Tag Archives: sports

Sports

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University of Tennessee footballEven though my husband and I haven’t actually lived there for years, we still consider nearby Tennessee home. It’s where we grew up, it’s where we graduated from college, it’s where our daughters were born, it’s where family and friends are, it’s where we head back to whenever we can. And although I am not especially a University of Tennessee fan, I don’t wish them any particular ill will — we are not UT haters. That being said, when three of your football players get arrested for armed robbery, seems to me that drastic and immediate action is called for. Wouldn’t you think? However, hours after the arrest, UT is still “reviewing” the case. And I know that people who get arrested get due process and a presumption of innocence, but such a namby-pamby delay smacks of “let’s first figure out how badly the loss of these players will affect our football chances before we do anything drastic.” C’mon, people! Guns? Robbery? Hello??? Outta there. Immediately. That’s my .02, anyway. In his sports-editor blog at the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, http://nems360.com/blog/3079620, my husband says it much better. Okay, I feel calmer now. Thank you for listening to me rant and rave. And if it turns out that the football players in question were safe and sound in their dorm rooms studying for finals instead of pulling guns and demanding money on convenience-store customers, I will apologize. Promise. In the meantime, help me solve another mystery — The Case of the Missing Bottle Opener — in my weekly newspaper column at http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20091113/ARTICLES/911135000. No ranting there.

Sports

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 University of Alabama at Birmingham marching bandAs the calendar gets ready to flip over to September, these are exciting days in Alabama. Why, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you — and you know that if you have to ask, you obviously don’t live in Alabama. Because … it’s Football Eve! Finally, after weeks — months? — of anticipation and planning and hard work and sweat and tears, football is here again. Tonight there are a few high school games, with the bulk of the high-school season openers on Friday night. The University of North Alabama, our hometown college that’s always a powerhouse, plays its first game on Saturday, and then next weekend we get down to business as Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss and others show us what they’ve got. All across the state, everybody’s busy checking supplies of school T-shirts, pom-poms, shakers, grills, BBQ and coolers. And of course, just because the season’s starting doesn’t mean that practice time is over. There are still hours ahead of drills and run-throughs under the steamy summer sun as frustrated cries of “Left! Left! You’re supposed to turn left there!” and “Didn’t you see Clint there on the 50-yard line? How could you run over him?” ring out across the practice field. But it’s all worth it on Game Day, as the lights pop on and the crowds gather and the fans follow your every move — roaring approval and rising to their feet in wildly enthusiastic applause for a job well done.

Yup — I love marching band season. Why? What did you think I was talking about???

Basketball

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Getting ready to watch the NCAA men’s basketball championship game tonight? Read my husband’s column in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal today, “Wild Times in SEC Hoops” at http://nems360.com/pages/news_sports, so that during commercial breaks and timeouts you can intelligently discuss 1) the state of Southeastern Confernce basketball, 2) why “strength of schedule” is important and 3) what Kentucky’s new hire means for next season. Or you can get up to get more beer. Your choice.

Bracketology

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Basketball bracketsIt’s that time of year when we all sharpen our pencils and start filling out Sarah Jessica Parkerbrackets in anticipation of some intense and tightly played competition. And we immediately start to question: Are the No. 1 seeds worthy? Can the lower seeds work their way up? How much influence does “body of work” and “strength of schedule” have in the placements? And can we mere observers accurately predict the outcomes of these contests? The stories will unfold in the next several days as fashionista-watchers root for (4) Madonna vs. (13) Miley Cyrus in the Bjork bracket and (4) Sarah Jessica Parker dukes it out with (13) Ashton Kutcher in the Cher bracket. Yes, it’s Fug Madness 2009 over at our favorite celeb-fashion site http://gofugyourself.celebuzz.com, where our Fug Girls have organized the second annual bracket smackdown to name the worst-dressed celebrity of the year. It’s an impressive effort with well-researched archival photos of style choices you do not want to miss.

What? Did you think there was some other bracketology going on today?

Food and More

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Mexican foodI don’t care what you say — I think this is a balanced meal. Look, Mexican foodyou’ve got your dairy (cheese dip) and your grains (tortilla chips). Hot peppers are full of nutritional stuff, and didn’t I read somewhere that beer is pretty much almost nearly just as good for you as red wine? And of course, you can never have too much salsa. This is an example of the weekly date night my husband and I cling to no matter what else is going on. But not just any Mexican restaurant will do. We head to a specific one that we’ve gone to for years. In fact, the waiters don’t even ask us what we want anymore — they’ve practically got it on the table as soon as we sit down.  My husband pours the beers and squeezes the limes and always makes sure I get the coldest mug as we munch chips and dip. Sometimes we order actual food. Sometimes not. But we always have a good time.

Random thought  — Welcome back, Tiger Woods. Hope your knee is better.

Blog recommendation — For a different take on Lent, visit today’s post at A Day That Is Dessert , http://www.leciawphinney.com/. Lecia passes on a wonderful Lent idea from her pastor. Don’t miss it.

Shoes

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red-shoes-2I’m a woman who’s a freelance writer. I write a lot about shoes. My husband’s a man who’s a newspaper sports editor. He writes a lot about … sports. You wouldn’t think that those two worlds would collide, would you? But he pulled it off in his column today for his paper, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, in Tupelo, Mississippi. And he even got me in there! (Thanks, sweetie.) Read it at http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=285705.

And speaking of shoes, these $300 Cole Haan red patent pumps caught my eye at zappos. com. “This posh peep-toe pump is a perfect marriage of comfort and style,” the description says. Yes, indeedy. Is that me all over or what? (With, I’ll admit, an emphasis on the “comfort” part. Gone are the days when I teetered around for 10 hours on 3-inch heels. Sigh.) Anyway, I think these are the perfect Valentine’s Day shoes, paired with a slinky black dress and some great jewelry. Don’t y’all?

Losing Stylishly

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Ouch! Football fans all over the SEC are shaking their heads over sad and unimpressive — but predictable — games on Saturday. Vanderbilt lost its chance of a perfect winning season — and who ever thought we would read those words? — to Mississippi State, Tennessee continues to limp its way to a perfect losing season after a trip to Georgia and Auburn demonstrated its lack of defense as well as offense in a loss to Arkansas. Alabama fans are happy, of course, since Texas picked off top-ranked Oklahoma* and made room for the Tide to move up, thereby validating coach Nick Saban’s multi-million-dollar contract. To fans, at least. And as is the way in the South, football drives fashion. An AP story today reported that Alabama’s rise in fortune has meant a rise in Tide merchandise sales. There are still some brave Auburn holdouts, however, such as Collage Designer Consignment in Birmingham, which had this display at the front of the store recently. Adorable, stylish and loyal, all at the same time. Because true fans never give up, so why not look cute while you’re supporting your team? Even if you’re not shopping for football, Collage has some great buys and a diverse inventory, with jewelry, evening, bridal and plus-sizes. I got a like-new top there for at least a third of retail. You can’t beat that. Now, if only some of that luck would rub off on Auburn. Check out Collage at http://www.shopcollage.com/

* My husband, sports editor of the Tupelo, Miss., Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, pointed out that Alabama this weekend performed the near-miraculous feat of winning twice without even playing, riding to on-paper victories with Oklahoma’s and Auburn’s losses. Is there nothing Saban cannot do???!!!!!!

Apprehension … and Celebration

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I used to get sort of excited when hurricane news took over TV. I mean, who doesn’t like the idea of cozily hunkering down in your home safe and sound while a big storm rages outside? But then Katrina came, and nothing would ever be the same. As Gustav approaches and people in New Orleans and others in the projected path get ready, we can only hope and pray that this time won’t be as bad.

But Alabama folks did get a diversion this weekend, as the Crimson Tide beat Clemson 34-10, effectively taunting naysayers: “We’re baaaaaack!” If you were in the Georgia Dome or watched it on TV (and really, wasn’t the entire state tuned in Saturday night? It would have been a great time to go to Wal-Mart if you needed to.), you could feel the power of the Tide. And everybody is asking this morning — it surely will be the main topic of conversation at church and Sunday dinner — “Is Nick Saban the One, after all? Is he the one destined to return us to greatness?” Stay tuned. It’ll be an interesting season.

And if you want to kick off a what we all hope will be a successful year, go to http://www.erolltide.com/ , where for $18.95 you can order a celebratory “Game Over” T-shirt with the Clemson score.

And oh, yeah, Auburn won, too.