Thursday, April 22, 2010

NCAA to expand March Madness from 65 to 68 teams

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The NCAA is on the verge of expanding the men's basketball tournament from 65 to 68 teams beginning next year and announced a new, $10.8 billion broadcasting deal with CBS Sports and Turner Broadcasting on Thursday that will allow every game to be shown live for the first time.

"This is an important day for intercollegiate athletics and the 400,000 student-athletes who compete in NCAA sports," interim NCAA president Jim Isch said. "This agreement will provide on average more than $740 million annually to our conferences and member schools."

Any move had hinged on the NCAA's $6 billion, 11-year television deal with CBS. The deal, signed in 1999, had a mutual opt-out until July 31 and the NCAA took it amid speculation that ESPN might become a partner in one of the most popular and lucrative tournaments in sports.

Instead, the NCAA struck a 14-year agreement with CBS and Turner Broadcasting System Inc. The deal, which runs from 2011 through 2024, will show every game live across four national networks for the first time in the tournament's 73-year history.

Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports, said the "new strategic partnership" was a core asset -- and a profitable one.

The men's tournament last expanded in 2001, adding one team to the 64-team field that was set in 1985, and talk of tweaking March Madness again had generated a lot of criticism from fans and bracket-fillers worried about watering down the competition.

The NCAA studied expanding the tournament to 68, 80 or even 96 teams, with the latter option likely enveloping the 32-team NIT. But the NCAA said that the Division I Men's Basketball Committee unanimously passed the 68-team proposal and it will be reviewed by the Board of Directors on April 29.

The proposal is strictly for the men's tournament. Another NCAA committee is looking at whether to expand the women's tournament or keep it in the current format.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/basketball/ncaa/04/22/tournament.expansion.ap/index.html?eref=BrkNews#ixzz0lqjAqYoD

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

NEW MISSION MOVING ON UP

NEW MISSION MOVING ON UP
Posted by Danny Ventura at Boston Herald

The MIAA Basketball Committee voted 13-0 to accept New Mission’s request to go from Division 4 North to Division 2 North, effective for 2010-11 season and will include the seasons of 2011-12 and 2012-13. The Titans, behind Herald All-Scholastics Samir McDaniels and Osmel Odena as well as 6-8 Ousmane Drame, steamrolled to a D4 state title last year.

http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/high_school/index.php/2010/04/20/new-mission-moving-on-up/

Friday, April 9, 2010

Desrosiers back in play?

By Brendan Hall, Globe Correspondent | April 9, 2010

The firing of Dino Gaudio as men’s basketball coach at Wake Forest has resonated loudly in Massachusetts.

With the dismissal of the Deacons coach Wednesday after three seasons in Winston-Salem, N.C., the recruitment of 6-foot-11-inch Carson Desrosiers, a senior at Central Catholic and two-time Globe All-Scholastic, could be in jeopardy. NCAA rules allow a player to be released from a National Letter of Intent only if the school permits, but in most cases a release is granted upon request.

Desrosiers, who chose the Deacons over Arizona State and Marquette when he committed last fall, can only field calls from coaches affiliated with Wake Forest.

But just in case, the phone’s ringing off the hook of Central Catholic coach Rick Nault, who said he had 32 messages from college coaches on Wednesday alone, starting as soon as the first rumors of Gaudio’s demise went public.

Desrosiers’s father, Andrew, said yesterday that his son is going to wait to see what happens. “We want to see what’s going to happen with the other recruits, what happens with the coach,’’ Andrew Desrosiers said. “The school is not going to change, the campus is not going to change, but we want to see what happens on the basketball end.’’

Desrosiers averaged 16.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 6.5 blocks this year for the Red Raiders, who won their second state title in three years.


Baseball
Dorchester 10, Charlestown 0 — Alex Munoz threw a one-hitter and struck out 10 to spark the Bears.

Alexis Munoz’ 1-hitter lifts Dorchester

By Herald Staff | Friday, April 9, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com |

Alexis Munoz fired a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts to keep Dorchester undefeated after two games with a 10-0 Boston City League baseball win yesterday over Charlestown.

Kevin Luciano pitched seven innings with seven strikeouts for the win during Cambridge’s 9-5 victory over Watertown. Luciano was also 3-for-4 at the plate.

Softball

Siobhan Elvin rapped four hits and Emily Berardi hurled a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts in Boston Latin’s 9-0 win over Latin Academy.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1245873

Shabazz Napier picks Connecticut

By Herald staff / Sports in Brief | Saturday, April 3, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Other High School

Former Charlestown High basketball star Shabazz Napier has verbally committed to attend Connecticut.

Elsewhere, former Madison Park standout Raheem Singleton verbally committed to attend Maine.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1244396

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Shabazz Napier to Connecticut

Shabazz Napier is headed for Storrs. The explosive, high scoring lead guard commits to the Huskies two weeks after the best pure point guard in New England pledges to the Friars. Let the storylines begin.

In December, Friarbasketball.net compared the emerging Napier/Tharpe debate to that of the the 1996 draft's top prospects, Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury.

Like Iverson, Shabazz is a tremendous scorer, one capable of putting points on the board so quickly and amazingly (ankle breaking drives, 3s from 30 feet) that it overshadows his play-making skills. While not the creator that Tharpe is, Napier is a far more effective passer than he gets credit for. Those skills were never more on display than in the NEPSAC Class C finals when he led Lawrence Academy over a bigger St. Mark's team on a night in which his outside shot wasn't falling.

Scoring point guards are often labeled as selfish or not true 1s, but Napier willingly makes plays for his teammates and does so effectively. Prior to last summer Napier was billed as more of a 3 point gunner than anything, a label that was unfair and one that he obliterated after a great summer and undefeated prep season.

While Shabazz has always had his doubters, Naadir Tharpe has been highly rated and coveted from early on in his high school career. He was a young point guard prodigy when he made the varsity team at St. Peter-Marian in Worcester, MA when he was in 8th grade.

While consistently being ranked in the top 60 nationally in most recruiting services since his first year at Brewster Academy, many of those that were impressed with his supreme play-making ability were quick to note that his jumper was a work in progress.

While Napier is known at the scorer, Tharpe has the ability to put points on the board, as he proved in his last year at St. Peter-Marian averaging 27 ppg, scoring 43, 31, 37, 31, 43, 34, 35, and 41 points in his last 8 games there.

When Napier answered questions about his passing ability, Tharpe did the same when it came to his outside shot.

A Budding Rivalry


The New England Recruiting Report is reporting that Napier will reclassify to the class of 2010 and begin his UConn career a year prior to Tharpe's arrival at Providence. In a sense it would be a shame if Napier and Tharpe didn't end up in the same class, as a great debate has raged across New England recruiting circles over the past year as to who the better point guard prospect is. Everyone seems to have an opinion and to see them go toe to toe, in the same conference, playing on states bordering each other for all four years, would have been a pleasure.

Throughout their prep careers the NERR had Tharpe rated as the top New England player in the class of 2011, until recently when Napier and Syracuse commit Mike Carter-Williams surpassed him late this year.

ESPN has Tharpe rated 51st nationally. Napier is 52nd.

One will lead traditional New England AAU power BABC this summer. The other is a mainstain of the upstart New England Playaz.

Napier was the star of the Class C champions. Tharpe led a team of stars to the Class A and National Championships.

One is headed to the current king of New England. The other is looking to lead a revival of the region's former power.

There's no doubt they've heard the whispers about who is better and have to be eager to prove who is better.

Some preferred AI, others Marbury. This should be fun.

For more on Shabazz Napier:

http://www.friarbasketball.net/2010/02/live-from-roxbury-ma-shabazz-napier-in.html

http://www.friarbasketball.net/2010/03/live-from-beverly-ma-iii-nepsac.html

Posted by Friar_Basketball at 8:38 AM
Labels: naadir tharpe, shabazz napier

RE:BOUND AAU GIRLS BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL

Photobucket