SYRACUSE— The Big East Conference portion of the Syracuse men's basketball schedule includes 18 games and features home-and-home series with Georgetown, Rutgers and Villanova.
The Big East schedule format was altered for this season to allow for each team to play the rest of the conference at least once. In addition to Syracuse's two-game sets, the Orange will host Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Notre Dame, Seton Hall, and West Virginia. The road slate has Connecticut, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. John's, and USF on it. See the Times Scoreboard for the complete Big East schedule.
SU has also added New York rival Canisius to its nonconference schedule at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 17 in the Carrier Dome.
OU player stabbed in brawl home from hospital
NORMAN, Okla. — An Oklahoma basketball player stabbed at a Norman nightclub has been released from the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery, Sooners coach Jeff Capel said Thursday.
Freshman guard Ray Willis was released from hospital care on Wednesday.
■ Twin freshmen Markieff and Marcus Morris have been cleared by the NCAA Eligibility Center to enroll in classes at Kansas and join the defending NCAA champion Jayhawks.
■ The Horizon League announced all 10 of its members will play in the annual ESPNU BracketBusters on Feb. 20-21. Loyola of Chicago, Valparaiso, Wright State, Youngstown State, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Illinois-Chicago will host games, while Butler, Cleveland State, Detroit and Wisconsin-Green Bay will play on the road.
GOLF
First round of BMW Championships washed out
ST. LOUIS — The first round of the BMW Championship was washed out by steady rain that deluged Bellerive Country Club on Thursday.
The opening round will be today, with 36 holes scheduled for Saturday to get it back on schedule.
■ Teenager Rory McIlroy shot an 8-under 63 to take a three-stroke lead after the first round of the European Masters at Crans-Sur-Sierre, Switzerland. The 19-year-old star from Northern Ireland had nine birdies and a bogey on the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club course.
AUTO RACING
Stewart, Logano avoid Nationwide probation
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.— Tony Stewart and Joey Logano will not be on probation in the NASCAR Nationwide Series after all.
A three-man panel of the National Stock Car Racing Commission issued a decision Wednesday rescinding the probation handed down to the drivers after the Joe Gibbs Racing team was caught trying to manipulate an engine horsepower test following the Nationwide race at Michigan last month.
■ Cochran Motor Speedway in Macon, Ga., was closed indefinitely following the death of a woman hit by debris from a car on Labor Day weekend. Cynthia Nobles, 43, died Monday of injuries sustained during a race Saturday night.
PRO BASKETBALL
Heat's Chalmers could face 5-game suspension
Details about the expulsion of Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers from the NBA's Rookie Transition Program came to light Thursday along with potential punishment.
According to ESPN.com, a fire alarm at 2 a.m. Wednesday at the Rye Brook, N.Y., hotel utilized by the NBA for the seminar sent hotel management to the room of Darrell Arthur of the Memphis Grizzlies, who was Chalmers' Kansas teammate. The report said when management was denied entry, hotel security entered the room with a pass key, where at least two women and a strong stench of marijuana were present. With the bathroom door locked at the time, repeated flushing could be heard, with police later arriving and finding no marijuana or paraphernalia.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
One PSU player off team, 3 to miss Oregon St.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa.— A Penn State football player has been kicked off the team for an undisclosed violation of team rules, and three others will miss this weekend's game against Oregon State because of a separate, off-field issue coach Joe Paterno said Thursday.
Reserve defensive back Willie Harriott is off the squad. Paterno also said that defensive linemen Maurice Evans and Abe Koroma, and tight end Andrew Quarless will sit out Saturday's game against Oregon State due to a recent off-field incident.
■ Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells , who injured his foot in last weekend's win over Youngstown State, will not play when the third-ranked Buckeyes take on Ohio on Saturday. He has not practiced with the team this week and has spent much of the time wearing a protective boot.
■ North Carolina State's home opener against William & Mary Saturday will kick off at 6 p.m. as scheduled, but school officials say they plan to keep an eye on Tropical Storm Hanna.
East Carolina's home game with West Virginia still is set for Saturday, but athletic director Terry Holland is asking some fans to change the way they park outside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
■ Former Cincinnati quarterback Ben Mauk testified Thursday that a foot injury prevented him from playing or even practicing at times during his freshman season in 2003 at Wake Forest, where he played before transferring to Cincinnati. Mauk should be granted a sixth year of eligibility and that the NCAA has been unwilling to listen to Mauk's arguments, attorney Kevin Murphy sid.
TRACK AND FIELD
Olympic champ Bolt set for final 100 of season
BRUSSELS, Belgium— Usain Bolt already has three of the biggest trophies this year because of his triple Olympic gold and world record feat in Beijing.
Before he returns to Jamaica for a vacation, Bolt will be looking to beat his 100 mark for the third time this season when he races in a field that includes Asafa Powell at the Van Damme Memorial.
TIMES STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
