KFDM COOP

It's football man!

January 31, 2008 - 10:58AM Lamar University students have voted in favor of paying an athletic fee to help fund the return of a football program after about 20 years, with 79% voting 'yes.' LU released the results shortly before 11 a.m. 1,016 students (79%) voted 'yes' and 278 (21%) voted 'no.' Students voted Tuesday and Wednesday on whether to pay an athletic fee of $8.75 per credit hour to help fund a football program. The fee would be $4.50 during summer sessions. The fees would take effect in 2009 and the goal is to play ball in 2010. Students would receive free passes to football games for the following four seasons. LU President Dr. Jimmy Simmons says the return of football would also require substantial private donations and approval from the Texas State University System board of regents, but the student vote is a major first step. The ballot boxes were taken to the Lamar University Police Department after voting ended Wednesday. Thursday morning, the boxes were taken to the Cherry Engineering Building where scanning machines began automatically counting the ballots. They were checked to ensure proper student registration information. Stay with KFDM and kfdm.com for the latest on the vote.

Obstacles in way of deal that sends Kidd back to Dallas The growing feeling among league executives that the Dallas Mavericks are the most likely winners in the Jason Kidd trade sweepstakes is even stronger now. Reason being: Within 24 hours of Kidd saying that it's time for him and the New Jersey Nets "all to move on" in separate directions, New Jersey and Dallas engaged in advanced trade discussions with Portland on a three-way deal that would land Kidd back with the team that drafted him in 1994. Such a trade would involve at least a dozen players, cash sweeteners and future draft picks. In a breakdown of the most noteworthy principles, Portland would land Mavericks guard Devin Harris and possibly Mavs forward Brandon Bass, New Jersey would receive draft and financial considerations, Dallas' Jerry Stackhouse and a trio of young prospects from Portland (Travis Outlaw, Channing Frye and Jarrett Jack) while the Mavericks would score Kidd. The talks were very active Tuesday, as reported Tuesday night on ESPN2's "NBA Coast to Coast" by ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard. But dialogue between the three clubs had cooled Wednesday to the point that sources close to the situation described them as "pretty much dead." But another source insisted that the deal still has life and noted that the "pretty much" disclaimer leaves open the possibility that the dialogue can be reheated to Tuesday's levels, especially since the league's Feb. 21 trading deadline is still three weeks away. And what most observers considered to be one of the biggest obstacles for New Jersey and Dallas to either moving or acquiring Kidd -- finding the third team they needed to broaden the deal -- might be less of an impediment than anticipated if Portland could be recruited so quickly. Some reluctance from the Blazers, sources said, is one of the factors that has stalled the talks. In addition to the short-term concerns about the ankle injury that has sidelined Harris, Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard told The Oregonian newspaper last week that "we're not making any trades" to break up a roster of youngsters that rebounded from Greg Oden's season-ending injury to rank as the biggest surprise team so far in a league filled with surprise teams. Sources say Portland has been shopping Jack on his own, but parting with three or four players is something else, with guard Sergio Rodriguez also potentially involved. Outlaw's development, furthermore, is one of the stories of the Blazers' season. The Mavericks, meanwhile, might also have some hesitation, even knowing that Kidd has made it clear behind the scenes that a return to Dallas and the opportunity to play alongside Dirk Nowitzki is his preferred outcome, ahead of a move to Cleveland to play with Team USA teammate and close friend LeBron James. Sources say Dallas is resigned to the fact that it won't be able to reacquire Kidd -- 1994-95's co-Rookie of the Year with Grant Hill as a Mav but who left town in acrimonious circumstances less than two seasons later -- without parting with Harris, who's a fan and Mark Cuban favorite as well as a 24-year-old point guard having by far his best season. The initial scenarios discussed by the teams, however, also would require Dallas to part with either Bass or center DeSagana Diop. Both are critical role players in the Mavericks' system. Bass ranks as the most effective backup Nowitzki has ever had and Diop operates as one half of the center tandem with Erick Dampier that has been successful against San Antonio and Tim Duncan. The Mavs, if the deal goes through, would be undertaking the aggressive renovation that many critics have been calling for since they followed up a 67-win regular season with a first-round exit to Golden State last season. Although there would obviously be some risk giving Harris' job to a quarterback who will be 35 in March, Dallas is undoubtedly seduced by the idea of enhancing the scoring abilities of Nowitzki and Josh Howard. Kidd's arrival would likewise address Dallas' team IQ and mental toughness issues after back-to-back epic collapses in the playoffs, first to Miami in the 2006 NBA Finals and then to Golden State. Yet another potential snag here is that the Nets naturally hope to come out of a Kidd deal with at least one young star. The closest thing to a young star in the scenarios discussed so far -- Harris -- would be going to Portland. But Outlaw is on the rise, too. Outlaw and Frye, furthermore, are athletic prospects who come with salary cap-friendly contracts in addition to the two future first-round draft picks New Jersey would also likely receive. It's believed that the Nets would immediately buy out Stackhouse and release him if the proposed deal wound up going through. Yet it seems safe to expect that a Kidd deal involving these three teams will likely happen quickly or fade to all the way dead sooner rather than later. New Jersey has been dealing with speculation about Kidd's future dating to last February's trade deadline, when Kidd was nearly dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers. "But Dallas and Portland," said one source, "won't want this [trade speculation] to linger because then it starts affecting their teams." Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here

Lord i hope it passed!!

Game Thread.

Game Thread.

Game Thread

At Vidor, not sure on the time.

Hopefully the weather will dry up!

Thanks....keep us posted.

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Come on now, back on topic!

Monteau on track for stellar year Dan Chamness Correspondent Published January 31, 2008 Lamar University distance runner Stacey Monteau is not quite equaling her best times, but after the recent McNeese Indoor Invitational, the Lamar sophomore, an Anahuac grad, has to be convinced she is on the right track. She finished the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10 minutes, 53.79 seconds to take second place. She was six seconds behind the winning time. Monteau started her season at the Leonard Hilton Memorial at University of Houston. Monteau finished 12th in the 5,000-meter run. She finished the race in 19:06.44. • Northwestern (La.) State University middle distance Galen Mudd, a Barbers Hill grad, broke the two-minute barrier in the 800-meter run at the University of Arkansas hosted Razorback Invitational. Mudd, who took 11th, finished the indoor race in 1:58.40. The sophomore started his season at the Purple Tiger Classic held at Louisiana State University. He finished 10th in the 800-meter run (2:03.0) and was also a member of the fifth-place distance medley relay team, which finished in 10:59.92. • Brian Ezeh, a Lee College grad, poured in a team-high 17 points in Prairie View A&M’s 55-53 win over Mississippi Valley State. Ezeh, who drained 5 of 10 field goals and 7 of 9 free throws, also led the team in rebounds (six), steals (four) and assists (three). Prairie View A&M is 5-14 overall and 3-4 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. • Baytown Lee grad Rashad Mohammad competed in three events at the Niswonger Invitational held at East Tennessee State University. The Southern University sprinter finished fourth in both the 60-meter dash (7.02 seconds) and 200-meter dash (22.04). Mohammad actually had faster times in the prelims, finishing the respective races in 6.95 and 21.80. He was also a member of the 1,600-meter relay, which finished its preliminary heat in 3:16.5. • The Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi women’s basketball team got 11 points from Baytown Sterling grad Shaye Montgomery, but it was not enough to power them past the Texas State University Bobcats. In the 73-52 TAMUCC loss, Montgomery hit 3 of 5 from beyond the arc and 2 of 2 from the charity stripe. In her other game of the week, a 54-41 Lady Islander loss to University of Texas-Arlington, Montgomery had eight points, three rebounds and two assists. • Dayton grad Henry Dugat and the Baylor Bears finally overcame Texas A&M University last week 116-110. In a game that will probably go down as legendary and epic, it took Baylor five overtimes to accomplish the feat. Dugat finished with 11 points, four rebounds and two assists. Over 12,000 attended the contest. Baylor’s Big 12 luck ran out against the Oklahoma Sooners. They were topped 77-71 for their first conference loss of the year. Dugat finished the evening with 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Baylor is 16-3 overall and 4-1 in the Big 12. In the most recent NCAA Division I poll, they were ranked 25th. • Wayne State (Mich.) University runner Cheto Cerda, a Lee grad, finished 10th in the 1,000-meter run at the Iowa State University Track and Field Open. Cerda finished the race in 2:34.27. • Kent State defeated Western Michigan University 67-58 in men’s basketball action last week. Former Lee College basketball player Rashad Woods, a Kent State player, had nine points and three assists in the contest. • Crosby grad Tia Jackson played only four minutes as her college, Tulane University, lost a 60-44 battle to University of Texas-El Paso. Jackson had one rebound in the contest. Tulane has lost its last five games and is 11-8 overall, 1-5 in Conference USA. Let’s have those spring names. While the spring sports season at the high school level is a little further away, the college baseball and softball teams will start playing games as early as mid-February. Please remember, when e-mailing me (Dan62293(at)cs.com), I need the name of the athlete, the former high school, the college/university they are attending and of course, the sport they are playing.

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Lake Travis' List Down to Eight Kinne among Lake Travis coaching applicants By Danny Davis AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Wednesday, January 30, 2008 The pool of candidates for the head football coaching position at Lake Travis appears to be shallow. An official confirmed Tuesday that only eight applications were fully completed and on file with the school district's human resources department. All of the applications were submitted electronically, said Marco Alvarado, director of communications for Lake Travis ISD. However, it's also possible that Lake Travis athletic director Jack Moss may have received applications, Alvarado said. Moss was out of his office Tuesday afternoon and isn't expected back until later this week. It has been reported that Moss hopes to begin interviewing candidates as soon as next Tuesday. "Right now, I don't have a lot to report or say, other than we are working through the process and hopefully within a few days ... we have this completed," Moss said in a voice mail left to the American-Statesman Tuesday morning. Two other recent head coaching vacancies in Central Texas generated a large number of applicants — 137 for Bastrop and 65 for Ellison. Lake Travis, however, is requiring five years of coaching experience as well as three years with a successful head coaching record at a Class 5A or 4A school. The school also wants candidates to be familiar with running the spread offense. Among the eight known applicants is former Canton head coach Gary Kinne — the 2005 Adams USA national coach of the year — who spent last season as Baylor's linebackers coach, and Westlake offensive coordinator. Also among the applicants is Les Hamilton of Alta High in Sandy, Utah. Hamilton, who has guided his teams to state championship games in three of the last five years, acknowledged his interest in Lake Travis but said he has not yet been contacted by the Cavaliers. Others who have applied are Luther Justus, the head coach of Forest Hill High in West Palm Beach, Fla.; Plano West assistant Kelly Mercer; Barbers Hill head coach Don Price; Lancing (N.Y.) Central head coach Edward Redmond; and Springtown coach Bradley Turner. The coaching job became vacant when Jeff Dicus left Lake Travis this month to become head coach at Duncanville. In five seasons at Lake Travis, Dicus went 45-15 and led the Cavaliers to the Class 4A Division II state championship this past season.

WO-S' Matherne nabs All-State honor Van Wade The Orange Leader Three West Orange-Stark Mustangs landed on the 57th Annual Texas Sportswriters/Collin Street Bakery All-State Class 3A Football Team that was announced on Wednesday. Mustang senior offensive tackle Tim Matherne was a second team selection while senior running back DePauldrick Garrett and senior receiver Ronnie Dennis were honorable mention selections. Matherne (6-1, 258) was a key cog in helping lead the Mustangs (11-2) to their fourth consecutive District 21-3A crown. With his key blocking, the Mustangs churned out 352.5 yards a game, including 243.7 yards a game on the ground. Garrett became WO-S’ all-time leading rusher this season. Garrett, who is also a finalist for the Willie Ray Smith Offensive Award, rambled for 1,394 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior. Garrett completed his days at WO-S with 3,251 yards and 52 touchdowns on 476 carries. Dennis was quarterback Ortavious Hypolite’s favorite target last season. Dennis hauled down 54 receptions for 746 yards and five touchdowns. Also making honorable mention on the 3A Team was District 21-3A’s Player of the Year in Kirbyville running back Pierce Rhodes. Rhodes capped off his senior campaign with 1,922 yard and 27 touchdowns on 206 carries. The Class 2A Team was loaded with local players. East Chambers’ Tremain Thomas was a first team pick on defense and an honorable mention selection on offense. As a quarterback, Thomas totaled 2,215 yards (1,352 rushing, 863 passing) and hand his hands involved in 35 touchdowns. As a defensive back, Thomas picked off 11 passes and made 106 tackles. Hardin wide receiver Daniel Marsh made second team receiver while Newton linebacker Nico Adams was a third team pick. Other Southeast Texas 2A players making the honorable mention list were East Chambers center Carlos Trevino; Hardin quarterback Jordan Nolan and linebacker John Stelly; and Newyon defensive lineman Logan Davis.

No Raw this go around.

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Rankings will be updated Sunday.

me either.

I think it will be close than that! My Heart says it passes but my gut says it won't.