On Your Marks — University of Louisville southpaw pitcher Justin Marks, who posted a 9-2 record with a 2.37 ERA in 14 starts during the 2008 season, has been invited to the USA Baseball National Team Trials, scheduled June 11-23 in Durham, N.C. He is one of 34 invitees who will compete for 24 spots.
The schedule includes a six-game friendship series against Taipei and a month-long trip to Europe where the team will compete in the Netherlands and the World Collegiate Baseball Championship in the Czech Republic. The roster will be announced June 24.
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UConn Women Lose Prized Recruit — Elena Delle Donne, the 6-foot-5 national high school player of the year, has left the University of Connecticut during her first week of summer school. The Hartford Courant reported that an AAU source in the Philadelphia said people there had heard there was a personality conflict with teammates during a pickup game. She led her team to three straight state championships in Delaware, scoring 50 points in the 2006 title game.
Know what you’re probably thinking but unless Card Game’s memory is playing tricks on him and the women’s rules are different from the men’s, Big East rules prevent Donne from transferring to another member conference school.
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Conference USA Pledge? – C-USA has always taken more than its share of hits from fans of other conferences. But some of its most harmful critics are home grown, as indicated in this “pledge of allegiance” which was discovered on the Memphis Scout site. Really a shame because there are some respectable teams in UofL’s former conference:
” I pledge allegiance, to the Conference, of the United States of America.
And to the Mediocrity, for which it stands,
One Conference, under the BCS,
always divisible
with the Liberty Bowl,
and justice for all MID-Majors.”
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Olympic Trials — The U of L swimming and diving team could be about to make a big splash, sending seven swimmers to the United States Olympic Trials June 29-July 6 at the Qwest Center in Omaha. Liz Halet, Leslie VanWinkle, Anna Dishuck will represent the women, with Carlos Van Isschot, Chris Findorff, Doug Dietrich and Tim Collins for the men.
Volunteer coach Rachel Komisarz (upper left), an Olympic gold medalist, will attempt to make her second US Olympic team. Sorry, guys, practices are closed.
Thanks Linda. Great, great news.
I just read that Chris Dominquez is returning to U of L next year – isn’t that wonderful? His stock with the pros should only go up more by next year and U of L could make a return trip to the College World Series next year – it’s ALL good.