Smith, WNBA promote child literacy

“You just want them to have an opportunity to have as much success in their lives,” says WNBA player Katie Smith of the importance of reading for children.

By JOSE PATINO GIRONA

April 8, 2008

TAMPA - It isn't every day that stretch limousines park outside the John F. Germany Public Library downtown.

Then again, it isn't every day that stars from the Women's National Basketball Association visit the library to read to students.

The players, along with corporate executives from the league and Pitney Bowes and Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian Blair, read Dr. Seuss' "Horton Hears a Who!" on Monday afternoon with nearly 80 students from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay.

The students hung on every word.

"It was cool," said Isiah Archer, who sat in a tight reading circle with league president Donna Orender and other students.

"Reading can help you learn a lot," said Isiah, 9, a fourth-grader at Just Elementary. "They read a lot. That is how they can read the playbooks and the strategies and score all those points."

The league and Pitney Bowes, a Connecticut-based company that provides technology for corporate and business mailing, announced Monday that they are working together to promote a national literacy program for school-age children.

The athletes said they think their time with the students can help them appreciate reading and turn it into a passion.

Katie Smith, a player with the Detroit Shock, said she hopes children can see that it is more than just homework.

"You just want them to have an opportunity to have as much success in their lives," said Smith, who has won a league championship and has been named to the All-Star team. "And it starts now and reading is the foundation."

Isiah said he likes to read about bugs and athletes, but he also enjoyed meeting the players and getting their autographs.

"I like watching basketball," the youngster said. "But something better than watching basketball on TV is meeting the players in real life."

Hauschka Number One Ranked Kicker on Rivals

April 7, 2008

By Frank Coyle

KICKERS:

This group is just an average class with no more than three draftable prospects - all beyond the top-125 rankings.

Brandon Coutu, Art Carmody, and Alexis Serna could all be second-day selections.

Hauschka only kicked one season in college but proved to be a valuable late-bloomer. Coutu is capable of playing multiple roles, while Carmody and Serna have shown to be more reliable place-kickers.

Place Kicker Rankings

1. Steven Hauschka, 6-4, 212, North Carolina State
Powerful kicker completed was excellent in only his first year of play. Hauschka is an accurate kicker who responded well to pressure and has the talent to improve with further experience.

2. Art Carmody, 5-9, 170, Louisville
Carmody is an accurate place-kicker who has been a very reliable performer in clutch situations. He was not used as a kickoff man and has only marginal leg strength for that duty.

3. Taylor Mehlhaff, 5-10, 185, Wisconsin

4. Shane Longest, 5-10, 180, Saint Xavier (Ill.)

5. Brandon Coutu, 5-11, 185, Georgia

Dawson's famous kick changes NFL rules

March 29, 2008

By Tony Grossi

As the Browns gain respect on the field, their games take on just a little more prominence with NFL rules-makers.

The Browns were involved in two high-profile game situations last season that contributed to the discussion of rules changes. One change would make field goals allowable to be reviewed by instant replay and another would eliminate the force-out rule.

When coaches filled out their annual surveys about potential changes or concerns and the league competition committee analyzed them to formulate proposals, the Browns players who kept popping up on the video reviews were Phil Dawson and Kellen Winslow.

Dawson, of course, kicked one of the most famous field goals in recent NFL history at the end of regulation time against Baltimore on Nov. 18.

Field officials originally were split on the 51-yard kick -- one signaled no good and another demurred. The Ravens danced off the field in celebration. Browns coach Romeo Crennel shook hands with Ravens coach Brian Billick, thinking his team had lost.

But the call was reversed after referee Pete Morelli had a lengthy discussion with the two officials stationed under the goalposts. He also conferred with the NFL communicator in the replay booth.

Supposedly, Morelli was asking whether or not the play was subject to replay review, and was told it was not. To this day, team officials in Baltimore believe that Morelli was told to reverse the call because replays clearly showed that Dawson's kick cleared the crossbar before bouncing off the gooseneck support bar -- the Dawson Bar -- and caroming back through the posts.

If Morelli would have followed the letter of the law and not allowed the game-tying field goal, the Browns would have had no recourse to challenge it.

The new rule would allow most field goals -- but not all of them -- to be reviewed.

"You would be allowed to review any kick that involves going under or over the crossbar, and inside or outside of the upright," said Rich McKay, Atlanta Falcons president and co-chair of the rules committee. "The only kicks that would not be deemed reviewable is if the officials determine the ball had gone over the top of the upright, then like college, where they have specifically excluded that from review, so would we."