2006 Around the Great Lakes columns

November 16, 2006 Half-dozen make postseason field The postseason is upon us throughout the Great Lakes Region. Six Great Lakes teams have qualified for the 32-team battle royal known as the NCAA Division III playoffs.

November 9, 2006 Clinching season While some teams in the Great Lakes Region wrapped up the 2006 season, two others clinch at least an 11th game by earning their respective conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III playoffs.

November 2, 2006 Surprise -- lopsided again More often than not, highly anticipated matchups in sports turn out to be lopsided affairs. Last Saturday proved to be the most anticipated regular-season weekend in quite a while throughout the Great Lakes Region. Would that theory concerning lopsided games hold true?

October 26, 2006 Mount Union, Capital take center stage It is only the eighth game of the season for the vast majority of teams in the Great Lakes Region. Yet, conference titles and playoff hopes are on the line this Saturday in nearly every league.

October 19, 2006 Road warriors come to forefront Saturday represented the 940th anniversary of one of history’s all-time biggest road wins: The Battle of Hastings. On Oct. 14, 1066, the Normans, under the guidance of head coach Duke William of Normandy, captured control of England with a sudden-death victory over King Harold (Godwinson) II’s host Anglo-Saxon squad.

October 12, 2006 Throwing in the towel Much like Joe Frazier-George Foreman or Michael Spinks-Mike Tyson, the heavyweight title clash in the OAC Saturday turned out to be a one-sided affair.

October 4, 2006 Fantastic finishes Older readers (and by "older," I mean those 25 and above) will probably remember the old "Fantastic Finish" clips that would play during the two-minute warning of NFL games on Sunday afternoons. Last weekend, the Great Lakes Region produced a number of games that would have qualified for that regrettably defunct late afternoon feature.

September 27, 2006 Yeah, cider and hay Summer faded into autumn last weekend as thoughts of apple cider, hayrides and Homecoming dance through people’s heads. It may be cooling down meteorologically but football-wise, things are just starting to heat up throughout the region.

September 20, 2006 Whoa, look who's 3-0 The Great Lakes Region broke the seal on another season of conference play Saturday afternoon as both the Ohio Athletic Conference and Presidents' Athletic Conference began their respective league schedules Saturday.

September 14, 2006 Setting the table for conference races Stadiums were dedicated. Seasons opened. Some streaks continued while others ended. The final week of fully non-conference football in the Great Lakes Region has set the table for what should be very interesting conference races this year.

September 8, 2006 Pretty much as expected The first weekend of competition throughout the Great Lakes Region came and went Saturday. No real surprises jumped up, although a few finals scores turned out to be a little more lopsided that one might have anticipated.

August 28, 2006 Games to watch in 2006 This opening edition of the Around the Great Lakes will provide an overview of what’s new in 2006 as well as some other things to keep an eye on. Kickoff 2006 features in-depth looks at specific teams and conferences — this column will look at some of the top matchups on the 2006 schedule.