jimblr.com

Jake Boss has experienced an interesting first season as head coach of Eastern Michigan University’s baseball team.
Boss started his head coaching career by losing his first 17 games. The Eagles (25-32) have enjoyed one of the biggest turnarounds in college baseball history since then, culminating with the Mid-American Conference tournament championship Saturday with a 12-4 victory over Kent State to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament.
“Outstanding job by Jake Boss,” praised Michigan coach Rich Maloney. “To keep things together after an 0-17 start is incredible. It could have crumbled for him after that (start).”
Boss was an assistant coach at Michigan under Maloney for 3 years before taking over EMU’s program.
Boss became the second coach in MAC history to lead his team to a championship in his first year as head coach. Jon Pavlisko led Miami to the championship 25 years ago in his first season.
The Eagles went 4-0 in the MAC tournament, hitting 10 home runs and averaging 10 runs a game. They hit three homers in the title game, including Zack Leonard’s solo shot in the second inning for a 1-0 lead, Josh Ivan’s solo homer in the fourth for a 2-1 lead, and Michael Boyd’s three-run homer in the fifth for a 7-1 lead.
Leonard was named Tournament MVP after his 3-for-6 performance in the title game to lead EMU’s 17-hit attack. Leonard hit .400 for the tournament (8-for-20) with two homers and 11 RBI.
Ivan, Steve Bradshaw and Sean Hoffman also earned spots on the All-Tournament Team.
Hoffman earned the win in the championship game, allowing four runs and eight hits in six innings to improve to 5-2.
The Eagles will find out who they play in the NCAA tournament pairings show Monday afternoon.

detnews.com

The Michigan softball team finds out tonight how damaging its loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten quarterfinals was. The Wolverines are a lock to make the NCAA Tournament, but the upset may have cost U-M a shot at an Ann Arbor regional.
The NCAA softball tournament will be announced tonight at 10 p.m. (ET) on ESPNU.
On the other diamond, the Michigan baseball team is rapidly closing in on a Big Ten regular season title. Rich Maloney’s boys take on Minnesota in a double-header beginning at Noon CDT today. Both games are on the Big Ten Network.
Michigan is 21-4 in the Big Ten right now, with a huge lead over second place Purdue (18-9). If Michigan sweeps the DH today, the Wolverines claim the outright title.

blog.mlive.com

Dobbie collected three draws in the game and now has 114 this year, which tops Georgetown's Coco Stanwick's 113 in 2006.
Kate Faas, Kelly Kasper and Laura Merrifield each added three goals and Amanda Spinnenweber (Chesapeake) scored a goal for Maryland (16-2).
Kate Filippelli had two goals and an assist for Loyola (6-9).
COLGATE 19, MARIST 18: Molly Carroll scored five goals and assisted on another to help Colgate squeak by Marist in the NCAA Tournament play-in game.
Meghan Lawler added four goals for Colgate, which advances to the tournament for the third time in the last five years.
Jessica O'Brien and Kate Nofsker each scored four goals to lead Marist (10-9).
GEORGETOWN 9, PRINCETON 8: Senior Patty Piotrowicz scored the game-winning goal with 7:11 to go and the Hoyas were able to control possession over the final four-plus minutes, as the seventh-ranked Georgetown University women's lacrosse team edged No. 6 Princeton yesterday.
Sophomores Molly Ford and Ashby Kaestner and freshman Jordy Kirr all recorded two goals for Georgetown (12-6).
Holly McGarvie scored two goals and added an assist for Princeton (12-4).
NORTHWESTERN 15, PENN STATE 7: Hannah Neilsen had four goals and five assists to lead the second-ranked Wildcats over the Nittany Lions in the semifinals of the American Lacrosse Conference.
Northwestern (16-1) will face Vanderbilt in the championship game today.
Mary Lenior scored two goals and Erica Mihm (Annapolis) scored a goal for Penn State (5-11).
VANDERBILT 10, JOHNS HOPKINS 7: Margie Curran scored four goals and added an assist to lead the Commodores into the championship game of the American Lacrosse Conference.
Ashley Paschall (Spalding) added a goal, Allie Frank (Severn) had an assist and goalie Brooke Shinaberry (Severna Park) stopped nine shots for Vanderbilt (13-4).
Shinaberry was also named ALC Goalkeeper of the Year on Thursday.
Brett Bathras (Severn) and Sam Schrum (St. Mary's) each scored goals for Johns Hopkins (8-9).

hometownannapolis.com

BOSTON: Freshman John Muse made 29 saves to help defending champion Boston College beat Vermont 4-0 on Saturday night for its record eighth Hockey East tournament title.
After making a career-high 45 saves Friday night in a triple-overtime win over regular-season champion New Hampshire, Muse blanked Vermont for his third shutout of the season and the second in the 24-year history of the tournament championship game.
Ben Smith, Tim Kunes, Brian Gibbons and Nathan Gerbe scored for Boston College ((21-11-8), which earned an automatic berth in the 16-team NCAA tournament field. Joe Fallon made 24 saves for Vermont (17-5-7).
Taiwan elected its first president who had campaigned for closer economic relations with Beijing, paving the way for a considerable lessening of tensions in one of Asia's oldest flashpoints. Ma Ying-jeou, a Harvard-educated lawyer and former Taipei mayor from the Nationalist Party, won by a convincing margin.

iht.com

After Xavier squandered a double-digit lead in the second half against Ohio State in the N.C.A.A. tournament last season, Lavender wanted to issue a statement that it would not happen again.
Lavender’s message proved prescient in the third-seeded Musketeers’ 73-61 victory against No. 14 Georgia on Thursday in the first round of the N.C.A.A. tournament. On Saturday, they will face No. 6 Purdue, which is seeded sixth in the West Region, after the Boilermakers beat Baylor, 90-79.
Xavier’s comeback from an 11-point deficit in the second half will long leave Georgia fans pointing at the referees more than the Musketeers. Xavier shot 29 free throws in the second half compared with only 5 for Georgia. That disparity and the clock stoppages that go with it allowed the Musketeers to come back and outlast the Bulldogs.
“Clearly,” Georgia Coach Dennis Felton said, “that was the difference in the game.”
Look no further than the line of Xavier’s leading scorer, Josh Duncan, for evidence. He scored 20 points, making 4 of 9 shots from the field and 11 of 14 from the free-throw line. Xavier went 27 of 33 from the line over all; Georgia was 3 of 5.
The Musketeers managed to score 47 second-half points and erase a 9-point halftime deficit despite making only 10 baskets in the second half.
“It’s hard to compete with that,” Georgia guard Billy Humphrey said. “They’re taking wide-open shots at the free-throw line, and they’re doing it five times as much as we are, almost six times as much.”
Georgia became one of the season’s heartwarming stories when it ran through the Southeastern Conference tournament after finishing in last place in the East division. Making its story closer to impossible than unlikely, Georgia had to win three games in two days after a tornado hit the Georgia Dome and forced them to play two games in one day.

nytimes.com

The NCAA men's college basketball tournament could cost employers up to $1.7 billion this year, according to a recent study.
The tournament, which kicked off March 17, amounts to 16 business days where employees face the distraction of watching basketball games online, checking scores and talking about the games.
Chicago-based outplacement consultanting firm Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc. released a report last week, estimating the $1.7 billion in costs based on the amount of money paid to employees for every 10 minutes of unproductive work time.
Some 28.6 million to 37.3 million Americans will participate in a March Madness office pool, according to Challenger.

bizjournals.com

Posted on: Friday, 21 March 2008, 06:00 CDT
WASHINGTON — Duke’s NCAA tournament appearance nearly ended in the first round for the second year in a row.
The second-seeded Blue Devils escaped unheralded and 15th-seeded Belmont 71-70 when Justin Hare’s running three-point attempt from about 40 feet was off target, allowing Duke to advance to a West Regional Saturday matchup against West Virginia.
The Blue Devils (28-5), winners of three national championships, were upset by Virginia Commonwealth in the first round last year. Belmont, champion of the Atlantic Sun Conference, was attempting to become only the fifth 15th-seeded team in NCAA tournament history to win a first-round game, following Richmond (1991), Santa Clara (1993), Coppin State (1997) and Hampton (2001).
"Belmont played an amazing game," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "They’re very good. We were ready to play. You won’t hear any of our players say that we overlooked them. … Watching them on tape, they looked really good. Watching them in person, they’re even better."
The Bruins led 70-69 until Duke’s Gerald Henderson drove for the winning points with 12 seconds left.
"When I got to the three-point line, I saw there was a lane," he said. "I knew we needed a two, so I just went to the basket strong."
Belmont (25-9) was still alive, but Duke’s DeMarcus Nelson stole an inbounds pass with 2.7 seconds to go. He was fouled but missed his free throw, giving Hare and the Bruins one more shot at glory.
"They played with a great verve," Krzyzewski said. "They’re just real difficult to defend. They played really good defense."
After trailing by seven points at halftime, the Bruins fell behind 51-41 shortly after the break but battled back.
Nine consecutive points, capped by a three-pointer in transition by Hare, drew the Bruins within 51-50 with 14 minutes left.

redorbit.com

ST. LOUIS - News and notes from the second round of the NCAA Wrestling Championships:
<>Four in the Quarters …
Brandon Sinnott, Christian Sinnott, Wynn Michalak and Bubba Gritter have all advanced to the quarterfinals. Only four teams have more individuals in the quarterfinals than CMU.
… and Nine in the Tournament
All nine of CMU’s qualifiers remains alive in the tournament. Iowa State is the only other team with as many as nine competitors left in the tournament.
- Wynn Michalak improved his career record to 126-23 with a pair of victories Thursday. He needs one more victory to tie Carleton Kinkade (1983-88) for fourth on the school’s career wins list.
- Michalak’s pin of George Mason’s Cayle Byers in the second round was the 50th fall of his career. He ranks third in school history in career falls. It was also his 13th fall of the season.
- Christian Sinnott won a pair of matches on Thursday to boost his career record to 99-35. He is aiming to become the fifth Chippewa this season to reach the 100-win plateau.
- Bubba Gritter’s pin of Nathan Thobaben (Army) in the first round was the 17th fall of Gritter’s career.
- Brandon Sinnott improved to 30-3 with his two victories on Thursday. It marks the second straight season he has won at least 30 matches, and he is a combined 65-10 over the last two years.
- Wynn Michalak is 28-1 this season. He needs two more victories to reach the 30-win plateau for a fourth consecutive season.
Streaking with Bubba
Bubba Gritter’s second-round win over Kent State’s Jermail Porter was his fifth straight victory over Porter in the last two season. Gritter has defeated Porter in each of the last two MAC Championships finals.

cmuchippewas.com

Atlanta, GA 3/20/2008 04:18 PM GMT (FINDITT)
NCAA March Madness on Demand begins its annual NCAA Tournament coverage Thursday. The first game of the tournament will be at 12:20pm as No. 3 Xavier takes on No. 14 Georgia in Washington, DC.
NCAA March Madness on Demand (MMOD) is the online video player that allows users to view all 63 games of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.
MMOD airs every game from the first round of the tournament through the Men’s Final Four in San Antonio, including the Championship game on April 7.
NCAA March Madness on Demand is produced in partnership with CBS Sports, CBS College Sports Network and the NCAA.
MMOD is available on CBSSports.com. 2008 is the first year CBSSports.com will allow users to view the live streaming video of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship without having to register for the product.
For more sports news, please check out http://news.finditt.com/NewsList.aspx?cat=6&wcat=5

transworldnews.com

The first team from the area to take the court in the NCAA tournament is Belmont.
The Nashville based University is making their third straight appearance in the big dance.
The Bruins will tip against the Duke Blue Devils at 6:10 tonight in Washington, DC. Belmont is the 15th seed while Duke is the number 2 seed in the West Regional.
The bracket that Belmont is in would lead the winner of their game with Duke to a match-up Saturday with the winner of West Virginia and Arizona.
Belmont is coached by Rick Byrd who has built the program to it level in Division 1 from the previous NAIA level. Byrd is a former assistant at Tennessee Tech under former Coach Tom Deaton.
Belmont was 25-8 overall and 14-2 in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
The double figure scoring for Belmont is led by Justin Hare with 14.9 points per contest, Shane Dansby with 13.8 and Matthew Dotson tosses in 11.3 points per game.
Belmont’s first year in the tournament was three years ago in which the faced UCLA. If they were able to win three games and get to the elite eight and UCLA do the same, they would face each other again.
UCLA is the number 1 seed and that is possible for them, but it would be a huge task for Belmont, but never say never.

ucdailynews.com