Do you remember

Otis Smith? I loved watching him play at corner
Natrome Means?
Aaron Glenn?
Victor Green
Roman Phifer?
Bryan Cox?
Dexter Coakley?
Cornelius Bennett?
Ed McCaffrey?
Edgar Bennett?
Mark Chumura?
Trey Junkin?

The definition of being weird

Being Weird: adv. When people are afraid to show you a list of drinks that people want to order.

Two or three people will laugh. I feel happy for them. If you don't get it that is just too bad.

The Definition of a Slow Walker

Slow Walker: adv. When you walk around campus and a basketball player comes from behind and passes you by.

Ater Majok passed me by. That's how I know I am a slow walker.

Music

I witnessed quite a performance tonight while in Garrigus Suites. It happened to have happened on the 4th floor. Mike Grenier on the drums and Greg Mihailides on the mic is a deadly 1-2 punch. Kind of like when the Red Sox had Ramirez and Ortiz or Beckett and Schilling.

On top of that Greg M's voice was remarkable. I think he'd be pretty good at Karaoke. As a matter of fact I think Greg and Grenier are so good that they should team up with Maya Moore and Tina Charles on a rap song. Tyrone Faverey would make a sick beat. Tina Charles could rap, Maya Moore could be on the drums and Grenier on another percussion instrument. Kai could have a couple of words and Greg could be a back up singer.

Maybe they could come up with a video too. If they put the time in it could turn out to be bigger and better than the super bowl shuffle.

MBB vs DePaul

I missed a lot of the game because I got back late from working out. I did see that Jerome Dyson was nasty. Jeff Adrien also looked good. Player of the game was Jerome Dyson. He became the 41st player to score 1,000 points in UConn Men's Basketball history.

UConn is 48-10 when Craig Austrie starts.

Tree Hill Ravens 1st football game of the season

Storrs, Connecticut

The Shenkman complex has been home to many great athletes. It has served as the proving grounds for future NFL draft picks Donald Brown, Darius Butler and Cody Brown. It also will be home to future UConn great Dwayne Difton. Tonight it was home to one heck of a football game. A game worthy of being seen on ESPN Classic.

The Tree Hill Ravens got off to a quick start. Elvis had an interception that was returned for a touchdown and also added 3 more pass deflections. The Tree Hill Raven offense stalled after that, as they were unable to score again. The bright spot on offense for the Ravens was when Ryan Grace made a spectacular catch and run but it was brought back because of a penalty.

However, as they say, Defense wins championships. Eric Cato was spectacular on the defensive line. He looked like Deacon Jones out there. He had a critical sack late in the game and both he and Ryan Grace forced an intentional grounding call too that helped lead to a punt.

The only scoring for the opposing team came from a safety against the Ravens. As the final drive was shaping up the score was 6-2 Ravens. An opposing team's player made a spectacular catch in traffic to put them in Hail Mary range. However, just like Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens defense, the Tree Hill Ravens held tough and denied any hopes for the opposing team to pick up a win.

With the win the Tree Hill Ravens move to 1-0. Be sure to check in for more Tree Hill Raven news as the year progresses. The team regrets to announce that their post-game autograph session and photo opportunity will be canceled due to the expected bad weather. They hope you use mass transit to get to games so you can avoid traffic and accidents.

To become a member of the Tree Hill Raven Club be sure to post your name, address and telephone number. Benefits include exclusive invitations to Tree Hill Raven Themed Parties, and to even become Facebook friends with team players. One lucky fan will also be able to sit front row with Ryan Grace at a Volleyball game of your choice next year or sit with Ryan at a Women's Soccer game and hangout with one soccer player after the game! Don't miss the chance to take advantage of all these great offers.

Big Game at Shenkman later today

The Tree Hill Ravens are gearing up for a huge football game at the Shenkman Complex at 8:30pm

Fans are encouraged to arrive early to avoid long lines. An hour before game-time is advised.

Also the pre-game tailgating has been canceled do to low temperatures.

Security might be tight if Meghan Cunningham arrives.

Tonight is Tree Hill Raven autograph day. Bring your Tree Hill Ravens posters and have them signed by the team. The team will also be made available for a photo opportunity tonight.

Thoughts from game (About unimportant things)

First of all Desi Cullen is just great. No lie he really is. He's funny, he started dancing with an old women at the game tonight trying to get on the dance cam. He was entertaining.

The Women's soccer team are great fans too. Especially Erin Clark, Sam Kelley, Meghan Cunningham, Jessica Diakun and Cory Bildstein. All of them have done something at one point or another that has made me appreciate their fan-dom. Kelley and Clark impressed me today because unlike many athletes they actually sat with students in the student section. What a novel idea.

Speaking of the student section, this year the Women's Basketball Student Section has been tremendous. I know that the players truly appreciate your support. Keep coming, you guys have been awesome this year.

Meghan Cunningham is the biggest Tree Hill Raven fan.

Kaili McLaren is one of the best women's soccer fans.

Maya Moore and Lorin Dixon supported track last year.

Hasheem Thabeet is one of the best men's soccer and volleyball fans. As a matter of fact Hasheem and Erin Clark are the only two athletes I've ever seen stand in goal patrol. They should be commended for that. Honestly, goal patrol is one of the best fan groups in the nation. It amazes me that not more people have been a part of it.

Women's Ice Hockey players are great fans too. As are women's lacrosse players. Katy Ryan was one of the best football fans this year.

Speaking of lacrosse I couldn't help but notice that they were all at today's game cleaning up garbage after and during the game. I thought that was cool. I wish the lacrosse team was made up of just Meghan Nanfeldt's and Katy Ryan's. At least we can say that the team is made up of a lot of "Captain Planets."

WBB vs Louisville

Louisville is a great team, lead by a great player Angel McCoughtry, and once again UConn destroyed a high ranked team on national television.

Tiffany Hayes was the player of the game.

Tiffany had been struggling earlier in the year finding her jump shot. I'd knew she'd have a game like tonight where she made 6 3's because she was getting into the games lately and making things happen in ways other then scoring. It's amazing how good someone's shot gets when they start rebounding, playing good defense and slashing to the hoop. Which reminds me, Tiffany played great defense against Angel McCoughtry.

I thought Louisville was the second best team in the Big East and we beat them by 28.

Maya Moore was tremendous again. She would have been player of the game had Tiffany not exploded like she did today. Another double-double. Another amazing game for her. It's just expected from her.

Apparently Kaili McLaren has some tendonitis so she hasn't been able to play as much. She will get some rest coming up.

Georgetown is next and then Rutgers.

Also unrelated stats

Dan Holst brought in 4 boards during the Citgo fill-up and win

You know if I went 3-3 on a putting challenge at a basketball game. I would google myself out of pride.

Matt Getz was sensational during the Golfer's Warehouse Putting Challenge. He drilled all 3 of his putts right in. I told him he better get at least two. I challenged him and he responded. He was magnificent under the pressure of playing in front of 10,000 people on ESPN2. Matt Getz might actually perform better in the clutch than fellow lefty Phil Mickelson. I wonder where his $100 gift certificate to Golfer's Warehouse would put him on the PGA tours money/prize list for this year.

The Super Bowl

I know its a little early but I am picking the Cardinals to beat the Steelers because the Cardinals aren't the Steelers. I don't want to see the Steelers win another Super Bowl and go ahead of my Cowboys.

Good news for Steelers fans is that I don't think I've picked the Super Bowl correctly since the Pierce Administration.

I'm like listening to a used car salesman when it comes to picking the Super Bowl lately.

I finished my book

Ok well first of all I have found it really hard to write as much now that I am back in the swing of going to school. I like being back at school though. Finding useless facts in media guides and posting them here is what kept me sane over break. Sad I know. But I will write as often as I can.

I was very happy that we won both games yesterday in basketball. The women only gave up 7 points in the first half. The record for fewest points in a half against UConn is 6. The three at the end of the half killed a new record. The record for fewest in a game against UConn is 20.

Jeff Adrien was the player of the game for the men. 19 rebounds in a game is impressive.

Maya Moore was the player of the game for the women. However Tiffany Hayes knocking down 2 three pointers is the most important thing for UConn in the long run.

Now to the reason for this post. I finally read through Mel Thomas's book. It was a great book. A page turner for me. Order it and read it if you haven't already. I bought it with my school books on Tuesday and already finished it.

Mel Thomas is someone I'll never forget. Out of nowhere I got to go to the Women's Basketball Media Day. I was in awe when I got there. I was like a kid in a candy store. I got to stand in the center of Gampel Pavilion. Not that many people get to do that. Especially with one of the best basketball programs in the country standing with you. The person I was with was like, "Tim are you ok?" I was just in shock because I appreciated the moment and luck of being able to be on the floor with the UConn Women's Basketball team.

Most guys here at UConn or in the state or even country don't really understand the significance. To me the UConn Women's Basketball team is what my state is known for. They are the Yankees to New York and maybe Red Sox to Boston. It is what the area is known for. Connecticut is an interesting place. We are in between and overshadowed by New York and Boston. People in Connecticut are proud to be from Connecticut but we tend to gravitate to either a Boston affiliation or New York affiliation. Being from Stamford I have the New York affiliation and sometimes people say I have a slight New York accent. On top of that we have no pro sports teams that unite the state. (we recently got the Connecticut Sun, and used to have the Hartford Whalers) Still nothing really unites us. The typical Connecticut Sports fan is a Yankees and Giants fan West of New Haven and a Red Sox and Patriots fan East of New Haven. There are also Mets and Jets fans in the state too. A smaller minority in terms of those other teams. And most of them frequent the West of New Haven territory. I am a Mets fan, but for football I root for America's team, the Cowboys. In the NHL and NBA Connecticut is once again split between the New York and Boston teams. But you know what, one team transcends all of Connecticut. That team is the Girls Basketball team. They bring the state together. Especially among older fans. The Men's Team has a lot of fans too but the women's fans come off as being more passionate. I appreciate how much the UConn Women's team means to the state and the University and all of the achievements that they have. That's why I was in awe when I stepped on to the court with them. Even if it was just to ask them questions.

So back to Mel. Mel was the first person I ever interviewed. I'll never forget it either. Before I spoke to her I told her how she was like my alarm clock because whenever I got up last year I could hear (and as I looked out the window, see) the Women's team yelling and talking as they past below my dorm on their way to eat Breakfast. Mel was so easy to talk to and I had no idea how to perform interviews. I had no experience and no guidelines, I just did what felt natural to me. It went great and I was so proud of myself for being able to talk to Mel Thomas and not look like an idiot. Not too long ago, around 8th or 9th grade I was a fat, awkward slob who never ever would have been able to talk to someone like Mel Thomas. Heck I probably couldn't even look in the mirror at that age.

Through hard word I was able to change myself. I became healthy for the first time in my life. I started making good choices and got into cycling and weightlifting. I became really fit and still live an active lifestyle. (I just need to learn how to eat healthy!) To be honest I poured my heart and soul into getting healthy. Nothing could stop me. I was focused and never ever gave in to temptations to take a day off. I wanted to be healthy so I wouldn't succumb to a Heart Attack or stroke like many others in my family I have. I was determined to change so I could make myself a better person. So your wondering how does this relate to Mel Thomas and her book?

Mel poured her heart and soul, blood, sweat and tears into going for a National Championship. Just as I had done to become healthy. Unlike myself, Mel came up short. She didn't get a chance to win a National Championship and that sucks. But what's worse is that she didn't have the chance to be on the floor against Stanford and make a difference in the game. She tore her ACL. The night after the Syracuse game Mel talks about how she cried all night and couldn't sleep after the injury. All she had worked so hard for, she would come up short on. She wouldn't be able to compete for a national championship. She'd have to watch her teammates play. I stayed up for about an hour, hour and a half after the Syracuse game or after I heard about her injury (not sure which) thinking about Mel and how unfair it was for this to happen to her. She worked so hard, for four years, for this one last chance to reach her goal. To do the impossible. I thought about what it was like when I had to push myself to get healthy. What if I got injured trying my hardest to reach my goal? What would my life be like if that happened to me?

I told that to some people and they laughed at me. They thought I was weird for staying up and thinking about how unfair it was for Mel Thomas to be injured. They were thinking "He wasn't friends with her. Why should he care?" Unlike them, I understand what it's like to do something that I thought was impossible. The thought of doing what I did but coming up short would have sucked. I can't imagine how I'd feel if I actually did fall short, like Mel did.

I also loved Mel because of how hard she played the game. She was always on the floor out hustling and out working everyone. I love players like that.

Sports isn't all about numbers, it's also about life. I love the numbers part, but I love the life part of it a whole lot more than most people.

Today's games

I fully expect both basketball teams to win pretty easily tonight.

Great news for UConn getting a 4 star Wide Receiver commit.

Dominique Thibault had a hat track less than halfway through yesterday's game. That's pretty darn good

If Jesus Had A Facebook

If Jesus had a Facebook Ryan Marciel Grace would make friends quicker then Jesus.

In all seriousness Ryan Grace is probably the best people person that I know. He knows everyone and gets along with everyone. I look up to him in many respects. I wish I could be like him and make friends so quickly and easily. He's a great person and I'm lucky to know him, as is anyone else who knows him. I've probably shook 100 sets of hands because of him.

Art Gallery

The Art Gallery on the 3rd floor of the student union has some amazing pictures of athletes. Go check it out if you are a sports fan or an athlete and tell an athlete if you see a great picture of them. It is mesmerizing. Go check it out, it's next to the big conference/ballrooms and is located off of the main hall way. I'm not sure if it is open on the weekends or at night so stop by during the day to take a look.

Possessed

I asked Renee Montgomery what adjective would best describe how much she wants to win a championship this season. I asked if possessed would be a good one, and she thought for a second and then agreed that possessed would be the best choice.

MBB vs Nova, WBB vs UNC

so we killed UNC, that was a great win for UConn. I wonder how much of it came from a motivation to win and play well for Doty.

Player of the Game. Lorin Dixon. She had 14 points, 8 rebounds and lead the team with 6 assists. She played really well in one of her biggest games in her career. That is a great sign for UConn going forward. Her contributions will be extremely important this season. She is much more confident this season then last and it has shown in her play.

Team Manager of the game...They all did well.

MBB that was a great game. I was so close to Jay Wright. He swears. A.J. Price was amazing. He was the player of the game. I love Jeff Adrien's intensity and pure passion and aggression on the boards. Jerome Dyson had some amazing plays. Craig Austrie, wasn't great throughout the game but the runner he hit in the lane to increase the lead to 5 was a huge shot.

Player of the Game: A.J. Price

Now we are off to Notre Dame. And if we won there would it be enough to be ranked #1? (even though rankings mean nothing to me)

I also pulled in 4 rebounds during contests and made sure nothing got past me and to Coach Calhoun. I lost track of my assists. I'm still looking for the elusive double-double

My favorites

I read media guides and know a lot of useless information. Here is useless information about me. Plus if every incoming freshman athlete has to answer this then so do I. Especially since I am a GDA.

Favorite Book: Any biography that I have read.
Favorite Movie: Airplane and Fargo
Favorite TV Show: Sportscenter
Favorite Food: Sour Milk Cake
Favorite Athlete: Emmitt Smith and Michael Jordan
Favorite Pro Team: Dallas Cowboys and New York Mets
Favorite Music: CRap, (Country and Rap)
Hobbies: Sports and working out.
Family Athletes: My cousin beat Michael Phelps when they were in the same age group in swimming. My cousin also had shoulder injuries and had to stop swimming.

Randoms

I think that the Women's Ice Hockey team is really nice and down to earth. Go support them.

I loved seeing the baseball and track teams hard at work while I was moving in.

Which reminds me, I love track because they are always out for runs around campus. They sometimes wave if I know them. But most importantly, as a common courtesy to all runners, cyclists etc. on sidewalks, try to move out of their way. When you see them don't hesitate just pull over to the right, just as if they were an ambulance. It makes it safer for everyone.

Go Cardinals. As a Cowboys fan, I can't stand the idea of a team having more Super Bowl championships then we do. Just as many is hard enough for me to take.

irony

So I've had a couple classes already and several people who I have mentioned in my blog are in them. I find that funny.

Of all of the people in my classes, the one I am most proud to be in class with is Tree Hill Raven superstar Mike Grenier.

School

I am really excited to get to work in my Sports Marketing class. It's nice to be taking a class that I am truly interested in.

So many polls closed

Ok so somehow Women's Soccer did really well. I hope they won because they really had two terrific games, the one vs Yale with Cory Bildstein's kick heard around campus and their game vs WVU where Steph Labbe really showed why she was Big East Goalie of the Year and an Olympian.

I'm glad Bildstein's game won because it really sticks out in my mind. I hope that won on its merits and not because women's soccer loves to google themselves.

Football played a tremendous game vs Virginia and absolutely destroyed a team that I thought would play us close and tough.

Men's soccer had some great games too. The Notre Dame was missed my many because of a time change that interfered with the homecoming football game.

As for best freshman athlete, I had go with Caroline because she was making a huge impact. I should have added Tiffany Hayes to that poll because she is so good too. Annie Luhrsen was next after Caroline to me, followed by Jordan Todman. I think all of the people listed in that poll and Tiffany Hayes will have bright futures at UConn. I am surprised that Melissa Busque and Tony Cascio did as well as Kemba Walker. I think Kemba is pretty good too. I know nothing about soccer and can't really evaluate talent well, but I love watching Melissa Busque play. She always seems to be getting after it and in the middle of so many things. Tony Cascio played well in the NCAA tournament. He will be VERY important next year.

The most underrated athlete interested me. Kalana Greene pulled that one out which makes me happy. I thought she was so underrated last year and Geno thought that word was really applicable to her contributions when I talked to him last year. Craig Austrie is also so underrated. He's a calming influence on the team. The team plays better when he's in. It doesn't really show up in stats but it shows up when you watch them play. The offensive line gets no love either. Without them Donald Brown would still be at UConn or he'd be at a hospital. Everyone also seemed to forget about Dori Arad. All of his goals this year were game winners. Kacey Richards won several awards, and is noticed in the women's soccer world, but isn't well known to the average UConn fan. Thats why she is underrated to me. Maybe under-noticed would have been more applicable for her.

Nothing is better than Track News

Meghan Cunningham won the 800 meter run at the Army Invitational. Soccer teammate Ashley O'Brien finished 3 seconds behind.

Trish Ann Hawthorne won both of her events, the 60 yard dash and 200meter sprint. Tynisha McMillian (shot put) and Carin Knight (high jump) continued to dominate the competition, picking up wins too.

Marquis Thomas defended his high jump win at the Sorlein invitational. 2.18 meter jump. He also provisionally qualified for the NCAA's.

Jamaal Smith won the triple jump and Anthony Burris won the 400 meter run. Kyle Edmonds was was on the winning 4x400 relay team.

Also Go Cardinals. They are not who the media thought they were.

The 3 letters that I hate the most

Those letters would be ACL. Those three letters may have a lot to do with shortened seasons for our basketball teams and soccer teams last year.

A.J. Price, Mel Thomas, Kalana Greene, O'Brian White and I believe Brittany Taylor and all had ACL injuries last year (I'm tempted to add Karl Schilling to that list, but I'm not sure) and arguments could be made that all of them made UConn teams have much shorter seasons then usual.

Caroline Doty's injury just plain sucks. She is coming off an ACL tear from 16 months ago. I don't know how devastating it is to have to deal with two of those injuries to the same knee so quickly. Atleast Caroline was able to recover quickly from her last injury. Hopefully she can do that again. The rehab is really tough, but what might be one of the hardest things to overcome is having confidence in her knee when she comes back. What really sucks in my mind is that she can't redshirt this past season. So her first UConn season is over way too prematurely. I feel really bad for her. Having two ACL tears and having a freshman year end prematurely is not fair. It makes you realize that life is not fair. For Caroline's sake, while she might not want to hear it now, somehow this injury will make her life better. I don't know how, or why it has to happen like this, but whenever a setback like this occurs in life something good always comes out of it. It certainly doesn't look it now but I guarantee she'll learn something from it, or appreciate life more, or meet someone important, but something good will eventually come out it.

Now for UConn this is a tough injury to deal with. Guard injuries is what in my opinion caused UConn not to win the Women's Championship last year. I won't go as far as to say that they won't win it this year. With Renee Montgomery, Maya Moore and Tina Charles UConn has enough to get to the final four, arguably enough to get to the championship. The other players will determine what happens from there. Kalana Greene and Tiffany Hayes have been bright spots over break. They need to continue to play well. Tiffany is more than capable of being a reliable 3 pt threat like Caroline. Tiff is also great at slashing to the basket. UConn is going to have 7 players that will play a lot. The starting 5 and Lorin Dixon, and Tiffany Hayes. I do believe that this year could be a coming out party for Tahirah Williams in the sense that I think she can continue her contributions and make a big impact for the rest of the year. Meghan Gardler needs to come in and contribute her hustle plays and knack for finding a loose ball. I think UConn needs to get 10-15 solid minutes combined from Gardler and Williams from now on this season. I think those two are more than capable of doing that.

Honestly, UConn fans shouldn't panic. The road to the championship was made a little steeper with the loss of Caroline, but it certainly has not made it impossible. Win or lose in UNC, UConn will be there at the end. I believe that Renee Montgomery is possessed to win a National Championship, and I think that counts for a lot more than people might think. And by possessed, I mean it, I think she wants it more than anyone else in women's basketball. On top of that, Maya Moore is Maya Moore and thats better than anyone else in women's basketball. Maya is like Renee because she is also possessed to win a championship. Maya wants it really really really really badly and Renee wants it really really really really really badly. (not a diss at Maya at all, Renee is just well possessed) Maya also seems very confident to me. Tina Charles has stepped up her game from last season. She is much improved from last season. One thing UConn has this year that they didn't have last is Kalana Greene. She is so underrated and she is a leader who will get UConn to where they need to be. Lorin Dixon is also improved from last season. She is much more confident and comfortable this year than last. So UConn fans in conclusion, don't panic. It's tough losing Caroline Doty, but UConn can still win a championship this year with the rest of the pieces in Storrs. They will just fit together differently.

I am very happy for O'Brian White, who will be joining Julius James in Toronto in the MLS and Akeem Priestley who is headed to Kansas City in the MLS. I wish them the best and will miss having them on campus. Two great people who I will be sure to tune in to watch. And I've never watched the MLS before.

Also former UConn Women's Soccer player's Meghan Schnur and Nikki Cross were selected in the Women's Pro Soccer draft. Schnur will play close to UConn, as she will be with the New York/New Jersey team.

I went running on my Lake in Massachusetts. It's tough running on it with all the snow on top of the ice. That's also why I ran on it though. I just had to be really careful to avoid the places where the ice fishing was taking place yesterday.

Larry Fitzgerald is the best Wideout in the NFL. Regardless of the outcome of todays game.

We'll have to see how often I will be able to write once I get back to campus tomorrow. I will be really busy at school so I may not be able to write as much, but I won't stop.

In case you are wondering, it has been said that ACL injuries occur much more frequently in women than men because of the differences in anatomy.

Conference Championship Games

I hate picking against the Cardinals but I will. I hate it when teams think they are shoe ins, they often lose these games or make them too close for comfort.

But I am picking the Eagles.

I also am going to make Renee Montgomery happy and will pick the Ravens.

Eagles and Ravens are the winners.

WBB vs Syracuse

I like to keep things simple.

Maya Moore

The End

P.S. Maya Moore doesn't just do things I've never seen before, she does things I've never thought of before.

Women's Hockey Cancer Awareness

At the next few women's Ice Hockey games (two games I think) they will be collecting money to help raise money for Breast Cancer research.

Please go and support the team and donate money to a good cause. $5 donation should get you a T-Shirt, $10 a team signed hockey stick.

BTW It was a great win tonight for the #9 Huskies over #4 Mercyhurst. It was a great game. UConn overcame a 1-0 deficit to win the game 3-2. I believe Michelle Binning hit the game winner. Monique Weber and Kristin Russell also added goals.

I must say that hockey players are the worst smelling athletes. It was horrible standing next to the penalty box of Mercyhurst. I do bet that UConn is too good to smell bad.

Back at School for today

So I'm back at school for the day until I head back up to my lake house for the weekend.

I think its funny that Syracuse is trash talking about UConn in women's basketball. They are coming off a home loss to Seton Hall.

Anyway two random things.

The softball poster looks really really really good. Much improved over last season.

Meghan Nandfeldt is becoming the face of UConn Women's Lacrosse. It appears as if her photo will be on her teams poster for the 3rd straight year.

Also I went to the Co-Op to buy Heart of a Husky and they sold out of all of their 600 copies. They said that 200 copies should be coming in a week.

Some good UConn Pictures

There are some awesome pictures of some UConn athletes in this facebook album that Wintana Araya sent me a link too. Seriously these are great pictures. Some athletes might want to tag themselves.

So Wintana sent me this one because it's Melissa Busque vs. St. Johns. And let me tell you, that right there makes this better than the Mona Lisa


http://uconn.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=38910179&id=9019337#/photo.php?pid=38910178&id=9019337

Tree Hill Raven Media Guide: Ryan Grace

Ryan Marciel Grace
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford High School
Birthday: December 1, 1989
5'8''

Head Volleyball Captain

Signed for a two season 50 flex pass extension with incentives for head volleyball captain. Lead a youthful and inexperienced team in Volleyball. Helped lead UConn Intramural Volleyball League in attendance. Was a starter for the Tree Hill Raven basketball team. Had a career high 11 pts this season. Was the starting center for football. Also held down the fort in goal as the soccer goalie. Hopes to be as good as Amanda Schwartz one day.

Before UConn:
Played for Steve DeRossi at New Bedford High School. Same High School that produced Varsity Softball player Tricia Sullivan. Ran a 6-2 formation in High School. Has a career high in assists in a game of 37.

Favorite Book: ESPN The Magazine.
Favorite Movie: Oceans 11,12,13....Seven
Favorite TV Show: Sportscenter, PTI, Family Guy
Favorite Actor: Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman
Favorite Food: Pizza and any kind of chicken
Favorite Soccer Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Favorite Pro Team: San Antonio Spurs, Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Braves

The results finally came in

I finished 3rd place in the Davenport Elementary School 3rd grade field day in the egg and spoon race and potato sack race.

I am very upset that I finished in 3rd. My conditioning was not up to par. I have since improved that. My concentration in the practices leading up to the contest were also not acceptable. I remember it well, rather than practice I played Chutes and Ladders. I have learned my lessons though. My kids will put in 110% for their field day.

However, I am also pissed at my field day coach. I went on a training trip to Florida to learn how to roll tires perfectly at my Grandpa's tire retreading shop. He knew I put in all that hard work in Immokalee, FL. (Hometown of Edgerrin James) Hours of tirelessly rolling tires and my coach benched me in that event for a new kid at school. And what do you think that new kid did? He went off course and we were disqualified. I would have won that event for our team, and gotten us ice cream sundaes and 5 gold stars because of my performance. But no, our coach messed it up. He should have been fired because of his decision to bench me. At least all of the sports writers who covered the event are smart enough not to vote him into the Field Day hall of fame.

People behind the athletes

This is what happened today when I reported on the basketball game. I got up, ate, worked out, showered and then hit the road

At about 12:30 I was out of my house, on a one hour and 45 minute drive from Stamford to Storrs for a 7:30 pm game. I got to school with enough time to be able to do some things around campus that I needed to take care of. Then I got to the game at 5:30, 2 hours early to get ready for the game. I may talk to friends for part of that time, the other time I eat and read up on the other team. After the game I have the press conferences and some interviews too. I usually don't leave the game until about an hour after it is over. Then from there another hour and 45 minute drive back home.

When I work games it's a similar schedule, where I am really early for the games and stay after they are over.

What many people forget about or take for granted are all of the people who run behind the scenes things that make games possible and such a big deal. The media is a funny thing so I will address them first. No media coverage, and your dying for it, too much media coverage and it's the worst thing ever. The media is a very important part of sports. Included in the media are the TV and radio people too, not just the writers. On top of that you need the people to deal with them in communications. These people are responsible for creating all of the stat sheets, programs, game notes etc. They also set-up and monitor press conferences and to make sure that the players get a chance to leave...so that they aren't going to be answering every little question from everybody for hours after the game. You also have the marketing department who has to find all of the people for the contests, run the contests, music, advertising boards too. Facilities who are there to do a number of things at games. I've seen them still working 2 hours after games. Then there are people who capture and edit and film games. There is also the photographer who takes pictures for UConn athletics. security, concessions, the list goes on, but there are so many people besides athletes who make these games work, and people often forget that.

When I was driving home, it's all I could think about. Greg M and I were both traveling and driving about 2 hours to get home after a basketball game that we stayed an additional hour, hour and half for to do important behind the scenes things. Most people would be home 30-45 minutes after the game is over...We wouldn't be home until about 12:30-1am. Speaking of Greg, the team's themselves have trainers, doctors and team managers to assist them on a daily basis. Their efforts and work is significant but often forgotten about.

Random Thoughts

First of all isn't it interesting how much a first impression counts? I sat and thought about it for a second and I realized that my overall impressions of two people are totally different based on my first impression of them. One of them can do no wrong and the other one no right in my mind.

Secondly, I have so much cleaning to do. My room in my house is closed to the public. I don't think any female could love me enough to stand it in there. The amount of crap, pure crap that a person can collect and receive throughout 20 years is absolutely amazing. There are so many stupid items that I have never used or haven't used in years that are taking up so much space....And it's better to deal with it now then when I move out. So now I'm going through the process of getting rid of it. It's long overdue, and it probably won't be done before I go back to school, but I got to say it needs to get done badly. That way maybe other people could actually go into it.

random....good point by Matt Huang

Matt Huang just informed me of an interesting fact. Some of the women's soccer fans were thrown out from behind the goal at the women's soccer game vs USF because they asked the goalie if she was cold. Erin Clark asked me if I was cold at a soccer game I was working at but she didn't get thrown out. I guess life's not fair. Or I'm not as important as the USF goalie. Not sure which though.

I love Sour Milk Cake and I usually try to call the last piece...that way I don't have to worry about someone else eating a piece before I lose the chance. I must say that I have some interesting definitions of a last piece...Often it's a 1/4 of the cake...which rest assured I space out over a couple days.

I love the cake frosting on that cake so much that I once just ate the frosting...like my mom made frosting and I ate it. I was young...and dumb...I don't recommend that...not healthy at all.

I have to say that bringing down the Christmas Tree is one of the most depressing things that happens all year. The only think I like about the cold and winter is the Holidays. Now that it's over I have nothing to look forward to but more cold.

In case you were wondering, A bird has a 3 in 4 chance of winning the Super Bowl

Men's Track winners

I am proud that Tyrone Faverey and Jamaal Smith won their events at the Yale invitational. Tyrone took the high jump and Jamaal won the triple jump. Tyrone is also great at making music. Hopefully one day everyone will be familiar with his skills as a producer/musician. I have a couple of his songs on my Ipod.

I played around with making music and lets just say Tyrone knew how bad I was...although don't think that making beats is something that just anyone can do.

Student Athlete Handbook

I was reading some rules, guidelines and tips for athletes. My favorite one stated this:

All Post Practice treatments (athletic training) will only be administered after an athlete takes a shower.

Some other ones

Drug testing is random for all athletes and for people under suspicion. Tests must be performed for all athletes that take part in any round of an NCAA championship.

While in the varsity weight-room athletes are not supposed to use audio devices.

A tip for Athletes in the handbook for good academics is to avoid sitting with other student athletes....I've never seen that one followed.

You are not supposed to borrow or share equipment or clothing with other athletes..even on your own team....I wonder if I saw 28 wearing something with a 3 on it.

You are supposed to keep your locker clean.....If I was an athlete I'd violate that one.

Uniforms, workout equipment and warm ups are to be used during official athletic practices or events. It is not intended for everyday or personal use....But what if they have swag?

Family and Friends are not allowed in locker rooms.

All new injuries and illness must be reported in person by 9am the next day to athletic trainers.

Every incoming freshman athlete has a physical, as do all returning athletes.

During interviews athletes should acknowledge a team effort and also dress well.

Study Halls are mandatory for some groups of athletes and some individual athletes.

It's interesting for someone who likes sports as much as I do. Those were the highlights and still probably more than you care to know.

I have to root for the Cardinals

I will jump on the Cardinal bandwagon for the next round of the NFL playoffs. I love the idea of the Cardinals and Rays winning their leagues in the same season. Honestly this team has been so bad for so long how can you not root for them?

The same goes for the Lions, when they don't play the Cowboys then I will be rooting for them. I want to see them win, because they have been losing for so long.

But the Bungles are the Bungles. I just laugh at them. Actually the same goes for the Cubs, it's fun watching them lose too.

School record broken

You know I love track and field, and its not just because Ryan Grace said that Meghan Cunningham is an angel, or that Meghan Cunningham is the greatest celebrity Tree Hill Raven fan.

Actually it has more to do with the pride I have that fellow Stamford High School alum Tynisha McMillian is doing so well at UConn and that probably most importantly my roommate freshman year was on the track team and I met a lot of his teammates. And I was V.I.P. for a track function. I also realize that track and field is the best team when it comes to the Freshman talent show and the best when it comes to making music beats. Plus track and field is pretty down to earth.

Tynisha McMillian set a new UConn record in the shot put with a throw of 16.16 meters.

Trish Ann Hawthorne also won the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.43.

Phylicia George was a Canadian Olympic Trials participant too. She has a provisional qualifying time of 8.50 for the NCAA's in the 60 meter hurdles.

Carin Knight also won in the high jump with a jump of 1.75 meters.

BTW you can always find track stuff on Uconnhuskies.com...That's where I get most of my track info from. Check in on how they are doing and be sure to stop by in the spring for their events. They all take place at the Sherman Complex and throwing areas around the complex.

UConn only has 2 home meets in the spring and I may not be able to make the first one. Which I do hate missing, but I should be there for the 2nd one. I will miss the spring football game for track if I have too.

BTW I just remember thinking to myself this season when I saw women's soccer play that Meghan Cunningham looked so fast in comparison to her teammates, which is saying something considering how athletic and fast all of her teammates are. (It's insane when you read what athletes accomplished in high school and before UConn.) Anyway it's also not surprising that Cunningham is fast either, because she does run track too. I'll keep people updated on how all of UConn's two-sport athletes (Ashley O'Brien, Dominique Thibault, Ellis Gaulden and Cunningham) do in track and field when the results of meets are posted online.

Tonights Basketball

A.J. Price was on fire tonight for the men. They pulled away in the end. Stanley Robinson is playing better as far as I am concerned. I think he realizes that he isn't being relied on to score and rather to get rebounds and play D. I think when he first got here UConn was looking for someone to step up and score. I think expectations were really too high for him. Now that other players are being relied upon to score I think that he has gotten comfortable with his role and will continue to be effective...and improve offensively. Stanley is by far most athletic person at UConn in any sport. If he can put together other skills with that athleticism he will really grow as a player.

MVP A.J. Price

As for the women they took care of business tonight, easily. West Virginia native Renee Montgomery showed off for her family and friends. Maya Moore helped UConn get off to a really quick start. She had a double-double too. Kalana Greene is once again continuing to show us her old self. I know I said that last game too. I'm just really happy for Kalana. The player I was most impressed with, not named Renee Montgomery tonight, was Tiffany Hayes. That drive to the basket early on in the game was great. Hayes hasn't been knocking down the 3's lately. Early on in the year she was making them. She hit 7 of her first 10 3 pointers in her first 3 games but has only made 2 more since then. It seemed to me as if that's almost all I'd see her do was to take 3's on offense. The last couple of games she seems to be taking it to the hoop more and it's paying off. It especially paid off tonight. Tiffany told me that she is very good at taking it to the hoop. She is confident in her ability to do that. Her other strength is her 3 point shooting, and I am pretty sure she will find her stroke again. But I think it's really important and great for UConn that she has become effective on offense in ways other than 3 point shooting. It's also funny how the confidence that she will be gaining from driving to the hoop for lay-ups will more than likely translate into better 3 pt shooting down the road. It's funny how important confidence is. Hayes also had a great hustle block on a lay-up. Hayes has impressed me lately, and if she keeps playing well I wouldn't be surprised if she starts this year. Geno usually puts in the starting 5 to start the 2nd half. Tiffany made it in to start the half instead of Caroline tonight.

Also congratulations to Tahirah Williams. With her 4 points tonight she set a new personal best for points in a season. She scored exactly 50 pts in each of her last 2 seasons. This year she already has 52 points. In her first 3 years she averaged just under 2 points a game. This year she has doubled it to over 4. It may sound like a small amount but she really looks like she has improved from last year. I like how she has come off the bench this year and made pretty good contributions when she's played. A lot of people also don't appreciate the importance of having someone like Tahirah who gets the team going on the bench by celebrating and jumping up and down.

Having someone who is upbeat on the bench keeps the team focused and up-beat. I played in a game where my baseball team gave up 12 runs in the top of the 1st inning. I told the team, well if they can score 12 runs in an inning, then so can we. So we did, and we won 24-20. Don't underestimate the importance of her enthusiasm for the game. Believe me it makes a difference that probably a very few people actually appreciate. Tahirah is a wonderful person too. She is a great person to interview, really well spoken and she is someone who understands and appreciates what being a UConn Women's Basketball player is all about. She is proud that little kids look up to her and that UConn basketball also produces good people, students and student athletes. She was proud to mention that 9 of the 13 Huskies had a GPA of 3.0 or above.

Player of the Game was Renee Montgomery, although it was a great game for Tiffany Hayes too.

Random Saturday before basketball games

It's too bad Villanova couldn't put in a lay-up twice to win the game vs Louisville.

There are actually some good free things to watch on Huskies All-Access on uconnhuskies.com. You might want to go and check that out.

I am reading the Student Athlete Handbook for fun. It's actually interesting to read. I am learning a lot from it.

College Football/Champion

Everyone seems to have an opinion on a College Football playoff system, even President Obama. So I figure I should also share mine.

In my world, you cannot go undefeated and not have a chance to play for a championship. I don't care that Hawaii lost 41-10 in a Bowl last year. Leading up to that game they were the only team to go undefeated in all of college football. They MUST have a chance to win the championship. They took care of business in every game. If there were 3 teams that went undefeated than I have no problem with strength of schedule being a TIEBREAKER...it however cannot substitute for a teams wins and losses. Utah should have had a chance to play for the national championship...They went undefeated. How can you have a championship game if the only undefeated team has no chance to win it?

Do not throw out stats, rankings, polls etc. They DO NOT MATTER. Wins and losses matter before anything else. Not strength of schedule, tradition, rankings, polls, sports writers, revenue, TV ratings. None of that should matter over wins and losses. And in fact they do. I love sports so much, that I believe you have to throw out all of those other things. They are a part of the game, but none of those external factors of sports can substitute for what actually happens on the field by athletes. The outcomes of games should be what matters and nothing else. It is a sham that 110 football players at Utah worked their tails off for a season and won every game they played. They completed all of their tasks, and yet they didn't get a chance to play for a championship. Politics prevented that from happening. That's also why Donald Brown wasn't a Doak Walker finalist.

The reason that I love March Madness is because of the Cinderella stories that happen every year. In college football there is no such thing. I was so happy to see Boise State and Utah win BCS games. Hopefully they have proven they can beat big schools. Hopefully they will prove to college football that they need a new system. Football is a team game. Motivation, teamwork, hard work and dedication all have a lot more to do with winning a championship than the natural 5 star talent of big time programs. On Paper, based on recruiting, UConn shouldn't be able to compete with Notre Dame or Miami, but we can. On Paper, Utah shouldn't be able to compete with Florida or Oklahoma, but they can. No one ever gave them a chance to prove it though.

So for right now, I don't care about the BCS National Championship game if it's the same 12-1 schools of USC, Florida, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Texas in them. We decide which two of those schools makes it based on who they lost to, and when and not by actual games played against each other on the field. To me it's like hitting the sim button on Madden 09 to determine the winner of the Super Bowl. And could you imagine how boring March would be if computers picked the Final Four?

If anything college football is ruining sport. Sport is one of the few things in life that only hard work, dedication, integrity and team work can mean success. Those things are the common denominator of all champions, not just talent. Sports do not contain the same level of politics and inequity seen in the rest of the world. Unless of course the sport you play is college football.

The great thing about sports is that it teaches people that they can do things that they didn't think was possible. Like Utah beating Florida for a national championship. Too bad college football believes that "Impossible is Something"

You can't have a national championship if the teams that went undefeated have no way of playing for it. College football needs a system that rewards hard work, dedication, integrity and team work and not just talent and tradition. The Penn State Volleyball team, The North Carolina Women's Soccer team, the Maryland Field Hockey Team, and the Maryland Men's Soccer team are true fall Champions. Florida isn't for college football. They never beat Utah.

Isn't weird to have to have played all of those games this year in college football, and still not really know who the best team was?

NFL Divisional Playoffs

Ravens over Titans

Steelers over Chargers

Panthers over Cardinals

Eagles over Giants

Does anyone else realize this

Bernie Madoff Made Off with a lot of money.....His last name is perfect. Bernie Madoff Made Off.....If you don't get this then please read or watch the news. For your own sake, not mine.

and ESPN is amazing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGFRC--9jqM&feature=related

And this Super Bowl Shuffle is classic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJNC3dgreaU

and I love the Mets...this following video takes a bit to load...it also starts about 2 minutes in...but if you watch the first two minutes you can see some of the personality of the 1986 team...sex, drugs and baseball

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzHwiDZ3pgQ

and Joe Mauer has the sweetest swing in baseball...and I love the movie Fargo and ESPN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6prZdeldd-4&feature=related

and this cracked me up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9TfsgBW9O4&NR=1

UConn Softball

The UConn softball team was picked to finish 5th this year in the Big East out of 13 teams. Now that is good enough to make the Big East Tournament. But that does mean that we are being predicted by the coaches to be finishing worse than our 3rd place showing from last year. We didn't receive any first place votes either, so I am wondering where Coach Mullins picked her Softball team to fall this season.

I don't understand this ranking. It's too low as far as I am concerned. First of all polls don't matter. People must realize that. If they did there would be no reason for playing games. Also don't listen to people who make sports arguments solely based on statistics and rankings. Statistics and rankings aren't arguments, they back up arguments. Sports arguments should be based on things that you see with your own two eyes. Sorry for that tangent...It's just how I operate.

So what I don't get is how a team that returns all but 2 players (only 1 of those started), and finished 3rd in last years regular season, is now supposed to finish 5th! That doesn't make sense to me. There are 7 seniors on the team, and two upperclassman pitchers. We have the back to back Big East Softball player of the year Micah Truax and return two more seniors who were honored by the Big East. Jillian Ortega was regular season All-Big East and Danielle Del Ponte, was on the All-Tournament team. On top of that the team beat Louisville in both games of a double header last year, and Louisville is ranked higher in this poll. On top of that UConn also had a runner on 2nd with two outs, down by one run, with the Softball player of the Year up against the Big East's highest ranked team DePaul. Thats how UConn's season ended...hanging in against the best team in the league.

There is no way we should be ranked less than 4th...Now personally I have even higher expectations for the Softball team than 4th place. I expect them to have 30-35 wins and be in the Big East Championship Game. That is a lot better than last year, but here is why I think that. We are returning the Big East Player of the Year, Micah Truax. That is always a good thing. Micah Truax is a special player. It was beautiful to see her wait on an off speed pitch and hit it to the opposite field gap. Danielle Del Ponte was awesome last year. I don't expect that she will be catching as much as last year and should be the designated player....for more simpler terms...the designated hitter. (Softball rules are slightly weirder than baseballs) She has a great bat...hits well to the opposite field. You also add to that Melissa Lucas...who I heard from Softball's biggest fan, Sam Witryol, was quite an athlete. If she plays in all of the games then her bat in the middle of the line-up should make that 3-4-5 pretty darn good. Leading off will be the scrappiest player at UConn, Jillian Ortega. She is really fun to watch, always diving, always into the game. She plays the game of softball/baseball the way it should be played. She'd be a fan favorite in New York and Phili...and thats saying something since they threw batteries at Santa Claus in Phili. She is a good leadoff hitter. Sarah Neuschwander should bat 6th and she is perfect for that...she is an Adam Dunn type hitter...All-or-nothing...She can hit the ball a mile but also lead the team in strike outs. I think that 6th in the lineup is perfect for a hitter like that. We also have two solid pitchers in Tricia Sullivan and Rachael Crossin. Both of them can keep UConn in any game, and I'd expect that they have improved from last year. On top of that recruiting has added more pitchers, which I feel is something that UConn needed because I didn't think we had enough depth there.

To me the single most important player will be sophomore 2nd baseman Julie Towers. I heard from Sam that she has been injured. She played pretty well last year, even though she was injured. If she improves and is healthy she will be perfect for the top of the line-up. I expect her to hit 2nd and she will be key to getting things going. If she hits well than UConn should hit well. I hope she doesn't feel the pressure I'm putting on her.

3 more positions will need to be filled. One thing I've learned about softball is that players get moved around in the field, so I'm not sure which ones exactly will be moved around. I am sure that those 6 bats I mentioned will play...somewhere, and should be the first 6 bats in the line-up. I know nothing about the freshman so if they are good they could start. I think that Justyne Roy's glove is too good not to be playing at first base. Erin Burtner is a senior who is fun to watch and who has improved year in and year out. I'd like to see her play. I also wouldn't be surprised if Jessica Arremony played too. She'll be a sophomore and I'm guessing she's gotten more consistent at the plate.

So that's why UConn softball should be better than 5th place in the poll. My expectations for them might be higher than their own expectations but so what? I saw a lot of good things out of them last year. I don't think that they are that far off. They have experience and a lot of seniors. They should be better than that poll indicates. Their season starts in about 6 weeks.

Jake Voskuhl

Here is a good story for you. Apparently when Jake was in college he thought that he was a player. We all knew he was a basketball player, but he thought he was a "playa." I heard from one of my high school teachers that the ladies were not impressed. Jake had a Ford SUV with these huge tires when he was at UConn. So one day a couple of girls got mad at him and slashed his tires so that one side of his SUV was a low rider.

I've never hated that player or his game, but I guess girls have.

Speaking of that 1999 team, its hard to imagine that that was 10 years ago. It seems like just yesterday that UConn and Connecticut won that championship.

Clive Terrelonge

I will write more about Clive at another time but I think that Clive deserves a lot of credit. He not only is an outstanding coach....(He works with our Women's Track and Field Team, and they won Indoor Big Easts last season) but also a great UConn fan.
First off Clive worked with Tamara Highsmith, Trish Ann-Hawthorne, Jessi Foreman and Mandela Graves Fulgham. Clive also is a NCAA Division III Hall of Famer who won 19 Division III All American Honors as a runner for Track and he also ran for Jamaica.

On top of that Clive is a great fan. I've seen him at a lot of UConn events cheering for other Husky teams. I know he was at Women's Soccer and Volleyball games. Track and Field doesn't get enough love. Neither do Assistant Coaches. I always see Clive at other events and he's an elite track and field coach. He is a great person to have in the UConn athletic Department and for the track and field program.

I was looking for Basketball Highlights

and ran into this clip of the swim team from the Freshman Talent show

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyieidxr8a8&feature=related

I'm not an athlete so I've never been to this, but my freshman roommate Errol was in it. Apparently he stole the show, which I believe. I tried imitating his dance moves in my dorm room and sprained my ankle.

Anyway, UConn Track and Field (Men or Women) will always dominate the freshman talent show. They are the best. The end.

Now this dancing right here impresses me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tygn0kKDHzc

I challenge you

I've been thinking, what is Connecticut best known for? What are we proudest of here in the State of Connecticut?

I bet you can't come up with an answer other than the UConn Women's Basketball team.

That's quite impressive isn't it?

another link

I recently found out that Fox Soccer Channel existed on my cable package. Whenever I tune in this team called the Arsenal plays and I see something unbelievable after about 15-20 minutes.

This goal was pretty good

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps3jBaGg9zc

I need to find videos that don't involve soccer though.

Here are some

This is an example of the basketball I hope to see played this year for the men

UConn Basketball Highlights

Maya Moore and UConn Women's Basketball

More Maya Moore

WBB USF

So Caroline Doty impressed me. She missed 3 or 4 straight shots in the 2nd half...she stole the ball had a 2-1 and rather try and go up for a contested lay-up (to get on the board point wise) she passed it to Tina Charles for an uncontested lay-up. That unselfishness is impressive. That right there is why UConn Women's Basketball is so good. On top of that Caroline knocked down the next open shot she got. She was rewarded for dishing the ball from the basketball gods.

Caroline is also a very confident player. She might miss, but that won't prevent her from shooting the next time she touches the ball. Geno said he likes to tell her that she's missed 10-15 in a row. Geno said she yells back "I KNOW!" I also remember watching Caroline smile after she got yelled at by Geno. I thought that was funny.

Player of the Game was Maya Moore. She was great in the beginning of the game and got UConn out to an early sustainable lead.

Kalana Greene caught my attention. I thought she was her old reliable self again. I think she's been that way for a couple games now.

Team Manager of the Game was Matt Gade. I saw that Greg M had a clipboard so he couldn't really cheer. Gade was very supportive throughout the game

Barry Bonds worse nightmare

Barry Bonds worst nightmare was my reality today. I had a blood and urine sample test done.

Don't worry about my health, it was just a physical. Plus I'm sure I have a few guardian angels out there because without me who would memorize the situational statistics of the softball team?

Truthfully, and if you've ever read my blog you know this by now, what I need is a test for mental problems, not tests for physical ones.

If I can run 4 miles, bike 22 miles and then lift I think my body is in an ok condition.

If my favorite food is made from sour milk then there is something mentally wrong with me.

But I love my doctor. She knows what's best for me.

Don’t you just wonder what food is available in the press rooms?

First of all there is a reason that I am probably the most fit reporter. I don’t eat and eat and eat. I don’t report or work at games because of free food. I do eat it when I put in those long hours though. On Campus I like South Dining hall, it is the best. When I don’t eat there it’s usually because I am eating in the Union or getting something at a game. (Now you can stalk me...what an opportunity...actually a girl in high school once asked for my schedule so she could follow me around) This is my attempt to relive the experiences of some of the places where I got free food from athletics from either work or reporting.

I liked the Rentschler Field Hot Dogs. They were good. The Rent also makes good ham sandwiches before games that I work. The popcorn in the press box was good too.

Basketball is a variety of things. Sometimes I think it’s too exotic. They had tacos once. I like tacos but only my mom’s homemade soft ones. The Big East tournament in Hartford was pretty good too. They had steak at one game. Steak, chocolate chip cookies, salad and bread and butter are all I need. I like hamburgers if they have them. Cold cuts/subs at games are nice and healthy too. Grilled chicken is good too. For the LSU game on Saturday they had breakfast stuff which was great. It was a 12pm game, so even though the people arrived at 12, those of us who work or report got there much earlier. I saw French Toast sticks and an egg sandwich too. They also had chocolate chip cookies. I also love it when they have mints at games.

I absolutely loved Greensboro North Carolina’s food though. The ACC did a tremendous job there. Holy crap they had so many free candy bars. I loved it. Free candy is great. Especially a week removed from throwing up and losing about 7 pounds from a virus. Plus they had Fried Chicken and Salad. That’s one of my favorites.

UConn soccer has it perfect though. They get to the good stuff. They have the healthy fruit salad which I should eat, but don’t usually. (Believe it or not, I try to eat healthy. Now I usually get 5 things when I eat or go grocery shopping; carrots, apples, grapes, broccoli and green beans) Soccer also has mints and chocolate chip cookies. I love that food. That’s why UConn soccer is great. I was also someone’s guest for Friends of Soccer. I got some lemonade there. It was refreshing. Soccer also gave away free hot chocolate when I was a fan at a game and that was a very nice.

UConn Women’s Ice Hockey comes with pizza when you work and that wasn’t all that bad. I also was so happy that I got free pizza at a baseball game I went to last year because I forgot to eat lunch that day. But I try to avoid eating too much pizza. I do avoid soda at games that I report or work at though. I don’t drink Coca Cola, I am a Pepsi guy, but even then I don’t usually have any. I prefer Gatorade and will have that when possible. Sometimes I have Powerade because they are almost always the only available sports drink for UConn. Water is my first option though.

Let me tell you though, there is a reason why sports writers often have big guts. They eat tons of free food. Thankfully I don’t. As a matter of fact I am the exact opposite, I eat healthy and exercise.

But the best food in the entire world is SOUR MILK CAKE. You can't find that at games.

I don't get BC

I just don't understand how you can fire one of your employees, in the case of BC, their head football coach, because he wants to see how interested an NFL team is in his ability to coach. Interviewing for a different job is much different than actually accepting it. Some people are just interested to see where they stand. The threat to fire someone if they interview for another job is one that looks much better on paper then it does in reality. You can't prevent people from trying to better themselves.

It's also too bad that everyone is talking about this football coach and has almost totally forgotten that they just beat the #1 team in the country in basketball.

That's just my two cents.

Something you've probably never seen.

I heard about a town in Massachusetts that has a festival celebrating cows defecating on squares (I won't embarrass the UConn athlete from that town.) I think people bet on which square a cow chooses first. Not exactly sure. I am sure that I don't care and I hope you don't either.

I have a trusted source telling me about that one. Ever since then I've been on a mission to find something almost as ridiculous as that. I think I have. Figure 8 school bus racing.


Crazy 8 school bus racing crash


Crazy 8 school bus racing2

Isn't it scary to see how easy it is to entertain us human beings?

in case you missed it

hasheem Thabeet Dancing

I think most of you have seen this, but if not take a look.

Random stuff from today

I think Sue Bird wants to be mentioned in my blog. She looked at me like she knew me when I saw her in the XL Center Lobby. She has no idea who I am to tell you the truth. The only time we were in the same room was when we were at the press conference after the USA Basketball vs UConn exhibition game last year.

Terrell Owens is more of a follower then you might think. Remember when he opened up his arms on the star after he scored? Well he didn’t start that. Diana Taurasi did. Terrell is just copying Diana Taurasi people. Diana entered the XL Center and before she sat down she opened up her arms and embraced the UConn faithful and was loudly cheered. Doesn’t Diana have such a small ego?

Van Chancellor is a great guy in the interview room. Funny, respectful and answers the questions. He is a joy to listen too. The best post game in women’s basketball not named Geno Auriemma

The game today had so many celebrities at it. Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, U.S. Sen Chris Dodd, Greg Mihailides, Tim O’Brien, Holly Strauss O’Brien, Ashley Valley and Kerry Bascom, were there too along with a couple of other former Huskies. Rebecca Lobo was also announcing on TV. Only two celebrities were missing from the game. Ryan Grace and Meghan Cunningham.

Isn’t it amazing how famous I try and make people who watch the Tree Hill Ravens?

Greg M, Dan Holst and Matt Getz made SNY. Jen Fusci was on the big screen at the XL Center.

The XL center played Sweet Caroline for Caroline Doty at the game. No real comment on that. If she played softball that would be a great intro song for her.

Speaking of intro songs isn’t it ironic that someone whose nickname is Sticks on Softball had an intro song of “here comes the boom”.

Basketball and Football have great music selections. Soccer isn’t that far behind. And Women’s Soccer’s Ring Ding Ding Da Ding Ding Ring Ding Ding Ding Ding was just absolutely insane. (Thats called Crazy Frog Goes to India) Ring Ding Ding Da da Ding

Talk about getting something stuck in your head. I bet a SOPH-O-MORE scored a goal the first time I heard that played. I think it was btw. Elise Fugowski scored at the first women’s soccer game I was at. I don’t really remember the goal though. I was probably too busy learning their favorite colors.

Back to XL, it took so long for the tip today…the intro song dragged on…because it was a CBS tip at 12:05 and it took forever for the refs to get the signal that CBS was ready to roll.

MBB vs Rutgers

Well I knew we'd kill Rutgers and make up for the G'Town loss. I'm more concerned about how we'll respond later in the year against good teams when games really matter. I'm disappointed that Craig Austrie didn't start. I am the President and CEO of his fan club I think. Maybe not, but I did write him in to be my State Senator. Seriously. Some guy was running unopposed and I knew my vote for State Senate wouldn't change the outcome, so why not vote for Austrie? How many people can say they voted for him? They can write to the Instant Daily telling people that he can walk on water. But I actually voted for him.

(For the record I do take voting seriously, so don't write in anything if there is more than one person running. Actually vote in that case.)

Anyway, Stanley Robinson played well. Yes This is me typing and he did play well. He filled up the stat sheet pretty well. He had 4 assists and no turnovers. Stanley Robinson was the player of the game.

Anyway I thought we played well. Which I expected us to do. Hope Coach Calhoun feels better.

WBB vs LSU continued

I thought Renee, Maya Moore and Kaili McLaren got the ball rolling for UConn. Those 3 gave UConn the momentum they needed in the win over LSU.

Maya Moore seemed to get a lot of rebounds today, and that is a good thing. Maya is so talented that she is going to have to help UConn win in ways that don’t involve scoring. Teams may not let Maya beat them. When they do try to stop Maya someone else usually gets hot. Caroline will be left open or Renee might be left open, or Tina might get an advantage. Then that player will kill the other team. UConn players are so unselfish that they don’t mind doing other things to win. Whether its through defense, hustle, rebounding or extra passing. Their philosophy is to never take a play off and to get the ball to the open hot hand. Often times that hand is of Maya, Renee or Tina. It seems to me that in games each one of those players usually has a hot stretch when they score.

But Renee Montgomery really really was the most important player today. Renee is the team leader and really steps up when she has too. She has that senior leadership. It’s hard to describe but she really is the leader, the captain, the quarterback. She’s turned into a great scorer and really steps up in clutch games and moments. Look how well she played against Oklahoma. (I still don’t get how she wasn’t on one of the covers of the Daily Campus after that game) I seem to remember her hitting some big 3’s vs UNC last year too. She is the leader of the team. How wasn’t she a unanimous All Big-East selection? She routinely takes the game into her own hands and knocks down 3’s from all over the place. People need to talk about Renee as much as they do everyone else on the team. I don’t feel like she gets the recognition that everyone else does. She doesn’t care but I do.

Lorin Dixon was tremendous on defense. That’s something that most people won’t notice. I also liked that she had 3 boards in just 3 first half minutes of play. Oh and I loved that block. Lorin told me she could dunk a tennis ball. She has MAD HOPS. She just can’t dunk a basketball because she can’t palm the ball. Lorin is making great strides this year. She is becoming more consistent. She looks more confident and comfortable to me.

Speaking of comfort and confidence, UConn fans need to look at Tiffany Hayes. I’m telling you she can knock down 3’s. I’ve seen her be the best shooter in practice before. What I really like about Tiffany is her confidence and aggressiveness. Even if she’s missing shots she doesn’t just stop playing or pass up on shots that she should take. She attacked the rim impressively several times today. She may have missed them, and I’m sure she’s not pleased about that but don’t be concerned. Those will fall soon. It’s a good sign that she continues to go after it even if things aren’t breaking her way. That confidence will serve her well.

Kalana Greene also looked a lot more like the Kalana Greene of last year. Let me tell you that is a great sign for UConn. If Kalana can consistently give efforts like today’s, UConn will be unstoppable. She is great at slashing to the basket and getting rebounds. She just has a knack for doing that.

Kaili McLaren continues to dominate against LSU. She had a double double in Baton Rouge last year and scored in double figures again today. I liked seeing her making Low Post moves in the game today.

Team Manager of the Game….The guy in the suit and red shirt. I’m sure he has a name. Too bad I don’t know it.

Bye Bye Donald Brown

As it turns it, Donald Brown is leaving. He was a lot of fun to watch and I wish him luck. I hope he represents UConn football well in the NFL. I also can't wait for an on-campus draft party. It would be great for UConn football if something was done for our seniors on Draft day. I also think that we are fine in terms of running backs. Jordan Todman and Andre Dixon will be great in the years to come.

As you know I was in Hartford for the women's basketball game so I missed Donald Browns amazing performance. I also was glad to see Steve Brouse score a touchdown. He is so underrated. He was missed in the red-zone when he was injured.

Rushing for all those yards as a team is really impressive too. The offensive line needs to get a lot of credit. Donald Brown did give them a shout out in his post game interview. That was a good thing.

Also it says a lot about the program for us to have the 11th best individual rushing effort in a single season. Over 2,000 yards in 13 games is unbelievable. And again it is a joke that Donald Brown and the offensive line didn't get more credit for their work this year.

WBB LSU

MVP Renee Montgomery

much more later, after the Rutgers game

Wrigley Field Ice Hockey

I haven't really ever followed the NHL. I was a Rangers-Gretzky fan. Then I would root for the Minnesota Wild and Tampa Bay Lightning when they were doing well because I like those two areas of the country and have family there.

I honestly was somewhat happy that I didn't have to suffer through NHL highlights on ESPN for sportscenter when they went on strike. As a matter of fact I thought that with the NHL's strike, that MLS should do whatever it could to draw attention to itself and work to become America's 5th sport. (NFL, NASCAR, MLB, and NBA are the first 4)I felt like the MLS had an enormous opportunity to make some noise and get attention with the absence of the NHL. And that was before I was a soccer fan.

I hadn't watched more then a couple of minutes of an NHL game in years but on New Years I did watch the Red Wing-Blackhawks game that was at Wrigley Field. I thought that it was fantastic. Two great teams, one of them new and upcoming and the other the traditional powerhouse of the NHL were playing at an historic venue that was packed in front of thousands of avid fans. It had some of the theatrics of the Super Bowl. That place was rocking and I think that it was a great way for the NHL to generate some interest to casual hockey fans that it may have lost when Gretzky left and when the strike took place. I thought that the NHL did really well and I would actually like to watch the Red Wings and Blackhawks fight again.

This is sick

So I decided to watch the Arsenal vs Aston Villa on FSC after I went for a run because I'd never seen Premier League Soccer. Here is the highlight by my new favorite Premier League Player Bacary Sagna. He's my favorite by default because I can only name him as a premier league player. This is amazing. Seriously you have to see this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxW1sK3bLp4

NFL Playoffs

Well I haven't picked any NFL games this year but I will attempt to step in now.

I did say that the Patriots wouldn't make the playoffs. I also said that the Cowboys would win The Super Bowl. So far I've been 1-1.

Anyway

Cardinals over Falcons.....Yep you read that right. Why not pick the team that everyone says is a sure loss. They are at home and have nothing to lose and have great offensive weapons

Colts over Chargers....I have trouble picking against Manning against an 8-8 team.

Eagles over Vikings...Don't overlook the Vikings...Dallas didn't show up vs Phili...Phili probably isn't 44-6 good and the Vikings quietly beat the Giants. Still I like the Eagles, they are on a roll (excluding the Redskins loss) and that usually is a good thing coming into the playoffs

Dolphins over Ravens. This is the best game of the weekend in my opinion. Should be low scoring and close. The Dolphins don't usually beat themselves. Playoff teams that don't do dumb things are hard to beat.

Super Bowl....There are no clear cut favorites this year which makes it really hard. I'm going to gamble and I will go with the Panthers beating the Dolphins.

So the First two polls closed

I guess I should go over those two polls with you. First for the Ryan Grace scoring average poll. For those of you who don't know, Ryan Grace is a Tree Hill Raven. Having watched him play pick up before, he can be a leading scorer and help his team win. However, on the Tree Hill Ravens there are enough other scoring options so Ryan won't need to be the leading scorer. I'd say he averages 6-10. If he does that his team should be in a good position to win. For those of you who put 0-5, stop hating. For those of you who put 11 or above, I'm betting that Ryan would average that if Meghan Cunningham came to watch him play. Ryan will play to the level of his fans.

As for the Best fall Athlete other than Donald Brown, I like the selection. First off, Donald Brown lead the nation in rushing. No athlete at UConn was better in the fall than him. And Believe me, if I say that its true. No other team/athlete can argue that they or one of their teammates were better than Donald Brown. Of all the people who follow UConn sports, I may respect teams other than basketball and football more than anyone else. If I say that Donald Brown was better than any other athlete in the fall, he was.

That doesn't mean there weren't impressive performances by other athletes. Other athletes should be noticed too. It was hard for me to pick between Stephanie Labbe and Lauren Aird. Annie Luhrsen was great, Volleyball improved over last year and she was amazing, but I can't say that she was better than Labbe or Aird. O'Brian White was the best fall athlete at UConn last year, the best male athlete on campus last year too. You can argue between him and Maya Moore for best athlete at UConn for 07-08. However, O'B fell victim to the injury bug. If he was healthy for the entire year, he could have gotten my vote. He was great, but luck wasn't on his side this year. It was still impressive that O'B was named Big East Offensive Player of the Year though.

So Aird or Labbe. I had a tough tough pick. I like Aird because she lead one of the best teams in the nation in game winners and also had that streak of 3 straight game winning overtime goals. 2 of those 3 teams were ranked and the other team was receiving votes.

Labbe was awesome this season and was so much fun to watch on TV in the 2 road games played against West Virginia, and the one against Notre Dame. She was also fun to watch at Morrone but I was most impressed with the 3 road games I saw on TV. She made several unbelievable full extension saves in those 3 games. In those 3 games on TV only two goals were scored (excluding Penalty Kicks) Steph's 27 saves in those 3 games made all the difference in the world. Labbe's penalty kick was also very important against West Virginia. I told Sam Witryol (the 86 year old professor who supports all of the female amateur athletics) that I'd love to see Labbe score a goal. He said impossible, I said Improbable. I was referring to kicking it across the field and having it go in (and there is such a small chance of that happening. Literally the other team would have to be brain dead) But penalty kicks never entered my thought process. (my thought process in soccer is pretty small considering I don't know much about it) I was impressed by her though, not only could Labbe prevent the ball going in under pressure, but also could kick the ball in under pressure. She was the MVP of the Women's Soccer team and lead them to the Championship game. There is little doubt in anyone's mind why she was named Big East Goalkeeper of the Year.

So Lauren Aird had a great year, but Labbe was the best fall athlete in 2008 not named Donald Brown.

As a side note, I like putting polls together where I put women's soccer, men's soccer, football, field hockey and basketball together. They are UConn's most elite sports teams. Year in and Year out these teams have the expectation of winning the league championship and a realistic goal competing for a National Championship. I try to treat them as equals as best that I can. (Basketball is still pretty much in a world of its own) UConn has a tradition in all of those sports or in football's case is trying really hard to start one. I want to keep that winning tradition going so I make a big deal about ALL of those teams.

It's also good to see that teams other than football and basketball get votes in these polls. Those teams have the most name recognition and are more likely to get votes from a casual UConn fan than any of the other sports.

New Years/2008/2009

So I think that I may have been one of only a few people that was totally indifferent about going from 2008 to 2009. Personally, 2008 was a pretty good year for me. I had a nice summer job and have figured out what I want to do with my life. I saw a lot of great events in 2008 and met a lot of great people. I was sort of sad to see 2008 go, but whatever. Who cares?

As for 2009, I don't like weird odd numbered years like say 2001,2003,2007,2009. Don't ask me why. I have no answer.

I must say that I felt that the entertainment sucked on Television. There were re-runs of Leno and Letterman and that right there sort of killed it for me. I like comedy and like it when they use comedy to remind us of what happened in the past year. Plus I didn't get to see Conan celebrate New Years in the Central Time Zone. I go just as crazy for the Central Time Zone as I do for my own. The Midwest is cool, it's where I get my bread from and it gave us Abe Lincoln. Instead there was boring stuff on TV. I wasn't a huge fan of Carson Daly, but he didn't really bother me the way Katy Perry did. Unless it's a costume party, ladies I'm not really feeling a dress/outfit with a clock on it. I don't think I'd ever strike up a conversation with a girl who dressed like that. I also don't understand those people who smoke. It's so unattractive. Those are also people that I will generally avoid striking up conversations with.

I missed T.I.'s performance. Oh well I'll just have to listen to him on my IPod. I did however get to watch Robbie Knievel jump a volcano in Las Vegas to ring in the New Year. That was by far the best "New Years" entertainment. And also as we all know, I love dumb events like that. Not only was it fun watching a daredevil jump on his bike, but also fun to watch someone named "Spanky" (the jump coordinator) talk on TV. Other names that I love hearing on TV include...Bubba, J.T., J.R., Billy Bob, Rusty, Dick Trickle, Fatback McSwain and Bootie Barker.

As for New Years games, I was very happy to see Vanderbilt beat Boston College. I don't like BC, they left the Big East and they are UConn's natural regional rivals in football recruiting and athletics in general. I also have NO RESPECT for UConn students who would travel to BC to watch BC play and miss a UConn game. Please transfer now if you did or would. My dad is actually a BC alum, but he doesn't care about sports so he couldn't have cared any less about that bowl game.

So what are my New Years Resolutions?
To see the Rowing team perform. Actually I'm being serious. I also want to watch the Tennis teams too. I hope I can fit that into my schedule.

To be a better person is always a goal of mine. To be smarter, nicer, healthier, harder working etc. To include in this I'd say I'd like to become as personable as Ryan Grace and Kaili McLaren. They literally can stop and talk to anyone comfortably.

To Learn when to shut up. Seriously. I have a big mouth and a lot of thoughts. I need to be more selective with what I actually say. I need to get my point across and move on. This one will be hard for me, but I am trying to get better at it.

To be weird. I actually can be a clown, most people don't know this because I don't usually bring that part of me with me in public. I should. I can be crazy and make people laugh at me or with me. I need to be less serious and more fun.

Happy New Year, hope 2009 is a great year.