- You’ve never heard of Campbellsville University pitcher Bryan Fuller and after this, you may never hear of him again. Of course, that doesn’t make what Fuller did over the weekend any less remarkable. Fuller, a senior whose team was competing for a berth in the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, knew that he was never going to play baseball professionally and decided to make the final few games of his career count. Campbellsville was playing in an NAIA super regional, where the team had fallen into the loser's bracket and needed to win three straight to get the World Series berth. Due to injuries and a shorthanded pitching staff, the Campbellsville coaches were in a bind. Fuller had pitched three scoreless innings for the save in a game against Lindenwood on Thursday. With just 25 minutes between games, Campbellsville's coaches decided to start Fuller in the next game, against Kansas Wesleyan, which had won 26 straight. At that point, the coaches were hoping Fuller could give them three or four innings and keep them in the game against a powerhouse program like Wesleyan. Instead, Fuller threw a complete-game shutout in only his second career start to snap Kansas Wesleyan's winning streak. Campbellsville won 11-0, advancing them to the final of the super regional. With their No. 1 pitcher prepared to start on two days' rest, Fuller made an unexpected demand: He wanted to start after throwing 12 innings the day before. "We told him no way, because we didn't want to hurt him ... He just threw 12 innings the day before," assistant coach Jake McKinley said. "He told us that he was a senior that will never play pro ball and he was going to be an accountant in just a few weeks. He said he didn't care about his arm and told us he will give us a chance to win.” Fuller not only gave the Tigers a chance to win; he shut out Kansas Wesleyan for the second straight day, leading the way to a 4-0 win, giving the Tigers their first NAIA World Series appearance in school history. He needed just 77 pitches for his second consecutive complete-game shutout and to cap an amazing stretch of 21 shutout innings in 26 hours. Now, Campbellsville (Ky.) is headed to the NAIA World Series, where it will face Lee (Tenn.). on Friday. For a guy who knew he was nearing the end of his baseball career, this is an incredibly way to a) go out and b) go instant legend on the Campbellsville campus, where he has to be the biggest sports story in a long, long time…..
- If you were looking for lots of big fight scenes, explosions and car chases, the season finale of 24 wasn’t for you. The drama was high and the episode was fairly exciting, but it wasn’t one nonstop brawl with guns, bombs and the like. To kick off the final two hours of the season, Jack takes control of the transport van taking Tony Almeida back to the FBI. Under directions from Tony’s cohort Cara via an earpiece attached to his phone, Jack pulls his gun, forces Renee walker and another agent in the van to give him their weapons and then instructs the driver to handcuff himself to the wheel. Amazingly, Jack explinas what he’s doing and why, yet Cara doesn’t mind. Tony does cut Jack off and as the van careens off the expressway and onto a side street, the tension ratchets up. Back at the FBI, Chloe and Janis track the runaway van by satellite, but when Cara directs the van into a tunnel, that option is dead. The van pulls up because Cara’s SUV and stops, leaving Tony and Jack to handcuff Renee and the other agent to their seats and exit the van. To Jack’s surprise (and Cara’s), Tony takes Jack with him and places him into the back of the SUV. He explains to Cara that because Jack is infected with the toxin from the bioweapon and all canisters from the weapon have been destroyed, harvesting the toxin from his body once he dies is their only shot to reconstruct it and make more of the toxin to use in future attacks. The SUV speeds out of the tunnel and to (what else?) an abandoned warehouse complex where a team of doctors are waiting to cut into Jack. The lead doctor first immobilizes Jack to prevent any seizures, then whips out a huge needle and draws a sample of spinal fluid. The sample shows an even higher concentration of the toxin than expected, meaning that harvesting the toxin from Jack’s body once he dies won't be a problem. Cara calls Alan Wilson, leader of the shadowy cabal behind this season’s terrorist conspiracy, and informs him of the new plan. She also relays a message from Tony that based on the days’ events, he wants a bigger role in the organization. Cara concurs with Tony’s sentiments, leading Wilson to decide that he’s going to personally come down to the warehouse to supervise Jack’s transfer to a medical facility where the virus can be harvested from him and also to meet Tony. While Tony and Cara are out of the room, Jack regains consciousness and attacks the doctors working on him. Even in his weakened state, he easily overpowers all three and dispatches them in different ways (slashing the throat, choking, etc.). By the time Jack flees and sets off a fire alarm at a door to an alley outside the warehouse, Tony and Cara are well behind him. Jack scampers down the alley, finds a security door to a small garage that has a small crack at the bottom where it hasn’t been fully closed and slides underneath. Inside, he tries to break into one of the taxi cabs - not sure if he wants to use the radio or drive it - and nearly does so before Tony catches up to him. When Tony tries to slide under the door, Jack finds the controls for it and closes it. Undeterred, Tony goes around to the back door, commandeers a forklift and tears a hole in the door. In the meantime, Jack has seen gas leaking on the floor from a cab whose gas tank has been struck by one of Tony’s stray bullets and he tries to light a road flare to ignite a massive fire. Tony rushes inside and kicks the flare out of Jack’s hands, leaving Jack helpless on the ground. He’s captured and taken back to the warehouse, which is good because Wilson is slated to arrive momentarily. While they wait, Tony finally reveals his plan to Jack after being subjected to a scathing diatribe from Jack about his actions of the day. Tony admits he’s not planning on allowing the conspiracy to use Jack to recreate the toxin, but rather making them believe he is so he can get close enough to Alan Wilson to kill him. Seems that Wilson was the man behind the corruption in former President Charles Logan’s administration, the man who ordered the hit on former President David Palmer and the man who ordered the murder of Tony’s wife Michelle. All of his actions all day long have been about personal revenge and he claims that the only reason people have died is because Jack got involved and tried to stop him. Knowing he won't get close enough to kill Wilson himself, Tony places a belt of explosives on Jack, triggers it to explode via a cell phone signal and walks outside with Cara to meet the arriving Wilson and his convoy in the warehouse’s loading area. Wilson waits inside his limo until his security clears Tony and Cara, then steps out to meet the man who has saved his operation multiple times during the day. He also demands to see Jack’s medical reports and has his men go inside to get Jack. While all of this is going on, the other half of Tony and Cara’s plan has been unfolding at the airport. Sarah and Bob, two operatives posing as a married couple on Kim Bauer’s flight in order to keep an eye on her as she waits for her delayed plane, are still keeping an eye on Jack’s daughter. When she is finally called to the check-in counter to receive her boarding pass along with the other standby passengers, the gate agent directs her to the front of the line to take a phone call. It’s Renee, who has contacted the FBI to tell them of Jack’s actions and the reasons behind them. She’s now calling Kim to warn her about the danger surrounding her. After confirming that Agent Franks, who was sent to keep her safe, has in fact disappeared, Renee tries to get Kim to help her figure out who the bad guys watching her are. When Kim realizes that it’s probably Bob and Sarah, her panic levels shoot off the charts. Bob suddenly appears behind her in line, claiming to be checking to see if Kim got her boarding pass and if she’s having any trouble getting on the flight. Back at her seat, Kim tries to stay calm and pulls pictures of her infant daughter in an attempt to steer the conversation with Sarah and Bob in a safer direction. That doesn’t last long, not when airport security is moving in on the gate following a call from Renee. Bob spots the approaching guards, signals Sarah and readies for a fight. While Sarah pulls a knife and holds it to Kim’s throat, Bob starts a firefight with the guards. Glass doors shatter, guards are shot and passengers duck for cover. In the melee, Kim manages to pull a pen from her pocket and jam it into Sarah’s leg. Sarah releases her grip and Kim drops to the floor, giving a security guard a clean shot to take out Sarah. With his partner down, Bob flees out an emergency exit door and into the bowels of the airport. Kim, realizing that there is no one else to pursue him, takes up the chase on her own. She follows Bob through a baggage sorting area and into the airport’s south parking garage. As Bob ascends to the upper levels, Kim heads to the deck’s main gate to alert the security guarding the gate. No sooner than she tells them the situation. Bob comes barreling down the ramp, guns a blazin’. All three guards are hit but one stays upright long enough to return fire and hit Bob in the head. Bob loses control of the car, strikes the parking toll booth and flips over on the vehicle’s roof. Kim watches in horror as the car bursts into flames. She spots the laptop that Bob was using to keep a video feed or her going, just inside the car. As she runs over and attempts to pull the computer from the car, Bob regains consciousness and grabs her arm. He refuses to let go, but when both of them catch on fire, the pain is enough to make him lose his grip. Kim is also burned, but she gets the computer and some much-needed backup. Renee and her team of FBI agents have arrived at the airport, surveyed the scene in the terminal and received a radio call from the aprking garage. They rush onto the scene, secure Kim and take possession of the laptop. With assistance from Chloe and Janis back at the FBI office, they are able to trace the laptop’s signal and figure out where the video feed was being sent to. That leads them to the warehouse complex where Jack is being held, right as Jack is being hauled from the building by Wilson’s men. They open fire on the incoming helicopter, with Renee and Co. returning serve. On the ground, Renee hops on the side of an SUV and rides along, shooting as she goes and dismounting with a completely non-believable flip and roll on the rock-hard asphalt. She pops up, sees Jack and goes to check on him. He tells her of Tony’s plan and inssits that stopping him from killing Wilson is the only way to find out more about the conspiracy. Inside a nearby building, Wilson and Cara are hiding out, waiting for backup to arrive and extricate them. Tony is close behind and a relieved Cara sees him. She approaches, tells him what’s going on and is summarily shot in the chest for her troubles. Tony kills her, then moves on to Wilson. He berates the man who killed his wife and their unborn child. holds the gun to Wilson’s head and is about to kill him when Jack and Renee arrive. They manage to shoot Tony without killing him, dropping him to the ground and allowing the FBI agents to take he and Wilson into custody. As Tony is led away, he berates Jack for running away (after Season 6) and not fighting the evil forces taking over the country, then asks, “What would Teri (Jack’s deceased wife, killed in Season 1 at CTU) think?” When the chaos settles, Jack is loaded onto a stretcher and prepared for transport to the hospital where Dr. Macer from CDC will take over his care. Before he goes, Renee comes to ask his advice on handling Wilson, who has arrogantly claimed that there is nothing linking him to the alleged conspiracy and no case against him. Renee asks Jack if she should cross the line and use his “enhanced interrogation” techniques, but the only advice he can offer is to make decisions she can live with. At the hospital, Jack is visited by the Imam he and Renee questioned earlier in the day while in their search for Tony. Jack has asked the Imam to come and help him find some peace and forgiveness in his final moments. The Imam is able to help Jack, but Dr. Macer then puts Jack into a coma so he won't have to suffer through some of the toxin’s more painful symptoms. Kim then arrives on the scene, begging Macer to allow her to undergo the experimental stem cell procedure that could save Jack’s life. Dr. Macer concedes that it’s not too late to try and makes a call to set up an operating room for the procedure. So there’s one daughter who doesn’t want to lose her father, while at the White House, the sins of another daughter are being exposed. Ethan Kanin arrives and meets up with Secret Service Agent Aaron Pierce, who lets him into the office of acting chief of staff Olivia Taylor. Kanin accesses the office’s digital recording system, removes a data card containing recordings of the past day and attempts to take it from the White House. Before he can leave the office, Olivia returns from a meeting with Justice Department investigators looking into the murder of Jonas Hodges, the murder she arranged. Pierce and Kanin make up an excuse about retrieving some old files that Kanin left behind when he resigned as chief of staff. Olivia buys the story, but when she sees the panel on the wall that covered the controls for the recording system and that panel is ajar, she peers inside and is floored to realize what’s behind the door. Knowing now what Kanin was really after, Olivia has him detained by White House security and has his person searched. A data card is pulled from Kanin’s pocket and he is then escorted off the premises. On his way out, Kanin is handed another data card from Agent Pierce. While Olivia destroys the one she recovered, the real data card is in Kanin’s possession. He takes it to his car, pops it into the playback device he has on hand for just such an occasion and is horrified to hear Pierce’s suspicions of a murder-for-hire plot between Olivia and Martin Collier confirmed. He strides back into the White House, is led into Olivia’s office by Agent Pierce and plays the recording for her. She is caught in her lies and tries to sweep things under the rug by offering to resign and giving Kanin his job back. His response is to shoot down the offer and demand that she come clean with the president and allow her to decide what to do with the tapes. When Olivia does sit her parents down to come clean, her father Henry is sympathetic and suggests that President Taylor destroy the tapes to protect their family from any further losses. The president is unsure of what to do and is pulled away for a briefing, giving her time to decide what to do. When she returns, she informs Olivia that she won't destroy the tape and that she’s remanding her own daughter into federal custody to answer for her crimes. Henry is livid with his wife, but at least she has Ethan Kanin to rely on. He rescinds his letter of resignation and resumes his duties as chief of staff, effective immediately. The last bit of business centers on Tim Woods, the presidential advisor who departs to pick up Alan Wilson from the FBI so he can be questioned. At the FBI office, Renee has Wilson in an interrogation room when Janis enters to ready the prisoner for transport. Renee demands that Janis leave the office, as she clearly intends to channel her inner Jack Bauer and do some torturing. An indignant Janis refuses to leave and counsels Renee not to throw away her career like this. Renee will have none of it, forcing Janis to handcuff herself to a pole and stepping into the interrogation room with bad intentions. So that’s where the season ends: Jack and Kim about to go into surgery, Renee set to torture Wilson for information, Tony in custody and Olivia Taylor headed there herself. There was also a funny moment of Chloe and Janis grudgingly complimenting one another’s performance during the crisis, but Season 7 ends with a lot of questions and now you have to wonder what will “transpire” between now and Season 8, when the show will be based in New York. So until then…….
- There is a select group of people in the world who are equal parts insanity, daring, adventurer and adrenaline junkie. They attempt the crazy cool feats that most of us would be too scared to even dream about, going to the most remote corners of the globe to take on the most extreme of challenges. At this very moment, people from this group are doing the impossibly insane, running 150 miles, the equivalent of five consecutive marathons, across one of southern Africa's most remote landscapes in a mere six days. They’ve come from around the world -- accountants, school teachers, farmers, CEOs -- to run this race, all without showers, toilets or beds. Racers must fend for themselves by carrying in their backpacks all the food they will need for the week. They must ration their water, battle 120-degree heat and carry an ever-present reminder of the possible dangers they face from wildlife on the course in the form of whistles to summon help should they encounter a wild animal that could turn them into a tasty midday snack. For the privilege to push themselves to the brink and possibly get eaten by a wild animal for their troubles, each person pays $3,100, not including travel costs. "Nothing has ever made more sense to me," said Jim Molaschi, a 46-year-old South Florida engineer. All told 214 racers began running yesterday, ready to cross Namibia as part of latest footrace staged by Racing the Planet Limited, which has hosted 18 similarly styled races, known as the "4 Deserts," since the mid 1990s. Each of the four courses measures approximately 150 miles, with the other three spanning Chile's Atacama Desert, where it hasn't rained in 200 years, China's Gobi Desert, where the first dinosaur eggs were discovered, and North Africa's Sahara Desert, where camels have been known to eat Racing the Planet's pink flag race markers. Of course, in the midst of ginormous deserts with ever-changing winds and landscapes, staying on course is a huge challenge. Racers’ main weapon against getting lost is a GPS unit that can help them determine where the heck they are. Only racers who complete the legs in Chile, China and Africa are allowed to participate in a walk across Antarctica known as the Last Desert. Adding Namibia to the event is noteworthy because Racing the Planet is the first group to stage an endurance event across the country’s mostly barren landscape. “Maybe when everything that you defined yourself by in the 'normal' world isn't so stable, some people want to rediscover who they are outside of 'normal.' They want an incredible experience," said Mary Gadams, Racing the Planet's director, in speaking about the great response to the event. Competitors include the usual roster of thrill seekers, including a Mount Kilimanjaro summiteer from Germany and a few Ironman competitors, but there are also some unusual entries: a British insurance broker, a Spanish government official, a Canadian physician and an American architect. Best of success to everyone running this race, I sincerely hope you all come back alive……
- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! It was a HUGE weekend for prison riots in the United States, so let’s get right to the action and not waste any time. First, a riot inside a U.S. federal prison northwest of Orlando has left eight inmates seriously injured with stab wounds and at least one gunshot wound. Yes, that’s eight inmates with either gunshot or stab wounds….awesome. This melee occurred at the high-security Coleman Federal Correctional Complex located northwest of Orlando, with seven inmates injured in the riot airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center’s trauma unit. As with nearly all great prison riots, a) the fight broke out in the prison’s recreation yard and b) no information was available about how the fight started. But this was far from the only prison riot in the U.S. over the weekend. In Chattooga County, Ga., a massive riot at Hays State Prison caused serious damage to areas of the facility. According to Chattooga County Sheriff John Everett, at around noon Saturday, a section of the prison became uncontrollable. Things got so out of hand that correctional officers eventually had to let the convicts take over. It wasn’t until 2:30 p.m. that prison officials finally regained control. This was a freaking beast of a prison riot, as multiple items were set on fire, cells were flooded, graffiti painted on walls, beds destroyed, control room windows shattered and several tables and chairs broken. Flat-out awesome, Hays inmates. Sounds like you guys absolutely went nuts and destroyed everything in sight, which you know I love. Free men and women engaging in massive property destruction is one thing, but prison inmates doing so is even better. Nothing shows The Man that he can’t crush your spirit quite like setting your prison ablaze, breaking things and flooding cells. Oh, and to top it off, there were no injuries to any staff or inmates. Rioting that wildly and having no one injured or killed is an impressive feat. Honestly, this just might be the best edition of Riot Watch! in some time, and I have to think these amazing prison inmates for making that dream a reality…….
- What’s a college-themed show without a good secret society on campus? Greek finally got its own secret society-themed episode last night, with Rusty stumbling upon evidence of it while cleaning graffiti off a wall as part of his community service for last week’s breaking and entering to return a stolen football from the Kappa Tau house to the athletic department. Accompanied by the uninvited presence of roomie Dale, Rusty is cleaning a wall when Dale spots a picture of an ancient Greek vase painted on the wall. He informs Rusty that the jar is the logo of the Amphora Society, a secret society alleged to exist on the Cyprus Rhodes campus. The painting of the vase indicates that the Amhporas are about to recruit a new group of inductees. Rusty decides that hunting down this secret society is a good use of his time and delves into a detailed search for information about the Amhporas. He soon pulls Dale into his search and also finds a post on an Amphora-themed Internet message board from a user named Cappie. Rusty correctly believes it to be Kappa Tau president and his own frat big bro Cappie. However, when presented with the chance to join Rusty and Dale’s Amphora search, Cappie declines. It was something he fanatically pursued his freshman year, he explains, but wants no part of this time around. Rusty’s motives for inviting Cappie to join the search are at least partially self-serving. After news of his scamming on Jordan, girlfriend of now-former KT pledge and his little bro Andy, other brothers take to calling him “Douche Mover” after the douche-baggish move of scamming on a friend’s girl. Cappie picks up the nickname and appears genuinely angry about Rusty’s actions, leading Rusty to hope that the Amphora search could smooth things over. Cappie does turn over his Amphora notebook, filled with maps of possible locations for the group’s secret lair and pages upon pages of notes. Meanwhile, Cappie goes out for some bizarre exercise time (running + tai chi?) and is kidnapped as he works out. Next thing he knows, he’s inside some underground cave/lair, standing alongside a bunch of other people with bags over their heads and in front of a group of dark, hooded figures. The leader of the hooded figures explains that this is the Amphora Society and that they have been chosen for induction. As part of the ritual, inductees must drink from an Amphora jug and say the name of one of the group’s ancient Egyptian inspirations aloud. When Cappie realizes he’s standing next to none other than Evan Chambers in line, he decides to reject the offer to join the Amphoras. No group that wants arch nemesis Evan as a member is for him, Cappie decides. The next night, Rusty and Dale continue their search for the Amphora lair in a local orchard and Cappie is once again kidnapped by the group. He’s presented with a second chance at induction, but this time his response is different. During the day, he and Rusty have had a talk about their current disagreement over what Rusty did with Jordan. Having gotten advice from his sister Casey, Rusty realizes Cappie is angry because in his freshman year, Evan stole Casey from him just the way Rusty almost stole Jordan from Andy. Rusty argues his case for kissing Jordan and he and Cappie seem to settle their differences. When presented with a second chance to join the Amphoras, Cappie changes his tune. He turns to Evan and actually apologizes for going out with Casey freshman year because he knew Evan had a crush on her first. With that, Cappie accepts the Amphora invite - only to have the ceremony disrupted by Rusty and Dale, who can be heard digging into the ground right above the group’s lair, talking about how finding said lair would impress Cappie. Once Cappie joins, the group members all drop their hoods and it’s revealed that the leader is….none other than Dean Bowman, the oft-surly and cantankerous lead administrator of Cyprus Rhodes. The next day, Rusty talks to Cappie about giving up the Amphora chase, doubtful the group even exists and oblivious to the fact that Cappie is now a member. Elsewhere on campus, Casey has a tough decision on her hands. Five of the girls who left Zeta Beta Zeta to join ex-ZBZ president Frannie’s new Iota Kappa Iota sorority want to return to ZBZ. With ZBZ prez Ashleigh out of town, Casey has to handle the situation. She considers the request and talks herself in circles wondering if the girls are really spies Frannie is trying to plant at the ZBZ house or if they really want to come back. She even goes to ZBZ sister and oft-nemesis Rebecca for advice. Rebecca suggests taking the girls back, but Casey still isn’t sure. She even runs into Frannie while getting her nails done and realizes that Frannie has no idea about the defections. In the end, Casey decides to recommend to Ashleigh that they not allow the five girls to return. Rebecca is also in need of advice, as she’s set to go on her “first lesbian date” with former ZBZ sister Robin Wiley. The date goes well, but Rebecca is concerned that the goodnight kiss wasn’t as amazing and impactful as she’d hoped. Thus, she seeks out the input of Calvin, the show’s resident gay guy. He tells her to make up her mind on whether she’s a lesbian or not so she doesn’t string Robin along and hurt her feelings. A second date in two nights confirms to Rebecca that she’s not really a lesbian, something Robin admits she knew and is okay with. So it’s back to guys for Rebecca, although she does kiss Casey the next day at a ZBZ charity car wash because they think some guys standing nearby will freak out over seeing two girls kiss. As for Calvin, he has an embarrassing situation on his hands when a guy at the gym seems to be flirting with him and asks if Calvin would like to watch a Detroit Lions game together at Dobler’s. When Calvin thinks this guy, Jesse, is leaning in for a kiss, he does the same. It turns out Jesse was just reaching for his phone and is actually straight. The next day at the gym, Calvin approaches him to apologize but gets Jesse to admit that he was flirting a bit and did like the attention Calvin showed him. A pretty funny episode overall and although there have certainly been better ones this season, it was still a pretty solid show……
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