Two Penn St. players told to stand trial on felony assault charges
BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) -- Two Penn State football players were ordered Wednesday to stand trial on refiled felony assault charges in connection with a campus fight last year.
Police said defensive tackle Chris Baker and linebacker Navorro Bowman beat up a man during a party in October.
District Judge Carmine Prestia dismissed the felony counts last month and ordered the players to stand trial on misdemeanor charges.
But the Centre County District Attorney's office refiled the felony charges in late December, saying that Prestia erred. Prosecutors also requested a new judge.
Blair County District Judge Fred Miller came in Wednesday to oversee the preliminary hearing on the refiled charges.
Prosecutors must now decide whether to try the cases against each player separately. A trial is scheduled for spring.
Baker, 20, of Windsor, Conn., and Bowman, 19, of District Heights, Md., were suspended the last two games of the season because of their legal trouble.
Assistant District Attorney Steve Sloane said prosecutors will decide in the next two weeks whether to charge a third suspect.
Prosecutors are also weighing whether to ask a judge to revoke bail for Baker, Sloane said. The player was already awaiting trial on charges related to an off-campus fight in April when he was accused of the assault.
That decision could come by the end of the week, Sloane said.
In an unrelated case, defensive back Willie Harriott, 20, of New Haven, Conn., waived his preliminary hearing Wednesday on charges of driving under the influence and speeding, stemming from a Nov. 11 arrest. A trial will be scheduled for spring.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Saskatchewan coach interviews for Ole Miss offensive coordinator job
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Saskatchewan Roughriders coach Kent Austin interviewed for the Mississippi offensive coordinator's job Wednesday.
The coach of the defending Grey Cup champions is an Ole Miss graduate and the second candidate to be interviewed for the job.
A Roughriders spokesman confirmed the interview. Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt is trying to replace David Lee. The offensive coordinator followed the new Rebels coach from Arkansas to Oxford, but had not yet signed a contract when Lee was whisked away by Bill Parcells to become quarterbacks coach for the Miami Dolphins on Monday.
The careers of Austin and Lee touched briefly at Ole Miss. Lee was the quarterbacks coach under Steve Sloan from 1978-82 and Austin was a quarterback in Oxford from 1981-85. Austin is the Rebels No. 3 career passing leader with 6,184 yards and was inducted into the Ole Miss Hall of Fame in 2000.
He was drafted in the 12th round by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1986 and joined the Roughriders a year later. He was the Grey Cup most valuable player after leading Saskatchewan to a league title in 1989 and earned a second Grey Cup with the British Columbia Lions in 1994. He retired two years later.
He entered coaching in 2003, helped the Toronto Argonauts to a Grey Cup as offensive coordinator in 2005 and took the Roughriders to the Cup in his first season as head coach last year.
Roughriders spokesman Ryan Whippler said Nutt contacted Austin while he was in his home state of Tennessee visiting family.
Nutt said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press that he would be conducting a nationwide search for his new offensive coordinator. He interviewed former Ole Miss assistant Hugh Freeze on Tuesday.
Lee served under Nutt at Arkansas for a season after coaching for then-Cowboys coach Parcells from 2003-06 as quarterbacks coach. Parcells resigned from the Cowboys after the 2006 season and was hired last week as Dolphins vice president of football operations. Though he has yet to hire a head coach, he has started assembling a staff.
In the meantime, Parcells has interviewed Cowboys assistant Tony Sparano, Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and former Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, who was fired along with the rest of the Baltimore coaching staff last week.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Missouri practicing in Cowboys' home
DALLAS -- At least Missouri's practice facility for the Cotton Bowl has a big-time feel.
Snubbed by the Bowl Championship Series, the No. 7 Tigers get to work out this week at Texas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, in preparation for their Jan. 1 game against No. 25 Arkansas. Players pass a bronze likeness of longtime Cowboys coach Tom Landry on their way into the stadium, and get an up-close view of the distinctive hole in the stadium's roof and the ring of fame most have seen only on TV.
"Not very many guys get to do that," All-American Jeremy Maclin said Thursday. "Guys might dream of it, but we're actually doing it.
"Sometimes you can't believe it but that's what happens when you're successful."
Although the Cowboys plan to move into owner Jerry Jones' $1 billion dream stadium in 2009, aging Texas Stadium, which opened in 1971, remains an undeniable attraction. It's the luck of the draw for Missouri (11-2), with No. 25 Arkansas (8-4) practicing at SMU Gerald Ford Stadium. The Cotton Bowl alternates practice sites each year between representatives from the Big 12 and SEC.
Still, the situation can only help the school's wounded psyche. Missouri was No. 1 before losing 38-17 to Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game and plummeted six spots in the poll and was passed over by the BCS games.
Coach Gary Pinkel said players initially misunderstood the itinerary, thinking the Tigers would be working out at the Cowboys' practice facility. Not such a big deal.
"Then they found out later on we were practicing in the stadium and their eyes got really big," Pinkel said. "This is an historic site. You think of Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson and all those great Dallas Cowboys teams."
Pinkel, 55, recalled attending a coaching convention at Texas Stadium several decades ago.
"I remember looking out at that stadium and I was only 28 years old at the time, but I was awed by it," Pinkel said. "Great historical stadium, and we're happy and excited to be practicing here."
For one player, though, it's a bit old hat. Heisman Trophy finalist Chase Daniel estimated he's played in the stadium at least a dozen times, the last time as a high school senior when he led Southlake Carroll High, a Dallas suburb, to the Class 5A state championship.
How did you do in that game? he was asked. "We won," Daniel replied.
His personal homecoming no doubt is a bigger deal. His house is about a 20-minute drive from Texas Stadium, and not much farther from the Cotton Bowl. And his father has paid off on a preseason incentive to winning Missouri's first Big 12 North title, buying his son a new Lincoln truck.
"It sort of progressed to a car over the year," Daniel said. "At the beginning of the season he said 'I'll have something special for you."
This is Missouri's fourth bowl in five seasons under Pinkel, and it's a decided step up after a last-minute loss to Oregon State in the Sun Bowl last year and appearances in the Independence Bowl in 2005 and 2003. The Tigers are playing on Jan. 1 for the first time since the 1970 Orange Bowl and have a chance to reach 12 victories for the first time in school history.
"It's definitely better than Shreveport, definitely better than the Sun Bowl, too," Maclin said. "Against a better team, too. I know it's a very much anticipated game and I'm just ready to go out and play."
The Tigers are going to make sure they enjoy the lead-up to game day, too, with a number of activities scheduled. The school's outbound flight out of Columbia, Mo., on Wednesday was delayed for three hours by mechanical difficulties and Pinkel, who's mellowed considerably in recent seasons, said he didn't mind.
"I've become such a patient person that there really wasn't any issues," Pinkel said.
Maclin leaned on "distraction control." He wasn't talking about an Ipod.
"You've got to shift into that mode and just accept it as it comes," Maclin said. "You can't change it, you can't do anything about it. We're here, so that's all that matters."
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Spurrier hires Falcons LB coach VanGorder as South Carolina defensive coordinator
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Steve Spurrier brought in new leaders to fire up South Carolina's defense and special teams. The Ol' Ball Coach put himself on notice to improve, too.
Spurrier hired Atlanta Falcons linebacker coach Brian VanGorder as defensive coordinator Wednesday, one day after adding Maryland special teams wiz Ray Rychleski for South Carolina's special teams.
VanGorder takes over for Tyrone Nix, who left for Ole Miss earlier this month. Rychleski replaces Fred Chatham, who was not retained by Spurrier. The changes come after a season that started promising and turned sour. South Carolina started 6-1 and ended the season on a five-game losing streak littered with breakdowns on defense and special teams.
"Blowing your assignment just can't be acceptable. We just do those things way too often," Spurrier said. VanGorder "is used to coaching very good defense. ... I got to believe we'll play better."
"And we got to play better on offense, too. We're not pinning our woes on defense and special teams," said Spurrier, South Carolina's play-caller. "Our offense made some yards, made a few touchdowns. (But) sometimes in the crucial times we didn't get it done. We got to coach better on offense."
South Carolina's collapse was stunning, particularly after Spurrier talked up his team as potential challengers in the Southeastern Conference. The five-game losing streak is the longest of the coach's college career.
Spurrier met with VanGorder on Tuesday and the two agreed on a three-year contract. Spurrier did not want to provide VanGorder's salary, although he's said during the search whomever he hired would earn more than Nix's package of $195,000.
Rychleski, who coached with the Terps the past seven seasons, agreed to a two-year deal.
Spurrier said he had to act fast on VanGorder, whose old NFL boss Bobby Petrino had talked about a position on his own new staff at Arkansas.
VanGorder, 48, has had experience in the Southeastern Conference. He spent the 2001-04 seasons with the Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia's defense was ranked among the top 10 nationally in several categories while VanGorder coached there.
Spurrier spoke with "four or five" candidates, including longtime Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster, before choosing VanGorder.
"I just think he's a real, good sharp guy who can really lead our defense," Spurrier said. "And he'll be in charge."
That's how Spurrier likes it, especially when it yields results.
South Carolina's defense was a big reason the Gamecocks reached No. 6 in the nation. Things fell apart down the stretch, with the ugliest moments at the end. The Gamecocks, who finished last in Southeastern Conference in rushing defense, gave up 541 yards on the ground -- including 321 to Razorbacks star Darren McFadden -- in a 48-36 defeat.
Spurrier didn't want Nix to leave. But "he knew it wasn't working all that well," Spurrier said.
Spurrier said he got assurances from VanGorder -- who had worked four different jobs the past four years -- that he was ready to end his reputation as a coaching nomad. "I think at this point stability is very, very important to me and my family," he said. "The three-year contract is nice and I think that's a statement for everybody. My intentions are to be at South Carolina and to be there a long time."
He'll sneak in some time during his NFL job to watch film on the Gamecocks' defense. One priority is calling injured South Carolina star linebacker Jasper Brinkley about playing one more college season. "I think I'll do that right away," VanGorder said.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Grobe to remain at Wake Forest
WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Ticker) -- In an apparent change of heart, Jim Grobe reportedly has turned down an offer to become the new coach at Arkansas and will remain at Wake Forest.
According to multiple reports, Grobe had accepted an offer to take the Arkansas job on Wednesday night.
However, the Winston-Salem Journal reported Thursday that Grobe changed his mind about leaving the Demon Deacons.
"This morning he called with very good news," Wake Forest athletic director Ron Wellman told the newspaper.
Grobe interviewed with Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long on Tuesday. The Razorbacks have been searching for a coach since Houston Nutt announced his resignation on November 26.
In seven seasons, Grobe has turned around the fortunes of Wake Forest, compiling a 45-39 record and guiding the Demon Deacons to three bowls. Last season, Wake Forest won the Atlantic Coast Conference en route to playing in the Orange Bowl.
Wake Forest (8-4) closes this season against Connecticut in the Meineke Car Care Bowl on December 29 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Copyright 2007 PA SportsTicker. All Rights Reserved
Sentencing hearing of ex-Oklahoma State football player Chris Collins delayed by pipe burst
NEW BOSTON, Texas (AP) -- The sentencing hearing for former Oklahoma State football player Chris Collins has been delayed because of flooding in his attorney's office.
District Judge Leon F. Pesek Jr. rescheduled the hearing to Jan. 14, according to the criminal court administrator for Bowie County. The sentencing had been set for Dec. 10, but a pipe burst in the office of attorney Paul Hoover during the Thanksgiving holiday.
Collins pleaded guilty on Nov. 7 to the aggravated sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl. He was one of four men charged following an after-prom party in May 2004, when he was 17.
Collins, who started at linebacker for Oklahoma State, was dismissed from the team five days after his guilty plea. He remains enrolled as a student, university spokesman Gary Shutt said Thursday.
A Texas jury recommended Collins receive a five-year prison term and serve his sentence while on probation, meaning he likely won't serve prison time as long as he meets the requirements of the probation.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Jury awards $5 million against NCAA in Alabama booster suit
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (AP) -- A jury awarded $5 million Thursday to a former University of Alabama football booster who claimed the NCAA defamed him when it imposed penalties on the Crimson Tide in 2002.
The state court jury awarded Ray Keller $3 million in punitive damages, $1 million for mental anguish, $500,000 for economic loss and $500,000 for damage to reputation.
Keller, a timber dealer and fan whom the university severed ties with because of the probe, argued that the NCAA slandered and libeled him during the announcement of penalties by referring to him and others as "rogue boosters," "parasites" and "pariahs."
After the verdict, Keller hugged his lawyers, friends and family. He said beating the NCAA in court was like "taking on a giant" and winning.
"I didn't ever feel we were as big as David going with Goliath going up against them," he said.
The jury of nine women and three men deliberated less than six hours over two days to reach the verdict. Jurors declined comment afterward.
NCAA spokesman Chuck Wynn said the organization will ask the judge to set aside the verdict. "If not," he added, "we'll appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court."
Jurors, who heard three weeks of testimony, had asked for a tape recorder so they could re-listen to a tape of former NCAA infractions committee chairman Tom Yeager announcing penalties against Alabama nearly six years ago.
Keller maintained the sanctioning organization wrongly lumped him in with other boosters who were accused of making improper contacts and payments to recruits in the 1990s.
Denying he did anything wrong, Keller sought $33.5 million -- $556,775 for four business deals he claims he lost; $5 million for mental anguish; $10 million for damage to his good name and $20 million to punish the NCAA.
The NCAA asked jurors to reject Keller's claims, portraying him as an Alabama fan who lost all perspective on the game, gave "$100 handshakes" to a recruit and had improper contacts with other Tide recruits.
The committee that imposed penalties on Alabama, chaired by Yeager, didn't have any malice toward Keller and simply acted on evidence, the NCAA said.
The NCAA didn't use the name of Keller or other boosters in announcing penalties against Alabama, but their names appeared in news accounts and the university sent Keller a letter barring him from its athletics program.
Keller felt vindicated by the jury's decision, a verdict he said could help show that Alabama also was wronged.
"If this does anything to vindicate them, great. I'm an Alabama fan now, and I was when this started," he said.
Keller attorney Archie Lamb said Keller was wrongly swept up by the NCAA when it "set a trap" to get Alabama and acted in a "blind rage" to target the late Logan Young of Memphis, a former Alabama booster convicted of paying a high school coach $150,000 to steer a recruit to Alabama.
Lamb said college athletics needs the NCAA to police recruiting.
"But they need to also abide by their own rules," he said.
A separate lawsuit filed in Tuscaloosa over the investigation resulted in a $30 million verdict against a former recruiting analyst who provided information to the NCAA, but that judgment was overturned on appeal.
The suit by former Alabama assistant coach Ronnie Cottrell also named the NCAA as a defendant, but a judge dismissed the organization from that case.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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