June 14, 1997 – Bulls Offseason Drama: Will They Return?

After the Bulls title in 1997, the team appeared to be falling apart behind closed doors.

Tension between head coach Phil Jackson and general manager Jerry Krause were at an all-time high, and it was uncertain whether or not Michael Jordan would return for the 1997-98 season.

The issues began with Krause, who had a particularly tumultuous relationship with Jackson and most of the players. He and Jackson were friends during the early 90s, but their relationship worsened over time.

Reports allege that during the summer of 1997, Krause’s stepdaughter got married –  all Bulls coaches were invited with the exception of Jackson. Even Tim Floyd, then the head coach at Iowa State, with whom Krause was openly courting as Jackson’s successor was invited. (Floyd did indeed take over after Jackson left the Bulls.)

This incident drove Jackson and Krause even further apart. It was clear that Krause wanted Jackson gone, but elected to bring him back on a one-year deal for the 1997-98 season. The Bulls plan was quite clear, though. Regardless of how well Jackson did, he would not be brought back the following year.

In David Halberstam’s book Playing for Keeps, Halberstam reports that Krause told Jackson, “I don’t care if it’s 82-and-0 this year, you’re f****** gone.”

The decision to retain Jackson prompted Michael Jordan to sign a one-year contract with the Bulls worth a reported $33 million.

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(CBS) After Wednesday night’s 67-62 loss to Purdue at home, Illinois head coach Bruce Weber sounded like a man prepared to lose his job.

And that’s because barring an unexpected run deep into the NCAA Tournament, Weber will likely be looking for a new job at the end of the season.

According to multiple sources, key Illini boosters have made it clear to Illinois Athletic Director Mike Thomas that Weber’s $3.9 million buyout should not stand in the way of making a change. A similar situation played out in the fall when head football coach Ron Zook was fired with a $2.6 million buyout.

Thomas was willing to eat Zook’s buyout and considering the pressure from boosters to fire Weber, it will take a miracle for Weber’s situation to play out differently.

During the Big Ten Tournament last March, the same sources said Illinois was prepared to fire Weber if the Illini did not make the NCAA Tournament. Such a scenario was unlikely however, as Illinois’ bubble situation was not nearly as dire as it is this season. Illinois lost to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals and still safely made the NCAA field as a No. 9 seed.

That, coupled with a first-round win over UNLV, made it easy for then-Illinois Athletic Director Ron Guenther to give Weber another year. The decision was even easier to make considering it was likely he would be stepping down as AD when his contract was up in the summer.

Enter new AD Mike Thomas, who walked into Champaign with the same mounting pressure from boosters regarding both Weber and Zook.

Zook’s fate was sealed when he lost six straight games following a 6-0 start to the season. And now Weber is headed down a similar road.

After a win over Ohio State Jan. 10, Illinois was 15-3 overall and atop the Big Ten with a 4-1 conference record. Since then, the Illini are just 1-7 and have lost four in a row.

So no one should be surprised that Weber sounded like a defeated man after losing to Purdue Wednesday night.

“It’s just sad. I feel really bad for my staff. They worked so hard. Countless hours. Preparation,” Weber said. “The sad thing about the whole thing, and I guess it’s my fault, instead of creating toughness and developing a team, I coached not to lose all year. And that’s really sad to be honest.”

Evidence of coaching “not to lose” played out Wednesday night with 5:08 remaining and the Illini down 60-58. Illinois was on a 7-2 run with Joseph Bertrand throwing down a thunderous dunk and adding a put-back jumper on back-to-back possessions to pull the Illini within two. Despite some noticeably empty seats, Assembly Hall was the loudest it had been all night and the Boilermakers were suddenly on their heels.

And then Weber called timeout.

The momentum was halted and the crowd silenced by their own head coach.

Purdue finished the game on a 7-4 run that included Brandon Paul hoisting an ill-advised 3-pointer out of a timeout with 11 seconds left.

“You have to develop a culture and the last three years all I did was worry about winning instead of developing a culture of toughness. And that’s my fault,” Weber said. “The kids, we’re always mollycoddling them.”

Unfortunately for Bruce, few will be mollycoddling him in Champaign over the next month. The writing is on the wall: He needs a miracle NCAA Tournament run or else.

Adam Hoge

Adam is the Sports Content Producer for CBSChicago.com and specializes in coverage of the White Sox, Blackhawks and college sports. He was born and raised in Lincoln Park and attended St. Ignatius College Prep before going off to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he earned a Journalism degree. Follow him on Twitter @AdamHogeCBS and read more of his columns here.

The Broncos (11-15, 5-7 Mid-American) were in control most of the way, going from a 10-10 game to a 34-24 halftime lead. Ward scored 12 of his points in the first half.

Flenard Whitfield had 17 points and eight rebounds for Western Michigan. Nate Hutcheson scored 15 points and Brandon Pokley scored 11, all in the second half when the Broncos turned it into a runaway thanks to a 17-0 run that gave them a 63-38 lead.

Reserve Tony Nixon was the only player in double figures for the Huskies (3-21, 2-10) with 12 points. Northern Illinois was out-rebounded 39-26.

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Lewis Jackson and D.J. Byrd added 13 points each and Terone Johnson scored 12 for Purdue (17-9, 7-6 Big Ten).

The Illini (16-10, 5-8) repeatedly closed to within two over the game’s final 10 minutes. But the Boilermakers found a way to climb away every time.

The last came on Hummel’s free throw with 19.5 seconds to play that put the Boilers up 65-62. With Illinois forced to foul, Hummel then sank two more.

Freshman Tracy Abrams led Illinois with a career-high 22 points. Brandon Paul added 19 points.

Illinois has lost seven of eight while Purdue has won two straight to stay in the top half of the Big Ten.

© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sweatt was mobbed by his teammates along the boards as the Wolves celebrated their seventh win in the last nine games. Jordan Schroeder contributed one goal and one assist while Tim Miller and Michael Davies added goals as the Wolves set up a big weekend series with first-place Charlotte.

The Wolves (28-18-1-3) pulled within 2 points of Charlotte in the American Hockey League’s Midwest Division. The Checkers visit Allstate Arena on Saturday and Sunday.

“We had a pretty good start, lost momentum and then Billy rescued us,” said Wolves head coach Craig MacTavish. “We have to tighten a few things up heading into the weekend series against Charlotte, but we are looking forward to playing them.”

Jamie Johnson, Grand Rapids’ leading goal-producer, opened the scoring with a power-play marker at the 3:46 mark, but the Wolves answered with two goals in a 33-second stretch.

Forward Nathan Longpre opened the spree when he carried the puck into the zone, spun around as he approached Grand Rapids goaltender Jordan Pearce and fired a backhand pass to Miller in front of the goal. Miller flipped home the puck at the 13:45 mark for his 14th goal of the season. Longpre and defenseman Adam Polasek earned assists.

Moments later, the Wolves attacked the goalmouth again. Schroeder’s shot from close range was denied, but Davies collected the rebound just outside of the crease and lifted it over Pearce’s glove at 14:18 of the first for his fourth goal in the last six games. Schroeder and Sweatt notched assists on the play.

Chicago jumped ahead 3-1 at 1:23 of the second period as Mike Duco kicked the puck to Schroeder in the circle. Pearce got a piece of Schroeder’s elevated shot, but not enough to prevent his 15th goal of the year. Grand Rapids coach Curt Fraser sent in backup goaltender Tom McCollum at that juncture.

The Griffins (20-20-5-4) pulled within 3-2 with a power-play goal at the 10:59 mark of the second. Minard flew in from the right wing and was denied by Wolves goaltender Eddie Lack, but Joakim Andersson swatted the rebound in mid-air into the back of the net.

Grand Rapids tied it at 10:37 of the third when defenseman Brendan Smith rifled home a one-timer from just inside the blue line through traffic.

Lack (13-12-3) posted 36 saves to win for the fourth time in five starts. McCollum (6-7-0) took the loss despite stopping all 15 shots in regulation.

The Wolves host Charlotte on Saturday and Sunday at Allstate Arena with the Midwest Division’s top spot on the line. For ticket information, visit ChicagoWolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.

BOX SCORE/NOTES:

Grand Rapids 1 1 1 0 — 3
Chicago 2 1 0 1 — 4

First Period—1, Grand Rapids, Johnson 18 (Minard), 3:46 pp; 2, Chicago, Miller 14 (Longpre, Polasek), 13:45; 3, Chicago, Davies 7 (Schroeder, Sweatt), 14:18. Penalties—Roussel, Chicago (tripping), 2:10; Callahan, Grand Rapids (slashing), 4:22; Smith, Grand Rapids (tripping), 9:43.

Second Period—4, Chicago, Schroeder 15 (Duco), 1:23; 5, Grand Rapids, Andersson 13 (Minard, Nyquist), 10:59 pp. Penalties—Pyett, Grand Rapids (hooking), 2:38; Duco, Chicago (cross-checking), 3:44; Ferraro, Grand Rapids (fighting), 7:59; Miller, Chicago (fighting), 7:59; Mancari, Chicago (slashing), 10:12.

Third Period—6, Grand Rapids, Smith 9 (Janik, Johnson), 10:37. Penalties—Connauton, Chicago (cross-checking), 0:59.

Overtime—7, Chicago, Sweatt 11 (Tanev, Connauton), 0:18. Penalties—None.

Shots on goal—Grand Rapids: 13-15-11-0—39; Chicago: 9-9-7-1—26. Power plays—Grand Rapids 2-4; Chicago 0-3. Goalies—Grand Rapids, Pearce (7-10), McCollum (15-16); Chicago, Lack (36-39). A—3,527. Referees—Trent Knorr and Francis Charron; Linesmen—Al Stensland and Aaron Mills.

Napier had 14 points and 11 assists and Oriakhi scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Huskies (16-9, 6-7 Big East), who snapped a two game losing streak. Jeremy Lamb led the team with 18 points and Andre Drummond had 15 points and nine rebounds.

Jeremiah Kelly had 16 points and Cleveland Melvin scored 11 to lead DePaul (11-14, 2-11), which has lost five in a row.

UConn improves to 2-2 since Calhoun took an indefinite medical leave of absence suffering from spinal stenosis.

The Huskies had lost six of their last seven games and won for just the fourth time in 2012, breaking the 70-point barrier for the first time since New Year’s Eve.

Connecticut never trailed in this one.

The Huskies scored the game’s first eight points, forcing Oliver Purnell to take a timeout just over 3 minutes into the first half. A 10-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from DeAndre Daniels, gave the Huskies a 22-8 lead and forced another DePaul timeout.

The Huskies shot just 36 percent from the floor (14 for 39) in the first half, but led 34-24 at halftime by holding DePaul to just 11 baskets and outrebounding the Blue Devils 28-17.

Connecticut dominated the boards, outrebounding DePaul 50-27, including 20-7 on the offensive end.

UConn opened the second half on a 15-4 run and led 49-29 after a pair of dunks by Drummond, and a fast-break layup from Napier.

DePaul was able to cut the lead to 14, but couldn’t get any closer.

The Huskies have won seven of their last eight meetings between the two schools, including the last six.

DePaul has lost 10 of its last 11, and has just two conference wins. Melvin, who had originally committed to UConn before changing his mind in 2010, had been averaging over 18 points a game. He hit just five of his 14 shots against the Huskies.

UConn was coming off road losses to Louisville and Syracuse. The Huskies, who had been averaging just over 60 points a game in their last 11, improved to 4-8 in 2012.

Calhoun missed his fourth game on Wednesday as a result of spinal stenosis, and also will miss Saturday’s game against Marquette and Monday’s game against Villanova.

“I am happy that we seem to have located the problem and I am currently moving forward with treatment,” Calhoun said in a statement. “We have to give that treatment time to see whether or not it is effective.

The coach, who has been experiencing back pain since last summer, took an indefinite leave of absence on Feb. 3.

“I’m hoping by the middle of next week, we will have a much clearer picture of where we are and when I can look forward to getting back to doing what I do,” Calhoun said.

Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spine, normally associated with aging and sometimes with arthritis. If physical therapy and medicines aren’t effective, he may have to consider surgery.

The Huskies also placed two more names on the “Huskies of Honor” wall at Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday. Worthington “Worthy” Patterson hit the game-winning shot against Holy Cross that sent UConn into the 1954 NCAA tournament. He was the first UConn player to head to the NBA, playing with the St. Louis Hawks in 1957-58.

Bill Corley, who died in 1999, averaged almost 17 points and 14 rebounds a game. He set the school’s single-game scoring record of 51 points against New Hampshire in January, 1968.

(© 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.)

Cooley also had 18 rebounds for the Fighting Irish (18-8, 9-3 Big East), who won their seventh straight game. Jerian Grant added 11 points, Eric Atkins had 10 points and eight assists, and Pat Connaughton also scored 10.

Notre Dame’s last loss came at Rutgers on Jan. 16.

Dane Miller scored 11 points as the Scarlet Knights (12-14, 4-8) committed 26 fouls, allowing Notre Dame to pour in 24 points from the free throw line.

Rutgers has lost four in a row and six of seven.

Notre Dame shot only 40 percent from the field, but seven 3-pointers and the high number of free throws helped contribute to the large lead. Notre Dame led by as many as 21 in the second half.

Rutgers shot just as poorly, managing 39 percent. The Scarlet Knights turned the ball over 13 times and lost the rebounding battle 37-35.

Notre Dame took a 33-28 lead into halftime with the help of six 3-pointers, outweighing their 29-percent shooting in the opening half. The Irish went the first 13:52 of the game before hitting a two-point field goal.

Rutgers tallied 12 fouls in the first half and allowed Notre Dame to open up an 11-point lead on a 13-0 run early in the half. The Scarlet Knights were able to keep the game within reach with 41 percent shooting and a 23-17 rebound advantage in the first 20 minutes.

(© 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.)

A freshman credited with turning the program around led the way again. An injured senior who survived a six-win season closed it out. And, of course, the Hoosiers had to scrap for another 40 minutes to pull off the win.

Cody Zeller, the freshman, finished with 23 points and Verdell Jones scored all six of his points in the final 4:03, leading No. 18 Indiana past Northwestern 71-66 for a milestone victory that had Crean’s fingerprints all over it.

“Tonight was about us somehow finding a way to get our 20th win,” Crean said. “We really wanted to do that at home because of all we’ve been through and all our fans have been through. It’s not something that you look at and say that automatically gives you anything. I’m really glad with the way we earned it tonight with some really good defensive stops.”

The Hoosiers (20-6, 8-6 Big Ten) understand just how remarkable this turnaround has been.

After posting three straight losing seasons for only the third time in school history, fans just wanted to celebrate a winning season.

Instead, the Hoosiers have given them so much more.

They upset No. 1 Kentucky and then No. 2 Ohio State in December, becoming the first Big Ten team in nearly six decades to beat the nation’s top two teams in the same season. They’ve gone 15-1 at home, and now, for the first time in Crean’s four seasons here, the Hoosiers have a 20-win season, too.

The primary reasons for the sudden success are the emergence of Zeller and the toughness of the seniors – a combination that was on full display Wednesday.

Jones had missed the previous 2 1/2 games with a bruised right shoulder and didn’t look like himself in the first half. But with the teams trading baskets and playing to a stalemate, Jones dug down late and proved the difference.

He broke a 63-63 tie with a 15-foot baseline jumper, extended the lead to 67-63 with a layup and then sealed the victory with a long jumper from the left wing that was originally ruled a 3 but overturned on a replay review.

It doesn’t get better than that

“I thought the way that he (Jones) played in the second half, it’s what you want every player to understand that if you’re really locked in defensively, it’s going to carry over into your offense,” Crean said. “He was really in a good groove inside of the game.”

Jones wasn’t the only Indiana player in sync against Northwestern (15-10, 5-8).

Zeller again provided the inside presence, missing only two of 11 shots. He finished with seven rebounds, three assists, one steal and, at times, carried the Hoosiers’ offense.

Christian Watford and Victor Oladipo each had 12 points and the Hoosiers overcame a season-low 15.4 percent shooting effort from 3-point range by limiting the Wildcats to 6 of 20 from beyond the arc.

John Shurna led the Wildcats with 29 points and Drew Crawford added 18, but they didn’t get enough help from their teammates. Northwestern was outscored 22-1 off the bench, and just couldn’t keep up with Jones’ late surge.

“They made big plays when they had to make big plays,” Wildcats coach Bill Carmody said. “We took the lead and things were going pretty nicely and then they made a couple of really good stops and certain guys on their team – Jones made a nice little baseline jumper off the bounce and then they hit that big 3.”

As usual, though, Carmody’s team made it tough.

After winning six of the last seven against Indiana, Northwestern came to Bloomington trying to get the kind of win that would impress the NCAA’s tournament selection committee.

They almost did.

Northwestern erased a 28-21 deficit with an 8-2 run late in the first half, but after closing to 30-29, the Hoosiers extended the lead to 37-31 at the half.

It didn’t last long.

The Wildcats opened the second half on a 12-2 run to take a 43-39 lead on Shurna’s tip-in with 16:51 to go.

Zeller and Will Sheehey then rallied the Hoosiers, scoring all of the points in a 10-2 run that gave Indiana a 49-45 advantage.

The back-and-forth went on the rest of the night, until Jones changed the game with his midrange jumper and the ensuing layup to make it 67-63 with 2:49 to go and then sealed it with the long range shot with 29.4 seconds left.

“It felt good, you know,” Jones said. “The first half I was a little fatigued, but I was able to get in a little groove at the end of the game and it gave me some confidence moving forward.”

(© 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.)

Check out this video of Corey Maggette’s turnover against the Clippers.

Your thoughts?

Well, here’s your chance.

The Boers and Bernstein Show will be broadcasting live from McNally’s next Friday, Feb. 24, at 11136 Western Ave. in Chicago.

If you’re interested in participating, email The Score’s Matt Abbatacola at matt@670thescore.com.

Mike called in to The Boers and Bernstein Show to discuss the Blackhawks and their incredible losing streak.

As co-host Dan Bernstein summed up the call, “The nature of hockey is when the other team scores, you have a let down. Then, when you score, you also have a let down. … Both the Hawks’ goals and the other team’s goals cause the Hawks to have a let down … So you neither want to score, nor be scored upon.”

Listen: Mike from Arlington Heights

(CBS) Have you ever seen a Chicago team go from so good to so bad at the snap of a finger the way the Chicago Blackhawks have? I haven’t in all my years of couch potato sports quackery.

Like me, many Blackhawks fans feel like they are in the position of a doctor when a patient arrives with some unexplained illness. And like any mystery sickness, every doctor has a different opinion and remedy, and not one has solved anything when implemented.

When the Hawks last won a game on January 20 they were tied for second in points in the Western Conference with the St. Louis Blues and were just one point behind the leaders, the Detroit Red Wings. They have gained one single point since, and somehow miraculously have only fallen to sixth in the West standings.

My biggest worry is not what has gone wrong. Even a C+ hockey student (on a curve, which makes me like a dentist, appropriately*) such as myself can see the poor defense and goaltending, the invisibility of should-be-forces like Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa, and the probability that Jonathan Toews just is not physically 100 percent right now.

Such symptoms are pinpointable. The cause of those symptoms, though, is elusive, which is why I am less concerned with the “what” than the “why” of all this.

Players slump, sure. Teams even slump on occasion. But teams that on paper should be really good do not do so for a stretch of nine straight losses.

Might it be a lack of effort or mental toughness on the players’ parts? I doubt it. There is a strong enough group of veterans on this team to not let that happen. And such things are very rare in the sports world today, no matter how much some people would like to be comfortable in diagnosing a player as actually lazy. Professionals are almost never literally lazy, and even if they were, they would not be pros for very long.

Is it coaching? Joel Quenneville gets the benefit of the doubt from me. He has never presided over a tailspin like this with the Hawks and he has never let on that the poor play of late is something he would ever condone or treat with Del Negro-esque flippancy. He doesn’t have the reputation of going easy on anyone and he has never been shy about moving guys around on lines or in goal to try to create a spark.

Do they need to trade for someone? It wouldn’t hurt, but I don’t see a probable trade that remedies this thing. And too often fans want trades just as placebos.

I can’t put a finger on it, and I’ve really tried over the last month. The Blackhawks are sick right now, and I would love to cure them, but this pathogen or imbalance in the humors or whatever plagues them right now is foreign to me.

The only comfort lies in hockey’s unique ambiguity to such causes of peaks and valleys. “It’s just hockey,” I have heard. “They can turn it around at any time.” Even the Stanley Cup Champion team looked ugly for small stretches and then turned on a dime to pummel teams at will, so maybe this is just a less benign case of that hockey carcinoma.

Maybe they will just snap out of it without any more reason than they were in this mess in the first place. Like a patient given Last Rites who just… awakens.

Maybe they’ll find one of them new-fangled cures in New York City when the Hawks travel there Thursday night to play the Rangers — like how my cousin got her grocer’s itch cured there on a school trip to see that statue of the green lady of freedom.

Hopefully we will look back on this in April and shake our heads and chuckle a bit. Hopefully this will be like one of those odd stories doctors like to share with each other and that sometimes make those weird cable shows. “Remember when the Blackhawks came into the office with that ice pick in one ear and through the brain and it ended up not affecting them at all?”

I would much rather have it be an ice pick comfortably lodged in the brain than it be that the Blackhawks just were not any good.

*To my wonderful dentist and his staff, please do not hurt me for that joke or make me look, ironically, like a hockey player.

Tim Baffoe

Tim Baffoe attended the University of Iowa and Governors State University and began blogging at The Score after winning the 2011 Pepsi Max Score Search. He enjoys writing things about stuff, but not so much stuff about things. When not writing for 670TheScore.com, Tim corrupts America’s youth as a high school English teacher and provides a great service to his South Side community delivering pizzas (please tip him and his colleagues well). You can follow Tim’s inappropriate brain droppings on Twitter @Ten_Foot_Midget , but please don’t follow him in real life. He grew up in Chicago’s Beverly To read more of Tim’s blogs click here.

Carter made an appearance on The Michael Irvin Show on WQAM in Miami and, according to SportsRadioInterviews.com, said Moss’ ties to Bears offensive coordinator Mike Tice would make Chicago a good destination.

“I believe the best place for him is New England. Now I believe a team that might want to look at him is Chicago with Jay Cutler and Mike Tice because him and Mike Tice get along great. He has respect for Tice. Jay Cutler and Moss? I think they could work that out.”

Carter and Moss both played for the Vikings when Tice was a coach in Minnesota.

“I think management has that philosophy,” Mark Schanowski of Comcast Sportsnet told The McNeil and Spiegel Show. “I don’t think they want to take any chances with him. Obviously, if you finish with the top seed after trying to get Derrick through the season with a bunch of various injuries, then you get into the playoffs and he’s not healthy, it’s not going to matter. I think the philosophy right now is that he has to get fully healed. If they have to shut him down for awhile, I don’t think they have any problem doing it. The problem is trying to convince Derrick because he’s so darn competitive. He wants to be on the floor all the times.

LISTEN: Mark Schanowski on The McNeil and Spiegel Show

For the rest of this interview and other 670 The Score interviews click here.

“It’s going to take somebody like (John) Paxson or (Gar) Forman to say, ‘We’re looking at the long-term picture here. We’re going to sit Rip through the All Star break and we’ll sit (Derrick) too. If we lose a couple of games in the next week, it’s not going to be a big deal in the long term.’”

(CBS) Ron Jaworski will no longer be a part of Monday Night Football broadcasts, ESPN announced Wednesday.

The former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback has signed a five-year extension with the network that includes more studio work and removes him from the Monday Night Football booth.

ESPN will move forward with just a two-man booth as Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden will continue to call Monday night games.

Gruden joined the MNF booth in 2009 and signed a five-year extension in October.

Police said those arrested were caught making “hand-to-hand” sales of marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and prescription drugs to undercover officers.

“There is no doubt,” TCU Police Chief Steve McGee said at a morning news conference following the arrests. He did not immediately identify the students.

McGee said the arrests came after a six-month investigation prompted by complaints from students, parents and others in the community. Police would not rule out more arrests, but said only people caught selling drugs had been arrested Wednesday.

School chancellor Victor Boschini called the students’ actions “simply unacceptable.”

Police said they had not determined whether any of the football players arrested were selling to other athletes. But Boschini suggested the four players’ involvement was not a sign of a larger issue.

“I don’t think it’s a football problem,” Boschini said.

A message seeking comment was left for TCU football spokesman Mark Cohen.

TCU is located in Fort Worth and has an enrollment of about 9,500 students. The Horned Frogs are set to join the Big 12 later this year in a move expected to be a boon for their athletic program.

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohibited.

Players were forced to sign one-year deals given the frenzy of free agency that took place after the lockout ended last summer. Now, however, teams such as the Bears, who have roughly $20 million in cap space, can be the beneficiaries of the lockout.

“There are so many guys who took one-year contracts last July and August because they didn’t get the big money they thought they were going to get once the lockout ended,” Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk told The McNeil and Spiegel Show. “You’ve got a flood of veterans becoming free agents again on top of the guys whose contracts are otherwise expiring. … If you’ve got the cap space, it’s going to be a good year to go out and get some veteran players.”

LISTEN: Mike Florio on The McNeil and Spiegel Show

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One of the Bears’ most pressing needs figures to be the wide receiver spot. Florio said to keep an eye on one receiver from New Orleans.

“(Marques) Colston is going to hit the market,” Florio said. “When people realize what he’s done over the past couple of years in comparison to other top receivers, he’s going to be in line to get a lot of money. He’s kind of been forgotten or at least diluted by the fact that he’s on a team where a lot of guys generate big numbers. His numbers stack up pretty well with some of the best receivers in the game. I think he’s going to be available, and it’s going to be a buyer’s market for receivers this year.”

One hockey expert, however, argues that talks of trading Patrick Kane are ill-advised.

“I don’t know if you’re in a rush to trade that player unless you hit an unbelievable home run that brings you at least three components back,” Pierre McGuire of NBC Sports told The Mully and Hanley Show. “I’m talking about a top-line defenseman, potentially a goalie and maybe a prospect, but you’re not in the rush to trade the No. 1 overall pick, especially a kid that’s under 23 years of age. You just gotta take your time and sort it all out.”

LISTEN: Pierre McGuire on The Mully and Hanley Show

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McGuire said mentally, Kane has matured greatly, but his game is still struggling.

“Patrick is not having a great year,” he said. “I think he’d be the first person to tell you that. I can tell you this, when the season started, I was blown away by what Patrick Kane told me. I met him in New Jersey and the maturity that I heard in his voice before the season started compared to years past was totally different, totally, totally different. His conditioning levels were higher. He was more mature, more focused, more understanding of what his role was. … I don’t know where it went off the rails, but he just hasn’t played at the level he’s capable of.”

While a sprained toe and back spasms continue to hamper the reigning MVP, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune thinks Rose will be back in the next few games.

“I think he’s going to play very soon.,” Johnson told The Mully and Hanley Show. “I actually asked him last night if he regretted playing in New Orleans (Feb. 8) because I know that’s been the issue. He said if he was feeling badly now, then he’d regret it, but since he’s not feeling badly now and he’s close to playing, he doesn’t regret it. … I know he’s missed three games and it’s been a high-profile story, but I think he’s going to be back soon. It’s a muscular issue, not a structural issue.”

LISTEN: K.C. Johnson on The Mully and Hanley Show

For the rest of this interview and other 670 The Score interviews click here.

In Tuesday’s win over the Kings, the Bulls surrendered a season-high 115 points and saw their 19-point lead shrink to just two points. Johnson said that is all part of this shortened NBA schedule.

“I think basically what’s happening is you’re seeing a reflection of all the injuries and guys having to play different roles to kind of catch up to this team,” he said. “Obviously, reserves are having to play starter’s minutes. That’s affecting some bench roles and some combinations in rotations. I think when you combine that with the lack of practice time given how goofy of a season this is, I think you’re starting to see some slippage, especially on the defensive end with this team. With that said, they’re winning games. So, you gotta kind of balance the two, but they’re certainly not playing as well as they did maybe like a month ago.”

Well, here we are.

After a very solid road game in Nashville, the Blackhawks still came up short, extending their losing streak to nine games.

Fans and media alike have been playing the blame game since the stretch reached three.  ”Is it time to make a change at head coach?”  ”Is Stan Bowman in over his head?”  ”Is it time to trade a core player?”  While all of those questions have creedence, the most likely (and almost guaranteed) scenario is that Quenneville stays, Bowman stays, and the core remains in tact.  In fact, fans probably shouldn’t expect a major move at all.  Ryan Miller, Rick Nash, Bobby Ryan, and Teemu Selanne aren’t walking through gate 3 1/2 any time soon.

So how do the Hawks fix their problems?

It’s up to the players.

For the rest of this column from the Red Light District, click here.

Nothing about the kid from Harvard should be a surprise anymore. When he launched a 3-pointer in a tie game with a half-second left in Toronto on Tuesday night, the result seemed obvious.

“I knew it was going in,” Knicks guard Iman Shumpert said.

Who would doubt it at this point?

Lin’s 3-pointer capped his finishing flurry of six straight points to close the game as the Knicks rallied for a 90-87 victory over the Raptors, extending their winning streak to six.

Their season sputtering just two weeks ago, before Lin escaped the bench, the Knicks (14-15) can get back to .500 with a victory over Sacramento on Wednesday.

And with Lin running their show, that’s exactly what they expect.

“He continues to impress every night,” New York’s Jared Jeffries said. “Every game he plays better, he does more and more to help us win basketball games. You can’t ask any more of a kid coming into this situation.”

Huge in New York, Linsanity was even bigger in Toronto, whose international community couldn’t wait for a look at the NBA’s first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent.

A season-high crowd of 20,092 was only the Raptors’ second sellout of the season, and some 75 reporters and 16 cameras packed a Tuesday morning press conference to hear Lin speak.

“Are we in the playoffs now?” coach Mike D’Antoni joked as he made his way to the front of the room.

Not yet, but they sure have a shot now with Lin.

The reigning Eastern Conference player of the week scored 27 points and added a career-high 11 assists, shaking off a sloppy first half to carry the Knicks down the stretch.

Toronto led 87-82 with less than two minutes to go when Shumpert stole the ball from Jose Calderon and drove in for an uncontested dunk. After a missed shot, Lin completed a three-point play, tying it at 87 with 1:05 left.

Leandro Barbosa missed a 3 for Toronto and, at the other end, Shumpert missed a jumper but Tyson Chandler grabbed the rebound. Lin took the ball near midcourt and let the clock run down to 5 seconds before driving and pulling up against Calderon to bury the decisive shot.

“You just watch and you’re in awe,” D’Antoni said. “He held it until five-tenths of a second left. He was pretty confident that was going in, no rebounds, no nothing. That ball was being buried.”

Lin, cut by both Golden State and Houston in December, struggled early. He didn’t score for the first eight minutes of the game, then turned the ball over on three straight possessions early in the second quarter and Toronto took advantage with a 6-0 run, widening its lead to 13 points.

That was long forgotten by the end.

“When he hit that shot it was simply amazing, we were hugging at midcourt like we’d won a championship,” said Amare Stoudemire, who scored 21 points after missing four games following the death of an older brother in a Florida car crash.

Scouts and general managers may have missed Lin when he went undrafted two years ago, but people all over the NBA are watching him now. The reaction to his winner on Twitter was similar to one of LeBron James’ or Blake Griffin’s huge dunks.

“It’s crazy!” Phoenix guard Steve Nash wrote. “I’m watching Linsanity hoping every shot goes in. Hope I never grow up.”

But Lin deflects the praise to his teammates, even though they were going nowhere until he started getting real minutes on Feb. 4.

“It’s not because of me, it’s because we’re coming together as a team,” Lin said. “We started making these steps earlier but we were still losing close games and so obviously it wasn’t fun. But when you win, that solves a lot of problems. We’ve been winning and we’ve been playing together.”

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohibited.

June 13, 1997 – Bulls win 1997 NBA Finals

Four NBA championship rings in six seasons just wasn’t enough for Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson.

The trio was hungry for more, and after defeating the Miami Heat  in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bulls had their chance at a fifth ring.

Jordan led the Bulls to a 69-13 regular-season record, earning home court advantage in the NBA Finals.

Their opponent, the Utah Jazz, led by John Stockton and Karl Malone, posted a franchise-best 64–18 record during the regular season, ultimately earning the franchise’s first-ever NBA Finals appearance.

This six-game series featured six eventual Hall of Fame players in Jordan, Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Stockton, Malone and Robert Parish.

The series tipped off in Chicago for Game 1. Despite a minor foot injury suffered in the Eastern Conference Finals, Pippen posted 27 points as the Bulls won, 84-82.

With 35.8 seconds to play and the Bulls down by one, Jordan made 1-of-2 free throws to tie it at 82. Next, Malone was fouled by Rodman with 9.2 seconds left and had a chance to give Utah the lead. Malone missed both both free throws, breathing life back into the Bulls.

Jordan got the rebound and quickly called a time-out with 7.5 seconds left.  After the time out, the ball went to Jordan, who dribbled out most of the waning seconds, then sunk a 20-footer at the buzzer to give the Bulls a 1-0 series lead.

The Bulls dominated Game 2 in Chicago behind 38 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists from none other than Jordan.

With a firm 2-0 series lead, the series shifted to Utah.

Despite 27 points from Pippen, the Bulls dropped Game 3 104-93. Malone led the Jazz in the first-ever NBA Finals game played in Utah with 37 points and 10 rebounds.

In Game 4, the Jazz tied the series at 2-2 behind Malone’s second-straight double-double. He scored 23 points and had 10 rebounds in Utah’s 78-73 win.

With the series tied at 2-2, Bulls fans got the news they didn’t want to hear — Jordan was sick with the flu and it was uncertain whether or not he would play in the pivotal Game 5.

Jordan was examined by team doctors during an off-day before Game 5 and was told it would be nearly impossible for him to play. That wasn’t stopping Jordan, though.

The eventual MVP of the Finals slept until 3pm on game day, arriving at the Delta Center just a few hours before tip-off.

Flu or not, Jordan hit a 3-pointer to give the Bulls an 88-85 lead with 25 seconds remaining in the game. The Bulls would eventually win 90-88 behind 38 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 block from an extremely ill Jordan.

After the game, Jordan collapsed into Pippen’s arms as he was barely well enough to walk off the court.

The series came back to Chicago for Game 6 where Jordan scored 39 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Bulls won, 90-86, taking their fifth title in seven seasons. Jordan also won his fifth NBA Finals MVP award.

The Score will continue to release a new Flashback each weekday until they reach 100. Check back tomorrow for a new one, or check out all of the previous Flashbacks: 670 The Score’s 20th Anniversary »

According to a report, Oregon police found a 31-year-old man’s girlfriend naked and bound in the back of his car, with duct tape covering her mouth.

Reports indicate the call came in at 12:35 p.m. when a witness noticed a blue Subaru Legacy leave the New Seasons Market on North Interstate Avenue, with a bound naked woman in the back of the car.

The couple, however, claims they were just role-playing.

(CBS) With an uncharacteristic 121-115 win over the Sacramento Kings at the United Center on Tuesday night, the Bulls improved to 24-7 on the season and guaranteed head coach Tom Thibodeau an appearance as the head coach of the Eastern Conference squad in the 2012 NBA All-Star Game.

Thibodeau made it known that the recognition of his All-Star appearance is more about the team than him.

“It’s more a testament and by-product of what the team has done,” he said.  “I’m just worried about Boston, when we get (to the All-Star Game) I’ll worry about that.”

As much as he wanted to downplay the achievement, Thibodeau did acknowledge the feat.

“It’s an honor and I look forward to it,” he said before quickly refocusing his attention to the task at hand. “The challenge right now is a long home stand, the break coming up and it’s easy to look ahead and get distracted and you can’t do that.”

Across the locker room different players had different thoughts on what you might expect in the traditionally defenseless All-Star game now that their defensive-minded head coach would be running the show.

“I don’t know what practice is going to be like but it will definitely be different,” first time All-Star selection Luol Deng. “It’s an honor to be going to the All-Star game and I know coach is thrilled that he is going but if he had a choice I doubt he’d be going.”

Deng went on to show gratitude for the help Thibodeau and his staff of assistants give the players at a moment’s notice.

“Anytime you want to get shots up, those guys are there.”

Joakim Noah joked about the Eastern Conference team having to do defensive slides during the game while Kyle Korver joked about Thibodeau potentially playing the two most important Bulls too much.

“I just hope he doesn’t play Lu and Derrick 40 minutes,” the sharpshooter said with a smile.

As for being afraid that any All-Stars from the Heat will have a better understanding of Thibodeau’s coaching style and game plans, Deng was quick to shoot that thought down.

“No secrets in the NBA, they know all our plays.  Those guys spend a lot of time figuring out how to win.”

In addition to covering the Bulls for 670TheScore.com, Nick Shepkowski is the associate producer on The McNeil and Spiegel Show, weekdays 9am-1pm on 670 The Score. You can follow Nick on Twitter at @Shep670.

Buford also had eight rebounds and five assists for the Buckeyes (22-4, 10-3), who snapped back after a humbling home loss to the Spartans. With Sullinger drawing double and triple teams in the post, Buford was there to knock down the open jump shots on the wing.

Rodney Williams had 21 points, nine rebounds and two blocks for the Gophers (17-9, 5-8), who tumbled into 10th place in the conference race. The Buckeyes pulled away with a 20-0 run over 7-plus minutes of the first half to build a 21-point lead.

© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

This wasn’t what he had in mind. The Bulls will take it, though.

Deng came through with 23 points and a career-high 11 assists, and the Bulls escaped with a 121-115 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night after a 19-point, fourth-quarter lead dwindled to two.

“Missing Derrick, even though we’re winning games, it’s huge,” Deng said. “He makes the game so much easier. When he’s not there, you’ve got to work extra.”

Joakim Noah added 22 points and 11 rebounds. Kyle Korver scored 18, hitting four free throws in the final 17.6 seconds. Carlos Boozer scored 16, Taj Gibson added 15 points, and the Bulls came away with the win – barely – even though Rose missed his third straight game with lower back spasms.

The victory clinched the Eastern Conference coaching spot at the All-Star game for the Bulls’ Tom Thibodeau.

DeMarcus Cousins led Sacramento with 28 points and 17 rebounds. Tyreke Evans scored 27, and Marcus Thornton added 23 points for the Kings, who made things extremely interesting down the stretch.

Two free throws by Evans with 19 seconds left made it 115-112. Korver answered with two of his own, but the drama wasn’t over.

Thornton nailed a 3 to make it a two-point game with 14.8 seconds left, but Korver immediately hit two more foul shots to boost the lead to 119-115. Deng then hit two free throws with 8.8 seconds left to seal the win.

“I’ve yet to fear this team being down,” Kings coach Keith Smart said. “This team has shown throughout the year that they have the ability to get back in games.”

Winning them is a different story. Sacramento is last in the Pacific Division at 10-18 and is just 3-13 on the road.

This seemed like a mismatch despite Rose’s absence, but the Kings hung with the Eastern Conference leaders even when it looked like Chicago had put this one away.

Sacramento was within eight in late in the third when Deng buried a corner 3 with just under a minute left. That started a 12-1 run that bumped Chicago’s lead to 97-78, but the Bulls couldn’t breathe too easily.

They did, however, let out a big sigh of relief in the end.

“They’re a tough team,” Evans said. “They play together. They run that high pick-and-roll good with the bigs. They ran it all night on us and got a lot of fouls. That’s what killed us.”

The dramatic win came on the heels of a 6-3 trip that matched their longest since the 1992-93 season, and they did it without their superstar point guard.

“I think our team has gotten used to guys being out,” Thibodeau said. “It happened last year with our big guys and this year, it is more perimeter guys, so we have that all covered. We feel very good about our depth, and when we are down a man, the next guy steps up and does the job.”

The question is: Will the injuries take a toll eventually?

Rose didn’t have a target date for his return. Boston visits Thursday, and he wasn’t sure if he’d be ready to play against Rajon Rondo and the Celtics. One thing was clear, though. Rose was certainly breathing a little easier.

A specialist confirmed Monday that there was no structural damage, and that was a big relief for him and a team eyeing a championship. This hasn’t been an easy season for Rose even though he’s averaging 22.0 points and 7.8 assists. Between the bad back and a problem with his left big toe, he’s missed eight games this season after sitting out six over his first three years.

“I think the best thing you can do is try to get better from it,” Deng said. “If we had a choice, we wouldn’t want him to be hurt, but that’s the situation. We really think that it will help us. Guys are stepping up. Guys are getting playing time. We’d rather have this problem now than later in the year.”

Notes: Veteran G Richard Hamilton, who remains sidelined by a right thigh injury, rejoined the Bulls after tending to a family issue. He posted on Twitter that his grandmother died. … G Mike James signed a 10-day contract. He appeared in three games for Chicago before being waived on Jan. 28. … Kings rookie Jimmer Fredette, nursing an upset stomach, did not play.

(© 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.)

After being listed as a healthy scratch against Boston on Saturday, Ellis bounced back with the go-ahead goal and the Nashville Predators handed the Chicago Blackhawks their ninth consecutive loss, 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Ellis also added an assist for his third multi-point game of the season.

“It was a great response from Ellis,” Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. “He is a really smart player. But the last couple of games he had gotten a little too cute and it hadn’t worked out for him.

“We told him to keep it pretty simple and pretty smart. We told him we wanted him to make the right plays and make good decisions on defense. And obviously he contributed offensively.”

The Predators stopped a three-game skid.

“We played with more emotion,” Trotz said. “I thought we played with more detail. We had been stumbling around a little bit.

“To be a divisional game putting some distance between us and them is huge. It sort of gets us on track a little bit.”

Ellis’ goal was a one-timer from high above the right circle at 14:18 of the third period that deflected off Chicago’s Duncan Keith.

“It was a series of fortunate bounces,” Ellis said. “David Legwand made a great play across the ice. I think everyone’s momentum was going the other way and it squeaked in.”

The Predators had 19 shots on goal. Ellis earned points on both of his shots.

“I think taking off the game in Boston was a good thing,” Ellis said. “I was a little cold these last few games and it allowed me to get refocused. I know that I have to play hard every night.”

Marian Hossa tied it at 2-2 with a wrist shot from above the right circle at 6:05 of the third that bounced off Nashville’s Roman Josi. It was his 21st goal of the season.

“Right now it’s hard to talk, obviously after another loss,” Hossa said. “Maybe it’s going to sound like an old song, but we battled tonight. We did lots of good things.”

Ryan Suter opened the scoring against Chicago goaltender Ray Emery with a shot from high in the slot near the left circle that went into the right side of the net at 18:20 of the first period.

Emery had 16 saves.

“When things aren’t going well you want to simplify and get things to the net and that’s what we did,” Suter said. “It paid off for us.”

“They held onto the puck quite a bit, but we got some fortunate bounces. If you work hard, good things happen.”

Bryan Bickell tied the game 46 seconds later. His wrist shot from high in the slot beat Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne to his stick side.

Rinne finished with 30 saves. He sensed the Blackhawks getting stronger as the game went on.

“It is hard to believe Chicago has lost that many games in a row,” Rinne said. “They didn’t panic. They played a strong game and as the game went along I thought they got stronger.”

Nick Spaling put the Predators back in front 2-1 at 17:21 of the second period. Ellis sent a shot from the point that deflected high off Spaling’s stick and into the net.

It was the type of play that adds to the frustrations of the Blackhawks.

“When you look at this stretch we have had here. We have found different ways to not come out on top,” Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. “Tonight, it looked like we were doing the things we wanted to do and that we were moving in the right direction.”

Notes: Nashville’s Patric Hornqvist sat out the game with an upper body injury and is listed day to day. … Suter has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past nine games. … This was the seventh of nine consecutive road games for the Blackhawks.

(© 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.)

(CBS) When it comes to his bad back, it looks like the ball is no longer in Derrick Rose’s court.

That’s a good thing.

The fact the Bulls brought back guard Mike James Tuesday on a 10-day contract indicates the Bulls are expecting Rose to be out a while.

“You look at what the doctors are saying and how he’s feeling,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “What we’ve been told from the start of this is he’s day-to-day. That’s how we’re approaching it. We’ll continue to get the information, study it and make a good decision.

“It’s not just his decision. There are a lot of people weighing in on it. We have a great medical and training staff so their input is critical. His input is critical. We’re certainly not going to do anything to jeopardize him being hurt further. He’s feeling better.”

Now, who’s going to tell Rose he shouldn’t travel to Orlando this weekend for the All-Star game.

Guessing it won’t be anyone from Adidas.

Q RATING: Nice to see the Blackhawks rally around coach Joel Quenneville, who was grilled by media Monday about his job security given the team’s recent eight-game losing streak.

“Oh, absolutely, no question about it,” Hawks winger Patrick Kane said. “I don’t think anyone in here questions his job or what he’s doing. He’s had a lot of success as a coach in the NHL, won a Stanley Cup with him a couple years ago.

“Besides this little streak, we’ve been having a pretty good season. I don’t think you can get on him about what’s happened here lately. You look at what he’s done in the past and how successful he’s been and just helping a bunch of us grow as players. He’s been great.”

Actually, fans can and should get on Quenneville, general manager Stan Bowman, Kane, Corey Crawford, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith … actually the list of those who should get a pass from fans is much shorter than the Hawks long shot odds of making another Stanley Cup run.

Now its up to Kane and company to do something more than talk to take the heat off their coach.

“It bothers me,” Hawks winger Patrick Sharp said of Quenneville’s critics. “He’s our leader, he’s our coach, we play hard for him and we believe in him. I know that if something would happen, there would be a lot of unhappy people in the room right now, as far as players putting that on themselves. We know that we’re the guys on the ice that control the outcome of the games a lot of times. There’s no doubts in Joel, that’s for sure.”

Quenneville should give Ray Emery a long look in goal. That means more than two consecutive games, Q.

HERE’S THE RUB: The White Sox shocked most with the team’s signing Tuesday of former Cub outfielder Kosuke Fukudome.

It’s a low-risk, low-cost roll of the dice and GM Kenny Williams is long overdue due for a gamble to go right.

Fukudome will make only $1 million guaranteed, only half of that this season. He will earn $3.5 million if the team picks up its option on Fukudome in 2013.

The Sox were interested in landing Fukudome back in 2007 but were lucky the Cubs ended up forking over $48 million to the light-hitting lefty for four years.

“Kosuke adds to our outfield depth and gives (manager) Robin (Ventura) another left-handed bat to mix into the lineup based on matchups,” Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn said. “He can play center field and right and provides flexibility to our roster.”

Don’t know if Fukudome, 34, will put up appreciably better numbers than the .262 with 27 doubles, eight home runs and 35 RBI he had in 146 games with the Cubs and Cleveland last year.

But it’s almost a sure thing new Sox skipper Ventura doesn’t make use of Fukudome’s personal massage therapist as did doddering Lou Piniella while with the Cubs.

THE CUBAN FUKUDOME? Scouts are mixed on whether Yoenis Cespedes is a can’t miss talent. But the Moneyballers out in Oakland will soon find out. The A’s ponied up $36 million for four years. The Cubs were said to be in the Cespedes chase but the Miami Marlins were apparently the runner-up for the outfielder, offering $36 million over six seasons.

Since Oakland also agreed to waive arbitration rights after the contract expires, maybe the Cubs can sign Cespedes for $1 million guaranteed four years from now. But he has to bring his own massage therapist.

BIGGER, NOT BETTER: Conference USA and Mountain West Conference meet the NHL.

Hockey head honcho Gary Bettman thought expanding the NHL to warmer climes such as Florida, Carolina, and Arizona would entice TV big bucks due to the league’s larger “geographic footprint.”

The NHL national TV ratings still over around 1.0, big footprint not withstanding.

So the upcoming merger of C-USA and MWC into a conference of between 18 and 24 schools beginning in 2013-14 seems like overkill given the mid-major nature of the programs.

The new, as yet unnamed league will consist of the following schools at minimum: Southern Miss, Marshall, East Carolina, UAB, Tulsa, Rice, UTEP and Tulane from C-USA and Wyoming, Air Force, Colorado State, UNLV, New Mexico, Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii from the MWC. Hawaii would be a football-only member.

Not only would the new conference have a championship game, but it would also have two semifinal games, which means four teams would be involved in the conference playoffs.

Temple also is a possibility, and others could be added. The teams will be divided into divisions.

Two words: Who cares?

“This is an exciting development that will stabilize the current conferences and create the first truly national conference with members in five time zones and television viewership from coast to coast,” UNLV president Neal Smatresk said. “This partnership brings together like-minded institutions to improve the integrity and stability of intercollegiate athletics. We are moving our plans forward rapidly and expect to complete our conversations in the near future. Look for further announcements soon as we work together on this exciting new venture.”

Can’t wait.

(CBS) Despite not being able to return to the lineup against the Sacramento Kings Tuesday, Derrick Rose claims to be on the road to recovery with his recent back issue.

“Everyday it’s improving,” Rose said before Tuesday night’s game.  “I saw someone yesterday that stretched me out and every day I get better.”

As often the case with smaller injuries leading to more serious ones, Rose believes his toe injury earlier in the season could be the reason for his current back spasms.

“I’m relieved it’s not worse but my toe could be the effect on the back,” he said.

The Bulls All-Star point guard went on to say his toe currently has no pain.

Surprising to most Bulls fans, Rose has no regrets about playing last Wednesday in New Orleans despite sitting out his third game in a row on Tuesday.

“I feel all right right now, not sorry I played in New Orleans.  If I was just feeling bad, if my back was killing me, I would have been mad then but right now I’m trying to stay positive”

When asked if he would be able to return to the lineup later this week against the Celtics, Rose gave far from a strong endorsement.

“I can’t give a certain date or tell you when I’ll be back but it should be shortly.”

With games against the Celtics (15-12), Nets (8-21), Hawks (18-10), Bucks (12-16) and Hornets (5-23) in the next two weeks, Bulls fans most likely wouldn’t want to see the league’s reigning-MVP rushed back to the court.  Rose praised his teammate’s efforts while he’s been sidelined this year.

“My team is doing very good. We lost the last game but I’m not worried about that.”

In recovering from the back pain, Rose denied having to take any painkilling shots but didn’t avoid mentioning how debilitating back pain can be for an NBA point guard.

“Having back problems you can’t do anything.  You can’t jump, run. Games out there I can’t attack and get to the hole. “

Rose still feels this current back issue shouldn’t be a long-term issue and said sitting during the games won’t be an issue because of his “Phil Jackson chair”.

With no guarantee of a return date of yet, Rose did make it clear that it was still too early to make any decisions on whether or not he would play in the NBA All-Star Game.

In addition to covering the Bulls for 670TheScore.com, Nick Shepkowski is the associate producer on the McNeil and Spiegel Show, weekdays 9am-1pm on 670 The Score. You can follow Nick on Twitter at @Shep670.

According to a report, Roburt Sallie went on the radio with CBS Sport’s Gary Parrish Monday to clarify the report that claimed he was cut from his Spanish basketball team for taking the penis enlargement pill ExtenZe.

Sallie emphatically states he was not taking ExtenZe, but a male sexual enhancement pill called Black Ant.

“If you really believe, Gary, that I took ExtenZe to enlarge my penis, then you must be crazy,” Sallie said.

“I got drug tested in November. We had a game, they picked me out, it’s random … it happens when you play overseas. You have to write down everything you put in your body. I wrote down what I normally take and put in my body. I take vitamins … and I took a male enhancement pill. At the time I didn’t know the name of (the pill) because I got it from one of my teammates that was out there. When I finally found the name of the pill, the name of the pill was Black Ant.

“The team addressed me a week after the drug test and they said ‘We see you wrote down you took a male enhancement pill. Was it ExtenZe?’ And I said ‘No, it was not ExtenZe.’ I have proof of what I’ve taken, I have the package.

“I don’t have a problem with it that I’ve taken a male enhancement pill before. And I’m pretty sure 95% of males in their lifetime have taken it. Do I take it regularly? No I don’t. It’s something I tried, it’s my personal business, and I’m proud to say I did it.”

You’d be hard-pressed to find a dunk – at any level – as impressive as the throw down by Cal State San Bernardino’s Kwame Alexander.

Check out the video below.

Two Chicago sports figures cracked the top 10 — Chairman of the Blackhawks, Rocky Wirtz at No. 5, and Bulls point guard Derrick Rose at No. 7.

Here are some other notable Chicago sports figures to make the list:

14. White Sox and Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf
30. Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts
39) President and CEO of the Bears, Ted Phillips
45) President and CEO of the Blackhawks, John McDonough
48) Cubs president of baseball operations, Theo Epstein
92) Bears WR/return specialist Devin Hester

Check out the full list here.

Joe called into The Boers and Bernstein Show on Monday to share his sentiment that the best way for the Bulls to handle Derrick Rose’s back injury is to pray for him. While that may be a legitimate suggestion to some, the boys had fun with good ol’ Joe.

What ensued after Joe’s suggestion was pure hilarity.

LISTEN: Joe from Evanston

Athletic Director Oliver Luck said the terms of the deal were confidential and WVU wouldn’t release details. But Luck said no state, taxpayer, tuition or other academic dollars will be used in the settlement.

A person familiar with the agreement said the settlement totaled $20 million but did not know how much money would come from the university and how much the Big 12 may contribute. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because financial terms were not announced with the agreement.

Luck said the funding will come only from private sources and money that athletics raised independently. WVU has already paid half of the required $5 million exit fee.

Luck said the new relationship puts WVU among peers that are also large, public, flagship institutions for their states and have strong academic and research programs. Athletically, it’s a “challenging and competitive” group, he said, populated by schools with “tremendous legacies, passionate fan bases.”

It’s also lucrative: Luck said WVU should get about $18 million to $19 million a year in television payouts, about double what it gets from the Big East. Payments are being prorated for the first three years at 50 percent, 67 percent and 87 percent, he said, reaching 100 percent in the fourth year.

“It’s a very healthy television payout, and it’s important we maintain our self-sufficient status,” Luck said. “With this move, we’ll be in an excellent position to do so.”

A spokesman for the Big 12 didn’t immediately comment, but the conference released its football schedule about an hour after the announcement. West Virginia makes its Big 12 debut Sept. 29 at home against Baylor.

The Mountaineers and their explosive offense went 10-3 last season and finished ranked in the Top 25. West Virginia capped off the season with a record-setting 70-33 victory over Clemson in the Orange Bowl.

Luck didn’t rule out the possibility of a nonconference game against archrival Pitt after the 2012 season but said that both schools have nine nonconference games and a matchup would be “difficult to schedule.”

“It’s pretty obvious there will be no Backyard Brawl” in 2012, he said.

WVU sued the Big East in Monongalia County Circuit Court in Morgantown in November, challenging its bylaws in a bid to join the Big 12 in time for the 2012 season.

The Big East countersued in Rhode Island four days later, arguing that WVU had breached its contract with the conference and should remain in the Big East for another two years as required in the bylaws. In late December, the judge there denied WVU’s motion to dismiss.

Big East Commissioner John Marinatto had repeatedly said West Virginia would not be allowed to leave until the 2014 football season.

But in a statement Tuesday, Marinatto said the board of directors voted to terminate WVU’s membership in the conference as of June 30. The board agreed to the deal because WVU was willing to drop its lawsuit and pay an exit fee “well in excess of that required by the bylaws,” he said.

WVU also has agreed to have the West Virginia court enter a judgment that declares the Big East’s bylaws “valid and enforceable,” which Marinatto told The Associated Press was the most important thing to his board.

“The bylaws are the foundation of how the conference governs itself,” he said. “To have the court in West Virginia acknowledge their validity of enforceability obviously reinforces the premise that the conference is viable moving forward, and in a position to do so.”

Continuing to fight West Virginia “would have only made the lawyers happy,” he said.

Boise State, Central Florida, Houston, Memphis, San Diego State University, Southern Methodist University and Navy have all recently joined the conference.

“The future for the Big East Conference has never been brighter,” he said.

But the Big East still has work to do to figure out how next season will play out. Pittsburgh and Syracuse announced in September they are leaving for the Atlantic Coast Conference, but have said they will not challenge the Big East’s notification rules.

Marinatto said he “would not be open to a conversation” with either school about departing this year. “But given the strength and speed of our expansion efforts, I think our board might be open to a discussion about 2013.”

That leaves the Big East with seven football teams for 2012 and a hole in the schedule that could leave its remaining members scrambling to find a game so late — unless one of its future members can be convinced to join a year early.

Boise State, which is joining the Big East in football only, has been approached about leaving the Mountain West early.

“There are challenges on the table right now,” Marinatto said. “… We’re looking at various scenarios in order to address that. We have plans in place to deal with each possibility.”

Those possibilities include an eight-team league next season, he said.

The urgency of the WVU and Big East lawsuits and the eventual settlement was driven by football, but the conference realignment affects other West Virginia sports. The Mountaineers must find a home for their men’s soccer team because the Big 12 doesn’t sponsor the sport.

Teams in rifle, wrestling and women’s gymnastics at West Virginia compete in other conferences besides the Big East.

Big 12 membership requires WVU to add a men’s sport, but Luck said he hasn’t determined which it will be or when it will happen.

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohibited.

Woods announced on his website Tuesday that he would play the Match Play Championship next week in Arizona, followed by the Honda Classic and the Cadillac Championship at Doral.

The Honda Classic is March 1-4 at PGA National.

It’s the second time this year Woods has added a tournament not typically on his schedule. He played the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am last week for the first time in 10 years, closing with a 75 to plummet from contention.

Woods played the Honda Classic in 1993 as a 17-year-old, when it was held at Weston Hills. He had rounds of 72-78 and missed the cut.

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohibited.