The University of Connecticut and its head coach, Randy Edsall, have mutually agreed to extend the contract of the coach for another five years running upto the 2012 season. The contract comes into effect from January 1, 2008 and Edsall will be provided with a base salary of $275,000 with an increase of $25,000 every year through the length of the contract. Edsall will also be receiving an additional amount, if the University of Connecticut reaches the bowl game. Edsall has been responsible for the Huskies to have an overall 9 - 4 wins with 5 - 2 in the Big East and also coached them to play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

The Connecticut Athletic Director, Jeff Hathaway, said that Coach Edsall has been given the task of leading the University of Connecticut team into the Bowl Championship Series Conference and says that the coach will live up to his expectations. Edsall has been the head coach of the University of Connecticut for the last nine seasons and the team has a record of 39-25 results in their last 64 games. Edsall said that he was happy to have extended his contract to coach the University of Connecticut and would like to see his players perform consistently. He acknowledged the fact that he needs to put in a lot of efforts to drive the players to achieve the goals set forth in the football program.

Three senior Michigan state players and a junior player have accepted the invitation to play in the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine to be held from 20th to 26th of February at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. The running back Michigan State player Jehuu Caulcrick, safety Nehemiah Warrick and tight end Kellen Davis along with Devin Thomas, the junior wide receiver, are the Spartan players who will play in the 2008 Scouting Combine.

Jehuu Caulcrick who owns a school record of rushing for 872 yards and 21 touch downs in 2007 is well known for his powerful running. Caulcrick is ranked 8th in the league for his rushing and he is virtually unstoppable when he is in full flow. The tight end Kellen Davis, a 6-6, 246 pound man, is a well known Spartan player who has a career record of 513 receiving yards, 6 touchdowns, and 32 receptions in 2007 season, of which 18 out of the 32 catches coming in the last five games he has played. He can be utilized as a possession receiver as well as a play maker. Devin Thomas was ranked as the fifth best receiver in the 2008 NFL Draft and is selected in the 32 prospects by Scouts, Inc.

The Detroit Lions are in their 75th year into the NFL season and have planned to celebrate their achievement in style by honoring the lions who wore the shirt number 75 for their games. The former players John Gordy, Lomas Brown and Jim Yarbrough as well as the current 75 player Shaun Cody will be honored as chairmen for the Lions’ annual golf outing, Detroit Lions Invitational that raises funds for the Detroit Lions Charities. The event will be taking place at the TPC Michigan in Dearborn on the 3rd of June 2008.

John Gordy was the right guard star for the Lions for 10 years from 1957 and 1959 to 67 and was awarded Pro Bowl status thrice during his tenure for the Lions. Jim Yarbrough burst into the Detroit side in 1969 and played nine seasons for the Lions. Lomas Brown was a starting left tackle player for the Detroit lions from 1985-95 and was a seven time Pro Bowl standout for the Lions. The current player who is playing for the Lions with the 75 number shirt is Shaun Cody who is a defensive tackle. He is in the side since 2005 and is a very important man in the Detroit Lions unit.

Receiver Chad Johnson from Cincinnati Bengals is being eyed by the Washington Redskins for trading.  Based on a report from the Washington Post, The Redskins are interested in going after Johnson, saying he would be a help to the team.  Daniel Snyder, owner of Redskins, said that he had been wanting to have an excellent receiver in the team, and Johnson was actually at the top of his list.  Some reports said that Johnson was also happy to sign a new big contract from Washington.

The Bengals announced they did not want to trade Johnson, but Johnson’s own agent Drew Rosenhaus had been quietly working to push through with the trade.  The former Bengals receiver has caught more than 87 passes in each of the previous five seasons.  However, he has also had conflicts with coaches and other people because of the way he played.

The Washington Post remarks that it most probably would take a low first-round pick and a third-round pick and maybe even two second-round picks to get Johnson.  But according to a coaching candidate, Snyder made it really clear that Johnson was his number one choice.  Whether Johnson gets traded over to the Redskins or not is another thing to watch out for.

The Hurricanes are slated to play their first game at the new Dolphin Stadium against the Charleston Southern, a team that plays in the football championship subdivision. The Miami Hurricanes have signed a 25 year lease agreement for playing at the new Dolphin Stadium and the entire team are looking forward to have a wonderful home season in this new stadium which is also home to  the NFL’s Miami Dolphins as well as Florida Marlin’s, a major league baseball team. Miami has left the Orange Bowl that has been their home for seven decades as the historic stadium is in a decaying state.  The shift from the historic Orange Bowl to the new Dolphin stadium will fetch Miami an additional revenue of more than $ 2 million annually and the team is also expected to get a new corporate sponsor by the year 2010. The Dolphin Stadium is undergoing a major changeover that is worth $ 300 million and the organizers are working overtime to get the stadium up and running for Miami’s opening game on the 30^th of August 2008. The Miami fans are hoping that this shift to the new stadium will bring more victories and championships to the team.

The Georgia Legislature voted to recommend NCAA to adopt the playoff for the major college football. Some oppose this rule as Georgia Bulldogs weren’t picked up for the Series title game of Bowl Championship Series, which further divide the NCAA Division I Bowl the national champions as Division I-A. On 1st February, out of 60 votes 51 were given for the NCAA while there were only 9 votes against it; which resulted in the opposing reaction of state law makers who called Bowl Championship Series BCS polling system “dysfunctional. So they claim that fans deserve a national championship not a popularity poll, they should develop a playoff system and gives a chance to the teams to play in fields. The bill said it’s a great disappointment of college football in 2007 that BCS is now accused of dysfunctional. BCS should not select teams on the basis of politics, mathematical computation or television and corporate influence which do not represent the true spirit of the national championships of football. The college football has major fan following which does not allow them to take these serious steps against the will of NCAA, although the politician love this game who have voted against the petition but still NCAA will not compromise on that.

Chuck Sekyra has been named the Division II National Coach of the Year.Sekyra’s team reached the NCAA Division II semifinals for the second time in three years. His 2005 squad lost the national-championship match in OT to Nebraska Omaha. It really speaks to the type of season their women had. And Sekyra admits that it was enjoable for all of them.So now The National Soccer Coaches Association of America picks coach of the year.

The Kansas Jayhawk football program received two final commitments of the class.  The two signings brought them to 20 overall, with two 4-stars. After missing out on Cyrus Gray Crawford was next up on Mangino’s wish list. Crawford will  be immediately inserted into the runningback mix, along with Jayhawks in Jake Sharp, Angus Quigley and Carmon Boyd-Anderson. They will get a lot more in-depth about this once we start previewing the football season, and the runningbacks in particular. The commit wasn’t on the radar of most Jayhawk fans. With all three of our current starters slated to be seniors next season. They need to start filling our rosters with their future replacements.  Richardson is that person,  but at the very least he is another really good body to throw in there. His other offers were from Bowling Green and Central Michigan. He is much more representative of the Mangino classes of old. He  represents a bottom-tier prospect in this class.

The push for an eight-team college football playoff by Michael Adams failed to gain steam at the NCAA Convention.The NCAA Division I Board of Directors sent the proposal for further discussion.
Adams said that it was time for the NCAA to replace college football’s bowl games.
Adams is a chairman of the NCAA’s Executive Committee and a member of the Board of Directors. He wanted his standing to make a difference when he proposed a playoff system. NCAA president Myles Brand  said he would remain neutral on a football playoff.
Clemson president James Barker and chairman of the NCAA Division I Board of Directors said that there was no timetable for action on Adams‘ proposal.
The NCAA Division I Board of Directors passed 45 of the 47 proposals sent to it from the Management Council.
The most-publicized legislation was prohibiting institutions from canceling or reducing scholarships of female athletes who become pregnant.
Some schools had required student-athletes to sign documents stating they would lose their scholarship.
The Board of Directors passed an alteration to the telephone text-messaging ban between coaches and prospects.

The Wildcats will look to extend their season-high winning streak to five games on Sunday.They will make their first national television appearance of the season against No. 15/15 Texas at the Erwin Center at 1 p.m. The Wildcats have never  played consecutive ranked opponents on the road since Feb. 22, 2001 and Feb. 28, 2001 at No. 16 Colorado and at No. 24 Baylor. The contest can also be heard on the K-State Sports Network and at www.kstatesports.com