Projo Sports Blog

January 31, 2008 Archives

With a sellout expected for Saturday's Rams-Flyers rematch at the Ryan Center, officials are advising fans to get to the game early to avoid getting hung up in traffic. Doors to the Ryan Center will open at 12:30, an hour and a half before tipoff.

| Categories URI Basketball

We asked readers on HSGametime to predict the winner of tonight's boys basketball game between Woonsocket (11-0 Division I, 15-0 overall) and North Kingstown (10-1 Division I, 11-2 overall). There were 46 votes since yesterday afternoon, with a slim majority of 24 picking the Villa Novans to win and remain undefeated. We'll have a gallery of game photos plus Steve Krasner's game story tomorrow on HSGametime; the game is at 7 tonight at North Kingstown.

Right now, you can vote on the winner of Friday's game of the day: a rematch of last year's Division I state championship game between Hendricken and Hope.

| Categories High School

Click the play button below to see and hear the show, as Kevin McNamara previews the Friars' game tonight at South Bend against the Fighting Irish.

| Categories PC basketball

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Point guard Damon Stoudamire plans to sign with the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night, giving the defending champions another veteran option while Tony Parker nurses a left heel injury.

Stoudamire negotiated a buyout with Memphis earlier this week after falling behind two young players in the rotation. His agent, Aaron Goodwin, said the 34-year-old planned to sign with the Spurs sometime after clearing waivers.

The Spurs declined to comment.

Parker wants to play despite bone spurs in his heel, but coach Gregg Popovich has sidelined him indefinitely, saying the injury is getting worse. Results of an MRI exam were expected to be released Thursday.

The absence of Parker comes at a bad time for the Spurs. They've lost a season-high three straight and just started their annual rodeo road trip, a nine-game trek that made its second stop at Western Conference-leading Phoenix on Thursday night. Seattle ended a 14-game losing streak in the trip's opener.

The Suns were a candidate to land Stoudamire, but the Spurs provided him a larger role.
Stoudamire has averaged 13.8 points and 6.3 assists in his 14-year career. He averaged 7.3 points and 3.9 assists in 29 games for the Grizzlies this season. His last game was Dec. 30 against the Spurs.

The Rookie of the Year for Toronto in 1995-96, Stoudamire averaged a career-high 20.2 points in his second season before getting traded to Portland the following year.

After seven-plus seasons with the Trail Blazers, Stoudamire signed as a free agent with Memphis in 2005. A knee injury ended his first season with the Grizzlies after just two months, and his scoring average hasn't returned to double digits since.

Jacque Vaughn, the Spurs' other true point guard, is averaging 4.1 points and 2.4 assists in 36 games, five of them starts. He played a season-high 37 minutes in the Seattle loss.

Brent Barry and Manu Ginobili also have played the point in Parker's absence.

| Categories Celtics

On today's sports cover, Jim Donaldson profiles the ultimate NFL survivor: Patriots assistant coach Dante Scarnecchia, who has been with the team since 1982. Shalise Manza Young writes about the memory of Marquise Hill, and Paul Kenyon reports on the URI Rams' victory over Richmond.

Click here to download the file in pdf format.

The University of Rhode Island is adding women's lacrosse to its lineup of varsity sports and dropping gymnastics. The Rams will begin play in the Atlantic 10 Conference in the spring of 2010.

Thorr Bjorn, director of athletics, cited the "explosive growth" of high school lacrosse and URI's club team as motivating factors. He said in a statement that the lacrosse roster will have 28 players, an increase of seven over the current gymnastics roster of 21.

The Atlantic 10 and the NCAA sponsor women's lacrosse as a championship sport. URI will join Duquesne, George Washington, La Salle, Massachusetts, Richmond, Sainnt Joseph's, St. Bonaventur and Temple. URI will begin searchinig for a coach on July 1, and the program will start with the fall semester of the 2009-2010 academic year.

Tthe A-10 does not sponsor gymnastics.

Bjorn said URI will honor its athletic scholarships to current gymnasts and commitments made to students who signed a National Letter of Intent. He also pledged the school's assistance to those who want to transfer.

The URI women's lacrosse team will play its home games in Meade Stadium.

| Categories College Sports

Before beginning her day on Thursday, Patriots writer Shalise Manza Young spoke to Mike McDermott for this multimedia show. The topics: Tom Brady, Plaxico Burress, stopping New York's running game, and honoring Marquise Hill. Click the play button below to listen and watch. Shalise will file multimedia reports tomorrow as well.

| Categories Patriots