2B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2008
sports trivia
Q; When was the last time the San Antonio Spurs found themselves down two games to none in an NBA Playoff series?
A:The 2001 Western Conference finals when the Lakers beat them in the first two games. The Spurs, who are currently down 2-0 to the New Orleans Hornets, were swept in the 2001 series.
—basketball-reference.com
fact of the dav
The New Orleans Hornets have never won a second round playoff series. They are 0-4 all-time.
Associated Press
quote of the dav
"These are some of the best moments, I think, of my life that we're experiencing right now, we're just riding a wave right now."
—New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul
ontvtonight
MLB:
I need more leg room
—Cleveland at New York Yankees, 6 p.M. ESPN
—Los Angeles Angels at Kansas City, 7.p.m., FSN
NBA:
—Detroit at Orlando: NBA Playoffs Second Round Game 3, 7 p.m., TNT
—Utah at Los Angeles Lakers:
NBA Playoffs Second Round Game
2, 9:30 p.m., TNT
WOMEN'S SOFTBALL:
—Team USA vs. DePaul, 6 p.m.
ESPN2
calendar
TODAY
TODAY Baseball vs. Oral Roberts, 6 p.m., Lawrence
THURSDAY
Women's golf, NCAA West
Regional, all day, Lincoln, Calif.
A team from China performs in the Free Routine Final event at the Japan Synchronized Swimming Championships in Tokyo Monday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NCAA
Low grades could penalize sports teams
ASSOCIATED PRESS
INDIANAPOLIS — NCAA president Myles Brand wants college teams concerned as much about academic scores as final scores. If they aren't, they might be barred from NCAA tournaments.
Brand warned the underachievers Tuesday they could get hit with the NCAA's harshest sanctions
— fewer scholarships, reductions in practice and even a postseason ban. Nearly 150 teams face potential scholarship losses and another 26 are on the brink of a postseason ban because of poor academics.
"There are individual institutions who have seen a steady decline (academically) over the last four years, and for them, the situation is dire." Brand said after releasing this year's Academic Progress Report.
Brand was mostly pleased with what he saw in the report. Overall scores improved by four points since the NCAA began collecting data in 2003. There was plenty of reason for concern, too.
More than 700 of the 6,272 Division I teams fell short of the mandated cut score of 925 to avoid penalties, and 218 were assessed punishments ranging from warning letters to reductions in practice
times. Some were granted waivers while others showed enough improvement to avoid penalties.
But the 26 teams that have now scored less than 900 in two consecutive years must improve now. A third consecutive score below 900 would keep them out of NCAA tournaments 2009-10, and a fourth straight year on the list could lead to having Division I status revoked.
Thirty-six teams were assessed two penalties and three schools had more than one team hit twice — Alabama-Birmingham in men's basketball, football and men's golf; San Diego State in baseball and
football; and San Jose State in baseball and men's basketball.
Florida International had five teams — baseball, football, men's basketball, men's outdoor track and field and women's swimming — receive one sanction each.
The NCAA also is reconsidering how it views summer school classwork, transfers and the fact that basketball is a two-semester sport. Brand said he hopes there will be changes by next year.
Other trends in the report show:
—Women continue to outperform men, with a four-year average of 969 compared to 951.
Historically black colleges and universities, which last year had a disparate percentage of low scores, fell more in line with national averages this year.
The percentage of athletes who leave school academically ineligible has decreased from 3.7 percent in 2003 to 2.9 percent last year.
The scores were based on academic performance from 2003-07. Athletes earn one point for remaining academically eligible each semester and another point each semester they remain at the school, accumulating a maximum of four points each year.
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