KFDM COOP

Rice coaching search turns to UT hoops assistaint Rice interviewed Texas assistant basketball coach Rodney Terry on Thursday for its vacant coaching position according to an NCAA official. Rice athletic director Chris Del Conte did not return calls from the Chronicle seeking comment. Texas is in town to face Stanford in the South Regional of the NCAA Tournament. Terry, who turned 40 on Thursday, joined the Texas staff on June 11, 2002 after spending the previous four seasons coaching under Jerry Wainwright at UNC-Wilmington. The Seahawks made three postseason appearances with Terry on staff. Texas has appeared in the NCAA Tournament in each of the six seasons Terry has assisted Rick Barnes. This is the Longhorns' fourth Sweet 16 appearance since Terry, an Angleton native and St. Edward's graduate, joined the staff. It's been reported that Terry was a finalist for the Missouri State opening filled by Purdue assistant Cuonzo Martin. Rice fired Willis Wilson on March 14, two days after the Owls completed a 3-27 season with their 20th consecutive loss.

Season 3 will return!! [Hidden Content]

34th Annual Bobcat Relays strike up today in OF Van Wade The Orange Leader ORANGEFIELD — The 34th annual Bobcat Relays will be held at Orangefield High School today. Field events will begin at 1:30 p.m. The 3,200 meters will take place at 2 p.m. Running finals will crank up close to 4:30 p.m. Teams in the field include the host Bobcats, Little Cypress-Mauriceville, Port Neches-Groves, Nederland and East Chambers. District track championsips will be within the next two weeks. The District 21-3A Track & Field Championships will be held Apr. 3 and Apr. 5 at Silsbee’s Tiger Stadium. The District 24-2A Track & Field Championships will take place Apr. 4 and Apr. 8 at the Lions Den at Kountze High School. The District 22-4A and 21-5A Track & Field Championships will be held Apr. 7 and Apr. 9 with the 22-4A Meet being held at Bronco Stadium at Dayton High School and the 21-5A Meet will take place at Turner Stadium at Humble High School. The following track and field high school athletes have recorded the best performances to date in their respective events among Golden Triangle tracksters in 2008: BOYS 100 meters: Jeffery Thomas, Central, 10.56. 200 meters: Seth Thomas, WO-S, 22.12. 400 meters: Justin Krautz, Nederland, 49.72. 800 meters: Joe Dooley, Deweyville, 1:59.39. 1,600 meters: Joe Dooley, Deweyville, 4:41.92. 3,200 meters: Tim Cude, Bridge City, 10:11.00. 110-meter hurdles: Jamar Gulley, Central, 14.06. 300-meter hurdles: Adrian Guillory, Central, 41.51. 400-meter relay: Central, 41.68. 800-meter relay: Central, 1:28.15. 1,600-meter relay: West Brook, 3:24.42. Discus: Jonathan Ward, Lumberton, 144-3. Shot put: Jonathan Rideau, Ozen, 49-7 1/2. High jump: Jared Williamson, Vidor, 6-5. Long jump: Craig Bailey, PA Memorial, 22-2. Triple jump: Phillip Jefferson, Central, 43-6. Pole vault: Jared Parker, Vidor, 16-0. GIRLS 100 meters: Patrisha Johnson, Silsbee, 12.22. 200 meters: Patrisha Johnson, Silsbee, 26.45. 400 meters: Sojourner Brown, Ozen, 58.79 800 meters: Sojourner Brown, Ozen, 2:21.09 1,600 meters: Taylor Carlson, Nederland, 5:37.20. 3,200 meters: Reanna Edgerton, LC-M, 12:45.91. 100-meter hurdles: A’Lexus Brannon, Ozen, 14.10. 300-meter hurdles: Paris Collins, PA Memorial, 46.5. 400-meter relay: PA Memorial, 50.00. 800-meter relay: Ozen, 1:44.18. 1,600-meter relay: Ozen, 4::02.00. Discus: Demetrial Graham, West Brook, 114-3. Shot put: Danielle Smith, PA Memorial, 39-3. High jump: Alese Pinner, Nederland; Tiara Robinson, Ozen, 5-2. Long jump: A’Lexus Brannon, Ozen, 21-0 1/2. Triple jump: A’Lexus Brannon, Ozen, 41-1. Pole vault: Chelsea Coleman, Bridge City and Megan McElhaney, Hamshire-Fannett, 8-6.

LC-M’s Griffith to face familiar foe Saturday Gabriel Pruett The Orange Leader LITTLE CYPRESS — Olsen Field in College Station will certainly feel like Don Gibbens Field this Saturday afternoon. The reason being the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Battlin’ Bears will be there to play some non-district baseball and when LC-M Coach Steve Griffith looks across the diamond he will recognize the opposing coach quite well. The Bears will take on Joshua High School Saturday and it is Jason Bourgeois, who worked under Griffith at LC-M, heading up the Fighting Owls. In a very ironic turn of events, Griffith’s coaching and teaching tenure started at Joshua High School, which is located south of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Not only will Griffith be able to do a lot of remembering of past days, he gets to watch his Bears play ball on a major, college field. “The whole package is a good deal to me,†Griffith said. “I get to see Bourgeois, former players and co-workers and coach at Olsen Field. For both sets of kids to play on that field, it is the only chance for some to play on a field like that. I am proud we are able to give them that kind of opportunity.†Griffith has been on the phone the last several weeks talking to former players who are also making the trip to College Station. “Those players live all over the place in Texas,†Griffith added. “About six to eight of my former players will be up there to watch the game and visit.†Bourgeois said Griffith also had one stern request when the two coaches were negotiating the game’s date and place. “He said Toni Landers had to be there,†Bourgeois said. “She was a real big mentor for him when he first started coaching and he said she had to be there if he was going to play this game.†Landers is now a counselor at Joshua High School. “She is one of the greatest ladies I have ever met in my life,†Griffith said. “I said I would only play if she comes.†Bourgeois’ mentor certainly will be at the game as the coach said Griffith is one of the main tutor’s in his career. “It is going to be a fun day,†Bourgeois said. “LC-M will always be a strong team and I was even showing my shortstop the Bears website and he said, ‘We have to play those guys.’ “Anytime you see Coach Griffith on the field across from you it is going to be awkward because he is one heck of a coach. I consider him one of the greatest coaches in baseball in the state of Texas. It is going to be a lot of fun seeing and going up against him.†Bourgeois added he still calls Griffith on tips about the game of baseball. “Griff was my mentor then and he is my mentor now. I call him about three times a week. Anything he ever says I try to put in my memory and remember later. He probably gets tired of me bugging him so much.†The two teams now hope to build a future of playing against each other in the upcoming years. LC-M and Joshua hope to participate in each team’s tournaments in the near future.

They don't know yet.

Gamble squad faces tall task By Cody Pastorella The Port Arthur News Living up to last year's game will be quite the task for the players representing the Port Arthur News/James Gamble Awards team and the visiting Franchize All Stars. Last year's contest was not decided until a final second tip-in by Kountze’s C.J. Busby in the second overtime of a 89-87 Gamble victory at the Parker Center in Port Arthur. That win gave Gamble, the Lincoln High School coaching legend, a 4-0 record in the annual contest that features the top 10 high school players from Southeast Texas. There are five players nominated for a Mr. Inside Award and five for a Mr. Outside Award every year. The awards have been given out since 2003 when Kendrick Perkins, former Ozen center and current member of the Boston Celtics, received the inaugural Mr. Inside Award. Since 2004, the 10 finalists have come together for a week of preparation under Gamble that's capped off with an all-star caliber exhibition game and an awards banquet on the following night. This year, the Gamble team will face off with Franchize, which is a Houston based club team directed by Port Arthur Memorial head coach Terrul Henderson. And while the game may not go to a double overtime scenario, you can rest assure that plenty of talent will be on display when these two teams tip off at 8 p.m. in the Parker Center. Henderson is bringing 10 players, including 6-10 center John Henson from Round Rock High School who has verbally committed to North Carolina. The junior giant averaged a double, double this season, scoring 21 points and pulling down 11 boards per game. Henson, however, is expected to be a game time decision because of a sore knee. In anticipation that Henson might not be able to go, Henderson has added 6-10 Anthony Jones of Houston Yates to his roster. Jones has committed to Baylor. Giving Henderson yet another big man is 6-9 forward Ray Turner from Houston Jones who averaged 16.2 points per game and is being pursued by the likes of Marquette, Nebraska and New Mexico for his services. The junior has not made any decisions on which university he will call home. Henderson also has one more player — 6-8 Kelly Lawson of Pearland — taller than the biggest Mr. Inside finalist Willie Jefferson, who stands 6-7. Jefferson, being the only true post on the Gamble squad, is a junior from Ozen who was named the Defensive Player of the Year for District 22-4A. Jefferson also averaged a double double for the season. He dropped in 11 points and pulled down 12 boards per game. The other Mr. Inside honorees are 6-5 Jacoby Joseph from Ozen, 6-5 Marcus Malbrough of West Brook — a Missouri football signee — 6-3 Jamar Gulley of Central and 6-3 Chris Hammond of Nederland. Gulley is the son of former Lamar University standout James Gulley. Gamble, with his years of experience, four state championships and 670 wins with Lincoln, said he has no scouting report on the opposing team. "We will know what they have when they get here, and we will make adjustments accordingly," Gamble said. "It's not how big you are but how big you play and we have plenty of talent on this team.

NCAA tries new-look location, elevation of courts in Detroit, Houston DETROIT -- Players and coaches alike talked Thursday about how they hadn't seen a setup quite like the one at Ford Field, site of the Midwest Regional. There is a reason for that. No one has seen anything like it. The NCAA tournament is experimenting with a new-look configuration during the regionals in Detroit and Houston, putting the court on the 50-yard line of football stadiums instead of tucked toward one end. The hardwood will be 27 inches off the ground and some players acknowledged some trepidation. "What if we go for the loose ball and dive off the court?" Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds asked. "I mean, that's the thing I was scared about." The raised court also creates a unique perspective for coaches, who will have the option of sitting on stools a few feet above their players. "I like to coach sitting down," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "But if you do that here, you're 15 feet away from the court." The Final Four next week at San Antonio's Alamodome is expected to be the last one in which the court is near an end zone, with bleachers on one side and curtains cutting off some of the sections. "It really opens up the whole stadium and makes it so much better for the fans," said Laing Kennedy, Kent State athletic director and a member of the NCAA Division I Basketball Committee. "Having the court elevated like that just makes for a terrific view from the upper level." While the fans may enjoy it, some of the players were not too excited about the height of the court. "I'm definitely not jumping in the stands," said Chris Douglas-Roberts of Memphis, which plays Michigan State on Friday night in Houston. "I'm not even going to act like it. If it's going out of bounds and I can't get it, hey I'm not going to fake hustle and act like I'm diving for it." After the court was placed, officials decided to add a border of carpet around it to act as a buffer for players who do get caught up in hustling. It is 10 feet wide under each basket and five feet wide on the two other sides. There is a curtain covering the north and south ends of the court, so seating is only on two sides of the playing area. That leaves a rather long blank space between the baskets and any wall or occupied area. "There's going to be an obvious depth perception [problem] just from the goals, but nothing you can't handle," said A.J. Abrams of Texas, which plays Stanford said. "Just go out and get a couple shots up and get the feel of it and that's what it's all about." When the Motor City hosts the Final Four next year, the NCAA plans to use the same setup it is using Friday night when third-seeded Wisconsin plays 10th-seeded Davidson and No. 1 Kansas faces No. 12 Villanova. In Houston, the curtains will be gone when it hosts the 2011 Final Four. Reliant Stadium officials are anticipating 60,000 fans over the course of two days this weekend, putting its crowds in the top five of regional sites. Ford Field officials expect their paid attendance to surpass the 100,000 mark, a total that will exceed the regional-record crowd of 85,568 set in 1999 at St. Louis. The home of the Detroit Lions, though, is not set up to break the basketball world-record crowd of 78,129 fans that watched Kentucky beat Michigan State in 2003. During that event, the field was filled with seats -- creating obstructed views -- and thousands of students were in standing-room only areas on the artificial turf. NCAA officials expect the crowds at the four regional sites this season to break the previous record more than 20 percent, drawing a combined total of 250,000-plus fans. Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Those teams can play!! There're really good at 7 on 7.

The Baseball field is at the HS 3443 Fannett Road in Beaumont.

Dirk out until playoffs. Mavs sign Avery Johnson to 10 day player coach contract. Wire Reports Dallas, Texas from beat writer Jim Spanarckel "The Dallas Mavericks have shut down Dirk Nowitzki and found an unlikely source to fill their roster; their 43 year old coach. "It really was the best move." Avery was quoted after filling out the required paperwork. "We need some leadership on court and it's time to take the pacifier out". Avery's first game will be tonight's nationally televised game against the Denver Nuggets, one of Dallas' chief rivals in the fight for the last playoff spot. "Avery will bring a lot of the intangibles" said veteran Mav Jerry Stackhouse. "I know nobody can stop him from going left". Avery becomes the first player coach on a playoff team since Bill Russell's final years with the Celtics. "We're hoping to capture some of that old magic" said Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. "The Celtics went into that final championship year as a low seed, just like we will. Bottom line, it's Avery's team". Avery said he expects to start tonight and guard Allen Iverson, and will move Jason Kidd to the starting two guard. "We like Stack coming off the bench. Several times, he has outscored the opponent's bench all by himself". When asked about being out of the league for five years, Avery scoffed, saying "This gives us championship winner experience at the point guard position. That's something we've been needing for some time. We probably don't lose to Miami in 2006 if we had done this then." Dirk was non committal about the move, saying "I'm looking forward to seeing what Avery will bring out there. Obviously he has been out of the league a while, but he keeps himself in great shape challenging the current players to one on one throughout the season." Jason Kidd also weighed in "I'm just here to help the team. Avery calls all the plays anyway."

No, Louisiana does their Realignment on oppsite years Texas does.

Coach told me Mexico.

From C4L DARRELL JORDAN: 52-29-0 2001 Dallas Kimball 7-4-0 2002 Dallas Kimball 9-4-0 2003 Dallas Kimball 9-4-0 2004 Dallas Kimball 7-4-0 2005 Dallas Kimball 9-2-0 2006 Dallas Kimball 6-5-0 2007 Dallas Kimball 5-6-0 GARY MULLINS: 56-47-1 1990 Rosenberg Terry 2-7-1 1991 Rosenberg Terrey 5-5-0 1992-99 --assistant positions-- 2000 Grapevine 7-4-0 2001 Grapevine 8-4-0 2002 Grapevine 5-5-0 2003 Grapevine 8-3-0 2004 Grapevine 5-5-0 2005 Grapevine 6-4-0 2006 Grapevine 7-5-0 2007 Grapevine 6-5-0 LARRY NEUMANN: 120-55-1 1993 Nederland 6-5-0 1994 Nederland 7-3-0 1995 Nederland 5-5-0 1996 Nederland 6-4-1 1997 Nederland 10-2-0 1998 Nederland 9-4-0 1999 Nederland 11-2-0 2000 Nederland 11-2-0 2001 Nederland 11-3-0 2002 Nederland 8-4-0 2003 Nederland 9-3-0 2004 Nederland 8-4-0 2005 Nederland 7-4-0 2006 Nederland 6-6-0 2007 Nederland 7-3-0 DAVID SUGGS: 57-31-0 1998 FB Willowridge 5-5-0 1999 FB Willowridge 6-5-0 2000 FB Willowridge 7-3-0 2001 PA Lincoln 8-3-0 2002 Beaumont Central 8-3-0 2003 Beaumont Central 10-3-0 2004 Aldine Nimitz 6-5-0 2005 Aldine Nimitz 7-4-0 2006 Aldine Nimitz 6-4-0 2007 Aldine Nimitz 6-4-0 CHUCK VINCENT: 0-0-0

CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!

03:50 PM in High school soccer In soccer, turf matters When the high school soccer season began, we all knew the Friendswood girls team would play deep into the postseason. Because of its successful history, we knew the Friendswood boys team would have a chance to do it, too. After Tuesday's by-the-skin-of-its-teeth victory over Sharpstown, however, it looks like the Friendswood boys have a good chance to match the girls team postseason victory for postseason victory. A big reason for that is that one of the Region III favorites Katy Seven Lakes lost to Houston Davis in the second round on Tuesday. Friendswood will play Davis Friday night at 7 at Clear Creek ISD's Veterans Memorial Stadium. The site is a big deal because Veterans Memorial Stadium is turf. That should give Friendswood a big advantage. I saw the last 30 minutes of the Seven Lakes/Davis game on Tuesday as it was the first game of a doubleheader that featured the Friendswood girls in the nightcap. It was clear the absolutely dispicable nature of the pitch at Houston ISD's Dyer Stadium played a big role in Davis' victory. The grass has holes all over the place, which made it nearly impossible for any player to settle the ball. When you can't settle the ball, you can't play quickly. When you can't play quickly, credible teams still have a chance. As a result, Davis hung around until it got a legitimate chance at a penalty kick in the game's late stages. That's all it needed. That brings us to the Friendswood girls game against Richmond Foster Friday at 5:30 p.m. The game will be played at Angleton, which is a grass field. When I covered a football game in Angleton this past season, the field looked in decent shape — better than Dyer Stadium looked on Tuesday, anyway. Angleton has quality soccer teams so perhaps that means the condition of the field is good. If it is good, the Friendswood girls should win. If it is bad, however, Friendswood fans should get ready for a barnburner. The Friendswood starters took 27 shots in the first half on Tuesday at Dyer. They put seven of them on target. Sure, they scored four goals in that time, but it's not a good sign when you miss the target 74 percent of the time. That all comes back to the condition of the pitch. Friendswood fans also probably remember last year's playoff game against Foster. On ground that was almost as equally poor as Dyer Stadium, Friendswood fell behind at halftime before scoring three second-half goals to escape the hostile and excited environment. It's been a bit of an easy run thus far for the Lady Mustangs, but expect that to change in a big way on Friday — no matter the condition of the pitch.

5 great Coaches!!

Lufkin and Longview have done it. It can be done but they try to avoid it.

COMPLETED!!!! 8)

No teams were left to play in Houston. Right now Dayton isn't playing the team from Mexico!

;D

One of the first men to express interest in the job was former Lamar head coach Larry Kennan, who currently is the executive director of the NFL Coaches Association. Kennan left Lamar after the 1981 season to take an assistant coaching position with the Oakland Raiders and was on the staff of a Super Bowl champion with the Raiders. Kennan also coached in the NFL at New England, Seattle and Indianapolis and did a second stint with the Raiders in the mids 1990s. He was head coach of the London Monarchs and led them to the first championship of the World League of American Football.Several other big name former coaches have been thrown out in speculation for the Lamar job. Included are former Texas A&M head coaches R.C. Slocum and Dennis Franchione and Larry Coker, who won a national championship at Miami. Les Koenning Jr., Franchione's offensive coordinator at A&M, has told friends in Southeast Texas he's interested. Another possibility might be former Oklahoma State coach Pat Jones. One successful area high school coach thought to have some interest is West Brook's Craig Stump. Stump meets the criteria of having college coaching experience. He was an assistant for Jackie Sherrill at Mississippi State.

Tully/Gino vs. Funk/Putski - Steve Stack [Hidden Content] Sweetan vs. Jaggers [Hidden Content] Tully vs. Sweetan - Texas Death Match - Sam Houston Coliseum [Hidden Content] Gino vs. El Santo Negro [Hidden Content] Nick Bockwinkel @ Junction [Hidden Content] Shawn Michaels vs. Ken Johnson - Junction (Texas All-Star) [Hidden Content] Brody vs. Abdullah - Steve Stax [Hidden Content]

Yes indeed!!

There will be 1 1000 names flying around if Newmann leaves. But Thompson is not leaving!