Big Sky Conference adds Northern Colorado
Northern Colorado officially becomes a member of the Big Sky Conference today.
UNC joins conference members Eastern Washington, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Northern Arizona, Sacramento State, Portland State and Weber State.
“The entire Big Sky Conference is thrilled to officially welcome the University of Northern Colorado,” league commissioner Doug Fullerton said Friday.
Northern Colorado will play complete Big Sky Conference schedules in all sports during the 2006-07 seasons.
Because the school is still transitioning from NCAA Division II to Division I, however, the Bears will not be eligible to compete in NCAA championships, with the exception of volleyball.
•The parents of one of three Duke University lacrosse players charged with raping a woman at a team party said their son took a polygraph test and can prove he is innocent.
In an interview with NBC’s “Today,” Kevin Finnerty would not reveal specifics of his son Collin Finnerty’s alibi, but he mentioned cell phone and dormitory access records.
“He has numerous eyewitnesses every step of the way, every minute of the night,” Kevin Finnerty said.
Football
Suit blames NFL, union
Seven current and former NFL players have sued the league and its union to recover $20 million lost in an alleged investment scam, claiming the union endorsed the services of an investment firm even though its manager had liens against him.
“They are a huge billion-dollar company,” Steve Atwater, a former Pro Bowl safety for the Denver Broncos, said of the NFL at a news conference. “We hope that they would at least come to the table and talk to us.”
NFL spokesman Joe Browne said that the lawsuit will have to take its normal course in the courts.
Blaine Bishop, a former Pro Bowl safety for the Philadelphia Eagles who also played for the Tennessee Titans, said he is past being mad at the scheme authorities say hedge fund manager Kirk Wright cooked up to steal the players’ money.
•The Arena Football League and NBC have failed to reach an agreement on extending a unique broadcasting agreement in place since 2003 in which NBC paid no rights fee to televise games.
•California quarterback Steve Levy was suspended for the season opener for his involvement in a bar fight.
Levy, a senior, pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony assault charges stemming from the fight last weekend.
Miscellany
Capel suspended
Sprinter John Capel has accepted a two-year suspension after testing positive for marijuana, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said.
•Juan Urango unanimously outpointed Australia’s Naoufel Ben Rabah at Hollywood, Fla., to capture the vacant IBF light welterweight championship.
•Only one member of a pair or dance team will need to be a citizen of the country for which it competes under new regulations approved by the International Skating Union.