Archive for March, 2010

Just Say No

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Everyone knows that athletes are the social highlighters to an otherwise monotone student population. You can spot a basketball player from a mile a way, and football players seem to have a certain swag about them. Women want to be with them, and men want to be just like them. Those lucky few Fresno State students who fit into the college sports world are known from one dorm to another and are most definately swarmed with friends. But staying in the bubbling pool of awesome takes more than just talent and luck. It takes a certain amount of sobriety.

Athletes, male and female, are held under a very strict code. No drugs, no alcohol, no abuse. Once a month these ball loving, track running, hard working collegiates get shoved into a bathroom and are expected to pee into a cup so that an analysis can be run. If you pass, your all set but if you fail the consequences start raining down. But what makes it worse is that these once a month drug testings are totally random and completely unannounced. It may be true that only a small population of the athletes get tested, but it’s still stressful just thinking that maybe you happened to eat too many poppy seed muffins that morning and that your drug meter might just go off. And as well as random testings, there are of course those of the scheduled variety and the kind that come up when a player is acting suspicious. Athletics may hold a certain appeal, but it’s not without hard work and a bit of Russian roulette.

Love Your Planet

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Let’s go Rams! Let’s go! Let’s go green!

That should be our battlecry for the closing of this school year. We should remember 2010 as the year that students took a leap toward conservation, and of course found innovative ways to save some pocket change. Everyone is putting in an effort, even Angelo Place is offering up ways to help knock down the pollution count. Be it riding your bike to and from work, or just making sure you don’t throw that empty Starbucks out the window, helping to save Earth is the new thing to do.

You can put a serious dent in your bills by switching to energy saving appliances. Buy laundry detergent that requires less per load, or even opt for the kind that works just as hard on stains with cold water. Think about your showers, do you really need thirty minutes to scrub off an afternoon of barely sweating? Take a fifteen minute shower and watch that water bill take a nose dive! Even something as little as buying paper products from recycled goods can be a serious step toward global conservation. So college kids, lets keep the green in our pocket and the world looking pretty. Do your part toward a fresh start!

Lady Redbirds Advance to Women’s NIT Final Four

Monday, March 29th, 2010

It’s a great time to be a sports fan in Normal, Illinois. The Illinois State University Redbirds Women’s Basketball team advanced to the Final Four of the Women’s National Invitational Basketball tournament after defeating the University of Illinois Fighting Illini 53-51 in front of a capacity crowd of 4,400. Talk about exciting!

After losing to the Fighting Illini in the preseason, almost nobody viewed the Redbirds as a threat in the postseason, but the critics were silenced after this historic victory over their cross state rivals. What’s next for the Redbirds? They will host a semi-final showdown against the talented University of California Golden Bears, and if they win, they will face either the University of Miami or the University of Michigan. In tournaments like these, home team advantage provides a major upper hand, so get out their and support your Lady Redbirds as they continue to chase the National Invitational Tournament championship!

If they can pull off two victories, it will truly be a Cinderella story, because the other three universities which round out the Final Four are much bigger and more prominent programs. ISU students can purchase tickets to the game for the great price of $5! See you there!

Is Hot Tub Time Machine Worth Your Money?

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Last Friday the highly advertised comedy, Hot Tub Time Machine was released in theaters. The previews may have looked promising, but is it worth paying $10 to see? Although it placed 3rd in box offices nationwide over the past weekend, it’s an uproarious comedy that college students will definitely enjoy.

Hot Tub Time Machine begins with four good friends (Rob Corddry, Clark Duke, Craig Robinson, and 80s movie mainstay, John Cusack) paying a visit to the formerly-prosperous-but-now-downtrodden, Kodiak Valley Ski Resort, a place where they experienced some of their most memorable weekends. After a night of binge drinking in the hot tub, they wake up in 1986 in the middle of the Ski Resort’s “Winterfest ‘86″, the weekend in which the band, Poison, performed in front of a huge crowd at the then-thriving resort. At first the foursome didn’t want to ruin the time-space continuum by doing something they didn’t actually do during that specific time, but they unanimously decide that this time travel could be a chance to change their destinies.

Want to know what happens next? Check out Hot Tub Time Machine playing in theaters nationwide! Most of the critics like it, and you will too!

Additions to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium

Monday, March 29th, 2010

The past few months there have been some major changes to Pirate Football.  First was the news that former head coach Skip Holtz was leaving, and that new head coach Ruffin McNeill was coming in to take his place.  The most current change is the addition to the east end zone of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.  The stadium addition costs over $15 million, and will add about 7,000 seats.  Jimmy Bass, senior associate director of ECU Athletics says, “We think 7,000 new seats will make it a very, very difficult place for opponents to play, while improving the college football experience for all fans entering the stadium.”

So what else does the addition include?  It includes a new scoreboard, with a video screen with dimensions of 84 feet wide and 24 feet tall, as well as an audio system on top.  There will also be a few more video boards on both sides of the stadium that are ultimately for “fan enjoyment.”  Along with Dowdy-Ficklen stadium, other projects (costing approximately $30 million) are currently underway to improve other ECU sports facilities, as well as fund-raising for a basketball and volleyball practice facility.

What exactly is the point of ongoing additions to sports facilities?  It is all for the best as Bass says, “When everything is finished, we’ll have one of the finest athletic complexes, not only in Conference USA, but on the East Coast.”