80 Minutes of Regulation

From Dixie With Love

2009-11-22T16:16:00.000-05:00

Glory, Glory Hallelujah... the South will rise again?

There's been trouble a-brewin' down at Ole Miss, and it all stems around a song, From Dixie with Love, that has been played for two decades by the Pride of the South, the University of Mississippi's marching band. The song may have reached its last refrain, as the Ole Miss chancellor has ordered the song ceased after the student section made a new tradition of chanting, "The South will rise again!" Understandably, there are mixed feelings in Mississippi and nation- and world-wide about this.

Before I go much further, I want to lay all my cards on the table: Things you may or may not know about me, Curtis, the author of this blog, whether you've been reading for a minute or a year. I'm a Black man. I'm a native yankee, but now live in rebel territory. I consider the Confederate States of America to be a terrorist organization. I'm a student affairs professional who works in higher education. I have a passion for tradition and school spirit. I'm a musician and a band dork, and I spent a significant portion of my life in either marching band or pep band. While I wouldn't consider myself a Civil War scholar, I think I do know a little something about the subject. Ditto for race relations in America. And while each of the facts above informs my opinion, I speak for none of the groups above when stating it.

First, let's talk about the song in question, From Dixie with Love. It's a beautiful piece of music with perhaps an even more beautiful symbolism. A staple of Ole Miss' pregame for some time now, From Dixie blends Dixie, the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy, with Battle Hymn of the Republic, the anthem of the Union Army (which, despite that, has become quite popular down south--right Georgia? Auburn?) It takes its basis from An American Trilogy, popularized by Elvis Presley, a Mississippi native, which also included both songs. Its intent was harmony between the two once-warring factions. But recently, Ole Miss student have begun chanting, "The South will rise again!" over the last stanza. The controversy embroiled in this new tradition led to the Pride of the South altering the arrangement so as not to leave room for the phrase, Ole Miss' student government to pass a resolution discouraging it, and ultimately, the chancellor asking the band to refrain from playing the song at all. This didn't make some too happy, including Ku Klux Klan themselves, who staged a demonstration on Ole Miss' campus. (Many Ole Miss students, faculty, and alumni wouldn't stand for this, however.)

My thoughts? I think it's much ado about nothing. First of all, the removal of the song with the intent to remove the phrase is but a small gesture when it comes to things that could be construed as offensive vis-a-vis the Confederacy. First of all Ole Miss' mascot is still the Rebels. Their ~~slavemaster~~ "southern gentleman" mascot, Colonel Reb, has been official retired by the University, but can still be readily seen and associated with the school. And perhaps most egregious, Ole Miss is the flagship of Mississippi, the one state in the union to continue to incorporate the Confederate battle flag into its state flag. Given these facts, what's "The South will rise again" in comparison? Besides, what's to say there aren't some who use the phrase simply as a shorter form of "The South shall rise again as a tolerant and progressive region that celebrates differences and seeks through understanding to lead this great nation to an even better place"? OK, that may not be exactly what they mean, but at face value, I don't see a problem with being proud to be a southerner, and I think some are expressing exactly that. To me, the South--a geographical direction and a region of the country since its inception--and the Confederacy--a terrorist nation [sic] that existed for precisely four years for the sole purpose of opposing and attempting to defeat the nation I love and call home--are two different things.

I'm also intrigued by the manner in which the University is seeking to remedy the situation--by eliminating the song to which it was latched to me, that's cutting off your nose to spite your face. This isn't College Park, where Rock and Roll Pt. II was banned to prevent chants of "Hey, You Suck!" (though they Terps among us will vouch for that as a campus tradition as well). From Dixie with Love was an integral part of the Pride of the South's pregame, and while it's only a 20 year tradition, it has clearly been seen through generations of students, including generations of the band members who play it. What will become of their pregame? A campus tradition threatens to go by the wayside because some students saw fit to hijack it.

Now I will admit, I make these statements sitting a comfortable distance from Oxford. Some of the stories have been speaking of strained race relations otherwise at Ole Miss (really? No...) and if this helps in some manner, large or small, it may be the best thing to do. But from where I sit, it seems to me we're making a mountain out of a molehill.

Why Cincy must win the Big East outright

2009-11-17T22:02:00.000-05:00

And no, it's not for conference bragging rights or their potential for upgraded facilities or for Brian Kelly or anything else you might be thinking. In fact, the answer it quite selfish (if by "self" I mean the University of South Florida). Currently, the only alternative to an outright Cincy victory is a co-championship with Cincy and Pitt, which would take place only if Pitt wins out, including beating Cincy, giving Pitt a share of the championship and the BCS bid.

The problem with this? A Pitt championship would mean that since USF joined the Big East in 2005, five of the eight schools in the conference will have won a share of the conference championship. Those without? USF, Rutgers, and Syracuse. Not company I'd like to be in.

You just can't hide that Tiger Pride

2009-11-15T13:50:00.000-05:00

I believe you've rarely, if ever, heard me talk high school football in this blog. That is for several good reasons. One is that I haven't lived in my hometown during football season since, well, high school, (and I've got a 10 year reunion coming up this year, for reference) so the one team I'm most inclined to follow hasn't really been on my radar. That said, as with most of the other sports I follow, keeping an eye on a program from a distance is not a problem for me, if I have reason to care.

The top reason? A.I. duPont football, for as long as I've had reason to follow it, has not been good. I don't know the exact numbers, but a friend of mine from my graduating class stated that we won seven games in our four years there, and I'm inclined to believe him.

I feel pretty confident when I state that my high school's social hierarchy was not at all like yours. The biggest reason I'm the band dork I am today (and mind you, I wasn't even fully aware of the concept of "band dork" until I left high school) is because of my high school band experience. Our drum major used to play football and quit the team when he was selected. Young women tried out for the cheerleading squad only after they found out that didn't make band fronts. And it wasn't that varsity athletics weren't important at AI. To the contrary--the majority of the band members were varsity athletes. We held multiple state championships, including winning every year in girl's soccer throughout my high school career. But when it came to the battle for Friday nights, that competition ended with the halftime show.

That's why I've been appalled and pleasantly surprised as I've seen the facebook updates from those who are still close to the football program (mostly my old band director): Still undefeated at midseason. 6-0. 7-0. and on and on until yesterday I see that AI ended the regular season undefeated--a perfect 10-0--and is bound for the state playoffs for the first time since I was an infant. What's more, they've allowed 20 points all season long.

To put it simply, the Tigers are beasting on the football field, and not just during halftime anymore.

As you've no doubt discerned if you've read this for any significant amount of time, I follow my high school band (who, by the way, is headed back to the Fiesta Bowl Parade this year) like I follow my sports teams. Now I've got a reason to keep an eye on my football team as well. I hope to be able to make a game when I'm up home for Thanksgiving, but whether I can or not, Go Tigers!!

Disgusted

2009-11-12T22:29:00.000-05:00

This is the first time I can recall turning off a Bulls game in utter disgust. I can't watch this. Not on a Thursday night. Not against Rutgers.

I'm turning to Project Runway from LA instead of Project Runaway in NJ.

It's the same old song...

2009-11-10T17:50:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite podcasts is the ESPNU College Football Podcast. But something struck me this morning that just seemed like not being able to change one's tune. On Mondays (they come out mid-day, so I usually listen to the previous day's podcast during my commute) Ivan Maisel is joined by Gene Wojciechowski to discuss the world of college football. After revealing their own personal top fives, each of which contained Cincinnati this week, and continuing on to inquire if Cincy plays anyone. Granted, what are likely to be their two toughest conference matchups--WVU and Pitt--still lie ahead, but I think at this point in the season we should be beyond the thinly-veiled Big East bashing. Currently, the Big East has 4 teams in the BCS standings: the three named thus far plus South Florida. That's as many as any conference and more than the SEC, Big XII, and ACC. (ht: Brian Bennett of ESPN) What's more? Each of those teams climbed from the unranked ranks, as the Big East had no teams ranked in either the AP or the Coaches as the season began. Not too shabby, eh?

Score one for the little guys!

2009-11-09T22:57:00.000-05:00

Honda Battle of the Bands has announced its lineup for the 2010 invitational showcase, and it's a little different than you may have expected.

For the past several years, Honda has been a 10 band showcase, featuring two bands each from the MEAC, the SWAC, the CIAA, the SIAC, and HBCU independents. Earlier this year, Honda changed the format: eight bands, featuring one band from each of the conferences above (plus one independent) and three at-large bands. Think the BCS, except that there's no cap on the number of bands that can participate from one conference.

All the prognosticators figured that the MEAC and SWAC (to continue the BCS analogy, think SEC and Big XII) would snatch up all of the at-large bids. The biggest conference thumpers imagined their conference snatching all three, dominating a full half of the Honda lineup. Realists reasonably expected three bids for one conference and two from another.

The results surprised everyone. The SWAC got two bands in, in Southern and Prairie View. The MEAC? One, with an asterisk. FAMU is clearly the MEAC's representative. Judging from the rest of the field, NC Central, which is in its transition to Division I and the MEAC, was counted as an independent.

The CIAA did as expected and put one band into Honda with Virginia State. But the SIAC made out like bandits, with Clark Atlanta, Tuskegee, and Albany State each heading to Atlanta in January. Not only did Boise State and TCU both make the BCS, but Houston snuck in as well.

Voting for Honda participants is a combination of HBCU presidents, band directors, and fans. This may nor be the entire picture, however; there's no telling if there were other bands who turned down their invitations. It's interesting to see this shift in dynamics and I wonder how it will be received by the HBCU bandhead faithful and the fans in general. On the one hand, while Southern, FAMU, and Prairie View are there, perennial star power from the likes of Bethune Cookman will be missed. On the other hand, there are bands who won't "act like they've been there before"--even though each of the bands there has--and may bring out fans for the experience. And of the SIAC bands in particular, Atlanta is an easy trip from Albany, Tuskegee, and of course Clark Atlanta.

Regardless, I'm sure this has been and will continue to be fodder for the folks over at The 5th Quarter, and in fact they've got a new podcast coming out the evening of Tuesday, 11/10. It'll be great to get the perspective from the serious bandheads.

Drumline Effect?

2009-11-08T14:14:00.000-05:00

When the movie Drumline came out nearly seven years ago, it was the first major motion picture where the primary subject was college marching bands. Love it or hate it--and just about anyone who has ever marched does one or the other--it is undeniable that like any other Hollywood depiction of a subculture, what we saw on screen is beginning to leak into what we see in real life.

If I may oversimplify things for a moment: There are primarily two styles of marching band: Traditional/"show" and corps style. Drumline depicted a show style marching band, and more specifically, an HBCU marching band. In general--and again I'm oversimplifying--traditional style bands are more likely to play popular music and HBCU bands in particular are more likely to borrow from rap, R&B, soul and jazz music.

Since Drumline came out, however, there has definitely been a shift of certain bands moving their repertoire and/or style closer to that depicted in the movie. Anecdotally, I've heard tell of corps style bands that switched their entire style after the movie came out. More often, bands interpolate a bit of imagery Hollywood made more popular into their shows or stands performances. For example, USF's Herd of Thunder plays "Shout it Out", straight from the movie, in the stands now.

I've seen other sharing that goes a bit deeper in emulating the style. I did a double take a couple years ago when I first heard LSU's Golden Band from Tigerland play "Neck". Talking Out the Side of your Neck, an album track by Cameo, is an otherwise unremarkable song that garnered its most attention as a popular tune for HBCU marching bands. At first I joked about a contingent from LSU sneaking across town under cover of darkness to Southern University's practice. More recently, I heard the University of Florida's band play Crucial Conflict's "Hay". Hay is also played by FAMU and Bethune Cookman, the two most prominent HBCUs in the state of FL. A friend mentioned to me that the Herd of Thunder plays this one as well.

At first I was inclined to give these bands the side-eye for appropriation, but truly, it's part of the continued evolution of the activity. And if you believe that a marching band's purpose is to thrill an audience, as I do, it's nothing but a win for all parties involved.

Pirates of the Carolinas

2009-11-05T22:57:00.000-05:00

The ECU Pirates unveiled a new midfield logo today for their matchup with Virginia Tech:

(Picture courtesy of NCAAbbs)

I love this for a couple reasons. For one, it looks extremely badass. Secondly, for those who haven't caught wise, I have an advanced degree and career in higher education. I won't get all thesis on you, but I do believe that colleges--particularly public colleges--exist to serve the greater societal good. As such, it's great when states embrace their institutions of higher education and vice versa. I especially like when schools that aren't the flagship feel empowered to use the state's images or likeness.

I'm also a geography nerd, so the state outline speaks to me. Similarly, the vexillology nerd in me really enjoys College Park's MD flag end zones and Clemson and Carolina's battle over the palmetto and crescent.

In a similar vein, I've thought I'd love to see UMBC incorporate the MD state flag in some way, even if it's just the Calvert banner black and gold as used in the Baltimore flag. The confederates in College Park can have their red and white. Some time ago, I also put together a green and gold mock-up of the Florida flag with the USF seal.

2009: The Year of Chalk

2009-11-05T01:03:00.000-05:00

The New York Yankees just won their 27th World Series. My first thought as a fan was that with Lakers and Yankees wins in the same year, perhaps the sporting universe isn't too happy with me right now. But then I looked a little closer at a confluence of this year's championships. So far, in 2009:

College Football: Florida Gators
NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers
Men's College Basketball: North Carolina Tar Heels
Women's college basketball: Connecticut Huskies
Men's College Lacrosse: Syracuse Orange
Women's College Lacrosse: Northwestern Wildcats
NBA: Los Angeles Lakers
DCI: Blue Devils
MLB: New York Yankees

What do all of these teams have in common? These are all teams which, either historically or recently, have been the banner carriers in their respective sports. In each case, it would have been entirely reasonable, before a ball was ever kicked, tipped, or pitched, to pick the team above as the champion and had a pretty good shot, or at least not have had everyone look at you like you were crazy.

2009: The Year of Chalk.

Like Christmas in Philly

2009-11-01T13:48:00.000-05:00

Normally, I hate to look at the home stadium on TV and see an abundance of another color in the stands. But it pleases me to turn on Giants-Eagles and see an abundance of red in the stands. Right now, the Philly sports faithful serve two masters. They've shown any number of people in the stands in Eagles jerseys and Phillies hats, who no doubt will be just as jacked after this game ends in anticipation for tonight's.

Game 3 of Philly-NY weekend is under way. So far, it's 1-1, with the Sixers beating the Knicks and and the Yankees beating the Phillies. Hopefully we can get out of this weekend 3-1.

It's gonna be a good weekend

2009-10-31T01:19:00.000-04:00

Nothing like a win on a Friday (or Thursday) night to know the weekends gonna be A-OK.

The Bulls got a big one tonight against West Virginia in Tampa to halt the mid-season skid and notch one against a team that's perennially the class of the league but is now 2-3 vs. the Bulls, with two of our wins coming on Friday nights in Tampa. Hopefully this helps us right the ship and we can be competitive for the rest of the season.

I've never talked high school football in here. A brief history of my high school's team: It was standard practice to come to AI football games and leave after the band's halftime show. Tonight was our Homecoming game, and clearly I didn't make it back up to Delaware, but I was compelled to go online and check the scores. Turns out we beat Brandywine 55-0 to improve on the season to 8-0. Way to be, Tigers!!

Also going on this weekend: Game 3 of the World Series tomorrow night from Philly. The fact that this runs up against college football probably affects a surprisingly little amount of people. Sure baseball fans want to see the World Series, but consider the teams competing: the mid-Atlantic and Northeast aren't exactly hotbeds of college football. That, and the teams that do have regional interest there will all play earlier in the day. A game with Tri-State implications, Rutgers vs. UConn, will be played at 12 noon. Other New York schools in action, Syracuse and Army, also play early games. In the Phillysphere, Penn State and Temple (ha!) play early as well.

And if you're a New York sports fan looking to take a road trip, Sunday in Philly is the place to be. May I suggest setting up your tailgate right between Citizen's Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field. Eagles play Giants at 1, and then it's Yanks at Phillies at 8. Sounds like a helluva day!

Trunk or Treat!

2009-10-30T18:07:00.000-04:00

To continue on the regional theme: I currently live in the South, which, I'm willing to wager, is the region of the country with the most churches per capita. I've lived in NC for over four years now, and before that I lived in Tampa (which I consider my gateway drug to the South). It's been since I've been here in NC that I've been seeing church signs advertise for "Trunk or Treat." I'm surprised it's taken me this long to actually look it up, considering how quick on the google-fu I tend to be, but I've always thought: What in the heavens is Trunk or Treat? I figured surely it was a church attempt to get out of the witches-and-devils view of Halloween, or maybe even the mean aspect implied in the "trick," but couldn't for the life of me figure out what the "trunk" part referred to. I just figured I hadn't spent enough time with my bible and was missing something.

On my way home from work today, I passed one of the churches that's been advertising and saw what most certainly must have been Trunk or Treat. I came home and googled it to be sure that's what I had briefly witnessed and came across this Trunk or Treat article. It describes Trunk or Treat as "a Halloween event that is often church or community-sponsored. People gather and park their cars in a large parking lot. They open their trunks or the backs of their vehicles and decorate them. Then they pass out candy from their trunks. The event provides a safe family environment for trick or treaters."

Well I'll be! Halloween tailgating! Sign me up!

Getting Territorial

2009-10-29T00:23:00.000-04:00

I am a native mid-Atlanticker and I wear it proudly. For reference, my personal definition of the mid-Atlantic is the states on the I-95 corridor between DC and NYC; inclusive of DC metro, and exclusive of NY metro. It includes NoVA, DC, MD, DE, PA and all of Jersey but North Jersey, where, in my definition, the Northeast begins. As such, I cling pretty hard to that which I consider to be mid-Atlantic, however rationally.

Utz Potato Chips are a product of Hanover, PA and widely associated with the mid-Atlantic. A clever billboard in Baltimore, for example, depicts National Bohemian's Mr. Boh proposing to the Utz girl. And, of course, Utz is widely regarded as part of the snack food industry in its home state of PA, which includes Snyders of Hanover and Hersheys chocolate.

I say all that to say: When the Phillies take on the Yankees in the World Series, I don't want to see a damn Utz advertisement in Yankees Stadium.

Intercollegiate Athletics at its Finest

2009-10-28T21:32:00.001-04:00

I'm not a Potterhead. In fact, to the disbelief of most, I started reading the Harry Potter books and stopped somewhere in the middle of one. I've seen all but the most recent of the movies and enjoy them, and from knowing people who are bigger fans I think I know the general gist of the series, but I wouldn't consider myself a Potterhead by any means.

That said, to use the series' native British vernacular, intercollegiate quidditch is bloody brilliant.

The mental_floss blog wrote all about the Quidditch World Cup, which took place this past weekend. I'll let you read the link for the details, but essentially, 20 collegiate teams faced off in a competition which was as quidditch as you can get without the ability to fly.

Professionally, I work in the field of student activities, and I look forward to the moment a quidditch club walks through our doors looking to form.

The Time Is Now

2009-10-27T19:48:00.000-04:00

As I've said in this blog before, of my four major "sports" seasons (football, basketball, lacrosse, drum corps) basketball is the sport I follow the least in the off-season. It's not that I care any less about basketball than the others, but to me, basketball is a lot more about the now, where in the others there's so much for me in the antici... (say it!) ...pation.

That goes double for the NBA, because I think I anticipate college ball a little more than pro ball, but I did pay a bit of attention this off-season, and what I saw? Stagnation. The Sixers were a playoff team last year (which I realize is no huge feat in the NBA), but in the off-season, when the big players in the East were making moves, the Sixers were decidedly quiet. The Cavs added Shaq. The Celtics added Sheed. The Magic added VC. The Sixers? Added a new logo--which, by the way, was the old logo. OK, so we did add a new head coach, and I'm looking forward to the Eddie Jordan era, but let's be honest--he's a Rutgers alum.

That said, as we speak, I'm watching the first game of the season, as two of the Eastern conference players, Cleveland and Boston, battle it out. The season is pregnant with possibility. Anything can happen. The time is now.

But who needs New Jersey anyway?

2009-10-26T23:06:00.000-04:00

The World Series is set, and it will feature the two largest metro areas on the East Coast, just over 90 miles, and nearly the entire state of New Jersey. It could tear the state in half.

No big loss.

My allegiances in this World Series are simple. Let me share with you two simple truths:

1) I am a Boston Red Sox fan.
2) I grew up in Wilmington, Delaware.

So yes, I will be rooting for the Phillies to repeat as World Series champions. You'll note that I say I'm rooting for the Phillies, but never claim to be a Phillies fan. I'm a Sox fan and don't intend to change that, but as a fan of Philly sports in general I of course want to see them do well.

That said? It's almost like a tease. The Phillies are the one Philly team that isn't my primary team in its respective sport--I don't follow hockey, but in a pinch I'd identify as a Flyers fan, and I definitely ride with the Eagles and Sixers. So for all of the city's sports success to go to the Phils does little to satiate my needs.

But I'll take it--especially at the expense of the Yankees.

Groundhog Day

2009-10-24T16:47:00.000-04:00

GOTDAMMIT BULLS!!! Different year, same result. USF went up to Pittsburgh for a noon kickoff with Pitt, and we got run out of the Steel City to the tune of 41-14. Once again USF football nets a big OOC win in September (though the FSU win is no longer quite as lustrous) and once again we roll over once conference play begins. And once again, we're off to a 1-2 conference start, this year having beaten only Syracuse.

In the interest of not having to flag this blog for "adult content", I"m just going to say that I'm sick of this mess and spare you the profanity-laced tirade I'm prepared to embark on.

To be somewhat fair, I will note that Big East didn't do us any scheduling favors, lacing our October slate with consecutive games vs. Cincy, at Pitt, and vs. WVU. Each of those games is entirely winnable, but as two of three have shown thus far, they're also entirely losable. Especially by the Bulls, in the month of October. I'm starting to fear October as a Bulls fan like I fear the NFC Championship Game as an Eagles fan. But in either case, we need to get over that to actually be something. Unless, as I've half-jokingly suggested, we start stacking our non-conference games in the month of October. I don't know what it is, but it needs to change. I'll feel a whole lot better if we can manage to beat WVU on Friday night in Tampa, but I'm not holding my breath.

Let me make one thing clear:

2009-10-20T22:02:00.002-04:00

Cincinnati is not a potential BCS buster.

I'll say that again.

CINCINNATI IS NOT A POTENTIAL BCS BUSTER!

Cincinnati plays in a BCS auto-qualifying conference. Lord knows I'd like to see them drop two (or one in a favorable tie-breaker scenario) but should they run the table and be one of only one or two teams to do so, they deserve to play for a national championship. Period.

Looking ahead

2009-10-19T17:58:00.003-04:00

Around this time each year, I find myself feeling compelled to look forward to UMBC's lacrosse schedule for the coming spring. Perhaps fallball whets my appetite. Perhaps I've figured out that this is about when things start coming out. Maybe, just maybe, this is when USF football schedules its annual skid and I have to find something to look forward to.

Herein lies the rub: It'll still be over a month until our schedule is released. So I get a little stalkerish. Whenever teams release their schedules, I look to see if UMBC is on it. Last year, I had pieced together nearly all of our schedule before I first got confirmation via the Inside Lacrosse Yearbook. While I want to see our schedule, my ultimate goal is to see if the Dawgs'll be anywhere within easy reach, which essentially means Duke, Carolina, VMI, or in a pinch, UVA.

So far no big surprises: We'll be at Princeton this year as the second half of a home-and-home, and continuing to play Towson. The big one is that Carolina will be coming to town, which leads me to believe we'll probably be down this way in '11. The Carolina game is actually the first game of our spring break here, so if we make the trip up north, I may catch that game at UMBC. Maybe I'll just ride Carolina's team bus up.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

2009-10-18T15:27:00.004-04:00

On the sporting landscape, there are a few times throughout the year that could deemed the most wonderful time of the year. Bowl season and March Madness immediately come to mind. But this past weekend certainly gets an honorable mention. Here's why:

-College football and the NFL are in full swing

-The NHL is getting underway
-The NBA is wrapping up the pre-season

-League championship series are taking place in MLB

-College basketball practices begin with Midnight Madnesses across the country

-College lacrosse is playing fallball

-NASCAR's Chase is at "home" in Charlotte

-Major League Soccer is in season

Essentially, every major sport in this country (and a few less-than-major ones) is in some form of action this weekend, and a lot of it is action with implications.

Kelly/Green

2009-10-16T19:14:00.002-04:00

One final thought about last night's game against Cincy. Coach Brian Kelly is the real deal. What I think impressed me the most is that he had two quarterbacks with completely different skillsets who played in last night's game, and his offense completely changed looks, barely skipping a beat.

Inevitably, someone will offer Kelly a considerable amount of green to take an opening this off-season. As much as I don't look forward to losing to Cincy year in and year out, I hope Kelly sticks to his druthers and builds them into a powerhouse. As he said recently, Cincinnati is a top ten team, but not a top ten program. I think that if he continues with them, they can be both.

They are who we thought they were!

2009-10-15T23:36:00.004-04:00

#8 Cincinnati walked into Raymond James Stadium this Thursday night. And much to my chagrin, they walked out with a W.

I knew they were coming in highly ranked, unbeaten, with a Heisman hopeful at the helm and a quick pass attack that ran the risk of baffling our usually strong pass rush. They got the better of us, but not how I was expecting.

Pike (who, by the way, looks like he touches little children... just saying.) gave us the offensive attack that I expected, but I was quite impressed with Cincy's defense. "What if"s and "If only"s don't get you far, but I will note that Pike's offense, while potent, was one dimensional. Honestly, it was backup Collaros who came in after Pike was injured who truly picked us apart. He made us respect the run--both from him and his backs--and set up the passing game well. It's possible we could have figured out Pike, but again, who knows?

BJ Daniels looked a bit more like the redshirt freshman he is than he has in the previous two games. That's not a knock on him, but unfortunately, it's not necessarily what we thought we'd be looking at at this point in 2009. That said, he gives me a lot of the same cardiac arrest that Grothe did--did anyone else find them yelling at him to throw the damn ball away?! And yet actual misfortune in the form of sacks and turnovers didn't come often, at least not from his ill-advised scrambles.

Cincy's a damn good team, and I hope that either a) they lose two and USF wins the Big East, or barring that, b) they run the table and head to the national championship, where the Big East hasn't had representation since the exodus of Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College.

As for USF, we have yet to have a winning record through our first two conference games since joining the Big East in 2005. Each year we've started 1-1, and in each year but the first, we'd continue on to at least 1-2 before rebounding. Here's hoping we can pick up the pace next week and win at Pitt to get off to a better start.

Thursday night games are an interesting beast. First off, they make it really hard to concentrate and get anything done at work on Thursday. Win, and you're riding high on Friday, and sitting content by the Saturday games. Lose, and you've got a few more days to fester, though the Saturday games can help drown your sorrows and give you something to hope for as you root against teams ranked ahead of you to hopefully soften the plummet. Either way, you either fear that the pollsters forgot your win, or hope that the pollsters forgot your loss.

Eye of the Tiger

2009-10-10T20:36:00.003-04:00

I'm watching the LSU-Florida game, which is easily the most anticipated game of the weekend. With the Bulls off until Saturday, I've adopted this as my must-see game of the weekend (which isn't to say I didn't watch several others as well). I don't even have a dog in this fight, I'm just hoping for a damn good game, and so far is has not disappointed.

I've got a decent sized TV and a pretty average sound system, but man, you can feel the energy from the stadium! It just makes me think of the fact that some day, when I'm independently wealthy (riiight...) there are a whole lot of stadiums I intend to one day visit.

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the Golden Band from Tigerland. I think part of it has to do with my past as a Tiger myself (from high school) but they definitely put an exciting product on the field and in the stands. Every time I hear them play Neck though, I can't help but wonder if someone snuck across town to Southern to commandeer that tune.

Deja Vu

2009-10-10T15:25:00.002-04:00

As your leading source for parallels between USF and UMBC (what can I say, it's a niche market) I'm sad to report that UMBC soccer is continuing to look like USF football of the past couple of years. I already mentioned the loss to UVM to start the conference slate 0-1. After winning vs. Stony Brook during the week, we just today dropped one vs. UNH, which means that despite starting the season 9-0, we're 1-2 in conference. Let's step it up, Dawgs! Meanwhile, USF has only had one conference game thus far, and it was Syracuse, so it's not beyond me that USF could very well stagger into the same fate. Cincy on Thursday under the lights at RayJay will be a hell of a test.

And now, for more yin and yang: On the offensive side of USF's premier Fall sport, we recently lost quarterback Matt Grothe in his senior year to an ACL injury. on the defensive side of UMBC's premier Spring sport, lockdown defenseman Bobby Atwell will be returning for his senior year after an ACL injury. Atwell could very well be starting his year of competition as we speak; UMBC lax is up outside of Philly right now competing in the 3rd annual Nick Colleluori Classic, where they'll play both Hofstra and Villanova today.

Different School, Same Tricks

2009-10-05T21:36:00.004-04:00

This past Saturday, when USF opened Big East play at the Carrier Dome, I was a little nervous. Sure, it was Syracuse, who has been a cellar dweller in the Big East for a few years now, but the past two years USF has gone through the OOC schedule like gangbusters only to fall flat when conference play came around. So much as I'm trepidacious of the NFC championship game as an Eagles fan, the beginning of conference play caused a little anxiety for me as a Bulls fan.

We did, however, make it through the Cuse game. It remained a little close for comfort throughout the first half, but the Bulls pulled away in the second half. We're now 1-0 in conference and have a bye this week on our way to a Thursday night showdown with #8 Cincinnati.

UMBC, however, didn't fare quite so well. After starting the men's soccer season an unprecedented 9-0-0, they walked into Vermont, who at the time were a paltry 0-6-3. It was the Catamounts who walked out the victors, giving them a 1-0 conference record and starting the Dawgs off at 0-1. Here's hoping we don't go on a skid a la USF football the past two years. We get the first chance to redeem ourselves tomorrow night at home under the lights against Stony Brook.