D4


S


KLMNO COLLEGE BASKETBALL


ON BASKETBALL John Feinstein


The silver lining in the NCAA’s cloudy format


tion and says, “I know you all have something you want to say about our dear departed friend. So instead of a eulogy, I’d like you each to stand up and tell us what you loved best about him.” Complete silence. “Don’t be shy,” the rabbi says. “I know this is hard. Who’s going to go first?” More silence. Finally, the rabbi says, “Okay,


T


I’m going to get this started. You, Adam, in the first row, you start us off.”


Adam reluctantly gets to his


feet, shrugs and says, “His broth- er was worse.” That joke came to mind Mon-


day when the NCAA men’s bas- ketball committee finally got around to revealing how the new and un-improved 68-team tournament will work next March. It could have been worse. Of course, it could have been a


lot better. And because the NCAA is the


NCAA, we still don’t know all the details. One can only hope that by Selection Sunday, the committee will figure out exactly where it is going to send teams to begin the tournament. Here are the basics:


 The four play-in games will be called first-round games. This is so NCAA and means that no fewer than 60 teams — that has to be a record for any event, right? — will have “byes” into the second round.  The last four automatic-bid teams in the field will play one another for the last two No. 16 seeds.  The last four at-large teams into the field will play one an- other for two spots somewhere in the field. The committee, which loves to be as vague as it can be at all times, said Monday that two teams could (in theory) play for a No. 10 seed; two others could play for a No. 12 seed. The release didn’t mention a No. 11 or a No. 13 but presumably that could also happen. The four teams might be sent to four sep- arate regions or, again in theory, two or three could be placed in the same region.  The games will be played over two nights, presumably Tuesday and Wednesday. At least that ap- pears to be the case because the NCAA is claiming all four games will be televised in prime time on something called TruTV, which is owned by new televi- sion co-partner, Turner. Appar- ently neither Turner nor TBS


here’s a very old joke about a funeral. The rabbi stands in front of the congrega-


wanted their airwaves darkened by No. 16 seeds, and the always politically correct committee wasn’t going to put the 16s on TruTV and the big conference teams on Turner or TBS. So, everyone goes to TruTV. Call your cable provider to find out exactly what the heck that is. Here’s what still hasn’t been


explained: where the games will be. If they’re going to be played over two nights, they almost cer- tainly have to be at what are now being called, “second- and third- round” sites — one of them be- ing Verizon Center next March. No doubt building availability may still be at issue, as is build- ing size. The NCAA likely doesn’t want single play-in games being played in a 20,000-seat building such as Verizon Center. An alter- native might be finding smaller buildings in the same city or nearby. In Washington, for example, a play-in game (sorry, NCAA, that’s what these will be called here, now and forever) could be played at George Ma- son’s Patriot Center, which seats about 10,000. Dayton, which hosted the one


play-in game the past 10 years, is probably out of the picture be- cause with the two-night format, teams will have only one day off before they play again. Making that one day a travel day doesn’t seem to make sense, especially if a team has to travel to the West Coast. If they play the game in the same city, the players can sleep in the next day, go through the practice day with the other seven teams and play on either


Thursday or Friday. Sound complicated? It is.


That’s because what makes sense is a 64-team tournament, with four 16-team brackets. But the NCAA is all about making an extra buck, even when that means making simple things complicated in an effort to satis- fy TV partners. Actually, to be completely fair,


TV partners might have been all that prevented this from being a complete travesty in this case. If not for TV, there’s no doubt all four of these play-in games would involve the last eight au- tomatic bid teams in the field (think: champions of leagues such as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Sun Belt, Ohio Val- ley) because the committee usu- ally does everything it can to help the big conference out. But because TV wants at least one decent game a night — you can bet the automatic bid teams will play the early game both days — the committee compromised and will make four at-large teams play in the “first” round. The bracket won’t be drawn for nine months, but one already can hear the seventh-place coaches in the ACC, Big East and Big Ten screaming: “I’d love to see how the [choose one]Mid- Eastern Athletic Conference, Pa- triot League, Southwestern Ath- letic Conference, Big South, Southern Conference champion would do in our league. You think they could finish above .500? Typical NCAA, being polit- ically correct and caving to the media.”


TUESDAY, JULY 13, 2010


MATT SULLIVAN/REUTERS


Louisville’s Earl Clark goes up for a basket against Siena’s Alex Franklin in the 2009 NCAA tournament. Of course that same coach


wouldn’t be caught dead playing the best team in any of those leagues anywhere during the regular season. That coach needs to shut up and be glad his team isn’t going to the NIT, which is probably where it de- serves to go. The bottom line: We’re all


grateful that we aren’t talking about a 96- team format for next year. No doubt, somewhere down the road in a few years, we will be. That’s one reason the NCAA is using this silly “first round” terminology — so people will get used to saying it and to discussing which teams will be


getting byes. That number is go- ing to increase over the next few years. The committee also made a big deal in its release about the fact that, “for the first time,” it would reveal the last at-large team into the field. Imagine that: a little tiny bit of (forced) transparency.


Oh, one last thing for those of you scoring at home: The NCAA release said nothing about the fact that the “student-athletes” from four schools, not just one, will miss an entire week of class to play in the first and second rounds of the tournament. It’s a minor point — but worth


making only because it’s true and the committee doesn’t want you to even think about it. After all, as Texas-San Antonio Athlet- ic Director and committee mem- ber Lynn Hickey explained to a group of writers at this year’s Fi- nal Four, “Everything we do is for the student-athletes.” Sure. And it’s been a breezy summer in Washington. That’s where we are with the NCAA now: taking solace in the fact that it could have been worse.


For more from the author, visit his blog at www.feinsteinonthebrink. com.


NCAA unveils format for its expanded 68-team tournament ncaa from D1


could have produced attractive first-round matchups such as Illinois against Virginia Tech, two teams that just missed the cut in a 65-team field. Guerrero said the final three


at-large teams do not have any reason to grumble about playing an extra game because they would not have even been in- cluded in a 65-team field. “Those three teams, with what would be the 34th at-large team, we felt would create better dra- ma for the tournament,” Guerre- ro said of including at-large teams in first-round games. “The [first round] would be that much more exciting. We don’t think it provides any undue disadvan- tage for any of those teams.” During the committee’s late


June meeting in Chicago, it con- sidered pairing the last eight at- large teams against one another in first-round games. Another option was four games featuring No. 16 seeds, with all winners facing No. 1 seeds. Joe Lunardi, who projects the NCAA tournament field for ESPN, wrote on his blog that the compromise is a “fair way to rec- ognize the importance of confer- ence champions while at the same time adding overdue sizzle to the former opening-round games.”


All four first-round games — which the NCAA has deemed the “First Four” — will be televised on Turner Broadcasting’s truTV, as part of the NCAA’s new 14-year multimedia deal with Turner and CBS. The schedule and location of


the first-round games will be an- nounced in the coming weeks, al- though all or some the first- round games likely will remain in Dayton — the site of the first 10 opening-round games — at least through next year’s tourna- ment.


Guerrero said the committee is


exploring all options, including playing the first-round games at multiple sites on different dates, likely the Tuesday and Wednes- day after Selection Sunday. The opening-round game has been played in Dayton since its inception when the tournament expanded from 64 to 65 teams in 2001. Coaches who have partici- pated have praised the excite- ment of the fans in Dayton as well as the hospitality, but some said there was a stigma attached to the game because it was the


SCOREBOARD BASEBALL National League EAST Atlanta Florida


W L Pct GB L10 Str 52 36 .591 — 7-3 L-1


New York 48 40 .545 4 4-6 W-1 Phila.


Washington 39 50 .438 13A 5-5 L-2


CENTRAL W L Pct GB L10 Str Cincinnati 49 41 .544 — 4-6 L-4 St. Louis 47 41 .534 1 4-6 W-1 Milwaukee 40 49 .449 8A 4-6 W-3 Chicago 39 50 .438 9A 5-5 L-1 Houston 36 53 .404 12A 5-5 L-1 Pittsburgh 30 58 .341 18 3-7 L-6


WEST W L Pct GB L10 Str


San Diego 51 37 .580 — 5-5 W-1 Colorado 49 39 .557 2 8-2 L-1 Los Angeles 49 39 .557 2 6-4 W-1 San Fran. 47 41 .534 4 7-3 W-2 Arizona


34 55 .382 17A 3-7 L-1 American League


EAST W L Pct GB L10 Str


New York 56 32 .636 — 8-2 W-1 Tampa Bay 54 34 .614 2 8-2 W-2 Boston


CENTRAL W L Pct GB L10 Str


Chicago 49 38 .563 — 9-1 W-8 Detroit


48 38 .558 A 7-3 L-1


Minnesota 46 42 .523 3A 3-7 W-1 Kansas City 39 49 .443 10A 6-4 L-3 Cleveland 34 54 .386 15A 3-7 L-2


WEST Texas


W L Pct GB L10 Str 50 38 .568 — 3-7 L-4


Los Angeles 47 44 .516 4A 2-8 L-2 Oakland 43 46 .483 7A 5-5 W-2 Seattle


Home Run Derby Results Angel Stadium; In Anaheim, Calif.


First Round


Corey Hart, Milwaukee............................................ 13 Hanley Ramirez, Florida............................................ 9 David Ortiz, Boston..................................................... 8 Miguel Cabrera, Detroit............................................. 7 Matt Holliday, St. Louis ............................................. 5 Nick Swisher, N.Y. Yankees...................................... 4 Vernon Wells, Toronto............................................... 2 Chris Young, Arizona ................................................. 1


Second Round (Combined total after first round)


David Ortiz, Boston........................................... 13(21) Hanley Ramirez, Florida .................................. 12(21) Corey Hart, Milwaukee ...................................... 0(13) Miguel Cabrera, Detroit..................................... 5(12)


Finals


David Ortiz, Boston ...................................................11 Hanley Ramirez, Florida............................................ 5


Longest Home Runs


Matt Holliday, first round............................. 497 feet David Ortiz, second round.................................... 478 David Ortiz, finals ................................................... 478


35 53 .398 15 2-8 L-1 51 37 .580 5 4-6 W-1


Toronto 44 45 .494 12A 4-6 L-1 Baltimore 29 59 .330 27 5-5 W-4


47 40 .540 4A 6-4 W-4 42 46 .477 10 5-5 W-1


NL Leaders Statistics through Sunday’s games


BATTING Prado, Atl ................................................................ .325 Ethier, LA ................................................................ .324 Polanco, Phl ........................................................... .318 Byrd, Chi ................................................................. .317 Pagan, NY ............................................................... .315 Votto, Cin ................................................................ .314 Gonzalez, Col ......................................................... .314 Wright, NY .............................................................. .314 Loney, LA ................................................................ .309 Pujols, StL ............................................................... .308


HOME RUNS Dunn, Was ................................................................. 22 Votto, Cin ................................................................... 22 Hart, Mil ..................................................................... 21 Pujols, StL .................................................................. 21 Fielder, Mil ................................................................. 20 Reynolds, Ari ............................................................. 20 Gonzalez, SD ............................................................. 18 Huff, SF ....................................................................... 17 Howard, Phl ............................................................... 17 Gonzalez, Col ............................................................ 17 Rolen, Cin ................................................................... 17


RBI


Hart, Mil ..................................................................... 65 Howard, Phl ............................................................... 65 Wright, NY ................................................................. 65 Pujols, StL .................................................................. 64 Loney, LA ................................................................... 63 Young, Ari .................................................................. 61 Gonzalez, Col ............................................................ 60 Gomes, Cin ................................................................ 60 Votto, Cin ................................................................... 60 Dunn, Was ................................................................. 59


STOLEN BASES Bourn, Hou ................................................................. 28 Morgan, Was ............................................................. 20 A. McCutchen, Pit .................................................... 20 Pagan, NY .................................................................. 19 Reyes, NY ................................................................... 19 Ramirez, Fla .............................................................. 18 Young, Ari .................................................................. 17 Torres, SF ................................................................... 17 Victorino, Phl ............................................................ 17 Stubbs, Cin ................................................................ 17


ERA


Johnson, Fla ........................................................... 1.70 Wainwright, StL .................................................... 2.11 Garcia, StL .............................................................. 2.17 Halladay, Phl .......................................................... 2.19 Jimenez, Col ........................................................... 2.20 Hudson, Atl ............................................................. 2.30 Latos, SD ................................................................. 2.45 Gallardo, Mil .......................................................... 2.58 Kershaw, LA ........................................................... 2.96 Santana, NY ........................................................... 2.98


WINS


Jimenez, Col ........................................................... 15-1 Wainwright, StL .................................................... 13-5 Pelfrey, NY ............................................................. 10-4 Latos, SD ................................................................. 10-4 Halladay, Phl ......................................................... 10-7 10 tied ........................................................................... 9


GAMES PITCHED P. Feliciano, NY ......................................................... 49 Moylan, Atl ................................................................ 46 Marshall, Chi ............................................................. 45 Masset, Cin ................................................................ 45 Clippard, Was ........................................................... 44


SAVES Bell, SD ....................................................................... 24 Cordero, Cin .............................................................. 24 Capps, Was ............................................................... 23 Wilson, SF .................................................................. 23 Rodriguez, NY ........................................................... 21 Lindstrom, Hou ......................................................... 21


STRIKEOUTS Lincecum, SF ........................................................... 131 Halladay, Phl ........................................................... 128 Kershaw, LA ............................................................ 128 Wainwright, StL ..................................................... 127 Haren, Ari ................................................................ 125


BATTING


Cabrera, Det ........................................................... .346 Hamilton, Tex ........................................................ .346 Morneau, Min ........................................................ .345 Boesch, Det ............................................................ .342 Cano, NY ................................................................. .336 Beltre, Bos .............................................................. .330 DeJesus, KC ............................................................ .326 Suzuki, Sea ............................................................. .326 Butler, KC ................................................................ .322 Crawford, TB .......................................................... .321


HOME RUNS Bautista, Tor ............................................................. 24 Hamilton, Tex ........................................................... 22 Cabrera, Det .............................................................. 22 Konerko, Chi .............................................................. 20 Guerrero, Tex ............................................................ 20 Wells, Tor ................................................................... 19 Quentin, Chi .............................................................. 19 Morneau, Min ........................................................... 18 Pena, TB ..................................................................... 18 Youkilis, Bos .............................................................. 18 Ortiz, Bos ................................................................... 18


RBI


Cabrera, Det .............................................................. 77 Guerrero, Tex ............................................................ 75 Rodriguez, NY ........................................................... 70 Hamilton, Tex ........................................................... 64 Konerko, Chi .............................................................. 63 Hunter, LA .................................................................. 62 Longoria, TB .............................................................. 61 Quentin, Chi .............................................................. 61 Teixeira, NY ............................................................... 60 Cano, NY .................................................................... 58 Young, Min ................................................................ 58


STOLEN BASES Pierre, Chi .................................................................. 32 Crawford, TB ............................................................. 31 Davis, Oak .................................................................. 27 Gardner, NY ............................................................... 25 Upton, TB ................................................................... 25 Podsednik, KC ........................................................... 25 Figgins, Sea ............................................................... 24 Rios, Chi ..................................................................... 23 Andrus, Tex ............................................................... 23 ERA Price, TB .................................................................. 2.42 Buchholz, Bos ........................................................ 2.45 Lee, Tex ................................................................... 2.64 Pettitte, NY ............................................................. 2.70 Niemann, TB ........................................................... 2.77 Lester, Bos .............................................................. 2.78 Hernandez, Sea ..................................................... 2.88 Cahill, Oak .............................................................. 2.94 Sabathia, NY .......................................................... 3.09 Vargas, Sea ............................................................ 3.09


WINS


Sabathia, NY .......................................................... 12-3 Price, TB ................................................................. 12-4 Pettitte, NY ............................................................ 11-2 Hughes, NY ............................................................ 11-2 Lester, Bos ............................................................. 11-3 Verlander, Det ....................................................... 11-5


GAMES PITCHED Choate, TB ................................................................. 45 Ohman, Bal ................................................................ 45 Francisco, Tex ........................................................... 43 Breslow, Oak ............................................................. 43 Coke, Det .................................................................... 42


SAVES Soria, KC .................................................................... 25 Soriano, TB ................................................................ 23 Feliz, Tex .................................................................... 23 Rauch, Min ................................................................. 20 Papelbon, Bos ........................................................... 20 Rivera, NY .................................................................. 20 Gregg, Tor .................................................................. 20


STRIKEOUTS Weaver, LA .............................................................. 137 Hernandez, Sea ...................................................... 131 Lester, Bos ............................................................... 124 Liriano, Min ............................................................. 117


AL Leaders Statistics through Sunday’s games GOLF


British Open Tee Times At The Old Course; In St. Andrews, Scotland Thursday-Friday; all times EDT


1:30 a.m.-6:41 a.m.: Paul Lawrie, Thomas Levet, Steve Marino 1:41 a.m.-6:52 a.m.: Loren Roberts, Mathew Gog- gin, Marcel Siem 1:52 a.m.-7:03 a.m.: Robert Rock, John Senden, Bill Haas


2:03 a.m.-7:14 a.m.: Simon Dyson, Jason Dufner, Soren Hansen 2:14 a.m.-7:25 a.m.: Todd Hamilton, Ryuichi Oda, Alexander Noren 2:25 a.m.-7:36 a.m.: John Daly, Andrew Coltart, Seung-yul Noh 2:36 a.m.-7:47 a.m.: Martin Laird, Nick Faldo, So- ren Kjeldsen


2:47 a.m.-7:58 a.m.: David Duval, Ross McGowan, Trevor Immelman 2:58 a.m.-8:09 a.m.: Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Ryan Moore, Charl Schwartzel 3:09 a.m.-8:20 a.m.: Robert Allenby, Nick Watney, Oliver Wilson


3:20 a.m.-8:31 a.m.: Lucas Glover, Rory McIlroy, Tim Clark


3:31 a.m.-8:42 a.m.: Thomas Bjorn, Hunter Mahan, Shunsuke Sonoda 3:42 a.m.-8:53 a.m.: Ian Poulter, Ernie Els, Stewart Cink


3:58 a.m.-9:04 a.m.: Sean O’Hair, Yuta Ikeda, Ross Fisher


4:09 a.m.-9:15 a.m.: Tiger Woods, Justin Rose, Ca- milo Villegas


4:20 a.m.-9:26 a.m.: Padraig Harrington, Ryo Ishi- kawa, Tom Watson 4:31 a.m.-9:37 a.m.: Henrik Stenson, a-Jin Jeong, Matt Kuchar


4:42 a.m.-9:48 a.m.: Jason Day, Chris Wood, Kenny Perry


4:53 a.m.-9:59 a.m.: Mike Weir, Darren Clarke, Da- vis Love III


5:04 a.m.-10:10 a.m.: Thongchai Jaidee, Fredrik Andersson Hed, J.B. Holmes 5:15 a.m.-10:21 a.m.: Mark O’Meara, a-Byeong- Hun An, Stephen Gallacher 5:26 a.m.-10:32 a.m.: Alejandro Canizares, Mi- chael Sim, Gregory Havret 5:37 a.m.-10:43 a.m.: a-Zane Scotland, Tom Per- nice Jr., a-Jamie Abbott 5:48 a.m.-10:54 a.m.: Bo Van Pelt, Phillip Archer, Ewan Porter


5:59 a.m.-11:05 a.m.: Cameron Percy, Tano Goya, Kyung-tae Kim 6:10 a.m.-11:16 a.m.: Mark F. Haastrup, a-Steven Tiley, Tom Whitehouse 6:41 a.m.-1:30 a.m.: Mark Calcavecchia, Peter Senior, Anders Hansen 6:52 a.m.-1:41 a.m.: Louis Oosthuizen, Jeff Over- ton, Colm Moriarty 7:03 a.m.-1:52 a.m.: Ignacio Garrido, Hirofumi Mi- yase, Shane Lowry 7:14 a.m.-2:03 a.m.: Tom Lehman, Kevin Na, Marc Leishman


7:25 a.m.-2:14 a.m.: Sandy Lyle, Bradley Dredge, Koumei Oda


7:36 a.m.-2:25 a.m.: Simon Khan, Vijay Singh, Scott Verplank 7:47 a.m.-2:36 a.m.: Luke Donald, Y.E. Yang, Ricky Barnes


RESULTS


Summer Basketball MCRD


Whitman 54, Patriots 49


Covenant Life 43, Hebrew Academy 37 Northwood 33, Rocket Pride 32 Kidsfirst


B-CC 16, McKinley Tech 13 Cardozo 45, Washington Latin 26 Kidsfirst 47, Ideal 42 Ivey 23 36, Blair 35


American Legion Baseball Manassas Post 158 6, Remington Post 247 1


7:58 a.m.-2:47 a.m.: Toru Taniguchi, Robert Karls- son, Dustin Johnson 8:09 a.m.-2:58 a.m.: Alvaro Quiros, Jerry Kelly, Katsumasa Miyamoto 8:20 a.m.-3:09 a.m.: Peter Hanson, Francesco Mo- linari, Ben Curtis 8:31 a.m.-3:20 a.m.: Paul Casey, Angel Cabrera, Rickie Fowler


8:42 a.m.-3:31 a.m.: Miguel Angel Jimenez, Lee Westwood, Adam Scott 8:53 a.m.-3:42 a.m.: Jim Furyk, Graeme McDowell, Geoff Ogilvy


9:09 a.m.-3:58 a.m.: Hiroyuki Fujita, Steve Strick- er, Sergio Garcia 9:20 a.m.-4:09 a.m.: Colin Montgomerie, Phil Mick- elson, Retief Goosen 9:31 a.m.-4:20 a.m.: Rhys Davies, Edoardo Molina- ri, Justin Leonard 9:42 a.m.-4:31 a.m.: Zach Johnson, Martin Kaym- er, a-Eric Chun 9:53 a.m.-4:42 a.m.: K.J. Choi, Bubba Watson, a- Victor Dubuisson 10:04 a.m.-4:53 a.m.: Ben Crane, Richard S. John- son, Thomas Aiken 10:15 a.m.-5:04 a.m.: Jason Bohn, Kurt Barnes, a- Laurie Canter


10:26 a.m.-5:15 a.m.: Darren Fichardt, Jose Manu- al Lara, Heath Slocum 10:37 a.m.-5:26 a.m.: Paul Streeter, Brian Gay, Gareth Maybin 10:48 a.m.-5:37 a.m.: Tim Petrovic, Paul Goydos, Jean Hugo


10:59 a.m.-5:48 a.m.: Gary Clark, D.A. Points, Dan- ny Chia


11:10 a.m.-5:59 a.m.: Glen Day, Josh Cunliffe, a- Tyrell Hatton


11:21 a.m.-6:10 a.m.: Jae-Bum Park, Geroge McNeill, Simon Edwards a-amateur


PGA Tour


Money Leaders Through Sunday


1. Ernie Els .................................................. $3,941,028 2. Phil Mickelson ....................................... $3,199,838 3. Justin Rose ............................................. $3,159,748 4. Steve Stricker ........................................ $2,963,122 5. Jim Furyk ................................................. $2,883,915 6. Tim Clark ................................................ $2,866,198 7. Anthony Kim .......................................... $2,518,521 8. Robert Allenby ....................................... $2,471,868 9. Ben Crane ............................................... $2,396,357 10. Matt Kuchar ......................................... $2,331,955


CYCLING


Tour de France Standings After eight stages


1. Cadel Evans, Australia, BMC Racing Team, 37 hours, 57 minutes, 9 seconds


2. Andy Schleck, Luxembourg, Team Saxo Bank, 20 seconds behind


3. Alberto Contador, Spain, Astana, 1:01 4. Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Belgium, Omega Phar- ma-Lotto, 1:03


5. Denis Menchov, Russia, Rabobank, 1:10 6. Ryder Hesjedel, Canada, Garmin-Transitions, 1:11


7. Roman Kreuziger, Czech Republic, Liquigas- Doimo, 1:45


8. Levi Leipheimer, United States, Team Radio- Shack, 2:14


9. Samuel Sanchez, Spain, Euskaltel-Euskadi, 2:15 10. Michael Rogers, Australia, Team HTC-Colum- bia, 2:31


11. Robert Gesink, Netherlands, Rabobank, 2:37 12. Carlos Sastre, Spain, Cervelo Test Team, 2:40 13. Ivan Basso, Italy, Liquigas-Doimo, 2:41 14. Bradley Wiggins, Britain, Sky Pro Cycling, 2:45 15. Alexandre Vinokourov, Kazakhstn,Astana,3:05 39. Lance Armstrong, United States, Team Radio- Shack, 13:26.


BASKETBALL WNBA


Team


only game played on the Tuesday following Selection Sunday and some felt the teams were not a part of the “real” tournament. “They did not resolve that, by


the way,” Palm said. “They are still stigmatizing four teams. The problem is the opening round is stigmatized and nobody wants to be part of it.” There was a concern among some coaches that the same con- ference tournament champions could be relegated to the first- round games each season. Of the 10 opening-round games that have been played, nine have in- cluded a historically black col- lege from the Southwestern Ath- letic and Mid-Eastern Athletic conferences.


“If it falls today, we are prob- ably one of those four automatic qualifiers that are going to play,”


said SWAC Commissioner Duer Sharp, who does not believe there is a stigma attached to the opening round. “I think it does give us some opportunities to show the country that we do have good basketball.” After the top eight programs, Greenberg said, a fine line sep- arates most everyone else in col- lege basketball. The new format is not the purest form to crown a champion, he added, but it’s a business. “There is no other champi- onship in the NCAA that is seed- ed in this manner, so why are we re-inventing ourselves?” Green- berg said. “Well, we are re-inventing our- selves for a reason. It is revenue. It is television.” prisbelle@washpost.com yandas@washpost.com


Eastern Conference W L Pct GB


Atlanta ................................. 14 5 .737 — Washington ......................... 12 5 .706 1 Indiana ................................. 11 6 .647 2 Connecticut ........................ 10 8 .556 3A New York ............................. 8 9 .471 5 Chicago ................................ 8 11 .421 6


Western Conference Team W L Pct GB


Seattle .................................. 16 2 .889 — Phoenix ................................ 7 11 .389 9 San Antonio ......................... 6 10 .375 9 Minnesota ........................... 6 11 .353 9A Los Angeles ......................... 4 13 .235 11A Tulsa ..................................... 3 14 .176 12A


Tuesday’s Game Los Angeles at Tulsa ................................................. 7 SOCCER Major League Soccer Eastern W L T Pts GF GA


Columbus ................... 8 2 4 28 20 12 New York .................... 8 5 2 26 18 17 Toronto FC .................. 6 4 4 22 17 15 Chicago ....................... 4 5 5 17 18 19 New England .............. 4 9 2 14 15 26 Kansas City ................ 3 8 3 12 11 19 D.C. United .................. 3 9 3 12 11 25 Philadelphia ............... 3 8 2 11 16 25


Western W L T Pts GF GA


Los Angeles ................ 11 2 3 36 25 7 Real Salt Lake ............ 9 3 3 30 28 11 Dallas ........................... 5 2 7 22 17 13 Colorado ..................... 6 4 4 22 16 13 San Jose ...................... 6 4 4 22 18 16 Houston ....................... 5 7 4 19 21 22 Seattle ......................... 4 8 4 16 17 24 Chivas USA ................. 4 9 2 14 17 21


Wednesday’s Game Kansas City at Columbus .................................... 7:30


TRANSACTIONS NBA


NBA—Fined Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert $100,000 for inappropriate comments regarding Miami F LeBron James. Miami Heat—Signed F Udonis Haslem to a five- year contract.


Minnesota Timberwolves—Acquired F Michael Beasley from Miami for a 2011 second-round, 2014 second-round draft pick and cash consider- ations. Signed C Darko Milicic, F Wesley Johnson and F Lazar Hayward. San Antonio Spurs—Signed C Tiago Splitter.


NFL


Detroit Lions—Agreed to terms with QB Shaun Hill.


Green Bay Packers—Signed TE Andrew Quarless. New York Jets—Waived DT Simi Toeaina. Oakland Raiders—Signed CB Walter McFadden. San Francisco 49Ers—Signed TE Nate Byham to a four-year contract. Tennessee Titans—Waived TE Gerald Harris and DE Jay Moore.


NHL


Carolina Hurricanes—Agreed to terms with C Nick Dodge on a one-year contract. Chicago Blackhawks—Matched San Jose’s con- tract offer to D Niklas Hjalmarsson. New York Rangers—Agreed to terms with RW Jer- emy Williams. Vancouver Canucks—Signed G Tyler Weiman.


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