Rose Declined Appearance Fee for Bowl

Pete Rose turned down $10,000 for his appearances at the Mobile Alabama Bowl, telling organizers to instead give the money to charity. Mike Gottfried, the current ESPN announcer and former coach at Kansas and Pittsburgh who helped organize the bowl, said Rose declined the appearance fee. Rose was the guest speaker at a luncheon and later served as grand marshal for a bowl-related parade. Rose, who agreed to a lifetime ban from baseball for allegedly betting on the sport, has applied for reinstatement. His lawyer plans to meet next month with the top lawyer for Commissioner Bud Selig.

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Benjamin Blacknall, assistant coach at Morehouse College in Atlanta, was hired as football coach at Delaware State. Blacknall replaces John McKenzie, who was fired after a 4-7 season. . . . Ben Harris, an Alabama State assistant coach since 1997, became the school’s interim coach. Harris takes over for Ron Dickerson, fired Monday after going 7-15 in two seasons.