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U of New Mexico soccer player Elizabeth Lambert suspended indefinitely

This for her actions in a recent Mountain West Conference semifinals versus BYU. From AP-

New Mexico women’s soccer defender Elizabeth Lambert has been suspended indefinitely after engaging in rough play — including hauling an opposing player to the ground by her pony tail — in the Lobos’ 1-0 loss to BYU in the Mountain West Conference semifinals.

Lambert is prohibited from taking part in practices, games and conditioning, coach Kit Vela announced Friday.

“Liz is a quality student-athlete, but in this instance her actions clearly crossed the line of fair play and good sportsmanship,” Vela said.

Video footage of the game shows Lambert, a junior, committing a series of excessively rough plays, including kicking, tackles, a forearm shiver to the back — in response to an elbow to the ribs — and yanking BYU forward Kassidy Shumway to the ground by her hair.

Lambert was assessed a yellow card during the 76th minute, apparently for tripping.

Lambert apologized for her actions.

Here’s a video of what happened. Warning the audio isn’t too good.

Her actions may have been provoked but are still uncalled for. I do think Lambert could have a future in another sport. How good is she at ice skating? Watch out Mountain West women’s hockey players.

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FIU loses to Northwood 71-61

It was the college coaching debut for FIU’s Isiah Thomas. From AP-

Isiah Thomas lost his coaching debut at Florida International on Wednesday night when Northwood, an NAIA school coached by Rollie Massimino, beat the Panthers 71-61 in an exhibition game.

Thomas, the Basketball Hall of Famer and most recently coach of the New York Knicks, faced Massimino, who coached Villanova to the 1985 NCAA title and is entering his fourth season at the West Palm Beach, Fla., school.

Lester Hunte scored 18 points for Northwood, while Patrick Horstmann had 13. Jay Duncan scored seven of his 10 points in the final minutes as Northwood pulled away.

Losing to a little known(I didn’t even know Northwood fielded a basketball team and the school is less than 15 minutes from my home) technical is not an auspicious start for FIU. The real season begins for the Panthers with a game against North Carolina on November 9th. Thomas will be lucky to lead FIU to 10 wins this year.

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Eastern Illinois assistant basketball coach Jackie Moore dead at 28

Very sad and slightly reminiscent of Maggie Dixon who coached Army and died at the same age. RIP.

Jackie Moore, a 28-year-old assistant women’s basketball coach at Eastern Illinois, has died.Jackie Moore

The university says Moore died Wednesday night at a hospital after collapsing as she started a workout.

School spokesman Rich Moser says doctors said Moore’s heart “just stopped.” Moser says an autopsy is planned.

Moore was in her third season at the school. She graduated from Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tenn., in 2005 and was from Windsor, Ontario.

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Big 12 hoping for more lenient bowl requirements

Some mediocre college football teams want Santa Claus to come early this year. From AP-

Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe wants the NCAA to treat teams with 6-6 records the same as teams with winning records when it comes to bowl games.

Under current rules, teams with .500 records can receive a bowl bid only if the school’s conference already has a deal with a bowl and all other teams with winning records have been invited to postseason games.

A winning Division I team should receive a bowl bid before any 6-6 teams. I’ve lived long enough to remember Florida State(8-3 in 1978) and the University of Miami(7-4 in 1982) being locked out of the post season in spite of their having better records than teams that did get bids. The Independence Bowl passed on the Hurricanes to invite schools, Kansas State(6-4-1) and Wisconsin(6-5). Who then played a real snoozer of a 14-3 game.

That said, I strongly believe there are too many bowl games played these days. Nothing would be lost if about six of them went away IMHO.

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Former UAB and NBA Basketball player Alan Ogg dead at 42

Very sad and RIP.

Alan Ogg, a 7-foot-2 shotblocker who played for UAB Blazers and spent parts of three seasons in the NBA, died Sunday from complications from a staph infection, a university spokesman said. He was 42.Ogg

UAB spokesman Norm Reilly said Ogg died at UAB Hospital.

Ogg played 80 NBA games over three seasons beginning in 1990 with the Miami Heat, who had a moment of silence Sunday night before playing Chicago. He also played for Milwaukee and Washington, and averaged 2.2 points and 1.7 rebounds during his career.

Ogg is UAB’s career leader with 266 blocked shots over four seasons, averaging more than two a game.

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Where’s the Silver lining? Boise State beats San Jose State 45-7

For the tenth time in ten meetings between the schools, the Broncos came out on top. From AP-

Kirby Moore caught his first college touchdown pass from big brother Kellen and the Broncos (No. 7 BCS, No. 6 AP) were sharp once again, rolling over San Jose State 45-7 Saturday for their eighth straight win.

“I think everybody on our sideline had a smile on their face after that play because to get a chance to play Division I football with your brother when not that many guys get to play Division I football — and then your brother is good enough to play and you can then hook up for touchdowns, I think that’s really awesome,” Broncos coach Chris Petersen said. “I think that’s why Kirby came here for those exact situations.”

Kellen Moore finished with three TD passes and ran for another one, and the Broncos stayed perfect at 8-0 and in the hunt for a BCS bid with TCU, the other undefeated team from a conference that doesn’t automatically qualify for the prized postseason games.

“This is what I think: When you get caught up in those numbers and get caught up in the scores of games and get caught up in how bad you should be beating people, it works against you,” Petersen said. “I think sometimes in the first half when it’s not 24-0 in our favor, guys are looking around and fans are looking around and asking, ‘What’s going on?’ That’s not realistic football.”

Moore, who came into the game the nation’s most efficient passer, was 21 of 33 for 278 yards. He now has 24 touchdown passes this season, and the Broncos rolled up 430 yards in beating San Jose State (1-6, 0-3) for the 10th straight time.

The Broncos held San Jose State to less than 225 yards total offense. So where’s the good news for the Spartans.

If there was a bright spot for the Spartans, it was their ability to tighten up their run defense. Coming into the game, the Spartans had been allowing 259 rushing yards per game. But they held the Broncos to 140 yards, most of those coming late with the game out of reach.

Do you think Coach Dick Tomey was impressed by this improvement today?

I didn’t think so either.

Boise State is trying to earn a BCS bowl appearance. They have a weak schedule for the rest of the year and I’m not sure the Broncos can achieve their goal.

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Iowa and Washington State Football Coach Forest Evashevski dead at 91

He led Iowa to two winning Rose Bowl appearances and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000. RIP.

Forest Evashevski, the former Michigan football star coached Iowa to two Rose Bowl victories in the 1950s, has died. He was 91.

Evashevski’s son, Forest Evashevski Jr., said Saturday that his father died Friday night from cancer at his home in Petoskey, Mich.

Evashevski said his father’s seven children, including five sons and two daughters, and wife Ruth, were at his bedside when he died.

Evashevski, the captain of Michigan’s 1940 team, was hired at Iowa in 1952, seven years after Iowa’s last winning season. He inherited a program that had languished in the bottom of the Big Ten.

But by 1956 the Hawkeyes were in the Rose Bowl, defeating Oregon State 35-19. They went again in the 1958 season, beating California 38-12. Evashevski won 52 games at Iowa, where he coached until 1960. He also led the team to three Big Ten championships.

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Pocketful of Miracles- Iowa beats Indiana 42-24

For the 4th time this college football season, the Hawkeyes launched a successful late comeback. From AP-

Of all the holes Iowa has dug itself, this was the deepest.

Indiana was leading by 14 in the third quarter and just two yards away from the Hawkeyes’ end zone. Given how poorly quarterback Ricky Stanzi was playing, one more touchdown might have brought their charmed season crashing down.

It was the second straight week and fourth time this season that Iowa has won a game after trailing entering the fourth quarter.

Tyler Sash instead returned an interception 86 yards for a touchdown, and Stanzi bounced back from a career-high five interceptions to rally the Hawkeyes (No. 4 BCS, No. 7 AP) to a 42-24 victory, yet another improbable finish in a season full of them.

Brandon Wegher had a career-high 118 yards rushing and three TDs for the Hawkeyes (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten), who scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to stun the shell-shocked Hoosiers.

“No matter what happens, we know there’s still time left on the clock,” Stanzi said. “There’s a chance to win, so you can’t give up.”

Iowa is off to the best start in school history, thanks to four wins by three points or less. And after needing two blocked field goals to beat FCS school Northern Iowa in its opener, the Hawks control their own destiny in the Big Ten — with a chance to play for the BCS title.

Iowa controls its own destiny but can they continue spotting teams the lead every week? I got a feeling they are in for a tumble before the Bowl games are all worked out.

The Hawkeyes still have games left with Northwestern(5-3), Ohio State(7-2), and Minnesota(4-4). Only the game against the Buckeyes isn’t being played at Iowa.

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SEC will suspend, fine coaches who criticize league officials

This action comes after three coaches recently complained about officiating. From AP-

Southeastern Conference coaches will face stiffer penalties from now on for complaining in the media about officiating.

Commissioner Mike Slive told The Associated Press in a phone interview Friday that coaches who violate the conference’s ethics rules against criticizing officials in public will face a fine or suspension instead of receiving merely public reprimands when they first act up.

“On rare occasions over the last seven years there were several private reprimands and that took care of the matter,” said Slive, in his eighth year as the SEC’s leader. “On occasion there were public reprimands and that took care of it. It became clear to me after last week that I was no longer interested in reprimands and the conference athletic directors and university presidents unanimously agreed.

“For the foreseeable future there will be no reprimands,” Slive added. “We will go right to suspensions and fines.”

If I were the SEC, I’d concentrate on getting more professional officials to work their games rather than take action against coaches who criticize officiating. The SEC after all just suspended an entire football crew. I think the integrity of the league possibly being endangered by rogue officiating would be the more serious concern.

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Former Texas A&M Basketball player Kevin Widemond dead at 23

He was playing basketball in Portugal when he suddenly collapsed during a game. RIP.

Kevin Widemond, a 23-year-old American guard, died of a heart attack during a Portuguese basketball tournament.

The Portuguese basketball federation said Widemond collapsed in the locker room Sunday during halftime of a game between his team Ovarense and Academica in Leiria, in northern Portugal.

Widemond, a native of Newark, N.J., had played 10 minutes in the third-place playoff game of the cup competition, which was canceled following his death.

“He was sitting on a bench, listening with the others to what the coach was saying, when he just keeled over,” Ovarense sports director Jose Eduardo said.

A doctor immediately began trying to resuscitate Widemond and those efforts continued in an ambulance and then at the hospital, Eduardo told public broadcaster RTP.

Eduardo said Widemond underwent extensive medical tests when he joined Ovarense a month ago. An autopsy would be performed, he said.

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