Projo Sports Blog

April 11, 2008 Archives

Officials at the University of Rhode Island will probably announce Monday or Tuesday whether they will eliminate sports programs to shave $800,000 from the athletics department budget and if so, which sports will be sacrificed.

Thorr Bjorn, director of athletics, said a week ago that he should know by April 15 "at the absolute latest" whether he will have to cut teams. April 15 is Tuesday. Mike Laprey, assistant director of athletics for communications, said that no announcement would be made today and probably not this weekend. That leaves Monday and Tuesday.

University administrators have ordered department heads to shave 10 percent from their budgets in response to the state budget crisis. Bjorn is trying to increase revenues and trim personnel costs in addition to cutting teams. In communicating with various boosters who have contacted him, he has expressed his support for all programs but has stated that it's highly unlikely he can reach the mandated savings without cutting a team or teams.

URI has sponsored 22 varsity teams this year. That figure counts indoor and outdoor track as two sports.The number will drop to 21 next year with the elimination of gymnastics. Women's lacrosse is supposed to be added in 2009-2010 but will not be if programs are cut.

Elsewhere on the budget front, URI officials await word from the House Finance Committee on the fate of a $7.2-million appropriation made in 2006 for Fiscal Year 2009, which starts July 1, for the Student Athlete Development Center. The committee is considering rescinding authorization for the appropriation and restructuring the state'sshare of the project's financing.

-- MIKE SZOSTAK

| Categories College Sports

We've been asking people today how they feel about Travis Ford's decision to reject the Providence College job. The opinions are really all over the map, from bitterness -- at both the PC administration and at Ford himself -- to resignation to even gloating (by Tim Welsh supporters). Here is a sampling of what we've seen today. Click here to post your comment, and click here to tell us whether you'd want the job.

"Let's get one thing straight, it's not about turning the Big East down, it's about turning down a program that lacks the commitment to compete, from the top down, in the Big East. PC should do what's right and drop out of D1... maybe D3 would be best?"

"This is humiliating as an alumni!"

"Maybe Travis Ford made the right decision for him and his family, maybe not, time will only tell. But the WAY he went about humiliating the Friars publicly - not cool!"

"WELL, EVERY COACH IN DIV. I BB KNOWS THAT THE PC JOB IS EITHER A SPRING-BOARD TO A MORE DESIRABLE ONE, OR, AND THIS IS VERY SIGNIFICANT,THE PC JOB IS A ONE-WAY TICKET TO OBLIVION. I'M NOT AT ALL SURPRISED THE FORD REJECTED THE OFFER. EVEN FOR A MIL!!"

"He came , he looked, and he ran all the way back to amherst---Too much of a challenge for travis--he wanted to stay small time and that was his choice"

"You people are getting exactly what you deserve - firing Coach Welsh was a complete and utter mistake, and now Friar Nation is paying the price."

"nice to see some loyalty in todays day and age - good for him!"

We're a little short-staffed today due to illnesses, so today's edition of projo SoxTalk will be audio only without pictures. Click here to listen to Sean discuss the lineup's outburst last night against Detroit, David Ortiz's horrendous slump, Kevin Cash's adventure behind the plate, and the state of the Yanks.

Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:

Last night: "They were able to score runs in bunches, had three different innings where they scored four runs, and kind of broke out a little bit offensively. That's something they haven't been able to do."

Ortiz: "It may only be 10 games, but ... he really seems lost up there. Some of it may be the surgically repaired knee is not yet 100 percent. He has traditionally been a slow starter, who has said that it usually takes him a little while to find his swing, and it's pretty obvious right now that he hasn't found it yet. And until he does, there are going to have to be others who come through and pick up the slack a little bit."

Cash: "He's very solid fundamentally and defensively. He's not going to provide a lot of offense, but then again neither was [Doug] Mirabelli, and I think they're very happy with the way that Cash not only catches the knuckleball and handles Wakefield, but is available and pretty sound to contribute in other ways when he's behind the plate."

The Yankees: "They are a little banged up. They just got [Jorge] Posada back, and [Derek] Jeter looks like he's going to be out for a few more days. And as a result of a couple of those injuries, the offense really hasn't clicked. ... No one doubts that the Yankees are going to be able to score runs in bunches. They haven't yet ... and maybe the Red Sox are catching the Yankees at the right time this weekend, if they're able to get these games in."

| Categories Red Sox

Press the play button to see a special multimedia presentation by photographer Kris Craig, who put this together while shooting the Celtics at TDBanknorth Garden.

| Categories Celtics

On today's sports cover, Kevin McNamara has the story on the latest unpleasant turn in the PC coaching search, while Bill Reynolds opines that two rejections does not bode well for the program. Joe McDonald files from Fenway, where the Red Sox took two of three this week from the Detroit Tigers.

Click here to download the file in pdf format.