Lady Hawks' Jessica Worsley Named 2008 MEAC Woman of the Year

NORFOLK, Va. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore's (UMES) Jessica Worsley was named the 2008 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Woman of the Year during an awards luncheon held at the Sheraton Waterside Hotel in Norfolk, Virginia.

"This is such an accomplishment and an honor," said Worsley in her acceptance remarks. "It is a very prestigious award and a nice recognition of sorts for the four years of hard work and effort put into academics and athletics."

The award, selected annually by the MEAC Senior Woman Administrators, celebrates
the achievements of senior student-athletes who have excelled in academics, athletics, service and leadership.

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TSU Cole rebuilds teams and his reputation

He lands SWAC job with fresh slate from NCAA

BIRMINGHAM - Johnnie Cole is a fixer-upper. The new head coach at Texas Southern has developed a reputation of rebuilding ailing football programs. He did it at Tennessee State along with his brother, L.C. Then he did it at Alabama State and, most recently, at Division II Lane College in Jackson, Tenn.

Now Cole is embarking on perhaps his biggest rebuilding project yet - trying to revitalize the moribund program at his alma mater, Texas Southern, which was 0-11 last season. "I'm in familiar territory," Cole said Tuesday during the Southwestern Athletic Conference's annual Media Day and Kickoff Luncheon. "I joke with people that I don't know if I could take a job that was already established. I can put my brand on it and implement the same system we've had in other places."

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FAMU Camp Leads a Drumbeat for a Marching Band’s Style

Excerpt:

In the nation’s historically black colleges, marching bands have long provided far more than “The Star-Spangled Banner” for football crowds, and none, arguably, has grown more famous than Florida A&M’s.

The group’s traditional and official name, the Marching 100, is a rare bit of false modesty: the group now numbers upward of 350 musicians, drum majors and flag-carriers. The unit has built a national, even global, following with appearances at the Super Bowl, both of President Bill Clinton’s inaugural parades, the Grammy Awards and the bicentennial of the French Republic.

The Marching 100 has created a revolution in band style, radically infusing the traditional catalog of songs and formations with the sounds and dances of black popular culture. “It slides, slithers, swivels, rotates, shakes, rocks and rolls,” the band’s founding director, Prof. William P. Foster, wrote in his memoirs. “It leaps to the sky, does triple twists, and drops to earth without a flaw, without missing either a beat or a step.”

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2008 FAMU Summer Band Camp Half-Time Show, Parade, Dance Routine & More

2008 Florida A&M University Summer Band Camp - Total: 450 middle & high school students

Florida A&M University Summer Band Camp Parade July 24, 2008

Florida A&M University Summer Band Camp Dance Routine
The Saxophone Choir performs a medley of cartoon themes: "The Simpsons, Flintstones, Inspector Gadget, & Family Guy" conducted by FAMU Professor Diron T. Holloway and arranged by Chandler Wilson.

Dr. Julian E. White talks about life at the FAMU Marching "100" Summer Band Camp in this excerpt.

S.C. State Bulldogs picked to win MEAC Football Crown

NORFOLK, VA – For the second consecutive year, South Carolina State (7-4, 6-2 MEAC) has been picked to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football championship, edging out defending champion Delaware State (10-0, 8-0 MEAC) in an announcement made at the league’s annual Football Press Luncheon.

Coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough's Bulldogs have the conference championship target on their backs again in 2008 (Mark's Digital Photography).

Also, the Bulldogs (7-4, 6-2 MEAC) placed 10 players on the preseason All-MEAC squad, among them junior running back Will Ford, tabbed as preseason Offensive Player of the Year, and one of five S.C. State players earning first-team honors.

In being named as the team to beat in the MEAC again, Coach Buddy Pough’s team, which has finished tied for runner-up in the league the last two seasons, received 272 points to 252 for Coach Al Lavan and the 2007 champion Hornets.

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SCSU Bulldogs 2008 Football Schedule

Date Opponent Location Time/Result
8/30/2008 UCF Orlando, FL 6 PM
9/6/2008 BENEDICT$ Orangeburg, SC 6 PM
9/13/2008 BETHUNE-COOKMAN Charleston, SC 4 PM
9/20/2008 Clemson Clemson, SC 1 PM
9/27/2008 Winston-Salem State Winston-Salem, NC 6:00 PM
10/4/2008 * Florida A&M Tallahassee, FL 6 PM
10/11/2008 * NORFOLK STATE ! Orangeburg, SC 1:30 PM
10/18/2008 Open TBA
10/25/2008 * HAMPTON Orangeburg, SC 2:00 PM
11/1/2008 * Delaware State Dover, DE TBA
11/6/2008 * HOWARD Orangeburg, SC 7:30 PM
11/15/2008 * Morgan State Baltimore, MD 4:00 PM
11/22/2008 * North Carolina A&T TBA 1:30 PM

Home Games are in bold
Neutral Site Games are in italics
* Denotes a conference game.

!-Denotes Homecoming
$-Denotes Hall of Fame Game

Head Coach: Oliver "Buddy" Pough (Sixth Season)
Asst. Head Coach/Def. Line/Def. Ends: David Blanchard
Asst. Coaches: Demetrius Davis (Off. Line/Tightends); Joe Blackwell (Off. Coordinator/Off. Line); Gerald Harrison (Def. Line/Tackles); Mike Adams( Def. Coordinator/Linebackers); Maurice Drayton (Secondary); Kevin Magouirk (Quarterbacks); Howard Feggins (Receivers); Daniel Lewis (Running Backs/Recruiting Coordinator); Joel Taylor (Defensive Assistant ); Rawn Miro (Videographer).

Car Crash Kills Alcorn State Athlete; Two Other Alcorn Student Athletes Injured

FAYETTE, Miss. -- Alcorn State University officials said that a car crash has claimed the life of freshman football player Ladarrius Adams. The wreck, which occurred on Highway 61 south near Fayette early Friday morning, also injured D'Angelo Buckner and Isaac Williams. The university said that Buckner and Williams are also incoming freshmen and members of the football team.

Adams was a native of Fort Meyers, Florida and was recruited as a running back to Alcorn State. Buckner and Williams are natives of Clinton, Mississippi and were recruited as corner back and offensive lineman, respectively.

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Minnesota Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson not offended by Brett Favre speculation

Former Alabama State University Hornets quarterback Tarvaris Jackson handles Favre speculation with maturity.

MANKATO — Tarvaris Jackson said the Brett Favre speculation would never have come up if Jackson were an established, proven quarterback. But he's not. The Vikings reportedly are considered Favre's ideal destination if he were to work his way out of Green Bay, with which he remains under contract. Jackson has heard all the speculation regarding Favre, and he's taking it in stride. He said he's not offended by the talk.

"I know I've got to get better to the point where if it happens again with any other guy, it wouldn't be a question," Jackson said today after the first practice of training camp at Minnesota State Mankato. "I've still got some improving to do, and I know that. It's only speculation. I know it was going to happen because the type of quarterback he is, and I haven't proved myself yet."

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MEAC expresses academic concerns

Photo: Florida A&M University director of athletics, William "Bill" Hayes

NORFOLK, Va. — There's no middle ground when it comes to meeting the NCAA-mandated Academic Progress Report standards. That was the message FAMU athletic director Bill Hayes and other MEAC officials heard for more than 90 minutes Thursday.

Hayes came away from the all-day meeting, promising to make FAMU a flagship school for graduating student-athletes. FAMU will use money from a grant it recently received to hire a full-time monitor to gauge athletes' classroom performance, Hayes said.

"We're going to put more teeth into it," he said. "We've got to have better supervision. It can't be lax. It's got to be matter-of-fact. Once we do that you will see an improvement." FAMU's APR rating wasn't immediately available, but in a recent report it hovered close to 50 percent.

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A long, happy journey for SSU's Jessie Kenlaw

Savannah State University graduate now interim head coach for WNBA team, Washington Mystics

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Jessie Kenlaw, while at Savannah State in the 1970s, was among a group of students who petitioned the office of the president to begin a women's basketball program. Their efforts paid off after a few years as Kenlaw played in her only season as a senior, 1976-77, when she was named the team's most valuable player. The Guyton native said the school did not offer basketball scholarships for women at the time.

"We knew there was a lot of talented players there through AAU, travel teams and intramurals," said Kenlaw, who graduated from Savannah State with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1977. "We had to fight but we ended up getting it." Some 30 years later it was a person in authority - general manager Linda Hargrove of the WNBA's Washington Mystics - who recently came to Kenlaw with a proposal. Hargrove asked Kenlaw to take over as the interim head coach of the Mystics.

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MVSU Delta Devils seek fresh start

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Last year, Steven Fulbright experienced the nightmare of any senior player who sweated through an entire offseason of work: He was injured, lost for the season with a ligament tear in his knee, on the first play of Mississippi Valley State's first game. So how did the defensive back deal with this crushing disappointment?

"Every game, I was in the press box writing down the plays," he said. "I learned more about the game and I just learned a lot being in the press box with the coaches, and learning the game from a higher point of view."

If anything gives Valley coach Willie Totten reason to believe his team can shake off its 3-8 season from a year ago and return to winning ways, it's players like Fulbright. He'll return, the recipient of a medical redshirt, with added knowledge about the game and a bunch of optimism, too.

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Alcorn Braves planning to aim high

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Anyone paying attention to the Alcorn State football program can tell there's a stark difference between the lively new coach Ernest Jones and his stoic predecessor Johnny Thomas. But as the saying goes, "Talk is cheap." Jones can say all the right things, but if players don't buy what he's selling none of it will matter for a team picked to finish dead last in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Eastern Division.

But when Emmanuel Arceneaux drops the phrase, "It's a new day," in a casual conversation at the Southwestern Athletic Conference Media Day in Birmingham, you get the feeling he's been paying attention to the new face of Alcorn football. "It did need to change," said Arceneaux, the team's top returning receiver. "The mindset is the pride and tradition that he's trying to bring back to Alcorn. No disrespect to the former coaches, but they came in and gave a boost of energy. Everything is just fired up."

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Reid seeking redemption at Texas Southern

BIRMINGHAM — He has yet to coach a game at Texas Southern, but Johnnie Cole has already made a big splash in the name recognition of his new transfer quarterback.

It's Bobby Reid, who started 27 games in an up-and-down three-season career at Oklahoma State. But while Reid is a household name maybe only to Oklahoma State fans, he was the spark for something that became household to college football fans nationwide - the press conference rant of his coach, Mike Gundy, when he disagreed with an Oklahoma City newspaper columnist who wrote about Reid last year.

The press conference video gained infamy on YouTube.com. And while Reid criticized Gundy in an ESPN The Magazine article earlier this year, it was clear that on Tuesday, he didn't want to dwell on it.



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Colts sign ex-Jaguars QB Quinn Gray

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Indianapolis Colts have added depth to their quarterback position by signing Quinn Gray. The former Jacksonville Jaguars backup signed a one-year contract with the Colts on Wednesday, according to his agent.

“This is a fresh start for Quinn and I’m confident he will take full advantage of it,’’ agent Drew Rosenhaus said this morning. “He’s getting an opportunity to work in a great offense with a great coaching staff.’’ Gray, 29, appeared in 11 games, four as a starter, with Jacksonville the past three seasons. He’s 2-2 as a starter.

Photo: Former Florida A & M University Rattlers QB Quinn Gray signed with Indianapolis Colts, his third NFL team.

A report by the NFL Network said the Colts also have signed ex-New York Giants quarterback Jared Lorenzen.

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Taylor enjoys FAMU project

Joe Taylor looks to resurrect Florida A & M's football fortunes, just as he did Hampton's.

Joe Taylor is more of a jazz than a rock guy. But his 20-day road trek during the late spring and early summer — stops in Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville included — was as frenetic as a rock tour. The purpose was similar, too: Generate excitement and money. Taylor hit the road to rally the alumni of Florida A&M, where he became head football coach seven months ago.

"I hope I have one more resurrection left in me," said Taylor, who coached at Hampton University for 16 seasons before moving in January to FAMU. "The support I'm getting from the alumni is great. I just hope I can live up to their expectations.

Photo: FAMU head football coach Joe Taylor by Mark's Digital Photography.

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SCSU football wraps up summer workouts

The roles were much different for Terrance Smith and Malcolm Long the last time they suited up for South Carolina State at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. Long backed up Cleveland McCoy at quarterback as Smith was making the “Centennial Catch” to defeat Morgan State last November.

As the Bulldogs completed night workouts on Tuesday, the two players had undergone some role changes. Long was once again displaying the strong arm which made him so coveted out of Gaffney by head coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough. This summer, however, he’s taken on a more assertive role as the new starting quarterback.

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Coppin State, Jackson State to be nationally televised

It appears from the following article that Coppin State University Eagles (MEAC) and Jackson State University Tigers (SWAC) will get a win-fall by having their game at Kansas being nationally televised. Regardless, the Tigers and Eagles will have severe difficulty in being competitive in this game. The 2007-08 Jayhawks won the school’s fifth national championship, winning their last 13 games to finish 37-3.

Entire Kansas Men’s Basketball Schedule to be Nationally Televised in 2008-09

“This will be as difficult a schedule as we will have played since we’ve been here,” said Kansas head coach Bill Self, who is 142-32 in five seasons at KU. “We’ve got a great home schedule with Tennessee, Temple, UMass, Siena, Kent State, Coppin State and Jackson State, all of whom will be picked at or near the top of their conferences. The Big 12 home schedule will be tough, with Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Texas from the south, in addition to the north schools.”

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SWAC expands TV football schedule

The SWAC added four television listings to this season’s slate: Alcorn State at Grambling on Sept. 6 on ESPN Classic, Grambling at Northwestern State on Sept. 13 on the Southland Conference TV Network, Jackson State vs. Tennessee State in the Southern Heritage Classic on Sept. 13 on SportSouth and Texas Southern at Texas State on Oct. 4 on the Southland Network.

The Nov. 20 matchup between Grambling State and Texas Southern has moved to the Alamodome in San Antonio. The kickoff time remains at 8 p.m. and the game will be televised live on ESPNU.

Also, the conference revealed Southern’s home game with Florida A&M on Oct. 18 will be televised on a tape-delayed basis. The game starts at 6 p.m. but will be televised at 9:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

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Two Hornets on All-SWAC first team

BIRMINGHAM -- When Alabama State football coach Reggie Barlow began making preparations to attend this year's Southwestern Athletic Conference media day, he found himself facing a tough choice: Who would he take?

It's customary for coaches to take along two players to the preseasonmedia events -- one offensive representative and one defensive representative. Finding a defensive rep was no problem. The Hornets have a roster stacked with recognizable -- and in some cases feared -- defensive players.

The offensive rep, however, was a bit more troublesome. ASU doesn't have an experienced quarterback or running back returning, none of the returning wideouts were particularly dominant last season and the offensive line still has big question marks.

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Norfolk State's Bell takes deal, avoids jail time

Former football player will receive probation after pulling kitchen knife

Former Penn State football player Christopher Bell accepted a plea deal offered by the commonwealth Tuesday, avoiding jail time for an April incident during which police say he threatened a teammate with a knife.

Bell pleaded guilty to one count of terroristic threats -- a first-degree misdemeanor and his most serious charge -- while his charges of simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, disorderly conduct and harassment were dismissed, Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira said yesterday.

Bell will receive two years probation at the request of the commonwealth, but he could face added community service or fines imposed by Centre County Judge Bradley Lunsford at his Aug. 29 sentencing, Madeira said.

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TSU has offense for title run

Healthy Heffner holds hopes for Tigers

Tennessee State Coach James Webster drew laughter from the crowd and a bit of fear from opposing coaches while fielding questions at the Ohio Valley Conference Football Media Day at LP Field on Tuesday. Webster made a bold prediction when the subject turned toward the health of senior quarterback Antonio Heffner, who suffered a broken ankle against Eastern Kentucky in the seventh game of the season last year.

"A healthy Antonio?" Webster pondered. "Well, that's an OVC championship." Webster might not be too far off about the potential of his talented dual threat quarterback. Prior to his injury, Heffner led the conference in passing (212.3 yards per game) and total offense (260.4 yards per game). In his seven games in 2007, Heffner managed to complete 96 of 171 passes for 1,486 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also rushed for 337 yards and three touchdowns on just 94 carries.

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