Reporters Notebooks

Michael Rothstein, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: Former Penn State receiver Derrick Williams said Nittany Lion players are scared that Joe Paterno might actually die on the field. "The things that spook us out as players is that we think Joe is going to be buried on the field," he said. "Everyone is going to come to the stadium and if he does go, it's just going to be a big funeral at the stadium."

Dwain Price, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Mike Leach scored big on all four sticking points that nearly derailed his stay in Lubbock. The Texas Tech coach's new deal does not include a buyout clause and he can interview for another position without getting permission from athletic director Gerald Myers or chancellor Kent Hance. Pdf of new contract.

Gil Lebreton, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Leach launched an air attack to get what he wanted, appearing on TV to outsmart his boss, Myers.

Tom Kirkendall, Houston's Clear Thinkers: It wasn't the best of weeks for International Marketing Group, which nearly cost Leach his job.

Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune: Former San Diego State coach Chuck Long is now working on "projects" and "analysis" for the university. His contract called for him to be reassigned at SDSU if he were fired as coach — hence his new job. Thanks to Mike.

Mike Hlas, Cedar Rapids Gazette: Plenty of cupcakes to go around in the Big Ten. Penn State has an awful lineup of Akron, Syracuse, Temple and Eastern Illinois. Northwestern is not much better with Miami (Ohio), Towson, at Syracuse and Eastern Michigan. Michigan trots out Western Michigan, Notre Dame, Eastern Michigan and Delaware State.

Angela Pattersom, Tennessean: The Music City Bowl has paid the price for inviting the hometown Vanderbilt Commodores and Boston College to the 2008 game. Officials announced the game had a $9.97 million impact on the local economy — a decrease of more than $17 million from 2007's bowl. "It was really a worst-case scenario," said Scott Ramsey, Music City Bowl president. "You have a home team, a team that doesn't travel and a bad economy."

Don MeCoy, Oklahoman: The Internal Revenue Service is preparing to auction a slew of Oklahoma memorabilia that was part of property seized for back taxes. Footballs signed by Barry Switzer, the 2000 national championship team and Jamelle Holieway are among the treasures to be offered.

Jeff Call, Deseret News: Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson has been in Washington, D.C. the past two days meeting with senior staff members of the House of Representatives trying to look at ways to make the Bowl Championship Series more equitable. The league has hired a lobbying firm to assist in the process.

Tony Dungy, New York Times: The former Indianapolis Colt and Tampa Bay Buccaneer coach writes an op-ed piece for the newspaper on the lack of minority head coaches in Division I-A.

Erik Brady, USA Today: The recession is forcing college teams to find ways to cut spending, but the worst could be yet to come.

Jon Nyatawa, Omaha World-Herald: What recession? Nebraska is raising the price of season tickets by 3.8%.

Associated Press: Michigan, coming off a 3-9 season, has lowered ticket prices. The average ticket will be $50, down from $53.57 last season.

Bart Wright, Greenville News: Clemson made the right move in dropping a game against Central Michigan for a Sept. 26 matchup against Texas Christian.

Brett McMurphy, Tampa Tribune: Strike the earlier report that magicJack is out as sponsor of the St. Petersburg Bowl. The company remains in the running for naming rights. Plus, former Cincinnati defensive coordinator Joe Tresey, who was fired last week by Brian Kelly, interviewed at South Florida.

Sports Radio Interviews: Jordan Johnson, one of the nine Southern Methodist players booted off the team by June Jones, says he's no longer able to pay for college.

Ian R. Rapoport, Birmingham News: The old scoreboard at Alabama's Bryant-Denny stadium, which is being taken down as part of a stadium expansion, caught fire.

Ben Cohen, Duke Chronicle: Duke's David Cutcliffe is now on Twitter.

Brett Vito, Denton Record-Chronicle: The Sun Belt Conference and ESPN have extended their television rights agreement by three years through the 2011-12 season.

Rusty Simmons, San Francisco Chronicle: California named Andy Ludwig its offensive coordinator, marking the fifth coach to take the position in Berkeley in five years and Ludwig's third job in three months.

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Comments

[Scott]

The Liberty Bowl is not in Nashville. The Music City Bowl is.

[Jay Christensen]

Thanks for that, Scott, correction made.

[Wayne]

How the mighty have fallen. Notre Dame is now lumped into the cupcake category with the likes of Delaware State, Eastern Illinois, and Towson. I love it!