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USC Trojans

Nov. 5, 2007

Asia Kaczor and Everson Griffen were selected as USC’s Wells Fargo Student-Athletes of the Week today (Nov. 5) for the week of Oct. 29-Nov. 4.

Kaczor, a senior from Wroclaw, Poland, had a team-high 21 kills and 10 digs in a 3-1 win over No. 9 UCLA on Nov. 2 at the Galen Center. The Women of Troy lost the first game of the match to the Bruins, but Kaczor helped lead them back for the win to extend USC’s winning streak at the Galen Center to 21 matches.

Griffen, a freshman defensive end from Avondale, Ariz., had a career-high six tackles, including 3.5 sacks to help lead USC to a 24-3 win over Oregon State on Nov. 3 at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The 3.5 sacks were also a career best and the most by a Trojan since Tim Ryan had 4 sacks vs. UCLA in 1989.

Asia Kaczor
Everson Griffen

Source: Kaczor And Griffen Selected As USC’s Wells Fargo Student-Athletes Of The Week

Sony Ericsson WTA Championship

Madrid, Spain (Sports Network) - The WTA Tour will wrap up its 2007 season this week with the exclusive eight-player, $3 million Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid.

The Championships will commence today with a trio of round-robin matches, including one for defending champion Justine Henin, who topped Amelie Mauresmo in last year’s lucrative finale in Madrid.

The top-seeded/world No. 1 Henin, who has already clinched the year-end top- ranking for a second straight year and for the third time in five years, will open up against seventh-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze. The seven-time major titlist Henin captured this year’s U.S. and French Open titles and is currently riding a torrid 20-match overall winning streak.

The Belgian Henin and Chakvetadze are part of the four-player "Yellow Group," which also features third-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic and fifth-seeded American Serena Williams, the 2001 Championships victor and two-time runner- up. Williams was this year’s Australian Open champ. Jankovic and Chakvetadze will make their Championships debuts this week.

Related Info

• Henin looks to cap career-year
• Henin receives tough Ericsson draw
• Group Standings
• Singles Players
• Doubles Players

Today’s other bouts will pit second-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova against fourth-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic and sixth-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova, the ‘07 Aussie Open runner-up, versus eighth-seeded Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, who joined the draw this week in place of Wimbledon champion Venus Williams.

The U.S. Open runner-up Kuznetsova, the French Open runner-up Ivanovic, the 2004 Championships titlist Sharapova and Hantuchova comprise this week’s "Red Group." The only former champions here are Henin, Serena and Sharapova.

The top-two players from each group will move into the semifinals here on Saturday, while the final will be staged Sunday at Recinto Ferial Casa de Campo. Round-robin action will be played from Tuesday through Friday.

The 2007 Championships titlist will collect $1 million, while the runner-up will settle for $500,000.

Source: WTA Championships commence in Madrid

Shane Mosley

New York, NY (Sports Network) - NFL football fans were just treated to Super Bowl 41-and-a-half, with the New England Patriots eking past the Indianapolis Colts, 24-20.

Now, fight fans can get ready for their very own Super Bowl, which will take place Saturday at the famed Madison Square Garden when former 3 division champion "Sugar" Shane Mosley (44-4, 37 KO’s) takes on undefeated WBA Welterweight Champion Miguel Cotto (30-0, 25KO’s). And while this fight won’t have the glitz or the promotion of Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jr., it promises to be a much better fight, pitting Mosley’s speed and skill versus Cotto’s pressure and power.

It has the makings of a a fight similar to the 1990 classic between Meldrick Taylor and Julio Cesar Chavez. Cotto is the younger, fresher fighter at just 27 years old, while Mosley is the wily old vet looking to cement his legacy as one of the finest fighters of his era.

"I trained really hard for this fight," explained Cotto in a recent conference call with the media. "I’m pretty happy with that…I hope chances stay pretty good for bringing a good show to all the people."

Miguel Cotto is coming off a defining win over Zab Judah this past June, in a fight for which he gave all fans of the sport a night to remember. His consistent pressure of the fast and slick Judah led to an 11th-round TKO victory. The question people have going in is whether Cotto can duplicate that performance against a much better fighter in Mosley. Cotto believes his time has come.

"I don’t think at the age of 36 years old Shane can handle [me]," stated Cotto, believing that his youth and strength will carry the day.

Mosley, meanwhile, has been preparing for this fight in his usual seclusion in Big Bear, California, as he looks to once again place himself among the elite in the sport. Mosley is excited about the chance to fight in Madison Square Garden, a place where legends were made.

"It’s going to be a great feeling to be in Madison Square Garden to fight where all the legendary fighters fought," said Mosley. "You know, Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, all the great fighters fought in this arena. And for me to fight in there in the big arena with Miguel Cotto who is a great Puerto Rican fighter, young fighter, coming up, this is history in the making. And I love to be in these types of fights, with the crowd screaming." call with the Media.

What will happen on Saturday night? For that answer I reached out to get the opinion of former world title challenger and now elite trainer John "Iceman" Scully.

Scully explained, "This fight will be Cotto’s biggest test. But I wouldn’t say this is Mosley’s biggest test, as he has been in there with the best already. Shane is a little more well-rounded and he brings a lot to the table. Some of the things that were missing from Judah, Mosley has them because he is a higher-level fighter. Too bad he couldn’t have fought Cotto when he was younger, because I think the guy who beat De La Hoya a while back beats Cotto, no problem. But the sentiment for the fight seems preordained for Cotto. This will be the first time that Mosley will be going in as the opponent. The way it is going, I would consider it a slight upset to other people if Mosley were to win, just because of the sentiment…Every time Cotto has fought, he has been the stronger guy. So we will see this time. Shane has looked really good in his last few fights, but not the way he looked in his first fight with Oscar."

Just read the above analysis from Scully and you pretty much have my thoughts as well. I think a young Mosley would have won comfortably over Cotto, but this is an older fighter, so this will be a very close fight until the end. The question is, will Mosley be able to keep Cotto off of him? If not, Cotto will win, but if Mosley can control the action, Mosley will prevail. Mosley has more speed and the higher skill level, but Cotto has fantastic skills along with great strength. So you want my opinion? I think it will be the fight of the year. Who do I think will win? The fans will win.

Source: Mosley vs. Cotto - Fight of the Year?

Franchione Out at Texas A&M?

Dennis Franchione’s days as the head coach at Texas A&M appear to be numbered.

Texas A&M is talking about buying out Franchione’s contract, sources have told ESPN college football analyst Andre Ware.

Texas A&M said Monday it would wait until the end of the football season before deciding Franchione’s fate. At least one national Web site reported that Franchione had already accepted a buyout before backing off the story.

“There are several false rumors circulating regarding the Texas A&M football program,” the school said in an e-mailed statement.

Athletics department spokesman Alan Cannon said athletics director Bill Byrne would wait until the end of the season to evaluate Franchione, as he does with all coaches.

Franchione

Cannon added, “I have received no indication that he has changed his stance.” Cannon said Franchione is still A&M’s coach and is preparing the team to play Missouri on Saturday.

Franchione has been in hot water with the university for a newsletter he was sending out to donors willing to pay $1,200 for inside information. In mid-October, Texas A&M officials admonished Franchione for his secretive, for-pay newsletter and said the embarrassing episode would be a factor in deciding whether he returns next season.

The school said it would report the results of an internal investigation to the NCAA because of possible rules violations, and Franchione was ordered to shut down his Web site, CoachFran.com. He also will receive a “letter of admonishment.”

“The Aggies are embarrassed right now,” athletic director Bob Byrne said in October. “This has been a very unfortunate incident we do not want to experience again.”

Texas A&M is reportedly researching whether Franchione violated his contract with the income he received from the newsletter. If he is found in violation of the contract, the Aggies may not have to pay the coach anything upon firing him.

Franchione’s contract pays him $2 million per season and runs through 2012. A buyout will be $141,667 per month for the remainder of the contract, or about $8 million. Ware reported Monday that Texas A&M is looking for a buyout in the $2 million range.

Ware reported that Texas A&M wants to talk to Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville for a potential vacancy. He reported that the school is working with Chuck Neinas, who runs a consulting firm specializing in hiring coaches.

Franchione came to A&M from Alabama, where he went 10-3 in 2002. He was never a perfect fit at A&M, where he replaced the popular R.C. Slocum.

Oklahoma humiliated the Aggies 77-0 in 2003, the first of three consecutive losses to end the season. The Aggies went 7-4 in 2004, but lost again to Texas before Tennessee’s 38-7 win in the Cotton Bowl.

A&M lost its final four games in 2005 and finished 5-6, its second losing record in Franchione’s first three seasons.

The Aggies won nine games last season, but narrowly beat Army in San Antonio. They beat Texas 12-7, snapping a six-game losing streak in the series and getting their first win in Austin since 1994.

But California ripped A&M 45-10 in the Holiday Bowl last December, rekindling A&M fans’ discontent.

Texas A&M is 6-4 this season, and Franchione is 31-28 overall with the Aggies. He is 2-12 against main rivals Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma.

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.

Source: Source: Texas A&M talks buyout with Franchione

Everton fans with the wrong tickets will be denied entry

About 1,500 Everton supporters face being turned away from Thursday’s Uefa Cup game in Nuremberg because of fears over crowd trouble.

Uefa classified the match as high-risk after it emerged that the German club had sold a number of tickets in their home section direct to Everton fans.

“We would never recommend that supporters get tickets through the host club,” said Everton spokesman Ian Ross.

“Those who bought them are being told now they can’t use them.”

European football’s governing body has advised that the tickets be withdrawn because of fears over the potential for hooliganism.

Everton were allocated fewer than 3,000 tickets for the Franken-Stadion ground, which holds 47,000.

A large police presence is expected in the southern German city, and Nuremberg were forced to cancel the tickets to ensure Everton’s fans are segregated in the stadium.

Everton said they received requests for five times the number of tickets they were allocated.

“However, we will never endorse our supporters buying tickets from the opposing team,” said Ross.

“There are regulations in place for a reason and tickets bought from Nuremberg will not be valid on Thursday.”

Merseyside Police have urged fans without a ticket to avoid turning up to the ground and watch the match at local venues in Nuremberg instead.

Source: Everton facing Uefa ticket chaos

Bruce Arena resigned as New York Red Bulls manager and sporting director Monday, two days after the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year - losing 1 -0 to the New England Revolution.

Source: Arena and Red Bulls go separate ways

By: Elmo Kandel

We live in a time when we tend to look to the government to do a lot of things. For some reason, we tend to think that just because we have to pay taxes, it is our government’s job to fix everything that is broke and arrest anybody we don’t like. But if we can get a more rational view of what the government can do and moreover what it cannot do, we then can define what is local and should be handled by people in our own comity.

There are many projects that are just outside of what the government ought to be sticking their noses into. This is particularly true concerning the federal government. Too often we push to the national level discussions and decisions about the quality of life in our own communities when no matter what the federal government does, nothing will make our communities a better place to live more than people coming together as neighbors to make it so.

A good example is the care of local parks and public areas. If we expect the government to pay a service that has no connection to our community to come in and make things right in the public spaces used by our children and that are important to our neighbors, we can be sure the job isn’t going to get done right. One of the reasons that there is a general disrespect for public gathering spaces is that people don’t see those spaces as part of their local community. If you think you are littering on yet another piece of government property, you won’t think twice about treating it with disrespect because it isn’t yours.

It really is a matter of ownership. When we get together as a community and put together community service projects, we are making a statement that this area of our neighborhood belongs to us and it our job to make it nice. A great example of how this can work so well is a new phenomenon of the neighborhood swimming pool. As more public pools have to close, many neighborhoods are coming together, funding the land and construction and having a pool built for that neighborhood so everybody’s kids can have a place to swim.

Without fail these kinds of community spaces are better taken care of and even safer than the old public pools, run by the government, ever were. People are not as prone to leave them in a mess because these are your neighbors living next door to the pool. When young people are there swimming, it isn’t just the lifeguards watching out for their safety. The entire neighborhood is taking responsibility for the safety of those kids. And the result is a safer, cleaner and better community space than could ever have happened if the government had built the pool.

Our local, state and federal governments all have important jobs to do. We need them to make our streets safe to drive, to keep the lights on, to make sure jobs are coming to the state and to keep our relationship with the rest of the world working well. When they do their jobs well, our lives improve because of it. But when the government gets in the middle of projects where they just don’t belong, the outcome is almost always a disaster. So, as a people living in a country run by the people, it is our job to make sure that we take care of the community service and we keep the government out of things that are none of their business and make sure they are doing what is their business. Everybody wins that way.

Elmo Kandel is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit - www.articleclick.com

Source: Getting the Government out of Community Service

There are and have been many fishing techniques employed by different people at different times throughout history. It is quite possible to locate fish with a minimal amount of equipment. It is even possible to catch wfish with one’s hands. In the United States catching a catfish with only one’s hands is called noodling.

Noodling may also be called graveling, grabbling, tickling, or hogging depending on which southern state you’re in. Though there are many strange names, it is most simply known as handfishing. Only five states of the United States have explicit laws permitting handfishing. Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee and Oklahoma all have laws explicitly permitting the right of individuals to handfish. In the year 2005, Missouri and Georgia have also adopted similar handfishing laws.

The term for handfishing known as ‘noodling’ is primarily used when dealing with the catching of flathead catfish and can be applied to all hand-based fishing methods, regardless of the species of fish or the methods, such as any of which that do not use rod and reel, bait, a spear gun, etc. This usage of the term ‘noodling’ has become much less common, however.

Though the concept of handfishing is quite simple, noodling fish with only the use of one’s hands, the actual process of noodling is somewhat more complicated. Flathead catfish live pretty solitary lifestyles in holes or under brush in lakes and rivers. Noodlers swim underwater and use their arms and hands ads bait to lure the catfish. When things go well, the catfish will swim toward the fisherman and latch onto his arm and hand.

Once a noodler’s spotter helps drag the fish back to shore, the spotter helps to remove the catfish from the noodler’s arm. Some catfish weight as much as fifty to sixty pounds and can be quite difficult to deal with alone unless the fish is already incapacitated.

Spear fishing is an ancient art as well, and may be conducted with any regular spear or a specialized variant like the trident or the eel spear. A small trident type of spear with a long handle is used in the American Midwest and South for ‘gigging’ bullfrogs with a bright light during the nighttime, or for gigging carp and other types of fish in the shallows.

There are fishing nets made out of mesh formed by knotted thin threads. Modern fishing nets are generally made of artificial polyamides such as nylon, although fishing nets of organic polyamides like silk or wool thread were common until much more recently and are still used in particular areas.

Fishing traps are sometimes used, and are culturally nearly universal. Fishing traps seem to have been separately invented many different times. Fishing traps are basically two types of trap, a semi-permanent or permanent structure that is placed in a tidal area or river, as well as pot traps that are baited to attract prey and are periodically checked and lifted.

In Japan and China, the practice of cormorant fishing is believed to date back more than 1300 years. Fisherman use to natural fishing instincts of the cormorants in order to catch fish, and a big metal rind is placed around the bird’s neck so that the caught fish cannot be swallowed. Since the 1500s in Portugal, Portuguese Water Dogs have been used by fisherman to send messages between boats, retrieve articles and fish from the water, as well as guard the boats.

Deon Melchior is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit ArticleClick.com. Article Click is a free content article directory. This means that as a publisher you may reprint the articles that are included in our site, as long as the article is unedited and the author box is included with it’s live hyperlinks.

Source: Fishing Gear

Nico Rosberg

McLaren say they are in no hurry to sign a replacement for recently departed Fernando Alonso.

Team CEO Martin Whitmarsh also tempered Lewis Hamilton’s remarks over the weekend, saying the young Brit’s wish list of drivers doesn’t exactly match theirs.

"Obviously there are some drivers who’ve approached us who are contracted elsewhere and we’ve had to say we can’t talk to them unless they can prove they are free to negotiate," Whitmarsh tells The Guardian.

One name that will not be on the list is that of Ralf Schumacher. The German did not renew his contract with Toyota and his manager recently approached team boss Ron Dennis to see if there was any interest in his services. Dennis informed him there was not.

Meanwhile, the Times reports that Nico Rosberg remains at the top of the McLaren list despite comments over the weekend by team co-owner Patrick Head, who said he is contractually bound to the team for the next two years.

"Nico’s top of (Dennis’) list," a source tells the newspaper. "Williams want to keep him and there’s a lot of bargaining going on at the moment. I think McLaren are waiting to see if Nico’s contract can be unravelled and at what cost."

Source: McLaren in no rush to replace Alonso

Tommy Haas

BERLIN - Tommy Haas said it’s time to name names after an unidentified German player accused another of match-fixing during a television interview.

Talk of match-fixing has swirled around tennis for weeks. The latest accusation came from the unnamed German in a TV interview who said he was approached by someone who wanted to place a five-figure bet for him. The man’s voice was electronically distorted during the interview.

Some German tennis officials and players, including 11-year pro Haas, were skeptical of Sunday’s interview, however.

"It’s time people start naming names," said Haas, Germany’s highest ranked player at No. 13. "Every day someone says something: Andy Murray, Werner Eschauer, Michael Llodra, Arnaud Clement, now someone anonymous.

"I’m telling them, be concrete - then we can undertake something concrete. All this talk isn’t bringing us further."

The unnamed German said there aren’t many players involved in fixing matches and "those that do it are more professional about it than about playing tennis itself."

"You can’t prove that someone lost intentionally. Someone that is involved, or was involved, has to name names," he said. "Threats from the ATP is a blind alley."

The player also claimed to have witnessed betting inside players’ lounges at tournaments.

Two months ago, Belgian player Gilles Elseneer said he was offered - and turned down - more than US$100,000 to lose a first-round match against Potito Starace at Wimbledon in 2005.

Clement said last week he turned down money as well, but didn’t elaborate.

The four major governing bodies of tennis - the International Tennis Federation, ATP, WTA Tour and Grand Slam Committee - have been discussing ways to keep the sport clean since the match-fixing rumours began in earnest in August.

That was when an online betting site, in an unprecedented move, voided bets on a match in Poland because of irregular betting patterns. Fourth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko withdrew from that match against 87th-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello in the third set because of a foot injury.

The TV interview with the unidentified player, surprised some Germans involved with the sport.

"I was totally surprised," Germany’s Davis Cup captain Patrick Kuhnen said. "I simply can’t believe that German players are involved in illegal betting at tennis tournaments."

Michael Stich, the 1991 Wimbledon champion, said he was never confronted with match-fixing during his career, but didn’t discount the possibility it could happen.

"Certainly there are very few sports where, theoretically, it’s as easy to manipulate bets," Stich said.

Source: Haas calls for tennis peers to name names