Category: college basketball (Page 1 of 2)

Four Questions With…Joey Westmoreland of GameDay Rugs

17 October, 2010 / Kat

Many of you have never had the pleasure of experiencing my football clad home. I have football plates, glasses, bowls, spreaders, toothpicks, platters, crock pots…it’s a little obsessive. I don’t think my husband necessarily likes it, because when we moved into our new apartment after we got married, he asked me if I was “really going to hang onto this stuff.” I told him that I collected these items in the event I ever get to hold a Buffalo Bills Super Bowl party, and I think he felt so much pity for me that he relented. (He did make me get rid of the football themed sofa throw pillows, but I agreed with him that their time had come.)

So when the folks at GameDay Rugs approached me last week and asked for a plug, of course I said yes. GameDay Rugs is a new online retailer selling team related rugs for both indoor and outdoor use. While they have started with some of the larger college football and basketball teams, they are working on expanding the line to include additional college teams and professional teams.

Clemson Football Rug

I interviewed GameDay Rugs Account Manager and die-hard Clemson football fan Joey Westmoreland about the company, his products, and Bills rookie CJ Spiller (yes, I had to go there.)

Kat: Why did you decide to get into the sports rug business?

Joey: Sports are my life, so I was very fortunate to have been brought into the business by a friend while GameDay Rugs was still in the concept stage. I had seen what the parent company had accomplished with Astroturf and knew, as soon as the opportunity presented itself, that I wanted to be part of this.

Kat: What is the most creative way you’ve seen one of your rugs used?

Joey: Actually, I was at the NC State v Boston College game this past weekend and walked right passed two little boys, they were maybe 3 or so, and were perched on one of our football field area rugs playing their own game right there on the concrete, moving small helmets around as if they were players. Also, I’ve seen a circle Alabama rug used as wall art, but the tailgating child’s play takes the cake as most creative use.

Kat: I have it on good authority that you are a Clemson fan. I’m a Buffalo Bills fan, and we’re hanging a lot of hope on Clemson grad CJ Spiller. Do you have any thoughts on him?

: GameDay Rugs NC State Field Rug

Joey: I think he’s a super guy who will represent the Bills with the integrity that he’s demonstrated to date. The fact that he came back as a Senior speaks volumes of who he is, how he represented Clemson and how he will represent the Bills organization. His record, being chosen Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year, and the fact that his jersey is being retired are testaments of what he’s meant to Clemson football. In my opinion, your hopes are well placed, and you have nothing to worry about.

Kat: Your company has a good selection of football schools. Any plans to expand to other schools and or other sports teams?

Joey: Absolutely! We take daily steps toward expanding our line, and offer a way on our site to collect fan suggestions for additional teams, although it takes time to get new designs approved by the universities and the CLC (Collegiate Licensing Company). Keep checking back often as new designs are constantly being added and we have some great plans for future product lines.

GameDay Rugs has a free shipping promotion ongoing through October 31, 2010. Visit their site at GameDayRugs.com.

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Legal Note: I did not receive any compensation from GameDay Rugs or any affiliated party in exchange for this blog post.

Strike Three, Shame On Me

24 September, 2009 / Kat

09photo-home_260 No one knew where I went to college until the basketball players started stealing condoms and dealing drugs.

I am not exaggerating. I have lived in Boston for five years, and only twenty percent of those I run into have actually heard of Binghamton University, the State University of New York branch I graduated from. That is, until the university hired men’s basketball coach Kevin Broadus, and his prize recruits started finding themselves in the back of police cars. Continue reading

People Now Have Heard of Where I Went to College: My Bearcats Are Dancing

15 March, 2009 / Kat

"Even SUNY Programs Need 2 Dance" (Photo: Pressconnects.com)

Now the rest of the country knows my little school. Binghamton University won the America East Men’s Basketball Championship yesterday, securing their first NCAA Tournament bid. Over 5,000 fans packed into the Events Center to watch the game, and the ESPN2 announcers couldn’t heap more praise onto my trusty little alma mater that could.

“I’ve covered a lot of games,” said one of the announcers. “But this has to be one of the most electric atmospheres I have ever seen for a game.”

Blast from the Past: On Excitement and Nervousness

14 March, 2009 / Kat

It’s Hockey East quarterfinals time, and I found myself yesterday in a particular mood. One of excitement and nervousness, one that I have anytime a favorite team of mine is in the playoffs. This weekend, I have this two fold, as now only is Boston Univeristy in the Hockey East quarterfinals against the University of Maine (ye of the giants), but my undergraduate alma mater Binghamton University is playing in their first America East men’s basketball championship game this morning. Binghamton will secure their first ever NCAA berth with a win today. If this isn’t the biggest day ever for Binghamton, I don’t know what could top it.

Needless to say that this weekend, I have an excess of nervousness and excitement. Frankly, I’m a nervous wreck. I have channeled this excess excitement and nervousness into doing my nails multiple times. (I even went as far as to buy a new buffer. That means I’m serious.) But the nail filing and buffing isn’t working.

Last year to the day, I wrote a piece about excitement and nervousness, and how your favorite teams may ebb and flow throughout the years, the way you act when they’re in the playoffs may never really change. The original post (which I very much enjoy) is located here.

Now someone pass the top coat.

Countdown to Senior Night: The Battle of the BUs – A Senior Day in Every Sense

3 March, 2009 / Kat

This week at …On Being a Sports Girl, we have a series that I am hastily trying to put together called, “Countdown to Senior Night.” (And when I mean hastily put together, I mean it came to me as I was down in the Food Court getting lunch 45 minutes ago.) Originally hatched to be a review and reflection upon this year’s Boston University hockey senior class, I decided to open it up to posts about senior days or nights in every winter sport, since we are in the midst of a whole host of them. Of course, we’ll have a post or six about this year’s Terrier senior class, which have cemented their places in BU hockey lore for years to come.

To kick off our series, I am reposting an oldie-but-a-goodie I wrote about Senior Day for the Binghamton University men’s basketball team in 2004. I was a senior about to head off to Boston University for graduate work, and the Bearcats’ opponent that day was the Terriers. The original post – edited to take out the non-basketball stuff that followed the original post – is after the jump.

If you are interested in contributing a piece to the series – be it about senior days for your team or about this year’s Terrier seniors, email me at sportsgirlkat@gmail.com.