Single and not-so ready to mingle

I rarely speak about things that don't have to do with the beauty, passion, and pursuit of victory that is sports, but I've been thinking, much like comedian George Wallace, and I know you're saying "Chris, what have you been thinking about?" Aside from how much I want my brakes fixed on my car right now, I'm thinking of how I got to be so hopelessly single at 24.

I can hear the wiser generation rebutting my concerns with the cliched "awww hell, you're young, you have plenty of time," but contrary to popular belief, not every guy under 35 is looking to wear a permanent groove in his mattress with different lady companions every night. Granted, sex itself is probably one of the best sinus-clearing and cardio-enhancing excersises known to humankind, it's really pointless unless you have a connection with the person you're sharing your body with, but that's another story altogether.

I feel like that to not be dating, or even having the ability to at my age is somewhat embarrassing and a really telling commentary on my social life-slash-self esteem. Where the esteem comes in is of course my concerns about my visual presentation, or lackthereof. What is the problem, you ask? Simple. I'm a big man. Surely you didn't think these witty and entertaining thoughts could come from someone who weighed 165 pounds, did you?

Mind you, I've never pretended to be something I'm not. Could you imagine a former high school defensive lineman walking around in a sleeveless wife beater? Didn't think so. I admit freely that I am a chubby dude, almost to the point of apologizing for it. It's frustrating to think that women won't look beyond the outer appearance to find out about the content of a man's character, because chances are while I'm not going to win any bodybuilding contests anytime soon, I can surely make you laugh, converse about a gang of subjects, and just be a good man in general. Hey, some good points. Maybe my self-confidence isn't so shot after all.

And how that ties into my social life is that I'm pitifully timid when it comes to striking up conversations with women. My game is unique...I have none. I rarely look a girl in the eye when I'm talking, and that's the easiest way to turn a woman off my older sister once told me. I have this hellified notion that a girl is going to be like "why are you looking at me?" Yeah, very silly, I know. I guess this is self-evaulation in a roundabout way, but I do know that it would help if ladies met me halfway instead of me going the full 100 yards down the field on my own.

Keep Hope Alive! Keep Hope Alive!

Although for the Hornet football team's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title chances, hope is about as slim as a top model heroin and vomit diet. Despite pounding Morgan State 41-14 to win their first homecoming game in three years, State (5-3 overall, 4-1 MEAC) is still on the outside looking in thanks to Hampton's tough 14-10 victory over the team people felt would be the biggest threat to HU's MEAC reign, South Carolina State.

The one faint hope that the Hornets have is that if the Pirates drop their last two conference contests (against Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M) and DSU wins their final three MEAC battles, beginning with those angry S.C. State Bulldogs this Saturday.

It is indeed a long-shot scenario, but the fact the this team, two years removed from a 1-10 season, is in contention for the conference crown says a lot about how good of a coach Al Lavan is and how a little faith can go a long way. To his credit, he stuck with red-shirt freshman QB Vashon Winton when people were calling for his benching following that tough three-game stretch, and Vashon is rewarding Coach's patience with gradual improvement and a penchant for big plays with his arms and feet.

Rodney Roy, much maligned for his hard-nosed running style, has come on like a freight train the last three games (342 yards and three touchdowns), and could very well be the first Hornets back with 1,000 yards in a season since Maurice Foster in 2001. And Shaheer McBride, well he continues to be arguably the best receiver in the MEAC, making the tough catches looks easy and the routine chains-moving catch into touchdowns.

Defensively, Sam Smith now has a rushing partner in sophomore D-End Kelly Rouse. Rouse has made his present felt, more often than not in the opponent's backfield, making it tough to double on Smith, one of the best defensive players in the nation. And with the linebacking core led by the constant motor of Kenny Kern and the sheer brutality of Russell Reeves, it's hard as hell to get past that DSU front seven. And if you try to pass, cornerback Deon Rheubottom will hurt your feelings by knocking down passes, or being all over your top receiver like R. Kelly at a junior-high prom. Safeties Jamel Trott and Ryan Robinson, along with an emerging Tyrone Kelly, make it even harder to pass under or across the middle with their athleticism and hard hitting style.

And special teams continue to be a pleasant surprise for this team. Sophomore defensive back Akeem Green blocked his second punt of the year to set-up the Hornets' go-ahead score late in the first half, Blake Saunders is the heart and soul, tackling would-be returners before they can even get started, and Eric Kontos and Peter Gaertner are the best punter-placekicking tandem outside of Cameron Muro and Andrew Paterini at Hampton, making the Hornets a complete team.

While the MEAC title is a long shot, what you can bank on is that the Delaware State University football revival is well underway, and a conference crown can't be far off. Especially when this year isn't exactly done yet. Hope may not be so slim after all.

Pissed to the highest level of pissed-ivity

That is the one sentence to describe my Friday so far. Due to our reliable business-ad manager turning in time sheets late, I'm broke for yet ANOTHER two weeks, and I still haven't seen a check from my second job yet, so in the words of one of wrestling's greatest managers, James E. Cornette, I'm "broke, busted, and disgusted." Not to mention I'm still mad about the Howard Job Fair yesterday.

I had to leave early to avoid getting my car towed because of the idiocy of the DC cops and HU's security staff. Fantastic. I will say that the job fair was well-organized and good to attend if you are a Communications major looking for opportunities. If you can keep the Keystone Kops away from you car for longer than three hours.

Hornets look to keep title hopes alive

Tomorrow's DSU football matchup with North Carolina A&T represents more than the Aggies' homecoming and another long-ass road trip for our road-weary warriors, but the winner of this game will more than likely keep themselves in the MEAC championship chase for the rest of the season.

The Aggies made mince meat of Morgan State in last week's PG County Classic, but then again, who can't score on Morgan's defense (giving up 36 points and 463 yards a game this year)? If the Hornets can come up with the win this week, and beat Morgan State for homecoming, again that South Carolina State game will be their season-maker, which will probably be the first time in more than 10 years that a Hornet football team will have had something to play for into November.

Athletic-Academic Drama

Well, it couldn't be all good all the time. The Delaware State athletic department is in deep trouble upon Dr. Allen Sessoms reporting findings of academic fraud in the Mass Comm department involving 10 student-athletes and former Mass Comm chair Wendell Gorum.

This is a bad look for all parties. For one, the University and Dr. Sessoms gets more negative press, which may hasten his exit from DSU. It's a bad look for the athletic department, especially with the dreams of moving up to I-A football and getting funding for an athletic facility (combined football stadium and civic center). And, as a Mass Comm major, we are screwed without the benefits of condoms and lubricant. It will be hard for us to get jobs because of things that happened honestly before Sessoms' tenure began, and we'll be looked at as cheaters whose GPAs are possibly inflated.

I know one thing's for sure, and two things for certain, there has got to be a ray of sun somewhere in these storms. Although I'm not a Sessoms fan, I do have some love for the University, and I would like for things to get better ASAP.

Three The Hard Way

For the second time this football season, all three of my football teams (high school, college, and pro) won their games this weekend, making me an undefeated football fan this weekend, which means the only thing that would make me happier is if Jill Scott divorced her husband and got with me...o.k. I'm dreaming now. Let us recap shall we?

Howard High School of Technology 45, John Dickinson 6

You read right...this game was so out of hand, that at halftime the coaches decided to shave eight minutes off the second half clock. Although I know none of these kids, and there's only one coach on the staff from when I played (Al B., what's up playboy!) I still feel a connection because that's my high school alma mater. The bad news is that they allowed points for the first time this season, on a 65 yard TD run to open the fourth quarter. Well, can't be perfect forever, you know? The Wildcats are now 5-0, ranked sixth in the state of Delaware, tied for first place in Blue Hen conference Flight B, and have outscored their opponents 168 to 6. Now that's dominance.

Delaware State 17, Bethune-Cookman 0

Now, I decided to keep my mouth shut this week because I knew that as good as Hampton's offense is, Bethune-Cookman's is downright piff, coming in averaging 39 points a game overall, and dropped a 63-point bomb on Norfolk State a couple of weeks ago. However, the rain made for a wet field, which obviously favors our defense and no one's offense. The shutout was the first for the Hornets since they beat Cheyney 54-0 at Baynard Stadium in Wilmington in 1992, and it tied them for second place in the MEAC standings with next week's opponent, North Carolina A&T.

While the campus pretty much felt this season was a lost cause after the egg the Hornets laid at Hampton, optimism is high once a-gain, proving we have a lot of Geminis and Libras (the best sign of all) running around State, but I think that more importantly, this team has a pretty good two game stretch coming up.

A&T's offense stinks, and Morgan State's defense couldn't stop my 83-year old grandmother from running the option, so going into October 29's showdown with South Carolina State, the Hornets could very well be playing for a spot in the I-AA playoffs if by some act of the Lord Hampton slips up. But all players interviewed and Al Lavan said that they're just going to take it one game at a time, as will the entire DSU family.

Cleveland Browns 20, Chicago Bears 10

Yeah haters, it was the Chicago Bears, but the fact of the matter is that the Browns are 2-2, already halfway to last season's win total, and there's definitely been a change in attitude and focus under Romeo Crennel (it takes a brother to right the ship everytime). Trent Dilfer is the short-term solution at QB like he was when the Ravens won that Super Bowl five seasons ago, and if he can get some kind of running game (will Reuben Droughns, Lee Suggs, and William Green please report beyond the line of scrimmage) along with a hopefully healthy Braylon Edwards, this team could contend for a wild card. I said contend, not get one, but hey, stranger things have happened.

The Weekend That Was....or Wasn't

So after all my jawing and assuring my fellow DSU students that the football team had a good chance to beat Hampton again....they didn't. 26-8 was your final score, and if it wasn't for the defense, it could've been a helluva lot worse. Frustration may be setting in for the Hornet D, who took about 20 points off the board by holding tough in the red zone, forcing the Pirates to go to placekicker Andrew Paterini, which of course, isn't a bad look for them.

The offense, however only accumulated 17 yards in the first half, and didn't pick up a first down until their lone touchdown drive (48 yards, if you can call it that) in the middle of the third quarter. Vashon Winton stood his ground in the pocket, but some of the better offensive plays came with him moving his feet. Rodney Roy didn't move his quick enough, rendering the running game absymal once again. There has got to be a point where whoever's calling the plays out there tailoring the offense to Vashon's strengths; moving his feet and working the sidelines. At the same time, Vashon must realize that he's got help underneath in Rashod Coleman, Roy or Emmanuel Marc out of the backfield, or tight ends Jeff Postell and Cory Garver when the long ball to Shaheer McBride or Dennis Savedge (note to HU's PA guy...it's pronounced Savage, not Chavez, thank you) is not available. Either way, this team needs to score some points, or this season will be a lost cause.

So close, but so far away

The Philadelphia Phillies lived up to their end of the bargain this weekend, making quick work of the Washington Nationals in three straight games. Unfortunately, the Houston Astros did just enough to hold theirs up and win the National League Wild Card for the second straight year.

A heartbreaking way to end the season, but there are some positives. The Phils had three 100-RBI guys (Pat Burrell, Bobby Abreu, and Chase Utley) for the first time since the Depression-era, Jimmy Rollins kept his hit streak (36 games now) going through the end of the year, and Ryan Howard absolutely muscled opposing pitching, and if he doesn't win Rookie of the Year, it's a disgrace.

However, the thing that doomed this team was the inconsistent pitching, especially from Vicente Padilla and the bullpen. If Ed Wade does get rid of Jim Thome, getting a quality starter or some decent relievers better be a part of the deal. But for now 88 wins, the second most since 1983, must be enough for a team that seems to come close every year, but ends up so far away.