Catholic University vs. Emory and Henry

So yesterday I had to travel with a few others all the way from American University to Catholic University to cover a football game. Catholic played this school I had never heard of, Emory and Henry University in a close game, but ended up losing 13-1o.

I went in, and it was, an... interesting set of hours spent there. This was my first experience at a Division 3 football game, and it is VERY obvious of the difference in a D1 football program and a D3 program.

First of all, nobody knew where the stadium was! These were students who had NO IDEA how to get there. Now I understand that not everybody can enjoy the beauties of football, but as a student on YOUR OWN CAMPUS, I feel like you should at least know the buildings and landmarks on your campus at this point of the year - freshman or not.

Secondly, after the trek (oh man was it a trek) to the stadium, it was not much of a "stadium", but a field - akin to the field at my small, private former high school: there was one side of bleachers of about 10 rows, and the field. At least there was a small press box though on the top.

Mind you, this whole time, there was only one guy in charged of ALL the athletics on Catholic's campus, and he was EXTREMELY helpful in our research and access to the team and its stats. *shout out to him* But he really wa over at the cross-country event, then had to run over to the football game to help us out a little bit.

And in the game itself, the playcalling wasn't very diverse. Both teams stuck with the quarterback draw, along with a couple more running plays. Any passes didn't go for more than 10 yards, if they ever passed. Even the "Hail Mary" at the end of the game by Catholic only reached mid-field, instead of hauling it to the endzone.

Nonetheless, it wasn't awful. Big ups to D3 programs for even having football... unlike SOME campuses in the country.............. (no names).

When I returned home, I sat down and wrote the corresponding article for the game to beat the deadline (there will be a video explaining the behind-the-scenes action). For your viewing pleasure, I have posted it with this blog:

Despite Catholic University's best defensive effort all season long, they were unable to capitalize on multiple offensive opportunities, causing Catholic to lose 13-10 to Emory and Henry University.

Contrary to the final score and other offensive mishaps though, Catholic did not play poorly either.

Although Catholic gave up the first touchdown of the game, they blocked the extra point and were able to score the next 10 points through one field goal and a touchdown run in by John O'Brien.

The Cardinals then were able to stop Emory and Henry's offense for another drive, and seemed to have the momentum to keep their opponent down.

Early into the third quarter though, the Wasps came out strong and were able to score a touchdown. But even with the lead, Emory and Henry could not penetrate the Catholic defense for the rest of the game.

Catholic actually led in time of possession in the second and third quarter, and was able to march down the field into Emory and Henry territory up to the redzone.

However, the mistakes made in the Cardinals' inability to create opportunities deep in the Wasps' territory and ultimately to score points kept them down and eventually gave them a difficult loss.

One of the most outstanding mistake for the Cardinals was the field goal kicking. Catholic kicker Brendan Deluca missed four field goals, including three from very short distances and one with 1:09 left in the game from 40 yards.

Nonetheless, teammates seemed to be sympathetic towards Deluca's failed field goal attempts. Receiver Mike Smith, who had four catches for 58 yards, said that the missed field goals were not as much of a factor in the way the rest of the team played.

"Not at all; we still played hard," Smith said. "If you're not on the field goal team, there's nothing you can do about it. You can just watch and hope he makes it. It was just a bad day for him."

Regardless of the tough season, the team continues to have confidence, especially in the coach. When asked about whether head coach Dave Dunn deserves the bad rap he received from the fans today, Smith commented, saying their coach "puts everybody in the best position to win." Smith continued, "When you look at the yards, we dominated on offense and defense, and everybody makes a mistake. You're coaching on the fly."

Catholic focused on the positives from the game, and noted that it was just an "off-day" for the team today in reaching their full potential to win against Emory and Henry.

"It went really well for us actually," Smith said about the game. "We played hard on every aspect of the game. It's just that it came down to little mistakes, and when we got down to the endzone, we couldn't capitalize, and out kicking game wasn't at our best."

Dunn further elaborated on the things that catholic did to give themselves a chance to win.

We followed the game plan up until we got to the redzone. We outgained them to up to double their yardage and didn't turn the ball over." Dunn also did not forget to mention that Cardinals held the number one player in rushing yards in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), Caleb Jennings, to under 100 yards.

Their biggest faults in today's game according to the coach were "mental mistakes."

Catholic's next game is against Guilford University at home. When asked about what could be changed, Dunn said, "We're just young in the skilled spots on the offense." Dunn also added that they lost many players from last year on defense as well; thus, making the Cardinals an "inexperienced team" versus a young team."

Smith said simply, "We just have to want it in the end."

However, Dunn isn't going to focus on the four botched field goald, the missed opportunities in the redzone, the fans' displeasure, or even next weekends's game or next season. "My goal is to have a good practice tomorrow."

2009 World Series Game 3

The offensive floodgates finally opened last night as the Yankees defeated the Phillies 8-5 at Citizens Bank Park. (No I didn't catch the game because I went out for Halloween).

However, I am watching toniight, as the Phillies try to even up the series at home in Game 4. Joe Blanton will pitch for the Phillies, resting Cliff Lee, and CC Sabathia on short rest will be on the mound for the Yankees.

I mean, for my prediction to be correct, the Phillies would have to win the next 3 games in a row... To be honest, I don't see that happening. But I can see them winning in 7 games. I think in order for either team to win actually, it will have to go to 7 games.

Both teams are just so evenly matched in good pitching and offense (numbers wise) that it will have to be a punch-for-punch series. I think the Phillies are better though in base running and hitting anything other than home runs than the Yankees; hence, why I picked them to win.

Side Note...

THE EAGLES ARE GOIN INNNNN!!!!! Like, I don't even like the Eagles, and usually, I hate anything affiliated with Philadelphia, but I do enjoy a good football game. The Eagles at the end of the first half are up 30-7 agaisnt the New York Giants with mad takeaways and passing it down the field.

Then again, I might just be excited because I'm pulling for the Phillies against the Yankees.

I'll cut the Redskins fans some slack today... they have a bye week. LOL!

At the same time, my team, the Cowboys just went up 21-10 by the end of the first half against the Seattle Seahawks. Which makes me happier.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed.

*Posted at 2:50pm

Back in Action! New World Series Order

So after helping to construct another blog, The Hockey Blog, and getting through midterms and all of that junk, I'm back!

Tonight was Game 1 of the 2009 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies - just stating in case you've been under a rock lately.

The battle between the two prideful cities is what I think will be one of the most exciting World Series in recent times. As much as I dislike the Yankees, you can't say that the World Series matchups they've played in have been boring and uneventful, from a neutral fan's perspective.

Philadelphia definitely proved themselves to be the top of the National League, running over all theri opponents this playoff season. New York did the same until the last series, however, it seemed like as if the Yankees were only giving the Angels a "mercy game," as they clearly looked like the better team throughout the whole series.

Tonight's game featured two of the best pitchers in this postseason thus far: former Cleveland Indians CC Sabathia (and ALCS MVP) for the Yankees and Cliff Lee for the Phillies. Aside from the pitching matchup, the offenses of both teams are comparable, despite the lack of acknowledgment of the Phillies' offensive power.

...

However, this game didn't speak of the pre-game notions of what was expected. The Phillies ended up handing it to the Yankees, defeating them 6-1! . From early on in the game, Chase Utley gave Philadelphia the leading offense through 2 solo home runs. Later in the game though, the base running of the Phillies provided the final 4 runs to put away the Yankees.

Cliff Lee was ultimately superior in the supposedly-spectacular matchup between him and Sabathia. He pitched through 8 innings, but the of course, the Yankees had to spoil the shutout in the bottom of the 9th with 1 out. Nonetheless, Lee pitched exceedingly well.

Sabathia on the other hand did a decent job until he gave up the first home run to Utley in the 3rd and actually pitched through 7 full innings. The Yankees bullpen, however, screwed it up for New York, putting them down by more runs; thus, the game ended 6-1.

I'm excited for Game 2 now, not only because the Yankees are going in down 1-0 in the series and I'm reading all of these stats that now favor the Phillies, but I still think this will be an exciting series. Yes, even if the Phillies beat the Yankees in 5 as Mr. Rollins stated (which I won't lie, I don't think will happen).

Pedro Martinez and AJ Burnette are projected to start tomorrow night at 8pm (listed as 7:57?????) for Game 2 in New York. So I'll see you at the barrrrr... or if you're not there, enjoy where ever you're watching!

*Oh! I forgot! I never predicted anything! Phillies in 6 games.
And if anybody has any way that my frat Ryan Howard can meet his soror here in DC, please let me know! :)

Side Note:

Washington Capitals play against the Atlanta Thrashers Thursday night as well, and guess who traveled with the team - Tomas Fleischmann! He was out with an injury due to a blood clot in his leg, and should be back on the ice soon. It's definitely promising, and it's good to know since there are ample things Fleischmann can bring to the team's offense and defense... err, power play maybe?

It's about time: The Caps' season has officially started!

The Washington Capitals came out dominant and showed signs of a complete hockey team in their 4-1 win against the Boston Bruins.

The opener in Boston began with some quick offense as Brooks Laich scored just under 3 minutes in the game. This showed to be a good omen, as in the 2nd period, Alex Ovechkin follows up on a sick wrist shot to score a goal delivered by Alex Semin.

Washington was not finished in the 3rd period, scoring two goals, again from Laich and Ovechkin before the period was 2 minutes old.

Patrice Bergeron was the only goal scorer for the Bruins, scoring late in the 3rd period.

The Caps were able to do a number of things right. Taking advantage of opportunities such as power plays, taking only minimal number of penalties (minus John Erskine's dumb holding the stick penalty), the defense and goaltending remaining in unison throughout the entire game, and the main offensive players doing what they were supposed to do.

What surprised me was that Jose Theodore made 19 out of 20 saves, considering every game he started in the preseason, the Capitals lost. Although it does make sense - the Caps never really allowed that many goals when he started either. They just never felt like playing that hard for him I guess...

But that was preseason, and hey, as long as there's a goaltender in net who's giving the Washington a chance to win, then I'm going to be happy.

Finally, as a side note, Alex Ovechkin leads the league in the most multi-goal games in the past 2 seasons with 14 games, and also leads in the most 3-point performances with 15, over Crosby and Malkin.

MLB Playoff Picture

So the Tigers/Twins "saga" continues. The Twins decided to win today of all days, and to stave off their elimination for a few days. Seeing as how no team has come back from being 3 games back in the last... forever actually, the Twins have an extememly slim chance of making the playoffs now.

But, they do close out the season in a 3-game set with the Kansas City Royals, who the Twins have defeated 9 times in 15 games thus far this season. So there it CAN happen, if the Tigers just lose 3 straight against the Chicago White Sox...

As far as the National League goes, the Colorado Rockies have made the playoffs for the first time in 3 years (it's been that long since the Red Sox swept them for a 2nd World Series championship??? I know - jerk move, I'm sorry lol).

On the other hand, the LA Dodgers, the Rockies' next opponent for the final 3 games of the season, have had a magic number of only 1 for almost a week. Needless to say, they have not gotten past that.

So the battle between these two teams are now to see who wins the NL West division title and who takes the NL Wild Card position. Should be interesting....

Shout out...

To the Calgary Flames for winning their first season opener in 7 years!

To Marion Barber III - stop being injured.

And to Jay Morgan. if you're reading this, I'll explain it Friday over dinner? Out or at home, it's up to you :)

HOCKEY'S BACK!!!!!

The Red Sox have clinched the AL Wild Card!

So I have been mad all weekend because my Twitter and Facebook were spammed with mass statuses regarding the Yankees and this past weekend in their series against the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees spent their time clinching the AL East Division, a playoff berth and obtaining their 100th win for this season. You would think they won the World Series already with the ruckus about their weekend.

At the same time, I had figured that the Red Sox would also make the playoffs - it would only be a little matter of time before it happened, and I could celebrate, too.

The Red Sox got lucky tonight, clinching the AL Wild Card spot with the Texas Rangers' 5-2 loss to the LA Angels despite losing their own game to the Toronto Blue Jays 8-7. The loss today counted as Boston's 5th straight.

This situation now sets the Red Sox in a playoff series with the LA Angels, again. In 6 years, the two teams have met 4 times, and this meeting would mark the 3rd consecutive year the Angels and Red Sox square off. Seeing that Boston has dominated the playoff series between the two teams, this looks like an easy write-off for the Sox.

Well...

Right now, the Red Sox are struggling mightily, especially for the calibur of their team. With the 5 straight losses, and 5 more games left this year, one can hope that the Sox get everything together. In 9 games against the Angels this year Boston has also ended up 4-5.

However, Boston hasn't always been particularly telling in the regular season of how well they play teams in the playoffs though. Also in favor of the Sox, key players like Josh Beckett, who have been out with injuries lately, will be returning soon.

So while this series will NOT be an easy sweep in my eyes, I have pretty good faith that the Red Sox can create a positive result by the end. Alas, note that I'm neither confirming nor denying a particular playoff result. I will say though that 2004 occurred on a Wild Card year. I'm just saying...

Ojo del Twins???

On a more exciting note, I am closely following the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins series, which should define who is going to play the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs.

I'm pulling for the Twins, because I'm a Joe Mauer fan, and I'll face it; the Twins have put in so much work to get this division, especially without Justin Morneau in the lineup, that it would really suck for them not to make it.

My main issue though is that I won't be mad at whoever wins the division, because that team just better beat the Yankees, and we'll all be in good standing!

NFL Week 3 Personal Highlights

Before I finish (it's late here on the East side of the States!), I would like to give a high and mighty shout out to the Dallas Cowboys for winning our first game in the new house. I thank Carolina Panthers' QB Jake Delhomme for the late interception and the total revival of the Dallas defense in the 4th quarter.

However, I'm not a fan of the play calling at the 1-yard line in that drive where Dallas only got a field goal; TWO passes at the 1-yard line? Really?!?! Really could have avoided the field goal situation - because you also could have gone for it on that 4th down! But what do I know - I'm not an NFL coach.

But Wade Phillips made up for it by calling for the 2-point conversion on the extra point oppoortunity after the interception-for-the-touchdown, calling a nice run play. Thanks buddy.

And one more shout out to the Detroit Lions. This one is for you. I haven't been able to blog for a few days due to time constraints, but I'm putting this one out here for the Lions. Your 19-game losing streak has been snapped.

They must thank the Washington Redskins for failing to have any sort of offense in the game. Their defense didn't even do the usually decent job either in this game. So Detriot can rest in peace knowing that they have won, while the Redskins must live with the loss. I'm sure they've "put it in the past" by now (cliche statement - you know they're still mad).



*Finally, please put my cousin in your prayers and your thoughts. He was shot on Monday. He is alive and in the hospital, but the family wants a full recovery. Thank you.

No Penguins for Me

This may be a sports blog, but, mind you, sports sometimes intersects with our outside lives as well...

*I know that over half the population that reads this has been through this at least once in their lives.

So let's say you see that gorgeous man/woman of your dreams. He/she is fine, they dress well, and they've got that swag. You get the guts to go up to him/her and introduce yourself (or whatever you do to strike a conversation). To your surprise, he/she actually acknowledges your presence and they seem to be equally as interested in what you're saying, how you look, etc.

Then suppose you get into sports - you mention you love [insert sport]. Their eyes get big at the mention of your favorite sport, and as the conversation unfolds, you believe that you have found love...

Until you mention that you are (for example) a Washington Capitals fan, and he/she states that they root for the... Pittsburgh Penguins.

For me, the conversation ends right there, unless you're looking to pick a fight with me. I love to discuss hockey, talk about my team, or even take part healthy debate over hockey topics. But sometimes, I am NOT in the mood for a discussion as to why "Sidney Crosby is better than Alex Ovechkin" and "which team is better," especially in this situation.

A. I have already exhausted myself arguing to the death for Alex Ovechkin being a better marketing tool for the NHL and B. I would never want to do this on a date.

As a fan of other sports though, personally, I feel like somethings are passable: As a Cowboys fan, I am open to Eagles fans, Giants fans, and because of my location Redskins fans can be accepted. I mean, it's only twice a year when we are head to head anyway so it can't be that bad.

In baseball, I've even been open to Yankees fans despite my strong disdain for them and being a Red Sox fan.

But best believe, you say the wrong thing in our first meeting and it's over. I mean, it is OVER. No chance. No shot. You lose.

If I hear you're an Eagles fan, I don't want to hear about the last game of last season against the Cowboys all night. We can joke about it for a second, but it better be dropped real quick...

The only sport though I get really touchy about the most though is hockey. You've got to be REALLY attractive to root for the Philadelphia Flyers and hold my hand at games. I can't even think about what it takes to be a Pittsburgh Penguins fan and be around me though. I certainly have some friends that are Penguins fans, but dating is another realm to cover.

I do have a little bit of tolerance, however, in other situations. In the past, a Tampa Bay Lightning fan, named Greg, was an interest. And he was really nice, funny, cute - basically all that is good. His only flaw; he was a Lightning fan. As a Caps fan, I don't know what it is (I do, but that's another post), but ever since the 2003 NHL playoffs, I have hated the Lightning, even though they have been non-contenders for a couple of years.

Nonetheless, I would fight for hours with Greg over whether that goal in the Calgary Flames/Tampa Bay Lightning Stanley Cup Finals in 2005 scored by Marty Gelinas really crossed the line or not - thus, justifying whether the Bolts really deserved the Cup or not.

Me, being the one who hated the Lightning, could have been blinded by hate for the team. But I have always believed that the Flames were cheated out of a Cup, and hated that the Lightning got a championship title before the Caps did. I would obviously claim that the goal should have counted. Greg, being a Lightning fan, argued the contrary.

Now, this relationship was not defined by the two of us cheering for two different teams in the same division, but you can't tell me that it was easy with that factor. Every game is added with extra anxiety, so that you don't have to hear the trash-talking - that's your job, right? And losses suck even more when they're againt your significant other's team.

Luckily though, Greg wasn't a jerk (like I was) about games, and was a rather mild-mannered man. He never called me right after a game that the Caps lost to the Lightning (rare as it was) to brag. We also went hand-in-hand to a Caps/Flyers game last season; both intensley cheering for the Capitals because we despised the Flyers considerably more than each others' teams, respectively.

Which has, in the end, allowed me to give leeway to those who are not a fan of my team, or pledge alleigances to teams that I absolutely can't stand - well, besides the Pittsburgh Penguins.

So it's not necessarily true that I will disreagrd one's presence solely because they are a fan of a rivalry/disliked team. Just make sure that the team you cheer for isn't named after a flightless bird that lives in Antartica and the lower tips of Australia, South America, and Africa.

*Feel free to dispel your experiences with the decision to go through talking to someone who avidly follows your rival team. I know some have got to be funny.

NHL Preseason - Caps vs. Sabres!

OMG IF YOU THOUGHT I WAS REALLY EXCITED FOR NFL PRESEASON AND THE BEGINNING OF THE NFL SEASON, WATCH OUT BECAUSE THE CAPS JUST BEGAN PRESEASON!

So basically, hockey is back, and the Washington Capitals start off looking pretty good in a 4-3 OT win against the Buffalo Sabres. The Caps already seem better than last season, scoring on an overtime two-man advantage; something the Caps could never capitalize on in previous years.

The often-injured defenseman, Brian Pothier netted the team's game-winning goal. Other goal scorers included Alexander Giroux, who scored 60 goals with the Hershey Bears and is hoping to get a more permanent role on the Capitals; former Flyers' pain-in-the-ass Mike Knuble, who was signed during the offseason to add a gritty and experienced offensive touch; and Jay Beagle, who also will be spending more time with the Capitals between Washington and Hershey.

The Caps looked good to start the game. They held a 1-0 lead from the 1st period until 2:56 into the 3rd period where Sabres' Jason Pominville scored. About 4 minutes later, the Sabres scored again on a goal from Clark MacArthur.

The Caps tied the game at 2, but shortly thereafter, the Sabres regained the lead from Tim Kennedy's deflection.

Not giving up though, 23 seconds later, Washington tied the game again at 3-apiece, and ultimately winning in overtime, 4-3.

While the offense seems to be the main story for the game, Simeon Varlamov played an important role as well for the first part of the game, making multiple saves to maintain the 1-0 lead for the Capitals on Buffalo's odd-man rushes and scoring attempts.

Needless to say, I'm extra happy because the Caps won, and the fact that there was a variety in scoring, as well as a strong comeback effort that proved to be successful. Granted, I know that it's preseason, so I'm not tripping too much over one preseason win, but a win like this in the regular season would look good.

This win can possibly show that Varlamov can hold games for the Caps and keep them in until the end, that Mike Knuble has settled in to the Capitals' system, and that some new players can become the unsung heroes and make a roster spot by October 1st, opening night.

"The U" is BACK!!!

So had I not gone to American University, one school I was really hoping to get into was the University of Miami. Provided, I probably am doing really well at AU and I love it there, but man, had I gone to the Univ. of Miami, I would be covering their Hurricanes football team all the time - forget classes!

However, if I was at The U for the past couple of years, I wouldn't have enjoyed the games a whole lot, considering they've been struggling for a good minute, mostly since 2006, one of their most disappointing seasons. They just barely missed a losing season that year.

After the Hurricanes fired their coach and hired Randy Shannon as their new coach, they had an even worse performance, actually completing the campaign with a 5-7 record, missing a bowl game. In 2008, Miami lost to teams they usually beat, such as Georgia Tech; and much hated rivals, University of Florida, and Florida State University.

This season though, the Hurricanes have begun the season with vengance: Miami has won their first 2 games, including the opener against Florida State in a 38-34 thriller, and a dominant 33-17 performance against Georgia Tech.

Like I had mentioned about the Washington Capitals, it's early to make written-in-stone statements about the Hurricanes, but it's difficult to ignore their early season success, especially after the woes of the past few seasons.

Hate it or love it; whether you like it or not, The U is back.

NFL Week 1

Of course I'm happy that the Cowboys won, and the Redskins lost, but tell me why I'm still blown at the Bill and Patriots game? LOL!

The complete weekend/weekday opening football is over. I can say with confidence that this has been an entertaining first week for the NFL.

Cowboys 34, Buccaneers 21

To begin, the first game I watched was the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (because the Cowboys won, they deserve the "boys" back in the name versus the typical Cow[boy]s). Dallas ended up winning 34-21, but they could have won by more. I was displeased with the Cowboys first half performance. The offense did absolutely nothing, and was not helped by a missed pass interference that should have been called on Ronde Barber.

Dallas' defense wasn't doing much better in the first half as well, with Cadillac Williams on the Bucs giving them hell.

The second half was much better for the Cowboys though. Tony Romo turned out to have a pretty nice day with 344 yards passing and all of his passes for touchdowns went deep - over 40 yards... Imagine the winning score for Dallas, had they a better first half and didn't give up 14 points in the 4th quarter...

For the Bucs though, Williams was real nice out there, and Byron Leftwich had a pretty good showing as well, especially for being Byron Leftwich.

Giants 23, Redskins 17

Just about the Washington Redskins game, the New York Giants won 23-17, but the game was not as close as the score suggested.

By the 2nd quarter, the Giants ended up with a 17-0 lead, with the latest touchdown coming from a fumble recovery by the Giants.

The Redskins had a slightly better showing in the second half, but could not create any sort of rhythm on offense against the Giants' defense.

Point in case: after a 35-yard run by Clinton Portis on the Redskins, the Skins could only follow up with 50 more rushing yards the whole game.

Of course, the reaction suggests that Jason Campbell still can't get the Skins over the hump, but aside from the fact that a small (REALLY small) part of me actually hopes he succeeds in a way, I think he did all right with what he was faced with.

The Skins are not the team to beat in the NFC East in my eyes. They were facing a team that could very well take the division. After this, the Skins go on to play a stretch of games where they play teams that have failed at being any kind of good the past few seasons. The Giants will move on the the Cowboys.

Patriots 25, Bills 24

Most people are going to say the New England/Boston Patriots won this game in dramatic fashion 25-24, but I'm going to go out on a limb, and say the Buffalo Bills lost this one in ultimate screw-up fashion.

I'll admit, I missed the first part of the game because of the Juan Martin Del Potro and Roger Federer's tennis match where Federer lost in 5 sets was on where I was eating dinner. Granted, it was the US Open final, and the underdog ended up winning in a long match, but I still feel as though NFL football should have been on the TV.

Nonetheless, technology proved to be a savior, and I got first half stats before being able to return to my place of living to watch the second half. The Bills were leading 14-10 at halftime, and when I finally got back to my room, they were up 17-10.

Terrell Owens only had one catch at this point as well. Which led me to believe that the Bills could really win this game since they were able to utilize their other parts of the offense. It really looked good there.

It looked even better when Buffalo got the 24-13 lead and it was about 2 minutes to go in the game.

Until they gave up another touchdown and fumbled the ball deep in their territory after the kickoff, giving the Pats excellent field position to get the last and final touchdown... all of a sudden, it was 25-24 Patriots.

It wasn't quite over as the Bills began their final drive with about 50 seconds to go. That is ample time to create a situation to at least get into decent field goal position.

However, poor time management and multiple sacks proved costly for Buffalo.

Therefore, the Patriots did not win the game (also provided that Tom Brady wasn't as great as he normally is), but the Bills CHOKED. Somebody please perform the Heimlech Manuever - the Bills keep chocking. This is now the 12th straight time the Patriots defeated the Bills.

Tsk tsk... And I was really pulling for Buffalo...

Chargers 24, Raiders 20

This game was another situation where there was an underdog team winning, had the lead way late into the game, and then lost it even later to lose. The Oakland Raiders also choked to lose 24-20 to the San Diego Chargers.

Despite the score at the end of the first half, the Raiders seemed to dominate on defense early on, creating multiple turnovers and only allowing the Chargers 77 rushing yards. New addition Richard Seymour ended up with 2 sacks and 6 tackles, showing that he was ready to play and improve the Oakland defense.

Oakland lost the lead in the 4th quarter, but regained it, scoring a late touchdown with about 2:40 to go in the game. All they had to do was to continue their showing on defense that they had in the beginning of the 1st quarter.

Yet, the Raiders failed when it mattered, giving the Chargers 14 points in the 4th quarter and allowing Phillip Rivers to complete 6 out of 7 passes on the game-winning 84-yard drive.

The winning drive for San Diego left only 18 seconds on the clock, with which Oakland had to work. JaMarcus Russell threw a desperation pass, only to have it intercepted.

Oakland not only choked like Buffalo, but they ALSO have been defeated by their opponent 12 times in a row. The hell is THAT about?!

Side(line) Notes - haha!

Some other notes about the weekend/weekday...

Donovan McNabb got injured, which, to be honest, is no surprise to me. He is one of the more fragile quarterbacks; as good as he is and as much as I would pick McNabb over a lot of quarterbacks.

In response, the Philadelphia Eagles quickly sign Jeff Garcia and try to make roster space for him. Garcia knows the offense, having been in Philadelphia before and his last time with the Eagles, he led them to the playoffs. So it would be a good move to have him around.

Just to note though, there's another guy who, by Week 3, could play a little bit, and his name is Mike Vick. However, the choice to sign Garcia clearly states that the Eagles are not ready to have Vick play - I don't blame them after his unsatisfying performaces in the preseason, and the fact that he does need re-adjustment time to the NFL.

But if Vick could play for the Eagles, and actually be successful with them, that would be a pretty nice comeback story for the ages. I believe that regardless of other people's opinions about that...

...Props to the Green Bay Packers though for the comeback win. I couldn't write about it (Come on now! I already did four games and I'm only human!), but that was a REALLY fun game to watch. As for the Bears; step your game up. In fact, all these teams playing and choking - step your game up!..

... And of course, congrats to Juan Martin del Potro on his first US Open win, and on defeating the guy who won the last 5 US Opens... I think his name is something like Roger Federer. You might have heard of him. It is an amazing accomplishment for del Potro - just too bad it competed with Monday Night Football on my end.

... Finally, Mark Sanchez played pretty well Sunday. The End (watch ESPN for the rest of that, they'll be all up on the Sanchez coverage, trust me).


*RIP Patrick Swayze... To Wong Foo (Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar) - most underrated movie ever - sooo funny.

I Fell in Love With A Volleyball Match

Yesterday, I had the privilege of covering one of the most exciting games in American University Volleyball history. That event was volleyball coach Barry Goldberg's 500th career win in a nail-biting 4-set victory.

AU has had an uncharacteristic beginning to their volleyball season, especially after being projected to be #1 in the Patriot League Coaches Poll. They lost their first 5 games, won last Saturday at Portland for their first win, and then lost again last night to Yale. Before this game, the Eagles were only 1-6.

For those who don't know, I am a student broadcaster for American University, covering AU sports on Eagle Vision TV. The Eagles were to play the NJIT (New Jersey Institute of Technology) Highlanders at 1pm; which meant that I needed to be there just before noon.

I wasn't feeling good about the day already (my swag was off and I was REALLY tired). Then, I started thinking that my statistics and research are not good enough for the pre-game segment of the broadcast, I tried to get myself at least in some kind of focus to be ready to cover the match.

Once I had finally gotten comfortable with my pre-game analysis of the Eagles, my partner, Rachel DeMita, and I sat down and watched the game, looking for things to note in our appearances during break and our possible post-game segments.

The game was somewhat entertaining; however, with my frustration at the team's poor early season performance and the fact that AU couldn't maintain a lead in a set, I wasn't as invested into the game as I normally would. Not to mention, nobody but parents were at this 1 o'clock volleyball match where the head coach could be a part of history.

And then the 4th set came around with AU leading 2 sets to 1 after winning the last set. It was a very close set, seeing multiple lead changes and while AU seemed to have the upper hand in some parts of the 4th set, NJIT would come back into the game.

With the trouble AU has had all season with closing out sets, Rachel and I were quite nervous for the team. At this point, we started to realize that the Eagles were very close to winning.

The Eagles nearing in on the 25th and final point of set #4 was not only signs of a possible win, but then that Rachel and I would cover the historic event the AU community had been waiting for all this season - coach Goldberg's 500th win.

AU finally had reached the 24th point, and the Eagles were looking to get just one more point to win the set and the match. However, it would not be easy, as NJIT tied the set at 24 points apiece - just as Rachel had predicted.

When a set is tied at 24 points in women's college volleyball, in order for a team to get the final 25th set-winning point, there needs to be a tie-breaker, like there is in tennis in a deuce situation - one team needs two more consecutive points to win the set. Nonetheless, AU served, won the first tie-breaker point, and then Sophomore Angelina Waterman spiked the ball on NJIT's side of the net for the game-winning kill.

During the last 4 points, I found myself standing up, ready with my notes to head down to the court after the match was over to handle the interview with coach Goldberg and if need be, a player. When Waterman spiked the ball though, I lost all objectivity when I leaped in the air and yelled, "Yes!" and ran down the stairs to the court. Needless to say, I would have been pretty blown had AU played one more set.

Yeah, I know, I won't do that when I go pro in broadcast, but come on - your school's volleyball team just won an extremely close match, and the win brings about a historic occurrence, and you're covering the game.

I just thought it was a pretty cool experience, considering that I could possibly be covering pro games of that nature in the future. I certainly hope that AU wins some more games though to give me more fun games to analyze.

NHL or the Olympics? And Opening Night for the NFL!

NHL superstar Alexander Ovechkin made a profound statement Wednesday to ESPN.com about going to the Olympics: "I don't care... I'll go play in the Olympic Games for my country. If somebody says to me, 'You can't play,' see ya."

The skilled Washington Capitals winger is referring to the NHL's proposal to suspend players for going to play for their respective countries in the 2014 Olympics, which will be in Sochi, Russia in order to discourage NHL players from interrupting their seasons with the NHL to go to the Olympics.

One reason many owners and NHL exceutives are concerned about their players and the possibility of injuries that affect their playing status when they return to the League. The risk of injury in the Olympics is possible and it has occurred before.

The most recent and crucial injury suffered in the Olympics by an NHL player was former goaltender Dominik Hasek when he was with the Senators. Of course, as NHL followers know, Hasek never really recovered from that injury and the goaltending duties were eventually handed to Ray Emery, while Hasek left the team and retired.

However, major injuries from the Olympics are not common, and players often come back and after a game or two get back to regular season action. As for Alex Ovechkin, tough as he is, he would probably come back to the Capitals first game back.

The other concern is the break that the NHL takes in the middle of the season. Games are stopped for about two weeks in February for the Winter Olympics and teams are concerned about the mindset of teams after that break. Also of course, is the concern over time lost in gaining money from games.

But if players, especially at the caliber and celebrity status of Alex Ovechkin, want to play for their country, and make statements like Ovechkin did, it would not be wise for the NHL to go through with suspending players for wanting to represent their country of origin. Considering the next Olympics take place in Russia, and the number of players that are originally from there, it would be a BAD look for the NHL to do that.

If the NHL were to seriously suspend or discourage players in anyway for wanting to win their country a medal in 2014, I see it happening like this: Alex Ovechkin could very well go ahead and play in the Olympics. The NHL will suspend him, along with a couple of other players. What happens then is that not only do fans get angry, but players get angry. It's also a possiblity that other leagues will take note, and all those international players the NHL get will transfer to those leagues for more personal freedom.

Therefore, the NHL needs to be smart about this one. Do they really want to lose fans and players over a couple of weeks in the season? The NHL already suffers from poor decisions made by executives and the commisioner Gary Bettman. They do not like to focus on the correct way to make business. But if they want to remain a league, they will have to refrain from suspending players for being patriotic. You don't want Ovie to ruin you. The loss from suspension is greater than the gain.

Note to NHL: get it together.

Notes...

NFL Opening Night

Today was the opening day for NFL football. I was very excited to come back from a long hard day and a fire drill to kick back and watch some football.

It turned out to be a really exciting game. The Pittsburgh Steelers seemed to have the upper-hand most of the time, with the Tennesee Titans showing up on bursts of energy and skillful performance. And despite the fact that it was low-scoring all night, there was much intensity and aggresiveness from both teams - remained action-packed. The only thing is, that it's games like this where you wish that they could play more overtime instead of the anti-climactic first possession ender on a field goal.

What I'm concerned about though is this Madden Curse that is oh-so true... Troy Pololamlu... And you want to tell me that him being out 3-6 weeks possibly has nothing to do with being on the cover of Madden 10? Those who don't believe in it are in denial...

Now for Sunday, I'm going to go out and enjoy a full-fledged day of football, and watch my team, the Cowboys, play :)

Still not the Hamilton Coyotes?

Jim Ballsillie (I saw someone joke around and call it Balls-silly - which made my day).... I'm getting REALLY tired of seeing text after text every day from my NHL notifications that tell me the NHL has denied the Phoenix Coyotes from moving to Hamilton, Ontario.

My issue is that WHO CARES ABOUT THE COYOTES?! For real though? Who does!? People are not really fighting to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix, so why not make more money with the team and move them to a market that ACTUALLY CARES about a hockey team? Try again in Phoenix when the NHL is a major sport again. This may be continued at a later date.

The Caps' starting goalie is...

And finally, I'm happy to see Simeon Varlamov loving Arturs Irbe, his new goalie coach, and his new mask. Although coach Bruce Boudreau has stated that Jose Theodore is the official starter, he also claims that if Varlamov ends up playing better than Theodore, then he could very well then be the starter over Theodore at a later date. I'm pulling for Varly, but whoever starts needs to get my hockey team to a Stanley Cup!

FOOTBALL TOMORROW!!!!!!

OK, so I can't even pretend anymore - as much as I basically hate my Thursdays because of my schedule, I MUST be excited for tomorrow's opening NFL games.

Usually, Thursdays are my worst days. Yeah, I may be able to wake up at noon if I wish because I don't have my first class until 2:10pm, but after that, I'm stuck in classes until 8:00pm. My weeks always end up being extremely busy all the way through regardless of what day it is, but Thursday's are NO fun... until tomorrow!

In one of my earlier posts, I expressed excitement at the beginning of the NFL preseason... Yes - the preseason. But now tomorrow is the real deal, the regular season. I feel like a celebration should occur because it just seems like we should actually get the day off... but that's another issue.

I am curious to see how long Brady Quinn is the definite starter for the Browns and if he really is the starter, then how well he does after sitting for a minute. I want to see my Cowboys surprise me and actually have a productive offense without T.O... And I wonder - does that random guy at the AU women's soccer game right? Could the Bills beat the Patriots?

So I figure that maybe, possibly, after my crazy busy day tomorrow, I'll find my crew and hit up somewhere and catch the opening Titans and the Steelers game - hopefully with that guy I went out with on Monday to watch the Miami and Florida St. game. If I'm this excited for NFL season, just wait till October 1st when the Caps play the Bruins on national television...

...

And on a side note, congrats to Derek Jeter for tying Lou Gehrig's record for the most hits as a Yankee, which he's surely going to surpass. Yea, yea, he's on the Yankees. So I can't give him TOO much congratulations, but it is a great feat nonetheless.

I Actually Had to Go to Hooters!

I doubt that most people went through what I did the past couple weeks to the point where they felt that it was imperative that they went to a bar to watch a game.

As I've mentioned before, I have had no laptop for a couple of weeks because the one I had crashed. As if that already didn't drive me crazy, I also have been running around without any television. And my phone (as usual) was being crappy and really didn't want to work even more in these past few weeks. So not only was my contact with the world limited, but I was unable to even think about much without having watched a game or received game results and sports news fast enough to have a relevant post.

The latter statement was the most pressing issue of my recent days - I haven't watched sports for DAYS, much less the news or Law & Order: SVU in that same period of time. And being the sports fanatic that I am, reading a couple of stories on a few teams and looking for various scores in the newspaper doesn't quite do it for me...

Well, I woke up today not only excited that I have an extra day this weekend to party, sleep late, and procrastinate work, but it was also the actual first day of the college football season! I figured that I'd take advantage of the fact that tonight I had the opportunity to go out for dinner with my friend, Anthony, in China Town in Washington, DC. We got to the Ruby Tuesdays there and I asked the host lady if we could have a seat by a TV. Of course though, my request was denied as there were no seats by TVs and the bar was full (they weren't even showing any games). So I thought whatever and moved on. The purpose of this dinner anyway was to catch up with Anthony about our summer stories.

The night was still young after we finished eating at Ruby Tuesdays, so we decided to walk around China Town a bit and continue to tell stories. While we were deciding in which direction to continue walking, something came over me where, again, I realized that today was the first day of college football, and I exclaimed, "Anthony! Let's go to Hooters! It's down that way!" Heading that direction, we finally reach Hooters and we walk in - it was live! It was really busy, and so many games were on every television in there! And lucky me, we got a table next to the TV.

Alabama vs. Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, USA vs. El Salvador, and probably one more game I couldn't see... I felt like as if I had been in withdrawal, with an overwhelming happiness with all of these games on at once and watching every single one of them. I even ordered wings and coke to fully enjoy my experience! It was totally worth the randomness and walking in my uncomfortable heels all the way down to Hooters just to recapture the feeling of watching sports (and watching television all together). And needless to say, Anthony didn't complain about going to Hooters.

Most probably think I'm nuts for having a desire to go to Hooters to catch some sports (and eat some more because I'm a fat ass). But I don't care - I couldn't go today without having seen one game, whether it was football or futbol (already missed Brazil beat Argentina 3-1 at that point). If you loved sports like I do you'd do whatever it took to watch it too.

Notes...

I finally have a laptop top now, and I should be getting my television cable soon enough, although I'm still trying to configure the internet for my Mac and it's not going through so successfully. Nonetheless, I should be back to regular action very soon.

Shout out to Anthony - thanks for letting me "drag" you into Hooters to watch games and the night out and also one to our waitress, Nikki... dying about southern mothers, shoes, hair, and haters... only in DC...

NEW POST! Tired of Being Red Lined by Microsoft Word?

Ever just wished that Microsoft Word would just accept some words and move on?

Well, I've been having a particular issue with Word for quite some time now with this one word. Maybe I'm the one making the mistake: I'm probably spelling the word wrong, I'm adding an "s" to it when there doesn't need to be one,or it's probably not even a real word. Nonetheless, the word has been giving me a headache, and it just was reaffirmed today, September 9th, 2009...

Offsides.

I'm writing a game report on yesterday's women's soccer match between the American University Eagles and the Richmond Spiders for my Sportswriting class. I'm stating how the Eagles won 1-0 to improve to 3-1 on the season - a significant improvement from last seasons team and giving the facts from the game. Then I try to describe how the Spiders were called for "offsides multiple times..."

...And then came the red line.

Really, Word? Really!!? Is that how you feel? After all these years and you still pull that nonsense? I remember being really young; probably around 11 or something, and using Microsoft Word back then to write about hockey games. The Caps would need to fix constant whistles for being "offisides," and then I get the red line! I'd try it again every year, and I just added it into the dictionary because I got so sick of the foolishness that Word would try to pull on my work.

So here's the question: Am I doing something wrong? Is "offsides" supposed to be "offside" or "off-sides?" I really don't know. And it's a shame to admit as someone who has written about sports their whole lives, has been a die-hard hockey fan for so long, and has career plans to be a sports journalist/personality. But I really need to know whether A.) "Offsides" is just going to be an unaccepted word by Microsoft Word or not, and if B.) Am I just blatantly spelling "offsides" wrong?

And of course, I must express anger at Microsoft Word for even causing me to question my writing and my spelling skills.

Word, get it together.

...On a side note, I have not had a laptop for about 2 weeks, so I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I know, I know, I'm slacking on my game here, and I know everyone can think of ways I could have kept it up, but time constraints to affect people, and it's not easy to post when you have no personal computer after a long day of classes, work, and then the occasional American Eagles sports broadcast on Eagle Vision TV (http://aueagles.tv/)... actually, on that link you can archive it and see my broadcasts! I do studio analysis every game and it's quite fun. Oh, but if you don't want to pay to see the Eagles (or watch me broadcast), you can ask me to put a link of my copy of the game and I will be glad to let the world see my work!

And I have to say, I feel for those Redskins fans being sued by the Skins for wanting to pull out of their contracts. As much as I hate the Redskins football team, it sucks for regular everyday people to be sued by a large corporation or organization. The picture on the front of the Washington Post by the way was great photo journalism I have to say.

I'll try to be more regular again, but hope you enjoyed and welcome back! Take part in the new poll too!

The Natinals Game

I was originally going to blog about the Natinals game yesterday against the Brewers, and I still am, but then I realized that there was another component to this game that may not have been as obvious

The last post was about how a man came up to me and tried to put me down for being a woman and liking sports. Well, this post is about those people who appreciate the fact that you like sports, find you credible, and go to games with you to share what you both love the most.

Yesterday I was invited to go with a good friend of mine, Jake Russell from the Hogs.net, to see the Washington Nationals (the Natinals) and the Milwaukee Brewers play in Washington, DC. I had not seen Jake in a while, and he did have a "care package" for me that he's been meaning to give to me for the longest time. But I've been so busy lately that I haven't been able to see a lot of people before I went back to school and even since I got back with moving in and settling before my classes start next week. And I mean, who would turn down $3 in tickets to a baseball game at a beautiful stadium - regardless of who was playing? So I decided to go...

The game was preceeded with first, a private press conference with the Washington Nationals' newly signed draft pick, Stephen Strasburg, and then a public conference with the fans in the stadium afterwards. Of course, Strasburg was well-recieved by the Washington fans, who are more than eager to see him pitch soon.

Surprisingly, the game wasn't delayed despite the previous rain showers and ominious clouds overhead the stadium. Eventually it started raining and people left their seats, but the grounds crew didn't put the tarp over the field the first time.

J.D. Martin, old head pitcher for the Nats, pitched last night and gave up 2 early runs in the first inning, but the Nats (of course after Jake put on the early rally cap) got the 2 runs back in the following 2 innings. The Brewers, however, got 2 more runs through the 4th inning. At 4-2 in the top of the 8th inning, Brewers lead, the rain started up again, and murmurs in the crowd began, suggesting that the game was going to be called as the grounds crew finally put the tarp on the field. Fortunately for us, the game wasn't called so we got to spend more time at the game but for the Nats, it was much less fortunate. They ended up allowing 3 more runs and only scoring one more run from a Ryan Zimmerman home run in the bottom of the 9th inning. The final score: 7-3, Brewers, followed by post-game fireworks.

Before the actual game started, Jake and I went to go get food and then sat down by the dugout to watch some of the players in batting practice. We sat down in time to see the Brewers players practice hitting. While watching, we took pictures of them, ourselves, and just chatted about random sports topics: Prince Fielder and his short-but-heavy build, Tony Plush a.k.a. Nyjer Morgan of the Nationals, the Sports Junkies, pointing out sports personalities from various local stations, making fun of me not understanding that he was actually ASKING me if I knew who "#42" was (but of course, I knew that he knew, that I knew it was Jackie Robinson), since I just sat there and didn't respond for like 5 minutes...

Throughout the game, Jake and I kept cracking random jokes about the Brewers (i.e. Hey, Prince! Your name should be "Bad," because you're a bad Fielder - I think I died after hearing that one), hurling insults to the umpires for bad calls (i.e. One more eye and you're gonna become a cyclops - also dead after that one), and taking random pictures of ourselves at the game.

Aside from the game...

Jake has been one of my favorite people to go to games with; we ALWAYS end up having a good time. We met at a mutual friend's birthday party, where we went to a bar and watched the Washington Capitals play the Atlanta Thrashers. After that, as I interned with Crystal Palace USA (USL Division II soccer team in Baltimore, MD), he took me to a game I had to work and I got him in the press box with me while I was taking down notes for the game. I definitely plan to travel to bars and games with him during more sporting events.

Oh yea, and about that "care package" I mentioned earlier on... I never really got a chance to sit down and really take everything out until a couple hours ago. Jake already told me what was in there, but when I took the stuff out, it certainly made me smile a whole lot. In it were stats, daily clippings, game notes, roster lists, and programs from the Washington Capitals' Stanley Cup playoff run last season. Being the die-hard Caps fan that I am, this was like a whole "more than I could ask for" kind of Christmas gift thing over a "care package." Also thrown in there was an "Inside Pitch" (Nationals program/magazine) with of course "Tony Plush" on the cover and an... umm... a CD from an old boy group, LFO... you might have heard of them, but I wanted it really badly, so now I have it! It just completely made my day and it also reminded me that I've got some awesome friends.

It's always nice to know that there's someone that can appreciate your knowledge enough, and consider you a fun person to accompany them on sporting events. Jake is an awesome friend, but especially after that fool fromt he other night, it definitely made me feel better knowing that my sports knowledge is welcomed and such.

So special shout out to you, buddy! Had an awesome time last night!

Women and Football - It's not just to be cute...

It had to happen... I HAD to eventually do a post soley for ranting purposes. And especially since I'm a woman, it was inevitable that I was going to do a rant post about the dicotomy that is being a heterosexual female and liking sports. Not necessarily related to feminism - more like not at all - but more of a personal issue that I think I share with a few other ladies out there, including some friends....

So I was at the club the other night with some girls from my university's cheerleading squad. They were talking about something and I wasn't particularly interested in hearing what the topic was, so I mentally removed myself from the conversation. My eyes then caught the television screen at the bar, where they were showing a preseason football game. I couldn't really see the teams that were playing though, as they wer eonly showing one sideline at the moment.

To solve this problem, I decided to ask the handsome young man standing nearby who was playing in the game... Now I probably could have solved this by carrying my glasses that I use to read from far distances, but that would have been inconvienient for the club. I also could have just minded my own business and pretended to know who was playing and just to see blurry figures on a screen. However, I figured, he looks good so why not just ask anyway.

So this man tells me who's playing - the Chargers and the Seahawks - and then has the NERVE to say, "Aww that's real cute... you pretending to know about sports." I wasn't quite sure what he expected me to say to that, considering that I found that to be a little bit offensive, so I responded with, "So, just because I'm a woman, I have to be pretending I like sports?" Yes, I did it - I pulled the Gender Card. This man now tries to say the same thing, but claiming that it had nothing to do with me being a female. Knowing this was bull feces, I rolled my eyes, and then he starts talking about how he likes the feistiness! Like dude! Could you be anymore sexist right now! So I explain to him in a calmer manner, that I am a college-age student, studying broadcast journalism, and I cover sports for a living.

Then what REALLY infuriated me was his attempt to play me, and ask me, "Well then, who's the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys???" WHAT KIND OF A FOOL DOES HE TAKE ME FOR!?!? I just previously answered his question on where the Chargers and Seahawks were from. I was more insulted though by the simplicity of the question than the fact that he was asking me questions to test me allt ogehter.

You see, just because I may be a little bit on the good-looking side and I'm a woman, that doesn't mean that I don't watch sports, or know anything about sports. I recently saw an article suggesting that Erin Andrews should be in the booth now versus being a reporter. The comments below though argued against it, and one comment even went as far as to umbrella all good-looking females and stated that none of them know anything about sports. They may have a common knowledge about things like football but they'll never have a full understanding of the game........

Which brings me here: WHAT MAKES THIS GUY MORE KNOWLEDGABLE ABOUT FOOTBALL THAN MYSELF? What God-given right has been handed down to men to inately know more about the depths of football than a woman? And then what God-forbidden theory claims that any woman who knows a "thing or two" about football is doing it for show and to purposely add to her sex appeal?

I love football. I do. And I love it because it's a sport, and I find it rather entertaining. It's ALWAYS been that way. I was a baby watching football. I had my Troy Aikman poster hanging in my room since I was about 6 years old. How can ANY MAN tell me that I like sports just to be cute? I'm sorry but I'm not crazy (all the way at least) to get a tattoo of the Washington Capitals on my back, and not like the Washington Capitals like it's my life? Like what world do I live in where I have to prove that I love sports more than anything? If it really mattered, get to know me, and read this blog, or we'll get to sports in about 10 minutes into a conversation and we'll have a nice healthy debate over coffee (beer in Canada).

So fellas, please don't make the mistake of judging a book by its cover. If the lady says she likes sports, or brings up a sports topic, don't try to play her on it and question her. I'm not a dating tip-blogger, but just for common knowledge, folks.

Notes...

Kane has officially been indicted. That'll show him. Unfortunately, those are the only news stories that come out about hockey players - the bad apples. Can we get more Ovechkin love out here and talk about the GOOD stuff they do?

So the St. Louis Cardinals technically stole John Smoltz from the Boston Red Sox. Oh well. There goes an offseason acquisition.

MOST INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH... While all the track and field news is mostly about Usain Bolt being this guy who runs faster in 100m and 200m dashes than I run to the bathroom after my 5-8pm class, I came across an article about this 18-year old runner from South Africa who needs a gender test because apparently people are questioning whether "she does not meet the requirements to compete as a woman" or not... I really don't know how I feel about this because according to the article, the details are just soo complex! They can't say if they will take away her medals or not because it would be based on whether she got a sex change or if she has always defined herself as a woman... Frankly, I don't know how to take this story either, so for now, I'm only sharing with you all this issue. haha.

Is This News??? Favre is Back?

This is ridiculous... I'm only annoyed because this is actually being reported. It bothers me that you can be Brett Favre, and skip traning camp all together, have everybody talking as if Tavares Jackson is the starter, and all of this stuff, and then on a whim say I'm back and sign for 10-12 million to play for a year.

Brett Favre coming back makes things difficult for not only me and the viewers of any sports television, but for the Vikings players and staff. What are they to do when Favre comes AFTER training camp and AFTER preseason, and then start the season green as hell talking about some, "Okay receievers! Time to catch from Brett Favre!" or "Hey linemen! First game of the season, you'll learn block for Brett!" If I'm playing on the team, what am I supposed to make of all this time of training camp and preseason? I would definitely question the whole process that every other football player has to go through.

As for Favre, this is obnoxious. Why is this the biggest story today? We all knew it was gonna happen. I didn't want it to, but we knew it was about that time when Favre would make a random appearance and say, "Hey! I wana play," and then it's covered like a big surprise.
I wish he'd stay in Mississippi. I really do. Just enjoy your life. Please. Don't come out of the woodworks to try and play a couple games out of the year to show your face, and make me see your face non-stop now for my whole (usually enjoyable) time of football season.

For real though, I'm just going to pass over this and show no emotion, like as if this was another celebrity gossip story. I mean, that's what ESPN does these days anyway...

Notes...

Vinny Prospal is back, reunited with his former coach, John Tortorella after singing with the NY Rangers for $1.1 million. Trust me though, the Rangers will not win the Stanley Cup this year because of this.

Patrick Kane, the a-hole who couldn't just spare some change to his cab driver along with his brother, is looking for a plea deal on his robbery and assault charges that he recieved. Tsk tsk...

Don't forget to vote in the poll to your left, and hey! Follow me on Twitter! ZetaSportsFan1... You don't wanna miss any of my posts anyway!

English Premier League Overview: Underdogs Maybe?

Before I begin on my post today, I would like to apologize to my audience for not having a post for about 3 days... I just moved back to campus and because we were all unprepared for the fact that my room is smaller than every other room here, it's taken a little bit of time to rearrange the place and set our things up. And let's not forget, I'm a college student, and so the weekend was host to a few late night excursions on the town... Nonetheless, I'm back here and it might not be every day, but I will try my best not to go past 3 days.

Back to what we love...

So I thought it was rather funny that when I was looking at Sky Sports' expectations for particular games over the weekend, they were so wrong in their predictions, that I HAD to write about it.

I may not be an Arsenal fan, but I was actually appalled that they chose Arsenal to draw 1-1 with Everton on Saturday August 15th. The ACTUAL result however was a 6-1 thrashing by Arsenal.


Liverpool was the favorite to win 2-1 in the Liverpool/Tottenham match, especially considering their 3-1 win against Tottenham at the end of the previous season and the fact that Tottenham has failed to win many of their past opening matches. Tottenham outplayed Liverpool though, beating them 2-1, and only allowing the one goal because of a penalty kick made by Stephen Gerrard.


Manchester United played Birmingham on the 16th for their first match after winning it all last season. Sky Sports predicted a 3-0 victory for Man U. Even though Manchester United pulled off a usual win on Sunday, they only won 1-0, and had Birmingham actually capitalized on the chances they had at the net, they could have scored a couple goals or two and completely throw f the standings for the first day of the season.


Basically, Sky Sports needs to recheck itself - granted it was the opening week for the EPL, and they were basing their predictions off of the results from last season, but maybe when we all make predictions, let's not always choose the obvious answer...


Notes...

In other news, Marc Bulger - injured again. Like for real though, why can't football players just keep their fingers and toes in check? Everybody ends up breaking off their index fingers, middle fingers, or big toes, or pinkie toes... YES YOU T.O. TOO! Come on now! I feel like all football players (and players in other sports should follow suit) should wear a metal glove when their outside of the football field so that they can actually be productive on the field. Marc Bulger may just need to be in a bubble - It's no mystery why the Rams have been one of the worst teams in the NFL for the past few years...


Sorry O's fans, but they traded Aubrey Huff for a minor leaguer today. The Orioles still stink, and for the sake of the state I live in, I hope the O's can get it together and actually get some real pitchers and have consistency. Even the Nats have ben more consistent at times than the Orioles this year...


Speaking of the Nats, they should start thinking about whether their gonna sign this draft pick... by that I mean they SHOULD sign him...
*The Nats signed Strasburg to the largest contract for a draft pick ever. 4 years as well. Good call Nats. Thanks for listening.


Finally, T.O. returns for limited practice. His toe.


New poll is up as well... Who will win the fewest games in the NFL? Just felt like asking. So feel free to vote and then comment on either the post tonight or the poll and explain why you said what you said. Enjoy!

Mike Vick Returns

Notes...

So how would you feel if in one offseason, you were traded a couple times? Well how about if you were traded 3 times... or even 4? Quentin Richardson sure knows how that feels, as he was bounced around the NBA from the Knicks to the Grizzlies, Grizzlies to the Clippers, Clippers to the T-Wolves, and now the T-Wolves to the Heat. That'd be a pretty big ego killer for me, but not as much as if I was traded for supplies like they do in minor league baseball... trade to the Thunder next for some D Wades maybe (the shoes of course) ?????

Tom Brady started today. That's it.

Redskins lost in a shutout to the Ravens. Hehehe - just sayin'...

Jake Peavy made his first rehab start today with the Triple-A Charlotte Knights, as he prepares to become a part of the Chicago White Sox's pitching staff.

And this is amazing... Think, about this: what if we made Allen Iverson's "Practice" rant a song, mixed in with Jim Mora's "Playoffs" blow up, and a few other media outbursts by coaches and players (T.O. included)? This was the crack up for the day...This is great stuff.... And a lot of skill by the creator. Props to them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exOxUAntx8I


Vick's Return

So Michael Vick has returned to the NFL, and will be on the Philadelphia Eagles roster, signed on for 2 years. I'm glad that, finally, the speculation is over, and we can get down to straight facts and football.

I'm really happy for one thing, because Vick has paid a lot for being involved in a dog fighting scandal. It baffles me that people seem to have much more outcry over a man that had to spend 2 years away from football/his career/his young family, went to jail for 18 months, and recieved HEAVY public judgement (still is getting it and it will continue) than players who have been guilty for domestic violence, and other crimes - against HUMANS. It seems as though we hold more weight on crimes against animals than HUMAN crimes. I wish people got that mad at those accused of domestic violence. And trust, I hate dog fighting and all that nonsense - A LOT. It disgusts me, especially since I have a little baby of my own (American Eskimo). But like I said, humans deserve some type of defense as well.

If you want still Vick out the NFL, then I don't undertsand what's wrong with you. But enough with bashing the backlash. It's overrated anyway... On the Eagles, Vick should be another QB option for a team with an established organization and a stable situation going into the season. He can get back to a career and hopefully returning to a more normal life.

Shout out to...

Arturs Irbe!!!!! Welcome to DC as the Caps' new goaltending coach! Definitely a good look for the Capitals with the young goaltending and the elimination of language barriers, as Irbe can speak Russian to Simeon Varlamov... although the Caps will miss the 12-yr service of Dave Prior, who present during Olie Kolzig's Vezina Trophy winning years. Nonetheless, I look foward to winning a Stanley Cup with Irbe on the staff.... :D

A Little Something for Everyone

Bienvenido Pedro...

Yeah, no clever headline title (too much thinking lol)... 37 year old Pedro Martinez returned to Major League Baseball action with the Philadelphia Phillies (and still with the permed look)against the Chicago Cubs. His return proved to be solid as he pitched through 5 innings, striking out 5 batters and giving up 3 runs in a 12-5 win for Philadelphia.

Pedro began the game working with a 2-0 lead and dealing with only 4 batters in the 1st inning. He seemed like he had very good ball control, and got through innings quickly and efficiently. The Phillies offense definitely backed him up as well, giving Martinez suffcient run support just about every inning early on. Pedro had a 12-1 lead by the 4th inning! How can you NOT work with that?... Oh, if you're the Red Sox bullpen........

All jokes aside, it's good to see Martinez come back from such a long time away from baseball at his age, and to see him play almost at the level he used to play as a former pitcher in Boston. Of course, Martinez still has work to do if he is to be an integral part in the Phillies playoff run, such as getting his curveball and slider together. This definitely a good start though. Nonetheless, note to Phillies fans: don't wet your pants assuming you're going to repeat again this year...

*I had to. I had to cheap shot Philly people - cut me some slack lol

The Most Random Losing Streak Ever...

The United States soccer team went on their awaited journey to Mexico to play their futbol team. Everybody tried to make this big deal out of the fact that U.S. has lacked wins in Mexico, and then used that to justify why they wouldn't win this time either.

I don't know why, but it just doesn't make sense to me why someone can't win a game solely because they just haven't won in a long time. I mean, the U.S. would have to win at some point, right? And I usually go with my feeling that the U.S. would win... so it had to be this year, right????

AND THEN THEY GO AND LOSE!!!!!

Now that is partially because of the mad theatrics courtesy of the Mexican futbol team, and partially because of missed opportunities... I hear all kinds of excuses like the altitude, and the stadium, and crowd - like as if other places don't have bad atmospheres (*cough* Philadelphia *cough* - had to do it again). But it still baffles me, hours later, that their luck just seems to fail them in Mexico. Not that Mexico is a bad team at all - they're really good, but the American team has a slight edge, especially in momentum. All of this is why I picked them to win today.

Just losing 23 out of 24 games (one 0-0 tie) doesn't add up, but oh well. Kind of reminds me of how all DC area teams just can't win int he playoffs, just because they can't win in the playoffs - like the Capitals last season, having an even better team than the '98 team that made it to the finals, but struggled heavily in the playoffs and barely even made it to the second round, where they lost. For what reasons, I don't know what happens to them, but it definitely is along the same lines of this USA losing streak in Mexico. The U.S. will hopefully move on from this and continue the positive play to reamin one of the top three teams for 2010 World Cup qualifying.

The Godfather

Just really quickly, in light of the Rick Pitino news, this just further proves that this man is in a mafia. He has to be. Like how can get you someone pregnant, who was trying to get after your money, pay for your abortion (ignoring what he said), and then tell us about 6 yrs later when there's nothing you can do about it and it almost seems pointless!!!!! I can imagine all the underground details that haven't come out, and probably won't come out about all the mafia going-ons and having to go along with the plan until he's ready to say something... and all of that good mob stuff. Al Pacino is only an actor, acting out the life Pitino has lived HA!

Losers of the Day

To close up shop tonight, congrats to the Brewers by the way today for either relieving people of their duties or putting them in the minor leagues. Having lost 23 out their last 35 games, the Brewers were definitely due for a shake-up: designating Bill Hall for assignment, putting J.J. Hardy in Triple A baseball, and firing the pitching coach, Bill Castro. Pretty big moves, and for the sake of the Brewers fans out there, hope that changes things.

And to the Boston Red Sox... for not being able to make a move on John Smoltz, basically trying to put a Hall of Famer for minor league duties. I would also call out Kevin Youkilis. I feel as a Red Sox fan, I have the right to tell him to shut up and I think that's all I need to say about the issue, since he messed up by going participating in that little brawl last night. HE started it, but certainly couldn't finish it... and pulled the pansy move by inaccurately throwing his helmet in the direction of the pitcher... real smart...

Don't forget to vote in the poll either and comments are welcome!

Surprise!!!!!

This Made My Night

Oh man... I don't know why I've never heard of this website before, but I just found out about it tonight from a friend. I originally wasn't going to write anything for this date, but this was so necessary...

http://www.sportshate.com/

It's so genuis! This is just basically a site where one goes on, and makes hate comments on things related to sports. The site has divided such comments into little sections such as "hated teams," "hated players," hated owners - anything you could hate on in sports, it's here!

As sports fans, as I'm sure most of us are here, the one thing we enjoy almost as much as seeing our teams winning, is seeing the arch rival fall. Some fans maybe more intense with this than others, but I will share with you, I go pretty hard about this one. As a Red Sox fan, seeing the Yankees lose can make my night so much better. The Redskins or Eagles losing a game can almost entirely make up for the Cowboys losing a game. Most lovely of all, as a Capitals fan, I wish upon years and years of losing to the Penguins and Flyers. It just does me a favor in life to see my most hated teams lose.

So as you can see, I can appreciate such a forum where fans can vent about a certain team or player they may not like. I mean, half the time it is warranted (the other half is when my teams or players are involved - hahaha!)

In these sections on http://www.sportshate.com/, you see the top 5 hated things in each section. For instance, the top 5 hated teams are as follows: The Dallas Cowboys, The Los Angeles Lakers, The New York Yankees, The New York Giants, and the Pittsburgh Steelers... not too much of a surprise here.

My favorite thing that I checked out though was the hater section for Serena Williams... apparently she's quite hated on, which I wasn't really aware of (well, except for when she visits France). But these comments... these comments.... they blew my mind! Let's check a few out...

"Knock Out" posts that Serena ought to "let some pretty girls win!"

An anonymous poster calls Ms. Williams, "LINEBACKERRRRR!!!!"

Someone named BK ALL DAY though killed it by saying, "I tear that booty up, just keep the face down!"

So, basically, you can say almost anything, although, I feel that the posts were somewhat censored, such as the use of the word "AZZ" to describe Serena William's posterior... so I would warn anyone who plans on going to the site to bash a player or team to keep it a little clean at least, and to refrain from any real hate comments.

It was interesting to see this site, http://www.sportshate.com/, and I figure, I'll visit this site a little bit from now on, just to see how people hate on other teams and people and just anything lol. It's good for just venting your biggest frustration about a particular team or player you just can't stand or you refuse to root for. And even though my teams show up (Dallas Cowboys, Boston Red Sox, and even Alex Ovechkin was a hated player), it brings solace to my life knowing that other people's players, teams, fans, owners, coaches, and everything else about them is being hated on and berated.

Congrats Vlad...

Just want to make a special shout out to Vladimir Guerrero the other night for hitting his 400th home run. Pretty much a big deal, seeing as he didn't have to be a prick to do it (A-Rod, Manny... just saying...). We all sit back in awe of Albert Pujols and what he can do - and granted he is definitely one of the best hitters of our time. But Vlad rarely gets mentioned in the casual discussion of greatest hitters and early ballot Hall of Famers.

I happened to have the television on to the Scott Van Pelt Show (what a funny man by the way). He made a comparison between Guerrero and Joe Dimaggio. In regards to statistics like doubles, home runs, hits, and batting average, at the same amount of games in their careers, Guerrero is either neck-and-neck or ahead of Dimaggio.

So if Vlad gets mentioned nowhere else, here's his shout out - on my blog.

New Poll!

Hey! I know you all hate at least one of those teams. So I suggest taking the new poll and letting us know who you hate THE MOST out of the group. Also feel free to go on the comments portion below and tell us openly who you hate the most - team or player - and why. You're also more than welcome to comment on the blog post as well...

Enjoy!

Knock You Down

This is why the NHL will never become a major sports market again. This is why the NHL will never reach a new audience. This is why the NHL will continue to not cross people's minds...

The Carolina Hurricanes have sued Tyrone Banks, a Raleigh-based hip hop artist, for producing and promoting a song called, well, the "Carolina Hurricanes," and referring to it as the "official song of the Carolina Hurricanes." Banks has also produced an online video where he wears the Hurricane's team jersey.

Apparently though, this song seems to be too offensive for the Hurricanes because he's not part of the team or the staff, and according to the Associated Press report, the Hurricanes can't stand the fact that "Banks is still seen wearing a Hurricanes jersey in promotional material and said the franchise has been damaged by the unauthorized use of trademarks."

This frustrates the hell out of me! You canNOT tell me that promoting your team is a bad thing. I believe that if Banks had actually tried to talk with the team before he came out promoting and stuff, maybe the team would have been more likely to enjoy his production discussing their franchise. Either way though, I don't think suing the man really does the team any good.

You see, hip hop is this huge thing in America, and I don't know if the NHL has heard of this. But all kinds of people listen to hip hop, not just black people, but oh boy do white people listen to hip hop as well. I'm telling you, had the NHL taken the step a long time ago in using popular rap/hip hop artists to be at games, promote the team, show up at the All-Star game and all of that (pre-lockout), I have a feeling there would be more people who would at least give a little more about the NHL.

In markets like Carolina, and especially the ATL, the NHL should try to market differently. Instead of using people like Garth Brooks and unknown/slacking celebrities to promote events and games and such, why not more popular people. At the time of the NHL All-Star game in Atlanta, they used Ne-yo as the intermission performer. Then, Ne-yo wasn't near where he is today with his fan base though. What would have been mad nice, would have been Usher, and Lil Jon, who actually has a son that plays hockey in Atlanta.

Herein lies another example of how the NHL pushes away a good idea and continues to make itself look like a boring sport for white people. Just as the NHL continues to market with charisma-less, cry-baby Sidney Crosby instead of using a more fun, exciting, explosive player like, say, Alex Ovechkin, the NHL will also push away any good idea to get their teams and markets out there to a different audience in a different way.

I feel like I will dig into this issue further come February 2010 with a more broad view of how I feel about this topic. I will warn all now, I will be very blunt in that post. But for now, take what you can get here and insinuate.
*there is a rock song out there about the Hurricanes

Sidenote: BTW, I just want to make a special shout to the Fort Dupont fellows. Great hockey program, and I hope to be somewhat involved in putting it even more out there in the future.