Last night's game between Memphis & UT lived up to all the hype. While the Tigers won it, 88-79, this one left you on the edge of your seat as you realized how important each possession was to the outcome.

Tennessee's Dane Bradshaw backed up his mouth by having a career night with 21 points, 10 rebounds & four assists. Answering the call for the Tigers was Shawne Williams with 21 points & 14 rebounds.

A stat lost in the afterglow of the win was the Tigers continuing improvement in free-throw shooting. It's a stat we worried about on the postgame show for several games & the one thing that would bring complaints, even after a win. Let's be honest, if Memphis doesn't shoot better than 75-percent at the charity stripe last night & this game could have ended with the visitor going home a happy bunch.

Here's the Tigers' FT percentages the last 10 games:

vs UT 76%
vs SMU 50%
vs ECU 75%
vs Winthrop 82%
vs MTSU 74%
vs Texas 75%
vs Purdue 77%
vs Gonzaga 52%
vs La Tech 59%
vs Mississippi 65%

The Tigers trip to Hattieburg should result in a nice road win for the team Saturday. I use caution writing this because strange things can happen at Southern Miss.

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Elsewhere around CUSA:

SMU beats ECU in OT, 74-70.

UAB has won nine straight after beating Rice, 75-68. Something tells me the Blazers won't roll over for anyone, especially the Tigers. That game should be a lot of fun come Jan. 26.

UTEP beats Tulane, 75-47, moving to 3-0 in CUSA.

Marshall loses at Tulsa, 66-57.

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While there were no reports of a meeting in a team plane in the cover of darkness, as I mentioned here yesterday Louisville coach Bobby Petrino's name was being tossed about in some circles for the Oakland Raiders job. Either the heat was getting to Petrino or Al Davis turned him down, because Petrino issued a statement at 11 p.m. last night. You mean this couldn't wait until this morning?

"I understand my name is being mentioned in connection with job openings in the National Football League, but I want to reiterate my commitment to the University of Louisville, our players and all of our Cardinal fans. The University of Louisville has been great for me and (my) family, and I'm committed to fulfilling our goal of taking the program to the next level."

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Southern Miss football coach Jeff Bower recieved a two-year contract extension Wednesday, keeping him in Hattiesburg through 2009. I don't hide the fact I admire Bower. I think he is a good coach & a good person. Just like Tommy West at Memphis, I can proclaim Bower is GOOD for CUSA.

In Bower's 15 years at USM, he's 103-72-1 with four conference titles, nine bowl appearances & 12-straight winning seasons.

I really don't understand what is stopping USM athletic director Richard Gianini from offering Bower a lifetime contract, other than I think Mississippi law prevents that from happening. There was a needless delay a couple of years ago in getting Bower an extension. I get the feeling this extension had to be forced, but you would never know it reading comments from Bower.

"Those are personal, and I want them to stay that way," Bower had said. "I'm not going to say anything about it."

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I remember watching Carolina's Ken Lucas play high school football at East Side High School in Cleveland, Miss., almost 10 years ago. The recruitment of Lucas became a story & his eventaul decision to attend the University of Mississippi over Mississippi State left a lot of folks grumbling.

I knew Ken's mom because she was secretary for the Bolivar County Emergency Operations Center & was very proud of her son. If my memory serves correctly, she wasn't too excited when Ken chose the Rebels. But Gary Thigpen had convinced Ken that the university was an okay place. Then-coach Tommy Tuberville did an excellent job selling himself & his program to Mom & the rest is history.

Lucas joined the Panthers before the 2005 season to the tune of a six-year deal worth $36.5-million dollars. He'll face his old team, Seattle, for the NFC championship this weekend.

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If you are an Atlanta Braves fan longing for the days of Ted Turner's ownership of the club, ask yourself this question: Why would he want to own the team again? The price tag is expected to be somewhere around $400-million dollars.

A spokesperson for Turner dismissed him returning to ownership of the team, calling Ted, "a been there, done that kinda guy."

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After my postgame show last night, I was flipping around the AM dial on the ride home to see what else was going on in the world of sports. That's where I happened upon a show speaking of a NBA player who went into the stands... again. Visions of Ron Artest & the ugly 2004 incident between the Pacers & Pistons entered my mind.

After getting home & reading the entire story, it was explained Antonio Davis went up to protect his wife who was being heckled, maybe more, by fans. No punches were thrown. Davis stood watch until security arrived, then returned to the bench where he was ejected for leaving the court. The refs did the right thing because a rule is still a rule.

I tend to agree with Knicks coach Larry Brown: "Come on, that's his wife," Brown said. "That's entirely different. I was worried about Kendra. That's why he went in the stands, he saw her falling back. That thing that happened in the stands had nothing to do with the two teams. That's a man concerned about his family."

Last night's incident is further proof that the NBA needs to do better at security & crowd control at their games. Alcohol, fans, athletes & their wives could turn into an ugly mix.

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Speaking of fan stupidity, someone through a rock through a window of the home of NFL ref Pete Morelli. The number of adults who don't act like adults scares me. This is a prime example.

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Music quote of the day:

"Purple haze All in my brain
Lately things just don't seem the same
Acting funny but I don't know why
'Scuse me while I kiss the sky"

Jimi Hendrix - "Purple Haze"