Liberty Bowl

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A. F. "Bud" Dudley, executive director of the Liberty Bowl, spent the afternoon scouting both the home team and visiting Navy for a possible invitation to Memphis, Dec. 28.By the end of yesterday's 28-0 blowout, Navy (4-3) was all but dead in the water while the explosive Cardinals (7-1) improved their chances considerably."I'm not ready to make any announcement just yet, but Louisville certainly helped itself," Dudley said."Navy played very competitively, especially in the first half, but, as you know, to invite a service academy, we require at least six wins against Division I teams.

Colleges East Carolina commits to Military Bowl in D.C. East Carolina is headed to the Military Bowl at RFK Stadium. The school said Tuesday that it had accepted an invitation to play in the Dec. 29 game against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent to be announced Sunday. The Pirates (6-6, 5-3 Conference USA) went 1-2 against the ACC this season, beating North Carolina State and losing to North Carolina and Virginia Tech. East Carolina is making its fifth straight bowl trip, the longest streak in school history, and seventh since 2000.

LIBERTY BOWL: Arkansas 20, East Carolina 17, OT The Razorbacks win despite going 0-for-13 on third down. PG 7 PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL: Connecticut 20, South Carolina 7 PG 7 INTERNATIONAL BOWL: South Florida 27, Northern Illinois 3 PG 7

LIBERTY BOWL: Arkansas 20, East Carolina 17, OT The Razorbacks win despite going 0-for-13 on third down. PG 7 PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL: Connecticut 20, South Carolina 7 PG 7 INTERNATIONAL BOWL: South Florida 27, Northern Illinois 3 PG 7

The NCAA rejected a petition from the Liberty Bowl to allow it to invite Alcorn State and Heisman Trophy-contending quarterback Steve McNair to the Dec. 31 game.The NCAA cited two reasons:* To qualify for a Division I-A bowl, a team must have at least six victories against I-A teams. Alcorn doesn't even play I-A teams.* Division I-AA has a championship game and the Braves (5-2) might qualify to play in it.

1 ALCS Game 1: After taking most of the week off, AL East champion Tampa Bay (say it out loud because it still sounds strange) plays host to East runner-up Boston tonight at 8:37. (TBS). 2 BCC on display: If you've never seen Baltimore Country Club at Five Farms, check out the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship today at 1:30 on the Golf Channel. 3 Southern battle: The Louisville Cardinals and Memphis Tigers take a break from conference football play to meet tonight at 8 (ESPN)

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.

The NFL hopes of Memphis, Tenn., a city that has been chasing pro football for two decades, appear to be troubled.Investors in that city's prospective ownership group complained the loudest last week when the league set a franchise fee of $140 million. With interest and terms, the cost of entry into pro football could near $200 million.William B. Dunavant Jr., a cotton merchant and head of Memphis' bid, said last week: "If the ownership group can make the financing work -- we haven't yet -- and we can come up with a Liberty Bowl that is state of the art, then Memphis can have a franchise.

The NFL hopes of Memphis, Tenn., a city that has been chasing pro football for two decades, appear to be troubled.Investors in that city's prospective ownership group complained the loudest last week when the league set a franchise fee of $140 million. With interest and terms, the cost of entry into pro football could near $200 million.William B. Dunavant Jr., a cotton merchant and head of Memphis' bid, said last week: "If the ownership group can make the financing work -- we haven't yet -- and we can come up with a Liberty Bowl that is state of the art, then Memphis can have a franchise.

Music City Bowl Alabama (6-5) vs. Minnesota (6-5) Where: The Coliseum, Nashville, Tenn. Time, TV: Noon, ESPN Key stats: Minnesota is sixth in the nation in rushing (255.1 ypg). Alabama is second in total defense (235.9 ypg). About Alabama: Alabama TB Kenneth Darby (stomach muscle) may not play. About Minnesota: The Gophers have an excellent 1-2 punch at tailback in Laurence Maroney and Marion Barber III. The buzz: These teams combined to win 12 games, but only two came against teams that finished with winning records.

1 ALCS Game 1: After taking most of the week off, AL East champion Tampa Bay (say it out loud because it still sounds strange) plays host to East runner-up Boston tonight at 8:37. (TBS). 2 BCC on display: If you've never seen Baltimore Country Club at Five Farms, check out the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship today at 1:30 on the Golf Channel. 3 Southern battle: The Louisville Cardinals and Memphis Tigers take a break from conference football play to meet tonight at 8 (ESPN)

Meineke Car Care Bowl North Carolina State (6-5) vs. South Florida (6-5) WHERE -- Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C. TIME -- 11 a.m. TV -- ESPN2 ABOUT N.C. STATE -- Defense car ried the Wolfpack, which won four of its last five regular-season games. The offense has struggled, and the Wolfpack gained more than 300 total yards just three times in the final nine regular-season games. The team's strength is its defensive line. ABOUT SOUTH FLORIDA -- The Bulls need a big game from TB Andre Hall (114.

Music City Bowl Alabama (6-5) vs. Minnesota (6-5) Where: The Coliseum, Nashville, Tenn. Time, TV: Noon, ESPN Key stats: Minnesota is sixth in the nation in rushing (255.1 ypg). Alabama is second in total defense (235.9 ypg). About Alabama: Alabama TB Kenneth Darby (stomach muscle) may not play. About Minnesota: The Gophers have an excellent 1-2 punch at tailback in Laurence Maroney and Marion Barber III. The buzz: These teams combined to win 12 games, but only two came against teams that finished with winning records.

The University of New Mexico yesterday accepted an invitation to play Navy in the third annual Emerald Bowl in San Francisco on Dec. 30. A runner-up to unbeaten Utah in the Mountain West Conference, New Mexico will carry a five-game winning streak into the postseason game after beating Wyoming, 16-9, in the finale. The Lobos will be making their third straight bowl appearance for the first time in the school's 106-year football history. The Las Vegas Bowl had the first choice of MWC teams after the Liberty Bowl opted to match high-powered Boise State against high-powered Louisville.

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.

Insight.com Bowl Colorado (6-5) vs. No. 25 Boston College (8-3) When: Today, 1: 30 p.m. Where: Tucson, Ariz. TV: ESPN Line: Colorado by 8 Outlook: Boston College finally has turned things around after a gambling scandal rocked the program three years ago. The Eagles got off to a good start thanks to a soft early schedule and didn't back down against tougher competition late in the season. BC lost inexplicably at Temple and blew a big lead against Miami but pulled out close games at Syracuse and Notre Dame.

Some leaders of the NFL expansion bid in Memphis, Tenn., openly questioning long-standing plans to have a team play at a renovated Liberty Bowl, are reviving consideration of building a new stadium.Ron Terry, a banker and chairman of the Memphis and Shelby County Sports Authority Corp., told the authority's 18-member board Friday that Memphis has "practically no chance" of landing an NFL team without at least a long-term stadium plan.Among the finalists for the two expansion franchises the league will award this fall, Baltimore, St. Louis and Charlotte, N.C., are all promising new stadiums.

Meineke Car Care Bowl North Carolina State (6-5) vs. South Florida (6-5) WHERE -- Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C. TIME -- 11 a.m. TV -- ESPN2 ABOUT N.C. STATE -- Defense car ried the Wolfpack, which won four of its last five regular-season games. The offense has struggled, and the Wolfpack gained more than 300 total yards just three times in the final nine regular-season games. The team's strength is its defensive line. ABOUT SOUTH FLORIDA -- The Bulls need a big game from TB Andre Hall (114.

Washington Redskins linebacker Marvcus Patton prefers to treat today's matchup with the Tennessee Oilers in Memphis "like an exhibition game where there aren't many people in the stands."Running back Stephen Davis wants to pretend as though it is like any other game on the 16-game schedule and "just go out and play."Cornerback Cris Dishman will be thankful he is wearing a Redskins uniform instead of the Oilers jersey he sported for nine years.Quarterback Gus Frerotte wants to think about how fortunate the Redskins will be "to do things we normally can't do in road games, like hearing audibles and snap counts."

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Baltimore Stallions and the Memphis Mad Dogs faced off at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium last night, on a field that features perhaps the most unusual field in the Canadian Football League.The end zones are 14 yards deep, instead of the CFL-regulation 20 yards, and that only accounts for the deepest part of them.They are shaped like half-pentagons, not rectangles, thanks to a field that cannot accommodate the CFL. The sidelines extend just six yards into the end zone, before the lines veer diagonally to the zone's deepest point.