DID THE LACK of live local television coverage for the first timein a decade help spin the turnstiles at Marshall Stadium any quickeron Saturday night? The early results are mixed.
While it's true that the 32,034 in the house for the Herd's 37-31 come-from-behind win over Bowling Green was the fourth largest inMarshall history, other factors affected the turnout. Perfectweather, a previously unbeaten group of BGSU Falcons and the chanceto see the Herd play in Huntington for the first time in three weeksalso added to the larger-than-average crowd.
For others, the lack of live TV affected the game in a differentway.
'It made the game about a half-hour shorter,' said Marshallsports information director Ricky Hazel.
While it hasn't been officially confirmed yet, two differentsources told us Sunday that Marshall's Oct. 20 homecoming game withCentral Michigan will feature live TV coverage.
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OURS NOW A TITAN: During his college career at West VirginiaUniversitiy, big Wes Ours had trouble finding a permanent home,finally settling in at fullback during his senior year.
Now, after making the Indianapolis Colts' 53-man opening-dayroster as an undrafted free agent only to be cut two weeks later,Ours has another new NFL home - the Tennessee Titans.
'I think it's a great opportunity to come in and play for a greatclub,' said Ours. 'I thought I had a good situation in Indianapolis,but then a situation happened where they needed a linebacker. I feellike I can come in here, though, and help this team in any way thatthey want me to.'
Titans coach Jeff Fisher got a chance to see the 284-pound Oursin action at fullback for the Colts when Tennessee combined withIndianapolis for joint workouts in August. When the Colts put Ourson waivers to make room for the return of an injured linebacker lastweek, they planned on reclaiming him and putting him on theIndianapolis practice squad. But the Titans had other plans forOurs.
'He came here and practiced against us and did a good job for abig guy,' Fisher said of Ours late last week. 'We thought with aspot on the roster it would be a wise move to claim him and bringhim in here to give him a shot.'
Fisher is quickly finding out what WVU fans already knew - thatdespite his bulk, Ours is light on his feet. Sort of like aMountaineer version of a dancing bear.
'For a big guy, he has good feet,' said Fisher. 'He can recoverand is somewhat accurate in his blocks. He blocks the right guy inpractice. He understands the system, he has played the position, andhe has good hands. He needs to improve. He needs to get stronger andmore explosive, but we are going to give him a good look and see howhe does.'
Ours joins John Thornton as WVU connections on the Titans. WhileOurs fights to protect his new roster spot, Thornton is solidlyentrenched as a key member of the Titans defense. A second-roundpick in 1999, Thornton is beginning his second year as Tennessee'sstarting left tackle.
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NELSON A COVER BOY: While we have just closed the book on theopening month of the college football season, college basketballpreseason magazines are beginning to appear on newsstands.
In Athlon's hoops preview, former St. Albans sharpshooter BrettNelson of the Florida Gators graces the cover of the Southeasternedition of the magazine and has been tabbed as a preseason first-team All-America. After just two years in Gainesville, Nelson isalready the Gators' all-time leader with 130 3-pointers.
Nelson is a notorious gym rat, but apparently he's also beenspending more time in the weight room. Nelson has added a dozenpounds in preparation for his junior year at Florida and now tipsthe scales at 182 pounds.
The 6-foot-3 Nelson will obviously be counted on to carry more ofthe load in the Florida backcourt in the wake of Ted Dupay'sdeparture from the squad for associating with gamblers. Despite theloss of Dupay, frontcourt regulars Matt Bonner and Udonis Haslemjoin Nelson as returning starters at Florida and Athlon picks theGators as one of its Final Four selections.
In a related note, Athlon foresees a return trip to the NIT forWest Virginia, but predicts that Marshall will struggle to just afifth-place finish in the Mid-American Conference East Division.
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THE PERSONAL TOUCH: What can you do to increase fan interest ifyou are the general manager of an NBA team that missed the playoffslast year?
Well, for Boston Celtics GM Chris Wallace, it means going door-to-door to spread the word. The Buckhannon native was literallyknocking on doors earlier this month and handing out green-and-white basketball nets for that old backyard hoop nailed to thegarage.
Wallace knows a bit about hitting the pavement for the cause,after once serving as an advance man for some of West Virginia'sRepublican congressional and senatorial candidates back in the mid-1970s. He knows that selling the Celts is a breeze compared totrying to convert traditional Democrats in places like Mineral,Pendleton, Tucker and Grant counties.
'Nobody's asking me to do this,' Wallace explained to the BostonGlobe. 'There's no sense of crisis, like we're going down the drainor anything. But I really believe people in sports have got to dosomething. People are fed up with lockouts, walkouts, escalatingticket prices and conduct issues with players.
'When I grew up, there was none of that stuff. I guess what I'msaying is that we've got to try to bring that magic back to thegames.'
Wallace will return his focus to his team when the Celtics opentraining camp today.
To contact Dave Weekley, send e-mail to weekley@yahoo.com.
