The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 36

8 SPORTS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2003 THE TAMPA TRIBUNE TBO.C COLLEGE FOOTBALL II antes Spoil Promotion STANDINGS USF Duo Shows Off -( A Talents To QYvA 3 Pro Scouts EASTERN CONFERENCE Tribune photo by JASON BEHNKEN team-high 490 yards this year. Southeast OL Pts GF GA Home Away Div. Atlanta 18 14 3 1 40 109 107 11-7-2-0 7-7-1-1 5-4-0-1 Tampa Bay 14 11 1 34 77 68 8-5-2-1 6-6-J-O 3-J-2-0 Florida 11 16 7 2 31 75 97 6-7-4-1 5-9-3-1 4-2-2-1 Carolina 10 13 8 2 30 61 76 6-4-5-1 4-9-3-1 1-4-3-0 Washington 11 20 3 1 26 93 110 5-8-1-1 6-12-2-0 5-2-1-1 Atlantic OL Pts GF GA Home Away Div. Philadelphia 18 6 8 3 47 99 74 13-1-2-2 5-5-6-1 5-3-3-0 New Jersey 18 6 8 0 44 80 52 9-4-3-0 9-2-5-0 7-1-1-0 N.Y. Islanders 15 15 2 1 33 94 89 12-6-0-0 3-9-2-1 3-6-1-1 N.Y.

Rangers 13 13 5 2 33 88 84 8-5-2-2 5-8-3-0 4-1-0-1 Pittsburgh 8 18 4 3 23 70 121 6-6-3-0 2-12-1-3 0-5-3-1 Northeast OL Pts GF GA Home Away Div. Toronto 20 6 6 3 49 99 80 10-2-1-2 10-4-5-1 4-2-0-0 Ottawa 16 10 4 3 39 102 71 9-7-2-2 7-3-2-1 2-4-3-0 Boston 13 9 9 4 39 86 88 4-5-6-1 9-4-3-3 2-1-2-1 Montreal 16 15 4 1 37 84 85 9-7-3-0 7-8-1-1 4-6-1-0 Buffalo 12 18 3 1 28 73 95 6-8-2-1 6-10-1-0 3-1-2-0 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central OL Pts GF GA Home Away Div. Detroit 22 11 I 1 48 124 85 14-3-0-0 8-8-3-1 7-5-1-1 St. Louis 20 8 3 1 44 83 67 12-2-2-0 8-6-1-1 5-5-1-0 Nashville 15 12 4 2 36 82 85 9-5-3-1. 6-7-1-1 7-4-0-0 Chicago 8 17 7 3 26 66 97 5-4-4-2 3-13-3-1 5-3-0-1 Columbus 8 18 4 3 23 65 94 8-7-3-1 0-11-1-2 2-5-0-2 Northwest OL Pts GF GA Home Away Div.

Vancouver 18 8 6 2 44 100 76 11-2-4-0 7-6-2-2 4-2-4-0 Calgary 18 9 2 3 41 78 65 11-4-2-1 7-5-0-2 6-4-2-2 Colorado 16 9 6 1 39 93 72 9-6-2-0 7-3-4-1 5-2-3-0 Minnesota 14 14 7 0 35 77 74 7-8-4-0 7-6-3-0 5-5-4-0 Edmonton 12 16 6 0 30 85 99 8-8-2-0 4-8-4-0 3-8-1-0 Pacifk OL Pts GF GA Home Away Div. Los Angeles 16 11 4 3 39 95 83 8-6-3-0 8-5-1-3 3-2-1-0 San Jose 12 9 10 3 37 79 79 5-3-7-1 7-6-3-2 5-2-1-0 Phoenix 11 11 11 1 34 85 99 6-5-2-0 5-6-9-1 4-3-3-1 Dallas 15 16 4 0 34 70 77 10-4-2-0 5-12-2-0 3-5-2-0 Anaheim 11 14 4 5 31 70 88 8-5-2-2 3-9-2-3 4-5-1-1 NOTE Two points for a win, one point for a tie and OT loss TUESDAY'S RESULTS WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS FRIDAY'S GAMES 4 The Associated Press UNIONDALE, N.Y. Bad Santa isn't just a holiday movie. A seemingly harmless Christmas promotion arranged by the New York Islanders turned ugly, and all because of the team's fierce rivalry with the Rangers. And the Rangers were nowhere near when trouble broke out.

The promotion invited fans to dress up as Santa Claus for Tuesday night's game against the Flyers and be admitted to the Nassau Coliseum for free. What's more, they were permitted to parade across the ice between periods. About 1,000 Santa Clauses showed up and as promised, they were invited on the ice after the first period. That turned out to be a bad idea. As the Santas milled around, two of them removed their red jackets to reveal jerseys of the rival Rangers not a good thing to do in the home of the Islanders.

Ignoring the holiday spirit, some of the Santas turned into Bad Santas, jumping the Ranger fans. The interlopers were knocked to the ice and had the shirts ripped off. Other Santas went sliding across the ice during the melee that took six minutes to settle down. The parade took nearly nine minutes and almost delayed the start of the second period. Islanders' Yashin To Miss 10-12 Weeks Islanders center Alexei Yashin is expected to miss 10 to 12 weeks after partially severing tendons in his right wrist Tuesday against the Flyers.

Yashin's right arm was cut by Yashin the skate of Fly- ers center Michal Handzus 0 GREEN, WHITTAKER GO TO BLUE-GRAY GAME By STEVE BARNES Tribune correspondent MONTGOMERY, Ala. It might be billed as an all-star football game, but for a pair of South Florida Bulls, it is the most intensive job interview of their lives. NFL, Canadian Football League and Arena League scouts have invaded central Alabama to look for talent to add to their rosters. Two USF standouts are in line to be weighed, measured, timed and scrutinized by the pro talent evaluators. Huey Whittaker and Dejuan Green are participating in today's 65th Blue-Gray All-Star Classic, but it is the time off the field that has both players excited.

"I probably talked to eight scouts the first day," said Green, a Jacksonville native. "They get pretty deep into what kind of person you are." Whittaker, a wide receiver from Spring Hill, agreed the attention is flattering but would not have minded missing the Blue-Gray game. "You do get a lot of attention from the scouts and coaches," Whittaker said. "But I would much rather be playing in a bowl game with my teammates." The Blue-Gray game selects players from Division I-A teams that were not invited to a bowl, I-A players who already have played their bowl games, and Division I-AA, Division II and NAIA talent. The game is back after a one-year hiatus while organizers looked for a tide sponsor.

Movie Gallery, a video-rental corporation based in Dothan, stepped up and moved Tampa Bay 1, Boston 1 No games scheduled Ottawa 2, Buffalo 2 Phoenix 2, Columbus 1 TODAY'S GAMES Washington 3, Montreal 2 No games scheduled N.Y. Islanders 4, Philadelphia Toronto 5, Florida 2 Nashville 3, Minnesota 3 Chicago 3. St. Louis 0 Calgary 2, Edmonton 1 during a scramble that led to Arron Asham's game-tying goal. The cut resulted in two partially severed extensor tendons and a severed sensory nerve.

Yashin underwent surgery by Islanders orthopedist Kenneth Montgomery and will be in a cast for four weeks before rehabilitation can be APR for 5 years USC To Meet Va. Tech In 2004 Black Coaches Classic USFs Dejuan Green rushed for a the game 45 miles from Montgomery to Troy. The game previously was played in the rapidly decaying Cramton Bowl in downtown Montgomery, but after Movie Gallery moved in, it moved the game to Troy State, where $18 million was spent to renovate the school's stadium. All pregame activities are still based in Montgomery, including the motel accommodations, banquets, tours of historical sites, scouts' testing and practices. Green, who began his career at Georgia and was a roommate of Cowboys quarterback Quincy Carter, said the scouts have been all business, but the practices have been light.

"The practices have been pretty easy, to tell the truth," Green said. "It is really cool to see some of the other helmets on the field and compete with them." Green, who rushed for a team-high 490 yards, is sharing time in the Gray backfield with Keylon Kincaid of Southern Methodist, Vick King from Mc-Neese State, Vonta Leach of East Carolina and Butchie Wallace of Marshall. Whittaker, who caught 39 passes for the 7-4 Bulls, also has impressive company. East Carolina's Terrance Cooper, Zach Fletcher and Dre Fulg-hum of Alabama make up the Gray's receiving corps. Louisiana Tech's Luke McCown and Jackson State's Robert Kent will be charged with throwing the ball to Whittaker.

"The coaches have kept the practices fun," Whittaker said of Marshall's Bob Pruett, who is directing the Gray offense. "For us to be considered and chosen for this game makes a statement about our program, too," Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "Playing Southern Cal will be a big challenge for our football team, but one we look forward to." The night game will be televised by ESPN. CALIFORNIA: Receiver Geoff McArthur probably will miss Friday's game against Virginia Tech because of a broken right forearm. The junior, who suffered the injury during Sunday's practice, caught 85 passes tor a school-record 1,504 yards and 10 touchdowns this season.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Robbie Caldwell, Vanderbilt's offensive line coach the past two seasons, has been hired to coach the same position for the Gamecocks. Caldwell, a 27-year coaching veteran, replaces Dave DeGug-lielmo, one of four coaches fired by Coach Lou Holtz after Grand Opening MaqfcSpa fffagtc kktlk-tn 6 (oefcomed iiexf ourtjer tying 813-287-5543-4553 W. Kennedy i ('L 4 W-JSt tt 1 A- DIAMOND 1 a IJ no monthly payments for for qualified buyers on all new 2004 VUE Toronto at N.Y. Rangers, 7 Minnesota at Detroit 7:30 Pittsburgh at Ottawa, 7:30 Tampa Bay at Atlanta, 7:30 Islanders at New Jersey, 7:30 Carolina at Buffalo, 8 Colorado at St Louis, 8 Columbus at Chicago, 8:30 Nashville at Dallas, 8:30 Vancouver at Calgary, 9 Los Angeles at San Jose, 10:30 gin. Elliot Pellman, the Islanders team physician, said the injury is not career-threatening and Yashin is expected to make a complete recovery.

Yashin is tied for the team lead in scoring with 24 points, including 12 goals in 33 games. 90 days models It's different in a Saturnf USF receiver Huey Whittaker caught 39 passes this season. "And I have been able to go up against some great defensive backs." Other Floridians participating are Wake Forest linebacker Kellen Brantley of Miami, Be-thune-Cookman's Stevie Baggs of Orlando, Central Florida's Michael Gaines of Tallahassee and Louisville tight end Richard Owens of Middleburg on the Gray. The Blue will feature Louisville tight end Ronnie Ghent of Lakeland and Syracuse lineman Nick Romeo of Tarpon Springs. No matter what happens in the game, the week has been a good experience for the USF duo, even if it has not always made sense.

"I had a scout ask me what poetry and a statue have in common," Green said. "I don't have a clue what the answer is, but I answered it anyway." TONIGHTS BOWL GAME HAWAII BOWL Houston (7-5) vs. Hawaii (8-5) WHERE: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu NEED TO KNOW: First-year Houston coach Art Briles has turned around a bad program in a hurry. The Cougars, who haven't been to a bowl game since 1996 and were 0-11 in 2001, finished with seven wins and have an explosive offense that averages 33 points a game. Hawaii's offense also averages 33 points and this could turn into a scoring frenzy.

Neither defense is very good. Hawaii is ranked 79th (out of 117 Division I teams) and Houston ranks 106th. Houston QB Kevin Kolb was Conference USA freshman of the year. His seven wins as a starter led the nation's freshmen QBs, one ahead of Florida's Chris Leak and Georgia Tech's Reggie Ball. Tom Brew South Carolina finished a second consecutive 5-7 season.

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