NCAA Tournament Notebook -- Keady's Ailing Daughter Attends Purdue Game -- Appears After Tragic January Accident Caused Coma

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Patricia Keady said it was a miracle, and she wasn't talking about anything like a buzzer-beater to win a national title.

Mrs. Keady, wife of Purdue Coach Gene Keady, was referring to the fact that for the first time in months, she was able to watch a college basketball game with her daughter, Lisa Sands, who suffered a fall Jan. 10 at her New Jersey home and slipped into a coma.

Sands, 30, underwent brain surgery after the accident and was in a coma for three weeks. One day after her injury, Keady's father, Lloyd, died in California.

"It's been a tough year for us, but my dad never talks about the negative," Sands said. "It's always the positive with him."

Last night, Sands sat with her mother - both wearing golden jackets to display their support for Purdue - and cheered for the top-seeded Boilermakers against Western Carolina.

"As it always is, it's very special to be here with my father," Sands said from her seat about 10 rows behind the Purdue bench.

`Bob Knight rule'

ORLANDO, Fla. - The last time Bob Knight was seen at the NCAA Tournament, it was a scene to remember.

Angry at a mixup in the media room after a first-round loss, the Indiana coach laced into a press liaison, unleashing a tirade at him that would not quit.

The profane outburst was judged to be so offensive by the NCAA that it levied a $30,000 fine, a penalty that Knight thought was excessive.

To eliminate the possibility of similar problems with Knight or anyone else, the NCAA has changed its procedures for postgame news conferences.

This year, according to the NCAA manual, two-way radios will be used at each site to make sure there's no miscommunication between the locker room and the interview room.

Officially, it's a change in policy. Unofficially, it's the Bob Knight rule.

Tough bracket?

The Orlando subregional features some of the most successful programs of the 1990s.

Three of the participants - second-seeded Cincinnati, No. 3 Georgia Tech and No. 6 Indiana - have Final Four appearances this decade. Two others - Temple and Boston College - have lost a regional final.

When the pairings were announced, Cincinnati's Danny Fortson raised some eyebrows when he said it's not that tough.

"I ain't saying it's a weak bracket," Fortson said. "I'm just saying if we play the Bearcat way, we should have no problem."

Notes

-- Bryce Drew, offensive leader for NCAA Tournament neophyte Valparaiso, has ligament damage in his right thumb and his hand was heavily bandaged yesterday during a practice for tonight's game against Arizona.

-- Maryland Coach Gary Williams is one of seven active coaches who has led three teams to the NCAA Tournament. He took Boston College to the NCAAs in 1983 and '85, and led Ohio State to the tournament in '87. This is the Terrapins' third trip under Williams.

-- Iowa Coach Tom Davis has never lost an NCAA first-round game. He is 9-0, including two wins at Boston College.

-- Massachusetts Coach John Calipari may have broken a university rule by using team stationery for a letter he wrote backing a businessman's bid to open a sports bar.

But a school spokeswoman said yesterday administrators might not follow up with any investigation.