TAMPA - Repercussions from the deaths of college and professional football players as they prepared for their seasons in 2001 continue to be felt today.
The NCAA enacted new guidelines for preseason practice aimed at reducing the risk of injury and minimizing the repeat of tragedies at Florida (Eraste Autin), Northwestern (Rashidi Wheeler) and the Minnesota Vikings (Korey Stringer). Florida State's Devaughn Darling died after a strenuous offseason conditioning program months before the others.
"We've made some progress that needed to be made to benefit the athletes," ACC commissioner John Swofford said recently.
The key changes include:
- All players, including freshmen, will report at the same time on Tuesday.
- All teams begin with a five-day acclimation period to help players get accustomed to the heat and rigors of preseason practice.
Players can wear helmets the first day, helmets and shoulder pads the next two and full pads beginning on the fifth day. During this period, teams can practice once a day and for no more than three hours at a time.
- After the acclimation period, teams can begin two-a-day practices, but they cannot hold them on consecutive days as was once the norm. When they have two practice sessions, onfield activities cannot exceed five hours and there must be at least a three-hour break between sessions. On days with one session, the onfield session cannot exceed three hours. (Walk-throughs do not count as onfield activities as long as no equipment is worn and there are no conditioning drills.)
"Players as a whole, we love that," Florida cornerback Keiwan Ratliff said. "I mean, we feel like we do have somebody looking out for us. This year, we feel that two a days will be a lot smoother, a lot easier, not having to have to go out there two days in a row - two days, two days, two days. We'll go 2-1 and you get a chance to let your legs rest and actually have a little bit more fun out there because you're not as tired."
Though FSU offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden laments the end of freshmen reporting first and having a few days to adjust to practice before the veterans arrive, he agreed the extra recovery time should be beneficial for players.
"There won't be the day-to-day pounding," he said, adding coaches also can spend more time with players in meetings to better prepare them.
"When we had two a days (in succession), it was hard to go back with the kids and look at the previous practice mistakes and let them see them," Bowden said. "We'll load up on meetings and now, you really don't have an excuse for a kid going out to practice not prepared mentally."
But USF coach Jim Leavitt, preparing his team for its entry into Conference USA, is not a fan of the 2-1-2. He tailored his two a days much like a NFL team - a less demanding session in the late afternoon/early evening.
"We never went full pads twice a day," he said. "If they'd just let us throw the football a little bit in the afternoon. They can take away the pads, but let us throw and kick the football. We'll see how it goes. I wouldn't do it this way, but maybe it will work out okay."
Time Inc. supports SI
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The parent company of Sports Illustrated said it stands by the magazine's article about a night of boozing at a Florida topless bar that led to Alabama coach Mike Price's dismissal, court records show.
Time Inc. and SI writer Don Yaeger deny allegations in Price's lawsuit claiming they committed slander or libel in a May 12 article. The article claimed, among other things, Price had sex with two women in a hotel room while he was in Pensacola attending a pro-am golf tournament.
Price sued Time and SI for $20-million for the article. He sued Alabama for the same amount after university president Mike Witt fired him May 3.
In court papers filed the week of July 22, Time and Yaeger acknowledge receiving a May 22 letter from Price's attorney demanding a retraction of some statements in the article. They said no retraction was printed because the article was truthful.
Price's lawsuit outlines seven portions of the article Price says are untrue. Among them are reports Price went to a strip club immediately upon arriving in Pensacola, he touched a dancer while in a semiprivate area and fondled a waitress at the club.
- Staff writers Antonya English and Pete Young contributed to this report, which used information from Associated Press.
