News Nuggets, 09.25.04
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NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...
Previous Day Nuggets...
Next Day Nuggets...
Compiled from staff reports
and electronic dispatches
Duke dealing with meager home crowds, QB issues
PREVIOUS NUGGETS |
09.24.04: NCAA
gives thumbs up to South Carolina's "Pops" ... Imperfect
Miami manages win at Houston ... Hula Bowl's future in
question
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09.23.04: Pirates
order up heavy hoops menu ... Miami seeks win and new
recruits in Houston
...
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09.22.04: 'Pack,
Pirates in opposite BCA tourney brackets ... Knight
criticizes Olympic team's priorities ... Bowden Bowl again
pivotal for Clemson coach
...
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09.21.04: USM
turns to former stars to fill athletics positions ... Tigers
take two of league's weekly awards ... UH students get more
ducats for ESPN game
...
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09.20.04: C-USA
standings, scoreboard, schedule & TV ... Associated Press
college football poll ... USM, Cal reschedule Ivan-delayed
game ... Cowboys in party mode after long skid ends
...
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09.19.04: Frogs
to collaborate with European reality TV show ...
Historically black schools get showcase game ... Cal under
the gun to fund stadium upgrades ... Legislation takes aim
at sleazy sports agents
...
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09.18.04: Diamond
Pirates post 'Help Wanted' notice ... Stanford band's satire
finally goes too far ... Cincinnati vs. Syracuse: Preview of
the future ... Bulls poised for taste of BCS football ...
Wolfpack, Buckeyes try to live up to 2003 classic
...
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09.17.04: Storm
refugees invited to FSU-UAB game on the house ... Coaches
ditch plan for 5th year of eligibility ... CSU cracks down
on alcohol in wake of death
...
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09.16.04: Marshall
coach navigates hot water over remark ... Air Force locks in
DeBerry through 2009 ... Bowling Green football player dies
...
More... |
09.15.04: USM's
Bower blasts Cal handling of postponement ... More Ivan:
Tulane-Louisville game postponed ... Big bucks lure Hawaii
to Alabama in 2006
...
More... |
09.14.04: Ivan blows Southern Miss-Cal showdown off track ... Happy
days in Memphis over national ranking ... SMU, Texas A&M
agree to three-game series
...
More... |
09.13.04: C-USA
standings, scoreboard, schedule & TV ... AP Top 25: Memphis,
Louisville make the cut ... College football weekend: stars
& storylines
...
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09.12.04: Southern
Miss bags big prey in Big 12 country ... Pitcher sues over
weight-training injury
...
More... |
09.11.04: Tulane football crisis turns into boon for program ...
Sooners licking chops over visiting Houston?
...
More... |
09.10.04: ECU
boomer Dougherty nominated for punting award ... Army's Ross
still fired up about coaching
...
More... |
09.09.04: Golden
Eagles in countdown mode for Nebraska ... ESPN branching out
with new ventures ... Tar Heels book trip to Maui
Invitational
...
More... |
09.08.04: It's
official: Holland the chosen one ... AP agrees: Holland the
chosen one ... Delayed start an unforgiving one for USM ...
Old skeptic Holtz goes positive
...
More... |
09.07.04: Storm-related
tragedy slams Bowden family ... Army AD Greenspan enlists
with Hoosiers
...
More... |
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DURHAM — Maryland quarterback Joel Statham had some
trouble with the crowd noise at West Virginia, so coach Ralph Friedgen
turned up the volume in practice this week.
He probably shouldn't have bothered.
The 23rd-ranked Terrapins travel to Duke on
Saturday, and even though this is the Blue Devils' home opener, plenty of
good seats likely will be available right up until kickoff.
In 2003, Duke averaged slightly more than 20,000
fans at Wallace Wade Stadium, a total that ranked 97th out of the 117
Division I-A schools. It was by far the worst home attendance for any team
in a Bowl Championship Series conference.
"I'm not under the impression that we won't have a
good crowd, I'm not going to buy into that right now," Blue Devils coach Ted
Roof said. "At the same time, we have to put a good product on the field. I
feel very confident that our kids will be ready to play this week and be
excited about playing in front of our fans."
The Blue Devils (0-3) played competitively on their
three-game road trip to start the season — they took early leads in all
three — but they'll be hard pressed to do the same against Maryland. The
Terrapins have won four in a row in the series and they are coming off a
19-16 overtime loss to the Mountaineers.
In its Atlantic Coast Conference opener, Maryland
won't be overlooking Duke.
"We made some errors but I was proud of the way our
kids hung in there and kept fighting," Friedgen said of the loss at West
Virginia. "These are things that the only way you can experience them is to
be in that environment and deal with it.
"As I told my team, 'We should be better for that
experience. If we haven't gotten better than that loss was in vain.' To me,
we need to grow from it."
Friedgen made Statham off-limits indefinitely to
reporters this week, hoping the lack of exposure will help the sophomore
focus. In three games this season, Statham has thrown four interceptions and
fumbled five times.
Against West Virginia, he was 9-for-20 for 108 yards
and threw three interceptions.
"He had three interceptions in the first half and, I
might add, they weren't all his fault," Friedgen said. "In the second half,
he came back and gave us a lead and a chance to win the football game."
Roof has his own concerns at the position. Mike
Schneider started for the second time in three games last week against
Virginia Tech, then left with a concussion. He's expected back Saturday, but
Roof hasn't named a starter yet.
The other candidates are Chris Dapolito and Curt
Dukes. Combined, the trio is 34-for-69 for 363 yards, and they've thrown two
touchdowns and three interceptions. The shaky play at that position is one
reason Duke ranks last in the ACC and 114th out of 117 teams nationally in
total offense at 234 yards a game.
That total includes only 124 from the passing game,
but tight end Ben Patrick doesn't blame the quarterbacks.
"All three guys are great quarterbacks and we just
leave it up to the coach to make the best decision," Patrick said. "All
three of them bring something different to the table, so we try to use it as
a strength."
It hasn't worked out so far.
"I'd really like to be a one-quarterback team, as I
said before, but right now, that's just not something that we're ready to
do," Roof said. "I don't think one of the quarterbacks has really separated
himself from the other ones yet, and I'd like for that to happen."
Bush inks legislation targeting shady agents
WASHINGTON — President Bush signed a
law Friday establishing tougher penalties for unethical sports agents.
The bill stiffens penalties for agents
who lure student-athletes into contracts that compromise their amateur
standing and damage the reputations of their schools.
The legislation, which passed by voice
vote in the Senate earlier this month, was promoted by Rep. Tom Osborne,
R-Neb., a former Nebraska football coach. Osborne said he has seen sports
agents illegally use cash and gifts to recruit student-athletes.
The NCAA has rules, and some states
have standards, for sports agents, but Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., principal
author of the bill, said they haven't stopped unscrupulous agents from
"aggressively pursuing these kids anyway, possibly ruining a chance to
compete on the college level and get a degree."
The law bars agents from recruiting
student-athletes by giving false or misleading information or providing
anything of value to the athlete or his family before entering into a
contract.
The agent must also disclose in writing
that the athlete may lose NCAA eligibility after signing an agency contract.
And the law requires the athlete and the agent to notify the school's
athletic director that the athlete has signed a contract so the school does
not allow a now-ineligible athlete to play.
Violators would face civil actions by
the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general. Fines of up to
$11,000 a day could be levied for each offense.
News Nuggets are
compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member
schools, and from Associated Press and
other reports. Copyright 2004
Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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