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By JOANNE KORTH
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 21, 1999
GAINESVILLE -- Freshman tailback Earnest Graham returned to practice for No. 10 Florida on Monday after missing two days to help his mother, Sandra Smith, through foot surgery.
Graham was at a team meeting in the morning and participated in both practice sessions. His weekend absence cost him the starting job against No. 9 Michigan State in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1, but he does not regret his decision.
"When I left I knew that was a possibility," said Graham, the team's leading rusher with 654 yards. "What I had to take care of is more important than starting. I knew that would happen."
Graham told coaches he was leaving Friday, when he took a bus to the family's Cape Coral home. He got a ride back to Gainesville from a friend, he said.
"Earnest was here all day," coach Steve Spurrier said. "He was out here running around. He's back."
TOP SECRET: Spurrier plans to make "all kinds of announcements" at a news conference today, most notably who will be the quarterback for the bowl game. Two weeks ago, Spurrier said junior Jesse Palmer would play, but the tendinitis in senior Doug Johnson's shoulder has responded well to treatment and rest. Johnson has thrown at full speed during three days of practice.
TEAM PHYSICIAN DIES: Funeral services for Dr. Dick Shaara, the team's longtime physician, were held in Gainesville. Shaara, 68, died in his sleep Thursday night. He worked with the team from 1970-96 and was coaxed out of retirement this season on an interim basis. "We were all at the funeral -- a wonderful man," Spurrier said. "He was a super Gator and a heck of a guy. He was a friend to many, many Gator athletes over the last 30 years."
THE SCHEDULE: UF will practice twice today and once Wednesday before breaking for Christmas. The team will travel to Orlando on Dec. 26 and begin practices at the Disney Sports Complex on Dec. 27.
FSU's Seymour told to pay restitution
TALLAHASSEE -- Florida State defensive end Roland Seymour was cleared to play in the Sugar Bowl but must make restitution for free workouts he received training during the summer in Houston.
Seymour worked out alongside other athletes with trainer James Cooper, a situation that came to light while FSU was investigating a connection between Seminoles receiver Laveranues Coles and Houston-based sports agent Carl C. Poston III.
The NCAA notified FSU compliance director Bob Minnix that Seymour's use of the trainer and the health facility free of charge was an improper benefit. Seymour must pay $447.60, which will go to charity.
No connection was found between Seymour and Poston. "The ending on this is the right ending," Minnix said.
Plane crashes before picking up Holtz
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A grief-filled year for South Carolina coach Lou Holtz continued as his pilot and friend Dewey "Sonny" Foster died in a plane crash near Beaufort during the coach's recruiting trip.
Foster was to have picked up Holtz on Sunday night at the Lady's Island airport for another leg of the trip to New Jersey. But the plane, a King Air turboprop that had gone to Hilton Head Island to refuel, crashed on its return about 4 miles short of the Lady's Island runway in a misty rain.
At first, university officials thought the plane had gone to Savannah, Ga., for refueling. Athletic director Mike McGee flew to Beaufort to visit with injured co-pilot Joe Baier and discovered the plane had refueled in Hilton Head.
The pilot died at the scene of the fiery wreck. Baier sustained a a broken shoulder.
"I'm still in a state of shock," an upset Holtz said, talking barely above a whisper at his campus office. "It was a very close call. It could have happened while we were landing." Earlier in the day, Holtz had flown from Moncks Corner, between Charleston and Columbia, to the Beaufort area.
McGee said Baier told him they were going through the landing checklist when "it happened suddenly and he wasn't sure why."
It has been a difficult year for Holtz since he accepted the South Carolina job. His team finished 0-11, his worst record; his son and offensive coordinator, Skip, was severely ill with a virus that doctors could not immediately recognize; his wife, Beth, had surgery to remove glands thought to be cancerous; and his mother, Anne Marie, died in November.
ALABAMA STATE: Ron Dickerson was fired as coach after two seasons, including a 2-9 record this season that ended with a defeat marred by a brawl. Dickerson was 7-15 overall. This season ended with a 37-34 loss to Tuskegee. A fight broke out after the game, and two people were arrested, including an ASU assistant accused of shoving a police officer.
KENTUCKY: Coach Hal Mumme hired two assistants to replace staff members hired away by other schools. Dan Lounsbury, a former offensive coordinator at Houston, will take the job vacated by Chris Hatcher, who left to become head coach at Valdosta (Ga.) State. Lounsbury will coach tight ends and special teams. John Schlarman, an All-SEC lineman under Mumme in 1997, will take the graduate assistant job vacated by Sonny Dykes, who was given a full-time assistant's job at Texas Tech. Also, running backs coach Tony Franklin was named offensive coordinator. Mumme ran the offense this season.
MARYLAND: Coach Ron Vanderlinden's contract was extended two years to 2004. There were no changes to the original five-year contract. Vanderlinden led the Terps (5-6) to their best season since '95.
-- Information from Times wires was used in this report.