Associated Press
FAIRFAX, Va. ó After losing a Final Four coach to the Atlantic Coast Conference, George Mason got one in return.
The Patriots on Saturday hired former Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt to replace Jim Larranaga, who left this month for the University of Miami.
ěBoth are very good coaches,î George Mason athletic director Tom OíConnor said. ěWe were glad to have Jim, and weíre proud to have Paul.î
Hewitt was fired by Georgia Tech last month. He took the Yellow Jackets to the Final Four in 2004, but that was the only season he had a winning record in ACC play. He went 190-162 over 11 years at the school and was 72-104 in the conference.
Georgia Tech went 13-18 this season and failed to sell out any games at its 9,100-seat arena.
Money was a major reason the Patriots lost Larranaga, who took George Mason to the Final Four in 2006 and is the winningest coach in school history. Hewitt, 47, is receiving a $7.2 million buyout over five years from Georgia Tech, which would seem to make him more affordable for a Colonial Athletic Association school like GMU.
ěThat was never a consideration we had,î OíConnor said. ěWe felt like he was right person to have. He fit all the criteria we were looking for.î
Hewitt arrived at Georgia Tech in 2000 after posting a 66-27 record in three seasons at Siena.
CONWAY, S.C. ó A new $35 million arena and convocation center at Coastal Carolina University in Conway won’t be open in time for basketball season this fall.
The Student Recreation and Convocation Center will seat about 3,200 fans, more than three times as many as in the existing Kimbel Arena.
GOLF
MOBILE, Ala. ó Sixteen-year-old Alexis Thompson moved into position to become the youngest winner in LPGA Tour history, shooting a 5-under 67 in breezy conditions Saturday for a share of the third-round lead with Song-Hee Kim in the Avnet LPGA Classic.
n AVONDALE, La. ó Bubba Watson made a 4-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a 2-under 70 and a share of third-round lead with Webb Simpson in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
EUGENE, Ore. ó Just a few months removed from the BCS championship, the Oregon Ducks played their spring game Saturday before a Pac-10 record crowd of 43,468.
Heisman finalist LaMichael James showed he hadn’t lost a step by running for a 67-yard touchdown for Oregon’s green team early in the day. Rob Beard added three field goals for a 16-0 victory over the white team.
For comparison, last year’s spring game drew 25,211, the previous school record.
COLUMBUS, Ohio ó A grand jury indicted former Ohio State and NFL quarterback Art Schlichter on 13 felony counts, alleging he and associates bilked people out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Columbus Dispatch reported the indictment on 12 counts of theft and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity is linked to a million-dollar ticket-selling scheme.
BASEBALL
CINCINNATI ó Reds pitcher Mike Leake was sentenced to counseling and 30 hours of community service after pleading guilty to a charge reduced from theft to unauthorized use of property.
Leake was arrested April 18 after trying to leave Macy’s with six T-shirts having a total value of $59.88. He said he was trying to exchange T-shirts he’d purchased on April 2 that were too small and that instead of seeking help, he simply left the already-purchased T-shirts, picked up new ones and left.
NHL PLAYOFFS
PHILADELPHIA ó Uh oh, Boston has another series lead over the Flyers.
The Bruins are counting on a few new faces to keep this one for good.
David Krejci and Brad Marchand each scored two goals, and the Bruins took out their frustration from one of the great collapses in postseason history with a 7-3 win over Philadelphia on Saturday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
For the second straight season, the Bruins lead the Flyers in the second round. The Bruins went ahead 3-0 a year ago, then the Flyers became the third NHL team to rally with four straight victories to win a best-of-seven series.
“I try not to think about what happened last year, but in the back of my mind, it’s hard,” Krejci said. “But I try to stay focused for the game. My teammates helped me out.”
Krejci, who had two assists, was helped by a string of teammates who were absent for last year’s failure.
Krejci was sidelined by injury for the final four games of the series. Dennis Seidenberg also was hurt. Gregory Campbell and Nathan Horton were both on the Florida Panthers. Marchand spent most of last season in the minors.
Those five combined for 12 points in Game 1, and Horton and Campbell scored goals.
“What happened in the past is in the past,” Horton said. “There’s been a lot of talk about it, for sure, so we just wanted to come out and show everyone that this is the series that matters to us now.”