Lamar and UTSA Football

Texas is known as a gridiron football state, so it's strange when you don't have football. When you also consider certain colleges that take part in the expensive realm of college football, some schools simply don't have the money or resources to have football. Two of the most recent schools (among others) to either reinstate or start football are Lamar University (Beaumont, TX, USA) and the University of Texas-San Antonio (San Antonio, TX, USA). These are schools to recently reinstate or start football among many other schools, such as (but not limited to) Campbell University, Old Dominion University, the University of South Alabama, University of the Incarnate Word, Kentucky Christian University, and many others. This blog entry expresses my thoughts and wishes for football at both Lamar and UTSA.

I welcome any fans or athletics personnel (or even players) from Lamar and UTSA who may be reading this blog entry!

Lamar Cardinals' Football.

^ from: lamarcardinals.com - a Lamar football helmet.

When I was a Lamar student [for only 11 weeks (long story)] in 2002, Lamar did not have football. Lamar discontinued football back in (I believe) the 1980s. The football stadium close by Lamar University is near the Montange Center (where Lamar plays basketball at). The only action I've noticed at that stadium was mostly grade school football. While I haven't been a Lamar student ever since, I still strongly support the Lamar Cardinals. In fact, I always cheer on Lamar in their athletics even though my favorite school is the University of Houston. I think Lamar will be solid in the Southland Conference. I'm sure, though, that they'll need to be on top of their game to take on teams like Sam Houston State, Nicholls State, and (especially) McNeese State.

(UPDATE: MAR 11 2011) In their return to football, the Lamar Cardinals finished 5-6 in their 2010 campaign. I hope Lamar will be able to keep playing hard and maybe surprise some people in FCS-level football. I proudly cheer on Lamar, speaking as a former student of Lamar University.

Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners' Football.

^ from: utsa.edu - a UTSA Roadrunner football helmet.

I've been to San Antonio twice in my life, but never explored the city (meaning that I've NEVER been to the Riverwalk). The University of Texas-San Antonio is not only starting football, but hoping to play on the NCAA FBS level in the future. The only real facility San Antonio has is the Alamodome. The Alamodome usually plays host to the Alamo Bowl in the FBS ranks. If UTSA has their way, the UTSA Roadrunners will proudly call this site home. UTSA may likely join the Sun Belt if they do step into FBS. The longshot would be if UTSA joined Conference USA to play with and against the better mid-major schools in Texas. The Coach for UTSA's football team is the great former head coach of the University of Miami Hurricanes, Larry Coker.

(UPDATE: MAR 11 2011) The Roadrunners have not yet played a season of football. They will play their first season later this year, starting in September. When I looked up UTSA Football on Wikipedia, they anticipate playing on the FBS level in 2013. Therefore, they'll be taking on future FBS opponents such as Houston, Kansas State, Virginia, and Oklahoma State among others.


One thing to note is that Lamar and UTSA are both in the same conference- the Southland Conference. There are two other Southland Conference schools that don't have football at present- the University of Texas-Arlington and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. I heard that Texas-Arlington is still considering reinstating a proper football team for the UTA Mavericks. If students or athletics personnel for Lamar and/or UTSA somehow are reading this blog entry, I want to wish the two of you the absolute best in football. Nothing gets adrenaline pumping in the college sports ranks quite like college football (though college basketball is always exciting). Lamar Cardinals... UTSA Roadrunners... go kick some butt on the football field, you hear me?



For more information on what you've read here, visit these links:
* Lamar Cardinals' football site
* UTSA Roadrunners' football site
* Southland Conference (Football Link)

Thank you for reading! Go Lamar Cardinals and go UTSA Roadrunners!

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Car Style - The Honda Accord Crosstour

Honda's bid to build their own big car is in the form of the Honda Accord Crosstour. I find the most recent Accord to be disappointing style-wise, so how does this big Accord fare in its style? You'll see what I think of the style of this car brings. I am a Honda fan, but does that mean I love the Accord Crosstour? Find out in this blog entry.

--- Car Style: The Honda Accord Crosstour ---

Meet the Accord Crosstour:

^ from: dieselstation.com - the Honda Accord Crosstour- Honda's big "car."

With something like the BMW X6, Honda's big "car" is the Accord Crosstour. It attempts to provide the versatility of an SUV while still maintaining car-like characteristics. To me, when people talk about big cars, stuff like this and the X6 are big cars to me- NOT those crossover SUVs. Needless to say about the Crosstour's overall design, I'm disappointed with the latest Accord's design; even more so with the Accord Crosstour.

Exterior.
The Accord Crosstour's disappointing looks begin up front. While the grill is big and bold, it lacks sufficient style. The grill looks like someone trying to smile with a significant amount of front teeth missing. An equal mismatch with the grill are the headlights. The headlights have a touch of its Acura brotheren to them. It doesn't, however, help in its design up front. A narrow opening on the front bumper isn't very lovely either. The openings under the headlights feature miniscule fog lights. The front end isn't imposing or full of character; it's just ugly. It is a bot mess that could have been designed much more fluidly without a serious degree.

From the sides, you can really sense Honda was going for a car-like wagon/estate car. The Accord Crosstour bears four doors with a hatchback-like design for such a big car. DNA from the latest Accord sedan can be seen in its four-door design. You note the headlights and tail lights' respective designs being elongated to the sides of the car. Sadly, its proportions are just abysmal going to the rear. Not even the modest overfenders side skirts add any style and substance to save this car's design.

I think the rear of the car is the best-looking aspect of the Accord Crosstour. The tail lights are designed cleanly along with the very nice rear bumper. A pair of single exhaust pipes accentuate the rear bumper. I would really worry about blind spots if I was trying to look in the rear view. A modest rear spoiler occupies the very back of the lift gate of the Accord Crosstour. The rear is the only real saving grace in the design of this car.


Interior.
Too bad the exterior doesn't look as lovely as the interior. It's steering wheel is quite horrid in design. The instrument panel, however, looks pretty nice with blue hues and a clean set of gauges. Its center console looks very nice with all of its electronics. The navigation system interface looks wonderful. Below the navigator screen is a nice digital layout. The dashboard looks very nice with mostly plastic along with some lovely touches of wood trim. The seats look very nice both up front and in the rear. The rear features a utility box much like the love-it-or-hate-it Ridgeline.





All in all, the Honda Accord Crosstour could have been designed MUCH better than what it turned out to be. And really, the latest Accord itself could have been styled much better. That's even if the previous model was a bit too bland. At least in the case of the previous Accord, it was actually beautiful (especially the 2003 Accord Coupe). The Accord Crosstour, however, tries to look too much like a big hatchback while having a very car-like appearance. I think the trend of ugliness really took form starting with perhaps the latest Honda CR-V. The Accord Crosstour is abysmal in design. Who will purchase something this ugly? On a different note, however, at least this looks better than the BMW 5-Series Gran Turismo and perhaps the ugliest car of all-time: the Pontiac Aztek (or what I like to call the Ass-tek). The Accord Crosstour even looks better than the latest CR-V. If you want a Honda with some utility, you're perhaps best off getting a Pilot instead. The Accord Crosstour could have (at least) looked much better than what eventually was brought to market. Totally disappointed with the latest Accord, and even more so with the Accord Crosstour. It could have blended aggression with style. It could have been a big car that still remains stylish (like the BMW X6). Suffice to say, the Accord Crosstour is just a tremendous fail in looks.

Remember that my "Car Style" blog entries relate to car's LOOKS, not performance or driving reviews. I think the Accord Crosstour looks terrible except for the rear. If there is to be a second generation of the Accord Crosstour (or even for the base Accord), I hope there is a much more stylish and beautiful design rather than something this disappointing in looks. Exude some style like from the 2003 Accord, yet make it modern and beautiful. This car just doesn't inspire or capture the imagination. There are cars much uglier than the Accord Crosstour, but this may be one of the ugliest Hondas of all time.

Since this is a "Car Style" post, don't let its looks be the reason to get this for its performance and driving figures. These blog entries of mine are critiques of how I think cars are styled. I just think this car could have been designed MUCH better than what ended up resulting from this. Thanks for reading!

Learn more about the Accord Crosstour by visiting: 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour Overview.

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