<![CDATA[NCAAbbs - Western Michigan]]> http://ncaabbs.com/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:33:28 -0600 MyBB <![CDATA[Air Force One carbon footprint?]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=401537 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:26:00 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=401537 <![CDATA[Volleyball in MAC Tournament]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=401474 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:08:49 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=401474
http://mac-sports.com/newLiveStats/Volle...em_id=9400]]>
http://mac-sports.com/newLiveStats/Volle...em_id=9400]]> <![CDATA[Announcing TheBroncoStampede.com]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=401415 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:21:56 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=401415
So now you have one! Enjoy!]]>
So now you have one! Enjoy!]]> <![CDATA[Overhauled NCAAbbs Everywhere Standings]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=401261 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:13:53 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=401261
Don't know what any of this is all about? Check out the current standings thread below for an explanation



Current Standings:
http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=315460

Catalog Of Tagged Venues:
http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400246]]>
Don't know what any of this is all about? Check out the current standings thread below for an explanation



Current Standings:
http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=315460

Catalog Of Tagged Venues:
http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400246]]> <![CDATA[The Irish got screwed]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=401124 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:49:23 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=401124 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HzTDHJ3kaA

Were these MAC refs ?]]> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HzTDHJ3kaA

Were these MAC refs ?]]> <![CDATA[Greece qualifies for World Cup in Soccer.]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400890 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:06:49 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400890
DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) Greece qualified for the World Cup on Wednesday, beating Ukraine 1-0 on aggregate after Dimitrios Salpigidis' first-half goal in the second leg.
The Panathinaikos striker scored in the 31st minute after receiving a pass from Celtic forward Georgios Samaras.

The countries played out a 0-0 draw on Saturday in the first leg in Athens.


[Image: Euro-2004-Greece.jpg]]]>
DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) Greece qualified for the World Cup on Wednesday, beating Ukraine 1-0 on aggregate after Dimitrios Salpigidis' first-half goal in the second leg.
The Panathinaikos striker scored in the 31st minute after receiving a pass from Celtic forward Georgios Samaras.

The countries played out a 0-0 draw on Saturday in the first leg in Athens.


[Image: Euro-2004-Greece.jpg]]]> <![CDATA[World Central Banks rushing to buy GOLD.]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400862 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:57:07 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400862
Russell Comment -- This is indeed ironic. In swapping their own paper for gold, many central banks are admitting that gold is superior to the very paper they are creating out of thin air.

Many nations are now seeking to boost the ratio of gold to paper in their reserves. The U.S. has the largest ratio of gold to junk fiat paper, 77.4%. But the U.S. stupidly only places the value of our gold at $42.22 an ounce. If the U.S. marked our gold to market, it would be a tremendous help to our government's balance sheet. But the U.S. prefers to live in a fantasy world where gold is worth less than $50 an ounce!

Germany has 69.2% of its reserves in gold.

Italy has 66.6%.

France has 70.6%.

The U.K. has 17.6% (after idiotically selling most of its gold near the low below $300 an ounce).

Japan has 2.3% of its reserves in gold.

India has 4.0%.

Russia has 4.3%.

China has 1.9%.

It's easy to see that Russia, India and China are low on gold. All three would like to at least double the percentage of gold in their reserves. The race is on for these central banks to accumulate gold without running the price of gold sky-high.

In the U.S., literally no one owns gold. Rather, U.S. citizens are selling their gold (jewelry) to companies who are advertising that they'll buy "your overpriced" gold for cash.

A few nations are actively promoting the ownership of gold. China, the world's biggest miner of gold, has been encouraging its people to buy gold. In London, Harrod's department store is now selling gold coins and bars to anyone who has the paper to buy gold. Within a year or so, I expect public buying of gold to reach a crescendo. Interestingly, most Americans have never seen a gold coin.]]>
Russell Comment -- This is indeed ironic. In swapping their own paper for gold, many central banks are admitting that gold is superior to the very paper they are creating out of thin air.

Many nations are now seeking to boost the ratio of gold to paper in their reserves. The U.S. has the largest ratio of gold to junk fiat paper, 77.4%. But the U.S. stupidly only places the value of our gold at $42.22 an ounce. If the U.S. marked our gold to market, it would be a tremendous help to our government's balance sheet. But the U.S. prefers to live in a fantasy world where gold is worth less than $50 an ounce!

Germany has 69.2% of its reserves in gold.

Italy has 66.6%.

France has 70.6%.

The U.K. has 17.6% (after idiotically selling most of its gold near the low below $300 an ounce).

Japan has 2.3% of its reserves in gold.

India has 4.0%.

Russia has 4.3%.

China has 1.9%.

It's easy to see that Russia, India and China are low on gold. All three would like to at least double the percentage of gold in their reserves. The race is on for these central banks to accumulate gold without running the price of gold sky-high.

In the U.S., literally no one owns gold. Rather, U.S. citizens are selling their gold (jewelry) to companies who are advertising that they'll buy "your overpriced" gold for cash.

A few nations are actively promoting the ownership of gold. China, the world's biggest miner of gold, has been encouraging its people to buy gold. In London, Harrod's department store is now selling gold coins and bars to anyone who has the paper to buy gold. Within a year or so, I expect public buying of gold to reach a crescendo. Interestingly, most Americans have never seen a gold coin.]]> <![CDATA[Obama out running around the world again on taxpayers dollar.]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400761 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:53:45 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400761
While I'm supportive of promoting dialogue with other nations, in this time of economic distress I would expect the Prez to have an eye on reducing White House expenditures for unnecessary travel. Flying Air Force One around the world with full staff is pretty damn expensive.

This is something the Press should be holding him accountable for, but since they travel along on Air Force One (in Grand style!) with Obama it's not in their interests to make too much of a stink about it. This is one more example of where the government and the news media have gotten way too close-the media are not serving their customers-the American People-by not reporting this atrocious waste of taxpayer money. Besides, it's one more example of the main-stream media kissing his ass and not holding Obama accountable, IMO.

Obama needs to focus on the job at hand, turning around this terrible economy. If he wants to talk to foreign leaders he can pick up the phone and call them. Do what every company in the US is doing, reduce travel and do more conference calls. Enough of the treating the US President like a middle east potentate with bottomless pockets. The Imperial Presidency supposedly went out with Nixon but these guys continue to push the envelope and see what they can get away with. Somebody needs to stand up and tell them they're going way overboard!]]>
While I'm supportive of promoting dialogue with other nations, in this time of economic distress I would expect the Prez to have an eye on reducing White House expenditures for unnecessary travel. Flying Air Force One around the world with full staff is pretty damn expensive.

This is something the Press should be holding him accountable for, but since they travel along on Air Force One (in Grand style!) with Obama it's not in their interests to make too much of a stink about it. This is one more example of where the government and the news media have gotten way too close-the media are not serving their customers-the American People-by not reporting this atrocious waste of taxpayer money. Besides, it's one more example of the main-stream media kissing his ass and not holding Obama accountable, IMO.

Obama needs to focus on the job at hand, turning around this terrible economy. If he wants to talk to foreign leaders he can pick up the phone and call them. Do what every company in the US is doing, reduce travel and do more conference calls. Enough of the treating the US President like a middle east potentate with bottomless pockets. The Imperial Presidency supposedly went out with Nixon but these guys continue to push the envelope and see what they can get away with. Somebody needs to stand up and tell them they're going way overboard!]]> <![CDATA[US Lags in paid sick time/work benefits]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400625 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:33:37 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400625 We're not the best place to work in the world.

Quote:The 15 nations are Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Britain and the United States, all of which have been ranked most competitive over the last decade by the World Economic Forum
]]> We're not the best place to work in the world.

Quote:The 15 nations are Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Britain and the United States, all of which have been ranked most competitive over the last decade by the World Economic Forum
]]> <![CDATA[What's good for the goose....]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400360 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:00:47 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400360 Time to bring financial incentives to Washington
By Brett Arends, WSJ.com
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Incentives are powerful things. Pay a man not to work, and that's what he'll do. Reward bankers for taking huge gambles with the balance sheet, and so they will. Guarantee public sector workers a job for life, even if they are lazy and incompetent, and watch what happens to productivity.

Everyone in business understands this. That's why enormous work goes into designing and improving incentive systems to align the interests of directors, executives and staff with those of stockholders. Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's second in command, says he's been a fanatical believer in the power of incentives all his life and yet frequently finds he's underestimated it.

Now take a look at the U.S. Congress. Sure, there are plenty of reasons why it is among the most despised institutions in America (Latest approval rating: A derisory 26%).
And there are many reasons for the parlous state of America these days.

Yet if America were a company, Congress would be its board of directors. And anyone used to the stock market has to notice that the members of the board have few, if any, incentives, to align their interests with those of the "stockholders" -- you and me.
The same is also true for presidents, which is another story. The national debt has doubled in a decade and risen far more than tenfold in the last thirty years. But not one penny is docked from congressional pay as a result.

The economy has so badly served the middle-class that the typical worker actually earns less, in real terms, than his or her parents did forty years ago. Yes, really.

And despite a tsunami of easy money, one worker in six is now either unemployed or serving lattes part-time because he or she can't find a full time job.

The U.S. economy, once master of all it surveyed, is now poised to fall into second place. According to International Monetary Fund forecasts, America will be overtaken by China as the largest economy, in real, purchasing-power terms, within a decade.

Yet those tasked with minding the store during the past years - decades - of misrule suffer no financial penalties for any of this. Past members do not have their pensions docked. Those in office are neither penalized today, nor offered any incentives to turn the situation around tomorrow.

They get paid $174,000 in salary, regardless of what happens.

Obviously there is one sanction: They can be voted out of office for poor performance. But everybody knows that elections are even more short-termist and superficial than the quarterly earnings game on Wall Street. Like Fannie Mae and Lehman Brothers, politicians know they can manage expectations, shuffle the cards and change the subject for years before the public catches on.

No wonder most congressmen and senators are re-elected, time after time.

And their generous pension system is actually designed to compensate them for any risk of losing office - in other words, to cushion them from this one sanction they might face. According to the official Congressional Research Service, the congressional pension scheme builds up benefits especially quickly while members are in office "because of the uncertain tenure of congressional service."

(How generous is it? According to calculations by the National Taxpayers' Union, a congressman booted out after just 10 years service would have accumulated an inflation-adjusted pension of $29,000 a year. That's not bad for ten years. It's on top of Social Security, of course. They also have access to the equivalent of a 401(k) scheme - with a 5% match.)

The incentives, and lack of them, don't stop there. Congressmen and senators are, of course, members of the wonderful federal health insurance plan -- one so generous that people in Sweden must eye it with envy. So they've had no actual incentive to fix the health care system bedeviling the rest of the country.

Why do I have this nagging feeling that if congressmen and senators had to buy private health insurance for their own families on the open market, private health insurance in America would be cheap, efficient and safe?

Now look at where these people keep their money. Investments matter. For example, like most financial writers, I am forbidden to hold any individual stocks. That's normal in my business. It's to make sure we are not influenced in any way by personal investments.

Members of Congress suffer no such strictures. A recent report by the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based think tank, provided a fascinating overview of their portfolios.

Anyone wondering why Congress seems to favor the interests of big U.S. corporations can stop wondering. Favorite Congressional investments? Big U.S. corporations.

That includes banks rescued by bailouts, companies favored with tax breaks, and pharmaceutical companies merrily dodging the public relations bullet in the health care debate.

The top stocks are General Electric Co. (GE 16.00, +0.34, +2.17%) , Bank of America (BAC 15.83, -0.04, -0.25%) , Cisco Systems (CSCO 23.87, +0.16, +0.67%) , Procter & Gamble (PG 62.27, +0.66, +1.07%) , Microsoft Corp. (MSFT 29.45, -0.09, -0.31%) , Pfizer Inc. (PFE 17.94, +0.35, +1.99%) , AT&T Inc. (T 26.29, +0.04, +0.15%) , Exxon Mobil (XOM 74.76, +0.33, +0.44%) , Intel Corp. (INTC 20.11, -0.12, -0.59%) , Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 62.19, +0.76, +1.24%) and JP Morgan Chase & Co (JPM 42.89, -0.15, -0.35%) .

You don't need to engage in conspiracy theories to see why this situation is messed up.
Best practice in business would say that congressmen and senators should have their pay and pensions tied to their performance on key measures important to the country.

In purely economic terms, that would include median household incomes (in real, inflation adjusted dollars), the unemployment and poverty rates, and the level of the federal debt in relation to the economy.
It's true that in the case of very rich, plutocratic politicians these incentives probably wouldn't be very important. But that's also true of very rich executives and directors in private businesses too. It doesn't stop them introducing incentives. It shouldn't stop us.

Shareholders have long since imposed these rules on companies -- including, at times, on some very reluctant boards. It's time to bring them to Washington.]]> Time to bring financial incentives to Washington
By Brett Arends, WSJ.com
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Incentives are powerful things. Pay a man not to work, and that's what he'll do. Reward bankers for taking huge gambles with the balance sheet, and so they will. Guarantee public sector workers a job for life, even if they are lazy and incompetent, and watch what happens to productivity.

Everyone in business understands this. That's why enormous work goes into designing and improving incentive systems to align the interests of directors, executives and staff with those of stockholders. Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's second in command, says he's been a fanatical believer in the power of incentives all his life and yet frequently finds he's underestimated it.

Now take a look at the U.S. Congress. Sure, there are plenty of reasons why it is among the most despised institutions in America (Latest approval rating: A derisory 26%).
And there are many reasons for the parlous state of America these days.

Yet if America were a company, Congress would be its board of directors. And anyone used to the stock market has to notice that the members of the board have few, if any, incentives, to align their interests with those of the "stockholders" -- you and me.
The same is also true for presidents, which is another story. The national debt has doubled in a decade and risen far more than tenfold in the last thirty years. But not one penny is docked from congressional pay as a result.

The economy has so badly served the middle-class that the typical worker actually earns less, in real terms, than his or her parents did forty years ago. Yes, really.

And despite a tsunami of easy money, one worker in six is now either unemployed or serving lattes part-time because he or she can't find a full time job.

The U.S. economy, once master of all it surveyed, is now poised to fall into second place. According to International Monetary Fund forecasts, America will be overtaken by China as the largest economy, in real, purchasing-power terms, within a decade.

Yet those tasked with minding the store during the past years - decades - of misrule suffer no financial penalties for any of this. Past members do not have their pensions docked. Those in office are neither penalized today, nor offered any incentives to turn the situation around tomorrow.

They get paid $174,000 in salary, regardless of what happens.

Obviously there is one sanction: They can be voted out of office for poor performance. But everybody knows that elections are even more short-termist and superficial than the quarterly earnings game on Wall Street. Like Fannie Mae and Lehman Brothers, politicians know they can manage expectations, shuffle the cards and change the subject for years before the public catches on.

No wonder most congressmen and senators are re-elected, time after time.

And their generous pension system is actually designed to compensate them for any risk of losing office - in other words, to cushion them from this one sanction they might face. According to the official Congressional Research Service, the congressional pension scheme builds up benefits especially quickly while members are in office "because of the uncertain tenure of congressional service."

(How generous is it? According to calculations by the National Taxpayers' Union, a congressman booted out after just 10 years service would have accumulated an inflation-adjusted pension of $29,000 a year. That's not bad for ten years. It's on top of Social Security, of course. They also have access to the equivalent of a 401(k) scheme - with a 5% match.)

The incentives, and lack of them, don't stop there. Congressmen and senators are, of course, members of the wonderful federal health insurance plan -- one so generous that people in Sweden must eye it with envy. So they've had no actual incentive to fix the health care system bedeviling the rest of the country.

Why do I have this nagging feeling that if congressmen and senators had to buy private health insurance for their own families on the open market, private health insurance in America would be cheap, efficient and safe?

Now look at where these people keep their money. Investments matter. For example, like most financial writers, I am forbidden to hold any individual stocks. That's normal in my business. It's to make sure we are not influenced in any way by personal investments.

Members of Congress suffer no such strictures. A recent report by the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based think tank, provided a fascinating overview of their portfolios.

Anyone wondering why Congress seems to favor the interests of big U.S. corporations can stop wondering. Favorite Congressional investments? Big U.S. corporations.

That includes banks rescued by bailouts, companies favored with tax breaks, and pharmaceutical companies merrily dodging the public relations bullet in the health care debate.

The top stocks are General Electric Co. (GE 16.00, +0.34, +2.17%) , Bank of America (BAC 15.83, -0.04, -0.25%) , Cisco Systems (CSCO 23.87, +0.16, +0.67%) , Procter & Gamble (PG 62.27, +0.66, +1.07%) , Microsoft Corp. (MSFT 29.45, -0.09, -0.31%) , Pfizer Inc. (PFE 17.94, +0.35, +1.99%) , AT&T Inc. (T 26.29, +0.04, +0.15%) , Exxon Mobil (XOM 74.76, +0.33, +0.44%) , Intel Corp. (INTC 20.11, -0.12, -0.59%) , Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 62.19, +0.76, +1.24%) and JP Morgan Chase & Co (JPM 42.89, -0.15, -0.35%) .

You don't need to engage in conspiracy theories to see why this situation is messed up.
Best practice in business would say that congressmen and senators should have their pay and pensions tied to their performance on key measures important to the country.

In purely economic terms, that would include median household incomes (in real, inflation adjusted dollars), the unemployment and poverty rates, and the level of the federal debt in relation to the economy.
It's true that in the case of very rich, plutocratic politicians these incentives probably wouldn't be very important. But that's also true of very rich executives and directors in private businesses too. It doesn't stop them introducing incentives. It shouldn't stop us.

Shareholders have long since imposed these rules on companies -- including, at times, on some very reluctant boards. It's time to bring them to Washington.]]> <![CDATA[Ravenna High School.]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400115 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:28:04 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400115

Ravenna rushing game overwhelms Merrill's pass attack 77-49

MIke Mattson |Muskegon Chronicle, November 14, 2009 7:01 p.m.


Ravenna's Matt VanderWal runs for a touchdown at Ravenna High School on Saturday. The Bulldogs defeated the Vandals 77-49. - (Megan Lange)

Ravenna's head coach, Dusty Fairfield, raises the Division 7 Region 2 trophy at Ravenna High School on Saturday after defeating Merrill 77-49. - (Megan Lange)RAVENNA —It’s not often a high school football team allows seven touchdowns and wins a game.

But Ravenna flexed its offensive muscle en route to a Division 7 regional championship win over Merrill on Saturday at Citizens Field.

The Bulldogs tied a school-record outburst of 77 points and rolled to a 77-49 victory, earning Coach Dusty Fairfield and his team another shot at top-rankedTraverse City St. Francis next Saturday in the state semifinals.

“I told Dusty we’ll hold them to 49 or less and we’ll be OK,’’ Ravenna defensive coordinator Randy Helsen quipped after one of the highest-scoring offensive games in area history.

The teams combined for 18 touchdowns, 1,205 yards and 126 points, the sixth-highest scoring game in state history in which each team scored 40 points.

Ravenna kicker Paulo Suarez also tied a state record by making 11 consecutive extra points in a game.

“I’ve never seen anything like it in my 27 years of coaching,’’ Fairfield said about the shootout played in sunny ideal playing conditions.

Ravenna will face the defending state champion Gladiators Saturday at 1 p.m. at either Central Michigan University or Ferris State.

In a game of contrasting styles, Ravenna’s power I-formation attack bested Merrill’s spread passing attack.

The Bulldogs scored on 11-of-12 possessions and rushed for 580 of their 590 total yards.

Ravenna’s potent ground attack was led by talented tailback Jamohn Martin with 32 carries for 225 yards and three touchdowns and Josh VanderWagen with 12 carries for 189 yards and three scores.

“We’re playing to our strengths,’’ Fairfield said. “We have good running backs and good blocking. This is who we are.’’

But the Vandals’ high-octane offense, led by quarterback Nate Tack, was as good as advertised, too.

Tack, a gutsy 5-10, 175-pound senior, completed 24-of-47 passes for 516 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. The 516 passing yards ranks second all-time in the state record book behind Chelsea’s George Royce’s 525 passing yards in 2003.

“I was very impressed with their offense and the play of their quarterback,’’ Fairfield said. “He stayed in the pocket and stayed focused and delivered when he knew he would take a hit.’’

Merrill opened the game with two successful onside kicks and touchdowns and the early fireworks were lit.

Vandals’ coach John Streeter said he decided on the onside kicks just before the game after Ravenna won the toss and elected to receive.

“We wanted the ball first and decided that was our way to get it,’’ said Streeter, whose team trailed 35-28 at halftime. “We knew we had to come out with a quick start. We knew we had to come here and win a shootout.

“Ravenna is a good football team. We knew going in we’d struggle slowing them down. We figured it would turn into a shootout and it did.’’

The Bulldogs took control in the third quarter after stopping the Vandals on two possessions — a punt and an interception by Martin.

Fullback Tyler Chopp, who had 11 carries for 81 yards and two scores, ran 18 yards for a touchdown and quarterback Ryan Hogan tossed a 10-yard TD pass to VanderWagen on the lass play of the third quarter to put the Bulldogs ahead 56-35.

But the game was far from over as Ravenna scored three more times on a 21-yard run by VanderWagen, 32-yard run by Matt VanderWal and 13-yard run by Chopp.

Merrill added two more TD passes in the fourth quarter from Tack covering 26 yards to Ryan Eggebrecht 17 yards to Kyle Mayan.

The Vandals led 21-14 after one quarter. Tack threw TD passes of 7 yards to Jimmy Schoof and 46 yards to Tyler Guthrie and Eggebrecht caught a 79-yard TD from Tyler Gross on a reverse pass.

Martin scored on a 56-yard run on Ravenna’s first play from scrimmage and VanderWagon raced 5 yards for the Bulldogs’ second score.

In the second quarter, Martin scored on runs of 2- and 24 yards and VanderWagen had a 24-yard TD jaunt.

“They took it to us early, but we came together and did what we had to do to win,’’ Martin said. “It was an exciting game. I wish we had a better defensive game.’’

Merrill’s only score in the second quarter came from Tack, who tossed an 87-yard strike to Guthrie. Tack also had an 18-yard TD run in the third quarter as Merrill tied the game at 35-35, but would get no closer.

“I knew we could score points,’’ a teary-eyed Tack said. “We just couldn’t stop them on defense. We figured it would be a shootout with two very good offenses.’’

Eggebrecht had a big day with nine catches for 198 yards and two TDs, while Schoof made seven catches for 97 yards.

Josh Coburn led the Vandals’ defense with 11 tackles, while Brandon Linhart and Guthrie each had 10 stops.

Top tacklers for Ravenna were Phil Kantola with 13 stops and two sacks, while Chopp recorded 10 tackles and a sack. Hogan also had an interception for the Bulldogs.

Ravenna will turn its attention to St. Francis, which beat the Bulldogs 21-7 last season in the semis en route to the state championship.

“Our goal was to get back to the semifinals and give them our best shot,’’ Fairfield said. “I’ll be disappointed if we don’t go there and play our hearts out. We’re not afraid to play anybody. We’ll leave it out there and see what happens.’’]]>

Ravenna rushing game overwhelms Merrill's pass attack 77-49

MIke Mattson |Muskegon Chronicle, November 14, 2009 7:01 p.m.


Ravenna's Matt VanderWal runs for a touchdown at Ravenna High School on Saturday. The Bulldogs defeated the Vandals 77-49. - (Megan Lange)

Ravenna's head coach, Dusty Fairfield, raises the Division 7 Region 2 trophy at Ravenna High School on Saturday after defeating Merrill 77-49. - (Megan Lange)RAVENNA —It’s not often a high school football team allows seven touchdowns and wins a game.

But Ravenna flexed its offensive muscle en route to a Division 7 regional championship win over Merrill on Saturday at Citizens Field.

The Bulldogs tied a school-record outburst of 77 points and rolled to a 77-49 victory, earning Coach Dusty Fairfield and his team another shot at top-rankedTraverse City St. Francis next Saturday in the state semifinals.

“I told Dusty we’ll hold them to 49 or less and we’ll be OK,’’ Ravenna defensive coordinator Randy Helsen quipped after one of the highest-scoring offensive games in area history.

The teams combined for 18 touchdowns, 1,205 yards and 126 points, the sixth-highest scoring game in state history in which each team scored 40 points.

Ravenna kicker Paulo Suarez also tied a state record by making 11 consecutive extra points in a game.

“I’ve never seen anything like it in my 27 years of coaching,’’ Fairfield said about the shootout played in sunny ideal playing conditions.

Ravenna will face the defending state champion Gladiators Saturday at 1 p.m. at either Central Michigan University or Ferris State.

In a game of contrasting styles, Ravenna’s power I-formation attack bested Merrill’s spread passing attack.

The Bulldogs scored on 11-of-12 possessions and rushed for 580 of their 590 total yards.

Ravenna’s potent ground attack was led by talented tailback Jamohn Martin with 32 carries for 225 yards and three touchdowns and Josh VanderWagen with 12 carries for 189 yards and three scores.

“We’re playing to our strengths,’’ Fairfield said. “We have good running backs and good blocking. This is who we are.’’

But the Vandals’ high-octane offense, led by quarterback Nate Tack, was as good as advertised, too.

Tack, a gutsy 5-10, 175-pound senior, completed 24-of-47 passes for 516 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. The 516 passing yards ranks second all-time in the state record book behind Chelsea’s George Royce’s 525 passing yards in 2003.

“I was very impressed with their offense and the play of their quarterback,’’ Fairfield said. “He stayed in the pocket and stayed focused and delivered when he knew he would take a hit.’’

Merrill opened the game with two successful onside kicks and touchdowns and the early fireworks were lit.

Vandals’ coach John Streeter said he decided on the onside kicks just before the game after Ravenna won the toss and elected to receive.

“We wanted the ball first and decided that was our way to get it,’’ said Streeter, whose team trailed 35-28 at halftime. “We knew we had to come out with a quick start. We knew we had to come here and win a shootout.

“Ravenna is a good football team. We knew going in we’d struggle slowing them down. We figured it would turn into a shootout and it did.’’

The Bulldogs took control in the third quarter after stopping the Vandals on two possessions — a punt and an interception by Martin.

Fullback Tyler Chopp, who had 11 carries for 81 yards and two scores, ran 18 yards for a touchdown and quarterback Ryan Hogan tossed a 10-yard TD pass to VanderWagen on the lass play of the third quarter to put the Bulldogs ahead 56-35.

But the game was far from over as Ravenna scored three more times on a 21-yard run by VanderWagen, 32-yard run by Matt VanderWal and 13-yard run by Chopp.

Merrill added two more TD passes in the fourth quarter from Tack covering 26 yards to Ryan Eggebrecht 17 yards to Kyle Mayan.

The Vandals led 21-14 after one quarter. Tack threw TD passes of 7 yards to Jimmy Schoof and 46 yards to Tyler Guthrie and Eggebrecht caught a 79-yard TD from Tyler Gross on a reverse pass.

Martin scored on a 56-yard run on Ravenna’s first play from scrimmage and VanderWagon raced 5 yards for the Bulldogs’ second score.

In the second quarter, Martin scored on runs of 2- and 24 yards and VanderWagen had a 24-yard TD jaunt.

“They took it to us early, but we came together and did what we had to do to win,’’ Martin said. “It was an exciting game. I wish we had a better defensive game.’’

Merrill’s only score in the second quarter came from Tack, who tossed an 87-yard strike to Guthrie. Tack also had an 18-yard TD run in the third quarter as Merrill tied the game at 35-35, but would get no closer.

“I knew we could score points,’’ a teary-eyed Tack said. “We just couldn’t stop them on defense. We figured it would be a shootout with two very good offenses.’’

Eggebrecht had a big day with nine catches for 198 yards and two TDs, while Schoof made seven catches for 97 yards.

Josh Coburn led the Vandals’ defense with 11 tackles, while Brandon Linhart and Guthrie each had 10 stops.

Top tacklers for Ravenna were Phil Kantola with 13 stops and two sacks, while Chopp recorded 10 tackles and a sack. Hogan also had an interception for the Bulldogs.

Ravenna will turn its attention to St. Francis, which beat the Bulldogs 21-7 last season in the semis en route to the state championship.

“Our goal was to get back to the semifinals and give them our best shot,’’ Fairfield said. “I’ll be disappointed if we don’t go there and play our hearts out. We’re not afraid to play anybody. We’ll leave it out there and see what happens.’’]]> <![CDATA[Dip's Hero enunciating The Vision.]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400055 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:22:09 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400055 ]]> ]]> <![CDATA[Democrats...LOL]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400044 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:06:11 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400044 ]]> ]]> <![CDATA[NE vs Indy]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400006 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:50:11 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=400006
Not sure about that decision by Hoodie sr (Denver has hoodie jr now).

Payton Manning flat out is the BEST qb in the league.]]>
Not sure about that decision by Hoodie sr (Denver has hoodie jr now).

Payton Manning flat out is the BEST qb in the league.]]> <![CDATA[Official Bike Thread]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=399970 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:48:18 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=399970
I have ride a 2007 Cannondale Synapse 2. My dad let me borrow his Fluid CycleOps trainer for the Winter. (He just goes to spinning classes as much as he can)

I highly recommend this place for some cheap work out videos http://www.thesufferfest.com/ When I finished my work out today I was drenched in sweat. 03-thumbsup

I hope this doesn't turn into a bronco5 post padding thread, but if it does thats okay too.]]>
I have ride a 2007 Cannondale Synapse 2. My dad let me borrow his Fluid CycleOps trainer for the Winter. (He just goes to spinning classes as much as he can)

I highly recommend this place for some cheap work out videos http://www.thesufferfest.com/ When I finished my work out today I was drenched in sweat. 03-thumbsup

I hope this doesn't turn into a bronco5 post padding thread, but if it does thats okay too.]]> <![CDATA[Turkey-how do you prepare it??]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=399833 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:30:21 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=399833
]]>
]]> <![CDATA[Thanksgiving is right around the corner!]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=399832 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:26:02 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=399832 ]]> ]]> <![CDATA['Thriller'-the Bollywood version! LOL]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=399382 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:31:38 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=399382 ]]> ]]> <![CDATA["The Blind Side"]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=398972 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:36:05 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=398972 <![CDATA[The future of the GOP]]> http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=398938 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:40:48 -0600 http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=398938

If the future of the GOP is Carrie Prejean, then the Republican Party is D-O-f*cking-A. She's going all out for full GOP credentials: 1) hot as hell, dumb as sh*t 2) playing the victim card 3) claiming there's a LIBERAL MEDIA CONSPIRACY to shut her up (actually, everyone wants her to shut up) 4) using someone else's money to pay for her tit job (wait, that sounds pretty LIBERAL of her), and refusing to pay it back. Ladies and gentlemen: the future of the GOP. Keep 'em coming.

And then, she threatens to walk off Larry King's show after he takes a call from a gay man from Detroit asking for wedding advice!!!! Bwaahhaa.


Stop infringing her right to free speech. Just stop it, already. Pinko liberals.]]>

If the future of the GOP is Carrie Prejean, then the Republican Party is D-O-f*cking-A. She's going all out for full GOP credentials: 1) hot as hell, dumb as sh*t 2) playing the victim card 3) claiming there's a LIBERAL MEDIA CONSPIRACY to shut her up (actually, everyone wants her to shut up) 4) using someone else's money to pay for her tit job (wait, that sounds pretty LIBERAL of her), and refusing to pay it back. Ladies and gentlemen: the future of the GOP. Keep 'em coming.

And then, she threatens to walk off Larry King's show after he takes a call from a gay man from Detroit asking for wedding advice!!!! Bwaahhaa.


Stop infringing her right to free speech. Just stop it, already. Pinko liberals.]]>