Smelling Roses!

My Spartans are Rose Bowl Bound!!!

Last night's Big Ten Championship game was exactly the way it should have been. When you pair up a team that is undefeated in conference play after going through some trials and tribulations in the beginning of the season with a boastful number 2 ranked undefeated team, you're bound to get an entertaining game.

The Spartans started out on fire, shutting down the Buckeye offense and posting 17 points. Our offense seemed to be clicking, as was our defense for the first part of the first half. The Buckeyes were able to come back putting 10 points on the board before the half. Ohio State came out of the half with something to prove and Braxton Miller used his speed to put the Buckeyes up 24-17 over the Spartans. However, if you are a true and loyal Spartan fan, you never give up on our boys because we know how resilient they can be. The Spartans made us all proud, coming back to win the game 34-24.

I got to watch this brilliant Big Ten Championship with my favorite lady (forever my roommate) and my family, including my dog who was less than excited with every leap off the couch and screaming coming from my friend and I.

With the BCS the way it is, many Spartans were confident that we would be going to the Rose Bowl regardless of the outcome of the game due to Ohio State's undefeated season. I wouldn't have wanted a trip to the Rose Bowl in any other way. Our boys earned it. And we deserve it.


As a Spartan Alumni and Spartan for life, I am incredibly proud of our Spartans. I am one of the few people that never doubted our boys. And now, we are going to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 26 years!

Pasadena, here we come!!!

And we're back...

Hey there fellow sports fans!

Sorry it has been a while since I posted. Life tends to get in the way sometimes. I've been through a lot in the past few months including spending a lot of time at a golf course both working and bartending, as well as going through a pretty insane breakup. But you know what helps me get over my broken heart? That's right--Sports!

College football has been a pleasant surprise this season. As you know, I am a passionate, die-hard Spartan fan and my boys started our season off in less-than-ideal form. I never lost hope though, and it has been great to watch Connor Cook lead our boys to an 11-1 season. I was able to attend two games at Spartan Stadium and yell and clap as loud as I possibly can for my Spartans. I look forward to seeing what they can do against the Buckeyes on Saturday in the Big Ten Championship. Go Green!

College basketball is now in full swing. My heart belongs to my Spartan boys on the court who are number one in the nation and currently tied with the Tar heels at the half (after a not so pretty first half). Our team is strong with many returning starters including Appling, Payne, Harris, Trice, Costello, Dawson, Valentine and a few new fellas added to the mix. We seem to be playing well as a team and having all returning starters helps create that comfortable dynamic. We are currently undefeated and I am curious to see how we continue to grind through the rest of the season. Go White!

Lots of sports going on right now my friends! What teams are you watching this Saturday?

"You pissed off the wrong girl with a sports blog!!"

    So today, instead of working on the final papers I need to finish to graduate from Michigan State University (which I am totally pumped about, by the way), I went on an adventure to Comerica Park with my wonderful roommate to watch the Detroit Tigers take on the Kansas City Royals. We got to the game early and was able to watch the Royals warm up. While standing on the third base line in the outfield, a family joined us, with two young children hoping to get a practice ball. Guthrie, number 11 and outfielder for the Royals was totally ignoring the children and I may or may not have said the exact quote I used for the title of this post...I was mad, but he did eventually redeem himself and toss a ball to the kids who were very pleased and now have a great baseball/Comerica Park memory.
     After watching some more warm ups, we ventured to our seats which were WAY up on the third base line, only to sit for 20 minutes and experience a rain delay. Naturally, the rain would start 5 minutes before the scheduled first pitch. Oh well, you win some you lose some. I will be attending the rescheduled game with my wonderful roommate. Regardless of being rained out, I thoroughly enjoyed my overpriced hotdog and beer.
    As I was watching the Royals warm up, I really took the time to take in my surroundings and realized how much I truly love attending sporting events. I think it is the combination of the camaraderie between fans, or the heckling of the opposing team (which I always take part in, or at times, lead), or just the atmosphere. I can't imagine what my life would be like without sports or attending sporting events. It has become like church to me. It is where I feel connected with the world around me. Nothing tops that feeling.

A much deserved Masters win for Adam Scott

   The Masters were very fun to watch this weekend. It is always great to watch great golfers play with one another and see what the weekend can bring to them. It always comes down to the end and I was happy to see a few extra holes played today in the play off between Angel Cabrera and Adam Scott. Both men are incredible golfers and it was great to see the sportsmanship between them as Adam sank that wonderful put on 10 during their second playoff hole. After winning the Australian Masters just 5 months before, I can't think of a better Australian to bring the American Masters home as well and be the first Australian to do so. Great job, Adam. And you look damn good in that green jacket!

Masters Weekend

    Even though college basketball is now over for the season, I still have a lot to look forward to. For instance, this weekend is Masters Weekend. For the past 22 years, in my household the second weekend in April is major. The television is all golf all the time for four days straight (even though golf is usually on most weekends). I have enjoyed growing up watching golfers like Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, and Freddy Couples play great golf. It is great to see these same men continuing to play well and to watch them play with young guns like Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy.
   I will be keeping an eye on Dustin Johnson whose super strong swing has helped him to develop into a very strong player lately. Another player to watch is Lee Westwood, who the Hoag family feels is due up for a Masters win. But this is golf, and players have their off days and good days. You never know what is going to happen at the Masters, "a tradition unlike any other."

And Louisville brings it home!!!!

YYYEEEESSS! I did not have to see the Wolverines win the National Championship. I am one happy girl and too tired to post anything of importance except...YEEEESSSSS!

Who will be named National Champions tonight?

   Well, college basketball will come to an end for the season tonight. This alone makes me sad, but the prospect of ending basketball season with a U of M championship makes it even more depressing. Regardless of the fact that I will have to try not to vomit every time I see highlighter yellow running up and down the court, tonight's game should be a great one. I look forward to seeing how Michigan deals with Louisville's full-court pressure that has brought them a lot of success all season. To win,  Louisville needs to put that to good use and get the ball outside to Russ Smith, Luke Hancock and their other strong shooters. Peyton Siva needs to handle the ball well and not let up on Trey Burke, who has seen better games than those recently. Louisville needs to find some way to shut down McGary, but not get Dieng in foul trouble quickly. Louisville needs to play aggressively and keep up what they have been doing to win their last 15 games.
    In the words of Tom Izzo, "you can't root for your rival." And I won't. Even though they are from my home state, they are part of the Big Ten Tournament and they are a strong team, I will NOT be rooting for the arrogant, overrated Wolverines tonight. If they happen to get extremely lucky and pull out yet another undeserved W....Well, let's just hope the Cards work their asses off and win for Ware!

Go Cards!

Who's my Tiger?

Who's my Tiger? Austin Jackson is my Tiger. The picture says it all.

Also, he is a great outfielder and has some serious hitting and base steeling ability. But mostly, he's a good looking man and hopefully my future husband.

March Madness: Final Four

     Because I have been watching college basketball religiously all season, I thought I had my bracket knowledge down. I thought I would be able to predict winners of games using what I had been watching all season. Boy, was I wrong. It's to be expected though, I guess. It's all about match-ups, or at least that's what I stick to since my Spartans were beat out in the Sweet Sixteen by Duke. (Insert incredibly sad face here).
     Let's talk about the Final Four. First, there's Louisville, besides gaining my heart string vote with the injury to Kevin Ware, they are the strongest team in the final four. With the combination of Peyton Siva, Russ Smith, and Luke Hancock, they have a strong shooting team and their full-court pressure seems to do them proud. They are talented, fun to watch and show how strong their brotherhood is as a team each and every time they step onto the court.
    Next up, Wichita St. Even though they just lost (giving the strong Louisville Cardinals a serious run for their money), they have been an unnoticed strong team all season. I have watched many of their games throughout the season, marveling at their strength and aggression. They deserved their spot in the final four and deserve a lot of recognition for a great regular and post-season.
    And now, the Syracuse Orange. Although having ups and downs throughout the season, they have never looked stronger than they have in these first rounds of the tournament. With Triche, Carter Williams, Fair and Christmas on their game, they seem to be on fire (and not just because their uniforms are ungodly bright orange).
   Last, and definitely least, are the Walmart...I mean University of Michigan Wolverines. Despite my burning hatred for anything that comes out of Ann Arbor, their team has shown some great strengths in the post season. McGary's massive presence in the paint has done Michigan well and with the Wooden Award winner Trey Burke on their side, they are a strong team. However, when their shooters like Hardaway Jr. and Stauskas are off, the whole teams suffers since many of their points come from beyond the arc.
   With all of this being said, I am pulling for Louisville as the 2013 National Champions. They are the most well-rounded and consistent team and their passion will take them far. I am hoping for a Syracuse-Louisville match-up. This is partially due to the fact that I'd like to see a rematch of this regular season pairing and I'd also like to see Syracuse wipe the floor with the ugly Wolverines. But who knows? This is Madness in March after all, where heroes are made.

Go Green! (and Go Orange!)

Can we talk about AT&T commercials?

How wonderful are the AT&T commercials about basketball? This one happens to be my favorite!

Who am I?

     So you might be asking the question, "who is this 'female sports addict'?" Well, the long and short of it is, I am just that. I am a senior college student at Michigan State University and I am a sports addict. Besides kicking ass in school and working hard to get my degree, just about all I do is watch sports or follow sports or play sports (well, play golf. I am not very coordinated).
     Over the past year, my love for sports has grown exponentially. I have always been a busy girl, without much time for myself. This year was the first year I actually had time to start doing what I wanted to do and following sports was what that was. I got season tickets to Spartan football, where I spent most of my Saturdays with my wonderful roommate in the front row of the student section at Spartan Stadium screaming at my Spartans to get it together. (You should be aware now that I have a severe dislike for Andrew Maxwell who can't seem to figure out how to run the ball.) This season, although disappointing, was a great experience I wouldn't change for the world.
     After a disappointing football season, I jumped right into Spartan basketball, which is admittedly my favorite thing in the world. I am pretty obsessed. I was able to attend three games this year with my family, having them listen to me yell and draw all attention to myself (as usual). I followed every single game of the season and watched as my Spartans had their ups and downs but I am feeling good about their future. I am definitely missing it right now. Aside from Spartan basketball, I spent my entire Saturdays all season watching college basketball, becoming familiar with all of the teams and becoming more educated about basketball, which was a really fun process.
    Another thing you should know about me, as it plays into my sports fandome, is that my dad and I aren't close. We haven't been for years and he is a great sports fan as well, probably less than me though :). He is part owner of a golf course, which I have worked at for the past 7 years. We had golf in common, but that was about it. Over this past year, we have grown closer through sharing our thoughts about sports, talking about sporting events, etc. This has especially been true throughout basketball season. As a Spartan Alumni himself, he is a passionate Spartan fan and we would spend half-time and post game on the phone with each other while I was in East Lansing and he was at home in Grand Rapids, talking about how we felt the game was going, who was playing up to par, who to watch out for on the opposing team, so on and so forth. This bringing together of people who may be extremely different is a huge reason why I am so passionate about sports.
      Sports isn't only for men or jocks. Sports can be for women too, and you will see just how passionate I am about them if you continue to follow my blog!