Hilltoppers kick off against Appalachian State in Florida in about 25 minutes. Touch and go back here in Kentucky, but I'm hoping to watch and putter around in the comments. We'll see ...
Hilltoppers kick off against Appalachian State in Florida in about 25 minutes. Touch and go back here in Kentucky, but I'm hoping to watch and putter around in the comments. We'll see ...
OK, we've kicked off in Boca Raton on ESPN. When I was a freshman at Western, I had to write some story involving Boca Raton for the Herald, and, going into it, I was embarrassed and felt like a rube that I had no idea how to pronounce it. Given that the internet did not yet exist, I don't know where I went to find out how to say "Boca Raton." I guess I looked it up in the encyclopedia and did my best to decipher the little pronunciation guide. Anyway, what I gathered was this really affected "BEAU-cuh ruh-TEAU-hn," and that doesn't begin to do it justice. So I just boldly started throwing around my new-money knowledge around the newsroom, and people immediately picked up on it and just made fun of me for weeks about that.
ReplyDeleteAnd in the time it took me to type that paragraph, Western received the opening kickoff, executed a hurry-up possession of all Bailey Zappe passes and took a 7-0 lead.
ReplyDeleteAnd in the time it took me to write that sentence, App State got a big first-down run and then converted a fourth-and-1. And now they've got a third-and-9 at the WKU 16 ...
ReplyDeleteFUMBLE!
ReplyDeleteTOPS RECOVER!
ReplyDeleteGO! BIG! RED!
ReplyDeleteGO! BIG! RED!
GO! BIG! RED!
You can feel the uncertainty around western Kentucky--in conversations, in social media, etc.--about whether to do or be interested in fun things after the awful tornadoes Friday and Saturday. I've struggled with that for sure. I mean, there really is something any of us could be doing every waking moment to help in some way. But it's also true that it's not like Mayfield, Princeton, Dawson Springs, Barnsley, Bremen, Bowling Green, etc. can or wants to accommodate all of us or any of us all of the time in our boots and work gloves. I know, for example, that a church in Dawson waved off a church in Madisonville from coming down to help with cleanup this morning--it's raining and cold, and they understandably just wanted to take a break. So the Madisonville carpool stood down ...
ReplyDeleteThere are other things to do, for sure. I imagine some of the Madisonville people are redirecting their Saturdays to working in the warehouse up here where donated supplies are being stored. I imagine some of us are catching up on Christmas cards and watching the Tops. As the kids like to say today, this is going to be a marathon, not a sprint; as one of my WKU journalism teachers used to say, none of us lives up to the glory of the Lord.
ReplyDeleteWell, App State--for the life of me, I cannot remember their nickname (Mountaineers, maybe?), and I'm not paying much attention to the audio and am probably getting ready to mute--stopped Western on its possession after the turnover, and then it came right back to score its own touchdown. I think they got the kick, and I think it's 7-7.
ReplyDeleteThe Boca Raton economic-development people are advertising that Boca Raton is a great place to come and run a business and live in a place where you don't feel like you're at work (because of the golf courses, sunny weather, etc.) ... TOUCHDOWN, WKU! ... You be you, Boca Raton, but I will just add for the sake of equal time that I find Madisonville to be a great place to run a business, and I am totally, madly in love with all three of the economic-development people here.
ReplyDeleteTops 14, App State 7. On first down, Zappe threw a short pass that the WKU receiver took about 75 yards for the score. He broke about three decent tackle attempts along the way--not sure whether the receiver was one of the guys who transferred in with Zappe and the offensive coordinator from Houston Baptist.
ReplyDeleteESPN had a little thing encouraging people to donate money to RedCross.org for tornado relief, and bully to that. Two other places that are good to send money are WeekofCompassion.org and the governor's Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund.
ReplyDeleteRed Cross
DeleteWeek of Compassion
Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund
App State threw a short pass that the receiver ran down the sideline for a long touchdown: 14-14. And now we've reached the end of the first quarter.
ReplyDeleteI think ESPN just said WKU's punter is from Australia. Western always has players from interesting places, with interesting names ("Bailey Zappe"!) and very often with interesting hairstyles.
ReplyDeleteApp State forces a punt ... WKU forcing a punt ...
ReplyDeleteWKU field goal: 17-14.
ReplyDeleteT! O! P! S! TOPS!
App State touchdown pass. Dang.
ReplyDeleteWKU TOUCHDOWN! 24-21, Tops!
ReplyDeleteApp State field goal, and we're tied at 24 in the ol' RoofClaim.com BR Bowl.
ReplyDeleteOK, had to take the dog out, and, in that time, WKU scored another touchdown and then shut down App State on its final possession of the half. Along the way, Bailey Zappe broke the NCAA record for most passing yards in a season. I saw all of that while I was out in the yard on my phone, which is still incredible to me. I then walked back in the living room to find just the final seconds of a commercial for WKU(R)--sorry I missed that.
ReplyDeleteIt's 31-24, Tops, in Boca Raton.
Well, college-football fans and Hilltopper Nation, some late-rising middle-school girls need me to go out and get them a pile of donuts, so this likely concludes my coverage of the ol' RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl. As I type this, WKU just intercepted a pass (upheld on review, aND, AS I TYPE THAT, WKU RUNS 86 YARDS FOR A TOUCHDOWN! IT'S 38-24, TOPS! GO! BIG! RED!
ReplyDeleteWhere's the love for Bailey Zappe who broke two single season records in this game.
ReplyDelete