The 2012 Major League Soccer Draft is on Thursday, January 12^th and Tulsa's Justin Chavez is among the nation's elite players at the MLS Combine this week. 

 

Chavez, a defender from Edmond, Okla., was a four-year letterwinner at TU.  He started in 75 of 77 career contests, and had five goals and four assists for 14 points.  Chavez was a two-year selection to the Hermann Trophy Watch List, and picked up All-Conference USA and NSCAA All-Region honors as a sophomore and junior, having missed several games as a senior due to injury.

 

Chavez has had a strong showing at the Combine, and has been recognized in Joe Mauceri's coverage of the Combine on TopDrawerSocccer.com. 

 

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer/college-soccer-archives/nid-23635/MLS-Combine-Day-2-Read-Joes-Analysis

 

Check TulsaHurricane.com for MLS Draft coverage.

Chris Sheridan, former NBA writer for both ESPN and the Associated Press, wrote an interesting piece today former Tulsa great Jerome Jordan and his chances of throwing his name in contention for NBA Rookie of the Year this season.

The University of Tulsa and the U.S. Marines thanks TU fans for your support of the Toys For Tots campaign!

TU and the Marines had its annual Toys For Tots campaign in full force at the TU vs. Marshall football game Nov. 12. Fans who brought toys to the game valued at $15 or higher received free admission to the contest, which Tulsa won 59-17.

Tulsa fans donated 532 toys and $2,577.78. Those marks almost doubled both categories compared to last year.

Thank you so much for supporting the efforts! Don't forget this holiday season to help those less fortunate, and Toys for Tots is one way to do it.

I caught up with Joe Salem, former Tulsa men's soccer standout from 2005-09, after the men's soccer season finale this weekend.  Salem has played the last two seasons with the Puerto Rico Islanders, which are part of the North American Soccer League.

 

Where do you play?

"We play our home games in Puerto Rico and then we fly all over the United States and Canada to play games."

 

When do you play?

"Preseason is in March with games starting in April and go through October.  We play in the Champions league too so we have a lot of games during the season."

 

What is it like living in a different country and playing soccer?

"It is nice. It is definitely different from my home town of Akron (Ohio) and Tulsa.  I like it a lot.  Soccer is picking up there and it is good to be able to experience different things."

 

On making the jump from college to professional...

"There is definitely a jump from college to pro.  It took me a while to get my feet under me.  The game is a lot quicker and everyone is really technical.  The speed of the game and the intensity is much higher, but it is a job so you want to do well."

 

On making his dream a reality...

"That was the goal from day one to play professional soccer.  It was a lot of hard work and you never know what will happen.  When you go from middle school, then high school and then college, you want to go to the next level, but you really have to dedicate yourself and work hard to get there."

 

What do you do in your spare time?

"The good thing about Puerto Rico is the beach is right there so I spend a lot of time there.  We train for three hours a day and then maybe a little more on our own, but with the language barrier I am not able to coach, so I watch a lot of TV and just hang out."

 

What do you do in the offseason?

"In the offseason I come back home [Akron, Ohio] and keep working out to stay in shape.  I have to come back to my second home (Tulsa) to see my boys play.  I definitely wanted to catch the senior game because I knew the seniors really well."

Saturday was a great game in all phases for the Golden Hurricane.  On offense, G.J. was very efficient, Willie Carter had another tremendous game and we had three running backs with over 40 yards rushing.  Defensively, we had five turnovers, forced seven punts and caused SMU to only convert two of their thirteen third-down attempts.  Also, the weather was beautiful and it was a great Homecoming atmosphere.  I often take for granted the fact that I get to live in Tulsa and remain close to the University and all that takes place here, especially involving the football program.  With that being said, it was great to see so many teammates from my 2003-2007 seasons. We reflected on games ranging from the '03 Humanitarian Bowl to the '07 BYU barn-burner and many more in between.  I am forever grateful for my time at TU and the many special people I got to share that chapter of my life with. 

Until next time... 

The University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane women's basketball and softball teams will be participating in a Pen Pal program with Sequoyah Elementary School for the 2011-12 school year.

First of all, I'm sorry for the time between blogs.  If I were to attempt to excuse it would go something like this: I was planning on reviewing my experiences from the TU-OSU game one evening last week but by the time my sleep patterns got back to normal the Boise State game was almost upon us (I watched that game from Oklaunion, Texas, a small town a little northwest of Wichita Falls, due to a family reunion). 

I also planned that a day or two before the game I would recap a few personal memories from the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise my true freshman year, but I heard the news of George Clinkscale's passing early Thursday morning and felt that there were no 'smurf turf' memories worth mentioning at a time like this.  

I still believe there is nothing worth blogging about that relates to the game of football.  George was a great young man and a tremendous competitor.  We all have our own special memories of George and I will always carry with me the short time we were once again united as teammates during training camp this past June with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL. Our careers in Montreal did not last as long as either of us would have liked, but I am once again reminded of how little significance the game of football really is when compared to the game of life. 

Members of the Tulsa athletic department, including head women's basketball coach Matilda Mossman, and assistant coaches Britney Brown and Fred Castro, along with Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham and his wife, Tina, attended a prescreening of "The Mighty Macs" on Tuesday night.

 

"The Mighty Macs" is a true story about Immaculata College (now Immaculata University) and the women's basketball team during the early 1970's, and their journey to the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) championships from 1972-74. 

 

"The Mighty Macs" will hit theaters October 21^st, and stars Carla Gugino, Marley Shelton, David Boreanaz and Ellen Burstyn. 

 

For more information, visit www.TheMightyMacs.com.

Paul Smith is a former TU quarterback and the school's career passing leader. Paul is currently a 'financial quarterback' with Securian Advisors MidAmerica in Tulsa and is a guest host on Sports Animal Tulsa Radio Friday mornings from 9-10 am.

Quick thoughts on last Saturday: I thought the defense had a strong showing and really played well at times, especially early. I thought the offensive line came off the ball. I thought G.J. did a good job managing the game and staying calm (I'm sure he is not happy with the way he played. He is a perfectionist - reminds me of someone...). To sum up, I did not see any major areas of weakness. If I had to pick on one position it would be receiver. It was not one person in general; just the fact that we were not always running crisp routes and did not separate from the defenders very well at times. However, those were very likely the fastest, most disciplined defensive backs we will go against all year. 

It has been overstated that week two is probably the most important of the first four. I agree. Realistically, we are trying to win the western division and then go win the Liberty Bowl... not a national championship (though I would not be disappointed if that happens in the near future). Against Tulane, we need to execute our game plan and I do not think there will be an issue of looking ahead to week three... the guys have been told plenty how important this week is.

Isn't this one of the greatest times of the year?! Those triple-digit temperatures are about to be long gone, school is starting, and, of course, it's fall sports season!

At The University of Tulsa, we love all of our sports teams. Anyone who follows the athletic department here knows that the football team is traveling to Norman, Okla., tomorrow for a big game with in-state foe and No. 1-ranked Oklahoma. It's on FX at 7 p.m. if you can't make the trip.

What else is going on at this wonderful institution, though? Well, both soccer teams have already gotten their seasons underway, and they have a combined 4-1 record at the moment after the men defeated Missouri State last night.

The cross country teams - who both won Conference USA Championships a year ago - set their sights on repeat performances Saturday when they kickoff the 2011 campaign with the annual Hurricane Festival at Mohawk Park.

The volleyball team began its season last week and is playing host to the Park Inn Hurricane Invitational today and tomorrow at Reynolds Center.

Both golf teams will start their seasons in two weeks, and the fall tennis season will start in mid-September.

That was just a quick rundown of all the sports that are starting up. Hopefully you will follow all of what TU has to offer throughout the 2011-12 academic year. Everything you need to keep up-to-date with TU athletics can be found at tulsahurricane.com.