This past weekend, I visited Asheville, N.C. to witness the Samford Bulldogs women's basketball team win their second straight Southern Conference championship. While there, I served a dual role for the team. In one role, I supported the men's and women's teams both as a member of the Bulldog Pep Band. In the other, I reported the stories for the school newspaper. At the victory celebration on Tuesday morning, I was talking to our athletic director, Martin Newton. He suggested that I write a story about having both of these responsibilities. Therefore, I come to the source I know will get published no matter what (that's the great thing about a personal blog) so that this idea can become a reality.
The preparation: Possibly around the end of Jan Term, Dr. Smisek sent out the yearly "join the basketball tournament pep band" email. My response: an immediate "yes." I went last year and enjoyed it immensely. This year, though our women's basketball team was slightly worse than last year's and our men's was slightly better though still not exceptional, I expected the same sort of atmosphere as last year's tournament in Chattanooga, Tenn.
In the week leading up to the SoCon tournament, I became more anticipatory and even less excited about it. I wasn't expecting as much fun as last year's (a six-plus hour drive to Asheville is not quite the same as three hours to Chattanooga), and I really didn't want to be away from home too long. After all, I had classes to attend and, more importantly, a girlfriend I didn't really want to be so far away from. Knowing I had committed to go, and after a talk with one of my friends who was also going, I put aside my negativity and prepared for the journey.
Day 1: Friday, March 2 - Our men's game began at 6 p.m. Eastern time that night; as a result, we - the band and cheerleaders - were scheduled to depart at 8:00 in the morning, Central time. 8 o'clock rolled around and the bus did not. I, as well as many of my friends, just wanted to get on the bus and go back to sleep. Finally, the bus arrived and we pulled out at around 8:35. With the late departure, and having to stop for lunch, we made it to the Asheville Civic Center with about an hour until tip-off. The game was Furman-Samford.
From the start, our team's fans had four times more spirit than Furman's, even though they outnumbered us at least 2.5:1. Part of that was because their band was playing across town at their women's game and didn't arrive until halftime. However, the story was different on the basketball court. Furman advanced to the quarterfinals with a 75-66 win, and the men's season was over for Samford. Having hoped the improved Bulldogs would at least win one game in the tournament, I was disappointed. There was still the women's team, though.
During the game, I texted my editor: "Hey JT, I'm at the tournament this weekend. Want me to cover it for the Crimson?" After the affirmative response, I emailed Zac Schreiber from sports information: "Zac, I need to speak to Coach Tillette about the game for the Crimson sometime before the end of Monday. I'm in Asheville as long as the women's team is, and my computer power cord is on the fritz. Let me know by phone and email so I'm sure I'm aware."
Yeah, that's an interesting story, too. For the past week, my laptop charger had been working off and on. I ordered a new one a day or two before I left, so it had not arrived before the tournament. Thus, I was writing and reporting two stories, potentially completely away from home, with a computer that had a limited charge. This became quite the problem the longer we were in Asheville. I also emailed Drew Windler, Tyler Hood and Jeff Merritt before my battery dwindled to a dangerously low point, and got in touch with Joey Mullins for my women's story.
Day Two: Saturday, March 3- This was the team to be excited about. Our women's basketball team, the defending conference champions. Their regular season was not as spectacular as last year's; still, a fourth-place seeding in an eleven-team league is nothing to scoff at. The competition was against the Elon Phoenix at UNC-Asheville's Kimmel Arena, where just moments before leaving the hotel, I saw Asheville claim the Big South title on television. The expectations in the band and cheerleaders was a win, but we sure wouldn't have minded going home early. The Bulldogs dominated. For dinner, the fare was a fantastic Italian panini and the disappointment of having to inform Amy I'd be another day getting home, at least. Without the use of my computer, I didn't do any reporting. That role took a night off.
Day Three: Sunday, March 4- Today, we faced the top seed in the conference in Davidson. The general consensus at the Quality Inn was that we would be going home after the game ended at around 2 p.m. We didn't let the team know that, and as a result, boy, were we wrong. With our support, the Dogs bolted to a huge halftime lead, and didn't relent enough to let the Wildcats take the game from them. I think of all the wins in the tournament, this was the biggest disappointment for the band and cheerleaders. I had to let Amy know that once again, she'd have to wait another day for my return.
Text from Zac Schrieber: "Clayton, how about 2:00, Eastern time, tomorrow?" I responded with a yes, knowing that I'd most likely be in a public area with band people. Of course, I much rather would've been in a hotel room with everything conveniently nearby for me to take notes on the conversation, but I had to do what I had to do. I stayed up late for no reason, and got rested for the hopefully excited day ahead.
Day Four: Monday, March 5- I had a very quiet and late breakfast at the hotel, joining about four others in the group that were the only ones awake at 10 in the morning. The anticipation began as the word was passed on that Appalachian State's coach wanted to face the Bulldogs in the final, because she said my school's team didn't deserve it last time. That's motivation if ever there was need to be motivated at all. I was able to find an outlet to work with my laptop charger, and found a public computer in the hotel. I was able to write up my men's story, sans Tillette quotes, and talked to Joey Mullins about talking to Mike Morris.
We went to the Asheville mall for lunch and time-killing before the 5 p.m. tip time. I called and talked to Jimmy Tillette in the middle of the mall and roamed around with my band friends until it was time to go. We had several signs and t-shirts made up for the game, plus red and yellow cards to display when Mountaineers fouled our Bulldogs. It was with immense spirit the band and cheerleaders walked into the Civic Center arena that afternoon, and we passed that spirit on to the team while they were warming up. We wanted this win.
The team wanted the win, too. They got off to an 18-8 lead and never really lost control. In the second half, App fought back for an eventual one-point lead, but the crowd support propelled the Bulldogs to recover. In the band we were screaming and yelling and having trouble matching up with the cheerleaders because we had that much spirit. In the end, Samford pulled off the 54-43 victory to claim its second straight SoCon title. We were victorious. I say "we," because I credit the spirit squad (band and cheerleaders) and fan support for being the deciding factor in the girls' win. Is it egotistical? Sure, a little. Realistic? Most probably. When they were taking the picture with the trophy, the team called the cheerleaders and band over to be in the picture with them, something that did not happen last year. So it's absolutely certain that they appreciated our presence.
Back to the bus. We had pizza and soda (Pepsi, of course, being in North Carolina) waiting for us so we could get home as soon as possible. Before the game I talked with Joey Mullins and arranged to call Coach Morris around an hour after the game. I waited an hour, but we were in the middle of a movie. I waited for the end of the movie and a gas station stop to call the coach, but there was no response. I ended up writing about ten questions I could ask when he called back, but he never did. As a result, I never really got to sleep on the bus, though I tried. We arrived back in Birmingham at around 12:40 in the morning.
Day Five: Tuesday, March 6- Now, it's time to celebrate. The victory flag pep rally was at 10:45 a.m. and I was there as a band member and a Crimson reporter. After several rounds of the fight song, I put my horn away to talk to Coach Morris. I spoke with him and Paige Anderson, and plugged the quotes I received into my story by that evening. While at the pep rally, I witnessed crews from several stations, including ABC 33/40 recording the event (You can see my critical review of 33/40's report here - I promise it's a lot shorter than my personal blog posts). At the pep rally was when I had the discussion with Joey and Mr. Newton that inspired this post. Mr. Newton told me I could be the only person in the nation to be doing the double-duty thing as a reporter and band member, I doubt it's true though. If you know of any other instances in which this happened, and are still reading this post, leave me a comment. Otherwise, come back next post.
Until then,
-Clayton
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
10 March 2012
02 March 2012
The Catsup Post
Catsup, of course, being pronounced "catch-up".
Cruise Chronicles 4 marked the start of a vast downward spiral for my work ethic last March, a spiral that ended in a 1.7 semester GPA and some drastic changes to my studies.
Before you get out of shape - because, obviously, my school career is of utmost importance to you - I'm still here at Samford, and I hit Dean's List last semester.
However, 2011 was a heck of a year for so many reasons. First and foremost, I will have been dating the girl of my dreams for eleven months come the sixth of this month. Herein, you may be able to begin speculating what caused my half-semester-long absence from my schooling.
I was enraptured, entranced, absolutely crazy out of my mind trying to put words and meaning to the fact that I was, indeed, in love. From about the first of March until the end of spring break, I could not put a million words, let alone two or three, to what I was feeling. I think, deep down, I knew, but it took a lot of coercing - mostly from Amy - for me to come to terms with the fact that I had a huge, major crush on the girl that once sat in front of me in CP class.
Well, it was an interesting April. We began trying to work out our relationship; on April 6 we became Facebook official. Just like any young relationship, there was a lot of growing and adjusting early on. My adjusting included putting school on the back burner.
Exams came and went, and we had to say good-bye for the summer. Amy was off to Costa Rica for a seven-week research project, while I returned home and began to look for a job.
After three days of hard-core searching near the end of May, I found myself that job. I was offered a job at the Exxon Tigermarket convenience store practically the moment I walked in. What followed was two and a half months of gas, hot dogs, and cigarettes (only consuming the first two, but selling all three) and a steady income.
In midst of all the work, I had little time for fun. I think I was able to get to a couple of different pool parties in Hendersonville over the summer, and I did take an overnighter to Alabama to visit Amy and watch the premiere of the final Harry Potter movie. Five hours of driving, three hours of sleep (maybe) and another long drive home ended in a seven-hour work shift in which I did my job probably only half as well as I should have. I survived, though, and life went on.
Sometime during the summer, I made the decision that in order to get through my schoolwork and do so successfully, the Facebook had to go. And go it did. With the exception of Fall Break and Thanksgiving (and maybe once to check it hadn't completely been erased), I was completely Facebook-less last semester. The results showed; as I mentioned, my 3.54 GPA last semester was good enough for Dean's List and raised my cumulative GPA to 3.0.
And thus the Semester of Hard Work and No Social Life began. Okay, I over-dramatize, but it seems like I had no social life sometimes. The countless study dates with Amy kept time rolling and before we knew it we had been dating for five, six, seven months. I had a great class load. Even the boring gen-ed classes were entertaining enough. I wrote one, sometimes two stories a week for the Samford Crimson (see my constantly growing portfolio here). My primary concerns were for myself and my girlfriend, and it hurts me to say I became distant from a lot of other people that were once important to me. We'll get to that in a while, but let's get the six-week interim between semesters.
I was not able to retain my Tigermarket job for the winter break, so I generally sat around the house throughout January. I did have an incredibly epic trip the week after Christmas. I went with three other members and two adult leaders of my scout troop, as well as two scouts and an adult from South Dakota, to Florida Sea Base in the Keys. For a week, we lived on island time, with our only clocks being the sun and tides. It was a really relaxing and fun week, certainly a lifetime experience that I will never forget.
Shortly after this, the monstrosity known as Step Sing took over my life. I arranged the music for Gamma Sigma Sigma and AAA's show "User Friendly", based on the premise of the movie Tron: Legacy.
It's a love-hate relationship, me and Step Sing. At times I want nothing to do with it, at other times I am beyond thankful for the opportunity I had. Near the end, most of the hate was directed at procedure and contest results with which I strongly disagreed. All in all, the love aspect came out on top.
After Step Sing, the theme of my life quickly became Reconnect. For the past three weeks, I've been trying to resurrect my social life. The best part of it all is that I'm balancing work with that now. I've still got a lot of night-before-they're-due assignments, but I crack down on studying when I need to and hang out when I don't. I've been getting into routines, too. I clean the room every Friday, go to class during the week and do a combination of working, hanging out, eating and sleeping the rest of the time. It's worked so far this semester.
Tomorrow, I head for the mountains of North Carolina to support the Samford basketball teams as they seek to dominate the Southern Conference. Not having much schoolwork, you might be able to expect a post or two with details. If not, I'll be back blogging tomorrow, next week, next month or, you know, whenever.
Oh yeah, that's one more thing. I'm restructuring CUBS. And by restructuring, I mean taking away all structure and just doing what I do: write. Whenever I have time and/or feel motivated, I'll write on this blog. And it's probably a safe bet to say I won't write this much in a post very often.
Lastly, scientists reported today that the sky is green, roses are blue and violets are, in fact, polka-dot.
Just checking to see if you were still reading.
-Clayton
Cruise Chronicles 4 marked the start of a vast downward spiral for my work ethic last March, a spiral that ended in a 1.7 semester GPA and some drastic changes to my studies.
Before you get out of shape - because, obviously, my school career is of utmost importance to you - I'm still here at Samford, and I hit Dean's List last semester.
However, 2011 was a heck of a year for so many reasons. First and foremost, I will have been dating the girl of my dreams for eleven months come the sixth of this month. Herein, you may be able to begin speculating what caused my half-semester-long absence from my schooling.
I was enraptured, entranced, absolutely crazy out of my mind trying to put words and meaning to the fact that I was, indeed, in love. From about the first of March until the end of spring break, I could not put a million words, let alone two or three, to what I was feeling. I think, deep down, I knew, but it took a lot of coercing - mostly from Amy - for me to come to terms with the fact that I had a huge, major crush on the girl that once sat in front of me in CP class.
Well, it was an interesting April. We began trying to work out our relationship; on April 6 we became Facebook official. Just like any young relationship, there was a lot of growing and adjusting early on. My adjusting included putting school on the back burner.
Exams came and went, and we had to say good-bye for the summer. Amy was off to Costa Rica for a seven-week research project, while I returned home and began to look for a job.
After three days of hard-core searching near the end of May, I found myself that job. I was offered a job at the Exxon Tigermarket convenience store practically the moment I walked in. What followed was two and a half months of gas, hot dogs, and cigarettes (only consuming the first two, but selling all three) and a steady income.
In midst of all the work, I had little time for fun. I think I was able to get to a couple of different pool parties in Hendersonville over the summer, and I did take an overnighter to Alabama to visit Amy and watch the premiere of the final Harry Potter movie. Five hours of driving, three hours of sleep (maybe) and another long drive home ended in a seven-hour work shift in which I did my job probably only half as well as I should have. I survived, though, and life went on.
Sometime during the summer, I made the decision that in order to get through my schoolwork and do so successfully, the Facebook had to go. And go it did. With the exception of Fall Break and Thanksgiving (and maybe once to check it hadn't completely been erased), I was completely Facebook-less last semester. The results showed; as I mentioned, my 3.54 GPA last semester was good enough for Dean's List and raised my cumulative GPA to 3.0.
And thus the Semester of Hard Work and No Social Life began. Okay, I over-dramatize, but it seems like I had no social life sometimes. The countless study dates with Amy kept time rolling and before we knew it we had been dating for five, six, seven months. I had a great class load. Even the boring gen-ed classes were entertaining enough. I wrote one, sometimes two stories a week for the Samford Crimson (see my constantly growing portfolio here). My primary concerns were for myself and my girlfriend, and it hurts me to say I became distant from a lot of other people that were once important to me. We'll get to that in a while, but let's get the six-week interim between semesters.
I was not able to retain my Tigermarket job for the winter break, so I generally sat around the house throughout January. I did have an incredibly epic trip the week after Christmas. I went with three other members and two adult leaders of my scout troop, as well as two scouts and an adult from South Dakota, to Florida Sea Base in the Keys. For a week, we lived on island time, with our only clocks being the sun and tides. It was a really relaxing and fun week, certainly a lifetime experience that I will never forget.
Shortly after this, the monstrosity known as Step Sing took over my life. I arranged the music for Gamma Sigma Sigma and AAA's show "User Friendly", based on the premise of the movie Tron: Legacy.
It's a love-hate relationship, me and Step Sing. At times I want nothing to do with it, at other times I am beyond thankful for the opportunity I had. Near the end, most of the hate was directed at procedure and contest results with which I strongly disagreed. All in all, the love aspect came out on top.
After Step Sing, the theme of my life quickly became Reconnect. For the past three weeks, I've been trying to resurrect my social life. The best part of it all is that I'm balancing work with that now. I've still got a lot of night-before-they're-due assignments, but I crack down on studying when I need to and hang out when I don't. I've been getting into routines, too. I clean the room every Friday, go to class during the week and do a combination of working, hanging out, eating and sleeping the rest of the time. It's worked so far this semester.
Tomorrow, I head for the mountains of North Carolina to support the Samford basketball teams as they seek to dominate the Southern Conference. Not having much schoolwork, you might be able to expect a post or two with details. If not, I'll be back blogging tomorrow, next week, next month or, you know, whenever.
Oh yeah, that's one more thing. I'm restructuring CUBS. And by restructuring, I mean taking away all structure and just doing what I do: write. Whenever I have time and/or feel motivated, I'll write on this blog. And it's probably a safe bet to say I won't write this much in a post very often.
Lastly, scientists reported today that the sky is green, roses are blue and violets are, in fact, polka-dot.
Just checking to see if you were still reading.
-Clayton
12 August 2010
I just feel like ranting.
*RANT RANT RANT RANT RANT RANT RANT*
There. It doesn't make me feel much better, but I'll keep writing for a while.
Please, please, excuse any vulgarities that might escape my fingers in this blog. I'm THAT upset.
And there's really no need to be, which makes me even more irate.
It's those damn Yankees. Yeah, hate them more than I have in a while. It's just...grrrrr.
Tonight's baseball scores of course top off the 0-3 start to my preseason predictions, first with the cowboys beating cincy in the hall of fame game last sunday, and then with New England beating the Saints and oakland coming from behind in a lack of offensive production from dallas, which enabled the raiders' 17-9 win. Last time I put my faith in that "America's Team" this preseason. field goals the rest of the way for them.
Please help me remember the nation's favorite basketball and hockey teams so I can start rooting against them too.
gasjdpidajpogoajpgpjogdpjogpjogpojgsdapjogsdapjoga
On top of that, no one's playing in what should've been a glorious last three weeks of my lyric game.
I don't know what is up with that. Because no one's letting me know, except for Janie, their intents to stop playing. I'm considering as of now just stopping and not awarding any prizes.
But that conflicts my sense of commitment.
I think it's starting to sink in how close I am to being gone from Hville for an insanely extended length of time for the first time since 1996. I think the longest I haven't been home consecutively is about two weeks, and I'm about to spend two months in birmingham before fall break.
Wait, what!
Yeah, that can make a guy miserable.
On top of that, ***** GRAMMATICAL AND SPELLING ERRORS NEED TO STOP! I will go on a frenzy before long correcting everyone, especially those that are in school already. Bane of my existence.
hmmm...meteor shower tonight. I think I'm going to see if I can't see anything through the bright city lights of middle Tennessee.
And maybe make some sort of wish. Or refuse to believe in such poppycock.
Whatever.
I'm out.
30 May 2009
NBA Finals Blog
Well, one half of the finals are set, as Kobe Bryant and the Lakers dominated the Denver Nuggets by 27 points in game 6 to win the Western Conference Finals. The next half will be covered when Orlando wins tonight, or Orlando or Lebron wins game 7 Monday night.
I say Lebron, because he is Cleveland.
Who else do they have after all?
They have Anderson Varejao.
Oh, yeah, him. He's kind of a softy if you ask me. Who else?
Mo Williams.
Ok, he was the one that threw the ball in for Lebron's shot in game 2. That's impressive. Really impressive...
How about their center, Zydrunas Ilgauskas?
That's a cool name. What's his line?
13 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.3 bpg.
Superstar? I think not.
So you see, Lebron James is the Cleveland Cavaliers, whether you want to believe it or not. And last time I checked, one person can't win a championship in a team game. That is why Orlando has a 3-2 lead on him. And why they will win tonight. And what's more, if it gets to seven games in the NBA finals, the Magic are your champions.
Which brings me to my next point. Instead of Kobe v. Lebron everyone was predicting (I laugh in your faces. I never believed that crap for a second.) It will be Kobe v. Dwight Howard/Rashard Lewis/Hedo Turkoglu/the Orlando Magic. But when it comes down to it, the Lakers aren't just Kobe. Close, but not quite.
Pao Gasol is a softy. He won't help. Much.
Andrew Bynum is still young, but he's got talent. I can see 15 or so points per game coming from him.
I like Lamar Odom. I don't know why, but I think he's got something going for him.
But the big show of the Lakers is, of course, Kobe Bryant. He's out to prove that he can win a title without Shaq, and this year's the year. If KG hadn't got hurt, the Celtics would have already won the East and game 1 of the finals would be tomorrow night.
But that is not important, this year is the Lakers' year. Unless, of course, it goes to game seven.
The reason why I think the Magic win if the series goes to seven games is the same reason I knew the Hawks would beat the Heat in game 7 of round 1 and the same reason I believe the Magic will win the Eastern Conference tonight.
They are a better team.
I have laid out the team members of the Lakers, so now it's time to get to the Magic.
Dwight Howard. Superman. He's going to be your biggest Orlando star for the next two weeks.
Rashard Lewis is going to be your clutch man. When a big shot is needed, he's the East's Robert Horry. He has proved that in the Conference Finals, and will continue his last-second heroics against L.A.
Turkoglu will get Orlando some clutch shots as well. He's the Ray Allen in this Big Three, not quite as good statistically, but he can still help.
I referenced Boston's Big Three. Howard, Lewis, and Turkoglu are Orlando's version. They aren't quite as dominant as Garnett, Pierce, and Allen, but they are about to make the NBA Finals, so that's got to amount to something.
My pick is the Lakers in 5, but as I am now saying for the third time, if it gets to that crucial winner-takes-all game seven, my team of choice is Orlando.
Thanks for reading my only NBA blog of the season. We'll do it again this time next year.
-cth
I say Lebron, because he is Cleveland.
Who else do they have after all?
They have Anderson Varejao.
Oh, yeah, him. He's kind of a softy if you ask me. Who else?
Mo Williams.
Ok, he was the one that threw the ball in for Lebron's shot in game 2. That's impressive. Really impressive...
How about their center, Zydrunas Ilgauskas?
That's a cool name. What's his line?
13 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.3 bpg.
Superstar? I think not.
So you see, Lebron James is the Cleveland Cavaliers, whether you want to believe it or not. And last time I checked, one person can't win a championship in a team game. That is why Orlando has a 3-2 lead on him. And why they will win tonight. And what's more, if it gets to seven games in the NBA finals, the Magic are your champions.
Which brings me to my next point. Instead of Kobe v. Lebron everyone was predicting (I laugh in your faces. I never believed that crap for a second.) It will be Kobe v. Dwight Howard/Rashard Lewis/Hedo Turkoglu/the Orlando Magic. But when it comes down to it, the Lakers aren't just Kobe. Close, but not quite.
Pao Gasol is a softy. He won't help. Much.
Andrew Bynum is still young, but he's got talent. I can see 15 or so points per game coming from him.
I like Lamar Odom. I don't know why, but I think he's got something going for him.
But the big show of the Lakers is, of course, Kobe Bryant. He's out to prove that he can win a title without Shaq, and this year's the year. If KG hadn't got hurt, the Celtics would have already won the East and game 1 of the finals would be tomorrow night.
But that is not important, this year is the Lakers' year. Unless, of course, it goes to game seven.
The reason why I think the Magic win if the series goes to seven games is the same reason I knew the Hawks would beat the Heat in game 7 of round 1 and the same reason I believe the Magic will win the Eastern Conference tonight.
They are a better team.
I have laid out the team members of the Lakers, so now it's time to get to the Magic.
Dwight Howard. Superman. He's going to be your biggest Orlando star for the next two weeks.
Rashard Lewis is going to be your clutch man. When a big shot is needed, he's the East's Robert Horry. He has proved that in the Conference Finals, and will continue his last-second heroics against L.A.
Turkoglu will get Orlando some clutch shots as well. He's the Ray Allen in this Big Three, not quite as good statistically, but he can still help.
I referenced Boston's Big Three. Howard, Lewis, and Turkoglu are Orlando's version. They aren't quite as dominant as Garnett, Pierce, and Allen, but they are about to make the NBA Finals, so that's got to amount to something.
My pick is the Lakers in 5, but as I am now saying for the third time, if it gets to that crucial winner-takes-all game seven, my team of choice is Orlando.
Thanks for reading my only NBA blog of the season. We'll do it again this time next year.
-cth
16 December 2008
well...not much...but...here it is in all its shining glory...blog number 23
i take time out of my busy schedule to honor all the great number 23's:
Michael Jordan (started the number's status as that of superstars)
LeBron James
Don Mattingly
Ryne Sandberg
David Beckham
Devin Hester
Marshawn Lynch
Ronnie Brown
Cadillac Williams
Erin Malone
Julio Lugo
i probably have missed many...but these are some notables....however, there is one more:
THIS BLOG!!!
so anyway, just got through espn's lastest tmq and found it an enjoyable read...lots of good stuff in it...also the new mayne street...not as good as some others but it's okay...it's got some pg-13 moments, but overall as long as you are mature enough to handle it...it's good.
go titans! i was thoroughly upset by the loss to the texans, and then by pittsburgh winning. my pick is still titans over panthers in the super bowl. we'll see...but i repeat GO TITANS!!!! AFC SOUTH DIVISION CHAMPS, BABY!!!!!!
how bout them celtics! i think that's all i have to say about that
baseball winter meetings...hope sox get away with texeira...that would be awesome.
my new favorite song: live your life by rhianna and t.i.
that's it for now
-cth
Michael Jordan (started the number's status as that of superstars)
LeBron James
Don Mattingly
Ryne Sandberg
David Beckham
Devin Hester
Marshawn Lynch
Ronnie Brown
Cadillac Williams
Erin Malone
Julio Lugo
i probably have missed many...but these are some notables....however, there is one more:
THIS BLOG!!!
so anyway, just got through espn's lastest tmq and found it an enjoyable read...lots of good stuff in it...also the new mayne street...not as good as some others but it's okay...it's got some pg-13 moments, but overall as long as you are mature enough to handle it...it's good.
go titans! i was thoroughly upset by the loss to the texans, and then by pittsburgh winning. my pick is still titans over panthers in the super bowl. we'll see...but i repeat GO TITANS!!!! AFC SOUTH DIVISION CHAMPS, BABY!!!!!!
how bout them celtics! i think that's all i have to say about that
baseball winter meetings...hope sox get away with texeira...that would be awesome.
my new favorite song: live your life by rhianna and t.i.
that's it for now
-cth
04 November 2008
stuff
titans are 8-0!!!!!! i'm super pumped and ready to see the bears get destroyed. it's gonna be no contest...grossman won the game for chicago last week, so naturally he's gonna suck this week. he's consistently inconsistent! so anyway, it's great...election's coming up today and i don't have a favorite i'm gonna go along with what everyone here says...mccain wins tennessee, obama wins the nation. i'll be playin around w/ the magic map on cnn.com...here's the link: http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/calculator/. we'll see what happens...blog to come probably thursday on the result...all i know is that whoever wins, he's my president, and i will support him. so that's the long and the short of it.
iverson traded to the pistons, billups goes to denver...really i don't care about the nba until the playoffs...and then only with mild interest...so it's really no big deal to me.
otherwise, guess everything else is going just fine, visited tech on thursday and wasn't all that impressed...but i got out of school, so it was worth it! saw several mhms grads and that was nice. halloween was fun and so was this weekend....but now that i'm thinking saturday, i'm thinking college football, which reminds me...
FULMER'S LEAVING UT!!!!!! that was very shocking. that man has been the face of tennessee football for two decades now, and his leaving means that that will no longer be the case. i'm more of a vandy fan now, but it still hurts. firing a coach with several conference championships and two national championship appearances after one bad season...even though they tentatively have one of the best recruiting classes in the nation for next year...doesn't make sense...next thing you know they'll fire bruce pearl for not making it to the final four. oh, well, stuff happens...
vandy plays florida next week...make it four losses in a row...after a 5-0 start...classic vandy football in the second half of the season. until next time, i'll be rejoicing, comiserating, and remembering some more stuff to write about...
-cth
iverson traded to the pistons, billups goes to denver...really i don't care about the nba until the playoffs...and then only with mild interest...so it's really no big deal to me.
otherwise, guess everything else is going just fine, visited tech on thursday and wasn't all that impressed...but i got out of school, so it was worth it! saw several mhms grads and that was nice. halloween was fun and so was this weekend....but now that i'm thinking saturday, i'm thinking college football, which reminds me...
FULMER'S LEAVING UT!!!!!! that was very shocking. that man has been the face of tennessee football for two decades now, and his leaving means that that will no longer be the case. i'm more of a vandy fan now, but it still hurts. firing a coach with several conference championships and two national championship appearances after one bad season...even though they tentatively have one of the best recruiting classes in the nation for next year...doesn't make sense...next thing you know they'll fire bruce pearl for not making it to the final four. oh, well, stuff happens...
vandy plays florida next week...make it four losses in a row...after a 5-0 start...classic vandy football in the second half of the season. until next time, i'll be rejoicing, comiserating, and remembering some more stuff to write about...
-cth
06 September 2008
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.
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.
24 August 2008
oh boy, do i have stuff to talk about
with the so-called "redemption" of US basketball, michael phelps beastly domination in swimming, shawn johnson's gymnastics, and a stolen arrangement of the star-spangled banner, just to name a few things, the games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing come to a close. This is just the opening topic of this weekends blog.
starting off with the first us men's basketball team not to be called the "dream team" since i've been alive...the "redeem team," as they are called this year, dominated spain in the gold medal game last night (us time). now we get to go back to calling them the "dream team" again...and i expect "dream team V" to medal, probably, as the rest of the country thinks, win it all, again in 2012.
next up, 12,000 calorie phelps. not only are his eating habits ridiculous, it helped him win a ridiculous 8 gold medals this summer, going 8 for the 8 events he participated in, setting at least 6 world records on his amazing run. now, next year, someone, probably phelps himself, will break all those records in different competitions, but it was a very dominating summer that he enjoyed. my 2012 outlook for michael phelps: look for him to not only win 9 golds in swimming, but also to win the triathlon and several other events (maybe even ping-pong)...beast.
i don't normally watch gymnastics, but i still like to know what's going on. so when i heard about paul hamm, and then his brother, i wasn't expecting much from men's gymnastics. then i saw that they got bronze for the team gymnastics...that was pretty cool. can't remember if any of them medaled in all-around, but i seem to think at least one guy did. women's gymnasts, on the other hand, were out of this world for the US. the team just barely missed the gold, and then got gold and silver in all-around. then shawn johnson later in the week got another gold medal. in 2016, there will apparently be a member of the men's gymnast squad by the name of jacob hamilton...if he makes it, i'll be proud of my schoolmate, and i hope elf the best, even if we have to agree to disagree about notre dame.
so, apparently in the tennessean, there was an article describing how the rendition of the star-spangled banner used at most of the olympic medal ceremonies was a direct copy of an arrangement by a certain american composer/arranger. the exact name escapes me, but he argues that the chinese used it without his permission, or acknowledgement, or any of the normal stuff. so there's that story for you.
all in all, this year's olympics were very good. i'd give them, in david slate terms, four and a quarter out of five footballs.
i'll cover the nfl and mlb in my next blog, and maybe some of how my life's been recently...
starting off with the first us men's basketball team not to be called the "dream team" since i've been alive...the "redeem team," as they are called this year, dominated spain in the gold medal game last night (us time). now we get to go back to calling them the "dream team" again...and i expect "dream team V" to medal, probably, as the rest of the country thinks, win it all, again in 2012.
next up, 12,000 calorie phelps. not only are his eating habits ridiculous, it helped him win a ridiculous 8 gold medals this summer, going 8 for the 8 events he participated in, setting at least 6 world records on his amazing run. now, next year, someone, probably phelps himself, will break all those records in different competitions, but it was a very dominating summer that he enjoyed. my 2012 outlook for michael phelps: look for him to not only win 9 golds in swimming, but also to win the triathlon and several other events (maybe even ping-pong)...beast.
i don't normally watch gymnastics, but i still like to know what's going on. so when i heard about paul hamm, and then his brother, i wasn't expecting much from men's gymnastics. then i saw that they got bronze for the team gymnastics...that was pretty cool. can't remember if any of them medaled in all-around, but i seem to think at least one guy did. women's gymnasts, on the other hand, were out of this world for the US. the team just barely missed the gold, and then got gold and silver in all-around. then shawn johnson later in the week got another gold medal. in 2016, there will apparently be a member of the men's gymnast squad by the name of jacob hamilton...if he makes it, i'll be proud of my schoolmate, and i hope elf the best, even if we have to agree to disagree about notre dame.
so, apparently in the tennessean, there was an article describing how the rendition of the star-spangled banner used at most of the olympic medal ceremonies was a direct copy of an arrangement by a certain american composer/arranger. the exact name escapes me, but he argues that the chinese used it without his permission, or acknowledgement, or any of the normal stuff. so there's that story for you.
all in all, this year's olympics were very good. i'd give them, in david slate terms, four and a quarter out of five footballs.
i'll cover the nfl and mlb in my next blog, and maybe some of how my life's been recently...
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