President Obama gets personal about race and manhood in Morehouse speech

ATLANTA, Georgia - President Obama on Sunday summoned the graduates of historically black Morehouse College to “transform the way we think about manhood,” urging the young men to avoid the temptation to make excuses and to take responsibility for their families and their communities.

Delivering a commencement address at the all-male private liberal arts college in Atlanta, Obama spoke in deeply personal terms about the “special obligation” he feels as a black man to help those left behind.

“There but for the grace of God, I might be in their shoes,” Obama said. “I might have been in prison. I might have been unemployed. I might not have been able to support a family — and that motivates me.”

The president also reflected on the absence of his father growing up, noting that he was raised by a “heroic single mother” and urged the young graduates not to shrink from their family responsibilities.

“My whole life, I’ve tried to be for Michelle and my girls what my father wasn’t for my mother and me,” Obama said. “I want to break that cycle — where a father’s not at home, where a father’s not helping to raise that son and daughter. I want to be a better father, a better husband, a better man.”

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Savannah State lands first NCAA baseball tournament bid

NORFOLK, Virginia  --  Senior Peter Poole's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th inning scored fellow senior Campbell to lift Savannah State to a 1-0 victory Sunday against Bethune-Cookman in the finale of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament in Norfolk, Va.

The win gives the Tigers (33-21) the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. It will be the school's first appearance in the Division I field. The 64-team bracket will be announced May 27.

Kyle McGowin (12-1), the MEAC pitcher of the year, went the distance for Savannah State, allowing seven hits while striking out 11 and walking only two. McGowin's lone loss came May 5 in his previous outing against Bethune-Cookman.

Campbell sparked the winning rally in the 10th with a one-out double. Todd Hagen singled up the middle but Campbell advanced only to third. Poole then smacked the first pitch he saw from Jordan Dailey (5-1) in the air down the right-field line to bring home Campbell.

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Robinson signs with Savannah State

EVANS, Georgia  --  Austin Robinson has played baseball at every level in Columbia County, starting with T-ball and moving up through the ranks of rec league ball to Dixie Youth and on to high school.

On Monday he signed the paperwork to move up another notch as a scholarship player at Savannah State University, a Division I school affiliated with the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

A right-hand pitcher for the Wolfpack, Robinson has amassed a 25-6 record since being “thrown into the fire” as a sophomore, said head coach Chris Wilkins.

“We knew he was going to be a special player,” Wilkins said, impressing coaches with a complete-game win in his first outing.



Robinson went 9-2 that season, losing only to South Effingham’s J.B. Wendelken, who was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2012. Robinson followed that season with an 11-1 record and 2.93 ERA his junior year, and was name first team All Region 2-AAAA.

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Richmond Hill basketball's Jeremiah Hill signs with Savannah State Tigers

RICHMOND HILL, Georgia  --  When he took over the Richmond Hill High boys basketball program last summer, Wildcat coach Bill Henderson knew he had a solid shooter in rising senior Jeremiah Hill, but he wasn’t sure what the slender guard could offer on the other end of the court.

Hill provided a loud and definitive answer to that question this past season, emerging as one of the area’s top offensive threats and becoming one of the Wildcats’ biggest defensive assets down the stretch. Now, he’ll have a chance to continue his career, as he signed a letter of intent with Savannah State University on Thursday.


Jeremiah Hill #169

“I’m really proud of him. He was a kid last year who didn’t play much, and this year he came in and took on this role of leading the team,” Henderson said of Hill. “He’s one of the hardest working kids I’ve ever seen. He’d get done with practice and then want to get some extra shots in. We kind of challenged him to become a better defender, and he became one of, if not the best one, on our team at the end of the year.”

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B-CU baseball advances to MEAC championship game

NORFOLK, Virginia — Bethune-Cookman won again in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference baseball tournament Saturday to advance to today’s championship game.

Despite a first-round loss, the Wildcats have won four straight and are in the championship for the eighth straight season. 

 

B-CU (34-24) won 4-1 over Coppin State.

 

“They were outstanding,” B-CU coach Jason Beverlin said. “I’m extremely proud of all of the guys. Like I told them, I wish we had realized earlier in the season how good of a team we could really be when we play together, but now’s the time to come together.”

 

B-CU will face Savannah State (32-21) in the championship at 11 a.m. today.

 

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PVAMU Panthers Knock Off Alabama State, Advance To SWAC Championship Game

FORT WORTH, Texas  - The Panthers put in all on the line on Saturday in an 8-3 win over Alabama State to advance to the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament championship game at 2 p.m. on Sunday against Jackson State at LaGrave Field. Prairie View A&M threw its ace Jonathan Mata in the semifinal game for the chance to play another day, and the gamble paid dividends.

 

Mata threw a complete game for the Panthers in the win, giving up just two earned runs off of six hits. He tallied seven strikeouts en route to becoming the third-consecutive Prairie View A&M starter to throw a complete game in the tournament.

 

Mata was hitless through three complete innings, but a throwing error by the junior pitcher eventually led to Alabama State taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth off of a Waldyvan Estrada two-run single. Both runs were earned.
 

First Team All-SWAC first baseman Dominiq Harris struck back in a big way in the bottom of the fourth. On a 2-2 count, the Panthers slugger got ahold of a fast ball and sent a shot well over the left field fence that read 325 feet. He scored designated hitter Greg Salcido, who reached on a leadoff single. That blast, which looked to be over 350 feet, was Harris' second home run of the SWAC Tournament and his eighth of the season. Harris finished the game batting 2-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored.

 

Alabama State countered in the top of the fifth when Leo Rojas sent a sacrifice fly to left field to take a 3-2 lead as Mata seemed to settle down and get back into the groove that was disrupted in the fourth inning.

 

The Panthers moved into position to strike again in the bottom of the eighth, loading the bases for cleanup and designated hitter Greg Salcido. Salcido worked the count and was eventually hit by a pitch to drive in center fielder Colby Hines and tie the game at 3-3. That brought Harris back up to the plate, and he delivered once again. On a 1-2 count, Harris sent the ball on a line into left center and drove in second baseman Andre Oliver and third baseman Brad Benes for a 5-3 lead. 

Catcher Trey Price opened up the flood gates in the eighth inning with a single to right field to drive in Walter Wells from second base. Price, along with Colby Hines was driven in thanks to a two-RBI single to left field by Benes to deal the death blow. With the win, Mata improved to 5-5 and finished his fourth complete game of the season on the largest stage of his Division 1 career.
 

Sunday's championship game will be streamed live on ESPN3 and then tape delayed at 9 p.m. on Monday on ESPNU. Mike Prince will have the radio call for the game via the OpenMic Broadcast Network via www.ktorradio.com.

 

BOX SCORE

SWAC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
LIVE AUDIOSTREAMING VIDEO

 

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ASU Season Ends With Semifinal Loss To Prairie View

FORT WORTH, Texas  -  The Alabama State baseball team lost to Prairie View 8-3 Saturday afternoon in an elimination game at the 2013 SWAC Tournament.

It was the second loss in as many days for the Hornets (32-25) in the semifinals to Prairie View (27-26), which advances to the Sunday's SWAC Championship Game.

Alabama State took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. Richard Amion reached base on an error, Leo Rojas on an infield single, and Richard Gonzalez was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Waldyvan Estrada singled through the left side on a 1-1 pitch to score Amion and Rojas.

After Prairie View tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, the Hornets regained the lead in the fifth. Einar Muniz singled through the left side to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After Amion walked, Muniz advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Rojas.

Prairie View made another late-game rally, scoring three runs in the seventh, all with two outs, and then three more in the eighth for the final margin.

Box Score

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WSSU Rams bounced from playoffs after stumbling in the 9th

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina  -- Coach Kevin Ritsche of Winston-Salem State could only shake his head when trying to describe the top of the ninth inning of a 7-4 loss to Shippensburg on Saturday in an elimination game of the Atlantic Region baseball tournament.

The Rams were cruising with a 4-2 lead, and starter Scott Wells, who had a career-best performance, got the first out of the inning at Wake Forest Baseball Park.

But then the Raiders went small ball — very small ball.

Jimmy Spanos singled to start the rally, Mike Marcinko singled off the pitcher’s mound, and Kyle Hollingsworth hit a clean single to right-center to load the bases. Seth Mahaffey relieved Wells after the third single, then Michael Douglas surprised the Rams with a bunt. Third baseman Levi Grassley fielded the ball cleanly but couldn’t get Douglas at first base, and Spanos scored to make it a 4-3 game.

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42 Southern University studen-athletes awarded degree Friday

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  --  Southern University awarded degrees to 42 student-athletes during its fall commencement execises in the F.G. Clark Activity Center Friday morning.

Among the 42 students to receive degrees was four-time SWAC women tennis champion and the 2013 Player of the Year Demetria Woods, who is joined by her teammate Lois Alexis.

Former Southern basketball forward Peter Cipriano, who spent several seasons overseas playing professional after winning the SWAC title in 2006, also received his degree today during Spring commencement excercises.

Football finished with the most graduates with 13, followed by track and baseball with six each and soccer with 5.

COMPLETE LIST OF SPRING 2013 STUDENT-ATHLETE GRADUATES

Demetria Woods – (Tennis)

Lois Alexis – (Tennis)

Lee Almanza (FB)

Hansoni Alfred - (Track/Football)

Sylvester Nzekwe - (FB)

Omari Robinson - (FB)

Kadeem Lewis - (FB)

Clinton Boyd - (FB)

Javon Jordan - (FB)

Jerry Joseph - (FB)

Dion Palmer - (FB)

Brandon Turner - (FB)

Delwin Williams - (FB)

Demarcus Stewart - (FB)

Anthony Wells – (FB)

Essence Hopkins - (WBB)

Lechell Rush - (WBB)

Pedro Cipriano - (MBB)

Vincent Coleman (BB)

Demario Ellis - (BB)

Jeremy Lopez - (BB)

Jose Francisco - (BB)

Wilmy Marrero - (BB)

Kevin Williams - (BB)

Shawntall Steamer - (SB)

Kasha Tauriac - (SB)

Kesha Tauriac Brown (SB)

Amber Crews - (Track)

Maya Anderson – (Track)

Crystal Blue - (Track)

Joshua Albert - (Track)

Micah McCulloch - (Track)

Kayante Parker Allen – (Track)

Elsa Valencia - (Soccer) - Honors

Brenda Parra - (Soccer)

Khady Faty - (Soccer)

Natasha Witt - (Soccer)

Jillian Crawley Foster – (Soccer)

Kate McConnell - (Bowling)

Otia Stewart - (Bowling)

Adrianna Guillory – (Bowling)

Wayne Birch - (Golf)


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FAMU's Holmes looks for quick start

Rattlers coach says wins over early non-conference foes key to playoffs

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida — The Sept. 21 matchup against Ohio State aside, coach Earl Holmes would like his FAMU football team to win its first four games – all against non-conference opponents.

Holmes’ reasoning is simple. Non-conference victories would carry a lot of weight in FAMU’s case for a postseason berth if the Rattlers would make an impressive run in conference play.

Especially if they do so and don’t finish as champions of MEAC.

“I’d rather have my hand in two boxes than just one so you try to win every game you can,” Holmes said Saturday at the Bonaventure Resort and Spa, where the FAMU National Alumni Association held its annual conference.

“If you win the (MEAC); yes, you’re in. But if you fall short; maybe a tied game or something like that but you win all those non-conference games it helps. So it’s best to concentrate on winning every game.”



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Dawson headed to Fayetteville State

KINSTON, North Carolina  --  For Josh Dawson going to Fayetteville to play basketball every year came to be expected.

It’ll now be his home for the next four.

Dawson, Kinston’s energetic point guard who guided the Vikings to back-to-back state titles, has signed to play at Fayetteville State.



The reigning two-time area player of the year said he chose the Broncos over several schools because they were the ones who seemed to want him most.

“They kept coming back and coming back, and since Day 1 they’ve been here,” Dawson said. “They were just showing that they really care about me a lot.”

When the 6-foot-1 guard graduates next month, he will leave Kinston as its most decorated athlete in terms of team state titles won. He’s the only Vikings athlete to ever win three state titles in a four-year span, and the 2011 team his sophomore year came one win shy of playing for a fourth championship.

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Prairie View bounces Southern baseball from SWAC tournament

FORT WORTH, Texas — The Southern baseball team’s worn-out pitching staff came apart and its batters squandered scoring opportunities Friday as Prairie View A&M eliminated the Jaguars from the SWAC tournament with an 11-4 victory.

SU, the top seed out of the West Division, was playing its third game in 28 hours and coming off a deflating, 10-9 loss to Alabama State after the Jaguars had led 9-3 in the eighth inning. That contest ended at 1:15 a.m. Friday; the Jaguars arrived later in the morning for a scheduled noon game that didn’t begin until 1:45 p.m.

“What happened today had a lot to do with what happened 24 hours ago, when we gave up six runs and lost a game (to Alabama State),” Southern coach Roger Cador said.

Once Friday’s game did start, the Jaguars (21-23) never led. The first three Panthers reached base in the first inning, then cleanup hitter Greg Salcido grounded out for the first of his four RBIs.

SWAC West No. 3 seed Prairie View (25-26) knocked Southern starter Daniel Garcia (4-5) from the game with two more runs in the second. He allowed four hits, two walks and three runs in 1.2 innings.

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William Carey eliminates Gold Nuggets in NAIA semifinals

MOBILE, Ala. -- William Carey gained revenge for a regular-season loss to Xavier University of Louisiana and defeated the Gold Nuggets 5-0 Friday in the semifinals of the NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship.

The Lady Crusaders (14-8), seeded fifth, upset the top-seeded Gold Nuggets (19-8), who were trying to become the first XU team in any sport to reach the championship round of an NAIA national tournament.

Sophomore Carola Orna won in doubles and singles to lead William Carey, a 5-1 loser at home to Xavier on April 5. William Carey entered that regular-season dual ranked second, and Xavier was sixth. The April victory helped move the Nuggets to the No. 1 ranking in the final three coaches polls entering the tournament.

"Today the roles were reversed," XU coach Alan Green said. "William Carey had the mindset we had on April 5. Today we weren't fighting back, and we were letting them do whatever they wanted to do with us."

The Lady Crusaders swept all three doubles matches -- including Orna and Maja Vuzem's 8-6 victory against Kourtney Howell and Brion Flowers, No. 1 in the ITA NAIA rankings -- and won at the first and sixth singles flights. Orna, ranked 20th in singles, beat sixth-ranked Howell 6-4, 7-5 to end the match.

Of the four unfinished singles matches, William Carey led in all four.

"I don't want to take anything away from William Carey," Green said. "They came out way ready to play. Their coaches did a great job getting them ready. They took over the match from the very first ball toss in doubles to the very end. William Carey was not to be denied. That's what we were up against."

Sarah-Maria Spruch and Julia Angerman gave the Lady Crusaders a 1-0 lead with an 8-2 victory against Simone-Alyse Ewell and Amber Brown. Anastasiya Zviahintseva and Malin Collin made it 2-0 with their 8-5 decision over Amanda Materre and Olivia West.

Collin, the other Lady Crusader to win in doubles and singles, defeated Jordyn Goody 6-1, 6-1.

"We got way down in all three doubles matches, then climbed back into two of them, but William Carey closed those out," Green said. "In singles, we showed signs of life on courts 1-5 by playing well in the second sets."

William Carey will play second-seeded and defending champion Auburn Montgomery for the championship at 1 p.m. Saturday. The men's championship will match Embry-Riddle (Fla.) and Auburn Montgomery at 9 a.m. Xavier -- including the Gold Rush, eliminated in Thursday's quarterfinals -- will watch it all before traveling home.

"I want them to see what they should have been doing or could have been doing," Green said of his women. "They've got to absorb every aspect of this tournament. Today they saw how much it hurts. Tomorrow we'll see the champion and how they act and feel."

The Gold Nuggets entered the semifinals with a school-record 11-dual winning streak, a 16-0 record this season against NAIA opponents and a 12-0 record against ranked NAIA opponents.

"I told our women we had a really great season," Green said. "There was nothing to hang their heads down about. They were all crying. We have to feel this kind of disappointment before we can become a national champion.

"Most champions go through this, so this is our process."

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

MEAC baseball: B-CU wins two to advance to Saturday

NORFOLK, Virginia — Bethune-Cookman won two elimination games in the Mid
-Eastern Athletic Conference Baseball Championships on Friday to advance to Saturday's play.

In the first game, B-CU won 11-5 against North Carolina A&T (16-38).

In the second game, B-CU (33-24) won 7-3 against North Carolina Central (27-29).

"I couldn’t be happier,” B-CU coach Jason Beverlin said. “The energy and focus they showed for 18 straight innings was outstanding, especially the second game.''

The Wildcats will play the loser of Savannah State vs. Coppin State, which is at 1 p.m. Saturday, in a game at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Scott Garner (6-5) gave up three runs on four hits, struck out three and walked eight in six innings for the win against N.C. A&T. Despite a run on the board, Garner held a no-hitter for the Wildcats through the fourth inning. He worked out of two bases-loaded jams with no runs surrendered.

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Judge to decide if former B-CU football coach was fired over age

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida  — Alvin Wyatt, the winningest football coach in Bethune-Cookman history, will learn next week whether he will add another “W” to his win column — only this time it would be against his old university which he is suing for $1.2 million, accusing it of breach of contract.

Wyatt, 65, is suing B-CU, accusing it of breach of contract and age discrimination after he was fired in 2009 and replaced by then-39-year-old Brian Jenkins. Circuit Judge Terence R. Perkins said he would issue a ruling on Wednesday after the nonjury trial this week at the City Island Courthouse Annex.

 

Wyatt was fired on Nov. 23, 2009, two days after the Wildcats were pummeled
42-6 by rival Florida A&M in the Florida Classic. While Wyatt had a record of 90-54 in 13 seasons, his last season was a losing one at 5-6.

 

One of Wyatt’s attorneys, Peter Heebner, argued in his closing statement that B-CU broke its contract and that it owed Wyatt $1.2 million. He said Wyatt had a contract that automatically rolled over unless he received an unsatisfactory evaluation. Wyatt’s evaluation in 2008 was satisfactory, he said. And he did not receive an evaluation in 2009. 

 

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NSU athletic director uses interim tag as opportunity

 NORFOLK, Virginia  -- The interim tag is here to stay at Norfolk State - at least when it makes sense to athletic director Marty Miller.

Former Spartans assistant basketball coach Robert Jones, who was named interim head coach on April 15 when Anthony Evans left for Florida International, is the latest NSU assistant to move into his or her sport's top spot on an interim basis.

Although an interim tag could raise concern among potential recruits, Miller said he has no plans to change what he admits is an unorthodox pattern of hiring.

"It works if you have the right person in place," Miller said. "And for us, it has worked."

Miller, the school's longtime baseball coach until he ascended to the AD position in 2004, has made similar hires in volleyball, baseball, bowling and track and field "because there were individuals in place when the head coach left," he said. He has conducted national searches to fill head coaching positions in football, women's basketball, tennis and softball when he didn't see a viable candidate close at hand.

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SIAC Champions fall to Valdosta State; Stillman Tigers end season in Tampa

TAMPA, Florida  – Valdosta State defeated Stillman 6-2 in the first elimination contest of the 2013 NCAA Division II South Region Tournament at Spartan Field in Tampa.

After Stillman left a runner stranded in the top of the first, Valdosta State jumped out early scoring five in the bottom of the inning.  While the Tigers routinely outscore their opponents in the early innings (74-26 in the first inning), it was the Blazers who triggered the early scoring output.  A Jake Fields single to left scored Hunter Thompson for the opening run of the game before four of the next six batters each drove in a run.  Stillman starting pitcher Joey Falletta registered one out against eight batters allowing five runs and walking two.

Valdosta State would add another run in the bottom of the third when Cooper Lemonds homered to left field.

Stillman broke into the scoring column in the top of the fourth when Kyle Smith scored on a Fernando Tanaka fielder's choice.  Stillman added another run in the top of the sixth inning when Kameron McCreless scored on Ken Perkey's single to right center field.

In the game, Kameron McCreless went 2-for-3 with a run scored while Fernando Tanaka and Ken Perkey each went 2-for-4 with an RBI.  Seth Booth went 2-for-5.  On the mound, Kevin McNorton worked 7 2/3 innings striking out four while allowing one run on five hits.

For Valdosta State (34-17), Bryant Hayman, Cooper Lemonds and Daniel Hoover each had two hits in the game.  Dom Demasi worked six innings striking out four in the win.  Ben Weil worked 1 2/3 innings striking out two for the save.

Stillman ends its season with a 30-16 overall record and the 2013 SIAC Championship.

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Cool in the Clutch: Gonzalez’s triple in 9th helps WSSU Rams stay alive

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina  --  Winston-Salem State isn’t done yet.

With the Rams down to their last out, Rafael Gonzalez ripped a bases-clearing double in the top of  the ninth inning Friday that gave WSSU a 7-5 victory against Concord (W.Va.) in an elimination game in the Atlantic Region playoffs.

The Rams, seeded No. 2 in the regional and ranked No. 23 in Division II, will play again at 2:30 today at Wake Forest Ballpark.

“It doesn’t seem to get any easier,” Coach Kevin Ritsche of WSSU said. “In a game like this, you get into a regional, and they are all close games. We made some mistakes early, and we didn’t capitalize early, but thankfully Jordan Carlton kept us in there even though he gave up some home runs. And J.R. Wright came in, and he’s been a bulldog for us in this regional.”

NEXT GAMES:

7	May 18, 11 a.m.	No. 1 Millersville (39-17) vs. No. 5 East Stroudsburg (34-17)
8	May 18, 2:30 p.m.	No. 4 Shippensburg (29-21) vs. No. 2 Winston-Salem (39-12)
9	May 18, 6 p.m.	Game 7 Winner vs. No. 3 Seton Hill (41-15)

PHOTO GALLERY

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Michelle Obama at Bowie State: Too many fantasize about being ‘a baller or a rapper’

COLLEGE PARK, Maryland  --  Michelle Obama encouraged the graduates of Bowie State University on Friday morning to live up to the legacy of their university’s founders and the leaders of the civil rights movement by promoting the importance of education in the black community.

“Just think about this for a moment — for generations, in many parts of this country, it was illegal for black people to get an education,” Obama told the predominantly black crowd, referring to the period in which Bowie State was founded. “Slaves caught reading or writing could be beaten within an inch of their lives.”

The creation of the small school that eventually became Bowie State University was an “eloquent act of defiance,” she told the crowd of about 600 graduates and several thousand of their supporters at the Comcast Center in College Park.

View more videos at: http://nbcwashington.com.

Obama encouraged the students to keep a hunger to learn, quoting abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who said education “means the uplifting of the soul of man into the glorious light of truth, the light by which men can only be made free.”

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Michelle Obama Gets Honorary Degree, Gives Speech at Bowie State Graduation

COLLEGE PARK, Maryland  --  The first lady received an honorary degree from Bowie State University before speaking to about 600 graduates during their commencement Friday.

Michelle Obama received the Honorary Doctorate of Law during the ceremony. She then spoke to the students about their perseverance.

"We need to dig deep to find the grit and determination for students today like the first students of Bowie State," the first lady told the crowd. "There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of the sacrifices my parents made for me."

Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker III tweeted Friday that the "2013 BSU grads will never forget [Michelle Obama's] words."

The event was held on at the Comcast Center at the University of Maryland in College Park to accommodate a crowd of more than 10,000.

When the first lady's appearance was first announced, some parents and professors were disappointed because ...

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VIDEO: Michelle Obama Bowie State University commencement address

Winston-Salem State squanders 4-run lead in playoff opener

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina  --  All season the Winston-Salem State Rams have been good at holding leads but on Thursday afternoon in the Atlantic Region first-round game it didn’t happen.

Fifth-seeded East Stroudsburg rallied from a four-run deficit to upset the second-seeded Rams 8-6 in 10 innings in front of about 100 at Wake Forest Ballpark.

The Rams, ranked No. 23 in Division II, seemingly had a comfortable 6-2 lead after seven innings. Riding the solid pitching of starter Tyler Hickernell the Rams looked like they were on their way to the winner’s bracket.

The Warriors (34-16) had other ideas as they won their fifth in a row and did so in dramatic fashion. Middle relievers John Markley and Michael Drye of the Rams struggled in the eighth and the Warriors scored four runs to tie the game at 6.

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Despite lower ticket sales, Charlotte wants CIAA to stay

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina  --  City leaders raised questions on Thursday about price gouging at uptown hotels and parking facilities during the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association college basketball tournament while emphasizing the need to keep the annual event in Charlotte. At the same time, they learned that ticket sales fell 13.5 percent during the past year.

The complaints aren’t new. Both the former and current commissioners of the 13-member conference of historically black colleges and universities have voiced similar concerns.

Tom Murray, CEO of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, answered questions about room rates and other matters Thursday while making a presentation on preliminary findings from the 2013 tournament. Publicly owned Time Warner Cable Arena hosted the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments last winter, the eighth consecutive year the CIAA’s showcase event has been played in Charlotte.

Despite smaller schools and a level of competition below the familiar names in the NCAA men’s championship, the CIAA ranks among the most popular college basketball events in the nation. It combines basketball with alumni parties, fashion shows, musical competitions and a nonstop parade of tie-in parties.

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Alabama State stages late-night rally, stuns Southern in tourney

FORT WORTH, Texas — Alabama State rallied from a six-run deficit to end Southern’s long day of baseball with a stunning 10-9 defeat Thursday night at the SWAC tournament.

The Jaguars (21-22) had begun Thursday with a 7-1 victory over Alabama A&M in a game that began at 9 a.m.

Alabama State’s victory came at 1:15 a.m. Friday, with the tying and winning runs scoring on a squeeze bunt and an SU error.

Before that, D.J. Wallace had hit a grand slam and driven in five runs against the Hornets.

C

aleb Hatcher drove in three runs, and Jose DeLeon provided clutch pitching for 7.1 innings.

He left with a 9-3 lead, but with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth.

Josh Powell walked Richard Amion to force in one run, then gave up a two-run double to Leo Rojas. Powell allowed a fourth run to score when Richard Gonzalez’s groundout sent Amion home, cutting the Jaguars’ lead to 9-7.

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Ram Ramblings: WSSU doing its share to help Winston-Salem economy

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina  --  Athletics director Bill Hayes laughed when I asked him what is Winston-Salem State known for. Is it a football, basketball or baseball school?

“Right now we are all about baseball,” he said. “And like Vince Lombardi used to say ‘winning isn’t everything it’s the only thing.’”

The Rams have done their share of winning and then some this season between the national-ranked football team, the men’s basketball team and now the baseball team all three programs achieved a rarity. All three were national ranked at some point during their seasons, which doesn’t happen a lot at any level.

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‘A coach at heart,’ Saint Augustine’s Williams quietly became a coaching icon

COACH GEORGE WILLIAMS
SAINT AUGUSTINE'S UNIVERSITY

RALEIGH, North Carolina  -- Thirty-two NCAA Division II team championships, more than 150 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association titles and 200-plus coach of the year awards. But who’s counting? Certainly not George Williams.

Williams, the legendary Saint Augustine’s track and field coach, has built a dynasty at the small, historically black college in Raleigh, N.C., during his 37-year tenure at the helm of the program. 

It was something he certainly never dreamed of when he took over the program as a favor until the school found a permanent replacement for the outgoing track coach in 1976. At the time, he was working as an administrator in the school’s alumni office. 

A 1965 graduate of St. Augustine’s, Williams played basketball for the college and ran track as a way to keep in shape. But he knew nothing about coaching track and field athletes. 

“The first year, I think my team scored four points in the conference championship,” Williams said. “I had always been a part of a winning program in everything I had done and I decided to go talk to Dr. Leroy Walker, who was the track coach at North Carolina Central — a very successful track coach. I asked him about setting up programs and how he did things. He explained to me about biomechanics and techniques and gave me a book about biomechanics. I began to read that and tried his practice schedule.”

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Nuggets find focus, become XU's 1st to reach NAIA semifinals

MOBILE, Ala. — Alan Green, the women's tennis coach at Xavier University of Louisiana, described it succinctly. "We got on each other," he said of a team meeting during the customary 10-minute break between the doubles and singles matches in Wednesday's quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championship.

    

The spirited discussion — Green addressed his players, then the players talked among themselves — was beneficial for the Gold Nuggets. After dropping 2-of-3 doubles matches, top-seeded and top-ranked Xavier rallied in singles and defeated ninth-ranked Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 5-3.

    
This is the first time a Xavier team in any sport has reached the NAIA's national semifinals. The Gold Nuggets will play fifth-seeded William Carey at 1 p.m. Friday, and for the second straight day it will be a rematch of a regular-season dual. Xavier won 5-1 at Carey on April 5 when the Lady Crusaders were ranked second and the Nuggets were sixth. That victory was one of several which helped propel Xavier to the school's first-ever No. 1 ranking on April 16.
    
One month later, the Gold Nuggets still are No. 1. Remaining there, however, is another issue.
    
"When you're on top, you've got a target on your back every time," Green said. "We have to understand that. Both times we played this week, the other team came out with a lot of energy — a lot more than we had. We have to be able to come out from the start and match our opponent's energy. I hope we learned something here today and will come out tomorrow with the same sense of urgency we had during singles."
    

Xavier's only doubles victory came at the third flight when Amanda Materre and Olivia West defeated Ana Gonzalez and Meena Bennett 8-3. The Nuggets' Kourtney Howell and Brion Flowers, No. 1 in the most recent ITA NAIA doubles rankings, lost 8-5 to Hui-l Huang and Kristina Marova after winning by that same score in their March 28 meeting. Howell and Flowers entered with a 10-match win streak.

    

"Embry-Riddle outworked us at the start," Green said. "They wanted it more than we did."

    

But after 10 minutes of talk, the Nuggets were able to flip on the energy switch and keep it on. "In singles," Green said, "we came out and took charge on five of the six courts."
    
XU freshman Simone-Alyse Ewell tied the dual at 2 with her 6-1, 6-3 victory against Giovanna Tomiotto at No. 4. Materre, the only Nugget to win in doubles and singles Wednesday, gave her team a 3-2 lead when she defeated Paolo Montero 6-1, 6-3 at No. 3. It was Materre's eighth consecutive singles triumph. Marova defeated Flowers 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2 to tie the dual for the third time, but Amber Brown at No. 5 put the Nuggets ahead to stay with 6-2, 6-3 decision over Gonzalez.
    

Howell then clinched for the Nuggets for the second straight day and a team-leading eighth time this season when she beat Huang 7-5, 6-1 in a matchup of top-10 NAIA players. Howell needed two tiebreakers to beat Huang in the regular season and conclude a 7-2 XU victory.

    

Xavier's comeback in singles defied a seven-season trend. Before Wednesday, the Nuggets were 0-55 in dual matches since the start of 2007 when they lost at the top two doubles flights. It happened six times previously this season, but all against NCAA Division I opponents.

   

 In six previous appearances at nationals, all under Green, the Nuggets never got past the second round.

    

"This is a great accomplishment to be in the semifinals," Green said. "I never thought as a coach that I would reach the heights that no other XU coach had ever reached. I am honored and humbled to be able to accomplish this for our great university. It's amazing."

    

But there's more work to do Friday, and Green's analysis was equally succinct. "If we're No. 1, we have to play accordingly," he said.

    

The Nuggets extended their school-record win streak, which they set Wednesday, to 11. They're also 12-0 this season against ranked NAIA opponents. Embry-Riddle, the NAIA runner-up a year ago, finished 12-11.

Results

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAATHLETICS