My Sports News Digest

The Big Ten, which helped squash the notion of a four-team playoff to crown a national champion in college football several years ago, is taking another look. BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock said Tuesday night that’s good news. “Our process is working perfectly,” Hancock said. “One of good things about our process is that there’s no timetable so that a deliberate and thoughtful decision can be reached. “The tricky part is our 11 conference commissioners and the Notre Dame AD may have 12 different opinions about the direction we should go over the next six to eight months.” Hancock, who [...]

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PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State linebacker C.J. Mizell has been arrested in a weekend fight at a fraternity house party. Pullman police say Mizell was arrested Sunday on misdemeanor charges of assault and trespassing. He was taken to jail but released on his own recognizance. Police say Mizell tried to enter a party at the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house on Saturday night. When he was denied entry, police say Mizell punched one of the members and fled. A native of Tallahassee, Fla., Mizell started nine games at linebacker last season. Washington State sports information director Bill Stevens says coaches [...]

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Stanford’s leading tackler from 2010 booked on DUI charge Posted by Ben Kercheval on February 6, 2012, 11:02 PM EST It’s not officially the offseason until athletes start getting arrested every few days. And, wouldn’t you know it, the “days without an arrest” ticker was right at three. According to the Stanford Daily, and citing the Stanford University Department of Public Safety (SUDPS), Cardinal linebacker Shayne Skov was jailed and booked for driving under the influence early in the morning on Sunday, Jan. 29. The arrest, according to the report, happened near Skov’s residence at around 2 a.m. Below is [...]

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville coach Charlie Strong says he’s elevated Shawn Watson to offensive coordinator and hired Sherrone Moore to coach tight ends. Strong also announced Monday that offensive line coach Dave Borberly will be the running game coordinator. Watson served as quarterbacks coach last season and took over play-calling duties four games into the season. He’s replacing Mike Sanford, who left the staff six games into the season. Before joining Louisville, Watson was the offensive coordinator at Nebraska for four years. Moore spent the last three years as an offensive graduate assistant at Louisville and focused on coaching with [...]

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ATHENS, Ga. – Three freshmen Georgia football players this season have been dismissed from the team by coach Mark Richt for undisclosed violations. The three are cornerback Nick Marshall, defensive back Chris Sanders and receiver Sanford Seay, Richt would not disclose what team rules were broken, saying only that “mistakes were made and part of our job is helping them learn from mistakes.” He says he will assist the three in transferring to other schools. Sanders had two tackles in three games. Marshall had five tackles in 13 games, mostly on special teams. Seay was held out as a redshirt. [...]

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Knee injury leaves S. Miss’ leading rusher ‘very doubtful’ for ’12 season Posted by John Taylor on February 5, 2012, 3:31 PM EST On the job for less than two months, Ellis Johnson has already suffered a rather significant loss. The new Southern Miss head coach confirmed Saturday that running back Jamal Woodyard will likely miss the 2012 season due to injury, with Johnson labeling him as “very doubtful” for the upcoming year. Woodyard injured his knee in the Golden Eagles’ Hawaii Bowl win over Nevada in December. The soon-to-be redshirt sophomore has already undergone one surgery, and another medical [...]

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PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh will join the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coastal Division in football, the league announced on Friday. When the Panthers actually begin playing in the ACC remains unknown, but athletic director Steve Pederson isn’t ready to shut the door on 2012. The ACC announced Friday that Pitt will join the Coastal with Virginia Tech, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Miami, Duke and North Carolina. Pitt also will play Syracuse, another Big East program leaving for the ACC, every year, even though the Orange will join the Atlantic Division. Pitt would like to leave the Big East before the 27 months notice [...]

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – West Virginia has decided to cancel its Sept. 8 football game at Florida State. School officials informed Florida State late Friday they would pay a $ 350,000 escape fee to shelve the trip. Florida State Athletic Director Randy Spetman said Saturday he’s disappointed that West Virginia would not honor the first half of a home-and-home agreement that calls for Florida State to visit Morgantown, W.Va., next year. The Seminoles have Murray State, South Florida and Florida on their 2012 nonconference schedule in addition to eight Atlantic Coast Conference games. Spetman now has a short timeline to find [...]

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