News & Notes

The Oakland Raiders have a February court date with their municipal rivals in the team's bid to break its lease.

The trial will take place in Sacramento, the city chosen after Oakland and Alameda County asked for a change of venue. The proceedings could run as long as eight weeks.

The ruling will decide whether the nomadic Raiders are free to move again - most likely back to Los Angeles — or whether they must remain in Oakland until 2011.

If the city and county win the case, the team will have to honor the remaining 12 years on its with lease with Network Associates Coliseum - and may have to pay substantial damages.

If the Raiders win, the current deal would be voided and they would be "free to negotiate a new contract with Oakland ... or pursue any and all other options," said Curt Holbreich, one of the attorneys representing the team.

The Raiders' suit contends the team was falsely induced to move back to Oakland after being told the stadium would be sold out.

A key component of the deal was the sale of $54 million in bonds, with the proceeds to be used to help pay for the move and a new practice field.

The bonds were to be paid back with money from the sale of Personal Seat Licenses, a fee charged to prospective season ticket buyers guaranteeing them seats for a decade. However, thousands of seats at each home game remain unsold.

Meanwhile, the next hearing in the Raiders' case against the NFL and a number of NFL teams has been set for March 24 in Los Angeles Superior Court. The Raiders allege the NFL tried to block the team's attempts to build a new stadium at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif.

Alvarez gets new knee

Wisconsin Coach Barry Alvarez finally underwent successful knee replacement surgery, just a couple of days after leading the Badgers to a second-straight Big Ten championship.

On Nov. 16, doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., inserted an artificial joint behind the right kneecap of Alvarez, who suffered from painful osteoarthritis.

"I think Barry's just excited that he knows he's going to be able to walk again someday," UW Sports Information Director Steve Malchow said, "and he knows it's going to take rehabilitation to get him to that point."

Doctors attempted the same operation in October but delayed the procedure after finding an infection.

Alvarez's knee problems stem from his playing days at Nebraska and began causing him serious pain in the past year. Doctors attempted to ease pain in Alvarez's knee with minor surgery last spring. But Alvarez reinjured the joint while attending an August NFL exhibition game in Madison.

Despite his surgery, Alvarez is expected to coach the Badgers in preparation for the Rose Bowl and will travel with his team to Pasadena.

During the final two months of the season, Alvarez coached from a golfcart, a scooter, crutches, the press box and a hospital bed.

LSU, DiNardo part ways after eight straight losses

An eight-game losing streak and a winless record this season in the SEC were the final straws for LSU officials who fired football coach Gerry DiNardo on Nov. 15.

Assistant coach Hal Hunter coached the team in its final game - a 35-10 win against Arkansas on Nov. 26.

Chancellor Mark Emmert said LSU will pay DiNardo for the final four years of his contract, reportedly worth $585,000 a year.

DiNardo cleaned out his desk and left immediately after meeting with school officials before the firing was announced. The meeting came two days after LSU's 20-7 home loss to Houston.

"It was very emotional," athletics director Joe Dean said. "He was emotional, I was emotional. It wasn't easy."

The Tigers have had two straight losing seasons, going 4-7 last year. They finished (3-8) this year and have lost 14 of their last 16 SEC games.

"Basically, he just didn't win enough football games," Dean said. "He is a man of great integrity and great character. It's too bad he didn't have his losing seasons first and the three good years later."

Emmert said DiNardo was given the option of staying until after the Arkansas game, but he decided to leave immediately.

DiNardo came to LSU in 1995 from Vanderbilt. He replaced Curley Hallman, who accounted for four of the previous six straight losing seasons. DiNardo had a 26-9-1 record his first three years, winning three bowl games and capturing co-championships in the SEC West in 1996 and 1997.

LSU came within one play of beating SEC opponents Mississippi State and Alabama this year, but an uninspired performance against Houston sealed DiNardo's fate.

"If he'd won those games, he'd still be the coach here," Dean said. "If he'd won them I'm sure they would have played better against Houston. Winning does that."

The 1999 team was also marred by numerous off-field problems involving players. Co-captain Larry Foster was arrested, charged with purse snatching and found to have warrants against him for issuing bad checks. Cornerback Mark Roman and safety Clarence LeBlanc were accused of inappropriate contact with a sports agent. And two current and two former LSU players were arrested for alleged illegal use of a telephone access code.

There was also a recent arrest of a man accused of bribery and violations of sports agent laws for allegedly offering money to an assistant coach and an academic counselor.

McCarney gets vote of confidence at Iowa State

Iowa State Athletic Director Gene Smith stopped short of extending his coach's contract but did give Dan McCarney a vote of confidence as the 1999 season ended.

At mid-season, McCarney, whose current contract expires in 2001, had the Cyclones eyeing their first winning record in 10 seasons and first bowl bid since 1978.

"We've improved, and I'm pleased with some of the areas of improvement," Smith said. "I'm disappointed with our won-loss record, as everyone is."

ISU was 4-2 before dropping its final five games and finished the season 4-7.

Ex-coach Brewer wins suit against Ole Miss

Five years after being fired in the wave of an NCAA investigation, former Mississippi football coach Billy Brewer won his lawsuit against the university in October. A circuit court jury decided Brewer was owed more than $200,000 in salary but did not award the $2 million the former coach sought in damages from the school.

The university fired Brewer in 1994 for deliberate and serious NCAA violations. Brewer said he committed none.

Brewer filed suit in 1995, claiming his firing "stigmatized" him in college coaching circles. Since leaving his alma mater after 11 seasons, Brewer has not coached.

Barbara Lago, director of public information at the University of Mississippi, said school officials were disappointed with the outcome.

"We have always felt we acted prudently and justly in relieving Coach Brewer of his duties as head football coach in 1994," she said.

Attorneys representing Ole Miss tried to link Brewer to the unsuccessful coverup of the NCAA violations.

Brewer's attorney argued that the university pressured former athletics director Warner Alford to resign and fire Brewer in an attempt to make the NCAA look more favorably on the school when levying sanctions.

He also contended the $100,000 in severance pay that Warner received after his resignation was a "payoff" to fire Brewer.

The NCAA faulted Brewer, 64, for failure to control his football program and for unethical conduct.

Before his was fired, Brewer was dean of SEC football coaches and had a 67-56-3 record.

Torbush will remain in Chapel Hill

After much speculation that his contract would be bought out after the season, North Carolina officials announced that the school will keep Coach Carl Torbush.

Rumors flying during the final weeks of the season indicated that UNC would buy out the final three years of Torbush's contract. The Tar Heels suffered their first losing record in a decade (3-8) in a season fraught with a rash of injuries at crucial positions.

After the team closed the season with back-to-back wins over rivals N.C. State and Duke, sentiment began to change and fans and players pleaded for Torbush to be retained.

"Everything went into this formula, but it was important for me to see the energy from the team the last two games," UNC Athletic Director Dick Baddour said.

Torbush, 48, is 2-0 in bowl games but 11-13 overall since replacing Mack Brown.

OSU's Cooper fires assistants in wake of 6-6 disappointment

After closing the season with three straight defeats, 6-6 and bowless for the first time since 1988, Ohio State Coach John Cooper fired two assistants.

Saying changes were needed after a bad season, Cooper let go offensive coordinator Mike Jacobs and defensive ends coach Shawn Simms. Defensive coordinator Fred Pagac was promoted to assistant head coach. Secondary coach Jon Tenuta was elevated to defensive coordinator, and wide receivers coach Chuck Stobart was elevated to offensive coordinator.

"I wasn't happy with anything concerning our football team this year," Cooper said. "I wasn't happy with the way we coached."

Arizona State's Redmond back after divorce, suspension

It's been an interesting fall for Arizona State running back J.R. Redmond. Redmond began the season as a favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, but two months later he found himself suspended for one game after accepting improper benefits from a woman he had married. The woman, Francine Arthur, is a full-time student and former part-time employee in the athletic department.

The NCAA suspended the star tailback in October and ordered him to pay $418 in cellular telephone bills and $173 for a plane trip to Las Vegas. The money is to go to charity.

According to an ASU report submitted to the NCAA, Redmond became involved in a relationship with the woman and used her cellular phone. The woman, according to the report, then told Redmond that he had violated NCAA rules and the only way he could avoid penalty would be to marry her.

The two were married in August and traveled to Las Vegas for the honeymoon. Later, Redmond filed for divorce, and according to the report, Arthur told him she plans to seek half of his future earnings, an amount that could be considerable because he is a top NFL prospect.

According to the university's report, Redmond said his relationship with Arthur was "purely platonic" and that she had done such things for him as clean his apartment and fill his refrigerator with food. He said he initially planned to have the marriage annulled after the end of the year but now believes "he had been trapped to gain access to his future earnings," the university's report said.

After serving the one-game suspension, Redmond returned to the team as a co-captain for Arizona State's Nov. 6 road victory vs. Southern Calif.

Hokies accuse 'Canes of eye-poking, groin-punching

Alleging that Miami (Fla.) players engaged in illegal eye-poking and groin-punching, Virginia Tech sent film from its Nov. 13 game vs. the Hurricanes to the Big East Conference.

The video was sent to John Soffey, coordinator of football officiating for the conference, citing two specific infractions that occurred during the first half of the Hokies' 43-10 victory in Blacksburg.

"To me, the two incidents are not part of football," Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer said. "We've had conversations with the officials in the league . . . I don't want anything dangerous to happen. I don't want to see anybody get hurt in a pile. So I think some things need to be looked at in that regard."

Tech coaches allege that a Miami player intentionally shoved his hand through the face mask of Hokies tailback Shyrone Stith and poked him in the eye.

Stith was forced to leave the game, but returned later.

"Every time early in the ballgame, underneath the pile, they were after his eyes," Hokies assistant coach Billy Hite said.

Virginia Tech officials are also accusing an unidentified Miami player of kicking quarterback Michael Vick in the back of the leg after a play near the Hurricanes' sideline. Vick stayed on the ground for approximately a half-minute before getting up.

Miami Coach Butch Davis expressed "disappointment" at Virginia Tech's claims. "If they think we played dirty, I guess that's their opinion," Davis said. "They're only accusations. That doesn't mean any of it is true. I can promise you we don't teach it and we don't condone it."

Miami defensive tackle Matt Sweeney said that "there was a lot of borderline rule-breaking on both sides," but scoffed at Virginia Tech's allegation that the Hurricanes were hitting below the belt.

"That's not a defensive technique," Sweeney said. "We don't have a crotch-grabbing drill in practice."

Memphis Coach Scherer gets contract extension

Applauding the team's continued improvement, Memphis athletic officials granted head coach Rip Scherer a two-year contract extension through the 2003 season last month.

The Tigers, which finished the season at 5-6 - an improvement from last season's 2-9 mark - ended the season ranked among the nation's top 20 defenses. Memphis ranked No. 106 in total defense in 1998.

Additionally, four of the Tigers' defeats this season have come by a total of only eight points.

"It was determined when the season started that I would not necessarily look at wins and losses but at the improvement of the team as to the future direction of the program," Memphis Athletic Director R.C. Johnson said. "I think all of my questions have been answered."

Nehlen likely to return

If West Virginia's Don Nehlen has his way, he will return as the Mountaineer's head coach next season.

Nehlen, 63, posted a 4-7 record in this, his 21st season at the school. The school has not won a bowl game since 1984.

"I think I'll be around here," Nehlen told the Dominion Post of Morgantown. "If we were coming off a winning season. . . "

The 4-7 mark is the school's worst since 1978.

AFMA Announces Regional Coaches of the Year

Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer and NCAA Division III Mount Union's Larry Kehres headline the American Football Monthlyes Association's 1999 GTE Regional Coach of the Year winners. Here is the complete region-by-region listing, as voted by AFMA members:
Division I-A
Region 1: Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech
Region 2: Jackie Sherrill, Mississippi State
Region 3: Bob Pruett, Marshall
Region 4: Bill Snyder, Kansas State
Region 5: Tyrone Willingham, Stanford

Division I-AA
Region 1: Kevin Higgins, Lehigh
Region 2: Bobby Johnson, Furman
Region 3: L.C. Cole, Tennessee State
Region 4: Todd Berry, Illinois State
Region 5: Larry Blakeney, Troy State
Division II/NAIA
Region 1: George Mihalik, Slippery Rock (Pa.)
Region 2: David Bennett, Catawba (N.C.)
Region 3: Dave Dye, Hillsdale (Mich.)
Region 4: Mel Tjeerdsma, Northwest Mo. State
Region 5: Joe Glenn, Northern Colorado
Division III
Region 1: Peter Mazzaferro, Bridgewater (Mass.) State
Region 2: Frank Girardi, Lycoming (Pa.)
Region 3: Steve Mohr, Trinity (Texas)
Region 4: Larry Kehres, Mount Union (Ohio)
Region 5: Rick Willis, Wartburg (Iowa)