Northwestern hangs on for HUGE early season road win!

In what has been an up and down roller coaster ride the past 3-4 seasons, as the Northwestern Men’s Basketball team continues to keep my heart rate at an all-time high, the Cats were able to secure a huge early season win Tuesday night. We have come as close as 1 win away in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 to emerging from the exceptionally small pack and getting our name announced during the Selection Sunday Show – becoming the first program in Northwestern history to make the “Big Dance.” A dream that many Northwestern fans throughout the world continue to hope and pray will happen in 2012-2013!

The Wildcats traveled to Waco, TX Tuesday evening to take on the Baylor Bears and their tremendously athletic team. Coming off of a disappointing loss to the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) this past Saturday, the Cats bounced back fiercely and clawed their way to a HUGE road win early in this 2012-2013 campaign. Only connecting on 2-7 free throws down the stretch kept Baylor in the game but Northwestern was able to make the plays to finish off the Bears – giving Coach Bill Carmody the victory and a much more enjoyable plane trip back to O’Hare in Chicago.

The one downfall for Northwestern throughout the years has been steady play during the course of the season. From start to finish, the Cats need to keep the momentum going from wins such as Baylor and carry that into the game Saturday night against an up-and-coming Butler Bulldog team. The Bears came off of a huge win earlier in the week against the previously #2 ranked team in the country,  Kentucky, but let their guard down against the “Purple” Wildcats! We cannot allow that to happen Saturday.

Drew Crawford, Dave Sobolewski, and Reggie Hearn continue to lead the Cats in all facets of the game. The addition of Jared Swopshire has made the Cats a real contender this year in the Big Ten. Swopshire graduated from the University of Louisville in 2012 but because of injury (missing an entire season) was granted an additional year of eligibility by the NCAA. Luckily for the Wildcat community, he chose Northwestern University as his school of choice to continue his education.

Jared Swopshire

Photo courtesy of (http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/colleges/post/_/id/7900/swopshire-northwestern-making-a-perfect-match)

 

Let’s make it 8-2 Saturday night. GO CATS!!!

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Disney Acquires Lucasfilm – $4.05B

In the past three years Walt Disney Company has acquired Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, and now Lucasfilm for an astonishing total of $15.4B. Disney was already the #1 entertainment producing company but this will ensure that it will never budge from that top spot. Lucasfilm grosses an estimated $25B annually in total receipts (movies, toys, costumes, etc.). What will Walt Disney Co. do with this? Theme parks? More movies? Rumor has already hit the web that Disney is planning to launch the 7^th  edition of the Star Wars franchise by 2015. With the backing of Disney it is fair to assume it will surpass record numbers when it hits the box office.

As most of you are already aware, I am a Disney fanatic (my Disney animated classic DVD collection can prove this). The news came as a pleasant surprise yesterday. I will be extremely anxious to see what the masterminds at Disney can do with such a powerful brand. We have already seen the positive effect with Marvel Entertainment and the launch of Avengers this past year. The hit movie destroyed records by grossing over $1B in just 19 days. The future continues to look extremely bright for Mickey Mouse and all associated with Walt Disney Company.

You have to believe that Walt Disney, himself, is smiling somewhere!

(Photo courtesy of www.dailydump.net)

 

 

 

 

 

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Sports Wagering…Should It Be Legalized in NJ?

Multinational companies lining up…

A friend sent this article to me last week and I wanted to share. He knew I would find it extremely interesting as I was connected to the sports industry for so many years.

New Jersey is currently fighting against many sports organizations (NFL, NCAA, MLB, NFL, & NBA), including the Federal Government to allow sports gambling in their state. Should they win this tough battle, you will more than likely see a waterfall effect hit other states throughout the country. ‘The National Gambling Impact Study Commission believes as much as $380 billion is bet illegally in the U.S’; while only $2.9 billion was gambled away legally in the state of Nevada in 2011. Montana, Oregon, and Delaware also allow some form of sports wagering in the United States – “parlay betting only.”

Governor Christ Christie is leading the attack with a strong case at winning this historical event.  I would love to hear your opinions on this as it will change the face of sports wagering throughout the country.

(*news article provides by http://sports.yahoo.com)

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