SPORTS UPDATE 2/18/13

College Football: The University of Louisville’s first African American football player died tragically over the weekend. 79-year-old Laurence Simmons died in a house fire in Louisville. Investigators say a frayed electrical cord on a space heater likely caused the blaze. Simmons was an offensive lineman who played for the Cardinals in 1952 and before that played at Central High School.

College Basketball: University of California coach Mike Montgomery apologized following the Golden Bears 76-68 win over Southern Cal last night for a heated exchange during the game with star player Allen Crabbe. ESPN reports Montgomery shoved Crabbe during a timeout.

Montgomery said in a statement the emotions of the game got away from him and that his intent was to motivate the player and apologized for his action. Crabbe told reporters after the game the incident happened at an emotional time in the game and that everything was fine and it was water under the bridge.

NHL: The Nashville Predators try to get themselves back into the win column when they play a matinee against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center. Bouncing back may not be a problem for Nashville, which has won its last nine against the Avalanche, including the last four in Denver. First puck drops at 2 this afternoon.

NBA: The Los Angeles Lakers are mourning the death of longtime owner Jerry Buss.  The "L.A. Times" reports the 79-year-old passed away this morning after battling an undisclosed form of cancer.  Under Buss, the Lakers won ten NBA championships with such stars as Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.  He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 as a contributor.