Mouse-handle your way to the stylish and info-packed U.S. College Hockey Online, a veritable one-stop resource for college hockey enthusiasts. Surfing here for college hockey information is like playing with Wayne Gretzky. You’ll be set up with chances to score — namely, season previews, game results, team statistics, rosters, news and standings. Plus, there’s a list of national hockey schools and camps for aspiring pros and weekend ice warriors.

You’ll find major hockey conferences, such as the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and Central Collegiate Hockey Association if you shoot for the Net as well. These two sites, which are by far the best of the online conference bunch, have schedules and results for each member school, plus press releases.

One of the best places to get information on any college sport, especially one as overshadowed as college hockey, is from athletic or sports information departments. Sites like FansOnly and the Total College Sports Network host the official pages of many of the nation’s top-caliber programs. You just may find your alma mater at one of these fine sites.

The defending national champion University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux can be found online at two separate destinations, Fighting Sioux Hockey and UND Hockey. Other national powerhouses like Michigan State, Boston University and Minnesota have official or serious fan-driven sites, and they’re listed under Yahoo!’s College and University hockey teams.

As with most college athletics, the excitement level is indescribable. Not even the National Football League can compete with a Michigan Wolverines home game. The championship team enjoys more than 110,000 spectators at every one of its home games. Now that’s what you call a home-field advantage! The college game is the center of the universe, as far as the school is concerned. No other sport garners more attention and generates more thrills on the campus than the ol’ pigskin.

Last year was exciting. Although the Texas Longhorns sported Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams, one of the only tailbacks to ever take home the coveted trophy, when the chips were down the Tennessee Volunteers beat the Florida Gators, if not handily — in a 20-17 overtime victory. Beat them they did, though, and word has it that the Vols are better than ever this year, although they’re going to have to watch Florida’s defense. The aforementioned Wolverines, the champs from two years ago, look good, as do Penn State and Florida State.

The rivalries are heating up. Sure, the season started just three weeks ago, but there’s already a lot going on.

Following NCAA College Football online is very difficult because there are so many sites to choose from. For instance, there’s www.NCAAfootball.net, the official home of NCAA football. Web totalcasts are a great reason to spend time here — check the tentative schedule for your favorite team. Similar coverage is available at Broadcast.com.

ESPN.com, CBS SportsLine, CNN/SI, the Sporting News, and USA Today are just a couple of the big sites on the Net. As they cover all the sports, the college football coverage is excellent and very comprehensive. You’ll find the latest news, scores, and updated polls on any one of them. Pay close attention to the polls — one loss for one of the top teams can mean a drop of five to 10 places. See what one loss can do to you?

Nothing will be decided until all the bowl games are completed and the final polls are calculated. Who will win the Heisman? Who’s going to win the national title? If I knew, I would be a rich man. No matter what happens, make sure you enjoy the ride.

to enhance your college football appreciation, we have prepared for you a list of the top 10 things to do online in preparation for and in conjunction with watching the college bowl games.

Bowls

1. The Fiesta Bowl is the big game this year. It features Tennessee going up against Florida State for the national title. January 4.
2. The Nokia Sugar Bowl is another biggie, with Texas A&M and Ohio State, two of the best teams in the nation, pitted against one another. January 1.
3. The 65th Annual Orange Bowl is set to be pretty juicy with Syracuse taking on Florida. January 2.
4. The Holiday Bowl has Arizona up against Nebraska. December 30.

1998-99 Bowl Pairings and Schedule CBS Sportsline has all the bowls, listed by date.

Match-ups

Wonder how each team’s statistics stack up against those of their opponents? CNN/SI has the best display of statistics on its site, with graphs to accompany each team’s stats for rushing, passing, offense and defense. You can even customize the results to see how teams who aren’t playing match up.

Compare how the top 25 teams ranked in the 1998 USA Today and ESPN Coaches football poll with the Associated Press’ top 25.

Following the Game Online

Follow the bowl games in real time with graphical updates and live chat. The Java version of this application is the latest in cool, cutting-edge technology and the chats can be heated and engaging, making Web time so much fun. This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen on the Web.

The Big Three

SportsLine is right there with a whole section on women’s basketball, both pro and college. Check here for scores, schedules, statistics, and standings. The main page and NewsWire have news stories.

Another good place for scores and schedules, stats, and stories is ESPN.com Women’s College Basketball. In addition to all of that aforementioned good stuff, you’ll find rankings, standings, transactions, and team pages. Plus, ESPN and ESPN2 TV schedules clue you in on when games are broadcast.

The CNN/SI — College Basketball page doesn’t segregate men and women, which sounds great, but in practice means that women’s basketball plays second string. Still, you’ll find news, scores, and recaps of the top 25 games including box scores and, in some cases, starting player lineups. A list of college basketball teams gives stats, schedules, and commentary on games this season. A look at the women’s sports page has more, including notes, a season preview, and recruiting info. In the final analysis, however, it’s unfortunate that women’s college basketball has no central home at CNN/SI.

The NCAA Proper

The NCAA itself does have a presence, but compared to the WNBA or the NBA it can only be described as low-tech and lame. It does offer schedules, statistics, and poll rankings, though.

Since polls are not used in the Division I Championship process, the NCAA doesn’t rank Division I teams, but USA Today has an unofficial poll for your perusal. Also, Division II and Division III have their own home pages (sadly, Division I does not). A complete list of Collegiate Athletic Conference Links is available as well.

Webcasts

Many games are broadcast on the Web at broadcast.com. The page also has a list of archived games grouped by school. Not all schools are represented, but many are. The weekly Lady Vol Show features the head coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols, while the College Hoops Insider Show features different coaches every week. Sometimes they’re coaches from women’s teams, and sometimes they’re not. Check for your favorite coach, though — you could get lucky.

Excitement mounts: Prime-time network coverage and prominence in major sports publications are but two indicators of the momentum that will carry professional women’s basketball. Excellent attendance and fan loyalty are two more.

To begin your playoff coverage, check out the WNBA’s official website, WNBA.com. Homecourt to the official sites of all 16 WNBA teams, WNBA.com provides a season schedule, player profiles and updated statistics and schedules. Other fan-friendly features include live chats, a weekly e-mail newsletter and trivia quizzes.

Lifetime Television has an extensive website dedicated to the WNBA. It describes the profiles of teams and players, and the history of the WNBA. The network plans to air one live weeknight game every week throughout the season. NBC and ESPN, also in the partnership, will do the same.

The question raised in the beginning, “Will the WNBA survive?” has certainly been answered in a ringing affirmative. Fran Harris’s article Why Women’s B-Ball Is Changing the Way Boys Think About Sports is a powerful account of how women’s pro basketball has infiltrated the hearts and minds of fans of all ages.

No doubt, women’s basketball has a loyal following. The ever-increasing enthusiastic response to the WNBA proves, yet again, one thing: women’s pro basketball is here to stay.

If Heidi Reich were not categorically opposed to her own participation in ball sports, she would doubtless play for the New York Liberty.

The Sun Sentinel’s Basketball Tips offers some basic hints for improving your game, as well as practical information about injuries, teamwork and even the amount of calories you’ll burn per hour. Geoff Shurtleff also has put together a page of basketball tips under categories such as game knowledge, passing, shooting and rebounding, including some diagrams on zone defense and the half court press. He also offers basketball coaching tips, many of which provide useful information for players.

The Basketball Highway is a major destination for anyone who loves basketball and wants to learn it inside out. Basketball Highway offers clinics, player and coach advice, successful plays and reviews of books, videos and software that teach about basketball, as well as great links to other Web basketball sites. Basketball Explorations is another entertaining and extensive site, with a Roadmap feature that takes you on an entertaining course on the art and science of basketball. The site includes educational QuickTime videos, quizzes and uses basketball as a foundation to teach lessons about math, physics and even logo design.

The Journal of Basketball Studies provides an even more scholarly look at the science and math behind basketball. The Journal explores such esoteric basketball methodologies as floor percentages, statistics and detailed breakdowns of strategies. For more on adding a scientific edge to your basketball prowess, also check out Rufus Knight’s study of the physics behind the foul shot. Knight calculates velocities and values for the foul shot to determine the accuracy of collegiate basketball players’ foul shooting.

Chrissy Kwederis’ page also examines the physics and science of basketball. But she can get practical too, with good information on how the game is played and proper shooting techniques.

So now you know how to play, and calculate with mathematical precision the arc of your foul shot. But all of this may only land you on the sidelines if you don’t know the rules. Look no further than the official rule site of the International Basketball Federation. Here’s every rule and regulation you’ll need to know to keep from running afoul of basketball law.

The 2000 Draft and Teams

The following is a list of all the league’s teams and their first round draft choices for the upcoming season. The top draft choice Ann Wauters is a 6-foot-4 center from Belgium who spent the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons playing for USV Orchies in France. Ms. Wauters was snapped up by the Cleveland Rockers, who unfortunately lost top players Isabelle Fijalkowski and Tracy Henderson, the former to the French National Team and the second to pregnancy.

1. Cleveland Rockers — Ann Wauters, C, Oost Vlaanderedn/VSV Orchies
   (Catch coverage of the Rockers at the Cleveland Plain Dealer.)
2. Washington Mystics — Tausha Mills, C, Alabama ‘98/Chicago Condors
   (Catch coverage of the Mystics at The Washington Post.)
3. Detroit Shock — Edwina Brown, G, Texas ‘00
   (The best place to catch coverage of the Shock is the Detroit Free Press.)
4. Orlando Miracle — Cintia Dos Santos, F/C, Brazil
   (The best place to catch coverage of the Miracle is the Orlando Sentinel.)
5. Minnesota Lynx — Grace Daley, G, Tulane ‘00
   (Catch coverage of the Lynx at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, but the pickings are slim.)
6. Portland Fire — Lynn Pride, G/F, Kansas ‘00
   (Read about the Fire at Oregon Live)
7. Seattle Storm — Kamila Vodichkova, F/C, BK Gambrinus
   (Read about the Storm at The Seattle Times.)
8. Seattle Storm Monarchs — Kamila Vodichkova, F/C, BK Gambrinus
   (Read all about the Storm at The Seattle Storm.)
9. Charlotte Sting — Summer Erb, C, N.C. State ‘00
   (Catch coverage of the Sting at the Charlotte Observer.)
10. Utah Starzz — Naomi Mulitauaopele, C, Stanford ‘98
    (The best place to catch coverage of the Starzz is the Salt Lake Tribune, but the pickings are slim.)
11. New York Liberty — Olga Firsova, C, Kansas State/Ukraine
    (The best place to catch coverage of the Liberty is the New York Times, but coverage doesn’t start until the season does.)
12. Los Angeles Sparks — Katy Steding, F , Stanford ‘90/Portland Power
    (Catch coverage of the Sparks at the L.A. Times.)
13. Sacramento Monarchs — Katy Steding, F , Stanford ‘90/Portland Power
    (Read about the Monarchs at The Sacramento Bee.)
14. Los Angeles Sparks — Nicole Kubik, G , Nebraska ‘00
    (Catch coverage of the Sparks at the L.A. Times.)
15. Houston Comets — Elena Chakirova , F/C, Russia
    (The best place to catch coverage of the Comets is the Houston Chronicle website.)
16. Phoenix Mercury — Adrain Williams, F/C, USC ‘99
    (The best place to catch coverage of the Mercury is the Arizona Central website.)

Predictions for 2000

Everyone is predicting good things for the Comets, of course, since they are three-time defending champions.

Watch The Sporting News‘ Ann Meyers, ESPN’s Michelle Smith and CBS SportsLine for full coverage and opinions as the season progresses.

– Darin Strauss has been called a pantywaist by many of the better women ballplayers.

Peer into ESPN SportsZone’s Men’s College Basketball coverage for news on all the major and middle-of-the-road conferences, including a story on Stanford’s first loss this season to the Arizona ‘Cats. Wanna cut through all the hoopla and focus on the here and now? Andy Katz’s Weekly Watch and Dick Vitale sum it up faster than you can say “slam-bam-dunkaro, baby!” However, because the Go Network isn’t stupid, you can only read Dick Vitale with a subscription to ESPN.

CBS Sportsline has comprehensive coverage of current and future games. This week discusses the threat of Duke against the Maryland Terrapins, including a Q&A with Coach K. You can also read about defending champs U Conn’s upcoming battle against the Texas Longhorns. Player matchups and a Peak Performer spotlight round it out.

CNN/SI’s stellar offerings include Inside College Basketball from the pages of Sports Illustrated and a weekly preview of what’s up for the week. The site also offers full disclosure on the women’s game.

There’s still a while until March Madness, but the above mentioned will keep everyone on the road to the Final Four.

Get Local

Instead of depending on watered-down national coverage that only spends time on the big-market teams, you can use the Net to connect with sportswriters from across the country. No longer do you need to subsist on a tiny snippet about the Kings on the NBA on NBC. Pay a visit to the Sacramento Bee newspaper and read in-depth, dedicated coverage of the team with that excellent Jason Williams. Every city with an NBA franchise has a daily newspaper with a website. Use the AJR NewsLink, a great directory of newspapers on the Net, to find coverage of playoff teams that don’t get equal time in Sports Illustrated, such as the Minnesota Timberwolves (Minneapolis Star Tribune), the Phoenix Suns (The Arizona Republic), and the Toronto Raptors (The Globe and Mail).

Online Action

Once you’re up to date on all the box scores, pivotal play makers, and have your team’s opponents fully scouted, you need to make sure to catch all the live action. For $10, you can sign up for NBA.com’s League Pass, which enables you to listen to every NBA game from anywhere with an Internet connection. Or, if you have PrimeStar or DirectTV, you can get hooked up to receive any and every NBA game broadcast. Speaking of broadcast, Broadcast.com has links to television stations for each NBA market as well as featured programs that provide audio and/or video with news about the NBA.

As for television schedules, consult the NBA on TNT site for its playoff coverage; you can sign up for a customizable newsletter to tell you when your favorite teams are playing. In addition, NBA.com has a page of schedules for every game being broadcast.

You can harangue me later for making you miss all the lovely spring weather.

– Noah Vadnai is the author of Travel Planning Online for Dummies (IDG Books Worldwide Inc., November 1998) and is the original White Chocolate.

The clock is ticking. As hard as it is to believe, the NBA players are still on strike, and it looks as though the season may be lost.

How could it have gotten this bad? Professional basketball players, some of whom are “earning” more than $100 million to bounce a ball, are on strike, and the owners, fat-cat capitalists who draw little more sympathy than their players, are digging in their heels for a protracted fight. In this climate of diminished basketball returns — Michael Jordan’s retirement looms calamitous for the NBA — this strike will benefit no one, least of all the fans. The season will at the very least be severely shortened.

How did it come to this? Things are looking up, as the sides have begun having “productive” meetings. But the relationship is far from rosy.

Recently, the two sides went to court, and a judge ruled in favor of owners, meaning that 226 players won’t be paid any time soon; the court rejected the union’s grievance that all players with guaranteed contracts should be paid during the lockout.

That doesn’t mean that players are willing to give in, though. ESPN reports that the players were not surprised by the ruling. In fact, many are itching for a fight more than ever. Most fans, however, seem to think that the players will have to capitulate, at least a bit, in light of the ruling.

The Antagonists

The owners and league are represented by David Stern, the commissioner of basketball. David Stern’s response to the ruling was to toe the party line — that the players are the ones holding up the season, and that the league will not yield.

The players, meanwhile, are represented by Billy Hunter, the executive director of the players union. Hunter is not shy about using scare tactics. According to the New York Times, Hunter told Stern that “baseball had not yet fully recovered from its 1994 players strike, and that … he was not convinced that the support for basketball was as great as it was for the national pastime.”