by Aaron Schmelzer | Jan 30, 2014 | Opinion, Sports
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. No, not Christmas, but the Super Bowl. This year’s 48th matchup is a rarity, pitting the two number-one-seeded teams in either conference against each other. The Denver Broncos (15-3) and the Seattle Seahawks (15-3), will square off at Metlife Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 2. This is the first time the New York metropolitan area has hosted a Super Bowl, and the first time the big game has been held in an outdoor, cold weather venue. The first question raised might be whether or not Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning can play in cold weather, much less win. Manning is 3-7 in outdoor games in which the temperature is, or is less than, 32 degrees. Actually, the weather does not seem to be an issue. The Weather Channel predicts that the forecast for Sunday’s game will consist of a low chance of precipitation, low wind speeds and relatively warm weather for winter in New York, so low 40’s to 30’s. The weather is most likely the least of any teams’ worries, though the cold most definitely will affect the passing game. Because of this, both teams may look to establish the running game early. The Seahawks defense is ranked first in total defense during the regular season, as well as first in passing defense and receiving defense. Seattle allows almost 102 yards per game, which is ranked eighth in rush defense. Denver’s running game is ranked fifteenth in the league with 117 yard per game. As cliché as it is to say it, the rushing game opens up opportunities for the passing game....
by Brianne Welch | Mar 7, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
Two days after a slew of famous country music singers performed at Lipscomb, the three quarterbacks for the Tennessee Titans spoke in the Gathering on Thursday morning to a crowd consisting of Lipscomb students from both the college and Lipscomb Academy. Quarterbacks Rusty Smith, Jake Locker and Matt Hasselbeck sat down in a Q-&-A with Scott Sager, the university’s vice president of Church Services, to talk about their faiths and, of course, some football as well. The very first topic addressed was how football and faith work together in the lives of these professional athletes. “I grew up around football in Colorado, but my parent’s weren’t really strong in their faith until I was in third grade,” Hasselbeck said. The veteran quarterback went on to say how involved he and his family were in the church even through his high school career. Locker took the mic next, but according to the newest Titans quarterback, faith did not really come into play until his sophomore year in high school. “I had a coach who challenged me to become a stronger believe, and he started a Bible study with us, and it kind of grew from there,” Locker said. When Smith took the mic, he said that faith definitely came first in his life because he did not even start playing football until his eighth grade year. “I was very fortunate to have a mom and a dad who grew up in a church themselves,” Smith said. The interview went on for around 30 minutes, but the guys were able to leave the student body and everyone in attendance with some...
by Cory Woodroof | Oct 9, 2012 | Opinion, Sports
After a large number of Kansas City Chiefs fans cheered when their own quarterback left the KC-Baltimore Ravens game Sunday with a concussion, infuriated Chiefs offensive tackle Eric Winston decided to take a stand. Winston held a one-man press conference blasting people who expressed their joy at Matt Cassel’s expense. “We are athletes, OK? We are athletes. We are not gladiators. This is not the Roman Coliseum. People pay their hard-earned money when they come in here, and I believe they can boo, they can cheer and they can do whatever they want. I believe that,” Winston said. “We are lucky to play this game. People, it’s hard economic times, and they still pay the money to do this.” This is true. Fans pay good money for tickets. You guys make a lot of money. Why can’t I cheer for what I want, whenever I want? Not quite so, the lineman says, referring in part to the long-lasting impact of concussions on players that’s still being studied, even while some retired athletes struggle to fully function and others choose suicide over disability. “But when somebody gets hurt, there are long-lasting ramifications to the game we play. I’ve already kind of come to the understanding that I won’t live as long because I play this game, and that’s OK. That’s a choice I’ve made and a choice all of us have made.” Winston continues. “But when you cheer, when you cheer somebody getting knocked out, I don’t care who it is — and it just so happened to be Matt Cassel — it’s sickening. It’s 100 percent sickening. I’ve been in some rough times on some rough...
by Hunter Patterson | Dec 5, 2011 | News Slider, Opinion, Sports
The BCS is garbage. I mean, really. College football is the only mainstream sport that does not have a playoff. It’s ludicrous. This year’s victim is the Cowboys of Oklahoma State. Coming into Sunday, everyone knew one thing: LSU would be playing in NOLA against one of two teams – Alabama or OK State. The computers picked Bama to be ahead the Pokes. That being said, the Crimson Tide of Alabama will play against the Bayou Bengals on Louisiana. Computers, you ask? Allow me to break it down for you. The teams that participate in the Bowl Championship Series games are chosen by computers. Those computers use a simple formula of (A+B+C) / 3 to get their “total.” In this case, ‘A’ is the team’s Harris Poll score, which is voted on by 115 members of the media. ‘B’ is the team’s score in the coaches’ poll. The Coaches’ Poll is compromised of 59 coaches that vote on the teams’ rankings. And finally ‘C’ is the computer rankings. The computer rankings are calculated by dropping the highest and the lowest ranking for each team and dividing the remaining total by 100. I’ve already seen this game. And even as an LSU fan, I did not enjoy it the first time – nor do I expect to enjoy it again. Alabama had the chance to beat LSU on their on field. Now, the computers have selected the same team to go down to the Superdome and play against the SEC Champion Tigers. LSU has three top ten BCS wins; the rest of the BCS top ten has just two. LSU...
by Hunter Patterson | Oct 17, 2011 | News Slider, Sports
Football at Lipscomb? While it’s been rumored that it is in the bylaws of the university that we cannot have football on campus, some students still believe that we need it. What most students don’t know is that there used to be tackle football on campus. During the late 60s and 70s there was intramural tackle football. Yes, full contact, full pads – tackle football. It was covered by the Babbler, there were injuries, victories and yes, there were even freshman teams that failed to win a game season after season. Each team had a player coach and the games were played on Saturdays; just like some of your favorite college teams. Now, in 2011, some students would love to have 11-on-11 football, others are glad that Lipscomb does not have a team. Check out the video for their comments. Please upgrade your...
