Updated High School Wrestling rules

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (April 26, 2012) — High school wrestlers who are called for a third stalling violation will receive a stiffer penalty beginning with the 2012-13 season. In addition to the two-point penalty assessed for a third stalling violation, the opponent will now have his or her choice of position on the next restart.

The stalling penalty revision was one of eight rules changes approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Wrestling Rules Committee at its April 9-11 meeting in Indianapolis. The changes were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

“The change to the third stalling penalty resulted from the committee’s desire to encourage wrestlers to wrestle aggressively by providing a greater incentive not to stall,” said Dale Pleimann, chair of the Wrestling Rules Committee and former assistant executive director of the Missouri State High School Activities Association. “No one likes to see a wrestler disqualified for stalling. The hope is that by increasing the third stalling penalty, a wrestler who has been penalized twice will be encouraged to pick up the pace and wrestle more aggressively.”

In other changes, the committee adjusted the current dual meet weigh-in procedure to align with the random draw.

Bob Colgate, NFHS director of sports and sports medicine and staff liaison to the Wrestling Rules Committee, said this change would provide maximum preparation and warm-up time for the first contestants scheduled to compete in a dual meet.

Three new rules were approved by the committee, including Rule 4-3-5, which states that wrestlers “may not wear wristbands, sweatbands or bicep bands during a match.” This rule was enacted in an effort to minimize risk of injury from wrestlers getting their fingers caught in an opponent’s wristband or sweatband.

Another new rule for 2012-13 is an exception to the 30-second tiebreaker. The new exception (8-2-1h) will read as follows:

“If the second injury time-out is taken at the conclusion of the first 30-second tiebreaker period and the opponent already has the choice at the beginning of the second 30-second tiebreaker period, the opponent would then have the added choice at the first restart after the beginning of the second 30-second tiebreaker period.”

This provision was a rule change last year for the regulation match and will now apply to the overtime as well.

Rule 10-2-9 will be added to next year’s rules to address what happens when two wrestlers in the championship bracket simultaneously cannot continue a match.  If both wrestlers cannot continue because of disqualification for stalling or having their injury or blood time elapse, the wrestler who is leading on points at the time the match is terminated will continue in the consolation bracket. If the match is tied at the time of termination, neither wrestler will continue.

Following are the other three changes approved by the committee:

4-1-1a: Language has been updated to describe the wrestler’s singlet, and the change will also allow the T-shirt with no sleeves to be worn under the one-piece singlet when approved by the referee.

5-11-2i: Rules language was expanded to complete the near-fall and penalty sequence.

10-3-6 and 10-3-7: The tournament bracket format was revised to allow more flexibility in conducting a tournament.

“The NFHS Wrestling Rules Committee confirmed that the sport of high school wrestling is in great shape overall by making only a few changes to the scholastic rules,” Pleimann said.

Wrestling is the sixth-most popular sport for boys at the high school level with 273,732 participants in 10,407 schools during the 2010-11 season, according to the NFHS Athletics Participation Survey. In addition, 7,351 girls were involved in wrestling in 1,215 high schools.

UND coach Dave Hakstol signs new deal

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota Director of Athletics Brian Faison announced today that head men’s hockey coach Dave Hakstol has been signed to a new six-year contract that will keep him behind the Fighting Sioux bench through the 2017-18 season.

Through his first eight seasons as UND head coach, Hakstol has become the third-winningest coach in program history, compiling a 213-106-30 (.653) overall record and a 129-75-20 (.621) mark during Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) play.

A six-time finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award as national coach of the year, Hakstol has guided the Sioux to five NCAA Frozen Four appearances, four WCHA Final Five playoff championships, two WCHA regular season titles and has advanced to the NCAA postseason in each of his eight years. He was named WCHA Coach of the Year in 2008-09.

“I am thrilled to announce that Coach Hakstol will continue to be behind the bench for UND hockey,” Faison said. “We have one of the elite hockey programs in the country and maintaining that high level of competitive and academic success was central to the contract process. Coach Hakstol’s teams have been successful on the ice, in the classroom and in serving the community. I wanted to make certain we kept continuity and stability in these ever-changing and challenging times.”

“I’m pleased to have the opportunity to continue working and living in what I consider to be the best environment in hockey,” Hakstol said. “I’m particularly grateful for the confidence Brian Faison has shown in me and my staff. We’re here to win and to do it the right way.”

In 2011-12, Hakstol led an injury-depleted team to its league-record third consecutive Broadmoor Trophy as WCHA Final Five champions and was named Inside College Hockey’s National Coach of the Year. With eight players missing 110 games due to injury, the Sioux were forced to dress fewer than 18 skaters on 14 occasions, yet went 11-3 in those games, earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA West Regional, and advanced to the regional championship game. UND finished the season ranked No. 5 in the USCHO.com poll and No. 6 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.

In the classroom, 11 student-athletes earned All-WCHA Academic Team honors and three were named WCHA Scholar-Athletes, including 2011-12 WCHA Most Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year Brad Eidsness (Sr., Chestermere, Alberta).

UND also reinforced its reputation as the top draw in NCAA Division I men’s hockey by leading the nation in three attendance categories: average attendance for all games (9,999.5), total attendance for all games (419,981) and total attendance for home games (249,501).

The trademark of UND hockey during Hakstol’s tenure has been the team’s ability to play its best hockey during the most crucial time of year. UND went 5-0 in the 2012 WCHA playoffs and added a victory in the NCAA West Region semifinal, improving Hakstol’s career playoff record (WCHA and NCAA combined) to 42-15 (.737), 16 more wins than any other WCHA school during his eight-year tenure. Additionally, UND’s 12 NCAA postseason wins during that time are second only to Boston College’s 19.

Over the past eight seasons, UND has amassed a .709 winning percentage (132-49-18) in games played after the Christmas break, compared to a .577 clip (80-57-12) in games played prior to Christmas. That includes an impressive 55-13-4 (.792) record during the month of March.

Hakstol has enhanced UND’s championship legacy with Broadmoor Trophies in 2011-12, 2010-11, 2009-10 and 2005-06, MacNaughton Cup victories in 2010-11 and 2008-09, and NCAA regional titles in 2010-11, 2007-08, 2006-07, 2005-06 and 2004-05.

The 2011-12 season marked the eighth time in as many seasons under Hakstol in which the Sioux have won 20 or more games, the second-longest streak of 20 wins in school history behind only John “Gino” Gasparini’s 13 in a row from 1978-79 to 1990-91.

Eight players have earned All-America honors under Hakstol, including 2007 Hobey Baker Award Winner Ryan Duncan and 2011 Hobey Baker Award finalist Matt Frattin, and 25 have garnered All-WCHA honors. In the classroom, 86 of Hakstol’s players have been named to the WCHA All-Academic Team and 22 were chosen WCHA Scholar-Athletes.

UND has developed a reputation for doing an outstanding job in preparing players for professional careers, a reputation strengthened during Hakstol’s tenure. Seventeen of Hakstol’s players have gone on to play in the National Hockey League: Taylor Chorney, Joe Finley, Matt Frattin, Chay Genoway, Matt Greene, Matt Jones, Brian Lee, Brad Malone, Brady Murray, T.J. Oshie, Chris Porter, Matt Smaby, Drew Stafford, Jonathan Toews, Chris VandeVelde, Matt Watkins, and Travis Zajac. Two more, senior defenseman Ben Blood (Ottawa Senators) and sophomore forward Brock Nelson (Warroad, Minn.), signed NHL contracts following the 2011-12 season.

Eleven of Hakstol’s 17 NHL products made their NHL debuts within a year of playing their final collegiate games, including Chorney, Frattin, Genoway, Lee, Malone, Oshie, Porter, Smaby, Stafford, VandeVelde and Zajac.

Through Hakstol’s first seven seasons as head coach, 33 UND players were selected in the NHL Entry Draft, including six taken in the first round: Derek Forbort (15^th overall, 2010), Brock Nelson (30^th overall, 2010), Jonathan Toews (3^rd overall, 2006), Brian Lee (9^th overall, 2005), T.J. Oshie (24^th overall, 2005) and Joe Finley (27^th overall, 2005).

Hakstol, 35 years old when he was named UND’s head men’s hockey coach on July 9, 2004, is only the fourth Fighting Sioux head coach in the past 43 years. Hakstol, a Sioux player from 1989-92, is also just the fifth former UND player to also become head coach at North Dakota.

Prior to taking over as UND’s head coach, the former Sioux captain was a member of Dean Blais’ coaching staff for four seasons and in that stint helped coach the Sioux to a pair of WCHA titles, three NCAA appearances and the 2001 national championship game.

Before joining the UND staff on July 1, 2000, Hakstol spent four seasons (1996-2000) as the general manager and head coach of the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League (USHL), posting winning seasons in his last three seasons. Overall, Hakstol had a 101-109-13 record with the Musketeers. He was named the USHL Coach of the Year in 1997-98.

                                                                                                  

Before beginning his coaching career, Hakstol played professional hockey with the IHL’s Minnesota Moose from 1994-96, serving as team captain for two years, and with the IHL’s Indianapolis Ice from 1992-1994, serving as team captain for one season. In five professional seasons, Hakstol played in 250 games, scoring 12 goals and recording 37 assists. He also accumulated 455 penalty minutes.

As a defenseman on the Sioux hockey team from 1989-92, Hakstol was a three-year letterwinner and served as team captain from 1990 to 1992. He played in 107 games for UND, scoring 10 goals and adding 36 assists for 46 points. He had 77 penalties for 191 minutes.

Hakstol and his wife, Erinn, have two children: daughter Avery and son Brenden.

Dave Hakstol’s Record at North Dakota:

                             WCHA                                                                   Overall

                                                         WCHA      WCHA                                              NCAA

Year          W      L      T    Pct.   Finish   Playoffs       W      L      T    Pct.    Tourn.             

2004-05       13    12      3     .611           5th         3rd             25    15      5     .611    Runnerup

2005-06       16    12      0     .571        t-4th         1st             29    16      1     .641    Semifinals

2006-07       13    10      5     .554          3rd         2nd             24    14      5     .616    Semifinals

2007-08       18      7      3     .696          2nd         3rd             28    11      4     .698    Semifinals

2008-09       17      7      4     .679          1st         4th             24    15      4     .605    Regionals

2009-10       15    10      3     .589        t-4th         1st             25    13      5     .640    Regionals

2010-11       21      6      1     .768          1st         1st             32      9      3     .761    Semifinals

2011-12       16    11      1     .589           4th         1st             26    13      3     .655    Regionals

Totals  129   75   20    .621                                         213 106   30    .653

Years at UND: 8

NCAA Appearances: 8

NCAA Frozen Four Appearances: 5

wcha MacNaughton Cup Championships: 2

WCHA Final Five Appearances: 8

WCHA Final Five Championships: 4

Dave Hakstol By the Numbers:

213 Wins at UND, third-most in program history

86 WCHA All-Academic Team selections

42 Career playoff wins (WCHA and NCAA), 16 more than any other WCHA school during his tenure

33 National Hockey League draft picks

25 All-WCHA selections

22 WCHA Scholar-Athletes

17 Former players who reached the National Hockey League

8 Years at UND

8 NCAA postseason appearances

8 All-Americans

8 Consecutive 20-win seasons, second-longest streak in program history

6 First-round NHL draft picks

6 Times named finalist for Spencer Penrose Award as national coach of the year

5 NCAA Frozen Four appearances

4 WCHA Final Five championships (Broadmoor Trophy)

2 WCHA regular season championships (MacNaughton Cup)

2 Hobey Baker Award finalists

1 Hobey Baker Award winner

MN Vikings 2012 Schedule

The 2012 NFL Schedules have been released. Here is the schedule for the Minnesota Vikings:

 Day Date Opponent Time (CT)

Friday Aug. 10 at San Francisco 49ers 8 p.m.

Friday Aug. 17 Buffalo Bills 7 p.m.

Friday Aug. 24 San Diego Chargers 7 p.m.

Thursday Aug. 30 at Houston Texans 6 p.m.

Regular Season

Week Day Date Opponent Time (CT)

1 Sunday Sept. 9 Jacksonville Jaguars Noon

2 Sunday Sept. 16 at Indianapolis Colts Noon

3 Sunday Sept. 23 San Francisco 49ers Noon

4 Sunday Sept. 30 at Detroit Lions Noon

5 Sunday Oct. 7 Tennessee Titans Noon

6 Sunday Oct. 14 at Washington Redskins 3:15 p.m.

7 Sunday Oct. 21 Arizona Cardinals Noon

8 Thursday Oct. 25 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7:20 p.m.

9 Sunday Nov. 4 at Seattle Seahawks 3:15 p.m.

10 Sunday Nov. 11 Detroit Lions Noon*

11 Sunday Nov. 18 BYE WEEK

12 Sunday Nov. 25 at Chicago Bears Noon*

13 Sunday Dec. 2 at Green Bay Packers Noon*

14 Sunday Dec. 9 Chicago Bears Noon*

15 Sunday Dec. 16 at St. Louis Rams Noon*

16 Sunday Dec. 23 at Houston Texans Noon*

17 Sunday Dec. 30 Green Bay Packers Noon*

Lynx 2012 WNBA Draft Picks

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – After selecting Notre Dame forward Devereaux Peters with the third overall pick, the Lynx concluded their draft with the 12th overall choice, three second-round selections (18, 19 and 20) and one third-round pick (31). At No. 12, Minnesota selected center Damiris Dantas out of Brazil. Next the Lynx, with three consecutive second-round picks, selected forward Julie Wojta (Wisconsin-Green Bay), forward Kayla Standish (Gonzaga) and guard Nika Baric (Slovenia). To finish out their draft, the Lynx took Jacki Gemelos (USC) with pick No. 31.

A 19-year old from Brazil, Dantas (6-4, center) was named MVP of the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship for Women in Chile. Dantas led Brazil to a bronze medal, its first medal at the U19 World Championship, averaging tournament-highs of 20.9 points and 12.6 rebounds per game. Her play earned her a position on the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship team, where she faced off with the best competition in the world including Lynx players Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen. She finished the competition second on Brazil with 10.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest. Most recently, Dantas played for Real Celta Vigo in the Spanish Liga Femenina de Balconesto (LFB), averaging a team-high 13.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

Wojta, a 6-0 forward out of Wisconsin-Green Bay, led the Horizon League with 19.5 points and 3.8 steals per game last season while leading Wisconsin-Green Bay to its first Sweet Sixteen appearance in school history. She led the Phoenix to a school-record 34 victories, Horizon League regular season and tournament championships and two NCAA tournament wins before ultimately losing to the NCAA Champion Baylor Bears. Wojta was named an AP Second Team All-American, becoming the first player in program history to earn All-American status.

Standish, a 6-2 forward out of Gonzaga, led the Bulldogs in points (16.4 ppg), rebounds (7.5 rpg) and blocks (1.5 bpg) last season en route to being named to the All-West Coast Conference First Team for the second consecutive year. As a junior in 2010-11, Standish started all 36 games for the Bulldogs, reaching double-figures in 31 games, topping the 20-point mark 12 times. She became one of just five players in Gonzaga history to score 600-plus points in a season, finishing the year with 617 total points.

A 19-year old from Slovenia, Nika Baric (5-7, guard) is currently playing overseas with Lynx guard Seimone Augustus on Spartak V MR in the Russia PBL. In Russian play Baric is averaging 4.7 points and 2.3 assists in 14.9 minutes per contest while coming off the bench for Spartak. Previously Baric has represented Slovenia on the international level, appearing in the FIBA U19 World Championship in 2011. In the competition she led Slovenia with 3.3 assists per game while ranking second on the team in both points (13.7 ppg) and rebounds (5.0 rpg).

Gemelos, a 6-0 guard out of the University of Southern California, averaged 11.0 points and 7.3 rebounds in nine games this season before suffering a season-ending knee injury in December. After battling injuries for much of her collegiate career, she appeared in 37 games (28 starts) during the 2010-11 season, averaging 11.0 points and 4.1 rebounds in 30.6 minutes per contest. Her play earned her a 2011 All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention selection, and she was named to the 2011 Pac-10 All-Academic First Team.

Lynx Select Peters with the Third Overall Pick in WNBA Draft

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL- The Minnesota Lynx today selected Notre Dame forward Devereaux Peters with the third overall pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft. Peters, a 6-2 forward from Chicago, Ill., averaged personal bests in points (11.8 ppg), rebounds (9.3 rpg) and assists (2.1 apg) last season as a fifth-year senior.

“We’re excited to welcome Devereaux to the organization,” said Lynx Executive Vice President Roger Griffith. “With the third pick, we were looking to improve to our team’s depth. Devereaux’s tremendous energy, especially on the defensive end, will be a valuable asset for our team in the years to come.”

A two-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and All-BIG EAST First Team member, Peters finished her career as only the second player in school history to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 150 blocks and 150 steals. She finished her career averaging 10.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.7 steals in 22.3 minutes per contest.

As a senior last season, Peters helped lead the Irish to their second NCAA Championship game in as many seasons. She was a finalist for the WBCA National Defensive Player of the Year as well as an AP All-American honorable mention. Johnson finished the season as the only BIG EAST player to rank in the top ten in the conference in the three major defensive categories, ranking first in rebounding, third in blocked shots (2.0 bpg) and ninth in steals (2.0 spg).

Minnesota still has five picks remaining in today’s draft, including the 12th overall pick in the first round. The Lynx also have three second round picks (18, 19, 20) and one third round selection (31).

T-wolves guard named NBA Sportsmanship Award Finalist

The NBA announced that Minnesota Timberwolves guard Luke Ridnour was named one of the six divisional finalists for the 2011-12 NBA Sportsmanship Award. In addition to Ridnour, Cleveland’s Antawn Jamison, Dallas’ Jason Kidd, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul, Miami’s Shane Battier and New York’s Jeremy Lin were selected by a five-member panel of former players as divisional winners for this season's NBA Sportsmanship Award.

The NBA Sportsmanship Award, designed to honor a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court, is voted on by NBA players. The NBA will announce the winner after the regular season.

The 2011-12 NBA Sportsmanship Award winner will be presented with the Joe Dumars Trophy, named after the Hall of Famer and former Detroit Pistons great who played 14 seasons in the NBA and was the recipient of the inaugural NBA Sportsmanship Award in 1996. The six-time All-Star was selected in honor of his distinguished and dignified career and for symbolizing the tradition the NBA wants to recognize with this award.

Former NBA players Greg Anthony, John Crotty, Antonio Davis, Eddie Johnson and Kenny Smith selected the six divisional winners from a pool of 30 team nominees. Each team nominated one of its players for this award.

The annual award reflects the ideals of sportsmanship -- ethical behavior, fair play and integrity -- in amateur and professional basketball, a key focus of the league’s NBA Cares program efforts.
Ridnour, in his second season with the Timberwolves and ninth in the NBA, is averaging a career-high 12.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 53 games (all starts) this season. He ranks 6th in the NBA this year in free-throw percentage (.891) and 26th in assists per game.

MN Lynx Single-Game Tickets Go On Sale April 16

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL - The Minnesota Lynx today announced that regular season single-game tickets will go on sale on Monday, April 16 at 10 a.m. CDT. The date coincides with the 2012 WNBA Draft, in which the Lynx hold six draft picks, including two in the first round (3rd and 12th overall), three in the second round (18, 19 and 20) and one in the third round (31). Lower level tickets begin as low as $10. Additional prices levels are: $20, $30, $50, $65, $120 and $185.

Groups of 10 or more can purchase single-game tickets at a group rate, starting as low as $8. Group seating is available in five of the seven ticket levels, with prices including: $15, $20, $35 and $50. In addition to single-game tickets, season tickets for the entire home schedule are still available for as low as $153. Tickets can be purchased for any of the 17-game home schedule by calling the Lynx at 612-673-8400 or visiting LynxBasketball.com. Tickets are also available for purchase in person at the Target Center Box Office or by calling Ticketmaster at 1-877-WNBA-TIX (962-2849).

After bringing home the first championship in franchise history last season, Minnesota will tip off its 14th season of professional basketball on Sunday, May 20 against the Phoenix Mercury, their opponent in the Western Conference Finals last season. They welcome the Atlanta Dream, runner-up in last season’s WNBA Finals, back to Target Center on Friday, September 7.