News Nuggets, 12.19.04
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Compiled from staff reports
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Houston AD livid with Nebraska over cancellation
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12.18.04: Wolfpack's
Hodge not short on self-esteem ,,, James Madison rushes to
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12.17.04: Nebraska
icon Osborne irked with aloof AD's ... William & Mary QB
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12.16.04: Pirates
hawking hoops tickets with a twist ... Majerus ditches TV
gig to rescue Trojans ...
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12.15.04: Bowl
season kicks off with Southern Miss victory ... Marshall
linebacker suspended for bowl game ...
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12.14.04: Preview:
USM, North Texas kick off bowl season ... Former ECU
assistants McFarland, Brindise land jobs ... McLendon to
bolt Wolfpack for NFL draft ...
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12.13.04: Musical
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12.12.04: Title
game of the Heismans set ... All-time Heisman winners list
... Blue- Gray Classic scratched again ...
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12.11.04: Job
security for SMU coach comes with lofty mandate ... Panel
pushing to tie bowl bids to grad rates ...
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12.10.04: Gamecocks'
ol' man "Pops" still in the limelight ... Lou Groza Award
winners ... Ray Guy Award winners ...
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12.09.04: East
Carolina releases 2005 baseball schedule ... BCA urges
athletes, coaches to shun Gamecocks ...
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12.08.04: All-Conference
USA and C-USA All-Freshman teams ... Petrino waves off
suitors to stay at Louisville ...
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12.07.04: Syracuse
chancellor decides to stick with Pasqualoni ... Zook
selected to rejuvenate struggling Illini ...
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12.06.04: C-USA
standings, scoreboard, bowl lineup & TV ... BCS rankings,
bowl pairings ''' AP football poll ...
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12.05.04: FLwed
BCS produces another messy title picture ... College
football weekend: stars & storylines ...
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HOUSTON — An angry Houston athletic
director Dave Maggard, calling Nebraska ``gutless,'' accused the Cornhuskers
on Friday of backing out of a verbal agreement to play Houston in a football
game next fall and scheduling Division I-AA Maine instead.
``This is absolutely unprofessional in
every way,'' Maggard said in online editions of the Houston Chronicle.
``It's gutless. Spineless. They're going to have to live with it. I've lost
a tremendous amount of respect for that program. I think that for college
athletics, it's shameful.''
Maggard said he arranged a nationally
televised game between the Cougars and Nebraska.
Two days later, Maggard said he learned
in a phone call from Nebraska Athletic Director Steve Pederson that the game
won't be played. Now Houston and ESPN are scrambling to find another
opponent for Sept. 1 at Reliant Stadium in Houston.
``Essentially, Nebraska bailed on the
game,'' Maggard told KRIV-TV in Houston.
Pederson did not plan to address
Maggard's comments, said Nebraska athletic department spokeswoman Chris
Anderson.
``Our policy has always been ... we
have never made comment about any potential or future opponent until such
time that a contract is signed, and there was no signed contract in this
case,'' Anderson said.
But Maggard had plenty to say.
``This is the most unprofessional thing
I've dealt with in my 30 years in this business,'' Maggard said. ``I'm very,
very surprised by all this. This is something that doesn't belong in
Division I athletics.''
Mike Soltys, vice president in charge
of communications at ESPN, said the game was scheduled for the network's
Thursday night opener before Nebraska decided to go in a different
direction.
``We're going to figure out a solution,
but they (the Huskers) are developing a reputation for hanging people out to
dry. I think it's a sad commentary on the people running that athletic
program,'' Maggard said.
Duke cans offensive coordinator Galbraith
DURHAM — Duke fired offensive
coordinator Marty Galbraith after one season, during which the Blue Devils
ranked last in the Atlantic Coast Conference in points and total offense.
``We've decided to go another direction
offensively,'' Duke head coach Ted Roof said in a statement. ``Marty
Galbraith is a good man and a good football coach, and we wish him well in
his future endeavors.''
Duke (2-9, 1-7) averaged 16.6 points
and 265.5 yards per game.
Galbraith came to the Blue Devils after
spending the 2003 season as tight ends coach for the NFL's Arizona
Cardinals. Before that, he spent three seasons with North Carolina State,
serving as offensive coordinator in 2001 and '02.
Majerus retreats from USC back to TV booth
LOS ANGELES — Three days after being
hired as the new basketball coach at Southern California, Rick Majerus
backed out of the deal and will stay at ESPN as a college basketball
analyst.
``Rick expressed to us that he had a
change of heart and wondered if the possibility still existed for him to
work for ESPN. And it does,'' ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said Saturday
night. ``We told him he could (return).''
Majerus, who cited health reasons when
he retired in January after 15 seasons as Utah's coach, was announced as the
Trojans' incoming coach Wednesday. He was to assume the post on April 1.
Majerus did not immediately return
phone messages Saturday night.
``We plan to meet with Rick on Monday.
Until then, there's really nothing we can say,'' USC athletic director Mike
Garrett said in a statement.
USC spokesman Tim Tessalone said the
meeting had already been planned.
Until taking over in April, Majerus was
supposed to serve on the staff and work on recruiting, filling the
assistant's job vacated when Jim Saia was promoted to interim coach after
Henry Bibby's firing.
At a campus news conference following
his hiring, the 56-year-old Majerus said he wasn't worried about his health.
``My health is good or I wouldn't do
this,'' he said. ``Both my doctors encouraged me to do it. I wouldn't put
anyone, least of all myself, in harm's way.''
Saia last saw Majerus over dinner
Wednesday night, when they discussed the program's future. Majerus had soup
and salad for dinner and kept apples in his hotel room, Saia said.
``He asked a lot of questions about the
staff and players coming back. He just wanted to get a feel from me,'' Saia
told The Associated Press on Saturday night, his voice still hoarse from
USC's earlier victory over Western Michigan.
But something apparently changed
overnight Wednesday.
Majerus canceled a Thursday morning
meeting with assistant coach Bob Cantu, then canceled dinner that night with
assistant Eric Brown, Saia said. On Friday, Majerus canceled a meeting with
the players who would still be eligible next season. He talked to the team
briefly Wednesday after being introduced as the new coach.
Saia said there were no reasons given
for the cancellations.
``He left a message on my cell Friday
night saying he wanted to go back to Milwaukee and spend the holidays with
his family and mother,'' Saia said. ``He said he'd see me after Christmas.''
The Trojans leave for Hawaii on Sunday
to play in the Rainbow Classic. They are 2-1 since Saia took over.
``It'll be great to get away and bond
as a team,'' he said. ``I'm an interim coach that maybe has a chance to
coach next season. I'd love to stay at USC.''
Saia said he's not concerned about the
future.
``I can't control what is going to
happen,'' he said. ``You could go crazy trying to figure it all out.''
UCLA coach Ben Howland was stunned when
informed of Majerus's reversal after the Bruins beat Michigan.
``You're kidding me, right?'' Howland
said. ``I hope and will pray it's not over health issues because that was
always the biggest concern. That's surprising to me because I know from
listening to him how excited he was to come back.''
Majerus coached Utah to the national
championship game in 1998, losing to Kentucky. That game was one of the
school's 10 NCAA tournament appearances during his tenure. His other
coaching stints were at Ball State, Marquette and with the NBA's Milwaukee
Bucks as an assistant.
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 Associated Press and
other sources. Copyright 2004
Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be
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