My Sports News Digest

Next week, by all indications, college football will take one step closer to the adoption of a playoff system. On Tuesday, BCS executive director Bill Hancock told the Associated Press that the details of a proposed playoff system will be discussed when conference commissioners meet next week in Florida. And though Hancock was quick to point out that nothing “final” will emerge from the meeting, and though he added that it’s no slam-dunk that a playoff will ultimately be implemented, the mere fact that he is openly admitting that the idea marks a change from years’ past, when the powers-that-be [...]

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FAYETTEVILLE (RIVALS/CFB) – The former mistress of fired University of Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino has resigned from her position with the program, school officials announced Tuesday. Jessica Dorrell‘s decision to step down as the football team’s student-athlete development coordinator was mutual and there are no immediately plans to re-fill the job, Athletic Director Jeff Long said in a statement. Dorrell will be paid about $ 14,000 to settle “all matters between the parties.” “While Ms. Dorrell had a legitimate right to apply for and accept a position within the football program, the circumstances surrounding the former coach’s decision to [...]

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(KERCHEVAL/CFB) – On second thought, never mind? Following months of discussions and alterations in plans to someway, somehow, get Conference USA and the Mountain West to either merge or dissolve and reform as one, it appears the two conferences will, in fact, stay separate – for now, anyway. CBS Sports’ Brett McMurphy reports, citing industry sources, that a merger between the two leagues “probably will not happen”, but that each side is still working to figure out a way to share television, marketing and scheduling resources with the other. “There is not much talk about a formal merger of the [...]

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COLLEGE STATION (WIRE/CFB) – Texas Which way to the Southeastern Conference? A Texas-based apparel company, Aggieland Outfitters, recalled a handful of T-shirts on Tuesday after they were ridiculed online for having some geographic mistakes. The maroon shirt has an “SEC” logo emblazoned on a mapped section of U.S. states, ostensibly representing members of the league. But North Carolina, which does not have a team in the conference, is included and Missouri is not. Missouri and Texas A&M are both leaving the Big 12 for the SEC this year. Texas is on the back of the shirt, not the front. The [...]

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In a report by Pete Roussel of CoachingSearch.com Sunday, he wrote that “[s]ources tell me that former San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions head coach Steve Mariucci is interested in the Arkansas head coaching job.” That serves as news to the current NFL Network analyst, who told Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com that he “hadn’t heard about” the speculation connecting him to the Razorbacks vacancy and that “[i]t comes as a complete surprise to me.” Mariucci last served as a coach – head or otherwise – in 2005, completing the third of his three seasons with the Lions. The last time [...]

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LOS ANGELES Matt Barkley passed for 212 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Marqise Lee, and the Southern California defense made several big plays for a 34-27 victory in the Trojans’ spring game Saturday. Barkley went 23 for 39, and backup Cody Kessler threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to fullback Soma Vainuku in front of 15,515 fans at the Coliseum. Lee caught seven passes for 57 yards while fellow receiver Robert Woods sat out. Woods, an All-American as a sophomore, has missed nearly every workout of spring practice while recovering from offseason surgery on his right ankle. Barkley played [...]

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Pair of Western Kentucky players shot, expected to recover Posted by Ben Kercheval on April 15, 2012, 5:00 PM EDT Unfortunately, there’s some scary news coming out of Bowling Green today, as two Western Kentucky football players have been shot. Details of the incident, which took place outside an off-campus bar, are currently scarce as you might imagine. About the only thing that is known is that defensive lineman Tevin Holliman (pictured, No. 55) and defensive back Ricardo Singh were each shot once, and that neither player was carrying a weapon. The shooting took place last night, hours after WKU [...]

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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. Two Western Kentucky football players are recovering after being wounded by gunshots outside a bar. A statement from the school’s athletic department says defensive lineman Tevin Holliman and defensive back Ricardo Singh were each hit once, and their wounds weren’t life-threatening. The shooting early Sunday outside the Lava Lounge in Bowling Green happened hours after the team played its annual spring game. Bowling Green Police spokesman Ronnie Ward said it appears someone shot into a crowd outside the bar and struck the players. He said an officer driving by the scene heard gunshots and called for backup [...]

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