Meet the Atlanta Falcons Rookies: RB Philip Sylvester, FAMU

FLOWERY BRANCH, GA – Early in training camp, Falcons coach Mike Smith singled out the speedy running back Philip Sylvester for praise.

The former Florida A&M Rattler was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent after the lockout was lifted. Here’s bio from FAMU. He sings in the choir at his church so I know the veterans had a good time during his performance.

(I promised one of regular commenters, Marcus, that I’d catch up with Sylvester.)

So here’s are Q&A with him:

Q: How’s camp been going for you?

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Fayetteville State's Larry McDonald shows physical strength and mental toughness

Offensive star
If Fayetteville State can find reliable playmakers at tailback and receiver, quarterback Brandon Cluff, a transfer from Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College, has a chance to open some eyes with his arm strength.

Defensive star
All-CIAA safety Andre Lyles had 70 tackles, six interceptions and 15 passes defended last season.

Extra points
Linebacker Marcos Esquivel, who led the CIAA in tackles in 2009, returns after a one-year hiatus to finish his eligibility. ... Coach Kenny Phillips believes sophomores Anthony Council and Colon Bailey plus junior Anthony Williams can all be factors in the Broncos' running game.

Board Drill.
It's a daily staple at Fayetteville State football practices, a test of strength and determination that calls for Broncos linemen to battle one another with vigor.

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Xavier Gold Rush to conduct tryouts Friday at The Barn

Head coach Dannton Jackson will
conduct  tryouts for the Xavier men's
 basketball team Friday at the Barn

New Orleans - Xavier University of Louisiana will conduct men's basketball tryouts for the 2011-12 season this Friday from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at The Barn.

Participants must be full-time Xavier students and enrolled in a minimum of 12 hours for the fall 2011 semester.

Contact assistant coach Alfred Williams at (504) 520-6778 or awilli39@xula.edu for more information.

Xavier was 27-6 in 2010-11, ranked 17th in the final NAIA Division I poll and qualified for the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship for the fifth time in seven seasons.





By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial unveiled

Washington, D.C. - The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is revealed to members of the press before opening to the public today. The design is derived from part of King's famous "I have a dream" speech when he said, "With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope." The memorial sits by the tidal basin between the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials.



King memorial opens to the public today

The first members of the public to see the official opening of Washington’s new $120 million memorial to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. walked in quietly, smiling but “so slow it was like we were coming to see a body,” said Weldon Ferguson of the District.

What they saw instead was stone and water, words and an iconic image on a picture-perfect summer day along the Tidal Basin. Some were weeping. Others were taking pictures of the statue and each other and giving high-fives, lending the unveiling of the memorial the feeling of one big block party.

“It’s beautiful, exquisite,” said Paulette Davis of Washington. “I’m remembering where he led us. This exceeded my expectations.”

More than 25 years in the making, the granite memorial features a 30-foot-tall statue of King on a landscaped parcel on the northwest shore of the Tidal Basin, just southwest of the World War II Memorial.

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From Home Depot to Hampton University, Queens native Christina Delille completes comeback

New York, NY - Christina Delille was that girl, the one your coach warns you might become if you don’t work hard, if you don’t take care of your studies. Christina Delille was a basketball horror story, a how-to on what not to do when you’re talented in a sport.

Two years ago, Delille was working in Home Depot. She never graduated high school, instead getting her GED. She gained almost 60 pounds on a steady diet of Big Macs with honey mustard sauce and a side of fries.




That once promising basketball career – coaches who knew her growing up compared her to Epiphanny Prince – was so far in the rear-view mirror that she could barely remember it herself.  “I was just chilling, partying, staying home, watching TV and doing nothing,” Delille said.

Delille had fallen so far, yet she didn’t really start off too high to begin with. The Cambria Heights, Queens native didn’t take basketball or class seriously at St. Michael Acad or August Martin, falling in and out of academic eligibility. She played just one high-school season at Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass., as a reclassified sophomore.

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Southern Jaguars rich in receivers

Baton Rouge, LA - Jorge Baez grew up in Little Havana, the historically rich neighborhood just west of Miami, which, among many other things, was home to the old Orange Bowl. The old Orange Bowl, of course, was home of the Miami Hurricanes.

When Baez was growing up, the ’Canes were really the ’Canes: the meanest guys on the block, winners of 58 straight home games, teams that practically made national championships a yearly routine.

They were Baez’s first heroes. And the Orange Bowl, may it rest in peace, was the most special place to watch college football. “I grew up running in there and watching them ’Canes play,” Baez said.  He was hooked.

“I kind of knew at an early age that, once I graduated from college, that’s what I wanted to do,” said Baez, now in his first season as the wide receivers coach at Southern University.

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GSU coach in search for starting QB

Grambling, LA - Quarterbacks D.J. Williams and Frank Rivers have been under pressure all throughout fall camp, courtesy of the Grambling State defensive front seven.

After Saturday's scrimmage, a bit of that pressure may have shifted to GSU head coach Doug Williams as the Tigers' fall camp begins to wind down. "As a coach who's been around a while, even as a player, you always want that veteran," Williams said.

"Unfortunately, we don't have a veteran, but, somewhere along the line, one of these young guys have to grow up. (Saturday) I was real pleased with the quarterback play. I thought D.J. (Williams) shook off some jitters. Frank (Rivers) is coming along. The little guy, Jonathan (Williams), played with a lot of confidence, played with a lot of poise. When you look at the three, you have to be happy with your situation."

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