Southern gearing up for scrimmage

Southern will have a fine-tuning scrimmage tonight in A.W. Mumford Stadium after staging a major evaluation scrimmage Saturday. Tonight’s full-gear workout, around 6 p.m., will be closed, unlike Saturday’s, which was open.“It’s going to be a situational thing, concentrating on down and distance, substitutions, almost like a game situation, if we can get out there,” Southern coach Pete Richardson said.

Richardson said he had no preset idea of how many plays Southern would go. “We’re basically looking at situational stuff, some of the calls we’ve deciphered,” Richardson said.

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New vision for Coppin State athletics

As AD, former NFL player Derrick Ramsey wants the school to become synonymous with the city.

At first glance, it seems an odd choice - Coppin State naming Derrick Ramsey as athletic director. Ramsey, an All-America football star in college, played nine years in the NFL. But Coppin has no football team. Ramsey last worked as Kentucky's deputy secretary of commerce, where he oversaw the state's Fish and Wildlife Service. Around Coppin, the only fish are the fried lake trout in North Avenue carryouts, and wildlife consists of a few squirrels that scrounge for food on the campus quad.

But yesterday, as Ramsey, 6 feet 6 inches, surveyed his new domain, he saw nothing but opportunity - a chance for Coppin to become Baltimore's hometown favorite. "This city is up for grabs," said Ramsey, 51. "There is no one school with which everyone identifies. Baltimore screams out for an institution to take it over, and we're going to do that with integrity and character."

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UMES Tyson is academically ineligible

UMES men's starting basketball shooting guard Ed Tyson will not return to the team next season because he is academically ineligible, the school announced yesterday.

Tyson, an All- Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference second-team player, averaged a conference-best 20.2 points while starting in all 32 games for the Hawks last season. He also led the team with 54 steals, 1,176 minutes, 219 field goals and 73 three-pointers.

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FAMU RB Page powerful

Rattlers freshman LaVonte Page packs a wollop in a 5-11/211 pound frame with wheels that can motor past most cornerbacks.

A voice from the sidelines gave LaVonte Page a little encouragement during Tuesday's football practice. Page had shaken off two defenders, leaving them sprawling on the turf. "To the house," reverberated across the field from the sideline. "To the house, baby." It was great encouragement, but the freshman running back from Douglasville (Ga.) High School has been showing that he is driven for more than a week now.

"That just desire to score," he said, sweat rolling down his forehead. "If you have the desire to score, nobody can stop you. That's all I have to do. "I was taught when you get the ball you cut and run hard," Page said. "I just keep my legs moving. You never know how many chances you get to go into the end zone, so I try to go every chance I can." Page had several explosive runs Tuesday, as he's been doing since arriving on campus.

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Whistler honors former Vigor, Jackson State, NFL star Robert Brazile with street name

ROBERT BRAZILE, former Jackson State All-American linebacker who was a first round draft pick of the Houston Oils and a seven-time Pro Bowl selection with the Oilers. His 1974 JSU class included the legendary RB Walter Payton, 1st round pick and Pro Football Hall of Famer (Chicago Bears) and 20 year NFL offensive tackle Jackie Slater, 3rd round pick, Pro Football Hall of Famer, (Los Angeles/St.Louis Rams). Brazile is the only linebacker from the 1970s All-Decade Team not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Long before he was nicknamed "Dr. Doom" for his brutal hitting in the NFL, Robert Brazile was known as "Catfish," and "Bubba" to his neighbors along Till Street and Felder Avenue in Whistler (Alabama). Brazile was honored Tuesday morning when Robert Brazile Jr. Avenue was unveiled. Brazile — a member of the Prichard Sports and Leadership Hall of Fame, the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame, the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame, Senior Bowl Hall of Fame and Alabama Sports Hall of Fame — said it was heartwarming to be recognized by his community.

"Growing up on this street, I had so many parents. I had to answer to everyone up and down this street and I couldn't let them down," he said. "The best part of this dedication is that my parents got the opportunity to see it. People are getting streets named after them every day and their parents aren't around to see it; some of the honorees aren't even around."

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TSU shores up holes on defense with new faces

TSU defensive coordinator Rod Reed.

Tennessee State's new defensive linemen are facing old problems. Not only did the unit struggle against the run last year, but the top linemen also are gone. So Rod Reed, who coached linebackers last year and took over as defensive coordinator this year, is trying to make improvements with young and inexperienced players.

"They get to go against a pretty good offensive line every day in practice so they get their noses bloodied a little bit,'' Reed said. "It's good to watch them sit in there and fight." Even with likes of All-OVC defensive end Shaun Richardson and nose tackle Lamar Divens, who signed with San Diego, TSU finished 88th nationally in run defense (193.5 yards per game) and 74th in total defense (386.4). Harold Ayodele, who rotated at tackle with Maurice Davis, did not to return for his final year of eligibility.

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Support for SCSU pours forth in force

Orangeburg icon and former SCSU Bulldogs legendary head football coach Willie Jeffries served as event Master of Ceremonies.

The city of Orangeburg was truly “Garnet and Blue Country” Tuesday evening. A sizable crowd packed the Russell Street Square Tuesday to show their support for the 2008 South Carolina State football team. From young and old, alumni to non-S.C. State graduates and public and SCISAA Orangeburg County high school students, nearly every demographic was well-represented at the hour-long pep rally.

For S.C. State punter and Orangeburg native Aaron Haire, the spirit of unity was both encouraging and long overdue. “It’s one thing I’ve been hoping,” Haire said. “One thing that really determines a team success is having a community behind us and providing strong support. I was used to that growing up in Orangeburg and playing football for the Orangeburg-Wilkinson Bruins. So I’m happy that they’re starting to come out for the Bulldogs of South Carolina State.”

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S.C. State camp-style drill the last for Bulldogs

By SCSU Sports Information

South Carolina State conducted its last camp-style football drill on Tuesday during a two-hour workout in full pads that began with a lot of enthusiasm but tailed off near the end amid high temperatures, according to Bulldog head coach Buddy Pough. The drill got underway at approximately 10 a.m.

“Today (Tuesday) was our last day of camp-style practices,” Pough said. “We made it through as it got pretty hot out there. The first half of practice was not bad as both the offense and defense looked sharp. But, as it warmed up, we were not able to sustain things. The defense did play well through most of the workout, but the offense struggled during the second half after looking pretty good at the outset.

“It’s time, I believe,” he continued “that we have to go full speed ahead. We have to increase our intensity and toughen up mentally.”

Several Bulldogs, who missed Monday’s practice due to a stomach virus, returned to the field Tuesday although they appeared to be slowed a bit. Later Tuesday, the Bulldogs joined the community for a “kickoff” pep rally in downtown Orangeburg. S.C. State will take Wednesday off as classes get under way, before returning to drills Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

Winston-Salem State to start basketball practice this week

Senior forward Jamal Durham, 6-6/215, Winston - Salem, N.C./North Davidson High School.

Rams preparing to play in Bahamas tournament at the end of the month

Winston-Salem State's young basketball team will get a head start this year by opening practice Wednesday. WSSU is taking advantage of an NCAA rule that permits a school to play in an early tournament once every four years. The Rams will have what amounts to 10 extra practices and then play two games at the end of this month in the Bahamas.

Coach Bobby Collins, who will be in his third season with the Rams, said: "I think this is great because we'll be able to bring them all together, and we'll see what we have real early." The official opening day for other college programs is Oct. 15. The Rams will open practice Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the Gaines Center, and then have nine more practices before leaving for the Bahamas on Aug. 29. They will play two exhibition games and then return to campus on Sept. 1. Collins said that his team won't miss any classes.

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WSSU Rams 2008/09 Men's Basketball Schedule

Aug 29-31- Tournament in Nassau, Bahamas

Nov 14 - at Georgia Tech
Nov 18 -at Eastern Kentucky
Nov 24 Wake Forest
Nov 27-30 at Illinois State Tournament (Normal, Ill.)

Dec 6 at S.C. State
Dec 13 at N.C. State
Dec 18 at N.C. Central
Dec 30 Averett
Dec 31 at Old Dominion

Jan 5 Columbia Union
Jan 10 at Maryland Eastern Shore
Jan 12 at Delaware State
Jan 17 at Howard
Jan 19 at Hampton
Jan 24 N.C. A&T
Jan 26 Norfolk State
Jan 31 at Florida A&M

Feb 2 at Bethune-Cookman
Feb 7 Morgan State
Feb 9 Coppin State
Feb 11 N.C. Central
Feb 14 Howard
Feb 16 Hampton
Feb 21 at N.C. A&T
Feb 28 Florida A&M

Mar 2 Bethune-Cookman
Mar 5 S.C. State
Mar 14 N.C. Central (MEAC Tournament game at Joel Coliseum)

OU will face Mississippi Valley State in NIT basketball opener

NORMAN -- Oklahoma hosts Mississippi Valley State to open the NIT Season Tip-Off Nov. 17, according to the tournament schedule released Tuesday. The Sooners, who are seeded No. 2 overall in the 16-team field, should be heavy favorites against MVSU, a squad that went 17-16 a year ago and 12-6 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The game tips off at 8 p.m. and will be televised by ESPNU.
























Things could get much more difficult in the second round Nov. 18, when, provided they win the night before, the Sooners face the winner of the Davidson-James Madison game at 8:30 p.m. Davidson returns All-America candidate Stephen Curry from a 29-7 team that nearly upset eventual national champion Kansas in the Elite Eight last March.

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Southern back into school mode

VIDEO: Countdown on for Southern football

Classes started Monday at Southern, and to that end the Jaguars started their school-week schedule Sunday. As they will weekly all season, SU had a brief practice Sunday and did not practice Monday. SU coach Pete Richardson and staff made the change to light Sunday workouts/no Monday practices early in the 2004 season because of heavy class/practice conflicts on Mondays.

The practice schedule allows SU coaches to have Mondays to break down game film and better plan the key weekday practices — Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This week, with Sunday’s hour-long workout in the books, SU will practice two hours Tuesday through Friday afternoons and again Saturday morning. During game weeks, SU will have two-hour workouts Tuesday through Thursday and an hour walkthrough on Friday and then go one-and-a-half hours Sunday to recover from a Saturday game.

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Southern's Line Leaders

SU offensive tackles having fun while doing job

Here’s Southern senior right tackle Myles Williams. He’s got his shoulder pads and helmet in one hand. He’s got a host of sleepy teammates, trying to shake the double whammy of the early hour and the grind of being deep into the long week of two-a-days, walking past him to get their gear in the frigid bellows of the F.G. Clark Activity Center.

And so Williams bellows out, Monday Night Football style, “Are You Ready for Some Football?” This is the guy quarterback Bryant Lee calls, “Big Cheesy.” Williams, for his part, has a few choice nicknames to fire right back at Lee. In no way will Williams, a four-year starter, kowtow to the pretty-boy status of the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s preseason offensive player of the year.

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PVAMU quarterback Spivey receives 6th year of eligibility

Prairie View A&M quarterback Mark Spivey went 5-1 as a starter last season.

Prairie View A&M quarterback Mark Spivey has been granted a medical hardship waiver by the NCAA, giving him a sixth year of eligibility. Spivey, a Westfield product, missed the 2004 season and most of the 2005 campaign with shoulder injuries, but posted the best performance of his collegiate career last season, going 5-1 as a starter and leading the Panthers to their first winning season since 1976.

“He’s the leader of our offense, and he’s looking very sharp in practice,” coach Henry Frazier III said. “I’m expecting him to pick up where he left off last year."

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FAMU RT Okeafor returns from injury

Robert Okeafor walked off FAMU's football practice field Monday feeling that for the first time since last season he's accomplished something. "I felt like I was very much a contributor," he said. "The offensive line was in synch and the chemistry was there. It was like getting back to work."

Okeafor indeed is back to work at right tackle for the Rattlers. He returned to contact workout Monday for the first time since sustaining a torn meniscus in his left knee last season.

"It's like a kid in a candy store," he said. "I get back out there and get a chance to hit again. "I've been itching for awhile since I've gotten a chance to hit somebody so it's good to finally get that itch scratched and get a little contact under my belt."

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FAMU DB Beach trying to reclaim eligibility

Defensive back Jason Beach might not be playing another season at FAMU after all. Coach Joe Taylor hedged on saying with certainty that Beach won't be back, but he said enough to indicate that Beach won't get another season with the Rattlers. "I'm not too optimistic to be honest with you," Taylor said following Monday's practice, which Beach didn't attend.

"He has gotten what he came here for," Taylor said. "He has gotten his degree." Beach, who graduated with honors last December, was hoping to regain time that he missed during the 2004 season. That year, he left school to be with family members who were affected by Hurricane Dennis.

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MEAC volleyball kicks off

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- The 2008 MEAC volleyball season will kick off Labor Day weekend with a flurry of nonconference games. The defending champions Florida A&M, will begin its season at the Florida State Invitational against Bowling Green and Stetson.

UMES will start at the Virginia Tech Hokie Invite at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30. They will face Virginia Tech, Coastal Carolina and Winston-Salem State. Conference play will begin Oct. 3 when the northern and southern teams will face each other.

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JSU tigers ready to roar

Touted TE Frost back from injury

JACKSON – Jackson State fans talk about Marcel Frost like he's some kind of mythical creature come to life. Like something they've heard about forever but have never actually seen. They know the Ohio State transfer has played in front of national audiences in places like Michigan Stadium and against Notre Dame in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. They've seen the imposing 6-foot-5, 255-pound frame. The soft hands, quick feet and fiery temperament of the tight end have been documented.

But, except for 10 catches in 2006, Tigers fans haven't witnessed the potential so many talk about. I feel like I have something to prove to everybody," Frost said. "I want to show everybody that it's not just hype and that I really can play.

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Time (finally) to mark calendars on long-delayed Robinson Museum project

GRAMBLING — Key dates for the long-delayed Eddie Robinson Museum are being talked about in terms of months, instead of years. For a project now nearly a decade in the making, that's a remarkable achievement in itself. "We're hoping to have a groundbreaking some time in the fall, and we'll get the ball rolling," said Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne, whose office would oversee the project. "We're making great progress."

At Grambling State from 1941-97, Robinson retired as the winningest football coach in college history with 408 wins — leading the Tigers to 17 Southwestern Athletic Conference titles over the years. He passed away in April 2007 at age 88, as the state moved to approve a plan to house a museum in his honor in the former women's gym on the Grambling campus.

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Vikings' Jackson suffers sprained MCL

ESPN.com reported that Minnesota Vikings and former Alabama State quarterback Tarvaris Jackson suffered a sprained medial collateral knee ligament during the Vikings' 23-15 preseason victory over the Ravens on Saturday. The MCL injury could keep Jackson out of the Vikings' preseason game next Saturday against the Steelers but the injury isn't considered serious enough to sideline him for the start of the regular season.



It's possible Vikings coach Brad Childress could keep him out of the Vikings' final two preseason games to ensure Jackson is healthy for the regular-season opener against the Packers.

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B-CU Wildcats excited about QB Souverain

Cornerbacks Antonio and Antwuan Cox are amongst the five speediest players on the BCU roster that includes Souverain as the third fastest.

DAYTONA BEACH -- McKinson Souverain sounded a bit like Mark McGwire speaking before a congressional committee. "I don't really like to talk about the past," he said. That includes four-fifths of his college football career, which has been largely forgettable. It is the one year he has remaining that he and his coach, Bethune-Cookman's Alvin Wyatt, are excited about. "We feel good about this kid, real good," Wyatt said of his senior quarterback.

Souverain transferred to B-CU before last season (from Fresno City College/FAU) and spent the year backing up senior Jimmie Russell. He passed for 402 yards and a touchdown with three interceptions and ran for 98 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown run in the season's final game against Florida A&M. Having never directed an option offense before, Souverain had to learn how to run the "Wyattbone." Now he's ready.

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Bethune-Cookman Wildcats Ready To Roll

BCU head football coach Alvin C. "Shine" Wyatt, Sr., sports back- to- back 5-6 records with the Wildcats.

DAYTONA - Alvin Wyatt clearly enjoys being flashy. Bethune-Cookman's football coach has maybe the most distinctive sideline wardrobe in the game. Shirts opened to mid-chest, gaudy jewelry dangling from his neck, sunglasses, pointed shoes with a glossy shine. And when he's away from the football field, he sometimes can be found driving around Daytona Beach in his luxury sedan. It's simply part of his lore, the way he's always been, the way he'll always be.

Yet Wyatt also has a simple side, the one that is the backbone of his football program. For nearly three decades, the Bronson Residential Complex - the Bethune dorm that houses most football players, wedged between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the team's practice field - has been his year-round home. He eats alongside the students, shares a bathroom with them, rides the same elevators, walks the same hallways. His reason? Officially, it's to save money, since he isn't exactly one of football's higher-paid coaches. Deep down, though, he simply doesn't want to be anywhere else.

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Florida A&M Rattler faithful celebrate fan day

Children squeezed between their parents to get an up-close view of the 2008 FAMU football team's autograph session at Sunday's Fan Appreciation Day. Longtime Rattler supporters filled chairs in the food court at Governor's Square Mall. FAMU fans even watched on the upper level, where curious spectators mingled and peered over the rails to get a glimpse of the Marching 100.

FAMU Marching 100 Alumni Band (2008) - Songs: Sing, Sing, Sing; and S.O.S.


The entire band wasn't there but the performance was just as rousing as any that the band is known for. They seemed to captivate the audience with a rendition of "Sing, Sing, Sing," a tune that director Julian White says the band will perform Sept. 7 at a Miami Dolphins game. The estimated 400 fans that showed up also got a chance to meet other athletes and coaching staff from FAMU. For more than an hour after the band played its final tune, fans waited in lines to meet the players and get their autographs.

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NCCU Eagles' young defense prepares for tough schedule

DURHAM -- N.C. Central has been used to moving the football and putting up points for the past four years, and the Eagles should be just as good at it this year. Although Mose Rison's club will face a much tougher schedule than did last season's 6-4 team, with seven returning starters including proven quarterback Stadford Brown, the offense should be in very good shape. And new defensive coordinator Jake Cabell's biggest challenge is simply to make sure his less experienced unit isn't on the field very much.

The first test is just 13 days away, as the Eagles will open their season on Aug. 31 at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium against former CIAA rival Fayetteville State. "We get to work against a very good, proven offense every day in practice," said Cabell, a one-time star at Nebraska who will also be position coach for the Eagles' defensive backs. "We want to have them on the field as much as possible, so our motto is 'Get the ball back.'"

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Defense starts, offense finishes in UAPB scrimmage

University of Arkansas Pine Bluff head football coach Monte Coleman.

The Arkansas-Pine Bluff offense apparently didn’t get the message that head coach Monte Coleman’s first scrimmage at the school started at 6:15 p.m. The Golden Lion defense set the tone by only giving up one touchdown in the first half. Then the offense responded to a short field for most of the second half, taking the Saturday scrimmage 37-6.

“It was probably jitters, and I had jitters, too,” Coleman said. “I walked on the field, and it felt like the Super Bowl. My stomach was turning, so it was probably jitters.”

The defense gained confidence right from the start. Junior transfer Larry Jenkins intercepted Jonathan Moore on the first play of the scrimmage and returned the ball 35 yards for the touchdown.

“That’s something that we have not done since I’ve been here and that’s score on defense,” Coleman said.

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UAPB Report: Lions have bad luck with WRs

In less than two weeks, the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions went from looking for a secondary receiver to complement senior Bruce Peters to looking for a secondary receiver, period. Senior Ryan Watley was lost for the season last week after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in practice. Then Tuesday, the NCAA informed Golden Lions offensive coordinator / academic liaison Jonathan Cannon that freshman wideout Gionni Harris would be ineligible for the 2008 season.

Harris, who helped lead Fayetteville to the Class 7 A state title in 2007, was considered one of the Golden Lions' quicker receiving prospects. Coach Monte Coleman said one of the test scores used to admit Harris to the university came from an exam not taken on one of the national testing days. Harris can remain as a student at UAPB and can have four years of eligibility starting next season if he meets the school's academic requirements.

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