WNBA Lowers Boom on Sparks & Shock

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- The WNBA lowered the boom Thursday on the Los Angeles Sparks and Detroit Shock, suspending 10 players and one assistant coach in response to the ugliest incident in league history.

Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles' top two players, and Shock assistant Rick Mahorn headlined the list of individuals penalized as a result of Tuesday night's bench-clearing brawl between the teams. "The WNBA and its players represent all that is good about sports: passion, hard work and sacrifice," league president Donna Orender said in a statement issued Thursday afternoon. "On a nightly basis, our players display extraordinary skill, athleticism and competitive fire. The events Tuesday, however, were inexcusable and in no way indicative of what the league stands for."

Parker and Leslie, the Sparks' two leading scorers, each were suspended one game for throwing punches during the brawl. Mahorn, an assistant coach for the Shock and former forward for the NBA's Detroit Pistons, was suspended two games for escalating the altercation. The stiffest penalty was issued to Detroit's Plenette Pierson, who was suspended four games for initiating the fight by confronting Parker. Other Shock players suspended were Kara Braxton, Tasha Humphrey, Elaine Powell and Sheri Sam, all of whom were given one-game bans for leaving the bench area during the brawl. Sparks forward Murriel Page and guard Shannon Bobbitt each were suspended two games for leaving the bench and becoming physically involved in the fight. DeLisha Milton-Jones, Los Angeles' third-leading scorer, also received a one-game suspension.

In order to enable both teams to dress the minimum number of players, the start dates of the suspensions have been staggered. Parker, Leslie, Bobbitt and Milton-Jones will serve their suspensions Thursday when the Sparks visit the Connecticut Sun. Page will miss Friday's road game against the New York Liberty. Mahorn, Pierson, Braxton and Humphrey also will start their suspensions Thursday when the Shock visit the Houston Comets. Powell and Sam both will serve their suspensions at later dates.

The brawl began in the waning seconds of Los Angeles' 84-81 victory when Parker, this year's No. 1 overall draft selection, and Pierson got tangled up following a free throw and fell to the floor. Pierson then charged Parker, who slung the Detroit center to the court, igniting the incident. Mahorn came off the bench - presumably as a peacemaker - but the 6-10, 300-plus pounder created more violence when he inadvertently knocked Leslie to the floor. Milton-Jones came to Leslie's defense by punching Mahorn in the back. Parker, Pierson, Mahorn and Milton-Jones all were ejected as a result of the brawl, which also resulted in a season-ending knee injury to Shock forward Cheryl Ford.

Leslie, a former league MVP, reacted regrettably after the game, telling reporters that the players involved in the fracas had misrepresented the WNBA, a league desperate for positive publicity. Orender echoed Leslie's sentiments in Thursday's statement, which said that on-court fights would not be tolerated. "We hold our players to a very high standard," Orender said. "These suspensions should serve notice that the behavior exhibited at the end of Tuesday's game will not be tolerated."

WNBA Stages First Outdoor Game

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- History was made Saturday, when the Indiana Fever posted a 71-55 victory over the New York Liberty in a WNBA game that was played at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the home of the United States Tennis Open. The contest, called the Liberty Outdoor Classic, was the first regular-season outdoor game in pro basketball history. It also was the first non-tennis sporting event to take place at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center.

Following the WNBA's lead, the NBA will conduct its own outdoor game in October, when the Suns play the Denver Nuggets in a preseason contest in Indian Wells, California. Basketball's foray into outdoor competition came after the NHL staged a regular-season game on New Year's Day between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the NFL's Buffalo Bills.

Hoopology Basketball Camp Comes to San Diego

Hoopology is an innovative basketball camp sponsored 24 Hour Fitness that is coming to San Diego in July at Alliant University. The camp is for boys and girls ages 12 to 18.

The focus of 24 Hour Fitness' Hoopology program is to streamline basketball skills and training, while promoting a healthier lifestyle for the whole family. Carl Liebert, CEO of 24 Hour Fitness, played
basketball at Naval Academy with David Robinson, and is the brainchild behind Hoopology.

The Director of Hoopology is Fentriss Winn, a long-time boys and girls high school basketball coach in San Diego and former San Diego State women's assistant coach.

These are the dates of the upcoming camps:
July 7-11 Alliant University Boys ages 12-18
July 21-24 Alliant University Girls ages 12-18

For Hoopology camp information, call 866.670.7753 or visit www.hoopology24hour.com

Hoops Hall of Fame Names Inductee

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing both were among the Basketball Hall of Fame's class of 2008, which was announced Monday. The NBA's all-time leading shot-blocker, Olajuwon led the University of Houston to three straight Final Fours from 1982-84 and the Houston Rockets to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. Ewing, who was an 11-time NBA All-Star, also began his career with three trips to the Final Four - winning Most Outstanding Player en route to an NCAA title with Georgetown in 1984. He is the New York Knicks' all-time leader in points, rebounds, steals, blocks and field goals. Also included in this year's class was Adrian Dantley, Pat Riley, Bill Davidson, Dick Vitale and Cathy Rush.

UNLV Turns Away Aztecs

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Wink Adams scored a game-high 23 points to lead UNLV over San Diego State 68-58 Tuesday in a Mountain West Conference game.

Joe Darger scored 13 points and Rene Rougeau added 10 points, nine rebounds, and three steals for the Rebels (21-6, 10-3).

UNLV could move into a first-place tie in the conference depending on the outcome of an overtime game with BYU at New Mexico Tuesday night. A BYU loss would put the Rebels in a first-place tie.

Lorrenzo Wade led the Aztecs (18-10, 8-6) with 19 points and nine rebounds. Billy White added nine points and six rebounds for San Diego State, which remains in fourth place in the Mountain West.

After trailing 33-31 at halftime, the Rebels opened the second half on a 13-3 run and never trailed again.

UNLV built its largest lead of the game 62-51 with 4:22 left.

The Aztecs built their largest lead at 14-6 with 12:28 left in the session. Adams eventually rallied the Rebels, scoring eight consecutive points, giving the Rebels a 24-23 lead with 5:11 until halftime.

Aztecs Stifle Air Force

SDSU 49, Air Force 38-------------------------------------------

SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State Aztecs defeated the Air Force Falcons, 49-38, at Cox Arena on Wednesday night. The Aztecs improved to 16-6 and moved into second-place tie with UNLV in the Mountain West, one game behind BYU with a 6-2 mark.

The game marked the 266th for coach Steve Fisher at SDSU, matching the 266 games he coached at Michigan. His record with the Aztecs is 143-123 while he was 184-82 with the Wolverines and won the 1989 national championship.

Toreros Hold Off Pepperdine

MALIBU, Calif. (USD) - De'Jon Jackson scored 20 points and San Diego held off a second-half charge from Pepperdine for a 61-58 victory Monday night. Rob Jones had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Toreros (13-11, 6-1 West Coast Conference), who won their fifth straight game.

USD also moved into a first place tie with Saint Mary's and Gonzaga after the Gaels dealt the Zags 89-85 overtime loss in Moraga. With USD holding onto a 59-58 lead in the closing seconds, Gyno Pomare snared a big rebound and was fouled with 12 seconds to go. He calmly converted both charities for the 3 point lead, and Pepperdine's Tyrone Shelley's was off the mark at the buzzer.

SoCal NCAA Preview

Arizona (15-6) at No. 5 UCLA (19-2), 6:00 pm, ESPN

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - Freshman Kevin Love and fifth-ranked UCLA aims to continue its winning ways when it hosts Arizona in a Pac-10 Conference matchup on Saturday.

The reigning Pac-10 Player of the Week, Love had his fifth straight double-double and 12th of the season in UCLA's 84-51 triumph over Arizona State on Thursday. Josh Shipp scored 21 points and Darren Collison added 14 and nine assists as UCLA (19-2, 7-1 Pac-10) jumped out to an 18-4 lead and led by double digits for nearly the entire contest. The Bruins have also won the last five meetings with the Wildcats, but Arizona comes in on a four-game winning streak.

Chase Budinger scored 29 points and Jawann McClellan added 23 as Arizona (15-6, 5-3) defeated Southern California, 80-69, on Thursday. Freshman Jerryd Bayless netted just 10 points in the win, but still leads the team in scoring at 19.3 points per game.

San Diego Upsets #20 St. Mary's

SAN DIEGO 63, (20) SAINT MARYS CA 55 ------------------------

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Brandon Johnson's late push kept San Diego from dealing with another close game. Johnson scored 10 of his 25 points over the final four minutes as the Toreros knocked off No. 20 Saint Mary's in a West Coast Conference showdown on Monday.

Having won three of its last four games by five points or less, San Diego (11-11, 4-1 WCC) found itself in another tight affair, especially after freshman Trumaine Johnson's jumper with 5:28 remaining tied the score at 48-48. After Patrick Mills came up short on a 3-pointer for Saint Mary's on the other end, Brandon Johnson took over. The junior guard connected on his second basket from the arc with 3:54 to go.

With the Gaels missing four straight field goals, De'Jon Jackson added a jumper for a 53-48 lead with 2:49 remaining before Brandon Johnson added five consecutive points over the next minute. Although Mills and Todd Golden responded with a jumper and a 3-pointer for Saint Mary's, Brandon Johnson's two free throws with 40 seconds to play made it 60-53. Jackson added three free throws in the closing 27 seconds to secure the third straight win for the Toreros.

While San Diego caught fire in the second half by shooting 67 percent (14-of-21), Saint Mary's (17-3, 4-1) went 9-of-27 from the field after halftime to have its five-game winning streak end. The loss also dropped the Gaels out of a first-place tie with Gonzaga atop the West Coast Conference standings. Mills had 13 points for Saint Mary's, which finished 40 percent (21-of-53) from the field and committed 16 turnovers.

USC's Mayo May Have Violated NCAA Rules

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Southern California freshman guard O.J. Mayo have have violated NCAA rules by accepting tickets to a Los Angeles Lakers game. Mayo told the Los Angeles Times that Carmelo Anthony of the NBA's Denver Nuggets gave him a pair of complimentary tickets to Monday's game contest against the Lakers. A spokesman for the NCAA told the Times that the organization does not comment on pending investigations.

USC sports information Tim Tessalone also declined to comment. NCAA by-law 16.11.2.2.3 states that student-athletes may not receive "free or reduced-cost admission to professional athletics competitions from professional sports organizations, unless such services are also available to the student body in general." According to the Times, Mayo received courtside seats with a face value of $230 each. Mayo is USC's leading scorer, averaging 19.7 points in 17 games.

Aztecs Travel For Contest With BYU

SDSU 14-4 (4-0) vs. BYU 13-5 (2-1), Weds. 5:05pm, the MTN, XTRA Sports
SAN DIEGO (SDSU) - The winners of the last two Mountain West Conference regular-season championships meet for the first time in 2008 on Wednesday night in Provo when first-place San Diego State (14-4; 4-0 MWC) battles preseason conference favorite Brigham Young (13-5; 2-1 MWC).

San Diego State won the 2006 MWC regular-season and conference championships and the Aztecs are 27-9 in league play since the beginning of the 2006 MWC campaign. Brigham Young won the 2007 regular-season title and is 27-8 in conference play since the start of the 2006 Mountain West season.

San Diego State and Brigham Young are meeting for the 61st time with the Cougars owning a 40-20 series advantage. The Aztecs have won four of the last six and seven of the last 12 encounters. San Diego State is 3-25 against Brigham Young in Provo with victories coming in 1985, 1996 and 2005. The teams have split the season series each of the past two seasons with the home team winning all four games.

Toreros Talk

SAN DIEGO (USD) - The University of San Diego women's basketball team (9-6, 0-1 West Coast) will welcome the West Coast Conference's defending champion and first place Gonzaga University Bulldogs to town on Thursday for the Toreros' WCC home opener. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the friendly confines of the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Gonzaga enters the game with a 11-6 overall record and sit on top of the WCC standings with a 2-0 mark after picking up wins over the Los Angeles based schools, Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine this past week. The Zags hold a 22-19 edge of the Toreros in the all-time series between the two programs. In fact, GU is currently riding a 10-game winning streak against USD with the Toreros' last win in the series coming on Feb. 7, 2002, a 63-48 win in Spokane.

UNC Remains #1 in Coaches' Poll

MCLEAN, Virginia (Ticker) -- One of just three unbeaten teams, North Carolina held on to the top ranking in the latest USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll released Monday. The Tar Heels, who improved to 17-0 with a pair of victories last week, picked up 23 of 31 first-place votes and 765 points overall.

North Carolina is No. 1 for the sixth straight week. The nation's other two unbeatens - Memphis (15-0) and Kansas (15-0) - remained second and third, respectively. The Tigers garnered six first-place votes and the Jayhawks two.

Washington State (14-1), Vanderbilt (16-1) and Mississippi (14-1) also suffered their first losses last week and dropped in the poll. UCLA (16-1), which defeated Washington State, 81-74, on Saturday to improve to 50-1 at home against the Cougars, remained fourth and is followed by Duke (13-1), which climbed two spots. Washington State slipped four slots to eighth. Georgetown (13-1), Tennessee (14-1), Washington State, Texas A&M (15-1) and Indiana (14-1) complete the top 10.

Tennessee jumped two spots after beating Mississippi, 85-83. Michigan State (14-2), which was held to a school record-low in the shot clock era in Saturday's 43-36 loss to Iowa, fell five spots to 11th. The Spartans are followed by Butler (16-1), Marquette (13-2), Vanderbilt (16-1), Mississippi, Pittsburgh (14-2), Wisconsin (13-2), Dayton (14-1), Texas (13-3) and Xavier (14-3). Vanderbilt slipped two notches following Saturday's 79-73 double-overtime defeat to Kentucky. Villanova (11-3) and Rhode Island (15-2) are tied for 21st, with Clemson (13-2), Miami (14-1) and Arizona State (13-2) completing the poll. Stanford and Arizona both fell from the rankings. Arizona had lost two in a row before beating Houston, 85-71, on Saturday.

Coach Fisher's Press Conference Quotes

SDSU Head Coach Steve Fisher MWC Press Conference Transcript

Source: SDSU

Opening comments:
"We are like everyone excited about the beginning of our MWC season. I think our non-conference has proved interesting for all of us and now we look forward to a great competitive league (season). We had some nice non-conference wins which was good to see. New Mexico beating Texas Tech, Utah beating Cal, BYU beating Louisville. Some really, really good wins out of league play and now we are going to beat up on one another. So now we are like everyone, excited and looking forward to it."

Q: How is the loss of Richie Williams going to affect the team:
"He's a three year starting point guard. When you take a critical piece out it always has some impact and yet we feel like we have adequate people who are there. D.J. Gay, a freshman guard, started when Richie didn't play the first three games of the season. Matt Thomas who missed (a majority) of last season with an injury coming off of major back surgery started some as a freshman and sophomore. He had been the odd man out and will get opportunities. Rather than carp about who you don't have, you just have to find a way to make good of who you do have.

Q: You expect Williams to miss four weeks?
"That's what we are hoping for. He broke two bones in that wrist so it's not like we can pick him up and spit on it and he will be ok, he's going to have to miss some time."

Q: Have you had the opportunity to see different teams in the league play?
"We have not done that at all. We are now getting ready for New Mexico. We have had the opportunity to watch UNLV because we have played a couple of teams that they have played but other than that, casually, we have seen a little bit. We watched some this weekend prior to our game against TCU, but we followed only scores and we have not followed or really watched teams. We have been worried about making our way through the non-conference season, but now we will be all about preparing for us for New Mexico. From your point with five new coaches in this league, it will be a change and an adjustment for all of us."

Q: How has Ryan Amoroso played thus far?
"He's done a good job. As you know he sat out last year, he was at San Diego State, after transferring from Marquette . He is a big body which is what we haven't had a lot of and is a nice presence inside. He has been a bit inconsistent with his offensive production, but we really do like Ryan and what he is bringing to the table. We feel that he will bode well for us as we move on into conference play."

Q: Have you seen improvement in (New Mexico's) J.R. Giddens this season?
"I have not watched them play at all so for me to comment other than looking at a stat sheet, I really couldn't. I know what we saw last year and he was a very talented player so I am assuming that, like everyone, he has made progress between his junior year and this year. He was very, very good last year. He's a force. He is a very, very good player."

USD Women Outlast UC Irvine

IRVINE (USD) - Four University of San Diego women's basketball players recorded double figures paced by junior center Amber Sprague's 28 to help lift the Toreros (9-5) to a 89-83 overtime win over UC Irvine (4-11) Sunday afternoon in a non-conference game at the Bren Center.

With her game-high 28 points, Sprague has moved her career point total to 999, just one point shy of becoming the 10th player in the history of the program to achieve the 1,000 career-point total. Kiva Herman was the second USD player in double figures with 18 points, Sam Child tied a career-high with 15 points and the final USD player in double figures was Morgan Henderson, who had 15 points. Senior guard Amanda Rego notched up 11 assists in the win. As a team, USD shot 44 percent from the field and were out rebounded 43-39.

Tritons Report

SANTA ROSA, CA (UCSD) - The UC San Diego men's basketball team won its sixth straight contest on Friday evening, defeating Sonoma State by a 58-54 score inside the Haehl Pavilion on the Santa Rosa Junior College campus. The game was moved to SRJC after a power outage on the SSU campus forced the game to be held elsewhere. With the win the Tritons remain atop the CCAA standings with their 3-0 league record and improve to 6-2 overall. The Seawolves fall to 6-4 overall and 2-2 in league action. UC San Diego got 21 points from Jordan Lawley and 12 more from Clint Allard, who also grabbed four rebounds and dished out a game-high six assists.

Dayton Cracks Top 25

MCLEAN, Virginia (Ticker) -- Dayton's stunning upset of then-No. 6 Pittsburgh catapulted the Flyers into the top 25 for the first time this season. Riding a 10-game winning streak, Dayton (11-1) climbed to 23rd in the latest USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll released Monday.

The Flyers handed Pittsburgh (11-1) its first loss of the season with a surprisingly easy 80-55 victory on Saturday. Brian Roberts scored 31 points for Dayton, which held Pittsburgh to 30 percent shooting. The Panthers dropped seven spots to 13th, the biggest fall of any team this week. Dayton is one of two Atlantic-10 Conference teams ranked in the top 25 as Rhode Island (13-1) jumped three spots to No. 22. Wisconsin pulled off the week's other major upset surprising then-No.9 Texas, 67-66, on Saturday. The Badgers (10-2) moved into the poll at No. 24, tied with St. Mary's (12-1), which also was ranked 24th for one week earlier in the season. Texas (11-2) slipped five spots to No. 14.

The top five remained unchanged, with North Carolina (13-0) receiving 23 of 31 first-place votes and 764 points to hold the top spot for the fourth straight week. The Tar Heels have a slim lead over No. 2 Memphis (11-0), which garnered seven first-place votes and 749 points. Kansas (13-0), which collected the final first-place vote, is third, with Washington State (12-0) and UCLA (12-1) completing the top five. Michigan State (12-1), Georgetown (9-1), Duke (10-1), Tennessee (12-1) and Texas A&M (12-1) round out the top 10.

Marquette (10-1) starts the second time, followed by Indiana (11-1), Pittsburgh, Texas, Vanderbilt (12-0). Villanova (10-1), Butler (12-1), Mississippi (12-0), Clemson (11-1) and Stanford (11-1). Completing the poll are Arizona (9-3), Rhode Island, Dayton, St. Mary's and Wisconsin. No. 19 Miami (12-1), No. 21 Brigham Young (10-3) and No. 23 West Virginia (10-2) all dropped out. Miami suffered its first loss of the season to Winthrop, 76-70, while West Virginia dropped a 88-82 double-overtime heartbreaker to Oklahoma.

Tritons Report

SAN DIEGO (UCSD) - The 3rd-ranked UC San Diego women's basketball team survived a valiant upset bid from Western Washington, pulling out a 79-76 double overtime thriller on Saturday night during the final game of the CCAA/GNAC Classic in RIMAC Arena. With the win the Tritons improve to 10-2 on the season while the Vikings drop to 3-9. 15th-ranked Seattle Pacific claimed the tournament crown with its 77-58 victory over Cal Poly Pomona in the first game on Saturday.

The Falcons' Jackie Hollands was named tournament MVP and was joined on the all-tournament squad by teammates Kelsey Hill and Beth Christensen. Meaghan Noud of UCSD, Vanessa Dominguez of CPP and India Soo of WWU rounded out the honorees.

USD Women to Face #19 Texas Sunday

SAN DIEGO (USD) - The University of San Diego women's basketball team (8-4) will conclude play in the Maggie Dixon Surf 'N Slam Classic on Sunday against the 19th-ranked University of Texas in the championship game at 8 p.m. inside the friendly confines of the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Texas enters the game with a 10-2 overall record after upsetting No. 12 DePaul in the first round game of the Maggie Dixon Surf 'N Slam Classic on Friday evening. The Longhorns and Toreros have met once in program history, in last season's championship game of the Surf 'N Slam with Texas walking away with a 73-45 win. UT and USD have no common opponents thus far through this season. Texas has four players averaging double figures led by Brittainey Raven's 16.5 points per game average.

USD Stuns Kentucky

LEXINGTON, KY (USD) -Brandon Johnson led San Diego with a career-high 27 points to stun Kentucky 81-72 on the Wildcats' home floor on Saturday before 23,756 fans at historic Rupp Arena. The Toreros led most of the first half and led at the break, 35-33. Kentucky tied the game at 31 and 33 but a pair of free throws by Gyno Pomare with 3.7 seconds to play gave the Toreros their halftime margin. Torero walk-on Devin Ginty gave the Toreros a huge boost by making all 5 shots, including 4-of-4 from beyond the three-point line. Starting his 2nd straight game he finished with 18 points. The Wildcats were again led by freshman forward Patrick Patterson, who had 20 points. Patterson and Perry Stevenson had five rebounds each to lead the Wildcats. The loss was the fifth in Kentucky's last six games.