Times Record News from Wichita Falls, Texas (2024)

December 1, 2006

Publication:

Times Record Newsi

Location:

Wichita Falls, Texas

Issue Date:

Friday, December 1, 2006

Page:

31

Extracted Article Text (OCR)

SPORTS Timet Record Newt Friday December 1 2006 5D QB back after 2-month hiatus Van Pelt one play away from huddle Kristi Make The Auoclated Press HOUSTON Recently signed backup quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt has been out of football for more than two months So he Isn't ready to think about the possibility that he could end up playing for the Houston Texans on Sunday if something happens to David Carr "It is mind boggling" he said "You just know that going to get that phone call and you just have to step right into it and you have to kind of be a man when you get into that situation and you have to study and you have to catch up not easy but then again the sport is not easy and I guess that is life" Van Pelt was signed on Tuesday to replace Sage Rosenfels who broke his thumb making a special teams tackle against the Jets Coach Gary Kubiak chose Van Felt because he was familiar with the system after spending last season in Denver: He was released by the Broncos in September: be Kubiak said knows what doing We just have to get him back settled down to doing it the right way but compete He knows going Van Pelt said he spent his off-time training in Minnesota but ran into some trouble there "Just being a quarterback is pretty difficult (to work out) on your Van Pelt said not everyday you get people to run routes Coming down here just nice to have live targets I'm just very appreciative and humbling after sitting out of the Carr said he planning to be any more careful than normal when scrambling against Oakland He believes Van Pelt can handle playing will be fine if he spend his 38th birthday in January with a cast on his se-riously injured right arm His rehabilitation could be mixed with more thoughts of retirement don't know if that's anything to even talk about right! New England coach Bill Belichick said Thursday no decision that needs to be made on that So dis- cuss that in due Johnson's injury affects plans SANTA CLARA Calif (AP) Although Eric John-! son has endured more serious injuries in his six seasons! with the San Francisco 49ers his sprained knee ligament! comes at a particularly bad' time for both the tight end and the club Johnson will miss at least the next two weeks after injur ing his left knee during practice the 49ers disclosed Thursday His injury will prevent the 49ers from getting foil use out of the veteran pass-catcher and rookie Vernon Davis in their two-tight end offense The 49ers were hoping to get Johnson and Davis into the lineup Sunday in New Orleans for the first extended time together but now it might never happen Johnson is a free agent after the season and ambivalent about his chances of coming back to the club that drafted him in the seventh round something that going back and forth Johnson said has to do with so many factors: playing time money demand I see myself as a starter in this league so have to accept a different role than used to at least in the short term But I do like this team a lot and I like where headed so Johnson who has 32 catches for 282 yards and two touchdowns this season missed two of the last three seasons with a broken collarbone in 2003 and a torn foot muscle last season He had a team-leading 82 catches for 825 yards in 2004 The Associated Press Division baffle Carson Palmer hit TJ Houshmandzadeh on a 40-yard flea-flicker early in the second half to give the Bengals a cushion over their AFC North Division rival Baltimore Ravens running back Jamal Lewis (31) is smothered by several Cincinnati Bengals defenders in the first half Thursday in Cincinnati It was 13-0 Cincinnati at press time has to go Carr said HELPING HODGDON: Second-year player Drew Hodgdon will be back in die starting lineup at center on Sunday after Mike Flanagan was placed on injured reserve this week Hodgdon started two games for Flanagan earlier in the season and said not worried about any problems against the Raiders But that stop him and Carr from spending a few extra minutes together after practice on Thursday working on snaps in the shotgun formation Assistant head coach Mike Sherman and offensive line coach John Benton kept a close watch over the drills season future in limbo after injury FOXBOROUGH Mass (AP) Junior Seau leave -the NFL the way he wanted despite his 12 Pro Bowls So he went back leaving the last two years with injuries was not he said when he joined the New England Patriots late last summer four days after announcing his retirement Now one of the best linebackers in recent NFL history is hurt again For the third straight year his season ended in November He could and handed out advice to the former fifth-round draft pick Carr said he already has confidence in the young player: think he is very athletic and I think he will get after Carr said "He plays with good leverage I like having Drew in the huddle and not going to be a problem More surgery for Culpepper DaVIE Fla (AP) Daunte Culpepper underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Thursday to remove a piece of cartilage that has hampered his recovery from reconstructive surgery a year ago The problem was discovered when Culpepper was examined Wednesday by Dr James Andrews in Birmingham Ala his kneecap there was a little piece of articular cartilage that was causing some coach Nick Saban said what was causing the problem why we wanted' to get this evaluated We all feel much better that a solution to what a serious issue but it was an issue that was holding him back Culpepper will remain on the active roster at least for now so there remains a chance play again this Parity hits all Big- 12 team Smith and offensive lineman Chris Messner Bob Stoops was a unanimous pick fin: coach of the year Other Longhorns joining Blalock on the top squad were fellow linemen Lyle Sendlein at center and Kasey Stoddard and a trio of defensive players: lineman Tim Crowder arid defensive backs Aaron Ross and Michael Griffin Both specialists were honored for the third straight year Colorado kicker Mason Crosby and Baylor punter Daniel Sepulveda Since they are seniors there will be new blood in both slots next year The offensive machine at Texas Tech produced two more firet-teamers in receiver Joel Filani and all-purpose pick Shannon Woods Oklahoma Adar-lus Bowman was the other receiver and Cowboys teammate Corey Hilliard was picked at offensive line Missouri was represented by tight end Chase Coffinan and linebacker Marcus Bacon Mm Aron The Auoclated Press DALLAS Parity has hit the Big 12 at least when it comes to the distribution of talent Just look at The Associated Press all-conference team Eleven schools have firet-teamers Texas is the only exception and the No 22 Aggies have more second-teamers than anyone else The split between the division is close too the South rose again but its lead was only 14-12 a big leap for the North after having only eight top picks each of the last three years Texas led the way with six first-team-ers matching the combined total of No 8 Oklahoma and No 19 Nebraska And even though the No 17 Longhorns beat the Cornhuskers and Sooners the old Big Eight rivals are the ones meet for the conference championship Saturday yet another fitting example of the theme to this year's AP team A panel of 20 sports writers who regularly cover the league for newspapers throughout the seven states were split on so many positions that there were only two unanimous picks: Texas offensive lineman Justin Blalock and Kansas running bade Jon Cornish Cornish was joined at running back by Brandon Jackson who narrowly edged out Adrian Peterson of Oklahoma interesting that Peterson came so dose considering a broken collarbone forced him to miss half the season long enough for his replacement Allen Patrick to get honorable mention on the all-conference squad In addition to Jackson other Nebraska players picked as the best at their position indude quarterback Zac Taylor who also was voted the offensive player of the year and defensive lineman Adam Carriker The Sooners were represented by linebacker Rufiis Alexander the defensive player of the year defensive back Reggie PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING REPORT BRIEFLY No Texas players granted release AUSTIN (AP) No Texas players have been granted a release to transfer a school official said Thursday amid conflicting reports that backup quarterback Jevan Snead would leave the team The Dallas Morning News Austin American-Statesman and Houston Chronicle reported that Snead plans to transfer possibly in time to enroll at a new school for the spring semester Those stories cited anonymous sources But Snead told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he has not asked for a release from his scholarship and said happening right Texas spokesman John Bianco said no players had been granted a release as of Thursday afternoon and that conversations players may have had with coach Mack Brown are confidential Snead was unavailable for comment and calls to his home in Stephenville went unanswered Thursday Asked Wednesday night if a transfer was something he might consider Snead told the Star-Telegram: "I know I feel comfortable talking about that right Snead was one of top recruits when he backed out of an oral commitment with Florida and signed with the Longhorns in February He enrolled In time for spring practice but beat out redshirt freshman Colt McCoy for the starting job Many names but few dues in Miami CORAL GABLES Fla (AP) was an overwhelming sense that Larry time at Miami was running out weeks agoi Predicting his firing which came last week was easy Predicting replace him next season however so simpla much speculation around the Hurricanes these days yet few clues about whom Miami will find its next coach A decision is expected sometime in the next week or two not paying any Miami defensive end Calais Campbell said now all just a lot of them The only confirmed candidate is Miami defensive coordinator Randy Shannon who discussed his chances of getting or his desire to pursue the job None of the other alleged coaching targets have expressed any public desire for the job although that's hardly uncommon Other names have been bandied about as possible candidates Greg Schiano former Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez South Florida's Jim Leavitt Tommy Tuberville Texas Mike Leach and former Alabama coach Mike Shula son of Miami Dolphins coaching legend Don Shula Boxing champ tests positive for meth LAS VEGAS (AP) WBC light flyweight champion Omar Nino tested positive for traces at methamphetamine after winning the title this month Nevada boxing regulators said The Nevada Athletic Commission is scheduled to formally announce temporary suspension at Its Tuesday meeting and a foil hearing will be scheduled around the first of the year commission executive director Keith Klzer said Thursday Under commission rules Nino (24-2-2) could face a possible suspension have his boxing license revoked be fined and have the commission rule that his latest bout was a no-decision The 30-year-old Mexican fighter retained the 108-pound title Nov 18 with a majority draw over former champion Brian Viloria even though Viloria knocked down Nino twice in the Las Vegas bout Nino first won the title with a unanimous decision over Viloria in August (real name Rob Stazkowsky) was arrested on drug charges along with fellow performer Terry Brunk while traveling together in Ohio WWE which quickly shifted the ECW title from Van Dam to Paul "Big Wight also lost the services of superstar Kurt Angle when he was suspended for flailing a steroid test Angle left the company in August and now headlines for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (8 pm Thursdays Spike TV) WWE be expected to completely recapture the magic generated by ECW during its heyday in the mid-1990s Much of the top talent and innovative ideas developed by ECW founder Paul Heyman that once set the group apart were blended into WWE storylines long before its purchase of the promotion in early 2001 But Heyman who remains heavily involved in matchmaking seems handcuffed by WWE management that has made the televised product appear almost identical to its other programming And rather than concentrate more heavily on developing fresh talent with upside WWE has used ECW as a dumping ground for stale performers like Andrew Martin Bob Holly and Dalip Singh who outlived their usefulness on Smackdown and Raw ECW is one of Sci-Fi top-rated programs drawing in the vicinity of two million viewers a week But whether the promotion can stop a gradual ratings slide since its debut may rest heavily on the muscled shoulders of Bobby Lashley who is set to receive a major push after recently Jumping from Smackdown to ECW With current ECW champion Paul Wight reportedly set to take an indefinite hiatus because of back problems Lashley is the favorite to win "Extreme Elimination match that also features Test Van Dam Sabu and the promising CM Punk Questions and Answers: Whatever happened to the Ultimate Warrior? Robert Skolnick Centennial Cola Warrior which is what the former Jim Hellwig legally changed his name to in 1993 haB limited his battles to those in the political arena since retir- ing from pro wrestling in 1999 But the ultra-conservative Warrior is reportedly suing WWE for the unflattering way he was portrayed in the (italics) The Self Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior (close italics) DVD that was released last year: Questions can be sent to Alex Marvez do the South Florida Sun-Sentinel 200 Las Olas Bind Fort Lauderdale Fla 33301 or e-mailed to amarvez(at)sun-sen-tinelcom Please include your full name and city qf residence Because of volume no phone calls will be accepted and letters will not receive a written reply Editor's Note: The weekly pro wrestling column Is for entertainment purposes only AlaxMarvaz Scrippa Howard New a Service The is supposed to stand for extreme not extinct Yet six months after Extreme Championship Wrestling's re-launch I have to wonder whether that is the direction the promotion is headed Parent company World Wrestling Entertainment already has pulled the plug on non-televised live events and is instead holding joint shows with its Smackdown brand Pay-per-view shows' after December to Dismember may be yanked next as WWE has only one ECW-speciflc event booked in 2007 1716 hype for December to Dismember which is ECWs first pay-per-view show since starting a weekly Tuesday night show on the Sci-Fi Network in June exemplifies the dysfunctional state Even in an oversaturated pay-per-view market WWE is asking fans to spend $3995 on a card with only two matches advertised One of those bouts the Hardy Boyz vs M-N-M (Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury) features four performers who even listed on talent roster In WWE's defense the ECW re- launch got off to a rough start when newly crowned champion Rob Van Dam.

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