Around town

Vikings football begins fall practices

First-year head coach Nigel Burton takes the field this week as the Vikings football program begins fall practices Sunday afternoon at Stott Field.

This year, Burton looks to right the Viking ship after the team recorded a 2-9 record last season—the worst since moving up to the Div-I level—under the guidance of former head coach Jerry Glanville. A former assistant coach at PSU and Oregon State and defensive coordinator for Nevada, Burton became the program’s 13th head coach in December after Glanville resigned with a 9-24 record over three seasons.

In addition to new leadership, Portland State’s 2011 campaign will feature a new offensive scheme and new uniforms. Burton replaced the run-and-shoot offense with the pistol offense he used in Nevada. The Vikings will also transition from black to green uniforms, and an unveiling of the new uniform is scheduled to follow the Aug. 14 practice at Stott Field. A complete practice schedule can be found at GoViks.com.

PSU soccer to hold open tryouts

Portland State students interested in playing for the women’s soccer team this fall will have their chance at an open tryout on Friday at Stott Field.

According to a statement released by the school, an open tryout session is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., and students wishing to make the team as a walk-on should report to the Stott Center at 1 p.m. with a valid form of identification. Questions about the tryouts should be directed to assistant coach Melanie Langley at 503-725-5611.

The Vikings are the defending Big Sky Conference regular season champions, and are set to begin the 2010 season in an exhibition match with Concordia on Aug. 12. Their first regular season match is set for Aug. 20 at Portland, and conference play is scheduled to begin Oct. 8, when they host Eastern Washington.

Blazers add Johnson to roster

Rookie guard Armon Johnson became the 15th man on the Portland Trail Blazers’ roster this week, according to team reports.

The 34th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, Johnson was drafted by the Blazers and started all five games of the summer league, where he averaged 33.3 minutes and 2.2 steals per game to lead the summer squad. Johnson played three seasons at Nevada (2007–10), where he led the Wolf Pack in assists each season. He was named 2008 WAC Freshman of the Year and twice earned All-WAC honors.

“We feel Armon can help this team and are excited to have him on board,” said general manager Rich Cho. “He’s a physical guard who can defend, and we like his potential.”

Johnson, a Chicago native, will wear jersey No. 1.