| Wys³any: 2019-02-18 06:21:15 Temat postu: of suffering will they ha Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - North Dakota State football has been the story of the decade in the FCS, but in 2014 the Bison have had some sharing to do within their Missouri Valley Football Conference. Illinois State earned a share of the Valley title alongside NDSU and, although both programs didnt meet in the regular season, they will square off in the FCS championship game on Jan. 10 in Frisco, Texas - the first time the two national finalists are members of the same FCS conference. Heres a Top 10 countdown of a memorable 2014 across the FCS, dominated by you-know-what conference: 10. FBS Wins Cut in Half - FCS teams posted a record 16 wins over FBS programs in 2013, but the number was only eight this year. One of the highlights was North Dakota State claiming a win over the FBS for the fifth year in a row, 34-14 at Iowa State on Aug. 30. Also, Yale was a rare host to an FBS program, celebrating the 100th anniversary season of its Yale Bowl by defeating Army, 49-43, in overtime on running back Tyler Vargas fifth touchdown on Sept. 27. 9. Defensive Ends Everywhere - A defensive end, North Dakota State senior Kyle Emanuel, won the 20th annual Buck Buchanan Award as the outstanding defensive player in the FCS, and the talent at the position was better than at any other one in the nation. Any All-American team left off countless worthy candidates. The Sports Network FCS All-America first team included defensive ends Emanuel, Chattanoogas Davis Tull and Montanas Zack Wagenmann. 8. New Hampshire No. 1 - While qualifying for the FCS playoffs for an 11th consecutive season, New Hampshire grabbed the No. 1 ranking for the first time since the 2006 season. The Wildcats, under Eddie Robinson Award winner Sean McDonnell, went unbeaten in the CAA Football and captured a school-record 12 straight games before falling to Illinois State in the national semifinals on Dec. 20. 7. Conference Favorites Rule - Surprise champions and title contenders are an annual staple across the FCS, but the preseason favorites were in control in 2014. Out of 13 conferences, 11 favorites captured at least a share of its conference title: Eastern Washington (Big Sky), Coastal Carolina (Big South), New Hampshire (CAA), Bethune-Cookman (MEAC), North Dakota State (Missouri Valley), Sacred Heart (Northeast), Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley), Fordham (Patriot), San Diego (Pioneer), Chattanooga (Southern) and Southeastern Louisiana (Southland). Southern reached the SWAC championship game, leaving only Princeton to fall flat in the Ivy League. 6. Grambling Revival - First-year coach Broderick Fobbs turned around the fortunes of Grambling State, his alma mater, a year after a turbulent season in which there was three different coaches in charge, the players staged a six- day walkout in protest of conditions in the program and refused to travel to a game at Jackson State - forcing the Southwestern Athletic Conference program into a forfeit - and the Tigers won only one game for a second consecutive season. Under Fobbs, the historically black national power won its first seven SWAC games and nearly reached the conference championship game in a 7-5 campaign. 5. Year of the Quarterbacks ... - Sure, its a quarterbacks game today, but the Walter Payton Award has really come to belong to the quarterbacks. The count of winners was once nine running backs, seven quarterbacks and one wide receiver. But Villanova signal caller John Robertson claiming the 28th annual award - the Heisman of the FCS - marked the 11th straight win by a quarterback. Also invited to the Payton announcement were two other QBs, runner-up Vernon Adams Jr. of Eastern Washington and third-place finisher Justin Arias of Idaho State. 4. ... Or (More Likely) Year of the Running Backs - South Dakota State senior Zach Zenners romp over Montana State in a snowy playoff game highlighted his third straight season of surpassing 2,000 rushing yards - a first in NCAA Division I. Thanks greatly to his amazing three-peat, there has been two 2,000-yard rushers in each of the past three FCS seasons (Illinois State junior Marshaun Coprich is the other back to do so this season and North Dakota State senior John Crockett could make it a trio). Before 2012, there was only one such season with multiple 2,000-yard backs. Three FCS running backs - Towsons Terrance West (Cleveland Browns), Georgia Southerns Jerick McKinnon (Minnesota Vikings) and Coastal Carolinas Lorenzo Taliaferro (Baltimore Ravens) were selected in the first four rounds of the NFL Draft in May and had an impact along with undrafted rookie Isaiah Crowell (Cleveland) from Alabama State. 3. Bison, Bison and More Bison - North Dakota State is a known brand not just in the FCS but in all of college football (just ask ESPNs College GameDay). The Bison opened the year by becoming the second program to win a third straight FCS championship, routing Towson, 35-7, in the final. Chris Klieman took the coaching reins from Craig Bohl and his program never let up, extending a nearly 25-month winning streak to an FCS-record 33 games before it lost to Northern Iowa on Nov. 8. With a 14-1 record, the Bison are headed back to Frisco, Texas, to try to win an unprecedented fourth straight title. 2. Coaching Carousel - The head coaching changes for 2014 got a head start late last year and it wasnt pretty. An unsettling 28 of the 124 FCS programs - a whopping 22.6 percent - had new head coaches this season. The big successes included Fobbs (Grambling State), Klieman (North Dakota State), Greg Gattuso (Albany), John Grass (Jacksonville State), Everett Withers (James Madison), Lee Hull (Morgan State), Jody Sears (Sacramento State), K.C. Keeler (Sam Houston State) and Clint Conque (Central Arkansas). The big-name changes after this season included former Nebraska coach Bo Pelini stepping into a ready-to-go situation at Youngstown State, Brian Jenkins leaving Bethune-Cookman for Alabama State and Bob Stitt replacing the retiring Mick Delaney at Montana. 1. Valley Boys - The Missouri Valley Football Conference basically lapped the field in remaining the nations best FCS conference. With co-champions Illinois State and North Dakota State set to square off in the national championship game, the Missouri Valley is the first conference to have both national finalists (national playoffs began in the 1978 season). Valley teams went 30-2 against non-conference opponents - losing only to Top 10 teams - and the conference tied the FCS record with five playoff qualifiers. Indiana State, Northern Iowa and South Dakota State also participated in the playoffs, while Youngstown State ended the regular season ranked in the Top 25 despite not reaching the postseason. The only team to beat either Illinois State or NDSU is Northern Iowa. Its been pure dominance out of the Valley. Air Max 270 Outlet .com) - Even on the day his New Hampshire football team became the nations top-ranked team two weeks ago, coach Sean McDonnell conceded something about the team they replaced at No. Air Max 270 Scontate . 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He said Brown was dead when firefighters arrived.As 2013 winds to a close, TSN.ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. TSN.cas writing staff reflects on the best basketball moments from the past 12 months including the return of Kobe, the fall of the Raptor, D-Roses poor luck and more! The Kobe Bryant Saga By: Isaac Owusu The year for the LA Lakers went from bad, to worse to maybe optimistic, back to bad again. With their star studded lineup that included Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant they fell way below expectations. The team created in 2012 with aspirations of an NBA Finals appearance opened the calendar year with a 24-28 record. As the team found themselves pushing for the eight seed in the western conference, Bryant willed himself to lead the Lakers until his body wouldnt allow him to do it anymore. On April 12 facing the Golden State Warriors, he finished with 34 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists but it was the final two points that are mostly remembered. He limped to the free throw line and made his final two free throws under obvious pain in his legs. and after the game it was revealed that he had torn his Achilles. The NBA and sports community took a morose tone when news hit and the immediate question was if Kobe could return and at what capacity. The Lakers never wavered in their belief of Bryants return, extending him to a two-year, 48.5 million dollar contract extension. On December 8, He made his triumphant return to the court against the Raptors. He started the game, logging 28 minutes and finished with 9 points and 8 rebounds. But on December 17, in his sixth game of the season, he seemed to be coming back to form. He finished with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists against the Memphis Grizzlies. There was a scary moment in the third quarter when he appeared to have been favouring a hurt left leg but came back into the game. It was announced on December 19 that he would have to miss 6 weeks going forward due to a fracture in that knee. Surgery is not required, but this is another chapter, in possibly the finality of his Hall of Fame career. Toronto Raptors lose their beloved mascot to injury By: Ryan Horne Toronto Raptors fans have said goodbye to some crowd favourites over the years. Jerome "The Junk Yard Dog" Williams, Morris Peterson, Matt Bonner, Jose Calderon. But when their beloved mascot - The Raptor - went down with a torn Achilles tendon in October that will likely cost him the season, it was as if they had lost their franchise player. And thats not too far from the truth. The Raptor has been with the organization since 1995 and has arguably become the most popular mascot in the Association (and maybe the best thing about going to a Raptors game), entertaining crowds with acrobatic slam dunks, eating referees and rollerblading down stairs. Not often does a head coach talk about the teams costumed cheerleader during a presser, but Dwane Casey did. "The Raptor will be back," he said after a pre-season game. When Casey told his daughter of the bad news, she cried. Stripes - The Raptors younger cousin - stepped in to replace the fallen hero for the 2013-2014 season, but will be in tough to provide half the joy of his predecessor. Now we must wait until next season when The Raptor hopefully makes his return. Sadly this could be the most exciting thing Raptors fans have to look forward to. Derrick Rose cant catch a break By: Ken Rodney At this point it doesnt even really seem fair. Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose is not only one of the most dynamic and talented players in the NBA, but is by all accounts also a very well-liked teammate and member of a community where he not only playys but was born and raised.dddddddddddd It was with league-wide excitement that Rose finally returned to the court to start the 2013-14 season after missing the entire 2012-13 campaign recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee. On Nov. 22, Just as his game was starting to show sparks of returning to the form that already has one MVP trophy in his cabinet case, the 25-year-old point guard suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee once again causing him to go under the knife, ending his season prematurely and stealing more games from the prime of his career. Those around Rose - former and current teammates and coaches - believe that he will make it back from this latest injury just as he did the previous one, but how much of this promising career was lost on that November night in Portland? Jason Kidd says "Hit Me!" By: Isaac Owusu Theres often an idea of a coach "dropping the ball" in regards to a bad job, but dropping the cup? Thats a brand new low. Theres no denying that Jason Kidd will be a Hall of Famer for his contributions in the NBA as a point guard. NBA Champion, 10-time NBA All-Star, perennial All-NBA team member, second on the all-time assist list, second on the all-time steals list, third on the all-time three pointers made list and Olympic gold medalist Kidds coaching career however hasnt been as glorious, and can be exemplified by one night in Brooklyn. During the late stages of losing a game to the Lakers inside the Barclays Center, and out of timeouts Coach Kidd executed probably the most creative play of his career. Who knew spilling some diet soda on hardwood would cost you $50,000! Stephen Curry torches the Knicks, then loses By: Shane McNeil In the grand scheme of things, Stephen Currys night at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 27 wasnt really that historic. After all, whats 54 points in a game where Wilt Chamberlain can drop 100 or Kobe Bryant can torch the Raptors for 81? But what was impressive was how Curry racked up his points. The Knicks kept giving him open looks and he kept draining threes, winding up with 11 on 13 attempts. As if that wasnt enough, when he wasnt launching from behind the arc, he was driving the lane or hitting pull-up jumpers. Yet, in the dying minutes, J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony come through and the Knicks win by four, 109-105. Its one thing to have a career night. Its oddly exceptional to do it and not even get a W out of it. Raptors blow 27-point lead against the Warriors By: Ryan Horne There have been plenty of moments in Toronto Raptors history that fans wish they could forget. Kobe Bryant dropping 81 points in 2006, trading Vince Carter for spare parts in 2004 and the drafting of Rafael Araujo are all memories that sting. On Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013, the Dinos added to that list in sunny California. The Raptors led the Golden State Warriors 75-48 with 9:20 remaining in the third quarter. Up 27 points with less than half of the game remaining. Surely theyd be able to close it out, right? Nope. After an onslaught of three-pointers, Toronto was outscored 42-15 in the final quarter and lost by nine. It was arguably the worst - most miserable loss - in franchise history and may or may not have led to the trading of the trigger-happy Rudy Gay a week later. The pill was made even tougher to swallow when it was reported former Raptor, Jermaine ONeal, apparently made an inspirational halftime speech that led to the dramatic and historic comeback. Just more salt in the wound. The supporters of Canadas lone NBA franchise must be wondering how many more years of suffering will they have to endure before things improve. Heres hoping 2014 is the start of something better. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' ' |