There is a lot to know about choosing the best fins for your surfboard. Here are a few tips and important factors in picking out the right fin for your style. 

Construction

All fins are not created equal! We take advantage of a vast amount of fin manufacturing experience to create fins that work in many different applications. Designs are executed using the required materials and foils to create the highest performance fins available today.

Flex

Flex is a very important element in our designs. Many of our fins come with a tuned flex. A fin that has flex can be very different than a fin without flex. The flex concept brings to life an otherwise average ride. Cutbacks have more power and bottom turns have more projection.

Foils

True Ames Fins incorporate a constant foil which means you will not find any flat spots on our fins that may cause water disturbance which will ultimately cause poor performance. Our bigger solid color fins are foiled from 7/16” solid 6oz. glass sheet stock. Smaller fins do not need to be so thick to have the proper foil.

Size

The depth of your fins is measured from base to tip vertically. Adjusting your fin size will affect the performance of your board. Larger fins provide more stability and control, so a larger board will need bigger fins. For example a 9’6” single fin board needs at least a 9.5” fin and if nose riding is most important to you than you will find bigger fins give more forward control.

Template

The outline of a fin is what determines the area and the look. The way the area is distributed on the fin is what makes fins individual and work in so many different ways. A wide base fin with a wide tip is the most stable but not forgiving. A narrow base fin with a narrow tip will be very loose and fast but unstable at slow speeds. The fin’s sweep (or rake angle) affects the board’s ability to carve turns. A more vertical fin will make tight turns and fast directional changes while a more raked fin will carve wider arcs and handle more power through turns. Tail width is also a factor in fin choice. Narrow tail boards do not require deep fins because there is less distance from the fin to the rail.  A wide board requires a deeper fin than a narrower board. For example an 8’ egg style board that is on the wide side should use about an 8.5” to 9.0” fin. A narrow tail single fin board that is 7’6” can use a fin in the 7” to 8” range.

Turning Point of the Game

The turning point came early.  Villanova had taken a 10 – 0 lead on a John Dempsey fumble recovery in the endzone on the first play of the game, and a 32 yard Nick Yako field goal with 8:23 remaining in the half.  With 33 seconds to play in the first quarter Villanova took over at the New Hampshire 25 due to a short punt.   On the first play Running Back Angelo Babbaro went 25 yards for a touchdown putting Villanova in the lead by a score of 17 – 0. The Villanova Defense in addition to the weather and field conditions indicated that New Hampshire was going to have an extremely difficult, if not impossible task in coming back.

Key Stat in the Game

New Hampshire had minus 66 yards rushing.  No New Hampshire player who attempted a rush (5 players) had positive yards.  Villanova set a school record for fewest rushing yards allowed.  Villanova rushed for 343 yards, so it would be hard to blame New Hampshire’s total solely on weather and field conditions.

Key Players in the Game

For Villanova

Offense

Running Back Angelo Babbaro who ran for a career high 148 yards on 13 carries, and scored 2 touchdowns.  His longest run was 59 yards for a touchdown with 4:24 remaining in the third quarter that gave Villanova a 39 – 0 lead.

Defense

Defensive Back John Dempsey had a touchdown on a fumble recovery in the endzone for a touchdown with 14:45 to go in the first quarter.  Dempsey also had 5 tackles (4 solo) a sack, and he broke up one pass in the game.  Also noted is Defensive End Tim Kukucka who had 6 tackles and 2.5 sacks.  One sack led to the Safety in the 3^rd quarter. Kukucka also had one forced fumble.

For New Hampshire 

Offense

Quarterback Kevin Decker who went 11-21 for104 yards with no interceptions and 1 touchdown.  The touchdown pass was 18 yards.

Defense

Linebacker Hugo Souza who made a game high 8 tackles 7 of which were solo tackles.

Point Where the Game Was Decided

Villanova led 24 – 0 at halftime.  The Wildcats punted to the New Hampshire 2 yard line.  2 plays later Quarterback R.J. Tonan was sacked by Villanova Defensive End Tim Kukucka. He fumbled.  New Hampshire recovered the ball in the endzone resulting in a team safety for Villanova.  That made thje score 26 – 0 with 11:49 to play, and gave the ball back to the Villanova.

Notes of Interest

Villanova advances to the NCAA FCS Semi-Finals.

Villanova ties the school record for wins in a season set in 1997.

Written By: Glenn Papazian

I’ve been going to Brave New World for the past 3 weeks looking at a boards, and I finally bought it yesterday. The reason it took so long to make up my mind was the price tag- $910 after taxes, for a shortboard. Why the high price?? Yeah, I’m not really sure why to be honest. I have an idea, but even the idea doesn’t account for all $200 I paid extra.
I bought a Channel Islands’ Wizard Sleeve. Don’t google image the name without the parent guard on for your search results, by the way, fun fact.


I went with the 5′6″ over the 5′8″ this time, considering I have a CI Pod in 5′8″.
The other dimensions run along the line of W:19 1/8″ T:2 1/8″. Something close to that. Anyhow, the few incentives that forced me to buy it:
+One of 50 boards autographed by 9x World Champion Kelly Slater.
+One of only 250 boards in the US
+One of 450 boards world-wide
+Production board of the Deep Six that Slater road last year that won him the Pipe Masters.
+5 FCS plug fins
+5 FCS K-2.1 fins (cover’s about $100 of the over paid $200)
+Guaranteed to make one surf like Slater.
That last one was a lie, but I’m very happy with my purchase though I don’t think I’m ever going to ride the board.
Still, my board is 5′6″, very expensive, sexy, and has 5 slots plug-holes to fill… Just like a whore.
And I managed to keep the promise I made to make a big purchase from a local surf shop.

It’s the last week of the year for regular season games of any sort, with the notable exception of the Army-Navy game, which takes place on Saturday, December 12th.  This week’s listing includes all the FBS contests (including the conference title games), FCS quarterfinal matchups, and Division II playoff action (both D-2 semifinal games are nationally televised).

As I’ve done throughout the season, I’m using Google Documents in an effort to make the listings more accessible.

College Football TV Listings, Week 14

Additional notes:

• Oregon State-Oregon will be the de facto Pac-10 championship game; the winner goes to the Rose Bowl.
• Cincinnati-Pittsburgh will be the de facto Big East championship game; the winner goes to a BCS bowl to be determined (with the Bearcats having an outside shot at the BCS title game).
• Ohio State has already clinched the Big 10 title and will play in the Rose Bowl.
• Boise State has already clinched the WAC title and may play in a BCS bowl to be determined.
• TCU has already clinched the Mountain West title and will play in a BCS bowl to be determined (if not the BCS title game).
• Troy has already clinched the Sun Belt title and will play in a bowl game to be determined.
• “Official” conference title games this week:  MAC (Ohio-Central Michigan), C-USA (Houston-East Carolina), SEC (Alabama-Florida), ACC (Georgia Tech-Clemson), and Big XII (Nebraska-Texas).
• There will actually be two productions for the California-Washington game.  I have listed the TV announcers for FSN-Northwest/FCS-Pacific; Barry Tompkins and Mike Pawlawski will be calling the game for CSN-California (plus feed).

—

A lot of the information I used in putting this together came courtesy of Matt Sarzyniak’s great website (College Sports on TV) and the folks over at the 506.com; there are links to both sites to the right of this page, in the “TSA  Checkpoints” section.

Check out the results and highlights from the first round of the FCS playoffs at championshipsubdivision.com. Big Sky champion Montana came back to beat South Dakota St. Eastern Washington lost in a shootout to Stephen F. Austin, and Weber St. was drilled by William & Mary.

Remember Northeastern? You know… the first win of the magical 2008 season that started it all out? I hope you got pictures of it, because that’s the last time Northeastern will be venturing from Boston to Muncie. In fact, Northeastern won’t be venturing anywhere anymore, because as of today their football program is no more. Via CBSSports…

BOSTON — Northeastern University is ending its football program after 74 seasons because the investment required to make it competitive was too high.

The school announced the decision Monday after president Joseph Aoun and the board of trustees endorsed on Friday the recommendation by athletic director Peter Roby after a two-year review of the Boston school’s sports programs.

Roby said an investment of “tens of millions of dollars” to replace or upgrade spartan Parsons Field would be required to help make the football program competitive with others in the Colonial Athletic Association.

“I think everybody in higher education is faced with the dilemma of competing priorities and investments,” Roby said in an interview with the Associated Press. “So this wasn’t about what we were already spending. This was about what we were going to really need to spend going forward if we were really going to be fair about allowing people to compete equally.

“The status quo was not an option.”

The school spends more than $4 million annually on the football program while an average of 1,500 to 2,000 people attend home games, Roby said, but the size of the crowds was not a factor in the decision.

The program’s 87 players and 10 coaches learned the news Sunday night at a meeting on campus with Roby, a day after the Football Championship Subdivision team won its final game 33-27 at Rhode Island. The Huskies won their last two games to finish 3-8, their sixth consecutive losing season.

Northeastern began playing football in 1933 and took three years off from 1943-45 because of World War II. Its all-time record was 289-364-17.

The Huskies began their sixth season under coach Rocky Hager with a 54-0 loss to Boston College that started a six-game losing streak.

“Northeastern has always been guided by the principle that we should focus on our opportunities for leadership,” Aoun said in a statement. “This approach ultimately leads to difficult choices, but leadership requires that we make these choices. This decision allows us to focus on our existing athletic programs.”

Several outstanding NFL players, including defensive ends Sean Jones and Keith Willis and tight end Dan Ross, played at Northeastern.

Jones, drafted by the Los Angeles Raiders in the second round in 1984, had 113 sacks in 13 seasons. Willis, signed as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1982, had 59 sacks in 11 seasons. Ross, a second-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1979, had 290 catches for 19 touchdowns in seven NFL seasons.

The university said players will keep their athletic scholarships through graduation if they obtain their degrees at Northeastern.

Roby was head basketball coach at Harvard from 1985 to 1991 and served as co-captain of Dartmouth’s basketball team in the late ’70s.

“As emotional as this decision is and was,” he said, “and as much as it was impacting so many wonderful people, coaches and athletes, you have to try to think about the big picture and do what you think is right. So that’s what I tried to do.”

It certainly brings up an interesting argument about whether or not being “financially viable” is the measuring stick by which a program’s longevity or even existence is going to be judged. There are probably more than a few FBS programs who would fall on the chopping block if more university staff members begin to allow existence only on financial independence. That’s bad news for a whole lot of programs, and certainly damning for universities that are controlled by administrators in the President’s office who think they know what is “best” and dabble in athletic decisions. I’m sure glad Ball State doesn’t have that problem. I’m thankful we have an athletic department and a football program that is financially awesome and a President that lets the department run the way it needs to. Wait a minute…

Timmy Patterson Quad fins (set of 4) 

These fins are tested and are best suited for the all around quad shortboard. The back fins have 80/20 foil. A very well balanced quad set!

front fins: HEIGHT: 4.35” / 111 mm  BASE: 4.30” / 109 mm

back fins: HEIGHT: 3.95” / 100 mm BASE: 3.85” / 98 mm

If you’re looking for a super light and fast quad fin setup then the Timmy Patterson Quad fins are for you. Quads first came onto the scene in the early 80’s and eventually lost popularity amidst the thrusters and twin fins.  Now with our lighter stronger boards the quad fins are making a comeback. Even Kelly Slater rips on his quad in contests all over the world.  Riding a quad is like having an extra boost of speed when you need it most.

With the Timmy Patterson quad set up your board will go as fast as you could ever want, and will still maintain the responsiveness you need to get vertical in tight situations. Don’t just limit your quad riding experience to “small” surf. Having those four fins can hold you in to some good sized surf. In hollow conditions you will see how having the quad keeps you higher up in the face of the wave allowing you to make more barrels.

And article on Fox Sports titled “Why the cupcakes for Florida, Alabama?” questions the lack of challenge these top-two teams face Saturday this late in the season. Florida will be hosting on Florida International and Bama will be hosting Chattanooga.

An easy win. This would not do much to boost Alabama in the polls. But the advantage is this is almost like a bye week. A good opportunity… the last opportunity to work on their weaknesses and fine tune things before the next two games which will be really tough.

The last time Bama played such weaker teams was at the beginning of the season when they played Florida International and North Texas in consecutive weeks. In each of those games, the Tide racked up over 500 yards of offense. They have played Chattanooga 10 times in school history, all of them wins by a total score of 369-88.

My prediction…. Greg McElroy, near 200 yards passing, 2 TD’s. Mark Ingram, over 200 yards rushing and 3 TD’s. Final, 45-7.

Holy Cross QB Dominic Randolph has thrown a TD pass in 40 straight games.

The original plan was to head up to Worcester, Mass., with some of my college buddies and see the old alma mater, Holy Cross, and the great quarterback Dominic Randolph, battle Lafayette with the Patriot League title on the line.

But then the rains came. And the plans changed.

Instead this Crusader wound up at a Mass for the Sick in his hometown of White Plains, N.Y. at another alma mater — St. Bernard’s. The Bernies.

You know what they say about the best-laid plans…..In the end, it all worked out. Got closer to God, spent some quality time with my dear aunt and godmother, and the Crusaders prevailed.

Yep, Randolph passed for 348 yards and a pair of touchdowns as Holy Cross rallied to defeat Lafayette 28-26 and clinch the Patriot League championship and an automatic playoff berth.

Randolph is a stud. He’s a leading candidate for the Walter Payton Award. He’s been written up by the New York Times and the Boston Globe, among others.

He’s generating NFL interest, hardly an every day occurrence at a small school like Holy Cross. He needs a flashy nickname, like Dom “The Bomb.”

The Streak

Of all the school and FCS (football championship subdivision, formerly Division I-AA) numbers and records Randolph has accumulated, none is more impressive than this one — Dominic Randolph has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 40 straight games.

The all-time NCAA record for most consecutive games throwing a touchdown is 41 — held by Mike Reilly of Central Washington, a Division II school, from 2005–2008. Ty Detmer of Brigham Young threw a touchdown in 35 straight games for BYU between 1989 and 1991.

Randolph’s string of 40 is DiMaggio-esque in stature. Johnny Unitas of the Baltimore Colts holds the NFL record with 47 consecutive games with a touchdown pass, and that record is often deemed to the statistical equivalent of Joe DiMaggo’s 56-game hitting streak. Unitas’ record has held for almost 50 years since his streak was snapped against the Los Angeles Rams in 1960.

If Randolph throws a touchdown pass in Holy Cross’ finale next week at Bucknell, and another in the Crusaders’ first playoff game, he would establish the all-time NCAA record with 42.

Randolph’s streak began innocently enough against Marist in September of 2006 when the red-shirt freshman tossed his first career touchdown in a 27-0 Holy Cross win. Few in attendance that warm Saturday evening in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., realized they were seeing the start of history in the making.

Passing Fool

The following week Randolph became a starter against Fordham and passed for 263 yards and three touchdowns. He’s been a passing fool every since.

Randolph is all about putting up big numbers. Consider the following:

• ·· He has passed for at least 200 yards in 38 straight games
• · He has tossed 30 touchdown passes this year and 113 in his career
• · Earlier this year, he broke the Holy Cross and Patriot League records for career passing yards
• · He has thrown for nearly 13,000 career yards, or nearly seven and a half miles
• · He broke the Holy Cross career records for completions, pass attempts, touchdown passes and yards of total offense — last year
• · His career completion percentage of .635 is the best in school history
• · His 23 career 300-yard passing games and seven 400-yard passing games are both the most-ever by a Crusader.

All that, and he leads his team in rushing too.

Not bad for a quarterback who couldn’t crack his high-school starting lineup

And NFL scouts are taking notice. Don’t be surprised if Dominic Randolph – aka “Dom the Bomb” — winds up inext year n the “league where they play for pay.”

S.C. State continues to move up in the FCS football polls.

The Bulldogs are now ranked ninth in the Sports Network’s FCS poll, an improvement over the team’s No. 10 ranking.

S.C. State continues to be ranked at No. 1 in all three major HBCU football polls.

In college football, there are not that many games in a season, at least when compared to other sports.  For an FCS school, there are just eleven opportunities.  It’s important to make the most of each and every one of them.

The Citadel has played nine games this season.  In three of those games, the team’s performance has been absolutely awful, and I mean awful in the “did they know there was a game today?” sense.  That’s fully one-third of the games.

In sports, every now and then you’re going to have a bad day where nothing goes right (the same is true for life in general).  Most fans can understand that.  Having it happen once every three games — well, that’s not so understandable.  Worse, all three thud-fests were conference games (Elon, Western Carolina, and now Wofford).

In past posts, I called the Elon game a debacle, and the WCU loss a disaster.  I’m not sure what adjective applies to The Citadel’s game on Saturday against the Terriers.  Perhaps I should call it “disheartening” just to stay with the D-word theme.

Speaking of D:

• On the second Wofford series, the Terriers were faced with a 3rd-and-8, and promptly converted it by completing a 23-yard pass — this from a team that rarely throws the ball (Wofford entered the contest last in the nation in passing yardage per game).  You just knew it was going to be a long day for the Bulldogs when that happened.
• That third-down conversion was one of seven the Terriers picked up in eleven tries.  Wofford had come into the game only converting 38% of its third downs.
• Of course, Wofford had 13 first downs in which it didn’t even need to convert a third down.
• Wofford had lost 13 fumbles and thrown 6 interceptions prior to Saturday’s game, but the only Terrier turnover on Saturday came deep in Bulldog territory with Wofford already leading 29-10.
• That fumble would be the only time the Terriers failed to score in the “red zone” in seven tries (four touchdowns, two field goals).

The defense’s day was probably best epitomized by a play in the second quarter.  Wofford faced a 3rd and 1 at The Citadel’s 33 yard line.  As the Terriers broke their huddle, an image of Terrence Reese in full “make some noise, get pumped up” mode appeared on the video board.  Wofford ran an inside handoff for three yards and a first down, with Reese then penalized for a late hit.  The Terriers scored four plays later.

The defensive issues weren’t particularly surprising, given the Bulldogs’ struggles on D for most of the season, and the success Wofford has had against The Citadel in recent years.  During the Kevin Higgins era, the Terriers have scored at least 28 points in every game against the Bulldogs.

However, unlike last season’s game against Wofford, on Saturday the Bulldog offense was equally disappointing.

I’m not sure what to make of the way the quarterbacks were utilized during the game.  Obviously, Bart Blanchard and Miguel Starks were both coming off injuries, and if they couldn’t play, that would be one thing.  As it happened, they both played, although whether either should have seemed debatable.

Blanchard was clearly struggling with a bad toe (and he’s had a bad ankle all year).  Never the fastest of QBs, he was no threat to run.  Any nominal “option” plays that The Citadel ran with Blanchard in the game were really just handoffs to Terrell Dallas or Van Dyke Jones, and Wofford treated them as such.  He also appeared to be a sitting duck in the pocket.

After the game, according to a story in The Post and Courier, Blanchard was wearing a walking boot in the locker room, just as he had in prior games against Furman and Samford, when he didn’t play.  I’m not sure why he played against Wofford, either.

I appreciated the effort and the determination, though.  Even with a bad wheel, he threw a really impressive pass to Kevin Hardy that would lead to a field goal; I’m not sure all of the fans in the stands appreciated how good a throw that was.  Blanchard did not get much help from his receivers, as there were several dropped passes (a recurring issue for most of the season).

Blanchard was in the game late in the first half when The Citadel got the ball on its own 6 yard line.  There were only 61 seconds left on the clock, and the Bulldogs actually had a little momentum, having scored on their previous drive to cut Wofford’s lead to seven, at 17-10.  The Terriers had just one timeout left, so the Bulldogs could have run out the clock.

However, on first down Blanchard went back to pass and was sacked, fumbling the ball.  Lincoln Kling recovered in the end zone for the Bulldogs, but the result was a safety.  Wofford returned the ensuing free kick to the Bulldog 40 and would eventually kick a field goal to take a 22-10 lead into the locker room.  It was like giving away five free points and all the momentum.  Wofford then got the ball first to open the third quarter, drove right down the field and scored.  Ballgame.

Tommy Edwards replaced Blanchard just before the end of the third quarter, moved the Bulldogs 38 yards in five plays, and then threw an interception.  On the Bulldogs’ next series (now trailing 43-10), Miguel Starks started taking the snaps.  He would lead The Citadel to the game’s final score on his second series of the game.

This I really didn’t understand.  If Starks was injured and couldn’t start, why put him in the game with 10 minutes left and the team trailing by five touchdowns?  I didn’t see the point in that.  If he had been healthy enough to play at all, he should have started over the clearly ailing Blanchard, or come into the game when the outcome was still in doubt.

Kevin Higgins noted that Edwards “doesn’t have much experience at all”, and that’s certainly true, but in retrospect I wonder if it would have been better for all concerned if Edwards had played instead of either Blanchard or Starks.

Of course, I’m just a yokel watching the game.  I don’t have any inside information on what the thinking was regarding playing Blanchard/Edwards/Starks.  It may be that Starks’ injury is the type that won’t get worse, but won’t get much better anytime soon.  If that’s the case, the coaches may have wanted to see what he was capable of doing, so they could take that into account for next week.

—

To have such a trouncing occur on Homecoming was also a bit dispiriting.  Without the TD at the end of the game, the Bulldogs would have suffered their worst Homecoming loss since 1989.  It’s not the best way to impress visiting alums, that’s for sure.

Things I may or may not have heard in and around the various reunion tents:

• “Why don’t we run the wishbone?”
• “Well, we’re a basketball school, anyway.”
• “Maybe the guys on the team would play better if we rewarded a good season by letting them stay at the beach house during second semester, instead of the barracks.”
• “How long have we been wearing navy pants?”
• “Skip the orange juice, just give me what’s left in that bottle.”

A few observations about some off the field issues:

– Over the past couple of years, I’ve noticed that a significant number of cadets don’t make it to the game, and I’m not the only one who has spotted this trend.  At Saturday’s game I guesstimated that at least one-third, if not more, of the corps was not in the stands during the game.  Where were they?

This is something that the school administration needs to address before next season.  I know there are some legitimate absences, but the bottom line is that at least 90% of the corps of cadets needs to be in the stands at Johnson Hagood Stadium at every game.  Right now, that’s not happening.

– I’ve said this before, but if I attend too many more games at Johnson Hagood I’m going to eventually go deaf, thanks to the sound system speakers, which, apparently inspired by Spinal Tap, are set at “11″.  At least on this particular Saturday A) the referee’s microphone worked, and B) they didn’t play the “clap your hands” riff as the Bulldogs lined up to punt.

– Video board, good:  the Randy Bresnik message intro was great.  Excellent job setting that up.  I can’t imagine going into outer space.  Of course, I’m not crazy about heights…

– Video board, unintentionally amusing:  the Anthony Maldanado speech (through no fault of his own, of course).  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.

– I thought the attendance was okay (Wofford didn’t bring a lot of fans).  Plenty of alums were wandering around, taking in the sights at the almost brand-new stadium, marveling at bathroom facilities that weren’t holdovers from the 19th century.  Everyone was ready to cheer; there just wasn’t anything worth cheering about, at least on the field.

– MVPs for the day, school of business administration:  both the Class of ‘59 and the Class of ‘69 presented enormous monetary contributions to the school on Saturday.  Major, major thumbs-up for those two classes.  Outstanding.

– MVPs for the day, school of recreation and leisure:  this would go to the Class of ‘89, which had a huge throng of partiers at its reunion tent, all of whom appeared to be having a good time.  Great turnout by that group of youngsters.

—

The Citadel now has two games left on the schedule, road contests against UT-Chattanooga and Georgia Southern.  A winning season is still a possibility, but it will be a tall order to triumph against both an improved Mocs squad and the traditionally tough Eagles.  The Bulldogs will certainly have to play much, much better than they did on Saturday if they hope to win either of those games, much less both of them.

For those of you teaching in classrooms that are in need of new financial literacy lessons from budgeting to banking and housing to credit you should check you Family Economics and Financial Education, FEFE.  This program is from the Take Charge America Institute and Arizona University.  It provides free financial lesson plans to teachers, upon registration with the organization. This summer I was blessed enough to attend their conference in June where I learned about all the great resources it provides.  So if you are looking for some FREE financial literacy lesson plans check out the FEFE website.

This summer AAFCS, a FCS professional organization, will hold it’s national meeting in Cleveland, Ohio.   I encourage all in the FCS fields to attend this meeting.  It is a great way for you to network, gain knowledge, and find many resources.  Visit the link I have provided on the right side of this blog for more information on this wonderful conference.

When trying to explain to people what my major of study is in college I often get strange looks and the statement, “Oh, like Home Ec.”

With the name change from Home Economics to Family and Consumer Sciences curriculum change comes as well.  We are no longer preparing girls to graduate, get married, and have children.  Healthy Foods,  Financial Management,  and Transitions and Careers are among some of the new content standards in FCS in Ohio.  There are no standards for sewing, babysitting, or cooking casseroles.  Just as every other field, FCS, is evolving with technology and new findings in the field everyday.  Students in FCS classes are learning the chemistry and nutrition of the food they eat and how to create a budget or balance a checkbook.  The practical skills and knowledge students gain through classes like transitions and careers students can further their education through institutions like private colleges, state universities, and technical schools.  They don’t just learn what Vitamin A, B12, E and K do, they learn where they can get it, how it works, and what happens with out it.

Family and Consumer Sciences isn’t a dying field.  It’s growing every day through the new curriculum and advances in the field.  Just like math and science courses, FCS changes with technology and discoveries.

I wrote about the series between Wofford and The Citadel during the preview for last season’s matchup between the two schools.  I’m not going to re-hash the history in this post; if anyone is interested, the link will serve to give some background.

This will be the third consecutive meeting between the Terriers and Bulldogs to be featured on SportSouth, which may be the first time The Citadel has played on TV against the same opponent three years in a row.  Tom Werme and Sam Wyche will again call the action from the booth.

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When sporting events began to be regularly broadcast (first over radio, then television), some of the individuals running sports clubs feared that broadcasting games would lead to attendance declines, because people could just stay at home and listen to the radio, or watch on TV.  This notion was largely debunked by Hall of Fame baseball executive Larry MacPhail (in the 1930s and early 1940s).

Tangent:  this type of thinking had gone on for decades, beginning with clubs trying to deny telegraph operators the right to give scoring updates for baseball games.  In 1876, the first year of the National League’s existence, Hartford owner Morgan Bulkeley (one of the three most undeserving members of the Hall of Fame) attempted to bar representatives of the local telegraph company from buying tickets.

However, the question has to be asked:  if a game is on TV, why would someone choose to see it in person, rather than watch it on the tube?  Going to a game can be very inconvenient and expensive.  Instead, you could choose to not leave your house and watch the game (preferably in HD) while lying on your couch, with all the comforts of home, including a refrigerator, bathroom, and an HVAC system.

A lot of people go to the games anyway, as evidenced by the large crowds that see many different kinds of sporting events.  Even when it is noted that there are empty seats at an arena or stadium (like Doak Campbell Stadium for the North Carolina State-Florida State game last Saturday, the bottom line is that there were still a lot of people who went to the game (in that case, over 50,000).

Why do they go?  Well, tradition, I suppose, along with camaraderie — tailgating, seeing old friends in the same seats every year, that type of thing.  They go for the atmosphere.  Sometimes, that atmosphere isn’t so great.  However, occasionally there is a day to remember, a day when the electricity in the stadium isn’t just being provided by the power company.

It’s the kind of thing that gets people off their couches and in their cars and headed to the game, just for the chance to be a part of a high-voltage event, to be swept along in a moment of nirvana.  Maybe it won’t happen too often, but when it does, it makes up for all the times it didn’t.

Such an occurrence happened at Johnson Hagood Stadium in 1988.  Since this Saturday is Homecoming, I’m going to write briefly about the most memorable Homecoming game in the history of the stadium, which had the most electric atmosphere of any game I’ve ever seen at JHS.

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***November 5, 1988 — Marshall (#1) vs. The Citadel (#19)***

It was a bright, sunny day when the Thundering Herd and the Bulldogs met on the gridiron.  Marshall had played in the I-AA title game the year before, losing 43-42 to Northeast Louisiana.  After that setback, the Thundering Herd hit the ground running in 1988.  By the time Marshall ventured to Charleston, it was 8-0 and ranked #1 in I-AA football.

The Thundering Herd featured a high-octane offense averaging 32.6 points per game.  Starting quarterback John Gregory threw for 3,127 yards and 21 touchdowns in 1988.  Many of Gregory’s throws went to Mike Barber, Marshall’s All-American wide receiver, who would be named I-AA player of the year in 1988 by the American Football Coaches Association.  Barber had caught 106 passes in 1987 and followed that up with “only” 79 catches in 1988.

When Gregory wasn’t throwing passes to Barber, he was tossing them to Sean Doctor, the Herd tight end, who in just two years in Huntington would accumulate 2,100 receiving yards.  Marshall could run the ball, too, as halfback Ron Darby gained 1,282 yards in 1988 and scored 16 touchdowns.

That was the juggernaut facing The Citadel, although the Bulldogs did not lack for confidence.  The Citadel came into the game 6-2, having won five straight games, including a 42-35 victory over Navy.  That triumph had been led by quarterback Gene Brown.  However, Brown was injured two weeks later against UT-Chattanooga.

Tommy Burriss had ably filled in at quarterback (no surprise, as he was the former starter) to lead the Bulldogs to victories over Boston University (yes, BU still played football back then) and East Tennessee State.  Brown’s return to the field was highly anticipated, though, as he was a truly gifted director of Charlie Taaffe’s wishbone attack.

A crowd of 20,011 showed up to see the matchup, the second time that season more than 20,000 people had attended a football game at Johnson Hagood Stadium.

After a scoreless first quarter, The Citadel would strike first, with Adrian Johnson scoring on a one-yard touchdown run.  Marshall would respond with a short field goal, but the score was only 6-3 at halftime (the Bulldogs having missed the PAT).

However, The Citadel’s offense began to control the game, dominating the time of possession.  Brown entered the game in the second quarter and the rushing yardage started to pile up.  Johnson rushed for 106 yards and Raymond Mazyck added 79 (on just 10 carries).  The Bulldogs as a team rushed for 359 yards, and perhaps more importantly ran 83 plays and kept Marshall’s high-powered offense off the field.

Even when Marshall had the ball, the Herd struggled.  In one sequence, the Herd would run eight consecutive plays inside the Bulldog 5-yard line without scoring a TD.  For the game, Marshall only managed 247 yards of total offense.

The crowd went into a frenzy when Phillip Florence took an end-around 33 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, and when Johnson scored his second touchdown of the day in the fourth period, it was all over.  20-3, The Citadel.

Well, almost over.  As the game ended, the field was invaded by the corps of cadets, a number of whom headed straight for the goalpost in the south endzone.  The uprights were then torn down…okay, maybe not quite torn down.  The cadets were unable to rip the uprights away from the crossbar, and the crossbar remained attached to the stanchion.  It was the Cardinal Richelieu of goalposts.

It didn’t matter, though, as it was the thought that counted.  The administration didn’t seem to mind having to shell out some cash for a new goalpost, either, which may be the best indication of how amazing the atmosphere at the game really was.

Tangent:  the next week, Marshall’s Darby rushed for 262 yards against Western Carolina, which would have been a Southern Conference record — but on the same day, Brown rushed for 286 yards against VMI (on only 13 carries!) to shatter the mark.  Talk about bad timing for Darby.

Now that was a game worth attending.  What about Saturday’s game?  Will it be worth attending for Bulldog fans?

—

Wofford had enjoyed seven consecutive winning seasons before this year’s campaign.  The Terriers are 2-6, although it should be noted that Wofford played not one but two FBS schools this year, losing to both South Florida and Wisconsin.

However, eyebrows were raised around the conference when the Terriers (picked in the preseason to finish in the league’s top 3) lost 38-9 at UT-Chattanooga.  The Mocs have proven to be the most improved team in the league, but that loss clearly showed that Wofford had some unexpected issues.  The two main themes for the Terriers this year have been injuries and turnovers. 

Wofford entered the season with a fairly inexperienced squad (only nine returning starters), and that inexperience has been compounded by a rash of serious injuries, many of them season-ending.  Only ten players have started every game for the Terriers; in all, 34 different players have made at least one start. 

Many of the losses have been on defense (including pre-season All-SoCon pick Mitch Clark, who has only played one game this year).  The Terriers also suffered the loss of starting fullback Eric Breitenstein (who rushed for 121 yards against South Florida).  Wofford was already missing halfback Jeremy Marshall, who tore an ACL last season against Appalachian State; in this season’s matchup with the Mountaineers, another Terrier halfback, Derek Boyce, tore his ACL.

The Terriers run an option attack known as the “wingbone”, with the emphasis on run.  Wofford, with all its problems, still leads FCS in rushing, averaging 258 yards per game.  However, the Terriers are last in the division in passing, averaging only 70.5 yards per contest.

Quarterback Mitch Allen is completing just 45.2% of his passes.  That’s not a huge problem – after all, he doesn’t attempt that many – but while Allen has thrown five touchdown passes, he’s also thrown five interceptions (in just 62 attempts). 

Wofford as a team has thrown six picks, and has also fumbled 19 times, losing 13.  Losing two-thirds of their fumbles is a bit of bad luck, to be sure, but the Terriers are at heart a possession-oriented team.  Committing nineteen turnovers over eight games is not typical of a Wofford outfit.  The Terriers have committed 3+ turnovers in four games this season, losing all four.

The Terriers are still a dangerous offensive team, even with the turnover bugaboo, but have been inconsistent.  Wofford rolled up 537 yards of total offense against Appalachian State and another 426 against Western Carolina.  Unlike The Citadel’s last opponent, Samford, the Terriers are more than capable of creating big plays (Wofford has had five plays from the line of scrimmage of over 60 yards).

On the other hand, Wofford only had 170 yards of total offense against Elon (The Citadel can relate) and just 151 against UT-Chattanooga.  Part of the inconsistency can be traced to the Terriers’ third down conversion rate, which is just 38.3%. 

For the style of offense Wofford employs, that isn’t good enough.  The problems converting third down have led to Wofford averaging less than 29 minutes per game in time of possession, definitely not what an all-out running team like the Terriers wants.

When Wofford scores first, it is 2-0; when it doesn’t, 0-6.  Wofford is 0-5 when trailing after three quarters and 0-4 when scoring less than 20 points. 

Terrier opponents are averaging 387 yards per game in total offense.  Wofford has forced twelve turnovers in eight games, including five interceptions.  Much like its offense, the Terrier D has not had a lot of luck in the fumble department, forcing twenty but recovering only seven.  That’s the kind of statistic that will eventually turn in Wofford’s favor; let’s hope it doesn’t happen this week.

Wofford’s opponents have been in the “red zone” 36 times this season, and have scored touchdowns on 26 of those occasions.

The Terriers have a solid kick return game, led by running back Mike Rucker.   Wofford has a net punting average of 35.9, which is quite good.  The Terriers have only attempted four field goals all season, making two (both against Elon).

In last year’s game, The Citadel did a good job offensively but couldn’t stop the Terriers, as Wofford had 409 yards of total offense, including 279 yards rushing.  Andre Roberts had a huge game (14 receptions, 190 yards, 3 TDs) but it wasn’t enough, as Wofford stayed one step ahead of the Bulldogs the whole way, committing no turnovers and converting all three of its fourth-down attempts.

You can bet that Roberts will be priority #1 for the Wofford defense, but you can say that about any defense that faces The Citadel.  Who winds up throwing the ball in Roberts’ direction is anybody’s guess. 

What I hope happens is that if both Bart Blanchard and Miguel Starks are healthy, the coaches rotate them by series instead of by play.  If one of them is moving the team down the field, then that’s the guy that needs to stay in the game.  I’m not forgetting about Tommy Edwards, either.  He got the job done against Samford, and he’ll get the call if need be against the Terriers. 

I would like to see more of the type of playcalling used in the game against Furman, which seemed to suit the offensive line.  Speaking of the o-line, that unit will need to contain Wofford defensive end Ameet Pall, a Montreal native who is having a fine season for the Terriers.  Kevin Higgins was quick to note Pall’s abilities during his press conference on Monday.

It’s been too long since The Citadel won in this series.  Hopes are high that the Bulldogs will end that streak on Saturday, in front of an appreciative Homecoming crowd.  I am not so sure, to be honest, but I’ll be there cheering them on regardless.

Adoption is not  a new concept for us.

Before we were married, I fostered for 3 years.  Now, this was a teenager and a child I had known for many years prior, but the experience exposed me to a world where children were hurt, neglected, and in need of loving homes.  Steve and I had discussed including one or more adopted children in our family plans.  We had also seriously discussed including foster children in our life as well.

But, we had thought we’d have a couple biological children first.

I had actually called F&CS after our first miscarriage.  We thought we’d do some respite (weekend) fostering while we waited to get pregnant again.  However, when I called, they told me that we were not eligible to be foster or adoptive parents because – get this – we didn’t live together before we were married.   Not taking into consideration our long-term stable relationship, our professional careers, our previous experience in the foster care system – just that we hadn’t co-habitated for 2 years.  Believe me, I had some words for them.  How could they say, without meeting us, that we weren’t suitable because we didn’t shack up first?  I was distraught – because I couldn’t imagine waiting another 2 years before we could even start the process of adoption, given that I knew the wait times were long.

However, at the end of all my discussions, they told us to call back in the spring which we did.  That happened to fall shortly after miscarriage #2.

The thing with F&CS, is that they don’t move very quickly.  So it was June before we met with the social worker – the same day I found out I was pregnant with #3.   That pregnancy ended, and we decided to move forward and have a private home study and pride training completed to expedite the process.

The social worker was a little concerned that we were moving so quickly after the pregnancy ended – it was a little over a week after my 3rd miscarriage that she came for her first visit.  But I expressed to her that moving onto adoption was the way that I was healing from the loss.

The one thing I can say about the adoption process is that it is frustrating and long.  We started the homestudy in June, and here we are in November, and it’s just finishing up.  But we’re continuing to move forward, so that’s a good thing.

A baby or child could come into our lives at any time.  I keep reminding myself of that.

[Clique e acesse]

This weekend is one of the biggest weekends in college football each year. Championship weekend.  This weekend was unique because there were five conference championships on the line, each decided by head to head matchups between the first and second teams in the conference.

The action started Thursday night, when Oregon defeated Oregon State in the game of the year to this point.  Neither defense played very well, as Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli used his passing and running ability to keep the Oregon State defense off guard all night.  Lemichael James set the tone, rushing for 166 yards and 3 TDs, and previously suspended Lagarrette Blount ran for 51 yards and a TD. Sean Cansfield from Oregon State also had an effective passing night in the loss.  With the win, Oregon will face Ohio State in the Rose Bowl Game on January 1st.

The big game on Saturday was Florida v. Alabama.  Alabama clearly showed that they were the more physical and better defensive team.  While the game stayed close for the first half, Alabama took control in the 3rd quarter with a 26-13 lead.  Mark Ingram had another great game, with 113 yards rushing and 3 TDs.  However, the X-factor for Alabama, Greg McElroy, played a tremendous game, passing for 239 yards and a touchdown.  More important than those stats is the fact that he remained confident in the pocket throughout the game and was able to keep the Florida defense from focusing on Ingram.  As I said in my game preview, I thought Florida would attempt to stuff the run and take their chances with McElroy at quarterback.  When McElroy began passing efficiently, Florida had no choice but to put more men in coverage, which allowed Ingram to have the impact he did.  Alabama will now play in the BCS National Championship, and Florida will most likely play in the Sugar Bowl.

Cincinnati v. Pittsburgh was the 12 noon game that was the de facto Big East Championship game.  This game was a shootout from the onset, as both teams scored on their first drives.  Pitt took a 14 point lead in the third quarter, and Cincinnati came storming back to tie the game at 38 in the fourth quarter.  Pitt then scored with under 2 minutes left in the game, but the holder could not place the ball in time for the placekicker to kick the extra point.  With a 44-38 lead, Pitt could not hold Cincinnati, as Tony Pike led the Bearcats down the field for a touchdown with about 30 seconds remaining, sealing the Big East Championship.  Cincinnati cheered hard for Nebraska to defeat Texas in the Big XII Championship, which would potentially provide an opening for them in the BCS Championship Game.

Texas played Nebraska for the Big XII title game.  Texas was playing for a chance to go to the National Championship.  The Nebraska defense set the tone early in the game, as they stopped the Texas offense and also forced a turnover to take an early 6-0 lead.  Texas led at half 7-6.  The status quo remained the same throughout the 2nd half until Nebraska kicker Alex Henery, who had an unbelievable night, going 4/4 with field goals, hit a field goal to give Nebraska the lead 12-10.  Texas was not done, however.  Texas drove down to the 29 yard line, almost burned out the clock on a controversial 3rd down play, then kicked a 46 yard field goal to win the game and the Big XII.  Texas will play Alabama in the BCS National Championship.

Georgia Tech v. Clemson  was the other 8 PM game, the ACC Championship.  This game was also a very high scoring game, as both teams exchanged blows all game.  Georgia Tech took the largest lead in the game in the third quarter, but CJ Spiller and Clemson stormed back to take a 34-33 lead in the 4th.  Georgia Tech was not done, however.  Georgia Tech had a patented long, methodical drive and scored a TD with 1:28 left in order to take a 39-34 lead.  Clemson had one last chance to drive down the field and win the game, but the drive stalled on their own 44 yard line.

Therefore, the BCS lineup looks like this.  Alabama, Georgia Tech, Texas, Oregon, Ohio State, Cincinnati, and most likely TCU will be the automatic qualifiers.  Boise State and Florida will get two at large bids, and the final bid comes down to most likely either Iowa or Penn State.  Should be an exciting selection show tomorrow.

FCS Playoffs

This weekend was the quarterfinal round of the FCS playoffs.  The early games were Montana v. Stephen F. Austin and Southern Illinois v. William and Mary.  Montana, the first overall seed, disposed of Stephen F. Austin easily, crushing them 51-0.  Montana more than made up for the scare it gave its fans last week, at one point trailing by 20 points against South Dakota State before rallying back to score 40 straight points and win.

William and Mary crushed Southern Illinois 24-3.  Southern Illinois was the third overall seed, and many thought this was an upset.  However, this was NOT an upset.  William and Mary, out of the CAA, by far the best conference in football, lost only 2 games, to Villanova (ranked 2nd), and Richmond (ranked 4th).  Southern Illinois, out of the Missouri Valley Conference, was argued by many to be deserving of the 2nd overall seed, ahead of Villanova.  I think people now realize that the Missouri Valley is overrated as a conference and that the CAA deserves all the respect it gets and more.

Villanova v. New Hampshire was played at 3:30 at Villanova Stadium, in 3 inches of snow.  From the first snap, it was evident that the Wildcats of Villanova were much tougher and more prepared than the Wildcats of New Hampshire.  Villanova pounched on an early fumble in the first minute to take a 7-0 lead.  Nova never looked back from there, as the Cats enjoyed a 46-7 drubbing of New Hampshire, a fitting feeling of revenge after New Hampshire gave Nova its only loss this year October 10th.

The nightcap for the Division I football Championship was Richmond v. Appalachian State, and was arguably the best FCS game I have ever seen.  This game was a back and forth shootout, with both teams playing very solid football.  Richmond led 14-7 at half, and at one point took a 24-14 lead.  However, Armanti Edwards and running back Devon Moore carried App St. in the fourth quarter for a 35-31 win.  Armanti Edwards threw a 4 yard TD pass with 10 seconds to seal the victory.  This is the first loss by a CAA team in the playoffs to a team that was not from the CAA.  The other CAA loss was New Hampshire against Villanova.

Next week the semifinals will by played on Friday at 9PM on ESPN2 and Saturday at 4PM on ESPN2.  The time each team will play has not been decided yet.