Yesterday was one of those rare black holes in the pro sports schedule ... no Major League Baseball for the first time since the All-Star break, no NFL, the NHL starts tonight in earnest and the NBA is just coming out of hibernation.
So we are left to reflect on two latter-day sports phenomena -- midweek college football and the Law & Order beat.
Tuesday Night Football had a somber backdrop as Memphis edged Marshall, 24-21. Memphis was playing just days after the weekend death of defensive lineman Taylor Bradford. Bradford was shot in a residential complex and drove a short distance before plowing into a tree. He died at a local hospital. In honor of Bradford, who hadn't played in a game yet this season, Memphis wore stickers with his No. 93 on their helmets, students released balloons at halftime and the band played Amazing Grace.
In strictly courts and cops developments:
* A federal jury awarded the former New York Knicks executive who sued coach Isiah Thomas and Madison Square Garden over sexual harassment and her firing first-round draft pick money, $11.6 million. Although Thomas was the central figure in the complaint, the seven-person jury didn't single him out for any of the damages awarded to Anucha Browne Sanders. MSG owes $8.6 million and company chairman James Dolan another $3 million. Appeals are on the way, the losers say.
* That backup punter at Northern Colorado who stabbed the first-stringer about a year ago, apparently to get the starting job, was sentenced yesterday. Mitch Cozad was sentenced to seven years in prison. His victim, Rafael Mendoza, survived the attack and eventually returned to the team.
* And University of Florida safety Tony Joner was arrested yesterday and charged with felony burglary, but the charges sound worse than the actual offense, it appears. Joiner pushed open a gate at an impound lot where his girlfriend's car had been towed. Joiner was there to pay a $76 fee, but no one was there to meet him and the gate appears to have been left unlocked. The owner of the property leased by the towing company took some of the blame.
