SWAC announces '08 preseason baseball honors

Photo: PVAMU's Wrandal Taylor is named Pre-season SWAC Pitcher of the year. The senior is from Ozen HS., Beumont, Texas

MVSU’s Bard, PVAM’s Taylor tabbed for All-Conference selections.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The ballots have been tallied and Mississippi Valley State’s Sean Bard was selected as the 2008 SWAC Baseball Preseason Player of the Year. Wrandal Taylor of Prairie View A&M University, the defending SWAC champions, was named Preseason Pitcher of the Year.

Taylor, a 5-foot-11, 195 pound senior from Beaumont, Texas, helped lead the Panthers to the 2007 SWAC championship. He led the conference in strikeouts with 89 and was second with 92 innings pitched. He was ranked second in the SWAC in wins with nine and fifth in the SWAC with a 4.11 earned run average. Taylor was named Pitcher of the Year in 2006 when he threw 78.1 innings with 75 strikeouts with an average of 8.62 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE BY CLICKING ON BLOG TITLE.

UMES women's hoops begins important stretch in MEAC

Photo: Corin Adams, sophomore point guard, leads Morgan State with 17.6 points per game (third in the MEAC), 4.7 assists (leading the MEAC) and 4.2 steals (leading the MEAC). Adams is arguably the quickest guard in the league. The 5-7 star is from Madison High School, Brooklyn, NY.

The Hawks could make a big move either way in the next five days, as they take on three of the top five teams, beginning with a trip today to Morgan State, where the Bears (11-7, 5-2 MEAC) are undefeated. Morgan was the first team on the 2007-08 schedule for the Hawks this season, and while UMES (10-8, 3-2) was still trying to find its timing, they had a chance to win, falling 77-71 in a non conference tilt.

"I'm really looking forward to going up and playing Morgan at Morgan," UMES coach Fred Batchelor said. "This is a game that I'm excited about and I believe we're a much better team and a much different team than we were when we first played them. I'm sure that they've improved, as well, but I'm looking forward to getting a chance to play against one of the better teams in the league on their home floor, and I feel very confident that we're going to play well."

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY BY CLICKING ON BLOG TITLE.

Today's game is at 2 p.m., while the Hawks will head to Coppin on Monday at 5:30 p.m. Both of those games are parts of doubleheaders with the men's team. Wednesday, without the men's team, UMES will begin its game against Delaware State Hornets at 6 p.m. at the Hytche Center.

Delaware State expects Coppin State's best shot

Photo: DSU senior Roy Bright leads the MEAC in scoring with 18.9 ppg. The 6-6/225 all-star is from Durham, NC (Garden City CC), (Mt. Zion Christian Academy).

Hornets approach conference's last-place, first-place teams equally.

DOVER -- Who's more dangerous, last-place Coppin State or first-place Morgan State? For the Delaware State men's basketball team, that answer comes over the next three days with a game at each Baltimore school.

The Hornets begin the series today at 4 p.m. at Coppin State, which has a 4-18 record, 0-7 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. DSU plays Monday night at Morgan State (11-8, 6-1), off to its best start in 29 years. "I think we all have the mindset that we can't lose from here out," DSU junior forward Donald Johnson said. "We have to play both teams like they're No. 1 in our conference."

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE BY CLICKING ON BLOG TITLE.

Tennessee State University's Dent among Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists

Photo: Atlanta native, Richard Dent #95 is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The former TSU star was selected in the 1983 NFL Draft, Round 8, Pick 203 by the Chicago Bears.

PHOENIX — Richard Dent knows he can’t go back and change anything. So he’s hoping what he did in his 15 NFL seasons is enough to get him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame when voters meet here Saturday.

The former Tennessee State and Chicago Bears star, the Super Bowl XX Most Valuable Player, is among 15 modern era finalists. “I look forward to the opportunity, I think I am deserving,’’ Dent said. “I feel support from people, people who felt like I should be there and can’t understand why I’m not. “But I’ve done all I can do. My work is done; I can’t come back and make it any better than it is." At the time of his retirement following the 1997 season, Dent ranked third all-time in sacks with 137.5, trailing only Reggie White and Bruce Smith.

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE BY CLICKING ON BLOCK TITLE.

FAMU coach Clark says she has fond memories of WSSU

Photo: Lady Rattler Jarquella Woods, 5-1 freshman guard, Hardaway HS, Columbus, GA.

She had a 111-85 record in seven seasons on the Rams' sideline.

Coach Debra Clark said she will allow herself to be a little nostalgic when she leads the Florida A&M women against Winston-Salem State at 5:30 today at the Joel Coliseum Annex. Clark, who is in her seventh season at FAMU, was WSSU’s coach for seven seasons, from 1994 through 2001. “It’s kind of ironic that I’m coming back to Winston to play them; it’s going to be interesting,” she said. “I look forward to seeing a lot of folks that I know, so it will be a nice trip.”

“We’ve been hurt by injuries and everything else,” said Clark, whose Rattlers are 9-9 overall and 1-6 in the MEAC. “While it’s nice to be playing Winston, we are trying to get a win and get some momentum.”

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY BY CLICKING ON THE BLOG TITLE.

Memory of former Charleston Rocket surfaces at Super Bowl

Photo: Former Texas Southen University great--Michael Strahan, Defensive End, New York Giants.

IF you were a kid growing up in Charleston, West Virginia in the 1960s, chances are you loved the old Charleston Rockets. For us, it was our taste of pro football as we headed to old Laidley Field to watch the Rockets. Coached by Perry Moss, the Rockets competed in the United and Continental Football Leagues with such personalities as linebacker Sam Fernandez, defensive end Coy Bacon, wide receiver Sammy Weir, running back Millard Fleming, wide receiver Darrell Elam and punter Jim Hollingsworth.

To prove the impact that the Rockets continue to have on the football world, the memory of a former Rocket great surfaced in one of the Super Bowl's biggest stars this weekend. In an interview this week, Michael Strahan, the veteran leader of the New York Giants defense, gave credit for his NFL success to his former head coach at Texas Southern University.

That coach was none other than a former Charleston Rocket - standout center Walter Highsmith.

PLEASE, CONTINUE READING THIS INTERESTING ARTICLE ABOUT FORMER FAMU GREAT--WALTER HIGHSMITH, BY CLICKING ON BLOG TITLE.

Dang! We didn't know Walter Highsmith played for the old Charleston Rockets with Coy Bacon. Bacon got famous playing for "the future is now" Washington Redskins coach George Allen. Highsmith would later coach at Florida A&M University, among other stops in his career. Great to see a 15 year veteran and future Pro Football Hall of Famer give credit to his Alma mater, Texas Southern University and his coach (Walter Highsmith) for developing him into the star that he is today.

Highsmith son, Alonzo Walter Highsmith is currently a scout for the Green Bay Packers. He was selected in the first round, 3rd pick overall in the 1987 NFL Draft from the University of Miami (FL) and played six NFL seasons. He also won a national championship during his four years at Miami.

-beepbeep

Super Bowl to salute Doug Williams' feat

Photo: #17 Doug Williams, first African-American to start and win a Super Bowl at Quarterback. The former Grambling State University quarterback is currently employed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a personnel executive.

GLENDALE, Ariz. - We think little of it today, what with Warren Moon in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, with Donovan McNabb and Steve McNair having started in Super Bowls. But there was a time when the words "black" and "quarterback" didn't go so well together.

Doug Williams was the pioneer, at least in regards to the Super Bowl if not in all regards. He wasn't the first black quarterback to start a game in NFL history, but he was the first to become a regular and the first to star on the game's greatest stage.

The NFL will note the 20th anniversary of his MVP performance on Sunday when Williams takes part in the Vince Lombardi Trophy presentation after Super Bowl XLII here between New England and the New York Giants.

CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE BY CLICKING ON THE BLOG TITLE.