The Big East conference that came together for basketball years ago hit a huge milestone Sunday, when three of its teams earned top seeds in the NCAA tournament. Louisville, Pittsburgh and Connecticut were all No. 1, joined by North Carolina of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Big East is the league that gave us Patrick Ewing and John Thompson, one of the game’s biggest upsets (Villanova over Georgetown in 1985) and one of its greatest games (Syracuse over UConn in six overtimes just last week).

The conference also broke new ground in 1985, when it became the first to place three teams in the Final Four.

“It speaks volumes for what it means to win the Big East,” said Louisville coach Rick Pitino, whose Cardinals are the tournament’s overall top seed and will play in the Midwest.

The Cardinals (28-5), winners of the regular-season and conference championships in the nation’s top-ranked conference, will open against the winner of an opening-round game Tuesday between Alabama State and Morehead State.

The rest of the tournament starts Thursday and Friday.

ESPN’s John Clayton is reporting that the Buffalo Bills have signed trouble-making wide receiver Terrell Owens to a one year contract. The Bills will pay Owens $6.5 million dollars for the 2009 season. Terrell Owens would then become a free agent once again. This makes Buffalo Owens fourth NFL team since he has now played for the 49ers, Eagles, and Cowboys, each one resulting in a bad split. Owens was cut by the Cowboys on Thursday with two years remaining on his contract. He received a $12 million dollar signing bonus when he signed the deal before last season.

Guy Carbonneau was fired as Montreal’s coach this week in a surprising move, since the Canadiens are in a playoff position and have only 16 games left in the regular season.

General Manager Bob Gainey, who handed the coaching duties over to Carbonneau three years ago, will be back behind the bench as acting coach when Montreal plays Edmonton. In 230 games with the Canadiens, Carbonneau was 124-83-23.

The Canadiens started Monday in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, but they were only two points above the postseason cutoff. Montreal went into a free fall in late January and February, losing 10 of 13. The Canadiens, 5-4-1 in their previous 10 games, won 3-1 at Dallas on Sunday in their last game with Carbonneau as coach.

“The last eight weeks of performance have been below average, and I believe a change in the direction at ice level is necessary,” Gainey said.

Gary Roberts retired from the NHL this week after a career lasting more than 21 years, which was twice as long as many in the hockey world expected.

Gary Roberts career ended in Calgary, the city where it started, as he recorded an assist in Tampa Bay’s 8-6 win at the Pengrowth Saddledome on March 1.

“For me, it’s a little emotional,” he said. “Calgary’s got a special place in my heart. Obviously winning a Stanley Cup there was my best hockey memory … so very fitting and thankful, if it was going to end that way, that it ended where I won a Stanley Cup.”

Roberts has scored 438 goals and 471 assists in 1,224 games in his NHL career, nearly half of his goals coming after a first retirement in the mid-1990s due to a serious neck injury.

The Dallas Cowboys have released wide receiver Terrell Owens, according to ESPN’s Michael Smith . Last month, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones did not deny the team was discussing the possible release of Owens. .The team did not immediately have comment. A spokesman for Owens said he hadn’t heard the news, and that the receiver was traveling and could not immediately be reached, according to The Associated Press.

The Cowboys paid Owens a $12 million signing bonus last year, which was included as part of a new four-year, $34 million deal. Dallas will take a roughly $9 million salary-cap hit with the release of Terrell Owens. In his controversial three years with the Cowboys, Owens caught 235 passes for 3,587 yards and 38 touchdowns in 47 games. He led the NFL with 13 touchdowns receiving in 2006, his first season in Dallas.

Rumors have been circulating since the end of the Cowboys season, in which they missed the playoffs, that they would consider cutting Owens to improve team morale. Terrell Owens had serious relationship issues with quarterback Tony Romo and tight end Jason Witten, but the receiver consistently criticized offensive coordinator Jason Garrett’s play calling and his offensive schemes to the point that sources have said Garrett did not believe he and Owens could coexist.

Owens told The Dallas Morning News in May 2008 he “definitely” wanted to finish his career with the Cowboys. Guess not!

Kurt Warner might have decided against a signing with the San Francisco 49ers on Monday that could have net him a rich two-year contract. While he’s thinking over a more lucrative offer by the 49ers, Kurt Warner asked the Cardinals to give them a chance to sign him at a discount. Warner instructed his agent, Mark Bartelstein, to make a two-year, $23 million proposal to stay with the Cardinals. According to Bartelstein, Warner’s proposal would include $12 million in guarantees, $6 million each season.

To enhance the deal to the Cardinals further, Warner is willing to reduce his contract by $1 million a year if they can successfully renegotiate the contract of wide receiver Anquan Boldin. The Cardinals improved their proposal to Warner that had been stalled for more than a week at two years and $20 million. The Cardinals are ready to give him $23 million over the next two seasons, but they are making up for the difference with several incentives.

Warner was the lifeblood that led Arizona to an unexpected run to the Super Bowl. The Cardinals had playoff victories over Atlanta, Carolina and Philadelphia before a 27-23 loss to at the Super Bowl. Warner completed 31 of 43 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns against the Steelers.

The Coast Guard has ended its search for the two NFL players and another man lost at sea, leaving the families to cope with unknown fates of the men and to organize a private search.

Loved ones of one of the missing boaters react Tuesday to the news the Coast Guard’s search would end saying “There’s a lot of things we have to come to grips with — we’ve all agreed unanimously we won’t give up hope,” said Bruce Cooper, father of Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper.

Marquis Cooper, NFL free agent Corey Smith and former college football player William Bleakley are all missing, after a fishing boat carrying them and a fourth man overturned Saturday in the Gulf of Mexico. The Coast Guard search was called off at sundown Tuesday. Nick Schuyler, the fourth man, was found alive on top of the overturned boat about 40 miles west of Egmont Key, Florida, on Monday afternoon.