FAMU linebacker coach, Holmes, has high standards

Photo: FAMU Inside Linebacker coach Earl Holmes.

If Florida A&M linebacker coach Earl Holmes had to pick a player to demonstrate a stunt or blitz technique, there's a good chance senior Vernon Wilder would be his choice. "The fact is, he is a leader," Holmes said. "He doesn't lead by his mouth. He leads by example.

"He is the first one to give me everything he has on every play and guys respect that. With his work habits, I think a lot of good things are going to come."

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TSU set to name Harvey as new basketball coach

Photo: Texas Southern University new head basketball coach Tony Harvey.

Texas Southern University will introduce Tony Harvey as its new men's basketball coach Friday at an 11 a.m. news conference, according to two people familiar with the situation.

Harvey coached as an assistant at Missouri from 1999-2004, helping the program to four straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. According to media reports, he left the school in 2004 after being accused of multiple NCAA rules violations, including giving cash to former guard Ricky Clemons and impermissible contact with recruits. He was then cleared of any wrongdoing in early 2006.

Harvey has also had coaching stints with Southern and Eastern Michigan.

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More drama at TSU...read the entire article on what Blackwell did before he was fired. Does the Tigers know how to stay out of court or what?

The charges that were filed against Harvey while at Missouri were:

(a) In a formal notice of allegations, the NCAA accused Harvey of giving player Ricky Clemons $250 in violation of NCAA rules. Harvey denied that allegation; and (b) Harvey was accused by the NCAA of treating high school and Amateur Athletic Union coaches to meals and then seeking reimbursement from the university by misrepresenting who received the meals.

Harvey resigned from his position as the associate head basketball coach at Missouri prior to being cleared of all charges by the NCAA's Infraction Committee. The university bought out the remainder of Harvey’s contract in exchange for a promise that Harvey would not try to sue the school. Missouri paid Harvey $136,000 in exchange for his resignation and a vow to never sue.

During the summer of 2003, Ricky Clemons was arrested for assaulting Jessica Bungee and spent 42 days in jail. On his work release program he was found at Missouri's president Elson Floyd's house driving and wrecking an ATV.

After Mizzou, Harvey started a new career as a sports agent and held the position of Director of Basketball Operations for MAC Sports and Entertainment.

Let's summarize....Texas Southern's acting athletic director/head football coach Johnnie Cole is still under NCAA Infraction Committee investigation for the mess created by he and his brother, L.C. Cole at Alabama State University.

L.C Cole is presently defensive coordinator at TSU, hired by his brother Johnnie Cole in January 2008. The Alabama State University case is not expected to be completed and resolved by the NCAA until 2009. Both Cole brothers were fired from Alabama State in 2003, for alledged rules infractions.

Lane College, where Johnnie Cole left a head coaching position for TSU is now on NCAA probation for rules violations in the athletic department. Cole was not responsible for these violations.

In 1999, Johnnie Cole was banned from the coaching staff at Tennessee State University where he served as offensive coordinator. After a 17 month investigation concluded, there were several NCAA rules violations. Tennessee State was hit with self-imposed sanctions by the NCAA.

Harvey, a former sports agent is now introduced as the new TSU basketball coach.

What a recipe for possible disaster with three coaches with a shaky past with the NCAA Infractions Committee in the same athletic department.

-beepbeep

Fans say Grambling basketball can bounce back, despite recent struggles

GRAMBLING — Supporters insist Grambling State’s new basketball coaches will take over programs with a wealth of potential, despite last season’s slumping records.
That starts with GSU’s sparkling new Assembly Center, a long-awaited hoops facility that opened a year ago. Already, it’s been featured on a national television broadcast, as Grambling faced Southern in February.

A recruiting cornerstone for years to come, it bolsters many boosters’ resolute belief that things can get better in the wake of Grambling’s twin announcements on Tuesday that neither men’s coach Larry Wright nor women’s coach David “Rusty” Ponton would return.

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Photo: Interior of GSU new Assembly Center (GSU vs. JSU 2008).

Grambling should be an expert on how not to recruit a new coach after the FAMU bru-ha-ha with Rod Broadway a few months ago. Before sending up trial balloons in the press, the Grambling power brokers need to pick up the telephone and call Patricia Bibbs, Willis Reed and others, and see if they are first "interested" in the Grambling openings.

Secondly, forget the high school coaches for any head coaching position(s) in the SWAC. That in itself says, Grambling ain't serious about basketball, especially with 8-10 "money games" on the schedule each season.

Reed was a great Grambling and New York Knicks player, but 99.9% of the youth today are clueless and he just as well be Mr. Irrelevant. Few know that Reed coached in the NBA as a head coach with the Knicks and at Creighton University.

If the brand on the building does not read--LSU, Louisiana Tech, UL-Monroe, UL-Lafayette, Tulane, New Orleans, McNeese, Northwestern State or other such mid-major program, Grambling could hire Knicks coach Isaiah Thomas and the results would be nearly the same.

Doug Williams, with all the name recognition, could not change the trend of blue chips going the other direction away from HBCUs, like Grambling. Former coach Larry Wright of NBA Washington Bullets fame, couldn't change that nor compete outside of the SWAC for talent.

It will take more than name recognition and a new facility to build a success basketball program. It's a great START, but you need a great recruiter and teacher at the head of these programs. HBCUs need to find another revenue stream other than "money games" which destroys most programs, the conference RPI, and many head coaching careers in both SWAC and MEAC.

My two cents says, go to the Division II level and select a coach that's proven and committed to building these programs. It's not an overnight project nor should GSU waste time being the training grounds for rookie coaches that should not be at the Division I level. Go for the proven coach that has built NCAA championship level programs with little financial support at the D-II level.

Finally, leave those high school coaches alone. They do a fine job at that level and its necessary to produce good/great college players, but Division I is not high school.

-beepbeep

Norfolk State's football recruit/Sherando’s Brisco is fastest in 100 meters

Photo: Running back Markeith Brisco, #29 (5-11/195) eluding Millbrook's Butch Kaczmarzewski (44), rushed for 186 yards and three touchdowns in helping the Warriors clinch their second straight district title. Brisco has signed a NLI to play football for Norfolk State University Spartans.

STEPHENS CITY, VA — When Sherando High School track and field coach Tom Grim was asked last week about who the Warriors’ top newcomers were this season, he didn’t want Markeith Brisco’s name to be mentioned publicly because of his concern over a hamstring injury that Brisco suffered in practice.

The Sherando senior, competing in the same stadium in which he thrilled fans on a routine basis on Friday nights for the football team, recorded a time of 10.9 seconds to win the 100 meters, faster than any area athlete ran during the entire 2007 season. Though his time might have been aided by a breeze, even a strong wind in the face of the muscular Brisco likely would have been just a mere annoyance, much like his opponents were during football season.

#29 ALL-STATE RB Markeith Brisco, Sherando High School Warriors; 2007 Virginia State Championship Runner Up (13-1 season).


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Markeith Briscoe (5-11/195) was ranked #7 statistically by the Washington Post of the Top 20 Rushers in the Metro Washington, D.C. Region with 221 rushes, 1726 yards, 26 TDs (averaging 123 yards per game/7.8 yards per carry) in 2007/08 season.

His team finished 13-1, as Virginia Class AA State runner-up. Virginia's top division is AAA.

Sherando lineman Joey Christine (6-2/300) also signed with Norfolk State.

NSU coach Pete Adrian was quoted on NV daily.com of saying, "Markeith, I think, is going to be an outstanding college running back,"Adrian said. "He just finishes a run with such, what I call, a nasty attitude, a 'You're not going to tackle me."

"We saw the stadium, and I didn't know what to say," Briscoe said. "I tried to imagine what it would be like with all the fans in there. We're very excited, and we're ready to go down there and play some ball. "I'm just happy to see Juicy's (Christine) ugly mug for four more years," he was quoted as saying--laughing.

Christine was a steamroller for the Sherando offense, helping Markeith Briscoe rush for over 1,700 yards and QB Ross Metheny (signed with University of Virginia) pass for over 2,200 yards.

As a DT, Christine played dominant football with 70 tackles and 4.5 sack his senior season.

Coach Pete Adrian said both Briscoe and Christine will compete for playing time as freshmen. The Spartans also have freshman standout Takeem Hedgeman, who rushed for nearly 2,900 yards as a senior at Monticello (VA) High School coming with this star quality 2008/09 class.

With the incoming players to build upon their 8-3 record of 2007, Norfolk State appears to be major competitive trouble for the rest of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in the fight for the 2008/09 championship and FCS playoff bid.

Just maybe, 2007 was not a fluke season after all for Pete Adrian's team.

-beepbeep

Quaker Valley's Rogers chooses Morgan State Bears

Photo: Christa Rogers is an Pennsylvania All-State volleyball player, an all-section basketball player, and track star. Rogers plans to major in electrical or mechanical engineering at MSU and selected the Bears over scholarships offers from Delaware State and UMES.

LEETSDALE, PA – As she looked toward college, Christa Rogers chose to create rather than wait. An NCAA Division I prospect in three sports, she could have waited for the telephone to bring college opportunities. She could have waited for the postman to deliver possibility, or for talent-starved recruiters to contact her high school coaches.

Instead, she sat down with her mother and, like a true setter, assisted possibility.

“I sat down with my mother and made a list of colleges that had what I’m looking for, and we sent them tapes.” Morgan State University quickly responded with a scholarship offer to play NCAA Division I volleyball, and Rogers, this week, accepted.

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OTHER ARTICLES ON CHRISTA ROGERS:

(1) http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08094/870145-116.stm
(2)http://www.timesonline.com/articles/2008/03/30/sports/high_school/doc47ef1b1e542dd351296100.txt

Alabama State's Hayles, Morgan State's Smith honorable mention AP All-Americans

Photo: AP honorable mention All-American Andrew Hayles, ASU Hornets.

by Alabama State Sports Information

Montgomery, Ala. - The honors continue to roll in for Alabama State guard Andrew Hayles. On Monday, Hayles was named Associated Press honorable mention All-American.

"It's a real honor, but it says more about what our team accomplished that what I did individually," Hayles said. "This is really motivation to work even harder to in the offseason."

Earlier this month, Hayles, a junior from Mobile, Ala., was tabbed as the SWAC player of the year after leading the Hornets to a 20-11 season and the SWAC regular season championship.

He averaged 14.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He ranked in the conference's top 10 in six categories: scoring, shooting percentage, free throw percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, 3-pointers made, and minutes played.

After his first season at ASU, Hayles was named the SWAC freshman of the year in 2005-2006. As a sophomore, he led the Hornets in scoring with 14.5 points per game.

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Jamar Smith, Morgan State University, the MEAC Player of the Year was also named an AP honorable mention All-American. Smith, a 6-2/210 senior guard played at Patrick Henry HS/San Bernadino Valley College prior to attending MSU. Smith is from Brooklyn Park, MN.

ASU Hornets team back at work

Photo: Hornets RS junior QB Alex Engram (#3) may be ASU's #1 quarterback. Here, he passes over junior defensive back Roderick West #28, in spring practice.

After a 13-day layoff, the Alabama State football team got back to spring practice Wednesday night, as the Hornets hit the field for an unscheduled practice. The two-hour session went about like head coach Reggie Barlow figured it might -- lots of energy, but several signs of rust.

"Lots of dropped passes, the quarterbacks are a little off," Barlow said. "You can tell that we've had a long layoff. But I do like the energy. That's really encouraging to see the guys fly around and get after it."

Wednesday's practice was a last-minute addition, added because of inclement weather on Tuesday that rained out a scheduled practice.

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SU, McNeese football to meet in 2010

Southern’s return date to play a football game at McNeese State is finally in sight, though still a few years away. The Jaguars and the Cowboys are now scheduled to play Sept. 18, 2010, in Lake Charles.

Southern and McNeese State were to have played Sept. 3, 2005, in Lake Charles, but that game was called off in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which hit south Louisiana and the Gulf Coast earlier that week.

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Southern, Alabama State to sign contract for Gulf Coast Classic

Southern University and Alabama State appear to be getting close to signing a four-year deal to play in the Gulf Coast Classic in Mobile, Alabama. That contract would begin this season, with a Nov. 15 game.

Southern has yet to sign the contract to play the Gulf Coast Classic, LaFleur said. “It looks like it’s 99 percent sure that it’s going to happen,” LaFleur said. LaFleur said the City of Mobile is organizing the game.

In order to accommodate the start of the contract, Southern is giving up its home date this season and in 2010. However, according to LaFleur, the payoff will come in a generous pay date as well as getting paid to play when the game is Alabama State’s home game.

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SCSU names Glad Bugariu new soccer coach

Photo: South Carolina State University Bulldogs soccer coach Glad Bugariu.

By SCSU Sports Information

Glad Bugariu has been named women's soccer coach at South Carolina State University, athletics director Charlene Johnson announced Wednesday. Glad, who succeeds Amy Olson, takes over the S.C. State program after three seasons (2005-2007) as head coach at Belmont Abbey College in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In three seasons at Belmont Abbey, Bugariu compiled a record of 52-12-2. His teams dominated the Div. II Conference Carolinas, capturing two regular season championships (2007, 2005), two tournament titles (2006, 2005) and one runner-up tournament finish (2007).

Belmont Abbey was 18-4-1 this past season and earned the school's first NSCAA national ranking (#22) since 1999. His 2006 team compiled a 16-4-1 mark and garnered him Area Coach of the Year honorable mention from the Charlotte Observer. The 2005 squad was 18-4, a record which earned the college the nation's second-most improved team distinction in the NCAA following a 10-9-1 mark the year before.

"We are obviously very pleased that Coach Bugariu will be directing the soccer program here at SC State," said Bulldog athletics director Charlene Johnson. "He brings to our program extensive experience and a very successful coaching career."

READ COACH GLAD BUGARIU BIO, CLICK BLOG TITLE.

SCSU just hired a gem of a soccer coach in Glad Bugariu. This is the way it should be done--hire a proven, exceptional Division II coach with a successful history, seeking the opportunity to coach at the Division I level. Our programs should not be training grounds for rookie coaches--get your experience at Division III and Division II programs. Then move up after proving you have what it takes to be successful at the Division I level.

Great move athletic director, Johnson. We need to see more of this type of hiring across the board in the MEAC and SWAC conferences. The goal should be winning NCAA Championships, not just getting a .500 season record. Howard University did it in soccer (won NCAA national championship); so can South Carolina State University. Go Bulldogs!

-beepbeep

The Best Thing Going: S.C. State's Pough likes quarterback situation

Photo: South Carolina State Bulldogs head coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough.

As the rain slowly started to drizzle down to the artificial surface on the field at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Wednesday evening, South Carolina State head coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough exploded.

Practice was just minutes away from wrapping up, but Pough didn't like what he saw when backup quarterback DeWain Clark took a snap in a drill in the Red Zone and was harassed by a defender that should have been picked up by a blocker out of the backfield.

"Blown assignment after blown assignment!" Pough scolded while mixing in a few colorful words to ensure his backs that he meant business.

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Hillary! Stop the attacks!

Super OBAMA GIRL: The Lost Episode


Sexy! Flashy! Wonky! Super Obama Girl!


Hillary! Stop the attacks! Love, Obama Girl

B-CU women's basketball coach Francis Simmons resigns

Photo: Former BCU women's basketball head coach Francis Simmons

By: Bethune Cookman University Sports Information

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - After four season at the helm of the Bethune-Cookman University Women's Basketball program, head coach Francis Simmons has decided to resign effective immediately according to B-CU Director of Athletic Lynn W. Thompson. Simmons met with Thompson early Tuesday afternoon to discuss his plans for resignation.

"We are grateful for the work that Coach Simmons has done, and after meeting we both came to the conclusion that new leadership and direction would best serve the program at this time," commented B-CU Director of Athletics, Lynn W. Thompson.

Simmons, a native of Columbia, S.C., took over the program prior to the beginning of the 2004-05 season for now Assistant Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator at B-CU, Sandra Booker. In his four years guiding the Wildcats, Simmons amassed a record of 22-92 overall, including a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference record of 12-58.

The search for a new head coach will begin immediately.

BCU Pep Band -Let's Go Wildcats


Please, don't feel bad for Simmons. After four seasons and a career record of 22-92, this firing was long overdue. The BCU student-athletes deserve better coaching and mentoring. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference deserves better performance from its member institutions sports programs.

Coach Simmons receives a retirement pension from the state of South Carolina where he worked for 32 years as a teacher and coach. He also served 17 seasons as an assistant men's basketball coach at South Carolina State University.

Simmons indicated that he has several offers on the table.

One offer is from BCU men's basketball coach Clifford Reed, who has invited coach Simmons to join his staff, as an assistant men's basketball coach. The Wildcat men's team finished 2007 with a 11-21 record. Clifford Reed needs to resign/or be fired, also.

Does Bethune Cookman know how to fire and retire non-performing coaches that continue to perform each year at extremely unacceptable levels?

Obviously not! Dang!

Did you notice how all the poor performing coaches and AAMU president were fired on April 1--(April Fool's Day). This is no joke.

-beepbeep

Competitive Sailing: Hampton University remains sharp

One historically black institution can boast of a sports achievement that no other black university can. Indeed, as colleges have transitioned into spring sports, Hampton University has fielded yet another scrappy team that is raising eyebrows in the rarefied, and mostly white, world of competitive collegiate sailing.

Hampton is the only historically black college to have a sailing team, and two Hampton students from Maryland, Jason Major-Henson and Nicole Clark, have been part of the team’s success.

Halfway into the season the Hampton University Pirates have already qualified for the conference championship regatta, the America Trophy, on April 12-13 at Hobart William Smith College in Geneva, N.Y.

Photo: Seniors Ray Potter and Yasmina Beckles helped lead the Pirates to a second place finish in both the A-Division and B-Division at the annual MAISA/SAISA Intersectional (Mid-Atlantic Division vs. Southeast Division) on March 24-25 at the Strawberry Banks.

They qualified by finishing seventh out of 16 teams in the Old Dominion University Open/South No. 1 regatta in March. Besides the Pirates the field at Old Dominion included Georgetown University, Navy, Washington College and St. Mary’s College of Maryland, which finished first and always has a tough squad. Hampton managed to top the University of Maryland, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, William & Mary College and others.

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MORE INFO ON HAMPTON UNIVERSITY CO-ED SAILING PROGRAM: http://www.hamptonpirates.com/index.asp?path=sailing

Coming Friday/April 4th on PBS: Morgan (State) Lacrosse Story

Photo: Morgan State University's 1975 Lacrosse Team -'Ten Bears'

INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY FOR PBS: 'THE MORGAN LACROSSE STORY'

View Movie Trailer for The Morgan Lacrosse Story: Click on Blog Title Above.

The Morgan Lacrosse Story, is slated to air nationally on PBS April 4th at 10 pm. The film chronicles the rise of the country’s first and only college lacrosse team at a historically black university--Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland. .....Produced by Luke David.

The Morgan Lacrosse Story will begin airing on public television (PBS) on April 4th at 10:00 PM. Contact your local PBS station to find out when it will be aired locally.

This Documentary Brings Alive the Legacy of the First and Only College Lacrosse Team at a Historically Black Institution in the 1970's.

WASHINGTON, DC - College lacrosse was at the center of a significant storm in the early 1970's, a riveting story that is coming into full view for the first time on television with The Morgan Lacrosse Story, a new documentary film for PBS. An accounting of the first and only college lacrosse team at a prestigious and historically black institution, Baltimore's Morgan State University.

When a young white administrator reluctantly accepted the position of head lacrosse coach at Baltimore’s Morgan State University, a six-year journey culminating in a shocking upset began. The Bears’ solidarity and determination to succeed changed the sport of lacrosse forever, even as they played in a racially charged period in our nation’s history — the early 1970s.

An emotionally-charged film that deals with issues of race and class during the Civil Rights Era, The Morgan Lacrosse Story uses the official team sport of Maryland as a vehicle to tackle complicated issues, and to honor the legacy of a groundbreaking team who would eventually pull off one of the greatest upsets in intercollegiate sports history.

By introducing viewers to the courageous individuals who made this important part of history and allowing them to tell their stories directly, this highly dynamic one hour documentary film connects the audience to the real emotions of their experience.

The Morgan Lacrosse Story was deeply inspired by the book Ten Bears, co-written by Chip Silverman, the team's coach, and Miles Harrison Jr.

"It's rare to get the chance to work on something that you want to be a part of, a legacy worth preserving," David says. "Once I became aware of this story, there was no way I was going to let it go, or leave it in someone else's hands.

"With the archival resources that Chip had available, we knew we had to get things moving right away while everything was still intact. The real hook came once I started meeting the players and I realized how compelling they were as individual characters, let alone the civil rights backdrop of what they accomplished."

The Morgan Lacrosse Story is set in Baltimore, but the themes contained within quickly reveal themselves to be universal. The events of the team's formation and rise to prominence are re-told by the players themselves, and examined in historical context by thoughtful and informed narration by Wendell Pierce from HBO's "The Wire".

In addition, hundreds of photographs from the collections of Silverman and his players have been gathered for the film, as well as newspaper clippings from almost every game they played.

Through the prism of a sport infused with the spirituality of its Native American roots, the Morgan Lacrosse Story shows how this determined group harnessed the power of the game to change the college landscape forever.

"This is a positive story," Luke David concludes. "So many stories about race relations have a sour ending or feel hopeless, but here there's a resolution and a spiritual element. I hope people take the time to watch it, absorb the material and realize that things aren't always as inclusive as we think they are, but with courage things can be different and better."

-------------
I expect this documentary to be as good as "Black Magic" was last month and it's definitely worth your time to watch and learn about the rich sports history of HBCUs during this era.

-beepbeep McDonald

MEAC's Suber, Oakley and Butler invited to WNBA Pre-Draft Camp

Photo: CSU's Rashida Suber, 5-8 shooting guard, Reading H.S./Reading, PA.

BALTIMORE, MD -- Coppin State seniors Rashida Suber and Shalamar Oakley have each been invited to the Women's National Basketball Association pre-draft camp held at the University of Tampa April 4-5.

The pre-draft camp will be held at the Bob Martinez Center located on the campus of the University of Tampa and will give WNBA coaches and general managers an opportunity to evaluate the skills of the approximately 40 prospects that will be attending the camp.

The camp will consist of on-court sessions, games and team interviews conducted by the head coach and general manager.

Suber led the Eagles averaging 17.9 points per game, while Oakley was second on the team averaging 17.5 per contest.

Photo: CSU's Shalamar Oakley, 5-6 point guard, Woodrow Wilson H.S./Camden, N.J.

Oakley was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2007-08 as well as earning Most Outstanding Player honors at the conference tournament.

Suber earned the conference's player of the year honor in 2006-07 and was a three-time first team All-MEAC selection.

Oakley, Suber and Hampton University's Rachel Butler are both profiled in the wnba.com draft section of the website.

Photo: Hampton University's senior guard Rachael Butler, Lincoln High School, Dallas, Texas.

Hampton University's Lady Pirate 5-8 shooting guard Rachael Butler is the only other MEAC player profiled on the WNBA pre-draft website. Butler was: Second Team All-MEAC selection for the third consecutive year (2007, 2006, 2005)...Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Rookie of the Year (2005). Butler also averaged 13.3 ppg., 4.8 rpg., and 1.5 apg., and played in 115 games in her stellar four year career for the Lady Pirates.

The WNBA draft will be held on April 9 at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla., and will be televised live beginning at 1 p.m. on ESPN2.

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AAMU Jennings alternately praised, criticized during tenure

Change welcome in beginning, but soon led to friction.

Dr. Robert Jennings was never trustees' first pick to become the 10th permanent president of Alabama A&M University.

They voted 5-4 to offer him the job on Dec. 16, 2005, after their unanimous first choice, Dr. Julian Earls, then director of NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, had turned them down in October.

Jennings, now 57, was the executive vice president and chief operating officer of Future Focus 2020, an academic think tank and research training center in the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.

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AAMU Jennings fired for financial improperiety

Grambling State fires both head basketball coaches

By GSU Sports Information

GRAMBLING, La. – The Grambling State University Department of Athletics has announced that head men’s basketball coach Larry Wright and head women’s coach David “Rusty” Ponton will not be retained for the 2008-09 season.

"I applaud the dedication both head coaches have put into their programs during their tenure at Grambling," stated Grambling State Director of Athletics Troy Mathieu. "However, as we look to take our basketball programs to a higher level of competitiveness, a change in leadership was necessary.” ,

The university will begin the process of conducting a comprehensive search to fill both positions. While the search is taking place, Senior Woman Administrator and Lady Tiger assistant coach Sharon Perkins and men’s assistant coach Kenny Sykes will serve as interim coaches for their respective programs.

B-CU speedsters on Thunderbirds

DAYTONA BEACH -- Lamont Finnie and Louis Brown first met on the streets -- the streets of Bethune-Cookman University.

The two Daytona Beach Thunderbirds speedsters shared a common bond there.

"Me and Louis met back at Bethune, we were racing on the street with each other. We'd race and everything on the strip on foot," said Finnie, whose Thunderbirds play their Arena Football League2 home opener Sunday vs. Wilkes-Barre. "It was 60 yards. Everybody comes out. They say, 'You're fast,' well, then they text you and tell you to come out to race. If somebody calls you out, you go race."

Apparently, foot-racing is an age-old tradition among the football players and students at B-CU.

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This must be a southern thing--running in the streets for no other purpose than someone called you out...

Relief pitcher Ross stymies Southern in LSU Tigers’ 8-3 win

Photo: (L) LSU Tigers Coach Paul Mainieri; and (R) SU Jaguars Coach Roger Candor.

What was shaping up as a thriller between crosstown rivals — with Southern’s Human Jukebox grooving a cozy full house and seven runs already on the scoreboard — got quelled quickly when LSU coach Paul Mainieri made the unusual move of going to the bullpen in the second inning.

Freshman Austin Ross answered the extremely early call.

Ross struck out eight and walked one, scattering four hits, in getting his first collegiate win and making his longest appearance as LSU won 8-3 Tuesday night, in front of 660 fans, the band and onlookers from the Harding Blvd. overpass, at Lee-Hines Field.

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Southern University baseball is 2-43 all-time against LSU.

Alcorn State basketball coach West fired

Photo: Alcorn State's head men's basketball coach Samuel West (gray suit) ends 12 year coaching career with the Braves. West is a native of Natchez, MS and a 1977 graduate of Texas Southern University.


Alcorn State men’s basketball coach Samuel West was fired Tuesday after five seasons on the job, a school official confirmed.

West’s removal coincides with the arrival of new athletic director Darren Hamilton, who started Tuesday, replacing interim AD Wiley Jones. Alcorn State officials would not comment further but said a news release with more details would be issued on Wednesday.

West, 52, won 44 games and lost 103 in his five seasons as the Braves coach. The former Northwest Rankin High School boys coach was an assistant at Alcorn for seven years under legendary coach Davey Whitney before being named head coach in April of 2003.

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Florida A&M Rattlers' defense works hard, hits hard

Photo: FAMU Coach Orlando Mitjans, defensive coordinator/secondary coach; first year, a 1982 graduate of Northeastern (Mass.) University.

The drill looked pretty routine. FAMU’s defensive front rushed up to a mock offense, then backed off upon contact.

Defensive coordinator Orlando Mitjans wanted the play repeated — again and again. Defensive end Kendrick Washington clearly understood what Mitjans wanted.

“We just put it in our hearts and our heads to make most of the plays,” Washington said after the Rattlers went through the sixth day of spring workouts on Tuesday.
The defense has been showing a tenacious attitude even before the team put on pads on the third day. The front seven has been especially aggressive, showing unusual speed this early.

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If you are attempting to keep up with the players on the FAMU roster, here is what we have been able to confirm from this article:

#71 Cameron Houston, Nose Tackle/DT, 6-0/285 soph., Rockledge H.S., Rockledge, FL.
#97 Kendrick Washington, DE, 6-5/245, soph., Sebastian River H.S., Sebastian, FL.
#91 Marquiste Ramos, DE, 6-5/245, junior, Bayside H.S., Bayside, FL.
#99 Joseph Weems, DE, 6-5/245, RS junior, Carol City H.S., Miami, FL.

The class standings indicated are the anticipated school level for Fall 2008.

-beepbeep

South Carolina State football holds fifth practice

South Carolina State continued spring football drills Monday as the Bulldogs conducted the fifth of 15 scheduled workouts.

A good bit of Monday's workout was devoted to correcting mistakes from the team's first scrimmage this past Saturday, according to head coach Buddy Pough. The Bulldogs also devoted some time to fundamentals, sharpening execution of assignments, red zone offense and defense, and third down-and-medium execution.

Pough said overall execution was fair but that his team appeared sluggish in the beginning before coming alive near the end of the workout.

VIDEO: S.C. State quarterback Malcolm Long in 5th Bulldog spring practice session (3/31/08).



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UAPB using spring practice for evaluation

As spring practice begins today for the Arkansas-Pine Bluff football team, the Golden Lions are under evaluation by first-year head coach Monte Coleman.

Coleman, who has served as the Golden Lions’ defensive coordinator the last two seasons and will continue that role this season, said Monday that the next three weeks will be an evaluation period for his football team.

“I addressed the team and told them that the spring is an evaluation period,” Coleman said. “Every position is open.”

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Tennessee State University alum coaches Michigan State Spartans golf team

Photo: Michigan State University Spartans head golf coach Sam Puryear

Life coach: The Sam Puryear impact

Photo Gallery: Sam and the Spartans, http://www.golfweektv.com/gallery/SamPuryear

It’s been another frigid winter in central Michigan. Snowfall in East Lansing has been about 14 inches above average, which isn’t good news for Michigan State senior Nate Gunthorpe. The Spartans have putting practice at 6 a.m. three days per week, and it’s a few miles from his off-campus house to the school’s indoor Rearick Golf Complex.

“Waking up, getting snow off your car, warming it up and being there by 6 ready to putt,” Gunthorpe said. “We definitely know why we’re doing it.”

Waiting for Gunthorpe and his teammates is first-year head coach Sam Puryear. Standing 6 feet tall and dressed impeccably in Spartan green, Puryear is a man with a plan. His energy is palpable, and his preparation is relentless. Always approachable and never short on one-liners, Puryear is just nine months removed from his first college coaching job, a 1 1/2-year stint as Stanford’s assistant coach, in which he helped head coach Conrad Ray guide the Cardinal to the 2007 NCAA championship.

Now, as the first black head golf coach in a major NCAA Division I conference, Puryear has the reins of the Spartans, a team that rose into the top 20 earlier this season.

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Mini Bio:
Sam is a 1992 graduate of Tennessee State University. He served three years as the assistant golf coach at Stanford University, winning the NCAA Division I national golf championship last season (2007). Prior to joining Stanford, he served as Executive Director of East Lake Junior Golf Academy in Atlanta, GA., where he managed the development of golf instruction and curriculum for an academy serving more than 1,000 youth. Puryear has a proven track record for fundraising, campaigning, and program support.

Samuel G. Puryear Jr. was born and raised in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Great article!!

-beepbeep