News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

12.26.06: ECU women's soccer performs in classroom ... Warriors' offense rolls past ASU in Hawaii Bowl

12.25.06: Aborted flight grounds ECU fans ... Utes' get their kicks at Tulsa's expense ... Fumbles leave Lobos lamenting

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

Houston junior Dion Dowell becomes the second Cougar this season to earn Conference USA basketball player of the week honors.

Dowell was named to the all-tournament team at the Rainbow Classic, averaging 20.3 points and 11.3 rebounds in three games while playing every minute for the Cougars.

He opened the tournament with 22 points and 16 rebounds in a 68-46 victory over Charlotte on Thursday, then followed up with another double-double performance (15 points, 11 rebounds) against Creighton.

Dowell capped off the weekend by scoring a career-high 24 points against Nebraska. He also had two blocked shots against Charlotte and Creighton.

Southern Miss Football Coach Jeff Bower has announced the signing of Blake Spiers, a 6-2, 230-pound linebacker from Copiah-Lincoln (MS) Community College and Brennan Houston, a 6-4, 270-pound tight end from Cerritos College in Norwalk, CA, to letters of intent and grants-in-aid for the 2007 spring sememster. The players will report to campus in January and enroll for the spring semester.

"We are excited about the addition of Blake and Brennan to our program," Bower said. "Blake is a true inside linebacker with excellent size and ability, and Brennan is a tight end with good size and strength. Both will be good additions to our program. With both enrolling for the spring semester, it gives them a chance to get accustomed to the academic responsibilities, as well as a chance to go through spring workouts and learn our system before next season."

Spiers helped lead his team to a 9-3 record and an appearance in the state junior and community college championship game. As a sophomore, he played in nine games and finished with 77 tackles, including 48 unassisted, six tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and two interceptions.

Houston (6-4, 270) played in eight games as a sophomore, finishing with 15 catches for 204 yards, an average of 13.6 yards per reception and one touchdown.

It might be the Christmas season, but it likely will be a day or two before Ohio State’s top two running backs Antonio Pittman and Chris Wells will know whether they can be merry, according to a Columbus Dispatch report.

The school and the NCAA will want an explanation about an event they attended in their hometown of Akron on Saturday night. The Akron Beacon-Journal reported that they showed up at a fundraiser spaghetti dinner put on by well-wishers intending to defray the cost of their families’ trips to the national championship game Jan. 8 in Glendale, AZ, when Ohio State plays Florida.

It also was meant to benefit the families of defensive end Lawrence Wilson and walk-on defensive back DeAngelo Haslam, who did not attend.

When offensive coordinator Jim Bollman was informed by phone of the dinner by Wells’ mother, Paulette Wells, about midway through the event, the Beacon-Journal said he advised her to tell Pittman and Wells to leave. He also said the families should refuse the money raised because such fundraisers are not permitted by the NCAA.

"We will look into it as we do any type of allegations such as this," OSU athletic department spokesman Steve Snapp told The Dispatch.

Attempts were unsuccessful in trying to reach the NCAA for a clarification of the rules involved, and whether Pittman, the team’s leading rusher, and Wells are in jeopardy of having to sit out the national title game against Florida.

The fundraiser, which attracted about 100 to the Akron Buchtel High School cafeteria, was organized by Dawn Stigger-Ferguson, whom the Beacon-Journal said has been involved with pee-wee football in the Akron area for 25 years. There was no money figure revealed, but the paper reported that Stigger-Ferguson said the funds raised now will go to a couple of pee-wee football organizations in the area.

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.