Slowing Down for Five Minutes

What a month!  When last we met, we shared the thoughts of a JMU blogger on the football Dukes' matchup with Old Dominion.  Since then, it's been a whirlwind of events.  Lots of traveling!  Too much eating!  The start of college basketball!  Justin Verlander became the first starting pitcher since Roger Clemens in 20-plus years to win the AL MVP!  Gary Cherone's latest CD arrived in the mail!

This football season has flown by.  I spent some time over Thanksgiving organizing the files used for composing word for CAAZone.com and SaturdayBlitz.com.  It was a little shocking to see how much I've written.  Time genuinely flies when you're having fun.

This fall I got to report on the start of the revival of Towson; a record-breaking performance; Old Dominion football's rise to its first Top 25 ranking; the first American football event at PPL Park; the first FCS playoff game between teams from the same city; and the aforementioned JMU/ODU game.  I am blessed, humbled and thankful for the opportunity provided to share my voice by multiple outlets.

With all this in mind, this weekend I'm taking a break from watching college football in person by...watching professional football in person.  That's right, it's the annual RV trip to Buffalo this weekend!  All sorts of good times in 30-degree weather over 48 hours outside Ralph Wilson Stadium are had every year.  It'll be a chance to watch a game without thinking analytically about composing a story on the game.  Of course, I'll probably takes lots of pictures and share my thoughts, anyways.

As the college football season wind down, it's time to start turning my attention towards college basketball.  I will again have the pleasure of covering the Colonial Athletic Association for CAAZone.com, this time in basketball season.  Thanks to the Ever-Defiant One, I was invited to join the first-ever CAA Bloggers poll.  It's organized by the folks at VCU Ram Nation and incorporates the thoughts of the best mid-major basketball minds...and it also includes mine!  The results of the poll are as follows (first-place votes follow teams' names):

1. Northeastern (3)
2. George Mason (3)
3. VCU (1)
4. Old Dominion
5. JMU
6. Drexel (1)
7. Hofstra
8. Delaware
9. Georgia State
10. UNCW
11. William & Mary
12. Towson

I've decided on a long-term project that will take some time to compose.  I've had thoughts the last few months about how one band, Extreme, has been present in two-thirds of my life.  Long-story short, how many people have ever written about their lives in correlation to the rise, fall and rebirth of a band?  Well, I'm going to dig deep and do it better than anyone else has before.  (That's what SHE said.) 

In closing, here's hoping Old Dominion football continues its amazing third year of existence with a win at Georgia Southern this weekend.  That's the fan in me speaking, not the writer.  I hope I can always keep the two separate.