UBC hosts men's and women's national university basketball championships
Description: The University of British Columbia is hosting the best university basketball players in the country as, for the first university will host both men's and women's final eight tournaments. Kavie Toor, managing director of athletics and recreation at UBC, says the university is excited to be creating their own mini March Madness.
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Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Carson Hocevar living the dream back home in Michigan as aggressive, headline-grabbing NASCAR driver
BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) — Carson Hocevar grew up 80 miles west of Michigan International Speedway, where he attended his first race at the age of 5. As a kid in Portage, he dreamed of becoming a NASCAR driver that people talked about. The 22-year-old Hocevar got his wish. He knocked Ricky Stenhouse Jr. out of last week's race at Nashville and his aggressive style has created a buzz in a sport that traditionally has young drivers trying to find the line between aggressive and reckless driving. 'It's cool to be talked about,' Hocevar said Saturday, a day ahead of the FireKeepers Casino 400. 'Obviously, you want to be talked about maybe in a different light. 'But I mean, at least they're talking, right? And, I think that's big for me.' Hocevar called Stenhouse earlier in the week to discuss their contact on Lap 106 of 300 at Nashville, where Stenhouse was bumped from behind and sent into a wall. Both said the conversation was productive. 'I don't think he crashed me on purpose,' Stenhouse said. 'But I think he was super impatient. 'We've never had any issues. He's had plenty of issues with other people.' Hocevar, in his second full Cup season, was behind only winner Ryan Blaney at Nashville to match the career-best, second-place finish he had earlier this year. At the race in Atlanta, several drivers complained about Hocevar over the radio or some addressed their concerns face to face in pit lane. Blaney, who got turned by Hocevar in the final stage of the race, and Ross Chastain confronted him in February. Chastain sounded frustrated that Hocevar, who drives the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports, has not appeared to learn from his mistakes. His latest move was reckless, Chastain said. 'Yeah, 47 spun off his front bumper,' he said. 'Been there, done that.' Blaney has, too. 'You can say you're sorry all you want, but if you don't learn from them and make a change, then everyone thinks you're lying,' Blaney said. A new wrinkle NASCAR's 'In-season Challenge' will begin seeding drivers Sunday and at the following two races in Mexico City and at Pocono. The results will create a field of 32 drivers, who will race for a $1 million prize over a five-race competition starts June 28 at Atlanta. Single elimination will reduce the field to 16 in Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four in Dover and the final two on July 27 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The NBA has had success with a similar format. 'It's like the March Madness bracket,' said Blaney, whose No. 12 Ford finished first last week at Nashville. 'You want to do well to seed yourself against an easier opponent. 'It could be big. It could grow. I think it's a great idea. Why not try it? You're still going to have racing. It's just going to be a race within the race between all the guys.' Pressing priorities Denny Hamiln is prepared to leave his No. 11 Toyota behind this weekend to join his fiancé, Jordan, who is due to give birth to a baby boy — their third child — at any time. Hamlin, who is also juggling his role as the co-owner of a team suing NASCAR, said he would skip next week's race in Mexico City if necessary to witness the birth of his boy. Hendrick's drought Hendrick Motorsports has won a record 316 Cup races, but hasn't finished first at Michigan in more than a decade. Jeff Gordon's third win on the track was the team's ninth and that was way back on Aug. 17, 2014. 'It's just kind of surprising because I don't feel like it's a track that we struggle at by any means,' said Kyle Larson, who drives the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick. 'Every time we've been here, we've been one of the fastest and up front. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 'It's not a track like Nashville, where where we struggle.' Odds and Ends Larson at +300 is the betting favorite to win Sunday, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed by points leader William Byron (+375), defending race champion Tyler Reddick (+500) and Christopher Bell (+550). ___ AP auto racing:
Winnipeg Free Press
21-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Trump hosts NCAA basketball champion Florida Gators at the White House
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump honored the 2025 NCAA basketball champion Florida Gators at the White House on Wednesday, proclaiming that 'lesser teams would have crumbled' during its nail-biting title game victory. 'It was looking bad,' Trump said, noting that Houston led by as many as 12 points in a game Florida rallied to win 65-63 in San Antonio in April. 'Did you think you were going to win?' Florida (36-4) delivered four come-from-behind victories in six March Madness wins. The Gators led the finale for a total of 64 seconds, including the last 46 ticks of a contest that was in limbo until the final sequence. Trump recounted Alijah Martin making two free throws to put the Gators ahead to stay with 46.5 seconds left, and asked Martin if he was nervous. 'Lesser teams would have crumbled,' the president said. Florida secured the program's third title in basketball, and Trump noted that it is the only school to have a trio of NCAA titles in that sport and in football. When the Gators basketball team won back-to-back NCAA titles in 2006 and 2007, they visited President George W. Bush at the White House. Wednesday's East Room ceremony featured top Trump administration leaders from Florida, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Mentioning Rubio, Trump said there's 'no bigger Florida fan.' Also on hand were Florida Sens. Rick Scott and Ashley Moody, as well as assorted House members from the state and former Florida football standout Tim Tebow. Trump described Tebow 'as a college player, maybe the best ever' and said he was a big fan despite Tebow having spent part of his professional career with the NFL's New York Jets. The team gave Trump an autographed basketball and No. 47 jersey with his name on the back. The president also hailed the Gators' 39-year-old coach, Todd Golden, as 'great' and 'young' while joking, 'Boy, would I like to be his agent.' Last year, President Joe Biden held a joint ceremony honoring the 2024 NCAA men's and women's basketball winners, honoring South Carolina and Connecticut. Since taking office in January, Trump has hosted a series of championship teams, including the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles. His April ceremony in the Rose Garden with the NCAA football champion Ohio State Buckeyes is best remembered for Vice President JD Vance — an Ohio State graduate and Buckeye fan — fumbling the team's championship trophy.
Winnipeg Free Press
20-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
NCAA and Genius Sports extension seeks to protect college athletes from negative prop bets
The NCAA and Genius Sports announced a multi-year expansion of their partnership earlier this year, making Genius the exclusive distributor of official NCAA data to licensed sportsbooks through 2032. There is a caveat to the agreement, NCAA President Charlie Baker said Tuesday. 'For them to continue to access our data moving forward, there can't be any sportsbook betting on negative props,' Baker said. 'So all the stuff that literally translates into a lot of the worst behavior that's directed at young people and student-athletes generally under this agreement is going to be off the table.' College athletes have long been subject to online abuse. In a 2024 study, analysts verified over 5,000 posts towards athletes containing abusive content. Of the abusive posts, the study found 80% were directed at March Madness athletes, with female basketball players receiving about three times more abusive messages than men's players. More than 740 instances, or 12% of the abuse, pertained to sports betting. Baker has heard similar feedback from athletes, but the abuse goes beyond social media. Athletes are pressured to fulfill prop bets, including missing a free throw or muffing a catch. 'Student-athletes don't like the idea of being approached to begin with around that kind of issue,' Baker said xxxx. 'They especially don't like being nudged into something that's not in the best interest of themselves or their teams, and more importantly, they all make clear to me they felt enormous social pressure to quote, help a guy out.' Most of that pressure comes via social media, but athletes could face some of that in person. An NCAA-conducted survey showed over half of 18- to 22-year-olds were recent sports bettors. Age restrictions didn't play a factor. Betting rates at ages 18, 19 and 20 were the same as ages 21 and 22, meaning college campuses are full of sports bettors, Baker explained. The contract negotiation with Genius is one step the NCAA has taken to reduce prop bets and minimize abuse. Other efforts have included tracking and publishing online abuse data and pushing state gaming authorities to peel back rules around college prop bets. Still, it's a work in progress. 'At this point, slightly more than half the states that have legalized sports betting do not permit prop betting on college sports, but that still leaves enormous numbers of student-athletes subject to the kind of abuse that comes with this stuff. And I think it will remain, for all intents and purposes, a significant challenge going forward,' Baker said. ___ AP Sports Writer Eric Olson contributed to this report. ___ AP college sports:
