At meeting with GOP leaders, obama admits shutdown shielded obamamess disaster

BALTIMORE, Maryland October 18, 2013 - obama thanks GOP for keeping public displeasure away from Whitehouse:  Just a few days before the moderate GOP cabal capitulated and ended the federal shutdown without any concessions by obama on obamamess (aka obamacare, aka Affordable Care Act), obama candidly admitted to the dozen or so legislators in the GOP contingent at a Whitehouse meeting that the shutdown was keeping almost all of the public's attention on the stubborn GOP and virtually none on the disasterous start to the obamamess registration process that started this week.  In fact, obama audaciously thanked the legislators for the shield they were providing.  And while he was correct in his assessment, the shutdown is now over while obamamess is just starting.  There is no end in sight for the terrible quagmire that the registration process has fallen into, and still in the wings is the public outcry to the humongous fees many will have to pay to the government for their participation is the money-eating monster.  After that will be new and unwelcome physicians, death panels and the hundreds of other nightmares that come with the ill-conceived marxist-leaning plan.  National Parks head admits whitehouse had knowledge of plans to fence-in war memorial and shut other national parks:  The head of the National Park system admitted this week that he met with the president's White House operatives - and possibly the President himself - as the shutdown started, and that he left the meeting with instructions to fence in the open air World War II Memorial on the National Mall, and to close dozens of other National Parks even though such a move would bring untold hardship on hundreds of innocent citizens.  Some people whose home is located in a national park were ordered out of their homes for the duration of the shutdown.  Others discovered that their young children were marooned at a school with no way home because the road their school bus traveled to take them to school was closed during a school day.  obama planned to put maximum pressure on locations that served veterans, because he felt that veterans were a core constituency of the GOP and their hardship would cause the GOP to capitualate sooner rather than later.  It was one plan that backfired, because the vets were one group that blamed obama.

Terps ready for Deacons by routing Marshall; Three ACC Schools in top ten and six in top 25

BALTIMORE, Maryland October 14, 2013 - With the ACC showdown with Wake Forest due in  five days, the Maryland Soccer team warmed up tonight by routing Marshall, 5-0.  All American Patrick Mullins scored two goals for the second straight game, and three other Terrapins also scored in a match that saw the Terps out shoot the Thundering Herd by 16-6.   Mullins, voted the number one player in America by Top Flight in the preseason, is on a late season tear, having scored five goals in the last three games.  Against Marshall, Mullins took five shots and all were all on goal.  Wake Forest, meanwhile, was losing by one goal to No. 23 Akron. In the latest poll, incidentally, California remains No. 1, Notre Dame No. 2 and Washington No. 3.  Maryland has moved up one spot to No. 4.  UCLA also moved up one spot to No. 5 while Cal State-Northridge dropped, by virtue of a loss, from No. 4 to No. 6. Clemson is the third ACC school in the top ten as it moved up a whopping eight spots to No. 9.  Other ranked ACC schools include Wake Forest at No. 15, Virginia at No. 19 and North Carolina at No. 21.  Meanwhile, UMBC retained its top ten ranking, holding at No. 8.  On Wednesday the Retrievers got a goal from Kadeem Dacres with 12 seconds remaining to beat Vermont in Burlington, 2-1.  The Retrievers improved to 11-1-1 while Vermont lost for the first time at home this season.

Notre Dame moves into first place tie with last second score; Maryland draws with Virginia; Wake draws with Clemson

BALTIMORE, Maryland October 13, 2013 - When Senior Harrison Shipp fired his 60-foot shot into the back of the Virginia Tech goal in the 90th minute Friday night, little did he know that he was setting in motion a series of events that would leave his No. 2 Notre Dame side tied with No. 5 Maryland and No. 15 Wake Forest for the Atlantic Coast Conference lead.  Maryland and No. 23 Virginia played to a wild 3-3 draw in Charlottesville, while Wake and No. 17 Clemson battled to a 1-1 draw in Winston-Salem.  All three teams have identical conference marks of 4-0-3 and 15 points in the ACC standings.  The Irish outshot the Hokies, 23-13, yet as time wound down it looked for all the world like the game would go into overtime.  But Shipp had done it twice before and now he has scored the game winner three times. He has six scores altogether.  In Charlottesville, the Cavaliers gave Maryland two penalty kicks in the second half and Senior All American Patrick Mullins converted both with stunning ease.  Both teams missed point blank shots and one of Virginia's goals came after a startling mix up on the Maryland defense.  T. J. Casner scored in the 37th minute for Clemson to off-set Luca Giminez' score in the 15th minute for Wake.  Clemson is now 8-2-2 overall and 3-2-2 in the conference, good for 11 points.   On Saturday, No. 12 North Carolina got its first ACC win when they scored two first half goals and held on to beat Boston College, 2-1.  With eight points, the Tar Heels (4-2-5, 1-1-5) are now tied for 7th place with Virginia Tech.  Boston College (4-4-2, 3-3-1) is directly behind Clemson with 10 points.  Also on Saturday, Syracuse and Pitt battled to a scoreless tie, giving Pitt its second ACC point.  Syracuse ((8-4-1, 2-4-1), has 7 points, good for 9th place.

Scalia chides New York Magazine Reporter after she challenged his belief in the existence of the Devil; Trailing for the first time this season, No. 1 California rallies to beat San Diego State

BALTIMORE, Maryland October 9, 2013 - Long interview reveals much about Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia: When a journalist at New York Magazine criticized Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia for his Christian belief in the existence of the Devil, the feisty Scalia gave it back.  He concluded his retort to the reporter by admitting he was offended that the reporter acted incredulous when he said he believed in the Devil.  "I was offended by that, I really was," Scalia said.  The reporter, Jenifer Senior, tried to back-peddle a bit, saying she was more surprised at the vigor with which Scalia stated his belief than the fact that he believed.  Senior said she did not believe in the devil or heaven or hell. Scalia, on the otherhand, stated again and again his belief in standard Catholic dogma and he took occassion to praise the Pope. The 8-page interview is at http://nymag.com/news/features/antonin-scalia-2013-10/  California rallies to beat San Diego State:  For the first time all season the No. 1 ranked California Bears trailed in a soccer match.  Playing at San Diego State, which competes in the Pac 12 in soccer, the Bears fell behind, 1-0, when the Aztec's Jordan Ongaro headed in a feed from Abraham Villon at the 59:31 mark of the second half.  It didn't last long.  Just over eight minutes later California senior midfielder Ryan Neil played a ball into the Aztec's end and it got behind the defense.  Junior midfielder Max Oldham raced Aztec keeper Blake Hylen for the ball and Oldham won. His shot pounded into the empty net at the 69:16 mark to tie the score.  Then Bear freshman reserve forward Christian Thierjung scored his second goal of the season at the 79:17 mark to put California ahead, 2-1, and that is how the match ended.  For Thierjung, it was not only his second score, but also his second game-winner.  At the University of San Francisco earlier in the season the score was deadlocked, 0-0, in the final seconds when Thierjung scored his first goal, giving the Bears a 1-0 win over the Dons.  California is now 8-0-2 overall and 2-0-1 in the conference.  San Diego State fell to 3-6-0 overall and 0-2-0 in the Pac 12.  The Bears play next at No. 6 UCLA on Sunday afternoon.

Terps earn tie at Notre Dame; Wolfpack draws with Wake Forest; Clemson wins at North Carolina; Six ACC teams in latest Top 25; UMBC Match at William and Mary Postponed

BALTIMORE, Maryland October 9, 2013 - Terps and Irish play to 1-1 Draw:  All American Patrick Mullins scored with just over 18 minutes left and Keeper Zack Steffan made five spectacular saves as No. 5 Maryland earned a 1-1 draw in double overtime at No. 2 Notre Dame on Tuesday night.  Mullins' blast into the left side of the net was assisted by Mikias Eticha.  The goal was Mullins' sixth of the season and offset a score by the Irish about  13 minutes earlier.  Vince Cicciarelli scored his second goal of the season for Notre Dame, assisted by G. Van De Casteele.  Maryland is now 4-0-2 in the ACC and 5-2-4 overall.  Notre
Dame is now 3-0-3 in the conference and 6-0-4 overall.  Maryland remains tied for the conference lead because co-leader Wake Forest also tied Tuesday night.  Deacons, Wolfpack play to 2-2 tie: Despite two scores by Sean Okoli, No. 15 Wake Forest had to settle for a 2-2 tie in Raleigh, North Carolina on Tuesday night against the North Carolina State Wolfpack.  Okoli's third goal of the campaign gave the Deacons a 1-0 lead at the 25:52 mark of the first half.  But 13 minutes later, Philip Carmon banged home a rebound that resulted from a scrum in front of the Deacon net, and State had a 1-1 tie at the half.  The Wolfpack actually pushed ahead in the game a little over eight minutes into the second half when Michael Bajza scored, assisted by Nick Surkamp.  Okoli's second score of the game and fourth of the season got Wake Forest even at 2-2, and the teams battled through two ten minute overtimes without a goal.  The tie keeps Wake Forest tied for the ACC lead because co-leader Maryland tied at Notre Dame.  Overtime goal enables Clemson to upend North Carolina: Ara Amirkhanian scored for No. 17 Clemson just 1:38 into the first overtime as the Tigers upended No. 12 North Carolina, 2-1, Tuesday night in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The victory improved Clemson's ACC record to 3-2-1 and its overall mark to 8-2-1.  Amirkhanian's score came off of a cross from Austen Burnikel.  The Tigers had grabbed the lead just over a minute into the game when Thomas McNamara banged home a rebound from his own blocked penalty kick.  The referee had called a hands violation on the Tar Heels, but McNamara's penalty kick was initially saved by Tar Heel keeper Brendan Moore.  Despite the loss, Moore had seven saves.  In the 67th minute North Carolina tied the score on a goal by Verneri Valimaa, assisted by Josh Rice and Omar Holness.  North Carolina is now 0-1-5 in the ACC and 3-2-5 overall.  Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech battle to scoreless tie:  The University of Pittsburgh soccer team earned its first point as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tuesday night when it battled Virginia Tech to a scoreless tie.  Playing at home, the Panthers ended a five game conference losing streak.  Duke and Virginia in Scoreless Draw:  After learning earlier that it had cracked the NSCAA Soccer Poll at No. 23, Virginia battled Duke to a scoreless draw.  The result left the Cavaliers at 6-3-2 overall and 2-2-2 in the ACC.  The Cavaliers outshot the Blue Devils by a 23-9 count, but Duke Keeper Alex Long made ten solid saves for the Devils, who are 0-3-3 in the ACC and 4-3-4 overall.  Jeff Gal had three saves for the Cavaliers.  Boston College stops Syracuse, 3-2:  Despite two goals by Syracuse's Emil Ekblom - his seventh and eighth of the season - homestanding Boston College beat back the Orange, 3-2 on Tuesday.  Nick Butler's head shot at 57:52 was the game winner for the Eagles, who improved to 5-3-2 overall and 3-2-1 in the ACC.  Butler's score came off of a corner kick.  Matt Wendelken and Zeiko Lewis were credited with assists.  Earlier, Wendelken and Diego Medina-Mendez had scored for the Eagles, with both coming in the first ten minutes of the game, played at Boston College's home field in Newton, Massachusetts. The Orange fell to 2-4-0 in the ACC and 8-4-0 overall.  Maryland moving up; five other ACC teams in Top 25: After fall all the way to 18th, Maryland continued its march up the national rankings this week.  The Terps are ranked fifth in the latest NSCAA poll, released Tuesday.  Five other ACC schools are with the Terps in those rankings, while UMBC fell only one spot after suffering its only loss of the season last week.  The Retrievers are ranked No. 8 in the poll after being ranked seventh last week.  UMBC lost a heartbreaking 1-0 match against Delaware last midweek, but rebounded wonderfully on Saturday, beating Hartford on the road in their America East Conference opener.  The six ACC teams in the poll are Notre Dame at No. 2, Maryland at No. 5, North Carolina at No. 12, Wake Forest at No. 15, Clemson at No. 17 and Virginia at No. 23.  California, one of the two teams to have beaten Maryland, is again ranked number one.  The Bears let a lead slip away to the Terps in Berkley, but scored a golden goal in overtime to win.  Maryland opened the season with two games in California.  In both, the young Terps allowed the home team to score first.  In the opener at Stanford, they battled back to earn a tie.  In the second game two days later they also battled back furiously, but, as said, lost in overtime.  California is undefeated. and stands at 7-0-3.  Another Pac 12 School, Washington, is behind Notre Dame at No. 3.  The Huskies are 8-0-3.  California and Washington played each other on Sunday in Berkley, with the game ending in a 1-1 tie.  The Huskies battled back to defeat Seattle yesterday in Seattle, 2-0.  California has been idle since Sunday as they prepare for a road trip that will see them play at San Diego State on Thursday and a Pac 12 game at UCLA on Sunday.  The Bears commanded immediate attention at the outset of the season when they tallied wins over Georgetown and Maryland, two of the NCAA's Final Four from last season.  The other top five team is California State - Northridge.  The Matadors are 10-1 with two tournament victories to their credit.  They won their own Ryan Rossi Memorial Tournament at the start of the season, beating Memphis and Albany in the process.  In mid-September they won the Lobo Tournament at New Mexico, beating Central Arkansas and the homestanding Lobos in the process.  The Matadors have also beaten UNLV at Northridge and Bradley at Bradley.  Their only loss came against UCLA on September 22. The Matdors outshot the Bruins, 16-11 but lost, 4-2, in a rough and tumble affair at Northridge that saw the home team issued four yellow cards to one for UCLA.  UCLA is currently ranked number 6.  The Creighton Blue Jays are ranked seventh with a 6-2-2 record.  Creighton, a Nebraska School, plays in the Big East.  They are at Marquette on Saturday and at Michigan on Tuesday.  Their two losses were to William and Mary and St. Louis, both on the road.  UMBC match at William and Mary Postponed; no new date announced:  The eighth ranked UMBC Retrievers have raced to an impressive 10-1-0 record; but everyone pointed to the game at William and Mary as a huge test for the Retrievers.  But after what apparently is a period of heavy rains in Williamsburg, Virginia, the game was postponed.  A release by UMBC said the two schools are seeking to reschedule the game, but no new date has been announced.  The Retrievers play next on Saturday at home when Albany pays a visit.

Not Ready and Not Worth It

BALTIMORE, Maryland October 8, 2013 - The obamamess nightmare begins:  There are reasons the people who founded this country created a government with three independent branches.  There is a reason why the process for selecting a Supreme Court Justice, or Chief Justice, called for the nominee to be selected by the President and then thoroughly vetted by the Congress.  Most will recall the ridiculous and poorly conceived and written Supreme Court Opinion that upheld obamamess.  Most will recall how a man selected for his conservative views instead pulled a switch that would have made Benedict Arnold proud. Anyone with a first year law student's understanding of Constitutional Law knew the "legislation" was 100% unconstitutional, but ole benedict roberts thought he'd make a name for himself and darn if he didn't.  In one fell swoop he established himself as a  boob, a turncoat, a traitor and a creep.  Good Job, benny! Look what you have foisted on each and everyone of your fellow Americans.  And now, with three and one-half years to prepare for the day that individual Americans begin to register for obamamess, the obama group has proved once again just how really awful this legislation is.  It will cost citizens half the national debt.  It will deny millions decent medical care.  But it will redistribute tens of billions of dollars.  When the day came the problems were not small computer gliches, but instead a complete failure to plan for what everyone expected.  One computer expert familiar with one of the computer software packages installed called it unfathonably awful.  The software was appropriate only for a few people at a time logging on, instead of hundreds of thousands.  The government was nowhere near ready and is nowhere near ready; in fact, obama and his functionaries will never be ready because this legilation cannot possibly work. benny and obama, it sounds like a bad country song.

Petulent

BALTIMORE, Maryland October 7, 2013 - Some thoughts on a rainy Monday:  In Blount County, Tennessee, in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park, the local citizens have just about had it with obama.  Saying it was necessitated by the shutdown, the federal government blocked roadways, including a public highway through the park, making life in this mountain county just about impossible.  Without warning, the feds closed a highway that a heavily used school bus used to pick up take home children at a local elementary school.  The kids were at the school at the time and suddenly the entire student body was stranded.  With the parkway closed, the only available roads cannot be used by a school bus, meaning public transportation in this county has stopped running.  The other roads are described by the residents as "white knuckle" roads, meaning your knuckles are cramped and pale by the time you negotiate these steep and curving routes.  The feds have even declined an offer by the county government to take over operation of the park without charge to the federal government.  And the people here are starting to talk about the right recited in the Constitution to liberty and freedom and the pursuit of happiness.  All of this because it is clear to them and many other Americans that obama wants the federal shut down to make everybody miserable so he can have his way.  Any day now, they expect him to take his baseball and go home.

Maryland getting hit with torrential rains; Ravens Stay in First Place Tie

BALTIMORE, Maryland October 7, 2013 - As Autumn Cold Front Approaches, Torrential Rain Showers Hit Maryland:  Torrential but not constant rain drenched Maryland on Monday morning as an advancing autumn cold front collided with the warm air that had held sway in the Mid-Atlantic in recent days.  The National Weather Service, in a dispatch limited by the obama administration's government shutdown, posted a tornado watch and said up to one inch of rain could fall in areas around Northeast Baltimore on Monday.  The tornado watch was to be in effect until 5 pm, and the NWS said that another .25 inches of rain could fall tonight, bringing the forecasted precipitation amounts to one and one-quarter inches over the next twelve hours.  A driving rain shower in the Parkville area of Maryland gave way at 10:15 am to a period of no precipitation and calm winds.  Ravens Overcome Late "Pick 6" to Down Homestanding Dolphins:  When a rejuvenated Ray Rice raced around left end to score his second TD of the game, it looked for all the world that the Ravens had put the homestanding Miami Dolphins away and secured their third victory in five NFL games this season.  Well, the Ravens did win, finally, but not before the Dolphins scored twice within two minutes in the fourth quarter to tie the game, and then missed a long field goal in the final seconds that would have tied it again.  In between those events Joe Flacco overcame his only interception of the game - a Dolphin pass rusher hit the ball as Flacco released it, and Reshad Jones picked the errant throw out of the air and returned it some 20 yards for a score, which, after a conversion kick, left the score tied at 23.  But Flacco passed to Torrey Smith during a 34 yard drive, and Justin Tucker kicked his third field goal of the game to put the Ravens back in front, 26-23.  The Dolphins fought back and moved to the Ravens 34, but a fierce Baltimore pass rush paid dividends again.   Elvis Dumerville sacked Dolphin QB Ryan Tannehill and forced Dolphin Kicker Caleb Sturgis to attempt to tie the game from 57 yards away.  It wasn't close.  Terrel Suggs had three sacks - he had earlier tied an NFL record by recording a sack in his fifth straight game - to lead a Raven defense that tallied six during the game.  After falling behind at halftime, 13-6, Baltimore ripped off 17 unanswered points to move ahead, 23-13, and forced the Dolphins to battle back from behind in the fourth quarter.  The above-described Jones interception did allow Miami, now 3-2, to tie the game, but the Ravens had plenty of time to retake the lead and win.  Although Cincinnatti and Cleveland also won, with the Bengals upending the Patriots and the Browns beating the Bills, the Ravens remain tied for the lead in the AFC North with a 3-2 record.  Baltimore was 1-1 on the current road trip, and return home next week to face Green Bay.  UMBC Rallies to top Hartford in America East opener:  The seventh ranked UMBC soccer team allowed homestanding Hartford to move ahead in the 16th minute, but the Retrievers tied the game in the first half, then moved ahead on midfielder Kadeem Dacres goal and held on to win their America East Conference opener, 2-1.  The Retrievers are 10-1-0 overall and 1-0-0 in the conference.  The victory came in the game after the Retrievers suffered their first loss, a 1-0 defeat in double overtime by Delaware at Retriever Soccer Park on Tuesday night.  UMBC next travels to William and Mary on Wednesday.  The Tribe is 5-3-1 and have wins over North Carolina - the Tar Heels only defeat - and Old Dominion, a team that beat Maryland at College Park.  Burnley Stops Reading, 2-1, stays in tie atop English Championship League:  Not even an own goal could stop Burnley in this magical 2013 campaign.  The Claret had built up a 2-0 advantage over a good Reading team when Jason Shackwell inadvertently tallied for the Royals, but Burnley Keeper Tom Heaton slammed the door closed after that and the Claret took three points to push their league-leading total to 26, the same as the Queens Park Rangers.  The Claret and Rangers collide head-on on October 26.  At historic Turf Moor, over 11,000 watched as Danny Ings scored his seventh goal of the season and Sam Vokes also scored as Burnley doubled the three points it picked up last midweek with a 2-0 win over Doncaster.  Much of English Soccer now heads into a brief "International Break" which allows players from all over the Island who play on the National Teams to participate without leaving their clubs shorthanded.  The Claret are off to their best start since 1961.  During that campaign Burnley finished second in the top flight before it was called the Premier League.  Were the season to end today, Burnley would return to the Premier.  The Claret return to action on October 19 at Ipswich Town.

Melding of the Muck; Terps whack Boston College; Grid Iron Battle of Top 25 Teams Includes Terps

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2013 - obama and friends (this means Harry Reid) sink to new lows: Americans are coming, disgustedly, to the realization that the arrogant refusal of obama and friends to negotiate with the GOP over the current government shutdown will now almost certainly meld with the looming debt ceiling battle.  In truth, the two come from the same artificial can of worms.  The shutdown comes because the GOP, which controls only the House of Representatives - while the dems have the executive branch, the senate, and, for all their whining, the Supreme Court -  has adamantly refused to fund the obamamess bill.  And obama will not discuss anything that doesn't include full immediate implementation of legislation that even the Teamsters have turned against.  So far, obama, acting on his own - which he does not have the authority to do, but when nobody acts to stop him, what difference does it make? - has delayed two huge parts of the legislation until after the mid-term elections.  But he doesn't want to delay the part that requires registration by individuals because, the thinking goes, if he can coerce millions and millions to register, it will be too late to stop implementation no matter who is running the show.  He might be right and maybe this is why people like Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is not even hinting he might compromise his demand that obamamess be at least delayed.  John Boehner, the Speaker of the House, who has been accused by more than one conservative of not having the will or nerve to go toe to toe with obama, suddenly sounds, both in word and tone, like a young boxer looking for a fight.  Late last week after some unnamed obama functionary was quoted in the MSM saying the dems didn't want the shutdown to end because "we're winning," Boehner took to the microphone to say, angrily, that "this isn't some damn game."  If you want to illustrate or comprehend the core of the obama situation, just think of it like this: obama has a choice between doing the right thing (getting rid of obamamess) and doing something to enhance (in his mind) his 'legacy'.  Is there any doubt what wins out in his world?  Terps top Boston College, 2-1, remain tied for ACC lead:  With the showdown with No. 2 Notre Dame only days away, No. 8 Maryland took down Boston College Friday night, and that, combined with No. 20 Wake Forest's 3-0 home win over Virginia Tech, keeps the two teams tied for the lead in the ACC as the season marches past the half-way point.  Freshman Michael Sauers scored his first career goal and the Terps added an own-goal against the Eagles (4-3-2, 2-2-1).  While the Terps invade South Bend on Tuesday, Wake Forest plays an ACC match at North Carolina State.  In other ACC games Friday, Duke played North Carolina to a scoreless tie in Chapel Hill as the Tar Heels, who slipped from the top of the National Rankings this week, fell to 0-0-5 in conference play and 3-0-5 overall.  The Tar Heels are now ranked No. 12 by the NSCAA.  Maryland and Wake Forest each have 13 points in the ACC standings, good for a first place tie.  Notre Dame is in third place with 11 points.  The Fighting Irish are 3-0-2 in their first year in the conference and 6-0-3 overall.  The Irish got an overtime goal from Harrison Shipp, his second of the game, to defeat No. 13 Clemson, 2-1 on Saturday in South Carolina.  The Tigers had tied the game with two minutes left in regulation. Clemson is tied with Boston College and improving Virginia for fourth place, each with 7 points.  Clemson is 2-2-1 in the ACC and 7-2-1 overall, while the Eagles are 2-2-1 in the conference and 4-3-2 overall.  The Cavaliers, meanwhile, routed Pitt, 5-0, to move ahead of in-state rival Virginia Tech and into the tie with the Tigers and Eagles.  Virginia is now 2-2-1 overall and 6-3-1 overall.  Virginia Tech (3-3-3 overall, 1-1-3 in the conference) and Syracuse (8-3-0, 2-3-0) are tied for seventh place with 6 points.  North Carolina is alone in eighth place with five points.  North Carolina State is in ninth place with four points.  The Wolfpack is 1-3-1 in the conference and 4-3-2 overall.  Duke is in tenth place with 2 points.  The Blue Devils are 0-3-2 in the ACC and 4-4-3 overall.  And in last place is Pitt, which was looking for a breakthrough week with games at home against Xavier and on the road at Virginia.  Instead, the Panthers, 0-5-0 in the ACC and 0-6-2 overall, suffered an agonizing setback to the Musketeers on Tuesday and the blowout loss to Virginia on Friday.  Besides Wake Forest at North Carolina State  and Maryland at Notre Dame, the ACC has other matches on Tuesday, including Clemson at North Carolina, Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh and Syracuse at Boston College.  Terps get their comeuppance:  It's true that one of the season's dirtiest plays took Maryland's starting quarterback out of the game late in the second quarter, and it's true that Florida State was playing in front of an enthused home crowd, but the 63-0 embarrassment that the Seminoles put on Maryland Saturday afternoon laid bare the Terps' weak early season schedule.  The Terps had broken into the Top 25 (at No. 25) after whacking usually strong West Virginia, 37-0, two weeks ago then sitting idle while the Mountaineers rebounded last week to upset then No. 11 Oklahoma State at Stillwater.  But the bright and shiny undefeated record was little solace in Tallahassee.   The helmet to helmet hit on C. J. Brown, executed while Brown was already in a bear hug by another Seminole, forced the Maryland Quartback to leave the game and enter the locker room immediately.  He never returned.  On Sunday, Terp coach Randy Edsall revealed that he almost certainly will forward information about the hit to the ACC's coordinator of officials, Doug Rhoads.  The Seminole Player who did the deed, Jacobbi McDaniel, said after the game that he hoped Brown's injuries weren't serious.  A Sports Illustrated web site, http://college-football.si.com/2013/10/05/maryland-qb-c-j-brown-injured-against-florida-state/?shared=email&msg=fail, has a continuous circuit replay of the hit.  McDaniel certainly led with his helmet and by the reaction of Brown's head, at least part of the helmet hit something on Brown's head.  All three of Maryland's top receivers were also banged up in the game, which, not unexpectedly, resulted in Maryland's dropping out of the AP rankings.

Reid demonstrates how far he'll go to win political squabble; Maryland stops No. 23 Tulsa; Pitt stays winless

BALTIMORE, Maryland October 2, 2013 - Reid gets egg on his face for heartless comment:  The obama-fueled Democrats are so determined to pin the government shutdown on the Republicans that their Senate President made a total fool of himself just to drive the message home.  A CNN reporter ask Harry Reid Tuesday why the Democrats wouldn't support a bill that would have provided temporary funding for the National Institute of Health.  The reporter asked whether Reid would support a bill that would have directly benefitted a young Cancer patient.  Reid responded, "Why would we want to do that."  He really did and he wouldn't apologize for it.  Instead, he noted that people who work as Nellis Air Force Base in his home state of Nevada have been told to stay home.  What helping a cancer paient has to do with people missing a day of work when they almost assuredly will receive back pay for it is beyond explanation and Reid attempted none.  This and some other errors by the Dems illustrates the fact that even with most of the MSM going along with obama and friends, there are kinks in their armor.  The GOP strategy is to try to make the Democrats the movers and shakers behind the federal shut down when all they have to do is compromise of obamamess to end it.  Apparently the GOP is seeking, merely, a delay in the deadline for individuals to register for obamamess.  A one-year delay has already been given to businesses by obama.  Maryland beats back No. 23 Tulsa. 2-1:  Maryland's Senior All-American, Patrick Mullins, scored one goal and forced Tulsa into an own-goal as the Terps topped determined No. 23 Tulsa, 2-1 at Ludwig Field in College Park Tuesday night.  Maryland, ranked eighth in the last poll, improved to 4-2-3 overall.  They are 3-0-1 in the ACC.  In the first half Mullins sent a breathtaking cross sailing through the Golden Hurrican goalmouth.  Before the Tulsa defense could react to it, the ball richocheted off of one of their defenders and into the goal.  In the second half Mullins took a penalty shot awarded Maryland and made it count.  It put Maryland ahead, 2-0.  Tulsa battled back and scored a goal of their own in the 65th minute, forcing the Terps to circle the wagons somewhat over the last 25 minutes,  It is something Maryland has struggled with early in this season, but on Tuesday against a nationally ranked opponent they pulled it off.  The Terps return to the ACC wars Friday night when Boston College visits Ludwig.  Gametime is 7:30 pm.  Xavier stops Pitt, 2-1, keeping Panthers winless:  Playing at home Tuesday night, Pittsburgh lost a frustrating match to Xavier.  The Muskateer's first tally apparently should have been disallowed, but the referee didn't blow the whistle.  Instead, Xavier's Jalen Brown rammed home a cross from Wil Walker to put the Muskateer's on top in the 8th minute.  Pitt appeared to tie the game later in the first half, but the referee called it off because he had whistled a foul on the Panthers.  Xavier's Garrett Halfhill scored seconds after a Muskateer corner to put the visitor's up, 2-0.  Pitt was awarded a penalty kick in the 77th minute, but the Panthers' Ryan Myers shot sailed wide.  Myers did not give up.  In the 85th minute he set up Kevin Murray, whose header cut the Muskateer lead in half.  But in the final minutes the Panthers could not muster another shot.  The Panthers, now 0-5-2, visit ACC rival Virginia Friday night.

On Day One of obamamess, federal workers stay home; Tampa downs Texas in Game No. 163

BALTIMORE, Maryland October 1, 2013 - Obamamess kicks in and federal workers stay home:  It is a great day in America, the very first day that all Americans can go on line and sign up for obamamess (aka obamacare, aka Affordable Care Act).  The Federal Government is so elated at the news that it has shut down.  Thousands of federal workers have been told to go home or stay home or both.  And you know what? Most Americans will be completely unaffected.  The Post Office is open, the Military is on duty (and getting paid), and the police are responding when they are called.  Most police don't work for the federal government and the military and post office are unaffected by the shut down.  Now, if you were planning a visit to the Smithsonian or the National Gallery, you might have to change those plans.  If you are Harry Reid, you are all excited because the main stream media wants you to appear on TV today.  It is the exact same reason that the GOP is pretty excited: the meanly-mouthed Nevadan, disliked by well over half of all Americans, is going to appear on TV today as the Democratic reason that there is a shut down.  As for obamamess, most of the websites set to handle the crowds trying to sign up are said to be broke.  And the federal workers that are sent home, and can be seen on TV whining that they aren't being paid, well, remember this:  in all previous government shutdowns the affected federal work force received 100% of their back pay.  The Congress needed to enact funding for the federal government to keep it open since the previous finding bill ended yesterday.  Both houses of Congress enacted such funding, but the House bill did not contain money for obamamess while the Democratically controlled Senate enacted a spending bill which fully funded obamamess.  Normally when the two houses enact similarly purposed bills that are not alike, the bills are sent to a conference comprised of representatives of both houses and this conference attempts to resolve the differences.  But this time the Senate won't agree to conference the bills.  Dingy Harry says he will not compromise on fully funding obamamess.  So, if you are a Democrat and if you also fully support obamamess, you support Harry Reid.  Otherwise, you support the House position that the Leviathan obamamess needs reform.  And, lest you forget, there is a debt ceiling fight looming in two weeks and many don't believe the shutdown can be solved until the debt ceiling mess is solved.  If you are confused about the debt ceiling, consider this.  Besides enacting gobs of funding bills, the Congress has also enacted a debt ceiling.  The ceiling is the total amount of debt the federal government can be in.  All of obama's plans cannot be fit under the current ceiling, so he wants the ceiling to be raised.  Some stalwart GOP members won't agree to any hike.  Tampa beats back Texas to gain final Wildcard berth in MLB playoffs:  David Price bucked the odds last night and pitched a complete game against the hard-hitting Rangers in Arlington, Texas last night as the Rays won, 4-2.  The win provided the Rays with the final berth in the MLB playoffs starting today.  The Rays now will travel to Cleveland to face the Indians in the one-game Wild Card Playoff tomorrow night.  The winner of that game will advance to a best of five Division Series with the Red Sox beginning Friday night in Boston.  The other American League Playoff teams, Detroit and Oakland, will square off against each other in a best of five series beginning Friday night in Oakland (9:30 pm EDST).  The National League one-game Wild Card Playoff is tonight in Pittsburgh where the Pirates host the Reds.  It is the first playoff game for the Pirates since 1992.  Gametime is 8 pm on TBS.  The winner of that game plays a best of five with the Cardinals beginning Thursday afternoon, 5 pm, in St. Louis.  The other National League Series has the Dodgers and Braves squaring off starting Thursday night, 8:30 pm in Atlanta.  Most games are on TBS, although the MLB channel has a few of the games.  This web page has the complete schedule, including game times and networks:  http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/schedule/ps.jsp?tcid=mm_mlb_schedule.