Marlins, cooling on Pujols, sign Buehrle
ST. LOUIS, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- The Miami Marlins turned their attention from Albert Pujols to Mark Buehrle Wednesday, signing the former White Sox pitcher to a four-year, $58 million deal.
The Marlins landed the free-agent left-hander just as it seemed their quest to sign the St. Louis Cardinals' all-star first baseman was coming up short, The Miami Herald reported.
Reports from the annual baseball winter meetings in Dallas indicated Pujols has received 10-year contract offers worth more than $200 million from the Marlins, the Cardinals and a third team not identified publicly.
Pujols has also received an offer from the Chicago Cubs, but for less than 10 years, the official said.
But the Herald reported the Marlins' bid for Pujols lost momentum Wednesday, so Miami instead opted to concentrate on pitching with the signing of the long-time White Sox ace.
The 32-year-old Buehrle has spent his entire 12-year career with Chicago, racking up a 161-119 record and 3.83 ERA while tossing at least 200 innings each of the past 11 seasons. He pitched a perfect game against Tampa Bay in 2009.
The Marlins have committed $191 million in salary to three free-agent signings in four days, inking Buehrle, former New York Mets shortstop Reyes and ex-Padres closer Heath Bell.
Miami could be in the market for yet more pitching while Pujols became more likely to re-sign with the Cardinals, the newspaper said.
Boise State, four others join Big East
NEW YORK, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- The Big East Conference announced Wednesday it has added Boise State, San Diego State and three other schools to its depleted lineup.
Commissioner John Marinatto said the two schools have joined as football-only members, while Southern Methodist, Houston and Central Florida have signed up for all sports.
The league was seeking new members after Syracuse and Pittsburgh announced they were leaving to join the Atlantic Coast Conference in two years, while West Virginia is seeking to join the Big 12 next season.
The finishing touches were put on the deal after athletic directors from the Big East's five remaining football-playing schools -- Rutgers, Louisville, South Florida, Cincinnati and Connecticut -- met in New York late Monday, The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger reported.
The conference will have the new members in place by 2013, with West Virginia also remaining in the fold until then -- pending a legal battle.
The Mountaineers want to switch to the Big 12 next season, but the Big East is demanding West Virginia adhere to a 27-month exit penalty that would keep the school in the conference until June 30, 2014, the newspaper said.
Duke bounces back from first loss
DURHAM, N.C., Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Austin Rivers led Duke with 17 points Wednesday and the No. 5 Blue Devils pulled away late in the first half before going on to down Colorado State 87-64.
Duke (8-1) bounced back from its first loss of the season at the hands of No. 2 Ohio State last week.
The Blue Devils owned a 37-30 lead with 5:20 to go in the opening half, and then blanked the Rams the rest of the way in the period to take a 47-30 advantage at intermission.
Andre Dawkins added 15 points for Duke while brothers Miles and Mason Plumlee both had 14. The Blue Devils won their 90th consecutive home game against a non-conference opponent.
Colorado State (5-4) was paced by Greg Smith with 18 points. Duke shot 56 percent from the field to 40 percent for the Rams.
No charges against ex-Syracuse coach
SYRACUSE, N.Y., Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Authorities said Wednesday they can't prosecute a former Syracuse assistant basketball coach on sex abuse charges due to the statute of limitations.
William Fitzpatrick, the district attorney for Onondaga County, N.Y., told reporters that while allegations of child sex abuse made by several accusers against Bernie Fine are credible, his office can't file charges because the alleged assaults happened too long ago.
The prosecutor said he found former Syracuse ball boys Bobby Davis and Mike Lang believable in their charges that Fine molested them when they were children, starting in the 1980s.
"It is not my place to pronounce Bernie Fine guilty of anything," he said. "It is my place to confirm that these two victims are credible."
Fine, 65, was fired last month after serving as head Coach Jim Boeheim's top assistant since 1976. Boeheim at first blasted the motives of Davis and Lang in making the accusations, but later apologized.
Fitzpatrick said the case of a third accuser, Zach Tomaselli, is in the hands of federal authorities because the alleged abuse occurred outside his jurisdiction.
He added a fourth accuser did not have sufficient credibility to warrant prosecution.
