Daily Sports Digest: Save 15 Percent at Modell’s and Support Local Little League

The Top Spot:

Larchmont-Mamaroneck Little League (LMLL) is participating in a program offered by Modell's that lets all our members get a 15 percent discount on most store merchandise, and also pays an additional five percent back to LMLL. This is a great way to save money and help fund LMLL.! Simply print the coupon below and bring it to any Modell's in the greater N.Y.C. area and present it at the register to get your discount.

The coupon is valid starting Friday, 03/02, for 6 weeks (ends Sunday, 04/15). You can use it as many times as you like, and can even forward it to your family, friends or other groups for them to use too—it will all go to help LMLL.

While the LMLL. does not endorse Modell's or any other sports merchandise outlet, we felt this was an appropriate opportunity to make available to our families and others in the community and a good way to help LMLL. Happy shopping!

NYSPHSAA Considers Cancelling State Tournaments Due to Costs:

Nearly two years ago the state’s economy caused New York to cancel the and it appears more drastic cuts may be coming in the near future.

In a story first reported by MSG Varsity’s Rich Thomaselli the New York State Public High School Athletic Association is engaging in preliminary discussions that could cancel all of the state’s tournaments for two years, if not longer.

Spring Sports Begin:

Monday was the first official day of the high school spring sports season. Local teams began their quests for section championships by meeting for the first time and officially beginning practice.

Check back with Patch in the upcoming weeks as we will have previews of all of your favorite local sports and teams.

Today’s Schedule:

Iona College, Westchester’s only Division 1 basketball program, returns to the NCAA Tournament tonight as they take on BYU in Dayton, OH in the tournament’s “First Four”. The game will be played at 9:10 p.m. and can be seen on truTV.

College Sports Notebook:

Making its first post-season appearance since 2006, the Manhattan men’s basketball team will meet Albany in the opening round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.

The Jaspers and Great Danes will meet for only the second time in the programs’ history and for the first time at the NCAA Division I level on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at SEFCU Arena on the campus of the University at Albany.

Sophomore Ralph Watts of Peekskill, a 6' 5" swingman, is averaging three points, two assists and two rebounds per game for Albany, with 14 steals.

Albany posted a 19-14 overall record and finished fourth in the America East with a 9-7 conference record.

The Jaspers took third place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with a 12-6 league record, marking their highest conference finish in six years. Jaspers' first-year head coach Steve Massillon of White Plains, a former assistant to Rick Pitino at Louisville, orchestrated the biggest turnaround in NCAA Division I as the Jaspers finished the regular-season with 14 more wins than last season.

Junior guard George Bemoan of Roslyn was named fist-team all-MAAC after leading the conference in scoring with 18.6 points per game.

Liam McCabe-Moran of New Rochelle, a Rye High grad, is averaging five points and two rebounds for the Jaspers, with 21 steals.

Mortarboard musings

• The University of the District of Columbia men’s basketball team, seeded eighth, was held off by No. 2 seed Stonehill, 65-61, in the NCAA East Region quarterfinals at Laska Gym in Worcester, MA. The Firebirds, playing in their first NCAA Tournament in 25 years, finished the season 22-6 overall coaches Jeff Ruland and Anthony Iati, both former standout players at Iona College. Stonehill (22-8) advances to the semifinal round against No. 3 seed Adelphi.

• The University of Vermont men's basketball team, which includes Brian Voelkel of Pleasantville, travels to Dayton, OH, to face No. 16 Lamar in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday starting at 6:30 p.m. The Catamounts earned a No. 16 seed after defeating Stony Brook 51-43 for the AmericaEast championship, a game in which Voelkel, an Iona Prep alum, pulled down 15 rebounds with seven assists, five points and a steal for good measure.

• West Virginia University, the No. 10 seed, will face No. 7 seed Gonzaga (25-6) in an NCAA Tournament second-round game on Thursday at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. The Mountaineers are coming off a 71-67 double-overtime loss to Connecticut, but senior forward Kevin Jones of Mount Vernon scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a very-strong losing effort. Jones is averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds per game.
• The Dominican College baseball team in Orangeburg, coming off tough conference losses to Saint Anselm, 8-6 in 10 innings, and Merrimack, 4-2, hopes to rebound today at Queens College in another non-conference game. Andrew Camardella of Pelham had two RBI against St. Anselm, and a two-run double against Merrimack.
  
  

Weekly Sports Poll:

In poll the New York Jets and General Manager Mike Tannenbaum decided not to listen to our results as the team made Mark Sanchez the seventh highest paid quarterback in the NFL and told Peyton Manning to look for work elsewhere.

Over 51 percent felt the Jets would be best served to spend the money and bring in Manning for a few years to mentor the Sanchize, but Tannenbaum and crew feel that the fourth year quarterback is both the present and future.

The Daily Sports Digest is Patch’s way of increasing reader involvement in sports coverage. We would like to provide you with for you to add your best photos and/or videos to share. If you see anything in our high school scores, standings or schedule that requires updating, please e-mail Mark Rinaldi directly at HVDailySportsDigest@gmail.com or like us on Facebook and post updates on our wall. Marc Maturo covers college athletics across the nation. Please send updates of your local schools or players to marcmaturo@aol.com.