BC-AP Sports Digest
Posted By Admin on January 29, 2012
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TOP STORY:
TEN–AUSTRALIAN OPEN
MELBOURNE, Australia – Victoria Azarenka faces Maria Sharapova in the finals of the Australian Open with the winner set to take over the womens No. 1 ranking. Sharapova has held the top spot three times previously, the most recent in June 2008. Azarenka, playing in her a Grand Slam final, would be No. 1 for the first time. Womens final began at 3:30 am
With:
- TEN–Australian Open-New Murray? By Dennis Passa.
- TEN–Australian Open-Notebook. By Justin Bergman.
- TEN–Davis Cup-US. By Caroline Cheese.
AP VIDEO:
- The Summer Olympics are set to start in six months and London officials say from venue construction to security operations everything is on schedule.
NEW/DEVELOPING:
OLY–SOC-US QUALIFIES
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The final goal in the game that put the US womens soccer team into the Olympics was scored by Alex Morgan, the super-sub who made her name at last years World Cup. The US beat Costa Rica 3-0 Friday night in the semifinals of the CONCACAF qualifying to earn a spot for the London Olympics. The game was quite a bit more suspenseful than expected, with the Americans overcoming some early sloppiness and waiting until deep into the second half to put the game away.By Joseph White.
GLF–FARMERS INSURANCE
SAN DIEGO – Phil Mickelson doesnt lack faith in his game. He just doesnt have an explanation for a shoddy start to his season. One week after he had to rally to make the cut in his 2012 debut at the Humana Challenge, he didnt come close to making the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open, getting the weekend off at his hometown event for the first time in 10 years. Kyle Stanley, a 24-year-old with the skills of a rising star, made seven birdies on the South Course to overcome a double bogey for a 4-under 68. That gave him a 130 total and a one-shot lead over Brandt Snedeker, who had a 64 on the easier North Course. By Golf Writer Doug Ferguson.
BKC–COLL OF CHARLESTON-CREMINS
CHARLESTON, SC – Bobby Cremins assistant says the veteran basketball coach hasnt looked well the past few weeks and Friday evening the College of Charleston announced Cremins will miss the rest of the season because of a medical problem. Yet, Mark Byington – who will take over as the Cougars coach – was still surprised when the 64-year-old Cremins called him earlier in the day with the news. By Bruce Smith. Sent.
FIG–US CHAMPIONSHIPS
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Jeremy Abbotts easy, breezy performance to a swing medley scored a whopping 90.23 points at the US Figure Skating Championships, a personal best and a mark that puts him in world champion Patrick Chans territory. The two-time national champion leads training partner Adam Rippon by a commanding 7.29 points going into Sundays free skate. By Nancy Armour. Sent.
FEATURES:
BKC–T25-KANSAS-BACK ON TOP
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Bill Self tried to temper expectations surrounding fifth-ranked Kansas as the season began, pointing out all the big-name players lost to graduation and the NBA. He didnt fool his fellow Big 12 coaches. They picked the Jayhawks as co-favorites again in the conference. Now, after rolling through their first seven conference games without a miscue, Kansas is in a familiar position as Missouris loss earlier this week created a two-game cushion in the standings.
BKC–SURGING MIDDLE TENNESSEE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders are enjoying the results of their chemistry experiment. Coach Kermit Davis had built a roster featuring four transfers from other Division I programs and three junior college players to a group returning three starters from a .500 team. LaRon Dendy sat out last season as a transfer from Iowa State and says they swapped phone numbers followed by lots of texts. By the time the Blue Raiders hit campus, nobody felt like a stranger as they started playing pick-up games. Now, they are off to the best start in Middle Tennessee history at 20-2, winning 12 straight. By Teresa M. Walker.
BBC–ARKANSAS-BACK TO WORK
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas baseball coach Dave Van Horn has seen college baseball change quite a bit during his 23 seasons as a head coach. The latest change, as the game has continued to grow in recent years, has been the proliferation of negative recruiting – a well-known practice in both football and basketball. By Kurt Voigt.
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ALSO SENT PREVIOUSLY:
- INDIANAPOLIS – FBN–Colts-Manning. By Michael Marot.
- DENVER – FBN–Broncos-Del Rio. By Arnie Stapleton. Sent.
- TAMPA, Fla. – FBN–Buccaneers-Schiano. By Fred Goodall.
- FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – FBN–Patriots-Protecting Brady. By Howard Ulman.
- ALAMEDA, Calif. – FBN–Raiders-Allen. By Josh Dubow.
- NEW YORK – FBN–Goodell-Recession.
- KAPOLEI, Hawaii – FBN–Pro Bowl. By Jaymes Song.
- OWINGS Mill, Md. – FBN–Ravens-Coaches.
- JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – FBN–Jaguars-Coaches.
- OTTAWA – HKN–All-Star Game-Players. By John Wawrow.
- MINNEAPOLIS – BBA–Twins-Morneaus Recovery. By Dave Campbell.
- NEW YORK – BBN–Dodgers Sale. By Ronald Blum.
- DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – CAR–Grand Am-Wilsons Return. By Jenna Fryer.
- CHICAGO – FBO–Concussion Awareness.
- ATLANTA – US–Coaches Investments. By Kate Brumback.
- SHEFFIELD, England – FIG–Europeans.
- MIAMI – SAI–Miami Regatta.
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Saturdays Time Schedule
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Top 25
Men
No. 1 Kentucky at LSU, 4 pm
No. 2 Missouri vs. Texas Tech, 1:30 pm
No. 3 Syracuse vs. West Virginia, 1 pm
No. 5 Kansas at Iowa State, 2 pm
No. 6 Baylor vs. Texas, 1 pm
No. 8 Duke vs. St. Johns, Noon
No. 9 Georgetown at Pittsburgh, 4 pm
No. 11 Murray State vs. Eastern Illinois, 8 pm
No. 12 UNLV at Air Force, 9 pm
No. 13 San Diego State at Colorado State, 4 pm
No. 14 Florida vs. No. 18 Mississippi State, 1:30 pm
No. 15 Creighton vs. Bradley, 8:05 pm
No. 17 Marquette at Villanova, Noon
No. 19 Virginia at NC State, 8 pm
No. 21 Saint Marys (Cal) at BYU, 9 pm
No. 22 Kansas State vs. Oklahoma, 7 pm
Women
No. 1 Baylor vs. Kansas, 8 pm
No. 2 Notre Dame at St. Johns, Noon
No. 3 UConn vs. South Florida at the XL Center, Hartford, Conn., 1 pm
No. 4 Stanford vs. California, 5 pm
No. 12 Green Bay at Valparaiso, 2:35 pm
No. 13 Purdue at Iowa, 3 pm
No. 16 Louisville vs. Villanova, 2 pm
No. 21 Texas Tech vs. Texas, 3 pm
No. 22 Gonzaga at Saint Marys, 5 pm
No. 23 BYU at Santa Clara, 5 pm
No. 23 DePaul at Seton Hall, 2 pm
NBA
Detroit at Philadelphia, 7 pm
Washington at Charlotte, 7 pm
New York at Houston, 8 pm
LA Lakers at Milwaukee, 8:30 pm
Memphis at Phoenix, 9 pm
Sacramento at Utah, 9 pm
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Senior Bowl at Mobile, Ala., 4 pm
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