Vitamin bowl: A direct sales marketer of nutritional and skin care products is the new sponsor for the Independence Bowl. President and CEO Richard Wright says AdvoCare International of Carrollton, Texas, has agreed to a title sponsorship for the 2009 game and a five-year option. The official name of the game on Dec. 28 will be the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl, after a new multivitamin. Wright says its ingredients meet NCAA standards. Wright has been a member of the bowl game’s executive committee for two years. He announced the sponsorship to a group of about 50 of AdvoCare’s top distributors during an incentive trip to Peter Island in the British Virgin Islands. The game, which is played in Shreveport, is a matchup between lower-tier SEC and Big 12 teams.
Mowing them down: The New York Times recently profiled Rachele Fico, a record setting high school softball pitcher. Fico, a senior at Masuk High School in Connecticut, has pitched a record 25 perfect games, struck out 1,723 batters and had career record of 97-2. Now she’s headed to pitch for LSU. LSU softball coach Yvette Girouard says Fico could even be more devastating in college, since the pitcher’s mound is three feet further away. “She’s going to get more movement on her ball,” Girouard told the newspaper. “That’s proven to be true. But what will make her even more dangerous is that she’ll still hit her spots.” Read the profile here.
Gators stay alive: Jonathan Pigott had two home runs and four RBI to lead No. 2 seed Florida (39-19) to a 12-2 victory today over Ole Miss (40-17) in an elimination game at the SEC baseball tournament in Hoover, Ala. The contest was stopped after eight innings because of the 10-run rule. Gators pitcher Anthony DeSclafani allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings and was supported by an offense that had 15 hits. Preston Tucker went 3 for 5 with three RBI. Meanwhile, the elimination game between LSU and Alabama started at 1:50 p.m., 20 minutes later than scheduled.
