Confessions of a Sports Junkie

Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame and Museum

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:07:00 +0000

A week ago today I was walking around Lambeau Field. One of the highlights of the day was revisiting Packer history in the Hall of Fame. On gamedays you need a ticket to get into the Hall of Fame as it is located inside the Lambeau Field Atrium. The museum costs $10, and it is well worth it. As you walk in the first thing that you see is the Green Bay Theater. As you can see in the picture to the left they were showing 'The Road to Glory' the day I was at the Museum. The video is not very long, and gets you ready to visit the museum. You learn all about the history of the Packers, and really seemed to get me geared up to tour the rest of the museum. After the movie doors open behind you, and you come face to face with the scene at the goal line of the famous Ice Bowl. As you can see to the right you can look over Bart Starr's shoulder to see exactly what he saw on that cold day. Just off from this display is a room dedicated to Vince Lombardi. They take you through his life on one wall, have a room dedicated to his quotes in the middle, and on the other wall they show you what he meant to his players. The highlight of the room is a recreation of the man's office. I have put a picture of the office below. Notice the ash tray in between the players seats. It was a different time for sure. From here you are taken through the years on a historical tour of the Packers. They have kiosks at each display with a short audio presentation that takes you a little further than the display would. Towards the end of the exhibits you get to peer into the lockers of the Packer greats. They have a locker set up for each member of the Packers that has been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The highlight for me of course was seeing the locker of Paul Horning. He is after all the reason that I am a Packer fan. It was his trip to Green Bay from Notre Dame that made the Packers my father's favorite team. It was that simple decision that led me to become a Packer fan. Years later I was finally able to walk on hallowed ground. Seeing the locker of the 'Golden Boy' was a great way to start off the day. Just before you enter the actual Hall of Fame they have a little room off to the side where you can watch clips from great games in Packer history. All over the museum they have these little rooms where you can watch different clips from the Green Bay archives. These little rooms add to the experience. I watched most of the clips including the three Super Bowl wins, then went into the Hall of Fame to see the three trophies. It was really cool to see the trophy named after Lombardi in the Hall of Fame. The first two I had heard about. The last one I lived through. It was a great time for me, and it was a great way to leave the museum. After that I was ready to walk out, and see Lambeau Field for the first time.

Bart Starr guards the entrance to the museum

They even have a display of items that the fans have brought to games. I thought the Favre sign was very apt for the day

The mock up of Lombardi's office. Note the ash tray in between the yellow seats. They also have his film projector on the desk where it was

Brett's jersey is on display with the other Packer greats

Reggie's jersey on display as well

A helmet signed by all the members of the 1997 Super Bowl team

NCIS: South Bend

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:46:00 +0000

Tonight we have lots of mysteries to solve. It is time to turn to our friends at NCIS: South Bend to solve them. Here are the clues:

Notre Dame is 6-2 coming into the game
They are also ranked #22 in the country
Notre Dame rolls for 512 yards of total offense
Clausen throws for 452 yards on 37 completions
The Irish do not punt all day, and force five punts
The Irish hold their opponent to 56 yards passing
Clausen throws for 225 yards in one quarter

What do you think the outcome of this game would be? Certainly not the second loss in three years to Navy. That is just what happened today though in Notre Dame stadium. The Midshipmen won 23-21 at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame seemed to be able to move the ball at will against the Midshipmen. Unfortunately they just could not put it in the end zone. They finished the day 2-6 in the red zone. They found a new way each time to blow a good scoring opportunity. Their kicker had a record for kicks made in a row, but missed two today that would have won the game. Charlie also continues to go for it on fourth down instead of just getting points. A Clausen fumble at the one, and a pick at the one killed two second half drives. The picture in the upper left hand corner of this paragraph shows Clausen losing the ball at the one. He appeared to have the corner easily, but for some reason cut up into the defender. He paid for it though with a hit that left him on the turf for some time. The Irish moved the ball right down the field time after time with nothing to show for it. Navy did a good job holding onto the ball as well. They slowed the game down a lot. The Irish did not get on the scoreboard until five minutes were left in the third quarter. That brought the score to 14-7. Navy took the ball right down the field to increase their lead again. For some reason the Irish had trouble defending the middle of the field. Whether it be the fullback as the first option, or releasing into a pass pattern. Notre Dame is way too good to look as bad as they did today. I usually don't get into discussions about firing a coach, but something has to be done. So what did the crack NCIS team come up with for this game. Well they found out that Navy had all the motive. They wanted a win, and would do anything to get it. That includes killing the coaching career of Charlie Weis. The evidence was all over the field today. In the 348 yards rushing, and yes even the 56 yards passing. Ricky Dobbs only passed three times today, but one of those went to the house. He also ran the offense very well. The Irish also showed that they were primed to be picked off. After the Clausen pick and a penalty on Navy the Midshipmen had the ball on the two yard line. They had 98 yards to go to paydirt. Their fullback rips off a 40 some odd run. After he finally went down Notre Dame safety Sergio Brown celebrated his tackle. Really? You celebrate only giving up 40+ yards? That is the attitude of a loser. They showed that today. What normally would take the NCIS team an hour to figure out took this team almost four. The constant play stoppages along with a delayed start sent this game that started at 1:30 all the way to 6:10. For some reason the officials and NBC wanted us there all day. They got their wish. One of the highlights of the day was the way the fans around me started the second half. I bought my ticket outside the stadium from a member of the glee club. As the second half was getting ready to start the people around me stood up and sang the fight song in much better harmony than the team was playing on the field. Both the Purdue and the Notre Dame fight song sound very good with the right people singing them. This was no exception. Clausen set some career highs, and both Golden Tate and Michael Floyd went over 100 yards receiving, but it was too little, too late for the Irish. They will have to step up their game next week when they travel to Pittsburgh to face the fighting Wannastaches.

In other news today the Boilers finally got another road win in Ann Arbor. Now the answer to the trivia question will be that Joey Elliot was the last Purdue quarterback to win at Michigan. The Boilers come from behind to score four touchdowns in the second half to win 38-36 in Ann Arbor. What a win this is for the program. After the debacle last week it gets us back on track for this outside chance of a bowl. Now we just have to beat Michigan State at home, and then win the bucket to become bowl eligible. Who would have thought that we could come back from 1-5 with the schedule remaining to even have a shot at a bowl? Next week is huge for the Purdue football program. Can we send these seniors off right? Time will tell. In other action #4 Iowa lost both their quarterback and the game today when Northwestern beat them 17-10. Jim Harbaugh shocked the nation again as his Cardinal of Stanford won a shootout 51-42 against #8 Oregon. #16 Ohio State beat #11 Penn State 24-7. The Big Ten picture became a little clearer today. And showing that they are not the doormats of the league Illinois beat Minnesota 35-32. Indiana did something we could not do last week, give Wisconsin a run for their money. They lost 31-28 in Bloomington today. One game I got right was Grand Valley State rolling Wayne State. They won 59-28 to win the GLIAC once again. This sets up an interesting last couple of weeks in the Big Ten. No team is technically eliminated from a bowl. The next three weeks will determine what a lot of Big Ten fans will be doing over the holidays.

Game Preview: Notre Dame v. Navy

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:35:00 +0000

Two years ago I was in Notre Dame Stadium to see the Notre Dame game against Navy. The Irish came into the game riding a 43 game winning streak against the Midshipmen. Notre Dame had only one win on the season against seven losses, and Navy was 4-4. Navy needed this game to break the streak, and to get within one win of a bowl game. Here is my very short recap of the game from 2007. I really did not feel like writing much after watching the game. That game was only close because Charlie Weis kept mismanaging the game. He likes to gamble and take chances rather than put points on the board. Notre Dame made a valiant comeback after a fumble was returned for a touchdown to send the game into overtime. They could have attempted a field goal with time running out, but they tried to run for the first down. Both teams traded a touchdown then a field goal in the first two overtimes. Navy scored a touchdown and then converted the two point play to go up 46-38. Notre Dame then scored a touchdown to get withing two. On the first two point try they got a pass interference call to get another try. They failed on that run to give Navy the win. This year I think that Notre Dame will run away with the game. Things will be back to normal with Notre Dame rolling Navy as a tune up game. I have been to two previous meetings in this series. Here is a brief recap of each:

11/12/2005: Notre Dame 42 - Navy 21: Maurice Stovall 130 yards recieving and two touchdowns.

11/3/2007: Navy 46 - Notre Dame 44: Three overtime game that snapped Notre Dame's 43 game winning streak against Navy.

The other interesting game on the docket this week is the Michigan game against Purdue. Both teams are enduring tough seasons. Purdue seemed to have turned a corner before they ran into the buzzsaw in Madison. Michigan did not fare so well themselves losing to the doormat of the Big Ten this season Illinois. If Purdue is ever going to get a win at Michigan it seems as if this is the year. Purdue is 13-41 against Michigan all-time. That includes a 4-27 mark inside of Michigan Stadium. Sadly I think that the streak will continue this week. We handed Michigan a heartbreaker last year with the 'Tiller' play. They will have us in their stadium this time with respect on the line. I hope that we can end the streak, but I just don't see that happening. Once again we must make the quarterback (in this case Forcier) pass the ball to have a shot. If Forcier can run the offense his way we will be in trouble. Purdue needs to just play fundamental football, and I think that they can win this game. Tackle, catch the football, and do not turn the football over. These are easy things to do...for other schools. If we can do that we can keep these slim bowl hopes alive. Go Boilers!

This weeks predictions: Last week I went 6-4. I missed my homer picks of Purdue and the Packers. I also did not see Michigan and Michigan State losing. With a week that close to .500 it brings me to 26-10 on the season. This week I will pick the six games involving the Big Ten teams again along with the Grand Valley State and Irish games. Maybe I can improve my percentage a little this week.

#5 Grand Valley State 49 - Wayne State 13

Minnesota 24 - Illinois 14

#4 Iowa 35 - Northwestern 10

Wisconsin 31 - Indiana 12

Michigan State 42 - Western Michigan 21

#11 Penn State 24 - #16 Ohio State 17

Michigan 31 - Purdue 17

#22 Notre Dame 44 - Navy 20

Danica Patrick to NASCAR?

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:24:00 +0000

The rumors the last couple of days have Danica Patrick close to a deal with JR Motorsports to run a limited schedule next season in the Nationwide Series. JR Motorsports is run by Dale Earnhardt Jr. This pairing will mean that two of the biggest names in racing will be paired together. It also pairs two drivers who have a much bigger reputation then their racing would warrant. Both of these drivers should be hungry for a win. Patrick has won once in the IndyCar series, and Dale Jr. is in another slump. With Jr.'s marketing power behind Danica the sky is the limit for the two of them. If they can win with the pairing it would be an unstoppable pairing. Danica will still be racing with Andretti-Green racing next season full time. She apparently though does not see the IndyCar series in the future for herself. She is drawn to NASCAR for the same reason that most drivers are. Money. Some IndyCar drivers have not done so well in Cup. Others like Tony Stewart have excelled when given the chance to drive the big car. It will be interesting to see if she can live up to the hype when she moves over.

Trade Getz White Sox Mark Teahen

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:12:00 +0000

Apparently today the White Sox acquired Mark Teahen from the Royals in exchange for Chris Getz and Josh Fields. Fields was on the out. We all knew that. He asked to get traded the day that he was sent down to the minors this past season. He is a good ballplayer, but we really did not have any room for him. Gordon Beckham took his job at third base, and we all know that he cannot play the outfield. The highlight of his Sox career would have to be his 2007 campaign when he filled in for an injured Joe Crede. He hit 23 home runs and knocked in 67 runs in just 100 games. Many people (me included) expected this from him this season. He never did produce, and was sent down to the minors until the rosters were expanded this season. Chris Getz was supposed to be the answer at second base this season. He played very well, but injuries may have hampered his campaign. He did steal 25 out of 27 bases this season. This year on opening day I commented on how Getz and Fields should have been batting one and two in the lineup. Getz looked great like he could get on anytime. Josh laid down a great bunt for a hit, and I had visions of his 2007 stats rolling through my mind. I guess you have to get rid of some talent to gain some talent.

Mark Teahen may have plagued the White Sox much like A.J. Pierzynski used to do. If you can't beat the guy go out and pick him up I guess. Welcome to the fold Mark! From the talk I have seen today Mark will replace Jermaine in right field. The window for signing our World Series MVP seems to be closing everyday. Mark Kotsay was also inked to a new deal today which should make Ozzie very happy.

Ray Edwards Making an Impact in the NFL

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:33:00 +0000

At the end of his Purdue career I was not very high on Ray Edwards. He seemed to be part of a bad element in the Purdue locker room. After winning the Bucket in 2005 he didn't even wait to leave the field to announce that he was not coming back to Purdue for his senior year. He did not have anything nice to say at all about the school that educated him for free for three years. Since he has left Purdue though he has had a decent NFL career. The one major blemish is his 2007 suspension for steroid use. I have never been big on the guy, but he is a starting defensive end for one of the elite NFL teams. He seems to be doing alright on the opposite side of the line from Jared Allen. Last week against the Packers he had three tackles including two sacks. Both of those sacks came early, and he spent the day harassing Aaron Rodgers. The picture to the right shows him bearing down on Rodgers for another hurry. Yet another Boiler making an impact at end in the NFL. Who will be the next player to step up?

Skylar Diggins May Be the Real Deal

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:24:00 +0000

Tonight I went to South Bend to see two premiers. The first was the first basketball game in the new Purcell Pavilion (formerly the Joyce Center). The second was the first Notre Dame game for Skylar Diggins. First off I want to say that they have done wonders with the old Joyce Center. I was expecting an uncomfortable time in the wood bleachers up top, but was surprised to see nice new chairs in place of the bleachers. I will go a little more into detail on the new amenities in a later post. For now let me say that it is very nice. I could say the same thing for Diggins. She scored 17 points on the night which was along with Erica Solomon a team high. She seemed very comfortable on the floor, and should be something to watch as time goes by. The only knock that I have from her play tonight was her four turnovers. It is early though so I don't think that the Irish faithful should be too concerned. Notre Dame won easily in the end 97-53 over the Indianapolis Greyhounds. Six players ended the game in double digits. This team can really pressure the opponent and create turnovers. With a mix of veterans and newcomers it will be interesting to see how this team progresses as the season goes on. They start the season ranked fourth in the country. This could be a special season.

A Dream Come True

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:54:00 +0000

Yesterday I was in attendance in Lambeau Field when Brett Favre had a great game. Unfortunately Brett now plays for the Vikings. I have some experience seeing my heroes playing for other teams. In 2001 I went to Detroit to see Michael Jordan play for the Washington Wizards. It was good to see MJ play again, but odd seeing him in a Wizards jersey. Yesterday had a similar feeling. Five years ago if you had told me that Brett Favre would have been booed at Lambeau field I would have told you that you were crazy. That is exactly what happened though when he took the field. Every time. The fans were relentless. They let him have it every time that they could. I was sitting in the stands wearing my #4 Packer jersey with absolutely no intention of booing him. He has done too much for the Packers to forget about that now. As Percy Harvin is showing to the left Favre came back and threw for four touchdowns against his old team leading them to a 38-26 win. He threw at least four touchdowns in a game for the 21st time in his career tying Dan Marino for the most all time.

Favre wasn't the only reason that the Packers lost the game. The primary reason has to be pass protection. The Packers offensive line was not blocking the Vikings at all it seemed like. Aaron Rodgers was running for his life out there. He also should shoulder some of the blame for hanging on to the football for too long. Sometimes you just need to get rid of the ball. The Vikings have sacked the Packers 14 times this season in the two games that they played. Twelve of those sacks were accomplished with no extra pass rush. Jared Allen and company had their way with the Green Bay offense. The picture to the right would show Aaron Rodgers passing the ball, but he is in between that Williams sandwich. This is what the fans saw for the entire first half. That is until the Packers realized that they could complete a quick pass and run with it afterwards. What a concept! The Packers went from being down 24-3 to getting to within five at 31-26. It was this rally that let me see exactly how great a game could be at Lambeau. The fans were great, and I could not help but get caught up in everything. As the week goes on I will have more on the game. Former Purdue end Ray Edwards had a great game, but I will get to that in another post. Even though the Packers lost I would say that my first trip to Lambeau was a great one.

Former Boiler Jonathan Uchendu Killed

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:44:00 +0000

Being away from the computer this weekend I completely missed the fact that former Boiler player Jonathan Uchendu was killed in a hit and run accident in Little Rock, Arkansas. Today when I was catching up on my reading I stumbled across a blurb on Hammer and Rails talking about his death. He apparently was walking down the road when he was hit and killed. The driver of the vehicle fled the scene. Not much else is known at this time about the accidnet. Uchendu played for the Boilers as a freshman in 2006-2007 before trying to transfer to Arkansas-Little Rock. Apparently something happened during that process, and he never played basketball again. Uchendu seemed like a good enough kid, but just didn't fit our system at the time. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends for their loss. Uchendu was only 22.

House of Horrors

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:35:00 +0000

Yesterday I was in the stands at Camp Randall Stadium when a great prank was played. Some Purdue students took the field in the Purdue football jerseys. At least that is what it looked like. Purdue was dominated by the Badgers to the tune of 37-0. This was Wisconsin's first Big Ten shutout in ten years. It was the first time they had shut out Purdue since the fifties, and the first time they shut out Purdue at home since the forties. This was the most lopsided game in the series since 1912 when the Badgers won 41-0. I heard a lot of history leaving the stadium yesterday. I tried to remember it all, but that is about the extent of it. It was a typical Wisconsin - Purdue game for me though. I don't have much luck in this series. John Clay lead the beatdown for the Badgers with 132 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. The Badgers also had a new tight end reverse play that they gouged us for 91 yards on. Purdue was held to 141 yards of total offense on the day. Wisconsin on the other hand had 150 yards in the first quarter. We only had 81 passing yards on the day. They really held us. When I made my pick for this game I never really thought of the Badgers. I was high on the Purdue Kool Aide. I never factored in Wisconsin. They had come off two close losses and a bye week. They could come out flat or mad. They chose mad and beat us down. They kept smacking Purdue in the mouth, and Purdue let them. This was a bad day for the Boilers. Keith Smith who came in as the Big Ten's leading receiver was held to 1 catch for eight yards. He did drop two balls also. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I would guess that we were close to the record for dropped balls today. I am guessing the cold got to this team. The first Smith drop set up what was could have been the turning point in the game. He appeared to make a good jumping catch near midfield, and it was ruled that he fumbled the ball. It was returned by the Badgers to the 24 yard line. After reviewing the play it was ruled and incomplete pass and fourth down. We punted the ball and downed it on the three. The went three and out giving us the ball and field position. Of course we did nothing with it, and went on to have a terrible day. Purdue was only down seven at the time. As it was they went down 10-0 before having a punt blocked on a great play and returned for a touchdown. The team really seemed to give up then. Caleb TerBush got some playing time today. He is shown in the above left picture getting sacked, and throwing a pass into the hands of a Wisconsin defender to the right. He really did not do much better than Elliot. I took the picture to the right because that was the only time that Purdue found the Red Zone all day. Actually they found it for us, and we could not capitalize. Purdue needs to step up their game before they roll into Ann Arbor next week. I was thinking about going up there, but this game left a bad taste in my mouth. I will just wait until the Michigan State game I think.

Hopefully the Packers fare better than this today. They would almost have to.

csd Flashback: 10/31/1998

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:52:00 +0000

Right about now I will be sitting in Camp Randall Stadium for the first time. As I was preparing for this trip I started thinking about the only other football game that I attended on Halloween. It was in 1998, and it was at Ross Ade Stadium between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Iowa Hawkeyes. Before the game my friend Tires and I decided to dress up like Drew Brees. He was still not very famous so we could not get a jersey. What we decided to do was to use a marker to put his famous birthmark on our faces. With our 'costumes' on we went to the game to cheer on the Boilers. Drew did not disappoint us. He threw for 362 yards and four touchdowns. Two of those scoring passes went to Tim Stratton. In the process of winning the game Brees also eclipsed the season touchdown record for the Boilers. The Boilers never really were worried in this one. They had a 19-0 lead at the half, and won easily 36-14. We were also able to see backup QB David Edgerton get some time in. After the game we started noticing fans wearing the fake birthmark for the next few years. Did we start this trend? I don't know. We were certainly in at the beginning though. The win also clinched Iowa's first losing season since 1992. That was a fact that I would not appreciate for five years.

Game Preview: Purdue v. Wisconsin: Jump Around!

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:54:00 +0000

I have always heard how intimidating that Camp Randall Stadium can be if you are a fan of the opposing team. What better day to visit the stadium for the first time than Halloween? I am fully aware that the fans may not like my presence, but I am there to have fun. Besides they might think my Boilers jersey is just a Halloween prank. This could be a great game to go to if the Boilers play up to their potential. If they play the kind of road game that they played at Oregon they will win Saturday. If they play the way they did in Minneapolis, they will have some 'splainin' to do. Purdue is a good football team that has the tools to win. They just need to put the tools together to get those wins. They will have to stop the run first and foremost. As usual Wisconsin has a huge back that is leading the conference in rushing. They always seem to find these guys. Our linebackers will have their hands full tomorrow. On the other side of the ball they need to execute the passing game. If they had executed better last week they would have ran away with the game. This should be a good game, and I hope that I am not disappointed. I have picked the Boilers to win, but I am not too sure of my pick. Wisconsin is very good at causing turnovers, and as we know the Boilers tend to turn it over. This will be the key stat of the game.

I was at the last meeting between these two teams in 2006. I took a friend to the game, and he even made the comment that he could not have possibly gone to a worse game. Purdue lost the game 24-3. At that point it was the lowest point total by a Purdue team since 1993. The next week Penn State shut the Boilers out to make the three points seem like an outburst. P.J. Hill ran for 161 yards and two scores. One of those scores is shown up above to the left. Purdue had lost its 11th straight game against a ranked opponent. That streak would continue until a couple of weeks ago when Ohio State helped us end it.

Predictions: Last week somehow I lucked out, and went 8-0. That brings my season total to 20-6. Iowa really helped that out with the amazing comeback with no time on the clock. This week I have no Slicer game to pick since they were ousted in the first round of the sectionals. I will replace that game with my first trip to Lambeau Field. I know that I am not really picking with my mind on that one, but hey I'm not going to pick against the Packers. I will also throw in a pick of the hockey game that I will attend Saturday in Wisconsin. Here are this weeks picks:

#17 Ohio State 45 - New Mexico State 3

#4 Iowa 35 - Indiana 17

#12 Penn State 38 - Northwestern 16

Michigan 28 - Illinois 10

Michigan State 21 - Minnesota 17

#4 Grand Valley State 38 - Northern Michigan 21

Notre Dame 49 - Washington State 23

Purdue 34 - Wisconsin 28

Bonus Pick: Green Bay Packers 24 - Minnesota Vikings 21

Bonus Hockey Pick: Wisconsin 3 - New Hampshire 2 (Saturday Night)

csd Flashback: 12/24/2004

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:13:00 +0000

Almost five years ago I attended my first Packers game. I was stuck in the middle of Iowa around Christmas with no way to get home. I did however have a small window of time available on Christmas Eve. My favorite football team, the Green Bay Packers, was playing just north of me in Minneapolis. I had never been to a Packers game before so I thought this was perfect timing. I got a seat in the upper deck that was fairly affordable. After that it was a simple three hour drive up Interstate 35 to the Twin Cities. What better way to make the most of a broken Christmas then to get to see your favorite team for the first time?

This was an important game for both teams. The team that won would take the NFC North. Of course I went wearing my Green Bay gear. The fans were giving me a hard time, but it was all good natured. That is until the fourth quarter. With the game tied at 24 and about 8 minutes left on the clock Favre through a touchdown pass to Chris Claiborne. The problem with that was that Claiborne played for the Vikings. The Vikings fans around me started really getting on me at this point. Almost to the point that I was thinking about moving. It must feel really nice to gang up on an opposing fan sitting by himself. After the pick Favre drove the Packers down the field to set up a key fourth and goal play. Favre completed a pass to Donald Driver to tie the game at 31 with 3:34 left. Minnesota could do nothing with the ball, and gave it back to the Packers with 1:35 left on the clock. The problem was that the Packers had the ball on the 13 yard line. Brett took the team down the field to set up a potential game winning field goal by Ryan Longwell. The kick was good, and the Packers walked off the field winners. What followed the kick was perhaps the worst display of sportsmanship that I have ever displayed. I really let everyone around me know what the final score was. I ran out of the stadium screaming and yelling. It is a wonder that I did not get beat down. How could my first Packer game have ended any better? Favre working the two minute drill to win the game. It was definitely one to remember.

Fast forward five years to 2009. I am getting ready to head to Lambeau field for the first time this weekend. Who awaits me on the Vikings? Ryan Longwell. Yes the kicker that won the game for the Packers that day. Oh yeah, and Brett Favre. I always wanted to see Favre play in Lambeau. I thought that I missed my chance, but now I can rectify that mistake. He is just on the other team. I will cheer Favre when he is introduced for what he did as a member of my team. If (when) he does something good though I don't know what I will do. Part of the intrigue of gameday is going to be seeing what the Green Bay faithful will do to Favre. The game on Sunday will be my 7th pro football game that I have been to. Six of those games have involved the Vikings. Most of that is due to the fact that I have a good friend that is a Viking fan. I will have to shift things back into the favor of my team someday, but for now I will enjoy this great game. I will have my prediction for the game tomorrow in the usual post. Look for me on Fox Sunday at 3:15. I will be the one acting crazy wearing green. I am sure that I will have plenty of posts next week documenting the trip.

Third Times A Charm

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:15:00 +0000

Today the Purdue Boilermakers beat Illinois 24-14 to get their third win of the season. They now stand at 3-5 on the season, but more importantly they have won two in row. This game featured a quarterback with the legs to make plays. When the team needed a big run they got it from their quarterback. I am not talking about Juice Williams. I am talking about Joey Elliot. He made some great runs today that moved the ball, and one scored a touchdown. He looks like he is finally settling in at quarterback. This game was not pretty, but the Boilers did what they needed to do to win the game. One important stat that they won was the turnover battle. That is easy to do when you don't turn the ball over at all. They came close a couple of times when returning punts though, but in the end the stats say zero. The Boiler punt return team needs to learn to get away from the ball if it not going to be returned. This game of chicken that they play with it is stupid, and will end up resulting in a stupid turnover. This team is now 3-5 like I said with four games left in the season. They need to win three of those to become bowl eligible. The next three weeks will go a long way to determine that. Next week they will go on the road to Wisconsin to try and make it three wins in a row. They travel to Ann Arbor the following weekend, with Michigan State coming in to end the home season. We need two of those games along with a win in the Bucket game to salvage this season. For now though lets just bask in the glow of this two game winning streak. This game also ended the two game losing streak against teams from Illinois. It also kept the Purdue Cannon at home where it belongs. Next week I will travel to Wisconsin to watch this Boiler team. Hopefully they can make my first trip to Camp Randall a good one.

As I am writing this I was able to witness the miraculous comeback win by Iowa. They have been showing that they are not afraid to lose the close game. Who is going to beat this team this season.

Game Preview: Purdue Boilermakers v. Illinois

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:36:00 +0000

Wow! Are we really to another football Saturday? The last week has been great reliving the Ohio State game. Now it is time to focus on this week's opponent, the Fighting Illini of Illinois. What is there to like about this school? They play basketball at a place called Assembly Hall. They abbreviate their school with the letters IU. See any similarities here? This team may possibly be the worst football team in the Big Ten this year. They may be catching us at the exact right time though. We had not had any luck all season until last week. We beat what many thought is/was the best team in the Big Ten. Everyone has been telling this team all week how good they are. Now they have to face a team that they are favored to beat by 10+ points. I hope that the coaching staff has kept this team grounded all week. With a 2-5 record that should be easy to do. They need this win badly. The key to this game will be much like last week. They have to get up early to get Juice Williams throwing the ball. He is dangerous to the other team when he runs the ball. When he passes the ball he is dangerous to his own team. We have a good enough defense to stop the run. They may get a few big plays, but our team showed us what they could do last week. We just have to have the same intensity come Saturday. We are four games away from an improbable bowl. This game and the Indiana games are must wins for that to even be close to a possibility. The second season started last week, and so far we are 1-0. We are currently in possesion of the Cannon, which is awarded to the winner of this game. Maybe we can get it back on the field to fire off after a score. The current record when the Cannon is on the line has the Boilers ahead 29-26-2. We can notch win #30 this week. It would also get us a win against an Illinois team. We are 0-2 right now against teams from the Land of Lincoln.

In 2006 I made my first trip to Illinois to see them play the Boilers. The Illini were very sloppy giving us the ball five times. At one point they turned the ball over four times in five plays to help us jump out to a lead we would not give up. Does this sound familiar? At one point we were down 23-14 before coming on strong at the end to win the game 42-31. This was a great game for me because somehow I was among a bunch of Boiler fans, and the team came over to us after the game to celebrate. They had just become bowl eligible. I doubt that we would have been so excited at the time had we known what Maryland would do to us in the bowl game. On a sadder not it was also the last game for Chief Illini. I have only seen Illinois play Purdue twice, but this was by far my favorite game. The other game in 1998 was a blowout by the Boilers. The game in 2006 looked bleak until they fumbled the game away. That made the win that much sweeter along with getting back to a bowl.

Predictions: Last week I went 7-2 to bring my 2009 record to 12-6. Of course I missed the obvious pick of Purdue over Ohio State, and for some reason I thought that Iowa would finally lose. Camp Randall is usually pretty tough on opponents. I am usually a week off on my upsets so they will most likely lose this week. Especially since I am picking them to win. This week I will start off the picks with the local team the LaPorte Slicers. Many seasons have been ended at the hands of the Mishawaka Caveman. This may very easily be another one. They finally lost last week, and have dropped to a #8 state ranking. That will be enough to beat the Slicers though. This has been a good season for the Slicers, and I would like another chance to see them play. I don't think that it is in the cards though. As I did last week I will pick all of the Big Ten games along with a few other schools that I follow. Here are this weeks picks:

Mishawaka 35 - LaPorte 14

#6 Grand Valley State 31 - Ashland 17

Notre Dame 35 - Boston College 24

#19 Ohio State 24 - Minnesota 21

#13 Penn State 27 - Michigan 18

#6 Iowa 34 - Michigan State 17

Northwestern 28 - Indiana 27

Purdue 34 - Illinois 13

Gordon Beckham AL Rookie of the Year!

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:13:00 +0000

It's Bacon! I just heard this morning that Gordon Beckham was named the American League Rookie of the Year by the Sporting News. The award is voted on by a panel of 338 players so he was rewarded by his peers. Beckham moved his way up the White Sox ladder this season before quickly sticking with the club. He filled a hole at third base very well. He should be fun to watch develop over time. Bacon is the ninth Sox player to win the Rookie of the Year. The last was current Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. Congratulations Gordon!

More Pictures From the Purdue Upset of Ohio State

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:54:00 +0000

On the field celebrating

Jaycen Taylor cannot believe it
Al-Terek McBurse is pumped. He finally was able to contribute to "The University of Purdue"

Dan Dierking enjoying the moment

Brandon King signing some autographs waiting for his interview

Some Pictures From the Purdue Upset of Ohio State

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:46:00 +0000

Terrelle Pryor gets out of the end zone

Antwon Higgs tries to rip off Pryor's helmet

Pete celebrating Valentin's 2nd TD

Valentin scoring that TD

Frank the tank with a carry

The Gold Out worked well

Torri Williams zeroes in on Pryor

Bolden trying to gain extra yards

Finally another team turning the ball over

Bolden stretching the run out again

Purdue Wiggs Out on Ohio State

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:31:00 +0000

I think that I am still on a high after yesterday's game. On the ride down to Purdue I kept thinking how important this game was for this season. Another loss, and the two trips left to West Lafayette would be hard to make. The stands were already sparse, and most of those fans were wearing red. So much for the 'Gold Out' that the University was hoping for. Part of me expected to see the team in Gold. They came out in all black once again, and gave the 50,000 fans that came something to cheer for. As the kickoff was in the air I kept yelling 'shock the world' over and over. This team was due for some good luck. When I saw some of the students across the way I knew that I had to take a picture. For some reason half of them put their signs down so that it just said DUE!. I kept thinking yes we are. Luckily we ran into a team that was more turnover prone then we have been.

The game started out with Purdue getting a quick turnover, but having to settle for a field goal. We had great field position, but Aaron Valentin dropped a Keith Smith pass on a trick play. That catch would have meant an early seven point lead. Already the fans were yelling to fire the coach, and bench Valentin. Ohio State then took the ball and quickly made the score 7-3. Jaycen Taylor fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but picked up the ball to save us from going down the familiar road. A picture of the play is shown to the right. The feeling in the stands was not very good. More calling for the coaches head. Purdue settled for another field goal to make it 7-6 and keep our slim hopes of an upset alive. Carson Wiggs then put the Boilers up 9-7 at the half when he kicked a 55 yard field goal into the wind as time expired. That was a big lift after Dan Dierking was intercepted in the end zone on a crazy trick play on the previous drive.

Purdue wasted no time scoring to start the second half when Aaron Valentin grabbed the first of his two touchdown catches on the day. The catch is shown to the left. He is really a gamebreaker when he can hang on to the football. Maybe with the monkey off of his back we can see what he can really do. The second touchdown by Valentin on a quick screen put the Boilers up 23-7. The fans started to believe. You could sense it. The defense was playing great, and the freshman linebackers Higgs and Beckford really were playing well. For some reason Carlino and Werner were placed back into the game, and the Buckeyes drove right down the field, but the defense put on the brakes and held the Buckeyes to a field goal. Purdue answered when Wiggs hit his fourth field goal of the day, this one from 49 yards. The scoring was capped on the day when Ohio State scored a touchdown and converted on the two point conversion with just over seven minutes to go. Both teams then traded possessions leading up to the final Ohio State drive with time winding down. Ryan Kerrigan had a huge sack on the Pryor to set up a 4th and 14 for the Buckeyes. David Pender knocked down the prayer by Pryor to give the Boilers the ball. He could have picked it off, but that would have cost us valuable field position. Purdue looked to give up, and Ohio State would have gotten the ball back with about 1:20 left after a punt when an Ohio State player grabbed Valentin's facemask to give us a first down, and seal the game. The Boilers took a knee a couple of times, then the madness began.

I stormed the field with my brother just to celebrate. I might have gone a little crazy, but how often does this happen. This reminds me of 2005 when the Boiler basketball team was on hard times. They stunned #10 Michigan to send the crowd into a frenzy. This was a similar type situation. We sang Hail Purdue on the field with the players, and just had a blast. We also went around trying to soak as much of it up as we could. By the time we were done I had made a complete fool of myself on the Big Ten Network. The picture to the right shows my view of the Brandon King interview after the game. King had a great game including two interceptions. One of those picks was unbelievable. We really missed him when he was out this season. We milled around on the field for a while before deciding to go and watch the post game concert at the fountain. On a day like this you want to keep the party going. This was one of the best games that I have ever been to.

This win snapped a 19 game losing streak to teams in the top 25 for the Boilers. It also snapped the five game losing streak that the team was on. More importantly it gave the Boiler faithful a little hope as the season rolls on. It showed that this team can finish a game. That we can force turnovers as well as we had previously turned the ball over. That these young kids can play, and seem to be getting better. This next week will be yet another test for this team. I am sure that they will be favored over the Illini by at least a score. Can this team keep the momentum going? Can we get it together in time to get to a bowl? They have five games left with four wins still needed to be bowl eligible. It is a stretch, but so was a 1-5 team beating the #7 team in the country. Boiler Up! I am sure I will have more pics from the game up over the next couple of days.

Game Preview: Purdue v. Ohio State

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:15:00 +0000

Can Purdue get up off the mat and finish the season strong? Will that even make a difference at this point? Tomorrow will mark the 100th college football game that I have attended. I actually was going to go to the Notre Dame - USC game, but I would have been stuck with my Purdue tickets. So I will instead visit Ross Ade Stadium to see the Boilers take on the #7 Ohio State Buckeyes. Two years ago when the Buckeyes came to town the stadium smelled terrible, but the Boilers played even worse yet. Both teams were 5-0, and the game was on ESPN at night. We did not play well, and my post at the time reflected how I felt. I do not have high expectations this week, but I would like to see the team play well. We have come out in all black the last two home games, and tanked. Will we see another uniform change? Maybe all gold for the "Gold Out?" That might be all the suspense we are treated to. Purdue can win this game. They need to play the way that we know that they can play, and hope that Ohio State gets the turnover bug that has caused the Boilers to lose the last five games. If the Boilers play perfect, and they force Pryor to throw the ball I think we have a chance. Those are some big ifs though. I think that most Boiler fans will be warm by the second half on the way home. I love pain though so I will sit through the whole game as usual. The BCS rankings come out on Sunday. The Boilers won't be in the big release, but they could have a say in where Ohio State ends up. The meeting between these teams two years ago was my 100th Purdue sporting event. This one is my 100th college football game. Both of them I fear will end up much the same way. Maybe the Boilers will be a better team by my 200th game.

Predictions: Last week I was 2-2 to bring my record to 5-4 on the season. In an effort to get that up I will pick all the Big Ten games this week along with the Slicers and Irish contests. Who knew that Grand Valley would snap their 48 game regular season losing streak last week? That along with my lack of faith in the Slicers led to the .500 record. With nine games picked something has to give this week. Could this be the week of the CSD jinx again? Here are my week seven predictions:

Wisconsin 24 - Iowa 21

Penn State 31 - Minnesota 14

Michigan State 28 - Northwestern 17

Indiana 42 - Illinois 35

Michigan 49 - Delaware 3

Grand Valley State 49 - Findlay 28

Laporte Slicers 28 - Portage Indians 24

USC 35 - Notre Dame 21

Ohio State 35 - Purdue 20

San Diego Not Friendly to Valpo on Homecoming

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:59:00 +0000

Yesterday was not a good day for the Valpo football team whose record went to 1-4 on the season. San Diego came into Brown Field and handed them a 48-7 loss. The Toreros went for it on fourth down repeatedly with a huge lead in the fourth quarter in an attempt to run up the score even more. I don't follow Valpo football very much, but I don't know why one team would try and run it up like that. Bobby Wysocki was the lone bright spot for the Crusaders. He ran for over 100 yards from his quarterback spot. San Diego often looked as though they would take the ball right from the quarterback on the traditional running play. Running backs such as Eddie Morelli did not have a chance with the Toreros in the backfield all day. The one play that worked for Valpo was the quarterback keeper. This might have been the only play that Valpo had that the horrible offensive line play actually helped. The lone touchdown by Valpo yesterday was scored by Eddie Morelli. It was his first career score, and gave the homecoming crowd something to cheer about. After attending several Big Ten games this season, and seeing a record crowd at Grand Valley the crowd yesterday seemed laughable. I guess a small school like Valpo doesn't really on football to gain revenue. If they do they are in trouble.

As for my other picks LaPorte did the unthinkable and beat the Wolves 21-7 Friday night. Purdue continued their losing streak and fell 35-20 to the Gophers. They seem to be very good at finding ways to lose. And perhaps the in the biggest upset of the day Grand Valley had its 48 game regular season winning streak snapped when they lost 24-21 at Hillsdale.

Game Preview: Valparaiso Crusaders v. San Diego Toreros

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:55:00 +0000

This week both Purdue and Notre Dame are out of town, and I have something to do tonight so I have picked the Valpo football game as the game of the week. I always try and preview the game that I am going to, but I really know nothing about Valpo. The only game that I have been to was in 2001, and that was because it was one of the few games to be played the weekend after 9/11. That game was a rough one for the Crusaders. They lost 31-9 to Wisconsin Eau-Claire. They are 1-3 on the season, and San Diego is 2-2. This is the homecoming for Valpo so maybe they can use that as motivation. The stadium does not even have assigned seats so I don't know how much the crowd affects games. I am 3-2 on the season, and looking to improve on that record. Here is the most uneducated pick that I will make all season:

San Diego 35 - Valpo 24

Here are some other games that I will pick to try and get that record up a bit:

LaPorte Slicers 17 - Michigan City 35

Purdue Boilermakers 24 - Minnesota 38

Grand Valley State 35 - Hillsdale 23

Who To Root For in the Playoffs (2009 Edition)

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:08:00 +0000

Last season I tried to find a team to root for in the playoffs once the White Sox were eliminated. This year I can try this from the start. Here are the eight teams that have made the postseason this season.

American League

New York Yankees

Minnesota Twins

Boston Red Sox

Los Angeles Angels

National League

St. Louis Cardinals

Philadelphia Phillies

Colorado Rockies

Los Angeles Dodgers

I will start my process by picking the teams that I have seen play this season in person. This eliminates the Bronx Bombers, the Phillies (who were my 2009 pick), and the Rockies. The other five teams I was able to watch live this season. It is a lot easier to root for a team that you have seen play. Now comes the hard part. How do I get these five teams down to one that I can root for? Well, I root for the White Sox so I can just check the 40 man rosters of each of these teams to find players that once played for the palehose. The team with the most former Sox players wins.

Minnesota Twins (3)

Jon Rauch

Joe Crede

Orlando Cabrera

Los Angeles Angels (0)

None. But I feel as though Chone Figgins is a former player the way his name is batted around each offseason.

St. Louis Cardinals (0)

I still may root for them a little.

Los Angeles Dodgers (3)

Jon Garland

Charlie Haeger

Jim Thome

Boston Red Sox (1)

Brian Anderson

So here is where we stand right now. The Cardinals and Angels have zero former Sox players on their team. What are they thinking? The Red Sox have one, and it is even a member of the White Sox this season in Brian Anderson. The Dodgers have three which ties them for first, and they have a player that was a member of the Sox this season in Jim Thome. They also have one of my favorites in Jon Garland. That just leaves the Twins. They have three former Sox players as well. Orlando Cabrera did not make many friends in Chicago last season, but he is a winner. Joe Crede will always be one of my favorite Sox players of all-time. He was clutch. How do I break this tie for my loyalty? They are in separate leagues so I guess I am rooting for a Twins/Dodgers series. If that does happen I have one way to break the tie. I have seen the Twins three times this season including once in their stadium. I saw the Dodgers a couple of days after that trip in Milwaukee. That is a 3-1 vote for the Twins. Also the Twins have a former Irish pitcher (Jeff Manship), and one of the coolest MLB bloggers out there (Pat Neshek). I think we have a winner. The team that I will root to win it all is the Twins? Can a White Sox fan do this? I guess we will see. It is easy to root for them now as they are facing the Yankees. Nobody wants them to win. Well maybe a few. When it comes down to it though can I be a Twins fan for a couple weeks? Stay tuned.

One Great Ballgame!

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:51:00 +0000

Here I sit at my computer upset that this great game between the Tigers and the Twins is over. Both teams fought back from being down to get this game to the 12th inning. A great play by Ryan Rayburn kept the Tigers in the ballgame, but in the end the Twins won to move on to the postseason. For the second year in a row the Twins needed to play an extra game to complete the season. Should they start putting incentives for game 163 in their contracts? This year they were on the right end of the score though, and will go to New York to face the Yankees tomorrow night. It would be hard to predict them faring very well after this game and all of the emotions that were involved. Although I do remember game one of the 2005 ALCS when the Angels had no sleep and had to travel to Chicago. They came out with more fire than the White Sox to take their only game of the series. You had better watch out New York. These Twins don't want to let the Metrodome go this easy. They have at least one more game to go in the old dome. They also have a team to play a few more in it. Could they end the stadium with a championship? Anything can happen in the playoffs.

Turnovers Allow 'Cats to Claw Back Into Game

noreply@blogger.com (csd) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:21:00 +0000

Yesterday at Ross-Ade stadium I was treated to a great game...until the first quarter ended. The Boilers looked good on both sides of the ball building a 21-3 lead. Northwestern only had three points because of a great goal line stand by our defense. The crowd was into it, and I had thoughts of last years Indiana blowout going through my head. Then I saw the person fall in section 101. For some reason I was looking around to see how many empty seats there were. Section 101 had a lot near the top. As I was looking I saw someone falling down the bleachers. I waited to see if they were okay, then the laughter started. I could not contain myself. By the time I got it back together we had the ball at the two yard line. Ten years ago Drew Brees hit Vinny Sutherland for 99 yards with their backs to the same end zone. I made a comment on how great that would be to repeat. The Boilers went for it on first down, but the Wildcats picked the ball off to start a terrible run for the Boilers. The team turned the ball over five times in about a quarter to give the 'Cats easy points. Northwestern scored after the Elliot interception, and then got the ball back when Aaron Valentin fumbled the kickoff. They moved the ball into field goal range to make the score 21-13. On the next possession Jaycen Taylor fumbled the ball to give the 'Cats the ball yet again. They got another field goal to make the score 21-16 at the half. Only a booth review saved yet another turnover before the end of the half. What happened to this team? They just completely fell apart. They never regained their swagger, and just limped through the rest of the game. After Northwestern scored with 2:09 left in the game to make it 27-21 the Boilers had one last shot. They got the ball down to the 7 to have first and goal, but could not put the ball in the end zone. I may have been more down leaving this game than any other game in this stadium. We had control of the game, and were on our way to a romp. We lost focus during a crucial part of the game, and it cost the team. Purdue now has lost four in a row. I keep hearing how those losses were only by 18 combined points, but how does that make it any better? That just emphasises how important it is to play all 60 minutes. Next up for the Boilers is a trip to the brand new TCF Bank Stadium in Minnesota to face the Gophers. Once again we must win this game to get the season back on track. Otherwise the ONE slogan will also stand for our win total. I will not be at the game, but I may have another football game to go to. More on that as the week progresses.