“We are now in the era of coaching where Walt Weiss becomes the manager of the Colorado Rockies with only high school coaching experience. And where Jason Kidd can retire from the NBA one week and be a leading candidate for a head-coaching job the next.

So when you hear about former MLB all-star Mike Mussina getting a coaching gig, you wonder if it’s something high profile and sexy.

Actually, Mussina was hired Tuesday as the head BASKETBALL coach at his alma mater, Montoursville High School at Montoursville, Penn. That’s near Williamsport, the city best known as the home of the Little League World Series.”

ericangevine:

“We haven’t made an overt effort to reach out to people in a way that sounds like ‘Hey, look how great Muslims are,’” says Essad Malik. “People choose to stick with us because we treat them as brothers no matter where they come from. They’re going to be part of our brotherhood as long as they buy into the ideal of treating each other with respect.”

Adam Kareem concurs.

“The most effective way to build bridges and facilitate interfaith dialogue is not to sit around and say ‘hey, we’re different, but let’s love each other’ but to have people working mutually on a goal. Because it’s in living and playing together that people really develop love and camaraderie with each other.”

(via US Muslims find ‘love and camaraderie’ on court - Other sports- NBC Sports)

emorysportsmarketinganalytics:

The Best Fan Bases in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)

At first I was surprised to see that Virginia was so high, then I realized this isn’t just a basketball metric. UVA has broad support for all sports, including soccer, lacrosse, baseball, tennis, etc. I could see that might pump up the brand a bit.

To be clear, KU isn’t anti-boobs. Just anti-other-people-making-money-off-their-logo.

“If you maintain an interest in (1) college sports and (2) boobs, there is a good chance you have at least heard of the @KUBoobs Twitter account.

In case you haven’t, it’s an account operated by KU fans, and it retweets user-submitted photos of boobs belonging to Kansas fans. That’s pretty much the whole deal. Most of the boobs in question are at least partially covered, if that matters to you. The account has almost 50,000 followers, and it has grown into a small business, selling wristbands and other merchandise that includes the letters “KU.”

So the University of Kansas isn’t wild about this. It is so unwild about it, actually, that the operator of @KUBoobs on Monday received a cease-and-desist letter from the university.

“KU Boobs has been ordered to cease and desist by The University of Kansas by June 12, 2013,” the account posted Monday.”

“VALLEJO, Calif. — New York Yankees starting pitcher and Vallejo native CC Sabathia is scheduled to be back in his home town Monday to dedicate a basketball court in his late-cousin’s honor.

Sabathia, his wife Amber and their charitable organization PitCCh In Foundation, are scheduled to dedicate and reopen a renovated basketball court located at 1601 Fairgrounds Drive, event spokeswoman Kathy Jacobson said.

The court will be renamed to Demetrius C. Davis Basketball Court at North Vallejo Park, according to Jacobson.”

In honor of barefootmarley, I’ve dug up my WVU article from a few years back:

“MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Mountaineer might just be the busiest mascot in show business.

I first caught sight of the well-armed, bearded man in buckskin as he entertained the crowd during the first half of a women’s soccer NCAA tournament game at Dick Dlesk Stadium. By the time I had worked my way over to the sideline where I had last seen him, he was gone, so I pursued him across the track oval and up the hill to WVU Coliseum, just in time for tipoff of the first women’s basketball game of the season.

After firing his musket (not a euphemism) to mark the official start of the hoops game, the shaggy mountain man eluded me a few more times in his quest to meet and greet everyone in the building. Eventually, he held still long enough for me to flag him down for a few minutes. For what it’s worth, he needs this kind of energy.”

Last time I was there, the latest incarnation of the Mountaineer gave me some bear jerky to try. It was good, but earned him a lot of ribbing, since he had been publicly taken to task for using his school-issued musket to hunt earlier that year.

I’d also have to say that no article I’ve ever written has earned me more personal emails from readers - the people of West Virginia take a lot of unearned grief for being rednecks, and I got the sense that the people who wrote me were genuinely pleased that someone had taken the time to come and see what Mountaineer pride is all about.

(via Pilgrimage: Milan Puskar Stadium and West Virginia football - ESPN)