Moving on

That's all the DWU men's basketball team can do after Saturday's loss. Move on. Well, no. First, they can learn from it. Then move on. That loss cannot sit on them all year, or they will be doomed.

For those that don't know, Saturday the Tigers had (at one point) a 17-point lead on Briar Cliff. The Chargers whittled that down, and it was tied at 67 late in the game. DWU got the ball in the last 15 seconds thanks to a BCU offensive foul, and Mike Lee missed a three after DWU called its last timeout. The Tigers pulled down the rebound, and called a timeout on the floor - with no timeouts left. For those that aren't aware, that's a technical foul. So BCU hit two free throws with 0.9 seconds left. Carde Pennington put up a good three-point shot, but it went in and out as the buzzer went off.

Heartbreaking. Hard to swallow. And the worst part - it's not the first crazy loss for DWU this season. It's the second. On Nov. 12, a winless Kansas Wesleyan team (that looked TERRIBLE the night before against S.D. Tech) was within two points of the Tigers in the final seconds of the game, picked off an errant pass (pass? Throw? Lob in the air?) and put up a desperation three that went in. The guy was literally falling backwards, and yet the ball banked off the backboard and went in.

Two losses that are very hard to handle. DWU could very realistically be 7-0 right now and have beaten one of the GPAC's toughest teams. But it isn't, and the Tigers have to learn from that and move on. Right now. Tonight they take on a York team that has been improving in recent years. Next week, they start a steady GPAC schedule that has little to no "gimmie" games or for-sure wins. It will be interesting to see how these Tigers handle this. One thing's for sure - they are going to give me a heart attack before this season is over. The past three games have been decided by a grand total of four points. Yeesh.

The Tiger women look good early this season. They picked up a nice win against a tough Valley City team. DWU also looked good in the first half against No. 5 Briar Cliff, and were only down by nine at halftime. The Chargers forced some turnovers in the second half and started shooting better, but DWU was right in that game for awhile. Amanda Hart is having a good year; she leads the nation (not just the GPAC, the NATION) in threes per game (4.4) and is a big reason the Tigers were so close for so long against BCU. She was named the GPAC Player-of-the-Week this afternoon.

Fall sports are officially over here at DWU; all the All-GPAC awards are out and outdoor sports done for the season. Congrats to all our all-conference athletes. This year was especially big for the men's soccer program, which had its first first- and second-team honorees since 2006 (Hugo Gonzalez earned first-team honors and Eric Christianson and Jordan Werner were named to the second team).

Crazy to think basketball and wrestling have been going for almost three weeks now. But at least that means it's Thanksgiving break! Hope everyone has a wonderful day full of family and friends. Don't forget to let those you love know how thankful you are for them.

Bigger than sports

I had a whole blog post planned out about the basketball teams and a 'devastating loss' and exciting win and some big games this weekend, but with the events of the past two days I just don't have the heart to post it. It just doesn't seem to matter right now.

Yesterday, we found out in chapel that Hunter Bork, a sprinter on the Tiger track team, is dealing with his second bout of cancer. He has been in remission for a few years now, has a prosthetic after losing his leg and just this summer set an American record in the Paralympics. I did a story on Hunter last year for Wesleyan Today, and he was so upbeat and positive about life and losing his leg; he didn't let it bother him. He was training for another shot at the Paralympics. Now, the cancer is back, and he has a long battle of chemo and radiation ahead of him.

Now, this morning, the world woke up to the news that the Oklahoma State women's basketball coach and his assistant were killed in a plane crash last night. This just 10 years after 10 people associated with the men's basketball team at OSU were killed in a plane crash. That one school could suffer such tragedy is heartbreaking. And to write about DWU's 'devastating loss' to Kansas Wesleyan after this - a true devastating loss - seems trivial and elementary.

So this blog post today, especially with the holidays coming up, is to remind everyone that, no matter how much you love your favorite team or how well or poorly they are doing, there is so much more to life than sports. There are so many things so much bigger than sports. Friends, family, teammates. So please be safe this holiday season and spend time with your families and friends. And please, keep both Hunter and the Oklahoma State campus in your prayers.

And we're off!

First basketball game of the year was last night, and it was all-around entertaining. Three-point shots, pretty layups and even a HUGE dunk. It was a good game; a good one for everyone to shake off the rust and work out the kinks. The Tigers beat Black Hills State 74-59.

You could tell the Tigers are a new team in the first half. We were putting up some rushed shots, some crazy shots and some shots that were making coach Murphy pretty unhappy. We also gave up quite a few offensive boards. In the second half, everyone seemed to have calmed down and found their groove a bit. That's when it got fun.

Carde Pennington, a 5-foot-7 junior transfer from Chicago, Ill., hit three straight 3-pointers (all off assists from Kris Wilson, who did an awesome little victory dance after the third one) and a pair of free throws to give DWU a sizeable lead. Then, as if to tell Black Hills to just back off, Jordan Long broke free and took a full-court pass from German Madueno and slammed in a huge dunk. The Corn Palace crowd (which was pretty good sized for an early-season game on a Thursday) went absolutely nuts. That basically took the wind out of Black Hills' sails.

Mike Lee, another junior transfer, led the team with 21 points. It was a fairly quiet 21 points; he hit three 3-pointers, other than that it was layups and a handful of tough jumpers. After he hit one of his last baskets he did a little dance at about the free-throw line; I don't know how many people saw that but I enjoyed it.

It was really fun to watch Pennington and Lee take over the game and do their thing. Pennington is small, but he's so fast, and he has such a smooth shot. Each time it left his hands you just knew it was going in (and the BHSU coaches knew it too, and therefore weren't too happy when he was allowed to get a shot off, which was fairly often). Lee is also quick, and was able to make some tough shots in front of the BHSU defense.

The Tigers are up in Ellendale, N.D., for a game against Trinity Bible College this weekend and are back at home Tuesday against Mayville State. I'm looking forward to watching this team all season; it will be fun to see how it evolves.

The DWU women are also up in Ellendale this weekend for their first game of 2011-12. Last year the Tigers were young. This year is no different. The difference in this year and last year, however, is the amount of experience on the team. All the sophomores played a decent amount of minutes as freshmen last year, and several of them started. Liz Lamb and Brittany Hills are both in their third years with the program and will be looking to pick up a few more wins, and Brittany Pritchard is back as the team's only starting senior. Kim Johnson, Amanda Hart, Taylor Piper and Whitnee Clayton are a few sophomores that will play, and Celeste Beck and Katie Johnson are the two freshmen that are expected to see playing time.

I think what's going to be key for this year's young squad is forgetting mistakes. Last year it seemed like they'd be doing ok, then someone would turn the ball over or make a bad shot and everything just snowballed. Things happen; we just need to learn from it and move on, and quickly. Teams will take advantage of a meltdown, even a short one. Especially GPAC teams. There were three GPAC teams in the top five in the NAIA's top 25 preseason poll, so league games aren't going to be any easier this season.

Last home football game of the year Saturday. Tigers need a win to get back on track and end on a good note after such a solid start.

The Tiger men's soccer team plays in a GPAC semifinal game Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Pepsi-Cola Complex. No. 2 DWU hosts No. 3 Midland. Midland beat DWU 3-1 earlier this year in Fremont, Neb. A Tiger win would mean their first-ever trip to the GPAC championship game.

Lots to do this weekend. Someone needs to find a way for me to be in about four places at once. The basketball/football overlap makes life crazy, but I enjoy every minute of it. I might sleep every spare minute I'm not working, but I'm ok with that.

Hope to see everyone at at least one sporting event this weekend. Who ya rootin' for?!

Every new beginning is some other beginning's end

A little Semisonic as a title for this edition of the Tiger Talk blog, anyone? I thought it was a pretty clever idea, not going to lie. Anyway...

I got the idea for my oh-so-creative title because the football team is starting to wind down its season with just two more games on the slate, but the men's and women's basketball seasons are just beginning theirs! These next two weeks are some of the busiest of the year because of the football/basketball overlap, and then wrestling starts and cross country and soccer are into the GPAC championships and playoffs. They are some of those weeks when sleep trumps all other non-work related activity, whether it be eating, reading, watching TV, having a life, etc. But, I also love these two weeks because there's such a variety of sports!

We'll start with football. The Tigers have, unfortunately, lost their past three games, which knocked them out of the NAIA Top 25 poll and, therefore, the playoff picture. DWU hosts Nebraska Wesleyan this Saturday and ends 2011 with a trip to Midland Nov. 12. After the Morningside heartbreak, the Tigers came up just short again against Doane. They were down big early, but Jon Bane and Anthony Muilenburg connected for three fourth-quarter touchdowns to take a one-point lead. Doane scored again, and DWU had the chance to win, but Bane's pass just missed Muilenburg's fingers (from what I'm told).

Those two losses, which came by a combined seven points, seemed to push DWU over the edge last week when they got beat 34-0 by Northwestern. I listened to most of the game on the radio, and it just didn't sound like we had any life in us. I don't think we got our first first down of the game until midway through the second quarter, we couldn't seem to stop anything they did and we gave up a few easy touchdowns. Josh Endres ran for 128 yards and was the one bright spot on the day for DWU, which was held to around 200 yards of total offense. We average more than 300 yards per game through the air, and didn't even get 150.

Hopefully that loss snaps the boys out of whatever funk they were in. We can still end the season 7-3, which isn't as good as 10-0 or even 9-1, but it's still a winning season, and nothing to be ashamed of. Sure, we probably could have won all three, but that's the way it goes sometimes. A win would be a good way for the seniors to go out, too.

And while football is wrapping up its season... basketball is getting ready to start! The men's first home game is this Thursday at 7 p.m. vs. Black Hills State. DWU won 96-94 in double overtime last year, but BHSU lost almost all of its key guys from last year. The Tigers are kind of a new team this year as well. They lost Brady, Larry and Chase - their top three scorers. Replacing Wiebe is going to be tough, and coach Murphy knows it can't be done by one guy. Sounds like freshman Jalen Voss has been doing pretty well so far, and I would bet he sees a lot of minutes as a freshman. Murphy said in their scrimmage against USF, some of the Cougars' more seasoned guys had no answer for Voss when he was on his game. Of course, playing that consistently so early in his college career will be an issue, but that's good to hear.

Transfers Mike Lee and Carde Pennington look to play a big role this season, and both are listed as probable starters for Thursday. Carde is small but quick, and Mike is a tall, fast basketball player. Sounds like health is a bit of an issue with him, but Murphy had good things to say about both guys. Then, of course, there's German Madueno, Jordan Long, Jake Kneeland, Bo LaCroix, Justin Nelson, Kris Wilson, et. al. German (who is wearing Brady's No. 32, which will be weird at first) will likely have a bigger role and be looked to for scoring. He had a good season last year, and without Brady that gives him the green light for more shots and scoring opportunities. Jordan and Jake have both been here four years, and will hopefully have big senior seasons.

Bo is poised to have a big junior year. He showed flashes of brilliance last year, and Murphy is hoping he puts it all together this year. Nelson and Wilson both played the point last year, and Nelson took over as a starter as a sophomore, so he will be a good guy off the bench (depending on the rotation, who's healthy, etc.). All in all, should be an interesting year! Starting with BHSU is exciting, as that's a good rivalry, even if Black Hills is in the transition to NCAA DII.

Women's basketball starts Saturday at Trinity Bible College... I'll do more on them later this week. This post has gone on long enough.

One final note: the men's soccer team earned the No. 2 seed (highest in school history) in the GPAC playoffs and hosts its first-ever GPAC playoff game tonight at 6 p.m. Semifinals are Saturday if the Tigers win, and the championship is next Thursday. Big night for Tiger soccer, come cheer! Who ya rootin' for?!

Battle of the Tigers

This will be a quick post, but just wanted to get a few thoughts out there.

This weekend, DWU travels to Crete, Neb., to take on Doane. Both teams (both the Tigers!) are coming off a loss to Morningside. (Doane is technically coming off a bye week, but they last time it played it lost to Morningside). Both teams are trying to avoid dropping any farther -- or falling out of -- the NAIA poll. DWU is 19. Doane is 18. Needless to say, this is a big game.

Stat-wise, it's nearly impossible for the two teams to be any more similar. The biggest, and only of the only, major differences is in pass defense, which could be a plus for our Tigers. Doane is sixth in the league in pass defense and we're first. We're No. 1 in pass offense, they're No. 2. We're No. 1 in total offense and scoring offense, they're No. 3. Our QB is No. 1 in the league, theirs is No. 2. We have three of the league's top receivers, they have two. It goes on and on.

Basically, we're going to have to stop their passing game. Neither team has really established much of a running game so far this season, so it's no secret we're both going to pass, pass and pass again.

A win would be especially huge for the DWU Tigers because we end the season with a handful of tough games. After Doane it's Northwestern, Midland and Nebraska Wesleyan. Doane has Hastings, Concordia and Dordt. We could use some momentum for the last three games of the season. Plus, winning out wouldn't hurt our playoff chances at all.

That's it. Told you this would be a short one. Who ya rootin' for?!

Tough to swallow

I know moral victories aren't worth a lot to most coaches... or any coaches, for that matter... but I really, really hope our guys walked away from Saturday's game knowing we're the better team. I know a few did, because I heard one player commenting on his way out of the Wellness Center that he was glad Morningside is the 'best team' in the conference, because they weren't that good.

It's not that the Mustangs weren't good. It's just, well, we were better. We absolutely dominated in the first half. Our defense was fantastic. They had 33 yards of offense at halftime. We had 194. The final stats were about as lopsided; they ended up with 201 to our 413. It was just two crazy plays that gave them the advantage. The first was a punt return that the Morningside guy fumbled, and another Morningside guy happened to be running right by to pick it up and score. Then came the interception. I watched it happen from the top of Joe Quintal. It was one of those plays that as soon as you saw the pass was over Bilyeu's head, you know exactly what was going to happen.

Sure enough, Bilyeu tipped the ball right into the hands of the same Morningside guy who picked up the fumble recovery, and he sprinted to the end zone. If you take those two plays away... we win. Then, you throw in the blocked field goal, a blocked punt, a last-second score, an onside kick ... it was a crazy game. I don't think I took an easy breath the entire game. Especially in the last minute. We score with 23 seconds left on a great pass to Clayton, then recover our own onside kick. I thought for a second we had the chance to win with a hook and ladder play, but Clayton dropped the pass.

What a game. What a great game between two rival schools for first in the league and to try and stay in the top 15 in the NAIA. I'm hoping we don't drop too much when the poll comes out.

This makes this week's game even bigger than it already was. We play Doane, which, along with us and Morningside, is tied for first at 5-1 overall and 4-1 in the GPAC. Looking at stats, we're pretty even with Doane in just about every category. Another perk for us -- they're near the bottom of the league in pass defense and, as you all know, our pass offense is pretty good. They are No. 2 in pass offense, and their quarterback, Anthony Dunn, is pretty prolific. He and Bane are 1-2 in basically every passing category. Should be interesting to see who comes out on top.

Here's hoping that close game showed us we can play with anyone in the league. Who ya rootin' for?!

The big one

Well, folks, it is upon us. The football team's biggest test of the season thus far. I would venture to say that coaches and players have been looking at this game since the start of the season, as Morningside was picked to win the GPAC. And now it's finally here. Not only a top-15 showdown, but also a fight for the top of the conference. If DWU wins, they stay undefeated (obviously) and keep hold of first. If Morningside wins, there's a three-way tie for first with those two and Doane, which has a bye after picked up its first loss of the year to Morningside last week.

Should be a good game. Morningside is No. 8, we're No. 13. And it will be interesting to see where we stack up against the Mustangs. We've played the lower half of the conference to get to this point, and Morning has played some of the league's best. It beat Northwestern, Doane and Midland, and its lone conference loss was a 30-23 upset by Nebraska Wesleyan. The Mustangs beat Doane pretty handily, 31-16, but beat Midland by a point and Northwestern 21-10.

Stat-wise, the Tigers look pretty dominant on paper. DWU is at or near the top of the league in nearly every category, while the Mustangs are in the middle of the pack at best. But, again, Morningside has played some of the league's best, and the Tigers have had their way with most of their opponents thus far. One stat that really stands out to me is the Mustangs' pass defense -- they are ninth in the GPAC and giving up 232 yards per game through the air. That's good news for DWU, whose pass offense is absolutely dominating the league individually and team-wise.

Morningside has two young quarterbacks that shouldn't be taken lightly, including a freshman who came off the bench to throw for three touchdowns last week against Doane. We, however, counter that with a sophomore who has a strong arm and has made some excellent passes this season. We also have three receivers who are the best in the league. And one of those 'receivers' actually doubles as the league's best running back, so take that, Morningside!

For real, though -- it will be fun to see what we can do against this team. They don't seem to be the high-powered team they used to be, although they're still pretty darn good. We haven't beaten Morningside since 2002... in fact, we've lost pretty badly to them most years since, so hopefully there's no mental block going into the game.

I know it's pheasant opener tomorrow, but here's hoping we see all kinds of blaze orange intermixed with the blue and white cheering for the Tigers.

Other notes

In other news... the DWU men's soccer team picked up its second win of the year against a team receiving votes in the NAIA this past week. The Tigers upset Dordt College 2-1 in double overtime thanks to a free kick by Hugo Gonzalez that slipped past Dordt's keeper. Another huge win for this team, which continues to impress. The Tigers are 4-2 in the league and in second place.

Holy women's golf team. The Tigers were a stroke behind Morningside after the first GPAC qualifier of the season, but won the second by 25 strokes to pull ahead by 24 in the overall standings. Twenty-five strokes! That's huge. Dani Bellet is in the individual lead by seven shots, and Jenna Winckler is second. Should be a fun spring season for the girls!

That's all for today. Hope to see everyone at Quintal tomorrow afternoon. Who ya rootin' for?!

A 'W' is a 'W'...

Well... wow. I hate to be too hard on the guys on the day of a homecoming win but... we practically tried to give that game away to Hastings. Gift wrapped and tied with a pretty bow.

We dominated the first half. Dominated. Had 250-some odd yards of offense, moved the ball pretty freely, held them to 83 yards of offense. Their rushing game had negative yards at halftime, I'm pretty sure.

Then came the second half.

Then we looked like a team who couldn't do anything. We looked tired. We looked lost. We couldn't run. We couldn't throw. Protect the quarterback. We had 17 total yards of offense in the second half. Seven.Teen. Hastings had almost 200.

DWU had some big second-half plays. An interception, a fumble recovery. Jesse Holz had a HUGE pass breakup on 4th-and-7 on the DWU 6 in the final minutes of the game to give DWU the ball back. But it was seriously nerve-wracking to watch.

Give the Broncos credit; after that first half they didn't give up. It seemed like it woke their quarterback up, actually. And their defensive line was awesome; Bane was scrambling on every play, it seemed like. At one point, the Bronco D sacked Bane for a loss of 15 yards, back to the Tiger 4-yard line. Yikes.

A few people got a little banged up... Aaron Rolen went down, and Muilenburg had to be helped off after a big hit. Dordt next week, then we have to get ready for Morningside.

On a lighter note... DWU is 4-0 for the first time since joining the GPAC, and (I think) for the first time since its undefeated season in 1992. Let's see how long we can keep this going.
Who ya rootin' for?!

Homecoming!

It's Homecoming week here at DWU... scratch that. It's the Friday at the end of DWU's Homecoming week, which can only mean one thing... Blue and White Days game tomorrow!

Tomorrow's game is a tough one for the Tigers. Hastings comes to town, and the Broncos don't appear to be the team that they've been in the past five or so years, but it's still Hastings, and we seem to have a history of playing very, very close games with them.

Let's look back, shall we. In 2005, Hastings won by three (32-29) in Hastings. The next year the Broncos won pretty handily in Mitchell, but the next year, the Tigers kicked a field goal as time expired to win 34-31 in Hastings. Then comes the 2008 season. That was the year, if you remember, DWU went 7-3 and (I like to think) barely missed a berth in the NAIA playoffs. Well, if they did, in fact, narrowly miss that berth, it's because of the Hastings game.

That year, the Broncos and Tigers played to double overtime, and Hastings pulled off a 28-27 victory in front of DWU's home crowd at Joe Quintal. I was working at The Daily Republic at the time, and was standing on the Tiger sidelines throughout the game. That was such an intense atmosphere. Everyone was one their feet, hoping and praying Hastings wouldn't score. I think it was the first overtime it looked like we held them because we had their QB scurrying in the backfield, but he threw up a prayer of a pass and someone in a Bronco uniform managed to catch it on the 1-yard line, where they ran in for a TD. The Broncos scored again to start the second OT, and then the Tigers scored, but DWU went for two and the win instead of a third OT, and the run failed, giving Hastings the one-point win. Heck of a game.

DWU picked up its second win against the Broncos in school history last year, and is looking for No. 3 tomorrow. The Tigers are also looking for their first 4-0 start in GPAC history tomorrow, and this is a scary game for that. This is a game DWU *should win, but the Broncos are a strange team. They lost 10-0 to Concordia (we rolled past Concordia), but they shutout Briar Cliff and destroyed Dakota State. Their defense leads the league or is at the top of the GPAC in several categories, and their running game is nothing to sneeze at.

The Tigers will need to be at the top of their game, that's for sure. That hasn't been a problem in the first three games; Jon Bane leads the league in passing and total offense, Anthony Muilenburg is at the top of the GPAC in receptions and receiving yards per game and Josh Endres is first in the league in rushing and scoring (and he also leads the nation on scoring). Oh, and Derek Carlson leads the league in punting. We're going to need all those components, plus a solid defense and steady O-line, to come away with a W. We just need to play like we have been.

Hope to see everyone out at Quintal! Tailgating starts at 11:30 a.m.! Who ya rootin' for?!

Three-plus weeks in...

I had every intention of updating this blog much sooner, I promise. Things move at a much faster pace in the fall than they do in the summer, that's for sure!

Where to begin. How about with football and the Tigers' second-ever 3-0 start? That's right, the DWU football team is 3-0 for the second time in GPAC history and for the second straight year. And they are a dominant 3-0 at that. The Tigers have arguably one of the best passing attacks in the league this season, led by quarterback Jon Bane. He leads the league in passing (297) and total offense (313.3) per game and has nearly 900 passing yards after three games. Add to that a pair of solid receivers (Anthony Muilenburg leads the GPAC in catches per game (8) and and receiving yards per game (93.3) Euedell Clayton is tied for second in catches (5.33) and is third in receiving yards (79.3) per game) and it all comes together nicely.

Muilenburg and Clayton aren't the Tigers' only threats through the air, though. Josh Endres (yes, the running back ) had a HUGE game Saturday and is ninth in receiving yards per game (52.3) and Nate Ovenden has also made some big catches.

A solid offensive line helps, too. The Tigers fought through, and are still fighting through some injuries, but the O-line hasn't given up a sack in two games, and is giving Bane plenty of time to air out the ball. Major contributors include freshman center Kyle Hencke, junior Nathan Little, senior Mario Palencia, along with Spencer Bloch, Kevin Calsbeek, Jake Verry and others I'm sure I'm forgetting.

Speaking of Endres... he ran for 186 yards and caught 11 passes for 115 more yards and four touchdowns. He leads the GPAC in rushing and scoring per game, and is also No. 1 in the NAIA in scoring per game at 16 points. DWU's running game was pretty slow the first two games, but it flourished thanks to Endres Saturday in a 45-14 win against Briar Cliff.

I was asked Saturday if I thought the Tigers' schedule has allowed them to go 3-0, or if they are that good. I really do think they are that good, although we haven't had a major test yet. Morningside at home on Oct. 15 will probably be our first big test, as Hastings (1-1) lost to Concordia this weekend (and we rolled past the Bulldogs). I have noticed, however, that we seem to get off to slow starts, and that will hurt us against good teams. In all three games in the first quarter we get into scoring position and then stall, or we fumble or get a big penalty. If we can quit that, we'll be even better.

Since I brought up Morningside... they lost Saturday! The GPAC race is now wide open, I think. Morningside, which is/was No. 3 in the nation, lost to unranked Nebraska Wesleyan. Northwestern is currently 1-2 as it lost to Morningside last week and then was upset 20-8 by Doane College, which is undefeated and receiving votes. It will be interesting to see what the polls do when they come out this afternoon. Midland was No. 11, and I bet will vault into the top 10. I think we should crack the top 15, or at least the top 21 (we were No. 21 in last week's poll). Northwestern should drop even farther (was No. 16), and Morningside would (I would think) drop out of the top 10. Oh, and Doane should jump into the top 25. Busy, busy week for GPAC football in the rankings!

Other thoughts... the volleyball team got off to a 7-3 start, but has now lost its last four and is 7-7. Freshman Danielle Bird is going to be a very, very good volleyball player for us. She and/or senior Larissa Veldhuizen have led the team in kills in all 14 games.

The men's soccer team could surprise some people. They are 2-3, and all three losses have been by a single goal, and two in overtime (or double OT). That includes a 3-2, double overtime loss to No. 10 Kansas Wesleyan. Top-ranked Hastings edged KWU 1-0, so that bodes well for us.

I swear I will be better about updating this throughout the fall. No, for real.

Who ya rootin' for?

Welcome to 2011-12

Well, I successfully made it through the summer without a single update to this blog. Oops.

But, I'm ready to remedy that now. Fall sports have been checked in on campus for a week and a half and the rest of the DWU student body arrives tomorrow, so summer is officially over. Time to get back into the swing of sports!

This is not going to be a very informative post. Between media guides and meetings and taking head shots of our fall sports teams, I have about 1,207 other things to do. But, one can only format photos and edit media guide copy for so long, so I thought I'd spruce up the blog a bit and let everyone know that I'm back for the school year.

Here, this will be informative: a bit about when sports start. Men's and women's soccer had their first scrimmages Tuesday against Iowa Lakes CC. The women scrimmage at home tomorrow (Friday, Aug. 19) and again Sunday, this time on the road. The first real game for either team is Aug. 26 when they host Jamestown College. Volleyball starts its season Aug. 26 at the Rocky Mountain College Tournament, men's and women's golf is at Morningside Aug. 31 and cross country starts Sept. 2 at a meet hosted by Augustana.

The football team opens the season with a nonconference game -- its first non-GPAC game in several years -- Sept. 3 at Dakota State University in Madison, S.D.

Back to the media guides. More to follow in the very, very near future about the upcoming sports seasons. Should be a good year for Tiger athletics!

Oh, and for those who don't know -- DWU athletics has a new website. www.dwuathletics.com. Check it out. Who ya rootin' for?

Stupid snow.

Well, it's true that our spring sports season is almost over (only about three weeks to go!), but Mother Nature sure doesn't seem to comprehend that. We have, so far, probably 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch of heavy, wet snow here in Mitchell, and it's still coming down pretty hard. This would be fine a few months ago. Maybe even in March. But mid-April? Come on now. This is nonsense. I wore my snow boots back to work after I took lunch because I got sick of my feet being cold and wet. Along with being a general nuisance, the snow also creates plenty of problems for our baseball and softball teams. So far, softball has already been postponed from this afternoon (now played on 4/22) and baseball is still waiting to decide what to do (although it doesn't look like there's any way they can play... they would tear that field to pieces). Football was also forced to cancel its spring scrimmage. Now, teams are forced to find a time in the next two-ish weeks to reschedule these games. Both baseball and softball are going to have a busy few days at the end of the season. The baseball team is struggling a bit this year. The Tigers are 7-30 overall and 1-10 in the league. This was expected to some degree, I think. There are 15 true freshmen on the roster, and of the sophomores, juniors and seniors, only a precious few actually saw much playing time last year or in previous years. John Greicar is pretty much the only fielder to have any varsity playing experience, and Ethan Opsahl, Thomas Pickett and Patrick Dennis are the only pitchers with a significant amount of experience. DWU has been in plenty of games. A few weekends ago the Tigers played three games that went to extra innings and lost all three. They are just young and don't have that experience yet. I think down the road they'll be good, as long as they can get some of these young guys to stick around. There are some very talented players on this team. The softball team is doing well; DWU is 12-17 overall and 7-7 in the league. The Tigers have split their past four GPAC doubleheaders, but two of the losses have been 1-0 games. DWU has plenty of power this season, and has been taking advantage. The Tigers have 16 total home runs so far, led by Kelsie Fahr, who has five. The pitching staff has also been solid for the Tigers. The DWU track team has two athletes qualified for the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships. Alex Liberty qualified in the decathlon last week and Derik Fossum in the triple jump. The decathlon is nuts... athletes compete in a 1,500-meter run, several sprint races, at least one hurdle race, high jump pole vault and I think hammer or javelin. Along with a few others. Talk about needing to be athletic and versatile. Kudos to Liberty for qualifying. On a random aside... the senior athlete recognition and DWU Athletic Hall of Fame banquet is Saturday. This year's senior class has accomplished some amazing things. Our latest hall of fame inductees also make up a talented bunch. Should be a fun evening for everyone. Here's hoping no one decides to talk for an hour and a half.

Spring has sprung... and is almost over?

So I was completely wiped out after our 10-hour drive home from Branson (and the subsequent drive back from Mitchell to Sioux Falls and back that same day/night to watch my friend's band play) and meant to blog that next day or early that next week. Well, that's been two weeks ago now, and I have slipped into forgetting to blog again. I swear I'll do better the rest of the spring.

Anyway... I don't want to lapse back to the national tournament too much but... I thought we had Northwood. We got it down to a three-point game, then couldn't score. I think if we would have tied that game or even taken a small lead, we would have had it. They were cocky, and you can't tell they weren't used to losing, or even playing close games. One thing I noticed down there is that teams and coaches are generally very, very friendly. They're excited to be in Branson at the national tournament, and they'll sit there and chat with you about the teams, the weather, their trip, their season, where you're from, anything. Northwood did not give off that vibe. They seemed stuck up, like they thought they were better than everyone. Which, yes, they were good. Very good. But very beatable.

Anyway... that's over and done with. Great season for the Tiger men. The offseason has been good to them, too. Brady Wiebe earned All-America First Team honors -- the third All-American honors of his career. Coach Shane Murphy signed Luke Bamberg and Kris Menning, a duo of high scorers and talented players from nearby Corsica/Stickney. Those two, along with Jalen Voss, should mean good things for the future of the program.

And now, it's baseball/softball season. Which seems nuts. We've actually had a handful of home baseball games, though. They haven't been particularly warm, but DWU is playing baseball in March in South Dakota, which is fairly impressive. The softball team hasn't been so lucky, but is hoping to change that Friday with a doubleheader against Peru State.

The baseball team has struggled a bit this season, mostly because it is very, very young. There are only a handful of upperclassmen on the team, and some of those upperclassmen are seeing playing time for the first year, so they don't have that big-game experience. Thomas Pickett and Ethan Opsahl have both excelled, though. Both have won a GPAC Pitcher-of-the-Week award after big performances. Opsahl leads the league with 38 strikeouts and Pickett is second with 31.

The softball team is also young, but experienced because these kids have been playing since they were freshmen. Brandi Nekrassoff earned GPAC Pitcher-of-the-Week honors last week for her part in helping DWU sweep previously undefeated Nebraska Wesleyan.

I know it's only the end of March, but graduation is April 30, so spring sports are coming to a close rather quickly! Which is nuts to think about.

Like I said, I promise I'll blog more this spring season. Who ya rootin' for?

Game 2: So close.

We could have had them. We had chances. We should have upset the 2 seed. If only we'd scored more than one point in the last three minutes of the game. If only a few more of our threes would have gone in. I think if we could have gotten one big shot in the final minutes of the game, it would have rattled Northwood and we'd have won.

They were panicked. In the second half when we started making a run and chipping away at the lead... they got sloppy and tight and started fighting with each other. They didn't know how to react. Just one more three, and I think they would have internally collapsed.

But, we didn't. And they didn't collapse. Northwood was tall and athletic and strong and very solid. But they are for sure beatable. Brady had a great game, despite being outsized down low. Fourteen huge rebounds and 19 points. What a career he has had.

I really wanted us to win for several reasons, but one reason was because the Oklahoma Wesleyan scouts I was sitting between didn't take a single note about us. Not one. They had a page and a half worth of notes on Northwood's plays and personnel and whatnot. They had a corner of the page marked off labeled DWU, but nothing written down. I really wanted to win and make them feel stupid. It's not like Northwood killed us. They didn't have it wrapped up; it wasn't a for sure win. Seeing that made me mad.

Excellent season for the Tigers. Considering we were at one point in the middle of the GPAC race and now went 1-1 at the national tournament... an excellent season with some very, very big wins. No one on this team has anything to be ashamed of. Especially after tonight. We left everything on that court. And it showed.

Again, I want to mention how very blessed I, and everyone involved with DWU athletics, am/are. There is so much support for the athletes and staff from the families, the athletes, the community. Families adopt players whose families live far away and invite them into their homes. Welcome new families into the Tiger athletic family. It's amazing to see, and be a part of.

Growing up, I never thought I'd say this, but I am already anxious for next year's basketball season. Who ya rootin' for?!

Game day #2: 3:19 p.m.

I'm a little bit anxious now. Still not as bad as yesterday. I wouldn't say I have a positive or negative feeling about the game, I just feel like it's going to be fun. This is a chance for the Tigers to prove to everyone what they're made of and what they can do. I'm very excited.

Branson is a great host city for this tournament. Moving this tournament would be an absolute shame. Went down to the landing today and wandered through the shops. What a beautiful area -- and the 60+ degree weather and sunshine sure didn't hurt! Made sure to soak up plenty of that; not sure when it'll get that warm in South Dakota. Also hit up the Titanic exhibit and the Hollywood Wax Museum. Both were very fun and entertaining. My character survived the Titanic sinking -- Curt's didn't.

Another thing about Branson: everyone is so incredibly nice. Very helpful, very friendly. Asking where you're from, what school you're with, wishing you good luck. All the teams and coaches are friendly as well. We're in the same hotel as Oregon Tech and Eastern Oregon (and Northwest, who already lost), and they are all very nice. It's such a great, welcoming atmosphere.

I haven't come up with any great game plan or idea for tonight. Basically, we need to do what we did last night. Maybe even a little better. They're big and talented, but we have a whole lot of heart, and that goes a long way. I'm hoping we can show Rollie and his Florida boys a thing or two.

Time to get ready to head to CofO. I'm quite excited for another hospitality room dinner. The spinach lasagna and strawberry rhubarb pie last night was amazing.

Get ready, Tiger fans. Tonight should be exciting. Who ya rootin' for?!

Game day #2: 10:30 a.m.

Well I am definitely not as nervous for tonight's game. Not compared to yesterday at this time. I'm still pumped up about how well we played last night. The Tigers will definitely need to play like that again today against the No. 2 team in the nation. I think this one will be fun, though. We've got wins against four top-10 teams... why not see where we stack up with Rollie and his Northwood squad?

I've heard from several people that Northwood is good, but not unbeatable. They're big, but so was Grace. They're taller than we are, but so is everyone else we play. They're athletic, but hey. This is college basketball.

Just a short post this morning. Went for a run (this town is uphill no matter where you go), now off to the marina and then to find some touristy things to do. More later.

Who ya rootin' for?! (Keep yelling!)

Game 1: We win!

(Jordan Long and Brady Wiebe go up for a rebound against Grace. Photo by Brian Beard, Creative Images Photography)

After a day of being anxious... we did it! It did take me until the very end of the game to stop fidgeting, though. I was sitting next to the Oklahoma Wesleyan coach, and he got a kick out of my finger tapping, white knuckled antics.

But seriously -- what a game. At the reception today, Shane talked about how this needs to be a team effort, how, when everyone works together for a common good, we can achieve so much more, and I think the guys took it to heart. That was the best collective team effort I have seen all year. The Briar Cliff game was great, and Northwestern, but this was fantastic. Our bench outscored their bench 26-4. That hasn't happened all year. Everyone made at least one huge contribution. Bo hit three big 3s. Jordan had 8 points, 8 rebounds, several assists and a few blocks. He was everywhere. Jake hit a big three. And Matt Dykstra had a few huge rebounds and three HUGE blocked shots. Germ had 11 points. Justin Nelson had 11 points and a few key rebounds and steals. Brady had 16 points. Chase had 7, including a late three to help seal it. The list goes on and on. Everyone had a hand in this win, and that is something they should be ridiculously proud of.



I wasn't impressed by Grace's bigs. Not even a little bit. Duke Johnson, their really good big guy, had some good shots, but they were all 18 footers. Not at all impressive down low or in the post. And Dykstra... Dykstra came out and just decided he was going to shut them down and play around them. And he did. He, and the whole team, shut them down. I was worried about No. 33 for awhile... he had a good first half... but he got quiet in the second. They were good, but nothing special. Tall, but that doesn't mean much if you don't take advantage of it.

This means... bring on Northwood! The No. 2 team in the country. Coached by Rollie Massimino, they are in the top 5 in the nation in several statistical categories. They lead the nation in 3-point percentage (.410) and are second in field-goal percent defense (.382) and total assists (571). Jon Dunn is fourth in points per game (23.8) and Pat Horstmann is eighth in rebounds per game (10.1). They're tall... but we learned tonight that doesn't necessarily mean much.

I watched Northwood a little bit today, but I don't think it was too indicative of how they normally play. They played Fisher, who's 15-15, doesn't seem to know what a shot clock is for and whose offense seems to be whoever gets the ball first shoots. It was pretty sloppy. Northwood wasn't working too hard, but it really didn't half to. I guess time will tell!

I'm so glad not to be nervous anymore. We'll see how tomorrow goes. I think I'm going to play tourist for awhile so maybe I'll forget about being nervous until closer to game time.

Hope everyone stays tuned in tomorrow! Who ya rootin' for?!

Game day: 3:18 p.m.

Still nervous. Getting worse, actually. I have about an hour of down time before we head over to the CofO campus to watch Northwood play, too, so I have lots of time to think.

In my thinking, I came to a realization. I am very lucky. We are very blessed. We have an amazing new coach who is great to work with and has done great things with a program full of amazing guys. Those guys, a group that was thrown together semi last minute, have bought into this new coach and everything Dakota Wesleyan stands for and found a way --despite being a "down year" -- to make it back to the national tournament.

Shane spoke this afternoon at a reception at the hotel (which was well attended -- the Tigers should have a good crowd tonight!) and said that obviously he wants to get a win tonight, but no matter what -- we're at the national tournament right now. We're one of 32 teams in the entire country who were able to make the trip to the national tournament. It reminded me of Herb Brooks' speech during the gold medal game at the 1980 Olympics in Miracle, where he reminds the team where they are and what they're playing for. Our team, coaches, staff, fans -- we're in Branson, Missouri, watching teams play in the national tournament. Not a lot of people get this opportunity, especially not year after year. We are very lucky.

Thinking about that made me less nervous. Sometimes you just have to take a step back and look at the big picture.

Then I stepped back in and looked at the small picture. Still nervous.

In other news, Northwestern is down late against... whoever they're playing. Looks like it's up to the Tigers to pick up a win so the GPAC doesn't go 0-4 down here.

Who ya rootin' for?! (Get loud!!)

Game day: 9:44 a.m.

Well, it's here. Game day. At the national tournament. I don't know how the guys are feeling right now, but I know I'm already anxious. I have a feeling it's going to be a long day, waiting for that 5:45 p.m. game. At least we don't play the last game of the night series; I'd probably jump out of my skin.

As you saw in Mr. Aadland's blog, we had a good night last night. I didn't go to practice (I went to the free media reception and got some little goodies instead), but I went to the Outback Oyster Bar to eat with the team and got in on the alligator tail trying. I enjoyed it. And it was hilarious to watch everyone else try it. The Parade of Champions was pretty neat. It got a little long, lining up 32 teams, but it was a neat little event. The USF/Ozarks game was very cool to watch. Ozarks gets a great crowd in that gym, and they are loud. I can't imagine how fun that would be, to play your national tournament games on your home court. The Corn Palace would be rocking if Mitchell were ever to host.

It's too bad the GPAC went 0-2 yesterday. USF (I feel) was a much more deep and talented team than Ozarks, but they couldn't hit anything. They shot 29 percent in the second half. I think Hubbard -- you know, the guy who didn't miss a shot the three times we played them -- had five points, all in the second half. They were 2-for-19 from three-point range and just couldn't get anything done. Maxwell was steady as usual, and Bloch had a good first half, but nobody really did much in the second.

I feel like my posts need to be more in-depth now that Cory has shown what he can do. I might have to pass the blogging portion of my job on to him... nah.

Reception from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Mont Clair Reception Room here at the Grand Plaza in Branson; everyone wearing royal blue and white should be there. If you're in Mitchell, Blarney's and the Scoreboard will be showing the game live. Let's go, Tigers. Who ya rootin' for?!

Aadland's Thoughts Part 2 (Guest Blog)

Associate Athletic Director Cory Aadland's final thoughts from Wednesday in Branson.

Just got back from the Parade of Champions and the USF-College of Ozarks game. This was my second time seeing the Parade of Champions and even though you know exactly what's going to happen and it's the same thing over and over, it is still a pretty cool experience to see all 32 teams announced with their players, coaches and honorary coaches (who are members of the community involved with local businesses that serve as sponsors and hosts for each of the teams for their entire time in Branson). I hope the guys involved enjoy this experience because it is something that is very unique to the NAIA.

As I closed my last entry we were on our way to eat with the team at the Outback Steak and Oyster Bar. You think the Outback Steakhouse is an authentic Australian restaurant? I don't think I've ever seen gator tail on their menu. Coach Greene ordered a full order of it and after seeing it Larry Swann asked the server what it was. After explaining what it was the server asked Larry if he wanted to try some. I think his response was something along the lines of "heck no!" The server insisted and brought him out a small plate to sample. After trying it himself he walked around to the rest of the tables in our group offering it up to any curious and/or gullible sole who was willing to give it a try. I resisted at first but then figured when would the next time I would have this chance be. And it really does taste just like chicken! So I can now say I've tried gator tail and I can safely say that I won't need to do that again. I had way too many things going through my head as I was chewing. But really this is what makes the national tournament experience so unique for people like me. I see these guys all year along almost every day, but to get to do things like try gator tail and spend more time with them is something that I really enjoy. We've got a great group of young men on this team and it really is a privilege to even be associated with them.

So back to my observations from this afternoon's practice. One thing that I was really amazed by was the complexity of the schemes in basketball at this level. Of course I knew there were plenty of offenses sets and different defenses but to hear Coach Murphy go through just a few of the sets he's seen on film with Grace was mind boggling. Then there was the different terminology our guys use for our defensive scheme... can anybody tell me what being in "white" position means? No, how about "l" position? Or maybe "strong" position? A long ways from the "stay between your man and the basket" philosophy we all learned in 5th grade!

After walking through a few different sets and then again at a more game-tempo pace, it was on to something that really caught me off guard and impressed me more than anything... fundamentals! Don't get me wrong; I believe fundamentals are extremely important in any sport, but here these guys were the day before they play the opening round of the national tournament and they split up between shooters, bigs and ball handlers working on the same things they did the first day of practice! After a good 10 minutes of fundamentals it was on to some free throws where I witnessed my highlight of practice... Coach Murphy jumping up and hanging on the back of the rim making faces at Justin Nelson trying to distract him while he was shooting! Who says coaches can't loosen up and have a little fun every now and then!

The last 10 minutes of practice were spent scrimmaging at game speed and let me tell you they got after it. And when I say they got after it, I'm talking everybody... players and coaches both. It made me think of how these mild mannered coaches that I see in the office every day turn into almost completely different people when they get into practice or games. And I'm not talking about just our men's basketball coaches... I'm talking all of our sports. The enthusiasm, intensity and passion that each of our coaches put into their programs on a daily basis is truly amazing. Seeing that passion during games can be expected, but these coaches have that same passion day in and day out that most of us only see when it comes to game-days.

Practice came to a conclusion after some more free throws as all the guys made their way to half court, highlighted by German Madueno's cartwheel, which to me was a perfect ending to a practice the day before a big game. These guys are serious about what they do and they work extremely hard at it, but at the same time they're having fun and enjoying the experience. I don't know what else you could ask for. With the team together Coach Murphy told them of the specifics of the agenda for the remainder of the day including specifically what they were to wear for the Parade of Champions, team travel gear pants and blue polos. He made sure to explain extremely clearly that they were to wear those exact pants and not some other version so they could all look the same. As the team walked off the court Coach Mueller made his way over to me with a slightly concerned look on his face. As he got to me he whispered so that Coach Murphy couldn't hear him, "I didn't bring my travel pants!" I hope no one noticed tonight, but I know I sure did!

All in all today was a great day...slightly long but still a lot of fun. Here's to hoping that tomorrow is an even better day. A win tomorrow night is no small task but very well within us, and I'd like to stick around here for a few more days so the weather has a chance to warm up! Remember for all fans here in Branson that we will be holding a reception from 1:00-3:00 tomorrow afternoon at the Grand Plaza Hotel and we want as many people there as we can get. So come over and enjoy some time with the team and fellow fans as we get ready to cheer on our Tigers.

Who ya rootin for?