Playoff or pay-off? MEAC decision a 'win-win'

NCAA Football Betting Lines

07/30/2010 - Norfolk, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There's a difficult decision ahead for Mid- Eastern Athletic Conference football, and there may not be a right or wrong answer considering both of the given options have merit.

"A win-win situation," according to Norfolk State football coach Pete Adrian.

Just as the FCS is expanding its playoff format from 16 to 20 teams this season, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference schools are weighing in on the idea of giving up the automatic bid afforded its champion, beginning in 2011, to return to a bowl game against the champion of the nation's other Historically Black Colleges and Universities league, the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Talk of the potential Legacy Bowl has gone on for some time. Decision day is nearing.

Ironically, as FCS conferences desperate for an automatic bid like the Pioneer League and Great West circle the waters, there's good reason for the MEAC to considering giving up its bid. ESPN is believed to be offering around $1.5 million to the MEAC and SWAC for the television rights to such a bowl game.

The SWAC already foregoes sending its champion to the playoffs to have its own championship game, which draws huge crowds and revenue that stays within the conference. The FCS playoffs, meanwhile, aren't much of a revenue-generator for schools with small fan bases or those that, like the MEAC, rarely host.

"Hopefully it will be at some point in time in the fall, or before. At the latest in the fall," MEAC commissioner Dennis Thomas said today regarding the MEAC's decision during the conference's football media day.

"It's part of my responsibility to identify new revenue streams. And this is one of many revenue streams that I have brought to the table as commissioner. As you know, with the economy these days, every institution in our conference, their states are facing tremendous cutbacks and deficits. This is another proposal to vet with our membership to see whether or not we want to take advantage of a new revenue source."

North Carolina Central and Savannah State will begin participating in MEAC football next year, but Thomas said the proposal would be voted on only by the chancellors and presidents of the nine existing member schools: South Carolina State, which has been named the preseason favorite to win a third straight conference title, along with Bethune-Cookman, Delaware State, Florida A&M, Hampton, Howard, Morgan State, Norfolk State and North Carolina A&T.

A majority vote will determine the MEAC's future direction, Thomas added. If the vote was taken today, it surely would have been close, with South Carolina State, Florida A&M and to a lesser degree Delaware State believed to be the strongest proponents of keeping the status quo and not sacrificing the FCS automatic bid. What direction the other schools are leaning is up for speculation.

"You look at what's going on in college football today in general with the big guys," South Carolina State coach Buddy Pough said. "You know, Texas saved the Big 12, or whatever number they are now; Nebraska left the Big 12 to go to the Big Ten because of money. If those kind of people are making decisions based on fundraising, finances, that kind of stuff, then why in the heck would a little bitty outfit like us who needs a hundred times more money than they do not at least explore the possibilities of what could be?"

"Both ways, it's really a win-win situation, whichever way you want to go," Adrian said. "Obviously, we like being in the playoffs, but if the bowl game is something that's going to be on national TV, as it's supposed to be in front of 30, 40,000 people, that's bigger than any playoff games. It's just a question of which way we go. We don't know yet."

The MEAC and SWAC played a bowl game during the 1990s - the Heritage Bowl, with the conference champions having the option of playing in the game or going to the FCS (formerly Division I-AA) playoffs. If a conference champion chose the playoffs, the No. 2 team would be invited to play in the Heritage Bowl.

In a twist with the Legacy Bowl, the conference champions would square off, and other teams in the conferences could still have the chance to go to the playoffs, though they would have to be strong enough to earn an at-large bid. It seems unlikely for the MEAC, which hasn't won a playoff game since 1999. Florida A&M won the MEAC's only national title in 1978, but it was only a four- team playoff then.

The MEAC has won four playoff games since the field was expanded to 16 teams in 1986.

"South Carolina State (which fell at Appalachian State, 20-13, in last year's first round) showed that this conference has probably made the biggest gains in terms of quality play as a conference," said Florida A&M coach Joe Taylor, who had some playoff near-misses at Hampton before he switched schools. "Certainly the CAA, everybody is chasing them - that's the flagship, they put teams in they've won it. Buddy showed last year that we have somewhat closed that gap with some of these stronger leagues within FCS. That's important, that you compete for the best, for the ultimate prize. I think you're going to see that continue to happen."

Taylor adds that recruiting would suffer if the MEAC surrendered its playoff bid, but Adrian says it's not necessarily true. "You can say that I guess," Adrian said, "but when you look at the big guys, if you're not at a BCS school, you've not playing for the national championship and they still get the good recruits."

Some believe the Legacy Bowl would be a better experience than, say, losing a first-round playoff game. There are few games nationally in early to mid- December, when the Legacy Bowl would take place, so there would be a better chance for gaining national exposure.

"When you talk about going into a bowl game," Morgan State coach Donald Hill- Eley said, "it gives our young men an opportunity to experience that atmosphere of the bowl games, it gives them an opportunity to compete against another conference, to be able to go and spend three or four days away and be representation of your conference."

"The plusses would be a couple-day bowl game and the exposure from that," Delaware State coach Al Lavan added, "and the fact some revenue from those games would be equally distributed between the two teams involved, but also the remaining revenue would be dispersed to the remaining teams. That the plusses for it. I think there's good reason to certainly consider it."

Pough's South Carolina State squad has won 19 straight MEAC games, has a veteran team which won every conference game by at least 12 points last season, and again is led by senior quarterback Malcolm Long, the preseason conference offensive player of the year. Despite SCSU suffering losses in the first round of the playoffs at Appalachian State each of the last two seasons, including the hard-to-swallow defeat last year, Pough still prefers that experience over the MEAC's possible alternative.

"I enjoyed being in the playoffs," he said. "I also have confidence in the fact that the powers-that-be who make these kinds of decisions will make good decisions. They asked us for our input and we tell them what we like. Of course, some of us want to be in, some of us would like to be out. The one thing that I can tell you is that none of us take this lightly as far as how we decide what we're going to do."

MEAC PRESEASON POLL (Head Coaches and Sports Information Directors)

1. South Carolina State (15 first-place votes), 315 points; 2. Florida A&M (2), 268; 3. Norfolk State, 190; 4. Hampton (1), 167; 5. Morgan State, 166; 6. North Carolina A&T, 150; 7. Delaware State, 120; 8. Bethune-Cookman, 68; 9. Howard, 32

PRESEASON MEAC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

Offensive Player of the Year - Malcolm Long, QB, South Carolina State

Defensive Player of the Year - Julio Sanchez, LB, Hampton

First-Team Offense

QB- Malcolm Long, South Carolina State. RB- DeAngelo Branche, Norfolk State; Philip Sylvester, Florida A&M. TE- Lamont Bryant, Morgan State. WR- Willie Carter, Howard; Isaac West, Howard. OL-Johnny Culbreath, South Carolina State; Juavahr Nathan, South Carolina State; Josh Harrison, South Carolina State; Kendall Noble, Norfolk State; Sam Timothy, South Carolina State.

First-Team Defense

DL- Andre Carroll, Delaware State; Kenrick Ellis, Hampton; Josh Turner, Norfolk State; Jayson Ayers, South Carolina State. LB- Alvis Graham, Florida A&M; David Erby, South Carolina State; Julio Sanchez, Hampton. DB- Qier Hall, Florida A&M; Justin Ferrell, North Carolina A&T; Quay Long, North Carolina A&T; Darren McKahn, Morgan State.

First-Team Specialists

PK- Trevor Scott, Florida A&M. P- Nicholas Adams, Morgan State. Ret- Dwight Fluker-Berry, Norfolk State.

Second-Team Offense

QB- Anthony Glaud, Delaware State. RB- Jaashawn Jones, Delaware State; Mike Mayhew, North Carolina A&T. TE- Sherron Childress, Norfolk State. WR- Kevin Elliot, Florida A&M; Richard Christie, South Carolina State. OL- Christopher Sands, Florida A&M; Michael Ola Folorian, Hampton; Lawrence Brewer, Morgan State; Calton Ford, Norfolk State; William Falakiseni, Norfolk State.

Second-Team Defense

DL- Ryan Davis, Bethune-Cookman; Brandon Peguese, Hampton; Micah Stanfield, North Carolina A&T; Ronnell Ferguson, South Carolina State. LB- Reginald Sandilands, Bethune-Cookman; Anthony Taylor, Norfolk State; Julius Wilkerson, South Carolina State. DB- Curtis Holcomb, Florida A&M; Semaj Moody, South Carolina State; Devonne Quattlebaum, South Carolina State; Ricardo Silva, Hampton.

Second-Team Specialists

PK- Blake Erickson, South Carolina State. P- Alex Grubb, North Carolina A&T. Ret- Larrone Moore, Delaware State.

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Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attempt

Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.

The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.

Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.

NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.

"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.

The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.

But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.

The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.

Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.

The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.

The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.

The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.

Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.

Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."

Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.

"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."

Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.

It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.

"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."

Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.

"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."

At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.

According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.

Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.

Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.

When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.

He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.

Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.

Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.

Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.

While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.

"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.

Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.

Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

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