KFDM COOP

I understand his point, the cutoff for our coverage area has always been Barbers Hill. West of there is Houston.

Yankees spent record $218.3 million on '07 payroll NEW YORK -- The Yankees did finish first in something last year -- spending. While their streak of AL East titles ended at nine, the Yankees wound up with a record payroll of $218.3 million. The World Series champion Boston Red Sox were a distant second at $155.4 million, according to information received by clubs from the commissioner's office. The Los Angeles Dodgers were third at $125.6 million, followed by the New York Mets ($120.9 million), Chicago Cubs ($115.9 million), Seattle ($114.4 million), Los Angeles Angels ($111 million), Philadelphia ($101.8 million), San Francisco ($101.5 million) and the Chicago White Sox ($100.2 million). In addition to the largest payroll, the Yankees have the highest revenue in the majors. New York took in $415 million last year, giving about $100 million of it away in the sport's revenue-sharing plan. Both the Yankees and New York Mets will receive revenue boosts in 2009, when they move into new stadiums. "We're always working on increasing revenues, but it's getting harder and harder to do," Red Sox owner John Henry said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "The Yankees and the Mets will be greatly helped by their new ballparks which look to be state-of-the-art. They seem very well designed to maximize revenues and to greatly improve the fan experience. The renovations we have been at work on within Fenway, the new ballparks in New York, Washington, Minneapolis -- everywhere -- these are great for baseball." At the back end were Tampa Bay ($31.8 million), Florida ($33.1 million), Washington ($43.3 million) and Pittsburgh ($51.4 million). In all, teams spent $2.71 billion on players last year, up from $2.49 billion in 2006 and $2.35 billion in 2005. The 30 clubs estimate they took in $6.075 billion last year, an increase from $5.2 billion the previous season and $4.7 billion in 2005. New York has had the highest payroll for nine straight years. The Yankees' total rose from $207.5 million in 2006 and $206.6 million in 2005. The Yankees were set to fall under the $200 million mark before signing Roger Clemens, who increased their payroll by $17.4 million. He went 6-6 with a 4.18 ERA in 18 appearances. In addition to the largest payroll, the Yankees have the highest revenue in the majors. New York took in $415 million last year, giving about $100 million of it away in the sport's revenue-sharing plan. New York is on track to lead the major leagues in payroll again but its total appears likely to drop. The Yankees have committed $198.6 million to 19 signed players on their 40-man roster. Adding in the midpoints for their three players remaining in arbitration -- Chien-Ming Wang, Robinson Cano and Brian Bruney -- the total increases to $207.6 million. Payroll figures are for 40-man rosters and include salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses, earned incentive bonuses, non-cash compensation, buyouts of unexercised options and cash transactions. In some cases, parts of salaries that are deferred are discounted to reflect present-day values. Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

I see your point but we've always covered Barbers Hill.

Ladies big over the Sugar Bears!

One Offensive and Defensive Winner will be announced in Feburary.

WILLIE RAY SMITH AWARD FINALISTS 2007 Season OFFENSIVE NOMINEES DePauldrick Garrett, WO-S RB Stats: Rushed for 1400 yds All time leading rusher at WOSHS in School History Cody Hussey, Lumberton RB Stats: 1783 yds 19 TD’s on 254 carries, 361 yds 1 TD on 27 receptions District 22-4A Offensive MVP Christine Michael, West Brook RB Stats: 1171 yds 24 TD’s on 197 rushes; District 21-5A MVP Pierce Rhodes, Kirbyville RB Stats: 1922 yds on 206 carries, 283 yds on 16 receptions, 182 points on 22 rush TD, 5 TD receptions, 1 TD Kickoff return, 1 TD fumble return, four 2 point conversions; District 21-3A MVP Tramain Thomas East Chambers, QB Stats: 2215 total yds with 35 total TD's; 1352 yds rushing 30 TD’s; 863 yds on 49 of 96 with 5 TD’s and 7 int’s DEFENSIVE NOMINEES Cory Bell, WO-Stark LB/DE Stats: Leading Tackler – 82 tackles David Falgout, West Brook Safety Stats: 119 tackles 3 int 12 PBU Kheeston Randall, Kelly DE Stats: 42 solo tackles 36 assists 16 sacks 10 hurries 4 forced fumbles Tramain Thomas, East Chambers Safety Stats: 106 tackles 11 int 3 returned for TD’s; 11 tackles for loss 1 sack; 9 forced fumbles 4 recovered fumbles; 22 passes defended

Woden 57-45

You calling in CATMAN?

No seriously, tonight is your chance to call in and discuss HS Basketball.

Turn your speakers up!

I hope.

Congrats!

Newton (7-1) Woodville (4-4)

[Hidden Content]

Jarrett part of booth trio, Wallace to be analyst on NASCAR Countdown Former Cup champion Dale Jarrett will replace Rusty Wallace in the booth this season for ESPN's NASCAR coverage, and Wallace will become the lead analyst for the network's studio programs. Jarrett, who won the Cup title in 1999, will compete in the first five races this season before retiring. It will be a high school reunion of sorts in the booth, with Jarrett, lead announcer Dr. Jerry Punch and Andy Petree -- all of whom attended Newton-Conover High School in North Carolina -- calling the races. Jarrett was a booth analyst for 10 Nationwide Series ESPN race telecasts last year and worked several Sprint Cup races as a guest analyst on NASCAR Countdown, the program that precedes all NASCAR telecasts. Wallace, the 1989 Cup champion, will be the analyst for an enhanced NASCAR Countdown. He also will appear on NASCAR Now, ESPN's daily NASCAR news and information show, and will call several race telecasts in place of Jarrett. Wallace, who retired from racing in 2005, was an analyst for ESPN's IndyCar Series coverage in 2006, and moved into the NASCAR booth last season. "We were pleased to have Dale with us in a limited role last year and look forward to his participation on a regular basis," said Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president, studio and event production. "Rusty's enthusiasm, team spirit and knowledge make him an invaluable contributor to our coverage. These champion drivers in their new roles add tremendously to ESPN's championship team for our second year back in NASCAR." Jarrett is not the first in his family to go into announcing after racing. His father, Ned, was a two-time Cup champion was part of ESPN's crew from 1988 to 2000 and became one of the most respected analysts in NASCAR. He offered his son advice when he began dabbling in the booth last season. "He told me to relax and just talk like I do," Dale Jarrett said last summer. "I think that's the thing I always loved about my dad, he never tried to be somebody that he wasn't. And I can't be somebody else if I tried. So he just told me to relax and have fun with it." In other moves, Allen Bestwick will host NASCAR Countdown, joining Wallace and analyst Brad Daugherty on the pre-race program. Nicole Manske has been hired to host NASCAR Now, which returns to the air Feb. 4 on ESPN2, and will share the job with Bestwick and Ryan Burr. In addition, Shannon Spake was promoted to full-time pit reporter to replace Bestwick. She'll be joined on pit road by returnees Dave Burns, Jamie Little and Mike Massaro. ESPN will cover all 35 Nationwide Series races this season and the final 17 Sprint Cup races of the season.

We'll have it soon.

Predictions?

Good luck to both teams!!

Dunbar will be 06 Champs!

Heat turned up at A&M after pair of Big 12 losses Turgeon, Aggies discover that it's a new ballgame in the rarefied air of the Top 25 COLLEGE STATION — First-year Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon has known since signing on the dotted line last spring he was entering a tough situation. But the former Wichita State coach is finding out just how much of a thankless situation he might have inherited in the wake of a two-game losing streak in which the Aggies suffered blowout defeats in Big 12 road games. Turgeon, who took over a program that made a run to the Sweet 16 last season and opened this year ranked No. 16, has at times been brutal in his assessment of the players he inherited. But he took exception Monday when the finger was pointed at him after the Aggies were thumped by unranked Texas Tech and Kansas State in consecutive games last week. "I know no matter what I do, Gillispie is getting the credit if we win," said Turgeon, referring to former A&M coach Billy Gillispie, who guided the Aggies on a successful three-year run before leaving last spring for Kentucky. "If we lose, it's my fault. I'm in a no-flipping-win situation this year, and that puts me in a bad mood. "I've got no chance this year. If we win, it's because of Gillispie. If we lose, it's because of Mark Turgeon. So I can't win." Turgeon seems to have walked into a potentially difficult situation because of the expectations that were elevated and realized during Gillispie's tenure. A once-irrelevant program seemed to take the college basketball scene by storm the past two seasons, becoming a mainstay in the Top 25. The Aggies, 0-3 in true road games this season, were a consensus Top 10 team last week before suffering a 15-point loss to Tech last Wednesday and a 21-point defeat at Kansas State on Saturday. A&M (15-3, 1-2 Big 12) dropped to 18th in the Associated Press poll Monday. Inexperience on hand, too But Turgeon often has wondered out loud if the team he took over was worthy of such praise. Instead of focusing on pluses such as four-year starters Joseph Jones and Dominique Kirk, third-year player Josh Carter and Donald Sloan, who played significant minutes as a freshman, Turgeon has been concerned with what his team doesn't have. The Aggies lost clutch performer Acie Law off last season's team, along with quality defenders Antanas Kavaliauskas and Marlon Pompey. With the players returning and big-time recruit 7-0 DeAndre Jordan, A&M put together a 15-1 record against a mostly unimpressive non-conference slate that included winning the Preseason NIT Tournament. Turgeon often has called this team young because of the inexperience of reserve big men Bryan Davis and Junior Elonu, both of whom played sparingly last season under Gillispie, and wing Derrick Roland. Turgeon even labels Sloan inexperienced, despite the fact he averaged 17.8 minutes as a backup to Law and Kirk last year. "I just get a little defensive because I know I'm there every day," said Turgeon, whose team returns home tonight to host No. 25 Baylor. "I know what I have, I know what I'm trying to hide, and we've just been exposed the last couple games." The most glaring hole has been defense, which had become a staple under Gillispie and was something athletic director Bill Byrne promised would continue when he introduced Turgeon. After the Aggies' first three Big 12 games, they rank last in the league in field-goal percentage defense (52 percent) and ninth in scoring defense (70.7 points per game). They were second in the conference last season in field-goal defense (40 percent) and third in scoring defense (65.8 points per game). A&M's defensive deficiencies were never more evident than against Tech's motion offense. The Aggies were a step behind in defending and as a result were often reaching and lunging, drawing many fouls. An endorsement from Kirk The A&M players say part of the problem is the rankings and national attention might have caused them to lose some of the focus and grit that defined them the past few seasons. "I think we're in the position we need to be," Sloan said. "A lot of people were caught up in the rankings, and we're just not playing to our ability right now. I think the two losses we have had put something in everybody's mind. We need to get back greedy like we used to be." And that, Kirk insists, is no reflection on Turgeon and his staff and the way they approach teaching the game. "Everybody has their own opinion, but I believe coach Turgeon is a great coach just like coach G was," Kirk said. "It's just that we haven't put it together yet." Turgeon reminded reporters that two years ago the Aggies started league play 3-7 before going on a seven-game winning streak that propelled them to the NCAA Tournament. "We're not 3-6 yet, we might be," he said. "That was only two years ago, so it's not like it's been a long time. We had a special year last year; they can't ever take that away. But it's hard to have those years. We were tough enough, we had seniors and Joe and Dominique were veterans. "Give me a chance, give this team a chance and I think we'll be OK."

> No kidding.

Predictions?

Sounds good.

Good luck guys