College Football Talk

[HoosierHoagie]

OMG just wait until you hit 40. Its a whole new world just waking up in the morning. <G> Just kidding but on a serious note, keep streching and excercizing. Its so much easier to maintain something then haveing to start over again. Enough preaching.<G>

[strongtower]

hey I was superman until I hit 23 then my bones started popping and my back started aching, I thought the world was coming to an end.lol


Trader's Cove-(NASDAQ)

[HoosierHoagie]

LMAO yes you are a ripe old age of 32, too funny. Yes I am a young 51. <G>

[HoosierHoagie]

I was hoping you would like that one.<G>

[strongtower]

yeah I wanted to sky dive back in my early days but now since I am 32 I don't need that many thrills, I had enough.lol bungie jumping is good enough.lol

[cajundb]

LOLOL

[HoosierHoagie]

LOL Hope you don't mind a little Military humor.<G>

Flyboy Goes to Heaven

An air force officer arrives in heaven. St Peter asks him if he has ever done anything in his life that he believes makes him worthy of admittance to heaven. The officer flyboy replies; yes, I once went into a bar with four of my pilot friends and saw two Marines harassing a young girl at the bar, so being a gentleman I went up to the biggest one and told him to leave this young lady alone. When he refused I told him again more forcefully. This time I slapped him across the face and told this Marine to stand down. St Peter said this was a very good thing to do and asked when the pilot did this great act. The pilot replied; about 5 minutes ago! My friends should be here shortly!

Just in fun.

[cajundb]

My nephew and his wife are in the USAF. They switch turns going over there and the other stays here with the kids. She's from San Antonio.

[HoosierHoagie]

LOL Or better yet be the first to know where the parachute is stored. <G>

[HoosierHoagie]

LOL He is an easy one to enjoy, he just got back from Iraq a few months ago and has been a total joy to be around.

[cajundb]

And let's just hope when you're on that perfectly good plane, that its not the pilot's time to go and he forgot to mention where he hid his training manual! LOL

[cajundb]

Smart move!! There's lots of other things to do in life!! And enjoying your kids is one of them (sometimes)!! LOL

[HoosierHoagie]

LOL I knew there was something I liked about you.

[HoosierHoagie]

LOL Yes that might just create a little problem. My son had a goal of taking me skydiving. I needed to lose some weight first and in the meantime suffered a minor Heart attack. Well I am close to having the weight lost but because of the minor detail of the Heart I think he is convinced that maybe we need to re-evaluate the Sky Diving. Although while it does have a little appeal to me, I will not do it. <G>


My new philosophy is why jump out of a perfectly good plane unless it is about to crash. <G>

[cajundb]

Sure hope so!! Can't wait for the season to start! Approximately 23 Days, 8 Hours, 25 Minutes and 11 Seconds until life as we know it begins!! LOL

[cajundb]

I've got it too. Its manageable and easy to live with but there are certain things I don't do either! Cliff diving is definitely out!! LOL

[strongtower]

well that sure is encouraging to read early in the morning.lol

[HoosierHoagie]

Along with trying to win a third straight Big 12 championship

Texas will have something to say about that. <G>

[HoosierHoagie]

Glad he pulled out before he hurt himself

[cajundb]

Sooners hope marrow screening will save lives (from Sporting News)

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Along with trying to win a third straight Big 12 championship and righting recent BCS struggles, the Oklahoma Sooners left their media day Wednesday with another goal in mind: Saving lives.

Dozens of players followed coach Bob Stoops' lead in going through screening to become a bone marrow donor, hoping to help a 10-year-old Sooners fan and others suffering from cancer and blood disorders.

"When you think about it, one day you could actually save somebody's life. To me, that's something really important that you should do," said linebacker Austin Box, who sat down at a table to complete his screening shortly after Stoops got done.

Each potential donor rubbed four cotton swabs in their mouth -- one in each corner -- to provide a DNA sample that will go in a national registry. Patients who are in need of a bone marrow transplant will also have their DNA entered into the database to see if it fits with a donor.

Tallie Anderson, a 10-year-old transplant hopeful from Shawnee, attended the screening in a pink Oklahoma T-shirt and met with Stoops and players who volunteered. She was diagnosed last March with severe aplastic anemia, a blood disorder.

"We thought it would be like anything else: a one-year thing. You go in, you go out. The doctors didn't mention a bone marrow transplant or anything -- "We'll do treatment. We're good to go,"' said Roger Anderson, Tallie's dad.

"But now we're starting to talk bone marrow transplant because some of the therapy is not working."

Tallie's chances at finding a donor aren't as good as others might be. She's a descendant of the Choctaw Tribe, and American Indians have the lowest number of registered donors with the National Marrow Donor Program. Nearly 80,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives are in the NMDP's database, compared to more than 5 million white people.

"If you're a Caucasian -- a plain, vanilla Caucasian -- your chance of getting a match is about 80 percent, but it drops off dramatically if you're a minority," said Laura Rooms, a pediatric oncologist with the Children's Hospital at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center.

To make up for the underrepresented parts of the population, the federal program pays the $52 screening fee for minorities and certain targeted donors including college athletes, police and firefighters, said Stacy McLeod, the NMDP coordinator with the Oklahoma Blood institute.

The Sooners football players were ideal candidates.

"These guys are young, their cells are viable, they will be able to donate for many years, which is extremely important, and they're male. Those are big criteria," McLeod said. "Those are the ones we really want because those are the ones that are going to graft, or actually work, in a patient."

Stoops said he came up with the idea for the screening by reading an article about a similar program at Wagner College, a Football Championship Subdivision school in Staten Island, N.Y.

"I thought, heck, why couldn't we? We've got a lot of strong, healthy young guys if they're willing to do it," said Stoops, who frequently visits cancer patients at the children's hospital. "We just informed them that if they wanted to, there'd be this opportunity."

There were 84 players, coaches, reporters and athletic department staff members who went through the screening at Oklahoma. Wagner reported getting 201 volunteers at its marrow drive in April, which was open to the public.

"Hopefully a lot of Division I schools will see what coach Stoops is doing and then hopefully do it," said punter Mike Knall, who also got screened. "If we get all these numbers of people to get their DNA out there, you're bound to find someone who will meet your match and save thousands or millions of lives."

When the database generates a match, the NMDP contacts the registered donor to see if that person is still willing to participate. The donor then would go through a medical screening to make sure the procedure will be safe and be given the choice to give either bone marrow or peripheral blood.

Rooms said a syringe is used to harvest the marrow from a donor's hips or back in an approximately hourlong procedure under general anesthesia, while the blood donation takes longer but uses needles in each arm. She said the donor usually has some "mild discomfort."

"To save somebody's life, it's a fairly minimal sacrifice," Rooms said.

The screening is even easier. Stoops had to fill out a form with some personal information -- and sign an autograph on a second form -- before the DNA collection, which takes about 10 seconds per swab.

"I think as much as anything just the general public doesn't realize maybe how easy it is to be on the registry. I just did it in a total of 5 minutes," Stoops said. "I understand there will be a process if I were to be a donor for it but I think to help someone to improve their life or to give them a chance to live, it's worth it, maybe the little bit of discomfort it might be, to give them that chance."

And maybe, just maybe, little Tallie will find a DNA match in quarterback Sam Bradford, who is of Cherokee descent, or in someone he inspires to donate.

"There's a lot of kids who need bone marrow transplants, and it's just an opportunity for us to add to the possibilities that they'll find a match and that they'll be able to get the transplant that they need," Bradford said.

"A lot of these kids need it to help them live, so it's just something that we can do to help people out."

[cajundb]

Wildcats crisp during second day of practice (from Sporting News)

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- Kentucky coach Rich Brooks says his team picked things up during the second day of training camp on Wednesday.

Brooks said the team appeared to get it's first-day jitters out of the way and looked a little crisper during two hours of drills at the Nutter Training Center.

One of the surprising early developments is the play of freshman Randall Cobb, who is seeing time at both quarterback and wide receiver. Brooks said coaches will decide after Thursday's practice which position will be Cobb's focus. Depth at quarterback is a concern after Brooks dismissed Curtis Pulley on Tuesday.

Brooks was also quick to praise the play of his young wide receivers, who have benefited from a little coaching from veterans DeMoreo Ford and Dicky Lyons Jr.

[cajundb]

Miami DT Dixon leaves practice in ambulance (from Sporting News)

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -- Miami defensive tackle Antonio Dixon was taken to a hospital by ambulance after apparently suffering effects from the strong heat and humidity Wednesday during practice.

The team said Dixon was in good condition, and he was expected to stay at Doctor's Hospital overnight as a precaution. Miami coach Randy Shannon had originally said Dixon was suffering from dehydration, but the team later said his ailment was unclear.

Dixon, a 6-foot-3, 322-pound projected starter, is the third player in the last two days to leave practice early. Running backs Damien Berry and Lee Chambers left Tuesday's practice early due to dehydration.

Plus, several players cramped during Saturday's opening session, when the heat index was in the mid-90s by late morning.

Dixon said he lost more than 20 pounds this offseason, partly because of injuries that have plagued him in his career with the Hurricanes, partly because he has struggled with playing in the extreme South Florida heat in the past.

Wednesday's practice was Miami's first in full pads, lasting 2 hours with the heat index in the mid-90s.

[cajundb]

Gators' Ingram misses practice with knee injury (from Sporting News)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida tight end Cornelius Ingram missed practice on Wednesday with a strained left knee and his status is uncertain.

Florida coach Urban Meyer said he would not know the severity of the injury until he gets the results of an MRI Thursday morning. Meyer said Ingram suffered the injury during one-on-one drills during Tuesday's practice.

Ingram, who passed up the NFL for his redshirt senior season, walked off the practice field to the locker room on Tuesday without help and without a noticeable limp.

The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder has caught 64 passes for 888 yards and eight touchdowns in the past two seasons as mostly an inside wide receiver. He was expected to be used as a true tight end this season.

Sophomore defensive lineman Justin Trattou also sat out Wednesday's practice with the flu. Meyer said Trattou will return Thursday.

Redshirt freshman running back Chris Rainey has aggravated a groin injury that he suffered during track season and will be limited for the next few days.

[cajundb]

Nebraska quarterbacks compete for backup spot (from Sporting News)

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Patrick Witt and Zac Lee are splitting reps at Nebraska football practice, competing to back up quarterback Joe Ganz.

Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson says Witt -- a redshirt freshman -- is the backup for now, but Lee -- a sophomore -- is being given the chance to compete for the spot.

Watson says both men bring their own strengths to the offense.

He says Witt is still learning the offense, but getting better.

Jaivorio Burkes sat out of practice for the third straight day Wednesday with an undisclosed medical problem, but Watson says the sophomore offensive tackle will be ready to join in soon.

[cajundb]

27-year-old DB Faison leaves Volunteers (from Sporting news)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Defensive back Vince Faison has left the Tennessee football team, citing continued high blood pressure.

Faison joined the Vols in spring practice after a nine-year professional baseball career.

Faison, 27, was a 2000 first-round draft pick of the San Diego Padres. He also played in minor league organizations for Seattle, the New York Yankees and Oakland.

Coach Phillip Fulmer said Faison will become a student coach for the team.

[HoosierHoagie]

LOL Too funny. <G>

[strongtower]

LOLOL now I know why they did, the lift up's or whatever their called.lol

[cajundb]

Me either! Time to get a few more of those cowboys over there. Send the scouts to Billy Bob's!! LOL

[cajundb]

Sometimes, I wish I was a male cheerleader when I grew up!! LOL

[strongtower]

LLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

run route's in their sleep.lol

[HoosierHoagie]

There you go, I love it when the experts point out the inexperience of players being a weakness, especially at the skill positions. Heck these guys run routes in their sleep. Inexperience is just an opportunity to some. IMO of course.

[strongtower]

yeah the big name schools are loaded with star athletes. remove one and another one will pop up. I remember in 98 when Jamal Lewis for UT was out for the season and we thought it was over but guess who stepped up, yes Travis Henry. And who was after him, Travis Stephens who was cheated out of running back of the year. He ran over 200 yards against the Gators alone in 2001.

[strongtower]

LOLOL I'm sorry but that is a funny story. some fell faint.lol

[HoosierHoagie]

LOL I don't think that will be a problem. <G>

[cajundb]

Southern California once again favorite in Pac-10 (from Sporting News)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The Pac-10 has long been a conference known for its talented quarterbacks and high-powered offenses.

That's what makes the uncertainty at quarterback so many teams are facing at the start of fall practice so unsettling to many teams.

Only Arizona State, Arizona and Washington opened fall practice with returning starters at quarterback entrenched in their jobs.

Everyone else is either breaking in a new starter such as Mark Sanchez at Southern California, challenging a former one like the competition between Nate Longshore and Kevin Riley at California, or hoping a young one will take the job like Nate Costa at Oregon.

"I would say that the team with the experience at quarterback probably has the lead going in because the experience at that position is so important," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. "When you're breaking in a new quarterback, there's always a growing process."

USC figures to be an exception to that rule.

The Trojans have done well with first-year starters at quarterback in the past under Pete Carroll, winning a share of the national title with Matt Leinart in 2003 and finishing fourth overall in the country with John David Booty in 2006.

Sanchez has made only three career starts, winning two of them while Booty was hurt last season, and has thrown just seven touchdown passes to six interceptions.

But he has the most talented roster in the league surrounding him, including linebacker Rey Maualuga, running back Joe McKnight, and receiver Patrick Turner, and the confidence of his teammates.

"He's a playmaker from the quarterback position," USC linebacker Brian Cushing said. "Mark will be a lot better this year. He knows it's his time. The year of maturity where he's had a little experience means a lot."

The team best positioned to challenge the Trojans this season could be Arizona State because of the experience of Rudy Carpenter at quarterback.

Carpenter has made 31 straight starts for the Sun Devils, throwing 25 touchdown passes last season to help Arizona State tie the Trojans for the regular season title.

"You can have a guy that's very talented, and there are a lot of them in our league, and a lot of new ones in our league that are going to be playing, but there's nothing like having that experience on the football field," Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson said. "With Rudy coming back, I feel very good about that aspect of it. Not only has he played a lot. He's been very successful."

Washington coach Tyrone Willingham and Arizona coach Mike Stoops have similar feelings about their own returning starters in Huskies sophomore Jake Locker and Wildcats senior Willie Tuitama.

The rest of the teams know it will be a growing process at quarterback.

"You've got to have support people because the quarterback can't do it on their own," Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. "It's a dogfight and you have to protect your players and be healthy."

A capsule look at the teams in predicted order of finish:

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA -- Key players: LB Rey Maualuga, Sr.; FS Taylor Mays, Jr.; RB Joe McKnight, Soph.; DL Fili Moala, Sr. Returning starters: 4 offense, 7 defense.

Notes: Offensive line features four new starters but talented backfield of McKnight, C.J. Gable and Stafon Johnson should make transition easier. ... Strength of the defense is in the back seven, led by Maualuga, Mays, Cushing, and S Kevin Ellison. ... Home game against Ohio State on Sept. 13 highlights nonconference slate and could play big role in determining who makes BCS title game.

ARIZONA STATE -- Key players: QB Rudy Carpenter, Sr.; RB Keegan Herring, Sr.; DE Dexter Davis, Jr.; K-P Thomas Weber, Soph. Returning starters: 7 offense, 7 defense.

Notes: Mike Jones (10 TDs last season) and Chris McGaha (61 catches) lead a talented receiving corps. ... Weber made 24 of 25 field goals as a freshman and won the Lou Groza Award as nation's top kicker. ... A home win over Georgia on Sept. 20 could vault Sun Devils into national title picture.

CALIFORNIA -- Key players: C Alex Mack, Sr.; LB Zach Follett, Sr.; RB Jahvid Best, Soph.; DL Rulon Davis, Sr. Returning starters: 5 offense, 7 defense.

Notes: Expectations are down after Golden Bears lost six of final seven games after having a chance to become No. 1 in the nation last year. ... Best (7.6 ypc) showed flashes of brilliance as a freshman but must recover from a hip injury. ... Florida transfer Nyan Boateng will be counted on at receiver after talented trio of DeSean Jackson, Lavelle Hawkins and Robert Jordan left for NFL.

OREGON -- Key players: S Patrick Chung, Sr.; DE Nick Reed, Sr.; C Max Unger, Sr.; RB Jeremiah Johnson, Sr. Returning starters: 6 offense, 7 defense.

Notes: Loss of QB Dennis Dixon and RB Jonathan Stewart leaves big holes on an offense that led conference in scoring. ... Junior college transfer RB LaGarrette Blount could make an immediate impact. ... Reed led conference with 12 sacks and 22.5 tackles for losses.

ARIZONA -- Key players: QB Willie Tuitama, Sr.; TE Rob Gronkowski, Soph.; WR Mike Thomas, Sr.; OT Eben Britton, Jr. Returning starters: 10 offense, 3 defense.

Notes: Coach Mike Stoops has not had a winning season in four years at Tucson and could be on his way out if he can't reverse that trend and lead the Wildcats to their first bowl game in 10 years. ... Offense is set with Tuitama, Gronkowski and Thomas, but defense must figure out how to replace eight starters, including star CB Antoine Cason.

UCLA -- Key players: RB Kahlil Bell, Sr.; K Kai Forbath, Soph.; LB Reggie Carter, Jr. Returning starters: 5 offense, 5 defense.

Notes: Coach Rick Neuheisel returns to the head coaching ranks at his alma mater and brings heralded former USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow with him. ... Ben Olson could be challenged for starting QB job by junior college transfer Kevin Craft. Patrick Cowan was supposed to be the starter until being sidelined by a knee injury in spring. ... Bell was off to a great start last year before knee injury.

OREGON STATE -- Key players: WR Sammie Stroughter, Sr.; CB Brandon Hughes, Sr.; OT Andy Levitre, Sr. Returning starters: 7 offense, 3 defense.

Notes: Beavers have been slow starters and fast finishers in recent years. With road games at Stanford and Penn State to open the schedule, Oregon State will need to be sharp early. .... Stroughter was limited to three games last year because of a kidney injury, but was granted a medical hardship to come back. ... QB Sean Canfield is coming back from a shoulder injury and has fallen behind Lyle Moevao on the depth chart.

WASHINGTON -- Key players: QB Jake Locker, Soph.; LB E.J. Savannah. Jr.; S Mesphin Forrester, Sr. Returning starters: 7 offense, 6 defense.

Notes: The pressure is on coach Tyrone Willingham after posting only 11 wins in his first three seasons. A brutal nonconference schedule that features Oklahoma, BYU and Notre Dame makes Willingham's job even more difficult. ... Locker is the leading returning rusher in the league at 82.2 yards per game.

STANFORD -- Key players: WR Richard Sherman, Jr.; LB Clinton Snyder, Jr.; C Alex Fletcher, Sr.; DL Pannel Egboh, Sr. Returning starters: 7 offense, 9 defense.

Notes: Coach Jim Harbaugh tries to build off a debut season highlighted by big wins over USC and Cal. ... Tavita Pritchard, who engineered the win over the Trojans, is competing for starting QB job with Alex Loukas and Jason Forcier. ... Cardinal have depth at tailback with Anthony Kimble, Toby Gerhart and Jeremy Stewart.

WASHINGTON STATE -- Key players: WR Brandon Gibson, Sr.; RB Dwight Tardy, Jr.; LB Greg Trent, Sr. Returning starters: 6 offense, 8 defense.

Notes: Coach Paul Wulff has tough task as he tries to make the step up from Eastern Washington. ... Gibson led the Pac-10 with 107.3 yards receiving per game last season. ... Gary Rogers is expected to replace Alex Brink as starting QB.

[cajundb]

Longhorns lack experience at wide receiver (from Sporting News)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- The list of proven, dependable receivers at Texas reads like this: Quan Cosby, Jordan Shipley and ... OK, so it's a short list.

Finding a third, fourth, fifth and maybe even a sixth reliable pass catcher for quarterback Colt McCoy is a top priority for coach Mack Brown during training camp.

"You've got two who have played and whole lot of other guys you're looking at," Brown said this week.

You have to go back several years to find a Texas team so lacking in proven receivers. McCoy has 51 career touchdown passes over the last two seasons because he had plenty of solid veterans who could find the end zone.

But gone this season is Nate Jones, who had a team-high 70 catches last year. So is Limas Sweed, the big target who stretched defenses until he was injured midway through last season and is now with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

And athletic tight end Jermichael Finley surprised many when he skipped off to the NFL draft after his sophomore season.

That leaves Cosby and Shipley, both seniors, to carry the load.

Texas is counting on them to not only make plays, but to nurture the younger players through the mental rigors of the playbook and the season.

Cosby is the oldest player on the team at 25. He signed a baseball contract coming out of high school and spent a couple of years bouncing around the minor leagues before giving it up. He has 120 career receptions for 1,475 yards and nine touchdowns. He's also the Longhorns' best punt and kick returner

Shipley, a fifth-year senior, was one of the greatest receivers in Texas high school history, but has caught only 43 career passes after losing two seasons to serious injuries. Brown says he wants to petition the NCAA to get Shipley a sixth year of eligibility.

"Those two guys are the stabilizing forces," Brown said. "They can play any position. We feel like they can go all day, they can both return kicks, they both hold for the kicker, and they're really, really good leaders on this team."

So who else is there? Offensive coordinator Greg Davis said this week he's been impressed with redshirt freshman Malcolm Williams. The Longhorns also signed five receivers last spring in anticipation of needing the immediate help.

Toss in the likelihood that Texas may sometimes put backup QB John Chiles in the slot or at wide receiver, and the Longhorns like their chances of developing some quality depth in time for the Aug. 30 opener against Florida Atlantic.

"We have to help them come along, me and Shipley," said Cosby, who marvels at how young some of his teammates are. "Man, ya'll are so young. You were in middle school when I was a (high school) senior."

McCoy hopes to find the next Sweed, who was 6-foot-4, 220 pounds and a nightmare for defenses on deep routes.

"Who is going to step up, take responsibility and be somebody I can feel confidence in throwing the ball to on third down?" McCoy said.

"We'll find out."