Although my Phillies didn’t win the World Series THIS YEAR – Our new ace Cliff Lee was a very bright spot. 

He was on his game, performed in the clutch, and had a lot of fun out there. If you saw the game he nonchalant a fly-ball and fielded a ball behind his back you know what I’m talking about.

So what’s this got to do with golf – well let me tellya.

In his post game press conference a reporter asked Cliff how he could stay so calm out there – it looked like you were playing on a sand lot ?

Cliff’s answer is why I’m writing this. His reply was that he “had already put in all of the work (practice) and playing the game is the fun part.”

 It’s simple sure, but l let it sink in and then let it sink in again.

If you want to be great at something you need to put in the time.

I ran a marathon back when I was 25 and still somewhat athletic. The actual marathon was the easy part – putting in the miles for months before was the hard part. I actually liked to run the long miles once I was in good enough shape, in-fact anything under 10 miles seamed like I was cheating.

When you train for a marathon often times you actually run more than 26.2 miles in practice a few times, so if you trained properly your first marathon was in practice, so the “official” marathon should come easily as long as you run the pace that you trained at.

So put in the time on the practice range mat, short game area, and putting green — know your limitations, and execute.

As A PSU Grad I was so looking forward to last weeks football game against Iowa. The first three games were not a test and this was going to to set the stage for a run at a national champoinship.

I’ve seen a few Penn State undefeted seasons and this year the schedule just lined up nicely. I’m not saying that I thought it would be easy – but things looked possable.

And so it goes, after coming out hot – things cooled off and the Hawkeye’s have now beaten State 7 out of the last 8 games. 

There is still a lot of football left to be played and I’ll enjoy rooting my team on, but it hurts.

I guess if you win it all the national champoinship is a great thing, but to have the season seem lost before it even has begun isn’t a good feeling for a lot of fans. I just hope the players are ready to come out this weekend at Illinois.

lov ya lions!

Golf world kicks off American Express Women’s Golf Month
This month, golf courses across the country will participate in the 2009 American Express Women’s Golf Month, offering women free golf instruction and a variety of other activities – from receptions and seminars, to club fittings and equipment demonstrations. PGA/LPGA Professional Suzy Whaley, LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame member Nancy Lopez, and fitness expert and philanthropist Donna Richardson Joyner serve as spokeswomen.

“Programs such as American Express Women’s Golf Month, provide the opportunity to experience the game of golf in a comfortable setting, under the guidance of skilled PGA/LPGA Professionals,” said Anne Lyndrup, director of player development for the National Golf Course Owners Association and leader of the Women’s Golf Month organizers. “We look forward to celebrating the game of golf with thousands of people across the country during our fifth anniversary.”

Along with complimentary golf instruction for women 14 and older, participating host facilities plan events such as networking receptions, golf rules and etiquette seminars, club fitting, equipment demonstrations, golf apparel fashion shows, luncheons and contests. Complimentary use of golf clubs will be available at all locations. GCSAA members are encouraged to host open house events and course tours to share information about golf courses and the environment.

American Express Women’s Golf Month is part of the national Play Golf America campaign. It is coordinated by industry-leading organizations, including GCSAA, Executive Women’s Golf Association, Ladies Professional Golf Association, National Golf Course Owners Association and The PGA of America. For more information, including a list of local participating facilities, visit PlayGolfAmerica.com.

In its first four years, more than 105,000 people nationwide have been introduced or re-introduced to the game of golf during Women’s Golf Month, which premiered in 2005 as Women’s Golf Week. In 2008, 1,208 facilities nationwide hosted events with 37,350 consumers attending. Of those consumers, 47 percent were new customers to the facility and 32 percent were new golfers. Host facilities reported a median of $3,320 in revenues generated from people who continued to pursue the game following American Express Women’s Golf Month.

Nicholls State University

Nicholls State University College of Education

220 Polk Hall

P.O. Box 2053
Thibodaux, LA 70310
Phone: 985.448.4326
Fax: 985.448.4926

Nicholls State University, founded in 1948, is a public university located in Thibodaux, Louisiana, USA. Nicholls State is part of the University of Louisiana System of universities. Originally called Francis T. Nicholls Junior College, the institution split from the Louisiana State University System in 1956. The university is named for Francis T. Nicholls, a Confederate general, former governor of Louisiana, and member of the Louisiana Supreme Court.

The 210-acre campus, once part of historic Acadia Plantation, fronts on Bayou Lafourche, about 50 miles southwest of New Orleans and 60 miles southeast of Baton Rouge.

Nicholls is located in Acadiana, also known as “Cajun Country,” an area rich in tradition and culture. It is also located in the heart of the Mississippi River Delta, allowing easy access to the river, its distributaries, Louisiana’s wetlands, and the Gulf of Mexico. The school is sometimes referred to as “Harvard on the Bayou;” the university bookstore even sells shirts sporting this light-hearted nickname.

Nicholls is the home of the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute.

Nicholls State sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (Football Championship Subdivision or FCS for football) in the Southland Conference.

Nicholls State’s colors are red and gray (two-tone) and the athletics teams are nicknamed the Colonels (men) and Lady Colonels (women).

On November 19, 2005, the No. 24-ranked Nicholls Colonels football team clinched its first Southland Conference Championship by defeating the McNeese State Cowboys 39-26 at John L. Guidry Stadium. With that win, Nicholls finished the regular season tied atop the conference standing with Texas State. The Colonels advanced to the Division I-AA playoffs as the conference champion, based on their 32-29 overtime victory over then fifth-ranked Texas State, but eventually lost to the then No. 3 ranked Furman Paladins, 14-12, in Paladin Stadium in Greenville, S.C.

Nicholls State currently has no physical mascot. The colonel is still used only in name. President Stephen Hulbert stated that “The Colonel is and will remain the mascot designation for Nicholls State University and its intercollegiate athletics program” on March 31, 2004 while calling the current Colonel depiction antiquated and reminiscent of the Civil War in the South. Hulbert unilaterally retired the mascot despite a vote by students and alumni to retain it, and a student contest to select a new mascot failed.

The Nicholls State University Department of Athletics currently sponsors men’s intercollegiate baseball, basketball, football, golf and tennis along with women’s intercollegiate basketball, softball, soccer, tennis, track, golf, volleyball and cheerleading.

Nicholls’s primary rival is Southeastern Louisiana University.

And don’t miss the annual

Homecoming Golf Tournament