Debate

This morning I was apart of a group debate in my one Sport Management class. Our topic was on whether or not colleges are justified in spending millions of dollars on their athletic prograns annually. My team and I argued that there is little justification for universities to be spending this much money on just the athletics. We felt the money should be divided up evenly and spread out so all students have a fair opportunity to have the resources at their hands that they needin order to succeed and to reach their ultimate goals. Good news is that my team was victorious and won the debate by a mere point. All four of us received a good grade and I feel we all did a fantastic job!

NIU to Orange Bowl!

It has been done, the MAC has its own BCS buster and this year its the Northern Illinois Huskies! NIU is 12-1 and 9-0 in MAC play this season and is ranked #15. How did it happen? Well NIU are the MAC champions, finished in the top-16 on the final BCS standings, and finished ahead of two AQ-conference champions. This is how the Huskies earned a trip to Miami on New Year's night. Many analysts disagree with this decision and believe it is a joke. I am in favor of the little guy getting his shot, NIU fit the criteria far and square and have been rewarded accordingly. All i got to say is go NOrthern Illinois and represent the MAC with a win!

Notre Dame "the Luck" of the Irish

As of this Sunday morning, Thanksgiving has come and gone, many college rivialries were renewed and added a new chapter, the four WPIAL champs were crowned, and Notre Dame has once again had luck on thier side to finish the season 12-0 and clinch a spot in the BCS National Championship game. Yes, I know that Notre Dame is a GOOD team, but no where near a great team. Their schedule this year is not as great as everyone claims it to be. Games against Navy, Pitt, Boston College, Wake Forest, BYU, and the fact that their independent should be enough to easily keep them out of the title game, but it obviously isn't. Notre Dame should have lost to Pitt and the refs clearly gave the Irish that game, this scandal occured in the overtime periods. In the 2nd overtime Pitt was attempting their shot at a game-winning field goal, only for their kicker to miss it wide right. The problem is that Notre Dame had TWO guys were the # 2 on the field for that play, by NCAA rule this is illegal and should have resulted in an automatic 1st down for Pitt; giving them another chance to get the game-winning score. Now, who knows if Pitt would have been able to score still, but this is blatent cheating by the refs to save Notre Dame, the ref looked straight up and saw both #2's before the snap and just looked back down (video evidence). This week, Notre Dame caught a lucky break by having to face USC with unexperienced Max Wittek, instead of senior super-star Matt Barkely. Barkley got injured a week ago and was inmediately ruled out for Saturday night's game. USC's offense was off-sync all night and as a result Notre Dame wins 22-13. I will give the Irish credit for making an all-time great goal line stand in the late 4th quarter to preserve the lead, and for making the plays to go undefeated. To have an undefeated season, you have to be great, opportunistic, and have some luck on your side. This year, Notre Dame has definately got the "luck of the Irish" going for them.

Big Ten adds Two

Over the weekend an interesting story in college sports came to surface. On Saturday it first broke that Maryland and Rutgers were leaving their current conferences, the ACC and Big East, respectively to become the 13th and 14th members of the Big Ten. Speculation and anticipation was in the air for the rest of the weekend awaitng to see if these were just rumors. Late Monday morning, any doubts were put to rest when ESPN officially broke the news that Maryland will be joing the Big Ten starting in the July of 2014. Rutgers has been given an invite and is reviewing their options. I do not like how now the conferences are becoming these "super-conferences" that have no relevance to geographic and historic rivalries. Maryland and Rutgers both do not fit the Big Ten's reputation and just don't make sense. I miss the old rivalries such as the Backyard Brawl (Pitt - WVU) and the LoneStar Showdown (Texas - Texas A&M) that are for the present and near future extinct as a result of all this conference realignment!

Podcast

Coming up in my Sport Communications class is our Podcast assignment. A podcast is a short internet-streaming that can consist of anything from a debate to a simple announcement. For the class, I am going to make a podcast previewing Thanksgiving weekend's hottest college football rivalries. Podcasts are a new, interactive way to spread a message or to express oneself. All the time we see Podcasts as "webisodes" or video blogs. Podcasts can be used to discuss any type of topic and are a grea way of media communication that can involve and educate a audience of any kind.

College Basketball Tip-off Marathon

College Basketball is officially started for the 2012-2013 season! This year's Tip-off Marathon started this morning at 12 a.m. Even though we have had some of the higher profiel teams begin their seasons over the weekend, some played their first game on a naval ship, today's marathon is ESPN's way to officially kick off the season in an exciting manner. For roughly 24 straight hours a game will be televised live by ESPN. All day long teams will play, some popular that everyone knows, and others that are less-known but still can put on a good show. To highlight the marathon's action, Kentucky and Duke will play tonight at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

Down Goes Bama

This past Saturday was a wild and exciting one in College Football. There was many big-time plays and a couple of conference battles throughout the day. The highlight of the day though, was #15 Texas A&M going to Tuscaloosa and beating the now "previously-undefeated" Alabama. Texas A&M jumped out to a 20-0 lead after the first quarter and looked to be an complete control. Alabama would come back to score a pair of second quarter touchdowns to cut the lead to six by half. After a third quarter field goal by Bama, the score was A&M leading 20-17. Texas A&M's fresjman sensation Johnny Manziel threw his second touchdown pass of the game midway through the fourth quarter to put his team up 29-17. Alabama would drive down and score to cut it to 29-24. Then came the craziness, Alabams's defense got a quick stop and A.J. McCarren led the offense down to A&M's six yard-line. After failing to score on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd & goal, Bama had a 4th & goal from the 3; McCarren rolled to his right and fired it in the end zone, only for it to be intercepted! It was over yet, as Bama's defense came up big again by forcing a 3 & out and an A&M punt. With 40 seconds left it was 4th and 1 yard to go and A&M was punting, but right before the snap an Alabama defensive lineman jumps of sides; resulting in a offside penalty that gave Texas A&M the game-sealing 1st down. Manziel would take one final knee and that would be it. Johnny Manziel played fantastic, as well did the Aggies' defense to lead the upset victory. So, who will be the new #1 team in College Football? Well, we will all find that out Sunday night, with the release of the new BCS standings.

NBA Tip-off!

This year's 2012-2013 NBA season is officially underway! The past two nights we have seen the majority of the teams play their first game. The surprise so far would have to be the Lakers who are 0-2. I am not surprised by this as I see the Lakers as a talented, but old team who is no better than 3rd or 4th in the West. The Miami Heat started their title defense with a 120-107 win over Boston on Tuesday night. LeBron James and company received their championship rings and the banner was hung high in the rafters. Overall, the game was competitive and came down to the last five minutes of the fourth quarter. Like I already mentioned, the Heat won, but there was a couple of events that overshadowed the action. During pregame handshakes Keving Garnett ignored his former teammate, now a member of the Heat, Ray Allen. Late in the fourth quarter, Rajon Rondo of Boston committed a flagrant foul on Miami's Dwayne Wade when the outcome was already in hand. I had no problem with Garnett ignoring Ray Allen, as Allen took less money to leave and play for the rival. It is good that we finally have a competent rivalry in pro sports again with the Celtics vs. the Heat.

2012 World Series

This year's World Series matchup is set, as it will be the Detroit Tigers verse the San Fransico Giants. The Tigers won the American Leagure Pennant by sweeping the Yankees in four games. The Giants won the National League Pennant in seven games over the Cardinals. Both of these teams have overcome deficits late in the season. The Tigers trailed in their division by 3 games with a couple weeks left in the regualr season. Detroit went a flury, as they won 18 of their last 30 games and took advantage of the White Sox faultering down the stretch. Miguel Cabrera won the triple crown, the Tigers have one of the best pitching staffs in the majors that is headlined by Justin Verlander, and they have posted a 7-2 record this postseason. The Giants won the N.L. West easily, but in the playoffs they have been anything but dominant. This team has trailed 2-0 games and 3-1 games in both series. To their credit they obviously came back to win each series, respectively 3-2 games and 4-3 games. The Giants are 7-5 this postseason, but an amazing 6-0 when facing elimination. I think the Tigers will win the Series in 5 games, they are the better team, have the more experienced players, and are dominant. As long as Verlander can be his usual dominant self and the Tigers keep hitting, then its a no brainer Tigers all the way!

Charger Collapse or Bronco Comeback?

This week's Monday Night Football game featured the San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos. In the first half things got out of hand as the Chargers scored 17 points on three Denver turnovers, captivating on a interception return for touchdown by the Chargers' Quentin Jammer. San Diego would enjoy a 24-0 halftime lead, but it would be a short-lived and set to only precede a disasterous second half. The Broncos came out of halftime down by 24 points and desperate, but they had time and boy did they use it. Peyton Manning completed his first 13 passes of the second half inlight of throwing for three touchdown passes, to three different receivers. Phillip Rivers threw three second half interceptions, one of which waas returned for a Bronco touchdown. Denver scored 35 unanswered points en route to a comeback 35-24 win. In my opinion, the Broncos won the game, Peyton Manning showed us once again his Hall of Fame-caliber and led the team to victory.

Middle of October means Midterms!

It is the time of the year that we see the leaves change to their fall colors and the weather to change in unison. We are in the middle of October, and yes Halloween is just a couple weeks away, but before we can begin to celebrate the holiday spirit, all us college students must take on the tedious task of midterms. In case you are a reader who si yet to reach college, a midterm is simply a test that is given at the approximate midpoint of the semester and covers all of the material from the first half of the fall semester. Midterms hold a significant percentage of your grade and can be stressful. If you manage and plan your study schedule accordingly, then you can ease the stress of a big test, as well as increase your chance at success. Even thouhg it counts as a large part of your grade, remember: It is just a test and as long as you put forth your best effort, then yoy can't hang your head! Good luck to everyone!

An End to a Hall of Fame Era

This past Friday night, Chipper Jones played his final Major League Baseball game. His, now foremr team, the Atlanta Braves lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 in Friday night's N.L. Wild Card playoff game. Jones made a critical error on a routine ground ball in the 4th inning, that would lead to the Cardinals scoring 3 runs. In the game, the umpires were under heavy scrutiny after two huge controversial calls that disallowed multiple Braves runs. Chipper Jones had his final at-bat in the ninth inning and recorded a infield single. The Braves brought the tying run up to bat, but were unable to score. After all the drama and Atlanta disappointment all us baseball fans, either at home or the game, watched a sure first-ballot hall of famer close a professional career that spanded 22 years.

Tony "Roh-no"

Let's just say last night didn't go to well for Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. He tied a career high, that he ironically set 5 years ago during a different Monday Night Football, by throwing 5 interceptions. The Bears defense simply dominated the game, Romo was under pressure the entire night. If throwing 5 interceptions wasn't enough, 2 of them were returned for touchdowns. The first of the two pick-sixes came on a Bears blitz, when Romo's intended receiver ran the wrong route and wasn't were he was expected to be, resulting in an easy interception return for touchdown. The other pick-six occured in Chicago's end of the field, where Romo got the ball punched out of his hand as he was throwing, resulting to the ball softly fluttering into the arms of Bears linebacker, Lance Briggs, who caught it and ran 74 yards for a score. Needless to say, it just wasnt the Cowboys night as they got blown out 34-18 at home on Monday Night Football and Tony Romo threw 5 interceptions.

NFL Referee Lockout Over

Earlier this morning the NFL announced that they have reached an agreement with the real referees! So this means that we all will finally see NFL-trained and capable referees starting with tonight's Ravens-Browns game on NFL Network. I am glad to see the regular referees return to action! Even though the replacement refs made their mistakes, some bigger than others, I feel they did an acceptable job. I grade it acceptable because the replacement refs did screw up at times, but ultimately they were set up for failure. None of these men had the oppurtunity to have NFL training and have not exceeded the FBS-level of officiating. So to ask them to all of a sudden go to the NFL level, where the game is 10 times faster? Equals set to struggle in my book. But all in all, I'm glad we can finally focus on football, and ONLY football.

Terrible Call

I have had to listen to a half-an-hour worth of opinions and disgust from ESPN about the Monday Night Football game between the Seahawks and the Packers. The reason for the long discussion is becasue on the last play of the game a Packer defender clearly intercepted Russell Wilson's hail mary pass in the end zone; but as the Packer came down to the ground Golden tate, a Seahawk reciever who also had jumped for the ball, wrapped his arms around the ball and gained possession once both men had hit the ground. By NFL rules it should have been a clear intercption and a Packer win, but amongst mass confusion and a sense of unknowing the official call was a Seahawk touchdown. After roughly 5 minutes of replay review, the call was upheld and the Seahawks won 14-12. So basically, the Packers have been robbed of a win as a result of these replacement refs. I am not a fan of either team, but as a football fan this is has gone to far. This has to be the last straw, its time to bring back the true NFL refs!

Highlight of the Day: Reds Clinch N.L. Central

Hope everyone has enjoyed their Saturday! Today was a typical day of college football, as we have seen a lot of good, competitve games. We have also seen our fair share of games that varied from the experts' predictions. But the biggest event of the day was the Cincinnati Reds clinching the N.L. Central division tonight by beating the Dodgers 6-0. I am a Reds fan those this was very exciting for me too watch. Can't wait for the postseason!

Learning how to make a Flyer

Today in class, I learned how to make a Flyer using Microsoft Word. It is as simple as using the Flyer template in Word. I never knew you could do this! This makes it a lot easier and quicker to create the Flyer that you desire. This will be beneficial for working on future projects!

Intro

Hey! everyone. My name is Nick and I am a Sport Management major. I am in my second year at Slippery Rock. I love sports and am interested in making a career of it.