The news to come out of Florida from the Coaches Convention/League Meetings was pretty bland this year, especially considering it was a rule change year.

The big news was that it now looks likely that college hockey will be making the move from full face shields to visors. I’m not a huge fan of the move, but I’m fine with it as long as we’re all honest about the true reason for this move, which is to have college hockey players look like the players in every other league. The notion that it improves safety by taking away safety measure is downright silly. If it makes things safer, why does every player with a facial injury play with a full cage instead of no facial protection?

In other news, this paragraph made me want to cut myself:

The exact makeup of the board is still being haggled over. In one incarnation, it would involve the commissioners, three coaches and three athletic directors, comprising the six conferences that will be playing as of 2013-14. In another, it will be one commissioner and six athletic directors.

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Goaltender Ryan LaPlante, center. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

The University of Denver men’s lacrosse team advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year and will begin its quest for a return trip to the Final Four on Saturday at North Carolina (5:30 p.m., ESPNU). The Tar Heels (11-5) are seeded No. 8 overall; the Pioneers (8-6) are one of eight unseeded teams that begin on the road.

Saturday’s winner will advance to the May 19 quarterfinals and play No. 1 Loyola (14-1) or Canisius (6-7) in Annapolis, Md. The Final Four is May 26-28 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

“We weren’t sure we were in, so it’s exciting and a relief,” DU coach Bill Tierney said after watching the selection show Sunday night. “As far as playing Carolina goes, they’re one of the country’s most talented teams, and they play in the ACC. They had a great year. We scrimmaged them (to a tie) in February and we know how athletic they are.

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In the third quarter of the 2012 4A state girls championship game, Mercedes Riggs dribbled to the right side, crossed over, stepped back, and drilled a 3-pointer to give Timpanogos a late 13-point lead over Springville.

It was, her father said, the defining image of his daughter’s high school basketball career.

“That and the look of determination she had,” Bill Riggs said. “You could tell she was not going to be denied, and she played that way.”

It’s also one of a multitude of reasons why the Daily Herald has named Mercedes Riggs as the 2012 Valley Player of the Year for girls basketball.

The senior guard’s success might not have happened at all were it not for a decision made during her freshman year.

Riggs found herself torn between basketball and the martial arts. She had already invested much of her life in both, having played club basketball up to that point while also earning a first-degree black belt in taekwondo.

Her mother, Anita, was convinced at one point that Mercedes would break away from the hardcourt tradition established by her mother and followed by her three older sisters.

“We knew that she had the talent and the work ethic [for basketball],” Anita said. “It was going to

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It was announced today that the Minnesota Wild have signed University of Denver sophomore Jason Zucker to an entry level contract. Zucker’s signing was pretty much a foregone conclusion after the Wild made it quite clear that signing him was a top priority this summer.

In other signing news:

It’s not an early departure, but the Washington Capitals signed Miami graduating senior defenseman Cameron Schilling to a free agent contract. Schilling put together an incredibly solid career at Miami, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him playing for the Caps sometime in the future.

Western Michigan defenseman Dan DeKeyser was considered one of the top free agents in college hockey, but announced yesterday that he would be returning to Kalamazoo for another season.

Minnesota-Duluth’s JT Brown is another top free agent prospect drawing interest from nearly every NHL team and has reportedly trimmed his list of teams he’s looking at to Boston, Philadelphia, and Tampa Bay.

Baylor center Brittney Griner. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Related Articles

• Mar 29:
• Destination Denver: 2012 Women’s Final Four
• Tickets to Women’s Final Four in Denver still available
• Mar 28:
• Destination Denver: 2012 Women’s Final Four
• Mar 27:
• Four No. 1 seeds advance to women’s Final Four
• ND women claim Final Four spot, beat Terps 80-49
• Hayes leads UConn women back to Final Four
• Colorado Buffs using Women’s Final Four in Denver as a teaching tool
• Mar 26:
• No. 1 Stanford women beat Duke to reach Final Four
• Baylor pounds Tennessee 77-58 for Final Four bid

They are the Mount Rushmore of Women’s Final Fours, the gold standard of women’s college basketball.

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San Clemente junior offensive tackle Sean Harlow second in OCVarsitys current rankings for the class of 2013 has picked up offers from Washington State and Duke, his father, Pat, reports.

Harlow now has six Pac-12 offers: Washington State and Washington, Oregon and Oregon State, Colorado and Utah.

He also has been offered by Boise State.

Please send football recruiting news to Dan Albano at dalbano@ocregister.com