Big East and ACC Reach Settlement

The Big East Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference are ready to stop fighting and start playing football again.

As part of a multimillion dollar settlement over the defection of three schools to the ACC, the conferences have scheduled nine additional football games from 2008 to 2012, including a visit by Miami to Pittsburgh in 2010. The settlement, first reported by the Hartford Courant, also was obtained by Associated Press on Wednesday.

The newspaper reported that the total value of the settlement was $5 million. The agreement didn’t specify how much each Big East school would receive, but a University of Connecticut bank statement obtained by AP shows that $1 million was deposited on April 27.

The settlement bars the parties from discussing the terms or even announcing an agreement unless required to do so. The Courant obtained the settlement through Connecticut’s open records law; a copy was also obtained by AP.

Soccer

Massimo Ambrosini scored in the first minute of injury time to put AC Milan in its 10th European Cup final despite a 3-1 road loss to Dutch team PSV Eindhoven in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals.

Ambrosini’s header put Milan ahead, 3-2, on aggregate total over the two games. Even with Phillip Cocu’s goal a minute later, Milan won the tiebreaker on away goals. The six-time European champion won the first leg, 2-0, and will play Liverpool in the final May 25 at Istanbul, Turkey.

Colorado Rapid midfielder Pablo Mastroeni was suspended for two games by Major League Soccer for elbowing the Metro- Stars’ Abbe Ibrahim during a game on Saturday.

Tennis

Andre Agassi defeated teenager Richard Gasquet, 6-2, 6-3, in the second round of the Rome Masters.

Also, Andy Roddick improved to 7-0 on clay this season with a 6-4, 7-5 win over 2002 French Open champion Albert Costa, and Marat Safin was upset by Nicolas Almagro, 6-4, 6-3.

Maria Sharapova moved closer to the world’s top ranking by defeating Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-2, 6-2, at the German Open in Berlin.

In other matches, Anastasia Myskina lost to Julia Schruff, 6-2, 1-6, 6-2; Justine Henin-Hardenne won twice, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, over Iveta Benesova, and 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 over Maria Kirilenko; and Mary Pierce defeated Elena Likhovtseva, 6-2, 6-2.

Pro Football

Kellen Winslow Jr.’s internal injuries from a motorcycle accident are improving, but Cleveland officials are concerned with damage to his right knee.

The Browns issued a statement saying his knee would continue to be re-evaluated but declined to provide any specifics.

The New York Giants signed 13-year veteran Bob Whitfield, giving the team a veteran offensive tackle to back up Luke Petitgout on the left side. Whitfield is a former Stanford and Wilmington Banning High standout.

College Basketball

Holy Cross men’s Coach Ralph Willard has been diagnosed with prostate cancer but plans to coach next season.

Chad Maclies, the leading scorer and rebounder for Centenary this season, was found dead in his dormitory room in Shreveport, La. Authorities said they did not suspect foul play.

Miscellany

Jonathan Hedstrom scored two goals as Sweden beat Finland, 5-1, at Innsbruck, Austria, for its third victory in a row at the World Hockey Championship.

In another game at Vienna, Lubomir Visnovsky had four points, and Ziggy Palffy and Martin Strbak each scored two goals to lead Slovakia to an 8-1 rout of Austria.

Two former light-heavyweight champions, Julio Gonzalez (37-2, 23 knockouts) of Huntington Beach and Montell Griffin (47-5, 30), will meet tonight in an International Boxing Federation title elimination bout in Palm Springs.

Passings

Donald Canham, the athletic director at Michigan from 1968 to 1988, died at age 87. Story in Section B.