Carolina Panthers receiver Steve Smith broke his left arm in Sunday’s 41-9 victory over the New York Giants.


Coach John Fox said that Smith broke his radius and will have surgery on Monday.

Smith seemingly was hurt after catching a 27-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter. He finished the game with five catches for 60 yards and the season with 65 catches for 982 yards and seven touchdowns.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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Homecoming 2009, Oct. 11-17at the University of Alabama, concludes with the Tide hosting South Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 17. Don’t miss the traditionally popular bonfire blazing on UA Quad on Friday for the Homecoming Pep Rally. The following morning, the Homecoming Parade winds its way from downtown Tuscaloosa all the way to the UA campus.

Todd Selected as Grand Marshal

Former UA standout Richard Todd, who played for legendary Coach Paul Bryant, is 2009 Grand Marshal. Todd played quarterback for the New York Jets and the New Orleans Saints from 1976 to 1985.

The Tide welcome the Gamecocks of South Carolina to Bryant Denny Field with game time to be announced.

Popular SEC Contest

The heavily favored Crimson Tide headed into week six at Mississippi Oct. 10 riding an undefeated season with its most recent win against the Kentucky Wildcats, 38-20 on the road at Commonwealth Stadium in Louisville. After another road trip to Oxford, Miss., to take on the Ole Miss Rebels, the Tide returns for Homecoming 2009 matching up against rival South Carolina.

Tough Tide Defense

In this third season under Head Coach Nick Saban, Alabama has been a stingy team, denying opponents late-minute opportunities by bringing a tough A-game defense in the closing quarter. This formidable “D” should provide a noticeable challenge to Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks in both teams’ 2009 head-to-head meet. From the first game of the season, led by All-American candidate Rolando McClain, against a highly-ranked Virginia Tech offense, the Tide defense shut this opponent down denying any fourth-quarter points while UA’s offense rolled to 18 last-period points. During the contest against Arkansas, the Tide held highly-touted Razorback QB Ryan Mallet to a 12-for-35 completion record while picking him off for his first INT of the season.

Offensive Weapons Bring Success

The Tide’s QB Greg McElroy in the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks passed for his career-high outing of 291 yards with three TDs tossed. This included an 80-yard strike to Marquis Maze that was one of the longest pass plays in the Tide’s history. But, South Carolina is no stranger to playing in big games as was evident when they defeated the Rebels of Ole Miss in week three. Mississippi entered the week nationally ranked at No. 4 but walked away surprised at the defeat (16-10) handed to them by the Gamecocks. It was a big win for South Carolina who had not defeated a top five team since beating North Carolina in 1981. But, they will have to suit up against Saban’s formidable offense where McElroy enjoys being the sixth-ranked passer in the nation with a 165.48 passer rating completing 78-for-119 with nine TD tosses. Add to this arsenal RB Mark Ingram, SEC’s rushing touchdown leader with six on the season. Ingram is the Tide’s rushing leader with 487 yards so far on 83 carries. He is averaging 5.9 yards per touch with nearly a 100 (97.5) per game. Ingram exhibits an excellent hold on the ball having never lost a fumble in his 187 career runs and 17 catches where he has compiled 204 touches. He has 15 rushing scores in his Tide career.

South Carolina has its challenge of the season facing the Tide on their own turf when they meet at 3 p.m. Oct. 17 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Chris Webb is a sports writer for www.sportsfantreasures.com. He would like to invite you to check out their Alabama Crimson Tide Merchandise and Texas Longhorns Merchandise.

The Alabama Crimson Tide are entering the 2009 season with more optimism than they have had in a long time. Much of this is due to a surprising 2008 season where the season finished second in the ultra competitive SEC and were even ranked number one in the nation during week 10. Even though the Tide lost the conference championship game to Florida and went on to be upset 31-17 by the Utah Utes in the Sugar Bowl, the season can still be labelled a success because many people questioned whether or not the team would even win enough games to gain bowl eligibly. The program has now been completely revitalized under head coach Nick Saban and things are definitely looking up in Tuscaloosa this season. Pollsters have also noticed how good this team is, as the Tide were ranked fifth in the preseason rankings.

With starting quarterback John Parker Wilson graduating, the Tide will be looking towards Greg McElroy to lead them this season. McElroy, luckily, is not a green rookie, as got into eight games during his first two seasons as a backup. In his first start of the 2009 season, McElroy proved that the team will not miss a beat by leading the team to a 34-24 victory over the seventh ranked Virginia Tech Hokies. Beating such a highly ranked team so early will bode well for this team as the season progresses, although they still have several games against very strong teams left to go this season. The team is also returning eight defensive starters and three wide receivers, so their defence and receiving corps should be among the best in the country.

Playing in the SEC will be both a blessing and a curse for the Tide this season, as they will be faced with many tough match ups. While this does give them plenty of chances to impress voters, they will also be faced with many more chances for losses. Teams like Ohio State are constantly able to take advantage of a weak conference schedule, but the Tide will face teams like sixth ranked Ole Miss, LSU, Auburn, Tennessee, Mississippi State, as well as a potential conference championship game, which will likely be against Florida. No one has ever said that it would be easy, but this year’s Tide appear to be more readily equipped to keep the momentum going all season.

While this Tide team looks to have a very good shot at competing for a national championship, it should be noted that they will not surprise anyone this season. Everyone in the country knows that the Alabama Crimson Tide are one of the best teams in the nation and, therefore, everyone will be excited to play them. The games October 10th, which is at Ole Miss, and November 27th, which is at Auburn, will go a long way in proving just how good this team is. SEC teams face some of the toughest competition in the country, which can make it very difficult for these teams to get through the season undefeated.

Hastings Junkin is a sports writer for www.sportsfantreasures.com. He would like to invite you to check out their Alabama Crimson Tide Merchandise and Alabama Crimson Tide Apparel today!

Graduating 20 seniors, the LSU Tigers are approaching a 2009 college football season that some might call a rebuilding year. ESPN ranked LSU’s 2009 recruiting class number one ahead of Alabama’s number two. This kind of year can produce a lot of questions but the exciting thing is there is a multitude of good answers. Many of those answers won’t be made clear until sometime into the season but in the end it could very well lead to a possible SEC championship contention and maybe even another national championship for fifth-year coach, Les Miles, and his Tigers. Coach Miles knows what it takes to lead a team to number one at the end of the year with one BCS championship already under his belt from the 2007 season.

When the 90 thousand plus fans pack into Tiger Stadium chanting, “Geaux Tigers,” on that first home game against Vanderbilt, Miles and his Tigers will likely enjoy the nice month of September warm up. The calm before the storm. But then the month of October will certainly be a reminder that the SEC is the toughest conference in college football to be in. Challenges against the likes of perennial powers, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and Georgia will show what the Bayou Bengals are made of. The outcomes may be unusually surprising. Champions are born in adversity. The kind of teams that Les Miles forges together are those types that never quit, never give up in any battle or even after any defeat.

In the 2007 BCS championship season, Miles’s team overcame two spectacular triple over-time losses and more than a few close wins, to become the number one team in the land. It has become clear that in spite of any challenges the LSU Tigers know how to rally together and produce the grittiness and never-say-die toughness it takes to become a champion. Last year was a very up and down year in an attempt to defend the national championship with losses to Alabama, Florida, and Georgia and a final record of 8-5 (3-5 in SEC play). That could make some fans believe they’re in for more of the same but a strong finish against Georgia Tech and a hard fought win against rival Auburn showed glimpses of mental toughness that can only be more evident in 2009.

The remaining leadership for the 2009 season will fall into the very capable hands of seniors like WR Brandon LaFell, RB Charles Scott, and TE Richard Dickson. Their experience and time in the Les Miles system will be a huge reason why the SEC should fear the 2009 LSU Tigers. Upcoming players would include the likely starter at quarterback, rising star Jordan Jefferson. In his second year, it should be expected that the 6-4 210-pounder will lead the offense in toughness and poise. Freshman QB Russell Shepard also gives the SEC a reason to worry because a dual-quarterback system with Jefferson is likely to develop that would allow Shepherd opportunities to show his All-American caliber quickness and strength.

The 2009 LSU Tiger football season obviously has a lot of unanswered questions but the answers may be surprisingly pleasant. Coach Miles is a championship coach with the ability to transfer a tremendous tenacity into players that produces wins. In spite of a difficult season last year and a tough schedule this year a lot can expected from this year’s team. It is said that gold is refined by fire. In 2009 it will be the Purple and Gold fighting Tigers who will see what they’re made out of.

Tyson Bilger is a sports writer for www.sportsfantreasures.com. He would like to invite you to check out their LSU Tigers Apparel and LSU Tigers Game Room online today!

The Bear.  A simple word, that when mentioned in college football circles refer to arguably the greatest head football coach in the history of the game.  Paul “Bear” Bryant is synonymous with the The Bear. A simple word, that when mentioned in college football circles refer to arguably the greatest head football coach in the history of the game. Paul “Bear” Bryant is synonymous with the Alabama Crimson Tide and it can be argued that he was the man that really made Alabama a household name. Bryant was without a doubt the most successful coach in the history of the Southeastern conference with his Alabama teams dominating the conference during his tenure with the Tide and it can be argued that he was the man that really made Alabama a household name.  Bryant was without a doubt the most successful coach in the history of the Southeastern conference with his Alabama teams dominating the conference during his tenure with the Tide.

Bear Bryant began his coach career at the University of Maryland in 1945.  Bryant led the team to a successful season at 6-2-1 in his first season, however left the job due to a power struggle with the University president and the first Bryant decided that he would better utilized elsewhere and left after one season.

Bryant left Maryland and went to coach the University of Kentucky.  Kentucky is where Bryant started to become known as a great football coach.  Bryant would lead Kentucky to its first bowl game in just his second season as head coach in 1947.  He enjoyed his greatest success in 1950 when he led the team to its first Southeastern conference title and beat the Oklahoma Sooners in their bowl game while Oklahoma was ranked the number 1 team in the nation.  Even though Bryant would not be alive to receive the honor, the Kentucky Wildcats were awarded the national championship for that 1950 season in 2005.  All of Bryant’s living players were there to accept the award for the team.

Bryant would leave Kentucky in 1954 amid integration rebuffs by the athletic department.  He went to coach Texas A&M, as well as being named the Athletic Director.  Bryant was only at three years but his first team was immortalized in a movie for ESPN named the Junction Boys.  The Junction Boys covered the first preseason for Texas A&M with Bryant as head coach.  Bryant took over a 100 players to training camp in Junction, Texas during a heat wave where temperatures normally reached well over 100 degrees.  The practices proved to be too much for a lot of the players as nearly 70 players quit the football program due to the intense conditions.  Bryant was always known for his no nonsense attitude but this reinforced the fact.

Bryant stayed at Texas A&M for three years before becoming the coach of Alabama in 1958.  Bryant coached at Alabama for 25 years, winning six national titles and thirteen SEC championships.  Bryant turned the Alabama Crimson Tide into a household name and turned himself into arguably the greatest coach in the history of college football.  When he retired in 1982 he was the all-time leader in wins with 315, which has since been passed by the likes of Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno.

The lasting legacy that Bryant left for Alabama is immeasurable, he turned a respected Southern school and turned the Crimson Tide into the arguably the most recognized program in all of college football.  For that, Bryant is remembered as the greatest Crimson Tide to ever be involved in the football program.

Rick Samson is a sports writer for www.sportsfantreasures.com. He would like to invite you to check out their Alabama Crimson Tide Store and Alabama Crimson Tide Apparel online today!

When you are discussing college football and you are talking about teams that have a long history of greatness in the game, one name constantly comes to mind and that is the Crimson Tide from Alabama. When you look over the past you can see that they have a long and wonderful history of fantastic games and as you look into the future towards the 2009 / 2010 football season of Alabama Crimson Tide you can expect to see more of the same. It should indeed be a case of history repeating it’s self in the game of college football.

The tide gets underway with the first game in Atlanta in the Georgia Dome against the Virginia Tech Hokies in September and goes through the 27th of November with a game against Auburn. The players and the coaches this year are very experienced and are coming off a fantastic season from last year and they should have little problems continuing the trend into the new season. There are twelve games scheduled of which seven are home games. This gives them a decided advantage as we all know.

The fans in Alabama take football seriously as you will know if you ever have had occasion to drive by the stadium at virtually any point on a game day. They know how to take their sports to a whole different level and it seems to get wilder and crazier every year.

Homecoming at Tuscaloosa’s home of the Crimson Tide is a site to behold. You have to experience the thing to see the entire town get in the spirit of things is almost unbelievable and the only thing that might get a little wilder is the game against fellow Alabama team Auburn where the rivalry can turn down right ugly at times.

The practices for the team have gotten much more intense than they usually are because they have a lot to live up to this year. The Crimson Tide ended the season last year with a twelve and two record and also captured the fist SEC Championship for the school in more than a decade. Needless to say spirits and hopes are high this year and the team is practicing at levels that can only be described as feverish.

Four of the games are going to be televised this year so you can stay at home and watch them if you like but the absolute best way to enjoy watching the Crimson Tide roll on is in person at the stadium. There is no way that you are going to get the full effect of the excitement and the adrenalin like sitting there in the midst of the history making plays.

The 2009 / 2010 season promises to be outstanding and crucial for the team and there certainly is little indication of any weak spots in the team or the coaching staff this year so they are poised to make it for back to back SEC titles with any kind of luck.

Trey Wells is a sports writer for www.sportsfantreasures.com. He would like to invite you to check out their Alabama Crimison Tide Merchandise and Alabama Crimson Tide Gear online today!