Afternoon Headlines for March 30th

The eight-team field for the 2011 Old Spice Classic has been unveiled with the addition of Indiana State for the event that’s being held Thanksgiving weekend, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, Nov. 24, 25 & 27, from the HP Field House at The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Fla.

Joining Indiana State in the field for the sixth annual Old Spice Classic is Arizona State, Dayton, DePaul, Fairfield, Minnesota, Texas Tech and Wake Forest. The Old Spice Classic is a bracket-format tournament that will feature 12 games over the three days. Each team will compete in one game per day, and the two teams that remain undefeated throughout will face off in a championship match Sunday, Nov. 27.

In other Red Raider news Texas Tech will host some of the top American discus throwers in an Elite Discus Throw open even that will be held at the Terry & Linda Fuller throws field this Friday at 2 o’clock and fans are encouraged to attend.  The women’s competition will include Becky Breisch, Gia Lewis-Smallwood, Aretha Hill Thurmond and Stephanie Brown Trafton. Trafton is the top name on the list as she is the reigning Olympic Gold Medalist in the women’s discus. The men’s competition will include Jarred Rome, Texas Tech’s Julian Wruck and one of Tech’s strength and conditioning coaches, Jason Young. Young was a two-time All-American while at Tech, and was the 2010 U.S. Championships runner-up in the discus. Wruck earned his first All-America honor last season placing third at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

In Red Raider Football news Tech has added a late signee to its 2011 recruiting class in California high-school corner-back Thierry Nguema. The 5-foot-11, 175 pound corner was credited with 41 tackles, two interceptions, and causing one fumble as a senior. He also returned 12 kickoffs for an average of 30.8-yards per return.

In NCAA football news the executive director of the Bowl Championship Series is confident the BCS could boot the Fiesta Bowl out of the system college football uses to crown a champion before its contract with the game expires in three years. The Fiesta Bowl released an internal report Monday that uncovered "excessive compensation, nonbusiness and inappropriate expenditures and inappropriate gifts" and as a result fired longtime president and CEO and John Junker. The Fiesta Bowl is in its second year of a four-year deal to be part of the BCS.

In men’s college hoops action Wichita State and Alabama have advanced to Thursdays NIT title game being held at Madison Square Garden with a six o’clock tip-off time. Wichita State trounced Washington State 75 to 44 to advance to the title game, while Alabama barely slid past Colorado with a final score of 61 to 60.

The 2011 Major League Baseball season kicks-off tomorrow with six games.

There are 4 games being played in the National League beginning with the Atlanta Braves at the Washington Nationals. The defending NL Central Champion Cincinnati Reds will square off against division rival Milwaukee. The San Diego Padres will be on the road against the St. Lois Cardinals, and the final game out of the NL will feature the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants traveling a short ways down the coast to meet the Dodgers.

Out in the American League the New York Yankees will begin their season at home as the Detroit Tigers will be in town, and the other game will see the Kansas City Royals playing host to the Los Angeles Angels.

The Texas Rangers will begin their season on Friday by opening up a three game series from home against the Boston Red Sox. C.J. Wilson is scheduled to take the mound opposite of Boston’s Jon Lester when first pitch gets under way at 3:05.

The Houston Astros season will also begin on Friday, but from the road as they’ll be in Philadelphia taking on the Phillies. First pitch is scheduled for 12:05 and will feature Houston’s Brett Myers opposite the Phillies Roy Halladay.

In NBA action the Dallas Mavericks have arrived in Los Angeles set to face the city’s two NBA teams in consecutive nights from the Staples Center, beginning tonight with Clippers. The 52 and 21 Mavericks are just one game behind the Lakers for second place in the Western Conference play-off race, and will play the two-time defending champions Thursday night, but will first look to extend their four game winning streak over the Clippers when tip-off gets underway at 9:30.

The Houston Rockets will also hit the hard wood tonight from the road, as they’ve moved within two games of Memphis for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, with eight games left to play on the season. Tip-off between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Rockets is scheduled for 6 o’clock from the Wells Fargo Center.