We are the Champions...

This past Friday, I went to my last regular season high school football game of the year. We played the Cary Imps, a cross town rival of ours. This was possibly the biggest game in our school's short football history. If we won this game we would be at least co-champions of our conference and we would lock down a home playoff game.

The first score of the night came from Cary, but this was their only score of the night. We answered their touchdown and went into halftime at 7-7. The third quarter was scoreless, but after our student section's signature roller coaster chant, we got things going. With 1:26 left in the game we intercepted the ball and eventually got a field goal.

We defeated Cary 10-7! With this win we came out of the regular season with a 10-1 record. We have to share the Tri-9 Championship with the Bengals from Fuguay. We dramatically beat Fuguay earlier this season in an overtime two-point conversion. This means that we get the number one seed in our conference going into playoffs. We take on 4-7 South View this Friday for our first ever home playoff game. GO CATAMOUNTS!

Miracles

In football miracles don't happen very often. However, this past weekend there were quite a few miracles involving my teams.

On Friday night, my school played the Athens Drive Jags. We have never won against them in the history of our school, and at first it looked like it was going to stay that way. We trailed for the whole game up until the fourth quarter. At the start of the quarter we were down by seventeen points with the score at 30-13. We got a touchdown a few minutes in. Then another touchdown. We then had a successful onside kick which we recovered to score another touchdown. When Athens got the ball for the last time in the game we were up 33-30, and all we had to do was hold 'em. We did more than that we intercepted the ball to ensure that if we could just run the clock down we would win. We won the game with twenty unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Our record went up to 8-0. I believe that this was truly a miracle.

On Saturday, my un-ranked Longhorns played undefeated number five Nebraska Cornhuskers. Texas' offense started out on fire. Garrett Gilbert was running the ball more than I had ever seen. Obviously changing the offensive set up was not a great idea considering that we dominate when we go back to the old way. Texas pulled out a huge win and re-entered the rankings at number nineteen (BCS poll.)

On Sunday, my two NFL teams played. The first game of the day was the Browns- Steelers. Colt McCoy was starting his first NFL game on that day. This by itself is a miracle due to the fact that he was told he was not going to play at all this year. The second miracle in that game was that Colt threw for a touchdown. That was only the second touchdown the Steelers have ever allowed from a rookie quarterback. Colt also threw for his first touchdown before Tim Tebow did which made me extremely happy.

The second game on Sunday was the Cowboys- Vikings. The only miracle in this game was that Brett Favre could still walk. The Cowboys lost this game to bring their record to 1-5. Oh well better luck next year.

Hopefully this weekend is packed with wins and miracles just like last week.

History in the Making

Lots of people make history. You win 8 zillion gold medals in the Olympics, you make history. You run the fastest 40 yard dash ever, you make history. You explore the future western portion of the United States, you make history. Many things can help make history. My school just happens to be making its own history.

My schools football team is currently 6-0. We have made history multiple times this year. When we went 2-0 we had the best start in school history. We got our first shutout in the third game of the season (we got our second one last Friday night.) We have now won more games than we ever have in a single season. We made it to the playoffs last year, but hopefully we can make history this year by going further than the first round. I wouldn't mind a state championship. Considering this is only our 5th year as a school and 4th year with a varsity football team, I think it would be safe to say that we are doing pretty dang well. No one expected this kind of thing out of such a young school but it can happen.

This Friday we take on our "rival" Green Hope. I don't consider them a threat because of their 30 something game loosing streak. I'm hoping this game goes well for us and we can move up to 7-0.

The Best Time of Year

Football season is my Christmas. Once the first high school game starts all other sports disappear from my mind. This weekend is week seven for my school, week five for college, and week four for the NFL. There are going to be some big games for my teams this week.

First off, my high school is currently 5-0 (2-0 in conference), this week is our third conference game. This is a big game for us. We have never had a start better than 2-0 considering we are a very young school. We have already had a huge overtime win and a shut out. The only things left are to go undefeated and make it to play offs for the second time ever and to win best student section.

The second thing is my Longhorns. They are currently 3-1; they had a tough loss against UCLA last weekend. However, this weekend we can hopefully redeem ourselves and get a huge win over Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. We need to win this to stay in the rankings and get our first conference win for the season.

Lastly, my two NFL teams are not doing as well as I would have hoped. The Cowboys only have one win, and the Browns have no wins. I was expecting this from the Browns, but definitely not from the Cowboys. My brother is a Redskins fan and has been giving me tons of crap because of Dallas' loss to the Skins. The Cowboys have a bye week this weekend, which is a blessing because of injuries such as Dez Bryant's wrist (and his outstanding dinner bill.) Cleveland plays the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Colt McCoy's former roommate, Jordan Shipley, plays for the Bengals, so that will be a good reunion to watch no matter who wins.

This will be a good weekend and hopefully all of my teams can pull out wins.

I love Rookie Hazing

My favorite rookie hazings so far...


Tebow's lovely haircut.





Travis Ivery teaching Dez Bryant how its done.

You Can't Escape Tebow.

Unfortunately, Colt McCoy got married this weekend to Rachel Glandorf. His college roommate, Jordan Shipley, was in attendance, and he was not shy. He shared a song with the wedding guests which he wrote and performed with another musician. The song was very funny, but it was also poignant. The song entitled "When I Grow Up, I Want to Be Just Like Colt McCoy" talked about how great Colt and his friends are (focused mainly on Jordan Shipley), and how he was not expected to be good because of his size and ability. However, the best part of the song was when Shipley sang the line about "rubbing elbows with Tim Tebow." This made the whole wedding party go ballistic. This incident has brought lots of attention to how Tim Tebow always steals the spotlight from Colt. *cough cough* Twenty-Fifth overall draft pick vs. Eighty- Fifth overall draft pick. *cough cough* This unusual attention given to Colt is probably the reason he is on the top of the trending topics on yahoo.com. I am very excited to see his name on this list. Here is a link to the video of the song. http://http://www.tmz.com/2010/07/19/tim-tebow-colt-mccoy-texas-longhorns-cleveland-browns-cincinnati-bengals-jordan-shipley-rachel-glandorf-wedding-song/ I hope you enjoy and have a good night.

Can a piece of rubber change your life?

No, but it can change the way you perform in sports and other physical activities.

Power Balance bracelets have become increasingly popular in the last few months. I have had a burnt orange one for about eight months and I love it. My bother, a few of my friends, and practically everyone in my neighborhood have one. They are supposed to increase your balance, flexibility, and strength. I believe they work and everyone I know who has tried one agrees. A family friend said the first time she wore hers was in a marathon and it was her fastest time. Her husband said the pain in his elbow went away immediately when playing tennis. Many famous athletes wear them including Shaquille O' Neal, Steve Nash, Lamar Odom, and my favorite Colt McCoy. The bracelets come in tons of colors and styles; many celebrities have been wearing them. I believe they work although many people (who probably haven't tried them) think I'm crazy.

It's a sign!

On April 23, 2010, Colt McCoy was drafted into the NFL. He went in the third round, eighty-fifth overall; he went to the Cleveland Browns. I noticed a few things while watching it that add up and make me think he is going to do amazing. First of all he went eighty-fifth, eight five, Ocho Cinco! I love Ocho even though he is now Colt's rival. The pick before Colt was his "favorite target", Jordan Shipley, who went to Cincinnati. The second thing is the name Brown. Jim Brown announced one of the Brown's picks, Mack Brown announced the pick for Colt, Jenn Brown was the reporter with Colt, and Colt went to the BROWNS! I don't think that was planned. I'm ready for a Superbowl win. I'm thinking 2014 Cleveland Browns Superbowl Champs!

MLL in NC?

My younger brother, Greg, recently started a Facebook group called “1,000 Strong to bring a major league lacrosse team to NC.” The Chicago Machine, a major league lacrosse team, are considering moving to a new location. My brother, being a huge lacrosse player and fan, has taken interest in this, and he would like to bring them to North Carolina. During the month of May the Machines played a game here in Raleigh. My brother attended this game. He had been in contact with the president of the Chicago Machines, John Algie. My brother met up with Algie at the game and got to talk to him; my brother received a free autographed t-shirt. The Machines have been traveling around the country to try out new locations. It would be much appreciated by my brother and lacrosse fans across our state if you would join this group. The link is http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=125418964140144&ref=ts.

Awkward Names

Would you judge someone if their name was Crimson Tide Redd? Well, a couple who are die-hard Alabama fans named their son just that. It got me thinking of fun Texas themed names for my future kids. My brother and I spent most of dinner tonight making up names. My favorite was the name Mackenzie Brown after the Texas football coach Mack Brown. I want one of my sons to have the middle name Colt and another one to have the middle name Campbell after the Heisman winner Earl Campbell. Most people will probably think I would be crazy to name my kids these things, but I’m such a big fan I would do it anyways. I want to have a lot of kids (mainly because I want to organize family football games), so I’ll have plenty of opportunities to think of names.

My Favorite Buzzer Beaters of the Past Year

5. Kentucky vs. Mississippi State in the SEC Championship. Kentucky won this game after missing a 3 pointer and barely getting the recovery. It is slightly bittersweet because had they not made the shot Mississippi State would have gone to the NCAA tournament. They are the definition of a bubble team.

4. Evan Turner’s 37 foot shot in the Big 10 Championship. The Ohio State University point guard made the three pointer which won them the Big 10 Championship. They beat Michigan State with a 69-68 victory.

3. Murray State vs. Vanderbilt in the first round of the NCAA tournament. This game was one of the first big upsets in the tournament. 13 seed Murray State scored a last second shot to win the game 66-64 and upset 4th seed Vanderbilt.

2. Florida at NC State earlier this season. NC State was up with seconds left. Florida recovered the ball and Parsons shot it with a second left and made it. He was 70 feet away and swooshed the ball. I call that an amazing victory. It may have been against a not so good team, but they aren’t so good themselves.

1. Texas vs. Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship. If you didn’t catch that I switched it to football. This game would decide weather Texas would go to the National Championship or not. The game was very low scoring with switching off leads, but by the end Nebraska had taken the lead by 2. Texas needed a field goal to win it. With seconds left, the ball was snapped and Colt was in a pickle; he threw it out of bounds which left ONE second on the clock. The field goal unit was called onto the field and Hunter Lawrence kicked a 46 yard field goal. It was good by about a foot. This game was possibly one of the scariest games I have ever watched. But texas pulled through and won with a 13-12 victory.

However, the best all time buzzer beater was from 1994 between East Plano and John Tyler high schools. I have included the video below to watch the highlights from this incredible game.

And Let the Glitter Begin

Last night was the season premiere of Dancing With The Stars. I used to watch DWTS, but stopped about two seasons ago because it got boring. But this season the cast really caught my eye. The three people I was most excited about were Chad Ocho-Cinco, Erin Andrews, and Kate Gosselin. I am rooting for Chad and Erin, and I wanted to make fun of Kate.

If you didn’t know Chad Ocho-Cinco is a wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, and Erin Andrews is a sports reporter for ESPN. I think Chad is hilarious and Erin has my dream job.

I think both of them did very well last night, but out of the two Erin was better. They both danced the Cha-Cha. Erin wore a pretty yellow costume and was very energetic. In the opening clip she seemed to be very critical of herself as was Chad. Erin got mostly positive comments from the judges and ended up getting 21 out of 30 points. This was slightly above average compared to everyone else.

Chad also did the Cha-Cha. His outfit wasn’t very exciting, but I never realized how bald he was. I thought his dance was very entertaining and he was well put together considering he had to dance first. He got mixed comments from the judges and ended up with 18 out of 30 points. This seemed to be a common score last night, but I think he deserved higher. When he was being introduced the host said “He is a man that has made a name for himself. Literally, he looked down at his jersey and made a name for himself.” I thought that was pretty funny. I also can’t wait to see what his celebrations look like after this experience.

It's just not fun...

When Jimmie Johnson wins a race it is just boring. At the race this past weekend in Bristol, the number 48 car drove over the finish line first. Jimmie Johnson had won again. He was won 3 out of the 5 Sprint Cup Series races this year. Since he has won 4 Sprint Cup Championships in a row everyone expects him to be good, but did any one expect this kind of domination? It has become predictable and boring if he wins a race. I am a HUGE Dale Jr. and Carl Edwards fan. It was fun to watch the drama unfold between Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards. It was fun to see Dale almost win the frist race of the season, but the fun stops there because when Johnson always comes up and finishes near the top I become uninterested. I would have loved to see Joey Logano win last week or to have seen Dale Earnhardt Jr. actually lead a lap when he started at the pole. I guess you can’t get everything you wish for, but I would just like to see a change.

Bracketology

So, I have filled out my brackets for the NCAA tournament. I waited until the last minute to do it, whoops. I was planning on doing 4 brackets 4 different ways, but I only did two. I am still going to do the other two because they are based on random things that don’t mean anything.

My first bracket was a true possible bracket. I was not bias and you can tell because Texas lost in the second round. My final four were Baylor, West Virgina, Kansas, and Syracuse. I had West Virginia winning it all.

My second bracket was a biased bracket. I had Texas winning it all. This is how I want the tournament to turn out.

My last two brackets will be based on which mascot would win in a death match and flipping a coin. I didn’t make up either of these. I heard the mascot one on the radio and my dad is doing to coin one. I am kind of hoping the mascot one does really well because that would be hilarious. I also have and NIT tournament bracket with North Carolina winning it all.

What should the Rams do?

I’ve heard a lot about Sam Bradford going to the Rams as the number one pick in the draft, but I personally think that is a horrible choice. If I were them I would pick Suh (one of my favorite players ever) in the first round and then pick Colt McCoy (my favorite person in the world) in the second round. That would get them an amazing defensive tackle and a great quarterback. Sam Bradford is good and big, but he has barely played in the past year due to a serious shoulder injury. So wouldn’t the Rams rather have an outstanding defensive player and an amazing quarterback that despite a small size, and minor shoulder injury, has shown to be a good player. They also wouldn’t have to worry about Suh beating him up.

Colt may be tiny, but that means nothing. I mean look at Drew Brees, a superbowl CHAMPION. He is only 6 feet tall and 209 pounds (according to wikipedia). Colt is bigger than that, so obviously a small quarterback can make it big in the pros.

When is it okay to storm the court?

Today I have been hearing a lot about storming the court at basketball games, so I thought I would voice my opinion about it.

The reason everyone is talking about it is because of the Duke vs. Maryland game last night. Maryland upset Duke and thousands of fans and students stormed the court. It was an upset but was it a big enough upset to storm the court? I do not think it was. I like the idea of storming the court. I think it is a fun way to express team spirit, but there should be limits. I don’t think you should storm the court every single time your team wins a game. However, there are a few situations when it is okay.

1. An Un-ranked team beats a top 5 team.
2. A team wins a National Championship
3. A team beats a rival with a buzzer beater
4. It is an important night for that particular team (i.e. senior night)

Other than those reasons I do not see a point in storming the court. There are certain other times that it can be justified to storm the court, but if a number 20 team beats the number 4 team than it’s not that amazing because obviously they're good enough to be ranked. I would like to see UNC storm the court after they beat Duke because that would be a true upset. It would be an unranked team beating a highly ranked team who is a rival. Wouldn’t that be amazing? The only other thing it needs is a buzzer beater.

Olympic Closing Ceremony

While watching SportsNation today I saw some clips from the closing ceremony of the 2010 Olympic Games. I am pretty sure they made me laugh harder than I ever had before. I got on NBC’s website and watched some more highlights of it. I just want to know what the Canadians were thinking. So, it started out with a clown plugging in something which brought up a huge ice torch thingy; the torches were then lit. After that there was a lot of group singing with lots of people dressed in white. Then there seemed to be some opera singing which made my head hurt. The most entertaining singing was from Michael Buble. He dressed as a Canadian Royal Mounted Police officer and had 4 girls dressed as them also. The outfit was ripped off and he performed; what I saw of his performance was very good. After that was when I started laughing. First there was a huge group of dancing Canadian Police officers. They were very out of sync and they looked goofy; personally they reminded me of an elf-yourself. The next events were very extravagant and unnecessary. To start them off they had a group of big cutouts of hockey players. Then all at once they had big walking canoes, giant inflatable beavers and moose, and I think the dancing maple leaves happened at this time too. I then saw a group of hip hop dancers dressed in neon doing a silly dance. To finish it off they had fireworks outside the closed dome which were very pretty, but no one inside could see them.

What I'm Looking Forward To...

1. The NFL draft: I want to see who picks who and how it will affect the teams, but my number one interest is who picks Colt McCoy. I will have to become a fan of whoever picks Colt (unless it’s the Eagles or Redskins). I am also really excited to see where Suh goes.
2. Garrett Gilbert starting his first game at Texas: His first game as a starter will be against Rice on September 4^th. I have loved him since he first started at Texas and my love for him grew when he was thrown into the National Championship game as a true freshman who’d played barely any all season.
3. March Madness: Texas has been in a serious slump lately. I feel like they are turning into North Carolina. They hit number 1 and then started losing, but I think they can pull it together in the tournament and have a shot at the championship if they really try.
4. Major League Baseball: I can not wait for the Astros to start playing. I have always been a big baseball fan because my dad played it in college. So I’m really excited to go to a lot of Durham Bull’s games this season.
5. High School Lacrosse: My brother plays lacrosse religiously and I just don’t understand it. I am planning on attending lots of lacrosse games this season to try to figure out why he loves it so much because right now all I know is you hit people with sticks.

Curling is NOT a sport!

So, lets face it if a 5 and a half month pregnant lady can do something without a problem it’s probably not a sport. Well in the Olympics going on right now there is a pregnant lady who is competing in curling. I honestly don’t understand how they can think curling is a sport. It’s a “sport” that involved sliding a rock on ice and sweeping to control where it goes. I realize there is a challenge in trying to get it into the target area, but I mean really, is it that hard? I could do that and I am not good at sports. Homer Simpson won a gold metal doing it, so obviously it takes minimal athletic ability. I just think that the Olympics should re-think what counts as a sport or even an athletic challenge.

In the latest edition of Sports Illustrated there was a picture of curlers in multi-colored pants, do they want us to make more fun of them? They already play giant marbles for a living.