Football News Headlines

2004

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January

January 2, 2004 - (College) Former Miami University defensive coordinator Jon Wauford is hired by Kent State to be their defensive line coach. Wauford was accused of knocking a fan to the ground on the field following a loss at Marshall on November 12, 2002. He was lead off the field in handcuffs and resigned from the school two months later. Charges were dropped against him in July of 2003. Wauford spent last year coaching high school football in Clinton, Iowa.

January 3, 2004 - (NFL) The Baltimore Ravens placed the name of their soon to be former owner, Arthur B. Modell, 78, in the Ravens' Ring of Honor at M&T Bank Stadium. The ceremony took place prior to the team's playoff game with the Tennessee Titans, who defeated the Ravens 20-17. Modell sold 49% of the team to Steve Bisciotti, a Maryland businessman, back in 1999, with the understanding that Bisciotti would purchase the remaining 51% at the end of the 2003 season.

January 5, 2004 - (Media) Television ratings for this year's Rose Bowl, which pitted Michigan against USC, were up 27% from last year. It is the only one of the four BCS games not televised in prime time. On the other hand, ratings for the Sugar Bowl, this year's BCS title game between LSU and Oklahoma, were down 22.5% from last year's national championship game, a double overtime game between Ohio State and Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.

January 7, 2004 – (af2) The Oklahoma City expansion franchise gets a name. The team held a "Name the Team" contest and received 581 entries. The winning entry was the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz submitted by John Burrows of Mustang. He will receive 4 season tickets. The team will play in the National Conference's Southwest Division along with the Tulsa Talons, Wichita Stealth and two other expansion teams, the Laredo Law and the Rio Grande Valley Dorados.

January 8, 2004 - (Arena) Longtime head coach and current athletic director at the University of Georgia Vince Dooley has joined the Georgia Force as a consultant. He has also convinced former Heisman trophy winner and Georgia alum Herschel Walker to join him on the team's advisory committee. Dooley coached the Bulldogs for 25 years and has been the school's athletic director for the past 15 years. His record was 201-77-10 and he won a national championship in 1980. He plans to leave the school when his contract expires in June of this year. Dooley's son, Daniel, is the vice president of sales and marketing for the Force. 

January 8, 2004 - (College) The NCAA has rejected an offer of $30 million in scholarship money from Ted Waitt, Chairman and CEO of Gateway, Inc. Waitt wanted to have USC and LSU play one more game to try and correct the flaw in the BCS that left both teams with a share of this year's college football national championship. Waitt suggested that the game could have been played on either the 24th or 25th of January, the weekend before the Super Bowl. LSU finished the season on top of the BCS standings and the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, while USC was tops in the Associated Press poll. The winner of the game would have received $20 million plus a million dollars worth of Gateway computer equipment while the loser would have received $10 million. 

January 10, 2004 - (College) Neil Parry, the San Jose State player who had the lower part of his right leg amputated in 2000, played in the East-West Shrine Game and recorded one tackle. Parry wore tape on his wrist with the initials NGU,  Never Give Up. (See related story on September 18, 2003) 

January 12, 2004 - (NFL) The Miami Dolphins have hired their former quarterback, Dan Marino, as the team's newly created position of senior vice president of football operations. Since retiring from the game after the 1999 season, Marino has been a studio analyst on CBS's "The NFL Today" pre-game show and HBO's "Inside the NFL."  

January 13, 2004 - (af2) The league announced that on March 21, the Louisville Fire will host an exhibition game against a team from Japan. The Columbus (Ga) Wardogs will host a preseason game against a team from Australia on March 28. This is the second year that a team of players from Australia has come to the states to an exhibition game. Last year, the Aussie team played the Quad City Steamwheelers.  

January 21, 2004 - (College) Division I-AA Siena in Albany, New York has dropped its football program. The Saints were 0-11 last season. Since the NCAA requires six members to be classified as a I-AA football league, the Metro Atlantic  Athletic Conference (MAAC) will now be classified as Division I-AAA.

January 27, 2004 - (af2) The Cincinnati Swarm announced that they will not field a team for the 2004 season. An agreement between the team and U.S. Bank Arena has been dissolved as dates for games could not be made available to the team. The team folds after just one year and finished last season with a 7-9 record.   

January 28, 2004 - (Obituary) Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch, NFL Hall of Famer, dies at the age of 80. Hirsch played for one year at Wisconsin in 1942, then transferred to Michigan. He was a halfback and receiver and got his nickname from his running style. He played professionally with the Chicago Rockets of the All-American Football League and then with the Los Angeles Rams from 1949-1957. Hirsch was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1968 and was the Athletic Director at Wisconsin from 1969-1987. In 1953, Hirsch starred as himself in the movie, "Crazy Legs, All-American." He also starred in two other movies, "Unchained" in 1955 and "Zero Hour" in 1957. Even though he only played at Wisconsin for one year, the school retired his number 40.

January 31, 2004 - (NFL) Four new members were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Running back Barry Sanders (1989-1998) of the Detroit Lions, quarterback John Elway (1983-1998) of the Denver Broncos, defensive end Carl Eller (1964-1979) of the Minnesota Vikings and offensive tackle Bob Brown (1964-1973) who played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams and Oakland Raiders. 

January 31, 2004 - (NFL) Several Las Vegas hotel-casinos have cancelled planned Super Bowl Parties after receiving letters from the NFL threatening legal actions. The NFL claims the establishments are violating NFL copyrights by showing the game on big screen TVs larger than 55 inches and charging admissions to watch the game, which is offered for free. Some hotel-casinos were planning to allow guests to watch the game in their auditoriums or movie theaters for a fee. The city of Las Vegas has been hosting events like this for several years. Similar letters were sent to establishments in Boston (home of the New England Patriots), Charlotte, North Carolina (home of the Carolina Panthers) and Houston (where the Super Bowl is being played). The letters were received about a week ago.

February

February 1, 2004 - (NFL) The New England Patriots won their second Super Bowl in three years by defeating the Carolina Panthers 32-29. It was Carolina's first appearance in a Super Bowl.

February 2, 2004 - (NFL) Former University of Michigan quarterback Drew Henson has decided to give up baseball and is going to give the NFL a try. Henson was halfway through a 6-year, $17 million contract he signed with the New York Yankees in 2001 and has spent the last three years in the team's minor league system as a third baseman. He now forfeits the remaining $12 million left on his baseball contract. Henson was drafted  in the sixth round last April by the Houston Texans, who have until April 24 to either sign or trade Henson.

February 3, 2004 - (NFL) Dan Marino has resigned from his position as senior vice president of football operations with the Miami Dolphins, a position that was created just for him. (See related article on January 12, 2004) 

February 3, 2004 - (College) University of Colorado wide receiver and kick returner Jeremy Bloom has signed an advertising deal with Equinox Fitness Club. Bloom is also a skier who need about $100,000 a year to travel and train in hopes of also competing in the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy. The NCAA has already ruled that Bloom cannot accept endorsement money and play college football at the same time. The move is a challenge to the NCAA rules which currently allow other amateur student-athletes, such as baseball players, to be a professional in another sport . The NCAA could decide to take Bloom's football scholarship away. (See related article on June 4, 2003)

February 3, 2004 - (NFL) Television ratings for the Super Bowl are up from last year. According to Nielsen Media Research, 98.5 million people watched this year's Super Bowl game on CBS compared to 88.6 million last year on ABC. It was the most watched Super Bowl since the 1998 game between Green Bay and Denver.  

February 4, 2004 - (Media) ESPN has cancelled their original show "Playmakers" after one season and 11 episodes. The NFL was not happy with the show which was about a fictional team and featured story lines that included drug use, racism and infidelity. ESPN has a contract with the NFL and is paying the league $4.8 million over eight years for the rights to broadcast Sunday night NFL games.  

February 5, 2004 - (NFL/Lawsuit) A US District judge in New York has ruled that the NFL must allow Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett to enter the upcoming NFL Draft in April. The judge said that the league's rule, requiring athletes to be three years out of high school, violated anti trust laws. The league said they will appeal the ruling. The NFL eligibility rule has been in place since 1990 and this is the first time it has been challenged in court. Should the ruling be overturned, Clarett would not be eligible to enter the draft until 2005. (See related article on  September 23, 2003)

February 6, 2004 - (College) The president of the NCAA, Myles Brand, suggests that it might be time for the NFL to set up a minor league system after yesterday's ruling concerning Maurice Clarett. Major league baseball and the NHL already have minor league systems while the NFL and NBA do not. 

February 9, 2004 - (Lawsuit/College) A state judge has removed the Atlantic Coast Conference as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by four Big East schools over the departure of Miami and Boston College to the ACC. (See related article on October 14, 2003)

February 9, 2004 - (Media) Overnight ratings for the first weekend of season of Arena football on NBC showed an increase of 14 percent over last year. Last year's overnight rating was 2.2, while this year the rating was a 2.5. NBC is in its second year of broadcasting Arena games. 

February 10, 2004 - (NFL/Lawsuit) A federal judge in Cincinnati has ruled that taxpayer Carrie Davis can go forward with a lawsuit alleging that the NFL uses its clout to "extort" new stadiums from cities.  

February 11, 2004 - (Lawsuit/NFL) The judge in the Maurice Clarett case refused to suspend her recent ruling that the NFL must allow him to enter the draft. Clarett's lawyer then announced that his client will be entering the draft in April. (See related article on February 5, 2004)

February 17, 2004 - (NFL) The NFL is suing Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Orlando Brown for $500,000. Brown was struck in the eye with a penalty flag in 1999 while playing for the Cleveland Browns. He reached an injury settlement with the league in 2000 but returned to play with the Ravens last season. The settlement contained a clause that required Brown to repay the money if he returned to play in the NFL. So far, Brown has not responded to requests by the league to repay the money.   

February 18, 2004 - (NFL) After six years in the NFL, former Heisman Trophy winning QB Danny Wuerffel retires. He was a backup with the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins and also played in NFL Europe for one season. Wuerffel, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1996, was cut by the Redskins during training camp last season and turned down an offer to return to the team in midseason.  

February 20, 2004 - (Obituary) Jimmy Streater, who was the starting quarterback at Tennessee from 1976-1979, dies at the age of 46 after a long illness. He was the school's all-time leader in career total offense, career passing yards and single-season passing yards. Those records were all later broken at the school by Payton Manning. Streater also played in the CFL for the Toronto Argonauts in 1980 and 1981. 

February 23, 2004 - (College) Mark Beaver pleads guilty to eight counts of communications fraud and two counts of theft in a plea agreement for a ticket scam involving the 2003 Fiesta Bowl national championship game between Ohio State and Miami. In exchange, eight other theft charges, two communications fraud charges and one count of unlawful activity were dropped. He could receive a $10,000 fine and between one and fifteen years in prison for each count. (See related article on June 21, 2003) 

February 24, 2004 - (NFL) The salary cap for the 2004 season will increase by about $5.6 million to a grand total of $80.582 million per team, up from $75 million last season. The cap number represents 64.75 percent of the league's defined gross revenues which include radio and television revenue and gate receipts . 

February 24, 2004 - (Lawsuit/College) A Connecticut judge has dismissed all claims against the Atlantic Coast Conference by four Big East schools. However, the will allow the lawsuit against former Big East schools Boston College and Miami to go forward. (See related article on February 9, 2004)

February 25, 2004 - (College) Seven schools have formed a new football conference in Division I-AA. The Great West Football Conference, which will begin play this year,  includes Cal Poly, UC Davis, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Saint Mary's in California, South Dakota State and Southern Utah.

February 25, 2004 - (College) The NCAA has approved the Big 10's request to use instant replay on an experimental basis for conference games in 2004 that are broadcast on television. Non-conference opponents who play televised games in Big 10 stadiums will have the option of using instant replay during the game. Unlike the NFL replay system, a technical advisor assigned by the Big 10 officiating department would be the only person who could request a replay and make a judgment on a questionable play. (See related article on August 14, 2003)

February 26, 2004 - (NFL) The NFL is asking for changes in the next round of television contract negotiations expected to take place this fall. Some of the proposals include moving back the start times of Sunday games by one hour, dropping the NFC-AFC delineations for Sunday games, moving back the start of the season by one or two weeks, Switching ABC's Monday Night Football to Thursday nights and adding a fifth TV package of games, possibly with TNT, HBO or FOX.

February 29, 2004 - (College) The BCS will add a fifth bowl game in an effort to increase access to non-BCS conference schools beginning in 2006.

March

March 1, 2004 - (College) Colonel Michael Bloomfield, 44, a 1981 graduate of the Air Force Academy and astronaut who has flown on three Space Shuttle missions, is named Athletic Director at his alma mater.  Bloomfield played linebacker at the academy and was also a team captain.

March 3, 2004 - (College) Division I-AA St. Mary's College in Moraga, California, is discontinuing its football program due to financial reasons. The school competed as an independent and had previously discontinued its football program from 1951-1966. Their record last season was 1-11.

March 4, 2004 - (College) Colorado Buffalos player Jeremy Bloom has signed two endorsement deals to cover his training expenses as an Olympic skier. It is against NCAA rules to take money from endorsement deals while playing college football and Bloom will have to go through an eligibility reinstatement process before he can play football next fall. (See related article on Feb 3, 2004) 

March 5, 2004 - (College) Running back Cedric Benson is giving up pro baseball to concentrate on playing football in his senior year with the Texas Longhorns. Benson was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 12^th round of the 2001 baseball draft and has earned about $100,000 playing outfield in the Dodgers farm system. Benson also rushed for 1,360 yards and 21 touchdowns for Texas last season.

March 6, 2004 - (Obituary) Val Pinchbeck Jr., 73, a longtime NFL executive, dies after being struck by a taxi while crossing a street in Manhattan. Pinchbeck started out as the director of special events for the AFL in 1966. In 1967, he became the public relations director of the Denver Broncos. He joined NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle's staff in 1970 and served as the league's chief administrator. Pinchbeck was also the NFL's head of broadcasting and was involved in TV contract negotiations. He retired in 1998 but still helped out with scheduling and the Super Bowl.  

March 9, 2004 - (College) ESPN wants to bring a new college bowl game to Charleston, South Carolina. The proposed Palmetto Bowl would be played at The Citadel's Johnson Hagood Stadium and feature teams from Conference USA and the Atlantic Coast Conference. The school is currently raising money to increase the seating capacity to 22,000 at the stadium, but the NCAA requires 35,000 seats for a bowl game. 

March 10, 2004 - (College) The Red River Shootout will remain at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas for the next five years.  The new agreement between the Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma Sooners and the city of Dallas will keep the annual game in "Big D" for the next five years. The schools had threatened to rotate the game between Austin, TX and Norman, OK if they couldn't secure more money to cover their rising insurance, travel and lodging costs. The new agreement calls for the city to provide $250,000 a year for expenses and to waive the $94,000 rental fee for the Cotton Bowl. Also, 4,000 seats will be added to the stadium's end zones. The game generates about $20 million each year to the local economy.

March 12, 2004 - (College) Cotton Bowl organizers, along with the Dallas Cowboys, want to put a plan before voters this fall to try and get a new domed stadium built in hopes of landing the new BCS bowl game in 2007. The Cotton Bowl was not included in the original four team BCS rotation because of concerns about the weather in January and the fact that the stadium has no roof.  The BCS will pick the site of the fifth bowl game sometime in early 2005.

March 14, 2004 - (Obituary) Norb Hecker, the first head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, dies of cancer at the age of 76. Hecker coached the Falcons from 1966-1968 and compiled a record of only 4-26-1. He also spent time as an assistant coach with the Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants. As a player, Hecker played defensive back and receiver for Washington Redskins  and the 1951 champion Los Angeles Rams  as well as the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL. He was also an assistant coach at Stanford.

March 17, 2004 - (College) Stanford is paying San Jose State $250,000 to move their September 11 home game to Stanford Stadium. The San Jose State athletic department must cut $1 million from its budget and would have had to pay Stanford $250,000 if they had played the game at home. 

March 18, 2004 - (College) A Louisiana coroner has determined that Northwestern State football player Chris Waddell, 18, died of a heart attack while participating in an off-season workout with some teammates on March 1. Waddell had a condition known as Kawasaki's Syndrome since birth which was treated during childhood and he had been cleared for all activities since childhood.  

March 21, 2004 - (NFL) Veterans Stadium, the former home of the Philadelphia Eagles, is imploded. About 3,000 pounds of explosives were used to bring down the 30+ year old stadium in just over one minute. The site will become a 5,500 space parking lot. 

March 22, 2004 - (NFL) This year's Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony in Canton, Ohio on August 8 is officially sold out. A crowd of over 23,000 fans will pack Fawcett Stadium next to the Hall of Fame to see John Elway, Barry Sanders, Carl Eller and Bob Brown make their acceptance speeches. Tickets for the event went on sale back on December 11, even before the Class of 2004 was announced. (See related article on January 31, 2004)

March 25, 2004 - (College) The annual football game between Mississippi State and Ole Miss, a.k.a the Egg Bowl, will not be played on Thanksgiving evening this year as it has been for so many years. This year's game will be played on November 27, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  The contract with ESPN to air the game expired after last season and is not being renewed. It is not known at this time whether the game will be televised or not this year.

March 25, 2004 - (NFL) The city of New York announced plans to build a $1.4 billion retractable roof stadium on the west side of Manhattan. The New York Jets will pay $800 million on the 75,000 seat stadium. The Jets have played in Giants Stadium in New Jersey since 1984, but their lease expires in 2008. From 1964-1984, the team played in Shea Stadium, home of baseball's New York Mets. It is hoped that the new stadium will also help the city land the 2012 Olympics.

March 26, 2004 - (College) New Mexico kicker Katie Hnida is granted a 6th year of eligibility by the NCAA. She had missed two seasons, 1999 and 2001, due to medical problems. Hnida recently claimed that she was raped while at Colorado. She is the first woman to score points in a Division I-A game. (See related article on August 30, 2003)

March 31, 2004 - (NFL) League owners approved the use of instant replay for another five years at their Spring meetings in Florida. The issue passed by a margin of 29-3. Only Kansas City, Indianapolis and Cincinnati voted against it. Teams will still get two challenges per half, but they will now also get a third challenge if their first two challenges are successfully upheld.

April

April 1, 2004 - (NFL) NFL owners approved several changes for the upcoming season at their spring meetings in Florida. The one getting the most publicity is a new 15-yard penalty for excessive celebrations on the team as well as a fine for the player. Other changes include expanding the practice squad from five to eight players, allowing the coach to call for a time out rather than the call having to come from a player, stopping the clock as soon as a punt goes into the end zone, allowing wide receivers to wear numbers 10-19 and extending the interview period from five to seven days immediately following the end of the season to interview assistant coaches. They also voted to begin negotiations to extend the contract of commissioner Paul Tagliabue. 

April 2, 2004 - (NFL) The natural grass surface at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati will be replaced with FieldTurf before the start of the 2004 season. Several attempts to grow grass at the four year old stadium were unsuccessful. 

April 2, 2004 - (Media) Broadcaster Pat Summerall, 73, has been hospitalized in Fort Worth, Texas and is awaiting a liver transplant. Summerall, who is a recovering alcoholic, has been sober for 12 years according to his wife. He also has an uncommon blood type which could complicate the process of finding a matching donor organ. 

April 3, 2004 - (NFL) New York Giants back up quarterback Jesse Palmer, 25, will star in the next installment of ABC's The Bachelor. Palmer got to know 25 women on the show which has already been filmed. Episodes begin airing on April 7. 

April 3, 2004 - (College) Former Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan has responded well to cancer treatments and his doctors say they can find no cancer cells at this time. Sullivan won the Heisman in 1971 as a quarterback at Auburn  and is currently the offensive coordinator at Alabama. He was diagnosed with cancer last September after having surgery on his neck. 

April 7, 2004 - (College) The San Francisco Bowl is changing its name to the Emerald Bowl. The game's sponsor, the Diamond Walnut company, changed the name of the bowl game to highlight its new Emerald Nut line of products. The company has also extended its agreement to sponsor the game through 2006.  

April 10, 2004 - (Media) Broadcaster Pat Summerall is recovering in a Jacksonville, Florida hospital after receiving a new liver. He was flown to Jacksonville from Fort Worth, Texas when an organ became available. Summerall was reported to be in stable condition following the two and a half hour operation.  (See related article on April 2, 2004)

April 12, 2004 - (Mascot) The Marshall, Michigan Public School Board of Education voted 5-2 in favor of adopting a statement to accompany its Redskins mascot logo.  The statement is part of a settlement in a civil complaint that was filed almost two years ago in an effort to get the school to drop the Redskins nickname. The statement reads, "Traditional Anishinaabek believe eagle feathers (as depicted in this logo) are sacred and deserve respectful treatment. They believe the spiritual image shown in this logo should be used for spiritual purposes. Anishinaabek desire that their beliefs be understood and respected." (See related article on September 23, 2002)

April 12, 2004 - (Lawsuit/NFL) The NCAA has filed a legal brief supporting the NFL in their appeal to keep underclassman Maurice Clarett and others from entering this year's NFL Draft on April 24-25. A federal appeals court will hear arguments on April 19 and could possibly overturn a lower court's decision allowing underclassmen who have not been out of high school for three year to enter the draft. (See related article on February 11, 2004)

April 12, 2004 - (College) Tennessee State Senator Tim Burchett is looking into why some season ticket holders at the University of Tennessee are being forced to make a $1,000 donation to the Volunteer Athletic Scholarship Fund in order to keep their seats. Under a new policy at the school, approximately 1,000 season ticket holders, effecting around 2,300 sideline seats, will either have to give up their seats or move to the end zone sections if they do not make the "donation." Some of the season ticket holders have had their seats for over 20 years. The athletic department said they do not receive any state funding and that the money is needed for planned renovations at Neyland Stadium. 

April 16, 2004 - (College) A 10-year NCAA study reported that the six BCS Division I-A conferences (Big 10, Big 12, Big East, ACC, SEC and Pac 10) increased their operating revenues between 108-146 percent from 1993-2002.  Four of the remaining five conferences, Conference USA, MAC, WAC and Sun Belt, reported net deficits in each of the same 10 years. The remaining non-BCS conference, the Mountain West, reported a net deficit in nine of the 10 years. 

April 19, 2004 - (Lawsuit/NFL) The 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals in New York put a hold on a lower court ruling that said Maurice Clarett and other underclassmen could enter this year's NFL Draft. After only about an hour of arguments, the court said the NFL had shown that they could win its case and wanted to review the case further. (See related article on February 11, 2004)

April 19, 2004 - (College) LSU head coach Nick Saban and Division 1-AA Southern University head coach Pete Richardson, testified in support of a bill in the Louisiana legislature that would require sports agents to give head coaches or athletic directors advanced notice before talking to college athletes. It would also prevent them from using intermediaries to act as go-betweens to make contact with athletes as well. Lawyers for LSU and the Baton Rouge District Attorney's Office helped draw up the bill, which was approved by the House Commerce Committee. 

April 20, 2004 - (Lawsuit/NFL) The attorney for Maurice Clarett filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court in an effort to seek a stay of yesterday's ruling by the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals.  The NFL Draft is set for April 24-25.

April 21, 2004 - (Media) Broadcaster Pat Summerall is released from St. Luke's Hospital in Jacksonville, FL after receiving a liver transplant on April 10. He will remain in the Jacksonville area for several weeks of outpatient care until doctors clear him to return to his home in Texas. 

April 22, 2004 - (NFL) Former Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman is killed while serving in the Army at the age of 27. Tillman, an Army Ranger, was killed during a fire fight in Southeastern Afghanistan. (See related article on December 21, 2003)

April 22, 2004 - (College) The NCAA has re-certified 28 college bowl games for next season with two bowl games being renamed. The San Francisco Bowl will now be known as the Emerald Bowl and the Humanitarian Bowl will now be known as the MPC Computers Bowl. The Football Certification Subcommittee also heard proposals from three other groups, from Denver, Seattle and South Florida, who want bowl games in the 2005-06 season. 

April 22, 2004 - (Lawsuit/NFL) Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg refused to overturn a lower court ruling in the Maurice Clarett appeal. Clarett's lawyer then filed a second emergency appeal to another Supreme Court Justice, John Paul Stevens, who also turned down the appeal request. (See related article on April 20, 2004) 

April 23, 2004 - (Lawsuit/NFL) The lawyer for Maurice Clarett has dropped the lawsuit against the NFL.

April 23, 2004 - (College) The University of New Mexico Lobos athletic department is thinking about using a live wolf for a mascot at next season's football games. The 2 year old silver wolf belongs to a university professor and was recently on hand to greet fans as they arrived at the Cherry-Silver spring football scrimmage back on April 10. A final decision has yet to be made. 

April 24-25, 2004 - (NFL) The NFL Draft is held in New York City. Mississippi quarterback Eli Manning was the first player selected by the San Diego Chargers. At the number 4 pick, the New York Giants selected North Carolina State quarterback Philip Rivers. The two teams wound up swapping quarterbacks shortly thereafter.

April 28, 2004 - (Media) The ratings for the first day of the NFL Draft on ESPN was up 11 percent over last year with a 3.8 cable rating. It drew better ratings that two NBA first round playoff basketball games that were going on during the same time. One NBA game, Miami and New Orleans, drew a 1.0 rating, while another basketball game, Detroit and Milwaukee, drew a 1.6 rating.

April 28, 2004 - (NFL) The Army announced that Pat Tillman is being posthumously promoted from specialist to corporal and also being awarded the Purple Heart, the Silver Star  and the Meritorious Service Medal. The promotion is a lateral promotion, since both ranks are E-4, meaning there is no increase in pay or benefits to the family. The Arizona Cardinals have also announced that they will retire Tillman's number 40 and name the plaza that will surround their new stadium, that will be built in Glendale, after him. It will be called the Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza. (See April 22, 2004)     

April 29, 2004 - (Obituary) Robert "Pink" Erickson, the father of San Francisco 49ers head coach Dennis Erickson, dies at the age of 79 after a long illness in Everett, Washington. Erickson was a longtime high school football coach and also coached at the University of Montana and the University of Idaho. 

April 29, 2004 - (College) A special subcommittee, made up of two Tennessee state legislators, has been tasked to investigate the recent change to the football season ticket policy at the University of Tennessee. (See related article on April 12, 2004)

April 30, 2004 - (College) The University of Texas-El Paso has accepted an offer to join Conference USA in 2005. UTEP has been in the Western Athletic Conference since 1967. The entry fee will cost the school $1 million this year and $200,000 each year for the next five years. Rice, SMU and Tulsa have previously agreed to leave the WAC and join C-USA.

April 30, 2004 - (Obituary) Frank Fallon, known as The Voice of the Baylor Bears, dies at his home in Waco, Texas at the age of 73. Fallon retired in 1995 after 42 years of broadcasting Baylor football and basketball games. He was also the public address announcer of the NCAA Final Four from 1978-1998, did television play-by-play for Southwest Conference basketball games on ESPN and NBC and was the general manager at radio station KWTX in Waco, Texas for 29 years. Fallon also taught broadcasting at Baylor. In 2001, he was awarded the Chris Schenkel Award by the National Football Association and the College Football Hall of Fame for excelling in the field of football broadcasting and his contributions to the community. Fallon had suffered from Parkinson's disease since 1995. 

May

May 2, 2004 - (Obituary) Father Edmond P. Joyce, who was known as the Czar of Notre Dame Athletics, dies at Holy Cross House on the school's campus at the age of 87. Joyce retired in 1987 after 35 years of service at Notre Dame where he served in several capacities including Chief Financial Officer and Chairman of the Board of Athletics. He graduated from the school in 1937 with a degree in accounting and was ordained as a priest in 1949. 

May 2, 2004 - (College) A $60 million renovation project has begun at LSU's Tiger Stadium. The 20-month project will concentrate on rebuilding the West Upper Deck, including a new press box and club seats. A private support group, the Tiger Athletic Foundation, is paying for the entire project. When it is finished, the stadium's seating capacity will increase by 500-600 seats from the current capacity of 91,600.

May 3, 2004 - (NFL) For the first time ever, all 65 NFL exhibition games will be available on television. ABC, CBS, ESPN and FOX have already agreed to air 11 exhibition games and the remaining 54 games will be shown on the NFL Network.  Some games on the NFL Network will be shown on a tape delay.

May 3, 2004 - (Media) Michele Tafoya will be the new sideline reporter on Monday Night Football. She replaces Lisa Guerrero who was with MNF for only one year after being brought in to replace the pregnant Melissa Stark last year. Tafoya has worked football games for ESPN and CBS and has also worked NBA basketball games for ABC and ESPN. Guerrero had one year left on her MNF contract.

May 4, 2004 - (Obituary) John Amberg, a defensive back and halfback for the New York Giants in 1951 and 1952, dies of pancreatic cancer at the age of 75. In college, Amberg was captain of the Kansas football team. His pro career was cut short by military service during the Korean War. 

May 5, 2004 - (College) A statue of former Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik is unveiled at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana. The statue was originally intended to be placed at West Point, but a group of U.S. Military Academy alumni protested against the statue because the base includes the names of all the letterman who played under Blaik, including the names of twenty three players who were dismissed from the school in a 1951 cheating scandal. Blaik's son, Bob, a starting quarterback, is one of those who was dismissed. "Red" Blaik is the winningest coach in Army history with a record of 121-33-10 between 1941 and 1958. He won back to back national championships in 1944-45 and his teams produced three Heisman Trophy winners, halfback Felix "Doc" Blanchard (1945), halfback Glenn Davis (1946) and halfback Pete Dawkins (1958). Blaik passed away in 1988 at the age of 91.

May 6, 2004 - (College/Lawsuit) The Colorado Court of Appeals denied an injunction request by Colorado football player Jeremy Bloom that would have allowed him to continue to play football this fall while his case against the NCAA is being heard. (See related article on March 4, 2004)

May 7, 2004 - (NFL) The Hotel Association of Greater Dallas voted to reject a proposal by the Dallas Cowboys to implement a 3 percent hotel occupancy tax to help fund a new stadium for the team. The Cowboys have offered to put up $225 million towards the $650 million retractable roof stadium, with the remaining $425 million being financed by the taxpayers.

May 10, 2004 - (Obituary) Dale Meinert, a linebacker for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1960's, dies in Clinton, OK at the age of 70. Meinert played college football at Oklahoma A&M, now Oklahoma State, and was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in 1955. He opted to play in the Canadian Football League for three year and in 1958, signed with the Chicago Cardinals, who then moved to St. Louis in 1960. In 1961, Meinert was named the team's MVP and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1963, 65 and 67. After retiring as a player in 1967, he returned to Oklahoma and became a high school coach and was also a junior high math teacher at Lone Wolf High School. In 1988, he was named to the Cardinals' All-St. Louis team when the franchise moved to Arizona.  Meinert suffered from Alzheimer's disease and had been in a nursing home for the last 15 years.

May 10, 2004 - (Arena) The Arena Football League sets a new attendance record with three weeks remaining in the regular season. The total attendance so far this year is 1,510,768, which beat last year's record of 1,458,830. The new record is due, in part, to the addition of three expansion teams, the Philadelphia Soul, New Orleans Voodoo and Austin Wranglers.

May 11, 2004 - (College) Colorado congressman Mark Udall has sent a letter to the NCAA asking it to reconsider its policy that currently prohibits Jeremy Bloom from playing football at the University of Colorado and also receive endorsement money at the same time. Bloom says he needs the money to support his training for the 2006 Olympics as a freestyle skier. (See related story on May 6, 2004)

May 11, 2004 - (College) Syracuse University is changing its nickname from the Orangemen (and Orangewomen) to simply the Orange. The announcement came after two years of consultations with sports outfitter Nike, who supplies uniforms for the school's football, basketball and men's lacrosse teams. The school will also use one standard logo, an interlocking SU, to help standardize the school's identity. In the past, the school has used up to 20 different logos for their various sports teams.

May 11, 2004 - (College) The College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana has announced an additional six players and three coached from smaller colleges who will be inducted with the Division I-A players and coaches previously selected to be the Class of 2004. Former Washington Redskins defensive back Darrell Green, who played college football at Texas A&I, now Texas A&M-Kingsville, leads the list. The other players are Northeastern tight end Dan Ross, John Hopkins wide receiver William Stromberg, Westminster back Harold Davis, Huron running back Garney Henley and Marshall back Jackie Hunt. The three coaches are Thomas Beck, who coached at Benedictine, Elmhurst and Grand Valley State, Charlie Richard from Baker and Dick Strahm from Findlay. The inductions will take place on August 13-14. (See related article on March 24, 2003)

May 11, 2004 - (College) The Atlantic Coast Conference is seeking proposals from nine cities to host its conference championship game following the 2005 season. The top candidates are Jacksonville, Charlotte, N.C. and Orlando. The other cities are Atlanta, Miami, Tampa, Washington, Baltimore and East Rutherford, N.J. A final decision will be made late this summer or early fall. 

May 12, 2004 - (Media) CBS has dropped Deion Sanders from the NFL Today pregame show in a salary dispute. CBS offered him $1.3 million per year, but Sanders, who made $1 million a year the last two years, was asking for $2 million.

May 12, 2004 - (Media) The Atlantic Coast Conference signs a new seven-year television deal with ABC and ESPN reportedly worth $258 million. That averages to about $37.6 million per year. ABC will televise the new conference championship game which will be played for the first time at the end of the 2005 season and will telecast the Miami-Florida State game in prime time on Labor Day in 2004 and 2005. ESPN and ESNP2 will increase the number of Thursday Night ACC games from three to six.  

May 13, 2004 - (College) Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, 77, gets a four-year contract extension though 2008. Paterno joined the coaching staff at the university in 1950 and became the head coach of the Nittany Lions in 1966. He won national championships in 1982 and 1986 and has an overall record of 339-109-3.

May 13, 2004 - (College) The BCS has proposed a new scenario for playing the national championship game. Instead of adding a fifth bowl game to the current rotation between the Orange, Rose, Sugar and Fiesta Bowls, they suggest having one of the current bowls host the championship game a week after their own regular bowl game. The top two teams in the country would only play in the championship game and not in any other bowl game. No final decision has been made. (See related articles on February 29 and March 12, 2004)

May 16, 2004 - (Obituary) Dan Allen, former head coach at Holy Cross, dies at the age of 48. Allen had suffered from multiple chemical sensitivity since 2002, a condition that left him paralyzed from the neck down. He coached all of last season from a wheelchair but was fired as head coach last November after the team went 1-11. He remained employed by the college, however. Allen was an assistant coach at the school from 1982-1989 then became head coach at Boston University from 1990-1995. In 1993, his team was 11-0 and he was named NCAA Division II Coach of the Year and returned to Holy Cross in 1996. He was an all-conference linebacker at Hanover College in Indiana and was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002.

May 16, 2004 - (Obituary) Jim Colclough, a member of the Boston Patriots from 1960-1969, dies of complication from hepatitis C at the age of 68. Colclough played one season in the CFL in 1959 before signing with Boston of the old American Football League. He still ranks third in team history in average yards per catch (17.7) and fourth in scoring catches. He also coached at Boston State in 1978-1979.

May 17, 2004 - (Lawsuit/NFL) The Supreme Court has refused to hear a case between the NFL and the man claims the Baltimore Ravens stole his logo design. A jury originally sided with Fred Bouchat, a security guard in Baltimore, that the team used his design without compensating or crediting him, but the jury in a follow up trial said he was not entitled to share in the team's profits from the sale of logo merchandise. (See related article on July 24, 2002)

May 17, 2004 - (Media) CBS has hired Shannon Sharpe to replace Deion Sanders on the NFL Today pre-game show.  Sharpe, who has played 15 seasons in the NFL, is retiring as a player to take the job. He played last season with the Denver Broncos. (See related article on May 12, 2004)

May 17, 2004 - (NFL) The Louisiana Superdome is getting a new playing surface, again. Last season, the stadium replaced the old Astroturf field with a softer surface called AstroPlay. However, the Texas company that makes and installs AstroPlay has gone bankrupt. The Superdome Commission has approved a three year contract with a Canadian company called Sportexe, who offers a similar type of surface called Momentum. The Superdome becomes the second NFL stadium to use the Momentum turf. Last year, the Baltimore Ravens had the surface installed at their stadium. The New Orleans Saints and the Superdome will split the $259,000 cost of purchasing and installing the new surface.

May 18, 2004 - (Obituary) Edgar "Special Delivery" Jones, a running back with the Cleveland Browns from 1946-1949, dies at the age of 84. Jones played college football at Pittsburgh and was selected in the 19th round of the  1941 Draft by the Chicago Bears but chose to enlist in the Navy. He did join the Bears in 1945 but played in only one game. He joined the Browns the following season. Jones spent his final playing year  in Canada with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1950. He went on to be a backfield coach at the University of Pittsburgh in 1951 and 1952 and had the same position in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1953. He helped found a chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and was inducted there in 1983.  

May 18, 2004 - (Media) The Arena Football League and NBC have agreed to extend their broadcasting partnership through 2006. NBC began carrying AFL games in 2003.

May 19, 2004 - (Lawsuit/College) Andy Carroll, a former wide receiver and special team player at the University of Washington, files a lawsuit against the NCAA to try and end the restrictions on the number of scholarships a school can grant. Currently, Division I-A schools are limited to 85 scholarship players on a football team. Carroll claims he was led to believe that he had a chance to receive a scholarship as a walk on player, but was later told there were no more scholarships available. He graduated in 2000.

May 19, 2004 - (College) The Atlantic Coast Conference has reached a seven year agreement with two longtime partners to broadcast regional football games. Jefferson Pilot Sports and Raycom Sports have both held the TV rights to the conference's men's basketball games for 22 years. JP Sports has also had the conference's football syndication rights since 1984. The regional games will be picked after ABC and ESPN choose the games they want to broadcast each week. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. (See related article on May 12, 2004)

May 21, 2004 - (NFL) Cleveland Browns quarterback Tim Couch has filed a grievance with the players union against the club because they have banned him from participating in team workouts, even though he is still under contract to the team. The Browns have been trying to work out a deal to trade Couch to the Green Bay Packers ever since they signed quarterback Jeff Garcia from the San Francisco 49ers back in March. The Browns reportedly cleaned out Couch's locker after the signing of Garcia and told him he was not welcome at their facilities any more.

May 21, 2004 - (College) The Rice University Board of Trustees voted unanimously to remain in Division I-A, despite the findings by a management consulting firm. Rice, the smallest NCAA Division I-A school with an enrollment of 2,800 students, faces an annual budget deficit of $10 million. Suggestion from the 104 page report included moving to a lower division, eliminating the football program all together or dropping athletic scholarships in football and other sports.

May 21, 2004 - (NFL) After receiving complaints from several players, the NFL and the Players Association determined that New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin violated the league's collective bargaining agreement concerning the length of off season workouts and the scheduling of classroom sessions. As punishment, the team will have two off season practice days taken off their schedule. 

May 24, 2004 - (Arena) Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank has worked out a deal to buy the Georgia Force of the Arena Football League from current owner, Virgil Williams. Under the deal, Williams will maintain a minority interest in the Force for the next four years. The sale of the team should be completed by the end of June and Blank will take over the team in August. Williams bought the team in 2001, when it was the Nashville Kats and moved the team to Atlanta, renaming it the Force. 

May 24, 2004 - (Lawsuit/NFL) The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that national labor law does permit the NFL to set a minimum eligibility requirement for players to enter the league. A three judge panel voted unanimously in favor of the NFL, meaning that Maurice Clarett will have to wait until 2005 to enter the NFL Draft. (See related article on April 19, 2004) 

May 25, 2004 - (NFL) Art Shell, the NFL's first black head coach of the modern era, is named the NFL's Senior Vice President of Football Operations. Shell, 57, was the coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1989-1994. As a player, Shell went to the Pro Bowl eight times and played in two Super bowls. He was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1989.

May 25, 2004 - (NFL) Deuce McAllister, New Orleans Saints running back, announced that he is giving $1 million to Ole Miss to help pay for a new indoor practice facility. McAllister played college football at the school. The $18 million, 150,000 square foot facility does not have a name yet, but is scheduled to open this fall. It will be used by athletes from all the school's sports programs.

May 25, 2004 - (NFL) Commissioner Paul Tagliabue says league owners want to have a team back in Los Angeles by 2008. They want to have a stadium site identified by May of 2005. However, no decision has been made as to whether they will move an existing team there or add an expansion team.

May 26, 2004 - (College) The Missouri Tigers have officially backed out of their scheduled games with the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2005 and 2006, but are still planning to play games scheduled in 2007 and 2008. Missouri will replace Iowa with games against the Arkansas State Indians.

May 26, 2004 - (Lawsuit/NFL) A small claims court judge in Salt Lake City has ruled against Eric Stephenson, a Utah lawyer. Stephenson was suing Viacom , the parent company of CBS, for $5,000, claiming that last year's Super Bowl halftime show was falsely advertised as a family oriented show. The show actually contained some explicit lyrics by some artists and a "wardrobe malfunction" by singer Janet Jackson.

May 29, 2004 - (NFL) The Pentagon released a statement at the conclusion of an investigation into the death of former Arizona Cardinals player Pat Tillman. The report revealed that Tillman was probably killed by friendly fire in the Sperah district of the Khost province in Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border, while hunting for Taliban and al-Qaida fighters as part of Operation Mountain Storm.

May 31, 2004 - (Obituary) Dunstan Anderson, who played for the Miami Dolphins in 1997, dies in an auto accident at the age of 33. Anderson was currently playing for the Florida Firecats in arenafootball2. Anderson was a passenger in a Ford Explorer when the driver lost control of the vehicle, causing it to overturn several times on I-75 in southwest Florida. Anderson was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene. He was not wearing a seatbelt. The driver was taken to the hospital in serious condition. He played for the Carolina Cobras in 2003 and briefly for the Grand Rapids Rampage in 2000 and 2001, both in the Arena Football League. He also spent time in NFL Europe. 

June

June 1, 2004 - (Arena) The Arena Football League announced that attendance for the 2004 regular season was up 25 percent from 2003. The total attendance for this past season was 1,827,623 compared to 1,458,830 in 2003. Average attendance per game was also up from 11,397 in 2003 to 12,024 this year. The league added three teams in 2004 (Philadelphia Soul, Austin Wranglers and New Orleans VooDoo) and moved the Buffalo Destroyers to Columbus, Ohio.

June 2, 2004 - (NFL) Qwest Communications International Inc. of Denver announced that they are buying the naming rights to Seahawks Stadium. The home of the Seattle Seahawks will now be known as Qwest Field. Terms of the agreement were not immediately revealed, but it is said to be a short term deal. Last month, Qwest reported a $310 million loss in the first quarter of the year.

June 2, 2004 - (College) Notre Dame has moved their October 30th game at Brigham Young to September 4 so that they will have a tune up game before they host Michigan on September 11. In doing so, the Irish created a ripple effect of changes in the schedules of several other schools including USC, Virginia Tech, Stanford, San Jose State, San Diego State, Nevada, Idaho State, a Division I-AA school and even Carroll College of the NAIA.

June 4, 2004 - (College) The Idaho Vandals accept an offer to join the Western Athletic Conference in 2005. The school is currently in the Sun Belt Conference. 

June 8, 2004 - (Obituary) Wilber Dungy, father of Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy, dies from complications of leukemia at the age of 78. Dungy was a retired teacher and school administrator from Jackson, Michigan who frequently attended Colts practices since his son became their coach in 2002. 

June 8, 2004 - (College) The PAC-10 Conference has renamed it's Defensive Player of the Year Award after former Arizona State player Pat Tillman. Tillman won the award himself in 1997.

June 9, 2004 - (Obituary) Roosevelt Brown, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1975, dies of an apparent heart attack at the age of 71. Brown was selected in the 27th round of the 1953 draft from Morgan State by the New York Giants and played offensive tackle for the team until 1966. He was named to the Pro Bowl nine times in his 13 seasons. In 1956, he was named NFL Lineman of the Year and in 2000 he was named to the NFL's 75th Anniversary Team.

June 10, 2004 - (College) The BCS has decided to add a fifth game, but not a fifth bowl game to their rotation beginning in 2006. A committee of school presidents unanimously approved the plan. The championship game will still rotate between the Rose, Fiesta, Orange and Sugar Bowls, but it will be played about a week after the regular bowl game is played. (See related article on May 13, 2004)

June 11, 2004 - (College) The cost estimate for the current renovation project at Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium, originally estimated at $29 million, has come up short by more than $14 million. The project was approved in April 2003. School trustees are looking into raising the ceiling on the bond issue from $27.4 million to $30 million, but that may not be enough to finish the entire project. Some portions of the renovation project are on hold indefinitely.

June 11, 2004 - (College) The Yale Bowl is getting $27 million in repairs and upgrades. Plans for the 90 year old football stadium call for a new scoreboard, interior and exterior repairs and the building of Bulldog Plaza, where the names of every Yale football player in the school's history will be displayed. Just last week, the Class of 1954 donated $10 million towards the renovations and the school has decided to name the field Class of 1954 Field in their honor. Over the years, the Class of 1954 has donated $120 million to the school. The Yale Bowl opened on November 21, 1914 for the Harvard-Yale game, seats about 64,000 spectators and was the model for many other football stadiums around the country. Renovations are set to begin after the 2004 season and should take about three years to complete. 

June 13, 2004 - (College) New York City wants to host a college bowl game at the proposed new stadium of the New York Jets.  The Big Apple Bowl would begin after the stadium is completed around 2010. The last time New York hosted a bowl game was back in 1962 when the Gotham Bowl was played in Yankee Stadium.

June 13, 2004 - (Media) Former 1956 Heisman Trophy winner Paul Hornung, 68, says Notre Dame does not want him back as a radio broadcaster for the school. Hornung made racial comments during a radio interview in March suggesting that the school lower its academic standards to allow more black players to be recruited. The school says the decision was actually made by the Westwood One Radio Network, which broadcasts the Irish's games. Hornung has since apologized for the comments.

June 13, 2004 - (NFL Europe) The Berlin Thunder defeated the Frankfurt Galaxy 30-24 in World Bowl XII. It was the third time in four years that Berlin has won the title. Frankfurt won the championship last year. 

June 14, 2004 - (College) The University of Alabama-Birmingham is moving its October 16 home game against TCU to Friday night at the request of ESPN. The head of the Alabama High School Athletic Association is not happy with the move saying that it will hurt attendance at high school football games that night. Three college conferences, the SEC, ACC and Big 12, as well as the American Football Coaches Association, have all have all said they are opposed to Friday night college games. UAB and TCU both belong to Conference USA. The game is set to be played on Friday, October 15. It will be UAB's first ever game broadcast on ESPN. 

June 14, 2004 - (Obituary) Fetch Monster, an Australian Shepard who retrieved kicking tees for 2 different NFL teams, dies of cancer at the age of 10. The dog, whose real name was Bleu, became a fan favorite from 1997-1999 retrieving tees after kickoffs for the New Orleans Saints. She got her start by retrieving kicking tees for the Houston Oilers.

June 16, 2004 - (College) An early morning fire destroyed a house in Ann Arbor, Michigan where several University of Michigan football players were living. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. One player, sophomore offensive lineman Pat Sharrow, suffered minor injuries after kicking out a window air conditioner and jumping from a second story window to escape the blaze.

June 16, 2004 - (Stadium) A 71-page engineering report has determined that it will cost almost as much to renovate Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis as it would to build a whole new stadium. Renovation expenses are estimated between $115 million and $197 million, depending on how much of the stadium gets renovated. A new stadium is estimated between $175 million and $195 million. If the city wants to someday acquire an NFL team, the cost of an NFL quality stadium is estimated at around $250 million.

June 17, 2004 - (NFL) NFL Films will tape a 5-part documentary during this year's Jacksonville Jaguars training camp to be aired on the NFL Network. It will be similar to the HBO show "Hard Knocks" which followed the Baltimore Ravens training camp in 2001 and the Dallas Cowboys camp in 2002. The first episode is set to air on August 11.

June 20, 2004 - (NFL) Revenues generated by the recent $295 million renovations and expansion at Lambeau Field by the Green Bay Packers are up 34%. The renovations generated about $30 million in new revenue last year, which is about $7 million more than they expected to make.

June 20, 2004 - (Media) CBS is shuffling some of its key players on NFL broadcasts. Greg Gumbel will replace Jim Nantz as host of The NFL Today studio show and Nantz will replace Gumbel in the booth on the network's number one announcing team. Gumbel previously hosted the show from 1990-1993. The new number one announcing team will consist of Nantz, Phil Simms and Lesley Visser. The studio team will now consist of Gumbel, Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason and Shannon Sharpe. (See related article on May 17, 2004)

June 21, 2004 - (NFL) The Louisiana legislature has approved a short term fix for their $7 million shortfall to their $15 million annual payment due to the New Orleans Saints by July 5. The state will borrow the money this year from the Louisiana Economic Development Corporation, but is looking into several options to help generate enough revenue to make future annual payments to the team including taxes on car rentals and sports tickets.  The payment is part of a $186 million incentive package agreed upon in 2001to keep the team in Louisiana. The payments increase over time and run through 2010. 

June 21, 2004 - (NFL) A Super Bowl ring belonging to New England Patriots linebacker Tully Banta-Cain was returned to him by a fan who found it in a bathroom at the Providence Place Mall two days earlier. Banta-Cain forgot the ring after taking it off to wash his hands. It was found by a fan, Lou Schorr, who returned it to the team. For returning the ring, Schorr received and autographed picture of Banta-Cain and has been invited to attend the Patriots home opener against the Indianapolis Colts. The ring, valued at more than $20,000, was presented to Banta-Cain and the rest of the team on June 13.

June 24, 2004 - (Media) The New York Times has removed its ranking poll from the Bowl Championship Series formula sighting an ethics policy. The newspaper will still publish their own college football rankings, but they will not be used by the BCS. There are still six other ranking polls that will be used to compute the BCS ranking of college football teams.

June 24, 2004 - (College) A pair of crystal footballs symbolizing the 1993 and 1999 national championships won by Florida State were stolen from a glass showcase outside of head coach Bobby Bowden's office. The Sears trophies, valued at $30,000 each, were not insured.

June 25, 2004 - (College) A section of highway in Kenova, West Virginia will be renamed The Big Green Memorial Highway in honor of the Marshall football team that died in a plane crash on November 14, 1970.  The renamed section of highway passes the crash site where 75 players, coaches, administrators and supporters died. There are also plans to construct a bell tower near the crash site. 

June 25, 2004 - (NFL) Qwest Communications will pay $75 million over 15 years for the naming rights to the Seattle Seahawks stadium. The agreement calls for the company to pay $45 million in the first 10 years with an option for an additional 5 years at $30 million. The deal also calls for the construction of an attached exhibition hall to be named the Qwest Events Center. (See related article on June 2, 2004)

June 27, 2004 - (WFL) A 30th Anniversary reunion is planned for July 9-10 in Birmingham, Alabama to honor the 1974 Birmingham American, the only champions of the World Football League. At the reunion, some of the former players will finally receive their championship rings. After defeating the Florida Blazers 22-21 in the league championship game, the team's uniforms and equipment were confiscated by the police because the team was financially broke. The team was disbanded and many players never returned to get their championship rings. A new team, the Birmingham Vulcans, played in 1975, but the league folded midway through its second season. Replacement rings have been made at a cost of $800 each and reunion organizers hope to find sponsors to defray the cost of the rings.

June 27, 2004 - (Arena) The San Jose SaberCats defeated the Arizona Rattlers 69-62 in Arena Bowl XVIII. It was the third year in a row that Arizona has lost in the title game.

June 28, 2004 - (College) A judge in Florida approves a $2 million settlement between Florida State and the family of linebacker Devaughn Darling. Darling died on February 26, 2001 at the age of 18 of apparent cardiac arrhythmia during an off season workout with the team.  He and his twin brother, Devard, had been diagnosed with a rare blood disorder known as sickle cell trait during a football physical prior to their freshman year at FSU. After Devaughn's death, Devard was prohibited from playing wide receiver at FSU. He transferred to Washington State, played for two years and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of this year's draft. The family will receive a check for $200,000, but must petition the state Legislature for the remaining $1.8 million. The petition must be filed by August 1 for it to be considered during the 2005 legislative session. The school also plans to place a memorial to Devaughn in the athletic department and maintain a scholarship in his name. 

June 30, 2004 - (NFL/CFL) The NFL and Canadian Football League have extended their partnership through 2006.  In 1997, the NFL loaned the CFL $3 million in exchange for the right to sign CFL players who were in the option year of their contracts. Under the new agreement, the NFL will also broadcast some live regular season CFL games as well as the Grey Cup championship game on the NFL Network. 

July

July 1, 2004 - (NFL) The Atlanta Falcons will be moving their training camp to their Flowery Branch headquarters site starting next year. They will be constructing dormitory facilities and expanding their current dining facilities. Since 1999, the team has held their training camp at Furman University in Greenville, S.C. 

July 1, 2004 - (Obituary) Travis Tidwell, a two time All-American at Auburn, dies at the age of 79.  Tidwell led the nation in total offense as a freshman in 1946 and again as a senior in 1949. He was voted the MVP of the Southeastern Conference in 1949 and was a first round draft choice of the New York Giants in 1950. He played two seasons in New York and then several years playing in the CFL. Prior to playing in college, Tidwell served in the Pacific in World War II. After his playing career was over, he returned to Auburn for a brief time and was an assistant coach before going into the insurance business. 

July 3, 2004 - (College) The University of Arkansas announced that former alum and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and eight others will be inducted into the school's Sports Hall of Honor on September 3.

July 8, 2004 - (NFL) The New York Giants are debating whether to build a new stadium or renovate their current home, Giants Stadium. Renovation would cost about $300 million while a new stadium would cost around $600 million. The New York Jets, who also play in Giants Stadium, have plans to build their own stadium on the west side of Manhattan. A decision could be made sometime in September. Giants Stadium opened in 1976 and is one of the oldest venues in the league.

July 8, 2004 - (College) The University of Tennessee athletic department signs a five-year agreement with eSports Partners to handle the sale of their souvenirs, apparel and other school related merchandise. The company guaranteed that the school would receive a minimum of $529,500 in the first year and could receive $4 million by the end of the contract. The University of Arkansas and Texas A&M also have agreements with eSports Partners as well as the Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys in the NFL.

July 8, 2004 - (College) Division I-AA Florida A&M University will have its 2000 and 2001 football titles taken away as punishment for committing 196 NCAA rules violations. Nine other sports championships will also be taken away. The school is accused of using players who were academically ineligible.

July 9, 2004 - (College) The game between Brigham Young and Boise State has been moved from Saturday, September 25 to Friday night, September 24 so it can be aired on ESPN. This is the third home game that Boise State has rescheduled for Friday nights. The others are against Oregon State and Hawaii. 

July 14, 2004 - (NFL) The Arizona Cardinals plan to honor former player Pat Tillman with a special halftime tribute during their home opener against the New England Patriots on September 19.

July 15, 2004 - (College) Southern Mississippi is renaming the field at M. M. Roberts Stadium.  It will be called Carlisle-Faulkner Field. Gene Carlisle graduated from the school in 1964 and is the school's top financial contributor. Some of the money donated by Carlisle was used to replace the grass field with Momentum Turf back in April. He also serves on the board of the school's Athletic Foundation and is chairman of the College of Business and Economic Development's business advisory council. The field was originally called Faulkner Field after L. E. Faulkner, a local businessman who donated materials and equipment and built the stadium at no cost to the school in 1932. He also recruited local unemployed laborers to do the work. The renaming ceremony is set for September 16, prior to the home game against California.

July 15, 2004 - (College) Two football players from the Air Force Academy will be court-marshaled on charges of possessing and using steroids. Junior running back Matthew Ward will be court-marshaled on August 18 and could face 10 years in confinement. No date has been set for the court-marshal of junior linebacker Overton Spence, Jr., who could receive 25 years of confinement. Both players also face dismissal from the Air Force and forfeiture of pay. Two other cadets are also under investigation for steroid use.

July 15, 2004 - (College) The Bowl Championship Series has come up with a new formula. The AP writer's poll, the USA Today-ESPN-Coaches poll and a combination of computer rankings will now each count for one-third of a team's BCS ranking. Strength of schedule, team record and quality of wins have all been eliminated from consideration. The BCS contract expires after the 2005 season.

July 15, 2004 - (College) Todd Motensen, a backup quarterback at Brigham Young, is leaving the school and is enrolling in a graduate program at the University of San Diego, a Division I-AA school. Mortensen graduated from BYU in 2003 with a 4.0 GPA and was attending a graduate school there. He still has a year of football eligibility left and plans to play this season.

July 16, 2004 - (College) Renovations at the Oklahoma State stadium will take a year longer that first expected. Because of the delay, the cost will increase for $85 million to $100 million. Phase one of the project, the south stands area, should be completed before the home opener on September 11 and the entire three phase construction project will now be completed in 2007. 

July 17, 2004 - (NFL) Green Bay Packers president and CEO Bob Harlan is inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame. Harlan joined the club in 1971 as the assistant general manager and became team president in 1989. He oversaw the $295 million renovations at Lambeau Field that were completed last year. Harlan, 67, plans to remain with the team for another three years. 

July 19, 2004 - (College) Allen Ameche, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1954 as a running back from Wisconsin, will be inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame on December 31. Ameche, who died in 1988, was a consensus All-American and Big 10 MVP in 1954. He led the Big 10 in rushing in 1951 and 1952 and helped his team beat Southern California 7-0 in the 1953 Rose Bowl. He was the second person selected in the 1955 draft by the Baltimore Colts and went to four pro bowls. Ameche is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

July 19, 2004 - (NFL) Commissioner Paul Tagliabue officially agrees to extend his contract through the end of the 2007 season. Tagliabue, who has been commissioner since 1989, will receive about $8 million a year. (See related article on April 1, 2004)

July 19, 2004 - (College) Clemson is going to install hydraulic collapsible goal posts in time for the season opener. The school wants to reduce injuries associated with on-field, post-game celebrations. The goal posts are estimated to cost about $6,000 each.

July 20, 2004 - (Media) The Justice Department is investigating ESPN's dealings with college conferences. At issue is how the network buys exclusive rights to college football and basketball games in packages, thus limiting a conference's ability to make agreements with other broadcasting outlets.

July 20, 2004 - (College) The commissioner of the Big 12 Conference, Kevin Weiberg, wants the NCAA to add a 12th game to the regular season schedule as soon as next year. He says the extra game would add more revenue and provide scheduling flexibility. The NCAA currently plans to allow 12th games only during the 2008, 2009, 2014 and 2019 seasons. Ironically, Weiberg also became chairman of the BCS this year.  

July 20, 2004 - (Media) Between Friday, October 28 and Monday, November 15, there will be at least one major college or pro football game on television every day, including a game on Election Day, November 2 featuring Toledo at Miami (Ohio). The 19-day stretch will have 13 days of college games featuring the Sun Belt, Conference USA, ACC, WAC and MAC conferences. During the entire month of November, there are only five days where there will not be any football on TV! Networks include Fox, Fox Sports Net, ABC, CBS, ESPN and ESPN2.

July 21, 2004 - (College) Former Grambling coach Eddie Robinson, 85, is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Robinson coached the Tigers for 57 years and compiled a record of 408-165-15. He began showing signs of the disease shortly after he retired from the school in 1997.

July 21, 2004 - (NFL) In an effort to boost pre-season ticket sales, the Indianapolis Colts are requiring that anyone who buys tickets to the team's regular season opener against the Green Bay Packers on September 26, also must buy a ticket the August 28 pre-season game against the Buffalo Bills. The Packers game is the most sought after ticket on the Indianapolis schedule this season.

July 22, 2004 - (College) The University of Connecticut receives a donation of $2.5 million for construction of a new indoor training facility. It will be called the Mark R. Shenkman Training Center, after the UConn alum who made the donation. Shenkman graduated from the school in 1965 and is the founder and president of Shenkman Capital Management Inc. He was also inducted into the UConn School of Business Hall of Fame in 2002. Groundbreaking on the 85,000 square foot complex is scheduled for the winter of 2005 and should open in the summer of 2006. 

July 22, 2004 - (NFL) For the third year in a row, the Oakland Raiders have sold the most merchandise of any NFL team. The New England Patriots moved from ninth to second after winning last year's Super Bowl. The sales period ran from April 1, 2003 thru March 31, 2004. 

July 22, 2004 - (College) Florida A&M University will return to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 2005 after being accused of 196 NCAA rules violations and being stripped of 11 conference titles. The schools had been planning to move from Division I-AA to I-A. They will compete as a Division I-AA Independent this season. (See related articles on July 8, 2004 and July 21, 2003)

July 24, 2004 - (Obituary) Ben Martin, who coached the Air Force Academy from 1958-1977, dies of complications from a heart attack at the age of 83. Martin, who graduated from Annapolis, is credited with bringing the school to national prominence and running a type of offense that was a precursor to today's West Coast offense. He compiled a record of 96-103-9. After retiring from coaching in 1977, Martin became a commentator for ABC. He was also part of the Air Force radio broadcast team for 16 year before retiring just last season. 

July 25, 2004 - (NFL) Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams has retired from the NFL at the age of 27, just one week before the start of training camp. He had participated in all of the team's off-season workouts and even attended a team meeting on June 22. Back in May it was reported that Williams had tested positive for marijuana for the second time since joining Miami in 2002 and faces a fine of about $650,000. Williams would have made $3.6 million this season.

July 25, 2004 - (College) Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer and Ohio State coach Jim Tressel will coach the two teams in the Gridiron Classic college all-star game on January 15, 2005. The game will be played at The Villages, a retirement complex northwest of Orlando.

July 27, 2004 - (NFL) Brock Lesnar, 27, a professional wrestler known to World Wrestling Entertainment fans as "The Next Big Thing," signs a contract with the Minnesota Vikings and wants to earn a spot on the defensive line. Lesnar is a former NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion but has not played football since high school.  

July 27, 2004 - (Obituary) Mark Hatley, vice president of football operations for the Green Bay Packers, dies at the age of 54. The cause of death was not immediately known. Hatley was responsible for overseeing the team's scouting efforts. He joined the team in 2001 after spending four years with the Chicago Bears. He played linebacker in college at Oklahoma State and led the team in tackles in 1971. Ironically, Hatley died on his 30th wedding anniversary.

July 27, 2004 - (Media/College) The Big 12 Conference agreed to a four year contract extension with Fox Sports Networks to broadcast their football games through 2011. Fox Sports Net will air 16 Big 12 games nationally during the 2004 season. 

July 28, 2004 - (College) The Atlantic Coast Conference wants the NCAA to eliminate red shirt seasons and make football players eligible to compete for five years instead of four. About 70 percent of college football players are red shirted in their first year, meaning they are on the team, but do not play. Red shirt seasons do not count towards eligibility. The proposal could be voted on as early as April 2005. A similar proposal has also been proposed for men's and women's basketball players. The proposal would also allow student athletes to finish their degrees rather that leave school early.

July 29, 2004 - (Media/College) The Western Athletic Conference signs a new six-year contract with ESPN to broadcast WAC football games. There will be a minimum of six games aired this season and eight games aired beginning in 2005. Most games will be on Friday nights and two games each year will be aired on either Tuesday or Wednesday nights. The contract runs through the end of the 2009 season.

August

August 2, 2004 - (Arena) The Nashville Kats are back! Bud Adams, owner of the NFL Tennessee Titans, announced the return of the franchise for the 2005 season. The original Kats team was moved to Atlanta after the 2001 season and became the Georgia Force. Adams bought the rights to a franchise in Nashville shortly after the team moved to Georgia and promised to bring a team back to the city. The new Kats will be the 20th active Arena franchise, the most in league history, and will play in the Gaylord Entertainment Center. Adams was one of the founding members of the American Football League back in 1960.

August 3, 2004 - (Media) Pat Summerall, 74, will fill in for ESPN's Mike Patrick on four NFL pre-season game telecasts this month. He will join Joe Theismann and  Paul McGuire in the booth while Patrick, 59,  undergoes a heart bypass operation. Summerall himself had a liver transplant back in April. (See related article on April 21, 2004)

August 3, 2004 - (College) The Mid-America Conference extends the contract of commissioner Rick Chryst through the 2008-2009 school year. Chryst has been commissioner of the MAC since May 1999. He was previously the assistant commissioner of both the ACC (1992-1999) and the SEC (1989-1992).

August 4, 2004 - (Media) The Rose Bowl has reached a new television deal with ABC worth $300 million that will run through 2014. The deal calls for ABC to broadcast eight Rose Bowls and the two BCS championship games schedules to be played at the Rose Bowl in 2010 and 2014.

August 5, 2004 - (College) Mouse Davis, known as the father of the Run-and-Shoot Offense, is being reunited with June Jones once again. Davis is taking the job as special teams coach at Hawaii where Jones is the head coach. Davis and Jones previously coached together in the USFL with the Houston Gamblers (1984), Denver Gold (1985) and also the NFL's Detroit Lions (1989-1990) and Atlanta Falcons (1994-1996). Davis has also been the head coach of the Detroit Fury (2001-2002) of the Arena Football League and, most recently, the San Diego Riptide (2004) of the af2. Jones also played college football for Davis at Portland State.

August 9, 2004 - (NFL) Terrell Davis, the former Denver Broncos running back who has not played since 2001, officially retires from the NFL. Davis was the MVP of Super Bowl XXXI in 1997 and rushed for 2,008 yards in 1998 before a knee injury ended his career.

August 10, 2004 - (af2) Average attendance for the arenafootball2 league in 2004 was up 12.6 percent over the 2003 season. A total of 1,038,621 fans attended games this past regular season. That's an average of 5,391 fans per game of the 25 teams in the league. The Cowboys have played in Irving, TX since 1971. 

August 12, 2004 - (Media) The NFL has reached a three year agreement with two television networks in Mexico. Televisa and TV Azteca will carry NFL games from 2004-2006 including the next two Super Bowls. Galavision network, which is part of Televisa, will carry Monday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving game and five NFC playoff games.  TV Azteca will carry 17 Sunday afternoon games, the Detroit Lions Thanksgiving game and five AFC playoff games.

August 14, 2004 - (NFL) The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rescheduled their home pre-season game against the Cincinnati Bengals from today (Saturday) to Monday Night because of the approach of Hurricane Charley.

August 17, 2004 - (NFL) - The Arlington, TX city council voted 8-1 to tentatively approved a deal to build a $650 million stadium for the Dallas Cowboys. The proposal will now go before voters on November 2 to increase sales and other taxes to pay for half of the proposed 75,000 seat, retractable roof stadium. The new stadium would most likely be built next to the Texas Ranger's baseball stadium, Ameriquest Field. Under the agreement, the Cowboys would play in Arlington for the next 30 years and pay $2 million annually in rent. 

August 18, 2004 - (College) British sprinter Dwain Chambers, the European 100-meter champion, is preparing to play wide receiver for the first time at Chabot Junior College in Hayward, California. Chambers, 26, tested positive for the designer steroid THG on August 1, 2003 and was suspended from competing in track and field events for two years. He also received a lifetime ban from competing in the Olympics. Chambers blames the positive test result on nutritional supplements he received from BALCO, a California company that is at the center of a steroid controversy involving several well known athletes . Chambers, who has never played American football before, turned down a chance to play in NFL Europe. He once posted a time of 9.87 seconds in the 100-meter dash. 

August 19, 2004 - (NFL) The Atlantic Coast Conference chooses the city of Jacksonville, Florida to host its first two conference championship game. The first game will be played on December 3, 2005 at Alltel Stadium and is expected to generate $6 million for the conference. The ACC has an option to renew the contract for an additional two years. Boston College will join the ACC in 2004, bringing the total number of teams to 12.

August 24, 2004 - (College) Colorado wide receiver and kickoff return specialist Jeremy Bloom loses his final appeal with the NCAA over skiing endorsement money and will not be allowed to play football. The previous ruling against him came one week ago, on August 17, which was appealed. Bloom, 22, is the reigning world champion in freestyle moguls and will now turn his attention to preparing to compete in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. (See related article on May 11, 2004)

August 26, 2004 - (College) Wide receiver Mike Williams' request to be return to USC was turned down by the NCAA. He will be eligible to enter the NFL Draft next April. 

August 30, 2004 - (NFL) Pro Wrestler Brock Lesnar is cut by the Minnesota Vikings. He could end up on the team's practice squad or possibly play in NFL Europe next season. (See related article on July 27, 2004)

September

September 2, 2004 - (Arena) The Georgia Force are moving their home games back to the Phillips Arena next season. The team surveyed 12,000 NFL and Arena fans in the Atlanta area and asked where they would prefer to attend Arena games. They chose the Phillips Arena over the team's current venue, the Arena at Gwinnett Center. The team originally played in Phillips Arena when it moved from Nashville in 2002, but has played in the Arena at Gwinnett Center the past two seasons.

September 4, 2004 - (High School) De La Salle High School in Concord, California saw its 151 game winning streak come to an end as they lost to Bellevue High in Washington state, 39-20. The game was played at Qwest Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks. A crowd of 24,987 was on hand for the game, known as the Emerald City Kickoff Classic. De La Salle's winning streak dated back to 1991 and included 12 undefeated seasons. Bellevue High never attempted a single pass in the entire game, but had 463 rushing yards, including 271 yards by senior running back J. R. Hasty. Hasty also had a 74 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. De La Salle head coach Bob Ladouceur now has a record of 287-15-1 in 26 years at the private Catholic all-boys school.

September 5, 2004 - (Obituary) John Allen Madden, 45, and his son Bowden Madden, 15, were killed on Interstate 10 near Quincy, Florida when their car was struck by a utility vehicle that was helping to restore power knocked out by Hurricane Frances. Bowden Madden was the grandson of Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden. John Allen was Bobby Bowden's former son-in-law. The driver of the utility vehicle was not injured. 

September 5, 2004 - (Obituary) John "Red" Cochran, a player scout for the Green Bay Packers since 1975, dies of apparent heart failure at the age of 82. Cochran began his association with the Packers in 1959 as an assistant coach under Vince Lombardi. He was a running back at Wake Forest in college and also played professionally for the Chicago Cardinals from 1947-1950, winning the 1947 NFL title. In 1950, the Cardinals hired Curly Lambeau to be their coach. His college years were interrupted by a four year tour of duty in the military. Cochran served as a bomber pilot in the Pacific during WWII. He took a year off from football in 1967, but returned to coaching in the NFL in 1968 and eventually found his way back to Green Bay in 1971 where he had been ever since. He retired as a full time scout in 1987 at the age of 65, but still visited colleges throughout the Midwest by driving his old pickup truck and writing his player evaluations by hand. 

September 6, 2004 - (College) Air Force Academy cadet Overton Spence, Jr. is acquitted of charges of possession and use of an illegal steroid and has been reinstated on the football team. Spense, 20, a junior linebacker, admitted that he had used the steroid methandrostenolone briefly last year, but did not know it was illegal. He has never tested positive for steroids. (See related article on July 15, 2004)

September 7, 2004 - (Media) The NFL has renewed its agreements with three Japanese television networks.  The three networks are NHK, which broadcasts Monday Night Football and has exclusive rights to broadcast the Super Bowl live, Gaora, a sports satellite channel which airs up to 6 NFL games per week and NTV which reached 44 million homes. (See related article on August 12, 2004)

September 7, 2004 - (NFL) Average ticket prices for NFL games are up 4.9 percent this year over last year. The New England Patriots have the highest average ticket price at $75.33 while the Buffalo Bills have the lowest average price at $37.13. The New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks are the only two teams that actually reduced ticket prices this year.

September 8, 2004 - (NFL) The Dallas Cowboys launch  a 24-hour cable network called The Dallas Cowboys Channel. The channel will be available to 1.3 million Comcast subscribers in Texas and adjoining states. They are the second NFL team to have their own channel. Last year, the Atlanta Falcons launched their own  called Falconvision.  

September 8, 2004 - (Arena) The Indiana Firebirds have ceased all business operations and could fold if new ownership is not found by September 20. The Firebirds moved to Indianapolis in 2001 from Albany, NY, where they had been since their inception in 1990. The current owner, David Lageschulte, who lives in Florida, assumed ownership of the team in 2002 with the intention of trying to find local ownership for the team.  

September 8, 2004 - (NFL) Cleveland Browns rookie tight end Kellen Winslow, Jr., who wore the number 11 during the pre-season, is switching to his fathers number 80 just in time for the regular season.  Winslow purchased the number for an undisclosed amount from team mate Aaron Shea. Shea, who has worn the number since he joined the Browns in 2000, will now wear number 83. Winslow's father wore number 80 when he played for the San Diego Chargers.

September 9, 2004 - (NFL) The Miami Dolphins regular season opener against the Tennessee Titans has been moved from Sunday, September 12 to Saturday, September 11 because of the approach of Hurricane Ivan to Florida. Ivan is the third major hurricane to threaten the state of Florida in the last month. The others were Hurricane Charley and Hurricane Frances.

September 10, 2004 - (Media) ESPN has named the Arena Football League as number 50 on their list of the 100 Biggest Innovations in Sports over the last 25 years. ESPN, which began broadcasting in 1979, is celebrating 25 years on the air. The Arena league began in 1987 with just four teams.

September 13, 2004 - (Obituary) Glenn Presnell, the last surviving member of the original Detroit Lions team from 1934, dies at the age of 99. Presnell, who was a halfback and kicker, played for the Portsmouth Spartans from 1931-1933. When the team moved to Detroit in 1934, he continued to play for the team until 1936. He set an NFL record on October 7, 1934 when he kicked a 54-yard field goal against the Green Bay Packers that won the game 3-0. Presnell claimed that he and wife helped team owner George Richardson pick out the team's colors of Honolulu Blue and Silver. He also served in the Navy for three years during WWII. After the war, he was the head coach at Eastern Kentucky for 17 years and then served as the school's athletic director for another eleven years until he retired in 1974.  Presnell was the NFL's second oldest living former player. 

September 14, 2004 - (College) Members of the Maui County Budget and Finance Committee are wondering whether the annual Hula Bowl College All-Star game is worth continuing to support. Hula Bowl owner and president Dick Schaller owes the county $11,062 from last year's game and has until December to come up with the money. Tickets are only $2 to the game but low attendance and a lack of major sponsors have contributed to the shortfall.

September 15, 2004 - (Obituary) Aaron Richardson, 18, dies after he collapsed during the first 10 minutes of his first practice with the Bowling Green (Ohio) football team. The cause of death was not immediately known.  Richardson was a non-recruited walk-on player.

September 15, 2004 - (Obituary) Russell Pennington, 18, dies one day after he was struck by lightning during football practice. Pennington and his team mates from Grapeland High School in Texas were running sprints when the lightning struck him. Several players near him were knocked to the ground. About 40 players and coaches from the team were treated and released at a local hospital with symptoms ranging from soreness, headaches, burns and abdominal pains.

September 16, 2004 - (College) Larry Penley, president of Colorado State University, has halted the sale of alcohol at Hughes Stadium for the rest of the season after two recent off-campus riots and the death of a 19 year old female student at a fraternity house on September 5.  Six people were arrested during the riots and seven students have been expelled from the school. The stadium's food and beverage contractor had recently been given approval to sell wine, hard liquor and beer with alcohol levels of 3.2 percent. Alcohol will still be served in the premium club level seats at the stadium.

September 17, 2004 - (College) A second cadet at the Air Force Academy has been acquitted on charges of using illegal steroids. Matthew Ward, 21, of Fort Lauderdale, FL, said he received the Steroid from a teammate (who is no longer at the Academy) and thought it was just a nutritional supplement. Air Force head coach Fisher DeBerry testified on Ward's behalf and did the same for cadet Overton Spence, who was acquitted earlier this month. Three other cadets still face steroid related charges. (See related article on September 6, 2004)

September 18, 2004 - (CFL) Edmonton Eskimos running back Mike Pringle becomes the Canadian Football League's all time leading rusher in a game against the British Columbia Lions. Pringle passed the league record of 16,116 yards set by George Reed who played with the Saskatchewan Rough Riders from 1963-1975. Pringle, who is in his 13th CFL season, is also the only running back in the CFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season, rushing for 2,064 yards in 1998.

September 18, 2004 - (College) The game between the Wisconsin Badgers and Arizona Wildcats was interrupted by lightning and heavy rain from Tropical Storm Javier with 6 minutes and 13 seconds remaining in the first half. The game, played in Tucson, resumed about 90 minutes later. Coaches from both teams agreed to skip halftime and go right into the third quarter after they finished playing the final minutes of the second quarter. Wisconsin won the game 9-7.

September 20, 2004 - (Arena) The Arena Football League announced that three teams have officially ceased operations, the Detroit Fury, Indiana Firebirds and Carolina Cobras. The league also announced that they will add a team in Salt Lake City in 2006. The league will play the 2005 season with a total of 17 teams. (See related article on September 8, 2004)

September 21, 2004 - (College) An autopsy revealed that Bowling Green football hopeful Aaron Richardson died of hemoglobinopathy associated with sickle cell. Richardson did not list sickle cell on a medical history questionnaire or on insurance forms that he was required to fill out prior to taking a team physical. It is possible that he was not even aware he had the condition. (See related article on September 15, 2004)

September 21, 2004 - (NFL) The Dallas Cowboys will be adding two new names to the team's Ring of Honor at Texas Stadium. Safety Cliff Harris and offensive tackle Rayfield Wright will he honored at a date to be announced later. Wright will be the first lineman to be included in the Ring of Honor. The new inductees will bring the total members in the Ring to 14.

September 22, 2004 – (College) The NCAA Champions and Competition Cabinet has endorsed a proposal to allow major colleges to play 12 games every season instead of the current 11 game schedule. A final decision may come in April 2005 and the change could go into effect in 2006. The Big 12 and the Big East conferences sponsored the proposed rule change.

September 22, 2004 - (Media) Viacom Inc. has been fined $550,000 by the Federal Communications Commission for Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl back on February 1st. A maximum fine of $27,500 was levied on each of 20 CBS affiliates owned by Viacom. The company is looking into appealing the fine. (See related article on May 26, 2004)

September 23, 2004 – (College) Division 1-AA Florida International has postponed their September 25th home opener against Western Kentucky after the Hilltoppers decided not to travel to Florida due to the approach of Hurricane Jeanne. Ironically, FIU also had their September 2 season opener at Jacksonville State cancelled because of Hurricane Frances. 

September 23, 2004 - (College) Tim Frisby, 39, has been granted eligibility by the NCAA to play wide receiver for the South Carolina Gamecocks. Frisby recently retired from the Army after 20 years of service. He served in Operation Desert Storm and the Kosovo conflict as a Ranger in the 82nd Airborne. Frisby is the father of 6 children ranging in age from 16 to 6 months. His teammates call him "Pops".

September 28, 2004 - (NFL) The San Francisco 49ers stadium gets a new name, again. The team announced the signing of a four year agreement with Monster Cable Products, Inc. to rename the stadium Monster Park.  The exact amount of the agreement was not released, but the team and the city will each receive about $3 million. The city owned stadium was originally called Candlestick Park from 1960-1995. From 1996-2001 it was known as 3Com Park and then the name went back to Candlestick Park after the agreement with 3Com expired. In November, voters in San Francisco will be able to vote on a proposal that will require the stadium to retain the Candlestick Park name. Stay tuned.

September 30, 2004 – (College) The Music City Bowl has extended their sponsorship deal with Gaylord Hotels and Bridgestone Firestone Tires through 2005. This year’s game will be played on December 31.

October

October 1, 2004 - (Media) Players from the af2 San Diego Riptide and the AFL Los Angeles Avengers will appear in an upcoming episode of the new ESPN reality show, "I'd Do Anything." In the show, contestants will compete in various events to win an ultimate sports fantasy for a loved one. In the episode, the contestants will have to return kicks against the AFL and af2 players. The show was filmed at the San Diego Sports Arena and will air on October 5. 

October 2, 2004 – (Obituary) Nick Skorich, who was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cleveland Browns, dies of an apparent infection after a recent heart-valve operation at the age of 83. Skorich, who was a 15th round draft choice of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1943, was the head coach of the Eagles from 1961-63 and the Browns from 1971-74. He was associated with the NFL for over 50 years as a head coach, assistant coach, player and the supervisor of officials.

October 2, 2004 - (Obituary) Norm Schachter, who refereed Super Bowl I in 1967 and also the first Monday Night Football game in 1970, dies at the age of 90. Schachter, who served in the Marine Corps during WWII, was an NFL official for 22 years from 1954-1976. He worked three Super Bowls and 11 conference championship games. When he wasn't officiating games, Schachter was an English teacher, basketball coach, high school principal and eventually became the superintendent of the Los Angeles United School District. He wrote a dozen English and vocabulary textbooks and also penned several books on football. In 1981, he wrote the book, "Close Calls: The Confessions of an NFL Referee."

October 5, 2004 - (af2) The Columbus (Ga) Wardogs have suspended operations for the 2005 season due to financial problems. A new investor has already approached the team and could relocate the franchise to a new city for the 2006 season.

October 13, 2004 - (af2) The Hawaiian Islanders announced that the team will cease operations due to financial problems. The team debuted in 2002 and lost about $5.4 million in their three seasons in operation.  ($2.4 million in 2002, $1.7 million in 2003 and $1.3 million in 2004) They are the second af2 team to fold this year. (See related article on October 5, 2004)

October 13, 2004 - (NFL) Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer has agreed to remove the number 40 sticker from his helmet which he had been wearing in honor of his former friend and team mate, Pat Tillman. Plummer, who was a team mate of Tillman's in college at Arizona State and also with the Arizona Cardinals, had been wearing the sticker ever since the pre-season. During week 2 of the regular season, all NFL players wore the stickers on their helmets to honor Tillman, but Plummer continued to wear it and the NFL threatened to fine him. Plummer removed the sticker for a couple of games, but he put it back on his helmet again last week in a game against the Carolina Panthers, saying he would pay any fine he received.  A compromise was reached and Plummer will not be fined. Plummer will record public service spots that will be played in NFL stadiums on Veteran's Day on behalf of The Pat Tillman Foundation. The Broncos will also place a number 40 logo near the play clock in the north end zone of their stadium and will also run ads promoting the foundation on the scoreboard during games. (See related article on September 14, 2002)

October 16, 2004 - (College) Notre Dame beats Navy by a score of 27-9 to extend their winning streak to 41 consecutive games. Navy was 5-0 going into the game while Notre Dame was 4-2. The last time Navy beat Notre Dame was back in 1963 when Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Roger Staubach led the Midshipmen to a 35-14 victory over the Irish.

October 16, 2004 - (College) The Division III Mount Union Purple Raiders won their 100th regular season game by beating Marietta 57-0. It was also the team's 90th consecutive Ohio Conference win. The last time Mount Union lost a game was 10 years ago on October 15, 1994 when they were beaten by Baldwin-Wallace 23-10. Since 1993, the Purple Raiders have had six perfect 14-0 seasons and won seven national titles.

October 18, 2004 - (NFL) Fans of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, TX will have to be careful of what they wear when they go to the polls to vote on November 2. A Texas state law prohibits voters from wearing clothing, jewelry or badges that promote or denounce candidates or propositions on the ballot. Voters in Arlington will be voting on whether they want to help pay for a proposed $650 million stadium for the Cowboys that will be built in their city. Anyone in violation of the law will have to wear a smock while voting.

October 18, 2004 - (CFL) The Toronto Argonauts announced that they will play their home games at a new $70 million, 25,000 seat stadium to be built on the campus of York University outside of Toronto beginning in 2006. The Argonauts will put up $20 million, the university will pay $15 million, the Federal government will kick in $27 million and the final $8 million will come from the Ontario government. The Argos have played their home games at the Toronto Skydome since 1989. The new stadium will give the team more flexibility in scheduling their games.

October 18, 2004 - (College) The Atlantic Coast Conference announced that starting in 2005, the new 12 member conference will have two, six-team divisions called the Atlantic and Coastal divisions. The Coastal division will have Virginia, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Duke and Miami. The Atlantic division will consist of Maryland, Clemson, North Carolina State, Wake Forest, Florida State and a new team to the ACC, Boston College. A new conference logo was also unveiled.

October 18, 2004 - (Arena) The league announced that Arena Bowl XIX will be played at a neutral site for the first time in the league's 18 year history. The championship game will be played on June 12, 2005 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV.

October 18, 2004 - (NIFL) The Utah Warriors will not compete in 2005. Team owners are negotiating a deal that will have the team move from the National Indoor Football League to the Arena Football League in 2006. No word on whether the team name will remain the same or not. The Arena league has already announced that they have awarded an expansion franchise to Salt Lake City. (See related article on September 20, 2004)

October 20, 2004 - (NFL) The Pro Bowl will remain in Hawaii through 2009. The state of Hawaii will actually pay less money to the NFL then they have in the past, but the league will take control of the parking, concessions, souvenirs and advertising at Aloha Stadium. The league also controls concessions and souvenir sales at the Super Bowl. The current Pro Bowl contract was set to expire after the 2005 game. The game has been played in Hawaii since 1980 and has been a sellout every year.  

October 20, 2004 - (NFL) Wide receiver Jerry Rice, 42, will get to wear number 80 with his new team, the Seattle Seahawks. The number, which was last worn by wide receiver Steve Largent from 1976-1989, was officially retired by the Seahawks in 1995 after Largent was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Rice, who was traded to Seattle by the Oakland Raiders two day ago, asked for and received permission from Largent to un-retire the number. Rice has worn the number 80 throughout his NFL career, first with the San Francisco 49ers and then with Oakland.

October 21, 2004 - (NFL Europe) The Scottish Claymores have folded due to low attendance. The team played in Glasgow, Scotland since its inception in 1995. The league will announce a new franchise in the near future. Of the five remaining teams, four are in Germany and the other, the Amsterdam Admirals, is located in the Netherlands.

October 22, 2004 - (Lawsuit/NFL) The 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals has rejected a request to reconsider the lawsuit by Maurice Clarett against the NFL's draft eligibility rule.  Clarett could still appeal to the Supreme Court, but regardless of what happens in court, he will still be eligible to enter the NFL Draft next April.

October 24, 2004 - (CFL) The Edmonton Eskimos defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 40-34 in Edmonton to keep their playoff streak alive. The Eskimos have now made the CFL playoffs for 33 straight years. The Eskimos are also the defending Grey Cup champions.   

October 26, 2004 - (College) The University of Michigan and Ohio State have agreed to a two year sponsorship deal worth over $1 million with SBC Communications for naming rights to their annual game. The game will be called the "SBC Michigan-Ohio State Classic." The team names will be reversed next year when the game is played at Michigan. Each school will receive $260,000 each year of the deal. A logo for the game will be displayed in and around Ohio Stadium as well as on the stadium scoreboard, but there will be nothing on the field or on player's uniforms. SBC already sponsors the annual Red River Shootout between Oklahoma and Texas.

October 26, 2004 - (af2) The arenafootball2 league has awarded an expansion franchise to Amarillo, Texas. The Amarillo Dusters competed in the six-team Intense Football League in 2004 and won the league's inaugural championship. The team will begin play in the af2 in 2005.

October 26, 2004 - (NFL) The Pro Football Hall of Fame has requested the shoes worn by Arizona Cardinals kicker Neil Rackers. He kicked two 55 yard field goals and a 50 yarder in a 25-17 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Oct 24. He tied a record of three 50 yard plus field goals in a single game set by Morten Anderson of the Atlanta Falcons in 1995.  

October 26, 2004 - (Media) NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper, Jr., 44, agrees to a new three year contract with ESPN. Kiper has been with the network for 22 years and also appears on ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS and their web site, ESPN.com.

October 27, 2004 - (College) One day after announcing a sponsorship deal with SBC Communications, Michigan and Ohio State have decided to drop plans to rename their annual game the "SBC Michigan-Ohio State Classic." Michigan athletic director Bill Martin received many e-mails and phone calls from Michigan alumni and estimated that 80% were opposed to the deal.  (See previous day's article)

October 29, 2004 - (CFL) The Toronto Argonauts apologized to their fans for losing the final game of the regular season the day before to the Montreal Alouettes by the score of 58-20. A season high crowd of 31,212 was on hand for the game at the Skydome. The team announced that anyone with a ticket stub from that game could exchange it for a comparable ticket to a game next season for free. The Argonauts had already clinched home field advantage for the playoffs prior to the loss. 

October 29, 2004 - (af2) The league announced that the Cape Fear Wildcats will relocate from Fayetteville, NC to Albany, Georgia for the 2005 season and be renamed the South Georgia Wildcats. They will play their home games in the Albany Civic Center.

October 30, 2004 - (af2) The Peoria Pirates have withdrawn from the league due to financial problems. They are looking to join the Atlantic Indoor Football League, which is currently forming and hopes to play in 2005. The af2 hopes to secure new ownership and return a team to Peoria in 2006. The af2 will also retain the name, logo and team colors of the Pirates.

October 30, 2004 - (NAIA) Quarterback Tom Lensch from Dana College in Blair, Nebraska set a new college football record by attempting 101 passes in a 60-35 loss at Hastings College. Lensch completed 56 of 101 passes for 507 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. The previous NAIA record was 92 attempts by quarterback Paul Gray from Hanover (Indiana) in 1991. The NCAA record is 82 attempts by Purdue quarterback Drew Brees in a game against Wisconsin in 1998.

November

November 1, 2004 - (Arena) Country music star Tim McGraw has purchased a minority interest in the Nashville Kats. McGraw, who already is a suite holder of the NFL Tennessee Titans, will perform a private concert just for Kats season ticket holders at a time and date yet to be announced. McGraw can also be seen in the high school football movie "Friday Night Lights", which was released in theaters last month.

November 3, 2004 - (NFL) Voters in Arlington, TX passed a referendum to finance half of a proposed $650 million stadium for the Dallas Cowboys. The money will come from an increase in the tax on hotels, motels, car rentals and the sales tax. The 75,000 seat, retractable roof stadium will be built next to the Texas Rangers baseball stadium and should be completed in 2009. (See related story on October 18, 2004)

November 3, 2004 - (NFL) Voters in San Francisco approved Proposition H in yesterday's elections by a 55% to 45% margin. The referendum calls for the stadium of the San Francisco 49ers to maintain the name of Candlestick Park. It is intended to prevent the selling of any future naming rights by the team to the city owned stadium. (See related article on September 28, 2004)

November 4, 2004 - (NIFL) An agreement has been reached that will merge the Intense Football League with the National Indoor Football League. The IFL was founded this year with six teams, all in Texas. The Amarillo Dusters left the IFL to join arenafootball2. The NIFL formed in 2001 with 18 teams. (See related article on October 26, 2004) 

November 4, 2004 - (af2) Current Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro offensive tackle Jon Runyan has purchased a majority interest in the San Diego Riptide of the arenafootball2 league. Runyan had previously been a minority owner of the team.

November 4, 2004 - (NFL) Kelvin Pritchett, a defensive tackle with the Detroit Lions, failed to get his absentee ballot in on time for yesterday's presidential election, so he flew to Florida to cast his vote. He flew to Jacksonville the day before the election, spent the night in a motel, cast his vote the next morning then flew back to Detroit in the afternoon. The trip cost him about $1,200. 

November 6, 2004 - (College) Quarterback Timmy Chang of the University of Hawaii sets a new NCAA passing record, surpassing the old record of 15,031 yards set by Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer of BYU in 1991. Chang, a fifth year senior, broke the record in a 34-23 victory over visiting Louisiana Tech. He also set a record for career completions in the same game. He passed the record of 1,231 held by Kliff Kingsbury from Texas Tech. Chang also holds the NCAA records for career attempts and interceptions. The only major passing record left for Chang to break is career touchdowns. He currently has 98. The record is 121 held by Detmer. There are 4 games left in the college season. Hawaii, whose head coach is June Jones, uses the Run and Shoot offense.

November 8, 2004 - (af2) The arenafootball2 league has approved a request for dormancy during the 2005 season for the Laredo Law. The team hopes to return for the 2006 season.

November 8, 2004 - (Media) The NFL has reached agreements with CBS and FOX on six-year contract extensions worth a total of $8 billion. FOX will pay $4.3 billion and CBS will pay $3.7 billion to continue carrying Sunday afternoon games through 2011. Satellite provider DirecTV also extended their current contract to exclusively carry the NFL Sunday Ticket premium service through 2010. CBS and FOX will each broadcast two Super Bowls during their new contract periods, which begins in 2006. CBS and FOX also have committed to phase in high-definition coverage for all the games they broadcast. DirecTV will also create a new channel called Red Zone that will take viewers from game to game as teams get inside their opponent's 20-yard line and are getting ready to score. Negotiations on contracts with ABC and ESPN are still ongoing.

November 9, 2004 - (af2) The San Diego Riptide hire Ed White to be the team's president. White, a former player and coach with the San Diego Chargers, was recently inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame. He also coached at the collegiate level at San Diego State. (See related article on November 4, 2004)

November 9, 2004 - (NFL) Dave Wannstedt resigns as head coach of the Miami Dolphins after posting a 1-8 record. Wannstedt, who took over the Dolphins in 2000, had an overall record of 43-33 with the team. Defensive coordinator Jim Bates was promoted to interim head coach for the rest of the season. The only time Bates was ever a head coach was in 1985 with the San Antonio Gunslingers of the USFL. He was also an assistant coach with the Arena Bowl champion Detroit Drive of the Arena Football League in 1988. 

November 9, 2004 - (Media) Myron Cope, radio broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is released from the hospital. Cope, 75, struck his head during a workout on November 6 and had to leave the broadcast booth at halftime the next day during the Steelers home game against the Philadelphia Eagles. As it turns out, Cope had a concussion and was suffering from post-concussion syndrome. He will also be forced to miss this week's game at Cleveland.

November 9, 2004 - (Media) New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is not happy with Cablevision Systems, Inc., the company that owns the NBA New York Knicks, the NHL New York Rangers and Madison Square Garden. Cablevision has been running television ads that are critical of the mayor and opposed to the construction of a new stadium that is intended to be the new home to the NFL New York Jets. The stadium would be located just a few blocks from Madison Square Garden and the two venues would be competing to host certain events. The city hopes to begin construction in the spring of 2005, but the State Legislature and the City Council still need to approve the plan. (See related article on March 25, 2004)

November 9, 2004 - (College) In an article published in ESPN The Magazine, former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett accuses head coach Jim Tressel and his staff of helping him pass classes and providing him with loaner vehicles. He also claims that school boosters gave him thousands of dollars, including bogus summer jobs. The university denies the accusations.

November 10, 2004 - (af2) The arenafootball2 league releases its team and divisional realignment for the 2005 season. There will be 20 teams next year as opposed to the 25 that participated in 2004. The latest team to be dropped for next season is the Wichita Stealth. Only four of the original 15 teams remain form the inaugural af2 season in 2000, the Quad City Steamwheelers, Tulsa Talons, Birmingham Steeldogs and Arkansas Twisters. (See related articles on October 13, 18, 30 and November 8, 2004)

November 13, 2004 - (College) In a halftime ceremony at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, AZ, Arizona State University retires Pat Tillman's number 42. About 50 former ASU players including Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer, were on hand for the ceremony that was conducted on the 42-yard line. The visiting Washington State players wore a "PT 42" decal on their helmets. Only four other players have had their numbers retired at ASU, Danny White, Mike Haynes, Bobby Mulgado and Wilford "Whizzer" White. Arizona State beat Washington State 45-28 in the home finally for the Sun Devils. After the game, the team presented the game ball to the Tillman family. 

November 14, 2004 - (CFL) Angry fans of the Saskatchewan Rough Riders took their frustrations out on kicker Paul McCallum's house. McCallum missed an 18-yard field goal late in the Western Division final against the British Columbia Lions in Vancouver. The missed field goal actually resulted in a point for the Rough Riders though because the ball was not returned out of the end zone by the Lions. Under CFL rules, a missed field goal must be returned, like a punt. If it is not returned it is known as a "single" and a point is awarded to the kicking team. Saskatchewan took a 25-24 lead as a result of the play. BC then kicked a 40-yard field goal of their own to win the game, 27-25. Disgruntled Rough Riders fans threw eggs at McCallum's house and even dumped manure in his yard. McCallum missed a total of two field goals during the game. The BC Lions now advances to the Grey Cup championship game next week in Ottawa and will face the Toronto Argonauts.

November 16, 2004 - (Obituary) Isaiah Hunt, 20, son of former Green Bay Packers lineman Mike Hunt, dies in Iraq while serving in the U.S. Army. Isaiah was thrown from the gun turret of the vehicle he was riding in when it collided with another vehicle that was driven by a civilian contractor. The accident occurred north of Baghdad. He joined the Army in July 2003 and was scheduled to come home in time for Christmas. Mike Hunt played for the Packers from 1978-1980.

November 16, 2004 - (College) The Mid-America Conference has reached a one-year agreement with the Silicon Valley Football Classic to send a team to play in the bowl game this year. The Pac-10, which has a tie-in with the Silicon Valley bowl, will not have enough bowl eligible teams this year. The MAC already has tie-ins with the GMAC Bowl and the Motor City Bowl.

November 17, 2004 - (UIF) A new indoor football league is officially unveiled. United Indoor Football will kick off their inaugural season on March 17, 2005 with 12 teams and play a 15 game schedule. Nine teams are from the National Indoor Football League, two are former af2 teams and the last is a brand new team, the Dayton Warbirds. The two af2 teams are the Tennessee Valley Vipers, who will now be known as the Tennessee Valley Pythons and the Peoria Pirates, who will now be called the Peoria Mutineers. (See related articles on November 4 and October 26, 2004)

November 20, 2004 - (College) Florida State honors their head coach of the past 29 seasons during a halftime ceremony by naming the field after him. The playing surface at the stadium will now be known as "Bobby Bowden Field" at Doak Campbell Stadium. Before the game, Bowden, 75, was also honored with a 20 by 30 foot stained glass window at the stadium featuring his likeness. Earlier this year, a 9-foot statue of Bowden was unveiled on the plaza on the north side of the stadium, right in front of where the stained glass window is now.

November 22, 2004 - (College) School officials at Clemson and South Carolina have decided not to accept any bowl bids after their football teams got into a fourth quarter brawl during a game at Clemson on November 20. Clemson won the game 27-9. Both teams ended the season with 6-5 records. It was South Carolina head coach Lou Holtz last game before retiring after 33 seasons in college football. Holtz coached at six different schools, William & Mary (1969-1971), North Carolina State (1972-1975), Arkansas (1977-1983), Minnesota (1984-1985), Notre Dame (1986-1996) and South Carolina (1999-2004). His overall coaching record is 249-131-7.

November 22, 2004 - (Media) FOX television has purchased the rights to the BCS Fiesta, Orange and Sugar Bowls from 2007-2010 and the national title game from 2007-2009 for a total of $320 million over four years. ABC television, who had owned the television rights since the BCS inception in 1998, withdrew from the negotiations last week because they were unhappy with the new BCS structure, which will add a fifth BCS game beginning in 2006. ABC still holds the rights to broadcast the Rose Bowl and any national title games played in Pasadena through 2014.  

November 23, 2004 - (NFL) The NFL is going to experiment with on-field seating during a game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings at the Metrodome on November 28. The plan was proposed more than a year ago, but will occur about a week after a brawl in the NBA between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers on November 19 and another brawl in college football between Clemson and North Carolina on November 20. In Minnesota, four corporate sponsors or franchise guests will get to sit in recliners with TVs and cup holders in a partially enclosed padded box on the visitor side of the field near the end zone. Three other experiments are planned yet this season at games in Washington on December 5, Chicago on December 19 and a Monday Night Football game in Miami on December 20. The home teams will decide where the seat will be located and who will get to sit in them. (See related article on November 22, 2004)

November 24, 2004 - (NFL Europe) The newest team in "NFL Germany" is the Hamburg Sea Devils. The Sea Devils, who will play in the 55,000 seat AOL Arena, become the fifth team in Germany. They replace the Scottish Claymores, who folded in October. Only the Amsterdam Admirals are located outside of Germany. (See related article on October 21, 2004)

November 29, 2004 - (NFL) Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre, 35, starts his 200th consecutive game, an NFL record. The Packers beat the St. Louis Rams at Lambeau Field on Monday Night Football 45-17. It was Favre's 132nd victory. The governor of Wisconsin proclaimed Monday "Brett Favre Day" in the state. Favre's streak began on September 27, 1992 when he led the Packers to a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-3.

November 29, 2004 - (CFL/Stadium) The Toronto Blue Jays baseball team is going to buy the Skydome for $21.24 million. The 50,000 seat, retractable roof stadium originally cost $375 million to build in 1989, but was purchased by a Chicago-based group from bankruptcy court in 1999 for about $74 million. The deal should be done in December. The CFL Toronto Argonauts have also played at the Skydome since it was built, but are moving to a new outdoor stadium in 2006. (See related article on October 18, 2004)

November 30, 2004 - (af2) Head coach Sean Ponder of the San Diego Riptide will be the team's interim president following the resignation of team president Ed White. White it taking a position at San Diego State University as the offensive line coach, but will remain on the Riptide's board of advisors. (See related article on November 9, 2004)

November 30, 2004 - (NFL) Butch Davis resigns as head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Davis had coached the Browns since 2001 and took the team to the payoffs in 2002. The team is currently 3-8 and has lost 5 straight games including Sunday's 58-48 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. It was the second highest scoring game in NFL history. Davis' overall record with the Browns was 24-36. He still had three years left on his contract. Browns' offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie will be the interim head coach for the last five games of the season. 

November 30, 2004 - (College) Tyrone Willingham is fired as head coach at Notre Dame. Willingham, who posted a record of 21-15 in three years with the Irish, finished this season with a 6-5 record. He still had three years left on his contract. The school has accepted an invitation to play in the Insight.com Bowl on December 28. Irish defensive coordinator Kent Baer will serve as interim head coach for the game. Notre Dame has not won a bowl game since 1994.

December

December 1,  2004 - (NFL) The city of Jacksonville, Florida has asked the Senate Committee on Domestic Security for an additional $1.3 million to help pay for security costs related to this year's Super Bowl game on February 6, 2005. The original security budget was $500,000, but has grown to $1.8 million.  

December 12, 2004 - (NFL) A game worn jersey once used by Jim Thorpe while playing for the Canton Bulldogs sold at auction for $284,350. The black sweater type jersey, with a tan colored "C" on the front circa 1916 or 1917, was put up for auction by Thorpe's third wife, Patricia.

December 13, 2004 - (NFL Europe) Jack Bicknell has been named head coach of the league's newest franchise, the Hamburg Sea Devils. Bicknell has been with the league since it began in 1991. He coached the Barcelona Dragons for 11 seasons and was the coach of the Scottish Claymores last season. He was also the head coach at Boston College from 1981-1990. (See related article on November 24, 2004)

December 16, 2004 - (Arena) Mike Ditka, 65, becomes a minority owner of the Chicago Rush.

December 16, 2004 - (Media) FOX Sports Networks will broadcast over 100 Arena Football League regular season games on their 11 regional networks in 2005. The games, mostly on Friday and Saturday nights, are in addition to the Sunday afternoon games already being broadcast on NBC. 

December 16, 2004 - (NFL) The San Diego Chargers are moving their training camp back to San Diego after spending the last two years in Los Angeles. The camp will be held at their headquarters rather that at UC San Diego as it was from 1976-2002. 

December 17, 2004 - (CFL) The Canadian Football League announced that a pre-season game will be played in Halifax, Nova Scotia between the Toronto Argonauts and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats next season. The game will be played at Huskies Stadium on June 11, 2005.

December 19, 2004 - (NFL) The city of Indianapolis has agreed to build a 63,000 seat, retractable roof stadium for the Indianapolis Colts. The new stadium, which will be located about a block south of the team's current home, the RCA Dome, should open in the fall of 2008. The RCA Dome has the smallest seating capacity of all the NFL stadiums currently in use at 55,506.

December 20, 2004 - (NFL) Former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham, 41, receives a Bachelors Degree in Leisure Studies from UNLV. Cunningham, who left UNLV in 1984 to enter the NFL, is now a pastor living in Las Vegas. During his playing career, he also played for the Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings, and Dallas Cowboys before retiring from the NFL in 2002.  

December 21, 2004 - (Media) The Associated Press has sent a cease-and-desist order to the BCS coordinator, telling him to stop using the AP poll to determine who plays in the national championship game. The AP poll, which is voted on by 65 writers and broadcasters, has been used by the BCS to establish it's rankings since it was formed in 1998.  The AP said they did not want to give the impression that they condone or participate in the BCS system. (See related article on July 15, 2004)

December 26. 2004 - (Obituary) Reggie White, a defensive end known as the "Minister of Defense,"  apparently died of cardiac arrhythmia associated with sleep apnea at the age of 43. Final autopsy results may not be known for months. White played college football at Tennessee and began his professional career with the Memphis Showboats of the USFL in 1984-85. He then went on to play in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers. He retired from the NFL in 2000 as the NFL's all time sack leader.  

December 29, 2004 - (NFL) A breach of contract complaint is filed in a Maryland District Court by Arizona Cardinals safety Ifeanyi Ohalete against Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis. Ohalete claims Portis agreed to pay him $40,000 for jersey number 26 and signed a contract on June 4 when both were with the Redskins. Portis apparently only paid Ohalete half of the money. Ohalete had been wearing the number 26 for three years with the Redskins when Portis was traded from the Denver Broncos in March but was was cut by the team and signed by the Cardinals last August.