Namibia’s senior men’s inline hockey team arrived back home on Wednesday after creating history at the Inline Hockey World Championships in Roccaraso, Italy.
They achieved their highest ever result by finishing fourth amongst the world’s leading inline hockey nations, while their success capped Namibia’s best ever overall performance at the world championships, with the junior women finishing third, the senior women fifth, and the junior men seventh.
National coach Nadia Schmidt, who was assisted by Trevor Cormack, said it was a huge achievement.
“This was only the second time that Namibia had sent four teams to the World Skate Games and incredibly getting all four teams into the top eight for the first time was a huge achievement,” she said.
“The atmosphere and mentality in the Namibian camp was great, and all the teams performed above expectations and their rankings. The junior women’s bronze medal and the senior men’s fourth place have now also ensured that they qualify for the 2025 World Games in China,” she added.
It was the best that Namibia’s senior men’s team had ever done at the biennial Inline Hockey World Championships, which forms part of the World Skate Games, and was a big improvement on their previous best performance when they came tenth at the 2021 world championships in Italy.
Namibia’s overall performances underlined their consistency against the best teams in the world at major international tournaments in recent years.
At the previous world championships in Argentina two years ago, Namibia’s junior women’s team won the gold medal, while the junior men came fourth, and at last year’s European Championships in Charleroi, Belgium, where Namibia competed on invitation, the junior women came second, the senior women third, and the junior men fifth.
In Roccaraso, Namibia’s senior men’s team was only ranked 21st in the world going into the tournament, but they produced some major upsets as they progressed to the semifinals.
They started off with an emphatic 19-1 victory against China, before beating Switzerland 3-1 to book a place in the last 16. Here they caused a major upset by beating third-ranked France 5-4, with Valerik Hilbert scoring the winning goal in extra time.
In the quarterfinals, they came up against Sweden and in another close encounter, Hilbert once again scored the winner two minutes from time to give Namibia a 2-1 victory.
In the semifinals Namibia came up against the top-ranked team at the tournament, the Czech Republic, and gave a good account of themselves but eventually lost 5-2.
After the Czech Republic took the lead, Amandus Röttcher equalised for Namibia, but they then conceded two goals to head into a half time with a 3-1 deficit.
The Czech Republic sealed the match with two more goals before Johannes Coetzee scored a late consolation goal for Namibia.
That put Namibia through to the bronze medal play-off match against Italy, where the hosts took an early 2-0 lead. Coetzee reduced the deficit with Namibia’s opening goal, but Italy immediately increased their lead to go into halftime 3-1 ahead.
In a tense second half both teams had penalties, but neither could capitalise as Italy went on to win the match 3-1 to claim the bronze medal.
Schmidt said the future looked bright for Namibian inline hockey.
“The performances of all four teams bodes well for the future of Namibia Inline Hockey and gives future inline players a platform to aspire to in playing at a world class level. With all four teams ending in the Top 8 rankings, they have now all secured Top 16 spots for the next World Skate Games in 2026,” she said.
Schmidt also thanked Spar Namibia for their support.
“We sincerely would like to thank Spar, proud sponsors of Namibia inline hockey, who made it possible for all four teams to travel and compete at the World Skate Games in Roccaraso, Italy.”
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Editor’s note: The Athletic 134is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.
You sometimes have to sit in awe of what Georgia has done. The Bulldogs now have 43 consecutive regular season victories. Until this past Saturday, none of them had come by a three-point margin or smaller.
But every once in a while, Georgia has a weird performance, usually against Missouri or Kentucky. This year, it was Kentucky’s turn. Georgia won 13-12 in Lexington and needed a fourth-quarter comeback to do it, one week after Kentucky lost 31-6 to South Carolina and cost itself “College GameDay” hosting honors. Welcome to the weirdness of college football.
As a result, Texas moves up to No. 1 in this week’s edition of The Athletic 134, the third different No. 1 team we’ve had in four weeks. The Longhorns lost Quinn Ewers to injury against UTSA, one week after the quarterback’s dominant performance at Michigan. But his replacement Arch Manning didn’t miss a step, and actually took many himself, with four passing touchdowns and a 67-yard touchdown run. Only time will tell on Ewers’ status, but the Longhorns are rolling in all phases right now, even with the backup quarterback on the field. So they take the top spot.
But guess what? Almost exactly one month from today, we’ve got Georgia vs. Texas in Austin.
GO DEEPER
Why Texas is the right No. 1 over Georgia: Behind the AP Top 25 ballot
These rankings are starting to find their level now. Almost every team has played at least one notable opponent. The wild swings will be fewer, though there are some this week (hello, Georgia State). The head-to-head results still play a heavy role at this point. The deeper into the season we get, the less transitive things will become.
Here is the Week 4 edition of The Athletic 134.
1-10
Along with Texas’ move up to No. 1, there are some slight tweaks here. Tennessee leapfrogs Miami to No. 5 because the Canes’ opening win against Florida doesn’t look as good as it did at the time. Tennessee’s win against NC State looks better now. Penn State also falls to No. 10 after Oregon got right in a 49-14 win at Oregon State and Missouri beat Boston College at home, a good win for the Tigers. Penn State’s win against West Virginia has also lost its shine as the Mountaineers are now 1-2.
GO DEEPER
What we learned about the CFP in Week 3: How underrated is Tennessee?
11-25
Without many ranked matchups or upsets in Week 3, there are also only a few moves in this group. LSU slides up one spot to No. 14 after coming back to beat South Carolina on the road, while Kansas State beat Arizona 31-7 to move up to No. 15. Oklahoma drops two spots to No. 16, and the Sooners’ offensive issues are concerning, especially in the pass game, though the defense has been stout. Tennessee travels to Norman this week.
Welcome to the top 25, Illinois and UNLV. Both have wins over Kansas. The Illini have really taken care of business through three weeks, while the Rebels are 2-0 in Big 12 play with wins against Houston and KU.
26-50
Here come the shakeups. I really wanted to put Memphis in the top 25. They’ve played really well all season. They’re right there. But a win against Florida State just doesn’t mean what it used to (sorry, Noles — more on you later). Iowa slips to No. 29 after needing a second-half comeback to get past a winless Troy team.
Washington State shoots up to No. 34 after beating Washington to move to 3-0. The Cougs have two Power 4 wins, and quarterback John Mateer is a whole lot of fun. Louisville remains at No. 35 because the Cardinals have only played Austin Peay and winless Jacksonville State. UCF pushes up to No. 36 after a big comeback win at TCU.
Indiana fans were very upset the Hoosiers didn’t move much after putting up 77 points on a bad FCS team. I said I just needed to see them play better competition, like Louisville. Well, a 42-13 win at UCLA was what I wanted to see, so the Hoosiers jump from No. 82 to No. 38. Pitt makes a similar jump up to No. 39 after another fourth-quarter comeback win, this one against West Virginia, to move to 3-0.
Georgia State rockets up from No. 116 to No. 42 after beating Vanderbilt. I have a feeling this is Vandy falling back to earth, but with a limited sample size, this is what happens. So although Virginia Tech handled Old Dominion, the Hokies drop because that loss to Vandy was so recent. (Georgia State’s loss is to Georgia Tech.) Welcome to the top 50, No. 48 Toledo, after whipping Mississippi State 41-17.
51-75
I realize Liberty keeps winning and keeps dropping. The Flames, now at No. 52, just haven’t been playing up to their ranking. They didn’t play great against Campbell, needed a comeback against New Mexico State and were pedestrian against UTEP. Fresno State, meanwhile, beat New Mexico State 48-0 on Saturday. Texas State only slips one spot to No. 58 after a three-point home loss to Arizona State.
Wisconsin drops to No. 66 after a 42-10 loss to Alabama. I know it’s a steep drop for a loss to Alabama, but the Badgers have just not been good at any point this season, and they don’t get any benefit of the doubt. Duke is 3-0 but drops a few spots to No. 60 after needing a fourth-quarter comeback to beat UConn. Florida tumbles to No. 67 after an ugly loss to Texas A&M and its backup quarterback. Appalachian State falls to No. 69 after needing a second-half comeback against East Carolina in a 21-19 win.
GO DEEPER
Billy Napier doesn’t blame Florida fans for boos as his prove-it season deteriorates
76-100
Baylor moves up a few spots to No. 76 after beating Air Force. No. 79 Houston may be rounding into competent form after following up a good performance against Oklahoma with a 33-7 win against Rice. Mississippi State looks like one of the worst Power 4 teams after getting drubbed by Toledo at home and dropping to No. 81. The same goes for UCLA, now at No. 86 after the blowout loss to Indiana to go with a last-second win against Hawaii.
But it’s even more true for Florida State, now at No. 87 as the only 0-3 team in the Power 4. The only reason the Seminoles aren’t lower is because they’ve played three pretty decent teams. But don’t lose to Cal next week and make it 0-4.
Western Kentucky is up to No. 88 after beating Middle Tennessee 49-21, looking like the WKU of old. Sam Houston continues to look improved after beating Hawaii and is now up to No. 94.
GO DEEPER
Navarro: Florida State’s 0-3 debacle is a product of poor evaluation, development
101-134
Not much change in this group, including at the bottom. Kent State was already No. 134, and the Golden Flashes might stay there for a bit. Trailing Tennessee 37-0 after one quarter and 65-0 at halftime, coming off an FCS loss, is as ugly as it gets.
The Athletic 134 series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
Northern Michigan University’s Tanner Latsch readies for a faceoff during a game last season at the Berry Events Center in Marquette. Latsch earned a pair of CCHA weekly awards on Oct. 16 after tallying five goals and an assist in his first collegiate action, a two-game series at Minnesota-Duluth. (Photo courtesy NMU)
MARQUETTE — It’s a brave new world, not just in college hockey, but in a wide range of NCAA sports, particularly at the Division I level.
The new rules, in particular the NCAA transfer portal, have created uncertainly probably like never seen before. It would be way overblown to say the Northern Michigan University hockey program was left in shambles, but what was left that way was its roster in the aftermath of a head coaching change this summer.
In the end, NMU has just four players returning from last year’s team — redshirt junior Jakob Peterson, junior Zach Michaelis, redshirt sophomore Tanner Latsch and sophomore Brendan Poshak.
The “redshirt” description means the player has been on a college team for one more year than the class year indicates, either through not playing, or in some cases, earning an extra year through being on a roster during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic season. Those have already been phasing out, but may not be completely done yet.
Despite what sounds like a dire situation, new NMU head hockey coach Dave Shyiak was able to put together a roster of 28 players — compare that to the 30 who were on the Wildcats’ 2023-24 listing.
The coach says this Wildcats team will be one of, if not the youngest, in college hockey with 16 freshmen and 20 underclassmen in total. It’s made up of 15 forwards, 10 defensemen and three goalies.
“We are really excited about our group,” Shyiak said in an NMU Sports Information news release about the roster. “We have many new faces and a lot of freshmen that are coming in with hunger and energy.
“They all know there is a great opportunity in front of them to earn playing time. Internal competition will be healthy for our growth as the season progresses.
“The most important component to our team and staff is the culture building. We really have to put in the time to get to know one another and have an understanding of what our values and identity will be.”
NMU athletic director Rick Comley expedited the process of moving on from one head coach to the next, needing just a few weeks to transition from former seven-year coach Grant Potulny to Shyiak, but more than a dozen players had already announced their intended departure back when the NCAA transfer portal originally opened around the first of April and stayed open for about six weeks.
A study posted online by Grand Forks (North Dakota) Herald sportswriter Brad Elliott Schlossman about portal entries showed 14 NMU players from last year’s team — which didn’t include players like captain Adam Ghantous who had already exhausted his college eligibility — had entered the portal.
That didn’t necessarily mean they were all leaving, as entering the portal is only an announcement about looking for a new school.
Schlossman’s numbers, however, have shown that over the past few years in college hockey that the vast number of portal entrants do move on — in 2023, the number was 74.2% of those declaring did transfer to another Division I school, while only 2.1% remained with their current team. The more than 20% not included in those numbers went pro, stopped playing collegiately, with even a few who went to ACHA club hockey.
In Schlossman’s listing, two of NMU’s returning players who actually had announced for the portal during the spring period returned to the Wildcats — Michaelis and Poshak.
By the way, the transfer portal reopened for another 30 days for NMU players after Potulny announced his resignation.
What wasn’t included in Schlossman’s study was the effect on incoming freshmen or transfers from the in-season signing period back last fall.
It was speculated that part of the reason for the mass migration of current Wildcats players out of Marquette was a robust incoming class that included 10 players with several of them already NHL draft picks.
A majority of that group also went elsewhere, but three of them are still joining Northern this fall.
In the end, though, NMU Sports Information released earlier this week a thumbnail sketch of all the incoming players who will be on this team this fall.
Here is that look, along with profiles of the four returnees. Players are organized by the various ways they’ve come to NMU. There’s the four players returning from last year, the three recruits who were announced last fall, two who announced they were coming to NMU during the April-May transfer portal period, with all the others recruited since Shyiak’s late June hire.
Players are listed with their height, weight, position and uniform number:
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RETURNING PLAYERS
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Jakob Peterson (6-1, 190, forward, No. 23) — This redshirt junior in his fourth year at NMU is a Marquette native having played for the Marquette Redmen — before they became the Sentinels — and earning Great Lakes Conference First Team honors in high school.
He joined the Wildcats midway through the 2021-22 season in January 2022. Just before Northern, he played for Amarillo of the North American Hockey League and previous to that, was with Drayton Valley of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
He’s been a CCHA Scholar-Athlete the past two seasons, and in 2023-24, he skated in 22 NMU games and had 17 blocked shots along with one assist, that coming on Dec. 8 against Michigan Tech.
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Zach Michaelis (6-1, 210, forward, No. 9) — A junior from Elk River, Minnesota, he is a two-time CCHA All-Academic honoree.
In the season before coming to NMU, he played with Trail of the British Columbia Hockey League, and for three seasons prior was in the U.S. Hockey League and Northern American Hockey League.
In two seasons at Northern, he has a goal and four assists, including three assists last season when he played in 10 games.
——————–
Tanner Latsch (6-2, 190, forward, No. 22) — A redshirt sophomore from downstate Twin Lake, he opened his college playing career with a flourish last October, scoring a hat trick in his first game, against Minnesota-Duluth, only the second NMU player to ever score three goals in their college debut.
He followed it up with a two-goal, one-assist game the next night for six points in his opening weekend, not surprisingly earning both CCHA Rookie of the Week and Player of the Week honors.
He added another two goals the following weekend to again be named CCHA Rookie of the Week, and subsequently, CCHA Rookie of the Month.
Latsch led the NCAA in goal scoring and power play goals among freshmen for awhile after that, even with his campaign cut short to just eight games due to a season-ending injury.
He finished with seven goals, six of them on power plays, and an assist for eight points.
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Brendan Poshak (5-7, 170, forward, No. 7) — This sophomore from Green Bay, Wisconsin, played in nine games last season, making his college debut on Oct. 28 vs. Ferris State, and finished the season with five shots though no points.
Prior to the Wildcats, he played for two seasons with Brooks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, both Canadian national championship seasons. Before that, he was a two-time all-state player at Notre Dame Academy in Green Bay.
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NOVEMBER RECRUITS
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Jakub Altrichter (5-11, 165, forward, No. 14) — This Prague, Czech Republic, freshman played the past two season in the USHL, most recently with the Waterloo, Iowa, Black Hawks, where in 54 games he had 11 goals and 35 assists for 46 points.
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Rasmus Larsson (6-3, 205, defenseman, No. 8) — This Stockholm, Sweden, freshman was a fifth-round draft pick of the New York Rangers in 2023, having played in 59 games with the Green Bay, Wisconsin, Gamblers last season with four goals and 13 assists for 17 points.
He’s also been on Sweden’s under-19 and under-20 international teams, along with playing in his country’s top junior league in 2022-23.
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Billy Renfrew (5-11, 183, forward, No. 11) — This Fairbanks, Alaska, freshman played last season for the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Hockey League, scoring 20 goals and 32 assists for 52 points in 51 games.
——————–
APRIL-MAY TRANSFERS
——————–
Ryan Ouellette (6-0, 200, goalie, No. 30) — This college senior from Colorado Springs, Colorado, is a transfer from Niagara University, having played in 11 games over two seasons.
In 2021-22, he played for the USHL’s Lincoln Stars and had an .880 saves percentage in 44 games.
——————–
Matthew Romer (5-11, 185, forward, No. 17) — This Algonquin, Illinois, sophomore transferred from Arizona State, where he played in seven games last season.
Prior to ASU, he played two seasons with the Omaha, Nebraska, Lancers of the USHL, recording three goals and eight assists for 11 points in 2022-23.
——————–
SUMMER TRANSFERS AND RECRUITS
——————–
Nicolas Ardanaz (5-10, 185, defenseman, No. 3) — This college junior from Surrey, British Columbia, is a transfer from RPI, where he played in 38 games over two seasons.
He previously played for the West Kelowna Warriors of the British Columbia Hockey League, earning a spot on the league’s all-rookie team in 2019-20.
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Matthew Argentina (5-11, 193, forward, No. 28) — A junior eligibility-wise from Philadelphia, he played two years at Boston College and had four goals and six assists for 10 points in 53 games.
In the year before college, he was with the Chilliwack Chiefs of the British Columbia Hockey League, where he had 14 goals and 10 assists for 24 points in 41 games.
——————–
Ethan Barwick (6-3, 202, goalie, No. 33) — A redshirt freshman from St. Albert, Alberta, he redshirted last season at Lindenwood University.
In 2022-23 with the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, he had a 45-4-1 record, 1.88 goals-against average and .929 saves percentage.
——————–
Medrick Bolduc (5-9, 185, forward, No. 13) — A freshman from Val-d’Or, Quebec, he played last season with the El Paso, Texas, Rhinos of the North American Hockey League. He skated in 66 games, including playoffs, and had 21 goals and 29 assists for 50 points.
Prior to that, he spent two seasons with the Utica, New York, Comets of the National Collegiate Development Conference.
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Colby Browne (5-10, 180, forward, No. 21) — A freshman from Evergreen, Colorado, he played the last three seasons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, including last year with the Whitecourt Wolverines, when he played 57 games and had 26 goals and 42 assists for 68 points.
——————–
Danny Ciccarello (5-11, 201, forward, No. 27) — A two-year player at RPI from Kirkland, Quebec, he is a college junior who suited up in 49 games, scoring five goals and two assists for seven points.
——————–
Anthony Cliche (6-4, 208, defenseman, No. 20) — The tallest current Wildcat is a freshman from Vallee Jonction, Quebec.
He’s played the last three seasons with the Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League, and last year, had 10 goals and 25 assists for 35 points in 50 games.
——————–
Grayden Daul (6-0, 180, defenseman, No. 5) — A freshman from Glenview, Illinois, he played AAA hockey for the Chicago Mission, where he won a state championship all three seasons there.
For the Langley Rivermen of the British Columbia Hockey League in 2023-24, he scored a goal and added six assists in 51 games.
——————–
Will Diamond (6-3, 205, forward, No. 24) — A freshman from Carpentersville, Illinois, he’s played juniors the past three seasons, including for the Austin, Minnesota, Bruins of the North American Hockey League last year. That’s when he skated in 46 games and scored six goals to go with eight assists for 14 points.
——————–
Ryan Duguay (6-2, 190, forward, No. 18) — A freshman from Edmonton, Alberta, he played the past two seasons for the Melfort Mustangs of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. Last year, including playoffs, he appeared in 51 games and had 40 goals and 36 assists for 76 points.
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Tynan Ewart (6-0, 188, defenseman, No. 6) — A sophomore from Duncan, British Columbia, he played for a year at St. Cloud State, recording five assists in 19 games.
Before that, he had three seasons with the Battleford North Stars of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, and in 2022-23, put up 10 goals and 60 assists for 70 points in 68 games, including playoffs.
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Wolfgang Govedaris (6-2, 200, defenseman, No. 4) — A freshman from Bonita Springs, Florida, he played three seasons of junior hockey. Last year with the Corpus Christi, Texas, IceRays of the North American Hockey League, he had four goals and 17 assists for 21 points in 30 games.
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Aidyn Hutchinson (6-1, 185, forward, No. 29) — Not to be confused with a similar-sounding former University of Michigan and Detroit Lions football star, this freshman from St. Albert, Alberta, played two seasons with the Melfort Mustangs of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
Last season he had 48 goals and 62 assists for 110 points in 65 games, including playoffs. In those playoffs, which netted his team the SJHL championship, he had 10 points in six games, including a pair of goals in the 4-1 Game 6-clinching victory.
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Jakub Lewandowski (6-3, 197, defenseman, No. 26) — A collegiate senior from Torun, Poland, he spent the past three seasons with fellow CCHA member Bemidji State.
In that time, he played in 61 games, scoring seven goals and six assists for 13 points.
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Trevor Mitchell (6-3, 195, defenseman, No. 10) — A freshman from downstate South Lyon, he’s played the last three seasons in the North American Hockey League with time also in the USHL.
Last season for the Odessa, Texas, Jackalopes, he played 56 games and scored five goals with 15 assists for 20 points.
——————–
Julian Molinaro (5-11, 185, goalie, No. 31) — A freshman from Toronto, he played last season with the Calgary Canucks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
In 45 games, he had a 2.60 goals-against average and .916 saves percentage, leading Calgary to the AJHL championship by going 12-3 in the playoffs and stopping 39 of 41 shots in a 3-2 win in the championship game.
——————–
Joe Schiller (6-0, 195, defenseman, No. 2) — A freshman from Moorhead, Minnesota, he played the last two seasons with the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, RoughRiders of the USHL.
In 2023-24, he played in 41 games and had a goal and four assists.
——————–
Grayden Slipec (5-11, 190, forward, No. 15) — A freshman from Surrey, British Columbia, he played the last two years with the Chicago Steel of the USHL, recording 13 points in 2022-23 and 10 points in 2023-24.
——————–
Jesse Tucker (5-11, 187, forward, No. 19) — A senior from Longlac, Ontario, he has played three years collegiately at two schools, last year at Clarkson and the previous two at Michigan State.
At Clarkson, he had four goals and 10 assists for 14 points last season, while he totaled eight goals and 26 assists for 34 points in 67 games over his time with the Spartans.
He also has a twin brother Tyler who is a defenseman with the St. Louis Blues in the NHL.
Steve Brownlee can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 552. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.
Grassroots sports teams and charities can now apply for a slice of £400,000 as Cash4Clubs, led by Flutter UKI, is back for 2024.
The flagship funding programme will help 200 community sports organisations in the UK and Ireland with two months to apply for grants of £2,000.
Launched in 2008, Cash4Clubs has boosted the local sport ecosystem by helping teams develop their facilities, buy new equipment, and drive participation.
Last year’s winners included Basa in Rochdale, which runs fitness classes for over-60s women; the Gosport Bowmen archery club in Hampshire; and the London Wheelchair rugby club, who sent four players to Team GB’s Paralympics squad in Paris.
Of the clubs awarded funding last year, over 85 per cent said they had been able to deliver more activities – and a total of 9,000 new people aged 18 or over had engaged in health and fitness programmes thanks to the initiative.
Cash4Clubs is back with £400,000 of funding available for sports teams to apply for
Two hundred winning clubs or charities will gain £2,000 to put towards their development
‘The stunning success of Team GB at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics once again highlighted the power of sport. We hope Cash4Clubs can play an important part in helping at the grassroots level by enabling small clubs to play an even bigger role in their community,’ said Ian Brown, chief executive of betting and gaming group Flutter UKI.
‘There are priceless benefits in people trying out a sport for the first time, getting active or having the confidence to take their hobby to the next level. We believe this programme can make a real difference in the areas that need it most.’
One of last year’s winners, Welcome House Hull, used the Cash4Clubs grant to help set up Acorn FC, a football team made up exclusively of refugees and asylum seekers. They went on to make history by playing the first competitive match in the UK between asylum seeker teams.
‘We formed our football team Acorn FC and with the money from the grant we could be taken seriously as we could practise more, appear more professional, play better,’ said Shirley Hart of Welcome House, the charity that established the side.
‘We teamed up with Active Through Football and made history by playing the first inter-city asylum seeker competitive football match. We could not have done this without your grant
‘I hope that grassroots clubs will make the most of the opportunity to apply for a Cash4Clubs grant,’ said Conservative MP Dame Caroline Dineage, chair of the cross-party CMS Select Committee.
London Wheelchair Rugby Club sent four athletes to the Paralympics with Team GB this year, including Aaron Phipps (pictured)
The Gosport Bowmen archery club in Hampshire were one of the grateful recipients of funding last year
‘These clubs do great work in our communities, bringing people together, getting them active and developing new skills and passions. This money will make a huge difference.’
The application period for funding runs until the middle of November.
Following the storylines and surprises that unfolded on the gridiron this weekend.
SAN ANTONIO — It was not the best weekend for San Antonio-area college football; UTSA, UIW and Trinity all lost on Saturday. It was one of those clean sweeps, unfortunately.
With two full weeks of the college football season in the books, here’s what we know about those programs and other powerhouses around the Great State Of Texas. (Oh, and Florida State has even more problems than we first thought, but enough about that.)
UTSA
I was standing near the Texas State team tunnel Saturday as they exited the field after pregame warmups. One of the players, and I have no idea who it was, made a slight diversion to hug a family member just off to my immediate left.
I heard the family member say, as he was approaching: “Are you ready?” He winked, which I saw before he ran past me, and said, “Oh, we’re ready.”
The final score a few hours later: Texas State, 49. UTSA, 10.
The Roadrunners just looked one step slower, and I was only at UFCU Stadium for the first half, but that’s all we needed to see as it turned out. Clearly it wasn’t what anyone expected, at least on the visitor sideline.
I’ll admit my thoughts were fuzzy prior to kickoff. The Roadrunners looked pedestrian in their opener against Kennesaw State. The Bobcats did win their opener at home over Lamar, but only by seven points, and that didn’t look or feel dominating either.
But I harken back to G.J. Kinne’s midweek press conference, where he said things like, It’s time for us to measure up in this series. It’s time for us to return the atmosphere favor that they experienced at the Alamodome last season.
It was time for Texas State to become relevant in the series, and did they ever. UTSA Head coach Jeff Traylor said after the game that his team has been whipped before and didn’t blink, but this seems a little bit different. They not only lost to their Interstate 35 rival… they were thoroughly outplayed from start to finish.
And it’s not like a Kennesaw State-caliber comes calling for an immediate “get right” game to put UTSA back on the right mental track. No, the Roadrunners travel to Austin next week to play the team that just might win the national championship, the Texas Longhorns.
That would make me blink, and I’d bet they will between now and Saturday.
Texas State
You can refer to the above thoughts to know how life is gonna be for the Bobcats this week. They just won their September Super Bowl.
Dennis Franchione told me years ago that Texas State taking the field against UTSA is like playing your little brother, and nobody wants to lose to their little brother. They finally didn’t for the first time in six tries.
Head coach G.J. Kinne will definitely redirect the 24-hour celebration rule and not one minute later now that the UTSA beatdown is in the rear-view mirror. Texas State now gets the opportunity to validate Saturday’s success with power five Big 12 opponent Arizona State coming to San Marcos.
The ‘Cats first three games this season are at home. Imagine if they get all three before conference play starts!
Texas
The last time the Longhorns won the national championship, they played their second game of the year on the road. Such is the case this year, at a Big Ten school, like that year, at Ohio State, a game which they won 25-22 in route to an undefeated season and the 2005 title with the legendary Vince Young under center.
Over the weekend they handled the Michigan Wolverines, college football’s all-time winningest program, 31-12, and with not many issues. Don’t you just love the instant gratification world we live in? Everything right now? Everyone is proclaiming Texas to be back. “For good! Forever!”
Huh? Can’t we wait and see how they navigate their first season in the SEC, please? They may very well do it to the tune of one of the top spots in the College Football Playoff, but until we see much more: deep breath, everyone. Again, please.
Texas plays host to UTSA this weekend. They’ll be heavy favorites for the obvious reasons. Quinn Ewers just looks poised to play his best ball right before our eyes. He’s the early Heisman Trophy favorite. I’m sure Steve Sarkisian will do all he can to safeguard his team against the dangers of facing an opponent that they should easily handle.
And don’t forget about UTSA Head coach Jeff Traylor’s “blink” thing after his team’s Saturday disaster in San Marcos. Will UTSA bounce back? It doesn’t seem, in the moment of writing this, that can happen. Maybe in their own minds they’ll play better, but it wouldn’t seem likely that’ll be on the case on the DKR scoreboard.
Texas A&M
Should they have bounced back against McNeese State? Yes, they should have. And yes, they did.
But imagine showing up to the practice facility on Sunday knowing that Northern Illinois just beat Notre Dame in South Bend. How do you feel about that? Well, college football is seemingly more and more like the NFL with the whole week-to-week thing, but still… that had to make the Sunday weights a little heavier to finish than usual. What might have been…
So now it’s Mike Elko’s first SEC adventure as the Aggies new head coach, and that’s on the road at Florida, a team that was hammered by The “U” to open their year, but then rallied against fellow cupcake Samford last week to even their record at 1-1 as well. The Ags then have Bowling Green traveling south the following week, and don’t assume anything there; they just scared the heck out of Penn State in Happy Valley.
But isn’t that Texas A&M football in a nutshell? It’s always an adventure. It’s almost like Jimbo Fisher retains some bizarre curse over the program. Time will tell as this season moves forward.
Texas Tech
The Red Raiders probably feel like they should be 0-2 and are very fortunate to instead be 1-1.
Abilene Christian was a two-point conversion away from stunning TTU in Lubbock last week. And then there was Saturday night in Pullman, where the revered Mike Leach was being honored during the game.
Tech fumbled the opening kickoff, and that seemed to set the tone. Joey McGuire’s team turned it over four times despite running up almost 500 yards of total offense. Coach McGuire’s seat is not hot, but it is on the September-warm side.
His team has their next three at home, including matchups against includes sneaky good North Texas (2-0), Arizona State (2-0) and Cincinnati (1-1). They’ll need to fill the win column before four of their last seven conference games on the road.
Other notes…
Some other mentions from the Saturday gridiron happenings.
Houston lost at Oklahoma, although Sooners Head coach Brent Venables said his team should have lost. I guess that’s giving the 0-2 Cougars some credit where it was deserved.
Baylor went down 23-nothing at Utah, and that was just way too much to overcome. The Bears are 1-1.
SMU dropped their first of the year, losing at home to the BYU Cougars, 18-15. The Ponies are 2-1.
And I’ve seen UTRGV coaches and support staff over the last two weeks at UIW’s season opener and Saturday at the UTSA-Texas State game, scouting how things work and how they’ll want the process to work down in the valley starting next season.
Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.
It took just two weeks for college football to descend into chaos.
We’ve had two top-10 teams lose to unranked opponents. Notre Dame appeared to have a clear path to the College Football Playoff, then lost to Northern Illinois. Oregon needed a last-second field goal to beat Boise State. Alabama battled USF deep into the fourth quarter for the second consecutive year.
But after a week full of thrillers, the headliner is Texas moving up to No. 2 — and having a case for No. 1 — after a 31-12 win at reigning national champion Michigan. The Longhorns look like a team that could win it all, and they host No. 1 Georgia in a little more than a month.
A reminder: The rankings will be volatile early. Wins against quality and competent teams are rewarded and skewed. Teams can make big jumps quickly with good wins. Teams that beat up on inferior competition won’t move much or might even “drop,” but that’s simply because someone else jumped with a notable win. Several people in last week’s comments didn’t get this.
A lot of teams happened to “drop” this week after a win because of surprising results. Don’t worry. Relax. It’s all in a limited context. It will take a few weeks for everything to sort out once everyone has played at least one game of note. I try to emphasize results, and it takes time for everyone to have one.
Here is the Week 3 edition of The Athletic 134.
1-10
Georgia stays No. 1, and the win over Clemson last week looks even better a week later. Texas moves up to No. 2 after its domination at Michigan. Ohio State has been a machine for two weeks, but the Buckeyes lack a good win like the other two, and unfortunately won’t have one for several weeks. They’ll be fine. This top three feels like it’s ahead of everyone else.
Alabama drops to No. 7 after needing a four-touchdown fourth quarter to pull away from USF, and Penn State drops to No. 8 after holding on 34-27 against Bowling Green. Oregon moves up a spot but needed a last-second field goal to beat Boise State, and the Ducks have shown concerning issues for two weeks after being my preseason No. 3.
As a result of those Alabama and Penn State issues, plus Notre Dame’s and Michigan’s losses, Miami slides up to No. 5. Tennessee also rises to No. 6 after a 51-10 win against NC State.
11-25
Iowa State moves up to No. 13 after a last-second win at Iowa, and the Hawkeyes drop to No. 24. Oklahoma looked shockingly poor against Houston but stays at No. 14 as a result of the teams behind it. No. 16 Kansas State escaped Tulane, No. 17 Oklahoma State allowed 648 yards but somehow won a bizarre game against Arkansas, and No. 18 Clemson has a loss.
Welcome to the top 25, Nebraska, after a 28-10 win against Colorado that was never close. Also welcome, Northern Illinois! The Huskies beat a Notre Dame team that won at Texas A&M and make one of the biggest one-week jumps in the history of these rankings, from No. 106 to No. 21. Why shouldn’t NIU be ahead of the Fighting Irish?
Michigan stays in the top 25 at No. 23 because I think Texas is really good, but the Wolverines are trending down. Arizona drops a few spots to No. 25 after trailing Northern Arizona at halftime.
26-50
There are a lot of new teams at the top of this group. Illinois makes a huge jump to No. 27 after beating a ranked Kansas team. No. 28 Syracuse similarly has a big rise after beating Georgia Tech 31-28. No. 30 Arizona State and No. 31 Cal jump here after wins against the SEC’s Mississippi State and at Auburn, respectively.
I know Louisville is ranked in the AP and Coaches Poll. The simple explanation for the Cards’ position here at No. 35 is that they’ve beaten up on Austin Peay and Jacksonville State, so they haven’t moved much from their preseason No. 32 ranking. Like Ohio State, they need to play notable opponents, which begins next week with Georgia Tech. Other teams won and “dropped” in here as well, like No. 33 Texas A&M and No. 34 Memphis. This is because the loss to Notre Dame looks worse for A&M now, and other teams got better wins to leap over various teams that haven’t played a game of note yet.
I have no idea what to do with South Carolina. The Gamecocks barely escaped Old Dominion at home in Week 1 and then rocked Kentucky 31-6 on the road. They’re back up to No. 41, around their original preseason ranking. Tulane slips only one spot to No. 45 after taking Kansas State to the limit, but the Green Wave look like a team that should contend for the AAC again. Liberty tumbles to No. 46 after needing a fourth-quarter comeback to beat New Mexico State.
After struggling to get past Western Michigan in Week 1, Wisconsin followed up with another concerning performance against South Dakota, dropping to No. 49. Next up? Alabama.
51-75
This group also sees several teams “drop” after a loss, but again, that’s just because of notable wins by other teams.
Arkansas put almost 650 yards of offense on Oklahoma State and still somehow lost, as the Hogs stay put at No. 52. Kentucky’s lopsided loss to South Carolina sees the Wildcats drop to No. 54. Texas State put it on UTSA 49-10 in a statement win to move up to No. 57 with Arizona State coming to town on Thursday.
BYU beat SMU 18-15 in an ugly affair but picked up a valuable road win to move up to No. 58. Oregon State and Washington State are 2-0 and ranked No. 62 and No. 63 with Civil War and Apple Cup rivalries coming this weekend. Michigan State’s last-second field goal against Maryland sees the Spartans move up to No. 64, and the Terrapins slide 10 spots to No. 66. Texas Tech drops to No. 72 after a 37-16 loss at Washington State, while Pitt moves into the top 75 after a fourth-quarter comeback at Cincinnati.
76-100
The top part of this group includes several teams that lost and dropped out of the top 75. But No. 81 Virginia is 2-0 after squeaking out a win against Wake Forest. No. 84 Georgia Southern beat Nevada in a matchup of teams that may be better than we expected.
No. 90 Houston is another team I have no idea where to rank. The Cougars were blown out by UNLV in Week 1 and then stayed close with Oklahoma 16-12 this week. Old Dominion followed up its close loss to South Carolina with a 20-14 loss to East Carolina, so the Monarchs move down to No. 97 as ECU moves up to No. 95.
Shoutout to ULM. The Warhawks beat UAB 32-6 and move into the top 100 of these rankings for the first time in a very long time.
101-134
Ohio moves up to No. 103 after beating South Alabama, and I’m wondering if the Bobcats are going to make a lot of noise in the MAC race. Troy dropped to No. 104 after an 0-2 start following a 38-17 loss to Memphis. Pitbull Stadium was rocking as FIU beat Central Michigan 52-16 to move up to No. 106. Wyoming drops all the way to No. 118 after an alarming 0-2 start. The Cowboys have a 48-7 loss to Arizona State and a 17-13 loss to FCS Idaho, though it’s the same Idaho team that battled Oregon in Week 1. UTEP also lost to Southern Utah for another FBS-FCS loss, as the Miners drop to No. 133.
Lastly, we already have our third No. 134 of the season. Kent State takes over the bottom spot after losing to FCS St. Francis (Pa.), which was a below-.500 team last year. Next up for the Golden Flashes: Tennessee and Penn State.
The Athletic 134 series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
