Former Duke point guard Greg Paulus was named Syracuse's No. 1 quarterback yesterday by new coach Doug Marrone.

Paulus won the job after transferring from Duke and getting an NCAA waiver to play football as a graduate student.

Paulus was a Parade All-American as a record-setting quarterback in high school in Syracuse but also was heavily recruited as a topflight basketball prospect before he chose to play that sport at Duke.

Syracuse also announced yesterday that it will play three home games at the new Meadowlands stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

The first will be against Southern California in 2012 and then two against Notre Dame in '14 and '16.

• Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin said the NCAA is investigating an eligibility issue with Bryce Brown, the freshman tailback from Wichita, Kan., who has worked frequently with the first-team offense in preseason practice. Kiffin said the investigation has nothing to do with Brown's recruitment by Tennessee or any other school but offered no other details.

• A trio of Penn State's All-Big Ten performers have been named to the watch list for the 40th Lombardi Award. Junior linebacker Navorro Bowman, senior linebacker Sean Lee and senior defensive tackle Jared Odrick are among the candidates for the award, which is limited to down linemen and other defensive players who line up within 5 yards of the football. Also, Nittany Lions senior Daryll Clark has been named to the watch list for the 2009 Manning Award, presented to the nation's top quarterback.

Wichita State will be Pitt's opponent for the first round of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic Nov. 23 in Kansas City. The Panthers and Shockers will play the first game of a doubleheader at 7:30 p.m. at the Sprint Center. Iowa and Texas will play the second game. The winners will play for the championship the following night. The losers will play a consolation game.

Unseeded Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine upset third-seeded Venus Williams, 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, yesterday in the second round of the WTA Tour Rogers Cup at Toronto.

Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird has returned to Saratoga Race Course to prepare for the Aug. 29 Travers Stakes after having throat surgery to free an entrapped epiglottis.

Detroit general manager Ken Holland said he has signed veteran forward Todd Bertuzzi to a $1.5 million, 1-year contract with the Red Wings for the coming season.

Lauren Jackson scored 36 points to lead visiting Seattle (14-11) to a 79-75 win in the WNBA against Detroit (9-14). Swin Cash added 15 points for Seattle. ... Diana Taurasi scored 27 points and led a late charge that carried Phoenix (18-8) to a 106-99 win against host Chicago (13-13).