UM Pulls the Upset

It's been a great weekend for UM sports. First on Saturday the football team beat Duke. Then on Sunday the real upset happen. The UM women's soccer team beat the 7th ranked team in the nation, the North Carolina Tar Heels. The football team didn't look all that great at times but they got the win so that's all the matters if you ask me. I would much rather write about the soccer teams win.



For those of you that aren't very knowledgeable on women's collegiate soccer let me put this into context a little. Not only was UNC ranked number 7 but they are also the defending national champions. Combine that with the fact that last year UM went to UNC and got beat 6-1 last year this win has a whole lot of meaning. Plus, as if any more reason to celebrate this win was needed, the Hurricanes are now in first place in the ACC and the only team without a loss in ACC play. Yes it is a young season but it's a lot better to start on top than on the bottom.



The team did pretty much everything right today to hold the Tar Heels without a goal and they looked like very equally matched teams. Miami's goal was scored by the impressing freshman Brittney Steinbruch. It was Steinbruch's 11th goal of the season which is a very impressive number considering that this was only the 10th game of the season. Also the defense shone brightly withstanding fierce pressure from the Tar Heels potent offense on many occasions. This included key defensive plays by Sammy Sanderson, a small but highly energetic defender that doesn't seem to be intimidated by anyone. The defense seemed to be at their best when it was needed most. Every time North Carolina got the ball into the box they were swarmed by UM players and before long the ball was sent skyward the opposite way down the field. Not surprisingly UM was helped by several impressive saves from Lauren McAdam. I know I mention Lauren every time I talk about the soccer team but that is because she impresses me every time I see her in action.

UM hits the road next week but returns back to Cobb Stadium on October 11th to take on Boston College. Look for more updates coming soon.

After over a year and a half the running shoes have been replaced

I finally did it. I got off work today and went on a mission for new running shoes. It wasn't really a mission since I only went to one place, but when the place you go has everything you want to look at then why go anywhere else. I went to Footworks which is just behind the Sunset Mall for anyone that is familiar with Miami.

Footworks is a great store that is all about running. They don't have a giant selection of shoes but they have all the shoes that matter. They don't have many shoes like Nike Shox or Airs but those aren't real running shoes anyways they just call them running shoes so that they have a category to list them in. Plus Footworks provides something that the bigger stores don't. That is service. Everyone that works their knows what they are talking about and can give you advice from their own experience not just what some advertising campaign says.

So when I went in there I knew I wanted to look at Asics Gel-Kayano 13, I've had 2 different versions of this shoe and have been very satisfied, and I also wanted to take a look at the Brooks Trance 7 since Runner's World strongly recommended it. I tried both of them out and gave them both a little jog in the store. The Brooks felt lighter and seemed to breath a little more than the Asics. The Asics on the other had felt like it had more support and definitely had more cushioning in it.

My theory when choosing shoes is that your foot will tell you what you should get. They did and the Asics won out. This was also due to the fact that I have had great success with the previous 2 pairs that I have had and have never had an injury even with all the running that I do. So I walked out of the store with a brand new pair of $135 Asics Gel-Kayano 13s and it is worth every dollar I promise.

I of course had to go out and get my first run in them and I wasn't disappointed. I ran 4 and a half miles tonight and realized that they needed to be broken in a little but the shoes provided great support, a good bounce under my foot, and felt good the whole way. My only complaint is that they are to white and look way to clean. That is because they are new though a few good puddles will fix that problem. I'll keep you all updated on how they work out for me but I expect nothing but good things.

UM soccer, ACC style

Well folks I went to another soccer game tonight. It was the ACC opener for UM and they played NC State. UM won 2-1 and looked like a very good team tonight.

It seems that the young players are starting to mesh with the verterans and the ball movement was very impressive at times. Another good performance by goalie Lauren McAdam and some great offensive play made for a very good looking team. The improvements over the USF game were major. I think a lot of credit needs to go to the coaching staff for that and they did a great job.

This was just the warm-up to this weekend though. The North Carolina Tar heels come to town on Sunday and will be by far the biggest home game of the season so far. UNC is ranked 6th in the nation and are the defending national champs. I'm certainly planning on bieng their and I will give you all an update of how it goes. If UM plays like they did tonight it will make for a very good game. Stay tuned for more.

Sharkwater

Ok, this is my third attempt at this one.


Last Saturday I found myself on campus for a movie. The movie was called Sharkwater and Rob Stewart was the director. Most of you probably haven't heard of it but I defenitly reccomend you see it. It is a documentary about sharks and more specifically shark finning and the consequences the trade of shark fins could have on the environment.

This movie features some stunning video of sharks and the ocean in general. It is a very informative movie that teaches you a lot most people probably don't know about sharks and their role in the ocean's ecosystem. For example if you take sharks out of the ocean you are greatly risking lowering the amount of oxygen we have to breath. This is because sharks control the population of plankton eating fish and the plankton provide a very large amount of oxygen.

Not only is the movie educational but it is also very well done and entertaining. No one I talked to didn't have an emotional response from this movie. It is by far the best documentary I have ever seen and it supports a very good cause. I greatly reccomend you check it out.

I'm back after a few days

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days. Life has been a little crazy. I have a test on Monday night and then one on Tuesday morning so I have been studying most of the weekend. Taking a little break right now. Of course me being busy means that the running is taking a hit. I forced myself to go out today between rain storms and get a good 6 mile run in. It felt great and got me ready for a night of studying. Well as ready as I could ever be for something boring and tedious like that.

The run was fairly good. Realizing that I need to get some new shoes soon. The Asics are starting to die on me. Still have a few good miles in them though. Time to start shopping around though to figure out what the next pair will be. The Gel Kayanos have treated me real well so they have the early advantage. Open to suggestions on that though.

Well that's about all I have for the night. I will post a lot better one tomorrow on something a lot more important than shoes so be on the lookout for that.

The U making a statement

Well I've taken a couple of days off. Mostly because there hasn't been a whole lot to talk about. A quick check of the ESPN front page shows nothing all that important. Floyd Landis lost his case. No shock there honestly. A little more talk about Bill Belichick, that story is overplayed now that's for sure. Oh and finally Ken Griffey Jr. is hurt again. So looks like I'm going to have to think outside the box.



I'm watching the UM vs. Texas A&M game as I type this so why not give my opinion on the Miami football team. I'll openly admit I wasn't a Miami fan before I came to school here so I haven't experienced any of the really good times as a Canes fan. I have however seen my fair share of victories and also disappointing defeats.



Let me start off by saying that I wanted Randy Shannon as the head coach before he was even named a candidate. The decision to hire him was one of the best the UM Athletic Department has made in quite a while. Shannon has given the team a makeover to tighten things up and it seems to have translated to the field. Yes they did get embarrassed by Oklahoma but a loss there was expected. Overall they have looked like a better more disciplined team than last year and I think a lot of credit for that should go to Shannon.



14-0 now and Miami just got an interception. They are looking real good tonight. Hopefully they can carry this through the rest of the night and into the rest of the season.



GO CANES!!!!!!!

Mark Ecko is a genius

For those of you who haven't heard the news yet the buyer of Barry Bonds' 756th home run ball was Mark Ecko. The same guy behind the Ecko clothing line. I'm not a big fan of his clothes but he has done a great job of spreading his name and making himself a big player in the urban clothing market. Well his marketing excellence is on display once again.

He paid over $750,000 for the ball and now he is going to give it away. That is not the beauty of his plan though. He is making it an online vote as to what he does with the ball. With 2 of the choices the ball will end up in the hall of fame, one as is and the other with a asterisk on the ball. The third option would send it into space, otherwise known as just getting rid of it.

So why would a man spend that much money just to give it away? Well one he can afford it. Secondly, he is going to get a lot more value out of it. The second you vote you can go to his website and the fact that his company is named after him means he get all kinds of free publicity. This is all positive publicity and it's all free for him. As long as he plays his cards right he will have 3 peak days of publicity and lots more in between. The timing has to be right for everything. This is the first day, the second day will be when the winning choice is announced, and the 3rd will be when he donates it to Cooperstown. I'm positive he will make sure there are lots of cameras around for his delivery. There are a lot of people that could learn from his example. Congrats to Mark Ecko for being an amazing businessman.

Running is supposed to be relaxing right????

OK, last night after a couple days off I went out and ran. I tried to make up for the time off and went for the 6 mile loop that I have discovered. If nothing else the distance made my weekly running total look decent. I was glad I got out there and did it but it didn't have the relaxing side effects that a lot of my runs have. This is due to several factors:

1) The heat index was at a nice cool 91 degrees. Needless to say my shirt was pretty well soaked through with sweat by the end. I went out and bought a couple NikeFit shirts to get the moisture off my skin but I quickly discovered that they only work for so long before their is just to much moisture. I really enjoy a good sweat though it just makes me feel like I have actually achieved something. A nice cool breeze would be a welcome addition though.

2) Their are way to many cars in south Florida. One road that I run along is what I guess you would call a major side road but it is still only a 2 lane street. Their are just a whole lot of cars on it. In order to make my route six miles I have to cross this road 4 times. Otherwise it would only be 5 and a half miles if I didn't add in 2 trips around a little loop. So the stress of trying not to get run over isn't really necessary but I figure if I'm going to run down here I'm going have to live with it.

3) Everyone in south Florida has a dog. Now I don't have a problem with that. Your pets are your business. It's when the people are talking on their cell phone and not really paying attention to what their dog is doing and how far its leash is stretched out. Their are also the people that know what their dog is doing and just don't care. I usually give every dog a nice wide gap to avoid tripping over a leash or the dog itself. Plus that avoids the risk of the dog suddenly turning into Cujo and biting me.

All in all this makes it hard to zone out and just get lost in my thoughts. I'm very quickly realizing that is one of my favorite parts of running, the fact that you can just completely glaze you eyes over and sort everything out in your head. I'm having a much harder time doing that lately though with the obstacle course that is my running route. Sometimes when I run I feel like I'm playing that old Nintendo game Paperboy. Don't worry faithful readers it's going to take a lot more than a few dogs and cars to break my running habit. Now it's time for class.

College Football Week 3

Yet another week of college football has ended. There were several scares for the top teams and several upsets;
Louisville got upset by Kentucky
Arkansas got upset by Alabama
UCLA got embarrassed by Utah
Georgia Tech lost to a lower ranked team in Boston College

Besides the UCLA upset none of these are completely shocking but it does serve as further proof that the people that make the polls don't know much. I'm a big fan of the idea that a poll shouldn't be released until about the first week of October. They are just way to important to have teams be ranked this early with so little information out there about them. Pretty much anyone can look at the polls at the start of the season and tell that the rankings are more influenced by the school's name more than the actual players they have on the field.

When national championships are decided by polls they should be based on the performance on the field and not the logo on the helmet. I can almost guarantee that their wouldn't be nearly as much controversy with the BCS if the polls didn't come out until a few weeks into the season. So until we actually get a legitimate playoff system in college football they at least need to tweak the polling system.

OK, I'm done ranting now. Back to watching the Colts and the Titans.

College Women's Soccer

Tonight I went to the first home game for the UM women's soccer team. They played University of South Florida and UM lost 3-2. It was a game that UM probably should have won but a few tough breaks went against them and in the end they couldn't get the victory. In my opinion they did look like the better team on the field.



Within the game I was very impressed by the performance of Um midfielder Sheuneen Ta. She posses a remarkable amount of on ball handling skills. She adds a fair amount of excitement to the game, something that isn't really thought about when you think of women's soccer. I'm not in any way experienced enough with soccer though to really critique anything that she does or doesn't do but I would like to see her attack the goal more.

Also when a person watched UM soccer they can't help but notice or hear the intensity that goal keeper Lauren McAdam brings to the game. She always commands the defense in front of her and seems very effective in her leadership most of the time. She is also very fearless in the way she plays and definitely needs to be congratulated for that.

Now on to what I observed. The crowd was a pretty good sized one. This was the first home match of the season so a decent crowd would be much more likely. Also it was against a somewhat local opponent so their was a decent sized contingent from USF there. Now the real question to be answered is will the team keep to draw decent crowds or will they fall off. The crowd will certainly be smaller on Sunday. The game is at 1 in the afternoon and I'm not even that crazy to go to a game at that time of the day in south Florida.

I'm always intrigued by the types of crowds at the non-major collegiate sports, especially the women's events. Usually it's a lot of family members and kids. Heck at $5 a person it makes for a cheap night of entertainment for a family, especially in south Florida. The crowds are never all that enthusiastic though. I like to think that is because they are more their to enjoy the sport rather than to scream their hearts out like some sports fan seem to want to do. I don't think the relative lack of cheering is a bad thing as long as the people are enjoying the game. Of course it can be more fun with a loud cheering crowd. What I would like to see now is a loyal fan base being built for sports like soccer. They can be just as good of entertainment as a football or basketball game just people don't know about it. A winning team always helps though and UM isn't off to a good start in that respect.

I would encourage anyone that reads this to go out to some of the collegiate sports that don't draw big crowds. It's like going to a bar to see a live band. You get an intimate experience and a lot of the same enjoyment as a big time show.

The Running Log

As my first action on this blog I added a summary of my running log over on the side. This is linked directly to my running log on Runner's World. Now to all my fellow runners I reccomend this thing b/c A. it's free and B. it's pretty useful to keep track of everything.

Now I have 2 reasons for putting it up. First, the information it may be relevant to some of my posts so maybe it will help you understand what I am talking about a little better. My second reason is I hope it motivates me a little more to go out and run if I know it's all public whether I have been running or not. It is certainly in no way me trying to show off. If it was it would be a horrible idea b/c I don't plan on hardly ever running more than 25 miles in a week and I know there are a lot of people that run that in a day at times. As a side note I started using it on August 15th so that is when the numbers for the year and overall total start.

The real question now is will it work? I usually don't need motivation to run but when it's hot and humid like it has been lately I need a little extra. Trust me when it finally cools down some the numbers will look a lot better. So that should explain the reasons for the running log.

Introductions are a necessity

OK, so here it is. I thought why not start a blog myself. Might as well move the world one more blog closer to actually overflowing the Internet. I'll do my best to do my part.

Now for the introduction part of this. I am currently a senior at the University of Miami. I am studying Sport Administration and it should come as no surprise to any one sports consumes a large part of my life. My biggest passion is baseball and I hope to be working in professional baseball very soon. Besides also going to school I spend time running and just generally trying to enjoy life while I can.

Now you might be wondering what you can expect from this blog. Most of it will be sports related. At times I will discuss running and my thoughts on my experiences and thoughts on the whole activity. Then at other times I might just go on a random tangent and talk about something completely unrelated to either thing.

My goal with this blog isn't to waste your time it is to simply voice some of my opinions and maybe generate some discussion on different things. So I greatly encourage people to comment and to stay tuned to what's to come.