The latest AP Polls came out today. Here are the division polls involving area teams.
DIVISION 3:
1. East Grand Rapids (6-0) 50
2. St. Joseph (6-0) 42
3. Bay City John Glenn (6-0) 39
4. Chelsea (5-1) 33
5. Linden (6-0) 32
6. Stevensville Lakeshore (5-1) 23
7. Mason (5-1) 17
8. Adrian (5-1) 12
9. Petoskey (6-0) 11
10. Lansing Sexton (5-1) 8
Others receiving votes: Ferndale (6-0) 4, Warren Fitzgerald (6-0) 3, Grand Rapids Christian (5-1) 1
DIVISION 4:
1. Marine City (6-0) 48
2. Holland Christian (6-0) 45
3. Grand Rapids South Christian (6-0) 39
4. Goodrich (6-0) 36
5. Milan (6-0) 28
6. Hamilton (6-0) 27
7. Coopersville (5-1) 23
8. Cheboygan (5-1) 10
9. Muskegon Orchard View (5-1) 9
10. Paw Paw (5-1) 4
Others receiving votes: Grand Rapids Catholic Central (5-1) 3, Inkster (5-1) 1, Dowagiac (5-1) 1, Three Rivers (5-1) 1
DIVISION 6:
1. Saginaw Nouvel (6-0) 50
2. Montague (6-0) 44
3. Iron Mountain (6-0) 39
4. Kalamazoo Christian (6-0) 37
5. St. Charles (6-0) 27
6. Constantine (5-1) 21
7. Blissfield (5-1) 19
8. Carrollton (6-0) 17
9. Hartford (6-0) 6
10. Negaunee (5-1) 5
Others receiving votes: Leslie (5-1) 4, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (5-1) 4, Cass City (5-1) 1, Clare (5-1) 1
DIVISION 7:
1. Grass Lake (6-0) 46
2. Mendon (6-0) 43
3. Ubly (6-0) 39
4. Cassopolis (6-0) 33
5. Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest (6-0) 30
6. Royal Oak Shrine (6-0) 29
7. Reading (6-0) 18
8. Traverse City St. Francis (5-1) 14
9. Dryden (6-0) 6
9. White Pigeon (5-1) 6
Others receiving votes: Detroit Loyola (5-1) 3, Blanchard Montabella (5-1) 2, Decatur (5-1) 2, Fulton-Middleton (5-1) 1, West Iron County (5-1) 1
First starting with Division 3, St.Joe moved up 2 spots to #2, which is in line with the Free Press rankings yesterday.  Since East Grand Rapids should go undefeated the rest of the season, the Bears will probably own the #2 spot, unless there is an unforeseen collapse. The Lancers moved down 3 spots to #6. They are #4 in the Free Press rankings. I felt they should have dropped to around #5 myself. Lakeshore fans can say we got or that they have the better team despite the loss. I will simply point at the rankings and ask, Who is #2?  Moving on
Paw Paw entered the rankings in Division 4 (#10) for the first time this season and I feel that is well deserved, despite their loss to South Haven a couple weeks ago.  Are they better than Dowagiac, who only got honorable mention? Thats for the game to decide later in the season.
The undefeated Hartford Indians have cracked the Top 10 in Division 6 as they check in at #9. I felt Hartford should have been ranked last week, so this is a bit over due in my opinion.
Cassopolis is ranked 4th in Division 7, which seems just about right to me. Their real test will come in the playoffs, as Im sure they have another date with Mendon in the future. The Rangers got smoked by Mendon the last time they met in the playoffs, so it will be interesting to see if Cass can get that monkey off their backs come playoff time. Cass will not lose another game in the regular season.  Decatur dropped out of the Division 7 Top 10 following their loss to Hartford. Decatur remains ranked in the Free Press rankings.  With Cass, Mendon Decatur all poised to make the playoffs, that will make for a very interesting district.

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Springfield entered the game 1-3 and were slight underdogs going into the game against the Jaguars. RCW lost 34-20. This puts them at 3-2, and based on the points system in Section 5A, they are tied for 4th place with B-B-E, even though we are 2-3. Springfield did a BIG favor to us by beating RCW. This was a must-LOSE for RCW in order for B-B-E to have a chance at finishing in the top-four of Section 5A, assuming we can finish 4-4.

Next week RCW HAS to lose to Wabasso, and even though Wabasso is not as strong as they have been in past years, I think the Rabbits will pull off the win. That game will be in Danube. You can bet that my sources in the Danube/Olivia area will be pressed to keep me updated on that game. I think RCW will win their final two games, against two pretty bad teams (Lamberton, Red Rock Central...and Southwestern United, a conglomerate of Heron Lake and Brewster in extreme southwestern Minnesota).
RCW has to finish 5-3 in order to fall behind the Jaguars in the final standings.

There is a good chance Dawson-Boyd could also finish 5-3 at the end of the year. This would be HUGE! They have to win home games against two very tough teams, Adrian and Maccray. Dawson-Boyd's 5-3 would give them 31 points, and if B-B-E goes 4-4 we would finish with 32 section points. The Jaguars just could take 3rd place in the final section standings if we go 4-4, and RCW and Dawson-Boyd both finish 5-3.

I think the top two final teams in Section 5A will be Minneota and K-M-S. Any betting man would say the same. As of now we don't care who #1 and #2 is, we just need to take care of business and finish 4-4 going into playoffs.

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James Hardy will prove to be a key red zone threat and Lee Evans will show that he truly is a top-notch receiver.
AFC North- Pittsburgh Steelers- Big Ben and Co. have been there before and are in a weak division said.
AFC South- Indianapolis Colts- Yes, they are struggling. Yes, Bob Sanders is hurt, but Center Jeff Saturday will return soon and as long as Peyton Manning is under center, the Colts will take a weaker than expected AFC South.
AFC West- Denver Broncos- This will be not be a walk in the park. The Charges gave the Broncos a run for their money in week 2 and they will do the same for the rest of the year.
AFC Wild Card- Patriots and Chargers- The Patriots were never a one dimensional team and all they know is winning (other than the last Superbowl). Quarterback Matt Cassell does not have to put out a Brady-like effort in order for this team to succeed. The Chargers missed the Superbowl by one game last year. With an overall weak AFC, Phillip Rivers and L.T should be able to lead their team to the playoffs.
NFC East- Cowboys- They have an explosive offense and a pretty solid defense (other thanthat Monday against the Eagles) Dont worry Giants fans I havent counted you guys out yet.
NFC North- Green Bay Packers- Aaron Rodgers is playing like he has something to prove. Oh, wait, he does. He has shown (so far) that he is a smart quarterback with a lot of confidence. It helps that they are in a terrible division.
NFC South- Carolina Panthers- They are playing solid defense but they will face stiff competition from the Buccaneers. Their entire season rests on the arm and leadership of Jake Delhomme. If he gets injured, give the division to the Bucs.
NFC West- This division is barely worth writing about. The Matt Leinart-less Arizona Cardinals will roll with the division. I honestly dont think they will lose a divisional game.
NFC Wild Card- Giants and Eagles- The Giants now know how to win and it may be ugly at times, but they will find a way to get into the playoffs. The Eagles have a high powered offense and a defense good enough to help them win games. Donovan McNabb looks even stronger and healthier than he did four years ago.
SUPERBOWL WINNERS
Here is my Gutsy (dumb) (wishfull thinking) (Chris Berman 49ers Bills) (you gotta believe) pick-
Bills defeat Packers 24-17
Heres what will probably happen
Cowboys beat the Patriots 41-27
One more thing..the New York Bretts are overrated.

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James Hardy will prove to be a key red zone threat and Lee Evans will show that he truly is a top-notch receiver.
AFC North- Pittsburgh Steelers- Big Ben and Co. have been there before and are in a weak division said.
AFC South- Indianapolis Colts- Yes, they are struggling. Yes, Bob Sanders is hurt, but Center Jeff Saturday will return soon and as long as Peyton Manning is under center, the Colts will take a weaker than expected AFC South.
AFC West- Denver Broncos- This will be not be a walk in the park. The Charges gave the Broncos a run for their money in week 2 and they will do the same for the rest of the year.
AFC Wild Card- Patriots and Chargers- The Patriots were never a one dimensional team and all they know is winning (other than the last Superbowl). Quarterback Matt Cassell does not have to put out a Brady-like effort in order for this team to succeed. The Chargers missed the Superbowl by one game last year. With an overall weak AFC, Phillip Rivers and L.T should be able to lead their team to the playoffs.
NFC East- Cowboys- They have an explosive offense and a pretty solid defense (other thanthat Monday against the Eagles) Dont worry Giants fans I havent counted you guys out yet.
NFC North- Green Bay Packers- Aaron Rodgers is playing like he has something to prove. Oh, wait, he does. He has shown (so far) that he is a smart quarterback with a lot of confidence. It helps that they are in a terrible division.
NFC South- Carolina Panthers- They are playing solid defense but they will face stiff competition from the Buccaneers. Their entire season rests on the arm and leadership of Jake Delhomme. If he gets injured, give the division to the Bucs.
NFC West- This division is barely worth writing about. The Matt Leinart-less Arizona Cardinals will roll with the division. I honestly dont think they will lose a divisional game.
NFC Wild Card- Giants and Eagles- The Giants now know how to win and it may be ugly at times, but they will find a way to get into the playoffs. The Eagles have a high powered offense and a defense good enough to help them win games. Donovan McNabb looks even stronger and healthier than he did four years ago.
SUPERBOWL WINNERS
Here is my Gutsy (dumb) (wishfull thinking) (Chris Berman 49ers Bills) (you gotta believe) pick-
Bills defeat Packers 24-17
Heres what will probably happen
Cowboys beat the Patriots 41-27
One more thing..the New York Bretts are overrated.

Similar posts: football playoffs

All because I'm a man of the people.....
STAR-NEWS FOOTBALL RANKINGS EXPLAINED
1. ST. FRANCIS (3-0) -- (Previously No. 1) The Golden Knights are holding strong to the No. 1 spot. They played impressive against Burroughs last week. Aside from having a great coaching staff led by Jim Bonds and a superb running back in Dietrich Riley, St. Francis has a great supporting cast in quarterback Justin Sciarra who completed 11 of 15 passes for 103 yards and one touchdown. Evan King is another solid back. He doesn't have the speed like Riley but he is a heckuva strong player, like when he ran over two or three defenders at the goal to score. Chris Sember played well at receiver and Malik Speed gives the Golden Knights another speedster. Don't be surprised of St. Francis blows up Rio Mesa.
2. MUIR (2-1) -- (Previously No. 2) The Mustangs probably played their toughest games in the nonleague season. Beating the likes of Diamond Ranch and Venice helps Muir make a strong case for the No. 1 spot. But lets be honest, I think they're at least half a step behind St. Francis. Muir will probably go unbeaten the rest of the season. They had a week off so expect Muir to light it up against Glendale. It'll be close to start but the Mustangs pull away big time in the second half.
3. ROSEMEAD (2-1) -- (Previously No. 3) Lets be honest, in this area there is St. Francis, Muir and then everybody else. Besides those two teams, I think the Panthers can compete with just about everybody else in the area including a healthy Arcadia team. Rosemead is very physical up front, arguably the most physical team aside from the two teams above. Tra Sumlar did not play last week but to see Rosemead get blown out was a bit of a surprise. The Panthers are the kind of team year in and year out where you can always count on them to have a 7-3, 8-2 season. Rosemead will prove to be too much for Temple City on Friday.
4. SAN MARINO (3-0) -- (Previously No. 5) So the Titans beat what is supposed to be a good La Salle team but aside from that San Marino has not been tested. Hoover was a nice confident-booster so expect the Titans to finally get challenged when they host Cantwell. Still, it should not go unnoticed the fact that this Titans team is a much different team we almost sadly were beginning to get used to. San Marino can put up some points and if they can do the same against Cantwell, which I think they can even though Robledo doesn't think so, then we'll find out how good these guys really are. It won't get any easier for San Marino the following week when they take on San Gabriel, the supposed football program sponsored by yours truly and the Star-News. Ha, hilarious.
5. SAN GA
IEL (2-2) -- (Previously No. 8) The Matadors move up three spots from last week. The Matadors rolled through South Pasadena but had a hard time against Cathedral and Serra. The true measuring stick was going to be Temple City which had just come off a tough loss to Alhambra. San Gabriel proved its worth when it initiated a 90-yard drive which proved to be the winning drive. I said the TC-SG game was going to be close and that the Matadors would pull away. People called me crazy but that's exactly how it turned out.
6. ARCADIA (1-2) -- (Previously No. 4) The Apaches proved that when healthy they can compete. The team we saw against St. Francis and Lynwood is clearly not the same without Todd Golper. Fortunately for Arcadia they play Hoover so they should record a W and build its confidence with plenty of scoring. If the Apaches struggle WITHOUT Golper, who is not expected to play, then Arcadia is in much more trouble than it thinks. If Golper returns healthy by the Glendale game then don't expect Arcadia to miss the playoffs. It should be noted that Golper has not played since St. Francis and won't play this week. My feeling? I feel sorry on the first running play by Glendale. That RB is gonna get KO'd.
7. MONROVIA (2-2) -- (Previously No. 7) We all knew Marquise Williams was talented. And with a new coach it was only a matter of time until Williams felt comfortable with the new offense and schemes. It's looking like he, Nick Bueno and Kendall Boggs are finally feeling comfortable. And it's looking like Monrovia and TC will be vying for the Rio Hondo League title. It might be premature to say such a thing but at this point my money's on those two programs. A lot of guys don't know about Beckman but having previously worked in Orange County I can tell you Monrovia shutdown a good offensive team in the Patriots. I feel that victory was when the Wildcats finally turned the corner.
8. MARANATHA (3-0) -- (Previously No. 9) Maranatha had a bye but still they moved up largely in part because of TC's loss and yet another come-from-behind victory by Alhambra. I would bet that if the Minutemen played against Alhambra or TC that would be a close game. Maranatha needs to take care of business on Friday against Mojave if it wants to stay at No. 8. Last year, the Minutemen were humbled when they traveled to Mojave and lost. To put it best, Coach Joel Murphy said it was embarrassing.
9. ALHAM
A (2-1) -- (Previously No. 10) These boys need to get their act together. They've been having to come-from-behind in their last two wins. Mitchell Crockom, as good as he is, is proving to be prone to fumbles. Dude needs to hold on to the ball tighter. Alhambra is an OK team right now at best but if they can find a way to add a running game to its attack then they can become a superb team and a force to be reckoned in the Almont League. Silly mistakes, fumbles and penalties will hurt much more when they run into more disciplined teams come league.
10. TEMPLE CITY (1-2) -- (Previously No. 6) I'm not one to question any coach's decisions on the field. I'm more curious than anything as to why Joey Stewart was not carrying the ball as many times as he did in the first half. Things seemed to be working when he had 18 carries in the first half and from what I've read and heard he had only four carries in the second half. And then you ask Stewart to give you a first down on fourth and 2 at midfield? Not sure about that. The Rams no doubt are a battle-tested team. I'll go on the record here and say that if Temple City loses on Friday that won't be enough to drop them from the polls. But to suddenly be 1-3 after such an impressive start will be a bit of a mystery.

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Mendenhall is out for the season after suffering a shoulder injury on Monday night . . . Lions RB Rudi Johnson has replaced Kevin Smith as the team's starter in the backfield . . . Bengals QB Carson Palmer plans on playing this weekend after sitting out against the Browns on Sunday . . . Browns QB Derek Anderson has a better grip on his starting gig after the team's win over the weekend . . .

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I can not wait for the real football season to get under way, the team has been practicing for a couple of weeks and the real season starts in September. I have followed the Tennessee Titians since they were the Houston Oilers and had Bum Phillips as their head coach. One thing I remember was that he never wore his hat inside a dome to a game, he said that his Mama told him never to wear his hat inside, even to a football game. I am not sure what kind of team we will have but it may be a very interesting team if all the parts hold up their end. The one I am thinking might be the weak link is our young quarterback, Vince Young. If he has a good season we may make a long run in the playoffs and if he locks up it is going to be a very long season.

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Listen to your local newspaper read to you by AudioNewsstand’s virtual newscasters. AudioNewsstand automatically delivers your chosen content to your computer each morning. Enjoy a daily digest of the top stories; listen to briefs by news categories, or listen to the entire newspaper. Listen at your desk or take it with you on your iPod or MP3 Player.

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It was loud and confusing as he tried to listen to them debate what the town needed most water, electricity, a police station.
I want to hear everything you have to say. But I can only understand one of you at a time, Hoffman said through a translator.
Hoffman would later learn from culture and language instructors that he had made a serious error by seeming to dishonor the elders by quieting the debate. That could make villagers refuse to aid his troops or even aid Taliban insurgents.
But this was not Afghanistan. And on this day there would be no retaliation. This was just practice.
The training taking place this month in the Mojave Desert at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center aims to give troops deploying to Afghanistan a preview of not only the terrain but also the culture and customs. Helping out with the training are native Afghans under contract with the military.
When the Marines first come here, they dont know anything, said Ahmed Mansur, one of the Afghan trainers. They dont know how to talk to the village elder. They dont know they cant search the mosque. They dont know you can never talk to a woman.
The program follows President Bushs promise to take a larger, more visible role in the war in Afghanistan. In his Sept. 9 speech, Bush outlined what he called a quiet surge of forces there and said even more would be sent soon.
The Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division was preparing to go to Iraq this fall when it was ordered to instead replace a battalion due to return home from Afghanistan.
As a result, the Marines spent the better part of September immersed in Afghan combat and culture training scenarios at Twentynine Palms.
The quick shift did not hinder troops because of similarities in combat between the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, said Col. David Odom, the battalion commander. Still, there were enough differences to make some Afghan training essential.
The program takes a page from the Marine Corps Iraqi program, which features towns filled with role players who replicate Iraqi life.
Maj. Matt Good, the operations officer for urban warfare training at the base, said events occurring in Afghanistan from car bombings to Taliban attacks on outposts are put immediately into the combat training scenarios.
The lessons have been learned in blood, he said.
Useful, too, is the American experience with Afghan villagers, many of whom have either had no previous contact with coalition troops or have been made promises by troops that never came to fruition.
So the training exposes Marines to everything from drinking tea with village elders to learning how to search people.
If we dont have street credibility, we are much less effective, Good said.
The village, known as Doab, isnt modeled on any specific place. But it includes what Marines might find in a typical village in southern Afghanistan, such as a mosque and farm houses and bullet-riddled, burnt-out cars that litter the streets.
At one point in the training, Hoffman walked through the village surrounded by his men, but without his rifle. It was something he would have done in an Iraqi village to show townspeople he felt secure. But in Afghanistan, trainers told him, it makes him a target for insurgents.
re going to see mistakes here. We need to make mistakes so we can learn from them, said Hoffman, 31, of Naperville, Ill.
During a recent scenario, Marines learned never to speak to Afghan women and to direct all questions to husbands. They learned to ask the permission of the village elder to enter the town and search it.
They also learned using the Afghan police and army to approach villagers with requests met much less resistance than doing it themselves.
Mansur, 27, of Tracy, Calif., portrayed an Afghan farmer during the exercises. Mansur served in the Afghan army before moving to the United States in 2001.
Many other role players refused to be identified or photographed, citing fears of Taliban retribution against relatives back in Afghanistan. But Mansur said many were like him and believe they are helping prevent possible misunderstandings that could be fatal.
We have to teach them so they dont get killed or kill somebody they shouldn he said.

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Finals both get rolling this week, while the drivers of the Sprint Cup Series will head to Talladega for Sunday's Amp Energy 500 . . . those first NHL regular season games will take place in Europe over the weekend, with the Rangers and Lightning in Prague, and the Penguins and Senators in Stockholm . . . college football gets started again Tuesday, with Florida Atlantic at Middle Tennessee.

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I recently figured out all my favorite sports team problem I had with switching all the time every week lol. But i figured out finally who im going to be a fan of and most of the time i always spent worrying about what others would say but this is how its going to go now on and I am really going to try and stick with it rather anyone believes me or not! But i do want people to believe me lol.
College Football: Notre Dame
Michigan State Spartans
Major League Baseball: Chicago Cubs  (will always be my team now on)
even if their crappy next season!
College Basketball: Michigan State Spartans  (will be my only favorite team)
for basketball and will never change again i will honestly not to try and change even if they end up crappy this season and next and so on.
College Hockey: Michigan Wolverines  ( will be my only favorite team)
will like them every hockey season!
NFL: Indianapolis Colts  ( will always my favorite team) even if they end up having a bad season this year and it looks as though they will be bad i will always be a colts fan.
NHL Hockey: This is no suprise Id been a Detroit Redwings fan for the last 10 years I just wish I could have had one team for 10 years for college football like i did for hockey but anyway the wings will be my team
MLS Soccer: DC United ( will always be my team) even if i never watch a game.

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The first, and most intrinsic to many RPG systems, is failure by dice. This really cant be attributed to anything but Lady Luck saying no. Maybe its rolling a one-digit number on a save, or botching that vital Investigation roll. Either way, its all in chances hands. Now, dice failure on its own tends not to be “bad” failure, since it is next to impossible to attribute to GM malice. However, in a noncombat situation, this can edge into bad failure by cutting off a chokepoint. For instance, there may be a vital clue that can only be reached through a very specific roll, and nobody can make that roll. If thats the case, and dice failure occurs, theres justification for people being angry; after all, if its that important to the storyline, why is it left up to chance and accessible only once?
The second is failure by player. As the name suggests, the root of this sort of failure is ostensibly within the players themselves. Sometimes its innocuous, like slightly misjudging the location of the dragon, or that the torch is on the left side of the hall. Other times its a bit less forgivable, like failure to make sure everyone who “knows the plan” actually understands what the plan is, or someone just not realizing that walking around with obvious weapons is an invitation to trouble, or misjudging the radius of a fireball. The stories youre likeliest to hear about this kind, though, are out and out poor judgment and stupidity: Attempting to win the queen over with a demonstration of the characters dazzling range of “Yo momma” jokes, or throwing an iron helmet down the hall of the prison theyre supposed to be escaping from quietly. Ordinarily, this one shouldnt be grounds for complaint—after all, actions have consequences. But when the group just doesnt realize how bad an idea that particular plan was, theyre less likely to listen to “What were you thinking?” and more likely to call shenanigans. Irritatingly enough, the kinds of people likeliest to make these mistakes are the least likely to admit that they are mistakes.
The last is failure by plot: This is what happens when, for the story to progress, someone has to be unable to fulfill one of their plans. Perhaps they need to lose a battle. Or cant realize early that the traitor really is that charming politician theyve been defending. This one is the likeliest to have both “good” and “bad” failure depending on how its played. On the one hand, these failures often enhance the plot, prevent the group from getting too cocky, open new opportunities or otherwise improve the game. On the other hand, here also lies railroading, the removal of agency, the ending satisfying to none but the GM, and other irritations. This one requires careful control.

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passed away Tuesday ["Goodbye, Moose", myself, Queen's Journal]. Interestingly, the only people in the stadium I heard talking during it were the CFRC types who were just starting their broadcast: a bit disappointing from a Queen's perspective.

T-5: One of the Shriners carries out the pre-game kickoff, and does much better than the majority of the types who try to do so at Queen's. Note for those who complain about music at Gaels' games: it's here too. We just had the intro of "Welcome to the Jungle" clashing with one of the Queen's Bands Scottish pieces.

First quarter:

- Toronto is kicking off. The kickoff is booted to the Gaels' 15, where Jimmy Allin makes the catch and returns it 14 yards. Queen's will start on their own 29.

- Queen's quarterback Dan Brannagan starts with a 5-yard pass attempt to Scott Valberg, who can't make the catch.

- On second down, Brannagan throws a bomb down the middle for Blaise Morrison, who's in single coverage, but the ball is too far. Dan Village comes into punt.

- Village hits it 41 yards, but the Blues bring it back seven. First down Toronto on their 49.

- Two Queen's linemen break through and hurry QB David Hamilton. He gets the handoff off and Toronto picks up five yards.

- Toronto runs a trick play, handing to running back/receiver Mark Stinson, an ex-quarterback, who fires a deep bomb to a wide open Drew Meerveld. Meerveld runs in for the TD, but the play's called back due to a penalty.

- Good pressure from Queen's forces an incomplete pass. Stinson punts for Toronto, and his punt sails out at Queen's 34.

- Mike Giffin rumbles up the middle on his first carry of the game and beats everyone for a 74-yard run. He's brought down by a last-ditch tackle at the 2.

- The Gaels run, but get nowhere. Second and goal.

- Giffin tries an off-tackle run to the outside, breaks one tackle but is dragged down at the 1 by two defenders. Third and goal.

- Brannagan sneaks through the middle for the TD. I like that call. Some conservative coaches would have hit the FG after being stopped twice on short runs, but Pat Sheahan elects to go for the seven points, and it pays off in a big way. It wasn't that much of a risk, as they were pretty darn close to the goal line in the first place, but still, a good move. Village hits the EP to make it 7-0 Queen's.

- Village kicks off, and the Blues let the ball bounce. Peter Boshyk swoops in and grabs it for Queen's, giving them a first down on Toronto's 27. Horrible play on special teams by the Blues: that could come back to haunt them.

- Brannagan fumbles the snap, and is sacked for a 16-yard loss. 2nd and 26 from the Toronto 43.

- Brannagan steps up to throw and is hit. The ball goes into the turf. Third down, and Queen's will punt. They wasted that chance.

- Good punt from Village to Toronto's 2-yard line, where it's caught by Matthew Morris. He gets next to nowhere on the return, though. First and 10 Toronto on their own five.

- Toronto picks up two on a run up the gut. 2 and 8.

- Queen's linebacker T.J. Leeper is hurt and coming off.

- Stinson runs up the middle for a short gain. He's stopped by last week's OUA male athlete of the week, Queen's defensive tackle Dee Sterling. Toronto punts to the 55, where Allin catches it. He tries to go back and around, but is caught for a loss. 1 and 10 Queen's on their own 50, but a flag on the play.

- The call is against Queen's, and the Gaels are starting on their own 40. Check that: an objectional conduct was tacked on, so it's 1 and 10 on the 35.

- Giffin runs up the middle for about six. 2 and 4.

- Toronto lineman Lincoln Bryan breaks through and flushes Brannagan, but he gets outside and runs for a first down. Nice job by Brannagan: he went straight into the contact there to pick up the first.

- Brannagan passes to Morrison for another first down, and then scrambles for nine. 2 and 1 Queen's on Toronto's 35.

- Giffin goes straight up the gut, finds a hole, cuts to the outside and runs down the sideline. He's hit at the five and starts to fall, but manages to stretch out and get the TD. Village hits the EP, making it Gaels 14, Blues 0.

- 5:37 left in the first. Toronto was penalized on the conversion, so Village is kicking from the 45.

- Village launches a sideline punt to the Blues 35, which is caught by Earl Johnson. He falls backwards out of bounds. 1 and 10 Toronto on their own 34.

- Short pass for 12. 1 and 10 U of T on their 47.

- Hamilton's flushed from the pocket and throws it away, but he's almost picked by Josh Sultana, starting at corner for the injured Jay Oduwole.

- Hamilton finds Cory Kennedy wide open over the middle on a ten-yard pass, and Kennedy makes some good moves to pick up yards after the catch. He's forced out at Queen's 35. 1 and 10 Blues, and they call a time out.

- Stinson runs up the middle, breaks one tackle, but is hit going outside. He picks up three. Flags on the play, but they're picked up. 2 and 7.

- Stinson takes the snap and throws to Kennedy for 12 and a first down. The Blues keep switching Stinson and Hamilton, and it seems to be confusing Queen's.

- Stinson fakes a handoff and runs up the middle for 7. 2 and 3 Toronto on Queen's 13. Stinson's really doing everything now.

- Stinson picks up four on a run. First and goal Blues from the nine.

- Stinson fakes a pass, scrambles outside and might have had a TD, but Alex Daprato makes a great play to stop him at the four. Second and goal Blues. Time out, Queen's.

- Stinson fakes a pass again and Queen's defence bites. He switches directions and runs up the middle for a TD. Andrew Lomasney hits the EP, even though he's almost blocked by Sultana, and it's now Queen's 14, Toronto 7 with 2:03 left in the first quarter. If that first Toronto touchdown hadn't been called back, we could be tied right now.

- Kickoff is caught by Allin inside the five, and he returns it to the Gaels' 13. First and 10 Queen's.

- Giffin runs to the outside and gains four. 2 and 6.

- Brannagan is flushed, tries to scramble up the middle, but gets nowhere. 3 and 6. Will Queen's punt or take the safety?

- They elect to punt. Village makes a nice move: his kick would have been blocked, so he fakes it, steps outside and gets the punt away. Good downfield coverage means the Blues' returner is stopped close to where the ball landed, on the Queen's 47.

- Hamilton is back and throwing, but his pass is knocked down and almost picked by defensive end Osie Ukwuoma.

- Defensive lineman Neil Puffer breaks through and sacks Hamilton for a loss of about six. A bit surprising Toronto went back to Hamilton after Stinson's success on the last drive. End of the first quarter.

Second quarter:

- Stinson is in to punt, and he boots it out of bounds at Queen's 38. Looks like they might be trying to avoid Allin and the Gaels' return game.

- Sideline pass to Morrison, who makes a great catch. He's knocked out at the Blues' 48 for a gain of 24.

- Giffin up the gut, gains about four yards. Second and 6 from Toronto's 45.

- Brannagan is hurried and his pass over the middle is nowhere close to anyone. Third down, and Queen's will punt.

- Scratch that, they tried a really long field goal. Village sends it low and wide. It's caught in the end zone and Toronto gets the ball on their 20. No single on the play.

- Toronto runs for a gain of five. Second and 5.

- Hamilton is still in there, and he's no Stinson when it comes to scrambling. He's flushed and hit by Carter for a loss of two.

- Sorry, some technical difficulties conked me out for a minute. Toronto punted, and Queen's ran a couple plays. 1 and 10 on the Toronto 35.

- A nice sideline pass to Morrison for another first down. 1 and 10 on Toronto's 18.

- Incomplete pass Brannagan. 2 and 10.

- Brannagan drops back to pass, no one's open and he's flushed, but he scrambles to the sidelines and dives in for a TD with an 18-yard run. Apparently, Stinson's not the only QB who can run the ball. Village hits the EP, so it's Gaels 21, Blues 7. 9:13 left in the half.

- Village launches a kickoff, and it's returned to the Blues 22. 1 and 10 Toronto.

- Hamilton's still under centre, with Stinson acting as a wide receiver. Hamilton's pass is incomplete, but the Gaels jumped offside. 1 and 5 Blues on their own 27.

- Short pass to Johnson for 8 and a first down.

- Incomplete pass from Hamilton. 2 and 10.

- Hamilton is flattened by Stephen Laporte, a rarely-used linebacker, but he completes a pss up the middle as he's being hit. 3rd and 2 or so.

- Stinson runs up the gut, gets the first down but flags on the play. The penalties are against Queen's for illegal substitution. 1 and 10 Toronto on their own 54.

- Hamilton's out now and Stinson's throwing, but his first pass is knocked down. 2 and 10.

- Poor snap to Stinson, but he reels it in. He's forced to scramble and gets a pass off, but it's incomplete. 3 and 10.

- Stinson looks like he's going to fake a punt, runs up close to the line of scrimmage and then punts anyway. The ball doesn't get too far (21 yards), and the Gals get the ball on their 36.

- Giffin runs up the gut for about 4 yards. 2nd and 6.

- Brannagan is forced to scramble and is sacked for a loss of one or two yards by Toronto's Adam Fehler.

- Village booms a punt to Toronto's 25. It's returned to Toronto's 36, but there are flags on the play and it's coming back. 1 and 10 Toronto on their own 19.

- Hamilton completes a sideline pass to Johnson for a first down. 1 and 10 Toronto on their 30.

- Zak Kolkowski runs up the middle for five, where he's stopped by Ukwuoma (who the PA guy calls O-see Osicwoma).

- Short pass gives Toronto a first down on their 43.

- Sterling rampages through the middle and sacks Hamilton for a loss of 10. 2 and 20 Toronto on their own 33.

- Puffer breaks through and drills Hamilton, who still gets the pass off, but it falls harmlessly to the turf. 3rd and 20 Toronto, and Stinson's in to punt.

- Stinson punts it out of bounds at the Queen's 50. It only goes 27 yards. Don't they have anyone who can kick it a bit farther? Queen's is getting great field position off of these short punts.

- Queen's picks up a first down on a ten-yard run.

- Giffin runs for seven. 2 and 3 Queen's on Toronto's 43.

- Giffin plows up the middle, breaks a tackle, turns outside and gets down to the 1 before he's hauled down. First and goal Queen's.

- Giffin goes straight up the gut for the TD.

- Village adds the EP, and it's now Queen's 28, Toronto 7. 1:35 left in the half.

- Village boots it into the end zone, Morris has to go back for it, runs around a bit and gets it out to the four. Toronto now has awful field position.

- Hamilton bombs one to Kennedy, who looks like he made the catch, but must not have come down with it. Nice play by Jimmy Therrien to break it up.

- Another pass to Kennedy that would have been a first down, but he drops it after a crushing hit from Allin. Incomplete, third down and 10 in the Blues' end zone. Stinson runs around with it to kill the clock, then concedes the safety. Queen's 30, Toronto 7. 1:05 left in the half.

- Queen's takes the ball on their own 35.

- 15-yard sideline pass from Brannagan to Morrison for 20 yards. 1 and 10 Queen's at midfield.

- Giffin up the gut, hit by three tacklers, gains about two yards. 2 and 8 from the Toronto 53.

- Sideline bomb to a wide-open Scott Valberg, who runs it in for the touchdown. Valberg showed great speed there to beat his man. I think that might be his first catch of the day.

- Village kicks the convert, and it's Queen's 37, Toronto 7. 37.8 seconds to go until the half.

- Village squibs the kick and it only goes 15 yards to the Toronto 50, where Scott Smith falls on it. 1 and 10 Toronto.

- Sideline pass to Kennedy, who breaks a tackle and picks up 9. 2 and 1 Blues on Queen's 51.

- Hamilton to Johnson, who steps out of bounds for another 8 or so. 1 and 10 Toronto on the Gaels' 42. A Queen's player is down: it's defensive tackle Kyle MacDonald. The defence is getting banged up pretty well here.

- Queen's jumps offside. 1st down and 5 Toronto on Queen's 37 with 22 seconds left in the half. Not a great time to take a penalty, but the game is well in hand.

- Looks like the Gaels' defence jumped again. Offside is called. 1st down Blues on the Queen's 32, and they still have 21.3 seconds. They might be able to get something here.

- Hamilton's rushed but completes a short pass to Kolkowski for three. 2 and 7.

- Hamilton tries a bomb to Johnson, but Sultana makes a good play to break it up.

- Nice call by the Blues to go for it all with 12 seconds left: a field goal isn't much help here. Kennedy almost reels a pass in, but Allin makes a nice hit, and he drops the ball. Queen's takes it, and Brannagan kneels twice, sending us into the half. Queen's 37, Toronto 7. We'll have some stats up before the second half gets going.

Halftime:

- One of the Toronto mascots (or fans, or something, but he's certainly dressed up in a furry suit) is carrying around a sign with "Golden" spelled out in the Queen's font to cheers from the Blues' fans.

- Halftime contest here in the stadium: name the Blues' player who recently was named the CIS offensive player of the week. Options are Greg DeLaval, David Hamilton and Peyton Manning.

- If you answered C to that, you're clearly not much of a sports fan. If you answered A, you're not much of a CIS fan (DeLaval's the Blues' head coach). The answer, of course, is Hamilton, who earned that honour after throwing for over 400 yards against York.

- A few key stats: Queen's is winning this game on the ground. Giffin has 189 yards and two TDs on 13 carries, and the team as a whole has 232 rushing yards to Toronto's 40. The passing stats are pretty similar: 117 net yards for Queen's, 91 for Toronto. Brannagan is 5 for 9 passing for 135 yards and 1 TD. The only two Gaels who have caught passes are Morrison (4) and Valberg (1).

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I recently figured out all my favorite sports team problem I had with switching all the time every week lol. But i figured out finally who im going to be a fan of and most of the time i always spent worrying about what others would say but this is how its going to go now on and I am really going to try and stick with it rather anyone believes me or not! But i do want people to believe me lol.
College Football: Notre Dame
Michigan State Spartans
Major League Baseball: Chicago Cubs  (will always be my team now on)
even if their crappy next season!
College Basketball: Michigan State Spartans  (will be my only favorite team)
for basketball and will never change again i will honestly not to try and change even if they end up crappy this season and next and so on.
College Hockey: Michigan Wolverines  ( will be my only favorite team)
will like them every hockey season!
NFL: Indianapolis Colts  ( will always my favorite team) even if they end up having a bad season this year and it looks as though they will be bad i will always be a colts fan.
NHL Hockey: This is no suprise Id been a Detroit Redwings fan for the last 10 years I just wish I could have had one team for 10 years for college football like i did for hockey but anyway the wings will be my team
MLS Soccer: DC United ( will always be my team) even if i never watch a game.

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The Saint Joseph Bears remain undefeated when they beat Niles 34-3 and the Lake Shore lancers beat rival Benton Harbor Tigers, They won 41-0 the tigers just have no coaching anymore the tigers havent been good in years and it is pretty sad. I remember when I was in school people were always scared to play Benton Harbor because they were so good. Well things change I guess. Even though Im a loyal Saint Joseph Bears fan for over 20 years I feel bad for the Tigers of Benton Harbor for being so crappy at football for the last couple of years. Saint Joe and The Lake Shore lancers have been the only teams in SouthWest Michigan who has been the most dominate for the last several years and beyound! The other teams who are good as well are HartFord and Dowagiac. Niles has been fairly decent over the years to and I cant remember or not but they may have been to the playoffs in the past so their are still good teams in south west michigan football. So it looks as though the Bears are probably going to go 9-0 and go into the playoffs with that record and hopefully make it on national tv during the playoffs on FSN Detroit for the MHSAA High School Football Playoff Championship.

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Listen to your local newspaper read to you by AudioNewsstand’s virtual newscasters. AudioNewsstand automatically delivers your chosen content to your computer each morning. Enjoy a daily digest of the top stories; listen to briefs by news categories, or listen to the entire newspaper. Listen at your desk or take it with you on your iPod or MP3 Player.

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That a Juan Carlos Valenzuela own goal in the 75th minute gave Chile a 1-0 win over Mexico pretty much summed up the tenor of this game.
Neither team exhibited much rhythm and attacking opportunities were sparse - especially in a dull first half dominated (and I use the term loosely) by Mexico.
In fact, the only two real scoring opportunities of the opening 45 minutes provided bookends to the half. In the second minute a Chilean defender came close to scoring an own goal, while Chile striker Fabian Orellana produced the game's sole moment of intoxicating brilliance on the right wing, beating three Mexican defenders and unleashing a shot in stoppage time.
The second half goal came as Valenzuela attempted to rather casually cut out a cross by striker Jose Fuenzalida from reaching a lurking forward behind him and knocked it in the net from a couple of yards out.
Overall though, not much value for money for the overwhelmingly pro-Mexican crowd of 32,924, many of whom not surprisingly didn't stick around long and headed for the exits early.
Updated: That's the first time I've heard a post-game press conference conducted in the three languages of Spanish, English and Swedish, but Mexico Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson didn't have much to say in any of them.
Samples of what he said (with what he actually meant following):
*"I like the mentality of the team. They worked very hard." (But they played like generally crap and I couldn't point to anything that was particularly effective."
*"It was very important to me to work with players we'd never worked with before." (And after that performance thank gawd I don't have to see most of them again in a national team jersey).
Paraphrased question: Could you tell us who especially impressed you?
Paraphrased answer: I couldn't single anyone out. (Are you kidding me.

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Week 3 previews.
No. 2 Monte Vista (2-0) at Castro Valley (0-2), 7 p.m.
Last week: Monte Vista beat Pittsburg 32-29; Castro Valley lost to Berkeley 27-6
Notes: The Trojans sputtered in the second half for the second-straight week and now get the unfortunate task of playing the No. 2 team in the East Bay Super Poll. Castro Valley has been outscored 35-6 in the second half this season and the defense has allowed 410.5 yards per game. RB Johnny Barbieri has emerged as the go-to carrier, averaging six yards per rush. The Mustangs needed a last-second field goal to knock off Pittsburg. Monte Vista is averaging 433 yards of offense per game, getting the bulk of their yardage through the air. QB Brett Nottingham has completed 68-percent of his passes and has thrown five TDs to just one INT. The defense has been shaky, giving up 333.5 yards per game. Castro Valley trailed Monte Vista 42-9 at halftime last year, eventually falling 48-9.

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Tolar Rattlers (1-3) at Meridian Yellow Jackets (3-1)
7:30 p.m. Friday
Last season: Tolar 6-5, lost in Class A bidistrict; Meridian 10-2, advanced to second round of playoffs after winning district; teams did not play.
Returning starters: Tolar 5 offense/5 defense, Meridian 6 offense/5 defense.
Notables: The Rattlers have struggled offensively this season, averaging 97 yards rushing and 67 passing....Defensively, Tolar is surrendering 320 yards on the ground each game, but the pass defense (70 yards per game) has been stingy....Meridian likes to run first (236 yards per game), but can also throw when necessary (139 per game). Almost every rushing yard this season has come from Dalton Strickland, who is averaging 138 yards....Tolar's offense is led by running back Austin Hattox, who has rushed for 202 yards and two Tds on 39 carries.

Happy Hill Pioneers (0-3) at Greenville Christian Eagles (3-0)
2 p.m. Saturday
Last season: Happy Hill 6-4, lost in TAPPS Six-Man Division I bidistrict to Greenville Christian; Greenville Christian 10-4, won TAPPS Six-Man Division I state championship.
Returning starters: Happy Hill 1 offense/0 defense, Greenville Christian 2 offense/2 defense.
Notables: Not only did Greenville Christian win state last season, they were the runners-up in 2006 to Rockwall Heritage, the only team ranked ahead of them in the state this season....Happy Hill has been outscored 166-21 in three losses, while Greenville Christian has outscored its opponents 204-127. This includes a 66-39 win over Lucas Christian (No. 1 in TCAF, TCAL and independents) and 70-67 over public school Trinidad....Happy Hill running back Venoy Thomas has 101 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries.

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MSHSAA has posted their football playoff brackets for 2008.  With this being the first year for the added round of playoffs, I was very interested to see how they were going to be arranged, what possible effect they might have, and if any general weirdness would ensue. As I started to examine them, it was really quite boring.  Classes 1-4 all follow a similar format and nothing seemed controversial at all.  But just as I was starting to think I would have nothing to write about, I brought up the class 5 bracket.  Jackpot.
For the most part, everything is pretty straight-forward and makes sense.  The exception being class 5.  Ill get to that later.  The schedule is as follows. Classes 1-5 will have a regional round played on Wednesday Nov 5th, sectionals on Monday Nov 10th, and quarterfinals on Saturday Nov 15th.  Class 6 will start with sectionals on Friday Nov 7th then play quarterfinals on the next Friday, Nov 14th.  Classes 1-4 will play their semifinals on Saturday Nov 22nd with semis in classes 5 6 being played on Friday the 21st.  And championships are on the 28th and 29th.  Classes 1, 3, 5 on the 28th, 2, 4, 6 on the 29th.
Now for the matchups.  Lets start with the easy stuff, with is everything but class 5.  16 districts in classes 1-4, 8 in class 6.   The winner of each district gets to host the first round game and plays the second place team from a district theyve been paired with.  So for example.  Districts 1 2 are paired up.  The winner of district 1 will host the first round game against the second place team from district 2.  While the winner of district 2 will host and play the second place team in district 1.  Easy, right?  The only real drawback is that some teams could see some serious travel time for the first round games.  The intriguing part is that we could see the huge district clashes (such as Webb City/Carthage or Miller/Thayer) replayed in the second round of the playoffs.  Cool.  In a couple of weeks, well take a look at potential playoff scenarios to see how this really effects all the teams.
Now, class 5.  The heart of the issues is class 5 is that there are 11 districts.  11.  That makes it impossible to build a totally fair bracket.  What they ended up with is surely frosting someones buttons.  And its the members of district 5.  Of the 11 district winners, 10 move directly into the quarterfinals.  The winner of district 5, featuring Holt and Timberland both of which are receiving votes in the latest state poll, gets to host an extra game the other district winners dont have to.  And doesnt receive the off week to prepare for their next opponent and get healthy.  Of the 10 that move into the quarters, 4 have to play each other.  The winners of districts 1 2, and the winners of districts 10 11 with districts 2 11 getting to host.  The winner of district 6 (Camdenton, Lebanon, Rolla, Waynesville) gets the winner of the district 5 champ and the district 4 runner up but may not host the game.  The other 5 remaining district winners will host the winners of games between the other second place finishers.
Wow!  It looks like a mess and it is a mess.  But in reality, this is about the best they could do without some sort of system for seeding the teams.  In reality its a 32 team bracket minus 10 teams.  And it appears to the naked eye that they decided on district 5 based on it being so close to the district 4 teams.  There is no perfect way of doing this, and it appears theyve kept the craziness isolated to only class 5.
There are still questions to be answered.  Most notably the method for determining home field in the second and subsequent rounds.  Do district winners get to host over 2nd place teams?  What about when district winners or runners up meet?  Will it be an every other year or who has had the fewest home games decision?  And will there be any changes for next year?  Hmmm.
If nothing else, MSHSAA accomplished their goal of getting the second place team in the playoffs.  But they also managed to generate a good deal of talk and a wee bit of controversy for high school football too.  Like it didnt get enough attention already.

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