Utah Names Chow Offensive Coordinator

Filed under: Utah, Pac 10, Coaching

Norm Chow is returning to his roots.

Chow, one of the best offensive minds in football, has been named Utah's offensive coordinator, according to a release by the school. Chow's name had been mentioned with Utah for the past couple weeks, but Chow and UCLA, his last employer, had not quite parted ways until this weekend.

Both Utah and UCLA will compete in the Pac-12 South beginning this fall.

"Adding Norm Chow to our offensive staff was an opportunity that we couldn't pass up," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "Norm is widely considered one of the top offensive coordinators in the country and his experience at both USC and UCLA will aid us in our transition into the Pac-12 conference."

Chow lettered for Utah as an offensive lineman from 1965-67. He started two seasons and earned first-team all-Western Athletic Conference honors as a senior.

Chow, who has 35 years of NCAA assistant experience, has coached for three national championship teams (BYU 1984; USC 2003 and 2004), and tutored three Heisman Trophy winners (Ty Detmer, BYU; Carson Palmer, USC; Matt Leinart, USC).

Chow also spent three years in the NFL as the offensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans. He helped quarterback Vince Young become only the second quarterback to win AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.

As offensive coordinator for UCLA, the Bruins made a rocky transition to the pistol offense this year with mixed results. The Bruins ranked 100th nationally in total offense, averaging 316.67 yards per game and 104th in scoring offense with 20.17 points per game. During his three seasons with the Bruins, Chow's offenses have never been better than 88th nationally.

 

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Source: http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2011/01/22/utah-names-chow-offensive-coordinator/

Brendon Nash John Negrin Jake Newton Jyri Niemi

DTotD: Benfica manager Jorge Jesus will slap you

Following Benfica's 4-2 win over Nacional de Madeira on Saturday, a scuffle broke out on the pitch and Jorge Jesus was right in the middle of it. Now, if the untamed locks and constant scowl weren't enough of a tip-off, Jesus is a little man with an unstable temper. Nacional's Luis Alberto learned this the slappy way.

Jesus must not have liked what Luis Alberto was saying to him, because he responded by delivering a hard whack to the face and shoving the player away. As a result, he's facing the possibility of a lengthy ban.

I think Luis Alberto is the only who learned a lesson in all this, though. And that lesson is that Jorge Jesus will slap you. 

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/dirty-tackle/post/DTotD-Benfica-manager-Jorge-Jesus-will-slap-you?urn=sow-312215

Nick Spaling Jason Spezza Ryan Spooner Eric Staal

Ryan Babel probably wishes he stayed in #TwitterJail a little longer

In Ryan Babel's first match with the club, Hoffenheim lost their DFB Pokal quarterfinal match against 2. Bundesliga side Energie Cottbus. Even more surprising than the result, though, was the fact that Babel played. His fictional release date from his fictional stint in #TwitterJail isn't until January 31, after all. 

But hey -- at least he started a football match. That hasn't been happening too often for him. 

Photos: Reuters

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/dirty-tackle/post/Ryan-Babel-probably-wishes-he-stayed-in-Twitter?urn=sow-312962

Colin Wilson Kyle Wilson Tommy Wingels Daniel Winnik

Dimitar Berbatov is...The Continental

Well hello there.

I see you've caught me scoring yet another hat trick. Ha-HA! These goals just keep piling up like squirrel carcasses in my cousin Timitar Berbatov's traps or the citations I receive for indecent exposure. You see, since you, my dearest and most beautiful of Berba-babes, keep refusing my suave advances, I have had to refocus my erotic will on scoring goals by an obscene amount of goals.

If you would like me to once again reserve all of my attention and window-peeping time for you and you alone, I would gladly revert to doing nothing on the pitch, allowing everyone to realize just how useless Wayne Rooney is. Would you like that, my sweet? ... Ha-HA! You're still playing hard to get. But, really, who could turn down a lovely evening of earlobe massages and eating Easter candies in a McDonald's bathroom with the Premier League's leading goal scorer? ... No. You're not supposed to say "me." Did I not make it clear that The Berba is the Premier League's leading goalscorer? Why do you never just go along with whatever sexy things I say? ... Please stop laughing.

Fine. If you don't want to ride The Berba's sensual monorail, then you may sit and watch as the hordes of other Berba-beauties indulge in the pleasure. ... Who are these hordes? Well, they're hordes. They don't have names. Just, please, stop asking questions and eat these Easter candies.

Oh-OHHH! I have just realized that these candies are extremely old and seem to be covered in some kind of liquid. Oh, I've been eating these things all day! Please, look away while I dry heave. Hum a Right Said Fred song and think about all of my goals. When you're done, I will be ready to make out with you.   

Join us again next time for another chapter in the life of...The Continental...

Photo: Getty Images

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/dirty-tackle/post/Dimitar-Berbatov-is-The-Continental?urn=sow-311689

Joe Vitale Mitch Wahl Ben Walter Tom Wandell

Controversial elbowing call leaves Gonzaga livid after loss

Eleven years after another team last claimed the WCC regular season title, Gonzaga's stranglehold on the league appears to be loosening.

San Francisco handed the suddenly reeling Zags a 96-91 overtime loss on Saturday night with the help of a controversial call late in regulation that helped turn the outcome in the Dons' favor.

A back-and-forth game appeared to be tipping toward Gonzaga when Robert Sacre grabbed the rebound of a missed USF free throw with 24.5 seconds to go and the Zags clinging to an 81-80 lead. Instead Sacre swung his elbows to clear out the defenders and leveled USF's Angelo Caloiaro with a blow to the face, an intentional foul based on the NCAA's new emphasis on cracking down on raised elbows this season.

"It's one we need to look at as coaches and refs," Gonzaga coach Mark Few told the Spokesman Review. "I don't know what the rebounder is supposed to do, and I don't know what to coach the rebounder on."

Four straight free throws enabled USF to open a three-point lead, but a game-tying corner 3-pointer from much-maligned point guard Demetri Goodson helped Gonzaga force overtime. The Zags still couldn't assert their will in the extra period, however, falling after USF freshman Cody Doolin's left-handed scoop shot and free throw broke a tie at 91 apiece in the final minute. 

Two straight losses in the Bay Area leaves Gonzaga's streaks of 12 consecutive NCAA tournament berths and 10 straight WCC championships in grave jeopardy just three weeks into conference play. The Zags (13-7, 3-2) have little margin for error to preserve either streak entering the first of two games with first-place St. Mary's Thursday night in Spokane.

What will bolster Gonzaga's bid for an at-large bid in case it doesn't win the WCC tournament in March is an especially difficult non-conference schedule that included victories over Baylor, Xavier and Oklahoma State. The Zags still have another chance to pick up a marquee win outside league play next month when they host Memphis on Feb. 5.

Still, the eye test suggests this Gonzaga team isn't nearly as good as some of its celebrated predecessors.

Goodson is still too poor a perimeter shooter and too turnover-prone to be a quality starting point guard despite his best game of the season on Saturday night. Forward Elias Harris has regressed after emerging as the program's next star as a freshman. And the Zags continue to be porous defensively, struggling in particular to contain dribble penetration.

The WCC has improved to the point where two road losses shouldn't make the rest of the nation write off Gonzaga entirely, yet the Zags have certainly put themselves into a tough spot with six weeks left in the regular season.

Can they recover quickly enough to still earn an NCAA tournament berth and a WCC championship? Thursday's showdown with St. Mary's should be a good barometer.

Source: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/blog/the_dagger/post/Controversial-elbowing-call-leaves-Gonzaga-livid?urn=ncaab-311198

Saku Koivu Krystofer Kolanos Chad Kolarik Zenon Konopka

UFC still committed to bringing MMA to New York

UFC president Dana White and chairman Lorenzo Fertitta met with the press in New York City to make their commitment to the Big Apple clear. They announced via an online press conference that once MMA is regulated, the UFC will bring two shows to Madison Square Garden. According to studies from an independent researcher, those two shows would bring $23 million and more than 200 jobs to N.Y.

"By bringing UFC events to New York, the state will see a positive financial impact," White said. "The arenas will get to host major UFC events and local hotels, restaurants, and other businesses will attract new customers. They’ll look forward to the times we bring UFC to New York." 

N.Y. assemblyman Dean Murray was on hand to talk politics, and the process that had to happen to get MMA legalized and sanctioned in his state. He will try to sway newly sworn-in governor Andrew Cuomo to include revenue from MMA in the state budget, which will give it an easier path. He is pushing for MMA's legalization because he wants the state to find new economic streams.

"In today's climate, we don't need to be raising taxes. We need a chance to raise revenue," Murray said.

But one thing was clear throughout the press conference -- the UFC's biggest hurdle in getting MMA in the Empire State was not effective lobbying or discussions of economic impact. It's the need for education. 

White emphasized the process of education several times throughout the half-hour press conference, and then a reporter on-hand showed just why education about of MMA was needed, asking, "How will you regulate martial arts when you add in kicks and punches?"

White calmly pointed out that kicks and punches are part of MMA, one of the few sports regulated by the government, and that safety is always the first concern. 

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-still-committed-to-bringing-MMA-to-New-York?urn=mma-307253

Craig Rivet Colby Robak Stephane Robidas Bryan Rodney

Shane Mosley on Manny Pacquiao: 'I Can Knock Him Out'

Filed under: WBC, WBO, Boxing Video, Boxing Rumors, Showtime, FanHouse Exclusive, Top Rank Promotions

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Three-division, five-time champion, Shane Mosley (46-6-1, 39 knockouts) acknowledges that eight-division titlist Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) throws punches from angles that can give him trouble, even as he believes that he can knock out the WBO welterweight (147 pounds) and WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) titlist if he lands a flush punch.

Pacquiao will defend his WBO belt against Mosley in a May 7, Showtime pay per view televised bout that is being promoted by Top Rank Promotions.

 

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Source: http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2011/01/28/shane-mosley-on-manny-pacquiao-i-can-knock-him-out/

Simon Danis-Pepin Rob Davison Calvin de Haan Michael Del Zotto