Here’s the news for December 3, 2008 from the Double-A Zone, the official blog of the NCAA:

TOP POST

Before-the-kick timeouts should be outlawed - Dec 05, 2008 | 14:12:25

Field goals are one of the most clear-cut plays in all of sports - each kick is either good or no good, and there's no in between. The most successful field goal kickers relish the stress with comes with high-pressure kicks.

A trend has developed in recent years: Teams calling last-second timeouts in attempt to ice the other team's kicker. The coaching strategy has undoubtedly increased the heart rates of many kickers and created some controversy.

This strategy needs to be outlawed in college football. Story>>

Teel, Rutgers impressive; big college football weekend ahead - Dec 05, 2008 | 15:21:28

What an impressive performance by Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel, who threw for a school-record seven touchdowns last night in a 63-14 win over Louisville.

This was just the beginning of what should be an exciting college football weekend in each division. In Division I FBS, high profile conference championship matchups (like Alabama-Florida and Oklahoma-Missouri) will move us one step closer to crowning a national champion.

The Division I FCS playoffs are in its quarterfinal round and some heavy hitters are getting set to go to battle tomorrow, including a rematch of last year's national semifinal game between Appalachian State and Richmond.

Division II is down to the semifinals, where each of the two matchups will be shown on ESPN networks tomorrow afternoon. Ironically, all of the four remaining teams are number-two seeds: North Alabama, Northwest Missouri State, California (Pennsylvania) and Minnesota-Duluth.

Finally, Division III is in its quarterfinal round, and Cortland State is the next obstacle in Mount Union's path for another national championship. But defending champion Wisconsin-Whitewater is looming on the other side of the bracket, and could set up a potential championship rematch with Mount Union in two weeks.

See if you can follow this - Dec 05, 2008 | 14:42:21

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy was named The Associated Press' Big 12 offensive player of the year, but was left off the AP All-Big 12 first team. Oklahoma's Sam Bradford was named to the first team, one vote ahead of McCoy. Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell was the only other quarterback to get a vote from the 20 voters who decided the AP's Big 12 all-conference teams. Harrell picked up four votes -- one for first team and three for second team. Thus, the race swung on whether Harrell voters picked McCoy or Bradford as their second choice.

Interesting comments by Loyola (Maryland) basketball coach Jimmy Patsos - Dec 05, 2008 | 14:05:00

Last week, we talked about Loyola (Maryland) basketball coach Jimmy Patsos and his unique strategy in its game against Davidson. His team played a triangle-and-two defense the entire game and held all-American Stephen Curry scoreless, but lost the contest, 78-48.

Since the game, Patsos has received a great deal of national attention for sticking with the defensive game plan, despite losing by such a wide margin. Patsos responded by sending a letter to Mike Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser, the hosts of ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" and respected Washington D.C. journalists. Here is an excerpt of Patsos' letter, which was published in Albany's Times Union newspaper:

"As an American I wish we had leaders like (Davidson basketball coach Bob) McKillop and Curry, who could have gotten the CIA and FBI to talk so we could have prevented the 9-11 tragedy, or saw that Fannie Mae was creating a mortgage crisis coming which could cripple a country. The Davidson basketball family united the way I wish Wall Street would have instead of letting so many Americans retirement be lost. I wish his staff could have advised the administration who got us into a war in Iraq which cost us countless lives, and disabilities, countless money and has gone on longer than WWII. I know these are extreme examples to show that the Davidson basketball family adjusted, made smart choices and unselfish choices for the good of the team."

Patsos seems like an open and honest guy by nature, but are these comments necessary for a college basketball coach to be making?

Former LSU, NBA star returns for degree - Dec 05, 2008 | 13:43:15

Stanley Roberts left LSU for the NBA after his sophomore season in 1990. He played for 18 years on five NBA teams. There were many reasons why Roberts came back to get his degree, including constant pressure from former LSU coach Dale Brown. But no one put more pressure on him than his daughter, 17-year-old Stanecia Roberts, who challenged him to get his college degree before she does. "I have a daughter who is getting ready to go to college in a year, and she was convinced that I needed to get my degree," Roberts said. "With all the pressures, I decided I might as well come back."

Keeping the streak alive - Dec 05, 2008 | 11:44:36

The 85-year-old N.C. State alumnus Dewey Corn has attended every football game, home and away, since November 1975. During his 33-year run, Corn estimates he has traveled roughly 30,000 miles. He's traveled as far as Tucson, Ariz. and Boston, Mass. He doesn't tailgate, so he stops on the way home to get a bite to eat and saves his ticket stub. Cornís brother died a year in October, but the funeral fell on an open date, so no need to miss a game. The same thing happened when his mother-in-law passed away during another season.

Kudos to UConn for visiting a "mid-major" - Dec 05, 2008 | 11:12:48

Second-ranked Connecticut sneaked by Buffalo in men's basketball last night, 68-64. It's a December non-conference game, and many people might overlook it. However, let's give Jim Calhoun and UConn credit for going on the road to a "mid-major," something than many high-profile Division I basketball programs are reluctant to do. More top-level Division I programs should take a risk early in the season instead of sitting at home, feasting on "cupcakes," and building gaudy (and sometimes misleading) records. In the long run, this tough, early season road test will benefit UConn.

Another great game-winning shot - Dec 05, 2008 | 10:25:28

Suny Geneseo's Scott Morton scored the game-winning with a no-look, over-the-shoulder shot. Geneseo knocked off Oswego State, 85-84 on Tuesday, in the SUNYAC opener for both teams. Morton talked about the shot on ESPN.

The year's top searches - Dec 05, 2008 | 9:47:13

AOL released its list of 2008's hottest Internet, mobile and video searches. In the sports category , NASCAR was ranked first, dethroning the WWE. Olympics, MLB and NFL rounded out the top five. The NCAA was seventh. Danica Patrick topped the list of most searched-for athletes.

More News From the Zone