Dec. 13, 1999

PROVO — The BYU football team is without Luke Staley — again.

About one hour into the Cougars' first practice — which lasted 90 minutes — on Friday in preparation for the Dec. 27 Motor City Bowl, Staley reinjured his left knee at snowy Cougar Stadium. His status for the game is in doubt, but the freshman told the Deseret News he plans to resume practicing with the team on Dec. 17 when final preparations begin.

The running back, who missed the final two games of the regular season with a calf muscle injury, aggravated an ACL tear in his knee when he caught a pass and fell down trying to make a cut upfield on wet field conditions.

He ended up walking off the field on his own power but was taken to the training facilities at the Smith Fieldhouse to be checked. Staley had undergone arthroscopic surgery for a torn meniscus in his knee in November and had been suffering from a partially torn ACL, for which he was scheduled to have surgery after the season.

His status for the bowl game probably won't be known until Monday, according to associate media relations director Jeff Reynolds. "It could be nothing," he said. "Fortunately, he was wearing a brace that may have prevented his knee from tearing more."

"I don't know if he slipped," said running backs coach Lance Reynolds. "At first it seemed like he was fine. Then he threw his helmet on the ground, so you could tell something was wrong. Your heart just sinks into your shoes. I hope it's not serious."

Staley scored 13 touchdowns and gained more than 700 yards of total offense in 1999.

WINTER WONDERLAND: Aside from the Staley incident, the Cougars said they enjoyed Friday's chilly afternoon practice. Practice was originally scheduled for inside the cramped quarters of the Smith Fieldhouse, but coaches changed the site to Cougar Stadium, where the entire team can practice together.

"I thought it was a bad idea at first," said quarterback Kevin Feterik. "But we had a nice practice. We got a lot done today. Even though there's some snow on the ground, the ball kept dry. It was fun."

Still, the situation is far from ideal. "It hurts not having an indoor facility to practice in," he said.

After the regular season ended on Nov. 20 with a loss to Utah, the Cougars continued conditioning, running and lifting weights in anticipation of a bowl game, Feterik said.

"I was really excited to practice today. We have the chance to erase what happened in those last couple of games," said Feterik, who added that the offense is putting in some new wrinkles. "We were down for a while, but when we found out about the Motor City Bowl, we were excited about it. It was where we wanted to go."

BYU will practice again Saturday and then take some time off for final exams before starting again on Dec. 17. The Cougars depart for Detroit on Dec. 23.

SALES GOOD: Associate athletic director Duff Tittle says the school has sold about 3,400 tickets, at $32 apiece, for the Motor City Bowl. The goal is "to have 10,000 people cheering for BYU at the Silverdome," he said.

Hale added that BYU has about 10,000 alumni within five hours driving distance of Detroit.

BYU is offering fans a buy-three-get-one-free deal as well as the opportunity to buy tickets for LDS Church missionaries in the Detroit area who will attend the game with people who are investigating the church.

"It's been positive. We've had a lot of good response on that," said BYU ticket manager David Miles. "When I heard we were going to Detroit, I thought, 'Oh no.' But sales are going better than expected.