BCS group united in plan for presidents
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: The BCS commissioners are backing a playoff plan with the sites for the national semifinals rotating among the major bowl games and a selection committee picking the teams.
The plan will be presented to university presidents next week for approval.
Once the presidents sign off – and that seems likely – major college football’s champion will be decided by a playoff for the first time starting in the 2014 season.
“We are excited to be on the threshold of creating a new postseason structure for college football that builds on the great popularity of our sport,” Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick said.
All 11 commissioners stood shoulder-to-shoulder behind Swarbrick, who read the BCS statement from a podium set up in a hotel conference room.
The commissioners refrained from providing specifics of the plan in their announcement.
Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott did say the two semifinals would be worked into the existing major bowls and the site of the national championship game will be bid out to any city that wants it the way the NFL does it with the Super Bowl.
People with firsthand knowledge of the decision said the proposed plan would rotate among the major bowls and not be tied to traditional conference relationships.
They also said a selection committee would choose the schools that play for the national title.
Unhappy Harvin skips Vikings practice
NFL: Percy Harvin was nowhere to be found at the Minnesota Vikings’ mandatory minicamp practice, and no one seems to know when the star receiver will be back in purple.
Unhappy with several issues with the team that drafted him in the first round in 2009, Harvin requested a trade, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
After participating in a light walk-through practice with his teammates, Harvin wasn’t present for the full afternoon practice.
Coach Leslie Frazier declined to go into detail on Harvin’s absence and said he wasn’t sure if one of the team’s most important players would be around today.
Vikings GM Rick Spielman said the organization considers Harvin a cornerstone player and will work to resolve any issues that have upset him.
Review panel says Pacquiao won fight
BOXING: Manny Pacquiao says he wants a rematch with Timothy Bradley after a five-judge panel assembled by the WBO championship committee unanimously favored the Filipino fighter in a video review.
Pacquiao said he would prefer a rematch rather than Bradley giving up the WBO welterweight title that he won on a split decision because “people may think I just usurped it.”
The five judges on the review panel all scored the fight in Pacquiao’s favor – 117-111, 117-111, 118-110, 116-112 and 115-113. At the June 9 bout in Las Vegas, judge Jerry Roth had it 115-113 for Pacquiao, and Duane Ford and C.J. Ross had it for Bradley by the same score.
The WBO can’t overturn the result of the fight.
Magic hire Hennigan as general manager
NBA: The Orlando Magic hired Rob Hennigan to be the team’s new general manager.
Hennigan spent the past four seasons with Oklahoma City, including the past two seasons as the Thunder’s assistant general manager/player personnel.
• Dunlap introduced: Mike Dunlap’s reputation as a “crazy worker” was among the things that impressed the Charlotte Bobcats.
The team formally introduced Dunlap as the fifth coach in the franchise’s eight-year history, and immediately began talking about changing the franchise’s culture of losing.
Dunlap, 54, spent last season as an assistant at St. John’s and ran the program while coach Steve Lavin battled prostate cancer.
“Basically the three things I tried to nail down as a theme was one, my knowledge base, two my relationships with players over a long period of time, 32 years, and finally the ability to take a branding that obviously the organization wants,” Dunlap said.
Rain postpones Gamecocks, Flashes
COLLEGE BASEBALL: The Kent State-South Carolina game at the College World Series has been postponed until today morning because of rain.
Kent State-South Carolina will begin at 9:08 p.m. PDT. Arizona and Florida State will play at 2:08 p.m.
The Kent State-South Carolina winner will play Arkansas at 6:08 p.m.