Tag / Florida State

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Book 7 (of 52) – Bright Young Women

Bright Young Women – Jessica Knoll

In January of 1978. an unnamed serial killer (*cough*Ted Bundy*cough*) attacks a sorority at Florida State University, killing two and maiming two others.  When the sorority president sees him fleeing the scene, she embarks on a journey to prove that the man wanted for numerous murders out west was the one she saw.  She teams up with an older woman, whose girlfriend went missing years before, to find out the truth, both in the 70s and today.

A nominee for Best Mystery & Thriller in last year’s Goodreads Choice Awards, Bright Young Women, by Jessica Knoll, blends the historical facts of Ted Bundy’s reign of terror with the fictional victims of an unnamed sorority in Florida and a troubled young woman finally finding her footing in Washington.  This is my first experience with Knoll’s work in book form, though I did see the adaptation of her Luckiest Girl Alive, starring Mila Kunis, last year.  I’m sure I will check back in on her at some point.

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We’re #1

For the first time in the history of man kind, the #1 ranked men’s college basketball team in the country calls Mackey Arena home.  The 8-0 Boilermakers were a unanimous No. 1 in the poll released earlier today, moving up #2 last week following victories over Florida State and Iowa and a Duke loss to Ohio State.  Prior to this week, Purdue had the second-most appearances in the AP poll, 379 weeks, for a school that had never been ranked #1, behind  Maryland with 434 weeks.  Purdue goes on the road this week with a Big 10 game at Rutgers on Thursday and the Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational against North Carolina State on Sunday in Brooklyn.

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The Sweet Sixteen

We enter the Sweet 16 with upsets galore. leaving me without my champion pick, An Ohio State University, who lost to a 15 seed in the opening round.  My Boilermakers also crapped out in the first round, making my trip to Indianapolis last weekend a questionable decision.

Gonzaga, the overall #1 seed, has to be even more of a favorite to win the whole thing at this point.

The Big Ten did me wrong in this region, as both Purdue and Ohio State were upset in the first round.   Continue reading →

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Socially Distanced Dancing

Because money is more important than the health of their so-called student athletes, the NCAA tournament returns after a year break caused by the outbreak of the corona virus.  For reasons that I’m sure make some sort of sense, games this year will be Friday through Monday instead of Thursday through Sunday.  As the nation’s attention is grabbed for the next few weeks, let’s take a look at my picks for this year’s tournament.

A few minor upsets, but the overall #1 seed, Gonzaga, makes it out on their way to the Final Four.

Purdue finds themselves the #4 seed, playing tomorrow night at Lucas Oil Stadium.  Again, there’s a few minor upsets early in the going, but I have things chalk in the Elite Eight, where Ohio State, the #2 seed, gets through. Continue reading →

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16 Left Standing

We enter the Sweet 16 without the major upsets of last year, but also without the Cinderella team for the nation to rally around.  My Boilermakers are still alive, thanks to their thrashing of defending champion Villanova last weekend, which makes me cautiously optimistic about their chances this weekend.

Things look pretty good in the East, with only one of my Sweet Sixteen picks already out of the running.

Things aren’t looking so hot here, where I only have 2 picks still alive and none of them picked to pass through to the Elite 8.  On the plus side, this may mean an easier road to the Final Four for the old alma mater.

Continue reading →

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Time To Go Dancing

It’s that time of year again, as the nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks. I’m down to just one pool this year; one at my mom’s work.  Without further ado, let’s take a look at this year’s selections.

I’m not seeing much in the way of upsets here, with overall #1 seed Duke my pick to make it to the Final Four.

Purdue finds themselves the #3 seed, playing the first weekend in Hartford.  Given Virginia’s historic poor showing last year, I don’t see them doing much with the #1 seed, so I expect quite a few upsets in this region.

Continue reading →

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Keep On Dancing

As we enter the Sweet 16, brackets across the nation are busted thanks to upsets galore, including the first ever 16 seed knocking off a 1 seed.  Thankfully, my Boilermakers are still alive, and thanks to my trip to Vegas this week, I have some money riding on them to win the whole thing.  Crazier things have already happened in this year’s tournament.

I’m in trouble here, as only 1 team I picked heading in to the Sweet 16 is still alive.  Virginia, the overall #1 seed, lost in the first round to the upstarts from UMBC.  Exciting times all around.

I’ve got 2 out of the remaining 4 teams still alive, and my final four slot here is still in play.  Hopefully I lose that, though, on my way to paying off the Vegas bet.

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Dancing Days Are Here Again

It’s that time of year again, as the nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks. I’m down to just two pools this year; one at my mom’s work, and one run by a friend, as the work pool died due to lack of interest.  If it weren’t for my upcoming trip to Las Vegas, I’d likely be heading to Detroit this weekend to cheer on the Boilermakers.

A couple of upsets make up my first bracket, with the #2 seed, the Bearcats of Cincinnati, being my pick to advance to the Final Four.

After some late season stumbles, Purdue winds up as the #2 seed.  Villanova is the early favorite to win the whole thing, and, using my head instead of my heart, I’m picking them to come out of the East.

Continue reading →

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Dancing Days

It’s that time of year again, as the nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks. I’m down to just two pools this yearone at my mom’s work, and one run by a friend, as the work pool died due to lack of interest.  I will be in Milwaukee tonight to watch the Purdue Boilermakers make their third straight tournament appearance, hopefully advancing past this first weekend.

Last year’s champion, Villanova, gets the overall #1 seed and are my pick to advance to the Final Four.

Purdue ends up as the 4 seed in the Midwest, and I have them going to the Elite Eight, before falling to Oregon.  I have tickets to the first two games, so I hope they can at least win those 2.

Continue reading →

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The Big 14

The Big 10 is expanding again, with yesterday’s announcement that Maryland will join the conference in 2014 and the expected announcement today that Rutgers will follow suit.  Unlike the previous expansion, when Nebraska joined in 2011, there is no argument that can be made that this is being done for athletic or academic reasons.  This move is being made for one reason, and one reason only: to expand the reach of the Big Ten Network.

The hope is that cable outlets in Baltimore, Washington, and New York will pick up the network, bringing in millions in additional rights fees for the conference and its member schools.  Of course, this ignores the fact that New York is apathetic about college football in general and, specifically, Rutgers football.  Baltimore may also be a tough sell.

On the football field, the two new schools are expected to join the Leaders division, pushing Illinois to the Legends division in 2014.  This means that instead of Michigan, Northwestern, or Iowa, Wisconisn or Purdue will have yearly matchups with their “traditional” rivals from the east coast.  More teams also means that the amount of time it takes to rotate through the other division will be increased, potentially harming rivalries that have been around for 100 years or more.

On the basketball court, it is rumored that this expansion will lead to divisions there as well.  Again, this would lead to fewer opportunities to play traditional rivals while having home and home dates with a traditional basketball powerhouse like Rutgers.

Is this the end?  Probably not.  There are already rumors that the conference is looking to add an additional two teams, bringing the total up to 16.  Possible candidates that are being metioned include Florida State, North Carolina, and Texas.  Traditions destroyed, all so that someone in Manhattan might be able to get BTN as part of their cable package.  I hope the extra scheckles are worth it.