News Nuggets, 12.16.03
NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...
Previous Day Nuggets...
Next Day Nuggets...
Compiled from staff reports
and electronic dispatches
Clay Aiken Bobble Head spices up
49ers-Pirates battle
PREVIOUS NUGGETS |
12.15.03: Rivers
Heisman finish measures up to ECU legend Blake... .. C-USA
football stars gain All-America honors... .. Basketball
sharpshooter felled by cardiac arrest... .. DePaul names
home hardwood after grateful Meyer... ..
More... |
12.14.03: Resilient
Sooners' QB caps career with Heisman... .. Pitino still
teaching as Cards upend No. 1 Gators... .. Kentucky-Michigan
State crowd shatters all-time record... .. Panel wants
postseason eligibility linked to grad rates... ..
More... |
12.13.03: Orangemen
AD stands by Coach 'P'... .. Sloan recalled fondly by former
State stars... .. Wofford wishbone rumbles into I-AA
semifinal tilt with Delaware... ..
More... |
12.12.03: Ross
retains Mumford on Black Knights staff... .. Nix among
finalists for Broyles award... .. Hawaii's Jones overruled
on bowl hesitation... ..
More... |
12.11.03: Berry
takes offensive portfolio to UL-Monroe... .. UMass panel
favors staying put in I-AA... .. Garcia leads U of L over
Seton Hall despite family slaying... ..
More... |
12.10.03: Grimes
departs ECU for Mississippi State... .. Title-winning
Wolfpack coach passes... .. Ross accepts West Point marching
orders... ..
More... |
12.09.03: UCF
resurrects O'Leary to lift beleaguered program... .. Bowls
leave 10-2 Huskies out in cold... .. Associated Press
basketball poll... ..
More... |
12.08.03: Football
weekend: The good, the bad, the ugly... .. 'Good Samaritan'
nails SEC title game loot... .. AP and Coaches polls... ..
Final BCS standings... ..
More... |
12.07.03: Remodeling
job at Duke starts with Roof... .. Army, Navy marching in
different directions ... .. Schnellenberger creeps up on
Tressel... ..
More... |
12.06.03: Wintry
weather grounds Pirates vs. Pirates... .. Saturday TV
capsule: Army vs. Navy ... .. Schnellenberger still on quest
for titles... ..
More... |
|
The Charlotte 49ers will pay tribute to one
of the nation's hottest recording artists, and the East Carolina Pirates
will be direct participants of sorts in the event.
Raleigh native and University of Charlotte senior Clay Aiken, who rocketed
to stardom in Fox Television's American Idol competition, will be honored
with a Bobble Head Doll at the Jan. 10 basketball game against ECU at Halton
Arena.
Aiken, who will graduate from the university Dec. 20, blazed his way to fame
and the finals in a series of performances on the "American Idol" series.
Since that competition, he has released a double-platinum debut album,
"Measure of a Man," that peaked as the #1 best-selling album in the country.
A total of 9,105 Clay Aiken Bobble Head Dolls will be given away free while
supplies last to fans attending the Conference USA contest. The novelties
are compliments of Food Lion and Healthy Choice.
As in the past with the Food Lion/Healthy Choice Bobble Head Series, all
attendees will be encouraged to show their Food Lion MVP Card when they
enter the Halton Arena doors. Each fan who presents a game admission ticket
will be limited to one (1) Clay Aiken Bobble Head Doll.
On Wednesday, Feb. 18, when the 49ers host South Florida, the first 3,000
fans who show their Food Lion MVP Card with a game admission ticket will
receive a Henry Williams Bobble Head Doll. Williams, the 49ers' all-time
leading scorer is scheduled to appear that evening.
ALL tickets for the Charlotte-ECU game are priced at $20.00. Due to the
holiday break, the Charlotte Athletic Ticket office encourages fans to
purchase tickets on-line at
www.ticketreturn.com.
Rouse out of Herrion's doghouse
East Carolina forward Corey Rouse has been
reinstated to the school's basketball team, Pirate head coach Bill Herrion
said in a Monday announcement.
Rouse, a 6-7 sophomore from Kinston, was suspended for nine days following
ECU's game at George Mason on Dec. 3 for violating team policy.
The Pirates defeated N.C. A&T 86-53 last
Wednesday in their only action since the disciplinary measure was levied
against Rouse. A scheduled game at Seton Hall on Saturday was postponed
because the team's flight to New Jersey was cancelled due to inclement
weather in the Northeast.
ECU (4-1) will return to the court on
Friday, Dec. 19, for a 7 p.m. home game against Gardner-Webb.
Bowl/TV schedule for C-USA teams
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16
New Orleans Bowl
Memphis vs. North Texas (Sun Belt)
(ESPN 2) 7:00 pm
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18
GMAC Bowl
Louisville vs. (14) Miami (OH) (MAC)
(ESPN 2) 7:30 pm
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23
PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl
(19) Texas Christian vs. (16) Boise State (WAC)
(ESPN) 7:30 pm
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Houston vs. Hawaii (WAC)
(ESPN) 8:00 pm
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31
AXA Liberty Bowl
Southern Miss vs. (25) Utah (MWC)
(ESPN) 3:30 pm
All times Eastern.
Bowl season kicks off with Memphis vs. Mean Green
NEW ORLEANS — North Texas learned the last
two years how much bowl experience can matter. The Mean Green (9-3) hope
that will be an advantage for them in this season's first of 28 bowl games
when the Sun Belt champs make their third straight New Orleans Bowl
appearance Tuesday night against newcomer Memphis.
North Texas ended a 42-year bowl drought in
2001, losing 45-20 to Colorado State. Last year, the Mean Green made it back
to New Orleans and beat Cincinnati 24-19 for the first bowl victory in
school history.
Memphis (8-4) is playing in its first bowl
game in 32 years, and at least one North Texas player believes that gives
his team a leg up. ``They're going to have a hard time because you have to
be focused and prepared to play,'' running back Patrick Cobbs said. ``The
first year our focus wasn't really on the game. It was more on coming down
here and having a good time. Last year we were more focused on the game.
This year were going to be ready to play.''
The game will be played at the Superdome,
the site of the final bowl game of the season, too — the Sugar Bowl — which
is the Bowl Championship Series title game between No. 2 Louisiana State and
No. 3 Oklahoma.
Tonight's game will lack the attention of the Sugar Bowl, but it is still
meaningful to the teams. ``I'm playing in my first bowl game, the first one
any of us has played in and this is the first one we've been in in a long,
long time,'' Memphis quarterback Danny Wimprine said. ``Everybody's real
excited about trying to win our first bowl game.''
North Texas has seven offensive players and
seven defensive players who have started for or been contributors to all
three conference championships. ``It's a pretty special group of kids
because they came to North Texas at a time when, football-wise, there really
was no reason to come to North Texas,'' coach Darrell Dickey said.
The Mean Green led the Sun Belt in scoring
(28.4 points per game), and Cobbs leads the nation with an average of 157
yards rushing per game. He has rushed for at least 100 yards in each of the
last eight games, all North Texas victories, its longest winning streak
since 1959.
The North Texas defense ranks 17th in the
country against the run (106.8 yards per game), led by tackle Brandon
Kennedy, the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year the last two seasons.
Memphis reached the postseason thanks to a
strong offense. The Tigers' 366 points are the third-most in school history.
But U of M will have to play without running back DeAngelo Williams, the
Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year, who sprained his knee in the
next-to-last game of the regular season.
Derron Parquet, a New Orleans native and
transfer from LSU, replaced Williams and rushed for a career-high 164 yards
on 26 carries in a 21-16 loss at South Florida in the regular season finale.
Associated Press basketball poll
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press'
men's college basketball poll, as announced on Monday, with first-place
votes in parentheses, records through Dec. 14, total points based on 25
points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and
previous ranking:
[Conference USA and Carolinas teams in
bold.]
Rank/Team/Record/Points/Previous
1. CONNECTICUT (21) 7-1 1,685 2
2. KENTUCKY (26) 5-0 1,618 8
3. DUKE (1) 6-1 1,535 4
4. NORTH CAROLINA (6) 6-0 1,507 7
5. GEORGIA TECH (14) 8-0 1,418 10
6. KANSAS 5-1 1,409 5
7. ARIZONA (2) 4-1 1,407 9
8. OKLAHOMA 7-0 1,217 11
9. STANFORD (2) 5-0 1,081 13
10. MISSOURI 3-1 1,057 3
11. (tie) SAINT JOSEPH'S 7-0 1,050 12
11. (tie) TEXAS 5-1 1,050 6
13. GONZAGA 7-1 987 17
14. WAKE FOREST 5-0 914 15
15. FLORIDA 5-2 863 1
16. CINCINNATI 4-0 648 18
17. PURDUE 7-1 647 16
18. PITTSBURGH 7-0 544 20
19. SYRACUSE 3-1 535 19
20. LOUISVILLE 4-1 406 --
21. ILLINOIS 6-2 398 14
22. WISCONSIN 6-1 367 23
23. MARQUETTE 6-1 303 22
24. DAYTON 8-0 183 25
25. MARYLAND 6-2 176 --
Others Receiving Votes:
VANDERBILT 80, MICHIGAN STATE 68, IOWA 40, MISSISSIPPI STATE 31, PROVIDENCE
26, AUBURN 23, FLORIDA STATE 20, BRIGHAM YOUNG 15, SOUTH CAROLINA 10,
VIRGINIA 10, N.C. STATE 9, UCLA 9, TEXAS TECH 8, OREGON 7, UTAH 7,
BOSTON COLLEGE 6, CREIGHTON 5, NOTRE DAME 5, MURRAY STATE 4, OKLAHOMA STATE
4, GEORGE WASHINGTON 2, RHODE ISLAND 2, BOISE STATE 1, LAFAYETTE 1,
MEMPHIS 1.
News Nuggets are
compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member
schools, and from Associated Press and
other reports. Copyright 2003
Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|