Retired NFL players angry about pensions

Many expressing frustration about lack of respect from league and union.

Ken Riley (Florida A&M University) of Bartow, Florida is one of the lucky ones. He played 15 years for the Cincinnati Bengals without injuring a knee. At age 60, Riley feels pretty good. He has yet to tap into his NFL pension. But he knows many players of his era haven't been so fortunate, and he's not sure they're getting enough help from players of this era.

"I went through four NFL strikes," said Riley, who retired as a player in 1983. "Guys make a lot more money now, and that's great. But a lot of guys paved the way for them, and the least they can expect is for the players of today to appreciate it." Riley, now an administrator at Winter Haven High School, says there should be no disconnect between active and former players.

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Grambling State stockpile offensive line prospects

Grambling's stockpile of offensive line prospects grew by two more, as Demetrius Porter (6-5, 280) out of Marksville and Georgia's Sanford Banks (6-5, 303) pledged. That makes five new commitments toward a remade GSU front four so far.

Banks, a one-star recruit out of Carver (Columbus, Ga.) High, was listed at 5:93 in the 40-yard dash by Scout.com. Rivals, which called Banks the No. 68 recruit in Georgia, also listed interest from Alabama-Birmingham, South Florida and Wake Forest.

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His Own Man: WSSU freshman is emerging from shadow of brother

It's easy to understand why freshman Isiah Tucker of Winston-Salem State plays with a chip on his shoulder. He has always been in the shadow of his older brother, P.J. Tucker. But he has lived with it his whole life and doesn't mind talking about it.

P.J. Tucker, a former star at Texas who now plays in Israel, is just two years older than Isiah. And at 6-5, he can do almost everything on the court - one reason that the Toronto Raptors made him the 35th pick in last year's NBA Draft. However, P.J. played in just 17 games for the Raptors, and is now playing overseas with hopes of getting back to the NBA.

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Evans agrees to 3-year deal as Norfolk State basketball coach

Photo: NSU first year head basketball coach Anthony Evans.

When Norfolk State takes the floor for Saturday’s big men’s basketball game against Hampton University, it will do so without its interim head coach. Instead, Anthony Evans will coach Saturday with the interim tag removed. Today, Norfolk State announced that Evans was named permanent head coach and was given a three-year contract through the 2010-11 season.

Evans and assistant coaches Lonnie Blow and Robert Jones have guided the Spartans to a 9-9 overall and a 5-1 mark in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. NSU is tied with Hampton for second place in the conference, one-half game behind Morgan State in the standings.

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Super Strahan 'a very long way from Texas Southern University

"When I was a boy, I didn't dream of Super Bowls," Michael Strahan said. "I was dreaming just to have a job and get out of my parents' house."

Seven Pro Bowls and two Super Bowls later, it's hard for Strahan to truly grasp just how his journey landed him here. He spent much of his childhood in Germany because his father, Gene Strahan, was stationed there as a major in the U.S. Army. Michael played one year of football at Westbury High School before attending Texas Southern University.

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Bethune-Cookman see endowment growth

Photo: Bethune Cookman University President, Dr. Trudie Kibbe Reed.

Bethune-Cookman University is the only school to earn a bullet as a fast-riser in this week's issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education.

President Trudie Kibbe Reed and her board have infused energy and ideas into the fundraising effort, growing the endowment at the end of fiscal year 2007 to $42.9 million, a 21.2-percent growth.

"We asked alumni to give every month, as if they were tithing in church,’’ Reed told us this morning. “We went from 7 to 64 percent in alumni giving."

Reed said the endowment has gone from $24 million when she started in 2004 to about $47 million, but the recent market downturn has it back down to about $44 million.

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Football scheduling mix-up costs Alabama State Hornets

Photo: Alabama State University Hornets Interim Athletic Director Ron Dickerson.

Alabama State interim athletic director Ron Dickerson likes to map his days out weeks in advance and hates surprises. Unfortunately, his school's 2008 football schedule -- which Dickerson finalized months ago -- is in shambles now with the discovery of two games both scheduled for Sept. 6, 2008. It will now cost the university several thousand dollars to resolve the problem.

Part of the problem stems from the Southwestern Athletic Conference's decision in spring of 2006 to go from a nine-game mandate within conference -- meaning every SWAC team was forced to play each other -- to a seven-game mandate.

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It is great to see that FAMU is moving away from the classic games. The Rattlers are already committed to two of the largest--the Florida Classic with Bethune Cookman and the Atlanta Football Classic with Tennessee State. We would prefer to see FAMU play the Florida FBC teams like Miami, Central Florida, South Florida and Florida that can pay the $350,000-$400,000 market rate guarantee for an FCS game.

South Carolina State is playing at Central Florida and Clemson this season. Norfolk State is playing at Kentucky and Delaware State is playing for the second consecutive season at Kent State. It's all about the money for MEAC programs and a few are moving in the right direction in scheduling games with the FBC teams for the big payouts and the higher grade competition.