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Show StatesmanSports Page 8 Perfect Partner. While you "stud?, we'll do your printing. /^Professional Quality Printing ABitsiness Forms AThesis, dissertations ^Wedding Invitations & Accessories 630 West 200 NorUi sou are one r i n T i n s BRIDAL FAIRE Saturday Sept. 29 10:00 To 5:00 AtUSU Student Center 2nd Floor 1 Many Prizes and Discounts Fashion Shows at 11:00 & 1:00 For more information call: 753-6736 or www.bridalfaire.org A Bridal Faire Production Co-sponsored by: /Statesman you an McAllister out for year NEW ORLEANS (AP) —In Deuce McAllister's locker, frontand-center on the top shelf, is a gold-painted wooden carving of the word: "Believe!" After his second season-ending knee injury in three seasons, the Saints' 28-year-old all-time leading rusher wants to believe he will return to the NFL as an elite running back. It won't be easy, and he knows it. "Obviously, the questions: Will you ever be the same? Will you ever be the back that you once were? Those are the different thoughts that obviously run through your mind as a player," McAllister said. "I believe in myself. It's just a matter of me putting the time in and me putting the work in." McAllister said an MRI exam Tuesday confirmed his worst fears: He tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in Monday night's 31-14 loss to Tennessee. During the second quarter, McAllister landed awkwardly after catching a short pass from Drew Brees. McAllister walked off the field on his own, but having torn his right ACL in 2005, he was worried. "I just told myself to get up off the ground. One lesson I learned growing up was to never let your opponent see you hurt. Regardless of what it is, if you can walk, walk off that field," McAllister said. "Once I got to the sideline, I knew it. I didn't want to believe it, but just taking the walk to the locker room I could feel it just kind of giving way a little bit and that was just kind of reminiscent of how the other one felt." McAllister said there was also some damage to his medial collateral ligament. Five games into the 2005 season, McAllister tore his right ACL during a run in Green Bay. After reconstructive surgery, he returned to rush for 1,057 yards in 2006, helping the Saints to the NFC South title and starring in their playoff victory over Philadelphia. • Now McAllister needs reconstructive surgery on the other knee, likely a patellar tendon graft, followed by the long, painful rehabilitation that will last almost until 2008 training camp begins, if not longer. In between, there will be an offseason, when uncomfortable reminders that the NFL is a business resurface in greater frequency. McAllister is in the third year of an eight-year, $50.1 million contract. And the Saints also have Reggie Bush, who in his second season will now be the undisputed featured running back in New Orleans for the remainder of this year, at least. Bush, who had two short touchdown runs Monday night but otherwise has struggled to find his game-breaking form this season, declined to speak with reporters Tuesday. Fullback Mike Karney, who has blocked for McAllister since 2005, choked up while talking about his teammate's latest setback. uate researcher? Apply for an. U R C O G r a n t Undergraduate Research & Creative Opportunities Utah State University encourages undergraduates to explore their scholarly, creative, and research interests. What is research? Who is eligible? Research is broadly defined to encompass nearly any project including creating a sculpture, composing a piece of music, doing archival scholarly work, and working at the laboratory bench. Any properly registered undergraduate student in good academic standing may apply. How much is awarded? A student could possibly receive a maximum total of $1000 to support their research. Application Deadlines Round 1: Noon, October 15 Round 2: Noon, February 15 UtahState UNIVERSITY Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007 How do I apply? Students interested in applying for URCO complete a proposal, which includes a cover page, description of the project, letter of approval from a faculty advisor, and a proposed budget. More Info http://www.usu.edu/ research/undergrad/urco/ For more information, contact Dr. Joyce Kinkead Associate Vice President for Research 797-1706, Joyce.kinkead@usu.edu NEW ORLEANS SAINTS RUNNING BACK DEUCE MCALLISTER (26) walks off the field after injuring his left knee in the first half of the Saints' game in New Orleans, Monday. AP photo "I hugged him and started crying," Karney said, taking a deep breath. "It's tough to see a great guy, first and foremost, a great player, have to suffer another season-ending injury.... He's the best I've been around. It's sad. It's hard to take ... I play the game for guys like him." Head coach Sean Payton said it is "way too premature to start talking about where (McAllister) is from a career standpoint." "He was able to come back off the right ACL. He's the type of guy that has the conviction and the belief," Payton said. "If he puts his mind to it, and I know he will... it's going to take a long time and he's someone who's tough enough to handle it." If McAllister leaves the Saints, he'll do so with every significant career rushing record in franchise history. Although he played sparingly his rookie season behind then-starter Ricky Williams, and although he missed most of 2005, he has rushed for 5,678 yards and 44 touchdowns. He is among the most popular players the Saints have ever had, having grown up a couple hours away near Jackson, Miss., and having been a star at Ole Miss. Although someone with his money easily could spend offseasons in Miami, Malibu or the French Riviera, he continues to make his permanent home in Jackson, He owns car dealerships there, is restoring a historic downtown hotel, and runs his charitable Catch-22 foundation, so named for his college jersey number. As for this season, it's a potentially devastating blow to the Saints, who are 0-3 and in desperate need of a victory to have any hope of rallying back into postseason contention. "You feel helpless because it's about making plays," McAllister said. "I can't do that right now." Vick indicted; Dec. 10 set as sentencing date SUSSEX, Va. (AP) — Michael Vick, already looking at a federal prison term for bankrolling a dogfighting operation in rural Virginia, now faces two state charges that could get him more prison time if he's convicted. After a Surry County grand jury indicted the Atlanta Falcons quarterback and three co-defendants Tuesday, Vick's lawyers indicated they will fight the state charges on the grounds that he can't be convicted twice of the same crime. The NFL star, scheduled for sentencing Dec. 10 after pleading guilty to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges, faces state charges of beating or killing or causing dogs to fight other dogs and engaging in or promoting dogfighting. Each felony is punishable by up to five years in prison. Arraignments are set for Oct. 3. The grand jury declined to indict the 27-year-old Vick and two co-defendants on eight additional counts of killing or causing to be killed a companion animal, felonies that would have exposed them to as many as 40 years in prison if convicted. Vick defense attorney Billy Martin said in a statement that the state counts concern "the same conduct covered by the federal indictment for which Mr. Vick has already accepted full responsibility." Martin said he will "aggressively protect his rights to ensure that he is not held accountable for the same conduct twice." Vick was convicted of a federal conspiracy count while the state indictment deals with the act of dog fighting, said Steven Benjamin, a Richmond defense lawyer who is not involved in the case. The prosecution will argue that's enough of a difference to allow the charges to proceed, he said. Surry County Commonwealth's Attorney Gerald G. Poindexter had told M I C H A E L V I C K makes a statement after pleading guilty to a federal dogfighting charge Aug. 27, AP photo The Associated Press on Monday night that he would seek indictments on different crimes than the ones Vick admitted to in federal court. He did not elaborate to reporters outside court Tuesday. The charges are thefirstleveled against Vick in the county where he built a home that became the base of the dogfight-1 ing operation, where local investigators first uncovered evidence of the enterprise. None of the defendants nor their lawyers were at the Sussex County courthouse, where the grand jury met because the courthouse in neighboring Surryj County is closed for renovations.: Poindexter told reporters he ' was not disappointed the grand jury passed on the eight additional dog killing counts. I'm just glad to get this to i the position where it is now and,j one day in the not too distant future, we will be rid of these cases," he said. In a written statement, Poindexter and Sheriff Harold Brown attempted to diffuse in advance any suggestion thaP race influenced the grand jury. Brown, Poindexter and the four I defendants are black, as are four of the six grand jurors. |