Fast Break

College basketball

It was the $1.6 million question

Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun got into a heated exchange at a postgame news conference in Hartford, Conn., Saturday with a freelance journalist and political activist who questioned why the coach of a public university was making $1.6 million in tough economic times.

“Not a dime back,” Calhoun joked as Ken Krayeske asked about Calhoun’s salary and the state’s budget deficit, which is estimated at $944 million for the current fiscal year and up to $8 billion over the next two years.

When Krayeske continued the line of questioning, Calhoun got angry.

“My best advice to you is, shut up,” Calhoun said.

“If these guys covered this stuff, I wouldn’t have to do it,” Krayeske said.

Now visibly angry, Calhoun responded.

“Quite frankly, we bring in $12 million to the university, nothing to do with state funds,” Calhoun shouted back. “Get some facts and come back and see me.”

Baseball

Speaking of a lot of money…

Nick Markakis and Ervin Santana received the steepest raises among the 111 players in salary arbitration, a group that overall earned a record increase of 172 percent, according to a study by the Associated Press.

The rise broke the previous mark of 169 percent set in 1999 and was up sharply from last year’s 120 percent hike. The 111 players in this year’s filing class rose to an average of $3.07 million from $1.13 million.

Markakis received a 24-fold increase, from $455,000 last year to an average of just more than $11 million under a $66.1 million, six-year deal Baltimore gave the outfielder.

Santana got a 16-fold rise, from $445,000 last season to a $7.5 million average under a $30 million, four-year contract.

NFL

Steroids linked to injuries

The NFL’s steroids era appears to have left a legacy of joint and ligament injuries as well as mental issues among those using the performance- enhancing drugs, according to a new survey.

The findings, released Friday, come from a comprehensive health survey of 2,552 retired NFL players from the 1940s to the 1990s, conducted by the University of North Carolina’s Center for the Study of Retired Athletes.

The study found that those who used steroids had significantly higher rates of herniated disks and knee ligament and meniscus injuries, plus more elbow, foot, ankle and toe problems than those who said they played steroids-free.