Albany State University survives long, long day

ALBANY, GA — Albany State interim baseball coach Kenyan Conner was momentarily speechless following Friday night’s SIAC Tournament game against Miles. Then he aptly described his team’s 18-12 win. “Long,” he said about the four-hour game where his team nearly blew a 15-0 lead.

The sixth-seeded Rams hung on and are still alive in the SIAC Tournament, but now they have no room for error entering the final two days of the event.

After committing five errors in a 5-3 quarterfinal loss to the No. 2 seed Stillman College Tigers, the Rams avoided bowing out of the double elimination tournament Friday at Paul Eames Sports Complex by knocking off Miles.

'Bama athletes think about home

ALBANY, GA - Some people who survived those storms in Alabama are in Albany this week at the SIAC Baseball Tournament. While they're playing ball or rooting for their teams, all of them said their hearts are back home.

The Stillman College baseball Tigers from Tuscaloosa had a former teammate killed in the tornadoes that flattened their town. Three members of the Miles College baseball Bears from Birmingham lost their rental homes at school, while two players' families lost their homes.

Many of the fans at today's games lived through the killer storms. Katie Watkins' fiance is one of the coaches for Stillman College's baseball team. She was in her apartment in Northport during the tornadoes. "He had gone to be with a girl, to protect her...

Defending champion Rams open 2011 SIAC tourney today at home

ALBANY, GA — When Albany State junior shortstop William Smalls talks, interim baseball coach Kenyon Conner said his team listens. That was clear during Wednesday afternoon’s practice when Smalls spoke about preparing for this week’s SIAC baseball tournament, which starts today at Paul Eames Park.

“We are ready to play, man,” the SIAC Player of the Year candidate said. “Just like in the military, get your soldiers up and get ready to go to war.” “War” starts today at 10 a.m. when the No. 6 Rams (25-23 overall, 10-5 SIAC) host No. 3 Tuskegee (16-15, 11-4) in the opener of the eight-team, double-elimination tournament.

The Rams, who have won 11 of their last 18 games, hosted and won last year’s SIAC Tournament. Conner said pressure to repeat lingers in the back of his players’ minds.

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William "Billy" Joe named head football coach at Miles College

by beepbeep

Former Florida A&M University head football coach William "Billy" Joe has been named the head football coach at Division II, Miles College, Fairfield, Alabama. The legendary Coach Joe is a young 67 years old and a member of both the FAMU Hall of Fame and National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame.

Joe has a career coaching record of 237-108-4 (.685) in 31 seasons as a head football coach. Few coaches can match the unparalleled gridiron success of Billy Joe's storied career.

Joe has won seven National Black College Football Championships and two NAIA national titles, as one of the most highly decorated black college football coaches in history. His 237 victories places him in second place behind the late Eddie Robinson (Grambling State) for victories at historical black college and universities and places him fourth in the Football Championship Subdivision's all-time winningest coach ranks.

Joe is legendary for his high powered Gulf Coast Offense (no huddle-spread offense) that he perfected in 11 seasons at Florida A&M, winning 86 games. Joe led the Rattlers to an unprecedented five Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) titles, while garnering three of the conference's Coach of the Year accolades. His Rattlers went to the NCAA I-AA football championship playoffs for seven conecutive seasons and played in the national semifinals in 1999. Joe compiled 26 winning seasons and coached five Black College National Players of the Year.

In addition to his stop at FAMU (1994-2004), Joe was the head coach at Central State University (Ohio) (1981-93) and Cheyney University (Pa.) (1972-78).

Joe has been out of coaching since he was fired in 2005 by an interim president, in the wake of an NCAA investigation of the FAMU athletics program. Joe sued the school over a salary dispute and settled out of court after the NCAA found the coach was not to blame for any of the multiple eligibility issue violations uncovered. Highly respected among his peers, he served as vice president of the American Football Coaches Association in 1993 and was elected president of the organization in 1995.

"This brings a whole lot to our program," Miles Athletics Director, Augustus James said Tuesday. "A different caliber of student-athlete will be drawn to our program. People want to play for a legend."

Joe is replacing Wade Streeter, who was fired December 6, after his seventh Golden Bears' team finished winless in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Miles College was 2-9 in 2007 after going 5-5 in 2006, although the Golden Bears forfeited all their wins after it was discovered an ineligible player had participated during the season. Miles is still awaiting to hear from the NCAA regarding its investigation of the eligibility violations, which will also affect the men's basketball team.

Streeter was 35-41 in seven seasons at Miles, with his 2003 and 2004 teams both going 7-4 for the best back-to-back finishes in school history. His SIAC record was 27-28 and he served previously as offensive coordinator at Miles from 1994 to 1996. He was fired with time remaining on his contract, but neither he nor Miles administrators would say how much.

According to a news release, Miles stated Streeter was released because they want to win more games so they can earn more money in ticket sales.

Coach Joe, who played seven years in the NFL for three teams and won a Super Bowl as part of the 1968 New York Jets is noted for developing record setting passing quarterbacks, like Ben Dougherty, Casey Printers (CFL Hamilton Ticats) and Quinn Gray (NFL Jacksonville Jaguars).

A five year contract was signed by Coach Joe with the Golden Bears.