Louisville self-imposes postseason ban for 2016
Louisville has self-imposed a postseason ban on its men’s basketball team for this season, the school announced Friday.
The penalties come amid the NCAA’s ongoing investigation into an alleged recruiting scandal involving paid escorts at Louisville.
The school informed the team’s players in a meeting Friday and announced the sanctions at a news conference Friday afternoon.
Head coach Rick Pitino’s No. 19 Cardinals have an 18-4 record and are in second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“I recognize that this is a significant penalty for our program,” said university president James R. Ramsey, who was accompanied at Friday’s news conference by athletic director Tom Jurich and Pitino.
According to the Courier-Journal, the coaches told the players before the announcement that they only had nine games left, which is the remainder of the regular season. The Cardinals host Boston College on Saturday.
Cowboys not interested in Manziel
Embattled quarterback Johnny Manziel continues to have off-the-field issues that have made it a certainty the Cleveland Browns will be releasing him.
The Dallas Cowboys have been frequently mentioned as a possible landing spot for Manziel. But that apparently might not be an option, according to a report in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The newspaper stated that the Cowboys had no interest in Manziel even before his latest issues, which include an altercation with ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley at a Dallas hotel last Saturday.
Crowley said she was hit by Manziel during the incident. Police filed a report but decided against filing charges against Manziel because Crowley declined to cooperate.
Manziel was dumped by agent Erik Burkhardt in the aftermath. In addition, Paul Manziel, Johnny’s father, expressed publicly that his 23-year-old son needs professional help and might not “live to see his 24th birthday.”
But because Cowboys owner Jerry Jones professed a liking for Manziel and lobbied for the club to choose the former Texas A&M star in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, speculation persists that the Cowboys are an option.
Burress receives probation for tax evasion
Former NFL receiver Plaxico Burress was sentenced to five years’ probation for tax evasion, a judged in New Jersey ruled on Friday.
Burress was given five years to repay the state of New York $56,000 in back taxes or face a prison sentence.
Burress will receive a 364-day jail sentence if he fails to make the reimbursements.
The former Super Bowl hero with the New York Giants admitted that he didn’t pay $46,000 in state taxes when he made $1 million in 2013.
Suns sign NBA D-League all-star
The Phoenix Suns signed NBA Developmental League all-star guard Orlando Johnson to a 10-day contract on Friday.
Johnson has spent this season with Austin in the D-League and averaged 15.2 points in 28 games. He was named to the all-star team on Jan. 29. The two-year NBA veteran played for the Indiana Pacers in 2012-13 and the Sacramento Kings in 2013-14. In 96 NBA games, Johnson has averaged 3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds, with a career high of 15 points for the Pacers in a 2013 game against the Atlanta Hawks.
Johnson also spent last season with Austin, averaging 17.4 points in 43 games, and previously played professionally in Spain and the Philippines.
Bruins send forward to AHL
The Boston Bruins assigned forward Joonas Kemppainen to Providence of the American Hockey League.
Kemppainen, 27, is in his first NHL season and has appeared in 35 games with Boston, tallying one goal and two assists.