October 10, 2011 · 8:38 pm

COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLLS: WEEK OF OCTOBER 10TH

The Saint Xavier University Cougars remain at number 1 in the NAIA football poll for the 5th straight week, but to get some helmet variety in here I went with a pic of the 2nd ranked Marian University Knights. The Knights are enjoying another week at their highest ranking in team history and continue to make me look like a gridiron Nostradamus. Back in 2010 during the preseason I predicted that the Knights were about to take off in a big way. Marian then had a stellar season and won their first round playoff game, then this season came out blazing since Week 1 just to show last year was no fluke. The Menlo Oaks, meanwhile, move back into the Top 25 one week after falling out. The Chabot College Gladiators (love that name!) moved up to 10th in the NCFA Poll. And now the rankings in the divisions of college football covered by Balladeer’s Blog.  

NAIA – 1. SXU COUGARS   …   2. MARIAN KNIGHTS   …   3. CC FIGHTING SAINTS (defending champs)   …   4. MISSOURI VALLEY COLLEGE VIKINGS   …   5. GEORGETOWN (KY) TIGERS   …   6. ST FRANCIS (IN) COUGARS   …   7. MIDAMERICA NAZARENE PIONEERS   …   8. MORNINGSIDE MUSTANGS   …   9. BENEDICTINE RAVENS   …   10. AZUSA PACIFIC COUGARS (1st Top Ten ranking since 2006)   …   11. WILLIAM PENN STATESMEN   …   12. ST FRANCIS (IL) FIGHTING SAINTS (Upset former #4 William Penn)   …   13. DAKOTA WESLEYAN TIGERS   …   14. ST AMBROSE UNIVERSITY FIGHTING BEES   …   15. SOUTHERN NAZARENE UNIVERSITY CRIMSON STORM (Love that name!)   …   16. OTTAWA (KS) BRAVES   …   17. BETHEL (TN) WILDCATS   …   18. VCS VIKINGS   …   19. DOANE TIGERS   …   20. CUMBERLAND BULLDOGS (Up 5 spots from last week)   …   21. ROCKY MOUNTAIN COLLEGE BATTLIN’ BEARS   …   22. BETHANY SWEDES (Down 8 spots from last week)   …   T23. EASTERN OREGON MOUNTAINEERS   …   T23. NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE RANGERS   …   25. MENLO OAKS

NCAA D3- 1. WHITEWATER WARHAWKS (defending champs)  …   2. MT UNION PURPLE RAIDERS (Warhawks and Purple Raiders have played each other in the last 6 D3 title games in a row, splitting 3 each)   …   3. ST THOMAS TOMMIES   …   4. MHBU CRUSADERS Continue reading →

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October 10, 2011 · 8:05 pm

BALLADEER’S BLOG MARKS NEW MILESTONE: THANK YOU

 Balladeer’s Blog hit a new single- day high for hits on Saturday, October 8th. That new high for a single day is 12,577. Thank all of you for reading and for spreading the word about my odd combination of college sports, mythology, bad movies, ancient Greek comedies and forgotten history. I’ve had an interesting time writing this blog and have blazed my own trail, much to the annoyance of one or two long- time bloggers who live up to the outdated negative stereotype of bloggers being people who act like the Comic Book Guy on the Simpsons. 99% of the people I’ve gotten to interact with have been interesting and courteous and  Continue reading →

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October 9, 2011 · 3:12 pm

NOTEWORTHY COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS FROM OCTOBER 8TH

FIGHTING SAINTS UPSET NUMBER 4 STATESMEN – The NAIA’s 15th ranked ST FRANCIS (IL) FIGHTING SAINTS brought down the mighty number 4 WILLIAM PENN STATESMEN in a pigskin Ragnarok yesterday. The final score in this game with national and MSFA implications was a tight 36-35. The Fighting Saints faithful await the next poll rankings with baited breath.  

EDWARD WATERS AND LANGSTON RULE THE WORLD – Each week usually gives us at least one NAIA team toppling a higher division team but yesterday we had two. The EDWARD WATERS TIGERS won an Instant Classic against D2’s LIVINGSTONE BLUE BEARS by a score of 14-13. The NAIA’s LANGSTON LIONS pulled off their THIRD upset of a D2 team this season, bringing down the PANHANDLE STATE AGGIES 41-23.   

RANGERS AND THE STORM (For you Doors fans) – I had put the NAIA’s 10th ranked SOUTHERN  NAZARENE CRIMSON STORM on upset alert yesterday and was proven right when they fell on the road at the NW OKLAHOMA  STATE RANGERS. The Crimson Storm led 12-6 at one point but the Rangers’ Black Cloud defense stepped up big, shutting SNU out for the rest of the game. The Crimson Storm wound up losing 28-12.

HYLININGSFEST HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA – The number 14 BETHANY  SWEDES were celebrating both Homecoming and Hyliningsfest yesterday . That way you don’t have to do your holiday shopping separately for each event. The ST MARY SPIRES played Grinch to the celebrating Swedes, however, by upsetting the home team in a nail-biting 35-32 Instant Classic. 

TOP 25 UPSETS – NAIA –   In addition to the above mentioned upsets, the 17th ranked EASTERN OREGON Continue reading →

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October 8, 2011 · 2:49 pm

COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCOREBOARDS FOR OCTOBER 8TH

In the NAIA the William Penn University Statesmen are ranked 4th in the nation and continue saying “Just TRY to leave us out of the playoffs this year”. Last year WPU ended the year ranked at 11 but were unjustifiably left out of the 16 team NAIA playoff field. (That’s right, the divisions of college football covered by Balladeer’s Blog settle things with a playoff!)   The Statesmen are on the road today against the 15th ranked St Francis (IL) Fighting Saints in a crucial Mid States Football Association matchup. Both teams lead their respective divisions of “The Association” as Jim Rome would call it, and are unbeaten in conference play.  

Keeping to the theme of games between ranked teams today, the 9th ranked Morningside Mustangs, back on track to take the Great Plains Athletic Conference title following their upset at the hands of the Nebraska Wesleyan University Prairie Wolves a few weeks ago, host the 13th ranked Doane Tigers, who upset Midland University last week. The number 25 Cumberland Bulldogs meanwhile are at the 22nd ranked Shorter Hawks with the loser obviously knocked out of the rankings completely. Only one team is ranked in what I think may be the most exciting game of the day as the number 10 Southern Nazarene University Crimson Storm are on the road against the ever-tough Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers. 

D2 treats us to a Show Me State showdown between the 7th ranked  Northwest Missouri Bearcats and the number 14 Central Missouri Mules. D3’s only matchup between ranked teams finds the 15th ranked Cortland State Red Dragons at the number 11 Montclair State Red Hawks. And now, links to updating scoreboards for the divisions I cover:    

NAIA – http://www.victorysportsnetwork.com/sport/0/14.php

D3 – http://d3football.com/scoreboard/composite

D2 –  http://www.d2football.com/scores/

NJCAA – http://www.njcaa.org/sports_schedules.cfm?category=Schedules%2FScores&sid=11&divid=0&slid=5

SCFA – http://www.scfafootball.com/statistics/scoreboard.html

NCFA – http://www.cccaasports.org/football/men/

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October 7, 2011 · 1:13 am

ANCIENT GREEK COMEDY: THE CLOUDS (C 423 BCE)

FOR BACKGROUND INFORMATION IF YOU MISSED MY FIRST POST ON ANCIENT GREEK COMEDIES CLICK HERE: https://glitternight.com/2011/09/22/at-long-last-my-ancient-greek-comedy-posts-begin/

The Clouds was written by Aristophanes around 423 BCE and next to Lysistrata, which I examined last week, is the Big A’s most- discussed satire, mostly because of its lampooning of the philosopher Socrates, a contemporary of Aristophanes. Many modern readers, who have been programmed to sneeringly “deconstruct” old works of art rather than understand them, love to regard this comedy with hostility. They accuse Aristophanes of being “anti – intellectual” for subjecting Socrates in particular and the Sophist philosophers in general to the same satirical criticism that every other aspect of Athenian society was subjected to in comic plays.

There are many arguments I can use to refute this claim, and  I’ll present them below following my synopsis of the play itself. To provide just a brief argument right now since you may be curious, let me remind everyone that Shakespeare is famous for the line about killing all the lawyers, but I’ve never met one rational person who thinks that line means Shakespeare was seriously proposing the execution of all lawyers or the elimination of the law and/or the  judiciary system. By the same token I hardly think Aristophanes was railing against every form of education or intellectual inquiry. More on this controversy, including the trial of Socrates, below. 

THE PREMISE

In the ancient Greek democracy Athenian citizens were expected to represent themselves in court in both criminal and civil proceedings.

Since juries are the same no matter what the time period a guilty person who was a good speaker could get acquitted while an innocent person who was an inept speaker could get found guilty.

Conversely, since there were no public prosecutors, citizens could charge their fellow Athenians with crimes and if they were skilled enough at speaking they could railroad an innocent person. Many Athenian citizens who faced a court date would Continue reading →

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October 5, 2011 · 9:31 pm

BAD MOVIE PAGE: HELLROLLER (1992), THE NOTORIOUS “SLASHER IN A WHEELCHAIR” MOVIE

FOR MORE BAD MOVIE REVIEWS CLICK HERE: https://glitternight.com/bad-movies/

Balladeer's Blog

Balladeer’s Blog

 HELLROLLER (1992) – Category: Enyoyably bad movie but not fun-bad enough to earn my highest rating                 In honor of the upcoming Halloween holiday, here’s another review of a bad horror film. Hellroller is the infamous movie about a slasher who is confined to a wheelchair and uses it to get around as he slices and dices his victims. Ron Litman stars, if “stars” isn’t too strong a word, as Eugene, our twitchy, slobbering paraplegic. Eugene is the product of a Continue reading →

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October 4, 2011 · 10:21 pm

COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLLS: WEEK OF OCTOBER 4TH

 Coach Mike Feminis and his Saint Xavier University Cougars remain the pride of Chicago as they retain the top spot in the NAIA Top 25 for the 4th consecutive week. The 5-0 Cougars from the land of Koz (As in Rich Koz) once again received all of the 1st place votes. Meanwhile, there are new number 1’s in 2 of the polls after some upsets this past Saturday.

NAIA – 1. SXU Cougars   …   2. Marian Knights (highest ranking in team history)   …   3. CC Fighting Saints (defending champs)   … 4. William Penn Statesmen   …   5. MVC Vikings   …   6. Georgetown (KY) Tigers   …   7. St Francis (IN) Cougars   …   8. MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers   …    9. Morningside Mustangs   …   10. Southern Nazarene University Crimson Storm   …   11. Benedictine Ravens   …   12. Azusa Pacific Cougars   …   13. Doane Tigers   …   14. Bethany Swedes   …   15. St Francis (IL) Fighting Saints   …   16. Dakota Wesleyan Tigers   …   17. Eastern Oregon Mountaineers   …   18. St Ambrose Fighting Bees   …   19. Ottawa (KS) Braves   …   20. VCS Vikings   …   21. Bethel (TN) Wildcats   …   22. Shorter Hawks   …   23. Rocky Mountain College Battlin’ Bears   …   24. Midland Warriors   …   25. Cumberland Bulldogs 

NCAA DIVISION 3 – 1. Whitewater Warhawks (defending champs)   …   2. Mt Union Purple Raiders (The Warhawks and the Purple Raiders have played each other in the past 6 D3 championship games in a row, splitting 3 each)   …   3. St Thomas Tommies   …   4. MHBU Crusaders Continue reading →

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October 3, 2011 · 11:06 pm

8 BLOGS THAT MAKE LIFE WORTH LIVING

Recently a few of my fellow bloggers were kind enough to bestow awards on me, and the awards come with some challenges. The easy part is naming other blogs here at WP that I love to read. The other part involved fitting  some of my blog posts to various categories. I’ll do the difficult part first – some of my most memorable and/or controversial blog posts –  

1. MY MOST BEAUTIFUL POST – I’ll use this one since I used it to pay some deserved compliments to two of the greatest friends anyone could ask for – Noralee and Bill – https://glitternight.com/2010/11/18/special-guest-commentators-oolong-and-pekoe-ask-whats-up-with-all-these-teams-called-tigers/

2. MY MOST POPULAR POST – It may be its longevity that has given it the cumulative edge, but it’s my very first blog post, from June 21st of 2010. It’s a funny (?) list – https://glitternight.com/2010/06/21/the-20-coolest-named-college-sports-teams-you-may-have-never-heard-of-naia-edition/

3. MY MOST CONTROVERSIAL POSTS – Here Continue reading →

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October 2, 2011 · 4:37 pm

NOTEWORTHY COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS FROM OCTOBER 1ST

 DON’T MUSS WITH GUS – D2’s 16th ranked PITTSBURG (KS) STATE GORILLAS brought down the number one team, the NORTHWEST MISSOURI BEARCATS by a score of 38-35 in the aptly- named Fall Classic. The neutral site game between these two MidAmerica Intercollegiate Athletics Association rivals is played at Arrowhead Stadium, and the crowd in attendance was treated to a classic comeback. Gus the gorilla’s team faced a double digit deficit late in the game but, refusing to give up, Pitt State emerged with the type of signature win the program has been lacking since its trip to the D2 championship game nearly a decade ago. A field goal from Chase McCoy as time expired gave the Gorillas the win. 

ARMAGEDDON IN FORT WAYNE – The NAIA’s gridiron showdown today between its Top 2 teams was full of thrills and hard hits. The number 1 SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY COUGARS defended their top ranking for the third week in a row, defeating the 2nd place team, the SAINT FRANCIS (IN) COUGARS, in their own house by a score of 42-31. As in the Fall Classic above, the winning team at one point trailed by double digits before turning the tables. The SXU Cougars are the football pride of Chicago so far in 2011! 

NUMBER ONE TAKES A FALL – The NJCAA’s 2nd ranked team, the BLINN COLLEGE BUCCANEERS, where Cam Newton played his college ball before transferring to Auburn, dethroned the top- ranked defending champs, the NAVARRO COLLEGE BULLDOGS in a 31-26 game for the ages. The Buccaneers move to 5-0 on the season and look to become the new number 1 in the next poll.

TOP 25 UPSETS – NAIA – The unranked ROCKY MOUNTAIN COLLEGE  BATTLING BEARS stopped the meteoric ascent of the 9th ranked EASTERN OREGON MOUNTAINEERS. RMC handed the home team a surprising 51-17 beatdown and at 17, the DOANE TIGERS brought down the 14th ranked MIDLAND WARRIORS in a 43-39 shootout.  

TOP 25 UPSETS – D3 – The 5th ranked BETHEL (MN) ROYALS were upset at home by the ST OLAF OLES in a tight, nailbiting 30-28 affair … The number 7 team, the WHEATON THUNDER, fell on the road to the Continue reading →

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October 1, 2011 · 8:14 pm

BAD MOVIE PAGE: HEX (1973)

Cristina Raines

Cristina Raines

HEX (1973) Category – Enjoyably bad movie but not fun-bad enough to earn my highest rating        Hex, which was also released under the title The Screaming, belongs to that joyously bizarre subgenre of motorcycle horror films.  

That  peculiar cinematic niche also plays home to flicks like Werewolves On Wheels, about a biker gang that hassles Satanists who transform them into werewolves, to Psychomania, about a biker gang that forms a pact with Satan  which permits them to commit suicide and then return from the grave as invincible, soulless marauders and to Blood Freak, about a biker who turns into a turkey monster (no, really).   

Hex trumps all of those other films for sheer weirdness, partly because it is Continue reading →

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