Purdue Ends Volleyball Season

The Purdue University women’s volleyball season ended this past weekend in Fort Collins, Colorado as they lost to Number 6 Hawaii in a 3-1 overall match. It was 18- 25, 25- 22, 25- 23, 25-20, so it was a really close game but the Boilermakers just seemed to not be able to do that little extra to earn another win and to make their appearance in the Elite Eight. Here is a quote from the Purdue’s Head coach about their loss.

"I can't find anything negative to say about our team tonight," head coach Dave Shondell said. "I feel bad for our three seniors who did all of things they needed to do to get us here, but unfortunately it didn't work out, at time for obvious reasons and at times for strange reasons. I felt bad about game three. We felt like we were in the driver's seat and should have been ahead 24-20, but wound up tied at 22-22. Even still, we thought we were in position to win, but we didn't seize it. That is when the match was won or lost; that was the real turning point."

For the team stats, sophomore Kristen Arthurs led the team with 14 kills, senior Stephanie Lynch followed right behind with 13 kills and 6 blocks, senior Danita Merlau had 8 shut downs, and junior Carrie Gurnell added 7 to the total. On the defense side of the game, Kelli Miller, a senior libero had 11 digs, freshman Emily Ehlers and sophomore Jaclyn Hart each had 10 dig. Hart also added 34 assists (sets). Blocking wise, Merlau had 5, and Arthurs had 4. Purdue won the overall blocking to a 13-9 win but that still was not enough to pull off the win.

The Boilermakers started the match off strong with a 7-3 lead over the Rainbow Wahines, including 2 blocks from Lynch and an ace from Pierce. Hawaii came back and closed the gap to 7-5 and maintained to stay close behind until Purdue scored 3 points in a row. Falling behind 14- 9, Hawaii came back with a 4- 0 run and closed the game up to 14- 13. The Boilermakers got the ball back on a service error and took advantage of that and added some aces and blocks and kills to their record. The final score of this set was 25- 18.

Purdue started off to a good start and gaining the lead early of 7- 2. Purdue kept the lead until it was 18- 17 and Hawaii came back with a four point lead and made it 22- 18. There were a few errors that caused Hawaii to give the Boilermakers two more points but in the end, Hawaii ended the game with a kill by Jaimie Houston at 25- 22.

In the third set, Purdue and the Rainbow Wahine split the first 12 points. The lead changed four times within the first 12 points. At the end of this match, it was tied 22- 22, but Purdue gave the last three of the four points to Hawaii by having errors on hitting and serving. The final score was 25-23.

In the fourth and final match of the night, Purdue scored 3 out of the 4 first points with the help of Merlau with two kills and Lynch with one. Purdue Boilers lost the lead early on in the set. Hawaii pulled ahead at 13-9 and kept it. Purdue almost gained back the lead and closed the score up to just 13-12 but they did not have enough to pull through and take the lead one more time. This set ended the Purdue Womens’ Volleyball season this year, and ended three senior’s career here at Purdue University. They will be missed by everyone. They were all great leaders and had records beat.

The Boilermakers wrap up the season at 26-9, the program's best mark since 1985, as seniors Stephanie Lynch, Danita Merlau and Kelli Miller finished out th

Hummel Has Career Best Against Indiana State

Last night Purdue's Robbie Hummel ended his night with a career best 25 points and 8 rebounds, he was also 50% on 3 pointers. Hummel started off slow in the first half scoring only five points and he was only 2 for 7 from the field, compared to his performance in the second half where he scored 20 points and was 5 for 6 from the field. 

The Boilermakers played the Indiana State Sycamores last night the game was pretty intense, but the Boilermakers came out with the win beating the Sycamores 76-62. This really isn't that big of a shocker if you look at the Sycamores current record, they are 1-8 so far this season and have lost six straight games against ranked opponents.

Indiana State led in the opening minutes of the game a layup by Sycamore guard Tyler Cutter gave them a 20-17 lead which then forced a Purdue timeout. After the timeout Purdue came out strong with an 8-0 run a Robbie Hummel 3 pointer gave the Boilers a 25-20 lead. By the end of the half the Boilermakers extended their lead to 37-30. The Boiler defense wasn't at its best in last nights game especially when you look at their last two games, they held Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Ball State to less than 25 points per half. Then in the second half Purdue went on a 13-0 run which created some distance for Purdue.

However after all that Purdue head coach Matt Painter wasn't impressed with his teams performance saying that throughout the season his team has been "hit and miss" and he puts last nights performance under the miss section. Overall I feel that Purdue did an aright job las night they played a lot better in the second half which was when Robbie Hummel found his rhythm and the team overall played better.

Oklahoma's Sam Bradford Takes Home Heisman

Last night all of Sam Bradford's hard work finally paid off. Sam Bradford of Oklahoma University was selected along with Florida's Tim Tebow, and Texas quarterback Colt McCoy to be potential candidates for the prestigious Heisman trophy. For those of you that don't know what it is, the Heisman Trophy is an award given to the most outstanding player in collegiate football. The Heisman is not the only award given to the "best" college football player, however, it is the most prestigious.

Bradford a sophomore at Oklahoma University is the starting quarterback and although he may be young this guy can really put up some big numbers. Bradford holds an NCAA record for most passes as a freshman with 36 along with that this season alone he has thrown for over 4,000 yards this season. He has broken many different records all season leading the Sooners offense to an outstanding 702 points. He also had an incredible 48 touchdowns with only six interceptions, and if all that wasn't enough he also helped put up a record setting 60 plus points in five consecutive games. His performance this season has been outstanding to say the least and he had some tough competition against Florida's Tim Tebow who has already won the Heisman last year and Texas QB Colt McCoy. Bradford is the second sophomore to ever win a Heisman Trophy award  the fist was Florida's Tim Tebow, and he is Oklahoma's fifth Heisman winner. As awesome as it is to win the Heisman, Bradford has the opportunity to make this season even better if he can pull off a national championship victory which is in three weeks.

Bears Beat Saints in OT

Last night the Chicago Bears took on Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. The game last night started off with a bang when the opening kickoff was returned 83 yards by Danieal Manning. The game was a little bit of back and forth action for a bit, until Danieal Manning had another big run in the second quarter, he ran back a kickoff for 52 yards which helped set up Bears running back Matt Forte for a one yard touchdown run. By then it was 14-7, and in the very last minute of the first half quarterback Kyle Orton had a 6 yard touchdown run making it a 14 point game by the end of the first half.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees didn't have a great game in the opening half of the game. Brees was 10 of 24 with only 93 yards, along with that he had a 49.5 quarterback rating in the first half. By the end of the game he had improved to 232 yards and 2 touchdowns. Another set back for the Saints offense was when Reggie Bush who is the Saints star running back was taken out in the second half due to a sprained knee. 

Both teams really needed a win last night if they wanted to keep their post season dreams alive, and the Bears did just that. Late in the game Drew Brees completed an 11 yard touchdown pass with just around 3 minutes left in the game. It gave the Saints their first lead of the game 24-21. The Bears offense responded with a field goal to send the game into overtime. The Bears won the coin toss and got a lucky break when Saints defender Roman Harper interfered with Bears receiver Devin Hester, which resulted in the Bears being set up at the 15 yard line. After that Bears called their Pro Bowl kicker out to the field who ended the game with a 35 yard field goal kick, making it 27-24 and giving the Bears their second win in a row. 

Hopefully the Bears can keep up the pace and win their next game which is against the Packers, and as many of you Bear fans out there know that earlier this season the Packers humiliated the Bears beating them 37-3. The Bears haven't won three games in a row since their 2006  Super Bowl season, so hopefully in their next game they can win and get their first three game winning streak of the season. 

Heisman Hopefuls

This week the Heisman trophy finalists were announced and the finalists were…drum roll please… Florida’s Tim Tebow, Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, and Texas’ Colt McCoy. Surprisingly, Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell did not receive an invite to New York despite his monster season, but that’s another story. However, the three candidates that were selected were all more than worthy.


Let’s start with Tebow. Tebow is a junior quarterback from the University of Florida and is your defending Heisman trophy winner. As a sophomore, Tebow broke NCAA records by becoming the first player to rush for 20 touchdowns and throw for 20 touchdowns in the same season. Tebow was rewarded by being named the Heisman trophy winner and looks to become only the second player ever to win two Heisman trophies (Ohio State’s Archie Griffin was the first). This season Tebow has once again put up big numbers by throwing 28 touchdowns to only 2 interceptions. Tebow has also rushed for 12 touchdowns while leading Florida to the national championship and a 2nd ranking overall. Tebow’s coach, Urban Meyer, had this to say about his quarterback, “Tim is a winner. He wants to win. He’s motivated like all of us are. But he’s a team-first guy. That’s why statistically he might not have the Star Wars stats like he had a year ago. However, he won 12 games. And if he could have either-or, he’s going to take 12 wins and the chance to hold that crystal ball.”


Sam Bradford is a sophomore quarterback from Oklahoma who plays with more of a traditional drop-back style of play. Bradford has thrown for over 4,000 yards and leads the country with 48 touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 186.29. Bradford is the leader of the country’s highest scoring offense and has led the Sooners to the national championship where they will meet Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators. Bradford was ecstatic about being selected as a finalist and had this to say about being selected, “It’s a good thing I don’t have a vote. I couldn’t decide. It’s just an honor to be one of the guys going up to New York.”


The final candidate that was selected was Colt McCoy. McCoy is a junior quarterback from Texas who was selected as the first team All-American quarterback. The Longhorn signal caller led Texas in both rushing and passing and set an NCAA record with a 77.6 completion percentage. Earlier this season Tebow, who has a Heisman vote because he is a former winner, called McCoy the frontrunner to win the 2008 Heisman saying, “"Being smart and just looking at guys who are having a good year, he obviously is someone to look at and would probably be my top guy I'd vote for right now. He's playing extremely well and doing a great job leading his team and handles it with a lot of class, too." We’ll see if Tebow holds true to his mid-season prediction.


The Heisman winner will be selected Saturday, December 13, at 8 P.M. on ESPN and if I had to choose a winner I’d probably go with Sam Bradford. Bradford has put up ridiculous numbers and leads the most efficient offense in the country. The Sooner offense is just unstoppable and has scored over 60 points in each of their last five games, an NCAA record. Bradford is the face of this amazing offensive unit and for that he would get my vote.

Tis' the Bowl Season

Ahh…the holidays are here and you know what that means. It means quality time with the family, spreading warmth and joy to the hearts of others, great holiday food, and some damn good football games. Earlier this week the bowl pairings were announced and once again the bowl season looks to be an exciting one. Some very intriguing matchups were revealed and a few of the games really jumped out at me. These are the games I’ll definitely be watching and are ones I consider “must-see” T.V.

BCS National Championship, #1 Oklahoma vs. #2 Florida
Where: Miami, Florida
When: January 8, 2009 8 P.M. (FOX)
This one is a no-brainer and has everything one could want out of a national championship game. It has star-power with Heisman Trophy finalists Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow squaring off against each other. It has controversy as some believe Texas should be in the game instead of Oklahoma. Finally, it just has two really good football teams playing each other in what could be one of the most exciting national championships of recent memory.
My predicted winner: Oklahoma

Rose Bowl, #5 USC vs. #8 Penn State
Where: Pasadena, California
When: January 1, 2009 4:30 P.M. (ABC)
Another very intriguing matchup as this game features two great defenses against two great offenses. Each team has both their offense and defense ranked in the top 15 in the country and both were winners of their respective conference. Add in the fact that this could be JoePa’s last game as the head coach for the Nittany Lions and this one has the makings of a classic. The Rose bowl is probably my favorite bowl and I’m sure that this year will not disappoint.
My predicted winner: USC

Fiesta Bowl, #3 Texas vs. #10 “The” Ohio State University
Where: Glendale, Arizona
When: January 5, 2009 8 P.M. (FOX)
This game features two of the most storied programs in all of college football colliding in their first ever meeting in a bowl game. The Buckeyes are looking to silence the critics after two losses in as many years in BCS national championship games while the Longhorns want to prove they deserved to be in the championship this year instead of Oklahoma. This game features the 7th ranked defense in Ohio State against the high-powered 5th ranked offense of Texas. It will definitely be a fun matchup and I’ll be paying close attention to the quarterback play of each team. Texas’ Colt McCoy is having a monster year and is a finalist for the Heisman trophy while the Buckeye signal caller, Terrelle Pryor, will have a chance to show the nation that he can live up to his hype.
My predicted winner: “The” Ohio State University

Poinsettia Bowl, #9 Boise State vs. #11 TCU
Where: San Diego, California
When: December 23, 2008 8 P.M. (ESPN)
Two of college football’s Cinderella’s meet in this non-BCS bowl and it looks to be a great one. I remember the last Boise State bowl game I watched a couple of years ago and if this one is even close to that in excitement I know I’ll be more than satisfied. This is a battle of mid-major teams who are trying to prove that they belong with the big boys.
My predicted winner: Boise State.

Holiday Bowl, #13 Oklahoma State vs. #17 Oregon
Where: San Diego, California
When: December 30, 2008 8 P.M. (ESPN)
Another non-BCS game and if you like scoring than you’ll definitely like this one. Both the Cowboys and the Ducks are averaging over 40 points per game and neither have much of a defense. With runningbacks like Jeremiah Johnson and Kendal Hunter you know these teams won’t disappoint.
My predicted winner: Oklahoma State

Hawaii Bowl, Hawaii vs. Notre Dame
Where: Honolulu, Hawaii
When: December 24, 2008 8 P.M. (ESPN)
Yeah neither of these teams are that good, but I wanted to put it in because of how much I would love to see Notre Dame lose this game. The Irish have the nation’s longest bowl losing streak and haven’t won a bowl game since 1994. If they continue the streak and lose to Hawaii, I’m gonna be talking some serious trash to some ND fans.
My predicted winner: Hawaii

Purdue Takes Another Win Against The Cardinals

Last night brought in another victory for the Purdue Boilermakers. They were on the road and traveled to Muncie, Indiana to steal a win from the Ball State Cardinals. The Boilermakers pulled off a 68- 39 win over the Cardinals. Purdue’s previous game at home against Arkansas-Pine was another big gap win, even without Robbie Hummel, who was the preseason Big Ten players of the year, as he sat out with due to back spasms. Hummel scored 15 of the 68 points and brought in 9 rebounds and three assists for the Purdue Boilermakers. He came back strong which is why he was the preseason Big Ten player of the year. He has the heart for the game! JaJuan Johnson was another top scorer with 12 points, and E-Twaun Moore and Nemanja Calsan both had 10 points for the Boilermakers. The leader for the Ball State Cardinals was Anthony Newell. He had 11 points and 8 rebounds.

Overall team wise, the Cardinals only had a 26 percent shooting average, while Purdue Boilermakers forced 21 turnovers, compared to the previous game against Arkansas Pine with 23 percent shooting average. That game ended at a 90- 42 win for the Boilers.

Purdue’s point guard Lewis Jackson got called on goaltending, breaking the lead of 12- 9 with 11 minutes left to play in the first half. That was the one time that the Ball State Cardinals made a shot in a 6 and half minute span. Purdue’s defense held the Cardinal’s offense for almost an 11 minute time span, and scored 13-0. But with 3:23 left to play in the first half, Newell hit a 3 pointer and ended that long span and stopped Purdue’s lead to 26- 17. That was the last time Ball State scored the first half. The score at half time was 30- 17, Purdue.

No. 14 Purdue Boilermakers, now 7-2 for their season so far is at home next game on the 13th of December against the Indiana State Sycamores (3-7) at 2 pm.

Live Every Day Like It Is Your Last

This blog is going to be a little off topic. It is not about sports, it is about my past weekend. Thursday morning I woke up from a text message from my best friend back home telling me that her dad had died that morning. I did not want to believe it so I called around right away and asked some people, and sure enough it was.

This really got to me because Casey was my second dad. He was always there watching Brittney and I play sports together since we were in 3rd grade. I could not imagine how I would feel if I were in her situation right now. Brittney is only 19, a freshman in college, and she is responsible for all the expenses of her own father’s funeral, since she was next in kin.

This whole situation has made me realize that I need to live every day like it was my last. Have no regrets, do not get mad at pointless stuff, and forgive people. Brittney had gotten into an argument with her dad and that was the last time she got to talk to him. That just would not be the best way to remember your last words with your father.

I went home from school this weekend to be with her and her family and it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. It was so painful to see my best friend in such pain, knowing that Casey could have stopped what he was doing and no ended his life that day. Casey has OD on crack/cocaine.

The funeral was extremely packed with all the people that Casey had touched in his lifetime. He was too young to die. He was only 41, with a daughter that is 19 and another one who is only 15. So my lesson from this past weekend is to live every day like it is your last, enjoy what you have, and be happy and forgive others because you never know when your time or your loved one’s time may come.

Ball State Falls To 12-1

Ball state fell to a 12-1 season, Many people might say they fell under pressure but the simple fact is they chocked, They did not play Ball State Cardinal football, Instead, my personal opinion, is they looked past Buffalo, They were focused on a bowl game, completely underestimated them. One of the main reasons they lost is the simple fact of they could not go without shooting themselves in the foot, One of the fumbles that they scored off of is because of a premature hike. Davis was not ready and not looking and the ball while the ball was hiked and it bounced off of him. Another time Davis tried to be a hero and make a leap of faith and got hit and fumbled which was ran back for a TD. You take away those two dumb mistakes and the Ball State Cardinals would have won. On top of that Ball State actually scored and it was never counted. They passed the line but it was not official.


On the brighter side, next year Ball State University gets to be blessed by the chance of seeing Nate Davis again. He decided not to go pro yet and stay another year, which leaves a wide possibility to see Ball State back in the top rankings and another chance to have a shot at the MAC title.

On the defending side of buffalo, they played some of the best defense I have seen in a long time. Their defense simply beat the Ball State Cardinals. They were able to take out the Cardinals 3 and out when they wanted to, made plays happen. It was just simply their ball game.


In conclusion Ball State just simply came ready to play and we did not. Do I believe they are a better team? No, I just think Ball State went into the game too confident and did not expect Buffalo to play as well as they did. Do I think they played better that night? Yes. It seemed like they wanted the game more than Ball State did just because they played their hearts out and really wanted the MAC title.The lesson from this is never underestimate your opponent

Purdue Basketball Improved Record To 6-2

Number 9 Purdue hosted Arkansas- Pine Bluff this past Saturday in Mackey Arena. The final score was 90- 42, making the win for Purdue the 7th largest win margin in school history, and the second biggest win margin in Mackey Arena.

JaJuan Johnson led the team along with scoring a career high of 20 points for the Boilers. Johnson had 14 points and three dunks in the first half as the Boilermakers led 44-23 at the break. A few other Boilers in the spot light were E’Twaun Moore, who had 15 points and six steals, Nemanja Calasan had 13 rebounds and 23 points, and Marcus Green scores 12 points for Purdue, who is now 6-2. The Boilermakers forced 35 turnovers and their defense stopped the Pine Bluff from having a high percentage of shooting, which was only 23 percent.

Purdue came back from a two game loosing streak against No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 4 Duke. But they came back from that streak and stopped it from being the first of a two game loosing streak since the end of the 2005- 2006 season.

Now for the Golden Lions, who are 0 and 7 so far this season. Tyree Glass led Pine Bluff with 18 points, but on the bad hand had 11 turnovers. He was the leading scorer considering no other player scored over 6 points the whole game.
Pine Bluff has lost every game this season by double digits. Its closest game was a 14-point loss at Nebraska. The Golden Lions have lost their games by an average of 32 points. The second half was just a repeat of the first pretty much.

Purdue’s next basketball game is on the road at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana on December 9 at 7:00 p.m. Ball State University has a record so far of 4-3. Arkansas Pine Bluff is against SMU Dallas Texas at December 12 at 7:00 p.m.

Bears Keep Playoff Hopes Alive

Earlier today the Chicago Bears took on the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bears were coming off a devastating loss last week and they really needed a win if they wanted to keep their playoff hopes alive. Lucky for them they were playing they Jaguars who have had an unlucky losing streak and the Bears got the opportunity to extend their losing streak from 3 games to 4 straight games lost.

The Bears defense had a good start when Danieal Manninghad an early interception. Manning had intercepted the ball after the Jaguars third play. He picked it and returned it forty two yards all the way to the five yard line, this then set up Desmond Clark for his two yard touchdown catch. Kyle Orton played better this week, however he still wasn't the same old Orton. In today's game he was 20 for 34 with 219 passing yards and two touchdowns. He had one interception which is an improvement from last weeks three that he threw. Also, rookie running back Matt Forte was somewhat on the quiet side in today's game, he didn't put up the big numbers that he usually does. Forte who is third in the league in rushing, ran for a mediocre 69 yards on 21 carries.

On the other hand Jaguars quarterback David Gerrard had a rough game. He completed only 19 of 38 passes and threw for 178 yards. He had one touchdown along with an interception. His problem was he was throwing weak passes which then resulted in him exposing his receivers and set them up for big hits by the Bears defense.

Number 9 Purdue Beats Arkansas-Pine Bluff 90-42

Last night was a big night for the Purdue Men's basketball team they beat the Arkansas-Pine Bluff team by 48 points. Last week when the Boilermakers played Duke, Purdue head coach was upset with his teams performance. He was upset with his teams performance on defense stating his team was "Not a good defensive team." 

That was not the case in last nights game against the Golden Lions. The Boilermakers forced 35 turnovers and held the Golden Lions to only 23 percent shooting. Purdue didn't allow the other team to score for the first 7 minutes or so, until finally Tyree Glass made a three pointer for the  Golden Lions. Purdue had increased their lead to 20-3 before the other team scored again.

Purdue's win by 48 points last night was the teams most lopsided win since 1983, and also it was the second largest victory margin at Purdue's Mackey Arena.

Purdue's JaJuan Johnson had a hell of a game last night scoring a career best 20 points, along with E'twuan Moore who had 15 points and six steals. Sophmore Robbie Hummel didn't play in last nights game due to a lower back injury. However, the Boilermakers showed that they can still play well without one of their key players. On the other hand the Golden Lions came up short and showed that they need to work on a lot of their offense. Their leading scorer scored 18 points, however he did have 11 turnovers. Other than that there was no other player on the Golden Lions who scored over six points. This really isn't a shocker considering the team has yet to win a game this season, losing by an Average 32 points per game.

Purdue did a great job last night after coming off two losses the team really showed that they had been working hard and doing their best to improve. They showed that last night, when they embarrassed the Golden Lions. Hopefully they can keep up their defense and continue to improve throughout the season.

Blake Griffin is a Fruitcake

Do you remember Blake Griffin from the Oklahoma basketball team?  Against Purdue he had 18 points and 21 rebounds and is the star player for the Sooners.  I found these pictures of him on the internet and decided to share them with you.  Enjoy.

Ball State: What were you thinking?

For those of you that didn’t know on Wednesday Ball State turned down a bid to play Boise State in the Humanitarian bowl. I just have to ask Ball State officials one thing, what were you thinking? You just turned down a great opportunity for national exposure and a chance to play in what would have been one of the most intriguing matchups of the postseason. The game would have featured two undefeated teams that had been left out of the BCS and would have drawn tons of national attention. Instead you turned down the bid and now will most likely play in the who cares Motor City Bowl against 6-6 Notre Dame or 6-6 North Carolina State.

Officials claimed several bullshit reasons for turning the bid down, but a big concern was the fact that the Humanitarian Bowl is played in Boise at Boise State’s home field. Sure that would definitely give an advantage to Boise State, but claiming this as a reason for declining the offer translates to, “We’re too effing scared to play Boise State and risk ruining our perfect season.” By rejecting the chance to play Boise St. the little respect you had nationally is now gone. People wanted to see if you were real and you had the chance to prove this by traveling to Boise and playing on the blue turf, but instead you will prove nothing as you play in the Motor City Bowl against a mediocre team that probably doesn’t even deserve a bowl.

Early Season Worries

As we all know Purdue is coming off a disappointing performance in which they lost to Duke at home by sixteen. The team has now lost two in a row and many of the team’s weaknesses have been exposed. Having your problems exposed this early is a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing is the season is young enough that you still have plenty of time to fix things, but the bad thing is the question of whether or not these problems are even fixable. Here are some of the problems I see with the team and what needs to be done about them.

Problem: Defense- In Purdue’s first five wins the Boilers were surrendering just 52.8 points a game and forced 97 turnovers during that five game span. On the contrary in the last two losses to Oklahoma and Duke, the team has given up an average of 81.5 points per game. Yes, Oklahoma and Duke are good teams, but if our Boilers want to be elite the defense must improve. The team plays consistent pressure defense, but pressure defense does not always mean good defense. Coach Painter had this to say about the situation, “We have to strive to be a good defensive team and not just rely on our pressure, because good players can handle pressure.”

Is it fixable?- Yes I definitely think it is fixable. Defense has a lot to do with just hustle and determination. If the Boilers continue to work hard at practice the defense will come. Our tough early season schedule will definitely help us in the long run and is preparing us for conference play.

Problem: Rebounding- Coming into the season everyone knew that Purdue did not have a strong inside presence and it is hurting us more than I anticipated. In Tuesday’s loss to Duke the Boilers were outrebounded 49-29 and only recorded eight offensive rebounds. Jajuan Johnson, Purdue’s tallest player, only grabbed three rebounds with none of them being offensive. Offensive rebounds are vital for a team’s success because they provide second chances. When a team is not shooting well, like Purdue was on Tuesday, they must grab offensive rebounds and get those easy second chance points.

Is it fixable?- Once again I think this is a fixable problem, but it will be harder to correct than the defense. Some may say that if Johnson starts rebounding then our problem will magically disappear, but I disagree. Johnson is still too skinny to be a great rebounder and he has been getting pushed around inside. To fix this problem I think it will take a total team effort and once again more hustle. Improved hustle will mean we’ll be in better position to grab rebounds and we’ll be able to chase down long rebounds. Rebounds will be a key statistic for Purdue this year and hopefully we will improve as the season progresses.

Problem: Another Scoring Presence- Purdue definitely has a great one-two punch in E’Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel, but I think we need a third legitimate scoring threat to take some of the burden off of those two. In the Duke game Duke’s gameplan was to limit Moore and Hummel. The plan worked as Moore was held to zero points in the first half and Hummel was quiet the entire game. The Duke defense challenged other players on the roster to step up, but no one did. With Moore and Hummel getting the majority of the attention from defenses we need someone else to take advantage and start scoring.

Is it fixable?- According to Sports Illustrated’s Seth Davis this is an unfixable problem for Purdue. Davis says that he doesn’t think Keaton Grant can be a consistent scorer, but I disagree. KG has potential to be a great scorer and he showed this last year shooting 44.0% from three point range. Grant’s shot is definitely not where it was last year, but if he is able to re-discover his stroke he will emerge as another scoring option for Purdue.

I think these are all solvable problems for Purdue and the season is just beginning. We have plenty of time to improve and by the time March rolls around I’m sure we will be ready. Hopefully the progress starts soon as the Boilers prepare to play Arkansas Pine-Bluff tomorrow at 8 p.m.

Bears Vs. Jaguars

Last week the Chicago Bears lost what was their one shot to take control of the NFC  North to the Minnesota Vikings. This week the Bears are hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars, and they are trying regain momentum after last weeks disappointing loss and are they are trying to keep their playoff hopes alive this Sunday's game. The Bears are playing the not so impressive Jaguars who are trying to avoid losing four straight games, which would be the first time in five years.

The next 3 games the Bears are playing are at home, and the Bears don't necessarily have to win their last four games to get a playoff spot. However, try explaining that to the players. Their mentality is to win, when asked about the upcoming games, Bears center Olin Kreutz said "Win out. Win the NFC North. We know what we have to do to get in." That just shows the mentality that the Bears players have going into these next couple of games.

If the Bears want to win the next couple of games they have to get their offense back on track. In their first eight games the Bears averaged 27.9 points per game, however recently the offense has been held to 14 points or less in their last 3 of four games. The offense hasn't been the same since Bears QB Kyle Orton was carried off the field with a sprained ankle on November 2. Since his return he has played 3 games and in those games he has had a quarter back rating of 61.2, in the 3 games before his injury he had a quarter back rating of 106.2. That just goes to show that the Bears have been off pace offensively ever since Orton was injured. 

The Jaguars haven't had the best season this year with a record of 4-8,they're sitting in last place of the AFC South, and are 7 games behind the first place Titans. Last year the Jaguars were 11- 5 and beat the Steelers in a wild card game, however this year has been the complete opposite. The Jaguars are really looking to get out of the slump that they are currently in having lost their last 3 games and dont wanna lose a fourth straight game. This weekend, I feel that the team that steps it up and plays like they need the win will come out on top. That means for the Bears to step up their offense and their defense which has been lacking a bit.

Real Athletes = Real People

I was fortunate enough to attend the Purdue Football banquet last week and it reminded me of something I had forgotten.  It is something I catch myself forgetting every year and I believe I am not the only one who suffers from this annual amnesia.  What is this something?   It is the fact that these college athletes whom we often criticize and rip apart are just kids.  These men and women are barely twenty years old and yet they have to bear the intense pressure that is college sports.  These players have real lives off the field and real families to go home to.  How would your mother feel if she had listen to her baby getting vocally torn apart for throwing an interception?  I’ll be the first to admit that I am often the one pointing the finger at athletes, but I realized something when I was at the banquet eating with some players’ parents.  I realized these athletes face the same college stresses that I face, but they have their athletics on top of that.  The athlete that I see on the field is so much more than just an athlete on the field.  They are real people with real lives.  I guess it just gave me a new perspective on college athletes that I was foolishly overlooking.  I’m not saying that I will completely stop criticizing because hey, I’m not perfect, but the next time I evaluate a player’s poor performance I’ll try and do it with a little more respect.  

A Letter to Coach Tiller

Dear Coach Tiller,

I know many I’ve have been hard on you at times, but looking back on your career here at Purdue, I just want to take the time and say thank you.  Before you came to Purdue many of us didn’t think winning was possible in West Lafayette, but you proved us all wrong and you did it very quickly.  In your first season you went 9-3 and the magic had just begun.  You continued to put quality teams on the field year in and year out. Before you came we had only been to five bowl games, but in your twelve years here you took us to ten, including a Rose Bowl.  You put the taste of success in our mouths and for that I am forever grateful. 

Not only were you a great coach, but you were also a true pioneer.  With your spread offense and “basketball on grass” philosophy, you forever changed the Big Ten.  You got the most out of your players not only on the field, but also in the classroom.  You ran a fair, clean program, which is quite a feat in today’s world of college football.

Finally, give my thanks to your wife Arnette, for she is also a pioneer.  With her creativity she was able to invent the “Boiler Up!” battle cry and left a legacy of her own on Purdue athletics. 

Coach, enjoy your retirement in Wyoming and please don’t be a stranger to West Lafayette, you will always be a Boilermaker.

Thanks,

A True Fan