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Thursday, November 17, 2011

Kent State Women's Basketball Battles Morehead State In 2011-12 Home Opener


The Kent State women's basketball team welcomes Morehead State to the M.A.C. Center Friday (Nov. 18) for the 2011-12 home opener. Tip time is slated for 7 p.m. The first 750 fans to enter the building will receive magnet schedules. Stop by the Athletic Ticket Office in the M.A.C. Center or call             (330) 672-2244       for more information.

The Golden Flashes (0-2) are taking aim at their first win of the 2011-12 campaign after dropping road contests at Marshall and Robert Morris to open the season.

Friday's game against the Colonials will feature live stats and free live web video. The provided links will activate at the start of Friday's game.
 
Friday's contest will be aired live on both ESPN Radio 990 AM and KentStateSports.com, with Dave Wilson providing play-by-play commentary for a second straight season. Click the link above to listen live on your computer.

IN A FLASH

• Kent State is 25-11 in home openers, including a 17-5 record under Bob Lindsay's guidance. The Golden Flashes are 8-1 in last nine seasons in their first M.A.C. Center game of the season.

• Kent State is 2-0 all-time on Nov. 18, rolling to victories over Southern (85-71) in the Fifth
Third Classic in 2006 and at Youngstown State (70-55) in 2009.

• Morehead State is the only school out of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Kent State has
ever faced.


FLASH FORWARD

The Flashes fly west to Flagstaff, Ariz. for the Hilton Garden Inn Thanksgiving Classic. Kent State battles Utah Valley State Nov. 25 at 4:30 p.m. before taking on host Northern Arizona Nov. 26 at 4 p.m.

SCOUTING THE FLASHES

Kent State fell to host Robert Morris, 78-44, Tuesday (Nov. 15) in a non-conference game at the Sewall Center.

Junior guard Trisha Krewson (Sandusky, Ohio) reached double figures for the second straight game, totaling a game-high 18 points to lead the Golden Flashes. She also led Kent State with eight rebounds (two offensive, six defensive) and three steals. Junior guard Tamzin Barroilhet (Sainte Maxime, France) finished with six points while freshman guard Jamie Hutcheson (Ancaster, Ontario) and junior center Leslie Schaefer (Verona, Wis.) each added five.


KREWS CONTROL

Krewson has emerged as Kent State’s top offensive threat so far in 2011-12. The Sandusky, Ohio, native is averaging 18 points a game and is shooting at a 59% clip -- including knocking down five-of-nine from behind the arc. During a nearly 11-minute stretch in the second half of Kent State’s loss to Robert Morris, Krewson accounted for 16 straight Kent State points -- including three straight treys. The junior guard sat out the 2010-11 campaign after transferring from Bucknell. She earned First Team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District II recognition as a sophomore in 2009-10, one of just three sophomores nationwide to earn first-team academic all-district honors. A McDonald’s All-America nominee as a high school senior, Krewson scored over 1,000 points for the Perkins Pirates and was named First Team Sandusky Bay Conference three times and Second Team All-Ohio in 2008 after an honorable mention nod following her penultimate prep season.


NOBODY’S BETTER THAN BODNAR

Kent State 24th-year associate head coach Lori Bodnar was recently named as CollegeInsider.com’s “Top Mid-Major Women’s Basketball Assistant Coach.” She headlined a top-25 that featured six Mid-American Conference assistant coaches. Bodnar has helped tutor the Golden Flashes to 12 20-win seasons and four NCAA Tournament appearances.

AROUND THE WORLD

Barroilhet and freshman Itziar Llobet (Sant Cugat de Valles, Spain) both prepped for the 2011-12 campaign overseas last summer. Barroilhet, who i s a dual citizen of France and England, represented Great Britain at the World University Games in Shenzen, China. Llobet competed for Spain at the 2011 FIBA U-18 European Championship in Oradea, Romania. In the team’s quarterfinal win over the Netherlands, Llobet scored eight points and added four rebounds and two assists.


REPRESENTING OVERSEAS

Former Kent State all-conference performer Taisja Jones thrived in her first season as a professional basketball player, averaging over 18 points and 11 rebounds per game for Aguas Buenas Tigresas of the BSNF.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (1-1 overall, 0-0 OVC)
All-time series: Morehead State leads, 3-2
KSU's Lindsay vs. Morehead State: 2-0
Current Streak: W2

• Morehead State shook off a 96-60 season-opening loss against then-15th-ranked Kentucky to pull off a 62-57 win over Ohio Sunday. Senior guard Courtney Lumpkin poured in a career-high 23 points, including two free throws with a second left to ice the victory, and fellow senior Linda Dixon contributed a career-high 20 points. The Eagles have made pressure defense their trademark in the early part of the 2011-12 campaign, forcing Kentucky into 27 turnovers and the Bobcats into 29 floor mistakes.

•Head coach Tom Hodges is in his second year at the helm.

• Junior forward Ashar Harris ranked third in the nation in rebounding (12.3 per game) in 2010-11 and was selected to the 2011-12 All-Ohio Valley Conference Preseaon Team.

• Kent State looks to even the all-time series against Morehead State at three wins apiece in the first matchup between the programs in nearly 20 years. The Eagles won the first three meetings in the late 70s and early 80s before Bob Lindsay and the Flashes earned victories over the Eagles two years in a row during the 1990-91 and 1991-92 campaigns.

Bo Hodge Named Men's Tennis Assistant

Bo Hodge
Bo Hodge
Nov. 17, 2011


NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma men's tennis coach John Roddick announced the addition of Bo Hodge as an assistant coach Thursday. Hodge, formerly one of the nation's top collegiate and junior players, was formerly the assistant with the University of Alabama for the past three seasons.
"I'm excited to have Bo onboard," John Roddick said. "He is going to be a big asset to the program. He brings a wealth of experience, from both a playing and coaching aspect. He was a part of a national championship team at the University of Georgia. His experience is going to bring a ton to our program."
A former star for the University of Georgia before pursuing a career on the professional circuit, Hodge earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communications at UGA where he returned to complete his studies after several years on the professional tour as a player and coach.
"I'm excited," exclaimed Bo Hodge. "So far, it has been a great experience. I have met a lot of great people and am getting settled into Norman. I'm excited about working with John. He has been a friend and coach of mine for a long time. I learned a lot at Alabama under head coach Billy Pate, but I'm excited about the opportunity here to be able to come to the Big 12. I have been an SEC guy my whole life. I'm going to hit the ground running and am looking forward to getting started."
During his coaching stent at Alabama, Hodge was selected as one of two coaches in 2010 and 2011 to lead the USTA Men's Summer Collegiate Team. The USTA Summer Collegiate Team provides an elite training program for the top American collegiate tennis players and gives them exposure to the USTA Pro Circuit.
In addition, Hodge boasts an impressive resume that includes serving as a coach and hitting partner for Venus and Serena Williams in 2005-06 and coaching ATP professional Mardy Fish in 2007. Hodge served as a volunteer coach at Georgia under head coach Manuel Diaz from August 2006 to May 2008, helping lead the Bulldogs to consecutive NCAA national championships.
As a player for the Bulldogs, Hodge was a four-time All-American from 2001-04 while playing on three Southeastern Conference championship teams (2001, 2002 and 2004) and one national championship team (2001). Hodge was the No. 2-ranked collegiate player in the nation in both 2001 and 2004 and was consistently ranked in the nation's top five in both singles and doubles. In 2004, he and teammate John Isner reached the NCAA Doubles finals.
Prior to attending Georgia, Hodge had an outstanding career in junior tennis where he led Athens Academy to the 1998 Class A High School state title as a sophomore. After helping the Spartans win the title, Hodge moved to Boca Raton, Fla., to study under famed South African coach Stanford Boster while attending Boca Prep, where he was teammates with John's brother, Andy Roddick.
A native of Athens, Ga., Hodge is the son of Mark and Suzette Hodge. His father is a former Georgia football star and was a tight end and offensive captain of the 1978 Bulldogs.

Roebuck ruined my life, says 'victim'

Peter Roebuck's Zimbabwean Facebook friend, whose police complaint allegedly triggered his suicide, has claimed that the celebrated cricket writer lured him with money to meet him before sexually assaulting him in a Cape Town hotel.

As mystery continues to shroud the suicide of Roebuck,
26-year-old Itai Gondo, a refugee student from Zimbabwe, said the celebrated journalist “groomed” him on Facebook with promise of money for his college fees before sexually assaulting him.

The cash-strapped Gondo's claims were the subject of a South African police investigation on Roebuck's suicide, according to London tabloid 'The Sun'. Gondo alleged that former Somerset captain spent days on Facebook luring him into a meeting, signing himself “dad” and offering to help with college fees. Gondo came in contact with Roebuck through a university friend who knew one of 17 “adopted sons” who live at the cricket expert's 10-bedroom home in Pietermaritzburg.
He claimed that Roebuck agreed to meet him after a series of chats on the social networking site and signed off saying, “OK my boy, bring stick in case I need to beat you!”
The duo then allegedly met in a hotel suite in Cape Town during Roebuck's visit to South Africa to cover the first Test against Australia.
Gondo said they spoke for long hours before Roebuck allegedly sexually assaulted him on a bed.
 “I was in shock and told myself that it couldn't be happening,”  Gondo said, adding that the alleged attack stopped only when his mobile phone rang.
The horrified student fled, but received a Facebook message from Roebuck next day saying, “Worried bout u, hope u ok,” to which Gondo replied, “One day the long arm of the law will catch up with your evil misdeeds.”
Gondo said he disclosed everything about the incident to police. “He has ruined my life,” Gondo said.

Better marketing to survive for test cricket

A friend of mine, now about forty, wistfully remembers the time when he was much younger and was taken to watch a Test match at the Eden Gardens (“obviously...all five days!”). It was quite an event for him as indeed it was to all of us when our turn came. You waited for it, you analysed the opposition, you picked the players you wanted to follow, got excited if one of them fielded at the boundary in front of you and told your dad what you liked and what you didn’t over dinner.
Another friend recalls the time his father told his teacher that it was more important that his son went to Chepauk to watch Venkataraghvan bowl than it was to attend just another day at school. He didn’t tell me what the teacher’s reaction was, presumably the father hadn’t bothered (anyone who objected to a young boy watching cricket couldn’t be right anyway!).
Just to put the era into perspective, my elder brother used to study in Kolkata; it took a couple of days, sometimes more, to ge there from Hyderabad and we didn’t know he had reached safely until an inland letter arrived.
As you can imagine, much has changed since and yet when the Eden Gardens had just a few spectators dotting its vast stands this week, there was widespread despair. “Not in Kolkata” they spluttered into their Darjeeling tea but I’m afraid an occasion that was a rite of passage, an initiation into the endless world of sport and joy for a young man, was largely ignored. Dravid and Laxman, on whom ballads might be composed in Kolkata, hit centuries and must have searched for fans to raise their bats to. This wasn’t Kanpur or Mohali....this, sadly, was the Eden Gardens.
Yes, you could say the Test match started on a Monday (any further proof that cricket is now largely a television sport?), that there had been holidays earlier, that there has been far too much cricket to follow, that the Kolkatans too needed to go to work..you could say all that and more. But the Eden Gardens is one of the homes of cricket and it was at home that Test cricket had been spurned.
It was also a week in which Haroon Lorgat formally announced that the World Test Championship had been put back to 2017. Poor Peter Roebuck said a lot could change in a week and this is five years away. The ICC is disappointed, many players are disappointed, the romantics are disappointed and yet, as the Eden Gardens showed, they don’t count.
Outside of certain pockets, people don’t want to watch Test cricket. They know the scores, they follow the game on the internet, glimpse at the television from time to time but that’s it. I am increasingly fearful of the fact that people talk about the glory of Test cricket like they talk about world peace and Mother Teresa; because it is a nice thing to be heard saying.
There are still a few marquee series left but those are too few. If half the Test-playing world doesn’t interest audiences then there is a problem and it has to be addressed by looking it in the eye rather than through romantic, wistful writing that all of us have indulged in at one time or another. Maybe Test cricket is only played by fewer teams, maybe, as has been suggested by some former Australian cricketers, you play lesser, but better, Test cricket or maybe you seek to market it more humbly.
In India, maybe we could start by making the act of going to a cricket ground pleasant. Security is something we cannot wish away, it is a grim fact of life in our part of the world where distributing hatred doesn’t seem too difficult, but maybe we can make everything else easier. Like buying tickets, getting parking, organising public transport otherwise, providing decently priced food and, the most difficult, providing clean seats to sit on.

Test cricket is in a buyer’s market and the sellers are struggling to come to terms with that.