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her body and sapped so much of her strength that she couldn't even flee when rescuers found her.
• Now eight months later, the animal rescuers named Pup 49 is adjusting to life without one of her two hind flippers after veterinarians at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut performed an amputation to prevent a stubborn infection from spreading throughout her body.
• The seal pup is quick to dive after sardines tossed into her tank and fixes her large, dark eyes on aquarium workers the moment they step onto a special platform to feed her. Occasionally she swims to the platform's edge and attempts to haul herself from the water onto it. A special ramp has been installed to make it easier for her to get out. She makes the effort in a heartfelt plea for more fresh fish from the workers' shiny bucket.
• "She has a really inquisitive and interested personality and she is very interactive with the environment around her," said Mystic Aquarium veterinarian Allison Tuttle, who supervises the pup's treatment and care.
• None of that personality was apparent when workers from the Boston-based New England Aquarium found the seal stranded in Plymouth, Mass., last July. She was 1- to 2-months-old, had lost a lot of weight, was suffering from a respiratory ailment and nursing very deep wounds that were infected, Tuttle said. She did not respond well to cleaning and medical treatment.
• ___

• WASHINGTON (AP) -- If you're one of the college basketball fans who can't wait for the Big East breakup to be final, hang on. You'll have to wait for the Final Four.
• Syracuse and Marquette both won their East Regional semifinal games Thursday night and that means the Big East will have a team in Atlanta next week. It will be the fourth straight season the conference that changed the landscape of college basketball over the last three-plus decades will have a Final Four team.
• Oh yeah, Louisville, the overall No. 1 seed in the tournament and a Final Four team last season, is still alive with the Cardinals playing Oregon on Friday in the round of 16.
• "It will be different than the Big East tournament," Syracuse guard Michael Carter-Williams said after scoring 24 points in the 61-50 victory over top-seeded Indiana. "It will definitely feel familiar with different refs and a neutral court, but we'll see them again."
• Marquette won the only meeting between the teams this season, 74-71 on Feb. 25 -- the middle game of the Orange's three-game losing streak.

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