As usual, men's and women's swimming in first place down home stretch

The Whitworth University men's and women's swimming teams remain unbeaten in Northwest Conference meets following clashes with Lewis & Clark and Willamette last weekend. The men's swim team (5-1 overall, 5-0 Northwest Conference) and the women's swim team (5-0, 5-1) host Whitman College next weekend in the last Whitworth Aquatic Center regular season meet of the season.

Highlights from the weekend featured a smattering of domination:

• Whitworth men go 1-2-3 in 200-butterfly (Justin Leyendekker, Kellen Pacheco, On Leung) and 200-yard breaststroke (Rory Buck, Quinton Darling, Kyle Homad) and 100-yard freestyle (Michael Woodward, Justin Brandler, Eric Patterson) against L&C
• Whitworth women sweep top three places in 200-yard freestyle (Jennifer Benson, Kara Fisher, Brenda Foster) against L&C
• Whitworth sweeps Willamette in men's 100-yard butterfly (Buck, Brandler, Patterson) and 400-yard individual medley (Darling, Pacheco, Dan Neal)
• Women's team takes top three slots in 50-yard freestyle (Benson, Foster, Allison Shigley)

Noel Sollom-Brotherton, who has the third best time in the NWC for the 200-yard backstroke, and Chris Bendix, third best in conference in the 400-yard individual medley, will lead the Missionaries into the meet in Spokane. Lauren Flynn holds the fifth best time in the NWC for the 50-yard freestyle and Linnea Scott is fifth best for the 400-yard individual medley on the women's side for Whitman.

Pirates pummel Lutes, improve to 12-3 overall

Whitworth's three-point assassin continued his assault from behind the arc, as sophomore guard David Riley posted a career-high 37 points in a rout of cross-state rival Pacific Lutheran University 88-60. Riley was 8-for-12 from downtown in the game. Junior forward Nate Montgomery and senior guard Tim Sellereit had 14 and 13 for the Pirates, respectively, while junior guard Ross Nakamura dropped eight assists.

A peek at the upcoming schedule for the team:

Whitman (6-9 overall, 2-4 Northwest Conference)
Lewis & Clark (10-4, 4-1)
George Fox (5-10, 1-5)

Whitworth dropped out of the D3hoops.com poll from the #24 slot last week following losses to Linfield and Puget Sound.

An encouraging sign going forward for Whitworth is their muscle and both ends of the court. Statistical buffs could marvel at the Pirates' defensive prowess, as they have held opponents to less than 64 points per game as a team. On the flip side, Whitworth can fill it up in a hurry too, leading the conference at nearly 50 percent shooting from the field and a plus-15.9 point per game scoring margin. Whitworth leads nearly every major statistical category, and is in the top tier of teams in all others. The key will be putting it together on both ends of the floor each night.

Cowboys can't shake off resident flea Jason Garrett

Bad news for those who like good news: Jason Garrett, as of this posting, is still the Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator in Dallas. Giants assistant head coach Steve Spagnuolo will get the gig in St. Louis. Fellow NFC East teams rejoice in this news, I know, but there is still hope Garrett can find a new home elsewhere in the NFL (Tampa, anyone?) by the time the Super Bowl wraps up. Check out the Dallas Morning News' blog for more info.

Sampson allegedly violates NCAA rules...again

Following the NCAA's October assertion that Kelvin Sampson made 577 -- yeah, 577 -- impermissible phone calls, Sampson is back on the hot seat again. According to ESPN.com, Sampson has been tagged for five "major" violations in an NCAA report released on Wednesday. The allegations deal with Sampson giving investigators "false or misleading information" in Sampson's recruiting fiasco at the University of Oklahoma.
These allegations come on the heels of Sampson's previous NCAA recruiting violations for making three-way calls to recruits and 100 impermissible calls to recruits while on probation at Oklahoma. Sampson had already forfeited a $500,000 bonus from his previous school and lost a scholarship for the team. Apparently, when Sampson was hit on the wrist with these penalties, he didn't learn his lesson.
Sampson, along with assistant coach Jeff Meyer and former assistant coach Rob Senderoff, failed to stick to the NCAA's sanctions and again made impermissible phone calls to recruits. Sampson was not allowed to be around or take part in the phone calls to Indiana recruits. The report alleges Sampson not only violated this sanction, but did so 100 times.
The NCAA goes on to report Sampson and Meyer also gave a backpack and at least one t-shirt to a recruit during a sports camp at Assembly Hall this past summer.
How many times are we going to see large Division I schools fail to comply with regulations the NCAA has? Don't even get me started on how schools only graduate a fraction of the student athletes they churn through their programs. But beyond that, the schools continually violate NCAA rules or defy logic in the name of the one god they bow to each and every day -- the almighty W.
Two staff members at Florida State University were fired following 60 athletes partaking in an online course scandal. Dave Bliss resigned from his post as Baylor men's basketball coach after drug testing and financial aid rules were not upheld by his program. George O'Leary resigned five days into his job as head football coach at Notre Dame after saying he lied about his academic and athletic background during the hiring process.
I am waiting for the day when programs will run clean recruiting sweeps, when the NCAA's signing day is less of an NFL Draft and more of a college committment. When the process of committing onesself to a school is less of a hat fitting session at Lids and more of a binding contract. When I can watch a BCS game and not wonder which players on the field used essaybay.com and cheated to pass NCAA Clearinghouse regulations and which did not.
That will surely be a crowning day in college athletics.

Richard Zednik has nothing on Clint Malarchuk

Talk about grotesque injuries.
Clippers guard Shawn Livingston's knee? Nasty.



Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett's spine? Whoa.



Richard Zednik's neck? Yikes.



But Buffalo Sabres goalie Clint Malarchuk's jugular? Wow.



I was coming up on two years old when this happened, so I don't remember it being plastered across the news. But seeing it now must be as chilling to me as it was to the fans watching the St. Louis Blues play the Sabres at The Aud on March 22, 1989.
Look, nobody likes to see serious injuries happen. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I'm sure anyone reading this can come up with a dozen more examples of bad injuries that will make the hair on your neck stand up and just give you goosebumps.
But Malarchuk's? Come on! A jugular vein spells bad news for people who know anything about his or her own anatomy or Call of Duty 4. Malarchuk was quoted as saying he wanted to get off the ice so his mother, who was watching on television, wouldn't see him bleed to death on the rink.
I'm glad Richard Zednik is out of the Intensive Care Unit. But nothingshakes me up like watching the Malarchuk video.

Mavs-Nets trade winner-winner chicken dinner for both teams

Undisclosed sources close to ESPN have reported that Jason Kidd could switch conferences later this week, as the Dallas Mavericks and the New Jersey Nets are talking about a proposed swap of players. The Mavericks would send a package of young point Devin Harris, guard Jerry Stackhouse, center DeSagana Diop, veteran Devean George and little-used Maurice Ager to the Nets for Kidd and forward Malik Allen.
After seeing the Lakers and Suns bolster their rosters for deep playoffs runs by adding solid veteran help inside in Shaquille O'Neal and Pau Gasol, Mavs owner Mark Cuban had to do something to shake up his own team. Last season's playoff collapse against the Golden State Warriors exposed the Mavericks inability to put away playoff series -- and the lack of leadership possessed by league MVP Dirk Nowitzki. The Mavs currently sit in second in the Southwest Conference at 34-17, far off pace from their 67-win total of a year ago.
The 34-year-old Kidd would bring proven leadership to a talented Mavericks team thirsty for postseason success. He is s threat to post a triple double every night, as he has 12 times this year. Kidd would also get a chance to reunite with the team that drafted him out of Cal, where Kidd spent 2+ seasons and was Co-Rookie of the Year in 94-95.
But only taking the Mavs perspective on the trade would be just wrong. The Nets would get some valuable pieces in this trade, too. The Nets would acquire a rising star at the point guard position in 24-year-old Harris, pairing him with stud swingman Richard Jefferson and Mr. 'I like every shot I see' guard Vince Carter. Kidd may not have much left in the tank beyond next season, and getting a cornerstone in the backcourt to build around (plus former "point guard of the future" Marcus Williams) would be a great addition.
ESPN's Marc Stein says that the Nets would also look to buyout Stackhouse, who may resign with Dallas after the 30-day waiting period required by the NBA. Coupled with the expiring contracts of Diop and George at season's end, the Nets could have ample cap space to chase potential free agents Gilbert Arenas, Ron Artest and Corey Maggette this summer. The Nets might also be able to rope some free agent help inside for Stromile Swift and Josh Boone with the $3 million cash the Mavs are sending to the Nets as part of the trade. Head coach Lawrence Frank may be on the way out as well as the team may move into rebuilding mode around Jefferson and Harris.
For these two NBA teams with different mindsets about this season, the trade could work out in both teams' favor. The Mavs could get the extra oomph they need to get back to the Finals, while the Nets could put another piece in place for a big season next fall. As the Boston Celtics have shown, teams may only be one or two players away from turning their fortunes around.