American Athletic Conference eyeing the Palestra today

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AAC representatives are visiting the Palestra today as a potential site of the conference's March 2014 men’s basketball tournament, according to Mark Blaudschun.

American Athletic Association commissioner Mike Aresco is reportedly drawn to the Palestra's historical significance as the "Cathedral of College Basketball" as well as the gym's smaller seating (8,700 seats), which would encourage greater demand for tickets for the fledgling conference.

Other sites up for consideration include Hartford, Tampa, Memphis, Cincinnati and Louisville. An announcement is expected in the next few weeks on which site will be the 2014 men's tourney host, although the women's and men's tournaments are both expected to move on a rotating basis.

Men’s lacrosse to face big NCAA Tournament implications Friday

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While many on Penn’s campus are focused on getting back at their teachers following arduous exams, Penn men’s lacrosse is looking to get revenge against Yale this Friday.

The Quakers snuck into the Ivy League Tournament thanks to Yale’s one-goal victory over Harvard on Saturday, and Yale’s reward for beating the Crimson is a date with the Red and Blue in Ithaca, N.Y.

The game has large postseason implications for Penn. While winning the Ivy League Tournament would provide the Quakers with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, a win against Yale would be huge for Penn’s at-large resume.

The Red and Blue currently stand at 8-4 with a 3-3 record in conference play, while holding some major victories over ranked teams, including Duke, Princeton, Lehigh and Villanova.

But after the season with a strong non-conference performance and an Ivy opening win over Princeton, the Quakers lost three of four to Ivy opponents, including a 7-6 OT loss to Yale at Franklin Field.

So a win against the Bulldogs would go a long way toward solidifying Penn’s NCAA Tournament chances before even looking at a possible matchup with the Tigers or Big Red for the Ancient Eight’s automatic bid.

A loss, on the other hand, likely puts the Red and Blue on the outside looking in when it comes to Selection Sunday, despite Penn having the No. 12 RPI in the country.

So if Penn wants to make a return to the NCAA Tournament after missing out in 2012, it desperately needs a strong performance against Yale on Friday at Cornell.

 

Copeland signs with Baltimore Ravens

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The 2013 NFL Draft came and went, and though three Ivy League players were selected, no Penn players went. But it didn't take much time past pick No. 254 for the Baltimore Ravens to call up senior DE/OLB Brandon Copeland to sign him as a free agent.

Copeland is a Baltimore native whose been a Ravens fan his entire life, and his grandfather Roy Hilton won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Colts in 1971. He attended the NFL Regional Combine at the Ravens facility and worked out for the team again earlier this month.  Copeland was hoping to be drafted today in a late round, but he felt he had a good chance to sign with a team if not. He watched the draft at his off-campus house with a few family members and friends.

OL Joe Bonadies also received good news today. He was invited by the Minnesota Vikings to their rookie mini camp next weekend. "I'm definitely very excited, a lot of emotions, it's an awesome opportunity to get a chance to showcase my skills," Bonadies said Saturday night. He had heard from the Vikings earlier this week that they would invite him and received the official invitation after the draft.

"Hopefully I do well, that's the plan," Bonadies said. "Showcase my skills and hopefully get signed."

Bonadies was with Copeland earlier Saturday and is excited for him. "It's a great opportunity, it's his hometown team, it's a great organization," he said. "I'm happy for him. He knew he was going to get some kind of opportunity.

Punter Scott Lopano was also hoping to hear from an NFL team today, but so far has not been signed.

UPDATE: Lopano told us Monday morning that he was invited to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' rookie mini camp, which will take place Thursday through Sunday. 

Penn Relays Live Blog: Day 3

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It's Saturday, the final day of the Penn Relays, and we have USA vs. the World, the College Men's 4xMile and much more! Follow along as our writers liveblog all the action.

 

Introducing the Ivy League Digital Network

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The Ivy League announced Friday that it has partnered with Internet Protocol television company NeuLion to create the league's first-ever digital sports network.

Scheduled to launch in August, the Ivy League Digital Network will be comprised of nine separate channels accessible on  tablets, computers and mobile devices, meaning Ancient Eight fans will no longer have to pay for each school's own individual streaming service.

The new nine-channel video platform will consist of eight channels for each individual school and one conference-wide channel which will feature all available Ancient Eight digital content. Schools' own production crews will continue to provide the streams, which will then be unified under the new network.

Subscription  costs have not been announced when the network goes live this summer.

Penn Athletic Director Steve Bilsky told The Daily Pennsylvanian in January that he had been involved in trying to get the Ivy League to offer all streaming available under one package.

“If we’re able to do this league-wide, you’re going to have every away game,” Bilsky said to The DP in January. “And as a real fan, you might be interested in watching the Harvard-Princeton basketball game on your network for whatever the price is. It will find its right value.”

Bilsky also noted in January that any universal Ivy streaming package would have to achieve comparable quality across all schools, so that fans of one school which features high-definition and announcers in its broadcasts won't grow frustrated with other schools' broadcasts that don't.

Schools' own production crews will continue to provide the Ivy League Digital Network's streams, which will then be unified under the new video platform.

Bilsky wasn't immediately available when reached for comment Friday afternoon.

 

 

 

 

Roundtable: What to look for at Penn Relays

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24870_04302011_pennrelays_laurafWhat should people be looking forward to the most for the 2013 Penn Relays? Our roundtable weighs in.

Sports Editor Ian Wenik: There are a few individuals I’m going to have my eyes on this weekend. In the Olympic Development ranks, I’m going to be watching French sprinter Christophe Lemaitre.
You might remember Lemaitre from his performance in the 2012 London Olympics, as he posted a sixth place finish in the 200-meter dash finals. London was a bit of a disappointment for Lemaitre.

Ranked fourth in the world in the 200m heading into the Olympics, his 20.19 time was well off his personal best, and he didn’t even try the 100m. The fastest man of non-African descent in the event’s history, Lemaitre’s will have to go through a stacked 100m field at the Relays that includes 2004 Athens gold medalist Justin Gatlin this weekend.

Personally, I think he wins. Lemaitre is only 22 and has plenty of good runs left in him.
In the college ranks, I’m excited to watch my former high school opponent Curtis Richburg take the track for Rutgers. A perennial contender for the state championship during his cross-country days at West Orange, Richburg has been one of the Scarlet Knights’ biggest in-state snags.

Nowadays, Richburg is in top form as part of Rutgers’ 4x800m relay team, which is one of the best in the Big East.

U.S. Olympic Development distance runner Robby Andrews is an interesting story after dropping out of UVA to train on his own. Last week, Andrews won the 800m at the Larry Ellis Invitational with a time of 1:48.18.

Highly regarded for years, Andrews crashed and burned at the Olympic Trials last year. Could he, like Lemaitre, get a boost from a good weekend?

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Bonus Q&A: The grind of going the distance

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Enjoy a bonus portion of our Q&A on the risks of long-distance running with John Vasudevan, assistant professor of clinical physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Perelman School of Medicine.

DP: What are some of the injuries that can pop up the day after the race and beyond?

JV: So after the day of the race, of course a lot of times what happens is number one, you can do a lot of muscle damage going that distance and the proper nutrition, not just hydration but nutrition, to kind of replenish that damage is important because if you’re not caring for yourself very well afterwards, you run the risk of additional dehydration.

Marathons in themselves are obviously like any difficult workout — you’re going to feel really sore the next day. A lot of times people will kind of pick up conditions that weren’t serious enough to keep them from finishing the race, [like] knee injuries or ankle injuries.

People come to me with a sort of stress fracture after [marathons], because the adrenaline rush pushed them through to complete it, and then by the next day their body is reacting so strongly to the damage that has been done. It can be quite painful.
DP: Is there a greater risk for either gender?

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For USA vs. the World, a familiar cast of athletes

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24870_04302011_pennrelays_laurafLike every year at the Penn Relays, stars from across the globe will descend on the track at Franklin Field for the “USA vs. the World” races this weekend.

Fresh off his 100m dash bronze medal from the London 2012 Summer Olympic games, Justin Gatlin will headline the American men’s 4x100m relay team.

The former gold medalist was a part of the team that captured first in this event at the Penn Relays a year ago.

Gatlin, along with teammates Mike Rodgers and Walter Dix, will be looking to defend his title against a variety of strong opponents.

But if the Americans are going to sweep the “USA vs. the World” events again, dealing with the Jamaican sprinters will be their toughest task.

The Jamaicans will bring over Nesta Carter, a holdover from their 2012 gold medal-winning 4x100m team.

On the women’s side of the 4x100m race, the title is the Americans’ to lose.

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Mel Pender and the 1968 4x100m Relay

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Tomorrow, we'll be running a story about Dr. Mel Pender and his godson Kyle Webster who is a sophomore on the Penn Track team. Pender, who set world records in the 50-yard, 60-yard, and 70-yard dashes, competed in the Olympics twice. Here is footage from the 4x100-meter relay where he along with Charles Greene, Jim Hines and Ronnie Ray Smith won gold and set a world record of 38.24 meters. The U.S.A. is running in lane two and Pender ran the second leg.