Former NC State DT Byrd dies
July 24, 2010
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)—Dennis Byrd, a former defensive tackle at North CarolinaState who was to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in December,has died. He was 63.
N.C. State spokeswoman Annabelle Myers said Byrd died Friday in Charlotte.Myers said the family told the school that Byrd suffered a heart attack on July15 while undergoing back surgery and never regained consciousness.
In May, Byrd was among 14 former players and coaches elected to the hall.
Byrd was a three-time first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection,and helped N.C. State win a share of the 1965 ACC championship. He was aconsensus All-America in 1966 and 1967. He was drafted by the Boston Patriots in1968 and played two seasons in the old American Football League.
He is survived by his wife and four children.
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Buckeyes QB Pryor healthy, ready to play
July 23, 2010
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)—Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor can’t wait for thepreseason to start next month.
The junior says he’s 100 percent healthy after surgery February to repairsome minor damage in his left knee. He concedes that he was limited by the kneeinjury in the last few games of last season, but told The Associated Press thisweek that he has been working out with his receivers this summer and isanxiously awaiting Aug. 5, when the Buckeyes report to camp.
Coach Jim Tressel says he has no concerns about Pryor’s health. Tressel,going into his 10th year, says his biggest concern is that Pryor—considered bymany as one of the top contenders in the Heisman Trophy race—spends too muchtime working out and watching film.
Ohio State opens its season Sept. 2 at home against Marshall.
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Dooley, Chizik: Onus on players as well
July 23, 2010
HOOVER, Ala. (AP)—Tennessee coach Derek Dooley and Auburn’s Gene Chizik bothsay the onus isn’t just on agents to follow the rules, college athletes know thedifference between right and wrong.
“A lot of this has got to go back to the young guy,” Chizik said Friday.“He’s got to have an allegiance to his school. He’s got to have an allegianceto his teammates. He’s got to have an allegiance to his coaches and to hisuniversity. The bottom line is, I think everybody probably does a really goodjob of trying to educate their kids.
“If they know right from wrong and they choose to do wrong, then they don’treally have an allegiance to the people that I just mentioned. They know rightfrom wrong.”
It was a slightly different message from the first two days of theSoutheastern Conference media days, when coaches were on the attack againstunscrupulous sports agents.
Investigations are ongoing at Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Floridafor alleged improper contact, along with North Carolina. The rash of issues ledCrimson Tide coach Nick Saban to liken the actions of those rogue agents to thebehavior of a pimp.
Dooley and Chizik both said the athletes are willing participants.
“At the end of the day, it’s the responsibility of the player to not takeit,” Dooley said. “And I don’t know any other way to put it. It’s aresponsibility of the player that if somebody comes up and confronts you inpublic and wants to fight you, to walk away. It’s a responsibility of the playernot to break the law. So it’s a responsibility of the player not to break therules of the NCAA.”
Several players agreed with that sentiment, including LSU linebacker KelvinSheppard.
“Both sides are responsible,” Sheppard said. “Both are adults.Definitely, players need to take ownership and know certain rules they need toabide by as a college athlete.”
Tennessee and Auburn are among schools that hired consultant Joe Mendes, aformer NFL executive, to help educate and manage players’ dealings with agents.
“This is not a new problem,” Chizik said. “This did not happen this weekfor the first time. This is an ongoing issue that everybody is aware of, and Idon’t know what the right legislation is to kind of put a cap on this thing.
“I know that it’s been a problem that everybody’s been aware of, and thisisn’t the first time. It’s one that’s challenging in terms of being able to getour hands around it. Whether it’s the NFL or NCAA, I’m sure that there’s goingto be a brighter light shined on trying to find some legislation somewhere to beable to regulate it. But it’s hard to regulate.”
LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson said he was approached by agents or theirrepresentatives “maybe three times a week” at the start of his junior year.
“It was pretty crazy,” Peterson said. “It was wild. I knew how to tellthose guys it’s not the proper time for all this, it’s not the right moment.I’ll talk to you when it’s the right time.”
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Coaches to be done with Pump Foundation
July 23, 2010
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)—The National Association of Basketball Coaches says thiswill be the last year coaches can have financial relationships with the HaroldPump Foundation.
The foundation is a charity run by brothers David and Dana Pump.
The two are known as power brokers in college basketball, sponsoringbasketball camps and summer leagues. The NABC says a directive from the NCAAexpresses concern about “funneling of money” issues in men’s basketballrecruiting.
Calls to Double Pump Inc. in Westwood, Calif., were not immediately returnedFriday.
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Miami, Notre Dame agree to renew rivalry
July 23, 2010
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP)—Miami and Notre Dame have agreed to renew a footballrivalry that during the 1980s helped define each program and decide severalnational championships.
The Hurricanes and Fighting Irish will play Oct. 6, 2012, at Soldier Fieldin Chicago, then play a home-and-home starting in 2016 at South Bend, Ind. Theyplay in Miami the next season.
The rivalry dates to the 1950s and Notre Dame leads the series 15-7-1.
But it was during the 1980s, when Miami became a national power, that therivalry got interesting.
In 1985, Miami embarrassed Notre Dame 58-7 in Gerry Faust’s last game ascoach of the Fighting Irish.
Faust was replaced by Lou Holtz. Soon after Notre Dame was a national titlecontender again and the Miami-Notre Dame game was routinely one of the biggestof the season.
Miami won three national championships in the 1980s and beat Notre Dameduring the regular season each time. Notre Dame beat Miami in 1988, when theIrish won their last national title, and in 1990.
The tense and at times nasty series was dubbed Catholics vs. Convicts bysome Notre Dame supporters.
The 1988 game was marked by a pregame shoving match and the next season theteams nearly squared off at midfield before the coin toss.
After the 29-20 victory by the Irish in 1990—which knocked Miami out ofthe national title hunt and helped Notre Dame go the Orange Bowl with a chanceto win another championship—the series was stopped.
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Iowa St. DB Sims probed over credit card
July 23, 2010
AMES, Iowa (AP)—Authorities say Iowa State defensive back David Sims is beinginvestigated in connection with a stolen credit card, though no charges havebeen filed.
Ames police commander Mike Brennan says a Des Moines woman reported July 17that her credit card, which her son had taken to Ames, was stolen. The card wasthen used at several Ames-area businesses.
Police obtained a warrant and searched Sims’ apartment Tuesday, but theywouldn’t say what they found.
Sims, a senior from Gainesville, Fla., was the Big 12’s Defensive Newcomerof the Year in 2009 after leading the Cyclones with five interceptions.
A telephone message left Friday for Sims wasn’t immediately returned. CoachPaul Rhoads has declined to comment.
The investigation was first reported by The Des Moines Register.
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UCLA G Hasiak academically ineligible
July 23, 2010
LOS ANGELES (AP)—Offensive guard Stanley Hasiak won’t play for UCLA thisseason because he failed to meet NCAA academic eligibility requirements.
Coach Rick Neuheisel says Hasiak will help on the scout team this season.
Hasiak will have three seasons of eligibility remaining, and can count thisyear as a redshirt season.
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Miami, Notre Dame to renew rivalry
July 23, 2010
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP)—Miami and Notre Dame have agreed to renew a footballrivalry that during the 1980s helped define each program and decide severalnational championships.
The Hurricanes and Fighting Irish will play Oct. 6, 2012, at Soldier Fieldin Chicago, then play a home-and-home starting in 2016 at South Bend, Ind. Theyplay in Miami the next season.
Miami won three national championships in the 1980s and beat Notre Dameduring the regular season each time. Notre Dame beat Miami in 1988, when theIrish won their last national title, and in 1990.
After the 29-20 victory by the Irish in 1990—which knocked Miami out ofthe national title hunt—the tense and at times nasty series was stopped.
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Vandy’s Caldwell entertains at SEC event
July 22, 2010
HOOVER, Ala. (AP)—Robbie Caldwell spun yarns about his days as a “turkeyinseminator” and joked about being so anonymous he got a tip for opening arestaurant door for a guy Wednesday evening.
“Oh man, I got a dollar and a half,” Vanderbilt’s new interim coach saidgleefully.
Caldwell, who was promoted after Bobby Johnson retired on July 14,entertained a room full of sportswriters Thursday at Southeastern Conferencemedia days, even drawing applause from much of the room when he was done. Thefolksy sense of humor could come in handy this season with a team that didn’twin a league game last season and hasn’t had a winning SEC mark since 1982.
A few highlights from the 56-year-old’s media days debut:
— “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity. I told my wife, if it’s two daysor 20 years, I will now be able to say, ‘Hey, I was a head coach one time’—other than in 1977 when I was head (high school) baseball coach. We were prettygood, by the way. We were 14-2, had a chance, made the playoff.”
— He’s worked pouring concrete, farming and as a pipefitter. Then, there’sthe turkey farm. “I don’t know if I could tell you what my job was, but I wason the inseminating crew. That’s a fact. I worked my way to the top.”
— Asked if he would continue Johnson’s profanity ban: “You know, I’m noangel, that’s for certain. We certainly do try to live by that. But you knowit’s just a sign of limited vocabulary sometimes. I know y’all can’t tell it,but I do have an education.”
Caldwell was enough of a hit that South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier was evenasked if he had lost his title as the league’s “most quotable coach.”
“No, I’m not worried about that at all,” Spurrier said. “I don’t thinkI’ve won enough games lately to have any outlandish quotes.”
GEORGIA’S YOUNG QB: Georgia coach Mark Richt knows redshirt freshmanquarterback Aaron Murray is good at answering any question fired his way in themeeting room.
“But we’ve got to be careful, coach (Mike) Bobo and myself, not to getenamored with that and expect him to be able to answer the question quite sowell as he’s on the field getting chased by a bunch of 300-pound defensivelinemen,” Richt said. “He’s got to live the experience of being thatquarterback.”
Murray enrolled in January 2009 and has been through two spring practices.He emerged from spring as the No. 1 quarterback, and has the benefit of someproven players surrounding him on offense.
“They respect this kid because he prepares, because he puts the team first,because he has talent,” Richt said.
Fullback Shaun Chapas called Murray “one of the hardest workers we’vegot.” Murray was a prep All-American at Plant High School in Tampa, Fla., andwas rated the third-best quarterback in the country by Rivals.com and Scout.com.
“We’ve got 10 guys surrounding him who have all been there and thrown intothe fire,” Chapas said. “When he’s in the huddle, he has command of thehuddle. We believe in him and I know he believes in himself.”
GAMECOCKS HOPES: Spurrier figures the baseball team’s national title provesSouth Carolina can indeed compete for, and win, championships.
“Hopefully we believe that will rub off on other teams, and we’re the nextone up,” Spurrier said.
It’s something to hold onto as he tries to take the Gamecocks from a teamthat is averaging a respectable seven wins a year during his tenure to one thatis contending in the powerful SEC East.
Fullback Patrick DiMarco also said the football team wants to add to thebaseball success.
“I got some text messages saying it’s our turn now,” DiMarco said. “It’strue. They stepped it up and did something, and now it’s time for us to dosomething.”
Spurrier knows that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. He remembers too wellSouth Carolina’s last trip to Birmingham, when Connecticut beat the Gamecocks20-7 in the PapaJohns.com Bowl.
“UConn beat us soundly,” Spurrier said. “We haven’t forgotten that. Untilwe prove we can play on a consistent basis, we’ve just got hope. We’ve got to goearn our way to believing that we can be a top SEC team.”
QUOTABLE:
“I still have two years of eligibility left. I’m an Arkansas Razorback. Allthat stuff comes after.”
Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett when asked if he was treating his junior season asif he’s an NFL-bound senior.
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Huskers’ Osborne in for Big Ten meetings
July 22, 2010
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)—Nebraska isn’t waiting until next year to get involved inthe Big Ten.
Athletic director Tom Osborne will be at the league’s preseason meetings inChicago early next month. Associate athletic director Marc Boehm says the formerfootball coach will be able to provide input, but won’t have a vote along withthe other athletic directors until July 1, 2011.
The Huskers will leave the Big 12 for the Big Ten after this season in oneof the biggest moves of the offseason realignment.
Big Ten officials are expected to discuss schedules and whether the footballteams should be divided into six-team divisions.
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