a BIG sports day (for a select few crazies like me)

There may be another post coming when I get home from work, depending on what time I get out of here today, but I'll start you off with something I typed up over lunch about our boys at Miami University and the BIG sports day that is February 1st.

On Monday afternoon (regrettably I had no time to play around and check this yesterday) the new NCAA hockey polls were released and Miami is currently #1 in the nation! I believe this is our first ever #1 ranking in any sport outside of Synchronized Ice Skating, which we dominate even at the world championship level. No, I'm not kidding.

The Redski...er, Redhawks have the best record in the nation at 19-4-4 and earned exactly half of the first place votes in the USCHO.com poll. A weekend sweep of Ferris State was good enough to move us up from #3, with a little help from the rest of the top 10 of course. Former #1 Boston College lost to rival Boston University, dropping them to #3. Wisconsin and Minnesota also flip-flopped in the #2 and #4 positions after the Golden Gophers swept the Badgers. Yay!

Having won five in a row, the Miami boys now have just seven games remaining in the regular season, but it won't be easy. They will start with three straight at home against a weak Alaska-Fairbanks team (Friday and Saturday) and rival #23 Ohio State (Tuesday.) Then they will play a weekend series at #14 Michigan State and will finish off the season with a home-and-home series against Bowling Green on February 23rd and 25th.

Miami can also earn home ice and a first round bye in the CCHA tournament by getting just three points (a win and a tie) the rest of the way. The final two rounds of the conference tournament will be held in Detroit on March 17-18, which I don't think I will attend. Seriously, who would go to that hell hole, even WITH the Super Bowl? However, the Frozen Four (NCAA Tourney) is being held in Milwaukee...I may just have to get some tickets for that. And...AND.... the Midwest regional is in Green Bay, so if we earn the number one seed I think we would end up there for the first two rounds. I could potentially get to see all four NCAA playoff games without driving more than three hours! Sweet.

Today is also a very exciting day for us college football junkies, signing day. Again, not kidding. I'm stoked for this. The "live update" on espn.com does not have any signings for the Buckeyes quite yet, while most of Michigan's are good to go, so I'm guessing coach Jimmy Sweatervest hasn't released anything to the media. Once again it looks like we'll be in the top 10 in the nation in terms of recruiting classes. However, Florida, USC, Texas, Georgia and Notre Dame are the current top 5. We all know that they don't coach well enough at Florida or Georgia for it to matter much 2-3 years from now when these players will be starters, but unfortunately it doesn't look like we're bringing in any track stars like Ginn and Holmes.

All of you fellow Bucks out there should be excited about the futures of these top signings, most of which are local boys (with national rank for their position in parenthesis):
Chris Wells, RB, Akron, OH (5)
Robert Rose, DE, Cleveland, OH (4)
Connor Smith, OT, Cincinnati, OH (7)
Mark Johnson, ILB, Los Angeles, CA, (7)
Bryant Browning, OG, Cleveland, OH (9)
Aram Olson, FB, Columbia, SC (2)
Thaddeus Gibson, OLB, Euclid, OH (11)
Kurt Coleman, CB, Clayton, OH (12)
Ross Homan, ILB, Coldwater, OH (15)

Finally...yes, Erik, Jim Tressel's World is absolutely hysterical. Normally I would get pissed about sites like this, but this clown is so over the top and completely absurd that you can't help but laugh. I think my favorite line so far was this:

"I sent my wife on a two week cruise (or maybe locked her fat ass in the coat room with a gallon of water, two boxes of Wheaties, some crossword puzzels and a flashlight). I didn't want her to spoil the party we've been having over here at Casa de Tressel or as the boys have been calling it this week "The Pussy Center". Dr. Jimbo has been doing alot of breast exams this week."