Sports News, Nuggets and Notes from East Carolina and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

01.26.04: High-flying Cards too much for Volunteers... .. NCAA nixes FSU allegations against Gators... .. C-USA basketball standings & scoreboard... .. More...

01.25.04: Rivers puts on Senior Bowl show for pro scouts... .. Frogs about to hop to MWC?... .. Colorado, Colorado State confer on new pact... .. More...

01.24.04: Gator takes command of muscles and fitness for ECU football... .. Alabama native Rivers finally plays at home... .. Phog Fieldhouse mystique doesn't faze Spiders... .. More...

01.23.04: Rimpf, C-USA Senior Bowl mates on display for NFL scouts... .. Suit claims Petrino reneged on scholarship... .. Majerus gets a pass on discrimination charge... .. More...

01.22.04: 2003 was good year at ticket office for C-USA football... .. UNC-CH brings in former Nebraska assistant... .. Diener on rebound after neck injury... .. Cards make Cincy's first loss a doozie... .. More...

01.21.04: Lawhorn named league's best, ECU picked for upper division... .. Diener goes down in Marquette loss to 49ers... .. Pitino assistant pleads guilty to DUI... .. Foes feasting on depleted South Florida... .. More...

01.20.04: Tigers' 2004 football slate includes journey to Greenville... .. Even Hawaii's mascot draws fire for loutish antics... .. Five C-USA, Carolinas juggernauts gang up in AP Top 10... .. More...

01.19.04: Ref dies during Wesleyan-Shenandoah game... .. Louisville assistant nabbed for DUI... .. Memphis adds three years to Calipari pact... .. C-USA basketball standings & scoreboard... .. More...

01.18.04: Auburn CEO resigns over secretive plot to change coaches... .. Nutt demands on-air apology from 'goofball' Alberts... .. Drunken fan cuffed after beheading mascot... .. More...

01.17.04: Pitino absent as Louisville makes quick turnaround... .. Southern Miss staggers No. 21 Marquette in Green Bay... .. Kentucky fan gets 27-year exile for web recruiting operation... .. More...

LOUISVILLE — Louisville coach Rick Pitino is taking an indefinite leave of absence to seek treatment for an undetermined medical condition that left him in agony.

"I have been in excruciating pain the last three or four games," Pitino said Monday. "It's getting worse day by day."

Pitino, 51, said the pain in his left side was "urological related," and that he had been dealing with it for four to five months. He said doctors have ruled out prostate cancer, but they have yet to determine what is causing Pitino pain.

Pitino said he first noticed the pain during a golf outing last summer. He said doctors first treated it as a muscle tear, but when it didn't heal, they began looking for another cause.

Louisville (15-1) is ranked fourth in this week's AP Top 25 and has won 15 consecutive games. The Cardinals host Houston on Wednesday night. Pitino said he did not know how many games he would miss. "It could be a couple of days, it could be a couple of weeks," he said.

The Cardinals beat Tennessee 65-62 Sunday night. When Pitino arrived home early Monday morning, the discomfort was unbearable. "I was doubled over in pain," Pitino said.

Assistant Kevin Willard, who last week pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol, will coach the team in Pitino's absence. As a condition of his plea, Willard, the son of Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard, must undergo alcohol counseling.

Pitino said he disciplined Willard internally after his arrest. He had no reservations about turning the team over to Willard, who also worked as Pitino's assistant with the Boston Celtics. "My confidence level in him is off the charts," Pitino said.

Pitino met with his players before practice on Monday to discuss the situation. His announcement is the latest emotional blow the team has faced this season.

In December, Francisco Garcia's brother, Hector Lopez, was shot and killed in the Bronx. A week later, Ellis Myles' father died in California. Myles is redshirting this season with a knee injury. "All of us have been through a lot and they know how to react positively," Pitino said.

He joked that he would run practices through a speaker phone during his absence.

NEW YORK — Spike TV will broadcast the official highlight show for the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

Six shows will air during the tournament, beginning on the weekend of the round of 16 games. Spike TV will air one show a night March 25-28. It also will also one show on April 3 and another on April 5 from the Final Four.

The shows will include game highlights, interviews, news conferences and features on players and teams.

This is the second straight year that CBS Sports has selected Spike TV — formerly The Nashville Network — to broadcast the highlight show, which will be produced by College Sports Television.

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' men's college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Jan. 25, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking:

Rank/Team/Record/Points/Previous
1. Duke 44 16-1 1766 1
2. Stanford 26 16-0 1743 2
3. Saint Joseph's 2 17-0 1640 3
4. Louisville 0 15-1 1597 5
5. Kentucky 0 13-2 1418 9
6. Connecticut 0 15-3 1298 4
7. Pittsburgh 0 19-1 1287 8
8. Cincinnati 0 14-1 1248 6
9. Arizona 0 13-3 1187 14
10. Gonzaga 0 15-2 1147 15
11. Mississippi State 0 16-1 1012 19
12. North Carolina 0 12-4 1006 7
13. Texas Tech 0 16-2 967 18
14. Georgia Tech 0 15-3 895 11
15. Kansas 0 12-3 683 12
16. Texas 0 12-3 599 16
17. Wisconsin 0 13-3 595 21
18. Oklahoma State 0 14-2 580 24
19. Wake Forest 0 11-4 444 10
20. Syracuse 0 13-3 442 13
21. Purdue 0 14-4 418 23
22. Florida 0 12-4 366 17
23. Providence 0 13-3 313 NR
24. South Carolina 0 17-2 293 25
25. Oklahoma 0 11-4 94 20

Florida State 75, Utah State 51, Vanderbilt 45, North Carolina State 44, Air Force 32, Maryland 23, Southern Illinois 21, Hawaii 14, Seton Hall 14, Creighton 10, Western Michigan 10, Dayton 8, Marquette 7, Northern Iowa 3, Manhattan 2, Louisiana State 1, Memphis 1, Vermont 1.