Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa -- Rumeal Robinson, who led Michigan to the NCAA men's basketball championship in 1989 and later played in the NBA, was convicted in federal court Wednesday of borrowing more than $700,000 for a sham business deal and then spending the money on a condominium, expensive furniture and cars. A jury found Robinson guilty of 11 counts, including bank bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and making a false statement to a financial institution. He faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine on each count. A date for sentencing hasn't been set. Among a lengthy list of accusations by prosecutors was one accusing Robinson of scheming to ...

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By Mark Schlabach ESPN.com Archive ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green sold his Independence Bowl jersey to a former North Carolina football player who is also at the center of an NCAA investigation into alleged rules violations in the Tar Heels program. According to sources familiar with the NCAA investigation, Chris Hawkins, a former North Carolina defensive back, befriended Green through the receiver's Facebook page. According to the source, Hawkins identified himself as a financial advisor and memorabilia collector in Facebook messages to Green, who eventually agreed to sell his jersey to Hawkins for $1,000. Low: Tough Blow for Bulldogs Without A.J. Green, Georgia lacks a go-to receiver in a tough stretch of SEC games, Chris Low ...

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP)—Purdue has reinstated quarterback Justin Siller after suspending him all of last season for an academic violation. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Siller was expected to compete with fifth-year senior Joey Elliott for the starting quarterback job a year ago before the punishment. The school announced Wednesday that Siller retains two years of eligibility. Robert Marve and Caleb TerBush are trying to win the starting quarterback job. Siller started three games at quarterback in 2008. In his first start, against Michigan, he led the Boilermakers to a 48-42 win and was the Big Ten’s offensive co-player of the week. He completed 21 of 34 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 77 yards and ...

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By MICHAEL MAROT, AP Sports Writer May 12, 5:23 pm EDT INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—West Virginia and Butler couldn’t beat Duke at the Final Four. They both finished ahead of the Blue Devils in the classroom. Three of the men’s Final Four teams—the Bulldogs, Mountaineers and Michigan State—made the NCAA’s list of academic overachievers Wednesday while the national champs were left out. The biggest surprise on the list: West Virginia, whose coach, Bob Huggins, has repeatedly been criticized for not taking academics seriously. Huggins’ Cincinnati teams had a 0.0 graduation rate for several seasons. ADVERTISEMENT “It’s a commitment by the athletic department and the university to supply the resources to help the players succeed academically,” Huggins said in a statement released by the ...

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HOUSTON (AP) Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing said Thursday he neither injected nor ingested any banned substances even though he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Cushing was suspended for four games without pay last week for violating the NFL's drug policy. His appeal was denied. Cushing confirmed he tested positive for HCG, a fertility drug that is on the league's banned substance list. "The question of how it got into my body is still unclear,'' he said. "It's something that I'm very personally concerned about, just the fact that how it's there and what's going to determine it from happening again, and that's something we're going to have to medically investigate.'' He said that after failing the test, he ...

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — University of Arkansas officials say two football players were arrested on drug possession charges earlier this week. Zack Higbee, a spokesman for the athletic department, confirmed Wednesday that the players are 19-year-old David Gordon and 20-year-old Hunter Miller. Both are listed as sophomore defensive backs. Campus police say the two were arrested Monday evening after an officer noticed the two sitting in a parked car. Police say marijuana smoke drifted out of the car door when opened and a "plastic baggie of green leafy substance" was in plain sight. Kelly Cantrell of the Washington County sheriff's office says the two players were booked on charges of possession of a controlled substance and released later on ...

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On Saturday, the Tennessee Titans drafted Florida State safety Myron Rolle in the sixth round of the NFL Draft with the 207th overall pick. Rolle, whom you previously knew as the Rhodes Scholar who spent his past season in Oxford studying for a graduate degree in medical anthropology, graduated in 2 1/2 years from Florida State, where he played safety for three years. Then he chose to skip his senior year to take advantage of the Rhodes Scholarship, an honor that only 32 men and women garner every year. You've probably heard of a few of the alums from the Rhodes, guys like President Bill Clinton and former NBA great Bill Bradley. What you may have heard and ...

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Owen Thomas, a University of Pennsylvania football captain whose body was found Monday, committed suicide at his off-campus residence, his mother tells the Daily Pennsylvanian. The junior's mother, Rev. Katherine Brearsley, tells the newspaper her son hanged himself. "He put huge expectations on himself and just impossibly couldn't live up to them... and wouldn't let other people give him an appropriate perspective," she said. "His friends and his football coaches all tried to help him put it in perspective and we thought they were succeeding. They told him to take it one day at a time," Brearsley told the Philadelphia Inquirer. A funeral service is scheduled for Monday at 10:30 AM at Union United Church of Christ in ...

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Arnie Stapleton, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Apr 23, 1:47 ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Tim Tebow has a new No. 1 fan in Josh McDaniels. The Denver Broncos coach made the former Heisman Trophy winner a first-round NFL draft pick Thursday, a bold move that surprised many in football, but not Florida coach Urban Meyer. Tebow helped Florida win two national championships in the Gators' run-heavy system, but many wondered whether he was worthy of a first-round selection because his skills may not translate to some NFL teams' passing-centric offences.  McDaniels is betting they will. Tebow, he said, "has all the traits you're looking for in terms of toughness, competitiveness, he's intelligent, he's won a lot of games, he's a leader, ...

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A look at teams and states producing first-round picks over the last 20 years. Graphic by Ryan Escobar

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