SEC-AGENTS
Slive: NCAA agent rules are problem not solution
DESTIN, Fla. (AP) β SEC Commissioner Mike Slive says the NCAA’s rules regarding contact between athletes and agents don’t allow for players to make the best judgments about when to leave school early.
Slive hopes rules regarding agents will be one of the many areas the five major college football conferences will be able to reform when and if the NCAA agrees to change its governance structure to allow those leagues to pass legislation without the approval of other conferences.
Speaking to reporters after the first day of the Southeastern Conference spring meetings, Slive said the “NCAA’s current rules are really part of the problem not part of the solution.”
Currently, an athlete cannot reach a verbal or written agreement with an agent and remain eligible.
SEC MEETINGS
Florida’s Muschamp wants to avoid FCS teams
DESTIN, Fla. (AP) β Florida coach Will Muschamp wants to avoid playing teams from the Football Championship Subdivision.
And not because the Gators lost to lower-division Georgia Southern last year.
Speaking at the Southeastern Conference’s annual spring meetings Tuesday, Muschamp said “we’re probably going to move forward without playing FCS opponents.”
Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley and several SEC coaches, though, aren’t quite ready to close the door on scheduling lower-division teams.
Foley says “in a perfect world, you play all D-1 schools. But also you have to have 12 opponents.”
The topic was one of many addressed at the meetings, which served as the first chance for some to weigh in on scheduling. The SEC decided last month to stick with its current format of eight league games and a permanent non-division rival.
SEC AWARDS
SEC baseball awards go to Reed, Nola, O’Sullivan
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) β Kentucky’s A.J. Reed is the Southeastern Conference baseball player of the year.
SEC coaches also selected LSU’s Aaron Nola as the top pitcher for the second straight season and Florida’s Kevin O’Sullivan as coach of the year in awards released Tuesday. Florida’s Logan Shore was named the league’s top freshman while Mississippi State’s Seth Heck is scholar-athlete of the year.
O’Sullivan led the Gators to their third SEC title in seven seasons, matching Dave Fuller (1948-75) for most in school history.
Reed batted .351 with a league-high 23 home runs and 70 RBIs. Also a pitcher, he led the league with 11 wins and posted a 2.10 ERA.
Nola was 10-1 and led the SEC with a 1.49 ERA and 127 strikeouts. Shore was 7-3 with a 1.99 ERA.
RED SOX-BRAVES
Red Sox rally with 4 runs in 7th, beat Braves 6-3
ATLANTA (AP) β Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a two-run single during Boston’s four-run rally in the seventh inning and the Red Sox beat the Atlanta Braves 6-3 on Tuesday night in the latest comeback following their longest losing streak in 20 years.
Dustin Pedroia had three hits and Grady Sizemore had two, along with a go-ahead groundout in the seventh.
The Red Sox snapped their 10-game losing streak on Monday, overcoming a five-run deficit to top Atlanta 8-6.
Jon Lester (5-6) snapped a personal two-game losing streak by giving up three runs on eight hits and three walks in six innings. Koji Uehara retired the Braves in order in the ninth for his 11th save.
Braves starter Aaron Harang left with a 3-2 lead after the sixth. Anthony Varvaro (1-1) took the loss.
BRAVES STADIUM
Cobb County leaders approve Braves stadium deal
MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) β Cobb County leaders have approved seven agreements governing the Atlanta Braves’ move and plans to build a new stadium.
The Cobb County Commission approved the deals during a meeting Tuesday evening in Marietta, a few miles from the proposed site of the new stadium in Atlanta’s northwest suburbs.
The commission voted 5-0 on an operating agreement that calls for the Braves to occupy the new stadium for at least 30 years.
The agreements up for a vote included deals with the Braves, the Cumberland Community Improvement District; and the Cobb-Marietta Exhibition Hall Authority.
The county is set to contribute $368 million toward the cost of the $672 million project, with the team providing the remainder of the funding. The new stadium is scheduled to open in 2017, replacing Turner Field.
