OMAR HAUGABOOK on his hamstring injury

October 27, 2007

By Drew Champlin

He hurt it in the fourth quarter. He hurt it on a 9-yard run but didn’t come out until four plays later (his call).

“I don’t want to say its a slight pull and I don’t want to say it’s a strain. I’ve got to try my hardest to get to 100 percent for the next game so I’ve got to spend a lot of time in the training room and get my strength back.“

(Should you have come out?)
I should, but being the competitor that I am, I didn’t want to come out. I felt I could play hurt, no matter what the injury was. It came to a point where they didn’t want to risk anything so I came out.

oh yeah, TROY WON 27-0. FIrst time ASU had been shut out at home since 1992.

On another note, punter Adrian Vera was suspended one game for violating team rules. He’ll be back next week, though he hasn’t played since OSU. It wasn’t a legal thing, just violated a team rule.

Troy-Arkansas State game thread

By Drew Champlin

It’s cold up in the press box for some reason.

ASU’s field looks pretty nice. Looks like they painted the field turf yesterday. Maybe they did.

Personnel Notes

WR Gerald Tate, DB Trevor Ford, LB Nate Nolin and P Adrian Vera are the notables who are NOT on the travel roster. The first three guys, I know, are hurt with knee injuries. I am not sure about Vera. Sam Glusman is the only other kicker who traveled, besides starting K and P Greg Whibbs. DE Brandon Lang obviously is not on the travel roster. He hurt his knee vs. Okie State but thinks he’ll be back by MTSU on Nov. 20.

LB Josh Maxwell is on the travel roster and looks to be playing. WR Austin Silvoy is dressed out and was participating in drills, but we’ll see if he plays. He hurt his knee the week before the UNT game and just served as the holder.

How bout Georgia? Looking good at the moment against Florida. Methinks their game plan for Auburn begins after the game. (Troy is at UGA Nov. 3, Auburn is at UGA the week after)

Check back on the blog later if you’re not at the game, which I don’t think you are because the ticket office only sold 70-something Troy tickets. But the band is here, in the end zone

FIRST QUARTER - TROY 7, ASU 0
Long first quarter, thanks to delays. Troy got a 1-yard TD from Omar Haugabook, set up by a 38-yard pass to Mykeal Terry.
Kenny Cattouse lost a fumble at his own 41, but Troy got it back when Leodis McKelvin intercepted Corey Leonard in the end zone on a bad pass thrown into triple coverage.
Interesting of note, true freshman walk-on Tyler Clark started at LG in place of Will Chambliss. Chambliss is on the sideline but has not played yet. Not sure what’s going on there, though Chambliss did get beat for a sack last week. But that’s just one sack. My guess is Clark stepped up in practice.
Josh Maxwell is on the sideline but hasn’t played yet. David McDowell started at LB.
Oh, and ULM beat FAU 33-30, so if Troy wins, its in first place all by itself.

HALFTIME - TROY 10, ASU 0
Troy gets a FG from 40 yards out by Greg Whibbs. ASU had two different kickers try FGs of 43 and 44 yards out, but were short. That’s really an embarrassment in Division I-A footall. Miss it left or something.
Troy’s defense has stepped it up, except for a 56-yard gain on a pass play, but Troy got sacks from Kenny Mainor and Chris Bradwell to force 4th and 27.
Offense has two turnovers, though, a fumble by Cattouse and an INT from Haugabook.

END OF THREE - Troy 17, ASU 0
The defense is for real, for the 4th straight game. Might be the last you hear from me in regulation.
IN THE FOURTH

Still 17-0. Omar left with what looks like a hamstring injury (or that’s what they’re saying) He hurt it on one run, but stayed in the game for some reason. He probably told them he was OK. Tanner Jones came in and Troy’s about to attempt a 44-yd FG

Omar’s now got his pads off with 9:31 left and ice on his right hamstring. Tanner Jones back at QB

Gameday links

By Drew Champlin

From the Marriott in Memphis…

This game could be a battle of quarterbacks, from me.

From the Jonesboro Sun, the stakes are high for both teams.

Quote of the day, from ASU DL Prince Hickman: “Troy always seems like the team that talks the most noise,” Hickman said. “Regardless of where it is, in the newspapers they talk the most noise, and we really don’t talk noise. We just show it on the field.”

ASU beat writer Matt Roberson thinks the Trojans have too much firepower.

GAMEDAY: Troy at Arkansas State

By Drew Champlin

Troy (5-2, 4-0 Sun Belt) at Arkansas State (3-4, 1-2)
Time: 6 p.m. CST
TV: ESPN Regional (game can be watched on troytrojans.com game pass
Radio: 94.7 FM WTBF (man that Jerry Miller’s going to sound good on color), more web information available at http://www.troytrojans.com
Key matchups: Troy’s linebackers vs. Arkansas State’s runners. That includes quarterback Corey Leonard, who is banged up a little bit but should play. He wasn’t very good last week at MTSU with three INTs in a loss, but killed Troy mostly last year with his legs. He’s a good passer. Reggie Arnold was the league’s best freshman last year and Cedric Wilkerson is pretty good, too. Look for Boris Lee to get some tackles this week after two straight weeks of no tackles, and senior Marcus Richardson needs to have a big game as well.

Big question: Can Troy actually beat Arkansas State? It’s more of a mental hurdle, in my opinion. Once North Texas finally went down (in 2005), they kept losing. Troy just needs a win. Easier said than done.

Player to watch, Troy: DB/KR Leodis McKelvin. Will the Indians kick to him? McKelvin is one punt return away from tying the NCAA Career record. He had a big return against ASU two years ago that set up the only score in a 9-3 loss and had a pretty good game defensively too.

Player to watch, North Texas: QB Corey Leonard. As mentioned above, he was dinged up last week and if he’s not 100 percent, Troy has a great chance to end the streak.

Prediction: Arkansas State 23, Troy 19. I can’t really explain where I got 19, but neither you or I can explain anything that has happened in this series the last three years. Troy’s team is probably a little bit better, but it was the last three years as well, and ASU is very good at home.

Grizzlies-Pacers observations

October 26, 2007

By Drew Champlin

MEMPHIS, Tenn.—This obviously has nothing to do with Troy, but I’m also an NBA fan. Maybe you are too.

I stayed in Memphis Friday night and took a shuttle bus to FedEx Forum for $7 and bought a ticket for $5 for a preseason NBA game between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Indiana Pacers.

They tell us in journalism to write like you’re writing for 5th graders and explain everything, but if you don’t know the players, look it up. Here’s some observations.

Here is a box score from Indiana’s 140-113 win.

Indiana left two starters (Jermaine O’Neal and Troy Murphy) at home and still hung 140 on the hapless Grizzlies, who were playing without Pau Gasol.

Indiana actually looked pretty good. Jamaal Tinsley and Danny Granger were by far the best players on the court, and Mike Dunleavy’s got some pretty fly moves for a white guy. He got better as the game went along. Shawne Williams had a big game off the bench but most of his points came when the game was way in hand. He played collegiately at Memphis (for a year), so he had some fan support. Kareem Rush was also pretty good.

The only good player that stuck out to me for Memphis was Casey Jacobson, but, again, ALL his points came on long-range shots in garbage time. Mike Miller is pretty good and took a hard fall after a dunk on the game’s first points, but he was off for most of the night. Rudy Gay made me wish I hadn’t drafted him on my first money fantasy NBA team and made me think I won’t pick him on my other team.

Stromile Swift and Hakim Warrick are the prime reasons there’s not much interest in the NBA any more. Both were great athletes in college and high leapers, and fun to watch in college. Both, also, did not learn how to shoot anything farther away than with their hands above the rim. Neither have any strength whatsoever, so when you combine them with big-time bust Darko Milicic, you have what is probably the worst frontcourt in NBA history (when Gasol isn’t playing).

David Harrison is the exact opposite. He’s a reserve for the Pacers, about 7 feet (listed at 280 but he looked smaller). He has a little range. And he can bang. If you don’t have range, you need to bang. If you can’t bang, you need to be able to hit from oh, 9 feet out. Warrick and Swift can’t do either. Therefore, I’m keeping Jason Maxiell on my team in the deep league and not picking up Swift.

Harrison actually learned how to play some basketball at Colorado (why he went there from Nashville, Tenn., is another question)

Darko’s 2-of-11 performance showed why Memphis wasted its money signing him. The No. 2 pick back in 2003 (before Carmelo and Dwyane Wade) continues to be a bust. When Jeff Foster’s making you his little (I’ve got to stop there or I’ll get fired) down low, then you’re just not a good NBA player.

The Grizz should have played Mike Conley a little more, but he didn’t come into the game until the fourth. A guy on the bus is from Wisconsin but supports the Grizz because it’s his hometown team. It’s pretty frustrating being a Grizz fan, apparently. Fans show up early, but when they start losing, they only come back when the big names come to town. He said that usually the good teams leave their best players at home for the preseason games when they come to Memphis.

Indiana should contend for a playoff spot in the East, but I can’t see them finishing higher than 7th.

I’ll post my two fantasy teams after Monday, and I hope to see the Hawks and Mavericks play a real game next Friday, the night before Troy plays at Georgia.