WSSU Lady Rams Volleyball sign four to National Letters of Intent

WINSTON-SALEM, NC - The 2008 Winston-Salem State University volleyball team will welcome some new faces this fall as WSSU head coach Douglas Hunter announced the signing of four prospective student-athletes to National Letters of Intent. The four signees will strengthen the Lady Rams in every area on the court.

A pair of talented players will fill the team's needs at the setter position, which was hampered by injury last season. Setter Asia Carr from St. John's College High School in Washington, D.C. will join the Lady Rams at the setter position as well as Alexandria Brown from Harris County High School in Hamilton, Ga.

The Lady Rams will also add to its front line with the addition of middle hitter/blocker Jasmine Frazier from Chancellor High School in Fredericksburg, Va. and outside hitter Kameryn Craig from Apex High School in Apex, N.C.

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The Natural: B-CU star has found competitive spirit

DAYTONA BEACH -- Ronnie Ash can't really explain his reluctance to play organized sports. Like a homecoming queen playing hard-to-get, he rebuffed his high school suitors year after year.

Basketball coaches, football coaches -- you name it -- they all drooled when they saw the lithe 6-foot-3, 190-pounder ambling down the hallways. They all recruited. They were all rejected, until Knightdale, N.C., High School track coach David Castell finally got a bite in Ash's senior year and was able to reel him in.

Now a freshman at Bethune-Cookman, Ash's rapid rise in track and field might even astound all of the spurned coaches who envisioned greatness for this young man. Ash will compete in the 110-meter hurdles at the NCAA Division I track and field championships this week at Des Moines, Iowa.

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Houston Texans cut QB Quinn Gray

Photo: Former Florida A&M University star quarterback Quinn Gray may have to go to the CFL to get a legitimate opportunity to develop his NFL caliber skills. Gray was the Jacksonville Jaguars #2 quarterback last season.

The Texans released free-agent quarterback Quinn Gray, making the decision instead to work to develop Shane Boyd and rookie Alex Brink. "I just think that from a fit standpoint with our football team, it made more sense for us to let (Gray) go now," general manager Rick Smith said. "I still think this guy's a quality NFL quarterback, and I think he's going to have a good career. It's just not a fit here.

"My philosophy is if I've got a veteran player playing in this league and I don't see the opportunity or feel like I can give them a fair opportunity to make a football team, then I want to give them a fair opportunity somewhere else," coach Gary Kubiak said. "I felt that way with both those players and with where they are at those positions. Mainly at the quarterback positions, I made a decision to work with those two young players."

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Big Shoes to Fill, Ti-Cats taking a big step forward

QB Casey Printers (Florida A&M University) rivals some of his offensive linemen. He wears a size 15 shoe, as well.

CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats starting quarterback Casey Printers


Say this about Hamilton Tiger-Cat offensive line prospects, they certainly have big shoes to fill. Literally. One common trait among six-foot-five-inch pass blockers who tip the scales at 325 pounds is huge feet. We're talking human aircraft carriers here. And a size 15 or 16 football cleat takes an inordinate amount of shoe leather.

Ticat offensive line coach Jeff Bleamer, a former offensive lineman himself and a size 15, said those who ply their trade in the trenches need a set of flatbed trailers to carry the load. "They need big feet for a good base. You don't see too many offensive linemen walking around with a size 10. Most offensive linemen have size 14 and up," Bleamer said, adding the big cleats are a source of power.

Bleamer said the biggest feet he ever saw belonged to one-time Tiger-Cat, Alouette and Philadelphia Eagle offensive lineman Ed George. Size 17. "You could probably fit a small family into size 17," Bleamer quipped.

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QB Casey Printers, 2004 CFL MVP (Age: 27, 5 Year CFL/NFL Veteran)

New men's hoops coach Rick Duckett settles in at GSU

Rick Duckett has found his place in Grambling's Assembly Center. Now he wants to fill the rest of the seats. Named the new Grambling men's basketball coach in May, Duckett arrived on campus last week to revive a program in a slump.

Grambling has not won a Southwestern Athletic Conference championship since the 1988-89 season. After the men's team finished the 2007-08 season with a dispiriting 7-19 record in the SWAC — losing 12 of its first 13 games — Grambling released ninth-year head coach Larry Wright on April 1. Duckett acknowledged he'll have to get players and fans to buy into a new system to turn the program around.

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South Carolina State University Trustees Selects New President

Photo: Tallahassee, Florida native George Everett Cooper, Ph.D., earned his Bachelor’s degree, Florida A&M University; master’s degree, Tuskegee University; doctorate, University of Illinois, Urbana. Dr. Cooper currently serves as the deputy administrator for Science and Education Resources Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

South Carolina State University's Board of Trustees voted unanimously Friday to hire George Cooper as the school's next president. Cooper, deputy administrator for Science and Education Resources Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was selected from among three finalists for the top post at the state's only public historically black university. Cooper has worked in various positions for the Department of Agriculture since 1991.

The board discussed the finalists for about 90 minutes Friday in a closed-door session at a retreat in Charleston. "There was lots of discussion" among board members about the finalists, "but Cooper was the clear front-runner," Chairman Maurice Washington said.

"I am honored to be selected as the 10th President of S.C. State University," Cooper said in a news release from the school Friday. "I look forward to working with the Board of Trustees, administration, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and stakeholders as we together movetowards academic excellence. It is my intent to establish a creative and participatory campus environment as we embark on defining S.C. State's future."

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THE COOPER PROFILE

At the USDA: Coordinates $140 million in grants in education, research and extension for land-grant universities and other institutions; held several positions at the Department of Agriculture since 1991.

Previous career: Professor of animal science, Alabama A&M University, Normal, Ala., where he taught graduate students and supervised graduate research in animal science; executive assistant to the president of Alabama A&M, 1988-89; vice president for academic affairs, 1985-88; taught and was a dean at Tuskegee University in Alabama, 1978-85.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in animal husbandry, Florida A&M University; master’s degree animal science, Tuskegee University; doctorate, animal nutrition, University of Illinois, Urbana. Dr. Cooper graduated from Tallahassee's Lincoln High School and his parents were educators in Leon County (Florida) schools.

Family: Wife, Diane Delois Shaw; children, Nikki Angela Cooper, Carey Allison Cooper. Dr. Cooper is the oldest of three boys.

Hobbies: Photography, cooking, golf, reading and genealogy.

Community: Vice-chairman of the deacons board and Sunday School teacher, People’s Community Baptist Church, Silver Spring, MD.

Why UNCG doesn’t have a football program – and why it doesn’t need one

by Allen Johnson

Should there be helmets and shoulder pads in UNCG's future? It's a tempting thought. As someone who has taught there off and on, I've heard students grumble that the school lacks a football team -- and that a homecoming soccer game just doesn't cut it.

I've heard them call UNCG a "suitcase school" and suggest that college football could be the remedy. I don't know about that. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy college football on sunny fall afternoons as much as the next guy -- especially at UNCG's crosstown sister campus, North Carolina A&T State University, where the battle of the bands at halftime can be as compelling as the games themselves.

UNCG is almost close enough to A&T that you can hear the drumbeat of the Aggie marching band. And I can understand the sibling envy that probably stirs.

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UCF Football Preview vs South Carolina State Bulldogs

The UCF football team will open its second campaign at Bright House Networks Stadium on Aug. 30, against South Carolina State. The contest will serve as the season opener for both squads.

Here is an early look at UCF's contest with South Carolina State:

Experienced Squad
Forty-four letterwinners from South Carolina's State 2007 squad are back this season. The Bulldogs went 7-4 a year ago. With a 6-2 mark, the team finished tied for second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Seventh year head coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough has seven starters back on offense and nine starters returning on the defensive end.

Ground Attack
Tailback Will Ford is back to lead the ground attack for South Carolina State. Last year, the Bulldogs ranked ninth nationally, averaging 260.2 rushing yards per game. Ford, an All-MEAC First Team selection, was 11th in the country on the ground (125.18). He found the end zone four times. Against South Carolina, Ford carried the ball 17 times for 112 yards.

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SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY BULLDOGS.

Chief Justice of U.S. Supreme Court to visit NCCU

Photo: The United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., will be the judge on the bench at NCCU 2009 moot court competition. Last year, preLaw Magazine named North Carolina Central University Law School "the nation's best value among law schools."

DURHAM - The N.C. Central University law students who compete in the finals of next year's moot court competition have a little extra reason to be nervous: The judge on the bench will be John G. Roberts, Jr., chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Roberts will be on campus for a day next April at the behest of Raymond Pierce, dean of NCCU's law school. Pierce met Roberts at a recent judicial conference and gave the hard sell, regurgitating fact after fact about the school, which has been lauded in recent years for affordability and stellar passage rates on the state bar exam.

Pierce asked him to come and speak at the school. "He said he doesn't do speeches but would judge a moot court competition," Pierce said Friday.

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Judge halts pay to ASU's Lee for now

Photo: Former ASU President Joe Lee.

A Montgomery County circuit court judge has issued a restraining order, temporarily halting a severance package that Alabama State University trustees awarded former president Joe Lee.

The restraining order follows an injunction that ASU trustees Joe Reed and Thomas Figures filed last week in which they claimed paying Lee nearly $289,000 in a lump-sum payment was illegal because it violated Section 94 of the Alabama Constitution.

In issuing the order, Judge William Shashy offered no decision on the legality of the severance agreement, but did order all parties into mediation within the next seven days. Local attorney Lee Copeland will serve as mediator.

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MVSU has finalists for basketball coach

ITTA BENA, Miss. (AP) -- Three finalist for head basketball coach at Mississippi Valley State are scheduled for campus visits June 11-12.

School officials said Thursday that the finalists are Texas Southern assistant Lacey Reynolds, a former head coach at Grambling State; Harvey Wardell, an assistant at Tougaloo College and a former MVSU assistant; and Sean Woods, a former assistant at TCU.

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JSU's Comegy cuts aid for 14; 6 won't be back

The numbers game plays out every year within the Jackson State football program. And few like the consequences. Coach Rick Comegy said he revoked the scholarships of six players who will not return to the program this fall. Eight other players saw their scholarship money reduced or taken away, but Comegy expects them to return for the 2008 season.

"I think that's the toughest time of year for any coach, when you have to make some decisions about the direction you're going to go with your athletes," Comegy said. "If any coach takes pleasure in it, I truly would be shocked."

The NCAA allows for 63 football scholarships to be spread amongst 85 players at the Division I-AA level. Jackson State listed 68 players on the spring roster and signed 26 in February. Also, a handful of players have transferred in since the winter signing period, including former Tennessee defensive backs Ricardo Kemp and Antonio Wardlow.

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Official Inauguration of FAMU’s Tenth President Planned for Fall

Photo: Dr. James Ammons delivers the Spring 2008 Commencement Address to spirited audience at Fort Valley State University on May 3, 2008.

When Dr. James H. Ammons stepped into the spotlight on July 2nd of last year as Florida A&M University’s (FAMU) tenth president, he knew there was much work to be done. Instead, on his first day in office, James Ammons graciously asked for 500 days.

He needed five hundred days to resolve nagging fiscal matters, accreditation issues and personnel problems. Five hundred days were needed to strengthen existing relationships and forge new ones to restore his beloved alma mater to the legacy that had made it great.

Today, just a few weeks shy of his 365th day in office, Ammons has accomplished much and has made impressive strides toward reducing the school’s vulnerability and moving it in a positive direction. Admittedly, there are major hurdles that remain, but the FAMU community is convinced that it is safe now to at least begin the planning for the official inauguration of Dr. James H. Ammons as the school’s tenth president. And, believe it or not, it will take place very close to the 500th day.

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Maryland's Lieutenant Governor Visits UMES

Maryland's Lieutenant Governor Anthony G. Brown stopped by the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on Thursday for a visit. UMES recently joined the PGA golf management program and Brown received a lesson on the school's driving range. He says he's very excited to see what UMES is doing as a part of the university system of Maryland.

Lieutenant Governor Brown says, "Under Dr. Thompson's leadership, what you've seen is a campus that is focusing on where the needs are in Maryland." "The school has developed programs that make a contribution to meaningful higher education in the State."

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A&T's Simmons’ shot at big leagues a little late

The honor came 58 years late for Bert Simmons, but then, most everything did.

The former N.C. A&T baseball player who fought his way through lesser leagues of the South before getting his shot in the Negro Leagues, was "drafted" Thursday to play for the Baltimore Orioles.

Baseball's been trying to make up for lost time and accrued embarrassment for more than 60 years, embracing the ballplayers who were never given a chance to play in the majors simply because of the color of their skin. The gestures have been both grand and hollow since Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947.

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McCants establishes DSU scholarship fund

Former Hornets WR puts millions earned in NFL to good use

DOVER -- When Darnerien McCants attended Delaware State University, he was not always enamored with what he perceived as the campus' shortcomings and was not exactly a rah-rah person, even though he played for the football team.

Now that McCants has been separated from campus life since 2001, he said he is able to see exactly what his years at Delaware State meant. So, McCants, who went on to play wide receiver for the Washington Redskins and the Eagles, announced Thursday that he is establishing a $10,000 scholarship fund for students attending DSU.

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Freshman Golden Lion and SU Jaguar Named Louisville Slugger All-American

PINE BLUFF -- University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff freshman third baseman Matt Pace was named Wednesday to the "Louisville Slugger" All-America Baseball Team. He joins Southern University standout freshman Fraizer Hall, who was named to the team.

Pace, a former Warren High School standout, hit .369 with 5 home runs and a team-high 40 runs batted in during his freshman season with the Golden Lions. He was also among the nation's leaders in doubles with 23.

In addition to his recent All-American accolade, Pace was also named "Freshman of the Year" in the Southwestern Athletic Conference last month.

Southern University's Frazier Hall also earned a spot on the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team. Hall, used at catcher, first base and as a designated hitter, hit .393 with three homers, nine doubles and 33 RBIs. Hall was one of three catchers on the team.

The SU Jaguars' Hall and UAPB's Pace were the only players named to the team from the Southwestern Athletic Conference. No player was named from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference or the HBCU Independents.

View Complete List: Louisville Slugger's Freshman All-American Baseball Team

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UAPB Players make All-American Football Team

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff linebacker Tim Turner, along with teammates Ledarius Anthony and Stewart Franks, were recently named as members of the Consensus Draft Services Preseason All-American squad.

Turner, a 6-2, 215-pound senior from Little Rock was named to the Division I-AA first-team defense after leading the Golden Lions in tackles last season with 122. The Parkview High product also notched seven tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

Anthony, a 6-6, 270-pound senior defensive end from Pine Bluff was tabbed for a spot on the Division I-AA second-team defense, after registering 66 tackles and 11 tackles for losses. The NFL prospect was among the leaders in sacks last season in the Southwestern Athletic Conference with 8.5.

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NSU basketball player charged in pair of robberies at ODU

Photo: Brandon Monroe

Brandon Monroe, a junior forward on the Norfolk State men's basketball team, is facing four charges in connection with a pair of robberies on Old Dominion's campus.

Monroe and Alfred Noel II were arrested May 7 after they allegedly brandished weapons while stealing items, including a wallet, cell phone, handbag and credit cards, from a woman and man on April 28.

Monroe, 21, was charged with two counts each of robbery and unlawful use of a firearm. Noel faces one charge each of robbery and unlawful use of a firearm. Monroe and Noel each were released on a $10,000 secured bond and are scheduled to appear for a July 9 court date. As a condition of his bond, Monroe, a Raeford, N.C., resident, is not allowed to leave Virginia.

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Obama Clinches Nomination; First Black Candidate to Lead a Major Party Ticket

Senator Barack Obama claimed the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday evening, prevailing through an epic battle with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in a primary campaign that inspired millions of voters from every corner of America to demand change in Washington.

A last-minute rush of Democratic superdelegates, as well as the results from the final primaries, in Montana and South Dakota, pushed Mr. Obama over the threshold of winning the 2,118 delegates needed to be nominated at the party’s convention in August. The victory for Mr. Obama, the son of a black Kenyan father and a white Kansan mother, broke racial barriers and represented a remarkable rise for a man who just four years ago served in the Illinois Senate.

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Senator Barack Obama's Victory Speech - June 3, 2008, St. Paul, MN










2,118 needed A.P. Delegate Projections
Delegates: Won to date Super-delegates Total
Barack Obama 1,765 389 2,154
Hillary Rodham Clinton 1,637 282 1,919

Michael Wilbon: Broken Records

Photo: The late Bob Hayes is the only man in history to win both the Olympic gold medal and a NFL Super Bowl ring. Today, Hayes is still denied enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his accomplishments.

Used to be the two greatest titles in sports were "Fastest Man in the World" and "Heavyweight Champion of the World." Each meant the holder was invincible the world over. This wasn't small potatoes, like winning a league or a national championship. These were planetary designations. All comers welcome. The titles were unassailable, unimpeachable. There were no questions to be asked. No doubt conveyed.

In the 1930s Ralph Metcalfe was the "Fastest Man in the World." Then it was Jesse Owens, then Willie Williams, then Bob Hayes (Florida A&M University). You could trace the times going back to Don Lippincott in 1912, and the results were gospel.

But not now. A 6-foot-5 Jamaican man named Usain Bolt ran the fastest time ever in the 100 meters the other night, 9.72 seconds....

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Wilbon makes a great point, as I believe the same thoughts crossed many of our minds after watching the video of Usain Bolt record setting runs (watch below, June 1st posts). Bolt is not the Barack Obama of the track world--and what did he accomplish before the past two weeks record setting runs? Sad to say, Bolt needs to prove he is not a druggie.

-beepbeep

SSU baseball coach reinstated

Savannah State baseball head coach Carlton Hardy has been reinstated after being suspended from April 18 until May 23 while he was the focus of an internal investigation, SSU communications director Loretta Heyward said.

"Mr. Carlton Hardy returned to work on May 23," Heyward said of SSU's third-year coach, who was suspended from the Tigers' final 12 games. SSU was 3-9 without Hardy, and finished the season 20-25.

Because the case is a personnel matter, Heyward said she could not provide further information.

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Gruden in Grambling: Super Bowl-winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach tours GSU campus

GRAMBLING — It gave Jon Gruden pause. The Super Bowl-winning coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stood for a long moment, looking around the practice fields adjacent to Robinson Stadium, taking it all in.

"Did (the late GSU) Coach (Eddie) Robinson coach right here?" Gruden said, quietly. "This is sacred ground."

In northern Louisiana for today's third annual Doug Williams-Shack Harris benefit celebrity golf tournament, Gruden had asked the former Grambling State quarterbacking greats to give him a tour of their former school.

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VIDEO: Jamaica's Usain Bolt sets 100m world record of 9.72 seconds in New York

NEW YORK -- Jamaica's Usain Bolt is officially the fastest man on the planet as he set a new 100 meters world record of 9.72 seconds at an international meeting in New York.

Bolt served notice of his immense talent ahead of the Beijing Olympics by breaking the world 100m record. Bolt was trimming two hundredths of a second off the record previously held by fellow-Jamaican Asafa Powell and for good measure relegated world champion Tyson Gay to a distant second.

The 21-year-old had served notice of his excellent form by running a world's second fastest time of 9.76 seconds in Jamaica last month and he quickly took control of Saturday night's Reebok Grand Prix showdown with Gay, who finished in 9.85 seconds, still a personal best.

VIEW USAIN BOLT 9.72 100m WORLD RECORD RACE (5/31/2008) New York.


VIEW BOLT'S PREVIOUS RECORD RACE OF 9.76 100m - BOLT IN LANE #3.


VIEW BOLT'S 19.75 200m RACE.


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A new color barrier?

Photo: Bethune Cookman University 2008 Baseball Team.

Baseball seeing fewer black athletes on deck.

Central High School junior Johnny Gray has never played organized baseball, although his friends have attempted to talk him into giving it a try. "They tell me I'd be good at it," said Gray, who plays basketball and runs track at Central. "But I'm so busy with basketball, I don't really have time."

Besides, Gray said, baseball just doesn't do anything for him. "It's kind of boring to me," he said. Gray's view seems typical of many young black athletes who dream of earning a college athletic scholarship. Baseball probably isn't their ticket. The number of black players in college baseball continues to decline, with black players comprising only 2.6 of the NCAA Division I total in 2006, the latest NCAA report.

That's down from 6 percent in a 2004 report by Richard Lapchick, director of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports. Lapchick isn't pointing fingers at the college game or its coaches. He said the dwindling number of blacks in baseball is an across-the-board problem.

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