In the FCS Huddle: SWAC can help Alcorn State give coach a push
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01/19/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Is it 2013 yet?
They hardly are words Southwestern Athletic Conference officials want to be uttering in January, but the troubled situation with Alcorn State football already is making 2012 feel like 2011.
And, quite simply, the embarrassment of 2011 can't be repeated this year for a FCS conference with so much pride and tradition.
It was one year ago Thursday that Alcorn State introduced Melvin Spears Jr. as its new head football coach. Today the university seemingly can't get him out the door fast enough.
The 51-year-old Alcorn State alum has been on administrative leave with pay since Dec. 12 following a forgettable first season. Not only did the Braves fall to 2-8 (1-8 SWAC) for its fifth straight losing season, but attendance dwindled to create a shortfall in the athletic department budget, standout sophomore quarterback Brandon Bridge left the program amid a rocky relationship with Spears and the first-year head coach had an alleged profanity-filled verbal altercation with a player's father who is a pastor.
Spears, who was fired at Grambling State after a stormy three-year run as head coach from 2004-06, had pledged a more patient approach when he was introduced as Alcorn State's head coach. He didn't deliver that pledge just as he didn't deliver on victories.
Three assistant coaches have been shown the door since the end of the season and their positions are expected to be unfilled, whether Spears returns to the sideline or not.
Considering this all has played out during prime recruiting season, it's a volatile situation that craves for resolution.
Enter the SWAC.
Or at least the SWAC needs to enter the picture. Like yesterday.
Granted, the SWAC works for the 10 schools and not the other way around. But after what happened across the conference last year, it's imperative for commissioner Duer Sharp and his deputies to be more pro-active and help save the member programs from continually embarrassing themselves.
Last year, four of the SWAC programs had to replace head coaches, including Alcorn State after Earnest Collins Jr. left for Northern Colorado. Sadly, the other three changes involved the schools that had combined to win the three prior SWAC titles. Prairie View A&M's Henry Frazier III and Grambling State's Rod Broadway turned heads by departing for struggling programs in the Mid- Eastern Athletic Conference and Texas Southern's Johnnie Cole, who was the 2010 SWAC Coach of the Year, was fired because of the program's academic shortcomings.
At least Texas Southern was eligible for the 2011 SWAC Championship Game. Jackson State, considered the conference's top team with the top player, quarterback Casey Therriault, was ineligible - along with Southern University - following their NCAA Academic Progress Rate penalties.
Worst of all, the Southern and Arkansas-Pine Bluff squads had a wild post-game fight that resulted in 40 players being suspended by the SWAC.
Enough's enough? You bet.
The SWAC restored some credibility with Grambling State's win in the conference championship game on Dec. 10, meaning that head coach Doug Williams returned the storied program back to the top in his first season back on the sideline.
Now it's time for Alcorn State, with some nudging from the SWAC, to move on and change its head coach, even though the Braves already have had four different ones in the last five seasons.
Sure there's no doubt the situation could improve under Spears because time heals wounds. But Alcorn State basically would be buying time for two years until his contract ends. That's not a manageable situation for anyone, especially the student-athletes.
There's also no doubt Alcorn State is trying to prove justifiable cause in releasing Spears from his contract, which is a surprisingly low $130,000 per year.
If the university is faced with buying Spears out of the contract, then it has to do it.
Alcorn State is the only Division I program without a true head coach right now. With each day, it makes less sense that the SWAC program remains in this predicament.
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Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attempt
Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.
The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.
Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.
NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.
"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.
The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.
But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.
The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.
Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.
The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.
The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.
The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.
Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.
Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."
Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.
"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."
Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.
It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.
"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."
Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.
"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."
At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.
According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.
Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.
Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.
When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.
He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.
Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.
Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.
Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.
While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.
"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.
Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.
Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
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Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.
The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.
MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.
A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.
A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.
Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.
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