THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 7, 1996 TAG: 9602070555
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Colonial Athletic Association commissioner Tom Yeager said he wanted to send a message that flagrant cheap shots won't be tolerated, and he made it a loud one.
Yeager on Monday levied a five-game suspension against American forward Tim Fudd, a first-team all-conference pick two seasons ago. Fudd threw an unprovoked forearm at East Carolina's Morris Grooms Saturday, and Grooms has been in the Pitt County Memorial Hospital since with a collapsed lung.
``He puts his hands up to rebound the ball, doesn't even get to jump and he gets hit with a forearm right in the sternum and goes down like a shot,'' East Carolina coach Joe Dooley said.
No foul was called on the play, and Grooms played another couple minutes before coming out of the game.
He was having difficulty breathing later in the evening.
``Thank God Morris had enough sense to call us and get taken to the hospital,'' Dooley said.
``Some of our other guys might have sat at home and not breathed.''
Dooley said Grooms could be out for two weeks, or possibly the rest of the season.
Yeager said several factors precipitated the severity of the suspension.
One was that Grooms was in the hospital and ECU lost a player unjustifiably.
Another is that Yeager had a discussion with Fudd about his involvement in an incident a week earlier against George Mason that nearly resulted in a bench-clearing brawl.
``Seventy-two hours after the conversation we have the same player involved in what I consider a malicious act that caused severe injury to another player,'' Yeager said.
Yeager said this was by far the most severe penalty he's levied in 11 years as the CAA commissioner.
``Is there an attempt to make a statement? Yes, very clearly that this will not be tolerated,'' he said.
American coach Chris Knoche said Tuesday the penalty is too strong, and that the Eagles are appealing the suspension.
``A suspension is warranted. I think five games is way too harsh,'' Knoche said.
``A five-game suspension is the first of its kind, and we're not particularly excited about being the test case.''
A sub-committee of CAA athletic directors will determine whether to uphold the suspension. If it stands, Fudd will not play against UNC-Wilmington, William and Mary, Virginia Commonwealth, Iona and George Mason.
ODU BLUES: The best thing for Old Dominion after a 38-point loss at Virginia Monday was that the Monarchs, who had played five games in 10 days, got to take Tuesday off.
``We need a day off,'' coach Jeff Capel said.
Of course, you could argue that they took Monday off.
ODU played so poorly in so many ways - from the shooting to the rebounding to the unusual poor effort from Odell Hodge, who Capel benched for the last 18 minutes - that Capel sounded Tuesday like a man ready to burn the game tape.
``Hopefully they've already put that game behind them because there's nothing positive to come out of that at all,'' Capel said.
TIP-INS: With six games to play, Old Dominion has already equaled last year's number of regular-season losses. ... East Carolina won its first nine home games, including victories over conference leaders Virginia Commonwealth and ODU, but has lost two in a row at home to middle-of-the-pack American and George Mason. ... James Madison's 17 losses is a record for a Lefty Driesell-coached team. ... Richmond is 6-8 with sophomore Jarod Stevenson in the starting lineup, 0-6 without him. by CNB