From Associated Press ... Sunday's scores EAST Maine 6, Merrimack 4 MIDWEST St. Cloud St. 4, Michigan Tech 3 And this on the Maine situation ... ORONO, Maine (AP) -- Stung by a string of NCAA violations, the president of he University of Maine is lashing out at a former official. President Frederick Hutchinson criticized former NCAA compliance officer Linwood "Woody" Carville for allegedly trying to deflect attention from his own role in eligibility violations involving five athletes. Carville has accused Maine's athletic director of planning a coverup. "There is ample evidence that Woody is looking for someone else to share the blame," Hutchinson said Sunday. The athletes were graduate students in their final year of eligibility, and all were enrolled in six credit hours of classes, two less than the NCAA's minimum. The disclosure means five teams, including the defending national champion hockey team, will probably have to forfeit their games for the entire season. Carville, who was fired last week, was quoted in the Maine Sunday Telegram as saying athletic director Michael Ploszek initially wanted to cover up the violations. He also suggested Ploszek may have kept the violations under wraps if he hadn't pressured the athletic director. "They all looked for a scapegoat and none of them wanted to accept any blame," Carville said. "And there's plenty of blame to go around." The latest errors were discovered by a graduate student who worked in Carville's office, according to Carville, who said he told Ploszek the next day of the problem. Carville noted that two of the athletes -- hockey player Patrice Tardif and indoor track team member Allyson Lowell -- needed to be withdrawn from competition before their next scheduled events in mid-February. Carville quoted Ploszek as allegedly saying: "This is very bad and we've decided we're going to handle it in-house. We're going to take care of this within our own group. There's no need to get anybody else involved." The problems weren't disclosed until Thursday. Ploszek, who was suspended one week for failing to immediately notify coaches of the eligibility problems, denied Carville's assertions. He also denied the exchanges with Carville. "I'm outraged. I'm outraged because of the people in the back of this room," Ploszek said Sunday, referring to coaches and other members of his staff. Hutchinson called the news conference on Sunday to answer Carville's allegations. Reading a four-page statement, Hutchinson tracked the chronology of events between the time administrators first became aware of the eligibility problems on Feb. 16 and the time they were reported Feb. 24. Hutchinson also blamed Carville on Sunday for other rules violations this season. Two hockey violations, including one that led to a five-game suspension of coach Shawn Walsh, and a scheduling error that could cost the women's basketball team a playoff berth, were partially Carville's fault, Hutchinson said. "Woody says he's a scapegoat. The fact is he made the mistake. He made the mistake that likely will cost five athletes and their teams the victories they earned through competition this year," he said. The administrator expressed support for Ploszek, whom he described as diligent in reporting problems during his 2 1/2-year tenure. "Despite recent events, I am completely confident that Mike is capable of leading our athletic department through these rough times," Hutchinson said. Excuse the bad justification |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | Lynn Burke Newport News, Va. | | [log in to unmask] -- mail still shows [log in to unmask] | |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|