Carbone watched his team drop the first game of the series to Miami 5-2 on Thursday night. Brent Choban got the start, going 6.2 innings and allowing five runs on eight hits. Ohio got on the board first, scoring a run in the second inning on a sac-fly from Ian Mezlak, scoring Cody Gaertner. Miami came back in the top of the third, scoring two runs. Ohio evened the score in the bottom of the inning on another sac-fly, this time off the bat of Dan Schmidt, scoring Tyler Wells.

Ohio was unable to make noise at the plate for the remainder of the game. Miami reclaimed the lead in the sixth inning. Shane Henkel and Tyler Backstrom held the Redhawks scoreless in 2.1 innings of relief.

The Bobcats came back in a big way on Friday night, winning in walk-off fashion with a 5-4 victory. Jason Moulton got things started for the Bobcats on the mound, holding off the Redhawks for most of the game. Over 7.2 innings, he allowed three runs on eight hits.

Offensively, Tyler Wells led the Bobcats in the back-and-forth contest with three hits. Wells had the last say when he singled home Doug Holmes in the bottom of the ninth inning.

On Saturday afternoon, Ohio and Miami faced off in the rubber match in Ohio’s final home game of the season. The game kicked off with a celebration of Carbone and the graduating players. T-shirts and posters commemorating Carbone’s time with the baseball program were given away to fans before the game. Behind home plate, “JOE” was painted on the field, with an exaggerated “O” and a six—Carbone’s number—underneath.

During the pregame ceremonies and the first two innings, the Marching 110 occupied a section of the bleachers, playing the fight song and heckling Miami. Carbone threw out the first pitch with his family watching on the field by home plate.

“I’m very humbled and honored, especially with the band being here. But for all of these people to come out and express their gratitude, my friends, my teammates, former players, it was very humbling,” Carbone said after the game.

After the ceremony, the game got underway; with Miami getting the early advantage that the Bobcats were unable to overcome. Ohio dropped the game 6-3. Starting pitcher Seth Streich struggled to find command of the strike zone and the offense was unable to gain momentum.

“You know, I think Miami played better than we did. Seth wasn’t throwing strikes with his fastball and didn’t have command of his breaking ball,” Carbone said. “Zubrod was getting his breaking ball over pretty consistently and when we got some runners on and we had to do some damage, he made some pitches with his breaking ball and he spotted his fastball.”

Miami didn’t waste any time at the plate. The Redhawks led off the game with back-to-back walks. The bases became loaded when third baseman Schmidt bobbled the ball for an error, allowing all runners to advance safely. The first out of the inning came when Bryce Redeker popped up just beyond first base. Two runs crossed the plate when Max Andresen doubled to the base of the right field wall. Streich came back in the next at-bat, dealing a strikeout to Dan Walsh. The inning ended with a groundout to third base.

Streich found himself in trouble again in the second when leadoff hitter Kendall Johnson sent a ball through the gap at third and shortstop. The first out came on a foul out to Gaertner. Brenner walked, allowing Johnson to advance to second. A single from Matt Honchel scored Johnson and sent Ryan Brenner to third. A passed ball brought Brenner home, giving Miami its fourth run of the game. Streich ended the inning with a strikeout to Redeker.

Miami struck again in the top of the fourth. With one out, Brenner walked and stole second. He advanced to third on a groundout to third base. Honchel singled to center to bring home Brenner, giving Miami the 5-0 lead in the top of the fourth. After hitting Redeker with a pitch, Streich was pulled from the game, replaced on the mound by Backstrom, who quickly retired the next batter to end the inning.

“Basically, I just didn’t have it today. It’s just a disappointment,” Streich said.

Offensively, the Bobcats were silenced at the plate until the bottom of the fourth inning. Gaertner opened the inning with a single to right field, and advanced to second on a passed ball. Schmidt walked and Mezlak loaded the bases on an infield single with no outs. The Bobcats brought their first run of the game home when Miami centerfielder Ryan Curl lost the ball in the sun, allowing all runners to advance safely. Schmidt came home when Newton grounded out to first base. With runners on second and third, Wells struck out to end the threat.

Both teams settled in for the next four innings.

Backstrom held the Redhawks scoreless for four innings, until the top of the ninth, when Miami added its final run on a fielder’s choice, scoring Scott Slappey. On the day, Backstrom went 5.1 innings, allowing one run on three hits and one walk.

The Bobcats tried to stage a comeback in the bottom of the ninth, trialing 6-2. Ben Otto and Ethan Newton led off the inning with back-to-back singles. With Otto on third, Wells hit into a fielder’s choice, bringing Otto home. Ohio’s attempt at a rally fell short, however, when Jake Madsen and Jensen Painter both flew out to centerfield to end the game.

“It would have been nice to have a little bit better of a start, but I mean, at the end, I guess all that matters is that Coach had a great career here and I can’t put it into words what he’s meant to me personally,” Streich said after the game.

In the end, the game was all about Carbone and the impact he made on the Ohio University baseball program.

“Well, you know, this has been a great run. I’ve had a lot of fun. I’ve had some great young men,” Carbone said. “So I’ve been proud of every player that has come through our program and has gone on to represent this university, this baseball program, in a positive manner. That’s the best thing about the time I’ve been here, I think.”

–

- Brent Choban went at least six innings in all of his starts this season.

- Ethan Newton and Jensen Painter were the only two players to play in all 54 games of the 2012 season.

- The Bobcats will play in the MAC baseball tournament against Western Michigan on Wednesday.

Wild Wild West

Is it possible that Chris Bosh is the most important player in the NBA postseason? It seems that without Bosh the Heat actually have a legitimate chance to lose to the Pacers. Yes the Indiana Pacers. More importantly the Bosh injury makes Miami no longer the favorite to win the NBA championship. So who is it?

Credit to: faniq.com

There are two obvious choices, the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Not surprisingly I’ll go ahead and take the Spurs and for one reason: depth. The Spurs have the deepest team by far in all the playoffs. So much so that Spurs head coach Greg Popovich is comfortable enough to play his bench for extended periods of time giving players like Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Mano Ginobili the rest they need; speaking of which the big three of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker are playing like they did when the Spurs last won an NBA title in ‘06-07.

Credit to: sportbet.com

There are definitely arguments that can be made for the Thunder as well. The Thunder has a very good; young team with plenty of veteran experience. However I just don’t trust Russell Westbrook. There, it’s out in the open and I said it. Yes I’m one of those people who when it comes down to crunch time I don’t trust Westbrook to make the best team play instead of the best “star” play. So the best team left in the NBA playoffs would have to be the Spurs, but not by much.

Kings of the Ice

The last time the Los Angeles Kings lost a game was April 18^th, almost a month ago. The Kings have been on fire this postseason and there hasn’t been any indication that they’ll be cooling off anytime soon. Despite being an 8 seed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs the Kings are 7-0 on the road and have only played 11 games, sweeping the St. Louis Blues and beating the Vancouver Canucks in 5 games.

Credit to: usatoday.com

It’s truly a remarkable feat and turn of events for the Kings who lost three of their final four regular season games in either shootouts or over time. Yet the Kings have done most of their work during the three periods of regulation, only going into over time once in game 5 versus the Canucks in round 1. It’s something that is incredibly impressive and could probably only happen in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Jennie Finch

It was announced recently that Jennie Finch has dedicated to put the mitt down and focus on her family and I’d like to dedicate this week’s spotlight to her. Very few have or will do what Finch has done in her career: become known along with the sport you play. What that means is if you asked me to name a softball player, I’d say Jennie Finch, and I can’t name another. When you say Michael Jordan do you think of him playing baseball or basketball? Basketball. Along those lines would be Arnold Palmer and golf and Jackie Robinson and baseball. Finch and softball just go together perfectly.

Credit to: espn.go.com

Throughout her career Finch was a three time all American pitcher in college, broke the record for consecutive wins with 60, went 32-0 her senior year, won a national championship and a gold and silver medal at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics respectively. Few can hope to accomplish what she did in her career and she is definitely worthy of this week’s spotlight.

Why Bayern Munich will win the Champions League

By Bez Saciri

The greatest club competition in the world is coming to an end on Saturday afternoon, as German powerhouse Bayern Munich will face off against English moneybags Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League Final in Munich, Germany.

German winger Bastian Schweinsteiger is part of Bayern's explosive scoring attack (Photo by Andre Zehetbauer).

Bayern is looking to win their fifth UEFA Champions League title, and their first since 2001, when they beat Spanish side Valencia.

Chelsea is looking to win the UEFA Champions League for the first time. This is their second final appearance, and they are looking to erase memories of 2008, where they lost a galvanizing penalty shoot-out in the final to rivals Manchester United.

Bayern and Chelsea enter the game with three and four players suspended, respectively.

Bayern will be without Austrian left-back David Alaba, German center back Holger Badstuber and Brazilian holding midfielder Luis Gustavo.

Chelsea will be without captain and leader John Terry, Serbian right back Branislav Ivanovic, Portuguese center midfielder Raul Meireles and Brazilian center midfielder Ramires, who scored a wonder goal against Barcelona at the Camp Nou in the second leg of the semi-final to send Chelsea on their way to the final.

After accessing all of the options regarding this clash between these two giants of European soccer, I feel as though Bayern Munich will add a fifth Champions League title to their trophy collection, which will tie them for third most all time with English power Liverpool, and see them trail only Spanish side Real Madrid and Italian side AC Milan, who have nine and seven titles, respectively. Here are the reasons why:

1. Home-field advantage. This year’s Champions League final will be taking place at the Allianz Arena, which is Bayern’s home stadium. Bayern is the first team since Italian giant Roma in 1984 to play a European Cup final in their home stadium.

Even though this is a UEFA sponsored event and the tickets will be divided in half amongst the Bayern and Chelsea supporters, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Bayern. They will have the luxury of staying in their own dressing room before and during the game, and they know how the pitch will play. Chelsea is going into unfamiliar territory in that regard, so they will have to adjust to that. This will allow Bayern to get off to a quick start, which will not only get their supporters behind them, but also the whole country.

2. Bayern’s offense is lethal. Bayern come into the game with a front three that is only second best to Barcelona. In Mario Gomez, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, Bayern should have no trouble creating chances against Chelsea’s defense. With Luis Gustavo suspended, that allows 2010 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot winner Thomas Muller to play an attacking midfield position, as Toni Kroos, who normally plays that position, will have to play a defensive midfield position alongside Bastian Schweinsteiger. In adding Muller to the line-up, Bayern Munich has four attacking players that can ask questions of Chelsea’s defense, which includes Gary Cahill and the much-maligned David Luiz. In the 12 games Bayern have played in the Champions League this season, they have scored 25 goals.

3. Redemption. The headlines this week will belong to Chelsea, as they look to seek redemption after losing the 2008 final in penalty kicks. But, Bayern will have the same thing on their mind this week, as well. People tend to forget, that they were in the Champions League final in 2010, where they lost to Jose Mourinho’s Inter 2-0, as Diego Milito scored both goals for the Italian outfit. Many of the current players such as Ribery and Robben were on the 2010 team, and they know that they cannot let another chance go to waste. With Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United looking to get stronger in the summer and Manchester City making a name for themselves by winning the elusive Premier League, Bayern know that their window may be closing. And to win the Champions League final in your home stadium in front of your biggest supporters, nothing can top that feeling.

Why Chelsea will win the Champions League

By: Matt Pentz

On paper, this looks to be a simple choice.

Chelsea captain John Terry will miss the final because of a red card. Can his teammates finish the job for him? (Photo by Ryu Voelkel).

Bayern Munich finished in second place in the Bundesliga and were in the hunt until the final few weeks. Chelsea finished in sixth in the Premier League and finished a staggering 25 points behind title winners Manchester City. Bayern is playing at home and riding the momentum of a convincing semifinal win over Real Madrid. Chelsea came away with one of the great Champions League surprises when they knocked off Barcelona in the semis, but whereas Bayern came at Real and beat them at their own game, Chelsea resorted to (to put it kindly) negative tactics to scrape out their wins.

That being said, when the final whistle blows in Munich on Saturday, it will be Chelsea that lifts the European Cup. Here’s why:

1. Pragmatism. Under manager Jupp Heynckes, Bayern has prided itself on an attacking, pulse-racing style of play. Missing two of their starting defenders and facing a side that is at its best on the counterattack, the Bavarians would be better off slowing the tempo and picking their spots — but their ideology will prevent them from doing so.

For Chelsea, this isn’t a problem. Time and time again, this side has proven that it will do whatever it takes to win. Say what you want (and I’ve said plenty), this chameleon-like ability to shift their tactics has filled the Stamford Bridge trophy case. On Saturday, expect the Blues to sit back and frustrate Bayern’s attack. The Blues will kick, scratch and claw their opponents to prevent a breakthrough, sitting back and waiting for a glimmer of light to unleash the decisive counter.

And, believe me, it will come.

2. The last chance. This group of Chelsea players is the finest in club history. The core has won everything a side can win — besides the Champions League. Didier Drogba is 34, Frank Lampard 33 and John Terry 31. Each player has been a vital cog in the club’s Golden Era, and it is most likely their last chance at this elusive title. Though Terry will miss out on the final thanks to this typical act of John Terryism, expect his teammates to strive extra hard to win it for their captain.

The stakes are doubly high because if Chelsea fail to win the title, they also miss out on next year’s tournament. In two years, all three will be on the wrong side of their primes. Expect the veteran Blues to play Saturday’s game as if it is their last — because in their search for a long-sought CL title, it may be.

3. This is what Chelsea does. Because when the chips are down, when you start to count them out, Chelsea finds a way to win. This and this excepted, the Blues have made a living of coming through on the biggest of stages. With an aging squad and a qualification for next year’s competition on the line, the stakes don’t get much higher than this.

Here’s how billionaire owner Roman Abramovich’s obsession of winning the Champions League will finally come to fruition: in the 65^th or 70^th minute, at the very moment when Bayern’s ceaseless pressure looks ready to finally crack Chelsea’s resolve, a well-timed tackle will set the Blues flying out on the break. A picture-perfect Juan Mata cross will be thundered home by Drogba to create an impenetrable 1-0 lead.

It will be vintage Chelsea, and finally bring to London the Champions League trophy it has long sought.

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Ohio (26-25, 15-9 MAC) and Dayton (25-27, 14-7 A-10) faced off in Ohio’s final non-conference, mid-week contest of the season.

After a silent first inning, Jensen Painter opened up the scoring in the bottom of the second with a leadoff blast over the leftfield fence to give the Bobcats the early 1-0 lead. Two innings later, leading off again, Painter drilled another ball over the fence for his second home run of the night to increase Ohio’s lead to 2-0.

“It helped that I saw some good pitches, I mean, I just got some pitches over the plate, the fastball especially,” Painter said.

With a two-run advantage in the fifth inning, Coach Carbone opted to turn to his bullpen. Starter Tyler Backstrom ended the day after four innings of work, allowing no runs on two hits.

Carbone explained Backstrom’s early departure: “We wanted all those guys to get work. Our goal was to get every one of those pitchers there in the game to give them some work, get them sharp for the weekend.”

In the sixth inning, the Flyers threatened the pitching staff for the first time of the night. With one out and Sean Kennedy on the mound, Ian Hundley sent a single between first and second into right field and advanced to second on a steal. Brian Blasik, the next batter in the inning, singled, allowing Hundley to go to third.C.J. Gillman dropped a ball into left field, just in front of Tyler Wells’ glove, scoring Hundley and advancing Blasik to third.

Dayton added another run to tie the game in the inning when Zach Stewart grounded into a fielders’ choice at second that allowed Blasik to score. The inning ended when Stewart was caught attempting to steal second.

The Bobcats struck back in the bottom of the inning. Jake Madsen led off the inning with a double to right field and advanced to third when Painter flew out to centerfield. The next two batters—Dan Schmidt and Ian Mezlak—both walked to load the bases for Kyle Dean. Dean delivered with a towering grand slam over the left field fence, giving Ohio the decisive lead.

“Well usually coach tells us to square up the fastball, so I was looking for a fastball and I knew the kid had a breaking ball that was pretty good, so I had to sit back on the fastball and mainly I tried to just put it in play and try to keep it out of the double play, groundball, try to hit it gap to gap,” Dean said. “Usually what I try to do is when I haven’t been playing a lot, try to play it like it’s my last, so I mean I had to play it as hard as I could.”

The grand slam gave the Bobcats a four-run lead. Said Carbone: “When you’ve got a little bit of a cushion, everybody plays a little more relaxed, a little more confident, so that was a big home run by Kyle.”

Dean also had a part in keeping the Flyers at bay on the base paths from behind the plate. Dayton is a speedy team that steals a lot of bases; something the Bobcats knew they’d have to counter.

“We knew those guys coming in, who they were and we kept them off the bases and whenever we didn’t, our pitchers did a really good job of throwing over and keeping them close, so give some credit to them,” Painter said.

Carbone quipped in with his own strategy, joking after the game: “Well what we were going to do—to stop the running game—we were going to not put second base in the holder, because I was afraid that they would steal two bases on one pitch, so I told their coach, if they’re going to steal, they’re going to have to run all the way around to third to get a stolen base tonight, but the rules wouldn’t allow that.”

Credit went to Dean and the pitching staff for preventing the Flyers from stealing.

“It really started with the pitchers, you know, getting that first out. They’re really good at picking off, so that kept them close. I would just try to be fundamental with my throws down to second, but it was really the pitchers who did a great job,” Dean said.

Said Carbone: “Kyle did a good job tonight. [He] did a good job behind the plate and at the plate.”

The Bobcats added their final run in the bottom of the seventh on a double steal, with Wells coming home and Painter going to second to round out the score to 7-2.

“You feel much better about yourself when you hit the ball, score some runs and win,” Carbone said.

Ohio has three regular season games remaining, a three-game series with rival Miami that begins Thursday at 6 p.m. at Bob Wren Stadium

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-After the sweep of Akron over the weekend, the Bobcats secured a spot in the 2012 Mid-American Conference Tournament.

-On Sunday, senior Ethan Newton stole his 23^rd base of the season and 43^rd of his career, setting the program’s record for career steals.

-Coach Joe Carbone will manage his final game at Bob Wren Stadium for the Bobcats on Saturday against Miami.

“Dark Shadows” is also probably the hokiest movie to grace theaters this year, its only competition in the near future being “Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter” (and everybody who breathes air and has a sense of humor greater than the size of a pea should be excited for that upcoming masterpiece).

The film being based off of a soap opera basically means that the kitsch is turned up to around an 11 out of 10 on amplifiers that spew out bad but still awesome stuff.

Johnny Depp as a vampire? Oh no you didn't, girlfriend. Photo from Collider.

“Dark Shadows” is literally every kind of guilty pleasure seen in soap operas — sexy times, cutesy humor, corniness out the wazoo, over-the-top drama — boxed with the neat creative guise and special effects of a Tim Burton movie.

At the same time, it’s also a horror movie with a decent amount of blood, murder and dark material.

Johnny Depp hams it up as a Victorian-era man named Barnabas Collins, who is cursed and turned into a vampire by his incredibly gorgeous and incredibly jealous witch ex-lover Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green).  Not only that, but she kills his family and his “true love” and then locks him in a coffin for two centuries.

He is unearthed in (big surprise) 1970 by some construction workers and sets off in a tizzy to find out what happened to the world in his absence.

Depp is simultaneously hilarious and menacing; inventive diatribes in his goofy Victorian English accent are just about perfect as he quips about “blasted hellfire” and “Satan’s eyes” when faced with new technologies and strange people.

He meets his descendents and their compatriots in the now-decrepit manor where he used to live. Notable here are Chloe Grace Moretz as Carolyn Stoddard, the adorably rebellious, weird teenage daughter with a secret and Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Julia Hoffman, the ineffectual alcoholic family psychiatrist.

Many of the other characters, though fleshed out well, take a backseat to the overbearing-but-still-awesome Depp.

For example, Bella Heathcote as Victoria Winters — the main character in the soap opera and love interest to Depp — plays her role competently albeit quietly. She also has a pretty dark and compelling backstory, but she is given little actual screen time compared to Depp aside from long shots of her beautiful face looking sad or confused.

Ahh, it's like Bella Heathcote is gazing into your soul. Photo from Filmophilia.

Speaking of which, now’s a good time to mention that “Dark Shadows” is surprisingly sexy for a PG-13 Tim Burton flick. There’s a whole lot of interplay between Depp and the ladies of the movie, especially Green. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing because it helps capture the thematic mush of a soap opera quite well, but it’s still something to consider in terms of audience choice.

After most of the characters are introduced and the plot starts in earnest, the viewer has pretty much already decided whether they’re going to love or hate “Dark Shadows.”

Those who love it will appreciate the world Burton helps paint. It’s a tongue-in-cheek homage to the ’70s, cheesy horror and soap operas; one that’s filled with easily lovable characters, blood, sexiness, silly outfits and richly melodramatic moments.

The musical score by Danny Elfman is awesome, too. The simple, fun ’70s songs punctuated by horror-staple cathedral arrangements illicit smiles of recognition and help tape together the weird hodgepodge of elements in the film.  (Also, friggin’ Alice Cooper has a cameo in it?  Sold.)

Those who won’t like the film are as equally justified.  It definitely can’t stand up to most of Burton’s other works: the plot is silly and what the movie actually is is often hard to distinguish among the mess of genres that it tries to cover.

Basically, people who don’t like dumb, corny things are not going to like it.

However, “Dark Shadows” is, in all honesty, a great guilty pleasure movie that can be enjoyed on a lot of levels—all the viewer needs to do is get rid of their expectations about what they think it should be.

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Speakeasy rating:  B

“Dark Shadows”

Starring Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Helena Bonham Carter, Chloe Grace Moretz

Rated PG-13 for comic horror violence, sexual content, some drug use, language and smoking

Why was it great? Looking back at the series, there were some incredible stories to go along with it. All but one game was decided by one goal. The Rangers seemed offensively challenged, scoring three goals in just two games and two or less in the other five.  Both goaltenders were having great playoffs: Veteran Henriq Lundqvist for the Rangers and rookie Holtby each looked like they had won multiple Stanley Cups.

With all of these stories and headlines going on in this series, the one I took out of it all was something many have been looking at for while now. With the loss, Alex Ovechkin failed to reach the third round of the playoffs for the third time in his career, including the second straight year.

Ovechkin, once considered the best in the world by most, has now fallen far from that title. A regular season star, the Capitals captain and his team have consistently come up short on their expectations. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who often joined Ovechkin in the best player in the world argument, have won a Stanley Cup.

In the five straight years the Capitals have made the playoffs, they’ve won their division four times; coming in second to the Florida Panthers this year. As a Penguins fan, I always would worry about Ovechkin and the Capitals. I would always hate every time they won a game and just pray that the superstar Sidney Crosby would win a Cup before Ovechkin. I got that wish in 2009, and it couldn’t have been sweeter.

The Penguins and Capitals met in the second round in a battle of superstars everyone wanted to see. Both players dominated, especially in Game 2 when both of them recorded hat tricks. After a long series of great offense, it came down to Game 7 in Washington. And it appeared that Crosby had what it took to win a Game 7, and Ovechkin did not. Crosby scored the first of five straight Penguins goals.

In the third period he put the icing on the cake, stealing the puck from Ovechkin, going on a breakaway, and burying the puck between Jose Theodore’s legs, silencing Capitals fans for good.

A few weeks later, Crosby would go on to win the Cup, Malkin would win the Conn Smythe trophy, and all was right with the world.

At that point, I didn’t care much if Ovechkin would win a Cup. I accepted the fact that he was still one of the best players in the world, and his time would come eventually. Even this year I got to the point where I was cheering for the Capitals to beat the Rangers.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The Rangers beat Washington 2-1, and won the series, robbing Ovi of a third round playoff game once again.

You could look at the loss in two ways: One, it wasn’t as bad as last year. Last year, the Caps once again won the Southeast Division, but were swept in the second round by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

On the other hand, you could say this season was worse than last year. Ovechkin had statistically the worst season of his career, only scoring 65 points. He averaged less than 20 minutes of ice time per game, something he had never done in his career. After starting 7-0 this season, the Caps lost 10 of their next 15 games. There were rumors that he and head coach Bruce Boudreau were having conflicts. Boudreau got the axe, and new head coach Dale Hunter was the man in charge.

He and Ovechkin also had issues at times. In some cases, Ovechkin was benched for long periods of times because of lack of hustle and effort. It seemed like the Capitals organization was in trouble.

Eventually, they did enough to sneak into the playoffs as a No. 7 seed. After beating the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins in seven games, it seemed like maybe they were the Cinderella team that could make a deep run like last year’s Lightning or the Canadiens the year before that. It didn’t happen though, and what’s worse, Ovechkin wasn’t close to what everyone expects of him.

Yes, he led the team in points and goals. But he only had nine points and five goals in 14 games. To put that in perspective, Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers had 17 points in 11 games. Jordan Staal of the Penguins also had nine points like Ovechkin, but he only played six games.

Ovechkin was expected to perform in the playoffs, and once again, he didn’t. And unlike Alexander Semin and Mike Green who aren’t as popular as Ovi, or Braden Holtby who was a rookie this year, Ovechkin will get a lot of the blame.

In the long run, Ovechkin will still be considered one of the best, but how long will this last? How long will Ovechkin come up short year after year, only to reach the point where fans expect less and less out of him? He’s not feared anymore like he used to be.

Ovechkin will be 27 at the beginning of next season, so he still has at least another 10 seasons to win a Stanley Cup, but how can fans expect him to win one? I can’t, and I don’t. It’s up to the “Great 8” to prove to everyone he is still great. It’s not the coaches, his teammates, or the way the organization is run. He knows he’s the leader of that entire franchise. He needs to get up and wipe that confused, disappointed look from his face that shows up at the end of every year.

Make your move, Mr. Ovechkin. The entire hockey world is waiting.

—

This year's festival begins June 7 in Manchester, TN. Photo from Bonnaroo.com.

“The producer nerd” is a specific type of music nerd. Not just one who thumbs through vinyl at all the local record shops, the producer nerd is specifically interested in electronic manipulation and incorporation in the creation of smart soundscapes. He likely owns an MPC and knows how to use it. And he definitely knows more about music than you do. At Bonnaroo, the producer nerd would check out artists who utilize various levels of electronics to make tracks ranging from complex orchestrations to simple beats, the main inherent quality being creativity.

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Major Lazer : Diplo and Switch, both prolific producers by themselves, are behind this eclectic collaborative project. These two white boys bring elements of reggae and moombahton to dancehall electronic. There’s a little bit of tongue-in-cheek in the way they put together songs. The noises are so much fun they’re almost silly, but genuinely catchy and enjoyable. Diplo’s label Mad Decent is home to Crookers and Rusko among other notables.

Let yourself Get Free with these select badass Major Lazer videos:

Original Don

Hold The Line

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Flying Lotus-”Flylo” is a California producer who dabbles in all sorts of experimental catchiness. This is production for the producers, not like some sorta dub for the bro masses. Elements of jazz keep his instrumental tracks dynamic and slippery. A live Flylo show should prove to be a clinic in instrumental production, education for the brain and entertainment for the ears.

Some choice Flylo soundscapes to get lost in:

Do the Astral Plane

Zodiac Shit

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Radiohead- Radiohead is included here because Thom Yorke has been going beyond the realm of traditional instruments since Kid A. He is quoted as saying he would rather make an album with a laptop than an acoustic guitar. Don’t forget he is also DJ-ing all over the place. Radiohead will bring the electronic and meld it with their awesome musicianship, so check it out.

This first song off of Radiohead’s fourth album “Kid A” prepared fans for the band’s foray into electronic:

Everything in its Right Place

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Battles- Musical talent can span genres in beautiful ways. Featuring members whose previous acts have included math-rock and metal, Battles fuse instrumental prowess and electronic manipulation. The band blurs the line between between traditional instrumental performance and electronic programming, truly becoming a cohesive “man-machine” unit.

As the following songs will show, Battles can do it all, from pop to technical:

Ice Cream ft. guest vocalist Matias Aguayo

Wall Street a little less pop, a little more tech

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SBTRKT- Pronounced “subtract,”it refers to the solo producer Aaron Jerome or alternatively the duo of Jerome and singer/producer Sampha. SBTRKT create emotional vibes sometimes featuring haunting vocals. Jerome is all about letting the music speak for itself, and will wear modern interpretations of tribal masks to reinforce the sense of personal anonymity. The combination of the masks and the sounds creates a beautiful mystique.

Both of these songs will make you feel:
Never Never
Wildfire

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Skrillex- For amusement, the producer nerd should go see the former screamo front-man spasm and press play on his computer. He is also apparently allergic to bees.

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Path to the Finals

Well it’s official ladies and gentlemen. The Heat are headed to the NBA finals. I know it’s only the second round of the playoffs, but without the Bulls I don’t see another team capable of stopping the Heat train.

The Knicks had a shot with Melo and Amare but just couldn’t pull it together. Now the Heat get to play the Pacers, or should I say get to beat the Pacers (Prediction: in 5 games). They’ll face either the Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks or the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference finals. In case you were wondering, yes I’m also claiming the Sixers will finish their series with the Bulls tonight as well.

Either way if you can make a serious case that the Hawks, Sixers or Celtics can beat the Heat feel free to shoot me an email and an extremely large wager because I’ll gladly take any of those bets. It comes down to the Heat vs. the field, and I’m taking the Heat.

Game Seven

Is there another game in another sport that has the potential to be as exciting as a game seven in the Stanley Cup playoffs? I’d say excluding all championship games in all sports, heck no! There’s just as much excitement for game seven in the Rangers-Capitals series as I’ve ever seen before, and really it makes a lot of sense.

These are two teams that are well-known in the hockey world. Obviously playing in New York City there’s plenty of media coverage, not to mention the game being held in Madison Square Garden. You’ve got the No. 1 seed taking on the No. 7 seed in a winner-takes-all game. With one of the NHL’s stars playing, this could be the game to put Alex Ovechkin back on the national map.

Credit to: rt.com

Despite all that, there’s more to this game in my opinion. If the Caps win, they can definitely make it to the finals. The same could be said about the Rangers with the way they have been playing as of late. With the Penguins and Flyers out of the playoffs, these two teams have the best shot of going the distance. I’m not completely doubting the Devils, I just think these two teams are better.

The Second Chapter of Linsanity

I’m using this week’s spotlight on someone who really doesn’t need the spotlight, Jeremy Lin. Yes, we’re all familiar with Linsanity and the greatness of Jeremy Lin (if you didn’t catch my sarcasm I’m not sure we can be friends anymore.) However Mike Woodson, interim coach of the New York Knicks told reporters that Lin will definitely be back with the Knicks despite Lin being an unrestricted free agent this offseason. I have a couple of problems with this.

Credit to: sportsillustrated.cnn.com

First of all, since when does an interim head coach make player personnel decisions? Don’t give me the garbage about “well he’s going to be the head coach anyway.” That’s great and all but how about when they drop the interim part of his job title then come back and talk to me.

My next issue is Woodson wouldn’t commit to making Lin the starting point guard of the team. Are you kidding me? I’m not going as far as some people did during Linsanity saying he was the next coming of Steve Nash, however you can’t seriously tell me Baron Davis, Iman Shumpert, or Mike Bibby are better options than Jeremy Lin even at 50%.

My point is if the Knicks want to keep Lin because it makes them a better team (which it does) than that’s great, but if the Knicks front office is forcing their interim head coach to say that they’re keeping Lin simply for monetary values, it’ll blow up in their faces. I guarantee it.

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With an enticing business strategy, Insomnia Cookies gives students the luxury of having fresh, warm cookies brought to the dorms or any house or apartment  at one’s beck and call.  Having established more than 15 shops on college campuses across the country, Insomnia Cookies finally made its way to Athens, making its debut on Court Street in March after spring break.

Daytime manager of Insomnia Cookies, Lindsay Radomski, passes a hungry customer one of the famous chocolate chunk cookies. Photo provided.

“We’re constantly baking, baking, baking,” Lindsay Radomski, Insomnia’s daytime manager, said. “You get your milk and cookies, just like at grandma’s house.”

An hour before the store opens, cookies have to be prepared for the eager customers’ sweet teeth. Current favorites range from chocolate chunk all the way to oatmeal raisin. Delivery goes from 7 p.m. — 3 a.m. every day. However, the main sales are at night after rowdy crowds are coming home from the bars. Between 2 – 3 a.m. is when Insomnia has been really slammed; talk about a perfect fit for the business name, right?

“I know in our first week here we did better in sales than (Columbus’s Insomnia Cookies) have done in the five years they have been open, so it’s been pretty crazy,” Radomski said. “It was absolutely insane. We didn’t leave until around 5 in the morning some nights.”

This endeavor is not the only flourishing business in Athens where locals flock for delectable delights. Securing a spot on Court Street for over a year, Fluff Bakery and Catering offers sweet products with made-from-scratch baked goods and creative marketing tactics. Social media publicity and collaboration with local organizations has tremendously helped advertising. Habitat for Humanity is one of their many supportive partners. Sticking to the non-traditional route of advertising has successfully brought in familiar regulars as well as new crowds.

“That’s the kind of place that we are because we want people to come in and have a break from the rest of the day, you know? And this is a good place to do that,” Jessica Kopelwitz, the owner and ‘99 OU graduate, explained.

Fun finds, such as an old birthday cake, are effectively used to ease tension from the stressful days of reality. Placed ingeniously as ‘Someone else’s birthday cake’ causing laughs at the sight.

Fluff Bakery offers a variety of tasty treats for any hungry tummy. Photo provided.

Menu specialties vary from gluten-free rice bowls offering additional vegetables and protein to mix in for a healthy and filling $6 meal, to red velvet whoopee pies and booty shaker bars. Even the deli meat used for the sandwiches is locally brought from within a 50-mile radius.

Any person with a specific pallet can find something yummy to indulge in. Rather than just concentrating solely on one treat, Fluff offers cookies like Insomnia, but also a variety of delicious specialties.

“To me, once people taste the difference, that’s one thing if they want that, then great, but that’s not my customer and I’m okay with that,” Kopelwitz stated. “I’m a business person, I love stuff like that. That’s the thing, they [Insomnia] have such a niche and are very focused… it’s a good business.”

Assumptions may lead to a bitter rivalry between the two franchises, but closer analysis views both as flourishing neighbors. Athens is home to several imaginative businesses. With the small-town atmosphere, it is easy to gain local support on beginning endeavors. Not to mention long-term bonds can be formed from the different outreached demographics.

Finding possible interested parties isn’t the challenge; maintaining the relationship of the fellow owners who are willing to partake in improving a specific production’s success is what matters. Being in a community-based town, it’s convenient for every type of business to coordinate with one another. That way, a friend is never far to lend a helping hand.

“I think if you are a small business owner, it’s vital that you know who your neighbors are, the challenges that your community are facing and how you can help be apart of the solution for those challenges,” Kopelwitz said. She added that it’s “really important to support “people who live around you,” because those people will remember the generosity.

Even though Athens may not be the biggest city, it carries personality in every direction. Surviving in the community can be prosperous for small business owners, but only if there is a viable product at hand and a balanced infrastructure in the mix. One thing is for certain though, whether it is at Fluff or Insomnia Cookies, delectable treats are waiting to be devoured.

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Kristen Urbanski stands with her oboe before her senior recital

Urbanski, an Honors Tutorial Music major, performed her songs on the oboe, a woodwind instrument she has played for 10 years. Glidden requires music majors to perform two recitals, but Urbanski did four — “Concerto in A Minor” by Antonio Vivaldi, “Sonate” by Paul Hindemith, “Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, Op. 49” by Benjamin Britten, and “Sonate” by Camille Saint-Saens — because she wanted to play as much as she could.

“It was fantastic. I liked when she explained the ‘Metamorphoses’ song,” Rachel Markert, an audience member and junior at OU, said.

Junior music majors in the school of music perform half recitals, about 30 minutes long, and seniors perform full ones. Although Urbanski graduates in the spring, not all graduating seniors need final recitals. Performance majors are required to hold them and music education majors are encouraged to as well, Urbanski explained.

Urbanski shared a recital her sophomore year, then performed full recitals her junior and senior years.

The recitals were the result of “lots of practice” with “accompaniments and academics” that “go into (the performance pieces) with program notes, which are backgrounds about the pieces,” Urbanski said.

Academics also play a role in these recitals. Urbanski explained that performance majors receive one or two credit hours for recital completion. There is no direct effect on the grades, but performers need to prepare hearings for their recitals.

The faculty listen to the student perform the technical parts of his or her recital music before they can approve the student to give the actual recital, Urbanski added.

“For my hearings, all woodwind faculty need to sign off on my music. It’s like pass/fail situations,” Urbanski said.

Urbanski not only performed three recitals over the course of her career at OU, but did a thesis on performance anxiety as well.

Urbanski admitted she is usually terrified to perform. Family, peers and professors watch a concert of only one person performing, so it may be unsettling for the musician. The researching and writing of her thesis helped her anxiety and now she is more excited than ever to play, she said.

After graduation, Urbanski plans on moving back to the Toledo area, where she will be working as a substitute teacher for music classes at her old high school, Toledo School of the Arts. She will also be a chamber music coach at the high school.

Urbanski says her time at OU will be a guide into her future career.

“Recitals help you prepare for being a solo performer. If you can’t give a performance by yourself, you won’t make it as a solo performer in the real world. It proves endurance and confidence,” she said.

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