Matt Boermeester, the former kicker expelled from USC, cannot return to campus, a court ruled on Friday. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Amy D. Hogue stayed the expulsion, but ruled that Boermeester would not be allowed to re-enroll at USC or return to the campus until further notice.A trial on the petition filed by Boermeester’s attorney asking for Boermeester’s expulsion to be reversed and for his reinstatement at the University will be held on Jan. 3. Boermeester was expelled and removed from the campus in July, after a USC Title IX investigation ruled that he had violated the student code of conduct following an alleged violent altercation with his girlfriend, fellow USC student Zoe Katz, in which he was accused of placing his hands around Katz’s neck and pushing her against a wall at least twice around midnight on Jan. 21.Katz wrote a letter through her attorney in July calling Boermeester’s expulsion unfair to both parties, and she denied ever being abused, assaulted or mistreated by him. Katz added that she was intimidated by USC’s Title IX office.But in her initial statement to Title IX investigators, revealed in a USC court filing last month, Katz said that she would often have bruises on her legs and arms because Boermeester would “hit her or grab her tightly when he was angry.”The court ruling comes a day after Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos used Boermeester’s case as an example in her plans to roll back Obama-era Title IX regulations that she claims are unfair toward those who are accused.“The young woman repeatedly assured campus officials she had not been abused nor had any misconduct occurred,” DeVos said during a speech at George Mason University in Virginia. “But because of the failed system, university administrators told her they knew better.”Shortly after the ruling, Provost Michael Quick sent out a memorandum reinforcing the University’s commitment to the mission of its Title IX office. “In light of recent news about suggested revisions to federal guidance under Title IX, I want to reassure our campus community that we will continue to take seriously our responsibility to handle sexual misconduct on our campuses,” Quick wrote. “It simply cannot be overstated: this university will not tolerate sexual misconduct in any form, whether it is sexual violence, abuse, stalking, intimate partner violence, harassment, or discrimination.”Though Quick did not directly address either the Boermeester case or DeVos’ comments, he defended the procedures used by the Title IX office and spoke to their role in preserving the rights of all parties involved.“Over the past several years, we have worked hard to create standards and processes that are fair and protect the rights of all parties, but which have serious consequences for those who are found responsible for violating USC policy,” Quick wrote. Boermeester, a redshirt junior placekicker on the football team last season, kicked the game-winning field goal in the Rose Bowl in January.
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Men of Troy prepare for season opener
The USC men’s golf team returns to action Wednesday, looking to build off of an impressive 2012 campaign. The squad will open the spring season with the three-day Big Island Invitational, played at Waikoloa Golf Course in Waikoloa, Hawaii.High expectations · Former Trojan Steve Lim (above) and the Men of Troy finished 15th in the NCAA championships last season. – Photo courtesy of USC golf team | Daily TrojanThe Trojans, who placed 15th at last year’s NCAA championships, come into the season ranked ninth nationally and with high hopes for the upcoming season. Junior All-American Jeffrey Kang anchors a USC team with a solid mix of youth and experience, and contributions are expected from an array of Trojans. The opening tournament, however, will not be an easy first test: Top collegiate golf programs from around the nation, including Pac-12 rivals No. 11 Stanford, No. 5 Washington and No. 4 UCLA, will be competing on the beautiful Hawaiian links.The team’s immediate mission will be to stay sharp following a two-month hiatus. The break came after a fall preseason that, according to sophomore Anthony Paolucci, did not live up to the Trojans’ high expectations.“We didn’t play well in the fall by our standards,” Paolucci said. “But I know all of us are capable of playing much better this spring.”USC kicked off the fall with the Pac-12 preview hosted by Oregon State, finishing in third place. The conference is expected to be among the nation’s toughest. The Trojans then traveled to Georgia for the U.S. Collegiate Championships, where they again finished third. The squad capped off the fall schedule closer to home with the Gifford Collegiate Championships in San Martin, Calif., where they once again finished third. Expectations for the spring are higher.“I’m really excited for this spring season,” Paolucci said. “We have a very strong team. I feel like we can make a good run at a national title this year.”Such a run will be difficult in a loaded Pac-12 conference, which features a top-five squad in No. 3 Cal along with the dangerous Oregon Ducks. The Trojans also have a date with No. 1 Alabama and defending NCAA champion No. 2 Texas in March’s Southern Collegiate Masters. But even with the tough schedule, Paolucci is confident in the team’s chances.“I know we all are ready to test our game against the best teams in the country,” Paolucci said.The Trojans will be doing just that this week in Hawaii, where a strong finish could set the tone for the year.
Syracuse jumps 4 spots to No. 20 in United Soccer Coaches’ poll
Facebook Twitter Google+ Published on October 23, 2018 at 4:03 pm Contact Michael: mmcclear@syr.edu | @MikeJMcCleary Syracuse (7-4-3, 1-3-2 Atlantic Coast) jumped four spots in this week’s United Soccer Coaches’ poll to No. 20 in the country. SU is coming off a 1-1 tie to North Carolina State on the road a game after its most lopsided win since it joined the ACC in 2013, a 7-0 domination of St. Bonaventure.Tajon Buchanan scored five goals over the past three games to lead SU and now is alone at the top of the Orange’s points leaderboard, with 20.Syracuse plays Clemson Tuesday at 7 p.m. to start SU’s two-game conference stretch to end the regular season. Comments
How success at the free position is elevating SU’s high-powered offense
Published on February 26, 2020 at 12:31 am Contact Roshan: rferna04@syr.edu | @Roshan_f16 When Syracuse is awarded a free position, no one knows what the Orange will do next. Against Binghamton, Emily Hawryschuk elected to charge forward and shoot. Against Colgate, Megan Carney motioned her stick forward as if she was going to shoot, and then re-cradled the ball and juked out her defender.Later that game, freshman Bianca Chevarie fired a free position-shot that appeared to be high and wide left, but Carney popped out from behind the net, collected the pass and put the ball into the back of the net thanks to a spin move.For the Orange, unpredictability is key.“You don’t have to take that one angled shot (every time),” junior Sam Swart said. “Being crazy and doing different things, instead of just going to goal every time.”After Syracuse (5-1) went 0-for-6 on free position opportunities in its first game of the season, head coach Gary Gait dedicated extra practice time to the play. Since that game, SU has scored on almost half of its free positions — including five on 10 attempts against then-No. 6 Northwestern on Feb. 22.AdvertisementThis is placeholder text“You have to have a plan,” Gait said. “Some players get up there and they don’t know what they’re going to do, they’re just like ‘OK, I’ll shoot it in the net.’”Part of that plan, more often than not, is to pass on the free position even though that counts as a statistical missed shot. Swart said no one did that in high school and few teams do it in college; it only became common last year when now-graduated Nicole Levy was with the Orange.After connecting with Carney on the free position, Chevarie said she was “always looking for that one more pass, if it’s there.” Swart, Carney and Gait agreed.“I think it’s a no-brainer,” Levy said last year. “It’s either me from the eight or her on the doorstep. You give her it every time.”Earlier this season, SU wouldn’t always have time to practice free positions, Carney said. But now, Carney said Syracuse has introduced a “more efficient,” 8-meter drill. While the attacks work on their go-to free position plays, the defense gets its reps playing against the attacks. The drill also incorporates passing and expects all the players to be alert, unlike the old drill, which was a lot of waiting in lines.Roshan Fernandez | Asst. Digital EditorIt’s all about the first step, Carney said, and they work on that during and after practice with assistant coach Sydney Pirreca. Vocal calls and hand gestures indicate that a pass is coming, but all that’s necessary once they’re on the same page is eye contact, Carney said. Every player expects to make free position shots because “you have a free lane to goal,” Carney said, but that’s not always the case. Against Stony Brook, Carney hit the pipe, grabbed the follow up and hit the pipe again.“It’s like shooting a free throw for basketball,” Carney said, “You just do rep after rep until you got it.”Regardless, the pressure is on, but that’s what the team works on in practice — developing the mental toughness to be able to handle it. Gait expects his players to have as many as four go-to moves which they can use from certain hashes.“It’s a great opportunity to score, and (we) want to be prepared to give ourselves the best chance,” Gait said.When Swart gets a free position, she walks up to the line and takes a couple deep breaths. Then, just like her teammates, she steadies herself, leaning her body forward and extending her stick as she cradles the ball.She stares down the goalie, flings her stick forward and releases the shot. Or the pass. Comments Facebook Twitter Google+
Olympic rowing medallist back on the water today
The West Cork man is on the water at around twenty five to three.He, and his brother Gary, finished second in the men’s lightweight double sculls final at the Rio games.The duo were pipped to the gold medal by France.
Celtic hoping to edge closer to Champions League spot
Celtic needed a late penalty to beat the Kazakhstan club in the third qualifying round last season.Rodgers says his side have progressed a lot since then.Kick off at Celtic Park is at 7.45 Photo: Pixabay Celtic will hope to put one foot in the coveted Champions League group stage this evening.Brendan Rodger’s team entertain Astana in the first leg of their play off in Glasgow.The sides are meeting for the second year in a row.
Jamaica Tallawahs captain upset about lack of home support in South…
Jamaica Tallawahs captain Andre Russell has lamented the lack of home advantage provided by the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium, following his side’s heavy defeat to Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League on Saturday night.Tallawahs played their first two home games at Sabina Park and host the other three at the venue located in Lauderhill, Florida.However, Saturday’s contest did not seem like a home advantage for the Tallawahs as Amazon Warriors were greeted with vocal support from spectators, something that was not lost on an “upset” Russell.“I’m very unhappy at the moment. The guys fought tonight (Saturday). I think when you have a good thing going and you actually lose a game, sometimes these things happen in cricket where you just have to pick yourself up and try and get stronger and grow from strength to strength,” the all-rounder explained.think based on tonight’s game, it wasn’t like a home game. It didn’t feel that way. Every boundary, every wicket [the reaction] was going Guyana’s way. [Shimron] Hetmyer came out and played some good shots and just the crowd being at his back, it kind of gave him a pump and it shouldn’t be like that.”He continued: “I think we should have that home advantage when a guy hits a boundary, he hears silence. That’s how home advantage is supposed to be. It’s not supposed to be in conditions where you have to wonder.“You [as the home team] hit a four, you hit a six you’re not hearing nothing because Guyana’s crowd is out here and they want to see Guyana do well.”The 21-year-old Hetmyer slammed exactly 100 off 49 balls to leave Tallawahs chasing 210 for victory. However, their batsmen failed to cope with a difficult and a hostile crowd, and crumbled to 138 all out in the 17th over, losing by 71 runs.Russell said the Tallawahs had found it difficult both when they bowled and batted, and conceded it had impacted the team’s motivation.“Guys were upset, I was upset. When I got off the field I was throwing shoes and everything around the changing room … this is how upsetting these things can be,” Russell said.“You want to know that the crowd is behind you on your home turf so if we go to Barbados we see a sea of blue then we expect that. If you’re playing a home game you want to feel the home advantage – if you get a wicket you hear a loud cheer. It gives the bowlers energy, even if you’re tired.“A lot of Guyanese live here, a lot of Trinis live here and I think that’s already a proper home advantage. I hope that we can just win the next two games.”Tallawahs lost to champions Trinbago Knight Riders on Sunday night, and will next face Barbados Tridents next Wednesday.
“I am still chasing the AFCON trophy”- Asamoah Gyan
Black Stars general captain, Asamoah Gyan, may have won a lot of individual awards and accolades in his playing career that seen him play top level football for about 16 years but he still hunting for the one thing that has eluded him: the AFCON trophy.He says that he still pursuing the biggest prize in African football and he is not ready to end that chase.He and the Black Stars have lost finals in 2010 to Egypt and 2015 to Cote d’Ivoire and they have fallen at the semi-final stage in 2008 and 2012.In his interview with TV3’s Juliet Bawuah, he revealed that winning the African Nations Cup was still on his agenda but he added that the absence of that medal in his haul was quite a burden for him.“For now, what bothers me a lot is that I have not won any trophy with the Black Stars since I started playing for the team in 2003. I have won silver and bronze medals but I want the gold medal.That is what has been bothering me until now but life goes on. However, that (winning the AFCON trophy) is what I want.”Gyan was part of Ghana’s failed 2019 attempt at winning its first AFCON title since 1982. The team lost to Tunisia on penalties in the last 16 of the tournament that was played in Egypt.
Lakers and Clippers meet with vastly different storylines, but same agenda
Clippers rookies key overtime victory over Oklahoma City VIDEO: Watch Kyle Kuzma’s game winner and what he said about it Related Articles How athletes protesting the national anthem has evolved over 17 years Clippers’ rhythm is missing but their spirits strong before playoff opener AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MOREUCLA alum Kenny Clark signs four-year contract extension with Packers“I have to see the banners,” said Rivers, who, remember, coached the Boston Celtics team that lost the 2010 NBA Finals to the Lakers in seven games (during which, current Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo averaged 13.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 7.6 assists for the Celtics).Sign up for Home Turf and get exclusive stories every SoCal sports fan must read, sent daily. Subscribe here.Two years before that, Rivers and Rondo – who also will miss Friday’s game, sidelined with a grade 3 sprain to his right ring finger – did their part to delay the Lakers’ 16th championship banner, beating them in six games for the title.But even though the Clippers have won 21 of their past 24 games against the Lakers, theirs is no Lakers-Celtics rivalry.The Clippers have no championship banners, nor do they have any All-Stars as of yet on their roster; the Lakers have three All-Stars, including James, a perennial pick.The Lakers are, according to Forbes, valued at $3.3 billion, second-most in the NBA. At $2.15 billion, the Clippers rank eighth on that list. The Lakers are averaging 18,997 fans per home game, according to ESPN, which has the Clippers bringing in 17,063. Clippers still without Montrezl Harrell, who is in a 7-day quarantine Morning Wrap: Full coverage from Lakers-Clippers thriller; Angels, Dodgers going in different directions; Whicker pays tribute to legendary Mike Gillespie Fans might get to see Marjanovic – who is averaging 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in sporadic action this season – on Friday. Rivers said he likes how he matches up against centers who don’t often shoot 3-pointers, a description that fits the Lakers’ Ivica Zubac, Tyson Chandler (and, if he’s available following a bout of pneumonia, JaVale McGee).Related Articles PLAYA VISTA — If you’re a friend of Clippers coach Doc Rivers and you were hoping he could hook you up with tickets to see LeBron James live this holiday season, you’re out of luck.For one thing, James is recovering from a strained groin and is expected to miss the game between L.A.’s NBA teams on Friday night at Staples Center. For another: This will be the Lakers’ home game, and so the Clippers will be guests in their own building – thus, the reduced allotment of tickets.“Where it gets different is people call you for tickets and you have to explain to them, ‘It’s the Lakers’ game guys, it’s not our home game so I don’t have as many tickets,’ ” Rivers said at his team’s practice Thursday. “No matter how many times you say that, they look at you dumbfounded like, ‘Don’t you get the same seats?’ ‘Well, no, we don’t.’ ”That’s not the only difference, of course. Trail Blazers, Grizzlies advance to NBA play-in game; Suns, Spurs see playoff dreams dashed There also are some commonalities – they share a hallway, and before the Lakers tipped off against Sacramento on Thursday night, identical 20-14 records, which puts them both in playoff contention for now. They’re also both top-10 in the NBA in pace and scoring.And both teams have players who produce “M-V-P!” chants when they’re at the free-throw line.For the Lakers, that’s James, who Thursday was named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the third time – and who is, arguably, the greatest basketball player of all time.For the Clippers, it’s Boban Marjanovic, the 7-foot-3 Serbian center who – fun fact – actually, statistically, is in that greatest-ever conversation too.At least according to the Player Efficiency Rating, a system developed by John Hollinger to sum up all of a player’s positive accomplishments, to subtract the negatives, and return a per-minute rating of that individual’s overall performance.By that metric, Marjanovic’s career PER of 27.8 is right there with Michael Jordan’s (27.9) and James’ (27.7). In his first three starts this season in place of McGee, Zubac has proved a difficult cover around the rim, averaging 17.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots.“He’s definitely done a great job for us and I think he’s earned the trust of his teammates and coaching staff,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said recently of the 7-foot-1 Croatian center. “So it’s nice to have that going for us right now with all the injuries and illnesses.”Count also on the heavily hyped Lakers and upstart Clippers sharing the same agenda when they finally meet, about 40 percent of the way into the season: They’ll both be fighting for an important Western Conference ‘W.’“Everybody’s gonna hype it up as Lakers vs. that other team, but we don’t really care about that,” the Clippers’ Montrezl Harrell said after the Clippers hung on to defeat the Kings on Wednesday. “They gotta come in and lace their shoes up just like we gotta do, you know?“We’ll come in with an offensive and defensive game plan, we’re gonna look to execute on both ends of the floor and we’re looking to come out with the win. That’s all it’s about, man.”The Lakers’ Brandon Ingram drives to the basket as Clippers rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander defends during a preseason game at Honda Center. The teams have their first regular-season meeting on Friday night. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) Newsroom GuidelinesNews TipsContact UsReport an Error Jubilation, anguish as race for NBA’s Western 8th seed gets as close as ever Lakers on verge of sealing home court advantage, what does it mean in the NBA bubble? VIDEO: LeBron James and Doc Rivers respond to Donald Trump calling NBA kneeling protests “disgraceful” 
Mapping schedule for Lakers, Clippers was tougher than ever for NBA
“We are beginning to see that there are people who are attracted to the brand who are outside of Los Angeles,” said Gillian Zucker, the Clippers’ president of business operations. “We know there are Clippers fans in lots of different cities now and hopefully that’s something that can help with performance as we travel to other NBA cities, and that’s good for the league and the sport overall.”The league, in general, is looking for a viewership boost. Regular-season viewership last year dropped five percent, which Commissioner Adam Silver attributed, in part, to LeBron James’ move out West. That has led to a few subtle changes, such as Western Conference teams playing some games at earlier tip-off times in an effort to slide into Eastern Conference windows. That specifically affects Staples Center: The Lakers, for example, have nine fewer 7:30 p.m. Pacific time tip-offs than the previous season.Overall, the league views the parity not just between the two L.A. powers but among the league overall as a force that could drive interest this season – no matter when the games are tipping off.“There’s so many interesting, well-stocked teams,” Carelli said. “I’m a fan, so I’m really interested to see how it’s gonna play out.”Mirjam Swanson contributed to this report. AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MOREUCLA alum Kenny Clark signs four-year contract extension with PackersTo put the challenge in proper perspective, it bears reminding that Staples Center also hosts the L.A. Kings, who play 41 regular-season home games. Staples Center also hosts one of the longest unmovable events during the NBA calendar: the Grammy Awards, which is second only to the three-week San Antonio Stock and Rodeo Show.Add that to some lesser-known preferences that individual teams have: Avoiding conflicts with certain holidays (such as Halloween and Thanksgiving); not wanting to butt up against NFL games (especially on Super Bowl Sunday); preferring not to play on Mondays; trying to schedule trips to fly fewer miles, while also avoiding back-to-backs.While the NBA offers several sample schedules in the months leading to the official schedule release in early August, it’s hard to change much at all once the lengthy list of concerns is considered. Tim Harris, the Lakers’ president of business operations, uses the analogy of trying to move an unwieldy ocean liner in a narrow harbor – there’s only so much free space.“There’s some landmines out there that everyone wants to avoid, but the ability to do mass changes is hard because it has a domino effect,” he said. “The league, if they move one, it’s tough on others.”Much of the league’s scheduling is done via computer algorithm, but Carelli calls it a “computer sandwich,” because human input is applied both before and after the process. League schedulers are armed with plenty of tools, including maps of team locations, TV schedules, historic schedules, statistics and arena dates. Carelli said the staff “lock ourselves” into the room during crunch time. How athletes protesting the national anthem has evolved over 17 years Trail Blazers beat Grizzlies in play-in, earn first-round series with the Lakers After striking off specific dates that don’t work, they feed that data to the computer.“The computer runs, you let it run overnight and give you a metric,” Carelli said. “Then when you look at it, you look at things like back-to-back mileage. … You tweak this way, tweak that that way, then run it through the computer and check it again.”NBA fans might be surprised to learn that this process starts as early as November, as the Lakers, Clippers and Kings all submit data to Staples Center, which then haggles with the league over dates. The NBA looks forward to the NFL and NHL schedule releases, which helps them narrow down on certain days.Some Staples Center-specific concerns include the Lakers’ and Clippers’ desire to spread out the visits of certain powerhouse teams even if it makes some sense for Eastern Conference teams to play both on one trip. If a visiting team such as the Philadelphia 76ers, for example, visits two different times, the Lakers and the Clippers might get suite holders and premium ticket holders to come twice for that opponent.That’s taken somewhat of a backseat as the league has gotten more attuned to cutting down flight miles. The Lakers, for example, will play both New York and Brooklyn on the same trip this year on back-to-back nights after taking two separate New York trips last year. It’s one of the reasons both the Lakers and Clippers have cut down about 10,000 miles of flying this season with even fewer back-to-backs than the previous year.“I think that’s an overall goal of the process,” Carelli said. “We’re getting better at it. We’re understanding ways to do that and trying to be as efficient as possible.”The Lakers and Clippers demand can be measured by how the NBA’s TV partner’s snatched them up: Turner and ABC/ESPN split the Lakers-Clippers series, plus each team’s games against the Warriors, Portland, Philadelphia and Boston. Both the Lakers and Clippers also prominently feature into both broadcasters’ “tentpole” game nights, including playing each other on opening night and Christmas, with big games before Thanksgiving (Lakers at New Orleans, the first Saturday ABC game (Clippers at New Orleans) and Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Lakers at Boston).The Clippers got a taste of high-level national demand during the Lob City era, but they’re hopeful that this marks the start of a more permanent placement in the national palette.Related Articles Lakers, Clippers schedules set for first round of NBA playoffs 
Newsroom GuidelinesNews TipsContact UsReport an Error Lakers practice early hoping to answer all questions LOS ANGELES — Think Tinseltown isn’t big enough for two NBA contenders? Imagine being in charge of scheduling for two teams that share the same building.It’s always a challenge for NBA schedule makers to figure out the sliding puzzle that is Staples Center between the Lakers and Clippers, two tenants that are rarely atop the league at the same time. This season, that task is even harder. Each is anticipated to be among the best teams in the league and each has a pair of superstars.That created intense demand to put both teams on the NBA’s national television schedule often. At least 76 Lakers or Clipper games will be broadcast on either TNT, ABC, ESPN or NBA TV this season (all four in-town match-ups are on national television). Tom Carelli, the NBA’s vice president of game schedule management, says the league’s research shows that is 20 percent more national TV games than the two rivals have ever combined for.“It’s an incredible challenge,” said Carelli, who described it as the hardest year ever to schedule one of the league’s most tricky venues. “But it makes it easier that the parties we deal with, the Lakers and Clippers, are really cooperative.” Trail Blazers, Grizzlies advance to NBA play-in game; Suns, Spurs see playoff dreams dashed 