Athletics: TSU defeats Prairie View, now 9-1 in SWAC

Texas Southern defeated Prairie View 63-58 Saturday in the H&PE Arena to sweep the season series against the Panthers. The Tigers improved their home winning streak to five consecutive games.

The Tigers started the game ice cold, shooting 1-13 from the field but managed to trail Prairie View by one (13-12) at the 7:38 mark.  The Panthers then scored eight of the next 15 points to lead 23-15 with 2:51 remaining. Three point shooting was lackluster for the Tigers but seemed to be in favor for the Panthers. TSU trailed at halftime 31-19.

The Tigers rallied from an early 40-32 deficit to tie the game at 46 with 9:00 minutes remaining in the game. The game went back and forth over the next eight minutes until TSU led 61-57 with 1:35 left in the contest.

Texas Southern made clutch free throws late and hung on for the five point victory.

TSU’s Travele Jones led all scorers with 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Guard Lawrence Johnson-Danner contributed with 19 points and five rebounds. Kevin Galloway had seven points and seven rebounds.

Texas Southern outscored Prairie View 44-27 in the second half and limited the Panthers’ three-point attempts. TSU shot 55% in the second half and 40% for the game.

Texas Southern (11-10, 9-1) now travel to Mississippi to take on Jackson State on February 12.

Athletics: Packers win SBXLV

The Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 at Cowboys Stadium to win Super Bowl XLV. The Packers claim the Lombardi Trophy for a fourth time aptly named after the late Vince Lombardi, who engineered many of the Packers Super Bowl wins following the AFL/NFL merger.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers went 24 of 39 for 304 yards and three touchdowns. The Packers built a 21-3 lead in the second quarter before Pittsburgh moved the ball to score a late touchdown with 39 seconds remaining. Packers led 21-10 at halftime.

Pittsburgh scored the only touchdown of the third quarter with a 10:19 drive, capped with an 8 yard touchdown run by Rashard Mendenhall. Packers now saw their 18-point second quarter lead shrink to four (21-17). The Packers scored on its first possession of the fourth quarter with an 8 yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Greg Jennings to increase the lead to 28-17.

The Steelers answered with a touchdown of their own to cut the Packer lead to three (28-25) after a successful 2 point conversion by wide receiver Antwaan Randle-El. Packer QB Aaron Rodgers moved the offense on the ensuing possession that essentially sealed the win for the green and gold that ended with a field goal by Mason Crosby.

Green Bay clinched victory with a fourth down stop on defense. The Packers win for the first time since 1996 when then a younger Brett Favre led the Packers to a 35-21 victory over the New England Patriots. QB Aaron Rodgers was named Super Bowl XLV MVP but the defense made game-changing plays for the Packers.

Defensive Player of the Year Troy Polamalu and linebacker James Harrison were practically invisible.

Green Bay is the first 6 seed to win a Super Bowl since 2005 when Pittsburgh won Super Bowl XL. They are also the second team to join the Dallas Cowboys to defeat the Steelers in the big game.

The countdown to Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis is now underway.

Athletics: Texas Southern sweeps Alabama State

 Texas Southern basketball was abuzz on Monday as they handed Alabama State double-digit losses in the men’s and women’s contests, respectively.




The Lady Tigers played an entire 40 minutes at warp speed to defeat Alabama State 68-45. This was the Lady Tigers’ second conference win in three games and was a definite rebound victory following the crushing loss versus Alabama A&M.

TSU led as much as 14 points in the first half, practically shooting the Lady Hornets out of the gym. Senior guard Sierra Highgate sank a free-throw to give TSU a 27-13 lead with a little over five minutes remaining in the first half. The Lady Tigers went into halftime with a 33-19 lead.

The Lady Tigers shot 58% from the field and held Alabama State to a dismal 23% shooting.

Alabama State made a small scoring run in the second half to cut the TSU lead to 36-30. TSU answered quickly with a 13-0 scoring run of their own to push the lead to 13 at the 12:45 mark. Crystal Anyiam scored a basket with 8:52 remaining, extending the lead to 20 (55-35) TSU stonewalled any ASU comeback and cruised to a 23-point victory.

Alabama State’s Tanika Jackson led her team with 20 points and 16 rebounds.

Texas Southern had three players in double figures. Sierra Highgate led the Lady Tigers with 14 points on 100% shooting (4-4). Gabrielle Rosiji had 10 points and four rebounds. Jasmine Cannon had 10 points.

Crystal Anyiam had six blocks, six boards, four points and two assists. Kyla Bennett had four boards, three blocks and two steals.

Anyiam's six blocks moved her into eighth place all-time in Texas Southern women's basketball history. A freshman, she has 43 blocks. Michelle Wilson (1987-89) holds the school season (151) and career (252) marks.

TSU outscored Alabama State 36-10 on the bench and forced 22 turnovers, 11 steals and 11 blocks.

The Lady Tigers improve to 2-7 in SWAC and face Prairie View A&M on February 5 in the H&PE Arena. Tip-off is at 4:00 PM.



The men’s game seemed like a complete blur in the early moments of the game. The Tigers led 15-5 at the 15:17 mark. Alabama State finally got their offense going and cut the TSU lead to four (21-17) in a four minute span. The Hornets’ three-point shooting kept the game within arm’s length.

The Tigers never trailed in the first half and led by as much as nine points (38-29) with 13 seconds left in until halftime. TSU led at intermission 41-32. Guards Lawrence Johnson-Danner and Harrison Smith each led the Tigers with nine points.

Texas Southern further increased their lead in the second half. They led 48-35 with about 14 minutes remaining in the game. The Tigers defense limited Alabama State three-point attempts and forced them to shoot late in the shot clock. Alabama State got within 11 points (66-55) before TSU increased the lead back to 15 (70-55) at the 2:30 mark.

The Tigers shot free-throws late in the game and cruised to a 73-59 victory.

Texas Southern had four players in double figures. Travele Jones led all scorers with 18 points and six rebounds. Kevin Galloway contributed with 15 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Lawrence Johnson-Danner had 14 points and Harrison Smith had 10 points.

The Tigers improve to 8-1 in conference play and are undefeated at home (4-0). They end the final leg of the home stand against arch-rival Prairie View A&M on February 5. Tip-off is at 6:30 PM

Cam Newton will be the Heisman Trophy winner

The 49-31 win for Auburn over Georgia on Saturday is quite evident: Cam Newton WILL win the Heisman Trophy. He gashed the Bulldogs for 299 yards and 4 touchdowns. Despite the recent allegations about how he was recruited, Newton is putting up mind-boggling numbers while leading his team to the forthcoming SEC championship in Atlanta and a possible spot in the BCS National Championship against a most-likely #1 Oregon. He is clearly the Vince Young of the SEC and is better than Tim Tebow was at Florida two years ago. Yes. You read that right. Cam Newton is better than the 2008 Tim Tebow. He is 4th in the nation with 1297 rushing yards and 48th in passing yards, however; he is a bigger threat on the run versus a three-step drop. Most believed that it will be Denard Robinson from Michigan who would run away with the prize but injuries have put him out of the discussion. Newton is the QB that most SEC teams have trouble planning for because of his 6'6 frame and amazing speed in the open field. Hopefully, the nation will see Newton in early January. The Auburn Tigers have a bye before ending the season against rival Alabama in the always competitive Iron Bowl on November 27.

NFL Lockout in 2011? It could happen.

The NFL is the most watched sport in America. Thousands of Americans wake up on Sundays about 11, 11:30 AM just to prepare watching their favorite team do battle on the field. Although many of the superstars of the league make upwards of $10 million a season, would you believe it if I told you that the NFL is broke? You read it corrrectly, it's not a mistake or a typo. The NFL is broke. As of March 14, 2011, the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in the NFL will expire, meaning a new agreement has to be reached by the owners and the NFLPA. The issue with whether or not the NFL is broke is that the players need factual proof that the league is financially strapped. The players believe that the system isn't broken because the 32 teams aren't losing money---19 of the teams are worth at least $1 billion. However, the owners claim that there isn't enough money being made to continue payements to players. Despite the legality of the matter, from a fan's standpoint, we could care less about whether or not the NFL is broke. All we care about is watching football on Sundays. We enjoy indulging in conversation on who is the best team and who isn't, having the choice to be a couch potato when we feel like it and stuff our faces with hot dogs and beer. I disagree. We should watch closely how the league addresses its labor issues because if we were to lose football to a lockout, we would be disappointed but we would survive due to college football and the return of the NBA season. The last time there was an NFL lockout was in 1987 so hopefully there is football in 2011.

Katrina: 5 years later

August 29, 2005 was a day that changed the lives for the people of New Orleans, LA and many cities along thee Gulf Coast as Hurricane Katrina waged its wrath on that region. This category 4 storm was one of the worst in US history, packing winds of over 100 mph and destroying homes and flooding communities in its wake. Hundreds of people fled the port city just days before Katrina made landfall, but those who stayed  or were unable to flee scrambled to seek shelter and help from local authorities. Many people placed blame on the government during Bush's tenure for his slow response as thousands, many of them African-American, basically had no where to go except to FEMA trailers and to the New Orleans Superdome. BET held a special telethon to raise money for the victims of this great natural disaster. What was rather mind-boggling was the media's role  on the crisis, with them stereotyping the black survivors as "refugees" as opposed to a politically correct term. However, I see the tragedy as a blessing in disguise. People who had a rough life and lost everything in New Orleans came to Houston, TX with a fresh start at life. Students who were attending college in the Big Easy came to Texas Southern and have become more than conquerors and have achieved many things such as graduating from college. About a couple of years after the storm, some heard the news from New Orleans officials that you can only come back if you plan to work. Now we know what that means....if you're black and on welfare, you're not welcome back. In fact, Kanye West said it best when he said the infamous statement "George Bush don't care about black people." But I digress.  Now that the 5th anniversary has passed, some say that New Orleans is all the way back, while others beg to differ. The question still remains will the Obama Administration learn from the mistakes from Katrina and have a more profound plan of emergency or will history repeat itself.

Scripture of the Day

"And we know that all things work together for the good to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28