Remembering Our Heroes
by Cheval John
People hear this advice in many forms, “Be thankful for what you have,” even if things are not going your way.
The advice rings true because of the sacrifice that soldiers make on a daily basis to preserve our freedom.
Have you ever thought of what would happen if they decided, “I am not going to serve in the army, navy, marines, etc. but I am going to pursue what I want to be happy.
Then we would not have the freedom to do what we take for granted, like choosing what to watch, were to go to school, were to worship, etc.
They made up their minds to serve our country.
Some were assigned in war zones to make sure that no threat would come on the shores of the United States.
But, some would not return to see their love ones as they pay the ultimate price to preserve our freedoms.
And for those who were wounded, they would have to go through rehabilitation in order to get back to health.
They even go through therapy because they have recurring nightmares of the battles that they went through and have to live with for the rest of their lives.
So, on this memorial day and frankly, everyday, lets remember those who gave their lives for our freedom and to thank those who are currently serving in the arm forces.
That is what we can truly be thankful for.
Here is a video from God Divine of a soldier receiving a warm welcome from her golden retriever after a tour of duty from Afghanistan on this link: http://www.godvine.com/Mommy-and-Doggy-Reunite-After-a-Year-Apart-343.html
Winds of Change
by Cheval John
With the 2012 Southland Conference (SLC) Baseball Tournament winding down this weekend in San Marcos, one could wonder what the future holds for the conference.
Almost two years ago, Texas State University-San Marcos (TXST), University of Texas-Arlington (UTA) and University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) informed SLC Commissioner Tom Burnett that they were departing the conference effective July 1.
Though their destination was the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in the beginning, each university had second thoughts because they did not know if the conference was going to be there in the future.
Suddenly, UTSA changed their minds and said that they will join Conference USA on July 1.
UTA followed their lead and will leave for the Sun Belt Conference on July 1.
TXST on the other hand will keep their commitment to the WAC on July 1.
The twist to all of this is that they will be a member for only a year before joining the Sun Belt in 2014.
The irony in all of this is that they left a solid conference, like the SLC for a conference that probably will not be there in the future and that put them in a situation in which they had to scramble to be in a conference before July 1.
Commissioner Burnett was not rattled by their decision as he immediately sought for replacements.
After the delegation visited Oral Roberts (ORU) and Houston Baptist University early last year, the commissioner made a formal invitation to both the universities to join the conference and both gladly accepted.
ORU will join effective July 1 of this year to compete in all sports except football because they don’t have a football team while Houston Baptist joining the following year.
In the process, they have fielded a football team that will begin athletic competition in 2014.
ORU have been dominant in the Summit League over the years as their basketball team have made a couple of appearances in the NCAA basketball tournament.
The acquisitions of both those schools increases the possibility of future expansion for the Southland Conference.
In addition, both schools will not have to travel as far as New York for in- conference competition because members of the SLC are within an driving distance between 3-8 hours of each other.
That alone will save the athletics department money while the other three schools that left will now have to expand their budget to accomodate to their travels because of distance of each school in both the Sun Belt and Conference USA.
In the end, the SLC got the last laugh.
Poetic Justice
by Cheval John
It’s official, Chelsea F.C are the 2011-12 UEFA Champions.
What was supposed to have been a down year became the most remarkable turnaround in sports history.
At the UEFA finals in Munich, they defeated Bayern Munich in penalty kicks by the score of 4-3, in front of their own fans.
For Bayern Munich, this was a home game that happened to be the second biggest game in soccer history.
The turnaround began in March when they named Roberto Di Matteo as their interim head coach and things started to go for them.
What’s more remarkable about this is that they defeated Barcelona in an away game to make it to the final.
The reason why I mentioned this is because three years ago, the same Barcelona team, who were the eventual champion, went to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea, defeated them in aggregate goals when the game ended in a 1-1 tie.
Many people remember that game as contreversial because they were calls in the game that could have gone Chelsea’s way, but didn’t.
One instance, with Chelsea leading 1-0, Michael Ballack shot the ball toward the goal inside the penalty box and a defender, purposely stuck his hand in the air to prevent the shot.
In soccer, you cannot use your hands and if you are caught doing it when in the penalty area, then a penalty shot is awarded.
The referee saw it, but did not award the penalty shot, keeping Barcelona hopes alive.
They would take advantage of that opportunity in stoppage time when Andres Iniesta blasted a shot that went past goalie, Petr Cech that gave them the needed goal to tie the game and win the match in aggregate to move on in the final.
Chelsea had an opportunity at redemption last April when they faced Barcelona in the second leg of the semifinals at Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona, Spain.
With Barcelona leading the match 2-1 and the aggregate tied at 2-2, Fernando Torres, who was wide open at mid-field, received the pass and went the distance, made a great move on goalie Victor Valdes, and scored the decisive goal in a wide opened net to break the hearts of the Barcelona faithful.
Chelsea showed perseverance and grace when things didn’t go their way and proved to the world that good things come to those who wait and in the end, they got their “poetic justice.”
Tomi Garrison: A Proven Winner
by Cheval John
Every student athlete dreams of finishing their collegiate career on a high note.
For senior pitcher Tomi Garrison, she will get that opportunity to close out her career as Sam Houston State Bearkat softball team competes in the Southland Conference Post-Season Tournament that will be held in San Antonio from May 10-12.
The Bearkats, who started the season at 1-13, won their last 25 of 31 games to finish the season at 26-19 and secured the No. 2 seed for the tournament.
Garrison played a major role in the turnaround as she collected 9 wins, pitched a total of 73.2 innings and struck out 50 total batters in her last 11 starts and got three saves in relief to finish the regular season at 10-8.
“We started out the season saying, ‘we’re going to the tournament,’ and now we are” Garrison said.
“We knew we had a good team…when we went through that slump, it brought our team together. In the middle of the season, you started seeing more chemistry between us.”
It comes as no surprise to Garrison as she has been on every winning team since she began playing the sport competitively at nine years old.
The psychology major was the starting pitcher at Garland High School, the team made it to four state championships, winning two in the process.
As a starter, she compiled a record of 97-13 and racked up awards including the All-State Tournament and State Tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2007 and“District 10A-5 MVP,” and the Gales Fields Awards in her senior year.
She also pitched for the Texas Glory Softball Club, that won the AFA National Championship.
Garrison knew that she wanted to attend Sam Houston State University because during her time at Garland, one of her assistant coach Jennifer Robertson, was a former player and assistant coach for head coach Bob Brock at SHSU.
“I got a call from her (Robertson)…’you need to come out and watch our freshman pitcher (Garrison), she’s really good,” coach Brock said. “I got a young lady who ended up pitching all four years in the final state championship game.”
“I really wanted to go to Sam because coach Brock would come to a lot of my games,” Garrison said.
She compiled a 3-3 record, with 26 strike outs and a 3.22 earned run average (e.r.a.) and made the SLC Tournament in her first year at Sam.
She improved in her sophomore year, with a 5-4 record and striking out 37 batters.
Her junior year was a break-out year as she struck out 116 batters and dropped her e.r.a to 2.62 and was an honarable-mention on the All-Southland Conference team.
“She is consistent and she get strike outs when you need them,” coach Brock said.
Now with the regular season over, Garrison is more focused on winning the tournament and knows what it takes to win.
She has established her legacy on the softball program and coach Brock is a better person because of the opportunity he had to coach Garrison.
Take The Money And Run
by Cheval John
Normally, I am for coaches who stay with one team for an extended period of time in order for players to be successful on the field.
Today, you see coaches leaving a highly successful team for their “dream job”.
In soccer, that is no different as coaches changes teams every year because they either did not reach the expectations of the owners, fans, etc. or they wanted to coach at a well known club, like Real Madrid.
In the case of Roberto DiMatteo, interim head coach of Chelsea, there is every reason why he should get the job.
For starters, after being named interim of the club, he led the team from the brink of elimination against Napoli in the last of 16 in the UEFA Champions League Tournament to winning the tournament final in dramatic fashion against Bayern Munich in Munich, Germany.
With that said, I am going to say something that will be a shock to many.
Di Matteo should leave the club as soon as possible and try to get a job somewhere else.
The reason is because Chelsea’s owner, Roman Abramovich.
Though the club has taken off to new heights since he became club owner in 2003 by winning three English Premier League titles, four FA Cups, and the UEFA Champions League Title.
On the flip side, he has fired six head coaches in the last nine years during that stretch including Andres Villas-Boas.
The latter happen during the 2011-12 season that opened the door for Di Matteo to replace him and lead the team to one of the biggest turnarounds in sports history.
The question looms around if he will be named head coach on a permanent basis.
If Abramovich offers the position, Di Matteo should turn it down because if he doesn’t build upon the success from this past season, there is no doubt that Abramovich will sack him when things are not going well for the club.
So to Di Matteo, take the money and run.
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