Emerald Bowl

ALCATRAZ ISLAND, Calif. -- In an age when college football coaches hope their players stay out of trouble, Ralph Friedgen brought his Maryland Terrapins to one of history's most notorious prisons Monday afternoon. Visiting Alcatraz, a penitentiary that has been closed since 1963 and is now an official U.S. landmark, is part of the nonfootball itinerary for the Terps as they get ready for Friday night's Emerald Bowl against Oregon State at San Francisco's AT&T Park. Emerald Bowl Maryland vs. Oregon State, San Francisco, Friday, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, 105.7 FM, 1300 AM Line: Oregon State by 5

Moments after finishing their last full college practice, Pittsburgh quarterback Bill Stull and defensive tackle Mick Williams emphasized the importance of their senior class' legacy. Because of a blown 21-point lead and a botched extra point three weeks earlier, the 17th-ranked Panthers went from a seemingly certain Sugar Bowl berth into a less prestigious trip to the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, where they'll face North Carolina today in a virtual road game. It has all the traps that lead to a flat performance: a team that wants to be elsewhere dealing with a hostile crowd.

WASHINGTON -- The Emerald Bowl will represent the final game for a group of Maryland seniors. It also will be the last time that special teams coordinator Ray Rychleski is affiliated with the program. Rychleski, 50, has accepted an offer from South Carolina to serve in the same capacity under coach Steve Spurrier. He has been part of Maryland's staff for the past seven seasons. Emerald Bowl Maryland vs. Oregon State, San Francisco, Dec. 28, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, 105.7 FM, 1300 AM Line: Oregon State by 5

SATURDAY'S TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS M. bask West Virginia@Seton Hall 13, 9 3:30 NBA Washington@Minnesota CSNP, NBA 8 New Orleans@Chicago WGN-A 8 Philadelphia@Utah CN8 9 C. foot L'tle Caes. Bowl: Marshall vs. Ohio ESPN 1 Meineke Bowl: UNC vs. Pitt ESPN 4:30 Emerald Bowl: BC vs. USC ESPN 8 Hockey IIHF Wrld Jr. Chmp: Latvia vs. Can. NHL 4 IIHF Wrld Jr. Chmp: Slova.

SAN FRANCISCO - Two teams with a final point to prove collide today in the third Emerald Bowl at soggy SBC Park. The goal of Navy (9-2) is to tack another achievement - a bowl victory - onto its resurgence while New Mexico (7-4) seeks to squash more than four decades of postseason futility since it beat Western Michigan in the Aviation Bowl in 1961. Both programs are striving to step further into the national spotlight after finishing just below the Top 25 in the regular-season rankings.

SAN FRANCISCO -- After a season nearly derailed by injuries and punctuated by victories over a pair of top 10 teams, the Maryland Terrapins came here last week to prepare for the Emerald Bowl against Oregon State with chips on their shoulders. Tonight at AT&T Park, Maryland hopes to cash in those chips. "We had high expectations coming into the season, and we haven't met those expectations," senior offensive guard Andrew Crummey said earlier this week. "We had a lot of adversity. This is a chance to show how good we are when we're healthy."

SAN FRANCISCO-- --The now-concluded Maryland season should go down in its history as the Year of the Tease, even more than the three previous seasons. And last night's Emerald Bowl was their season in a nutshell - a 60-minute tease. In the long run, the Terps did remind you that they were, after all, a .500 team, and now a below-.500 team, for the third time in four years. You saw all their promise and all the ways they can let you down in one night, against an Oregon State team that was better, but not that much better.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The game plan seemed to be working to perfection for quarterback Chris Turner and the Maryland Terrapins early in last night's Emerald Bowl against Oregon State at AT&T Park. Three possessions resulted in two touchdown passes for Turner, including a 63-yarder to Darrius Heyward-Bey and a 9-yard score to Isaiah Williams. But after taking an early lead on the favored Beavers, the Terps never scored again. The Beavers tied the game late in the first half, went ahead late in the third quarter and went on to a 21-14 victory before a small, wet and pro-Oregon State crowd of 32,517.

Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk said yesterday that the academy's ticket sales for the Emerald Bowl are approaching 14,000 without a real surge from the West Coast, where the game will be played. "We're doing real well with a lot of momentum," Gladchuk said. "I think we can get to 18,000. Our target was 20,000, but 18 might be a little more realistic." About 25,000 fans were behind Navy at the Houston Bowl a year ago, the vast majority purchasing tickets through the school's outlets.

College Park -- Each time the television cameras focus on Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen as he patrols the sideline, it's fair to wonder whether he's clutching a chart of his offensive plays or his team's medical records. Injuries have punctured deep holes in his roster, most notably along the offensive line. But news that the Terrapins were chosen to play in the Emerald Bowl also brought renewed hope that the unit will be intact for the Dec. 28 game against Oregon State. Emerald Bowl Maryland vs. Oregon State, San Francisco, Dec. 28, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, 105.7 FM, 1300 AM Line: Oregon State by 5

COLLEGE PARK -- Jamarr Robinson was chased all over the field Saturday, but the elusive Maryland quarterback ultimately couldn't escape Virginia Tech, which dealt the Terrapins their fifth straight loss, 36-9, in a game that was one-sided from the opening possession. Robinson, subbing for the injured Chris Turner (knee), got his first career start and provided most of Maryland's offensive highlights with his legs. Robinson rushed for 129 yards - accounting for all but 3 yards of Maryland's rushing total - some of it on designed runs and some when pressured out of the pocket.

- Jamarr Robinson was chased all over the field Saturday, but the elusive Maryland quarterback ultimately couldn't escape Virginia Tech, which dealt the Terrapins their fifth straight loss, 36-9, in a game that was one-sided from the opening possession. Robinson, subbing for the injured Chris Turner (knee), got his first career start and provided most of Maryland's offensive highlights with his legs. Robinson rushed for 129 yards - accounting for all but 3 yards of Maryland's rushing total - some of it on designed runs and some when pressured out of the pocket.

Colleges Navy agrees to play in 2012 Emerald Bowl Navy has reached an agreement to play in the 2012 Emerald Bowl against a Pacific-10 opponent if the Midshipmen are bowl-eligible, athletic director Chet Gladchuk said Thursday. This will be the Mids' second trip to San Francisco for a bowl. In 2004, Navy defeated New Mexico, 34-19. Navy is committed to the Texas Bowl in 2009, the Poinsettia Bowl in 2010, the EagleBank Bowl in 2011, the Emerald Bowl in 2012 and the Bell Helicopter Armed Services Bowl in 2013.

1 This is it: This has to be a win, right? The Wizards host the NBA's only team with a worse record, the Thunder (7 p.m., Comcast SportsNet). 2 Under the hood: If it's cold at the Meineke Car Care Bowl (North Carolina-West Virginia, 1 p.m., ESPN), do you wear a muffler? 3 Difference is U: And if you cost your team the game in the Champs Sports Bowl (Florida State- Wisconsin, 4:30 p.m., ESPN), does that make you the Champs chump? 4 Spicy game: One more: When you make a big hit in the Emerald Bowl (California-Miami, 8 p.m., ESPN)

A Kiss at Midnight, a holiday movie on the Hallmark Channel, points the way to New Year's Eve, with romance befitting Valentine's Day. Tomorrow night, Faith Ford stars as the owner of a personalized matchmaking service who sets out to discredit a rival operation: an automated, computer-dating Web site whose owner (Cameron Daddo) turns out to be her perfect match, to their mutual astonishment. Will these two wary competitors resolve their business quibbles by midnight Dec. 31? (9 p.m. tomorrow, Hallmark Channel)

COLLEGE PARK -- When the seniors on the Maryland football team lined up for the final wind sprint of their college careers at a practice before last week's Emerald Bowl in San Francisco, junior linebacker Erin Henderson was notable for his presence. Terrapins coach Ralph Friedgen said later that it could have been taken as a sign of Henderson's intention to forgo his senior year. Yesterday, Henderson announced he would enter his name in this year's NFL draft, scheduled for April 26-27.

Good morning --Emerald Bowl-- You have to be nuts to skip this one. Question of the day Do you watch most of the college bowl games or just wait for the national championship? There are only so many bowl games that you can fool your significant other into believing is a national championship. After three or four, she starts to catch on. That being said, I make the national championship game a priority, and catch whatever I can when she's not home. David Blecman Woodstock Next question Do you agree with the Ravens' decision to bring back Brian Billick next season?

The Naval Academy is expected to announce today that its football team has been selected to play in the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco on Dec. 30. Gary Cavalli, the bowl's executive director, traveled from the West Coast to be in Annapolis on Saturday to watch the Midshipmen rout Rutgers, 54-21, and was in a position to offer a bid because the Pacific-10 Conference did not qualify enough teams to fill one slot in the game. He had expressed strong interest in Navy for several weeks, citing the team's backing of 25,000 fans in Houston last year.

SAN FRANCISCO-- --The now-concluded Maryland season should go down in its history as the Year of the Tease, even more than the three previous seasons. And last night's Emerald Bowl was their season in a nutshell - a 60-minute tease. In the long run, the Terps did remind you that they were, after all, a .500 team, and now a below-.500 team, for the third time in four years. You saw all their promise and all the ways they can let you down in one night, against an Oregon State team that was better, but not that much better.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The game plan seemed to be working to perfection for quarterback Chris Turner and the Maryland Terrapins early in last night's Emerald Bowl against Oregon State at AT&T Park. Three possessions resulted in two touchdown passes for Turner, including a 63-yarder to Darrius Heyward-Bey and a 9-yard score to Isaiah Williams. But after taking an early lead on the favored Beavers, the Terps never scored again. The Beavers tied the game late in the first half, went ahead late in the third quarter and went on to a 21-14 victory before a small, wet and pro-Oregon State crowd of 32,517.