For the Record
Set
By Division II Chadron State's Danny Woodhead (below), the NCAA all-division career rushing record. Woodhead, a senior, ran for 208 yards against Western New Mexico last Saturday, bringing his career total to 7,441 yards, 88 more than R.J. Bowers had for Division III Grove City (Pa.) College from 1997 through 2000. Woodhead won the Harlon Hill Trophy as the outstanding player in Division II last season when he set the all-division single-season record with 2,756 yards.
Reinstated
To the Jacksonville University football team, running back Rudell Small, after a teammate confessed to planting more than 20 grams of marijuana in Small's dorm room. Small, a freshman, was arrested on Sept. 27—five days after he tied a school record with five touchdowns against UNC-Pembroke—when police, acting on a tip, raided his room and found the marijuana. Small maintained that he was innocent, and on Oct. 2 junior running back Cecil Coltrane, who was competing with Small for playing time, confessed that he planted the drugs. Coltrane was suspended from school and kicked off the team; he has not been charged with a crime. A state attorney said charges will not be filed against Small.
Sentenced
To seven years in prison, former Northern Colorado backup punter Mitch Cozad, who in August was found guilty of stabbing Bears punter Rafael Mendoza last year. Cozad stabbed Mendoza in his kicking leg, possibly in an attempt to take his starting job. Cozad was convicted of second-degree assault and faced up to 16 years, but Weld County, Colo., judge Marcelo Kopcow told him the goal of the sentence was "to not ruin your life."
Sought
By the Falcons, $22 million in bonus money the team paid Michael Vick as part of the 10-year, $130 million contract he signed in 2004. Last Thursday the Falcons argued their case before University of Pennsylvania law professor Stephen Burbank, who arbitrates disputes between the NFL and its players' union. The Falcons do not seem to have precedent in their favor. Last year the Broncos sued receiver Ashley Lelie for option-bonus money after he skipped training camp. A federal judge ruled that such bonus money is "already earned" and that Lelie could keep it.
Announced
That he has chronic myelogenous leukemia, a rare and highly treatable form of the disease, Maple Leafs forward Jason Blake (above). A 40-goal scorer for the Islanders last season who signed with Toronto as a free agent, Blake, 34, said he has begun treatment and will continue to play while he fights the disease; team doctors said he's not expected to miss any playing time. "This situation will not impact my ability to live my life as I otherwise would, and will not affect my ability to perform at my highest level," Blake said in a statement.
Died
At age 94, drag racing trailblazer Wally Parks (right), of complications from pneumonia. In 1951 Parks, a hot-rod enthusiast and the editor of Hot Rod magazine, founded the National Hot Rod Association after the Los Angeles Police Department threatened to crack down on rampant illegal street racing in the city. The NHRA legitimized drag racing through rules and safety standards; today the NHRA, with more than 35,000 licensed drivers, is the world's largest motor sports sanctioning body. Said former racer Don Garlits, "Wally took a bunch of black-leather-jacket hoodlums and made one of the greatest motor sports in the world."
Sued
By the three former Duke lacrosse players falsely accused in March 2006 of raping an exotic dancer, former Durham County district attorney Mike Nifong, the city of Durham and detectives who worked on the investigation. The lawsuit, filed in federal court last Friday, calls the case against Dave Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann "one of the most chilling episodes of premeditated police, prosecutorial and scientific misconduct in modern American history." Lawyers for the former players met with Durham officials last month hoping for a $30 million settlement, but the two sides could not agree. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and several law enforcement reforms, including creation of a new position for an overseer who could hire and fire Durham Police Department employees.
They Said It
GLEN DAVIS
Celtics rookie, after seeing the Sistine Chapel on the team's trip to Rome:
"There's no way I would take six years painting a ceiling. But I guess you do what you've got to do, and I just want to commend Michelangelo."
Go Figure
51 Times Russell (Rock Bottom) Byars, 43, an engineer from Franklin, Pa., skipped a stone on the Allegheny River, a Guinness World Record.
2 Major leaguers who had a double, triple and home run in a postseason game: Lou Brock in 1968 and the Rockies' Kazuo Matsui last week.
3 Shutouts the Red Sox' Josh Beckett has thrown in six career postseason starts.
2 Shutouts by Beckett in 166 career regular-season starts.
77% Overall graduation rate for Division I athletes who enrolled between 1997 and 2000, according to an NCAA study.
95% Graduation rate for women's skiing, the highest rate of any sport in the study; fencing, gymnastics and lacrosse had the highest rate (88%) among men's sports.
4 Interceptions returned for touchdowns by Nicholls State in a 58--0 win over Northwestern State, tying an NCAA record.
SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE
A fisherman in Somerset, England, has requested in his will that his friends use his remains as bait.
PHOTO
ANDRE RINGUETTE/GETTY IMAGES (BLAKE)
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JAELYN DEMARIA/THE JOURNAL/AP (WOODHEAD)
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DONG JINGLIN/XINHUA/AP (PICTURE THIS)
PICTURE THIS Oct. 1 Hongshan Forest Zoo in Nanjing, China.
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NHRA (PARKS)
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GARRETT ELLWOOD/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES (DAVIS)