Masoli says he'll pursue NFL, put UM graduate work on hold

Here is what Masoli recently posted on his site.

"I also wanted to update everyone on my plans for this spring. My advisors want me to devote all of my time to training and preparing for the NFL.

For that reason, I have postponed my studies at Ole Miss. I intend to return to school at a later date to earn my master’s degree.

I’m spending some time working with a noted quarterback coach, and look forward to the opportunity to test my skills for NFL scouts. Meanwhile, it’s good to be home in the Bay Area and close to my family.

This surprises precisely no one, I’m sure. It’s hard to fault a talented football player for wanting to play in the NFL.

But for Ole Miss, Masoli’s future — and whether he ultimately earns a master’s degree in park and recreation management from the school — will always be a point of interest. Remember the great lengths to which he and UM went last summer to obtain a graduate student waiver, and the image hit Ole Miss and coach Houston Nutt took in certain corners. In Masoli’s statement to the NCAA, obtained in September by The Clarion-Ledger, he said he hoped to pursue a career in parks once his athletic and academic career had ended.

Hopefully soon, we can wrap up all the ramifications of Masoli’s future into an all-encompassing print story in The C-L. Efforts to reach Masoli through UM and the public relations firm he used out of San Francisco last summer have been unsuccessful in recent weeks." 

Update on Tatupu and Obomanu

Linebacker Lofa Tatupu is not expected to participate in practice on Wednesday, but coach Pete Carroll indicated his middle linebacker is on track to return for Sunday's game.
Tatupu suffered a concussion in the second half of the playoff victory over New Orleans.
"He's going through the walk-throughs and stuff," Carroll said. "So far, his tests and everything have gone very well. It looks very favorable for Lofa to play in this game."
Carroll was also asked about the future of Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle's starting quarterback whose contract is expiring.
"Certainly, it's a big topic for us," Carroll said. "Of course, we love what Matt has done and we're going to do everything we can to keep him here. But we don't know what the timelines or how that's going to work out and all that kind of stuff, but it's a big issue for us that we're looking forward to. He has had a terrific run for us and we want to see what we can do to keep that going."
So does that mean Carroll wants Hasselbeck back?
"Yeah, we do want him back," Carroll said.
The whole thing about accuracy requires it to be pointed out that Carroll indicated after taking the Seahawks job he hoped to have both Nate Burleson and Cory Redding back. Each signed elsewhere as free agents.

Copyrighted (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawksblog/2013915425_updatesonlofatatupumatthasselbeck.html)

Polamalu's effect on Steelers - and NFL - evident

When Troy Polamalu was chosen by his teammates as the Steelers’ most valuable player, one of their defensive starters spoke out against the selection.




Troy Polamalu wasn’t happy with the vote. Polamalu doesn’t believe in such awards, saying they give too much attention to individual players when football is a team sport that requires every component to be functioning well.



“It’s just uncomfortable winning anything like this,” Polamalu said. “Football is such a perfect team sport, it’s hard to make anybody, especially our team and the way we play on defense, a most valuable player. I’ve never been a fan. If I was ever a coach, I probably wouldn’t ever have an award like this.”



He also won’t endorse Mike Tomlin for the coach of the year award, saying that should go to the Super Bowl-winning coach.



While Polamalu prefers to be just another face in the crowd, that’s hardly possible given the season he’s having. He is arguably the NFL’s most disruptive defensive player, one whose presence forces quarterbacks to deviate from their normal thinking and opposing coaches to alter their game plans.



Oddsmakers even adjust betting lines because of him, something few NFL defensive players force them to do. Call it the Polamalu effect.



“He makes a pretty big difference when he is in there,” former Browns coach Eric Mangini said before Pittsburgh’s 41-9 victory on Sunday. “If he is in there, he is hard to deal with in so many different ways, whether it’s the running game, blitzing, disguises or the threat he in terms of being able to create turnovers.”



While the Steelers (12-4) didn’t earn a bye for this weekend’s NFL wild-card games entirely because of Polamalu’s impact, they can point to a half-dozen plays he made that turned games and altered the AFC North race. If Polamalu didn’t force a fumble while sacking Joe Flacco late in the Steelers’ 13-10 win in Baltimore on Dec. 5, giving Pittsburgh the ball near the goal line and leading to Ben Roethlisberger’s decisive touchdown pass, the Ravens would have won the division. And the Steelers would be playing this weekend.



The week before, the Steelers dodged a major upset loss in Buffalo after Polamalu made an interception close to the goal line late in regulation. On a day the Steelers’ offense didn’t get into the end zone, Polamalu’s two interceptions led to a 23-7 victory over Cincinnati on Dec. 12.



“There are so many different parts that go into making plays,” Polamalu said. “The Buffalo play was actually made by Willie Gay; he broke up the pass. The Baltimore play was a good call; anybody could have made that play. Nobody was trying to block me. The Cincinnati play was made by Bryant McFadden.”



Polamalu’s interception Sunday on Cleveland’s first possession followed a two-week layoff with a right Achilles’ injury and led to a long Roethlisberger to Mike Wallace touchdown pass on the next play. No matter where the Steelers look, Polamalu’s fingerprints are all over a season in which they are one victory away from playing in their fifth AFC championship game in 10 seasons.



Las Vegas knows all about the Polamalu effect. When it became known he wouldn’t play Dec. 19 against the Jets, the Steelers immediately went from being 6-point favorites to 4-point favorites. According to Richard Gardner, the sports book manager for Bodog.com, only a few NFL defensive players of recent vintage — including the Jets’ Darrelle Revis and the Ravens’ Ed Reed — could move a line.



“His presence on the field not only affects the defense, but it seems to also affect how the Steelers offense plays — more poised and confident,” Gardner said. “Even though it is rare, a defender can move a line from time to time.”



Polamalu often moves an entire defense to play better.



When he missed 11 games last season because of two knee injuries, the Steelers made 12 interceptions. This season, Polamalu has seven of the Steelers’ 21 interceptions by himself; the most they’ve had since 1996. The Steelers are second in turnover differential at plus-17, with 35 takeaways and 18 turnovers. Only the Patriots, at plus-28, are better.



Going into the playoffs, the Steelers also are No. 2 in total defense and No. 1 against the run, allowing 28 yards rushing per game fewer than any other team.



“I don’t know if it’s been my best year, but it definitely has been the most challenging year given the circumstances that we’ve had on defense,” Polamalu said.



Polamalu was referring to defensive end Aaron Smith’s long layoff with a triceps injury, defensive end Brett Keisel’s lengthy midseason injury layoff, the furor over the multiple fines assessed linebacker James Harrison for some punishing hits and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s four-game suspension.



Having Polamalu for nearly a full season compensated for some of those setbacks.



“From a defensive standpoint, I think he’s the top guy,” McFadden said. “Time after time he makes plays, and a lot of people don’t realize the plays he’s been making for us. And he’s not even healthy. He’s been battling through some injuries and he’s been able to play at a high level still. That speaks a lot of him. He’s the MVP of our team and no question he should be MVP of the NFL.”


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Polamalu Questionable for Sunday's Game Against the Browns

The Pittsburgh Steelers probably won’t know until Friday whether safety Troy Polamalu can play in Sunday’s final regular-season game at Cleveland.
Polamalu hasn’t played or practiced for two weeks because of an injured right Achilles’ tendon. Coach Mike Tomlin said he won’t practice Wednesday or Thursday.
“Troy is improving,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “We’re going to look at him and watch him move. It’s not out of the realm of possibility he could play. If he’s healthy, he will.”

If Polamalu can’t go Friday, he won’t play against the Browns (5-10), who upset the Steelers 13-6 in Cleveland last season.
While the Steelers aren’t ruling out Polamalu, linebacker James Farrior said Monday it didn’t look good for Polamalu being ready by this weekend—despite what will be a 10-day break since Pittsburgh beat Carolina 27-3 on Thursday.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s broken nose isn’t considered a problem, even though it was bloodied by a hit in the Carolina game.
Tomlin also said running back Mewelde Moore is questionable because of a sprained right knee. Linebackers LaMarr Woodley and Jason Worilds have knee swelling, and cornerback Bryant McFadden  has a hip injury.
While last season’s loss in Cleveland to a one-win Browns team eventually prevented the Steelers from returning to the playoffs, they didn’t know it at the time. There will be no such uncertainty this year.
While the Steelers (11-4) have secured a playoff spot, they will win the AFC North, earn a first-round bye and ensure themselves of at least one home playoff game if they beat the Browns (5-10). Should they lose in Cleveland and Baltimore (10-5) beats Cincinnati (3-12), the Ravens would win the division and the Steelers would be forced to go on the road next week for a wild-card game.
If both the Steelers and Ravens lose, Pittsburgh would win the division based on a better divisional record.
Tomlin said last season’s loss won’t necessarily prove motivational when the Steelers resume practicing Wednesday. Pittsburgh has won 13 of its last 14 against Cleveland.
“What’s at stake right now and right here is enough motivation,” he said. “We’re trying to secure the AFC North title. In order to do that, we have to go into an AFC North city and do the job—and I’m sure they’re not for us doing it. So it’s going to make it interesting and exciting.”
Woodley said the Steelers haven’t forgotten last season’s loss in Cleveland, when Roethlisberger was sacked eight times for 60 yards in losses. That loss was the Steelers’ fifth in a row, but they bounced back to win their final three and have won 14 of 18 since.
“We have to take care of Cleveland,” Woodley said. “Last year, when we played Cleveland down there, they took care of business on us. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen this year.”

Louisville Basketball's Peyton Siva Named Big East Player of The Week

University of Louisville sophomore guard Peyton Siva has been named the Big East Conference Player of the Week.

Siva scored a career-high 29 points and had eight assists in a 114-82 victory at Western Kentucky in the Cardinals’ only game last week.
He hit 8-of-13 shots from the field, 4-of-7 three-pointers, 9-of-10 free throws and added two steals.
Siva was the first Louisville player of the week selected this season.

The Passion For The 7s Rugby

The most symbolic sporting moments of 2010 - perhaps the Superbowl winning New Orleans Saints as a metaphor of the rebirth of their city after Hurricane Katrina, the Ryder Cup as an emblem of European golf's rise, Rafael Nadal's three tennis Grand Slam wins as possibly the end of the Federer era - trip almost instantly off the tongue.

There are higher profile underdog stories such as Qatar's successful 2022 World Cup bid, Francesca Schiavone claiming the French Open as a 29-year-old 17th seed or Louis Oosthuizen winning the Open Championship at the home of golf by a mile, but perhaps the greatest against-the-odds triumph of 2010 was the miniscule Pacific island of Samoa being crowned champions of the 2009/10 IRB Sevens World Series.
Located halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand, you could fit the 180,000 population of Samoa into Twickenham and the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and the adult male population of a sports-playing age wouldn't fill either one of the pitches.
Yet, on 30 May at Murrayfield, the home of Scottish Rugby, captain Lolo Lui scored a drop-goal penalty in the 14th energy-sapping minute of extra-time to win their Edinburgh Sevens Cup semi final against England and secure the title for Samoa.
Given the size of their nation, that in itself would be enough. Add in the fact that Samoa weren't using any of their legions of overseas-based professional rugby players and it becomes remarkable. Consider the fact that Samoa's entire delegation of athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics totalled six, that five of them didn't even get past the first phase in their events and in seven visits into the five-ring circus not one Samoan has returned with a medal, and it becomes exceptional.
Welcome home
"Before this year our greatest sporting triumph was winning the 2007 Hong Kong Sevens ... before that? I have no idea. I guess there hadn't been any major achievements," said Samoan coach Stephen Betham, who oversaw a remarkable transformation as his side won four of the season's last five events in Las Vegas, Adelaide, Hong Kong and, eventually, Edinburgh.
When they flew back from Scotland seemingly the entire population came out to greet them.
"It was unbelievable! When we arrived home we had to have a police escort from the airport into town. We were mobbed by people at the airport and for the 30-35 minutes drive into town there were people lined up on both sides of the road all the way into town. It was great to see; old people and young children lining the road waving and cheering the team," Betham recalls.
It almost goes without saying a national holiday was declared.
One of the primary factors in the triumph were the funding and the expertise that the IRB's high performance initiative has ploughed into the so-called Tier 2 and 3 rugby-playing nations, which as well as driving the development of the Game in the Pacific Island has also been helping the national teams in countries like Canada, Georgia, Namibia and Russia become more competitive.
Single greatest achievement?
"It is one of the great 'little-engine-that-could' stories in any sport anywhere in the world this year. It is proof that passion and planning, coupled with ability and opportunity, can help even the smallest of nations find their place in the sporting world.
"The fact that Samoa proved that emerging nations can not only compete but can also triumph against the traditional giants of the sport and the IRB's determination to give them every opportunity is one of the things that sealed our deal to sponsor the HSBC Sevens World Series," said Giles Morgan, HSBC Group Head of Sponsorship.
Mark Egan, the International Rugby Board's Head of Development and Performance, went one further, describing Samoa's triumph as a milestone for the sport.
"In terms of cup winning in global competition, it might be the single greatest achievement in the history of the sport," he said.
"You might think of Fiji, but they've about five times the Samoan population. No other country of such a small size and with such limited resources has achieved what they have done. With the right strategic investment small countries can compete, especially in Sevens."
Becoming a family
Repeating their success in the 2010/11 season will not be easy, however. Their star and IRB Sevens Player of the Year - 26-year-old winger Mikaele Pesamino - is bound for Sale Sharks in England's Aviva Premiership and may be lost to Samoan Sevens.
This follows hot on the heels of legend Uale Mai, the most capped player in Sevens history, whose move to Club de Rugby El Salvador in Valladolid, Spain, at the start of the year denied them another star player.
To make matters worse, captain Lolo Lui tore an anterior cruciate ligament in Dubai in the first event of the 2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series and will be out for around six months.
Whatever happens, nothing can take away what the team achieved. In Samoa, they will be treated the way the bigger countries treat their Rugby World Cup or FIFA World Cup winning sides.
"We've become one family. After winning the World Series we've all become really close. This was our third year together and I knew they had all of the potential and the talent; it was about getting them a focus in their life and what their targets were and achieving their targets," Betham explained.

"We had an idea and we pulled in the senior players and convinced them of what needed to be done and they filtered it down to the younger players. They followed it through and we ended up at the top!" - IRB