The University of Connecticut men’s basketball team won the NCAA championship last year, but was knocked out of the tournament on Thursday in its first game. The Huskies won’t have a chance to play in next year’s tournament, unless they win an appeal, because their academic performance has been deemed sub-par. The “Big Dance” won’t…

No matter what the NCAA says about its “First Four,” held on Tuesday and Wednesday, those games aren’t the first round of the men’s basketball tournament. They’re play-in games to qualify for the field of 64. The real action gets under way Thursday and Friday, when 60 teams play their first game. Like millions of…

With his favorite tournament just three weeks away, Tiger Woods was playing some of his best golf in recent memory. He finished second in the Honda Classic last week, with a closing 62 that represented the best final round of his career. The second-place showing marked his best finish in a PGA Tour event in…

College basketball seems to have the same ugly problem every decade or so, when the integrity of its games are brought into question by gambling allegations. It happened in the 1950s, when the City College of New York was involved in a scandal that eventually reached seven schools and 32 players. It happened in the…

The media-relations office within Harvard University’s athletic department was bombarded with requests last month as Jeremy Lin became a national sensation. Everyone wanted to know more about the Class of 2010 alumnus who was breaking racial and academic stereotypes as the New York Knicks’ newfound point guard. “Linsanity” has died down, but Harvard’s sports-information officers…

The case against Gregg Williams, the New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator from 2009 to 2011, continues to grow. After admitting and apologizing on Friday for a bounty pool that rewarded his players for “knockouts” and “cart-offs,” Williams was expected to meet with NFL officials on Monday. Their discussion will cover much more than his three…

Football is an extremely physical sport by nature, filled with violent collisions between players who are big, strong and fast. Defenders are conditioned to hit often and hit hard, in hopes of separating opponents from the ball and maybe their senses, too. All of that is well within the rules and the spirit of the…

The NBA’s annual midseason party is over. The out-of-town All-Stars have departed to rejoin their respective teams. The visiting media and fans have moved on to their next assignment or gone back home. The regular season resumes with nine games Tuesday night. But Orlando, Fla., is still the center of attention and will remain so…

Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman was at a forum in Los Angeles recently, discussing the city’s chances of acquiring an NFL franchise, when the conversation turned to concussions. Aikman, who suffered from several concussions during his Hall of Fame career, sounded an ominous note about their potential effect. League officials and owners are “very…