Jacksonville Sports News*

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: News and Notes from National Football Foundation

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Marshall will open the 2013 and 2014 seasons against Miami (Ohio).

Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews announced he will retire at season's end after 47 years of coaching... The EagleBank Bowl extended its contracts with the ACC (2010-13), Conference USA (2010), Navy (2011) and Army (2012). The bowl also has a new agreement with the Big 12 for the 2013 game.

The New Orleans Bowl has signed a four-year contract extension with Conference USA and the Sun Belt that runs through the 2013 season... Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas will play host to the Dallas Football Classic, a New Year's Day bowl, beginning in January 2011 between the Big 12, Big Ten and Conference USA. The Big 12 and Conference USA will alternate playing in the bowl every other year through 2014... The ACC has renewed its agreements with the FedEx Orange, Chick-fil-A, Champs Sports, Meineke Car Care, Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl and EagleBank bowls along with new partnerships with the Brut Sun and Advocare 100 Independence bowls for the 2010-13 campaigns.

Conference USA has signed commitments with a record seven bowls from the 2010-13 seasons, and they are the AutoZone Liberty, Bell Helicopter Armed Forces, EagleBank, R+L Carriers New Orleans, Sheraton Hawai'i, St. Petersburg bowls and the new Dallas Football Classic... Under Armour and IMG announced an exclusive partnership that will establish a global measurement standard for improved sports performance, health and fitness called "Combine360"... Chris McCloskey, has joined NBC as Vice President of Communications, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics.

The University of Connecticut will host a "Celebration of the Life of Jasper Howard" on Thursday, November 12 at 7:00 p.m. at the Jorgensen Auditorium... Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich will receive an honorary Lott Trophy, given to a defensive player with strong personal character. NFF Distinguished American Award winner Pat Tillman is a former recipient of the award... Scott and Kay Dawson donated the second largest gift in Arkansas State University Athletics Department history that will be used to improve the academic environment for all ASU student-athletes.

Currently 49 teams are bowl eligible and 21 teams have five wins... Texas Tech coach Mike Leach appeared in last Wednesday's episode of Direct TV's "Friday Night Lights"... 2009 NFF National- Scholar Athlete Eric Decker wrote an article for Sporting News detailing the rehabilitation process ahead of him as a result of season-ending ankle surgery.

Twenty-two former major award winners from Oklahoma and Nebraska gathered together prior to the game in Lincoln on Saturday night. Those in attendance included College Football Hall of Famers and Heisman Trophy winners Johnny Rodgers (Nebraska), Mike Rozier (Nebraska), Steve Owens (Oklahoma) , and Billy Sims (Oklahoma)... Former NFL coach Tony Dungy spoke to Louisville on Tuesday to give them a motivational speech about going through tough times... Wilbur D. Jones, Jr. has written book entitled Football! Navy! War!: How Military "Lend Lease" Players Save the College Game and Helped Win World War II.

Upcoming stops for the EA Sports NCAA Football 10 Campus Challenge Tour include: University of Miami (OH), 11/11/2009, Miami (OH) vs. Bowling Green, 11/12/2009, Maryland vs. Virginia Tech, 11/14/2009, University of Maryland, 11/15/2009... CBSSports.com College Network is rolling out a set of new IPhone and ITouch apps that give college sports fans live audio and on-demand video clips from USC, North Carolina, Oklahoma State and others.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Alabi leads FSU to victory over Georgetown College

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – All-America candidate Solomon Alabi scored a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds and junior guard Derwin Kitchen scored a team-high 18 points to lead Florida State to a 73-61 victory over Georgetown College in the Seminoles’ final exhibition game of the preseason at the Donald L. Tucker Center. The Seminoles finished with a 2-0 record in the exhibition season and they now begin preparations for their regular season opener against Jacksonville at home on Nov. 16.

The Seminoles played well defensively as they outrebounded the Tigers, held them to 36.7 shooting from the field and were credited with 10 steals. The game saw 61 fouls called and 68 free throws attempted. A total of four Tiger players fouled out of the game. Florida State attempted 41 free throws to the Tigers’ 27 as they aggressively worked to get the ball into its taller players in the post. Florida State made more free throws (28) than the Tigers attempted (27) in gaining the victory.

“We expected that (a physical game),” said Seminole head coach Leonard Hamilton. “Everybody they have played, they have shot a lot of free throws. I think they shot 72 free throws when they played Louisville. They are very aggressive. That is their style. I can’t think of a better team to play than a team that has been practicing since August. They are the seventh ranked team in their division. That was very good for us. They were extremely aggressive.”

Kitchen’s 18 points came on six of eight shooting from the field and a near perfect five of six shooting from the free throw line. He scored 12 points in the second half as Florida State built its lead to as many as 17 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game. Kitchen scored five of the Seminoles’ first seven points of the second half to help the home team stretch their five point half time lead to 10 with just over five minutes elapsed after intermission.

“We need Derwin to be what he has always been, a pass first type of leader on the floor,” said Hamilton. “He breaks the pressure down, he gets us in and out of our system and he’s now taking a leadership role. He is communicating with his teammates. He is better conditioned, more confident.”

Hamilton also praised Kitchen’s backcourt mate Luke Loucks who led the Seminoles with three assists and one steal in 25 minutes of play.

“I thought Luke was solid,” said Hamilton. “He didn’t shoot the ball as well as we know he is capable of shooting. I think we are at the point now where we have to keep working and keep grinding and we will get this team together.”

Alabi, who is a candidate for both the Naismith and Wooden Awards as the top player in all of college basketball, did much of his damage from the free throw line as he made seven of his 10 shots after being fouled. Despite making only three shots from the field, he scored more than half of his points from the free throw line as he scored in double figures for the second consecutive exhibition game – he scored 16 points in last week’s victory over Delta State.

Sophomore Xavier Gibson also scored in double figures as he totaled 13 points and six rebounds as he was very aggressive on both ends of the court. He, too, scored more than half of his points from the free throw line as he made seven of 12 free throws. Gibson also added one assist in 18 minutes of playing time.

“I like our quality depth,” concluded Hamilton. “Individually, I like the pieces and how they are coming together. I like Ryan Reid. I like Solomon who is being extremely aggressive on those boards and I think that those guys are posting strong. We need to have 25 to 30 post touches a night, especially a team as tall as we are. I like Xavier’s aggressiveness with his rebounding. I think Michael (Snaer) is coming around. He needs a few more games under his belt. I was very pleased with Terrance’s (Shannon) aggressiveness. I think Derwin showed he is coming close to showing what he is capable of doing. We all know that Devidas (Dulkys) is a good outside shooter. We are showing some individual skills, but we still aren’t quite in sync as a team right now.”

FSU: Ponder facing season-ending shoulder surgery

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State redshirt junior quarterback Christian Ponder, who leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in passing and total offense, will miss the remainder of the season with a right shoulder injury that will require surgery.

“Christian suffered a grade-3 right shoulder AC (acromioclavicular) separation,” FSU director of sports medicine Randy Oravetz said. “It has been determined that this is a season-ending injury and surgery will be performed in the next few weeks.”

The course of action was determined after Ponder was examined Monday by team physicians and specialists with the Tallahassee Orthopedic Center.

“Our biggest loss this weekend was losing Christian Ponder right there at the end of the game when he made a tackle on the sideline,” FSU coach Bobby Bowden said. “It shows his competitiveness, but he’s out for the year now.”

Ponder was injured while making a fourth quarter tackle of Clemson safety DeAndre McDaniel, following an interception near the end of a 40-24 defeat.

“I felt it pop,” Ponder said. “I didn’t know it was going to be that serious. It [the tackle] was out of frustration. I let that get the best of me.

“I’m definitely upset. We had three games left – hopefully four. There were still goals we could accomplish. I wish I could be out there.”

Redshirt freshman EJ Manuel will make his first career start Saturday at Wake Forest.

“It’s a shame, but it’s part of ball,” FSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher said. “You always know you’re one play away from being in there.”

Fisher said Ponder will be back to full strength following surgery and rehabilitation, but is confident that Manuel can lead the Seminoles through the balance of the season, in part because he shares many of the same attributes as the player he will replace.

“[Christian] embodies what you preach as a coach – being on time, work hard, have the right principles, go to school, carry yourself the right way,” Fisher said. “All the things you preach to your players all of the time.”

Ponder was in the midst of one of the finest statistical seasons for a Florida State quarterback. He leads the ACC in passing yardage (301.9 ypg) and total offense (321.8 ypg), and also ranks among the top 10 leaders nationally in four categories. His performance had earned him semifinalist honors for the Maxwell Award, presented to college football’s player of the year, and he was also in contention for the Manning Award and the Wuerffel Trophy.

Ponder, who was drawing the attention of NFL scouts for his play on the field, said the injury will most likely lead to his return to the program next season.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: JU women closes exhibition schedule with 57-39 victory

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Nov. 7, 2009 For the second consecutive game, the JU women's basketball team built a comfortable first half lead en route to a 57-39 win over Tampa in exhibition action at Swisher Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon.

JU, who never trailed in the contest, created a 32-14 halftime lead after shooting 12-for-35 (33.3%) from the floor in the first half and led as high as 24 points (53- 29, 3:16) in the second half. The Dolphins also recorded 21 points off turnovers in the game and saw their bench tally 28 points.

Tampa shot a dismal 22.7 percent (5-22) in the first half and finished the game with 22.2 percent (11-52). The Spartans finished with only one in the contest, but managed to shoot a game-high 64 percent (16-25) from the charity stripe.

"We are going to have to work some kinks out of both ends of the floor," said JU head coach Jill Dunn. "My staff and I will challenge the team to get stronger and better every time we step out there on the floor. Overall, we are excited to starting preparing for our season opener on this week."

Offensively, junior center Lynsey Paschal had a team- high eight points and eight rebounds to help pace the Dolphins. Freshman guard Abril Peeples also tallied eight points, while junior forward Taneskei Richardson recorded a team-high nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Valerie Jones recorded a team- high three assists to go along with six points.

The Spartans were led by senior forward Tiara Cook, who finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. Junior forward Taja Green tallied 10 rebounds, while freshman guard Kamari Smith, daughter of JU hall of famer and Orlando Magic general manager Otis Smith, recorded six points in the game.

In the first half, the Spartans trailed by three at 7-4 after senior guard Angela Guiu hit a layup at 17:50. Following the layup, the Dolphins tore into a 17-5 run over the next nine minutes of the half to take a 24-9 lead (8:56). The run started with consecutive jumpers made by Jones (17:32) and senior forward Desarae Johnson (16:54), while senior guard Courtney Jackson hit a three pointer on a pass from Jones at 16:15. Senior center guard Danielle Gray closed out the stretch with a free throw at 8:56.

JU would be relatively quiet over the next four minutes before sophomore guard Jessica George hit a jumper to give the Dolphins a 28-11 advantage (4:35). Peeples helped the Dolphins to a 20-point lead (32- 12, 1:12) after catching her own rebound on a miss and sliding through the Spartans defense for a layup.

The Spartans opened the second half on a 9-4 run which was capped off by a pair of free throws from junior guard Gianna Messina (15:07) to make it a 36- 23 deficit. Peeples would record layups on consecutive trips down the floor, while Gray hit two free throws at 12:16 to push the lead to 42-23. Following the Gray free throws, both teams would go on a three- minute scoring streak before freshman Drameka Griggs broke the stretch with a layup for JU at 9:34. Smith capped a 10-4 run for the Spartans in the final four minutes with a jumper (00:19), but Tampa couldn't inch any closer.

With the exhibitions out of the way, the Dolphins will now start prepping for their season opener at Wake Forest on Friday at 5 p.m.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Ponder’s separated shoulder to be further evaluated

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TALLAHASEE, Fla. – Florida State junior quarterback Christian Ponder suffered a right shoulder separation while making a tackle in the fourth quarter at Clemson, which will sideline him for Saturday’s game at Wake Forest.

According to FSU director of sports medicine Randy Oravetz, Ponder will have his throwing shoulder examined Monday, which will include an X-ray and additional tests. The results of that examination will determine the course of his rehabilitation.

Ponder was injured when he tackled Clemson safety DeAndre McDaniel along the sideline following an interception in the Tigers’ 40-24 victory.

Redshirt freshman E.J. Manuel is expected to make his first career start at Wake Forest on Saturday.

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Sunday that the FSU-Wake Forest game will kick off at 12 noon and be televised by ESPNU.