Friday, February 27, 2009

A busy week=Lack of updates

Hey fellow four readers. Did not realize how much my time would be taken up by school and the new job. Hopefully once I get settled in my job, and all my mid-terms are done, I can come back and share with you all my amazing opinions. Hell, even Maurice Clarett updates his blog more often than me.

This weekend I have to start writing two different papers, and read two books for my ENG. and JRNL class. Should have my opinion on the men's basketball game this Sunday

Thursday, February 19, 2009

SIU Basketball. Continuing to break hearts

Well, it almost happened again. The Saluki's mens basketball team was down by 20 points in the second half. Only this time, the opponent wasn't one of the elite Missouri Valley Conference teams-it was Indiana State. The same Indiana State below .500 and known as one of the bottom-feeders of the conference. A late rally helped salvage a little respect, but the truth has come out-the Salukis have hit rock bottom.

Everybody knew that it was going to be tough when Mullins went out with a stress fracture in his foot. It was made even tougher since only 8 players would be dressing for every game. To make matters even better, six of the eight players were Sophomores and younger. Sure, there is a lot of potential with the youngsters, but inexperience breeds inconsistency.

Take the Creighton game, the young Salukis shot an embarrassing 25.1% from the field in the first half. Surprisingly, they were down by 26 at half-time.

To recap, a home game against your hated rivals, and you get absolutely blown out. This coming after you were blown out by the best team in the conference.

What is saddest-there is no one to blame for it. The players are young, Lowery has recruited talented people and injuries are just a way of life in sports.

So where do we go from here? We count down the end of the season, see them probably lose in the play-in game of the MVC tournament and hope that next year goes better.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Update about lack of updates



Sorry all my fellow readers, due to my schedule, I have been too nonschalant about my updates. Anyway, here is a quick recap of topics that caught my interest.


1. US beats Mexico 2-0 in opening round 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - CONCACAF Fourth Round.

Yah, America beat their rivals from the South in the begginging of the fourth round. On the heels of Midfielder Michael Bradley's two goals, America was able to win a deceptively closer game.

Sure it was a shut-out, but Mexico had chances that could have easily made the game at least 2-1 if not 2-2. A poor header and several other missed opportunities spelled the end of their search for victory on American soil for the first time in 10years.

America will next play El Salvador, and Mexico plays Costa Rica, both on March 28th. The Rivals play again August 12th, this time in Mexico.

2. SIU loses second game by 20+ points, this time to Arch-Rival Creighton.

Do not really have much to add to this one. Southern shot 25.1% from the field in the first half, while Creighton shot 57% for the entire game. An embarrassment all around.

Who can you really blame though? The team is dressing only eight players for the rest of the year, and six of the players are sophomores and younger. When you put together a larger workload, then add an already inconsistent squad, then you have a recipe for ugliness. Southern next plays Indiana State on Wednesday.

Alright everybody, I will try to keep the updates coming more frequently. See everybody soon. Before I forget, for your patience.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steriods once...



Just as Joe Torre's "A-Fraud" claim seemed the worst thing happening to his image, Sports Illustrated is reporting that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for two Anabolic steroids in 2003.
According to unnamed sources, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for Primobolan and Testoterone during the 2003 testing period, when MLB was determining reason to install drug testing. Rodriguez won the AL MVP and Home Run Title during his 2003 season with the Texas Rangers. Rodriguez has no comment on the issue.
So where does that lead us now. The arguably best player in baseball, and apparent challenger to Barry Bond's Home Run Title, was (won't comment on current) a steroid user. Should any of us be surprised though? MLB had no penalty installed at the time, so anybody could have been using and faced no repercussions. The allure of becoming a stronger athlete and recovering from injuries seems like it is too much for these athletes to deny.
A-Rod is just another in a long line of elite athletes who have been put into the steroid conundrum. It registers as a shock, yes, but how shocked can we be anymore that our favorite athletes juice. When given the opportunity to improve on their natural talent, the answer seems to be how. And A-Rod has always been narcissistic in his evaluation on his talent. As Joe Torre puts it in his new book, "The Yankee Years":
“Alex is all about the game,” Torre said. “He needs the game. He needs all of those statistics. He needs every record imaginable. And he needs people to make a fuss over him.”
Well, people will certainly be making a fuss about him now...

What could be the saddest part of all this-is that Jose Canseco was right again. The former teammate and professed steroid user accused A-Rod of steroid use in his book, Vindicated. Yes everybody-you live in a world where Jose Canseco is more often than not the voice of reason. Let that one sink in for awhile.

Monday, February 2, 2009

February 2, 2009. The day after...Super Bowl analysis




So who actually watching the whole game though that the Cardinals would come back and make it a game after their first drive in the second half? If you say you did, you are a dirty liar. After the 100 yard interception return for a Touchdown, and the Cardinals failure to do much of anything in the third quarter made it seem like it would be another mundane Super Bowl. But just when the Cardinals seemed like they were going away, they had to go and do something like that....AND TOTALLY REDEEM THEMSELVES! Now, I'll give an overview of the game, split into halves and half-time.

First Half: I'll be honest with you readers, I missed most of the first half. I saw the Steeler's first drive, then had to leave and head to my buddy's place 20 miles away. That's what I get for making a late trip to the rec center+"short" nap. HOWEVAH-I managed to pick up the game right as the Cardinals were about to score with 20 seconds left in the half. At least, that's what everybody who was watching the game though, too bad James Harrison had to be there and throw a monkey wrench in the plan, returning a pass 100 yards for a TD with 0 seconds on the clock.

Speaking of the play, what was Kurt Warner thinking on that pass?!? You have two elite wide recievers on your team, you have to throw it up and let them fight the defenders for them (As he did later with the Pope and Fitzgerald TD). Instead the Cardinals went with the slants, and Harrison jumped the route as if he were a mind reader. Anybody who claimed that they still believed in the Cardinals were still in the game at this point, please rise so I can call you a liar to your face.

Half Time score: Steelers - 17 Cardinals - 7

Half Time Show: "What time is it? It's BOSS TIME"

What an odd, wildly uneven ten minutes. After Bruce Demanded that we put down our "Guacamole" he proceeded to go into an overblown version of "Tenth Avenue Freezeout". I mean, really, do you need to have 20+ people in your band playing this schlock at once. Come on. Then Bruce decides to do a running knee-slide, which ends in him teabagging 90+ million people.
The rest of the show runs a little smoother, with classics such as "Born to Run". That was followed by what was possibly the cheesiest sketch ever, with Bruce being flagged for what I assume, being "awesome" The concert ends with a shameless plug of Bruce's new song, which I'm sure about 40 people who watched cared about.
Overall a dissapointing performance by the Boss. Then again, I was never much of a fan.
Score: A field goal

Second Half: Well, I won't refresh much of the Third quarter, considering nothing happened. Fourth Quarter made up for it though, as the Steelers come back in the last minute and beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23. Heartbreaking for Cardinal fans, great for everybody else!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Late Super Bowl Prediction


Not sure if anybody is aware, but the Super Bowl is being played right now. (Well, actually Bruce Springsteen just slid into a camera...) I'll call it now though, Pittsburgh holds the lead, and they beat the Arizona Cardinals by 27-20. I base this on absolutely nothing. I'll wager $5 to my first commenter that this does indeed happen.