JMU Men's Basketball vs. Kansas State

JMU Dukes vs. #3 Kansas State Wildcats
November 12, 2010, 9pm; Manhattan, KS

JMU got left out of the ESPNU rebranding...so I thought I'd work us up our own logo...it's just a rough draft so far...

Watch on ESPNU or ESPN3
Note: Ball St/Buffalo football is on ESPNU at 6pm, so it may run over into the beginning of the broadcast.

Check out the battle for purple supremacy at any of these semi-official locations:
Harrisonburg
Ham's

NYC
The Australian - 20 W 38th St (Btwn 5th/6th Ave - Map)

DC
Bailey's

Richmond
Big Al's West End
Bailey's Southside Richmond (Robious)

Fredericksburg
Glory Days (Massaponax)

Charleston, SC
Moe's Downtown Tavern (5 Cumberland St)

The Line
The line for the game is Kansas State by 19 (though it could change by a couple points before gametime).
If I were a betting man I'd take this line for JMU...

What to Watch
The first thing you'll notice tonight is a complete shift in energy for the Dukes. We are much deeper and seem to be in much better shape as well, meaning we can go 110% for the whole game. The Dukes are a much better defensive team this year as compared to last year. Look for our blocked shots to double and steals to increase by about 50%. Denzel has been studying Dwight Howard and is ready to get after it this year. He's trying to be a much better all-around player and the effort will pay off. With Goins joining him down low, JMU has probably the best frontcourt in its history. Both of them are near unstoppable on offense and are good at kicking it out. Goins will be pushing everyone he plays out of the way. They also have Trevon as a backup who is long and can block shots and grab rebounds.

Julius has much less pressure this year to be the big scorer, so hopefully he'll take the opportunity to be selective on his shot choice, square up, and take good shots. He could be a great player if he just plays without taking so much on himself. We now have plenty of scorers so if he's on fine, but if not he can give the ball up to someone who is having a good night. We also have a healthy Andrey who can come in with energy and aggression. He also has probably the smoothest shot on the team. Andrey wears his heart on his sleeve and everytime he raises his hands at halfcourt for JMU free throws it warms my soul.

Humpty comes in, not only with a sweet name, but a great shot. He's great from the outside and is more than capable when he has the ball in his hands of spreading it around. If he's hot on any given night, he could easily break 20 points. We also have the freshman Jackson who is probably one of the most mature freshman players I've seen in awhile (and by awhile I mean since Devon got here). He rarely makes mistakes and is a solid player.

The playcaller will be a finally healthy Devon Moore. He is one of those special players that makes everyone around him better. Not only is he great at controlling the game, but he can make great cuts to the basket and has a pretty good long shot. Backing up Devon will be Louis, who has as much athleticism and basketball IQ as anyone on the team. What he lacks in natural skill, he more than makes up for in talent. He's one of two seniors on the team and brings some life to this team when he's in. Devon and Louis are also the best players at anticipating passes on defense and snagging steals. Millen, our JuCo transfer guard, is a wildcard and it will be interesting to see how much playing time he sees in this game.

Step one tonight will be not to turn the ball over. We have great leadership, so hopefully we can limit these costly mistakes. Next will be to play hard, but not to the point of picking up dumb fouls. Our starting 5 can play with anyone in the nation, so we need them to stay in the game. The final focus should be on getting rebounds. We can't let Kansas State get multiple offensive rebounds or it won't be a close game.

If we do those things, play hard on defense, and we have a couple players on from behind the arc...look out...it could be a fun night.

JMU Game Notes

And in honor of Noop from the CAAZone boards:

They think they are

But they really are

I mean, honestly...any school that doesn't put the effort in to get a full mascot costume doesn't deserve to win a basketball game... When there are so many 'Wildcats' as mascots, it doesn't help your cause to be the cheapest out of the bunch.

Meet JMU Men's Basketball 2010

This is a whole new JMU Men's Basketball team. Here are my impressions of the guys from the Philadelphia exhibition game.

Devon Moore #40 
6'4" 180 lbs. R-Sophomore
Point Guard (Starter)

At the Philly U exhibition game he was still shaking the rust off from being injured last season. He went 1-7 from the floor. 2-4 on FTs. 3 assists, 4 TOs, but grabbed 4 steals. As the starting point guard, the offense runs through him. He makes everyone around him better and provides the most leadership out of anyone on the team. Is pretty good from behind the arc, but his biggest threat offensively is his ability to slice to the basket. He's also a stingy defender and hung tight with VCU guard Eric Maynor as a freshman.

Humpty Hitchens #12 
5'9" 175 lbs. Junior (Akron transfer)
Shooting Guard (Starter)

Humpty surprisingly earned a waiver from the NCAA to not sit out a year after transferring to JMU. He was the most impressive player from the exhibition. Smaller guy, but makes up with it in talent and effort. He was our only outside threat against Philly (5-9, 4-6 3pt). Humpty will be playing off guard this season and is rabid on defense staying tight on his guy and gets loooooow in his stance. He was able to grab 2 steals and a rebound in the exhibition.

GAMEDAY EVE Report: JMU Football vs. Richmond

#22/23 JMU Dukes (4-4, 1-4) vs. #20/22 Richmond Spiders (4-4, 2-3)
Nov. 4, 2010 - 3:30pm - Richmond, VA

Online audio: MadiZONE (free)
Television: Comcast SportsNet-Mid-Atlantic
Radio: JMU n/Telos Radio Network (Harrisonburg WSVA 550-AM, Roanoke WWWR 910-AM, Richmond WREJ 1540-AM, Hampton Roads WGH 1310-AM or ESPN 94.1-FM
Live Stats: JMUSports.com

Weather Report

Tailgating	11am	48°	0% (precip)
Mid-tailgate	1pm	52°	20%
Getting into the stadium	3pm	54°	20%
Kickoff	3:30pm	53°	20%
Game over	6:30pm	47°	0%

Line for the game
JMU by 1

GAMEDAY EVE Report: UMass vs. JMU Football

#18 UMass Minutemen (4-3, 2-2) vs. #15 JMU Dukes (4-3, 1-3)
Oct. 30, 2010 - 3:30pm - Harrisonburg, VA

Online video: MadiZONE (subscription required)
Online audio: MadiZONE (free)
Television: Comcast SportsNet-Mid-Atlantic, Comcast SportsNet-New England
Radio: JMU n/Telos Radio Network (Harrisonburg WSVA 550-AM, Roanoke WWWR 910-AM, Richmond WREJ 1540-AM, Hampton Roads WGH 1310-AM or ESPN 94.1-FM
Live Stats: JMUSports.com

Weather Report

Tailgating	8am	34°	0% (precip)
Mid-tailgate	12pm	55°	0%
Getting into the stadium	3pm	62°	0%
Kickoff	3:30pm	63°	0%
Game over	6:30pm	55°	0%

Line for the game
JMU by 12

GAMEDAY EVE Report: JMU Football vs. Villanova

#11 JMU Dukes (4-2, 1-2) vs. #6 Villanova Wildcats (4-2, 2-1)
Oct. 23, 2010 - 3:30pm - Villanova, PA





Weather Report

Tailgating	8am	41°	0% (precip)
Mid-tailgate	12pm	57°	0%
Getting into the stadium	3pm	64°	0%
Kickoff	3:30pm	64°	0%
Game over	6:30pm	60°	0%

Line for the game
Villanova by 10.5

GAMEDAY EVE Homecoming Report: UNH vs. JMU Football

#15/16 UNH Wildcats (3-3, 1-2) vs. #6/7 JMU Dukes (4-1, 1-1)
Oct. 16, 2010 - 3:30pm - Harrisonburg, VA


Televised on Madizone, The Comcast Network, and Comcast SportsNet New England


Weather Report

Tailgating	8am	43°	10% (precip)
Mid-tailgate	12pm	60°	10%
Getting into the stadium	3pm	62°	10%
Kickoff	3:30pm	62°	10%
Game over	6:30pm	58°	20%

Line for the game
JMU by 3.5

W&M Marketing Fail: Part III

For those that have been following this blog for awhile, you've already read about W&M's new mascot suckage and last year's incredibly terrible Homecoming shirt. So you get the idea that they fail on a regular basis over in the lesser burg. Well, not to let their fanbase down, they went all out for their new shirts:

So let's break this down...

First of all, in case you didn't know, W&M has joined the list of schools that have a mascot that has absolutely nothing to do with their nickname. Their mascot is a mythical animal called a griffin. Supposedly, these things can fly given the premise of the shirt. Not sure why they can't breathe fire too, while they're at it. Or it could've been something cool like a liger. Who knows...maybe Busch Gardens paid them to make their mascot coincidentally the same as Busch Gardens' newest ride. Unfortunately, W&M's version is not cool or exciting, will never make some scream with excitement, and people will never stand in line to see it. On the other hand, it is the same color as someone who has ridden the Griffin a few too many times. And what does that have to do with the Tribe? Even W&M's most popular alum made fun of it on national TV (around :55 mark):

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Virginia's Confederate History Month & Griffin Mascot
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

Second, paying for your own Homecoming t-shirts? How terrible is that? In the land of purple and gold, we get a free I Bleed Purple shirt every Homecoming (as long as you beat the lines). I just don't see any W&M student putting up $15 for anything that's not a book, especially a terrible shirt like this. Plus, how is Chanellos managing to give our $5 gift certificates? Doesn't that make their famous cardboard pizza free?

Third, what kind of tagline is that? "Fight or flight... Hens can't do either!" Listen Tribe, any school trying to call out another team's mascot on what it can or can't do when their own mascot doesn't actually exist just needs to give up, alright Tinkerbell.

Maybe the W&M Athletics Marketing department should stop playing Dungeons and Dragons and learn how to actually do their job without making a fool out of the entire W&M community.

GAMEDAY EVE Report: JMU Football vs. Towson

#6/7 JMU Dukes (3-1, 0-1) vs.Towson Tigers (1-4, 0-2)
Oct. 9, 2010 - 7:00pm - Towson, Md


Televised on Madizone


Weather Report

Tailgating	8am	56°	0% (precip)
Mid-tailgate	1pm	72°	0%
Getting into the stadium	6pm	70°	0%
Kickoff	7pm	67°	0%
Game over	3pm	60°	0%

Line for the game
JMU by 21

GAMEDAY EVE Report: Delaware vs. JMU Football

#5 Delaware Blue Hens (4-0, 1-0) vs.  
#3 JMU Dukes (3-0, 0-0)
Oct. 2, 2010 - 12:05pm - Harrisonburg, VA


Televised on Madizone, The Comcast Network, and Comcast SportsNet New England
Also check out the official viewing parties

Weather Report

Tailgating	8am	46°	0% (precip)
Mid-tailgate	10am	55°	0%
Getting into the stadium	11:30am	61°	0%
Kickoff	12:05pm	63°	0%
Game over	3pm	68°	0%

Line for the game
JMU by 5

JMU's New Jumbotron: Coming in 2011

Some of you may have heard about the new jumbotron for Bridgeforth Stadium we will be getting this upcoming offseason. While no official decisions have been made and no specs have been finalized (aka these could go up or down, but it's doubtful they'll change significantly), let me just give you some details that I've picked up from reports I've read and conversations I've had:

First season: 2011
Full size: about 62'x43' (again, no final specs have been decided on)
Video size: 45'x25'

What hasn't been made to clear in anything I've read are the meaning of these numbers. Most reports have said that the "video portion" will be 45'x25'. What that doesn't clarify is the fact that the entire 62'x43' structure will be an HD video board. The full size will be used for things like the intros before the team runs out onto the field. We can also hope they could use the full thing for replays of major plays or similar things, but that's more me dreaming than what they are actually planning on doing. So the 62'x43' is the actual size of the video board. During the game, the 45'x25' will be what shows live game footage, replays, etc with the score, stats, ads etc around the edges. It will go just in front of the APC, but raised higher than the top of the Plecker Center. The balcony that currently hangs off of the APC will also be removed.

Just to compare, the entire size of the current scoreboard is 70'x30'. So it will be almost as wide, but about 50% taller than the current scoreboard. The scoreboard will be about 70% wider than the part of the APC that extends out and is all glass. It is over 3x wider than the field goal posts. Another fun size comparison: it is almost the width of the Harrisonburg Buffalo Wild Wings and the height is about the distance from the front door to the men's bathroom.

Video boards of other schools (full list):
#15 - Ohio State - 90x30 - 2,700 sq.ft.
-----JMU (proposed full size) - 62x43 - 2,666-----
#16 - Rutgers - 68x37.75 - 2,567
#22 - ECU - 84x28 - 2,352
#26 - West Virginia - 85x23 - 1,955
#27 - LSU - 76x25 - 1,900
#28 - Virginia - 57x32 - 1,824

#40 Clemson - 61.5x19 - 1,169
-----JMU (proposed only video) - 45x25 - 1,125-----
#41 Georgia - 45.5x24 - 1,092

Montana - 36x26 - 936
Towson - 47x17 - 799
Liberty - 36x20 - 720 
Richmond's TickVision - 35x20 - 700
Appalachian State - 40x17 - 680
Delaware - 20x16 - 320

A quick combo of a photo I got at the Liberty game of the team running onto the field, a little photoshopping the screen and supports in (NOTE: I didn't take the time to take the balcony off, but that won't be there next year), and put up a shot of the football promo that Digico created, which might be similar to what they do next year (imagine Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria playing the in the background). Obviously it's basically just me eyeballing what it will look like, but it should give you an idea of the size.

GAMEDAY EVE Report: Liberty vs. JMU Football

#22/21 Liberty Flames (2-1, 0-0) vs.  
#3 JMU Dukes (2-0, 0-0)
Sept. 25, 2010 - 6:00pm - Harrisonburg, VA


Televised on Madizone and the Liberty network


Weather Report

Tailgating	8am	66°	10% (precip)
Mid-tailgate	1pm	82°	0%
Getting into the stadium	5pm	82°	0%
Kickoff	6pm	79°	0%
Game over	9pm	68°	0%

Line for the game
JMU by 17

Football: Week 3 Recap

Even though JMU had a bye week in week 3, there is still a lot of interesting things to discuss. This could be a very special year for the Dukes so I'm going to try to stay consistent on updates.

Past Opponents
Morehead State (225) - Lost to Dayton. This win will continue to bring down our strength of schedule in the Sagarin ratings. MSU is averaging 41 rushing yards/game after three weeks.

Virginia Tech (28) - After a ending the first half down to ECU, Tech stormed back and won 49-27. Looks like VT has gotten its confidence and will make our win look even better as the weeks go on.

Future Opponents
Liberty (144) - Lost to Robert Morris (23-30), ranked 193 in Sagarins, whose only other win was against Sacred Heart, ranked 239. After beating FBS team Ball St, Liberty played Robert Morris in a true trap game and was I guess looking ahead to our game next week. This could still be a close game, but don't look to be holding your breath in the second half. RMU got 4.1 yards/rush, so look for JMU to stuff it down Liberty's throat.

Delaware (92) - This is still a HUGE question mark. Game 1 was against DII West Chester where they won 31-0. Game 2 was against South Dakota State, ranked 170,  and they won 26-3. Game 3 was against a bad Duquesne team (also the Dukes), ranked 199, where they won 30-6. They haven't even had a decent test yet, so they are a big unknown. They have great skill players in QB Devlin (Penn State transfer) and freshman RB Pierce who is putting up huge numbers. I still consider them 1-2 TD favorites in their game against Richmond this weekend.

Towson (179) - What can I say, Towson is Towson. 1-2, their only win took them 5 overtimes to beat a bad Coastal Carolina team. They lost to Villanova 7-43. Even at Towson's very nice stadium, we'll probably still claim the numbers for a home field advantage and win it in the first half.

UNH (128) - This was a real head-scratcher. Week 1, they beat Central Connecticut State 33-3. Week 2 they played Pittsburgh respectably, 16-38. This past weekend though, they played a Rhode Island team that won a single game last season and hasn't won more than one CAA game since 2006. I'll keep my eye on UNH, but for our Homecoming game, this just got slightly less stressful in my mind.

Villanova (69) - This will be very tough. Last year's National Champions took #46 ranked, now 3-0 Temple down to the end and narrowly lost 24-31. They beat a decent Lehigh team 35-0 and a bad Towson team 43-7. If we're still undefeated up to this point (fairly likely), look for a rough game up at Villanova.

UMass (72) - UMass is looking stronger than they have in recent years. They beat a mediocre W&M team 27-23. They beat a bad Holy Cross team 31-7. Then they lost a very close game to #20 Michigan, 42-37. Probably the fourth best CAA team at this point behind Villanova, JMU, and Delaware.

Richmond (84) - Richmond lost at Virginia 13-34 to start the year, had their bye week on week 2, and barely beat a decent Elon team 27-21 in overtime. Richmond had 3 turnovers in that game and their defense allowed Elon to gain 392 yards, 319 of which were in the air. Reports are that both their offensive and defensive lines played terrible and passes were not very accurate. Richmond is a sloppy team with a new coach, lots of new players, and a new (much smaller stadium) and I don't see them as much of a threat this year.

William & Mary (101) - Week one: lost to UMass 23-27. Week two: shutout VMI 45-0. Week three: won a very close game to ODU (more on them later), 21-17. W&M's defense is weak and their offense isn't much better. After a very strong season last year, there has been a huge dropoff for Waste Mana...William & Mary. There is no reason for a game to be that close against a team in only its second year of existence. Senior Day at JMU will be a chance to blow up a W&M team that put a hurting on us last year.

Maine (163) - Lost to a bad Albany team 0-3. Beat a worse Monmouth team 31-23. Lost to FBS Syracuse, 14-38. I'm not scared of the team, but we will be playing in Maine on Nov 20. It will be cold and weather conditions could be bad. There's still a lot of time between now and then, but I think if we're undefeated, we fight to defend that, if we have one loss, we'll hopefully still be fighting to get a top 4 seed for playoffs. If we have more than one loss, it could be hard to get motivated before playoffs.

Other Teams of Interest
Georgia State (234) - Beat DII Shorter team, 41-7. Lost to NAIA team, Lambuth, 14-23. Then they took Jacksonville State (who beat Ole Miss in double-overtime to start the season) to overtime, but lost 27-34 in their first season of football. They will join the CAA in 2012, so this is a team to keep your eye on.

Montana (123) - Perennial FCS power Montana started the season with a 73-2 beating on DII Western State. They they lost at Cal Poly (ranked 133), 35-33. This past weekend they lost at Eastern Washington, 27-36. Luckily for them, they play in the Big Sky and would have to be upset to lose another game this season, but maybe for the first time in awhile they won't win the Big Sky. I'm pretty sure they'll still get an at-large spot in the playoffs though unless they have a complete meltdown.

Elon (122) - A playoff team from a year ago, they lost at Duke 27-41. They beat a DII Shaw team by 55-26. And then they lost at Richmond in OT, 21-27. They play in the weak Southern Conference with a App State team that is surprisingly not dominating this year (though they did lose QB Armanti Edwards to graduation...instead of to a lawn mower like last year). Look for them to challenge for the SoCon crown and make it to the playoffs even though I wouldn't expect them to make it past the first round or two.

App State (100) - Won a way-too-close game at now 1-2 Chattanooga, 42-41. Beat a terrible Jacksonville team 45-14. Then beat an even worse NC Central team, 44-16. May be the first year App State has legitimate cause for concern over winning the SoCon, though they'll probably still make the playoffs. Ends the regular season playing Florida.

Old Dominion (213) - Second year of playing and they're already competing with W&M? They started the year losing to a terrible Jacksonville team (same one that got crushed by Appy), 25-35. Then they beat a terrible Campbell team (worst team in all of DI football). This past weekend they kept it close against the Tribe. I'm thinking it was a combination of W&M being bad this year, not wanting to lose to their 757 neighbors, and ODU wanting to prove that it wasn't going to be a CAA patsy when it joins the conference next year. Impressive? Kinda. Cause for concern? Definitely not. At least not yet.


In a related note, Richmond has tried to start a tradition of throwing streamers in their new stadium. Sound familiar? This has been a JMU tradition for decades and a JMU football tradition for over half a decade. App State has also tried to copy our streamer throwing. While I appreciate that they think we're that awesome, that's our thing. Stop now.

JMU Best Team In Virginia?

More reporting to come, but for now, enjoy this:

Fun Stats

• JMU is only the second FCS team ever to beat a ranked FBS team
• JMU hadn't won a game against an FBS team since 1990 with a win over Navy
• This was Virginia Tech's second loss to an FCS team in its history (Richmond was the first, in 1985 - three years after UR moved down to the FCS level)
• Virginia Tech hasn't started a season 0-2 since 1995
• This ended a 32 game home non-conference win-streak for VT
• Said streak began with a 47-0 win over JMU on September 4, 1999 (What goes around comes around)
• JMU was paid $450,000 by Virginia Tech to play the game
• Jamal Sullivan's 77-yard TD catch was the longest reception against Tech's defense since 2003
• Virginia Tech was 7-1 on games after short weeks under Beamer (now 7-2)
• The Hokies are now unranked for the first time since Nov. 30, 2008 (they garnered no points in this weeks AP poll)
• JMU has 11 points in the week's AP Poll (USA Today Poll doesn't allow votes for FCS teams - yet)
• JMU is now #33 in the Sagarin rankings of all Division I football teams
  

Media Attention
DNR

JMU Stuns Virginia Tech
Biggest Win Ever At JMU
Duke Fans Celebrate 'Historic' Victory
We Believed
JMU Now No. 3
Bye Comes At Good Time For JMU
No Doubt: JMU's Biggest Win Ever
Straight Into Lore

ESPN
On The Mark: On Any Given Saturday
Page 2: Is Texans' win a sign of Armageddon (Sweet Play of the Week)
Bottom 10 teams looking to trade places

Breeze
King for a day
Celebrations at JMU
Shocker in Blacksburg

Nothing to lose

Other
Washington Examiner: JMU's brilliant scheme (James Irwin)
Roanoke Times
dailypress.com: CAA Power

GAMEDAY EVE Report: JMU Football vs. Virginia Tech

#15(FCS) JMU Dukes (1-0, 0-0) vs.   
#13(FBS) Virginia Tech Hokies (0-1, 0-0)
Sept. 11, 2010 - 1:30pm - Blacksburg, VA


Watch the game on ESPN3 or at one of the official JMU viewing locations


Weather Report

Tailgating	8am	58°	10% (precip)
Mid-tailgate	11am	65°	10%
Kickoff	1:30pm	67°	30%
Game over	4:30pm	69°	50%

Line for the game
VT by 31 (started at 25.5)

Women's Lacrosse Wins CAA Championship

The JMU Women's Lacrosse team beat Hofstra on Saturday, 10-6, to win the CAA Championship for the seventh time in 14 years. This also gave them the CAA's autobid to the NCAA tournament, which they'll be attending for the 10th time. They made it to the semifinals in 2000 and the quarterfinals in 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2004. The Dukes also made it into the tournament in 1995, 1997, 2003, and 2006. This year will add to a decade and a half of incredible play by JMU Women's Lacrosse.

Some impressive stats compiled this year by the Dukes:

• Started the season dominating VT, 16-3
• Ranked #7 in the nation at the end of the season
• Seeded 5th in the NCAA tournament
• 16-2 record, only losing to #13 Loyola by 4 (8-12) and #1 Maryland by 1 (7-8)
• 16 wins ties the school record
• Beat Yale by 6, Princeton by 1, UR by 13, #4 UVA by 1
• Went undefeated in CAA play, which includes #8, #16, and #24
• Won CAA tourney games by 3 and 4 points
• 233 goals for vs. 129 against...almost a 2-1 ratio
• One of only two teams to go undefeated on the road this season

The Dukes will start the NCAA tournament at home on Saturday, May 15, at 1pm against Stanford. Stanford lost 10-9 at Towson on March 28 and beat Hofstra 14-13 in three overtimes at home on March 31. Stanford is coming in ranked 15th in the nation with a 15-5 record. Their 5 losses were to #11 Syracuse (7-16), #2 Northwestern (11-18), #1 Maryland (8-20), #8 Towson (9-10), and Denver (12-17). Stanford is 3-4 on the road this season. The only road wins were against 0-14 Fresno State (19-4), 8-10 California (12-7) and 13-5 Denver (11-10 2OT). Between Stanford's poor play on the road, their loss to Towson, triple-overtime win at home against Hofstra, and their bad loss to Maryland, who only beat us by one, makes me believe that getting Stanford to play at JMU is a great draw for the Dukes and gives them a great chance to move on to the next round.

This is the sixth time JMU is hosting a first-round NCAA game. The Dukes are undefeated so far in first-round home games (5-0). JMU has also beaten Stanford in the two previous contests where they have faced each other: once in 2007 in Palo Alto and then in Harrisonburg in 2008, both 10-9 wins.

Their possible path to the National Championship would be (using national ranking):
First Round: #15 Stanford (15-5), May 15
Quarterfinals: #9 Georgetown (13-5) or #11 Syracuse (13-6), May 22-23
Semifinals: Most likely #1 Maryland (18-1) or #6 Penn (14-3), May 28
Championship: Most likely #2 Northwestern (17-1) or #3 UNC (15-2),  May 30

JMU had a moment of silence before the game in memory of Yeardley Love - the University of Virginia lacrosse player who was found dead last week - and wore orange wrist bands with her initials on them, as it did before its semifinal win on Thursday. Many of Hofstra's players had Love's last name written on their legs. -DNR

JMUSports.com LACROSSE #5 SEED IN NCAA TOURNEY, TO HOST STANFORD SATURDAY
Windbreaker Pictures of W&M Game
Windbreaker Pictures of Hofstra Game

Fire Burning, Fire Burning at the Block Party

By now I'm sure everyone has heard about 'JMU Riot 2010'. The news quickly spread all over the region and even ended up in a quick segment on CNN, Deadspin, and on a few other national websites. Sorry this is very late, but my internet wasn't working for 5 days...so give me a break. I'm gonna do my best to lay down the history, what happened (as best as I can, without actually having been there), and suggest some things for the future.

History
So waaay back when at JMU...back when Greek row included fraternities, they held a big alumni weekend. They had bands on Greek row, fenced off part of it where they would have alcohol and would card people to get in, had a constant police presence, and kept everything orderly. At some point, State and University attorneys decided having any sanctioned parties like this on campus was a bad idea. Thus, parties like this were moved off campus.

Snooki Visiting JMU: Start of a Revolution?

In two days, March 3rd, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi will be visiting James Madison University. I can't remember a more hotly discussed about event. Even when now-President Barak Obama came there wasn't as much hate spewed (okay, maybe that's a stretch). Snooki, more than probably any other entertainment figure these days, is loved by some and really hated by many others at the same time. For those that don't know, Nicole (originally from New York, and actually Chilean) was a part of the show "Jersey Shore", which followed the lives of several "guidos and guidettes" Real World-style. It was basically a train-wreck of a show and Snooki is most famous for getting punched in the face by a guy at a bar.

Over the past couple weeks, the news of Snooki coming to JMU has been all over the place, all the way from the Breeze and the DNR to Perez Hilton and the Huffington Post. Students, alumni, community members, and people from all over the country have been placing their judgment on Snooki, UPB, JMU, and JMU students. All the while, the show sold out in three days. I figured it's about time for the Windbreaker to step in and put its two cents in.

To start off with, I'd like to say I've maybe seen five minutes of the Jersey Shore (most of which was the child reenactment), because I'm not a fan of reality TV. I also don't like the fact that it glamorized that culture and while I enjoy making fun of it every now and then...this show was doing the opposite.

That having been said, I'd like to defend UPB on their decision as someone who was on their exec board for two years. The University Program Board tries to provide a variety of educational and entertaining events throughout the year. So far this year, according to UPB Public Relations Director Stephen Eure, they've "brought such events as the awareness program To Write Love on Her Arms, the educational How-To Series, and informational Sex Rules event." This event is purely for the entertainment value and is trying to hit a different segment of the JMU population. Not only that, UPB didn't really have much of a choice. Every semester they put out a survey to students giving different choices for comedy/lectures/musical performances in different price ranges and Snooki was an overwhelming favorite. None of the other choices got nearly that response, leaving UPB little choice other than to give students what they wanted. I've stated on here before how difficult it is to find an act to bring to campus that students are actually interested in, is in UPB's budget, and an act that has an open date on a rare night that campus locations are open. Again, anyone is welcome to join UPB for all the people who are always disappointed (it's pretty much your fault if you don't like what they bring).

To a majority of you that are judging Snooki and UPB...are you really in a place to judge. I love my school and am proud that anyone can come here and have a great time on any given night without having to pay to have fun, but it's a slippery slope. It's hard to walk around campus or talk to students without hearing about less-than-flattering things that happened over the weekend. And what reaction does this stuff get from their friends? Praise. The lifestyle people are condemning is happening every weekend (and most weeknights) at JMU, and the people living this very lifestyle are celebrated...but that's because these conversations are had in private (or at least not on TV)...out of the eyesight of others. Hypocritical? Maybe a little bit. Oh, and in case you didn't read the Huffington Post article, it was mainly talking about the fact that the event's Facebook wall had to be disabled because of the discriminatory posts from JMU students. And these are the people talking about being ashamed of their school? I'm all for giving feedback and saying you don't want to go (look to Josh Kelaher's Breeze letter or Facebook group for examples of good ways to do this), but to say some of the things that were posted is ridiculous.

So where do we go from here?

Most likely...nowhere. Snooki will come to campus. Some people will be pissed. Others will be entertained. Spring Break will happen. Everyone will forget or move on.

But is that really it?

All of you that are in an uproar...are offended...are ashamed...will you let this travesty just pass by?! Why not do something about it?

Get an educational lecture on campus. Bring in a senator, congressman, governor, or other political figure. Bring a debate on campus. Want to make a point? Get with UPB (or heck, maybe even join UPB) and help bring one of the above mentioned onto campus (UPB can help you get a list). Get them into Wilson Hall (after all, it has a higher capacity than Memorial). If UPB has already planned out their full budget, try SGA, other student orgs, or do some fundraising to get someone good and get them in there. Then pack the place out. Get it to be better attended than Snooki. Then do it again. And again. Make your event bigger than Snooki. Why not create a culture on campus of involvement in politics or education? Find something you're passionate about and pursue it. If you don't want to be known as just a party school that brings Snooki to campus...you know who can change that persona? YOU!

Stop being reactive to events on campus like Snooki and instead be proactive. Get out there and create a difference in your school. In my four years at JMU I saw a program formed by the a small group of student leaders on campus called jMubilee to bring together the JMU campus and Harrisonburg community. Every a year we put on at least one event, but my senior year a handful of awesome students helped me put together a huge event on Godwin Field the last day of classes. We scrounged together $10,000 from different places on campus and had free food, live music, an outdoor movie, and free games for over 1,600 people. Anything is possible at JMU. The faculty and staff are more than willing to help. Stop thinking small. Dream big. Complaining might make you feel better for the moment, but it doesn't help anyone and won't improve things for the future. Do something about it!

To UPB, I'd say make all of these people put up or shut up. Bring a good cultural event to campus and see if the attendance is even comparable.

I'm a huge fan of the "Be the change" campaign. There were a few phrases that always stuck out to me: Be exceptional, Be the example, Be visionary, and Be passionate. To extend that a bit further... Don't wait for someone else to start something...be the ignition. Don't join the trend...be the trend. Don't accept things the way they are...push the boundaries. There aren't too many things at JMU that are beyond the scope of a group of passionate, resourceful students. If I may borrow a page out of Dr. Mark Warner's book... "YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE!"

Your move JMU...

Bobbleheads - JMU Athletics Marketing Win

The Athletics Department a couple years ago, headed by Alyssa Gerlando (Director of Athletics Marketing), stumbled upon a great promotion...bobbleheads. The first year, they started with Duke Dog and James Madison. Last year, they moved on to the basketball coaches, Matt Brady and Kenny Brooks. Once they finished up basketball, they moved on to the iconic Mickey Matthews (still waiting for the action figure with patent-pending visor throwing action!) and the Duke Dog statue in front of the APC.

These bobbleheads quickly became one of the most popular giveaways I've ever seen. Usually giving away just 500 of these items, the coupons to get these are usually given out within minutes of the doors opening (one hour before game time). The week before and after the giveaways, the message boards are usually buzzing with people asking how they can get one and bargaining with those in the area. Some have even shown up on eBay (how I got the Brady after getting to the game only half hour before gametime last year).

While some suggest that the bobbleheads should be sold at the bookstore, I think it would cut down on the demand for these at basketball games (and at this point we need all the help we can get). Maybe down the road once we've cycled through all the JMU icons and we start cycling back through we can put them in stores also.

If you want your very own Duke Dog statue bobblehead, they will be given away at the game against VCU this Saturday. The game starts at 6pm and the doors are set to open at 5pm.

2010 JMU Football Schedule (Official)

This is the official 2010 schedule for the James Madison University football team. Times will be added in the summer as TV schedules are worked out.

JMUSports.com article

9/4		Morehead State
9/11		@Virginia Tech
9/19		Bye
9/25		Liberty
10/2		Delaware (Family Weekend)
10/9		@Towson
10/16		New Hampshire (Homecoming)
10/23		@Villanova
10/30		UMass
11/6		@Richmond
11/13		W&M
11/20		@Maine

Looks to be a pretty good schedule. We get to open the new stadium with a (most-likely) dominating win over one of the worst Div. I football teams in the nation (RPI: 232/245). Then we get an opportunity to go down to Tech and play the Cho...I mean Hokies. Followed by a nice bye week. Then we play Liberty at home. We then alternate home and away CAA games through the rest of the season.

Overall it's not a terrible schedule and isn't as bad as last year. But we also end up as the only CAA team to not play Rhode Island, which next year should by quite a bit be the worst team in the conference. We can pretty much expect a loss against VT and then we have to survive the gauntlet of the last 5 weeks, which should be against at least a few teams who could make the playoffs. Richmond will not be nearly as good this year as last year after losing a lot of seniors. Make sure to get your tickets early, because the Ticks are moving into their new mini-stadium this year that holds a whopping 9000 people. We brought nearly that many in 2008. An interesting sidenote: our stadium currently (considering the East stands aren't there) holds as many as their new stadium does.

Next year is looking pretty good so far. New recruits are coming in, which could include at least 2 quarterbacks. This gives us 3 available QB's and another 2 to redshirt...can't wait for that QB battle...

And for another note, the playoffs have expanded to 20 teams (2 more conferences with autobids and 2 more at-larges). This means there's one extra round to get it down to the normal 20 teams. The NCAA Championship game has also been moved to January 9, 2011.

Nov. 27 - NCAA Playoffs, First Round
Dec. 4 - NCAA Playoffs, Round of 16
Dec. 11 - NCAA Playoff Quarterfinals
Dec. 17-18 - NCAA Playoff Semifinals
Jan. 9 - NCAA Championship Game

2010 JMU Football Recruits

Commits
Dejor Simmons - RB (all-purpose) - Virginia Beach (VA) Green Run
3 star recruit (5.7 rivals rating)
5-8 170 lbs, 4.39 40; offers - Connecticut, Duke, Marshall, Toledo
Sprained his ankle, out for all but 4 games in his senior year. Still ran for 600+ yards. All-district.
Highlight video

Anthony Rose - SS/WS - Amherst (VA) Amherst
3 star recruit (5.5 rivals rating)
6-3 195 lbs, 4.5 40, 290 bench, 315 squat; offers - Maryland, Marshall, Ohio

Henry Hunter - QB (Dual-threat) - Sachse (TX) Sachse
2 star recruit (5.4 rivals rating)
6-1 205 lbs, 4.5 40, 255 bench, 385 squat; offers - Army, Navy
Youtube highlight video 

Corey Davis - ATH - Jersey City (NJ) St. Peter's Prep
2 star recruit (5.4 rivals rating)
5-9 175 lbs, 4.41 40, 4.2 shuttle, 34" vert, 225 bench, 395 squat, GPA 3.1

Ryan Dixon - WR - Frederick (MD) Linganore
2 star recruit (5.2 rivals rating)
6-1 178 lbs, 4.5 40, 265 bench, 375 squat, GPA 3.

Marquis Woodyard - CB - Frederick (MD) Thomas Johnson
2 star recruit (5.2 rivals rating)
5-10 174 lbs, 4.6 40, shuttle 4.52, 33" vert

Kyle Linn - S - Bridgewater (VA) Turner Ashby
2 star recruit (5.1 rivals rating)
6-3 185 lbs, 4.65 40, 3.5 GPA

Eric Magruder - ATH - Petersburg (VA) Petersburg
2 star recruit (5.1 rivals rating)
6-1 175 lbs, 4.47 40, 300 bench, 400 squat

Eric Bucholtz - DL - Malvern (PA) Great Valley
6-5 230 lbs

Matt Cunningham - OL- Fairfax (VA) West Potomac
6-4 260 lbs

Jace Edwards - QB (pro-style) - Midland (TX)  Midland Lee
6-2 185 lbs, 4.6 40

Josh Hogan - LB - Fairfax (VA) WT Woodson
6-3 220 lbs

Wyatt Johnson - WR - Highland Springs (VA) Highland Springs
5-11 184 lbs

Juan Latney - LB - Massaponax
?

Brandon Lee - OLB - Sterling (VA) Park View
6-1 200 lbs, 5.00 40

Dean Marlowe - S - Holy Cross
6-3 170 lbs, 4.50 40

Anthony McDaniel - LB - Upper Marlboro (MD) Wise
6-0 245 lbs, 4.86 40, 4.82 shuttle, 29" vert; offers - Richmond
Note: Commited to Richmond, but switched when London left for UVA.

Graham Sharples - K -Winchester (VA) Handley
5-10 150 lbs

Matt Williams - C - Springfield (PA) Cardinal O'Hara
6-3 275 lbs, 5.00 40

Preferred Walk-ons
Michael Goodman - K - Radford (VA) Radford
Group A First-Team, All-State Kicker