CeCe Telfer Wins NCAA Division II 400m Hurdles Track Championship!

While the attention of the Texas Black trans community was focused on the DFW area, what we weren't aware of was that some Black trans excellence was happening here in the Lone Stat State. 

The NCAA Division II Women's Track & Field (Athletics to the rest of the world) Championships were held in Kingsville, TX on the campus of Texas A&M-Kingsville just outside of Corpus Christi during that May 23-25 weekend.

In the 400 m hurdles race final starting in Lane 4 was Franklin Pierce University senior CeCe Telfer.  She'd already finished fifth in the 100 m hurdles final earlier in the day at 13;56 seconds, a half second behind NCAA Div II national champion Courtney Nelson of Pittsburg State..

Telfer captured the 400 m NCAA Div II title in the 400 m hurdles in a personal best time of 57.53 seconds

"It was tough conditions out here with the wind and the heat over the last three days but, as she has over the last six months, CeCe proved herself to be tough enough to handle it," said FPU head coach Zach Emerson of the performance. "Today was a microcosm of her entire season; she was not going to let anything slow her down. I've never met anybody as strong as her mentally in my entire life."

As you probably guessed, the TERFs and other haters are already coming out to attack her.   Telfer competed on the FPU men's squad for three years before stepping away from track for a year to transition.   NCAA rules state that you must be on hormones and testosterone suppression meds for one year before you are allowed to compete in your presentation gender. 

Telfer's love of the sport pulled her back to the track, and she was enthusiastically supported by the Franklin Pierce University administration, the AD, and her teammates.
 

But she still faced transphobic hatred from other competitors during her senior season. 

Nevertheless she persisted, and is not walking way with the NCAA Div II title as 400m hurdles champion.

Moni's 2018 NCAA Women's B-Ball Bracket

Since it's Women's History Month, I also show love to the women's NCAA ballers and do a bracket for their tournament as well.  Since 2008 I've done a bracket for the NCAA women's tournament, and had much better results (6-4) thanks in large part to UConn's sustained excellence.

These are my 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 , 2014, 2015 TransGriot NCAA women's tournament brackets.here   In 2016 I only got one of the Women's Final Four teams correct, but it was the right one in the eventual national champion UConn Huskies.

In 2015 I correctly predicted the NCAA women's title game, and I've also correctly picked all four women's NCAA Final Four teams in 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2015.

Last year I got half of the 2017 NCAA women's championship game correct.   Like everyone else that watches women's collegiate basketball I was not anticipating UConn going down in the semis to an on a roll Mississippi State team and picked UConn over eventual surprise champ South Carolina.

So who will be cutting down the championship nets in Columbus?   Good question.   Time to answer who I think it will be. 


Albany Regional
First Round
UConn, Miami (FL), Duke, Georgia, South Florida, Florida State, California, South Carolina

Second Round
UConn,  Duke, Florida State, South Carolina

Sweet 16
UConn, South Carolina

Albany Regional Champion
UConn
 

Kansas City Regional
First Round
Mississippi State, Syracuse, Maryland, NC State, Iowa, UCLA, Arizona State, Texas

Second Round
Mississippi State, Maryland, UCLA, Texas

Sweet 16
Mississippi State, Texas

Kansas City Regional Champ
Mississippi State 

Lexington Regional
First Round
Louisville, Marquette , Missouri, Stanford, Oregon State, Tennessee, Michigan State, Baylor

Second Round
Louisville, Stanford, Tennessee, Baylor

Sweet 16
Louisville, Baylor

Lexington Regional Champion
Louisville

Spokane Regional
First Round
Notre Dame, Villanova, DePaul, Texas A&M, LSU, Ohio State,  Minnesota, Oregon

Second Round
Notre Dame, Texas A&M, LSU, Oregon

Sweet 16
Notre Dame, LSU

Spokane Regional Champion
Notre Dame


Final Four
UConn, Mississippi State, Louisville, Notre Dame

Championship Game
UConn,  Louisville

2018 NCAA Women's Champion
UConn 

Moni's 2018 NCAA Men's B-Ball Bracket

It's that time of year again, and once again as I've done since 2007, I'm posting a NCAA men's tournament bracket for y'all to peruse and pick apart.   2015 has been the only year I didn't do a bracket, frankly because that year I was too busy to properly do it.

And for the first time since 2010, I finally get to see my alma mater play in the Big Dance, and it may not be a one and done appearance either.

UH lost in the AAC title game 56-55 (boo hiss) to Cincinnati, but doesn't take away the fact they have had one of their best seasons since I was walking the campus and Phi S;lama Jama was slam dunking their way to three straight NCAA finals appearances

The last time the UH Cougars won an NCAA tournament game was in that 1984 Final Four in the Kingdome against Virginia, so we're way overdue for a tournament win.

This year's Final Four, thanks to SB 6 being killed twice (you're welcome) is in San Antonio. 
And yes Texas conservafools, it's more evidence of the Lone Star State getting nice things when we don't pass unjust legislation.

I got the NCAA Men's Champion right last year, and that evens my all time record to 5-5.

Here's the previous NCAA men's brackets for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 , 2016 and 2017 

And now, my 2018 NCAA men's bracket

First Four Games
Radford, UCLA, Texas Southern, Syracuse 

South Regional 
First Round 
Virginia, Kansas State, Kentucky, Arizona, Miami (FL), Tennessee, Nevada, Cincinnati  

Second Round
Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Cincinnati

Sweet 16
Virginia, Cincinnati 

South Regional Champion
Virginia


West Regional
First Round
Xavier, Missouri, Ohio State, Gonzaga, Houston , Michigan, Texas A&M, North Carolina

Second Round
Xavier, Gonzaga, Houston, North Carolina

Sweet 16
Xabier, North Carolina

West Regional Champ
North Carolina 

East Regional
First Round
Villanova, Alabama, West Virginia, Wichita State, Florida, Texas tech, Arkansas, Purdue

Second Round
Villanova, Wichita State, Florida, Purdue

Sweet 16
Villanova, Purdue

East Regional Champ
Purdue 

Midwest Regional 
First  Round
Kansas, Seton Hall, Clemson, Auburn, TCU, Michigan State, Rhode Island, Duke

Second Round
Kansas, Auburn, Michigan State, Duke

Sweet 16
Auburn, Duke

Midwest Regional Champ
Duke 

Final Four
Virginia, North Carolina, Purdue, Duke

Championship Game
North Carolina, Duke

20
2018 NCAA Champion
North Carolina 

50th Anniversary of the 'Game Of The Century'

Would have been nice if on this January 20 date the University of Houston and UCLA would have played at NRG Stadium on the 50th anniversary of  'The Game of the Century'. 

 But alas, just like ten years ago, we couldn't get UCLA to agree to play that game,

We ended up on this historic day playing and beating #7 ranked Wichita State for our first win over a Top 10 ranked team since 1996. 

 Probably why UCLA was 'scurred' to play us

During halftime of the UH-Wichita State, several members of that 1968 Cougar squad were honored with framed photos to commemorate the 50th anniversary of that seminal game. 

It was a game that set the stage for how we view college basketball today and fueled March Madness. The 1968 game at the Astrodome was not only the first time a collegiate game was played in a domed stadium, it was also nationally televised in prime time.

It also drew the then largest crowd of 52, 693 people to watch the unbeaten number one ranked Kareem Abdul- Jabbar led Bruins take on the also unbeaten and number two ranked Cougars led by Elvin Hayes.

The Coogs upset the Bruins that night 71-69 to end their 47 game winning streak and avenge their 1967 NCAA championship semifinal drubbing at the hands of UCLA.

Houston Tapped To Host 2024 College Football Championship Game

Texas conservafools, this is another undeniable example of the Lone Star State getting nice things when you peeps don't go to Austin and pass hateful legislation. 

Houston was a finalist for the initial rounds of College Football Championship games that in large part because of the HERO repeal referendum vote being in the news when these games were awarded on November 1, 2015, subsequently went to Atlanta (2018), Santa Clara, CA (2019) and New Orleans (2020). 

The sites for the next four College Football Championship games from 2021-2024 were announced yesterday.  Guess what Texas city made that final list? 

Assuming the Texas GOP conservafools don't do something stupid to cause it to be moved, the 2024 College Football Championship Game will be hosted at NRG Stadium in Houston.

The 2021 game will be played in Miami, in 2022 Indianapolis, and in the soon to be opened stadium in Los Angeles in 2023.

So don't screw it up, Texas conservafools.  Or to ensure they don't mess with our tourism money, I suggest we reality based Texans kick their butts out of power in the Lone Star State so we can continue to have nice things like major sporting events and conventions come to Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.

Brienne Minor Wins Historic 2017 NCAA Women's Singles Tennis Title

Black history was made on May 29 at the recent NCAA Division I women's tennis championships that were conducted at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the University of Georgia campus in Athens. GA.

University of Michigan sophomore Brienne Minor became the first African-American woman ever to win the NCAA Division I women's tennis title   In case you're wondering, the first African-American man to win an NCAA men's singles tennis title was the legendary Arthur Ashe in 1965.

She was the 2014 Illinois state girls singles champion, but in this NCAA women's singles tournament, she was ranked 24th in the nation, and also played with her Michigan teammates in the NCAA Division I team tennis championships that started in Athens back on May 18.   .

Michigan advanced to the Round of 16, beating Youngstown State and Kentucky before being eliminated by national finalist runner-up Stanford.

When the NCAA women's singles tourney started on May 24, the unseeded Minor faced the task of having to win six matches in six days to get to the finals of the 2017 NCAA women's tourney while battling tendinitis in her knees.

Minor was also in the section of the bracket that contained the number one seed Francesca Di Lorenzo of Ohio State.and was facing in the opening round the woman who ended her 2016 NCAA women's tournament run in Miami's Sinead Lohan.

It took her three sets, but she beat Lohan 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to jumpstart her title run. Di Lorenzo was surprisingly upset in the opening round by Pepperdine's Mayar Sharif Ahmad, and Minor knocked her off in straight sets in the Round of 16 on her way to the finals .

Minor would face Florida senior and tournament sixth seed Belinda Woolcock  The Aussie was playing her last match as a Gator and had only dropped one set on her way to the championship finals.  She also wanted to add the NCAA women's singles title to the 2017 NCAA team tennis championship she played a huge role in Florida winning over Stanford.

Woolcock played 14 singles and doubles matches over the eleven days of the NCAA Division I tourney with an 11-1 record to help Florida win the NCAA team championship, was named the Most Valuable Player in the NCAA team tournament, and made the all Tournament team in singles and doubles.

But it was Brienne Minor's day and she was on an eight match tournament winning streak at this point. With her family cheering her on, Minor made the admittedly tired Woolcock run all over the court as she raced out to a 4-0 first set lead before Woolcock broke her serve to finally get on the first set scoreboard.

Woolcock gave the service break back to stoke Minor to a 5-1 first set lead and won the next two games to close to 5-3, but dropped her service game to give Minor a one set lead in this NCAA title match.

Minor held serve to begin the second set and jumped out to a 3-1 and 4-2 lead before Woolcock made one last push and closed to 4-3 by blanking Minor with a love service game.   But Minor stormed back by winning the next two to take the set and the 2017 NCAA women's championship in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.

Minor knocked off three players ranked in the top 16 in the nation to earn this historic title, and not only gave Michigan their first ever NCAA women's singles tennis national champion, she made some Black history in the process.

With the win she also earned a wild card entry into the 2017 US Open that begins on August 28

Down Goes UConn in Dallas!

This is not an April Fools Day joke.   If you weren't watching the NCAA women's Final Four semifinal game between Mississippi State and UConn from Dallas, you missed a historic game.

UConn was on a 111 game winning steak and playing for a shot at their fifth straight NCAA title against a team that they beat by 60 points last year in Mississippi State.

But this year's UConn squad lost four seniors from that title team, and Mississippi State was fueled by that embarrassing for them 60 point loss to have an amazing 2016-17 season.    

After Mississippi State knocked off Baylor to get another shot at Goliath, no one in the country expected them to win this game.

But the Bulldogs had other ideas, and they raced out to a 36-28 halftime lead before UConn clawed their way back into it. The Bulldogs had a shot at winning it in regulation, but Morgan William's attempt to hit the streak busting shot was blocked by Gabby Williams to preserve the tie and send the game to overtime.

Morgan William got another chance to hit a game winning shot and this time she didn't miss.

66-64 Bulldogs.   And fittingly the smallest player on the floor slayed the basketball Goliath that is UConn
     
 .


Oh well, I got half of this year's women's title game right.

Mississippi State has taken down might UConn to set up an all-SEC final with South Carolina.   Do they have one more upset in them?  

We'll see on Sunday

Moni's 2017 NCAA Women's B-Ball Bracket

Unlike the NCAA men's tourney, I've had a lot better results (6-3) picking the champion in the NCAA women's tournament ranks.  Then again, when you're dealing with the sustained excellence of the UConn women (107 wins and counting) it's a huge upset and a major news story when they don't win a game or make it to the Final Four.

In 2008 I started doing a bracket for the NCAA women's tournament in honor of Women's History Month and frankly because I believed the lady collegiate ballers needed some love and March Madness attention on this blog as well.

These are my 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 , 2014 and 2015 TransGriot NCAA women's tournament brackets.here 

In 2016 I only got one of the Women's Final Four teams correct, but it was the eventual champion in UConn.  But in 2015 I correctly predicted the title game, and I've also correctly picked all four women's NCAA Final Four teams in 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2015.
Like I said, I do a better job on the NCAA women's tournament.

So now it's time to see who are going to be the last four teams standing when they get to American Airlines Center in Dallas on March 31 and who will be playing in the women's title game on April 2

Will UConn win their fifth straight title, 12th overall  and complete their seventh perfect season?     Or will somebody in this field pull off the upset for the ages?

We're about to find out starting in a few hours.

Bridgeport Regional
First Round .
Connecticut, Iowa State, Texas A&M, UCLA, West Virginia, Maryland, Temple, Duke

Second Round
Connecticut, Texas A&M, Maryland, Duke

Sweet 16
Connecticut, Maryland

Bridgeport Regional Champ
Connecticut

Oklahoma City Regional
First Round
Baylor, LSU, Tennessee, Louisville, Oklahoma, Washington, DePaul, Mississippi State

Second Round
Baylor, Louisville, Oklahoma, Mississippi State

Sweet 16
Baylor, Oklahoma

Oklahoma City Regional Champ
Baylor

Lexington Regional 
First Round
Notre Dame, Purdue, Ohio State, Kentucky, North Carolina State, Texas, Kansas State, Stanford

Second Round
Notre Dame, Kentucky, Texas, Stanford

Sweet 16
Notre  Dame, Stanford

Lexington Regional Champ
Stanford

Stockton Regional
First Round
South Carolina, Arizona State, Marquette, Miami (FL), Missouri, Florida State, Creighton, Oregon State

Second Round
South Carolina, Marquette, Missouri, Oregon State

Sweet 16
South Carolina, Missouri

Stockton Regional Champ
South Carolina

Final Four Connecticut  Baylor, Stanford,  South Carolina

Championship Game
Connecticut, South Carolina

2017 NCAA Women's Champion
Connecticut

Moni's 2017 NCAA B-Ball Men's Bracket

It's that time again when the entire country goes gaga over NCAA college basketball and spends the next few weeks checking their brackets to see how accurately they pick what team eventually advances to win the NCAA championship.

I'm a huge college basketball fan, and like everyone else I also do a bracket.  Since 2007 I've been posting mine on the blog for everyone to see and pick apart

In 2015 my March travel schedule was so jam packed I didn't  have time to make out a bracket and just made a pick that Duke alums are still reminding me I got wrong.  I also got wrong what team would be cutting down the nets in NRG Stadium last year when Villanova upset North Carolina

That dropped me to a 4-5 record over my blog's history of picking NCAA men's brackets.

Speaking of brackets, here's the previous NCAA men's brackets that I posted on the blog for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014   

It's 2017, and once again I'm going to attempt to pick what team will be cutting down the nets April 3 when the championship game is over at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Here's my picks

First Four
New Orleans, Wake Forest,  UC Davis, USC

East Regional
First Round
Villanova, Wisconsin, Virginia, Florida, SMU, Baylor, South Carolina, Duke

Second Round
Villanova, Virginia, SMU, Duke

Sweet 16
Villanova, Duke

East Region Champion
Duke

West Regional
First Round
Gonzaga, Northwestern, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Maryland, Florida Gulf Coast, VCU, Arizona

Second Round
Gonzaga, Notre Dame, Maryland, Arizona

Sweet 16
Gonzaga, Arizona

West Region Champion
Arizona

Midwest Regional
First Round
Kansas, Michigan State, Iowa State, Purdue, Creighton, Oregon, Michigan, Louisville

Second Round
Kansas, Iowa State, Oregon, Louisville

Sweet 16
Kansas, Louisville

Midwest Region Champion
Louisville

South Regional
First Round
North Carolina, Arkansas, Minnesota, Butler, Cincinnati, UCLA, Wichita State, Kentucky

Second Round
North Carolina, Butler, Cincinnati, Kentucky

Sweet 16
North Carolina. Kentucky

South Regional Champion
North Carolina

Final Four
Duke, Arizona, Louisville, North Carolina  

Championship Game
Arizona, North Carolina

2017 NCAA Men's Champion
North Carolina   

UH Coogs Take On San Diego State In The Las Vegas Bowl

It's not the New Year's Six Bowl or the College Football Playoff game that we Cougar fans were hoping to get to at the beginning of this season, but it's another bowl game trip for the 9-3 UH Cougars,

This is the 25th anniversary edition of the Las Vegas Bowl, and the game will feature two explosive offenses and stout defenses in the Cougars and the 10-3 San Diego State Aztecs,

The #HTownTakeover will face the Mountain West Conference champs and their all everything back Donnell Pumphrey, who could break Ron Dayne's FBS all purpose yards record.

But he'll have to do against a Cougar defense that features our all everything freshman nose tackle Ed Oliver, who wreaked havoc on AAC offensive lines along with Oklahoma's and Louisville's , had 19 tackles for loss and is probably going to be a handful for a San Diego State team that hasn't seen or played against anyone like him in the Mountain West.

On the offensive side, I get to watch our all everything quarterback Greg Ward, Jr in his final game as the Cougar signal caller.

This will also be the first game as head coach of Major Applewhite, our offensive coordinator who was elevated to the top job after Tom Herman left to go to UT.

I'll be parked in front of the TV watching it starting at 2:30 PM CST

2016 UH Cougar Watch- Battling SMU

The 6-1 University of Houston Cougars rebounded from their 46-40 AAC West Division conference loss at Navy and falling to number 13 in the rankings to come home to the comfy confines of The Cage and see the defense literally win the game for them in the last 81 seconds.

The Third Ward Defense forced a fumble from Tulsa QB Dane Evans that linebacker Emeke Egbule scooped up and raced 24 yards for a touchdown to take the lead with 1:21 remaining in the game..

 After the UH offense punted.  Tulsa drove from their own 11 yard line to the UH 1.  The defense then made two huge plays with freshman defensive tackle Ed Oliver stuffing a running play for a one yard loss,.

With seven seconds left on the game clock, after blitzing and flushing Evans out of the pocket, kept Golden Hurricane defense end Jesse Brubaker from turning and scoring after he caught a pass on the goal line from Evans and was kept out of the endzone by safeties Khalil Williams and Austin Robinson as the clock expired to cap a thrilling 38-31 win.

It was also redemption for a defense that got shredded for 306 rushing yards in the loss to the Midshipmen and 365 passing yards by Tulsa.  The win also made them bowl eligible for the tenth time in the last 12 seasons.

The number 11 ranked Cougars head up I-45 today to face off at Gerald J. Ford Stadium with an old Southwest Conference rival in the SMU Mustangs.

While the Mustangs are 2-4, and at the bottom of the American West Division standings, they do have weapons on the offensive side to make this a problematic game if the Cougars repeat the turnover filled performance they had in that Navy loss.

It would make the Mustangs season if they could pin another loss on the Cougars and wreck their chances of playing in a New Years Six bowl and their chances of repeating as The American champions.

The game will be televised on ESPN2 starting at 6 PM CDT.

TransGriot Update: Cougars were upset by SMU 38-16

2016 UH Cougar Watch- Battling Navy

The number 6 University of Houston Cougars (5-0, 2-0) are in Annapolis for another The American conference game with Navy  (3-1, 2-0)..

This game will determine early control of The American West Division, and once again will be a challenge for the UH defense to stop Navy's unique in college football triple option attack.

Navy's challenge will be to stop or contain Cougar quarterback Greg Ward, Jr, who is bidding to become the second UH quarterback to win the Heisman trophy.

The Coogs are also trying to stay unbeaten and on track for a possible spot in the College Football Playoff and a repeat The American title.

We'll see if they are successful  in accomplishing all those goals starting at 2 PM CDT.

TransGriot Update:  Coogs were upset by Navy 46-40

Number 6 UH Takes On UConn

After finishing a stretch of three games in 14 days with a 64-3 demolition of Texas State in San Marcos, the number 6 ranked University of Houston Cougars (4-0, 1-0 AAC) face at TDECU Stadium the team that ruined their bid for a perfect season last year in the Connecticut Huskies.

UH was unbeaten at 10-0 and ranked number 13 in the nation when they rolled into Rentschler Stadium on November 15 to play UConn.  A questionable targeting call against star UH linebacker Elandon Roberts in the first quarter got him tossed from the game.  Kenneth Farrow and QB Kyle Postma were injured, and they turned the ball over four times, the final one being an interception tossed by Ward with 55 seconds left to seal the 20-17 upset loss..

Needless to say UConn will have the Cougars undivided attention despite the fact the Coogs are a 24.5 point favorite to win this game..

There's a lot more at stake for the Cougars besides avenging that loss in front of the home crowd. In addition to UH having their highest poll ranking since 1991 and being a spotless 4-0 on the year, they are also a serious contender to play in the College Football Playoff.

The Coogs are also determined to continue their mission of repeating as The American champs.

Greg Ward. Jr played only the final four snaps in that UConn game because of that injury and being forced to play because Postma got hurt late, but that isn't the case this year.

He will be in the TDECU Stadium house in full effect and ready to lead the Cougars to what he hopes will be their fifth victory of the season and second in AAC play..

We'll see starting at 7 PM CDT on ESPN.

2016 UH Cougar Watch- Cougars Beat Cincinnati 40-16

The game was actually closer than the final score indicated, but the number 6 ranked University of Houston Cougars beat the Cincinnati Bearcats 40-16 in front of a national television audience and a sold out Nippert Stadium/

It was The American conference game opener between two unbeaten teams considered the favorites to be playing in The American title game in December.  It was also a clash two teams rumored to be the front runners in the Big XII expansion sweepstakes.

But after a frustrating first half in which they turned the ball over twice and despite moving the ball at ease on the Bearcats went in at halftime tied 10-10,

The Third Ward Defense shut down any Bearcat attempts to run the football, but still managed because of Cougar turnovers to grab a 16-12 fourth quarter lead.

Greg Ward, Jr. then shook off the third quarter end zone interception he threw that the Bearcats converted for their go ahead touchdown to march the Cougars on a clutch drive to take the lead back 19-16, then the defense took over.

They contributed back to back pick sixes as part of that 28 point fourth quarter explosion to move the Cougars to 3-0 on the season and win their opening American conference game.

Will these two teams meet in December?  We'll see. But the Cougars travel to San Marcos next week to take on the Texas State Bobcats in a non conference matchup as they continue on their mission to crash the CFA College Football Playoff party.   .

Atlantic Coast Conference Pulls All ACC Championship Events From NC

While the North Carolina Republicans and the state's conservafools continue their media spin with the goal of justifying discrimination and oppression of LGBT North Carolinians and do nothing about it, the economic fallout continues in the wake of the North Carolina GOP led passage of the unjust HB2 and their obstinate refusal to repeal it despite the massive damage it is causing to the state's economy.

Today the Atlantic Coast Conference Council of Presidents followed the lead of the NCAA and pulled all ACC championship events from the state effective this academic year until HB2 is repealed.

"As members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the ACC Council of Presidents reaffirmed our collective commitment to uphold the values of equality, diversity, inclusion and nondiscrimination.

 Every one of our 15 universities is strongly committed to these values and therefore, we will continue to host ACC championships at campus sites.   We believe North Carolina House Bill 2 is inconsistent with these values, and as a result, we will relocate all neutral site championships for the 2016-17 academic year.  All locations will be announced in the future from the conference office."    

The Atlantic Coast Conference is based in Greensboro, NC, so this definitely stings in the wake of the NCAA action on Monday.

The ACC announcement also ;means that Charlotte just lost the ACC Championship Game that was scheduled to be played at Bank of America Stadium December 3.  The game had been under contract to be held in Charlotte until 2019, and the 2015 ACC title game is estimated to have a $32.4 million economic impact for the local economy.

And don't look now Charlotte, but the CIAA, the oldest African-American athletic conference in the nation is considering moving its basketball tournament that has been hosted in the Queen City since 2006

The CIAA tournament has an estimated economic impact of $55.6 million, so losing that tournament would be another body blow to the North Carolina economy.

You can gripe all you want about it, but the reality is that bigotry costs you money, NC GOP and Governor McCrory, and you did it to yourselves.

You can either continue down the path of obstinately defend the indefensible HB2, or you can call a special session just like you did to speedily enact HB2.  

You are not going to get enough right wing conventions to come to the state to make up the millions you've already lost since your idiotic passage of HB2.

The special session to repeal it will cost you much less money than all the business you have lost since your misguided passage of Hate Bill 2, as the Rev Dr. William Barber II calls it and I concur with that assessment.

The choice is clear North Carolina GOP.  You can continue down the bigoted Tobacco Road, or you can take the first steps to be on the correct side of human rights history.

TransGriot Update:  This is the list of 10 ACC neutral site championships that will no longer be held in North Carolina.

Women’s soccer: November 4-6 in Cary, NC at WakeMed Soccer Park

Football: December 3, at Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium

Men’s swimming and diving: February 15-18 at Greensboro Aquatic Center

Women’s swimming and diving: February 22-25 at Greensboro Aquatic Center

Women’s basketball: March 1-5 at Greensboro Coliseum

Men’s and women’s tennis: April 26-30 at Cary Tennis Park

Women’s golf: April 21-23 at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro

Men’s golf: April 21-23 at the Old North State Club in New London, NC

Baseball: May 23-28, at Durham Bulls Athletic Park

I repeat, bigotry costs you money.

NCAA Pulls Seven Championship Events From North Carolina Over HB2

If the North Carolina GOP and conservafool movement thought the NCAA was bluffing about pulling championship events from the state over the unjust HB2 law, the NCAA just sent the message they weren't kidding.

The NCAA recently passed a rule in April which states they will not hold any of their championship events in a city without human rights laws as part of the NCAA's commitment to have an inclusive environment for collegiate student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans.

As part of that commitment and the new bid policy, the NCAA announced yesterday they were pulling seven championship events from the state and relocating them to other locales because of the unjust law.

The NCAA will decide in December who will host those events removed from North Carolina for their lack of human rights vision,

Are you paying attention Dan Patrick, Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton?   San Antonio is slated to host the NCAA Final Four in 2018. If you Texas GOP fools try to pass either an HB2 style law or an anti-trans statewide law in the upcoming legislative session due to start in January, Texas can say goodbye to that Final Four and any future NCAA championship events.

The NCAA championship events relocated from North Carolina include:

 

*The 2016 Division I Women's Soccer Championship College Cup in Cary, NC December 2 and 4
* The 2016 Division III Men's and Women's Soccer Championships in Greensboro, NC December 2-3
*The 2017 Division 1 Men's Basketball Championship First/Second rounds in Greensboro March 17 and 19
*The 2017 Division 1 Women's Golf Championships regional in Greenville, May 8-10
*The 2017 Division III Men's and Women's Tennis Championships in Cary May 22-27
*The 2017 Division  I Women's Lacrosse Championships in Cary May 26 and 28
*The 2017 Division II Baseball Championship in Cary May 27-June 3

Bigotry costs you money.  Too bad the people of North Carolina are being made to suffer because of the lack of human rights vision of a Republican Party that seeks to dehumanize and oppress their fellow North Carolinians for their own political gain.

You have a chance to correct that 2012 and 2014 mistake in putting the GOP in power on November 8 by voting out the politicians responsible for this mess.

2016 UH Cougar Watch- Number 6 UH Runs Over Lamar In Six Hour Game

It took them six hours and 18 minutes, and enduring a 3.5 hour lightning delay for a game that kicked off at 11:AM CDT, but the number 6 ranked University Of Houston Cougars adapted and overcame the adversity to beat the Lamar Cardinals 42-0 during their home opener at TDECU Stadium.

They also handled their collegiate football business without the services of QB Greg Ward, Jr  and running back Duke Catalon.   Ward and Catalon were nursing nagging injuries and held out of this non-conference matchup by the Cougar coaching staff because they want them healed and ready for their ESPN televised American conference opener on the road Thursday against the Cincinnati Bearcats.

So that meant backup senior QB Kyle Postma was at the controls of the explosive Cougar offense, and FYI people, there is no talent drop off when he is in the lineup.

Postma scored on a 39 yard TD run in the first quarter to stake the Coogs to a 7-0 lead they never relinquished before lightning strikes suspended the game with 3:13 left in the first quarter.

Once the game resumed at 3:12 PM,  the Cougars proceeded to run as if they time warped back in the 1970's during the break and were using Bill Yeoman's Veer offense.  They racked up 381 yards on the ground and had three players rush for over 100 yards for the first time since 1974.

Kevrin Justice scored to make it 14-0 with less than a minute to go in the first quarter, and was the first in a series of TD's that broke the game wide open and built a 28-0 halftime lead..


In addition to Postma's career high 106 yards and two TD's on just seven carries, RB' Kevrin Justice added 111 yards and two TD's, and freshman Mulbah Car  rushed for 108 yards and one touchdown as the Coogs ran over around and through the Cardinals to go 2-0 in this young 2016 college football season.

They have a short week plus travel to Cincy as they begin trying to repeat as The American champs and keep the possibility of crashing the CFA championship party alive.

2016 UH Cougar Watch -Facing Lamar

After beating then number 3 ranked Oklahoma convincingly 33-23 last Saturday, the University of Houston Cougars were elevated in the AP poll to number 6 in the nation and number 7 in the coaches poll.

It is the highest ranking a UH football squad has held since November 1990 when they rose to number 3 in the nation at thai time, and it is well deserved going into their home opener at TDECU Stadium against Lamar.

To the big victor goes the spoils.  This home opener was originally only going to be broadcast on the ESPN 3 streaming service, but now it is being televised locally on KIAH-TV, CW39.

Kickoff is at 11 AM CDT, and it will be interesting to see if the Cougars can stay focused and handle their football business against an opponent that doesn't have the same talent level as Oklahoma, but will be gunning to pin an major upset on them that would derail their attempt to crash the college football championship playoff party  .

Will UH Be Heading To The Big 12?

Ever since the Southwest Conference broke up and TCU and UH were shadily left out of the merger of the SWC and Big 8 no thanks to former UT athletic director DeLoss Dodds, the end goal has been to get UH collegiate athletics back into a Power 5 conference where it belongs.

Dodds motivation for dissing UH during the formative stages of the Big 12 besides his burnt orange hatred for UH probably includes the fact he wanted to be able to have the lion's share of the Houston metro area's elite high school talent coming to Forty Acres instead of their local university on Cullen Blvd.

He knew firsthand that UH while in the SWC routinely and gleefully spanked the Longhorns and a University of Houston in the Big 12 would continue doing so.

But with the Big 12 having only ten teams (you need twelve to host a conference championship game) and with Texas A&M now being a member of the SEC, if the rumors and reports I'm hearing are correct looks like UH may finally get what it has been seeking since 1996 and become a member of the Big 12.

ESPN.com is reporting that UH, Memphis, Colorado State and UCF are lobbying the Big 12 in anticipation of the next round of league expansion.   If the Big 12 was wise it would expand to 14 teams, not just 12 as an insurance policy in case someone leaves for greener conference pastures.

Will we get to see the #HtownTakeover at a Big 12 stadium near you?  Maybe  Since they were unceremoniously kicked to the curb, things have changed.dramatically on campus.  It is a Tier One research institution like UT and Texas A&M, and is the third largest school in the state of Texas.

It is still sitting in the fourth largest city in the United States, is in the top area for Texas high school talent in all sports, is in a Top 10 TV market (number 7), and now has a METRO light rail line rolling past the west and south sides of the campus with a stop on the doorstep of the west gates of  the 40,000 seat (expandable to 60,000 seats) on campus TDECU Stadium.

UH is also a natural fit for the Big 12, and has rivalries with the four current Texas schools that would instantly be rekindled should they be extended an invitation to join the conference.

Also in UH's favor is many schools in the Big 12, with SEC member Texas A& M nearby, continue to express the sentiment that the league needs to decisively act to take back the Houston area as a Big 12 bastion before another Power 5 conference snaps us up.

In addition, the Big 12 North schools want Houston in the conference so they have a crack at recruiting the talent rich Houston area.  Their recruiting pipelines to the Houston area vanished after Texas A&M SECeded, and they need the ability to play a regular scheduled game in Houston so that they can have a shot at recruiting the Houston area's talented kids against the Texas Big 12 schools.

Even the current players in the Big 12, when they are surveyed, would like to see UH extended an invitation to join the conference.

And even more delicious for Cougar fans, UH membership in the league in addition to accomplishing a mission we've been on since being dissed and dismissed in 1996 means that the Texas based Big 12 schools could no longer run from playing us anymore.

While the Big XII continues to publicly downplay they are expanding, University of Oklahoma president David Boren,  Kansas State coach Bill Snyder and Baylor head coach Art Briles have been pushing for Big XII expansion.  It was confirmed that University of West Virginia president Gordon Gee, who sits on the Big XII expansion committee, paid UH a visit back in November.  

The November 30 UH campus visit wasn't for expansion purposes, but Gee quickly found himself in UH president Renu Khator's office for an hour, met UH head football coach Tom Herman, and was escorted by UH AD Hunter Yurachek, several members of the UH Board of Regents on a tour of the UH athletic facilities.  

So will we see the Cougars in the Big 12?  Sure hope so. UH will get a taste of Big 12 play when they open the season with Oklahoma at NRG stadium September 3, and we'll find out next month whether it happens for us.

If it does, I'd love to go to the Jerrydome and watch my boys play in a Big XII title game, or see a basketball game at a sold out renovated Hofheinz Pavilion against Kansas

And I'd love to see my Cougars once again routinely beating the hell out of Texas.