Thursday, September 30, 2010

Latest Sports Buzz

Latest Sports Buzz

Packers Saftey Collins Apologizes For Confrontation With Fan

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 03:12 PM PDT

John Nestor – AHN Sports Correspondent

Green Bay, WI, United States (AHN) – The NFL is reviewing an incident between Green Bay Packers safety Nick Collins and a Chicago Bears fan following the Bears’ 20-17 victory Monday night at Soldier Field.

WITI-TV of Milwaukee aired footage of Collins yelling at a fan in the stands as he left the playing field.

The video clip appears to show Collins throwing his mouthpiece into the stands.

“I was made aware of it by our security department. I have not seen the video,” Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said. “I know the NFL is looking into the matter. I understand Nick’s story as far as what happened and what our security people that were there, and I support Nick 100 percent.”

Asked for specifics, McCarthy said the matter was out of his hands and something the league was looking into.

“I’m not going to talk about the specifics. That’s a league matter right now,” he said.

WITI said Collins apologized for “losing his cool.”

“I have an understanding of what happened. I think Nick addressed it after the game. You don’t want to get into interaction, particularly with opposing fans,” McCarthy said. “It is an emotional time, particularly

after a game, and I think it’s something that we can all learn from.”

Collins, who has been selected to two straight Pro Bowls, not only came up on the losing end in a tight game against a divisional rival, he was also involved in a pair of crucial plays that went Chicago’s way.

Collins came up with an interception in the final minutes of the game off of Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, that appeared to wipe out a potential game-winning drive for Chicago.

But the pick was nullified by a pass interference penalty on Green Bay safety Morgan Burnett and the Bears eventual drove for the game-winning field goal.

Collins was flagged himself earlier in the fourth when he was called for unnecessary roughness on Bears running back Matt Forte. The Bears eventually drove for a game-tying field goal on that possession.

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Back Injury Knocks Semenya Out Of Commonwealth Games

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 03:12 PM PDT

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John Nestor – AHN Sports Correspondent

Johannesburg, South Africa (AHN) – South Africa’s Caster Semenya, the 800-meter world champion, has withdrawn from the Commonwealth Games due to injury

Chief Medical Officer Shuaib Manjra said Semenya underwent medical testing in Johannesburg on Tuesday and scans confirmed a back injury will cause her to miss the games to be held in New Delhi from October 3-14.

Semenya also confirmed she had been suffering serious lower back pain and had not been comfortable during her last few races.

Manjra said the athlete’s well-being and health were priorities and while her absence robbed South Africa of a potential gold medallist, he did not want to risk serious injury with the pending 2011 Athletics World

Championships and London’s 2012 Olympics.

“It would serve no purpose to have an athlete in Delhi who was struggling with any sort of injury that would compromise performance,” Manjra said. “It is our medical view that physically and emotionally she would not be capable of doing justice to her talent at an event of this magnitude.”

Semenya was expected to challenge for gold at the Commonwealth Games since she was cleared to run by the IAAF in July following a gender-test dispute.

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Saints Ink 46-Year-Old Kicker Carney

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 03:12 PM PDT

AHN Sports Staff

New Orleans, LA, United States (AHN) – With Garrett Hartley struggling with his kicking game this season, the New Orleans Saints decided to lean on experience and re-sign placekicker John Carney to a one-year-deal Wednesday.

The 46-year-old Carney will be playing for his 22rd season since making his NFL debut with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1987.

The Saints reportedly called Carney for a workout after Hartley failed to convert a potential game-clinching field goal n Sunday’s 27-24 overtime loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

In just three games, Hartley already missed three field goals (4-of-7), enough for the Saints to replace him with the veteran kicker.

Carney, a two-time Pro Bowler, made 473 career field goals on 82.4 career percent field goal percentage.

He also holds the third highest scoring total with 2,044 points, just behind Gary Anderson and football legend Morten Andersen.

Carney, who also served as the team’s “kicking consultant” last season, will have his season debut against the winless Carolina Panthers at Louisiana Superdome Sunday.

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Standout Prep Wideout Daniels Commits To Notre Dame

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 03:12 PM PDT

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AHN Sports Staff

South Bend, ID, United States (AHN) – Notre Dame’s recruiting machine produced another gem Tuesday after receiving a verbal commitment from Illinois top prep wideout prospect DaVaris Daniels.

Daniels, the son of Washington Redskins defensive lineman Phillip Daniels, chose Notre Dame over several top-notch football programs, including Nebraska, Michigan, and Miami.

Rated by Rivals.com as the No.15 best wideout prospect in the country, the 6-foot-3, 190 pound Daniels is described as a versatile receiver with the knack to flourish in any offensive package.

So far this season, Daniels already covered 828 yards of offense (both air and ground) with 12 touchdowns for the still undefeated Vernon Hills football team.

Daniels said he picked Notre Dame because of the incredible support he received from Fighting Irish followers, who even brought their recruiting pitch to.

“I’m on Facebook a lot and I was hearing from Notre Dame fans all the time about how bad they need me, things like that,” Daniels told Daily Herald Wednesday. “I’ve got a lot of Notre Dame Facebook friends, and I’ve gotten even more since I posted my decision.”

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Cost-Cutting Cal Drops Several Sports Programs, Including Baseball

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 03:12 PM PDT

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

Berkeley, CA, United States (AHN) – The University of California, Berkeley, in its latest move to cut costs, announced Tuesday it will drop five of its intercollegiate sports programs, including baseball, at the end of the 2011 academic year.

Citing the economy and decreased state funding, the university arrived at the difficult and painful decision that is expected to result in an annual savings of about $4 million beginning in the next fiscal year.

The athletic department of the University of California, Berkeley, has been over budget by about $10 million to $13 million for several years.

The move will affect 163 of the school’s more than 800 student-athletes, as well as 13 full-time coaches.

It also reduces the number of athletic teams from 29 to 24, including baseball, which Cal has had since 1892.

Cal’s baseball team, which won the first College World Series in 1947, has been to the NCAA baseball tournament 10 times, most recently in 2008.

The Bears last captured the NCAA baseball crown in 1957. Last season, Cal earned an NCAA regional berth.

Cal has also made five trips to the CWS, but has not won a Pac-10 title since 1980.

In addition to baseball, which according to Athletic Director Sandy Barbour had the highest net cost to the university among men’s programs, the men’s and women’s gymnastics and women’s lacrosse will also be cut.

Meanwhile, the men’s rugby team, winner of 25 national championships since 1980, will be stripped of its varsity status. It will be reclassified as a “varsity club sport,” a new category at Cal.

Cal, which has had rugby as a varsity team since 1882, is the only NCAA Division I school that has the sport rugby with that status.

Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, who wrote in a letter to the Cal community, indicating that the steady increase of financial support to the university’s 29 team athletics program was “not sustainable” for Cal, said no more teams will be cut.

Birgeneau believes that the cuts will allow the university to take a financially sustainable path by 2014.

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Jags Receiver Osgood Has Minor Bruises From Assault

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 03:12 PM PDT

Kareem Shaker – AHN Sports Reporter

Jacksonville, FL, United States (AHN) – Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Kassim Osgood was attacked, pistol-whipped and forced to jump out of a second-floor window Monday while visiting a 19-year-old female acquaintance.

Osgood, 30, escaped with just some small bruises, despite gun fire exchange between the assailant and the woman.

The Florida-Times Union reported Osgood and Mackenzie Rae Putnal were sitting in a second-floor game room around 11:15 p.m. when a man walked in with a plastic bag around his head and said to Putnal, “I can’t believe you’re with that guy.”

The police arrested Julian Bartletto, 20, and charged him with aggravated battery, false imprisonment, armed robbery, burglary and violation of an injunction. Bartletto is apparently a former acquaintance of Putnal.

Osgood, undrafted out of San Diego State in 2003, has two receptions for 29 yards and a touchdown this season.

In 111 games, mostly with the Chargers, Osgood has 35 catches for 676 yards and five touchdowns.

Jacksonville (1-2) hosts the Indianapolis Colts Sunday.

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Carter Nets Pair, Flyers Lead Isles 3-0 Midway Through Preseason Tilt

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 03:12 PM PDT

Ed Condran – AHN Sports Correspondent

Philadelphia, PA, United States (AHN) – One of the issues the Philadelphia Flyers faced after dealing high scoring but oft injured winger Simon Gagne during the off-season was if they would be able to score enough goals in the forthcoming season.

If the preseason is any indication, the orange and black should be just fine when it comes to reaching the back of the net. The Flyers are up 3-0 over the New York Islanders mid-way through the second period Wednesday.

Jeff Carter, a prolific goal scorer throughout his five- year career, who was slowed by injury last year, has two goals.

Much is expected of winger James Van Riemsdyk, who petered out at the end of his rookie season. The sophomore blasted his first goal of the preseason past Islander netminder Dwayne Roloson.

Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has kept the Islanders at bay. The Isles haven’t had many quality chances thanks to strong Flyer defense.

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Wizards Owner Leonsis Says NBA May Cap Player Salaries

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 03:12 PM PDT

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

Fairfax, VA, United States (AHN) – With the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement set to expire after the season, many owners, including Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, are looking at the NHL and their hard salary cap for direction.

The Wizards majority owner reportedly indicated to a group of Northern Virginia business leaders Wednesday before the Wizards’ daily training camp session that he expects the NBA to adopt a similar hard salary cap to the one used in the NHL.

Leonsis, 53, who is also the owner of the NHL’s Washington Capitals, is well-versed with both the salary cap models employed by the NBA and NHL.

Leonsis said: “In a salary cap era — and soon a hard salary cap in the NBA like it’s in the NHL — if everyone can pay the same amount to the same amount of players, its the small nuanced differences that matter,” Sporting News.com reported.

Leonsis later pulled back from his comment, saying he was not allowed to speak about the ongoing NBA labor negotiations, but stressed the hard cap system works in the NHL.

The said hard cap system is one of the many issues included in the new collective bargaining agreement being forged between the NBA and the union.

It was reportedly rejected by the players during last season’s All-Star break.

A previous FanHouse report indicated that high-salaried teams in the NBA may be forced to release star players in order to conform to the cap number.

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Bruised Foot Healing, Florida Running Back Demps Likely To Play Vs. `Bama

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 03:12 PM PDT

Kareem Shaker – AHN Sports Reporter

Gainesville, FL, United States (AHN) – Florida Gators running back Jeff Demps is out of his protective walking boot and likely to recover from a bruised left foot in time to take on the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide Saturday.

Demps injured the foot Sept. 18 at Tennessee and tweaked last Saturday during a 48-14 blowout over Kentucky.

Also an accomplished sprinter, Demps is the Gators’ leading rusher with 367 yards and two touchdowns on 53 carries. The junior back is versatile out of the backfield, pulling down 11 receptions for 61 yards.

An MRI showed no ligament damage or tears, so Demps is likely to return to practice Thursday or Friday.

The Gators (4-0, 2-0 SEC) face a tough challenge in defending national champions the Crimson Tide for Week 5.

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Michigan State Guard Lucious Injures Knee; Out 2-6 Weeks

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 06:26 AM PDT

John Nestor – AHN Sports Correspondent

East Lansing, MI, United States (AHN) – Michigan State guard Korie Lucious underwent successful arthroscopic surgery for a small meniscus tear in his left knee Tuesday afternoon.

The junior is expected to return in 2-6 weeks.

“I feel bad for Korie,” said head coach Tom Izzo. “He’s had a great fall on the court, playing some of the best basketball of his time at Michigan State. The injury is similar to the one Goran Suton had during his senior year, and he was able to return in a short amount of time. We expect that Korie will heal in a similar fashion.”

Lucious, who averaged 5.6 points last season, had his biggest impact in the NCAA tournament when he drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Spartans an 85-83 victory over Maryland in a second-round matchup.

Michigan State advanced all the way to the Final Four before falling to Butler.

This is not the first time Lucious made headlines this offseason as he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless driving earlier this month.

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