College Gymnasts List (2 of 4): The All-Stars

March Madness is actually not just going on in college basketball, but women's college gymnastics as well. We imagine if Dick Vitale of ESPN were announcing gymnastics meets, he would call these collegiate athletes PTP'ers (Prime Time Players):

1) Rheagan Courville. LSU. Junior (pictured top)

2) Lindsay Mable. Minnesota. Sophomore (pictured middle)

3) Katerhine Grable. Arkansas. Senior (pictured bottom)

4) Kassidy Stauder. Penn State. Senior.

5) Stephanie Ouellette. North Carolina State. Senior.

6) Tory Wilson. Utah. Junior.

7) Kim Jacob. Alabama. Senior (She is originally from Raleigh, NC)

8) Kytra Hunter. Florida. Junior.

9) Danusia Francis. UCLA. Sophomore (Francis recorded a perfect 10 over the weekend)

10) Hope Sloanhoffer. West Virginia. Senior.

http://www.collegegymfans.com

Kudos to the University of Maryland for Winning the ACC Lacrosse Title

The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC, is perhaps a good six-hour drive from College Park, Md., where the University of Maryland is located but the Terps came through in women's lacrosse with a 12-8 over the Tar Heels on road soil.

Abby Friend scored three goals for the home team, but it wasn't enough to hold off three goals each from Katie Schwarzmann (pictured center), Brooke Grffin, Beth Glaros and Taylor Cummings. Schwarzmann was named the tourney's most outstanding player.

The Terps (19-0) remain undefeated and the loss was one of the very few for the 'Heels (12-3); the title is the fifth straight ACC title for Maryland. 

Incidentally, in case any of you are wondering, Testudo is the mascot of Maryland, a school that is (editorial comment: foolishly) going to the Big Ten in the fall.

SIDEBAR ONE: We want to thank Jack in Truth or Consequences, N.Mex., the only town in America named after a game show. Jack was one of the supporters who called in a pledge to the non-profit progressive tv channel Link-TV today; we sense if Link-TV had given his last name, he might find himself on Gov. Susana Martinez's 'enemies list.' She is, after all, a Republican.

SIDEBAR TWO: We also want to thank today's day sponsor (yes, we are making this up, no one sponsors us!) the Cafe Evolution, a vegetarian cafe in Florence, Mass. We are curious to know if they serve shish kebab without any meat!

SIDEBAR THREE: One sport that the Terps might have trouble with in the Big Ten, particularly since they don't have a team in the sport, is women's hockey. But, we sense that if the Terps had a team on the ice, they would probably lose quite often to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, a team that went a very impressive 41-0-0. The Gophers won a NCAA title in women's hockey on their home ice with a 6-3 win over Boston University several weeks ago.

Amanda Kessel of the Gophers was named the most outstanding player in college women's hockey.

There is now a petition to have the Gophers visit the White House, and a joint letter from Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Al Franken (D-Minn.) was written on their behalf.

SIDEBAR FOUR: Starting tomorrow, we will start Soccer Week. It was a good week for Istanbul powerhouse Fenerbahce, the arch rival of our beloved GalataSaray. The Canaries won a home UEFA game over Benefica of Portugal 1-0 on a goal from veteran Turkish player Egemen Korkmaz.

In domestic play, Fenerbahce won over Kayserispor 2-1 thanks to goals from two of the team's star players Dirk Kuyt of the Netherlands and Cristian Baroni of Brazil.

http://www.umterps.com

http://www.gopherssports.com

http://www.cafe-evolution.com

http://www.linktv.org

Tweets of the Night

There are lots of sporting reports in tonight's tweets. Whether the athletes has donned skis, like Lindsey Vonn, laced up sneakers, like a Michigan State basketball player, or strutted across the balance beam in bare feet, like a Minnesota gymnast, there has been lots of action tonight.

Of course, there are political and news matters being discussed as well.

Let's check out the tweets:

1) Denver Post Sports @DenverSportsNews: Lindsey Vonn wins World Cup downhill for first win in five weeks.

2) Minnesota Gymnastics @GophersWomensGym: The #Gophers started on Bars, so they'll compete next on the Balance Beam. Still waiting for final two scores to be posted.

3) Katrina vandenHeuvel @KatrinaNation (managing editor of "The Nation"): "Different times, but still worth thinking about what a second-term Obama Can Learn from FDR."

4) Huffington Post @HuffingtonPost: "Suspected U.S. drone attack kills at least 8 in Yemen."

5) Heather Richardson @hlynnrichardson: "Thank you all so much for all the kind messages! So proud of teammate @BrrittanyBowe w/ her first podium." (Richardson, an American speed skater won gold at the sport's world championships in Calgary, Canada, she is originally from High Point, NC)

6) Spartan Basketball @MSU_Basketball: "Coach Tom Izzo calls a :30 timeour with 1:08 left in the second half and MSU leading Ohio St. 53-51." (Sparty, pictured, is the school's mascot)

7) Norfolk Admirals @AdsGameUpdates: "The puck has been dropped and the #pinkintherink game is underway!"

http://www.teamusa.org/Athletes/RI/Heather-Richardson.aspx

http://www.thenation.com/

http://www.norfolkadmirals.com/

The Frozen Four is Set- Everyone is Pretty Far From Tampa

We just quoted filmmaker and hockey fan Kevin Smith on our other blog "The Daily Vampire," since he is getting ready to 'retire' from film directing at the ripe old age of 41, perhaps he will have time to fly down to Tampa and take in the Frozen Four.

As one might expect this is the first time the Frozen Four will take place in Florida, and there is not one single university in Florida that has an official college hockey team, though perhaps some offer the sport at the club level as Virginia Tech does.

The team which appears most likely to win the Frozen Four is top seed Boston College. The Eagles' goal tender Parker Milner had a pair of shutouts at regionals in Worchester, Mass. Milner made 20 saves in Boston College's 2-0 win over Air Force. He then turned around and made 33 saves to help the Eagles defeat the defending NCAA championships Minn-Duluth 4-0.

The Eagles will now face the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, a team that will be going to its first Frozen Four since 2005. The Gophers had impressive wins over both Boston University (by a score of 7-3) and North Dakota (by a score of 5-2) at regionals in St. Paul, Minn.

Two schools that most people have perhaps never heard of, except college hockey followers, complete the Frozen Four. Union (NY) beat Mass-Lowell 4-2. The Dutchmen are the rare successful athletic team which offer no scholarships. Sophomore goal tender Troy Grosenick helped guide the team to victory.

The Dutchmen will face the Ferris State Bulldogs (Grand Rapids, Mich.; pictured above) which got goals from Garrett Thompson and Andy Huff to defeat Cornell 2-1. The Big Red had upset Michigan 2-1 (OT) to advance to the quarter-finals.

The Other Sweet 16- the NCAA Hockey Tournament

The NCAA hockey tournament gets underway on Friday as Minn-Duluth will look to defend its NCAA against Maine in the Worcester, Mass.-regional.

If every team I'm picking wins, then that region will go to top-seed Boston College which open up NCAA against Air Force. My other three teams (keep in mind, I am a novice with college hockey) in the Frozen Four are Minnesota, Miami (Ohio) and Denver University. I am also going to project that the Boston College Eagles will win it all in Tampa, Fla. (yes, that is where the Frozen Four is taking place, starting on April 5th).

But, the first round game I am most anxious to watch is in the Green Bay, Wisc.-region where Michigan, the top seed in the region, will face Cornell (pictured).

The Big Red have shocked the Wolverines before as they won the first of a three game series against the 'Big Blue' in Ann Arbor 5-4 during the NCAA tournament in 1991. But, the format is now single-game elimination, thus at the time, the Wolverines were able to rebound and advance two games to one.

Whoever wins the game between Michigan and Cornell, which will be broadcast on Friday night on ESPN-U, will then face the winner of the Ferris State (Grand Rapids, Mich.)-Denver game.

Michigan has won nine titles, followed by Denver and North Dakota, teams that have won seven titles each. Boston College has won four titles.

In the Bridgeport, Conn.-region, top-seed Union (NY) plays Michigan State, the only school that also made the Sweet 16 in men's basketball. The other game in the region pits Maimi (Ohio) against Mass-Lowell.

The Wolverines will be coming off a loss in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) conference tournament, which won by Western Michigan, a team that plays North Dakota in the St. Paul region (for the other two regions, check out our sister blog "The Daily Vampire"). Ferris State, Miami (Ohio) and Michigan State are the other three teams from that conference in the NCAA tournament.

Michigan has many outstanding players, including freshman Alex Guptill from Canada, senior Luke Glendenning from Grand Rapids, Mich., and senior goaltender Shawn Hunwick from Sterling Heights, Mich.

Cornell, a team that plays in the Ivy League in other sports, won the ECAC tournament over Colgate 3-0 in Atlantic City, NJ, with goals from senior Sean Collins from Canada, sophomore Dustin Mowrey from Canada and freshman John McCarron from Macomb, Mich.

The Big Red also got 25 saves from goaltender Andy Iles who is coincidentally from Itahca, NY, where Cornell is located. And, if Cornell should become one of the rare four seeds that advances to the Final Four, they will have a player from the Sunshine State on the roster as freshman Brain Ferlin is from Jacksonville, Fla.

PSA- Stop Homophobia

For our PSA entry today, we focus on stoping homophobia which folks like the Rev. Johnny Robertson of Martinsville, Va., allegedly (well, this is close to a safe assumption) believe in strongly for 'the Bible tells 'em so.'

We learned while researching this piece that there is an International Stop Homophobia Day on May 17 of each year, and it is apparently popular in Canada and Sweden.

As for the silly rumor that "Sesame Street" characters Bert and Ernie are/were gay, it actually started with another radical minister, but one who has more clout and a stronger following that the Rev. Johnny R, who we love to refer to as "The Jim Jones of Henry County" (and, I think my friend Chris Knight might well agree with me there)---the Rev. Joseph Chambers, a televangelist in Charlotte, NC.

Chambers has also allegedly stated that another PBS children's star Barney the Dinosaur is a tool of Satan who spreads his left-wing agenda to children all across the world (are you serious?!).

SIDEBAR: Today we learned on Twitter that the 2011 University of Minnesota's women's gymnastics team will feature 15 gymnasts from eight states and three countries, including Mexican gymnast Ana Balboa. The team's first home meet is on Jan. 16 against Iowa.

According to DailyHurriyet.com, '80s fossil singer/actress Grace Jones has surfaced in Istanbul,Turkey- of all places, where she will perfom in concert tomorrow night (July 16).

Lastly, MalcolmtheMayor had this great Tweet which I can fully sympathize with:
"I need a Vacation ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Canada or Thailand......help me pick!