Free Republic

A two-month investigation by a Nebraska prosecutor has identified seven people who threatened referee John Higgins after Kentucky’s 75-73 NCAA tournament loss to North Carolina last March. Those seven people could eventually face charges from the FBI or authorities in their jurisdictions, Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov told the Associated Press on Friday. “Based on the investigation’s findings, our office has determined that no local charges will be filed and that pursuit of any criminal charges would be best served by deferring to authorities in the appropriate jurisdictions,” Polikov said in a statement. Kentucky coach John Calipari incited a firestorm...

Marijuana: The Trail Blazers' Toughest Foe Player mentor says there is 'definitely some kind of problem here' So, do the Portland Trail Blazers have a pot problem on their hands? Nearly everyone agrees that they do, considering that four players -- including Zach Randolph, arrested this week on charges including driving under the influence of intoxicants -- have been booked on marijuana charges during the last 13 months. Team management begs to differ. President Steve Patterson was very careful Wednesday when he responded to questions about the Blazers and marijuana. "In all fairness, there is a cultural marijuana issue in...

The debut of ABC's NBA telecasts, largely depicted as a "loss leader" for the network, turned out to be no leader at all Wednesday night as a double-header wound up in third place with an average 3.6 rating and a 7 share, falling behind the umpteenth rerun of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on CBS (4.3/9) and a repeat of The West Wing on NBC (4.0/7). The top-rated show of the night was a rerun of NBC's Law & Order (6.8/13), which gave NBC a slight edge in the overall ratings for the night, as it scored a 4.8/10 to CBS's...