The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Addition of Texas Southern underwhelming at best

Texas Southern's AD Charles McClelland takes step up from Texas College and Texas State by adding road games with Louisiana-Monroe and Rutgers to Tigers 2009 schedule for Coach Johnnie Cole second season.

Rutgers loads schedule with cupcakes -- Howard Bison (Sept. 12), Texas Southern, Florida International and Army.

The Scarlet-White game is tomorrow, Rutgers Stadium’s expansion is taking shape and the open slot in the "Rutgers University" 2009 schedule has finally been filled. With Texas Southern. From the Southwest Athletic Conference. Really.

I’m not knocking the thought of a second Football Championship Subdivision (I-AA if you will) opponent, but when Morgan State and Norfolk State look like USC compared to these guys, excuse me if I’m a little underwhelmed. Texas Southern was all of 4-8 last season, falling to mighty 6-6 Arkansas State in a close 83-10 slobberknocker. Three of its four wins were against non-Division I opponents Shaw, Texas College and Concordia College, and they were an impressive 1-6 in the SWAC.

To Rutgers’ credit, it’s not like they didn’t try to get a better opponent. “We have worked diligently for months to complete our 2009 schedule with a Football Bowl Subdivision team,” Athletic Director Tim Pernetti said in a press release. “We were unable to convince any of the institutions with openings to come to Rutgers, including numerous BCS conference opponents.” If they waited this long and worked this hard to try to schedule a better opponent, so be it. I commend that effort. But to settle for Texas Southern is unacceptable. But there are still a bunch of positives to come out of this.

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Coach K won't say if Casey Printers his type

But ex-Ticat welcome at tryouts, Kelly says

He's been labelled a clubhouse cancer and a prima donna. And if you were to paint a picture to best describe quarterback Casey Printers' days with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, it would almost certainly involve a mushroom cloud, an enormous crater and several kilometres of scorched earth. And now, just a few weeks after vehemently denying any interest in his services, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are tap-dancing around weekend reports emanating from a Vancouver radio station that Printers is suddenly in their plans.

QB Casey Printers (Florida A&M Rattlers - 2002) has dropped in one season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from the top paid player in the CFL to unemployed professional quarterback.

"It's beyond me how this story has taken on a life of it's own," head coach Mike Kelly said from San Diego, where the Bombers conducted a free-agent tryout camp on the weekend. "Right now, we're just looking for good players (the club has two more camps scheduled in the next month). These are open tryouts. Joe Montana might walk out and say, 'Hey, I want to throw the ball around' and we'll say, 'OK, let's see what you got.' "I can't turn anybody away from these workouts."

That may be true, but despite his considerable skill set and his glowing credentials -- Printers was the CFL's Most Outstanding Player in 2004 -- the Bombers have until this point repeatedly spit out a polite "no thanks" when his name popped up in recent weeks. They vehemently denied interest in him in January when rumours surfaced that Printers would be traded to the Bombers for Kevin Glenn. And last month, when Printers was cut adrift by the Ticats, the Bombers took a pass on him as well.



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Extra text-ures

ASU moves ahead with plan to upgrade athletic facilities

Excerpt:

ASU's board of trustees ap­proved two proposals in recent weeks that call for the construc­tion of a new football complex and a complete overhaul of the team's practice field, including the installation of synthetic turf. The football complex project, which is still in the "early plan­ning stage," will cost the school around $6 million, according to Kippy Tate, ASU's vice presi­dent for buildings and grounds, and has an estimated time of completion of 18 months. The new two-story building will be approximately 25,000 square feet and will be located on the north side of Hornet Stadium, where the school's old bus barn currently stands.

Under those current plans, which Tate said are far from be­ing finalized, the bottom floor of the facility will contain the stan­dard facilities for players, in­cluding a locker room, trainer's room, meeting areas and an aca­demic center for tutoring of all student-athletes. The second floor will primarily consist of coaches' offices, a lounge and meeting areas. The field project, which will cost the school around $900,000 and is close to entering the bid­ding stage of the process, should be completed prior to fall drills in August. The new Sprinturf synthetic turf will be identical to the turf in place at Cramton Bowl, where the Hornets play their home games.

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McDonald gives JSU Tigers motivated backup QB

In an ideal world, Jackson State coach Rick Comegy would carry five quarterbacks on the roster. He has just three this spring, and a lot of that has to do with Dedric McDonald. The JSU coaching staff was very selective during the recruiting process last year and just a few quarterbacks drew interest. None signed, but it wasn't the end of the world. "Dedric puts us, not in a comfort zone, but we know we've got a guy that can throw the home run, hit the soft pass and can run," Comegy said. "He does make up for saying, 'Well, we didn't get that guy.' "

McDonald redshirted his freshman year after graduating from Morton. He ran the scout team all year, going against one of the best defenses in the nation on a daily basis. At 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, McDonald stands tall in the pocket and seems to put a perfect spiral on every pass. His arm strength has never been questioned, but his touch has improved since last year and he's carrying himself much differently. "He does throw a very catchable ball, Dedric just seems so natural," receiver Keenan Tillman said. "The difference in Dedric, his first year he accepted that he was a redshirt. This year ... he's more into it. He wants to compete for that starting job.

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Taylor sees good things at FAMU scrimmage

Rattlers All-American KR LeRoy Vann

There were enough good signs during Saturday's practice for Florida A&M football coach Joe Taylor to beam with optimism about his team. Running back Philip Sylvester toyed with the interior defensive linemen, then darted through some holes to score twice. Receiver Kevin Elliott made a leaping catch for another touchdown and quarterback Curtis Pulley showed more efficiency with his passes.

On a scale of 1 to 10, Taylor rated the performance by both the offense and defense as an eight. He also said the team will begin preparation for its season opener against Delaware State, starting with the final two spring practices next week. "We are doing some good things, and like I told them -- all you ever want in life is a chance," Taylor said. "You give yourself a chance when you're competitive. I'm very, very convinced that we will be very competitive this year."

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DSU Hornets' title dream spoiled by Nebraska

CANTON, Mich. -- Delaware State's bid for its first NCAA title in any sport ended when the bowling team lost 4-2 to top-seeded Nebraska in the national semifinals Saturday. The No. 7-seeded Hornets were ahead 2-1 before the Cornhuskers won the last three games. "I am so proud of our team, and how hard the ladies worked all season long," said coach Kim Terrell-Kearney. "Certainly we are disappointed in coming up short of the championship, but we met our match [Saturday]. The loss [Saturday] takes nothing away from the great season we had."

No. 7 seed DSU falls in tourney semifinals

The Hornets were two wins away from the championship match after taking two of the first three games in the best-of-seven series. Nebraska won the first game 201-193 before Delaware State evened the match with a 215-149 win in game two. Freshman Brooke Peterson had strikes on each of her two throws. The Hornets took the lead in the match with a 204-156 victory in game three. Sophomore Angela Reynolds led the way with two strikes. Nebraska opened game four with four strikes en route to a 244-173 victory.

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President Clinton to speak at FAMU commencement

President Bill Clinton, U.S. Congressman Kendrick Meek and CNN Anchor Soledad O’Brien Keynote FAMU’s 2009 Spring Commencement

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Former President Bill Clinton will lead the line up of speakers scheduled for Florida A&M University’s Spring 2009 Commencement on May 3, 2009. President Clinton, founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation will address students slated to receive degrees at the first of three sessions beginning at 9 a.m. in the new Multipurpose Center Teaching Gymnasium. Other speakers are: U.S. Congressman Kendrick Meek and CNN Anchor/Special Correspondent Soledad O’Brien.

Elected President in 1992, and again in 1996, President Clinton will share his life lessons with graduates and challenge them to “transform ideas into action.” Since 2001, President Clinton has dedicated himself to philanthropy and public service through his foundation. He also joined forces with former President Bush with relief and recovery efforts following the tsunami in the Indian Ocean, and led a nationwide fundraising effort in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

During the early morning session, the University will present an Honorary Doctorate to Elder Ernest Ferrell, President of the National Primitive Baptist Church. Ferrell, a native of Tallahassee, is active in the community and also serves as president and CEO of the Tallahassee Urban League. The second commencement session will be held at 2 p.m. Meek will address the graduating class. Meek an alumnus is one of two Floridians who serves on the Ways and Means Committee and the only Floridian Ways and Means member of the Democratic majority.

Meek earned a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice in 1989 from FAMU. An experienced legislator who served eight years in the Florida House (1995-1998) and Senate (1999-2002), Meek launched the initiative to reduce class sizes in Florida schools. In 2007, Meek was appointed to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. He is one of only 12 members of Congress to represent the United States on the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Meek is the son of former Congresswoman and alumna Carrie P. Meek.

Soledad O'Brien

At 6 p.m. O’Brien will offer words of advice to graduates. Since joining CNN in 2003, O’Brien has reported breaking news from around the globe. Her award-winning documentaries have helped the nation understand issues affecting the African-American community. One of her most recent projects include CNN Presents: Black in America, a ground breaking initiative that focused on the state of black America 40 years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

O’Brien was part of the coverage teams that earned CNN a George Foster Peabody Award for its Katrina coverage and an Alfred I. duPont Award for its coverage of the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia. She has also won an Emmy for her work as a co-host on Discovery Channel’s The Know Zone.

Completing the evening session, President James H. Ammons will present Art Collins, president and CEO for Public Private Partnership, Inc., with an Honorary Doctorate. Collins is a former member of the FAMU Board of Trustees. He served as Senior Political Strategist for President Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign. Following the election he served as a public liaison with the Obama-Biden Transition Project.

The FAMU Schools and Colleges graduating at the 9 a.m. session include, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Law, the School of Architecture and Environmental Sciences Institute. The line of march for this session will begin at 8:30 a.m. Graduates are to arrive at 7:30 a.m., and doors open for the public at 8 a.m.

Students in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, School of Allied Health Sciences and the School of Nursing will be presented at the 2 p.m. session. The line of march for the 2 p.m. session at 1:30 p.m. Graduates are to arrive at 4:30 p.m., and doors open for the public at 5 p.m.

The final commencement exercise will include the School of Business and Industry, College of Engineering Sciences, Technology and Agriculture, College of Education and the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication. The line of march will start at 5:30 p.m. Graduates are to arrive at 4:30 p.m., and doors open for the public at 5 p.m.

-FAMU Press Release