Along with a first-time appearance by Ohio State Head Football Coach Urban Meyer, the sports commission will bring together former Buckeyes and national sports broadcasters Clark Kellogg, Kirk Herbstreit, Eddie George and Chris Spielman as a keynote panel for The Morning Sports Report. The panel will provide insight into their broadcasting careers after playing for the Buckeyes and what it has taken to become some of the best in their profession.

Meyer along with OSU Athletics Director Gene Smith will provide a sports outlook for several sports during the 2013-2014 academic year, including a preview of the football team coming of an undefeated 12-0 season. The breakfast will also feature interviews with:

• Columbus Blue Jackets President of Hockey Operations John Davidson
• Columbus Clippers President and General Manager Ken Schnacke
• Columbus Crew President and General Manager Mark McCullers
• Ohio Machine President John Algie
• the Memorial Tournament Executive Director Dan Sullivan

The Morning Sports Report, one of Columbus’s signature sports community events, also will feature:

• The opportunity to be up close and personal with local sports celebrities in attendance
• Live sports interviews that cannot be heard anywhere else on the FIFA World Cup Qualifier between the U.S. and Mexico in September at Crew Stadium, The Presidents Cup, the USA Fencing National Championships, Bowling’s U.S. Open and more
• “Columbus Sports” Fan Fair with mascots, booths and activities before and after the breakfast
• Free “Columbus Sports” ticket package for each attendee donated by the city’s teams and sports organizations

Ticket options for the 2013 The Morning Sports Report include the following: tables, VIP tables, individual tickets and VIP tickets. Each option can be purchased here.

To stay updated with all event announcements and details “like” the Greater Columbus Sports Commission on Facebook and follow #msr2013 on Twitter.

The celebration will begin at 2 pm with the Health and Fitness Expo. This event last two days and includes lounges, specialty vendors, guest speakers and the 3^rd Annual Panel of Champions. The panel will include 10TV’s Jeff Hogan, along with Ohio State Football National Champion, Bobby Carpenter. Following the Panel, Mayor Michael B. Coleman will host the VIP Reception. The expo will serve as the packet pick up area for runners as there will not be any race day pick up allowed.

On Saturday the VIP areas will open at Columbus Commons at 6 a.m. to prepare for the excitement of the races.  The Half Marathon and Quarter Marathon will begin around 8 a.m. after following the national anthem. The course will feature more than 50 DJs and bands to entertain you. The course will take runners and walkers on “the best tour of Columbus on two feet”. Don’t miss out on the fun!

For more information, check out http://capitalcityhalfmarathon.com/index.shtml

The event, which has been named America’s number one youth tournament, features seven divisions, each of which have separate weight classes. Six divisions exist for wrestlers of high-school age and below while an open division exists for post-high school wrestlers. Participants include wrestlers from as far away as Vermont, Georgia and Florida.

Three special guests are also tentatively scheduled to be on hand for the event: Lee Kemp, Steve Bosak, and Tommy Batchelor. Kemp is a former three-time world champion, three-time NCAA champion at the University of Wisconsin, and 1980 Olympian while Bosak won a 2012 national championship at Cornell University. Tommy Batchelor starred in Broadway’s Billy Elliot: The Musical.

Doors are scheduled to open at 6:30 a.m. with competition beginning at 8 a.m. The event will feature free spectator admission. For more information, visit the Ohio Tournament of Champions website.

Fans will also have a chance to enter to win an XBOX 360 console with KINECT as well as other great prizes including copies of the Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 14 video game.

The latest edition of EA Sports popular golf franchise will feature Memorial Tournament Founder and Host Jack Nicklaus. In addition, the home of the Memorial Tournament and host site for The Presidents Cup 2013, Muirfield Village Golf Club will be one of the 20 championship courses available in the game, which is scheduled for release in the United States on March 26.

The game includes an all-new mode, Legends of the Majors, which gives players a chance to compete against some of golf’s greatest players, including past Memorial Tournament Honorees: Nicklaus (2000), Seve Ballesteros (2010), Ben Hogan (1999), Bobby Jones (1976), Arnold Palmer (1993), Gary Player (1997), Sam Snead (1984) and Lee Trevino (2004). As with previous versions of the game, players can also face Woods, who is a five-time winner at the Memorial, including the 2012 installment.

The 91^st annual boys state championships bring 16 of the state’s top teams to Columbus, with the four remaining teams from divisions I, II, III and IV competing for their respective state titles.

Two Columbus local teams will be representing their schools this weekend, Columbus Bishop Watterson and Columbus Northland. For more information on each team, check out the 2013 Boys Basketball Preview.

Thursday, March 21
10:45 a.m. – Division III Game #1 – Ironton vs. Ottawa-Glandorf
2:00 p.m. – Division III Game #2 – Versailles vs. Leavittsburg LaBrae
5:15 p.m. – Division II Game #1 – Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary vs. Vincent Warren
8:30 p.m. – Division II Game #2 – Kettering Archbishop Alter vs. Columbus Bishop Watterson

Friday, March 22
10:45 a.m. – Division IV Game #1 – Troy Christian vs. Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph
2:00 p.m. – Division IV Game #2 – Leipsic vs. Landcaster Fairfield Christian
5:15 p.m. – Division I Game #1 – Mentor vs. Columbus Northland
8:30 p.m. – Division I Game #2 – Cincinnati Walnut Hills vs. Toledo Rogers

Saturday, March 23
10:30 a.m. – Division III Championship
1:30 p.m. – Division II Championship
4:30 p.m. – Division IV Championship
8:30 p.m. – Division I Championship

Statewide Tournament Brackets

The cost for all-session (12 games) tickets for the Boys State Tournament is $144 per person for the Entry and Club Levels of the arena or $120 each for the Terrace Level. All-session ticket sales are ongoing and can also be purchased through Ticketmaster at ticketmaster.com (and typing in ‘ohsaa boys basketball’ in the search box), by calling 1-800-745-3000 or in person at the OSU Athletic Ticket Office*.

Single-game tickets and two special ticket packages for the boys tournament will be available. Single-game tickets are priced at $15 each for the Entry and Club Levels and $12 for the Terrace Level. The special ticket package options available are a Boys State Tournament “Four-Pack” and a “Championship Saturday Pack.” The “Four-Pack” allows fans to purchase four Terrace Level tickets to any of the 12 semifinal or championship games of the tournament for just $30 apiece, while the “Championship Saturday Pack” allows fans to purchase a Terrace Level ticket to all four of the championship games on Saturday, March 23, for just $30 apiece. Boys single-game tickets, “Four-Packs” or “Championship Saturday Packs” can be purchased by following the same procedures as previously listed through Ticketmaster or in person at the OSU Athletic Ticket Office*.

Visit the 2013 OHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament Coverage page to stay updated on all the action this weekend. All four championship games will be televised live on SportsTime Ohio and broadcasted live on the OHSAA Radio Network.  Also, fans can follow the action on Twitter @OHSAASports.

Columbus serves as one of the 16 sites for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, which will begin Saturday at St. John Arena. Oklahoma, Central Michigan, UCLA and Stetson will start their road to the finals in Central Ohio.

Saturday, March 23 – Round 1
Game 1 – 11 a.m.
(6) Oklahoma vs. (11) Central Michigan
Game 2 – 1:30 p.m.
(3) UCLA vs. (14) Stetson

Monday, March 25 – Round 2 – 7 p.m.
Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2

Tickets can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 1-800-GO BUCKS (462-8257) and at the Schottenstein Center Box Office, 555 Borror Dr, Room 1020, Columbus, OH 43210 (M-F, 8a-5p). For more tournament information, click here!

The event will feature 16 of the state’s best teams, as the four remaining teams from Divisions I, II, III and IV compete to earn their respective state titles. The excitement will tipoff Thursday afternoon and conclude Saturday evening. The Division II and III semifinals will be played Thursday with the Division I and IV semifinals Friday. All four state championships will be played Saturday.

Two local teams won’t have to travel far for their shot as a title as both Olentangy Orange (Division I) and Columbus Africentric (Division III) will be competing this weekend.  See the schedule below for more information:

Thursday, March 14
1 p.m. – Division III Game #1 – Columbus Africentric Early College vs. Beverly Fort Frye
3 p.m. – Division III Game #2 – Orrville vs. Anna
6 p.m. – Division II Game #1 – Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown vs. Clyde
8 p.m. – Division II Game #2 – Dayton Chaminade Julienne vs. Millersburg West Holmes

Friday, March 15
1 p.m. – Division IV Game #1 – Reedsville Eastern vs. Berlin Hiland
3 p.m. – Division IV Game #2 – Ottoville vs. Fort Loramie
6 p.m. – Division I Game #1 – Twinsburg vs. Olentangy Liberty
8 p.m. – Division I Game #2 – Kettering Fairmont vs. Toledo Notre Dame Academy

Saturday, March 16
10:45 a.m. – Division III Championship
2 p.m. – Division II Championship
5:15 p.m. – Division IV Championship
8:30 p.m. – Division I Championship

In total, 48 individuals will compete at the event, with 40 coming from the eight team qualifiers and the other eight individuals making the cut based on previous qualifying scores.

Air Force, Alaska-Fairbanks, Army, Jacksonville State, Kentucky, Nebraska, Texas Christian and West Virginia all qualified for the event, which will feature individual and team competitions in smallbore three-position and air rifle.

Texas Christian will headline the event, having won the 2012 national championship in Columbus last year, but will have to knock off No. 1 West Virginia to repeat.

Four of the individual qualifiers are from already qualifying schools, while the other four will make their way from Memphis, Nevada, Ole Miss and Ohio State; Amanda Luoma will represent the Buckeyes and will participate in both the smallbore three-position and air rifle competitions.

The smallbore three-position competition will take place Friday, while the air rifle competition will take place Saturday. The overall team champion will be determined by combining the scores of both competitions into one aggregate score for each school. Schedule

For all event information and to purchase tickets, visit the NCAA Rifle Championships page.

A few unfamiliar tenants will be taking over Nationwide Arena this weekend, as the remaining four ice hockey teams compete for the Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championship Friday and Saturday.

The festivities will commence Friday afternoon with the semifinal games as Rocky River takes on Shaker Heights at 1 p.m. before Sylvania Northview takes on Olentangy Liberty at 4 p.m. The winners will match up for the title Saturday night in primetime at 7 p.m. Bracket

Three of the four teams were ranked in the final Ohio High School Ice Hockey Coaches Association final state poll heading into the postseason. Shaker Heights led the way ranked fourth with defending state champion Sylvania Northview right behind in fifth; Olentangy Liberty was ranked eighth while Rocky River was receiving votes.

Nationwide Arena will be busy this weekend as the Columbus Blue Jackets play host to the Vancouver Canucks Thursday at 7 p.m. and the Detroit Red Wings Saturday at 2 p.m. before the OHSAA championship game.

For all state championship coverage visit the OHSAA Ice Hockey State Championship page.

WRESTLING   February 28 and March 1-2 │ Value City Arena, Jerome Schottenstein Center at The Ohio State University 

Get ready, wrestling fans. The 76^th Annual Ohio High School Athletic Association Individual Wrestling State Championships is set to begin Thursday at the Jerome Schottenstein Center on the campus of The Ohio State University.

For the event, 186 wrestlers from around the state will come to compete in the three-division tournament. The action will be non-stop from the opening preliminaries on Thursday until the final matches Saturday. Here is a quick glance at this weekend’s schedule:

Thursday, Feb. 28

SESSION 1
3 p.m.   Division III Preliminaries
4:20 p.m.   Division II Preliminaries
5:50 p.m.   Division I Preliminaries
7:20 p.m.   Division III Consolation Round I
8 p.m.   Division II Consolation Round I
8:45 p.m.   Division I Consolation Round I

Friday, Mar. 1

SESSION 2
10 a.m.   Division III Quarterfinals
10:40 a.m.   Division II Quarterfinals
11:25 a.m.   Division I Quarterfinals
12:15 p.m.   Division III Consolation Round II
1 p.m.   Division II Consolation Round II
1:45 p.m.   Division I Consolation Round II

SESSION 3
6:30 p.m.   All Divisions Championship Semifinals
8:50 p.m.   All Divisions Consolation Quarterfinals

Sunday, Mar. 2

SESSION 4
10 a.m.   All Divisions Consolation Semifinals
11 a.m.   All Divisions Third-, Fifth-, and Seventh-Place Matches

SESSION 5
5:15 p.m.   Hall of Fame Ceremonies/Parade of Champions
5:45 p.m.   All Divisions First-Place Matches

The cost for an all-session ticket book, which covers the entire weekend, is $75 each for the Entry and Club levels and $55 each for the Terrace level. Single-session ticket will be available for $15 each.

To purchase tickets or get more tournament details visit ohsaa.org.

GYMNASTICS   March 1-2 │ Hilliard Bradley High School, Hilliard 

The 41^st Annual Ohio High School Athletic Association Individual and Team Gymnastics Championship are set to begin Friday at Hilliard Bradley High School. The team competition will be held Friday, March 1 starting at 3:30 p.m. and the individual competition will start at noon on Saturday, March 2.

This event will bring 1,700 fans form around the state to watch gymnasts compete against 12 different schools, including: Thomas Worthington and Dublin Coffman.

Once the event starts Friday it is non-stop action on the floor until Saturday night. Here is a quick look at this weekend’s schedule:

Friday, Mar. 1

3:00 p.m.   Parade of Competitors and Introduction of Officials
3:10 p.m.   Teams 1-4 – Warm-up First Events in Warm-up Gymnasium; Teams 5-12 – Bye
3:30 p.m.         Competition Begins – Teams 1-4 on Competition Floor; Teams 5-8 – Warm-up First Events in Warm-up Gymnasium; Teams 9-12 – Bye

Saturday, Mar. 2

11:30 a.m.   Parade of Competitors and Introduction of Officials
11:40 a.m.   Squads 1-4 – Warm-up First Events in Warm-up Gymnasium; Squads 5-8 – Bye
Noon   Competition Begins – Squads 1-4 on Competition Floor; Squads 5-8 Warm-up First Events in Warm-up Gymnasium

The cost for the state team competition is $8 per person and the cost for the state individual competition $8 per person.

Visit ohsaa.org  for more information, such as schedule and directions.

BOWLING   March 1-2 │ Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl

The seventh annual Boys and Girls State Bowling Championships will be held in Columbus at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowling Alley. The girls will compete on Friday, March 1 and the boys will compete on Saturday, March 2.

For the Boys and Girls team and individual events there will be an assortment of athletes from all around Ohio, including: Columbus Briggs, Whitehall-Yearling and Westerville Central and Columbus St. Francis DeSales.

Tickets for bowling are $8 per person per day.

For schedule, lane assignments, full listing of participants and more visit ohsaa.org