Super Bowl Update

Brynden Trawick makes one of his 20 tackles last year at WKU / Lamar Higgins photo

Here is today's story on senior safety Brynden Trawick, one of a few seniors who have a chance to get drafted or sign free agent deals. You can read it in the print edition of the Dothan Eagle on Wednesday, or on dothaneagle.com HERE.

BY DREW CHAMPLIN | dchamplin@dothaneagle.com

TROY– Troy safety Brynden Trawick has the size of a linebacker and the speed of a cornerback. His first name is often misspelled and his last name regularly mispronounced (it’s TRAH-wick). Last year’s Sun Belt leader in tackles with 123, Trawick is known for one thing.

“He’s a big safety,” Troy strength and conditioning coach Richard Shaughnessy said. “He’ll knock your head off.”

While Trawick will take the reputation of being a hard hitter, he wants to be known for something else, and if he can make that step this fall, it’ll help his 2013 NFL Draft stock rise that much further.

“I want to be known for interceptions,” Trawick said. “I want to make my mark here with picks.”

Trawick measured at about 6-foot-2 and 218 pounds during the spring at Junior Pro Day. There, he ran 4.4 (seconds) in the 40-yard dash. He jumped 36 inches in the vertical and 10.2 feet in the broad jump.

The measurables are there, but Trawick had zero interceptions last year. He lamented the opportunities he missed out on, and knows he has to take advantage of those this year to not only improve his draft stock, but help turn around Troy’s 3-9 season from a year ago. Troy opens practice Thursday at 8:15 a.m.

“I’ve just got to capitalize on all my opportunities,” Trawick said. “I had chances in the Clemson game, Arkansas, Middle Tennessee, UAB. There were a lot of games where I missed my opportunities. If I capitalize on my opportunities, I think I’ll be good.

“I could be known for (big hits), but I want to be known for more interceptions. I want to make my mark there.”

Trawick spent the first two years of his college career at Michigan State. But soon the Marietta, Ga., native realized the Big Ten school wasn’t a good fit for him. He spent his redshirt sophomore year at Northeast Mississippi Community College, honing his skills and being recruited again.

From there, Troy was the perfect fit. His father, George, went to school at Troyand was the basketball coach for DeVry in 1992 when Troy set the all-time single-game scoring record for points in a 258-141 win over DeVry.

“I haven’t talked to him about that (game) in a long time,” Trawick said. “I’m going to ask him about it one day.

“He said he went to Troy and he wanted me to stay closer to home since I was getting older. When I was up (at MSU) they weren’t able to come to my games. I said I’ll go to Troy. Troy’s a good spot, since he went here too.”

Last year, Trawick earned second-team all-conference honors. Trawick showed he was a force against the run, getting 20 tackles against Western Kentucky and 13 at Arkansas State. Still, he made it a point this spring to work on pass coverage. He had an interception return for a touchdown in the spring game.

“He’s got to get his body in better position to make those plays,” defensive coordinator Jeremy Rowell said during the spring. “He’s around the ball a lot, but he’s got to learn how to finish plays and get to the ball to make plays of that nature.”

Trawick aims high – he said he had a goal of 10 interceptions this season. If he gets that, or even half that, not only will his draft stock soar, but Troy’s defense could be vastly improved from last year’s woeful ranking of 113 out of 120 teams.

“It’s exciting to start a new season and start a new chapter in Troy football,” Trawick said. “I think we’ve got a lot of things to build off from last year, so it’s going to be exciting.”

Community Rally to keep the pressure on Walgreens

to bring a grocery store back to Windsor Terrace.


Community Rally for a Supermarket


Wednesday, August 1, at 10 a.m.


At the closed Key Food -- 589 Prospect Avenue

above: Kanye

above: Angelina

above: Brad

above: Agyness

above: Julia

above: Jack

above: Denise

above: Maya

above: Debbie:

above: Marc

above: Farrah

above: Kate

above: Naomi

above: Amanda

above: Michael

above: Madonna

Pamela:

above: Barack

above: Twiggy

above: Marilyn

Created by Yee Wong Photographed by Joshua Scott

POP!Faces takes a look at some pop culture icons through the ages:

Joshua Scott Photographer, Yee Wong Concept, Ben Gonyo Animation

• Sunday, Aug. 12 vs. the Indianapolis Colts at Indianapolis, 12:30 p.m. CT
• Saturday, Aug. 18 vs. the Kansas City Chiefs at home, 7 p.m. CT
• Saturday, Aug. 25 vs. the Dallas Cowboys at Dallas, 7 p.m. CT
• Thursday, Aug. 30 vs. the Baltimore Ravens at home, 7 p.m. CT

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders have played the Colorado Rapids three times and they beat the Colorado Rapids three times. On Saturday, with the playoff race really heating up in the Western Conference, the Sounders got a big win on the road as they defeated the Colorado Rapids 2-1 at Dicks Sporting Goods Park. With a big month ahead of the Sounders with a home match against the LA Galaxy, an away match at San Jose and of course the U.S. Open Cup final match a week from now against Sporting Kansas City, it was important for the Sounders to get a big win to boost their confidence going into August.

A minute and a half into the game, Rapids fans were still filing in, still looking for their seats and already they saw their team give up a goal off a set piece. It was a corner kick from the near side taken by Mauro Rosales who swings it toward the far post and finds Eddie Johnson who gets away from Marvell Wynne, out jumps Omar Cummings and heads the ball into the far corner for his team leading ninth goal of the season and the Sounders took a 1-0 lead on, if I can remember correctly, is the quickest goal in franchise history.

Unfortunately, the lead only lasted a minute because Colorado came right back and equalised. Martin Rivero slid the ball through on the far side to Brian Mullan who sent in a low ball across the face of goal and right there was Drew Moor to slam it home for his third goal of the year and just like that the game was tied at one.

In the 15th minute, Colorado had a good chance to go in front. Drew Moor took a few seconds to look around for support before chipping the ball to Conor Casey who was just outside the penalty area. Casey made a good turn and tested Michael Gspurning with a low left foot drive. Gspurning made the save and then was able to cover the ball before Omar Cummings could even get a chance of putting away the rebound. Gspurning of course was making his return in goal after missing the last 13 games with a right hip injury that he suffered during the clubs home match on May 2nd against the Galaxy. So having him back is huge.

A couple minutes later, Martin Rivero was found on the near side with room to run. Rivero cut inside of Adam Johansson and tried to curl his shot into the far corner but it was beaten away by Gspurning.

In the 24th minute, the Sounders would've gone 2-1 up if it hadn't been for the post. Luis Zapata gave the ball straight away to Mauro Rosales. Rosales made a run to the center of the field which forced Zapata out of his left back position to cover. That gave Eddie Johnson room to create. Rosales played Johnson with a back heel, and EJ took one touch to get around Tyrone Marshall before hitting one low and hard, but the post saved the Rapids.

In the 48th minute, Luis Zapata's cross was intended for Omar Cummings and Patrick Ianni attempted clearance was instead given straight to Conor Casey who tried to bend one from 20 yards away and he came close to doing so, but sometimes close is not good enough.

In the 65th minute, the Rapids once again give the ball away and this time the Sounders make them pay. Conor Casey was looking to play the ball back to Jeff Larentowicz, but he wasn't paying attention and the ball rolled straight to Fredy Montero. Montero slid the ball through to Johnson who wanted to strike it with his left foot, but he was well defended and instead fed the ball back to Alex Caskey. Caskey looked like he was going to strike the ball from distance, but he played the ball back to Johnson who's cross to the far post found a wide open Ozzie Alonso for a left footed volley and the Sounders climbed back ahead 2-1. That was a brilliant goal by Alonso who was making his 100th league appearance for the Rave Green.

With 15 minutes remaining in the match, Conor Casey had yet another opportunity to get a goal. Martin Rivero found Casey in the box and Casey looked to slot it home, but he hit it right at goalkeeper Michael Gspurning. Had he not made the save, Patrick Ianni probably would've been there to clear the ball off the line. Casey looked like he was going to hit it with his left foot, but Ozzie Alonso tracked back and cut down the angle which forced Casey to go to his right foot. Colorado continued to push, but they could not come up with the knockout blow and the Sounders were able to hold on to get all three points.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson 9 (Mauro Rosales 7) 2'

Colorado Rapids - Drew Moor 3 (Brian Mullan 6) 3'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso 1 (Eddie Johnson 2, Alex Caskey 4) 65'


Misconduct summary:

NONE


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Leo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales, Brad Evans (Marc Burch 83'), Osvaldo Alonso, Alex Caskey (Andy Rose 80'); Eddie Johnson, Fredy Montero (Zach Scott 88')

Colorado Rapids - Matt Pickens; Drew Moor, Marvell Wynne, Tyrone Marshall, Luis Zapata; Brian Mullan (Andre Akpan 80'), Joseph Nane (Wells Thompson 62'), Jeff Larentowicz, Martin Rivero; Conor Casey, Omar Cummings (Kamani Hill 62')

Alex Stoddard (and remember the name because I'm sure you'll be hearing it a lot more in the future) was born in 1993 in Jacksonville, Florida. He began taking self-portraits only two years ago at the age of sixteen in the woods behind his Georgian home.

Here's a look at some of his compelling work, many of which are self-portraits:














His work focuses on the human form and the process of infusing it with natural surroundings. His 'fine art' section of his site contains photographic images that are very surreal, unusual and more inventive than his 'portraits' section which contains shots that, while lovely, are more traditional and expected.

See more of his work here.
Alex is currently based in Orange, California.

"Next-gen WNIN" to feature more local news on weekdays, classical music from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m.

WTHI-TV owner reports big gains in interactive revenue, as well as political and automotive advertising dollars

By Kshell

That time of year again where the fire sale for the Seattle Mariners begins under Jack Zduriencik. This time Zduriencik traded away former all-star closer Brandon League to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two prospects and traded feel good story reliever Steve Delabar to the Toronto Blue Jays for an outfielder. League was dealt for an outfielder and a reliever as the Mariners continue to try to build their farm system. League had spent two and a half seasons with the Mariners after Zdurienick traded for him from the Toronto Blue Jays for high draft pick Brandon Morrow. League was a setup man in 2010, then became the closer in 2011 where he made the all-star team only to lose his closing job during this season which then made him very expendable. For Delabar he has a great arm and was featured on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. Delabar's problem this season has been the long ball and the Mariners have two young relievers ready to come up so this was two solid trades by Zduriencik.

League's best two moments in Seattle were when he made the all-star team in 2011 and this year against the team he is now on the Los Angeles Dodgers. League combined with five other pitchers on throwing a no-hitter against the Dodgers. For League he came into a second and third one out situation in the eighth inning were one base hit would have lost the game. League got out of the jam. In 2011 when League made the all-star team he recorded 37 saves while throwing 61.1 innings. He posted a 2.79 ERA with a 1.08 WHIP and struck out 45 hitters(6.6 K's per 9). This year he has struggled as he had just nine saves while blowing six and has just six holds. He has a 3.63 ERA while throwing 44.2 innings with a 1.50 WHIP and striking out only 27 batters(5.4 K's per 9). For his Mariners career he went 10-17 in 181 games having thrown 185 innings. He recorded 52 saves and 19 holds with a 3.26 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 128 strikeouts(6.2 K's per 9). It was time for League to move on and I would have liked to have seen the Mariners trade him a year ago so his value was high. Such is the case with this franchise they always love to trade players a year too late.

The Mariners also traded away reliever Steve Delabar to the Toronto Blue Jays. He was featured on Real Sports on HBO because he was a former teacher who made it the big leagues with the Mariners in 2011. In 2011 Delabar appeared in six games having thrown seven innings. Delabar was 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and seven strikeouts(9.0 K's per 9). This year big things were expected of him instead due to the long ball he struggled. This season Delabar while in Seattle has appeared in 34 games. He is 2-1 with three holds having thrown 36.2 innings. He is sporting a 4.17 ERA despite a 0.92 WHIP having struck out 46 hitters(11.3 K's per 9). His problem is he has allowed nine home runs(2.2 per 9 innings) which is a lot for any pitcher especially a reliever. He also pitched in nine games down in Tacoma where he went 0-1 with one save having thrown 12 innings. He posted a 3.75 ERA, 1.92 WHIP and struck out 12 batters(9.0 K's per 9). Delabar despite most media in this city making fun of him actually has good stuff and if you look past his ERA you can see his WHIP and K's per 9 is really good. In fact I'm a little bummed out about losing Delabar while I'm actually glad League and his low K's and high WHIP has been traded.

What the Mariners got in these trades were from the Blue Jays outfielder Eric Thames who will be joining the team immediately. While from the Dodgers they acquired outfielder Leon Landry and reliever Logan Bawcom who will both spend time in the Mariners minors. Thames this year for the Blue Jays in 160 PA's hit .243/.288/.365 with only three home runs. In triple A Las Vegas Thames is hitting .330/.407/.528 in 231 PA's with six home runs. Last year was a breakout year for Thames the Blue Jays thought. In triple A Las Vegas he hit .352/.423/.610 in 241 PA's with seven home runs. Then in the major leagues he hit .262/.313/.456 in 394 PA's with 12 home runs. Thames will be a nice lefty outfield bat for the Mariners which they'll need and I would rather him play over Peguero in the outfield. Now Thames in two major league seasons has been terrible on defense posting a negative 1.7 WAR last year defensively and a negative 0.6 WAR this year defensively. The Mariners do need some hitters and in the minor leagues and in small sample size in the major leagues the 25 year old Thames has proven he can hit which should be a nice addition for the ball club right now.

As for who the Mariners got in the Brandon League trade from the Dodgers that is more interesting. First Leon Landry who was a third round pick by the Dodgers in 2010 take out of LSU Tigers. Landry this year in high A ball is hitting .328/.358/.559 in 376 PA's. Landry has eight home runs, 51 RBI's, 63 runs scored. He also brings speed to the table as he has hit 15 triples and stolen 20 bases in only 80 games. Landry will turn 23 this late September. Like Thames, Landry also is a left handed hitter who hopefully can keep developing as he is a career .297/.344/.457 hitter in 1,202 PA's with 16 home runs and 30 triples alone with 61 stolen bases in only 262 career games. The other piece the Mariners acquired is Logan Bawcom who was a 17th round pick in the 2010 draft from the University of Texas-Arlington Mavericks(you might recognize them as the Huskies defeated them in the NIT). Bawcom this season starting off in high A ball like Landry. In high A ball Bawcom was 1-1 with seven saves in 14 innings pitched. In those 14 innings he posted a 0.64 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and struck out 24 batters(15.4 K's per 9). He was them promoted to double A where so far he is 3-3 with 13 saves in 34.2 innings ptiched. In those 34.2 innings he has posted a 2.60 ERA, 1.32 WHP and struck out 36 batters(9.3 K's per 9). He'll be 24 years old this November and has always had a great strikeout rate throughout the minor leagues.

The Mariners are once again building through the farm and are hoping that these pieces will continue to prosper for them. Not all the prospects will pan out but take a look at last years Doug Fister trade where the Mariners acquired Casper Wells(hitting .249/.317/.407 in 209 PA's with six home runs) and Charlie Furbush(4-2, 34 games, 37.1 innings, 2.17 ERA, 0.80 WHP, 47 K's, 11.3 K's per 9) you are hoping for a similar result. I don't know about the Delabar deal but with Stephen Pryor and Carter Capps on their way up I doubt the Mariners will miss him. Just like the Mariners aren't going to miss Doug Fister in a few years if now. The League trade has potential to be a good steal for the Mariners as he was good last year but terrible this year. If not for the "proven closer" label I doubt the Dodgers give the Mariners some nice pieces for him. Like I said I think Delabar is better than League and I'm not upset at all about losing League. I'm curious how these three guys do in Seattle and we'll get a chance to see Thames quite a bit this year as he'll be on the big league roster. As for the other two hopefully someday I'll be getting a chance to see them as well. The Mariners aren't done by any chance as they could still be selling as today is the trade deadline.

The R House by architect Arturo Frediani in Cabrera de Mar, Barcelona is a beautifully designed modern home in a geometric shape that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea.






Designed with environmentally friendly construction materials (mainly glass, iron and wood), 80% of the home can be reused. Individual sections of the home were designed to use as little energy consumption as possible and the home was easily assembled.






With a living space open to the outdoors, the footprint creates an interior courtyard allowing one to gaze across one portion of the home to another.








Adding to both the beauty and the design is a spectacular kitchen and living space designed by Bulthaup.






Architectural plans:



Architect Arturi Frediani:

images courtesy of Frediani Architecture and Bulthaup