First-half analysis

Cornell 46-Ohio 43

The Big Red dominated the second portion of the first half, outscoring the 'Cats 27-16 to close the half. Jerome Tillman hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to one, but the Big Red responded with a basket late to take a 3-point lead into the half.

Tillman leads Ohio with 13 points and Michael Allen has come off the bench to contrubute seven point and four assists in 12 minutes.

Big three carrying Bobcats

With 3:51 remaining in the first half, Ohio trails Cornell 37-35. Ohio is led by Jerome Tillman who has 10 points, Walter who has 9, and Williams who has eight.

Cornell run

Since Ohio jumped out to a 27-19, Cornell has gone on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to two. O'Shea was playing Allen, Bert Whittington IV and Walter on the court at the same time, giving the team three potential point guards in the lineup.

'Cats surge ahead

Ohio has increased the lead to 27-19 thanks to Leon Williams, who has seven points early.

Bobcats versus Cornell

Here live at The Convo with Ohio battling Cornell. Ohio is up 20-16 with 11:44 remaining in the 1st half. Bubba Walter has six points on two 3-point field goals and juco-transfer Michael Allen has come off the bench with three assists in his first game of the season.

Don't show him the money

According to the Associated Press, Alex Rodriguez and his agent Scott Boras were reportedly looking for $350 million from the Yankees. This figure was $100 million more than the Yankees were going to bring to the table in negotiations.

It is truly amazing that a player can be that greedy. First A-Rod announces that he plans to opt out right before the Red Socks were about to clinch the division then he pulls this stunt of asking for $350 million? It appears that he will do nothing to put himself in the limelight.

It's sad to think that some team will likely give into A-Rod's demand of this contract when there are so many countries and people in the world struggling. I understand that baseball is a business, but $350 million is outrageous for anyone who plays baseball.

Kudos to the Yankees for not giving into Pay-Rods selfish demands. They will be a better player without him.

Last time I checked, how many World Series rings has A-Rod won? Oh that's right, none. And he never will until he stops pulling selfish stunts like this. I'd take an unselfish player like World Series MVP Mike Lowell over this clown any day of the week.

Even if A-Rod hits 80 homers and drives in 200, I would not pay him that kind of money because as seen in this year's playoffs, one player will not win you a championship. Unless he starts winning the Cy Young, he is not worth it.

While I do have tremendous respect for A-Rod as a baseball player, I have no respect for him as a person. He has allegedly cheated on his wife, and he always put himself before his teammates.

Busy week

Here are my two latest articles for The Post, one about O.U. women's volleyball and the other about O.U. men's basketball. Enjoy.

Bobcats welcome new faces to roster to start 2007-08 season

Bubba Walther is in the readjustment process again.
After making the move to point guard last season after former player Antonio Chatman left the program, Walther is back in the shooting guard position to start the 2007-08 season, a switch that he was more than happy to make.
“Shooting guard is my natural position,” Walther said. “I’ll come and get the ball by accident because I’m still in the mindset of a point guard, but it’s definitely a lot better to do what I do best, which is run the floor and shoot.”
When Ohio closed its season last year with a loss to Miami in the Mid-American Conference quarterfinals, the team was down to a seven-man rotation that featured no true point guard.
This year, the Bobcats will feature nine new players, including junior college transfers Michael Allen and Bert Whittington IV, who are competing for the starting point guard position.
“We are both fast-paced guys,” Allen said. “It’s been good and there’s nothing special or extra; we just compete.” Along with the influx of nine new faces, the Bobcats also return their top three scorers from a year ago, with forward Jerome Tillman, center Leon Williams and Walther all returning.
Whittington said that having these offensive options around him makes his job fairly simple as point guard.
“It makes it really easy because when I penetrate, I can dump it off to Leon or out to Bubba for a three,” Whittington said. “It’s nice for me because I don’t have to score like I did at my junior college.”
Coach Tim O’Shea said that the pair forms a contrasting combination that will allow him to play the duo on the floor at the same time.
“The nice thing for me is that their skill sets really seem to complement each other,” he said. “They are both very quick and I could see situations where they play together.”
Ohio also gains depth in the front court, which primarily consisted of Tillman, Williams and center Kenneth van Kempen last season. Murray State transfer forward Justin Orr and freshmen DeVaughn Washington and Zach Nagtzaam will help relieve the burden of the trio, which received limited rest during games.
“We can go harder for longer stretches in the game,” Tillman said. “We had me, (van Kampen) and Leon with a bunch of guards, and we had to keep our energy up for the whole game.”
The Bobcats will have plenty of chances to prove themselves on the national level during their non-conference schedule, with games against ESPN/USA Today preseason No. 4 Kansas and 2007 NCAA tournament teams Maryland, New Mexico State and Holy Cross.
“It’s exciting, and I’m ready,” Tillman said. “I’ve been waiting to play schools like this all my life. I think our team now has a really good shot to win some big games.”
Walther added that games against this top competition will help in MAC play, where the Bobcats are predicted to finish third in the MAC East behind Akron and Miami.
“A lot of the teams we play will be tournament teams,” he said. “With the new guys we have, we might struggle early on, but I think that will make us stronger come conference play.”

Volleyball looks to finish MAC strong

Stephanie Blackburn felt an unfamiliar feeling walking off the floor after her team’s only loss in Mid-American Conference play this season, a defeat to Miami Sept. 28.
The loss was her first-ever in MAC play, and with Ohio (19-4, 11-1 MAC) set to play the RedHawks (13-8, 10-2 MAC) in Oxford tomorrow, the outside hitter maintained that this feeling of defeat is not one she wants to get used to, especially to a conference rival.
“We’ve been practicing really hard this week, and we’ve been really focused as a team,” Blackburn said. “We know obviously what it’s like to lose now and we’re not going to let that happen again.”
Like Blackburn, middle blocker Melissa Griffin said that Nov. 3 has been a date that the team has been looking forward to for some time now.
“We all want to win it really badly,” Griffin said. “We’ve been having really competitive practices, and I think we are going to go into it ready and motivated to beat them at their place.”
Since falling victim to the RedHawks a little more than a month ago, the Bobcats have rolled through their competition, winning all nine matches and 27-of-28 games.
“I think it was an awakening, and we realized that we can get beaten if we are not on top of our game,” Blackburn said. “We really stepped up our game, and it’s kept the team hungry.”
With the recent stretch of victories, Ohio has given itself the benefit of controlling its own destiny in the MAC, a bonus that coach Geoff Carlston said is important to have at this point in the season.
“It’s not about revenge, it’s about winning the conference,” he said. “I’m not going to say that it’s just an average match, because it’s not. The conference championship is on the line this weekend in a lot of ways.”
Last weekend, Ohio played two of the weaker teams in the MAC in Akron and Buffalo, which had a combined record of 2-22 in conference play. Ohio will finish its conference season with Miami, Bowling Green, Kent State and Central Michigan, which have combined to go 36-12 in the MAC.
Griffin said it is up to the seniors to help the ’Cats through this tough stretch of matches going into the MAC Tournament.
“It’s essential, obviously, because we are the only ones who know what it feels like to have this sense of urgency,” Griffin said. “It’s important for us to show how much it means to us.”
For the first time all season, Ohio will play its matches on the Saturday-Sunday schedule as opposed to the typical Friday-Saturday slate of matches. Following its match Sunday against Bowling Green, Ohio will have a shortened week with Kent State coming to town the following Thursday.
“The real issue will be Monday, when we come in late and haven’t had a day off,” Carlston said. “On the back end, it puts us in a bad position, but this team will be ready for both matches, for sure.

Bobcats win again

Melissa Griffin stepped up her game, and her teammates followed suit against Northern Illinois Friday.
The middle blocker, who totaled a career-high 26 kills, was part of an Ohio offensive explosion of 87 Bobcat kills, good for fourth in school history. Led by this offensive charge, the Bobcats defeated the Huskies in four games.
“We’re young in the middle, and being the oldest, I kind of feel like I need to lead by example,” Griffin said. “It’s a big factor to do that, and we have a lot of other players who do that, like Ellen and Stephanie.”
Ohio coach Geoff Carlston said Griffin has become more than just a consistent player up front for the Bobcats.
“It’s fun to see her go from being a really good player to a really good leader,” he said. “She wants the ball all the time, and that comes from being a senior, and we expect the older players to take the team on their shoulders.”
Outside hitter Ellen Herman added 20 kills and outside hitter Stephanie Blackburn recorded 15 kills and 18 digs for the Bobcats in the victory. For the match, Ohio had a hitting percentage of .447, good for fifth-best in the program’s history.
Ohio middle blockers Jane Sytsma and Meghan Simons also helped the offensive attack, totaling eight and nine kills respectively, while combining for seven total blocks. Freshman middle blocker Melissa Szkutnik also made the most of her increased playing time with seven kills and two blocks.
Carlston said Szkutnik is just beginning to tap into her potential as one of Ohio’s middle blockers.
“She’s really been stepping up in practice,” Carlston said. “She is going to be really, really good, and I think the more she’s going to get better the more she gets comfortable with our offense and the college game.”
Not to be outdone, setters Michelle Jantsch and Jill DeArmond combined for 68 of the Bobcats’ 79 assists. The 79 assists are the second most in school history.
“I thought our setters ran a pretty spread out offense,” Carlston said. “I thought we did a pretty decent job of spreading the ball around as a team.”
Friday, Ohio avoided a potential pitfall at Western Michigan, taking the match in three games against a hostile Chippewa crowd.
“I think everything clicked well this weekend, especially in that game in particular,” libero Sarah Petrulis said. “Everyone was on their game and played really well. It was playing especially with that crowd.”
Petrulis started both matches at libero for the ’Cats and responded, notching a combined 28 digs in the matches. “I was much more comfortable this weekend, and a lot of people were really helpful,” Petrulis said.
Against Western Michigan, the seniors again led the way for the Bobcats, with Griffin recording 19 kills and Blackburn posting 16 kills and nine digs.
“I think (Western) expected to come in and take care of us there, especially being at home,” Carlston said. “I think we responded competitively and played really hard and disciplined for three games in a row, and it was one of our best matches of the year.”

New article

Coming into this season, Molly Mangan and Sarah Petrulis knew that they had big shoes to fill at the libero position, previously held by Michaele Blackburn.
Blackburn not only was the Bobcats’ all-time digs leader with 2,091 for her career, but she also started at libero for all four years of her career, limiting the experience of the other defensive specialists.
“Michaele set the standard for the libero position for our team,” Mangan said. “As much as she was a great player, she no longer is a part of our program, so I think we need to focus on what we need to do as individuals and what we need to do to help our team.”
Petrulis echoed her fellow defensive specialist’s sentiments and added that Blackburn helped demonstrate what it takes to be a good libero over her four years of play.
“I think she taught us a lot of stuff that we tend to put in our play,” she said. “She’s a great role model.”
Like Mangan and Petrulis, defensive specialist Janice Matacic also has played some libero this season, and she said that the position on the court is a change from the defensive specialist position that she has known over the past two years.
“Michaele was pretty awesome, and we want to live up to that and do the best that we can,” Matacic said. “It’s definitely different to play that position, and I enjoy it, because you get to play more.”
While all three have had moments of success at libero, coach Geoff Carlston has continued to alternate his defensive specialists in that role, hoping to find consistency in one player.
“Michaele came in and it was her deal, and no one else was going to take it from her the entire time that she was here,” he said. “I think one of our challenges the rest of the year is to get that mentality in our ball-control players, because it’s crucial to our success.”
One player who will not play libero for the Bobcats is Michaele’s younger sister and outside hitter, Stephanie, who played a few matches at the position earlier in the year.
“I think we’ve been trying to find our niche,” Blackburn said. “It’s difficult to replace my sister, but I’m really biased because she is my sister.”
Carlston remained confident that one of his defensive specialists would step up and take the role by tournament time.
“Any of our defensive specialists can take it over, it’s just a matter of who will take that leap,” he said. “It’s more of a mental thing than a physical thing.”

New article

Coming into this season, Molly Mangan and Sarah Petrulis knew that they had big shoes to fill at the libero position, previously held by Michaele Blackburn.
Blackburn not only was the Bobcats’ all-time digs leader with 2,091 for her career, but she also started at libero for all four years of her career, limiting the experience of the other defensive specialists.
“Michaele set the standard for the libero position for our team,” Mangan said. “As much as she was a great player, she no longer is a part of our program, so I think we need to focus on what we need to do as individuals and what we need to do to help our team.”
Petrulis echoed her fellow defensive specialist’s sentiments and added that Blackburn helped demonstrate what it takes to be a good libero over her four years of play.
“I think she taught us a lot of stuff that we tend to put in our play,” she said. “She’s a great role model.”
Like Mangan and Petrulis, defensive specialist Janice Matacic also has played some libero this season, and she said that the position on the court is a change from the defensive specialist position that she has known over the past two years.
“Michaele was pretty awesome, and we want to live up to that and do the best that we can,” Matacic said. “It’s definitely different to play that position, and I enjoy it, because you get to play more.”
While all three have had moments of success at libero, coach Geoff Carlston has continued to alternate his defensive specialists in that role, hoping to find consistency in one player.
“Michaele came in and it was her deal, and no one else was going to take it from her the entire time that she was here,” he said. “I think one of our challenges the rest of the year is to get that mentality in our ball-control players, because it’s crucial to our success.”
One player who will not play libero for the Bobcats is Michaele’s younger sister and outside hitter, Stephanie, who played a few matches at the position earlier in the year.
“I think we’ve been trying to find our niche,” Blackburn said. “It’s difficult to replace my sister, but I’m really biased because she is my sister.”
Carlston remained confident that one of his defensive specialists would step up and take the role by tournament time.
“Any of our defensive specialists can take it over, it’s just a matter of who will take that leap,” he said. “It’s more of a mental thing than a physical thing.”Coming into this season, Molly Mangan and Sarah Petrulis knew that they had big shoes to fill at the libero position, previously held by Michaele Blackburn.
Blackburn not only was the Bobcats’ all-time digs leader with 2,091 for her career, but she also started at libero for all four years of her career, limiting the experience of the other defensive specialists.
“Michaele set the standard for the libero position for our team,” Mangan said. “As much as she was a great player, she no longer is a part of our program, so I think we need to focus on what we need to do as individuals and what we need to do to help our team.”
Petrulis echoed her fellow defensive specialist’s sentiments and added that Blackburn helped demonstrate what it takes to be a good libero over her four years of play.
“I think she taught us a lot of stuff that we tend to put in our play,” she said. “She’s a great role model.”
Like Mangan and Petrulis, defensive specialist Janice Matacic also has played some libero this season, and she said that the position on the court is a change from the defensive specialist position that she has known over the past two years.
“Michaele was pretty awesome, and we want to live up to that and do the best that we can,” Matacic said. “It’s definitely different to play that position, and I enjoy it, because you get to play more.”
While all three have had moments of success at libero, coach Geoff Carlston has continued to alternate his defensive specialists in that role, hoping to find consistency in one player.
“Michaele came in and it was her deal, and no one else was going to take it from her the entire time that she was here,” he said. “I think one of our challenges the rest of the year is to get that mentality in our ball-control players, because it’s crucial to our success.”
One player who will not play libero for the Bobcats is Michaele’s younger sister and outside hitter, Stephanie, who played a few matches at the position earlier in the year.
“I think we’ve been trying to find our niche,” Blackburn said. “It’s difficult to replace my sister, but I’m really biased because she is my sister.”
Carlston remained confident that one of his defensive specialists would step up and take the role by tournament time.
“Any of our defensive specialists can take it over, it’s just a matter of who will take that leap,” he said. “It’s more of a mental thing than a physical thing.

First Entry

So I finally gave in to this whole blogging thing. With so many journalists creating and utilizing blogs today, I thought why not go for it and get some of my work out there to the public. While my blog will primarily focus on journalistic aspects, I am willing and open to posting other topics on this blog.