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The Arena Football League Office announced Utah Blaze QB Andy Kelly (6-3, 220, Tennessee) as Co-Offensive Player of the Week for Week 14. This marks the 13th time and the sixth different team with which Kelly has earned an AFL weekly award.
Kelly, who is in 13th AFL season, completed 25-of-33 passes for 312 yards with nine touchdowns and no interceptions in Utah's 63-52 victory against the Las Vegas Gladiators on Saturday night. He also passed New York's AARON GARCIA (757) to become the League's all-time leader in touchdown passes with a career total of 762. If you add his 19 touchdown passes from his NFL Europe playing days, Kelly is the all-time professional football touchdown passing leader with 781. (DAN MARINO holds the NFL mark with 420.)
"This is really a team honor," Kelly said. "The individual recognition and awards are nice, but getting the victory and making the playoffs would be more rewarding."
In just three games with Utah (6-8), Kelly is 3-0 as the starter and has helped lift the Blaze into playoff contention. Kelly, who is an April Player of the Month candidate, has completed 73-of-103 passes (61.4%) for 911 yards with 21 touchdowns and one interception.
Other weekly winners included: Colorado Crush OS DAMIAN HARRELL (Co-Offensive), New York Dragons WR/LB MIKE HORACEK (Ironman) and Columbus Destroyers WR/DB B.J. BARRE (ADT Defensive).
The Blaze continue their charge toward the postseason when they travel to play the Chicago Rush at Allstate Arena this week and return to the Delta Center to face expansion Kansas City on May 12.
Erik Ainge connected with Robert Meachem on a pair of touchdown passes and the White defense held the Orange out of the end zone until the final half-minute in a 34-7 exhibition victory Saturday at Neyland Stadium. The 46th annual EdAmerica Orange and White Game drew a crowd of 15,411.
Ainge completed 14-of-22 passes for 210 yards and two scores on a good day overall for Tennessee's quarterbacks. Orange signal-callers Jonathan Crompton and Bo Hardegree combined to complete 24-of-29 for 152 and a touchdown against one interception.
"David Cutcliffe has been great for all of those guys," head coach Phillip Fulmer said. "We were in and out of the huddle, especially early. I thought Erik had a really good game except for the two sacks. I've been really impressed with Jonathan Crompton, considering he hasn't played any football since high school. And Bo has had a really good spring."
Linebackers Rico McCoy and James Turner led the White team defenders with seven tackles apiece. Jonathan Wade had an interception for the winners, while Robert Ayers and Demonte' Bolden each recovered fumbles to set up short-yardage touchdowns.
Meachem caught TD passes of 27 and 70 yards, the first one opening the scoring in the first quarter and the second coming on the White team's first play from scrimmage in the third quarter that made it 17-0.
"The receivers were better out there because they are blocking their rears off and catching it more consistently," Fulmer said. "They are trying to do more things with the football after they catch it.
"If you don't drop balls, have turnovers and have silly sacks, you have a chance to be successful because we have enough talent to break a tackle or make a play in the passing game that's going to give us some points. That's what we did not do offensively last year."
Fulmer seemed pleased with the effort his defensive charges gave.
"We had a really good spring," he said. "We closed ground in some areas. We can't possibly be as experience as we were last year in the linebacker corps but those guys are just really doing well. They are playing with great attitude.
"Justin (Harrell) has played well all spring and Matt McGlothlin has pushed himself into position where we're going to be counting on him. His play since the spring break has been as consistent as anybody on our football team. And the secondary has been a strength all spring."
Adam Myers-White had seven tackles to lead the Orange defense, with Ellix Wilson close behind at six stops.
James Wilhoit made both of his field goal tries, from 35 and 36 yards, for the White, which also received fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns from Todd Vinson and Roy Olasimbo.
Hardegree hit Bret Smith for a 6-yard touchdown pass in the closing seconds for the Orange team's only score.
"You could describe the spring as a success for probably one reason and that's that our kids learned how to work again as hard as they are supposed to," Fulmer said. "If we will stay that course and make the improvements at the positions where we need to improve, we'll get there.
"We've just finished phase two of what we're trying to get done. I think we've made some strides. Sometimes before you really appreciate the peaks -- and we've been on a lot of peaks -- you've got to go into the valleys. Basically, that's how I've described it to our football team this year. We're doing everything we can to fight and scratch and take each little step we can to get ourselves back where want to be and that's at the peak.
"The kids have had a good attitude but our summer program will be one of the deciding factors on what kind of football team we will have. We actually moved spring practice ahead by two weeks to give us a longer summer cycle. I've seen young people change their bodies during the summer, particularly the young guys and we're going to be counting on a lot of young guys next season."
Vanderbilt vice chancellor David Williams was shopping recently at Costco with his wife. Football was the last thing on his mind.
One person after another, many of whom Williams had never met, approached him and gleefully wanted to discuss Vandy’s November victory at Tennessee.
It’s not that Williams didn’t appreciate the enthusiasm. But his wife wasn’t getting the shopping done. Finally, Williams retreated to the car and waited on his wife.
For Williams, who oversees Vanderbilt athletics, the point was clear: For Commodores fans, the win at Tennessee represented much more than the end of a 23-year losing streak.
“This gave them something to be proud about,” Williams said. “It allowed people to feel really good about putting that Vanderbilt shirt or hat on.”
Nothing energizes that Vandy fan base like victories over the hated Volunteers, and it has never been better for the faithful than it was in 2005.
For the first time in recorded history, Vanderbilt beat Tennessee in football, won both men’s basketball games and won a baseball series in the same year.
It began with VU’s 88-63 basketball victory in Knoxville on Jan. 8. On Feb. 2, the Commodores knocked off the Vols again, this time in a 67-62 decision at Memorial Gym.
In April, Vanderbilt won two of three games from the Vols in a weekend baseball series at Hawkins Field.
Then, on Nov. 24, a touchdown pass with 1:11 remaining from quarterback Jay Cutler to wide receiver Earl Bennett handed Vandy a 28-24 football win at UT’s Neyland Stadium.
Vanderbilt’s unprecedented success against Tennessee will reverberate beyond 2005, Williams said.
“When I got here, one thing that I was concerned about is everyone said Nashville is Volunteer Country,” he said. “I thought, ‘Wait minute, this is our country.’ They should have Knoxville, but certainly we should have Nashville.
“The battle for Nashville and the battle for middle Tennessee certainly helps us when we can beat UT in all sports, and in particular those sports. I think it’s very significant.”
Williams and the Vanderbilt athletics community were all ears last month when first-year Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl proclaimed that Nashville is “Big Orange Country.”
No offense was taken, but the battle lines were drawn yet again.
“Who knows if it has been true, but certainly I can tell you our plan is to make sure it’s not true going forward,” Williams said. “I understand what they’re trying to say. They are the state school, and kids will grow up with UT on their minds.
“We’re a private school, and quite honestly, it’s harder to get in here. But I think we’re making inroads in saying that we might be a private school in Tennessee, but Nashville is our home and we’re going to do all we can to make this Commodore Country.”
Williams also believes that Vanderbilt’s athletic success against Tennessee and other Southeastern Conference opponents validates VU’s philosophies.
“We did all of that in an environment where we are the smallest school in the SEC, and we take pride in the fact that we’re an emerging athletic power, if you like, but we’re an academic juggernaut,” he said. “If we have to choose between educating people or winning a game, we’ll choose education, but we have stood on the grounds that we think you can do both. We are accomplishing that.”
In 2005, at least, there would be no argument from Tennessee
Jeff Reardon, one of the top relief pitchers in history, was charged with robbing a jewelry store, then blamed his arrest on medication he was taking for depression.
The 50-year-old Reardon, retired since 1994 and sixth in career saves, walked into Hamilton Jewelers at the Gardens Mall on Monday and handed an employee a note saying he had a gun and the store was being robbed, police said Tuesday.
Reardfled the store with an undisclosed amount of cash. Police found him at a nearby restaurant, recovered the stolen money and charged him with armed robbery.
Lt. David O'Neill said Reardon did not have a gun and offered no resistance when handcuffed.
Reardon briefly appeared in court Tuesday and was to be released on $5,000 bail.
The four-time All-Star was 73-77 with 367 saves and a 3.16 ERA in 16 seasons with the New York Mets, Montreal, Minnesota, Boston, the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees.
TOKYO - New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui has decided against joining Japan's squad at the 16-nation World Baseball Classic next March, a Japanese baseball official said Tuesday.
Kyodo News agency quoted the slugger as saying he wanted to concentrate on his role in the Yankees.
Matsui last month agreed to a four-year, $52 million contract with the Yankees and has repeatedly said he wants to improve on his statistics from last season, when he batted .305 with 23 homers and 116 RBIs.
Pro football
DENVER - Linebacker Al Wilson, defensive lineman Courtney Brown, cornerback Darrent Williams and running back Mike Anderson will all sit out of Denver's regular-season finale in San Diego this weekend to nurse injuries.
Wilson had surgery Monday to repair a broken right thumb. Brown has a sore knee and sore shoulder. Williams has missed the last two weeks with an injured groin.
Anderson sprained his ankle last Saturday against the Raiders.
Denver (12-3) has secured the second seed in the AFC and can't move up. San Diego (9-6) has been eliminated from playoff contention.
College football
GREELEY, Colo. - Northern Colorado chose Nebraska assistant Scott Downing as its new head coach Tuesday.
Downing has coached tight ends and kickers at Nebraska since 2002 after arriving from Purdue, where he helped coach Joe Tiller for six years. He also worked with Tiller for six years at Wyoming.
Coach O. Kay Dalton was fired Dec. 2 after six seasons at UNC, where he compiled a 38-31 overall record, including a 4-7 record - 0-5 in the Great West Conference - this season.
SAN DIEGO - Jim Harbaugh agreed Tuesday to a four-year contract to remain as coach at the University of San Diego, a non-scholarship Division I-AA school that had the most exciting football team in town this fall.
Harbaugh was courted by three Division I-A schools in recent weeks, but chose to stay at the small Catholic university.
In his second season as head coach, Harbaugh led the Toreros to a school-best 11-1 record and their first Pioneer Football League title.
The Toreros also won the Sports Network Cup after finishing ranked No. 1 in the I-AA Mid-Major poll.
Harbaugh was an early candidate for the San Diego State job after Tom Craft was fired, but withdrew his name from consideration. Chuck Long was eventually hired at San Diego State.
Harbaugh was also a candidate for the head coaching jobs at Rice and Temple.
College basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Hall of Famer Pat Summitt and her Tennessee Volunteers have reached another memorable number.
Tennessee (10-0) and Summitt on Monday became the first coach and program to earn 100 appearances in the No. 1 spot of the weekly Associated Press women's basketball rankings.
The Volunteers will play at Temple on Wednesday night.
In the 30-year history of the rankings, the Vols, coached by Summitt (892-172) for the entire time, have missed only 14 appearances out of 506 rankings.
Twenty schools have reached the top spot in the AP rankings, with Connecticut in the runner-up spot for appearances with 94, followed by Louisiana Tech (83), Texas (47), Old Dominion (34), Virginia (24), Duke (23), Southern Cal (16), Louisiana State (15), and Auburn (11).
Hockey
TORONTO - Maple Leafs forward Darcy Tucker was fined $2,500 by the NHL on Tuesday for pulling off the helmet of New Jersey's Cam Janssen during a wild fight and twice hitting the winger on the head with it.
Tucker escaped further punishment from the league after his ejection from Monday night's game was reviewed by NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell.
"We did not feel it was Tucker's intent to hurt Janssen with the helmet," Campbell said Tuesday. "He was trying to get the helmet off and I don't think he was trying to use it as a weapon."
Tucker said after the game that his actions came "in the heat of the moment."
"I didn't really know what the penalty was for until I got to the dressing room," he added.
The Maple Leafs won 2-1, giving Toronto consecutive victories for the first time since Nov. 26-28.
Women's hockey
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - Olympic veterans Jenny Potter, Katie King, Tricia Dunn-Luomam and Angela Ruggiero were selected Tuesday for the U.S. women's hockey team that will compete at the Turin Games.
The four players will be competing in their third Olympics. Krissy Wendell, a silver medalist in 2002, will captain the 20-player squad coached by Ben Smith.
"We have had an arduous four months where we've been tested under fire and we're looking forward to bringing this group of 20 athletes together to make the final push," Smith said.
Also chosen by USA Hockey were 2002 Olympic forwards Julie Chu and Natalie Darwitz. Kathleen Kauth, Kristin King, Kim Insalaco, Sarah Parsons and Kelly Stephens will make their Olympic debuts.
On defense, the squad has three returning Olympians in Ruggiero, Courtney Kennedy and Lyndsay Wall. Helen Resor, Caitlin Cahow, Jamie Hagerman and Molly Engstrom will play in their first games.
Also new to the Olympics are goaltenders Chanda Gunn and Pam Dreyer.
Cammi Granato, who had played in the previous two Olympics for the U.S. team, was cut during training camp.
Seventeen of the 20 players on the roster were on the gold medalist U.S. team at the 2005 women's world championship in April.
The U.S. women play Canada in an exhibition on Friday in St. Paul.
Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long was asked sometime prior to Wednesday's 32-28 loss to Nebraska at the Alamo Bowl to consider a year when the Wolverines did not play in a bowl.
The question was followed by moments of awkward silence. The truth was Long couldn't imagine such a low for the program that holds the nation's longest streak for bowl appearances at 31.
"You never know, it could happen," Long said prior to the Wolverines' appearance in the Alamo Bowl on Wednesday night. "But I really believe with the coaches we have here and the players recruited here, we won't let that happen. We always try hard to make a bowl game because that's always one of our goals and we'll always make it."
With scholarship limits, powerhouse programs lost virtual guarantees of bowl eligibility as the playing field in Division I-A football leveled.
The Tennessee Volunteers dropped out of the top five in the streak this season when their run ended at 16.
Nebraska, the Wolverines' opponent Wednesday, saw its national-best bowl streak end at 35 after last season to give way to Michigan's run.
Always at risk
For years, the biggest debate in Nebraska had been whether the Cornhuskers would contend for the national title each season. Now they are fighting for a spot in any bowl.
"It could happen to anybody," Long said.
But Michigan players all agree the expectation is clear every year: They should compete for the Big Ten championship and a bowl.
It's that simple for the nation's winningest football program.
Michigan has been able to keep it together with strong recruiting and coaching continuity from the Bo Schembechler coaching tree. After Schembechler stepped aside in 1989, he was replaced by assistant Gary Moeller, who then handed the reigns over to his assistant, Lloyd Carr.
The Wolverines (7-5), who last won a national title in 1997, haven't won fewer than eight games each season since 1984.
"The expectations here are very high and we know that coming in," said Michigan quarterback Chad Henne. "We're going to try our hardest every year to be on top of the Big Ten and play as a team to be there."
Postseason's a must
But even a program like Michigan, which is 18-19 in bowls, is finding out how difficult it is to maintain success in a changing landscape. The Wolverines began the season 3-3, and quickly the whispers of the streak ending grew louder.
A 4-1 ending was enough to quiet the concerns, but a string of nine consecutive Jan. 1 bowl games came to an end, causing Carr to add his voice to the chorus for a playoff system.
Michigan players said the most important thing for them is keeping alive a bowl streak that has been handed down.
"It means a lot. The biggest thing is looking back at those past teams," said defensive tackle Pat Massey. "You want to keep it alive for those guys. At Michigan, you are always playing for past players and playing for that tradition.
"It's definitely an honor to keep that tradition going."
The Wolverines are followed by Florida State (24), Florida (15) and Virginia Tech (13) in current streaks of bowl appearances.
"That's definitely one of the things we take pride in," Long said. "We try to win the Big Ten and try to go to a bowl game.
"That will always be our main goal every year, to try to make a bowl game. Knowing it could happen to any team is in the back of our minds to make sure it doesn't happen to us."
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