The Morning Dish – Friday, July 18th
Dennehy Update: After a two weeks without a substantial news update, things are starting to pick up again in the Patrick Dennehy disappearance case. Yesterday, roommate and teammate Carlton Dotson contacted Dorchester County, Maryland, sheriff’s deputies and provided them with a statement on his own, without the presence of his attorney, Grady Irvin, Jr. After Dotson had completed his statement, he was picked up by his high school coach Vic Burns. The content of the statement were not made public, at least until Dorchester County sheriff officials have provided the statement to Waco police. As you’ll recall, an informant notified Delaware police in late June that Dotson told his cousin he shot Dennehy in the head after the two got into an argument while shooting on a Waco-area farm. And late yesterday word came out of Waco that a maintenance worker at Dotson and Dennehy’s apartment complex found a 9mm handgun, and Waco police are examining it to see if it was one of the weapons owned by the pair.
Huskies on Probation: Piling onto the turmoil in Seattle, the NCAA gave the University of Washington basketball program two-years probation for the violations of assistant head coach Cameron Dollar. Last month head football coach Rick Neuheisel was fired for participating in an illegal gambling operation – a high-stakes NCAA basketball tournament bracket. The basketball program will also face reduced financial aid and restricted recruiting. During a four-month period last summer, Dollar had contacted recruits outside of the allowed recruiting period, and the NCAA deemed the violations “neither inadvertent nor isolated”, and were thus considered major violations.
Haskins Charged: Legendary Texas Western head coach Don Haskins has been charged with driving while intoxicated, according to El Paso police. Haskins, 73, had two open packages of alcohol in his vehicle and was jailed briefly Thursday morning before posting a $600 bond. Haskins won the 1966 NCAA Championship while coaching Texas Western, now Texas-El Paso, with an all-black starting squad against an all-white Kentucky team. The Hall of Fame coach ended his career in 1999 with a 719-353 record, including 14 NCAA tournament appearances, 7 NIT appearances, and 17 20-win seasons. It was just last month that DUI charges against current Miners head coach Billy Gillispie were dropped, following an arrest this past January.
Staying Put: Florida AD Jeremy Foley announced to fans and alumni yesterday that the Gators have no intentions of jumping to the ACC from the SEC, where they were a founding member 70 years ago. A possible move to be the 12th ACC team would create a great football conference (with Miami, Florida State, Virginia Tech, et al), and would likely spruce up the current ACC basketball level of competition, or at least more than Virginia Tech and Miami. Tuesday, the ACC filed a request to the NCAA to allow a change in the football bylaws to allow a championship game with 11 member institutions. The current bylaw stipulates a minimum of 12 members to have a conference championship.
