From Madison, WI and the Capital Times:
Battery charge for man who punched friend after argument about Indiana coach
Mike Miller — 4/28/2008 9:17 pm
Arguments over basketball are commonplace when guys gather to watch March Madness, but one Madison man faces a battery charge for slugging another during an argument over whether newly appointed Indiana University basketball coach Tom Crean will have success in his new job.
According to a criminal complaint filed Monday, a bunch of friends gathered at an apartment on Harbour Towne Drive to watch the national semifinals of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
During the course of the game Aaron Dumas and John Capista began discussing how much success Crean would have in the Big Ten.
Crean led the Marquette Golden Eagles to a 24-9 season this year, bowing out of the NCAA tournament with a one-point loss to Stanford in the second round.
That would seem to put him in good stead to take over the storied Indiana program from Kelvin Sampson, who was fired mid-season after disclosures that he violated the same NCAA rules governing contacting recruits that he had broken while at Oklahoma, his previous gig.
Indiana eventually tabbed Crean to fill the shoes of Sampson, and the pick has generally received approval from Indiana basketball faithful, at least according to Web postings in the Hoosier state.
But there are those who say Indiana has been so depleted by losses of recruits who went elsewhere after Sampson's forced departure, graduation and other factors that Crean might be headed for a train wreck. Highly ranked recruits Devin Ebanks and Terell Holloway are going to other schools, star freshman Eric Gordon turned pro, and Jamarcus Ellis and Arenon Bassett have been booted off the team. In addition, the NCAA is sure to impose sanctions on Indiana for Sampson's violations of rules, and could impose recruiting restrictions which could cause Crean problems in trying to rebuild the program.
So there are those who think Crean maybe should not have taken the high profile, high pressure job. While the complaint is silent about who was taking which position, Dumas and Capista were discussing the possibilities "when the discussion turned from friendly into a heated debate," according to the criminal complaint charging Dumas with battery.
Capista told police that Dumas became so upset he lunged toward him and "punched him in the face with a closed fist striking him on the bridge of the nose," and followed that up with four or five more punches.
Madison Police Officer Chanda Dolsen said Capista had a red mark on the bridge of his nose and three locations on his head where redness and swelling were evident.
Dumas admitted that he and Capista were arguing over Crean going to Indiana and said Capista was mocking him and calling him stupid and saying his opinion didn't matter. "I got up and hit him," he said.
"I have no excuses. I was wrong, and I really feel terrible."
The battery charge is a misdemeanor which carries a maximum fine of $10,000 and a maximum jail term of nine months.
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/283655
