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Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 20, 2001
Wisconsin recruits got shoe discounts
MADISON, Wis. -- Several Wisconsin recruits were among the beneficiaries of more than $23,000 in unadvertised discounts from a local shoe store, the Wisconsin State Journal reported Friday.
The newspaper filed a public record lawsuit to obtain the university's records on its internal investigation into special discounts 121 Badgers athletes received from The Shoe Box.
They had to repay the discounts by making a donation to charity, and some were ordered to perform community service.
Three basketball players, including two from Wisconsin's Final Four team, were suspended for the first eight games of this season. In August, 26 football players received suspensions of 1-3 games, and a women's soccer player was suspended for two games.
The reports sent to the NCAA in August were the first time the university acknowledged the involvement of recruits who had signed to play for the Badgers and were living on campus before school started. That could violate NCAA rules barring teams' prospects from obtaining special benefits.
John Dowling, senior university legal counsel, told the State Journal the findings on recruits probably will be included in the university's final report to the NCAA.
TEMPLE: Sophomore guard Ron Blackshear transferred to Marshall for more playing time.
BIG EAST CONFERENCE: The owner of www.bigeast.com will give the domain name to the Big East Conference to settle a federal lawsuit over the Web site, said lawyers for both sides.
Site owner Michael Agnew and his Web hosting company, Just Net Inc., will transfer the domain name at their expense, according to a written statement from the Big East. No financial terms were released.
The Big East filed suit this week after someone searching the Internet for the official conference site -- www.bigeast.org -- discovered banners advertising pornography onbigeast.com.
WILLIAM & MARY: Alex English Jr., the son of former NBA player Alex English, transferred to Winthrop after being unable to play for two seasons because of an Achilles' tendon problem.
Junior guard Sherisha Hills tore the ACL in her right knee during the 10th-ranked Gators' 72-59 victory against Auburn on Thursday. She will miss the rest of the season.
Hills, averaging 6.6 points and 2.3 rebounds as the first player off the bench, is the third UF player to tear an ACL this season. Guards Kelly Stevenson and Tara Taylor were injured in preseason.
Hills tore her left ACL as a junior at Academy of the Holy Names in Tampa. Surgery to repair her right ACL will be scheduled soon.
"Sherisha is the type of person who will encourage her teammates. ... She will find a way to contribute." coach Carol Ross said.
NO. 23 XAVIER 73, TEMPLE 63: Taru Tuukkanen scored 26, four in a late 9-0 run for the visiting Musketeers.
UCF: Sophomore Erin Paige will miss four weeks with a ruptured posterior cruciate ligament in her knee.
- Staff writer Joanne Korth contributed to this report.