Penn State football coach Joe Paterno can pace
the sidelines again after recovering from a broken leg resulting from
being hit by players in a game last season.
The Nittany Lions coach voiced caution as his
program initiated spring practice.
“I’m not doing as much as I’d like to do,"
Paterno said. "I’m a little bit nervous to be frank with you. I’ve got
to watch a couple of things, but I’ll get better as it goes along.”
Thorsen leads Pirates to fifth in Furman tourney
Junior Andre Thorsen carded even-par round of 72
on the final 18 holes of the Furman Intercollegiate to lead the East
Carolina (288-293-303=884) to a fifth-place finish in the 20-team golf
event.
Virginia Tech (297-286-290=873) won the
tournament, holding a four-stroke advantage over second-place Elon
(287-299-291=877).
San Diego names Gonzaga aide hoops coach
San Diego named Bill Grier basketball coach on
Monday, replacing Brad Holland after an 18-14 season in 2006-07. Grier,
43, takes over the Toreros after 16 years on the staff at Gonzaga.
March
26, 2007
Tar Heels fold, Hoyas move on to Final Four
Georgetown overcame an 11-point deficit in the
second half and scored 14 straight points in overtime to defeat
top-seeded North Carolina 96-84 in the East Regional final Sunday in
East Rutherford, NJ.
The win lands the Hoyas in the Final Four for
the first time since 1985, when the coach was John Thompson, Jr., and
the star was Patrick Ewing.
Georgetown (30-6) did it this time with Coach
John Thompson, III, calling the backdoor plays he learned at Princeton
and Patrick Ewing, Jr., making key contributions.
The Hoyas' cause was helped by a collapse from
the Tar Heels (31-7), who made only one of 23 field goal attempts over a
15-minute span.
Alford moving from Hawkeyes to Lobos
Steve Alford has been named New Mexico's
basketball coach. Alford spent the past eight seasons at Iowa. The Lobos
and Alford have agreed on a six-year contract with total annual
compensation of $975,000.
Alford, 42, has a 308-183 career coaching record
in 16 seasons. His teams qualified for postseason play 11 times,
produced 13 winning seasons and reached 20 wins on eight occasions.
ECU women's tennis tops Charleston Southern
Mireia Gol and Varinia Soler, who have raced out
to a 5-0 mark as doubles partners this spring, recorded a 9-8 win in the
No. 1 doubles to help East Carolina to a 5-2 non-conference team victory
over Charleston Southern on Saturday in Charleston.
The Lady Pirates, winners of seven of their last
nine matches, improved to 15-7, while the Buccaneers fell to 9-5.
March
25, 2007
Barton captures Division II national hoops title
Campbell transfer Anthony Atkinson had 10 points
in the final 45 seconds, scoring on a drive at the buzzer to lift Barton
College to its first NCAA Division II basketball title with a 77-75
victory over defending champion Winona State in Springfield, MA.
Winona led 74-67 with 45 seconds left but had a
57-game winning streak that spanned two seasons halted by Atkinson's
heroics. The Bulldogs finished 31-5; Winona, located in Minnesota, was
35-1.
A small private school long known as Atlantic
Christian College, Barton is located in Wilson.
Tar Heels student mascot in critical condition
North Carolina student Jason Ray, a member of
the cheerleading squad who has worn the Rameses mascot uniform for the
past three years, was injured late Friday afternoon while walking
outside a hotel in Fort Lee, NJ, according to a Durham Herald report.
Ray was taken to Hackensack Medical Center,
where he is in critical condition, according to a statement released by
UNC-Chapel Hill. The statement described the accident as a "pedestriant/vehicle
accident."
Knickerbockers sign Kentucky center Morris
First, Kentucky lost coach Tubby Smith to
Minnesota. Now, the Wildcats are without center Randolph Morris, who was
signed to a two-year contract by the New York Knicks on Friday.
Morris played two seasons with Kentucky after
declaring his eligibility for the 2005 draft. The Knicks signed the
Wildcats' top scorer as a free agent.
March
24, 2007
Kass, Clay, Pinkney take turns under center
Three quarterbacks took turns as the running
game received emphasis during East Carolina's first scrimmage of spring
practice at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday.
The controlled scrimmage consisted of a series
of 10-play possessions and closed with goal line situations.
"I thought today went pretty well, especially
the way the weather cooperated with us," head coach Skip Holtz said. "We
ran about 135 plays, which was probably the most complete scrimmage we
have had since I have been here. In general terms, it was a good one but
it also showed that we are a very young team. One of our goals was for
everyone to have
an opportunity to get in and see some action and I think we accomplished
that."
Sophomores Rob Kass and Brett Clay and junior
Patrick Pinkney took turns guiding the Pirates' offensive unit during
the succession of series, which also employed a total of 15 ball
carriers and 13 pass receivers.
Senior tailback Chris Johnson, who spent the
second half of the 2006 campaign lined up as a slot receiver, accounted
for the game's only touchdown, rushing for a scrimmage-long 27-yarder on
his second attempt of the contest while splitting time with junior
Dominique Lindsay on the No. 1 offensive unit. Lindsay produced a pair
of 23-yard runs and was on the receiving end of a six-yard pass thrown
by Kass.
Kass guided ECU's top offense to a total of 11
first downs and helped convert six-of-10 third down situations. He also
completed his first four passes of the scrimmage, which included a
17-yard strike to sophomore Jamar Bryant on his second attempt of the
afternoon.
Pinkney recorded the longest completion of the
day, connecting with junior transfer Ricky Johnson on 23-yarder.
Clay led all quarterbacks in rushing with 20
yards on four carries.
Prosser announces two players leaving Deacs
Freshman forward Casey Crawford and sophomore
guard Shamaine "Joe" Dukes will leave the Wake Forest basketball program
at the conclusion of the spring semester, coach Skip Prosser has
confirmed.
Crawford and Dukes, both reserves this past
season, will transfer to other schools with hopes of continuing their
respective basketball careers. Neither has committed to another program
at this time.
Gophers bring in Tubby Smith to direct hoops
Minnesota has named Tubby Smith its new
basketball coach. Smith comes to Minnesota after having spent the past
10 seasons (1997-2007) as coach at Kentucky. During his tenure in
Lexington, Smith, 55, led the Wildcats to the 1998 national
championship, four “Elite Eight” appearances, five Southeastern
Conference titles, five SEC Tournament titles and six “Sweet Sixteen”
finishes.
