The Town Talk from Alexandria, Louisiana • 9

SportsMonmy Town Talk VVWW.TIIETOW'NTALK.GOXVSPORTS MoNDAr, July 13, 2009 SECTION Lou(nli QODg School set to induct first Hall of Fame class fT" If I i i 4 i 1 0 VP 1 M-X A Wo wwl t' At-- 'r-fJ Town Talk photo NFL Hall of Famer Willie Brown speaks at the third annual Willie Brown Football Camp in DeRidder in 2007. Brown Is one of 25 athletes who will be inducted into the new Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame. Younger. Baseball; Tommy Agee, Ralph Garr, Basketball: Charlie Hardnett, Harris hopes holding induction ceremonies in Monroe will become tradition. "Hopefully, being this close to Grambling, we can continue to have it in he said.

"We've received great support from people in the city, and the mayor has reached out to us, and other people in the community have worked with us, so it's been good so far. "We want to continue to get the word out, and we want to get as much support as we can. People think a lot of Grambling, and I'm very thankful to play for and graduate from a school with such a great tradition." Ethan Conley of Louisiana Gannett News contributed to this The inaugural class The 25 Grambling legends who will be inducted Saturday in the school's new Hall of Fame: Football: Willie Brown, Buck Buchanan, Willie Davis, Henry Dyer, Lane Howell, Charlie Joiner, Willie Joseph, Stone Johnson, Ernie Ladd, Leglian "Boots" Moore, Bo Murray, Willie Young, Tank son, Collie Nicholson, president (Ralph W.E.) Jones. They are legends, and we need to honor those people who were so creative, so imaginative, and able to build the school into what it has become." Former Detroit Pistons guard By Kelly Morris Louisiana Gannett News kmorris4gannett.com An idea of football greats James "Shack" Harris and Doug Williams is about to come to fruition. Grambling State, the alma mater of Harris and Williams, will induct 25 athletes into its first Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame.

The ceremony is Saturday at the Monroe Civic Center in Monroe. "Some of those players have never been recognized," Harris said. "This year we wanted to honor those pre-1970 to kind of put a foundation in there. "A lot of people have forgotten the guys that played in that era. I'm talking about great, great players, some of the best that ha ve ever played." A 12-person board helped select the inductees, that include famed football coach Eddie Robinson and a host of players who left their marks on the professional sports scene.

The ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Hall was championed by Harris and Williams, a pair of trailblazing quarterbacks. "This was a project of many of the athletes, and we all talked about recognizing the players and people who made Grambling what it is today," Harris said. "The camaraderie we have is as strong as any school, and it was just a matter of putting it all together." "We used the word 'legends' to honor coach (Eddie) Robin- Ex-Grambling By Ethan Conley Louisiana Gannett News etconleythenewsstar.com James "Shack" Harris sure knows how look at his job with a "glass is half-full" point of view.

The Grambling legend was named the Detroit Lions' Senior Personnel Executive in February, joining General Manager Martin Mayhew and coach Jim Schwartz in the task of rebuilding the franchise that went 0-16 last season. But the Lions aren't at the bottom of the pack any more. They're 0-0 just hke everyone else as training camp approaches. "It's going good we're tied for first place, so we're feeling pretty star welcomes new challenge with Lions Robert Hopkins, Willis Reed, Helen Richards-Smith, Hershell West. Track: Richard Steb-bins.

Coaches and ad ministrators: Fred C. Hobdy, Ralph W.E. Jones, Collie Nicholson, Eddie G. Robinson. Dave Bing, who also is the acting mayor of Detroit, will be the event's master of ceremonies.

It's only fitting for something like this that we'd get a hall of famer from an amazing city," Harris said. ris embraces. "It's football," Harris said. "The objective is to win, regardless of where you start from. Obviously there's some work to do here, and it's a challenge, and we welcome that." Before coming to the Lions Harris was vice president of player personnel for the Jacksonville Jaguars for six seasons.

The Jaguars went 50-46 in that span with two playoff appearances, including a 31-29 first-round victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2007. Harris has 22 years of front office experience to his credit, having also worked for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the New York Jets, and the Baltimore Ravens. Randy Benson rbensonthetowntalk.com (318)487-6431 It's time to remove metal bats Baseball is a great game. The version that is played at the college level isn't. That is not to take anything away from LSU's exciting run to a national championship.

There is nothing wrong with LSU. It is the sport that is fatally flawed. It is flawed by the use of metal bats. Aluminum and exotic compounds that are used to make jet aircraft have no business being used to make baseball bats. Some will argue that the metal bats bring "excitement" to baseball.

What they mean is the bats bring offense. Lots of offense. Average number or runs scored in an LSU game this season: 12.2. That's not unusual at any level of college baseball. An average of 14.5 runs were scored in Northwestern State a lower level of Division I games this season.

In NCAA Division CI, an average of 15.6 runs were scored in Louisiana College games. In NAIA, an average of 14.3 runs were scored in Louisiana State University at Alexandria games. Heck, why not just eliminate pitching and toss the ball up there with a pitching machine? The difference between the college game and the professional game where wooden bats are used at all levels is striking. College baseball generally is considered equal to somewhere between Class A and Class AA in the minor leagues. In the Class A Carolina League this season, there have been an average of 9.1 runs scored a game.

That's a full three runs a game fewer than what was scored in LSU games. In the Class AA Texas League considered a hitters' league an average of 9.9 runs has been scored a game. That's still two runs lower than in LSU games and nearly five runs a game less than scored in NSU games. Wood bats were removed from the college game in the 1970s as a cost saving measure. Since metal bats don't break nearly as easily as wood bats, the new bats lasted longer and colleges saved money.

Lots of money. Don Purvis was the baseball coach at Bowling Green State in Ohio when the transition was made. Years ago, he told me that the last year wooden bats were used, Bowling Green spent $5,000 bats. The next year, the school spent $500 on metal bats. Obviously the cost has gone up considerably since then, but the percentage of savings would be roughly the same.

That means it would cost a lot of money for colleges to switch back to wooden bats. That doesn't mean it can't be done. Sporting goods companies fall all over themselves to sign colleges to equipment contracts. Think any company would want to be known as the "official bat supplier of LSU baseball?" Second, the major leagues could be approach. Major The first task for the Lions' new regime was deciding which player to select with the first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.

The Lions opted for Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford over Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry and Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith. Detroit went with offense again with its second first-round selection, taking Oklahoma tight end Brandon Pettigrew at No. 20. "I don't want to get into too much detail, but we felt that (Stafford) was the best choice at the; time, and we made it," Harris said. "We think he has a good Ji birdies final hole to claim U.S.

Women's Open good," Harris said of his first few months on the job. Detroit's recent futility isn't lim ited to just the 2008 season. The Lions haven't had a winning season since 2000, and haven't won a plavoff game since 1991. Harris ast troit ranked 30th in total offense, 32nd in total defense, and 32nd in points allowed. In a city already hit hard by the economic downturn, there's pressure for the Lions to improve immediately.

That's something Har- Inbee Park. Countrywoman Birdie Kim claimed the championship in 2005. Candie Kung of Taiwan had a 2-under 69 and was alone in second at l-over285. Despite her struggles, Kerr held the lead until the back nine and shot a 4-over 75, tying In-Kyung Kim of South Korea for third. Ji said the double-bogey at the 10th had a calming effect, and that's when she tried to focus on making a run.

She went on to make birdies at 13th, 14th and 18th. "Up until that point, Cristie Kerr as so far ahead, I just didn't think anyone was going to be able to catch her," Ji said. "But after that double-bogey on No. 10, I basically cleared my mind and said let's go and play out the rest of the round." She punctuated her steady back-nine run on the final hole by driving into the center of the fairway, landing her approach about 20 feet from the pin. She steadied her shaking hands and coolly rolled the birdie try into the center of the cup.

Ji, who won the 2008 Wegman's LPGA, pumped her fists and embraced caddie Zac Austin after the winning putt dropped. hi The Associated Press BETHLEHEM, Pa. Eun Hee Ji found surprising calm in a double-bogey and a dramatic victory with an improbable birdie. The 23-year-old from South Korea made a lengthy birdie putt on the 72nd hole to emerge from a Sunday scramble with an even-par 71 and claim the U.S. Women's Open.

She outlasted playing partner and third-round leader Cristie Kerr, who struggled from the outset in the final round and failed in her bid for a second Women's Open title in three years. "I didn't even dream about winning this tournament, but, well, I did it, and I think this is going to be one of the most memorable moments in my life," Ji said. Ji recovered from two bogeys in her first four holes and a double-bogey at the 10th, making three birdies over the final six holes to finish at even-par 284 at Saucon Valley Country Club. Another of a legion of South Korean players who were inspired to play the game by 1998 champion Se Ri Pak, Ji claimed the biggest prize in golf in just her second try. Last year, she tied for 42nd.

She is the second straight South Korean to win the event, following XV-'' Th AtsocitM Prt Eun Hee Ji, of Sou Korea, holds up the trophy ifter winning the U.S. Women's Open golf tournament Sunday in Bethlehem, Pa. See Benson, B2.