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A good day for Grzebien and Adamonis

Rhode Islanders Anna Grzebien and Brad Adamonis both helped themselves today at their respective tour qualifying schools.

Grzebien, competing in the second round of the five-round LPGA finals in Daytona Beach, Fla., recorded a 72 for a total of 2-under 142. That leaves her in a tie for 14th place. The top 17 finishers earn full LPGA Tour cards and the next 35 earn non-exempt status.

Jane Park leads at 9-under and veteran Kelli Kuehne is second at 6-under.

At PGA Tour finals at Orange County National outside Orlando, Adamonis put together a 4-under 68 that included an eagle on his 17th hole. That jumped him from a tie for 92nd into a tie for 59th two days into the six-day event.

Frank Lickliter is the runaway leader after back-to-back 62s for a 124 total. The top 25 finishers earn PGA Tour cards for next year. Adamonis, by virtue of his victory on the Nationwide Tour this year, already is fully exempt on that tour. He would jump to the big tour with a top 25 finish this week.

Posted by Paul Kenyon  at 9:01 PM to Paul Kenyon on Golf | Permalink | Comments 0

Rams bringing in five

Jim Baron made official tonight what has been unofficial for more than a month now: His URI basketball team is bringing in one of the school's biggest _ and most highly rated _ recruiting classes ever.

Five players, all of whom had verballed to URI earlier, have formally returned their national letters of intent, Baron reported.

The school, through the office of assistant athletic director Mike Laprey, just issued a release that follows. We will have more in the Journal tomorrow.

KINGSTON, R.I. -- Head coach Jim Baron announced that five student-athletes – Ryan Brooks, Randy Dezouvre, Stevie Mejia, Orion Outerbridge and Jamal Wilson - signed their National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and athletic endeavors at the University of Rhode Island for the 2008-09 academic year.

Rhody’s incoming five-man class was ranked as the 37th-best nationally, according to HoopScoop Online, while Scout.com picked it as it’s “sleeper” from around the country.

Brooks, a 6-8, 210 lb. forward, is finishing up his final prep season at Holy Spirit H.S. in Abescon, N.J. The Mays Landing, N.J. native averaged 22.0 points and 11 rebounds for head coach Jamie Gillespie last season as a junior. Brooks was an all-star at the Eastern Invitational and plays for the South Jersey Select AAU program. He is ranked among the top seniors in the Garden State, according to EKB Recruiting Service.

Dezouvre, a 6-4, 205 lb. guard, hails from Montreal, Quebec. In his final season at Champlain-St. Lambert, the athletic guard averaged a double-double with 14.5 points and 10.2 rebounds this past season for head coach John D’angelas. His efforts helped to lead the Cavaliers to the bronze medal at the 2007 Provincial Championship. He was also selected to play in the Nike Skills Academy Canada, held this past August.

Meija, a 5-8, 170 lb. guard, hails from Lawrence, Mass. and is completing his prep career at Lawrence Academy. Last season, the point guard averaged 18.0 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals, helping Lawrence to a 28-3 overall record and the Class C New England Championship. He ranks ninth according to the New England Recruiting Report top players list. He was named the 2007 Independent School League Player of the Year by the Boston Globe. He was among the top 120 players in the country invited to the Reebok All-American Camp, held this past Summer in Philadelphia.

Outerbridge, a 6-9, 210 lb. forward, is a native of Boston and plays for head coach Peter Hutchins at New Hampton School in New Hampshire. A long, athletic post player, he averaged 12.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game last season, helping lead his squad to a 17-12 record. The New England Recruiting Report ranked Outerbridge ranked him 11th, while HoopScoop rated him as the 19th best fifth-year prep player nationally.

Wilson is a 6-5, 195 lb. shooting guard who plays for head coach Lonnie Lowry at Neumann-Goretti H.S. in Philadelphia, Pa. A strong outside shooter, Wilson averaged 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists, while helping guide his high school squad to the finals of the Philadelphia Catholic League championship. He attended the Reebok All-American Camp in Philadelphia and is a standout for the Team Philly AAU program.

Posted by Paul Kenyon  at 6:24 PM to URI Basketball | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's sports cover

On today's sports cover, Patriots writers Shalise Manza Young and Jim Donaldson discuss the potential impact of the loss of Rosevelt Colvin. Paul Kenyon reports on URI's victory over Northeastern, and Joe McDonald gets Jon Lester's reaction to winning the Tony Conigliaro Award.

Download a copy of the page in PDF format

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Video: Tony La Russa's DUI arrest

AP has posted portions of the embarrassing raw video of St. Louis Cardinals skipper Tony La Russa at the scene of his DUI arrest in Florida in March. La Russa pleaded guilty to the charges on Wednesday.

Click here to see the video, which features La Russa stumbling around and failing to remember the alphabet.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:47 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Video: Bobby Knight gets in argument on hunting trip

Click here to see video, on the Dallas Morning News Web site, of Texas Tech basketball coach Bobby Knight getting into a nasty argument with a Lubbock, Texas, resident, who claimed that Knight's hunting party hit his home with birdshot.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:35 AM to College Sports | Permalink | Comments 0

Marciano statue planned for Boston, and Brockton doesn't like it

BROCKTON, Mass. (AP) - The World Boxing Council wants to commission a statue in honor of Rocky Marciano, but the plan to build it in Boston has angered people in the boxing legend's hometown of Brockton.

"That's stupid," said Dean Seidschlaw, 65, he sat at the bar in George's Cafe in Brockton, where the walls are covered with pictures of the undefeated heavyweight.

"I think that if they were to dig up Rocky and ask him, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that he would want the statue in Brockton," said Peter Marciano, Rocky's younger brother.
But the WBC, which announced plans for the statue Nov. 17 at its annual convention in Manila, Philippines, said the council wants tourists and casual boxing fans to see the statue, and it's afraid only boxing die-hards will see it in Brockton.

Of 42 WBC representatives who voted on where to put the statue, just five chose Brockton while 37 chose Boston, including the three U.S. voters, said WBC President Jose Sulaiman.
"We want people to see Rocky even if they are not looking for him, and then they will have the opportunity to appreciate him as a legend in the sport of boxing," Sulaiman said. "Boston is visited by people of the world."

Marciano was 49-0 in his career, with 43 knockouts, reigning as world champ from September 1952 to April 1956, when he retired. He died in August 1969 in a plane crash in Iowa.

Brockton talked in 2000 about building a bronze statue of Marciano, but nothing materialized.
Sulaiman said the WBC plans are not meant to hurt Brockton, but to honor it "by having the statue in a place where more people will see it."

"And the people of Brockton can travel to Boston and say look, this is our hero," he said.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:27 AM to Boxing | Permalink | Comments 0