March Madness...

I'm going to be really honest...I'm not that big of a college hoops fan, but there's something about this B-E-A-UTIFUL month that makes me love watching it! This year has been crazy as far as tourney seeds and upsets. I mean, Bucknell over Kansas? and Vermont over Syracuse? and as of right now (6:56pm on 3/19/05), Wisconsin-Milwaukee over Boston College? It makes watching college sports that much more enjoyable! The only downfall is that my bracket is suffering...good thing I didn't enter a contest!

As of today, there are only 15 days until the White Sox' home opener...I'm gettin' chills!!

It's that time again...

Let me start out by apologizing because I haven't written a thing in almost two months...

On to everything that's been happening in my sports world...

White Sox: No more Maggs, Carlos, Jose on the team could be a problem this season, but I guess we just have to wait and see what A.J., Scott, and Jermaine Dye can do for us. Without our (most prominent) power hitters, we're going to have to develop a well rounded defense and really maximize the things we can do keeping the ball inside the park, like stealing bases and getting crucial hits. CF Aaron Rowand will prove to be a valuable asset this year--look out for him to take a dominant role on the team. What about all of the young new guys? I wonder if they can take what the big leagues have to offer them. (On a side note, one of the guys in the Sox' farm system (AAA Charlotte Knights) went to my high school--he was the minor league's MVP last year.)

MLB: Fantasy Baseball, baby. 'Nuff said.

Valpo Basketball: No NCAA tourney for either team this year--apparently, we weren't up to the challenge of defending our crowns and proving everybody wrong this year. A loss to UMKC for the ladies? Damn. A loss to Chicago State for the men? WTF?! I can see both Oral Roberts teams making it to the dance, but not very far afterward.

Valpo Football: Better news...recruitment going well this year. Spring ball starts on March 29, so that means fans should be looking out for the QB spot: who's going to step up and take the challenge of being the starter? Shamburg and Doerffler both have in-season experience, but Mirando (redshirt frosh) has a strong arm. Guess we'll have to wait and see them on the field. I wonder how that position is doing on the recruitment side of things. As for grads of the program, a few are preparing themselves for the NFL combines.

NCAA Basketball:
*Illinois drops a 65-64 decision to Ohio State and falls to 29-1, BUT is still the top-ranked team in the nation. Sad for the Orange Crush, but I feel that they'll be able to bounce back in the tourney.
*Fill out your brackets soon!!

NCAA Football:
*The NFL draft will happen in April; watch QBs Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers as they hope to be drafted first.
*Colorado University president Besty Hoffman will resign June 30, 2005--CU's past few years has been tarnished by alleged scandal (Katie Hnida's accusations that she was raped by football teammates, using sex/drugs/alcohol to lure recruits, Gary Barnett's coaching position re-instatement, the slush fund, etc.). Some may be wondering why she's leaving after all of this; others want to see Barnett take the fall, too.

I can't wait for the Sox' season opener on April 4!! Right now, I'm satisfying my craving for baseball by taking advantage of Comcast's broadcast of 20 of the Sox' spring training games.

Enjoy March Madness!!

NFL Draftees...Good/Bad choice to leave before senior year?

According to ESPN and The Salt Lake Tribune, Alex Smith (Utah) will enter the 2005 draft.

Smith, a junior QB, had a tremendous season (12-0) and led his Utes to a bowl win against Pittsburgh 35-7. His efforts in that game were phenomenal, executing 4 TD passes and administering a difficult hook-and-ladder play for a score. No matter what is asked of him as a QB, either under center, from the shotgun, quick handoffs, or rushing for a first down, he's got it done. His accolades are numerous and include several from this year: Heisman Finalist (finished fourth), Sports Illustrated Player of the Year, The Sporting News Player of the Year, Davey O'Brien Finalist, Walter Camp Player of the Year Finalist, Cingular Wireless/ABC Sports All-American, SI.com All-American (first team), Pro Football Weekly All-American (first team), A.P. All-American (second team), CoSIDA Football Academic All-American of the Year--source: http://utahutes.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/122104aad.html.

No doubt that he SEEMS ready, but is he ready to go to the NFL now? I understand that he has a lot of potential as a young athlete, but can he compete with the big boys in the NFL? And where would he be most useful? (Big hint to Chicago: Let's see if we can pick ONE quarterback this season and stick with him!! We have the fourth pick in the draft, so take advantage accordingly.) Anyway...

As a college junior myself, preparing to enter the "real" world, I understand the thrill of going pro. It's every high school/collegiate athlete's dream. At the same time, however, how wise of a decision is it to give up your last year of eligibility, when in essence, you can only get better? For Smith to remain at Utah for one more year can only help him improve his game. On the other hand, I do understand the fact that the loss of coach Urban Meyer will be tough on the squad, and a new coaching philosophy could be even more difficult on the QB. Maybe that had something to do with his decision.

Another question: Will Smith be a first-rounder? According to espn.com, Meyer was quoted saying, "If he's going to be a first-rounder, he should go. If he's not a first-rounder for sure, he should stay." Either way, Meyer says he will support Smith.

A great Fiesta Bowl game, a strong arm, and a confident QB swagger--that, plus the ability to read other defenses and then to put that into play for his own offense is what makes Alex Smith a good NFL pick. I'm just not sure how smart his decision is (that is entering so soon) and how it will affect the rest of his young career.

On a side note: I love the Ultimate Highlight on ESPN's Sportscenter (especially the song to accompany it). I wonder what a woman's sports network would do to replace the "...and twins..." lines in the song. I'm just observing. Hmmmm...a woman's sports network...I'm not talking focusing on women's sports, I'm talking women reporting on all sorts of pro sports events. It would never happen in this society, but if this kind of thing could be successful, that would be awesome.

Nokia Sugar Bowl...ABC 7pm Central Time...Auburn vs. Virginia Tech...Watch it!!

New year = Time for a change

Welcome to 2005...Officially, it's the second day of the year, and I just returned from a relaxing two-week Christmas break. Each day was filled with many athletic events, and by that, I mean that I watched just about every Collegiate Bowl game--which was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. The purity of college football is so refreshing; the talent is impeccable, and I can already tell that the NFL draft is going to be chock-full of awesome prospects from respected programs around the country.

From Vince Young (Texas QB who rushed for 3 TDs vs Michigan in the Rose Bowl) to Drew Henne (Mich.) to Alex Smith (who led the Utah Utes to a perfect season) to Drew Tate (who threw a game-ending 56-yard Hail Mary pass to a fifth-year senior for a win against LSU) to Josh Haldi (QB for Northern Illinois) to Timmy Chang (who set a HUGE record for all collegiate QBs in passing yards) to Stephen LeFors (who led Louisville to a 44-40 win vs Boise State) to David Greene (whose Georgia Bulldogs were forceful vs Wisconsin) to Chris Rix (he overcame a rollercoaster career, but led his FSU Seminoles to a 30-18 win vs West Virginia). And it's not done yet--the Sugar Bowl (Auburn and Virginia Tech) will be played tomorrow and Tuesday, the Orange Bowl will feature two of the best quarterbacks in the NCAA. Jason White from Oklahoma will take the snaps for the Sooners, while 2004 Heisman winner Matt Leinart will be under center for the USC Trojans. It should be an awesome game.

But those are just the QBs...there are awesome players on all of the teams. Erasmus James (OSU)-David Pollack (Georgia)-Adrian Peterson (Oklahoma)-Reggie Bush (USC)-Garrett Wolfe (NIU)-Braylon Edwards and Michael Hart (Mich.)-and so many more.

Collegiate basketball continues to cruise. Our Crusaders have been on the receiving end of several butt-whoopin matches this year (including Duke, UofI-Champaign/Urbana--AKA the #1 team in the nation, Cincinatti), but conference play hasn't started yet, and it's expected that they will dominate in Mid-Continent play. The opener is scheduled for Tuesday against Western Illinois and fans should get a feel of the rest of the season from that game.

On the scholastic end of my life, a new semester starts on Wednesday, so I have two days to get myself back in the groove of the school year. I expect things to run smoothly, with a relaxed schedule and classes that I hope to enjoy. I will have to balance a few jobs and some activities but I don't think it will be too hard.

As far as my career pursuits are concerned, the one thing I have to look forward to are (hopefully) a position as my campus newspaper's Sports Editor for 2005-2006 and as a writer in the summer for my town's paper. Last summer, I did my internship there and had a great time--I worked for a 24-year-old female sports editor. How cool is that? I hope I can work there again, so I can continue to get in the practice I need for my career hopes.

A quick "by the way", I am going to attempt to cut down on the self-pity entries that I seem to include. I don't mean to, even though they are true, but I can't help but let my thoughts out sometimes. If I choose to include them, I will try to make them a little less sad.

Don't forget, sports fans--Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl. Watch them ;)...

March 30, 2005--My 21st Birthday...in case you were curious...

Wow...again...

I just read the most interesting thing on someone else's blog--I don't know who this guy is, but I know that he is friends with Jason Ashworth, only the most gorgeous contestant on Dream Job 2004--though I am upset that he didn't win, but that's besides my point...

I was reading his entry from about a week ago, and he was talking about this girl he met, this "11"--for us female folk, men have a system in which they rank us according to varying factors that fluctuate by which male is doing the rating. So, he mentioned that the chances of meeting an "11," an exceptional catch, according to him, were one in a million. To be an "11," a woman would have to be attractive, have a wealth of sports knowlede, and be sports-wagering (online) savvy. Apparently, this girl was all of that and then some because he and his friends were in awe of her and her use of terminology. He came to the realization that this girl had to have had older brothers...which led to his comment about looking to friends for their younger, well groomed sisters.

One of the things he mentioned was (paraphrased) maybe he's been looking under the wrong rocks. Hmmm...what a concept! I could have told him that a long time ago, but on to my point: Why is it that these boys never see what's right in front of them? Maybe they just never ask the right questions, or maybe they would just rather go for the "rocks" are only pretty on the outside, those "rocks" that sparkle, but have no substance. My thought is that eventually, both men and women, all have these types of feelings, that they both make these mistakes of missing the forest for the trees.

My roomie and I had this conversation last night, about my choices as far as the guys I crush on or the people I think are right for me. She says that maybe I am not going for the right people, when in essence, I'm not really going to anybody. I guess a part of me is semi-waiting for someone else to make the first move or to at least make some indication of interest in me. The other part of me is trying to figure out what kind of guy I want. Even then, though, there is something inside me trying to decipher my personal logic regarding this topic. On the one hand, I want to have someone to be there for me, to comfort me, to hang out with; on the other hand, I realize that maybe my situation as a college student may not allow for that.

I feel that I have not experienced enough as a 20-year-old as far as relationships go--the always the best friend, never the girlfriend thing ends up really hurting. Someone off-handedly made a comment to my roomie regarding why I don't have a boyfriend, which made me feel like crap thinking about what that person said. The last thing I need is having someone else make observations about my life. And it hurts, to be honest, it really does. While others are walking around at this time of year with a special someone on their arms, I am kind of in a bind because I find myself walking alone. I hate that it bugs me, but what I dislike even more, is that I can't get that thought out of my head. Everytime I get a spare moment, I find myself thinking the "what ifs" or the "wonder what it's like" kind of things. The hurt comes back each time. That's probably one of the hardest things to get rid of--the feeling that you are the only person out there really struggling with this while others are making judgements about you because of your relationship status.

When I have these conversations with people (sometimes guys), they give me the response that it's better that I haven't had this experience, or that it's cute because I haven't been tainted. To me, it just feels like I'm incomplete, because I don't know what it's like. For so long I have been the observer of others' relationships, taking notes, giving advice, learning how to react to things, knowing how/when to say things, knowing what is or isn't acceptable, and even realizing how to take a breakup. Watching this rollercoaster of emotions and actions from the waiting line isn't the same as being on the ride. It only gets harder as I get older.

It's quite interesting to get inside my head. Sometimes, I'm not even prepared for the thoughts that run through it, but other times, I know that it's right. I hate having to dwell on this, but it seems like it's inevitable. Everytime I go back home, it hits me--hard. Now that my little brother (By that I mean that he is almost 18) has a "girlfriend," the realization is pretty much flying at me like a brick. It's hard to swallow. This is the kind of stuff that goes through my head on a daily basis as far as this topic is concerned. And this is only part of it--I haven't even mentioned names or anything like that. I'm sure that if I did, that the hurt/sad feeling would only intensify. I'll spare those types of things and keep them reserved. If you wanted to have a talk about that, you know how to get a hold of me.

Maybe it's the weather or the season, but I can't help but wonder...

Es parte culpa mia, pero tambien son las circunstancias. Ha sido algo incontrolable. Se que tengo que tener fe en si misma.

Random rants

What a week! Firstly, I am proud to say that I watched baseball history as the Red Sox broke their "curse" this week. The crappy part? It means that the sad city of Chi-Town is now the only place that has a World Series drought, with TWO teams that haven't won the 'ship in a long time. Let's go, White Sox!! This could be our year...could be...

So, I mentioned last week that my lil bro's team lost to a team they could have beat. They received their playoff pairings that Saturday and finally played the round one game on Oct. 29. The papers said "two double overtime playoff games--but one ended up in a Class 7A Championship and the other ended up in a loss." They lost a heartbreaking 24-21 game to Hinsdale South...AT HOME...and they won't be going downstate. Poor seniors! That's a hard way to end (possibly) your last football season.

As for my Crusaders, they have two home games left against Butler and Aurora, respectively. These are both games that they could potentially win, and I sure as heck hope they do. I'm looking to end my 2004 writing campaign on a happy note.

In other important news, I do have a life outside of sports and it is girly so if you don't want to know about my personal life, this section is not for you :). My freshman year roomie and I are always talking, catching up on life and whatnot. We usually find ourselves referring to the pact we made in 2002--that we would always tell one another FIRST if anything ever happened in our romantice lives. Well....I still haven't called her up for anything, and it's getting pretty damn frustrating!! I mean, I'm not an ugly girl (I've been called sexy and cute); I'm smart, I like sports (and understand them). I am laid back so I don't really need all the things other girls do, like exorbatant amounts of attention. I understand that men have to hang out with one another as much as women need to bond. But I got to thinking that maybe the reason my motto has become "always the best friend, never the girlfriend," is because I understand too much about that world. You know, a guy's world--one where we're not supposed to ever find out about; the one that he only shares with his buddies. As much as I would hate to erase what I know, I wonder if that's what impedes me from experiencing a relationship. I would love to think that some guys like that I know what's going on, but at the same time, I find myself wondering...what if? What if I was a prissy girl, kinda clueless into the wide world of sports? What if I didn't know what a flea-flicker was? What if I actually enjoyed shopping (God help us all if I ever do)? I don't know...I find myself getting doubtful that I will ever find someone who appreciates the fact that I'm pretty chill when it comes to being me. Who knows if he even exists. All I know is that after 20 and a 1/2 years of waiting for my prince to come, my hope is decreasing.

I think I'm prepared though...I mean, I have been watching my friends have relationships and whatnot since I was about 13. That's 7 years of note-taking and observing that I have compiled into a list. I know what's healthy, what's not. But being on the outside, still driving around the stadium looking for parking, is not really going to help me learn how to be a girlfriend. My friends have already found seats in the ballpark and are watching their 3rd or 4th game. Some have had the same seats reserved for 2 years, while others are taking chances and finding seats in other parks. (Get the analogies?) I'm unexperienced, and I don't want to be that naive anymore. I hate getting the "that's so cute that you've never dated anyone before" crappy line from people. No, it's not cute; it's sad. OK, well, maybe it's a little cute only because that makes me really pure to the whole scene. But I wish I could just get that chance to find my parking spot and walk to the stadium to try a find a good seat. I've got my car and I've got my cash--just let me pay my fee and buy a ticket. Then maybe, I can enjoy the rest of the game...

Great stuff...and some not so great stuff

So, I love college football. I spent the weekend at home watching all sorts of games--the only bad part about watching bits and pieces of other games is that I can't even remember which games I watched all the way through.

Baseball is the American pasttime, and this year, the Red Sox are my faves for the World Series. That's that. I thought I was cheering for the Yankees in the ALCS race, but I realized that I'd rather see the underdog come out a winner.

And with that theme, there comes the issue of my own school in the football category. I listened to another disappointing loss for my Hometown Heroes, the Crusaders. Drake defeated them 37-10 on Saturday, making it the fourth straight loss in as many weeks for them. It disappoints me more to know that they have potential to be an awesome team, and it sucks that for the seniors, the end is nearing. Giancola is still 5 points away from setting the all-time scoring record and he has 21 less TD receptions than he did last year. While he was only part of last year's PFL championship team, there are so many players on that team that deserve to end this season on top. I would love to see Knutson come out with another season of big yardage, and maybe the senior RBs, TEs, and linemen can help each other out. The Defense is awesome, but they haven't been having a great season either--let's see that change, seniors. You know you always have a fan in me. Parents' Day is November 6 and there is only one more home game before their senior season is over. Maybe we can end 2004 on a good note (well, maybe we can end it 5-6...a little under .500).

More football stuff for the weekend was watching my little bro's team (the 2003 IHSA 7A Champs) take a big loss to Lemont at home. This is the first time that the senior class has lost at home while they have been at Oswego H.S. The kicker--it was a 12-13 loss. And as the seniors' last home game, my poor bro had to watch the game from the sidelines because his positions coach is a...well, you can imagine what I was thinking. The good part, though, is that they have a pretty good pairing in the brackets for the IHSA playoffs. I hope for the best for them.

Some positives, some negatives, but I hope to bring some better news in the future. Till then, go Valpo!