For three of them, this is nothing new, for another one it is completely new. Tom Izzo, Rick Pitino and Roy Williams have all made at least four trips to the Final Four. This will be the fourth time for Izzo and Williams and number five for Pitino. Illinois head coach Bruce Weber finds himslef in the semifinals for the first time ever. The four head coaches talked about what they expect out of the 2004 Final Four in St. Louis in a teleconference with the media on Wednesday. The following are excerpts from that teleconference:
Cards Keep Pulsipher And Flores
March 31, 2005 By
The Cardinals finalized their roster yesterday by keeping relief pitchers Bill Pulsipher and Randy Flores. In eleven innings of work, Pulsipher allowed eight hits and three runs but didn’t yield any runs. He worked the 10th inning on Thursday and worked around two hits. Flores had a 7.27 ERA in 8 2/3 innings this spring.
Abraham Nunez made the Cardinals’ 25-man roster earlier this week and on Thursday he said thanks. His RBI triple in the ninth inning tied the Cardinals and Orioles at 5-5 and after ten innings that was the final score. Nunez, who is a lifetime .238 hitter, is hitting .340 this spring. Reggie Sanders, who returned from an appendectomy earlier this week, hit a two run homer.
On the mound, Jeff Suppan was the starter and he allowed three runs—two earned—off five hits and three walks over five innings.
The Cardinals will play the Orioles again today, then break camp. They’ll play two games against the Springfield Cardinals on Sunday and Monday before opening up the season in Houston on Tuesday.
Anderson Sharp As Royals Grab Third Straight
March 31, 2005 By
Brian Anderson pitched five scoreless innings on Thursday, as the Royals topped the Mariners 5-3 to win their third straight spring training game. Anderson’s only blemishes were three harmless singles, as he lowered his ERA to 2.08. Tony Pena used five more pitchers over the final four innings and Mike MacDougal got the win, despite allowing a run off two hits and a walk in the seventh inning.
With the Royals leading 3-2 in the ninth, Donnie Murphy and Joe McEwing drove in runs with singles to give them a 5-2 advantage.
The Royals meet the Rangers today for their final game in Arizona. On Saturday and Sunday, they’ll wrap up the exhibition season with two games against the Astros in Houston, before heading to Detroit to open the regular season on Monday.
Arena Football Expected To Come To KC
March 31, 2005 By
The Arena Football League is coming to Kansas City. The AFL is expected to bring a franchise to Kemper Arena in 2006, and then move to the new downtown arena once construction is completed in 2007. The Kansas City marketing company, K.C. Arena Sports and Entertainment Group, has applied for a franchise and has received preliminary approval. Background checks on its investors will need to be done before they’re given the final thumbs up.
The AFL currently has 17 teams and hopes to expand to 20 in 2006. As it stands, there are three midwest cities with franchises—Chicago, Columbus, Ohio and Grand Rapids, Michigan.
UMKC Gets Two Verbals
March 31, 2005 By
UMKC has two very interested recruits ready to sign on the dotted line. David Nurse, who is a 6-2 guard from Kearney, Missouri, has given head coach Rich Zvosec a verbal commitment. So has 6-9 Johnson County (Ks.) Community College transfer Kyle Spears.
Nurse averaged 18 points per game for Kearney this past season, while Spears averaged 7.7 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Both players are expected to sign a letter of intent once the late signing period begins on April 13.
