September 2011 | Page 16 of 22 | Zagsblog
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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Thursday / March 28.
  • With the Big 12 potentially on the verge of collapse, the Big East Conference is once again looking at becoming still bigger.

    According to multiple reports, the Big East is considering adding Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri should the Big 12 falter. That, in turn, would bring the Big East to 12 football teams and 20 — that’s right, 20, — basketball teams. (TCU joins the league in 2012.)

    These reports mirror an SNY.tv report from a year ago saying that the Big East would have targeted the aforementioned three schools, plus Iowa State, had the Big 12 disbanded in 2010.

    NEW YORK — A year ago, Roger Federer held double-match point on Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open semifinals.

    During those moments, Federer admitted he allowed his mind to wander ahead to the thought of playing his arch-rival Rafael Nadal in the final the following day.

    Beating Djokovic and Nadal on back-to-back days would have been a tough task for the then-29-year-old Federer and that thought crept into his mind.

    “It is true that I did think of the Rafa final and the prospect, you know, trying to get there without maybe losing too much energy,” Federer said after dispatching No. 11 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 to advance to his eighth straight U.S. Open semifinal. “Maybe that was one of the reasons I was not able to stay tougher in two of the sets I lost, actually.

    “Still should have won the match, maybe, but it’s just a tough prospect.”

    In the end, the Seton Hall retweet of Kyle Anderson probably won’t amount to much.

    But it wasn’t a smart move by whoever did it, and one can only imagine that Pirates coach Kevin Willard isn’t too pleased.

    “It’s very, very minor,” one source with knowledge of compliance issues said. “It’s a secondary violation. At the end of the day it’s not very serious. It’s like a parking ticket or a speeding ticket.”

    Seton Hall spokesman Matt Sweeney issued the following statement Friday: “We are aware of a minor issue that occurred and have taken the necessary action.”

    For the fourth year in a row, weather has forced a Monday men’s final at the U.S. Open.

    Because rain knocked out play Tuesday and Wednesday, officials changed the schedule and moved the women’s final to Sunday at 4 p.m. from Saturday in primetime and the men’s final to Monday at 4 p.m. instead of Sunday at that hour.

    “We revised the schedule for the remainder of the 2011 US Open in an effort to be fair to the players and our ticketholders,” Open tournament director Jim Curley said in a statement. “This is the result of a collaborative effort with the players, CBS Sports and tournament officials to address the issues that arose from the inclement weather earlier this week.”

    The remaining two men’s quarterfinals — John Isner-Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal-Andy Roddick — will begin at noon on Friday.

    NEW YORKGiovanni Auricchio of Brazil found himself high up in the Court 13 stands on a hot and humid Thursday afternoon at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

    Thanks to Mother Nature and a water bubble issue on the court in Louis Armstrong Stadium, Auricchio got an up-close look as No. 21 Andy Roddick knocked out No. 5 David Ferrer, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, in a fourth-round match that set up a quarterfinal showdown Friday with defending champion Rafael Nadal.

    “Amazing, amazing,” Auricchio told SNY.tv. “This was supposed to be in [Louis Armstrong] Stadium and having the match here in Court 13 was awesome. You’re so close to the players, you know? So nice.”


    Jimmy Ring
    has coached basketball at Paterson (N.J.) Kennedy for 15 years and has seen a lot of things.

    But even Ring was impressed with what he saw Wednesday night at Kennedy.

    Approximately 40-60 Seton Hall fans turned up to watch Kyle Anderson play a Fall Ball League game for St. Anthony against Gill St. Bernard’s.

    Anderson is considering Seton Hall, St. John’s, Florida, Georgetown and UCLA and is due to announce Sept. 20.

    After spending the day on an unofficial visit at St. John’s during which he spoke with Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Baron Davis, Anderson entered the gym at about 10 minutes to 7.

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