We're Dancing!!!

Hey Y'all It's your favorite SportsGal89 Innnnnnnn the Buildin'....

There is no more pride than having your school enter into the Mayhem that is March Madness. I have been lucky enough to witness my team do this now twice, as an affiliated member of the American University Blue Crew, who cheers on the Eagles any chance she gets.

My team may not be well known, but these 2013 Patriot League Champs have had one heck of a season and now they have a shot of entering into the NCAA tourney and doing some amazing things.

We had our moment in glory, being the only team on Wednesday, March 12 with a title game and punching our ticket first to enter the NCAA tourney. That moment only lasted briefly because come Friday and Saturday the glory moments went to bigger known teams and larger institutions.

But on Selection Sunday, my institution with all of the pride supported our AU Eagles in learning who their team would be playing in the first match-up.

So who are we playing #2 Wisconsin.... A Big 10 school, does AU have what it takes. Here is what I can say about this team. They have grown immensely. Two years ago the Eagles played Nebraska ( I believe) and got whopped, like 30 point spread whopping! But this season the Eagles played another Big 10 school, my beloved Ohio State Buckeyes. And the team did well! They improved in areas of struggle from their last Big 10 meetup. And they lost to Ohio State by 10 points!

While I don't know how far the team can go. I am rooting for my boys to pull the upset and put a little known school on the map for taking down a #2, Big 10 team called Wisconsin!

#GOEAGLES

Before the Madness begins-- My #BIG10 Predictions

Hey Y'all It's your favorite SportsGal89 Innnnnnnnnn the Buildin'!

 I am bringing you my predictions before March Madness gets underway. Predictions? Big 10 of course!

For those of you who need the reminder, I am an Ohio State Buckeyes fan-- O-H! I was born and spent my childhood in the great Buckeye state, and while I haven't lived in the state for almost 16 years and actually haven't visited in almost 12 years, I am a diehard fanatic and have so much pride when it comes to my home state.
 So with that, as a child, I lived in a town called Athens, Ohio- home of the Ohio University Bobcats. And aside from them, the only "State" team to watch and root for were the Buckeyes- not that I was complaining living an hour and a half outside of the capital. I mean, pro football and basketball weren't really topping the charts back in my growing up years.

It is no wonder that I still have a HUGE affinity to the Scarlet and Grey.

So here we are on the cusp of what is called March Madness and before the crazy happens I go to what I know, the Big 10 Conference.

So let the predictions begin.. And for the record, you are all witnessing my first go at an NCAA Bracket, because I have NEVER done this. 

So let's see 

Final scores for those interested can be seen at the Big 10 results page

Results comments are in bold 

Round 1

Game 1- Indiana (WRONG- Illinois came out with the win) 

Game 2- Ohio State *** DUH! (DUH) 

Game 3- Minnesota (DUH)

Game 4- Iowa (Northwestern)

Round 2

Game 5- (I'm calling upset, and yes it IS because I can't stand Michigan) Indiana (Whelp, Illinois ruined my chances and Michigan took it)

Game 6- Ohio State*** DUH (It wasn't easy but we rallied and took the game) 

Game 7- Wisconsin (DUH)

Game 8- Michigan State (DUH)

Round 3

Game 9- Ohio State*** DUH and if it's even against Michigan-- EVEN BETTER!! (Well one thing was right.. It was against Michigan.. and unfortunately the "Yellow Mustard" as their uniforms were, took it against my boys... AND mind you if Aaron Craft hadn't made that flub, it could have been ours.. But I know that's what everyone says.. "If so and so did this..." Yeah I'm bitter)

Game 10- Michigan State (DUH)

Round 4

Game 11- Michigan State (even if my team doesn't make it far, I am pulling for Michigan State) ( I called it... Ohio State got whooped in Football Big 10 and in the basketball game that followed against Michigan State. Magic's boys (Magic Johnson- aka the guy who got me to fall in love with the LAKERS, well thank my dad who had me watch his games), have been playing phenomenally and it was even sweeter to watch the win happen against those cold boys in BLUE... #MichiganSTILLSucks! 

Let the fun begin!!

That's all she wrote folks! 

(updated with the final outcomes on 3.16.2014-- Selection Sunday) 

The things that will always catch my eye...

Hey Y'all It's your favorite SportsGal89 Innnnnnnnnn the Buildin'... If you follow my posts on Twitter @njc89, I mentioned that I was feeling like I was getting my NFL Drought over with. What does that mean? I am a HUGE NFL fan, well correction, Football is my sport, whether it be in college or pro. And then other sports come second. When football season is over I tend to go into hibernation until championships for conferences, playoffs for NBA and World Series moments begin to dominate ESPN.

Well, today I got hooked back into NBA, which is saying a lot considering, despite today's win, my team #Lakers, have been the bottom of the NBA this season.

Anyway, I digress. While I am supposed to be over the drought there are always going to be moments that catch my eye and make me go back to my one true sports love.. Today, the post was about former Steelers player Rashard Mendenhall who is now retiring from the league at 26.

Reading the article, where he decided to tell his fans that he was retiring was interesting. Because it still didn't answer the question why? I mean he's 26, in this life, while it's not perfect, this is not the time you would normally see an NFL player retiring, except when they are not healthy- and there in lies Rashard's situation. While it might not be the cause of him ending his career, it is a logical reason for anyone looking at the course of his career to realize why. Having torn his ACL early in his career and then recovering from a shoulder injury, it's not easy in this game to really bounce back. For some it reads liability and in a day and age where salary caps matter, the financial burden that an organization would take on an injury prone athlete is not very likely to raise high on the spectrum. It's sad though, because as fans you genuinely like the players that you cheer for day in and day out. I like Mendenhall as a Steeler, I was sad to see him go to Arizona and there were times that I definitely cheered for him in Arizona, but the reality is they are athletes, their job is to have a healthy body, and for some that is limiting.

I wish him well and hope that whatever the next step in his journey it is a fruitful one.


That's all she wrote folks.....

March Madness... but not the kind you think

Hey Y'all it's your FAVORITE SportsGal89 INNNNNNNNNNN the Buildinnnnnnnnnnnn! It's been a while. I realized that after football season ended I have nothing to comment on really. I mean think about it Baseball and Basketball season involve sooooooo many more games, you have to wait until the playoffs to really comment on anything substantial, because-- like I am REALLY going to comment on Lebron's 61pt game-- well his record, streak, whatever it was ended today with Los Spurs mollywhop against them. But the reality is, Lebron was the reason I started this blog, but he will not be the reason that I continue this blog..

Anyway.. What I am trying to say is that as much as I like those two sports, you really do have to wait for the games to turn up before you can get super excited.. So here I am at this D1 Institution- Go American University Eagles. And we have had a great year. Our Men's Basketball team went undefeated for the majority of the season in the Patriot League and are doing well in the post season tourney within the League currently.

As much as I get a thrill and enjoy pro sports, I am in LOVE with college ball- Go Buckeyes, and when it was a choice to prioritize my education over my love of sports, I chose Ohio State. And while the sports life might not be what it is at Ohio State, I do get to enjoy the sports life here at AU.

So why am I writing this now, well the Eagles- GO EAGLES!! are playing amazing and I have been thrilled to be able to watch. Why is it so exciting? Because the last time the Eagles made it this far and got us all excited was the year before I arrived at AU and my first year here. Not only did we win our Patriot League Championship, but we also made it to the first round of the NAACP tourney... I am praying and hoping that we get there again.. But don't take my word for it.. Check out my team and tell me if we are worthy!



That's all she wrote folks...