I Love It

25 days until Miami beats Ohio St. and I'm loving the good-natured bantering. My anonymous friend claims that Brad and I are jealous because we didn't get into THE (important to get the "THE" in there) Ohio State University. Pllllease. Here are some facts:

• Ohio State accepts roughly 70% of all freshmen applicants, about the same as Miami.
  
• Ohio State's freshmen retention rate is approximately 82%, with an average ACT score of 25 and 32% of their freshmen are in the top 10% of their class.
• Miami's freshmen retention rate is approximately 90%, with an average ACT score of 27 and 41% of their freshmen are in the top 10% of their class.
  
• 4 years ago, when US News ranked the top public universities, Ohio St. was 21st, Miami 28th. In the most recent set of rankings, both schools are now tied for 22nd.
• Ohio State has a student body of more than 50,000; Miami's is around 16,000.
  
• Have you ever heard of anyone not getting into Ohio State??? Obviously it happens, but I believe if you polled Miami students, you would find an unbelievably small number that got into Miami but not Ohio State????
  
• Miami has been deemed a "Public Ivy League" for its high level of undergraduate education. Ohio State has not.

So, I think it's fair to say Brad and I would have gotten into Ohio State. Also, I think it's fair to say when you ask someone, "Football, Miami or Ohio State?", most will say Ohio State. When you ask the same person, "Education, Miami or Ohio State?", most will say Miami.

Oh, and Miami was a university when Florida belonged to Spain.

Since that is settled, it's time for the analysis of tonight's Miss Teen USA pageant:

• 9 of my top 15 made it into the next round, with 7 of my top 10 making it to the final 10. In the end, it came down to, haha, Michigan and Ohio. Michigan was my #1 all night, with Ohio consistently in my top 3. But the nod went to Ohio (Vermilion), with Michigan coming in 2nd.
• The head scratcher of the night was Miss West Virginia, who didn't even make my Top 15 originally, but somehow managed to finish 3rd. When asked, "What do you most often think about?", she replied, "I always think about what's going to happen next. I'm a spontaneous person, and I never know what I'm going to do next." But, she always thinks about what she's going to do next.... This came from the same girl who said she skated on the roof of a neighbor's unfinished house? Sorry, I didn't get it.
  
• Then there was Suzie Castillo, co-host of the pageant. Young + dumb + high-shrilled voice = TRL host. It kind of fits, doesn't it?
  
• Of the 8 judges, 5 were affiliated with NBC in some way, and another was the guy who helped start the Backstreet Boys and NSync. Not exactly a distinguished panel.
• And yes, I changed the channel when Aaron Carter and Kimberly Locke performed.

In addition, Da Bears won their preseason opener against the Dolphins 27-24. The first-team offense was able to score a TD vs. Miami's 1st-team defense, and Kyle Orton played really well in the 2nd half, connecting with fellow rookie Mark Bradley numerous times to help lead Da Bears from behind. Da Bears, if they can stay healthy, will have a potent defense. It was fun to see them fly around the ball tonight, Urlacher, Brown, Briggs, and the rest of them. I would say the weakness would be in the secondary. Da Bears let some receivers get behind them when they blitzed, allowing even AJ Feeley to complete some downfield passes. In addition, Da Bears don't have much depth, so if they run into injury problems as they did last year, they'll be in trouble again.

It's good to see football being played, even if it's just preseason football. Oh, Ricky Williams: 5 carries, 8 yards and had 1 catch for 2 yards. He looked pretty rusty.

In 1st round action at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Andre Agassi beat Alberto Martin in straight sets. The next 2 weeks are important tournaments, including next week in Cincinnati, as players get ready for the US Open.

Today was also a day of rememberance for the Ohio soldiers who have died in Iraq. My prayers go out to them and their families for the sacrifices they have made for the country.

I think I'll end with that, I'll save the rest of my material for tomorrow.