A few one-liners as Memphis prepares for its Conference USA opener at UCF’s new Bright House Networks Stadium:

** Problems with the U of M’s charter delayed the team’s arrival in Orlando by several hours, forcing the Tigers to abandon a walk-through at Bright House Networks Stadium, the school’s new $60 million on-campus stadium.

** U of M receiver Duke Calhoun’s sprained a knee ligament, suffered in last week’s game against Jacksonville State, may not be as bad as originally thought; don’t be surprised if the sophomore makes an appearance against UCF.

** If the attendance tops 40,000 as expected, it will be one of the top six crowds in UCF’s history.

** The last time Memphis played in Orlando, running back DeAngelo Williams had to leave the game in the third quarter due to dehydration.

Congratulations are in order for one of our own.

Our lead prep writer, Jason Smith, was recently honored by the TSSAA with its Distinguished Service Recognition award for his contributions.

Jason was recognized for ”his work, dedication, and the many contributions he has made to high school sports in the state of Tennessee.”

A graduate of White Station and the U of M, Jason has been our lead prep writer since 2005.

Jason is in good company.

The coach recognized by the TSSAA, Jerry Peters, is a former employee of The Commercial Appeal. Well, he worked for a short time in the late 1950s as a reporter for the CA before he went on to win more high school boys basketball games than any other coach in Shelby County history.

In 2007 his MUS squad won the Division 2 State Championship. Coach Peters has been the Owls coach since 1964, winning 919 games along the way. He has also won numerous honors as a teacher and was inducted into the Rhodes College Haygood Hall of Fame in 2006.

Again congratulations to Jason and to Coach Peters!

After yesterday’s practice, I asked Chris Douglas-Roberts how he was a better player today than he was in March. His answer was immediate: He’s a far more dangerous outside shooter now.

Of course, this brings up an interesting point of debate. For some reason, Douglas-Roberts has been labeled as a poor outside shooter, a label I questioned even last season and would question even more vehemently today after watching him play 37 games and hundreds of hours of practices and pickup games. Though CDR will never be confused with J.J. Redick, the numbers don’t lie. Last season, CDR made 54.3 percent of his field goals, 73.2 percent of his free throws and a fairly decent 32.8 percent from the 3-point line. Though there’s no doubt his game is getting to the basket for layups, runners and floaters, no guard in the country can shoot 54 percent for a season without hitting some jumpers.

So I asked Douglas-Roberts if he had any theories about why he’s been labeled as a poor shooter, and we agreed on the main point: In games, he simply doesn’t shoot that much. Last season, for instance, CDR took just 58 shots from 3-point range, which was 175 less than Jeremy Hunt, 74 less than Willie Kemp and 58 less than Doneal Mack, who played 434 fewer minutes. And don’t expect that to change much this year.

“I can shoot,” Douglas-Roberts said. “But until they prove they can stop me (from getting to the rim), I’m going to keep doing what I do.”

Did anyone get to check out former Melrose running back Graig Cooper’s performance Thursday night for Miami (Fla.)? He scored a pair of touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving, and led the team in rushing (50 yards on seven carries) despite getting 13 less carries than starting RB Javarris James in a 34-17 Hurricane win over Texas A&M.

We all knew a few years ago when he transferred back to Memphis from Midwest City, Okla., (Cooper played at Kirby as a freshman) that Cooper was the real deal. You could see it in his first MIAA jamboree outing as a junior, his field vision and speed on the edge.

Cooper now has three touchdowns and is averaging 5.0 yards per carry on 48 carries, a total that includes a rough 18-carry, 26-yard rushing performance in Miami’s 51-13 loss to Oklahoma. Keep in mind, he’s still just a freshman.

Now, if only these announcers can get it right that it’s pronounced “Greg,” not “Craig.”

THE BIG STORY

The third Heismanpundit.com Straw Poll of the 2007 college football season has been tallied and the panel–consisting of nine members of the college football media–once again has Arkansas running back Darren McFadden as the overwhelming leader in the race to win this year’s Heisman Trophy.

McFadden, who is coming off a 195-yard, 2-touchdown effort in a loss to Alabama, totaled 44 points and holds a commanding 28-point advantage over Florida sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow (16), who makes his first appearance in the weekly survey. Colt Brennan of Hawaii is third (14 points) and West Virginia’s Pat White is fourth (12 points).

McFadden captured eight out of nine possible first-place votes, with the other going to Brennan.

Heismanpundit.com is conducting a Heisman straw poll each week during the college football season. The idea is to get a good sense of voter sentiment as the season progresses. There are nine Heisman voters canvassed from across the various Heisman voting regions and they vote for five players each week. The tabulations are made on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis, with five points for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote, three points for a third-place vote and so on.

In a unique feature to the poll, a Heisman Trophy winner’s vote is occasionally added to the mix. The poll so far this year has included the votes of 2004 winner Matt Leinart of USC and 1995 winner Eddie George of Ohio State.

This week’s poll results, with total points and first-place votes in parentheses:

1. Darren McFadden, Arkansas, 44 (8); 2. Tim Tebow, Florida, 16 ;3. Colt Brennan, Hawaii, 14 (1); 4. Pat White, West Virginia, 12; 5. John David Booty, USC, 10; 6. Steve Slaton, West Virginia, 9; 7. Ray Rice, Rutgers, 6′ 8. Andre Woodson, Kentucky, 5, Matt Ryan, Boston College, 5; 10. Sam Bradford, Oklahoma, 3

Others receiving votes: Brian Brohm, Louisville; Graham Harrell, Texas Tech; Colt McCoy, Texas; Mike Hart, Michigan.

The Heismanpundit.com Straw Poll Heisman voters are Tom Dienhart (The Sporting News), Austin Murphy (Sports Illustrated), Stewart Mandel (Sports Illustrated) B.J. Schecter (Sports Illustrated), Olin Buchanan ( Rivals.com), Neal McCready (Mobile Register Guard), Ted Lewis (New Orleans Times-Picayune), Dick Weiss (New York Daily News)
and J.B. Morris, ESPN.com

A look at the league: Read the rest of this entry »