The Top 5 Early Season College Football Games

The Frat Boy News Daily Sports Page

College Football (compiled by Parkov, SportingNews.com)

5. Oklahoma State @ Georgia (WK 1)
-Oklahoma State is bringing back a lot of starters from a very talented team. They are looking to take the next step and beating Georgia at home would be that next step. The only problem is this- Georgia is a pretty good football team. A pretty good football team that happens to be 25-2 against non-conference opponents under Mark Richt.

4. Oregon @ Michigan (WK 2)
-Michigan has hopes of winning the Big 10 and playing for a National Championship. However, they must first dispatch a tough Oregon team.

3. Miami @ Oklahoma (WK 2)
-This ought to be a good one to watch. They both play nasty defense and they are two of the elite teams in the nation in terms of talent. I love games like this.

2. Tennessee @ Cal (WK 1)
-This was a great game last year and it should be a great game this year. Two teams from opposite sides of the country, both with similar aspirations, going at it in the first week of the season. This is how college football is meant to be played.

1. Virginia Tech @ LSU (WK 2)
-Wow. Talk about a game to start the season. LSU is #2 in most polls I've seen and Virginia Tech is usually in the Top 10. Both of these teams could be playing for all the marbles in January. Both of them have fast, tough athletic defenses- probably two of the best defenses in the country. Make no mistake; this is no "exhibition" game. There is something on the line when these two kick off. And they both know it. I can't wait for this one.

Well, I'm sure I left out a good game or two. If you've got another one that you think should have been on here, feel free to let me know. As always, thanks for reading.

LSU Preseason Pick to Win SEC

Monday's Frat Boy News Daily Sports Page

Louisiana State University (compiled by 13WMAZ.com)

Despite losing four players in the first round of the NFL draft and its offensive coordinator, LSU is the pick to capture the Southeastern Conference football crown this fall, easily outdistancing defending national champion Florida.

All-America defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey said, "We're just as talented as we were last year."

That team included Number one overall NFL draft pick JaMarcus Russell at quarterback and three fellow first-rounders, receivers Dwayne Bowe and Craig Davis and safety LaRon Landry.

Plus, offensive playcaller Jimbo Fisher left for Florida State, tailback Alley Broussard quit on Tuesday because his "heart was no longer in it" and prized quarterback prospect Ryan Perrilloux's status on the team remains uncertain after an arrest in May.

For some programs, all that might add up to a rebuilding year.

The Tigers' biggest issue right now might be dealing with huge expectations after back-to-back eleven-win seasons and a Sugar Bowl rout of Notre Dame.

They received 54 of 80 first-place votes from reporters who cover the SEC.

Florida got only seven, edging Arkansas (five) and Auburn (four), followed by Alabama (three), South Carolina (three), Tennessee (two) and Georgia (two).

The Gators were picked to win the Eastern Division, LSU the West.

Tennessee Pitcher Honored as Top Player

Tuesday's Frat Boy News Daily Sports Page

College Softball World Series (compiled by ESPN.com)

Tennessee pitcher Monica Abbott won the Honda Award as the nation's top softball player.

Abbott, whose career ended one win short of the NCAA championship last week, was voted the top player in her sport by NCAA member schools on Monday. Other nominees were Kaitlin Cochran and Katie Burkhart of Arizona State, and Caitlin Lowe of Arizona.

Abbott holds NCAA Division I career records for wins (189), appearances (253), strikeouts (2,440), shutouts (112) and innings pitched (1448.0). She plans to train with the U.S. national team.

"I definitely have Olympic dreams in the future and would like to play softball for as long as I can," she said. "After that, I'd like to become a motivational speaker for children at the elementary school through high school level. And, of course, coach softball one day."

Tennessee's Candace Parker won the award in basketball.

Meth, LSD are Among the Hot Popular Drugs

Tuesday's Frat Boy News Pause for the Cause

University of Tennessee (compiled by Lisa Marchesoni, The Murfreesboro Post)

When it comes to drug trends, synthetic or man-made drugs are hot while methamphetamine is not.

Director Tommy Farmer of the Tennessee Methamphetamine Drug Task Force said the meth epidemic showed a dramatic decrease in manufacturing labs since the state made it tougher last year to buy Ephedrine, the key component of the illegal drug.

More than 1,565 labs were seized in the peak year of 2005 while only 210 labs were confiscated this year. Tennessee is still fourth in the nation for confiscation of illegal meth labs.

“But just because we reduced the labs, we didn’t reduce the meth addicts by the same amount,” Farmer said. “When you find a meth addict, you find a poly drug user. … They’re trying to go after something as a similar effect.”

In Murfreesboro and Rutherford County, three lieutenants who supervise drug units have seen an increase in Ecstasy pills and prescription painkillers to take the place of meth. Ecstasy is a man-made drug similar to methamphetamine and popular with young adults.

Crack cocaine and marijuana are still the most preferred drugs while the hallucinogenic LSD is making a comeback. They’ve also seen an increase in property crimes to support illegal drug habits — a trend that affects everyone.

Murfreesboro Vice Lt. Nathan McDaniel said about 70 to 85 percent of the city’s property crimes are directly related to drugs.

“When you get burglars, most times it’s somebody on crack,” McDaniel said. “Crack’s our biggest problem.”

Tennessee Girls Look Back on Great Season After Loss to Arizona

Friday's Frat Boy News Daily Sports Page

College Softball World Series (compiled by Graham Hays ESPN.com)

Almost every game at the Women's College World Series is a pitcher's duel, which is precisely why the last five years have proven you need hitters to win a championship.

Since Cat Osterman first led Texas to Oklahoma City in 2003, each subsequent World Series featured Osterman, Tennessee's Monica Abbott or both. And yet for all the postseason innings pitched by arguably the two best pitchers in the history of college softball -- and unquestionably the two most dominant pitchers of their tenures in the collegiate ranks -- neither the Longhorns nor Lady Vols could claim a national championship.

"One of the things that really bothers me is sometimes a pitcher is judged on whether she wins a national championship," Tennessee co-coach Ralph Weekly said after his team became the second in three years to lose the best-of-three championship series after winning the first game. Arizona beat the Lady Vols 5-0 Wednesday to claim the Wildcats' eight NCAA softball title.

The NCAA career leader in strikeouts, shutouts and a host of other statisical categories, Abbott was gracious and composed in defeat, fighting back tears at one point, but talking also of her plans for a future in international softball and outside of the game.

"Anybody who saw the game last night knows that [Abbott] pitched well enough to win the national championship," Weekly added. "But we left nine runners in scoring position, when all it would have taken was a sacrifice fly or a single to end it. And we just couldn't get it done, and that's not a knock against our kids either, because that was a collective effort."

Abbott finally succumbed in the final game of her college career, allowing five runs in one inning after allowing a total of five in her previous 90 innings.

She wasn't perfect in the finale, just as Osterman wasn't perfect at times during her stays in Oklahoma City. But those failures came only relative to the impossible standards of perfection, a level both Osterman and Abbott were charged with maintaining because they couldn't count on run support behind them.

In the end, it's not that Abbott failed to win a championship; it's that Tennessee failed to win a championship.

A Cat Fight in Tight White Pants

Thursday's Frat Boy News Daily Sports Page

College Softball World Series (compiled by azcentral.com)

Taryne Mowatt finished what she started and Arizona won its eighth NCAA softball title, breaking loose against Tennessee ace Monica Abbott for a 5-0 victory Wednesday night in the Women's College World Series.

The top-seeded Wildcats (50-14-1) lost the opener in the best-of-three championship series, then bounced back to win the final two games.

Mowatt (42-12) pitched all 60 innings in the tournament for Arizona and became the first pitcher to win seven games in the event.

It was scoreless in the fifth inning when Arizona scored all five runs. Jenae Leles hit a two-run single and Chelsie Mesa added a three-run homer for the Wildcats (50-14-1). Arizona, which needed help from an error to break Abbott's 43-inning scoreless streak in Game 2, got several key hits against her this time.

Caitlin Lowe, Arizona's speedy leadoff hitter, started the fifth inning by reaching on a slapped grounder back to Abbott (50-5). K'Lee Arredondo followed with a single, and an error by right fielder Nicole Kajitani put runners at second and third.

Abbott then intentionally walked Kristie Fox, who tied the tournament record with 11 hits, to load the bases for Mesa. Mesa's grounder made it through to center field to score the first two runs, and Mesa hit a 3-2 pitch over Kajitani's outstretched arms and the wall.

Mowatt broke the school record for wins in a season set by Alicia Hollowell in 2004.

Arizona Ladies Force Deciding Game in College Softball World Series

Wednesday's Frat Boy News Daily Sports Page

College Softball World Series (compiled by NPSE Zone)
Tuesday was officially ladies night on ESPN2, as a doubleheader of women's sports were showcased on the network.

The women of Arizona's softball team squared up the best-of-three College Softball World Series Tuesday night at one-game a piece behind a 10-inning shutout by pitcher Taryne Mowatt in a 1-0 victory over the lovely ladies of Tennessee.

Elsewhere in the WNBA, the Minnesota Lynx knocked off the Phoenix Mercury by just 5 points to improve their record to 1-7 on the season.

*College Softball World Series image courtesy of ESPNtv.com

Raunchy Knoxville Nightclub Party Under Investigation

Gunplay, Sex at Red Iguana

A party at a Knoxville nightclub near the University of Tennessee is under investigation after police said a nonfatal shooting and simulated sexual acts between two naked women took place in two separate April incidents.

The shooting reportedly took place outside of the Red Iguana nightclub April 11. Four days later, police received reports that several customers and the club's owner were part of a private, upstairs party where they watched two naked women perform simulated sex acts.

"The manager acknowledged to the officers at the time that he was aware of the fact that the conduct was illegal," a complaint said.

The nightclub is already on the verge of losing its license to sell beer. In the past two years, the club has reportedly been a haven for underage drinking, fights and public drunkenness.

Around the Horn With a Lambda Chi Brother

Frat Guy of the Week: Woody Paige

Woody Paige, an outspoken sportswriter and a panelist on ESPN's Around the Horn, was a brother of Lambda Chi Alpha at the University of Tennessee.

After writing for several newspapers around the country, Paige joined the staff of the Denver Post in 1981. Paige is one of several regulars on the ESPN show, which features a debate on daily sports topics among sportswriters from around the country. On the show, he is best known for his constant banter with Jay Mariotti, of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Paige also was a regular on ESPN's morning show Cold Pizza until early this year, where he worked with Skip Bayless. Paige has since returned to Denver to spend time with his family, where he continues to write for the Post.

Tennessee Student Attacked; Bomb Threat Shuts Down VTech

The Frat Boy News daily campus police report for Monday:

University of Tennessee (compiled by WBIR.com)
A University of Tennessee student is recovering after police say she was attacked on campus. Authorities say the suspect is on-the-run.

Officers say the woman was inside the 11th Street garage, near UT Police headquarters when it happened Friday afternoon. She told police she was going up a stairwell, when a man, wearing ski-goggles, walked up and started pushing her. She took off running, and wasn't seriously hurt.

Police need your help tracking down that suspect. If you have any information about the attack, call UT Police at (865) 974-3114.

Virginia Tech (compiled by CollegiateTimes.com)
Virginia Tech closed three of its academic halls due to a bomb threat.

The university closed Torgersen, Durham and Whittemore Halls after receiving a letter stating that explosive devices were present within the buildings. Classes were canceled for the remainder of the day last week. In addition, all activities planned for the past weekend had been canceled or rescheduled. The Blacksburg Transit bus system routes have also been changed.