2012 in Music

50 Best Songs of 2012:

1. Mercy by Kanye West feat. Big Sean, 2 Chainz & Pusha T
2. This Head I Hold by Electric Guest
3. Death to My Hometown by Bruce Springsteen
4. Somebody I Used to Know by Gotye feat. Kimbra
5. Babel by Mumford & Sons
6. The Recipe by Kendrick Lamar feat. Dr. Dre
7. Some Nights by fun.
8. Love Interruption by Jack White
9. Take a Walk by Passion Pit
10. Bitch Bad by Lupe Fiasco
11. Come with Me Now by Kongos
12. Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen
13. Hold On by Alabama Shakes
14. I Don't Like by Kanye West, Chief Keef, Pusha T, Big Sean & Jadakiss
15. Skyfall by Adele
16. Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift feat. The Civil Wars
17. Die Young by Ke$ha
18. Clique by Big Sean, Jay-Z & Kanye West
19. Diamonds by Rihanna
20. Enough of No Love by Keyshia Cole feat. Lil Wayne
21. Little Talks by Monsters and Men
22. Lessons in Love (All Day, All Night) by Neon Trees feat. Kaskade
23. Take Care by Drake feat. Rihanna
24. Lights by Ellie Goulding
25. Pop That by French Montana feat. Rick Ross, Drake & Lil Wayne
26. I Will Wait by Mumford & Sons
27. Good Time by Owl City feat. Carly Rae Jepsen
28. Swimming Pools (Drank) by Kendrick Lamar
29. No Church in the Wild by Kanye West & Jay-Z
30. Want U Back by Cher Lloyd
31. Stay Schemin' by Rick Ross feat. Drake & French Montana
32. Thrift Shop by Macklemore feat. Ryan Lewis
33. Blown Away by Carrie Underwood
34. We Take Care of Our Own by Bruce Springsteen
35. Wild Ones by Flo Rida feat. Sia
36. Lemme See by Usher feat. Rick Ross
37. Whistle by Flo Rida
38. She's So Mean by Matchbox 20
39. Ho Hey by The Lumineers
40. Everybody Talks by Neon Trees
41. Part of Me by Katy Perry
42. Gimme All Your Luvin' by Madonna feat. Nicki Minaj & M.I.A.
43. Burn It Down by Linkin Park
44. Darkness by Leonard Cohen
45. Brokenhearted by Karmin
46. Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey
47. Wide Awake by Katy Perry
48. One More Night by Maroon 5
49. Poetic Justice by Kendrick Lamar
50. Touch'N You by Rick Ross feat. Usher

10 Worst Songs of 2012:

1. Come on a Cone by Nicki Minaj (not a single but anything that bad has to be included)
2. Stupid Hoe by Nicki Minaj
3. Sorry for Party Rocking by LMFAO
4. Out of My Mind by B.O.B. feat. Nicki Minaj
5. Payphone by Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa
6. How We Do (Party) by Rita Ora
7. Cruising California (Bumping in My Trunk) by Offspring
8. Roman Holiday by Nicki Minaj
9. Scream & Shout by will.i.am & Britney Spears
10. Beez in the Trap by Nicki Minaj feat. 2 Chainz

 10 Best Albums of 2012:

1. Babel by Mumford & Sons
2. Wrecking Ball by Bruce Springsteen
3. good kid, m.A.A.d. city by Kendrick Lamar
4. Gossamer by Passion Pit
5. Born to Die by Lana Del Rey
6. God Forgives, I Don't by Rick Ross
7. Blunderbuss by Jack White
8. Port of Morrow by The Shins
9. MDNA by Madonna
10. Kisses on the Bottom by Paul McCartney

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Review

I've been waiting anxiously for The Hobbit since the Return of the King. A big Tolkien fan and lover of the Lord of the Rings films, I sat through 9 years of waiting, of directorial change, of strange casting decisions (Elijah Wood?), and now there is not one Hobbit film but three. Unnecessary as this clearly is, I was still excited for it.

I finally got to see it, over a week after it was released, in the most basic format possible: 24 frames per second, 2D. While I still intend to see it in 48 fps/3D, since that's been mostly poorly received, I decided to see this first.

Firstly the film starts out much differently than the book did. It starts with old Bilbo's (Ian Holm) narration of the Smaug attack on Erebor. This took a little longer than a prologue needed to and it does bring up right away one of the film's biggest problems: it tries to be on the scale of The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit is essentially a children's fairy tale, filled with humor and adventure - not so much action. Nevertheless, Jackson chose to go big with the action scenes and these will not let you down if that's what you're looking for. Still though, I think it does more to incite suspense into the viewer when Bilbo doesn't know what's going on when the dwarves arrive, letting him become interested as he hears the story. While once the movie gets going, Bilbo (Martin Freeman) of course doesn't know what the dwarves are doing, the audience does, so there isn't much exposition given. Essentially the same exposition is given, but it would have been more effective I think if it were dished out a bit later.

Like so many other pretty good films this year, this has a rough opening. The scenes in Bag End with the dwarves and Gandalf (Ian McKellen) show a yet-to-be-perfected humor from Peter Jackson. It's well-intentioned and it gets smoother as the film goes along, but in the beginning it's a little awkward.

Once the story really gets going we have Bilbo, Gandalf, and the dwarves journeying throughout Middle Earth. Here it's pretty similar to LOTR, as they encounter numerous obstacles which become action sequences. Some of them aren't even set up as obstacles but as flashbacks, like the elongated one with Thorin Oakenshield and the Pale Orc, which was a. completely pointless b. very entertaining and c. one of the most visually arresting things I've seen on film. These kinds of things can either be seen to help or hurt the film, depending on how you look at them.

The troll scene was great, everything I was hoping for. As was the scene with Gollum towards the end, which stood out as the highlight of the film. Gollum looks even better than he did in Lord of the Rings and Andy Serkis just has a knack for that character at this point.

Aside from Serkis, the performances are still pretty good. Ian McKellen continues to be great as Gandalf, though he's noticeably older here. Martin Freeman I especially enjoyed, as I thought he captured the innocence and likability of the character quite well. He reminded me at times of if Woody Allen were to play a hobbit, as he's awkward, stammering at times, and clearly doesn't know what he's doing in a lot of the situations; it's a great performance. The dwarves, aside from Richard Armitrage as Thorin, are all pretty minor characters. They look great and I have a feeling if we were to see the equivalent of the LOTR extended edition, we'd see that they all have their own personalities and they're all performed well. Unfortunately, they are given very little time to shine on their own, as so much more is going on.

I'd have to say the weakest parts came ironically with what I wanted to see the most. Since I've only read this and The Lord of the Rings I was really looking forward to how they handled the Necromancer and all the dealings with Dol Guldur. It was only mentioned in a few sentences in the novel, though I know Tolkien did a great deal of other writing on this. Unfortunately, this is handled with Sylvester McCoy as Radagast the Brown, the strangest and least interesting character in the film. Essentially the scene is only in the film to tie this with The Lord of the Rings, which leads to a meeting at Rivendell discussing the possible connections between the Necromancer and Smaug. What the hell?

It's actually a well done scene, with some eery moments and great delivery. And it's great to see Cate Blanchett in another Jackson/Tolkien movie and especially Christopher Lee. Ultimately, it's pointless to this film and probably to the series, unless they REALLY tie Smaug into Sauron, which I don't see happening.

This film had a bit of a pacing problem, too, as it was a bit stop and start. I was entertained throughout because I knew what was happening with a lot of the dialogue scenes, but I could see plenty of people not.

Visually speaking, it's a total masterpiece. The visual effects are stunning if a bit excessive, as with the action. The sets are all great and the makeup, too. It'll probably have no trouble keeping your attention even if the narrative strays a bit.

Overall I'd certainly recommend this film, though it's a bit of a disappointment and a step below the Lord of the Rings films. I'm certainly interested in the next two films.

NFL Power Rankings - Week 16

1. Denver Broncos (11-3)
2. Atlanta Falcons (12-2)
3. San Francisco 49ers (9-3-1)
4. New England Patriots (10-4)
5. Green Bay Packers (10-4)
6. Houston Texans (12-2)
7. Seattle Seahawks (9-5)
8. Baltimore Ravens (9-5)
9. Indianapolis Colts (9-5)
10. Washington Redskins (8-6)
11. Cincinnati Bengals (8-6)
12. Dallas Cowboys (8-6)
13. New York Giants (8-6)
14. Minnesota Vikings (8-6)
15. Chicago Bears (8-6)
16. Saint Louis Rams (6-7-1)
17. New Orleans Saints (6-8)
18. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-7)
19. Miami Dolphins (6-8)
20. San Diego Chargers (5-9)
21. Cleveland Browns (5-9)
22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-8)
23. Tennessee Titans (5-9)
24. New York Jets (6-8)
25. Arizona Cardinals (5-9)
26. Detroit Lions (4-10)
27. Carolina Panthers (5-9)
28. Buffalo Bills (5-9)
29. Philadelphia Eagles (4-10)
30. Oakland Raiders (4-10)
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-12)
32. Kansas City Chiefs (2-12)

My 15 Favorite Christmas Films

15. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
While certainly a re-tread of the first film, this is a feel-good Christmas movie with some funny moments. I grew up on this film, so I have to have it here.

14. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
This is not explicitly a Christmas film, but the best and most powerful scene is tied directly to Christmas. This is a great modern telling of the Frankenstein myth with beautiful imagery and a Christmas feel to it.

13. Gremlins (1984)
What's more Christmas than little monsters killing people and a monologue about someone's father dying in a chimney while dressed as Santa?

12. Die Hard (1988)
An action movie that happens to take place on Christmas. It's a one of the greatest action movies of all time and has a lot of off-beat Christmas humor. "Let it Snow" playing at the end of the film in the middle of Los Angeles is a great example.

11. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
It's come up before that I'm not a huge fan of this film, but it's considered by most to be one of the 2 great Christmas movies. It's a quality film, but doesn't get Christmasy until the end, but remains Christiany throughout. Jimmy Stewart was great in everything, but he's made better in my opinion.

10. The Year without Santa Claus (1974)
Classic Rankin Bass cartoon here, with Mickey Rooney and Dick Shawn among the voice talents. The highlight for me is certainly the Snow Miser song, as that is impossible to not get stuck in your head.

9. Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
Probably the best remembered of all the Rankin Bass cartoons, this is an absolute classic. Highlights include the Abominable Snow Monster (which scared the crap out of me as a kid), the Island of Misfit Toys (including the Charlie-in-the-Box), and Burl Ives as the snowman narrator/singer.

8. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Both a Halloween and Christmas film, this is surprisingly frightening and dark for kids. I mean Santa gets freaking kidnapped! But it's great for its imagery, its very underrated music, and in the end its themes.

7. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (1970)
With Fred Astaire and Mickey Rooney voicing characters, how could this not be great? This was always my favorite Rankin Bass cartoon as a kid, but I haven't seen it in forever.

6. Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988)
A great twist on the classic Dickens tale, in this TV short, Ebenezer Blackadder is a very nice guy who becomes miserable after seeing his ancestors and descendants. Great dry British humor by men such as Rowan Atkinson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, and Robbie Coltrane. Great stuff.

5. Christmas Vacation (1989)
What can I say about arguably the funniest Griswold family adventure? It's hilarious and there are so many classic moments.

4. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
My favorite TV short of all time, this is a great adaptation of Dr. Seuss' classic story. Boris Karloff does a great job as the Grinch and the Narrator.

3. Home Alone (1990)
Almost every line of this movie sticks in my head well after it's said. It's hilarious and has a good message to it. In addition, it sums up my childhood better than almost any movie.

2. A Christmas Story (1983)
Is it worth having on a 24-hour run? Probably not, but it's hilarious and has a good old-fashioned innocence to it, which is entirely the point. It captures the magic of Christmas in the eyes of a child perfectly and will make you laugh throughout.

1. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
An absolute classic, this film is powerful, funny, and utterly charming. It's a classic tale that appeals both to kids and to adults. I never saw this until I was older, like fifteen or so, and I enjoy it more every time. There are great characters, performances, and interesting and clever satire in certain spots.

NFL Power Rankings - Week 15

1. New England Patriots (10-3)
2. Houston Texans (11-2)
3. Denver Broncos (10-3)
4. Green Bay Packers (9-4)
5. Atlanta Falcons (11-2)
6. San Francisco 49ers (9-3-1)
7. Baltimore Ravens (9-4)
8. New York Giants (8-5)
9. Indianapolis Colts (9-4)
10. Chicago Bears (8-5)
11. Cincinnati Bengals (7-6)
12. Seattle Seahawks (8-5)
13. Washington Redskins (7-6)
14. Minnesota Vikings (7-6)
15. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6)
16. Saint Louis Rams (6-6-1)
17. Dallas Cowboys (7-6)
18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7)
19. New Orleans Saints (5-8)
20. Cleveland Browns (5-8)
21. Detroit Lions (4-9)
22. San Diego Chargers (5-8)
23. New York Jets (6-7)
24. Buffalo Bills (5-8)
25. Miami Dolphins (5-8)
26. Carolina Panthers (4-9)
27. Tennessee Titans (4-9)
28. Philadelphia Eagles (4-9)
29. Oakland Raiders (3-10)
30. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-11)
31. Arizona Cardinals (4-9)
32. Kansas City Chiefs (2-11)

What the hell did I just watch? - An Anna Karenina review

Okay. Anna Karenina wasn't a downright awful film. I'd say it was forgettable if it wasn't so downright offensive. Normally I wouldn't even care except that there were so many questionable decisions going into the making of this film that I just had to say something. I was really looking forward to this film and it ended up letting me down in a huge, unforgivable way.

Adapted from the Leo Tolstoy novel in events only (certainly not tone), this was yet another Joe Wright-Keira Knightley collaboration. For the most part those have worked out quite well. I've only seen Atonement of their films together but it was quite good and I can say without much doubt in my mind that Keira Knightley is one of the best young actresses out there.

So what happened?

Whatever happened cannot be blamed on Knightley. She did an outstanding job, likely earning her second Oscar nomination. I felt bad for her in this film, as she was clearly trying her hardest, but ultimately her efforts were ruined by strange direction and a questionable screenplay.

Oh, did I forget to mention that the screenplay was written by Tom Stoppard, one of the more celebrated playwrights of the latter half of the twentieth century? Again I ask: what happened?

The film goes for this strange style that was interesting but ultimately pointless. The entire film is like it's on a stage, particularly in the beginning. In other words, Joe Wright saw Olivier's Henry V shortly before making this film. I have no problem with noticing influence by another filmmaker, but if you're not doing much original, then what's the point?

The style is obnoxious, allowing the first fifteen minutes to feel more like an extended trailer than a film. In this sense it reminded me of the opening of Romeo + Juliet, as I could just not allow myself to get into the movie.

In addition to this, the camera is constantly doing this 360 degree turns at a dizzying rate. It's safe to say I felt nausea more often than I felt emotion from this movie.

So again with the bizarre postmodern theatrical style. I would like to say a bit about Tolstoy here. Known for his realism, Tolstoy was more or less slandered by this style of filmmaking. The master of realism is now represented by this strange fantasy world where sets are obviously sets and snow is painted onto things.

Now I'm not denying that this style can work (Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) but it seems extremely unwise to do it to a Tolstoy novel. Tolstoy is known for writing merely events, and allowing the reader to find out what is important and just how important, but here we're told things are important due to the elaborate, overproduced mess.

Now about the screenplay I have more than a few complaints as well. First off, the film plays far too often for jokes and never any good ones.  I couldn't believe my eyes and ears when I saw that there was a fart joke in a Tolstoy adaptation. Most of the time, however, the jokes are awkward pauses. Because it's funny when everyone is speaking eloquently like they do in British-accented Russia and then there's an awkward pause. That's the extent of this film's humor. Tom Stoppard, writer of maybe the funniest play in the twentieth century, resorts to this kind of humor.

Also the film did a poor job of introducing characters. I'm not sure if this is the writer's fault or the director's but all I know is I'm watching a fifteen minute scene with some red-headed guy who I don't think I caught the name of until the second half of the movie. Maybe this was an attempt at imitating Tolstoy's style, but the viewer needs to at least know what the hell is happening.

Lastly I'll talk about the performances. There were some good ones, so I have the fewest complaints in this area. Knightley was great in this, and Jude Law, playing her husband, was also quite good. He actually looked Russian, too, unlike most of the other characters. And I enjoyed Matthew Macfayden doing his Kevin Kline impression, too, playing Keira Knightley's sister. However, Aaron Johnson did a pathetic job. He's confirmed himself as one of my least favorite dramatic actors following what I thought was a pitiful performance in Kick-Ass. Here he's beyond bland, delivering each line like he's just here to cash in a paycheck and maybe make out with Keira Knightley. As the main plot instigator, I was expecting a kind of passion or intensity, but no. The audience simply is told Keira Knightley and Aaron Johnson are in love because there's no chemistry or emotional connection. They simply find each other attractive. Now Johnson is a good looking guy and I don't feel bad saying that, but the script was begging for him to do something interesting. This film took the line "You can't ask why about love" way too seriously. Why do they love each other? Because they like the way they look. In their many scenes together, we don't get one glimpse into either characters.

While a decent amount of people seemed to enjoy this movie, I simply cannot recommend it.

NFL Power Rankings

1. Houston Texans (11-1)
2. New England Patriots (9-3)
3. Atlanta Falcons (11-1)
4. Baltimore Ravens (9-3)
5. Denver Broncos (9-3
6. Green Bay Packers (8-4)
7. Chicago Bears (8-4)
8. San Francisco 49ers (8-3-1)
9. Indianapolis Colts (8-4)
10. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5)
11. Seattle Seahawks (7-5)
12. New York Giants (7-5)
13. Cincinnati Bengals (7-5)
14. Washington Redskins (6-6)
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6)
16. New Orleans Saints (5-7)
17. Minnesota Vikings (6-6)
18. Saint Louis Rams (5-6-1)
19. Dallas Cowboys (6-6)
20. Miami Dolphins (5-7)
21. Detroit Lions (4-8)
22. Buffalo Bills (5-7)
23. San Diego Chargers (4-8)
24. Cleveland Browns (4-8)
25. Tennessee Titans (4-8)
26. Carolina Panthers (3-9)
27. Oakland Raiders (3-9)
28. New York Jets (5-7)
29. Arizona Cardinals (4-8)
30. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-10)
31. Philadelphia Eagles (3-9)
32. Kansas City Chiefs (2-10)

Bowl Predictions

GoDaddy.com Bowl
Kent State 28
Arkansas State 14

BBVA Compass Bowl
Pittsbugh 24
Ole Miss 14

Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl
Mississippi State 31
Northwestern 23

Heart of Dallas Bowl
Oklahoma State 35
Purdue 14

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Tulsa 24
Iowa State 13

Hyundai Sun Bowl
USC 34
Georgia Tech 27

Franklin American Music City Bowl
NC State 21
Vanderbilt 20

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl
TCU 23
Michigan State 16

Valero Alamo Bowl
Oregon State 20
Texas 7

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Air Force 28
Rice 23

New Era Pinstripe Bowl
West Virginia 42
Syracuse 21

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
Navy 24
Arizona State 21

AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl
Ohio 20
UL-Monroe 9

Russell Athletic Bowl
Rutgers 27
Virginia Tech 10

Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas
Texas Tech 31
Minnesota 24

Belk Bowl
Cincinnati 30
Duke 10

Military Bowl
Bowling Green 27
San Jose State 14

Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl
UCLA 24
Baylor 17

Little Caesars Bowl
Central Michigan 28
Western Kentucky 25

MAACO Bowl Las Vegas
Boise State 24
Washington 20

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Fresno State 35
SMU 24

Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg
Central Florida 24
Ball State 14

San Diego Country Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
San Diego State 17
BYU 10

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
ECU 23
Louisiana Lafayette 21

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Toledo 21
Utah State 20

Gildan New Mexico Bowl
Arizona 28
Nevada 19

Outback Bowl
Michigan 21
South Carolina 14

Chick-fil-A Bowl
Clemson 31
LSU 17

Capital One Bowl
Georgia 24
Nebraska 20

AT&T Cotton Bowl
Texas A&M 31
Oklahoma 21

Rose Bowl Game Presented by Vizio
Stanford 31
Wisconsin  21

Discover Orange Bowl
Floirda State 28
Northern Illinois 27

All-State Sugar Bowl
Florida 21
Louisville 10

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Oregon 35
Kansas State 27

Discover BCS National Championship
Notre Dame 20
Alabama 13

Conference Records:
Big East: 4-1
MWC: 4-1
MAC: 5-2
PAC-12: 4-2
Independent: 2-1
Conference USA: 3-2
Big 12: 4-4
ACC: 3-3
SEC: 4-5
Big Ten: 1-6
WAC: 0-2
Sun Belt: 0-4

College Football Awards

Heisman Trophy:

1.      Collin Klein, Kansas State

2.      Manti Te’o, Notre Dame

3.      Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M

4.      Braxton Miller, Ohio State

5.      Kenjon Barner, Oregon

Maxwell Award:

1.      Collin Klein, Kansas State

2.      Manti Te’o, Notre Dame

3.      Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M

Walter Camp Award:

1.      Collin Klein, Kansas State

2.      Manti Te’o, Notre Dame

3.      Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M

Home Depot Coach of the Year Award:

1.      Brian Kelly, Notre Dame

2.      Urban Meyer, Ohio State

3.      David Shaw, Stanford

Doak Walker Award:

1.      Kenjon Barner, Oregon

2.      Ka’Deem Carey, Arizona

3.      Stepfan Taylor, Stanford

Davey O’Brien Award:

1.      Collin Klein, Kansas State

2.      Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M

3.      Braxton Miller, Ohio State

Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award:

1.      Collin Klein, Kansas State

2.      Geno Smith, West Virginia

3.      Matt Barkley, USC

Fred Biletnikoff Award:

1.      Marqise Lee, USC

2.      Stedman Bailey, West Virginia

3.      Terrance Williams, Baylor

John Mackey Award:

1.      Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame

2.      Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Washington

3.      Joseph Fauria, UCLA

Outland Trophy:

1.      Barrett Jones, Alabama

2.      Jonathan Cooper, North Carolina

3.      Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M

Vince Lombardi Award:

1.      Manti Te’o, Notre Dame

2.      Barrett Jones, Alabama

3.      Jarvis Jones, Georgia

Rimington Trophy:

1.      Barrett Jones, Alabama

2.      Sam Schwartzstein, Stanford

3.      Jay Finch, Georgia Tech

Chuck Bednarik Award:

1.      Manti Te’o, Notre Dame

2.      Jarvis Jones, Georgia

3.      Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina

Bronko Nagurski Award:

1.      Manti Te’o, Notre Dame

2.      Jarvis Jones, Georgia

3.      Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina

Dick Butkus Award:

1.      Manti Te’o, Notre Dame

2.      Jarvis Jones, Georgia

3.      Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina

Jim Thorpe Award

1.      Phillip Thomas, Fresno State

2.      Dee Milliner, Alabama

3.      Johnthan Banks, Mississippi State

Lou Groza Award:

1.      Cairo Santos, Tulane

2.      Dustin Hopkins, Florida State

3.      Brendan Gibbons, Michigan

Ray Guy Award:

1.      Ryan Allen – Louisiana Tech

2.      Scott Kovanda – Ball State

3.      Kyle Christy – Florida