The 2007 Conference USA baseball
championship, originally scheduled for May 23-27 at Turchin Stadium in
New Orleans, will be held at East Carolina's Clark-LeClair Stadium.
Due to continuing renovations at
Turchin Stadium since Hurricane Katrina, the facility will not be
completed in time to host the eight-team, double-elimination tournament.
"We were disappointed to learn
that Turchin Stadium will not be ready to host the 2007 C-USA Baseball
Championship, since we expect it will be one of the finest college
baseball facilities in the country when it is completed," said
Commissioner Britton Banowsky.
East Carolina was originally
scheduled to host the 2008 championship. Tulane and ECU will now switch
years, with next year's event to be held at Turchin Stadium.
"We certainly appreciate East
Carolina stepping up and hosting the 2007 championship," said Banowsky.
"ECU has an outstanding baseball facility and enjoys tremendous fan
support. We know they will do a great job of hosting the championship
and we are certain that the Pirate Nation will turn out in large numbers
for this event."
The 2007 tickets will be priced
at $60 and may be ordered online at
www.ecupirates.com, beginning Monday, April 9. The ECU ticket office
will be open at 9 a.m. EDT on Monday to answer customer inquiries.
Individual session tickets, if available, will be priced at $10, and
will go on sale the week of the tournament.
Pirates take break
before Purple-Gold game
East Carolina closed out its
fifth week of spring drills a few days early by utilizing a split venue
for its 13th practice. The Pirates worked an hour on the artificial
surface of Hight Field within the Cliff Moore practice complex before
completing the final phase of the workout in full scrimmage mode on
Wednesday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
East Carolina will be taking a
long weekend off in observance of Good Friday and Easter before resuming
its schedule April 11. That workout will mark the Pirates' final tune-up
in preparation for the Purple-Gold Game on April 14.
Coach Skip Holtz put a heavy
emphasis on the passing game during the scrimmage portion of Wednesday's
practice, which was highlighted by a pair of touchdown passes by
sophomores Rob Kass and Brett Clay.
Kass capped the opening
possession by connecting with Alex Taylor on a 14-yarder before Clay
closed the contest by finding Taylor in the back of the endzone with an
11-yard toss. Kass also hooked up with redshirt freshman Dwayne Harris
on a 35-yard non-scoring pass play during the scrimmage.
"We really wanted to focus our
attention on the passing game today," Holtz said. "We tried to get in as
much pass situational work as we could, emphasizing third-and-short,
third-and-medium and third-and-long in drop-back and ball control calls
with ones going against ones and No. 2s against No. 2s."
While the tone of the scrimmage
featured a strong aerial presence, the Pirate rushing attack also
continued to make an impact as junior Dominique Lindsay and redshirt
freshman Norman Whitley recorded runs of 74 and 83 yards, respectively.
Lindsay added a 17-yard touchdown dash, junior quarterback Patrick
Pinkney contributed a four-yard scoring rush and junior Brandon Simmons
had a long effort of 42 yards.
The scrimmage wasn't without
some big plays on defense as junior Zach Slate recovered the game's only
fumble and senior Travis Williams returned an interception 35 yards for
a touchdown late during the action.
"There have been a lot of
positives this spring," Holtz commented. "However, the one thing we
don't have at this point is a level of consistency."
After next Wednesday's full-pad
practice, East Carolina's coaching staff will conduct a player draft to
select roster positions for the Purple-Gold Game, which is scheduled for
a 3 p.m. kickoff.
Tickets, which are priced at
$5.00 for the contest or $10.00 with the addition of a plate of barbecue
from the Pigskin Pig-Out Party, can be purchased online at
www.ecupirates.com or by calling (252) 328-2300 or (800) DIAL-ECU
outside the Greenville area.
Grambling coaching
legend Robinson succumbs
The Grambling State University
family lost one of its biggest patriarchs and ambassadors to the world
late Tuesday night as legendary head football coach Eddie G. Robinson,
Sr., passed away at Northern Louisiana Medical Center in Ruston, LA$.
According to a Grambling
release, Robinson spent 57 seasons consistently fielding stellar
football teams and guiding his young charges to success both on and off
the gridiron. The second “winningest coach in the history of college
football” always remained humble, crediting his players, his family, his
loving wife Doris, the media and football fans from all over the world
for making the name “Eddie Robinson” synonymous with the best that
college football has to offer.
On October 7, 1995, Robinson
became the first college football coach to break the 400-win barrier, a
mark once thought to be unreachable until Grambling’s version of the
Energizer Bunny just kept on going and going and winning and winning.
The 42-6 win over Mississippi Valley State came before a national
television audience on ESPN2.
“Nobody has ever done or will
ever do what Eddie Robinson has done for this game,” Penn State coach
Joe Paterno said. “Our profession will never, ever be able to repay
Eddie Robinson for what he has done for this country and the profession
of football.”
ECU posts net
win over Division II power Barton
East Carolina used four singles
wins, three coming in convincing fashion, and the doubles point to post
a 5-2 non-conference men's tennis victory over Barton on Wednesday
evening at the ECU Tennis Complex.
The win improved the Pirates'
record to 8-11 while Barton, ranked No. 31 nationally at the NCAA
Division II level, fell to 11-4.
East Carolina opened the match
by sweeping doubles play and capturing the opening point. Matt Peeler
and Brian Walters defeated Nikola Andjelic and Robert Jenner 8-2 at the
No. 2 flight before Aleksey Kochetov and Stephen Whitwell handed Brent
Ching and Dan Mascall an 8-5 loss at No. 1 to seal the outcome.
The Pirates continued their
strong play in the singles competition, winning four of the six matches.
Kochetov rallied past Ching (4-6, 6-1, 6-0) at No. 1 and Whitwell
handled Andjelic (6-4, 6-1) at No. 3 before Bryan Oakley and Walters
added 6-1, 7-5 and 6-3, 6-4 victories over Chris Martel and Mascall at
Nos. 4 and 5, respectively.
The Pirates' match against
Gardner-Webb, scheduled to be completed earlier Wednesday as part of a
doubleheader, was canceled because of expected inclement weather and
potential travel difficulties.
East Carolina will close out its
three-match homestand when it welcomes UNC-Wilmington to Greenville on
Saturday at 1 p.m.
April
5, 2007
Beilein bolting
Morgantown for Michigan
John Beilein told his West
Virginia players on Tuesday that he was leaving the program in
Morgantown to fill the basketball coaching vacancy at Michigan.
Beilein, 54, has amassed a
551-318 career record in his 29 years. He has produced 26 winning
seasons and 14 20-win campaigns at four different levels: junior
college, NAIA, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division I.
Beilein has taken 10 different
teams to a postseason tournament – four NCAA and six NIT. He has
compiled a 20-10 all-time record during postseason play and is 6-4 in
NCAA play with two Sweet 16 appearances (2005, '06) and an Elite Eight
appearance (2005). He is 14-6 in NIT play, winning the 2007 NIT crown
with West Virginia.
ECU women netters
on a roll with win at UNCW
Visiting East Carolina won the
doubles point and captured the final four singles matches to down
UNC-Wilmington 5-2 in non-conference women's tennis action at the UNCW
courts.
ECU improved to 17-8 with the
victory and avenged a 4-3 loss to the Seahawks last year in Greenville.
East Carolina notched its third win in its last four outings and
captured its sixth triumph over an eight-match span.
UNCW had a three-match winning
streak snapped and now stands 16-11 on the season.
The Lady Pirates won the doubles
point when sophomore Varinia Soler converted a short volley to lift her
and fellow Spaniard Mireia Gol to a tiebreaker win over UNCW's Molly
Molony and Priscilla Roberts at No. 1 doubles.
Krog finishes
second for Lady Pirates in golf
East Carolina sophomore Lene
Krog carded a final round of 72 to finish tied for second at the 2007
John Kirk/Lady Panther Invitational in the 36-hole tournament at Eagle's
Landing Country Club in Stockbridge, GA.
Krog, who recorded her 14th
career top-10 finish, posted a 36-hole tournament score of 141 (69-72)
finishing one stroke behind Memphis' Stacey Tate (68-72=140). ECU was
fourth among six teams in the team scoring.
April
4, 2007
Spring football practice enters fifth week
East Carolina officially began its fifth week of
spring workouts with a two-hour session Monday afternoon on Hight Field
within the Cliff Moore practice complex.
The Pirates returned to action in full pads
after conducting their second intra-squad scrimmage of the season Friday
afternoon. After turning in its 12th practice of the spring period
Monday, ECU has just two more workouts scheduled before closing camp
with the Purple-Gold game on April 14.
After Wednesday's session, which will include a
partial scrimmage at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, East Carolina will take a
long weekend off in observance of Good Friday and Easter before
finishing its in-week slate seven days later.
"At this stage of the spring, we simply can't
get enough team work in," ECU coach Skip Holtz said after having a
chance to review film of the scrimmage. "While I thought the physical
part of it was there, we're now at the point where you look for
execution, decision-making skills and people who consistently make plays
and perhaps rise above others out there."
Barton's
Nosewicz captures Bradford Creek golf
Barton's Nick Nosewicz shot a four-under 68 on
Tuesday and finished with an 11-under 205 (67-70-68) to claim individual
medalist honors at the 2007 Bradford Creek intercollegiate golf
tournament in Greenville.
The tournament was held at the 7,151-yard, par
72 Bradford Creek course.
Radford took home the team title with a three
round total of 17-under 847 (286-279-282), one stroke ahead of second
place Furman (286-281-281=848).
Host East Carolina finished in third place with
a 54-hole team score of nine-under 855 (295-272-288). Barton placed
fourth with a seven-under 857 (285-289-283) followed by Kennesaw State
with a six-under 858 (288-292-278).
ECU freshman Tripp Brizendine recorded the best
finish of his career as he shot an eight-under 208 (66-71-71) to earn a
tie for second place.
In addition to Brizendine, the Pirates had three
other players earn top 10 finishes. Senior Robin Smith and juniors Chris
Ault and Andre Thorsen all tied for seventh place with a four-under
212's.
Tennessee tops
Rutgers for women's hoops title
Tennessee was a 59-46 winner over Rutgers in
Cleveland to claim the seventh women's NCAA basketball tournament
championship for the Lady Vols program.
Candace Parker scored 17 points to lead the win.
Tennessee finished 34-3 while Rutgers was 27-9.
Goestenkors
leaves Duke for challenge at Texas
Gail Goestenkors won five ACC championships and
reached four Final Fours at Duke in 15 seasons as coach of the Blue
Devils women's basketball program. Her performance attracted an offer to
replace legendary coach Jody Conradt at Texas, and, on Tuesday,
Goestenkors announced that she had accepted the Longhorns' offer.
Goestenkors, 44, a seven-time ACC coach of the
year, has a 396-99 career record.
April
3, 2007
Lady Vols, Rutgers play for women's crown
Tennessee (33-3) and Rutgers (27-8) play for the
women's NCAA basketball championship in Cleveland tonight. Tennessee is
bidding for its seventh national title while Rutgers is looking for its
first.
The Lady Vols used a 20-2 run over the last
eight minutes to beat North Carolina 56-50 on Sunday night. Rutgers
routed LSU, 59-35 to reach the final.
Good weekend for
Pirate track at Western
East Carolina's track and field teams dominated
the Western Carolina Invitational over the weekend, earning 12 first
place finishes. In total, the Pirates brought home 46 top 10 finishes.
NCAA names SMU site
for 2008 men's soccer
The NCAA has announced the selection of the NCAA
men's and women’s college cup sites for 2008 and 2009.
Hosted by N.C. State, the town of Cary, and the
Capital Area Soccer League, the 2008 NCAA women’s college cup will
return December 5 and 7 to SAS soccer park in Cary. Texas A&M will serve
as the 2009 host December 4 and 6, marking the third time it has hosted
since 2005.
Conference USA member Southern Methodist will
host the men's competition in 2008 and N.C. State will host the men in
2009.
April
2, 2007
NCAA could be big loser in anti-trust lawsuit
Has the NCAA illegally fixed the price of an
athletic scholarship below the cost of a college education? Or, is the
NCAA trying to protect amateurism and competitive balance for its member
schools?
Those questions are posed by Lester Munson,
writing for
sportsillustrated.cnn.com.
A jury in Los Angeles will answer the questions
in a trial that will begin on June 12. The jury's answer could be
expensive for the NCAA, according to Munson. Very expensive.
Lawyers representing all Division I football and
basketball players (there are 11,500 of them) claim that the athletes
are shortchanged an average of $2,500 a year because of an arbitrary
NCAA limit on scholarships.
If they're right, the athletes are entitled under
anti-trust laws to triple damages, a potential liability for the NCAA of
more than $86 million for a single year, $344 million if the calculation
is based on four years.
NCAA officials claim the scholarship must be limited
in order to produce a balance of competition among Division I schools
and to protect amateurism.
Toledo running
back charged with point shaving
The U.S. Attorney's Office brought a criminal
complaint Friday against a Toledo football player, accusing him of
taking bribes from a Sterling Heights (OH) gambler to affect the outcome
of football games and recruiting other football players and members of
the men's basketball team to do the same thing, according to a Detroit
news report.
Running back Harvey "Scooter" McDougle Jr., 22, is
charged with participating in a bribery scheme to influence sporting
contests. He was arraigned in federal court in Detroit late Friday
afternoon and released on a $10,000 unsecured bond.
McDougle, who appeared in court wearing gray
sweatpants, a gray sweatshirt and black Nike shoes, is to return to
court April 20 for a preliminary examination.
Duke's Goestenkors
named AP coach of year
Duke coach Gail Goestenkors has been named college
women's basketball coach of the year award by the Associated Press.
Goestenkors, who has won nearly 400 games in her
career at Duke, had 40 votes. North Carolina State's Kay Yow – a 1964
East Carolina graduate who returned from treatment for breast cancer –
had six votes. Goestenkors said she was accepting the award for Yow.
"My job is easy compared to what she has been
through," Goestenkors said of Yow.
Goestenkors guided the Blue Devils to a 29-0 record in
the regular season – the first ACC team to do so and 14th in NCAA
history. She also led Duke to an NCAA-record seventh straight 30-win
season.
The Blue Devils suffered their first loss in the ACC
tournament semifinals, falling to N.C. State. Her team was No. 1 in the
AP poll for the season's final nine weeks and the overall No. 1 seed in
the NCAA tournament.
Duke's season came to an abrupt end when the Blue
Devils fell to Rutgers 53-52 in the Greensboro Regional semifinals.
A seven-time Atlantic Coast Conference coach of the
year, the 44-year-old Goestenkors is the top candidate for the vacancy
at Texas, where Jody Conradt announced her resignation March 12,
Goestenkors interviewed with the Longhorns on Wednesday.
April
1, 2007
Buckeyes, Gators meet in rematch of BCS final
Ohio State reached its first national title game
since 1962 with a 67-60 victory over Georgetown on Saturday night at the
Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
Mike Conley led the Buckeyes with 15 points, six
assists and five rebounds, while Greg Oden, who was limited by foul
trouble, added 13 points — all in the second half — and eight rebounds
in 20 minutes.
Ohio State will meet defending champion Florida,
a 76-66 winner over UCLA as Corey Brewer scored 19 points for the
Gators.
Florida beat the Buckeyes for the national title
in football in the BCS final for the 2006 season.
Donovan,
Calipari attract interest from suitors
Even as Florida was preparing to play UCLA on
semifinal Saturday in Atlanta, ESPN reported that Kentucky will offer
Gators coach Billy Donovan a guaranteed $2.8 million annual contract
once Florida's season ends.
In other coaching news, Memphis has granted
Arkansas permission to talk to Tigers coach John Calipari about the
Razorbacks' basketball coaching vacancy.
ECU softball splits
with Golden Hurricane
The East Carolina softball team welcomed
defending Conference USA champion Tulsa to the ECU Softball Field on
Saturday afternoon, splitting a doubleheader with the Golden Hurricane.
The Pirates bounced back to take game two 3-0 after dropping the first
contest 3-1 in nine innings.
