http://www.articlealley.com en-us editorial@articlealley.com Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Iowa, Oregon, Penn State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and California all lost ground in the AP Top 25 Poll this week. All of them also lost ground in my Top 25 Poll this week with the exception of Oklahoma—I kicked Oklahoma out o... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1240560_32.html 20th November 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Unbeaten Iowa suffered the biggest loss as one of six AP Top 25 teams to be upset during college football's 9th week of competition. The others were Oregon, Penn State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and California. The 8th-ranked ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1238420_32.html 18th November 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley When the train was ready to pull out of the station this year at East Lansing, the Michigan State University Spartans had a chance to enjoy every stop on their way to an unbeaten season. They could have run the table at t... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1232156_32.html 13th November 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Oregon, Texas and Iowa won huge, critical victories to remain in contention for the National Championship Game during college football's 9th week of play. None of the three victories was more impressive or substantial tha... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1229677_32.html 12th November 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Oregon's 47-20 upset victory over Southern California was beyond huge this week, causing a significant shift in who is where in my Top 25 Poll for college football's 9th week of play. Here is how I see it: 1) Alabama (8-0... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1228075_32.html 11th November 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Alabama, Florida, Iowa, West Virginia and South Carolina all needed every ounce of effort to win games and hopefully retain their national rankings this week. Here is my Top 25 for college football's Week 8: 1) Alabama (8... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1211233_32.html 02nd November 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley There was only one real upset in college football's 8th week of play as 12 of the 20 top-ranked teams put on their muscle shirts and showed what they have, a sure sign that teams have begun to stabilize for their last 4 game... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1211232_32.html 02nd November 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Just when you thought some sense of stability might have returned to college football during the halfway point of the season, any semblance belies the truth that at least four more teams have become frauds in the national ti... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1201712_32.html 27th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley It was a good week to be Florida, Alabama, Texas, Cincinnati, Boise State, Iowa and TCU—all won, and all are the only unbeaten major teams left in the nation. Every one of them are beatable, the only monster thing about an... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1200605_32.html 27th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley (Editor's Note: This is Part 2 of a story about the life of a college football team's season in only two games—one was an abject heartache, and the other an extreme joy. The team was the University of Washington this seaso... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1191235_32.html 21st October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley This is a story about the life of a college football team's season in only two games—one was an abject heartache, and the other an extreme joy. The team was the University of Washington this season. Charles Dickens penn... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1190545_32.html 21st October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Florida started the season as the No. 1 pick in the AP Top 25 Poll and will remain No. 1 for the 7th straight week after beating the No. 4 Louisiana State Tigers in Baton Rouge, 13-3, in this season's biggest match-up featur... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1186547_32.html 20th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley College football's sixth week of competition was full of surprises for the four teams which lost their unbeaten status, and for the rest of the major college teams that learned why Florida started the season on top of the po... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1182793_32.html 16th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Some Like It Hot – 2 Stars (Average) In its day, "Some Like It Hot" was a hot ticket, being nominated for six Oscars and winning one. Released in 1959, this black-and-white film also served as the greatest comedy platfo... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1173024_32.html 14th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Last Chance Harvey – 2 Stars – Average Is it possible for your two leads to be nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress Golden Globe Awards and yet your magnum opus is average at best? Yes it is, especially if you... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1172808_32.html 14th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Only 13 teams remain undefeated after 5 weeks of play, and it is time to seriously think about elevating some of them into my Top 25 picks, even if they have played mostly weak competitors. Some such teams are already thereâ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1166455_32.html 12th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Only 13 among the 120 major teams remain undefeated after the 5th week of a 16-week college football season. They are Florida, Texas, Alabama, LSU, Boise State, Cincinnati, TCU, Iowa, Kansas, Auburn, South Florida, Missouri ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1166382_32.html 12th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley After winning both the 1500 meter and 5,000 meter titles at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, Bernard Lagat set his sights on a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At Osaka he became the first athlete to dou... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1162029_32.html 09th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio's job became harder Saturday after his Spartans polished off 1-AA Montana State, 44-3, but it also became sweeter. It became harder because 1-AA Montana State is a far cry from the oppon... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1158081_32.html 07th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Michigan State blew its chance to run the table this year by letting poor coaching and poor playing open the door for Central Michigan to upset the Spartans 29-27 on their home turf. The Spartans, a 14.5 point favorite ov... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1154906_32.html 06th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley In a scant 60 minutes, the University of Washington's entire football program went from a lingering negative impact since the departure of legendary coach Don James in 1993, to a positive impact when the Huskies opened their... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1154799_32.html 06th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Serendipity - 2 Stars (Average) "Serendipity" begs the question: "Can you trust pure fate or destiny to bring two people together when the odds of doing so are impossible?" A common definition of fate is "the developme... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1154568_32.html 06th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley It is not often when the coaches and the media agree on their opinion of who should be in the preseason Top 25 college football polls, but this year at least their Top 5 picks are mirror images—Florida (1), Texas (2), Okla... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1154416_32.html 06th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Steel Magnolias - 4 Stars (Excellent) It isn't often that a guy could get pulled into a movie about a bunch of women sharing their lives, loves, hopes, dreams, struggles and tragedies in a beauty shop, but Steel Magnolias... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1154294_32.html 06th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley It's a funny thing about winners—you never have to announce them, they announce themselves. That is exactly what happened when the University of Washington coaches and players stepped into the sunlight for the first time i... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1154217_32.html 06th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Paris - When It Sizzles - 1 Star (Terrible) We may never know how Audrey Hepburn ended up playing opposite William Holden in the romantic comedy "Paris - When It Sizzles". What we can say without doubt is that it was the ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1154173_32.html 06th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Chocolat - 4 Stars (Excellent) It is rare when you can say that a movie is so warm and wonderful that it can even overcome a manipulative, vindictive authority figure and a husband guilty of spousal abuse, but "Chocolat" ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1153278_32.html 06th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Mamma Mia! - 3 Stars (Good) Every now and then a movie comes along that makes no pretense of featuring great acting, singing, directing and writing, but seeks to be only what it is—just plain fun! The most recent of the... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1151419_32.html 06th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Something to Talk About - 3 Stars (Good) "Something to Talk About" stars Julia Roberts, which immediately makes me think romantic comedy, but trust me when I said that this 1995 film has more drama than comedy as it tackl... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1150263_32.html 05th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley A month of Saturdays hit the calendar when the Southern California Trojans traveled north to Seattle recently to face last year's 0-12 Washington Huskies. Yes, Southern Cal was currently ranked No. 3 in the nation in the ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1149186_32.html 05th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley (Editor's Note: The rankings in this article are from the AP Top 25 Poll of sportswriters and sportscasters, and any ratings are from Jeff Sagarin.) No win in College Football's 4th week of action was any bigger than unra... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1148283_32.html 05th October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley (Editor's Note: All of the team rankings are based on the Top 25 Coaches' Poll, and the Sagarin Ratings, Jeff Sagarin's factual, mathematical ratings among competition between all 245 Division 1 teams.) Only 7 teams remai... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1144417_32.html 02nd October 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley When Mark Dantonio became the new Michigan State University football coach two years ago, he came to the East Lansing Campus with a pedigree that shouted success is on the way. He has not disappointed the Spartan faithful. ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1051688_32.html 26th August 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Just as thinking heads argue about whether leaders are born or made, so do college football fanatics argue about whether the coach or the players make the team. Let's settle the latter argument once and for all—coaches ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1051687_32.html 26th August 2009 Copyright � 2009 Ed Bagley Miss Congeniality - 2 Stars (Average) "Miss Congeniality" had a real identity problem as a movie. Unfortunately for Sandra Bullock, the star of the film as FBI agent Gracie Hart, Miss Congeniality could not take her as f... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1051439_32.html 26th August 2009 Copyright � 2009 Ed Bagley Radio - 4 Stars (Excellent) "Radio"�the true story of high school football coach Harold Jones and a mentally-challenged young man named James Robert "Radio" Kennedy�might well be one of the most under-rated and under... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1049822_32.html 25th August 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Kingdom of Heaven - 1 Star (Terrible) Unfortunately for the "Kingdom of Heaven", what started out as an ambitious epic film about a little known time in history, became an almost disaster at its release and was only avera... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1047763_32.html 23rd August 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Two Weeks Notice - 2 Stars (Average) "Two Weeks Notice" is just a tad too predictable to be a good romantic comedy, so it must take its rightful place as average when placed against other much better efforts such as "Slee... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1045717_32.html 21st August 2009 Copyright � 2009 Ed Bagley It is three weeks to the kick-off of the 2009 college football season, the preseason USA Today Top 25 Coaches' Poll is out, my favorite team is not among the top 25 teams, and has no chance to play in the national champions... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1043869_32.html 20th August 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Annie - 4 Stars (Excellent) "Annie" is certainly one of the most uplifting, harrowing and positive Broadway musicals in movie history. Even if you did not see Annie as a moviegoer, you would recognize the key words to ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1043603_32.html 20th August 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Let there be no doubt about who was the star in the Track & Field venue at the 2009 Washington State Senior Games. Henry James literally knocked the socks off of his 50-54 age-group competition in the 400 and 800-meter runs,... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1021240_32.html 07th August 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Here are the current USA High School Boys Track and Field Records through July 2009. This list gives every high school runner, jumper and thrower an idea of what it takes to become a world-class athlete at the prep level. ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1019823_32.html 05th August 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Here are the current USA High School Girls Track and Field Records through July 2009. This list gives every high school runner, jumper and thrower an idea of what it takes to become a world-class athlete at the prep level. ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1019819_32.html 05th August 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Wedding Crashers - 3 Stars (Good) Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby - 2 Stars (Average) There are comedies that can make you laugh that are not good films because they lack any meaningful substance or worthwh... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1017517_32.html 04th August 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Tropic Thunder - 2 Stars (Average) If you want some over-the-top laughs, see Ben Stiller's "Tropic Thunder", a very confused film that can't make up its mind whether it wants to be an action adventure, war story, comedy, ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1017509_32.html 04th August 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Karen Steen traveled from Olympia (WA) to the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh intent on setting a world record in the 2,000-meter steeplechase, and did exactly that in one of the most exciting races at the 2009 USA Master... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1014345_32.html 03rd August 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Here are the current United States high school track and field records through 2008 followed by the best performances by high school competitors during 2009: USA Girls High School Track and Field Records and Best 2009 Per... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1010338_32.html 01st August 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley Ten new records were set this season when the automatic timers finally stopped and the best 2009 USA high school track and field competitive performances were in the books. The only double record-setter was not an individ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_1010328_32.html 01st August 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley The Oregon Ducks made school history at the 2009 Pac-10 Conference Track and Field Championships by sweeping both the men's and women's titles for the first time ever. Oregon's women scored their most points ever (165.5) ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_961165_32.html 01st July 2009 Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley There is a reason why California is continually the top-producing state in the nation for track and field talent. That reason would be a population of 36+ million people, the highest in the nation. When you know that the ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_959808_32.html 01st July 2009