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News Nuggets, 12.16.03
NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...

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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.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007

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