Jim Boeheim Apology Video: Watch Syracuse Coach's Emotional Press Conference

Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim is a legend, but his handling of child sex allegations against his long-time former assistant Bernie Fine are deplorable.

When the allegations first surfaced, Boeheim was quick to shoot down the idea of his friend doing these horrible things to children, and denounced the accuser for making up the fabricated stories.

It wasn’t too long after that more accusers stepped forward and a very unflattering image started to present itself. That’s when Syracuse fired Fine.

Left standing there with egg on his face, was Boeheim. That’s where this apology comes from.

After Syracuse’s 72-68 win over Florida on Friday night, Boeheim went to the press conference with his prepared statement and issued an apology. While many will argue just how genuine that apology was, the only certainty is that Boeheim made a BIG mistake.

This press conference was a classic example of a man trying to backtrack from his words. It would have been easier if the first statement to the public just wasn’t as harsh towards the victims.

By calling out what have now become multiple victims, the Orange coach has drawn the ire of people who defended child abuse victims. Or in other words, everyone.

While Boeheim can say that he isn’t Joe Paterno, the similarities between the two are very close.

Pleading ignorance didn’t work for Paterno and it will not work for Boeheim.

As hard as it is for Syracuse to think about firing head coach Jim Boeheim, it won’t be nearly as hard as firing a man of Paterno’s stature in Penn State.

Syracuse University needs to clean house and fire Boeheim.

 

Check back for more on the NCAA basketball as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s College Basketball Page to get your fill of college basketball.

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Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/966676-jim-boeheim-apology-video-watch-syracuse-coachs-emotional-press-conference

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Indianapolis Colts

Seton Hall 81, Auburn 59

Herb Pope had 23 points and 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season and Seton Hall cruised to an 81-59 victory over Auburn on Friday night in the Big East/SEC Challenge.

The Pirates (6-1) matched their season high with 10 3-pointers and controlled the boards, finishing with a 40-26 advantage overall and 14-6 on the offensive end.

Patrik Auda had a career-high 17 points for Seton Hall, while Fuquan Edwin added 14 points and nine rebounds and freshman Aaron Cosby had 13 points, all but one on 3-pointers. Jordan Theodore had three points, 10 assists, five rebounds and two turnovers for the Pirates.

Rob Chubb had 12 points for Auburn (4-1), which was playing its first road game of the season. Josh Wallace and Kenny Gabriel added 11 each.

The Pirates took a 38-31 halftime lead despite Auburn shooting 60.9 percent (14 of 23) from the field. Seton Hall was 6 of 14 from 3-point range in the opening half and had eight offensive rebounds to none for the Tigers. The Pirates turned those opportunities into 11 second-chance points.

Chubb dunked to get the Tigers within 44-37 with 15:57 to play. The Pirates' next two baskets were on offensive rebounds and they pulled away from there, taking a lead as large as 74-50 on a 3 by Auda with 4:37 to play.

The Pirates started the season 3 for 31 from 3-point range at the Prudential Center, their home court. They were 10 of 25 against Auburn, which was 3 for 16 from long range.

Pope, who was 10 of 19 from the field, had the 25th double-double of his career.

This was the first meeting between the schools.

Source: http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/seton_hall_81_auburn_59/8479102

Buffalo Bills Atlanta Hawks

Report: Carl Pelini offered FAU job

Florida Atlantic wants Carl Pelini to be its next head football coach and the Nebraska defensive coordinator is expected to accept the task of turning the program around, according to a person familiar with the decision.

Pelini is expected to be introduced as Howard Schnellenberger's replacement with the Owls on Monday, the person told The Associated Press on Friday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no contract has been signed and negotiations are not expected to be ''totally done'' until the weekend.

Schnellenberger is retiring after FAU's season-finale on Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe. The school has a number of tributes planned for Schnellenberger over the weekend.

Carl Pelini is the brother of Nebraska coach Bo Pelini. Terms of Pelini's deal have not been finalized, though he and his representatives are expected to work through that process over the weekend. Carl Pelini did not immediately return a message from The AP seeking comment on Friday.

When Carl Pelini arrived at Nebraska in 2008, he inherited a defense that ranked 112th - out of 119 ranked teams - nationally the previous season in yards allowed. Under Pelini's direction, the Cornhuskers ranked 55th in 2008, seventh in 2009 and 11th in 2010 in total defense, and are currently 36th in that department nationally this season.

Widely considered to be an outstanding recruiter, Pelini has never been a head coach at anything above the high school level. His last prep job was in his native Ohio in 2002, before becoming a graduate assistant for Nebraska's defense in 2003. He was Minnesota State's defensive coordinator in 2004, an assistant at Ohio from 2005-07 and then moved back to Nebraska in 2008.

He played two seasons at Columbia before transferring to Youngstown State, where he completed a degree in English literature. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Kansas State and another in education from Ohio State.

When Schnellenberger announced his retirement before the season, FAU athletic director Craig Angelos said that he wanted to have a coach in place shortly after the 2011 campaign ended. At the time, Angelos said he wanted to make every effort to ensure the transition from Schnellenberger to the next coach was smooth, adding that the longer FAU waited, the more daunting it would be for the new coach to assemble a staff and a 2012 recruiting class.

Angelos has been working on finding a replacement for Schnellenberger since, his efforts ramping up over the past two months.

FAU opened a new on-campus stadium this season, which Schnellenberger called ''the last piece of the puzzle'' for the Owls. Under Schnellenberger, who was hired by FAU in 1998 to start a football program - the school's first-ever practice was two years later - the Owls made the Division I-AA national semifinals in 2003, then transitioned to college football's top level.

FAU won the Sun Belt title in 2007, along with the New Orleans Bowl that season and the Motor City Bowl the next.

Source: http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/report_carl_pelini_offered_fau_job/8468329

James Worthy Buffalo Bills

Man City v Norwich preview

City are set to revert to a more regular line-up for the visit of Norwich. Roberto Mancini made 10 changes for the midweek Carling Cup win at Arsenal but Sergio Aguero played almost an hour off the bench and could be rested with Bayern Munich next week in mind. Aleksandar Kolarov, who suffered a knock prior to the Arsenal game and played just over half an hour, will be assessed while Gareth Barry and Mario Balotelli return from suspension. Norwich defender Ritchie de Laet is doubtful for the trip to face league leaders City, due to a back problem. Centre-half Zak Whitbread could return to the squad following a hamstring injury having played for the reserves, alongside Dani Ayala, who is still recovering from a knee injury. Defender Elliott Ward has now been able to step up his rehabilitation from a knee ligament problem suffered in pre-season, but striker James Vaughan (knee) is still out. Man City (from): Hart, Pantilimon, Richards, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Savic, K Toure, Kolarov, Clichy, Johnson, Milner, Y Toure, De Jong, Barry, Hargreaves, Nasri, Silva, Dzeko, Balotelli, Aguero. Norwich (from): Ruddy, Tierney, Martin, De Laet, Barnett, Naughton, Crofts, Johnson, Hoolahan, Pilkington, Bennett, Morison, Rudd, Surman, Jackson, Holt, Wilbraham, Fox, Whitbread.

Source: http://network.yardbarker.com/soccer/article_external/man_city_v_norwich_preview/8460883

Phoenix Suns New York Giants

Penn State Football: Insight Bowl Looks to Be the Favorite for Nittany Lions

With no game this weekend, Penn State fans want to know just where the Nittany Lions will be playing this bowl season. They also want to know just how much of an impact the recent scandal will play in to the decision-making by a number of bowl games.

Jerry Palm, who does an excellent job predicting the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament field on an annual basis, projects Penn State to be playing in the Meineke Car Care of Texas Bowl in Houston on Dec. 31.

Palm projects Penn State to face Texas A&M, who is the last team Penn State faced when it played in the state of Texas. The Nittany Lions and Aggies met in the Alamo Bowl in 2007. Of course, Texas A&M and Penn State also met in 1999 Alamo Bowl, which has been cast in a negative light lately with a tie to the ugly Jerry Sandusky scandal.

Mark Sclabach, of ESPN, projects the Nittany Lions to be playing in the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Arizona on Dec. 30, against the Texas Longhorns. Penn State last played Texas in the 1997 Fiesta Bowl, winning 38-15.

Looking over the bowl lineup for the Big Ten, the Insight Bowl looks like the most realistic possibility. Consider the teams with a better record than Penn State in the conference. Wisconsin and Michigan State are each 10-2 and will meet in the first Big Ten Championship Game this weekend.

The winner will head to the Rose Bowl while the loser will likely be a leading candidate for the Capital One Bowl, who gets the first pick of Big Ten teams. While the Spartans were thumped in the game last year by Alabama, the Capital One Bowl has said that they would not hesitate to invite Michigan State for a second straight year if available. 

Michigan is also 10-2 and they are on the verge of being eligible for a BCS at-large bid. They are likely to move up at least one spot, to become officially eligible for a BCS invite this weekend with Michigan State and Georgia just ahead of them.

The Badgers are right behind them, so one Big Ten team will be in front of the Wolverines at 11-2. Unless Georgia stuns LSU in the SEC Championship Game, Michigan should creep in to the mix. That would be good news for the Big Ten because Michigan would have an excellent shot at being invited by a BCS bowl game.

Why? They are 10-2, have one of the top brand names that will get people to tune in and they have a dynamic quarterback in Denard Robinson. Having Michigan in a big bowl game would be something people would watch, and bowls know that. If they are available, what bowl would select Kansas State ahead of Michigan?

If the Big Ten gets two teams in to the BCS, and the Big Ten championship runner-up in the Capital One Bowl, all eyes are set on the remaining New Year's Day bowl games (which are played on Jan. 2 this season).

The Outback Bowl would likely invite Nebraska for the first time, now that the Huskers are a Big Ten team. The Gator Bowl appears set on setting up an Ohio State versus Florida matchup, taking advantage of the Urban Meyer story line as its draw.

At that point it looks to come down to the two bowl games projected by CBS and ESPN. The potential candidates for the bowls would appear to be Penn State, at 9-3, and Iowa, at 7-5. The Insight Bowl would be likely to get the first choice between the two.

Unless the scandal is a deciding factor for the Insight Bowl, which is busy cleaning up its own image with a recent scandal tied to the Fiesta Bowl (the two are operated and managed by the same group), it should be an easy pick between Penn State and Iowa.

Penn State has a fantastic history in Tempe with the Fiesta Bowl and helped put it on the map in the bowl season, and the Nittany Lions own a head-to-head win against Iowa this season.

Penn State will learn their bowl destination Sunday night when all of the bowl pairings are made official. Will it be the Insight Bowl, or will there be a surprise in store for the Nittany Lions?

 

Follow Kevin McGuire's Penn State coverage on Twitter.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/965029-penn-state-football-insight-bowl-looks-to-be-the-favorite-for-nittany-lions

Atlanta Hawks San Antonio Spurs

11 Players Who Shouldn't Be on the FIFPro World XI Shortlist

Every year the FIFPro releases its World XI, and generally it's a pretty solid 11. 

The problem with FIFPro is its shortlist, which this year has been filled with players that shouldn't be there.

I wonder if FIFPro just selected most of the players according to FIFA 12 player ratings. 

It's almost as if they think the large majority of football fans do not follow football. 

This is a must-read if you want to be inundated with the big-name players who haven't been performing. 

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Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/964031-11-players-who-shouldnt-be-on-the-fifpro-world-xi-shortlist

Philadelphia 76ers Chicago Bulls

Steve Bruce sacked as Sunderland manager

Steve Bruce's time at the Stadium of Light is over, with Sunderland having announced the firing of their manager.

Bruce becomes the first manager fired in the Barclays Premier League this season, ending a two-plus season tenure with the Black Cats that began before the 2009-10 season, when Bruce moved north from Wigan.

Sunderland announced the decision Wednesday on the club's website.

"This has been a difficult time for everyone at Sunderland and is not a situation that any of us envisaged or expected to be in," club chairman Ellis Short said.

"It is my job as chairman to act in the best interests of our football club at all times and I can assure everyone that this is not a decision that I have taken lightly. Sadly results this season have simply not been good enough and I feel the time is right to make a change."

Sunderland's Saturday loss at home to Wigan made Bruce's position untenable, with Franco di Santo's stoppage time goal giving the Latics only their second victory of the season.

The defeat left Sunderland 16th in the Barclays Premier League, only two points above the drop zone.

In two previous seasons at the Stadium of Light, Bruce had guided Sunderland to 13th and 10th place finishes but had won only twice this year: at Bolton on October 22 (2-0), and at home to Stoke City on September 18 (4-0).

Assistant manager Eric Black will serve as interim manager while the club searches of a permanent replacement.

Source: http://network.yardbarker.com/soccer/article_external/steve_bruce_sacked_as_sunderland_manager/8420359

Philadelphia Eagles Jacksonville Jaguars