Patrick Cochran

McDowell graduate Patrick Cochran, a junior at the University of Michigan, placed third among 22 competitors in the triple jump Saturday at the Spire Invitational in Geneva, Ohio. It was his first indoor meet of the season. Cochran’s personal-best distance of 49 feet 1 3⁄4 inches (14.98 meters) was the eighth-best mark in the Big Ten standings during the indoor season.

Cochran’s former McDowell teammate, John Dahlstrand, a sophomore at Akron, placed eighth in the Spire Invitational triple jump with an effort of 48-1⁄2.

Another former Erie high school standout, Cathedral Prep’s Joe Oduho, placed eighth among 28 competitors in the long jump at the Spire Invite. The freshman turned in a leap of 22-5 3⁄4.

Cochran and Michigan will return to the Spire Institute Feb. 22-23 for the Big Ten Championships. The Spire Institute is less than an hour’s drive from Erie on Interstate 90.

Let us recap Week 10, shall we?

No. 1 LSU (9-0, 6-0 SEC) at No. 4 Alabama (8-1, 5-1 SEC)

Pregame rant: Doesn’t get any better than this. 1 vs. 2. The winner will put itself in great position to play in the BCS title game, but because both teams are in the SEC West, the loser may wind up in the title game, too, if it doesn’t lose again. Alabama has the smash-mouth style and home crowd to beat LSU, but the Tigers have the look a national championship team. Who to watch: Tailback Trent Richardson of Alabama. So strong. So tough. Tigers better buckle up their chinstraps. Tightly.

Postgame commentary: The Tigers were pushed to the brink, but pulled out an overtime win, 9-6. It wasn’t the game of the century, but it was a great defensive battle. Although Richardson had 89 yards rushing and 80 yards receiving, LSU kept him out the end zone. The Tigers got it done.

Read the rest of this entry »

Let us recap Week 9, shall we?

No. 4 Stanford (8-0, 6-0 Pac-12) at No. 21 USC (6-2, 3-2 Pac-12)

Pregame rant: Got two future NFL quarterbacks – Stanford’s Andrew Luck and USC’s Matt Barkley – going head to head. USC is coming off a big win at Notre Dame. The Trojans are at home. Hard to sleep on this one, but Luck is so so good that he’ll make it look too easy against the Trojans. USC has got some talent, but Luck will show how good he really is.

Postgame commentary: Luck needed three overtimes to push Stanford past USC, 56-48. He was 29-of-40 for 330 yards, three touchdowns, but being able to shake off a fourth-quarter interception USC returned for a score to take a 34-27 lead and lead the Cardinal to game-tying touchdown drive to force overtime shows why he’ll be the top pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Read the rest of this entry »