-  The 2008 football schedule for the Ohio Bobcats will be released in a few hours.

-  Don’t forget we will have Kirby Hocutt on the show tonight from 6-6:30.  Send us your questions for Mr. Hocutt.

-  Concordia head volleyball coach Brady Starkey said he did not apply for the head volleyball coach opening at Ohio University.  Word is that at least two names from two major conferences have applied for the position.

-  ESPN.com writer and mid-major expert Kyle Whelliston will be in attendance at The Convo next week when Akron comes to town.  Check out Whelliston’s website by visiting www.midmajority.com.

* February 25th Part II

-  Bobcats guard Mike Allen will now be the one live in-studio on “The SportsFan” tonight with Jimmy and I from roughly 6:40-7:15.  Shoot us your questions for Mike or call-in and ask him yourself (740-592-6646 or toll free 888-592-6646).  Leon is a bit busy with his studies, which obviously are more important than rambling sports talk shows.

* February 25th

-  Bobcats forward and MAC Player of the Year candidate Leon Williams will be live, in-studio on “The SportsFan” with Jimmy and I tonight around 6:40 after The Sylvia Crawley Coaches Show on 970 WATH-AM in Athens.  You can listen to the show on Athensi.com.  If you miss it live, the podcast will be available afterwards.  Shoot us your questions for Leon (sports@970WATH.com) or call-in and ask him yourself (740-592-6646 or toll free 888-592-6646).

* February 24^th

-  Ohio Bobcats 2008 football recruit Bakari Bussey has not qualified for college yet.  He can take the tests again in April and May.  Maybe the Brendton Williams signing is based on the fact that Bussey has yet to qualify.

-  I will be filling in for Tom Hodson and handling the play-by-play duties for the women’s OBSN broadcast on Wednesday night against Bowling Green.

-  Kirby Hocutt will be on the phone during for the first half hour of “The SportsFan” this Thursday.  Just like last time, e-mail us your questions for Hocutt and we will read as many of them as we can on the air.

* February 23^rd

-  A couple of notes and quotes from the ‘Cats win over George Mason on Saturday:

-  Bubba Walther:  “I know that we take a lot of pride in our home court.  I think we put on a good show for the rest of the country to see what Ohio Basketball is all about.”

-  O’Shea on women’s coach Sylvia Crawley’s routine with the dance team during a time out in the first half:  “How was she?…There’s no possibility of me performing here.  Maybe we could get Bakari (Alexander) out there.  Bakari’s got some rhythm, and he’s a real showman, but not me.  That would never happen.  Never happen.”

-  “I hope I can see a tape of it.  She’ll do anything for a little recruiting exposure,” joked O’Shea.

-  Here’s the question of the year.  Will Ohio now show up and play on the road at Miami next Saturday?  I’m not convinced that they will, but I sure hope so.  I’ve been let down before.  Because of that, I think there should be no expectations for the contest against the Redhawks.

-  Ohio has scored 97 points combined in the second halves the last two games.

-  Without a doubt, Justin Orr is the biggest disappointment of the year for this hoops team.  He is just lost.  Here’s a suggestion.  Instead of letting Orr give 15-20 worthless minutes every night, why don’t we let DeVaughn Washington and Allen Hester pick up some more of that time.  Both are better defenders.  It’s not like Orr has been giving you any offense, anyway.

-  I understand the win was big over George Mason, but I don’t know if it merited a storming of the floor.  The fact that the O-Zone stands just inches away from the sideline increases the likelihood of these occurrences.

-  Speaking of the crowd, it sure looked like more than 7,439.

-  Jim Larranaga did not speak with the media following the game.

-  While on Larranaga, was the constant whistling after one of his players made a three pointer really necessary?

-  You have to feel good for Leon Williams—first to go home and win at Maryland, and then to shut up his former high school rival, Will Thomas.  After the game, Williams told reporters he outplayed Thomas, but seemingly did not want to say much more.  It is clear the two are not big fans of one another.

-  More to come about the game in my Monday column in The Athens NEWS.

*  February 22nd Part II

-  I just spoke with Steve Becvar, a former basketball player and graduate of Ohio University.  After speaking with Becvar I came away impressed by his personable attitude, but again, I don’t know the likelihood that he would leave a great situation at the University of San Diego.  Becvar has been the Associate Director of Athletics for Marketing & Sponsorship for just two weeks.  He acknowledged he would at least listen if Ohio University contacted him. “I would certainly listen,” said Becvar. “But I have been very committed with my work at hand as far as USD.”

-  One of the biggest reasons I am pessimistic about Becvar’s chances to become the new A.D. at Ohio traces back to his family.  Becvar has three children—two boys ages 12 and 10, including a daughter who is a standout sophomore volleyball player in high school.  Becvar did admit the possibility of having to ask his daughter to move across country two years before college would be hard to do.

-  Stay tuned for more updates.

*  February 22^nd

-  I spoke with Jon McBride, the Athletics Director at Division II Nebraska-Kearney.  McBride acknowledged he has heard his name floating around regarding the opening Director of Athletics spot at Ohio University.  “I do know quite a few folks in town, and have received some calls about the situation so I am aware of it and cognizant of it,” McBride said.

-  McBride is an alumnus of Ohio University, and applied for the Director of Athletics opening in the 90’s that was eventually given to Tom Boeh. “It’s no secret that I interviewed for the job before,” said McBride adding, “I’m very happy at the Division II level.  Whether I would look at that or not is a really good question.  I don’t think you ever say never to things in life, so I don’t really know.”

-  McBride is on a year-to-year contract at Nebraska-Kearney. “I’ve got a great, exciting situation here.  It is an excellent division II program.”

-  In completely unrelated news, if you are attending the George Mason game tomorrow, you might want to stay in your seat during media timeouts and/or halftime.   Just for a tease, I will leave it at that.

* February 21^st

-  I spoke with Mark Wilson, the Director of Athletics at Tennessee Tech University.  Wilson, who signed an extension through 2012 at TTU this past summer, served as an associate A.D. a few years ago at Ohio University.

-  Wilson downplayed any talk about the opening Director of Athletics position at OU.  “I’m in a great situation here,” said the 38-year-old Wilson. “We had a great experience at Ohio but we are doing great things at Tennessee Tech and we are very happy here as well.”

-  Wilson did admit that he heard his name was being floated around as a possible candidate.  “I had heard that,” he noted.  “Nobody from the university has officially contacted me regarding their opening or anything of that nature.”

-  I don’t know if OU will be after Wilson or not, but I can tell you this after speaking with him shortly this morning—if Ohio does decide to go after Wilson I can see why.  He was extremely personable and easy to talk to.  I have a feeling, however, that it might be hard to sway Wilson away from a good situation at TTU.  Just a hunch.

*  February 20^th Part II

-  Many probably noticed Leon Williams went scoreless in the first half against Bowling Green last night.  It was the third time this season that has occurred (New Mexico State and the first Kent State game).  It was just the ninth time Williams had failed to score a bucket in the first half his entire career.  It happened four times as a freshman and twice as a sophomore (Northern Illinois on January 17^th and Buffalo on January 20th).  It did not happen once his junior season.  So in 120 career games, Leon has been scoreless for the first 20 minutes just nine times.  Incredible.

-  Jon Sciambi and Mark Adams will have the call of the ESPN2 broadcast of the Bracketbusters contest on Saturday at The Convo.

*  February 20^th

-  Kirby Hocutt’s last day of work at Ohio University will reportedly be April 15^th.  There is a possibility that a new Athletic Director could be selected by then.

-  Speaking of athletic directors, tonight on “The SportsFan” Jimmy and I talked about the possibility of Tom Hodson becoming the A.D.   We have joked about the subject the last two weeks, but I think it deserves a serious conversation, one we hope to have tomorrow with Hodson.  Clearly, Hodson is qualified.

-  Thanks to all of those who have submitted their votes for the 1^st Annual TroopSports.com Fan Poll.  I’m going to wait until March 1^st to release the results.  I can say, however, there are several surprises in the voting, already.  Stay tuned, and keep on voting.

-  Last night’s win over Bowling Green was a good one.  My only concern is with Allen Hester taking 11 shots, second most to Jerome Tillman (12) on the night.  I don’t know if I want Hester to be shooting that much.  I don’t mind him starting, and I love his defensive tenacity, but he seemed to force a few shots last night.

-  That said, he can’t be much worse than Justin Orr.  He has been a disappointment of talent thus far.

-  The worst part about the announced crowd of 3,486 last night?  According to one of the callers on our radio show, the season ticket holder’s seats are counted, even if they are not filled with bodies.  I sure hope the Bobcats’ next mid-week home game will have a better turnout.

-  Want to know the single biggest difference between Tim O’Shea’s squad and the women’s basketball team?  The Lady ‘Cats get the job done on the road for games they should win.  Need evidence?  Crawley’s squad has had no bad road losses.  They lost at Michigan, Bowling Green, Pitt and Butler this season.

-  More to come as I dig further and further in to this sex tape scandal.

* February 17th

-  Make sure you check out The 1st Annual TroopSports.com Fan Poll.  If there is anyone I left out of the voting ballot please let me know as soon as possible.

- I know the Fan Poll is coming out during the middle of the sports season, but with all that has happened the last few months, there is plenty to debate about.  I’m interested to see the voter response to several of these categories.  It should be a lot of fun.

* February 15th

-  Ohio University Women’s Basketball play-by-play broadcaster and director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism Tom Hodson will be in-studio with Jimmy and I for the “The SportsFan” tonight.

* February 14th (8:10 pm)

-  The Ohio University women’s game will be cancelled on Saturday due to the shooting on the campus of Northern Illinois.  Sylvia Crawley’s team was supposed to ride a bus nine hours tomorrow to Dekalb, Illinois.

-  A makeup date has not yet been announced.

-  The Western Michigan-Northern Illinois game that was to be played on Sunday in Dekalb is also postponed.

* February 13th

-  The question everyone has been asking is finally answered today on the Bobcat Blog.  Why in the world does Bobcats 2008 QB Junior College recruit Franshaw Jackson go by ‘Boo’?

“Here we go,” laughed Jackson. “Yah, that doesn’t even resemble my real name does it?  It actually came from when I was a little kid.

“Whenever I was crying or sad or anything my ma would always play peek-a-boo with me,” said Jackson. “It would always cheer me up, so ever since then I’ve been introduced as ‘Boo’, and I like it.”

-  But what is wrong with Franshaw?  “(I) don’t really like my first name,” added Jackson.”  Even people in my home town don’t really know my real name, but I have to put it on records and stuff when I go to different schools.”

“So I prefer to be called Boo at Ohio.  Let everyone know for me,” joked Jackson.

-  Back to football.  Jackson said he has been going over the play book a lot already, and has had frequent conversations with co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Gerry Gdowski.

-  I asked Jackson about his thoughts on Frank Solich claiming that the quarterback position is absolutely wide open. “It’s great,” said Jackson.  “I love going to compete for something that is wide open and now that there is about three guys coming back that are juniors…I know that I will have to step it up, and that’s what I strive for.  Competition is always good.”

-  I regret to say that Kirby Hocutt will not be on “The SportsFan” this week.  I know it is a hectic time, and I understand that.  Hopefully he will come on for a few minutes tonight.

-  Sometime in the near future I will be announcing the 1^st Annual TroopSports.com Fan Poll.  Stay tuned for that.  It should be a lot of fun.

* February 10^th

-  It’s been a while since I have updated the blog.  In reality, I am merely trying to recover from the silly string barrage my girlfriend and I received from the “Zooperstars” yesterday at The Convo.  My face was as red as Tim Pollitz’s mug after a Facebook picture leaked to The O-Zone earlier this year.

-  In my column that will be out tomorrow morning in The Athens NEWS I tried best I could to summarize my opinions on the Kirby Hocutt resignation and what Ohio University should do for his replacement in the near future.

-  A report by the Cincinnati Enquirer states that the University of Kentucky pretty much has to play a MAC school in 2008 since Temple backed out for the second consecutive year.  While Miami and UK are currently chatting it up right now, why can’t Ohio get in on the talks with the Wildcats?

-  Leon Williams better put his performance against Western Michigan Center Joe Reitz on his NBA Draft resume.

-  What a disappointing loss by the Ohio women’s team.  I’ve backed this program all year long, and I will continue to do so.  But they sure fumble away a win Saturday.  I do not understand why Sylvia Crawley went away from her bench.

-  On my trip to and from Columbus earlier today, I had a chance to listen to OU graduate Tony Castricone host an Ohio State Basketball pre-game show before the Indiana game on 1460 The Fan.  What a talent.

-  More to come.  There is more brewing out of Ohio University Athletics.

-  On the radio side, we will hopefully get Kirby Hocutt on “The SportsFan” at some point this week.  Stay tuned for that.  If you have suggestions for the show, feel free to shoot them our way.  We’d love to hear from you.

* February 7th

-  A couple of things to note tonight, including an apology.  The story broke about Kirby Hocutt reportedly leaving Ohio University for the University of Miami (Florida) late this afternoon, and Jimmy and I did our best to truthfully cover the story and give our take, despite no official announcement in front of us.

-  As for Hocutt, while I understand his departure for more money and higher prestige, it really frustrates me that Hocutt left for multiple reasons.  I said this on “The SportsFan” and I will reiterate that he essentially used Ohio University as a stepping stone for his own professional progress.  That’s what irks me. 

-  In a lot of ways this is similar to the Geoff Carlston resignation, though.  You cannot blame both men for moving to better programs with a bigger budget and better individual financial opportunities.  But Carlston had done pretty much all he could have with the volleyball program.  Hocutt, meanwhile, did not complete his task.  He was rebuilding a program.  He was looking for a new volleyball coach.  He was getting Ohio through a gambling scandal.  He was getting Ohio out of budget issues.  Unlike Carlston, who left with complete class, Hocutt looks like a quitter because of the timing.

-  Kirby Hocutt, by the way, denied our interview request tonight for “The SportsFan”.  We will try again for Friday night.

-  As for my apology:  Let me start by stating off the top that I went overboard on “The SportsFan” tonight.  I erroneously connected “The Post” to The E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.

-  I chastised The Post’s Senior Campus Writer, David Hendricks, who published an online report at 6 pm about the resignation.   He and The Post claimed in that article that they were aware of the Hocutt resignation on Wednesday.  But Hendricks did not report the story until 6 pm tonight, 2.5 hours after the Miami Herald did so.  Why?  If one is going to claim that one knew of the story, then it must be reported.  I do not believe that Hendricks nor The Post did a good job covering the story.  To be quite honest, it looks like The Post was scared to pull the trigger.  I did not hold back when I knew about a month ago that Steve Stanard would be the next D-Line coach.  I trusted my single source.  If you did not trust your first source, then you cannot use them in the article.

-  Where I messed up was connecting Hendricks and The Post with the Journalism School.  For the record, the J-School and The Post are not connected.  “The Post” is an independent organization, and I was wrong for connecting Hendricks’ errors to the problems with the J-School.  For that, I am sorry.  Not everyone in the J-school is a writer for The Post, and not all of the writers for The Post are in the J-school.

-  I will not, however, take back my criticism for Hendricks and The Post.  While I commend their inside information getting, their journalist integrity was not on target.  If there is a rule at “The Post” to not report something until there are two sources, then why was it reported today at 6 pm with one source (Tom Davis, Board of Trustees)?

-  Enough with the reporting drama, it is an immature subject.  I just wanted to admit that I messed up by connecting “The Post” and the J-School.  There is a reason I chose Ohio over Mizzou, Northwestern, and Syracuse, and it is in large part to the program under Director Tom Hodson.

-  Make sure you check out the podcast of the show from tonight.  As always, shoot me the e-mails.

* February 6th (7:45)

Click Here to Listen to the National Signing Day Press Conference

-  I just got back from the press conference and radio show at Peden.  Let me start off by saying that tonight’s “SportsFan” was a can’t miss, and I don’t just say that because I am a co-host.

-  We had an emotional and defiant Geoff Carlston on at the top of the show, and then we had Recruiting Coordinator Pete Germano for the last 10-15 minutes of the show.  You can listen to the podcast at thesportsfan.mypodcast.com.

-  I will put up the unedited, full-length audio clip from tonight’s press conference on my site in a few hours. 

-  What did I get out of it?  Josh Febus, and all of the quarterbacks, will be on the team; the quarterback position is WIDE open; neither Theo Scott nor Boo Jackson have a leg up; Altoona High School is in the middle of nowhere, and much more.

-  In speaking on “The SportsFan” Germano really singled out Bakari Bussey saying that he is an imediate impact player.

-  Solich gave a long-winded, but clearly frustrated response at the Febus rumors.  He is not happy with those hidden faces on the internet sites (BobcatAttack.com) who spread rumors but do not back them up.  Can’t say I blame him, to be honest.  I’ve said all along that the rumors are merely just that.

-  Stay tuned, I’ll have the press conference audio up in an hour or so.  At the top is the link that will be filled with audio probably by 10 pm. 

*  February 6th (12:45) Final Numbers Just Released

Commitments

QB -  Boo Jackson (CA JUCO)

RB -  Josh Green (OH)

WR – Bakari Bussey  (OH), Serggio Judkins (FL)

TE -  Jordan Thompson (OH)

OL -  Matt Britain (GA),  Vince Carlotta (OH), Eric Herman (OH)

DT  - Corey Moncrief (MS JUCO)

DE  – Neal Huynh (PA), Tremayne Scott (FL)

LB  – Alphonso Lewis (PA), Brandon Weaver (PA), Melvin Payne (AL), Vincent Harris (OH)

CB -  Tyler Futrell (PA)

S  -    Hilton Dawson (CA JUCO), Patrick Tafua (CA JUCO), Gerald Moore (GA)

K/P  – Matt Weller (OH)

Breakdown By State:

Ohio- 7

Pennsylvannia- 5

Callifornia- 3

Georgia- 1

Florida-  2

Alabama-  1

Mississippi-  1

JUCO- 4

Breakdown By Stars

Rivals.com

Not Listed: Tyler Futrell, Matt Johnson, Josh Greene, Serggio Judkins, Vincent Harris

O Stars: Matt Weller, Melvin Payne, Corey Moncrief

1 Star: None

2 Stars:  Matt Britain, Bakari Bussey, Vince Carlotta, Eric Herman, Neal Huynh, Alphonso Lewis, Patrick Tafua, Brandon Weaver, Jordan Thompson

3 Stars: Boo Jackson, Hilton Dawson, Gerald Moore, Tremayne Scott,

4 Stars: None

Scout.com

Not Listed: Jordan Thompson, Matt Johnson, Matt Weller, Josh Greene, Serggio Judkins, Vince Harris

1 Star:  Treymayne Scott, Melvin Payne, Eric Herman, Corey Moncrief,

2 Stars: Gerald Moore, Vince Carlotta, Tyler Futrell, Brandon Weaver, Bakari Bussey, Alphonso Lewis, Neal Hyunh, Matt Britain, Vince Harris

3 Stars:  Hilton Dawson, Patrick Tafua

4 Stars:  Boo Jackson

* February 6th (9:45 am)

-  The ‘Cats will have 20 committments by the end of the day.  I am missing one, who I’m told is a Rivals.com three-star recruit.  I will track that down as soon as a can.  Below is a breakdown of the class so far.

Breakdown By State:

Ohio- 6

Pennsylvannia- 5

Callifornia- 3

Georgia- 1

Florida-  1

Alabama-  1

Mississippi-  1

JUCO- 4

Breakdown By Stars

Rivals.com

Not Listed: Tyler Futrell, Matt Johnson, Josh Greene

O Stars: Matt Weller, Melvin Payne, Corey Moncrief

1 Star: None

2 Stars:  Matt Britain, Bakari Bussey, Vince Carlotta, Eric Herman, Neal Huynh, Alphonso Lewis, Patrick Tafua, Brandon Weaver, Jordan Thompson

3 Stars: Boo Jackson, Hilton Dawson, Gerald Moore, Tremayne Scott,

4 Stars: None

Scout.com

Not Listed: Jordan Thompson, Matt Johnson, Matt Weller, Josh Greene

1 Star:  Treymayne Scott, Melvin Payne, Eric Herman, Corey Moncrief,

2 Stars: Gerald Moore, Vince Carlotta, Tyler Futrell, Brandon Weaver, Bakari Bussey, Alphonso Lewis, Neal Hyunh, Matt Britain,

3 Stars:  Hilton Dawson, Patrick Tafua

4 Stars:  Boo Jackson,

* February 6th (9 am)

-  The ‘Cats have some good breaking recruiting news at the last minute.

-  A source close to the recruiting said that Gerald Moore, who had given a soft verbal, will in fact sign with Ohio.

-  Josh Green is a running back from Springboro High School in the Cincinnati area, not from Houston, Texas, as I had mentioned last night.  He will probably be the replacement at RB for Jerry Kelly.

-  Ohio got a commitment from Tremayne Scott (6-4, 275), a three-star defensive end from Trinity Catholic in Florida.  This is a HUGE steal for Ohio as Scott had offers from Louisville, Kansas, Temple and Western Michigan.  Scott runs a 4.75 40-yard dash.

-  The Bobcats also got Melvin Payne (6-2, 212), a linebacker from LeFlore High School in Mobile, Alabama.  Payne has barely qualified academically.

-  So to run down the proposed commitment list:

QB -  Boo Jackson (CA JUCO)

RB -  Josh Green (OH)

WR – Bakari Bussey  (OH)

TE -  Jordan Thompson (OH)

OL – Matt Britain (T  from GA),  Vince Carlotta (OL from OH), Eric Herman (OH)

DT  – Corey Moncrief (MS)

DE  – Neal Huynh (PA), Matt Johnson (PA), Tremayne Scott (FL)

LB  – Alphonso Lewis (PA), Brandon Weaver (PA), Melvin Payne (AL)

CB -  Tyler Futrell (PA)

S  -    Hilton Dawson (CA JUCO), Patrick Tafua (CA JUCO), Gerald Moore (GA)

K/P -  Matt Weller (OH)

* February 5^th (10:20 pm)

-  Shocking news out of the recruiting ranks at Ohio University.  According to a source close to Ohio University recruiting, two-star running back Jerry Kelly has decided to change his verbal and go to Boston College.

-  I caught up with Kelly, who said he received the BC offer on Monday.  “I committed today.”

-  Kelly said he called co-offensive coordinator Jerry Gdowski, who thought Kelly was joking.“They didn’t believe me at first, but I was serious.”  Kelly got more attention and offers due to improved grades. “There’s nothing wrong with Ohio University, it was just a personal decision I made,” added Kelly. “I really did like Ohio and love the campus.” 

-  Kelly sounded sincere in saying that it was a very tough decision.  He spent 24 hours debating Ohio and BC.  “They are pretty much on par, but it’s a matter of bowl games and conferences, and the degree I get.”

-  So who will replace Kelly at the RB position?  That same source told me it could be Josh Green (5-11, 170), from Westbury High School (TX).  Rivals.com says he runs a 4.54 40-yard dash, and has a 36-inch vertical leap.

-  More to come, stay tuned.

* February 5th (Part II)

-  Just a heads up to all the listeners of “The SportsFan”.  Tonight we will have the new Ohio Bobcat Defensive Line coach Steve Stanard at 6:36.

-  On Wednesday we will have Geoff Carlston at the top of the show.  I’ll be on location at Peden Stadium with all the follow up from National Signing Day.  I’m sure many other non-recruiting related football questions will be answered as well.

-  I’ve been saying this for weeks but I’ll say it again.  There really is no other place for Ohio University sports news and opinion than the “The SportsFan” and I truly mean that.

* February 5th

-  Taveion Cuffee (5-11, 175) told me Tuesday morning that he will sign with James Madison on Wednesday.  Cuffee is a Rivals.com three-star cornerback from Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia.  He chooses the Dukes over Ohio, Akron, Memphis, Connecticut, and Toledo.  “It is closer to home, and I just felt comfortable down there,” said Cuffee.  Ranked as the 40^th best prep school football player in the nation, Cuffee said that the opportunity to be a four-year starter at JM was too good to pass up.  He did note that the Bobcats recruited him very hard.

-  James Madison is in the Colonial Athletic Association, and is part of the Football Championship Subdivision.

-  In other news, Josh Lott, who committed to Duquesne yesterday told me that while he wanted to go to Duquesne in the first place, Ohio did not even have an offer for him.  “I chose Duquesne over Ohio but when I called to tell them they informed me that they didn’t have a scholarship for me anymore anyway.  So, in the end it worked.”

-  Two-star linebacker Zachary Bobb will sign with Woffard tomorrow.

-  While I am extremely confident that Parkway High School prospect Jordan Thompson will sign with Ohio during a press conference tomorrow, it is pure speculation at this point and thus you will hear no official word from yours truly until after the fact.

* February 4th (12:30 pm)

-  Two-star linebacker Josh Lott made his commitment today, and I just caught up with him. “I committed to Duquesne today,” Lott said.

-  H.D. Woodson two-star linebacker Dion Guy committed to UNC after a weekend visit to Chapel Hill.

-  According to Parkway High School athletics director Doug Hughes, two-star LB/TE Jordan Thompson has made his college decision.  It was down to Ohio, Miami, and Air Force.  Thompson will make an announcement on National Signing Day, and according to Hughes, he has not told the school that he has selected.

-  Keep an eye on the Jordan Thompson recruitment as well as Georgia linebacker Zachary Bobb.  Dominique Gaston will be the back-up signee if both Thompson and Bobb go somewhere else.

-  Stay tuned over the next two days as Ohio rounds out this class.

* February 3rd Part II

-  Steve Stanard will be introduced as the new defensive line coach for the Ohio Bobcats on Tuesday.

* February 3^rd

-  According to Director of Athletics, Kirby Hocutt, the Bracketbuster matchup will be announced tomorrow at 3 pm by ESPN.

-  As I said in The Athens NEWS earlier this week, New England 38, New York 17.

-  I expect Lauren Kohn and Leon Williams to be named the Mid-American Conference Players of the Week for the second consecutive week. The announcement will be made mid-day on Monday.  In two victories this week, Williams had two double-doubles.  He averaged 21 points and 11 boards.  He shot 57% from the floor (12-21) and 78% from the foul line (18-23).  Kohn, meanwhile, averaged 21.5 ppg, 7.5 rebounds per game, and was 14-16 from the foul line (87.5%).  She was 50% from the floor (13-26).

-  I would not be surprised if Miami guard Kenny Hayes got the MAC East award, however.  Hayes had 25 against Northern Illinois and 27 yesterday against Ball State.  Both were wins for the Redhawks.  Buffalo guard Andy Robinson had back-to-back 22 point performances in losses against Western and Central Michigan.

- On the West side, Giordan Watson could get the POW award.  He had 18 points and 6 assists against Ohio, and then followed that up with 34 points and eight assists in a win yesterday.  However I think the award will go to Western Michigan center Joe Reitz, who averaged 25 points and nine rebounds in consecutive victories over BG and Buffalo.

* February 2^nd

-  Thanks to YOU, the reader, TroopSports.com has seen a gigantic increase in website popularity over the last three months, and the numbers just keep on climbing.  If your company is interested in advertising on one of Athens’ fastest up-and-coming websites, shoot me an e-mail at ctroop@TroopSports.com for more statistics, information and rates.

-  Stay tuned right here for an announcement from two-star linebacker Josh Lott over the next 24 to 48 hours.

*  February 1st

-  Two-star running back Gary Thornton (5-8, 200) told me Friday night that he committed to Youngstown State.  Thornton goes to Rayen High School in Youngstown, Ohio, and reportedly runs a 4.6 40-yard dash.

-  Fresh back from calling the Athens-Chillicothe contest/blow out tonight (104-37 Cavaliers).  I must say, to those craving for 6-7 Ray Chambers, I was not that impressed.  He had just four points at the break, and missed countless shots in the paint against a 1-16 Athens team.  He finished with 17 and 10, including three of eight from the line.  He was one of the worst free throw shooters as far as comfort and confidence I have seen all high school season.  And putting up 17 and 10 against a one-win team is nothing to brag about.  His footwork was OK, but he didn’t show me a lot of strength, and he missed several bunnies inside.  Just my two cents.

-  Three-star cornerback Taveion Cuffee from Fork Union, two-star TE/LB Jordan Thompson from Parkway High School and two-star LB Josh Lott from Warren Howland High School are going down to the wire to wrap up the 2008 recruiting class.  Will the ‘Cats get any of them?  Check back for continuous breaking news and updates when news happens right here on the Blog.