SAY IT AINT SO JOE, NATHAN MAY MISS 2010 SEASON

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The Minnesota Twins suddenly have a glaring concern about closing games for the first time since Joe Nathan took over in 2004.

Tests on Nathan's right throwing elbow have revealed a significant tear in the ulnar collateral ligament, an injury that could require season-ending Tommy John surgery. Nathan's 246 saves over six seasons are the most in the majors during that span.

The Twins shared the grim news on Tuesday in Fort Myers, Fla., before their exhibition game against the St. Louis Cardinals. General manager Bill Smith said the plan is to first give Nathan time to let soreness and swelling subside, and build strength in the muscles around the joint, before a final decision about surgery.

In the meantime, a second opinion will be sought from Dr. James Andrews, the noted surgeon who removed bone spurs and chips from the elbow in October. The ulnar collateral ligament is replaced in the Tommy John procedure, which typically takes 12 to 18 months to recover from.

Nathan will try to pitch again in two weeks. If he can't, the four-time All-Star will have surgery. His season then would almost certainly be over, perhaps putting his status for next year in question, too.

An emotional Nathan said he's prepared to try to pitch through pain.

"If I'm able to go out there and throw, then I'll definitely give it a shot," Nathan told reporters in Fort Myers. "The only reason that I would get a surgery done is if I'm just unable to go out there."

It is possible to pitch through the injury.

"I could be one of those guys. I might not be," Nathan said.

But if his elbow hurts like it did on Saturday, when he first felt discomfort and was removed from an exhibition game against Boston?

"Then there's just no chance," Nathan said.

Nathan and the Twins initially believed this weekend he was just dealing with general stiffness and soreness. He flew to Minnesota to meet with team physician Dr. Dan Buss on Monday.

The surgery decision won't be delayed too long.

"They've got to prepare for the season, too," Nathan said.

The 35-year-old Nathan signed a $47 million contract two years ago that guarantees him $11.25 million this season and next. The Twins have a $12.5 million option for 2012, with a $2 million buyout.

"Obviously this wasn't the news I wanted to hear," Nathan said. "It definitely came as a bit of a surprise, but at the same time I've got to be patient right now and take this a step at a time. We'll see how it feels in a week or two."

Nathan was 2-2 with a 2.10 ERA last year, with a career-high 47 saves. He was vulnerable down the stretch, surrendering four of his seven home runs in the final month of the regular season. He gave up a tying two-run shot to Alex Rodriguez in the ninth inning of a Game 2 loss to the New York Yankees in the first round of the playoffs.

Losing Nathan for any amount of time would be a big blow to the Twins, who shored up their lineup and are eager to celebrate the opening of their new ballpark, Target Field, with another trip to the playoffs.

"That's going to be a huge drop for them," Chicago White Sox infielder Omar Vizquel said at Scottsdale Stadium in Arizona. "It's not going to be easy to replace a guy like him. He pretty much guarantees a save every time."

Right-handers Jon Rauch and Matt Guerrier are probably the top two candidates to replace Nathan, but Rauch is the only Twins reliever with even limited prior experience as a closer. Rob Delaney and Anthony Slama are well-regarded prospects who could be considered.

"Right now, until they tell us, 'Joe's not going to pitch,' he's our closer," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We'll go from there, but we have to start looking in other directions and start the process. This kind of all of a sudden came up, and it is what it is. No one's going to cry for us. We just have to kind of make our way through it."

Guerrier wasn't ready to talk about replacements.

"I'm more concerned about how he's doing," Guerrier said. "He's still pretty emotional."

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen remembered one comeback by his team against Nathan, last summer.

"Besides that, I don't remember if we even scared the guy. He's so good against us," Guillen said. "I'd rather face anybody out there, no matter what kind of pitcher they are, than face Nathan."

Nathan's injury was the news of the day around Minnesota's AL Central rivals.

"The Twins seem more than any team when people go down, whether it's players or pitchers, to have other guys step right in," White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko said. "It seems they never rest a beat. So they will probably do the same thing with that: It will be some player that no one is even thinking about right now that will probably be lights out for them."

STONY BROOK BASKETBALL...FLYIN' HIGH

McBride named America East Player of the Week

Cambridge, Mass. - For the second time this season, junior Jordan McBride (New Westminster, British Columbia) has been named America East Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday. McBride scored a game-high six goals in a 14-11 win over Towson on Saturday. It was the 12th time in his career he scored four or more goals in a game. His sixth and final goal of the game gave him 100 for his career in just 34 games. With the win over the Tigers, Stony Brook is now ranked 18th in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll and 14th in the Coaches poll.

Men's Basketball Falls To Boston University, 70-63, In America East Semifinals

Senior Muhammad El-Amin scores game-high 20 points.


West Hartford, Conn. - Trailing by 13 points at halftime, Stony Brook University men's basketball team rallied to take a five-point lead with 6:42 remaining but Boston University ended the game on a 22-10 run to defeat the Seawolves, 70-63, in an America East Semifinal game on Sunday night at Chase Arena. Senior Muhammad El-Amin (Lansing, Mich.) scored a game-high 20 for Stony Brook while sophomore Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) chipped in with 16. Stony Brook will now await its opponent in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), which it received an automatic bid to by virtue of winning the America East regular season title. First round NIT games are scheduled for March 16 or 17. It will be the first postseason appearance in program history for the Seawolves.

"What a terrific basketball game," Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell said. "I couldn't be prouder of my guys and the effort and heart they showed tonight and all season. Give credit to BU, they made the plays they had to make down the stretch."

El-Amin's 20 points give him 501 on the season. He is the first Stony Brook player to score over 500 points since the Seawolves jumped to Division I. Junior Chris Martin (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) added 11 points while sophomore Tommy Brenton (Columbia, Md.) had seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Seawolves, who are now 22-9.

Stony Brook led by one with five and half minutes left when Dougher drilled a three to give Stony Brook a 56-52 advantage. Tyler Morris hit two free throws to bring BU within two and Corey Lowe then drilled a three to give the Terriers the lead. John Holland followed with a driving hoop to give BU a 59-56 advantage.

Jake O'Brien hit two free throws to push the Terriers lead to five but Brenton answered with a driving hoop and Martin then hit two free throws to make it 61-60 with 2:35 to go. Holland scored to make it 63-60 and Dougher then missed a long three on Stony Brook's next possession. O'Brien followed with an inside hoop but Dougher drilled a three from the right wing to draw SBU within two.

But Lowe scored on a follow hoop though with 40 seconds and BU then forced a Stony Brook turnover. Carlos Strong followed with two free throws to ice the game for the Terriers.

Stony Brook jumped on the Terriers early behind El-Amin, who hit three three-pointers over the first two and half minutes to give SBU a 9-3 lead. BU answered with an 11-1 run though over the next four minutes to take a four-point lead. The Terriers pushed their lead to seven on a Lowe three before SBU scored five straight points, three by Brenton, to climb within two.

SBU eventually crept within one on a Martin hoop before Valadas Surutis hit a three to give kick start a 15-0 BU run that gave the Terriers a 37-21 lead. Dougher drilled a three with time winding down to cut SBU deficit to 13 at the break.

A Dougher three on Stony Brook's first possession of the second half cut the BU lead to 37-27 and sophomore Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.) and Martin then scored back-to-back hoops to cut SBU's deficit to six. Another Dougher three made it 37-34. SBU eventually tied the game on a Martin free throw with 15:34 to go.

O'Brien scored BU's first points of the second half on the Terriers next possession but Martin responded with short jumper to tie it at 39. The Seawolves took their lead since the early going at the 12 minute mark as El-Amin drilled a three off a feed from sophomore Danny Carter (London, England).

Stony Brook still lead by two with just less than eight minutes left when John Holland tied the game with a tough runner in the lane. But El-Amin answered with a fade-away jumper to put SBU back on top. El-Amin stretched the Stony Brook lead to five with two free throws but BU answered with four straight points to climb within one five and a half minutes to go.

No. 4 Stony Brook Falls in America East Women's Basketball Semifinals to No. 1 Hartford, 65-43

Jeter scores 19

West Hartford, Conn. - Trailing by just eight with under five minutes left in the second half, No. 4 Stony Brook fell just short of an upset bid of No. 1 Hartford in the semifinals of the America East Women's Basketball Championship on Sunday afternoon in Chase Arena. Junior Kirsten Jeter (Elmont, N.Y.) scored a game-high 19 and grabbed nine rebounds. Junior Misha Horsey (Wyncote, Pa.) joined Jeter in double figures with 11 points. Stony Brook finishes the 2009-10 season with a 10-20 record.

"I'm really proud of the effort we showed today," said head coach Michele Cherry. "We battled all season and really came together as a team. We've really improved from the start of the season to now, and it showed today. Hartford is a great team and they deserve a lot of credit for the way they've played today, and all season long."

As it has all season, Stony Brook relied on its defense as it jumped out to a 4-0 lead. The Seawolves held Hartford scoreless over until the 16:15 mark and didn't allow the Hawks a field goal for more than five minutes.

Hartford would not stay down for long, however, as they scored eight unanswered points to take a 12-6 lead with 10:54 left in the first half. Stony Brook would claw its way back into the game, eventually pulling within two on a jumper from Jeter with 3:43 remaining. On the next Hartford possession, senior Joia Daniels (Silver Spring, Md.) poked the ball free and had an open court in front of her, but unluckily bumped into an official allowing Hartford to regain possession. In the ensuing scramble, Hartford's Jackie Smith found teammate Diana Delva for an easy layup, putting the Hawks up four.

A layup by Daniels followed by a pair of free throws from sophomore Destiny Jacobs (Glen Burnie, Md.) would knot the score at 25-25 with 2:41 remaining, but the Hawks would outscore Stony Brook 9-1 down the stretch to take an eight-point lead at halftime.

Behind a balanced scoring attack, SBU recorded eight of the first 11 points in the second half to cut the Hawks' lead to just three with 14:46 left. However, back-to-back threes from Mary Silvia pushed Hartford's advantage back to nine.

Stony Brook would get as close as eight at the 5:33 mark on a jumper by Jeter, but that would be the Seawolves final points of the game as Hartford finished the contest off with on a 14-0 run.

Head Coach Matt Senk becomes first coach in program history to win 500 games.

Game 1 Box ScoreGame 2 Box Score

Wilmington, N.C. - Sophomore Tyler Johnson (Chatsworth, Calif.) allowed just two runs in 7.1 innings and struck out 10 to lead the Stony Brook University baseball team to a 3-2 win over the Akron Zips in its 2010 season opener on Saturday morning at Brooks Field. Stony Brook defeated UNC-Wilmington, 6-2, in its second game of the day behind three hits and three RBI from senior Rob Dyer (Selden, N.Y.). With the win over Akron, Stony Brook head coach Matt Senk became the first coach in program history and the third in America East history to win 500 games.
The all-time wins leader in Stony Brook baseball history, Senk has enjoyed 17 winning seasons with SBU and has won 30 or more games seven times. He has compiled a 298-231 record and two America East tournament titles since the Seawolves move to Division I in 2000.
Stony Brook jumped on top in the second against the Zips as freshman Tanner Nivins (Kitchener, Ontario), in his first collegiate at-bat, drilled a homer to center with two outs. Johnson cruised early on as he retired the first 12 Akron batters, five by strikeout.
Junior Stephen Marino (Lake Grove, N.Y.) pushed the Seawolves lead to 2-0 in the fifth as he led off the inning with a home run to left. Johnson allowed his first base runner in the fifth as Kyle Hallet doubled to start the inning. But Johnson then picked Hallet off and retired the next two hitters on a strike out and a ground out to keep the Zips off the board.
The Seawolves picked up another run in the seventh as sophomore Sal Intagliata (Franklin Square, N.Y.) walked with one out and then moved to second on a single from senior Justin Echevarria (Uniondale, N.Y.) Senior Chris Maier (Farmingdale, N.Y.) followed with a run-scoring single to put SBU on top 3-0.

Akron finally got on the board in the eighth as Johnson hit Brian Kordal and then gave up a two-run home run to Brandon White. But freshman Jasvir Rakkar (Brampton, Ontario) then entered the game and retired the next two hitters to get out of the jam.
Freshman William Carmona (Hempstead, N.Y.) entered the game in ninth for the Seawolves and retired the side in order to secure Senk's 500th win. Johnson allowed just two hits in his 7.1 innings and did not walk a batter.
UNC-Wilmington grabbed the early lead over SBU in the second game of the day as Andrew Cain hit a solo home run with two outs in the fourth against sophomore starter Nick Tropeano (West Islip, N.Y.). But Stony Brook rallied to take the lead in the fifth on run-scoring singles from senior Michael Stephan (Patchogue, N.Y.) and Dyer.
The Seawolves tacked on two more in the seventh on a sacrifice fly from junior Chad Marshall (Paris, Ontario) and an RBI double from sophomore Pat Cantwell (West Islip, N.Y.). SBU put the game away with two more runs in the eighth on a two-out two-run double off the bat of Dyer.
Tropeano picked up the win for Stony Brook as he allowed two runs on four hits in 7.1 innings. The right-hander struck out six and walked just two. Freshman Maxx Tissenbaum (Toronto, Ontario) recorded three hits for the Seawolves.
Stony Brook will play two more games on Sunday at Brooks Field, taking on Akron at 10 a.m. before squaring off against UNC-Wilmington at 1:30 p.m.

No. 1 Stony Brook Defeats No. 8 Albany, 68-59, To Advance To America East Semifinals

Seawolves to play winner of No. 4 Boston University/No. 5 Hartford on Sunday at 5 p.m.

West Hartford, Conn. - Sophomore Tommy Brenton (Columbia, Md.) scored 13 points and grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds to lead the top-seeded Stony Brook University men's basketball to a 68-59 win over the No. 8 Albany Great Danes on Saturday afternoon at Chase Arena in an America East quarterfinal game. It is the first time since 2004 that the Seawolves have advanced to the semifinals. SBU will now take on the winner of Saturday's quarterfinal game between No. 4 Boston University and No. 5 Hartford on Sunday at 5 p.m. at Chase Arena.

"Terrific win for our team," Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell said. "We struggled a bit offensively but our defense was really solid all day and that's what won us the game. Chris [Martin] was able to get the line early to get us going and Tommy played an outstanding all-around game.

It was the seventh double-double of the season for Brenton, who has recorded double-digit rebounds in five of his last six games. Junior Chris Martin (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) scored a team-high 15 points as he knocked down 12 of his 15 free throw attempts. Sophomore Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) and senior Muhammad El-Amin (Lansing, Mich.) each chipped in with 12 points for the Seawolves, who held Albany to 33.3 percent shooting.

Albany jumped to a 11-7 lead behind seven early points from Will Harris before freshman Marcus Rouse (Upper Marlboro, Md.) drilled a three to bring SBU within one. The Great Danes answered with a 7-2 run to take a six-point lead but Martin then hit one of two free throws and freshman Preye Preboye (Springfield, Mass.) followed with an acrobatic lay-in off a feed from Brenton to trim the Albany lead to three.

A Harris hoop put the Great Danes back up by five but the Seawolves then ran off 10 straight points to take a five-point lead with three minutes remaining in the half. SBU held Albany scoreless for almost seven minutes during the run.
A Logan Aronhalt three ended the Albany drought before Martin hit two free throws to give SBU a 27-23 advantage. The Great Danes scored five of the next seven points to draw within one but a put-back dunk from sophomore Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.) with 30 seconds left sent Stony Brook into the break with a 31-28 lead.

Joyner scored the first hoop of the second half, slamming home a feed from Brenton. But Albany responded by scoring eight of the next 11 points to tie the game at 36. The Seawolves scored the next four points though, on a Brenton drunk and an El-Amin hoop, to take the lead for good.

The Stony Brook advantage would grow to seven with 16 minutes remaining as Dougher drilled his first triple of the game. Stony Brook still led by six midway through the half but Brenton then completed a three-point play and followed with two free throws to give the Seawolves a 54-43 lead with seven and a half minutes remaining.

Tim Ambrose scored the next hoop but Dougher scored on a reverse lay-up and then followed with a three to give Stony Brook its largest lead of the game, 59-45, with four and a half minutes left. Albany hit four late threes to close within six with 46 seconds remaining. But the Seawolves hit three free throws over the final 44 seconds to put the game away.

Stony Brook Eliminates Binghamton, Advances to America East Semis

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Fourth-seeded Stony Brook nearly led from beginning to end, pulling out a 71-60 victory over fifth-seeded Binghamton Friday night at the Chase Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion in the quarterfinals of the 2010 America East Championship presented by Newman's Own.
The Seawolves (10-19, 7-9 America East Conference) were led by junior guard Misha Horsey's 20 points, 16 of which were scored in the second half to help Stony Brook seal the victory over the Bearcats (11-19, 7-9 AE).
"I told [Horsey] during one of the timeouts, 'You need to start taking shots,'" said Stony Brook head coach Michele Cherry, who won her first-ever America East Championship game. "She looked to be more aggressive."
"I don't think she thought she needed to put the team on her back, but that's essentially what she did."
Stony Brook took control of the game from the beginning. Junior forward Kirsten Jeter scored eight of her 15 points to start the game for the Seawolves, giving them the early 8-2 lead.
After Binghamton crept back, Stony Brook broke the game open. With about 16 minutes to go in the first half, the Seawolves went on an 18-4 run, giving them a 15-point lead.
The early deficit put the Bearcats at a serious disadvantage early that they weren't able to recover from.
"Come tournament time, you've got to be ready to go," Binghamton head coach Nicole Scholl said. "By the time we had finally settled in, they had gotten a big enough lead and jump on us that it was really hard to recover."
Binghamton worked its way back into the game, coming as close as four on a three by junior guard Jackie Ward with 10:08 left to go.
However, Horsey would then take control and give Stony Brook a comfortable lead that they would not relinquish.
Sophomore guard Andrea Holmes added a game-high 22 points for the Bearcats in the losing effort.
The Seawolves advance to the America East Championship semifinals on Sunday, where they will face top-seeded host Hartford.

Muhammad El-Amin Named MBB Player of Year; Brenton/Dougher Second Team; Steve Pikiell, Coach of the Year in 2010 America East Awards!

Men's Basketball All-Conference Team (PDF)

West Hartford, Conn. (March 5, 2010) – Senior guard Muhammad El-Amin (Lansing, Mich.) of the Stony Brook University men’s basketball team was named the Kevin Roberson America East Player of the Year on Friday at the conference’s annual awards banquet. The leading scorer on the America East’s top team during the regular season, El-Amin is the first player in program history to earn the conference’s top honor. Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell became the first coach in school history to earn America East Coach of the Year honors after leading the Seawolves to their first America East regular season title and a 21-7 overall record. In addition, sophomores Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) and Tommy Brenton (Columbia, Md.) were named to All-America East second team and senior Andrew Goba (Durban, South Africa) was selected to the America East All-Academic team. Brenton also earned a spot on America East All-Defensive team. El-Amin also became the first Stony Brook player ever selected to the five-player All-America East first team. In his second season with the Seawolves, El-Amin is just 77 points from 1,000 and just 14 points from setting the program’s Division I record for points in a season. El-Amin ranked second in the America East in scoring during conference play (19.1 points per game) and scored 23 in the 82-78 victory over Vermont on Feb. 24 that clinched the Seawolves’ first America East regular season title. Brenton led the America East in rebounding (9.6 per game) for the second straight season in addition to ranking second in steals (1.8 per game) and eighth in assists (2.8 per game). The 6-5 forward grabbed 279 rebounds, breaking his own Division I program record of 266 that he set last season. A 2009 America East All-Rookie selection, Brenton became the 14th player in school history to record 500 rebounds on Feb. 13 against Binghamton. Dougher shot an America East best 50.5 percent from three during conference play and ranked third in the America East with 3.1 threes per game. The 6-1 guard set a program record for threes in a season (83) and his overall three-point percentage of 40.8 percent ranks 14th in the country. An America East All-Rookie selection last season, Dougher also ranked 10th in the conference in scoring (13.6 points per game). A two-time captain, Goba has played in 25 games this season. He has also excelled off the court as he is a two-time Dean’s list selection and a three-time America East honor roll recipient. Last May he earned a Bachelors of Science in Health Science with a 3.03 GPA and this year he is working on a second baccalaureate in philosophy. In his fifth season at the helm of the Seawolves, Pikiell guided SBU to a record-breaking 2009-10 regular season. In addition to claiming the schools first ever regular season title, Stony Brook set program records for overall wins (21) and conference wins (13). In search of its first America East Tournament title, top-seeded Stony Brook opens the 2010 America East Tournament on Saturday against No. 8 Albany. Game time is set for 12 p.m.

KIRSTEN JETER NAMED SECOND-TEAM ALL AMERICA EAST

West Hartford, Conn. - Junior Kirsten Jeter (Elmont, N.Y.) of Stony Brook's women's basketball team was named to the America East All-Conference second team today at the conference's awards banquet held in the Harry Jack Gray Conference Center on the University of Hartford campus on Thursday afternoon. Jeter led the Seawolves this season in scoring (14.2 ppg), rebounding (7.4 rpg) and steals (2.1).
"I'm very grateful to the coaches in the America East Conference for recognizing Kirsten," said head coach Michele Cherry. "I'm happy for Kirsten that all of her hard work and outstanding play throughout the season did not go unnoticed."
This is the third time Jeter has been named to an all-conference team, making the third team last season and the all-rookie team as a freshman. Earlier this season, Jeter became the 14th player in program history to record 1,000 career points. She is also just the sixth player to have at least 1,000 career points and 500 rebounds.