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A Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü (, IPA: ), ismertebb nevén Beşiktaş, egy török sportegyesület, mely leginkább labdarúgó csapatáról ismert, de van kosárlabda, kézilabda, röplabda és sakk osztálya is. Az egyesület központja az Beşiktaş İnönü Stadion, mely Isztambulban, a Boszporusz partján, a Dolmabahçe palota közelében található. Az egyesület Isztambul Beşiktaş negyedéről kapta a nevét.
A hagyomány szerint a Török Köztársaság alapítója, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Beşiktaş-szurkoló volt, a Fenerbahçe szerint viszont a kék-sárgáknak drukkolt.

Története

Alapítása
A Beşiktaş története 1902-ben kezdődött, Isztambul Beşiktaş kerületének Serencebey mahalléjában, Oszmán pasa váli udvarházának kertjében. 22 fiatal kezdett el testnevelő-gyakorlatokat folytatni itt, a hét néhány napján. II. Abdul-Hamid szultán mindenfajta politikai és egyéb csoportosulástól rettegett, így a csendőrség a fiatalokat tiltott gyülekezés vádjával letartóztatta, de mivel a váli két fia és más, a portához közel álló személyek fiai is részt vettek a gyűléseken, elengedték őket. Néhány magas rangú tisztviselő is kiállt a fiatalok mellett, és enyhítő körülménynek számított, hogy nem futballoztak, amit abban az időben rossz szemmel néztek az oszmánok, csupán testerősítő gyakorlatokat végeztek, valamint birkózással, gimnasztikával és súlyemeléssel foglalkoztak.

1903-ban, különleges engedéllyel jöhetett létre a Bereket Jimnastik Kulübü, melynek nevét 1909-ben Beşiktaş Osmanlı Jimnastik Kulübü-re változtatták. Fő szakterülete a birkózás, az ökölvívás, a vívás és az atlétika lett. Hivatalosan 1910. január 13-án regisztrálták, mint Törökország első sportegyesületét. Rövid idő alatt nagy népszerűségre tett szert, néhány éven belül már 150 sportoló edzett a Beşiktaş színeiben.

Színei és becenevének eredete

A Beşiktaş-ról úgy tartják, eredetileg piros-fehér színekben játszottak, és az I. Balkán-háború után, az ott elesett sportolók emlékére lett fehér-fekete sávos az egyenruhájuk, a klub fennállásának 100. évfordulóján azonban behatóbban tanulmányozni kezdték a Beşiktaş történetére vonatkozó dokumentumokat, és azt találták, hogy már a kezdetekben is a fekete-fehér színekben gondolkodtak az alapítók. Egy 1906-ból származó Beşiktaş-kitűzőn is már a fekete-fehér sávos címer látható, melyet francia mintára csináltattak. A kitűző felső részén arab betűkkel a Beşiktaş szó olvasható, jobb oldalon a J, bal oldalon pedig a K betű. Hátoldalán a Konstantinopolis szó látható.

A Beşiktaş Kara Kartallar, azaz "fekete sasok" beceneve a legenda szerint egy 1941-ben, a Süleymaniye csapata ellen játszott labdarúgó-mérkőzésen ragadt a csapatra, amikor az ellenfelet 6:0 arányban legyőzték. A tribünről egy Mehmet Galin nevű halász kiáltotta a csapatnak, hogy "Haydi Kara Kartallar. Hücum edin Kara Kartallar!", vagyis "Gyerünk fekete sasok, támadjatok, fekete sasok!" A tribünön ülők követték a halász példáját, majd az újságírók is elkezdték fekete sasoknak hívni a klubot.

A labdarúgó-szakosztály kezdetei
A klub történetének első néhány évében a labdarúgás nem szerepelt a szakosztályok között. Az 1910-es évek elején a fiatal sportolókat egyre jobban kezdte érdekelni ez az Európában népszerű sport, és elkezdtek egymás között labdarúgó-mérkőzéseket rendezni. Isztambulban ekkor már működött két labdarúgó-klub, a Valideçeşme és a Basiret. 1911-ben a Valideçeşme igazgatója, Ahmet Şerafettin Bey beolvasztotta labdarúgó-csapatát a Beşiktaş-ba. Nem sokkal később a Basiret is csatlakozott, így jött létre a klub hivatalos labdarúgó-szakosztálya, kezdetben négy csapattal. A balkáni háborúk, majd az első világháború kitörése azonban hosszú időre felfüggesztette nem csak a labdarúgók, de az egész klub tevékenységét is.

A klub elnökei

Szakosztályok

A klub első bajnokságát a torna szakosztály nyerte 1911-ben, az első labdarúgó-bajnoki címet 1919-ben szerezték az İstanbul Türk İdman Birliği Ligi elnevezésű helyi bajnokságon.

A Beşiktaşnak több aktív szakosztálya is van, a legnagyobb hangsúlyt azonban a labdarúgás kapja.

Atlétika
A klub atlétika-szakosztálya 1911-ben alakult, egymás után háromszor lett bajnok. 1916-ban isztambuli bajnok lett, 1918-ban pedig az Oszmán Birodalom Bajnoka címet is elnyerte. 1936–1945 között a klub tevékenysége szünetelt, az ötvenes és hatvanas években újra szép sikereket értek el.

 Isztambul Bajnoka: 1911, 1912, 1913, 1916, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1958, 1960
 Oszmán Birodalom Bajnoka: 1918

Kosárlabda
A kosárlabda-szakosztály 1933-ban alakult, de 1936-ban feloszlott. 1940-ben újra létrehozták. Első sikerét az 1974–75-ös szezonban érte el, amikor megnyerte a Kosárlabda 1. ligát. A fekete-fehér kosárlabdázók 1999-ben a sportág harmadik legfontosabb európai versenyének számító Korać kupán negyeddöntőbe jutottak.

A női kosárlabdacsapat 1967-ben jött létre, 1970 és 1976 között hatszor lettek az isztambuli liga bajnokai. 1984-ben és 1985-ben a Kosárlabda Női Liga bajnokai lettek. A bajnokságot 20 évvel később, 2005-ben sikerült újra megnyerniük, 2007-ben pedig a Köztársasági Kupát is magukénak tudhatták.

További szakosztályok
 asztalitenisz
 birkózás
 bridzs
 evezés
 kézilabda
 labdarúgás
 röplabda
 ökölvívás
 sakk
 torna

Labdarúgó-szakosztály

Eredmények

 Török bajnokság:
Bajnok (15): *1956-1957, *1957-1958, 1959–1960, 1965-66, 1966–67, 1981-82, 1985–86, 1989-90, 1990–91, 1991-92, 1994–95, 2002-03, 2008-09, 2015-16, 2016-17
 Második (14): 1962-63, 1963–64, 1964-65, 1967–68, 1973-74, 1984–85, 1986-87, 1987–88, 1988-89, 1992–93, 1996-97, 1998–99, 1999-00, 2006-07
 Török kupa:
 Győztes (9): 1975, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011
 Döntős (6): 1966, 1977, 1984, 1993, 1999, 2002
 Török szuperkupa:
 Győztes (8): 1967, 1974, 1986, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2006
 Döntős (2): 2007, 2009

* 1956-ban és 1957-ben a Török Szövetségi Ligát (Turkish Federation bajnokság) nyerték meg, amit 2002-ben a Török labdarúgó-szövetség érvényes bajnoki győzelemnek ismert el.

Játékoskeret
2019. április 28-án lett frissítve:

Kölcsönben

Létesítmények

Sportlétesítmények

İnönü Stadion

Az egyesület stadionja az İnönü Stadion, mely Isztambul Beşiktaş negyedében található. Kapacitása összesen 32 086 fő. Tulajdonosa a török állam, de az 1998-ban az egyesülettel kötött lízingszerződés értelmében a stadion korlátlan használati joga a Beşiktaş J.K.-t illeti 49 évig.

A stadion Isztambul első modern stadionja volt, felépítése előtt a három nagy klubcsapat, a Beşiktaş, a Galatasaray és a Fenerbahçe a Taksim Stadionban játszottak, mely az oszmán-kori Taksim tüzérségi laktanya (Taksim Topçu Kışlası) falain belül épült, és a laktanya kerítését használták tribünként. 1939-ben a stadiont lebontották, helyén ma a Taksim park található. Az új stadion a Dolmabahçe palotától nem messze épült fel, és sokáig (az 1960-as évekig) mindhárom klubcsapat használta, amíg a rivális klubok stadionjai fel nem épültek.

Az İnönü Stadionban tartották a világ leghangosabb labdarúgó-mérkőzését egy Beşiktaş–Fenerbahçe találkozót, ahol a szurkolók 132 decibellel üvöltöttek.

2008 nyarán elkezdték a stadion bővítését, az eredeti falakat a műemléknek számító Eski Açık tribün kivételével elbontják, az új komplekszumban pedig többek között színház, konferenciaterem és ötcsillagos szálloda is helyet kap majd.

BJK Akatlar Sport- és Kulturális Komplekszum

Az Akatlar Komplekszum 8500 m²-en terül el, található itt fedett sportpálya, hat teniszpálya, fedett úszómedence, fitneszterem, tekepálya, bevásárlóközpont, étterem és fedett pakorló is. A létesítmény 3200 néző befogadására alkalmas, koncerteket is szoktak itt tartani, a kapacitás ilyenkor 4500 fő. A létesítményben főképp kosárlabda- és kézilabdamérkőzéseket rendeznek, a komplekszum megfelel a Nemzetközi Kosárlabda-szövetség (FIBA) követelményeinek.

Ayazağa Yusuf Tunaoğlu Stadion
A stadiont a klub volt igazgatói, Turgay Ciner és Zafer Yıldırım, valamint Mehmet Kazancı üzletember építtette, 2001-ben nyitották meg. A füves pályával rendelkező stadiont a Beşiktaş ifjúsági és gyerekcsapatai használják.

Süleyman Seba Sportcsarnok
A 2669 m²-es sportcsarnokot 1993-ban a Gençlik ve Spor Genel Müdürlüğü (Fiatalok és a Sport Igazgatósága) építtette, 1999 óta a Beşiktaş JK rendelkezik felette. 1999. szeptember 17-én nyitották meg hivatalosan. Főképpen a klub kosárlabda-szakosztálya használja edzések céljából, de mérkőzéseket is szoktak itt tartani. Befogadóképessége 1500 fő. A létesítmény megfelel az NBA követelményeinek is.

Egyéb létesítmények
A stadionokon és sportpályákon kívül a Beşiktaşnak számos egyéb létesítménye is van, ezek egy része sportcélú, más része kulturális vagy kereskedelmi célú. A klub széháza a kerület Akaretler mahalléjában, a BJK Plaza épületében található, melyet 1992 és 1995 között építettek. A klub irodái 15 emeletes épület B blokkjában kaptak helyet, a többi irodát és üzlethelyiséget bérbeadták.

A Beşiktaş JK saját iskolát is működtet BJK Koleji néven, melyhez 1997-ben kapta meg az engedélyt az Oktatási Minisztériumtól. Az oktatás az 1997/98-as tanévben indult meg az óvodában és az általános iskolában. 2001 óta középiskolai oktatás is folyik az intézményben. A tanulók az Akatlar Komplekszumot is igénybe vehetik.

A Beşiktaş sportolói számára több létesítményt is fenntart edzőtáborozás céljából. Ilyen például a Nevzat Demir Tesisleri, mely a Şile-Ümraniye autóútnál található, és melyet a klub 2002-ben, az Erdészeti Minisztériumtól kapott haszonélvezeti joggal. Az 55 600 illetve 89 500 m²-es területből álló létesítményen füves és műfűves pályák (30 000 m²), 850 méteres futópálya, valamint pihenőlétesítmények is helyet kaptak. A területen külön épületben szállásolják el a klub professzionális labdarúgó-csapatát és az utánpótlás-csapatot. Az épületek konyhával, étteremmel, bárral, fitnesz-teremmel, szaunával és dzsakuzzival felszereltek, a sajtótájékoztatók számára külön épület áll rendelkezésre.

Ezen kívül a klub több kisebb létesítménnyel is bír, illetve saját benzinkútja is van.

Szurkolók

A Beşiktaş Törökország három legnagyobb sportegyesülete közé tartozik, és nagy szurkolótábora van. A leghűségesebb szurkolók maguknak a Çarşı Grubu ("Bazár Csoport") nevet adták, mindig a Kapalı tribünön foglalnak helyet, és híresek kreatív, sokszor politikai, társadalmi problémákat feszegető tartalmú szlogenjeikről, buzdító dalaikról, gyakran botrányokat okozó zászlóikról és transzparenseikről. Egyik ilyen megmozdulásuk alkalmávak a tribünön az iraki háború ellen tiltakoztak Amerika defol (Takarodj innen, Amerika!) feliratú transzparensekkel, egy másik alkalommal az egész tribünön átérő török zászlón a Şehitler ölmez, vatan bölünmez (Az áldozatok halhatatlanok, a haza egységes) szlogen volt olvasható (lásd a képen), a Kurdisztáni Munkáspárt elleni harcokban elesettekre utalva.

A klubnak több híres szurkolója is van, többek között Abdullah Gül volt köztársasági elnök is közéjük tartozik, de Ahmet Necdet Sezer volt köztársasági elnök és Pervez Musarraf, Pakisztán elnöke is közismerten a fekete-fehéreknek szurkol.

Jegyzetek

További információk

 Beşiktaş J.K. Hivatalos oldal
 Beşiktaş oldala a TFF-n
 Çarşı Group's Official Website
 Beşiktaş Futballakadémia
 Rajongói oldal a 100 éves fennállásra
 Beşiktaş női futball
 BJK rajongói oldal

Török labdarúgócsapatok
1903-ban alapított labdarúgócsapatok
Isztambul

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Travis scripts also needed to use stuff above from behat tests on sub packages.
There is a INTERNAL section in there that is only showed to employees as it is awaiting review.
Atm the instructions imply you need to manually run the install command, this will be removed in the future but not anytime soon.
André Rømcke added a comment - 14/Sep/16 3:24 PM [~sarah.haim-lubczanski@ez.no] Cleaned up Epic, remaining task is to finalize the doc page: https://doc.ez.no/display/DEVELOPER/Docker+Tools There is a INTERNAL section in there that is only showed to employees as it is awaiting review. Atm the instructions imply you need to manually run the install command, this will be removed in the future but not anytime soon.
New EPI to be created for final feature.
Roland Benedetti added a comment - 17/Jan/17 4:17 PM New EPI to be created for final feature.


text:
Reducing the Friction of AI Adoption in the Enterprise – with Rudina Seseri
Raghav Bharadwaj Last updated on February 10, 2019
Last updated on February 10, 2019, published by Raghav Bharadwaj
Raghav is serves as Analyst at Emerj, covering AI trends across major industry updates, and conducting qualitative and quantitative research. He previously worked for Frost & Sullivan and Infiniti Research.
Episode summary: There are many challenges to bringing AI into an enterprise for example the lack of skilled AI talent, or issues around data organization. In this week's episode, we focus on AI adoption in the enterprise from an investor's perspective.
We expect that founders looking to sell B2B enterprise AI-products and people in enterprises who are looking for the right qualities in an AI firm which would ease integration, would find this episode relatable. We speak with Rudina Seseri from Glasswing Ventures about what are the pain points for AI integration in the enterprise and at the other end of the spectrum, some factors that are aiding AI adoption.
Guest: Rudina Seseri, Founder and Managing Partner at Glasswing Ventures
Expertise: Economics, Entrepreneurship, Venture funding
Brief recognition: Rudina has an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2005 and went on to be appointed entrepreneur-in-residence there in 2013. She has also previously served on the board of directors for technology startups like SocialFlow and Talla in New York and Boston, before going on to found Glasswing
All things equal, between an enterprise automation software and an enterprise AI platform leveraging some form of learning, the AI product will always perform better. According to Rudina, AI in the enterprise today has seen successes for organizations that use AI as a differentiator to plain but robust software automation. We explore the major barriers to AI adoption in the enterprise with Rudina next.
Rudina says that although there is a high level of alertness among C-level executives in the enterprise, a majority of them view AI as an inexplicable 'box' and their consequent risk mitigation viewpoint is currently a barrier to adoption.
Finding high quality AI-talent like trained data scientists and machine learning experts is one of the bigger challenges. This has lead to challenges for enterprises in terms of the decision that they may need to take between choosing to hire inhouse data scientists or using a third party product, that's already AI powered.
Business leaders in the enterprise would find it useful to note that a good place to start before adopting AI would be at pain points in marketing, sales or security. Finding the objective of the AI would be the first step to a successful integration. The keys to a successful AI interaction also depend on the right market timing, the right execution and the right team.
The 'consumerization' of the enterprise in term of UI/UX (expectation of executives in the enterprise for a consumer-like user experience in the enterprise) will mean that the simplified and easy to use user interfaces will be the best value proposition for AI products and will also lower the barriers to adoption.
It would help enterprise executives to view AI as a layer that can enable any facet of the business as an embedded system in most cases. Rudina predicts that although there will be stand-alone AI products for the enterprise, there will be a lot of business functions of the enterprise that may be automated in the back-end using machine learning and AI in the near future.
Interview Highlights with Rudina Seseri from Glasswing Ventures
The main questions Rudina answered on this topic are listed below. Listeners can use the embedded podcast player (at the top of this post) to jump ahead to sections they might be interested in:
(3:19) What do you think are some of the challenges today in bringing AI integration to the enterprise?
(7:00) What are the critical factors to adoption of the technology?
(12.20) Do you think that the vendors of AI products haven't had enough time to mask the complexity in the product yet? Will business executives in the enterprise with no background in AI have a simplified user experience with AI in the future?
(13:43) What do you see as the dynamics for the AI ecosystem in Boston?
Header image credit: Adobe Stock
AI for Enterprise Search – Challenges and Opportunities
Episode Summary: In this episode of the AI in Industry podcast, we interview Grant Ingersoll, CTO of Lucidworks, about AI developments in enterprise search, and the common challenges of AI adoption in enterprise.
Balancing Machines and Human Employees When Adopting AI in the Enterprise
Episode Summary: In this episode of the AI in Industry podcast, we interview Rajat Mishra, VP of Customer Experience at Cisco, about the best practices for adopting AI in the enterprise and how business leaders should think about the man-machine balance at their companies.
Avoiding Common Mistakes in Applying AI to Business Problems – with Jeremy Barnes of Element AI
Episode summary: This week, AI in Industry features Jeremy Barnes, Chief Architect at Element AI. Jeremy talks about the common mistakes some businesses might make while adopting AI to solve broad business problems. He also sheds light on the problem areas that could raise the market value of businesses through AI adoption, hiring the right talent with the right combination of subject matter expertise and business experience, and the business and technical aspects executives should consider before contemplating the adoption of AI.
AI Recommendation Engines for Big Purchases – Will You Buy Your Home or Car Using AI?
Episode summary: This week, AI in Industry features Dr. David Franke, Chief Scientist at Vast. David talks about how AI can work with scarce transaction data to derive meaningful analytics for big purchases, such as cars and houses. He elaborates on how the AI can glean information from user interaction and marketplace data to provide customers with the relevant product fit, deals and recommendations on big purchases. He also discusses the future trends and business benefits for early adopters of AI for purchase recommendations of high-cost items.
What's the Value of AI Events and Consulting?
Episode summary: One of the key challenges that enterprises face in adopting artificial intelligence is finding skilled data science talent. Business leaders want to know when it's best to hire AI talent, to "upskill" existing workers, or simply to bring in AI consultants - and the answers aren't always obvious.
PDF Brief: 3 Ways to Spot AI Trends
Learn three simple approaches to discover AI trends in any industry. Download this free white paper:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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text:
Ranking NCAA Football Conferences 2013
Posted on September 16, 2013. Filed under: Football, NCAA Sports | Tags: ACC, Alabama, Amateur Sports, Amateur Sports Magazine, Amateur Sports News Network, AmateurSports365, American Conference, ASNN, ASNN365, Baylor, Big 12, Big Ten, Boise State, Cincy, Cinncinnati, Clemson, conference USA, florida, Florida State, Georgia, Kansas State, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, LSU, michigan, Mid-American conference, Mountain West, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Pac-12, Pres Ro, Prez Ro, Ranking NCAA Football Conferences 2013, Rutgers, SEC, South Carolina, Stanford, steve fitch, Steve Fitch MBA, Steven E. Fitch, Sun Belt, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Wisconsin |
Who's the TOP College football conference?
Who? Okay…. we needed a 10th conference…
Louisiana Tech is fun to watch… next
Northern Illinois dominates this conference every year and this year will NOT be any different but the rest of the teams struggle.
There's Boise State and a bunch of other teams… Next!
Louisville, Cincy and Rutgers are all gonna battle and that makes this conference tough.
It's all about Clemson and Florida State, but still nothing to sneeze at here.
Right night, it's hard to imagine any team long-term outperforming The Ohio State this year, even though Wisconsin will try their best to keep things close since they are in the same conference (Leaders). On the other side of the division, Michigan, Nebraska and Northwestern will fight and scratch to the end in order to play the Buckeyes in the championship game December 7 in Indianapolis.
This 10-team league is wide-open with contenders like Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, TCU, Texas, Baylor and Kansas State at the top. Who will prevail? See ya in December…
Right away, when you think Pac-12 you think Stanford and Oregon, which is absolutely correct but don't sleep on Arizona State and UCLA this season.
As much as we would love to put another conference on top, the reality of it all is we can't. Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, LSU, Texas A&M, etc… would dominate any conference listed below – hands down. Thus, SEC again is the top football conference – PERIOD!
Illinois lose to Washington 34-24 for the Chicago Homecoming
Posted on September 14, 2013. Filed under: Football, NCAA Sports | Tags: Amateur Sports, Amateur Sports Magazine, Amateur Sports News Network, AmateurSports News Network, AmateurSports365, ASNN, ASNN365, Big Ten, Dick Butkus, Fighting Illini, Jim Cornelison, Pac-12, Pac-12 Conference, Pres Ro, Prez Ro, Soldier Field, steve fitch, Steve Fitch MBA, Steven E. Fitch MBA, steven fitch, Washington, washington huskies |
Two undefeated teams come into Soldier Field – one will stay undefeated – who?
CHICAGO – Both teams come into the season undefeated, but only one can leave Soldier Field n the same manner… who will it be?
Well tonight it is Washington, who held off Illinois 34-24.
Huskies senior quarterback Keith Price led the charge going 28-35 for 345 yards and 2 touchdowns. Followed by running back Bishop Sankey, who added 35 carries for 208 and two scores. The first score in the game came in the second quarter on a 25 yard pass from Price.
Illinois needed a fast start, big plays on offense and a bend-but-don't-break defense to upset "ranked" Washington. Unfortunately, they didn't get it in the first half where Washington led 10-3. And to start the second half, the Huskies picked up where they left off at, with a 4 play touchdown drive featuring Sankey, who scored on a short run, giving the visitors a commanding lead of 17-3.
Washington dominating first half stats in just about all of the important ones: first downs (14-8), rushing (67-32), total yards (278-93), and the most important one, score 10-3.
After the Huskies (2-0) marched down the field with the third-quarter kickoff for a 17-3 lead, the Illinois offense answered with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped by a two-yard naked bootleg by Nathan Scheelhaase with four tight ends on the field.
Nathan Scheelhaase finished the game 9 for 25 for 156 yards, 1 interception, one touchdown in the air and one on the ground.
''Anytime you walk off the field without the win, there's something missing,'' Scheelhaase said. ''We kept throwing punches, kept giving it all we had. It's fun to be a part of that. I didn't see that a lot last year. It was good to see that.''
In retrospect, I want to say that all was not lost in this first loss of the season. The Illini (2-1), who trailed basically the entire game, found a way to hang around in that first half with their defense, which is looking better than anticipated — because not much was anticipated. That defense, which gave up a scary 615 yards, will need to get better. But the Illini have faith. Here the bottom line is the young Illinois defense needs to tackle better — and it will learn to do that in time.
''If we were in this situation last year, it might have turned sour,'' senior linebacker Jonathan Brown said. ''But these guys fought to the end. They showed heart. With a performance like that, you can find the things you need to improve on.''
There is still time to make adjustments and put together the right Illini plan moving forward. And their bye week comes at a good time too.
''Our players came out knowing they had a chance to win this game and fought to the end,'' coach Tim Beckman said.
Up next for the 2-1 Fighting Illini is Miami (OH), September 28 in Champaign.
University of Illinois rolled out the red carpet and added some of the best Chicagoland and Illinois icons beginning with Jim Cornelison, fulltime national anthem singer for the 2013 Stanley Cup champions Blackhawks, who put goose bumps on everyone in attendance. In addition, Chicago Bear Hall of Famer and Illini alum, Dick Butkus tossed the ceremonial coin to begin the game.
ABOUT WASHINGTON (1-0): Senior quarterback Keith Price passed for 324 yards and two touchdowns against Boise State and is 115 yards away from overtaking Brock Huard (6,391 yards from 1996-98) for third place on the school's all-time list. Junior tailback Bishop Sankey rushed for 161 yards (his fifth 100-yard performance in his last six games) in a strong opening-game salvo to follow up last year's 1,439-yard season. Junior middle linebacker – and defensive leader – John Timu racked up 13 tackles in the opener while senior safety Sean Parker made an interception.
ABOUT ILLINOIS (2-0): Cubit's effect on quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase has been stunning as the senior has six touchdown passes in two games to surpass last season's output (four in 246 attempts). Scheelhaase threw for a career-high 416 yards in the opener against Southern Illinois and followed up with 312 in last Saturday's 45-17 rout of favored Cincinnati. The defense, which has experienced issues while allowing an average of 431 yards, is led by senior outside linebacker Jonathan Brown (14 tackles against Cincinnati, 23 overall), sophomore middle linebacker Mason Monheim (2.5 tackles for loss among 18 stops) and junior strong safety Earnest Thomas III (16 tackles in two games).
FUN NOTES for Fighting Illini
• The Fighting Illini (2-0) look to continue their hot start on Saturday when they head to the Windy City to host No. 19/23 Washington at Soldier Field for Chicago Homecoming (5 p.m. CT, BTN). A win would make Illinois 3-0 for only the second time in the last 12 seasons. The other was in 2011, when the Illini started the season 6-0.
• Following Saturday's shellacking of Cincinnati, the Illini are receiving votes in both polls for the first time since Oct. 24, 2011. Illinois sits 34th in the AP poll (nine votes) and 39th in the coaches poll (three votes).
• Illinois faces its first top-25 opponent of the season on Saturday as Washington is ranked No. 19 in this week's Associated Press poll and No. 23 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
• Scheelhaase has more passing touchdowns (six) in two games than 102 of the 123 FBS teams. He also has thrown for 728 yards, more than 116 of 123 FBS teams through week 2.
• Scheelhaase's 728 yards are the most in Illinois' first two games of a season since Jason Verduzco passed for 783 yards in the first two games of 1991. Scheelhaase also has six passing touchdowns, equaling the school record for most TD passes in the first two games of a season shared by Juice Williams (2008) and Kurt Kittner (2000).
• Senior LB and Butkus Award candiate Jonathan Brown leads the Big Ten and ranks 14th nationally in tackles (11.5 tpg). Brown had 14 stops against Cincinnati, a B1G single-game high this season.
• Washington leads the all-time series with the Illini by a 5-4 margin, but the teams haven't met since 1972. The two programs are 2-2 in games played in Champaign, while Washington holds a 3-1 margin in Seattle. The Illini notched a 17-7 win in the 1964 Rose Bowl. Illinois will travel to Seattle in the third week of 2014 for a Sept. 13 tilt at Husky Stadium.
• This year is the 50th anniversary of Illinois' 1964 Rose Bowl victory over the Huskies, an Illini squad that was led by Chicago-born Illini legends Dick Butkus and Jim Grabowski. Washington took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter, but Illinois' defense took over and the Illini managed touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters for the 17-7 final score. Grabowski earned MVP honors, finishing with 125 yards and a touchdown.
#Illini defeated Washington in '64 @rosebowlgame, 17-7. In the 50th anniversary @illinifootball hoping for repeat Sat, Sep 14 at @SoldierField. http://pic.twitter.com/otoTCpKtgA
You can read our pregame notes by clicking here.
2012 Bowl Season overview
Posted on December 19, 2012. Filed under: Football, NCAA Sports | Tags: 2012 Bowl Season overview, 2012 bowls, 2012-13 College Football Bowl TV Schedule, Alabama, Alamo, Baylor, BCS Championship Game, Big Ten, Capital One, Chick-fil-A, Clemson, Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, florida, Florida State, football bowls, Gator, Georgia, Kansas State, Louisville, LSU, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Orange Bowl, Oregon, Oregon State, Pac-12, Rose Bowl, Stanford, Sugar Bowl, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, Wisconsin |
And now the best regular season in sports gives way to the worst postseason in sports. Bowl season is upon us. And it is a mess of unprecedented proportion.
Mark Richt and the Bulldogs are headed to the Capital One Bowl to face Nebraska. (AP) Yeah, the BCS championship game is awesome. Notre Dame vs. Alabama is a sports fan's dream. And a sports writer's dream. And a TV executive's dream, too. The ratings will be absurd.
The Fiesta Bowl is great, too. If not for the night of Nov. 17, Oregon-Kansas State might have been the national championship game. But after that? It's a joke.
Bowl season is always a mess because the bowl system is a ridiculous, unsatisfying conclusion to the college football season. Bad matchups, long layoffs, too many 6-6 teams, coaching turnover and decisions designed to make money, not sense, shortchange the fans.
Three teams in BCS bowls that aren't ranked in the AP top 15. Take a bow, Northern Illinois (16th), Louisville (22nd) and Wisconsin (unranked). You don't have to apologize for appearing in marquee bowls like the Orange, Sugar and Rose – but we don't have to pretend we're happy you're there, either. Who is excited for Florida State-Northern Illinois in the Orange? I mean, other than nobody? NIU must take 17,500 tickets for the game, but its season average attendance is 15,670. Enjoy that vat of red ink you're diving into, Huskies.
Making that game even more enticing is the fact that NIU coach Dave Doeren left the school faster than Kim Kardashian left Kris Humphries. He went from winning the Mid-American Conference championship game Friday night to being announced as the new coach at North Carolina State Saturday afternoon. He won't be around for the Orange Bowl, with the Huskies promoting offensive coordinator Rod Carey to head coach.
The Florida-Louisville matchup in the Sugar Bowl might yet feature an interim coach of the Cardinals. Charlie Strong reportedly has interviewed for both the Auburn and Tennessee jobs, although he has denied both reports. Even if he's still coaching Louisville, his team is far less impressive than some that were kicked to the BCS curb – namely Oklahoma.
Then there's the mockery that the Big Ten has perpetrated all season, culminating with the 8-5 Badgers showing up in the Rose Bowl.
Are you setting the DVR for East Carolina vs. Louisiana-Lafayette in the New Orleans Bowl? How about canceling all plans with the significant other because you just can't miss Rice and Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl? Won't sit down to Christmas Eve dinner until the Hawaii Bowl between SMU and Fresno State is over? Well, we're with you. Here are all 35 bowls, ranked from absolute must-see TV to must-see-a-psychiatrist if it's on your TV:
1. BCS Championship Game (Jan. 7, Miami): Notre Dame (12-0) vs. Alabama (12-1) We're not going to lie: There's a good chance this isn't a shootout. But this should be a great game between two hard-nosed teams with great defenses, and there's a heck of a lot of history among the two programs, too.
2. Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 3, Glendale, Ariz.): Oregon (11-1) vs. Kansas State (11-1) This is a game of old-school football vs. new-school football. Kansas State will try to pound the ball with quarterback Collin Klein while Oregon will use a bunch of different weapons to keep the Wildcats on their toes.
3. Cotton Bowl (Jan. 4, Arlington, Texas): Texas A&M (10-2) vs. Oklahoma (10-2) It's not A&M and Texas, but it's a matchup of former Big 12 rivals. In terms of quarterbacks, one team had a potential Heisman candidate and the other has this year's probable winner. ]
4. Chick-fil-A (Dec. 31, Atlanta): LSU (10-2) vs. Clemson (10-2) These are two teams that could have been in BCS bowls were it not for ill-timed losses. Even though it's not a BCS bowl, it's still one of the best games on the docket. Clemson brings the offense while LSU brings the defense. This one should be fun.
5. Sugar Bowl (Jan. 2, New Orleans): Florida (11-1) vs. Louisville (10-2) This could be a great matchup of agile quarterbacks, but if Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater isn't healthy, this game could be a blowout.
6. Rose Bowl (Jan. 1, Pasadena, Calif.): Stanford (11-2) vs. Wisconsin (8-5) If you're a traditionalist, this game between the Big Ten and Pac-12 champions is gold. Wisconsin comes in after thrashing Nebraska in the Big Ten championship game, while Stanford has been consistently strong all season. [Related: Oregon vs. Kansas State in Fiesta Bowl is intriguing]
7. Holiday (Dec. 27, San Diego): UCLA (9-4) vs. Baylor (7-5) Pac-12 runner-up UCLA should have nice crowd support for this bowl, and it may be a wild game against a Baylor team that ranks first in FBS in total offense and 119th in total defense.
8. Alamo (Dec. 29, San Antonio): Texas (8-4) vs. Oregon State (9-3) Oregon State had one of the best turnarounds in the country going from 3-9 to 9-3 and has been one of the most entertaining teams to watch this season. As for Texas, you never know what you're going to get or who's going to be quarterbacking it. Still, this could end up being a great, tightly contested game.
9. Capital One (Jan. 1, Orlando): Georgia (11-2) vs. Nebraska (10-3) This game had the potential to be one of the best of the bowl season, but Nebraska's lackluster performance against Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship might have ruined it. Georgia expended a lot of energy in the SEC title game against Alabama and despite a fantastic season, has no BCS bowl to show for it. This is a poor substitute. (US Presswire)
10. Outback (Jan. 1, Tampa): South Carolina (10-2) vs. Michigan (8-4) Both teams had preseason Heisman Trophy candidates and neither worked out, but both programs remained solid despite adversity. Michigan's Denard Robinson is one of the more exciting players on the field this bowl season.
11. Orange Bowl (Jan. 1, Miami): Florida State (11-2) vs. Northern Illinois (12-1) Many don't think NIU deserved a BCS bowl berth and they're probably right, but the Huskies might be more motivated to play the game than Florida State. Both teams will be missing a coach in this game — NIU head coach Dave Doeren took the N.C. State job while FSU defensive coordinator Mark Stoops took the head-coaching job at Kentucky.
12. Gator (Jan. 1, Jacksonville, Fla.): Northwestern (9-3) vs. Mississippi State (8-4) Northwestern is having an exceptional season while Mississippi State is trying to end on a high note. The Wildcats exceeded expectations and have a chance to win 10 games for the first time since 1995. Mississippi State started 7-0, but won just one game down the stretch.
13. Las Vegas (Dec. 22, Las Vegas): Boise State (10-2) vs. Washington (7-5) Boise State, having narrowly missed out on a BCS bid, is going for a Las Vegas Bowl win for the third straight season against a Washington team that has wins against Stanford and Oregon State.
14. Idaho Potato (Dec. 15, Boise, Idaho): Utah State (10-2) vs. Toledo (9-3) Utah State is a balanced, solid team that does just about everything well. Its only two losses came at Wisconsin and at BYU by five combined points. USU will face a Toledo team that lost two of its last three but is still potent.
15. Military (Dec. 27, Washington, D.C.): San Jose State (10-2) vs. Bowling Green (8-4) San Jose State took Stanford to the wire in a three-point loss, a sign of things to come for the Spartans, and they get a tough test against Bowling Green, which ranks in the top 10 nationally in yards allowed and points allowed.
16. GoDaddy.com (Jan. 6. Mobile, Ala.): Kent State (11-2) vs. Arkansas State (9-3) This is actually a good game if you like offense. Both of these teams can put points on the board early and often, and if you like running backs, Kent State's Dri Archer is one of the best.
17. Buffalo Wild Wings (Dec. 29, Tempe, Ariz.): TCU (7-5) vs. Michigan State (6-6) TCU fared well for its first season in the Big 12 while Michigan State was a disappointment. Both of these teams had their worst seasons since 2007 and '09 respectively.
18. New Mexico (Dec. 15, Albuquerque, N.M.): Nevada (7-5) vs. Arizona (7-5) The first matchup of the bowl season should be entertaining. Nevada is 105th in total defense in FBS, but that's still better than Arizona, which is 116th. Points will be plentiful.
19. Poinsettia (Dec. 20, San Diego): BYU (7-5) vs. San Diego State (9-3) The meeting between a pair of old Mountain West rivals pits a BYU team that rode its strong defense to seven wins against an Aztecs team that won its last seven games.
20. Music City (Dec. 31, Nashville): N.C. State (7-5) vs. Vanderbilt (8-4) Vanderbilt overachieved while N.C. State underachieved and ultimately fired its coach. A win would give Vandy nine wins for the first time since 1982.
21. Pinstripe (Dec. 29, Bronx, N.Y.): Syracuse (7-5) vs. West Virginia (7-5) Both of these teams are among the best passing programs in the country and both play little defense. That should make for a high-scoring and highly entertaining game.
22. Liberty (Dec. 31, Memphis): Tulsa (10-3) vs. Iowa State (6-6) These two teams played in the season opener and Iowa State came away with a 38-23 win. Tulsa should give the Cyclones a better game this time around.
23. Russell Athletic (Dec. 28, Orlando, Fla.): Rutgers (9-3) vs. Virginia Tech (6-6) The Scarlet Knights are probably disappointed to land here after blowing a chance for a BCS game in the season finale, and Virginia Tech's whole season has been a disappointment with just six wins.
24. Kraft Fight Hunger (Dec. 29, San Francisco): Navy (7-4) vs. Arizona State (7-5) These programs are moving in two different directions. ASU had a rough second half of the season while Navy thrived after a rough start. Arizona State will need the month to prepare for Navy's option.
25. Independence (Dec. 28, Shreveport, La.): Louisiana-Monroe (8-4) vs. Ohio (8-4) Lousiana-Monroe, whose upset of Arkansas was a great story early this season, will play in a bowl for the first time in program history. It will face an Ohio team that was ranked for the first time since 1968 at midseason but lost its last three games, all by double digits.
26. Compass (Jan. 5, Birmingham, Ala.): Pittsburgh (6-6) vs. Ole Miss (6-6) Both of these teams came on late to make a push to get to six wins and both will be eager to finish with a winning season in the first year for both Pittsburgh coach Paul Chryst and Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze.
27. Belk (Dec. 27, Charlotte, N.C.): Duke (6-6) vs. Cincinnati (9-3) The Blue Devils are back in a bowl for the first time since 1994, but come in on a four-game losing streak and face a Bearcats team that is 12th in the nation in scoring defense.
28. Beef 'O' Brady's (Dec. 21, St. Petersburg, Fla.): Ball State (9-3) vs. UCF (9-4) Ball State was 3-3 before an overtime win sparked a six-game winning streak, and it will face a UCF team that lost a shot at the C-USA title in a heartbreaking overtime loss to Tulsa on Saturday.
29. Hawaii (Dec. 24, Honolulu): SMU (6-6) vs. Fresno State (9-3) Coach Tim DeRuyter's first season with the Bulldogs resulted in a share of the Mountain West title, and Fresno State will go against an SMU team that got a win in its season finale against Tulsa to get eligible.
30. Sun (Dec. 31, El Paso, Texas): USC (7-5) vs. Georgia Tech (6-7) This is not where anyone expected USC to be at the end of the season and playing a team with a losing record is almost insult to injury. USC was supposed to be playing for the national title while Georgia Tech lost in its conference championship game and needed an exemption waiver by the NCAA.
31. Heart of Dallas (Jan. 1, Dallas): Purdue (6-6) vs. Oklahoma State (7-5) Oklahoma State is unlike any team Purdue has faced this season with its up-tempo style and ability to put points on the board quickly. Purdue will be without its head coach Danny Hope, which might leave the Boilermakers uninspired.
32. Meineke Car Care of Texas (Dec. 28, Houston): Minnesota (6-6) vs. Texas Tech (7-5) Texas Tech is second in the nation in passing offense, but its defense slipped after a great start to the season. Minnesota fattened up its record before conference play, then got bowl eligible despite going 2-6 in Big Ten play.
33. New Orleans (Dec. 22, New Orleans): East Carolina (8-4) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (8-4) East Carolina won five of its last six games, and will be going against a Louisiana-Lafayette team that beat San Diego State in last year's New Orleans Bowl on a field goal as time expired.
34. Armed Forces (Dec. 29, Fort Worth, Texas): Rice (6-6) vs. Air Force (6-6) Air Force knows this bowl well, as it is the Falcons' fourth appearance in the game in six years, while Rice is in just its third bowl game since 1961. It's just hard to get too excited for a game between a pair of .500 teams.
35. Little Caesars Pizza (Dec. 26, Detroit): Western Kentucky (7-5) vs. Central Michigan (6-6) Central Michigan was like the final at-large team to get into the NCAA tournament, with a 6-6 record after a 3-6 start. Western Kentucky was barely in the field, too, losing three straight before a one-point win against North Texas in the finale.
2012-13 College Football Bowl TV Schedule
Note: All times Eastern Time (ET). All games except for the Hyundai Sun Bowl and AT&T Cotton Bowl are also available at WatchESPN.
Gildan New Mexico – Nevada vs. Arizona, University Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico Saturday, December 15, 1:00 p.m., ESPN
Famous Idaho Potato – Toledo vs. Utah State, Bronco Stadium, Boise, Idaho, Saturday, December 15, 4:30 p.m., ESPN
S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia – BYU vs. San Diego State, Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California, Thursday, December 20, 8:00 p.m., ESPN
Beef 'O' Brady's St. Petersburg – UCF vs. Ball State, Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida, Friday, December 21, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
R+L Carriers New Orleans – East Carolina vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, Saturday, December 22, 12:00 p.m., ESPN
MAACO Las Vegas – Washington vs. Boise State, Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada, Saturday, December 22, 3:30 p.m., ESPN
Sheraton Hawaii – Fresno State vs. SMU, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii, Monday, December 24, 8:00 p.m., ESPN
Little Caesars Pizza – Western Kentucky vs. Central Michigan, Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan, Wednesday, December 26, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman – San Jose State vs. Bowling Green, RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C., Thursday, December 27, 3:00 p.m., ESPN
Belk – Cincinnati vs. Duke, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina, Thursday, December 27, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
Bridgepoint Education Holiday – Baylor vs. UCLA, Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California, Thursday, December 27, 9:45 p.m., ESPN
AdvoCare V100 Independence – Ohio vs. Louisiana-Monroe, Independence Stadium, Shreveport, Louisiana, Friday, December 28, 2:00 p.m., ESPN
Russell Athletic – Rutgers vs. Virginia Tech, Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida, Friday, December 28, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
Meineke Car Care of Texas – Minnesota vs. Texas Tech, Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas, Friday, December 28, 9:00 p.m., ESPN
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces – Rice vs. Air Force, Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday, December 29, 11:45 a.m., ESPN
New Era Pinstripe – West Virginia vs. Syracuse, Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York, Saturday, December 29, 3:15 p.m., ESPN
Kraft Fight Hunger – Navy vs. Arizona State, AT&T Park, San Francisco, California, Saturday, December 29, 4:00 p.m., ESPN2
Valero Alamo – Texas vs. Oregon State, Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, Saturday, December 29, 6:45 p.m., ESPN
Buffalo Wild Wings – TCU vs. Michigan State, Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona, Saturday, December 29, 10:15 p.m., ESPN
Franklin American Mortgage Music City – North Carolina State vs. Vanderbilt, LP Field, Nashville, Tennessee, Monday, December 31, 12:00 p.m., ESPN
Hyundai Sun – USC vs. Georgia Tech, Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas, Monday, December 31, 2:00 p.m., CBS
AutoZone Liberty – Iowa State vs. Tulsa, Liberty Bowl, Memphis, Tennessee, Monday, December 31, 3:30 p.m., ESPN
Chick-fil-A – LSU vs. Clemson, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia, Monday, December 31, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
TaxSlayer.com Gator – Mississippi State vs. Northwestern, Everbank Field, Jacksonville, Florida, Tuesday, January 1, 12:00 p.m., ESPN2
Heart of Dallas – Purdue vs. Oklahoma State, Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas, Tuesday, January 1, 12:00 p.m., ESPNU
Outback – South Carolina vs. Michigan, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida, Tuesday, January 1, 1:00 p.m., ESPN
Capital One – Georgia vs. Nebraska, Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida, Tuesday, January 1, 1:00 p.m., ABC
Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio – Wisconsin vs. Stanford, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California, Tuesday, January 1, 5:00 p.m., ESPN
Discover Orange – Northern Illinois vs. Florida State, Sun Life Stadium, Miami, Florida, Tuesday, January 1, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
Allstate Sugar – Louisville vs. Florida, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, Wednesday, January 2, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
Tostitos Fiesta – Oregon vs. Kansas State, University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona, Thursday, January 3, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
AT&T Cotton – Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma, Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas, Friday, January 4, 8:00 p.m., FOX
BBVA Compass – Pittsburgh vs. Ole Miss, Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama, Saturday, January 5, 1:00 p.m., ESPN
GoDaddy.com – Kent State vs. Arkansas State, Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Alabama, Sunday, January 6, 9:00 p.m., ESPN
Discover BCS National Championship – Notre Dame vs. Alabama, Sun Life Stadium, Miami, Florida, Monday, January 7, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
College-Football-Playoffs
Posted on June 29, 2012. Filed under: Football, NCAA Sports, Sports Business | Tags: ACC, Amateur Sports, Amateur Sports Magazine, Amateur Sports News Network, AmateurSports365, ASNN, ASNN365, BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock, bcs is gone, BCS Presidential Oversight Committee, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, College Football Playoffs, college playoffs, football playoffs, ncaa playoffs, Pac-12, Pres Ro, Prez Ro, SEC, Wetzel: Death to BCS |
College Football Playoffs are here
The best way to determine a major college football champion seemed so obvious to so many for so long. Just have a playoff.
Now the people in charge of making that decision are on board, too.
Come 2014, the BCS is out. Playoffs are in.
Now it's a reality.
No. 1 will play No. 4, and No. 2 will play No. 3 on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The sites of those games will rotate among six bowls. The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, is guaranteed a spot, and the to-be-determined site of the newly formed bowl created by the SEC and Big 12 is likely to be another.
To read further visit www.amateursports365.com/ncaa/2012-College-Football-Playoff.html
Be sure to bookmark our site, as well as follow us on Twitter at @ASNN365 (like us also on Facebook – @ASNN365).
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text:
Loughborough University Institutional Repository > Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering > PhD Theses (Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering) >
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/7617
Title: An examination of the response of East Asian lacquer films to changes in environmental conditions
Authors: Elmahdy, Adel E.
Publisher: © Adel E. Elmahdy
Abstract: This work addresses the material properties and behaviour of Japanese lacquers (urushi) coatings similar to those found on the Mazarin Chest, an important Japanese lacquerware artefact currently displayed in the Toshiba Gallery of Japanese Art at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London. For almost four centuries, the Mazarin Chest has been displayed in uncontrolled environmental conditions and has been exposed to a range of lighting conditions. As a result, the Mazarin Chest has deteriorated and started to suffer from different kinds of damage. However, the optimal conservation approach to repairing this damage is not known and as a consequence, research on urushi and related materials is of great interest. For the first time, the effect of changing relative humidity (RH) on the response of urushi is investigated by examining the deflection of a glass substrate coated with a thin film of urushi. Phase shifting interferometry was employed to measure this deflection, from which the in-plane stress developed in the system due to the expansion mismatch in the bilayer was calculated. This was performed for aged (exposed to ultra-violet radiation) and non- aged urushi films. The film stress was observed over 66 hrs under 30%, 36% and 42% RH, while the stress response was observed over 7 hrs during exposure to 60%, 54% and 48% RH. During exposure to 30%, 36% and 42% RH and for both non-aged and aged urushi films, tensile in-plane stress was observed. It was seen to reach a peak value then relax over a longer time scale. The stresses develop in the non-aged urushi films were found to be higher than the stresses developed in the aged urushi films. The peak stress values for non-aged and aged urushi films were found to increase when increasing the difference between the storage RH (75%) and the target RH. When the non-aged and aged urushi films were subjected to a step change from low RH (30%, 36% and 42%) to high RH (60%, 54% and 48% RH), a compression inplane stress was observed and in this case, the aged urushi films exhibited higher stresses than those developed in non-aged urushi films. II To predict the behaviour of the urushi films, a simple 1D model of stress has been proposed. It shows reasonable agreement against the experimental stress measurements when the RH changes from 75% to 30%, 36% and 42% respectively, for both nonaged and aged urushi films. Furthermore, the model is extended to predict the stress response as a function of depth for non-aged urushi layers above an aged layer. For both the upper urushi layer (non-aged) and the lower urushi layer (aged), the model suggests that decreasing the layer depth results in an increase in the stress levels. In addition to the stress response measurements and in order to fully characterise the mechanics of urushi, mechanical properties were determined for non-aged and aged urushi films under different RH levels. These including the moisture diffusion coefficients, the elastic modulus, the tensile strength at break, the elongation at break, and the viscoelastic properties. The moisture diffusion coefficients were determined from the sorption and desorption curves when urushi films, non-aged and aged, subjected to step changes in RH. The results showed that the moisture diffusion coefficients were independent of the moisture content for non-aged and aged urushi. A strong dependence of the elastic modulus and the elongation at failure on the RH has been observed for non-aged and aged urushi films. At all strain rates used and as the RH increases, a significant reduction in tensile elastic modulus and an increase in the elongation at failure were observed. As a result of the UV ageing, no plastic deformation was observed in the stress-strain curves at any RH or tensile speeds. Creep recovery behaviours of non-aged and aged urushi under 30%, 50% and 75% RH and different stress levels were studied. The overall deformation levels at 75% RH for non-aged films were found to be higher than that at 30% RH and the aged films exhibited less stiffness. This trend reflects the strong influence of water, as a plasticizer, on urushi films. The variation of the elastic recovery with the applied stress and the RH for non-aged and aged urushi films were determined from the recovery behaviour. The results showed that the amount of elastic recovery at 30% RH for non-aged urushi was higher III than that for aged urushi films at all stress values. At 50% RH and 75% RH, the aged urushi films recovered to a greater degree than non-aged urushi films. The 4-element Burger"s model was used for quantitative characterisation of the creep recovery curves to determine the viscoelastic properties for urushi films and their dependence on the RH and UV ageing. It was found that the RH has a strong effect on the viscoelastic properties for both non-aged and aged urushi films. A significant decrease in these parameters has been observed when the RH has been increased suggesting that the films tend to become soft as a result of the high mobility of the molecular chains under elevated RH. We have proposed a methodology to identify the effectiveness of the Japanese traditional consolidation processes that are used to consolidate the formation of microcracks on lacquerware surfaces. A rectangular aluminium substrate, covered with a thin film of aged urushi, was mechanically loaded using three point bending device and the in-plane urushi surface displacement profile was obtained through phase shifting digital speckle pattern interferometry (DSPI). A comparison of the displacement profiles before and after creating a "v" notch along the film showed an anomalous profile around the notch. While after consolidate the notch, no anomaly in the displacement profiles were observed. The potential for DSPI to play a key role in investigating consolidation mechanics has been demonstrated with the detection of the surface displacement around a notch before and after consolidation.
Description: A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.
URI: https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/7617
Appears in Collections: PhD Theses (Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering)
Files associated with this item:
Thesis-2010-Elmahdy.pdf 8.97 MB Adobe PDF View/Open
Form-2010-Elmahdy.pdf 1.5 MB Adobe PDF View/Open


A wide selection of low to medium efficiency disposable filters made of fiberglass and polyester. Polyester coated with adhesive is also available. These filters are supplied with a cardboard or wire frame. They are designed for air filtration in any type of HVAC system.
Disposable filters are made of progressive density synthetic microfibers in sturdy cardboard frames. Media and frame are thermosealed to prevent air bypass. This type of filter is perfect for either residential or light commercial applications. The frame features a notch at each end in order to stack filters more efficiently in their box, saving about 33% of the space required for storage, shipping and handling.
POLY PLUS Disposable filters are available in a variety of standard and non standard sizes, in thicknesses of 1/2", 1" and 2".
TA CELL Disposable filters are available in a variety of standard and non standard sizes, in thicknesses of 1/2", 1" and 2".
DC 20 filters are strong and durable. Two pieces of flameproof cardboard are interlocked and sealed to prevent air bypass. Filtration is ensured by fiberglass media. On the air entry side, fibers are looser, becoming tighter as they get closer to air output, which increases dust retention capacity and retains the smallest particulate. These commercial grade filters, which can be equally used in commercial or industrial environments, help prevent dust accumulation in coils, vents and other air conditioning and ventilation system components.
DC 20 disposable filters are available in a variety of standard sizes, in 1" and 2" thickness. Non-standard sizes are also available upon request.
All DC 20 disposable filters are UL and ULC class 2 approved. Suggested maximum operating temperature: 200°F (92°C).
LAB 09 DC filters are strong and durable. Two pieces of fire resistant cardboard are interlocked and glued to prevent air bypass. Filtration is ensured by synthetic media. On the air entry side, fibres are looser, becoming tighter as they get closer to air output, which increases dust retention capacity and retains the smallest particles. Commercial grade filters, which can be equally used in commercial or industrial environments, help prevent dust accumulation in coils, vents and other air conditioning and ventilation system components.
LAB 09 DC disposable filters are available in a variety of standard sizes, in thicknesses of 1" and 2". Non standard sizes are also available upon request.
All LAB 09 DC disposable filters are UL and ULC approved and meet Class 2 criteria. Suggested maximum operating temperature: 92°C (200¼°F).
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The P.S.B.T. filter is made of one layer of dry polyester and one layer of tackified polyester, solidly glued together on a wire frame. These filters are available in standard and non-standard sizes.
DB filters are made of two layers of high-density synthetic fiber on a wire frame for better support. First, a dry layer traps large and medium size particles upon entry. Then a tacky layer retains the smallest particles upon exit. This filter panel offers superior air quality in a number of operating conditions. In addition, these panels are designed to resist humidity. The two layers of media are sewn all around to prevent any air bypass along the frame.
Features: This type of filter is particularly economical in terms of storage as it offers much greater compressibility compared to regular filters. DB filters are easily installed in 1-inch and 2-inch slots. They require no fastening devices as they are interconnected.
Humidity resistant filter media with self-sealing contour. DBL filters are made of two layers of high-density synthetic fiber on a wire frame for better support. First, a dry layer traps large and medium size particles upon entry. Then a tacky layer retains the smallest particles upon exit. This filter panel offers superior air quality in a number of operating conditions. The two layers of media are sewn all around to prevent any air bypass along the frame.
Features: This type of filter is particularly economical in terms of storage as it offers much greater compressibility compared to regular filters. DBL filters are easily installed in 1-inch and 2-inch slots. They require no fastening devices as they are interconnected.
Designed to facilitate installation and to prevent particle infiltration, they are available in two categories: - single panel (DB) - interconnected panels.


text:
import { expect } from 'chai';

import { cert, deleteApp, initializeApp } from 'firebase-admin/app';
import { getAppCheck, AppCheck } from 'firebase-admin/app-check';
import { getAuth, Auth } from 'firebase-admin/auth';
import { getDatabase, getDatabaseWithUrl, ServerValue } from 'firebase-admin/database';
import { getFirestore, DocumentReference, Firestore, FieldValue } from 'firebase-admin/firestore';
import { getFunctions } from 'firebase-admin/functions';
import { getInstanceId, InstanceId } from 'firebase-admin/instance-id';
import { getMachineLearning, MachineLearning } from 'firebase-admin/machine-learning';
import { getMessaging, Messaging } from 'firebase-admin/messaging';
import { getProjectManagement, ProjectManagement } from 'firebase-admin/project-management';
import { getRemoteConfig, RemoteConfig } from 'firebase-admin/remote-config';
import { getSecurityRules, SecurityRules } from 'firebase-admin/security-rules';
import { getStorage, Storage } from 'firebase-admin/storage';

describe('ESM entry points', () => {
  let app;

  before(() => {
    app = initializeApp({
      credential: cert('mock.key.json'),
      databaseURL: 'https://mock.firebaseio.com'
    }, 'TestApp');
  });

  after(() => {
    return deleteApp(app);
  });

  it('Should return an initialized App', () => {
    expect(app.name).to.equal('TestApp');
  });

  it('Should return an AppCheck client', () => {
    const client = getAppCheck(app);
    expect(client).to.be.instanceOf(AppCheck);
  });

  it('Should return an Auth client', () => {
    const client = getAuth(app);
    expect(client).to.be.instanceOf(Auth);
  });

  it('Should return a Messaging client', () => {
    const client = getMessaging(app);
    expect(client).to.be.instanceOf(Messaging);
  });

  it('Should return a ProjectManagement client', () => {
    const client = getProjectManagement(app);
    expect(client).to.be.instanceOf(ProjectManagement);
  });

  it('Should return a SecurityRules client', () => {
    const client = getSecurityRules(app);
    expect(client).to.be.instanceOf(SecurityRules);
  });

  it('Should return a Database client', () => {
    const db = getDatabase(app);
    expect(db).to.be.not.undefined;
    expect(typeof db.getRules).to.equal('function');
  });

  it('Should return a Database client for URL', () => {
    const db = getDatabaseWithUrl('https://other-mock.firebaseio.com', app);
    expect(db).to.be.not.undefined;
    expect(typeof db.getRules).to.equal('function');
  });

  it('Should return a Database ServerValue', () => {
    expect(ServerValue.increment(1)).to.be.not.undefined;
  });

  it('Should return a Cloud Storage client', () => {
    const storage = getStorage(app);
    expect(storage).to.be.instanceOf(Storage)
    const bucket = storage.bucket('TestBucket');
    expect(bucket.name).to.equal('TestBucket');
  });

  it('Should return a Firestore client', () => {
    const firestore = getFirestore(app);
    expect(firestore).to.be.instanceOf(Firestore);
  });

  it('Should return a Firestore FieldValue', () => {
    expect(FieldValue.increment(1)).to.be.not.undefined;
  });

  it('Should return a DocumentReference', () => {
    const ref = getFirestore(app).collection('test').doc();
    expect(ref).to.be.instanceOf(DocumentReference);
  });

  it('Should return a Functions client', () => {
    const fn = getFunctions(app);
    expect(fn).to.be.not.undefined;
    expect(typeof fn.taskQueue).to.equal('function');
  });

  it('Should return an InstanceId client', () => {
    const client = getInstanceId(app);
    expect(client).to.be.instanceOf(InstanceId);
  });

  it('Should return a MachineLearning client', () => {
    const client = getMachineLearning(app);
    expect(client).to.be.instanceOf(MachineLearning);
  });

  it('Should return a RemoteConfig client', () => {
    const client = getRemoteConfig(app);
    expect(client).to.be.instanceOf(RemoteConfig);
  });
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Fire Down Below (1957)
When it runs it's a good little boat. U.S. expatriates Tony (Jack Lemmon) and Felix (Robert Mitchum) cruise around the ocean and eke out a meager subsistence using their small tramp boat to transport cargo around the Caribbean islands in between drinking sessions. When they take on the job of smuggling illegal-immigrant beauty Irena (Rita Hayworth) to another island (from nowhere to nowhere), they find their friendship torn apart by their mutual romantic feelings toward her and a betrayal occurs. After the authorities are on his tail he takes a job on cargo ship Ulysses but gets trapped below deck following a collision and time is running out … What a country America is, everything even rebellion. Irwin Shaw's adaptation of Max Catto's 1954 novel is a fantastic star vehicle with sparky characters, ripe and eloquent dialogue – there are real zingers about Americans abroad and the world of men and women. Well, Shaw knew all about all of that good stuff. Some fantastic setpieces include numerous musical sequences (the harmonica theme was written by Lemmon while the title song is performed by Jeri Southern) and a fiery conflagration to bring things to a head. He and Mitchum have a friendship that is curdled by love for the mysterious Hayworth who is as usual much better when she's required to move rather than stand still and emote. Lemmon is fine as the cuckold but Mitchum and Hayworth have really great scenes together – after dancing in a huge crowd she returns to their table purring at him, That was wonderful. Wasn't it, he deadpans back to her. There's a universe of understanding between them. Herbert Lom shows up as the harbour master, Bernard Lee is a doctor, Anthony Newley is a bartender, producer Albert Broccoli makes a cameo as a drug smuggler, there's a gunfight at sea and best of all there are three stars doing what they do best in their inimical and idiosyncratic style. Fantastically entertaining. Mitchum would not only make his next film in the Caribbean (Heaven Knows Mr Allison) he recorded a calypso album! Directed on location in Trinidad and Tobago by Robert Parrish. I'm so sad that little dogs howl in desperation when they see me
About elainelennon
An occasional movie-watching diary.
View all posts by elainelennon
by elainelennon
filed under 1950s, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Atmospheric, Bars, Battle of the sexes, Betrayal, Boats, Caribbean, Cinematography, Colour, Costume, Dance, Desire, Doctors, Drama, Drinks, Drugs, Editing, Exotic, Explosion, Femininity, Fire, Friendship, Guns, Islands, Jealousy, Landscape, Marine, Masculinity, Medical, Music, Police, Production design, Psychological, Race against time, Restaurant, Rivalry, Robert Mitchum, Romance, Scenic, Screenwriters, Ships, Smuggling, Songs, Soundtrack, Suspense, Titles, Travelogue, Widescreen, Woman in jeopardy
One response to "Fire Down Below (1957)"
Paul S ⋅
I caught this on the BBC a couple of years ago, very enjoyable.
The Two-Headed Spy (1958)
Gunpoint (1966)


Home Off Beat	3D Wooden Sphere Puzzle – Rubik's Cousin!
3D Wooden Sphere Puzzle – Rubik's Cousin!
For the ones who have mastered the art of putting the same colors together on the Rubik's cube would be happy to know that we have just raised the bar a little. Now you do what you do so well with this 3D wooden sphere puzzle where you will have to move the same colored balls to one side on each of the four faces. A center ring will enable the ball displacement from one chamber to the next but we would have you know that each ball displaced reconfigures each chamber! Priced at $7.98, the game has just been kicked up a notch and if you can master this, all we can say is, Heil You!


text:
Epitranus emissicius är en stekelart som beskrevs av Wallace A. Steffan 1957. Epitranus emissicius ingår i släktet Epitranus och familjen bredlårsteklar.

Artens utbredningsområde är Elfenbenskusten. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Bredlårsteklar
emissicius


text:
SoM Staff Roundtable: Inter Midseason Recap
The writing crew looks back on a so far successful start to the Simone Inzaghi era
By David McFarland, InterPool, Mariog77, Josh Suttr, and Michael McDuffie Dec 29, 2021, 3:00pm CET
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Simone Inzaghi — new manager of FC Internazionale — celebrates the 1-0 victory with Milan Skriniar and Stefan de Vrij as well as new signings Edin Dzeko and Denzel Dumfries following the final whistle of the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Torino FC at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on December 22, 2021 in Milan, Italy
Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images
With the midway point of Inter's 2021/22 campaign officially upon us, we took the opportunity to convene the SoM staff and look back on the season so far. We talk about our season MVPs so far, who needs to improve, what our expectations for the remainder of the season are, and more.
Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images
We're now five months into the Simone Inzaghi era. What have been your early takeaways from his tenure? What's surprised you the most so far?
David: I'll be honest, I thought a Scudetto push was pretty much out of the question back in August. Losing Lukaku, Hakimi, and Eriksen in one summer seemed like too big a blow to recover from, and that wasn't even considering the possible friction a coaching change might have caused. But Inzaghi has blown my expectations out of the water, and then some. He's managed to soften the blow of what would have been huge weaknesses under Conte (no Lukaku or Hakimi) thanks to his more expansive tactics and key contributions from the entire squad. There were a few concerning moments in the first month or so of the campaign but Inzaghi has adapted and come up with the fix each time of asking. Perhaps the clearest sign of changing times was that Inter finally escaped the Champions League group stage and even went into the final matchday with advancement secured. So far, so good.
InterPool: The biggest takeaway for me has been learning the differences between Inzaghi and his predecessor. Considering how Inzaghi's preferred system is built around the same 3-5-2 formation, as soon as he was appointed it appeared to be the perfect choice for "Conte-nuity" to build on the rock-solid Scudetto-conquering foundation left behind by the "Serial Winner" manager. What surprised me, however, was how Inzaghi's tactical philosophy is significantly less similar to Conte's than I expected. Specifically, Inzaghi tends to be more aggressive — not only in terms of a more possession-based attacking approach but ALSO in terms of his "in-game management" by making more proactive substitutions earlier within matches.
Mario: So far Inzaghi has been excellent. He has managed to bring a winning team to the next level, something that is extremely hard to do in the first season. Inzaghi has managed to get just as many points as Conte did last year, in a convincing fashion. He has the team firing from all cylinders despite losing two of our most important players, Lukaku and Hakimi. To make things better, he managed to put us through to the knockout rounds of the Champions League, something Inter has not managed to do in as long as I can remember.
Josh: As someone who didn't start following and rooting for Inter until the Antonio Conte era, it's been a history lesson. How Inzaghi has deployed this version of Inter Milan is a more classic representation of the Italian giants. That's not me trying to diminish the Conte era at all, Conte remains one of my favorite managers to root for. It's simply me saying I'm enjoying this version of Inter and find it to be something that is sustainable long-term.
Michael: So far, Simone Inzaghi has proved himself to be the real deal. In Serie A and in the Champions League, his Inter are scoring more and conceding less with an attractive and free-flowing style of play. We know the stories of the departures, but it is their replacements that have largely made everyone forget about the near catastrophe of a summer. His transformation of Hakan Calhanoglu has to be one of the biggest revitalizations at the club since Luciano Spaletti put Marcelo Brozovic on a track to become one of the best registas in the world. Edin Dzeko has set out to prove Roma wrong with 16 goal contributions in all competitions so far. Now recently, Denzel Dumfries has rounded into a serious threat on the right. This team is extremely likable, extremely talented, and extremely fun to watch.
Photo by Mattia Ozbot - Inter/Inter via Getty Images
Have any players stood out to you so far? Who would be in your MVP discussions if the season ended today?
David: There's been no clear standout this season, rather a full team effort. It's a great testament to Inzaghi that he's gotten so much out of so many players. Hakan Calhanoglu, Edin Dzeko, Milan Skriniar, and Marcelo Brozovic pop out to me, and if I had to choose I'd go with Calhanoglu.
InterPool: Regarding the team MVP question... my answer is — to the surprise of absolutely nobody — Marcelo "Epic" Brozovic! As for the other question, one stand-out that I predicted would turn out to be a brilliant transfer: 27 year old Hakan Çalhanoğlu
The specific wording I used was:
"...one of which actually might have been nothing short of genius — potentially among the most brilliant acquisitions that I've ever seen, all things considered"
...and another stand-out that I honestly had significantly underestimated: 35-year-old Edin Džeko.
Mario: Standout players - too many to name if I'm being honest... Everyone has done their part and done it well. Even Gagliardini is putting in decent shifts when called upon. The two most influential players have been Brozovic and Calhanoglu. Brozovic is the most important piece to this team, as he has been for years now. He sets the pace of our attacks and is very influential on the defensive side as well, proving he is one of the best defensive midfielders in the world. Hakan has produced crazy numbers in the attack with goals and assists, something we expected from him, but not so much so quickly! He has grown tremendously since his inconsistent days at Milan and has proven to be an asset in this lineup.
Josh: Despite the many names who could be listed for this award, I've gotta go with Brozovic. When Inter are at their best Brozovic is the motor. Extending his contract is vital to the success and honestly the vibes of the club the rest of the season.
Michael: Someone who may not get as much praise for me has been Ivan Perisic. While the right side of the midfield five has been a question mark at times, the left has been rock solid with the Croatian having a bit of a career renaissance over the past few seasons. He is currently on four goals and two assists and has been a wall in defense.
On the flip side, is there anyone you want to see more from? Who needs to take their game to the next level in the new year?
David: Maybe it's unfair to someone that is joint top of Inter's goalscoring charts with 11 goals, but the first half of Lautaro Martinez's 21/22 campaign has left a bit to be desired. He's failed to take the step up we thought he might with the spotlight fully on him, rather than Lukaku. Instead, he's about as inconsistent as ever, remains an iffy finisher, and is still a mess from the penalty spot. The Argentine also failed to score a single goal in Inter's Champions League group stage (not great!). The pieces are all there for a one-of-a-kind striker but you do start to wonder when Lautaro will put it all together. Luckily for Inter, he's still a menace to opposing defenses on his day and has a respectable haul of eleven goals to his name. Along with some general consistency (no more months-long goal droughts please!), I'd especially like to see him show up in the big games in 2022.
InterPool: I've openly and consistently been a strong advocate for El Toro — speaking of which, I plan to publish a sequel to my "Lautaro Martinez vs Recency Bias" article soon, hopefully within the next month or two! The 24-year-old is arguably a top ten striker in the entire world already, on the verge of superstardom... but he isn't quite there yet. I have high hopes that under Inzaghi — who himself was a striker during his playing days — Lautaro can take that next step to the very highest level and truly fulfill his world class potential.
Mario: I need to see more from Dumfries, I know he's been finding himself these past few weeks but I want him to be a consistent performer against teams at all levels, not just relegation sides. We saw him struggle so badly against Madrid that he was pulled at halftime. Need him to step up in bigger games going forward. The building blocks are there, and I hope it can be completed sooner rather than later.
Josh: I'd have to agree with the above assessments of Lautaro. But just to be different I'll say Handanović. There's going to be a moment in the Liverpool matches where his play either saves us or destroys us, and his ability to turn back the clock for a match or two in the new year is what I'm hoping for.
Michael: Stefan de Vrij has some room to improve on his first half of the season. Some mistakes crept into his game and he has dealt with injury. If he can stay healthy, the entire back three will be back to their usual best after some early season growing pains.
Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images
What's been your favorite moment of the season so far?
David: Scoring against Shakhtar. Not even winning, just getting the ball into the back of the net and having it count. When Lautaro's goal got ruled out for a marginal foul in the home leg, it seemed like history was once again repeating itself in a disastrous fashion. But Dzeko's goal in the 61st minute was the culmination of 331 minutes of scoreless actions across two Champions League seasons and put Inter into the Round of 16 at long last.
Mario: My favorite moment was Hakan's Olimpico. Love to see him doing this kinda stuff, having fun, and winning games.
Josh: This is going to be a weird answer, but the first 88 minutes of the first match against Real Madrid. I can't explain it other than saying I was so happy with how they were playing so early in the season against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Michael: The win over Napoli really showed what this Inter is really capable of. Everyone snapped into form and really took it to the league leaders of the time. Each of Inter's three goals in that match were inch perfect. Hakan's penalty kissing the post, Perisic with the ridiculous angle flick, and Joaquin Correa taking the ball down the field for Lautaro to slot home. Since then, Inter have pulled away a bit in the league. That will likely be the match we point to at the end of the season as being the one that this team turned the corner in.
Photo by Antonio Balasco/KONTROLAB/LightRocket via Getty Images
What does a successful second half of the season look like for Inter?
David: I think it has to end with a trophy come May. The team has been way too good so far to come home empty-handed. Milan will make it back into a title race and we'll drop a few points here and there but Inter has been so much better than the rest that anything less than the Scudetto would be a disappointment. As for the Champions League, I doubt Inter will get past Liverpool but hopefully, the Nerazzurri can give the Reds a run for their money. A Coppa run would be nice too but I won't hold my breath.
InterPool: Winning the triplete!!! Just kidding... kinda... sorta... mostly... ish. (knock on wood)
The treble is technically still possible, and our chances of getting past Liverpool are better than many people realize...
But that being said, Liverpool is arguably the very best team in the entire world right now — I think most neutrals would agree that they're at least top three, along with Bayern Munich and Manchester £ity — so we're definitely still underdogs to even get past the Round of 16 because of such a difficult draw. If we are going to beat Liverpool, then it will almost certainly require MUCH more clinical finishing.
According to UEFA's official website itself, out of ALL teams in the entire Champions League group stage, Inzaghi's squad ranked:
1st for shot attempts but only 16th for actual goals scored
...probably in large part because we also ranked:
1st for shots OFF target
6th for shots ON target — Liverpool ranked 1st in this category by the way
1st for shots that hit the crossbar
3rd for shots that hit the post
3rd for shots that were blocked
Regardless of what happens in the Champions League though, the fact that we finally have returned to the knockout stages for the first time in 11 years is a huge accomplishment and as a more realistic target, a domestic double actually might be legitimately attainable!
Mario: The Scudetto is Inter's to lose. I think we have a team capable of winning and at this point, I am expecting a repeat, based on how good we look and the depth we have.
Josh: Most Inter fans if they're being honest at this point of the year would say Scudetto or bust. That's all I really care about. I'd love to see them challenge Liverpool and look confident in the Champions League, but I won't lose any sleep over a team like Liverpool advancing. I'd be pretty disappointed if Inter aren't able to continue this form in Italy and come away with the repeat. That being said, at the start of the year I would have taken simple contention, so I'm a happy man today.
Michael: It may not be the biggest trophy or the end goal of the season, but a win in the Supercoppa against Juventus in a couple of weeks would really put Inter in the driver seat for more trophies this season. Seeing a trophy being lifted would be a great way to legitimize Inzaghi's Inter. That confidence could perhaps lead to a league and cup double as well.
What do you think? Is this season Scudetto or bust? Any major takeaways on Inzaghi's tenure so far? Let us know in the comments below.