The Next Level: 2010

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Aleeya Grigsby gets POTW nomination

The former Lady Dragon was nominated for Great West player of the week, but didn't get it, according to Fighting Sioux.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Damion James named national player of week

The former Dragon is the Oscar Robertson player of the week, according to Texas Sports:

James averaged 25.5 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game while leading Texas to two victories last week. He recorded 23 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks in a 90-83 win at Iowa State (Jan. 13). During the win against the Cyclones, James became the Big 12 Conference's all-time leading rebounder.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Damion James named player of the week

The former Dragon is the Big 12 player of the week, according to Texas Sports:

James averaged 25.5 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game while leading Texas to two victories last week. He recorded 23 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks in a 90-83 win at Iowa State (Jan. 13). During the win against the Cyclones, James became the Big 12 Conference's all-time leading rebounder.

Aleeya Grigsby records double-double

The former Lady Dragon had 18 points and 14 rebounds in UTPA's 84-76 win over A&M-CC, according to ValleyCentral.com.

Nikki Greene scores 12

The former Diboll Ladyjack also had seven rebounds in Penn State's 68-60 win over Michigan State, according to Sports News.

Clint Dempsey injures knee

Fulham and the U.S. team were dealt a big blow as the former Dragon suffered a torn PCL, according to a story posted on the LA Times:

"The doctors are pretty good these days — I would like to see them to be wrong more often," Hodgson said, trying to make light of the situation. "Often their initial diagnosis appears to be the correct one when the scan is made."

Damion James scores 26

The former Dragon led his team in retaining its No. 1 ranking, according to CBS.com:

By the time he was finished, James was exhausted but happy to know that Texas would still be sitting at No. 1.

"I'm so tired," James said. "They came out and punched us in the mouth and we didn't retaliate until the second half."

Monday, January 18, 2010

Aleeya Grigsby scores 9

The former Lady Dragon also had seven rebounds in UTPA's 70-60 win over Chicago State, according to The Monitor.

Dez Bryant says he has plenty to prove

Tampa Bay Online has an excellent article on Dez Bryant, who will be training in Orlando for the next few weeks:

"In ways I made a mistake because I lied to them,'' Bryant said. "I regret what I did and I respect their decision, but do I feel like it was a bad decision? Yeah, I feel like it was strong.

"But the thing about the NCAA, the way I look at it, they're like the Feds. You can't change their decision. They're going to go with what they want to go with. There's nothing I can do about that.''

Friday, January 15, 2010

Dez Bryant 'forever a Cowboy'

Jenni Carlson of DailyOK.com has a blog post on her interview with the former Panther:

“To be honest, me coming to Oklahoma State, that’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” Bryant said in a telephone interview Friday after he met with the media in Tampa, Fla., where he is now training.

“I enjoyed being there. I enjoyed being around the fans. I enjoyed being around the little kids. It’s just a nice place to be.”

Aleeya Grigsby scores 16

The former Lady Dragon had 16 points in UTPA's 62-54 win over New Jersey Institute of Technology, according to The Brownsville Herald.

Nikki Greene scores 12

The former Diboll Ladyjack matched her career high in points and also had eight rebounds in Penn State's 68-62 win over Iowa, according to Big Ten Network.

Damion James scores 23

The former Dragon also had 14 rebounds in Texas' 90-83 win over Iowa State, according to a story posted on LA Times.

Damion James closing in on conference record

As of Wednesday, the former Dragon was 11 rebounds shy of the Big 12 record, according to The Austin American-Statesman:

"If I get five rebounds and we win, I'm happy," James said Monday. "Let's talk about me missing free throws (he's shooting them with unimpressive 67 percent accuracy) and how I can get better. If I improve on free throws, my team will improve."

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Aleeya Grigsby named player of the week

The former Lady Dragon had 27 points and 25 rebounds last week in Great West Conference action, according to The Monitor.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Dez Bryant reportedly picks agent

Reports say Dez Bryant has selected Eugene Parker as his agent. This is the former agent of Deion Sanders, who started the whole mess for Bryant. NBC Sports has more.

Jermichael Finley has 159 yards

The former Diboll Lumberjack had 6 catches in Green Bay's 51-45 loss to Arizona, according to The Green Bay Press Gazette.

Nikki Greene gets 11 boards

The former Diboll Ladyjack and Penn State beat Indiana, 77-71, according to The Daily Collegian.

Damion James scores 20

The former Dragon also had 14 rebounds in Texas' 103-86 win over Colorado, according to a story posted on the LA Times.

Demeeka Jones places third

The former Lady Panther had a time of 8.96 in the 60-meter hurdles in the Arkansas Invitational, according to Sooner Sports.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Soccer fans buzzing over Clint Dempsey goal

Sounds like the former Dragon's goal was pretty impressive, according to Soccer Fanhouse:

The 85th minute goal immediately lit up the American soccer blogosphere and Twitter-verse. Even the English press, notoriously leery of American players, conceded the strike moved near the top of the vaunted Premier League "Goal of the Year" award.

Get a Nikki Greene bag

The first 1,000 fans who show up to Sunday's Penn State game will receive a Nikki Green recyclable shopping bag, according to Go PSU Sports.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Aleeya Grigsby scores 18

The former Lady Dragon also had 14 rebounds in UTPA's 84-76 win over A&M-CC, according to Caller.com.

Damion James scores 20

The former Dragon also had nine rebounds in Texas' 96-85 win over Arkansas, according to TSN.

Clint Dempsey scores goal

The former Dragon scored one in Fulham's 3-2 loss to Stoke. You can see a video of it at SB Nation.

Clint Dempsey named to all-decade team

The former Dragon is on Soccer America's all-decade U.S. team:

A much different player than McBride but like him a sharp finisher, Dempsey displayed his prowess by scoring three goals last summer at the Confederations Cup. He brings an unpredictability to the U.S. attack it will need in South Africa.

Aleeya Grigsby scores 9

The former Lady Dragon also had 11 rebounds in UTPA's 75-37 win over LeTourneau, according to The Longview News-Journal.

Damion James on top 30 list

The former Dragon is a mid-season finalist for the John Wooden Award, according to BYUCougars.com.

Chase Ford may not be able to enroll right away

The former Corrigan-Camden Bulldog may have to wait until the summer to enroll at Miami, according to The Palm Beach Post:

That’s got to be a disappointment for coach Randy Shannon, who seemed excited when he spoke about Ford last week. “Watching his tape, we think he’s better than Dedrick (Epps) and Tervaris Johnson when they both came out of high school,” Shannon said.

Jermichael Finley scores touchdown

The former Diboll Lumberjack had a touchdown in Green Bay's 33-7 win over Arizona, according to The Green Bay Press Gazette.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Jermichael Finley a difference-maker

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has an excellent story on the former Diboll Lumberjack and how big of a weapon he is for Green Bay:

"It was just a thing that we sat down and talked about that they wanted to come to me more," Finley said of a talk he had with his coaches recently. "There have been some mismatches and we just needed to take advantage of those. I think that's one of the reasons some other things have opened up . . . is because everyone's keying on the tight end now.

Reggie McNeal pallbearer in Chris Henry funeral

The former Panther came from Texas to attend the services, according to Bengals.com.