Remember a couple months (and about four posts) ago when we had a near-perfect weekend for BG athletics? Well, we’re 1/5 of the way through another that would make the first one look like an early season win over Urbana.

Last night, the hockey team dominated (then held on. Whew!) #1 Miami(OH) at the BG Ice Arena. They go back at it tonight, and while BG can probably expect to see a completely different (and desperate) team coming at them, a win to sweep the RedskinHawks might just seal the best weekend in Falcon hockey in 15 or more years. (The last win over a #1 team was 1993, I can’t imagine the last time they swept #1 over a weekend.)

But wait, there’s more. The women’s hoops team is currently up 17 on Chicago State (after seeing a 24-point lead dwindle before halftime) in an appetizer before the real fun begins. Or so we hope. The men open MAC play against Ohio at 4pm, and a win over a strong Bobcats team would be incredible. By all accounts, the guys were a bushel basket of turnovers away from being even more in a game against a tough Duquesne than they already were (they fought back to within four or five before losing it down the stretch, and watching the margin expand with free throws). Not saying they can click their heels and make turnovers go away, but if they can limit them, they might have a shot to beat OU, and send a throng of cocky Bobcat fans home with their tails between their legs.

Of course, after the second half of the hockey series Saturday night, the day we’ve been waiting for since we started turning things around in November has arrived. BG vs. Tulsa in the GMAC Bowl. The more I think about how strong Tulsa’s offense is, the more I think about how our defense stepped up against Toledo and shut down a Rocket offense that had been clicking through November.

And how.

Even though BG didn’t play for a MAC Championship, they were clearly one of the best teams (and CMU got awfully wishy-washy after locking up the MAC West) in the conference during the last four weeks, and make a damn fine bowl representative. Some grade/discipline-related issues thin the ranks a little in some key spots, but if we’ve learned anything with this team, it’s to never count them out.

A liveblog from afar might not be out of the question. GO BG!

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Poor, poor Ryne Hamblet.

If only the lone senior on the BG men’s hoops team could have gotten his 3-ball to fall, BG could have wrapped up one of the busiest days in their athletic history with perfect results. Of course, it’s silly to blame Hamblet completely, and the three would have only forced overtime — with no guarantees — but it would have been fun. Number 21’s 11 points and seven assists cushions the blow a little, but getting Coach Orr a win in his debut would have worked in nicely with the rest of the day.

To recap:

Earlier in the afternoon, the women’s soccer team beat top-seeded Ball State, 3-0 in penalty kicks, to advance to the MAC Championship against Toledo, who they beat a little more than a week ago with two late goals. Momentum, check. Confidence, check. BEAT TOLEDO!

(And for reference, here’s how I know I’ve got BG in my blood… when I saw that they play the championship Sunday at 1 p.m. in Muncie, I quickly did the math to see if I could make it to the game and back in time for work. If gas weren’t $3.18 a gallon right now among a few other minor details, I’d probably make the drive.)

The unfortunate men’s loss to Western Carolina evened BG’s record up for the day, but it seems there are some good things and some of the same old eye-rollers with this team. Hopefully as they work in Coach Orr’s system, they’ll start clicking and do some damage in the MAC. After all, they don’t really have to know what they’re doing until they get to Cleveland, right? Hats off to Chris Knight, who threw up a double-double in his return home to Cincinnati, and to Otis Polk for his three blocks, double-digit points, and not picking up his third and fourth fouls until late in the game.

Also, if you thought the new brown unis looked sharp in the team picture, they look even better in action.

Next up, the women’s basketball team collected some jewelry for another MAC title last season (apparently with a surprise visit from Ali Mann, jetting in from Luxembourg to pick up her ring), and dropping a banner commemorating the Sweet 16 appearance, the current version of the Falcons did little to disappoint. Lauren Prochaska showed off her scoring touch and Lindsey Goldsberry did a little bit of everything as BG rolled to an 81-56 win over Valparaiso. Who knows what kind of team Valparaiso may have this year, or what kind of adrenaline rush the Falcons may have gotten from the home opener along with the other festivities, but if this is the “more of the same” that it appears to be, this season could be ridiculous.

(And, even though peeking ahead to next year with one game gone in this season might be a bit pretentious, the only two seniors on the team, Achter and Taylor, combined for 11 points. That collective shudder you just felt was the rest of the MAC.)

Staying with the ladies, the Falcon volleyball team is winding down it’s regular season, sweeping Buffalo for the second time this season, putting the tough loss to Ohio U. this past Sunday behind them for the moment, and heading to Akron to wrap up the season this weekend.

On the ice, the BG hockey team doubled up Ferris State 6-3 behind FOUR powerplay goals, two by James Perkin, and freshman Nick Eno moved to 3-0 on the season/his career (Shhh! Them hockey types are the superstitious sort!). The Falcons have now scored nine powerplay goals in six games, after scoring a total of 23 all of last year.

Finally, there’s the football team. This post probably doesn’t do any of tonight’s game justice, either from the “pro” side or the “con” side, but in the end, it was good to see BG come together and pull out a win in a game they probably didn’t deserve to win. Mental errors and more poor tackling put their backs against the wall, but Tyler Sheehan and the offense pulled out of it, putting together a late touchdown drive to beat Eastern Michigan 39-32.

And from the “How In The Hell Did That Happen Department”… the winning touchdown drive covered 61 yards in seven plays, and even though Anthony Turner had rushed for 49 yards and two scores in the game from the “Slash” role he’s excelled at in recent weeks, he didn’t touch the ball once on the drive. Instead, Chris Bullock, who hadn’t touched the ball until that point, ran for 49 yards on the drive, Sheehan ran for the other 12 and the score (he led the Falcons with 65 yards on the ground, too, though he only scored as many touchdowns as offensive lineman Shane Steffy on the night). None of the plays on the drive were passes.

Oh, and Sinisa Vrvilo hit a 41-yarder in what was reported to be kinda windy conditions. MORE FREE DINNER!

In a rather long-winded nutshell, that was the day in Falcon athletics. 5-1 on the day, the men’s team has a shot at redemption Saturday night against Belmont (who looks like they know how to score some points, putting up 86 on tourney host Cincinnati). Hockey’s back at it, looking for their second sweep in as many weeks, volleyball wraps things up at Akron, and we all get to look toward Sunday when that women’s soccer team tries to BEAT TOLEDO!

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Congratulations to coach Curt Miller on his contract extension, and kudos to Greg Christopher for the work that went into making it happen. I’m THRILLED with this news, and even more thrilled with the fact that special effort was made to ensure coach Miller was the highest paid coach at BGSU. (if only by 124 bucks)

Let’s put that in perspective a little bit… how many other NCAA Division I schools can say that their women’s basketball coach is the highest paid coach on campus?? Not your Division IA football coach who’s been to bowl games…. NOT your new Division I MEN’S basketball coach who was a Big East COY and who has been to the dance more times than I have fingers on one hand… but your women’s basketball coach. THAT is noteworthy!

Women’s hoops has long been a bottom dweller in terms of revenue at many schools. I still don’t think they pull in the dollars as the other programs at BG, but they pulled in more attendance than men’s hoops and garnered the school more national attention than any other sport in the past 4 or 5 years (with the possible exception of J5 and O4). More importantly though, they’ve represented BGSU and the Bowling Green community with a class, an attitude and an outlook that we can all be proud of and that SHOULD be rewarded.

Coach Miller and his staff are the architects responsible this amazing structure that is BGSU women’s basketball. I’m proud to say BGSU’s women’s basketball coach is our highest paid coach and I hope his staff is bumped up appropriately as well.

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And that’s what happened with the BG women’s basketball team. Arizona State came out hot, then wore the Falcons down. The whirlwind of games with a diminished roster that started at the MAC Tournament finally caught up to BG, resulting in (one of) the lowest scoring games they’ve posted all year.

It’s always sad when a season comes to an end, doubly so when that season was exciting and beyond successful. Not only have the last four years with the women’s basketball team been outstanding, the group of seniors that are leaving can hold their heads high knowing they left the program in infinite times better shape than they found it.

The future brings a load of change, but hopefully, in the end, a lot of things stay the same.

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We’re under 12 hours until the BG women take on Arizona State in the Sweet 16 in Greensboro, NC.

On paper, the two teams look fairly similar, with stats spread evenly across a wide number of players. What might prove to be a task for the Falcons, however, is how ASU uses it’s bench, a bench BG just doesn’t have. Thanks to injuries and the sudden departure of Jasmine McCall, BG is awfully thin in the depth department and will again have to be very careful about their foul situation. Amber Flynn skated by much of the game with four fouls against Oklahoma State, and Ali Mann missed bunches of the second half thanks to four fouls against Vanderbilt.

In the end, I still think it’s a game BG can, and will, win. Something about this team this year, when you figure the odds are stacked against them, they bury a team. Hopefully they can get out to a start similar to the way they began the Vandy game, and keep their foot on the accelerator this time.

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Congratulations to the BG women’s basketball team, beating SEC Champ Vanderbilt and becoming the first MAC school to advance to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament!

Roll along, you BG warriors!

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