TODAY'S ACC HEADLINES: 9/28/08

Friday, October 3, 2008

GROH MUST GO!

That’s what you will see stadium wide Saturday when the Hoos take on Maryland now that UVA has lifted the “banner ban” at John Paul Scott Stadium.

(Editor's Note: It’s already happening in Dr. A.G. Wahoo’s favorite newspaper: http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/sports/colleges.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-10-01-0169.html)

Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage reversed his earlier ban prohibiting signs, banners and flags at Cavaliers football games, the school announced on Thursday. The move was intended to garner greater support for a team floundering at the bottom of the ACC with a 1-3 record.

It comes just days after students reportedly threatened

to wear blue instead of orange to Saturday's home game against Maryland as a sign of protest. (it's always good when 19- and 20-year-old know-it-alls drive the agenda!)

"The policy prohibiting signs, banners and flags in all UVa athletics venues has become a distraction and has taken the focus away from supporting our student-athletes," Littlepage said in a release. "Our football team needs our support right now and that should be our collective focus. With that in mind, I am repealing immediately the policy prohibiting signs, banners and flags in all athletics venues. I encourage all of our fans to be in attendance at Saturday night's football game with Maryland. My hope is our fans will wear orange and be prepared to support the Cavaliers."

Fans' discontent for the direction Virginia's program is headed this season has grown louder each week and seemed to hit a whole new decibel following the team's 31-3 loss to Duke, one of the historically worst programs in the league. The Blue Devils' win over Virginia snapped the school's 25-game losing streak to ACC opponents.

(Actually, good on UVA for realizing they effed up with the sign ban and reversing field.)

WHITAKER LATEST TOSSED UNDER HOKIE BUS

This just in: Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer announced Thursday that redshirt junior receiver Ike Whitaker has been suspended indefinitely from the football team due to violations of team policy.

In making the announcement, Beamer said there would be no further comment on the situation.

Whitaker, who is from Germantown, Md., has played in three games this season, catching three passes for 14 yards against East Carolina.

Evidently, he's been in the dog house since then.

FOOTBALL SATURDAY

Saturday, Oct 4

DUKE @ GEORGIA TECH (-14), 12:00 PM, Atlanta, Ga., TV: ESPNU (XM 190) – A good opportunity to see just how good both teams really are. Georgia Tech most likely without starting QB who is hurt. That alone will move the line.

BOSTON COLLEGE (-6.5) @ N.C. STATE, 12:00 PM, Raleigh, N.C., TV: RAYCOM (XM 191) – The O’Brien Bowl assumes somebody outside of Chestnut Hill, MA cares. N.C. State still battling QB injury woes.

Western Kentucky @ VIRGINIA TECH (-27.5), 1:30 PM, Blacksburg, Va., TV: ACC Select (XM 192) – The Hilltoppers got throttled last week by Kentucky 41-3. They should be no match for the soon-to-be 5-1 Hokies.

FLORIDA STATE @ MIAMI (-2.5), 3:30 PM, Miami, Fla., TV: ABC/ESPN2 (XM 190/193) – Things that make you go hmmmm…Both teams need this win if they are to continue their wretched march back to “respectability.” FSU has turned into a running team and Miami has the best rushing defense. Advantage: Home team – Miami.

Connecticut @ NORTH CAROLINA (-7), 7:00 PM, Chapel Hill, N.C., TV: ESPN2 (XM 191) – A must win along Respectability Blvd. for the Heels against a tougher Big East foe than Rutgers.

MARYLAND (-33.5) @ VIRGINIA, 7:00 PM, Charlottesville, Va., TV: ESPNU (XM 192) --- Maryland has beaten two ranked teams the past two weeks and should win this game 77-0. That is exactly what Coach Fridge is worried about…

OFF: Wake and Clemson – both home licking their wounds.

LET’S GET PHYSICAL

So our Mr. Snyder caught a little flack in cyberspace this week for his emotional outburst that Fox caught in the Skins' locker room during the Cowboy win post-game victory celebration…

Seems as The Danster was hugging people saying “Physical, that’s what happens when we play physical!” Some players were non-pulsed, some were amused and others were probably just downright embarrassed.

Danny, dude, you’re the owner. Do your hollerin’ and high fivin’ in the box with your homies. When you get to the locker room, congratulate your employees like they are men in a calm and professional manner.

Now having said that, here are a few other Snyder stories that cast the Skins main man in a better light...

According to the Dallas newspaper the stories go like this:

Stephen Jones, the son of Cowboy owner Jerry Jones, and his family spent a pleasant evening at the Aspen home of Dan Snyder a few years ago. Once Jones returned home, he realized he had left his cellphone.

No problem, Snyder said. Jones could have one of the kids come by and pick it up. The moment Jones' nephew returned and put the phone in his hand, it rang.

"It was this God-awful song," Stephen Jones said.

It was "Hail to the Redskins." Snyder's oldest daughter downloaded the ring tone on the Cowboys' executive vice president’s phone.

Nice, Danny, NICE!

JUKE THE SON, JUKE THE FATHER

"We have a little better friendship than people might think," Jerry Jones said. "We sure don't have it because of him being the owner of the Redskins.

Jones remembers the day Snyder dropped by his office unannounced. He had flown in early for the game and wanted to take Jones to lunch.

Jerry and Stephen got into a car driven by one of Snyder's friends. As the car pulled out of the parking lot, Snyder put in a tape. It was a rap song about beating the Cowboys.

"They spent 30 minutes driving all over Dallas playing that song," Jones said as the car passed one restaurant after another. "I tolerated it."

Snyder laughed. His recollection is different.

"First of all, it was the night before the game, and I think Jerry picked us up at the hotel," Snyder said. "I was with a friend of mine, Tony Roberts. We put the tape in, and Jerry took it out so quick.

"The rest of it is Jones, as you know, exaggerating."

Good stuff.

(Reuters Pictures and AP Photo by Tony Gutierrez)

GOOD COUNSEL WHACKS DEMATHA ON ESPN2

by Robert Klemko -- Special to Prince George’s The Gazette - Edited by TAH

ESPN2's broadcast of Thursday's highly-anticipated DeMatha-Good Counsel football game brought a degree of fanfare and intensity unknown to Maryland high school football.

More than 5,000 fans packed the bleachers in Olney for the Falcons' 42-21 win over DeMatha. ESPN used a crew of 40 people and seven different cameras to broadcast the game live. Of the 52 high school football games the network has aired since 2005, Thursday's was the first in Maryland.

"I think it's great," said University of Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen, who watched the game from the North end zone with several members of his staff. "This is a great rivalry. It gives these kids a great amount of exposure. The high school game has really grown in Maryland."

Fourth-year ESPN commentator Tom Luginbill said there was a sense of purity and energy in the stadium unrivaled in his experience. In the third quarter of Thursday night's game, DeMatha fans responded to a Tom Chroniger touchdown pass by rushing the fence behind the end zone, toppling it under their weight. Though the moment appeared chaotic, no one was hurt.

"The atmosphere here tonight was fantastic," Luginbill said. "I've never seen anything like it. When they scored on that pass and the DeMatha kids rushed the fence it looked like a European soccer game."

On the Good Counsel side, bare-chested fans painted in blue and gold carried the night's momentum, erupting into a frenzy on each of the Falcons' touchdowns. Good Counsel junior Sean Wright led the swarm, wearing a set of youth shoulder pads and bright blue and gold pajama pants as he waved a homemade flag that read: "GC Our Year."

(Editor's Note: In addition to football, Our Lady of Good Counsel is well known for producing high quality Div. 1AA rugby players, sissy fade golfers and adult malt beverage experts.)

With their team leading 21-0, Wright led the

Good Counsel fans in a goodbye chant to the visiting Stags.

"Start the buses!" they shouted in unison.

Good Counsel won the game 42-21.

After the broadcast was over, the TV trucks packed up and the hoopla that came with them seeped out of the campus and on to the next town, where Luginbill, Scoffield, and a national audience are likely to meet another rivalry with more of the nation's top players.

Here’s a great photo gallery: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2008/10/02/GA2008100204652.html?sid=ST2008100300125

Here’s the ESPN recap: http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?categoryId=null&brand=null&videoId=3623201&n8pe6c=2

(Football photos by Preston Keres/The Washington Post, Rugby Photo by TAH)

SHOCKING NEWS FLASH!

Believe it or not, the investigation into the ages of China's gold-medal women's gymnastics team has been expanded to include members of the 2000 team that won a bronze in Sydney, The Associated Press has learned.

Questions about the ages of the Chinese gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics had swirled for months before the games. The International Gymnastics Federation at the IOC's urging, asked China three days before the games ended to provide more information on the ages of five of the six team members: He Kexin, Yang Yilin, Jiang Yuyuan, Deng Linlin and Li Shanshan.

PICTURE(S) OF THE DAY

AND THEN…Depression set in…First Manny hits a crickett style homer off a pitch that was almost in the dirt to win Game 1 for the Dodgers, and then the Cubbies crap the bed in game two.

Here, Fans of the Chicago Cubs (don't)look on against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Two of the NLDS as James Loney #7, Rafael Furcal #15, Casey Blake #30 and Matt Kemp #27 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate after their 10-3 win against the Chicago

Cubs in Game Two of the NLDS during the 2008 MLB Playoffs at Wrigley Field on October 2, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.

Cursed Cubs suck.

Maybe they should let Leo Hildenbrand, 104, who threw out the first pitch before the Sept. 20th Cardinals-Cubs game, pitch a few innings when the series goes to L.A.

(Photos by Jamie Squire/Getty Images and AP Photos)

PICTURE(S) OF THE DAY 2

THE HOGS OF LEBANON…Bikers ride their motorcycles through a road in Beirut as they start the first Lebanon Harley-Davidson tour on October 3, 2008. The tour, which will last for three days, is Organized by Hogs of Lebanon, a sub-group of the Motorcycle and Tourism Club of Lebanon (MTCL).

More than 100 bikers from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, KSA, UAE, Kuwait, Greece, Italy and France joined in today on their Harleys to be part of this event.

(Photos by RAMZI HAIDAR/AFP/Getty Images)

PICTURE OF THE DAY 3

THE THREE HUNDRED POUND STAR…All-pro Defensive star Warren Sapp of the Tampa Bay Bucaneers tries his feet at dancing. Not quite as nimble as other NFL stars including winner Emmit Smith, Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and current wounded Redskin Jason Taylor, Sapp is holding his own.

However in this photo, two words come to mind: cartoon character.

Nice, Warren, NICE!

(AP Photo)

PICTURE OF THE DAY 4

BUSTED…Tennessee center John McNeil.

(Photo: Heinz Kluetmeier/SI)

PICTURE OF THE DAY 5

DIRTY LAUNDRY…Al Davis put on a remarkable performance in firing Raider coach Lane Kiffin. Looking to stiff Kiffin on the balance of his contract, Davis presented a three page letter of “for cause” which included, among other things, as reasons for the justified firing: two unused timeouts in a loss to Buffalo.

"It's the first time I ever let anyone go based on what I call being a flat-out liar," Davis said.

With the dismissal for conduct, as opposed to performance, the Raiders are contending they don't plan to pay the reported $2.6 million remaining on Kiffin's contract.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

STORMS A BREWIN’ (AGAIN) AT KLIMPSON

Here’s ESPN’s Heather Dinich’s take on the loss to Maryland and the subsequent fallout…

Five games and two losses into the season, Clemson coach Tommy Bowden is defending himself, his program, and his offensive coordinator.

This, from the coach who just got a contract extension and was the overwhelming preseason favorite to win the program's first ACC title since 1991.

“We're the team to beat," senior safety Michael Hamlin said this summer. "We've got nothing but weapons."

Problem is, the staff didn't quite seem to know what to do with them last weekend in a 20-17 home loss to Maryland.

I was there. I saw what happened in the first quarter. In fact, it will be difficult to forget. Clemson ran the ball against Maryland as effortlessly as you and I walk out the front door.
The first play of the game was an 11-yard run by James Davis, off the left tackle. The second play of the game was a 12-yard run by Davis, this time off right tackle. The sixth play of the drive was C.J. Spiller, around the left end for 18 yards.

But on third-and-three from Maryland's 9-yard line, they threw it -- an incomplete, out-of-bounds pass, and that otherwise impressive drive ended in a field goal.

On the following possession they figured it out. Seven of nine plays were runs, and a nine-play, 95-yard drive was capped with a 35-yard touchdown run by Spiller, who ran off left tackle and around the end.

Clemson 10, Maryland 0.

They should have done it all game. Over and over. In the first half Davis and Spiller combined for 21 carries and 193 yards. But in the second half, they had 10 carries and 31 yards. Total.
Bowden's answer as to why they didn't get more second-half carries after the game was, "I just don't think you can go out there and run the ball up and down the field and just move it and score at will when you play good teams."

We're not talking about the USC defense, or even Virginia Tech. We're talking about Maryland, a program whose defensive coordinator has faced scrutiny since the day he arrived in College Park and hasn't had a defense finish better than ninth in total defense or 10th in rushing defense. The Terps entered the Clemson game ranked 11th in the ACC in total defense, allowing 391.2 yards per game…

Clemson's Tommy Bowden reacts after a play was called back for holding during the game against Maryland, Saturday Sept. 27, 2008, at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C. Maryland upset No. 20 Clemson 20-17. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

Clemson's C.J. Spiller (28) runs into the end zone for a 35 yard touchdown run as Maryland's Jeff Allen (29) looks on during the first half and James Davis just runs and runs and runs Sept. 27, 2008, at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C. (AP Photos/Mary Ann Chastain) .

HAVING SAID THAT…

Is Maryland the team to beat?

Florida State's game at Miami this week isn't what it used to be, but that just makes the race to the ACC championship game more interesting for everyone else.

Like, say, Duke and Georgia Tech, who will suddenly be playing a game of consequence for the Coastal Division on Saturday. Surprise: The rapidly improving Blue Devils (3-1, 1-0 ACC) are second behind Virginia Tech (4-1, 2-0). Surprise: Maryland (4-1, 1-0) is leading the Atlantic Division and just beat Clemson (3-2, 1-1) in Death Valley.

Entering the midpoint of the schedule, one thing is clear in the ACC -- nothing is clear, and that's exactly what Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski told his team on Sunday.
"I don't believe there's just one team in the league that is just head and shoulders above the rest," he said. "Anybody's got a chance."

Here's why:

• The abundance of youth on so many rosters, most notably Florida State and Miami.
• The fact that half the league has coaches in the midst of their first or second seasons.
• The fact that nine of the 12 teams have either had to use their backup quarterbacks or chosen to because of inexperience.

The two preseason picks to play for the ACC title -- Clemson and Virginia Tech -- have failed to separate themselves, but the Hokies have been hanging on with their running game and defense. North Carolina and Maryland get the inconsistency awards in their respective divisions, but the Terps deserve credit for beating two ranked teams in their past three games.

Did Maryland replace Clemson as the team to beat?

"It's probably too early to even make that statement," coach Ralph Friedgen said. "We've got to get a lot better to be that team, but certainly I don't know if there's anybody else in that situation. I think there's a lot of teams that can win on any given night. ... It's going to be a heck of a race. I think Duke is getting better and better and they're going to be a factor, too. I don't know if anybody doesn't have a shot at it right now."

PHOTOS: Maryland fans celebrate with the players as they leave the field after defeating No. 20 Clemson 20-17 Saturday Sept. 27, 2008, at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

Boston College's Razzie Smith, bottom, falls to the field as teammate Bryan Murphy, second from left, blocks Rhode Island's Victor Adesanya, left, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008, in Boston. Boston College won 42-0. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) tries to break away from Nebraska's Phillip Dillard in the second quarter of their game, in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008. (AP Photo/Dave Weaver)

PONTIAC GAME CHANGING MOMENT

In this particular case it was the GAME ENDING MOMENT when UNC’s Trimame Goddard intercepted a sure TD pass in the end zone late in the Heels win over Miami.

Show the Tar Heels some football love and go vote at the web address below.

http://promo.espn.go.com/espn/contests/pontiacgcp/?cmp=ponredirect

ACC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

North Carolina Quarterback Cameron Sexton and Duke Linebacker Michael Tauiliili headline the Atlantic Coast Conference Football Players of the week for the games of Sept. 27. Sexton came off the bench to lead the Tar Heel offense back from a 14-point deficit to beat Miami, 28-24.

Tauiliili was named National Defensive Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation with 16-tackles en route to snapping Duke’s 25-game ACC losing streak. Joining them this week are Virginia Tech Center Ryan Shuman, North Carolina Safety Trimane Goddard, Maryland Punter Travis Baltz, Florida State Kick Returner Michael Ray Garvin and Boston College running back Montel Harris.

Sexton earned Offensive Back of the Week as he completed 11-of-19 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns in the victory over Miami. He also commanded the Tar Heel offense on a game-winning seven-play, 56-yard drive that culminated in a 14-yard touchdown pass with 46 seconds remaining. Tauiliili took Defensive Lineman of the Week accolades with 16 tackles and had a hand in creating three of the six Virginia turnovers, recovering a fumble, causing a fumble and intercepting a pass.

Tech’s Shuman was named Offensive Lineman of the Week honors by posting seven knockdown blocks and opening massive holes to allow the Hokies to rush for 206 yards and gain 377 yards overall on the road at Nebraska. Goddard claimed Defensive Back of the Week honors with an eight-tackle, two interception day, capped off by one of the top plays of the week, an interception in the end zone to seal the Tar Heel win.

Baltz and Garvin share Co-Specialists of the Week honors. Baltz averaged 43.9 yards per punt on Saturday. He pinned the Tigers deep three times and allowed only two return attempts on the seven punts for only 11 yards. Garvin took a kickoff back 94 yards for his first career return touchdown and FSU’s first since 2002.

Harris captured Rookie of the Week honors by rushing 18 times for 143 yards in Boston College’s rain-soaked victory over Rhode Island on Saturday. Harris rushed for over 100 yards for the second consecutive game.