31 Scary Things In Our Current Sports World; Happy Halloween!

1. Ben Maller of Fox Sports Radio still has a job. He puts down the city of Cleveland big time and no matter what our city does he puts it down. He also analyzes other stats in all of sports that generally put teams down....why do people listen to him?

2. Why did Ron Artest change his name to Metta World Peace?...coming from a guy who is known for jumping into the stands at The Palace of Auburn Hills and getting into a fight with a Detroit Pistons fan. And he has already gotten into an altercation with Tyler Hansbrough (Toronto Raptors) this season....actions are bigger than words (or a name in this case).

3. Can we please acknowledge that the Indians made the playoffs this year and the Yankees didn't? Roll Tribe

4. The Oscar Pistorius story was such a good one until he allegedly screwed things up and killed his wife....what a shame.

5. The New Orleans Hornets are now the New Orleans Pelicans....try to let that sink in. Go Pelicans?

6. Speaking of the Pelicans, former 76ers player (and now Pelicans player) Jrue Holiday took the microphone before the home opener for the Pelicans, "On behalf of myself and the Sixers we want to welcome you all to the first Pelicans game this season this year…"

7. With the talent Australia's Bernard Tomic has in tennis, why does he tank so many matches? Where is the desire to win?

8. Why is the entire Browns organization always on a different page with the rest of the city of Cleveland? No one except those few guys wanted Weeden to stay at starting quarterback for that long. On the flip side, when the entire city of Cleveland though Perez shouldn't be the closer anymore, Francona got right on that.

9. A tennis player from Yuba City, California was the Kalamazoo 18 singles champion this year...the first unseeded champion in history. But how did Collin Altamirano get there? He only reached the round of 16 at Winter Nats (which is less attended). But in his first match at KZoo (2nd round) he barely got past Paul Oosterbaan, coming from behind to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. The next round he came back to beat Deighton Baughman 2-6, 6-1, 6-0. Particularly in his first match, if he wouldn't have escaped that, he wouldn't have been known in the tennis world. He wouldn't have played at the US Open (Juniors or Main Draw) and he wouldn't get all of these wildcards into challengers. Just think if Oosterbaan could've closed that match out.

10. Is LeBron really going to come back to Cleveland next year? Even though he abandoned us? Sure he would help our team substantially but why didn't he stay? Then again we wouldn't have had Kyrie Irving on our team right now.

11. Kobe Bryant is still one of the best players in the league even though he is hurt.

12. Texas A&M lets Johnny Manziel do whatever he wants just because he can throw a football and run. Such a classy university.

13. Speaking of name changes the Cleveland Indians AA baseball team changed their team name from the Akron Aeros to the Akron Rubber Ducks. I understand that rubber is a big industrial feature to Akron but why clash it with a sports team? Be the Akron Rubber Tires for all I care. At least that'd be interesting.

14. The last time Ohio State lost a football game LeBron James didn't have any NBA Championships....20-0 but yet they have not scene a National Championship Game since 2008 (2007 season).

15. That Pardon The Interruption and First Take (as seen on ESPN) are shows. I'm not saying that I don't like them because I do, but how lucky are those guys getting paid to debate sports on a daily basis. I'd say that's a dream job.

16. Why can't big time NCAA athletes just try to get an education and accept they won't be getting money past a FULL RIDE to a school. Don't change the integrity of college athletics just because you want a brand new car a few years earlier than you're supposed to. Get a free education, play your sport and move on.

17. Why does the News-Herald Sports always write about football? That is why the Plain Dealer and Star Beacon will always be better. They acknowledge other sports that athletes dedicate their life to. For example a few years back Hawken's Sid Ahuja and Dan Lubarsky won state in tennis and just got a little excerpt on the back of the paper. But every week it seems that NH reporters have to do a whole article on a football team's practice.

18. Should wrestling have more regulations on it? I'm one of those guys who doesn't like when sports formats are changed, but then again it's horrible watching wrestlers starve themselves during the season.

19. Georgia Tennis' KU Singh quitting the team right before the NCAA Championships last season. The Bulldogs were seeded 3rd and made the semis, but nonetheless if you're the best player on a team that good and have a chance to win a national title, unless there was a death of some sort, why would you quit on your team with 2 weeks left in the season?

20. That football players can get away with cheating their way through their schooling just because they play football.

21. Pablo Sanchez of Backyard Sports (computer games) has yet to sign a major league contract in the sport of his choice.

22. People say cheerleading for a sports team and band is a sport....no it is not. You don't compete against other "teams."

23. The Chagrin Valley Conference is splitting up (the conference my high school was in). I understand the logic behind it, but that's just how it's always been for me. The CVC was just a part of the sports experience at Perry and now it's gone.

24. Justin Bieber playing in the Celebrity Game during NBA All-Star weekend is usually frustrating to watch.

25. Favoritism in team sports still exists as much as it does. That's why I run and play tennis. Trying to get away from that team atmosphere (in terms of placement on a team/playing time).

26. I've done 20 Scary Sports things and the professional New Orleans basketball team is still named the Pelicans.

27. Novak Djokovic essentially became one of the best tennis players in the world because he changed his diet to a gluten free one....can someone show me where the gluten free isle is?

28. The tennis club I play at back home (One Wellness) people always say how bad the lighting is....I've never had a problem with it.

29. How did my intramural basketball team not win the title last year?....Go Gryffindor

30. The fact that Billy Jean King things she broke the gender barrier in tennis by beating Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes....she did, but it was rigged. So stop bragging BJK, you have a tennis complex named after you so call it a day.

31. That you actually read 30 scary facts of mine and read my blog. I appreciate it because I work hard on this but seeing my views and knowing people are reading my stuff make it worth it. Thank you and happy Halloween!

The Wine & Gold

Get up fans it’s time to cheer,

Put down your popcorn and your beer.

Last season may have taken a bad toll,

But this season it is time to rock & roll.

Put on your gold and put on your wine,

Because this season the Cavs will shine.

This year there is no Heat in South Beach,

Or Hawks flying in the state of the Peach.

No Pistons fueling up in the Motor City,

Or Pacers in Indy trying to look pretty.

The Raptors will no longer attack with rage,

And the Bulls are permanently locked in the cage.

Kyrie Irving will help lead this team to fame,

As LeBron still resides in South Beach with such shame.

But let’s not look on that, but what we possess,

And win a championship that may surprise the press.

It’s time to unite as one, the fans, the city and the team,

And go for the title that would complete our dream.

It starts here tonight with the Brooklyn Nets,

Let’s start the excitement now and fuel the jets.

As it is said all for one and one for all,

Let’s unite as a city, and proudly stand tall.

Cleveland Cavaliers Preview 2013-2014

Welcome to the 2013-2014 Season Cleveland Cavaliers Fans

                                          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg_TZk45b84

The Cavs will open up Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena and will take on the Brooklyn Nets. Although the Nets will be without their brand new head coach Jason Kidd due to suspension, this will be the opening night for new faces on both the Cavs and Nets. For the Nets, these players include the old Boston duo of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. But I'm not here to talk about the Nets. I'm here to talk about the hometown Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2013-2014 season. So here we go......

Last year was a year in which we watched our ex-hometown hero LeBron James lead the Miami Heat to another NBA Championship. On the flip side, we watched our own team go 24-58. To get back to where our team used to be under the LeBron James era, our front office made some changes to the program. Going out on a limb (a strong limb), the Cavs reunited with coach Mike Brown after letting former coach Byron Scott go. Three seasons seemed to be enough for the Cleveland Cavaliers organization to find a new head coach. Unlike the Browns (with Chudzinski) this seemed like an ideal coaching change.

                                        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLVgmL3237Q

Besides a change in the coaching staff, new players were brought along in the offseason. They didn't draft Nerlens Noel or Alex Len as suspected, but instead they drafted the Canadian out of UNLV Anthony Bennett. The power forward, Bennett is the highest drafted Canadian in NBA Draft history, or simply the first ever Canadian to be the first overall pick. Veteran Jarrett Jack will be joining the Cavaliers as well, after a season with the Golden State Warriors. The guard will be bringing his experience along with his renewed talent with him to Cleveland to have a key part in coming off of the bench. A final key acquisition that was made in the offseason was picking up former LA Laker star Andrew Bynum. There are many questions with his health (knee) but according to bleacherreport.com Bynum is close to begin practicing with the team.

The Cavs unfortunately will be without fan favorite Daniel Gibson this year, as his contract was not renewed and is still an unsigned free agent.

According to bleacherreport.com the Cavs starting lineup will be:
PG Kyrie Irving
SG Dion Waiters
SF Earl Clark
PF Tristan Thompson
C Anderson Varejao

So Bennett and Jack will not start (obviously not Bynum due to injury) but add to the depth of the lineup. Led by Duke graduate Kyrie Irving, between all of the postseason transitioning to add upon what was already there the Cavs will be turning things around (hopefully). However, they will be in a competitive division featuring the Indiana Pacers and the Chicago Bulls. In preseason polls, both the Pacers and Bulls have been consistently ranked in the top four in the Eastern Conference.   

All in all, behind the back of former all-star Irving, the Cavs seem to be back in business. Not up to championship standard, that's for certain, but nonetheless a postseason birth is a very favorable estimate.

Lets not get ahead of ourselves with next year's offseason possibilities with the possible return of "The King," because we have this year and starting tomorrow night Cleveland sports fans can build upon the excitement that occurred with the Indians this fall. Sorry to the Browns but we need more out of you guys. Nonetheless here is to a new year of basketball that bring new possibilities.

Ohio State Marching Band

I know this isn't exactly sports, but this is the Ohio State Marching Band's "Hollywood Show" performed at halftime on Saturday in the Buckeyes win over Penn State. Even if you're not into the marching band, I'm sure you can appreciate this show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNe0ZUD19EE

NCAA Fall Tennis Recap

Now that a majority of the fall season is done (with the exception of National Indoors) here is a recap of the fall. I also have new rankings for singles, doubles and teams.

Starting off with the ITA All-American:

Mitchell Frank of Virginia took home the singles title back to Virginia for the 4th straight year. With Alex Domijan sitting the tournament out due to personal reasons, Frank took advantage and found his way through the draw only dropping 1 set. That set came in the first round at the hands of UCLA freshman Mackie McDonald. A lot of seeds when out early in the singles draw. Peter Kobelt (Ohio State), Japie de Klerk (Tulsa), Jeremy Efferding (Texas A&M), Ryan Lipman (Vanderbilt) and Tsvetan Mihov (South Carolina) all went out in the first round. In the second round, top seed Mikelis Libietis (Tennessee), Nik Scholtz (Ole Miss), Ben Wagland (Georgia), Marcos Giron (UCLA), Mac Styslinger (Virginia), Romain Baogarts (Wake Forest) and Soren Hess-Olsen (Texas) also went down. So in the 3rd round, out of the last 16 players there were only 4 seeds standing. The Spaniard from Oklahoma Guillermo Alcorta was one of the players to take advantage as he reached the final of the tournament. Freshman George Goldhoff of Texas was the only freshman to reach the quarterfinals and clinch a spot at the ITA Intercollegiate Indoors. 2 Baylor players in Julien Lenz and Patrick Pradella clinched a spot, as well as Illinois' Jared Hiltzik, Georgia's Austin Smith and Vanderbilt's Gonzales Austin. UCLA senior Clay Thompson clinched a spot as well by winning the consolation championship.

In the doubles, the top seeds Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese backed up their seeding and won the tournament. They came back from 6-2 down in the championship to knock off the qualifying UCLA team of McDonald and Giron 2-6, 6-1, 7-6. The Oklahoma team of Dane Webb and Andrew Harris also qualified into the main draw to earn an a semifinal spot before falling to the UCLA team. The Illinois team of Ross Guignon and Tim Kopinski won the consolation draw.

ITA Regionals:

Ohio State, California and USC all swept their regionals. Starting with the Northwest Regional, Campbell Johnson from California will be going to the ITA Indoors with teammates Chase Melton and Gregory Bayane as they won the singles and doubles title respectively. Down to the Southwest, USC's Yannick Hanfman defeated Pepperdine's Alex Sarkkisian 6-0 in the 3rd set to take the singles title. UCLA's Marcos Giron did not play in this (probably riding on a wildcard to the Indoors) and UCLA freshman Mackie McDonald reached the semis before falling to Sarkissian. In the doubles, USC's Max de Vroome and Eric Johnson took out teammates Ray Sarmiento and Roberto Quiroz (who were the top seeds). In the Mountain regional, Henry Craig of Denver (who was a Kalamazoo doubles runner up this year) took the singles title, as the Idaho team of Jose Bendeck and Cristobal Ramos won the doubles. Diego Galeano is the 3rd Baylor Bear in the Indoor Championships as he won the singles in Texas, as the Texas team of Lloyd Glasspool and Soren Hess-Olsen took the doubles. Oklahoma's Axel Alverez and the team of Robin Goodman/Ravi Patel of Drake won the Central singles and doubles titles respectively. Ohio State's Peter Kobelt was the only player to win both a singles and doubles title, as he teamed with Kevin Metka to win the doubles in the Midwest. Shifting sides of the country, Columbia's Winston Lin will not need to rely on the wildcard given to a member of the Columbia team (since they are the host) as he won the Northeast regional in singles, and Cornell's team of Chris Vrabel and Sam Fleck won the doubles. Hunter Reese of Tennessee beat his teammate Mikelis Libietis (Number 1 player in the nation) in the final of the Ohio Valley. The Memphis team of David O'Hare and Joe Salisbury took the doubles title there. Carlos Lopez Villa (Old Dominion) and Joran Vliegan (ECU) won their regionals in singles, as the team of Thomas/Azuero (Liberty) and Aita/Williams (UNCW) won theirs in doubles. In the Southern Regional, Malte Stropp of Mississippi State won the singles and William Kallberg and Stefan Lindmark of Ole Miss won the doubles. In the final regional, Georgia's Nathan Pasha beat South Florida's Alexandru Gozun to win the singles, and Benjamin Lock and Marco Nunez of Florida State won the doubles.

ITA Indoor Championships List of Qualified Players (Singles):
ITA All-American Champion: Mitchell Frank, Virginia
ITA All-American Runner-Up: Guillermo Alcorta, Oklahoma
ITA All-American Semifinalist: Julian Lenz, Baylor
ITA All-American Semifinalist: Gonzales Austin, Vanderbilt
ITA All-American Quarterfinalist: George Goldhoff, Texas
ITA All-American Quarterfinalist: Jared Hiltzik, Illinois
ITA All-American Quarterfinalist: Austin Smith, Georgia
ITA All-American Quarterfinalist: Patrick Pradella, Baylor
ITA All-American Consolation Champion: Clay Thompson, UCLA
ITA Ohio Valley Regional Champion: Hunter Reese, Tennessee
ITA Southern Regional Champion: Malte Stropp, Mississippi State
ITA Southeast Regional Champion: Nathan Pasha, Georgia
ITA Midwest Regional Champion: Peter Kobelt, Ohio State
ITA Northwest Regional Champion: Campbell Johnson, California
ITA Southwest Regional Champion: Yannick Hanfman, USC
ITA Mountain Champion: Henry Craig, Denver
ITA Texas Champion: Diego Galeano, Baylor
ITA Central Champion: Axel Alvarez, Oklahoma
ITA Northeast Champion: Winston Lin, Columbia
ITA Atlantic Champion: Carlos Lopez Villa, Old Dominion
ITA Carolina Champion: Joran Vliegan, Eastern Carolina
ITA Small College Super Bowl: Deni Zmak, Embry-Riddle
Columbia Wildcard: TBA

Possible Wildcard Entrees (9 Up for Bid)
Alex Domijan, Virginia
Marcos Giron, UCLA
Mikelis Libietis, Tennesee
Nik Sholtz, Ole Miss
Ray Sarmiento, USC
Mackie McDonald, UCLA
Ryan Lipman, Vanderbilt
Mac Styslinger, Virginia
Romain Baogarts, Wake Forest
Japie de Klerk, Tulsa
Jeremy Efferding, Texas A&M

My Previous Singles Rankings:
1. Rola, Ohio State
2. Libietis, Tennessee
3. Kobelt, Ohio State
4. Domijan, Virginia
5. Giron, UCLA
6. Sarmiento, USC
7. de Klerk, Tulsa
8. Lipman, Vanderbilt
9. Frank, Virginia
10. Hess-Olsen, Texas

My Updated Rankings:
I have been informed Blaz Rola may not come back to school so I will not include him for now.
1. Peter Kobelt, Ohio State
2. Alex Domijan, Virginia
3. Mitchell Frank, Virginia
4. Giron, UCLA
5. Libietis, Tennessee
6. Hiltzik, Illinois
7. Sarmiento, USC
8. de Klerk, Tulsa
9. Hanfmann, USC
10. McDonald, UCLA

Previous Doubles Rankings (Round of NCAA Tournament Last Year):
1. Libietis/Reese, Tennessee (Round of 16)
2. Pieters/Wagland, Georgia (Quaterfinals)
3. Withrow/Ore, Texas A&M (Round of 16)
4. Stropp/Angus, Mississippi State (Round of 16)
5. Domijan/Frank, Virginia (1st Round)
6. Cotrone/Davis, Florida State (Round of 16)
7. Brasseux/Pasha, Georgia (1st Round)
8. Jomby/Lai, Kentucky (1st Round)
9. Vinsant/Adams, Texas A&M (N/A)
10. Saba/Hemmeler, Duke (N/A)

Updated Doubles Rankings:
1. Libietis/Reese, Tennessee
2. Giron/McDonald, UCLA
3. Withrow/Ore, Texas A&M
4. Harris/Webb, Oklahoma
5. Frank/Domijan, Virginia
6. Stropp/Angus, Mississippi State
7. Pieters/Wagland, Georgia
8. Kobelt/Metka, Ohio State
9. Vinsant/Adams, Texas A&M
10.  Semenzato/Hemmeler, Duke

Previous Team Rankings:
1. Virginia
2. UCLA
3. Duke
4. Ohio State
5. USC
6. Texas A&M
7. Georgia
8. Tennessee
9. Illinois
10. Texas

Updated Team Rankings:
1. Virginia
2. UCLA
3. Georgia
4. USC
5. Ohio State
6. Oklahoma
7. Duke
8. Texas
9. Texas A&M
10. Tennessee
 

I know, a lot to take in. Have a Great Day.
Follow @BelievelandS

Charlottesville Challenger Preview

On the campus of the University of Virginia, so naturally this $75K Challenger is featuring a lot of Virginia Cavalier players (both current and former). So with 6 wildcard spots available in the qualifying singles draw, current Cavalier players took 4 of them. These players are JC Aragone, Jordan Daigle, Harrison Richmond and Ryan Shane. Shane was the only one to win the first round, as he took out Richmond. The other two wildcards went to USTA National Champion Collin Altamirano and former NC State player Ronald Powell. Both of them lost their first round match as well. 2012 USTA National Champion Dennis Novikov won his first round match, along with the runner-up from that year, Alexios Halebian, moving on too. USA's Kevin King was the only other American to advance past the first round of qualifying.



Looking ahead to the main draw, American Tim Smyczek is the top seed in the field of 32. Former Virginia Cavalier from India Somdev Devvarman is the 2 seed. He won the NCAA Singles title in 2006 and 2007. Here are the rest of the seeds:

1. Tim Smyczek, USA
2. Somdev Devvarman, IND
3. Michael Russell, USA
4. Donald Young, USA
5. Rajeev Ram, USA
6. Alex Kuznetsov, USA
7. Rhyne Williams, USA
8. Steve Johnson, USA

Former NCAA Doubles champion Chase Buchanan (Ohio State) is in the field as well, coming off a quarterfinal showing at the Montgomery Futures. He will play another NCAA Doubles champion in Austin Krajicek in the first round (Texas A&M). Rising starts Filip Peliwo (Canada) and Bjorn Fratenjelo (USA) have both won a junior grand slam in singles and will play each other in the first round.

The wildcards for the main draw are Virginia's Mac Styslinger and Mitchell Frank, former Cavalier player Jarmere Jenkins, and Noah Rubin (a 17 year old from New York). Styslinger and Jenkins won the NCAA Doubles Championship together and ironically will square off in the first round of the singles. Frank won the ITA-All American Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma earlier this fall and after a hand injury (by running into a scoreboard at Tulsa) that kept him out from playing any more tournaments, his hand must be recovered now.

The doubles draw will be released within the next few days, and will possibly see Styslinger and Jenkins make a run at it again? Perhaps not but we will see.

Blog Update

Sorry for not posting in a few days....I've had a very long week school work wise (school first).

So with the Cavs opening up the season against the Nets at home on Wednesday, I will have my Cavs preview done by then. Also tennis wise, the Charlottesville Challenger (@ University of Virginia) is taking place this week so I'll have my preview out for that tomorrow. I now have views from 24 different countries so I'll try my best to keep this up and running!

Don't forget I'll be on Blog Talk Radio December 9th @ 12pm (ET) talking with Lisa Stone of parentingaces.com

Follow on twitter @BelievelandS and have a great night.

Kobelt Sweeps ITA Midwest Regional; ITA Midwest Recap

After losing the first round at the ITA All-American in singles to USC's Jonny Wang, Ohio State's Peter Kobelt won 10 matches this weekend to take both the singles and doubles titles at the Midwest Regional. Kobelt now has 5 total Midwest Regional titles, as he won the past two singles titles and three doubles titles. He won his freshman year with Matt Allare, his sophomore year with Chase Buchanan, and now his senior year with Kevin Metka. The Buckeyes have now won the last 4 singles titles (Blaz Rola won 2010 and 2011).

Kobelt had a familiar face across the net for both of his finals, as Notre Dame's Greg Andrews was in both finals as well. In the singles final, Andrews took Kobelt the distance as Kobelt won 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (2). A couple of hours later, Andrews and teammate Alex Lawson also took the Buckeye team the distance, coming up short losing 8-7 (5).

With those wins, Kobelt and Metka will be heading to the ITA National Indoor Collegiate Championship at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, NY from November 7-10. Kobelt will now be competing in both the singles and doubles. Losing the championships both in a tiebreaker may be enough to at least get Greg Andrews a singles wildcard to the tournament, and possibly a doubles wildcard as well with Lawson.

Doubles Final Set, All-Buckeye Singles Final Possible

Top seeds in the doubles, Tim Kopinski and Ross Guignon from Illinois got taken out by the 4 seeds from Notre Dame, Alex Lawson and Greg Andrews 8-7. In the finals, the Fightin' Irish will take on the 2 seeds from Ohio State Peter Kobelt and Kevin Metka after they took out the DePaul team of Dzanko and Vierya 8-3.

Kobelt and Andrews will also take place in the singles semifinals tomorrow after winning in today's quarterfinals. As the top 2 seeds advanced, the other two quarterfinals produced interesting results. An all-Ohio State matchup featuring Chris Diaz and Hunter Callahan was completed, as Callahan blew by Diaz although Diaz played a higher position on the team last year (as was seeded higher). The same thing came out of the all-Illinois matchup as Farris Gosea also blew by higher ranked teammate Tim Kopinski. Kobelt will play Gosea and Andrews will play Callahan on Monday, with the potential for there to be an all-OSU final for singles.

3 Buckeyes into Singles Quarterfinals; Day 3 ITA Midwest Regional Recap

Tomorrow's quarterfinals will feature all seeded players. Top seed Peter Kobelt lead the way for the Buckeyes as he beat Northern Illinois' Axel Lagerlof followed by Notre Dame's Josh Hagar. Kobelt will play Michigan State's Aaron Pfister in the quarterfinals tomorrow. 4th seed Chris Diaz of Ohio State also advanced to the quarterfinals and will play teammate Hunter Callahan (9 seed). Diaz defeated Leopold Gomez Islinger from Wisconsin-Green Bay and then Northwestern's Mihir Kumar in 3 sets. Callahan defeated Filip Dzanko from DePaul followed by Notre Dame's Kenneth Sabacinski. The other quarterfinals for the singles tomorrow consist of an all-Illinois match featuring 3 seed Tim Kopinski vs. 10 seed Farris Gosea and then 2 seed Greg Andrews (Notre Dame) vs. 12 seed Nadin Indre (Western Michigan).

For the Buckeyes, freshman Marko Goles-Babic and redshirt junior Kevin Metka both made it to the round of 16 today. Goles-Babic defeated fellow freshman Sam Shropshire of Northwestern in the round of 32 before falling to Kopinski. Shropshire may seem a familiar name as he defeated Stefan Kozlov in the 3rd round of Kalamazoo this year. Metka also defeated a Northwestern Wildcat in the round of 32, as he defeated Alex Pasareanu but then lost to Pfister.

In the doubles, the Buckeyes went undefeated today between their 2 teams left in the main draw. Number 2 seeds Kevin Metka and Peter Kobelt won 2 matches as they defeated Kuelker and Bellutti of Cleveland State and then Singil and Sisko of Toledo. The other team consisting of Hunter Callahan and Chris Diaz also won 2 matches as they defeated the Detroit team of Kadyrov and Cawood, followed by the Wisconsin team of Strabo and Kokorev. Both teams are in tomorrow's quarterfinals. Kobelt and Metka will play the Notre Dame team of Quentin Monaghan and Josh Hagar (19 seed), while Diaz and Callahan will play the 3 seeds from DePaul, Filip Dzanko and David Vieyra.

The other doubles quarterfinals are:
Kopinski/Guignon, Illinois (1) vs. Petrone/Zhu, Michigan (5)
Lawson/Andrews, Notre Dame (4) vs. Jesse/Gosea, Illinois (8)

Buckeyes have nearly perfect Day 1 @ ITA Midwest; Day 1 Recap

The OSU Buckeyes went perfect in the singles main draw, going 6-0 and in doubles the Buckeyes went 1-1. Number 1 seed Peter Kobelt led the way for the Buckeyes defeating Dave Bacalla of Valparaiso 6-3, 7-6. Kobelt will play Axel Lagerlof of Northern Illinois in the 2nd round Saturday. Freshman Marko Goles-Babic had his first match in a Buckeyes uniform defeating another player from Valparaiso, Jeffrey Schorsch 6-4, 6-4. Chris Diaz and Hunter Callahan who are also seeded for the Buckeyes (4th and 9th respectively) also advanced to the 2nd round, along with teammates Kevin Metka and Constantin Christ. Top Notre Dame players Greg Andrews (2 seed) and Quentin Monaghan (5 seed) easily advanced to the 2nd round, and Michigan State's Aaron Pfister (7 seed) and Drew Lied (8 seed) also advanced. Pfister will play Illinois' Alex Jesse and Lied will play Cleveland State's Matt Kuekler, after Lied survived a marathon match with Notre Dame's Alex Lawson, surving 6-7, 7-5, 7-6.

No results were posted to the tournament central, so full scores will be able to found later @
http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/tennis-2013-ita-midwest.html

Perry HS Class of 2013 NCAA Athletes

As we graduated last spring, some of us are now playing NCAA sports..........

This list is based on a tentative list from graduation (so people may or may not have dropped it):

Division 1:

Sammy Kline, Volleyball (Duquense): Although she didn't graduate from Perry, the Lake Catholic grad will always be a part of the Perry community. Sammy gets playing time for the Dukes as they have wins most notably over West Virginia and Cincinnati, among other schools.

Division 2:
Cale Burdyshaw, Football (Urbana): The backup quarterback for the Blue Knights and has 68 passing yards and 17 rushing yards. The current starting QB is a senior so it looks like there is a possibility of starting next year.

Division 3:

Ryan Zaletel, Baseball (John Carroll): Will be pitching for the Blue Streaks in the spring after playing fall ball as well.

Tayler Sbrocco, Softball (Otterbein): Nothing on Otterbein's website, but based on social media played fall ball for the Cardinals.

Alex Guthrie, Tennis (McDaniel): Went 4-3 during the fall season for the Green Terror and will compete in the heavily competitive Centennial Conference (featuring Swarthmore and Johns Hopkins)...and yes this is me.

NAIA:

Rachael Greathouse, Softball (Lakeland): No stats or available roster on Lakeland's website.

Preventive Recruiting: A New Theory?

I'll be up front and honest, I am not a history guru in terms of recruiting in NCAA intercollegiate athletics. But after reading an article out of the Cleveland Plain Dealer last weekend I am here to propose a new term: Preventive Recruiting. Now, there may be a term associated with this type of sports recruitment already so I apologize in advance if I am defining someone else's term.

Anyways, the article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer talked about how Nick Saban and the Alabama football coaching staff were looking at prospects for their team at Cleveland Glenville High School. Glenville traditionally sends big time players to Ohio State, such as Troy Smith and Tedd Ginn Jr. So in the past Alabama never came up this way for recruiting purposes, but are seem to be changing that now. However a question comes into play: Is this simply Alabama changing their recruiting tactics or are they just trying to take away these top-notch players away from Ohio State to weaken their competition?

This brings an interesting recruiting perspective into play, the term I am calling (for lack of a better word) preventive recruiting. Although not morally correct, morality doesn't win championships. However, you have got to believe coaches wouldn't stoop to the level of preventively recruiting players just to win championships.

So what is preventive recruiting specifically? I am defining preventing recruiting as the process in which a coach recruits a player (or players) for the sole purpose of taking away from another team instead of recruiting them for their own teams benefit.

If a 5 star recruit is leaning towards picking the number 10 ranked team in the nation and then the number 1 team in the nation offers them a full ride, this might sway this recruits decision. He may never be put into a game for a useful purpose but as long as he won't be helping out an opposing team this benefits the coach.

This method would have many implications involved in terms of if scholarship money is available, how much playing time would the recruit be promised and get (if failed promises occur transferring is an option), the integrity of the coach and so on....

I'm not saying this happens, because it may not. This is just an interesting concept to think about if it actually does take place.

Big Day for Believeland Sports

Starting by waking up extra early at 7am (extra early for a college student), especially since my first class was at 2:40pm today, I did a lot of work with the blog. I am trying to rejuvenate it from Fry That Chicken and tampering with different things on the site to try to make it better.

For starters, I will be getting a little help on the Twitter page (especially for NFL) from my friend Joey Bastian. So a quick thank you to him...Secondly, I officially will be on Blog Talk Radio on December 9th at 12pm ET on the Parenting Aces Show discussing international junior tennis. For more info on this, check out  http://parentingaces.com/radio-show/.

I'm glad to get this going again and don't forget to follow us at @BelievelandS on Twitter.

Kobelt Leads Charge at ITA Midwest Regionals; ITA Regional Look

Ohio State's Peter Kobelt will lead the charge at the ITA Midwest Regional in the singles as the number 1 seed. Held at Ohio State, Kobelt is the defending singles champion as well. Coming into the season as the number 3 ranked singles player in the nation, Kobelt had a short, disappointing main draw run at the ITA All-American. USC Qualifier Jonny Wang took out the 2-seeded Ohio State senior 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 in the first round.

As the 1 seed, Peter Kobelt will take on a qualifier in the first round. He will be looking for the automatic bid to the ITA Indoor Intercollegiate Championship that is guaranteed to the winner of this tournament (as well as the other ITA Regional tournaments). Illinois sophomore Jared Hiltzik will not be participating in this weekend as he already clinched a spot into the ITA Indoor Intercollegiate Championship with a quarterfinal showing at the ITA All-American. Hiltzik was the only player last year to defeat last years NCAA Champion from Ohio State, Blaz Rola.

The top 16 seeds to the singles are as follows:
1. Peter Kobelt, Ohio State
2. Greg Andrews, Notre Dame
3. Tim Kopinski, Illinois
4. Chris Diaz, Ohio State
5. Quentin Monaghan, Notre Dame
6. Vlad Stefan, Michigan
7. Aaron Pfister, Michigan State
8. Drew Lied, Michigan State
9. Hunter Callahan, Ohio State
10. Farris Gosea, Illinois
11. Alex Petrone, Michigan
12. Nadin Indre, Western Michigan
13. Petr Satral, Wisconsin
14. Ross Guignon, Illinois
15. Sam Shropshire, Northwestern
16. Dan Mamalat, Marquette

In the doubles, Kobelt won the title his freshman and sophomore years (with Matt Allare and Chase Buchanan respectively). He will be teaming up with redshirt junior Kevin Metka, as they are the 2 seeds behind the Illinois team of Tim Kopinski and Ross Guignon.

The top 8 seeds in the doubles draw are as follows:
1. Kopinski-Guignon, Illinois
2. Metka-Kobelt, Ohio State
3. Dzanko-Vieyra, DePaul
4. Lawson-Andrews, Notre Dame
5. Petrone-Zhu, Michigan
6. Bernstein-Buzzi, Michigan
7. Callahan-Diaz, Ohio State
8.  Jesse-Gosea, Illinois

As other ITA Regionals are going on around the country, here all the automatic qualifiers for the singles Men's ITA Indoor Intercollegiate Championship in Flushing, NY:

ITA All-American Champion: Mitchell Frank, Virginia
ITA All-American Runner-Up: Guillermo Alcorta, Oklahoma
ITA All-American Semifinalist: Julian Lenz, Baylor
ITA All-American Semifinalist: Gonzales Austin, Vanderbilt
ITA All-American Quarterfinalist: George Goldhoff, Texas
ITA All-American Quarterfinalist: Jared Hiltzik, Illinois
ITA All-American Quarterfinalist: Austin Smith, Georgia
ITA All-American Quarterfinalist: Patrick Pradella, Baylor
ITA All-American Consolation Champion: Clay Thompson, UCLA
ITA Ohio Valley Regional Champion: Hunter Reese, Tennessee
ITA Southern Regional Champion: Malte Stropp, Mississippi State
ITA Southeast Regional Champion: Nathan Pasha, Georgia
ITA Small College Super Bowl: Deni Zmak, Embry-Riddle

I will update this list after more champions are crowned this weekend

Believeland Sports

Hello,

After much thinking, Fry That Chicken is now under the name of Believeland Sports. I chose to make this blog sports specific and to focus on sports journalism. This has been a transition consisting of my limited computer access due to my computer recently being shut off by my college, but am now more prepared to face not having a computer. Follow @BelievelandS on Twitter.

Update

My computer had a virus on it so bad, it almost took down the whole McDaniel wireless network...so my computer is still getting fixed (which I'm told it most likely will be) and it needs to get approved by the person in charge of the wireless network at McDaniel. I'm hoping the blog will be up again by next week.

Fry That Chicken

Back Down....

Due to computer difficulties, Fry That Chicken will once again be down until further notice. I'm working hard to get the blog back up and running.

Thank you,
Fry That Chicken

Back in the Game

Sorry I shut down the blog for the weekend. I had a tennis match Friday and my family was in town, but now I am back.

Thank you,
Fry That Chicken

Midnight Madness-Sampras/Agassi Fight

At an exhibition event in Indian Wells, California...the fun doesn't start until 1 minute 30 seconds in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QSK9t6OrgU

ITA All-American Day 1 Recap

After the first 2 rounds of singles play, not many seeds are still alive as there were numerous upsets. In fact, only 4 of the beginning 16 seeds are still in. Number 1 seed Mikelis Libietis went out early in his second straight major tournament. Libietis survived Dennis Mkrtchian of UCLA but the same could not be said as he lost to freshman qualifier George Goldhoff of Texas in 3 sets. Number 5 seed Marcos Giron joined Libietis in losing in the second round. Giron started the day with a convincing win over Lloyd Glasspool but then fell to Italian player Amerigo Contini of Virginia Tech 6-4, 6-2. His momentum that he gained by winning 2 futures events in the past 3 weeks apparently did not carry over in Tulsa. Number 2 seed Peter Kobelt and number 3 seed Ryan Lipman both lost their first round matches. Qualifer and UNC freshman Ronnie Schneider won 2 rounds to move onto Friday's 3rd round. Baylor and Oklahoma both have 2 singles players remaining. Only the 3rd round will be played Friday for singles.

Here are Friday's 3rd Round singles matchups (round of 16):
Dane Webb (Oklahoma) vs. George Goldhoff (Texas)
Julien Lenz (Baylor) vs. Ronnie Schneider (UNC)
#7 Ray Sarmiento (USC) vs. #14 Jared Hiltzik (Illinois)
Gonzales Austin (Vanderbilt) vs. Amerigo Contini (Virginia Tech)
Winston Lim (Columbia) vs. #12 Mitchell Frank (Virginia)
Harrison Adams (Texas A&M) vs. Austin Smith (Georgia)
Guillermo Alcorta (Oklahoma) vs. Austin Powell (NC State)
#13 Patrick Pradella (Baylor) vs. Clarke Spinosa (San Diego)

In doubles, top seeds Hunter Reese and Mikelis Libietis avenged their earlier singles losses to win their first round match over NC State. Peter Kobelt of Ohio State lost his 2nd match of the day as he and teammate Kevin Metka lost to the 5 seeds Mac Styslinger and Mitchell Frank of Virginia 8-7.
2 of the seeded teams fell in the first round. The UCLA team of Marcos Giron and Mackenzie McDonald took out one of these teams as they defeated 8 seeds Shane Vinsant and Harrison Adams of Texas A&M. The other upset was when the Duke team of Raphael Hemmeler and Bruno Semenzato took out number 2 seeds Hernus Peters and Ben Wagland of Georgia. Two rounds of doubles will be played Friday.

Here are Friday's 2nd Round doubles matchups (round of 16):
#1 Libietis/Reese (Tennesee) vs. TBD
Orkin/Watson (Florida) vs. Austin/Lipman (Vanderbilt)
#3 Ore/Withrow (Texas A&M) vs. Chappel/Stein (TCU)
#5 Frank/Styslinger (Virginia) vs. Narayana/Schnur (Columbia)
Roller/Vliegen (East Carolina) vs. Giron/McDonald (UCLA)
O'Hare/Salisbury (Memphis) vs. #4 Angus/Stropp (Miss. State)
Harris/Webb (Oklahoma) vs. #6 Jeske/Nott (Arkansas)
Semenzato/Hemmeler (Duke) vs. Bjerrehus/Contini (Virginia Tech)

TBT Album of the Week

My new segment: Throwback Thursday Album of the Week

This weeks TBT Album of the Week:
Recovery by Eminem
Released: 2010


www.wikipedia.org

Tracks:
1. Cold Wind Blows
2. Talkin to Myself (ft. Kobe)
3. On Fire
4. Won't Back Down (ft. P!nk)
5. W.T.P.
6. Going Through Changes
7. Not Afraid
8. Seduction
9. No Love (ft. Lil Wayne)
10. Space Bound
11. Cinderella Man
12. 25 to Life
13. So Bad
14. Almost Famous
15. Love the Way You Lie (ft. Rihanna)
16. You're Never Over
17. Untitled

Green highlights denotes my top tracks.

Song of the Day

Never Forget You #LupeFiasco #JohnLegend

Midnight Madness-Finding Nemo Anemone

Well, we can't win them all Cleveland fans. It was a fun season but it just wasn't our night. In light of this, here is something that can always cheer someone up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmV7roZKjqA

Song of the Day

There is a current glitch on my blog, so until further notice I'll post each day for Song of the Day.

Today's Song of the Day:
Dark Fantasy #KanyeWest

ITA All-American Preview

The ITA All-American College Championships have been going on for almost a week with the pre-qualifying and qualifying but tomorrow starts the main draw. This tournament is at the The University of Tulsa, followed by the a junior tournament that starts Monday (ITF Grade 1 Pan American Championship).


www.itatennis.com

In singles, Mikelis Libietis (Tennessee) leads the field as the number 1 seed. Defending champion from Virginia Alex Domijan is out of the tournament and it is unknown why. It is his senior season and he was on the original acceptance list so it is unknown why he is out of the tournament. Last years runner-up Peter Kobelt will now be the 2nd seed. 5 Seed Marcos Giron is playing very good tennis right now, winning 2 ITF Futures singles titles in the last 3 weeks. New teammate Mackenzie McDonald got a wildcard into the main draw and the two of them despite being in the main draw for singles and winning and ITF Futures event as a team, are playing the qualifying draw in doubles together.

There are a few intriguing first round matchups in the singles:
Mac Styslinger (Virginia) vs. Michael Redlicki (Duke)
Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) vs.  #12 Mitchell Frank (Virginia)
#10 Japie de Klerk (Tulsa) vs. Roberto Quiroz (USC)
#1 Mikelis Libietis (Tennessee) vs. Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA)

For the doubles, Mikelis Libietis will also be the 1 seed teaming with Hunter Reese (Tennessee). The team of Giron-McDonald qualified so they will be a team to watch out for, although they are unseeded. NCAA Doubles champ Mac Styslinger (Virginia) is now playing with Mitchell Frank instead of Justin Shane. This is due to Alex Domijan being out, who originally was paired with Frank. Texas A&M will be looking for big results in doubles, as they have 2 seeded teams. Those teams are #3 seeded Junior Ore and Jackson Withrow and #8 seeded team Shane Vinsant and Harrison Adams.

Here are a few intriguing first round matchups in doubles:
Mac Styslinger-Mitchell Frank (Virginia) vs. Peter Kobelt-Kevin Metka (Ohio State)
Marcos Giron-Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) vs. #8 Harrison Adams-Shane Vinsant (Texas A&M)
Raphael Hemmeler-Bruno Semenzato (Duke) vs. #2 Hernuis Peters-Ben Wagland (Georgia)

Complete Draws and Seeds can be found here:
 http://www.itatennis.com/Events/ITANationalChampionships/MensAllAmerican.htm

Here is a clip of Peter Kobelt of Ohio State in last year's final against Alex Domijan courtesy of Zoo Tennis:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr5HKVEKJLk

Indians vs. Rays Starting Lineups

Here are the starting lineups for tonight's game in Cleveland.

Alex Cobb will pitch for the Rays versus the Indian's Danny Salazar.

Indians:
M. Bourn, CF
N. Swisher, 1B
J. Kipnis, 2B
C. Santana, DH
M. Brantley, LF
R. Raburn, RF
A. Cabrera, SS
Y. Gomes, C
L. Chisenhall, 3B

Rays

D DeJesus LF
W Myers RF
J Loney 1B
E Longoria 3B
B Zobrist 2B
D Jennings CF
D Young DH
Y Escobar SS
J Molina C Roll Tribe!

Fry That Chicken YouTube Channel Launched

Check out the official YouTube channel of Fry That Chicken which features all of my Midnight Madness segments (that have been through YouTube) and all of my songs on Song of the Day (most of them are the music videos). Also I have a quick intro video that I posted, so check out the channel!

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdj5K3BmLwg-akIkWVcOExQ

Midnight Madness-Cleveland Browns Showing Some Love

http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/media-center/videos/A-Message-to-the-Cleveland-Indians-from-the-Browns/e7ebc6b3-a8f5-4be2-916a-dc06505e56d2

Even the Cleveland Browns are supporting the Tribe, as they should. It's a good time to be an Indians fan and let's hope at this time tomorrow night I'm posting a Midnight Madness pertaining to the Indians winning!

Have a Great Night,
Fry That Chicken
Alex Guthrie

Expansion of Fry That Chicken

Viewers of Fry That Chicken,

It is with my great excitement that tomorrow my YouTube Channel for Fry That Chicken will be launched. It will feature all of my clips that I have posted on my Midnight Madness segment, plus additional videos and sneak peaks into the making of Fry That Chicken.

On that note, I have some more great news. As I released as a statement on Twitter Sunday night, I will am underway of gathering resources to take Fry That Chicken on the radio for an hour per week. Unofficially, my broadcasts will include featured all 7 Song's of the Day for that week, along with other segments I plan to start up. Also I will hope I get listener interaction and a few calls.

Let me know what you think and look out for the launching of my new YouTube Channel!

Fry That Chicken