Inside CCU Sports

Chants get DL help

Lackawanna Junior College coach Mark Duda said Monday that defensive tackle Robert Balkunas has committed to play football at Coastal Carolina.

Duda said Balkunas (6-1, 285) is a solidly built two-gap defensive tackle, which is exactly what the Chants need up front. Balkunas should have junior status next season. He walked on and red -shirted at Florida State as a freshman.

In addition, Hermitage High (Va.) coach Patrick Kane said defensive end/linebacker Jermale Davis has made a verbal to the Chanticleers. Davis was the conference and Richmond-area defensive player of the year last season when he recorded 12 sacks. Davis (6-4, 200) also played wide receiver.

See tomorrow's Sun News for more information.

Football schedule released

From the CCU website ....

2008 CCU Football Schedule

Day     Date               Opponent                                         Time        Series Record

Sat.     Aug.      30      at Penn State                                    TBA         First meeting

Sat.     Sept.     6      COLGATE                                        TBA         First meeting

Sat.     Sept.     13      at Monmouth                                     TBA         First meeting

Sat.     Sept.    20      TOWSON                                         TBA         First meeting

Sat.     Sept.     27      at North Carolina A&T                      TBA         First meeting

Sat.     Oct.        4      LIBERTY*                                         TBA         Coastal leads 3-2

Sat.     Oct.      11      at VMI*                                              TBA         Coastal leads 4-1

Sat.     Oct.      18      NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL     TBA         First meeting

Sat.     Oct.      25      STONY BROOK*                            TBA         First meeting

Sat.     Nov.       1      Open

Sat.     Nov.       8      at Gardner-Webb*                            TBA         Coastal leads 4-1

Sat.     Nov.     15      at Presbyterian                                 TBA         Presbyterian leads 1-0

Sat.     Nov.     22      CHARLESTON SOUTHERN*        TBA         Coastal leads 4-1

MacDowall video

Thought I'd share some Rivals.com video on Wake Forest transfer quarterback Zach MacDowall, who figures to have a shot at the starting job. And who has some Philip Rivers/Tony Romo in his release.

video 1 video 2

MacDowall, Jamie Childers, Will Richardson, Sean Fortson ... who do you like as the starting quarterback in 08?

Simpson turning heads

From ESPN.com ...

HOUSTON -- The tempo picked up on Tuesday as both squads practiced for approximately two hours in full pads. While many players are standing out for reasons both good and bad, the story of the week thus far has been the play of Coastal Carolina WR Jerome Simpson. The small-school prospect entered the week with a fair amount of hype after dominating his level of competition the past four seasons. He turned some heads during the weigh-in session on Monday, when the 6-foot-1½, 193-pounder measured the longest arms (35 5/8 inches) and second-biggest hands (10 3/8”). He has carried that momentum over to the practice field, where he is showcasing undoubtedly the most reliable hands of any receiver here this week

The one concern we have with Simpson is that he struggles to consistently separate from press-man coverage. If he becomes more savvy in that regard Simpson could easily emerge as a solid starter in the NFL. Regardless, don't be surprised to hear his named called as early as the second round. Simpson will be worth the risk.

To read the entire article you must be an ESPN insider

Former Chant invited to spring training

Former Coastal Carolina pitcher Travis Risser had his contract purchased by Tampa Bay and has earned an invite to spring training after a strong performance in the independent Frontier League this summer. See full article.

Risser had a 5.25 ERA as a senior for Coastal, but used his strong fastball to post a 4-1 record and 1.09 ERA as a set-up man for the Washington (Pa.) Wild Things this summer.

Late Monday Night Point Guard

1. If the Chants had handled VMI’s late press better Monday night they are 2-0 in league play this morning. That would have been a lift considering Josh Mack has left the team and Joseph Harris is on the bench with a heavy cast wrapped around his surgically repaired thumb.

2. CCU guard Everage Richardson is on a tear. Over his last eight contests Richardson is averaging 20 points per game and is one of the few Chants who can effectively create his own shot.

3. The Chanticleers’ defense still has work to do. While CCU played well for 31 minutes Monday night, they still let VMI shoot 50 percent from the field. The Keydets entered play shooting 44 percent. Of course easier said than done with VMI’s sharpshooters on the outside and star Reggie Williams on the inside.

4. After playing just 10 minutes through Coastal’s first five games, including two DNPs, Mario Sisinni has become a key contributor in the rotation. He had seven assists against zero turnovers Monday against VMI’s tough trap-and-pressure defense and Ellis said he has been pleased with his performances as the starting point guard. Sisinni has also taken pressure off Jack Leasure and is one of the Chants’ better on-ball defenders.

5. The Chants now have to prove themselves on the road with a High Point-Liberty swing. CCU is 0-6 on the road this season. Saturday’s game against High Point ( 7 p.m. tipoff) is on Big South TV.

High Point hires AD

From the Associated Press ...

HIGH POINT, N.C. (AP) _ High Point named Wake Forest associate athletic director Craig Keilitz its new AD on Wednesday.
Keilitz will start at High Point on Feb. 1 after spending more than a decade at Wake Forest,
rising from assistant athletic director for compliance to associate AD of internal
operations to his current position. He supervises marketing, promotions, media
relations, operations and event management.
He replaces Woody Gibson, who resigned in November after nine years and helped the
program move to the Division I level.
Before coming to Wake Forest in 1996, Keilitz was Michigan's director of compliance.

NY Times article on Asheville's George

Chants will see red-hot UNC Asheville and Kenny George in Kimbel Arena on Jan. 28. For those of you who do not know, George (7-foot-7, 360-pounds) is the tallest player in Division I basketball. You can see the full article here.

More baseball honors

After earning various preseason accolades, Coastal Carolina University outfielders David Sappelt and Tommy Baldridge, along with pitcher Bobby Gagg, were named to the All-Ping! Baseball Preseason Teams on Tuesday.

Sappelt was named as a first-team selection while Baldridge and Gagg were named to the second team.

Sappelt was named as the Big South Player of the Year last season after batting .359 with 10 home runs and 50 RBI.

Baldridge hit .383 with 13 home runs and Gagg finished 12-2 last season with a 2.57 ERA.

Coastal was picked 19th in Ping!'s preseason poll.

Is there a light?

Surely, I thought, after 364 days of pontificating that the Big 10 was too slow, too lacking of skill, Thee Ohio State would be ready.

Surely, I thought, after 364 days of OSU’s football facility password being reset to 41-14 to remember the Florida debacle, like we as country remembered the USS Maine, the Buckeyes would be ready for a fight.

Surely, I thought after 364 days of hearing about Southeastern Conference Supremacy my alma mater could enact some revenge. Especially with three projected first round picks on defense see projection here.

But after Monday’s thrashing of Ohio State by LSU, I guess not.

After supporting my alma mater and the Big Ten for the last year, defending them here in South Carolina against SEC partisans, the only way I can now travel in Horry County as a Big Ten/OSU alumnus is at night, by the light of burning Brutus the Buckeye effigies.

So is better to have advanced to the championship game and lost (again) than to have never advanced at all? I don't know for sure, but that championship spotlight is becoming uncomfortable to lose under.

And a bit tiresome ... as my friend Tom related in text message last night, this is the year in review for the Northeast Ohio sports fan:

Ohio State loses in football to Florida in the BCS title game, Ohio State loses to Florida in basketball in the national championship game, the LeBron-led Cavs lose to the Spurs in the NBA finals, the Indians up 3 games to 1 against the Red Sox fold, the Browns win 10 games and fail to make the playoffs ... and now this.