[PAmedic]

sorry if this was posted elsewhere:

http://newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellit ... th=!sports

LU Notebook: Flames walking on sunshine in practice

By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 13, 2006


Liberty football coach Danny Rocco got a head start on practicing for Saturday's road game at Towson.
Last Thursday, Rocco had blaring music piped onto the field at Williams Stadium so his players could get used to communicating with each other in a loud environment.

"It frazzled our kids," Rocco said. "They lost their focus."

Hearing Katrina & The Waves' "Walking on Sunshine" three times in an hour at earsplitting decibels will frazzle anyone. That said, Rocco plans to use the music again this week in preparing for the Flames' first road test.

"You really have to focus and execute on the road," Rocco said. "The environment is different. This week, when we (use the music again), I'll expect better focus and execution."

Sound shoulder

LU defensive end Steve Ackley didn't play like he can last season.

Two weeks before practice opened, he had surgery on his right shoulder. The AC joint in the shoulder was rubbing raw against his clavicle, so surgeons shaved some of the clavicle bone off to promote cartilage growth near the AC joint.

Before each game, Flames athletic trainers gave him an injection to numb the shoulder. By the end of the season, he was slowly being weaned off, instead wearing a pad that numbed the joint.

"It was definitely kind of a thorn," Ackley said. "It was OK to play on, but there was lots of pain when I did. Practice was kind of tough."

Ackley had 41 tackles and 3 1/2 sacks in 2005. Now pain-free, he's off to a solid start with six tackles and 1 1/2 sacks in the Flames' first two games.

Around the Big South

Notes from Tuesday's conference call of league head coaches:

VMI coach Jim Reid won't elaborate much on his departure from Richmond after the 2003 season. "I was seeking another adventure," he chuckled.

He will talk about how much he still cares for players he recruited to the school, ones that are having a major impact on the resurgent UR program. The Keydets (1-1) battle the Spiders Saturday in Richmond.

Reid's UR tenure ended with three straight losing seasons, including a 2-9 mark in 2003. Under new coach Dave Clawson, the Spiders returned to the Division I-AA playoffs last year and beat I-A Duke this season.

"I have a lot of great love for those guys," Reid said. "It's a hard game to play. That's the absolute truth. I have to tell you, I'll be happy when the game is over."

Already stocked with top receivers Kory Alston, Duvaughn Flagler and Austin Gaines, Gardner-Webb found out it has some depth at the position in a win over Tennessee Tech last Saturday.

Andre Manning, the former starting point guard on the Bulldogs' basketball team, caught a 53-yard touchdown pass and finished with 78 yards on three catches.

In high school, Manning was a quarterback and started his G-W football career at defensive back. He struggled, so he moved to offense.

"He took to offense better than defense," Bulldogs coach Steve Patton said. "At receiver, he can use more of his natural athletic ability."

Color Coastal Carolina coach Dave Bennett as surprised as anyone at Central Connecticut State's win at Georgia Southern last Saturday.

"But you put on the film and you say, good gracious, where did Central Connecticut State get this guy, this guy and this guy?" Bennett said.

Bennett's Chanticleers, fresh off a win at Wofford, play the Eagles in Statesboro Saturday. Georgia Southern last lost consecutive home games when it fell to New Hampshire in the 2004 playoffs before losing to McNeese State in the 2005 home opener.

GSU hasn't lost two regular-season home games in the same year since 1996.

[Libertine]

I hate that song. I really really do.

[absturgill]

That's awesome, next week Milli Vanelli and New Kids on the Block