College Sports Capsules: Oregon picked to defend Pac-10 title, edging USC
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Even without their star quarterback, the Oregon Ducks ended Southern California's seven-year reign as the Pac-10's preseason favorite.
A year after breaking USC's seven-year stranglehold on the Pac-10, coach Chip Kelly's defending champions were picked to win it again in the preseason media poll Thursday. Oregon edged longtime darling USC by three points, underlining the balance in a conference race that usually was all about chasing the Trojans in recent years.
Don't expect Kelly to get giddy about added expectations, though. Not after dismissing troubled passer Jeremiah Masoli from his team before heading into what's expected to be the most wide-open season in nearly a decade for a rebranded, growing league striving to prove it belongs with the nation's best.
"Last year, you picked us third and Arizona eighth," Kelly said to reporters at the Rose Bowl on Thursday for the annual media day. "I learned from last year's poll that we probably weren't going to put a lot of stock in it. Preseason rankings don't mean anything to us. ... The teams that win in this league are the teams that keep their playmakers healthy."
Or keep them out of trouble with the law, which Masoli couldn't manage. Kelly is looking forward to a preseason competition between Darron Thomas and Nate Costa, who led the Ducks to a win last season over UCLA on the same Rose Bowl field.
The Ducks edged USC 314-311 in the poll's second-closest voting since it began in 1961. After returning the league's fewest starters last season, Oregon will rely on its experience to get through any personnel shortages in another competitive season.
"This is a conference that any team in it can win," Ducks defensive lineman Brandon Bair said. "It's not just about one or two teams. There's talent across the board."
Oregon received 15 first-place votes to 12 for the Trojans from 35 participating members. Oregon State was picked third with 262 points, with Stanford fourth and Arizona — which finished in a second-place tie and made the Holiday Bowl last season — fifth.
"I think every team has some questions that need to be answered," Wildcats coach Mike Stoops said. "The team that answers them the quickest is going to do the best."
After a record seven teams received at least one first-place vote, every Pac-10 coach realizes there's no clear favorite this fall. That parity has sent a burst of energy throughout a league that once strived to avoid its reputation as the Pac-1 during USC's dominant decade.
"We've been the left-coast conference and perceived as a finesse conference for years," said UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel, whose Bruins were picked eighth. "You get into conversations with somebody east of the Mississippi River and they'll tell you, 'You play that throwing-the-ball-around football, not the 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust, tough-guy stuff.'"
New Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott has made it his mission to get rid of that reputation by raising the Pac-10's national profile. The 10 coaches and a few players went back East earlier in the week, making several media appearances and even hitting the New York Stock Exchange to promote a conference with games that sometimes start when the East Coast is going to bed.
But as usual Thursday, much of the Pac-10 talk revolved around the Trojans. Oregon State tailback Jacquizz Rodgers and Arizona quarterback Nick Foles both expressed sympathy for the Trojans who were hurt by misdeeds committed before they got to the school.
The Trojans are still eligible to win the conference, but they've been brought low by heavy NCAA sanctions and last season's failures, including a fifth-place finish in conference play. USC is banned from a bowl game, and needed a special dispensation in its punishment to be allowed to play its season-opener at Hawaii on Sept. 2.
New coach Lane Kiffin isn't surprised most media members didn't pick USC to win another title.
"I wouldn't have, either," said Kiffin, back at USC after tumultuous head-coaching stints with the Oakland Raiders and the University of Tennessee. "We went 5-4 in the conference, lost four guys early to the draft, and lost the best coach in the country. I was surprised we were second."
Kiffin thinks lawsuit motivated by location
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Lane Kiffin thinks the Tennessee Titans' lawsuit against him and the University of Southern California is more about geography than coaching etiquette.
Kiffin claimed he wasn't allowed to say much Thursday at the Pac-10 media day about the suit facing Kiffin and the Trojans, who angered Titans coach Jeff Fisher by abruptly hiring running backs coach Kennedy Pola last weekend.
Yet the young coach with a history of audacious pronouncements couldn't stop himself from sharing his thoughts about the real reason for the highly unusual legal action taken by the Titans.
"I think it has to do with the location of the team in the lawsuit," Kiffin said.
Kiffin left the University of Tennessee in January after just 14 months running the program to take his self-described dream job at USC. He left behind a mattress-burning mob in Knoxville and an entire state full of furious fans who have vilified Kiffin online and in various media outlets for several months.
"I don't think the lawsuit has anything to do with the time frame, when Jeff Fisher got my message," Kiffin said.
The lawsuit claims Kiffin violated Pola's contract by making contact without permission, and Fisher admittedly was angry when Kiffin apparently contacted Pola without the customary courtesy call to Fisher. Kiffin claims he left a message for Fisher within the usual time frame of such a request, and says he smoothed over the dispute with the USC alumnus in recent days.
"When Jeff said that, I did take it personal," Kiffin said. "Not just because he's an SC guy, but he's Jeff Fisher, and I have a lot of respect for him. I'm confident that after talking to Jeff ... that he feels differently about that now. I don't know if he can come out and say it after what has gone on."
The lawsuit wasn't exactly the best way to get off to a good start with Pat Haden, the Trojans' new athletic director. But Kiffin said Haden was "well aware of every step" the Trojans took in rehiring Pola, who coached alongside Kiffin on Pete Carroll's staff at USC several years ago.
"He wasn't pleased, nor was I," Kiffin said of Haden's reaction to the suit.
Kiffin claimed he was forced to wait to hire a running backs coach and offensive coordinator until a few days before most football teams report to camp because the Trojans hadn't resolved the fate of running backs coach Todd McNair, whose contract wasn't renewed when it expired July 1. McNair was a key figure in the NCAA's investigation of illegal benefits for Heisman Trophy-winning tailback Reggie Bush, leading to heavy sanctions against USC last month.
Kiffin first tried to hire Vikings running backs coach Eric Bieniemy, who nearly accepted before Minnesota gave him a pay raise and a promotion to assistant head coach.
"We were very far down the road with Eric Bieniemy, thought it was done," Kiffin said.
Kiffin then turned to Pola, who teamed up with Ed Orgeron to recruit the cream of California's high-school stars during Carroll's tenure. Orgeron also returned to USC with Kiffin in January.
Although Pola will be the Trojans' offensive coordinator, Kiffin will call the plays, just as he did in Oakland and Tennessee.
With a full coaching staff in place, Kiffin's biggest concern about the Trojans' sanctions revolves around the unintended consequences of the NCAA bylaw that allows players to leave USC at any point without losing or postponing eligibility.
The coach believes it amounts to free agency, and he questions whether the bylaw can be used to punish his program in ways that weren't intended. He worries USC's coaches must use extreme caution to avoid angering players who might transfer if they're sent to run laps.
"There's no cut-off date," Kiffin said. "To me, there's no cut-off date until the last add-drop date at the school that's trying to recruit them. It's a difficult situation."
Yet the half-dozen players who have left USC — not counting Seantrel Henderson, the offensive line recruit who backed out of his commitment after the sanctions — all did so to get more playing time elsewhere, Kiffin said, not because of the Trojans' two-year bowl ban.
Kiffin is proud he managed to keep receiver Brandon Carswell, who was set to transfer to Cincinnati. Kiffin said he "begged" Carswell to stay for another year to finish the five classes for his degree.
"SC speaks for itself in most kids' minds," Kiffin said.
Kiffin hasn't thought much about running down the Coliseum tunnel for the Trojans' home opener against Virginia on Sept. 11, but he's confident USC still has the talent to be a force on the West Coast despite the sanctions.
"We'd love to get off to a great start," Kiffin said, "because of the perception out there that SC is going to crumble."
-- Greg Beacham
Victim disappointed by plea bargain in Sims case
AMES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines woman says she lost a big chunk of a paycheck when Iowa State defensive back David Sims allegedly used her debit card without authorization.
Veronica Gonzalez says she noticed something was wrong when she checked her balance the day after she got paid nearly two weeks ago. The charges included gas, groceries and more than $400 worth of shoes from a Foot Locker in Ames.
Gonzalez had loaned her debit card to her son, who went to Ames July 16. At some point, he lost it or it was stolen. Police told her Sims reportedly found it on a sidewalk next to a pizza stand.
She says the plea bargain is too lenient. Sims was charged Tuesday with unauthorized use of a credit card, an aggravated misdemeanor. He's due in court Aug. 2. He also faces internal team discipline.
La. Tech at Ole Miss in 2011, Illinois in 2012
RUSTON, La. (AP) — Louisiana Tech's football team will travel to Ole Miss in 2011, and to Illinois in 2012.
Athletics director Bruce Van De Velde and coach Sonny Dykes say the game at Mississippi will replace one originally scheduled as a Western Athletic Conference game against Boise State. The Broncos will leave the conference that year.
The game at Illinois will be Sept. 22, 2012.
Tech will get $825,000 for the Mississippi game and $775,000 for the one at Illinois.
Tech still has a home game, on Sept. 10, to fill in its 2011 schedule.
Houston highlights the home non-conference schedule in 2011 with home conference games against Hawaii, New Mexico State and San Jose State also scheduled.
Petrino says Mallett has started running
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino says quarterback Ryan Mallett is participating in "controlled-situation running" as he finishes his recovery from a broken foot.
Petrino said Thursday that reports from doctors have been good, and he doesn't expect Mallett to have any real problems during fall practice. Arkansas hits the field Aug. 5.
Mallett broke his left foot in February and was extremely limited during spring practice.
Mallett threw for 3,624 yards and 30 touchdowns during the 2009 season, when the Razorbacks went 8-5.
Tuel to start at QB for WSU
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Sophomore Jeff Tuel will start at quarterback as Washington State seeks to improve on one of the worst seasons in team history.
Coach Paul Wulff said Tuel is without question the team's leading quarterback. But he said junior Marshall Lobbestael will get plenty of practice reps as most teams end up needing two quarterbacks.
Wulff made the announcement Thursday at Pacific 10 Conference media day in Los Angeles.
Tuel played well last season before being knocked out by injuries in what became a 1-11 year for the Cougars.
Marshall set to start single-game ticket sales
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — Marshall University says single-game football tickets are about to go on sale.
Marshall says sales start Aug. 5 at the Cam Henderson Center ticket office or by phone at 800-843-4373.
Tickets are available for home games with Ohio University, University of Central Florida, University of Texas El Paso, the University of Memphis and Tulane University.
Marshall says only season ticket holders can buy tickets for the Friends of Coal Bowl against West Virginia University on Sept. 10 in Huntington.
Tulane readies opening of preseason camp
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Tulane Green Wave opens preseason training camp next week in preparation for the fall football season.
Freshmen report Monday and upperclassmen on Tuesday. Head coach Bob Toledo opens practice on Wednesday.
Tulane opens its season Sept. 2 against the Southeastern Louisiana University Lions in a 7 p.m. game at the Louisiana Superdome.
Men's Basketball
Pitino tells jury he hoped to keep tryst secret
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Rick Pitino, worried that his wife and kids would find out he had a one-night stand with a woman he met in a bar, acknowledged Thursday that he didn't immediately tell police about demands for cars, cash and housing in order to keep the tryst secret.
The Louisville basketball coach told jurors he kept quiet for nearly two months, hoping he could "contain" the damaging information.
Intimate details emerged over the past two days as Pitino, 57, testified against the woman, Karen Cunagin Sypher, at her federal extortion trial. He recounted the sex, the threatening calls he said left him "sick to my stomach" and strongly denied allegations he raped Sypher.
Pitino had to pause, look down and gather himself Thursday as he told jurors the hardest part of the case: telling his family about the 2003 affair after he reported the alleged extortion demands to the FBI in April 2009.
Pitino, who coached in the NBA before taking over at Louisville in 2001, said his best two years came when his son Richard served as an assistant. But as the secrets came out, the partnership had to end. Richard Pitino wound up taking a job at the University of Florida.
"When I had to suggest to him to move on, it was very difficult," Pitino said.
Pitino and defense attorney James Earhart frequently cut each other off during Thursday's questioning, and the tension escalated as Earhart pushed Pitino to address the rape allegations.
The coach interrupted, saying he was "here to give the truth." Earhart retorted, "I bet you are."
"I don't fear the truth," Pitino said.
"Neither do we," Earhart shot back.
Sypher, 50, has pleaded not guilty. She filed a rape report with police after she was indicted last year, about six years after she and Pitino had sex in an empty restaurant a few hours after they met. Authorities have said her rape claim lacked merit, and no charges were filed.
Pitino told jurors Wednesday and again Thursday that Sypher initiated the sex by whispering to him and unzipping his pants when he got up to leave. He said they had sex "very briefly" and called the liaison "unfortunate."
Sypher watched Pitino's testimony closely but showed no reaction. Some jurors began fidgeting as Earhart questioned Pitino about that night and whether Sypher was raped.
Pitino cut off one question by saying Sypher didn't protest as they had sex.
Earhart asked why Pitino didn't address the rape allegations during several meetings with Sypher.
"The truth is, you never at one time challenged the fact that you raped her," Earhart said.
"I didn't have to challenge it because it wasn't true," Pitino said.
They sparred again when Earhart asked Pitino why he told Sypher the phone calls would stop if she denied they had sex.
"You're probably not proud of the fact that you asked someone to lie," Earhart said.
"I never asked someone to lie," Pitino said.
The coach's testimony was the first time he's talked publicly in detail about the relationship. Pitino portrayed Sypher as the aggressor, and several witnesses said she was flirty and persistent when she approached Pitino at the restaurant.
Sypher's ex-husband and longtime Pitino aide, Tim Sypher, told jurors Thursday afternoon that Pitino called him in August 2003 with a request to help Karen Sypher, then known as Karen Wise, find counseling and medical treatment after she said she was pregnant.
Karen Sypher ultimately had an abortion in August 2003 at a clinic in Cincinnati. Pitino gave her $3,000 for medical insurance, about $430 of which was used to pay for the abortion, Tim Sypher said.
Tim and Karen Sypher started dating shortly after and were married less than a year later. Tim Sypher said his ex-wife was fine around Pitino until 2007, when she started making claims of rape and talking about wanting a car and a house.
"It just came out of the blue," said Tim Sypher, who speaks with a heavy accent from his native Massachusetts.
He confirmed on the stand that he and Karen Sypher are officially divorced but some issues such as division of assets are still pending.
Jurors also heard Sypher's version of events when prosecutors played a never-broadcast TV interview of her rape claim.
No one else has testified to witnessing the sexual liaison after hours at an upscale Italian restaurant. The owner said he left for the night after showing Pitino and Sypher how to get out through a self-locking door. Pitino's driver said he didn't see or hear anything because he had stepped behind a partial wall to leave the couple some privacy.
Prosecutors showed the jury a handwritten note from Sypher that asked for cars, housing and money, which Tim Sypher said he delivered to Pitino.
"I really didn't know what was in there. I don't know," Tim Sypher said. "She's nuts."
When Pitino's testimony ended, he had spent about six hours on the witness stand. His attorney, Steve Pence, said Pitino would return to recruiting later in the day.
"This matter, certainly his portion, is behind him now," Pence said. "I'm very proud of coach Pitino in how he handled this."
-- Brent Barrouquere and Dylan Lovan
NCAA adds to Arizona's self-imposed sanctions
PHOENIX (AP) — The NCAA added to self-imposed sanctions by Arizona's men's basketball program on Thursday, vacating 19 wins from the 2007-08 season and removing an additional scholarship for violations involving Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson.
The university announced its sanctions in February, including the loss of a scholarship for 2011-12 and numerous cutbacks in recruiting visits over the next two seasons.
The NCAA upheld most of those self-imposed sanctions, but determined the school had used two ineligible players in 2007-08 and would have to vacate all wins involving those players and eliminate their statistics. It also took away a scholarship for 2012-13 and pushed back a two-year probation period for the program to Thursday instead of starting it in February, as the university had decided earlier.
"You take very seriously the sanctions the institution self imposes, then you weigh that against the gravity of the case and you make a decision whether additional penalties should be imposed," said former Miami AD Paul Dee, chair of the NCAA's infractions committee. "We were pleased that they self imposed what they did, but we went further."
Arizona's self-imposed sanctions included a reduction in the number of recruiting visits by coaches and prospective players, the disbanding of a booster group and implementation of a series of administrative and rules changes to prevent further violations.
The NCAA reduced the number of official visits by recruits to six each over the next two years — Arizona had imposed 11 in 2009-10, eight for 2010-11 — and cut an additional 10 days of recruiting days for coaches for 2010-11, giving the school a total reduction of 30.
The university said it will not appeal the ruling.
"We're satisfied that the process has reached a conclusion," UA director of athletics Greg Byrne said. "We have cooperated throughout and respect the findings of the committee. Now it's time for us to move forward with a focus on maintaining the highest standards of integrity within our entire athletics program."
Olson was not reprimanded.
The school noted in its report that the coach was dealing with a number of health issues at the time and it was later revealed by his physician and family that he had suffered a stroke that affected his decision-making abilities.
Olson took a a leave of absence in the 2007-08 season and had intended to return for 2008-09, but announced his retirement after attending a few practices.
The NCAA found that Olson failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance at the university, but decided against sanctioning the 75-year-old former coach because he was retired and has health issues.
"The committee determined that the coach had retired and any punishment in that regard would be inappropriate," Dee said.
"I cannot say his (health) did not come into play. When someone is ill you take that into consideration," he added.
The sanctions stem from Olson's involvement with the promoter of two tournaments that were held over a four-year span on the university campus.
According to the NCAA, Olson improperly helped promote the Cactus Classic and the GOAZCATS.com Showdown in 2007 by allowing the promoter to speak on four separate occasions at board meetings for Rebounders, an Arizona booster club. Olson also urged board members to "step up" and sent them a letter urging their support of the tournaments.
The NCAA's report found that $197,000 was donated to the promoter to assist in the four events, with some of that money being used to pay for perspective players' lodging, meals and local transportation.
The NCAA also found that incoming assistant coaches Russ Pennell and Mike Dunlap participated in coaching-related activities with two enrolled student-athletes near campus at Olson's urging prior to their start dates. They also were found to have evaluated recruitable prospects at the 2008 Cactus Classic during a quiet period in the NCAA's recruitment calendar.
Pennell went on to serve as interim coach upon Olson's retirement and is now head coach at Grand Canyon University, with Dunlap his top assistant.
"I know that our university and athletic department went to great lengths to demonstrate institutional integrity in handling this matter, which includes our self-imposed sanctions," said Arizona coach Sean Miller, entering his second year as Arizona's coach. "We are all looking forward to a bright future as we continue to develop and build our basketball program with integrity at the forefront of everything we strive to accomplish."
-- John Marshall
Enterprise State fires Wesley Person
ENTERPRISE, Ala. (AP) — Wesley Person has been fired as Enterprise State Community College's men's basketball coach after one season.
The former Auburn and NBA player said athletic director Jeffrey Coats did not give him a reason for the dismissal on Tuesday. Coats cited college policies for declining to discuss the decision when reached by The Associated Press on Thursday.
"Coach Person's last day with the college is Aug. 20," Coats said. "The college does not discuss personnel issues outside of anyone who's involved with the matter."
Enterprise State went 8-21 in Person's lone season. He spent one season as an assistant women's coach before taking over the men's program.
Person said he called the meeting with Coats to discuss his plans for the program after all 15 of his signees had arrived on campus.
"Before I said anything, he said, 'As of now, your duties are no longer needed,'" Person told The Dothan Eagle in a story Thursday. "I have no reason why he felt that way. I asked and was given no explanation. I know I've done everything by the book.
"I don't know what happened to get to this point."
Person said he went to Coats' office on Wednesday morning to seek an explanation, but was told the AD was not available.
He said Coats called him later in the day but declined to meet in person.
"I wish they would have dealt with me in a professional manner," Person said. "It left a sour taste in my mouth."
Person said he took his players off campus to tell them he had been fired.
Illini's 7-1 Tisdale finally packing on pounds
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — The Mike Tisdale who just came back from U.S. basketball training camp in Las Vegas isn't the same Tisdale who came to the University of Illinois three years ago.
The 7-foot-1 Illini center weighs 253 pounds. That's about 25 more than he weighed as a freshmen.
Tisdale spent the past few years trying to gain weight. Those efforts include eating 6,000 calories a day. He isn't sure why but says none of it paid off until recently.
Tisdale calls his time at the national camp his best basketball experience. He and other players auditioned to work out with pro players representing the United States in the next world championships.
Tisdale made the cut and will practice against that NBA competition next month.
Fayetteville product to walk on at Arkansas
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Fayetteville High School standout Fuad "Kikko" Haydar is walking on to the Arkansas basketball team.
The school announced Haydar's addition Thursday. He averaged 20.1 points per game as a senior for the Bulldogs.
Razorbacks coach John Pelphrey says Haydar will give Arkansas more depth at point guard.
