October 18, 2010 · 12:06 am

THE 20 COOLEST-NAMED JUCO/COCO SPORTS TEAMS

Because you demanded it, it’s another Top 20 List. I was afraid it might seem like a tired gimmick at this point but my e-mailers have said otherwise so here it is. Like all levels of college sports, the JUCO ranks have waaaay too many teams called Tigers, Eagles, Bulldogs and Wildcats, but here are the 20 Coolest Names.  

20. BAKERSFIELD RENEGADES 

Location: Bakersfield, CA 

Comment: If you “walk the streets of Bakersfield” you’re bound to hear about the Renegades, who have a nickname cool enough to be a rock group or a band of mercenaries in the notoriously bad post-apocalypse movie 2020 Texas Gladiators. Hard to believe in just 10 years the country will be full of those marauding gangs, isn’t it?

19. HIGHLAND SCOTTIES 

Location: Highland, KS

Comment: You just knew a dog lover like me would include this team! And there’s no truth to the rumor that their original mascot was Star Trek’s James Doohan standing on the sidelines and saying “I need more time, Cap’n!”  

18. ASA AVENGERS

Location: New York, NY 

Comment: Insert your own Emma Peal or “Why is the Avengers movie taking so long?” joke here. This school has one seriously cool nickname and logo, don’t they? T-shirt sales must be through the roof! And I’m sure their call to practice is either “We’re needed” or “Avengers Assemble!”

17. GARDEN CITY BRONCBUSTERS

Location: Garden City, KS

Comments: No, that’s not a typo, they go by Broncbusters, not BroncObusters. Under any name and in any sport they kick major butts. And you just haven’t busted until you’ve Broncbusted, y’know?

16. COFFEYVILLE RED RAVENS

Location: Coffeyville, KS

Comment: Red Ravens really rock! You’d expect the town that kicked the Dalton Gang’s butts back in 1892 to have sports teams with an incredibly cool nickname like this! What I really want to know is why isn’t the corporate headquarters for Starbucks located in Coffeyville?

15. CHABOT GLADIATORS 

Location: Hayward, CA

Comment: Gladiators is one of those nicknames so cool you can’t help but wonder why more schools don’t use it! If you had a choice between Gladiators and something as overused as Eagles, Tigers, Bulldogs and Wildcats you’d think it would be no contest.  

14. MOUNT SAN ANTONIO MOUNTIESMount San Antonio College Mounties

Location: Walnut, CA

Comment: Their mascot is a cross between a Grizzly Adams style Mountain Man and a Dudley Do-Right style Canadian Mountie.

Cool nickname that can’t help but remind me of my all-time favorite Republic Serial: Canadian Mounties VS Atomic Invaders! Yes, really.

13. IOWA WESTERN REIVERS Location: Council Bluffs, IA

Comment: The Reivers: Wasn’t That A Time!? Okay, maybe that’s too obscure a reference for such a memorable nickname and logo. The Reivers swashbuckle their way through the JUCO ranks even more impressively than Johnny Depp does in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.

12. NE OKLAHOMA A&M GOLDEN NORSEMEN

Location: Miami, OK

Comment: How can you not love a nickname this cool? I love teams with a Nordic theme that don’t fall back on the overused nickname Vikings.  Such teams might also consider a nickname like The Asgardians if not for the way that would set themselves up for snarky jokes like “Popo Protectors”.  

11. SANTA ANA DONS

Location: Santa Ana, CA

Comment: That’s Dons as in Old California Dons like Don Diego, not Mafia Dons like Don Corleone. Their football helmet sports the only version of their logo I could find on-line and it’s so cool I wanted to make sure I included it.

10. ANTELOPE VALLEY MARAUDERS

Location: Lancaster, CA

Comment: It sometimes seems like I think any mascot or logo with a sword is cool but I can’t help it! Marauders IS an incredibly cool nickname and that logo is very eye-catching! I can’t help but feel such things are an advantage in recruiting, even if players might think it sounds too “unmanly” to admit it.

9. SANTA BARBARA CITY COLLEGE VAQUEROS

Location: Santa Barbara, CA

Comment: Not to be confused with the UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos from NCAA Division 1. Not only is this an incredibly cool nickname for sports teams but their football team also has cool helmets and possibly the coolest football stadium in the world, or at least the stadium with the coolest view in the world! Just picture taking in a game while having that view as background! If you doubt me just look it up on Yippy or Google and see for yourself. 

8. VERMILION COLLEGE IRONMEN

Location: Ely, MN 

Comment: There are so many ways we could go here. We could do a Black Sabbath reference (and I’m betting that song is done ad infinitum by their marching band) or maybe a Marvel Comics superhero reference. Experienced readers of Balladeer’s Blog will remember that I go for the more obscure so I’ll try to come up with a Tetsuo The Iron Man reference instead. While I’m working on it ponder the glory of getting to root for teams called the Ironmen!

7. COMPTON COLLEGE TARTARS

Location: Compton, CA

Comment: Love that nickname and logo! Michigans’s Wayne State Warriors from D2 used to be called the Tartar Warriors so I’m glad to have found this Tartars team since I always thought it was a really cool and underused angle. The arch-rival of the Tartars must be The Cavity Creeps. (Sorry)

6. DODGE CITY CONQUISTADORS

Location: Dodge City, KS

Comment: When someone mentions Dodge City I always think of Conquistadors like Cortez, Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson…hey, wait a minute! All kidding aside Conquistadors is definitely another one for the list of nicknames so kickass I can’t believe more teams don’t use it! Since all roads lead to bad movies with me I’ll throw out a reference to the film Giant From The Unknown, in which a giant (well, really big, anyway) Conquistador comes out of suspended animation and runs amok in modern-day California. 

5. TYLER JUNIOR COLLEGE APACHES

Location: Tyler, TX 

Comment: Apaches is undeniably one of the coolest names that sports teams (or helicopters for that matter) could have! It must be doubly exciting to get to play in Texas, where even high school football games will draw crowds in the thousands!     

4. SAN DIEGO MESA OLYMPIANS 

Location: San Diego, CA

Comment: As usual I’m a sucker for a nickname that combines my passion for college sports with my passion for mythology. Although I grant you the name is more likely a reference to participants in the Olympic games rather than to the godly inhabitants of Mt Olympus. As with Santa Ana College above, the coolest depiction of their logo I could find on-line was on their football helmets.

3. HUTCHINSON BLUE DRAGONS

 Location: Hutchinson, KS

Comment: It’s hard to top a nickname and logo this cool. Hutchinson’s football team sports that logo on their helmets and I can’t imagine there isn’t a young man in the country who wouldn’t love strapping that helmet on on Saturday afternoons!  

2. EASTERN ARIZONA GILA MONSTERS Eastern Arizona College Gila Monsters

Location: Thatcher, AZ

Comment: That Gila monster pic is from the school’s athletics site. I love the uniqueness of the nickname plus its Southwest flavor but most of all I love the way it reminds me of the bad movie gem The Giant Gila Monster! When the football team scores a touchdown does the band play the song “I sing whenever I sing whenever I siiiiiiiiiiing”? (Bad movie buffs will get it). At least I didn’t pick the song Laugh, Children, Laugh. (shudder)  from that movie!

1. SCOTTSDALE FIGHTING ARTICHOKES

Location: Scottsdale, AZ

Comment: If you know Juco sports you just knew I would probably have this school at number one! Memorable nickname aside it takes onions to call your teams the Artichokes (sorry) knowing full well people will call them the “Chokes” for short! Talk about spitting in the face of sports superstition! And since they’re number one I’ll throw in a bonus and show you their incredibly cool football helmets, courtesy of The Helmet Project at  http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/

MORE COOL STUFF

For the 20 Coolest-Named College Sports Teams In the USCAA and NCCAA click here  – https://glitternight.com/2010/11/24/the-20-coolest-named-uscaa-and-nccaa-sports-teams/

For past Cool Helmets that weren’t on the Top 20 List click here: https://glitternight.com/category/cool-helmets/

For Cool-Named Teams that weren’t on that Top 20 List click here: https://glitternight.com/category/cool-names-and-cool-logos/

For the NCAA Division 3′s Coolest-Named Teams click here: https://glitternight.com/d3-20-coolest/

For the NAIA edition of The 20 Coolest College Sports Teams You May Never Have Heard Of click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/06/21/the-20-coolest-named-college-sports-teams-you-may-have-never-heard-of-naia-edition/

For The 20 Coolest College Sports Logos click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/07/20/the-20-coolest-college-sports-logos/

For The 20 Coolest Football Helmets In NCAA Division 3 click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/08/23/the-20-coolest-football-helmets-in-ncaa-division-3/

For the 20 Coolest-Named Sports Teams In NCAA Division 2 click here: https://glitternight.com/d2-20-coolest/

Balladeer’s Blog is not affiliated with or operated by the NAIA or the NCAA or any of their member institutions.

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog, 2010. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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October 17, 2010 · 4:26 pm

NOTEWORTHY RESULTS FROM OCTOBER 16TH’S GAMES

“Mountain Lion” Ryan And Sioux Falls Remain Perfect – Wr Jon “Mountain Lion” Ryan starred as the NAIA’s Top-Ranked USF Cougars defeated the 4th-ranked Morningside Mustangs 28-3. The game was Victory Sports Network‘s Game Of The Week. At the start it looked like things would not go the Cougars’ way, especially after the usually automatic “Brassy” Braden Wieking missed 2 early field goals. The Sioux Falls defense (and some excellent punting by Wieking) kept Morningside’s offense scoreless long enough for the offense to start countering the Mustangs’ defensive gameplan. QB Jon “Jonny East” Eastman connected with Mountain Lion Ryan on 3 td’s while RB Chevon “Fire” Walker and the rest of the Cougar offense found their rhythm. The defense was led by Dom “The Studmeister General” Studzinski who had 6 tackles. Up next in USF’s quest to Threepeat are the Dakota Wesleyan Tigers.

Top 25 Upsets – NAIA – The Dickinson State Blue Hawks, ranked #9, suffered their 1st loss of the season at the hands of the unranked Black Hills State Yellow Jackets in a 19-13 Instant Classic … The 13th-ranked Walsh Cavaliers fell to an unranked team for the 2nd week in a row, losing to the Taylor Trojans 21-17 … The unranked Baker Wildcats, who had such high pre-season hopes, have settled into a spoiler role, upsetting the 20th-ranked Benedictine Ravens by a score of 20-14 … #21, the Montana Tech Orediggers, lost to the unranked Eastern Oregon Mountaineers in a beautiful 31-28 game. The Mountaineers will hope to keep this upset mojo going next week when they take on the Frontier Conference’s Fighting Saints in next week’s VSN Game Of The Week.

Top 25 Upsets – NCAA Division 3 – The 6th-ranked Coe Kohawks, obviously jarred by my recent investigative piece linking their mascot to the giant buzzard from outer space in the movie The Giant Claw (I’m kidding!), lost at home to the unranked Wartburg Knights 31-21 … The #19 Alfred Saxons lost on the road to the unranked RPI Engineers by a score of 27-24 … The Washington and Lee Generals, still undefeated in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play, upset the 20th-ranked Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets 42-28 … The Cortland State Red Dragons, ranked at #23, lost on the road to the Rowan Profs in a 20-17 Instant Classic.

Top 25 Upsets – NCAA Division 2 – In a slight upset rankings-wise, the 6th-ranked West Texas A&M Buffaloes lost to the 10-ranked TA&M– Kingsville Javelinas 28-24 … The 9th-ranked Delta State Statesmen fell to the Harding Bisons (they go by Bisons, not Bison) by a score of 38-35 … The #17 Tuskegee Golden Tigers, in the midst of one of their most up and down years ever, lost again to an unranked team, the Fort Valley Wildcats, in a 26-0 shutout and the 23rd-ranked Wayne State (NE) Wildcats lost at home 17-14 to the Concordia-St Paul Golden Bears.

Hard-Charging Chargers – In this, just the 2nd season of their revival of football, the New Haven Chargers have wracked up an impressive 6-1 record and are an amazing 4-0 on the road. And they’re not playing teams below their own division to do it, either. All of their games have been against fellow D2 teams with their only loss coming against the ever-tough Assumption Greyhounds. Yesterday the Chargers blanked the American International Yellow Jackets 13-0 and are at the top of the Northeast 10 Conference standings.

It Isn’t News If A House Isn’t On Fire Dept – The Top-Ranked and undefeated teams in D2 and D3 won big yesterday. D2’s Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs crushed the Mary Marauders 49-0 and D3’s Whitewater Warhawks devastated the Eau Claire Blugolds 45-0.  

We Went To A Football Game And A Baseball Game Broke Out – This week’s game that fits this category just barely qualifies. The UMass-Dartmouth Corsairs defeated the Nichols Bison 9-7. Where have all our 3-0 and 6-3 games gone?  

We Went To A Football Game And A Basketball Game Broke Out – This week’s entry for a game in which the defenses seem to have just stayed on the team bus for the whole game is the matchup between the Georgetown (KY) Tigers and the Pikeville Bears, with the Tigers winning 70-58. The 6th-ranked Lindenwood Lions tried to provide a 2nd game for this category this week by scoring 90 points yesterday, but their opponents, the Culver-Stockton Wildcats indignantly refused to play along, putting up only 19 points in return.

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October 17, 2010 · 2:30 am

WAR-GOD BATTLES GODZILLA-SIZED POLAR BEAR

 Okay, it wasn’t really the Ohio Northern Polar Bears mascot who was the giant bear in question. I just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to show a cool logo for one of the teams Balladeer’s Blog covers. This post is just to let readers know I have once again updated my Navajo mythology page. I added the next segment of the war god Nayanazgeni’s battles with the Anaye. I titled this segment “The Bear Who Pursues”. 

10. THE BEAR WHO PURSUES – Next Nayanazgeni set out to slay the Anaye known as The Bear Who Pursues. As you would expect this alien or foreign god was depicted as an enormous, several-story tall bear.

I favor those myths which depict it as a polar bear (which the Continue reading →

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October 17, 2010 · 2:12 am

GOING GREENY: WARRIORS VOLLEYBALL COACH JEN GREENY NOTCHES HER 100TH WIN

Jen Greeny, Women’s Volleyball Coach for the Lewis-Clark State Warriors, recorded her 100th win to go 100-22 overall with the program. Yesterday the 9th-ranked Warriors defeated the 21st-ranked Rocky Mountain College Battlin’ Bears for their 11th win in a row and Greeny’s Centennial Milestone. Winning is a way of life for Coach Greeny, who has led her team to 3 straight Frontier Conference titles in just her 4th year at the helm.

“It’s been great,” said Greeny about the milestone. “The players we’ve had have been amazing, and they’ve really bought into the system. A lot of the credit goes to them. I thought we came out playing exceptionally well. Especially with our serving and defense we got them out of rhythm.”

The Warriors are now 19-1 overall and 9-0 in Frontier Conference play. Readers of Balladeer’s Blog are familiar with Greeny’s star players so let’s review their stats in this win along with their Official Balladeer’s Blog Nicknames. 

Nicole “The Gray Seal” Graybeal had 13 kills, 3 aces and 2 block assists; “Killin'” Kelli Tikker logged 12 kills, 11 digs and an ace; Deddiy Alaimaleata, “The District Attorney“, had 11 kills, 1 solo block and 1 block assist. That brings us to the Warriors’ setters. Kim “Special K” Fong had 23 assists and Alyssa Wold, “Root Beer” herself (because her initials are A&W), recorded 22 assists. On defense “Cat Burglar” Katie Hinrichs had 13 digs while “J-Bird” Jenika Bird Jeppson contributed 5 block assists.

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October 16, 2010 · 3:00 am

TODAY’S MARQUIS MATCHUP AND SCOREBOARDS

 The NAIA‘s Top-Ranked team, the University of Sioux Falls Cougars, host the fourth-ranked Morningside Mustangs in the Marquis Matchup of this Saturday. Both teams come into today’s game sporting 6-0 records, so the old cliche that “Someone’s 0 Will Go” certainly applies. Cougars stars like QB Jon “Jonny East” Eastman, RB Chevon “Fire” Walker, WR Jon “Mountain Lion” Ryan and K “Brassy” Braden Wieking will be in action as USF continues its quest to threepeat as National Champions. Kickoff is 6PM local time.

Here are links to updating scoreboards for the Divisions Balladeer’s Blog covers:

 

NAIA – http://football.victorysportsnetwork.com/

NCAA Division 3 – http://d3football.com/scoreboard/composite

NCAA Division 2 – http://www.d2football.com/scores/2010-10-16/ 

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October 15, 2010 · 11:26 pm

TWENTY-THREE – SKIDOO!

At Washington and Lee, where the sports teams go by the incredibly cool and incredibly appropriate nickname The Generals, Athletic Director Jan Hathorn (Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: “The Hath” as in “Don’t hassle the Hath””) announced the rededication of the school’s Student Athlete Mentor group as an organization known simply as “23”. No it doesn’t have anything to do with Discordianism or The Law Of Fives, the group is called 23 because that’s how many varsity sports the university sponsors. Their motto is “Many sports, one team.” The mission of  W&L’s  “23” is to create and promote a united community of student-athletes. Their goals are to develop and strengthen a sense of responsibility and wellness through risk reduction and bystander intervention. 

Lacrosse player Lauren Acker, Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname, “L.A. Woman”, is the student chair of 23 and is outspoken about the group’s mission:

“Being a student-athlete at W&L is something that I am very proud of — it is a very important aspect of my identity on campus,” said Acker.  “I am passionate about “23” and its mission because I believe it has the potential to greatly enhance a student-athlete’s experience at W&L. Our inspiration stemmed from the fact that we have 23 varsity sports on campus, yet there is little interaction and camaraderie amongst these sports. I feel that as student-athletes, we must all look out for each other, just as we would a teammate. It is important to transcend our teams’ boundaries to build an even larger support base as we pursue our athletic and academic goals at W&L.”   

The idea for the rededication was born when Hathorn and Associate Athletic Director Shana Levine attended the APPLE Conference at the University of Virginia last January. The APPLE Conference offers teams of student-athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, administrators, and alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) prevention specialists an opportunity to evaluate the ATOD environment within their athletics departments, and to develop a specific action plan to enhance prevention efforts.  After attending the conference, Hathorn and Levine began devising a way to re-energize the SAMS in order to achieve the mission for what has become “23”.

“At the Apple Conference last year, it became apparent that our student-athlete leaders have been seeking a new way to articulate their pride as an athlete, individually and collectively, on campus,” noted Hathorn.  “Specifically, they wanted to become a more unified group, and they felt that focusing on bystander behavior would be a great stepping stone towards expressing their care, concert and support of one another.  I am very pleased and proud of the efforts of ‘23’ and the work they have already accomplished.  If the dedication and spirit that has been demonstrated so far continues, this organization is well on its way to creating a new spirit of unity among our student-athletes on campus.”

Already, “23” has organized the first-ever student-athlete picnic (Sept. 19) and they have printed T-Shirts intended to identify athletes as a group on campus.  The group intends on continuing their mission throughout the school year in order to provide a sense of unity among the school’s teams and athletes.

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October 14, 2010 · 12:22 am

LINDSEY WILSON WOMEN’S SOCCER TAMES THE GEORGETOWN (KY) TIGERS

The following courtesy of Lindsey Wilson College Sports Information. The Blue Raiders are ranked 5th right now! The parenthetical comments are purely my fault. One of the perks (?) of being covered by Balladeer’s Blog is getting Official Balladeer’s Blog Nicknames, so here we go!

COLUMBIA, Ky. – Lindsey Wilson College and Georgetown (Ky.) College decided the 2009 Mid-South Conference Women’s Soccer Tournament Championship with penalty kicks in their last matchup, on Tuesday, the Blue Raiders skipped the drama in a 3-0 win at Walter S. Reuling Stadium.

Ida Gregersen (Official Balladeer’s Blog nickname: “Mighty Ida”) took a corner kick early in the second half that was played near the goal before being cleared just outside the box to a waiting Elisha (“Dangerous E”) Fry. Fry used one quick touch before firing the shot from 30 yards out for the game-winning score.

The goal was Fry’s eighth of the season, adding to her team lead in that category, while Blue Raider keeper Jordan (“The Deflector”) Morrison wrapped up her fourth shutout of the season.

Lindsey Wilson added to its lead in the 79th and 82nd minutes with a pair of goals by Gregersen to push the lead to 3-0.

Hanna (“Hawk Woman”) Jonsson and Diana (“The Huntress”) Da Rocha combined on the assists for Gregersen’s first score with two passes inside the box, while Mia Persson (“The MP” ) dished in the cross for the second goal to Gregersen as she rushed down the center of the box.

Lindsey Wilson led the game in shots 14-8, despite being knotted at 5-5 on shots at halftime. Georgetown held the advantage in corner kicks 4-2.

Tiger keeper Cathie Shaver made eight saves along with the three goals against, while Morrison finished with three saves to help secure the shutout.

The Blue Raiders return to action at 3:30 p.m. CT on Oct. 16 at St. Leo (Fla.) University. (St Leo’s teams are appropriately called the Lions.)

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October 13, 2010 · 11:23 pm

XAVIER GOLD RUSH NEWS!

The following courtesy of Xavier (LA) Sports Information:

NEW ORLEANS — For the fourth time this season, Xavier University of Louisiana‘s Matt Pieri is the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Runner of the Week in men’s cross country.
Pieri, a sophomore from New Orleans and a graduate of Brother Martin High School, ran 8,000 meters in a season-best 28 minutes, 15.31 seconds Friday to finish 18th out of 74 non-NCAA Division I runners in the Mississippi College/Watson Ford Invitational at Clinton, Miss. Overall he placed 36th out of 131 men.
Pieri is the second Gold Rush harrier to win the GCAC award four or more times in a season since its establishment in 2008. Mark Dotson won five times in 2009. Xavier has won all five GCAC men’s Runner of the Week awards this season — Ray Walston earned the other — and 12 of 14 since the start of the 2009 season.
Xavier’s next meet — its final one of the regular season — will be the Demon Invitational at Walter P. Ledet Track Complex in Natchitoches, La., on October 22. The women’s 6,000-meter race will start at 4 p.m., followed by the men’s 8,000-meter race at 4:30. Northwestern State is the host school.

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October 12, 2010 · 11:34 pm

TOP 25 LISTS ONE-LINERS

TO LIVEN UP THIS WEEK’S TOP 25 LISTS I’M INCLUDING A BRIEF ONE-LINE COMMENT (AS OPPOSED TO A LENGTHY ONE-LINE COMMENT) ON EACH TEAM

NAIA FOOTBALL

1. SIOUX FALLS COUGARS – How many of you will just plain throw up if I use the word “threepeat” one more time about USF?

2. CC FIGHTING SAINTS – No, not the Attacking Amish, the Fighting Saints who had a bye last Saturday.

3. ST XAVIER COUGARS – Kicker Tom “Tommy the Linchpin” Lynch was the Association’s Special Teams Player Of The Week, but Anthony “Crop-Man” Kropp and Mike “M Squared” Maher are still part of this super-team.

4. MORNINGSIDE MUSTANGS – The Mustangs are champing at the bit to take on Sioux Falls in a battle of the unbeatens which will also be this Saturday’s Victory Sports Network Game Of The Week.

5. MNU PIONEERS – As long as this team has QB Sean “How Bad” Ransburg at the controls you just know nobody wants to face them in the playoffs. (Yes, 1A football fans, the divisions covered by Balladeer’s Blog settle it all on the field)

6. LINDENWOOD LIONS- Last year the Lions gave reigning champs Sioux Falls almost more than they could handle in the Championship Game. One of the toughest schedules in the country may be all that prevents them from returning to Rome. (Not that one! Rome, GA, site of the NAIA Championship Game)

7. MCPHERSON BULLDOGS – The Bulldogs are slugging their way through the KCAC, ready to gnaw on any playoff opponents they may face in the post-season.

8. ST FRANCIS (IN) COUGARS – Yes, it’s a little-known federal law that 72% of the teams in the NAIA have to be called the Cougars.

9. DICKINSON STATE BLUE HAWKS – These boys have been kicking butts and taking names since the Thursday night start of NAIA football back in August. Many people want to know why they haven’t been a Cool-Named Team Of The Day yet.

10. MO VALLEY COLLEGE VIKINGS – 100% Brett Favre-free! Which means they play like a team and nobody makes excuses by dramatically clutching their elbow every time something goes wrong! Watch out for these Vikes!

11. OTTAWA (KS) BRAVES – The Braves started the season with a win in the Rivalry Renewed Game against Baker in this season’s debut VSN Game Of The Week and have been fighting like Saints (I’m kidding!) all season long!

12. WILLIAM PENN STATESMEN – Before the season started very few were giving this team any respect but they’ve done it the old-fashioned way like Smith-Barney and EAAAAAARRRNED it!

13. WALSH CAVALIERS – Ohio’s oldest team called Cavaliers are a force to be reckoned with and were even on my Top 20 College Sports Logos list months ago!

14. KANSAS WESLEYAN COYOTES – Cool name, cool logo, cool performances on the field from our 3rd Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference team on the list!

15. S DAKOTA MINES AND TECHNOLOGY HARDROCKERS – The Hardrockers have been playing with style in their farewell year in the Dakota Athletic Conference!

16. CUMBERLAND BULLDOGS – Their coach may be Bland (rimshot) but you can always count on Cumberland teams to shine on the gridiron and the diamond and at Pavanapalooza Events!

17. NORTHWESTERN (IA) RED RAIDERS – The Red Raiders convinced any skeptics about their legitimacy when they nearly upset the Sioux Falls Cougars in their 1st game of the season.   

18. MARIAN KNIGHTS – To toot my own horn I was dead-on in my pre-season predictions about how lethal this team would be this season!

19. MCKENDREE BEARCATS – Look for the Bearcats to draw motivation from being the latest victim of St Francis’ (IL) last-minute upsets last Saturday.

20. BENEDICTINE RAVENS – Balladeer’s Blog tagged them as a team to watch before they were ranked (Yes, I love patting myself on the back!) and you can just insert your own Poe joke here.

T21. MONTANA TECH OREDIGGERS – Anyone who thought they had the Frontier Conference figured out this year (beyond having the Fighting Saints in the driver’s seat) was quickly proven to be insane this season! Charley Oredigger is pleased to surprise anyone who doubted them!

T21. WEBBER INTERNATIONAL WARRIORS – The Warriors came out to plaaaaa-aaaaaayyyyy (bad movie buffs will get it), handing the mighty Azusa Pacific Cougars their 1st loss of the year and then taking down NCAA Division 2’s 17th-ranked UNC-Pembroke Braves in back-to-back weeks.

23. LANGSTON LIONS – If you like Langston Hughes you’ll LOVE the Langston Lions (fellow poetry geeks will get it) who are determined to roar their way into the post-season.

24. AZUSA PACIFIC COUGARS – The team with the coolest helmets on the West Coast may have had a rough couple of weekends but are likely to bounce back in a big way!

25. FRIENDS FALCONS – “…And countrymen!” (Sorry) It seems appropriate to end the Top 25 list with yet another Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference team, doesn’t it?

I’ll do one-liners for D3 football’s Top 25 list next week. Here are links to the other Top 25 polls.

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October 12, 2010 · 12:24 am

LINDENWOOD NEWS NETWORK: WITH GUEST COMMENTATOR TIBBS

 This time my guest commentator is Tibbs, a cat who belongs to one of my other sisters – Debbie. Tibbs wants equal time for cats after my sister Rosemary’s dog Bogie (named after Humphrey Bogart, not a golfing term) acted as a Guest Commentator a few weeks ago. Tibbs thinks she would make a great mascot for a feline-named sports team so to underline that fact she wanted to do her guest stint for the Lindenwood Lions. Tibbs’ comments do not necessarily reflect the views of Balladeer’s Blog.

Tibbs: In women’s ACHA ice hockey, Lindenwood will host the Robert Morris (IL) Eagles this weekend. The Eagles and the Lady Lions have won the last 6 ACHA Hockey Championships.  Personally I like to hunt Eagles down and then deposit them on my Mommy Debbie’s front doorstep, but she’s too uncivilized to appreciate this gesture.

Tibbs: The 6th-ranked Lions football team will be hosting the Culver-Stockton Wildcats this Saturday afternoon for Lindenwood’s Homecoming Game. Since both teams are named after cats I’m torn on this game and will probably just root for individual stats like I did last week when the Lions played Baker. Speaking of last week’s game, Lindenwood’s QB “Phootball” Philip Stabek (My uncle, the guy who usually writes this blog, is forcing me to use that lame nickname) set a school record with 6 touchdown passes in that 48-14 win. Since Culver-Stockton is winless at this point, the 5-1 Lions should have another huge win to please the Homecoming crowd. 

Tibbs: The Lady Lions volleyball team is ranked #21, sports an 18-11 record and this weekend hosts the Lindenwood Invitational. Before that event they face the MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers and then in the Invitational will face the Avila Eagles, the Oklahoma City Stars and the Olivet Nazarene Tigers among others. I’m really going to “dig” this tournament! Get it? I “kill” me! Volleyball term jokes: I’ve never met anyone who DOESN’T love them!

TIBBS: The Lindenwood men’s soccer team is also ranked #21 and is off to a 9-3 start. This coming Saturday they play at the #14 Benedictine Ravens. Insert your own “Cat mascot devouring a bird mascot” joke here since I already used one above.

TIBBS: The men’s ice hockey team is still ranked #1 and is 5-1 so far in its non-conference slate. This week they travel to Indiana, whose team is currently 3-3. Last year the Lions crushed Indiana by scores of 12-0 and 9-1 so Lindenwood can definitely say “Hoosier” Daddy? to Indiana.

Well, that wraps up my turn as a guest commentator for my uncle. To tell the people at Lindenwood to just photoshop a lion’s mane on to my picture and use me as their new mascot click here: http://www.lindenwoodlions.com/

 

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