Sports in 60 seconds
Three Big East refs withdraw:
The three officials cited for two errors in the final seconds of the St. John’s-Rutgers game have withdrawn from the rest of the Big East tournament. Veteran refs Jim Burr, Tim Higgins and Earl Walton missed two calls — a travel and stepping out of bounds — in the final 1.7 seconds of St. John’s 65-63 second-round victory Tuesday. The Big East acknowledged after the game the officials blew the calls. On Thursday, Commissioner John Marinatto said the three officials have “voluntarily withdrawn” in “the best interests of those involved.”
Manuel gets 2-year extension:
The Philadelphia Phillies rewarded manager Charlie Manuel on Thursday with a two-year contract extension through 2013, his prize for four straight NL East titles, a World Series championship and the team’s exceedingly bright future. Hardly a popular choice when first hired, the folksy Manuel has guided the Phillies to the best record in the NL since taking over. Details of the contract weren’t made public, but Manuel will reportedly be paid between $7 and $8 million total for the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
Players for concussion policy:
Former No. 1 draft pick Andrew Bogut is among several players who say they would welcome a formal NBA policy on handling concussions. Bogut says he wants to see the league do more to bring its policy in line with the NFL and NHL programs, including comprehensive testing in the preseason to establish benchmarks to evaluate when a player is ready to return from a blow to the head. The NBA told The Associated Press this week that it’s working with an independent neurologist and may have a league-wide policy in place by next season.
— NBA Commissioner David Stern says he doesn’t plan to talk to Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy about critical remarks Van Gundy made about him he will speak to Magic team executives about the comments. “I’m going to engage in a private discussions at this point with his franchise,” Stern said. “I actually am not going to talk to Stan Van Gundy. I’m going to talk to the ownership of the team.”
— An Atlanta nightclub has dismissed a lawsuit against Miami Heat star LeBron James. The Opera nightclub had filed a complaint Monday in Fulton County Superior Court accusing James of canceling a March 17 appearance for which he was supposed to be paid $25,000.
SIU sticks with Lowery:
After three losing seasons, Southern Illinois says it is sticking with its beleaguered basketball coach. Athletics director Mario Moccia says the program will make changes involving Chris Lowery’s assistant coaches but is keeping Lowery, citing his work over seven seasons in Carbondale despite the slumping records and home turnout in recent years. The Salukis finished this season 13-19, narrowly falling to top-seeded Missouri State in the second round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.
Police investigate on-ice hit:
Montreal police started a criminal investigation Thursday into the on-ice hit by Boston’s Zdeno Chara that left the Canadiens’ Max Pacioretty with a severe concussion and cracked vertebra. Police said they are acting on a request by Quebec’s director of criminal and penal prosecutions, Louis Dionne. Police added that after evidence is collected it will then be determined if there are grounds for prosecution. The NHL said a day earlier it would not suspend Chara for Tuesday night’s hit, when he slammed Pacioretty into a glass partition.