Dave Gavitt's original Big East turned into a league at war with itself

Dave Gavitt's original Big East turned into a league at war with itself. As far back as the mid-90s, there was talk about a split between the schools that were basketball-first and those that weren't. Tranghese kept the thing together, but it was at times an uneasy alliance.

He led the league through the Atlantic Coast Conference raid a few years ago that took Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College, in large part by raiding Conference USA for Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida, Marquette and DePaul. That actually worked well in both football and basketball, stabilizing the football side and turning basketball into a true monster; but Tranghese acknowledged how difficult it was to govern. 

The majority of voters will have access to the maximum

Early voting in Florida begins Saturday, nearly a week later than in past years — and with wide variations in hours from county to county.

The majority of voters will have access to the maximum possible hours of 96, spread over eight straight 12-hour days. That's because supervisors of elections in all large counties chose that schedule, seeking to maximize turnout and reduce chances of long lines on Election Day and confusion from the change in early voting days.

The Legislaturelast year reduced the number of days from 14 to eight, ending on a Saturday three days before the Nov. 6 election. The state had required 96 hours of early voting but the law was changed to allow at least 48 hours and a maximum of 96, while eliminating early voting on the last Sunday before Election Day. 

The Reds’ starting rotation enjoyed incredible health this season

The Reds' starting rotation enjoyed incredible health this season. Cueto, Leake, Homer Bailey, Bronson Arroyo and Mat Latos made all but one start — and missed that only because of a doubleheader.

"It makes for continuity," Manager DustyBaker said before the game. "When this happened the other day, that was devastating at the moment, but you have to get over that and realize, hey, we have a game to play and we got more games to play."

But with the Giants' victory, there is now one more game to play in a series that appeared over after the Reds cruised to a 2-0 lead in San Francisco. 

The Chiefs lost center Rodney Hudson to injury

The Chiefs lost center Rodney Hudson to injury, forcing Ryan Lilja to slide over from his guard position and rookie Jeff Allen to play for the first time. On one play, they had backups Nate Eachus, Shaun Draughn and TerranceCopper on the field with that makeshift line.

This is not a good Saints team. The rubble of the bounty scandal has them playing for an interim coach who is filling in for an interim coach. Drew Brees is saying things like, "We're not even close to talking about the Super Bowl." Once, the Saints gift-wrapped a key first down for the Chiefs by calling consecutive timeouts - which is illegal.

But the Chiefs would not quit. Coaches dream of their teams reacting like this when nothing goes right. Charles jump-started the comeback with a 91-yard sprint down the left sideline that should erase any lingering questions about that surgically repaired knee. Then the Chiefs got a field goal from kicker Ryan Succop. And another one. Linebacker Justin Houston - he took his biggest step yet toward becoming the kind of player opposing teams game-plan for - sacked Brees in the end zone for a safety, and suddenly it was a three-point game.

Nelson also gave James a shoutout in his speech

Nelson also gave James a shoutout in his speech, congratulating him for leading the Miami Heat to the NBA championship. "I know the feeling when I won the first one," Nelson said.

Nelson won five NBA titles as a Boston Celtics player and then spent 31 years as a coach, winning an all-time best 1,335 games on the bench in Milwaukee, Golden State, New York and Dallas. He has since retired and moved to Hawaii, where he runs a coffee shop and shaved ice stand.

"Hopefully, this will be the last tuxedo I'll be wearing," he said. "There is life after basketball. Come out and have a cup of coffee with me in Maui."

1U 17" LCD Rackmount Monitor, Touchpad or Trackball - UL Certified: Electronics

1U 17" LCD Rackmount Monitor, Touchpad or Trackball - UL Certified: Electronics

B0040UD2YC

1U 17" LCD Rackmount Monitor, Touchpad or Trackball - UL Certified

• 17" Samsung 1280 X 1024 LCD Rackmount Monitor Drawer
• 104 Key Notebook Keyboard with Touchpad or Trackball Mouse
• Rack Mount Monitor Chassis Depth 25.6"
• Rugged, molded front handle with 2 point quick release latch
• All Rackmount LCD Mounting Hardware Included

• Shipping Weight:47 pounds
  1U 17" LCD Rackmount Monitor, Touchpad or Trackball - UL Certified: Electronics
  

The evening started with fighter jets streaming red

The encyclopedic review of modern British music continued with a 1918 Broadway standard adopted by the West Ham football team, the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and "Bohemian Rhapsody,'" by still another Queen, and other tracks too numerous to mention, but not to dance to.

The evening started with fighter jets streaming red, white and blue smoke and roaring over the stadium, packed with a buzzing crowd of 60,000 people, at 8:12 p.m. or 20:12 in the 24-hour time observed by Britons.

Boyle, one of Britain's most successful filmmakers, who directed "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Trainspotting," had a ball with his favored medium, mixing filmed passages with live action in the stadium to hypnotic effect, with 15,000 volunteers taking part in the show.