The Times of Trenton Sports News

Pro, college & high school sports news

• Eagles respect Giants
PHILADELPHIA -- The Eagles were going to have their hands full with the Giants Sunday at the Meadowlands even before Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg at a New York nightclub Friday night.

• BOWLING/BRIAN CROUSHORE

• Coaching grapevine produces

• Rider fights back, falls late to Texas Pan-Am
LAWRENCE -- The Rider University women's basketball team trailed by as much as 14 points with 14:38 left in the second half and rallied to tie the game with 4:56 left in the game, but Texas Pan-American outscored the Broncs by five the rest of the way to pull out a 57-52 victory last night.

• Despite loss, things are looking up for T-Devils

• Boone's 19 power Mercer win
LOCAL COLLEGES

• Indy, SD are polar opposites
Time and again we learn that the NFL isn't so much about who has the most talent but rather who makes the most of their opportunities.

• Thompson flying high
LAWRENCE -- Ryan Thomp son hasn't seen it yet, he just did it. When he sees it, he'll realize what had everyone else aghast.

• Eagles feel good about stretch run
PHILADELPHIA -- Even some Eagles were at a loss to connect the dots, despite insisting four days earlier they would learn from their mistakes and push forward.

• Injury chased Utley off MVP pace
Thanksgiving leftovers:

• Lotier a winner in Turkey Derby
WALL TOWNSHIP -- Paul Lotier Jr. won the ATQMRA Turkey Derby for the first time at Wall Township Speedway on Friday.

• Princeton comeback not enough in final
LOCAL COLLEGES

• T-Devils stage dramatic rally

• INTERVIEW WITH A RH ODES SCHOLAR

• Jean-Gilles out for season; Cole steps in at right guard
PHILADELPHIA -- As the Eagles head down the final weeks of the season, with a playoff berth still a slim possibility, they will do so with their third right guard of the season.

• Princeton defeats No. 4 Northeastern
LOCAL COLLEGES

• T-Devils fall to Johnstown in 11th round of shootout
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. -- The Tren ton Devils scored on two of their first three attempts in a shootout at Johnstown last night. They then came up empty on their next eight attempts.

• Hanson starts, not Sheppard
PHILADELPHIA -- The wheels continue to turn in the personnel decisions of the Eagles.

• Westbrook, McNabb fuel Birds' offense
PHILADELPHIA -- "Operation Scapegoat" -- code for Donovan McNabb taking the brunt of the blame for the Eagles being on the fast track to missing the playoffs for the third time in four years -- hit a snag last night at Lincoln Financial Field.

• Motor City turkeys must go
There are some traditions that should not continue, not necessarily in this order.

• McNabb is preparing for Cardinals
PHILADELPHIA -- The NFL set a record for points scored in a single week when the New Orleans Saints finished routing the Green Bay Packers, 51-29, Monday night at the Superdome.

• COLLEGE BASKETBALL Today Favorite
SpreadUnderdog

• Culbreath named to All-Ivy squad
Two days after posting a career day in a 28-10 win over Dartmouth, junior running back Jordan Cul breath was one of two players unanimously selected first-team All-Ivy by the Ivy League coaches. Culbreath led the Ivy League with 1,206 yards rushing and recorded the fifth-highest single-game rush ing total when he ran for 276 yards against Dartmouth.

• Sports symposium comes to Princeton
Sports business professionals, marketing executives, college athletic leaders and students will come together for the 2008 Princeton Sports Symposium from noon to 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, in the Friend Center, Room 101 on the Princeton University campus. The event is free and open to the pub lic.

• TCNJ players honored
EWING -- The College of New Jersey field hockey team had three players named to the 2008 Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division III All-America teams with the two of them landing on the first team.

• THUNDER HONORED
The Trenton Thunder, the Double-A affiliate of the Yankees, have been named the Minor League Team of the Year in the "This Year in Minor League Baseball Awards." All voting was conducted by the fans through MLB.com.

• Costello powers Princeton to fifth
NCAA CROSS COUNTRY

• Donovan not done, still starter for Eagles

• Rider falls in OT to Monmouth
LOCAL COLLEGES

• END OF AN ERA IN PHIL LY?
BALTIMORE -- The day after Donovan McNabb played one of the worst games of his NFL career and admitted not knowing NFL rules regarding ties last week against Cincinnati Bengals, this is what Eagles head coach Andy Reid said when asked if he would consider giving backup quarterback Kevin Kolb a look.

• Ravens embarrass fading Eagles
BALTIMORE -- For once, Eagles head coach Andy Reid was right on the money.

• Mercer finishes third
PHOENIX -- The Mercer County Community College men's soccer team finished in third place at the NJCAA Division I Tournament following yesterday's 5-4 win over Garden City College (Kan.).

• Patriots lethal to Fins
One of my favorite NFL names is that of Pats run ning back BenJarvus Green-Ellis.

• Princeton gets first win
WEST POINT, N.Y. -- The Princeton University men's basketball team finally figured out how to win a game.

• Rider rallies past Lafayette

• Roster fiasco stings B-West

• TCNJ's Vernoia breaks record in 500 freestyle
LOCAL COLLEGES

• Culbreath's 276 carry Princeton

• Harbaugh has his birds in flight
BALTIMORE -- The irony is not that John Harbaugh was hired 13 months ago by the Baltimore Ravens despite no head coaching experience, or that around this time last year he had just been denied the vacancy at UCLA.

• Hun grad Rolle wins Rhodes Scholarship
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- High academic achievement? Check. Integrity of character? Check. A spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership and physical vigor? Check, check, check and check.

• McGrath, Guerriero direct TCNJ
LOCAL COLLEGES

• Selig's ineptness is showing again
Nothing will ever take the glow off our Phillies win ning the 2008 World Series, but one of the enduring off-the-field images of the most-recent Fall Classic was of the bumbling, stumbling, fumbling Bud Selig trying to explain his thinking after he was forced to postpone Game 5 in the middle of the sixth inning. If this in competence were a one-time oc currence, maybe it would be excusable; unfortunately, it has happened all too often.

• TCNJ falls to No. 1 Williams
NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER

• T-Devils fall to Chiefs
ECHL

• Franklin would embrace third season with Thunder
The future isn't weighing on Tony Franklin's mind.

• Westbrook uncertain for Ravens
PHILADELPHIA -- Amid concerns that his best offensive player may actually be hurting the Eagles by attempting to play through inju ries to his knee and ankle, head coach Andy Reid held running back Brian Westbrook out of prac tice for a third straight day yesterday and listed him as questionable for tomorrow's game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.

• Former racetrack to be celebrated at AC trade show
AUTO RACING

• Mercer loses semi on last-minute goal
NJCAA MEN'S SOCCER

• PRINCETON KICKOFF
The matchup: Dartmouth (0-9, 0-6 Ivy League) at Princeton (3-6, 2-4), 1 p.m. at Princeton Stadium (WPRB-103.3 FM)

• Relive the Phillies' title over and over
On the day the Phillies announced their All-Star second baseman Chase Utley was facing surgery on his right hip, it arrived in the mail -- an advance copy of the Phillies World Series Championship DVD, compliments of Major League Baseball Productions.

• Rider women triumph in OT
LOCAL COLLEGES

• T-Devils better, still lose

• Tigers seek win in finale
PRINCETON TOWNSHIP -- Princeton University football head coach Roger Hughes is making his list and checking it twice.

• Schneider youngest manager in minors
John Schneider always thought about his life post-baseball.

• Second-half persistence helps Rider sink Lehigh

• Ut(ley) oh: Chase to go under knife
The champagne has hardly gone flat from the Phillies' world- championship celebration, and they are already dealing with ad versity as far as the 2009 season is concerned.

• Mercer men's soccer romps at nationals
LOCAL COLLEGES

• NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCE R

• Thunder promo schedule packed
TRENTON -- The Thunder re leased their promotional schedule for the 2009 season yesterday.

• To get to Flacco, Eagles have to stop run game
PHILADELPHIA -- Even now, after Donovan McNabb's stunning admission on Sunday, players around the NFL probably are more aware of how rough Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson can be on rookie quarterbacks than they are of the league's overtime rules.

• Winter trout stocking under way
Once again the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife will be stocking some of the state's lakes with trout as part of its winter trout stocking program. The original winter stocking program, which was started several years ago, was designed to enhance the state's waters for ice fishermen in the northern portion of the state and was expanded to include lakes and ponds in the southern portion of the state.

• Princeton drops another close one
PRINCETON TOWNSHIP -- There's no getting around the Princeton University men's basketball team needs to win more games this season to validate progress.

• Vultures swarm around Eagles
PHILADELPHIA -- On the 30th Anniversary of "The Miracle at the Meadowlands," the sharks circled en masse yesterday for "The Nightmare at NovaCare."

• BASEBALL
TRENTON -- Joseph J. Finley is heading to Las Vegas for the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings Dec. 8-11.

• Hummer, 2009 class give Princeton hope
Princeton University men's basketball can rebuild its program by improving its recruiting, which is something second-year head coach Sydney Johnson seems to have done for 2009.

• NO ORDINARY JOE
Thunder co-owner Joseph J. Finley is an influential player within the Eastern League and Minor League Baseball.

• Osgoodby gets 100th TCNJ victory
NEW YORK -- The College of New Jersey wrestling team went a perfect 3-0 in dual meets yesterday as the Lions scored road wins over Hunter College, New York University and Yeshiva University.

• Princeton looks to go out on a high note
PRINCETON TOWNSHIP -- The game that stands out to junior linebacker Brad Stetler of the Princeton University football team this season is Harvard.

• PRINCETON SENIORS
The Princeton seniors who will close out their careers against Dartmouth on Saturday:

• T-Devils fail to score, fall to Nailers
WHEELING, W. Va. -- The Wheeling Nailers have been tough at home this season, and they held serve last night to continue the Trenton Devils' freefall.

• Blue-collar Mercer heads to Nationals
WEST WINDSOR -- The artistic ball skills and the flashy goals are great, but what Mercer County Community College's veteran men's soccer coach Charlie Inverso wants most for his team is to be blue-collar.

• Lions suffer first defeat on the road
LOCAL COLLEGES

• National championship tourney returning to Mercer CCC in 2009
WEST WINDSOR -- As its men's soccer team tries to win the NJCAA Division I National Championship Tournament in Phoenix this week, Mercer County Community College is starting to prepare for being the host of the eight-team event next year.