Ohio State gives Tressel rich new contract
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel has been given a raise that, at $3.5 million a year, makes him the highest paid coach in the Big Ten Conference.
Ohio State officials said Tressel's new agreement pays him more than $1 million a year more than his previous contract and includes raises of 3-4 percent each year until it expires Jan. 31, 2013.
An Ohio State release said Tressel will be the highest paid coach in the Big Ten and "in the top 10 nationally among collegiate coaches."
The Ohio State release said the school's coaches' salaries are paid with Athletics Department funds and no public monies are used.
Tressel is beginning his eighth season as the Buckeyes' head coach. He owns a 73-16 record at Ohio State and is 208-73-2 in his career. Under Tressel, the Buckeyes have won four Big Ten titles and played in three national championship games.
Spurs' Ginobili to have heel surgery
BUENOS AIRES, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said he will undergo surgery to repair a left heel injury.
Ginobili injured a ligament in his left heel during the NBA playoffs and aggravated it in the medal-round game at the Olympics against the United States. He didn't play in the bronze-medal game won by his Argentinean teammates.
Ginobili, in his regular Friday column in La Nacion, said he would have arthroscopic surgery on his foot.
He averaged 19.5 points and 4.8 rebounds for the Spurs last season and was voted the NBA's sixth man award.
LSU moves up football start time
BATON ROUGE, La., Aug. 29 (UPI) -- The threat of Tropical Storm Gustav led Louisiana State officials to move up the start of their season-opening college football contest to 11 a.m. EDT Saturday.
The sixth-ranked Tigers begin their 2008 season with a matchup against Appalachian State at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. The game had been scheduled for a 5 p.m. EDT Saturday kickoff.
"Public safety was the overriding concern expressed by all parties when we met with the governor and his staff," LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva said in a statement after consultations Friday with state officials. "Ten a.m. is obviously not the optimal time for a football game but when one of the options was to not play the game at all, this is a matter of making the best of an unfortunate situation."
There is an anticipation of an evacuation of New Orleans and an anticipated traffic contraflow order by the governor of Louisiana.
Knicks acquire another Patrick Ewing
NEW YORK, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Patrick Ewing Jr. has been acquired by the New York Knicks, the team his father played for in his Hall of Fame career.
The younger Ewing was drafted this year by Sacramento but sent to Houston in a deal Aug. 14. The Knicks acquired Ewing Friday for the draft rights to center Frederic Weis, who is playing in a European professional league.
"Patrick Ewing will have an opportunity here to compete for a spot on our roster," Knicks President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh said. "He is a solid defensive player and a very good athlete."
Ewing played two seasons at Indiana before moving to Georgetown, his father's alma mater. He was selected the Big East sixth man of the year as a senior.
The elder Ewing owns several Knicks records, including points (23,665), rebounds (10,759) and games played (1,039) over a career in which played in New York from 1985-2000. He is to be enshrined next week in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
