News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

12.24.06: Returnees yield No. 1 baseball ranking for Rice ... Owls wings clipped again at Superdome ... Air Force alum succeeds DeBerry

12.23.06: Nifong hangs on to unraveling Duke rape case ... BYU seniors realize their dream in Las Vegas ... Paulus wows homefolks, Coach K in Big Apple ... Appalachian State basking in a multi-sport roll

12.22.06: Former ECU assistant Brindise leaving coaching ... USF's Burnett apparently out for bowl ... ECU's Mills scores 24 in losing effort in Cancun

12.21.06: Cavanaugh joins Pirate baseball staff ... Lady Pirates lose opener in Cancun to Pitt ... Derek Dooley leaving Dolphins for La. Tech

12.20.06: ECU's Graham getting double exposure ... Stanford names Harbaugh as new coach ... Women's hoops contest called due to rain

12.19.06: ECU's Allison selected for Senior Bowl ... BC picks longtime ECU assistant Jagodzinski ... Television numbers up for college football

12.18.06: Former ECU aide Calloway takes helm at UAB ... Auburn suspends 3 from bowl game ... 17,000-plus watch Nebraska win volleyball title

12.17.06: Orange Bowl resets ECU-Wake hoops to Jan. 1 ... Spurrier's wife, Lawing commit infractions ... Rebs, Bulldogs shuffled on Memphis schedule

12.16.06: Appalachian State repeats as I-AA champ ... DeBerry announces retirement at Air Force ... Possible perp in Pata shooting held in Boston

12.15.06: Boone booming with football success ... All-America: Rice's Dillard and UTEP's Higgins ... Miami offensive coordinator moving to ASU

12.14.06: Grobe gets national recognition for coaching ... ECU soccer duo receives honors

12.13.06: Pirate baseball competes to get in shape ... Holy Toledo! Green Wave's search over ... Arizona State fills football coaching void

12.12.06: Garrard not complaining after Jags win ... Rutgers' Schiano named coach of year ... Wolfpack dominates Lady Pirates in Raleigh

12.11.06: Watson Brown heads home to Tennessee Tech ... Boston College names Spaziani interim coach ... Georgia Tech's Johnson wins Biletnikoff award

12.10.06: Junior Smith involved in Cox commitment ... WVU's Rodriguez says no to Bama's big bucks ... Boykin leaves Blue Devils hoops program

12.09.06: Garrard named AFC player of the week ... C-USA players of year: Kolb, Bunting, Higgins ,,, Miami elevates Shannon to head coach

12.08.06: Rivers tips off conclusion of coaching search ... Orioles' Roberts serving FCA baseball camps ... Hoops: Lady Pirates defeat UNC-Wilmington

12.07.06: Nine Pirates named to all-conference teams ... League honors four ECU freshman gridders ... Recruiting thumbnail: Rodney Cox ... ECU's Norris named to All-South 2nd team

12.06.06: UTEP's Higgins named AFCA All-American ... Memphis thumps Herd in C-USA hoops opener ... C-USA names top cross country performers

12.05.06: First-ever Gators- Buckeyes match-up a big one ... Boise State crashes BCS party in Fiesta ... Seminoles top Lady Pirates for tourney title

12.04.06: New recruiting thumbnail: Tyrell Worthington ... McFadden leads Independence into title game ... Bearcats bound for new bowl in Toronto

12.03.06: Paper: Hudson among Cincy coaching targets ... UAB ousted from NCAA volleyball by UCLA

12.02.06: Witter wins minor league baseball honor ... Millican in position in LPGA qualifying ... ECU announces challenging softball slate

12.01.06: C-USA announces football players of year ... Rice's Graham gets coach of year award ... ECU's Krug lands All-America honor

11.30.06: T.H. issues direct appeal to fans for ticket sales ... New recruiting thumbnail: Maurice Mercer ... Dougherty, Johnson first team All-Conference ... Five from ECU on C-USA All-Freshman team

11.29.06: C-USA bowl slate sends ECU to Birmingham ... SMU's Needham a finalist for Hermann Trophy ... Bearcats coach bolts for Michigan State

11.28.06: ECU's Roach on
C-USA academic team ... Wager on Clemson-South Carolina turns deadly ... Shula era comes to end at Alabama

11.27.06: C-USA title game features UH-USM rematch ... Bunting farewell to press a succinct one ... ECU announces swimming, diving signees

11.26.06: Pirates add Lugo to 2008 baseball class ... VCU prevails over ECU in women's hoops ... Tulsa gains momentum for postseason trip

11.25.06: ECU-bound Herlocker paces Charlotte Catholic ... Miami enters search mode for football coach ... BC out of ACC title contention

11.24.06: Herd takes ECU hopes to Hattiesburg ... Gonzaga has a Garden party in NIT semis ... Iowa State search eliminates two candidates

11.23.06: Yow taking leave of absence for treatment ... Marshall's Bradshaw nabs
C-USA weekly honor

11.22.06: Pirates face Houston if Marshall wins ... Former teammates push Raye for MSU coach ... SMU's Wideman named academic player of year

11.21.06: Duke, Wake athletes named Rhodes scholars ... UAB captures Conference USA volleyball ... Old Dominion stuns Georgetown on the road

11.20.06: Ohio State-Michigan rematch possible ... Video helps inspire Tar Heels to beat State ... Cords stepping down as AD at Marquette

11.19.06: Cougars to host USM or ECU in C-USA title game ... ECU falls in women's hoops to Vermont ... Pirate swimming teams in seventh place

11.18.06: ECU baseball bringing in 10-man class ... UTEP edges Pirates in C-USA volleyball ... West Virginia steamrolls Pitt

11.17.06: Pirates reschedule hoops contest with NCCU ... ECU volleyball places 3 on all- league team ... Top-ranked SMU goes down in NCAA soccer

11.16.06: Paterno's hall of fame induction postponed ... Tressel downplays his dominance vs. Michigan ... ECU softball announces pair of signees

Compiled from staff and electronic reports
©Bonesville.net. All rights reserved.

Mechanical problems forced a charter jet carrying East Carolina fans to the PapaJohns.com Bowl to return to the Kinston Jetport and make an emergency landing, The Kinston Free Press reported.

The plane, ferrying Pirate partisans to Saturday's 1 p.m. game between East Carolina and South Florida at Legion Field in Birmingham, AL, returned to Kinston shortly after its early morning takeoff.

Hydraulic system problems were discovered after the Boeing 727, with 177 aboard, had been in the air about 30 minutes, according to the paper's account. After the plane's landing gear was successfully deployed, the plane landed safely at the end of the runway.

The Free Press, citing airport manager Don Howard, reported that emergency response units had been summoned and were waiting when the aircraft successfully touched down.

The charter package had been put together by Cary-based Premiere Sports Travel, the official travel company for the ECU Pirate Club. Premiere president Brian Wilder said he decided to cancel the trip after it was determined that another jet could not be found quickly enough to get fans to the game on time, the paper reported.

Wilder said the passengers will receive full refunds except for the cost of the game ticket, which was not included in his company’s package.

The jet was registered to Grand Holdings, Inc., of Bloomington, MN, and operated by charter carrier Champion Air, Grand Holdings' primary business unit.

According to Google Finance, Champion Air operates a fleet of 16 Boeing 727-200's and provides passenger transportation services for college and professional sports teams, tour operators, branches of the U.S. military, and other large groups.

Kicker Louie Sakoda remembers the first time he saw the school record for field goals in a game posted on a plaque in the Utah Utes' football headquarters, according to a Salt Lake Tribune report.

The sophomore equaled the record at the Armed Forces Bowl on Saturday night, saving the offense when it couldn't finish drives by kicking four field goals and winning the Most Valuable Player award in a 25-13 victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

Tulsa's loss extended to three the number of postseason defeats Conference USA teams have suffered since bowl season kicked off last week. East Carolina fell to South Florida in the PapaJohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, AL, earlier Saturday, while Rice was dominated by Troy in the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on Friday.

C-USA teams still have a couple a shots to break through with a win. League champion Houston faces South Carolina in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, TN, on Friday, Dec. 29 (4:30 p.m., ESPN), and Southern Miss takes on Ohio in the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, AL, on Sunday, Jan. 7 (8 p.m., ESPN.)

The Lobos couldn’t fight back the tears, according to an Albuquerque Tribune report.

The University of New Mexico football team was supposed to have its fairy tale ending.

The team was battered and bruised early in the season, then managed the biggest comebacks in school history to earn a bowl berth.

The stage was set for a raucous UNM celebration, but instead the Lobos crossed the finish line feeling nothing but pain.

San Jose State (9-4, 5-3) wrote its own happy ending, forcing four UNM (6-7, 4-4) fumbles en route to a 20-12 win over the Lobos Saturday afternoon in the inaugural New Mexico Bowl at University Stadium before a crowd of 34,111.

“It was the turnovers,” sophomore running back Rodney Ferguson said as tears streamed down his cheeks. “The turnovers killed us.”

Ferguson rushed for 102 yards on 22 carries and accounted for most of UNM’s offense, but he also was responsible for two fumbles.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from electronic services and other sources. Copyright 2006 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.