NEW YORK -- At 3:31 p.m. Wednesday, Sean Henderson, the father of the nation's top uncommitted recruit, Seantrel Henderson, received a phone call from USC coach Lane Kiffin. Curious which school the left tackle planned to announce he would attend on television two hours later, Kiffin expressed concern to the father, who was bowling with his son at the CBS College Sports Fieldhouse, adjacent to the network's studio.
Rivals.com's recruiting experts will provide live updates throughout National Signing Day. All times are ET.
We'll begin this week's mailbag with a missive from Andrew, who writes from Bethesda, Md., a terrific town located a Chandler Parsons game-winning heave from where I grew up:
When the final 2010 recruiting class rankings are announced late Wednesday, you'll likely see four familiar names -- Florida, Texas, Alabama and Oklahoma -- sitting at or near the top. It makes sense -- they happen to be the four most recent BCS Championship Game participants.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The state of Dwight Freeney's ankle injury is sure to dominate our attention this week at Super Bowl XLIV, and the question of whether the Colts' top pass rusher will be ready to roll on his bad wheel is a topic that could have game-changing significance come Sunday night.
Excerpted from The First Star by Lars Anderson Copyright © 2009 by Lars Anderson. Excerpted by permission of Random House Group, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
MOBILE, Ala. -- The final and most important day of full pads practice at the Senior Bowl kicked off on Wednesday. The field swelled as more head coaches and general managers arrived to inspect many of the nations top senior prospects and a number of them did not disappoint. Here's a breakdown of Wednesday's practice.
After Sunday night's first go-through, even with fairly generous standards of inclusion, there were still 10 at-large spots available. Yet, this week's bracket has only six teams from outside the BCS football conferences. And of those six, four are from the Mountain West and Atlantic 10, maybe half a step down in basketball financial commitment but no less ambitious.
Two national championship coaches sat together at a luncheon last week. One dispensed advice. The other listened.
What is it about meaningless awards that give our life so much meaning?
NEW YORK -- At 3:31 p.m. Wednesday, Sean Henderson, the father of the nation's top uncommitted recruit, Seantrel Henderson, received a phone call from USC coach Lane Kiffin. Curious which school the left tackle planned to announce he would attend on television two hours later, Kiffin expressed concern to the father, who was bowling with his son at the CBS College Sports Fieldhouse, adjacent to the network's studio.
Rivals.com's recruiting experts will provide live updates throughout National Signing Day. All times are ET.
We'll begin this week's mailbag with a missive from Andrew, who writes from Bethesda, Md., a terrific town located a Chandler Parsons game-winning heave from where I grew up:
When the final 2010 recruiting class rankings are announced late Wednesday, you'll likely see four familiar names -- Florida, Texas, Alabama and Oklahoma -- sitting at or near the top. It makes sense -- they happen to be the four most recent BCS Championship Game participants.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The state of Dwight Freeney's ankle injury is sure to dominate our attention this week at Super Bowl XLIV, and the question of whether the Colts' top pass rusher will be ready to roll on his bad wheel is a topic that could have game-changing significance come Sunday night.
Excerpted from The First Star by Lars Anderson Copyright © 2009 by Lars Anderson. Excerpted by permission of Random House Group, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
MOBILE, Ala. -- The final and most important day of full pads practice at the Senior Bowl kicked off on Wednesday. The field swelled as more head coaches and general managers arrived to inspect many of the nations top senior prospects and a number of them did not disappoint. Here's a breakdown of Wednesday's practice.
After Sunday night's first go-through, even with fairly generous standards of inclusion, there were still 10 at-large spots available. Yet, this week's bracket has only six teams from outside the BCS football conferences. And of those six, four are from the Mountain West and Atlantic 10, maybe half a step down in basketball financial commitment but no less ambitious.
Two national championship coaches sat together at a luncheon last week. One dispensed advice. The other listened.
What is it about meaningless awards that give our life so much meaning?
On Nov. 9, Memphis coach Tommy West became the first casualty of the 2009-10 coaching carousel. On his way out, he delivered an unusual and impassioned rant about the state of the Tigers' program. "We've got to help this football program, or do away with it," he pleaded.
Lost in the frenzy over last week's coaching carousel was the fact that Friday was the last day for underclassmen to declare for the NFL draft.
Well, I really have to hand it to the USC Trojans: They aren't even faking it anymore.
At just past 2 p.m. on May 17, 2008, El Segundo, Calif., police officer Cory McEnroe arrived at the scene of an auto accident on the Pacific Coast Highway and found a Jeep Commander buried in the rear end of a Volkswagen Passat. When McEnroe approached the SUV and asked the driver to turn it off, the Jeep instead surged forward into the Passat again. McEnroe quickly deduced that the driver, later identified as USC assistant football coach Dave Watson, was dangerously impaired. The 31-year-old Watson "seemed very confused," McEnroe wrote in his report. "[His] speech was so slurred I had a difficult time understanding him."
ARLINGTON, Texas -- They didn't open the roof at Cowboys Stadium so God could watch Saturday's Big 12 title game, but as the clock struck zero and a great red wave descended onto the field to celebrate, Texas defensive end Sergio Kindle prayed that heaven gets ABC. "Hopefully," Kindle said, "the Lord saw the clock at one, and the ref was going to stay true to his morals and give us the second."
USC has replaced departed football coach Pete Carroll with Tennessee's Lane Kiffin, USC announced late Tuesday.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Imagine if someone had suggested two weeks ago that by Saturday, Florida wouldn't even have the most unstable coaching situation in its own state -- much less the entire country. The thought would have been preposterous.
In this week's Monday Morning Quarterback, Sports Illustrated's Peter King provided some pretty damning numbers that suggest Pete Carroll's hire by the Seattle Seahawks may be a mistake. According to Peter's research, only one of the 10 college coaches hired by NFL teams over the past 20 years -- Dallas' Jimmy Johnson -- won even a single playoff game.
Editor's note: This story originally ran on Friday, Jan. 8. On Monday, Jan. 11, Pete Carroll officially left USC to coach the Seattle Seahawks.
Thousands of coaches will descend on Orlando, Fla., this weekend for the annual American Football Coaches Association convention. If they're smart, all but a few will come, resume in hand, to the hotel room of South Florida athletic director Doug Woolard.
College football history tends to conveniently divide itself by decade.
Grading out Alabama's 37-21 win over Texas in the BCS Championship Game.
PASADENA, Calif. -- The man wore a crimson sports coat and a houndstooth hat -- in other words, he fit right in with the rest of the jubilant crowd -- and when Alabama scored, he raised both hands, signaling "V" for victory with both, like he was channeling Richard Nixon.
PASADENA, Calif. -- Outside the north end zone at Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., four statues stand sentinel. Next to bronze replicas of Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, Paul "Bear" Bryant and Gene Stallings is a concrete ring, empty save for a fuse box. After Thursday night, we know who will occupy that fifth ring.
Eric Dickerson tells a great story about his early practices with the Los Angeles Rams. Dickerson, you probably remember, had this beautiful and gliding running style. He ran straight up and it seemed effortless. It seemed TOO effortless.
Mark Ingram barely had time to adjust his seat and take a drink of water at the start of his press conference last Sunday before the first of several reporters asked him the inevitable question.
The eyes of the football world will be on Pasadena this week as Alabama squares off against Texas in the national championship game. NFL decision-makers have a keen interest in this game as four defensive prospects could be first-round picks in April's draft. Overall, almost a dozen players in this game have the chance to be selected before the third round of the draft concludes. Here are the top 15 NFL prospects playing in the BCS Championship Game. (* denotes underlasssman)
USC would like you to believe that when it self-imposed sanctions on its basketball program last Sunday, it dropped the hammer on its troubled hoops program.
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Here's the thing I don't understand: Why can't Boise State be national champion? No, I'm not talking about writing another BCS rip job. I don't blame the BCS. I actually think the system worked pretty well this year. The BCS is supposed to give the nation a viable and compelling national championship game, and I think it did that. I suspect most people will believe in Alabama vs. Texas and will accept the winner as national champ.
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- With all due respect, Kyle Wilson thinks we're all just a little nuts.
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- While it doesn't formally say so in the name, Thursday's "BCS National Championship Game" is most definitely a bowl game. Alabama and Texas both spent part of the day Saturday at Disneyland (Colt McCoy's favorite ride was the Tower of Terror) and will both visit Rose Bowl staple Lawry's in the coming days.
PASADENA, Calif. -- Throughout Ohio State's festive week in Southern California, whether attending the Lawry's Beef Bowl, sitting in the hotel hot tub or playing video games in someone's room, Jake Ballard had a constant reminder for his younger teammates.
For the past three years, whether attending conferences with colleagues or simply walking through an airport, Boise State President Bob Kustra knows to expect an inevitable conversation.
The college football bowl season is a nice way for players to end their careers as a collegian. It also marks the last chance to make a mark on NFL scouts in a traditional game setting. Here's a look at the best pro prospects playing in the four BCS bowl games.
Breaking down Ohio State (10-2) vs. Oregon (10-2), Jan. 1, 4:30 p.m. ET, ABC
When Wyoming and Fresno State kicked off the bowl season on Dec. 19, the most interesting matchup was Alabama and Texas in the BCS title game. The most interesting off-field story concerned how Cincinnati players would handle playing Florida in the Sugar Bowl without their head coach and with an interim coach who had just taken the Buffalo job.
Penn State (10-2) vs. LSU (9-3) Jan. 1, 1:00 p.m. ET, ABC
The new decade begins this week, and since it's never too early to be wrong, here is a prediction:
The University of Alabama's Crimson Tide may be the top ranked team heading into college football's national championship game on January 7. But in one key measure, the team clearly trails the No. 2 University of Texas: money.
No. 12 Virginia Tech (9-3) vs. Tennessee (7-5) Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Yes, the Indianapolis Colts thing has already been wrestled to the ground and kicked a few times by now, but I want to point out some interesting work by brilliant blog reader Jonathan Joyce on the subject that might startle you. Well, "startle" might be an overstatement. I don't suppose I have been startled by football stats in a while.* The point is, it's good stuff.
They jumped around Tuesday -- even without the music. When the third quarter ended at the Champs Sports Bowl, the Citrus Bowl's in-house DJ didn't immediately hit play on the House of Pain jam of choice for America's Dairyland. Wisconsin's band and fans pogoed up and down anyway, challenging the rickety old stadium's structural integrity with their cheese-induced tonnage.
Triton Financial, an Austin, Texas-based investment firm which boasts prominent ties to the sports world -- including a sponsorship deal with the Heisman Trophy Trust; a three-year contract for a PGA Champions Tour event, the Triton Financial Classic; and a roster of former Heisman Trophy winners and NFL players that were employees of the company -- has been sued in a civil action by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for defrauding investors in a multimillion-dollar insurance scam, according to documents filed yesterday at Austin federal court. In connection with the complaint, Triton and its CEO, Kurt Barton, consented to an injunction to put the company into receivership.
The last time SMU was relevant, The Cosby Show was television's No. 1 program. Fitting, considering the sweatshirts Temple alum Bill Cosby often wore were a rare bright spot for the Owls, who, like the Mustangs, floundered for the better part of the last three decades. But after two of the most impressive and underappreciated turnarounds in recent years, the programs' glory days are no longer just the stuff of ESPN Classic and Nick at Nite.
Technically, Urban Meyer did nothing wrong. As strange and as stunning as the Florida coach's 24-hour career crisis has been, it's hard to criticize his handling of a life-altering decision, especially when it involves health factors no one but he can comprehend.
Like a 60-yard Percy Harvin touchdown run or a Joe Haden interception return, Urban Meyer's jaw-dropping resignation Saturday was, as he's wont to say, "a game-changer."
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida football coach Urban Meyer has stepped down, citing health concerns. Meyer will coach the Gators for the final time in the Sugar Bowl against Cincinnati on Jan. 1.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida football coach Urban Meyer has stepped down, citing health concerns. Meyer will coach the Gators for the final time in the Sugar Bowl against Cincinnati on Jan. 1.
Attention, BCS commissioners: Those pesky insurgents at the Mountain West have one more, tiny request for you. They'd like you to add this year's bowl record to next year's BCS standings.
Get ready for an incongruous sight this weekend: Pete Carroll leading his USC Trojans into the Emerald Bowl.
The college bowl season has kicked off in earnest and offers another phase of scouting for NFL franchises. Much of the focus will be on the high-profile players over the next three weeks but NFL scouts are just as interested in the talent not as well-known to football fans. Here's a list of legitimate NFL prospects who scouts will be closely monitoring in non-BCS contests: (*denotes underclassmen)
Since assuming the role of executive director of the Black Coaches and Administrators (BCA) in 2001, my most frequently asked question has been: "What is the reason for the lack of black head football coaches in the NCAA?" My answers were always objective, not subjective. I focused on the facts. The numbers spoke the truth.
1. The Statue of Liberty play; Jan. 1, 2007. The final down of the 2007 Fiesta Bowl was the American Dream rolled into one play from scrimmage. Using a play (the Statue of Liberty) mastered by millions of boys in their backyards, David (Boise State) scored on a two-point conversion to slay Goliath (Oklahoma) in overtime. The running back who scored the conversion (Ian Johnson) then ran down the sideline and proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend (Chrissy Popadics). Johnson and Popadics wed that July, and they have lived happily ever after. The fairy-tale ending also changed college football. Boise's win, which followed Utah's Fiesta Bowl-crash after the 2004 season, earned immeasurable respect for the sport's mid-majors and brought them one step closer to a legitimate shot to compete for the national title.
Culver City's Marquel Carter is probably one of the most under-the-radar athletes in California this year.
NEW YORK -- He was clearly gripped by emotion the moment his name was called, struggling to collect his composure as he climbed on to a stage thronged by some of the biggest legends in the history of the sport.
Running back Mark Ingram was awarded the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, becoming the first player from the University of Alabama ever to be named the best in college football.
This time, Notre Dame got its man.
Here's how SI's Heisman voters filled out their ballots. Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh emerged as the popular choice, but the race promises to be a close one.
You never win at a place like the University of Cincinnati. Not entirely.
One of the biggest recruiting coups of the year for first-year Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin was landing Georgia's Markeith Ambles. A wide receiver with a good frame at 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, Ambles might as well call his hands "Elmer," with his ability to hold onto the ball in tight spaces. His ability to go over the middle is a valuable commodity for the senior wideout, but Ambles also stretches the defense down the field with big-play ability.
After poring through 1,087 unread e-mails, I now know I'm not a very popular man in Austin, Texas. And apparently I'm not among the 99 percent of the population that seems to feel the TCU-Boise State Fiesta Bowl is nothing short of a crime against humanity.
Welcome to my seventh annual ranking of this year's bowl games, No. 1 through 34, in order of anticipated entertainment value. Much like the bowl business itself, these rankings are based only marginally on the teams' actual merits. They also take into consideration star quality, fan appeal, evenness of matchup, aesthetic appeal of the two teams' colors and whether or not any NCIS reruns will be airing at the same time.
1. Randy Moss to the Patriots from the Raiders for a fourth-round pick; April 29, 2007 On draft weekend, the team-minded Patriots shocked the NFL by dealing for Moss, whose talent as a game-changing receiver had supposedly atrophied during his two mostly desultory seasons in Oakland. But Moss, as it turns out, was merely disinterested in losing, and his reemergence in New England coincided with the team's history-making Super Bowl season. Moss caught 98 passes for 1,493 yards and had a single-season NFL record 23 touchdowns. All in all, not bad production in exchange for a fourth-round pick that Oakland used to select little-known University of Cincinnati cornerback John Bowie.
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 Texas -- the first-ever BCS Championship clash of 13-0 teams -- seems to warrant some grandiose, hyperbolic, "Game of the Century"-type nickname.
The rankings say it's No. 1 vs. No. 2. Technically, the stakes Saturday are exactly the same for both Florida and Alabama -- an SEC championship and a berth in the BCS National Championship Game.
When my TV show, Sports Jobs with Junior Seau, assigned me to be a Sports Illustrated reporter for a weekend, I didn't realize I'd have to squeeze it in around another sports job. I had planned to retire from the NFL to enjoy the cushy lifestyle of a full-time reality TV star, but I wound up getting run over by a bull. The NFL seemed a safer primary career, so when the Patriots called, I listened.
The announcement of the canceled football program came Thursday afternoon, and I immediately knew what I wanted for my children's futures:
The SEC Championship Game between Florida and Alabama will be played Saturday, giving the country a preview of some of the players who will be competing on Sundays a year from now. Here's a look at the top NFL prospects playing in the title game, listed as they rank on the 2010 NFL Draft board today (*denotes underclassmen):
Next Monday afternoon Stanford running back Toby Gerhart will be slogging his way through a final exam in Investment Science.
The last time I talked to the old coach was in October. I was in the middle of writing a book and I needed some of Bobby Bowden's memories. He's got a lot of memories and relates them with a flair like something straight from Tennessee Williams. I had talked at length to Bowden dozens of times between 1987 and 2000 when I was covering college football (and Florida State was king), but not much in recent years.
After a season-ending loss to Callaway in the Georgia state playoffs, junior running back Ralph David Abernathy IV walked off the bus upon arrival at Westminster Academy, ready to meet his parents and get home. Head down and still feeling the sting of the loss, Abernathy was pulled aside by a sophomore teammate who put his arm around him and told him that this was now Abernathy's team.
As of this writing, there are three BCS-conference schools (including Notre Dame) with coaching openings, with a fourth, Kansas, widely expected to join the list soon. A look at potential candidates for each job:
Football Insiders: Check out Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback.
Hopefully, Bill Hancock negotiated a huge salary. Because he just took one of the worst jobs in the world.
Dominic Randolph's college career is over. The Holy Cross quarterback threw his final pass in a 38-28 Division first-round Football Championship Subdivision loss to Villanova on Saturday.
I don't know if you have ever done it, but for a long time it seemed like everyone had at least once or twice said "Jack Nicholson" when they meant "Jack Nicklaus" and vice versa. It seems weird if you think about it... yes, the names are similar, but it's hard to imagine that Nicklaus and Nicholson often share a similar context. Nicholson isn't winning Masters. Nicklaus isn't winning Oscars. But the strangeness of having two people that famous with similar names seemed more than many of us could handle. Eddie Murray and Eddie Murphy shared a similar connection.
Analysts Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler had a fascinating argument during ESPN's College GameDay on Saturday morning. Herbstreit complained about the constant blather about Notre Dame, saying the Fighting Irish don't deserve all the attention they get because they haven't been relevant on the national scene since 1993.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- For his final game in The Swamp, Tim Tebow chose two verses from the book of Hebrews to highlight on his eye black. The first verse said this:
Boise State's win against Nevada on Friday gave the Broncos their second consecutive WAC title, and it left the Broncos with a game next week against horrendous New Mexico State to complete a second consecutive undefeated regular season.
AUBURN, Ala. -- After he raised one finger and ran past the only corner of Jordan-Hare Stadium painted crimson to a Million Dollar Band serenade of Don't Stop Believin', Nick Saban arrived in the Alabama locker room. With his panting, smiling players huddled around, Saban delivered the following message.
Two years ago in Morgantown, West Virginia entered the Backyard Brawl on the cusp of a spot in the national championship game. Pitt was just trying to salvage its season.
Even in Canada, Jared Zabransky cannot go many places without someone mentioning his claim to fame. Yes, right, he is that guy who ran the Statue of Liberty to beat Oklahoma in 2007.
The college football season has come to an end for a number of teams around the nation and several highly-rated underclassmen have decisions to make. With the deadline for application to the NFL draft seven weeks away, the non-seniors must decide whether they should opt for April's event. Scouts expect a record number of underclassmen to enter next year's draft, so this week's column concentrates on the draft stock of a dozen non-senior prospects.
Notre Dame may have its own provision in the BCS selection process and an attractive fallback in the Gator Bowl, but the independent Irish don't have a whole lot of other bowl options when they fall short of those games.
Football Insiders: Check out Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback.
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