For the past two seasons,
Virginia Tech has had the No. 1 defense in college football. It's Tech's
offense which must improve for the Hokies to live up to their preseason
hype, according to a report at hokies.com.
"And it will improve," states
Tech's offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring. "What took place last
season was a learning experience for a lot of us. Believe me, we went
back and looked at every snap, every play, every call, over and over.
"At some positions, we weren't
strong enough. Some guys weren't experienced enough. Basically, some
guys just weren't ready.
"Take (quarterback) Sean (Glennon)
for example. He's been motivated since the end of the Georgia game (bowl
loss) and you could see it in his film study, in his strength and
conditioning work, and his performance this spring. He's not the same
quarterback you saw in his last game, and the reason is the work he's
done since that game."
East Carolina opens the 2007
season at Virginia Tech on Sept. 1.
Penalty shortened for former Buckeyes coach
The Columbus (OH) Dispatch
reported that former Ohio State basketball coach Jim O'Brien is closer
to coaching again after the NCAA reduced but did not eliminate its
show-cause penalty against him.
The NCAA Committee on
Infractions shortened the penalty from five years to two years, meaning
O'Brien could effectively find employment at an NCAA school beginning
May 9, 2009.
Davis, Flutie among gridders getting Hall call
Two former All-America standouts
of current Atlantic Coast Conference schools, linebacker Jeff Davis of
Clemson and quarterback Doug Flutie of Boston College, have been
selected for induction into the National Football Foundation and College
Hall of Fame.
May 11, 2007
Port City FM
joins East Carolina football network
Rock 104.5 WRQR-FM in Wilmington
will be carrying East Carolina football games this fall.
WRQR's signal, which according
to radio-locator.com is rated at 3,100 Watts, stretches along the coast
from North Myrtle Beach, SC, to Sneads Ferry, NC, and to the north along
the I-40 corridor past Wallace, NC.
[View
radio-locator.com's coverage map for WRQR.]
In addition, ESPN Radio 630 WMFD-AM
will serve as the area's home for the weekly Skip Holtz Radio Call-In
Show, which airs each Sunday night during the football season. Radio-locator.com
rates WMFD's transmitter power at 800 Watts in the daytime and 1,000
Watts at night.
[View
radio-locator.com's daytime coverage map for WMFD.]
[View
radio-locator.com's nighttime coverage map for WMFD.]
Pirate
softball takes Conference USA win in ten
Memphis starter Jenna Kubesch
was perfect through eight and two-thirds innings, but East Carolina's
softball team found a way to push across the only run of the game in the
bottom of the tenth inning to defeat the Tigers in the Conference USA
softball tournament at Central Florida.
Memphis (36-24) defeated Tulsa
2-1 in game one earlier in the day to advance and face the Pirates
(39-18), who received a bye in the first round.
Miami's ADee stepping down after 15 years
Miami athletic director Paul Dee
has announced his intentions to step down from his position effective
June 1, 2008. Dee will remain athletic director for the next year and
then become a member of the Miami faculty.
Dee's career at Miami began in
1981 as the university's vice-president and general counsel. He was
named athletic director in 1993. When he steps down next year, the
60-year-old Dee will have served in his position for 15 years, tied with
Jack Harding for the longest tenure of any Miami athletic director.
May 10, 2007
ECU's Paisley is
C-USA's freshman of the year
East Carolina pitcher Toni
Paisley has been named Conference USA's softball freshman of the year as
announced by the league at its end-of-the-season banquet in Orlando, FL,
Wednesday.
Paisley's honor was announced in
conjunction with the naming of the All-Conference team on the eve of
today's first pitch of the 2007 C-USA Softball Championship tournament
presented by Coca-Cola and hosted by Central Florida. The all-league
list included five Pirates: sophomore Jessica Johnson (first team),
Paisley (second team and all-freshman team), senior Keli Harrell (second
team), freshman Charina Sumner (second team and all-freshman team),
freshman Kaui Tom (all-freshman team).
Johnson was also selected to the
C-USA Softball All-Academic Team.
Paisley holds a record of 19-5
overall and 10-3 in conference play. The freshman has thrown 19 complete
games this season and ranks in the top six among C-USA pitchers in ERA,
wins, opposing batting average and strikeouts.
Pirate women's track signs Durham standouts
East Carolina's has landed a
pair of prep stars from Durham, ECU head women's track and field coach
Curt Kraft announced Wednesday.
"These athletes will help us
continue to build on great North Carolina kids," said Kraft of Ericka
Charles and Kia Haskins, who have formally signed National Letters of
Intent with the Pirates.
Charles, a senior at the Durham
School of the Arts, was the 2006 state runner-up in the outdoor
200-meter dash (2A) and was fourth in the 400-meter dash (2A). She is
currently the state champion in the indoor 500-meter dash (1-3A) and her
time ranks fifth all-time in North Carolina history. Charles was named
Conference Track Athlete of the Year and was named to the 2006 All-State
Cross Country team (2A).
Haskins is a senior at Durham
Hillside High School. She is the 2005 state champion in the outdoor
400-meter dash (3A), and was seventh in the 200-meter dash (3A). Haskins
was named team MVP and is currently ranked in the top ten in her
graduating class at Durham Hillside.
Man gets life for killing TCU football player
A 42-year-old Conroe, TX, man
received a life sentence Wednesday for fatally shooting Texas Christian
freshman kicker Kasey Davis last year, according to various news reports
out of Texas.
Police say Davis was gunned down
in a car while heading home for Christmas break in January 2006 — in an
apparently random shooting — by Jeffrey Clay Lasiter. Neither men knew
each other.
Lasiter pleaded guilty Monday
before the start of his trial. His attorneys had argued that he suffers
from a mental illness.
May 9, 2007
ECU's Morman captures
triple jump at Duke
East Carolina’s Camelia Morman
competed in the Duke Twilight Meet this past weekend in Durham and won
the triple jump event with a mark of 12.47 meters, a distance that
qualified her for the NCAA regionals.
The NCAA qualifying mark for the
triple jump is 12.32 meters.
Morman and the Pirates head this
weekend for the Conference USA outdoor championships.
Pirates earn a bye in C-USA softball tourney
Pairings are set for the 2007
Conference USA softball tournament. The event runs Thursday through
Saturday at the Central Florida softball complex in Orlando.
Houston clinched its first
regular season title and will enter the championship as the No. 1 seed.
East Carolina claimed the No. 2 seed and also received a first round
bye.
Third-seeded Tulsa will meet No.
6 Memphis for a chance to advance to meet the Pirates. Host and No. 4
Central Florida opens play against No. 5 Marshall, with the winner
facing the top-seeded Cougars.
ECU's
Hose named C-USA pitcher of week
After setting the tone for a
three-game sweep at Houston with a brilliant performance on Friday
night, East Carolina junior righthander T.J. Hose has been named
Conference USA pitcher of the week for the period of May 1-6.
Hose improved to 6-4 on the
season after picking up the win in Friday night’s 3-1 victory at
Houston. He went 7 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and one walk while
striking out five.
Hose gave up a hit in the first
inning, then retired 16 of the next 18 batters, including 14 in a row at
one point, and did not allow a runner past second base. His 7 2/3
innings worked tied a season-high and his four hits allowed was the
second-fewest he has given up this season.
This is the second time this
season that Hose has received the weekly honor. Hitter of the week
honors went to Southern Miss sophomore outfielder Michael Ewing, who had
an outstanding weekend at the plate as the Golden Eagles swept Marshall.
