Angels Call Up 1B Jeff Fowler

     I remember Owen getting his first baseball glove from Uncle Jeff. To be honest, I was jealous. I did not even know what it was or what it did but I wanted one. Just a month or two later, Uncle Jeff had granted my wish and he said he would come to my house the next day to play baseball.

     I was so excited. I got up nice and early so we could play because it was my assumption that Uncle Jeff would just rush over to my house when I was up and ready to play. As a 5-year-old, I was quite disappointed when before 7 o’clock in the morning Uncle Jeff wasn't awake, at my house, with his glove, ready to play.

     I vaguely remember waking up my dad to ask him where Uncle Jeff was and Dad not being very happy, but understanding. I wanted to know all about my glove because although I had been told all about it the night before, I did not remember.

     I asked my dad if I could call Uncle Jeff and somehow got a yes. This was late 1997/1998 so I had to go into the kitchen and grab the corded phone, get the phone number and call him. I asked him who had signed my glove and what team he played for.

     “Greg Maddux” he said and the “Atlanta Braves” was the team he played for. Uncle Jeff was willing to be patient with me even at the ungodly hour I was calling him. To top it off, Uncle Jeff promised that he would still come over and play with me that morning.

     At the time, our backyard had mulch covering the flat portion of the yard so Dad, Uncle Jeff, and I (and we’ll go easy on the “I”) pushed the mulch to the sides of the yard so that we would have an even surface for the ball to bounce.

     I did not understand why Uncle Jeff made catching the baseball look so easy and why I was having so much difficulty. He told me I was going to need to practice, so that’s what I did…almost every day.

     Uncle Jeff was right. With every day of practice, I got a little bit better.

     So I want to thank Uncle Jeff one of the greatest gifts he ever could have given me, a work ethic. I use it every single day and will continue to practice and get better as much as I can. A work ethic is something will be able to pass that to my children and hopefully my nephews too.

     I love you and miss you Uncle Jeff. Rest in Peace.

January 28, 1965 - March 23, 2013

Thursday's Upsets, Outcomes, and Who to Watch for Today

With Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64 complete, we have already seen four upsets, three of them big.

To start, Wichita State also took out higher-seeded Pittsburgh though historically, #9 seeds have the edge on #8 seeds. I would say that it was not much of a shocker for the Shockers. The final in Salt Lake City was Wichita State 73, Pittsburgh 55.

San Jose seemed to favor the lower seed today.

Oklahoma State fell to Oregon 68 to 55 this afternoon. The Ducks got out to an 11 point lead in the first half with Damyean Dotson and Arsalan Kazemi taking charge. Dotson and Kazemi combined for 28 points on the game. In the second half, Oregon never dropped below a double-digit lead and coasted to a victory over the Cowboys.

Also at the HP Pavilion, UNLV was defeated by California. California had what some called “home court advantage” seeing as Berkeley is less than an hour drive from San Jose. The game was close until UNLV missed 15 consecutive field goals allowing for the Golden Bears to pull away. UNLV did start a comeback with about five minutes left in the second half but it was too little, too late. The Golden Bears down the Rebels 64-61 and will advance to take on the Syracuse Orange in Round 3.

But perhaps the most impressive win was that of the alma mater of our president. #14 Harvard took down NCAA Tournament top contender #3 New Mexico. Tonight’s win for Harvard marks the first NCAA Tournament win in Harvard’s history. The way to the 68-62 victory was paved by Wesley Saunders and Junior Laurent Rivard who combined for 35 of the Crimson’s 68 points. Rivard knocked down five 3-pointers compared to the entire Lobos offense who hit just three 3-pointers combined. While Harvard played well, they cannot take all the credit for this victory. New Mexico shot just 37.5% from the field including 3 for 14 from outside the arch. In addition New Mexico missed an unfortunate number of free throws, that number being seven which would have put New Mexico ahead of Harvard by one.

Look for these teams to have some additional confidence heading into Round 3 of the tournament. Wichita State will battle #1 Gonzaga, Oregon will take on #4 Saint Louis, California will try and squeeze the Syracuse Orange, and Harvard’s contest will be against Arizona.

For an outlook of the rest of yesterday’s games and a list of who to watch today, check below:

Today’s Games

#1 Louisville 79

#16 North Carolina A & T 48

#8 Colorado State 84

#9 Missouri 72

#4 Saint Louis 64

#13 New Mexico State 44

#6 Memphis 54

#11 St. Mary’s College 52

#3 Michigan State 65

#14 Valparaiso 54

#1 Gonzaga 64

#16 Southern 58

#6 Arizona 81

#11 Belmont 64

#5 Virginia Commonwealth 88

#12 Akron 42

#4 Michigan 71

#13 South Dakota State 56

#4 Syracuse 81

#13 Montana 34

#6 Butler 68

#11 Bucknell 56

#3 Marquette 59

#14 Davidson 58

Who to watch:

            #5 Wisconsin vs. #12 Ole Miss at 12:40 PM on truTV

#1 Indiana vs. #16 James Madison at 4:10PM on TBS

            #8 North Carolina vs. #9 Villanova at 7:20 on TNT

            #7 Notre Dame vs. #10 Iowa State at 9:45 on CBS

#6 UCLA vs. #11 Minnesota at 9:57 on truTV

               

For JMU Students on-campus students, the channels are as follows:

               

truTV 11-1

            TBS 27-1

TNT 28-2

            CBS 10-4

Please know that there is a viewing party at the Convocation Center at 3:45 PM.

JMU defeats Blackbirds and Dukes Look Forward to Contest versus Indiana

If there was ever a time for a player to step up, it’s during the NCAA Tournament. And given the arrest of senior forward Rayshawn Goins late Sunday night followed by the sanction imposed by Matt Brady and JMU Athletics, one might imagine that there were some doubts about JMU’s ability to defeat LIU Brooklyn.

CAA Tournament Most Valuable Player A.J. Davis led the way tonight with 20 points but not without the help of freshman guards Andre Nation and Charles Cooke, JMU was able to halt the flight of the Blackbirds to the next round.

Davis, Nation, and Cooke combined for 49 of the Dukes 68 points. Davis started the game off with a 3-pointer that set the tone for the Dukes right away. A huge alley-oop later in the first half had the Pep Band up and on their feet. Combined with 5 blocks from Nation and 2 blocks and a charge drawn by Charles Cooke, the Dukes were able to keep LIU Brooklyn from every getting in a groove. The Blackbirds led in the game for only 44 seconds only to have James Madison go on a 9-0 scoring run.

The victory by the Dukes means that they will play #1 Indiana but the Dukes don’t seem to be worried. Charles Cooke, when asked about the Indiana game, commented “We feel like we’re going to win, at the end of the day. That’s not being cocky, that’s straight confidence.”

While no #16 seed has ever beaten a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, this might be the year to do it. The title of #1 Overall has changed hands seven times this season. Of the five schools that have held the spot, Duke lost to Maryland and Virginia, both of whom did not make the NCAA Tournament. This should give the Dukes some hope in tomorrow’s game.

Winning tomorrow wouldn’t be the first time JMU defeated a #1 seed this school year. Last fall, JMU Soccer defeated UNC Chapel Hill in a 1-0 upset.

 Despite the victory last fall, a win tomorrow would still make NCAA history. Our hope here in Harrisonburg is that the Dukes can continue with their attitude and more players continue to step up.

 Tomorrow’s game versus Indiana starts at 4:10 PM and will be aired on TBS.

     Also, check out Owen's games to watch here.

JMU vs LIU Brooklyn: First Half

     Even with Senior Forward Rayshawn Goins suspended during the first half (and the LIU Brooklyn 6^th man flying around), the Dukes have had minimal problems. They lead the Blackbirds 32 to 31 at the half.

     A.J. Davis got the game started off right with a 3-pointer and then just a few minutes later had a massive alley-oop assisted by fellow Senior Devon Moore.  Freshman Charles Cooke played some very solid defense included a big block on LIU’s Garner and drawing a charge on Olaseware.  Cooke also leads the Dukes in the first half with 10-points.

     The Dukes however ended the half on a 2 to 13 run allowing the Blackbirds back into the game. The good news for JMU, besides Goins return in the 2^nd half, is that so far LIU Brooklyn is 0-for-3 for free throws, which is what typically separates teams and wins games. In addition, LIU Brooklyn star Jamal Olaseware already has three personal fouls. Drawing a fourth foul on Olaseware quickly in the second half would force the forward to change his aggressiveness to avoid fouling out early.

     In the second half, the Dukes have to regain control of the tempo and pay aggressive defense to prevent the run-and-gun offense of LIU Brooklyn, get the ball to good shooting locations and continue to draw fouls. The defense is there, but in this case a strong offense and being able to control the ball and clock is the best strategy JMU can have. 

     The winner of this game plays #1 Indiana on Friday at 4:10 PM.

Bracket, Upsets, and A Little Extra

Oregon over Oklahoma State

                Oregon received a lower seed than UCLA even after defeating them twice. In my opinion, Oregon deserved a higher ranking than they were given. Even Arizona was given a higher seed than Oregon and they did not make it to the PAC-12 final.

Iowa State over Notre Dame

                This game is going to be close. Notre Dame’s game plan is almost guaranteed to be to get the ball to 6’9” forward Jack Cooley which means as long as Iowa State can keep from fouling, they should have a good shot.  In the end though, the game is going to come down to foul shots and no one in this game is going to be better than Iowa State’s Tyrus McGee. He sinks about 7 of every 8 free throws and will be the difference maker in the game.

South Dakota State over Michigan

                If you do not know who Nate Wolters is, you soon will. As the nation’s fourth-leading scorer, Wolters will be controlling the pace of Michigan’s defense. Michigan typically preforms better when the pace of the game slows down. Michigan point guard Trey Burke stated this week that Michigan players better when the pace is slower but the Jackrabbits will rotate their bench players in often to keep the pace up. This game should be fast-paced and a fun one to watch.

Minnesota over UCLA

                Again, Lunardi ranked the Bruins too high. After a loss to Oregon, they should recognize that they weren’t playing at the level they needed and with injured Jordan Adams, the team is missing its second leading scorer, it’s going to be a tough battle for the Bruins.

A little extra

Also, as a shout out to my brother Owen, I agree with three of his first play-in game picks, the one I disagree with being of course James Madison versus Long Island University of Brooklyn. (You can see Owen's picks here.)

            Even without Rayshawn Goins for the first half, the Dukes still have CAA Tournament Most Valuable Player A.J. Davis and Senior Point guard Devon Moore along with young talent in Charles Cooke, Ron Curry, and Andre Nation. In addition, the Dukes may have senior Andre Semenov back for tomorrow night’s game. With this lineup, the Dukes may have what it takes to keep the game close into halftime.

           Once the second half begins, expect Goins to be aggressive to make up from his first half suspension which will boost the Dukes to a victory over LIU Brooklyn.

           Of course with all this, I am a little biased.

Thank you

     If you don’t know me and you read my “Who am I?” post , you’re probably shocked. “Six boys? How did your mother do it?” It may sound cliché but it takes one hell of a woman because I’m not just one of six boys, I’m one of six athletes, musicians, and academics. And on top of that some of us had part time jobs during high school. As if that wasn’t difficult enough for Mom, none of us really belonged to the same groups of friends or had exactly the same interests. But somehow Mom, still got everything done that we asked of her. She’s even working today to keep us going with our programs and now three different universities. All six of us owe her a huge thank you and this is mine:

     Thank you for all the hard work that you put in each and every day. I love you Mom.

Who am I?

Patrick Gotimer

Sport and Recreation Management Major and Business Minor at James Madison University

Oldest of 6 Boys, Baseball Fanatic, Resident Adviser, Twitter Advocate (@pwgotimer), Proud Member of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the South, and not afraid to say that I love my mom…and her cooking