Amazing buzzer beater caps even more incredible rally

It may not have come from halfcourt, but a buzzer beater in Tupelo, Mississippi still might be one of the year's best. Just to make the whole experience even more impressive, the shot capped a furious rally that saw the Tupelo (Miss.) High Golden Wave close a 13-point rally within the game's final four minutes.

Tupelo Buzzer Beater Completes Comeback @ Yahoo! Video

The shot you see just after the 55 second mark above -- sent in to Prep Rally by loyal blog follower and Tupelo public address announcer Braden Bishop -- followed two missed free throws by Tupelo guard Deontaye Ewing that would have pushed the Golden Wave into a 72-72 tie with Starkville (Miss.) High. After Ewing missed the first of the duo he had to miss the second to give Tupelo any chance of the tie.

He did, and absolute madness broke out, with a Tupelo player eventually chasing down the ensuing loose ball, finding a way to keep toes in bounds near the left sideline and sliding a pass to senior teammate Chris Brooks just outside the arc. That's when Brooks elevated for one of the most acrobatic three pointers we've ever seen as the buzzer sounded. Final score: Tupelo 73, Starkville 72.

"It wasn’t necessarily called for me," Brooks told NEMS360.com. "I guess I became the open man. When I took the shot it was a regular shot, but the dude (Starkville defender) jumped out and so I had to try to dodge him.

"After I let it go, I just had to keep my form up and follow through."

The final heroics left Starville stunned by Tupelo's comeback. The Yellowjackets broke open a tight game in the second quarter, extending to nine-point leads at the end of both the second and third quarters. That advantage swelled halfway through the final period, with Tupelo fans forced to watch a game that appeared to be getting away from their team.

Then, bit-by-bit, the Wave brought itself back into the game, closing to winin eight points with 90 seconds left. Following a trio of defensive stops, Shane Butler hit a three-pointer, Ewing hit a pair of free throws and Rashon Coleman also connected on two shots from the charity stripe to pull the Wave within the 72-70 score that preceeded the game's wild final moments.

"I thought for 30 minutes we pretty much controlled the game," Starkville coach Greg Carter told NEMS360.com. "And for the last two minutes, they pretty much outplayed us."

Those sentiments from Carter certainly seem accurate, though they might have been far less painful if it wasn't for one heck of a shot at the final buzzer.

Want more on the best stories in high school sports? Visit RivalsHigh or connect with Prep Rally on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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Was this the best football play of the year?

High school football is as American as apple pie, right? Well, some of that platitude may be under fire after a Canadian high school won an award honoring the year's best football play, handed out by State Farm Insurance and voted on by fans.

Yet while the game-winning play from Holy Trinity Catholic (Ont.) High above is impressive, it's incredibly difficult to actually justify it being the best play submitted to the contest, let alone the best of the entire season from across the country continent. Both the second place winner from Sugar Land Stephen F. Austin (Texas) High -- which we hadn't even seen before -- and the third place winner from Winter Park -- which we had seen and featured during the season -- were far more spectacular than their counterparts from north of the border. At least they were if you ask our opinion.

So, now the real question: Do you agree with the results? And what about other amazing plays like this, this and this?

Let us know, because we're not at all convinced State Farm had this one right. They may be like a good neighbor, but we're not sure our neighbors are cracked up to be accurate judges of prep football wonderment, either.

Want more on the best stories in high school sports? Visit RivalsHigh or connect with Prep Rally on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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2011 AHL All-Star Game: It's The Minor League's Time To Shine

Ashley Olsen Danneel Harris Veronika Vaeková Eve Brittany Lee

Did Flyers blog crack FBI's stolen Blackhawks Cup puck case?

Does this man know the whereabouts of the game-winning puck from the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Finals?

Steve Miller is an NHL linesman with 47 playoff games to his credit, including Game 6 between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Philadelphia Flyers. He's also the individual Kyle Scott from Crossing Broad, a Flyers blog, believes either possesses or know who may possess the puck that came off of Patrick Kane's stick and won the Cup in overtime for the Blackhawks -- before disappearing during the postgame celebration.

Partially motivated by accusations that a Flyer (read: Chris Pronger) somehow pilfered the disc in disgust, Crossing Broad offered this analysis:

The video below shows Miller picking up the puck, then follows him around for a blurry shell game. We pieced together videos from NBC, CBC, and YouTube to follow Miller until the time the officials left the ice.

It's likely Miller held onto to it until the Stanley Cup presentation, when we see him hand something to a man in a suit, who then heads up the Flyers' hallway. 

There is some exchange amongst officials and players prior to that moment (which is shown), but it doesn't appear as though it was ever handed to a player. If it was, someone (Jonathan Toews) is hiding something, because the Blackhawks are as confused as the rest of us.

Check out the video ... have they cracked the case?

Maybe it's the "Unsolved Mysteries" nostalgist in us -- and really, who hasn't overanalyzed shaky footage of UFOs to find the Truth Out There, right? -- but that video seemed to make some sense. Did Miller have the puck? Who is the man in the suit? Can it still be somewhere in Jonathan Toews' pants?

These are questions that, perhaps, the FBI can answer, seeing as how the Bureau has decided to commit resources to help Grant DePorter, CEO of Harry Caray's, to locate the puck.

Porter's been offering $50,000 for the puck; does Crossing Broad get a finder's fee if this lead pans out?

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HyperDrive for iPad updated with more storage and features

Back in September of 2010, we talked about the HyperDrive that would add 750GB of storage to your iPad and had an LCD that you used to navigate the drive contents. A new versions of that HyperDrive has surfaced that ditches that LCD and gets more storage space.

The new version packs in 1TB of storage and you can navigate the drive connects directly from the iPad. The 1TB version of the HyperDrive sells for $399.95 with the HDD inside already. That’s quite a bit cheaper than the older version that had the LCD, a 500GB version of that drive sold for $499.

The other big difference between the new 1TB version and the older versions with the LCD is that the 1TB lacks any memory card slots. The drive connects to the iPad via the Camera Connection Kit. I would assume if it’s nothing but a USB drive you could use it on other devices too.

---

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Titans Still Hoping to Trade Vince Young

Filed under: Titans, AFC South

The Tennessee Titans are going to do what they can to trade quarterback Vince Young.

The question is: Can they pull it off?

Young, who the Titans announced earlier this month will not return next season, is due a $4.25 million roster bonus 10 days after the start of the new league year, a clock that will begin ticking when a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is signed, ESPN's Adam Schefter has reported.

It previously had been thought that Young was due the bonus March 10, which led many to believe the Titans had to deal or cut Young by that date.

Because the bonus is tied to the CBA, it gives the Titans a more flexible window to address the Young situation.

If Young is traded, his new team must assume his contract or be willing to restructure it. Schefter wrote that while the Titans can release Young as of February 7, they have no plans to do so now.

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Diaz vs. Cyborg Results

Filed under: Strikeforce, Results

MMA Fighting has Diaz vs. Cyborg results for all of the Jan. 29 Diaz vs. Cyborg fights, plus live coverage from San Jose, live blogs of all the fights and live Diaz vs. Cyborg twitter updates.

In the main event, Nick Diaz will defend his Strikeforce welterweight ttitle against Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos. Also, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza will put his middleweight title on the line against Robbie Lawler.

Check out the Diaz vs. Cyborg results below.

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TROLLGAZE TUESDAY: MARK DUVALL, THE GENTLEMAN FROM MISSISSIPPI

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Of course there's an 'insane' Lego replica of Ohio State's Horseshoe

Certain Ohio State stars may have been willing to part with mementos of school pride, but at least the Buckeye spirit endures in the School of Biomedical Science: Meet Paul Janssen, Netherlands native and associate professor in OSU's Department of Physiology and Cell Biology. He recently completed two years of obsessive work on an intricately detailed, 1:100-scale replica of Ohio Stadium, featuring 1 million Legos, 1,000 man-hours and no cutting, gluing or painting. From the Columbus Dispatch:

The 42-year-old began plotting his work in 2005, three years after he was hired as an associate professor of physiology and cell biology. [...]

Construction began in May 2009, when Janssen assembled 450,000 pieces for the model's base. The stadium itself can be divided into 10 pieces, each weighing up to 50 pounds.

Building to scale was often a challenge, given that Janssen couldn't re-size Legos to fit his calculations. He spent 15 hours constructing the east side of the stadium before deciding to dismantle it, unhappy with the steepness of the stands.

"I would have been disappointed forever if I built it like that," he said.

Even Janssen's friends in the Central Ohio Lego Train Club (yes, it's real) considered his project "flat-out insane," but the Lego madness in his basement could be put to good use: Janssen hopes to display the replica on campus and possibly use it to raise money for his research on heart failure and muscular dystrophy. The model can seat 6,000 Lego fans, he said, each of whom could represent a donor.

For a full understanding of the craftsmanship and/or obsessive-compulsiveness that went into this, please see the Dispatch's slideshow of Janssen's baby, complete with two-inch replica of OSU president E. Gordon Gee. Indeed, the offseason has arrived. In force.

- - -
Photo hat tip: Columbus Dispatch, via CFT.
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

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Texas Tech News, Notes and Links | 2011-01-26

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Welcome back, Greg Mattison: The wreckage of Michigan's defense awaits

The good news for new Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison: He's done this gig before, and well. Mattison spent four years in Ann Arbor under head coaches Gary Moeller and Lloyd Carr in the mid-nineties, overseeing a pair of Wolverine defenses that held 19 of 25 opponents to 20 points or less in 1995 and 1996, and didn't allow 30 points even once. After his departure for Notre Dame in 1997, the group he helped develop turned in the best defensive effort in the nation en route to a national championship as upperclassmen.

The bad news: The group he officially inherited today couldn't be a much further cry from the units that produced Sam Sword and Charles Woodson more than a decade ago. In fact, they couldn't be much further from almost any Michigan defense that came before: Each of the last three Wolverine defenses under coordinators Scott Shafer and Greg Robinson since 2008 ranks among the worst in school history, with the attrition-ravaged 2010 unit redefining the local conception of "rock bottom."

After hitting all manner of new lows in Robinson's first year, the '10 Wolverines were in free fall almost from the beginning, eventually finishing dead last in the Big Ten in total defense, scoring defense and pass defense, and near the bottom of the conference in rushing defense, pass efficiency defense and takeaways. They allowed at least 34 points in eight of nine Big Ten games, and went out with a big 52 stamped to their forehead, courtesy of Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl. Nine of 13 opposing offenses racked up at least 435 total yards, including Indiana and Massachusetts. Even if head coach Rich Rodriguez had managed to survive the carnage, Robinson certainly would not have.

At least there's nowhere for Mattison's new charges to go but up, and plenty of reason to expect an uptick with or without the brain transplant on the sideline. In the first case, seven regular starters and 11 of the top 15 tacklers return in the fall, including every member of a beleaguered secondary that was devastated by an apocalyptic plague of attrition and injury before the season even began.

By the end of the year, following yet another season-ending injury to cornerback J.T. Floyd, the rotation on the back end consisted of half a dozen freshmen (Cameron Gordon, Courtney Avery, Ray Vinopal, Thomas Gordon, Carvin Johnson and Terrence Talbott), an overmatched journeyman who spent much of his career at running back (James Rogers) and one walk-on (Jordan Kovacs). None of the above would have seen the field during Mattison's first go-round.

Those growing pains will begin to pay off in 2011, with mainstays Mike Martin and Craig Roh back to anchor the front seven as third-year starters. And if the overall talent level is still well below what you'd generally expect from a Michigan defense, at least the majority of the projected starters this time around were once four-star recruits.

Still, the best thing the Wolverine D will have going for it is Mattison's resumé, which includes successful stops since his first stint in Ann Arbor at Notre Dame, Florida and, since 2008, as defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, where all three of his defenses finished among the top three in the NFL. He's a "family" hire, a close friend and former colleague of new head coach Brady Hoke, coming aboard to restore the "Michigan Way," or whatever it was that supposedly sent the program tumbling from its usual perch under Rodriguez. The lineup is in no position for anything like an overnight, worst-to-first turnaround, but Mattison can guarantee the faithful this much: It's not going to get any worse.

- - -
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

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2011 NHL All-Star Game: Patrick Sharp Could Be Putting Together MVP Performance

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"They (letters) come from Korea, from Knoxville, Tennessee, from Finland and Iceland -- and not one...

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Tennessee gun range calls off plans to shoot Lane Kiffin in effigy, for some reason

Yes, it really has been a year since then-Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin figuratively flipped off the entire Volunteer State and gave Smokey a swift kick for good measure on his way to his dream job in Southern California, and Vol fans went a little crazy with obscenity, effigy-burnin', death threats. You know, the usual. In that environment, the guy who tried to get a sewage plant named for Kiffin seemed sane.

News flash: Tennessee still hates Kiffin, and his dad, Monte, who walked away from the highest coordinator salary in the history of college football to follow his son to USC. They hate him so much that a gun range in Kingston, Tenn., planned to allow patrons to open fire on Lane and Monte Kiffin bobblehead dolls this weekend to benefit a local food bank. All good, clean, cathartic fun, until last Saturday, when a gunman killed nine people and critically injured Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in a rampage in Tucson, Ariz., considerably cooling the national mood toward anything resembling "fun with guns."

The food bank, as you can see in the video above, reluctantly pulled out of the even this week. Today, the firing range even more reluctantly followed suit:

KNOXVILLE - A Kingston gun shop that planned to host a bobble-head shooting day based on ex-Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin's abrupt departure last year has changed up Saturday's fundraiser.

Instead of shooting bobbleheads of Kiffin and his father, University of Southern California defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, Frontier Firearms on Gallagher Road plans to adopt them out.

"For a $5 donation, bobble-head lovers may take home their very own Monte or Lane Kiffin bobble-head doll to love and nurture as they see fit," shop owner Brant Williams said this afternoon. ... While we believe our choice of targets has no bearing on evil and would be unrelated to past, present, or future criminal acts, we concede that shooting bobbleheads is in poor taste - especially in light of the tragic shooting in Tucson. Sometimes what sounds like fun or a good idea just isn't and as we have said all along, no one wishes harm to Coach Kiffin."

The range will also register each $5 donor into a drawing for a one-year range membership, handgun classes and other prizes, unless (in Williams' words), "tree huggers protest too loudly the opportunity to shoot at paper targets." Because anyone who considers the opportunity to harmlessly take aim at a representation of a high profile figure in the wake of a deadly assassination attempt is obviously taking this "basic respect for humanity" thing way too far.

- - -
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

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THE CURIOUS INDEX, 1/26/2011

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01/25: State of Sports Union,Cutler Hangover , Oscars, More

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SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up: January 28 2011

What’s the difference between a Windows 7 tablet and a steel hammer? Ask Fujitsu – they’ve got the answer. What’s better than listening to Aphex Twin? Listening to Aphex Twin on mushrooms. What’s a bigger reason for shuffling Google CEOs – their competitors, or China? Finally, what’s the biggest overnight news for Notion Ink’s Adam tablet? Is it a Honeycomb update, an FCC teardown, a root that allows Android Marketplace access, or their customer service possibly stalling past their 7 day return period? This question can only be answered by YOU. And what’s this – a review of a AT&T MiFi 2372 by none other than Chris Davies?! All this and MORE on SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up!

R3 Media Network

Editor’s Choice
Small Update Incoming for the Original DROID, Testing Over the Next Few Days
Nexus S Random Reboot OTA Fix Coming in 1-2 weeks
ThinkGeek offers geeky Valentines gifts for your sweetie
Samsung hits all-time record revenue in 2010; dual-core Galaxy S2 & multiple Galaxy Tabs incoming
LiveViewGPS tracks your stuff from your Android phone

Android Community
Costco Also Lists Motorola Atrix 4G at $149
According to Survey: Nearly Half of All Ad Clicks are Accidental
HTC Desire HD in Black Coming to Orange UK
Advent Vega source code v1.08 released
Facebook for Android Updated, Added Deal Support
Source Code for the Shift 4G and myTouch 3G Froyo Update Published by HTC
Samsung Gem spotted at Bluegrass Cellular, only $59 on contract
Sony Ericsson LiveView update goes live: Bluetooth issues addressed says SE
Honeycomb update for Notion Ink Adam a work-in-progress
LiveViewGPS tracks your stuff from your Android phone
Icera unveils world?s smallest HSPA+ voice and data platform for Android
Notion Ink Adam torn down by FCC
Samsung promises dual-core Galaxy S2 & new Galaxy Tab range for 2011
Samsung sells 2m Galaxy Tab slates in 3 months
Notion Ink?s Adam rooted & Android Market access added
Small Update Incoming for the Original DROID, Testing Over the Next Few Days
Nexus S Random Reboot OTA Fix Coming in 1-2 weeks
Notion Ink Customer Service Purposely Stalling Past 7 Day Return Period?

SlashGear
AT&T MiFi 2372 [REVIEW]
Apple Seeking RFID Expert in Recent Job Postings
Apple loses to ZTE in Global phone rankings for Q4 2010
Egypt offline as government cuts comms over protest promise
LiveView update fixes Bluetooth blips says Sony Ericsson
Sony NGP ?not going to be $599? but pricing remains a mystery
Princeton MyDitto NAS offers easy remote access with USB key
Microsoft pushing for 16-core Atom CPUs
Awesome Hublot La Cle Du Temps watch debuts
Monster iMotion CarPlay 3000 lets you control your iPod in the car with motion control
DirecTV will show Formula DRIFT in 3D
World?s smallest HSPA+ platform for Android voice and data unveiled
Callaway Golf unveils new upro mx golf GPS device
Notion Ink Adam gets teardown treatment at FCC
NewerTech offers eSATA to USB 3.0 adapter
Razer unveils new DeathAdder Black Edition gaming mouse
HTC opens Chinese retail chain to spread the good message
Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 promo: Our Win7 tablet is as obvious as a hammer [Video]
iSkin launches ProTouch antimicrobial keyboard cover for MacBook Air 11-inch notebook
ThinkGeek offers geeky Valentines gifts for your sweetie
Sonance outs new Landscape Series outdoor speakers
Samsung hits all-time record revenue in 2010; dual-core Galaxy S2 & multiple Galaxy Tabs incoming
iPad The Daily mag launch February 2 2011
Eric Schmidt: CEO shuffle ?nothing to with competitors? or China
BlackBerry 2011 CDMA roadmap leaks: Monaco, Sedona, Curve Touch & Bold Touch
Samsung pass 2m sales point for Galaxy Tab
T-Mobile Sidekick 4G leaks with Samsung branding
Adam gets Android Market as Notion Ink slate rooted

To see more Daily Slash posts, click here: [The Daily Slash] or here: [SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up]

---

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Sony?s Next Generation Portable pricing reasonable but no 3D

Sony’s PSP refresh, code named Next Generation Portable (NGP), is a major overhaul two years in the making. But Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai promises that this time around they designed the device with the price in mind.

Having faced criticism in the past for their 2006 PlayStation 3 models for $499 and $599 and their 2009 PSP for $249, Sony is trying to play it safe with the NGP although no specific pricing details have been revealed yet.

“That’s something we spent a lot of time on this time around with NGP, to make sure that we don’t go off the deep end,” says Hirai.

However, keeping it affordable may also have been a factor in Sony’s decision to not incorporate 3D in the upcoming NGP scheduled for release before the end of this year. With Nintendo to release a new DS handheld in March that does incorporate 3D, it will be interesting to see how the competing devices will be received.

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Puck Daddy's NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft Live Blog

RALEIGH, NC -- Huge crowd at the convention center for the first ever NHL All-Star Game Fantasy Draft. The players are pumped ... even if Mike Green said the captains haven't exactly discussed any sort of strategy until a few minutes before the draft.

Live bloggin' with your comments here!

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Video: Odom spins madly on the Kings, hits Pau with no-look dime

Here is a statement: Lamar Odom has, by and large, played sensational offensive basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers this season.

Here are statistics to support that statement: He's averaging 16.5 points per 36 minutes, a full four-point increase over last season and his highest mark in a decade. He's made a career-best 56.8 percent of his field goal attempts, including 37.2 percent of his 3-point tries, which matches his 2005-06 long-range peak. He's posted a Player Efficiency Rating higher than 20 for the first time in his 12-year NBA career.

Here is a nonsense portmanteau that synergizes the two things that came before it: Mathketball.

Odom's wonderful play probably won't be recognized with an All-Star berth, which is understandable due to the insane collection of frontline talent out west. But it's also a shame, because he's exactly the type of player that can make freewheeling contests like the All-Star Game more fun.

When he's got it going, as Kelly wrote earlier this week, Odom "might be the most aesthetically pleasing basketball player" in the league to watch. And like a liquid that takes the shape of whatever container you pour it in, he can slide seamlessly into just about any role the game would call for — including, as he showed during Friday night's surprising 100-95 home loss to the Sacramento Kings, a crowd-pleasing playmaker capable of delivering pinpoint, whirling dervish, no-look feeds over his shoulder to streaking teammates like Pau Gasol.

Getting to see Odom display his remarkable fluidity and fantastic collection of talents by playing off of and setting up the likes of Kevin Durant or Blake Griffin would be a hoop purist's dream. More likely, though, Lamar will once again wind up just outside the spotlight, his prodigious talents falling just shy of bursting into full view.

International readers ("Int'l read'rs"): If the clip above isn't rocking for you, please feel free to peruse Lamar twirling, twirling, twirling toward freedom courtesy of thehoopscene.

Headline inspiration courtesy of The Weepies.

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Of course there's an 'insane' Lego replica of Ohio State's Horseshoe

Certain Ohio State stars may have been willing to part with mementos of school pride, but at least the Buckeye spirit endures in the School of Biomedical Science: Meet Paul Janssen, Netherlands native and associate professor in OSU's Department of Physiology and Cell Biology. He recently completed two years of obsessive work on an intricately detailed, 1:100-scale replica of Ohio Stadium, featuring 1 million Legos, 1,000 man-hours and no cutting, gluing or painting. From the Columbus Dispatch:

The 42-year-old began plotting his work in 2005, three years after he was hired as an associate professor of physiology and cell biology. [...]

Construction began in May 2009, when Janssen assembled 450,000 pieces for the model's base. The stadium itself can be divided into 10 pieces, each weighing up to 50 pounds.

Building to scale was often a challenge, given that Janssen couldn't re-size Legos to fit his calculations. He spent 15 hours constructing the east side of the stadium before deciding to dismantle it, unhappy with the steepness of the stands.

"I would have been disappointed forever if I built it like that," he said.

Even Janssen's friends in the Central Ohio Lego Train Club (yes, it's real) considered his project "flat-out insane," but the Lego madness in his basement could be put to good use: Janssen hopes to display the replica on campus and possibly use it to raise money for his research on heart failure and muscular dystrophy. The model can seat 6,000 Lego fans, he said, each of whom could represent a donor.

For a full understanding of the craftsmanship and/or obsessive-compulsiveness that went into this, please see the Dispatch's slideshow of Janssen's baby, complete with two-inch replica of OSU president E. Gordon Gee. Indeed, the offseason has arrived. In force.

- - -
Photo hat tip: Columbus Dispatch, via CFT.
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

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Headlinin': Bracing for the next front in the NCAA's war on taunting

Making the morning rounds.

• You can't do that on television (anymore). As a reminder, I hope everyone enjoyed Justin Blackmon's gratuitous DeSean Jackson impersonation in Oklahoma State's Alamo Bowl win over Arizona last month:

... because beginning this fall, stricter anti-taunting rules passed last year are going to begin nixing touchdowns for live-ball exuberance like Blackmon's goal-line jog: "That [Blackmon's touchdown] will be shown in February," said Dave Parry, national officiating coordinator, referring to next month's meeting of the NCAA rules committee. "I've already told them to pull that play. Next year, with the rule as it's written as we speak, that would not be a touchdown." Instead, Parry said, self-aggrandizing moves like Blackmon's that begin on the field will draw a 15-yard penalty from the spot of the foul. "That would get people's attention quickly," he said. No argument there. [CBS Sports]

• In with a bang. With the Class of 2011 almost in the barn, Rivals reviewed the five-stars of the Class of 2010 in their first year on campus, and came away suitably impressed: Of the 26 players granted five-star status in the '10 class, 19 played significantly for their new teams, and seven – Seantrel Henderson (Miami), Keenan Allen (Cal), Robert Woods (USC), Marcus Lattimore (South Carolina), Owamagbe Odighizuwa (UCLA), Michael Dyer (Auburn) and DeMarcus Milliner (Alabama) – were regular starters by at least midseason. Among the seven that didn't make an immediate impact, one sat out the season as a transfer (Florida defensive end Chris Martin, originally a Notre Dame commit turned Cal signee), one was stuck behind a Heisman Trophy finalist (Oregon running back Lache Seastrunk), two left their respective teams (Miami cornerback Latwan Anderson and USC receiver Markeith Ambles) and one was diagnosed with leukemia before the season (Auburn offensive lineman Shonn Coleman). [Rivals]

• Eh, we've heard it a million times. With Ohio State's day in NCAA court approaching, the Columbus Dispatch reviewed three high-profile cases of players suspended over the last six months for accepting improper benefits, and determined OSU's chances of reducing the five-game suspensions levied against quarterback Terrelle Pryor and three other Buckeye starters are pretty slim: Appeals on behalf of Georgia receiver A.J. Green, Middle Tennessee quarterback Dwight Dasher and North Carolina defensive backs Deunta Williams and Kendric Burney all fell short. Considering the university isn't allowed to present any new "evidence" that wasn't considered in the original decision, that's a pretty ominous record. [Columbus Dispatch]

• Coordinator blues. Now that Les Miles has cast his lot with LSU for the long haul, the Tigers' search for a new offensive coordinator begins in earnest with, uh, Steve Kragthorpe? The ex-Louisville coach will interview in Baton Rouge today to replace Maryland-bound Gary Crowton, who suddenly may not look as bad as he did last week. The other rumored candidate is TCU offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Justin Fuente, though he denied any talks with LSU. [Baton Rouge Advocate, Dallas Morning News]

Meanwhile, back at the job Miles turned down, Michigan is on the lookout for a new defensive coordinator to resurrect the rock-bottom Wolverine D, beginning with Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Greg Mattison (a former Wolverine DC under Gary Moeller in the mid-'90s) and one Jon Hoke, secondary coach with the Chicago Bears and brother of incoming Michigan boss Brady Hoke. [Detroit News]

• Cam Newton doesn't watch film. Well, so says his All-American left tackle, Lee Ziemba, anyway, joking around with ESPN's John Anderson over the weekend at the Walter Camp Awards in New Haven, Conn.:

Oh, he keeds, folks, he keeds. (I think.) [War Eagle Reader]

Quickly... Alabama cornerback B.J. Scott is transferring to South Alabama. ... You, too, can own Cam Newton's BCS Championship sweat. ... And Cecil Newton almost certainly wasn't kidding when he told the Birmingham News that "It will take a book to really, really tell" the story of the NCAA investigation into his son's recruitment, if you catch his drift, publishers.

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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

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Game Preview | Oklahoma St. Cowboys vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders

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Texas Tech News, Notes and Links | 2011-01-26

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THE CURIOUS INDEX, 1/26/2011

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Recurring Offseason Themes: Stop calling it the 'Pac-10,' etc.

What you'll be reading about for the next seven months.

Last summer, college football teetered on the brink of the most radical earthquake in the history of the sport: Within a matter of weeks, we were faced with the possible extinction of the Big East, the capitulation of Notre Dame's independence, the expansion of the Big Ten and Pac-10 into continent-straddling colossuses and the startling death of the Big 12, just 15 years after its formation. The combined forces of the Big Ten Network and the Pac-16 seemed destined to rip the landscape apart into unpredictable and wholly unrecognizable fiefdoms.

What we were left with instead was a series of smaller shifts – Nebraska from the Big 12 to the Big Ten, Colorado and Utah from the Big 12 and Mountain West, respectively, to the new Pac-12, Boise State from the WAC to the Mountain West, BYU from the Mountain West to independence – that shuffled the prevailing order at the fringes without fundamentally altering the balance of power or (with the exception of the beleaguered WAC, thanks in large part to its own misguided aggression) threatening anyone's existence.

In the short term, in fact, the change has meant little more so far than rearranging and reprinting a few schedules, making plans for a pair of new conference championship games and attempting to aesthetically alienate an entire fan base. On the field, realignment figures to be felt in even more subtle ways:

• The first Big Ten Championship Game is Ohio State's chance for redemption. That cuts two ways. Even if they stumble without suspended quarterback Terrelle Pryor and three other key offensive starters in the Big Ten opener against Michigan State, the Buckeyes will still be the runaway favorite to beat Wisconsin (the Badgers come to Columbus on Oct. 29) for the top spot in the "Leaders" Division, and then to punch their ticket to the Rose Bowl with the lineup at full strength in the conference title game.

That is, if they're not punching their ticket to New Orleans for the BCS Championship Game, with or without an early stumble: A 13th regular season game against a quality opponent (Michigan State and Nebraska are the early favorites in the "Legends" Division) would also dramatically enhance Ohio State's resumé as a one-loss contender at the top of the polls, especially if that one loss came prior to Pryor and Co.'s return in October. At any rate, OSU will definitely not have to endure any more of the vagaries of a three-way tie.

• The first Pac-12 Championship Game is kind of redundant. Oregon and Stanford finished this season as the only Pac-10 teams in the final polls, and based on the early returns, they're likely to be the only two teams there as the curtain rises on the new Pac-12. Just like last year, the regular season collision between the Ducks and Cardinal should decide the conference championship, and possibly which team goes on to play for the national championship. But as fellow members of the Pac-12 North, they won't be seeing one another in the inaugural conference championship game.

In fact, the most obvious threat from the South Division, USC, remains ineligible for the title game (pending appeal of NCAA sanctions barring the Trojans from the postseason), leaving newcomer Utah and ... wait for it ... Arizona State as the early frontrunners to serve as sacrificial lamb to the Oregon-Stanford winner in December.

• The Mountain West leaves Boise State's championship window open for one more year. Last year, it was the Broncos were dropped into the championship dice cup by an absurd bounty of veteran talent, thanks to 21 returning starters from the undefeated, Fiesta Bowl-winning campaign of 2009-10. Some of that talent remains – notably quarterback Kellen Moore and four starting offensive linemen – but any buzz about the Broncos' 2011 championship hopes will focus on their one and only date with their new elite conference mate, TCU, which will open in the top 10 again to close out its seven-year run in the MWC. With Georgia on tap to open the season in Atlanta, Boise has another heavy hitter to add to its ever-expanding graveyard of high-profile victims, and – unlike in the WAC – a high-profile conference rival down the stretch to thwart the charge of a "one-game season."

But that window won't be open long: Moore is a senior and TCU is off to the Big East in 2012, at which point the MWC basically becomes the WAC 2.0, and Boise is right back where it started in the national landscape. It may be decades before the Broncos get a shot at more impressive run to 12-0.

• The Big 12 is going to be just fine, thanks. For a few days last June, the Big 12 was dead meat, and only exists now because of an 11th-hour financial pledge that may or not pay off in the long run. Competitively, though, the top half of the slimmed-down, 10-team edition of the Big 12 figures to give the conference three teams in the top 10 going into the year, including the overwhelming preseason favorite nationally, and not including Texas, which could come roaring back from last year's 5-7 debacle.

With the addition of a ninth conference game in the regular season negating the perfunctory conference championship game at the end, the realignment also ends a solid decade of South Division dominance over the North. Even if Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas A&M dominate the Big 12 for the foreseeable future – and it looks they will, for 2011, at least – they can claim their success for the entire conference, and not just the Southern half of it. And considering how often national championship ambitions have met their grisly end in the Big 12 Championship Game, they may not miss it very much.

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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

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Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe | 2011-01-27

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Game Preview | Oklahoma St. Cowboys vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders

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Starry Night at MSG Fields Unlikely Hero

Filed under: Heat

NEW YORK -- For the past decade, Madison Square Garden and more specifically the NBA team that called it home -- the New York Knicks -- was the rotten core of Big Apple sports.

This season, things are different. Thanks to Amar'e Stoudemire, the Knicks' first All-Star starter since 1997, the apple is polished and shiny and red and juicy. On Thursday, everyone wanted to take a bite.

TNT, back for the first time at the Garden in five years, went all out. They brought "Inside the NBA" up from Atlanta and managed to sneak Marv Albert past the Dolans and into the building. They announced the All-Star starters and three of the five Eastern Conference starters happened to be in the building.

The glitterati such as "The Donald," "The King of All Media," Kanye West, Spike Lee, Woody Allen, Alicia Keys and Tracy Morgan and his very dirty mind more than likely would have shown up to see LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Heat even if the Knicks were playing willing patsies to marauding opponents as they had in the past.

The stars had come to see stars, and for a while, they got what they came for.

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Headlinin': Justin Houstin goes, John Brantley stays in the SEC East

Making the morning rounds.

• We hardly knew ye. As expected, Georgia linebacker Justin Houston is shunning his senior season to take his act to the NFL draft after leading the SEC in sacks and tackles for loss and earning some All-America notice as a junior. Houston can play off the ball as an outside linebacker or put his hand down as a defensive end – he played a DeMarcus Ware-like hybrid role in 2010 under former Dallas Cowboys assistant Todd Grantham – but is likely to fall toward the bottom of the first round in a class loaded with quality pass rushers. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

• Welcome back, Brantley, et al. Meanwhile, beleaguered Florida slinger John Brantley is enrolled in classes and will return for his senior season in the fall, quieting weeks of transfer rumors in the wake of a mostly disastrous debut as the Gators' first starting quarterback A.T. (After Tebow). Brantley's father, a former Florida player himself, said last week his son is "excited" to play for incoming offensive Charlie Weis, whose system actually has some use for a traditional pocket passer. [The Palm Beach Post, the Orlando Sentinel]

Elsewhere in quarterback futures, Michigan QB Denard Robinson confirmed his new coach's assurances that he'll be back in Ann Arbor in the fall, and N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson – widely presumed to be on track for a pro baseball career – is still mulling a return for his senior season in Raleigh. [Detroit Free Press, ESPN]

• Adam Robinson didn't mean to hurt you, Hawkeye babies. Running back Adam Robinson is still not scheduled to return to Iowa for his junior season after being dismissed from the team for a series of academic and legal infractions, but he wants to come back if the Hawkeyes will have him. Robinson is still enrolled in school and summoned several local media outlets Sunday to plead his case: "I've always wanted to be a Hawkeye," Robinson said. “I have no wishes or desires to leave the Hawkeye team. So I just have to work hard this semester. Prove myself … and we'll see where I'm at at the end of the semester." [Des Moines Register]

• Meet the Okie Bill Stewart. Tulsa has promoted assistant Bill Blankenship to replace Pitt-bound Todd Graham as head coach, an open appeal to the homegrown/family faction in every program: Blankenship played quarterback at Tulsa in the '70s, spent 22 years as a head coach in the Oklahoma high school ranks – including a 14-year stint at Tulsa's Union High, where he won three championships in the state's largest classification in seven trips to the title game – and has served the last four years as an assistant under Graham. At least the alumni like him. [Tulsa World]

• Justice for Jasper Howard. A Connecticut man pleaded no contest to first-degree manslaughter Friday in the 2009 stabbing death of UConn cornerback Jasper Howard, for which he'd initially been charged with murder. John Lomax III will be sentenced on March 25, and faces up to 20 years in prison. [Associated Press]

• One-upping the Fight Hunger Bowl. Instead of a bowl game, USC quarterback Matt Barkley went to Nigeria over Christmas with his family and three friends, and made this video about it:

Highlights from Nigeria Trip 2010 from Matt Barkley on Vimeo.

The area the Barkleys visited, Jos, has been devastated by religious violence. Their party brought along 21 large black duffel bags containing roughly 1,300 pounds of supplies, including toys, hygiene kits and soccer balls, and once in-country visited orphanages, sponsored Christmas parties and organized a soccer game at a prison. [Orange Country Register, Vimeo]

Quickly... All-SEC safety Mark Barron will be back for his senior year at Alabama. ... Florida adds former Notre Dame star Bryant Young as its new defensive line coach. ... Ole Miss reports secondary violations. ... Michigan's woeful kicking game takes another hit, this time on the recruiting trail. ... Ohio State begins the search for senior leadership when most of the obvious candidates are missing a substantial chunk of the season. ... TCU celebrates a banner season. ... And the BCS championship trophy returns to Walmart.

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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

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16 months later, Stafon Johnson sues USC for freak weight room calamity

As horrifically as it began, running back Stafon Johnson's final season at USC ultimately seemed like a feel-good story. In September of 2009, less than a month into his senior season, Johnson survived life-threatening injuries and emergency reconstructive surgery on his throat after losing his grip on a loaded bench-press bar during a routine workout. From there, his speedy recovery was almost miraculous: Johnson was able to speak again by November, rejoined his teammates for pregame introductions on senior day, earned a roster spot in the Senior Bowl and eventually signed on as a rookie free agent with the Tennessee Titans before last season.

It seems the story's not going to have a very feel-good ending, however, according to the L.A. Times' Gary Klein, who reports today that Johnson's attorney has scheduled a press conference for next Monday to announce the filing of a personal injury lawsuit against USC. It's not certain yet how much money he's seeking, as both sides refused comment this afternoon.

I'm a fake doctor, not a lawyer, so I won't speculate on the merits of Johnson's case. On-field injuries are universally regarded as "part of the game" – note that Johnson isn't suing the Titans, the Seahawks or the NFL for the season-ending ankle injury he suffered in a preseason game in Seattle last August, which cost him his entire rookie season – and are presumably accounted for as such in the many, many documents players sign when they arrive on campus. Weightlifting injuries, though, are less routine, especially ones as freakish and severe as the one Johnson suffered in the prime of his college career. If the subsequent damage to his throat didn't cost him a shot at making it in the NFL (again, he spent the 2010 season on injured reserve because of an ankle injury), it probably did cost him a chance to be drafted, which could mean a significant loss of income compared to signing as an undrafted free agent.

All of that will be for the lawyers to hash out. But as the ending to a rousing comeback story, it's a disappointingly icy turn either way.

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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

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Blue Jays sign Jon Rauch

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