News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

12.27.06: Hoops: Houston's Dowell named player of week ... Southern Miss announces pair of juco transfers ... Fundraiser for Buckeyes' families questioned

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

Gerald R. Ford, Jr., the 38th President of the United States and one of the most active athletically, has died at his home in Rancho Mirage, CA, at the age of 93.

Ford holds the distinction of being the only president who was never actually elected through a national election or by the electoral college. Vice President Ford became president on August 9, 1974, when Richard Nixon became the only president to resign his office.

Ford had become Vice-nPresident only ten months earlier when Nixon appointed him to that office upon the resignation of Spiro Agnew.

Ford was born in 1913, the son of Leslie Lynch King and Dorothy Ayer Gardner. Upon his birth, he was named Leslie Lynch King, Jr. Two months after his birth, King and Gardner divorced. Two years later, she remarried, and the future president was renamed for his stepfather, and became Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr.

Growing up in East Rapids, Michigan, it was natural for the athletic Ford to attend the University of Michigan, where he played football for the Wolverines. He studied political science and economics while at Michigan, and later entered Yale Law School after deciding not to sign contracts to play professional football for NFL teams that sought his skills.

For the second time in a month, Central Michigan University made history at Ford Field, according to a report at the Chippewas' athletic website.

Twenty-six days removed from their Mid-American Conference championship game victory, the Chippewas (10-4 overall) returned to downtown Detroit to defeat Middle Tennessee State, 31-14, in the 2006 Motor City Bowl and claim the first Division I-A bowl victory in school history.

CMU reached the 10-win plateau for the fourth time in school history and first time since 1979, and became the first Division I-A program to win a conference championship game and bowl game in the same stadium.

Dan LeFevour, who threw for 162 yards and a score and ran for 69 yards and a touchdown, was named the game's Most Valuable Player. He finishes his freshman season with school records for passing yards (3,031), total offense (3,552) and touchdown passes (28).

The Chippewas followed a pattern in the Motor City Bowl that had proven successful throughout their championship season: score early, shut down the opponent's offensive strength, and mix in a touchdown on defense or special teams.

Ontario Sneed scored on CMU's first two possessions, on a 1-yard run and 29-yard reception, to give the Chippewas a 14-0 edge just over nine minutes into the game. The defense, meanwhile, held MTSU (7-6) to just 61 rushing yards on 30 attempts and accounted for a score when Doug Kress returned a third-quarter interception 56 yards.

Bobby Cremins was tired of being a TV commentator. He was tired of "enjoying the good life" at his home in Hilton Head, SC, according to a Roanoke Times report.

"I was too young. I felt like I had something left in me," Cremins, 59, said. "I was waking up bored. I needed a challenge. ... I pick up the paper, people are dying for our country. I just felt like I needed to get my ass back in the action."

But Cremins hadn't coached since stepping down at Georgia Tech in 2000. He feared he would no longer be wanted.

"I thought I would never coach again," he said. "I thought time was running out. ... The longer you're out, the tougher it is."

Last July, The College of Charleston — located just a few hours from Hilton Head — gave Cremins another chance. He is back in the Southern Conference, where he first made a name for himself as the coach at Appalachian State. His new job lacks the prestige and salary of his last job in the ACC, but he doesn't mind.

"This thing came out of nowhere and I decided to take a leap," said Cremins, whose 7-6 Cougars host Radford in the first round of the College of Charleston Classic at 7:30 p.m. Friday. "I missed the relationship with players. I missed the teaching and coaching, and I missed competing for championships.

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.