Feel like I should post something

Just a couple quick hits to keep the blood pumping during the off-season.

Tyrell at the combine
Tyrell Sutton has kept his name in the header of my blog for the foreseeable future by getting invited to the NFL draft combine.  Well, I probably would have kept him there anyway, but this ought to be a great chance for him to show how much he can contribute to any pro team.  The Shrine Game was good for him (with a TD and solid kick returns) and the combine invite shows that scouts want to see him up close and personal.  If the NFL Network airs the combine again this year, you can see just how disturbingly personal that is!

Basketball exists
I don't usually write about NU hoops here, but it's not for a lack of being wild about the Cats (see what I did?).  It's because we are usually either boring or depressing.  This year, with a still-over-.500 record and 3-5 conference start, we are rarely either.  Even the losses feel OK, some of the time.  Tomorrow's game at home against the Badgers is a great opportunity for two reasons.  1st: A win will keep us from being swept home/away by anyone (so far).  That will show a lot to the lookers-on.  2nd: It's your chance to witness the miracle of me playing trumpet!  Will we play the Josh Eats Birds Feature Song?  There's only one way to find out!

Let's go Cats!

NU sports roundup

This probably looks like some kind of weekly feature, doesn't it?  Well, good luck convincing me to keep up that kind of pace.

Let's start with happy news!

Women's Hoops
The Lady Cats, no not those Ladycats, won their first conference game over the weekend.  A nice win over Wisconsin will hopefully kick-start this team that is supposed to be on the improve.

Women's Tennis
Dual pre-season #1s for Northwestern to start 2009.  The team is ranked first in the nation after finishing the regular season at the top last year.  Add to that Maria Mosolova's ranking as #1 in singles.  The sophomore will look to dominate in the winter and spring.  Let's all hope the team can overcome its tournament jitters -- although I'm not complaining about an NU team that seems to get to the sweet 16 every year.

Men's Hoops
The men take their turn with Wisconsin tonight in Madison.  While we have played the Man Badgers close in recent games, we haven't usually pushed through for a win.  I think we can throw out the 77-point defensive failing to MSU; they hit 56% on 3s, and 47% overall which is crazy for our opponents.  Take away 3 of their shots, and it becomes a super-close game.

Let's go Cats!

Wha' Happened: The Alamo Bowl

That was a tough one.  I don't think I've been so nervous (or on so little sleep) at an away game since Minnesota in 2000.  But at least we won the one at the Humphreydome.

Oh well.  I know we were in this to win, not just to feel good, but I think we can feel good about most of the Alamo Bowl.  We had the better running back and the better quarterback.  We had the more exciting defense.  We had the better fans.  I think we made some decisions that hurt our chances -- e.g. passing play on 3rd-and-long late in the first half that led to the Maclin return -- but we also had some luck.  Mizzou's missed kick could have gone down as one of the great NU moments, if we had pulled out an OT win.

Now we can look forward to next year.  We should see a number of fresh faces at "skill" positions, and a lot of the same names in the trenches and the secondary.  That's a good level of continuity, as far as I'm concerned.

Until then, I'll focus on basketball, lacrosse, and US soccer here at JEB.  And whatever else floats my boat*.  Be sure to check out my other digs, at which I totally meant to post the other day, and now I have no idea what it was.

 * - wrestling?  softball?  buoyancy?