Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal made another attempt on Thursday to thwart the ACC's expansion by filing a motion in Hartford (Conn.) Superior Court to expedite discovery in the lawsuit filed by the University of Connecticut and four other Big East schools.

"Our objective is to keep the Big East intact and protect Connecticut's interests,'' Blumenthal told ESPN.com.

		Thursday, June 12 The motion filed by the University of Connecticut and the Attorney General requests that the Court grant expedited discovery, which simply means that the plaintiff wants to get all requested documents and discovery much faster than the normal course. Generally, discovery can be a slow process, and can take months and suffer from significant delays. In this matter, the plaintiff would like to speed things up to find a "smoking gun" in the documents and communications so that the process of Syracuse, Miami and Boston College leaving the Big East can be derailed. While it may seem like a desperate attempt to slow the ACC's forward progress in expansion, the Big East is hoping it can delay things long enough to make a last-ditch effort to keep the league together, or to frustrate and embarrass ACC institutions into backing off of the expansion plan. This tactic could wind up having the opposite effect, galvanizing viewpoints among ACC members. This lawsuit is an unfortunate happening in college athletics, but reflective of the changing marketplace as institutions position themselves to compete for financial rewards.

Also on Thursday, Virginia attorney general Jerry Kilgore added his name to the Big East lawsuit seeking to stop the expansion plans.

Kilgore's addition to the lawsuit -- filed last Friday by Connecticut, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Rutgers and Virginia Tech to prevent the ACC from adding conference members Miami, Boston College and Syracuse -- is key because it puts him squarely on the side of Virginia Tech in a legal battle between two state universities.

Leaders at Duke and North Carolina are opposed to the expansion and Virginia president John T. Casteen III is a crucial swing vote. Seven of the nine ACC schools must approve expansion.

Pro-expansionists are definitely worried. Miami president Donna Shalala has been lobbying for support, according to the Miami Herald. The newspaper quote a source as saying Shalala and Hurricanes athletic director Paul Dee are "nervous" about the outcome.

The Big East plaintiffs claim their defection will ruin the Big East and force the league to lose its Bowl Championship Series spot. Connecticut spent $90 million to build a new football stadium.

Erik Albright of Smith Moore LLP, outside legal counsel to the ACC, issued a statement Friday that his firm has reviewed the claims in the lawsuit and "believe they are without merit."

"The lawsuit has not and will not distract from or disrupt the ACC's thoughtful consideration of its expansion options," Albright said. "No matter how many press conferences are called, press releases issued, transparent actions taken or motions filed, plaintiffs' litigation tactics will not affect the final decision by the Council of Presidents.

"Regardless of whether the ACC elects to expand or whether any institution elects to associate itself with the ACC, this lawsuit will have no bearing on that process or its timing."

Blumenthal's motion was filed against Miami, Boston College and the ACC, but not Syracuse. In the motions of discovery, however, information from Syracuse was requested.

"The cost of the stadium and the upgrading of the football team was done on false promises,'' Blumenthal said. "The other schools have similar damages and each upgraded their facilities. West Virginia, Rutgers and Pittsburgh spent a lot of money to improve them.

"We say in our lawsuit that these defendants deliberately schemed to destroy the Big East and take for themselves the value of what has been created if the Big East loses its stature in the BCS or disbands,'' Blumenthal said. "The Big East would be less competitive for TV revenue. I can't speculate on what will happen in the future. We want these schools and the ACC to pay for false statements that they knowingly made that we would rely on.''

The ACC held conference calls Tuesday and Wednesday without taking a vote to formally extend invitations to the three schools. The league needs seven of nine votes for expansion. Duke and North Carolina are reportedly against expansion; Virginia is on the fence.

Blumenthal's motion is pursuing depositions from key personnel in the suit, including Shalala on July 1, Dee on July 2, Miami chancellor Edward Foote II on July 3, ACC commissioner John Swofford on July 7, BC president Rev. William Leahy on July 8 and BC athletic director Gene DeFillipo on July 9.

Blumenthal said the defendants had two chances to "voluntarily cooperate with a discovery request but didn't respond."

The motion wants documents dating back from Jan. 1, 1997 from Miami, BC, Syracuse and the ACC. Those documents would involve: