News sport : Indiana football players make a short snow video to the 'Frozen' theme song (Video)

It’s cold in Bloomington, Ind., right now.


Like, pile on the Snuggies, grab some spiked hot chocolate and nuzzle up next to the fire, cold.


So, redshirt freshman offensive tackle Delroy Baker, who is originally from Florida, thought it would be a good time to tease what he calls his “Frozen Mixtape.”



We can only hope this small snippet of wonderful is stretched out into a longer video that includes slow motion running in a snow-covered field and scene where both players, hands clasped and arms outstretched, spin each other in circles and snow falls lightly on top of their smiling faces.


That would make this video truly complete.


Yeah, so how many days until football season?


For more Indiana news, visit Peegs.com.


- - - - - - -


Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!


And don’t forget to keep up with all of Graham’s thoughts, witty comments and college football discussions on Facebook






from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1DZzNq0

News sport : Fans, both famous and otherwise, had obscured seats at the NBA All-Star Game

The NBA handles the seating for the All-Star Game. The NBA controls the entertainment lineup for both the halftime and commercial break events that often include massive sets being wheeled out onto a court that was just minutes removed from hosting millionaire athletes making pinpoint moves. The NBA, to the consternation of many very good owners – like Dallas’ Mark Cuban – also moves season ticket holders from their regular season seats in anticipation of an NBA-led event.


Usually, we don’t like the NBA doing that. When the league decides to oust Knicks owner James Dolan from his usual baseline spot, however, you can’t help but giggle a bit. From Marc Berman at the New York Post:



“Knicks owner James Dolan had to move from his regular seat for Sunday night’s All-Star Game in his building […] “



Sweet, remember Dolan lambasting a longtime Knicks fan in an email from earlier in February? Guessing that the fan had never done anything positive with is life, or for his family, and presuming that he had an addiction to alcohol?


And then not apologizing for it? Remember that? Maybe the NBA, after initially supporting Dolan, finally gave him his come-uppance!


Nah. These guys always turn out just fine in the end:



“According to an NBA source, when Dolan heard he was being displaced, the seating change was a concern. But the issue was rectified as the owner still sat on the opposite baseline. NBA officials — not Garden brass — are in charge of seating for the All-Star Game.




A Garden spokesman said Dolan didn’t care about the move, it was never an issue and he was happier being closer to the Eastern Conference bench and Carmelo Anthony.”



Dangit.


Worse, because of the sightlines in the 47-year old arena, some fans at Madison Square Garden may have missed not only the entertainment during the All-Star Game timeouts, but the halftime show itself:



“1,000 or so fans in Sections 111-115 who had obstructed or no view of the entertainment stage.




During the pregame and halftime shows and pregame introductions, large video boards were raised behind the stage. Fans behind the basket could only see the back of the video boards and not the stage or court.




The obstruction also occurred for a handful of performances during timeouts. Some fans interviewed said they had no idea they would not be able to see the entertainment stage. NBA officials did not immediately have a comment about the obstructed seats.”



This isn’t an outright crime, nothing to get haughty about, but you can understand the possible frustration for those that spent thousands of dollars on seats in order to watch we have no idea we flipped over to the ‘Saturday Night Live’ anniversary show Nicki Manaj and Ariana Grande halftime show alongside what was genuinely a fantastic NBA showcase.


This is what the NBA bought into when it decided to celebrate both Madison Square Garden’s recent makeover and the addition of a killer facility in Brooklyn when it sent the All-Star weekend New York’s way. Brooklyn’s Barclays Center would have been better off hosting the Sunday night event because of its modern setup, but the league understandably went with the sainted MSG home court to host the affair.


We’re a long way from someone like Frank Sinatra doing his best Madison Square Garden work in the round, or George Harrison and friends playing great songs to poor acoustics. These televised affairs need a bit more spectacle – and video screens.


- - - - - - -


Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!






from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1DzkSCk

News sport : Minnesota LB goes ice fishing, claims to be the 'fish whisperer' (Photo)

Minnesota is definitely a whole lot different than Mansfield, Texas, – the hometown of Gophers linebacker Everett Williams. Despite the differences, it looks like Williams, who recently finished his first season with the program, has adapted to his new surroundings well.


On Sunday, the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Williams tweeted several photos of his ice fishing trip along with several teammates and Gophers linebackers coach Mike Sherels.



(via @Everett2Dreaded)


(via @Everett2Dreaded)


Sherels is a Rochester, Minn., native and a Minnesota alum, so you know he taught his players the ins and out of ice fishing. Despite being from the south, it looks like Williams did pretty well. After all, he is the self-proclaimed “ice whisperer.”


Williams played in eight games and made one start as a true freshman in 2014.


For more Minnesota news, GopherIllustrated.com.


- - - - - - -


Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!







from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1FU8Hzs

News sport : Packers cut Brandon Bostick, who misplayed NFC title game onside kick

It's hard to believe that the Green Bay Packers would cut a player just for misplaying an onside kick, basically scapegoating him publicly for a loss.


But when Brandon Bostick was cut on Monday, it was easy to wonder what role his NFC championship game mistake had to do with it.


Bostick announced on Twitter that the Packers had cut him.



While it isn't totally fair, Bostick will have a place in Packers history for the wrong reason.


The Packers controlled the NFC championship game against the Seattle Seahawks, leading 19-7 late into the fourth quarter. The Seahawks scored, and tried an onside kick with a little more than two minutes remaining. Bostick was supposed to block and let Jordy Nelson behind him recover the kick. But Bostick made a play on the ball, mishandled it and Seahawks receiver Chris Matthews (who, incidentally, went from a no-name reserve to one of the stars of Super Bowl XLIX a couple weeks later) recovered. The Seahawks scored and went on to win in overtime.


The Packers screwed that game up in many ways. Mike McCarthy was very conservative all day. Morgan Burnett inexplicably quit running after an interception that should have sealed the game. The defense gave up three touchdowns in Seattle's final three drives. A lot had to happen for the Packers to lose. But Bostick was an easy one to blame.


In an incredibly somber and stunned locker room after the game, Bostick was obviously shaken up over his mistake.


“I’ll just try to deal with it the best that I can,” Bostick said. “I let my team down, I feel like. I feel like if I would have done my job, my assignment to block, Jordy would have caught the ball and the game would have been over."


Did Bostick get cut because of that mistake? It's hard to believe the Packers would do that just out of spite. Bostick had just nine catches in two seasons after signing as an undrafted free agent in 2012 and spending that season on the practice squad. Even though the Packers aren't incredibly deep at tight end, Bostick wasn't an integral part of their plans. He had a chance to distinguish himself in 2014 but that didn't happen. If he had developed into a legitimate threat in the Packers' passing game, his job would have been safe. He didn't, so the Packers moved on.


But the timing of Bostick's release makes it seem like he paid for a mistake in a huge moment for the Packers with his job.


- - - - - - -


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!






from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1FjyCmW

News sport : Andrew Bynum once drove around Philly with a gas nozzle and hose hanging from his Ferrari

Former NBA All-Star Andrew Bynum was a throwback in so many ways. Not only was his deft back to the basket game a standout skill in an NBA that was creeping closer and closer to the spread out and perimeter-heavy ball that is so prevalent today, but he also acted as a throwback to the days in which unyieldingly gifted NBA stars often betrayed their talent and acted like doofuses off the court.


The case for the former is obvious. Bynum has had his injury woes, but he never built on his early promise and hasn’t been on any NBA team’s radar since skipping from the Lakers to 76ers to Cavaliers to Bulls to Pacers in an 18-month span between 2012 and 2014. As for the latter? We have another anecdote to relay that features Bynum either being incredibly daft, or willingly listless in the face of doing something that could harm others.


From Pablo S. Torre’s fantastic profile of the rebuilding Philadelphia 76ers:



Their would-be star was a hazardous fit -- sometimes even literally. One day, memorably, the rehabbing big man parked next to Aaron Barzilai, [then-Sixers general manager Tony] DiLeo's newly hired director of basketball analytics, in the parking lot of the team facility at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. As Bynum shuffled inside, Barzilai noticed something on their would-be star's custom black Ferrari and called after him. Bynum, it turned out, had driven away from a gas station without removing the pump's nozzle and eight-foot rubber hose, which he'd dragged, pythonlike, through the street.



So, you have two ways to take this.


The first, and more optimistic end, would leave you just merely calling Bynum a goofball who failed to notice the hose while pulling away and while driving. Those Ferraris are full of blind spots, especially for 7-footers like Bynum, and they feature super loud V-12 and V-8 engines!


Or, you can probably just go with common sense and submit to the idea that Andrew Bynum was acting like Andrew Bynum. Allegedly.


Bynum, who missed the entirety of his lone season with Philadelphia after re-injuring his knee while going bowling, has been filmed parking in handicapped spots when he was in full health and most decidedly not handicapped – the ultimate jerk-hole move. He was also allegedly cited for, after being unable to pass a fellow driver, crossing the divider to drive on the wrong side of the road in order to pass someone.


Even in a rear or all-wheel drive car with as much power and noise-making capability as a Ferrari, you’re going to notice if you pull out while dragging the nozzle and hose. If you’re a good-guy driver that actually pays attention to his side-view mirrors, you’re going to notice the thing flapping on the side of your car. If you’re not an apathetic slug, you’re going to notice it when you get out of your car and walk past it.


This is a long way of saying that there is no way in hell that Andrew Bynum didn’t know what he was doing, and that he didn’t care in the slightest. Someone else will clean up that mess.


Bynum, who was last seen yelling at beleaguered-but-hard-working Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert on the bench of a playoff game last spring before being asked to leave the Pacer bench, made nearly $16.9 million that one season in Philly. The bulk of Torre’s fantastic profile of the 76ers delves into why the team’s new administration is attempting to stray away from employing people like Andrew Bynum.






from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1Af22hw

News sport : Jameis Winston undecided about throwing during NFL combine

Former Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is undecided about throwing during the NFL scouting combine on Saturday, according to his quarterback coach.


"It's a game-time decision," George Whitfield Jr. told USA Today. "He's a very big believer in himself, so it'll be interesting. He's prepared to do it. Whether he goes in and does it will probably be determined a couple of days from now.


"At this time, he hasn't made a decision."


Winston made headlines this weekend after a picture of him with a rather large belly surfaced and made the rounds on social media. Whitfield told USA Today the picture was from five weeks ago and that Winston had lost 12-15 pounds since. He said teams shouldn’t be worried that Winston won’t be in shape for the combine.



"He's always had a thing about pushing his stomach out," Whitfield said. "I hadn't seen the pic until Saturday. You smile about it because people got it and they jumped on it. When I saw him later, Jameis laughed and said, 'I'm going to be out in front of the world in a couple of days anyway.'"


Winston’s work on the field at the combine likely will take a backseat to the questions he’ll have to answer off it. NFL teams will pepper Winston about rape allegations that followed him throughout college as well as several other off-filed incidents, including stealing crab legs from a grocery store and shouting obscenities in the Florida State student union. Both situations earned Winston a suspension.


Many analysts believe Winston will be the top player taken in the draft. If he doesn’t throw at the combine — fellow top quarterback Marcus Mariota won’t throw because of injury — he’ll fall in line with a long list of quarterbacks that opted to throw in a more controlled environment during their school or private pro days where they could throw to their own receivers.


Still, Winston’s on-field acumen has never really been in doubt. It’s a question of whether a team such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which have the first pick, feel comfortable making Winston, and his troubled past, the face of their franchise.


For more Florida State news, visit Warchant.com.


- - - - - - -


Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!


And don’t forget to keep up with all of Graham’s thoughts, witty comments and college football discussions on Facebook






from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/17iaP85

News sport : For the first time in 35 years, Dick Vitale won't call Carolina-Duke

One of the central figures in the North Carolina-Duke rivalry will not be present Wednesday night when the Tobacco Road schools meet for the first time this season.


Dick Vitale will not call the game, meaning this will be the first time since ESPN's inception in 1979 that college basketball's most famous analyst will not be part of the broadcast for a matchup between the Tar Heels and Blue Devils.


The Tampa Bay Times reported Sunday that play-by-play man Dan Shulman and analyst Jay Bilas will work Wednesday's game in Durham. Vitale, 75, confirmed on Twitter that his North Carolina-Duke streak will end after 35 years.



ESPN's decision will probably receive mixed reviews, like anything involving the polarizing Vitale. Some viewers will surely miss the enthusiasm and catch phrases he brings to every broadcast he does. Others will probably be grateful Wednesday's game will feature more cogent analysis and less tangents, screaming and fawning over the coaches.


[Yahoo Sports Tourney Pick 'Em: Enter for a chance to win $50K]


While ESPN signed Vitale to a three-year contract extension last year, his absence from Wednesday's broadcast is a sign that the network is gradually reducing his role. Vitale has been less prominent during the network's Selection Sunday coverage in recent years and has been replaced by Bilas as the lead analyst on Saturday prime-time games this season, a role Vitale had filled since 2005.


Regardless of your opinion of Vitale's work, he deserves credit both for his numerous contributions to the growth of college basketball and for his respectful response to his North Carolina-Duke streak ending. It can't be easy for Vitale to step aside yet he's doing it with class.


- - - - - - -


Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!







from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1Di47wM

Preston out to stun United

Preston North End manager Simon Grayson has already masterminded a famous FA Cup victory against Manchester United and will hope to do it again when they visit his League One side in the fifth round.


|||

London - Preston North End manager Simon Grayson has already masterminded a famous FA Cup victory against Manchester United and will hope to do it again when they visit his League One side in the fifth round.


Grayson was in charge of Leeds United, then a third tier side themselves, when they won 1-0 at Old Trafford in 2010 to become the first lower league opposition to beat an Alex Ferguson-led United team in the third round.


After a fourth round in which the FA Cup rekindled its old magic with the exits of the Premier League leaders Chelsea and champions Manchester City to lower league opponents, the Preston boss wants to use his previous experience of conquering 11-times winners United to do it again.


A win for his third tier side, who won the FA Cup in 1889 - when they won also won the Double in the first season of the Football League - and again in 1938 when they beat Sunderland with a penalty in the last minute of extra time, would end Louis van Gaal's best hope of his first trophy as United manager, with the league seemingly out of reach.


Preston and United were regular opponents until 1961 when Preston lost their top flight status and Grayson hopes their first meeting since United beat Preston in the FA Cup 43 years ago will be as memorable for him as that victory over Leeds was five years ago.


FANTASTIC OCCASION


“It was a fantastic occasion that day,” Grayson said. “This is a different United team but one we will look forward to playing.


“The football club deserves it, because we have not had any ties like this over the last few years.


“I'm sure Deepdale will be full and it's a massive boost for us. The profile of the game makes it a fantastic attraction.” – Reuters






from Soccer Soccer Extended RSS http://ift.tt/1L5tPWv

News sport : What in the heck is going on with the San Francisco 49ers?


From the time Jim Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers “mutually” parted ways right after the season ended, two things happened.


Pretty much nobody believed that it was truly “mutual,” and people started wondering what in the heck was going on with the 49ers.


Over the past few days San Jose Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami, who has been harsh on the 49ers brass of owner Jed York and general manager Trent Baalke, has put that “What in the heck is going on with the 49ers?” question in clearer contest.


To sum up his interview with Harbaugh and a follow-up story, Kawakami writes that the 49ers planned to get rid of Harbaugh for all of 2014, they leaked stories that said he wouldn't be back in 2015 (those two things seemed fairly clear already), in Kawakami’s words the 49ers brass “torched the 2014 season in the process,” and then botched hiring Adam Gase as Harbaugh’s replacement when at the last minute they told him Jim Tomsula would have to be his defensive coordinator if he wanted the job. Gase refused. Tomsula went from defensive line coach to Harbaugh’s replacement.


It all adds up to a really weird situation (not that replacing one of the best coaches in the NFL for a defensive line coach wasn't already strange) and a bad way for the 49ers to start off 2015.


First, Harbaugh claimed that he was told with two games left in the season that he wouldn’t be the 49ers coach in 2015.



“I didn’t leave the 49ers. I felt like the 49er hierarchy left me,” was Harbaugh’s money quote to Kawakami.



Mutual? Hmm. The rest of the interview is illuminating. Harbaugh avoids answering questions about where certain leaks during the 2014 season came from but it's pretty clear he believes they came from within the organization, particularly those about Tomsula being his potential replacement.



"Those are good questions for him and the 49er hierarchy. And we’ll leave it at that," Harbaugh said.



Then came what happened after Harbaugh was let go. Kawakami said that the 49ers had all but agreed with Gase, then the Denver Broncos offensive coordinator, to be their head coach. They approved his coordinator choices, and Tomsula's name didn't come up. Then the next day he was told that Tomsula would have to be his defensive coordinator if he wanted the job. Gase passed. Tomsula was hired. Then, Kawakami wrote, Tomsula asked Gase if he wanted to be his offensive coordinator. That was predictably shot down by Gase, who went to the Chicago Bears to run their offense.


The first three years Harbaugh was the 49ers coach, the franchise went from one of the worst in the NFL to one of the best. They made three straight NFC championship games and came very close to winning a Super Bowl. Last season was a bit of a mess, with an 8-8 finish, and all of the backroom battles as Harbaugh and the 49ers brass clashed is one reason for what happened last season.


The new coaching staff, starting at the top, has a lot to prove. If they can't replicate the success Harbaugh had, and it won't be easy to put together a record like 44-19-1 as Harbaugh did, the 49ers will have a lot of questions to answer. The workplace environment with the unpredictable Harbaugh might be calmer with him off to the University of Michigan, but it's hard to see at this point how the 49ers will be more successful on the field.


- - - - - - -


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!






from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1yMZDXB

News sport : New Alabama State coach Brian Jenkins subject of abuse allegations

Former Bethune-Cookman coach Brian Jenkins is under fire after players and former assistant coaches said his program violated multiple NCAA rules and perpetuated an environment of abuse.


Jenkins was named the new head coach at Alabama State University in December, but the allegations from his former program have raised question about his current employment status.


According to the Montgomery Advertiser, who spoke with more than a dozen former players and four former coaches, allegation leveled against Jenkins include:


Improper benefits provided to players;

Improper housing arrangements;

Continued and extensive violations of the NCAA weekly practice time limits;

Failure to pay three assistant coaches that resulted in a federal lawsuit;

And, bullying of staff and players with retaliation against those who spoke up.

Bethune-Cookman assistant athletic director Tony O'Neal told the paper that any of the allegations that needed to reported were reported the NCAA.


Among those allegations, players said Jenkins threated linebacker Rahdeese Alcutt and defensive end Brandin Hudson with a steak knife during a pregame meal.


According to a letter Alcutt provided at the request of Bethune-Cookman officials as part of the investigation, a teammate accidentally spilled a drink and Alcutt began laughing. Because Jenkins doesn't allow talking at the pre-game meals, the commotion irked the head coach, Alcutt said.

"At this time, Brian Jenkins walked over to me and picked up a knife and pointed it at me and (Hudson) saying, 'Do I have to cut your (expletive) throats to get you to be quiet?" Alcutt wrote in the letter. Jenkins then stared at the two players for several seconds, he said.

The paper also noted three former assistants said Jenkins violated the number of practice hours allowed by the NCAA and the permissible number of days with contact.


NCAA rules mandate no more than 20 practice hours per week and no more than four hours per day. Players also must have at least one day off per week.


Former Bethune-Cookman offensive lineman Blake Pritchard told the paper the team was practicing 26 to 28 hours per week. And former tight end Isaac Virgin and Pritchard said the team would have two-a-day practices during the fall that would last, in total, up to eight hours.


But in fall camp in 2013, two weeks prior to Bethune-Cookman's first game, things finally came to a head, the players and coaches said.

After Jenkins surprised the team with a 1 a.m. practice — its third practice in 18 hours — there was a mutiny, the assistant coaches said. According to Pritchard, Alcutt and seven other players, the entire Bethune-Cookman team refused to leave the locker room for the next day's practice.

"We just had enough," former receiver Justin Henderson said. "People just don't understand how bad it was. I know it's football and everybody's supposed to be tough and all that, but man, this was a damn three-a-day we just had. That's just crazy."

Following the refusal to practice, the players said Jenkins locked the weight room and locker room and wouldn't allow anyone in for the next two days.

Several players also told the paper they were left without housing for parts of the year because the university only paid rent through May, leaving many players to sleep on the floors of the houses of teammates and one player claimed he slept in his truck.


While many assistant coaches interviewed said the housing issue was more about the university than Jenkins, several players blamed Jenkins for not doing more or speaking up to the university about the housing problems.


Alabama State interim athletic director Melvin Hines said he knew about the allegations and that he made ASU trustees and ASU president Gwendolyn Boyd aware of the allegations before Jenkins’ hiring on Dec. 16. But board members and trustees told the Montgomery Advertiser they were not aware of the allegations.


Jenkins was 46-14 during his five seasons at Bethune-Cookman and was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year three times. His contract with Alabama State was approved following a Feb. 5 board meeting.


- - - - - - -


Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!


And don’t forget to keep up with all of Graham’s thoughts, witty comments and college football discussions on Facebook






from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1EEl01R

News sport : Watch 7,670 pieces of underwear fly during ECHL team's 'Undie Sunday' event (Video)

The Teddy Bear Toss is our favorite minor league promotion ever, and while many teams now hold a Toss Night every season, the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors put a twist on that theme.


The Condors lost to the Alaska Aces on Sunday 6-4, but the bigger happening was that it was “Undie Sunday.” Like the Teddy Bear Toss, when the Condors scored their first goal of the game, fans tossed various undergarments to the ice in celebration.


When Sebastien Sylvestre made it 1-0 for the home side at 7:26 of the first period, Condors fans went to work:



Here’s what the aftermath looked like from ice level:



In the end, 7,670 undergarments rained down to the ice inside Rabobank Arena, according to the team. That broke last year’s total, which ended up around 6,000 pieces of underwear.


The brand new “bras, underwear, t-shirts, socks, boxers, diapers, etc,” as the Condors asked for, will be donated to several local non-profits in the Bakersfield area.


MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY:









from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1DhK2qr

News sport : Michigan's Devin Funchess shows off leaping ability with NBA-caliber dunk (Video)

After hauling in 62 catches as a junior for Michigan, Devin Funchess declared for the NFL and has been preparing for the combine down in Florida at IMG Academy.


On Sunday, Funchess took a break from his football drills to show off his incredible leaping ability on the basketball court.



That dunk would have earned him high marks at the NBA Dunk Contest over the weekend.


At 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, Funchess has the size that NFL scouts are looking for. His size combined with the insane athleticism on display here could vault him into a high-round draft pick.


For more Michigan news, visit TheWolverine.com.


- - - - - - -


Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!







from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1CABici

News sport : Conference USA becomes latest conference to offer cost-of-attendance scholarships

Marshall's Deon-Tay McManus runs onto the field just before the Conference USA championship NCAA college football game against Louisiana Teach in Huntington, W.Va., Saturday Dec. 6, 2014. (AP Photo/Chris Tilley) Conference USA is the latest Group of Five conference to agree to provide cost-of-attendance scholarships to its student athletes.


The conference’s 14 athletic directors decided on the move during its winter meetings a couple weeks ago, but only now are the individiual schools beginning to announce whether they plan to participate.


“What we did in Conference USA is we voted that each institution will give cost of attendance, but you don’t have to do it,” Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick told the Herald-Dispatch. “You can do it to the max or you can do it for some sports, but not other sports. What we at Marshall have chosen to do to be competitive in all sports is to provide our student-athletes, starting with the 2015-16 year, with cost of attendance. We estimate it will cost us approximately $700,000.”


During the NCAA's annual convention in January, the NCAA’s Power Five conferences — ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC — voted to redefine the athletic scholarship so that it covered more than tuition, room, board, books and fees. Now, additional money has been added to scholarships to cover things such as transportation and personal expenses.


Hamrick told the Herald-Dispatch that each Conference USA school could decide how much it was willing to offer student-athletes.


“Each individual school’s financial aid office determines what the cost of attendance is, based upon a federal financial aid formula, so all the schools are different,” Hamrick said. “One school can give this amount and one can give another. It’s just based on where they live. We haven’t gotten the final range at Marshall per athlete, but it will be anywhere from $2,700 to $3,000 per year.”


All of the other conferences in the Group of Five — American Athletic, Mid-America, Mountain West and Sun Belt — all have said they will allow cost-of-attendance scholarships, but like Conference USA, will allow individual schools to determine how to dole them out and how much to pay.


Group of Five conferences were not mandated to add cost-of-attendance scholarships, but realized it had to do so in order to stay competitive with the bigger institutions.


“If another school is going to give a kid extra money and we’re not, there isn’t a chance that we’ll get him,” Hamrick told the Herald-Dispatch. “Recruits ask ‘Do you provide cost-of-attendance?’ Do you think if (coach) Doc Holliday says no, he’s going to get some of the players that he got in that recruiting class? For some of those kids coming from difficult backgrounds, that extra money per year is huge, so they can live while on campus.”


- - - - - - -


Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!


And don’t forget to keep up with all of Graham’s thoughts, witty comments and college football discussions on Facebook






from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/17bkXzM

News sport : 3.5 months after broken leg, Ole Miss WR Laquon Treadwell is running (Video)

Ole Miss star wideout Laquon Treadwell suffered a gruesome leg injury as he headed toward the goal line against Auburn on Nov. 1.


Instead of what could have been a game-winning score, Treadwell fumbled just before the goal line and fractured his fibula and dislocated his ankle in the process.


Only three-and-a-half months later, the 6-foot-2, 229-pound Treadwell is back on his feet, as he displayed in a video posted on Instagram.



That’s Treadwell on the left running along with Rebels’ linebacker Denzel Nkemdiche, who broke his ankle the week before against LSU on Oct. 25.


The video is a seriously good sign for Ole Miss as the Rebels head into spring practice. While it’s unclear if Treadwell, who caught 48 passes for 632 yards and five touchdowns before the injury, will be cleared to participate in spring drills, it looks like he could be good to go by the time the season rolls around in August.


Ole Miss will have a new starting quarterback in 2015 and a healthy Treadwell will certainly help the team’s new signal caller.


For more Ole Miss news, visit RebelGrove.com.


- - - - - - -


Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!







from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1yMhWfu

News sport : Creighton's Ricky Kreklow makes one of the year's best hustle plays

One of the bright spots in a rare season to forget for Creighton is a hustle play worth remembering.


Late in the first half of mostly meaningless game between two teams fighting to stay out of last place in the Big East, Creighton senior Ricky Kreklow dove across the baseline and skidded out of bounds to save an errant pass. Kreklow then quickly got up, sprinted to the corner and buried a wide-open 3-pointer to help the Bluejays post a 77-70 victory over visiting Marquette on Saturday.


The effort Kreklow showed is a sign it probably won't be long before Creighton gets back to performing at the level it has become accustomed to.


The Bluejays are still doing all the little things it takes to win the way they have previously. They just simply don't have the talent necessary to win in the Big East after losing a vaunted senior class featuring national player of the year Doug McDermott and fellow standouts Ethan Wragge, Grant Gibbs and Jahenns Manigat.


Creighton (12-14, 3-10) is shooting only 41.1 percent from the field as a team and has nobody averaging more than 10.3 points per game, but coach Greg McDermott told reporters in Omaha that Kreklow's attitude has helped keep the Bluejays upbeat and working hard.


The journeyman who previously played for Missouri and Cal turned down scholarship offers from other name-brand programs to walk on at Creighton as a graduate transfer. He has averaged 7.7 points per game and made a huge impact with his outside shooting against Marquette, scoring a team-high 19 points and sinking six threes.


"Ricky has been incredible," McDermott said. "I'm not sure how our locker room would have survived without him. I think those guys would have continued to move forward, but he's got such a positive spirit about him that he's kind of uplifting in that way.


"He decided to walk on here and we're having a tough year, yet he approaches practice every day like he's having the time of his life. He's loving every minute of it. It's a great lesson for all of us to learn when we start feeling sorry for ourselves."


Kreklow's work ethic and attitude was on display Saturday — and he received a loud ovation from the 17,000 fans in attendance.


It was a great hustle play under any circumstances. It was even more impressive coming at the end of a lost season.


- - - - - - -


Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!







from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1FT02NH