Giving a break for the Presidents Day holiday - if they can’t deliver mail because of George Washington’s alleged birthday, I can’t hardly expect them to fly a flag. Although I suppose that might have been part of Carty’s plan… fly it on Saturday-Friday this week, and get 3 days with no one seeing it grace the Toledo “skyline”.

Meanwhile, BG’s hoops team is now 0-2 while Flag Watch continues. Clearly, this issue is affecting the team’s play on the court. Also possibly one of Fink(beiner)’s evil plots. Who could expect a team to not foul the short white kid shooting a 3 pointer in the waning moments of a one point game? Or get off the bus in Athens?

This cannot continue! Call your congressman! Call your mayor!* Call your town sheriff! We want the flag raised! We NEED the flag raised!

(*-If you’re a Toledo resident, you may skip the mayor and continue to the town sheriff.)

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Welcome to day three. Still no flag at Government Center in Toledo. While the lucky undercover operative will be away from downtown Toledo on Thursday, I have no doubt that others will step up to monitor the situation as we enter the fourth day of flag-free City Hall.

(One thing is for sure, I won’t be contacting Carty Finkbeiner’s spokesman to ask about the flag.)

Also, as a bonus, the informant sent along this link to an editorial about Carty’s latest woes. (Most likely regarding the Marines training deal, but we all know the absence of the BG flag is the real issue here.)

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From the undercover operative, who is apparently all about leaking his information to other outlets:

Still no picture of the BGSU flag. No, I’m not going up to Carty’s office to find it.

I believe we’re within 24 hours of hostile activity. “A stink”, if you will. And apparently, an inside operation into the mayor’s office is out of the question. (See above.)

So here’s the proposal. Every day the flag goes unflown on it’s 7-day excursion into the bowels of Northwest Ohio, we tack on a week. If it’s not flying by noon Monday, Carty’s dog gets a BGSU collar to parade around Government Center.

Mayor Quinn, make it happen.

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Thanks to a 4-3 loss to Bowling Green Mayor John Quinn in a free throw shooting contest during halftime of BG’s **WIN** Sunday over rival Toledo, there is supposed to be a BGSU flag flying in front of One Government Center in downtown Toledo, home of Toledo’s City Hall and Mayor Carty Finkbeiner (also known as “How To Run A City Like A Circus…And Get Re-elected”).

However, thanks to an e-mail from an operative close to the situation, Monday passed with no flag:

I will gladly send you a picture of the BGSU flag flying over Government Center as soon as it happens. As of this afternoon at 4:15, NO flag.

Technically, I don’t know if anyone knows the terms of the deal, other than the flag was to fly “for one week”. But what we do know is that the flag exchanged hands on Sunday, and it’s not in place as of yet.

We’ll keep you posted.

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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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Ryne Hamblet is excused for messing with perfection on Friday night.

The BG senior knocked down some big free throws to ice the win over Cincinnati Sunday, capping an outstanding performance that was only outshined (again!) by Cincy native Chris Knight. This kid came with some high accolades, and if this weekend was any indication of what he can do, the accolades were spot on. Twenty-four points tonight in the 69-67 win.

Unfortunately for BG, the women’s soccer team couldn’t make it a perfect day for those in Brown and Orange, they fell to *ugh* UT in penalty kicks for the MAC Championship. Still a great effort, though, and a Falcon team to watch in ‘08!

Also, it’s worth noting again and again that the hockey team has won four straight, finishing back-to-back sweeps with a win over Ferris State. Derek Whitmore had a hat trick, one of which was ANOTHER Falcon power play goal. It should be noted that WMU and Ferris aren’t exactly the cream of the CCHA crop, but Ferris had been playing some good hockey and, more importantly, when it comes down to the end of the season and the standings are sorting themselves out, you don’t want to look back on the first month of the season wishing you’d have finished off the teams that are fighting for your position. Keep it up, icers!

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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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Okay, so I haven’t “met” any enemies lately, but I have read a blog.

A couple days ago, I slapped down a couple paragraphs on the situation at Ball State, relating it to what BG fans went through earlier this spring. So it was surprisingly refreshing yesterday when I stumbled on the blog of Ball State’s Peyton Stovall.

Stovall, like a number of his teammates, has every right to be discouraged about Ball State, considering by the time fall practice opens up he’ll be on his third head coach since hitting campus to go along with knee surgery in December 2005. Instead, flipping through his blog posts shows that he’s going to use his senior season to lead, not sulk, and that he has a true love and passion for his university similar to what many Falcon fans feel about BGSU. He’s working the summer (and apparently into the fall) as an intern with the SID office, and is beyond excited for their renovated football stadium to open up, and all the behind the scenes work leading up to that date. Heck, he even took pleasure in hammering out the BSU golf team media guides! If basketball doesn’t work out after his days in Muncie run out, he’s definitely on the right track to a nice career in athletics.

While it’s easy (and natural) to hate opponents, especially highly-skilled point guards, I think I might have to root for Peyton Stovall this season, and I’ll definitely be checking up on his blog.

In the meantime, I’d love to know if any BG athletes have similar blogs going, as “Stovall’s Summer Blog” is a nice read. I don’t know how booster rules and everything work, but if it’s cool, I’ve got space here for them and the door’s always open to our Falcons.

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It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times, to paraphrase Mr. Dickens.

The men’s basketball program is struggling, fans are getting restless at the results, or lack thereof, insults are thrown toward the head coach, who finally cashes in his chips and resigns. The same storyline that played out at BG in the springtime (and actually, over the past few years) just wrapped up at Ball State, and to be honest, I’m damn glad I’m a Falcon for this one.

Not that watching a generally likable guy in Dan Dakich be forced into a resignation was enjoyable, nor were the on-court events that led to that result, but Ball State found itself in a mess. And it’s still in a mess. The biggest question might remain, “How can you have eight pages worth of cheating on your resume, and still lose 22 games?” However it may be possible, Ronny Thompson did it. And now he’s high-tailing it out of Muncie, only to return to cash a check that he hopes to pilfer out of the university.

The Dakich saga was venemous at times, but nothing like what Ball State is headed for. I think that even with all the not-so-pleasant opinions of Dan Dakich the basketball coach, you’d be hard-pressed to find a BG fan that wouldn’t say hello, shake his hand, buy him a beer, whatever, if they ran into Dan on the street. In fact, the next handshake Thompson gets in Muncie may be the first, from the sounds of things.

If you were to find any positives in the Ball State debacle, it would be the solid reporting work done by Hoopwise’s Ray Mernagh, and in a larger part, Doug Zaleski of the Muncie Star-Press. While Ray has built a pretty solid rapport with the inner circle of MAC hoops, and throwing stories into the wind like he did with Thompson’s resignation is risky unless he’s absolutely sure, Zaleski has a career of, if he was wrong, covering Thompson’s teams on a daily basis. Not an easy task if the coach just thinks he was misquoted, I can’t imagine the cold shoulder for erroneously reporting a resignation. Both men stuck to some pretty big guns on this one, and in the end were dead on. Hopefully Ball State (and in a greater sense, the MAC as a whole) can rebound from this, and put this nasty chapter in the past very soon.

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In addition to the “Countdown to Kickoff” clock in the top right corner of the main BGSUsports.com pages, I recently unveiled a basketball version.

(Countdown clock removed due to design issue. Click here to count along with Coach Orr.)

It can also be downloaded here for use as an executable (.exe) file that pops up in your Flash player on the desktop. I know nothing of Macs or how something may work for that platform (widgets, I’m told), but I’m open to suggestions if anyone knows how to turn a flash movie into a widget.

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