Check Out Syd on ESPNW

With the arrival of March Madness, people all over the country are filling out brackets and giving their opinions on who is going to win it all. ESPN W is dedicated to women’s athletics and they interviewed several of the nation’s top recruits to see who they were pulling for in the Women’s March Madness Tournament. One of those interviewed was Sydney.

Here’s what they posted:

Sydney Brackemyre, Louisville
Brackemyre, a 6-foot forward from Clinton-Massie (Clarksville, Ohio), keeps it simple when explaining why she likes Louisville’s chances.

“Two words: Jeff Walz,” Brackemyre said of the Louisville coach when asked why the Cardinals could go a step beyond their runner-up finish from a year ago. “The entire Louisville staff does a great job of preparing the X’s and O’s and scouting the opponent.

“I think Louisville has a chance to get back to the championship game because history repeats itself. Their past success will repeat itself, in my opinion.”

While Brackemyre agrees that UConn and Notre Dame are the favorites, she also has been impressed with South Carolina (27-4), the No. 1 seed in the Stanford Regional.

“[Coach] Dawn Staley is doing a great job with the program,” she said.

Brackemyre said she will watch most of the tournament at home decked out in her favorite Louisville T-shirt, but there is also a chance she will catch some games in Louisville since the city will host a regional.

As for players to watch outside of Louisville, the No. 3 seed in the Louisville Regional, Brackemyre listed two: “Tricia Liston of Duke – I love how she plays. She is so skilled. And Diamond DeShields has been blowing up this year. I want to see how she does in her first NCAA tournament.”

Check out the entire article called FUTURE-SCHOOL SPIRIT FROM TOP RECRUITS

Rudy, Rudy, Rudy – the book

I remember sitting in my basement flipping channels and came across the movie, “Rudy.” I had heard of the movie, knew the basic story behind it, but had never watched it before. I think it was a Saturday afternoon and I didn’t have anything else going on. I decided to watch it…and loved it. Seeing Rudy get in the game after all the practice and effort and dedication was pretty cool. Then, when he sacks the quarterback and gets carried off the field, you are pumped up and ready to go do something great.

I think one of the coolest parts of the movie is when some of his teammates start the chant: “Rudy, Rudy, Rudy.” It picks up steam on the sidelines and then people in the stands join in. “Rudy, Rudy, Rudy.” Pretty exciting stuff.

Being a fan of the movie (although it was probably out for 8+ years before I saw it), I was intrigued when I saw Rudy wrote a book about his story. I thought if it was nearly as exciting as the movie, it would be worth reading.

Rudy, My Story is not just the story of how he played for Notre Dame, but a deeper look into what led him to Notre Dame, where that desire came from and the obstacles he had to overcome. The pages of the book offer much more time to provide details of upbringing, struggles in school, family dynamics and all that went into who Rudy was leading up to his days at Notre Dame.

Part of the book shares what Rudy did after his 27 seconds of Notre Dame fame and the trials he endured trying to get his story made into a movie. That in itself was a time of perseverance and determination to see that dream become a reality.

Rudy is very open and honest in this account, sharing not only the difficulties he had growing up, but also after making it onto the big screen. He shares his successes and failures in order to help others work to achieve their dreams.

If you saw the movie, you will want to read the book. If you like the underdog – or even feel like one yourself – this book is for you.

**I received this book from BookSneeze in exchange for my review.