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High School Hockey Playoffs

Division I - semifinals
Hendricken 4, Toll Gate 1
(Hendricken wins series, 2-0)

Mount St. Charles 7, Moses Brown 0
(Mount St. Charles wins series, 2-0)

Division I-A semifinals
Burrillville 2, Lincoln 1
(Burrillville wins series, 2-0)

Barrington 3, Cranston West 0
(Series tied, 1-1)

Division II semifinals
Cumberland 3, Smithfield 2
(Series tied, 1-1)

Division III semifinals
Narragansett 9, Scituate 7
(Narragansett wins series, 2-0)

Posted by Chris Venditto  at 9:23 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

Bob Driscoll on Tim Welsh's Firing

We're back from a long afternoon at Providence College where Tim Welsh was relieved of his duties. We'll have three stories in Sunday's Journal on the news.
Here are excerpts from AD Bob Driscoll's press briefing:

“Ultimately as the athletic director I’m responsible for the successes or the failures of my programs and basketball is my primary responsibility,” he said. “I just felt that at this juncture, looking at the body of work and where we need to do, that a change in leadership was necessary. It’s not personal to Tim. It’s part of the business and having been in this business for a long time, you trust your gut instinct in terms of change."
"With change comes great opportunity and renewed energy. That was the reason why I made the decision. The other reason is I have a high expectation for men’s basketball here at Providence College. This perception that we can never be successful or that we’re happy with just getting to the Big East (Tournament), well that goes against every bit of my core being. My goal is to win the Big East championship. Will we get there? Time will tell. But there’s no reason we can’t finish in the upper half of that league and if you do that on a consistent basis, you’ll get to the (NCAA) Tournament.
“I can look at Georgetown and at Marquette, particularly Georgetown four or five years ago, and they were nowhere near in the mix. Those schools have been able to do it. If you look at the leadership here and the facilities we’ve built, with what’s happening downtown at the new Dunk, the money we’re raising, there’s no question in my mind that we can get there. Now we have to prove that we can get there but that’s the reason I made this decision, because of the expectations that we have.”

"A number of the people that we’ll hopefully start looking at are in the Tournament,” he said. “Out of respect for them, we’re not going to start those conversations (yet). But there’s ways to find out whether people are interested without messing that whole system up for them.”

“I’d like to do it as quickly as I can but I don’t want to put a strict time line on it because if there are people I want to talk to who are continuing on, obviously I can’t do that. In an ideal world you’d want someone on board by the conclusion of the Final Four but I don’t know. I want to take as much time as necessary to do the best job I can to get the right person. It’s fluid.”

KEVIN McNAMARA

Posted by Kevin  at 8:10 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Update: Story on Tim Welsh's firing

Click here to read Kevin McNamara's breaking-news story on the firing of Tim Welsh.

Posted by Art Martone  at 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

PC moving on from Welsh Era

Here is PC's official release on the firing of Tim Welsh....

WELSH WILL NOT RETURN AS PROVIDENCE COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Providence College Athletic Director Bob Driscoll announced today (March 15) that men’s basketball Head Coach Tim Welsh will not return to coach the Friars in 2008-09. Driscoll met with Welsh today to discuss the situation.

“I appreciate all the hard work and dedication that Tim has put into this program over the last 10 years,” Driscoll said. “He represented the College with dignity and class. However, I felt that it was in the best interest of the program and Providence College to make a change in leadership.”
His 2007-08 Friar squad registered a 15-16 record and a 6-12 mark in the BIG EAST. The Friars finished 12th of 16 teams in the BIG EAST this season. The Friars’ season ended on Wednesday when they were defeated by West Virginia, 58-53, in the First Round of the BIG EAST Tournament.
Welsh was named the 13th head coach of Friar men’s basketball team on April 2, 1998. In his 10 seasons as a head coach at Providence, he led the team to a 160-143 mark (.528) and a 72-92 record (.439) in BIG EAST regular-season play. In five of his 10 seasons the Friars qualified for post-season action. Providence was selected to participate in the NCAA Tournament in 2001 and 2004. The team also played in the NIT in 1999, 2003 and 2007.
Driscoll plans to begin a search immediately for a new head coach.
“This is a very important decision and I will work diligently to find someone who will lead our men’s basketball program and guide our student-athletes,” Driscoll said. “Providence College has a rich tradition in men’s basketball. I have very high standards for the program and I expect that we will find the best person to move the program forward.”

Tim Welsh Coaching Record at Providence College

AT PC: 10 years 160-143 .528; Big East: 72-92 (.439)

Posted by Kevin  at 12:32 PM to PC basketball | Permalink | Comments 0

PC's Tim Welsh Fired

Providence College will have a new basketball coach next season.
The school is set to announce that it has fired Tim Welsh with one year left on his contract. More details to come. An official announcement is expectred at any moment.

KEVIN McNAMARA

Posted by Kevin  at 12:15 PM to PC basketball | Permalink | Comments 0