In A Rush To Break News

Don’t normally do something like this, but found it really funny how CNN was trying to break the John Edwards news so quickly that they had conflicting breaking news headlines on their front page.

CNN declares John Edwards both guilty and not guilty of the same charge

I know people get mad when sports websites get things wrong. In fact, sometimes to backlash can be so bad that people get fired. But, as you can see, it can happen to anyone and any site no matter how many editors they have. So, remember that they next time you blast a reporter for a typo or for being wrong on a story.

Photos of the New Video Board at Williams-Brice Stadium

South Carolina is in the process of upgrading the video board at Williams-Brice Stadium. Here are a few pictures of the concept and the actual work from this bigger gallery.

The new board is gigantic compared to the old one they tore down.

A concept photo of the new video board at Williams-Brice Stadium

A before and after concept photo of the new video board at Williams-Brice Stadium

Construction photo of the new video board at Williams-Brice Stadium

[photos via Gamecocks Facebook album]

More Photos of Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field

Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) reports that Missouri is planning to present their Board of Curators with a master plan for various athletic facility upgrades at the June 26-27 meetings according to athletic director Mike Alden.

However, as we have been covering, the new turf at Missouri’s Faurot Field is currently being installed. I fact, it is almost ready for use.

Here are a few photos showing the nearly completed installation.

Various portions of the newly installed turf

Before and after photo of the new turf

A close up of the SEC logo on the 25-yard line

Or if you prefer a video highlighting the new turf, here you go:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00 — 6.9MB) | Embed

[photos and video via @mizzoufootball]

Arkansas Adding New Video Display

Arkansas is currently in the process of adding a new $4.6 million video display in the North end zone at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The new LED board will be nearly 38′ by 167′ and will be high definition.

Here is a photo of the demolision of the current video board:

A photo of the old video display being taken down at Razorback Stadium

And the official release from Arkansas:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas athletic department has partnered with LSI Industries, Inc. to provide a new video display to the North end zone scoreboard inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Built upon LSI’s SMARTVISION® LED technology, the 16mm video display will be one of the biggest in college football. Measuring at nearly 38′ x 167′, nearly doubling the dimensions of the current video board, the display will give the stadium a true high definition video display area with the actual width exceeding HD resolution.

“We are excited to begin the installation of a new LSI video display at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium,” said Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long. “The video board plays such an instrumental role in creating an exciting game day atmosphere and helping create a home field advantage. This new larger board utilizes some of the latest technology and will allow us to introduce new interactive features. The board will greatly enhance the game day experience for our fans.”

The total cost of the project will be $4,633,194.12 and installation is underway to replace the current board, which was also provided by LSI 12 years ago. The cost will provide Razorback Stadium the new 16mm video display, which will achieve the highest definition standards based on its size. Additionally, four sections of 20mm fascia displays for use in the end zones, which complement the fascia LSI manufactured for the University in 2009. Also included in the project are new state-of-the-art LED stadium identification signs as well as new game clocks and play clocks on the north and south end of the stadium.

“We are extremely excited to continue our long standing relationship with the University of Arkansas and the tremendous fans at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium,” said Ross Sferra, Director of LSI SMARTVISION LED Video Displays.

LSI Industries Inc., headquartered in Cincinnati, OH, is a vertically integrated manufacturer who combines integrated technology, design and manufacturing to produce the most efficient, high quality products possible. LSI is committed to advancing solid-state technology to produce affordable, high-performance, energy-efficient lighting, custom graphic products and video displays that bring value to their customers. LSI is a U.S. manufacturer with marketing / sales efforts throughout the world with concentration currently on North America, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

[photo via @JohnL_Smith]

Maryland Turtle Field Rumors

I have seen some rumors floating around that Maryland is getting a black, or grey, turtle shell turf at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium. In fact, here are a few photos of the rumored design floating around.

A fan designed idea for the new turf at Byrd Stadium

But, these photos are just that, a rumor. Those photos were designed by a message board poster to show off an idea. Nothing more.

I know the officials at Maryland have been known to be out of their minds on approved uniform designs, but I doubt the field will look anything like this.

I have talked to a few people who cover Maryland athletics for a living and it seems that the grey turf rumor is strong, but very unlikely it looks like the photos above.

More realistically, it will probably look more like the Central Arkansas field using grey and white.