SEMO SLAPPED BY NCAA
Both the men's and women's basketball programs at Southeast Missouri State were placed on two years of probation by the NCAA Wednesday for rules violations. The penalties in the women's program involve impermissible housing, transportation and meals. Also included is a lack of institutional control for the university and a failure to monitor by former head coach of the women's basketball team, B.J. Smith. The case included violations for impermissible travel expenses in the men's basketball program. Three student-athletes traveled with the team and received travel expenses even though they were ineligible to compete because they were serving a year in residence. Because of the penalties, the women's team will have to vacate the records from the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, which amount to a total of 44 victories. The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions ruled that some of these violations gave the school a competitive advantage in recruiting due to the opportunity to acclimate to road travel and further integrate in the team, as well as the opportunity to receive additional coaching and practice time.
CROSS INKS INSIDE PLAYER
Murray State women's head basketball coach Rob Cross has announced the signing of Kristen Kluempers, a 6'2" forward from Fishers High School in Fishers, Ind. Kluempers signed with Marshall during the early signing period but was granted a full release from her National Letter of Intent, allowing her to sign with the Racers and be eligible to play immediately. Despite playing much of her senior season with a broken finger on her shooting hand, Kluempers played in every game and averaged nine points and nine rebounds a game, to go along with 2.2 blocks per game. An All-Conference Honorable Mention selection, Kluempers shot 55 percent from the field and 84.1 percent from the free throw line. Kluempers was named by the Indianapolis Star as an All-State Honorable Mention, and earned an Indiana Top 60 All-Star tryout. In the classroom, Kluempers ranked in the top-10 in her class with a 3.96 GPA, and will major in nursing at MSU. Kluempers also received the Senior Athletic Award Honor, given to top senior in each sport. Kluempers' sister, Lindsey, has played at Eastern Illinois the past three seasons and will be a senior in the fall.
MSU KICKOFF TIMES ANNOUNCED
With the start of Fall Camp just over six weeks away, Murray State has announced the start time for 11 of its 12 games during the 2008 season. Only the start time for the game at Western Kentucky is still to be decided. The Racers will play under the lights this season as each of their first three home games and five of their first six overall will played at night. The season will kick off Roy Stewart Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. against Lambuth. MSU will make a national television appearance the following weekend as the Racers game against Indiana will be televised on the Big Ten Network. Kick time is set for 6 p.m. CST. The non-conference home slate continues on Sept. 13 with a 6 p.m. contest against Illinois State, before traveling to take on WKU. The Ohio Valley Conference season will begin with a pair of night games as MSU hosts UT Martin on Sept. 27 and then travels to Austin Peay on Oct. 4. Both games are set to begin at 6 p.m. Homecoming will take place on Oct. 11 against Tennessee Tech and begin at 3 p.m. The Racers will then hit the road for two games at Jacksonville State (Oct. 18, 4 p.m.) and Eastern Illinois (Nov. 1, 1:30 p.m.). The Racers final three games will be played in the early afternoon as Southeast Missouri (Nov. 8) and Tennessee State (Nov. 22) visit Stewart Stadium for 1 p.m. kickoffs. The Nov. 15 game at Eastern Kentucky will begin at 12 p.m. CST.
TITANS UPDATE
The Titans took the field for their second practice of the week Wednesday and started to build toward training camp. Wednesday featured much praise going towards an unlikely player, and a position that had many Titan fans worried entering this offseason. The position: wide receiver. The player: Lavelle Hawkins. The Titans fourth-round draft pick from California made many exceptional plays in Wednesday's practice, including a touchdown grab from quarterback Vince Young which went for more than 60 yards. The stellar play from Hawkins will be a welcomed sight for many who questioned the lack of devotion early in the draft to taking a receiver on the Titans part. With inconsistencies at the position last season, and the team's 2007 leading receiver Roydell Williams currently out with an injury, Hawkins is making the most of his opportunity in camp.
CARDS
David DeJesus and Alex Gordon hit solo homers in the top of the eighth inning to lift the Royals to a 3-2 win over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. John Buck got Kansas City on the board with an RBI single in the seventh. Brian Bannister scattered two runs and nine hits over seven innings to move to 6-and-6 with the win. Joakim Soria closed it out for his 17th save. The Royals have won four straight and five-of-six. Ryan Ludwick and Jason LaRue plated runs for St. Louis in defeat. Braden Looper yielded just one run on five hits in seven frames in a no-decision. Kyle McClellan took the loss in relief. The Cardinals battle the Royals today at 12:32 on 1340 WNBS.
REYES DISABLED
Cardinals right-hander Anthony Reyes was expected to make the start against the Royals today in place of Todd Wellemeyer, but the 26-year-old was scratched from the lineup and placed on the disabled list instead. Reyes is suffering from a right elbow strain. Brad Thompson will be activated from the DL and will take the mound today as the Cards look to salvage one game of the series against the Royals. In other injury news, Mark Mulder is scheduled to pitch in a rehab game for Triple-A Memphis today and Matt Clement is slated to pitch a rehab game
NATIONAL SPORTS REPORT
Major League Baseball
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J.D. Drew tied a career high with four hits, including an early three-run
homer, and drove in four as Boston cruised past Philadelphia, 7-4, in the
finale of a three-game interleague set at Citizens Bank Park. Mike Lowell
homered and scored twice, Dustin Pedroia picked up three hits and Brandon
Moss added a key two-run single for the Red Sox, who have won four of their
last five. Justin Masterson (4-1) picked up the win for Boston, going five
innings and yielding only four hits and two runs. Pedro Feliz had two RBI
while Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth knocked in a run each for the Phillies,
who have dropped four of five. Kyle Kendrick (6-3) was dented for six hits
and six runs in three innings in the loss.
Elsewhere in Interleague play:
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Detroit Tigers 7, San Francisco Giants 2
Baltimore Orioles 2, Houston Astros 1 (10 innings)
New York Yankees 8, San Diego Padres 5
Tampa Bay Rays 5, Chicago Cubs 4
Atlanta Braves 5, Texas Rangers 2
Milwaukee Brewers 5, Toronto Blue Jays 4
Minnesota Twins 11, Washington Nationals 2
Chicago White Sox 8, Pittsburgh Pirates 2
Kansas City Royals 3, St. Louis Cardinals 2
Colorado Rockies 4, Cleveland Indians 2
Arizona Diamondbacks 11, Oakland Athletics 1
New York Mets 5, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 4 (10 innings)
Florida Marlins 8, Seattle Mariners 3
National League
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James Loney went 2-for-3 with a home run and two runs batted in, and the Los
Angeles Dodgers cruised past the Cincinnati Reds, 6-1, in the middle contest
of their three-game set at Great American Ball Park. Juan Pierre went 2-for-4
with a triple and two RBI for the Dodgers, who have won two straight after a
five-game losing streak. Andre Ethier went 3-for-4 and knocked in a run, while
Blake DeWitt doubled and scored. Derek Lowe (5-6) held the Reds to a run on
three hits in 5 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking two, to pick up his
first road win of the season. Edwin Encarnacion homered for the Reds, who saw
their losing streak run to four games. Bronson Arroyo (4-6), Lowe's teammate
on the 2004 Boston Red Sox, allowed all six runs on seven hits in 6 1/3
frames to take the loss. Arroyo fanned six and walked just one.
=== GOLF ===
Tiger Woods has decided to undergo season-ending reconstructive left knee
surgery. The news came two days after he won the U.S. Open in a 19-hole
playoff against Rocco Mediate. In addition to the knee surgery, Woods also
revealed he will require the time off to rehabilitate a double stress fracture
of his left tibia that was discovered prior to the Memorial Tournament last
month. The stress fractures were attributed to Woods' rehabilitation from
previous arthroscopic knee surgery and preparations for the U.S. Open. In the
release on his Web site, Woods noted he originally ruptured the ACL in 2007
following the British Open when he was running at his home in Orlando. At that
point, he elected to not have surgery, and instead attempted to play through
the pain. Woods won nine of 12 tournaments, including a pair of majors, after
the discovery of the torn ACL.
=== NBA ===
Boston fans will get a chance to celebrate the city's 17th NBA championship on
Thursday with a "rolling rally" to honor the Celtics. Boston Mayor Tom Menino
told a local radio station that the celebration will begin at 11 a.m. (et) on
Thursday. The rally is expected to start at the TD Banknorth Garden, where the
Celtics captured the title on Tuesday night with a 131-92 blowout victory over
the Los Angeles Lakers. Boston also held "rolling rallies" to celebrate recent
championships from Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox and the National
Football League's New England Patriots.
=== NFL ===
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson underwent arthroscopic surgery
on his right ankle. The procedure, which was performed by Bengals orthopedic
surgeon Angelo Colosimo, was completed without complication, and Johnson is
expected to be ready in time for training camp in late July. Johnson has had a
roller coaster offseason, pushing to be traded from the Bengals. However, he
reported in time for minicamp, although he didn't participate fully in any of
the practices. A five-time Pro Bowl selection, Johnson had 93 receptions for a
career-high 1,440 yards and eight touchdowns last season.
=== MLB ===
The New York Yankees signed veteran righty Sidney Ponson to a minor league
contract on Wednesday in an attempt to bulk up their starting rotation. The
31-year-old Ponson was 4-1 with a 3.88 earned run average in nine starts
before being designated for assignment by the Texas Rangers on June 6. The
Yankees also announced that they have claimed right-hander Oneli Perez off
waivers from the Cleveland Indians and optioned him to Double-A Trenton. In
order to make room on the 40-man roster, the Yankees transferred righty
Jonathan Albaladejo to the 60-day disabled list. New York suffered a serious
blow to its pitching staff as ace Chien-Ming Wang went down with a Lisfranc
injury and will be shelved until at least September. Dan Giese is set to make
Saturday's start against the Cincinnati Reds in lieu of Wang.
=== NHL ===
The National Hockey League Board of Governors unanimously approved the sales
of the Edmonton Oilers and Tampa Bay Lightning at its annual meeting on
Wednesday. The Oilers are changing hands from the 34-member Edmonton Investors
Group, which agreed to sell the club in February to Darryl Katz, an Alberta
native and Rexall pharmacy billionaire, for $200 million. The Lightning, who
had been owned by Palace Sports and Entertainment, will be acquired by
Absolute Hockey Enterprises. The group is headed by Hollywood producer Oren
Koules and includes former NHL head coach and general manager Doug MacLean
with former NHLer Len Barrie.
=== COLLEGE BASEBALL ===
Cord Phelps had three hits and drove in two runs with a triple, as the
Stanford Cardinal stayed alive at the College World Series with an 8-3 victory
over Miami Wednesday night, thus eliminating the top-seeded Hurricanes from
postseason competition. Stanford is no stranger to elimination games this
postseason, having won four straight at the Stanford Regional after having
dropped its regional opener to UC Davis on May 30. Now, the Cardinal advance
to the Bracket 1 finals against Georgia, but need to beat the Bulldogs twice
to make it to the championship series. Georgia already beat Stanford, 4-3, on
Monday.
=== COLLEGE BASKETBALL ===
Air Force signed men's basketball head coach Jeff Reynolds on Wednesday to a
new five-year contract that runs through the 2012-13 season. Details of the
deal, which is still going through the Academy process, are still being worked
out. Reynolds, who was promoted to the head coaching position in April of
2007, completed his first season at the helm of Air Force with a 16-14 record
and guided the Falcons to a fifth-place finish in the Mountain West
Conference.
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