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LAS VEGAS -- Standing 5 feet 9 and weighing 165 pounds, Donnel Pumphrey was considered too small to play running back by many schools coming out of Canyon Springs High School in North Las Vegas.Rivals.com rated Pumphrey the fourth-best prospect in the state of Nevada. Scout.com gave him a two-star ranking. San Diego State had to beat out schools such as Oregon State, Duke and lukewarm interest from hometown UNLV to garner his services.But the spotlight will be a big one shinning on Pumphrey in the 25th annual Las Vegas Bowl when Mountain West champion San Diego State (10-3) plays Houston (9-3) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC) at Sam Boyd Stadium, only an 18-mile drive from Pumphreys old high school.Pumphrey (6,290 yards) needs 108 yards to surpass Wisconsins Ron Dayne (6,397) as the all-time leading career rusher in FBS history.Dayne, speaking on the Wisconsin State Journals The Red Zone podcast last month, said he believes hes getting shortchanged however.Hes gonna have (an asterisk) by his name if he breaks the record anyway, said Dayne, who starred at Wisconsin from 1996-1999. They didnt use none of my bowl games.Valid point. The NCAA began counting bowl games toward regular season and career statistical totals in 2002, but it did not go back and add bowl totals for players who played before 2002. If it had, Daynes total, counting bowl games, would be 7,125, including 200 yards in the 2000 Rose Bowl.Records are made to be broken, Dayne said. Good luck to him, and I wish him the best.Pumphrey, a first team All-American by Walter Camp and Sports Illustrated, ranks second in the country in rushing yards (2,018), rushing yards per game (155.2) and all-purpose yards (2,229) despite not playing in the fourth quarter in four of the past seven games. He is the only player in NCAA history with at least 5,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards.Despite all those glossy numbers, he wasnt one of five players invited to New York for the recent Heisman Trophy ceremony, another reason for him to play with a chip on his shoulder.Im very disappointed. I think he deserves to be there, San Diego State coach Rocky Long said last week. I knew all along that it was a long shot because of a lot of things, us being a non-Power 5 program and being on the West Coast. Those are two big deterrents for him being invited, but its very disappointing. But hes the Heisman winner in our minds and heart.Houston promoted offensive coordinator Major Applewhite to become coach after Tom Herman departed to become Texas coach. Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando, who had been serving as the interim coach since Herman accepted the Texas job Nov. 26, assumes his usual duties as defensive coordinator and then is expected to join Herman at Texas.The Cougars, who opened the season with a 33-23 upset of eventual Big 12 champion Oklahoma and also stunned then-No. 5-ranked Louisville and Heisman winner Lamar Jackson 36-10, saw their bid for a second straight New Years Six bowl berth go by the wayside when they lost to Navy 46-40 midway through the season.Houston also lost to SMU and Memphis and finished fourth (5-3) in the West Division of the American Athletic Conference.Cougars quarterback Greg Ward Jr. is playing the final game of his spectacular career and ranks fifth in school history in passing touchdowns (52) and passing yardage (8,476). Ward accounted for 31 touchdowns (22 passing, nine rushing) this season while throwing for 3,328 yards and rushing for 518 despite battling a shoulder injury.Houstons rushing defense, led by freshman nose tackle Ed Oliver (19.5 tackles for loss, five sacks) and senior outside linebacker Steven Taylor (72 tackles, 8.5 sacks), ranks third in the nation at 97.9 yards per game which makes Pumphreys quest to break Daynes rushing mark even more interesting. The Cougars limited opponents to 22.6 points per game.Senior cornerback Damontae Kazee (seven interceptions this season, school-record 17 in his career) and senior outside linebacker Calvin Munson (team-best 108 tackles) lead San Diego States defense. Kazee is the first cornerback in Mountain West history to win the defensive player-of-the-year award twice and the fifth player overall, joining Tank Carder (2010-11 at TCU), Jerry Hughes (2008-09 at TCU), Eric Weddle (2005-06 at Utah) and Kirk Morrison (2003-04 at San Diego State).Sammy Watkins Super Bowl Jersey . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Martinas Rankin Super Bowl Jersey . Luis Suarezs double powered Liverpool to a 4-0 victory over Fulham, and Southampton easily overcame Hull 4-1 to continue the south coast clubs impressive start to the season. Liverpool and Southampton sent Chelsea down to fourth place as the west London club was held to 2-2 at home. http://www.thechiefsshoponline.com/Youth-Xavier-Williams-Chiefs-Jersey/ . Aduriz headed home Markel Susaetas cross in the sixth minute to open the scoring at San Mames Stadium. He bettered that with a long-range blast that went in off the goal frame in the 18th, and converted a penalty in the 72nd after Diego Mainz was sent off for fouling Aduriz with only the goalkeeper to beat. Cameron Erving Super Bowl Jersey . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. Chad Henne Super Bowl Jersey . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium.LAS VEGAS -- Charlotte is the home of the Hornets once again. The NBA unanimously approved Charlottes nickname change from Bobcats to Hornets on Thursday at the leagues Board of Governors meeting. The original Hornets built a supportive fan base in Charlotte from the time they entered the league in 1988 until they moved to New Orleans in 2002. But the new owners in New Orleans have changed the teams name to the Pelicans. That opened the door for owner Michael Jordan to bring the Hornets name back to Charlotte. The change will take place after the 2013-14 season. "Were thrilled to bring back the Hornets to Charlotte and the Carolinas," Jordan said in a statement issued by the team. "The passion and enthusiasm around this name change by fans in this market has been unmatched. They overwhelmingly told us what they wanted, we listened and we couldnt be happier with the Board of Governors approval of the name change. With the young team we are developing on the court, the direction of our business and the return of the Hornets name, we are extremely excited about our future. The buzz is back!" The city, and the franchise, has been looking for a fresh start. The Hornets were a ticket-selling powerhouse for years, leading the league in attendance eight times and selling out 364 straight games in their turquoise, white and purple uniforms. The city bonded with a charismatic team that included such as stars Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson and fan favourite Muggsy Bogues. But the franchise fell on hard times under previous owner George Shinn, who took to the team, and the Hornets name, to New Orleans. The NBA brought an expansion team back to Charlotte two years later, a team nicknamed the Bobcats in part due to founding owner Bob Johnsons name. The brand never resonated with the people the way the Hornets did, in large part because the team only has had one winning season and one playoff appearance in its first nine years of existence. The Bobcats, with their nondescript orange and grey colour scheme, won just seven games two years ago and only 21 last season. So they are hoping the energy brought by the name change, even if it will take another year to set in, will somehow help galvanize a young team. "We want to reach back and grab some of that equity that the Hornets earned in our community," Charlotte COO Fred Whitfield said. "They did a lot of great things off the court. They were involved in the community. They became very accessible to the Charlotte fans and citizens of Charlotte. We want to reach back and grab some heritage and use it as we move forward to build a brand with our young team that continues to improve.dddddddddddd" The Bobcats website hailed the return of "Buzz City" and team officials said 2,000 season-ticket holders turned out at a downtown party that turned into a celebration of the name change. Bogues and other former Hornets including Rex Chapman, Kelly Tripucka, Dell Curry and Kendall Gill attended as well. Commissioner David Stern said that he had heard pleas from Charlotte basketball fans for years to give them back the Hornets nickname, and he initially brushed those aside with a "get over it" view of the complaining. In time, however, he came to understand how important the name was to the community. "It stayed there, bubbling below the surface, and there is something to it," Stern said. "I think that the team is going to receive support from fans who think that this is a step in the direction that the fans have been asking for, and this is an attempt to both satisfy the fans and its accompanied by a kind of very specific market research that allows the Hornets to say, yes, this is what the market is asking for and theyre very much serving their market by making this change." The board also gave final approval to several rules changes, most notably expanding instant replay in the final two minutes to help officials with the block/charge call, perhaps the most difficult judgment in the game. If an official reviews a play to see if a defenders feet were in the restricted area or not on a block/charge, the official can now also review whether the defenders feet were set for a charge or if his body was still moving for a blocking foul. "You always try to level the playing field and basically get it right," said Kiki Vandeweghe, the leagues new vice-president of basketball operations. "Thats the main focus is getting calls right." Officials now will also be able to review whether an off-the-ball foul occurred before or after a player started his shooting motion on a made shot, or before or after an inbounds pass. And during any review, the referees will also be able to now decide if any unsportsmanlike or "unnecessary" acts, including flagrant fouls, merit further punishment. Two rules changes were adopted as well: --It will no longer be a clear path foul if the defender gets ahead of the offensive player in the frontcourt before the foul is committed. --If a player on offence stands out of bounds on purpose to create more spacing for his teammates, the offensive team will lose possession of the ball. ' ' '