GreenBat

Look on page 2, it's already been posted Three Things I Can't Wait To See This Fall In The Sun Belt-From ESPN

You're correct, Brandon Rodgers isn't famous, but most college kids know who he is. I said him, because American Idol is popular and the Athletic department could probably get him Cheaper than Nora Jones, which believe it or not plays a big factor in the halftime or post-game entertainment. I don't care what they do. But they need to get off their asses and do something.

The cost is outrageous for men’s soccer. The only D1 program in the state is SMU. So travel would be very costly. That is why the sport was picked to be dropped to meet Title IX regulations. It also is a big loser at the gate. The cost of scholarships does not even come close to being made up at the gate.

North Texas Volleyball Schedule Pits Nation's Top Servers DENTON, Texas (5/22/07) – North Texas head volleyball coach Cassie Headrick announced the 2007 Mean Green schedule, complete with 13 home matches and a showdown between the nation’s top servers. This season’s schedule fires up a host of regional rivalries, as well as pits the Mean Green against some of the nation’s best. North Texas will take on nine of the nation’s top-100 RPI teams, including No. 18 Cal Poly, No. 43 Stephen F. Austin and No. 52 Wichita State. North Texas will take on Long Island University at South Dakota State’s Jackrabbit Invitational in a matchup between last season’s national service ace leaders. NT’s Brooke Engel led the country with .98 aces per game, nudging out the Blackbirds’ Martina Wagner, who finished second in the nation with .97. Engel, a senior, recorded 123 aces last year alone, snapping the previous school record by 47. With 133 career aces to her credit, Engel will look to pass Corina Marginas’ career record of 160 this year. The Sun Belt Conference slate could prove the toughest yet, as five SBC school rank among the nation’s top 150. North Texas will look to defend its SBC Western Division crown with home matches against UALR, Arkansas State, Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Denver, UL-Lafayette, UL-Monroe and New Orleans. North Texas will once again host the Mean Green Volleyball Classic. NT will play host to Missouri-Kansas City, Texas State and Georgia State on August 31 - Sept. 1. The Mean Green is coming off one of the most historic seasons in school history in 2006. North Texas not only opened the Mean Green Volleyball Center, but saw Headrick take over as the program’s all-time winningest coach with 103 total wins to date. 2007 Volleyball Schedule

Good move. I'm not sure if NT brought in the 2-time National Champion Florida Gators it would sell out. Basketball is treated like the bastard stepchild at North Texas by fans, including me. I am going to make a HUGE attempt to make it to Denton for more games this year. But the athletic department needs to make every home game an event. I realize it is difficult to promote a mid-week game againt Belhaven, but this is the game where we need the Kilgore Rangerettes or Mavs Man. Heck get a Dallas Maverick, Texas Ranger, or Dallas Cowboy to come to the game. I'd like to see Brandon Rogers, the American Idol contestant from North Texas, be booked for a mid-week performance during basketball season. NT needs to tap into using its famous alumni more than it does now.

Our stadium is Rangers' Ballpark in Arlington compared to Kansas University's Arrocha Ballpark. This stadium, which just completed renovations, is not as nice as many city parks or high school stadiums. I agree, I'd rather not have baseball unless we can fund it, without hurting other programs and have a frst class facility, but unless one of the members on the board hits the lottery, I don't think it will happen that way. Starting a program from scratch is not easy, with players or facilities, but it's impossible to build a fan base without having a program. You build a fanbase, then you build nice facilities.

RV is not a man of his word?

Never happen, even if PRO football stopped!!! It hasn't hurt the sports popularity in Houston.

If he should have BEEN a starter, who would he have replace? KD? CWat? He sure as hell wasn't a starting point. How about a 4? No Q was there. The 5? Nope Wooden there. I'm not the biggest JJ fan, but Sturns was not a starter for the defending SBC champs, nor should he have been!

I emailed Vito, letting him know what was posted. He called asst. coach Charlie Leonard and this is what his response was "The Sturns deal was news to him." I (Vito) will see what I can find. I think he might have snuck out the back door.

nm

This is good news for Patrick! Cameron not expecting Williams to play for Dolphins

This weightlifter tried to lift too much weight. This F'n hurts

John McDowell's (SUE or SUMG) post on the VOY will be the only thing I'll miss about the other board.

Scholarships are renewable every year. I don't know who JJ would not renew, but that could be were he gets the ship from.

Actually it's title 9. My guess is sometime between 2019 & 2049. But I believe he has a football stadium and a football indoor practice field to fund before he worries about anding baseball and woman's bowling or whatever sport needs to be added to meet title 9 rules. Not trying to defend Rick V, because I have a lot of issues with him, but I will defend him on this point.

CBL, Might you want some mayonaise on thar $h!+ sandwich.

Link to story

Bills Rookie Camp: Day One Notes by Chris Brown, Lead Journalist Last Updated: 5/12/2007 4:16 PM ET The Bills began the first day of their rookie minicamp with their 2007 draft class, last year's practice squad players, 15 undrafted free agents and 15 tryout players Saturday morning. The coaching staff started with the pure basics right away. "You start at ground zero which is a good thing for them," said head coach Dick Jauron. "That's good. They're not focused on veterans or looking over their shoulders at somebody else. They're all in the same boat, none of them know the system. And with no veterans here we have an opportunity all of our attention is directed at them. I think there are some real good things about this." Roster move Before the first practice Buffalo made a pair of roster moves. Rookie free agent defensive tackle LaRon Harris was released due to a failed physical. The Bills also signed undrafted free agent cornerback Riley Swanson (Wake Forest). The 5'11" 188-pound Swanson had 179 tackles, seven interceptions and 26 pass breakups in his career with the Demon Deacons. He played in 47 games as a collegian with 20 starts. Last season he led the team in passes defensed with 14 and had four interceptions including one in the 2006 ACC Championship game against Georgia Tech. His takeaway helped set up the Yellow Jackeets game-winning field goal, and was made while he was covering All-American receiver Calvin Johnson (Detroit Lions). Johnson was Swanson's former high school teammate. Special teams everyone The practice began with players splitting off into specific special teams groups. Linebackers, running backs and some safeties worked with special teams coordinator Bobby April on punt formations and protection fundamentals. Assistant coach DeMontie Cross worked on footwork with the receivers, defensive backs and players that are typically gunners or jammers on the punt teams. Lining up on 'D' Players later broke off into position groups. Bills second-round pick Paul Posluszny was lined up at the middle linebacker position for the entire practice, and was getting quizzed a lot by linebackers coach Matt Sheldon during the walk-through instructional period. Sheldon would ask questions of other players as well, but prompted Posluszny to answer most often. Jauron still isn't ready to commit Posluszny to the middle. "We'll move him a little bit and he'll know more than one (position) anyway because he's very bright and very interested," Jauron said. "He may stay there through this whole minicamp and then we'll get into our OTAs in the next couple of weeks. We're just looking to get him established." Bills practice squad linebacker Kevin Harrison lined up on the strong side with rookie free agent Thaddaeus Washington (Colorado) playing his familiar middle linebacker spot behind Posluszny in the rotation. Bills sixth-round pick John Wendling was working at strong safety in the first practice session and was primarily paired with rookie free agent free safety Trevor Hooper (Stanford). Wendling is put together well and has very good size for a safety. He just looked bigger and broader than all the other safeties. The other safety pairing had rookie free agent Stacey Thomas (Texas Southern) at the strong and tryout player J.D. Nelson at the free. Rookie free agent Reggie Lewis (Florida) was part of the first cornerback pairing with practice squad cornerback Eric Bassey. They were followed in the rotation by rookie free agents Duane Coleman (Clemson) and Riley Swanson (Wake Forest). There wasn't a lot of defensive line play due to the fact that there was only 7-on-7 in the team portion of practice. Offense Marshawn Lynch looked smooth catching passes out of the backfield as did fourth-round pick Dwayne Wright. Both made pass catching look natural which has to be positive sign for offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild. Running plays weren't run full speed, but Lynch and Wright appeared relatively effective in picking the holes. Wright had one good cutback decision in particular. Quarterback Trent Edwards fared pretty well in light of the fact that it was the first day in a new offense with backs and receivers he's never worked with before. The majority of Edwards' passes were on the money as he displayed good zip and touch on the ball. Tryout quarterback Perry Patterson (Syracuse) had trouble throwing tight spirals on a consistent basis. He's a left-handed quarterback. At receiver rookie free agent Jemalle Cornelius (Florida) was first in the rotation on most drills. It's difficult to determine if that means anything this early in the game. Rookie free agents Johnny Quinn (North Texas), Aaron Brown (New Hampshire) and Scott Mayle (Ohio) were next in line. Cornelius looked quick in and out of his breaks and showed good hands in the first practice. The ball is very quiet when it hits his hands. Mayle is fast as his timed speed indicates (4.38), and he made a couple of nice grabs. Quinn made a couple of good adjustments to some poorly thrown balls. 7-on-7 There weren't a lot of highlights to 7-on-7 in light of the fact that every player on the field with the exception of the six practice squad players is unfamiliar with the offensive or defensive systems respectively. Mayle made a nice catch on a comeback route. Tryout linebacker Mario Reese batted down a pass at the line that was headed for a receiver on an out route. That was about it for the morning workout. "They were nervous and they're going to be for a little while because they don't really know what's going on," said Jauron. "It was just exciting for us to see them and meet them and get them on the field. It went okay." Setting things straight Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell made it clear to the defensive players that if a ball is on the ground it better get picked up and taken the other way quickly. Fewell got animated when a ball was lying in the deep middle after a ball was bobbled by a receiver. "Pick that ball up," Fewell hollered. "We're going to get this straight right now! Anything that hits the ground someone better be on that ball immediately. This is pro football!" Defensive line coach Bill Kollar also had some colorful remarks for his defensive linemen during position drills. Injuries Tryout receiver Joe Konrad and rookie free agent Reggie Lewis (Florida) both suffered hamstring pulls in the morning practice and could not finish. They also missed the afternoon session. AFTERNOON PRACTICE Marshawn Lynch was a little tight at the start of practice and required some assistance from the training staff to stretch his legs out and get him loosened up. Lynch was split wide an awful lot in the afternoon workout. Practice squad back Fred Jackson was also used in that role extensively. Trent Edwards again looked sharp. He was effective in making decisions and delivering the football. Granted there's no pass rush, but his passes were accurate with good velocity and touch when warranted. In a non-contact setting the receivers are often the easiest to evaluate in terms of route running and ball skills. Rookie free agents Jemalle Cornelius (Florida) and Johnny Quinn (North Texas) had productive days Saturday. Both made their share of plays in the passing game. Scott Mayle (Ohio) also turned in a couple of plays and is already backing off some cornerbacks with his speed. Mayle got by fellow rookie free agent Duane Coleman (Clemson) so quickly that Coleman slipped and fell leaving Mayle wide open down the sideline. Mayle was slightly overthrown on the play. In other 7-on-7 work Cornelius caught a nice slant from Edwards on a play that had very good timing. Quinn displayed strong hands throughout the workouts Saturday and showed he could hang onto the ball with a strong fingertip grab over the middle despite tight coverage. Defensively tryout player Greg Lovely (SW Missouri) had a pass breakup. The rookies and practice squad players will have a single practice Sunday.

More than 40,000 seniors fail TAKS test 07:34 PM CDT on Friday, May 11, 2007 By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News tstutz@dallasnews.com AUSTIN – Nearly one of every six high school seniors – a record 40,182 students from the Class of 2007 – won't get a diploma this month after failing to pass all sections of the state's high school graduation test, the Texas Education Agency reported Friday. Minority students were hit hardest by the test requirement. About one in four black and Hispanic seniors were unable to make the grade and won't receive diplomas during graduation ceremonies scheduled across the state over the next few weeks. The high number of failures may give the Legislature more incentive to pass a bill that would scrap the graduation test and replace it with a series of end-of-course exams taken throughout high school. The bill, which has already passed the Senate and is awaiting action by the House, is expected to allow more students to pass and get their diplomas. State education officials attributed the poor showing to a higher passing standard that was phased in on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills this year, requiring students to answer more questions correctly than in previous years. Students were tested in four subjects – English, math, science and social studies. "We know that it is heartbreaking for students to miss graduating with their class," state Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley said. "I know the immediate concern deals with commencement activities, but students also need to keep their eye on the ultimate goal: earning a high school diploma. "I encourage all students who still need to pass one or more parts of the TAKS to retake the test this summer." The commissioner also encouraged failing students and their parents to check with their high schools to see if they can still participate in graduation ceremonies. Students who pass all of their courses but fail the TAKS can receive certificates of attendance. Scores were generally up on the TAKS at other grade levels this spring, particularly in the seventh grade, where 70 percent of students passed all sections of the exam – up from 64 percent last year. Those students will be the first group required to pass the eighth-grade TAKS next year to be promoted to the ninth grade. Statewide, about 3 million public school students took the TAKS test this year.

Did he receive a degree fron tU? If so they need to have the creditation revoked. Heck any class where he was required to speak needs to be reviewed.

Bryan were you planning on buying one or as normal college students do, make off with one on a 5 finger discount? If you are going to purchase one, let me know how much they cost? If you were going to 5 finger discount it, shame on you.

It's a great site for swap meets.

From the official site Softball Defeats Nationally Ranked Louisiana-Lafayette Murfreesboro, TN (5/9/07) - The North Texas softball team won its first-ever game against Louisiana-Lafayette in the perfect spot: the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The seventh-seeded Mean Green knocked the Ragin’ Cajuns to the consolation round with a 6-5 win in the first round of the conference tournament on Wednesday afternoon at the MT Softball Complex. The Mean Green (22-34) will remain in the winner’s bracket, facing third-seeded Troy on Thursday at 3 pm. NT extends its first-round conference tournament record to 4-0. NT handed the Ragin’ Cajuns, ranked 22nd in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, its first-ever loss in the conference tournament. North Texas tied the game three times and then scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to take its first lead, 6-3. The Mean Green held off Louisiana-Lafayette in the bottom of the seventh, who scored two runs. NT took the lead off an error and then Susan Waters knocked in two runs with a single to take a three-run lead. Kristina Fowler took the win for the Mean Green, pitching six innings and allowing five runs off nine hits. Ashley Lail picked up her first save of the season after Fowler got in a jam in the seventh. Holly Tankersley knocked in the game’s first run with a single in the bottom of the third inning to give Louisiana-Lafayette an early 1-0 lead. North Texas then intentionally walked Lacey Bertucci to load the bases with only one out but Fowler was able to work out the jam. Susan Waters tied the game on a wild pitch by Brittany Cuevas in the top of the fourth. The All-Sun Belt player recorded the team’s first hit with a single to left field. She moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on a groundout. The third baseman scampered home after a wild pitch went off the catcher’s glove to the backstop. The Ragin’ Cajuns quickly regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run by Tara Hamilton. Taylor Johnston posted a solo home run of her own with a shot to left field that tied the game, 2-2, for the second time. The home run was Johnston’s second of the season. Vallie Gaspard led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a double down the left field line. After advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt, Tankersley knocked in her second run with a single to center field to put the Ragin’ Cajuns ahead, 3-2. North Texas tied the game for a third time with an unearned run in the top of the sixth inning. After reaching base on a walk, Muller scored from third on a fielding error by the third baseman.