Monthly Archives: March 2013

March 12, 2013 · 5:44 pm

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: NAIA FINAL FOUR RESULTS

williampennStatesmenLast night the Final Four teams in the NAIA Division 2 tipped off for the right to advance to the championship game. In the first game the top seeded WILLIAM PENN UNIVERSITY STATESMEN fell behind by 6 early on but roared back to tie the GRACE COLLEGE LANCERS at 21 all. A 10-0 run put the Lancers up 31-21 but the Statesmen responded with a run of their own to take a 34-31 advantage. By half-time the game was tied up at 36-36. William Penn came back from the break on a 6-0 tear and never looked back. The Statesmen advanced to their first- ever appearance in the national title game with a 79-58 victory.

Cardinal Stritch Wolves logoThe 2nd seeded CARDINAL STRITCH UNIVERSITY WOLVES played the (11) INDIANA UNIVERSITY SOUTHEAST GRENADIERS next. Game Two started the same way with the ultimate victors trailing early on. Stritch rose up against that early adversity and went on an intimidating 20-4 run. The Grenadiers would rally to Continue reading →

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March 11, 2013 · 11:52 pm

THE BLACK CONDOR: THE OFFICIAL SUPERHERO OF BALLADEER’S BLOG

Black CondorRegular readers of Balladeer’s Blog know that words like eccentric, oddball, offbeat, weird and damn crazy come to mind when describing me. So, that being the case the most appropriate superhero mascot for this site is the Black Condor.

That’s the Golden Age Black Condor, who debuted in 1940 and is now in the public domain, not the newer comic book characters going by that name. The original Black Condor appeals to me in the same way that bad movies do. Here are the six reasons why this figure has long been my favorite weirdass Golden Age superhero: Continue reading →

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March 10, 2013 · 2:19 pm

COLLEGE BASKETBALL AND HOCKEY TOURNAMENT RESULTS FROM MARCH 9TH

* NCCAA CHAMPIONSHIP *

ohiochristiantrailblazersANOTHER CHAMPION CROWNED – The National Christian College Athletic Association Division Two title game was played last night. The top seeded OHIO CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY TRAILBLAZERS squared off against the Cinderella 7 seeds, the ARLINGTON BAPTIST COLLEGE PATRIOTS. The Patriots accomplished the seemingly impossible by actually leading the Trailblazers at halftime, 38-37. OCU was the season’s dominant team, however, and reasserted themselves in the 2nd half. The final score in this National Championship Game was Trailblazers  73 Patriots  62. Congratulations to Ohio Christian University!

* NAIA2 FINAL FOUR *

Cardinal Stritch Wolves logoGAME OF THE DAY – The (2) CARDINAL STRITCH UNIVERSITY WOLVES battled the upstart (10) DORDT COLLEGE DEFENDERS through TWO OVERTIMES before obtaining a final result. The 1st half was a defensive struggle, with the score at the break a startlingly low 29-24 in favor of the Wolves. 61-61 was the tally at the end of regulation and it wasn’t until the 2nd Overtime period that CSU put some distance between themselves and the Defenders. In the end the 82-76 result propelled the Wolves into the NAIA Division Two’s Final Four.   

williampennStatesmenA MAN CALLED DEVLIN – The top seeded WILLIAM PENN UNIVERSITY STATESMEN trailed the MIDLAND UNIVERSITY WARRIORS by one point with time expiring, but a James Devlin fallaway jumper gave the Statesmen a 67-66 victory. With the win WPU advances to their FIRST EVER Final Four. Even more amazing is the fact that the Statesmen still have only ONE LOSS for the entire 2012-2013 campaign. William Penn won the battle of the backboards, out- rebounding the Continue reading →

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March 10, 2013 · 1:36 pm

MYTHOLOGY – THE BUNYORO GODDESS MULWINDA

UgandaMULWINDA – The goddess who protected the royal clan. Each of the 46 clans of Bunyoro had its own protective deity. They each also had their own totem-name which could be an animal, e.g. Kiroko (hippopotamus) or a plant, e.g. Bulo (millet), a utensil, e.g. Kaibo (basket), or a part of the body, e.g. Amara (stomach). No one was Continue reading →

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March 9, 2013 · 3:24 pm

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: A ROUNDUP OF MARCH 8TH’S TOURNAMENT RESULTS

* NAIA *

ius_logoUPSETS – Day 3 of the NAIA Division Two tournament took place yesterday. The (11) INDIANA UNIVERSITY SOUTHEAST GRENADIERS toppled the (6) ST XAVIER UNIVERSITY COUGARS by a score of 83-73.   ###   And the (10) DORDT COLLEGE DEFENDERS dragged down the (7) INDIANA WESLEYAN WILDCATS  75-62. The Defenders led 35-24 at halftime and retained control in the 2nd half.  

Midland University WarriorsINSTANT CLASSICS – The MIDLAND UNIVERSITY WARRIORS and the YORK PANTHERS needed Overtime to resolve their 2nd Round game. In the end the Warriors emerged with a 76-71 victory.   ###   And the final game of the 2nd Round was the tightest last night. The DAKOTA STATE TROJANS led the ST THOMAS (FL) BOBCATS 30-27 at the break, but wound up winning by  just a single point. The final score was Continue reading →

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March 9, 2013 · 2:35 pm

ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION: TWO TALES OF LUNAR EXPLORATION FROM 150 AD

IcaromenippusHere’s a look at two forgotten early ventures into the form of story- telling that we now call science fiction.  My fondness for the ancient Greeks prompts me to examine a pair of works by Lucian, the Greek philosopher who lived in the 2nd century C.E. Lucian was noted not just for his philosophical observations but also for two works that defied definition by his contemporaries but would easily fall into the category of science fiction today. Both works are from roughly 150 C.E. 

1. ICAROMENIPPUS – The title, obviously, was inspired by the myth about Icarus using wings crafted by his father Daedalus to fly too close to the sun, which hubristic act led to his death. In this work Lucian depicted his hero Menippus using one wing from an eagle and one from a vulture to fly to Mt Olympus, and from there to the moon. He discovered that the moon (on which he could breathe just like on Earth) was populated by the souls of the deceased (roughly twelve hundred years before Dante’s Paradiso). From the moon Menippus made the astonishing observation that Continue reading →

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March 8, 2013 · 2:32 pm

MARCH 7TH’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL AND HOCKEY TOURNAMENT RESULTS

* NAIA *

ROUND ONE, DAY TWO – The NAIA Division 2 National Championship Tournament finished up Round One yesterday.  

calmaritimekeelhaulersUPSETS – The CAL MARITIME ACADEMY KEELHAULERS led the way on this category with their authoritative smackdown of the (4) NORTHWESTERN (IA) RED RAIDERS to the tune of 76-54   ###   The (5) WARNER PACIFIC COLLEGE KNIGHTS fell to the DAKOTA STATE TROJANS  89-80   ###   Meanwhile the ST THOMAS (FL) BOBCATS won an 85-72 upset over the (12) MT MERCY MUSTANGS.  

grace college USEUPSETS II: THE SEQUEL THEY SAID COULDN’T BE MADE – The GRACE COLLEGE LANCERS joined in the fun by toppling the (13) TN WESLEYAN COLLEGE BULLDOGS in a 93-69 pounding   ###   … And the Continue reading →

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March 8, 2013 · 1:44 pm

MUSH MADNESS: 2013 IDITAROD’S CURRENT STANDINGS

Alaskan SceneryTime for a look at where those lucky (?) mushers who have Official Balladeer’s Blog Nicknames stand at present in “the last great race.”

1. Martin “Below Zero” Buser   ###   2. Mitch “Pops” Seavey   ###   4. Aliy “Absolute Zero” Zirkle   ###   6. Peter “Wiser Than The” Kaiser   ###   7. Nicolas “The Continue reading →

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March 7, 2013 · 3:07 pm

COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS AND OTHER TOURNAMENTS CONTINUE

* NAIA2 *

The NAIA National Championship Tournament – THE OLDEST SUCH COLLEGE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT IN THE COUNTRY – yes, you read that right – got underway yesterday.

College of the Ozarks BobcatsUPSETS – Round One’s upsets: The COLLEGE OF THE OZARKS BOBCATS always shine in prime time and last night was no exception. The Bobcats stunned the 3rd seeded NORTHWOOD (FL) SEAHAWKS in a 57-49 defensive masterpiece.   ###   The MIDLAND UNIVERSITY WARRIORS eliminated the 8 seeds, the EASTERN OREGON MOUNTAINEERS, by a score of 77-53   ###   A battle of Panthers went into Overtime with the YORK PANTHERS eking out a 78-77 win over the DAVENPORT PANTHERS   ###   And ending a bad day for the WHAC, the 14th seeded MADONNA UNIVERSITY CRUSADERS fell to the SOUTHERN OREGON MOUNTAINEERS 83-66.

williampennStatesmenCHALK – The Top Seeded WILLIAM PENN UNIVERSITY STATESMEN had their hands full with the (BD) MCPHERSON BULLDOGS but prevailed in the end by a score of 71-65   ###   The BETHEL (IN) PILOTS eliminated the EMBRY RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY EAGLES  in a 73-49 rout   ###   The INDIANA UNIVERSITY SOUTHEAST GRENADIERS edged the VALLEY CITY STATE VIKINGS  75-72   ###   And the UNIVERSITY OF SAINT MARY SPIRES were Continue reading →

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March 7, 2013 · 2:30 pm

FORGOTTEN TELEVISION – PSI FACTOR: CHRONICLES OF THE PARANORMAL 1996-2000

PSI Factor depicted a series of investigations into the paranormal conducted by the fictional Office of Scientific Investigation and Research, or OSIR. This Canadian-made series was often unfairly dismissed as “X-Files Light”, but that in no way does justice to a very  entertaining  program. The members of the OSIR’s  various field teams went about their business in a much more convincing mock-scientific way than conspiracy  kook Fox  Mulder ever did, and that helped the audience suspend their disbelief.

Each episode featured Continue reading →

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