4 Questions with Oumar Traore

The fearless skipper Oumar Traore offered up his time to educate us about himself.

1.What's been your best memory of the MPA program?-The moment i have enjoyed the most in the MPA so far is the time we gather as a team on a soccer field. Those moments are the best time of my day, week, and semester in the program. I love soccer, i like my teammates, and i just the fact that everybody has as much fun as possible on the field. Usually, i don't hang out a lot, but the soccer games have been very recreative moments for me.

2.What has been the most significant sports event in your lifetime?-World Cup of soccer between France and Brazil in 1998. I cried when Brazil lost with the three goals of France. Brazil is my favorite team in world soccer.

Pictured: France's keeper sending a message to Ronaldo in '98. Not Pictured: Oumar's favorite sports moment of all time

3. Which soccer player do you model your game after?-FREDERIC KANOUTE (Striker for Sevilla)

Kanoute, bedeviling two Gunners......

4. Describe your finest sports achievement.- Finalist in a college tournament in Algeria where I was team Captain. WE LOST THE FINAL GAME BY ONE POINT. I ACCEPTED MY SILVER MEDAL IN TEARS. IT WAS A GREAT COLLEGE TOURNAMENT IN 2006, ALGERIA WHILE I WAS PURSUING MY UNDERGRAD.

Thanks Oumar. We like playing with you too. Everyone come support us tomorrow (Saturday) at 3 PM at the indoor practice field.

4 questions with Sarah Bragonje

I realized that it is time to highlight one of the stalwart group of ladies we have on the team. Sarah Bragonje took time away from making extremely useful instructional videos (check them out) to let us get to know her a little better. She even managed to answer an "extra-time" bonus question. What stamina......

1. What would be your dream job?- I've always loved the nonprofit sector, and long term I would want to work with a nonprofit that rehabilitates former prostitutes and victims of sex trafficking. This would involve everything from addressing health issues (particularly drug rehabilitation), providing avenues for continuing education (like getting their GED or beyond), job training, housing assistance, and legal aid.

2. Describe your finest sports achievement- It would probably be when I was able to score a PK from almost mid-field (I kid you not). It was the sweetest Hail Mary shot EVER, and just sailed in over the opposition straight to the top corner. We won the game.

3. What has been your best memory of the MPA program?-It has been the people, which I was not expecting. From the groups I've worked with, to Phase 10 in the lounge, to the AWESOME activities, to our amazing soccer team, this has been blast.

Our amazing soccer team, in uniform

Editor's note: Sarah is the nicest Phase 10 player ever. She will wait a turn to go out if you butter her up enough, telling you that all you need is one more turn for your phase. I think that was you Sarah, wasn't it?

4. Where would be an ideal place you'd want to live?- I absolutely love the Mediterranean. Before I started the program, I was living in Essaouira, Morocco, which was AMAZING. If it weren't for the taxes and nippy weather, Edinburgh would be a top choice as well. It is beautiful, full of history, and the people are wonderful.

Essaouira, Morocco, at least according to Google......

Bonus question. What are you doing after you graduate?- Living in paradise and working at my dream job.

4 Questions with Billy Dalebout

Billy Dalebout (Pictured to the left) has graciously given us this extra-special glimpse into his life.

1.What's been your best memory of the MPA program?- Working and socializing with J-Pop. Strangely, we have all ended up becoming close friends despite our very different backgrounds. I did not expect that we would still be doing dinners and washing cars into our second year of study. But alas, we are, and I love it.

2. What is your favorite band?- My favorite band is Radiohead. I first learned about them in high school and watched them perform at Oxford's South Park while living in London in 2001. Their music is pretty low key, somewhat dark, sometimes calm and sometimes energetic, and their songs develop very well. I think they score very high on the two most important aspects of music: texture and groove. You might like to hear their stuff on this NPR podcast: http://podcastdownload.npr.org/anon.npr-podcasts/podcast/510253/94387347/npr_94387347.mp3?_kip_ipx=828719928-1238012556

3. Describe your worst sports-related injury?- I made a electric run out of the mid-field during a soccer camp all-star game. The ball was thrown-in ahead of me in the air, and I had gotten in behind the last defender inside the 18. The ball took one bounce, the keeper approached, and I took the header off of the first bounce and netted the ball over the keeper to score a goal. The only problem--the keeper tried to punch the ball, which was exactly where I put my face. I had some nerve damage and a bloodied and swollen face.
Re-creation of Billy's injury

4.Which soccer player do you model your game after?- I model my game after Stephen Gerrard of Liverpool (pictured below), or at least think my style of play is similar. I'd like to think I've got pace, control, smarts, and good touch like him. The one aspect I admire so much about Gerrard is his finishing ability. Time-after-time he finishes by putting the ball in the side netting, controlling his shots off the laces, driving volleys, and placing the ball just inside the post on set-pieces. I always want to finish like Gerrard.

New feature.....4 Questions for Scott Selin

We have at least one more soccer game, and I thought it would be interesting to give a better glimpse into who our players are. This feature will consist of several of our players answering four various questions (one for each semester in the program) designed to let our players and fans better know the members of our team. I'll start by highlighting myself.

1. What would be your dream job?- Whenever people ask me what career I'd like to get into, I always answer the same thing. I say that I'm interested in local government, particularly in City Management. It is a practical response. Usually, I preface that comment with a dumb joke about how I'd like to be the general manager of the Phoenix Suns. Everyone laughs, including me, but it's not really a joke. My dream job would be in some kind of management role within professional sports. There has to be space in all the soccer leagues and all the basketball leagues for someone like me, and if I ever get the opportunity, I'll seize it. But I probably won't get the chance, for the same reason George Costanza couldn't get into sports announcing.

2. What has been the most significant sports occurrence in your lifetime?- The 1992-93 NBA season, when the Suns picked up Charles Barkley, revamped their uniforms, opened a new arena, and went to the Finals, only to suffer this heart-breaking moment, setting the tone for the next 15 years within the Suns organization.

The shot that tortures Suns fans

3. What has been your finest sports-related achievement?- I was an avid wrestler in junior high and high school, and that gave me some memorable experiences. During my senior year, I flew under the radar all season while quietly amassing an impressive record (37-3 going into the state tournament). All the talk at the state tournament in my weight class was about two wrestlers in particular, who had met the previous year in the state finals and everyone expected a rematch. I got to the semi-finals, faced one of these two wrestlers, and beat him. Walking off the mat after that match was probably the finest moment I'd ever had.

I then got pounded in the final. Oh well.

4. What soccer player do you model your game after?- Two words. Sergio Ramos. I love how he is staunchly defending in one instant, and in the next he is sweeping up the right side in an attacking position. He was most responsible for Spain's Euro2008 victory, and I love watching him.


Thanks everyone. Game is this Saturday at 3 PM.

Let the madness begin!

If you wanted to read about college basketball's tournament, you've come to the wrong place.

My general dislike for college basketball has been well documented here, as well as through general griping and moaning to friends of mine.

It's time for the intramural soccer tournament to begin. 50+ teams, single elimination. Our first game is this Wednesday evening at 9 PM at the indoor practice field. We play a team that defeated us already. I believe the point differential was one point, but we scored an equal number of goals. (Those girl goals.....they'll hurt you.)

I'm confident that we can win, but we'll already be short one. Billy will be soaking up the sun in Phoenix and won't be available to play for us. So we'll need to dig deep to get this game. Play scrappy. If they try to bully us in the box again, this is what we'll do to them.


Take care everyone. See you Wednesday.....

Even when we're short on players, Our team goes marching on, on on!

Poor Andy Bean. We won our first game without getting a goal from him, but he scored brilliant goals in both of the games that we lost. He's been a great asset to us. However, he commented to me in the lounge, probably half-jokingly, that he's not going to score any more goals because it seems to have a detrimental effect on the team.

He won't be joking about that after he hears about today's result.

We took the field and held the opponents to a single goal (which was quite a good shot, I must admit), and scored three of our own, to win a 3-1 decision. Omar scored twice, and frankly could have had at least two others, if not for accidentally touching the ball with his plant foot before shooting. Billy also neatly tucked away a penalty kick after the opposing goalie decided the only way he could stop him was to wrap up his legs and bring him down from behind. Other than the goal we gave up, we had no REAL threats against us to speak of, other than a penalty kick we yielded after an accidental hand-ball in the box. Ariel stared down the shooter, and guessed correctly and the following resulted....



So clearly, our good form today was because Andy wasn't there, right?

Wrong.

Not only could we have played better with him, we were missing a lot of people that could have helped us a lot, particularly on the girls' side. Some real unsung heroes this game were Kelsy, Kadiatou, Katie Forrest, and Sarah. They were real troopers and patrolled the field and did really well, despite not being able to sub off very often.

Now, we sit and wait until we find out when we're scheduled to play for the tourney. And we hope that it's on a day/night that we can all make it to. Thanks everyone. It's been a real pleasure playing with all of you.

One more thing, the team T-Shirts are in! I think they look good and I wore mine today at the game. I have the rest at my house, if you didn't pick yours up, let me know and I'll bring it to you at school.

Scott is a good man and a good bowler. He loves nature.....and bowling.

The first annual BYU Charity Bowling Tournament took place tonight. For the minor sum of 15 dollars, I could join the BYU Bowling club and take part in the activity that would determine the best bowler on campus (and some that don't belong to this campus).

As I was warming up, I had a hard time getting a feel for the ball and the lanes, but I watched other bowlers around me struggling in the same way. After observing this scene, I was cautiously optimistic that I could make a little noise at this shin-dig.

Then the first match happened. It was such a blur, I can't even remember the guy's face, body build, or what he rolled. All I remember was that it was over, and over quickly.

"Pictured: My first round matchup. From left to right: Scott Selin, Erica Nielson, my opponent's friend, my opponent"

After allowing my opponent to roll over me like a tank over a pacifist, I got matched up with a skinny kid, that looked like he couldn't have been over 16. I noticed he was hanging out with a known bowling professor at BYU. I found out that the kid was the professor's son and I said,"Oh geez, I get matched up with the bowling professor's kid." He started strong, and I seriously considered the possibility of two inauspicious losses. Then I stepped up for the fourth frame.

And BOOM went the dynamite. Five strikes in a row put me up for good and I ended with a 201, my personal best by almost 30. I followed that up with two quality wins over two quality opponents, with both of my scores registering in the 180s. In the next match, I went against a serious member of the bowling club, who had fans watching. The game went back and forth until the seventh, when I closed him out with a couple of strikes, to end at 180.

I was dealing, and hoped to keep the roll going. Unfortunately, I ran into an employee at the Bowling Alley there, and he made quick work of me. He was a worthy winner, but my arm and grip were waning quickly. After coming strong with four games over 180, I finished with a feeble 112 and bowed out.

A 4-2 record isn't bad though, especially when it seemed likely that I would roll two games and have nothing to show for it. On a related note, Erica Nielson, who accompanied me, ran into a buzzsaw in the first round (her opponent bowled over 200), won a close match, and finally lost to a tough opponent. She did very well, and her scores seemed to get better and better as the night went on.