Miami’s James Sidelined

University of Miami running back Edgerrin James was found to have an irregular heartbeat and will sit out Saturday’s game against Syracuse at Miami.

James, Miami’s top offensive player, spent Tuesday and Wednesday night at a Miami hospital where doctors monitored his condition. His heart resumed a normal rhythm Wednesday morning.

“It converted back on its own,” Miami trainer Scott McGonagle said. “He’s in good spirits and good shape. He doesn’t really feel anything.”

Said Coach Butch Davis: “I don’t think it’s heart related. It could be a reaction to a viral infection.”

Doctors said they were not sure what triggered James’ palpitations, which sidelined him during Tuesday’s practice.

James will undergo a stress test next week. If Miami defeats Syracuse and receives a bowl bid, he could return for the final game.

The sophomore has rushed for 1,098 yards this season, 168 yards shy of Ottis Anderson’s single-season Miami record set in 1978.

Davis said freshman James Jackson and senior Trent Jones would replace James.

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Vanderbilt linebacker Jamie Duncan will be in uniform Saturday when the Commodores play Tennessee, despite a misdemeanor arrest.

Duncan, the team’s second-leading tackler, was arrested and briefly jailed for disorderly conduct on Nov. 16, the night following Vanderbilt’s loss to Kentucky.

“From what I understand, it’s a misdemeanor and there wasn’t any physical stuff going on at all,” said Coach Woody Widenhofer. “I’m going to deal with him internally and let the legal system handle it.”

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A University of Pennsylvania defensive tackle may have been academically ineligible this season after he dropped a course and became a part-time student, school officials say.

Mitch Marrow, an all-Ivy League selection last year, completed two classes this semester, a course load that made him a part time student at Penn and might have made him ineligible under NCAA guidelines.

He was accepted for an independent study course, making him full time, a day before the last game of the season, Nov. 15 against Cornell.

Marrow played in Penn’s 33-20 victory, but on Wednesday the associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences overruled the late addition, putting the fifth-year senior’s eligibility in question again. Under NCAA rules, only full-time students can play collegiate sports.

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Those who don’t have a ticket for the Bayou Classic at the Superdome in New Orleans, had better plan to watch Eddie Robinson’s final coaching appearance on television. Getting into the Grambling coach’s last game is the toughest act in town.

“The calls are still coming in, but the tickets are long gone,” said Grambling Athletic Director Robert Piper. “Nobody can get them, but lots of people are still trying.”

Always a sellout, the 74,000 tickets to this year’s game between Southern University and Grambling have gone even quicker this year.