FAMU golf team records ace with latest recruit

So much was at stake on a day when Shepherd Archie III was playing one of his worst rounds of golf. He was seven strokes over par and his high school team needed just one good shot. He’d been the go-to guy for Augusta (Ga.) Richmond Academy so many times before. Even in his struggles that didn’t change.

Down to his last shot, Archie perfectly executed a 30-foot birdie to clinch the Georgia 4A championship for his team this past spring. “I had no idea that the putt that I made would have won the tournament for us,” he said. “I was playing real badly at the time but I just tried to find a way to get through the round. My driver was off but I just had to find a way.”

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Former SU Jaguar leaps his way onto US Olympic Team

Brian Johnson earns US Olympic Team Spot in Long Jump

Willie Davenport, Rodney Milburn, and now, Brian Johnson -- SU Olympians. Brian Johnson solidified his name in Southern athletic lore forever, as he finished second in the long jump today at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, OR.

Johnson had the leading jump on the trials heading into today's long jump finals. On Friday, Brian leaped 8.09m (26-06.50 ft), outdistancing eventual winner, Travell Quinley, by 3 inches.

On Sunday, Trevell Quinley lept 8.36m (27-05.25 ft) to take the win over Johnson, who had a second place jump of 8.30m (27-02.75 ft), while Miguel Pate finished third.

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SCSU's newest coach no stranger to Bulldogs

John L. Williams does not need much schooling about South Carolina State University. A former player and assistant coach at North Carolina A&T during the 1990s, the Greenville, N.C. native got first hand view of the Bulldogs’ football tradition. As a senior, he lined up against the Bulldogs’ team which went 10-2 and won both the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title and Heritage Bowl.

Starting today, Williams will try to help add to SCSU’s history as the new strength and conditioning coach. He replaces Thomas Stallworth, who resigned to take a similar job at Grambling State.

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Jackson State's Shasta Averyhardt gets taste of big time

Former JSU star Shasta Averyhardt played in her first USGA championship last week at the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links. She made the cut of 64 and won her first match before losing the second 3 and 2. "It was different... it was fun," said Averyhardt, who was meet medalist for the 2008 SWAC champion Lady Tigers. "They treated me like a queen. I can definitely get used to it."

The atmosphere was a little different playing on the pristine Erin Hills Golf course in Erin, Wisc. - the scheduled host of the 2011 U.S. Amateur. From the strict pace of play to the locker rooms to the length of the course, the event was a taste of big-time professional golf.




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The 6-1, 22 year old Averyhardt is from Flint, Michigan and is scheduled to complete her degree requirements in accounting at JSU in December 2008. She has exhausted all four years of her eligibility in collegiate golf.

ASU responds to NCAA allegations: L.C. Cole hopes to clear his name

Photo: Texas Southern University first year head coach Johnnie Cole.

After nearly five years, Alabama State's NCAA rules infraction case is winding down. On Friday, school officials sent in their final response to numerous alleged rules violations -- many of which the school self-reported -- and former head football coach L.C. Cole said his attorney plans to send in his response on Monday to the four charges he's facing.

In addition, there were several indications late in the week that former ASU assistant coach Johnnie Cole, L.C.'s brother, had been cleared of all major violations in the case. Contacted on Friday, Johnnie Cole, now the head coach at Texas Southern University, said the NCAA had told him that he couldn't discuss the situation. Johnnie had been charged with three major violations when he was suspended in 2003 from his job as offensive coordinator.

L.C. Cole, in the meantime, is set to argue his innocence once more.

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The beat goes on for former Landstown coach Chris Beatty

Photo: FAMU's Joe Taylor, the former Hampton University coach made a surprising move in 2006, hiring Chris Beatty out of the high school ranks to run his offense. “Chris has this great ability to evaluate talent and then find a way to get the football to that talent. To me, to hire a guy like that, it wasn’t a risk. It was a no-brainer.” (Mark's Digital Photography)

MORGANTOWN, WV - Here in the war room at West Virginia University, the newly assembled football staff is building its offense, but the braintrust has hit a snag. Offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen, who helped Wake Forest to an ACC title in 2006, is stumped. So is associate head coach Doc Holliday, who helped Florida win a national championship in 2007. Receivers coach Lonnie Galloway, who came from an Appalachian State staff that won the past three I-AA national titles, has no answers.

The group turns to the youngest, least-experienced coach in the room. He offers simple advice, his career-long mantra. “I know one thing,” Chris Beatty says. “You don’t take the ball out of your best player’s hands. You just don’t. Let’s start there.”

Everyone nods. Basic, but brilliant.

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2008-09 Alabama A&M Basketball Preview: #143

Alabama A&M Bulldogs
Overall Rank: #143
Conference Rank: #1 SWAC
2007-08: 14-15, 11-7, 3rd
2007-08 postseason: none

If Alabama A&M could only beat Arkansas Pine Bluff, their season would have ended much differently. As it was, the Bulldogs finished third in the conference and had a first round conference tournament exit at the hands of the Golden Lions. With a whole slew of talent returning, the Bulldogs will have the best back court in the SWAC and that should be enough for Coach Vann Pettaway’s squad to think about a conference championship.

Who’s Out: However, there is a huge, literally and figuratively, hole to fill in the front court. The 6-11 Mickell Gladness tallied 10.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Having a big guy like that...

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