BigFlySports

We interupt this complete lack of blogposts for exciting news!

Doing your holiday shopping online this year? I was contacted a few weeks ago by a website called BigFlySports and asked if I'd put in a few words about their site. At first I was skeptical, but it turns out that they've got a lot of unique gift ideas, including a ton of Vanderbilt merchandise. Seriously - if they can slap a pewter VU logo on something, they've got it available for purchase. But it's not just VU; they've got a ton of NCAA schools represented, as well as MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, and NASCAR. I was truly blown away that (a) they'd ask me to send something like this out to my tens and tens of readers and (b) that the site looked as professional as it does and has so much to offer.

You'll find all sorts of things, including (and believe me, there's far more than this):

Car Mats
Golf Equipment
Bedsheets
Watches
and, of course,
Bar Supplies

OK, so here's where I come into the picture (what, you thought I was doing this for free?). Just for reading my blog, I can give you a code (VANDY208) that will give you free shipping on your purchase, something that may not be offered by other online retailers that have this kind of stuff, and (I won't hide) it makes my Christmas a shade greener, if you catch my meaning.

So, if you're buying a gift or ten for a sports nut, take a quick look at BigFlySports. And DON'T FORGET!! Once you make a purchase, pleasepleaseplease remember to thank yourself and myself by using the promo code VANDY208 and get your free shipping!

Catching Up!

With a new Vandy season comes another installment of Mike and Jay articles!

Week 1 - VU at Miami (OH)
Week 2 - South Carolina @ VU

I also went silly with a "Commodore Comic" article that I thought went over pretty well.

Update! Fever Season!

Woefully late, but here are my first few articles covering the Fever, most recent first:

Silver Stars Out-Hustle Fever Despite Catchings' Return

Sutton-Brown Returns to Form, Leads Fever Past Comets

Detroit Outlasts Indiana, Beating Fever for Second Time This Season

Fever Top Sparks In Double Overtime White-Out

BONUS!! I was also asked to cover the BigTen(11) Women's Basketball Tournament in March -- here are the related articles:

Purdue Defends Big Ten Tournament Title On Buzzer-Beater

Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Coverage: Semi-Finals

(Haven't posted in a while, so here's a quick update. I've not listed blurbs under the "Mike and Jay" articles simply because the premise remains the same, thought the content is consistently excellent.


Mike and Jay's College Picks (Week 5)

Vanderbilt Three-Game Preview

During the Bye week, I took a look at the Commodores' next three opponents and gave my thought on our chances of victory.

Mike and Jay's College Picks (Week 4)

Mike and Jay's College Picks (Week 3)

Mike and Jay's College Picks (Week Two)

More prognositication from Jay and me.

Earl Bennett for Heisman!

I make my case for Earl Bennett as a Heisman candidate, listing some impressive rankigs after the first game of the season. A little homer-ish, to be sure, but it's written for a Vanderbilt fan site, so I wasn't all that concerned about backlash.

Commodores Get Earl-y Win

Game report from Vanderbilt's season opening win against Richmond. Heisman candidate and Commodore receiver Earl Bennett catches 13 passes for 223 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Fever Beat Shock; One Win from First WNBA Finals Appearance

Fever get as close as they've ever been from the WNBA Finals, winning game one and moving to within one win of being Eastern Conference Champions.

Mike and Jay's College Picks -- Week One

Jay Williams and I break down the SEC schedule each week and give our own well-thought out opinions on who will prevail. And possibly conquer.

Fever Eclipse Sun with Miracle Comeback; Advance to Conference Finals

Nearly twice as long as my other Fever articles, but worth every word. This was easily the best game I've ever covered, and one of the best basketball games I've ever seen, be it men or women, college or porfessional, in person or on television.

This game is what I love about sports.

Fever Finally Best Sun, Even Up Playoff Series

The Fever dominate Connecticut to force a series-deciding Game 3 in the WNBA Eastern Conference semis.

Grounds for Vaughn's Lawsuit Seem Shaky

(NOTE: This was posted on my Square in the Middle blog on SPM and doesn't have a static link, so I'll include the full text in a few weeks. For now, clicking the link will get you there!)

Rutgers center Kia Vaughn is suing Don Imus for slander and irreparable harm to her reputation as a person and as a basketball player. It stems from this past April's controversy, and while I think that Imus' words were abhorrent and his firing has understandable, I question some of the reasoning behind the lawsuit on its own.

Fever Defense Stifles Monarchs, Clinches Playoff Berth

Fever wins its second in three games, clinching their third straight playoff visit.

NFL Shows Social Responsibility in Vick Judgment

Written Monday in response to the NFL's urging Vick to stay out of training camp, but not published until last night. If Vick pleads guilty in court this afternoon, however, all those words will be moot. Hooray.

Silver Stars Shine in Indy, Squelch Struggling Fever

Fever fall the third straight time, their longest streak in years.

Detroit Guards Shock Fever

Loss to the Shock that saw Tamika Catchings hurt her foot (torn plantar fascha), knocking her out for a couple of weeks. The Fever lost their next game in Chicago and will face San Antonio tonight. They've fallen a game behind Detroit for the lead in the conference (and home-court throughout the playoffs), so this is a big game!

Fever, Catchings Set Records as They Conquer Sky

Catch becomes the first woman in WNBA to have at least seven points, assists, rebounds, and steals in a single game.

For your information

I've started a new blog to create a consolidated archive of sports articles that I will be writing over the next few months. For any who have stumbled upon this website through Google or my business cards, I'm a young part-time sports journalist currently living in Indianapolis. At the moment, I cover the WNBA's Indiana Fever for www.spmsportsinc.com and in the fall will be covering Vanderbilt Commodore football out of Nashville.

If you have any questions or comments for me about any articles or my work in general, please feel free to leave a comment or email me directly at michaelponeill2003 at yahoo dot com.

Many thanks in advance for your time and consideration in reading the articles posted from here on out! --MO