Wednesday morning papers

Here's what's in papers around the OVC this morning:

The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf Chronicle reports on Austin Peay State's Tuesday scrimmage , in which the defense apaprently kept the offense under wraps. There's also a note at the end of the story about the NCAA's decsision to do away with the I-A and I-AA labels in Division I football. Writer James. D. HOrne does a good job of explaining things, up until he write that AP is "a full Division I member in every sport except football." No, James. It's every sport. Division I-AA football is Division I football. That's what the "I" in "I-AA" is for. And that's the other reason, for some reason not mentioned very much, that the NCAA made this move - because sportswriters, the general public and even I-AA team staff members keep misunderstanding that.

The Leaf Chronicle also says an anonymous donor who'd pledged a multi-million dollar gift to the Govs' football program has died, and the school won't be getting the money after all. APSU President Sherry Hoppe says the school has raised plenty of money for the program without the gift, and that not getting won't affect the Govs' jump back into scholarship-backed play.

The Anniston (Ala.) Star (sorry, subscribers only) says Jacksonville State coach Jack Crowe was mightily displeased with the team's performance in a Tuesday night scrimmage. Are they ready to face #5 Furman on Sept. 2? "Not by a long shot," Crowe told the paper. How much of that is coach-speak, and how much reflects reality? Who knows. Freshman running back Shawn Green, from nearby Weaver High School, might get to play this fall after all. Crowe is second-guessing his decision to redshirt Green after a 99-yard, 2-touchdown performance in Tuesday's scrimmage.

The (Cookeville, Tenn.) Herald-Citizen says Tennessee Tech is flush with options at quarterback after suffering through half of 2005 without its original starter Robert Craft, who went out with a knee injury. The guy who started the rest of the season, Stephen Britton, is back after an off-season injury of his own, and appears to have his job back. There are three other guys behind him on the depth chart who were vying for the starting job until Britton's return, the paper says.

The (Memphis, Tenn.) Commercial Appeal drops in on UT-Martin for a check on the Skyhawks' chances at the OVC title. The paper says those chances might be better than anyone's giving the team credit for, as new coach Jason Simpson inherits a strong team from Matt Griffin, who left for Murray State. It's nice to see the attention for Martin from a major-city paper, but as is always a danger in these cases, there's a big error. The writer, Bryan Brasher, says Simpson was offensive coordinator at UT-Chattanooga, which finished 6-5 in the OVC last year. Bryan, the Mocs haven't decided to join the OVC yet, though they're thinking about it. Regardless, they were definitely in the Southern Conference last year, where that 6-5 record is even more impressive.