Tina Charles named

Tina Charles named 2009 Female Athlete of the Year for USA Basketball.

http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=09_faoy

Why am I a SPACE CADET?

I can't figure out if I am the only person who has this problem. I always seem to have something that I want to tell someone but I forget to tell them when I run into them. This DRIVES ME CRAZY. I always do this and I remember right as they are walking away.

I can't

I can't spell.

But Gun-ron sounds funny.

G-U-R-N-O-N.

So yes I made a mistake and that person pointed it out to me. They get credit.

Funny story, my mom prepared me for a spelling test in grade school by singing L-E-P-R-E-C-H-A-U-N to me. It worked because I can still spell it.

Maya looked crazy

After Maya Moore made a turnover she sprinted down the court with this enraged look in her face. If you watched her face you knew she was going to block the Clemson players shot and sure enough she did, just like she did against Texas at least once, if not twice...the twice being this year in San Antonio and then in the 2nd round of the NCAA's in Bridgeport in 2008.

Maya came from behind and swatted away the lay up.

Kalana

My favorite play at the women's basketball game today was when Kalana Greene crashed the boards and got an offensive rebound. I love when she gets us an extra possession because of her rebounding abilities.

I also loved when she got 3 steals in about a minute. She is a great defender. Defense and Hustle is why she is one of my favorite players.

She also seemed get score 28 points out of no-where. I remember her having 12, knowing that she had a great game and then all of a sudden I noticed she was hat 21. She finished at 28, a new career high. She also quietly surpassed 1,000 points for her career earlier this season.

Kelly Faris may not have scored but she had 5 assists to 1 turnover and had 7 rebounds.

I hate it when I forget things

I left my good clothes at my house which is about and hour and forty-five minutes a way. I have a presentation coming up too. I may have to drive up there to get them. Not looking forward to that.

We also had a limb fall on our new car...everyone is fine, it's just that there are dents on top of the roof.

I did enjoy watching the basketball and football games this weekend for UCONN. I loved watching them in my game room.

I do miss writing

I do admit that I miss writing about UCONN Women's Soccer here. I guess I'll talk about them in person, but I don't think it's a good idea to post stories here.

I must say that I really enjoy what I do, and I think, and hope that shows. I feel comfortable saying that much.

I also have been asked if I could have worked for another team on campus on several different occasions. The answer is maybe, but I wouldn't want to. I like the people and the program that I help out now. I want to make that clear, even though I don't write about them like I used too. Don't let what I talk about on the blog fool you. There is no other team on campus I'd rather help out.

Most of you know this, but I want to clear that up.

Congrats

Congratulations to Geno Auriemma on his 700th career victory. I wish I was there but I didn't make it. I've been to plenty other of his victories, but trust me I understand the significance of 700 career victories. It is a milestone that few achieve.

Geno is one of my favorite coaches in all of sports. I love how he can get the most out of all his players. I love the respect that he commands and I love his personality. He's really funny and great to listen too at press conferences. He is probably the biggest and maybe only reason I miss reporting. I love listening to him talk about games, players or practice. It's also amazing how many times he would say something at a press conference and motivate me. He's a great teacher and I felt honored to have been able to listen to him talk.

He's also a nice person. He's tough and I got nervous speaking with him at press gatherings, but after I introduced myself he said to never hesititate to ask him if I needed anything. He always says hello if he remembers your face too. He even did that to me as I was walking out of Gampel this year.

I was also quick to tell him that I no longer report. I'm on his side of athletics now, and I like that side much better. I don't want to find the problem with athletes or athletics, I want to help fix them.

He is a great leader and I am honored to say that I got to meet and listen to him. I am honored to also say that I have watched his team play so many games. I also took great pride in the fact that we won every game in 2008-09.

I wish I was there for the historic moment, but I am very happy that he got his 700th win. On to 800! and hopefully more!

Trying to

I've been trying to put together some of the stories and experiences that I remember this year from soccer. I wrote some down over break, but I want to write more before I forget everything. I wrote a lot of the funny ones that I can remember because I need to write those down before I forget them. It's often easier to remember the big picture moments than it is those small little funny stories.

I did say one story several times. It involves a player looking for something in the office that the office does NOT have. I wasn't there but I heard about it and thought it was hilarious. I think my entire family heard about it. My sister said I told the story about 10 times. I don't think it was quite that many times, but I probably told it 3 or 4 times.

We also did go out on "Black Friday." We did not get up early at all. We took our time and didn't go to Wal-Mart or a big retailer. We did go to Sam's Outdoor Outfitters in Keene, NH. I love it because they have free bags of popcorn for people to eat while you shop. Let's just say that I'm getting receipts for Christmas. Tires, Tuition, food...then what we just got to keep me busy at the Lake in the winter....cross country ski's and ice skates.

I actually got some input from an athlete on purchasing ice skates. I remembered from the media guide that she played hockey in high school so I asked her what good skates would be for a beginner....which I most definitely am.

I will not look like Dick Button, I will look like I got run over by Dick Butkus out on the ice. (Wikipedia those names) Actually I might be inspired to be a speed skater because of the Winter Olympics...Doubtful but I might just want to give it a try.

I first went skating in the Bahamas.

I thought that should be by itself. It's such an oxymoron. However, I really did first learn to skate in the Bahamas, on a cruise ship. (At-least I did that around Christmas) I just remember that some skater who almost made her countries Olympic team quickly progressed from going forwards to balancing on her toes with the other leg pointed towards the sky. I don't know if I even formed a right angle at any point of this experience on ice.

Lastly, I remember promising that I would give credit where credit is due when someone corrects me on a sports fact.

Well, Let's Go...

A Goalie from New Jersey did correct me. She corrected me and she deserves credit for it.

The goalie from New York corrected me too. However, it was slightly different. I knew what her major was in the media guide, but she changed it after the guide was printed. I'm only as good as the information that I am given.

I think someone else might have corrected me too, but I forget who or about what.

Perplexed

I don't really know what to think about UCONN'S loss to Duke. The first part of the game was so exciting to watch and we played really well. After that it was ugly and than at the end we clawed our way back to atleast a respectable 9 point loss.

We can't miss that many free-throws. I also know that Jerome Dyson won't have a game like that from the line again.

Charles Okwandu had some good moments as well.

I don't know what to think about the game to be honest. There were times when I thought we were actually better than last years team and then there were times when we didn't look good.

I liked the effort at the end of the game and since I love effort I can't complain too much.

What I did think was funny was a sign from a Duke sign that said "Hey UCONN stick to Football." I'm glad the nation still remembers that we beat Notre Dame. I'm also glad that they put a free plug in for the team. It is quite impressive that they spoke about UCONN football during a UCONN and Duke basketball game.

Happy Thanksgiving

First of all Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Go Huskies and Go Cowboys! (Dallas Cowboys)

I thought I should come up with a list of things that I am thankful for.

I am thankful for a roof over my head, food on the table and a LAPTOP that works.

I am thankful for my good health.

I am thankful for my friends and family.

I am thankful for being able to be in college.

I am thankful to have transportation.

I am thankful to be a Connecticut Husky.

I am thankful to be a Sports Management Major.

I am thankful to have a job.

I am thankful for getting a chance to help out (you can fill in the blank)

I am thankful for all of the awesome expierences that I have had this year.

I am thankful to be able to give back through Husky Sport.

I am thankful for living.

I am thankful for being myself and being very happy.

I am thankful for everyone that reads something that I write, which means I am thankful for you.

Once again, Happy Thanksgiving, Go Huskies, Go DALLAS COWBOYS. Deon Anderson scoring on Thanksgiving would be a dream come true. (He was a fullback at UCONN who was drafted by the Cowboys)

Mental Toughness

I love reading about mental toughness. I just read something on soccer that relates to mental toughness and how to catch a player who has been "psychollogically broken" by the superior will to win by their opponents.

According to the book symptoms of a psychologically broken player include being a step to late for a 50/50 ball, or hides when there is a chance for them to make a play. They sometimes look discouraged and not interested in playing.

You need to be mentally tough in order not to break. You need to maintain your will and need to win and your confidence in order to remain aggressive.

Thought it was an interesting thing that I read.

Very Impressed

I have been very impressed with how the Men's team has played today vs LSU. Easily their best game of the season. I'm writing this with 10 minutes left. I love the blocked shots, love how we are crashing the boards.

I have been very happy with Stanley Robinson and his athleticism. He's my favorite player on the team. I've been happy with everyone who has played to be honest.

My biggest observation revolves around Darius Smith who seemed to come out of nowhere to score a lay-up and draw a foul. I like seeing that off the bench.

A Holiday Tradition

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year, and it's likely that I won't be writing tomorrow, but I can never say never. I hope your Thanksgiving is nice enough that you won't be tempted to go online and read this.

Anyway a tradition that we have is to go and throw around a football on Thanksgiving.

I also get to watch my favorite team THE DALLAS COWBOYS on TV too. Thanksgiving is the reason that I like the Cowboys. No one watched football in my immediate family, so the only time I got to see it when I was growing up was on Thanksgiving at my Aunt's house.

Anyway, I feel like changing up the tradition a little bit. I will toss the football, but I may try and get the few of us young enough to play to play the other football too. I also would always wear a Dallas Cowboys jersey for Thanksgiving. As a matter of fact I think I wore a different jersey for each quarter when I was even younger. This year I may change things up once again and wear the last jersey that I bought. (yes that would be a jersey from the other football, from a player who wears number 23, who has been honored by the Big East each season)

As for the NFL tomorrow, I always root for the Lions and Cowboys. I root for the Cowboys because they are my favorite team. I root for the Lions because I feel bad that they are known as the team that always loses on Thanksgiving (except when Phil Luckett can't hear Jerome Bettis call a coin flip).

This year I will also root for the Broncos, who have the night game.

If I were picking games, I'd only pick one of the teams I am rooting for to win. I hope the Lions win, but considering they are the Lions, it's Thanksgiving, and they are playing the Packers, I'll take the Packers. The Cowboys should beat the Raiders, although they should have beaten the Redskins by more than just one freaking point.

I can't stand the New York Giants, they are my least favorite team in the NFL. They haven't been playing well as of late and neither have the Broncos. I think both teams are as hungry and mentally prepared as the other but I think the Giants are more talented. I do think that the Giants and Broncos will be a great game, and probably the best game of the weekend, although don't discount the Lions to make things interesting. Matthew Stafford to Calvin Johnson could be fun to watch tomorrow.

The Cowboys should destroy the Raiders. SHOULD is the key word.

Larry Taylor

LARRY TAYLOR!

The Montreal Alouettes, the team that Larry Taylor plays on, will be competing for the Grey Cup on November 29th. That is the championship game of the CFL.

Taylor has Two Touchdown's this year on punt returns. He has 788 yards on punt returns. Taylor has 1059 kickoff return yards and is averaging 20.8 yards per return.

Taylor was also apparently an All-Star in the CFL.

Taylor is listed as 1 of 5 key players on his team for the Grey Cup Championship game

http://www.cflgreycup.ca/page/2009_grey_cup

I finished another book

I finished the book I was reading on the Miami Hurricanes today. It's amazing to me that I was able to read a book for pleasure during the semester. Then again I read a lot at the really nice hotel I stayed at on November 13th. I stayed up really late reading and then read some more in the morning.

Today I got new tires on my car. I wasn't in desperate need but it's get to get a new set for the winter. Anyway I was there from about 7:30 am to 11 am. I read the entire time.

I read about the Butch Davis and Larry Coker era's of Miami Football. I didn't realize that Coker had never been a head coach before being hired. I also had no idea that the players at Miami were the people who tried the hardest to get Coker to be named head coach.

The book is a great read if you enjoy college football, sports or the Miami Hurricanes.

What I took out of the book was how important having a swagger is, and how powerful that attitude can be. You also have to balance that swagger with the knowledge that you can lose.

If you prepare thinking you can't lose you will have a swagger that you can't back up because you didn't work hard enough to back it up.

If you know what it's like to lose and you prepare to win and you have a swagger because you know you are prepared to win, you can back up your swagger.

To me Miami is all about swagger, and backing it up.

Two All-Americans

Both Melissa Gonzalez and Loren Sherer were named First-Team All-American's for their performances this year. Sherer set a new record at UCONN for single season goals at 33, and points at 84. She lead the nation in scoring.

I always announced her name, and her name was hard to say so her scoring gave me a lot of practice. I can say it easily now, and I apologize for messing it up. I practiced it wrong and it carried over into the first game or two. I practiced saying her last name forever though. I'd literally go for a run and then just start announcing her name because I wanted to get it right as soon as possible. I need to practice it correctly to make up for what I did wrong before I got her pronounciations.

Sherer was fun to watch. She is an amazing player. I remember her scoring a ridiculous goal. It's a goal that I can't describe. I just remember thinking to myself that only she could have done that.

Anyway I wish more people say Sherer play. It's not often that your school has a National Scoring Leader playing. I look forward to seeing her honored this year in front of a large crowd.

In case anyone is wondering

I've been feeling pretty healthy for the past week or two.

Also I wish that the media might talk about UCONN winning it's first game since Jasper Howard died rather than if Charlie Weis must be fired. I think UCONN's win should be celebrated more than Notre Dame's loss.

Some Stats

A.J. Price had 6 points in a win over the Wizards. He is aveaging 2.5 points per game with the Pacers

Hasheem Thabeet has had 4 points in each of the last two games he's played in. He's averaging 1.3 points, 0.8 blocks and 2.1 rebounds per game with the Grizzlies

Stephanie Labbe won a player of the year award in Sweden. I believe it was the player of the year award for North Sweden in women's football. Things can get lost in translation from Swedish to English. She also lead her league in saves. 136 saves in 20 games.

Will Beatty has played in 10 games and started 1 for the Giants

Donald Brown has 236 yards on 54 carries for 4.4 yards per carry. He has two Touchdowns. He has 8 receptions for 146 yards.

Darius Butler has 19 tackles and two interceptions.

Sarah Stanczyk had an assist this season for her first career point in NCAA Soccer. She started 19 of 20 games she played in and played 1634 minutes.

Ashley O'Brien had a goal and two assists this season. Started 18 of 19 games that she played in.

O'Brian White had two goals in 9 games. He played 440 minutes.

Akeem Priestley plays for Mugan PFC in Azerbaijan.

Chukwudi Chijindu had a goal and an assist in 11 games and 420 minutes of play. His goal came in April against the Seattle Sounders.

Swagger

I think that it is important to have a swagger and a belief in yourself when you play sports. I think it can give you a mental edge. I spoke to an athlete this year who said that the team was "cocky" and that is why they did so well in the tournament that year. I found that to be interesting.

I really believe that it is important to have a lot of confidence and pride in your team. I think that positive thought process will result in more aggressive play which will lead to wins.

I think it's important to have a swagger and a pride for your team. Expecting to win will lead to more wins. I think it's healthy to have some swagger.

I think swagger is what lead the Miami Hurricane football program to be so successful for so long. You get that picture when you read the book about their program's history.

It's no fun

It's no fun when the team you root for beats your friends team and then your friend decides to no longer root for the team that your team just beat.

Basically I was looking forward to seeing a Notre Dame fan, who all of a sudden changed allegiances, even though he had asked me about the game not that long ago.

Weak!

My dad told me to be gentle around him too which I thought was funny. I'm not going to hurt the guy because his team lost, but you should be able to bask in reflective glory when your team wins.

Jubilation

I have felt jubilation the last two weekends. The first was after Brittany Taylor's match winning goal, and the second was after this win over Notre Dame. Both felt really good.

YES!!! FINALLY

For about a year now I've heard Notre Dame fans talking about how they look forward to playing UCONN in football and how UCONN has no chance at all to win. I kept telling them that we probably will win and that the game will at the very least be MUCH closer than what you think. Notre Dame fans paid no attention to UCONN Football in many ways. They asked me about the team and how we played, with the inference that they'd never seen us play.

UCONN RUNS the ball. Andre Dixon and Jordan Todman are a great one-two punch. The defense will give up some yards, but makes big plays and gets turnovers. The return unit will also make a big play or two to help win games. We run the ball and when we run the ball well we will at the very least keep the game close.

I loved how UCONN just ran over Notre Dame at the end of the game. That was fun to watch because every UCONN run seemed to go for 8-12 yards. I also was glad that Zach Frazer got to throw a Touchdown pass in Overtime at Notre Dame. Kashif Moore also made a heck of a catch on that play. Blidi Wreh Wilson made a great stop on defense in Overtime too.

I was so emotional while watching this game. That's rare for me when it comes to watching sporting events. I usually sit and observe. I couldn't for this game. I couldn't stand all of this Notre Dame is amazing and will beat UCONN crap. I hate the Catholic School is better and deserves to win over a Public school talk of a certain family friend of ours. I was passionately screaming at the television today. I was as loud as I've ever been while watching a game. This game meant so much to me because of what it symbolized for UCONN, the State of Connecticut and our Football program. We beat Notre Dame at Notre Dame. UCONN did that! Imagine saying that just five years ago. That would have been an insane statement. What made it even more important was that the win came at a crucial time and it marked the first time that UCONN had won a game without Jasper Howard. We had lost 3 heartbreaking games after our hearts were broken with the loss of Howard. It was about time that things went our way. This was the biggest win in program history. It validates the program in many ways. On National Television, at Notre Dame on Senior Day. It doesn't get much better than that.

What upset me was how the media of NBC seemed to focus so much more on Charlie Weis and what it meant to him. After the game they should have almost entirely focused on what this meant for UCONN. UCONN has been through so much, especially the football program. NBC should have focused on how great it was for UCONN to have pulled off this victory. I do think that they did a great peice on UCONN FOOTBALL at halftime, but I would have rather they focused on all that UCONN had been through, and what it meant to the program in the post-game interviews.

It was also hard not to get emotional after the game. Coach Edsall had a great interview after the game and it brought some tears to my eyes to think about what the school has been through and what Jasper Howard's family has had to endure. This win was huge for UCONN and the Howard family and I am so glad that the game ball is going back down to Miami to be with his family. Things finally went UCONN's way. Finally! Even though no win can replace the loss of a fallen comrade.

Big Day

10 years ago no one would have ever imagined that UCONN Football would be playing against Notre Dame on NBC. It speaks to just how far our program has come.

Obviously this year has been very difficult. If things broke the right way UCONN could easily be 9-0. No team has blown us out. We also lost a player to death.

I hope that tomorrow will be a bright spot for the football program because they sure could use one.

Maya Moore and UCONN look unstoppable again. Maya had an amazing stretch during this game where she stole the ball and got lay-ups and easy shots. Tina Charles was pretty good. I loved the way Kelly Faris played and was glad to see Caroline Doty knocking down three's again.

I spoke with someone knowledgeable about penalty kicks for men's soccer and sometimes even the best people at Penalty Kicks mess up.

I hated this

A week ago was really cool. I love a week ago now. Someone had just scored a great goal.

I was on the sideline for this and man oh man was I scared. I have been keeping track of things for coaches at work. What I was keeping track of could of actually been used to help make a decision about who would perform under pressure.

Thankfully we didn't need those notes. I would have been SO nervous if we did.

Ohio Loves Football

More proof that Ohio is obsessed with football. This is a great clip of a video I watched in class. It shows just how obsessed people are with HIGH SCHOOL football in Massilon Ohio. By obsessed I mean from birth to death, as you will see at the end of this trailer.

In Massilon, before their big rivalry game against McKinley, the Massilon band is allowed by the mayor/town law to march and play anywhere (Any building, any street) within Massilon, Ohio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9tGclyb1MQ

And it is Ohio State vs Michigan...Go Buckeyes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv0_EpF5SyY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBa5B8cEb_w&feature=related

To refresh your memory...I think this video is funny...but I've posted it a lot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZC8EXI44eM

Interesting discussion we had

We were talking about reasons that leagues would want to have age limits for players in class today.

What the public is told for football in particular is that it is because they don't want to hurt the athletes who are physically unprepared at 19 for the NFL.

Also as a side note I found it funny how David Stern went on air and talked about why the one year of college rule before NBA draft rule went into effect and never mentioned going to college as being a benefit of the rule. He mentioned that it would help improve their preparation for the league, but not that it would allow players to gain college credit.

Anyway, a reason that they have that age limit in place for the NFL draft is because it helps make the talent pool smaller, so less players can compete for NFL rosters.

It also allows for players to train and gain experience while not having an NFL team have to pay for that experience and training. College's pay the expenses of schooling. It also allows the NFL and it's teams to not have to worry about paying a player that goes down with an injury while young.

Thought that was all interesting.

Someone motivated me

I hate losing, even if it's in swimming, something that I am new too. I don't like finishing last in relay races in swim class even if I am going up against some college swimmers and former high school swimmers.

I finished last for the first 3 races in free style, breast stroke and butterfly. The last race was the backstroke, which I knew was my best stroke. I wanted to not finish last so badly.

I got out to a great start as far as I was concerned. Towards the end I was getting tired. I started to slow down but I wanted to push through so badly. As I was slowing down this voice came into my head. I saw and heard this person going "LETS GO!!!!" "COME ON, LET'S GO!!!!!!" to me in my mind. It worked. I beat one person in the backstroke and I am giving Mrs. Let's Go an assist. I think you can figure out who that is.

I also almost puked after a weightlifting workout and swimming workout for class. I may be one of a few people who always pushes themselves in gym class in college.

First Men's Basketball game

Ok well today wasn't my first Men's basketball game, but it was the first men's game that I had gone to with tickets that I had actually been able to purchase.

Let's just say that after the first half I wanted my money back. I think Coach Calhoun would agree since we were out-rebounded by Colgate. I thought that we played a lot better in the second half. Without looking at the stats I liked the way Jamaal Coombs-McDaniels played. He was great from 3. He had a nice pass and was solid on defense.

I am disappointed that Men's Soccer will not have any more home games

Scary Stuff

So for the first time I started to seriously think about graduate schools and places that I would want to apply to.

I preface this by saying that UCONN is by FAR my number one choice and the place where I would most like to be. I will be applying here but I also need to think of some other places too.

The other school that I will most certainly apply to is North Carolina.

Connecticut is by far my number one though. I love Storrs and the area around it. I think it's really nice here. I also grew up in Connecticut and hated that my state didn't have a team that really represented the state to the entire country. I can sort of say that our basketball programs have done that, but I am not sure if UCONN is in the same sentence as North Carolina, USC, UCLA, Ohio State, Texas and Florida. I want it to be. I want Connecticut to be a place known for UCONN and it's athletics. I want excellence achieved by everyone and I want the whole state talking about every team. My other dream would be to help college soccer expand. I think that college soccer has a lot of potential in terms of growth. I'd like to see teams play in front of crowds larger and rowdier than the ones at Morrone. That will take a long time, but I think it's plausible.

I have also started to think about my internship for the summer. Ideally that will also be on the East Coast and in the Northeast. I've started to think about applying to a few teams about some social media things. I think the facebook pages that I help out on are pretty good.

Sorry

I am sorry for being M.I.A. lately. I was really really really busy this weekend, but I had a fun time and overall I enjoyed myself. The ending to it might not have been great, but all in all I had a lot of fun.

I have been reading about the Miami Hurricane's football program lately. I read about 100 pages this weekend. I love the swagger that the Hurricane's had. I think it helped them play well. They also were such a close knit family and used everything as a chip on their shoulder.

It's remarkable to me how that program, which was almost cut twice, was able to build itself into Five Time National Champions. I also love how they used Mantra's to help them focus on getting better. I think mantra's are important.

This is just impossible

It is impossible to keep a straight face during bad singing auditions. I truly appreciate the guts it takes to sing in Gampel Pavilion in front of even just 5 people, but it's still not possible to keep a straight face during a bad audition.

I tried so hard not to be rude during this. I TRIED SO HARD TO KEEP A STRAIGHT FACE. I really mean it. I tried and I just couldn't do it. I refused to look up at the person singing because I didn't want to make him laugh. I was able to find a paper and tried to focus on what was written on it. I still couldn't though. You don't know how hard it was not to smile and laugh out loud. It was just so bad. The voice was bad but in the middle of it the person started to not know the lyrics to the song that they were singing...the National Anthem...twice. You could here the person almost swear.

The worst thing was when he asked if he was singing the right song with two lines left in the song.

To make the story even better the person had asked for extra time to warm up.

I really respect the person for trying. Like I can't imagine how hard he practiced and how much courage it takes to try out. It's just so funny though. You don't want to laugh, but you just have to. I tried so hard at the end to look at the paper until the person clearly left the building. Then I looked at everyone else at the table and everyone started laughing, uncontrollably for almost 2 minutes.

Again I respect this person's courage. Don't get me wrong.

At the end all of us who were watching tried to sing in Gampel since it was empty. I was HORRIBLE. I am better at soccer than at singing. Much better. I got to OHHHH SAAAAYYYYYY CANNNNN YOUUUU and just started laughing as I heard my voice trying to sing over the speakers in Gampel Pavilion. I was horrible. I've never sung in my life. It showed, and I probably shouldn't practice unless I want to pay for broken windows.

I skipped to the end of the song because I felt like saying "Land of the FREE and Home of the BRAVE."

In retrospect I wish I sung O Canada because I think my voice is better suited for that song.

It was a cool experience and I learned how hard it is to sing in front of people and how hard it is to listen to bad singers sing without laughing uncontrollably. I do want to stress that I respect the people who tried because it takes a lot of courage to sing.

Also, Field Hockey player Allison Angulo has an amazing voice and does a great singing of the National Anthem. Maya Moore and Kaili McLaren are pretty good too.

Chance to impress no one

I got a chance to impress the goalkeepers at practice today. I didn't impress. I can assure you of that. I was called upon to drill some shots at Division I Soccer Goalkeepers. I haven't taken a shot in soccer since about Division VII 8 year old soccer. My job was to get shots on frame and my guess was that I got 60% at best on frame. I did my best and I knew that for me, it was actually a lot better than what I would have done a while ago. I wanted to take soccer in school next semester but it isn't being offered.

I know I went top 90 on someone. I told them it was the first time I had ever done that. I feel bad for making the goalies have to chase after a shot here and there when I missed. The funny thing is that I had no idea how many shots I made or got close. After I shot I was supposed to send a pass to a coach for them to shoot and actually Challenge the goalies. I concentrated on getting off a quick pass and never really looked to see if I made them.

Anyway it was a cool experience.

LET'S GO

I want to quote a freshman today. I love these two, simple words that describe what I am feeling...

LET'S GO!!!

You should know what I am talking about.

We are going to win!

I'm reading a book on the University of Miami Hurricane's football program called "Cane Mutiny."

I am on chapter 2 and probably will remain on that chapter for a long time because it takes me awhile to read for pleasure when I am in classes. In the last chapter I read about Howard Schnellenberger the first coach to lead the Hurricanes to a National Championship. He was the man who rebuilt the Cane program, a program that was almost cut from the school.

In the chapter it talks about how Schnellenberger said "We are going to win a National Championship." I swear that every book I read that talks about accomplishing something great involves a place and moment where a person said that they were going to accomplish something.

Two things about this. I think people say things like this all the time. "We are going to win a Championship." We only read about and reminisce about it when that saying becomes true. The account of who said, and when and where it was said becomes stuff of legends. I bet every coach says it.

People always say things but they often do nothing to back up what they say. That to me is what is the most important thing. If you say something you need to back it up so that what your saying will come true. Some people say they are going to change but then when you ask them how they are changing they can give you no answer. "I'm going to get in better shape." Great, how are you doing that? "I don't know."

You can achieve great things by saying nothing and just doing things. You can become legendary if you say things and actually back it up.

What everyone was talking about

This is just ....I don't even know what to say besides horrendous sportsmanship.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNmPybFK2_o

My favorite quote

Someone said something to the effect of this today. It made me laugh. I love this quote...that I am power phrasing...

"I don't change, I just don't do the same thing."

Basketball is back

First of all, I remember saying over the summer that the Yankees would win the World Series. I was right. I like being right, but I'd rather have been wrong because I hate the Yankees. As a Mets fan I also hate the Phillies so basically this World Series was a lose/lose proposition for me.

Anyway, I saw some basketball both yesterday and today. I saw parts of the men's game online. I heard that Stanley Robinson and Alex Oriakhi played really well.

I was at the women's game today. I love hearing the band playing at Gampel. It's a great thing to hear. It felt so good to hear the band going again. I thought UCONN would win by 63. We didn't score as much as I thought we would. I just think our shots were a little off.

I was very impressed with Kelly Faris. I think she is a great player who impressed me with her defense. She had a couple of steals and forced a travel. She also could hit the three and drove to the hoop when she had the chance. I was very happy with her play.

He's back

The Mayor of Storrs, Ryan Marciel Grace, is back and better than ever. Many people have asked about his whereabouts. He's fine and will be around once again. The Tree Hill Ravens will be better than ever because of him.

Should I post my sportography?

I just submitted my sportography for my Sports in Society class and I am debating whether or not I should post all of it, or parts of it here. Actually I know that there are a few parts that shouldn't be shared...but I am debating putting them hear.

I've been doing a lot of research on Stephanie Labbe lately too and I just realized that she was one of only two goalies to shut down Notre Dame in regulation time all of last season.

Impressed

So I get into trivia competitions way too much. I had fun with my roommate in my apartment. He doesn't love sports the way I do so I quizzed him on the posters on my wall. He was able to get the right names with all but 7 of the faces on the basketball poster. I was impressed.

I had to ask him a women's soccer question.

I asked him how many career victories does Len Tsantiris have?

He went, "who is that?"

After I explained to him he threw out a number. He said "473"

I was shocked. He was right. Not even a couple off, completely accurate. He didn't even believe me. I got this years media guide plus the ten wins from this season to prove him correct. I was so impressed with him. I will take out the trash for this week.

I also got bonus points because I told my weightlifting instructor the story about knowing everything about Brie Gray and Mandy Schwartz. He liked the story so I got extra credit.

Avoiding burnout???

I've really been wondering what is necessary to do in order to avoid burnout. I know it's important to take your mind off of what you are doing a lot just to say sane. Sometimes if things don't go well you or your getting stressed out or bored you need to take a step back. Here lies something that I have been pondering for a little bit.

Another school of thought might say that you need to grind it out and work through it. My parents both went through basic training and my family is more of the type to work and work and work. I was raised to grind it out, give 100% and do as expected.

I'm sure there is some sort of balance between taking time off to recharge your batteries and taking time off and avoiding solving problems. I just wonder where that balance point is.

I'm not burned out at all in case your wondering, but I'm taking this from a management perspective and if I was running a company.

I'll take this as another compliment

I've been busier than I thought that I would be. I feel so bad because I was able to write so many great and long posts over the summer. Now I haven't had the time. Don't worry, you'll get them soon, and even during the school year too, depending on when I have down time.

As for what made the title of this post...

I was asked to help out someone because of my writing and researching abilities. I was honored that this person thought of me to help them out. It's sort of funny because I was such a bad writer in elementary school. I was given a 7 out of 12 on my first writing sample for the CMT's. (Connecticut Mastery Test, not Country Music Television) Writing is what I used to struggle with so much. I was excellent at Math. Years later I can't stand math and enjoy writing. I've even written a press release.

Well I did see that Hasheem Thabeet played in 1 game for 12 minutes and had two rebounds....no points or blocks. A.J. Price played in 1 minute for the Pacers.