Donovan boots Gators from facility

Florida men's basketball coach Billy Donovan, saying he felt like his players had settled into a state of complacency and entitlement, banned them from the program's $12 million practice facility for the last four days. He also told them they couldn't wear any Gators attire. "Probably in some respects the confetti is still falling down around them," Donovan said yesterday. "When you have great success like we've had, I think it's very, very easy to become complacent and to lose sight of how good things are around here and to have an attitude of, 'I'm at Florida. This is just what's going to happen.' " The two-time reigning national champion Gators (21-11) lost eight of their final 11 games, including the last four, and missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998. Florida settled for a spot in the NIT, where they will host San Diego State tomorrow night . . . Stan Joplin was fired as the University of Toledo men's coach after an 11-19 season. Joplin had a 203-155 record in 12 years at Toledo . . . North Carolina State coach Sidney Lowe says freshman J.J. Hickson, who averaged a team-high 14.8 points per game, will enter his name in the NBA draft this year but won't hire an agent . . . Connecticut entered the women's NCAA Tournament at No. 1 - the seventh time UConn finished with the top ranking but the first since 2003. The Huskies led the final Associated Press poll with 49 of 50 first-place votes from a national media panel. No. 2 North Carolina drew the other first-place vote, while Tennessee was third . . . Ohio State junior forward Star Allen will be eligible when the Buckeyes play their first-round game in the women's NCAA Tournament. The preseason All-Big Ten selection sat out the winter quarter to concentrate on academics . . . Johannah Leedham scored 31 points as Franklin Pierce beat Holy Family, 88-71, in Philadelphia to win the Northeast Region championship and reach the women's Division 2 Elite Eight.

The Carolina Panthers came to terms with Seattle free agent D.J. Hackett on a two-year, $3.5 million deal. Hackett is the second receiver the Panthers have added since missing the playoffs last season without a reliable second option after star Steve Smith. Muhsin Muhammad was signed last month. Hackett, 26, was limited to six games last season because of a lingering right ankle sprain, finishing with 32 catches for 384 yards and three touchdowns . . . The San Francisco 49ers signed receiver Bryant Johnson. Johnson spent his first five NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, catching 210 passes for 2,675 yards and nine touchdowns . . . Former Patriot Dan Klecko signed a two-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, who plan to convert him from defensive tackle to fullback . . . The New York Jets signed three-time Pro Bowl tight end Bubba Franks to a one-year deal. The 30-year-old Franks has battled injuries and he was relegated to backup duty behind Donald Lee last season . . . The Houston Texans traded their sixth-round pick in the upcoming draft to Denver for center Chris Myers . . . Minnesota Vikings tackle Bryant McKinnie pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from a street brawl outside a Miami nightclub last month.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal defeated Donald Young in their first meeting, and James Blake evened his record against familiar foe Carlos Moya in third-round matches at the Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells, Calif. Nadal beat his 18-year-old American opponent, 6-1, 6-3. Blake took a methodical 6-3, 6-4 victory over Moya, the sixth time he has beaten him in 12 career meetings. Also, two-time women's title winner Lindsay Davenport bounced back from a second-set loss to defeat Chan Yung-Jan, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, and Ana Ivanovic advanced with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Tathiana Garbin . . . Patrick McEnroe told the US Tennis Association he did not want to return as Olympic coach, a job he held at the 2004 Athens Games. Instead, Rodney Harmon will lead the American men in Beijing, pending US Olympic Committee approval. The USTA is expected to announce the selections of Harmon and assistant Jay Berger - along with Fed Cup captain Zina Garrison as the women's Olympic coach - today . . . The Boston Lobsters will play this season at the Ferncroft Country Club in Middleton. They spent the past three World TeamTennis seasons at Harvard's Bright Hockey Center.

Boston College, which outscored Providence, 10-2, in sweeping their best-of-three Hockey East quarterfinals matchup this past weekend, moved up two spots to No. 8 in the USCHO.com/CSTV men's hockey poll. All four Hockey East semifinalists are ranked: New Hampshire remained fifth, Boston University moved up a position to 13th, and Vermont climbed one spot to 19th. Harvard, which ousted Quinnipiac in the ECAC quarterfinals, is ranked 16th. Michigan is No. 1 for the second straight week . . . Indiana Pacers Jamaal Tinsley and Marquis Daniels avoided a trial on charges stemming from a 2007 bar fight. Prosecutors agreed to drop all charges if the players stay out of trouble for two years . . . Missouri linebacker Marquis Booker was suspended following his arrest in Colombia, Mo., in which police said he threatened to "light the place up" and grabbed a handgun from his car during a parking lot argument early Sunday . . . Former Kentucky and Baylor coach Guy Morriss was hired as offensive line coach at Kentucky State . . . Ruslan Chagaev is expected to defend his World Boxing Association heavyweight title against Nikolai Valuev May 31 in Germany, in a rematch of their bout last April . . . Holy Cross hired Marritt Cafarchia as its volleyball coach.