*********** For Immediate Release **********

*********** For Immediate Release **********

ReliefSpark.org is pleased to announce a new message board to help
provide an online place for evacuees and volunteers to connect and share
information.

Have something to donate? Need practical FEMA information? Looking for a place to
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About Relief Spark:
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Relief Spark is a non-profit that provides marketing, PR and volunteer support to
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We are a network of volunteers that span across the world. We create channels of
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individuals alike.

For more information please visit our website:

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They’re No. 2! Quinn, Irish picked second in mag’s preseason poll

Notre Dame football fans, don’t sweat it just because the Irish are not listed as the nation’s preseason No. 1 team (Oklahoma is) by Athlon Magazine. Instead, they’re No. 2, which should give coach Charlie Weis another motivational tool in their national championship quest.
Athlon, a Nashville, Tenn.-based national football publication that has been in the poll-picking business since 1967, ranks the Irish at No. 2 behind an offense that editor Mitchell Light calls “one of the best, if not the best, in the country.”
It’s hard to argue when you have Heisman Trophy favorite Brady Quinn at quarterback, All-America receiver Jeff Samardzija (77 catches, 1,249 yards, 15 touchdowns last year), hard-to-tackle running back Darius Walker (1,195 rushing yards), imposing offensive lineman Ryan Harris and a host of other talented players from a 9-3 team.
“And with Weis calling the plays,” Light said, “they’re ahead of the game before they even get to the line of scrimmage.”
The magazine, which will hit newsstands nationwide by late next week, lists Quinn (3,219 yards, 32 touchdowns) as a first-team All-America along with Samardzija. Harris is a second-team All-America along with defensive end Victor Abiamiri and safety Tom Zbikowski.
Concerns about a defense that allowed 24.5 points a game and was manhandled by Ohio State in a 34-20 Fiesta Bowl loss helped keep Notre Dame out of the No. 1 spot.
“It was hard for us to get the Ohio State loss out of our minds,” Light said. “You can’t judge everything on a bowl game, but the defense wasn’t strong all year and they closed on such a poor note.
“They have some holes to fill and they’ll be counting on some young guys in the secondary. Still, that’s not the only reason that kept them from No. 1.”
Unlike recent seasons when USC and Oklahoma were easy No. 1 choices, Light said the magazine’s panel of seven editors struggled before selecting the Sooners.
“This is my seventh year with the magazine and it was the most difficult,” he said. “There isn’t a dominant team on paper. Everybody had warts.
“We had five to seven teams on our board that we thought had a shot at winning it all
Oklahoma struggled last season to an 8-4 record after losing in the national title game the previous two years, and the reasons were many -- tailback Adrian Peterson battled an ankle injury, breaking in new quarterback Rhett Bomar, and rebuilding the defense.
“We love Adrian Peterson,” Light said. “People forget how dominant he was as a freshman. He was running on a gimpy ankle all year. The defense should be outstanding. They’ve got four All-Big 12-caliber defensive ends and eight returning starters. And Bob Stoops is a big-time coach.”
USC was picked third and Ohio State, the likely Big Ten favorite, was picked fourth.
“Ohio State’s offense should be terrific,” Light said, “but they lost nine starters on defense, including all three linebackers. It’s Ohio State so they’ll have good players, but they have some rebuilding to do there.”
Athlon editors waited until after spring practice before working on their top-25 poll.
“Some people might think it’s early, but it won’t be much different than if we’d waited until August,” Light said. “You might have some injuries and academic casualties over the summer, but for the most part we’ve got all the information we need.
“We’ve had good years and bad years doing this. We don’t take ourselves seriously, but we take what we do seriously.”
It’s serious enough for editors to gather in a meeting room, order some pizzas, talk to contributing writers (they have writers who cover every team) and hash out their differences.
“We start at noon and sometimes we’re there until 10 p.m., sometimes we go on to the next day,” Light said.
Come Sept. 2, when Notre Dame opens its season by playing at Georgia Tech, we’ll start seeing how accurate Athlon was.

Bassey, Chaisson In Action Saturday

Oklahoma cornerback Eric Bassey and offensive guard Kelvin Chaisson will play in Saturday's Las Vegas All-American Classic, a game that features 110 college seniors from around the nation.
Both will play for the West squad in the game, which kicks off at 3:30 p.m., CST, from Sam Boyd Stadium.
Bassey, from Garland, Texas and North Garland High School, played in 11 games last season while staving off nagging injuries. He had five starting assignments, including one in the Sooners' 17-14 win over No. 6-ranked Oregon in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. For the season, he was credited with 15 tackles. During his career, Bassey played in 48 games with 27 starts, including 14 at strong safety in 2002. He finished with 112 career tackles and three interceptions, one of which he returned 34 yards for a touchdown against UCLA in 2003. In 2002, he scored another defensive touchdown with a 45-yard fumble return against Alabama.
With 32 starts over the last three seasons, Chaisson was a fixture at left guard for the Sooners.
In 2005, he earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention from the Associated Press after recording 99 knockdown blocks and being flagged for just one penalty. The Beaumont, Texas and Ozen High School product scored the second-highest season grade among the Sooner offensive linemen.
Oklahoma completed the 2005 season with an 8-4 mark and a 6-2 standard in Big 12 Conference play. The Sooners played the nation's toughest schedule according to the NCAA and were ranked No. 22 in both of the final polls.

Chester Playing in Shrine Game

Oklahoma offensive lineman Chris Chester will play in the East-West Shrine Game this Saturday. After 80 years in San Francisco, the game will be played this year at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m. CST, and the game will be televised by ESPN2.
OU linebacker Clint Ingram was originally scheduled to play in the Shrine Game as well, but has since decided to bypass the game. He is a candidate to play in the Senior Bowl. The rosters for that game will be announced Jan. 22.
Chester, who fought through a knee injury and broken hand during the season, started all eight games in which he played for Oklahoma in the 2005 season. He started five games at right guard and three at center. Prior to the 2005 season, Chester was listed as a tight end, although in 2004 he was used primarily as a blocker in jumbo formations. He caught two passes as a tight end, both in 2002. One of those came on a fake field goal at Missouri when he hauled in a 14-yard pass from holder Matt McCoy to give the Sooners a 31-24 come-from-behind victory at Missouri. Chester’s West squad coach is Texas A&M’s Dennis Franchione, a fellow competitor in the Big 12 Conference’s South Division. Eighteen of Chester’s teammates are from schools that played against Oklahoma during the 2005 season.
Oklahoma finished 8-4 overall and 6-2 in the Big 12 while playing against the nation’s toughest schedule according to the NCAA (OU opponents were 84-48 overall and 6-1 in bowl play). The Sooners knocked off No. 6 Oregon in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl, 17-14, and finished with a No. 22 ranking in both final polls.
The East West Shrine Game has been played annually since 1923 for the benefit of the 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children. To date, more the game $14 million has been raised through the game.

Starting quarterback Bomar gains confidence for Oklahoma Sooners

New Oklahoma quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel didn't have to watch the Sooners all season long to see a big difference in quarterback Rhett Bomar.
As Arizona's tight ends coach, Heupel was only able to watch a few of the Sooners' games, but he was still able to get a read on Bomar's performance. You can definitely see a large progression in his game,'' said Heupel, who joined Oklahoma's staff this week. "The game is slowing down to him. He's gotten a lot better at taking care of the ball, making a lot better decisions, making quicker decisions.
"That's the progression of a young quarterback."
Bomar's development into a steady quarterback has been crucial to Oklahoma's turnaround this season. In his first four starts, Bomar was 49 for 97 (50.5 percent) and averaged only 126 passing yards. In his last six games, he's completed 99 of 176 (56.3 percent) and averaged 209 passing yards.
"I had my struggles. I'm not going to shy away from that," Bomar said. "I've had my ups and downs this year, but I think as the year progressed I got more comfortable out there and things got a little better for me and the offense as a whole.
"Hopefully, it's only going to get better for us."
After starting 2-3, the Sooners (7-4) have won five of their final six games and have a chance to finish a season with a win for the first time in three years when they face No. 6 Oregon (10-1) on Thursday in the Holiday Bowl.
It's no coincidence that Bomar's numbers have improved just as Oklahoma started stringing some wins together. The return of Adrian Peterson from an injury helped too, but Bomar had the Sooners headed in the right direction before Peterson — last year's Heisman runner-up — got back.
In the process, he's won over the locker room "100 percent," according to team captain Davin Joseph.
"From where he's been to where he is now, you're talking about a very determined guy," said Joseph, who has alternated between guard and tackle on the offensive line this season.
Joseph called Bomar "Mr. Endurance" because he's been taking all of the snaps at quarterback since replacing Paul Thompson of Leander as the starter in Week 2. Thompson moved to receiver and practices at quarterback sparingly.
"You've got a quarterback with endurance, determination, the smarts, athletic ability," Joseph said.