NORFOLK, Va. - The Spartan football team wrapped up its first week of practice with an hour-long scrimmage on Saturday evening at the NSU practice field. The controlled scrimmage ended a week affected largely by weather - intense heat and humidity at the beginning, followed by torrential rains over the last three days which forced the team to curtail its outside workouts to a degree.
NEW YORK (AP) - Michael Vick says he cried in prison because of the guilt he felt about being involved in dogfighting, and was disgusted with himself for allowing it to happen.
In an interview with "60 Minutes" that aired Aug. 16, Vick said the day he walked into prison he realized "the magnitude of the decisions that I made.
"And, you know, it's no way of, you know, explaining, you know, the hurt and the guilt that I felt. And that was the reason I cried so many nights. And that put it all into perspective," he said.
A three-time Pro Bowl pick during six seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, Vick served 18 months in federal prison for running a dogfighting ring and was reinstated last month by the NFL after being out of action since 2006.
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) - Best quarterback of all time? Best receiver? Best linebacker? Every football fan has had those discussions. Washington Redskins special teams coach Danny Smith threw down the gauntlet on a whole new category: best holder. What's more, Smith says his new punter, Hunter Smith, may be the best holder in the history of the game.
ROME (AP) - For those who thought Michael Phelps was just stopping by for a Roman holiday, no way. This guy means business when he's in the pool. On to London! As for he rest of the American swim team, well, there's a little work to do if the country is going to maintain its position atop the world pecking order.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Thousands of families carry the gene that causes sickle cell disease and don't know it - even though almost every newborn today is tested for what's called "sickle cell trait," and starting this summer more college athletes are getting tested, too.
NEW YORK (AP) - Former New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress will testify before the grand jury that is investigating weapons charges against him, his lawyer said July 28.
Attorney Benjamin Brafman said Burress would testify at 10 a.m. July 29.
"He's going to go in and tell the truth," Brafman said.
Burress, 31, shot himself in the thigh at a Manhattan nightclub early on the morning of Nov. 29. He was accompanied by teammate Antonio Pierce, who still could be charged in the case.
INNEAPOLIS (AP) - Brett Favre has handed the Minnesota Vikings one more loss.
The 39-year-old Favre called Vikings coach Brad Childress on July 28 to tell the coach he won't be coming out of retirement to play for Minnesota.
"It was the hardest decision I've ever made," Favre told ESPN. "I didn't feel like physically I could play at a level that was acceptable. I would like to thank everyone, including the Packers, Jets and Vikings - but, most importantly, the fans."
The decision, which was first reported by the Star Tribune of Minneapolis, is a stunner for the Vikings after they openly courted Favre all summer.
To hear Roger Goodell tell it, the decision to conditionally reinstate Michael Vick to the NFL came only after much soul searching and consultations with everyone from Vick's third grade teacher to the guy who gasses up his Range Rover. Even then, Goodell said he didn't finally make up his mind until July 26, which seems somewhat surprising because there were a number of media reports filed well before that predicting the commissioner would do pretty close to what he ended up doing.
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - The New York Post on Thursday defended its publication of photos from an illicitly filmed Internet video showing ESPN reporter Erin Andrews naked in a hotel room by accusing the sports network of having outed her.
ESPN on Wednesday, July 22 said it was banning Post reporters from appearing on the company's programs because the newspaper published three photos from the video.
A newspaper spokeswoman declined to comment on the ban. She referred The Associated Press to an item on the Post's gossip page published Thursday that takes ESPN to task for allegedly outing Andrews.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Michael Vick might soon discover just who's interested in giving him a second chance. Two people familiar with the meeting confirmed the NFL commissioner, Vick, agent Joel Segal and two other members of the suspended quarterback's team met Wednesday at a security firm in New Jersey.
For Javarris Williams, choosing a school had everything to do with the opportunity to play his freshman year as much as it did with his desire to play in the NFL So it baffled some to learn that he turned down scholarship offers from several Big 12 schools including Texas, an institution with a long history of producing NFL players.
NORFOLK, Va. - James Sweat, former NSU women's basketball coach, and former NSU running back Larry Stepney will be inducted into the Hampton Roads African American Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 7, the organization announced. Sweat spent 19 seasons at Norfolk State and 26 overall as a college head coach before he retired at the end of the 2006-07 season.
NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk State University men's basketball coach Anthony Evans announced his team's 2009-10 schedule on Wednesday. The non-conference slate includes games with opponents from the Big 12, Missouri Valley and Mid-American conferences, in-state foe James Madison, and two in-season holiday tournaments.
Soccer is good exercise, good for developing coordination and just good fun, but if David Haase wants his sixth-grader to play it at school, he'll have to come up with $135 to make it happen.
What will he get for his money? The use of a uniform for 11-year-old Morgan, and the privilege for her to attend practice.
What will he get for his money? The use of a uniform for 11-year-old Morgan, and the privilege for her to attend practice. He must also supply a ball, cleats and shin guards if she wants to join the team at Karns Middle School in Knoxville, Tenn.
NORFOLK, Va. - Former Norfolk State volleyball player Shardonay Blueford (Chesapeake, Va.) has been accepted to the United States Olympic Committee's 2009 F.L.A.M.E. (Finding Leaders Among Minorities Everywhere) program which runs from August 1-4 at the U.
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) - Titans quarterback Vince Young didn't expect to speak Saturday during his mentor's funeral. He wound up summing up the emotional day with just a few words. "Steve was like a hero to me, and heroes are not supposed to die," Young said before stopping to rub his eyes.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The shooting death of former NFL quarterback Steve McNair raised questions July 5 about his relationship with the 20-year-old woman whose body was found alongside him in his downtown condominium.
BETHESDA, Md. (AP) - Even after 68 victories, Tiger Woods never had a finish quite like July 5 at the AT&T National.
It had nothing to do with the golf, which was all too familiar.
Challenged by Hunter Mahan's record-tying 62 at Congressional, Woods plotted his way along the back nine and delivered the decisive birdie with a 20-foot putt on the 16th green, closing with a 3-under 67 for a one-shot victory.
The trophy presentation was unlike any other.
"I've always wanted to do this, so bear with me," Woods said, cradling the silver trophy in the shape of the Capitol. Then, the tournament host interviewed the tournament champion.
NEW YORK (AP) - Cleveland Browns receiver Donte' Stallworth was indefinitely suspended by the NFL on June 18 for driving drunk and killing a pedestrian in Miami.
ATLANTA (AP) - Less than five years after the Atlanta Falcons signed Michael Vick to a $130 million contract, the suspended quarterback was released.
Before Friday, June 12's announcement - a move that clears Vick to sign with any NFL team - general manager Thomas Dimitroff called the team's former franchise player.
Dimitroff said Vick, who has missed two seasons while serving a prison sentence for running a dogfighting ring, deserved to hear first about his release.
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Junior Marlon Woods (Norfolk, Va.) finished ninth in the long jump on Friday at the 2009 NCAA East Regional Track & Field Championships at Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T.
Woods' best leap was 23 feet, 11 inches (7.29 meters). Only the top five finishers in each event earn automatic berths to the NCAA National Track & Field Championship next month. But Woods, who was an NCAA Indoor All-American in the long jump this March, is eligible for an at-large bid by virtue of finishing in the top 12.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Suspended NFL star Michael Vick left a Kansas prison before dawn Wednesday, May 20 to begin home confinement in Virginia, one of his attorneys said, the latest step on a journey that Vick hopes will lead to his reinstatement.
Watch the Top 10 Plays of the Year from NSU Sports Connect brought to you online by Spartan Echo TV.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Three Norfolk State baseball players were named to the All-MEAC teams, as announced on Wednesday night, May 13, at the conference's postseason awards banquet.
Senior second baseman Anselmo Cantu (Virginia Beach, Va.) was named to the All-MEAC first team, while outfielders Jerrod Farley (Chester, Va.) and John Lynch (Newport News, Va.) were selected for the second team.
In his first season as a full-time starter, Cantu is ninth in the MEAC with a .370 batting average. He is tied for the team-lead with seven home runs, and also has nine doubles and 30 RBI to his credit.
NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk State University athletics director Marty L. Miller announced Wednesday, May 13, that women's basketball coach Tara A. Owens will be reassigned within the department, effective May 18, 2009. Her reassignment is scheduled to run through July 2009.
DENVER (AP) - The Denver Nuggets are leaving all the animosity with the Dallas Mavericks' players, fans and owner behind and heading to their first Western Conference finals since 1985. Behind 30 points from Carmelo Anthony and 28 from Chauncey Billups, the Nuggets beat the Mavericks 124-110 on Wednesday night to wrap up their semifinal series in five feisty games.
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