. >> still ahead in sports - jessica taff takes a closer look at nascar's diversity program in attempts to steer the sport towards a new audience. will sanctions in russia make a difference? we welcome our pan 'em. >> and a look at the man who describes himself as a humble servant. >> and welcome back to al jazeera america. here are the top stories this half hour. authorities in malaysia have expanded the search for a jetliner. 239 people were aboard the boeing 777 when it disappeared. two passengers were travelling under assumed identities. two europeans who were not on the flight were on the manifesto. their passports were stolen in thailand. investigatesors have not recalled out foul play. one of three americans, 50-year-old philip woods from texas. a photo posted on facebook by his ex-wife. >> western leaders have been trying to convince russia to pull back, using diplomacy and tough talk. russia wouldn't be the only one. the biggest training accident also feels the pimp. >> it's been described as moscow's kath eat ral of consumerism. >> this is the european mall. a floor filled wit

jessica taff has her story. >> to understand until at the height of her career shamika tried to take her life you have to understand where it began. she was born in queens to young personalities, 19-year-old benita and 22-year-old billy. life was good but challenged when both parents began to drink. >> there was a lot of ups and downs. when mum stay the out, doesn't come home and you know she's not there, because she's drunk. it was tough. >> this went on for years until social services moved her and her brother in with her grandmother. the 11-year-old was dealing with anger and depression by then. there was one place she was at ease - the basketball court. >> it was love at first sight and a stress reliever. >> the baggage translated into basketball goal. after winning championships at high school, it was no surprise when she was the number one draft pick in 1999. >> tell me about the day you were drafted number one overall. >> i remember talking to my grandmother and crying. the draft was in new york, and to see how far i had come. she played for the washington mist ekes and was na

jessica taff has her story. >> what makes a good goalie? >> mentally strong. >> ability bounce back. >> the colombus cotton mouths introduced their new plaf. it was history making moment as shannon became the first woman in the southern professional hockey league. >> it was special. i had been here a couple of days, something i looked forward to and what you dreamed of as a kid. >> i have been in the game for a while and seen a lot of things. i was proud that it happened with my team. >> this is not the first time she has played with the men. she always has. the 27-year-old edmonton native was the first woman to play in the western hockey league and played in the men's team in northern alberta technology team. >> what is the difference playing the men versus the women? >> it's a different game. the guys are bigger, stronger, faster. the more she plays, the less gender is an issue. she helps to win the ice hockey metal in 2010 and 2014. her former team-mate was instrumental. it was a campaign two years in the making. >> i wanted her in becau

al jazeera's jessica taff has the story. >> march is the pinnacle of the men's college basketball seasonthe n.c.a.a. tournament is a jewel in the society of sports of the since 1939 each year one university is king, and in that moment that institution is at the top of the collegiate basketball world. up until the mid 1990s, individual athletes moulded the brand to what it is today. >> you had to go to school for four years. today you don't see that. in that era there were a lot of players. i dent want to disrespect -- don't want to disrespect anyone. there were a number of players that were game change yourers not only for the team. >> they were in school for one or two years, so you got familiar with teams and players. i think that allowed basketball fans in general to watch teams for a longer period of time. >> great rivalries, and there was a connection, between the fans and the players, because you got to know them. you saw the players develop and evolve over four years. that was the key - four years. >> in 1971 a supreme court decision allowed high school basketball athletes to be p

jessica taff has the story. >> what makes a good goalie. >> mentally strong. on march 15th, the colombus cotton mouth introduced its newest player. a crowd of over 4,000 fans watched goalie shannon become the first woman in the hockey league. >> it is special. something i had been looking forward to and what you dream of as a kid. >> i have been in the game for a while and seen a lot of things. i was proud that it happened with my hockey team. >> this is not the first time shannon played with the men. she always has. the 27-year-old edmonton native played with the men before. what is the biggest difference playing the men versus the women? >> it's a different game, obviously. guys are bigger, stronger, faster. to make up the girls play a smarter game. >> the more she replies, the less gender is on issue. she helped to win metals in 2010 and "13. her former team-mate was instrumental in bringing her here. >> i wanted her here, i wanted to win. >> his philosophy - if you can't beat them, join them. >> she had played against he in junior, and her team beat us in

as jessica taff reports, it's an issue nascar admits and is trying to address. >> this is not your grandfather's nascar. the sport of lefthand turns and a good old boys mentality is putting both hands on the wheel and steering it towards a new audience. >> the diversity platform is important. we recognise that america is a demographically diverse place, and that car wants to be diverse in every aspect of our business. >> including the front office with matt segal becoming the first african american president. jamie is an engineer, and dion williams former athlete and now front tyreman is in the pits. there has been an effort to diversify behind the while. darrell came from the drive for diversi diversity program. bubba became the first black nascar driver to win a race in 50 years. >> relief was the biggest thing that hit me. then i got into victory lane and they talked about the history and the magnitude of that. that was a tear jerker, being a part of that. i did my best. >> you were the highest finishing african american. >> another driver in the program demonstrates the intent to ex-spend it

jessica taff goes back to school. >> 85 miles south of barack obama, is cherry blows oms, and in thetance the university of mercy. where the basketball team is a big attraction. it's the first time since 1985 that mercer will send a team to college basketball's n.c.a.a. tournament, the ultimate destination. >> over the last three years with the group of seniors, each year they achieved greater things and people have gotten on the bandwagon with mercer bear, creating excitement. >> it's like we made history, but, again, we didn't make history, because they did it. it's like trying to start a new tradition. >> make im is a city about starting traditions. this is where southern rock was born and music from the ormond brothers to little richard and oatize redding. make im is the place they made their mark. >> my father recalls for less than $2 you could walk through the doors, here ormond brothers, leonard skinner and tucker on one night. on the stage still here today. tom petty played with his original band. just the list goes on and on? mercer university is an entering call part of the

jessica taff has the story. >> it was a moment nearly 30 years in the making. >> we knew it would be a call, but it doesn't change your how anxious we were, we wanted to get up there and see who would play. >> finally ex-hailing. >> i was so nervous, we didn't know if we'd make it or not. i'm so excited. >> there was no game at the university center. it felt like it looking into the arena. there was no nervous tension. the team punched its ticket to the big dance. it was a matter of where they would be seated. having not been to the tournament since 1985, the team didn't care who the dancing partner would be, they were happy to have a date. >> up in lights, like it was, a great opportunity for the guys to continue their dreams. >> everyone was nervous, we felt we were going to play. we had to get the work and work hard and be ready tore duty. >> the journey goes beyond basketball. the head coach made sure of that, they wear their heart on their sleeves. they have immersed themselves in the community, something that makes the residence feel that they have won. they have won the hearts

jessica taff has the story. >> how long has it been since the mercer bears have been to the n.c.a.a.rnament. >> i was the only one on the team born on the '80s i pay be the last college basketball player born in the '80s. >> getting to the big dance is a dream until it becomes the ultimate nightmare, which is what happened last year. >> last year was diff. we won the regular season, we thought it was a chaps and had to watch them bet us in the championship. we thought it was our turn to do it. >> what was it like when you saw them go through the tournament. >> it was bittersweet. it was good for the conference, but we wanted the success they were having. >> sometimes we were happy, other times it was "man, that could have been us", this season, it was deja vu, with the same florida gulf cost team in the way of the the elusive ticket to college baskets ball's grand prize. >> we were getting ready to have the bus ride. >> i said "the thing i want you to do when you fall sleep on the bus is dream of who you hug when you win and think about cutting the nuts down." this time they flipped

but as jessica taff reports, it is an issue nascar red li admits and is actively trying to address. >is isn't your grandfather's nascar anymore. predominantly white drivers putting both hands on the wheel and trying to steer its sport towards a new audience. >> the diversity platform is an important one for nascar. we recognize that america is a demographically diverse place and nascar wants to be diverse in every part of our business. >> max segal becoming the first african american own are of a franchise, there's been a concerted effort to diversify behind the wheel. darryl wallace jr. came from nascar drive for diversity program when he was just 16 years old. the 20-year-old known as bubba became the first black nascar driver to run a series race in 50 years. >> i get in victory lane and they're talk about all the history behind it and the magnitude of that i'm like wow, didn't even see that so that was another tear-jerker there of being a part of that. i just go out there and do my best and next thing you know, you just had the highest finish of an african american in history. oka

we sent jessica taff back to school. >> 85 miles south of atlanta is a sleepy town of makin georgia, known for cherry blows oms, sprawling mansions and charm. in the distance is the lesser known mercer university, where this march basketball is emerging as an attraction. >> it's the first time since 1985 that mercer will send a team to the n.c.a.a. tournament. >> over the last three years with a group of seniors. each year they have achieved greater things, and people got on the bandwagon, creating excitement on campus and in the community. then again, we didn't make history. it's trying to start a new tradition. makin is the city that is all about starting new traditions. this is where southern rock was born. music is embraced from the ormond brothers, and little richard to odis redding. make im is where they make the mark. >> for less than $2 you can hear the ormond brothers, leonard skinner and tucker on the stage that stands here today. it's a place where people came to get discovered. tom petty played here. the list goes on and on. mercer university is an integral part of the li

jessica taff has more. >> this is not your grandfather's nascar. it, made of predominantly white drivers, put both hands on the wheel. the divertsity platform is important. we recognise that america is a demographically diverts place. >> including the front office with matt seeingle being president of a nascar franchise. jamie is an engineer and dion williams turned front tireman has a second career in the pits. there has been a concerted effort to diversify. >> dahl wallis junior came from the diversity program. the 20-year-old known as buba made history, becoming the first back mass car drive to win a series race. >> the biggest thing watt the relief. in victory lane they talked about the history and the magnitude. i didn't see that. it was a tear jerker there of being a part of it. i go out, do my best and you had the highest finish of an african american. >> sweet. >> another driver demonstrates nascar's extent. having started out in 2014, winning his first two races the 22-year-old is on pace to be a future star. the second-year driver on the

jessica taff is here with more. >> big to dos on the internet. david and nc state and dayton ohio, looking for a date to the big dance. they had it going early on. a slow start by tj warren, ralston turner had it going. leading the way with 17. they scored and the player of the year stepped up late. nc state led. o pack are headed to orlando for a date with st. louis. >> i have not talked about it with the team, whether anyone else felt we should or shouldn't be in. we believe we deserve to be in. >> we believe that, players believe it. they plays their way in, earned the right. beat good teams. it's not something we made a big point of emphasis. >> the other game featured almapy and mt st marys. not much of a battle. a 13-0 run at the start, leading 17. dj heaven, 22 points. the first tournament game won, 71-64. >> well, if they bring him, they will come. the him is phil jackson. the they is the agents. the former nick has won two titles as a player, and 11 as a head coach. they have jackson in a deal, and the hopes that the zen master can bring

jessica taff takes a look at what makes this team go, and what sets them apart from the rest. >> if the name on these jerseys said duke, kentucky or kansas the guys would be on national tv a couple of nights a week. the men from creighton put their hard hats on and go to work and slowly but suring putting omaha nebraska on the basketball map. >> a lot of us were recruited to play, so we wanted to show people that may have missed out. >> what did scouts miss out op. >> 2-250 doug mcdetermine et. hoe is a shoe in -- mcdermott. he is a shoe in for player of the year. playing along side ethan rogg. >> e, silently a best 3-point shooter. a school record tying nine. and yet the game announcers still get his name wrong. >> how many ways has your last name been pronounced. >> multiple. a lot of people ragy, roggy, froggy. reggae. >> it's unbelievable. we were coming off the road loss to providence. we knew we had to get it. it doesn't hurt when ethan hits the first 7-3s. everyone on the team was going. >> that win set the tone, and teams last season showed the rest the nation not only to take t

jessica taff with more. >> part of nascar safety initiative and the changes in the cars are what we havet from looking at crashes. we looked at the car, studied the damn, took it to the research and development centres. sometimes we'll build or test fixtures where we can duplicate the angle in which the car hit the wall or rolled over so we can look at different problems in the car and try to fix them. >> how often do rules change for when you guys make suggestions? how often does it happen? >> it happens a lot. when we started the program in 2002, we had dozens of rule changes for safety. we have crash boxes in the cars, data recorders, three accelerate om terse and they track the car and the g-forces that the driver feels, we have backum on the history rit within the sport that we can go back to electronically and poll what the driver and his body felt in a crash. we have implemented items that try to help people on the ground, allowing the air to get out. escaping so it doesn't lift the car up. one of those is new for last year, which are hood flaps, these open up when a car turns bac

jessica taff is here with more. >> we knew this was going to happen. jonathan martin getting a fresh start, something he needed, and the dolphins get to turn the page that they needed to do. it's the latest to come from the tumultuous relationship involving martin and his team-mate ricky incognito ending with two dolphin staff fired and ricky incognito suspended following a 3-month investigation. the dolphins waited no time letting martin re-un item with former college coach who coachers the 49ers. san francisco will give miami a 7th-round draft pick. jonathan martin tweeted: >> other moves. the patriots getting taleeb. a six year, $57 million deal with the denver broncos. dallas cowboys released marcus deware saving against the salary cap and chicago released defensiveman g julien peppers. >> for the dallas stars, preparing for the st. louis blues there may have been more therapy than game planning. rich beverley collapsed needing life-saving medical treatment. dallas back on the ice. the stars did their best. jamie ben was getting it done on both end