Jimbo Fisher

Florida State assistant Jimbo Fisher said last night he will be staying at the school, ending rumors that he might become the next head coach at West Virginia. "I know media reports are circulating regarding the possibility of West Virginia's head coaching position. I am a native of West Virginia and I love the state, but I want to make clear that I am staying at Florida State," Fisher said in a statement released through the university. "I am committed to this university, this program and these players.

Nine Michigan State football players are facing misdemeanor charges after a Nov. 22 dormitory brawl. Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III and Michigan State University Police Chief James Dunlap said yesterday that all nine players have been charged with conspiracy to commit an assault and battery. In addition, all nine have been charged with at least one count of assault or assault and battery. Roderick Jenrette was charged with three counts, while Glen Winston and Ashton Leggett were charged with two counts each.

Florida State University president T.K. Wetherell says coach Bobby Bowden's job is safe for now. Wetherell said the football coaching situation will be re-evaluated at the end of the season. He reiterated that offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher will be the next head coach when Bowden leaves. "FSU does not make coaching changes in the middle of the season," Wetherell said in a news release. "What message would it send to anyone - friend or foe - to do that at this time?" Bowden repeatedly has indicated he plans to coach through the 2010 season.

Reserve Svetlana Abrosimova scored 20 points, and Swin Cash added 18 to lead the Seattle Storm to a 111-65 victory over the Tulsa Shock on Saturday night, the biggest rout in WNBA history. Seattle's 46-point victory topped by one point a win by the Houston Comets over Washington in 1998. "We played the best team and they just spanked us," said coach Nolan Richardson . "It was the worst spanking we've had to tell you the truth. " Los Angeles Sparks forward Tina Thompson became the WNBA's all-time leading scorer against the San Antonio Silver Stars in Los Angeles.

The chairman of the Florida State University trustees wants Bobby Bowden to retire at the end of this season. Jim Smith said yesterday the arrangement with Bowden as head coach and his successor, Jimbo Fisher, as offensive coordinator isn't working. "We've got too many bosses out there," Smith said. The Seminoles (2-3, 0-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) are off to their worst start since Bowden's first year at Florida State in 1976. "I take absolutely no pleasure in this," Smith said.

A pair of rare rematches from Januarys gone by. Florida State (1-0), ranked 17th under first-year coach Jimbo Fisher, is at No. 10 Oklahoma (1-0). Those teams met in the 2000 national-title game in the Orange Bowl. The underdog Sooners and second-year coach Bob Stoops beat the defending champions, 13-2. FSU's Chris Weinke had won the Heisman Trophy, and OU's Josh Heupel finished runner-up (Purdue's Drew Brees and TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson were third and fourth). The programs went in opposite directions after that, which eventually led to Bobby Bowden's departure.

Florida, Florida State and Miami just lost on the same day for only the second time in 33 years. Now, they're all unranked for the first time since Dec. 6, 1982. So what up with all that? Florida, under first-year coach Will Muschamp, has lost two straight - to No. 1 and 2 - by a combined 58 points. That hasn't happened since 1971. The Gators are at No. 24 Auburn (4-2) next. Before their current 8-7 run, they'd lost only seven times in 61 games. FSU, which was No. 5 in the preseason under second-year coach Jimbo Fisher, has lost its last three.

The chairman of the Florida State University trustees said he wants Bobby Bowden to retire at the end of this season. Jim Smith said yesterday that the arrangement with Bowden as head coach and his successor, Jimbo Fisher, as offensive coordinator is not working. "We've got too many bosses out there," Smith said. "Jimbo is in a very, very tough situation where people assume he has a whole lot more authority than he really has," Smith told the Associated Press. "He's getting blamed for a lot of things that's just not his fault.

Jimbo Fisher now holds the keys to Florida State's football future and he promises a quick turnaround for a program recently mired in mediocrity. The son of a West Virginia coal miner and high school physics teacher, Fisher, 44, was introduced yesterday as the ninth head coach at Florida State since football began in 1947. Fisher has been the Seminoles' offensive coordinator the past three seasons, two of which he was officially the coach-in-waiting as Bobby Bowden's replacement.

Jimbo Fisher will succeed Bobby Bowden as Florida State's next football coach . . . someday. President T.K. Wetherell designated the Seminoles' offensive coordinator as "head coach-in-waiting," but skipped out of a somewhat unusual news conference yesterday without answering questions about the contracts that are not yet finalized. Bowden, major college football's winningest coach, agreed to return for a 33rd season with options to stay longer. Bowden, Fisher and interim athletic director Bill Proctor all skirted questions about what Proctor described as "agreement(s)

Florida, Florida State and Miami just lost on the same day for only the second time in 33 years. Now, they're all unranked for the first time since Dec. 6, 1982. So what up with all that? Florida, under first-year coach Will Muschamp, has lost two straight - to No. 1 and 2 - by a combined 58 points. That hasn't happened since 1971. The Gators are at No. 24 Auburn (4-2) next. Before their current 8-7 run, they'd lost only seven times in 61 games. FSU, which was No. 5 in the preseason under second-year coach Jimbo Fisher, has lost its last three.

TERRELL OWENS recently told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith that he was retiring, then quickly added, "I wish today was April 1st, April Fools, because I just got you. " The funnyman went on to say he expected to be playing in the NFL in "a month or less" and will "be even better next year. " The only problem is he's a free agent without a team. The 37-year-old Owens, who played for the Bengals last season, had surgery on a torn ACL in April. When asked what a team would get if it signed him, Owens replied, "They gonna get the T.O. that they expect.

Bob Stoops won a national title in 2000, his second season at Oklahoma, by taking the Sooners from 7-5 to 13-0. The same Sooners who hadn't had a winning season in the five before he arrived under Gary Gibbs, Howard Schnellengerger and John Blake. Since then they've made it to the championship game three times without winning another. They were in position to make it there three other years but were upset late. They also lost five straight BCS bowls, including the Boise State and West Virginia Fiesta fiascos.

A pair of rare rematches from Januarys gone by. Florida State (1-0), ranked 17th under first-year coach Jimbo Fisher, is at No. 10 Oklahoma (1-0). Those teams met in the 2000 national-title game in the Orange Bowl. The underdog Sooners and second-year coach Bob Stoops beat the defending champions, 13-2. FSU's Chris Weinke had won the Heisman Trophy, and OU's Josh Heupel finished runner-up (Purdue's Drew Brees and TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson were third and fourth). The programs went in opposite directions after that, which eventually led to Bobby Bowden's departure.

Tom Bradley hears the chatter. Entering his 11th season as Penn State's defensive coordinator and his 32nd as a Nittany Lions assistant, Bradley, 54, is considered the favorite to replace Joe Paterno as head coach whenever the job becomes open. "Obviously, it's on his mind," said Jim Bradley, Tom's older brother and the Steelers' orthopedic surgeon for 19 years. "He gets contacted by a lot of people. He has turned down positions, but he does not talk about it, due to respect and general decorum.

Boise State football coach Chris Petersen has banned players from posting on Twitter for the duration of the season, the Idaho Statesman reported yesterday. Petersen said posting on the social networking site is a distraction the team doesn't need as the Broncos enter the season as favorites to win another Western Athletic Conference title. About a dozen players have been regular users of Twitter, but they told the Statesman they understand the Twitter ban. Safety Jeron Johnson said he'll set aside his Twitter habit because it's time to focus on football.

Reserve Svetlana Abrosimova scored 20 points, and Swin Cash added 18 to lead the Seattle Storm to a 111-65 victory over the Tulsa Shock on Saturday night, the biggest rout in WNBA history. Seattle's 46-point victory topped by one point a win by the Houston Comets over Washington in 1998. "We played the best team and they just spanked us," said coach Nolan Richardson . "It was the worst spanking we've had to tell you the truth. " Los Angeles Sparks forward Tina Thompson became the WNBA's all-time leading scorer against the San Antonio Silver Stars in Los Angeles.

Jimbo Fisher now holds the keys to Florida State's football future and he promises a quick turnaround for a program recently mired in mediocrity. The son of a West Virginia coal miner and high school physics teacher, Fisher, 44, was introduced yesterday as the ninth head coach at Florida State since football began in 1947. Fisher has been the Seminoles' offensive coordinator the past three seasons, two of which he was officially the coach-in-waiting as Bobby Bowden's replacement.

Bobby Bowden wanted to coach another year at Florida State, however, "that was out," as an option. Bowden told the Associated Press yesterday that he wanted to coach next season. A day after meeting with university officials, Bowden announced Dec. 1 that he would retire following the Seminoles' bowl game. The 80-year-old Bowden said he's getting over the "disappointment" of leaving Florida State a year earlier than he had planned. He's been cleaning out his memorabilia-filled office in addition to trying to get the Seminoles ready for their New Years' Day date against West Virginia in the Gator Bowl.

Nine Michigan State football players are facing misdemeanor charges after a Nov. 22 dormitory brawl. Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III and Michigan State University Police Chief James Dunlap said yesterday that all nine players have been charged with conspiracy to commit an assault and battery. In addition, all nine have been charged with at least one count of assault or assault and battery. Roderick Jenrette was charged with three counts, while Glen Winston and Ashton Leggett were charged with two counts each.