Make It Four Championships For North Dakota State
By Cheval John
North Dakota State and Illinois State did not face each other during the regular season.
The Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) national championship game in Frisco, Texas was a perfect place for the Missouri Valley Football Conference rivals.
The game lived up to the hype as the last two minutes was filled with drama.
In the end, North Dakota State escaped with a 29-27 victory to claim their fourth consecutive FCS national championship.
It seemed as if the Bison was going to dominate this contest as they extended their lead to 20-7 with 7:33 left in the third quarter.
The Red Birds had other ideas as they outscored the Bison 13-3 to cut the lead to 24-21 with 2:22 remaining in the matchup.
That was when the excitement began after Tre Roberson, who went 11 of 23 for 157 yards, broke free for a 58 yard touchdown run to make it 27-23 with 1:30 left.
The touchdown capped a 5 play, 80 yard drive in 44 seconds.
It was a matter of if the Red Birds could hold on to win their first football championship as the Bison had enough time to retake the lead.
North Dakota State’s quarterback, Carson Wentz started the final drive with two pass completions to R.J. Urzendowski for 32 yards and 13 yards.
After two incompletions, Wentz connected another pass with Urzendowski for 33 yards that brought them to the Red Birds’ 5 yard line.
On the next play, Wentz, who finished with 237 passing yards and a score, ran the football into the endzone for a go-ahead touchdown that made it 29-27 with 33 seconds left.
With the point extra blocked, Illinois State sensed an opportunity to win the game.
Roberson started the drive with a 14 yard pass completion for a first down.
After a penalty pushed them back for 5 yards, Roberson rushed for 9 yards with 13 seconds left in the game.
Then Roberson threw an interception to Esley Thornton to allow the Bison to seal their fourth championship.
“Right when that clock hit zero, I had so many emotions I couldn’t say anything,” Wentz said to ESPN.com. “I didn’t know whether to cry or to be happy. It was just unbelievable.”
Though the Bison is the first team in FCS history to win four consecutive national championships, they became the second team to pull off the feat at all levels.
The first team to win four consecutive national championships were Augustana, who won four consecutive national championships at the Division III level from 1983-86.
Video courtesy of North Dakota State Athletics
Learning Life Lessons In Unexpected Places
By Cheval John
Photo courtesy of www.craigmotor.wordpress.com
Sometimes life lessons can come in unexpected places.
Like if you missed your bus to go to a sporting event or you have a flat tire.
The only thing you have control over is how you react to circumstances that is out of your control.
You can choose whether to have a pity party and rain on the parade of people who are having great days or see it as a life lesson.
I had decided to go to downtown Houston to put up a blog post and participate on Twitter chats.
When I missed the bus at a “particular time,” at first, I was mad at myself.
It was freezing cold outside and had to wait about an hour before the next bus arrived.
I could have continued to wallow in self pity.
However, I decided to just enjoyed the scenery and wait patiently.
After the next bus arrived and arrived at a local coffee shop where I normally do some blogging and participate in Twitter chats, a person was at the table where they was only one place where you can plug your computer.
With the batteries running out, I decide to make the most of it and in the process, I ended up chatting with college students and later, some business people who were on their breaks.
If I had arrived earlier, I would have missed out on the opportunity to have a conversation with the people about meaningful topics.
So the next time something does not go your way, take a deep breath and relax.
That could turn out to be a lesson in disguise.
Have you ever experienced a time when things did not go your way and it ended up being a blessing in disguise? You can leave your comments below.
Biggio Earned The Right To Be In The Baseball Hall of Fame
By Cheval John
The city of Houston has a lot to be proud of today.
Craig Biggio, who spent his entire 20-year career with the Houston Astros, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame today on his third try.
“I got a phone call at noon time that will forever change my life and my family’s life,” Biggio said to the Houston Chronicle. “This is a very overwhelming and humbling experience.”
Biggio will join this year’s class with former pitchers Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz on July 26th in Cooperstown, New York.
Biggio was a seven time All-Star and had 3,060 career hits, joining 27 other players in Major League Baseball (MLB) history with 3,000 or more career hits.
He was part of “The Killer Bs” during the majority of the 90s and early 2000s that featured Jeff Bagwell, Derek Bell and Sean Berry.
“Craig deserves it,” said Bagwell to the Houston Chronicle. “It’s about time. I’m ready for July. I’m ready to be sitting there in Cooperstown sweating my butt off and listening to him. It’ll be really, really cool because Randy will be there too.”
Biggio also made his only World Series appearance with the Astros in 2005 which they lost to the Chicago White Sox.
One thing is for certain, Biggio deserved this honor because he played the game of baseball the right way amidst the steroid scandal that plagued the sport for about two decades.
Do you believe that Biggio deserved to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame? You can leave your comments below.
Video courtesy of MLB
How Will You React When Things Goes Wrong?
By Cheval John
When something goes wrong, how will you respond?
Many will think about getting upset with the world and complain about how things are not going their way.
It is very easy to be very cheerful when things are going great.
But your true character will be revealed when the going get tough.
Case in point, the Cincinnati Bengals.
Cincinnati had a 14 year playoff drought prior to the arrival of Marvin Lewis in 2003.
Under his tenure, the Bengals made 6 trips to the post season and lost in every appearance in the first round.
It seemed like when the bright lights shine on the Bengals especially on quarterback Andy Dalton, they shrink under pressure.
Stephen A. Smith has said that Lewis should not continue to be the head coach of the Bengals because of his playoff results.
He really has a point on that assessment because if anyone is going to be regarded as one of the greatest teams, player, or head coach, you must be able to win championships when the spotlight is on you.
Though the Bengals did not have the right players for Mr. Lewis to work with, they still should have found a way to win that elusive playoff game.
If you wilt away under the pressure and have excuses for why you could not deliver a championship or in the case of Mr. Lewis, a playoff victory, then you really can’t handle the expectations that come with the job.
That goes for anyone who is an employee, an entrepreneur, etc.
So if something goes wrong that is not in your control, how are you going to react? You can leave your comments below.
Video courtesy of ESPN First Take
When A Catch Isn’t A Catch
By Cheval John
The Dallas Cowboys was trailing the Green Bay Packers 26-21 with about five minutes left when they decided to go for it on 4th and 2.
The Cowboys were in Green Bay’s end of the field and could have decided to kick a field goal, especially with their kicker Dan Bailey being a clutch player.
Tony Romo, who had a remarkable season especially going 4-0 in December, made a pass to Dez Bryant, who leaped into the air and seemed to had catch the football for a first down completion near the goal line.
However, the officials took a look at the play on replay and then overturned the call, which led to a turnover on downs.
The Packers were able to maintain possession of the football especially when Aaron Rodgers completed a pass to Randall Cobb after the football was deflected for a crucial first down that allowed them to run out the time to secure the win and move on to face the Seattle Seahawks in the AFC Championship Game.
Maybe it was the old saying, “What goes around, comes around,” because the Cowboys had a huge break in their win against the Detroit Lions.
Too bad that break did not help them to possibly win this matchup against Green Bay.
Do you think that the officials made the correct call on Dez Bryant’s appearant catch? You can leave your comments below.
Video courtesy of TYT Sports
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