Wife of Deacons assistant basketball coach dies at age 44
The wife of Wake Forest assistant basketball coach Jeff Battle has died of lung cancer.
Joyce Battle died Wednesday. She was 44.
Wake Forest athletics director Ron Wellman called her "an exceptional person who lived her life with a tremendous amount of dignity."
He credited her for "the tremendous example she set during this fight."
She played guard in the 1980s at Fayetteville State, averaging 6.1 assists per game in 1983-84, and was an assistant coach at Delaware State, where she met Jeff Battle. Most recently, she taught and coached basketball at a middle school in Winston-Salem.
INDIANA: Indiana University will not request a second hearing in front of the NCAA infractions committee, but will send a written response to the NCAA's newest allegation of failing to monitor the men's basketball program.
University spokesman Larry MacIntyre confirmed the decision. He had no explanation for why it was made after university president Michael McRobbie promised to vigorously fight the charge in June.
Indiana has until Sept. 17 to file a response.
The allegation is the latest twist in a phone-call scandal that has rocked the Hoosiers' basketball program.
POINT-SHAVING SCANDAL: Sammy Villegas was the Mid-American Conference freshman of the year. The following season he helped Toledo reach the NIT.
Villegas seemed ready to become a star, but everything fell apart in his final two seasons. He couldn't score. His playing time dropped off. His coaches were mystified.
Now, federal prosecutors say Villegas was shaving points in some games during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons.
Villegas also paid another player who took part in point-shaving, prosecutors said. The other player was not charged.
Villegas has a sentencing date scheduled for Nov. 18, although there is nothing filed that indicates he has entered a plea. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit would not say whether Villegas was helping with the investigation.
FOOTBALL
AUBURN: Auburn cornerback Aairon Savage will miss the season after undergoing knee surgery.
FLORIDA: Florida tight end Cornelius Ingram will miss the season because of a torn knee ligament. Florida coach Urban Meyer said Ingramwill undergo surgery within the next week to repair a torn ACL in his left knee.
GEORGIA TECH: Sophomore safety Mario Edwards, a transfer from Virginia Tech, has been cleared by the ACC to play for Georgia Tech this season.
MIAMI: Miami defensive tackle Antonio Dixon was released from the hospital Thursday, a day after apparently suffering effects from the strong heat and humidity during practice and leaving by ambulance.
The team said Dixon was in good condition and will resume practicing on Saturday.
Dixon, a projected starter, was the third Miami player in two days to leave practice early.
