Monthly Archives: August 2012

Video: Duke-FIU Preview

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Duke football hosts Florida International on Saturday to begin the college football season for the Blue Devils.

For all of The Chronicle’s coverage of the game, head over to the special Duke-FIU football event page.

Click below to watch our video preview of the game, done in conjunction with Duke Student Broadcasting:

Our Duke-FIU predictions in the video?

Andrew Beaton (@andrewlbeaton): Duke 28, Florida International 27

Chris Cusack (@chriscusack1): Duke 21, Florida International 20

Danny Nolan (@DannyPNolan): Duke 27, Florida International 24

Follow @chroniclesports and @dukedsb on Twitter.

Duke football injury report vs. Florida International

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As the Blue Devils take on Florida International in their season-opener Saturday night, Duke released its first weekly injury report of the season. Here’s a rundown of the players are listed on the injury report this week:

PROBABLE
DE Kenny Anunike (leg)
DE Jordan DeWalt-Ondijo (leg)

QUESTIONABLE
S Anthony Young-Wiseman (leg)

DOUBTFUL
DE Jonathan Woodruff (leg)

OUT
CB Jared Boyd (leg)
LB Kelby Brown (leg)
NG Jamal Bruce (foot)
S Jordon Byas (leg)
TE Braxton Deaver (leg)
LB Britton Grier (hand)
TE Jack Farrell (leg)
OG Lucas Patrick (ankle)

OUT FOR SEASON
WR Blair Holliday
DE Allen Jackson (shoulder)
S Taylor Sowell (leg)

Breakdown: Overall, there aren’t many surprises in this week’s injury report. The Blue Devils have a laundry list of players that won’t be suiting up for Saturday’s game against the Golden Panthers, as the team has been plagued by injuries all summer, most notably major injuries to potential playmakers Blair Holliday and Braxton Deaver. There are two listings of probable along the defensive line with Kenny Anunike and Jordan DeWalt-Ondijo, which should be strictly precautionary, especially since Anunike spent the offseason recovering from major knee surgery.

Try not to read too much into the names at the top of the list–there are players that spend entire seasons listed as probable–but the Blue Devils will be entering their season-opener relatively short-handed due to so many injuries. Even listed as questionable, Anthony Young-Wiseman will try his hardest to see the field for Duke’s first game, and it’s likely the Blue Devils will be cautious with Jonathan Woodruff to prevent more injuries from occurring, specifically on the defensive side of the football.

Behind Enemy Lines: Florida International

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Before every football game this year, The Blue Zone is going to sit down with a football writer from the opposing school’s student newspaper to get the scoop on their team and season.

This week, The Chronicle’s Andrew Beaton spoke to Florida International University’s Student Media sports editor Brandon Wise about the season-opening game for both teams on Saturday.

The Chronicle: Duke’s currently a few point favorite in this game–with FIU getting a few votes in the preseason poll, did that surprise you?

Brandon Wise: And It could go either way with that you know? Yeah FIU’s receiving votes in the poll, but there are still a Sun Belt school taking on a BCS team. Even though Duke has had its issues the past few years, they did beat the Panthers last year in their house. Now, it’s going to be at Duke, I think that the Blue Devils should be the favorites.

Conner Vernon caught eight passes for 117 yards and one touchdown against Florida International last year. Photo credit Duke Chronicle

TC: What do fans have to be excited about for the Panthers this season? Who needs to step up for them to exceed expectations?

BW: The fans are curious to see who steps into the T.Y. Hilton spotlight. His graduation leaves a sizable hole in the WR core, but its a group that comes into this season with a lot of experience. The number one guy will likely be Wayne Times, who showed glimpses of explosiveness last season. Also, Jacob Younger is a big body receiver who burst onto the scene when Hilton was hurt. There are a lot of expectations on this team to be the best in school history, even higher than last year when there was a plethora of seniors. It will be interesting to see exactly who steps up. You also have to wonder how well Jake Medlock steps into the starting role full time at quarterback when he had two spot starts last season. Its his team now, he has to go out there and prove that he should be THE guy.

TC: How about the other side of the ball? FIU had one of the stingiest defenses in football last season, allowing just 19.5 points per game, despite giving up 31 points to Duke–will their defense be as good this year?

BW: The defense is coming in with a lot of hype this year. Even though it was expose in a few games last season, including when Renfree torched the secondary, they found a way. The way I would describe them heading into this season is bend but don’t break. I could see this team giving up a decent amount of yardage this season, but I see them keeping a lot of teams of the scoreboard. If FIU’s going to be a productive team, their likely to win a lot of their games 7-3, 14-10, or 21-13.

TC: What was it about Renfree and the Duke attack that gave FIU so much trouble last season when it was otherwise consistently so solid?

BW: I think that the secondary really hadn’t seen a QB or WR of that size with Renfree being 6-foot-5-inches and Conner Vernon being 6-foot. The size was always a problem for this secondary. Look at the bowl game against Marshall where they had to matchup with Aaron Dobson who is 6-foot-3-inches. When most of the corners on the team top out around 5-foot-9 inches or 5-foot-10 inches, thats a mismatch against a bigger receiver. So heading into this game, I think that Vernon still poses a matchup problem size wise against the smaller corners from FIU.

TC: Prediction?

BW: I really think this comes down to a last minute field goal and I just think that Renfree and Duke find a way to win at home. I’ll go with Duke 21, FIU 20.

Follow @andrewlbeaton and @brandonwise65 on Twitter

Stroman banned 50 games for PED use

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Former Duke baseball player Marcus Stroman has been suspended 50 games by MLB for using Methylhexaneamine.

The suspension will end Stroman’s 2012 season and keep him out for the beginning of 2013 as well.

After being selected with the 22nd pick in the first round of this year’s Major League Baseball draft, Stroman logged 19.1 innings between Low-A Vancouver and Double-A New Hampshire. His numbers from the two levels combined to form a respectable 3.26 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. He was believed to be a candidate for a September call-up when Major League rosters expand next week.

The MLB released the following statement on Stroman’s suspension.

Toronto Blue Jays Minor League right-handed pitcher Marcus Stroman has been suspended for 50 games without pay after testing positive for Methylhexaneamine.  The suspension of Stroman, who is currently on the roster of the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Eastern League, is effective immediately.

Stroman and the Blue Jays both released statements as well. Said Stroman,

“Despite taking precautions to avoid violating the Minor League testing program, I unknowingly ingested a banned stimulant that was in an over-the-counter supplement.  Nonetheless, I accept full responsibility and I want to apologize to the Toronto Blue Jays organization, my family, my teammates, and the Blue Jays fans everywhere.   I look forward to putting this behind me and rejoining my teammates.”

The Toronto Blue Jays’ Sr. Vice President Baseball Operations and General Manager Alex Anthopoulos’ statement read,

This suspension is unfortunate and we are disappointed by this development.  The Toronto Blue Jays however fully endorse the Major League Baseball’s drug testing policy and support the discipline taken today.

 

Quick Hits from Lunch With Cut

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For the first time this season, head coach David Cutcliffe held his weekly press conference. Here are some highlights from his 30-minute Q&A. The Blue Devils open their 2012 campaign this Saturday at 7 p.m. against Florida International.

Injuries will leave Duke short-handed in season-opener.

According to Cutcliffe, Duke will have 12 scholarship players unavailable for the Blue Devils’ season-opening matchup with the Golden Panthers, for what the coach described as “due to injury or whatever reason.” Cutcliffe also cited that two other players’ eligibility will be questionable for Saturday, and with the loss of Blair Holliday from his jet skiing accident, the Duke could be forced to face FIU with as few as 70 scholarship players on the field, as opposed to the usual 85 players.

Blue Devils name four captains for the 2012 season.

Fifth-year senior quarterback Sean Renfree, senior wide receiver Conner Vernon, redshirt junior cornerback Ross Cockrell and senior safety Walt Canty will serve as Duke’s captains this year. Cutcliffe lauded his captains for both their dedication to the team and leadership abilities and added that a large number of players received votes for captain.

“It made me realize as I was looking at those this morning how many fine young men and fine leaders this team have,” Cutcliffe said. “We’re leaning on this fact because of the adversity we have face. We’ve got some big shoulders to stand on on this team.”

“They’re as fast as anybody we’ll play this year.”–Cutcliffe

Coach Cutcliffe was wary of FIU’s speed and experience on both sides of the ball, calling Duke’s matchup with the Golden Panthers “the toughest non-conference opener in the ACC.” After a tough loss to open the 2011 season against Richmond, Cutcliffe hoped his players would play up to a higher level of competition in week one.

“You want to see a really good football game? There’s going to be one out here on Saturday night,” Cutcliffe said.

“There’s no question that this is the best stable of backs that we’ve had since we’ve been here.”

Emphasizing the importance of the running game this year, Cutcliffe cited his depth at running back as a major strength the Blue Devils have not had in the past. Juwan Thompson sits first on the depth chart and will lead the way as the season begins, and the team is glad to have redshirt sophomore Josh Snead back in action after an injury-plagued 2011 season.

Senior Desmond Scott has moved from running back and will start as the team’s slot receiver, but will still see time and touches in the backfield on occasion. Brandon Connette, who served as a backup quarterback last season, will also play running back and fullback this year in addition to seeing time at quarterback, wide receiver and tight end as well. Shaquille Powell rounds out the bunch–as one of nine true freshmen to suit up for Duke this season, Powell has looked promising in training camp. A native of Las Vegas, Powell will have chances to make an impact on the field during his first year and could make his way up the depth chart later in the season.

Cutcliffe and members of Duke coaching staff to visit Blair Holliday tomorrow in Atlanta.

The team announced Tuesday that members of the Blue Devil coaching staff will fly to Atlanta tomorrow afternoon to visit wide receiver Blair Holliday, who is currently recovering from a near-fatal jet skiing accident he suffered in July. Holliday is now beginning to walk and has remained in contact with his coaches and teammates. The Duke staff are hopeful that Holliday may be able to move from Atlanta’s Shepherd Center to an outpatient facility in the near future to continue his rehabilitation.

Duke basketball great Heyman dies

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Duke basketball legend Art Heyman has died at the age of 71, according to the team’s official Twitter account.

Heyman played on the varsity squad at Duke from 1961-1963, earning ACC Player of the Year and National Player of the Year honors in his senior season. He took the Blue Devils to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament that year, losing in the semifinals to the eventual champion Loyola Chicago.

He averaged a double-double in all three of his seasons at Duke, finishing the three years with an average of 25.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.

Heyman’s jersey No. 25 is one of 13 men’s basketball jerseys that currently hangs from the rafters at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Heyman was known for his fiery attitude, famously getting in a fight against a North Carolina squad featuring Larry Brown in 1961. Below is a video from the Duke University Libraries of that game in ’61:

With 1,984 career points at Duke, he graduated with the school record. He now ranks ninth on the team’s all-time list.

This story is still being updated.