In brief: NCAA: abuses in UConn men’s hoops
Men’s basketball: Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun and the program he took from obscurity to national titles have been accused of eight major NCAA infractions, with investigators citing hundreds of improper calls and texts from UConn staff to recruits.
The school released a notice from the NCAA on Friday that lays out the allegations against the Hall of Fame coach, his staff and the school. In addition to the calls and texts, the accusations include giving recruits improper benefits and improperly distributing free tickets to high school coaches and others. Calhoun is cited for failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance.
“It’s not exactly, certainly anywhere near the high point of my career, as a matter of fact it’s certainly one of the lowest points at any time that you are accused of doing something,” said Calhoun, who has led the Huskies since 1986 and taken them to the Final Four three times. “It’s a very serious matter.”
The NCAA alleges 160 impermissible telephone calls and at least 191 impermissible text messages between recruits and coaches, including assistants Beau Archibald, Patrick Sellers, Andre LeFler, associate head coach George Blaney, and then-assistant Tom Moore, who is now the head coach at Quinnipiac.
UConn is to appear before the governing body on Oct. 15 to respond. Attorney Rick Evrard, an outside counsel who advises UConn on NCAA-related matters, said the school will spend the next three months reviewing the allegations.
Molder atop Colonial; Mickelson misses cut
Golf: Bryce Molder shot a career-best 8-under-par 62 and leads after two rounds at the Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas.
Molder’s round got him to 13 under, good for a one-stroke lead over first-round co-leader Jason Bohn and two strokes better than Kris Blanks and Brian Davis.
Phil Mickelson missed the cut at 4 over despite two days of ideal scoring conditions at Hogan’s Alley.
Alex Prugh (Ferris) shot a 5-under 65 and made the cut with a two-day total of 136.
•Couples leads Senior PGA Championship: Fred Couples shot a 4-under 68 at the Colorado Golf Club, giving him a one-shot lead over Tom Kite (69) midway through the 71st Senior PGA Championship at Parker, Colo. Couples sits at 7 under after 36 holes. He had the best round of the day despite teeing off in the afternoon, when high winds routinely disrupted play.
Tom Lehman (71) is two strokes behind Couples, and Lu Chief-soon (70) and Jay Don Blake (69) are tied for fourth, three shots back.
FIU star’s hit streak reaches 52 games
Miscellany: Florida International’s Garrett Wittels now has a 52-game hitting streak, six shy of the NCAA Division I baseball record, after getting hits in both of FIU’s games at the Sun Belt Conference tournament in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The only streak ahead of Wittels on the Division I list is Robin Ventura’s 58-game stretch in 1987.
•Northwestern, Maryland to play for lacrosse title: Northwestern avenged its only loss of the season by defeating North Carolina 15-10 in the semifinals of the NCAA women’s championships at Towson, Md.
The second-seeded Wildcats (20-1) will face top-seed Maryland (21-1) on Sunday in the national championship game. The Terrapins, who advanced with a 14-5 win over Syracuse, will be seeking their 10th NCAA title and first since 2001.
•Swimming chief says he didn’t recommend Uchiyama: The executive director of USA Swimming says he didn’t give a positive job recommendation to the disgraced former national team director who was banned for life for sexual misconduct.
Chuck Wielgus said that his staff is looking into claims that someone recommended Everett Uchiyama for a job at a country club not far from USA Swimming’s headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Uchiyama became director of aquatics at the club in January 2007, a year after he received a lifetime ban from USA Swimming amid claims he began an illicit relationship with a female swimmer who was 14. On Wednesday, after the organization published a list of those banned for life, Uchiyama stepped down from the job.
Basso takes overall lead of Giro d’Italia
Ivan Basso moved into the lead of the Giro d’Italia by finishing second to Michele Scarponi in the mountainous 19th stage at Aprica, Italy.
Basso took the leader’s pink jersey from David Arroyo Duran after the Spaniard finished seventh in the 121-mile leg from Brescia to Aprica.
Arroyo Duran was 3:06 back, and now trails Basso by 51 seconds.
•Bahati Foundation team parts ways with Landis: Disgraced cyclist Floyd Landis, who triggered an uproar last week by accusing Lance Armstrong and other top riders of being involved in doping for years, is now without a racing team.
Rahsaan Bahati, a 28-year-old cyclist from Compton, Calif., and founder of the Bahati Foundation cycling team, said that Landis and Dr. Brent Kay, a longtime sponsor of Landis, were no longer associated with the team.
Bahati cited Landis’ behavior as the main reason for the split.