rd books all they want, but we won the games.It was the first major NCAA violation f

NEW YORK -- The best thing young players can do for their basketball careers is not play too much basketball.They should participate in other sports and delay specializing in just basketball until they are at least 14 years old. They should also take at least one day off from organized competition each week and extended time off at least once a year for proper physical and mental recovery.Those were among the guidelines announced Monday by the NBA and USA Basketball to begin Jr. NBA Week. The Jr. NBA is the leagues youth basketball participation program for boys and girls ages 6-14. The research and recommendations come from panels of medical experts, former players, and coaches and administrators throughout basketball.They found that athletes who have the most success played multiple sports at a young age and didnt focus on a specific one until late adolescence.The idea of sampling and participating in other sports does not mean youre getting behind, said Dr. John DiFiori, NBA director of sports medicine and UCLA team physician. They actually provide a strong foundation for success in your sport.LeBron James, perhaps the NBAs best player, played football through his junior year of high school. But those who focus on basketball too soon face some risks that can last well beyond their teen years.Theres a concern that single sport specialization may contribute to injuries and may also contribute to basically loss of interest in the sport from sort of the repetition of incessant participation in one activity, DiFiori said, adding there are cases of young athletes developing overuse injuries specific to a certain sport.NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has made player health one of his biggest concerns, working to create a schedule that allows more time for rest and recovery. The league went further earlier this year by looking into the youth levels.Working groups were created in the areas of health and wellness, playing standards, and curriculum and instruction. Their guidelines stressed the importance of time away from the court, with recommendations on amount of practice and game time, and even amount of sleep.I think sometimes parents and coaches can forget that there are only so many hours in the day and that when you have someone whos going to high school and theyre at school from 8 oclock to 2 oclock, or to 3 oclock and then theyre at practice for a couple of hours and they need time to study, they need time to eat, they need time to commute back and forth to school and practices, they need time to sleep, DiFiori said. They need time to recover and its important that people actually look at that and realize that you cant pack everything into one day and still necessarily have a healthy situation.The guidelines suggest limiting high-density competition, such as tournaments that feature multiple games in a short period of time.DiFiori noted the guidelines apply only to organized competition, saying that individual practice time or pickup games are beneficial. They have been endorsed by numerous youth organizations, athletic apparel companies and supported by the NCAA.Were sending a message to families, young athletes, coaches about rethinking how we do things at the youth level, he said.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/BriancmahoneyEd Davis Jersey . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. 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Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status.SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Brian Kellys worst season at Notre Dame took an embarrassing turn Tuesday as the NCAA announced that academic misconduct orchestrated by a student athletic trainer will cost the storied program all 21 victories from the 2012-13 seasons, including the 12-0 run that vaulted the Fighting Irish into the national championship game against Alabama.It marked just the fourth time the NCAA has cited Notre Dame for a major rules violation. The vacated games include Notre Dames 12 victories in 2012, their best regular season since winning their last national championship in 1988. The season finished with an embarrassing 42-14 loss to the Crimson Tide in the title game and the revelation that linebacker Manti Teo had been the victim of a fake girlfriend hoax.The school ripped the NCAA for its decision to vacate the wins and immediately said it would appeal. The Rev. John Jenkins, the university president, said the NCAA has never before vacated records in such a case.We believe that imposition of the vacation of records penalty without serious underlying institutional misconduct will not primarily punish those responsible for the misconduct, but rather will punish coaches, student-athletes and indeed the entire institution who did nothing wrong and, with regard to this case, did everything right, Jenkins said. He noted the NCAA has since voted to change the rule that brought this case under NCAA jurisdiction rather than leaving such decisions to individual schools.The Division I Committee on Infractions panel also put Notre Dame on probation for a year and ordered a $5,000 fine, penalties the school agreed with. There were no bowl or scholarship punishments.According to the NCAA, the trainer was employed by the athletics department from fall 2009 through the spring of 2013 and partially or wholly completed numerous academic assignments for football student-athletes in numerous courses from 2011 into 2013. It said she did substantial coursework for two players and gave impermissible help to six others in 18 courses over two academic years. The NCAA said the woman continued to provide impermissible academic benefits to football student-athletes for a full year after she graduated and was in her first year of law school elsewhere.In all, the NCAA said, three athletes would up playing while ineligible, one during the 2012 season and the other two the following season, when the Irish went 9-4.Kelly said he knew the vacated wins were a possibility since Notre Dame officials met with the NCAA several months ago. He said he had hoped reasonable people would come to a reasonable decision.If doing the right thing means that youve got to put an asterisk next to these gammes, thats fine with me, he said.ddddddddddddWe still beat Oklahoma. We still beat Wake Forest, we still beat all those teams, so you can put an asterisk next to it. If that makes you feel better, then thats fine with me.He said he doesnt believe he has any culpability in the case and has no reason to believe he wont be back as Notre Dames coach next season.I think you guys are confusing this statement with the win-loss record, said Kelly, whose struggling team has a 4-7 record ahead of Saturdays game at No. 12 USC. A win-loss record is always under scrutiny at Notre Dame, and it should be. Thats part of it.The report doesnt name the players involved, but stems from an investigation that began in August 2014 , when the university suspended defensive lineman Ishaq Williams, receiver DaVaris Daniels, linebacker Kendall Moore and cornerback KeiVarae Russell, who werent allowed to play that season. The school later benched safety Eilar Hardy, who was allowed to return in midseason. Russell returned and played for the Irish last season. Quarterback Everett Golson was suspended for the fall 2013 semester for what he termed poor judgment on a test.Notre Dame players said after practice Tuesday that Kelly explained the NCAA announcement after practice. They said it has no effect on them.Its just a couple of guys made a mistake and the whole team goes down with it, left tackle Mike McGlinchey said.McGlinchey said he wasnt worried about the victories being vacated.We know we won the games, said McGlinchey, a team captain. Theyre not going to take that away from us. They can take it away in the record books all they want, but we won the games.It was the first major NCAA violation for Notre Dame since 1999, when the school was placed on probation and had two scholarships taken away because of the relationship between Irish players and former booster Kimberly Dunbar, who embezzled more than $1.2 million from her employer and then lavished the players with gifts, trips and money. The NCAA also lists two other major infractions : in 1971 for the improper administration of financial aid and in 1954 for improper tryouts.If the NCAA erases all 21 Notre Dame victories, the Irish would fall from the school with the second-most wins in NCAA history behind Michigan (935) to fifth place with 875. That would place them behind Texas (892), Nebraska (889), Ohio State (885) and tied with Alabama (875) heading into the game against the Trojans, where they are 17-point underdogs.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 . ' ' '