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Spurrier Unconcerned with NCAA Inquiry “At this time, the possible violations primarily involve the matters that the institution and the enforcement staff are reviewing in the football program,” reads a paragraph in the letter, which was distributed by USC sports information. “However, please note that new information often is developed during an investigation that leads…

Bryant’s Life and Death Cast a Shadow Over Paterno “He’s painfully aware that Bryant died a couple of weeks after he retired,” L. Budd Thalman, the retired associate athletic director for communications at Penn State and a close friend of Paterno’s, said in a telephone interview. “I’ve heard him say that a couple of times.…

Gator fans have already anointed Jeff Driskel the next Tim Tebow Driskel, a 6-4, 225-pound linebacker look-a-like, totaled 246 yards on 17 rushes. The No. 2 ranked prospect on the Sentinel Super60 Class of 2011 prospect chart also completed 15 of 26 pass attempts for 147 yards and the Huskies’ third TD. “Some of the…

New England Patriots [team stats] quarterback Tom Brady [stats] was involved in a two-car accident today in the Back Bay that sent a passenger from the other vehicle to the hospital, sources told the Herald. Brady refused treatment at the scene and is en route to Gillette Stadium, according to a team source. The 6:34 a.m. crash at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Gloucester Street knocked over a traffic light and forced firefighters to use the Jaws of Life to free a passenger in the rear seat of the van, said Steve MacDonald, Boston Fire Department spokesman. Brady’s Audi was seen being towed from the scene. Emergency Medical Services personnel transported one person to Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said spokeswoman Jennifer Mehigan. Another patient was evaluated, said Boston police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll. Brady was seen walking around at the scene. Commonwealth Avenue was shut down at Gloucester Street outbound while officials cleared the crash scene. The street has since re-opened to traffic.

SEC predictions: Week 2 So there you have it. Officially, I was 9-3 (.750) in Week 1. That’s not going to get me into any BCS bowls. I need a big Week 2. Here goes: THURSDAY Mississippi State 31, Auburn 30: Why not a thriller in the first SEC game of the season? These two…

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/455755-two-dat-five-reasons-why-the-new-orleans-saints-will-repeat As we all are well aware of, the Saints won the Super Bowl last season. In most cases they were not even predicted to make it to the play-offs. But they defied all odds and stormed through the regular season and played well in the post-season. Many people when asked about the 2009 Saints…

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703453804575479964140668930.html ARLINGTON, Texas—The Dallas Cowboys, by far the most popular NFL team in the Nielsen survey, got there partly through success on the field, winning five Super Bowls, tied for second-most in league history. But they’ve also done it with a combination of hubris, generous geography, a bit of luck and perhaps the biggest sideshow…

http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2010/09/new_orleans_saints_notes_patro.html Williams stands his ground Perhaps the most publicized aspect of the Saints-Vikings game has been whether the Saints will deliver the same beating to Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre that they did in the 2009 NFC championship game, and whether the Vikings will seek their own sort of payback in the way they attack…

Safety Malcolm Jenkins of the New Orleans Saints is optimistic that the Saints can repeat as NFL champions this season but knows that it will take plenty of work. That is the goal and we are working extremely hard to get back there but it still comes down to wining games and that’s our biggest focus right now. We must take it a game at a time just like we did last year. We must succeed when we are suppose to succeed and find a way to win when the odds are against us. We did a great job of that last year and we will have to persevere through tough games, the second year player says. Jenkins, who was drafted 14th overall in last year’s draft, was considered by some scouts to be better suited for the safety position and was moved from cornerback to safety during the offseason and feels comfortable at his new position. I love the move to safety it feels natural and I’m able to use my instincts and range to my advantage, he says. The Saints coaching staff made the decision to draft Florida State cornerback Patrick Robinson with their first round pick this year thus giving the team the depth to move Jenkins who will be the backup to veteran Darren Sharper. Says Jenkins of Sharper, I thinks he’s a huge piece to our puzzle defensively. You saw what he did last year on the field and even if he’s not on the field he can teach other players to do the things that he did. Sharper, who was brought in last year after a productive career with Green Bay and Minnesota, was the star of the Saints’ new and improved defense but Jenkins thinks that the defense can improve even more. I think the “D” has the potential to be better than we were last year, but potential isn’t enough we still have a lot of work to do to get to where we want to be, he says. That place where Saints want to be is Dallas in February of 2011 which is where the Super Bowl will be held at the end of this season and the team wouldn’t mind bringing another trophy back home to Who Dat Town. This article was written by Josh Joffrion and was sent in via email for publish on WDD. Get WhoDatDish.com three ways, subscribe to the RSS feed, become a friend of WDD on Twitter, or enjoy the new iPhone and Android app by searching for Who Dat Dish in your phone’s app store, it’s free!

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram has not returned to practice for No. 1 Alabama and while Nick Saban said the injured running back is unlikely to play against No. 18 Penn State on Saturday, the coach isn't necessarily counting his star out. SEC blog ESPN.com's Chris Low writes about all things SEC in his conference blog. • Blog network: College Football Nation "If there is anybody in the world that can play without practicing, it's probably Mark," Saban said after Wednesday's practice. "He's a student of the game, he watches everything, understands everything, knows everything and he's a tremendous competitor. He has a lot of experience, but we would never put him in that situation." Ingram had left knee surgery last week, but Saban said he was able to do some running the past two days. "I just don't know if Mark's going to have enough practice time," he said. "He's getting close, but I don't know if he'll have enough practice time in to be able to play in the game or not." Before practice, Saban said Ingram's knee was "improving every day" and hasn't had swelling but the Heisman winner "probably" wouldn't be able to play. The Tide (1-0) faces the Nittany Lions (1-0) Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium. "If he can continue to progress -- I would say he's probably not going to be ready to play this week," Saban said. "He might be ready by the game, but he won't be able to practice enough. "After that, maybe we have a chance to get him back if he continues to progress." Ingram sat out Alabama's opener against San Jose State after having an arthroscopic procedure to repair an injury sustained in practice early on opening week. Backup Trent Richardson had 10 carries for 66 yards and a pair of touchdowns to go with three catches for 46 yards in the win over San Jose State. He only played the first half. Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press