TheState.com: Gamecocks

Depth chart announced

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:27 EDT

South Carolina on Sunday released its depth chart for the opener against N.C. State.

Hutch Eckerson is listed as the starter at left tackle, beating out newcomer Jarriel King and redshirt freshman Quintin Richardson. The rest of the line contained no surprises, with Lemuel Jeanpierre at left guard and Garrett Anderson at center.

Freshman C.C. Whitlock is listed as a third-string receiver behind Kenny McKinley and Matt Clements. Dion LeCorn and Moe Brown are also listed as starting receivers.

Brian Maddox and Taylor Rank are tied for the second-string tailback spot behind Mike Davis.

Defensively, Darian Stewart is now officially listed as the starter at the "Spur" position, which is a hybrid linebacker-safety spot. There is no listed strongside linebacker position. (As expected, Jasper Brinkley is the middle starter, and Eric Norwood on the weak side.)

USC announces TV deal with SportsSouth

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:07 EDT

Fox Sports South has reached agreement with ISP Sports, broadcasting arm of USC, to show a number of Gamecock events, starting almost immediately.

Terms of the deal were not announced. SportsSouth, which is available in six states, announced it will carry the following:

- Twelve USC football replays.

- Eight live men’s basketball games.

- Four live women’s basketball games.

Good feelings return at USC practice

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:17 EDT

A night after a scuffle led to a short practice, the USC football team went a full session, leaving coach Steve Spurrier in better spirits.

“We practiced like a team," Spurrier said. "We got a lot out of it. We had a little bumping around and so forth. It was a pretty good practice.”

The only holdover from Monday, when Spurrier ripped into the defense and skipped 11-on-11 drills, was that the Gamecocks didn't go full pads, despite it being the first day the NCAA allowed it. Spurrier said they were still playing catch-up from not finishing Monday.

Walk-on quarterback Zac Brindise was back with the team a day after it was announced he intended to transfer. Brindise said he had a "change of heart," and Spurrier seemed to accept him with open arms.

“Zac, he retired a couple days ago and decided to come back," Spurrier said. "He realized he made a mistake. He wants to be a Gamecock.”

Former Gamecock retires as a Bear

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:32 EDT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Marcus Robinson retired Monday as a member of the Chicago Bears, the team with which he enjoyed his most success and set a club record in 1999 for yards receiving in a season.

Robinson spent the first six of his 11 seasons with Chicago and decided to retire with the team that drafted him out of South Carolina in the fourth round in 1997.

He played the past five years with Baltimore, Minnesota and Detroit. Robinson caught 325 passes for 4,699 yards and 43 touchdowns.

In 1999, he set a Bears record with 1,400 yards receiving and became the only Chicago player with 150 or more in three games. His 84 receptions that year rank fifth on the Bears’ list, and his nine touchdowns tied for ninth. He had 187 catches for 2,695 yards and 20 touchdowns during his time in Chicago.

Nye: Radio deal frustrates Clear Channel

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:18 EDT

WHEN CITADEL Broadcasting moved its 107.5 signal origin from Charleston to the Midlands and launched the all-sports WNKT-FM “The Game” in November, the company no doubt hoped its chances of again securing the rights to carry USC sports would be enhanced.

In the end, “The Game” made the difference. It was announced this week that ISP Sports and Learfield Communications had renewed the USC sports radio contract with Citadel for five years. To say it was unwelcome news for the folks at Clear Channel Communications would be an understatement.

Clear Channel, which lost USC sports six years ago because of its unwillingness to put Gamecocks football on one of its FM stations, was determined to regain the rights. Tom Bustard, market manager for Clear Channel, wasn’t involved in the negotiations in 2002 and thought he might be able to make a difference this time.

“Sure, I was disappointed because we have the largest group of radio stations in the market,” Bustard said, speaking by phone Wednesday while vacationing in Florida. “I can’t help but wonder if we were ever really given serious consideration.”

Liz McMillan, general manager of Gamecock Sports Properties, said Clear Channel was in the running.

SEC's Slive a diplomat for BCS change

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:41 EDT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | Mike Slive is an avid reader who likes a good cigar and Winston Churchill.

The Southeastern Conference commissioner is a strong-willed former lawyer and judge who is not so old-fashioned when it comes to ideas for changing college football's method of settling its national championship.

His proposal for a four-team scramble — Slive avoids the "dreaded P-word," playoff — was rejected by Football Bowl Subdivision conference commissioners in May. That means the BCS format won't get a makeover until at least the 2014 season.

One part of his mission, though, was accomplished.

The idea of putting No. 1 against No. 4 and 2 vs. 3 in the marquee bowl games remains tucked into the public consciousness for the next controversy — though there seemed scant risk of it fading, anyway.

Football: Early entrants draw debate

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 08:05 EDT

Many coaches wonder if the benefits of early enrollment outweighs the growing pains

The past two years a freshman quarterback has enrolled at South Carolina early in the hopes of getting a jump-start on school and football — and never taken a snap during spring practice.

Stephen Garcia was suspended in 2007 after two arrests in a two-week span, the first of two suspensions for the troubled right-hander from Lutz, Fla.

Reid McCollum lasted two weeks after arriving at USC in January. Citing homesickness, McCollum returned to his hometown of Summerville and is expected to re-enroll at USC next month for summer school.

As the trend of players graduating high school a semester early and putting their college careers on fast-forward continues to grow, coaches question whether 17- and 18-year-olds are socially ready to be thrust into college life in the middle of the academic year.

New radio deal for USC sports

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:59 EDT

USC athletics has a fulltime radio home for football, men’s basketball and baseball.

University athletics officials and ISP Sports, the multimedia rights holder for the Gamecocks, have announced a new five-year agreement with Citadel Broadcasting that makes WNKT-FM (107.5 “The Game”) the official flagship station for the Gamecock ISP Sports Radio Network beginning this August.

Programming covered in the agreement includes live play-by-play broadcasts of football, men’s basketball and baseball, as well as a weekly 60-minute coaches’ call-in show during football and basketball seasons and a new hour-long “USC Athletics Show” that will air weekly 10 months (August through May) during the year.

Additionally, Gamecock women’s basketball will have a permanent home on Citadel’s WISW-AM which provides coverage throughout the metro Columbia area with a 5,000-watt AM signal.

USC Director of Athletics Eric Hyman said, “We are very pleased to continue our relationship with Bill McElveen and his staff in providing excellent radio coverage of Gamecock Athletics. We are also appreciative of the efforts of Liz McMillan and the ISP staff in securing this partnership.”

Ex-USC player now hoops coach in Beaufort

Sat, 24 May 2008 10:14 EDT

Former USC basketball player Tony Kitchings was named the boys basketball coach Thursday at Beaufort Academy.

Kitchings played at USC from 2000-03. He went on to play one year professionally in Korea and for the Asheville Altitude and Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Developmental League.

In his first year as a head coach, Kitchings led United Faith Christian Academy in Charlotte to a 17-9 record last season.

Kitchings replaces Chip Dinkins, who led Beaufort Academy to a SCISA state title and was named coach of the year by three organizations in 2004 and ‘06.

“I’ve got nothing else to prove; I’ve done a lot in my playing career,” Kitchings said. “I’m coming in here to help the kids not only as athletes but as academic students, so they can have the best chance of making it to the next level.”

USC hurdler tracks cousin's NHL success

Sat, 24 May 2008 10:15 EDT

South Carolina hurdler Jussi Heikkila plans to hunker down in front of the TV tonight for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals.

He figures to be alone. Heikkila, whose first cousin, Valtteri Filppula, is a center on the Detroit Red Wings’ second scoring line, has tried unsuccessfully to get his track teammates interested in the sport.

“They don’t care about hockey,” Heikkila said. “They know that my cousin plays (but say), ‘I never got into the game.’ And then they leave.”

Heikkila, 25, is a year older than his cousin, who grew up outside Helsinki about 200 miles away from Heikkila’s hometown in Virrat, Finland. The two would ice skate and have footraces when their families would get together before Heikkila gave up competitive hockey at 15 to concentrate on track.

“We were pretty even,” Heikkila said. “It was good competition.”

SEC baseball tournament preview

Wed, 21 May 2008 11:46 EDT

No. 1: Georgia

RECORD: 35-19-1, 20-9-1 SEC (Eastern Division champ)

Player to watch: SHORTSTOP GORDON BECKHAM, JUNIOR: The son of a former USC quarterback of the same name, Beckham has been the best offensive player in the SEC. He enters the tournament batting .401 with 23 homers and 57 RBIs. He could be a top-10 pick in next month’s major league draft.

Key number .277: The Bulldogs’ team batting average minus Beckham and second-leading hitter Rick Poythress, who are hitting .382 combined and have hit 35 of the team’s 77 homers.

Odds of winning 6-1: The Bulldogs have just found ways to win. Their starting pitching isn’t imposing, but senior reliever Joshua Fields (1.52 ERA, 16 saves) is a lights-out pitcher.

SEC baseball tournament schedule

Sun, 18 May 2008 01:18 EDT

WEDNESDAY

Game 1: No. 7 South Carolina vs. No. 2 LSU, 11 a.m.

Game 2: No. 6 Vanderbilt vs. No. 3 Florida, 2 p.m.

Game 3: No. 8 Mississippi vs. No. 1 Georgia, 6 p.m.

Game 4: No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 4 Kentucky, 9 p.m.

Former USC coach Duckett gets new job

Fri, 16 May 2008 10:36 EDT

GRAMBLING, La. - Rick Duckett, an assistant coach at South Carolina for the last six seasons, is the new men's head coach at Grambling State University.

Duckett had been as assistant to Dave Odom at South Carolina since 2002. Odom retired following the 2007-08 season.

Duckett, who was hired Thursday, compiled a 150-75 record in eight seasons as head coach at Fayetteville State and Winston-Salem State. He got his start in coaching as an undergraduate at North Carolina, leading the junior varsity program for Dean Smith.

Duckett's hiring still needs approval from the Board of Supervisors of the University of Louisiana System.

He replaces Larry Wright, who was fired in April after compiling an 88-160 record in nine seasons at his alma mater.

Golf: USC assistant in running for national award

Tue, 13 May 2008 07:35 EDT

USC assistant coach Michael Burcin has been named a finalist for the 2008 Jan Strickland Assistant Coach of the year Award, the Golf Coaches Association of America announced.

The winner will be announced on May 27.

From staff reports

Ex-Gamecock Hambrick gets 5 years for drug sales

Tue, 13 May 2008 13:01 EDT

TAMPA, Fla. | A Tampa judge has sentenced former Gamecock and NFL running back Troy Hambrick to five years in prison for selling crack cocaine.

The former South Carolina, Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals player was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday.

Hambrick pleaded guilty on Feb. 26 to one count of distributing 50 grams or more of crack cocaine.

Court documents show Hambrick sold the drugs in 2007 to a confidential informants near his home in Lacoochee, about 40 miles north of Tampa.

Hambrick played three seasons at South Carolina, but was dismissed from the team before coach Lou Holtz's first season with the Gamecocks in 1999.

Golf: Golfweek honors USC's Toumpsin

Fri, 23 May 2008 15:40 EDT

Golfweek named South Carolina sophomore Benedicte Toumpsin its women’s player of the week after she picked up her first career victory at the NCAA East Regional on Saturday.

It was her first career victory. Toumpsin became the second Gamecock to win an NCAA Regional, joining Siew Ai Lim, who won the East Regional in 1995.

USC advanced to the NCAA championship for the first time since 2003. The four-day event begins May 20 at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course.

From staff reports

Georgia tight end commits to USC

Fri, 09 May 2008 14:04 EDT

Tight end Will Middleton (6-5 245) of Marietta, Ga., has committed to the Gamecocks.

Middleton called his USC recruiter Shane Beamer today and told him he had picked USC. Beamer and Ray Rychleski visited his school earlier this week and made him the official offer.

"It's SEC football, and I like the coaches, the facilities and the area,” Middleton said. “And my sister goes to school there. She's on the equestrian team."

Middleton attended USC's spring game.

Middleton had an offer from Rutgers and was drawing interest from Louisville, West Virginia, Maryland, Mississippi State, Georgia, Indiana and Florida.

Papajohns.com Bowl receives tie-in with hometown SEC

Thu, 01 May 2008 12:01 EDT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | The Papajohns.com Bowl could feature a Southeastern Conference team the next two seasons.

The NCAA approved recertification of the bowl Wednesday, and the Dec. 29 game now has a tie-in with the hometown SEC. The 2-year-old bowl had matched teams from Conference USA and the Big East.

Conference USA moves to a new bowl against the Big East in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Papajohns.com Bowl has a two-year deal to receive the SEC's lowest bowl-eligible team. That gives the league nine automatic bowl berths — if the SEC has that many eligible teams. If not, the Birmingham game will have to find an at-large team.

South Carolina was bowl eligible last season but sat out the postseason when the SEC filled its eight slots.

SEC Spring Football Wrapup

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:54 EDT

ALABAMA: Ball-control theme

Alabama fans have toned down their mania over coach Nick Saban — barely. The spring game on April 12 drew 78,200, the secondmost in school history after last year’s capacity crowd of 92,000. Offensive coordinator Jim McElwain was brought in from Fresno State, but hasn’t tinkered too much with the offense, which still has Saban’s ball-control theme. The Crimson Tide didn’t find out much about their receivers, after losing three to graduation, and unexpected losses at linebacker forced two players to be switched from other positions.

ARKANSAS: Running back openings

New coach Bobby Petrino has been installing his complicated spread offense, which will be on display in Saturday’s spring game. Quarterback Casey Dick is back and has received good reviews from the staff. The question is who he’ll hand the ball off to, with the departures of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. Petrino has been high on tailback Michael Smith, who seems to have the edge. Defensive players have had to adjust to new defensive coordinator Willy Robinson.

AUBURN: Two new coordinators

Football | Spring game preview

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:18 EDT