March 10, 2004

Pittsburgh University basketball coach Jamie Dixon, who has led team to 27-3 record in his first season and was named Big East Conference coach of year, prepares for Big East tournament; photos (M)

Boston Celtics defeat New York Knicks, 87-84; photos (M)

EchoStar Communications pulls CBS from its satellite service in 16 cities and drops all of Viacom's cable networks, including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, nationwide because of stalled contract talks over fees for carrying channels; EchoStar's decision to stop carrying 16 CBS owned-and-operated stations will affect only 1.6 million of its 9.4 million subscribers; all 9.4 million subscribers will not be able to see Viacom cable channels; EchoStar will credit each subscriber who loses CBS $1 a month; consumers who lose cable networks will receive comparable-size credit; analysts view move as risky for EchoStar and its often combative chief executive Charles W Ergen, saying company will probably come under intense pressure from rival cable and satellite companies seeking to steal its subscribers; Viacom chairman Sumner M Redstone says Viacom cannot offer EchoStar more favorable terms than other distributors; map; chart; photos (M)

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co hopes to raise its share of global market for DVD recorders to 50 percent this year from 40 percent last year as it unveils new line of devices under its Panasonic brand; plans to introduce six new DVD recorders in Japan by July (S)

Longtime secret initiation rite at Masonic lodge in Patchogue, New York, goes terribly wrong when 76-year-old Mason Albert Eid pulls out wrong gun from his pocket and fatally shoots fellow Mason William James in face; intended prank involved new member of group within club sitting in chair while older member fired handgun loaded with blanks; Eid, who had one gun in each pocket, pleads not guilty to manslaughter; photos; state Masons disavow ritual, which apparently developed only at Southside lodge (M)