Winning Season The Bulldogs finished their season strong with a 17-13 victory over Wayne State. Ferris State finished 6-5 over all and 5-5 in the GLIAC. Photo by Ben Kramer, Photo Editor

A crowd of 1,802 was on hand to witness their final home game as the Bulldogs offense racked up a season-high 619 yards of offense.

Body Check Alex Spezia (4) puts a body check into one of the Falcon forwards as he tries to enter the Bulldog zone. The Bulldogs head to Nebraska to take on the University of Nebraska Omaha next weekend. Photo by Ben Kramer, Photo Editor

The Bulldogs record falls to 4-5-1 overall and 3-3 in conference play. The Falcons record improved to 5-2 overall and a 4-1 in conference.

The Bulldogs were rolling off a four game winning streak prior to Friday’s game after a two game sweep of the Ohio State Buckeyes the previous weekend.

Freshmen goaltender Patrick Nagle started the game for the Bulldogs Friday night as they fell to the Falcons 6-3.

The Falcons opened up the scoring two minutes into the first period after senior defensemen Alex Spezia was called for a holding penalty.

The Bulldogs had a late offensive rally on a power play opportunity late in the first period but were unable to convert and headed into the locker room down by one.

The Bulldogs came out firing in the second period as junior forward Brendan Connolly tied the game on a power play goal with assists going to sophomore center Cody Chupp and junior winger Corey Couturier.

Under a minute later junior Justin Lewandowski scored again putting the Bulldogs ahead by one.

Freshmen defensemen Zach Redmond and sophomore Aaron Lewicki were credited with the assists.

The goal wouldn’t be the last for the Bulldogs as Chupp scored again after winning the face off in the Falcons zone.

The goal put the Bulldogs up by two, with assists going to Connolly and Spezia.

The Falcons wouldn’t be held down as they massed a comeback late in the second period that proved to be fatal to the Bulldogs.

With less than ten minutes to go the Falcons scored their second goal of the game cutting the Bulldogs lead to one.

The Falcons tied the game on a power play goal after freshmen wing Mike Embach and Couturier were both called for penalties giving the Falcons a five on three advantage.

Bowling Green scored again before the period was out giving them the final lead of the game.

Junior Goaltender Mitch O’Keefe started in goal for the Bulldogs at the beginning of the third as head coach Bob Daniels made the decision to pull Nagle.

The Falcons notched two more goals in the third pulling the game out of the Bulldogs reach.

The loss marked the fourth home loss of the season for the Bulldogs. “We didn’t come out to play.” Daniels said. “We didn’t show up ready to roll.”

The Bulldogs looked to redeem themselves the following night as the two teams battled again in front of a crowd of 1,272 fans.

Bowling Green had an early opportunity as they came down two on one against the Bulldogs' defenseman.

O’Keefe stood strong on a diving save as the pass reached the Falcons open man.

The Falcons struck first at the end of the opening period and took the first lead of the game on a goal by Derek Whitmore.

The Bulldogs came out in the second period determined to avoid defeat.

After a Falcon penalty the Bulldogs power play took over. After a face off win in the Falcons' zone, the puck was sent to the point where senior defensemen Jim Jorgenson launched a rocket that bounced off the pads of the Falcon goaltender.

The rebound squirted onto the stick of Lewandowski who banged it home and tied the game for the Bulldogs.

The period was plagued with penalties as the Falcons took five compared to the Bulldogs' two

Both teams were scoreless the rest of the second and the game headed into the third period.

The Falcons broke open the 1-1 lock seven minutes into the third period scoring their second goal of the night.

The Falcons scored again with under five minutes to go, increasing their lead by two.

The Bulldogs pulled O’Keefe late in the third to give themselves an extra attacker but despite an offensive flurry they fell to the Falcons three to one.

“We played well and inspired. There was a different feel,” Daniels said. “We had lots of opportunities offensively but couldn’t finish our chances. We gave them two power play goals. If I had to point to any one thing that’s the difference.”

O’Keefe was strong throughout the night, stopping 28 total shots.

The Bulldogs managed 28 total shots against the Falcons Saturday night and 25 on Friday, bringing their total to 53 for the weekend.

he Falcons were able to contain leading scorer Matt Case, who was pointless in the series.

Case currently leads the Bulldogs with six points.

Bowling Green took advantage of their opportunities as they scored on two of their four power play chances. Ferris State will be away next week as they look to improve their record against the Nebraska Omaha Mavericks who completed their own sweep against the Buckeyes this past weekend.  

The Northern Michigan Wildcats shut out the visiting Bulldogs on Wednesday, Nov. 7 in three straight matches knocking the Bulldogs out of the GLIAC tournament.

The top eight teams from the region will move on to the NCAA tournament, and as of the Nov. 7th poll the Bulldogs were listed at ninth. The polls for the NCAA tournament were listed on Monday afternoon.

“We won’t get one [bid]. The top eight teams go and we’ll be ninth,” Brandel-Wilhelm said.

Ferris State fell to Northern Michigan for the third time this season, with game scores of 30-20, 31-29, 30-22.

The first game started in the Wildcats' favor as they held off a Bulldog attack, never allowing them to come closer than within one point. Senior outside hitter Lindsay Tye’s kill brought the Bulldogs within one, 11-10, but the Bulldogs couldn’t convert on the serve, giving the Wildcats a two point lead.

That was all the Wildcats needed as they quickly built a 24-18 lead, taking advantage of Bulldog miscues.

The Bulldogs tried to regroup after a timeout but the Wildcats posted a 6-2 run to take the first game.

“We played well and Northern played very well. The fact that they were hosting was certainly a factor in the match,” head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm said.

The second game began in the Wildcats' favor but the Bulldogs didn’t allow the Wildcats to take control, Tye’s service ace tied the game at 11, and after battling the Wildcats, the Bulldogs took a 18-16 lead from sophomore middle hitter Kristy Gilchrist’s service ace.

The Wildcats were able to tie the score at 20 on a Bulldog miscue but the Bulldogs rebounded and Gilchrist’s kill put the Bulldogs up 26-24.

The Bulldogs had the momentum and it looked like they would take game two as they went up 29-28, but the Wildcats weren’t acting as gracious hosts and froze the Bulldogs at 29 as they scored three straight points.

The third game was a close one until the Wildcats went up 16-12 off a Bulldog error. That was all the Wildcats needed as they clawed and scratched to open up the lead and take the third game.

The Bulldogs were led by Tye as she recorded her 14th doubledouble this season with a matchhigh 16 kills and 11 digs. Gilchrist added 10 kills and two service aces.

Junior setter Andrea Rich handed out 22 assists and junior setter Candice Marut dished out 18 assists. Senior libero Jamie Palazzolo recorded her 28th double-digit dig match with a Bulldog high 12 digs.

Brandel-Wilhelm had only positive things to say about the 2007 team. “[The season was] amazing and awesome! One of the best seasons I have ever been a part of. This team and the players on it worked extremely hard to be a great volleyball team and they made it!” Brandel-Wilhelm said.

The Wildcats advanced to the semi-finals and played the Grand Valley Lakers on Saturday. The Lakers shutdown the Wildcats 3-0, with game scores of 30-18, 30-19, 30-21.

The GLIAC championship game came down to the number one seeded Lakers and the number two seeded Hillsdale Chargers played on Sunday afternoon, but the GLIAC website didn’t have the winner listed at time of print.

To see the winner of the GLIAC championship you can check out the scores at gliac.org. .

Sports may offer entertainment but they also offer heart break and annoying fans.
By Mo McNeil, Sports Editor

I began writing this column to identify the ten best NCAA rivalries. I realized the University of Michigan, Ohio State Game was number one, followed by Duke and University of North Carolina, blah, blah, blah.

As I was going through the lists and websites, the one thing that kept popping up were obnoxious jests and jeers to other teams. After reading the millionth joke, and being asked to join an anti-Michigan football group, I realized sports are annoying me.

Reason 13: Asterisks, cheating, and trials. In the last year alone the word "asterisk" is being thrown around more than I can remember in the last 21 years of my life. America wants Bonds’ home run ball to be branded with an asterisk, now NFL Hall of Fame coach Don Shula wants the Patriots' perfect record to have an asterisk.

Yes, the Pats cheated, yes Bonds is not the most loved ball player in the world. “There’s no crying in baseball,” so everyone please chill out with asterisks.

Reason 12: Time. The last two minutes of basketball lasting thirty minutes. If the team didn’t score enough points in the first 38 minutes it’s not going to matter now.

Reason 11: The constant jawing between fans and players leading up to a game, followed by the fans and athletes whining after a loss. Here’s the thing, the losers feel like crap, the winners have to rub it in. Everyone needs a timeout.

Reason 10: The obnoxious jokes that go along with sports.

“What’s the difference between the Big House and a porcupine?”

“A porcupine has 80,000 pricks on the outside,” Thank you, Ohio State.

Reason 9: Schools and fans declaring themselves to be academically superior because the football team is. This may be because the school has an inferiority complex to Harvard, Yale, and Duke.

Reason 8: Drunk, hairy, fat men covered in body paint. I’m glad you have team spirit, but I don’t understand why I have to suffer. Find a shirt and go eat your hot dog somewhere else.

Reason 7: Since many college athletes are younger than 24, I don’t understand why fans want to see these young adults trying to destroy their opponents’ knees. Please remember most of these athletes are going pro in something other than sports. Leave the knees alone.

Reason 6: January outdoor games. Who came up with the idea of a million bowl games being played in January? Did the moron not realize it's cold? The only people that go are the ones that are mentioned in 8 and 5.

Reason 5: There is a difference between booing the opponent, mocking the opponent, and just being so obnoxious your best friend wants to throw you over the stadium wall. The world does not care how great your football team is. In fact, no one outside of your school or state care. People across the Atlantic have no idea why football is so great anyway.

Reason 4: The World Series. World Champions. Is the U.S that arrogant that it believes the team that wins the NBA title, or the World Series is really the best in the world? The World Series doesn’t even feature teams from the whole world. When the U.S. does compete, they get smoked.

Reason 3: Conference champion when the conference champion didn’t play every team in the conference but annihilated a division 1-AA school, you want to be conference champion? Play every team in the conference.

Reason 2: The strut with the sweatpants at the knees. Didn’t your mother teach you how to get dressed and not walk like a dork?

Reason 1: People’s inability to get over themselves because of a successful football program and constantly dog an opponent in March because of something that happened six months ago. You can not be good at everything, move on, and shut up.

“All areas failed today,” Marinelli said. “I’m usually the lead dog on that one so I failed.” Wow, Rod thanks for stating the obvious, what can you tell us about next week?

“We need to get up, dust ourselves off, get back on the road to winning and stay the course.” Well coach, it may not be that easy with the second hardest schedule in the league remaining.

I’m going to put my reputation on the line with this next statement. The Lion’s defense didn’t look that bad. Yes they gave up 31 points, but they forced four turnovers and put the offense in multiple positions to win the football game. The offense responds with dropped balls, fumbles and interceptions of their own and a quarterback that holds on to the ball for way too long.

Why couldn’t the Lions get the offense going? They didn’t establish the run game; better yet they didn’t even try to establish the run game. Detroit’s leading rusher, Aveion Cason, had one yard while the team totaled -18. That leads to more dime packages for the defense and more double covered wide outs. But I’m pressed for space so let’s move on to this week.

Shay collapsed near the five mile mark at the Olympic Trials in Central Park. Diagnosed at the age of 14 with an enlarged heart, Shay is currently said to have passed away due to severe cardiac arrest possibly due to this enlarged heart, according to USA Today. However, autopsy proved inconclusive and the full diagnosis has not been confirmed.

When I first learned of his death, I was shocked. The Shay family (8 siblings, mom and dad are running coaches) are my living running idols. As a non-talented high school runner, I needed someone to look up to in order to give me strength in my workouts. The fact that they were from a small town like mine and were holding records was a huge inspiration.

After his third meet as a freshman, Shay won every other cross country meet he ran in. All four years of high school, he won his division in the state finals for cross country. Overall, Shay won 11 state high school running titles. He won the individual track title for the NCAA 10,000 meters. He also was a five-time national road racing champion, according to USA Today. A small town kid can do this? He gave me a lot of strength.

I never witnessed Shay run in person, but I did get to see his brothers. One particular race started out as a normal men’s high school cross country run. I waited towards the finish line, hoping to cheer on my teammates.

One single man came towards the last quarter of a mile by himself way earlier than I had anticipated. When I saw a Central Lake jersey, I knew that I was witnessing a finish.

When Stephan Shay finished, he started crying. I could hear him yelling at himself. His finish, more than two minutes before the nearest competitor, was the worst race he had all year.

In the many stories I’ve shared with fellow runners, the family was not just talented and dedicated, but they really worked with themselves to become the best runners they could be. I value passion and determination more than I  value raw skill, and they were true examples of it.

The running community has lost a legend and as his father stated at his memorial, “He has a new training partner.”