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...
![[Editorial] The fall of Herman Cain](http://luminationnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ap_herman_cain_scandal_kd_110211_wg-300x1681.jpg)
by Cory Woodroof | Dec 3, 2011 | News Slider, Opinion
I’m still not sure whether to be relieved or outraged at today’s announcement of Herman Cain’s ended run for the Republican nomination in next year’s Presidential election. At one time, Cain was on top of the world. He literally came out of nowhere during the closing days of summer and began to sweep the hearts of conservative voters. His charisma and bold plans (9-9-9 anyone?) helped boost him above other possible candidates. He was a down-to-earth individual that really struck a chord with Republicans. Cain even just about got to the point of running away with the nomination. But then, out of nowhere, a woman accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment during his days with the National Restaurants Association. If that wasn’t bad enough, three other women came forward, all with the same stories. It’s never a good thing if four women accuse you of sexual harassment. Cain went from being the shining light of the GOP race to being the controversy of the month. Naturally, Cain denied all the allegations. But then, another woman came forward. A woman from Atlanta, Ginger White, came forward, claiming to have had a thirteen year affair with Cain, also alleging the relationship had just ended months ago. Cain claims to have known White, but only on a friendly, charitable basis. White claims otherwise. Cain, already in hot water, couldn’t have had these claims come at a worse time. Cain lost supporters slowly through the month of November, but after this, things were not looking great for the Cain campaign. On Dec. 3, Herman Cain announced the suspension of his GOP campaign, citing...
by Josh Banker | Dec 3, 2011 | News Slider, Sports
For close to a decade, the Nashville Super Speedway has been a part of the many sporting event varieties offered to the residents of middle Tennessee and greater Nashville area. However, at the end of this year, the track out in Wilson County will close its doors for good. To some, this would seem a huge blow to the area but, unfortunately, this has been imminent for some time. Opening in 2001, the Nashville Super Speedway was intended to bring automotive racing back to Tennessee. The parent company, Dover Motorsports, took a risk in building the Nashville track, along with two others in Memphis and St. Louis. The intent was to bring NASCAR sanctioned races to the middle Tennessee area. The old race track at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds had a long history as a NASCAR track before it became outdated for that purpose. The Super Speedway did as intended, at least for awhile. It also drew the attention of the Indy Racing League for a few races though they have not been back since 2008. However, Dover Motorsports has announced that they will not seek NASCAR sanctioning for 2012. This essentially means that the track will be closing its doors, as NASCAR was the only series that ran professional races at Nashville Super Speedway. The future of the track and other uses for it is still geing sorted...
by Erica Aburto | Nov 22, 2011 | News Slider, Opinion
People will wake up before dawn Friday to get a head start on Christmas shopping, and Lipscomb students are no exception. Heck, some have even been camping outside the Best Buy and other “big box” stores for days before Thanksgiving. Ahhh the hallmarks of the holiday season: leaves falling off trees, the ubiquitous smell of pumpkin pie and apple cider, get-togethers and awkward small-talk with distant relatives, and the plethora of food that calls for elastic waistbands.The holiday season is also that time of the year where rules are bent. This isn’t more true than during Black Friday, when millions of people get an early start on their holiday shopping by waiting in lines, for hours at a time, in order to get discounts that more sane people likely will be able to get later. It’s common to see people fight for the same item, cut in line, kick, shove and elbow each other in order to get their items. Fortunately, here are some tips from Lipscomb students in order to avoid disaster and make sure your shopping is as pleasant and safe as possible. 1.) “Get there earlier than they open… make sure to eat and stay hydrated, and be careful of all the other shoppers that may knock you down or steal your items,” said Haleigh Seifert, a junior nursing major. 2.) “From personal experience I think people really need to price check different places. Last year me and my uncle went to three different places looking for the same TV. At the last stop (Costco) we found it for $30 cheaper,” said Josh Asres, a sophomore...
by Josh Banker | Nov 22, 2011 | Opinion, Sports
For one not in the racing world, it is difficult to understand the sense of loss those in “the family” feel after the fiery crash that killed beloved British racer Dan Wheldon. Wheldon, a good man, died Oct. 16 in a fiery crash in Las Vegas. He was doing what he loved, what all of us involved in racing love…. Some may call it the result of a dangerous sport, but danger is not what pushes these drivers who spend their lives in the pursuit of speed. It is not vehicles, after all, that we mourn or celebrate, but the people involved, the passion, the fervor, the triumphs, the losses and the loss. Passion forms the foundation for the racing family. The passion can come from all over, bringing everyone together to form one cohesive group that becomes so recognizable to everyone involved. Passion is the underlying force to which we as a racing community can go out and participate in the sport that we love so much. The passion that drives us as a community to continuously put it all on the line is not something to be explained but rather experienced. I cannot fully explain the sensations and feelings I experience as a corner marshal, flagging for every level of experience, responding to every incident that occurs near my post, risking my life on a regular basis, all in the name of such a deadly sport known as automotive racing. It is a passion that drives and pushes me back to the track, and it is the same passion that breaks you down when a tragedy like this occurs. The same can...
