The Brain Dump
We're in the middle of the lull between high schoo football and basketball seasons (unless, of course, you're team's been fortunate enough to make it down to the Dome). With apologies to the gridiron, the hardwood's where it's at when it comes to pure broadcasting excitement. The game flow is perfect for a broadcast...the crowds can get loud, especially when you've got a lot of people packed into a small gym...and there's nothing like a deep tournament run to get the whole town behind a team. In small-town USA, "Hoosiers" is still right-on.
But it's still a few weeks until hoops season really gets going. The sports brain, however, doesn't shut off though (unless you count me leaving Matt Cassel and his monster fantasy game on the bench). What's in that head of mine?
- Yesterday St. John's ran their record against Carleton to a perfect 26-0 with a come-from-behind 14-10 win. It was a big win too, as the win got them the MIAC conference championship (despite two conference losses) and the automatic berth in the NCAA playoffs. It has been a wild year for the Johnnies, whose alumni are used to seeing wins by the count of 41-6 and 56-13 instead of 14-10 and 12-9. Just in the last four weeks, SJU won games at St. Thomas by stopping the Tommies twice at the goal line in the final minute (although the UST crowd will say their runner got in), by blocking a short St. Olaf field goal to force overtime, and by driving for a conference-winning touchdown at Carleton after giving up a TD with under a minute to go. With those two conference losses, SJU will likely be hitting the road for the playoffs...but given those big conference wins on the road, maybe it's not a bad thing.
- I've got a friend who grew up in Chaska, MN and went to college at St. Thomas, making him a Vikings, Gophers, and Tommies fan- yep, he's rival #1 when it comes to football. When the Vikings beat the Pack last week, he wasn't so much crowing about the win as he was relieved. Apparently before that game, those three teams were 0 for their last 20 against their biggest rivals (Pack, Badgers, Johnnies), which made my teams 20 for their last 20. That said, I was still pretty ticked that streak got broken...and am pretty happy the Badgers got a new one started yesterday.
- Gotta throw out some props to my high school's volleyball team, who had another awesome season. They won their 20th (!) consecutive conference title, made it to the state tournament for the 9th time, and took home a runner-up finish in the tournament. That's domination.
That's all for now...
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Lookin' Back...
9/13/08- (FB) Hinckley-Finlayson 13, Braham 12
8/29/08- (FB) Chisago Lakes 15, North Branch 0
3/26/08- (B) New London-Spicer 98, Braham 62
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