Klopp adamant he won’t quit Dortmund

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Jurgen Klopp insisted he will not quit as Borussia Dortmund coach despite his team suffering their eighth league defeat.


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Berlin – Jurgen Klopp insisted he will not quit as Borussia Dortmund coach despite his team suffering their eighth league defeat of the season to remain bottom of the Bundesliga.


Dortmund crashed 2-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt as Klopp's men continued to frustrate fans who have seen the team, in stark contrast, ease into the Champions League last 16.


Last season's runners-up are suffering their worst ever start to a German league season and the 2013 Champions League finalists are the only team in Germany's top flight to have lost eight of their 13 matches.


But when asked if he has thoughts of walking away, Klopp insisted he will stay, despite his side being whistled and booed after the final whistle.


“I can understand journalists have such thoughts, but things aren't heading that way, I am responsible for what is going on here,” a visibly dejected Klopp, who is under contract until 2018, told Sky.


“If it was only a question of luck and a change of coach would make a difference, you only have to call me and I won't stand in the way.


“But as long as no-one comes to me and says 'we have someone who can do better', I simply can't leave.


“I am not standing in the way, but I simply can't go until there is a better solution. The responsibility is too big.”


Having steered Dortmund to back-to-back German league titles in 2011 and 2012, including the club's first league and cup double, Klopp is facing the biggest test of his six-year reign.


Frankfurt captain Alexander Meier claimed his eighth goal of the season to become the league's top scorer when he fired home with five minutes gone after team-mate Marco Russ split the Dortmund defence with a long-range pass.


Then a poorly mis-timed header back from defender Matthias Ginter on 78 minutes compounded Dortmund's problems as it allowed Swiss striker Haris Seferovic to beat Borussia goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller in a sprint to tap the ball home.


Dortmund had already dropped back to the bottom of the table on Saturday after both Werder Bremen and Stuttgart picked up wins.


Werder Bremen's 4-0 hammering of Paderborn and VfB Stuttgart's 4-1 win at Freiburg on Friday saw them both leapfrog Dortmund.– Sapa-AFP






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News sport : Nebraska players learned of Bo Pelini's firing via email from AD

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Not long before the news of Nebraska firing head coach Bo Pelini was announced, school athletic director Shawn Eichorst sent each player on the football team an email with the news.


Nebraska’s season ended on Friday with a comeback win at Iowa. After the game, players were given the rest of the weekend off before classes resumed from Thanksgiving break on Monday.


With many players away from campus, Eichorst was unable to gather the team in full, so he sent the email before they found out via social media.



That’s certainly a tough way to receive the news, especially with a greeting as generic as “Dear Football Student-Athlete.” Still, with so many players away from Lincoln, I’m not sure what Eichorst could have done differently.


In his press conference announcing the news, he said he would meet with the players on Sunday night – many of whom voiced their displeasure with Pelini’s firing and the way Eichorst approached the situation on Twitter.


Offensive lineman Matthew Finnin:



Offensive lineman Sam Hahn:



Cornerback Josh Mitchell:




Graduate assistant Joe Ganz:



With the win over Iowa, Nebraska finished Pelini’s seventh season at the helm with a 9-3 record. Now, in Pelini’s absence, associate head coach Barney Cotton will serve as the team’s interim coach for the team’s upcoming bowl game.


For more Nebraska news, visit HuskerOnline.com.


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News sport : 2014 Driver Reviews: No. 35 Alex Bowman

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After doing exit interviews for Sprint Cup Series drivers in 2013, we're turning the tables. We want the drivers to sell themselves. So here are the resumés for all full-time Sprint Cup Series drivers in 2014. Then, at the end, we'll provide a summation of the driver's season in 150 words or less.


Name: Alex Bowman


NASCAR Experience: 39 Nationwide Series starts, 36 Sprint Cup Series starts


Most recent team: BK Racing


Most recent season finish: 35th


2014 accomplishments: Gained valuable experience in first full-season in the Sprint Cup Series after driving for RAB Racing in the Nationwide Series in 2013. Was running at the finish in 30 of 36 Sprint Cup Series races with a highest finish of 13th at the July Daytona race. Highest non-restrictor plate finish was 22nd at Fontana in April, one of only three lead-lap finishes all season.


Most memorable moment: Well, there's this:



Strengths: Just 21, there's a lot of time ahead. Can qualify up front when given fast equipment. Had two poles in the Nationwide Series in 2013 and qualified in the top 10 twice in three starts for JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series in 2014.


2015 goals: Another full-time ride in the Cup Series with the chance to run at the lead lap more often. A good Xfinity Series opportunity to run for wins will also be considered.


FTM's Take: Bowman was the lowest-ranking of all the drivers who ran 36 races in 2014. But there's something to be said for keeping your ride all year and the fact that Bowman made it through his first full season on an underfunded team. He's not ready for a major-caliber ride in the Cup Series, but there's nothing wrong with another year or two of running every week.


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News sport : NFL will not punish Rams for 'hands up'

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Prior to Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders, several members of the St. Louis Rams entered the field with hands raised in a symbolic "hands up, don't shoot" gesture used by protestors in nearby Ferguson.


The move drew criticism from the St. Louis Police Officers Association, which called the players' statement "a display that police officers around the nation found tasteless, offensive and inflammatory." The association asked for the players to be disciplined and for the NFL to deliver "a very public apology."


No such apology will be forthcoming. "We respect and understand the concerns of all individuals who have expressed views on this tragic situation," Brian McCarthy, NFL VP of Communications, said in a statement. In addition, the team will not be fining the players involved.


"We wanted to show that we are organized for a great cause and something positive comes out of it," wide receiver Kenny Britt said. "That's what we hope we can make happen. That's our community. We wanted to let the community know that we support the community."


"We kind of came collectively together and decided we wanted to do something," tight end Jared Cook said. "We haven't been able to go down to Ferguson to do anything because we have been busy. Secondly, it's kind of dangerous down there and none of us want to get caught up in anything. So we wanted to come out and show our respect to the protests and the people who have been doing a heck of a job around the world."


The NFL actively seeks to remain apolitical and minimize individual statements of belief while on the field, but in this instance apparently decided that remaining out of the fray was the more prudent option.


____

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News sport : Referee Joey Crawford makes it all about himself again while making a call (Video)

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If you’re Joey Crawford, you’d think you would have learned by now that absolutely nobody finds this charming or useful.


The longtime NBA referee decided to make sure every eye in the arena was on him again last night, forgetting that he has a whistle and the ability to immediately stop play and encourage everyone to look over him already, diving out from the baseline to nearly the three-point line to make a loose ball foul call on Memphis’ Zach Randolph.


Watch:



Randolph was in the midst of a fantastic game for his Grizzlies, scoring 13 first quarter points on his way to a 22-point, 12-rebound, four-assist, three-steal, zero-turnover night as the Grizzlies downed an impressive Sacramento Kings team in Sacramento. Crawford may not have been entirely off in his call – King Reggie Evans had been bugging Randolph all night and it appears as if Evans was whacked by Zach on a rebound attempt – but the players and scorer’s table can see you just fine if you call it from your initial spot.


Joey Crawford didn’t want just the scorer’s table to note his work. He wanted the Sacramento stadium’s entire audience and the TV cameras to bask in his magnificence as well. Because this is what Joey Crawford does:



This is a game played in between two sidelines filled with needless dance teams, while needless men in mascot outfits needlessly run around while needless music blares from giant speakers in between bouts of needless t-shirt canon exercises. I get it – this game is supposed to be big, goofy fun, and it’s OK to go over the top with things. Joey Crawford can be a very good, fair and accurate ref at times; and you know this because fans from each and every NBA team thinks he has a bias in place just for them. He has to stop doing this, though.


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News sport : Marvin Lewis: I lost his mind trying to challenge 12-men play

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The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but were lucky to do so, requiring some rule bending to escape what would have been a bad loss.

Head coach Marvin Lewis explained what happened near the end of the game when the Buccaneers completed a 21-yard pass in the final minute but did so with 12 men on the field. Lewis threw the challenge flag, which was illegal by NFL rules under the two-minute warning.


Lewis explained how it went to The MMQB.



"We are fortunate because we have a challenge person upstairs," Lewis told MMQB. "He told me about the 12 men. Then it was just a matter of getting it to the officials’ attention."



Lewis was alerted to the 12 men, and he tried to do anything he could to get the refs' attention.



"I just lost my mind," he said. All I needed to do was call timeout. I was trying to get Bill Leavy’s attention, and at the end I was worried they’d snap the ball, so I just threw the challenge flag."



That's the irony of the situation: Had Lewis just called a timeout, he would have been fine and the replay booth would have seen the three-WR, three-TE, one-back formation, which was a guy too many. But instead, Lewis was penalized a timeout for throwing the flag illegally, which was a circuitous route to achieving the same goal.


Either way, it ended up working.





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News sport : Tulsa fires head coach Bill Blankenship

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Oct 31, 2014; Memphis, TN, USA; Tulsa Golden Hurricane head coach Bill Blankenship during the game against the Memphis Tigers at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. (Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports) Tulsa announced Monday morning that it has fired head coach Bill Blankenship.


With a loss to East Carolina on Friday night, Blankenship finished his fourth season with the program.


“We are grateful for the service and commitment of coach Blankenship to our university, our student-athletes and our community, but we have decided that the program needs to go in a different direction,” Tulsa athletic director Derrick Gragg said.


Gragg added that a search committee would be formed immediately to locate Blankenship’s replacement.


Blankenship, who was a quarterback at Tulsa in the late 70’s, was an assistant with the program from 2007-2010 before being hired as head coach in January 2011 after Todd Graham left to take the job at Pittsburgh.


Blankenship’s teams went 8-5 and 11-3 in his first two seasons leading the program, including a Conference USA-winning season in 2012 that culminated with a win over Iowa State in the Liberty Bowl.


Things went south quickly, however. The Golden Hurricanes went just 2-10 this season, following a 3-9 campaign in 2013. Overall, Blankenship's record as head coach was 24-27.


For more Tulsa news, visit InsideTulsaSports.com.


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Chelsea rivals given glimmer of hope

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Chelsea's unexpected misstep at Sunderland has given their rivals fresh hope that they might not be quite as infallible as suggested.


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London – Chelsea's unexpected misstep at Sunderland has given their rivals fresh hope that the Premier League leaders might not be quite as infallible as their early-season dominance has suggested.


Jose Mourinho's team remain unbeaten, but his big guns misfired in Saturday's 0-0 draw at Sunderland, allowing defending champions Manchester City to trim their lead to six points with a 3-0 success at Southampton.


Mourinho named an unchanged XI for the trip to the Stadium of Light, but although they failed to break down Gus Poyet's hard-working Sunderland, centre-back Gary Cahill felt they had earned a valuable point.


“I think we are a different side to last year Ä not just personnel, but mentally I think we are different,” he told Chelsea TV.


“They made it a scrap, but we matched that and managed to play our football as well. When teams sit back and get back in that shape, it's very tough. We saw that last year and this was no different.


“But in these sorts of games, if you don't get the breakthrough, it's important we don't lose the game, and it's a point away from home.”


Chelsea will be without top scorer Diego Costa due to suspension on Wednesday when they host Tottenham Hotspur, who impressed on Sunday by coming from behind to win 2-1 at home to Everton.


City's recent wobble appears to be behind them after they survived the dismissal of Eliaquim Mangala to see off Southampton at St Mary's.


Manuel Pellegrini's side will hope to further erode Chelsea's lead when they head to Sunderland on Wednesday, but Black Cats centre-back Wes Brown has warned that, like Chelsea, the champions face a battle.


Remarkably, City have lost 1-0 on their last four visits to Wearside and when asked if that sequence was likely to continue, Brown said: “After this result (against Chelsea), there's always a possibility.


“Every game, we go into the game looking to win it and if we show the same commitment again, I'm sure we'll have chances.”


Southampton will look to re-assert their top-four credentials when they visit Arsenal, who ended a two-game losing run by winning 1-0 at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.


Arsenal approach the encounter in sixth place in the table, in the middle of a phalanx of teams with designs on the top four.


Only five points currently separate fourth-place Manchester United and 11th-place Liverpool, who claimed a first victory in five league games by edging Stoke City 1-0 at Anfield on Saturday.


Brendan Rodgers's side visit bottom club Leicester City on Tuesday and under-fire goalkeeper Simon Mignolet says that his team-mates will draw great encouragement from their hard-fought win over Stoke.


“It is always pleasing as a goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet, but the most important thing is to get back to winning ways and hopefully we can build a bit of momentum now,” said the Belgium international.


“There is another game on Tuesday and we will look forward to that one.”


United produced what manager Louis van Gaal called their “best performance of the season” on Saturday by sinking Hull City 3-0 to register a third consecutive league win for the first time in 2014.


They entertain Stoke at Old Trafford on Tuesday and defender Chris Smalling, who opened the scoring against Hull, is eager to keep the ball rolling.


“The manager said it was our best game of the season and I think it was. It was a complete performance,” said the England international.


“I think he said of the Arsenal result (a 2-1 win) that we ground that out without particularly playing well, but this time we did (play well).


“He's said he wants six points and we want to deliver that on Tuesday against Stoke.”


Argentine winger Angel di Maria is unavailable for United after he succumbed to a hamstring injury against Hull, but on-loan striker Radamel Falcao is in contention to start after overcoming a calf complaint.


Third-bottom Queens Park Rangers visit Swansea City, while improving Burnley, who are one place off the bottom but unbeaten in three games, host Newcastle United.


Fixtures (1945 GMT unless otherwise stated)


Tuesday:


Burnley v Newcastle United, Crystal Palace v Aston Villa (2000


GMT), Leicester City v Liverpool, Manchester United v Stoke City, Swansea City v Queens Park Rangers, West Bromwich Albion v West Ham United (2000 GMT)


Wednesday:


Arsenal v Southampton, Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur, Everton v Hull City, Sunderland v Manchester City – Sapa-AFP






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News sport : Texas Tech QB Davis Webb to undergo shoulder surgery

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Oct 18, 2014; Lubbock, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback Davis Webb (7) throws a pass against the Kansas Jayhawks. (Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports) After missing the final four games of the regular season, Texas Tech quarterback Davis Webb will undergo surgery on his left, non-throwing shoulder this week, per the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.


A Texas Tech spokesman confirmed the surgery and said that Webb, a sophomore, should “be ready for spring ball.” The shoulder injury occurred in the team’s loss to Oklahoma State on Sept. 25, but he played through it for the next few weeks until he injured his ankle against TCU on Oct. 25.


Overall, Webb threw for 2,539 yards, 24 touchdowns and 13 interceptions this season.


In Webb’s absence, true freshman Pat Mahomes assumed the starting role and has excelled. In Texas Tech’s season finale against Baylor, Mahomes set a Big 12 freshman record with 593 yards on 30-of-56 throwing and six touchdowns.


Overall in seven games, Mahomes threw for 1,547 yards, 16 touchdowns in four interceptions.


Walk-on Vincent Testaverde Jr., the son of former Heisman winner and NFL veteran Vinny Testaverde, also played for Texas Tech this season, completing 15-of-26 passes for 116 yards and an interception.


Additionally, four-star quarterback recruit Jarrett Stidham, the No. 50 overall prospect in the country according to Rivals.com, is expected to enroll at Tech in January for spring practice. Mahomes will miss a portion of spring practice due to his commitment with TTU’s baseball team while Webb could still be recovering from surgery.


That would give Stidham with the majority of the snaps during spring practice.


Head coach Kliff Kingsbury said he expects there to be a “really good” quarterback battle next season.


“I expect it to be a really good one,” Kingsbury said. “Get Jarrett in there and have three really, really good players going at it.”


With the loss to Baylor, the Red Raiders finished 4-8 in Kingsbury’s second season at the helm.


For more Texas Tech news, visit RedRaiderSports.com.


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News sport : Janay Rice says Ravens suggested she apologize during press conference

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There have been countless missteps from many parties in the Ray Rice domestic violence incident, and Janay Rice held the Baltimore Ravens accountable for one of them.


Janay Rice said before a now infamous press conference in May with her and Ray Rice, the Baltimore Ravens "suggested" that she apologize for her role in a domestic violence incident. In February, Janay Rice was punched in an Atlantic City elevator by Ray Rice and knocked unconscious.


When Janay Rice apologized in May, it set off a public outcry and became one of the key moments of the entire ordeal. The Ravens came under heat for tweeting out that Janay Rice "says she deeply regrets the role that she played" from the team's official Twitter account. Janay Rice said it was the Ravens' idea to hold the press conference. It has been chronicled many times that Ray Rice was one of the most popular players within the organization.


Janay Rice appeared on NBC's "Today" show on Monday and Tuesday and in an interview with Matt Lauer and expressed that while she apologized and was not without blame, it was the Ravens' idea for her to do so and she wouldn't have done it without the team suggesting it.


Lauer: "And did anyone at the Ravens say, 'Janay, it would be really good if you issue some kind of an apology?"


Janay Rice: "They suggested it, yes."


Lauer: "Did they come up with the wording?"


Janay Rice: "No, not specifically. They basically gave us a general script."


Lauer: "That really started it."


Janay Rice: "And that was frustrating for me because obviously people took it as I'm taking light off of what Ray did. In no way. Not at all. I was basically, not doing what I was told, but at the same time I didn't think it was completely wrong for me to apologize, because at the end of the day, I got arrested too. I did something wrong too. Not taking any light off what Ray did because I agree with everybody else, it was wrong."


Lauer: "The Ravens tweeted out that portion of that statement, your apology, and then they quickly took it down, because I think they understood very fast the reaction to that apology. Do you think the reaction was warranted from people around the country."


Janay Rice: "I completely understood it. Which was frustrating because the whole thing was just awkward, to be honest."


Lauer: "But had it not been for the Ravens, urging you or suggesting you apologize, you would have never been at that press conference and you would have never apologized."


Janay Rice: "No. No."


The exchange about the press conference begins at 4:33 of this clip:



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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!






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News sport : Hoyer on Manziel: 'This is my team'

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The Johnny Manziel Era in Cleveland has begun. There's just one problem: at least one player is convinced the Brian Hoyer Era isn't over.


"This is my team," Hoyer said, minutes after Sunday's game in which he was yanked for Manziel. "I've always felt that way."


Hoyer's feelings aside, the move to Manziel with 12 minutes left in a game where the Browns were at the time down 20-3 seems to indicate that the Browns in fact aren't his team. Coach Mike Pettine made the move to shake up a Cleveland team that is in real danger of missing the playoffs after such a strong start ... and he apparently didn't notify Hoyer in advance that such a move was on the table.


"Obviously you never want to see someone else doing your job," Hoyer said. "It was a coach's decision."


Hoyer helped the coach's decision with his play. Over the last three games, he's thrown just one touchdown and six interceptions, and the Browns have gone 1-2 over that period, the one win being a last-second victory over Atlanta that was more the fault of the Falcons than a credit to the Browns.


So what's next? Hoyer plans to stay the course. "I'm never going to just hang my head and feel sorry for myself," he said. "We have four games left and whatever coach decides to do, I'll be here to support this team and obviously I feel like this is my team and this is my job so we'll see what happens moving forward."


Pettine has said that he will be making the decision on a starter by Wednesday.


____

Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter.



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News sport : Buffalo hires Lance Leipold as head coach

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Buffalo went into the Division III ranks to find its next head coach.


The Bulls introduced former Wisconsin-Whitewater coach Lance Leipold as coach on Monday. Leipold has had great success at Whitewater over the past eight seasons. In 112 games, Leipold's teams are 106-6 including 12-0 this season.


Whitewater has won four of the last five and five of the last seven Division III championships.


Buffalo head coach Jeff Quinn was fired in October after the Bulls were 3-4. Buffalo finished the year 5-6 after beating UMass in its final game of the season. The Bulls played 11 games instead of 12 because of the massive snowstorm that hit Buffalo the week before Thanksgiving. After attempting to play against Kent State twice, the game was ultimately canceled.


Alex Wood, the offensive coordinator under Quinn, served as the team's interim coach.


Leipold, 50, played quarterback at Whitewater. Before becoming Whitewater's head coach he served as an assistant for Nebraska from 2001-2003 and an associate head coach and offensive coordinator for Nebraska-Omaha for three seasons.


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News sport : Florida reportedly targeting Hugh Freeze, school denies extending job offer

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Jeremy Foley, University of Florida athletic director, speaks during a news conference at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla., Monday Nov. 17, 2014. (AP Photo/The Gainesville Sun, Brad McClenny) The coaching carousel is already off to a fast start and one of the more coveted openings – the University of Florida – is connected to another high profile SEC coach.


Sports Illustrated reported that Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze is on Florida athletic director’s short list of candidates to replace Will Muschamp, while SB Nation reported late Sunday night that the Florida position has already been offered to Freeze.


In response to the SB Nation report, Florida denied that the job had been offered to anyone.


“We will have no comment on the recent multiple reports other than to say that we have made no job offers to anyone and reports claiming that are false,” UF said in a statement.


According to SB Nation, Freeze is “considering an offer to coach at the University of Florida for a base salary in the range of $4.2 to $4.3 million annually” while Ole Miss competes to match that offer.


Freeze’s current contract pays him $3 million per season. He just completed his third regular season with the program and has a 24-14 overall record.


Additionally, Yahoo’s Pat Forde reported Sunday that Colorado State head coach Jim McElwain is a “leading candidate” for the Florida job and that McElwain and Foley “discussed the job Saturday night.”


Foley said previously that he’d like to have a new hire in place before Christmas.


For more Florida news, visit InsideTheGators.com.


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News sport : Rally held on campus after reports of possible UAB football shutdown

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Students and alumni rallied on the campus of Alabama-Birmingham after multiple reports emerged Sunday that the school was prepared to shut the football team down this week.


According to Al.com, "hundreds" of people attended the rally to support the team and express their displeasure with the Alabama Board of Trustees, which would be making the decision about the football team's future. UAB is part of the University of Alabama system.



"If I had not had the opportunity to be a Marching Blazer or a mascot, I would not have come to UAB," Mitchell Miller, who helped organize the rally via social media, told Al.com. "I met my best friend here - we're both super fans, and he was a groomsman in my wedding. I met my wife here."


UAB beat Southern Miss on Saturday to become 6-6 and bowl eligible for the first time since 2004. The Blazers' turnaround is keyed in part by the hiring of Bill Clark, who signed a three-year contract as the team's coach before the season. Previous head coach Garrick McGee left to become the offensive coordinator at Louisville for 2014.


"It's important to me because I know what these guys feel like out on the field," Justin Craft, a member of UAB's first FBS team said about attending the rally. "We laid the first bricks for these guys to accomplish what they've accomplished."


Indications that the trustees were ready to shut the program down started flashing when former players wrote the school a letter in November about the importance of the team.


If UAB stops its football team the school may have to find a new conference for all its other sports. It's currently a member of Conference USA.


For more UAB news, visit BlazerSportsReport.com.


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News sport : Washington State fires defensive coordinator Mike Breske

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Mike Breske is out as Washington State's defensive coordinator according to multiple reports, including WazzuWatch.com.


In addition to Breske, outside linebackers coach Paul Volero has also been removed from his position.


Washington State lost 31-13 to in-state rival Washington in the Apple Cup on Saturday night. After going to the New Mexico Bowl in 2013, the Cougars finished 3-9 in 2014.


The Cougar defense was No. 98 in the country in total defense as it allowed 443 yards per game and 6.18 yards per play. It's a number that put Washington State 11th in the 12-team Pac-12, ahead of only Cal.


Washington State finishes the year 115th in the country in scoring defense. The Cougars gave up almost 39 points per game and only gave up less than 30 points to an opponent twice. The 31 points given up to Washington were the fewest points Washington State had given up since beating Utah 28-27 on September 27.


But the biggest reason for the defense's regression is turnovers. After forcing 30 turnovers in 2013, the Cougars got just eight (five fumbles and three interceptions) in 2014.


Both Breske and Volero came with Washington State coach Mike Leach to Pullman when he took the head coaching job in 2012. Breske came to Washington State from Montana.


For more Washington State news, visit WazzuWatch.com.


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