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College

Hawkeyes End Regular Season with Loss

The Iowa Hawkeyes traveled to Minnesota Sunday evening and closed out their regular season with another loss.  The Hawks were not sharp and fell behind early and lost to the Gophers 88-53.  Aaron Fuller led Iowa with 16 points.  With the loss, Iowa finishes the regular season at 10-21 and a ninth place finish at 4-14 in the Big Ten.  Iowa will play Thursday against Michigan in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago.

 

Lady Hawks Lose Lead and Championship

The Iowa Hawkeye women's basketball team gave the Buckeyes all they could handle but ended just two free-throws short as Ohio State won the Big Ten regular and tournament championships with a 66-64 victory over the Hawks in Indianapolis.  Iowa led by as many as 16 early in the second half but could not put away the Buckeyes as they rallied for the win.  The Lady Hawks are now 19-13 and expect an invitation to the women's NCAA Tournament.

 

No. 12 Butler win Horizon League title, back in Big Dance

MEN'S BASKETBALL-  03/09/10:

Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack each scored 14 points, as the 12th-ranked Butler Bulldogs won their 20th straight game and officially punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 70-45 victory over Wright State in the Horizon League Tournament championship game.  Howard also pulled down nine rebounds for the Bulldogs (28-4), who were appearing in their fifth straight conference championship game.  The win gave Butler its sixth Horizon League title.

 

 

ON TAP TONIGHT- 03/10/10

MEN'S BASKETBALL-  03/10/10:

SPRINT CENTER-  KANSAS CITY, MO-  BIG XII TOURNAMENT:

 

8:30 PM-  11-seed Iowa State (15-16) vs. 6-seed Texas (23-8).....First Round

 

 

Panthers Win Another Championship

After claiming the regular season Missouri Valley Conference championship, the Northern Iowa Panthers claimed a second trophy by defeating Wichita State 67-52 in the MVC Tournament in St. Louis on Sunday.  Kwadzo Ahelegbe led the Panthers with 24-ponts and Jake Koch added 13.  UNI improves to 28-4 and will know Sunday evening their destination in the men's NCAA Tournament. 

 

UNI's Ben Jacobson named a finalist for two major coaching awards

University of Northern Iowa head men's basketball coach Ben Jacobson has been named as a finalist for the 2010 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award as well as a finalist for the 2010 Hugh Durham Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award.

BOSTON (MA) -- The fifteen finalists for the 2010 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award were announced on Monday.

Last year's winner, John Calipari (Kentucky), and this year's mid-season honoree, Frank Martin (Kansas State) are among the finalists. Calipari would become the first coach to win the honor multiple times since the inception of the Phelan Award in 2002-03.

Joining Calipari with an opportunity to become the first multiple winner of the award is fellow finalist Bo Ryan (Wisconsin), who was previously honored at the conclusion of the 2007-08 season.

Among the fifteen finalists are three from mid-major conferences: Cornell's Steven Donahue (Ivy), Northern Iowa's Ben Jacobson (Missouri Valley) and Butler's Brad Stevens (Horizon).

The remaining finalists are Steve Alford (New Mexico), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Jamie Dixon (Pittsburgh), Fran Dunphy (Temple), Chris Mooney (Richmond), Matt Painter (Purdue), Bill Self (Kansas), Mark Turgeon (Texas A&M) and Jay Wright (Villanova)

The Jim Phelan Award is given annually to the nation's top coach, as voted on by the 20-member panel. The winner will be presented with the award at the Final Four in Indianapolis.

Prior to 2003 the award was known simply as the CollegeInsider.com National Coach of the Year. It was renamed to honor longtime Mount St. Mary's head coach Jim Phelan, who retired with 830 career wins following the 2002-03 season.

Previous winners were Calipari (Memphis, 2009), Ryan (Wisconsin, 2008), Tony Bennett (Washington State, 2007), Ben Howland (UCLA, 2006), Tubby Smith (Kentucky, 2005), Phil Martelli (St. Joseph's, 2004) and Mark Slonaker (Mercer, 2003).

 

 

Professional

Chiefs sign RB Thomas Jones

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE-  03/09/10:

ARROWHEAD STADIUM:

 

Kansas City, MO-  The Kansas City Chiefs announced the signing of free agent running back Thomas Jones on Tuesday.  Terms of the signing were not released.  Jones was released after three productive seasons with the New York Jets upon the opening of free agency last week.  The 31-year-old ran for a career-high 1,402 yards in 2009 and established a franchise record with 14 rushing touchdowns, after setting that mark in 2008 with 13 rushing touchdowns.

 

 

Kobe plays the role of hero, again

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION-  03/09/10:

Kobe Bryant played the role of hero again, draining the winning jumper from the right baseline with 1.9 seconds left, and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 109-107 victory over the Toronto Raptors.  Bryant, who missed a potential game-winning three-pointer at the end of regulation in a 106-105 loss in Toronto on January 24th, scored 32 points, dished out six assists, and had six rebounds.

 

ELSEWHERE IN THE NBA:

 

Indiana Pacers- 107
Philadelphia 76ers- 96   FINAL

Milwaukee Bucks- 86
Boston Celtics- 84   FINAL

Utah Jazz- 132
Chicago Bulls- 108   FINAL

Houston Rockets- 96
Washington Wizards- 88   FINAL

Orlando Magic- 113
Los Angeles Clippers- 87   FINAL

Charlotte Bobcats- 83
Miami Heat- 78   FINAL

Portland Trail Blazers- 88
Sacramento Kings- 81   FINAL

 

 

Nomar Garciaparra retires

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL-  03/10/10:

FENWAY PARK:

 

Boston, MA-  The Boston Red Sox held a news conference this morning, during which infielder Nomar Garciaparra announced his retirement.  According to a Boston sports talk station, Garciaparra signed a one-day minor league contract with the Red Sox.  He will now become a baseball analyst for ESPN.

A six-time All-Star, Garciaparra was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1997 with Boston.  He also won a pair of AL batting titles (1999, 2000) with the Red Sox before he was dealt to the Chicago Cubs at the 2004 trade deadline.  Over the course of his 14-year career, Garciaparra hit .313 with 229 home runs, 936 RBI, and a .521 slugging percentage.

 

 

Twins closer Joe Nathan has ligament tear in pitching elbow

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL-  03/10/10:

Minneapolis, MN-  Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan has a "significant" ligament tear in his right elbow.  Nathan left a spring training game on Saturday and went back to Minneapolis for tests, which revealed damage to the ulnar collateral ligament.  The Twins said the veteran reliever will rest the elbow for two weeks to allow swelling in the area to subside.  He will then try to strengthen the elbow before trying to pitch.  If rehabilitation does not work, sugery will likely be necessary.

Nathan faced one batter Saturday (3/6) in a spring training game against Boston and left the mound after experiencing tightness in the elbow.  The 35-year-old right-hander is coming off a franchise-record 47-save season in 2009.