Boeckman signs NFL contract with Jacksonville

By Eric Frantz

June 18, 2009

According to Neil Cornrich and NC Sports, LLC, former Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman has agreed to terms on a contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Contract specifics were not released.

Boeckman, a St. Henry High School graduate, was named to the 2007 All-Big Ten team and was a team captain for the Buckeyes this past season.

He started 17 games during his career at Ohio State.

Only one high school in Ohio State history has produced two starting quarterbacks for the Buckeyes – St. Henry. Former St. Henry grad Bobby Hoying, a member of the OSU Hall of Fame, played QB for the Buckeyes from 1993-95. He too was All-Big Ten. Hoying played in the NFL for Oakland and Philadelphia.

Bob Stoops Coaching Accomplishments

By Boomer Sooner

June 15, 2009

• Stoops is 109-24 overall, 72-14 vs. the Big 12, 39-10 vs. the Big 12 South, 31-4 vs. the Big 12 North, 6-1 in the Big 12 title game, 37-10 vs. non-conference opponents, 60-2 at home, 31-11 on the road, 16-11 on neutral fields, 33-12 vs. ranked opponents, 4-6 in bowls, 3-5 in January bowls and 2-5 in BCS games.

• OU has set or tied more than 180 school records under Stoops, not including bowl bests and marks specific to a particular position (i.e., receptions by a running back). Among those marks under Stoops are passing for a game, season and career; receiving for a game, season and career; and rushing for a season.

• Stoops has authored two of the seven longest winning streaks in Oklahoma history. His 2000 and 2001 teams won 20 straight, while the 2002 and 2003 teams reeled off 14 in a row. Those victories all came against I-A opponents.

• Oklahoma owns the nation’s longest home field winning streak at 24. That’s the second longest streak in school history just one behind a 25-in-a-row string that ended in 1953. Stoops also has fashioned two other streaks of 19 straight.

• OU won the 2000 national championship, played for two more and captured six Big 12 South crowns and six Big 12 titles. Oklahoma has spent 24 weeks at No. 1.

• OU has held a double-digit lead in 112 of Stoops’ 133 games.

• Oklahoma has played in 10 bowl games. Never had an OU coach taken even his first three teams to bowls. Prior to Stoops’ arrival, OU had not played in one of what is now a BCS game since the 1988 Orange Bowl (1987 season). Stoops, in his second season, led OU to the 2001 Orange Bowl (2000 season).

• An OU player has finished among the top seven in the Heisman voting six times on Stoops’ watch: Sam Bradford (No. 1 in 2008), Adrian Peterson (No. 2 in 2004), Jason White (No. 3 in 2004), Jason White (No. 1 in 2003), Roy Williams (No. 7 in 2001) and Josh Heupel (No. 2 in 2000).

• Under Stoops, OU has produced 29 All-Americans; two AP Players of the Year (Heupel, White); two Nagurski Award winners (Williams, Derrick Strait); two Thorpe Award winners (Williams, Strait); two Butkus Award winners (Rocky Calmus, Teddy Lehman); one Bednarik Award winner (Lehman); one Lombardi Award winner (Tommie Harris); one Walter Camp winner (Heupel); three O’Brien Award winners (Sam Bradford and White twice); a Maxwell Award winner (White); a Unitas Award winner (White); an Outland Trophy winner (Jammal Brown) and one Mosi Tatupu Award winner (J.T. Thatcher).

• OU has had a Butkus finalist in four of the last eight years and a Lombardi finalist in three of the last six. The Sooners also have had finalists for the Biletnikoff, Groza, Guy, Hendricks, Mackey and Doak Walker awards.

• In 1996 and 1997, his Florida defense scored eight touchdowns. The 1996 Gators won the national championship.

• During his final four seasons in Manhattan, Kansas State posted a 35-12 record and played in three bowl games.

Johnson still searching for WNBA title

BY LOU BEZJAK

June 5, 2009

Shannon Johnson has accomplished many things during her basketball career.

From winning state championships at Hartsville High to playing in the NCAA tournament at South Carolina and winning a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics, Johnson has done it all.

But one thing has eluded her — a WNBA championship.

That’s one of the driving forces for Johnson, who will begin her 11th WNBA season Saturday when the Seattle Storm face Sacramento.

Johnson’s best shot at a title came in 2007 as a member of the Detroit Shock. The Shock, coached by former Piston Bill Laimbeer, lost to the Phoenix Mercury 3-2 in the WNBA Finals.

“That was a great experience and was fun to be part of and I enjoyed every minute of it,” Johnson said this week. “Hopefully that could happen in Seattle. They are one of the more established teams in the league and competitive every year.”

Johnson is in her first season with Storm. She signed a two-year deal last season to play with the Houston Comets but the team folded after the season, making her a free agent.

Johnson landed in Seattle, mainly because of her relationship with coach Brian Agler. She won two titles playing for Agler in the ABL with Columbus and also played for him in the WNBA for one season when he was an assistant for the San Antonio Silver Stars.

“He is like a father figure to me and a good teacher,” said Johnson, who ranks second all-time in the WNBA with 1,372 assists. “He is a defensively minded coach and I think I fit pretty good in the system. I just want to go out and keep being productive.”

Johnson’s primary role will be to back up guards Sue Bird and Tanisha Parker and also to provide leadership to the team.

“I think she’s going to play real well for us this year,” Agler said in an interview on the team’s Web site. “Whether it’s a role that she plays supplemental coming in behind Sue and Tanisha or there will be times where she’s on the floor with them. She’s experienced. She’s been in both situations. She knows how to be competitive and be prepared.”

Seattle is the latest stop for Johnson in her basketball odyssey, which has spanned two continents during her 13-year professional career.

Johnson has a home in Spain, although she said she doesn’t spend much time there except when she is playing there in the offseason.

This year, she played for Spain’s EBE Ibiza-PDV and averaged 13.8 points and three assists per game.

“I have seen the world playing basketball,” Johnson said. “I wouldn’t have thought I would be able to keep playing for this long.

“I have been able to keep myself in good shape by lifting weights and away from injuries. Plus, I love to play the game and it’s still fun for me.”

And the 35-year-old Johnson says she doesn’t have plans of slowing down.

Johnson says she would like to play a few more years then possibly get involved in college coaching. She said a perfect scenario would be to be reunited with her friend and former Olympic teammate Dawn Staley, the women’s coach at South Carolina.

“I would love to give back to the women’s game by coaching. I have been so blessed to be able to play this game,” Johnson said. “That’s definitely something I want to do and would be a good next step in my career.”

JOHNSON FILE
HOMETOWN: Hartsville
YEARS IN WNBA: 11
TEAMS: Six (Orlando/Connecticut, San Antonio, Detroit, Houston and Seattle)
SCORING: 3,417, 10.7 per game
ASSISTS: 1,372, 4.3 per game
HONORS: Four-time WNBA All-Star