Author Archives: Ray

Kentucky basketball legend Wah Wah Jones dies

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Wallace ”Wah Wah” Jones, a multi-sport star who helped Kentucky win the first two of its eight national titles and is considered the school’s greatest all-around athlete, has died. He was 88.

Jones, an All-American, was the last surviving member of the Wildcats’ ”Fabulous Five” that won the 1948 national championship and went on to claim Olympic gold that year with the U.S. team. He returned with three teammates under Hall of Fame coach Adolph Rupp to repeat as titlists in 1949.

That wasn’t Jones’ only talent.

Jones played football from 1945-48, including three seasons for legendary coach Paul ”Bear” Bryant, and earned all-Southeastern Conference honors in 1946 and ’48. Tall and chiseled, he also played baseball for the Wildcats.

Jones is the only Wildcat to have his jerseys retired in basketball and football.

Anderson, Laws and Jones funeral home in Harlan confirmed that Jones died Sunday. His funeral will be Friday at 1 p.m. at Immanuel Baptist Church in Lexington.

Kentucky coach John Calipari was among many posting condolences on Twitter, saying, ”Sad to hear of the passing of arguably the greatest UK athlete, Wah Wah Jones. He was an All-American under Adolph Rupp and Bear Bryant. … please join me in praying for both his family and friends. He will be missed.”

As good as the Harlan, Kentucky, native was in football, he is best remembered for basketball skills that helped Kentucky begin its run of championships in the late 1940s.

Two years after the 6-foot-4 Jones teamed with Ralph Beard to lead the Wildcats to the 1946 NIT championship – then considered equal in stature to an NCAA title – those two joined Alex Groza, Kenny Rollins and Cliff Barker to form the so-called ”Fabulous Five” that went 36-3 and beat Baylor 58-42 for Kentucky’s first national title. The entire starting quintet was named to the U.S. Olympic team that routed France 64-21 for the gold medal in London.

All but Rollins returned the next season as Kentucky beat Oklahoma A&M 46-36 behind Groza’s 25 points to repeat as champions. Jones, Beard and Groza were named All-Americans that year.

Jerseys of the Fabulous Five, including Jones’ No. 27, were retired by the school. In 2012, he was part of the inaugural class inducted into the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame.

Jones was also elected Fayette County sheriff in 1953 and founded Blue Grass Tours, a bus charter company that transports Wildcats basketball teams.

Top Sec Players: 25-21

With the season inching closer and closer, it’s time for us to once again take a look at the 25 best players the SEC has to offer.

This year, we’re changing things up a bit. Instead of taking 25 days to do our countdown, we’re making it a week-long effort and releasing five names a day. All of our reporters will be handling a list a day.

Remember that our criteria for each player on this list include talent, stats and importance to his respective team.

Today, we’re starting with players 25-21:

25. Trey Flowers, DE, Arkansas: Flowers has enjoyed a solid, three-year career with the Razorbacks. In 36 games (26 starts), Flowers has 12 sacks and 32 tackles for loss. He’s a terror off the line with his size, strength and speed. Although he’ll likely face more double-teams this fall with Chris Smith gone, Flowers has gotten into even better shape heading into the season in order to combat the pounding he’ll take this fall. He believes he’s stronger and faster, which is scary.

24. Sammie Coates, WR, Auburn: Heading into the past season, the Tigers weren’t sure who would be their top receiving threat. Well, Coates had no problem taking that title and registering a team-high 902 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Coates defined big-play athlete by averaging 21.5 yards per catch. He might not have had the “Kick-Six” in the Alabama game, but his 39-yard touchdown to tie it with 32 seconds left was pretty special too.

23. Ramik Wilson, LB, Georgia: Talk about underrated. Wilson quietly led the SEC with 133 tackles (76 solo) the past season. He will anchor Georgia’s defense at middle linebacker and poses as the Bulldogs’ defensive quarterback. Wilson covers so much ground on the field; he might start in the middle of the field, but he can roam sideline to sideline and make plays along the way. He even has the speed to wreak havoc in opposing backfields. The future early-round NFL draft pick might be one of the league’s most underrated players.

22. Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU: No, he hasn’t played a down of football at the college level, but the talk out of Baton Rouge is that this youngster is the real deal. He’s already being compared to Michael Jordan, for crying out loud! Fournette will make an immediate impact for the Tigers this fall after being the nation’s No. 1 recruit. He finished his high school career with 7,619 rushing yards and 88 rushing touchdowns, including 1,792 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior.

21. Leonard Floyd, LB, Georgia: You might not know who Floyd is now, but he could be a household name in the SEC this fall. Georgia’s best pass-rusher, Floyd led the Bulldogs with 6.5 sacks, and he had 9.5 tackles for loss. He was also second on the team with 22 quarterback hurries. Floyd can attack standing upright or with his hand in the ground and is incredibly quick off the line. Expect to see Floyd hurl himself into the double-digit sack column this fall.

Gators tame the Dawgs on beard night

Last night wasn’t just any typical night down in the Stephen O’Connel center. It was Patric Young ‘beard’ night. Dozens of fans and students rocked the orange beard for the game against Georgia.

As usual, the Gators do their normal stretching routines every pregame out on center court. Last night, Patric Young looked up into the student section and found every orange bearded student stretching at the same time.

“They make me laugh,” Young said.

b78ad3c68d00e3a67e7bb015e347d778And they must make Florida play good as well I’d say. Florida destroyed Georgia 72-50, a game that was never close the entire time. The Gators also set their streak for most consecutive home wins.

Students also decided to give the Tim Tebow statue the orange beard look.

But focusing back on last nights game, Florida played as if they were making a final-four run. Their offense played outstanding despite shooting terribly from beyond the arc in the first half. Michael Franzier found his rhythm in the second half stroking just about any shot he took from three. If Frazier continues to have a hot hand like he did last night, you can expect this Gator team to make a deep run into the tournament this year. Frazier also set a career high with 21 points last night.

“Any time you can get hot like that, catch fire, it feels good,” Frazier said. “My teammates had great confidence in me, coaches told me to keep shooting. That always feels good to have my teammates and my coaches behind me.”

Dorian-Finney Smith scored 14 points for Florida, while Will Yeguete added 12 and Young 10.

“I’m really, really proud of our guys,” Gators coach Billy Donovan said. “That’s great. The guys that had won that many in a row obviously did some really special things. These guys haven’t won national championships, but they’ve done some special things as well, and I’m proud of them. It’s a good milestone.

“I think any time you can do something for the first time in school history, it’s always nice.”

Florida looks to continue their streak as they travel to Auburn (8-5, 0-2 SEC) on Saturday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Penn State hires James Franklin as head coach

The Penn State Nittany Lions will be moving forward with the hire of former Vanderbilt coach, James Franklin today during a Saturday afternoon news conference.

Franklin, who has coached at Vanderbilt over the past three seasons, turned down other coaching jobs such as the Houston Texans, Washington Redskins, and the Cleveland Browns and decided that Penn State was right for him. According to sources, Franklin will be earning $4.5 million per year at Penn State.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am to come home,” Franklin said in a statement Saturday. “I grew up watching Penn State football and now to be at the helm of such a storied program is a tremendous honor. It’s important to me to be a part of a university that strives for excellence in everything they do.

“When football student-athletes come to Penn State, they have a unique opportunity to receive a premium education while playing at the highest level of competition.”

A news conference has been set for Saturday at Penn State’s Beaver Stadium at 4:15pm today.

Franklin, who is also a Pennsylvania native, will be Penn States 16th head football coach in history.

Penn States Compensation Committee voted earlier, 6-0, Saturday morning to approve Franklin’s contract.

The SEC has been a wild ride for Franklin and we wish him the best of luck at Penn State!

BCS National Championship: No. 1 FSU vs No. 2 Auburn

Tonight is going to be one helluva match up down in Pasadena between the two best teams in the country, Auburn and Florida State.

Will the SEC keep their BCS championship streak alive? Or will Jameis Winston become the first freshman player to win a Heisman trophy and lead his team to a national title?

First quarter notes:

Florida State won the toss and selected to defer for the second half. Auburn started off their first drive looking jittery against FSU’s strong defense, gaining just one first down on the first play of the game by Tre Mason. The Tigers then went three and out and Florida state marched down the field with ease and knocked down a 35 yard field goal to take the lead, 3-0. Auburn’s defense comes up big and holds Winston and the Nole’s to a three and out on their own 2 yard line which set up a huge return with outstanding field position. On 3rd and 9, Nick Marshall dishes off a pass to Tre Mason for a 12 yard touchdown pass that put the Tigers up 7-3. Florida States defense on that third down showed a big bust. With just over one minute remaining in the first, Jameis Winston is sacked hard for a huge loss on third down and is forced to punt. Defensive back Johnathan Ford attempts to block the punt by lodging out with his right arm but runs into the kicker and is penalized with 15 yards which gave the Nole’s a free first down. I admire the hustle and aggressiveness on that play but you have to have discipline.

Second quarter notes:

Auburn’s defense comes up with another big stop and forces the Nole’s to punt. Nick Marshall connects with Melvin Ray for a 5 yards touchdown pass that puts Auburn over the Nole’s 14-3. Auburn has got to have FSU’s defense big eyed right now after this drive. With 13 minutes remaining in the second quarter, Auburn’s defense comes up with yet another huge stop and forces FSU to punt it away. Jameis Winston is continuing to show signs of struggle, only completing 4 of 11 passes so far. Florida State is showing lots of signs of rust. I don’t know what it is but I’m not use to seeing FSU miss so many open field tackles. Auburn is just simply dominating on both sides of the ball so far tonight. Even though Florida State’s defense has their hands on their knees and hips, they still find a way to hold Marshall and the Tigers to a missed field goal from short distance. That defensive possession was huge for the Nole’s so lets see if they can search for any answers as they trail 14-3. And of course I would jinx the Seminoles. Jameis Winston fumbles on a attempted rush on the very next possession and turns the ball right over to the Tigers. Just several plays later Nick Marshall rushes for a four yards touchdown that puts the Tigers ahead, 21-3. Jameis Winston found some life in his team by driving the Nole’s all the way down for a touchdown. The Nole’s had 11 plays for 66 yards on the drive with just 1:28 remaining in the first half.

LSU’s Becham and Landry to enter draft

Sources have confirmed that LSU junior wide receivers Odell Becham and Jarvis Landry will be exiting their collegiate careers early to enter the NFL draft.

The two will join teammates Anthony Johnson and Ego Ferguson who also announced their decisions to go pro.

Becham was listed as the No. 6 non-senior receiver among possible draft prospects back in November by ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. He also ranked Ferguson and Johnson fourth and fifth among non-senior DT’s.

This past season was one of LSU’s greatest offensive years yet. With Landry, Becham, Jeremy Hill and Zach Metternberger, those were some serious weapons on offense. All of them helped LSU become the first SEC team to have a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers. Now that is quite impressive Id say.

Becham is ranked second nationally in all-purpose yards with 178.1 per game. Becham also won the Paul Hornung Award as the nation’s most versatile player and was a third-team All-American as an all-purpose player. Landry caught 77 passes for 1,193 yards and 10 TDs while becham recorded 59 catches for 1,152 yards and 8 TDs. Both were All-SEC juniors and became the sixth and seventh LSU players to record 1,000 or more receiving yards in one season.

We wish all of these young men a bright future in the NFL.

Should He Stay Or Should He Go?

It was too easy. The Florida Gators (4-7, 3-5) fell short, or should I say fell flat on their face, this Saturday against The Georgia Southern Eagles with a score of 26-20.  What is worse then getting your butt kicked by a FCS school you ask? Paying them $550,000 to do so. That’s right The University of Florida paid Georgia Southern to come to Ben Hill Griffin, these moves are historically made by schools who feel like it would be an easy win. Things didn’t go as planned for the Gators on Saturday, or this season for that matter.

Georgia Southern beat the Gators without completing one pass. None, but they didn’t need to. The Eagles rushed for 429 yards, which according to HLN is the most against a Florida team since 1996. This loss is the Gator’s sixth loss in a row and has locked in their first losing season since 1979. Another terrible fact, Florida has had the longest active bowl streak with 22 years in a row which is now, just a thing of the past. There has been a lot of disconnect between Muschamp and Florida fans, especially after this year. 19-yar-old Gator fan Savannah White says “There needs to be a change. I don’t know if that change will be a coaching change or what, but there needs to be a change.”  This all begs the question, Will Muschamp stay or will he go?

Muschamp met with media today in Gainesville and underwent a flood of questions about his job security, but seemed very secure in his answers. According to the Gainesville Sun, when he was asked if he was concerned with losing his job he simply answered “Absolutely not, “ and that he was “absolutely” sure he would coach the Gators in 2014.  He seemed so sure in his answers until it came to his assistant coaching staff. “I’m not ready to make any statement on that at this point. We’re still playing out the season and those guys are going to coach their butts off. I’ll make that decision when I think it’s right.” What we do know is that the University of Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley has professed his allegiance to Coach Muschamp saying in a statement he made online that “As athletic director, I’m a thousand-percent convinced that Will Muschamp is the guy to lead this football program. Nothing has changed in what we feel about Will Muschamp from the day we hired him. Everyone around here wants the same thing.” I’m not so sure the fans feel the same way. One thing the fans need to keep in mind is the injuries that have plagued the Gators this year. If you haven’t been paying attention, according to Sbnation there have been 10 season ending injuries on offense and defense this season alone, 7 of them being starters. That could play a huge role in the disappointments this season but that doesn’t satisfy the fans. With all of the turbulence from fans, Muschamp continues to gain support from his players. Senior defensive back Jaylen Watkins said, “Everybody is fully behind Coach Muschamp. We try our hardest not to listen to all that on ESPN and just ignore it and know that we only have each other through this whole thing.” The Gators play 2nd ranked Florida State Seminoles this Saturday at 12pm.

Information from ESPN, The Gainesville Sun, SBnation, Alligator Army, and HLN was used in this article.

Could Florida State QB Jameis Winston Being Under Investigation Alter Heisman Voting?

According to TMZ Sports, standout redshirt freshman QB Jameis Winston is involved in an investigation for felony sexual assault. Winston is being accused of a raping a woman on December 7, 2012. The victim alleges that the sexual assault happened with the use of “force”, and drinking was involved before the occurrence. The police report states that the motive for the alleged assault was for “sexual gratification”. Winston’s attorney Timothy Jansen continues to maintain that his client has not committed a crime saying that he gave affirmations from two different eyewitnesses that he said will “completely exonerate my client.”

TMZ Sports reports that the police report states that on December 7, 2012 someone had called the authorities at 4:01 AM, and once they arrived at an apartment physical evidence was taken as well as photos were taken of the alleged victim’s injuries. In addition, the cops have interviewed Winston and the police report describes him as “muscular” and having a “polite” demeanor.

According to ESPN,

“Last week, Tallahassee police released a heavily redacted

two-page incident report that does not mention Winston by

name but says an assault took place between 1:30 a.m. and

2 a.m. on Dec. 7. It describes the suspect as being between

5-foot-9 and 5-11. Winston is listed by Florida State at 6-4.”

The investigation is continuing. Could an unresolved investigation alter the minds of the Heisman voters? If so, SEC Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel would be the frontrunner.

Information from ESPN and TMZ was used in this article.

Read more: https://www.tmz.com/2013/11/13/jameis-winston-florida-state-quarterback-investigated-sexual-assault/#ixzz2lEAmMxn6

Who’s Going To Get Out Alive?

The SEC East battle in Jacksonville, FL this Saturday is bound to be a good one. The Florida Gators (4-3, 3-2) and the Georgia Bulldogs (4-3, 3-2), both coming off a bye week, have been preparing for a game that is a necessary win for each teams seasons. Last week, the Missouri Tigers were seemingly on the road to clinch the Eastern division looking strong with an undefeated record until they hit a roadblock. South Carolina handed the Tigers their first loss with a score of 27-24. With Missouri’s loss brought about optimism for Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina about getting to Atlanta. Florida’s defensive back Cody Riggs watched the Mizzou/Gamecocks game from home and stated, “We’re back in it. We’ve still got a chance…It gave us a little hope. The minute that kick hit the upright, I opened my computer and started watching film on Georgia.” I’m sure cheers were heard from Columbia, SC to Athens, GA, all the way to Gainesville, FL.

According to GeorgiaDogs, Florida and Georgia are tied in the SEC East rankings behind first place Missouri (7-1, 3-1) and second place South Carolina (6-2, 4-2); all four are all “technically alive” to win the East. Florida quarterback Tyler Murphy said that the upcoming game with the Bulldogs is a crucial win for either team. “It’s kind of like a one-game playoff. If you lose, your season’s kind of done or down in the dumps…both teams are going to come out hungry and ready to go.” On the other side, Georgia head coach Mark Richt said that both teams are hopeful for the  seasons stating “I think both teams know if they win, we stay in the race for the East.”

There is no doubt that this will be a key game for the two. Florida head coach Will Muschamp is 0-2 against the Bulldogs in his Florida career. Muschamp said that Florida needs to execute plays in order to supersede Georgia, a problem that has plagued the Gators all season. “We’re probably not going to show him (Georgia senior quarterback Aaron Murray) anything he’s not seen over the four years at Georgia. We just need to execute and play well. We need to be able to pressure the quarterback with four guys rushing.” The Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators will play on neutral grounds in Jacksonville, Fla., on Nov. 2 on CBS. Kickoff is for 3:30 p.m. eastern time.

We’ll see which team makes it out “alive.”

Information from GeorgiaDogs and GatorZone has been used in this article.

BCS Rankings: Two SEC teams in top 10

Connor Shaw and the Gamecocks shook up Missouri’s run and top five BCS hopes after a 27-24 victory last weekend. Missouri earned their first loss of the season and dropped to No. 9 in the BCS rankings. If Alabama fails to remain undefeated for the rest of the season, you can kiss the SEC’s championship hopes goodbye.

Alabama still holds the No. 1 spot while Oregon moves back to No. 2 after passing Florida State. Even though Alabama and FSU look like the top two teams in college football right now.

Four other SEC teams are listed in the top 15 as seen below.

Second BCS Rankings:

1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Florida State
4. Ohio State
5. Stanford
6. Baylor
7. Miami
8. Clemson
9. Missouri
10. Oklahoma
11. Auburn
12. Texas A&M
13. LSU
14. South Carolina
15. Texas Tech
16. Fresno State
17. Northern Illinois
18. Oklahoma State
19. Louisville
20. UCLA
21. Michigan
22. Michigan State
23. UCF
24. Wisconsin
25. Notre Dame