Game of the Week Preview: Sioux Falls vs Northwestern

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The University of Sioux Falls is set to exit the NAIA. Before the GPAC kings return their crown and head off into the distance in search of bigger prizes, they must go through one more season in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. One of the Cougars biggest rivals has turned into Northwestern College. The two programs have never met on opening day of the season, but they will this season. The series has been dominated by Sioux Falls in the last decade, outscoring the Red Raiders 243-96 since 2002, although NWC leads the all-time series. In six of the eight matchups, the Cougars have scored first. Northwestern hasn’t been to the NAIA Championship Series since 2006 and an upset of Sioux Falls would go a long way to ending the postseason drought. Over 4,000 people on average attend this rivalry each year and this year shouldn’t be any different.

Here is a position-by-position breakdown of the game: Continue reading →

VSN Game of the Week Preview: Evangel vs Lindenwood

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Lindenwood University is coming off of its best season in program history after finishing with a 13-1 record and a loss to Sioux Falls in the NAIA National Championship game in Rome. Evangel begins a new era this week under Brenton Illum and will try to turn around a season that finished with a 3-7 mark in 2009. Lindenwood appears poised for a national championship run, while Evangel is trying to rebuild its program.
It will be a tough opener to the season for Evangel, but it gives us a chance to see the No. 2 and No. 1 teams in the country in the opening week of the season. After this game we travel to Orange City, IA where the defending National Champion Sioux Falls Cougars will challenge Northwestern. But before we get into that game, let’s take a look at Lindenwood vs Evangel.

Here is a position by position breakdown: Continue reading →

Victory Sports Network Players of the Week for Games the Weekend of 8/28/10

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Grand Island, Neb. – A record breaking performance tops the list of this week’s Victory Sports Network NAIA Football Players of the Week.

Mike Maher of Saint Xavier University set a school record for touchdown receptions while having an exceptional output as a wide receiver for the Cougars.
Here is a complete breakdown of the players of the week by the Victory Sports Network.

Continue reading →

VSN Travels – Week 1 (Ottawa, KS)

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Well the first trip of the 2010 season is in the books and so begins my “VSN Travels” blog. The first game of the season featured Ottawa against Baker. The excitement built nicely for this game as the long standing rivalry hadn’t played in 17 years. However, it was the 79th all-time meeting between the two schools. So what were our lives like as we made this trek to Ottawa, Kan. and back to Grand Island, Neb.? Continue reading →

VSN First Down Classic: Post Game Thoughts

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The Victory Sports Network First Down Classic featured No. 9 Ottawa against No. 24 Baker. The place was absolutely packed. Nearly 40 minutes before game time about 200 people had found their seats…20 minutes later people were wondering if they were going to have seats. The idea to put bleachers in the one endzone was brilliant. It was packed with students and others and made for a fantastic atmosphere. Earlier this week I posted the VSN First Down Classic Preview. I took some guff for saying Ottawa would have the better defense on this night. In the end, I wasn’t far off. Here are some thoughts from tonight’s game… Continue reading →

Travels of VSN…

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One thing I wish I did more of last year was keep a blog of our travels to do the game of the week broadcasts. This year I will keep a blog of all the trips. Find out the behind the scenes happenings of VSN by following this blog. There will be periodic updates and at lease once a trip. Feel free to comment. Hope you enjoy!

VSN Game of the Week Preview: Baker vs Ottawa (VSN First Down Classic)

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When you think of a rivalry, there are a number of matchups that come to mind. They range anywhere from the Yankees/Red Sox to Cowboys/Eagles to Texas/Oklahoma and many others. Most rivalries, when asked, come to mind because you have heard of it recently. What about a rivalry that disappears but still remains one of the best long standing rivalries? Continue reading →

The last month has been….

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….well I guess you can say crazy. Today is the first time I have logged on to my blog in awhile and I looked back at the last post…exactly one month. That is way too long for me to not be updating here so I will try to get better. I am going to explain the last month here and you might understand why I haven’t written a post in some time.

First of all, on July 23rd I was basically told that I wasn’t going to have a job. The company I was working for, College Fanz Sports Network, was folding due to financial reasons. This came as a slight surprise and much disappointment. Unfortunately, it was out of my control. On Monday, we got the official phone call and informed we no longer had jobs. With my job, went my internet access. Such is life. Continue reading →

Basketball: Should women play after men?

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It seems more and more these days we are changing aspects we have known for so long to try and push “equality”. Sometimes it can be simple things, but the bottom line…..if it’s been this way for men then it can be the same way for women. Is this true in all cases? I first want to make it clear that I am not a sexist human being in anyway and my intentions here are not to make myself appear that way.

Ever since I was a little fella, excited to get the chance to go watch the high school teams play, I can remember going to basketball games and watching the girls play before the boys capped off the night with a contest of their own. It doesn’t matter what level I was watching, the women were first. That’s only proper, right? I grew up being taught that women get served first, women are saved first, you let women walk through the door first, you hold the door for women, etc. These are all characteristics of being a gentlemen…..or so I thought. Continue reading →

For Bayler…

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This is a follow-up to the blog I wrote earlier today about South Carolina playing for a young man.

The South Carolina Gamecocks claimed the National Championship at the College World Series. The team will forever stand as the final champion at Rosenblatt Stadium. With the “Greatest Show On Dirt” moving to a new home in 2011, this CWS was filled with emotion. To make it even more emotional, South Carolina was playing for more than themselves, more than a University and more than the record books they will forever be in. The Gamecocks were playing this one for Bayler. Continue reading →

I met them where?

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This is going to be one of the more weird blogs I ever write, I hope. Well, let’s go with weird, but interesting. I have met numerous people in the media industry in my few innings of being a media “professional”. Yes, I put it in quotations on purpose…

Some of the people you meet are very well-known, while others not so much. Most, though, are great people to talk to. So how do I meet these people? Some are walking around a field, in a press conference, in the press box, eating before/after a game, etc… But that is not always the case. Three of the more famous I have met have been in a special place….the bathroom. Continue reading →

This one’s for “BT”…….

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South Carolina has a chance to do something special this evening. If the Gamecocks can top UCLA, they will become the final National Champion crowned at Rosenblatt Stadium. It would stand as the first-ever championship for the school in baseball. The championship would also be just the second National Title by any sport at the school outside of women’s equestrian. But more importantly, a championship victory for the Gamecocks would bring many happy tears to a family in the stands. Continue reading →

Playing for a Legend…

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When the UCLA Bruins take the field for the championship series of the College World Series against South Carolina, it will be more than just a game. The team will be playing for themselves, coaches, school and a man, a coach named John Wooden. Just 24 days following the passing of the greatest coach to ever, the UCLA baseball game will play in game one of  a best of three series to claim the national championship. Continue reading →

Americans pull through….

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When I got to work yesterday (Wednesday, June 23) I had every intention of watching the USA soccer match in ESPN3.com, while preparing an interview. I get the match connected to a big screen from a laptop and begin work. As I look over from time to time I see the amount of missed chances by USA. I kept thinking to myself, “this is going to be another year where the Americans choke”. Continue reading →

Big 12 survives….did Nebraska make the right move?

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As the Big 12 Conference finds a way to survive, the question becomes whether or not Nebraska made the right move to leave for the Big 10 offer. If a TV deal does indeed get reached with the new Big 12 then it will appear that perhaps Nebraska should have stayed put.

Let’s remember that Texas did not want a part of a TV deal that would lead to even revenue

Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds

sharing. Nebraska wanted this to be fair. The Huskers will get this with the move to the Big 10. Nebraska is going to a conference that paid each of its schools $22 million last season from the Big Ten Network. Yes, there is a new TV deal in the works for the Big 12, but at first report it looks like Texas will make more money that the rest of the schools (somewhere in the $20-$25 million range). Continue reading →

Conference Realignment Winners/Losers

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The move of Nebraska to the Big Ten Conference has sparked conversation and controversy all over the college football world. Bloggers, tweeters, facebookers, analysts and reporters are all reporting what “sources” say. While the NBA finals are trying to wrap up and college baseball teams try to validate their ticket to Omaha, many eyes have turned to college football. We don’t need to mention the seasons begin in August and this is June. No matter what changes happen, there are always winners and losers. If the college football changes end today here are the top five winners and losers. Continue reading →

The life of an offical….it’s a love/hate thing…

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Last night, June 2, I was umpiring a baseball game. I watched two poorly played baseball games and saw one young man (the pitcher) take a line drive off the side of the head that left him hospitalized. It happened in the second inning of the game and there was never a good feeling the rest of the night. I told one of the coaches I would rather be anywhere else than on that field. Continue reading →

Cold Weather Super Bowl a ‘WIN’ for the NFL

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The recent decision by NFL owners has stirred conversation all over the country. Some fans and players are all for a Super Bowl being played in a ‘cold weather’ city, while others have showed their displeasure with the announcement. Here is why playing the Super Bowl in East Rutherford is a WIN for the league.

First, we begin by sorting out every NFL team into one of two categories: cold weather & warm weather. In this case, a ‘cold weather’ team is a team located in a city that has an average February temperature of less than 50°F. This temperature is the cut-off based on the NFLs’ ‘50 degree rule’. Continue reading →