One of two men charged with wielding knives in the fight that ended with the fatal stabbing of University of Connecticut football player Jasper Howard is free after posting bail.

Kimberly Derrick and Jordan Malone qualified for the 2010 U.S. Olympic Short Track Speed Skating team after competing in the four-day trials in Marquette, Mich., last weekend. Derrick was a 2006 Olympian. Throughout the event, Derrick and Malone consistently finished on the podium and each won one event. Derrick won the gold medal in the women’s 1,000 meters, and Malone won gold in the men’s 444 meters. Derrick and Malone each ended the trials ranked third overall. The top five men and women earned a spot on the team.

TRENTON, N.J.—A perfect season or a championship guarantee? One of those could come to fruition at the Final Four in St. Louis. Connecticut is two victories away from an undefeated season. Standing in the way in the national semifinals is Stanford, the team that last beat the Huskies, knocking them out of the Final Four last season.

The president was so interested he took time out from saving the country from economic ruin to fill out his bracket. Television ratings have been up even though Billy Packer is working this NCAA tournament from a Las Vegas sports book, and, thanks to Villanova, we don’t have to see Mike Krzyzewski’s smiling face for another year. Overlook the thousands of empty seats that are a natural byproduct of a rotten economy, and it’s hard to find much wrong with this year’s tournament. The games have been decent, if not historic, and enough favorites have won to keep the interest of the millions across the country who have a few bucks riding on the outcome.

GLENDALE, Ariz.—Connecticut is making another trip from the desert to the Final Four. The wait goes on for Missouri. Freshman Kemba Walker scored 23 points as the top-seeded Uconn Huskies held off the Missouri Tigers 82-75 today to earn a trip to Detroit and extend the Big East’s dominance of the NCAA tournament. The Huskies blew an early 11-point lead but survived against the frenetic third-seeded Tigers, who were denied their first Final Four berth.

After cruising through the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, Connecticut found itself in trouble for the first time. Thanks to Hasheem Thabeet, the top-seeded Huskies weren’t in trouble for long. Thabeet, the Big East player of the year, scored 15 points, had 15 rebounds and blocked four shots, and Connecticut overcame a sluggish first half to defeat Purdue 72-60 in the NCAA West Regional semifinals last night.

GLENDALE, Ariz.—Hasheem Thabeet scored 15 points, had 15 rebounds and blocked four shots as the top-seeded Connecticut Huskies overcame a sluggish first half and beat the Purdue Boilermakers 72-60 in the West Regional semifinals. One day after a Yahoo! Sports report alleged UConn committed NCAA recruiting violations, the Huskies (30-4) reached the regional finals for the fourth time since 2002.

STORRS, Conn.—Next stop on the UConn express—Trenton. Renee Montgomery scored 25 points in her final game at home and undefeated Connecticut beat eighth-seeded Florida 87-59 in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Tuesday night. The Huskies (35-0) advanced to the regional semifinals for the 16th straight season where they will play fourth-seeded California on Sunday. This is the fourth time that UConn has been undefeated while playing in the NCAA tournament. Connecticut went on to win the national championship in 1995 and 2002. In 1996-97, the Huskies lost to Tennessee in the regional final.

The 56-point margin of victory in Connecticut’s 103-47 win over Chattanooga today’s opening-round game of the NCAA tournament is the third largest margin in the tournament’s history. Here are the 10 games with biggest margins.

PHILADELPHIA—His postgame speech to Connecticut was over a speaker phone instead of in a locker room, though the message was still clear. Coach Jim Calhoun, hospitalized earlier in the day, wanted the Huskies to know he was proud of how they went out and dominated in the third-largest victory in the history of the NCAA tournament. A.J. Price and Hasheem Thabeet won this for their ailing coach, scoring 20 points apiece to lead top-seeded Connecticut to a 103-47 rout over Chattanooga on Thursday for its first postseason win in three years.

In a game that ended at 1:22 a.m., Syracuse tops No. 3 Connecticut 127-117, and will next face West Virginia in Big East semifinals.

HARTFORD, Conn.—The leaders of the Connecticut General Assembly’s higher education committee say UConn coach Jim Calhoun should be reprimanded for his tirade at a freelance journalist who questioned his $1.6 million salary. Sen. Mary Ann Handley, D-Manchester, and Rep. Roberta Willis, D-Lakeville, say Calhoun’s outburst Saturday does not reflect well on him or the state’s flagship university.

HARTFORD, Conn.—It wasn’t just a game between No. 1 and No. 4. It was a game between two of the Big East’s most physical teams. And it was played just the way it was expected to be. “That was the most physical game I ever played in my entire life,“ DeJuan Blair said after getting 22 points and 23 rebounds in No. 4 Pittsburgh’s 76-68 victory tonight over No. 1 Connecticut

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Connecticut looks comfortable at No. 1. Jeff Adrien scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds and the Huskies celebrated their return to the top of the polls for the first time in three years with a 68-51 dismantling of No. 5 Louisville last night in a Big East game. Hasheem Thabeet added 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks as the Huskies (10-1, 21-1) rolled to their 10th straight victory. Jerome Dyson had 14 points and A.J. Price had 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists as the Huskies had surprisingly little trouble shutting down the red-hot Cardinals.