MONTGOMERY, Ala. —Alabama State had 11 players named to the 2013 College Sports Madness (CSM) Preseason All-SWAC Football Teams.
Running back Isaiah Crowell, tight end Justin Robinson and offensive lineman Edmond Davis were named First Team on offense.  Punter Bobby Wenzig was named to the First Team on Defense.
Offensive linemen Damien Love and Tovar Allen were named Second Team on offense as was Wenzig, who received the second team honor as the kicker.  Defensive lineman Carlton Jones and linebackers DeMarques Taylor and Leland Baker were named Second Team defense.
CSM also has a third team with the Hornets placing linebacker Brandon Slater on that team.

MONTGOMERY – The Alabama State University football team opened fall practice in the late Friday afternoon heat at Old Hornet Stadium.

With temperatures in the low-mid 90s, the Hornets began to ready themselves for the season opener at home against Jacksonville State August 31 at 5 p.m.

“Day one was pretty good; we just have to keep working,” seventh-year head coach Reggie Barlow said. “You can have all the expectations in the world coming into the opening of camp, but conditioning, running, and practicing is a totally different mindset. It’s going to take some time, we have a long way to go, but we just have to keep working.”

With the Hornets being  four weeks away from the season opener versus the Gamecocks,  tickets available at bamastatesports.com/tickets),  Barlow will use each day and week carefully in the evaluation of his team in preparation not only for the Gamecocks, but the 12-game regular season as well.

“I want to see the mindset; what type of shape our guys are in,” Barlow said of what he’s looking for during the opening week of fall camp. “I want to see how much the returners remember from the spring, as well as see the freshmen and how well they adapt to what we’re doing.”

The Hornets practiced in jerseys and shorts today, per a standing NCAA mandate of an acclimation period during the first five days of fall practice for football teams nationwide. Barlow full supports that plan which helps players make the transition back into football physically as well as mentally.

“I think it’s a good idea to have the acclimation period,” Barlow said. “It’s a challenge for the players. We’re throwing a lot at them, mentally as much as physically. To open practice this way is the right way to do it. They get acclimated physically without the physical pounding, and continue to grasp more information mentally daily.”

The Hornets will practice once daily Saturday through Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at Old Hornet Stadium.

by Jesse J. Lewis, Sr.

There are two people who could go down in history as being two of the top golfers who ever lived. Phil Mickelson is the golfer that everybody loves. They love him because of his personal relationship with the fans, his honest commitment dealing with the press, and most of all, his commitment to family values.
Fans admire Tiger Woods because of his tenacity, his thought process as it relates to golf, and his commitment to winning. It has been said, and I state it again, that America loves a winner.  Since December 1975, Tiger has had 79 wins and 14 major championship. He has won more golf tournaments than anyone in the world except Sam Snead. He has won more majors than anyone in the world with the exception of Jack Nicklaus. This ye ar Tiger has played in fewer tournaments than anyone and has won in excess of $7 million; Phil Mickelson played in five more tournaments than Tiger and has won in excess of $4 million and most players’ average is five more tournaments than Tiger and have won in the neighborhood of $1 million.
This week the final major will be held Rochester, New York, and the winner of this tournament, either Tiger or Phil, I’m guessing, will be the Golfer of the Year. Even though Tiger would have won more tournaments, if Phil wins this week, he would have won two majors this year.
In the event that Tiger nor Phil wins this last major, my guess would be that Tiger Woods again would be Golfer of the Year. One thing for sure, the rivalry between Phil and Tiger is great for golf.
Everybody and his brother is jumping on Rory Mcllroy. Mcllroy was one of the top players last year; he started this year No. 1 but has dropped to No. 3 behind Tiger and Phil Mickelson. This year he has no victories and has not contended in any of the major championships. Two weeks ago, Nick Faldo from England stated at the British open that Mcllory could not win because of his sex life. Apparently, Nick Faldo’s sex life is similar to Mcllroy’s for he shot 15 over par; two shots less than Mcllroy.
Gary Player even suggested that Mclloy needed to ‘find the right wife.”
The two people should know that golf is a very difficult game and any little thing can throw your game off for a period of time. The only way Mcllroy can cut down on all these crazy suggestions is for him to win. If he wins this week, all this will go away. As an author said, winning is not everything, but winning is the only thing.

JACKSON, MS – Former Jackson State football coach, Robert “Judge” Hughes passed away last week following complications of diabetes. Hughes, who has been in and out of the hospital over the last several months, will be remembered by JSU fans as one of the great football players and coaches in the history of Tigers football.

In 1999, Hughes was named as JSU’s 15th head football coach. In his first season, he led the team to a 9-3 record. That season JSU won the Southwestern Athletic Conference Eastern Division title and played Southern in the Inaugural SWAC Championship game in Birmingham, Alabama. The game was played on December 10 in front of a crowd of 47,621 fans (the largest crowd ever to watch a SWAC championship football game) at Legion Field. The Tigers fell 31-30 in a heartbreaker to the Jaguars.
The following season, Hughes’ Tigers finished with a 7-4 record and matched that 7-4 mark in 2001. 2002 was the final year that Hughes led the Tigers and the team finished with a 7-4 record. During his four year coaching career at JSU, Hughes finished with a 30-15 record (.667 winning percentage).
During his tenure at JSU his teams won a SWAC Eastern Division title, set the NCAA D-IAA (now FCS) record for highest passing efficiency rating in a game (389.9 rating by Mark Washington vs. Alcorn St. in 1999), was named NCAA Rushing Defense Champions (allowing only 67.8 rushing yards per game in 1999), was named NCAA Passing Champions (averaged 344.4 passing yds per game in 2001), set single game passing yards mark (Robert Kent passed for 668 yards against Alabama St.) and was named the NCAA Total Offense Champion (the team averaged 485.5 yards per game in 2002).
As a player, Hughes was named to the JSU All-Century team in 2011 as a defensive lineman. Information regarding funeral services for coach Hughes will be made available upon receipt.

Tiger Wins #79
Dr. Gregory D. Jones
AKRON, Ohio – Each golf season there are four major championships, the Masters, the United States Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship.  Additionally, there has always been discussions on whether or not to include the Players Championship as the fifth major, primarily because it has one of the deepest fields of the year and the tract is so brutally challenging.
With that said, I submit the World Golf Championships should be included in those discussions primarily because of the same arguments espoused concerning the Players. This quad group of annual events for professional golfers was created by the International Federation of PGA Tours with three of the four events considered tour events with prize monies exceeding the majors. The Bridgestone Invitational invites only 75 players, 50 of them sit atop the world rankings. Combine this incredibly deep field with the major championship-like venue of a Firestone Country Club and something truly spectacular awaits the golfing fans.
Both, Keegan Bradley and Henrik Stenson, each finished the tournament tied at -8 under par.  Zac Johnson, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Auburn University Golfer, Jason Dufner all tied at -6 under par.  The entire weekend, all five fought tooth and nail trying to best the others so that they could claim second place. That’s right, they fought for second, because the world’s number one player, Tiger Woods shot a record tying 61 on Friday and put the tournament out of reach. He followed that up Saturday by shooting a 68 and shot even par Sunday to beat the field by seven strokes. He finished the tournament at -15 under par. It was like a walk in the park for Tiger who never felt the slightest bit of pressure from his competitors. It was the field who were hard pressed to force shots, take risks and try and make up ground.
This gave Tiger his fifth win this season, his eighth WGC Bridgestone victory, his 79th win overall and $1.5 million to boot. If he remotely duplicates this form at Oak Hill, in Rochester, N.Y. site of the PGA Championship, number 15 will be on the mantle.