30 September 2008

nfl mixups

so...the titans are one of three undefeated teams...and one of two that are 4-0.

they've also moved up to number two on espn's power rankings which is sweet http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/powerranking?season=2008&week=5

also vandy's number 19 in both new polls...and bama's 2...oklahoma's 1...no brainer...what i don't get is why lsu is above texas...ut creamed arkansas while lsu only won by 10 against miss st.

back to the nfl, i'm looking forward to next week...the ravens game...should be a good one. i predict 5-0 titans and bills, 4-0 giants....ravens are going to falter like last year.

big news stories. rams fire coach scott linehan, who went 11-25 in just over 2 seasons. also, raiders finally fire head coach lane kiffin after a 1-3 start, and a 5-15 career for kiffin. i don't think al davis had any class in his firing...it's kinda the opposite of last year, when a coach just walked out on a team w/ four weeks left, whereas coaches are getting fired four weeks into this season. this'll be a fun season...i can tell it already...more later...

-c

28 September 2008

UPSET SPECIAL!!!

well, starting with #1 usc losing to oregon state, #4 florida, #9 Wisconsin, #16 Wake Forest (are you seeing the same pattern i'm seeing?), #20 Clemson, and #23 ECU lost to unranked teams, and #3 Georgia fell to #8 Alabama by a score of 41-30 last night. Other ranked teams losing were #24 TCU to #2 Oklahoma and #22 Illinois against #12 Penn State. Winning teams were #2 Oklahoma, #5 LSU, #7 Texas, #12 PSU, #13 South Florida, #14 Ohio State, #15 Auburn, #17 Utah, and #25 Fresno. Idle in the top 25 were #6 Missouri, #10 Texas Tech, #11 Brigham Young, #18 Kansas, #19 Boise St, and #21 Vanderbilt. with all the facts before you, I now present my top 25, from 25 to 1

25. Clemson (3-2, lost to Maryland 20-17)
24. UConn (5-0, Defeated Louisville 26-21)
23. Wake Forest (3-1, lost to Navy 24-17)
22.Virginia Tech (4-1, defeated Nebraska 35-30)
21. Oklahoma State (4-0, defeated Troy 55-24)

20. Oregon (4-1, defeated Washington State 63-14)
19. Fresno State (3-1, defeated UCLA 36-31)
18. Vanderbilt (4-0, Idle)
17. Boise State (3-0, Idle)
16. Kansas (3-1, Idle)

15. Utah (5-0, defeated Weber State 37-21)
14. Georgia (4-1, lost to #8 Alabama 41-30)
13. Auburn (4-1, Defeated Tennessee 14-12)
12. Ohio State (4-1, defeated Minnesota 34-21)
11. South Florida (5-0, defeated NC State 41-10)

10. Penn State (5-0, defeated #22 Illinois 38-24)
9. Florida (3-1, lost to Mississippi 31-30)
8. BYU (4-0, Idle)
7. USC (2-1, lost to Oregon State 27-21)
6. Texas Tech (4-0, Idle)

5. Alabama (5-0, defeated #3 Georgia 41-30)
4. Missouri (4-0, Idle)
3. LSU (4-0, defeated Mississippi State 34-24)
2. Texas (5-0, defeated Arkansas 52-10)
1. Oklahoma (5-0, defeated #24 TCU 35-10)

Teams in top 25 by conference

SEC- 6
Big XII-6
ACC- 3
PAC-10- 2
Big Ten- 2
WAC- 2
Mountain West- 2
Big East- 2

that's it for now...nfl blog to come later in the week

21 September 2008

it's been a long time...

well...i was at fall fellowship this weekend (any wa-hi-nasa arrowmen that missed it missed a great weekend)...and had a blast...almost got sick chugging root beer, but had a great time nonetheless...it's been a while since the last post, and i've got to comment on the titans 3-0 start, after dominating houston 31-12 about vy, well...let's just say i like kerry. but i wish vince the best and hope he can get back into the game and start winning for us. vandy's 4-0 after defeating ole miss i heard, and ut lost to the gators something bad. and the brady story!!!!! wow...i think that cassel's the new brady....he'll go down in the first game of the season six or seven years from now after winning an mvp or two and maybe a super bowl...and some new draft steal will get his shot...and so the circle will continue...as for brady, he'll be traded to a mediocre team for draft picks, and retire after journeying around the leauge for the next six years...with only the 50 td mark to his name...which will eventually be broken by brett favre when he gets an amazing receiving corps up in new york...i predict around 2028. maybe even in the 22nd century...but brett will break the record...and then win the super bowl after he has broken every other passing record he has yet to break. then finally he will retire and his jersey number will be the first retired by the entire nfl. which is what he's wanted all along...







but anyway, on a more serious note, and switching to baseball, it's really fitting to see that the yankees won the last game at yankees stadium. even as a red sox fan, i think i was pulling for a new york victory sunday night...i think everyone wanted them to win, even the orioles they were playing against. meanwhile, other teams are gaining ground on the sox in the wild card race, but i think that we'll get the spot after it's all said and done.





school's been going pretty alright. we made a commercial in multimedia advertising a fire extinguisher, and seth hearld played the part of billy mays. he was pretty embarrassed when the class watched it, but billy was his idea. anyway, we're working on a music video (probably) now, and we don't know what song we're going to create a video on



my newest frustration: limewire. there's a song i really want to download (all summer long by kid rock) but they don't have the right version on itunes, and whenever i try to get on limewire on my computer it opens up itunes...and when i go to limewire.com to download it again, the website is blocked. so basically, i'm having some problems and don't like it.



in other news, i just learned that matt millen got fired, and the sox made the playoffs!!!!!!!!! so it's all good.



drive group's going well, and i've got something printed out to be bashed at eikon tonight....but it's all good still! can't wait to share it. don't know what's for dinner tonight, but i won't be eating it for a while...the marathon known as PECAN SALES is about to start with a bang for me. i'm going forty pounds tonight...as long as david mccoy stays out of the race...i have christopher's stuff too but he doesn't realize.



so, we have this awesome new sub at mhms. we're not sure what her real name is, but she's been introducing herself mostly as annabell lee. apparently she's got seven masters' degrees and is three classes away from earning the rest of them...but that's just the start...we're not sure what's up with her, but there are plenty of speculations...we had an awesome time screwing around in band yesterday...because she didn't even know everyone was playing sharp, flat, or in a completely different key, and it took jake jones for her to realize we (the sax section) were going too fast. it was really hilariously fun! she says she practices guitar 20 hours a day, yet she can't play mr. clark's....because it has classical nylon strings...she is supposedly a great classical guitar player....messed up, man, messed up!



i'm a life scout now, so i'm thinking of ideas for my eagle project. any outside-the-box ideas, let me know!



and maybe matt cassel isn't the next brady..................

06 September 2008

short football blog

well...nfl season got of to a big start thursday with the giants, as i predicted, defeating washington handily, which reminds me i need to send out my picks sometime soon...like really soon...anyway, the rest of the league opens up tomorrow...and i'm really excited. in college, the've already played the majority of two weeks. vandy's 2-0, and ut got crushed by ucla in an overtime thriller. so anyway, there's my two minute's worth of football talk. until next time!

-cth

12 random journal entries

i had to type these for english class...just another way of gettin my views out i suppose...so here it is:

1. I am a big fan of football. Professional, college, or high school, I always thoroughly enjoy a good game of football. Some of my best art are offensive football plays I have devised. I send out weekly e-mails with my predictions for National Football League games to some of my friends, because that is another thing I enjoy to do concerning football. My favorite professional team is the Tennessee Titans, while I root for the University of Tennessee on the college gridiron and Hendersonville and Station Camp High Schools in their respective divisions.

2. My second favorite sport is basketball. I mainly like college and high school basketball, although I sometimes attend church league games and will occasionally watch a professional game. One of the reasons I am so fond of high school basketball is because I am a statistician for Merrol Hyde’s team. I also really enjoy the atmosphere surrounding the game of college basketball, especially surrounding the national tournament. My take on professional basketball players is that they are a bunch of jerks playing for the name on the back of their jersey instead of the one on the front, which is why I prefer high school and college ball better.

3. I am also a fanatic for baseball. However, unlike basketball or football, I concentrate solely on professional baseball. My favorite teams are the Boston Red Sox in the American League and the Chicago Cubs in the National League. If I had to pick between the two teams and leagues, though, I would go with the Red Sox and the American. My favorite time of year in baseball is October, especially when one of my teams is in Championship contention. October is the month in which the World Series is played. The thing I dislike the most about baseball is the steroids scandal. Despite the drugs, though, baseball still remains a pastime for me.

4. Two common breakfast foods are waffles and pancakes. While they have many similarities, the two menu staples have their differences. Thanks to these differences, one can determine which is better. Waffles can be square or round, while pancakes are normally just round. In contrast to the flatness of pancakes, waffles have grooves in them, which is better for syrup lovers. Waffles, with their grooves and ridges, are better capable of holding more syrup, but because of pancakes’ flatness, it’s not so easy for them to hold syrup. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that waffles are better than pancakes.

5. In this year’s highly publicized presidential election, the Democrats have nominated Illinois Senator Barack Obama, who is running with Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his vice-presidential candidate. I highly respect, and even somewhat envy, Senator Obama’s speech-giving capabilities, but I’m not sure if I agree with all of his views, nor am I sure if he will be able to deliver on his promises. On the Republican ticket, Arizona Senator John McCain is running alongside of his vice-presidential candidate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. I am very intrigued by this election, and I am of now undecided. One thing is for sure, the road to Washington is a long and hard one for both parties, and whoever wins the election will be the President, and I will respect that person as such.

6. So far this has been a good school year for me. The classes I am in are English 1010, Chemistry, Interactive Multimedia, and Band. I am not failing any of my classes as of yet, and do not plan to be failing at any point in the year. Among the extracurricular activities I am involved in are Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Flight Club, the high school men’s basketball team, and, once the first meeting has begun, the Junior Classical League. I do not actually play basketball, but because I’m the statistician I am a part of the team nonetheless. I play alto saxophone in the high school symphonic band, and I am also in jazz band.

7. The smell of popcorn. The sound of a foghorn celebrating the readjustment of score. Thousands of fans wanting to get back quickly to the stands to cheer on their Vanderbilt Commodores as they manhandle the University of South Carolina. These are just a few of the many variables that go into working the concession stands at Vanderbilt. On Thursday, August 4, as I have been the last five years, I was privileged enough to be a part of a twelve-man team working concessions for the Commodores game. The experience is a very rewarding one, because it teaches many cooperation, communication, and time management skills. I have thoroughly enjoyed every game I have been a part of, especially when my team gets the win.

8. One of my newer hobbies is photography. I enjoy taking pictures of anything possible. Right now I have a decent point-and-shoot camera, but I want a more professional camera to take my photos with. My favorite things to photograph are sunsets, sunrises, and people. There is a group at my Church devoted to the arts, and our original division was photography. I think being involved in this group got me really interested and started on my new hobby.

9. I am an active member of my Scout Troop. I am just about to earn my Life rank, which is the rank before Eagle. I am also Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, which puts me as second in command of my entire troop. Last weekend we went on a canoe trip. I was acting Senior Patrol Leader during the trip, and I felt it was a very successful weekend for the troop, with only a few minor setbacks. I’ve learned a lot of things through Scouts, including cooking, camping, and communication skills, which I will use for the rest of my life.

10. I am also extremely actively involved in my Church community. I sing in the youth choir and I also am a part of just about every youth activity that one can be involved in. We go on about six trips a year, four or five of them in the summer alone. Among the highlights of each year are our Choir Tour; Warmth in Winter, a conference-wide event; two missions experiences; and a mystery trip, which we ideally do not know the destination of until the morning we leave. I would definitely not give up my experience with my Church for anything.

11. In Multimedia today, we did a group project. This project involved taking a picture of a silhouette in which every member of the group was a piece of. We had a very challenging time discerning what we were going to be and how we were going to make it. Our idea heading out of the planning stage Thursday was to create a whale, but after having a night to think it over, we decided that the difficulty level was too high for our lack of experience. Our next idea was a “human spider,” with each team member’s arms stretched out to create the effect of one person with a multitude of limbs. After a try or two of this idea, we realized that it was too cramped for seven of us to line up in a single file line, in addition to the different body sizes. In the way the picture was set up, there was a floodlight and a white cloth, and the object was supposed to be between the sheet and the light. We were set up in the downstairs hallway where the bathrooms and guidance office are. For our third idea, we tired to make the standard human pyramid. For some reason which I will never understand, someone suggested that I should be on top of the pyramid. So, consenting, and without warning, I leapt off a chair onto the top of the pile, and it immediately collapsed. We tried twice more with me on top, but the pyramid did not last with me on top, even with prior warning of my moving to the top, so we repositioned people, and on the second try of this new arrangement, we succeeded in taking a picture. The picture resembled a giant block with a human trying to catch her balance. We then determined that we were in too close a space to take any good pictures, so we went to the other side of the cloth and began taking pictures from the other side. Our lighting was much better. We then tried the human spider again and a flower, and kept failing miserably. By this time much of the group was starting to get frustrated. After some minor adjustments and much groaning, we tried one last time. This time we took the form of a tree. It was the best picture we had taken the entire day, so we cleaned up and put everything back in place. Granted, it wasn’t professional, but it should be good enough to earn a passing grade. Some of the characteristics we found that we needed to work on as a group were cooperation, planning, communication, and tolerance. As a whole, the project was most successful as a learning experience.

12. There have been three major tropical systems that have been in the news in the past two weeks. The first one, Hurricane Gustav, made landfall on Labor Day some seventy miles to the southwest of New Orleans as a Category Two storm. Hurricane Hanna had downsized to a Tropical Storm by the time it hit the Carolina Coast on the fifth of September. Hurricane Ike, a Category Three storm, is currently moving north of the island of Hispaniola, and is slated to pass over the Bahamas on its way to making landfall somewhere along the gulf coast by Sunday the fifteenth. Ike is most likely the worst of the three storms, and could wreak extreme havoc, bringing back memories of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, especially if it has time to grow before hitting the States. Residents are advised to take cover and prepare for the storm, especially when a landfall date and area are more specifically known, typically about two or three days before the storm hits. For large, potentially deadly storms, citizens are urged to leave everything behind but the essentials and their valued possessions, and evacuate. Refugees are scattered all over landlocked states when the hurricane hits, and, depending on how bad the damage is, go back home in anywhere from a day to three months after the storm makes landfall. Hurricanes are dangerous storms, and are not to be messed with.