The boys and girls Rhode Island Interscholastic League Division I basketball championships and the Division I boys hockey finals are among the events that Cox Sports Television has included in its 2006-07 winter lineup on Varsity Zone, a newly-launched program showcasing Rhode Island high school athletics.

In addition to game coverage, the Varsity Zone will feature the Cardi’s Furniture Superstores Players of the Game, athlete profiles and a salute to the host school. The Players of the Game also are featured on the Cox Sports Television website (www.cox-sports.com).

Varsity Zone, which kicked off its winter coverage yesterday by airing the Narragansett-Prout boys hockey game, will air on selected Sundays at 7 p.m. The winter series culminates with the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Division I Championships in boys’ and girls’ basketball and boys’ hockey.

The full schedule is as follows:

Varsity Zone on Cox Sports Television (Cox Ch. 3):
(Varsity Zone begins at 7 p.m.)

12/17/06 Prout at Narragansett (Boys’ hockey)
01/07/07 Classical at Cumberland (Girls’ basketball)
01/14/07 Mt. St. Charles at Bay View (Girls’ hockey)
01/21/07 V Foundation Invitational (boys’ basketball)
02/02/07 East Providence at Central (boys’ basketball)
02/18/07 Portsmouth at Westerly (boys’ basketball)
02/18/07 Mt. St. Charles at Hendricken (boys’ hockey)
03/11/07 RIIL D-1 Boys’ & Girls’ Basketball Championships
TBD RIIL D-1 Boys Hockey Championship

Games also will be available for a limited time on Cox Local On Demand (Cox Digital Cable Channel 1).