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Monday, June 25
Ragers to get free basketball tickets
Entering his third season at Michigan, basketball coach Tommy Amaker continues to embrace the student body. After an anonymous gift to the basketball program, the coach announced yesterday that he would give student season ticket holders a chance to renew their tickets at no charge. Last season's Maize Ragers have until Sept. 30 to claim their free seats.

The donor's name and the amount of the gift have not been released.

"Our students are a critical part of our program," Amaker said. "We cannot reach our goals without their support and spirit. We wanted to extend to our entire 'Maize Rage' section an opportunity to support us without any cost to them. Through this generous donation, we are thrilled to be able to do that."

Other students can still buy season tickets. If free bleacher seats remain unclaimed after the deadline, the students who buy season tickets this year will be entered into a lottery for those spots and a refund.

Prior to his first season, Amaker moved the student section down to the floor with the construction of a new bleacher section. Following 13 years at Duke, where the "Cameron Crazies" are king, Amaker has a deep understanding for the importance of student support. Now, he is the first coach in the Big Ten to help make free basketball tickets available to the student body.

His actions have not gone unnoticed.

"We're very grateful to the donor and to Tommy," said Peter Lund, a Maize Rager also known as Super Fan IV. "That money could have gone toward a lot of things. The relationship between the basketball office and the student body has never been better."

There are about 500 to 600 seats in the bleacher section. Lund estimated about 475 of those spots will be filled by returning Maize Ragers.

The basketball team will return nine players from a team that finished third-place in the conference, including Big Ten Freshman of the Year Daniel Horton and All-Big Ten third-team selection Bernard Robinson Jr. They will be joined by a stellar recruiting class, which includes Michigan's Mr. Basketball, Dion Harris.

The 2003-04 schedule includes a visit from North Carolina State of the Atlantic Coast Conference in early December and home games against Indiana and Michigan State late in the Big Ten season.

The Wolverines have been suspended from postseason play for the upcoming season. They are waiting on word from the NCAA on their appeal of that decision.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:12 PM   |
Free Basketball Tickets
Basketball Ticket Brokers
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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:01 PM   |
Free basketball tickets offered to employees
University of Delaware employees looking for an escape from TV reruns and dreary winter weather, look no further.

There is always some hot hoop action at the Bob Carpenter Center, and UD employees can now get up to four free tickets to selected Fightin’ Blue Hen basketball games. Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The games include the UD men vs. James Madison at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 19. The Fightin’ Blue Hens men’s team includes Calvin Cannon, Zaire Taylor, Andrew Washington and Harding Nana. Tickets for the Jan. 19 game can be picked up prior to game time.

Tickets for UD employees also are available for the UD women vs. Old Dominion University contest at 1 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 19. The Fightin’ Blue Hens women’s team took top honors at the Hawk Classic during the holidays with a 49-48 victory at the buzzer over host St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. The Hens also defeated previously unbeaten Bowling Green State University during the tournament.

Deadline for getting free tickets for the Feb. 19 game is noon, Friday, Feb. 17. Tickets for both games may be obtained at season ticket sales office in the Delaware Field House and at the UD Bookstores in the Trabant University Center and the Perkins Student Center.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:01 PM   |
Free Baseball Tickets
Last year we worked with some of the Baseball teams around the state to offer free tickets to their games. We hope to be able to do the same this year. Below is the list of teams from last year and links to their web sites. Keep checking back, for progress on this year’s season.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 9:56 PM   |
Free baseball tickets for rectal exam
Want free baseball tickets? All you had to do last night was show up at Miller Park, home to the Milwaukee Brewers, and let a doctor check your prostate. After the “free and confidential” rectal exam, you would have scored two free tickets to a future Brewers game.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 9:56 PM   |
Monday, June 18
Elite tennis academy in pipeline
Judy Murray, the mother of top tennis player Andy Murray, plans to open the new centre in Bridge of Allan with her son's former coach, Leon Smith.

The new academy would work in conjunction with 13 other high-performance centres in England run by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).

Mrs Murray, who is in talks with Stirling Council about the plans, said it would be her "absolute passion".

"We've got somebody doing a feasibility study at the moment," she added.

Funding partners

"Leon and I put our heads together and thought about what we'd want. We've got the drive and we will do it."

Mrs Murray, who used to coach her son, said she and Mr Smith would be approaching funding partners once they had an idea of the site and available costs.

Although the new academy would be open to players across Britain, most of its intake would be from Scotland.

The area is already well established for the sport with the Gannochy National Tennis Centre at nearby Stirling University.

A spokesman for the LTA said: "Judy has a role with us already as talent and performance manager for Scotland and this venture would fit in perfectly with that.

"The centre would receive LTA funding for coaching programmes and to offset the cost to parents, which can be huge compared with other sports."

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:45 PM   |
Tennis Channel to Re-Air NCAA Men's Doubles Championship
The Tennis Channel will re-air the NCAA Men's Tennis Doubles Championship match on Wednesday, June 20 at 9:00 p.m. CDT featuring national champions, Marco Born and Andreas Siljestrom.

The Tennis Channel can be found on Comcast channel 277, DIRECTV channel 217 or DISH Network channel 400.

Seniors Born and Siljestrom made history on May 28, winning the NCAA Doubles Championships, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4), in Athens, Ga., over defending national champs, Kevin Anderson and Ryan Rowe of Illinois. The Blue Raider duo claimed the program's fourth national title in tennis and the first-ever NCAA Championship.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:44 PM   |
Euro 2008 qual. - Carson's England fear
The England Under-21 shot-stopper, who usually makes the senior squad, was impressive on-loan at Charlton last season but after the Addicks' relegation returned to Liverpool, were Spain international Reina is first-choice and recently signed a new long-term contract.

And Carson is concerned at the effect this will have on him making Steve McClaren's squad for the Euro 2008 qualifiers and, should England qualify, the tournament itself.

"I think you can only get in the England squad when you are playing games regularly but we'll have to wait and see what happens next season and take it from there," the 22-year-old former Leeds man said.

"Nothing is sorted as yet; I'm just concentrating on the tournament at the moment."

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:33 PM   |
Voters in Swiss capital give narrow backing to Euro 2008
Euro 2008 organisers narrowly avoided an embarrassing defeat on Sunday when voters in the Swiss capital Berne gave their cautious support to the tournament.

Just over 52 percent of voters were in favour of a contribution of 5.6 million Swiss francs ($4.5 million) by the city government towards the cost of staging three group stage matches in the capital.

Local politicians and tournament organisers had warned before the vote that a negative outcome would almost certainly have seen the matches being moved to another location.

"I'm not surprised by how tight it was in the end, because I always said it would be a narrow vote," Berne mayor Alexander Tschappat told Reuters shortly after the results were announced.

"Still, a shot that hits the post and then goes in the goal still counts as a goal.

"Berne has a great passion for sport but I think you will always have these kind of political discussions when it comes to public funding for events that also involve private organisations like UEFA or FIFA."

The city's main political parties had all come out in favour of the government payment, but a small committee of green and left-wing politicians had urged voters to reject it -- arguing that public money was being used to boost profits at European soccer's governing body UEFA.

"Of course it's disappointing to lose by such a narrow margin," committee member Daniele Jenni told Reuters. "But with so many of the political parties stacked against us we are delighted that we were able to garner so much support.

"We think it is a clear sign that the authorities have to be careful how they spend taxpayers' money and that they should not just follow the diktat of big sports organisations."

Berne is the only one of the eight Euro 2008 host cities that is expected to vote on the staging of the tournament.

Zurich, Geneva and Basel are the other Swiss cities involved, while Vienna, Innsbruck, Salzburg and Klagenfurt are hosting the Austrian side of the tournament.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:33 PM   |
Tuesday, June 12
Soccer park expands with concessions, storage
A project that has been six years in the making has now become reality for the City of Fort Thomas and the Campbell County North Soccer Club.

The Fort Thomas Soccer Park recently added a new concession stand and storage building to the city-owned facility which is located at the Pendery Sports Complex in Melbourne.

The City of Fort Thomas acquired the Fort Thomas Soccer Park property in 2001 and the Campbell County North Soccer Club has leased the property from the city for recreational soccer use since then.

"Youth soccer is a huge outlet for kids to get out and do stuff," said Neal Frink, coaching coordinator for the club. The Campbell County North Soccer Club registers around 900 children, ages 5-15 who play recreational soccer in the fall and spring each year.

The concession stand will be managed by the city and staffed by volunteer organizations, which will share profits with the Campbell County North Soccer Club.

"The concession stand will be a convenience for the parents and grandparents watching the kids play soccer," said Don Martin, Fort Thomas city administrative officer. "The concession stand will allow the parents and grandparents to bring a lunch and watch the kids play soccer."

The storage building allows the club to house field maintenance equipment, corner flags, and soccer nets. The building project is part of a master plan that the Campbell County North Soccer Club adopted for the Fort Thomas Soccer Park.

The project depleted the club's reserve funds so additional projects are currently on hold. The additional projects include a lighting prediction system, playground equipment, and tree plantings.

"The Fort Thomas Soccer Park will be a bonus to the city, just like a downtown area," said Frink.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:21 PM   |
British Soccer Camp Comes to Stillman Valley
Young soccer players in the Rockford area have a chance to not only learn the game of soccer this week, but learn it with an accent.

The Challenger British Soccer Camps are in Stillman Valley, coaching up close to 100 young players. These British Soccer camps take international players all over the United States. Four of those players are in Stillman Valley until Friday to lend their knowledge of the game and Stillman is one of 1,700 communities that the British soccer camps will be in this year and they hope to reach close to 80,000 players.

Both the students and coaches are having a great time. Camp Director David Thompson says, "They're great. If all the kids are like this throughout the summer then it will be great. They all just want to have fun and are so eager to learn and so enthusiastic. If you get that from any kid throughout the summer you can't ask for anymore. Just a great bunch of kids." Monroe Center student Tatum Glendenning says, ¶"I like their accent and they help me learn a lot of things." Stillman Valley 6th grader Micah Robert says, "It's fun. The coaches are nice. They've been playing some games with us. They play some fun games."

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:19 PM   |
Soccer - Troublesome Fans Face Ban Across EU
Sports fans who misbehave face being banned from stadiums across the whole of the European Union under new legislation proposed in a draft paper on how sport should be run.

The European Commission is due to publish a ground-breaking strategy document on how sport should be governed across the 27-nation bloc on July 4.

In the latest draft copy, obtained by Reuters, the EU executive proposes an EU-wide ban on sports supporters found guilty of violence.

"The Commission will analyse the possibilities for banning from stadiums at European level those found guilty of violence at matches," the draft document said.

"The Commission will promote the exchange of information on violent and racist incidents between sport organisations and national authorities."

It is the first time that such laws have been proposed at EU level. Security in sport has, until now, been the responsibility of individual governments and police authorities.

The news comes after European soccer's governing body announced last Tuesday that it was setting up a task force along with EU governments to look at ways to combat the recent upsurge in soccer-related violence.

Last month's Champions League final was tainted by violence after fans with forged tickets or those with no ticket forced their way into the stadium for the match between Liverpool and AC Milan, while dozens with genuine tickets were refused entry.

An Italian police officer died during riots at a soccer match earlier this year and a drunken fan ran on to the pitch and attacked a referee at a recent Euro 2008 qualifier between Denmark and Sweden.

"The new legislation could be based on the exit ban system in Britain where known offenders have to surrender their passport during the time of international matches or tournaments," a UEFA source told Reuters.

Following a spate of match-fixing in sport across Europe, most notably in Italy and Belgium, the EU's executive would also consider introducing tougher laws on betting, the draft paper said.

"To address the issue of illicit activities related to sport betting, improved monitoring of betting activities will be considered and contractual agreements between sport bodies, database owners and betting companies encouraged," it said.

The Commission is also expected to propose stricter rules for regulating players' agents as it is "concerned about the legality of financial flows".

The document, otherwise known as a White Paper, will cover the way sport is run and focuses on issues such as soccer agents, security, club ownership, labour laws, financing of sport and drugs abuse.

Other issues tackled in the paper are a bout players released for international duty

The draft papers says the Commission is aware of problems raised by the release of players for national teams and the issue of compensation for their injuries while on international duty.

However, it will await the outcome of a related case (Charleroi) which is pending before the European Court of Justice.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:18 PM   |
Henry irate over Barcelona reports
Thierry Henry has slammed reports in the French and Spanish press that he has agreed to join Barcelona.

Reports in France Football claimed on Monday that the Arsenal star was ready to ink a three year deal with the Spanish champions, but Henry and his representatives have dismissed the story as a complete fabrication.

Speaking to French newspaper L'Equipe, the French forward was adamant that no such agreement existed.

"Nothing is done. I repeat, nothing," Henry said.

"Writing about a meeting that never took place is absolute rubbish. At this moment I am an Arsenal player and in the same situation as I was last year. Last season people were announcing all over the place that I was leaving. Some people wrote that it would happen for sure but at the end of the day I stayed at Arsenal. It could be the same this year.

"I've not taken any decision and my name is not up on any departures board. If something happens, I will tell everybody."

Henry's agent Jerome Anderson went even further, threatening legal action: "I can categorically state that I have never met or had discussions with anyone from Barcelona.

"The story says I met with them in the South of France. The fact is I haven't been to the South of France for years. I will be seeking legal advice over this story."

However Henry has admitted his disappointment at David Dein's departure, saying: "David Dein's departure was a mistake. I have said it before and I will say it for the next 20 years. If there was one person who had to stay at Arsenal, it was David Dein."

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:16 PM   |
Pakistan to host Asian football events;FIFA chief also to pay visit
Two Asian-level international football events will be held in Pakistan this year while world football chief, Sepp Blatter, will also visit this country. The Federal Minister for Environment, Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat, who is also the President of Pakistan Football Federation, made these announcements, at a press talk here on Tuesday.

He has just returned from attending the FIFA (International Football Federation) Congress in Zurich (Switzerland) in which Sepp Blatter and others were reelected.

Blatter will be accompanied by AFC chief Muhammad Bin Hammam during visit to Pakistan in the last quarter of this year, Faisal said.

Pakistan will host AFC President's Cup in September while AFC Under-19 Football Championship is scheduled for October-November,both events to be held in Lahore.

"Asian Football Confederation (AFC) wanted to shift the venue of AFC President's Cup, which involves top football clubs of the continent, away from Pakistan after it was earlier postponed here due to visa problems", Faisal said.

"But I persuaded AFC to announce new dates", he said, adding that PFF will also introduce a league competition among the clubs of the country. "The introduction of professional club league will turn our players into professionals", he said.

PFF, he said, had already been running two premier leagues, involving departments, and was also focussing on women and junior competitions."Our activities of junior and women football is 1800 % more now as compared to four eyars ago".

The 2nd National Women Football Championship will be held in Islamabad while a Pakistani will soon tour Sri Lanka and Afghan team will also visit Pakistan.

"Our focus is on junior competitions" because of which the national team had gone down in international rankings, he said, explaining that the rankings of national teams are determined on the basis of the number of international matches they played and the ratio of victories.

The ranking of Indian team, he said, had also dwindled from 121 to 160. He also claimed that Pakistan was producing best results among South Asian nations as far as junior teams' performance was concerned and he was persuading FIFA to introduce "a Grading system" to determine which federations were performing well.

He said the Pakistan Under-13 team had finished 4th in the Asian competition recently and PFF would given away Rs. 50,000 to each player of the Under-13 team at a function on June 22.

Already, he said, PFF had collected a whopping sum of Rs. 215 million since he assumed the post of PFF President four years ago. "We had just Rs. 25 million in our coffers then while Today we have an amount of Rs. 65 million which is in addition to the Rs. 150 million spent on football activities, including the establishment of three goal-projects at Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi".

He said PFF had devised a model constitution on FIFA statutes in March this year and his reelection was in accordance with this constitution.

He said PFF had also sought help from Iranian federation for promotion of football in the country.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:12 PM   |
High hopes for Euro 2008 (25)
I’ve seen thousands of football matches in my time – but never one played at 11,333 feet above sea level on an Alpine glacier.

That was Switzerland’s way of launching the countdown to Euro 2008 which it is jointly staging next summer with neighbours Austria.

Original definitely, if not a little dangerous for the 400-odd people invited to watch the event who had to risk their limbs sliding around on the snow at the top of the Jungfrau.

It was Switzerland’s way of saying it is not a boring grey country where the trains run on time and everything is organised to the nth degree.

There were even plenty of stars on show for the five-a-side game, including Michael Laudrup (104 caps for Denmark), Arsenal’s charming Swiss youngster Johan Djourou and Portugal legend Paulo Sousa.

Not forgetting the national coaches of both host countries, Kobi Kuhn and Josef Hickersberger, and captains and Euro 2008 ambassadors Stephane Chapuisat (103 caps for Switzerland) and Andreas Herzog (103 caps for Austria).

I couldn’t help but sense a little naivety amid all the thigh-slapping and regalia of the Swiss hosting a major footballing event.

The country oozes class, sophistication and money. There was even a harpist playing at Zurich Airport. The trains do arrive and depart literally to the minute, the scenery is breath-taking with lakes, mountains and Sound of Music-style wooden farm chalets.

Back to the naivety I touched on a few lines back. Given the stunning natural beauty of the place, why would the Swiss want thousands of marauding football supporters invading their peaceful land? I asked numerous Swiss folk that very question and got the same answer every time: “It will be fine”

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:12 PM   |
Monday, June 11
Free soccer ticket
The tugboat docked at the library for a visit and then sailed away. It was exciting having Scuffy the Tugboat of classic children’s literature fame to visit the Little Elm library. Every family who came also received a free Scuffy the Tugboat book to remember the occasion. There is nothing more memorable than watching a child’s face when their story character comes to life right before their eyes. Scuffy the Tugboat costume character was made possible by sponsorship from Cottonwood Creek Marina. If your business is interested in sponsoring next year’s storybook character, email Tina at thager@littleelm.org



On Saturday, June 9th, story book character Author will be visiting during the 10:30am family story time. The Scholastic book fair will also start that day and run through Saturday, June 16th during regular library hours. “Catch a Wave” and come check out the book fair. A portion of the proceeds will be used to purchase books for the youth collection.



Up and coming events include a two hour Adobe Photoshop computer class on Monday, June 11th that starts at 10:15am (make sure to call the library to register). The Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey goodwill ambassador clowns Slappy and Monday will be visiting the library on Tuesday, June 12th at 11:30am. The Wednesday, June 13th toddler time and story time is cancelled but will resume on Wednesday, June 20th. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause but we hope that you will be able to attend the other fun events that we have going on. Storybook character Clifford will be visiting the 10:30 family story time on Saturday, June 16th.



The writer’s support group now meets on the third Tuesday of each month from 6-8pm. The June meeting will be held on the 19th. The Early childhood intervention developmental screenings will take place on Wednesday, June 20th starting at 10:45am for children under the age of three. Call the library at 214-975-0430 to sign up now.



Barbara and Larry Payton, local authors, will be holding a book signing at the library on Saturday, June 23rd from 10am-2pm. This is a great way to meet two very nice local published authors and the library does have copies of their books available for checkout. At the same time you can visit the award winning business fair that runs from 11am-2pm. Every month the library hosts up to six local and/or surrounding area businesses so that the community can learn about businesses, services, and products available to them locally or near by. If you have a business that you would like to sign up, call the library and register.



There is still time to write an essay in fifty words or less why your family should win the Town of Little Elm Fourth of July Jubilee cruise. If you just want to buy tickets, they are available at the library for $50. The price includes a three hour cruise, BBQ dinner, and watching the Little Elm fireworks over the lake.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:18 PM   |
New Windows Worm Offers Free Soccer Tickets
A new version of the Sober worm, dubbed “Sober V” is using a new tactic to lure users into opening the e-mail in which it lays in wait: free soccer tickets.

Timing its launch with that of a genuine mailing campaign by FIFA, the Federation Internationale de Football Association, which is the international governing body for soccer, Sober V announces itself with promises of free tickets to the upcoming 2006 World Soccer Cup, along with the usual assortment of bounced mail and other message spoofs for which Sober is more commonly known.

The FIFA mailing was to soccer fans letting them know that their application for World Cup tickets had been successful. It seems Sober V is an opportunistic worm, indeed.

Sober V is also bilingual, sending itself in both German and English. It appears that it actually chooses in which language to present and send itself based on things such as the domain to which it is being sent. Diabolical.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:18 PM   |
Saturday, June 9
Free baseball tickets, for men only
Just got to Wisconsin for 'teh vacation', and am still trying to figure out the place. My girlfriend's dad wants to take me to a baseball game; I'm going to pass on the promotion:

May 8 vs. Washington - 7:05 PM

Free Prostate Cancer Screenings
7:00am - 3:00pm - Free Prostate Cancer Screenings at Miller Park (northeast corner of ballpark near Friday's). All men who receive a Prostate Cancer Screening that day will receive two free tickets to a future Milwaukee Brewers game. No appointment necessary. Free and Confidential.
Sponsored by Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin

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posted by ^%&^ @ 8:05 PM   |
Free basketball tickets offered to employees
Last year we worked with some of the Baseball teams around the state to offer free tickets to their games. We hope to be able to do the same this year. Below is the list of teams from last year and links to their web sites. Keep checking back, for progress on this year’s season.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 8:04 PM   |
Free basketball tickets offered to employees
University of Delaware employees looking for an escape from TV reruns and dreary winter weather, look no further.

There is always some hot hoop action at the Bob Carpenter Center, and UD employees can now get up to four free tickets to selected Fightin’ Blue Hen basketball games. Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The games include the UD men vs. James Madison at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 19. The Fightin’ Blue Hens men’s team includes Calvin Cannon, Zaire Taylor, Andrew Washington and Harding Nana. Tickets for the Jan. 19 game can be picked up prior to game time.

Tickets for UD employees also are available for the UD women vs. Old Dominion University contest at 1 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 19. The Fightin’ Blue Hens women’s team took top honors at the Hawk Classic during the holidays with a 49-48 victory at the buzzer over host St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. The Hens also defeated previously unbeaten Bowling Green State University during the tournament.

Deadline for getting free tickets for the Feb. 19 game is noon, Friday, Feb. 17. Tickets for both games may be obtained at season ticket sales office in the Delaware Field House and at the UD Bookstores in the Trabant University Center and the Perkins Student Center.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 7:37 PM   |
MLB Baseball Tickets
It is that time of the year again! The boys of summer are back for the 2007 season. We have tickets for every game from San Francisco to Baltimore.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 7:37 PM   |
sport ticket
Buy and sell your sports tickets at SportTicket.com, a free fan-to-fan sports ticket exchange. Post an ad today and sell your tickets fast!

Looking for tickets to a sold out sporting event? Search for them here at SportTicket.com or post a wanted ad and let the tickets find you.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 7:36 PM   |
Friday, June 8
Donovan's path to Orlando and back to UF filled his days with anguish.
Billy Donovan was distraught Saturday morning, and his wife took action. Christine Donovan dialed Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley and told him Donovan was having second thoughts about becoming the Magic's coach. Foley, having just landed in Richmond, Va., to interview prospective replacement Anthony Grant, quickly explained that with Donovan under contract to the NBA team, there could be legal repercussions if he became involved.She turned to assistant coach Larry Shyatt. "Make a U-turn, " Shyatt recalled her saying as he drove toward a basketball camp. The Donovans needed help.

Shyatt arrived at their house, looked at Billy Donovan and realized something was seriously wrong.

"You could just see it in his eyes, " Shyatt said. "We talked and he explained where he was, where his heart was. He felt he had made a mistake. And I said let's try to make the next best adult decision. If I can help, I'll be happy to."

Over the next five days, Shyatt helped Donovan undo a five-year, $27.5-million contract and return to Florida.

Thursday, Donovan held a news conference, thanking those who helped and apologizing to nearly everyone.

"The last four or five days have certainly been difficult, and I want to take this time to apologize, first and foremost, to the Orlando Magic, " he said. "I feel terrible about this, and I'm very sorry that it happened. ... I made a mistake."

June 1: Contrasts and reservations

Donovan appeared in Orlando in the morning to be introduced as coach. He wore a navy suit, striped tie and a big smile. He said all the right things and seemed eager, after 13 seasons as a college head coach, for the challenge.

Fans cheered and gave him a standing ovation, his wife received a bouquet, and the Magic sold about 200 season tickets.

By afternoon, he was in Gainesville to explain his decision to the Gator faithful. He wore shorts, a polo shirt and choked up a little. He said all the right things and seemed grateful for the support.

"The last 24 hours have not been fun, " he said. "I don't think I got maybe a chance to enjoy like I would like to, but that's okay."

But it wasn't.

As Donovan and his wife drove home later, he told her he wasn't feeling right. The excitement, the jubilation about the new job wasn't there.

"Sleep on it, " he remembers her telling him. "You'll feel better in the morning."

Saturday: A situation in Gainesville

At the Richmond airport, after talking with Christine, Foley talked by phone with Grant, the Virginia Commonwealth coach who had been a Florida assistant for 10 years.

"He said, 'Jeremy, you need to go back home and take care of your coach, ' " Foley said of Grant.

The plane, on the ground less than 30 minutes, returned to Gainesville.

Bill Donovan, the coach's father, was playing golf in New York when he took a call about 10:30 a.m.

"I don't think I did the right thing, " he recalls his son saying. "I think I made a major mistake."

He knew his son had gone back and forth before signing with Orlando, but he didn't realize the level of the despair. He told Billy he'd call him back.

By the time he returned the call about 1 p.m., Billy Donovan had contacted the Magic.

"I felt like the only thing I could do was be forthright and upfront with the Magic, " Donovan said. "I thought about it, took some time to myself and I contacted them right away. I talked to them and discussed my feelings. ... I apologized to them. It became very clear to me Saturday morning that with this mistake I made I had to do something."

While Donovan weighed his options, Shyatt kept vigil, acting as a sounding board. He was well-qualified because he was in a similar situation, though on a smaller and less public scale.

When Donovan left Marshall for Florida in 1996, Shyatt, an assistant at Clemson, agreed to replace him.

"I was scheduled to have a press conference the next morning, " Shyatt said. "I called (Clemson coach) Rick Barnes crying and said, 'Coach you've got to get me out of this.' I stayed up all night and felt like the right thing to do was to face the (Marshall) president the next morning and tell him that I was too blessed with my relationship and situation at Clemson."

By early Saturday afternoon, Bill Donovan had received a call from his daughter-in-law, telling him how distraught his son was. He knew Billy was "very sensitive about how things affect other people."

"He was so upset about what he'd done, " Bill Donovan said. "The Magic, his family, Jeremy, his coaching staff, his players were all affected. All of those things are weighing on his mind at the same time. She said this decision was really torturing him."

He flew to Gainesville that night, arriving about midnight.

In the interim, Magic general manager Otis Smith visited Donovan, reiterating the team wanted him and suggesting he take more time.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:08 PM   |
NASCAR community gathers to mourn France Jr.
The NASCAR community will gather in Daytona Beach Thursday, not for a race, but to say farewell to former chairman and CEO Bill France Jr., who died Monday.

He was 74.

The funeral will be held at the Mary McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach.

Reigning champion Jimmie Johnson, who's scheduled to appear Thursday morning on "Live with Regis & Kelly," will make the appearance in New York and then head south for the ceremony.

He's not alone.

The service is open to the public and considering the tributes that have been made already - and France's contribution to the sporting world - there's no doubt the lines will be long to honor him.

"I loved that old man, he meant a lot to me," Darrell Waltrip said, teary-eyed, during Monday's race telecast on Fox. "I don't know what I'm going to do without him."

The somber mood set in place when word broke Monday that France had died will no doubt carry over into this weekend's event at the Pocono Raceway.

Flags at the speedway will remain at half-mast until the end of Sunday's race. And cars in all NASCAR touring series this weekend will carry a special decal honoring France this weekend.

"We have been associated since 1967," Pocono CEO Dr. Joseph Mattioli said in a statement. "Our families have been friends all that time and had it not been for Bill France, Pocono Raceway would not be here today. Many times over the years he has helped us through some difficult times and Bill France was very important to the success of Pocono Raceway."

It was a relationship that was more than just being business associates.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 9:37 PM   |
Senators, frankly, were beaten by superior team
It came with so much hype, but let's face it, this spring's Stanley Cup final between the Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks turned out to be a big boring dud.

Not in terms of how Ottawa reacted to the Senators being in the "Big Dance," and not because the home team lost, but in the way the series unfolded and then ended, with a whimper.

Consider:

- The series went only five games and was over in nine days, exactly the same time the Senators waited between rounds to play their Western Conference rival for the Stanley Cup. It was also clear by Game 4 that there was little or no chance that the round would go to a sixth game, let alone a seventh, as was the case in the past three exciting Cup finals: the Edmonton Oilers versus the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006; the Calgary Flames versus the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004; and Anaheim versus the New Jersey Devils in 2003.

The Senators-Ducks series was more like that insipid Carolina-Detroit Red Wings final of 2002 that was also over in five games, with Detroit the clear winner. But at least in that series, a real hockey city won (even if it wasn't Canadian).

- It was a series in which the Senators only looked good in one game, which they won, 5-3, but could have also easily lost. Remember, Anaheim took the lead three times in that game before Ottawa finally jumped ahead.

- There wasn't a millisecond of sudden-death overtime, which is like going to a Tim Hortons and not having a doughnut.

- Anaheim dominated Ottawa for 11 periods, maybe 12, of the 15 played in the five games. Basically, only one team played consistently well in the Cup final.

- You knew the fifth game was over when Ducks centre Andy McDonald scored early in the first period on home ice. Sure, Daniel Alfredsson still tried to make a game of it as the Ducks kept pouring it on. Alfredsson valiantly tried to light a fire under his team with two goals in the second period, but all he got was a lot of dense smoke. Anaheim's fourth goal, 50 seconds after Alfredsson scored his second, was the turning point of the game. Too bad it was a fluke and not something that makes you want to say: "Now that's playoff hockey."

When the buzzer sounded Wednesday night, the 6-2 score reflected how anti-climactic the 2007 Stanley Cup final turned out to be.

So why did the final stink? How could the Senators, who cruised by the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres to get to the final, end up being so overmatched by the Ducks?

Well, we saw. The Ducks were a faster, tougher and bigger team than the Senators, and they didn't deviate from their game plan: A strong skating game, a strong forecheck, excessive hitting and creating an impenetrable defensive wall in front of goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere whenever Ottawa had the puck.

As well, the checking line of Samuel Pahlsson, Travis Moen and Rob Niedermayer shut down Ottawa's triumvirate of Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley so effectively coach Bryan Murray broke up the line for Wednesday's game.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 9:35 PM   |
Spurs shut down James
What's ABC's matchup to watch in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, Tim Duncan vs. Anderson Varejao?

Game 1's ballyhooed matchup of Duncan vs. LeBron James wasn't exactly one for the ages. Duncan was Duncan, scoring 24 points with 13 rebounds and five blocks. James laid an egg big enough to hatch an elephant, scoring 14 points, missing 12 of 16 shots with six turnovers as the Spurs cruised to an 85-76 win over his Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.

James missed his first seven shots before making one with 7:15 left in the third quarter. He didn't reach double figures until the last 6:54, with the Spurs, who had been up 18 points, coasting in.

"I didn't play extremely well," definitely," said James, unfazed, not to mention understated, as ever. Not just shooting the ball, but the six turnovers was uncharacteristic of me in the postseason."

That's what the Cavaliers are hoping, anyway, but they're not in the Eastern Conference anymore.

Before Thursday, their postseason foes were the 41-win Washington Wizards, the 41-win New Jersey Nets and the aging, bickering 53-win Detroit Pistons.

These were the Spurs, who won 58 games in the Wild West, going on a late 21-3 spurt before rolling through the first three rounds of the Western draw at 12-4.

The Spurs are used to defending against high-powered teams such as the Phoenix Suns, who have scoring threats spread out all over the court.

So guarding James without having to worry unduly about anyone else didn't represent the challenge of their lives.

"Stars carry teams," Duncan said. " … It helps a little bit to have somebody like Bruce [Bowen.]"

This was the standard, formidable Spurs defense, the one they throw against the Lakers' Kobe Bryant with Bowen crowding James, trying to make him drive into their big players, backing him up.

Of course, this is nothing new for James, who has been drawing more attention all postseason.

"They're doing what Detroit tried to do to us," Cleveland Coach Mike Brown said. "They're selling out on LeBron.

"When he has the basketball, he plays pick-and-roll, they're putting two guys [on] him. And they're pulling a third guy over.

"And if he gets into the paint, they've got three guys around him. So what they're doing is saying, 'Hey, somebody else beat us.' "

And who would that be?

James, the most heralded teenager ever and a coming star, opened eyes with a 48-point breakout in Game 5 of the East finals. Unfortunately, if he rarely shoots that well from the outside, it just dialed up the hype that follows him everywhere to heights even he hadn't seen before.

Nevertheless, with no teammate likely to beat anyone, as opposed to making some shots, they're deep in the playoffs to trying to beat anyone one-on-five.

The Cavaliers actually got good contributions from supporting players. Daniel Gibson, a rookie second-round pick who has emerged this postseason like a rabbit from a magician's hat, came off the bench to make seven of nine shots, leading them with 16 points.

The problem was in their stars. James was awful. Duncan squashed gawky Zydrunas Ilguaskas, who missed seven of eight shots and scored two points. Larry Hughes, who's lost trying to play point guard and doesn't have an outside shot to complement James, missed four of his five and scored two points.

Rusty after a nine-day layoff, the Spurs were as ugly as the Cavaliers, who led, 25-22, midway through the second quarter.

Yes, this was some classic, all right.

"We didn't play for a long time," said Spurs guard Tony Parker. "The first half, we were just trying to get our wind back."

Parker got enough back to lead all scorers with 27 points, most of them on his trademark drives.

"Tony gets to the rim all the time and that's no knock on anyone, the Cavs or anyone else," said Duncan. "But with his quickness, his ability to finish in the lane, he gets in there almost at will."

That's another adjustment Brown said the Cavaliers have to make. With all the adjustments they need, it's a good thing they have two days before Sunday's Game 2 but it may not be enough.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 9:35 PM   |
Thursday, June 7
Aggies to be Featured on ABC's "Free Ticket: Inside College Basketball"
Texas A&M will be one of several schools featured this season on the ABC series, “Chase Card Services Presents FREE Ticket: Inside College Basketball.”

Created and produced by Intersport, the production team will begin shooting on Monday and will follow the Aggies for a two-week stretch beginning with their preparations for the Texas Tech game on Wednesday and concluding with the “ESPN Gameday”contest at Kansas on Saturday, Feb. 3.

The crew will have access to practices, pregame and postgame locker room talks, and will have one-on-one interviews with head coach Billy Gillispie and various players and staff.

The first half-hour show featuring A&M will be shown on ABC on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 2 p.m. and will be repeated on ESPN 2 on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. The second show will be on ABC on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. and will be rebroadcast on ESPN2 on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m.

Created as an extension of Chase Card Services’ Freedom campaign, Chase Card Services Presents FREE Ticket: Inside College Basketball will offer fans unprecedented access behind otherwise closed doors, capturing all aspects of the college basketball experience – from practice and meetings to team travel and campus life.

The series already has featured Kansas State and Indiana this season.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:53 PM   |
SOCCER: Euro 2008 review
England's European Championship qualification hopes received a double boost after chief rivals Croatia and Russia played out a goalless draw in Zagreb.


Russia weathered sustained pressure to escape the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb with a vital point in Group E.

Coupled with England`s 3-0 win in Estonia, it means Steve McClaren`s men are now only three points behind leaders Croatia.

Israel joined Croatia at the top of the group with a 2-0 victory over Andorra at a rain-drenched Estadi Comunal.

Goals from Toto Tamuz and Roberto Colautti either side of half-time handed the visitors a second win in four days - the first a 2-1 victory over FYR Macedonia in Skopje.

France remain three points clear of Scotland in Group B as Samir Nasri`s first-half goal proved enough to see off Georgia in Auxerre.

Playmaker Nasri, viewed as the long-term successor to Zinedine Zidane, stroked home a neat finish in the 33rd minute to earn Les Bleus a 1-0 victory and keep them two points clear of Italy in the standings.

Two first-half goals from Fabio Quagliarella gave Italy a 2-0 victory over Lithuania to keep them a point clear of Scotland.

The Sampdoria striker scored the opener on 31 minutes before adding his second on the stroke of half-time.

Northern Ireland lost the leadership of Group F after Sweden routed Scandinavian rivals Iceland 5-0.

Goals from Marcus Allback (two), Anders Svensson, Aston Villa defender Olof Mellberg and Markus Rosenberg did the damage for the hosts, who move two points clear of Nigel Worthington`s new side.

They also drop below Spain after two clinical David Villa strikes earned his country their second victory in a matter of days after seeing off Liechtenstein.

Villa netted twice in the opening 15 minutes to put the visitors on their way to a 2-0 win in Vaduz, but the Valencia striker missed the chance for his hat-trick after blazing a late penalty against the crossbar.

Dennis Rommedahl inspired Denmark to victory in Latvia to keep Morten Olsen`s men in contention in the same group.

He opened the scoring after 15 minutes and added a second two minutes later.

Germany moved closer to a place at Euro 2008 with a win over Slovakia in Hamburg.

The Group D leaders went ahead after just 10 minutes when Jan Durica put through his own goal.

Another own goal, this time from Germany`s Christoph Metzelder, allowed Slovakia to draw level 10 minutes later, but after Thomas Hitzlsperger put the hosts ahead two minutes before the break the result was rarely in any doubt.

Poland missed the chance to extend their lead at the top of Group A after slipping to a 1-0 defeat against a battling Armenia side at the Republican Stadium.

Hamlet Mkhitaryan`s 64th-minute free-kick flew past Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc into the top-left corner of the net.

Fourth-placed Finland improved their qualifying chances with a 2-0 victory over 10-man Belgium.

Goals from former Charlton striker Jonatan Johansson and Aleksei Eremenko were enough for the hosts at the Olympiastadion, while Marouane Fellaini`s dismissal early in the second half made the task for Rene Vandereycken`s men a near impossible one.

In the same group, Ruslan Baltiyev`s goal salvaged a 1-1 draw for 10-man Kazakhstan at home to Azerbaijan after defender Maksim Zhalmagambetov was sent off.

The midfielder`s goal cancelled out Vugar Nadyrov`s first-half strike to leave the Azerbaijan side with one point when they should have had three.

European champions Greece extended their lead over Turkey at the top of Group C to five points thanks to Nikos Liberopoulos` injury-time strike in a hard-fought victory over Moldova.

Angelos Charisteas netted with a typical header in the first half for Otto Rehhagel`s men before Viorel Frunza powered home a surprise equaliser with 10 minutes left.

Bosnia-Herzegovina moved ahead of Turkey and up to second on goal difference after a 1-0 win over a stubborn Malta side.

A goal in the sixth minute from striker Zlatan Muslimovic put Fuad Muzurovic`s men on 13 points, having played one more game than Turkey.

Norway kept their qualification hopes on track with a 4-0 win over Hungary.

Former Tottenham striker Steffen Iversen got the ball rolling in the first half before substitute Daniel Braaten and two goals from Aston Villa forward John Carew made certain of the victory to move the Scandinavians level on points with second-placed Turkey.

Romania maintained their two-point lead at the top of Group G after completing the double over Slovenia with a 2-0 win in Timisoara.

Victor Piturca`s side won 2-1 in Celje on Saturday and rounded off an excellent few days thanks to goals from Adrian Mutu and Cosmin Contra.

Second-placed Bulgaria came from a goal down to claim a 2-1 win over Belarus to boost their qualification hopes.

Roman Vasiluk opened the scoring with a fifth-minute penalty but Martin Petrov`s free-kick hauled the home side level five minutes later.

Chavdar Yankov completed the turnaround before half-time.
Albania climbed to fourth in the group with a 3-0 victory over Luxembourg.

A brace from Edmond Kapllani added to Ervin Skela`s opener sent Otto Baric`s team to a second victory in four days over their opponents, following Saturday`s 2-0 triumph in Tirana.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:50 PM   |
Euro Qual. Group B Report: Quagliarella Leads Italy To Precious Win
Italy put the terrible match against Faroe Islands behind their backs with an excellent performance against Lithuania to avenge the first leg result (1-1).

It was a convincing and determined performance by the entire Azzurri side who took the match into their hands right from the start with Di Natale and Quagliarella going close after just a few minutes of play.

The Italian side kept on pressing until Quagliarella managed to open the score for the World Champions in the 30th minute when his shot from 20 metres went past the helpless Grybauskas.

Lithuania could have equalized in the 42nd minute when Mikoliunas all alone in front of Buffon missed the opportunity to score thanks to the Juventus goalkeeper's reflexes, and three minutes later Quagliarella punished the home side with his second goal of the night. Once again it was a shot from the distance which the opposing goalkeeper could do nothing to stop it from entering his goal.

In the second half Italy held the match in its hands and could have added the third goal, however mostly due to the Azzurri's poor finishing, the result did not change as the match slowly came to an end, with the Italian side controlling the encounter without risking anything in defence.

This is an important win for Roberto Donadoni's team, as the Italians kept in touch with France, who defeated Georgia, and still maintained the lead over Scotland before next September's decisive encounters against Les Bleus and Ukraine for the qualification race.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:49 PM   |
euro 2008 : McClaren confident of qualification for Euro 2008
Although England remain fourth they are now within a point of Russia and have cut the difference with Croatia to three. Israel, who have played a match more, are also three points ahead.

McClaren said: "We have still got a lot to prove - we can't think we have turned the corner because we haven't yet.

"But it's in our hands now, this was a big result for us - we had to win it, we won it comfortably and professionally and that puts us back in the group.

"Four of the last five games are at Wembley and we saw on Friday what a great atmosphere and home it's going to be for England."

McClaren hailed Beckham as "immense" after the Real Madrid midfielder created goals for Peter Crouch and Michael Owen.

England had been set on their way by Joe Cole's excellent finish from a Crouch header.

McClaren said: "David was immense. He has set up three of the four goals we have scored since he came back and that's why he's in the team.

"He got a knock early on but didn't want to come off and when he's playing like that he's invaluable to us but once we got the second and third we could allow him to take a breather.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:32 PM   |
euro 2008 : McClaren confident of qualification for Euro 2008
A full slate of qualification matches for the 2008 Euro occured Saturday with several shock results surfacing. Two of the biggest matches of the weekend were Spain v Denmark and the Czech Republic v Germany, with Germany and Spain both pulling out 2-1 wins respectively.

England visited Israel but were only able to manage a 0-0 draw as the finishing by the English side was poor. Other draws included Albania v Slovenia (0-0), Moldova v Malta (1-1), and Holland v Romania (0-0).

Kazakhstan earned their first win in competitive play with a 2-1 victory over Serbia, while Ukraine defeated the Faroe Islands by a scoreline of 2-0. Stephen Ireland scored the only goal as the Rebuplic of Ireland defeated Wales 1-0 in Ireland. Scotland pulled off a win at home to Georgia with Craig Beattie scoring a goal in the dying minutes to give them a morale boosting 2-1 victory. Croatia also won at home with a 2-1 victory over Macedonia.

Belarus went into Luxembourg where the visitors came out 2-1 victors, while France also won away at Lithuania. Cyprus fell 3-1 to visiting Slovakia, and Russia won 2-0 in Estonia. Bosnia was another team to win away, as they pulled off a 2-1 victory in Norway. David Healy scored a natural hat-trick for Northen Ireland as they cruised to a 4-1 victory over Liechtenstein, while Turkey pulled off a shock win in Greece as they defeated the current holders by the same scoreline. Portugal put four by Belgium, as Christiano Ronaldo scored two for the Portuguese.

Another full schedule of qualifiers is set for this Wednesday, and big group games include Northern Ireland v Sweeden and Italy v Scotland. England will look to get their qualifying campaign back on track in Andorra, and Greece will attempt the same in Malta.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:28 PM   |
euro 2008 : Faroe Islands 0-2 Scotland
Scotland are still in it following their 2-0 win over the Faroe Islands -their first in years!

Shaun Malony scored on his debut in a competitive game and then Gary O'Connor made it 2-0 just four minutes later.

Faroe Islands v Scotland Videos

Faroe Islands v Scotland - Shaun Maloney 0-1

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:28 PM   |
Wednesday, June 6
Finalist profile: Real Madrid
The fact that the most-decorated basketball club in European history has returned to the ULEB Cup Final may be taken as proof that the status of this five-year-old competition is growing off the charts. Real Madrid's list of continental titles is second to none in Europe, and its trophy case more crowded than perhaps any on the planet. Crowned European champion a record eight times, Madrid is also the only continental king to reign in four different decades. It also claims five other European trophies, 29 domestic titles, 22 Spanish Cups and various other crowns along the way. Madrid's first trophy came more than 55 years ago, in the 1950-51 Spanish Cup, and its last was the 2005 Spanish League title. In between, its success counted in trophies lifted has outnumbered the club's famous football side. There is only one competition for which Madrid has played a title game but never lifted the trophy: the ULEB Cup. On its second trip in three seasons to Charleroi for a ULEB Cup Final, mighty Madrid plans to make clear that even though 21st century European basketball is more competitive than ever, the continent's best team until now is on the rise once again.

Madrid's history reads like a timeline of the sport in Europe. Its international reputation grew with one of the earliest continental dynasties, four Euroleague-level crowns in five seasons between 1964 and 1968. The first and last came against Spartak Brno of Czechoslovakia, the second against CSKA Moscow and the third against Simmenthal Milan, which had interrupted Madrid's victory string in the middle year. Joaquin Hernandez coached Madrid's first title team, while the legendary Pedro Ferrandiz was on the bench for the other three, directing such superstars of the day as Emiliano Rodriguez and Clifford Luyk. Madrid and Ferrandiz returned to the podium in 1974 to interrupt the identical string - four titles in five years - of Varese, and again in 1978, to top another Italian team, Mobilgirgi, by 81-74 as Walter Szczerbiak starred and Lolo Sainz coached. In 1980, Madrid took the first crown of a new decade by stopping MaccabiTel Aviv 89-85, again under Sainz. A 15-year wait followed until Madrid could call itself champion again, downing Olympiacos 73-61 behind two other legends: Arvydas Sabonis on the court and Zeljko Obradovic on the bench.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 9:58 PM   |
Court of King James breathes new life into the NBA
It is the match-up basketball has been eagerly awaiting for four years: the best player in the world versus the best team in the world. LeBron James has remarkably dragged his Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA finals for the first time in their history, and San Antonio Spurs supporters aside, America hopes he triumphs when the series starts in Texas tomorrow night so that the sport can acclaim its new hero.

'King James' has been touted as the natural heir to 'His Airness' Michael Jordan's throne since he was a 15-year-old schoolboy phenomenon. Unlike in European football, where individuality has been overwhelmed in favour of the team ethic, the emphasis in American sports is still very much heaped on the single player who can win or lose the game: in the NFL, the quarterback is the controlling presence on the pitch; in baseball, a pitcher is officially credited with the victory or defeat; and with only five basketball players on court for a team at any one time, the strength of that side is often measured by the ability of its star player. James's recent displays suggest he could be the most stellar of them all.

Excluding the 2004 Detroit Pistons, each of the last 27 NBA champion teams have featured one of these eight all-time greats: Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Julius Erving. Tellingly, these players had an average age of 27 when they won their first championship - James is just 22. Only Johnson was younger when he won his first title, but he had the benefit of lining up alongside the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the LA Lakers; James's team-mates, by comparison, are a willing but very limited bunch.

James's age is slightly misleading in that he has followed a different path to all of the above, skipping college to pick up the NBA's dollar and a $90m sponsorship deal with Nike on leaving high school as an 18-year-old, when the Cavaliers drafted him as the first pick in 2003. But he has still transformed the unfashionable Cleveland outfit - the season before James joined, they had a torrid 17-65 record - into contenders three years quicker than Jordan, who didn't haul the Chicago Bulls to the finals until his seventh season when he was 28. In fairness, though, that was the first of six titles in eight attempts for Jordan and the Bulls.

The Eastern Conference finals, in which the Cavaliers became only the third team to come back from a two-game deficit to triumph and where they beat the Pistons 4-2, were evidence of James's once-in-a-generation gifts. After being criticised for passing in the dying seconds of Game One rather than taking a shot himself, James responded with one of the greatest individual performances in basketball history in the pivotal Game Five. Assuming total responsibility on his considerable 6ft 8in frame, he led the Cavaliers to a transcendent double-overtime win with 48 points, including all of Cleveland's last 25. Then, when the Pistons defense double- and at times triple-teamed him in the series decider, he showed that his only concern is for the Cavaliers rather than for himself - a startling contrast to the selfishness of Kobe Bryant, for example - by consistently laying the ball off to his unheralded rookie team-mate Daniel Gibson, who ended with a career-high tally of 31 points.

Unsurprisingly Cleveland, a city that hasn't claimed a national sports championship since the Browns won an NFL title in 1964, is abuzz with excitement. Yet standing in their way are the dominant Spurs, who are gunning for their fourth championship in nine years and who have their very own idol in Duncan, the power forward who has been arguably the most effective player in the league for the past decade. San Antonio are a strong defensive team constructed with the intention of winning, not pleasing. Indeed, theirs is a model Cleveland have aspired to since they took on former Spurs employees Mike Brown and Danny Ferry as coach and general manager respectively in 2005.

Duncan is ably guarded by Tony Parker, Eva Longoria's French fiancé, and Manu Ginobili, the Argentinian who is the NBA's answer to Arjen Robben; but the most important Spur in this series will be Bruce Bowen, their best defender who is tasked with stopping James. Should Bowen succeed, the Cavaliers have no chance of proving wrong the bookies who have them as 4-1 outsiders. However, the veteran Pistons tried to deny James a free ride by hassling and harrying him - as they did with their Jordan Rules in the 1990s - and failed, and James has already shown his dynamism can trouble the Spurs' defense by scoring 35 points when the Cavaliers won in San Antonio in November. Indeed, the ultimate fairytale walk-off could be scripted, with James's girlfriend expecting their second child on June 17, the night of what could be the championship-clinching Game Five.

Even if James is denied his Hollywood ending, the NBA, not to mention the TV companies and sponsors, are set to reap the rewards from what is an unexpected, yet now much-anticipated season-climax. "This is something I felt was needed for the league, was needed for Cleveland, was needed for LeBron," said Jordan, and he should know. Best of all for basketball is that there are many years of this budding legend to come.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 9:57 PM   |
Tuesday, June 5
SUMMER CAMP CALENDAR
The North Hardin High School baseball team will have a baseball camp from 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Wednesday-Friday at James R. Aldridge Field. Cost is $35 and includes a T-shirt. For information, call North Hardin coach Greg Gumm at 300-5465 or 877-5590.

CHHS Camp

The Central Hardin High School baseball team will have a baseball camp from 9 a.m.-noon June 12-14 for ages 7-14. Registration will begin at 8:15 a.m. on the first day of camp. Registration is $55 and includes a T-shirt, drink and snack each day.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:19 PM   |
Free tickets for baseball fans who receive a rectal exaFree tickets for baseball fans who receive a rectal exam at the stadium
Want free baseball tickets? All you had to do last night was show up at Miller Park, home to the Milwaukee Brewers, and let a doctor check your prostate. After the "free and confidential" rectal exam, you would have scored two free tickets to a future Brewers game.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:18 PM   |
free baseball ticket
Last year we worked with some of the Baseball teams around the state to offer free tickets to their games. We hope to be able to do the same this year. Below is the list of teams from last year and links to their web sites. Keep checking back, for progress on this year’s season.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:17 PM   |
Taurasi will host basketball camp
Mercury guard Diana Taurasi will hold a three-part basketball camp for girls ages 8-14 during the summer.

The dates are June 18 and July 12 at the Arizona Premier Basketball Academy in Gilbert, and Aug. 15 on the Mercury practice court at US Airways Center.

Each session will run from 4-7 p.m., with on-court instruction from Taurasi and camp director Bridget Pettis, a Mercury assistant coach.

The camp costs $225. All campers will receive free ticket vouchers for two Mercury games. They also will receive a camp T-shirt and an autograph from Taurasi.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:16 PM   |
Win free Lobos basketball season tickets
George Malone arrived at The Tribune Tuesday wearing a Lobos T-shirt and a Lobos hat with his hand out ready to grasp onto free Lobos season tickets.

Malone won The Tribune's online giveaway - but barely. His was the third name chosen randomly. The first two failed to reply within 24 hours and, according to contest rules, lost their chance.

Good thing for Malone, who counts himself among the Lobos biggest fans.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:11 PM   |
Aggies to be Featured on ABC's "Free Ticket: Inside College Basketball"
Texas A&M will be one of several schools featured this season on the ABC series, “Chase Card Services Presents FREE Ticket: Inside College Basketball.”

Created and produced by Intersport, the production team will begin shooting on Monday and will follow the Aggies for a two-week stretch beginning with their preparations for the Texas Tech game on Wednesday and concluding with the “ESPN Gameday”contest at Kansas on Saturday, Feb. 3.

The crew will have access to practices, pregame and postgame locker room talks, and will have one-on-one interviews with head coach Billy Gillispie and various players and staff.

The first half-hour show featuring A&M will be shown on ABC on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 2 p.m. and will be repeated on ESPN 2 on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. The second show will be on ABC on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. and will be rebroadcast on ESPN2 on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m.

Created as an extension of Chase Card Services’ Freedom campaign, Chase Card Services Presents FREE Ticket: Inside College Basketball will offer fans unprecedented access behind otherwise closed doors, capturing all aspects of the college basketball experience – from practice and meetings to team travel and campus life.

The series already has featured Kansas State and Indiana this season.

Show Dates:

ABC: Saturday, Feb. 3, 2 p.m. (CT)

ESPN2: Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2 p.m. (CT)

ABC: Saturday, Feb. 10, 2 p.m. (CT)

ESPN2: Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2 p.m. (CT)

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:10 PM   |
Basketball fans given free tickets by American Airlines
Over 20,000 flight vouchers were given away by American Airlines, a division of AMR Corp, to basketball supporters at the Dallas Mavericks game on Wednesday evening (19 April).

According to Reuters the giveaway was designed to promote Dallas Love Field Airport, from which the airline recently began flying.

The company also offered a chance to win vouchers to an additional 1,000 fans watching the game on television if they took part in a text-message promotion via their mobile phones.

If all the vouchers are redeemed they could have a face value of more than USD3m, based on the average USD79 one-way fare on American's Love Field services, The Associated Press reported.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:10 PM   |
Sunday, June 3
Odd baseball promotion: Free tickets for fans who receive a rectal exam at the stadium
Want free baseball tickets? All you had to do last night was show up at Miller Park, home to the Milwaukee Brewers, and let a doctor check your prostate.

After the "free and confidential" rectal exam, you would have scored two free tickets to a future Brewers game.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:21 AM   |
Free baseball tickets worth a prostate exam?
How badly will Milwaukee Brewers fans want free tickets to see their favorite team play? The team will find out tonight.

According to the team's web site, the Brewers will provide two free tickets to a future Brewers game to any man who undergoes a free prostate exam today before the game.

A mobile clinic vehicle is parked outside Miller park, and the team said parking was free and no appointment necessary.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:18 AM   |
Free tickets for baseball fans who receive a rectal exam at the stadium
Want free baseball tickets? All you had to do last night was show up at Miller Park, home to the Milwaukee Brewers, and let a doctor check your prostate. After the "free and confidential" rectal exam, you would have scored two free tickets to a future Brewers game.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:18 AM   |
Free Baseball Tickets
Free Baseball Tickets

Last year we worked with some of the Baseball teams around the state to offer free tickets to their games. We hope to be able to do the same this year. Below is the list of teams from last year and links to their web sites. Keep checking back, for progress on this year’s season.

Peoria Chiefs

Gateway Grizzlies

Joliet Jackhammers

Kane County

Schaumburg Flyers

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:15 AM   |
Basketball fans given free tickets by American Airlines
Over 20,000 flight vouchers were given away by American Airlines, a division of AMR Corp, to basketball supporters at the Dallas Mavericks game on Wednesday evening (19 April).

According to Reuters the giveaway was designed to promote Dallas Love Field Airport, from which the airline recently began flying.

The company also offered a chance to win vouchers to an additional 1,000 fans watching the game on television if they took part in a text-message promotion via their mobile phones.

If all the vouchers are redeemed they could have a face value of more than USD3m, based on the average USD79 one-way fare on American's Love Field services, The Associated Press reported.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:14 AM   |
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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:12 AM   |
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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:06 AM   |
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posted by ^%&^ @ 9:42 AM   |
Cavs-Pistons Game 6 delayed by malfunction
The Eastern Conference finals took a bizarre turn when a shot-clock malfunction created a 21-minute delay between the first and second quarters Saturday night, giving the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons a long and awkward break during Game 6.

Cavs star LeBron James found a comfortable spot to wait it out, sitting on the court with his back resting on a basket support.

After a solution could not be reached with the shot clocks, the officials asked the public-address announcer, Olivier Sedra, to let the players know when there was 10 seconds on the clock and to count down from 5 seconds to 1.

Sedra also frequently announced the score because it was only visible on the videoboards above the court.

The problems were fixed at halftime, with the shot clocks working properly above both baskets along with the scoreboards throughout the arena.

The Cavaliers had a similar problem with their shot clocks at one home game during the regular season.

After sitting and standing early in the delay, both teams used the break to warm up for the second quarter. James, playing the role of a polite host, took two basketballs off the rack and threw them to the Pistons at the other end of the court.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 9:42 AM   |
Friday, June 1
MLB BASEBALL TICKETS
BarrysTickets.com is a ticket broker that provides MLB baseball tickets for all spring training, regular-season and post-season games from the American League and National League MLB Playoff games to the World Series. We also carry baseball tickets for special baseball events such as the MLB All-Star Game. Whether you want to party in the outfield or prefer the view from behind home plate, Barry’s Ticket Service makes it simple to buy baseball tickets online or by phone.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 8:44 PM   |
Baseball Tickets
During the offseason, the Red Sox acquired another ace pitcher in Curt Schilling and almost landed shortstop Alex Rodriguez, but the deal fell through, and Rodriguez went to the Yankees instead. Nevertheless, the Red Sox were picked by many to win the American League East in 2004. In seven meetings with New York in April, the Sox lost just one, and opened up a 4-game lead early in the season. Through midseason, the team struggled mightily, and fell more than 10 games behind New York. Management shook up the team at the MLB trading deadline on July 31 by trading shortstop Nomar Garciaparra in exchange for Orlando Cabrera of the Montreal Expos and Doug Mientkiewicz of the Minnesota Twins in a four-team deal. Also acquired, though less publicized, was speedy outfielder Dave Roberts of the LA Dodgers for minor league prospects. After splitting six games with the Yankees in September, the Red Sox remained in contention, but finished three games back in the AL East, again qualifying as the AL Wild Card.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 8:42 PM   |
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posted by ^%&^ @ 8:41 PM   |
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posted by ^%&^ @ 8:41 PM   |
 
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