George Aaron Broadwell, Part II

George Aaron Broadwell of State University of New York at Albany presents a paper for the Language Variety in the South (LAVIS) III Conference: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives, held at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa April 15-17, 2004. "Some Aspects of Verbal Morphology inTimucua and the Gulf Languages " Part 2 of 3



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Styz4ey8pJU&hl=en

What is Plyometric Training?

Plyometric training is a form of exercise training designed to increase muscular power. Athletes such as basket ball players, football players and boxers have incorporated plyometric training into their training regimen, adding explosive power to their game. Athletes can gain a tremendous advantage using plyometric training in their workouts, provided the exercises are done safely.

Plyometrics training is a high intensity work out and only well conditioned athletes should use them as a training tool. Even then athletes should be under the supervision of a qualified coach or trainer. It is also suggested athletes check themselves for signs of injury and over training.

Contractions are what cause muscles to move. Athletes have observed after an eccentric their muscle contractions are much more powerful. An eccentric contraction is when a muscle is contracting even while being stretched. This principal allows boxers to punch harder and athletes to jump higher and run faster.

The main focus of plyometrics training is to shorten the time between stretching and contracting muscles. The exercises required take the form of explosive work outs such as jumps hops and bounds which in turn cultivate explosive bursts of speed and power.

Plyometric shoes are used to increase the athletes speed, quickness and power for running faster and jumping higher.

Before doing a plyometric work it is vital that the athlete do a proper and thorough warm up. The eccentric contractions are the same contractions that can result in pulled muscle injuries such as pulled groin and hamstring muscles. It is also essential the athlete be in good condition and well monitored. It is easy to perform these exercises wrong and end in injury.

In conclusion, plyometric training is stretching muscles while they are contracting, teaching them to have and explosive contraction after the muscles are stretched. These workouts properly executed will increase speed, power and quickness, adding to an athletes on field performance. Athletes should first check with their coach or trainer to see which exercises would best suit their program for plyometric training.

Stadium Housing Project 2010-0622

Jacksonville State University's construction project to expand Paul Snow Stadium and provide additional housing units for JSU Students is nearing completion. This video montage provides an overview of the progress. Produced by JSU Television Services - revised June 2010. www.jsu.edu



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4k6ToR50OA&hl=en

Instrument of Peace practice

The 2008 Jacksonville State University Honor Choir for Middle School and High School students practices "instrument of Peace" by Greg Gilpin. This was the only song performed together by the choirs.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHDRAgPx8a4&hl=en

College Football - Dawgs Show Their Fangs, Washington Upsets 3rd-Ranked USC Trojans, 16-13

A month of Saturdays hit the calendar when the Southern California Trojans traveled north to Seattle recently to face last year's 0-12 Washington Huskies.

Yes, Southern Cal was currently ranked No. 3 in the nation in the AP Top 25 Poll. Even the Coaches' Top 25 Poll had them ranked No. 3. And yes, the Trojans had beaten No. 8-ranked Ohio State 18-15 a week earlier on a last minute drive by their new, wunderkind freshman quarterback Matt Barkley.

Southern Cal was headed for another typical USC season-at least 11 wins and BCS bowl game appearances for 7 consecutive years, the most successful football program in the country during the current streak. A huge part of the USC success story was Steve Sarkisian, their offensive coordinator, and Nick Holt, their defensive coordinator.

But that was the last 7 years. This year both Sarkisian and Holt are not only missing at USC, but were the opponents as the Trojans flew north. When last year's success was said and done, Sarkisian accepted the head coaching job at Washington and brought along Holt. And the coaching changes alone have made all of the difference in the world for the Huskies.

Washington was a team that had forgotten what it was like to win-only the week prior had the Huskies beaten Idaho, 42-23, to break a 15-game losing steak that was tied for the longest in Pac 10 Conference history. And now they were being asked to believe the impossible-that they could not only decipher, but beat the mighty USC juggernaut.

Never underestimate the difference coaching can make. Some sports pundits would have you believe that the players are more important than the coaches. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is the coaches who recruit the train the players; not the other way around. Never, ever, forget that.

Sarkisian and Holt could decipher the USC juggernaut; they, as much as anyone, had built it along with head coach Pete Carroll. Part of Carroll's genius is in hiring good people like Sarkisian and Holt. Now University of Washington President Mark Emmert and Director of Athletics Scott Woodward had done the same.

The results have been nothing short of staggering. In three games under the new coaching staff that inherited an 0-12 team, Washington has snapped a 15-game losing streak, upset No. 3-ranked USC 16-13, and vaulted into the AP Top 25 Poll at No. 24. The ranking was the Huskies first return to the Top 25 since September 2003.

The game itself did not look good for Washington at the outset. USC promptly ran up a 10-0 advantage in its first two drives and made it look as easy as playing a high school team. The Trojans opened holes that a Mack Truck could drive through, and USC backs sped to runs of 38, 25 and 27 yards to set up a touchdown and field goal.

It looked like Washington might get beat 50-0.

Then junior quarterback Jake Locker, Washington's most versatile player, completed passes of 12, 16, 14 and 18 yards to 4 different receivers before taking it in from 4 yards out to make it a game at 10-7. Two drives later, sophomore Erik Folk would add a 28-yard field goal to tie it up at 10.

Once it was clear the Husky offense could score, their defense-led by linebackers Donald Butler and Mason Foster-used their new-found belief to dig in, stop the Trojan advance, and let their fellow Huskies on offense go to work. Butler had a game-high 12 tackles (2 for losses), forced a fumble and intercepted a pass. Foster forced another fumble on a 4th-and-1 run play, and deflected 3 passes, 2 of which were on 3rd down plays.

USC, nearly a 3-touchdown favorite, had 3 drives inside the Husky 30-yard line end in turnovers, committed 8 penalties, and had an 0-for-10 conversion rate on 3rd-down plays.

Neither team scored in the 3rd quarter, Erik Folk then added a 46-yard field goal to put Washington up 13-10. USC responded with a 25-yard FG of its own to tie the game a second time at 13 with 4:07 left to play.

Jake Locker, who is quickly becoming an NFL pocket passer for the first time in his playing career, then engineered a 10-play, 63-yard drive that consumed 4 minutes and 4 seconds, leaving just 3 seconds left in the end game when Erik Folk converted a 22-yard FG to win the game, 16-13.

It is called clock management by Steve Sarkisian, and the Huskies have not had such a good game-day coach on the field since the lengendary "Dawgfather" Don James.

During the final, critical drive, Locker was at his best, completing a 21-yard pass to Jermaine Kearse on a 3rd-and-15, rushing for 4 yards on a critical 3rd-and-2 play, completing a 9-yard pass to James Johnson, and completing a 19-yard pass to Kearse.

Locker went 21-for-35 (60%) for 237 yards on the day.

After their stunning upset victory, the Washington Husky football program was once again on the national radar, as evidenced by their moving into the AP Top 25 Poll.

So just what is going on with these Huskies? Many of them played on the same team last year that went 0-12. The difference is clearly the leadership and enthusiasm of the coaching staff led by Steve Sarkisian and Nick Holt.

The players now believe in the coaches, believe in the new system, believe in themselves, and understand their improvement is really about work, work and more work, and constant, unrelenting, hard effort.

An excellent example that the players get it came after Washington's first victory of the year against Idaho, when sophomore wide receiver Jermaine Kearse had this to say:

"The whole philosophy is, if you make plays, and play hard, you get more playing time. I tried to do everything right this week, and I was rewarded." Amen, Jermaine, Amen. Work hard and play hard. Pay attention. Then work harder and play harder. And did I mention to have fun? Fun? Yes, all of this hard work is just that.

It appears that Sarkisian has two rules for success. The first is: Work Hard, Play Hard, Have Fun and Win. And the second rule? That would be never forget the first rule.

Steve Sarkisian, who has an Armenian-Irish heritage, is already one of the most popular people in Seattle. He has opened up the Husky practice field to one and all, reached out to boosters and fans, and welcomed back Husky heroes from yesteryear.

People are already comfortable referring to him as "Sark". I hereby give Sark another moniker-the "Armenian Hammer". He is the coach with the velvet touch in one hand, and the hammer in the other.

Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley

Culture Shock working the campus

Visiting the campus of Alabama State University



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os-sQQsOujU&hl=en

Babe Ruth

Babe Ruth, the kid raised in a City named for an English Lord produced a man which by most all measurements surely surpassed the Lordly recognition of Lord Baltimore. The name given to a City on the eastern shore of Maryland named Baltimore, Maryland has not and will not achieve the World Fame of it native son George Herman Babe Ruth.

What we know and what we might not have really captured in our knowledge about this legend of Baseball?

We all are quite familiar with the fabled Yankee Stadium located in the Bronx of New York home of them affectionately known as those "Damn Yankees" being the "House That Ruth Built." Well good fans as the Babe built his legend leaving "Bean Town" and the Boston Red Sox and becoming the giant of all baseball with his prodigious accumulation of Home Runs In the American League and particularly Yankee Stadium.

Some how, some where one day this raw legend of a man did in fact hit his very first professional Home Run.

I will not tell you the how, nor the day, but hidden within the written story here are some single letters in bold for the spelling in progressing order which names the Town and the State where The Babe hit his very first professional baseball home run.

Aside from the place he hit his first professional homer there are other attributes and descriptive characteristics which marked the Babe as one of a kind. Did you ever notice in so many of the video shots when he ran the bases after a terrific home run blast?

He did not take off like a scalded wampus cat he simply ambled along in his half pigeon toed on his merry way tipped toed trot. His stroke of power and blast by the simple sound of that blast told him instinctively it was long gone outta here.

Check it out none of Babes peers swung a heavier bat than the Bambino. Note the Sultan Of Swat did not stand in the batters box preening like a hot shot look at me player. He took his stance like a well balanced barrel sitting on two broom sticks for legs. The Babe had a barrel like chest which exuded upper body strength.

Yes folks he had a heavier than usual bat but could he ever swing it with the speed resembling a bolt or lightening flash but as The Bear of University of Alabama fame would have announced his swing of the bat was quicker than a hiccup.

You got it right sports fans if you followed the bouncing ball and picked up the bold printed single letters it spelled Fayetteville, South Carolina.

Thought you would like that bit of some Babe Ruth insight. Now you know what makes Baseball farming so interesting.

Florida State University - Fight Song

Visit www.your-fun-stop.com to buy this video and song for $1 or to get this as your ringtone. Hear and sing-a-long with the Florida State University fight song! Visit www.your-fun-stop.com to purchase this video.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD5mftRwXmk&hl=en

Choosing Sports Physical Therapy Colleges - Tips To Select The Best

Sports physical therapy is the hottest and fastest growing sector. Obviously, there is plenty of interest to study and find a job in this field. Sports physical therapy colleges are present in each state, other than Alaska, so selecting a college close to where you live to study at, is a fairly easy task. With people becoming more involved in physical fitness and the growth of sports as a career, the demand for qualified physical therapists is also growing exponentially, to cater to the requirements for training as well as rehabilitation.

The sports physical therapy colleges offer Doctorate and Masters programs. Different colleges will be known for the quality of different programs. Some of the better known colleges preparing students for a career in sports physical therapy are the Alabama State University, Northern Arizona University and Quinnipiac University, CT for their Doctorate programs and California State University, Sacramento for its Masters course.

The course work at sports physical therapy colleges is diverse and exhaustive. The studies cover various aspects of the development and growth of the human body. Some of the courses that they cover are on Human Body Sequences, Manual Muscle Testing, Neuroanatomy, Therapeutic Exercise, and Electrotherapy. Human body sequences is all about the development of human body through the life span, from birth till death. To perform the correct treatment for people of all age groups, this is a critical course. Manual muscle testing class teaches about conducting physical examinations of the human body. All together, these courses are designed to give you, the future physiotherapist, complete knowledge about pain reduction, improving the function of muscles and the skeletal system and rebuilding a patient's physical fitness.

When deciding upon a sports physical therapy college, whether in your state or outside, look out for certain aspects before deciding on one to join. These factors include the cost of on or off campus boarding and lodging, unless you plan to travel to the college. Tuition fee is of course the primary cost to be considered. While some institutes will have better tuition fee structure, in order to study at the best possible institution, check out every possible avenue for scholarship or a work study program. Certain hospitals and medical organisations may even be affiliated with sports physical therapy colleges. If they take you on and you make a commitment to work for them for certain time after course completion, they may be willing to take on your study cost. As in everything else, thorough research will pay you well in this case too.

A financially rewarding career that is also high on job satisfaction awaits you after completing studies at a sports physical therapy college. You just have to organize the finances and get set for studies.

GVSU Football - 2009 Semifinal game - Field Rush

The celebration that ensued as the Grand Valley State University Lakers guaranteed themselves a position in the December 12th Division 2 National Championship game in Florence Alabama by dominating over Carson-Newman.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ8DfZBfXlU&hl=en

ASU

ASU - Pretty Brown Eyes 5th Quarter



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5woJkb1KcRk&hl=en

Best 529 Plan For Out Of State

It is not necessary that your state will always have the best 529 plan for you, though it might offer some good incentives. Sometimes, even with the incentives, the plans do not make for the best plan. In the US, people are free to choose plans of whichever state they might like. So here are some pointers that might help you select the best 529 plan for out of state residents.

We base our tips on the report by Morningstar FundInvestor, where the best and worst were detailed. The following are the main points summarizing this report:

1. The best direct sold 529 plans for out of state are Alaska's T. Rowe Price College Plan, Michigan's Education Plan and Utah's Educational Plan. These plans have low asset based costs and have a fair to good range of investment options. The quality core of investment options in these three plans have been rated good to excellent. These three plans are managed by the T. Rowe Price College, TIAA-CREF and Vanguard respectively.

2. From the plans sold by brokers are Colorado's Scholars Choice College, Kansas' Learning Quest Education and Virginia's CollegeAmerica. The program managers for these three plans are Smith Barney, American Century and American respectively. These plans do not have as low asset based costs as the direct sold plans, but even then they do rate below average to average on this scale. They have a good to excellent investment flexibility and rate good to excellent on quality core investment options.

3. If you are looking for the best for out of state residents, then you must surely avoid the plans of the states of Alabama, Arizona, Maine, Tennessee and Wyoming. These plans have been rated as the worst in the nation. They are expensive plans, with high asset based costs attached to them, and have only a fair rating on quality core investment options. Out of these five state 529 plans, the plan of the state of Tennessee is managed by the TIAA-CERF. The program management fee charged by the state of Wyoming, i.e. 0.95%, is very high in comparison to that of the other states.

Comparing all the plans in the nation, the Utah Education Savings Plan emerges as the best 529 plan for out of state investment. The plan has low rates for opening account and management, and has good flexibility with its Vanguard index funds.

Alabama vs. Mississippi State 2009 - Million Dollar Band in StarkVegas

A look into the Million Dollar Band pep band trip to Starkville for the Mississippi State game!! ROLL TIDE 10-0! 31-3!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiRWqTGQSK4&hl=en

JSU Ballerinas "Quilting Party", Southerners 50th Reunion 06

The JSU Ballerinas perform their classic routine from "Quilting Party" during the Southerners 50th Reunion at Gamecock Halftime, Jacksonville, AL, Fall 06.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZyhLD8juHE&hl=en

Troy University Step show DVD Preview Featuring Alabama State Alpha's and UAB Kappa's

This is the 2008 Troy University Step show DVD preview, featuring Alabama State Alpha's and the UAB Kappa's. This video also contains a special guest appearance by a future president.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPYFhTfyk3E&hl=en

Big Ten Creates New Channel, More to Follow?

The Big Ten Conference announced recently that it will create its own cable tv channel to broadcast even more games and sports nationally.

The conference just signed a new 10-year TV deal with ESPN and ABC that will carry Big Ten football, men's and women's basketball and volleyball games starting in 2007.

The Big Ten Channel will be available to satellite and cable distributors nationwide and also will be available through the Internet, I-Pods, cell phones and other technologies, the league said.

DirecTV will offer the channel on its Total Choice package, which currently reaches about 15.4 million households, according to the news release.

"The Big Ten Channel will provide our conference the ability to strengthen both its brand and its long-term destiny as one of the leading academic and athletic conferences in the nation," said Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany.

The new cable channel will carry not only football and basketball, but also such sports as soccer, tennis, swimming and diving and wrestling -- the so-called Olympic sports, the conference said.

This could lead to others conferences - most notably the Pac-10, Big 12, ACC and SEC following suit and offering up their own channels. It makes perfect sense. We have a insatiable hunger for sports in this country and with some of those on the fringe, like wrestling and volleyball, that have diehard fans it's only natural that these channels pop up.

The Big Ten Channel and the others who follow suit will be a win-win for the fans as well as the conferences and schools. It will bring huge amounts of money to the schools and allow the viewers to watch events they might miss otherwise.

For the football fan, the amount of games that may be available to watch is like manna from heaven, especially when the other conferences get on board and copy the Big Ten. It has already multiplied with the emergence of satellite and will grow even more with these individual outlets.

Rest assured the Big Ten is the first to jump on the cable TV bandwagon, but they definitely won't be the last.

Look For Steve Sarkisian to Turn Around Washington's Woeful Football Program

Just as thinking heads argue about whether leaders are born or made, so do college football fanatics argue about whether the coach or the players make the team.

Let's settle the latter argument once and for all-coaches make the team, not the players. If it were not so, then players would recruit the players, whereas it is the coaches who recruit the players that-with great coaching up of players-make the team successful as the program progresses.

Yes, it is true that even great coaches cannot do a lot with duds for players-that is why they immediately recruit better players and coach them up to speed.

My turf is Western Washington, the state, not the Beltway to DC. Let me share with you not what I think, but what I know about coaches and players on any team.

When the Seattle Mariners were going nowhere at 1,000 miles an hour, I immediately predicted success with the hiring of head coach Lou Piniella. Piniella came in and announced that the Mariners were going to start winning but, unfortunately, three-quarters of the players on the roster would not be there to enjoy the success. Within two years, 5 players were left from his original roster, and the Mariners winning streak starting in 1995 is a happy history for Seattle fans.

When the Seattle Seahawks were sloshing around doing nothing but taking up space, acting like a football team but not playing like one, I immediately predicted success with the hiring of head coach Mike Holmgren. Holmgren was much bigger than a lot of his players, and he was not interested in excuses; you were accountable, and you performed or you were gone. The Seahawks started winning right away and dominated their division.

When the University of Washington Huskies went winless last year in 12 games and had some of the worst performance statistics among all NCAA teams, I immediately predicted success with the hiring of new head coach Steve Sarkisian.

Nicknamed "Sark", Sarkisian is half-Armenian, half-Irish and all winner. Sarkisian and his hand-picked staff, including defensive coordinator Nick Holt, will get the Huskies back on the winning track, and he will not make a career out of it. It will happen. You will witness a giant step forward in his first year.

Sarkisian takes over a team that rung up these crummy national ratings last year-rushing offense (106th among 119 teams), passing offense (101st), total offense (116th), scoring offense (118th), rushing defense (117th), passing defense (62nd), total defense (110th) and scoring defense (116th). Washington scored 13 points a game and gave up an average of 38 points a game.

There is no way you can win games with these lame numbers. Was Washington's coaching staff last year the worst in the nation? You better believe it; that's why they have vacated the premises.

This is not a pretty picture for Sarkisian to inherit. However, you have to remember that Sark is a winner from the top of his head to the bottom of his toes. He spent 7 of his last 8 years at Southern California, first as a quarterbacks coach, then as the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach.

During his tenure with head coach Pete Carroll, USC was in a BCS game EVERY year for the past 7 years, unmatched by any team in college football. USC also has the best winning percentage among BCS teams-85% (6-1). Sarkisian's record as the offensive coordinator for 2 years was 22-3, and he called the offensive plays on the sideline.

Sark also coached up two Heisman Trophy winners-Carson Palmer in 2002 and Matt Leinart in 2004. He has also mentored additional NFL-draft picks John David Booty and Mark Sanchez.

Washington's newest head coach was also a standout quarterback at Brigham Young University. As a senior, he led the nation in passing efficiency as the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) champion Cougars went 14-1 and won the 1997 Cotton Bowl.

Sark has been an outstanding winner as a player and coach. He knows how to win. He is not going to surround himself with a bunch of losers at the University of Washington.

Virtually all players want to win, but far fewer have the will to prepare to win. Sark will quickly find out who will pay the price to improve and have fun in the process. Those who cannot cut the mustard will be watching a lot of football games instead of playing in them.

At 35, Steve Sarkisian is one of the youngest head coaches of a major college football program. No matter. Just because a head coach has 15 years of experience does not make him good. Competency, direction, judgment, focus and enthusiasm all count for more.

The Pac 10 Conference media types recently came out with their preseason poll, picking Washington to finish 9th, just ahead of 10th-place Washington State.

The more I hear about head coach Steve Sarkisian and assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Nick Holt, the better I like Washington's chances to exceed expectations with a better than 9th-place finish.

The latest word from the practice field is that the Husky offensive players are going to legally cut block, a very important element in zone-blocking schemes. Holt is going to find out who can knock players down and who can't. Those that can't will be spending less time on the field.

Cut-blocking is legal when the blocker goes below a defender's knees with the helmet out in front of the defender. It is illegal when the blocker comes at the defender from the side or back, or when the defender is blocking another offensive player.

Doug Nussmeier will be the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Huskies. Washington opens its season at home Saturday, Sept. 5, against Louisiana State (LSU), 1 of 6 preseason top 25 teams the Huskies will face this season (the others are USC, Notre Dame, Oregon, Oregon State and California). Yikes!

Washington fans and boosters are fired up for improvement; they are sick and tired of getting slapped around by teams the Huskies used to dominate, especially when Don James was at the helm. The Dawgfather's career mark at Washington was 153-57-2 (73%) from 1975 to 1992, and the team went to 14 bowl games, winning 10. They also went to bowl games 9 consecutive years.

Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley

Back-to-Back Winning Seasons and Bowl Appearances Say Michigan State is Back

When Mark Dantonio became the new Michigan State University football coach two years ago, he came to the East Lansing Campus with a pedigree that shouted success is on the way. He has not disappointed the Spartan faithful.

Michigan State had not done diddly-squat since its 1999 team went 10-2, whipped Florida in the Citrus Bowl, led the Big Ten in total defense, and ranked 7th in the final polls. Times have changed in East Lansing. If diddly-squat shows up since Dantonio has arrived, he is in for a fight.

Here is what Dantonio has accomplished since his debut 55-18 victory against UAB (the University of Alabama at Birmingham):

Turn a losing program into a winning one by going 7-5 in his first regular season, and getting Michigan State its first bowl appearance in 4 years. Despite being a 5-point underdog to No. 14-ranked Boston College in the Champs Sports Bowl, the Spartans only lost by a field goal, 24-21.

Their final 7-6 record included a 4-3 mark against bowl-bound teams, and the Spartans lost the 6 games by a total of 31 points, including two in overtime. All 6 games were decided by 7 points or less. It is called defense.

With their 31-14 victory over the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame on the road in 2007, the Spartans became the first visiting team to win 6-straight games in the 77-year history of Notre Dame Stadium.

Last year the progress continued as the Spartans went 9-3 in the regular season, beating Michigan and Notre Dame. They lost at California in their opener 38-31, took it on the chin 45-7 against No. 12-ranked Ohio State at home, and let No. 7-ranked Penn State take it to them 49-18 on the road at Happy Valley.

Had they beaten Penn State, they would have had a share of the Big Ten title. Michigan State's 6-2 Big Ten record was its best since the 1999 season, and its 9 wins represented only the 3rd time since 1966 (the year I graduated from Michigan State) that it had won 9 games in a season.

Last season's second step forward led to the No. 19-ranked Spartans facing off against the No. 16-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in the Capital One Bowl; State lost 24-12. Nevertheless, they ended the year with their second straight winning season (7-6 and 9-4)-their first back-to-back winning seasons in 19 years-and their second straight bowl appearance-their first back-to-back bowl appearances in 12 years.

That is what is calling "getting after it".

Dantonio really became prominent as the defensive coordinator for Ohio State, where his defensive unit helped the Buckeyes to a 32-6 record in 3 years, and the 2002 National Championship. In the championship year, Ohio State was 2nd nationally in scoring defense (13 points a game) and 3rd in rushing defense (77 yards per game).

Coming into this season, Michigan States loses two All Big Ten seniors-tailback Javon Ringer and safety Otis Wiley, and returns All Big Ten junior linebacker Greg Jones.

To say Ringer left a hole in the running game would be a gross understatement. He rushed for 1,637 yards (accounting for 97% of Michigan State's rushing offense) and scored a school-record 22 touchdowns. Ringer, a consensus All American, was drafted by the NFL's Tennessee Titans.

Ringer's starting spot will be a competitive battle that just may be won by either of two outstanding freshmen-Edwin Baker out of Oak Park High School in Highland Park, or Larry Caper out of Battle Creek Central in Battle Creek. Baker is 5-9 and 200, and Caper is 5-11 and 215. Both are potentially explosive runners with some speed.

Replacing senior quarterback Brian Hoyer, an inconsistent 2-year starter, is also an issue. Sophomore Kirk Cousins and redshirt sophomore Keith Nichol have limited experience, appearing in only a combined 8 games.

All Big Ten junior Greg Jones had 127 tackles last year, and is arguably the best linebacker in the Big Ten. He must remain tough and healthy for Michigan State to again compete for the Big Ten title.

The Spartan offense will also rely heavily on kicker Brett Swenson (22 field goals last year, including one last-minute, game-winner on a weak offense); wide receivers Blair White, Mark Dell and BJ Cunningham; tight end Charlie Gantt; guard Joel Foreman and center Joel Nitchman.

Dantonio's two recruiting classes must produce more new faces on the field this year. New faces better than the players they will replace. In its two biggest games of the year last season-Ohio State and Penn State-Michigan State did not show well and paid for it when the Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Poll found them absent.

Major coaches generally applauded the fact that the Spartans did not take a dive late last season, they won many games they have lost in prior years, but when push came to shove, it was still Ohio State and Penn State on top of the heap.

What many boosters may have missed is the fact that Michigan State took one huge step forward in bowl participation. Two years ago they had to settle for the Champs Sports Bowl and a $2.25 million payout. Last year they moved up to the Capital One Bowl and a $4.25 million payout. After the 5 BCS bowl games, the Capital One Bowl is the highest paying and most prestigious of the remaining 34 bowl games played last season.

Michigan State's schedule is favorable this year. The Spartans get both Michigan and Penn State at home, and do not play Ohio State. They also play 1-AA Montana State, Central Michigan and Western Michigan. If they cannot beat the latter three teams and Michigan, they have no business going to a bowl game.

On a more positive note, while virtually everyone West of the Mississippi River thinks Michigan State could not possibly run the table, there is at least one Spartan in Washington State who thinks otherwise. Never underestimate what Mark Dantonio can accomplish.

What if the Spartans beat Notre Dame, Michigan and the rest, and face Penn State at home with an 11-0 mark? That is why college football is so great. It could happen. The odds say it will not happen, but rest assured that if Michigan State plays in a BCS bowl game this season, it will be another giant step forward for Mark Dantonio and his Spartans.

Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley

Wisconsin Badgers - Wisconsin's Pride - The Wisconsin Badgers Football Team

The Wisconsin Badgers football team is the University of Wisconsin-Madison's college football program. The Badgers compete at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, and is a member of the Big 10 Conference. Their home games are played at the Camp Randall Stadium. They have a win-loss-tie record of 575-451-53 and a winning percentage of 53%. The name of the team is a reference to Wisconsin state's early history. Sometime in the early 19thcentury prospectors came to Wisconsin to look for minerals, particularly lead. During winter, the miners had to seek shelter inside tunnels that were burrowed in the hillsides, and thus lived like badgers. Their territory came to be known as the "Badger State." Currently, as of 2008, the Badgers head coach is Breat Bielema, their offensive coordinator is Paul Chryst, and their defensive coordinator is Dave Doeren.

Member of the Big 10

The Big 10 is one of the major conferences in college football and is the oldest Division I college athletic conference in the country. It has a total of eleven members including the Badgers with teams that are primarily located in the Midwestern part of the U.S. It includes Pennsylvania in the East and stretches from Iowa and Minnesota in the west. Nine of the eleven conference schools in the Big 10 are considered to be Public Ivy Leagues, including the University of Wisconsin. It enjoys the prestige of both athletic and academic excellence. The conference competes in the NCAA Division I. The Big 10 member teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly Division I-A-the highest level of the NCAA competition. The member schools also are members of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, an educational consortium. Despite the name Big 10, there are 11 members, with the Penn State joining in 1990. The Big 10 center is located in La Porte County, Indiana.

Badgers Various Incarnations

Throughout the years, various forms of badgers have represented the team as the school mascot. The current mascot is named Bucky, wearing the team's colors of cardinal and white in a letter sweater. This mascot was first drawn by artist Art Evans in 1940. The badger mascot went by many names such as Buddy, Benny, Bobby, Bernie, and Bouncey. It was Art Lentz, then publicity director for the athletics department who brought the mascot to life. The badger mascot of yesteryears was known to be rowdy and out-of-control-since it was a real live badger! The badger was known to run amok and frighten fans and players alike. It was decided for everyone's safety that the badger was better off in the Madison Zoo and did not belong in the school or in football games. The badger was then replaced by a tamer but still no-badger, small raccoon aptly named Regdab (which was badger spelled backwards) passed off as a badger in a raccoon coat. In 1949, Connie Conrad, an art student in the university, made a badger head molded from papier-mâché. Cheerleader and gymnast, Bill Sagal, wore the outfit during a homecoming game. A contest was held to name the mascot and the winning name was "Bucky," which pushed the football team to "buck right through that line."

The Religion of Football

Here in Alabama, there are three classes of people: Alabama Crimson Tide fans, Auburn Tiger fans, and atheists. Two of the three will go to Hell when they die. Which two depends entirely on who you ask.

Those Alabamians who like football but have no particular team preference are called, "agnostics." It is the hope of the faithful that someday these poor, pathetic souls will purchase an Alabama jacket or be given an Auburn cap and thereby experience the joy of committing themselves to a particular team. Until then, they are considered social and recreational outcasts. To pray for them is all that we can do.

Why all the religious references in a column that's supposed to be about football? Because religion and football are closely entwined, my friend, with much more in common than you may think. Note this passage from the Big Playbook of St. Gipper, recently discovered in a dark basement on the campus of Notre Dame University.

The passage reads: "And on the seventh day God created football and all was right with the world... until Satan brought forth the referees..."

It is impossible to believe in college football without also believing in a Higher Power. Here in Alabama - and in a whole lot of other places - football is a religion. To some, it is the only religion. Blasphemy, you say? I don't think so. More prayers are said and answered during the average college football game than in most churches during a month of Sundays. That explains why evangelists love to hold revivals in football stadiums. The mood has already been set. The congregation holds season tickets.

Consider this: Alabama has been getting a lot of national press lately because of two things:

(1) The quality (or lack thereof) of the University of Alabama's football team and


(2) Moral stands being taken and legal battles being waged by Alabamians over the separation of church and state. Football and religion. Religion and football. And on we go.

Playing offense for God in Alabama are folks like the high school students who walked out of class because they weren't allowed a moment of prayer before a math test. Personally, I'd rather have my teenagers saying prayers in school classrooms than singing rap songs and riding around in loud cars. I do think these young people are limiting themselves, though. When I was in school we prayed before EVERY test, not just math.

Then there's Judge Roy Moore, one of God's team captains, if you will. Moore is the Alabama judge who has a plaque of the Ten Commandments hanging on the wall in his courtroom. The Supreme Court has ordered the plaque to be taken down, but our beloved governor, Fob "I'm The Law In These Parts" James, has said that he'll send in the National Guard to make sure the plaque stays up. You can call this beefing up the defense.

Which brings up another question: if Alabama secedes from the Union because of ACLU and NCAA oppression, does that make Fob our king? If so, I think that's more than reason enough not to secede. King Fob. Sounds like a giant gorilla with a speech impediment, doesn't it.

Back to the subject at hand, I think the opinion that football has become a bonafide religion is further attested to by the fact that no one has yet tried to shove a legal crowbar between organized religion and organized college football. Maybe they realize how futile their efforts would be. Or maybe they're just afraid of divine retribution. I understand Bear Bryant and Shug Jordan were not men to be crossed while they were here on earth. God forbid some heretic ACLU lawyer upset them now.

When the Universities of Alabama and Auburn play one another as they did last weekend, the faithful drop whatever they're doing and flock to the game like wise men chasing a far off star. The entire state stands still. Try finding a washing machine repairman or an emergency room doctor during an Alabama/Auburn game. They are nowhere to be found. You may die in dirty clothes, but that's what you get for not attending the big game.

The ending of this year's Iron Bowl was, as it always is, of apocalyptic proportions. In the final moments of the game, just before the buzzer sounded to signal the end, everyone's faith was put to the test. As the clock ticked down - 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... you were either devoutly for Alabama or had completely given your life to Auburn.

There was no "Atheist" section in these stands.

Amen.

Alabama state(Neck) Vs Aamu 2008

2008 MAGIC CITY CLASSIC ASU VS AAMU ASU NECK pt1



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8Ev8-7_h5w&hl=en

ASU Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc Spring Probate 2K8 2

ASU Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorrority Inc Spring Probate 2K8



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSk9NuFkXUI&hl=en

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Beta OOP 2007 Probate.9

Bro. Bryan's greeting



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Puyd-nRo_c&hl=en