Archive for October, 2012

Saturday marks nearly one year to the day since one of LSU’s biggest victories in years, the Tigers’ epic 9-6 overtime win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

There will be little joy, however, for one of the heroes of that game. Former LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson will be in jail when the No. 5 Tigers and No. 1 Tide square off again Saturday night in Baton Rouge.

Jefferson was ordered jailed Tuesday by District Judge Chip Moore because his arrest last week on marijuana possession charges violated his probation stemming from a 2011 battery charge. He had been free on bond in the days since his arrest.

Jefferson’s attorney, Lance Unglesby, said he hopes Jefferson will be released after the court receives the results of a court-ordered drug evaluation. Otherwise, he said, Jefferson will likely remain in jail until his trial on the battery charge, which stemmed from a Baton Rouge bar fight in August 2011. That could be early next year, Unglesby said.

“We expected this,” Unglesby told …

Continue reading Jefferson to spend anniversary of LSU’s big victory in jail »

Good news from Columbia: South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier told an on-campus crowd gathered to celebrate Marcus Lattimore’s birthday that the injured running back will play football again.

From CBS Sports:

“The message he gave me was, ‘I’ll be back,’” Spurrier said. “So he’s coming back.”

A crowd consisting of 1,000-plus South Carolina fans gathered to show support for Lattimore’s recovery and celebrate his 21st birthday, not expecting news about his future.

“This is not a memorial service,” Spurrier said. “This is a happy birthday to Marcus and an appreciation for everything he’s done and is going to do for South Carolina.”

Several from around the SEC and the nation have reached out in support of Lattimore as he begins an uphill rehabilitation process. Added Spurrier: “I told somebody, he might be the most popular Gamecock player ever.”

The junior running back dislocated his right knee and sustained injuries to ligaments in the Gamecocks’ 38-35 …

Continue reading Spurrier: Lattimore will play again »

The weekend was full of gambling surprises, as usual, but no outcome was more improbable for the teams and the bettors than the North Carolina-N.C. State football game that was decided in the final 90 seconds.

UNC, favored by 7.5 points, kicked a field goal to tie the game with 1:30 left and odds were high that a field goal or touchdown would decide the game in overtime.

But then the Tar Heels forced an N.C. State punt with 30 seconds remaining. This is where the fun began and those who had wagers started going crazy:

• First, the Tar Heels returned the punt 73  yards for a game-winning touchdown, but even the extra point would only provide a seven-point winning margin, handing the win to those who took N.C. State and the 7.5 to cover.
• But … the extra point snap was bobbled and for a second it seemed decided.
• But … the holder scrambled, threw a desperation pass and it was caught for a  two-point conversion.

UNC wins by 8, N.C. State loses the game and so did the bettors who …

Continue reading Tar Heels kick both Wolfpack, bettors »

DeAngelo Hall, doing what he does best. (AP photo)

DeAngelo Hall, famous for talking, got himself ejected for talking trash to an official Sunday, and now he wants to talk some more — to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Hall got so mad at the officials during the Redskins’ loss to Pittsburgh that he had to be restrained by teammates, and even that wasn’t enough to keep him from getting ejected.

Photos: Hall argues with officials, ejected

Hall, who made a lot of noise and a lot of enemies when he played for the Falcons from 2004 to 2007, went after head linesman Dana McKenzie after getting knocked down — he claimed pulled down by the face mask — by Steelers receiver Emmanuel Sanders.

Hall was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct and then ejected when he continued his tirade.

Redskins coach Mike Shanahan was furious — with Hall.

“I’m very disappointed,” Shanahan said. “We talk all the time about keeping your composure regardless of what happens, regardless of what the …

Continue reading Hall wants to talk with Goodell after ejection »

Georgia is 6th in the new BCS standings released Sunday night.

Alabama continues to hold the No. 1 spot, followed by Kansas State, Notre Dame, Oregon and LSU.

The Bulldogs surged in the rankings after a 17-9 win over Florida Saturday.

Notre Dame moved ahead of Oregon and into the third spot. The Ducks are being hurt by the strength of their schedule. But Oregon plays three opponents in the BCS top 25 (USC, Stanford and Oregon State) in its last four games, starting with the Trojans on Saturday.

Notre Dame, with four games left, faces only one more team with a winning record (USC). Kansas State has three winning teams in its four remaining opponents, though only No. 25 Texas is in the BCS top 25.

Alabama is an overwhelming No. 1 but has what looks to be its toughest test of the season coming up this week, when it visits fifth-place LSU on Saturday.

Continue reading Bulldogs 6th in BCS standings »

Question: How can a QB who rarely plays be overrated? Answer: He’s Tim Tebow.

Can a backup quarterback really be the NFL’s most overrated player?

He can if he’s Tim Tebow.

Sports Illustrated polled 180 NFL players, asking who they considered the 20 most overrated players in the league. Thirty-four percent named Tebow, making him No. 1 by a landslide.

The Jets’ starting quarterback, Mark Sanchez, tied with Dallas QB Tony Romo for No. 2 with 8 percent of the votes.

Looking at the results, which included eight quarterbacks, it seems possible the players viewed the survey as more of a reverse popularity contest than a true gauge of players whose reputation exceeds their abilities.

Tom Brady? Ndamukong Suh?

Jets coach Rex Ryan seemed amused at having his quarterbacks in the top two positions

“Wow, what are you going to say? I don’t know how to comment on that. I just know I’m happy they’re on my football team — on our football team. Seems like the Jets always get something, you …

Continue reading Who’s NFL’s most overrated player? »

Real Bobby Petrino and Jessica Dorrell.

Fake Bobby Petrino and Jessica Dorrell.

Here’s a Halloween costume that’s sure to strike terror into any Arkansas Razorback fan: a bloody Bobby Petrino and the woman who brought him down.

Petrino was fired as Arkansas’ coach in April after he wrecked his motorcycle — accompanied by his mistress, 25-year-old Jessica Dorrell.

The photo of the “costume” is making the rounds on Twitter and Facebook. It’s not clear who the models are, but their costumes almost perfectly mimic a now-famous photo of Petrino — complete with Arkansas sweat shirt, neck brace and severe case of facial road rash — taken at an appearance after the crash, and a widely circulated photo of Dorrell wearing a tight-fitting red sweater.

In announcing Petrino’s firing, Athletic Director Jeff Long said the former Falcons coach “engaged in a pattern of misleading and manipulative behavior designed to deceive me and members of the athletic staff, both before and after the …

Continue reading Petrino Halloween ‘costume’ certain to scare »

The Painted Posse wears crosses on their chests — but not in this photo. (LSU Athletic Dept.)

LSU officials admitted they altered a photo of a group of fans to delete the Christian crosses the fans had painted on their chests.

According to Fox News, LSU officials sent out a photo of the group of fans, the so-called Painted Posse, in a campus e-mail about the Tigers’ victory over South Carolina Oct. 13.

The Painted Posse is a group of Christian students who paint their bodies with LSU school colors and small crosses. The e-mail shows the group at the game, but the crosses had been digitally removed.

“I was a bit surprised, because our pictures get used so frequently, and the cross had never been edited before,” Posse member Cameron Cooke told the website CampusReform.org. “The cross painting is important to me because it represents who I am as a Christ follower. And it reminds me who I need to act like in Death Valley,” he said.

“I knew from the second I was old enough …

Continue reading LSU deletes crosses from fan photo »

Two SEC teams remain atop college football’s BCS standings this week, but there was a change immediately behind them.

Kansas State moved ahead of Oregon for the No. 3 spot, trailing No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Florida, in the season’s second set of BCS standings, released Sunday night.

Kansas State’s 55-14 win at West Virginia on Saturday moved the needle enough in the computer rankings — one of three components of the BCS formula — for the Wildcats to swap positions in the standings with Oregon, which won 43-21 at Arizona State on Thursday.

Two once-beaten SEC teams join Alabama and Florida in this week’s top 10: LSU at No. 6, same as last week, and Georgia at No. 10, up from No. 11 last week despite an unimpressive 29-24 win at Kentucky.

Oregon is No. 2 in both human polls that are part of the BCS formula, but the Ducks’ average position of No. 6 in the computer rankings dropped them to fourth in the standings. Florida is No. 3 in the human polls and No. 1 in the …

Continue reading BCS standings: Kansas State moves to No. 3; Georgia cracks top 10 »

The Southeastern Conference will take no action for one of the most flagrant fouls since Nick Fairley speared Aaron Murray.

According to the Tuscaloosa News, the SEC decided not to punish Alabama defensive end LaMichael Fanning for body-slamming Missouri running back Russell Hansbrough during the Tide’s 42-10 win Saturday.

The SEC office issued a statement on the matter Tuesday:

“The NCAA Football playing rules call for mandatory conference review following specific fouls. The SEC has been diligent in reviewing plays that by rule involve the initiation of contact and targeting defenseless opponents to the head and neck area. The conference maintains constant communication with head coaches on matters of penalty violations during the season. In the first instance discipline for violations involving non-NCAA-required automatic conference review are to be handled by the institution subject to the approval of the league office.”

The play happened in the final minutes of the game. …

Continue reading SEC takes no action for Bama player’s body slam »