California State University At Long Beach

The Long Beach State men's basketball program has been penalized by the NCAA because of multiple major and secondary violations that occurred from August 2005 to August 2006, the NCAA announced Thursday. The program will be on probation for three years, loses one scholarship for each of the next two years, is prohibited from recruiting junior college players for two years and will have to forfeit victories in which ineligible players participated.

Everyone agrees that coyotes -- at least two of them -- have recently been preying on the scores of feral cats that have lived for decades on the sprawling campus of Cal State Long Beach. The dispute is over which animals should have to go. University officials say the cats are attracting the coyotes, and it is the cats that need to be removed. That has outraged many cat lovers who fear the felines will be killed. They say the coyotes present the danger, so they should be evicted.

Pulling into the parking lot on West Campus Drive at Cal State Long Beach, Dorothy Burstein figured that the cats would recognize the rumble of her Honda Accord. If that didn't perk up their ears, the sound of her popping open the car trunk surely would. "That means food," she said. Burstein is a volunteer with a small nonprofit group that for the last 10 years has been quietly feeding the dozens of feral cats that live on the fringe of the university campus.

Long Beach State basketball players Kejuan Johnson and Mark Dawson have been suspended indefinitely pending an NCAA investigation into their eligibility, Athletic Director Vic Cegles announced Thursday. Also suspended was associate head coach Reggie Howard, the recruiting coordinator.

Suspended Long Beach State basketball players Kejuan Johnson and Mark Dawson will be reinstated for the 49ers' game against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Athletic Director Vic Cegles said Wednesday. The players, along with associate head coach Reggie Howard, sat out two games while the NCAA investigated possible eligibility infractions. They will also sit out tonight's game at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Kejuan Johnson, like the rest of Long Beach State's basketball players, is headed to the NCAA tournament for the first time. But if Johnson needs advice on how to handle the bright lights of the big time, at least he can turn to someone close. Johnson's uncle is Lucious Harris, a Long Beach State alumnus who led the team to the 1993 NCAA tournament, scoring 27 points as No. 11-seeded Long Beach State lost to No. 6 Illinois, 75-72.

It's a time for celebration at Long Beach State, where the 49ers are preparing for a trip to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1995. But it's also a time for contemplation about life without Coach Larry Reynolds. Reynolds is in the final year of a five-year contract and has yet to receive an extension offer, and there is no sign that one is immediately forthcoming.

Long Beach State is heading to Columbus, Ohio, for its first-round game against Tennessee in the NCAA tournament, and that means Aaron Nixon might need a new cellphone battery. That's because Nixon, a senior guard, grew up in Cleveland, about two hours away, and attended Columbus State Community College as a freshman. And ever since the brackets were announced Sunday, his phone has been ringing off the hook with ticket requests. "Honestly, I think I got about 100 already," Nixon said.