Hi, I'm the Hostess and I suffer from the SLiPs.
For those of you  that are new to this problem. I will give a true incident that will send this dreaded problem home.
"Two lesbians walk into a neighborhood pub..." (that would be me and my girlfriend)
We sit in a booth right next to the bar. We order food and drinks. We begin to eat.
"Two more lesbians walk into the same bar..."

My immediate reaction is to jump up, tail wagging and give them both a big hug. It is possibly a Southern girl living outside of Philly "thing"
I'm delighted to see that 1) there are gay people that live in my neighborhood, and 2) the are functioning alcoholics and fried food/sports fans like myself.
This is what I call the SLiPs...

The reality is they walk right past me, and I might...just might look in their direction. If I make eye contact, I immediately look down like I've seen them both naked.
They sit at a booth not 6 feet from me. This is excruciatingly painful, because I am close enough to watch them and want to literally lick the beer foam off their cute short-haired faces.

Reality and a small bladder sets in and I walk past them to go to the bathroom.
In the bathroom, I devise a plan where I buy them a round of drinks and we shake hands and comment on how nice it is to see "family" at the neighborhood bar.

The plan fails when I walk past them with my head down like a puppy that has missed the kitchen newspaper and just sh*t all over the floor, instead of just going to the ladies room. I have quickly seen that the bartender will perceive this action as the simple fact that all lesbians are swingers and wife swap. I hear the story being whispered to "Dolly" the regular that holds down the last seat at the end of the bar every Friday night.

I have not heard one word that my girlfriend has said about her painful day at work because I'm trying to find the best angle to watch these women in a beer advertisement mirror. I do notice that one of them might suffer from the same affliction because she keeps looking at me and looking at her right hand like it may fall off any moment.

After the third drink and the seventh inning, it is time to head home. My last attempt to "get petted" is a lame act of starting to walk out the front door, and then going back to the table to a) look for my keys or b) leave a better tip. The lesbian who is in danger of loosing her hand looks at me then check to see if her hand is still attached. I look at her and quickly glance at a very intriguing commercial on the nearest TV.

I will be back at the neighborhood bar next Friday to try and train my inner puppy...hopefully the other lesbian couple will too.

In the pressure packed world of college coaching a 25-year career is a rarity these days. Twenty five years at one school ? You can almost forget it, except in the case of Tom Green. The Fairleigh Dickinson mentor, who won his 400^th  game late last season, is entering his 26^th year at the Northeast Conference school. Green is the winningest coach in NEC history. It’s not even close.

Tom Green - Longtime Coach of FDU (photo credit:  FDUKnights.com)

His conference record stands at 257-177, a distant lead over second place Ron Ganulin, who won 129 conference games at St.Francis (NY) from 1991 through 2005. Green is also the NEC pacesetter with 26 conference tournament wins. All told, FDU has reached the NEC semis in 16 of his 25 years and captured four conference post season titles and ensuing NCAA Tournament bids (1985, 1988, 1998 and 2005).

A legacy of success which includes seven 20-win seasons has brought opportunities at other schools. In the past, Green has flirted with other institutions. Each time he felt the Northern New Jersey school was his best fit.

What is his secret of the program’s excellent track record ? For one thing , flexibility. He is able to adjust to the talents of his players. He will push the ball if he has to and play at a slower pace if need be. Last season an injury decimated squad finished up an uncharacteristic 8-20. The coach and staff went over tape and spent hours coming up with combination and ‘junk’ defenses to try to remain competitive.  Another factor is discipline, but not the yelling and screaming type. Green doesn’t need that, and still his players know who is in charge. Discipline is evident as FDU rarely beats themselves. They are well drilled in their system.

FDU has made the NCAA Tournament in each of those aforementioned NEC title years. Each time the top or #2 seed has never rested easy against the bottom seed Knights. Green’s teams are extremely well prepared and play hard.  Most recently, in 2005, FDU gave top-seeded (and eventual national runner-up) all it wanted in its first round game before losing 67-55 (see highlight below). 

Tom Green will not win a national championship at FDU. Regardless, the former Syracuse guard can take solace in knowing he probably assisted on one. In 1985 his FDU team took top seeded Michigan to the wire, eventually losing 59-55. Villanova coaches were scouting that game and noticed the Knights exposed a few weaknesses in their Big Ten opponents. Two days later Villanova upset Michigan in the second round of their championship run.

Interestingly, Jim Boeheim and Green shared an apartment when they began as Syracuse assistants. Boeheim has been at Syracuse over three decades, Green a quarter of a century at FDU. Neither seems in a hurry to leave, which is good news to their respective schools and fans.

Riunione dei soci dell'Ava (Aeroporto Villanova d'Albenga) venerdì 19 settembre a Palazzo Lamba Doria, sede della Camera di Commercio di Savona per discutere l'offerta della Società Aeroportuale Riviera Ligure di acquisire la maggioranza delle azioni dell'aeroporto Panero (vedi l'articolo di Felix Lammardo, Aeroporto Panero: Orsero e Bassani pronti ad acquisire la maggioranza azionaria, Il Vostro Giornale (IVG.it), 10 Settembre 2008 e l'intervista di Sergio Del Santo a Antonio Orsero, "Ecco come rilanciare l'aeroporto", "Il Secolo XIX", 11 settembre 2008). Tempo di bilanci dunque. Qui di seguito un articolo (**) apparso nel numero 5 de "Il Ponente".

(**) Inizia ormai a essere sempre più fievole l'eco delle polemiche di fine agosto nate intorno all'aeroporto "Clemente Panero" di Villanova; la scintilla, com'è risaputo, il ruolo avuto dal ministro Claudio Scajola nella concessione del finanziamento di poco meno di un milione dei euro assicurato dallo Stato nella logica della cosiddetta "continuità territoriale" per il ripristino del volo Albenga-Roma. Partita da un articolo un po' romanzesco di Ferruccio Sansa ("Voli, treni e autostrade per conquistare gli elettori", La Stampa, 17 agosto) scritto sulla sottile e ambigua linea dove storia e leggenda spesso si confondono, poi la notizia passando di blog in blog (Dagospia) e di giornale in giornale fino all'Avvenire, in parte è un po' degenerata finendo già sgualcita anche tra le colonne delle cronache locali del liguri lidi ponentini. Dal punto di vista della polemica politica, il caso in fondo è poco memorabile; ha avuto la sua fiammata d'un giorno per poi risolversi, a livello nazionale, nel canonico rituale delle schermaglie tra difensori e accusatori di Scajola.

Nelle province di Savona e Imperia, il dibattito si è risolto sostanzialmente, al di là di qualche isolata locale baruffa, con un'alzata di scudi trasversale non solo in difesa del volo Albenga-Roma [che peraltro interferisce con richieste analoghe avanzate dal vicino aeroporto cuneese di Levaldigi, N.d.T. aggiunta], ma soprattutto, più in generale, della complessiva centralità dell'aeroporto Panero nel futuro rilancio turistico ed economico di tutto il Ponente. Mettendo da parte la politica, grandi voci di dissenso, in questo senso non ce ne sono state; a disturbare tanto unanimismo solo le pesanti accuse dell'Aviazione Civile (www.aviazionecivile.com), un'associazione nata nel... ...2006, attiva anche in Liguria "per sensibilizzare Enti Locali, associazioni e cittadinanza alle tematiche specifiche dei luoghi". "Albenga è l'unico aeroporto italiano che beneficia dei fondi per la continuità territoriale in maniera comica: questi si giustificano infatti per realtà davvero isolate come Pantelleria e Lampedusa, non certo per luoghi ad un'ora di automobile da Genova o Nizza", ha attaccato senza mezze misure Riccardo Caselli, responsabile della sezione ligure dell'associazione, bocciando senza appello il ripristino del volo tra gli scali Panero e Fiumicino.

Ma non solo, perché il duro attacco era volto a squalificare in quanto irrealistica, secondo una posizione espressa più volte fin dallo scorso anno, l'idea in sé di un possibile sviluppo a fini turistico-commerciali dello scalo: "Ribadiamo - ha ripetuto ancora una volta Caselli nel bel mezzo della polemica su più d'un giornale a Savona e Imperia - che il Panero è un aeroporto necessario per le attività di Aeroclub e come base d'appoggio per Protezione Civile e Piaggio, ma continuare a calcare la mano coi voli linea è un nonsenso. A questo proposito è bene ricordare che il milione di Euro dello Stato sarebbe a esclusivo beneficio del vettore, mentre gli Enti Locali dovrebbero continuare ad accollarsi i costi necessari affinché l'aeroporto ospiti voli di linea, non necessarie altrimenti: strutture, personale e Consiglio di Amministrazione". "L'esperienza di anni in cui si è tentato di promuovere in ogni modo voli da Albenga ha mostrato inequivocabilmente che non sono praticabili: non rendersene conto, lanciandosi in proclami o accusando di polemica politica chi solleva obiezioni nel merito, è un atto di leggerezza", erano - e continuano ovviamente ad essere - le perentorie e inappellabili conclusioni dell'associazione Aviazione Civile e di Caselli che liquidava con sufficienza, senza nominarlo, anche la recente iniziativa "dei charter su Albenga voluti da un operatore privato", cioè il tour operator Explora Italia, "iniziativa invero fallimentare visti i dati di riempimento recentemente rivelati dalla stampa".

Naturalmente la loro è una posizione critica legittima, ma ovviamente discutibile, come qualsiasi altra e, nonostante abbiano alzato la voce, più di una loro argomentazione è in fondo debole, a partire da queste ultime. In realtà per il Panero, a detta dei più, è sempre mancato un serio piano di sviluppo che non dipendesse dai soli finanziamenti pubblici (enti locali, regione, stato e quant'altro). Dunque, veri precedenti tentativi di attivare un plausibile circuito di collegamenti con alle spalle un progetto turistico o simili, in realtà non c'è mai stato; insomma, sono esistiti collegamenti, ma senza l'appoggio di alcuna reale promozione, e ciò vale anche per la tratta con Roma. Così il vero paradosso è che nel 2008 ancora non si sa se lo scalo è effettivamente in grado di crearsi un suo specifico bacino d'utenza. Il presidente di Explora Italia Ciro My, trascinato un po' forzatamente dentro la polemica, ha poi in un comunicato ribadito le linee e i tempi del suo progetto imprenditoriale; dal momento che investe capitali assumendosene il rischio d'impresa, la sua è una scelta del tutto lecita e da questo punto di vista la critica diventa un esercizio francamente aleatorio; se il suo sia stato o no un azzardo, lo si vedrà il prossimo anno. In fondo, bisogna dargliene atto, questo tour operator milanese è l'unico, dopo una ridda di effimeri annunci, ad avere avviato in concreto un progetto imprenditoriale che tra i suoi fulcri abbia il Panero (nel gennaio 2007 si fecero persino girare voci di imminenti accordi con tour operator in Germania per un possibile volo Albenga-Berlino e tra le compagnie aeree fu fatto addirittura il nome della Lufthansa. Poi, più nulla e su tutta l'operazione mesi dopo calò un pudico silenzio). Comunque, al di là di questo singolo caso, l'impressione che insomma resta da tutta quest'ultima polemica, è che probabilmente l'aeroporto Clemente Panero nei prossimi cinque anni si giocherà la sua ultima vera chance di un reale sviluppo turistico-commerciale. In caso di fallimento, allora sì che le accuse e le profezie dell'associazione Aviazione Civile avrebbero davvero un senso.

Explora Italia, la società che gestisce, tramite il vettore Alitalia Express, voli charter con cadenza settimanale, ha aggiunto, a partire dal 28 novembre 2008, un altro collegamento a quelli sinora attivi. Si tratta del collegamento fra Villanova d'Albenga e l'aeroporto di Salerno-Pontecagnano che consente al sabato mattina dal Clemente Panero (con partenza alle 6,45) di raggiungere Salerno (arrivo alle 8,15). Il ritorno è poi previsto il giorno successivo, domenica, con partenza da Salerno alle 17 ed arrivo ad Albenga alle 18,30. Il nuovo collegamento era stato richiesto dall'utenza, specialmente da funzionari che hanno necessità di raggiungere le regioni meridionali, sotto la Capitale. Il nuovo volo ‘schedulato' fa parte di una linea settimanale che consente agli sciatori del sud di raggiungere Bolzano partendo appunto da Salerno-Pontecaiano.

 L'Albenga-Salerno dimostra la ricettività del mercato nei confronti di offerte specifiche, seppur cadenzate settimanalmente.

 Intanto proseguono, con buon riscontro di viaggiatori, i collegamenti con Roma che si effettuano il martedì e il venerdì (partenza alle 8,40 e arrivo alle 10,05; rientro con partenza alle 18,20 da Roma ed arrivo ad Albenga alle 19,50).

 E' anche operativo sino al 28 settembre, alla domenica,  il collegamento da Albenga a Bastia (partenza 8,00, arrivo 9,00) con rientro ad Albenga (partenza 14,00, arrivo 14,55). 

Fonte: Ufficio Stampa Explora Italia

This is going to be the event of the century. If you like dancing, loud music, intense visuals, and just plain old gettin' down to some ferociously funky sounds, this is the place to be. Last year's Hollerable Mention, hosted by WXVU's Adam Scavette, featured Pink Skull, Hurrah, Peter Dragontail, as well as others. While this time around we'll be kicking off the show with the quirky pop/rock sounds of Banned Books (my band) and the Bot Flies, we are predicting an even more wild dance party later in the evening. JHN RDN, former Villanova student turned Philly DJ and club owner (The Barbary Ballroom) will be providing some seriously dancey jams, as well as DJ Eggman (Adam Scavette), John A'Dreams (DOMINO; coordinator of intense visual stimulation and down-tempo atmospheric soundscapes), and Hurrah (fun fucking dance music). If you only listen to one thing I tell you to do in life, let it be this: GO TO HOLLERABLE MENTION II AND HAVE ONE HELL OF A NIGHT!

P.S. - ^Thanks to Mister DOMINO for the amazing flyer.^

Izquierda Unida acusa al alcalde de emprender una campaña para controlar los medios de comunicación locales

Izquierda unida presenta ayer en el pleno municipal, una moción para exigir al ayuntamiento la finalización del boicot informativo que mantiene la oficina de prensa municipal hacía el diario digital alhaurin.com.

Esta iniciativa se elevo el pasado mes de julio, contra la decisión de comité local del Partido Popular, que decidió que la oficina de prensa del ayuntamiento dejará de emitir comunicados en alhaurin.com.

Izquierda Unida tachó esta medida de intolerable, porque no es licito que un los militantes de un partido político, decidan en sus reuniones las políticas y acciones que debe seguir los órganos municipales.

Desde IU se defendió el derecho constitucional que asiste al ciudadano de recibir la información municipal, pues es este el que la mantiene y costea con el pago de sus impuestos, y acuso el equipo de gobierno de intentar controlar a los medios de comunicación locales, al igual que ocurre con la televisión municipal y de coartar la libertad de expresión y participación del ciudadano.

Según IU el equipo de gobierno utiliza el pago de publicidad institucional a los medios privados, para conseguir un trato privilegiado y favorable en detrimento del resto de grupos de la corporación, además de utilizar Torrevisión en exclusiva como aparato de propagan del Sr. Alcalde y su equipo de gobierno.

“No se entiende que el único medio que posibilita la libre expresión directa de los ciudadanos, sea el único que recibe este boicot, mientras el resto de medios que trabajan directamente en nuestro municipio, no lo reciben”.

También acuso al alcalde de politizar aún mas la televisión pública municipal , y ahora, “aparte de utilizarla como plataforma de propaganda del PP y del Sr. Villanova , la usa para el adoctrinamiento político de los ciudadanos, pero seguro que aún seguirán calificándola como una televisión cultural, pero ya no pueden engañar a nadie”.

IU critico la emisión de programas de las televisiones “ultraderechistas” del periodista de la COPE Federico Jiménez Losantos , Libertad digital TV e Intereconomia, puesto que estos programas no cuentan con la pluralidad informativa de la que debe hacer gala un televisión pública, “pagada por el dinero de todos.

Izquierda Unida pregunto repetidas veces durante el Pleno por el coste de compra de estos programas, sin obtener una respuesta clara del Sr. Alcalde, y solicito la retirada de los mismos, puesto que son programas sin ningún rigor, que además de sectarios y dogmáticos, confunden al espectador ofreciendo solo una visión conservadora de la política, y además el ciudadano que lo desee puede acceder a ellos gratuitamente atreves de la TDT.

This is the first photo of Dan Conway I ever took back in 2003 at Villanova, over the years I've taken countless photo's of Dan and witnessed alot of handrail's go under his belt but to this day this photo has always stuck out to me as it was not only the first shot I ever took of Dan but it was also the first legit handrail I ever witnessed go down in front of me.

 48

I. The Passing Game: How surprising was it to see WVU attempt 34 passes? I remember clearly listening to the WVU pre-game show and host Jeff Jenkins saying that nobody expects WVU to throw the ball 35 times a game. And while it is probably more of an anomaly, and a product of Villanova's defensive setup, you have to be impressed with the passing of Pat White. White completed 25 of 33 and I believe every pass he threw had a WVU receivers' hands on it at some point. The receivers have to work on limiting their drops throughout the season though. Alric Arnett ran some fantastic patterns and the post route on his second TD was truly a thing of beauty.

II. Defense - Everyone is going to give the defense a hard time, and it is somewhat deserved as they allowed Villanova to control possession and the Wildcats were in WVU territory on many of their drives. One thing that impressed me were six sacks, although at times the Mountaineers could not get to Antwon Young and gave him too much time in the pocket. Villanova was using the play clock to their advantage in the first quarter, and prior to Mortty Ivy's fumble recovery, WVU's defense was on it heels and some of the defenders were on their knees between plays which is something you definitely do not want to see. J.T. Thomas was the best defensive player on the field all game long and established himself as a force for this season, and once Reed Williams gets back to strength the linebackers will live up to their billing.

III. Jock Sanders - Jock is going to do everything this season. At first glance he looks like he is moving faster than Noel Devine. I loved the two carries that Sanders had for 28 yards and he also hauled in 8 catches for 62 yards and 2 TD. While White and Devine will probably continue to overshadow Sanders, he may become the most important piece of the offense for the Mountaineers.

Looks decent enough. From outside Chicago, so I have no beef there. Though he is an English major, so we should go into this thinking that just touching a girl's leg is an accomplishment.

The reason we're meeting our boy Emmett is because he wrote a piece for the Villanova student newspaper entitled, "I wish they all could be Villanova girls." (This is what you find when you're looking for hump day material.) I was intrigued enough to read the entire thing. Now, I kind of wish that I hadn't.

Here are some excerpts on just why, exactly, Mr. Fitzpatrick wants all girls to be "Villanova girls:"

First, a little background on this article. I happened to be wearing a Villanova T-shirt at Wrigley Field last summer when a boy came up to me and told me that he was starting his freshman year in the fall. After a little small talk, he asked me, "What are the girls like?" My immediate response was, "Awesome. You won't be disappointed." It was a simple answer to a seemingly simple question, but I thought about it often over the rest of the summer. What are the girls really like here at 'Nova?

OK, so they're awesome. Awesome! I'm sufficiently pumped. And even though I have never really expected the girls at a private, Catholic university in the Northeast to be "awesome," I am willing to keep an open mind.

We've all heard the stereotypes of Villanova girls. They're white, attractive, come from wealthy families and think they deserve anything and everything they've gotten. The male population labels them as snobbish and, more importantly, prudes.

How have Villanova girls earned such a reputation? Let me give you an example. A drunk guy sees an attractive girl at a party. He goes up to talk to her, only to have the girl completely shut him down, as if to say, "Why would I ever to talk to you?" The guy will then go back to his friends and say something to the effect of, "God … Villanova girls are so snobbish … and prudes!"

I hate to disagree with you, Emmett, but this is the opposite of awesome. This actually sounds pretty downright miserable. This is EXACTLY what I thought girls at a private, Catholic university in the Northeast would be like.

And I'm guessing the guys don't go back to their other drunk friends and use words like "snobbish" and "prudes." I'm guessing it's more like "bitch" and "cunt."

First, there are the girls that embody the school-wide stereotype that I mentioned earlier. They have a great figure, wear all the stylish outfits, drive expensive cars and are leaders of so-called prestigious organizations on campus. They drink - sometimes in excess but mostly just enough to get enough of a "buzz" to take pictures with their gorgeous friends.

I have never heard of such excitement. I went to the #1 party school in America for seven years and never once did I encounter girls that seemed so awesome. I am overwhelmed by the awesomeness of these girls. Overwhelmed.

Next are the girls who try to be a part of the aforementioned category, but for whatever reason cannot quite meet the necessary requirements. Maybe they've put on a few pounds since freshman year; maybe they got denied by some popular clubs or maybe they drink to excess on a regular basis. If these girls are smart, they will stop caring about the first category and learn to enjoy themselves. Once they do this, they are the best girls to be around on campus - still just as attractive as the first group without being as pretentious.

See, now our boy Emmett has the right idea: he's fucking fat chicks. But, so to save his ego, he's calling them "just as attractive as the first group without being as pretentious." Sure, Emmett, sure. There's a reason they didn't get into those clubs. It's because they're either fat, ugly, poor, or all three. Poor is tolerable. Fat and ugly are not.

For all of the negative stereotypes that are commonly heard about Villanova girls, most of the guys I interviewed had positive things to say about them.

Senior Ken Petkunas used the word "delightful" to describe Villanova girls, while sophomore Bob Quitadamo called them "classy, sophisticated and damn hot." Bob also asked me to list his phone number in this column, though, so you should probably take his comment with a grain of salt.

Perhaps senior Chris Thomas put it best when he said, "Villanova girls are like pineapples: interesting to look at, yet callous on the outside, but sweet on the inside."

I would like to think senior Chris Thomas didn't say it best when he uttered the gayest description of all-time. Senior Ken Petkunas didn't do too much better (seriously, "delightful?"). At least sophomore Bob Quitadamo got the word "hot" in his description. That's a step in the right direction.

To illustrate the difference between WVU and Villanova, I asked a male WVU student to describe the girls here in Morgantown. Here is that transcript:

hot holy fucking shit hot easy hot hot bang smokin' hot no clothes body shots short shorts hot sex blow jobs hot sororostitutes hot bitches easy hot threesome fuck hot tired now

I know, I couldn't have said it better myself. But poor Emmett still likes his "Nova girls.

When I talk to my older brothers, all Villanova graduates, about the girls here, they usually tell me to "enjoy it while it lasts." They tell me that the real world isn't full of Villanova girls. For my money, that's a damn shame.

What, the real world isn't full of snobbish, prudish women who don't put out? Surely, you jest.

NOTE: I apologize for bringing everyone down, especially on the holiest of all WBGV days. Expect a true Hump Day! post later this afternoon.

The Mascot: Wildcats.

In 1926, a contest was conducted involving the entire university, to adopt a mascot for Villanova. Edward Hunsinger, a former All-American defensive end at Notre Dame, hit upon the nickname "Wildcats"...The name Wildcats refers to a wide variety of feral felines such as the bobcat, caracal, and lynx. Villanova's Wildcat most closely resembles the bobcat, which is found in the Southwest part of the United States. The term Wildcats is meant to convey the image of an animal that is successful in its quest to survive using its ferocious attitude, speed, agility, and alertness. The spirit of the Wildcat is embodied in all of our athletic teams...Will D. Cat is the mascot that attends all of our home games and entertains the fans while cheering on Villanova.

Location: Radnor Township, Pennsylvania (near Philadelphia)

Founded: 1842 by the Augustinian Monastic Order (Roman Catholic)

Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,335

Notable Alumni: Howie Long, NFL hall-of famer/television analyst; Maria Bello, actress; Ed Rendell, Pennyslvania governor; Jim Croce, musician; Don McLean, musician.

Conference: Colonial Athletic Association

Head Coach: Andy Talley, 23rd season at Villanova (148-94-1), 1979-83 at St. Lawrence (28-18-1).

2007 Results: 7-4, 5-3 Colonial. Did not qualify for playoffs.

Last Playoff Appearance: 2002 (National Semifinals)

2008 Rankings: The Wildcats are ranked #21 in the Sports Network Football Championship Subdivision preseason Top 25.

Returning Starters: 17

Notable Players: QB Antwon Young (6'4"/215/Jr./Fort Lauderdale, FL); DL Tim Kukucka (6'3"/250/Jr./Wall, NJ)

History Against WVU: WVU is 5-1 all-time against the Wildcats. The teams have not faced off in football in over 30 years. WVU lost the last contest, 41-36 in Morgantown in 1977. WVU won the first five games of the series dating back to 1913, and each game has been contested in Morgantown. Click here for more info. WVU and Villanova have faced off in men's basketball as Big East foes since 1996 and were also Eastern 8 colleagues from 1977-1980. Villanova leads the all-time mens basketball series, 20-17. The most memorable Villanova game for WVU fans would be the 2005 Big East tournament semifinal, a 78-76 WVU victory. Villanova and WVU are also the only two Big East basketball squads to advance to the Sweet 16 in three of the last four seasons.

Next Up: Villanova has next weekend off before facing Lehigh in their home opener on September 13.

The Blogosphere: While I Bleed Blue and White and Villanova by the Numbers are excellent blogs, neither offers much in the way of Villanova football coverage. Nor could I find any 'Nova football bloggers in my many quests for information.

The Lowdown: Villanova is a strong squad in the Football Championship Subdivision, but will be severely out-manned when they visit Morgantown. Andy Talley is one of the longest tenured coaches in the game today and he will have his team ready to battle against the Mountaineers. This is the fourth straight season that Villanova will kick off its season against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent -- In 2007, they lost 31-14 to Maryland in College Park. In 2006, they lost 35-16 to UCF in Orlando. The Wildcats lost to Rutgers in 2005, 38-6. Many fans will remember Villanova edging then-Big East opponent Temple, 23-20 in 2003, and gunning down Rutgers, 37-19 in 2002. Nova is a team like WVU that is offense-driven, but even with some question marks for WVU on defense, I don't see the Wildcats stopping the Mountaineers long enough to make this game interesting.

Domenica 24/08 vorrei partecipare alla 33ª MARCIA DEL DONATORE (e 5ª CAMMINATA DI SOLIDARIETA’ ANMIL) a Villanova di Pordenone, una marcia non competitiva con percorsi da 6-12-20km, praticamente per tutti i gusti. Partenza dalle ore 8:30 alle 9:30.

Penso di partire verso le 9:00 e fare il percorso da 12km, la giusta distanza per me adesso, visto che non mi sono allenato molto ultimamente, mi sembra comunque un buon allenamento di preparazione per la Maratonina di Pordenone di ottobre.

Visualizzazione ingrandita della mappa

La polemica nata intorno al ruolo avuto dal ministro delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti Claudio Scajola sul finanziamento statale di 940 mila euro erogato in favore dell'aeroporto Clemente Panero di Villanova per il ripristino della linea Albenga-Fiumicino, rischia infine di coinvolgere indirettamente anche il Tour Operator Exploraitalia?

Sfiorato solo marginalmente negli articoli apparsi sulla stampa nazionale e locale, è soprattutto in alcuni blog e forum di opinione diffusi nel web che, come per effetto di un virtuale tam tam, si sono sempre più diffusi nei giorni scorsi voci di sospetta mancanza di trasparenza anche nei confronti di Explora Italia, il tour operator milanese con sede ad Arcore recentemente "creato per l'incentivazione dei flussi turistici in alcune aree di minor ‘frequenza' con la preziosa collaborazione degli aeroporti minori italiani", come si legge nel suo sito ufficiale (www.exploraitalia.it). Il presidente Ciro My, impegnato da alcuni mesi sul territorio ingauno per intrecciare una serie di relazioni con l'AVA, la società di gestione dell'aeroporto Panero, con gli operatori economici locali e con i soggetti istituzionali di riferimento necessari per avviare una sua rete di collegamenti aerei in grado di intercettare nuovi flussi turistici, cerca di gettare acqua sul fuoco e di chiarire la sua posizione di imprenditore.

 "Exploraitalia - ha puntualizzato ieri in una nota -, in quanto Tour Operator nulla ha a che fare né potrà mai avere a che fare con ipotetici finanziamenti o contributi pubblici erogabili solo ed esclusivamente a Compagnie Aeree (la cosiddetta Continuità Territoriale). I nostri collegamenti organizzati da Albenga, per ora con la collaborazione di Alitalia Express, fanno parte di un più ampio progetto turistico che coinvolge la Corsica (Bastia), la Sardegna (Tortolì) e a breve Bolzano". "Le risorse finanziarie - prosegue Ciro My - sono tutte private ed in funzione della stagione turistica 2009; la scelta dello scalo di Albenga come aeroporto di riferimento scaturisce solo ed esclusivamente da valutazioni di strategia Aziendale anche in funzione del maggior numero di ipotetici flussi turisti. Un solo esempio per tutti: da Savona si imbarcano verso la Corsica (Bastia) oltre 1 milione di turisti Italiani ogni anno". "I collegamenti con Roma e Milano - conclude il presidente di Exploraitalia - hanno il solo scopo di intercettare flussi di turisti in arrivo sui due grandi HUB Italiani per poi distribuirli nelle località del Ponente Ligure, dell'Ogliastra in Sardegna e dell'alta Corsica".

[per un bilancio della polemica, vedi in questo blog Albenga, Aeroporto Panero di Villanova: occasione di sviluppo o spreco di risorse pubbliche?]

In Texas, MBA students, staff and faculty from Southern Methodist University are leading the charge for TeamMBA in the Austin Livestrong Challenge the weekend of October 25-26.

The Livestrong Challenge is a series of fundraising cycling/walking/running events to support the Lance Armstrong Foundation's work in cancer research and education. Since TeamMBA began supporting the Lance Armstrong Foundation in 2005, students, staff and faculty from b-schools around the world have raised over US$280,000 for the cause.

If you are interested in joining TeamMBA for the Philadelphia or Austin event, please contact us at teammba@gmac.com.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that ESPN was trying to fill the dead space between the NBA Finals and the Olympics with yet another list. Normally I wouldn't have even bothered to look at it because ESPN's lists have been getting progressively more ludicrous (hitting its peak--or nadir--when John Hollinger put Dwayne Wade's 2006 "Fall down 7 times, shoot 14 free throws" performance above every single one of Michael Jordan's masterpieces). However, when I noticed that ESPN was trying to rank the most prestigious programs for college basketball in the 64-/65-team era, I was intrigued and figured it was worth some analysis.

The first thing I always do when looking at any list is to see the scoring system used and ESPN sure picked an interesting system. I'll break it into segments with some analysis:

• National title … 25
• Title game loss … 20
• National semifinal loss … 15
• Elite Eight loss … 10

- All four of these things seems pretty reasonable. I think that most fans would value the post-season performances in a way that is pretty close to the points awarded although it seems like a Final 4 berth is considered a great accomplishment for any program (even for the Duke's and North Carolina's of the college basketball world). I probably would have bumped up the national title, title game loss, and national semifinal loss by 5 points to give a 10 point spread between an Elite 8 loss and a national semifinal loss.

• Best W-L record in conference's regular season … 5
• 30-plus wins in a season … 5
• Sweet 16 loss … 5

- This is where the scoring starts to get questionable. I'm assuming the "Best W-L record in conference's regular season" is lawyerspeak for regular season conference champion. I'm glad that ESPN has decided that the America East regular season champion deserves more points for their in-conference performance than the regular season runner-ups in the ACC, Big East, and SEC. The 5 points for the 30-plus win season may seem like a lot, but in fact they are very rare (Duke leads with 9 such seasons and I could only count/remember 16 programs with any 30-win seasons since the start of the 1984-85 season) so that seems reasonable (as does the 5 points for a Sweet 16 loss although 16 programs achieve are awarded this each season while approximately the same number have achieved it for a 30-win season during the entire era). My main question with the 5-point awards is if they really consider all regular season conference titles the same as it is easier to win certain titles than others. One interesting note about this methodology is that Princeton with 10 regular season Ivy League titles is awarded 50 points with this methodology while Duke with 9 30-plus win seasons is only awarded 45 points for that feat (ignoring the fact that Duke probably won the regular season conference title most of those years).

• Conference tournament title … 3
• AP first-team All-American … 3
• Losing in NCAA second round … 3

- I'm assuming that the Ivy League regular season champ automatically gets the 3 points for winning the conference tournament title since they don't have a post-season tournament. This only further skews the points Princeton and UPenn get in this system as they receive 80 points and 96 points respectively for their Ivy League titles not to mention the 20-win seasons they racked up beating up on Cornell, Columbia, Harvard, and Brown. I'm perfectly fine with the AP 1st-team AA points as at most 5 teams a year will have a player earn that distinction. Perhaps they should have thrown in a National POY bonus as that player is the one who usually defines the season (Ralph Sampson, Christian Laettner, etc.). Likewise, I'm in agreement with the 3 points for the 2nd round NCAA tournament loss.

• Player in top 10 of NBA draft … 2
• NCAA first-round win as a 12-16 seed … 2
• NIT title … 2
• AP second-team All-American … 2

- This is where it starts to get really weird. Let's get the reasonable things out of the way first. Top 10 pick worth 2 points? Ok. That seems fine even if the draft was dominated by high schoolers and Euros for a few years. In the future, the one-and-done rule might make this benefit the schools that are willing to take the one-and-done guys even if it does hurt their APR. That is unless those guys start going to Europe. Cinderella getting 2 points for a 1st-round upset? Fine with this too even if we will all remember the Hampton upset of Iowa State more than we will remember the annual 5-12 upsets. AP second-team AA worth 2 points? Ok with this one too even if I think once you start getting to the 2nd team the players selected start getting more dependent on the voters. I'm too lazy to check this out (perhaps rtmsf can do it), but I'd be willing to venture there is a lot more variation in the guys selected to the 2nd team by various publications/groups than there is with the 1st team. Now for the crazy one. . .Awarding 2 points for a NIT title? Maybe in the 1950s, but today winning the NIT only makes you the butt-end of every more successful team in your conference. How many message board threads have trolls made mocking the 65th (now 66th) best team in country? I'll admit that the NIT champs would probably beat the 13-16 seeds most of the time, but is there really any pride in being the small fish (mediocre team) in the big ponds (power conference) that can beat up on the plankton (13-16 seeds)? I'd give the NIT champ 1 point overall, which leads into the next big problem. . .

• 20-29 wins in a season … 1
• NCAA tournament berth … 1
• Postseason NIT berth … 1
• AP third-team All-American … 1

- Let's get the easy ones out of the way. No problems here with the 20-29 wins or AP 3rd team AA getting 1 point. I would probably differentiate between 20-24 wins, which is usually a solid season, and 25-29 wins, which usually will put you into consideration for a top 4 seed if you're from a power conference. Like I said before the further down the AA list you go, the more variation you will have by publication/group, but it's not really worth arguing about for 1 point. The thing worth arguing about is giving the same number of points for a NCAA tournament berth and a postseason NIT berth. To borrow an over-used phrase from John McEnroe, "You cannot be serious!" While I recognize that in this system the NIT team can only receive 2 points from the tournament (if they win), it is ridiculous to even consider invitations to the 2 tournament similar when the entire selection special is based on camera crews camping out in rooms with bubble teams to see if they got into the NCAA tournament. Maybe the ESPN stat whizzes have access to different camera feeds than I do, but it seems like the players, coaches, and families are happier when they get into the NCAA tournament than when they find out they are going to the NIT (even if Madison Square Garden is a slight upgrade from Boise, Idaho--unless we're talking NBA). That's just one man's interpretation of the reactions I see although I could probably point out that a few years ago Georgetown declined an invitation to the NIT because they wanted to give their players more time to study for exams. . .in March. I wonder why Georgetown didn't turn down its #2 seed this year. Do John Thompson III and the Georgetown AD not care about those same exams any more?

• NCAA first-round loss to a 12-16 seed … -2
• Losing season … -3
• Ban from NCAA tournament … -3

- No problem with the first two although I wonder if a losing season is counted against you if you have it expunged from your record and throw your long-time assistant coach under the bus? Also, I'd consider a 15-16 season a disappointment while I would consider 8-20 a complete embarrassment, so I'd probably make the less than 10-win season a significantly bigger penalty. I think the NCAA tournament ban should be a much larger penalty in this scoring system as the public (and press) reaction tends to be pretty bad (see below).

>> Minimum 15 seasons in Division I
** Ties are broken by overall winning percentage since the 1984-85 season

- After all the issues with the scoring system, I'm not going to complain about these minor qualifiers and tiebreakers. Both of them seem reasonable and none of the top 50 teams were tied.

Now that we've looked the methodology it's time to pick apart the rankings to see what ESPN got right and what they screwed up. Duke is the run-away winner as even the most ardent Duke-hater (feel free to chime in here rtmsf) would agree that Coach K's Blue Devils have been the most dominant program of the era even if their results have been underwhelming the past few years. The Blue Devils are followed by the Jayhawks in 2nd and the Tar Heels in 3rd. I'm not going to argue much with this although I would have UNC in 2nd just because I consider Kansas a team that historically underperforms in the tournament (Mario Chalmers' shot and Danny and the Miracles not withstanding). Now onto the rankings I am utterly confused by.

Overated:
- UNLV: 8th?!? I loved Jerry Tarkanian's Runnin' Rebs, who may have been one of the best college teams ever even if they lost/threw the 1991 national semifinal against Duke, but there is no way this has been the 8th most prestigious program in the country over the past 20+ years just like Memphis isn't in that category. ESPN provides a pretty clear summary of why UNLV shouldn't be in the top 10: "2 NCAA sanctions; 10 coaches since 1984-85; 0 NCAA tourney wins between 1992 and 2007". I'd keep UNLV in the top 20, but they definitely don't belong in the top 10 with that track record.
- Xavier: The Muskeeters (at #17) have a nice Atlantic-10 program, but the fact that they have never made a Final 4 should automatically keep them out of the top 25. The Musketeers are buoyed by 21 combined conference titles, but have not really been a threat in the NCAA tournament having only racked up 15 NCAA tournament wins. Interestingly, Xavier came in 2 spots ahead of Cincinnati even though Xavier is widely considered the red-headed stepchild in the city.
- Temple: I don't mean to sound like Billy Packer ripping on the mid-majors (sorry, if you're not a BCS conference, you're a mid-major in my eyes), but the Owls never made the Final 4 despite five trips there under John Chaney. I think they're a very good program, but like Xavier, Temple shouldn't be in the Top 25 without a Final 4 appearance.
- Murray State: Now this is the point where I rip the little guy. I was absolutely stunned when I saw this one. The Racers always seem to be one of those teams you see at the bottom of the bracket and maybe every once in a while you decide to take a chance on them to pull off the huge upset. Unfortunately, if you're one of those people, you've only been rewarded once (1988 against 3rd-seeded NC State). The Racers piled up the points by dominating the Ohio Valley Conference racking up 22 (or 24 depending on your addition skills) conference titles and twelve 20+ win seasons (thanks to an easy conference schedule). Somehow this manages to put them above Villanova, Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, and Wake Forest.

Underrated:
- Maryland: The Terps (28th) are killed by the fact that they play in the ACC and have lost out on a ton of points thanks to playing in the same conference as Duke and UNC. Although Gary Williams hasn't had good teams the past few years, the Terps run especially in the Juan Dixon era should have been enough to propel them into the top 20. How does this program only rank 2 spots ahead of Murray State?
- Utah: I don't think the Utes would be able to move up much higher, but it would be interesting to see how high they would be on this list if they didn't have the misfortune of playing Kentucky so many times in the 1990s. While the Utes benefited playing in a softer conference than some of their peers on the list (SEC and ACC), the Mountain West has been a fairly strong conference in recent years.
- Florida: I'm not sure how much higher the Gators could move up because of their relative lack of success (not counting Lon Kruger's 1994 Final 4 run) before Joakim Noah and company ran off back-to-back titles, but it seems like that alone should be enough to crack the top 20 especially when programs like Xavier and Temple are ranked ahead of them despite not making a single Final 4 appearance. The Gators probably belong in the top 15 although that may be more of a recency effect, but it just seems that there recent run puts them at a level that isn't that much different than UNLV with its run with Larry Johnson.

Other points of interest:
- Coach K's current program (Duke) ranks #1. The program he left (Army) comes in tied for 298th, or as it is more commonly referred to "DFL". Hopefully the Duke athletic department program has a better succession plan in place than Army did when Coach K decides to leave the sidelines.
- I found this rather amusing from personal experience. Boston University comes in at 108th ahead of programs such as Clemson, Providence (with a Final 4 appearance), Washington, and USC.
- In the current SportsNation voting, Kentucky is in the lead (good work out of the Sea of Blue crowd) with Duke in 4th even though they have the most #1 votes (something tells me they were left off a lot of ballots or voted 25th). The three teams I singled out as being overrated in the top 25 were moved down quite a bit. Note: I thought they were overrated even before I saw the online voting.

The decision to launch iTunes U was a fantastic idea, no doubt about it. It can be a research source for college students, supplement class discussions or just be a resource for those with curiosity and interest on a certain topic. Most of the lectures that I have looked at are around an hour long so it could become an issue as to when people would have time to listen to the lectures and I think is something that might put a few people off, but I would still highly recommend that everyone take a look at it.

Villanova

Penn State

Rhode Island

Niagara

Hartford

Monmouth

NJIT

Towson

Now this is a pretty unique tournament.  All 8 teams will come together at the Palestra over Thanksgiving and play in two separate tournament brackets.  But before all of that, there will be two 'preliminary rounds'. Now first off, I'm basing these tournament projections off of last year's tournament.  Penn State and Villanova should get two home games.  One against Towson/Hartford and the other against Monmouth/NJIT (hopefully, because playing both NJIT and Monmouth would be a rip off).  Rhode Island, Niagara, Towson and Hartford should all get one home game and one away game.  NJIT and Monmouth most likely will have to travel for both of their games.  Now, back to the tournament brackets at the Palestra.  There will be the championship bracket and the who cares bracket.  The 2 preliminary games I just mentioned will have to be against whoever's in the other bracket PSU is not participating in at the Palestra, which is why I mentioned Towson, Hartford, NJIT and Monmouth as possibilities.  Penn State and Villanova are definitely in the championship bracket, along with Rhode Island and my guess, Niagara.  If I had to guess, the 'semifinals' matchups would be PSU/Rhode Island and Villanova/Niagara.  I think it's safe to say that the only way we play Villanova is in the Championship game.

So to recap.  PSU will get 4 games out of this tournament.  Two home games against pretty weak competition and two neutral games at the Palestra against quality competition.  Now the good news for PSU.  Both Niagara and Rhode Island lose their top players to graduation.  Superstud Will Daniels for Rhode Island and the former country's 2nd leading scorer (27.6 ppg), Charron Fisher for Niagara. Both players are trying to get a roster spot in the NBA.   So both teams most likely won't be near-NCAA teams like they were last year.  This is set up perfectly for PSU.  All they have to do is beat Niagara or Rhode Island on the first day at the Palestra and they set themselves up with a golden opportunity.  A chance to play the best college team in Philadelphia (one that will be ranked and returning everyone from a Sweet 16 squad a year ago) on a historic, neutral court, over a holiday break.  That should be fantastic exposure for the program to the recruits in Philadelphia.  Hopefully we don't blow it like we did in our last Thanksgiving tournament....

KLEZNA VILLANOVA

----------Check ADPONTES-STAINES.COM-------------

Like most college basketball fans, I'm excited to see Packer and his bitterness leave the airwaves (although I'm sure that rtmsf is sad to see a Wake Forest alum lose his job). While Packer has certainly become an institution (of hatred) in college basketball, it seems like in recent years, Packer has been more controversial than normal although that may just be a recency effect.

Among Packer's "memorable" moments:
-1996: During a Georgetown-Villanova game, he calls Allen Iverson a "tough monkey". He apologizes and John Thompson (the original, not JT3) says it's a non-issue because he says Packer is not a racist.
-2000: When two Duke female (yeah, I know an oxymoron) students ask to see his press pass, Packer reportedly responds "Since when do we let women control who gets into a men's basketball game? Why don't you go find a women's game to let people into?" Once again Packer apologizes.
-2004: Criticizes the NCAA selection committee for giving 1-loss Saint Joseph's a #1 seed in the East Regional. This leads to a small disagreement between Packer and the CBS guest--St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli. The Hawks go onto reach the Elite 8 (beating Packer's alma mater Wake Forest in the Sweet 16) before losing to Oklahoma State in a tight game.
-2006: Packer rips into the selection committee for taking mid-majors over BCSconference schools. The mid-majors responded by having Bradley and Wichita State make it to the Sweet 16 and George Mason make it to the Final 4.
-2008: With 27:30 left in the national semifinal, Packer tells viewers that the game is over. Surprisingly it isn't. I'm sure the CBS bigwigs weren't too thrilled that Packer essentially told viewers they could stop watching with 27:30 left in the game.

I'm sure there are others dating back to the beginning of his time on TV, but frankly I'm too young to remember the more distant controversies.

In an attempt to remain "fair & balanced", we should note that Packer is most likely the 2nd person casual college basketball fans think of when they think of announcers--a distant 2nd to Dick Vitale. We'll leave you with this YouTube clip from last year with Packer and Jim Nantz discussing his potential legacy (disclosure: I haven't listened to this because I'm at work and I forgot my headphones--it's a Monday):

El alcalde de Alhaurín ha votado en contra de la moción de IU en la que instaba a la Unión Europea, a retirar la directiva que pretende alargar la jornada laboral a 60 horas, 78 en el caso de los médicos

Además Joaquín Villanova , reconoció sentirse representado por el grupo popular europeo, haciendo gala de el pensamiento "neocon" que practica en sus política municipal.

Recordamos que en el grupo popular europea se alinean partidos como los de Sarkozy o Berlusconi.

Joaquín Villanova ha desmostrado que no le importa en absoluto los derechos adquiridos por los trabajadores, y se alinea, como es constumbre en él con el capital y los grandes empresarios.

Megan is so sweet and such a good sport and trusted my artistic eye(?) 100%.

Megan's and Conor's house is so full of great light. Here, a great north light streams in from a front porch with windows on three sides. A photographer's dream!

I love old houses and all the little nooks and crannies you find in them. I found this great spot upstairs and am kicking myself for not getting each and every bridesmaid to do a catwalk strut right through it.

Yes, Conor is really this cool and confident in real life. He and the rest of the boys wore brand spankin' new Vans for the day!

Ryan Estes performed both second shooter duties as well as lighting grip for this series.

Famous rocktographer Lisa Schaffer stepped in as pinch hitter when I needed an assistant. By the way, I am soooo luvin' my 50mm f1.2 lens!

What an incredible day it was! Well, gonna take a break from my hectic schedule today to celebrate Independence Day with my kids.

The day started at Villanova University, as we took a personal tour with Coach Jebb Chagan taking the team on a personal tour of the campus. We visited the stadium, workout facility, basketball gym, and several educational and student life buildings. It was a very beautiful campus, with a lot of Gothic architecture and old churches dotting the campus. 

Coach Chagan was very relaxed and a great host, answering all the player's questions, and making some very candid statements about how he runs his program, and what he looks for and expects out of players. When asked about the state of Florida lacrosse right now, he said "The biggest drawback is that the majority of girls still do not use their right and left hands at an equally high level, and know when to use them. In Division I, there's no option, my players regularly spend 1 hour on the wall, 3-4 days a week." Jessica Rooney then asked Coach if he had ever cut a returning player, "Yes, I have, but it is rare. I've had a couple of players who have gotten into the wrong groups, and their game has suffered. Once, a player spent the Fall semester in Europe, and while I didn't believe it was in her best interest, I supported her decision. Life is all about choices, and you can make the choices to do a lot or not as much, and it will affect you one way or another. When that player came back, she hadn't kept her game up, was out of shape, so we had to cut her." Coach Chagan then stated that the biggest gains in a player's game can come from individual stickwork, and he's seen average players take tremendous leaps in the offseason because they committed to their stick. As Dean Smith (Former UNC Basketball Coach) said, "The offseason is for the individual, the season is for the team."

After the tour, we loaded back up and headed to the headwaters of the Brandywine River, where we had a lunch of Chik-fil-A nuggets (yum), and then put our tubes in their water for a Maniax Flotilla! The cool water was great for the girl's legs as they recovered from the weekend, and will really help them bounce back quicker. The wildlife and greenery around the river fantastic and very relaxing, especially when the sun was shining. We spent about 2 hours getting down the river, and had to hustle down to the hotel to be ready for practice! 

Actually, we were late, but the 4 college coach's in attendance were very patient and understanding, and the Manix responded with high energy levels! Coach Paul spoke about "pushing through" times that you might be tired or upset, and having a good performance on the field. It may be a rough bus ride with your teammates, a river trip you didn't like very much ;) or trouble with _________. Point is that you need to be able to put that aside, and when its game time, you're locked in! 

The first training session of Lax U featured the coaches from Converse, Jacksonville, Western Maryland, and Clarkson. After a brief stick warmup, the girls broke into 4 groups and rotated among the coach's drills. It was a great hour of work for the girls, and their energy level after the long day was great. 

After the training, the players sat down for a Q&A with the coaches, and they spoke about their programs, coaching philosophy, colleges, academics, student life, and more. It was a great opportunity for the girls to get an up close and personal talk with the coaches, and some were able to speak one-on-one with them afterwards.

We capped off the night with a tasty dinner of Grotto's Pizza, the legendary pie itself! Coach Paul spent the majority of dinner waxing nostalgic about his days cruising the boardwalk and feasting on the original Grotto's. It was delicious, and the girls were very content afterwards, bellies full of food and eyes tired for the night. 

Tomorrow starts at 8:00 am, a visit to Haverford and another training session is on the schedule, we're looking forward to it!

Lax On, 

Matt

A quel punto ormai, i sandali vecchi del babbo ripescati in un non meno precisato angolo del garage, cedono di sana pianta. La suola di sughero, che prima della partenza misurava uno spessore di almeno 2 cm, adesso sembra la radiografia di una foglia autunnale. Come Pollicino, briciole di sandali sparse lungo la strada segnano la via del ritorno. Ma che noi non riprenderemo.