| Blue View |
White View |
| By Tim Olsen |
By Mark Nance |
| Thoughts on the last week in Aggie athletics? |
| First off, congratulations to the women’s soccer team for winning the regular season WAC title over the weekend with victories over San Jose State and Hawaii. Second, what a football game on Saturday. The Ags came in as 15-point underdogs against the preseason pick to win the conference and ended up losing by two because of a fluke 58-yard field goal. (More on this later.) For the first time this season the football team put together a near complete game: they didn’t turn the ball over, they rushed for 206 yards and threw for 193. The performance of sophomore quarterback Diondre Borel was particularly impressive, and it is obvious he is starting to really grasp the offense. If the Aggies can shake off that loss and come out that strong for the rest of their games, they’ve got a grant chance to go 3-1 in their final four games. |
Our football team gave up another big game. Kevin Goessling hit a 58-yard field goal with time expiring to end Aggie fan excitement. As I have tried to figure out an explanation, it all comes down to the fact that he kicked a really long field goal. No one thought he was going to make it. Goessling kicked a longer field goal than any professional has kicked in the NFL this year. Better yet, there was no kicker who made a field goal from that far in all of 2007. You can’t blame anyone. It was a great kick. Thankfully, our Aggie soccer team continues to make us proud. I’d like to take all of the credit for building them up last week, but they don’t need help. Congratulations to our women for bringing a WAC title home, and earning a No. 1 seed in the upcoming WAC tournament. |
| Should Game 5 of the World Series been postponed before the 6th inning? |
| Based on the weather forecast for Monday night’s game, I think Major League Baseball did the right thing in trying to play the game. However, I think the game should have been called much earlier than it was. Once it became apparent that the weather and playing conditions were only going to get worse, the decision should have been made. I have to give props to Tampa Bay’s B.J. Upton for some nice base running in horrible weather to give the Rays a chance to tie the game before it was suspended. Now, with another day of suspension due to inclement weather, the final 3-½ innings won’t be played until Wednesday night at the earliest. Those final innings should provide for some very interesting baseball. |
Why do baseball players get it so easy? Football players play in rain, snow, high winds and any type of weather mother nature can throw at them. Game 5 of the World Series was suspended in the bottom of the 6th due to rain and wind. Wussies. If you’re going to play a game outside, then you better be able to deal with the conditions that come about. A little rain and wind should make a game more of a challenge for professional athletes. They argue that the chance for injury is increased when the conditions are bad enough, but what contact is there in baseball? You hit a ball, throw a ball and occasionally you may run. Wow. Football, soccer and rugby players don’t complain. They deal with it and show that real professionals take on challenges instead of running away because their hair gets wet. |
| Tennessee is the only undefeated team in the NFL, are they legitimate Super Bowl contenders? |
| After Monday night’s 31-21 drubbing of the Indianapolis Colts, the answer is a resounding yes. The Titans added another win to the best start in franchise history and took a commanding four-game lead in their division. The win over the Colts in a meaningful game was a coming of age for Tennessee and signaled a change of power in the AFC South. The Titans surprising start is especially impressive because of the early season trials and quarterback drama Tennessee went through. The Titans have the best defense in the league, a strong running attack behind the two-headed monster of rookie speedster Chris Johnson and TD-machine LenDale White, and a veteran leader at quarterback in Kerry Collins. In a weak AFC, the Titans are definitely Super Bowl contenders. |
Yes and no. Their defense is what has kept them in every game and their offense is nothing to brag about. Their defense has allowed the fewest points in the league and has a great turnover ratio. The Titans offense has struggled with Kerry Collins throwing three touchdowns and three interceptions all season. If their defense can keep playing as well as they have, they could make a run for the Super Bowl like the Ravens did in 2000. However, you also need to take into account that every team they have played this year is under .500. They have not played a team with a winning record and won’t until they play 4-3 Green Bay this Sunday. Let’s see how they match up against some of the stronger teams from the NFC before we crown them champs. Unfortunately they won’t get that chance unless they make it to the Super Bowl. |
| Thoughts on the upcoming men’s basketball season. |
| I’m going to go out on a limb a little bit here, but despite losing the school’s leading scorer and single season assists leader, this year’s team is going to be better than last year’s. Here’s why: The Aggies are returning two players that started almost every game as true freshmen last year in Tai Wesley and Tyler Newbold, and with a full year of Division I basketball under his belt, Gary Wilkinson is going to be a beast. Another returning player, Pooh Williams, came on strong at the end of last season and is primed for a breakout sophomore year. Also the Aggies have a nice crop of incoming freshmen to go along with a strong looking JUCO group. Jaycee was an amazing player, but opposing defenses won’t be able to focus on any single player this year as anyone could go off on any particular night. With Stew at the helm, it’s going to be another great year for Aggie basketball. |
With Jaycee Carroll playing in Italy this year, it may seem that our Aggies will struggle without him. However, we have two of the best big men in the WAC that will help us stay on top of the WAC. We also have the best WAC coach in Stew Morrill. He’s brought in some of the best junior college players, and they will hopefully find their way in his system quickly. If Tyler Newbold and Pooh Williams can keep up their excellent defense, but also get more involved in the offense, the Aggies will win the WAC for sure. Our team may be young with only one senior, but Morrill can keep them together and keep on winning in the Spectrum. All I know is that I’m excited to watch one of our men’s teams win more than one game. |
| Rant |
| How in the world did Kevin Goessling make a 58-yard field goal Saturday to beat the Aggies? The redshirt freshman was not a shining example of pressure kicks. Going into the match-up with USU, Goessling was a whopping 60 percent on the season (9/15). Earlier in the season, he had gone 1-of-4 in a game against then No. 10 Wisconsin, a game Fresno lost by three, and 3-of-5 against Hawaii, missing a potential game winning field goal in regulation and two game tying field goals in overtime (yes, two). The 58-yard school-record kick was simply an aberration, an anomaly and an unbelievable event. I was standing underneath the goal post when that kick went through and I am still dumbfounded that a 58-yard Kevin Goessling field goal ruined the Aggies’ performance of the season. |
Just because your mom or dad was a famous athlete doesn’t mean that you’re as great as them. Yesterday, Patrick Ewing Jr. was cut from the New York Knicks after the organization was more confident in the abilities of Anthony Roberson. By abilities, I mean the guy who shot just 20 percent from the field during the preseason. Must feel bad to lose to that guy. Patrick wasn’t any good when he played for Georgetown, and I don’t know why people thought he would be better than real professionals. Ewing Jr. will find a proper home in the NBA-D League and will make a name for himself as the son who couldn’t quite do it. Ewing Jr. left college early in order to get picked in the draft. I hope a decent education was worth giving up to play ball with all of the other junior varsity kids. I sure feel bad for Michael Jordan’s son. |
