All I Want for Christmas is My Two Frontcourt Players Healthy

With a single slip, Anthony Newell sent the entire Ball State Men’s Basketball Team stumbling. The junior forward injured his left foot on November 20 during a team practice, and his teammates are already feeling the effects of losing their leading scorer. Newell averaged 22.5 points through the first two games, including a 29-point, 10-rebound effort against Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The 29 points were a career high. Now, however, Newell is looking at a new low – being sidelined for six to eight weeks.

Junior Anthony Newell is out 6-8 weeks

with a foot injury (BSU Photo Services).

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they’ve lost more than just Newell. They’ve lost their first five games, and as a result, they’ve lost a considerable amount of fan support. At the slightest mention of the team, students across campus are impelled to blurt out things like, “Man, they suck!” or “Are they ever going to win a game?” Sure, Ball State is undermanned, undersized, and inexperienced. Yeah, they’ve played a few NCAA tournament-caliber teams already in Butler and Georgetown. But Ball State is not the type to play the excuse game. They may have lost a lot of things this year, but one thing that this team hasn’t lost is hope.

Just look at the Cardinals’ three games without Newell in the lineup: a 57-48 loss to #5 Georgetown, a 51-50 loss to Evansville, and a 74-63 loss to Saint Joseph’s. Ball State battled hard and played close in each one of these losses. Against nationally-ranked Georgetown, the Cardinals were within single digits of the Hoyas throughout much of the second half and managed to cut the lead to six with two minutes remaining. They led Evansville 47-38 with seven minutes to go before allowing a game-winning rally. They also claimed a 23-22 lead against Saint Joseph’s late in the first half and were within 3 of tying the score in the second.

While nail-biters can sometimes be more disconcerting to a team than blowouts, the Cardinals must look at the positives. They’ve competed in every game, they’ve established second-half leads, and the youngsters have even started to mesh as a team. Although senior Peyton Stovall is leading the way with 13.4 points and 7.0 rebounds a game, he’s getting plenty of help from several newcomers. Freshman Malik Perry is shooting 50% from the field and is third in both scoring and rebounding behind Stovall and Newell. Sophomore Rashaun McLemore is leading the team with a 57.1 field goal percentage and poured in 15 points against Saint Joseph’s. Laron Frazier, a junior transfer, is tops on the team with 12 assists to just four turnovers.

If these guys are still optimistic, their fans should be, too. It’s only five games into the season, and the Cardinals still have over a month before beginning conference play. Ball State’s next chance to introduce itself to the win column comes on Saturday with a 7:30 PM game at Valparaiso. The Cardinals can use all the fan support they can get this holiday season. If you’re a diehard fan, your Thanksgiving turkey probably didn’t taste as good with Newell’s injury in the back of your mind. Just know that the team is appreciative of your support. And since it is the season of giving, it wouldn’t hurt the rest of you to give your men’s basketball team some respect.

We Are Not In Kansas Anymore Fellas....

Well it's over. With Kansas' loss to Missouri on Saturday, all hope of the Jayhawks playing for the national title was lost. I have to say I was not expecting the Mizzou/Kansas game to have national title implications, but hey that's the theme for this college football season. The Tigers won the possession battle, controlling the ball for 37:25 compared to the Jayhawks 22:35. Mizzou QB and Heisman hopeful Chase Daniel went 40-49 for 361 yards, 3 TDs, and NO interceptions. This was the first all year that I was able to sit down and watch Daniel play and I was very impressed. He controlled the offense very well and made the big plays when he had to. Expect to see him in New York for the Heisman ceremony.

What has happened with LSU??? All they have to do is win out and they are national title-bound. But what happens?? Lloyd Carr leaves Michigan, every time LSU head coach Les Miles turns around he gets asked another question about the coach position for the maze and blue. And then Arkansas comes in to Baton Rouge and beats the Tigers in 3 OTs by the final score 50-48, in what was one of the greatest games in SEC history. Razorback running back Darren McFadden sprinted back into the Heisman race after this race. Run DMC ran for 206 yards and 3 TDs and also THREW for another score. As a team Arkansas ran for 383 yards on the ground against what most people feel is the best defense in the country. I'm very disappointed in LSU. They were given a second chance to play for the national title and blew it.

Quickly, how sick are the West Virginia Mountaineers?? Hanging 66 on any team, even if it is UConn (who was #20 in the BCS), is impressive. Expect to Mountaineer signal caller in New York for some Heisman action. White is the main reason West Virginia has been able to stay in the top 10 since their loss to South Florida.

One more thing. Two hottest teams in the country: USC and Georgia. The Trojans are playing like they were expected and have a good chance to playing in the Rose Bowl. And ever since having the greatest TD celebration in recent memory (except for Chad Johnson's marriage proposal to that Bengals cheerleader), Georgia has moved up to #4 in the BCS this week. They also need to wear those black jerseys more often.

Since the BCS is too confusing, NO rankings this week. Check back next week for when the rankings count. My only hope is that Ohio State is not playing for the national title. Who have the played??? Two quality games in Illinois and Michigan, losing at home to the Illini and beating a two-faced Michigan team.

After much consideration, I have decided to take the advice of one Ryan Camden and make Tim Tebow my number one Heisman prospect.

1. Tim Tebow (Florida)
2. Chase Daniel (Missouri)
3. Pat White (West Virginia)

I have Darren McFadden out of the top 3 because even though he has had some ridiculous games this year, he has also had very mortal games as well. Putting White third was hard for me, again Daniel has been more consistent and his performance against Kansas was unreal.

CCG at noon on Saturday. I've got a feeling this week's Kansas Jayhawk will be a tough one for Mr. Nick Yeoman

Toronto, Pronto!

They tell you seven is a lucky number. I mean just the other day at Taco Bell, my total came to $7.77 and the gave me a free taco. Now tell me that isn't lucky.

The BSU football squad has amassed a 7-5 record, 5-2 in the MAC West, and now are hoping their luck hasn't ran out quite yet. Any time now, BSU Athletics Director Tommy Collins should be getting a call from a bowl committee asking for Coach Hoke's explosive young quarterback to grace with them his rocket arm or his 31-year old defensive end to wreak havoc on other team's offensive line. Consider it a shoe-in if Miami loses to Central Michigan in Detroit. Sorry Redhawks, you should not have beat us the first time, so consider it karma.

In case you missed it!

BSU placed nine players on the ALL-MAC team.
Dante Love, Chris Miller (no surprise here), Darius Hill, and Robert Brewster accomplished First Team Honors. I am especially glad to see an o-lineman, Brewster, to make the team. Realize that an offense revolves around the line. There the hogs who do all the dirty work in the trenches. Without Brewster, Dan Gerberry, and the rest of the big boys there would be no 27 passing touchdowns. Props to Brewster on earning a well deserved accomplishment.

This past Saturday, BSU knocked off Northern Illinois to claim a share of the MAC West title, 27-21. The Cards finished the day with 370 total offensive yards with 326 coming on the arm of sophomore stud Nate Davis. He also tossed 2 scores while scrambling for another. Ray Winkler, in his first career catch, grabbed a TD to put the away team ahead. Darius Hill had 4 catches for 49 yards and one score. He is now of one 8 semi-finalists for the Mackey Award (given to the best TE in the nation). Best of luck to Darius. Dante Love, once again, surpassed the 100 yard receiving mark, with 9 catches for 135 yards. He ends the regular season with 87 catches and 1229 yards. He is averaging 102.2 receiving yards per game, best for ninth in the country.

Starting in 2008, NIU and BSU will participate in a trophy game. "The Bronze Stalk" consists of pretty much a bronze corn stalk on a wooden stand with each team's logo lining the stand. Hmm, the bronze stalk? I do not know if I like it that much yet? It seems kind of tacky. I mean who wants to play football over a piece of foliage? But considering Mich. St. and Penn St. play for the "Land Grant Trophy" acknowledging them as the two largest land grant schools, I think we'll be ok.

In closing, get your Uncle's favorite 40 Lane tee and your dad's plaid shoes, because BSU is going bowling? Is it America's hat, Toronto and the International Bowl? Or the home of Kid Rock & Eminem, Detroit and the Motor City Bowl? Or I am just completely wrong? It doesn't matter where they play, just as long as they get to play!!!

Recent Things

Thoughts while pondering just how ridiculous Devin Hester is...

The Patriots will still go 16-0. If the Philadelphia Eagles can storm Foxboro and score 28 points, with A.J. (Touchy) Feeley at QB, maybe there's hope for everyone. There's really no rhyme or reason as to why the Eagles were able to keep pace with New England on Sunday night. The Eagles aren't a particularly good team - in fact they are likely the worst team in the NFC East division - and yet there they were, late in the 4th quarter, with the kings of the NFL on the ropes. Does this mean the Pats are going to lose a game in 2007? Well, maybe not. They only face one more good team before the infamous Week 17 matchup with the NY Giants - Pittsburgh, at home. If they get through that, they'll be 15-0 heading into the Meadowlands, where the question will be how hard Belichick will try for history.

Green Bay is the only NFC team capable of beating New England. We've already seen Dallas get their shot, and they didn't do it very well. At home. They won't beat the Pats at a neutral site. The Packers, however, have some sort of magic surrounding their team, as any team that goes 10-1 after no preseason hype needs to have. Brett Favre is throwing well again, Ryan Grant has revitalized their running game, their defense does just enough to win, and Donald Lee has become a nearly unbeatable red-zone threat. If they get their shot at New England, they may not win. But they're the NFC team best-equipped to beat them.


Devin Hester is ridiculous.


Carolina needs to draft a QB. Permit me to rant about my own team for a moment. This season is proof positive that Carolina is not going to get anywhere refusing to draft offensive players with high picks. Jake Delhomme, yes, was off to the best start of his career before getting hurt. But David Carr, Vinny Testaverde and Matt Moore have combined for the biggest mess ever at the position. You need a blue-chip QB at some point in the NFL (or, if you're New England, you need an undercoached guy with blue-chip talent under Charlie Weis) if you're going to be a consistent winner. And no one defines inconsistency more than Carolina, who in the last four years have been great when they're supposed to be good, mediocre when they're supposed to be great, and terrible when they're supposed to be mediocre.


The Colts are back. They won't have issues the rest of the year. It looks like they figured out how to get by without all of their personnel.

More to come...

Cardinals Cruise to Victory

The Ball State men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams hosted the 2007 Doug Coers Invitational at the Lewellen Aquatic Center. The Grand Valley State (GVS) Lakers and the Univesity of Findlay Oilers also participated in the invitational. Both teams walked away from the three-part meet victorious. On the women’s side the final scored were Ball State 905.50, Grand Valley State 591.50, and Findlay 213. The final scores on men’s side were Ball State 849.50, Grand Valley State 621.50, and the University of Findlay 268. In the overall combined scores, the Cardinals bested second-place GVS by 542 points.

The Cardinals started strong on Friday night, jumping out to an early lead. The women’s team led the Lakers by 135 points, while the men had a 62-point lead over GVS. Both teams opened the second day of action with a win in the 200-medley relay, setting the pace for the day. Overall, the BSU women’s team took first place in 18 of their events over the three sessions. The men’s team took first place in only four events, but still had strong showings throughout. The Doug Coers Invitational presents an unusual award to the winners. Instead of a medal, each individual receives a championship T-shirt.

The first two segments of the invitational were broadcast on 91.3 WCRD and wcrd.net, the MAC’s first ever swimming and diving broadcast. Junior Ken Sothman was a part of the historic first broadcast. "Making history in doing the first ever swimming and diving broadcast not only for Ball State University, but for the MAC conference is definitely something I will never forget. I was a bit skeptical at first how the initial broadcast would go, but when you dive into the action with the swimmers who are winning races by tenths of a second and you have the parents/fans behind you rocking Lewellen Pool you all of a sudden find yourself caught up in the middle of something that is truly exciting."

Be sure to join Ken Sothman, Peter Adelsen, and Kim Edenborough for WCRD’s next broadcast of Ball State swimming and diving on Saturday December 8th as the Cardinals take on the Spartans of Michigan State at the Lewellen Aquatic Center at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Johnson wins back to back titles

(photo courtesy of AP)
Jimmie Johnson only needed to finish 18th or better last Sunday night to capture his second straight NASCAR Nextel Cup championship, but like he has done all season, Johnson met and exceeded expectations. Johnson ran a smart race, kept his eye on where Jeff Gordon was running all night, finished 7th and captured the title by a margin of 77 points. Gordon, who more than likely needed to win, and have Johnson run into some trouble finished 4th, and missed out on winning his 5th career title. Despite setting a record by recording 30 top 10 finishes this season, Gordon can't be too upset losing the title. While Gordon and Johnson are teammates for Hendrick Motor Sports, Gordon actually is a part owner of Johnson's team. Entering the 10 race playoff format known as the Chase for the Cup, Gordon had a 523 point lead of Johnson. With the rules changes to the points format however, Gordon's lead was nearly completely erased at the beginning of the 10 race playoff, and unfortunately wasn't able to keep up with Johnson and his Lowe's team. Johnson won an unprecedented four straight races leading up to the final event at Homestead, and for the second straight year he established that he not only is driving for the top team on the circuit, but once again can call himself the champion of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.

Matt Kenseth picked up his 2nd win of the season in last race of the year. The first came in just the second race of the season at California, so needless to say, it was a big win for the DeWalt team. Kenseth finished the last 5 races all in the top 5, and will look to carry on that momentum next season. Next season will mark a historic change for Kenseth and his Roush Racing team. Robbie Reiser, the only crew chief Kenseth has ever had in his 10 year career will be moving to a general manager spot for Roush Racing. Replacing Reiser will be former team engineer Chip Bowlin.
The change for Kenseth and his team is a minor one considering what the sport will look like next year. Here is a quick look at some of the biggest changes to look forward to next season, and what might come from these changes.

Dale Junior's new ride (photo from ny daily news)

The biggest and most talked about change going into next season has to be Dale Earnhardt Jr's move from DEI, the team his father started and his step mother has brought down, to Hendrick Motor Sports. HMS is the elite team in NASCAR, and for the first time in his career, the sport's most popular driver will be driving for the best team. No longer will Jr be driving the red Budweiser number 8, which he is most famously known for. Next season, Earnhardt will drive the number 88 for Rick Hendrick. His new sponsors are Mountain Dew Amp energy drink, and the National Guard. For so many years Earnhardt has underachieved in less that stealer equipment at DEI, and next season should be the year where he silences all the overrated chants.


Joe Gibbs Racing switches to Toyota
From a business standpoint, the biggest move in the off season may be Joe Gibbs Racing's switch from Chevrolet which the teams has won championships with to Toyota. Last season was Toyota's debut season and NASCAR, and success was hard to come by. The final Nextel Cup points standings found no Toyota drivers in the top 30, and the manufacture wasn't even close to competing for wins this year. JGR has consistently been one of the best teams in the sport, and will field three of the most talented drivers in the league in two time champ Tony Stewart, and young guns Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch new to 2008.

Open Wheel Invasion
Former open wheel drivers coming to NASCAR certainly isn't news, as in recent years. NASCAR has seen such drivers as Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, and Kasey Kahne come from USAC, and most recently Juan Pablo Montoya arriving from the IRL, and Formula 1. However next season will see some of the most successful open wheel drivers in the past 10 years jump to the sport. The first is Sam Hornish Jr who will drive for Roger Penske. Hornish is a 3 time Indy Racing League Champion, and won the 2006 Indianapolis 500. Hornish was the face of the IRL, but will find himself as a little fish in a big pond in NASCAR. The second open wheel all star to invade NASCAR is the 2007 IRL champ and 2007 Indy 500 winner, Scottish driver Dario Franchitti. Franchitti left Andretti Green racing one of the elite IRL teams, and will drive full time for NASCAR's Chip Ganassi Racing. Franchitti's driving ability is second to none, but Ganassi does not have the best equipment in the series, and I think it will be tough for him to achieve any major success early. However, Franchitti will have a great teammate in Montoya to learn from. The third and perhaps the most successful is Canadian driver Jacques Villeneuve. Villeneuve was the the 1995 CART champion, the 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner, and was the 1997 Formula 1 champion. Villeneuve has the career stats, but driving a Toyota for Bill Davis racing will not help. There are going to be lost of open holes now in open wheel racing, and it may only be a matter of time before NASCAR snags names like Sebastian Bourdais, Tony Kannan, and lord knows maybe even Danica Patrick.
(photo: Dario Franchitti, from MSNBC.com)

Close But No Cigar

Sophomore Audrey McDonald in action against Louisville (BSU Photo Services).

In spite of last year’s 24-7 record and WNIT berth, the Ball State Women’s Basketball team wasn’t satisfied. They failed achieve their season-long goal of qualifying for the NCAA tournament. Many believed the Cardinals’ weak non-conference schedule was the reason they didn’t receive an at-large bid for the Big Dance. That excuse won’t work this year, as Ball State’s 07-08 schedule features several prominent names and even a nationally-ranked school. In their first three games, the Lady Cards got just what they needed to get on the radar – quality opponents. Unfortunately, Ball State has been unable to take advantage of these opportunities and is off to a 1-2 start.

If the Cardinals hope to have success against top-caliber teams, they must play better down the stretch. They opened their season on November 10th, when they welcomed nationally-ranked Louisville to Worthen Arena. A rally near the end of the first half gave Ball State a 3-point lead going into the locker room at 39-36. However, second-half shooting doomed the Cardinals to an unfamiliar 0-1 start. They shot below 30% from the field after the break, and their last field goal came with more than seven minutes remaining in the contest. It didn’t help that Ball State was outscored 54-18 in the paint and 9-0 off the bench. They were forced to settle for long range shots late in the game instead of driving to the basket and drawing fouls, as they did in the first half. A 17-for-21 effort from the line in the first half was followed by a 4-5 effort in the second.

Perhaps Ball State would have benefitted from a stronger student section. After seeing over 7,000 people pack the stands the night before for the Men’s season opener, Worthen welcomed less than 2,000 fans to come and see – arguably – the best team on campus from a year ago. Those that did show up belted out chants of “Let’s Go Cardinals”…which is all well and good when only ONE of the teams playing has a Cardinal mascot. Louisville must have felt right at home in Muncie. Sorry, ladies – this one’s on us.

Final score: Cardinals (the ones from Louisville) 81, Cardinals (the ones from Muncie) 62. Sophomore Audrey McDonald’s 5-10 performance from 3-point range and 19 total points kept the margin from growing even larger. Senior Julie DeMuth, who led the team in scoring last season, attempted just three field goals and finished with 10 points.

Although DeMuth bounced back against Indiana last Saturday with 24 points and 11 rebounds, the Cardinals did not. Once again, a lead at halftime turned into a tough loss. In the first five minutes of the game, the Cardinals flew to a 15-13 advantage and were scoring at will with penetration to the basket and spot-up threes. Fifteen points in five minutes – they were on track to score 120! The pace was so fast that the Cardinals were running right out of their shoes…literally. Reserve Kyleigh Jones lost her shoe on one play, prompting a timeout and a rare stop in the action.

A 2-3 zone by the Ball State defense helped the Cardinals build an impressive 33-17 lead. They swarmed to the ball relentlessly and forced several Indiana turnovers before the Hoosiers made a run of their own. Ball State led by just two at the half, 38-36, and the two teams played evenly to a 50-50 tie at the ten-minute mark of the second half. Despite DeMuth’s dominant performance in the paint and double-figure scoring efforts from Lisa Rusche, Porchia Green, and Kiley Jarrett, the Hoosiers were able to knock down enough shots in the closing minutes to hold off the Cardinals.

Final score: Indiana > Ball State. To coach Tracy Roller, this inequality is all that matters. There are no such things as moral victories for these players, who will accept nothing short of an NCAA tournament appearance. Their lone victory thus far came in a 61-52 win at Wright State sandwiched between their Louisville and Indiana losses. The Lady Cards have yet to show the basketball nation what they are capable of accomplishing, and they can’t say that the opportunities haven’t been there. Ball State faced two quality opponents – one a Big Ten school and an in-state rival, the other a nationally-ranked Big East powerhouse – and even got to host both contests. They’ve got the schedule strong enough to gain national respect, but unless the Cardinals can come away with wins in the big games, it will all be for naught. Playing opponents close will not be enough, nor will halftime leads. The Ball State Women’s Basketball team follows its 76-71 loss to Indiana with a November 23rd game against Vermont at the La Quinta Inn & Suites Thanksgiving Tournament. Let’s hope that this squad gives us a little something extra to be thankful for over break.

Atlantic Sun and Belmont Bruins

Recently I discussed the early success of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The A-Sun was able to boast a win over Cincinnati, USC, and Kentucky. These came at the hands of Belmont, Mercer, and Gardner-Webb respectively. Belmont entered their game Monday night in Tuscaloosa never having defeated a Southeastern Conference (SEC) team in 12 games. Belmont was able to erase that mark with a win against the Roll Tide of Alabama by the score of 85-83. Belmont improves its record to 1-12 all time against SEC teams. The Bruins also improve its season record to 4-2.

Senior guard, Justin Hare scored 15 points in the win over Alabama including the two point jumper with 2.2 seconds left on the clock to help put the Bruins over the Crimson Tide by a score of 85-83 after the score was tied at 83. Hare is the only senior on this team and is without a doubt the catalyst that will drive the Bruins this year. Hare leads Belmont with 16.4 points per game and 30.8 minutes per game. Hare also is third on the team in rebounds and assists with 4.2 rebounds per game and 3.0 assists per game.

Belmont, who was not considered a preseason favorite to win the Atlantic Sun Conference must now not only be considered a favorite but should be considered a top 25 team with a few more victories.

Looking at what Belmont has done this season:

11/09 W @ Cincinnati 86-75

11/10 L @ Bowling Green 78-67

11/11 W vs. Western Carolina 79-70

11/15 W @ Samford 82-73

11/17 L @ Austin Peay 71-56

11/19 W @ Alabama 85-83

What’s on tap?

11/26 vs. Middle Tennessee State

12/01 @ Xavier

After a cupcake game against Fisk the Bruins take on a couple tough teams

(skipping Tennessee State):

12/12 rematch against Sun Belt Team Middle Tennessee State

12/19 rematch against an Ohio Valley team Austin Peay

12/29 @ Wright State (This will be a great game that few will anticipate)

Then a trio of road Atlantic Sun games against: Gardner-Webb, Campbell, and Lipscomb. Look for the Bruins to come out of these three games with a record of at least 2-1.

In analyzing Belmont’s schedule, the loss to Bowling Green is again proof emotion plays in sports. Belmont must have been on such an emotional high after the win against Cincinnati that the game on the road against the Falcons that they had a let down. And the Austin Peay loss was a road game against a good Ohio Valley Conference team. But a record of 4-2 with wins over Cincinnati and Alabama, Big East and SEC teams the Bruins should be considered for the top 25 and believe it or not will be a Cinderella team if and when they make it to the NCAA tournament because like the rest of the teams in the A-Sun they have never won an NCAA tournament game.

Alabama had already traveled to Macon, GA to defeat the Mercer Bears. Mercer already defeated Southern California on the road this year.

Belmont will finish the season 2-0 against the Big East, SEC, and Pac 10 conferences assuming they do not meet one in the NCAA tournament. The Atlantic Sun has hit a recent skid after starting the season 3-0 against three power conferences. The A-Sun is now 4-4 against these three conferences. The A-Sun will play 11 more games this season against teams from these three conferences. The only Atlantic Sun Conference team not to play a team from one of these three conferences is Florida Gulf Coast.

Remaining games for the Atlantic Sun Conference against these three conferences include: @ Florida (3 times), @ Georgetown, @ Connecticut, @ Syracuse, @ Georgia, @ South Carolina, @ Auburn, @ Vanderbilt, and @ Notre Dame.

Early Off-Season Baseball Moves....

It's been a few weeks since baseball ended and I think a good time to give a little analysis to some of the recent moves in the MLB. Let's start at the top.....


The Yankees. Out with the old (Torre) and in with the new (Girardi), right? Well, not exactly. The Yankees appear poised to retain all their key pieces from this year. They exercised their option on Abreau for next season and are close to re-signing Mariano Rivera for three years according to ESPN. I'm not sure Rivera has three good years left in him, but he would just look wrong in any other uniform and he can get the job done even though he doesn't have the same stuff he did a decade ago. The Bronx Bombers also re-signed catcher Jorge Posada to a four-year deal. I thought this was ludicrous for a catcher who is 36 years-old already, but a friend pointed out that he always has the ability to DH, and he is coming off of the best batting average season of his career. ( I thought that Posada had signed for four years but the transaction is not listed yet, and his name is not the on the Yankees roster on their website so it appears to still be pending). And finally A-Rod. Here's what I had to say about where he could end up a few weeks ago on this blog:

"After Hank Steinbrenner's comments about anyone not wanting to be a Yankee can get out of town, it wouldn't surprise me to see A-Rod remain in pinstripes. It's New York, words get exchanged. If Girardi is hired on he might be able to convince management and A-Rod to re-sign. If Boras can't find a good enough deal anywhere else, he could try to return to the team with the deepest pockets. I would be shocked if A-Rod can get over $200 million anywhere but New York."


I'd love to sit back and brag about that prediction but being a Sox fan I was really hoping he'd end up somewhere else. Like the Florida Marlins. Alas, he is nearing a $275 million dollar deal with the Pinstripers. All of this means the Yankees will continue to be contenders for at least the next couple years (or decades).


The Red Sox. They re-signed Schilling and Wakefield to one-year deals and made another crucial move in keeping Mike Lowell for three years and nearly $38 million according to espn.com. It's reported that the Phillies and Dodgers offered a fourth year to the third baseman, but he wanted to remain a Red Sox. That doesn't happen enough. A player could have gotten more elsewhere but wanted to remain with an organization he likes. That says a lot about that player. Importantly for the Sox, they don't have to worry as much about an aging third basemen getting a fourth year. By re-signing the key pieces, the Sox have ensured that they should be the pre-season favorites to win it all again. In fact, they have six potential starting pitchers and there is talk about a 6-man rotation.


The Blue Jays. They got IF Marco Scutaro for a couple prospects. That could be key for a team with some aging veterans.


The White Sox and Angels. Jon Garland for Orlando Cabrera? I like it!!!! This is a trade that will benefit both teams, as trades are supposed to do but oftentimes don't. The Angels have super rookie Brandon Wood ready to take over the SS position but he was blocked by an All-Star. So they traded that All-Star for another former All-Star starting pitcher. The White Sox, in turn, got an outstanding offensive and defensive shortstop for a pitcher who struggled a bit last year. The Sox have good, young pitching but did just re-sign SS Juan Uribe which may be a mistake. I assume they will try to trade him. If the Sox get Torii Hunter they should have a much better season in '08 than they did in '07.


The Mets. Well, they were going to sign Rockies backstop Yorvit Torrealba but now that's gone by the wayside. They do have backup Ramon Castro, but I wonder now if they will be forced to try to re-sign Paul Lo Duca. In a way, this is a team that needs to make some moves after a historic collapse last season. In another way, this is a team that should have had the best record in the N.L. minus that late season collapse. My guess is GM Omar Minaya wants to make a decent sized move but with A-Rod off the market and a weak FA class, that may not happen. The club did re-sign 2b Luis Castillo........to a 4-year deal!!!!! Are you kidding me? Now, I absolutely love Castillo but the guy gets hurt more often than Dick Vitale says "diaper dandy." Mark my words, they will regret this decision by the third year.


The Braves. The Boy Is Back In Town! Welcome back Mr. Glavine. Your one-year deal is just what you needed to get rid of that bad taste from your last start with the Mets and just what this Atlanta team may need to get back to the playoffs after a long layoff. (In Atlanta, two-years IS a long layoff.)

Privateers Pull Off An Upset

Another shocking upset shook up the top-25. The number 22^nd ranked NC State Wolfpack fell to the mighty New Orleans Privateers. Yes, the Privateers. Great nickname even better finish. Although the nickname of the Privateers is very hard to top. New Orleans as a team shot a miserable 2-16 from behind the three-point line with 8.3 seconds left. The Privateers trailed 63-62 when junior forward TJ Worley chucked up a 25 foot shot that banked in off the glass with 1.7 seconds remaining in the game to put the Privateers up 65-63.

New Orleans was able to hold on and win the game by shooting 3-17 (.176) from beyond the three point arc. The Privateers biggest lead was 4, 24-20 with 3:08 remaining in the first half. NC State responded to that by putting together a small 6-0 run to help jump back into the lead and hold on the a 30-28 lead at half time.

Each team entered the game 1-0, and only a handful of people could have thought that the NC State Wolfpack would be the team leaving the building with a record of 1-1. Three lead changes in the final 15 seconds of the game help build to the wild finish of a bank shot off the glass to win the game for what now seems to be an in-state rivalry.

Atlantic Sun Coming Out Party

The Atlantic Sun Conference had somewhat of a coming out party a week ago. While this is not three big wins in the NCAA tournament they are all three still very impressive wins. Will too many people really care until the conference posts a NCAA tournament win? Probably not. But in all honesty, this is why college basketball is so great. On any given day one team can topple another; even the winningest program in the history of division 1 college basketball program can fall.

Gardner-Webb started the run of Atlantic Sun victories November 7^th with a win over then ranked number 20 Kentucky Wildcats. Taking down an SEC team is not enough for the A-Sun. It must add a win over a Pac-10 team and then the best conference in college basketball, the super conference known as the Big East.

The Belmont Bruins, the A-Sun representative in the NCAA tournament the past two years, toppled the Cincinnati Bearcats 86-75 in the Bearcats’ season opener. Then the number 18^th ranked USC Trojans fell to the Mercer Bears 91-86.

Out of the 19 games the A-Sun plays against the Big East, Pac-10, and SEC not too many people would have predicted that the Atlantic Sun Conference would win three of those games let alone the first three.

Belmont, Gardner-Webb, and Mercer were not considered pre-season favorites to win the Atlantic Sun when the season started but it certainly will not be easy for the rest of the teams in the conference. The East Tennessee State Buccaneers were tabbed as one of two pre-season favorites and the Jacksonville Dolphins were figured to be the two teams to duke it out for the league title. Now the chase seems a lot more wide open; take those two teams and add the three that made big upsets and toss in a team like the Campbell Fighting Camels and the Lipscomb Bison and it could get very interesting. And don’t leave out a potential threat like the Stetson Hatters (what a great nickname) to make a big splash.

However, the Hatters will have to do it without their 7-1 center that transferred to Alabama State to change in his hat for becoming a Hornet. The 7-1 center with quite possibly the best name in college basketball, Chief Kickingstallionsism, will be playing in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). This loss all but crushes the hopes of the Hatters, but I had to find some way to mention the Hatters and someone with the name of Chief Kickingstallionsism!

Not your typical David vs. Goliath

To say that the Ball State Men’s Basketball team is undersized would be, well, an understatement. The tallest player on the roster is Anthony Newell, a forward whose 6-5 frame is more likely to be spotted on the perimeter than in the paint. Even though everyone knew size was going to be an issue entering the Cardinals’ 61-45 season opening loss to Butler, it was not your typical David vs. Goliath matchup.

The Cardinal’s slow start allowed the Bulldogs to quickly jump out to a 9-2 advantage. While Ball State’s defense did a decent job holding Butler to 31 first half points, its offense was anything but efficient. Guards Brandon Lampley, Melvin Goins, and Peyton Stovall repeatedly settled for contested jump shots. The offense failed to stretch the Bulldog defense with consistent ball movement and was thus forced to throw bricks from three point land, where the Cardinals finished a horrendous 1-14. When the ball was passed around the perimeter, the result was the same; no one was able to create separation from the defense due to poor screens. Running to a predetermined spot and standing there is not going to get the job done; contact must be made. A screener must actively pursue his ‘victim’ and establish himself in front of them, even if this means straying a bit from the original pattern of the play. I was disheartened to see this mistake occurring at the college level. Setting good screens is not only fundamental to the game of basketball, it’s necessary to experience offensive success.

Butler senior and Muncie native Pete Campbell (butlersports.com).

Early on in the second half, however, David decided to trade punches with Goliath. Ball State crept back into the contest by driving to the basket, and what was a 14 point deficit at halftime soon became a game at 39-31. In spite of their obvious height disadvantage, the Cardinals turned to their inside game to jump-start their offense. And it did just that, thanks particularly to the play of Malik Perry and Anthony Newell. Perry played much bigger than his 6-4 frame might suggest, and Newell was relentless driving into the lane on his way to a team-high 16 points. Stovall also attacked the boards and finished with 12 rebounds, including five on the offensive side, to go with his 13 points. However, Butler responded with a barrage of three pointers from Pete Campbell and A.J. Graves. Campbell’s back-to-back triples sparked an 11-2 run that put the game out of reach.

Suddenly Goliath was the one throwing stones. Just as the Cardinals turned to the inside game, their area of weakness, the Bulldogs turned away from it. Instead, they utilized their NCAA tournament-refined long range skills to end the Ball State rally. The outside game was supposed to be the weapon of choice for the Cardinals, whose roster is loaded with guards. Butler finished 8-22 from three point range and shot over 52% in the second half. Ball State was doomed by their 38% shooting performance and only had four players score more than two points.

For the Cardinals, though, it was only one game. Sure, Billy Taylor probably wouldn’t prefer an 0-1 start as head coach at Ball State, but the way his players fought back in the second half shows that his players are responsive and that fans shouldn’t be discouraged. The Cardinals return to action in search of their first win on Wednesday at 7 PM, when they welcome Wisconsin-Milwaukee to Worthen Arena. The crowd was a major factor in the first game – nearly 3,000 students filled the Nest – and a similar turnout would once again be appreciated by the team. So come and support your Cardinals!

Observations from around the league

TOP TEN TEAMS FOR WEEK OF NOV. 12-18:

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images Kevin Garnett and
Ray Allen combined with Paul Pierce for 73 of Boston's 112
points vs. the Nets on Saturday.

1. Boston: Only team still undefeated and have the largest differential in points scored-to-points allowed at +16.6 per game.

2. Houston: Tied with San Antonio for most wins with 6 and beat San Antonio earlier this week. Plus their only loss is to Dallas in Dallas.

3. San Antonio: Like Houston they are tied for most wins at 6 and only loss is to Houston on the road.

4. Detroit: Are 5-1 which is the fourth best record in the league after the three teams listed above. Only loss was on the road in Chicago (on the one night that Chicago actually played to their talent level).

5. Phoenix: They are 5-2 but could easily be 4-3 if Nash hadn't been on fire to end the game against Miami. Plus losses are to Lakers (by 21) and the 2-4 Hawks (a LEastern Conference team).

6. Utah: They are 5-2 and their losses came at the Lakers and against Houston. Boozer is one of the best PF and Deron is one of the best PG giving them the African-American version of Stockton-Malone.

7. Orlando: Also 5-2 with losses to Detroit and Phoenix. Could easily be higher but aren't quite as good as they have been playing so far.

8. Dallas: They are 4-2 which would make you think they should be in top 5 since they had the best record last year, but losses are to lowly Portland and Atlanta.

9. New Orleans: Perhaps the surprise team so far this year. They are 5-2 with one loss coming to the Spurs plus they have beaten both the Nuggets and Lakers on the road.

10. Denver: They are capable of beating any team in this league but are still 4-3. They could climb into top 5 in the next couple of weeks.


TROUBLE IN CHICAGO:

The Bulls must think it is still the off-season because they have yet to show up this season. They are in a three-team tie for last place in the Eastern Conference and sit alone at the bottom of the Central with a 1-5 record. Gordon is averaging 3 points less than last year but rebounding much better so he is not to blame. Rather much of the blame can fall on Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich.

Let's start with Deng. He is averaging less points, less rebounds, less assists, and is shooting more than seven percent worse from the field. For a guy who is supposed to be the next great thing he is averaging just 14 points and 5.3 rebounds. His averages will go up but last year he shot an amazing .517 from the field. He has never shot over .463 in any other season. He will likely end up averaging 17-18 points a game and 6-7 rebounds this season but until (if ever) he developes a 3-pt shot he will never be a dominant player.

Now as for Hinrich He is averaging a career low 9.3 points so far an shooting an abysmal .318 from the field. That's not his 3-pt percentage that's his field goal percentage ladies and gentleman. He is also averaging a career low 5.7 assists a game. Coach Skiles recently benched the entire starting lineup at the end of yet another blowout and if Hinrich doesn't pick it up soon his benching could become permanent.

The real problem in Chicago is management ruined the team chemistry. All but Deng was unsure if they would still be on the team for the first week of the season due to the Kobe Bryant trade rumors. The team was stuck worrying about their status on the team instead of their next opponent. Last season it was Pal Gasol now its Kobe. Essentially the Bulls front office has made it clear they don't think the current roster can win it all and they are desperately trying to trade for a superstar player in hopes it makes them good enough to push for the first championship since the Jordan-era in Chicago. They either need to make their move and stop pulling out right when the deal is done and put an end to it all or wait for their young roster to develop into a championship caliber team. Until then they will never go anywhere. They will still make the playoffs trade or no trade but the team will never gel completely until their front office chooses a side.

ORLANDO HIGHS:

The Magic are off to a 5-2 start placing them 7th in my rankings. That's good but not as good as last season. In 2006 they started 13-4 before collapsing in December with a 6-10 record. The question is can they last this year or will they falter again. The answer is rather easy when you look at it. Last year they had Dwight Howard really becoming a superstar for the first time. He has improved offensively each year in the league and is now a 20-12 guy. Jameer Nelson was in his first year as a full-time starter. He has developed in a decent PG now with averages around 15 points and six assists. Hedo Turkoglu also became a full-time starter last year for the first time in his career. Also J.J. Redick was a rookie.

This is all without mentioning the most prominent change from last season to this season. The addition of Rashard Lewis. He is a 20 points scorer who plays well in the post and on the perimeter. This takes the pressure off Howard and also makes it hard for other teams to double team Howard.

Orlando is not a championship caliber team this season Howard still needs one more year to reach the level of Lebron James and the other unstoppable players in the NBA. However, they will win their division and will be a top four team in the East.

FIVE GAMES TO WATCH:

1. Houston at San Antonio: The Spurs try to even the season series at 1-1. (Friday 8:00 ESPN)

2. Phoenix at Houston: Houston plays one of the big three (Spurs, Mavs, Suns) for the fourth time this season. (Saturday 8:30)

3. San Antonio at Dallas: Anytime two teams in Texas play it is one of the top games that week. (Thursday 8:00 TNT)

4. Utah at Cleveland: Boozer returns to the city he tricked into giving him free agency on a just look and see basis. (Friday 7:30)


5. Orlando at Boston: Battle for top team in the East. If Orlando wins there is no doubt, if Boston wins they are clearly right there with the big four in the West. (Wednesday 7:00)

Other games worth a look...

Chicago at Phoenix
Utah at Toronto
Washington at Minnesota (for comedies sake)

Week 10 Picks - What Happens Now?

Week 9 proved a few things.

- New Orleans will win the NFC South. With the Panthers having to possibly turn to Matt Moore at QB this week, and the Bucs looking uneven, even in their victories, New Orleans, on a 4-game win streak, is taking no prisoners on their way back to the top. The Saints may be as equipped to win the NFC as anybody if they continue playing that well, and they were almost unanimously picked to win the conference for a reason.

- Pittsburgh might be more of a threat than we thought. Not to say the Steelers would beat either the Colts or Patriots if the teams played - far from it - but boy, did they look impressive in beating down the Ravens on MNF last week. Ben Roethlisberger is playing as well as anyone in the league right now, and a Steelers vs Colts/Patriots divisional playoff could be mildly entertaining.

- The Patriots are much, much better than the rest of the league - including the Colts. Yes, you read that correctly. Yes, it was a 4-point game. But, consider: the Colts may have been missing Harrison, but he's been the Colts' second-best wideout for some time, and his absence only had so much affect. Consider that the referees were so abysmally bad in favor of the Colts that new world records for Tim Donaghy jokes were set during the game. And consider that the almighty, heavenly, God-fearing, Christian Colts probably cheated by piping in crowd noise. (Oh, CBS took the fall for them, but don't believe for a second that the network was actually responsible.) Read this article to read more about it - I missed some of the game so I couldn't tell you as well as Bill.

Now, here are my week 10 picks - I went 9-5 against the spread last week.

Cleveland (+9.5) over PITTSBURGH (Steelers win, but Cleveland covers)
GREEN BAY (-6) over Minnesota
WASHINGTON (-3) over Philadelphia
TENNESSEE (-4) over Jacksonville
CAROLINA (-4) over Atlanta (even with Matt Moore)
KANSAS CITY (-3) over Denver
Buffalo (-3) over MIAMI
NEW ORLEANS (-11.5) over St. Louis
Cincinnati (+4) over BALTIMORE
Chicago (-3.5) over OAKLAND
NY GIANTS (+1.5) over Dallas (hunch)
Detroit (+1) over ARIZONA (most ridiculous line I've ever seen. Ever.)
Indianapolis (-3.5) over SAN DIEGO
SEATTLE (-10) over San Francisco

Georgetown Recruiting Class

Georgetown will try to return to its former glory under John Thompson III, who’s father coached the Hoyas when they won their only National Title in 1984. The Hoyas were one of the most feared teams in the nation when John Thompson coached the Hoyas to Final Four appearances in 1982, 1984, and 1985.

JT3 has already led Georgetown to a Final Four appearance last year and looks to continue this success in years to come. Building a powerhouse program starts with recruiting. Last year JT3 put together what scout.com considered to be the 13^th ranked recruiting class in the nation, which featured a pair of McDonald’s All-Americans. This year Georgetown was on its way to a top-10 recruiting class which featured 3 players in scout.com’s Top 100 and the ESPN Top 150.

However, Georgetown quickly jumped up for consideration of the top recruiting class in the nation when it got a commitment from 6-10 PF Greg Monroe. Monroe (Gretna, La.) is considered by some to be the best player in this year’s recruiting class. Now to look at the four commits Georgetown has received and why it is so good.

Greg Monroe (Gretna, La.) 6-10 PF ranked the best player in the nation by scout.com and number 5 overall on ESPN Top 150.

Henry Sims (Baltimore, Md.) 6-10 C ranked 43^rd overall by scout.com and 46^th overall on ESPN Top 150.

Chris Braswell (Chatham, Va.) 6-8 PF ranked 52^nd overall by scout.com and ranked 59^th overall on ESPN Top 150.

Jason Clark (Arlington, Va.) 6-3 G ranked 89^th overall by scout.com and ranked 32^nd overall on ESPN Top 150.

Four recruits committed thus far for Georgetown and all four are ranked in the top 59 players in the country for this recruiting class by ESPN Top 150 and all four are ranked in the top 89 players in this years recruiting class by scout.com. This is the recipe for success and potential will vault Georgetown back into the national spotlight, where they can compete for a national title year in and year out.

March Madness in November

“It’s awesome baby!” These are the words of Dick Vitale. That’s what a lot of people say when it is March and the NCAA men’s tournament rolls around. Upsets, that is the reason a lot of people love the NCAA tournament; the excitement and unpredictability of every game. So far this season there as been three games that would be the equivalent of a number 16 seed beating a number one seed in the end of the season tournament.

Appalachian State University upset the University of Michigan in the Big House at the beginning of the college football season. Michigan is the winningest team in the history of division 1-A (FBS) college football. Now the basketball version, that means look out Kentucky! Gardner-Webb and Kentucky both entered the game on Wednesday November 7, 2007 with a record of 1-0. And from the very beginning Gardner-Webb showed that they would win the game….and they did! Last year Gardner-Webb only managed to win nine games on its way to a 9-21 record which was good enough for a 7^th place finish in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Gardner-Webb jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first four minutes and never looked back. From that point on Kentucky did not get within 7 of the Runnin’ Bulldogs. The final score in the rout of the Wildcats was 84-68. The largest lead that Gardner-Webb had was 18 points.

Oddly enough both of these huge upsets came from the hand of North Carolina schools. ASU is located in Boone, N.C. and Gardner-Webb is located in Boiling Springs, N.C. A 110 mile drive since there is no road connecting the two.

Kentucky was not the only team to get shocked early in the season. Both Ohio State and Michigan State lost exhibition games to in-state schools. Ohio State lost a slim game 70-68 to Findlay. And preseason Big Ten favorite Michigan State lost a double overtime game to Grand Valley State, who is known for being a college football power not a basketball power.

The key difference in these three losses is that both Ohio State and Michigan State lost exhibition games. But Kentucky lost the second game of the regular season! Already in the men’s basketball season and the upsets are starting to come out.

Every game does not mean as much in college basketball unlike college football but a loss like this early in the season could cost a team a higher seed at the end of the season.

You're welcome, IU.

The phrase "two-man game" is usually more associated with the game of basketball.

Don't tell that to IU quarterback Kellen Lewis and receiver James Hardy who torched Ball State. The final score was 38-20. The win ends a 3 game losing skid for IU. Lewis finished with 354 yards on on 22 for 35 passing, 4 touchdowns. The yards and touchdowns are career highs for the sophomore. Also, he now has 23 touchdowns on the year, a new school record. He was also the Hoosiers' leading rusher with 52 yards on 10 rushes. James "Laser" Hardy had 8 catches for 116 yards and 2 scores. The 6'7 Fort Wayne native constantly harassed the smaller BSU defenders with his superior size and his speed. This is guy who has many NFL scouts salavating with his rare size and speed.

Keep in mind that the Cardinals held a 10-3 lead after the first quarter. Lewis had 3 turnovers in the first 17 minutes. After this, the offensive line for the Cards became virtually non-existent. Watching the game, Nate Davis was pressured every time he dropped back. He was sacked twice. Throw in the fact that the running game didnt show up, and you have a recipe for a loss. BSU had 67 net yards rushing. Davis finished the day 26 for 48, 332 yards, one score, and 2 interceptions. One of the interceptions was returned 58 yards by Chris Phillips for a score. Dante Love had 14 catches for 177 yards. Huge day for the "Love Boat."

Smart move Coach Hoke, giving Ian McGarvey the nod as the kicker. The true freshman connected on kicks in the first and fourth quarters.

Indiana becomes bowl eligible for the first time since 1994. You're welcome Hoosiers. CBS.Sportsline.com has predicted that IU will play the MAC's own Central Michigan Chippewas in the Motor City Bowl. IU has beaten twenty straight MAC opponents. But best of luck attempting to contain Dan Lefevour.

BSU, sitting at 5-5, is looking to become bowl eligible for the first time since 1996. The Cards next play Toledo, a televised home game on ESPN2, next Tuesday. The Rockets recently defeated Eastern Michigan, 58-28. Toledo is also 5-5, so expect a slug fest for bowl eligibilty.

Hopefully, Nate Davis and the rest of the Cards can land a huge right hook and become bowl eligible when they travel to platy the Huskies of Northern Illinois.

GO CARDS!!!

Johnson Wins Third Straight as Texas

Win Also Secured Points Lead



Jimmie Johnson is on a fire right now, and no that's not a Talladega Nights, Ricky Bobby reference. Johnson and his Lowe's number 48 team are absolutely dominating right now, and proved it tonight winning his first race ever a Texas Motor Speedway, his third straight in the Chase, and his 9th win of the season. Johnson battled with Roush Fenway driver Matt Kenseth for the win, but Johnson was able to secure the lead coming off of turn 2 and pulled away in the final two laps. With his win and Jeff Gordon's 7th place finish Johnson has taken over the point lead from his Hendrick Motorsports teammate and leads by a mere 30 points. While third place Clint Bowyer, fourth place Kyle Busch, fifth place Carl Edwards, and sixth place Tony Stewart all still mathematically have a shot at the title, it's seemingly a two man race, with two races to go.
photo: AP


Edwards wraps up meaningless Busch Championship

On Saturday Carl Edwards wrapped up the Busch series title, as defending Busch champ Kevin Harvick took the victory. Edwards who is a full time Nextel Cup Championship, was happy to take the Busch Series Championship, but considering his Nextel cup season hasn't gone as well, it's hard for him to be to excited. The Busch series has traditionally been a development league for drivers and teams to groom for the major league series, the Nextel Cup. In the past few seasons, the Busch series has been following a growing and disturbing trend. More and more Nextel Cup regulars are racing on Saturdays in the Busch series to learn things for the big races on Sunday. Because of this, the Busch series has become watered down with too many Nextel Cup drivers, and has strayed away from it's traditional development feel of promising unknown drivers driving for unknown teams. Something has to be done. Imagine Nate Davis showing up for you intramural flag football game because he wants some extra reps. It all of a sudden would become less fun for all of us non-athletes. Yet if it helped Nate and the Cardinals beat a BCS school, I'm sure some of us would gladly let him light up our secondary. Congratulations to Carl and and his Roush Fenway racing team, but is it really something to be proud of.
(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)



Oh and one other thing. I didn't think sports coverage could get any worse than ESPN's coverage of Nascar on ABC, but after watching Football Night in America on NBC, I think I've changed my mind. Oh how I long for the glory days of the NBA on NBC and that tune I want them to play at my funeral.

Where is everyone?

Photo courtesy of BSU photo services and ballstatesports.com
After a three-week hiatus, the Ball State women’s swimming and diving team jumped back into action at the Lewellen Aquatic Center Friday night, facing off against the Toledo Rockets. The Cardinals came up short, losing by a final score of 212-88. Freshman Maria Gramelspacher, 200-yard butterfly, and senior Addison Del Rio, 100-yard butterfly, were event winners on the night. The Cardinals rebounded in another home meet on Saturday with a 193-107 victory over the Bowling Green Falcons. The Cardinals boasted the top-finisher in 11 of the day’s 16 events. The women will compete on the road this coming weekend, traveling to Akron, OH on Friday November 9th and Buffalo, NY on Saturday November 10th. The men’s team will also be competing in the meet at Buffalo. Both of these teams are conference opponents for the Cardinals.

The swimming and diving teams, just like every other BSU sport, need the support of the students and local community. Individual races and overall meets can be exciting and close. The energy of cheering fans could be the difference between a win and a loss. I was surprised at the small number of students in attendance at the meet against Toledo. Yes, it was a Friday night, but the meet was over before 8 p.m. If the football or basketball team was in action at 6 o’clock on a Friday night, I’m sure the stands would be packed. Come out and see the Cardinals in action. They deserve your support.

The Lewellen Aquatic Center, on McKinley Avenue in front of Worthen Arena, is the site of the Doug Coers Invitational, where the Cardinals will host Grand Valley State and Findlay College on Friday November 16th and Saturday November 17th. Big-Ten foe Michigan State will be in town for a big match-up on Saturday December 8th. If you can’t make it out to the meets, be sure to tune in to 91.3 WCRD or wcrd.net to catch all the action.

Observations from around the league

Since this is the first of the series let me start by saying after all the Saturday games are done each week I will blog about important things from the week before.


Most Impressive Team:
Every team has now played at least one game, but it is a team that has played three that has done the most impressing. Right now the San Antonio Spurs, the Houston Rockets and the Indiana Pacers are the lone 3-0 teams and it is the Rockets who stick out the most. The Rockets won on the road against a potential (although not all too likely) playoff team to open the season against The Los Angeles Lakers. They followed it up by defeating the Utah Jazz who could easily end up being as high as the 2 or 3 seed in the West. Then on Saturday dominating a Portland Trailblazer team from beginning to end. What's more impressive is how the Rockets big two (Tracy McGrady, and Yao Ming have dominated, and the Rockets bench especially Mike James have been phenomenal.

McGrady is averaging better than 32 points a game 4.33 rebounds and 4.66 assists. Meanwhile Yao is averaging just under 20 points a game better than 11 rebounds a game and 2.66 blocks. Leading the Rockets bench is Mike James with 15 points a game, Ball State alum Bonzi Wells is averaging 6.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while playing very good defense. Luis Scola, more then likely a soon to be starter is averaging 6.7 rebounds in just 18.3 minutes. Throw in one of the games top 3-pt shooters in Luther Head and the Rockets have scorers, rebounders, defensive specialist, and 3-pt specialists on the bench. And just think Steve Francis has yet to make an appearance once he is in shape (rumered to be working hard to get so) and the Rockets could make a run for the No. 1 seed and best record in the NBA this season.

Honorable mentions: Spurs, Rapters, Celtics, Detriot

Least Impressive:
Hands down no bones about it this accolade belongs to the Washington Wizards. A playoff team (even if it was in the East) last season has begun this season 0-3. Worse yet the losses come to Boston, Indiana, and Orlando none of which were playoff teams last year (although all three look to be this year). Even worse yet the losses are by an average of 13.7 points proving the team is truly struggling.

The problem is a lack of depth. The Wizards has two 20 point scorers in Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler, plus one just under with Antawn Jameson. They have two guys averaging a double-double with Brandon Heywood (1 0 points, 13.7 rebounds) and Jameson (19 points, 10.3 rebounds), and another just under with Butler (20 points, 9.3 rebounds). However after those four only Daniel Songaila is averaging more than 5 points a game.

Also not helping is a complete and utter lack of a point guard. Arena is the lone player to average better than 2 assists a game, and his average is a dismal 4.

Honorable mention: Phoenix Suns (21 point loss to Lakers and were down by as much as 33 points)

Biggest Surprise team:
Again no question here got to be the Indiana Pacers. Just about every expert predicted them in the bottom third of the Eastern Conference. However they now sit tied with Houston and San Antonio as the only 3-0 teams. New coach Jim O'Brien really has this team clicking, and believing already.

When you think about it the fast start shouldn't be all too big of a surprise. The Pacers are a matchup nightmare for most teams. They have four starters 6' 8" or taller with Ike Diogu, Mike Dunleavy, Danny Granger, and Jermaine O'Neal.

Biggest surprise for individual performance for the Pacers is one of two players. First Granger is averaging over 22 points a game and close to 9 rebounds. Not bad for a third year player who averaged under 14 points and 5 rebounds last year. The other player is Dunleavy. His stats mirro Grangers. He averages just over 22 points and right at 9 rebounds a game. In addition he is dishing out 3.7 assists a game. Not bad for a guy who averages 11 points and 4.8 rebounds a game for his career.

Do the Pacers have what it takes to actually make a run. The answer to that is a bit of a fence sitting position, and yes I know the fence hurts. Can they be a top 4 seed in the East, yes, can they actually compete with Toronto, Chicago, Boston, or Detriot in a 5 or 7 game playoff series, no.

Honorable mention: New Orleans (2-0 and winning by 17 points on average)

Quickies:
- Kobe Bryant should be a Bull already even if the trade has to include Luol Deng

- Shawn Marion may or may not be creating unrest in Phoenix

- Andrei Kirlenko seems to be giving 100% and hasn't made a stir about being in Utah still ... yet

- Denver Nuggets are 2-0 with two big wins but they come at the hands of Minnesota, and Seattle

-While Durant will someday be a great player he is not yet despite averaging 22.5 points a game. He is shooting just 40% from the field proving anyone who chucks it up an average of 22.5 times a game can average 20 points.

- Portland is bound to get at least one NBA title in the next 5-10 years with LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy, eventually Greg Oden, and what other top 5 pick they get in next year's draft.

- Tracy McGrady could be this season's MVP

- If Boozergate had never happened LeBron James would already have a ring because Carlos Boozer is a FAreak.

- Golden State either is nothing without Stephan Jackson or were a fluke last year after an 0-3 start this season. I'm going with the later.

- Sacramento will trade Ron Artest in the next month because the team sucks and it is only matter of time until Artest tells the whole world that dropping his stock.

- Dirk for Kobe? Uhh yeah if I was Cuban I would take that. Then again if I was Cuban I would have sold the Mavericks by now so I could make sure I get the Chicago Cubs.

- Yi Jianlian will eventually be a 20-10 guy, and could very well average that over the last few months of this season.

- Deron Williams should be in the conversation for the top point guard in the NBA (Look at his stats and then try to argue).

- Kevin Garnett has to be the MVP favorite and is proving why he could be the most talented player in the NBA.

- Marcus Camby is hands down the best defensive player in the NBA.

- Jason Kidd is still a triple-double machine (should have gotten more of a MVP look last season).

- Chicago needs to either trade for Kobe or announce they have washed their hands about it because the team can't win until they do one or the other.

- Miami is not a playoff team, and Shaq isn't even a top 5 center. One could argue he isn't even top 10, maybe if he lost say 50 pounds. Depressing to watch Blue Chips and see how athletic and skinny he used to be.

Parting shot:
Philadelphia and Minnesota should just trade rosters because neither are worth a penny.

Women's Basketball Season Preview

Women’s basketball has not yet reached the level of parity that the men’s game has, nor will it in the next few years. This will take time but right now the top teams are extremely solid. Take a look at the ESPN/USA Today preseason top 25 poll:

1.) Tennessee

2.) Connecticut

3.) Rutgers

4.) Maryland

5.) LSU

6.) Oklahoma

7.) North Carolina

8.) Stanford

9.) Duke

10.) Georgia

The Atlantic Coast Conference is good. Enough said. Don’t forget about 2006 when Duke, North Carolina, and Maryland made up 3 of the 4 final four teams. That is ridiculous. The only time of any conference that dominating, the days of the Big East for men’s basketball in 1985 (Georgetown, St. John’s, and Villanova). 3 of the top 10 teams are in the ACC. And SEC is creeping up with the 3 teams of its own in the top 10.

11.) Texas A&M

12.) Arizona State

13.) George Washington

14.) California

15.) Baylor

16.) Ohio State

17.) Vanderbilt

18.) Michigan State

19.) Florida State

20.) Purdue

21.) Pittsburgh

22.) West Virginia

23.) Louisville

24.) Texas

25.) North Carolina State

The team tabbed by most to win the Mid-American Conference is tied for 56^th in the country according to votes in the poll. Bowling Green, the team not even picked to finish second in the MAC is 39^th despite losing 6 seniors. Bowling Green will be lead by Kate Achter and Lindsey Goldsberry. Ball State will have Porchia Green, Lisa Rusche, Julie DeMuth leading the charge with Kiley Jarrett and Audrey McDonald contributing in starting roles.

This is going to be an interesting shake out. The season will be decided on the floor with the power conferences dominating. No small conferences making charges here. The MAC could potentially get two teams in the tournament this year.

The ACC has 20% of the top 25 in its conference. The Big East also has 5 teams in the top 25. Then the SEC and Big 12 with 4 teams apiece in the top 25 and then the Pac 10 and Big Ten with 3 each.

Small conference teams that look to make an impact are easily going to be George Washington, Middle Tennessee State, and Marist. These are going to be solid teams from non-power conferences. The teams are proven on the national and post-season level. Bowling Green lost some important pieces to its post-season success of last year but could get back to contender status. New Mexico, Western Kentucky, and Old Dominion could be very solid. The biggest sleeper of them all is Ball State slipping in under the national radar will help at the beginning of the season but look for the Cardinals to make a run. Don’t forget about the west coast with Boise State and Gonzaga looking to make a run at the post season tournament.

Simply put this will be an intriguing year in the women’s game and the power conferences will continue to dominate. The question is can the best player in the country, Candace Parker, lead her team to back-to-back national championships.

Men's Basketball Season Preview

Time to preview Men’s basketball!! While it’s not March Madness….yet, you can still get excited for all the action coming up this season. So with that, look at the preseason top 25 according to ESPN/USA Today:

1.) North Carolina

2.) UCLA

3.) Memphis

4.) Kansas

5.) Georgetown

Breaking this down Georgetown lost Jeff Green to the NBA draft, if he returned without a doubt they would be the #1 team in the land seeing as how they beat North Carolina in the elite 8 last year. Roy Hibbert, is easily the best upper classman in men’s college basketball. So look for one of these five teams to really go deep in the post season. Kansas still lacks post-season results so they probably will be 4^th or 5^th out of these five teams at year’s end. Georgetown, North Carolina, and UCLA are the most likely teams to make the sweet 16 and probably the elite 8. Georgetown will be returning to the glory days of John Thompson, under his son John Thompson III. Georgetown made the Final Four last year look to do the same this year and have arguably the best recruiting class in the country which features the best player in this year’s recruiting class. Now to the rest of the poll:

6.) Louisville

7.) Tennessee

8.) Michigan State

9.) Indiana

10.) Washington State

11.) Duke

12.) Marquette

13.) Oregon

14.) Gonzaga

15.) Texas A&M

16.) Texas

17.) Arizona

18.) USC

19.) Arkansas

20.) Pittsburgh

21.) Stanford

22.) Kentucky

23.) Southern Illinois

24.) North Carolina State

25.) Villanova

The first thing to notice, Florida and Ohio State the two teams that played in the National Title game last year are not ranked. Ohio State brought in a recruiting class that planned on having Oden and Conley leave after one year. The team is young again, just like last year. However, there is plenty of talent on this team. Florida put together another solid recruiting class, not quite as good as Ohio State’s but still very good.

The surprise team that is not ranked that will have an impact will be Alabama. They will look to win the SEC East this year and surprise a lot of people like they have done the last two years just in a very quite fashion.

Syracuse and UCONN, bad news, both play in the Big East that deserves 8-10 teams in the NCAA tournament every year. The “Beast” that is the Big East is a Super Conference better than the next two conferences combined. Both have bright futures but the gauntlet run that is the Big East will take its toll on the team and if they come out still fighting they will be very tough teams when the tournament rolls around.

And after all the parody we’ve seen in college basketball the past few years there is some respect for the Missouri Valley Conference and Colonial Athletic Association. The MVC has Southern Illinois ranked in the preseason top 25. The CAA has three teams receiving votes in the poll. Both will make a big splash in the tournament. The CAA should get 3 teams in the post season tournament and the MVC could get as many as 6. The problem is the Valley is so deep that the teams beat up on each other and some will get knocked out of contention.

Time to get excited, the season will start slow but will be very exciting and of course there will be upsets in March.