Sports News-January 31, 2012
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The New York Giants and New England Patriots
are about deal with the toughest part of Super Bowl week, the
annual Super Bowl media day in Indianapolis. The league has issued
around 2,000 credentials and is selling tickets to the public for
the first time. The Giants landed in Indianapolis yesterday, a day
after the Patriots reached town.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - NCAA President Mark Emmert has
reiterated his support for a two-round, four-team BCS championship
for college football. Emmert says there are ongoing discussions
about what he described as a Final Four model, a scenario which
would've matched LSU against Stanford and Alabama versus Oklahoma
State last season with the winners advancing to the title game. He
also notes the eventual decision for a playoff is in the hands of
the BCS and not the NCAA.
PISACATAWAY, N.J. (AP) - Rutgers is expected to introduce Kyle
Flood as the new head football coach at a news conference later
today. Flood had been on former coach Greg Schiano's staff since 2005 and was promoted to interim coach
last week. Schiano left to become head coach of the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers.
DETROIT (AP) - Detroit Tigers star Victor Martinez is recovering
from microfracture surgery on his left knee to repair an
offseason-conditioning injury. The club also announced that
Martinez needs ACL reconstruction surgery on the same knee in six
to eight weeks and is expected to miss the entire 2012 season.
Martinez hit .330 with 103 RBIs in 2011, helping the Tigers win the
division in his first season with Detroit.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - The Texas Rangers have given manager Ron
Washington a two-year contract extension after he led the team to
consecutive American League pennants. Washington is 427-383 in five
seasons and is the first manager in major league history to
increase his team's win total in four straight years after his
initial campaign with a club. He's now signed through 2014.
The Creighton men's basketball team moved up two spots in both top-25 polls released yesterday. They are 12th in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll and 13th in the Associated Press poll. Both marks are season-bests and the program's highest since being tabbed 12th in both polls on Feb. 10, 2003. In the NCAA's official RPI rankings, the Bluejays jumped three spots to an MVC-best 14th. Creighton, who is 20-2 overall and 10-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference, returns to action on Wednesday night when it hosts third-place Illinois State at 7:05. In other Bluejay basketball news, they will host Long Beach State in the BracketBuster on Feb. 18 at 9:00 PM. It will be the fifth meeting between the schools and first since 1973. The BracketBuster is showcase for mid-majors, with many of the games televised on ESPN channels.
The Omaha World Herald & Lincoln Journal Star have updated its high school boys & girls basketball rankings for all classes. The Norfolk Panther boys remain second in both newspapers. The 17-0 Panthers earned wins over the weekend with wins over Lincoln Southwest and Kearney. They return to action this week with a home game with Fremont on Friday night and a road game at Bellevue West on Saturday. The Norfolk Catholic boys have dropped in both media to fifth in Class “C-1”. They were third in the Lincoln Journal Star and fourth in the Omaha World Herald last week. The Defending Champions are 13-4 on the season after recording a 2-1 record last week. They take on Boone Central in the opening round of the Mid States Conference Tournament tonight at 6:15. The Lutheran High Northeast boys have jumped from fifth to third in the Lincoln Journal Star and remain fifth in the Omaha World Herald in Class “C-2”. The 18-1 Eagles beat Lourdes Central Catholic and Humphrey St. Francis last week. They will visit Columbus Scotus tonight and also host Omaha Nation on Friday. The Norfolk Catholic girls have dropped from first to third in the Lincoln Journal Star and from third to fourth in the Omaha World Herald in Class “C-1”. The 14-3 Lady Knights have went 2-1 in the last week. They return to action next on Thursday when they play Pierce in the semifinals of the Mid States Conference Tournament. The Lutheran High Northeast girls remain second in the Omaha World Herald and third in the Lincoln Journal Star in Class “C-2”. The 19-1 Lady Eagles beat Battle Creek and Humphrey St. Francis last week and will visit Columbus Scotus tonight and will also host Omaha Nation on Friday.
The Mid States Conference Tournament continues today at various sites. In the boys bracket, in games played at Northeast Community College, 13-4 Norfolk Catholic takes on 8-8 Boone Central at 6:15 and 6-10 West Point Guardian Angels battles 14-2 Wayne at 7:45. In games at Norfolk Catholic High School, 11-2 Hartington Cedar Catholic tangles with 6-10 Battle Creek at 6:15 and 8-6 Pierce meets 9-6 O’Neill at 7:45. Three teams are ranked in the Top Ten in the state. In other games tonight, the Lutheran High Northeast girls & boys teams visit Columbus Scotus in a 6:15 doubleheader. The games can be heard at approximately 5:55 on Newstalk WJAG 105.9 FM & WJAG.com.
Mid States Conference Girls Basketball Tournament Scoreboard: Norfolk Catholic 49 Hartington CC 44; Boone Central 67 Madison 21; Pierce 43 O’Neill 32; Wayne 57 West Point Guardian Angels 44.
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Chicago 98 Washington 88
Final Philadelphia 74 Orlando 69
Final Miami 109 New Orleans 95
Final Milwaukee 103 Detroit 82
Final Minnesota 120 Houston 108
Final San Antonio 83 Memphis 73
Final Dallas 122 Phoenix 99
Final Utah 93 Portland 89
Final L-A Clippers 112 Oklahoma City 100
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final ( 4) Missouri 67 Texas 66
TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final ( 3) UConn 61 ( 5) Duke 45
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