Filed under: UCF Sports — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 21:19
The UCF Knights (8-2; 6-0 C-USA) beat the UTEP Miners (2-8; 1-5 C-USA) last night at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, inching their way up to a Top 25 ranking (the Knights hit #30 in the AP poll today). The Knights struggled a bit offensively and defensively. But in the end, a run from Latavius Murray solidified the Knights’ tough fought victory. The Knights remain atop of Conference USA’s East Division and will undoubtedly host the Conference USA Championship game on December 1st if they can wrap up a win against the Conference’s West Division leader Tulsa (8-2; 6-0 C-USA) on Saturday. That game airs on Fox Sports Network at Noon. Below, take a look at highlights from UCF’s win over UTEP from UTEP’s Point After:
Filed under: Popular Music — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 00:45
Former White Tie Affair frontman Chris Wallace has gone solo with a pretty fun and cool pop album entitled Push Rewind. The first single”Remember When” was recently released and has been receiving a lot of radio airplay. Check out the video for the single below. Push Rewind is available nationwide and for digital download from iTunes and Amazon.com from ThinkSay Records.
Filed under: UCF Sports — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 00:35
Seeking revenge for the beat down they received last season in Dallas, the UCF Knights (7-2; 5-0 C-USA) dominated the Mustangs of SMU (4-5; 2-2 C-USA) from start to finish in a Homecoming celebratory game in-front of a crowd of almost 35,000 of UCF’s faithful. The Knights punctuated their game plan with an incredibly effective trick play in which quarterback Blake Bortles through a lateral to receiver (and former quarterback) Jeff Godfrey, who then through the touchdown pass to Latavius Murray. The fans went crazy after the play and the stadium grew more raucous by the minute! The Knights also received 15 votes in both the AP and Coaches’ Poll, indicating that consistent wins over their next two opponents (UTEP this Saturday and Tulsa a week from Saturday) will probably land them in the Top 25 and result in them being a nationally-ranked team. It would also solidify the team as the East Division Champions and secure their home stadium as the site for the Conference USA Championship game on December 1st. Below, check out Conference USA’s Point After for highlights of UCF’s 42-17 win over SMU below:
Filed under: UCF Sports — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 00:51
The UCF Knights (6-2; 4-0 C-USA) handed a crushing 54-17 defeat to the Thundering Herd of Marshall (3-5; 2-2 C-USA) on Saturday in Huntington, West Virginia. The Knights stifled Marhall’s prolific offense, which ranked #4 in the country prior to Saturday’s matchup and also put a screeching hault to Marshall’s talented quarterback Rakeem Cato, who was #2 in the nation in pass completions and passing yards. Here’s a quick synopsis from Orlando Sentinel‘s Paul Tenorio:
As Latavius Murray caught the screen pass in the third quarter and turned up field, left guard Jordan McCray came across and leveled a Marshall safety, knocking the defender out of the play as Murray coasted 20 yards into the end zone. While Murray and QB Blake Bortles stood out offensively on Saturday night, McCrays block was an example of the play up front that spurred the offense to its best performance of the season. I thought they did some different things that we werent expecting, OLeary said of Marshall. Our offensive line coach, Brent Key, made some adjustments, really didnt take a lot, just a different line call to control some of the movement they were putting on us.
UCF coach George OLeary praised the unit multiple times during his weekly television show on Sunday. The adjustments worked, and the Knights controlled the game the rest of the way. I got to give credit to the offensive line, thats where it starts, Murray said after his second straight standout performance. I think they keep blocking the way they are, there are yards to be made. The offensive line generated a great push against Marshall, and as a result UCF racked up its most impressive numbers this year. The Knights had season-high marks in rushing yards (278), yards per rush (6.9), passing yards (290), yards per pass (13.2), total offense (568) and yards per play (9.2).
The Knights move back to campus this Saturday to celebrate Homecoming by taking on the Mustangs of SMU (4-4; 2-1 C-USA). SMU is a talented team that will most likely give the Knights their biggest remaining challenge before they head into Tulsa (7-1; 4-0 C-USA) on November 7th. Below, take a look at highlights of Saturday’s one-sided victory of Marshall from Conference USA’s Point After:
Picture and Story Highlights Courtesy Orlando Sentinel.
Two walk-on football players were greeted by a pair of police officers with life-changing news this season during a team meeting. Watch the video below as two football players learn they’ve been selected for scholarships for their play on the team. Priceless:
Filed under: Performing Arts — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 00:55
The new musical Kinky Boots, with music and lyrics by pop superstar Cindy Lauper under the direction of Harvey Fierstein, is starting its out-of-town run in Chicago. The show will begin previews on Broadway on March 3, 2013 at the Al Hirschfeld Theater. The show is a light-hearted comedy about a struggling shoemaker who revives his career by designing and manufacturing sturdy shoes for drag performers. Take a look at some clips from the show from Playbill below:
Filed under: Performing Arts — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 00:44
This could get quite interesting. Playbill is reporting that the co-author of Broadway’s smash hit musical Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark is authoring a tell-all book about his experience developing the show. The production was plagued during its preview with a handful of actor and stuntmen injuries; and after Julie Taymor refused to alter the strange story of the original bow that was universally panned by critics and left audiences scratching their heads in confusion, she was let go. Of course, Mrs. Taymor didn’t leave quietly and she sued the producers for her work that she claimed remains in the final production that is now in its second year running on Broadway. I’ve seen the show 5 times and can personally attest it is one of my favorites. The music is rockingly cool (it’s written by the lead men of U2), the sets are breath-taking, and the costumes and entire production is downright opulent and incredible! Here’s the story from Playbill.com:
Playwright Glen Berger, who co-authored the script of Broadway’s Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, has signed a deal with Simon & Schuster to write “Song of Spider-Man: The Inside Story of the Most Controversial Musical in Broadway History,” chronicling his journey with the production.
As first reported in the New York Times, “Song of Spider-Man” was acquired by Jonathan Karp, the publisher and executive vice-president of Simon & Schuster, himself librettist and lyricist of the Off-Broadway musical How to Save the World A spokesperson for the publishing company independently confirmed the Berger book plan with Playbill.com, sharing the cover art. The publication date is to be determined.
Berger co-wrote Spider-Man‘s book alongside Tony winner Julie Taymor, who was eventually let go from the production in 2011. Playwright and comic book writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa was then enlisted by the musical’s creative team to make revisions to the book alongside Berger.
Filed under: UCF Sports — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 01:02
The UCF Knights (5-2; 3-0 C-USA) bested the Memphis Tigers (1-6; 1-2 C-USA) 35-17 Saturday night at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee in a Conference USA showdown that was nationally broadcasted on College Sports Station. The Knights’ defense took and gave in the win; they forced turnovers at the right times; but they also gave up a large number of yards against the Tigers, who have struggled offensively and have only collected a meager 3.3 yards per carry prior to Saturday’s matchup against UCF. The Knights take on the Thundering Herd of Marshall this Saturday at 8:00pm in Huntington, WV. The game will be nationally broadcasted on CBS Sports Network. Check-out highlights from Saturday’s gridiron clash between UCF and Memphis below:
The Broadway musical MEMPHIS is being made into a major motion picture. Alcorn Entertainment’s Mark Golden and Ally Smith will produce the film version of the Tony-Award winning Best Musical while Joe DiPietro will adapt his book into the screenplay for the film. MEMPHIS is a truly phenomenal show that follows the true story of a white radio DJ who fell in love with a Black singer in the late 1940’s while rocketing her into super stardom and making Black music and rock ‘n roll mainstream. It should translate quite well on to the silver screen. Below, take a look at the trailer for the filmed version of the stage production that was beamed live into movie theaters across the United States back in 2011. This filmed version is also available in Blu-Ray and DVD from Shout! Factory Productions.
Filed under: UCF Sports — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 01:29
The UCF Knights (4-2; 2-0 C-USA) narrowly defeated the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss (0-5; 0-2 C-USA) Saturday night in front of 34,000 fans at Bright House Networks Stadium on the UCF campus. Although the Golden Eagles were winless, they have faced a series of ranked out-of-conference teams and were 3-0 against the Knights in their home campus and 1-6 against the Knights all-time, making them a formidable opponent. The win didn’t come easy. The game went into over time twice; and UCF won after Southern Miss’ QB threw an interception on the Golden Eagles’ second OT drive, effectively ending the game. The Knights next game is this Saturday. UCF will venture into Memphis to take on the Tigers (1-5; 1-1 C-USA). The game will be regionally televised on College Sports Station. Take a look at highlights from UCF’s win over Southern Miss from Conference USA Point After host Megan Clementi below:
