busy busy bearcat

today isn't supposed to be this busy for me, but there is so much going on in bearcat country!!

1. congratulations to our men's team for holding on to their #21 spot in the national rankings. they are working hard and getting better all the time.

2. congratulations again to the men on being ranked in the #2 spot in the region. the competition is stiff but they are shining through.

3. congratulations to the women on their #7 ranking in the regional poll. they join 5 other miaa teams that round out the top 10 in the region. that goes to show how good our conference is.

4. game day saturday- BLACK OUT!! all the fans are supposed to wear black on saturday for our home game against northwest. surely you have one black shirt. don't be too cool because being too cool makes you very uncool.

5. saturday, in addition to the blackout, sbu joins in the "COACHES vs CANCER" campaign. coaches across the nation will wear sneakers with their suits to raise awareness about cancer prevention and early detection. and since our coaches are cool but not too cool they too will be wearing tennis shoes with their suits to support the campaign. you should do the same.

so let's recap. 1. our teams are ballin. 2. dresscode for saturday vs northwest: black and your favorite sneakers. hope everyone is having a great day, and thanks for supporting your favorite bearcats.

i've got a fever....

and the only prescription is MORE COW BELL!! (i know you saw me workin my magic with that cow bell jam session during the guys game. and i know you thought to yourself, "wow, that BC is rollin. how is he so amazing in every way? " and i know you wondered if you could ever be that hot. you can't.)

our men and our women came away last night with wins at home to finish up the first half of miaa conference play. the men are 7-2 and sitting first, and the women are in the hunt at 6-3. it's been an exciting month since all this started, and looking back i can't believe how much they've grown up. (cue the misty montage of slow-motion highlight clips that ends with everyone in a group hug with warm fuzzy feelings.) but seriously, both teams are playing well and finding ways to win big ball games. it makes me proud to be a part of the sbu family.

be in the know.

it's a long story, but the short version is we fought hard and fell saturday at truman state. i think kirksville is the bermuda triangle for sbu's shooters. no worries, though. we'll beat the dog out of 'em when they come to bolivar.

if you are missing the action and want to be updated on everything that is bearcatty, all you have to do is let sbu's outstanding sports information director know. mike pitts will hook you up. he's cool like that. send your e-mail address to mpitts@sbuniv.edu and hear about the magic as it happens on the road. be in the know. good plan.

WHOSE HOUSE??

if you missed the games last night i feel so sorry for you because it was one of the most intense, exciting nights the meyer wellness center has ever seen. almost too much for me. i'm gonna have a heart attack.

the women started things off for the evening. playing the #8 team in the nation and the first place team in the miaa, they didn't get caught up: they came to play. there was one point in the last minutes of the game when i wasn't sure they would pull it out. our ladies were down five points with four minutes on the clock. but once again they pulled together as a team and fought to the end to earn the win. they proved to me yet again (and more importantly to themselves) that they are more than capable of overcoming any adversity they face when they work together.

then the men took the floor to defend their #1 position in the miaa. the ichabods reminded us that every team in this league is good, and they made it a battle. sbu's bearcats fought every step of the way, and in the last minute it was a one point lead. thanks to a few big plays down the stretch the bearcats pulled out the second exciting win of the night. WHOSE HOUSE??

if you were lame enough to miss the games you can catch some of the action here:
http://www.kspr.com/sports/14017052.html?skipthumb=Y#.
http://ozarksfirst.com/content/sports

there's no place like home.

today is a great day for basketball fans everywhere. ok, maybe not everywhere, but definately basketball fans in bolivar, missouri. sbu's bearcats and lady 'cats are coming home!! it was exciting being on the road: the women won at pitt and lost an intense game at missouri southern while the men went 2-0 to earn the #1 spot in conference standings. but as exciting as road trips can be, i'm convinced there is no place like home.

aside from all the basketball shenanigans, classes started today for the spring semester. my head hurts already. too much learning and not enough sleeping. but what better way to celebrate the start of a new semester than blowing off homework to enjoy a good game? the teams face off tonight against the ichabods (i know...) and the lady blues of washburn university. the basketball promises to be entertaining as the men defend their #1 position and the women defend our house. WHOSE HOUSE?? you should be there to support. class or no class, homework is never a good excuse. besides we both know you haven't bought your books yet.

our visit to the jungle...

last night was definately exciting for all 2300 people at the weede center on pitt's campus. ok, maybe it was more exciting for those backing sbu's bearcats, but whatever. both teams earned wins against tough teams on the road. the men throttled yet another nationally ranked team in their jungle. they played hard and worked so well as a team. their performance makes me so proud of my little 'cats. meanwhile the women pulled out another exciting win that went down to the last minutes. i think they do it just to make it interesting, but honestly, girls, you're gonna give me a heart attack.

thanks to everyone who came out to root for the bearcats. the encouragement and support mean more than you can know. and we're gonna need it again on saturday. the 'cats head to joplin to take on the lions of missouri southern. it's sure to be a cat fight. (my wit even impresses me sometimes.)

excuse me?

so, today the men and women head to pittsburg, kansas to face the gorillas of pitt state for a night that promises to be full of exciting miaa basketball. one thing about their gym, though, is that they always play that song that says "welcome to the jungle" over and over again. (they think they're clever: gorillas are from the jungle. get it??) by the end of the night it will drive me insane, i'm sure. but i'm going to suffer through it in order to support my fellow bearcats! you should do the same. it's always a battle at pitt, so we can use all the support we can get. see you there!

flamin!

congratulations to d'ante harris for being named miaa men's player of the week last week. good thing that isn't won or lost on looks.... just kidding. d'ante has been working hard along with the rest of his team. that kind of recognition makes us all look good.

also, congratulations to erika souza for her record breaking performance of 38 points at central missouri. the jennies didn't know what hit 'em. everything she chunked up went in: it was like magic. that performance on top of solid efforts in every game this season earned souza the miaa women's player of the week this week, again thanks in large part to her teammates.

wow. sbu basketball is on fire!!

back in the saddle again

sorry you haven't heard from me in a while. i took a little road trip over the holidays to visit family and they don't have the internet in their den. i'm not really sure how they live without it, but if they are content to live in the dark ages i guess that's their prerogative. at any rate i'm back and still reeling from some exciting basketball action.

the last week has been hopping with exciting new beginnings. along with ringing in a new year, the bearcats have begun miaa competition. i had the opportunity to go on the road with the men's and women's teams to maryville for games against northwest missouri state. the basketball was intense. the women fought a hard (high-scoring) battle but fell short of a victory. the men, however, defeated a tough nwms team on their home court. those road wins are like gold, especially when conference hits.

then there was yesterday. it isn't possible to make you understand how it felt to be in that gym. the bearcats faced the hornets of emporia. esu's men's and women's teams are both currently nationally ranked, #23 and #13 respectively. the lady 'cats took the floor for a game in which they were the definate underdogs. the ladies seemed a little uneasy before the game, but they were focused and prepared for a fight. they got one. once they gained the lead in the first half they never gave it up, but they sure did make it interesting. coming into the last minutes of a one point game, the lady 'cats bore down for an intense end. they fought hard and never backed down to the hornets. it was the kind of game to make you proud of their intensity and determination. they believed in their success and would make everyone else believe too. the men also came out with fierce energy and got an early lead, never looking back. the bearcats played as a team, looking out for each other and cheering one another on.

when you see teams fight the way they did yesterday it makes you remember why you love the game: the intensity, the dedication, the unbelievable determination. these athletes make my job easy because its fun to support people that are so driven to succeed. yesterday these athletes made me proud to be a bearcat.