Friday, March 19, 2010

WNIT: North Carolina A&T Lady Aggies rout Wake Forest Deacons

North Carolina A&T State University took care of Wake Forest easily last night in the Women's NIT at sold-out Reynolds Gym.The Aggies jumped all over the Deacons early and never let up, rolling to a 73-49 victory in the first round. With close to 1,000 crammed into the on-campus gym that included both school bands, the atmosphere was as good as it gets. It was so loud that the scorer's table had to resort to using a bullhorn instead of the scoreboard buzzer.

And the Aggies' shooting and focus was as good as it gets. "To do this is just another step for us," Coach Patricia Bibbs of the Aggies said of winning their first postseason game in school history. "We knew we had to come out and play a near-perfect game and for the most part we did that." The Aggies (22-10) advanced, and will play UNC Charlotte on Sunday at 3 p.m., and they advanced rather easily. Coach Mike Petersen of the Deacons, who had hoped to have his team playing in the NCAA Tournament but didn't get a bid despite finishing fifth in the ACC, said that the Aggies, who had more fan support last night, came out blazing.

Final Stats

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Florida A&M Rattlers perform for NFL eyes

San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary couldn't stay for all of the events that his NFL peers brought to test the talent on display, but when he left he was thoroughly impressed. One by one former Florida A&M players went through the Pro Timing Day drills, knowing that nothing weighed as heavily as their speed in the 40-yard dash. For some the event that amounts to a job fair was their only opportunity to show off in front of prospective bosses, who carried stopwatches and notepads on Thursday as the players performed in front of a surprisingly large crowd on the FAMU practice field.

"There is a lot of untapped talent here," Singletary said. "It's a lot like a lot of other colleges (and) a lot of the guys are excited about what they're doing. I think the talent here is great, particularly on the big guys. They can run, they can move. It's just a matter of having the opportunity and making the most of it when they get it." Singletary said his team has interests in quarterback Curtis Pulley, offensive lineman Robert Okeafor, linebacker Bryant Parker and punt/kick returner LeRoy Vann. Vann worked out earlier this week for the Jacksonville Jaguars and will have a similar workout with the Tampa Bay Bucs next month.

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Morgan State Coach Todd Bozeman is making the most of his second chance

Todd Bozeman is on the other end of the phone and he wants to talk about the team he's coaching right now, Morgan State, which is a perfectly reasonable request since this Bears team has one of the best players in school history, a kid named Reggie Holmes, and it's 27-9 and heading into the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season. But I was a whole lot less interested in Morgan State than I was in talking to Bozeman about Bozeman, mostly about what happens from here going forward, about reputations and second chances and whether he'll ever coach on the big stage again.

See, it's no surprise to anybody that Morgan State won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for the second straight year to get to the NCAAs, or that Bozeman won the league's coach-of-the-year award for the third straight time, or that he's got a couple of really big-time players in Holmes, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, and Kevin Thompson, a 6-9 sophomore forward.

Bozeman, a Washington native, can recruit and he can coach and anybody who tells you anything else is a fool. In 7 1/2 years as a Division I head coach, at the University of California and Morgan State, Bozeman has been in five NCAA tournaments and an NIT.

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Jackson High hires former FAMU QB Quinn Gray to be its football coach

Gray spent five seasons with NFL Jacksonville Jaguars

Jackson High School (Jacksonville, FL) has a new football coach, and it’s a name that area football fans will undoubtedly recognize. The school has hired former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Quinn Gray. The 30-year-old Gray spent six seasons in the NFL, including the first five (2003-07) with the Jaguars. “It’s truly a privilege and an honor to be part of such a great tradition here at Jackson," Gray said. “Jackson reminds me of my old high school [Dillard] with its great tradition. The student-athletes here measure up and being able to coach at a school with such a great tradition is a great opportunity for me.”

He succeeds Kevin Sullivan, who resigned to take over at Atlantic Coast, the new Duval County high school that opens in the fall. Gray, who is teaching physical education and health at the school, inherits a Jackson program that has posted consecutive 11-1 seasons. Gray spent last season playing for Hartford in the United Football League after his NFL run ended after a year with Kansas City. This will be his first coaching position.

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Howard University Announces 2010 Football Schedule

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Howard University announced its 2010 football schedule on March 17. The Bison open the season on September 4 against Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. Holy Cross is a perennial contender in the Football Championships Subdivision (FCS, formerly 1-AA). Howard will then host rival Hampton University on September 11 at 1 p.m. in Greene Stadium. In addition to it being The Battle of the Real HUs, it will also be part of the Military Appreciation Day.

The Bison will follow with another home date, this time against the Rattlers of Florida A&M University on September 18 at 1 pm. That game will be part of Mighty Blue & White and will be designated to honor alumni, student, faculty and Staff Appreciation Day. Howard will then follow with a game against Morgan State University at a site to be named later and a home game against Lincoln University, a one-time rival. That game will be October 2 at 1 p.m. and is labeled “A Rivalry Revived.” It is Kids/Community and Organization Day.

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HOWARD UNIVERSITY BISON 2010 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Date Opponent Site Time
9/4 at Holy Cross Worcester, MA TBA
9/11 vs. HAMPTON Wash., D.C. 1 p.m.
9/18 vs. FLORIDA A&M Wash., D.C. 1 p.m.
9/25 vs. Morgan State TBA TBA

10/2 vs. LINCOLN Wash., D.C. 1 p.m.
10/9 at Furman Greenville, S.C. TBA
1016 OPEN
10/23 at North Carolina A&T Greensboro, N.C. TBA
10/30 vs. NORFOLK STATE* Wash. D.C. TBA

11/6 at South Carolina State Orangeburg, S.C. TBA
11/13 at Bethune-Cookman Daytona Beach, Fla. TBA
11/20 vs. DELAWARE STATE Wash., D.C. 1 p.m.
*homecoming

PVAMU 2010 Football Schedule Announced

With the kickoff less than seven months away, Prairie View A&M University has announced its 2010 football schedule. The schedule, which marks the team’s first 11-game slate since 2005, is highlighted by five games in the state of Texas, two state fair appearances and the first-ever match-up versus Football Bowl Subdivision and Conference USA member Southern Mississippi. “I’m definitely pleased we have 11 ballgames as this will be a competitive schedule with a wide variety of teams from the FBS, FCS and Division II ranks,” said head coach Henry Frazier III.

Prairie View A&M opens the 2010 campaign in Houston on Saturday, Sept. 4 versus SWAC rival Texas Southern in the 26th edition of the Labor Day Classic at a site to be determined. The Panthers have defeated their in-state foes in five of the past six meetings. Following the Labor Day Classic, Prairie View travels to the state of Mississippi in the first of three trips next season for a match-up at Southern Mississippi of Conference USA on Sept. 11 in Hattiesburg, Miss. This will mark the second consecutive season the Panthers will face a FBS member after battling New Mexico State of the Western Athletic Conference last year.

Prairie View’s home opener at Blackshear Field is set for Sept. 18 when the Panthers host Alabama State.

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Prairie View A&M University 2010 Football Schedule

9/4 Texas Southern 12:00 Noon Houston, Texas Labor Day Classic
9/11 Southern Mississippi 6:00 PM Hattiesburg, Miss.
9/18 Alabama State 12:00 Noon Prairie View
9/25 Grambling State 6:00 PM Dallas, Texas State Fair Classic

10/2Mississippi Valley 12:00 Noon Itta Bena, Miss,
10/9 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 12:00 Noon Pine Bluff, Ark.
10/16 Lincoln 12:00 Noon Prairie View Homecoming
10/23 Southern 12:00 Noon Shreveport, La.
10/30 Jackson State 12:00 Noon Jackson, Miss.

11/13 Alcorn State 12:00 Noon Prairie View
11/20 Alabama A&M 12:00 Noon Huntsville, Ala.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Unexpected boost from Boogaard lifts KU in WNIT win over Prairie View

Oh, Canada. Saskatchewan native Krysten Boogaard produced a career-high 37 points in a rare start as Kansas plunked Prairie View A&M, 82-70, in its WNIT basketball opener Wednesday night in Allen Fieldhouse. “I just knew I needed to fill some big shoes,” Boogaard said. Back in January, the 6-foot-5 junior lost her starting job to Carolyn Davis, but Davis suffered a recurrence of an earlier concussion and had to sit this one out. With Boogaard dominating the paint against the undersized Panthers, the Jayhawks didn’t miss Davis at all.

“It was a huge evening for her,” KU coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “She did a great job of getting in front of the rim, and the guards got a lot of passes to her, too.” “I don’t think we were prepared for the intensity that she brought tonight,” Prairie View coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke said of Boogaard. “She maintained that level of intensity on both ends of the court all game long, and that we weren’t prepared for.”

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Lady Jayhawks win, advance