ESPN and ABC Sports chief George Bodenheimer told employees that he's instituting a hiring freeze and won't give any raises to top executives. Bodenheimer said he expected 200 jobs will be cut within the next year, mostly from positions currently unfilled.

ESPN recently agreed to pay $125 million for television, radio, digital, international and marketing rights to the Bowl Championship Series from 2011-2014.

The University of Michigan announced new security plans for Yost Ice Arena yesterday designed to address safety concerns after the father of a Michigan hockey student-athlete was able to access the visitor's locker room and confront a Michigan State player. The new measures include:

??? Increased security/police presence at the venue
??? Credentialing process to regulate access to visitor's locker room
??? Ability to utilize an overhead steel door between the locker-room area and spectator walkway.

The university has also taken steps to eliminate the use of profane language and obscene gestures in the venue.

This post was written by Leilana McKindra, Assistant director, The NCAA News

College basketball and the broader sports world lost an icon this past weekend. Legendary North Carolina State head women's basketball coach Kay Yow died of cancer Saturday after a two-decade battle. She was 66.

Yow will be remembered during a funeral today in Cary, North Carolina. Burial will be tomorrow in her hometown, Gibsonville, North Carolina. Meanwhile, her team returned to action at home last night against Boston College, falling to the Eagles, 62-51.

From teams, like her own Wolfpack, that honored Yow by playing in pink uniforms to heartfelt blog posts and news accounts of the ways she touched the lives of so many to players who scribbled words of remembrance to the beloved coach on tennis shoes laced with pink strings, tributes to Yow have been pouring in since her passing and figure to continue over the coming days and weeks.

Especially in so-called major college basketball, it's easy to forget that coaches are teachers. Most everyone has a favorite teacher who sticks out as having truly made an impression. I had two - Mrs. Allen, an English teacher who curiously described tests as "celebrations," and Mr. Hassig, who not only made history come alive but also understood that praising students, especially to their parents, worked as well as criticizing them.

I suspect Coach Yow owns that "favorite teacher" honor for many among the coaching profession, her current and former players and countless others outside the athletics enterprise - not just because of her coaching acumen or success, but for the way she lived her life and the ways she purposefully sought to positively affect others.
In a posting on the North Carolina State athletics Web site, Tim Peeler, wrote that one of Yow's favorite lessons was that you have zero control over what happens to you in life, but 100 percent control over how you respond to it and that she always chose to respond with the most positive, optimistic outlook possible.

I never had an opportunity meet Coach Yow in person, but she's taught me that lesson and a few others just the same. Yow very publicly waged an intensely personal battle against a terrible disease, lending her face, her voice and her story to efforts to defeat it.

With her veteran status and wide circle of influence, she helped raise thousands for breast cancer research, giving others in similar situations hope for a cure. I think about how difficult that must have been for her, and honestly, were our positions switched, I am not sure I could have done the same and certainly not with the same grace and courage.

Watching Yow has been a powerful and humbling reminder that doing what you can to make life better for others isn't limited to when things are going well. While she is not the first or only high-profile sports personality to use their influence to advocate for a particular cause, there's plenty of room for more athletes and coaches to use their "powers" for good. But it's also important to realize it doesn't exempt the rest of us from taking action, either.

Everyone owns this responsibility, regardless of circumstance.

After being named Tar Heel of the Year by the News and Observer in 2002, Yow was quoted, "I need to make a difference in the lives of other people. If I'm not doing that, I've missed the whole point of my gift of life."

While we shouldn't necessarily be motivated to do what's good or right because we want people to say nice things about us at our own funerals, Yow's statement, to me, reminds us that what we invest in others will far outstrip our years on earth.

For example, although Yow will not benefit from the advances that will come from her efforts to raise money for cancer research, think of the millions of lives she has changed through her work, not to mention the countless number she has inspired by her own example of positive living and selfless giving in the face of overwhelming circumstances.

If there's a right way to live, I think Kay Yow provides a pretty good example. Like the master teacher she was, she has given us an incredible lesson on how to be truly successful in life. We should all take it to heart.

No. 20 Gonzaga railed to beat No. 22 St. Mary's 69-62, ending the Gaels 15-game winning streak (the nation's longest).

The win breaks a tie for first place in the West Coast Conference.

Three weeks after being dismissed by Boston College for pursuing an NFL head-coaching job, Jeff Jagodzinski was hired Thursday by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to be their offensive coordinator.

Boston College athletic director Gene DeFilippo didn't hesitate to fire Jagodzinski after telling the coach he would do so if he met with the Jets. He went on the interview despite the ultimatum and was fired the next day.

The Jets job eventually went to Rex Ryan.

Ryan Toolson scored 63 points Thursday to lead Utah Valley to a 123-121 four-overtime victory over Chicago State.

Toolson went 7-of-11 from the three-point line and was 20-of-21 from the free-throw line. The 63 points scored is the most in Division I basketball this season, and also a Utah Valley school record.

The folks at The Big Lead wonder: What college basketball might be like if it "promoted" and "demoted" teams on a yearly basis like the English Premiere League does. Let's say the season ended today - the top three A-10 teams would move up to play in the Big East in 2009-2010 season, and the bottom three Big East squads would be sent to the A-10.

Probably not the best idea, but still interesting...

Pittsburgh Public Schools announced Thursday that school will be delayed two hours on Monday. The Steelers face the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night in Super Bowl XLIII.

Guess those young Steelers fans really know how to party.

"I wish the (Arizona) Cardinals the best," President Obama told reporters at the White House, "You know, Kurt Warner is a great story, and he's closer to my age than anybody else on the field. But I am a long-time Steelers fan."

He went on to say that Steelers owner Dan Rooney was "an extraordinary supporter" during his presidential campaign. Franco Harris, the Steelers' Hall of Fame running back, and the team's current head coach, Mike Tomlin, also backed his candidacy, Obama said.

Plus, there are more electoral votes in Pennsylvania than Arizona.

Rice University's mascot, Sammy the Owl, got ejected from the school's game against Tulane on Wednesday night after getting into an argument with the referee.

We're guessing it was the headbutt.

Skip ahead to the 1:40 mark to watch the madness:

Davidson's Stephen Curry tallied 32 points and eight assists to lead Davidson to a 92-70 victory over Chattanooga Wednesday. It was Davidson's 40th consecutive regular-season conference victory.

Check out this shot by Curry at the end of the first half.:

There's more to Wake Forest's James Johnson (who hit the game-winning shot last night to upset No. 1 Duke) than basketball.

He was recently profiled by Sports Illustrated's Luke Winn, "Johnson, the only ranked recruit from Wyoming since 2002, is the son of a sixth-degree black belt, He's one of eight children who are black belts (as well as a ninth who is a blue belt, but she's only 10)."

Michigan State's suspension of two hockey student-athletes after an egregious violent episode on the ice earlier this week is both necessary and commendable. In the final moments of the game, Michigan's Steve Kampfer was clothes-lined and punched from behind by Michigan State's Andrew Conboy. As Kampfer lay prone on the ice, Conboy's teammate, Corey Tropp, hit Kampfer in the neck with his stick.

In this case, there was a clear intention to harm Kampfer, who had recently recovered from a skull fracture received during an off-campus fight. There is no doubt that hockey is a violent and physical sport, but rarely do we see in college hockey such a blatant attempt to harm another student-athlete.

Watch the hit here:

By suspending these two student-athletes for the remainder of the season and barring them from post-season play, Michigan State has set a precedent that this type of intentional violence will not be tolerated.

The hit on Kampfer was in retribution for a hit earlier in the game. Eye-for-an-eye fighting is a common part of hockey, especially at the National Hockey League level, but that doesn't condone the cheap hits Conboy and Tropp dealt to a motionless Kampfer.

For its part, the National Hockey League has begun examining the culture surrounding on-ice fighting and may move to increase penalties and rules surrounding in-game fisticuffs. The NHL Director of Operations Colin Campbell plans to ask the 30 NHL general managers if they would want to ban fighting.

Campbell faces an up-hill battle, but in the wake of the death of amateur player Don Sanderson after his unprotected head struck the ice during a fight, it might be a hill worth climbing.

Violence has been part of hockey since its early days, but with its actions this week, Michigan State has drawn a line between what's acceptable and what's worthy of the university's penalty box.

The Mid-American Conference and ESPN have reached a deal for an eight-year contract extension through the 2016-17. The deal includes a minimum of 11 nationally televised football games a year, with six on ESPN or ESPN2 and five on ESPNU. Also, at least six men's or women's regular-season basketball games a year will be shown on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.

President George W. Bush and wife Laura attended Wednesday's game between No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 4 Baylor.

President Bush and his wife entered the arena with Lady Bears coach Kim Mulkey and received a standing ovation from the crowd. Bush also addressed the Lady Bears before the game. He and his wife sat in the first row directly behind the Baylor bench.

"So Laura and I got a chance to come here. Bush said. "This is our first outing since I left the presidency and I can't think of a better place -- and yes I'm excited."

Oklahoma won 56-51.

A group of researchers at Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy found that football players who suffered repeated blows to the head and concussions could suffer from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a condition common among boxers also known as punch-drunk syndrome. The study examined the brains of deceased former football players, uncovering symptoms of CTE is the majority of the samples.

According to the Washington Post, "The center also announced it has tested an 18-year-old high school football player who had suffered many concussions and who recently died. The test showed the boy also had CTE." Ann McKee, a neuropathologist at Boston University who was interviewed for the story remarked, "This is something you should never see in an 18-year-old's brain."

University of Southern California Head Football Coach Pete Carroll is on Twitter.

His latest entry: "Missed my flight last night so I'm just enjoying the local scenery until I fly out this morning! Only a few days of recruiting left."

The Double-A Zone is also on Twitter. Follow our updates.

Twitter is a social networking and mirco-blogging service that lets users communicate and stay connected through quick 140 character messages.

This post was written by Howard Smith, NCAA Branding and Communications

While watching ESPN's Marquette-Notre Dame telecast Monday night, the commentators were discussing whether the ACC or Big East is the better men's basketball conference this year. There is little doubt these are the two best conferences, but how you distinguish them from one another is open for discussion.

On the telecast, ESPN analyst Jay Bilas claimed the top two or three teams from each conference are relatively indistinguishable, but the depth of the Big East gives it the advantage. Specifically, he said the top 10 or 11 teams in the Big East are superior to those of the ACC. I've heard other well-respected college basketball analysts agree with these sentiments.

I certainly respect Bilas' opinions, but I take issue with his argument.

How can anyone compare the top 10 or 11 teams in the two conferences when there is a four team difference in the total number of member-institutions? The Big East has 16 total basketball schools; the ACC only has 12.

In my opinion, comparing the top 10 or 11 in each league (the "depth of the conference") is an apples-to-oranges evaluation.

Let's take a closer look at the two conferences from a statistically-based approach. Many people would argue the best indicator of relative league strength is head-to-head results. So far this season, teams from the two conferences have faced each other 15 times with the ACC holding a 9-6 advantage.

The computers also agree that the ACC is stronger top-to-bottom. Through Sunday's games, according to the NCAA's Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) calculations, the average RPI of the ACC teams was 52.1. That compares favorably to the Big East's average RPI of 65.8.

Since the NCAA's official overall conference RPI ranking is unavailable, we turned to other unofficial RPI Web sites to see how the conferences' RPIs stacked up.

According to the Pomeroy Ratings, through Tuesday's games, the ACC is the strongest conference with the Big East ranked third (the Pac-10 is number two).

While the statistics favor the ACC from top-to-bottom, this is certainly not a clear-cut argument. These numbers are simply a tool. College basketball analysts and fans are entitled to their own opinions based on what they see on the court, although they shouldn't be fooled by only looking at the top 10 or 11 teams in each conference. That's not a fair comparison.

Which is the better basketball conference this season?

On Monday, we linked to a video of the double alley-oop dunk that occured during a recent high school basketball game. If you thought that was impressive, then wait until you see this tip-in three pointer during another recent high school contest. It occured at the end of a quarter with only .5 seconds left on the clock:

Remember Jonathan Xavier, the Providence fan who walked onto the court and confronted a referee during game action last week? He has been jailed without bail, since this incident allegedly violated his probation from a 2005 drug arrest. Xavier is the brother of a current Providence basketball student-athlete.

Last week, Kansas' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee held its fourth annual variety show, known as "Jayrock." One of the event's skits was a parody of Disney's High School Musical by the men's basketball and women's volleyball teams. The video is hilarious, and has become a YouTube hit over the past few days. Thanks to Matt Baysinger, the Division I SAAC Chair, who made us aware of the video:

Former high school basketball player, Brandon Jennings, talks about his experience playing basketball in Europe. Jennings passed on playing basketball in college, and signed a $1.2 million contract with a professional team in Italy.

The adjustment for Jennings has been difficult. He's averaging just 8 points per game.

He told the New York Times in an interview, "I've gotten paid on time once this year. They treat me like I'm a little kid."

Jennings wants people to know that the transition from high school basketball is not easy. "I don't see too many kids doing it," he said. "It's tough man, I'll tell you that. It can break you."

Coach Yow, You taught me how to live life to the fullest and not take everything so seriously. No words can't really express how thankful I am for knowing you...

Last week Covenant, a private Christian school in Dallas, defeated Dallas Academy 100-0. At halftime, Covenant was up 59-0 and the eventual outcome was already clear.

A parent who attended the game told The Associated Press, "Covenant continued to make 3-pointers -- even in the fourth quarter. She praised the Covenant players but said spectators and an assistant coach were cheering wildly as their team edged closer to 100 points."

What happened to sportsmanship? When did sports become all about winning? Play hard, try your best and never quit ... I don't ever remember being told scoring 100 points makes you a winner.

Covenant school officials issued an apology (only after the national media descended on the small Texas school), saying, "its team had achieved victory without honor." The school eventually forfeited the victory.

Covenant's coach, Micah Grimes, disagreed with the school's apology and was fired by the school Sunday.

Grimes wrote on a Website, "I respectfully disagree with the apology, especially the notion that the Covenant School girls basketball team should feel 'embarrassed' or 'ashamed. We played the game as it was meant to be played and would not intentionally run up the score on any opponent. Although a wide-margin victory is never evidence of compassion, my girls played with honor and integrity and showed respect to Dallas Academy."

As a basketball fan I feel embarrassed and ashamed that a high school coach would let a game (with the outcome decided before the first quarter was over) get so out of hand. Coach Grimes, who has a duty to teach sportsmanship, failed miserably.

While athletes certainly are entitled to "play the game as it was meant to be played," the second-half would have offered Covenant's team the opportunity for an approach other than repeated three-point shots: Slow and deliberate play-making, extra passes, and using non-starting players who don't normally get a lot of game time.

Those tactics simply would have recognized the obvious disparity between the teams - and likely would have held down the score. Quieting a cheering crowd might not have been the responsibility of a coach, but telling an assistant to remain silent-and-seated certainly would have been.

Dallas Academy took the loss in stride. Jeremy Civello, the Bulldogs coach, says his team plays for more than the final score. "They play in hope of improving skills, learning teamwork and picking up whatever life lessons athletics may bring," he said.

Coach Civello told the Dallas Morning News, "My girls never quit. They played as hard as they could to the very end. They played with all their hearts at 70-nothing, 80-nothing and 100-nothing. I was really proud of them. That's what I told them after the game."

It's nice to finally see a coach who understands winning isn't everything.

The story isn't going away anytime soon. The Dallas Academy has appeared on all the network morning shows, and has been invited to be Mark Cuban's guest at this year's NBA All-Star game in Dallas.

Maybe the media is making too big a deal of the lopsided score. Unfortunately, sports is turning into a "win at all costs" game, and that's a terrible example to set for today's youth.

CollegeInsider.com has announced the formation of a new college basketball postseason tournament. It will involve 16 teams that are not selected for either the NCAA Tournament or NIT. Participants must have a winning record against Division I opponents with the structure appearing to focus on smaller conference schools.

This is now the fourth postseason tournament (NCAA, NIT and College Basketball Invitational). The new tournament will give more student-athletes the opportunity to participate in postseason basketball, especially from smaller conference schools that don't often receive as much recognition as they deserve. Are you in favor of this new tournament?

Heisman winner Sam Bradford sat down with Tim Brando of the Sporting News and talked about why he decided to stay at school another year.

It is always interesting to hear college basketball coaches share their opinions about the NBA rule that forces players to be at least one year out of high school before declaring for the NBA Draft. Georgia Tech Coach Paul Hewitt thinks graduating high school seniors should be given the opportunity to enter the NBA Draft, which is how it used to be. Hewitt also believes that if a student-athlete decides to go to college, he should have to remain on campus for at least two years before declaring for the pros. Do you agree with Hewitt?

During NBC's inauguration coverage Brian Williams misidentified Oregon State Head Basketball Coach (and President Obama's brother-in-law), Craig Robinson, as Obama's personal assistant, Reggie Love.

Williams called Robinson and Love to apologize, and sent a letter to apology to the Oregon State school newspaper and local media outlets.

The Oregonian's Paul Buker isn't satisfied with Williams' email, and thinks he should attend a men's basketball game at Gill Coliseum.

Here's the apology: "My sincere apology. Whatever you have called me over the past few days can't be any worse than my own anger over my mistake. I made an inexcusable error when I confused the great OSU coach Craig Robinson with a friend of mine, the personal assistant to President Obama, Reggie Love. I am sending personal apologies to both men, and this is my apology to all members of Beaver Nation. It was a mistake committed during 9 hours of live programming - I was distracted and watching many incoming video feeds, but that's no excuse for the error, which was no one's fault but mine. I have felt awful about it since I forced myself to read the coverage of it on OregonLive.com, and I hope that someday you can find it in your hearts to forgive my error.''

The NFL is not immune to the economic downturn.

According to an article in the Indianapolis Star, the Colts will cut about 20 jobs in various departments. The cuts are expected to be announced today.

In recent weeks, the Washington Redskins laid off 20 people, the Cleveland Browns cut 15 jobs and the New England Patriots cut 60 people from its support staff.

The NFL is in the process of eliminating 150 jobs at the NFL Network and NFL Films.

Do the recent NFL job cuts have you worried about your own job?

This post was written by Dan Tudor. He is the founder of Selling for Coaches, a training program that teaches advanced recruiting and communication skills to college coaches and athletic departments around the country. He will be blogging about recruiting training for Double-A Zone. Click here for more information about the company.

While it is still a rare occurrence, tensions between college recruiters and high school coaches are steadily rising. We are hearing about more and more instances of conflicts between college coaches and the high school coaches of the prospects they are pursuing.

The two usual scenarios go something like this:

1. The college coach pursues a high school athlete, asks for the high school coach's help, fails to sign the athlete, and blames the high school coach for not helping more with getting the athlete's commitment to the college program. That results in damaged relations between the college coach and the high school.

2. The college coach offers a high school athlete a scholarship, the athlete gives the college coach a verbal commitment and accepts the offer, staff changes or priorities change within the college program, the offer is pulled. That results in disappointment for the athlete, and outrage from the athlete's high school coach directed towards the college coach.

An similar incident involving South Carolina's football coach Steve Spurrier, and head coach Franklin Stephens and star linebacker Jonathan Davis of Tucker High School (Georgia) recently occurred.

Click here if for the full story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

There are three recruiting lessons that college coaches to take away from this event.

1. In the long run, the trust and reputation of a college coach is hurt from these situations. We need to give Coach Spurrier the benefit of the doubt in this situation. There may be behind-the-scenes issues that lead to all of this. Even if that is the case, this type of news reduces the trust - between all parties. It's not good for the handshake system of verbal commitments that much of college recruiting rests upon.

2. Look for prospects to feel more comfortable with the idea of breaking early verbal commitments to college coaches. College coaches are increasingly asking me about the right strategy for continuing to recruit their prospects even after they give a verbal commitment to their program. Why? Because more and more, college coaches are seeing examples of their prospects breaking a verbal commitment to a college and signing with a different school. I wouldn't be surprised to see an increase in the number of "de-commits" by either side, to the point that the NCAA may need to address the situation in the not-so-distant future.

3. College coaches will need to develop "second phase" recruiting strategies. Recruiting a prospect after they have committed verbally or promised to enroll at a college (in the case of non-scholarship and Division III schools) will take on new urgency. Coaches will need to focus heavily on keeping the interest and commitment of their prospects.

Which party is to blame for all this? I'll let smarter people than me to figure that one out.

Here's what I do know: This trend will begin to chip away at early verbal commitments that are the foundation of today's college recruiting, and that's not good for either side.

All of these deaths are preventable. All high schools in the US should have a certified athletic trainer on staff.

There was a crazy Division III hockey game Friday night. Northland goalie Daniel McIntosh made 95 saves in a 4-0 loss to Adrian.

Adrian (16-1-1, 13-0 MCHA) had 40 shots on goal in the first period, 30 in the second period and 29 more during the final period. Northland (1-17-0, 1-12-0) had 11 shots on Bulldogs goalie Brad Fogal.

Stephen Danley, former Pennsylvania basketball student-athlete and current Marshall scholar at the University of Oxford, had a few words of advice for Rhodes scholar Myron Rolle. In a letter published in Sunday's New York Times, Danley warns Rolle that "in England, football means soccer, and your sport is called American football and is nationally scorned." So, he suggests Rolle revisit basketball (he was an outstanding high school player) and hit the court for the Oxford Blues.

USA Today is reporting "On the heels of a milestone football season that saw undefeated Utah and two other conference teams rank among the Bowl Championship Series' top 16, Mountain West officials are pressing for automatic annual entry in the BCS' five-game postseason lineup."

Currently, the conference champions -- ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pacific 10 and Southeastern -- automatically qualify for the BCS. The winners of the five other major-college conferences, including the MWC, must meet minimum-ranking guidelines to get in.

The Double-A Zone had the same idea earlier this month: Add Boise State and give Mountain West an automatic BCS bid.

Did you see the stepping-on-the-face incident that occured during Saturday's Houston-Arizona men's basketball game? Houston student-athlete Aubrey Coleman was ejected in the second half after stepping on the face of Arizona's Chase Budinger. Coleman has apologized and said it was an accident. You can see the video of the incident below. Should Coleman be punished further?

Just hours after North Carolina State Coach Kay Yow succumbed to breast cancer, North Carolina Holly Springs High School senior Meaghan Lorraine Whitlock created the In Memory of Kay Yow group on Facebook. "I thought it was important to create this group for people to contribute their thoughts and condolences," Whitlock, 18, a former volleyball and softball athlete, told the Double- A Zone in an e-mail. "Many people followed Coach Yow's team, and now they can express their feelings about how great of a coach she was."

Thirty minutes after she created the group it had 775 members. Currently there are more than 7,000 members and over 300 wall posts. "I have been surprised by the response, and also all of the emails and messages people have sent me saying thank you for making this for such a wonderful person," Whitlock wrote.

Here is a sample of some of the messages posted by members of the group:

Cathy Greene (Raleigh / Durham, NC) wrote at 8:21am As an ardent NCSU fan, I was deeply touched by the UNC women's basketball team wearing pink jerseys last night against Maryland as a tribute to Kay Yow. This was the kind of inspiration Kay was able to bring out in people...even staunch rivals. I am proud to be a fan of both the coach and the woman that she was...she will live on in all of us.

---

River Wolfe (Columbus, OH) wrote at 8:01am I had no idea who you were until today. Robin Roberts spoke of your inspiration, kindness and hard fought battle against breast cancer. I am inspired. Rest In Peace beautiful warrior.

---

Tamara James (Miami, FL) wrote at 2:26am A woman that will be remembered for her will to fight... She was and is such an inspiration to people everywhere. I didnt' go to NC State and she still had an impact on my life. She never complain about her situation, she was just thankful to see another day. Job well done Kay...u will be missed.

---

Tammy Herring Williams (Tampa Bay, FL) wrote at 9:46pm yesterday I've been a Wolfpack fan for all of my 34 years and was fortunate enough to know Coach Yow while I was a student at NC State. The Wolfpack nation will never be the same. What an incredibly inspirational lady! We love you and will miss you forever Coach. Your grace is something that will live with us always. Peace!!!!

---

Kevin V. Howell (Campbell) wrote at 9:23pm yesterday I was fortunate to speak to Kay Yow a few times while I was a student at N.C. State. She is one of the classiest people I have ever met, and her faith and spirit was contagious. Kay Yow will be greatly missed.

Tributes to Yow's legacy have been recorded around the country. Coaches in basketball games over the weekend wore upside down pink ribbons to honor Yow's memory. In a statement in the NCAA News, NCAA President Myles Brand said, "Kay Yow was among the most influential figures in the history of women's basketball. In the way she approached life, she touched thousands of lives directly through her legendary coaching career, but millions more have and will benefit from her courage in the face of great illness. She will be greatly missed."

Yow leaves a formidable legacy on the court, but it is her fight against cancer and her personal determination that will prove her greatest (and perhaps most lasting) achievement.

What did you learn from Coach Yow?

A University of Tennessee donor's name was removed from the athletic center building after he failed to follow through on a $2 million pledge.

Steve McKenzie, and his former wife, Brenda, pledged $4 million towards the Tennessee Athletic Center. The couple divorced and the pledge was split evenly between them. Brenda Lawson paid her portion in full,, but McKenzie did not complete his pledge and his name was removed from the building.

Here's a YouTube video that has been making the rounds over the weekend.
Check out the play the kids from Westchester Country Day School pulled off:

When the polls come out todcay, Duke will most likely be ranked No. will be the first time in three years the Blue Devils have held the top ranking in the Associated Press poll.

College basketball's top rank hasn't been the place teams wanted to be when the NCAA Tournament rolls around.

Not since Duke in 2001 has the team ranked No. 1 at the end of the regular season by the Associated Press won the national title.

Our condolences go out to the family of North Carolina State's Kay Yow. Coach Yow won over 700 games during her tenure, but it was her fight against breast cancer that marked perhaps her greatest achievement. Schools around the country have been inspired by Yow's fight and her legacy will endure long after her death. Rest in peace, coach.

Good luck to Ron, he is obviously a very dedicated person. If he puts the same degree of effort into his career, he will go places.

Illinois guard Jeff Jordan, son of basketball legend Michael Jordan, was awarded a scholarship for the spring semester.

"He's proven to us that he belongs," Illinois coach Bruce Weber told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "He's done a nice job of having a niche, a role. He's a pest on defense. He pushes the ball on the break as well as anyone -- better than Chester (Frazier) and Demetri (McCamey). He's just a quality kid and a good team member."

On Thursday, Pleasure Ridge Park (Kentucky) High School's head football coach David Stinson was indicted on one count of reckless homicide in the death of a 15-year-old player who collapsed from heat stroke at practice.

Max Gilpin, a sophomore lineman, collapsed August 20 and died three days later. It was reported Gilpin's body temperature reached 107 degrees at the hospital.

Todd Thompson, a lawyer for Gilpin's parents, spoke to the Courier-Journal in Louisville about how long running drills were conducted and how quickly emergency services were called after Gilpin collapsed.

Sports is an environment that encourages athletes to test the bounds of their bodies. While this practice can result in better performance, coaches must always keep their athletes' health and safety in mind.

Where should coaches draw the line when pushing their players to perform?

Athletes grow up hearing "to win you must be faster, stronger and play harder than your competitor." There is pressure to perform beyond their limits.

Do coaches expect too much from athletes?

A Central Florida freshman football player collapsed during offseason workouts. He became dehydrated Dec. 3 while participating in a weightlifting session and was taken to Florida Hospital East with kidney failure.

UCF's athletic department said in a statement that the training was "a rigorous out-of-season workout" that was "not atypical" for a college football conditioning session.

The school's training methods have been scrutinized since a player collapsed and died during a conditioning workout last spring.

Clearly, coaches should never put winning above a player's health - which means giving extra water breaks when it's hot outside during football practice, and listening to a player who can't keep running for fear of dehydration or heat stroke.

Looking out for the athlete's well-being is the most important role for a coach.

Being both a motivator and protector is tough balance for some, but it is absolutely necessary. Accomplishing this means a coach must push an athlete to do the best they can while simultaneously know their limits.

It's a tough thing, but it's better to error on the side of the health and safety of the athlete.

NCAA President Myles Brand talked about student-athlete safety and why it remains one ot the most crucial issues for the NCAA in a recent podcast.

Listen to Mondays With Myles.

It was a rough first half for Florida Atlantic Head Coach Mike Jarvis.

FAU was leading Louisiana-Monroe 31-30 near the end of the first half when Javis argued an out-of-bounds call with an official. When the argument was over, FAU had been tagged with four technical fouls, and Jarvis had been ejected and escorted off the court by police.

Louisiana-Monroe made seven of the eight free throws and then sank a 3-point shot for 10 straight points and a 40-31 lead. FAU never overcame that deficit on the way to a 94-88 loss.

Here's the video:

A Texas high school girls basketball team who won 100-0 is trying to apologize for the margin of victory and forfeit the game.

Last week Covenant, a private Christian school in Dallas, defeated Dallas Academy 100-0. Covenant was up 59-0 at halftime.

In a statement Thursday on The Covenant School's Web site, the head of school said, "It is shameful and an embarrassment that this happened." He went on to say that Covenant has made "a formal request to forfeit the game recognizing that a victory without honor is a great loss."

Is it surprising that a resolution in Congress to honor Florida for winning the national championship didn't pass unanimously?

Five members of Congress - Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania, Joe Barton of Texas, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Marion Berry of Arkansas and Jack Kingston of Georgia - voted no on the resolution "Commending the University of Florida Gators for winning the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game."

Seven members of Congress voted present, and those votes included all three Representatives from Utah, whose state university was the only team in college football to go undefeated, but did not get a share of the national title.

Vanderbilt has been named one of the top 100 best places to work in the United States in FORTUNE magazine's annual survey, and it is the first university to ever be named to the list.

Vanderbilt is ranked No. 98. More than 21,000 employees work at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

"I am proud and humbled that my colleagues are content and happy to be here," said Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos in a press release. "It is a great compliment to the employees at both the university and medical center to be the first educational institution to be ranked on the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For list."

Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Michael Irvin is creating a reality TV show. The show would give 12 "football neophytes" a chance to compete for a spot on the Dallas Cowboys' training camp roster.

Irvin has no doubt the show will be a success.

"I don't know if you can walk upon any group of guys that wouldn't say they dreamed of playing in the NFL when they were playing in their front yard," Irvin told The Associated Press.

"You could've played college ball and had to give up for some reason," he said. "You know how many stories are out there of players who for some reason or another had to walk away from the game. ... We want to find those guys."

A 'Rich Brooks Edition' Ford F-150 truck was released by a car dealer in Lexington, Kentucky. Brooks is Kentucky's head football coach.

"The Brooks fans have spoken," J.P. Miller, Jr., Vice-President of Paul Miller Autogroup told the kypost.com. "The toughest truck on the market now bears the toughest coach's name. We are extremely happy to sell the Rich Brooks Edition F-150 exclusively at Paul Miller Ford. Now is your chance to come out and drive one!"

The truck will be equipped with numerous special features, including, a customized paint scheme of true blue, black and silver, Rich Brooks signature decals on doors , fenders, quarter panels and tailgate, 22-inch custom chrome wheels and tires and tinted windows.

Markel Humphrey made a 75-foot bank shot as time expired to lift Marshall to a 53-50 win over Southern Methodist on Wednesday night.

Check it out:

This post was written by Greg Johnson, Associate Director, Champion magazine/NCAA News.

In the world of intercollegiate athletics, injuries are inevitable. You just hope when they occur it's something the student-athlete can recover from in a timely fashion.

For Alabama point guard Ronald Steele, the injury bug kept biting until the Crimson Tide's floor leader announced Tuesday he is going to sit out the rest of his senior season in hopes of finally becoming healthy.

Plantar fasciitis, the painful inflammation of the band of tissue that runs from the heel along the arch of the foot, is the latest injury for the hard-luck Steele. After having a stellar start to his career, where he was one of the best point guards in the nation through his sophomore year, injuries took their toll.

Knee and ankle injuries slowed him down over the last three seasons. He even took a redshirt year in 2007-08 in hopes of coming back for a strong senior year. Now, the problem with his left foot has forced him to end of his college basketball-playing days. He still managed to become only the second Crimson Tide men's basketball player to record 1,000 points and 400 assists in a career.

Steele explored entering the NBA draft during his career, but the injuries kept those dreams on hold.

I was glad to see that he did take advantage of his basketball scholarship and earn a degree in financial planning.

This is a classic example that other scholarship student-athletes should look at. The chance of having a free college education is something that shouldn't be taken for granted.

Here's hoping that Steele can recover from the latest injury setback and shows NBA teams that he is someone they can invest a draft selection on. Whatever happens, he can put his financial planning degree to good use.

To update a story we've been following, the University of Chicago men's basketball team won its first game of the season this past Friday night, a 55-50 win over Emory. Unfortunately, the Maroons weren't able to keep the positive momentum going, as they were defeated by Case Western Reserve on Sunday afternoon. The traditional Division III power now sits at 1-13, but hey, at least they got that first win.

Three games into the Illinois Lottery's newest promotion and they already have a winner.

The game: One adult fan would be randomly chosen at each home game, and if the Blackhawks scored at exactly the 10-minute mark of the second period -- not a second over or under -- then that fan would win $1 million.

Fast forward to Tuesday night: Blackhawks winger Martin Haviat slipped one past Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom at the 10:00 mark of the second period. It was the only goal the Blackhawks scored in the game.

First-year season ticket-holder Cary Stolarczyk walked away with the $1 million prize.

Nice timing.

No word if the promotion will continue.

Congratulations to the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The Highlanders (1-18) won for the first time since Feb.19, 2007, defeated Bryant 61-51.

The school is in its third season as a Division I program, and the Highlanders are 6-71 since making the step up from Division II. They went winless last season after posting a 5-24 record in 2006-07.

The longest NCAA losing streak at any level is 117 games . Division III Rutgers-Camden did not win a game from Jan. 22, 1992, to Jan. 9, 1997.

Highlights from the game:

Clemson's men's basketball team has never won in Chapel Hill, and the streak continued last night with a 94-70 North Carolina win. Including last night's outcome, Clemson is now winless in all 54 games it has played at UNC. You get the feeling the Clemson team feels so much pressure to get a win when it visits the Dean Dome that it's nearly an impossible task. And, North Carolina seems to always be really good, which makes it that much tougher for Clemson.

Oklahoma State will continue its controversial ticket practice next season. Like the Bedlam ticket in 2008, OSU's opener against Georgia will be a premium ticket, meaning there will be no single-game ticket sales.

We set new records in season ticket sales and attendance last season, OSU Athletics Director Mike Holder told The Oklahoman. "Our goal is to eventually sell out the stadium with season tickets."

Should more athletics departments follow Oklahoma State's lead, and create premium tickets that can only be purchased through season ticket plans?

We can all wish it were different but if you want to stay in college coaching in this day and age you had better get creative in the way you recruit.

Dealing with economic crisis seems to be today's theme on the Double-A Zone.

In an effort to increase revenue during the economic downturn, the National Basketball Association has reversed its 1991 ban on courtside liquor advertising.

Teams had previously been able to take sponsorship from liquor companies for off-camera positions.

"We are always trying to find ways to drive more revenue and this falls in line with that," said senior vice president of team marketing and business operations for the NBA Chris Granger. "The vote was simply to rescind the prohibition of teams selling [hard liquor] courtside ads. We are working on what other opportunities will exist."

The National Football League is the only pro sports league that does not allow any liquor advertising within camera view in their stadiums.

The 103rd annual NCAA Convention took place last week at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, located just outside Washington D.C. Thousands of attendees from around the country converged on the nation's capitol to discuss, learn and vote on crucial issues dealing with intercollegiate athletics.

Last Thursday was one of Convention's busiest days. In addition to the normal educational sessions and meetings, two of the week's big events occurred:

• The Convention's opening business session, where NCAA Vice President Wally Renfro gave the annual "State of the Association" address and Billie Jean King was presented with the NCAA's President's Gerald R. Ford Award.

• The Honors and Delegates Celebration, which was held at the Newseum in Washington D.C. Former United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was honored with the Theodore Roosevelt Award at this event.

Here is a short video we created that shows what it was like to be Mike King for a day at Convention:

The Associated Press is reporting, "Stanford's athletic department is projecting a $5 million loss in revenue over the next three years and is considering cutting staff and eliminating some sports teams.

"That's the last thing they want to consider. They don't want it to affect student-athletes," a Stanford employee familiar with the budget issues told the AP on condition of anonymity because the person is not authorized to discuss the shortfall. "We do have some serious budget problems. We're looking at other ways (to save)."

Reducing travel costs also was being discussed.

Stanford has 35 sports teams, 19 for women, 15 for men and one coed squad.

College basketball coaches rescheduled practices, Super Bowl press conferences were moved and NBA teams changed travel schedules for a chance towitness history.

Muhammad Ali, Magic Johnson and Ray Allen were just a few athletes who had front row seats for President Obama's inauguration at the capital.

George Mason basketball coach Jim Larranaga pulled his players off the court and took them to the locker room to watch the swearing-in and Obama's speech.

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin pushed back his first pre-Super Bowl news conference one hour so it wouldn't conflict with the inauguration.

NBA superstar LeBron James watched from a hotel room in Los Angeles with his two sons.

The Boston Celtics, on the way to Miami for a road game, voted to change their flight schedule and arrive in time for the players to watch the ceremony from their hotel.

Did you watch the inauguration on TV or the Internet?

With Tennessee falling out of the AP Top 25 poll this week, the Southeastern Conference does not have a ranked men's basketball team (Tennessee was not ranked in last week's ESPN/USA Today poll, meaning this is the second consecutive week without a ranked SEC-squad in that poll).

Considering the SEC has some traditional power programs (Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee to name a few), how surprising is this? Do you think the SEC will recover this season?

With a projected state funding shortfall of at least $66 million, the University of Tennessee is exploring the use of generating more money for education from athletics.

Tennessee says its athletics operation is among fewer than 10 departments in the country that receive no funds from state subsidies or taxes.

According to the Knoxville News, Tennessee President John Petersen has asked athletic directors Mike Hamilton and Joan Cronan to form a team to examine efficiencies in their departments, while Tennessee trustee Doug Horne says the athletic departments should streamline to give more funding to academics.

"We have to look at all matters during these troubled times so everyone can be more efficient," Horne told the Knoxville News. "The athletic department is not exempt - it is part of the university."

What do you think about institutions relying on their athletics departments to generate revenue for the rest of the school?

Dr Brand, My family and I will keep you in our prayers. I wish you the best in your recovery.

This post was written by Dan Tudor. He is the founder of Selling for Coaches, a training program that teaches advanced recruiting and communication skills to college coaches and athletic departments around the country. He will be blogging about recruiting training for Double-A Zone. Click here for more information about the company.

College coaches have heard the stories. We all have. In fact, they're getting more and more frequent.

A high school sophomore gives a verbal commitment to a college program. A freshman declares his allegiance to a college coach after playing his first prep season. College coaches troll tournaments for high school underclassmen who might be the next big catch in the high stakes game of college recruiting.

As the "early recruiting" anecdotes become more and more commonplace, so do the questions that some around college sports are beginning to ask about the logic - and even the ethics - of high school athletes committing early to a college program.

A Division III softball coach who reads the Double- A Zone blog regularly and follows the recruiting advice of Selling for Coaches contacted me last week about the issue of early recruiting. In his sport, early recruiting is a fact of life; the good prospects commit early, a trend that has been accelerating over the past decade.

"The biggest problem I see in early recruiting is that it doesn't have the athlete's best educational interest in mind," said the coach, who wanted to remain anonymous. "Even most college freshmen remain undecided about their major because they're not sure what they want to study, and if that's true most high school freshmen certainly have no idea."

And that, contends this coach, is the problem with the trend of early recruiting. "These prospects have no basis for deciding if the school they're committing to is a good match for their academic and professional interests."

This college coach isn't the only one concerned about the issue of early recruiting.

The question is, can anything more be done to reduce it? Moreover, should anything be done?

Can the NCAA extend its reach and prevent non-binding verbal commitments?

Probably not.

It would be virtually impossible to prevent an athlete from telling a college coach that they want to play for them. It's hard not to agree that the current NCAA rules limiting when a prospect can make their commitment official is sufficient. To date, no new proposals offering significant limits on the ability of a student-athlete to give a college coach an early commitment are on the table.

With those realities in mind, here is the advice we would give college coaches who want to aggressively - and ethically - get in front of young student-athlete prospects who they might want as a part of their collegiate program a few years down the road:

Coaches need to be guides. Deep down, young prospects and their parents want direction through the complicated world of college recruiting. Coaches who take the time to answer questions and give advice are going to rise to the top of that athlete's list immediately.

Coaches need to respect the decision making process of a high school prospect. Whether you deem it in their best interest or not, they have the freedom to make their own choices. And sometimes, they will make it earlier than you think they should. In hindsight, some will have made terrible mistakes in committing too early. Others will have a great college experience.

Coaches need to understand that many prospects want to get the process done sooner rather than later. The promise of a paid college education is a powerful thing, and it should come as no surprise that today's teens and their parents put a big value on securing it as soon as possible. In addition, the studies Selling for Coaches has done with high school prospects strongly suggest that the recruiting process is both stressful and confusing. Many of today's prospects cite the pressure of the process itself in wanting to end it as soon as possible.

Coaches who want to succeed need to get in front of prospects as early as possible. There are plenty of creative ways to put your message and your program's high points in front of young high school athletes you would want to attract. In some sports, this is absolutely essential for long-term success. In others, it is a way to get a big jump on your competition for recruits.

Early recruiting is a fact of life in today's recruiting environment. If you creatively and ethically use the additional time to expose their prospects to their program will find those athletes eager to take a serious look at what you have to offer...and maybe secure the services of some pretty good athletes earlier than you ever have before.

Sunday's AFC Championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers didn't go the way Baltimore Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Flacco was hoping.

In the Ravens' 23-14 loss to the Steelers, Flacco completed just 43.3 percent of his passes (13 of 30) for 141 yards, and threw three interceptions (after not throwing an interception in his first 49 playoff passes). His quarterback rating of 18.2 was his lowest in his 19-game NFL career.

Despite his struggles this past weekend, Flacco made history during the Ravens' run in the playoffs. He became the first rookie in NFL history to win two playoff games after Baltimore's upset win over the Tennessee Titans two Saturdays ago.

He guided Baltimore into the NFL's version of the Final Four, an awesome feat for a rookie signal-caller.

Flacco isn't your ordinary rookie NFL quarterback. He didn't play at a high-profile Division I school. He never played in a BCS bowl game. Heck, he never saw the field in any college bowl game.

Instead, Flacco competed at Delaware, a Division I FCS program. In 2007, he led the Blue Hens to the FCS National Championship game against Appalachian State. Flacco set 20 school records in his two seasons at Delaware.

In last year's NFL Draft, Flacco was taken by Baltimore with the 18th overall selection, He become the highest drafted FCS quarterback since Steve McNair was taken third overall in 1994.

While Flacco's on-the-field success on both at the college and professional level has been impressive, his off-the -field story is equally as compelling.

Flacco was raised in a small, blue-collar New Jersey town. His high school graduating class only had 167 kids.

After initially attending Pittsburgh and sitting behind quarterback Tyler Palko, Flacco decided to transfer. However, there wasn't much demand for Flacco's services from high-level Division I schools, and as a result, he settled on Delaware.

To complicate matters even further, Pitt Coach Dave Wannstedt wouldn't release Flacco from his scholarship when he wanted to transfer. This forced Flacco to sit out the 2005 season, and he also wasn't eligible for a scholarship for the 2005-06 school year.

When you read this Baltimore Sun feature on Flacco, written after April's NFL Draft, you'll realize how special Flacco really is. He's a simple, hard working kid who has earned everything he's ever achieved. How many NFL quarterbacks were accounting majors in college and had never owned a car when they entered the league?

In a society where athletes often become role models for the wrong reasons, Flacco is a humbling reminder of what is good in professional sports. From hearing about Flacco, it appears the fame and money that go along with NFL stardom have not altered him in the slightest bit.

Take a few minutes to read the Baltimore Sun story about Flacco and you'll be impressed too.

Barack Obama took the oath of office today as the 44th president of the United States and pledged, "starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."

President Obama addressed a huge crowd estimated at more than 2 million people, on the capital's Mall and millions of others watching on television and the Internet.

He delivered a sobering assessment of where America stands and a broad vision of what it can become. He also pledged to improve the education system.

"We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do."

After Providence's Jeff Xavier was hit in the face going for a layup, his brother came out of the stands to yell at the referee. The man, Jonathan Xavier, yelled at the referee but ever touched him. Security guards grabbed him and took him off the floor. He was charged with disorderly conduct.

Last night, the top two women's basketball teams in the nation squared off, and it wasn't much of a contest. On the road, No. 1 UConn rolled past second-ranked North Carolina, 88-58. Have you ever seen a more lopsided one versus two matchup in college basketball?

NCAA President Myles Brand talks about the importance of diversifying the intercollegiate athletics community. Watch this second episode with host Anthony Calhoun:

On Saturday NCAA President Myles Brand sent university presidents at NCAA institutions, athletics directors and NCAA staff the following e-mail regarding his health:

Colleagues,

Very recently the diagnosis of my health problem has been confirmed. I have pancreatic cancer. The long-term prognosis is not good. I am currently undergoing chemotherapy, and I am receiving excellent care. I will know in the next several months the success of this treatment. I shared this information with the NCAA Executive Committee this afternoon.

I will let you know if there is a change in my condition. But I do want to take this time to sincerely thank all those who wished me well when they learned that I was ill. Your supportive thoughts, good wishes and prayers have given me strength. From my heart, I thank you for it.

Myles Brand

Watch this exclusive interview with tennis legend and NCAA Ford Winner Billie Jean King. Billie Jean wants to hear from you, so make sure to add your comments.

The biggest issue has to be the economy, travel costs, etc. Athletic departments are going to have to be smart to get through these tough times.

Today, as the 2009 Convention begins to wind down, we asked Convention attendees the following question: What's been your favorite part of this year's Conventon? You can see the responses in the video below.

Additionally, here are the questions and accompanying videos from the Questions from Convention series from the previous three days:
Day 3: How important is good fan behavior at college sporting events?
Day 2: What's the biggest issue facing intercollegiate athletics?
Day 1: What Convention session are you most excited for?

DePauw softball student-athlete Megan Soultz is currently serving a winter-term internship with a firehouse in New York City. Shortly after the U.S. Airways airplane crash yesterday afternoon in the Hudson River, Soultz was on the scene, helping with the rescue efforts. Luckily, all 155 people on the airplane survived the crash.

At DePauw, Soultz is a standout pitcher on the school's softball team. Last season, she went 36-4, which led all of Division III in wins. She is a two-time all-America selection.