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In September, espnWs weekly essay series will focus on college football.On Oct. 17, 2009, I was at the wedding of one of my closest friends in a town just outside Columbus, Ohio. It was a Saturday wedding, and as we filed into the church, many people reluctantly turned off their phones. Ohio State, ranked in the top 10 and undefeated in the Big Ten, was playing Purdue University.The Buckeyes were big favorites to win, but as I sat in the church my attention was divided -- I could hear the vows, but I was breaking the rules, constantly refreshing my phone. I couldnt believe what I was seeing. The Buckeyes led when the bride walked down the aisle, but as the wedding played out, a great season was slipping away.We lost to the lowly, unranked Boilermakers and I was devastated, holding the secret as the ceremony finished.I put on a fake smile and headed down to the reception with the rest. People started opening their phones and inevitably, the first question the groom asked when we got downstairs was, Did Ohio State win? Several people shouted at once, No, they lost -- to which the groom responded, This is the worst day of my life.He received a quick death stare from the bride, and I added another rule to my growing list of things to avoid on game day: Never, ever get married during an Ohio State game.***Growing up in northern Ohio, we didnt have a professional football team to cheer for. This was when the Browns had moved to Baltimore, and even before that, they didnt give anyone in Cleveland much to cheer about.I can remember how fall Saturdays were about Buckeye football, and I had the scarlet and grey striped knee socks to prove it. Sure, wed miss games with soccer matches and school activities, but my favorite question of the day was, Did the Buckeyes win?The majority of the time the answer was yes.When it came time to choose a college, Ohio State was considered. I had never attended a game in person and the chance to go every Saturday was a dream come true. But the football team alone cant dictate a college choice, and I attended another university in Ohio where I still rooted for the Buckeyes every Saturday.?After college, I moved to Chicago, a Big Ten melting pot and -- true statement here -- the best city in America to watch a college football game. Walk around the North Side on a Saturday and every bar has a flag hanging -- Iowa, Purdue, Michigan, Sparty, Ohio State. I quickly found the top three places to watch an Ohio State game along with every other crazy Ohio fan. Every Saturday, I bribed my friends to get in line as early as 6 a.m. for a noon game, because I had to ensure we had the exact same seats (Im superstitious).Eventually, I left Chicago and moved to New York City where again, one of my top priorities was tracking down the perfect Ohio State bar and reconnecting with old Buckeyes friends. A good development: The bars in New York took reservations, and I was able to catch a couple of extra hours of sleep before game day.When my husbands job took us to Connecticut, one of my first questions was, where will we watch Ohio State games? For the most part, we watch them at home, with our dog, Brutus. Yes, Brutus is named after the Ohio State mascot. We cook, put him in a jersey, text with friends and family, and l live and die with each outcome.?Two years ago, Ohio State kicked-off the season in Baltimore, which is only five hours away, closer than any Big Ten locale outside of Rutgers. We drove down for the weekend to catch the game, along with most of the state of Ohio. It was a young team, and after starting quarterback Braxton Miller got hurt during camp, we had a freshmen quarterback leading a young team, and diminished expectations. For most of the first half, we were losing to Navy, and at halftime my husband joked, If this team makes it to the National Championship, well go.I laughed.Watching this team, I knew there was no chance, and while we managed to beat Navy, we lost at home to Virginia Tech the following week. However, this was the first year of the College Football Playoff, and what we couldnt know then was that one loss -- even a bad loss -- doesnt mean youre out.Each week that Ohio State team continued to find a way to win games, even late in the year when it had to start its third-string quarterback running the show after yet another injury. When we somehow squeaked into the playoff, it was somewhat bittersweet. There was Alabama, touchdown favorites, playing in the heart of SEC country. I figured it was the end of the road for this team. Somehow, they found a way. As the game finished, I looked at my husband and said, Whos booking our trip to Dallas?Going to the National Championship had always been a dream of mine and when we walked into that stadium, I had a feeling Ohio State was going to win, despite coming in as underdogs. When they did, and without a lot of suspense, really, I looked at my husband and proclaimed, This was the best day of my life.Later, he gave me a framed photo of our picture at that game next to a picture of us on our wedding day. He wrote, Glad I was able to be a part of the two best days of your life -- I promise I wont ask you to rank them. Of course, we made sure our wedding was in August.No surprise losses to be sad about.At the start of the season, every college football fan hopes this is the year for their team. Im fortunate to have had the opportunity to see my team win a National Championship, but Ill be honest, it only makes you want it to win more.For me, college football is about more than the game itself. Its what connects me back to where I come from. Because no matter where I live, I will always be a buckeye and Ohio will always be my home.Cheap Shoes China Wholesale . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. Replica Shoes Wholesale China . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session. http://www.wholesaleshoes.us.org/ . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. Wholesale Shoes Brands . -- Most satisfying to Russ Smith about No. Cheap Shoes China Free Shipping . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot.If you are a sucker for cricket, Tuesday afternoon at Trent Bridge was just the job. Records were thrown around like confetti, and of them all, perhaps the record-equalling figure of 59 boundaries in the England innings was the most spectacular. Of these, 16 were sixes, the most by an England team. When - more than ten years ago, it should be said - Sri Lanka made the 443 for 9 against Netherlands that England beat, the Sri Lankans hit 56 fours and a rather modest three sixes.The total of 444 is more believable than it at first sounds. Jos Buttler missed two balls of the final over, bowled by Hasan Ali, and Eoin Morgan missed one. One swipe by Buttler was so fierce that the stump-mic picked up the sound of the swoosh of air as the ball flew past him. At this point it seemed as if Buttler and his captain were looking to crush the Sri Lankan score rather than simply cruise past it. The first five swooshes of that over resulted in a single and a leg-bye before the last-ball smash over mid-off propelled England to record-breaking glory.There is no doubt that 500 is on the cards. It is just a question of when and where. Trent Bridge, you might say. On Tuesday the pitch was perfect for strokeplay; the boundaries no further than 74 yards from the striker and the weather almost mesmerically inviting. What of the opposition? The kindest thing one can say about Azhar Alis men is that they were down at heel.Without batting quite at his best, Alex Hales broke the England one-day record long held by Robin Smith. Hales is a popular fellow in Nottingham, so the appreciation reached a fever pitch. When he attacks the off side, through square cover and extra cover, there is an attractive fluency to his play. When he goes leg side, it becomes more agricultural. The surprise is that he hits so little straight down the ground. This is because of a small flaw in his technique that, if fixed, would help his batting in Test cricket. He very rarely plays from behind the ball, or even alongside and close to it. He backs eye before method and uses the remarkable power and sense of timing in his hands and arms to make sweet contact. But this is not a time to split hairs. He beat Smiths record by 41 balls and was out in the 37th over. Ye gods! He really might have made 250. Bravo. All Hale!Smiths innings was played in a losing cause against Australia in 1993. The Judge made an unbeaten 167 out of Englands 277, flaying a notable attack that consisted of Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes, Paul Reiffel, the two Waughs and Tim May. But not even the Judge can sit at the top table with Viv Richards, whose unbeaten 189 out of a total of 272 against England at Old Trafford in 1984 came in 170 balls with 21 fours and five sixes. West Indies were 166 for 9 when Michael Holding joined Richards at the wicket. They put on 106 - Holding made 12 of them, Richards the rest. Not for nothing was he called King Viv.Another to whom Smith must defer is Herschelle Gibbs, whose 175 at the Wanderers in 2006 made the greatest chase possible. Set 435 by Ricky Pontings Australians, South Africa won an incredible cricket match off the penultimate ball. Eight hundred and seventy-two runs were scored in the day, as against the 719 tallied at Trent Bridge. These, like the Sri Lankan total of 2006, were before the bats got bully big and everyones imagination ran wild.South Africa are responsible for the other two monstrous scores that England shifted down the list: 439 for 2 - again in Johannesburg, where the thin air helps the white ball fly - when AB de Villiers thrashed 149 from 44 balls against West Indies, hitting 16 sixes from his own bat, if you dont mind. (Not that de Villiers even made the highest score in the innings. That was Hashim Amla with 153!) And 438 for 4 against India in Mumbai - de Villiers again, with hundreds from Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock as well.Should we be surprised? Probably not. Over the 53-year history of one-day cricket, the game has become increasingly weighted in favour of batsmen.dddddddddddd The bats and boundaries are obvious pointers, along with improved training and greater physical strength. Field restrictions, bouncer restrictions, helmets, two new balls that rarely seem to swing but stay hard and clear, grassless pitches, hapless bowlers are among the other reasons that batting records will continue to be shattered. The modern player seems not to fear the loss of his wicket either, which is a wonderful mindset with which to construct an innings.The first really big one-day game was the 1963 Gillette Cup final at Lords. Batting first, Sussex made 168 to beat Worcestershire by 14 runs in the 65-over contest. In both the quarter-final and semi-final, Sussex scored 292 batting first - a massive score - and squeezed the life out of Yorkshire and Northamptonshire respectively. The tournament was reduced to 60 overs per side the next year but this did not deter Sussex, who won again, mainly because Ted Dexter was the first captain to work out that a combination of attacking batting, full-pitched bowling and defensive field settings was the formula for success.The first one-day international was between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in January 1971. When the first three days of the third Test were washed out, the Australian Cricket Board decided to abandon the match and replace it with a game played over 40 eight-ball overs. Englands 190 featured 82 from John Edrich in 119 balls; Australia won with time and wickets to spare, courtesy Ian Chappell, who made 60 in 103 balls, and little cameos from Doug Walters and Greg Chappell. None of the players foresaw the seismic shift that was to change cricket for all time. The 1975 World Cup in England gave them a clue. This was a true carnival of cricket, with a final that did justice to the first major global one-day event. Australia and West Indies were star-studded and fought long into the evening until the West Indian score of 291 prevailed over the 274 response. Clive Lloyds famous hundred came off 85 balls; Richards ran out Alan Turner and the two Chappells. These blokes could really play. In the 1979 World Cup final, Collis King butchered England for 86 runs in 66 balls. King was more like the players of today - outrageous and carefree. These fellows used something like balsa wood in comparison to the clubs that allow the modern player such license.By the time of the 1979 final, Kerry Packers breakaway World Series Cricket had set a marker for one-day cricket. The sanctioned Benson and Hedges World Series triangular tournaments that followed it, played over 55 overs per side, changed the face of the game forever. Batsmen attacked as a matter of course, realising that the short form offered a whole new world of adventure and opportunity.On Tuesday night Eoin Morgan made an interesting observation. He said the big change in his time in the game had been for the players to move from seeing one-day cricket as the short form of Test cricket, to instead embrace 50-over cricket as an extension of 20-over cricket. This, he said, had freed everyone up. No kidding. In the last two summers England have made six totals of 350 or more. They are now the most dangerous one-day outfit in the world.Jason Roy came within five runs of Smiths record earlier this summer. Joe Root has passed 50 in five consecutive one-day internationals and barely raised sweat. Buttler amazes with both the violence and flexibility of his ball-striking. Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali did not even get to the wicket on Tuesday afternoon. Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett tied the first one-day game against Sri Lanka back in June, at Trent Bridge, with the brilliance of their lower-order batting.These are happy times for England. The future is bright and the future is limitless. ' ' '