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COMMENTARY
TCU welcomed into
the Big East Conference
Let's face it; Texas Christian University
(TCU) deserves to be in a BCS game. They've
earned their dues. Two consecutive undefeat
ed seasons is success that cannot be ignored.
So, with unanimous decision, TCU has ap
proved an invitation to the Big East. The mem
bership will be official come July 1, 2012. It's
about time
TCU will no longer be labeled tha
Buster" team. Now, they can be "the
one that officially has an automatic
a guaranteed spot in one of the big money
games. It's automatic access, something they
did not have in the Mountain West Confertticen,
(MWC).
Of course, the loser here is the MWC. A
league that has seen constant shifting will
continue to do so with an unforeseen future: A
future without TCU in the picture, if you will.
The MWC has been constantly changing-add
ing new teams, and dropping others
Wind the clocks back to last summer when
Boise State announced their new arrival to
the MWC. We said goodbye to Utah, who left
the MWC to join the PAC-12. Lastly, we have
BYU, who have opted to go independent; leav
ing the MWC. It is rumored that Fresno State,
Nevada, and possibly Hawaii could join the
OUTDOOR COLUMN
Western
JAMES WADE
outdoors columnist
As the warm water from
the shower hit my body Tues
day night, it was the first
time I was warm in 4 daxs.
As I stood there and feltthe
warmth, I thought in my
mind how we didn't get a
bear, how hard my crew had
hunted, how many miles we
had covered, how much time
we spent scouting, and how
much we anticipated it. This
was the sth year I hunted
Pennsylvanian Black Bears,
and this was supposed to be
"the year." Although, my crew
did not harvest a bear, I do not
look at this as a failure, but
more of another opportunity
for us next year.
Pennsylvania Black Bear
are larger than any other
black bear on the continent.
Most states in the US would
consider a 400 pound ani
mal a large bear. In PA the
size has been doubled. In
the 2010 Bear season, the
2nd largest bear was shot in
PA that had an estimated live
weight of 875 pounds. In the
past decade, there have been
over a dozen bears in PA that
were over 725 pounds.
The reason for Pennsylva-
U!l . dA . dj .l. lthli . o
Lady Lions wrap up year with semi-finals loss
CHELSEA MAGNUSEN
staff reporter
With only seven returning play
ers consisting of one senior, one ju
nior, and five sophomores, the Lady
Lions volleyball team had a rocky
start to their season. There came a
point where the girls stood up and
said "losing is no longer an option."
The Lady Lions kicked it into full
gear and turned the numbers around
instantly. A 3-0 defeat over confer
ence team Hilbert put the girls on
the road to an eleven game winning
streak. The energy burst through
the locker-room. Even through inju
ries, the Lady Lions went on to show
their passion on the court.
Ending their conference regular
season record at 18-10, the girls beat
Mt. Aloysius to put them in the third
seed for the AMCC Playoffs. With
this finish, the girls ended up play
ing Mt. Aloysius, yet again, in the
first round of the AMCC playoffs.
MWC after TCU's 2012 departure.
The departure of TCU from the MWC is a
positive step in the right direction.
"[Qualifying status] was a big factor in the
move and gives [the Horned Frogs] the great
est opportunity to compete for the national
championship," said TCU athletic director
Chris Del Conte.
SEAN NEELY
senior reporter
Del Conte also said, "[The MWC] was not
the same league that we joined. It was not the
same home that we bought, it's not the same
tion will increase. It's a win-win situation in all
realities. Texas markets will see an increase
MTV rtitingtilukb gtro*teCiuitfng options.
The BCS bowl program will be stronger. So,
for all you Big East fans, thank TCU.
Third in this year's BCS standings may not
be enough to earn a national championship
bid for TCU. They must wait to see if Auburn
or Oregon will lose. If neither loses, TCU will
most likely see action in this years' Rose Bowl.
Until then, the Frogs will bolster their 25 con
secutive regular-season wins and await their
fate in just one week's time. But, one thing is
for sure, and that is TCU's emergence in the
Big East, finally.
PA seen as best spot for bear season
nia's record lies in the hard
woods present. The mast crop
that is offered in the southern
part of the country, meet the
mast crop offered by the trees
in the northern part, smack
dab in our state. This huge di
versity of food gives the bear
population tons of food to
eat. Bears are omnivores and
could eat acorns, then kill a
deer and feed off that the next
week.
The bear population is es
timated to be around 18,000,
scattered in counties through
out the state. Some counties
can sustain a bear popula
tion and hold hundreds of
bears, while other counties in
the state have bears that will
be sighted moving through
the area. Each year the state
holds a three day rifle season
in which you can harvest a
Pennsylvania Black Bear. To
hunt these bruins you must
have a regular hunting li
cense and a bear tag. The
bears are normally hunted
by large hunting parties who
drive the bears out of hiding
and into the cross hairs of a
hunter.
The season started this
year on Nov. 20 and ended on
Nov. 22. I was able to recruit
seven of my craziest friends
that were up to the challenge.
They went on to win 3-0. With Jessi
ca Woods finishing the match with a
block, the Lady Lions were on their
way to the semi-finals of the AMCCs
to face the winner of the Medaille vs.
Penn State Altoona match that fol
lowing Friday.
The Lions would face Altoona
who had beaten them earlier in the
season in a five game loss. The
match was a rocky one with scores
of 25-20, 25-18 and 25-20 in Al
toona's favor. Each player contrib
uted to the game and worked hard,
but just couldn't come out on top.
This would put an end to the girl's
chance at the Championship against
hosting team Pitt Bradford. Brad
ford went on to beat Altoona in the
Championship in four games.
With doubts in their minds about
the possibility of post-season tour
nament action, the ladies awaited an
answer. As Monday rolled around,
the answer was finally in. The Lady
Lions would go on as the Bth seeded
team to play the number one team,
They were committing them
selves as part of my bear
crew. We had made plans to
hunt in Warren, Venango and
McKean counties over the
course of bear season. It was
called the 2010 Bear Tour,
as we stayed in some of our
friends' camps throughout
the state, with one common
goal: harvest a Pennsylvania
Black Bear.
The opening morning of
bear season and the first day
of the Bear Tour had the crew
in the Warren County. I had
scouted these woods before
by myself and had found bear
signs, along several locals
giving me some tips. As the
sun rose from the trees, I re
alized months of preparation
and plans were finally here.
The day started with heavy
spirits and much optimism.
The first drive took place and
resulted in no bear. Then we
did a few other drives, which
again resulted in no bear. As
the day went on, all we saw
were deer, grouse, turkeys,
and squirrels. When we left
the woods we went to the
bear check station in Tidiute
to find out that 3 bear were
harvested in the same set of
woods we were hunting. It's
all about being in the right
place at the right time when
St. Vincent in the ECAC Tourna:
ment.
The game at St. Vincent wasn't
going to be an easy win. With strong
EKUilikdAi . gliiiai
U.S. denied World Cup bid
Consider it another case of David versus
Goliath.
In what has to be considered a head
scratching decision, the 2022 World Cup was
rewarded to the underdog country of Qatar,
who beat out the United States for the right
to host. "We go to new lands," FIFA President
Sepp Blatter said.
The new lands FIFA goes to are also pretty
small. Qatar, which has never even qualified
for a World Cup, is 4, 416 square miles - small
er in size than Connecticut.
"Basically, oil and natural gas won today.
This was not about merit, this was about mon
ey," former U.S. national team star Eric Wyn
alda said in a telephone interview with The
Associated Press. Qatar "is a country that is
really going to struggle to host this event. A
successful World Cup would mean the atten
dance would be twice the population."
Qatar currently has a population of 1.7 mil
lion - 500,000 less than Houston. The choice
of this oil-rich country has left many, espe
cially those in the United States, scratching
their heads. Despite a general lack of interest
in soccer in the United States, they still set
World Cup attendance records in 1994 when
they hosted the event.
"I consider it a disappointment for me per
sonally, for sure, and a setback as we're try
ing to move this sport forward," United States
Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati said.
"Getting the right to host this event 12 years
hunting these bruins.
The next day of the bear
tour took us to Venango
County where we had seen
bear this summer. The crew
rested up and gained four
more members. With some
fresh legs and whole new
area to hunt we were once
again optimistic. I thought
for sure that we would get a
bear on the first drive of the
day. I was pushing through
the thickest brush I have ever
hunted in, and when the drive
was almost to an end, I real
ized that there was no bear,
no shots, no yelling, just si
lence. The second day was
amazing, because we hunted
mountains that were divided
by the Allegheny River. So,
no matter where we hunted,
wonderful views were seen in
every direction.
The final day of bear was
upon us. The Bear Tour had
taken my crew to Penn State
Behrend student Donald Bis
sel's camp in McKean County.
There we were greeted with
open beds and a roof over
our heads. We had 15 guys
that were hunting the next
day with us. I had a great feel
ing about the area, and knew
from previous scouting that
bear populations were heavy
in this area.
intentions of knocking the top seed
ed team from the tournament, the
Lady Lions unfortunately lost in a
four game match. The Bearcats had
from now, with that sort of buildup time, was
the equivalent of putting your foot on the ac
celerator and rally taking a big jump."
Qatar is not capable of holding a success
ful World Cup event. Qatar's temperature in
the summer can reach up to 130 degrees, and
while Qatar promised they could overcome
the heat with air conditioned outdoor stadi
ums, some have their doubts. Still, Qatar is
obviously thrilled.
BRANDON BOYD
opinion editor
"On behalf of millions of people living in
the Middle East, thank you," Qatar bid chair
Sheikh Mohammad bin Hamad Al-Thani said.
"Thank you for believing in us, thank you for
having such bold vision.... Thank you also
for acknowledging this is the right time for
the Middle East. We have a date with history
which is summer 2022."
That date with history, however, could turn
out to be a disaster with questions surround
ing their capability to host. This is one case
in which Goliath should have stomped David.
Instead, David won out, and it could end up
costing FIFA.
Cooktorest.com
Bear population in Pennsylvania is estimated to be around 18,000.
Bear season goes from Nov. 20 - Nov. 22
When my alarm sounded
on the final morning of the
season, I was greeted with
one noise I did not want to
hear; rain. It was pouring out
side, but I thought to myself,
"I'm this far, I should hunt no
matter the weather." The crew
from the "Stabbin Cabin" was
ready to give it one last hoo
ray. The hunting crew hunted
for eight hours in the pouring
down rain, without ever pro
ducing a bear. It was 3 p.m.,
we were all soaked, misera
ble, emotionally drained, and
hardly an ounce of optimism
left in any of us. The 2010
Bear Tour officially came to
an end, with no bear.
The ride home from McK
ean County was very surreal
, A
FIFA
As all of my friends in my car
were asleep, I was thinking in
my head what we could have
done differently. I was won
dering how close we came to
bear, how things could be dif
ferent, where we could have
gone, who else we could have
brought, but then I stopped. I
realized I have a whole year to
plan out the 2011 Bear Tour. I
realized that this is not failure
it is just another year to learn,
another year under my belt,
another year that my crew is
closer to finally harvesting
a Pennsylvania Black Bear.
This is the beauty of hunting.
Hunting is not always about
harvesting game, it's about
the memories you make, the
people you meet, the places
home court advantage as well as a
large group of fans that cheered
them on.