Good News: Remembering Randy Walker

College football season kicked off in Oxford, Ohio with Northwestern visiting Miami of Ohio. This is the first game Northwestern has played since the death of head coach Randy Walker, and they happened to be at his alma mater. His widow tossed the coin before kickoff and players on both teams wore a commemorative sticker.

The Dayton Daily News has a nice piece today about Walker's life, which was measured much more by its quality than it's length.

Click here to read "Walker never gave less than his best effort"

Good News: "Tragedy, Tribulation Don't Stop Smith"

Jahi Smith won't play football during his senior season at UConn. Despite that, his story is one of triumph, in large part because he decided it would be. His teammates still named him a team captain and will rely on his leadership this season. Good call because this young man is already quite a leader.

Click here to read the Hartford Courant story, "Tragedy, Tribulation Don't Stop Smith."

Good News: Working Through Katrina

On the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina ripping through the Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Mississippi, the Montgomery (AL) Advertiser has the story of how one young football player helped his family rebuild from the devastation.

Chris Dupuy, a senior linebacker at Alabama State, has worked through the hurricane aftermath along with shoulder and knee surgery so he can now concentrate on playing football and completing work on his degree this year. More importantly, his family is safe, sheltered, and together.

Click here to read "Hornets star helped steer family through crisis"

Thanks to Kelvin Datcher, SID at Alabama State, for the link.

TTOTF: Part 1, Episode 9: "Defeat Sounds Like This"

In this week's exciting installment of "Tales of the Fighting Ferrets," Conrad is subjected to watching the Ferrets' football team play for the first time. You can probably guess from the title of this episode that is goes poorly, and our hero gets to share the unpleasant experience with Old Man Farnsworth, who doesn't take it very well.

Click here to read "Defeat Sounds Like This"

Good News: NCAA Announces Sportsmanship Award Winners

The NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct announced the 2006 NCAA National Sportsmanship Award winners.

Mike Rose of Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania and Sarah Dawn Schettle of the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, were chosen as national award winners from a pool of six finalists – three male and three female – representing all three divisions. More than 40 conferences submitted nominations for the award.

Click here to read more about these award-winning student-athletes.

Thanks to Double A Zone for the link.

Good News In College Sports

I dabbled with this concept in the spring, but you will now see that theme as a regular staple of this blog.

I’m tired of writing about the negative stories that most sports media are attracted to. I want to highlight the student-athletes who have used faith, the support of families, teammates, and school officials to overcome obstacles in their athletic careers. Sometimes the most moving stories can be those of an athlete simply putting on a uniform and competing. I want to highlight those individuals who truly embody the spirit of intercollegiate athletics but usually fly below the media’s radar.

If anyone knows of a story that would fit into this theme, please e-mail a link to me at thecourtmaster@aol.com

Mark Your Calendars for the College Football Season

In my latest piece for Inspin, I take a stroll through the 2006 college football schedule and make my recommendations for games to mark on your calendars. Oddly, September 16 should be one of the best football Saturdays of the season, coming unusually early in the schedule.

Click here to read "Mark Your Calendars"

College Football: Rising and Falling

In my latest column for Inspin, I look at trends of teams rising and falling. I like the Pac-10 and the 'ol ball coach, but the Big 12 North is bordering on a joke.

Click here to read "Rising and Falling"

TOTFF: Part 1, Episode 8, "The Plot Thickens (no, really, it does)"

In this week's exciting episode, Conrad struggles to deal with the fallout from the Jimmy Moran situation and finds out why he took the fall at Edgar Allen Poe University (see, I told you the plot thickens).

Click here to read "The Plot Thickens (no, really, it does)

Units That Control Games

In my latest Inspin column, I write about some of the units on college football teams that can control games. I take a look at Cal's defensive line, Miami's secondary, Louisville's running backs, Penn State's linebackers, and West Virginia's offensive line.

Clike here to read "Units That Control Games"

TTOTF: Part 1, Episode 7, "Who's The Moron"

That's what our hero, Conrad, needs to figure out in this week's exciting episode of "Tales of the Fighting Ferrets." Farnsworth has obtained a committment from the best high school player ever in the Midville area, but that is put at risk by a mistake in the local newspaper's story. Conrad is on the spot to try and fix it. Can he?

Click here to read "Who's The Moron"

Part 1, Episode 6: "Media Daze"

In this week's episode, Conrad meets the press for the first time at Farnsworth, and Freddie appears on network television!

Click here to read "Media Daze"

On the Radio in Memphis Monday Morning

I'll have the pleasure of joining George Lapides and Geoff Calkins on their Sportstime radio broadcast Monday morning at 9:30 AM EST. George is the father of sports talk in Memphis and Geoff is the lead sports columnist for the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper. It will be nice to talk with a couple of heavy hitters. We will probably chat about ACC and SEC football and my newest project, "Tales of the Fighting Ferrets."

You can listen online here.

Overrated and Underrated College Football Teams

It's easy for someone to look back in December and tell you which college football teams were overrated and underrated by oddsmakers and prognosticators. Seldom being one to take the easy route myself, I'm going to tell you before the season's opening kickoff.

Click here to read the rest of this column on Inspin.com

BTW, there is a strikingly handsome photo of me on the banner for that column, so what are you waiting for?