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Post by Siren on Mar 30, 2013 8:23:20 GMT -6
The anticipation of a new season is wonderful, isn't it, Kat? Often, it's better than the season itself. GooooOOOOO, KATS!!!
But my OU gals have had a very successful season. They play in the NCAA Sweet 16 tomorrow against a fabled program, Tennessee's Lady Vols (Volunteers). Though The Legend, Pat Summitt, is no longer the head coach, Tennessee's tradition of good post-season play continues. It would be a tough row to hoe for the Sooners under the best of circumstances. But OU has lost four players this season to season or career-ending injuries, including team captains Lyndsey Cloman and Whitney Hand. They had so few healthy players left, Coach Coale even brought in two OU volleyball players, just to have enough players to have proper practice. Losing Hand - a prolific scorer, a good defender, a fan favorite, and the emotional leader of the team - has been a particularly big blow. But despite the losses, the Sooners have soldiered on, with the starting 5 carrying practically the whole load (what's left on the bench is not much help, bless them).
Due to our family Easter dinner, I won't be able to attend the game in Oklahoma City. But it will be televised. So, I can enjoy my beloved cold turkey-on-white bread-with-Miracle Whip-and-lettuce while watching the game on tv, usually a Thanksgiving pleasure. And to add to the fun, I got to chat with Lola (wearing her Sooners colors in Colorado) about the game the other night, which makes it so much better.
GoooOOOOO, SOONERS!!!!
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Post by katina2nd on Mar 30, 2013 18:49:34 GMT -6
The anticipation of a new season is wonderful, isn't it, Kat? Often, it's better than the season itself. GooooOOOOO, KATS!!! You're spot on there Siren, been counting down the clock for quite some time now, and these last few hours are really statring to drag. But my OU gals have had a very successful season. They play in the NCAA Sweet 16 tomorrow against a fabled program, Tennessee's Lady Vols (Volunteers). Though The Legend, Pat Summitt, is no longer the head coach, Tennessee's tradition of good post-season play continues. It would be a tough row to hoe for the Sooners under the best of circumstances. But OU has lost four players this season to season or career-ending injuries, including team captains Lyndsey Cloman and Whitney Hand. They had so few healthy players left, Coach Coale even brought in two OU volleyball players, just to have enough players to have proper practice. Losing Hand - a prolific scorer, a good defender, a fan favorite, and the emotional leader of the team - has been a particularly big blow. But despite the losses, the Sooners have soldiered on, with the starting 5 carrying practically the whole load (what's left on the bench is not much help, bless them). Gee that's rotten luck, injuries can really cripple a teams chances, and it seems like your gals have more then their fair share of them. Despite those setbacks I'm sure they'll give a good account of themselves, and they'll have at least one supporter pulling for them 'down under.' [Now if I just knew what the Sweet 16 actually entailed I'd know what I was actually barracking for. ] Due to our family Easter dinner, I won't be able to attend the game in Oklahoma City. But it will be televised. So, I can enjoy my beloved cold turkey-on-white bread-with-Miracle Whip-and-lettuce while watching the game on tv, usually a Thanksgiving pleasure. And to add to the fun, I got to chat with Lola (wearing her Sooners colors in Colorado) about the game the other night, which makes it so much better. GoooOOOOO, SOONERS!!!! Sheesh you're doing it to me again, getting my taste buds all excited with your food descriptions. Reckon I'd be willing to forego the pleasure of attending the game if it meant getting my hands on one of those sangers [sandwiches] GoooOOOOO, SOONERS!!!! ............ and Cats, let's go for the big double.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 31, 2013 6:53:48 GMT -6
For six weeks...at least, Katina?
I know, I know! (Oh, come on, let me have this. It's not often I can answer a sports question. Whether or not I can answer it properly is another question altogether.)
The Sweet 16 is comprised of the top 16 college basketball teams. The tournament starts off with 64 teams (or is it 68? Hmmm...maybe I should have let someone else answer this.) Teams lose and are eliminated until they get down to the Sweet Sixteen, then the Great Eight, Final Four, and finally, the something-or-other Two play against each other, determining the champion, all taking place during March Madness.
At least that's how men's college basketball works - I know because I've been a March Madness widow for the last couple of weeks.
And Siren, it's amazing how the Sooner Gals have overcome such losing so many top players, and continued on to make it to the Sweet 16. Go Sooners!!!!
And the Cats too!
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Post by Siren on Mar 31, 2013 8:15:20 GMT -6
LOL! I guess I should have been more specific, Kat. Great, concise explanation, Gams! No editor's red pen necessary. I agree - it is pretty incredible that the Sooners have come this far with so few healthy players. Here are a couple of articles from the OKC paper about the gals. newsok.com/article/3778381newsok.com/article/3778378Oh, indeed, kat - let's make it a double!!
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Post by katina2nd on Mar 31, 2013 18:43:15 GMT -6
For six weeks...at least, Katina? Sheesh are you psychic Gams, it's been six weeks exactly. Well I'm fully cognisant with how the Sweet 16 works now thanks to your explanation Gams (fully endorsed by Siren) so thanks for that. There's no big dance at the end of it all, but do they have a little shindig or something similar? Great links you posted Siren, Coach Coale sounds like a pretty impressive lady. Sorry to see that your Gals lost Siren, still what a remarkable effort to get as far as they did, they're to be congratulated. What do you know about LaNesia Williams who I see will be playing for the Sooners, a good addition to the team? Go Cats ..... and Sooners next season.
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Post by Siren on Apr 4, 2013 7:16:49 GMT -6
"A little shindig" - LOL! I can just picture all the players and coaches, cutting a rug. Lol! Thank you for the consolation, Kat. Yes, the gals did all right. And really, they got just as far as they should have, and needed to. If they had gotten one game further - had beaten Tennessee - they would have been humiliated by Louisville, who eventually beat Tennessee. Louisville is so athletic and aggressive, even a team as good as Tennessee had a lot of trouble with them. The Sooners, with all their injuries, and not as much athleticism, would have had no chance at all. I think it would have been a pretty embarrassing loss. I have not seen LaNesia Williams play, Kat. But I was excited after I read the article you saw. She sounds like a dandy, doesn't she? It's always good to have some local girls on the roster. And I like to think that she was named for former Sooner great LaNeshia Caufield, who's from my hometown. So, yes, it's sad to see the hoops season end. But we Okies have very high hopes for the OU softball team. They were a bit arrogant and took their opponent too lightly in the final last year, and ended up national runner-up. This year, I think they'll use that experience to finish properly. GooooOOOOOO, Sooners!!! GlooooOOOOOO, Cats!!!
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Post by Phalon on Apr 5, 2013 6:05:55 GMT -6
Sorry for your Sooners, Siren. Hopefully during the off-season, any returning players will have plenty of time to get healthy to be ready to kick some basketball bootie next year!
Hope too, that Katina's lack of game result posting means he's off celebrating a Cat's victory.
GooooOOOOOO, Sooners!!! GooooOOOOOO, Cats!!!
(I think I detect an echo in here.)
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Post by Siren on Apr 5, 2013 7:17:09 GMT -6
Thank you, Gams - me too, on both. And I like that echo!
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Post by katina2nd on Apr 5, 2013 18:44:44 GMT -6
Hopefully the Sooners can get a fit and healthy team on the court next season and really give the championship a big shake Siren, and if Williams is as good as she sounded it that article it will be a good start; until then it's fingers crossed for the Softball team. Remiss of me not to put up the results of our first match Gams, but rest assured I was indeed off celebrating a Cats victory, a hard fought seven point win over the team who are favourites to win this years flag, which won't happen if we have any say in the matter. GooooOOOOOO, Sooners!!! GooooOOOOOO, Cats!!! There's that echo again.
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Post by Siren on Apr 5, 2013 19:40:32 GMT -6
7 points? Boy, that is a convincing win. In fact, it's what we Okies call a good, old-fashioned b*tt whipping! Bodes well for the rest of the season. Thank you for the good wishes, Kat. And the same to you and the lads. *echo*
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Post by katina2nd on Apr 30, 2013 20:06:22 GMT -6
Time for an update I guess. The mighty Cats are currently five from five, including wins over both last years Grand finalists, and one of only three undefeated teams at present, so guess you could say we're travelling fairly well.
Go Cats.
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Post by Phalon on May 4, 2013 4:37:01 GMT -6
(running through my Australian slang dictionary link for a moment)
Holy Dooley, it's London to a brick the Cats are certainly off to a bottler start! You've gotta be grinning like a shot fox, Katina.
(Did I do that right?)
Go Cats!!!
(that part, I know I got right)
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Post by scamp on May 4, 2013 5:05:42 GMT -6
There's no big dance at the end of it all, but do they have a little shindig or something similar? Go Cats ..... and Sooners next season. No dance, I'm afraid. But they do have an odd sort of shindig. As soon as the final game ends, most of the players on the winning team jump on each other till they're all crumpled to the floor and looking like a cross between a turtle and a spider with far too many legs. Not all the players get to remove the wax from the floor though. At least two, often the guards, have to forgo the floor romp and throw themselves on the head coach thereby covering his quite expensive suit in sweat. After a bit, when everyone is calmer, the players usually put on silly baseball hats with the tags still on them, collect a trophy, and then engage in the odd ritual of cutting down the basket nets and draping their necks in the net's strings. Not sure if all that constitutes a shindig, but it's quite wonderfully messy and exciting (for them, anyway). It always reminds me of a rugby team run totally amok. But all that was just an excuse to say GO CATS!! scamp
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Post by katina2nd on May 6, 2013 1:46:17 GMT -6
(running through my Australian slang dictionary link for a moment) Holy Dooley, it's London to a brick the Cats are certainly off to a bottler start! You've gotta be grinning like a shot fox, Katina. (Did I do that right?) Go Cats!!! (that part, I know I got right) Crikey Gams, yes you did do it right, would have sworn you were a dinky di Aussie sheila. No dance, I'm afraid. But they do have an odd sort of shindig. As soon as the final game ends, most of the players on the winning team jump on each other till they're all crumpled to the floor and looking like a cross between a turtle and a spider with far too many legs. Not all the players get to remove the wax from the floor though. At least two, often the guards, have to forgo the floor romp and throw themselves on the head coach thereby covering his quite expensive suit in sweat. After a bit, when everyone is calmer, the players usually put on silly baseball hats with the tags still on them, collect a trophy, and then engage in the odd ritual of cutting down the basket nets and draping their necks in the net's strings. Not sure if all that constitutes a shindig, but it's quite wonderfully messy and exciting (for them, anyway). It always reminds me of a rugby team run totally amok. But all that was just an excuse to say GO CATS!! scamp Leaping lizards, sounds more akin to a Roman bacchanalia then a shindig Scamp, would be worth seeing no matter what you call it though I reckon. And no need of an excuse to say Go Cats, who by the way are now six from six and playing the only other undefeated side Friday night in a top of the table clash. *should there be a comma or something in that sentence, looks awfully long* GO CATS.
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Post by katina2nd on May 12, 2013 20:53:35 GMT -6
And then there was one; only one undefeated side in the comp' now and no prizes for guessing who it is.
Took care of those upstart Bombers Friday night in emphatic style and are now sitting right where we should, atop the ladder.
Go Cats.
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Post by scamp on May 13, 2013 3:38:54 GMT -6
And then there was one; only one undefeated side in the comp' now and no prizes for guessing who it is. Took care of those upstart Bombers Friday night in emphatic style and are now sitting right where we should, atop the ladder. Go Cats. Yeah!! Good on your boys, Kat! Go Cats!! scamp
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Post by stepper on May 13, 2013 18:01:41 GMT -6
Nice start to what we all hope will be a kick @ss season for you and the Cats!!
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Post by Siren on May 29, 2013 19:01:14 GMT -6
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Post by katina2nd on Jun 3, 2013 21:32:56 GMT -6
Nice article Siren, eleventh best in the history of the game, not a bad achievement.
Best of luck on Thursday night.
Was a historic night last Saturday here in Geelong, with the first night match at the cattery under the newly installed light towers.
Great sight, great win (now stand at 9/1 for the season) so a pretty good time to be a Cats supporter.
GO CATS.
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Post by Phalon on Jun 4, 2013 6:18:10 GMT -6
Not so for "Hockeytown" (Detroit) fans. We watched the Red Wings lose game seven to the Chicago Blackhawks during overtime in the Stanley Cup playoffs last week.
But....go Cats! Go Sooners!
Better luck next year Red Wings.
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Post by katina2nd on Jun 4, 2013 7:45:09 GMT -6
Bad luck Gams. I take it that means the Red Wings are kaput for this year then?
Go Cats ... Go Sooners ... Go Red Wings.
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Post by Phalon on Jun 5, 2013 6:34:05 GMT -6
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Post by stepper on Jun 5, 2013 16:25:59 GMT -6
Spurs and Heat should all be good games. We're concerned that the Spurs won their series so quickly that they'll but rusty for the first game, whereas the Heat have had just enough time to catch their breath. I'd prefer another sweep but there's no space or time for rust, or for getting your rhythm back.
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Post by scamp on Jun 8, 2013 21:13:33 GMT -6
Great sight, great win (now stand at 9/1 for the season) so a pretty good time to be a Cats supporter. Any update, Kat? GO CATS! GO SPURS! scamp
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Post by Siren on Jun 11, 2013 22:08:37 GMT -6
"the cattery"? Oh, I love that! Gooooooo, Cats!!! Much to catch up on in this thread, and all good. OU's Tia Brooks has won the national shot put championship for the second year in a row! Unreal!! What a gal!! Look at this proud smile: www.soonersports.com/sports/c-track/recaps/060913aaa.htmlOklahoma State's Natalja Piliusina (really fun saying that on the air today!) made a tremendous effort down the home stretch to win the national championship in the 1500 meters!! What a gal!! www.okstate.com/sports/w-track/okst-w-track-body.htmlAnd, finally...Sooner Softball did it!! For only the second time in program history, Sooner Softball is the national champ!! And it could not have happened in a better way. OU coach Patty Gasso pulled a fast one on Tennessee in Game 2 (winner was best 2 out of 3). Instead of having 2-time National Player of the Year, Keilani Ricketts at pitcher, she instead played Michelle Gascoigne, a brilliant pitcher who has spent her career in Keilani's shadow. Tennessee had never seen Gascoigne pitch, and had no plan. Michelle played as cool as a cucumber, showed off all her incredibly tough-to-hit pitches, and held Tennessee scoreless. Meanwhile, as designated hitter, Keilani hit a 3-run homer, and drove in another run. She was marvelous! And it was wonderful to see Gascoigne finally get the spotlight. She could have transferred out of OU to be the star at another school. But she stayed. And as her reward, got to pitch a shut-out on national tv to win the national championship. It was beautiful! More details: www.soonersports.com/sports/w-softbl/recaps/060413aaj.htmlWhat a coupla weeks it has been!
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Post by stepper on Jun 11, 2013 22:30:02 GMT -6
Sounds like a heck of a season for the Cats! Well, the Spurs won the first game in Miami against the Heat (yeah!), but lost the second game (awww), so no sweep of the series this time. The Heat won decisively in that second game - so bad the coach pulled our ‘big three’ starters with about 6 minutes to go in the game. He pulled them again tonight in game three, but for a different reason. The Spurs put a hurt on the Heat even worse than what they did to us in game two. For the superstitious, winning this game was crucial. When the series has started 1-1, the team winning game three has won the title 85% of the time. As of now – the best of seven series stands 2-1 in our favor. GO SPURS GO!! and of course GO CATS!!!
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Post by katina2nd on Jun 12, 2013 20:21:57 GMT -6
Any update, Kat? GO CATS! GO SPURS! scamp Indeed there is Scamp, but first apologies for the delay in replying. Just one more game since the last update, which means we're now at the half way mark of the season with a 10/1 win loss ratio, sitting second on the ladder just percentage behind the top side. Have a bye this week, then launch into the run to September. And, finally...Sooner Softball did it!! For only the second time in program history, Sooner Softball is the national champ!! And it could not have happened in a better way. OU coach Patty Gasso pulled a fast one on Tennessee in Game 2 (winner was best 2 out of 3). Instead of having 2-time National Player of the Year, Keilani Ricketts at pitcher, she instead played Michelle Gascoigne, a brilliant pitcher who has spent her career in Keilani's shadow. Tennessee had never seen Gascoigne pitch, and had no plan. Michelle played as cool as a cucumber, showed off all her incredibly tough-to-hit pitches, and held Tennessee scoreless. Meanwhile, as designated hitter, Keilani hit a 3-run homer, and drove in another run. She was marvelous! And it was wonderful to see Gascoigne finally get the spotlight. She could have transferred out of OU to be the star at another school. But she stayed. And as her reward, got to pitch a shut-out on national tv to win the national championship. It was beautiful! More details: Fantastic news Siren. A dang plucky move from the coach by the sound of things as well, and one that couldn't have worked out better apparently. Go Sooners. For the superstitious, winning this game was crucial. When the series has started 1-1, the team winning game three has won the title 85% of the time. As of now – the best of seven series stands 2-1 in our favor. GO SPURS GO!! and of course GO CATS!!! Like those odds Step' hope they continue. Go Cats, Sooners, Spurs ...... and anyone else I may have overlooked.
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Post by scamp on Jun 16, 2013 0:55:51 GMT -6
Any update, Kat? GO CATS! GO SPURS! scamp Indeed there is Scamp, but first apologies for the delay in replying. Just one more game since the last update, which means we're now at the half way mark of the season with a 10/1 win loss ratio, sitting second on the ladder just percentage behind the top side. Have a bye this week, then launch into the run to September. That's great news Kat! Please keep us updated -- I got to watch some Australian rules football way back when the cable network ESPN was just started. I always found it fascinating even though I never understood all the rules. But its speed and its quirkiness are great. GO CATS! scamp
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Post by stepper on Jun 21, 2013 16:54:27 GMT -6
Heavy sigh. The Spurs managed, as one reporter put it, to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. And they carried us all down in flames with them. {sniff sniff}
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Post by Siren on Jun 22, 2013 9:55:57 GMT -6
Sorry about your Spurs, Step. My sis and her San Antonio-born hubby are mourning, too. You're right - the Spurs had victory in their grasp. Should have finished it in Game 6.
Some bittersweet sports news for me this week: Team USA's marvelous star, Abby Wambach, has broken Mia Hamm's international goals record, and in far fewer games than it took Mia to set the record. I am wistful because Mia was such a wonderful ambassador for soccer, and for women's and girls' sports in general. She was always working to encourage others to dream big and to take part. And the reason it took her longer to set that mark, was that she wasn't trying to set a record; she just did. And as a friend put it, after reading about the new record, it also shows that Mia was happy to pass to someone else, instead of always scoring herself. Sounds like sour grapes, though I am happy for Abby. She is a legend in the making.
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