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Better 50 years late than never for Brown
A half-century after Jim Brown first made it famous, Syracuse officially retired jersey No. 44 at halftime of the Orange’s game against South Florida on Saturday in Syracuse, N.Y.
With six of the 25 men who once wore the jersey on hand – Brown, Floyd Little, Thomas Stephens, William Schoonover, Michael Owens and Rob Konrad – along with Marie Fleming, the mother of the late Ernie Davis, a mammoth replica of the jersey was unveiled near the roof and to the side of one end zone of the Carrier Dome.
“It’s great for the university,” Brown, who led the NFL in rushing eight times in his nine-year career with the Cleveland Browns, said to the cheers of the more than 40,000 fans in attendance. “I’m just very happy to be here and help start a new era.”
TCU honors Tomlinson
LaDainian Tomlinson was back on the TCU campus in Fort Worth, Texas, for a game for the first time since his senior season five years ago. L.T. was honored on the same night the No. 18 Horned Frogs played their regular-season finale against UNLV as outright Mountain West Conference champions.
“That’s actually great that it kind of worked out that way,” said Tomlinson, the school’s career rushing leader with 5,263 yards and 54 touchdowns who now plays for the San Diego Chargers.
When Tomlinson was a freshman in 1997, TCU was 1-10. Coach Dennis Franchione replaced Pat Sullivan the next year, and the Frogs began an impressive turnaround.
“Three straight bowl games we went to, just how close we were as a team, that’s what I really miss,” said Tomlinson, a Heisman finalist in his final year. “I really remember the days we had with Fran out there in the hot sun.”
Carroll QB sets NAIA record
Carroll College quarterback Tyler Emmert set the NAIA career record for total offense in his team’s game against Rocky Mountain College in Helena.
Emmert left the game early in the fourth quarter with 12,920 yards of total offense. The old mark was 12,907, set by Central Washington quarterback Jon Kitna from 1992-95.
Kitna is a nine-year NFL veteran who is currently the backup quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals.