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LUBBOCK, Texas Sophomore right-hander Cody Deason will start for the Arizona Wildcats in their elimination game Sunday vs. Sam Houston State in the NCAA Tournaments Lubbock Regional. First pitch is scheduled for shortly after noon Tucson time.

Deason (5-2, 2.77 ERA) pitched one inning during Arizonas 6-5, 12-inning victory over Delaware on Saturday. He would have pitched more, but a 2-hour, 18-minute rain delay limited him to that one frame. He faced four batters, striking out three. He threw 19 pitches.

Deason will face sophomore left-hander Seth Ballew (6-3, 3.99). The Bearkats threw a lefty at the Wildcats on Friday, and it worked as Sam Houston won 5-4 to push Arizona into the losers bracket. Coach Matt Deggs said he liked the matchup, and hes going to that well again.

In the wee hours of Sunday morning, after Sam Houston State lost to host Texas Tech 6-0, Deggs predicted a dogfight against Arizona, which has become a familiar foe. Todays game will be the fourth postseason meeting between the schools in the past two years.

I think the two ballclubs are very similar, the way they go about their business, Deggs said. Both play extremely hard, play with a lot of energy, love to play. You can see the passion on both sides.

Neither one of us wants to see our season end. Whoever wins will absolutely have to finish the other guy, I promise you that.

Here's Arizonas lineup:

More here:
Cody Deason to start for Arizona Wildcats in NCAA knockout game vs. Sam Houston State - Arizona Daily Star

GlobalPort's Terrence Romeo glides for a lay-up against Alaska's Calvin Abueva. Richard Esguerra, ABS-CBN Sports

MANILA, Philippines The GlobaPort Batang Pier caught the last bus to the quarterfinals of the 2017 PBA Commissioner's Cup after a thrilling 107-106 victory over the Alaska Aces in a knockout game Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Terrence Romeo drilled a big-time three-pointer with 8.1 seconds left to put the Batang Pier ahead, 106-104, and GlobalPort held firm defensively in the dying moments of the contest to secure their passage to the playoffs.

GlobalPort will face off with the top-seeded Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings, who are armed with a twice-to-beat edge, in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

"Today's game is a testament that the boys don't want to go on a break yet," GlobalPort coach Franz Pumaren said after the game. "It's going to be a tough series for us just a one-day rest, and we're playing the No. 1 team, the team that's on a streak."

"Hopefully, we can sustain the run," he added.

Romeo finished with 26 points, five rebounds, and three assists, while Stanley Pringle added 21 points, six boards, and five dimes. Import Justin Harper tallied 32 points and 17 rebounds.

It appeared as though the game was going to be a blowout in Alaska's favor as the Aces ran out to a 26-12 lead in the first quarter, only for the Batang Pier to score 14 straight points bridging the first and second frames to force a tie.

GlobalPort eventually led by as much as nine, 41-32, in the second period, but the two teams found themselves locked into a back-and-forth war in the second half. Calvin Abueva and import Cory Jefferson took turns carrying the load for the Aces, while Pringle, Romeo and Harper starred for the Batang Pier.

Romeo was spectacular in crunch time, drilling a triple that made it 101-100 with 2:12 left, before Chris Banchero's lay-up gave Alaska back the lead. After two charities by Pringle off a Jefferson foul made it 104-102, Abueva hit a crucial lay-up to tie the contest for Alaska with just 20.6 seconds to go.

The Batang Pier, however, showed no panic as they put the ball in Romeo's hands and let him go to work. The former UAAP MVP shook off the defense of Kevin Racal for a step back triple that hit nothing but net, giving GlobalPort a crucial two-point advantage, 106-104, with just 8.1 seconds to go.

"We have to give credit to the guy," Pumaren said of Romeo. "He's really willing to take the shot, and that's why he's Terrence Romeo. In short, makapal ang mukha niya."

Abueva agonizingly missed a field goal in Alaska's next possession, as he saw his lay-up go in-and-out of the basket. However, the Batang Pier left the door open for the Aces when Harper made only one of two charities.

Unfortunately for Alaska, Simon Enciso's triple from the right corner hit iron, and Ping Exciminiano's follow-up was one point too short.

The loss provided a heartbreaking finish to Alaska's campaign in the tournament. The Aces opened the Commissioner's Cup with four straight victories including a 107-79 rout of GlobalPort in their first game but ended it with an eight-game losing streak.

This marks the first time since the 2012 Governors' Cup that the Aces have missed the playoffs, and the first time that they missed the playoffs in Alex Compton's tenure.

Abueva netted a career-high of 31 points, making 12 of his 19 shots, to go along with 13 rebounds and three assists. Jefferson added 32 rebounds and 16 boards, while Banchero scored 16 markers.

However, the Aces allowed GlobalPort to shoot 47% from the field, and including 13 of their 38 three-pointers. In contrast, Alaska mustered only four triples in the entire contest.

The scores:

GLOBALPORT 107 - Harper 32, Romeo 26, Pringle 21, Guinto 8, Cortez 6, Pessumal 5, Anthony 5, Grey 3, Maierhofer 1, Mamaril 0, Forrester 0, Paredes 0, Pennisi 0.

ALASKA 106 - Jefferson 32, Abueva 31, Banchero 16, Manuel 9, Exciminiano 8, Racal 3, Enciso 3, Galliguez 2, Cruz 2, Thoss 0, Pascual 0, Hontiveros 0, Dela Cruz 0.

Quarter scores: 20-26, 52-49, 74-78, 107-106

For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.

Originally posted here:
PBA: GlobalPort ekes out thrilling win over Alaska to claim quarterfinals berth - ABS-CBN News

OK. Its never a bad idea to begin by quoting Einstein:

Coincidence is Gods way of remaining anonymous, the white-haired one once said.

So there. Einstein said so.

And hes right. Theres no such thing as a coincidence. And sometimes the great guiding spirit, otherwise known as The Universe, has a delicious sense of humor.

Its no coincidence that, a few weeks after some suits and other blatherers pondered cutting sports in Groton or at least making them pay-to-play that sports and the kids who play them have given the town its most uplifting story in a while.

Bravo, Universe.

Fitch High is one of but three schools in Connecticut (and the only non-school of choice) to have placed its baseball and softball teams in the state semifinals, joining St. Joseph and Holy Cross. Pretty neat story. And the halls of Fitch ought to be buzzing early this week in anticipation of both games.

Once again: Sports are the great uniter.

The softball team, Connecticuts defending Class L champ and No. 1 ranked team, plays Joel Barlow at 4 p.m. Tuesday in West Haven. You would enjoy watching them play. Not because they win all the time (although that helps), but because of their joie de vivre.

I stood behind the bench for the entirety of last Fridays win at Masuk and laughed my way through the game. Everybody had something funny to say at some point. Even the kids who didnt play led the cheers (sophomore Casey Flax is hilarious, by the way). Arielle Cooper, the coach, goes on mid-game streams of consciousness that ought to be recorded.

And so even in this knockout game, there was a sense of amusement emanating from all of them. This is sports. Competition wrapped in fun. The way it should be. Id wager that even the most ardent alarmist in Groton would have enjoyed watching what sports are teaching the kids in town.

Then theres baseball. What a story. Theyre 13-13 and two wins away from the schools fifth state title. Theyll play at the new Dunkin Donuts Park in Hartford against North Haven on Tuesday at 7.

Jeff Joyce, Fitchs wordsmith/coach, spent much of the regular season outside of his normal realm (English) instead opting for math. He was counting wins. Lets see if we beat them and them we might be able to get to eight wins and get into the state tournament.

Now the Falcons are in the semis, taking a most arduous route. Youve heard of the road not taken? Theyve taken them all. First round: Meriden, 128 miles round trip. Second round: New Canaan, 180 miles. Third round: New Fairfield, 218 miles. Thats 526 miles. Its virtually the same distance as if the Falcons took a road trip to play in Ottawa. Thats Canada.

So much for fatigue.

Its worth noting Joyce and Cooper are both Fitch alums. They were educated in Groton schools, played sports (for free) there and now impart their wisdom to their own players. Theyre not all that much older than their players, either. Have you any idea, all you non-sports people, the power and influence coaches have on their kids?

Anna Quindlen wrote this once: It's not the prom picture. Adolescence is that tenuous time between parental protection and personal responsibility.

I cant think of any group of adolescents in better hands than the boys and girls at Fitch, whose participation in sports has led them to Cooper and Joyce, who teach all the right things with equal parts earnestness and gentle humor.

This is what sports engenders.

Maybe by this time next week, two new banners go up in the Fitch gym. Two sources of pride not just for the school, but for town seeking an identity, forever trying to meld the vagaries of Groton Town, Groton City, Noank, Groton Long Point, Mystic, the military and everyone else.

Funny how sports are always there to unite. The village green.

Think about that next time someone advocates cutting them.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro

See the article here:
Fitch teams are bringing pride to Groton when it's needed the most - theday.com (subscription)

With a major Obama rule that will reshape the financial planning sector set to start going into effect next week, the industry is plotting its options for lightening its burden.

To ease the impact of the Department of Labor fiduciary rule, which will require financial advisers to act in their clients' best interests, the Chamber of Commerce and other big industry groups hope to enlist Congress in pressuring the Trump Labor Department to revise the rule and for the more business-friendly Securities and Exchange Commission to write its own rule on the topic.

"This may end up being a three-legged stool," said David Hirschmann, head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness, referring to the prospect of action by Congress, the SEC and the Labor Department.

The financial industry lobbied hard over the past year and a half to stop the Obama administration from implementing the fiduciary rule, as it is known. Teaming with congressional liberals, Obama pushed the rule as part of his fourth-quarter, pen-and-phone regulatory agenda. He argued that the rule was necessary to prevent some advisers and brokers from bilking savers with tax-privileged accounts, such as IRAs. Conflicts of interest in the industry, with brokers steering clients into inappropriate high-fee investment products in return for kickbacks, cost savers $17 billion annually, the Obama White House calculated.

Industry groups, however, argued that the rule would make it unprofitable to maintain clients who are small savers or small businesses, resulting in many people losing access to investment advice.

President Trump gave them hope in January, when he issued an executive order requiring the Labor Department to review the rule before it was supposed to take effect, which prompted a brief delay from the agency. Although that was seen as the possible prelude to a much longer delay and possible walking back of the rule, newly installed Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta announced in a late May Wall Street Journal op-ed that part of the rule would be enacted on June 9. Administrative law prevented him from further delaying the rule, he explained.

Yet his agency is still reviewing comments it solicited during the brief delay and is expected soon to solicit more comments from businesses and advocates on both sides of the issue.

Some Republicans objected to the Trump Labor Department's letting the rule go through at all. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, suggested that Obama holdovers in the agency subverted the administration's will. In the meantime, industry groups aim to keep the pressure on Congress and the agencies by highlighting people who will be disadvantaged by the rule, even if outright blocking it is no longer a possibility.

"Our goal now is to work to mitigate that harm and to work with the regulator both at the SEC and at the Department of Labor," said Jill Hoffman, vice president of Government Affairs for Investment Management at the Financial Services Roundtable.

Some members of her trade group are still trying to calculate the effects of the new regulation and what they can and cannot live with, she said.

At issue is the threat of class-action lawsuits against advisers and brokers. While companies can usually conform to and plan around regulations, Hirschmann said, "that's such a jackpot justice arrangement that it simply makes it hard to understand what your costs are going to be, who you can serve."

In a 20-page report released last week, the Chamber of Commerce listed a range of problems that the fiduciary rule would create or has already generated for savers, according to industry sources who filed comments with the Labor Department. Up to 11 million people with IRAs through brokers could lose their brokers, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. One survey found that nearly three-quarters of financial advisers plan to drop some low-balance clients.

Anecdotally, many firms have begun preparing for the rule by moving away from commissions and toward a flat fee for investment advice or by limiting human advice provided to small savers in favor of cheaper robo-advisers.

From the perspective of advisers, that is the problem. The harm is the "rule's bias against commission sales," said Howard Bard, vice president for taxes and retirement security for the American Council of Life Insurers.

In fact, a shift away from commissions was part of the Obama administration's design, and the changes that advisers, brokers and insurers are already making to comply with the rule represent a partial victory for industry critics. Obama Labor Secretary Thomas Perez touted robo-advisers such as Wealthfront as a model of low-cost fiduciary advice.

Yet those gains could be lost if the Labor Department's rule were to be rolled back, said Marcus Stanley, a policy expert with the left-leaning group Americans for Financial Reform. "There's money to be made by steering people into products that are the wrong products for them," he said, meaning that some brokers would return to bilking clients in the absence of enforcement.

As for legislative options, there is one set to hit the House floor this week, in the form of the Financial Choice Act, a sweeping revision of post-crisis banking rules offered by Hensarling that also would outright repeal the fiduciary rule.

That legislative package, though, is thought to have poor prospects in the Senate. Congressional action is more likely to take the form of leaning on the agencies rather than legislative changes.

To that end, fiduciary rule proponents fear the influence of the SEC under the direction of new Trump Chairman Jay Clayton, a former Wall Street lawyer. In years past, Stanley noted, the SEC has declined to write a fiduciary rule and has discussed only relatively watered-down proposals, such as more stringent disclosure requirements.

Republicans favor the SEC, however, on the grounds that it has more relevant experience with investor-client relations. Last year, House Republicans advanced legislation that would prevent the Labor Department from writing a rule until the SEC weighed in on the topic. Liberals criticized the measure as effectively blocking a rule, because action from the SEC would never happen or wouldn't set an effective requirement that advisers act in their clients' best interests.

Read the original:
Financial industry targets Obama regulation as it goes into effect - Washington Examiner

Calif.'s 2-Year System Hires Former Obama Official Inside Higher Ed California's community college system said Friday that it has hired Ajita Talwalker Menon as a special adviser to the system's chancellor, Eloy Ortiz Oakley. Menon previously worked as a higher education policy adviser in Barack Obama's White House ...

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Calif.'s 2-Year System Hires Former Obama Official - Inside Higher Ed