Super Bowl Update

I wrote THIS STORY on Troy guard Alan Jones, who has been playing well over the past few games.

Jones is an interesting story. He's lived in a bunch of places and is an avid soccer fan - he said he orders soccer packages to watch games all over the world. But, Troy has been needing a 2-guard to step up and consistently play defense and hit shots, and Jones has done that over the past few games.

A couple of football links from the NFL...

..You're going to have to go HERE and sort by college, but James Brown (82) and Jonathan Massaquoi (72) were the highest-grading prospects from the Sun Belt at the NFL combine.

...The site Drafttek.com has those two guys listed as third-round picks in its mock draft.

The Sun Belt schools are releasing their 2012 football schedules at 9 a.m. Thursday, so hopefully by 9:01 a.m., I'll get Troy's posted on here.

I admit that my title is corny, however, I could not pass up the opportunity to make the jumping connection.  And what sport do people jump in?  Basketball of course!

Tomorrow in St. Louis will begin the Arch Madness, Missouri Valley Tournament.  The tournament includes 10 schools from the midwest and will culminate in the final game on Sunday, March 4.



Saturday at 3:30 pm, between the two games, Robin Kelleher, our president, will be interviewed.  This great opportunity was made possible by a new partnership with Casey's General Stores. 


Robin might also be interviewed a few other times throughout the day.  If you live in the midwest, watch for her on Fox Sports Kansas City, Fox Sports Midwest, Fox Sports Indiana and Comcast Sports Net Chicago.

Calling all Super Sleuths: Are you a good enough detective to solve this Mainstream Media news mystery?; Kathleen Parker and the Miami Herald's longstanding lack of columnist diversity



If you saw the following five headlines in print or online, what would be your first guess as to what you'd just come across?




Mitt’s convention speech -In his own words. Well, almost.



Santorum’s failed

No Trojans on either team (Will Weathers wasn't nominated) , so I'll just link the lists.

The men's team is HERE.

The women's team is HERE.

The Troy women are the 6 seed from the East and play 3 seed from West North Texas Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

The Troy men are 11th seed and play 6th seed South Alabama Saturday at 6 p.m.

A complete list of everything you need to know for the Sun Belt Tournament in Hot Springs, Ark., is HERE. I won't be in attendance, though may have something to think about if Troy makes a run to the finals.

Finally got a chance to see Troy play in person. HERE is my game story and HERE is the box score.

***Boone Shear was dropped in the order to sixth, and responded with six RBIs. He had the bases loaded three times when he came up and he delivered. Right behind him in the 7 spot, Josh McDorman got a couple of RBIs as well and Danny Collins went 3-for-5 from the cleanup spot. Troy (4-3) has used six different lineups in seven games.

***Chris Fisher made his first career start and I thought he did well. He didn't get the win, but settled down after some balls were hit hard off him in the first inning, one being a great catch by McDorman in left, and proved that he's fully back from Tommy John surgery when he was in junior college in 2010. Fisher only threw 63 pitches because he has a chance to come back Sunday and get a shot to join the weekend rotation. However, Troy has a Sunday game at Bethune-Cookman and then a Tuesday home game vs. UAB and a Wednesday home game vs. East Carolina. On the surface, BCU on a Sunday is the weaker team, but that's a tough road series so you try to figure out where to start Fisher, and then which pitchers to start over the other two games.

***Troy's other two pitchers were the all-conference pitchers. Nate Hill hadn't pitched since Friday and Pierce said he's a guy that can't go too long without pitching, and he was dominant. I talked to Hill after the game and he's sporting a beard. Maybe in a couple of weeks it'll look like Will Goggans' beard. Can you imagine a 5'8 lefty with a wicked slider like that and eventually a longer beard coming at you? Tyson Workman didn't pitch his best, but Pierce said he has the tendency to do that when he comes in and the game is not on the line. But, he didn't pitch at all at Southern Miss and needed the work.

MOVING TO OTHER SPORTS
***Troy's 2012 football schedule will be announced on March 1 (Thursday) at 9 a.m. These games you do know: Sept 1, at UAB; Sept. 15, vs. Mississippi State; Nov. 3, at Tennessee; Nov. 10, at Navy. I doubt there's any ESPN Tuesday night games but my guess is that there's at least 1 game on ESPNU. I reserve the right to be wrong about an ESPN Tuesday night game.

***Caught a little bit of basketball practice, well just shooting and drills. I'll be interested to see how young big men Breon Dixon and Sidki Muwallif develop over the years. Muwallif cut off his long dreads and he's got a nice short J, but needs to get stronger. Dixon has been working more at the 4 position instead of the 5 - so if he's able to develop a consistent 3-point shot, and it looks decent of now, a 6-8 guy playing that position for Troy will work wonders in the future. Troy has 3 scholarships open in the spring period and ideally would like to add a big man, wing player and point guard. It's also important to note that Muwallif is a walk-on and could get put on scholarship next year or the year after.

No one represents fun and youthfulness like Minnie Mouse. I spent the day with her and her friends at Disneyland then had a Minnie style party at home.
 Fresh strawberries, red suckers, huge olives, cherry tomatoes, and mozzarella balls.
 The cake is wonderful alone but the strawberries fit with our color theme. I've also made a chocolate version.
We had water from a clear pitcher with ice and frozen cherries. I also had red and black licorice on the table. Yum!

I'm playing along at

1. Be a minimalist. Get rid of closet clutter. If you haven’t worn it, give it away. If you can’t give it away, store it in a box where you can’t see it.

FDJ mini stripe capris.

FDJ collection.

2. Update your pants. Find one or two pair of pants that are comfortable and fit well. Wear them like a uniform. Renee’s is a pants expert. Our selection is huge right NOW. Let us make this easy for you. Renee's 2012 spring go-to brands: Stehmann, Louben, Tribal, Equestrian Designs, Ethyl, FDJ, Nic + Zoe.





3. Invest in neutral layering tops. Black, white, ivory, tan, red. Crewneck, scoop neck, v neck. Long sleeve, sleeveless. Layering tops are the worker bees of your wardrobe. I love my layering tops! We have a big variety to choose from NOW. Renee's 2012 spring go-to brands: Majestic, Tees by Tina, Focus, Sympli, Nic and Zoe. Today we received a brand new collection of Majestic and Focus knit tops.





4. Own one or two pairs of comfy shoes that can go with everything. One flat and one short heel should do the trick. Renee's 2012 spring go-to brands: Fidji, Naot, Madeline, Nicole.






5. Stock up on a few scarves you can toss on to make your outfit sing. Renee’s is known for our scarf selection. Renee's 2012 spring go-to: Asian Eye.

Bonus step: Embrace fresh possibilities. Try something new.

Act on these five simple tasks and you can enjoy getting dressed every morning!

Share your journey with us. Which steps have you already taken to attain a wardrobe you love? What tips can you add?

With love,
Renee

P.S. There is no better time to shop at Renee’s than March or April, when our selection is at its very best.

I often say that Immediate Needs is the most important program that we manage that people know very little about.  It is important because it assists our military families when they are at their most vulnerable and it is often through an immediate needs case that we are first introduced to a new family. 

“Our Immediate Needs program works daily with wounded service members, their families and families of the fallen to meet immediate financial needs resulting from a service member’s combat related injury.  Travel, lengthy hospital stays, loss of income and unexpected expenses create financial burdens for families during a vulnerable and uncertain time in their life. “

Why does no one know about it?  Well, it is difficult to capture this program in a picture.  How do you show a caregiver getting help at bedside, the lights being kept on, a family staying in their home, or food on the table?

It's all been downhill since they modified the classic logo...
Monday afternoon was a sad day for a proud NMB alum like me, Class of 1979, when I witnessed so many current NMB students so willingly to make complete asses out of themselves -just because they could. Like there was some doubt?
In my opinion, these kids need to be publicly punished and royally ostracized, but I wouldn't hold my

Troy is back at home tonight at 6 for a game against Samford. The Trojans are 3-3, and Samford is 6-2.

The midweek games are ones you think you can experiment in, but ones of vital importance for the mid-majors whose conference strength won't carry them like the SEC would. Samford is a great test for Troy. Head coach Casey Dunn, whom I've known for a long time having covered him when I was an intern for the Birmingham News and he was the head coach at Spain Park High School, has beefed up the roster now that the school has made the jump from the Ohio Valley to the much-tougher Southern Conference.

Samford has hit 14 home runs in 8 games, led by 6 from Brandon Miller. Troy went homerless in a 3-game series at Southern Miss, but the Trojans have some guys who can hit it out as well. I'm thinking we'll see at least a couple of home runs in this one.

Midweek games are where teams need to be hitting well, because both teams may have to go deep into their bullpens for various reasons.

Troy starts junior RHP Chris Fisher (0-0, 11.25), and he may be pitching for a Sunday spot. If that's the case, I can't imagine he would throw more than 70 pitches. Redshirt freshman Clay Holcomb looks like he's staking a claim to be the full-time center fielder. Holcomb has started the last four games there and has been described as an electric player by head coach Bobby Pierce.

I will be at the game. You can follow me on twitter @dothaneagletroy.

For a deeper look at this game, check out Samford's notes HERE and Troy's notes HERE.

 Here's former Troy defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi performing drills at the NFL Combine (Associated Press photos). HERE is Massaquoi's NFL.com profile, giving his strengths and weaknesses.

Massaquoi measured at 6-2, 269 and his workout results were as follows: 4.89 in the 40-yard dash, 20 reps in the bench press (225 pounds), 33.5 inches in the vertical jump, 120 inches in the broad jump, 7.38 seconds in the 3-cone drill and 4.53 seconds in the 20-yard shuttle.

Massaquoi has been listed as a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker, and THIS STORY mentions Massaquoi and talks about how "endbackers" are tough to predict success.

Here we go, the Mac Daddy of Awards Shows! The OSCARS! I will be updating this with my thoughts on the evening and let you know how my predictions stacked up against the results. In case you're like me and didn't see a lot of the best picture hopefuls here are some brief reenactments to get you up to speed on the nine films competing for the night's top prize..

Here's Part 1:


And here's Part 2:

Inspired, no? It's been quite a year for movies. While we're waiting for the show to start, you can watch this to learn exactly what you need to do to have your movie get a chance at one of those golden statues...



There's still about 30 minutes before 90 minutes of red carpet and then 3 or so hours of show. We'll see how it goes!

We're going with ABC's red carpet coverage. Robyn Roberts who I don't know but I'm sure I've seen her somewhere. TIM GUNN AND NINA GARCIA are doing style commentary together! I can only hope she tells someone they look safe and boring, or that she questions their taste level. The only thing that could top that would be if Tim told someone their dress looked like student work. It will never happen, but I can dream!

Octavia Spencer, Maya Rudolph, ann Rooney Mara all look lovely. Jonah Hill is in total black. I forget that dude's nominated this year! Mila Jovovich looks lovely too. This is her first Oscars! So far no one looks horrible.

Bob Iger and the Prince of Monaco are talking to Robyn Roberts. This has to be the most random interview of the night.

Emma Stone is wearing fuschia and a giant bow, which she acknowledges. She is awesome. She is presenting! So we'll see her again later on.

Nina Garcia likes Jessica Chastain's look, and I have to agree she looks hot. They have to show us a fashion"don't" eventually to balance out all this good taste.

Viola Davis! Love her! Michelle Williams! Love her! And Christopher Plummer in a velvet tux? This show can end right now.

A montage of moms talking about the nominees. Aww. And now here comes Melissa McCarthy and her mom and they are crying and hugging. She's so sweet. I'd love to see her win if it didn't mean that super sweet Octavia then had to lose. Let's score it a tie, folks!

Kristen Wiig! Tina Fey! And then there's Colin Firth. I love him so. He's taking it easy this having taken home the Oscar last year. I really an liking the Brit lady who's doing the interviews. Lousie Roe. I need to look up who she is at the next commercial.

Jean Dujardin! He's a sweetheart. I hope he beats Clooney for best actor. Clooney's already got an Oscar. The Artist for the WIN!

Nina is being very nice to everyone. Show me someone who's NOT dressed well!

Wikipedia tells me Lousie Roe is known for hosting BBC's The Clothes Show, E!’s Fashion Police, E!'s Perfect Catch, and the CW TV show Plain Jane. That's why I don't know who she is.

J. Lo is there. Just so you know.

Lousie gets to try to banter with Nick Nolte. He has pet crows and a pinball machine. God bless her.
 
Zack Galifinakis is there. Just so you know.

Penelope Cruz looks amazing. "There is no critical analysis!" to her style process she assures Tim Gunn. lol.

I've just learned that over on E! Sacha Baron Cohen — dressed in character from his upcoming comedy The Dictator — dumped an urn of ashes over Ryan Seacrest on air, saying it was the remains of Kim Jong Il. Sigh. A little desperate, me thinks.

Bradley Cooper has a moustache and a decent Christopher Walken impression.

Gwyneth looks lovely in white. Glenn Close (but no cigar!) looks kinda awesome in a black Zac Posen dress with blazer.

My attention to dresses is fading... I need the actual awards show to start soon!

Brad Pitt... Sandy Bullock... I'm tired of interviews. It's sexy times for Sandra tonight, but I'm zoning out until Billy Crystal shows up.

The Oscars have started! Morgan Freeman is here! Where's Billy Crystal? The hyper orchestra is threatening to overpower him.

Billy Crystal is putting himself in lots of movies. Including an extended clip of Tintin which I'm pretty sure was nominated for nothing. Maybe special effects? I don't know. He's doing some jokes. His mike is all messed up. It has some kind of mechanical feedback to it.

The mike for his song montage isn't right either. Somehow his competence makes me yearn for the train wreck hosting of Franco and Hathaway from last year.

Oh no, it seems to be the main mic that is giving the digital sounding feedback. That means everyone is gonna sound that way??! All-night? I'm gonna switch to watching in non-HD and see if maybe the signal is different. I don't know why it would be, but I really don't want to listen to it all night.

Cinematography goes to HUGO! No, I'm 0-1! Art Direction also goes to HUGO. I'm 1-2! Let's keep it up.

After commercials, the audio problems have not been solved. Ugh. There's a montage of lines from movies that you've seen in at least a dozen other oscar montages. Seriously, this is filler of the lamest order.

Best Costume Design goes to THE ARTIST! I'm now 2-3. Cameron Diaz and J.Lo present Best Make Up and crack themselves up with silly posing before reading the name. This not taking themselves seriously moment is my favorite moment of the night so far. Best Make Up goes to IRON LADY! Ugh, I'm back 2 out of 4.

There's yet another montage of people talking about movies they've seen. God help me, just show twice as many commercials instead of this!

Sandra Bullock comes out to tell us that the Academy decided to simulcast the audio in Star Wars Android Speak which is why we're heaing the computerized sounding feedback. She doesn't actually say that she says something in German-Mandarin. Ugh I don't know. Best Foreign Film goes to A SEPARATION! 3-5 for the night.

It's Christian Bale! I thought he might beat the shit out of whatever's causing the audio problem, but he does not. He presents best supporting actress to OCTAVIA SPENCER! Yay! She's lovely. Everyone in that category is, but I'm very happy for her. She is crying. Aww, she tries to thank everyone. Christian Bale helps her off the stage and this hot violinist starts rocking out hard core as we go to commercial. I'm at 4-6.

Focus group montage from THE CHRISTOPHER GUEST CREW seeing Wizard of Oz! Not as funny in the execution as was the premise. Kinda the theme of the night.

Tina Fey and Bradley Cooper present Best Film Editing to... GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO! That's a shocker. 4-7. The winners are totally unprepared to say anything. They charmingly flee the stage.Tina and Bradley also present sound editing to HUGO! The winner for Hugo gets out the best line of the night so far by saying "if I've forgotten anybody, then you probably know who you are." They're also handing out sound mixing to HUGO. So now I'm at 6 out of  9.

The Muppets introduce Cirque de Soleil and they interpret what it's like to go the movies. I don't know what it has to do with going to the movies, but it's still pretty dope. Especially when these girls come diving out of the ceiling on trapeze swings.

Gwyneth and Robert Downey Jr. do an extended bit on documentary feature and then give the award to UNDEFEATED! The winners seem REALLY young AND one of them gets bleeped. I'm at 6 for 10.

Chris Rock comes out to tell us how easy voicing animation is. "What's the next line? It's getting dark outside. IT'S GETTING DARK OUTSIDE! And then they pay me million dollars!" I want that job. He presents Animated Feature to RANGO. I'm at 7 for 11.  Did I go into a boredom coma and miss the Live Action and Animated Short categories? When are those happening?

Emma Stone and Ben Stiller come out to persent Visual Effects. They do an extended bit beforehand where Emma is super enthusiastic and tries to make the most of her time on stage. This is why she's so good on SNL. I actually laughed! I don't think I'd laughed yet the rest of the night.  Visual Effects goes to HUGO! 8 for 12!

Melissa Leo is here wearing a slightly odd dress and presents best supporting actor to CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER! Yay Captain Von Trapp!  His speech is awesome. I love Christopher Plummer. I have always wanted to be him when I grow up. These fools with the stop watch no better then to try and play him off. He thanks his beautiful wife last and the camera gets to her just in time for us to watch her break into an Ugly Cry. I love every second.  9 for 13.

Oh, I wrote this thing about Billy's "What Everybody is thinking." but the blog erased it! I liked it though. It was old school fun.

Owen Wilson and the impossibly beautiful Penelope Cruz  present best score to THE ARTIST. Cool deal.10 for 14! And Will Ferrell and Zach Galifanakis or however the hell you spell it come out with cymbals and smash the hell out of them in front of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. I don't know why that's so funny but it is. They present Best Song to THE MUPPETS! YAY!!!!! So happy the Muppets got recognized. Bret McKenzie is a cool dude. There should've been more song nominees, but I'm glad the right dude took home the award! 11 for 15!

Angelina Jolie is showing A LOT of leg and she's loving it. She presents best adapted screenplay to THE DESCENDANTS! The Dean from Community has an Oscar!! Yay Jim Rash! Original Screenplay goes to MIDNIGHT IN PARIS! Woody Allen is not in the house. Angelina is taking the award on his behalf and you can try to pry it from her cold dead hands. 13 of 17.

The Bridesmaids are on hand to crank through the three remaining awards you don't know and which I've probably guessed wrong. Short live action goes to THE SHORE. Sorry, Time Freak. :( The winners are adorable though. Is there a Scorsese drinking game? Melissa McCarthy seems to think so. Documentary Short goes to SAVING FACE! I did pick that one! The winners give a lovely speech dedicated to the women of Pakistan. Animated Short goes to FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS...! The winners are totally stoked. I get through the random pick categories 1 for 3. I'll take it. 14 for 20. Let's see if I can make it out of this thing 18 for 24!

Michael Douglass is on hand to present Best Director to MICHEL HAZANAVICIUS! He forgot his speech. But he'll ramble on. He thanks his cast including the dog. It looks pretty good for The Artist for Best Picture now. But we'll see if The Help doesn't pull off an 15 for 21.

It's 11pm and we still haven't had the In Memoriam. The show continues forward with no end in sight despite only 3 actual awards left to go.

Here we go with In Memoriam. They are going with live vocals which is always dangerous to me.There's nothing I hate more about these things than cut-aways to a live singer during a tribute to dead people. They handle this one well though. The visual stays focused on the tribute and it's a wide range of people who have worked in the film business in different capacities. Elizabeth Taylor gets the pimp spot at the end, as it should be. Well played. Oscars. That part went pretty well.

Natalie Portman is on hand to give out Best Actor and she has to read these long speeches about how awesome each actor is. LOL it goes on forever. But in the end she gives the best actor statue to JEAN DUJARDIN! YAY! He is delightful. I'm now at 16 for 22. Hey, are we about be treated to Colin Firth talking about the best actress nominees for 20 minutes? That's a show I can sit through!

Firthy is on stage looking wonderfuland talking it up to all the ladies. He gives a Mamma Mia shout out to Meryl which I enjoy. Never saw that movie though. Then he gives the award to MERYL STREEP! Oh no, I picked Viola! This isn't quite an upset, but I really thought it was Viola's year. Meryl's speech is very emotional and lovely.

A very subdued Tom Cruise is here to present best picture to THE ARTIST! Yay! It is oddly a small group of people on stage But the dog is there! These dudes rule. It was the only film of the bunch filmed entirely in LA! That's amusing. Billy barely gestures to them to move off stage before just announcing the show's over. So the show's over. I wound up at 17 for 24 on my predictions. Not too bad. I've done better, I've done worse. In terms of ceremony, I thought the show started VERY slow and picked up energy over time. Still the audio problems were annoying and took away from the enjoyment of the night. But we got through it! Thanks for reading! Until next time, go rent some movies!




















 

Troy falls 8-1 in the rubber game at Southern Miss. Trojans didn't get good starting pitching and made a couple of key errors, but with outstanding starting pitching, getting just 3 hits isn't going to win most nights.

Troy is now 3-3, but scored just four runs in the three games. I get the feeling Bobby Pierce will some things to think about for the Tuesday home game against Samford.

Full recap HERE and box score HERE.

Some things to look at for why Troy is only 3-3
**Adam Purdy couldn't make it past one inning in his second straight Sunday start. Pierce alluded to another pitcher getting a chance next Sunday.
**Danny Collins has five errors in six games at third. Tyler Hannah had five errors the entire season playing third last year and he's at short. But Collins is Troy's leading hitter at .360, and he can swing it so he needs to be in the lineup, but is it at third or DH?
**Troy only has two regular hitters hitting .300 or better - Collins and Logan Pierce (.300). You have Hannah (.278 and 9 strikeouts), Boone Shear (.200) and Josh McDorman (.188 and 7 strikeouts) as returning players who coaches need to step up at the plate. Remember, though, it's still early. Clay Holcomb, a redshirt freshman, is hitting .308 after a solid weekend but he needs a few more at-bats to qualify for Sun Belt/NCAA leader categories
**Troy's two catchers are hitting a combined 1-for-21. Brandon Brown is 1-for-18 (.056) and Jake Harrell is 0-for-3 with three Ks. He didn't practice in the fall because of a finger injury. The other guy who could catch, Blake Martz, didn't play at all against USM for whatever reason (he hit 1-for-9 last weekend).

The full stats are HERE.

Mound positives
**Ace Tyler Ray is 2-0 with an 0.69 ERA.
**Saturday starter Jimmy Hodgskin is now 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA, but he pitched pretty well on Saturday, holding USM to just four hits in seven innings. I think he's on the road to a pretty good season but he needed some run support.
**Nate Hill and Tyson Workman have been good, but some other guys in middle relief pitched well in their opportunities. Thomas Austin, Cass Abercrombie, Jeremy McGowan and Joe Hernandez pitched well in limited opportunities, and they'll surely have more going forward.

The great thing about baseball? Troy still has roughly 50 games left and even 2 weeks from now, you could be talking about how the hitting has turned around and several guys are on hot streaks. You'll see many guys turn things around as the season goes on and some hot hitters dip into slumps.

It's always nice to have a new sports boyfriend. Don't get me wrong, Our Hero, Rafael Nadal is the true sports love of my life, but he plays but one sport and there are so many others to watch. There's Tommy, of course, with the Pats in football, but I've been without someone to love in basketball for awhile. The problem is that I'm a Knicks fan, and ever since Jeff Van Gundy left the head coach position in 2001, I haven't been able to properly emotionally connect to them. Yes, I realize that was over 10 years ago now, and the Knicks have spent the majority of that time without a real star or a chance as play-off contenders. It's been extremely painful and for the most part I haven't even been able to bring myself to watch the games. While there are other b-ball pros I've respected and enjoyed from other teams during that time, I've never been able to truly love them as a sports boyfriend should because they were not Knicks. I've always held out hope, however, that somehow the Knicks and I would find our way back to each other, and that path would be forged by a player as I was truly meant to fall for. 

Finally in comes Jeremy Lin. You don't need me to tell you his story. By now I'm sure you've heard it a million times and heard just as many puns on his name to describe the excitement surrounding his ascendance from unsigned bench player to sharpshooting phenomenon. Sure, he had a bad game against The Heat last week on the road, but that's bound to happen. Every night is not gonna be perfect, as he adjusts to the demands of the pro schedule and all the new teammates on the Knicks roster he has to get to know. What I like right now more than the results is the fact that the fight is there. It has called all the Knicks fans who'd been wandering alone out in the wilderness for the last decade like me back to The Garden. New York is a basketball town, and now we have someone to really cheer for.

Hopefully Lin and Stoudamire and Anthony will come together to be a real force in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference overall. We're still a game under .500 on the season but I have hope that our fortunes will continue to change for the better. I'm glad to have a new sports boyfriend in my hometown. All hail, King Jeremy, the wicked awesome!

Csaba Kulin on the reality of Hallandale Beach's population & demographics, and the anti-democratic Charter proposal for 'districting' that insults common sense and mathematics 

Below are two emails from my friend and fellow Hallandale Beach and Broward civic activist Csaba Kulin from the past month. They concern an upcoming Charter issue appearing on the ballot in Hallandale Beach that most

Here are a few Associated Press photos of James Brown performing drills at the NFL Combine on Saturday. The defensive linemen go Monday, so I should be able to update Jonathan Massaquoi at that point.

The NFL.com site lists Brown's official time in the 40-yard dash as 5.30. I had seen a better time on NFL.com for Brown but this is what's listed now.

HERE is Brown's NFL.com profile with all the combine results, weights, analysis, etc. Brown did 24 reps on the bench press of 225 pounds, vertical jumped 25.5 inches, broad jump of 102 inches, 7.70 seconds in the 3-cone drill and 4.78 in the 20-yard shuttle. His grade was 82.2.

From Patriots.com, here is what Brown had to say before the combine about playing tackle or guard. That full report is HERE.
 
James Brown (6-4, 305) of Troy could be another tackle in the second-round range. He has a wealth of experience, having started every game of his college career after red-shirting in 2007. However, at the Senior Bowl, coaches moved him to guard to test his versatility.

"Quite frankly, I'll play anywhere they want me to play," Brown told reporters, and that's exactly what the Patriots coaches like to hear.

Brown may have starting experience, but he's still clearly a raw talent that could benefit from the tutoring of someone like New England o-line coach Dante Scarnecchia.

"I definitely need to work on my technique, flexibility and leverage," conceded Brown. "I'm a better run blocker. I've been told that I have a great punch, and that helps me out in the run game and the passing game, too."

As you know, Troy has an opening for an assistant coach after Maurea Crain was let go in early January.

One candidate I do know of, and I'll stress that he's just a candidate for now, is West Georgia assistant head coach/secondary/special teams coordinator James Colzie. You can read his bio HERE.

I mention him now because the name is finally being mentioned on one of the "coach scoop" sites. I don't really like to link to those because they're not always right. The same site mentioned that Kenny Edenfield had interviewed with North Alabama for that vacancy, and that wasn't true. I guess 1 out of 2 isn't bad.

Troy isn't commenting on the situation officially until a coach is hired, and that should come this week. Troy head coach Larry Blakeney did stress through a spokesperson to me that no one had been hired as of late Friday afternoon. I got a "no comment" from West Georgia head coach Daryl Dickey on Friday and I may not have much more until a hire is announced.

But Colzie's name is a popular one. And no, he won't coach defensive tackles if he is hired. But, his name is out there.

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies(20-8,13-3) led by freshman Tony Wroten scoring a game high 21 points rallied from 13 points down to once again shock their cross state rivals Washington State Cougars(14-14,6-10) for the season sweep. The Huskies remain tied for first place in the Pac-12 with this comeback victory over the Cougars which marked the second time this year the Huskies trailed by over 10 points against the Cougars with 10 minutes to go and won. Free throw shooting was the story this game and it was the Huskies who shot well making 15-19 free throws in the second half while the Cougars made only 6-20 at the line in the second half. The Huskies have now won four games in a row and 9 out of 10 games overall. On a night when Terrence Ross fouled out scoring just two points the Huskies found a way to win the game. Trailing 47-34 with a little over 10 minutes left in the game the Huskies appeared headed towards a disappointing loss. Instead the Huskies went on a 13-0 run to tie the game and saw their junior point guard Abdul Gaddy take over down the stretch scoring six straight points for the Huskies. This was a total team effort for the Huskies as they won their 20th game for the fourth straight season for the first time in program history. In the previous five seasons Lorenzo Romar has won 20 games or more his team has made the NCAA tournament.

The game started off well for the Huskies as they sprinted out to a quick 6-0 lead over the Cougars who were playing in front of their home crowd for the last time this season. After that the Cougars responded with a 14-0 run to go up 14-6 over the Huskies as the Cougars started to smell the upset. The Huskies would respond with an 8-0 run of their own as Wroten ended the run with a layup then C.J. Wilcox hit back to back three pointers to tie it up at 14. Wilcox would hit two more three pointers to give the Huskies a 20-18 lead. Trailing 28-26 before halftime Wroten tied it up with 10 seconds to go in the half with a layup.

The numbers weren't pretty for either team. For the Cougars they shot just 8-30(26.7%) from the field, 1-11(9.1%) from three point range but made 11-12(91.7%) from free throws and out rebounded the Huskies 26-16 including 10 offensive rebounds. They were led by Brock Motum who scored 10 points but made just 4-11 shots while grabbing four rebounds. Marcus Capers scored six points on two for three shooting with four rebounds and three assists. Abe Lodwick scored two points with five rebounds.

For the Huskies they shot miserable as well making 11-30(36.7%) of their field goals, 4-12(33.3%) on three pointers and just two for five(40.0%) on free throws. They were led by C.J. Wilcox off the bench with 12 points making all four of his three point attempts. Tony Wroten scored 10 points on 4-11 shooting with three rebounds and three assists. Aziz N'Diaye scored four points on two for three shooting with three rebounds but also had three fouls. Terrence Ross was held scoreless missing all three field goals as he had three fouls as well. In the second half Ross would immediately pick up his fourth foul and the Huskies were in trouble early.

In the second half after Ross immediately had to sit with his fourth foul it appeared the game was getting away from the Huskies as the Cougars went on a 12-0 run to lead 45-32 which included a Huskies technical foul. Leading 47-34 with about 10 minutes left the Huskies appeared dead. That is when the comeback started to take place as Wroten kept driving to the hole. Gaddy threw a beautiful alley-oop to Ross to pull within 47-40. Wroten would have a three point play and then N'Diaye would as well. Darnell Gant would sink a free throw which tied the score at 47 as the Huskies went on a 13-0 run to tie it up. Trailing 52-50 Gaddy had a layup to tie up the score. Gaddy then drove to the hole drawing a foul sinking both free throws giving the Huskies a 54-52 lead with 3:43 left. After the Cougars had tied it up Gaddy again would have the goahead layup to give the Huskies a 56-54 lead with 2:13 left in the game. After Reggie Moore made one of two free throws then Tony Wroten made one of two free throws the Cougars had the ball trailing 57-55 with 24 seconds left. Ken Bone designed the play for Patrick Simon to shoot the goahead three pointer. Simon who hadn't played all game long and has made just one field goal in the calender year of 2012. Simon would air ball the corner three pointer which was wide open. Wilcox would sink both free throws to give the Huskies a 59-55 lead with 10 seconds left. Simon would then miss another three pointer as time had expired. The Huskies had stormed back to defeat the Cougars once again. Dating back to last year this is the third straight win for the Huskies against the Cougars and all three games the Cougars had double digit leads.

For the Cougars this loss has to sting as this was their national championship game. Sitting at 14-14 now and 6-10 in conference play with two games left on the road where they are just 1-6 on the road in conference play doesn't look good for the Cougars. The Cougars twice this year had the Huskies right where they wanted them and just couldn't finish the deal. The Cougars for the game shot 18-52(34.6%) from the field, a dreadful 2-18(11.1%) from three point range and a miserable 17-32(53.1%) from free throws including 6-20(30.0%) in the second half. Despite outrebounding the Huskies 38-33 with 12 offensive rebounds the Cougars they couldn't pull this one out. They were led by the conferences leading scorer in conference games Brock Motum who had to work for his 17 points shooting just 7-19 from the field, making one of four from three point range and two for four at the free throw line. Motum did grab eight rebounds and had three block shots. Marcus Capers had a terrific game for the Cougars scoring 14 points on six for seven shooting but was two for five on free throws. Capers did  have six rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block shot. Abe Lodwick scored eight points and grabbed nine rebounds before fouling out. Reggie Moore struggled scoring just four points missing all six field goals. He was also just four for eight on free throws with six assists but four turnovers. The Cougars after defeating the Huskies seven straight from 2006-08 have now lost seven out of nine since then. This will also be the fourth straight season barring a Pac-12 tournament championship win where the Cougars will be left out of the NCAA tournament.

For the Huskies this was a real gut check win on the road in a hostile environment. They had shot poorly, saw their best player foul out scoring only two points while their best big man fouled out as well as he also fought foul trouble in the first half. The Huskies won this game because they simply have too many weapons when you shut down one weapon another emerges. The Huskies won despite shooting 19-53(35.8%) from the field, 4-17(23.5%) on three point range but did make 17-24(70.8%) from the free throw line. They were led by Tony Wroten who scored 21 points on 6-18 shooting but made 9-12 from the free throw line. Wroten also added six rebounds, five assists and two steals. C.J. Wilcox scored 16 points off the bench on five for nine shooting including four for seven on three pointers while sinking both free throws. Wilcox also added five rebounds and a steal. Abdul Gaddy scored 10 points on three for nine shooting missing all four three point shots but was four for five at the free throw line. Gaddy had four assists and two steals as well. Aziz N'Diaye scored seven points on three for six shooting making his only free throw attempts while grabbing seven rebounds with a block shot before fouling out. Darnell Gant started for the second straight game scoring three points on one for three shooting and made just one for four on free throws but did have seven rebounds while playing good defense on Motum holding him to 7-19 shooting. Terrence Ross struggled having his worst game of the season scoring just two points on one for five shooting missing all three of his three point attempts before fouling out in just 21 minutes. For the Huskies this was a big win on the road as their hopes of winning a Pac-12 regular season championship remain alive and well.

For the second time this year the Huskies survived the Cougars as they stormed back from a double digit lead. The Huskies will now head down to L.A. hoping to take care of business with the sweep which would clinch at the worst a Co- Pac-12 championship in the regular season. The Cougars once again prove to be a hard matchup for the Huskies playing them tough defensively holding them to under 30 points in the first half once again. The Huskies are simply more battle tested than the Cougars as this year they win the close games. The Huskies are now 12-4 in games decided by 10 points or less and 5-3 in games decided by five points or less. Despite being such a young team the Huskies win the close games and after starting off 0-5 away from home the Huskies have since won five of six games on the road. This was a huge win for the Huskies who have came around as a team this season which has been fun to witness.

Observations:

- Shooting slump? What shooting slump? C.J. Wilcox who had been in a shooting slump before the Arizona State game has now had three straight solid games. Wilcox carried the Huskies in the first half drilling all four three point field goal attempts. In fact Wilcox was the only Husky to hit a three pointer as the Huskies were 0-10 outside of Wilcox from three point range. Wilcox who missed the first meeting was pivotal in this game in scoring 16 points with four three pointers.

Wilcox is averaging 13.8 PPG on the year shooting 42.4% from the field and 41.3% on three pointers making 2.3 a game. After making just one three pointer in his first four games back from injury he has now made at least two three pointers in five straight games. During that five game stretch(Huskies 4-1) Wilcox has hit 12-30(40.0%) from three point range which is an average of 2.4 a game while scoring 13.6 points per game so Wilcox is basically back to playing like he has before his injury. With a healthy Wilcox that gives the Huskies three scorers who are capable of carrying them at long stretches throughout the game which most teams in the conference simply don't have. The Huskies survived Wilcox's injury going 2-1 but that one loss was a 69-66 loss at home to California Golden Bears who own tiebreaker due to that. The good news is if they meet again Wilcox is back and healthy.

- Every Romar team who has made the NCAA tournament has had a slumping player emerge down the stretch which leads into a big season the following year. This year that appears to be Aziz N'Diaye and Abdul Gaddy who are both juniors. Gaddy who is a five-star recruit has been a bust to date but lately has been playing solid. He still isn't shooting very well but he is being more agressive attacking the hole. In the last two games he has attempted 11 free throws while going four straight games prior to that with zero free throw attempts. Today's game Gaddy scored six straight points for the Huskies down the stretch including the go ahead field goal to give the Huskies the lead for good.

In his last four games since the disaster in Eugene Gaddy is averaging 7.5 ppg and 5.5 APG to just 1.8 TO's which for a five star recruit isn't very good. Considering where Gaddy was at the start of the year if he continues to put up those numbers while shooting slightly better the Huskies will continue to win games. It has been nice to see Gaddy being more agressive and driving to the hole. Like Wroten he shouldn't ever shoot a three pointer as he is shooting just 29.9% on three pointers for the year. He has made just 3-17(17.6%) in his last nine games on three pointers but has made 9-11(81.8%) on free throws last two games. Gaddy needs to continue to drive to the hole for the Huskies to be successful.

- I feel like Reggie Moore and Abdul Gaddy are always going to be linked together. Had Gaddy stayed true to his committment to Arizona there is a good chance Moore is playing for the Huskies. At first Moore appeared to be the much better player after they were freshman. Now Moore appears to be sort of an egnigma for the Cougars as this year was supposed to be "his team" instead his lack of leadership has shown. Moore against the Huskies didn't make a shot in six field goal attempts while missing four of eight free throws including two straight technical fouls as the Cougars had all the momentum. Shortly after the Huskies went on a 13-0 run to tie it. Moore for the year is averaging only 9.4 PPG, 5.6 APG and 2.5 to's. He is shooting 37.6% from the field for the year as well. In seven games against the Huskies now Moore is averaging 9.6 PPG but averaging only 5.5 this year. In his career against the Huskies so far he has shot miserably making only 14-49(28.6%) from the field. Moore appears to have regressed with the Cougars and is a lightning rod for his fan base on why the Cougars continue to blow games down the stretch. Moore after a promising start to his career just like that is ending his junior season with only one year left. Moore is in danger of being like so many other players in college which was a guy who peaked as a freshman and could never quite reach that level again. Moore struggled today and Gaddy got the better of him today which if you had told me that a month ago I wouldn't have beleived you.

- A picture says a thousand words and this is Brock Motum after the Cougars once again choked to the Huskies. The Cougars are now 6-10 in games decided by 10 points or less and 3-6 in games decided by five points or less. The Cougars who are 14-14 overall but 3-10 away from home have been competitive this year just can't close games. Today was a prime example of that as they had the Huskies on the ropes. Terrence Ross was taken out of the game due to foul trouble and the Cougars were leading 47-34. The Cougars were also controlling the glass as well which was a shocker considering the last meeting. The Cougars lost due to unforced errors mainly 6-20(30.0%) at the free throw line in the second half. That is the defination of "Coug'd it" which is exactly what they did. On senior night where they had been 11-3 at home and having their rivals on the ropes this had to be a crushing defeat for the Cougars. When you lose by just four points and miss 14 freebies in the second half those are the type of losses that can destroy a team. With USC having six scholarship guys but the Cougars struggles on the road I expect them to split and go 15-15 heading into the conference tournament. The Cougars lost Klay Thompson  to the draft which hurt as they don't have a finisher on their team. Gant took away Motum leaving the Cougars with no other go to guy down the stretch. This was probably one of the more crushing defeats the Cougars basketball program has experienced in quite some years.

- In big time atmospheres Tony Wroten always seems to thrive on the pressure. Today was no different as the Huskies trailed by 13 points and Ross was out due to foul trouble. The freshman guard took it upon himself to take over the game which he did scoring 21 points, grabbing six rebounds, dishing out five assists and made 9-12 at the free throw line including seven for nine in the second half. Wroten proving why the Huskies are so dangerous because if you stop Ross you still have to worry about Wroten who is a future NBA player as well. Wroten with his size and quickness is a matchup nightmare for any team. Wroten made plays when the Huskies needed him to especially when the game appeared to have been slipping away. Wroten's play is reminding Huskies of the main he essentially replaced this season.

- There was a special guest at this game for the Huskies which was former Husky great Isaiah Thomas who is enjoying a fine season with the Sacramento Kings. Thomas this year is averaging 8.8 PPG and 2.9 APG in only 19 minutes. Since being named starter the last four games Thomas has averaged 19.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 6.5 APG while knocking down 2.3 three pointers a game.

For Lorenzo Romar his players always come back to the program as his program is just one big family. Thomas left early but as you can see there are no hard feelings here. Romar becomes the first Huskies coach in program history to win 20+ games four years in a row. The Huskies also have won 96 games which is tied for the most wins in a four year stretch from 1950-1953. Romar is looking to make the NCAA tournament for the seventh time in nine seasons. He also improves to 12-10(6-4 at home, 5-5 on the road and 1-1 in Pac-10 tournament) all-time against the Cougars having won seven out of the last nine after the Cougars had won seven in a row. Romar has done his best coaching job since the 2008-09 team who I felt overachieved. This team has the talent but they are so young and immature at times. I feel like Romar is headed towards his third conference coach of the year award title which he deserves.

The Huskies are inching closer and closer to the NCAA tournament. Unless the Huskies lay an egg against the outmanned USC Trojans I don't see how the Huskies miss the NCAA tournament. The Huskies are playing well and winning in ways nobody thought was possible. The three point shot isn't falling at all for the Huskies this year and especially lately. The Huskies instead are winning with defense and improvement from the free throw line. Every player in the rotation appears to have improved as the season has wore on. In the past in a hostile environment on the road the Huskies would have folded the tent down 47-34 but not these Huskies. These Huskies overcome big deficits against the Cougars and UCLA to win. These Huskies win in hostile environments in Pullman and more importantly Tucson, Arizona against the Wildcats. These Huskies have so many weapons where if one has an off game(Ross) others(Wroten and Wilcox) can pick up the slack. This is a team that nobody will want to face come NCAA tournament time. The Huskies are going to be a dangerous matchup for a high seed much like last year when they gave the 2nd seeded North Carolina Tar Heels a huge run for their morning in basically a road game. These Huskies are more talented than last year and now they are playing good fundamental basketball. Romar deserves all the credit for this teams turnaround and the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight year is starting to become a reality.