This past Thursday at 8 p.m. in Hayes Ministry Center, Poetry Night was held. This was actually the seventh year of Poetry Night. There were more than 29 participants who shared poetry, music, art and improv.

Three alumni reappeared to show their new works. Tim and Betsy Hendrix played the mandolin and the bass and shared a song, and Matt Martinez and Matt Huff contributed two poems.

The new improv troop, Start Wearing Purple, put on its third performance at Poetry Night. The team consisted of Will Daniel, freshman theatre; Thomas Sieberhagen, freshman undecided; Karla Neves, senior theatre; Lindsay Ross, senior theatre; Paul Conner, junior interdisciplinary studies; Zach Cady, sophomore media ministry; and Nathan Baker, junior theatre. They played three games with the audience and seemed to get a good quality response.

Brandon Nelson, senior studio art, showed a couple of paintings he had done for class and will be showing them in an art show at North Point Baptist Church soon.

A different thing at Poetry Night this year was the talent of two different students being able to sing or recite a poem in a different language. Spanish and Swahili were used to bring across God’s meaning and message.

The night ended with Nelson, Brittany Dail, senior health promotion and wellness, and Michael Smith, senior church music, playing and singing the song “Lord of Lords.” It ended the night on a very spiritual note.

Do not miss the next Poetry Night coming up! There will be more fun, art, songs, poems, and lots of coffee!

(Photo by Jenny Farnham)

Tonya Landrith is one of the newest faces on campus at North Greenville University. She can be found working hard in her office on the Campus Ministries hall in the Tingle Student Center.

Landrith was born in Anderson, S.C., but her family moved all over the Southeast while her father was in the military. When she was younger, the family lived in Germany for a time. But in the 1980s she moved with them to Columbia, S.C., where they still resides today.

Landrith grew up in a Christian home and she said that she is very grateful to have grown up with supportive, loving parents. She said her grandparents were also important in her life, and they provided direction and Christian guidance to her while she was growing up.

Landrith was saved at the age of 10 at a revival service that was held at Eureka Baptist Church in Anderson.

She later attended Anderson College, now Anderson University. She said she was able to benefit from the Christian faculty, staff and students that she met while there. She and her husband Wayne also met at Anderson in 1986. They will celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary this December.

The Landriths have never been able to have children of their own.

“Wayne and I have adopted all 2,000 plus students at North Greenville University,” Landrith said.

Wayne Landrith took over as the vice president of the Crusader Club and corporate and foundation giving, and Tonya heard about the opening for her current position through him. She is now the administrative assistant for Dr. Steve Crouse, who is the vice president of campus ministries.

Landrith’s duties include assigning chapel seats to students each year and keeping up with students’ chapel attendance and grades.

Currently, Landrith and her husband attend Chapin Presbyterian Church, but once they sell their home in Chapin and move to the Greenville area, they will begin to look for a new church home. Landrith said that once they “officially” move into the area and find a church, they would like to get involved in local ministries.

Landrith said that her favorite Bible verse is Jeremiah 29:11 which says, “I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for” (The Message).

Landrith has already been busy this semester with all the events going on in Campus Ministries such as this past week’s Men’s and Women’s Conference.

What if you saw your future six months from now? A glimpse of where you will be and who you will be with? Would you look forward to what was coming…or would you try to stop it?

Adapting award-winning author Robert J. Sawyer’s revolutionary novel, Flash Forward, executive producers David S. Goyer (co-writer of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight), Brannon Braga (24, Star Trek: Enterprise), Marc Guggenheim (Brothers & Sisters, Eli Stone), Jessika Borszicky (Revelations) and producer Mark H. Ovitz (October Road) invite you to embark on a journey to answer the question, “If you knew what your future held, what would you do?”

A big, interconnected cast tells an unfolding story that begins with a cataclysmic event: Everyone on the planet blanks out for precisely two minutes and 17 seconds. During that time, the characters “flash forward” in their minds and see a few moments from their lives on a specific future date: 10 p.m. on April 29, 2010. Some like what they see in the future, others do not.

Los Angeles FBI Agent Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) is desperate to uncover why this happened and who or what is behind it. And he’s not the only one. Before long, everyone starts asking, “What did you see?” As Mark and his team struggle to figure out what caused this bizarre event, they begin to piece together the future by creating a huge database of people’s flash forwards from all over the world – “The Mosaic Collective.” No one knows what these flash forwards mean or exactly what the future really holds. But it is clear that across the globe people who’ve never met will somehow be intimately connected and will have an impact on each other’s lives in the next six months. Some will fear what’s coming, others excited; but not a single person will be unaffected.

Flash Forward has been dubbed “the next Lost,” for legitimate reasons. It is a mystery show that may or may not, be a science fiction based plot. It introduces a variety of characters who all deal, in their own way, with the perplexing, common problem that changes their lives forever.  And while Lost has its peculiarly present polar bear, Flash Forward has its kangaroo hopping on the streets of the Los Angeles.

Want to catch up on the series? Full episodes can be watched online at abc.go.com/shows/flash-forward. Catch the show Thursday nights at 8 p.m. on ABC.

The Vision offers many programs for the North Greenville University viewing audience to enjoy. From movies to local on-campus news, The Vision is there to cover it all. To find out what is showing, turn to channel 48 for more details. (Photo by Joseph Huntley)

At The Vision, NGU’s TV network, students are valued. The Vision has been recognized with prestigious awards, including winning first place for studio production from National Religious Broadcasters last year. But its main focus is student-driven.

The network is essentially a medium for students to show their talents and get real-world experience.

“It just makes for a great lab for students to display their work,” Andy Stevens, media instructor and faculty advisor, said.

He noted that the mass communication majors who participate in the channel get experience working with deadlines and regular airings. These skills can help students’ work at NGU translate to jobs in the real world.

The network also caters to students’ tastes, airing pieces that they would be interested in. The Vision has several shows, varying from sports to news to entertainment. It also reports campus events. All of the anchors are students. The staff includes station manager Zachary Cady, sophomore media ministry; news director Clayton Thornton, sophomore broadcast media; program director Michael Cavalear, senior interdisciplinary studies; technical operations director Alex Reynolds, senior media ministry; and marketing coordinator Justin Salinas, senior broadcast media.

The staff works together to create shows that other students will hopefully be informed and entertained by. For example, Cavalear is currently pushing for current movies to be shown on the entertainment channel. The channel is on air 24/7 and an on-campus cable closed circuit. Both classic movies and movies from the last five years are shown around the clock. All the rights are paid for by The Vision.

The entertainment part of The Vision includes film reviews and news. Sometimes it includes original material by students, like parodies of popular shows. The network show Heroes was parodied recently, and the staff is currently working on a parody of NBC’s The Office to be aired soon. According to Stevens, showing their work through this medium is “better than having it just sit on a professor’s shelf.” This statement sums up The Vision. The network’s purpose is to showcase students’ work.

The Vision is working constantly to improve the channel. It is an excellent outlet for student production, allowing broadcast media majors to gain experience in realistic situations. It also allows them to display their projects through a medium that connects to fellow students.

There are some exciting events coming up in this year at The Vision. One is the return of After Curfew, to be shown at midnight. There is also a new show coming up. What is it about?

“I can’t say yet—wait till it airs,” Stevens said.

Chandler Patterson lines up a shot as Clemson's Bo Godwin defends last Wednesday. (Photo by Cory Guinn)

The women’s soccer team celebrated Senior Night by scoring three second-half goals en route to a 4-0 victory over Montreat amid fog and rain at Pepsi Stadium Saturday evening. Leah Ward, Ashlyn Henderson, Danielle Duff and Hayley Williams each found the back of the net for the Lady Crusaders, who recorded their seventh shutout of the year.

“Overall I was happy with the way we played,” said North Greenville coach Jesse McCormick. “With the weather the way it was, it made it a little difficult, and that definitely played a role in the game. I was definitely happy with our ball movement in the second half, and we were able to get some good looks at the goal.”

After 30 minutes of scoreless soccer, Ward, junior sport management, collected a loose ball in the box and scored her 14th goal of the season. Henderson, sophomore outdoor leadership, intercepted a Montreat goal kick and kicked the ball into the open net for her 10th goal of the season.

North Greenville (10-5) continued to control most of the possession late in the second half, and Williams, junior linguistics and early childhood education, and Duff, senior sport management, both scored.

The Lady Crusaders will face Palm Beach Atlantic in Cleveland, Ga., Friday at 4 p.m. before returning home to play King College next Thursday at 7 p.m.

The men’s soccer team raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first 20 minutes and cruised to a 4-2 win over Virginia Intermont Saturday afternoon. Seth Snyder, Jonathan Restrepo, and Juan Carlos Aguilera paced North Greenville in the first half, and David Frazao added his first goal as a Crusader in the second half.

North Greenville (7-7-1) battled sloppy conditions and a slow second half but came away with a much-needed victory. Snyder also finished with two assists. Aaron Attkisson scored both goals for the Cobras.

“I felt like we got the early lead, and everyone sat back and expected them to give it to us, and they challenged us in the second half, and we didn’t respond too well,” said Crusader coach Chad Gfeller.

The win came on the heels of a 6-0 defeat at Clemson (4-10-1 overall, 2-5 ACC) last Wednesday. The Tigers needed a penalty kick to take the lead and led 2-0 at halftime before scoring four second-half goals.

“It was an awesome experience for our guys to play a Division I team, a team that even though they’re having a tough season are capable of playing with some of the best teams in the country,” Gfeller said. “Any time you have a chance to play a team like that, it’s gonna help you get better.”

North Greenville played their final game of the season yesterday against Emmanuel, but the score was not available before printing time. The NCCAA regional tournament will be played Nov. 20-21 at Emmanuel College in Boston.

We live in a country where free speech welcomes opinions of all perspectives, especially in the political realm. True to their pioneer spirit, Americans are constantly finding new ways of disseminating their political viewpoints to anyone and everyone who will listen.

In listening to the grand conversation, I have been disturbed to find that a sense of arrogance and pride often dominates the debates, even on North Greenville University’s campus. In listening to talk radio and town hall meetings, I’ve been amazed by the angry, condemnatory comments made by self-identified believers.

Mention the name of President Barack Obama in conversation on this campus and listen to the bitter remarks that follow. I have been amazed by some of the cynical, almost hateful comments made by confessing Christians about their president.

From where do these comments come? They ultimately stem from a lack of faith in God’s sovereignty.

Throughout the Old Testament, God proved that the ways of the rulers of the earth were determined by Him. He gave Joseph favor in the eyes of the Pharaoh, He hardened the heart of the next Pharaoh to allow Israel to escape, He raised up Cyrus to rule the kingdoms of the earth so that the house of the Lord would be rebuilt, He stymied the plans of Sennacherib to destroy Jerusalem, He humbled Nebuchadnezzar.

Proverbs tells us that “the king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He will.” Psalms tells us that the Lord laughs at the rulers who think they can rebel against Him.

In light of this truth, Christians should have no reason to be cynical or hateful. Instead, we are free to be joyful and at peace knowing that God is in control. Many of the bitter comments I hear are a product of men’s hearts worshipping incorrectly.

People who worship their political ideology or hero draws significance and identity from them. When their hero is in power, they are content; when their hero is in derision, they are worried and fearful. The problem for Christians is that we are to worship Jesus, not an ideology or politician.

Anything that we worship besides Jesus is an idol. Any political persuasion, conservative or liberal, can become an idol when it takes the place of Jesus.

Some people even use Jesus as a way to fuel their idolatry by claiming that He is the source of their particular ideology. They pray to Him so that their cause will be successful, evoke His name to justify their idolatry and misuse His Word to promote their hero.

The Creator of the universe is not tied to a political persuasion and those who believe so go far in underestimating His divinity. When Joshua encountered the angel at the wall of Jericho, he asked, “Are you for us or against us?”

The angel replied, “Neither, but as the Lord of hosts I come.” God is great and glorious and should not be used as a pawn to advance a political ideology.

The result of idolatry is that Christians demonize the opposing side instead of engaging in honest, respectful dialogue. They spend time promoting the downfall of the opposing leader rather than humbly seeking God to give the leader wisdom.

These actions do not bring Jesus honor and glory, and when Jesus is not being worshipped, only one attitude is acceptable—broken, humble repentance.

The Lady Crusader volleyball team honored their seniors with a dominating victory over Milligan on Senior Night in front of a huge crowd on hand in Hayes Gymnasium on Oct. 29.

Devan Davidson, senior sport management, and Gabbrielle McKinley, senior elementary education, were two North Greenville players who lead the team to a 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-15) win.

Davidson had 17 digs in the game along with two aces for the Crusaders. McKinley contributed 10 digs, 21 assists, and two aces against Milligan University.

“She [Gabrielle McKinley] is definitely the leader on this team, and does so not only in speech but by being a role model and leading by example on and off the court. She is a special, talented young lady,” said North Greenville head coach Lauren Axson.

The Lady Crusaders had a long season with some upsets, but victorious moments as well.

“One significant thing about the ladies is that when they are out on that floor, they give it their all,” Axson said. “As a team our goal has always been just to give it our best.”

Axson says that she believes the team will show great competition in the NCCAA regional tournament as they compete.

“We want to push and encourage others to do the best we can,” McKinley said. “We try to set the bar higher for each other.”

North Greenville has one more regular season match-up on Nov. 6 at Newberry College. After the regular season ends, the Lady Crusaders will begin to prepare for the NCCAA regional tournament Hayes Gymnasium on Nov. 20-21.

The men’s and women’s conferences this year meant a lot more to students than simply an opportunity for bonus chapel credit. They opened with Maria Owens, a speaker and in-home Bible study teacher from Columbia, S.C. and closed with Robert Shaw, a pastor from Garden City Baptist Church.

Owen’s testimony of her first husband’s trouble with HIV/AIDS and how the church reached out to her touched a lot of students’ hearts this week. She left North Greenville University with the challenge of reaching out to those who you might not otherwise want to help and to comfort someone who is going through something that you might not understand. This will be a helpful message to apply even on a Christian campus such as this.

Each speaker held seminars for the separate genders on Monday and Tuesday nights. Both concentrated on issues specific to the group they were speaking to, which made the conferences personal and interesting. Owens focused on the concept of serving God with both your body and your soul. Shaw taught the men of North Greenville about biblical manliness.

Owens wanted every young woman (and even every young man) in North Greenville to realize that it is not important what your body type is, because everyone is different. It is what you are able and what you are willing to do to use it to serve God. People get so focused on physical “fitness” that they no longer see the importance of wellness, which includes both health and mental state. She shared some practical ways to be stronger and healthy for whatever reason God will need to use your body. These ways included drinking more water, choosing baked food over fried whenever possible and walking to class instead of driving. She ended the conference for females with the questions, “What has God called you to do with his temple? Are you able to do it?”

Robert Shaw used humor to communicate to the men what God intended the man’s role in a relationship to be. Shaw directed them to pray for the women that will one day be their wives, and to not go out looking for them because God will provide. He also spoke about how God commands marriage to be about respect, so is important to respect your partner in a marriage. God also calls for commitment, complete commitment, and not only if the other person is willing to provide it.

His example of God’s plan was of his own marriage. When he met his wife, he was already dating another girl. He began questioning his future wife about how he could break up with her, so she would be sure that he was interested and looking. They dated for a period of time, but broke up because she went to Clemson and he went to the University of Georgia. God had a plan for them, however, and they reunited and got married.

The men and women alike enjoyed Shaw’s anecdotes and witty humor as displayed both in his sermon in chapel and his men-only teachings.

For most of you who write off chick-flicks you may look at the title of the movie Love Happens and automatically decide not to see it. I will admit, it is a bit of a chick-flick. However, this movie is about much more than just love and the sappy attainment of it. It is a movie that shapes you, changes you and stays with you.

Written by Brandon Camp and Mike Thompson, this PG-13 drama/romance is about dealing with significant loss, breaking through and coping with intense grief, recognizing and dealing with guilt, healing from tragedies and most importantly, moving forward with life.

One of the main characters of this movie is a widowed doctor named Burke Ryan, played by Aaron Eckhart, who you might recognize as Harvey Dent/Two-Face from The Dark Knight. Burke tragically loses his wife in a terrible accident. He then goes on to write a book about how to cope and move forward with your life after the death of a loved one. Book sales take off and soon enough he becomes a motivational speaker/self-help guru at sold-out conventions and seminars.

Though Burke looks healed and strong on the outside, he has not truly dealt with the deep grief of his horrible loss in the way he is leading and helping others to do. In fact, he does almost everything he strongly advises others not to do. His own hypocritical nature and the draining duty to keep up his double-life in front of those he is teaching eats at him and further gapes the hole in his heart from the loss of his wife.

Eloise Chandler, played by Jennifer Aniston, is a strong and independent woman who has freshly sworn off men and is focused on her floral business. When Eloise and Burk meet, there is an automatic attraction. However, Eloise’s rude actions push the start of anything with Burke away.

Though Burke has not dated anyone for three years after the death of his wife, he cannot shake Eloise from his mind. But can two people who appear to be so right for each other make it work when they meet at entirely the wrong time and place? Will Burke be able to let in the one person that could actually help him for a change?

As each struggle with the hurts of love and loss, they both realize that for them to move forward, they must first let go of the past. If they can, they will find that sometimes, love happens when you least expect it.

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s long-awaited album Night Castle weaves together hauntingly sweet melodies, rich, symphonic pieces and raging electric guitar solos to create a stunning work of auditory art.

The 26-track rock opera features a variety of sounds ranging from aggressive rock ‘n roll in “Another Way You Can Die” to the ethereal strains of “Child of the Night” to the warm acoustic guitar featured in “Embers.”

Night Castle contains a unique collection of both instrumental and vocal arrangements. The album is stirring, emotionally charged and energetic throughout each piece.

The instrumentals “Mozart and Memories” and “Bach Lullaby” pay tribute to the influence of famed classical composers on Night Castle’s style.

“Moonlight and Madness” and the bonus track “Nutrocker” are the most classic examples of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s characteristic blend of genres.

While “Moonlight and Madness” and “Nutrocker” deliver the signature Trans-Siberian Orchestra sound, songs like “Toccata-Carpimus Noctem” and “The Mountain” experiment non-instrumental sound effects, such as a helicopter and a rain storm, to up the intensity.

“Night Enchanted” and “Child of the Night” feature unique, ethereal vocals that contrast with the gruff, bitter-sweet tones of “Sparks” and “Dreams We Conceive.”

Night Castle is instrumentally stunning and creative. The band’s vocals, however, fell short of the high caliber of the instrumental performance. While some songs work with the gravelly singing style present throughout most of the CD, the vocals on many of the tracks are repetitious and lacking in range and vocal variety.

In certain parts of the CD, it seems that the song writers tried to pack in too much content. Some songs lack focus and have a tendency to ramble lyrically.

The first 21 tracks of the album are designed to tell a story and should be listened to with the opera script in hand.

The opera is a story within a story. It describes a little girl’s encounter with a stranger on the beach and the tragic tale the stranger tells her.

Both the songs and the script are loaded with penetrating and poignant messages. Trans-Siberian Orchestra founder, producer and writer Paul O’Neill and his team delve into many deep topics including humanity’s connectedness, childhood innocence, true love, courage, sacrifice, good and evil, redemption and forgiveness.

The tracks “Epiphany,” “There Was a Life” and “Father, Son, & Holy Ghost” cry out against injustice and apathy.

“Somewhere/ young men die and children bleed/ Somewhere/ some have too much while others need,” the lyrics from “Epiphany” proclaim.

The elaborate messages and melodies of Night Castle have been almost five years in the making. O’Neill began his work on Night Castle shortly after the release of The Lost Christmas Eve in 2004.

“It definitely got out of control,” O’Neill said, referring to the drawn-out composition process for Night Castle.

The creative style, stunning musical performance and positive, pro-social message in Night Castle make it an album worth purchasing for any Trans-Siberian Orchestra fan.

Honestly, no student is ever excited to see Tuesday come around. When it comes to the cleanliness of a college student, many struggle. Being unorganized and procrastinating are two talents of any college-aged person.|

When it comes to the annoying room checks every Tuesday, there are many ways of avoiding a fine from your assistant coordinator. For example, the best way to pass room checks is keep your room clean all week. That is too obvious for most students, but on the other hand there are many who are just naturally messy. So here are some tips to the unorganized, unclean, messy students on how to pass your regular room check Tuesday.

“Personally, I really like to see that a room is both organized and clean. If a desk or floor is messy and unorganized then even if it has been mopped or dusted it is hard to notice that its clean,” Katie Kasey, assistant coordinator, said.

She also mentioned that students most get fined for not making their bed or taking out the trash. The first step in passing room checks I would say is to make the bed as soon as you get up Tuesday morning. Most people in America do not even make their bed, but unfortunately assistant coordinators are very particular about this. It has been said that many students try to slip out of their rooms being checked by being “asleep” when the coordinators come in. Because they see a person asleep, most coordinators slip out of the room not checking the room so they would not disrupt the sleeping student. Note this is not a good way to pass room checks; you cannot avoid it.

“Also if I can feel grit under my feet when I walk into a room, then its obvious that the students have not swept their floor,” Kasey said.

Students are encouraged to sweep or mop the floors. No one likes to have dirt on his or her feet as they walk around the room. I suggest buying a Swiffer, they can be bought at a low cost and are very useful.

Another useful suggestion in keeping your room clean is not to just hide everything behind a curtain in your closet, but to keep it organized. Occasionally if a coordinator suspects a junky closet, he or she will check and you can be fined for that.

The cost of being unclean is not expensive, but who wants to pay for having a dirty room? Each item which is not completed on the cleaning check list given with the room check schedule at the beginning of each year is worth $5 after the first one. Say for example someone did not do three things: make the bed, clean the toilet, and pick up the clothes on the floor. That fine would be $10 because the first item is a freebee and each item after that is worth $5. It’s a standard across the board. Then a student has the option of emailing student services for a recheck the following day to reduce or eliminate the fine if it is corrected by the next day.

Although students may think Tuesday room checks are annoying, it teaches students how to be responsible and let them know their moms are not here to clean up after them. It’s time to grow up and learn about cleanliness.

Relationships surround each of us on a daily basis, from our relationship with God to the friendships we have and the relationship we may have with a significant other.

In recent chapel services, the speakers have brought up issues relating to the different relationships we engage in. Those messages that stuck out the most to me were the ones that I could relate to my relationship with my boyfriend.

Each sermon that was about boyfriend/girlfriend relationships stressed the importance of putting God at the forefront of the relationship. In the nine months that I have been dating my boyfriend, I have found that this is the single most important aspect that makes a dating relationship work.

Before my boyfriend and I started dating, we were friends for about four months. Throughout those months, I really wanted to date him, but he kept telling me over and over that he wanted to make sure he had a strong relationship with God before he got into a relationship with me. I respected it, but couldn’t really apply it to myself.

What I didn’t know, though, was that I, too, needed to work on my relationship with God first as well. Before Christians get into a dating relationship, they should first evaluate their relationship with God. If God is not at the center of one’s life, then the person they are getting into the relationship with will quickly become the main focus, rather than God.

When we finally did begin dating, we both made sure our priorities were straight. This included setting clear boundaries and also making sure we were dating for the right reason.

I went into it not wanting to date for the heck of it, but instead because I was interested in finding a future husband. I have seen many friends, both guys and girls; play the “dating game” and each time it only leads to pain and heartache.

A wise friend of mine, Michael Harmon, a sophomore at Erskine College, once told me, “…God calls us to purity, and with each person you date, you lose a certain amount of that purity. It doesn’t matter how much, but you lose some.”

Along with this aspect of purity obviously comes physical purity. Besides keeping God at the center of your relationship, this is probably the most difficult part of a Christian dating relationship. Along with setting boundaries, couples should keep from putting themselves in possibly compromising situations. Each person should make sure their relationship with God stays in the right place and that God remains at the center of the relationship.

At the beginning of our relationship, my boyfriend and I didn’t really seek God together, but now we have made prayer and reading the Bible an integral part of our relationship.

Even when my boyfriend brings me flowers or we spend the entire day together, I never feel closer to him than when we are seeking God together. When couples do this, they are literally honoring God with their relationship. A dating relationship shouldn’t be about emotions or being in love, but rather it should be focused completely on God.

Obviously, all I have stated is easier said than done and is gradual. My boyfriend and I definitely have our problems, struggles, and temptations, but since we have God as our foundation, we believe that we have the right basis for a relationship.

As long as we keep seeking God and keep dating for the right reasons, I believe our relationship will continue to prosper and grow. Relationships aren’t easy and will never be perfect, but they can prosper when couples are dating for the right reasons while seeking and honoring God.

On Monday, Nov. 9, college basketball fans all around the country will tune into ESPN and sigh in relief as NCAA basketball returns to action. After a wild 2008-09 season, this upcoming season shows no signs of a letdown in terms of excitement.

Top players in the top conferences are returning and highly recruited freshmen provide excitement for all fans this season. The following is my ranking of the top five teams in the country and why I think they will do well this season.

1. Kansas Jayhawks
-Bill Self has point guard Sharron Collins and center Cole Aldrich both returning. Each player is in the running for Big 12 Player of the Year and has the ability to lead his team to the title for the second time in three seasons. If the Jayhawks can make it through a tough Big 12, the NCAA Tournament should be a breeze.

2. Texas Longhorns
-Explosive forward Damion James is in back for another season in Austin, which means the Longhorns will be putting pressure on Kansas all season long. Freshman Avery Bradley has unlimited range beyond the arc, while Dexter Pittman and Gary Johnson will solidify the defense inside.

3. Michigan State Spartans
-The Spartans were the top team in the Big East and one of the top teams in the country last season. After being knocked off by North Carolina in the championship game, Michigan State kept their core players in Kalin Lucas and Raymar Morgan which means this team has the chance to challenge for the top spot once again.

4. North Carolina Tar Heels
-The Tar Heels won the title last season but lost four of their five starters to the NBA. Roy Williams has a loaded frontcourt with Player of the Year candidate Ed Davis and Deon Thompson down low. Tyler Zeller should play well if he can stay healthy and incoming freshman John Henson is a versatile forward who can play inside or out. If the guards play consistently, watch out for a repeat of last season.

5. Kentucky Wildcats
-John Callipari comes to a team in desperate need of progress. Patrick Patterson is the main returning player for the Wildcats as he provides size and scoring in the post. Freshmen John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins will most likely turn pro after this season so they have a lot to prove in one year and should get the job done.

The North Greenville football team has had to endure some hardships this season after starting 1-7. With two games left remaining, the Crusaders were hoping to avoid their worst season record in 10 years by winning at least one of those two games.

“It’s like I have said all year, we just have to keep striking the stone,” North Greenville coach Jamey Chadwell said. “We’ve got a lot of young players, and it has shown in some areas.”

“But the one thing that doesn’t show in the loss column is that our guys never quit no matter the score,” the first-year coach said. “Hopefully we can win one or both of our remaining games and try and finish on a positive note.”

The Crusaders went in this weekend to play a Clark Atlanta team that has similar speed to North Alabama.

The Crusaders’ first points came off a 36-yard field goal by Zack Sears, freshman business, after a punt by Clark Atlanta. On the Panthers’ next possession, linebacker Nathan Batchelor, sophomore business administration, pounced on a fumble with a little over three minutes left in the first quarter.

On the Crusaders’ first play following the fumble, quarterback Aaron Seigler, freshman business administration, sliced the Panther defense on a 58-yard touchdown to put the Crusaders ahead 9-0, but Sears’ extra point was no good. The Panthers then took the ball 61 yards in six plays but were stymied by the Crusader defense and had to settle for a 21-yard field goal to cut the lead to 9-3.

About halfway through the second quarter, the Crusaders forced Clark Atlanta to punt again, and Isaiah Johnson, freshman business administration, returned the kick 52 yards for a touchdown. With Sears’ extra point, the Crusaders took a 16-3 lead into half time.

The Crusader defense continued to hold strong, bending but not breaking. The Panthers added another field goal, this one from 40 yards away in the third quarter to cut the lead to 16-6. The defining moment came in the fourth quarter with just over five minutes left to play with the Panthers driving and looking to score.

A Panthers’ receiver caught the ball on the one-yard line and was preparing to step into the end zone, but Xavier Boykin, senior sport management, knocked the ball out of his hands. The Crusader defense held strong once more, and the Crusaders won 16-6.

The final score definitely did not tell the tale of the stat sheet as the Crusaders were outgained 343-143. Siegler led the way, running the ball for the Crusaders with 89 yards.

Andre Bernardi, senior sport management, also stepped up in a big way, tallying 12 tackles and four sacks and tying the Division II record with 41 sacks in his career. Bernardi needs just one more to break the all-time record and will look to do that this Saturday against UNC Pembroke at Younts Stadium at 1 p.m.

Juan Carlos Aguilera is one of eight seniors graduating from North Greenville soccer. (Photo by Cory Guinn)

The North Greenville men’s and women’s soccer programs each honored four senior players Saturday on Senior Night. The men’s team said goodbye to Max Duarte, Seth Snyder, Juan Carlos Aguilera and Manuel Izquierdo who officially played their final home game at Pepsi Stadium yesterday against Emmanuel.

Duarte is North Greenville’s all-time assist leader with 23 assists and has also scored 15 goals in his career. The midfielder from Porto Alegre, Brazil, has directed the Crusader offense for the past four years, holding the ball and distributing it to the forwards.

“I think my role on this team has been to encourage guys and to lead by example,” Duarte said. “Being nice to the freshmen and making sure everyone is friendly is important. If we don’t have a good group, everyone can’t play their best. I think we have good team unity this year.”

Snyder is the all-time leading goal-scorer at North Greenville with 23 goals and has 11 assists. He has also captained the team for the last two years. Snyder spent much of the 2008 season hampered by injury; otherwise his goal total might have been even higher.

Aguilera, a Mexico City native, has 10 goals and seven assists in his three-year career as a Crusader. Izquierdo has notched five goals for North Greenville in his career.

“It’s going to be tough losing the seniors that we have,” North Greenville coach Chad Gfeller said. “They’ve been keys to how we attack the goal, and they’ve all been involved in our attack. I’m not looking forward to figuring out what we are going to do next year.”

“They’ve all been awesome leaders,” Gfeller said. “The reason that we’ve been pretty successful this year is because of our senior class and the leadership they have given our guys.”

The Lady Crusaders wished farewell to Jessica Binkley, Kaeleigh Meara, Beth Morgan and Danielle Duff.

Duff notched 20 goals and 11 assists in her four-year career from the forward position. Morgan, an Asheville, N.C., native, has scored nine goals and added six assists as an outside midfielder and a forward and has also served as the team’s chaplain. North Greenville coach Jesse McCormick noted Morgan as “a leader on and off the field.”

“It’s great to have a class like this that has come out and worked hard every game,” McCormick said. “They’ve all been her for four years, and we’re going to miss them. We wanted to take time to honor them and thank them for their hard work.”

Binkley, the starting goalkeeper for the last four years, has played 55 games and has recorded 20 shutouts and 289 saves in her career. Meara has scored six goals and has notched three assists from the midfield position.