., had never won an NCAA tournament game until Larranaga led the school to upsets over Michigan State, North Carolina and Connecticut in less than two weeks. The Patriots’ charmed run ended Saturday when they lost to eventual champion Florida in the national semifinals.

Larranaga’s upbeat nature made him a media star, and he was expected to attract coaching offers from major schools. He said repeatedly he intended to stay at George Mason.

•Former UCLA coach John Wooden, 95, went home from the hospital after a bout of diverticulitis.

The Hall of Fame coach was released in the morning and will rest at home for the next few days, UCLA sports information director Marc Dellins said.

•Former Rutgers coach Gary Waters accepted the coaching job at Cleveland State, and as early as today is expected to join a team that has not been to the NCAA tournament in 20 years, a person familiar with the search told The Associated Press.

Football

Pitt All-American dies

Marshall Goldberg, an All-America running back at the University of Pittsburgh and key contributor to the Chicago Cardinals’ 1947 NFL championship, died Monday at 88 at a Chicago nursing home.

Goldberg spent several years battling the effects of brain injuries caused by numerous concussions during his playing days, said his wife, Rita Goldberg.

•Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb and linebacker Jeremiah Trotter were found guilty in Glassboro, N.J., of parking their trucks in zones for the handicapped, although both players said they were not behind the wheel at the time.

•Buffalo signed four free agents, including offensive tackle Aaron Gibson, a former first-round draft pick.

Horse racing

Brother Derek favored

Brother Derek was installed as the 3-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s $750,000 Santa Anita Derby in Arcadia, Calif., where only five other 3-year-old colts will challenge him.

Brother Derek was assigned the No. 2 post at the draw. He has won five of seven career starts, with three in a row.

•Achilles of Troy, winner of the Whirlaway and Count Fleet at Aqueduct, won’t race in the Kentucky Derby because of injuries to its left front leg and rear end, his owner said from Louisville, Ky.

Miscellany

Warhawks adopted

Louisiana-Monroe has changed its mascot from Indians to Warhawks.

The school, which used the Indians nickname for 75 years, picked the new mascot from votes in an online poll after the NCAA banned the use of Indian names and imagery.

•Clint Almquist, a mechanic on rookie Clint Bowyer’s team, was suspended by NASCAR for a rules violation at Martinsville Speedway during Sunday’s event.

•At Grenoble, France, Doug Coombs, 48, of Jackson, Wyo., an expert skier and mountain guide who operated ski camps in the United States and France, was killed in a fall from a cliff in the French Alps, officials said.

•The University of Colorado suspended seven members of the men’s golf team and the interim coach for undisclosed violations of team rules and athletic department policy.