BLAKEY HAS ROLLED WITH PUNCHES; INJURED LINEBACKER AN INSPIRATION TO MATADORS.Byline: Brian Dohn Daily News Staff Writer Shayne Blakey's left elbow is the size of a Halloween squash, a marked improvement from the pumpkin-sized swelling of a week ago. Blakey, a senior linebacker at Cal State Northridge, can't straighten his arm, and he endures a tingling tin·gle v. tin·gled, tin·gling, tin·gles v.intr. 1. To have a prickling, stinging sensation, as from cold, a sharp slap, or excitement: tingled all over with joy. sensation when he moves it. Doctors still aren't sure if it's fractured, but that doesn't matter at this point. X-rays show nothing. But - and trust us here - it's nothing compared to what Blakey's been through before. Even if the elbow is fractured, it's nothing more than the equivalent of a stubbed toe in Blakey's experience over the last few years. ``He's a guy that has a lot of fun, is always on the edge,'' said CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge coach Ron Ponciano, who recruited Blakey during his assistant coaching days with the Matadors. ``He's learned how to play in the middle and he's done a good job. He's been through a lot the last couple of years. Right now he's not a guy that I have to worry about off the field.'' To talk to Blakey is both entertaining and educating. His willingness to play last week against Montana State and today at No. 23 Weber State is an inspiration to his teammates. Those surrounding CSUN's football program all speak very highly of Blakey. But if ever there was a wrong-time, wrong-place kind of guy, Blakey is it. Right down to his commitment to attend CSUN. That the Matadors' season is on the line against Weber State is also a wonderful irony for Blakey. The last time Blakey was in Ogden, Utah Ogden is the county seat of Weber County,GR6 Utah, United States. A 2006 estimate placed its population at 78,086. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a , he called the CSUN coaching staff to say he would play for the Matadors. He was on an official visit to Weber State when he was involved in a fight with one of the players, former Wildcats strong safety Junior Baker. ``The guy just started hitting me,'' Blakey said. ``I didn't do anything, and right then I knew I wasn't going there. I called (Ponciano) then and told him I wanted to come here (to CSUN). I never visited, but they offered me a free ride. I couldn't pass that up.'' There is more.Plenty more. There was the icy-cold relationship with his coach at Mesa Junior College; the two didn't speak, aside from a few words when absolutely necessary. Blakey left shortly after his first season at Mesa and headed to Antelope Valley College Antelope Valley College is a comprehensive community college located in Lancaster, California, USA. It is operated by the Antelope Valley Community College District, with a primary service area of 1,945 square miles covering portions of Los Angeles and Kern counties. for a year before coming to CSUN, where he was immediately thrust into the appendectomy Appendectomy Definition Appendectomy is the surgical removal of the appendix. The appendix is a worm-shaped hollow pouch attached to the cecum, the beginning of the large intestine. fiasco. To refresh for a moment, Blakey was shot in the side at a party prior to the season. But former head coach Dave Baldwin Dave Baldwin was the head football coach of San Jose State University from 1997-2000. During his tenure, he had three straight wins over Stanford (including their rosebowl season of 1999). In 1997, SJSU upset No. - in an effort to protect Blakey - concocted a story that Blakey was out for the season because he had his appendix removed. It eventually resulted in athletic director Athletic director (commonly, "athletics director") is a position at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, which oversees the work of the coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic Paul Bubb being suspended for five days and Baldwin receiving an official reprimand REPRIMAND, punishment. The censure which in some cases a public office pronounces against an offender. 2. This species of punishment is used by legislative bodies to punish their members or others who have been guilty of some impropriety of conduct towards them. . In January, his cousin William Randolph William Randolph (1650 - April 11, 1711) was a colonist and land owner who played an important role in the history and politics of what became the U.S. state of Virginia. He was born in Warwickshire, England, to Richard Randolph (1627-1671) and Elizabeth Ryland (1625-1670). Bell, with whom Blakey had grown up, was gunned down near a subway stop in Denver moments after the Broncos won the Super Bowl. A few days earlier Blakey had been in Denver, but he had returned to Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, for school. ``I don't want to go back there again, except maybe to visit,'' said Blakey, a Denver native. ``It's not a place I really feel like going back to.'' So with CSUN's season on the brink of destruction, there was no way Blakey would let anything trivial, like a possibly fractured elbow, keep him home while the Matadors (4-3, 3-2 Big Sky) played in Ogden. Not with four games remaining in Blakey's last regular season, and probably his career. ``He's had a whole bunch of adversity,'' Ponciano said. ``He's been to a lot of funerals in the last few years.'' CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (4-3, 3-2) vs. NO. 23 WEBER STATE (5-3, 3-2) Kickoff: 12:05 p.m., at Stewart Stadium Stewart Stadium is a 17,312-seat multi-purpose stadium in Ogden, Utah. It opened in 1966. It is home to the Weber State University Wildcats football team. • • (17,000). Radio: KCSN-FM (88.5). Series: CSUN leads 4-3. The Matadors have won the two meetings since joining the Big Sky Conference. Until CSUN beat then No. 13 Northern Arizona Northern Arizona is dominated by the Colorado Plateau, the southern border of which in Arizona is called the Mogollon Rim. In the West lies the Grand Canyon, which was cut by the flow of the Colorado River while the land slowly rose around it. earlier this season, an upset of No. 18 Weber State in 1996 in Ogden, Utah, was the highest-ranked team the Matadors had beaten. Injury update: For CSUN, NG Sean Beard (broken leg), Mike Barnes (shoulder), Marcus Nance (knee), Mike Colugna (ankle) are out. C Beau Cherry (ankle), LB Shayne Blakey (elbow) and LB Jack Heaslet (ankle) are probable. For Weber State, OL Rick Judd (hip contusion CONTUSION, med. jurisp. An injury or lesion, arising from the shock of a body with a large surface, which presents no loss of substance, and no apparent wound. If the skin be divided, the injury takes the name of a contused wound. Vide 1 Ch. Pr, 38; 4 Carr. & P. 381, 487, 558, 565; 6 Carr. ) and WR Rashard Magee (sprained thumb) are probable. Keep an eye on: The field. Though it's supposed to be sunny today, it's rained all week and school officials said the field doesn't drain well. ``Really sloppy,'' was how a school official termed it. . . . CSUN left tackle Geoff Watson. The freshman is making his first start because of the injury to Barnes and is charged with protecting quarterback Marcus Brady's blindside. Weber State update: If you think things have gone south for CSUN, try looking at the Wildcats. After beginning the season with five wins and climbing to No. 9 in the polls, the Wildcats have lost three straight in a variety of ways, from low-scoring games to shootouts. Welch has also been stymied lately, being held under 100 yards in each of the last two games as defenses stack the line of scrimmage line of scrimmage n. pl. lines of scrimmage Football Either of two imaginary lines extending across the field parallel to the goal line at the ends of the ball as it rests prior to being snapped and at which each team lines up for and dare quarterback Chris Wallace (73 of 156, three TDs, seven interceptions) to throw. - Brian Dohn CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Box Photo: (1) Cal State Northridge safety Vito Clemente will help lead the Matadors today against No. 23 Weber State. Evan Yee/Daily News (2) BLAKEY Box: CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (4-3, 3-2) vs. NO. 23 WEBER STATE (5-3, 3-2) (See Text) |
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