My Sports News Digest

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Authorities say the Kentucky-Louisville basketball rivalry boiled over at a Kentucky dialysis clinic when one patient punched another during an argument about the teams. Georgetown police Lt. Robert Swanigan says the altercation began Monday with a verbal exchange between the 68-year-old Kentucky fan and 71-year-old Louisville fan. The men were arguing over who will win when the teams meet in the Final Four on Saturday. Swanigan says the Kentucky fan, who was receiving treatment, flipped off the Louisville fan, and that the Cardinals fan punched him in the face. Swanigan says police were called to the Georgetown [...]

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WASHINGTON – Georgetown forward Hollis Thompson plans to skip his senior year, hire an agent and enter the NBA draft. Coach John Thompson III says in a statement Tuesday the Hoyas “fully anticipated” the 6-foot-8 junior- who is not related to the coach- would leave school. Hollis Thompson initially declared for the 2011 NBA draft, too, but never hired an agent and returned to school. He ranked second on Georgetown this season by averaging 12.8 points and third with 5.5 rebounds per game. He led the Big East by making 43 percent of his 3-point attempts and was an honorable [...]

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MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State athletic director John Currie denied Tuesday that a rift with Frank Martin was the primary reason the popular basketball coach left for the same job at South Carolina. Currie said he tried to offer Martin a chance to restructure his contract several times over the course of the season. That included a last-minute pitch Monday, when Martin called to inform K-State officials that he was accepting an offer from the Gamecocks. Currie was joined at a news conference Tuesday by Kansas State president Kirk Schulz, who offered support of his athletic director. Currie said he [...]

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DURHAM, N.C. – Austin Rivers is leaving Duke after one season for the NBA draft. The freshman guard announced his decision and plans to hire an agent on Monday after team officials said he spent the weekend discussing his future plans with his family at their home outside Orlando, Fla. “Duke has prepared me for the challenges that are ahead both on and off the court,” Rivers said in a statement issued by the school. “I have learned so much from the coaching staff and my teammates that will help me succeed at the next level.” The son of Boston [...]

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Kansas forward Thomas Robinson has even more in common with Blake Griffin now. Not everything, though. Robinson, who played through personal tragedy as a sophomore reserve, capped his junior season by being a unanimous selection to The Associated Press’ All-America team Monday, a day after leading the Jayhawks to the Final Four. The 6-foot-10 Robinson averaged 17.9 points and 11.8 rebounds this season and he was a first-team pick by all 65 members of the national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25. The last unanimous pick was Griffin in 2009. “It’s a blessing to be named even in [...]

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ST. LOUIS – It’s been nine years since Roy Williams left Kansas, and he knows the Jayhawks and their fans have gotten over him. No matter how much time passes, he’ll never be able to say the same. Williams would rather top-seeded North Carolina face almost anyone but his “second-favorite” team Sunday, a trip to the Final Four on the line. None of the players who played for him are still at Kansas, no one on the Jayhawks staff has ties to Williams, and coach Bill Self is building his own legacy in Lawrence. For Williams, however, Kansas will always [...]

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CH EL HILL, N.C.- North Carolina is preparing to play without injured point guard Kendall Marshall. The Tar Heels just haven’t figured out how yet. [ Pat Forde: Pat Forde: Kendall Marshall injury could be the last straw for North Carolina ] Coach Roy Williams said Tuesday that his team’s “preparation is 100 percent” to go without Marshall after the pass-first guard had surgery to repair his broken right wrist. North Carolina is preparing like it won’t have point guard Kendall Marshall in the Sweet 16. Marshall’s status remains unclear for the Midwest Regional semifinal Friday night in St. Louis, [...]

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LAS VEGAS- The Las Vegas Review-Journal is reporting that former UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian is hospitalized and recovering from a “mild heart attack.” Tarkanian’s daughter, Jodie Diamant, told the newspaper that her 81-year-old father was alert and joking after being moved into intensive care. Son Danny Tarkanian says: “It was a mild heart attack. Supposedly, he’s OK right now. He said he feels pretty good, but he was scared.” Diamant told the Review-Journal that Tarkanian started wheezing during a doctor’s visit and was taken to MountainView Hospital. An EKG test revealed Tarkanian was having a heart attack. Diamant says [...]

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