Saturday 8 December 2012

Willy Tee's Week Six Predictions


Willy Tee doesn't like anonymous comments...

Saltire  

UWS Pyros @ Stirling Clansmen 
Snore! Only interesting thing with the Clansmen match ups in the Saltire conference this year is trying to judge just HOW MUCH of a smack down they’ll put on their much weaker inter-conference opposition. In a very sloppy conference Pyros may currently be sat in a playoff berth place, but this game will do their postseason aspirations no favours. 

Clansmen 60 – 6 Pyros 


EN Knights @ Edinburgh Predators 
Edinburgh derby games are normally quite interesting. Generally at least a little bit close, with one team’s playoffs on the line. 
Well, I guess this conference is actually awful enough, and the season young enough, that even at 0-3 and 1-3 either of these two teams could still clinch a postseason with a win here (yup, even two wins could see trophy-ball here… sigh.and as the Knights honestly seem to be the chaff of the division this December? Predators to retain the Scot’s capital bragging rights for yet another year. 

Predators 20 – 6 Knights 

GOTW Interview - Todd Marquis, Warwick Wolves ILB




In our build up to our 'Game of the Week' between the Birmingham Lions and Warwick Wolves, we were able to grab a quick interview with Todd Marquis. Todd is an American student currently completing his PhD at Warwick University.

Before we begin the interview properly, can you provide the readers a bit of information on yourself and your own playing experiences?
My own playing experience is at Liberty University, a member of the Big South Conference in NCAA Division 1 football. In America, I got a relatively late start, playing my first organized year of football when I was about 13, then playing through high school and college.

After college, I played in a sort of developmental league in central Virginia. Effectively, it’s a league made of guys who either were trying to play professionally or guys who had played and were trying to develop some sort of skill or something before going back. It was also a good league for those who played arena football, as their season ended just before ours began, though the nearest team was 2 hours away in Richmond.

It’s a bit of a long story, but I felt confident I was going to get an NFL camp invite after that first season, and prepared fully for some regional combines and American tryouts for the Canadian Football League.

Before I could make any of these combines, I contracted an infection called MRSA, which by itself nearly killed me.

My parents came down to Virginia from Ohio to be with me, and just as they began planning my funeral, I finally took a turn for the better, and after a month in the ICU, was finally released from the hospital. However, less than a week later, I was back in for open heart surgery to transplant a new heart valve, as the old one had been damaged by the infection.

I knew then that, no matter how much I stood out at my game, the risk was too great for any team to pick me up. I did get back into shape and play for the Virginia team again, but this time it was just to show that I could, without the pressure of trying to go on to the next level. I also played a partial season for an arena team in Texas, but, frankly, the pay wasn’t worth the investment of time and expenses, so I opted out after only a part of the time there.

You asked about photos of me from Liberty University. I have to admit; I have scoured the web and my own personal collection, and can’t find any game pictures. As odd as this sounds, the digital camera is a fairly modern invention and really hasn’t caught on until the last 6 or 7 years.

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