The first round is already over and now it's time to engage:
Xavier 31, Denmark 17 - Denmark hasn't won anything since the Peace of Westphalia, I think. And the mighty Hawks are playing on Rocky Bleier Field, so woe betide the visitors.
ACTUAL RESULT: XAVIER 28, DENMARK 7. Now all they have to do is cruise through Belgium and outflank the Maginot Line. Or maybe beat the Kettle Moraine Lutheran/New Holstein winner.
St. Norbert 56, Beloit 0 - St. Norbert is nationally ranked. My beloved Bucs are just rank.
ACTUAL RESULT: ST. NORBERT 55, BELOIT 9. The Green Knights allow my Bucs a courtesy flush, apparently. But the Bucs are still swirling the bowl.
Wisconsin 41, Indiana 27 - Back to reality for the Badgers, who face yet another pesky spread offense squad. Indiana has some weapons, but I suspect the Badgers have more, especially on their home field.
ACTUAL RESULT: WISCONSIN 33, INDIANA 3. Bucky finally seems to be playing the way they were predicted to play. Of course a trip to Columbus could disabuse me of that notion in a hurry....
Green Bay 31, Denver 21 - My beloved Packers haven't won in Denver since 1971, if I remember correctly. This time the Broncos don't appear to have a quarterback, though. The Packers do.
ACTUAL RESULT: GREEN BAY 19, DENVER 13. Turns out I was wrong - the Packers had never won in Denver. Until now, that is -- Brett Favre exorcises another ghost. Now it's time to do it in Kansas City, another place where the Packers have never won.
Local high school picks:
Mounds View 31, Roseville 24 - Roseville is better than their record, but they aren't going to beat the Mustangs. An all-District 621 final could be in the offing.
ACTUAL RESULT: MOUNDS VIEW 21, ROSEVILLE 14. The Mustangs hold up their end of the bargain.
Irondale 35, White Bear Lake 27 - The Bears (Go Bears) would usually be favored in this matchup, but Irondale has been winning games impressively all season long. Won't stop tomorrow night.
ACTUAL RESULT: WBL 23, IRONDALE 22. Go Bears, I guess. Knights had a chance to win it late, but fumbled at the WBL 12. A sad end to an otherwise excellent season.
5 comments:
Call me a curmudgeon, but something bothers me with re-naming "Knights of Columbus Field" to "Rocky Bleier Field".
No doubt the Rock was a great player, in high school, college and the pros, and that he served his country honorably. His public facade was shiny, but I'm not so sure of his personal life.
I am pretty certain he is not a practicing Catholic. Not the ideal for which the Catholic spirit strives. But don't let that stop Xavier's secluar left from doing the sexy thing and associate yourself with a celebrity, even though Rocky probably qualifies as only a C-Lister nationally.
So much for the spirit of the Knights of Columbus and all their efforts that went into building that field back in the 1970's.
I would have preferred that my geometry teacher Br. Bill's petition to name it "Knights of Pythagoreus Field" was successful in the 1980's so we wouldn't haave this foolishness.
I dunno, anonymous - would you have named the field after some other C-List Xavier alum? Like Greta Van Sustern, the Scientologist? Or former ESPN reporterette Ann Werner? Or nice guy journeyman PGA pro J.P. Hayes? Or some local rich dude?
It's pretty typical for high schools to name their field after a famous coach or alumnus. Rock is the best we've got and if we could only have one alum who made it to the big time, he's not a bad choice. At least the Hawks don't play on Mossy Cade Field.
It should be Tim O'Dell (AKA The Spy Guy) field. Prior to his death he had attended more games than any other alum, and his loyalty to Xavier was unquestioned. I realize that would be somewhat akin to naming a field after Dennis Hopper if he was an alum, but it's as appropriate as anything else. My other choice would Eldred "Gus" Mullin field, for all he's done in service to Appleton and Xavier. On second thought perhap the secularists were right. Don't kid yourself, in the end it's all about money. Rocky's little christening raised much coin for Xavier as it evoked memories from a relatively dormant section of the alumni base that has tons of cash. Next on the list is the Joe Plank smoker's lounge.
Naming the football field after Rocky Bleier makes all the sense in the world. The holier than thou comments on our first poster, nonwithstanding.
Bleier may have made some "personal" decisions that you may not agree with, but his life in the spotlight has been exemplary. All current and future Xavier students can learn a great deal from the way Bleier persevered, listened to his coaches, earned good grades, etc.
As for the Knights of Columbus, the complex is still named in honor of that fine organization. It's known as Rocky Bleier Field at Knight of Columbus Stadium, or something to that effect.
My vaunted Xavier education just kicked in - the first anonymous (and likely the second) is funnin' us. "Knights of Pythagoreus," eh? Guess the Knights of Pythias weren't available. As an alternative, it could be St. Quadratic Field, right anonymous?
And if we really want to honor the memory of Spy Guy, I'd suggest a traveling trophy be established for the winner of the Xavier/Omro game (Omro being the most obscure of Xavier's new traditional rivals). It could be a miniature bronzed trenchcoat and oversized fedora, in honor of Spy Guy's favorite attire. We could call it the "Little Bronze Columbo" or something like that.
Seriously, the notion of honoring secular heroes in a Catholic school is an interesting jumping off point for a future Mr. D essay. There's a lot of meat on that particular bone.
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