Welcome to Thursday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

THURSDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NBA: Lakers at Celtics, 8 p.m. (TNT; WEEI)
NBA: Thunder at Kings, 10:30 p.m. (TNT)
College basketball: Wisconsin at Minnesota, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: Mississippi at Mississippi State, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
College basketball: NC State at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
College basketball: St. Mary’s at Gonzaga, 11 p.m. (ESPN2)
NHL: Maple Leafs at Flyers, 7 p.m. (NHL Network)

AROUND THE WEB:

Oil Can Boyd won 60 games for the Red Sox from 1982-89.

♦ Red Sox legend Oil Can Boyd admitted Wednesday that he frequently used cocaine during his major league career, often before he pitched.

“Oh, yeah, at every ballpark,” Boyd told WBZ NewsRadio’s Jonny Miller. “There wasn’t one ballpark that I probably didn’t stay up all night, until 4 or 5 in the morning, and the same thing is still in your system. It’s not like you have time to go do it while in theme, which I had done that.

Boyd went 78-77 with 799 strikeouts in a 10-year career with the Red Sox, Expos and Rangers. He claims he would have won twice as many games had he slept instead of staying up doing drugs. Boyd, whose autobiography is due out in June, said he never had a drug test during his playing days, and his teammates were aware of his problem, although not all of them supported him.

“All of them didn’t rally around me,” he said. “All of them knew and the ones that cared came to me. The Dwight Evans and Bill Buckners. … It was the veteran ballplayers. Some guys lived it. … They knew what you were doing, and the only way they knew was they had to have tried it, too.”

Boyd also blamed racism as part of the reason why he didn’t get more chances to turn his life around.

“The reason I caught the deep end to it is because I’m black. The bottom line is the game carries a lot of bigotry, and that was an easy way for them to do it,” he said. “If I wasn’t outspoken and a so-called ‘proud black man,’ maybe I would have gotten the empathy and sympathy like other ballplayers got that I didn’t get, like Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Steve Howe. I can name 50 people that got third and fourth chances all because they weren’t outspoken black individuals.”

♦ In an attempt to avoid a ban on appearing in the NCAA tournament next season due to substandard academic results, UConn proposed a number of self-imposed penalties. The Huskies would reduce the number of games they play in 2012-13, assign additional study hours for its players and continue to implement a better system for monitoring and improving players’ academic standing.

“Collectively, the university’s proposal will clearly send the message that the institution fully accepts the responsibility for past failings,” the school wrote in its waiver request to the NCAA. “It will result in the economic equivalent of a postseason ban without harming the very students the NCAA is trying to protect.”

♦ There’s a big controversy in England, where Fabio Capello announced he will quit as coach of the national soccer team after John Terry was removed as captain following charges Terry made racially insensitive comments to an opponent.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Feb. 9, 1991, which Celtics player won the slam dunk competition at the NBA All-Star Weekend?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “When we lost the Super Bowl, any of my Super Bowl losses, I was so devastated the last thing I ever wanted to do was party, let alone dance or take off your shirt. It’s just immaturity. It’s not right. He made a mistake and I’m sure he feels absolutely stupid about it at this point. There’s a time and place for everything.” – Rodney Harrison, on Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski‘s post-Super Bowl partying

STAT OF THE DAY: 5-6-1 – The Bruins’ record in their last 12 games, following Wednesday’s 6-0 loss to the Sabres

‘NET RESULTS: Comedian Will Ferrell introduced the starting lineups in his own inimitable style before the Hornets’ game against the Bulls on Wednesday night.

Duke freshman Austin Rivers hits a 3-pointer at the buzzer Wednesday night to beat North Carolina and send his dad, Doc Rivers, into celebration.

The legend of Jeremy Lin continues to grow, as the former Harvard star crosses over Wizards guard John Wall and dunks in Wednesday night’s Knicks win.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Dee Brown

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Barbara Lewis turns 69 Thursday.

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