Casino del Sol All-Star Game by Brian Riley

The NAU Media Relations office asked me to write about some of my experiences so far at the Casino del Sol All-Star game in Tucson, Ariz. 

So far it has been an absolute blast. It has been very organized and everyone is having a lot of fun. Practice is ran at an extremely fast pace and we have been doing a lot of hitting since day one. 

Every single player out here understands that these practices are the equivalent to a job interview and therefore they have been very competitive. Today was a full pack day and the stripes and the stars had multiple team periods throughout the hour and a half practice ending with a short scrimmage. 

The Casino del Sol game field at the home of the Tucson Padres. 

I'm on the stripes team which is all players from teams out west and we are coached my Pat Hill ,who brings a lot of energy to practice. I've met a lot of guys from both teams and it is fun learning about each other’s schools, sharing football stories, and discovering that everyone seems to know at least one person in common in the small world of college football.

Also practices have been filled with scouts from every NFL team and a lot of CFL teams which has been a great opportunity to display our football abilities. The scouts are also inside the locker room facilities, which are stationed at the home of the Tucson Padres at the Kino Sports Park.

Lastly the Casino del Sol Hotel and Casino has been a great place to stay for this week of practice and I recommend everyone to come down here and check it out!

The Casino del Sol College All-Star game is Monday, Jan. 16. The game is televised by Fox Sports Arizona at 6 p.m. Riley and teammate Drew Zamora will each be providing blog updates from the practice and game during their stay in Tucson.

How I rank 'em in the The Sports Network/Fathead.com Preseason FCS Top-25 poll

I've been a voter in The Sports Network/Fathead.com Preseason FCS Top-25 poll for many years and I take my ballot very seriously as this poll is one of the things considered in determining both at-large bids and seeding in the FCS Playoffs.  I feel very good about my 2011 preseason ballot in that I picked 23 of the top 25, 17 of the top 20, 12 of the top 15, nine of the top ten and four of the top five.  Here is the actual Preseason Poll.

I'm excited to see the Big Sky Conference getting four teams in the preseason top-25 and as you can see on my ballot, I was one of 90 voters to give the defending national champion Eastern Washington Eagles a #1 pick.  Big Sky Conference newcomers (in the 2012 season) Southern Utah came in at #31, Cal Poly at #33 and UC Davis at #43.  That should erase any question marks about the quality of those teams coming into the Sky.   

NAU coming off a 6-5 season in 2010, comes in at #50 in the preseason poll.  The Lumberjacks will get a chance to dazzle the voters (myself included) October 8th in the renovated Skydome when they host the runaway preseason #1 team in the Eagles of Eastern Washington University, which is coming off a 13-2 run to the FCS title last season.  The Eagles boast EIGHT players on the Big Sky Preseason All-Conference Team.  The Lumberjacks meanwhile, will have a new starting quarterback and placed a Big Sky best four players on the preseason offensive team.  Keep an eye on Flagstaff, NAU has six home games for the first time since 2004 and the Jacks host both Montana and Eastern Washington in the new Skydome.

#6 (#5 on my ballot) Montana State (a team NAU soundly defeated in Flagstaff last season), has the Big Sky's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year in quarterback DeNarius McGhee who captured last season's Newcomer of the Year and Co-MVP awards.  The Bobcats will be looking to show last year's disappointing end to the season in the first round of the FCS Playoffs was a fluke.  

Crashing the FCS Top-25 party this preseason are the Hornets of Sacramento State.  The Hornets may have lost five games last season, but they lost four of those five games by a combined eleven points!  The Hornets break into the presseason top-25 at #24 (#15 on my ballot) and they're in the preseason Top-25 for the first time since the team moved up to the FCS (I-AA) level.  This is a very exciting time to be a part of the Green and Gold and that is also exciting for the Big Sky.

The always dangerous and conference championship contending Montana Grizzlies, had a very unusal place last November/December, on the sidelines of the FCS Playoffs for the first time in 18 years!  The Griz 17 year postseason run included two national championships and five national runners-up finishes! Montana has been the absolute gold-standard in not only the Big Sky Conference, but in all of the FCS.  It felt very odd not having the Griz in the postseason party last year. Second year Head Coach Robin Pflugrad and his staff are certaintly laser-focused on not only improving upon last year's 7-4 record, but starting another Big Sky Conference football championship streak.  The Grizzlies before last season had won outright or shared a record 12 consecutive Big Sky championships!  Montana will get a chance to show the voters where they stand in 2011 by the end of only their fourth game as they will have faced #33 Cal Poly, #1 Eastern Washington and #24 Sacramento State in consecutive weeks after opening at FBS Tennessee.  I'm certain Griz Nation will have high expectations in 2011.

The start of the college football season is less than three weeks away!  The excitement is building rapidly all across the Big Sky Conference.  I enjoy sharing my top-25 ballot each season and love the debate it triggers.  That's part of what makes college football so special to so many of us.  

NAU Lumberjack Football kicks off Sepember 3rd at the University of Arizona Wildcats in Tucson!  Pregame coverage begins at 6:05 PM on 105.1 FM, www.bigtalkerradio.com and on your smart phones with your free app for iPhone, Droid and Blackberry. 

I present to you my preseason Top-25 ballot.  Let the debate begin!

1 Eastern Washington

2 William & Mary

3 Georgia Southern

4 Appalachian State

5 Montana State

6 Delaware

7 Northern Iowa

8 Wofford

9 Jacksonville State

10 Richmond

11 Lehigh

12 New Hampshire

13 North Dakota State

14 McNeese State

15 Sacramento State

16 Chattanooga

17 Montana

18 Liberty

19 Villanova

20 Southern Illinois

21 Massachusetts

22 Jacksonville

23 Indiana State

24 Central Arkansas

25 Stephen F. Austin

Lumberjack Talk: Q&A with Andre Luciano

What has the success of the USA National team done for the sport of women’s soccer?

First and foremost, the success of the USA National team has created a totally new audience. The quarterfinal win and the way it was won has brought a new appreciation for the sport and new type of fan to the game. It exposes the visibility of the national team and our sport as well.

How does it relate with the run by the 1999 US team to the championship?

I think it is totally different because there is so much more media exposure with the social networking sites, blogs and the amount of internet visibility for the game. The viewership has gone up dramatically. In 1999, it was an up-and-coming sport. The number of women’s sports teams that played Division I, II and III versus now it is a completely different animal.

How does that translate into fans at Lumberjack Stadium?

I think Flagstaff’s community is very in tune to what goes on not only with our program but following the national team. It is great having camp and having kids walking about with the jerseys of national team players and their favorite players. I hope it translates into an overall appreciation for the sport and the women’s game. There was huge spike in number of terms of people going to games after 1999 win and WUSA was developed. I am hoping this World Cup run and hopefully a win will add to more exposure for the WPS.

You coached USA goalkeeper Hope Solo in Washington. Tell us about that experience.

I was able to work with Hope on the Washington Olympic Development Program (ODP) East team back in 1995 and 1996. Hope was a brilliant goalkeeper but people forget she was an All-American forward.  She is a very, very talented individual and extremely athletic player. Right now she is the face and the poster girl for US soccer.  I am not sure if I had anything to do with her success but it has been fun watching her grow up, her career at Washington and watch her develop as a professional. She has come through her struggles and been extremely successful.

What is your prediction for the winner on Sunday?

My prediction is I think the game will be won in the midfield and who takes control of the game will win. I want to the US to win but Japan is a very good opponent who is playing with a huge cause behind them after the earthquakes and the tsunami. They are playing with a lot of national pride and are probably the hottest team in the tournament. Whoever wins the midfield will win the game.

The Northern Arizona women's soccer team and Taverna Greek Grill will host a viewing party for the Women's World Cup Championship game between the United States and Japan on Sunday. Fans can join the NAU women's soccer coaches and players as well as other members of the Northern Arizona athletic department in watching the Americans play for their third Women's World Cup title. Doors will open at 11 a.m. with kickoff slated for just after 11:30.