Linking the country ...

Basketball

• Many factors, including Saint Mary's Joey Haywood-Mark McLaughlin backcourt has made the AUS Final 6 at Centre 200 in Sydney a "dice roll," notes Halifax scribe Steve Bezanson.
  
  A No. 1 seed has not won the tournament St. Francis Xavier did in 2006. The variable is top-seeded Cape Breton is hosting. (Halifax Chronicle-Herald)
  
  
• Set your imaginations to "run wild": A comment thread mentioned Taffe Charles as a candidate to lead the McGill Redmen, which was inevitable since now-McGill AD Drew Love hired the OUA East coach of the year to turn around the Carleton women's program.
  
  Coincidentally, a couple weeks back, a Wayne Kondro column led off, "Someone needs to find a good contract negotiator for Carleton women's basketball coach Taffe Charles."
  
  
• Western coach Brad Campbell has added 6-foot-6 forward Luke Braund, who redshirted at Trinity Western last season and thus is eligible to play right away. That's about the third Mustangs program in the last 10 days or so to announce a recruit from B.C.
  
  The other recruit the 'Stangs announced is 6-foot combo guard Andrew Vincent from Timmins, Ont., who led his team to the final four at the OFSAA AA level for the past three years. Didn't Western's current point guard, Ryan Barbeau, come from an AA school? Yes, yes he did.
  
  
• Sticking with teams in purple, 6-foot-9 big Matt McLean, who helped Ottawa's Ashbury College win the OFSAA A gold medal this week, is headed to the Bishop's Gaiters.
  
  
• Second-seeded Windsor is a year older and wiser heading into the Final 8. (The Canadian Press)
  
  
• Cape Breton coach Fabian McKenzie on Canada West's 18-year hold on the Bronze Baby: "Someone's going to unseat them eventually." (Cape Breton Post, Halifax Chronicle-Herald)
  

Hockey

• Officiating in the OUA women's playoffs is an issue again, not for the first time. (Speak Into The Mike)