Steve Robinson

As they prepare to play Louisville in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional today, Tulsa players are not drawing incentive from being seeded 11th. They simply don't care. The last two years, Tulsa reached the Sweet 16. "The last two years, we beat UCLA, Oklahoma State and Illinois," said guard Dewayne Bonner. "A seed really doesn't make a difference, not to us. " The Hurricane (22-7) are here at the Bradley Center with a new coach, Steve Robinson, who took over when Tubby Smith moved on to Georgia.

Steve Robinson was fired yesterday after coaching Florida State to four straight losing seasons - and one big upset victory. Robinson was 64-86 in five years at Florida State, but just 46-72 over the last four seasons and 25-55 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. "We haven't won a lot of games and that's why we're here today," athletic director David Hart Jr. said. "We just couldn't turn the corner competitively. " Robinson, 44, had two years left on his contract. "I always held out hope we could turn it around," Robinson said.

Academy Park coach Rick Pergolini had a hunch that the stock of 6-foot-8 senior forward Michael Tabb would rise as the boys' basketball season went on. But even he might have been a little surprised by some of the college basketball heavyweights that called his office. In the last few weeks alone, Kansas and Cincinnati reached out and touched Pergolini concerning Tabb. The reasons? Simple. Schools miss out on some prize recruits during the early signing period. When those recruits elect to go in another direction, the schools look elsewhere, and in those cases, a player such as Tabb - who is both athletic and an excellent student - goes from a solid Division I prospect to a hot property.

There were times when Rasheed Wallace placed one hand over the phone to conceal a yawn. There were times when he stared at the likes of "Married . . . With Children" or the movie "King Ralph," and uttered little more than "Uh- huh" or "Nuh-uh. " There were times, just for the challenge of it, when he placed the phone on the living-room floor and used the tip of his size-13 Nikes to switch from one line to the other. It was another Call-Taking Sunday Night - the 13th since July 5 - in Wallace's West Germantown apartment, and the experience, clearly, was not too invigorating.

World Boxing Organization featherweight champion Ruben Palacio was stripped of his title after it was determined that he had HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Palacio, 30, was to defend his title against John Davidson in Washington, England, tonight. A routine pre-fight medical examination turned up evidence of the virus. Ed Levine, president of the fledgling WBO's championship committee, said the organization's only option was to bar Palacio from the ring. "We can't risk the life of another boxer by letting (Palacio)

On a blustery, bitter Friday night last fall, hate came crashing through Patrick Morrison's living room window. "I came downstairs and I felt a draft, and I saw these two things that looked like stones or rocks on the floor," Morrison recalled yesterday. "I was in a state of shock. " The window was shattered. His front door, covered with eggs. And his family, frightened. All because Morrison, who is black, had recently moved onto a block in mostly white Burholme in Northeast Philadelphia.

Bill Cartwright and the Chicago Bulls announced a three-year agreement yesterday that will make him the team's coach through the 2004-05 season. The deal is worth a reported $4.5 million. The extension was never really a question. When Cartwright was hired Dec. 28 to replace Tim Floyd, who had resigned four days earlier, general manager Jerry Krause said that he and Cartwright would discuss a long-term deal after the season if Cartwright wanted to continue as coach. Colleges Steve Robinson was fired after coaching the Florida State men's basketball team to four straight losing seasons - and one big upset this season, a win over Duke, the defending national champion.

North Carolina coach Roy Williams had something to tell Wayne Ellington after last season, and it wasn't to say what a great job he thought Ellington had done at the offensive end of the court. Even though Ellington had enjoyed an outstanding career at Episcopal Academy, one that made him a coveted recruit of countless schools, he struggled on defense as a freshman Tar Heel, and that sometimes won him a seat near Williams on the North Carolina bench. At their off-season meeting, Williams didn't mince words with Ellington.

West Virginia received permission yesterday to talk with Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins about its vacant basketball coaching job. West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong drove 80 miles Sunday to Pittsburgh to watch Cincinnati in the NCAA tournament. Huggins finished his 13th season as Cincinnati coach Sunday when the Bearcats lost to UCLA, 105-101, in double overtime in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Huggins was born in Morgantown, W. Va., played for West Virginia, graduated from the school and began his coaching career there in 1977 as a graduate assistant.

Steve Robinson, who signed a seven-year contract with Tulsa just three months ago, resigned yesterday to succeed Pat Kennedy as the men's basketball coach at Florida State. Robinson, who will be introduced as the Seminoles' new coach today, becomes Florida State's first black coach and the only black head basketball coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Sources said Robinson's deal was for five years and worth about $500,000 annually. Kennedy, who had a 202-131 record and led Florida State to five NCAA appearances in 11 seasons, resigned last month to coach DePaul.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - It makes Roy Williams sick when he thinks of the Kansas game last year. Really. The Jayhawks embarrassed Williams and the Tar Heels in the NCAA Tournament semifinal, 84-66. Williams coached an overawed group that included three starters who would have been NBA players this season had they been in the draft pool - all of whom vow this time, it will be different when they face Villanova tomorrow night in the semifinal. After the Kansas game, Williams, a Hall of Fame inductee, underwent a skinning the likes of which he had not seen in his 2 decades as a head coach.

North Carolina coach Roy Williams had something to tell Wayne Ellington after last season, and it wasn't to say what a great job he thought Ellington had done at the offensive end of the court. Even though Ellington had enjoyed an outstanding career at Episcopal Academy, one that made him a coveted recruit of countless schools, he struggled on defense as a freshman Tar Heel, and that sometimes won him a seat near Williams on the North Carolina bench. At their off-season meeting, Williams didn't mince words with Ellington.

West Virginia received permission yesterday to talk with Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins about its vacant basketball coaching job. West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong drove 80 miles Sunday to Pittsburgh to watch Cincinnati in the NCAA tournament. Huggins finished his 13th season as Cincinnati coach Sunday when the Bearcats lost to UCLA, 105-101, in double overtime in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Huggins was born in Morgantown, W. Va., played for West Virginia, graduated from the school and began his coaching career there in 1977 as a graduate assistant.

Steve Robinson was fired yesterday after coaching Florida State to four straight losing seasons - and one big upset victory. Robinson was 64-86 in five years at Florida State, but just 46-72 over the last four seasons and 25-55 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. "We haven't won a lot of games and that's why we're here today," athletic director David Hart Jr. said. "We just couldn't turn the corner competitively. " Robinson, 44, had two years left on his contract. "I always held out hope we could turn it around," Robinson said.

Bill Cartwright and the Chicago Bulls announced a three-year agreement yesterday that will make him the team's coach through the 2004-05 season. The deal is worth a reported $4.5 million. The extension was never really a question. When Cartwright was hired Dec. 28 to replace Tim Floyd, who had resigned four days earlier, general manager Jerry Krause said that he and Cartwright would discuss a long-term deal after the season if Cartwright wanted to continue as coach. Colleges Steve Robinson was fired after coaching the Florida State men's basketball team to four straight losing seasons - and one big upset this season, a win over Duke, the defending national champion.

Steve Robinson, who signed a seven-year contract with Tulsa just three months ago, resigned yesterday to succeed Pat Kennedy as the men's basketball coach at Florida State. Robinson, who will be introduced as the Seminoles' new coach today, becomes Florida State's first black coach and the only black head basketball coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Sources said Robinson's deal was for five years and worth about $500,000 annually. Kennedy, who had a 202-131 record and led Florida State to five NCAA appearances in 11 seasons, resigned last month to coach DePaul.

Steve Robinson, who signed a seven-year contract with Tulsa three months ago, resigned yesterday to succeed Pat Kennedy as basketball coach at Florida State. Robinson, who will be introduced as the Seminoles' coach today, becomes Florida State's first black coach and the only black head basketball coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference. "Naturally, we are very disappointed in the decision coach Robinson has made to leave the university," Tulsa athletic director Judy MacLeod said.

On a blustery, bitter Friday night last fall, hate came crashing through Patrick Morrison's living room window. "I came downstairs and I felt a draft, and I saw these two things that looked like stones or rocks on the floor," Morrison recalled yesterday. "I was in a state of shock. " The window was shattered. His front door, covered with eggs. And his family, frightened. All because Morrison, who is black, had recently moved onto a block in mostly white Burholme in Northeast Philadelphia.

As they prepare to play Louisville in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional today, Tulsa players are not drawing incentive from being seeded 11th. They simply don't care. The last two years, Tulsa reached the Sweet 16. "The last two years, we beat UCLA, Oklahoma State and Illinois," said guard Dewayne Bonner. "A seed really doesn't make a difference, not to us. " The Hurricane (22-7) are here at the Bradley Center with a new coach, Steve Robinson, who took over when Tubby Smith moved on to Georgia.

Academy Park coach Rick Pergolini had a hunch that the stock of 6-foot-8 senior forward Michael Tabb would rise as the boys' basketball season went on. But even he might have been a little surprised by some of the college basketball heavyweights that called his office. In the last few weeks alone, Kansas and Cincinnati reached out and touched Pergolini concerning Tabb. The reasons? Simple. Schools miss out on some prize recruits during the early signing period. When those recruits elect to go in another direction, the schools look elsewhere, and in those cases, a player such as Tabb - who is both athletic and an excellent student - goes from a solid Division I prospect to a hot property.