Shaunessy Smith: Feelin' Good, Thinkin' Big

Shaunessy Smith was a big signing for Mississippi State basketball last fall, but he’s been overshadowed quite a bit by the late arrivals of Renardo Sidney and John Riek, not to mention the eligibility issues that have trailed the pair. Smith has been quietly working his way back from wrist and hip injuries, spending lots of time at Humphrey Coliseum when he’s not in class at MSU (he enrolled for the first summer term).

clarionledger.com
7/3/09

Where's the beef? Alabama's Nick Saban has a valid point

Jamie Newberg thinks Nick Saban may be on to something.
Newberg has been a recruiting analyst for more than a decade and was one of the first in the South to combine the obsession of college football fans with a new toy called the Internet.
Football recruiting is big business.

That's not Saban's beef. He has benefited as much as anyone from the recruiting boom, landing one of the nation's top classes each of the past two years.
But Saban recently said he believed some reporters go too far, passing on bogus information in an effort to steer a player to another school.
He's not talking about mainstream media, either.
"If people are just covering recruiting with honesty and integrity, (there's no problem)," Saban said. "But all those guys that work out there for (recruiting sites) are for the school. Everybody roots for a team. And they get information for a team."

al.com
7/3/09

Dr. Do-it-all....James Andrews

Dr. James Andrews, the world's most renowned surgeon, has accomplished fame and fortune repairing the bones and sinew of sport's most accomplished athletes.
Now, at age 67, the remarkably energetic Andrews leads the charge to reduce the need for such surgeries, especially among teen-aged athletes.
Andrews, in town Thursday lecturing and demonstrating for the fellows at Mississippi Sports Medicine, took time away from his teaching to continue his crusade.

clarionledger.com
7/3/09

Polk, Palmeiro to join Clark in Hall of Fame

STARKVILLE — The College Baseball Hall of Fame is only four induction classes old, but it already has three Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Or at least it will after tonight, when former MSU coach Ron Polk and player Rafael Palmeiro are inducted at a ceremony in Lubbock, Texas.
"I'm honored, because I've been there before, I saw the operation, and this is pretty neat," Polk, now a volunteer assistant at UAB, said. "Pretty neat operation. I'm excited about it and looking forward to being out there with Rafael."

clarionledger.com
7/3/09

Archie part of bad movie deal in New Orleans

BATON ROUGE -- Archie Manning, Drew Brees and coach Sean Payton are among more than two dozen people with ties to the Saints who together put nearly $2 million into an Elmwood film studio that has failed to return their investments as promised.
Manning and an attorney for one of the players said Wednesday that they thought they were taking part in a routine tax credit program offered through Louisiana's motion picture studio incentives until they discovered that the studio project never received state authorization for the credits and that their money was at risk.

nola.com
6/2/09

Papelbon makes history - again

BALTIMORE — For a second straight game, Jonathan Papelbon unexpectedly found himself in position to become Boston's career saves leader.
Less than 24 hours earlier, Papelbon was victimized by the greatest comeback in Baltimore Orioles history. On Wednesday, after the Red Sox staged an improbable rally of their own, Papelbon got his coveted save.

Papelbon got three outs for his 20th save this season and 133rd with the Red Sox, breaking the team record held by Bob Stanley.
"Obviously, it feels good," Papelbon said. "When I set out to be the closer of the Boston Red Sox, there were definitely a lot of goals in sight and this was one of them. To finally get it and get it out of my head, you know, to stop thinking about it, is definitely good for me. It's done with. Let's move on."

nems360.com
6/2/09

Bill Byrne on Greg Byrne

I had a nice conversation this morning with Texas A&M athletics director Bill Byrne, father of Mississippi State AD Greg Byrne. I’m doing a story on the younger Byrne for the weekend.
Bill Byrne somehow anticipated my first question, which was going to be, “As objectively as possible, what kind of job is Greg doing?” Bill said with a laugh that he could not offer an objective take. OK, I said, then in your biased opinion, how’s he doing?

nems360.com
6/2/09

My favorite stadiums in the SEC

Jeremy Hillman of SouthernPigskin.com has ranked the SEC stadiums using his own formula.

I agree with him that Florida's Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is the toughest place to play for an opponent. The noise in the Swamp is deafening, and the heat is even worse.
But if I were ranking my 12 stadiums in terms of the places I most look forward to attending a football game in the fall, my order would differ a bit.
Here's my top 12:

1. LSU: There's no other experience in college football quite like a Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.

espn.com
6/1/09

SEC athletics department of the decade? LSU or Florida

LSU's recent national championship in baseball raises an intriguing question in these slow, summer months: By this time next year, will LSU or Florida be viewed as the most successful SEC athletics department of the decade?
No such official title exists, of course. But based on national and SEC success, particularly in the most prominent sports, Florida and LSU have been the cream of the crop in the SEC since 2000.
LSU has won 13 national titles in six different sports this decade, including two championships apiece in football and baseball. Florida has six national titles in four sports, including two championships each in football and men's basketball.

al.com
6/2/09

UM's Britton, hot comet on tennis radar, turns pro

Devin Britton has the game. He has the look. He has the work ethic. He has that special extra intangible precious few athletes possess: the ability to be at his best when it matters most.
He has what I call, for lack of a better term, it.

And now, at the ridiculously early age of 18, he has the tennis resume to go with it, as well.
Wednesday's announcement that Britton has turned pro should come as no surprise to anyone, least of all his Ole Miss coach Billy Chadwick.
It did not.
You should know that Chadwick could not have been more upbeat Wednesday.
"I'm just so proud of him, so proud for him," Chadwick said by phone from Oxford. "I'm proud of what he has done for Ole Miss tennis and for tennis in general in Mississippi.

clarionledger.com
6/2/09

Reaching out

An eclectic mix of pictures adorn the hallways at Brookwood Byram Country Club, giving a silent nod to underlying aspirations for a former pro athlete.
There's a picture of Lee Elder - the first African-American to play in The Masters.
And one of Jim Thorpe - one of two active black players on the Champions Tour, the PGA Tour's circuit for players age 50 and above.
And another of former Jackson resident Pete Brown -the first African-American to win a PGA Tour event.

clarionledger.com
6/2/09

The 50 highest-earning American athletes

Is the slumping economy finally affecting America's premier athletes? For the sixth consecutive year, Sports Illustrated has compiled a list of the 50 top-earning American athletes in salary, winnings, endorsements and appearance fees. And for the first time, the average earnings of those on the list fell -- down $1.5 million per athlete to $23.6 million.

That falloff is mostly due to lower earnings for No. 1 Tiger Woods and No. 2 Phil Mickelson, both of whom saw their on-course income shrink while also losing key endorsement deals. This year's list features 22 basketball players (a record nine who earned more than $20 million), 14 major leaguers, nine football players, three golfers and two NASCAR drivers.

si.com
6/2/09

Eli Manning shoots Reebok commercials at Briarcrest Christian

New York Giants quarterback and Super Bowl 42 MVP Eli Manning was at Briarcrest Christian School this afternoon to film three TV commercials promoting Reebok’s Speedwick athletic sportswear.
The commercial features Manning and Giants’ wide receiver Domenik Hixon, who last season led the team in receiving yards, pulling pranks on second-year safety Kenny Phillips.
The commercials will begin airing in July, just in time for the start of NFL training camp, said Jonathan Isen, executive producer and managing director with Phasmatrope Studios.

commercialappeal.com
6/30/09

$kyrocketing $EC $alaries

On the court, Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl and new Kentucky coach John Calipari will become division rivals next season.
Yet Pearl had reason to thank Calipari earlier this spring. Because Calipari left Memphis for a record eight-year, $31.6 million contract with Kentucky in April, it created a job vacancy at the other end of the state. Pearl, who has led the Vols to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances and an Southeastern Conference title, immediately became a hot name in the Memphis coaching search.

gatorsports.com
6/30/09

New Union Chief Tutors Players on NFL Economics; $8 Billion on the Line

The new union leader’s quiz of some of the best-educated professional athletes in the country proceeds like this:
“How many people here know the National Football League is a non-profit?” DeMaurice Smith, the longtime Washington, D.C., lawyer asks 75 members of the Seattle Seahawks. No hands rise.
“How many people here know that the NFL has a special antitrust exemption granted to them by Congress?” Again, no hands. “We all understand the difference between a strike and a lockout?” Silence and blank stares.

wsj.com
6/1/09

Ranking the nonconference schedules: the Top 10

Les Miles was talking about his former school earlier this spring, how Oklahoma State has quickly become a factor in the college football world because of a deep-pocketed booster and a young, charismatic coach.
"Georgia's going to have a hell of a time there, you know what I mean?" said Miles, who coached in Stillwater earlier this decade before leaving for LSU in 2005. "Man, have a nice day."

Top 10 nonconference schedules
1. Georgia:

sportingnews.com
6/1/09

No LA for Coach K, but another Olympics could work

Everybody wants to be wanted. And then there’s Mike Krzyzewski.
The man already has a job for life at Duke, and barely three weeks to decide whether he wants to coach the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team again. But just for the record, Krzyzewski made it clear Tuesday the one job he definitely isn’t interested in is the one Phil Jackson holds in Los Angeles.

bostonherald.com
6/1/09

Varnado, White ready to take on the world

When Terrico White was named to the 2009 USA Men’s U19 World Championship Team, you wouldn’t have known it by looking at his face.
So Andy Kennedy, his coach at Ole Miss, pulled him aside for a little chat.
“With Terrico, he’s an emotionless guy, his expression never changes,” Kennedy said. “I met with him and wanted to make sure he completely understood the honor of this opportunity.”

nems360.com
6/1/09

Alabama may be winning in-state recruiting battle, but that's only part of picture

The ink wasn't even dry on the Elite 18 list in Sunday's paper, the blog post only a few minutes old, before someone tallied the score on this year's in-state recruiting battle between Alabama and Auburn.
AL - 7, AU - 3.
Joe Bama Fan may look at these numbers and declare victory, noting also that the top two names on the list, Stanhope Elmore's DeMarcus Milliner and Blount's Jarrick Williams, are committed to the Tide. Fat lot of good that Auburn limo did, he might snicker while spit-shining the bust of Nick Saban on his mantle.

al.com
6/1/09

Krzyzewski: I would never leave Duke

DURHAM -

Mike Krzyzewski left no doubt Tuesday that he plans to spend the rest of his coaching career at Duke.
During the opening remarks of his annual summer news conference, Krzyzewski put to rest rumors that he would be replacing Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson.
“I'm not leaving Duke,” Krzyzewski said. “Whatever you hear about anything like that, I would never leave Duke until I leave coaching. Anything else that's being said would be just somebody saying stuff.”

charlotteobserver.com
6/30/09

Tiger's Actions Speak Volumes

Tiger Woods may not want to be defended on this issue; he certainly didn't ask to be defended. But he's going to be, in this space anyway, because Jim Brown's recent comments to HBO that Tiger's social contributions are inadequate are way off base, even inaccurate. Just because Brown perhaps isn't aware of the depth and range of Tiger's contributions, or that they differ from his own social agenda doesn't mean Tiger is lacking a social conscience -- because he isn't.

washingtonpost.com
6/1/09

Up-and-coming redshirt freshman Pierce could be surprise at WR

HATTIESBURG — DeAndre Brown's freshman season was arguably the most successful a Southern Miss receiver has pieced together.
But as Brown works his way back from a broken leg incurred in the New Orleans Bowl, another freshman appears poised to make a significant impact in Hattiesburg this fall.
After redshirting last season, Quentin Pierce became one of quarterback Austin Davis' favorite targets during spring drills. He often put on a clinic in making defenders miss during practices, and had a 31-yard touchdown reception in the spring game.

clarionledger.com
6/1/09

Gators' spread offense catching on in the NFL

GAINESVILLE - Urban Meyer took a steno pad from the reporter sitting on his office couch and began scribbling away. With two diagrams, the University of Florida coach explained the concepts behind his base offensive formations: the spread and the single wing.

"I'm kind of giving you everything we do here," he said.
Hardly everything, but a brief lesson cracked open a window into Meyer's fascinating world of X's and O's. It's a place that's become a sought-after destination among his peers these days, but that's no revelation given Meyer's astonishing run of championships since arriving in Gainesville.
Some of the folks requesting offseason audiences, however, might come as a surprise.

sunsentinel.com
6/25/09

With no buyout, extended Nick Saban contract has less teeth than front row at Neyland Stadium

What's next? Bryant-Denny-Saban Stadium?
There was a big buzz the other day about Nick Saban getting a contract extension. The Tide Nation exhaled. Whew, they seemed to be saying in unison -- we dodged another bullet.
Are you kidding me?
Is there a bigger non-event in college football than Alabama's head coach getting an extension that has less teeth than the front row at Neyland Stadium? There is no buyout in the agreement -- meaning he can leave anytime. So what's the point?

al.com
6/30/09

Coaches prefer change to 'one-and-done' rule

Throughout Monday's Southeastern Conference summer teleconference, the league's men's basketball coaches sounded a consistent refrain.
Many of them believe the rules that govern how and when underclassmen may enter and leave the NBA Draft are damaging the college game.
Georgia coach Mark Fox discussed the movement among college coaches to move up the date when players who declare themselves eligible for the draft must make their decision on whether to return to school.

onlineathens.com
6/29/09

Kentucky looms over SEC hoops once again

The Bluegrass State is in a hoops-induced furor with four months until the start of basketball season, as the Wildcats return first team All-SEC forward Patrick Patterson as well and add two of the nation’s top 10 recruits in point guard John Wall and center DeMarcus Cousins. Journalists and fans alike consider Kentucky a preseason top-5 team after missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in 18 years.
As a testament to the big, blue shadow that now looms over the conference, all 12 SEC coaches fielded questions about Kentucky during a coaches teleconference Monday.
“You’re asking me questions about [Kentucky] in June, so that says everything about what people expect,” said Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury.

lsureveille.com
6/30/09

Calipari has made SEC relevant again

Southeastern Conference basketball coaches are eager to insist better days are coming for the league. Speaking during the league's annual summer teleconference Monday morning, they pounded home the talking point that the SEC had pushed six teams into the NCAA Tournament in eight of the 10 years before the forgettable 2008-09 season.
They argue there will be no reason to whisper about the league next winter. The decisions by Devan Downey, Patrick Patterson, Tyler Smith and others to withdraw from the NBA draft ensure that.

courier-journal.com
6/29/09

MJ's Life, Legacy Transcends Sports

Over a decade before a retired Chinese gymnast was suspended stories above the Beijing Olympic field and wowed the world running sideways around the lip of the stadium before lighting the Olympic flame, a man amazed us by appearing to catapult himself across a football stadium onto a stage in a pyrotechnic explosion. He was Michael Jackson.
And by the time the self-proclaimed but broadly acknowledged King of Pop landed in a frozen pose, something was unfolding at the biggest sporting event in this country that had never happened before: more people were tuning in to watch the halftime show that was unveiling than the game itself. That was the power of Michael Jackson.

fanhouse.com
6/27/09

No doubting the New Orleans Saints belong to Drew Brees

Officially Tom Benson owns and runs the New Orleans Saints.
Unofficially it's Drew Brees' team.
Three years after Mickey Loomis and Sean Payton made the prescient decision to sign Brees, he clearly has become more than just a franchise quarterback. He's the franchise.
Loomis and Payton call the shots. Benson signs the checks. But Brees is the face and force of the organization. No Saint in the 43-year history of the franchise has brokered more power.

nola.com
6/27/09

Alec Ogletree, Georgia’s No. 1 prospect, picks UGA with brother’s blessing

Newnan safety Alec Ogletree, who is ranked as the state’s No. 1 prospect by Scout, hopes to play college football with his brother.
However, that remains to be seen, as Alec made a surprising commitment to Georgia over more than 50 scholarship offers this weekend. His twin, Zander Ogletree, has an offer from Florida State and is under consideration from Georgia.

ajc.com
6/28/09

Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart: "Our biggest concern is senior leadership, but..."

This was a strange weekend. It really was. It began when a top-notch recruit made a long-awaited commitment not in the hot lights of the local media but in the shrouds of darkness at midnight. Remember Jarrick Williams?
Then, I spent most of Saturday and Sunday in rural Mississippi hanging with the Banktress' family. That meant -- what else? -- I got to chill with the sheep and goats that her grandparents have. Yes, I'm serious. Click below, and you can see some of the flock. Would I joke about this?

al.com
6/29/09

Nick Saban should stop whining, keep signing

According to Scout.com, the Tide's current commitment list ranks second best in the country.
But as Alabama waited on the NCAA investigation into the school's textbook distribution case, Saban said he was running into prospects who said they were being told how bad the NCAA punishment was going to be, information that Saban took as an attempt to get prospects away from Alabama.

"And every (prospect) that I had any kind of issue with over this, I'd say, 'Well, where did you get that information?'" Saban said.

al.com
6/29/09

Summer months are the time for strength coaches to shine

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When former Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen was close to being hired as head coach at Mississippi State last winter, one of the first things he did was make a phone call to Matt Balis at Virginia.
The position? The Bulldogs' new strength and conditioning coordinator.
"He's the money guy," Mullen said. "I actually, before I went on the interview, called Matt and I said, 'I'm going to interview for this job. I need you to come with me if I get it and he said, 'I'll be there.'
"He was hired before I was. I think he's the best there is in the country. My record with him, we are 22-2 at Utah, we won our first national championship at Florida with him, I think he's the best there is."

usatoday.com
6/29/09

ACC football hopes to challenge SEC

The ACC is making gradual progress in its college football quest to evolve from a punch line to a power.
It's still not the juggernaut the conference's powerbrokers envisioned when they added Miami and Virginia Tech in 2004, but the ACC is improving, a trend that figures to continue with the kickoff of the 2009 season in 67 days when South Carolina will visit N.C. State.
The Gamecocks' conference, the SEC, claimed its third consecutive national title last season with Florida's 24-14 win against Oklahoma in the BCS championship game.

charlotteobserver.com
6/27/09

Big 12 appears ready to surpass SEC in football

Fifteen years after its creation, the Big 12 stands on the brink of fulfilling all the great expectations predicted at its birth.
Back in February 1994, the combination of the Big Eight and many of the top programs from the Southwest Conference seemed like solid football synergy.
Texas. Oklahoma. Nebraska. Texas A&M. Colorado. While the conference has been more than competitive since its inception – producing three outright or shared national champions since it began play in 1996 – its best may be directly ahead.

dallasnews.com
6/28/09

USC's lack of leadership during hard times is revealing

Finally, USC speaks!
Actually, no, the university on Wednesday again refused to discuss the public disintegration of one of its marquee assets -- the blowing up of the men's basketball program -- but I dug up a quote anyway.
The following is an excerpt from President Steven B. Sample's annual address to the faculty, delivered Feb. 10, 2009:
"I have learned that difficult times often bring out the best in us. Complex challenges have a way of focusing our attention on what is essential. They remind us of our core values."
So now we know.
These being difficult times in Trojans athletics, USC's best is to duck and cover and forgo all public accountability.

latimes.com
6/11/09

Meet the NBA’s All-Undrafted Team

To all the dejected NBA-hopefuls who didn’t hear their names called in Thursday night’s draft, all hope is not lost: You could always be the next Ben Wallace.
Nearly every year since the league switched to a two-round draft format in 1989, there have been college players who weren’t picked after declaring for the draft, but ultimately found success on the biggest stage.

wsj.com
6/28/09

NCAA hauls out another terrible ruling

Just a minute. I feel a John Prine song coming on.
Daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County, down by the Green River where Paradise lay. Well I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking, the NCAA rule book has yanked it away.
And now, the latest NCAA news.
Muhlenberg County coach Reggie Warford included University of Kentucky player Darius Miller's picture on a flyer and in an advertisement for his basketball camp.
And that, of course, violates NCAA commandment No.1: No one shall profit from the student athletes (except for the NCAA, its member schools, rights-paying broadcast partners and corporate sponsors).

courier-journal.com
6/27/09

Jerry Jones needs to get over his regret about letting Terrell Owens go

One last confession before summer vacation:

All you lovers of Eldorado Owens were right. The Cowboys, you said, would deeply regret the ouster of this lugnut.
And already, it’s obvious, even long before the first official snap of the ’09 NFL season. Eldo is missed.
Not by a majority. Maybe not even by 10 percent. But I do think it’s a strong opinion of one.
The one is Jerry.
The Valley Ranch voice of Jerry Jones has rambled on and on for weeks about the whats-and-whys involving the ouster of the receiver formerly known as No. 81.

star-telegram.com
6/28/09

1 step away....Chris Maloney

MEMPHIS — Chris Maloney doesn't hesitate when he's asked, essentially, where this is all going.
"I want to get to the big leagues and manage," said Maloney, the Jackson native who manages the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds.
After nearly two decades managing in the minor leagues, he's close - and at the same time, so far away.

Shortly before two p.m. on a recent afternoon at AutoZone Park, he fried four eggs on a stove in the corner of the clubhouse. Two for him, two for a player. He ate them with some toast and the bacon he fried a few minutes earlier.

clarionledger.com
6/28/09

Thanks 'Moss Point Kid'....Robert Khayat

Marty Stuart sings "The Moss Point Kid" a song he wrote for University of Mississippi Chancellor Robert C. Khayat.

nems360.com
6/

Fulmer still mulling his options

He’s tanned, rested and ready. But ready for what?
The honoree at Phillip Fulmer Appreciation Day on Friday said he’s moving on to the next chapter of his life, but he’s not sure yet what that will be.
For the first time since he was in the seventh grade, Fulmer faces an approaching fall without football-dominated obligations.
He likened the time span since he was fired as Tennessee’s head football coach in November to a sabbatical to review his options.

govolsxtra.com
6/26/09

Ranking the nonconference schedules: The Big East

A look at the Big East nonconference schedules:

From first to worst
1. Cincinnati: Southeast Missouri State, at Oregon State, Fresno State, at Miami (Ohio), Illinois
2. Syracuse: Minnesota, at Penn State, Northwestern, Maine, Akron
3. West Virginia: Liberty, East Carolina, at Auburn, Colorado, Marshall

sportingnews.com
6/26/09

SEC football doubleheader is possible

LITTLE ROCK — Trying to identify a doable Southeastern Conference football doubleheader in the composite schedule grid is sort of like attempting to locate a unicorn in an "I Spy" book.
In the football puzzle, Arkansas must be a participant. In the search for the one-horned creature, begin with a background that is large and multi-colored.
This all started when one of the dozen members of the Razorback Roundtable forwarded an e-mail with the note: "Wow, guess what I just noticed??!!!!! An easier same-day SEC doubleheader than the legendary '06 one ..."

nwaonline.com
6/26/09

Duval reaches out to Blackmon on road to recovery

In April 2005, Puggy Blackmon had a surprise telephone ring. The caller was David Duval, from whom Blackmon hadn’t heard in quite awhile.
“Can you come over to Augusta and meet me?” Duval asked.
Blackmon had been Duval’s coach at Georgia Tech and had worked with him at times since, but not recently. Instead, Duval had taken his golfing cares and woes to a number of “witch doctors,” as some of us are inclined to label those professionals whose specialty is “remodeling” Tour players — fairly or unfairly. Duval hadn’t made a cut in a major championship in three years and, for the most part, had disappeared from the game.

ajc.com
6/26/09

Homecoming for John Smoltz

ATLANTA - While his Red Sox [team stats] teammates were stumbling around their hotel rooms yesterday morning, John Smoltz was in the kitchen of his home in suburban Atlanta, cooking pancakes for the kids.
He hopped into the pool to cool off. He played with the family pets, which consist of three dogs and a cat.
He wanted to cut the grass, but, well, two factors got in the way. One, the man who handles the landscaping at the Smoltz house was already on the case. And two, we’re not talking about your basic front lawn here: His house sits on 21 acres, and Smoltz says it usually takes him 7 hours to give his beloved grass the attention it deserves.

bostonherald.com
6/27/09

Parting Supersport 930
6/27/09

Hello all,

Today, I am leaving Supersport 930. For the last 6 years, Out of Bounds has been the afternoon or morning drive-time show on Supersport 930.
Many of you are the reason why the show has grown and evolved into what it is today….Thank you. With our sponsors as the board of directors and listeners
as stockholders – OOB has been one fast-paced, irreverent ride thru the Southeast. The GM and owner of Supersport 930 have been great to my family and me….I can’t thank them enough.

Starting July 6th, Out of Bounds will start a new adventure, on 105.9, a 50,000 watt FM station here in Jackson, MS – 7AM-10AM, Monday - Friday. 105.9 will be one of 4
50,000 watt FM sports talk radio stations in the SEC – the best league in the land.
105.9 will be an ESPN affiliate and carry Mississippi State football, basketball and baseball.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Jackson, MS (metro area +) is the best town in the SEC. With over 40,000 SEC alums and 500k pop. (1000s more sports fans)
in the area, no other city has the passion for college football like Jackson, MS…..positioned 2 ½ hours away or less from 4 SEC schools
is a tremendous asset, too.



From the heart of SEC country….All the best,
Bo Bounds
Host, The Out of Bounds Show
WZNO-105.9 The Zone

Melick: NBA needs to end foolish age restriction

It wasn't just Alabama and Auburn that got shut out of Thursday's NBA Draft.
How about the entire Southeastern Conference? Thursday marked only the fourth time in the past 25 years that the SEC has been completely left out of the first round of the NBA Draft.
That recruiting PR disaster comes on the heels of an NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic in which neither team had a player on its roster from an SEC school.

al.com
6/27/09

Video campaign part of promotional plan for MSU's Varnado

STARKVILLE — In his bright white Mississippi State basketball jersey, Jarvis Varnado is out of place walking around Mississippi State's campus on a recent scorching-hot afternoon.
That's the point.
With a film crew of a half-dozen setting up and filming his moves, like when he "blocked" a wadded-up piece of notebook paper thrown away by a student, the Bulldog center is becoming an acting star.

clarionledger.com
6/27/09

Hope and concern: Mississippi State

Biggest reason for hope: Strength up the middle on defense
Mississippi State needed an enforcer on defense and got one in the form of junior college newcomer Pernell McPhee, who was dominant this past spring from his tackle position. He's athletic enough to play end, but was such a force inside that the Bulldogs will keep him there. There were times on the practice field that he wrecked everything the offense was trying to do.

espn.com
6/26/09

Top 25 Intel: No. 6 Ohio State

Originally ranked below USC at No. 7, Ohio State moves up one spot after securing the services of No. 1 QB Terrelle Pryor. Pryor will get the benefit of not having to play right away."
-- ESPN's 2008 Recruiting Rankings
Well, maybe that didn't go quite according to plan.
For quarterback Terrelle Pryor, a year of marinating as a freshman, with some spot duty here and there, turned into a one-way ticket to the barbecue of college football. Here's the ball, kid, remember to keep an eye out for those USC linebackers.

espn.com
6/26/09

South Florida ready to take next step, dominate weak Big East

Once, while working as an assistant at Kansas State, Jim Leavitt tied his bicycle to the back of his car and drove three hours to Iowa. But when he arrived, ready to participate in a triathlon, he realized his car's exhaust pipes had melted the bike's spokes. Without a bike to ride, Leavitt took a page out of The Goonies and borrowed a three-speed bike from a young girl.
When Leavitt tells the story, in that raspy voice that makes it sound as if he just spent four hours barking at officials, it comes off as both self-effacing and as a testament to his tireless determination.

si.com
6/26/09

Rampant Rumors Fly Of Favre Home Purchase

We’ve gotten more than 50 but fewer than 100 e-mails over the past 24 hours from folks suggesting that quarterback Brett Favre has purchased a home in Minnesota.

profootballtalk.com
6/26/09

MSU’s Cohen feeling the scholarship squeeze ... but quietly

This is the time of year when college baseball coaches sharpen up their math skills.

It’s that time when guys like Mississippi State’s John Cohen retreat from the oppressive heat outside to the cool confines of his office, poring over a roster that he must somehow reconcile with the scholarship restrictions that would quickly raise the ire of his predecessor, Ron Polk.
Polk, now a volunteer assistant at UAB, doesn’t like the 11.7-scholarship limit set on baseball teams. And that total must be divvied among no more than 27 players – that number is reduced from 30 players this past year – and each player must receive at least a one-fourth scholarship.

nems360.com
6/26/09

Andy Kennedy on Varnado, MSU

I spoke earlier today with Ole Miss basketball coach Andy Kennedy. The main subject was a story I’m doing about one of his players, Terrico White, and MSU’s Jarvis Varnado, both of whom are playing for Team USA in separate international tournaments. White’s on the 19U team, Varnado’s on the World University Games squad.

nems360.com
6/26/09

NCAA delays Sidney interviews

STARKVILLE — Renardo Sidney's eligibility quest was temporarily sidetracked Thursday by sniping between the Mississippi State basketball signee's attorney and a representative from the governing body from which Sidney is seeking clearance.

clarionledger.com
6/26/09

Raise your hand if you think Alabama's Nick Saban has earned a new deal

Saban salary calculator
The University of Alabama's deal with Nick Saban in 2007 made him college football's highest-paid coach at the time. His contract, worth a guaranteed $32 million over eight years, remains among the biggest.
Try our calculator to see how your paycheck compares.
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Bob Stoops just got one. Urban Meyer is almost sure to get his. That raises a tough question in this economy.

Does Nick Saban deserve a raise? It's an easy answer.


al.com
6/26/09

Mid-Major College Sports Teams Face Giant Marketing Challenges

When elite college athletic departments such as the University of Florida, the Oklahoma Sooners and other BCS programs are forced to cut their budgets, you can only imagine the cost-cutting measures taken at the thousands of other universities.
For state universities and the Top-25 football programs, athletic department budgets are usually in healthy shape by the time September arrives. Then there's the vast majority of insitutions who are rarely featured on ESPN or in Sports Illustrated. They're forced to explore every possible avenue to generate fan interest and sell tickets.
Smaller athletic departments, such as my alma mater, Samford University, are comparable to small business trying to compete with the giant corporations.

marketingshift.com
6/24/09

Meyer's pay hike a costly problem

Urban Meyer still has four years remaining on a contract that will pay him more than $13 million during that period of time to be the head football coach at the University of Florida.
But, believe it or not, hands are wringing and throats are clearing as some followers of the program dare to ask: "Is it enough?"
That's the difficult situation Florida officials find themselves in, heading into the dog days of summer. Meyer has a deal to coach at Florida and he's been respectful -- and quiet -- about money. But Alabama coach Nick Saban and LSU coach Les Miles both have deals worth more than $500,000 over Meyer's current contract.

floridatoday.com
6/24/09

Who's not coming to the SEC media days

Now that we know what players are scheduled to be at the SEC media days, it's time to take a look at who won't be there ... and probably should.
Right off the bat, it's glaring that two of the best players in the league (and the top two receivers) won't be coming. Alabama's Julio Jones and Georgia's A.J. Green are both sophomores, though, and will get their shot next year.

espn.com
6/25/09

Top 25 Intel: No. 7 Ole Miss

Houston Nutt wasn't quite sure what he was getting himself into, in the beginning.
"They didn't have that spirit that you need, but when you don't win in conference for a ton of years, I don't know," said Nutt, searching for the words. "The mindset, it was worse than we thought. Confidence was bad. You need something good to happen."
It happened in Oxford, Miss., but Nutt could have been talking about another place as well.
In 1998, when Nutt took the helm at Arkansas, the Razorbacks were coming off back-to-back 4-7 seasons under Danny Ford. Nutt came in and led Arkansas to 9-3 and 8-4 records, respectively, in his first two seasons.

espn.com
6/25/09

Barry Switzer's wishbone: Gone and almost forgotten

Twenty years ago last week, Barry Switzer’s college football career ended. Switzer’s departure from OU also signaled the end of another gridiron institution.
The wishbone.
Few teams have run the ’bone in the last 20 years, mostly service academies, and OU bailed on it in 1989, Year 1 of Gary Gibbs’ six-year run as coach. Don’t blame Gibbs. Switzer himself had said that March that the ’bone might be scrapped.

newsok.com
6/25/09

Pac-10 Position Breakdown: Runningback - Oregon

The Oregon Ducks know how to run the football. Only the triple-option offense of Navy kept Oregon from having America’s best rushing attack in 2008. With over 280 yards per game on the ground, Oregon devastated it’s opponents with a potent combination of speed and power. Chip Kelly’s spread-offense produced two 1,000-yard rushers last season, only the second time in school history that it has happened. Throw in QB Jeremiah Masoli’s 718 yards on the ground, and it isn’t hard to see why the Ducks scored over 40 points a game in 2008.

allpac10.com
6/24/09

Quarterbacks who played in spread offense in high school are finding switch to pro-style offense difficult

Tyler Wilson worked from the shotgun throughout his stellar high school career. He threw for 8,161 yards and 92 touchdowns in his final two seasons while leading Greenwood High School to Arkansas 5A state championships both seasons.
Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Arkansas recruited him. He stayed in-state with the Razorbacks in 2008, and by all accounts, possesses a bright future.
If only he could run the offense from under center.
"It was new and very hard and frustrating for him," Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. "Personally, I didn't think it would take him that long, and I know he didn't think that. It was simply that he hadn't done that before. He hadn't even stepped in the huddle and called a play."

al.com
6/23/09

Tigers tame 'Horns, hook another title

OMAHA, NEB. — LSU, which two years ago wasn't good enough to qualify for its conference tournament, is the best team in college baseball again.
The Tigers won their sixth national title Wednesday night, breaking open Game 3 of the College World Series finals with a five-run sixth inning that carried them to an 11-4 victory over Texas.
Jared Mitchell hit a three-run homer in the first inning as LSU (56-17) built a 4-0 lead.
Texas (50-16-1) pulled even, but Mikie Mahtook's tie-breaking double ignited the Tigers' big sixth against the mistake-prone Longhorns.

clarionledger.com
6/25/09

A very early look at SEC basketball season

Two months ago the SEC was coming off a dismal men's basketball season, and as player after player declared for the draft, it looked like the league might have to wait to get stronger.
But then players kept withdrawing from the draft, including both of South Carolina's entrants. The only one to stay in was Kentucky's Jodie Meeks, but the Wildcats had already done enough to make his departure almost negligible.

Knowing who will be back in school, here's an early projection of how the SEC could finish next season:
EAST DIVISION
1. Kentucky | Ultimately, Meeks' decision to leave school only mattered for the national picture. Kentucky had long since become the prohibitive East favorite, thanks to new coach John Calipari's recruiting skills.

thesunnews.com
6/15/09

LSU's Thornton getting a lot of NBA draft interest

Marcus Thornton has worked out for “just about every (NBA) team,” he said entering Thursday’s draft.

For the most part, the workouts have gone well, said the former LSU guard who was the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year as a senior in 2008-2009.
The question is, how good? Or, more to the point, has the Baton Rouge native worked his way up from second-round prospect to a player who can go in the first round?
“That’s one of those things we have to wait until Thursday to find out,” NBA assistant director of scouting Ryan Blake said Tuesday. “He’s one of those second-rounders who could move into the first round.”

2theadvocate.com
6/23/09

Team of the decade countdown No. 8: 2003 LSU

The countdown to the team of the decade continues. We kicked things off yesterday with 2007 LSU at No. 9. Gotta put the Tigers in back-to-back.
No. 8: 2003 LSU Tigers (13-1)

The voters said: 2007 LSU Tigers, 94 votes, 2 percent
There is not much more of an indictment against the validity of your championship when there is a split national champion. LSU laid claim to the BCS title with a 21-14 win over Oklahoma in the BCS national championship game in the Sugar Bowl, while USC won The Associated Press national title.

orlandosentinel.com
6/23/09

UF's athletic budget increases $5.9 million

With universities and athletic programs cutting back because of the economic crisis, the University of Florida's athletic budget increased 7 percent to $89 million for the 2009-10 school year.
The projected 2009-10 budget, made public Monday, is up $5.9 million from the $83.1 million budget in the 2008-09 school year. To make up for the increased spending, every sport was asked to cut discretionary spending 10 percent.
That $5.9 million spending increase includes contributions made from the University Athletic Association to the university, as well as increasing scholarship costs because of rising tuition, capital improvements, paying out contractual bonuses to coaches and starting up the women's lacrosse team.

Athletics Director Jeremy Foley said there were certain items that couldn't be cut, including pension plans and health insurance for employees. Where the UAA felt it could trim, it did.

orlandosentinel.com
6/23/09

Sidney's attorney tackles NCAA process

Renardo Sidney will soon meet face-to-face with the NCAA, and the question on everyone's mind is: How long will this take?
The gears in Sidney's amateurism evaluation case are turning a little faster. Later this week, the NCAA should receive most of the information it has requested on the Mississippi State basketball signee and his family, according to family attorney Donald Jackson.
It's the next step for Sidney, whose saga took him from Mississippi to Los Angeles and back.

nems.com
6/23/09

Why the Robot Always Wins

Three great stories stood on the 18th green at the U.S. Open Monday. The players who embodied them had spent four hours listening to the screams and howls of fans urging them to deliver the sort of legendary performance they'd come to see.
But instead of lifting the winner's trophy, Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Ricky Barnes shared the second-place medal and watched their rival, the robotic Lucas Glover, kiss the most coveted hardware.
Welcome to the U.S. Open, the tournament that, more often than not, takes violins and smashes them.

wsj.com
6/23/09

Expect the best from New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston this season

Maybe Marques Colston simply was due for a little misfortune.

Having given him so much, maybe the football gods figured it was time to balance the scales and take away something. Something like, say, enough of Colston's health to dilute his dominance and basically spoil his 2008 NFL season, after blessing him with enough talent and circumstance that he rose from obscurity (the No. 252 overall pick in the 2006 draft, the fourth-from-last player drafted) to stardom (168 receptions in his first two seasons, an NFL record, for 2,240 yards and 19 touchdowns).

nola.com
6/23/09

C'mon NCAA, we all saw Tyrone Prothro catch that Brodie Croyle pass. You can't erase that.

Brodie Croyle never won a bowl game. Matt Caddell never scored a game-winning touchdown. And Tyrone Prothro most definitely never caught a pass behind a defender's head.

But didn't we watch Croyle throw for 275 yards and a touchdown to lead Alabama to a 13-10 win over Texas Tech in the 2006 Cotton Bowl? Don't we still have the photo of Caddell's leaping game-winner against Arkansas in 2007 win? Haven't we all seen more replays than we can count of Prothro's arms wrapped around the helmet of Southern Miss' Jasper Faulk, his hands firmly gripping the ball?
Sure we have. Prothro has the ESPY to prove it.
In the alternate reality of the NCAA, however, none of those things ever happened.

al.com
6/24/09

7 on 7 impacts high school football

Hazlehurst High quarterback Gabriel Gray had just thrown another touchdown pass.

It was a Tuesday evening in June, not a Friday night in September. No band blared in the background. No cheerleaders cheered on the sidelines.
Just a handful of spectators were gathered around the six fields located behind Hughes Field in Jackson.
It was just a game of two-hand touch, seven players against seven players - not even real football!
But Gray's coach, Todd McDaniel, was excited enough that he turned with a smile and gave a high five to one of his assistants.

clarionledger.com
6/24/09

This football fest is for the ladies....Ole Miss

It started as an idea that ran around inside of Chyna Ward's head for a year before she presented it to her boss, then-Ole Miss football coach David Cutcliffe. He liked the idea and gave her his Christmas card list as a database. That happened three coaches ago, and now, Ward, the Ole Miss head football coach secretary/executive assistant, is getting ready to host her ninth Ole Miss Ladies' Football Forum on July 18 at 7:15 a.m. in Oxford at the school's indoor practice facility (central air in July is a beautiful thing). It has become a wildly popular event that drew more than 500 females last year from ages 7 to 83, and it has been copied by many schools.

commercialappeal.com
6/21/09

Vols specific about QB qualities for 2010; Kiffin rates brains ahead of big arm

When it comes to finding a quarterback, Tennessee offensive coordinator Jim Chaney isn't too picky. He's got two major qualifications. "Just get a kid with a brain. A brain and an arm, I think that goes a helluva long way," he said.
How's that for a simple job requirement?
"I think you can train them to do whatever you want them to do,'' Chaney said. "When they get here, they're sponges for the most part and they want to learn."
Given the choice, UT coach Lane Kiffin would rather go heavy on the brain.

govolsxtra.com
6/20/09

Manning waiting on Kiffin ">Manning waiting on Kiffin

How has Lane Kiffin done so far as Tennessee's head football coach?

Peyton Manning can't answer that question.
The former Vol and current Indianapolis Colts quarterback said it will be at least two years before he can properly evaluate Kiffin, who was announced Dec. 1, 2008, as the 21st head football coach at Tennessee.
"Kind of what I've learned, it's kind of like when we draft players with the Colts," Manning said Monday morning at Fox Den Country Club during a break in a golf tournament fund-raiser. "Two weeks after the draft they say 'well how was the draft?' I used to be wrong. I used to say 'this guy is great and on and on.'

govolsxtra.com
6/22/09

Saints promote Lauscha to executive VP, CFO

METAIRIE, La. -- The New Orleans Saints have promoted executive Dennis Lauscha, who helped the team negotiate a lease extension for the Louisiana Superdome.

Saints owner Tom Benson announced Monday that Lauscha, who is entering his 12th season with the club, has been promoted to executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Lauscha, a graduate of Jesuit High School in New Orleans, played a leading role in a deal to keep the Saints playing in the Superdome through 2025, an agreement that included upgrades to the stadium and Benson's purchase of a downtown office tower.
"His work affects everything the Saints are able to accomplish, on and off the field," Benson said.

sunherald.com
6/22/09

Kenny Jackson from Ole Miss new ICC dcoordinator

Itawamba Community College head football coach Jeff Terrill didn’t have to look far to find his new defensive coordinator.
Kenny Jackson has been Terrill’s defensive line coach the last five years, four of which he has mentored a lineman that finished among the nation’s top five in sacks, and now he’ll add coordinator on defense to his responsibilities on the line.
“I just believe the experience Kenny has gained has made him ready and able to be an excellent defensive coordinator in this league,” said Terrill, who had been the program’s defensive coordinator the last four seasons.

nems.com
6/23/09

Things are set to heat up in SEC

"Hot enough for ya?"

As cliché as it is, I have heard that catchy line 100 times — at least it has seemed that way — the past few days. I have wanted to offer a snappy, sarcastic-laced reply each time it was offered, but I couldn't. It was just too hot to muster the effort.
But to answer the question, yeah, it's hot. Real hot. And for some, it's going to get hotter in the coming days, and that's not a reference restricted to temperature readings and heat index.
Here are some, living under the SEC sun, who will be feeling the heat soon, if they aren't already:
-- Ole Miss' Houston Nutt: The Rebels and their head coach have been riding the wave of optimism since their Cotton Bowl win over Texas Tech.
Ole Miss is a preseason top 10 pick in most polls and is being touted as the team to beat in the SEC West.

al.com
6/22/09

Spread QBs adjust to playing under center

I was taken aback last month at the SEC spring meetings in Destin, Fla., to hear Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino discuss one of his quarterbacks. Petrino raved about Wilson's skills but talked candidly about his difficulties doing a very basic thing for QBs: Play from under center.

It's not just Wilson. The proliferation of spread offenses run predominantly out of the shotgun means some quarterbacks must be later trained on basic fundamentals from under center, as I wrote about today in The Birmingham News.
The spread offense -- a wide-ranging term that encompasses many different styles -- started becoming popular in college football about 10 years ago, and it's continued to grow. Urban Meyer proved at Florida you can win big with it.

al.com
6/23/09

After coaching at UA or AU, it's all downhill

What do Bill Curry, Terry Bowden and Mike DuBose all have in common?
They've all coached in the Iron Bowl.
OK. Too easy. What else?
Give up?

They're the only men who've coached in the Iron Bowl who, at this very moment, are working somewhere else as head coaches.
Curry is the new head coach at Georgia State, which is starting a program from scratch to compete in Division I-AA. He'll finish his first season in 2010 at Alabama.
Bowden is the new head coach at Division II North Alabama.
DuBose is preparing for his fourth season at Division III Millsaps.

al.com
6/23/09

In defeat, Phil Mickelson knows what matters

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. - Disappointment was etched on his face once again, but the lines did not run so deep this time for Phil Mickelson.
He lost another U.S. Open and contributed once again to his own demise in the final frustrating holes at Bethpage Black, finishing tied for second for a record fifth time behind an unknown named Lucas Glover. No storybook finish. No more roaring crowd of loving supporters, who had followed him during a soggy week on Long Island but seemed to leave when he did. Defeat is always an orphan.
Yet losing didn’t carry the same sting this year. The hurt was still there, but life intervened a month ago with real pain, not sporting pain. It brought him the kind of pain that carries with it real fear, not sporting fear.

bostonherald.com
6/23/09

Fehr's legacy: More money, less ethics

Maybe the best way to explain Donald Fehr is that he was very good, maybe even too good, at his job. It's just that he could not or would not grasp what his job could have and should have been.

If the union chief's sole responsibility was to pump up player salaries, then the brilliant and quick-witted Fehr was a smashing success. Clearly, that is how he evaluated himself. The fact that his own income was tied directly to the average player's salary may have had something to do with his point of view.
But if the head of the union had some accountability for the long-term health and well-being of both the players and the game that enriched them all, then Fehr's tenure can only be considered a wretched failure.
This seeming paradox can best be explained with a single name: Alex Rodriguez.

philly.com
6/23/09

How the Patriots morphed from a Cape house into an NFL titan

If Mary Sullivan had had her way, the New England Patriots might never have become a reality.

The wife of Patriots founder Billy Sullivan had a dream — and a savings account to match — for a summer home on Massachusetts' Cape Cod. But her husband persuaded Mary to wait on the Cape home as he and nine partners invested $25,000 to purchase the start-up American Football League's final franchise charter in 1959.
It was a humble beginning to a team that would, more than four decades later, become one of the NFL's titans. But it made Sullivan, who died in 1998, the godfather of professional football in New England.

"I can't help but think if he just drove around Boston to see how many cars have Patriots stickers on the back," says Sullivan's son, Patrick, the team's general manager from 1983 to 1991.

usatoday.com
6/21/09

Alabama's Nick Saban says bring on Notre Dame

In the oft-muddled and rumor-thick world of football scheduling, hope and reality are often very, very different matters. But it is interesting that Alabama coach Nick Saban continues to voice his interest in playing big-name opponents, and it is interesting that Notre Dame keeps coming up in the discussion.
"Let's say you had four or five teams," Saban told the Birminghham News. "Notre Dame, Penn State, (schools) that had some sort of connection with the history and tradition of this school. And you just roll home-and-homes (on and off the schedule) so the fans could relate a little bit and look forward to playing that particular team."

Continuing, Saban added: "Like maybe we play Penn State this year, Notre Dame next year... Texas, Southern Cal -- if you just got those and just kind of rolled (them over). It would make it easier for scheduling, too."

chicagosports.com
6/19/09

A sweet new suite for Alabama coach Nick Saban?

So, there was something relatively interesting that came out of Thursday's meeting of the Alabama System Board of Trustees besides President Robert Witt's comments about AD Mal Moore.
We knew about a few of the construction projects that were up for approval, but then there was one more that was passed by the Physical Properties Committee.
The Mal Moore Athletic Facility is getting a $1.3 million face lift for cosmetic improvement that includes sprucing up Nick Saban's "suite."

al.com
6/19/09

North Texas is gearing up to become the country’s top college football destination

With the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington and efforts to attract more big games to Fair Park, the Dallas-Fort Worth area is making a run at becoming the nation’s capital of college football, financially and on the field.

The five games in Arlington this coming season, including the Big 12 Conference championship game and the AT&T Cotton Bowl, should generate more than $50 million in ticket, food, beverage, merchandise, parking and sponsorship revenue for the participating teams and the Cowboys, according to a recent analysis.
That’s on par with annual revenue at football powers like Penn State and LSU, according to Department of Education statistics.
Add four games at Fair Park in Dallas, the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth and the area’s three Bowl Subdivision teams — TCU, SMU and North Texas — and college football probably will account for well over $100 million in revenue here this season.

star-telegram.com
6/20/09

Ruling could give Bobby Bowden more leisure time

For the first time, Bobby Bowden actually seems as old as his 79 years. He's sitting in the "Bobby Bowden Room" of the Roebuck Golf Course on a Saturday morning, towel draped around his neck, wide-brimmed hat covering his head, trying to delay going out into the heat of June to play a round of golf at the old course in East Lake.
Bowden is recovering from a bout of shingles and he knows he can't afford to get overheated.
"I hate it," Bowden said. "This is the time of year I get to come back to Birmingham and play golf, to go visit old friends and play on this course or that course. I've been doing this for 30 years and it's become something I can't wait for it to happen.

"Then I get sick."

al.com
6/22/09

College football recruiters are using Twitter, quickly outpacing NCAA rules

Florida State assistant football coach James Coley takes some gentle ribbing from co-workers if they're nearby when his thumbs mambo across his BlackBerry keyboard to tap out yet another tweet.
"Things hit you during the day, and you say, 'I'm going to share this,' " said Coley, the tight ends coach-recruiting coordinator and lone member of the FSU football staff on Twitter. "It's become a part of what I do. I do get heckled for it, but it's up to me to carry the technology torch."

So he tweets.

tampabay.com
6/20/09

LSU quickly gets things back on track with Mainieri

OMAHA, Neb.— Two years after failing to even qualify for the Southeastern Conference postseason tournament, LSU is playing for a national championship in baseball again.
Paul Mainieri has rebuilt the Tigers in the image of Skip Bertman’s powerful teams of the 1990s, with dominant pitching and hitting carrying LSU into the best-of-three College World Series finals against No. 1 national seed Texas starting Monday.

“This team is as good as any LSU team in the 1990s,” Bertman said with emphasis Saturday.

sunherald.com
6/20/09

NFL commish enforces his own brand of supplemental justice

TUPELO - It's been almost two years since we added Chipper to the family, a decision made with no small amount of thought.
The idea of a puppy sounds really good, but the idea of puppy maintenance - and to whom those responsibilities would fall - gave the home's more seasoned residents some reservations.
That's water under the bridge now. Chipper's been a great addition, though his taste for the nearest television remote has been frustrating at times.
A beagle mix, he has given the family a great deal of affection, and I'd have a hard time seeing him in a puppy mill. I'd also have a hard time seeing him in Michael Vick's dog fighting ring.

nems.com
6/20/09

Super D - Wilson still rocks the rock at age 36

Brian Alexander didn't have to watch the tryout session very long to know Daryl Wilson would become a member of his Tupelo Rock-N-Rollers professional basketball team.
Wilson, 36, "was outperforming 22- and 23-year-olds," said Tupelo's coach. "We knew the talent was there."
Wilson, the shooting star of Mississippi State's 1996 Final Four team, has not let his coach or teammates down.

nems.com
6/21/09

New Orleans Saints are flying under the radar this offseason

Is it just me or has the New Orleans Saints offseason seemed interminably long this year?

Seems like forever ago that defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs was fired and the savior Gregg Williams was hired to work his miracles at the Saints' facility on Airline Drive.
Doesn't it seem like Deuce McAllister, Mike McKenzie, Brian Young and Hollis Thomas have been gone for ages, rather than months?
With the 2009 season less than three months away, the Saints and their overhauled defense are flying under the radar nationally. Scorned pundits have understandably turned their backs on the Saints after watching them fall woefully short of Super Bowl expectations the previous two years.

nola.com
6/21/09

No chance for Chizik? Bowden starred in that movie himself

FLORENCE -- Terry Bowden has been back in Alabama for only five and a half months, but he's heard it, and he can't believe it.
The cynicism. The sarcasm. The absolute dismissal of a coach who's yet to lead his new team onto the field when it counts.
Bowden has a message for all the doubters and haters.
Don't count him out. Don't write him off.
Who? Bowden at North Alabama?
No. Gene Chizik at Auburn.

al.com
6/21/09

On Father's Day, it isn't winning or losing; it's about playing the game with Dad

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- We are, in important ways, our history. We add to the story, but the sum is always greater than us.
On Father's Day, it is worth remembering that the men who helped give us life also gave us ideals, aspirations, and the challenge of high expectations. For Baby Boomers, their triumphs gave us the world we still have, although it has seen better days. Worse ones, too, but those concerns are for other sections of the paper to discuss.

Here in the sports section on Father's Day, maybe our goal should be simply to hand down our love for games. There are many worse things to pass on, like bigotry and fear.

cleveland.com
6/20/09

Jarrett Payton on his dad, Walter: 'He would be so proud'

Being the son of Walter Payton can be a blessing and a curse.

Expectations always have been over the top for Jarrett Payton, who signed a contract June 6 with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.
Before heading into a team meeting recently, Jarrett reflected on what his father's reaction might have been if he were alive this Father's Day.
"I think he would be so proud of me," Payton, 28, said. "He always taught me that you never give up and you go until you can't go anymore. I had this opportunity and I just said: 'You know what, I am going to try this one more time. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't. But I am going to give my all and leave everything out on the field.' "

chicagotribune.com
6/21/09

Baseball heaven? Gotta be Fenway

A week that began in Omaha, Neb., at storied Rosenblatt Stadium ends in Boston at more storied and even more beautiful Fenway Park.

This is my own version of an extended stay in baseball heaven.
What Rosenblatt and Fenway have in common is that especial charm old ballparks in old neighborhoods retain through the decades.
What they don't have in common is this: a future.
Rosenblatt, built on a hilltop in south Omaha in 1947, is not long for this world. Already under construction in downtown Omaha is Ameritrade Stadium, a $128 million project scheduled for completion in time for the 2011 College World Series.

clarionledger.com
6/21/09

An NCAA compliance coordinator's work is never done

STARKVILLE — In the fall of 2001, Bracky Brett had just completed his 24th season as a high school football coach - and in this case, also assistant principal and athletic director at tiny Hamilton in Monroe County.
Somewhere, he saw an ad. Mississippi State, his alma mater, needed an NCAA compliance coordinator. As a coach who had dealt with recruiting rules before, he figured he'd give it a shot and answer the ad.
He got the job.
Six months later, State learned it was being investigated by the NCAA for alleged major violations within its football program.

clarionledger.com
6/21/09

O'Neill replaces Floyd as Trojans coach

Kevin O'Neill, whose departure from Arizona made headlines in 2008, returned to college basketball with the announcement he has been hired as USC's men's basketball coach following the resignation of former coach Tim Floyd.

O'Neill told ESPN.com's Andy Katz on Saturday afternoon he interviewed for the job Friday morning in Los Angeles, and accepted the offer Friday night. O'Neill said he dealt with no one but USC athletic director Mike Garrett.
"I'm really excited," O'Neill said. "It's gotten a little crazy over there [USC]. I really think I'm a good fit at this time for the program."
O'Neill was flying home Saturday to his summer home in upstate N.Y. and was scheduled to return to Los Angeles on Sunday morning in advance of the Monday press conference to introduce him as coach.

espn.com
6/20/09