MMA in the NCAA Women's Soccer

This was brought to my attention by the DP Show. Two questions:

Why was she not sent off?

Is she available for my coed team?

Week of Carnage

Where to begin….first off how about the beat down the Oregon Ducks put on Southern Cal. Poor “Poodle”, aka Pete Carroll, didn’t know what to do. I can only wish they lose at least two more this year. It warms my heart knowing that in the near future Southern Cal should be getting some NCAA sanctions put on them due to the Reggie Bush case. I am sure by now you have heard about the classless, thuggish eye gouge by Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes. He only got a slap on the wrist by his cowardly coach Urban Meyer. Spikes will be suspended for the first half of the game against Vanderbilt. Honestly how pitiful is this. Spikes commits what can be considered assault, and nothing happens to him. Absolutely pitiful.

As for the Irish, it was an easy win over an outmatched Washington State. However, the bad news was that back up quarterback and future starter, Dayne Crist tore his ACL and is out for 4-6 months. This injury will be especially bad if Jimmy Clausen, current quarterback, leaves school early for the NFL. That means there would not be a quarterback to start spring ball, but hopefully Clausen comes back for his senior year and ND makes a run at the title. The good news is that stud receiver Michael Floyd returns to the lineup after healing from a broken collar bone. Next up for the Irish this week is the Navy Midshipmen. Navy always plays ND tough, but I think ND will win comfortably.

Enjoy some highlights! and GO IRISH! By the way LSU will upset Alabama this weekend.

Cajun Cup

T minus 10 days until the Cajun Cup. Just completed a 10K run...my longest since the injury, and it felt great. Upon hearing the distance my cousin asked for my time, to which I replied ,"I conveniently didn't bring a watch." I don't know if the competitor in me is gone, or if I'm turning a new leaf as I haven't worn a watch to run in quite some time. Maybe it's just that I don't want to face the reality of losing a step. Whatever the case, we'll find out where I stand in 10 days. My goal is sub-43 minutes. Last year was a pitiful 45 after a 12-hour shift. Whether or not that goal is a fantasy will be known on November 12.

See you there!

Maggie meets Three Mile

Still not fully recovered from the tendinitis, or else I would be in front.

My two favorite ladies

Maggie and Tootie

A Study Getaway

Karen and I are heading to 3-Mile Lake this weekend. Unfortunately leisure will not be the topic at hand as Nick and I are working on our thesis, and Karen will be finishing up her portfolio for graduate school admissions. Just a quiet getaway from the everyday hassles of life in Lafayette to get some work done. It's going to be great!

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Go Yankees (AJ was brilliant last night), Go Irish, and Go Saints (we do have satellite!).

Close Calls

guest post by James

Most of the top teams in the land had some close calls this past weekend. Florida struggled greatly against a somewhat tough Mississippi State team. Alabama needed two blocked field goals to defeat Tennessee. Iowa had to score on a last second play to defeat Michigan State. Southern Cal had to hold off Oregon State. What does this mean for the BCS national championship picture? NOTHING BUT CHAOS! If most of these teams continue to have close games they are bound to lose one. If they do lose we could possibly see an undefeated Boise State, TCU, or Cincinnati playing for the national championship. This would be terrible, but that is a topic for the near future.

As for the Irish, it was a tough win against a Boston College team they had not beaten in six tries. The Irish shook off the close Southern Cal loss and found a way to win. They weren't overly impressive in the win, but the offence scored when they needed to, and the defense created five turnovers. Next up for the Irish is the Washington State Cougars. The Irish will be playing Wazzu in a neutral site at the Alamo Dome in San Antonio. They're big favorites and hopefully that will be the case on the scoreboard, so that some of the younger players can get some game experience. Enjoy this week of college football and...

GO IRISH!

Are you immunized?

So the buzz around the health care sector (not mention your local news) is H1N1. There is an ongoing debate in every coffee shop regarding why/why not one should become immunized. The list of recommendations by the CDC include the following: pregnant women, caregivers of children less than 6 months of age, healthcare workers, everyone ages 6-24, and person's 25-64 with co-morbid health condtions. For the record, I have been immunized...that sounded kind of creepy.

Anyway, the US Department of Health and Human Services hosted a contest looking for the best video to promote H1N1 prevention. There were a bunch of really good applicants, but Dr Clark of NY took top prize. Check it out. Pretty good stuff:

Here are a couple of my favorites:

We're Back

If you missed it last night, the Yankees won the pennant, and who better to guide them there than Mariano Rivera. Man that strikeout was great. Welcome back to the big stage guys. It's about damn time.

A favorite pastime of mine (Karen's jumping on the bandwagon too) is listening to the game being announced by John Sterling. While he doesn't command the attention of Mel Allen, Harry Carry, Jack Buck , or Vin Scully he does add his own flare to the game. It's impossible to find audio of him announcing anything as the Yankees own rights to everything, but a clip did make the air. It's classic John Sterling.

So Clsoe

The number one ranked team in the land should clearly be Alabama; however, after further review by none other than the “old ball coach” their victories may be tainted. As per ESPN, Steve Spurrier was reviewing some of the film from their game against Alabama, and noticed that the holder for field goals and extra points was placing a small piece of white tape or paper on the ground under the ball. According to the rules… (Rule 6-3; Article 10; subsection d) says:"Any device or material used to mark the spot of a scrimmage place kick or elevate the ball makes the kick illegal." The penalty is "illegal kick" and is five yards from the previous spot. We will see if anything comes of this, one thing I do know is if it was Notre Dame doing this you would never hear the end of it.

As for the Irish, it was a heartbreaking loss against their hated rival, Southern Cal. Down 20 pts. in the 4th quarter Jimmy Clausen and the rest of the Irish mounted a comeback that if completed would have been remembered forever in Irish lore. With 1 second left the Irish just could not put the ball in the end-zone to tie the game. I think the pass would have been completed if our receiver did not slip on his route. Now the Irish need to pull themselves up and destroy another rival, Boston College (Fredo). The Irish have not defeated the Eagles in the past 6 tries. I think the Irish will be mad and ready to stomp the Eagles in the ground. Enjoy the games this weekend there are definitely some great match-ups.

GO IRISH

Back on the road

After a mile today the lungs were screaming for a break, but the legs were asking for more, so the run continued. It's not going to be an easy recovery, but Mark's back on the road, taking stretches a mile at a time. Today's run was a full 2.5 miles nonstop, and the completion of that marathon-like distance left him with nothing but joy...the legs felt great. A little sore and tight, but a sense of satisfaction in making it over the hump was felt.

Goals have been set. The eye is on the Cajun Cup on November 14. New Orleans half-marathon/marathon on February 28.

Officiating will resume this Wednesday.

It feels good to be back, however limited it is.