Waynesburg's baseball field

Waynesburg has a slideshow of its new baseball field during the construction phases.

See slideshow here.

Web site celebrates Texas Western 1966 win

New UTEP Web Site Salutes Historic 1966 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champs

In honor of the 44th anniversary of Texas Western College’s stunning victory over the University of Kentucky in the 1966 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, a comprehensive Web site that salutes the coaches and players of this historic and defining moment in sports is ready to be enjoyed at



The dynamic Web site is a collection of photos, stories, interviews and memorabilia that chronicles the lives of the people involved in that magical championship season that culminated with a decisive 72-65 triumph by the Texas Western Miners over the heavily favored Kentucky Wildcats. TWC, now The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), is the first and only university in Texas to win an NCAA men’s basketball title.

The game, which was played at the University of Maryland’s Cole Field House, featured the first all-black starting quintet in an NCAA championship game. The victory by the Miners helped open the door for African-American players to be more readily recruited onto collegiate athletic teams across the country.

The team was led by Don “The Bear” Haskins, a legendary coach who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997. The hall bestowed the same honor on the team 10 years later. The Miners’ victory “was a key turning point in the civil rights movement in general and in the integration of college athletics in particular,” according to the team’s hall of fame biography.

This technological tribute includes many never before seen photos provided by the Haskins family; interviews with Haskins’ wife, Mary Haskins, and UTEP President Diana Natalicio; historic championship game photos; copies of the 1966 Final Four championship program; the 1965-66 TWC media guide; video highlights of the historic game; and links to stories that chronicled the Miners’ fantastic journey into history.

Haskins died in 2008, but his legacy and that of the ‘66 Miners basketball team will live on through the words and images included in this e-celebration of their accomplishment that changed our country.

The Web site was designed and constructed by UTEP’s office of University Communications.

Basketball coaching silly season

The NCAA tournament hasn't started yet and already Pitt coach Jamie Dixon, pictured, is rumored to be a candidate to fill the vacant basketball coaching openings at DePaul and Oregon.

DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto said Tuesday the Chicago school is willing to open the checkbook to sign a big-name coach, stating that the next leader of the Blue Demons could have a salary that “would definitely be in the top half and it would be comparably close to the very top” in the Big East.

According to the NBC affiliate in Chicago, DePaul is targeting Dixon as its No. 1 choice with Kansas State's Frank Martin the second choice. The Chicago Sun-Times also mentioned that Dixon could be a candidate.

Oregon fired coach Ernie Kent on Tuesday. The Ducks, with the backing of Nike, are set to open the Matthew Knight Arena (named after the deceased son of Nike co-founder Phil Knight) next season. With a $200 million pricetag, it will be the most expensive on-campus basketball arena in the country. They need a coach who can increase interest in a program that averaged slightly more than 7,000 fans per game this year.

John Hunt of The Oregonian wrote about 10 potential candidates, ranking Dixon the No.3 candidate:

3. Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh: The only knock on the wildly successful Panthers coach is that his style of play isn’t all that entertaining. A former assistant under UCLA coach Ben Howland, Dixon’s offenses are on the deliberate side.

Accomplishments: Since taking over the Panthers in 2003, Dixon is 187-53, with two Sweet Sixteens and an Elite Eight.

Affordability: Dixon, 44, makes a reported $1.6 million, but the belief is that it will take a full $2 million to lure him from Pitt.

Attitude: He is a native of Burbank, Calif., and a member of the Screen Actors Guild. So even if he doesn’t bleed green and yellow, he’d do a really good job of faking it.

Bells will be ringing in the NIT

Cheap Shot of the Basketball Postseason had early two contenders on the opening night of the NIT. Seton Hall's Herb Pope (Aliquippa High School product) punched a Texas Tech player in the groin twice in as many possessions Tuesday night, leading to his ejection and helping Seton Hall make the decision to fire coach Bobby Gonzalez easier.

There also was Jackson State's Phillip Williams punching Mississippi State's Dee Bost in the groin and getting ejected.

By the way, Washington's Ray Natili was officiating the Seton Hall-Texas Tech game. Natili also officiated the ACC tournament championship game Sunday.

The Butler did it – 5 times

Here are five game-winning shots this season by West Virginia's Da'Sean Butler:

Digging through the vault

If your favorite team advanced to the Sweet 16 or beyond in the NCAA basketball tournament in the last decade, here's a place where you can watch a replay of those games. NCAA Vault has complete CBS telecasts of every Sweet 16 game and beyond from 2000-09. Use the filter to select your team or simply watch highlights of certain plays. has complete CBS telecasts of every Sweet 16 game and beyond from 2000-09. The best part is it's commercial free.

Watch here.

It's a good way to kill some time and rekindle memories.

End of the Big East?

Sometimes you have to wonder if West Virginia football coach Bill Stewart, pictured, thinks before he speaks. But, hey, at least he doesn't spout off cliches and coachspeak at every opportunity. Depending on which way you look at, Stewart is either interesting or embarrassingly funny.

For example:

Stewart recently was interviewed by a television station in Parkersburg, W.Va., and talked about several subjects, the most interesting of which was his hint that Big East football as we know it is on life support. He is the first Big East official or coach to talk to the media about possible defections from the league.

When asked about the Big Ten possibly raiding the Big East, Stewart had the following to say:

"It's exciting. It's disheartening as well. ... The Big Ten could ... they'll pick a couple of our teams. However, the SEC and the ACC will also do the same, so that's exciting. I don't know where we're going to land. We could land, whatever, in one of maybe three conferences, the ACC, the SEC, maybe the Big Ten.

"But right now, we're still Big East and we need to keep that focus. And that's the disheartening thing, when you break up a Big East contingency like we had. We had a lot of fun, a lot of rivals, and I hate to see that end. But there are exciting times on the horizon with new conferences. We'll be in one of them; which one I don't know, I really don't. But that's down the road a couple of years, I do believe."

As for West Virginia's future, Stewart said:

"Let's say the SEC invites us in. Well, that gives us a certain prestige. Then you say, where are we geographically compared to them? Now would the ACC be better? Well, geographically it might be, but clout-wise would it be? If the Big Ten would says, hey, come on in, that's an East-West travel. Probably the ACC would be the best travel league. But, really, football-wise, the ACC, SEC, Big Ten ... any will be good. I just hate to see the Big East disband."

Watch here.

The interesting parts don't come until a little more than seven minutes into the video.

Ferraro out as Waynesburg basketball coach

Frank Ferraro, head men's basketball coach at Waynesburg University, will not return for another season.

The school did not announce the decision or mention if Ferraro was fired or had resigned. A source confirmed Friday that Ferraro will not be returning. On Waynesburg's Web site, the job of head men's basketball coach is listed among the school's job openings.

Ferraro replaced Waynesburg atheltic director Rudy Marisa as the Yellow Jackets' head coach prior to the 2003-04 season. He guided Waynesburg to a 16-11 record and spot in the Presidents' Athletic Conference tournament championship game in 2006. Since then, the Yellow Jackets' record has slipped each season.

After being picked as the preseason favorite in the PAC for the 2006-07 season, Waynesburg stumbled to a 12-13 record and lost its first game in the PAC tournament.

Over the last three seasons, Waynesburg has gone 8-17, 6-19 and 2-22. With only one senior on the roster this year, the Yellow Jackets went 0-12 in PAC play and lost its last 11 games overall. The 22 losses are a school single-season record.

Prior to arriving at Waynesburg as an assistant in 2001, Ferraro was head coach at Moon (1998-2001), Burgettstown (1983-98) and South Fayette (1979-82). He coached Burgettstown to three consecutive section titles.

At Waynesburg, Ferraro had a 63-116 record.

Killeen among top free-throw shooters in NCAA history

Washington & Jefferson College senior point guard Kennan Killeen, pictured, the 2010 Presidents’ Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, finished her career as the ninth-best free-throw shooter in NCAA Division III history.

Killeen, who scored 1,189 career points, made 85.6 percent (339-of-396) of her free throws during four seasons with the Presidents.

Anderson (Ind.) College's Angel Hall, a 2004 graduate, is the top free-throw shooter in NCAA Division III history at 89.5 percent (323-of-361).

Killeen likely could help many Division I men's teams with their free-throw shooting. For example, DePaul. The Blue Demons, who were eliminated from the Big East tournament earlier today, ranked 347th out of 347 Division I teams in free-throw shooting at 58.5 percent. The Blue Demons have three players shooting less than 50 percent from the line.

Double play for Baughman

Waynesburg University's Amanda Baughman, pictured, received a rare double honor Monday from the Presidents' Athletic Conference. A Washington High School graduate, Baughman was named both the PAC's softball Hitter of the Week and its Pitcher of the Week.

A junior, Baughman hit a three-run double Sunday to give Waynesburg (2-2) a 4-2 victory over Trine in the Rebel Games at Kissimmee, Fla. Baughman also was the winning pitcher in that game, tossing a two-hitter with only one walk.

Baughman led Waynesburg with a .325 batting average and four home runs last year. She had a 6-6 record as a pitcher.

Cal women to host subregional

The California University of Pennsylvania women’s basketball team received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II tournament and will host a subregional beginning Friday night at Hamer Hall.
California (23-7), the runner-up in the PSAC tournament, is the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic Regional and will play No. 7 seed Virginia State (22-6) of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
The second game of the Friday doubleheader matches West Liberty State (22-8) against Millersville (23-5).
The winners will meet in the regional semifinals Saturday at 7 p.m.
The other half of the Atlantic Regional will be played at top-seeded and PSAC champion Gannon. The regional championship game will be played Monday on the home court of the highest remaining seed.
Cal has made the NCAA tournament nine consecutive seasons, a record for PSAC schools. The Vulcans have advanced to the Elite Eight two years in a row.
The Atlantic Regional champion advances to the Elite Eight in St. Joseph, Mo., which was the site of California’s 2004 national championship.

UPDATE: Tip-off for the California-Virginia State has been moved to 6 p.m. It will be the first game of the doubleheader.

The regional schedule:

NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional
California Subregional
Friday, March 12
at Hamer Hall
No. 2 California (23-7) vs. No. 7 Virginia State (22-6), 6 p.m.
No. 3 West Liberty (22-8) vs. No. 6 Millersville (23-5), 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 13
California-Virginia State winner vs. West Liberty-Millersville winner, 7 p.m.
Gannon Subregional
at Gannon’s Hammermill Center
Friday, March 12
No. 1 Gannon (33-0) vs. No. 8 Fairmont State (21-9), 6 p.m.
No. 4 Fayetteville State (20-9) vs. No. 5 Seton Hill (22-7), 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 13
Gannon-Fairmont State winner vs. Fayetteville State-Seton Hill winner, 7 p.m.
Championship Game
Monday, March 15
At highest remaining seed
Subregional winners

Vincent named Coach of Year

Former California University women's basketball coach Darcie Vincent has been named Coach of the Year in the Southern Conference.

Vincent, in her second season at Appalachian State, has quickly turned around the Mountaineers' program. After finishing 9-22 overall and 7-13 in the conference and ending last season eighth in the league standings, Appalachian State finished the this season third in the conference with a 14-6 record and an 18-11 overall mark. The 18 wins and 14 conference victories are the most in a season for the Mountaineers since 1995-96.

Vincent's team is the youngest in the Southern Conference, with only one upperclassman in a playing capacity and four freshman totaling 50 percent of the team's minutes played and 53 percent of its scoring.

Vincent coached California to the 2004 NCAA Division II national championship. One of ASU's assistants is Heather Kearney, who succeeded Vincent as Cal's coach for the 2008-09 season.