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Thu, 15 May 2014
Ron and Veronica hold their first roundtable since their return, joined by Jason Corley and Jennifer Decker, and then they interview Ben Overmyer of Silver Gryphon Games about Ingenium Second Edition, which the company is currently Kickstarting.
Direct download: tgtt1402.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:08am MDT
Thu, 17 April 2014
In their return episode, Ron and Veronica conduct two interviews. Don Dehm discusses his Satyr Stein Homebrew project, and Ed Wetterman discusses the upcoming Savage Worlds setting, Degrees of Horror.
Direct download: tgtt1401.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:30am MDT
Sat, 14 December 2013
We just wanted to let you know we will have a brand new site for TGTT very soon! Further, we will be re-starting Flashback Fridays—it turns out we had some errors with our download numbers, which are now fixed. The plan is to have blogs every Monday and most Wednesdays, with Flashback Friday rounding out our typical week. All this is leading up to the return of the podcast in Summer 2014!
Category:general -- posted at: 11:46am MDT
Sun, 27 October 2013
The Blessings briefly return to bring you this special episode, wherein they interview Tim Brown, creator of the new setting, Dragon Kings. We learn Tim's history in the game industry and get treated to an exceprt of one of the songs from the Dragon Kings concept album. Check out the Dragon Kings Kickstarter while you still can!
Direct download: TGTTS01.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:29pm MDT
Thu, 19 September 2013
One thing we've decided about our return is that it has to be right. We understand it's going to take time as well, so we beg your patience. At this point, we're thinking the return of a regular show will be some time in the first half of 2014. We have a few requirements for our return, including a new website, a stable recording environment, and a consistent schedule. It's also our hope for both of us to blog regularly on the site, so perhaps The Game's the Thing isn't just a podcast, but more of a multimedia thing. Finally, we are looking to perhaps publish our own game material under the TGTT banner. This last one will likely take the most time to get rolling. Whatever happens, we will keep you posted.
We did do a little bit of recording at TactiCon over Labor Day weekend. It will produce one or two shows that will be released through the feed, but for strategic numbering purposes it/they will be listed as "specials." Look for at least one very soon.
Until next time, do good, avoid evil, and play more games!
Category:general -- posted at: 7:30am MDT
Mon, 8 April 2013
Okay. Veronica and I have decided we would definitely like to return to The Game's the Thing. We miss talking to our game indurstry friends and making new ones. So we're in the process of finding our way back. We have a couple obstacles to our return, and they're strongly related: time and money. Let me explain.
Veronica is very busy with our new son. He'll be 8 months old soon, and she's nursing him; so hopefully you can imagine the time sink when you add in Vern's full time job and our other child, Catherine, who's 9 going on 16.
On top of my father/husband duties and my full-time job, I have to freelance to make ends meet. One of the reasons I ended The Game's the Thing was that I had three activities outside the aforementiond father/husband/job: podcasting, freelancing, and gaming. Bottom line was the difference between podcasting and freelancing was much-needed money. And I wasn't going to give up gaming so I could talk about games and work on games. It just seemed counter-intuitive.
So here's the impasse. If we were to come back to TGTT, the podcast would have to replace at least some of the money I'd lose by reducing my freelancing workload. Unfortunately there's no consistent way to monetize a podcast. RPG companies don't tend to have much money to advertise on podcasts (even ones that can get 22,000 downloads in a year without new content). Click-through advertising is both ugly and annoying. A "donate" button doesn't provide much incentive. There's no good way to charge per episode that I can think of.
Enter Kickstarter.
Kickstarter is huge, and I know of at least one podcast that made a comeback using Kickstarter. So I'm going to put it to you, the listener (and reader, apparently). What do you really think of a Kickstarter for TGTT? I'd like some real discussion here.
Category:general -- posted at: 9:32pm MDT
Tue, 28 February 2012
Fair warning, we did not edit this episode. It was hard enough to add the music. There were tears during and after the recording. Please accept our apologies for any errors or omissions below--take them in the context they were made.
Direct download: tgtt100.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 7:09am MDT
Mon, 6 February 2012
We were joined by Geoffrey McKinney, designer of Carcosa and Isle of the Unknown, recently released by Lamentations of the Flame Princess. Of course the controversy surrounding Carcosa was discussed. Overall it was a great time!
Direct download: tgtt099.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 12:17am MDT
Wed, 1 February 2012
Hey folks!
We have been talking about this privately for awhile, and now we think it's time to just do it. We have made the decision to end The Game's the Thing at Episode 100. We think 100 is a great place to end it, and after over 5 1/2 years, we're ready to move on to new things.
We will be announcing our next steps as soon as we know what they are. In the meantime you have two shows to look forward to, and we truly hope you enjoy them.
Until next episode, do good, avoid evil, and PLAY MORE GAMES!
Category:general -- posted at: 8:32am MDT
Wed, 25 January 2012
We were joined by game designer and layout artist, Bill Keyes. We discussed his setting for the Hero System, the Widening Gyre, from Blackwyrm Publishing. Of course no discussion of a steampunk game would be complete without waxing philosophical on the genre itself, which we did.
Direct download: tgtt098.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 10:04pm MDT
Tue, 10 January 2012
Kenneth Hite joined us to discuss his latest Gumshoe game from Pelgrane Press, the vampire spy thriller, Night's Black Agents (NBA). During the discussion Ken told us what's upcoming for the game, including a previously unrevealed campaign sourcebook. Toward the end of the show, we even have time to talk about Ken's geekiest effort to date, Adventures Into Darkness.
Game Links:
Media Links:
Direct download: tgtt097.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 9:50am MDT
Tue, 20 December 2011
The Blessings were joined by Eloy Lasanta of Third Eye Games and Leif Olsen and Bill Stilson of the Denver Gamers Association. We discussed Eloy's latest game, Part-Time Gods, and the upcoming Genghis Con XXXIII, at which Eloy will be a guest. Lot's of game-name dropping in this episode, what with the holidays and all…
Direct download: tgtt096.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 9:52am MDT
Mon, 28 November 2011
We started the episode with some announcements and feedback from Episode 94. Then Chris Rutkowsky, of Basic Action Games, joined us to discuss his new game. Honor + Intrigue, a game of swashbuckling in the 17th century, has a game engine based on the excellent Barbarians of Lemuria. Chris also brought us up to date on other upcoming releases from Basic Action Games.
Direct download: tgtt095.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 10:22am MDT
Mon, 24 October 2011
We were joined by John Wick (John Wick Presents), initially to discuss his latest Little Game, Eldritch High. We did discuss that game, but we ended up catching up on a lot more, including other games in the upcoming Big Book of Little Games, and John's soon-to-be-released Big Game, the Aegis Project.
Other Links:
Direct download: tgtt094.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 9:15pm MDT
Mon, 10 October 2011
In his 007th appearance on TGTT, Sean Preston discusses Reality Blurs' latest effort, Agents of Oblivion. Sean also updates us on his other settings. Stick around till the very end to hear the official Razorwise theme song!
Direct download: tgtt093.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 10:23pm MDT
Tue, 13 September 2011
After disaster struck recording this the first time, we met the Saturday after TactiCon, in the dining room of the Blessing household, to try again. We were joined by Catherine "CaLeigh" Blessing, Lee Langston, Bill Stilson, Justin Suzuki, Linda Tschappat, and Matthew Ward, to give our impressions of TactiCon 2011. We spent a little time discussing the first ever Savage Saturday Night, west of the Mississippi. CaLeigh also provided the 7-year-old perspective on Con Jr. (which happens at 11:42 in the show, for those family types who may just want to hear her and don't know what a dodecahedron* is).
Direct download: tgtt092.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 10:30am MDT
Thu, 1 September 2011
We were joined by Charles White of Fabled Environments, and he updates us on what he's been doing since he was on the show four years ago. He also drops a huge prize on us to give away this weekend at TactiCon!!
Direct download: tgtt091.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 10:56am MDT
Wed, 10 August 2011
Robin D. Laws returns to present Ashen Stars, the space opera Gumshoe game from Pelgrane Press. In addition to Ashen Starts, we spend some time discussing Hamlet's Hit Points and Robin's next game system for Pelgrane, the Drama System, and it's first implementation, Hillfolk.
Direct download: tgtt090.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 8:11pm MDT
Tue, 2 August 2011
Cam Banks returns to present the Dragon Brigade RPG, from Margaret Weis Productions, based on the new fantasy setting by Margaret Weis and Robert Krammes. We also discussed what's upcoming for the rest of the Cortex Plus game line, from puffy books to children's adventures.
Direct download: tgtt089.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 7:43pm MDT
Tue, 26 July 2011
Justin Suzuki of the WombatCast guest hosts as we are joined by Brennan Taylor of Galileo Games to discuss the new FATE version of his game setting, Bulldogs! Brennan also talks about his other games and gives some pointers based on his Kickstarter success.
Direct download: tgtt088.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 11:15pm MDT
Tue, 19 July 2011
We were joined by Bill Stilson and Linda Tschappat of the Denver Gamers Association to discuss the upcoming TactiCon 2011. This year's TactiCon will benefit NaNoWriMo.
Direct download: tgtt087.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 9:13pm MDT
Tue, 12 July 2011
Along with guest host, Marc "Lord Inar" Gacy, we were joined by Jim Raggi of Lamentations of the Flame Princess and Zak S. of Playing D&D With Porn Stars and I Hit It With My Axe. We discussed Jim's Grindhouse Edition of LotFP and Zak's Vornheim: The Complete City Kit.
Direct download: tgtt086.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 10:47pm MDT
Tue, 5 July 2011
In celebration of five years in podcasting, we took a trip down memory lane using the convenient invention of voicemail. Then we welcomed back our first ever interviewee, Shane Lacy Hensley. We discussed his Cryptic Studios game, Neverwinter, and Pinnacle Entertainment Group's newest release of the Savage Worlds core rules, Savage Worlds Deluxe.
The Fine Folks We Discussed:
Direct download: tgtt085.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 2:22am MDT
Wed, 29 June 2011
Ross Watson makes his return to the show, and this time he has back-up in fellow designer, Sam Stewart, who joins us for the first time. These fine gentlemen present Fantasy Flight Games' latest Warhammer 40,000 RPG, Black Crusade. Soon to be released at GenCon, this fourth game in the trilogy allows roleplayers to craft a campaign from the perspective of Chaos.
Direct download: tgtt084.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 1:12am MDT
Wed, 22 June 2011
We were joined by Jeff Carlsen and Tyson J. Hayes of Apathy Games, wherein we discussed their Savage Worlds setting, Temporal Probability Agency. We spent quite a bit of time talking about their design choices, especially in terms of presentation, regarding their new Savage Worlds stat block and their adventure layout.
Direct download: tgtt083.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 10:40am MDT
Fri, 17 June 2011
We had a great discussion with Chuck Rice of Vigilance Press. We discussed Chuck's career, including his time with RPG Objects, where he supported d20 Modern (most notably the Blood & ______ series), Darwin's World, and his own take on the Modern SRD, Modern20. Vigilance Press currently supports Bash, d20, Icons, Mutants & Masterminds, Mutant Future, OSRIC, and True20. We spoke at length about Chuck's two recent projects, The Usher Dossiers and Nuclear Sunset.
Direct download: tgtt082.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 11:44am MDT
Wed, 8 June 2011
We finally return from our hiatus to bring our listeners up to speed and discuss a crazy, gamer-related idea Veronica and her sister Cat have. They've put together a Pampered Chef party for RPG enthusiasts. Sound fun? It should. We also talked about some upcoming guests, our friends at the Pulp Gamer Media Network, and this year's RPGPodcasts.com listener survey. We even mentioned our friends at Wombatcast.com. Oh, and Ron may have poked fun at Tucson and its inhabitants once or twice. But Tucsonans are such good folks, they'll be fine with it... right?
Direct download: tgtt081.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 12:23am MDT
Wed, 30 March 2011
A week and a day behind schedule, we were joined by Ben Overmyer, of Silver Gryphon Games, to talk about simplifying fantasy roleplaying and his game, Ingenium.
Direct download: tgtt080.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 10:03am MDT
Tue, 8 March 2011
For the final part of our GenghisCon XXXII wrap-up, we were again joined by Ross Watson, Michael Surbrook, Bill Keyes, Marc Gacy, Justin Suzuki, and Andy Collier. In addition we spoke briefly with con organizer, Leif Olson, and Denver Gamer's Association President, Bill Stilson.
Direct download: tgtt079.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 8:18am MDT
Tue, 22 February 2011
We had quite the cast to open our two-part wrap-up of GenghisCon XXXII: Ross Watson of Fantasy Flight Games, freelance writer Michael Surbrook, freelance writer and layout designer Bill Keyes, freelance writer Marc Gacy, and podcasters Justin Suzuki and Andy Collier. We also take the time to discuss Ross' latest Warhammer 40,000 RPG, Deathwatch.
Direct download: tgtt078.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 8:16am MDT
Tue, 8 February 2011
We were joined by Eloy Lasanta of Third Eye Games to complete our two-part series on adapting Eastern philosophies and elements into Western gaming. Eloy's game is Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade. In addition, Eloy revealed upcoming products in all his game line's, including the upcoming Part-Time Gods.
Direct download: tgtt077.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 7:00am MDT
Tue, 1 February 2011
We were joined by Sean Preston of Reality Blurs. We discussed injecting Eastern genres into Western games, as it pertains to his setting for Savage Worlds, Iron Dynasty: Way of the Ronin. Sean has offered to continue his preorder bundle for a week beyond the release of this show, but just this week, the Reality Blurs store has started malfunctioning. He assured us if folks email him at email@example.com, he will honor the deal, which is buy the print version from the Reality Blurs store, get the PDF for only $5. Hurry! This is for one week only.
Direct download: tgtt076.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 11:34pm MDT
Tue, 11 January 2011
We were joined by Leif Olsen and Bill Stilson of the Denver Gamers Association (DGA), to discuss gaming at conventions. Special attention was paid to the upcoming Genghis Con, which will take place in the Denver area in February. We had a brief discussion about TactiCon, which is later in the year. And check out the DGA Facebook page.
Direct download: tgtt075.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 9:31am MDT
Tue, 14 December 2010
In this episode, we were joined by Jeff Combos and Sechin Tower of Exile Game Studio. Jeff and Sechin are the masterminds behind Hollow Earth Expedition, so there was much talk of that game and its system. Ron also brought up a local mini-con, MagnaCon, where he will be running games this January.
Direct download: tgtt074.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 11:13am MDT
Tue, 23 November 2010
In our triumphant return, Cam Banks and Rob Donoghue joined us to discuss running caper stories and, specifically, the Leverage RPG--the latest release from Margaret Weis Productions, based on the hit TV show, Leverage.
Direct download: tgtt073.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 12:09am MDT
Thu, 8 July 2010
Jason joins us for our second Improv episode. This time we have Robin Laws discussing his new game, Skulduggery. We had some major issues with the sound on Robin's side of things, so apologies for that. The content was so good, we felt the story still needed to get out.
Another thing we should mention is this month marks the four year anniversary of TGTT. We'll talk about that in an upcoming show, but in the meantime, we'd like to thank our listeners who have been with us all this time.
Direct download: tgtt072.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 12:33am MDT
Wed, 23 June 2010
We begin a two-part series on improvisational roleplaying with Play Unsafe author, Graham Walmsley. Our friend, Jason "The Best GM in Tucson" Corley, helps us shoulder the hosting duties for this series.
And check out the RPG discussion site Jason and Graham were talking about so much, Story Games.
Direct download: tgtt071.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 10:54pm MDT
Thu, 27 May 2010
We conclude Super May with Margaret Weis Productions' Cam Banks. We of course discuss the Smallville RPG and the supers genre, in general. The Game's the Thing will return on June 18th, when we'll dovetail off of Smallville, into our next topic!
Other Links:
Direct download: tgtt070.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 7:18pm MDT
Thu, 20 May 2010
In week three of Super May, we are joined by super hero RPG veteran, Steve Kenson, as we discuss his brand new game, Icons.
Other Links:
Direct download: tgtt069.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 11:41pm MDT
Fri, 14 May 2010
Super May continues with Basic Action Games' Chris Rutkowsky. Along with our discussion of the supers roleplaying category, Chris tells us about his game, Basic Action Super Heroes! Ultimate Edition.
Other links:
Direct download: tgtt068.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 12:24am MDT
Thu, 6 May 2010
Super May begins with the return of Clint Black of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. During our conversation of supers RPGs, in general, we discussed Clint's Necessary Evil and the new Super Powers Companion.
Other links:
Direct download: tgtt067.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 8:04pm MDT
Thu, 18 March 2010
Direct download: tgtt066.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 9:48pm MDT
Sun, 14 February 2010
We finally take care of 2009 business to make way for 2010, already in progress.
Direct download: tgtt065.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 10:42pm MDT
Fri, 30 October 2009
Direct download: tgtt064.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 1:05am MDT
Thu, 22 October 2009
Other links:
Direct download: tgtt063.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 11:32pm MDT
Mon, 28 September 2009
Direct download: tgtt062.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 11:17pm MDT
Sat, 29 August 2009
Direct download: tgtt061.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 1:08am MDT
Fri, 7 August 2009
Don Dehm from the Pulp Gamer Media Network joined us as we interviewed Ross Watson of Fantasy Flight Games about the new Rogue Trader RPG from the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
In addition, we made a huge announcement regarding the future of TGTT and the creation of a new podcast!
Other links:
Board Games with Scott
Direct download: tgtt060.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 6:55pm MDT
Mon, 20 July 2009
Direct download: tgtt059.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 12:28am MDT
Sun, 5 July 2009
We spent our Saturday and Sunday at the Origins Game Fair collecting short interviews on the Exhibition Hall floor with as many creators and manufacturers as we could squeeze in. Get a feel for the show floor of Origins with our 14 conversations.
Direct download: tgtt058.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 12:55am MDT
Sat, 16 May 2009
Direct download: tgtt057.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 12:48am MDT
Wed, 6 May 2009
Direct download: tgtt056.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 11:48pm MDT
Wed, 29 April 2009
In this episode, we reviewed Legends of Steel Savage Worlds Edition from Evil DM Productions. We also took the time to go over feedback and get in a couple plugs for our friends.
Direct download: tgtt055.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 10:19pm MDT
Wed, 15 April 2009
Direct download: tgtt054.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 9:55am MDT
Tue, 31 March 2009
Clint has taken over the show! Mad with power, he's decided to spill the beans on several upcoming Savage Worlds products, one of which Pinnacle has not previously announced! Listen up to find it if we ever get control of the show again...
Direct download: tgtt053.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 5:51pm MDT
Tue, 24 March 2009
Direct download: tgtt052.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 5:03pm MDT
Mon, 16 March 2009
Direct download: tgtt051.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 9:05pm MDT
Thu, 26 February 2009
Direct download: tgtt050.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 9:55pm MDT
Fri, 13 February 2009
Direct download: tgtt049.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 10:42am MDT
Sat, 31 January 2009
Direct download: tgtt048.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 7:45pm MDT
Wed, 17 December 2008
Direct download: tgtt047.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 1:58am MDT
Tue, 2 December 2008
Direct download: tgtt046.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 9:25pm MDT
Wed, 19 November 2008
Direct download: tgtt045.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 4:28pm MDT
Wed, 5 November 2008
Direct download: tgtt044.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 2:49am MDT
Wed, 22 October 2008
Direct download: tgtt043.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 7:22pm MDT
Wed, 8 October 2008
Our 42nd episode!
Direct download: tgtt042.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 12:17pm MDT
Fri, 26 September 2008
We interviewed Charles Phipps, creator of Halt Evil Doer!, a M&M Superlink setting published by Arbor Productions. Charles also announces two new upcoming settings: Winterweir, a dark fantasy setting for Savage Worlds and the Pathfinder RPG, and Streets of Frenzy, a modern martial arts/crime drama setting for Savage Worlds.
Direct download: tgtt041.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 9:11am MDT
Thu, 11 September 2008
This show brings our interview of Rob Elliot, Production Director of Triple Ace Games, one of the newest Savage Worlds Licensees. We discussed what they've done and where they're going. If you want information about Daring Tales, Necropolis 2350, or Sundered Skies, this is the place to listen.
Direct download: tgtt040.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 12:08pm MDT
Wed, 27 August 2008
We interviewed Jamie Gooch, Stephen Herron, and Matt Somers, of Greymalkin Designs, about their new post-apocalyptic fantasy RPG, Desolation. Desolation uses Ubiquity, the roleplaying system behind Exile Games' Hollow Earth Expedition, and employs a brand new free-form magic system.
Direct download: tgtt039.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 11:08pm MDT
Wed, 13 August 2008
We interviewed Lee Szczepanik, publisher at Arbor Productions. We talked at great length about the Neo Earth setting (on which the original Autumn Arbor campaign setting book is written), and the upcoming products to be released through the recently-updated Savage Worlds licensee program and the M&M Superlink program for Mutants & Masterminds. Also discussed were the fiction series about Autumn Arbor and the state of the industry, in general.
Direct download: tgtt038.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 3:36pm MDT
Thu, 31 July 2008
In another Origins show, we review the survival horror board game, Last Night on Earth from Flying Frog Productions. We also had a chance to interview Kenneth Hite. We had a blast doing this show.
Direct download: tgtt037.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 4:51am MDT
Tue, 15 July 2008
So it's finally here. The show opens with Matt's performance of a new song, lyrics by Clint Black, based on a fan-favorite Joss Whedon song! Then we were treated to discussion about Savage Worlds with Shane Hensley, Clint & Jodi Black, Sean Preston, Sean Patrick Fannon, Matthew Cutter, and a cast of Savages. Thanks to all involved!
Direct download: tgtt036.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 2:45pm MDT
Tue, 8 July 2008
In this show we talk about our first experience at the Origins Game Fair and play two segments recorded at the show. 1) We interviewed Anthony Gallela, Executive Director of the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA): the organization behind Origins, and 2) Jeff Combos of Exile Game Studio took the third seat to discuss the Origins Awards and to let us know what was coming for his game, Hollow Earth Expedition, and the Ubiquity System, in general.
Direct download: tgtt035.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 9:44am MDT
Sat, 21 June 2008
We were joined by our friend and local d20 expert, Andrew Harvey, to discuss our thoughts and opinions of the new D&D. And yes, we do alternately call him Andrew and Harvey. It's a long story.
Direct download: tgtt034.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 10:48pm MDT
Wed, 4 June 2008
We were joined by Kevin Melka of Digital Adventures, a publisher for the popular online tabletop roleplaying software, Fantasy Grounds II. We discussed playing pen and paper RPGs online, as well as using tools like FGII at the game table. Also, Kevin reveals future plans for Digital Adventures, as it pertains to Savage Worlds Online and future rulesets coming out soon.
Direct download: tgtt033.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 4:20pm MDT
Wed, 21 May 2008
We were joined by Green Ronin Publishing President (and former punk rocker) Chris Pramas to discuss the Freeport setting and the concept of systemless settings, in general. Of course, Chris takes the time to give a preview of upcoming products from Green Ronin, such as the new A Song of Ice and Fire RPG.
Direct download: tgtt032.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 6:43pm MDT
Sun, 4 May 2008
We are joined by our friends Lindsey Ehman and Matt Cancio to discuss gaming with your significant other. Veronica reveals what makes a board game playable for her - this will turn into a regular feature.
Direct download: tgtt031.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 4:53pm MDT
Fri, 4 April 2008
We interview Dave Blewer about his new Savage Worlds plot point setting, Sundered Skies, due out in May. We had some internet-based problems with sound that were fixed to the best of our ability. Please excuse the issue. If any clarification is needed, stop by the Pinnacle forums.
Direct download: tgtt030.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 11:18am MDT
Fri, 21 March 2008
After a hiatus in excess of three months, we're back.
Direct download: tgtt029.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 11:12pm MDT
Thu, 13 December 2007
We interview Sean Patrick Fannon about the recent release of the full Plot-Point version of Shaintar: Immortal Legends for Savage Worlds. A good time was had by all.
Direct download: tgtt028.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 4:29pm MDT
Wed, 7 November 2007
We interview Green Ronin's Steve Kenson. Among other things, we discuss Mutants & Masterminds, True20, and what Steve is playing.
Direct download: tgtt027.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 4:45pm MDT
Sun, 21 October 2007
This is the second part of the interview with 12 to Midnight's Charles White. We managed to go off on a completely different subject. Also, we have Little Black Book. Clint discusses and demonstrates the new Savage Worlds: Explorer's Edition chase rules with us. We finally have a winner for Cheyenne Wright's original artwork for the Savage Worlds Action Deck black joker (see the image below). And we start a new contest.
Direct download: tgtt026.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 11:39am MDT
Sun, 14 October 2007
Paul "Wiggy" Wade-Williams is the Creative Director for Pinnacle Entertainment Group (PEG). Considering the size of the fan-favorite publisher, this means he has hands in pretty much all things Savage Worlds.
While Wiggy is typically locked in a dungeon, chained to a computer with no phone (he doesn't even have Minesweeper on the computer), he did take the time to respond to some questions over e-mail. Here are the fruits of our necessarily covert labor.
1. How did you get into RPGs?
That was back in 1982. The Fighting Fantasy book "Warlock of Firetop Mountain? had just been released. My friend Jaffa had bought a copy and got caught reading it in math class by the teacher, Mrs. Lupton. She was a DM and asked if he wanted to try AD&D (1st Edition). He said yes and asked me if I was interested. I was a keen reader of fantasy and sci-fi back then, so I agreed. That was it—hooked for life on the RPG drug!!
2. Tell us how you got into RPG design?
I played AD&D for about 3 months before I jumped sides and became a DM. Something about being able to design worlds rather than react to them was very appealing. I tried my hand at a few homebrew RPGs, but they all sucked. By 1996 I was a big Ars Magica fan and came up with an idea for runic magic. On a whim I sent Atlas Games a few pages of ideas and they came back with a contract for an entire book. That set the ball rolling and I haven't stopped writing since.
3. It seems like everyone at Pinnacle Entertainment Group knew each other before Savage Worlds. What led you to PEG?
Savage Worlds is the obvious answer, but really it was Weird Wars. I don't know why but WW2 and horror have always been favorites. My dad read a lot of WW2 books, so I guess that part comes from him. Problem was, d20 was great for a small squad but died a rapid death when you had 20 allies and 30+ Germans. In its defense, it was never written for that level of play.
I was also working on Necropolis again, using d20 rules. When SW came out I immediately saw the advantages and wrote Necropolis properly. Then I got wind of the Rippers RPG. We'd just watched the Van Helsing movie, which both the wife and I loved. So I offered Shane my services and he let me write three adventures. Then came the Slipstream contract and shortly after that a meeting with Shane at Gen Con UK 2004. A few weeks later I was on the payroll.
I had met Simon and Rob Elliot before, though. They came to WigCon (a small con I used to run back in the day) and demoed a CCG they'd invented. That must have been about 1999 or 2000.
4. As of this writing, what is your word count with PEG?
No idea, I'm afraid. About 18 months ago it was over a million. I'd have to guess at well over 2 million now due to some large projects, like Kane and Pirates, plus a few other big books for future release. Not everything will necessarily see print, though, which makes it hard to give an accurate figure.
5. Where did you get the idea for Necropolis?
Now that's a question I can't really answer with 100% accuracy. I know the idea first appeared around 1991-2. Two brothers and I had designed a few rubbish games, but then we saw Aliens and, I think, Warhammer 40K was just being released. Somehow we got the idea of marines (more like Aliens than WH40K) against undead. Back then there were a small number of worlds, not just one. That idea died a natural death, but 10 years later I went back to it and added the themes you see in the book today.
I guess I went for the holy orders in the final version because of my interest in the Medieval holy knights. Part monk, part warrior, and semi-autonomous—that balance between holy vows and killing is an interesting one.
6. We'd heard somewhere that your pitch for Necropolis to Shane was rather interesting. Can you tell us about that?
I don't know whether I'd call it interesting. I sent him the entire draft back in 2002. It lacked a Plot Point back then, though. 50 Fathoms wasn't out and I didn't have Evernight, but it was around 96 pages. So I hear nothing (which is unsurprising given it was unsolicited). A few months later I contacted Shane again asking a specific question about the setting and he didn't know what I was on about or who I was. You have to remember back then PEG was Shane and Zeke working part-time. I guess the file just got lost and I should have sent my writing resume with the file.
It was only after I'd written the Rippers adventures that I brought the subject up again. This time I got the nod to finish it properly.
7. What, if any, TV shows or movies do you recommend to get players into the feel for Necropolis?
Aliens is a must. I'd also recommend Chronicles of Riddick. Strangely, what I'd really recommend is Gears of War. Although it came out after Necropolis was finished, the architecture is just what I was after—Gothic yet futuristic. I hear Hellgate London (I think that's the title) might be a good fit, but I've never played the game.
8. What is your favorite Savage Setting, to date?
Difficult one, that. Rippers is probably my top favorite, because my wife loves the setting as well. Necropolis (because it's 100% mine) and Pirates (because it's a cool genre) come close behind. When Weird War 2 comes out it'll jump into that pile somewhere, for sure.
9. What upcoming Savage Worlds project (that you can admit exists), that you have written, are you most anticipating?
There's a future Weird Wars project, the existence of which Simon leaked by mistake, which I think the fans will enjoy. The Plot Point spans around 400 years of game play, with ancestral tables to let you play the same family (assuming you survive the previous campaign era). At the moment there are thirteen historical periods you can play in. You can pick a single era and really go to town, run all 13 as an extended campaign, or mix and match your favorite eras, leaving those you don't like out altogether.
I've managed to tie in a backstory to real history, so I hope the fans appreciate it. It's in very early internal playtesting and proofreading at the moment and isn't scheduled for release until 2009.
There is another project I'm waiting to see released, but that's still a closely guarded secret known only to a few PEG insiders right now.
As a freebie, I will mention I'm thinking very hard about expanding Necropolis. Necropolis sort of caught us off guard in that it has sold well and received generally good feedback. The Companion gives fans new options for the game, such as performing more investigative missions for the Church, but I want to go further and advance the timeline beyond 2355, which is where the Companion stops.
10. What about a project you haven't written?
Weird Wars: World War 2 is top of the list. It was WW d20 which got me interested in PEG (I had played Deadlands a few times, but never bought into the line), so this book, although written by Mike Montesa (great job, Mike!), is really important to me. I'll be senior line editor for that one.
11. If you could write anything, what would it be?
Well, I have written the one thing I'd always wanted to write. Actually that's a small lie. I'm 656 pages into it with a few more hundred pages to go. However, with regard to dreams rather than reality, I'd love to Savage "Living Steel,? one of my favorite settings ever. The next thing I want to write is "Necropolis II.?
12. The toolkits have all been awesome. Will there be any more coming?
Maybe, maybe not. We'd written all the Toolkits we planned at the beginning, so anything else we produce is a bonus. I know some fans want post-apocalypse, but they'll have HOE. Some want to see a set of PEG-written martial arts, but they'll be better in a setting book.
So, the Post-Apocalypse TK has been suspended for now because Teller is working on HOE. I sent him the file in case there was anything he wanted to use. The Combat Options TK is in a similar state, because a lot of the martial art stuff I'm using elsewhere.
It may be that we release smaller TKs, possibly even just a few pages as free products, but right now we're working harder on getting print books out to the fans.
13. Is there any ETA for printed toolkits or updated PDFs to line things up with SW:EX?
Not yet. I suspect we'll take a look at those in a year or so. We want to make some major changes so fans who invested in the PDFs don't feel they were cheated. By changing the examples and expanding certain sections we're going to create a whole new book, really. Also we want new art and layouts for each one and we have to re-lay them out to fit whatever size book we go for.
14. What is the toughest thing you've written?
Any Plot Point ranks very highly (laughs). Of all the books, I'd say it has to be Kane. Kane wasn't my character, so I had certain constraints. I also wanted to try and emulate Howard's style, more for continuity and recognition of the character than anything else, which wasn't easy. Then you get all the history and deciding what to add in and what to leave out for space reasons.
15. What is your favorite style of game to GM?
Another tricky one. I'd like to just say "action? but that's too vague. I like the pulp style of gaming, where you concentrate on the plot and the action and ignore boring details like fuel consumption in a stolen Nazi truck. Everyone knows it runs out of fuel when the plot says it does, even if the tank was full just 20 miles ago. But I also love the suspense of horror, so you get action-horror like Weird Wars and Rippers.
I get the best answer is, so long as the players and I can ignore the details and get on with the cool story, I'm easy. The only thing I really detest is players who quibble over trivial details instead of trying to enjoy the game.
16. If Savage Worlds didn't exist, what would be your favorite RPG?
Heroquest (formerly Hero Wars) by, Issaries, most likely. I love the whole character generation thing and how it's a story driven game. HQ, to me, is about becoming somebody. That may be a tribal elder or a warband commander, or perhaps just the best farmer in your tribe. It's also Glorantha-based, so that earns bonus points.
However, ask me in March 2008 and it may well be Dark Heresy, the forthcoming Warhammer 40K RPG. I'm really looking forward to that.
17. What are you playing now?
I'm playing Weird Wars: Weird War 2 with one group and playing D&D 3.5 with another. I'm hoping to GM Rippers soon for the wife. My Weird Wars GM is painting all my minis, so having the added color will be rather cool.
18. Who is the best GM at PEG, and why?
Well, my answer is biased by circumstance. I've met Shane exactly once, and that was back in 2004. I've met Simon a few times, but we usually have to talk work rather than play games. So, by default of him being the only PEG GM I've played under, it's Dave Blewer.
I know others run a mean game, but that's just rumor to me up here in the frozen north. Maybe one day I'll get chance to meet guys like Joe, Clint, Mike, and Steve, and I can give you an answer with a few more candidates than Dave (who is a great GM).
19. Can you tell us about a setting you'd love to make but will never sell?
As a company? No idea about that. I suspect most of us have homebrew settings we'll never push forward. Personally, not sure. Thing is, I don't write for PEG, in the sense of, "What does Shane or Simon think of this?? I write stuff I hope the fans will enjoy reading and playing. If I ever wrote a setting just for me I'd feel a bit guilty at keeping it to myself.
Heck, for all I know, Shane or Simon may read some of the for-the-future stuff I've written and decide it sucks. It would then fall under a setting I loved making but we'd never sell.
20. Tell us something about yourself that none of your fans would be likely to know.
I have an HNC (that's sort of equivalent to a low-ranking degree in America, if I recall correctly) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, but I've never been to university (which I guess is college to you guys).
Thanks for taking the time for this interview!
Hey, thanks for taking the time to contact me. Always a pleasure to help sell Savage Worlds and support THE GAME'S THE THING!
Category:20 questions -- posted at: 1:05pm MDT
Sun, 7 October 2007
We're finally back with Charles White wherein he discusses his work at Fabled Environments, the maker of Modern Floorplans for 12 to Midnight. Clint Black is back with the Little Black Book. The segment has a brand new "professional" intro and we discuss the fan-requested Rippers. Also, we play the promo that Veronica worked on for the Carpe GM podcast.
Direct download: tgtt025.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 2:25pm MDT
Wed, 8 August 2007
In this special episode, we get a chance to talk with Jeff Combos and Melissa McNally of Exile Game Studio about their multi-award-nominated RPG Hollow Earth Expedition (HEX).
Direct download: tgtt024.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 6:13pm MDT
Thu, 2 August 2007
Veronica and I have an interview with Cheyenne Wright in this episode. In addition Clint Black is back in our regular segment The Little Black Book. This time we discuss Savage Worlds: Explorer's Edition. We check in with Pinnacle's own Minister of Information, Joe Unger.
Direct download: tgtt023.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 12:37pm MDT
Mon, 25 June 2007
We are finally back! We check in with Joe Unger at Pinnacle Entertainment to get the scoop on all the latest Savage Worlds happenings. We have the first of a new regular segment called "The Little Black Book" with Pinnacle's own Clint Black. And we at last resolve the contest that was started long ago to win an autographed copy of Low Life from Andy Hopp. It includes a special picture drawn inside by Andy himself!
Direct download: tgtt022.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 7:09pm MDT
Mon, 16 April 2007
Veronica and I talked to Rob Donoghue and Fred Hicks of Evil Hat Productions. We discussed their past and present gaming lives and their many projects, including FATE, Spirit of the Century, and Fred's Don't Rest Your Head. Of course talking to Fred and Rob would not be complete without discussing the upcoming Dresden Files RPG based on the hit urban fantasy book series by Jim Butcher.
Direct download: tgtt021.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 11:48pm MDT
Sun, 25 March 2007
One week late, Veronica and I have our usual check with Joe Unger, find out who won the amazing 12 to Midnight prize, interview Andy Hopp of Low Life fame, and find out about the new Savage Worlds podcast from Chris Engler. Of course we start a new contest...
Direct download: tgtt020.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 7:01pm MDT
Sat, 10 March 2007
Kainan returned along with Jack as we reviewed Reiner Knizia's Tile-Laying Trilogy: Tigris & Euphrates, Through the Desert, and Samurai.
Direct download: tgtt019.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 11:04am MDT
Sun, 4 March 2007
I had Boyan Radakovich of Shifting Skies Games on the show to talk about his game, High School Drama! After that, Bo and I were joined by Cap'n John Morgan and Jonathan Bodey of Ship of Fools Games. We discussed some of the processes and pitfalls of self-publishing. A good time was had by all.
Direct download: tgtt018.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 5:30pm MDT
Sun, 18 February 2007
This month, Veronica and I interviewed Ed Wetterman of 12 to Midnight. We discussed Ed's gaming past, as well as the history and future of 12 to Midnight. Ed talks about his many projects including Innana's Kiss, Green's Guide to Ghosts, and the much-anticipated 12 Hours to Midnight. On top of all this, Ed has put up the biggest prize yet for the next contest!
Direct download: tgtt_sw_2007-02.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 9:11am MDT
Sun, 4 February 2007
I was invited to Hat's Games in Tucson, AZ for the launch of a new, locally-produced card game called Treasure Fleet. While there, I talked to the creators at Ship of Fools Games and covered a tournament celebrating the release of the game.
Direct download: tgtt_se_tflp.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 12:58pm MDT
Sat, 27 January 2007
Ron welcomes Jack to the show as they take some feedback, review Gheos and Midgard, and talk about what they're playing recently.
Direct download: tgtt_bg_2007-01.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 8:55am MDT
Sat, 20 January 2007
So after what turned out to be over a month-long hiatus, it's time for another Savage Worlds show!
Direct download: tgtt_sw_2007-01.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 8:56am MDT
Fri, 15 December 2006
In this show, Veronica and I interview Sean Preston of Reality Blurs. As usual, we check in with Joe Unger who talks a bit about future Pinnacle releases. Also, we reveal the winner of the first Savage Worlds contest. Listen in for details on how to enter the next contest and what you can win!
Direct download: tgtt_sw_2006-12.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 7:46am MDT
Sun, 3 December 2006
Episode 012: Brennan Taylor Interview and Mythic Game Master Emulator (formerly RPG Edition - Dec. '06)
This show has our first roleplaying roundtable review. Veronica and I lead a discussion about Mythic Game Master Emulator.
Direct download: tgtt_rpg_2006-12.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 2:09pm MDT
Thu, 16 November 2006
Our first Savage Worlds podcast! Ron and Veronica interview Shaintar creator, Sean Patrick Fannon. Sean discusses his high fantasy Savage Worlds setting as well as the Fantasy Roleplaying Gamer's Bible, Talisman Studios, Con on the Cob, and Project '77. We also discuss his origins as a gamer and designer.
Direct download: tgtt_sw_2006-11.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 11:27pm MDT
Sun, 12 November 2006
Episode 010: Ticket to Ride 1910, Arkham Horror/Shadows Over Camelot Roundtable (formerly Season 2, Episode 5 - Board and Card Game Show)
Kainan and I discuss the new Ticket to Ride 1910 expansion. We also give an overview of Arkham Horrror and play a roundtable we had with Adam and Jamie comparing Shadows Over Camelot to Arkham Horror.
Direct download: tgtt_2x05.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 1:16pm MDT
Wed, 8 November 2006
Ron and Veronica are joined by friend and old gamer buddy Jen Decker, along with Veronica's sister Cat Dickerson to discuss female roleplayers. Sound quality is kind of off for this show, due to some technical difficulties, but it is worth the listen!
Direct download: tgtt_2x04.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 11:49pm MDT
Sun, 22 October 2006
So, this is why we say "on or about Friday."
Direct download: tgtt_2x03.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 1:41pm MDT
Thu, 5 October 2006
Our first all-roleplaying show went well as I introduce my wife, Veronica, to the show. We interviewed Shane Lacy Hensley, creator of Savage Worlds and, of course, Deadlands! Shane spills the beans about a neat upcoming product in Great White Games' future and dishes about his history in gaming and developing RPGs. Shane also gives details about the upcoming "The Savage Worlds of Solomon Kane" and discusses how GWG's licenses with Wiz Kids Games came about. Listen in to learn three things about Shane you probably never knew!
Direct download: tgtt_2x02.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 9:39pm MDT
Sat, 23 September 2006
So, we're officially back! We manage to complete undercut our 45-80 minute goal and produce a show that's just over 28 minutes. That said, we have four reviews for you! Be sure to listen all the way to the end to hear Ron let the cat out of the bag about our first RPG show interview.
Direct download: tgtt_2x01.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 12:17am MDT
Mon, 7 August 2006
You might think this show is a day late, but in fact we've always intended to have it come out on Mondays. That means this is the first show that is right on time! Over the last few shows, you may have noticed an annoying intermittent hum. We didn't want to bring this up on the show, so as not to draw attention to it. Well, the hum is gone. It seems having the mic on the same table as the laptop was causing the issue whenever the laptop's fan came on. The quick fix was to put the laptop on a different table.
Direct download: tgtt_005.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 8:59pm MDT
Sun, 30 July 2006
After an involuntary hiatus, Ron and Kainan are back with a streamlined format.
Direct download: tgtt_004.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 11:51pm MDT
Sun, 16 July 2006
Kainan's back. In this episode we brought some closure to pluralizations, gave ourselves license to make new words, and discussed some games. We continued the Gipf Project series with Tamsk. Our Savage Worlds feature became a multi-parter, so this is the first of an undisclosed number of parts in that RPG. Also, we reviewed Aquarius.
Direct download: tgtt_003.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 2:41pm MDT
Sun, 9 July 2006
In this episode Kainan isn't here, but Ron is joined by Paul Clarke and Jack Saunders. We discuss the Cleopatra trade variant Ron came up with, and the results for that. We begin the multi-part series covering the Gipf Project. We also review Dead Man's Treasure and Power Grid.
Direct download: tgtt_002.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 7:26pm MDT
Sun, 2 July 2006
So the first show is up and ready for listening! It's really obvious both Kainan and I were nervous, what with the ums, uhs, and some of the noncommital or slightly disjointed discussion bits, but I expect this to improve as we get used to the process. Before anyone points this out first, I'd like to bring your attention to me saying "talk to the games about my customers." While this is something I've likely done in frustration before, in this context I meant "talk to my customers about the games."
Games reviewed:
Pirate's Cove
Cleopatra and the Society of Architects
Double or Nothing
Other podcasts mentioned:
The Dice Tower
Boardgames To Go
Have Games Will Travel
All Games Considered
Game resources mentioned:
Tom Vasel: Real Men Play Boardgames
BoardGameGeek (which cannot be reached at bgg.com, oops!)
Other games mentioned:
Cloud 9
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures
Magic the Gathering
Puerto Rico
Settlers of Catan
Shadows Over Camelot
Ticket to Ride
Warlord: Saga of the Storm
Direct download: tgtt_001.mp3
Category:TGTT Classic -- posted at: 2:17pm MDT


text:
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Darrel Saxton
MESQUITE, Nev. — Darrel John Saxton passed away Sept. 25, 2010 in Beaver Dam, Ariz., after an extended illness.
He married Dora Pyper on Dec. 15, 1962. He went to work for UPFE in Pocatello in November of 1966 and retired in November of 2001. Darrel loved to hunt, fish, go four-wheeling and being outdoors. His grandchildren were the light of his life.
He is survived by his wife Dora Saxton of Blackfoot; two brothers Bert (Twila) Saxton of Blackfoot and Dee (Eva) Saxton of Arimo; two sisters Pennie (Fred) Saunders and Vonda Judkins, both of Blackfoot; three children Darrel (Joyce) Saxton, Jr. and Shelley (Richard) Mangum and Laurie Saxton, all of Blackfoot; 16 grandchildren Sgt. Christopher Saxton in Iraq; Amber (Kelley) Wood of Blackfoot; Robert (Jennifer) Saxton of Pocatello; Damon (Alicia) Saxton, Jason Saxton, Jessica Saxton, Jonothan Saxton, Chad Rivers, all of Blackfoot; Misty (Jim) Bennett-Ferris of Inman, Neb.; David Bennett of Genoea, Neb.; Daniel (Chrystal) Bennett of O'Neill, Neb.; Andrew Bennett of O'Neill, Neb.; Mikey Bennett, Justin Keaton and Kyle Mangum, all of Blackfoot; and Kandice Mangum of Pocatello; 12 great-grandchildren — Ziggy, Jaccob, Anthony, Joseph, Savanna, Kay Lee, Destiny, Joshua, Bailey, Tessa, Layla and Aris.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Newcomb and Fern Saxton; three sisters and one brother.
No services will be held. Cards and condolences should be sent to 726 Lakeside Dr., Blackfoot, ID 83221. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our "Memorial Guestbook" at www.virginvalleymortuary.com.


text:
It was seven years ago today when everybody was getting excited about Microsoft's bombastic announcement of Hailstorm, promising that "Hailstorm makes the technology in your life work together on your behalf and under your control."
What was it, really? The idea that the future operating system was on the net, on Microsoft's cloud, and you would log onto everything with Windows Passport and all your stuff would be up there. It turns out: nobody needed this place for all their stuff. And nobody trusted Microsoft with all their stuff. And Hailstorm went away.
I tried to coin a term for the kind of people who invented Hailstorm: architecture astronauts. "That's one sure tip-off to the fact that you're being assaulted by an Architecture Astronaut: the incredible amount of bombast; the heroic, utopian grandiloquence; the boastfulness; the complete lack of reality. And people buy it! The business press goes wild!"
The hallmark of an architecture astronaut is that they don't solve an actual problem... they solve something that appears to be the template of a lot of problems. Or at least, they try. Since 1988 many prominent architecture astronauts have been convinced that the biggest problem to solve is synchronization.
Follow the story, here. I started picking on one company that appeared to be particularly astronautish: Groove, which was trying to rebuild Lotus Notes (a giant synchronization machine) in a peer-to-peer fashion.
Groove had some early success selling secure networks to the military-industrial complex, but didn't make much of a ripple outside that niche. Their real success was in getting bought by Microsoft, which brought Groove's designer and chief architecture-astronaut Ray Ozzie to the role of "Chief Software Architect" at Microsoft, supposedly the technical guy that would keep inventing the future after BillG left so that Steve Ballmer would have some new territory on which to build his next illegal monopoly.
And now Ray Ozzie's big achievement arrives and what is it? (drumroll...) Microsoft Live Mesh. The future of everything. Microsoft is "moving into the cloud."
What's Microsoft Live Mesh?
Hmm, let's see.
"Imagine all your devices—PCs, and soon Macs and mobile phones—working together to give you anywhere access to the information you care about."
Wait a minute. Something smells fishy here. Isn't that exactly what Hailstorm was supposed to be? I smell an architecture astronaut.
And what is this Windows Live Mesh?
It's a way to synchronize files.
Jeez, we've had that forever. When did the first sync web sites start coming out? 1999? There were a million versions. xdrive, mydrive, idrive, youdrive, wealldrive for ice cream. Nobody cared then and nobody cares now, because synchronizing files is just not a killer application. I'm sorry. It seems like it should be. But it's not.
But Windows Live Mesh is not just a way to synchronize files. That's just the sample app. It's a whole goddamned architecture, with an API and developer tools and in insane diagram showing all the nifty layers of acronyms, and it seems like the chief astronauts at Microsoft literally expect this to be their gigantic platform in the sky which will take over when Windows becomes irrelevant on the desktop. And synchronizing files is supposed to be, like, the equivalent of Microsoft Write on Windows 1.0.
It's Groove, rewritten from scratch, one more time. Ray Ozzie just can't stop rewriting this damn app, again and again and again, and taking 5-7 years each time.
And the fact that customers never asked for this feature and none of the earlier versions really took off as huge platforms doesn't stop him.
How on earth does Microsoft continue to pour massive resources into building the same frigging synchronization platforms again and again? Damn, they just finished building something called Windows Live FolderShare and I haven't exactly noticed a stampede to that. I'll bet you've never even heard of it. The 3,398th web site that lets you upload and download files to a place on the Internet. I'm so excited I might just die.
I shouldn't really care. What Microsoft's shareholders want to waste their money building, instead of earning nice dividends from two or three fabulous monopolies, is no business of mine. I'm not a shareholder. It sort of bothers me, intellectually, that there are these people running around acting like they're building the next great thing who keep serving us the same exact TV dinner that I didn't want on Sunday night, and I didn't want it when you tried to serve it again Monday night, and you crunched it up and mixed in some cheese and I didn't eat that Tuesday night, and here it is Wednesday and you've rebuilt the whole goddamn TV dinner industry from the ground up and you're giving me 1955 salisbury steak that I just DON'T WANT. What is it going to take for you to get the message that customers don't want the things that architecture astronauts just love to build. The people? They love twitter. And flickr and delicious and picasa and tripit and ebay and a million other fun things, which they do want, and this so called synchronization problem is just not an actual problem, it's a fun programming exercise that you're doing because it's just hard enough to be interesting but not so hard that you can't figure it out.
Why I really care is that Microsoft is vacuuming up way too many programmers. Between Microsoft, with their shady recruiters making unethical exploding offers to unsuspecting college students, and Google (you're on my radar) paying untenable salaries to kids with more ultimate frisbee experience than Python, whose main job will be to play foosball in the googleplex and walk around trying to get someone...anyone...to come see the demo code they've just written with their "20% time," doing some kind of, let me guess, cloud-based synchronization... between Microsoft and Google the starting salary for a smart CS grad is inching dangerously close to six figures and these smart kids, the cream of our universities, are working on hopeless and useless architecture astronomy because these companies are like cancers, driven to grow at all cost, even though they can't think of a single useful thing to build for us, but they need another 3000-4000 comp sci grads next week. And dammit foosball doesn't play itself.
You're reading Joel on Software, stuffed with years and years of completely raving mad articles about software development, managing software teams, designing user interfaces, running successful software companies, and rubber duckies.
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What Are Lung Carcinoid Tumors?
Lung carcinoid tumors (also known as lung carcinoids) are a type of lung cancer, which is a cancer that starts in the lungs. Cancer starts when cells begin to grow out of control. Cells in nearly any part of the body can become cancer, and can spread to other areas of the body. To learn more about how cancers start and spread, see What Is Cancer?
Lung carcinoid tumors are uncommon and tend to grow slower than other types of lung cancers. They are made up of special kinds of cells called neuroendocrine cells.
To understand lung carcinoid tumors, it helps to know something about the normal structure and function of the lungs, as well as the neuroendocrine system.
The lungs
The lungs are 2 sponge-like organs in your chest. Your right lung has 3 sections, called lobes. The left lung has 2 lobes. It is smaller because the heart takes up room on that side of the body.
When you breathe in, air enters through your mouth and nose and goes into your lungs through the trachea (windpipe). The trachea divides into tubes called the bronchi (singular, bronchus), which enter the lungs and divide into smaller branches called the bronchioles. At the end of the bronchioles are tiny air sacs known as alveoli.
Many tiny blood vessels run through the alveoli. They absorb oxygen from the inhaled air into your bloodstream and pass carbon dioxide (a waste product from the body) into the alveoli. This is expelled from the body when you exhale. Taking in oxygen and getting rid of carbon dioxide are your lungs' main functions.
A thin lining called the pleura surrounds the lungs. The pleura protects your lungs and helps them slide back and forth as they expand and contract during breathing. The space inside the chest that contains the lungs is called the pleural space (or pleural cavity).
Below the lungs, a thin, dome-shaped muscle called the diaphragm separates the chest from the abdomen. When you breathe, the diaphragm moves up and down, forcing air in and out of the lungs.
The diffuse neuroendocrine system
Carcinoid tumors start from cells of the diffuse neuroendocrine system. This system is made up of cells that are like nerve cells in certain ways and like hormone-making endocrine cells in other ways. These cells do not form an actual organ like the adrenal or thyroid glands. Instead, they are scattered throughout the body in organs like the lungs, stomach, and intestines.
Neuroendocrine cells make hormones like adrenaline and similar substances. In the lungs, this may help control air flow and blood flow and may help control the growth of other types of lung cells. Neuroendocrine cells may detect the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air we breathe and then release chemical messages to help the lungs adjust to these changes. People who live at higher altitudes have more lung neuroendocrine cells, probably because there is less oxygen in the air they breathe.
Types of lung neuroendocrine tumors
Like most cells in your body, lung neuroendocrine cells sometimes go through certain changes that cause them to grow too much and form tumors. These are known as neuroendocrine tumors or neuroendocrine cancers. Carcinoid tumors are one type of neuroendocrine tumor.
Neuroendocrine tumors can develop anywhere in the body. Neuroendocrine tumors that begin in the digestive system, another common site for these tumors, are discussed in Gastrointestinal Carcinoid Tumors and Pancreatic Cancer.
This document focuses only on carcinoid tumors that start in the lungs.
There are 4 types of neuroendocrine lung tumors. Starting with the fastest growing, they are:
- Small cell lung cancer
- Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma
- Atypical carcinoid tumor
- Typical carcinoid tumor
Small cell lung cancer
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is one of the fastest growing and spreading of all cancers.
Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma
Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) is a rare cancer. It is a subtype of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although it shares some features with SCLC (including a tendency to grow quickly), it is typically treated as a type of NSCLC.
Typical and atypical carcinoid tumors
The other 2 types of lung neuroendocrine tumors are carcinoids.
Typical and atypical carcinoid tumors look different under the microscope.
- Typical carcinoids tend to grow slowly and only rarely spread beyond the lungs. About 9 out of 10 lung carcinoids are typical carcinoids.
- Atypical carcinoids grow a little faster and are somewhat more likely to spread to other organs. They have more cells in the process of dividing and look more like a fast-growing tumor. They are much less common than typical carcinoids.
Carcinoids are sometimes also classified by where they form in the lung.
- Central carcinoids form in the walls of large airways (bronchi) near the center of the lungs. Most lung carcinoid tumors are central carcinoids, and nearly all of these are also typical carcinoids.
- Peripheral carcinoids develop in the smaller airways (bronchioles) toward the outer edges of the lungs. These are more likely than central carcinoids to be atypical, although most peripheral carcinoids are still typical carcinoids.
This distinction is important because the tumor's location can affect which symptoms a patient has (see Signs and Symptoms of Lung Carcinoid Tumors) and may also affect how the tumor is treated.
Last Medical Review: February 5, 2015 Last Revised: February 24, 2016
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy.


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"It's been said that knowledge is power – and when it comes to security intelligence, a lack of accurate information can be detrimental to separating real threats from hype." –Vinny Gullotto, general manager, Microsoft Malware Protection Center
In covering trucking, I've always tended to focus on the "big stuff," such as equipment (tractors and trailers), drivers, fuel, even freight itself. However, dealing with the technology that manages all this "big stuff" in the most efficient and profitable way hasn't been my strong suit. Thing is, it's this very area – the technological arena – that's become both trucking's greatest asset and biggest Achilles heel in the last few years.
Infect a computer system with a "virus," a "worm," or some other sort of villainous software bug could literally cripple any business enterprise, much less trucking. So much of the business world today (and that goes double for journalistic hacks like myself) rely on computers tethered to the Internet to get things done.
For me, it's all about filing stories, editing and producing video reports, while zipping digital photos hither and yon literally sometimes seconds after taking them. For truckers, the stakes are much higher – delivering freight to the right location, keeping in touch with dispatch and home alike, even performing diagnostics on problems with the "big stuff" such as engine or transmission issues. Take trucking's computers down, and Houston, we'll REALLY have a problem.
And I'm not just talking about the big enterprise systems here, either: even stuff as "basic" as laptops (if you can describe them as such) play a critical role in trucking's world today, for drivers and carriers alike, so a computer virus or worm that disables or destroys their inner workings can be as devastating as losing a big mainframe.
That's why information from sources such as Microsoft Corp.'s seventh volume of the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (SIRv7) can be enlightening in terms of learning about what threats are stalking the cyber world. On the worrisome side, the company's latest report finds that worm infections among its customer base rose by nearly 100% during the first half of 2009 over the preceding six months. Yet while what Microsoft calls "rogue security software" remains a major threat to customers, 20% fewer of them were affected by rogue infections during the past six months.
The reporting mechanisms for Microsoft's SIRv7 report are really broad, as well, including: Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) on 450 million computers worldwide; Bing, which performed billions of Web page scans during the past six months; Windows Live OneCare and Windows Defender, operating on more than 100 million computers worldwide; Forefront Online Protection for Exchange and Forefront Client Security, scanning billions of e-mail messages yearly; and Windows Live Hotmail, operating in more than 30 countries with hundreds of millions of active e-mail users.
Data from all of those sources gives a fairly thorough "big picture" view of the biggest worries out there in computer-land, along with some insight into emerging threats. Here's some of what Microsoft's research found:
• Ten years after the Melissa worm appeared and defined mass-mailing worms as a class of malicious threats, worm infections have resurged to become the second most prevalent threat for enterprises in the first half of 2009. Worms rely heavily on access to unsecured file shares and removable storage volumes, both of which are plentiful in enterprise environments
• Conficker was the top worm threat detected for the enterprise, because its method of propagation works more effectively within a firewalled network environment. Conficker is not in the top 10 for consumers, because home computers are more likely to have automatic updating enabled. This further reiterates the need for enterprises to have a robust security update management program in place.
• The Taterf worm, with detections up 156% since the second half of 2008, targets massively multiplayer online role-playing games. These attacks rely less on social engineering to spread, and more on access to unsecured file shares and removable storage volumes – both of which are often plentiful in the enterprise. Taterf's impressive growth underscores the need for organizations to develop guidelines for removable drives (such as thumb drives) and evaluate how connections are made to outside machines.
• Rogue security software remained the single largest threat category for the first half of 2009. In addition, while there has been progress combating rogues, this threat remained a major pain point for computer users during the same period. Also known as scareware, rogue security software takes advantage of customers' desire to keep their computer protected. Microsoft products and services removed malware from more than 13 million computers worldwide, down from 16.8 million in the second half of 2008. Computer users are advised to use an anti-malware solution from a company they trust and to keep its threat definitions up to date.
In contrast, the report highlights the significant decrease in Zlob disinfections (by the way, I LOVE these names – Zlob, Taterf – as they seem to come straight out from old Robert Heinlein sci-fi novels) from 21.1 million at its peak in 2007 to 2.3 million in the first half of 2009 – a remarkable tenfold decrease, Microsoft said.
So how do companies and individual computer users stay ahead of such "infections"? Microsoft's researchers culled the best practices they found from around the world and shared some insights in their latest security update:
• Japan has seen its infection rates remain relatively low. One of the reasons is due in large part to collaborations such as the Cyber Clean Center, a cooperative project between Internet service providers (ISPs), major security vendors and Japanese government agencies to educate users.
• Austria has implemented strict information technology (IT) enforcement guidelines to lower piracy rates, and this – along with strong ISP relationships and fast Internet lines, which aid in security update deployment – has helped ensure its generally low infection rate.
• Germany has also leveraged collaboration efforts with its computer emergency response team (CERT) and ISP communities to help identify and raise awareness of "botnet" infections and, in some cases, quarantined infected computers.
Central to the success in each of these regions is the growing trend of community-based defense, said Microsoft, in which the broader industry combines its collective strengths and intelligence to help defend computer users.
"Attackers have increasingly redirected their exploitation effort toward third-party applications and customer-developed internal applications," noted Vinny Gullotto, general manager of Microsoft's Malware Protection Center. "Ensure that policies are in place to help secure all file shares and regulate the use of removable media. Install AutoPlay update to help regulate automatic initiation of potentially dangerous removable media."
In the end, I think, it also comes down to recognizing how critical computers and related technology are to keeping a trucking company's enterprise up and running – for appreciating the significant role they play is the first step in establishing the proper mindset concerning computer security.


text: People must support TAC. Because the government is dragging its feet for 4 years. TAC is negotiating with the Government to implement a national treatment plan. So now I think it is high time that TAC has started a civil disobedience to show the government that 600 people a day are dying of HIV/AIDS. We want to ordinary people in South Africa to have these antiretrovirals. It is no good for me to be on antiretrovirals and my friends on the ground are dying so why isn't the government… I personally… when the government say they don't want to sign… the reason they don't want to sign… I think the government is talking nonsense because people are dying every day.


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The crowning jewel of this series of announcements is the new Tournament Database. Even with the great work by Gilligan and others, the Tournament Hall of Fame started by Optimus Prime in 2008 has become too much to update manually. As a solution, our friendly web turtle implemented a brand new system for organizing our tournaments, with a built in feature for automatically granting medals. The database now reads tournaments on a per-tournament basis (as opposed to a per-organizer basis in our previous system.), so virtually everything has changed: from how we grant privileges to how you are recognized for your tournament wins and completions. Here is how the new system will work:
- An organizer will post their tournament in the Create/Join a Tournament forum to begin recruiting players.
- Approximately once a day, the Create/Join Director will peruse the forum to find any newly announced tournaments.
- Once the new tournaments are verified to be in compliance with the minimum requirements, they will be added to the Tournament Database as an Open Tournament and have a Type Label attached to the tournament.
- Being classified as an Open tournament provides players the opportunity to search for tournaments they wish to participate in based on the applied Label or by a specific organizer without having to look through all the tournament threads.
- Once your tournament is filled, mark it as [Full] and a Director will move it to the Ongoing forum. They will also change the tournament status to Ongoing in the database, which will automatically grant you tournament privileges to make your games. You no longer have to PM an organizer when your tournament is ready to start!
- When your tournament has finished, you will announce the tournament winner(s) and update the thread title to get it noticed by a Director. It will then be moved to the Completed forum, relabeled in the Tournament Database, and the Winners will be recognized within the Database. All medals will be awarded automatically, meaning you should get your medals within days, not weeks!
By listing the tournaments under this format, one click on a tournament title will let you easily see who organized the tournament as well as who won it. Within the database, you may quickly search to see all the tournaments by your favorite organizer or which tournaments your clan mates have won. You can narrow your searches to include those tournaments currently recruiting players, currently ongoing (to quickly find the tournaments you're in), or ones that have been finished. You will also for the first time be able to see which tournaments were abandoned, so hopefully this will provide some incentive for organizers to finish out their tournaments.
Tournament Director Task Distribution
Because of the large changes brought about by the Tournament Database, we have updated our Tournament Director Task Distribution List. The largest change is the addition of the role of Create/Join Director, currently filled by The Fuzzy Pengui. This Director will be in charge of verifying that each new tournament meets the minimum requirements for privileges as well as granting any exceptions to those requirements. ALL exceptions will go through this organizer, who will then grant the exception, deny it, or ask another Director for assistance. A record will be kept in the Tournament Directors forum of all exception requests for review by the Head Tournament Director for consistency and cases of appeals. By going through one Director for all exceptions, there will hopefully be more consistency in the decision making process as well as faster decisions. Other tasks in the list may become shuffled as we continue to adjust to the new roles without the large Hall of Fame updated weighing us down, so be sure to check it when you need assistance.
If there are any errors in your tournaments within the database, please post them in this thread. We'll get to them eventually, but we're all wanting a semi-break from the nearly continuous data entry and updating we've done over the past month. Do NOT send us PMs requesting updates to your old tournaments. Those PMs will just be deleted.
~Night Strike, Head Tournament Director
- Steelhorse, Lindax, The Fuzzy Pengui - Deputy Tournament Directors


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Being overweight or obese means your weight is above an ideal weight range. Excess weight creates an increase in the risk of serious diseases like heart disease, certain cancers and diabetes.
One tool used to estimate weight range is called the body mass index (BMI). This scale determines weight ranges based on height. BMI levels in adults include:
- Ideal weight range: 18.5-24.9
- Overweight: 25-29.9
- Obese: 30 or above
- Morbid obesity: 40
Being overweight is caused by taking in more calories than we use. Calories are taken in through food. All activity in our bodies is fueled by calories. This includes physical activity and basic bodily functions. Excess weight gain occurs when this relationship is not kept in balance. If this imbalance happens regularly it will lead to obesity.
Factors that can influence the development of obesity include:
- Genetics
- Biologic factors. This refers to the amount and activity of certain chemicals in the body
- Medications, such as corticosteroids, antidepressants, or antipsychotics
- Underactive thyroid
- Cushing's disease
- Polycystic ovary syndrome
Factors that may increase your chance of becoming overweight include:
- Eating large portions of food
- Sedentary lifestyle — Getting too little exercise and spending too much time in front of a television or computer
- Eating until full and eating quickly
- High level of fast food intake
- Advancing age
- High alcohol consumption
- Working varied shifts
- Not getting enough sleep
- Post-traumatic stress disorder in women
Symptoms may include:
- Increased weight
- Thickness around the midsection
- Obvious areas of fat deposits
Your doctor will ask about your symptoms and medical history. A physical exam will be done. Obesity is diagnosed by visual exam and body measurements using:
- Height and weight tables
- Body mass index
- Measuring body folds with a caliper
- Measuring waist circumference
- Water-displacement tests
Your doctor may order blood tests to eliminate the possibility of other medical conditions.
Obesity is difficult to treat. Things that affect treatment are:
- Cultural factors
- Personal habits
- Lifestyle
- Genetics
You and your doctor will talk about the best treatment plan for you. There are many different approaches to treating obesity based on lifestyle changes. You are more likely to successfully lose weight and keep it off by using a combination of strategies. These can include eating healthy, exercise, counseling and/or medication. Plans for weight loss may include:
Your doctor may recommend that you spread your calorie intake throughout the day rather than getting it all in a few large meals. You may also need a special diet that will eliminate specific types of food. Examples of these are low-fat or low-carbohydrate diets.
Talk to your doctor or ask for a referral to a dietician. They can help you develop a plan that is best for you.
Calorie Intake
The key to weight loss is reducing the total number of calories that you eat. Following a specific kind of diet, like a low-carbohydrate diet, is not necessary. It is much more important to choose a low calorie diet that you can stick with for the long haul.
A dietitian can help you with your total calorie intake goal. Calorie intake is based on your current weight and your weight loss goals.
Portion, or serving size, also plays an important role. Using special portion control plates may help you succeed.
Food Diary
Keep track of everything you eat and drink.
Ask your doctor about an exercise program. Even moderate-intensity exercise, like brisk walking, can help you lose weight.
There are many easy ways to add extra activity into your daily routine. Take stairs instead of elevators. Park your car a little further away. Limit the amount of time you spend watching television and using the computer and substitute it with activity.
Behavior Therapy
Behavior therapy may help you understand:
- When you tend to overeat
- Why you tend to overeat
- How to combat overeating habits
When combined with diet and exercise, therapy can help you with your weight reduction.
Weight Loss Programs
Weight loss programs may work for some people. Some studies also suggest that a partner or group may help you improve your eating habits and fitness.
Weight loss medications, like orlistat, may be prescribed. Orlistat interferes with the absorption of fat from the intestines. There are other medications available that may help with weight loss, but potential side effects need to be weighed carefully with potential benefits.
Medication alone is not a viable option for losing weight and keeping it off. Some have serious side effects. There are also risks associated with over-the-counter and herbal products. Talk to your doctor before taking any of these.
Bariatric Surgery
Bariatric surgery makes the stomach smaller. In some cases, it will also rearrange the digestive tract. The smaller stomach can only hold a tiny portion of food at a time. Examples of procedures include:
- Gastric bypass
- Laparoscopic gastric banding
These procedures may be a good option for people who are severely obese who are having trouble losing weight by other means.
Gastric Bypass
Copyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc.
Preventing obesity can be difficult. There are many factors influence your weight. General recommendations include:
- Talk to your doctor or a dietician about an appropriate number of calories to eat per day.
- Eat a diet with no more than 35% of daily calories from fat.
- Follow an appropriate exercise program.
- Limit the amount of time you spend doing sedentary activities. This includes watching TV or using the computer.
- Talk to your doctor or an exercise professional about working activity into your daily life.
- Ask a dietician for help planning a diet that will help you maintain a healthy weight or lose weight if necessary.
- Learn to eat smaller portions of food. Most Americans eat portions that are too large.
Speak with your doctor to get a referral.
Content was created using EBSCO's Health Library. Edits to original content made by Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice.


text:
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Sophomore middle hitter
Shannon Thompson (Moorpark, Calif.) recorded a monster
double-double with match-highs in both kills (25) and digs (18) to
lead the University of Massachusetts Boston volleyball team over
Springfield College, 3-2 (25-16, 18-25, 25-21, 25-27, 15-11),
Sunday afternoon in the Sweet 16 round of the 2010 NCAA Division
III women's volleyball tournament to capture the New England
Regional Championship at Blake Arena on the campus of Springfield
The Beacons, who received 39 votes and are ranked 24th in the country in the most recent Division III American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll, improve to 30-4 on the year to match the program record in wins set last season, and advance to the Elite-8 for the first time in program history. The loss drops the Pride to 31-5, ending their 2010 campaign.
The Beacons jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the first set after an overpass kill by sophomore middle hitter Alexa Sullivan (South Dennis, Mass.) forced Springfield's first timeout. The Pride was able to respond with a run of its own, closing the gap to 11-10 on a kill in transition be senior middle hitter Sarah Lang-Rodean (Mansfield Center, Conn.). UMass Boston, in turn, called a timeout of its own to try to halt the Springfield momentum, however, SC kept coming after play resumed, gaining their first lead of the set, 14-13, on a Lang-Rodean service ace in the corner. With the set knotted at 16 all, Porter led the visitors' one a 9-0 run as UMB took the opening set, 25-16. The first-year totaled five service aces in the opening frame to set the tone early.
In the second set, the Pride started out hot, sprinting to a 5-1 early lead on a back row kill from junior opposite hitter Kim Giaquinto (Massapequa, N.Y.). The Beacons rallied to tie the score at 10 apiece before back-to-back Springfield kills made it 12-10 as freshman outside hitter Tessa Smolinski's (Hebron, Conn.) back-row kill and senior outside hitter Heather Lively (Royalston, Mass.) notched an overpass kill forcing UMass Boston to call for time. Springfield stretched the lead to 15-11 on an ace from junior libero Meaghan Hart (Stony Brook, N.Y.), and got to 19-13 on a kill from senior setter Kelsea Hellyar (Fairhaven, Mass.). UMass Boston got within five at 23-18 following a ball handling error by the Pride, but SC scored the final two points of the set, capped off by Giaquinto's cross-court kill, evening the match at one game apiece.
The third set saw back and forth play throughout with eight ties and five lead changes. Trailing 8-6, UMass Boston went on a three-point spurt and took a 9-8 lead after a kill by freshman outside hitter Corrine Porter (Huntington Beach, Calif.). Springfield battled back to regain the lead at 14-12, but the Beacons used another three point run to go back up 15-14, taking the lead on a Porter ace. Hellyar notched a solo block to tie the set at 16 all, but UMass Boston went up 18-16 after a Pride blocking error and a kill by freshman outside hitter Amber Clemons (Simi Valley, Calif.). The Pride got to within 20-19 on a Lively kill, but a service error halted their momentum. The Pride managed two more points in the set, but it was not enough as a service error brought the Beacons within one set of victory.
In the pivotal fourth set, Springfield raced out to a 8-2 lead. The Pride took advantage of four Beacon attack errors coupled with two aces by Giaquinto. Springfield maintained a 12-6 lead after a solo block by junior middle hitter Lauren Torvi (North Smithfield, R.I.). UMass Boston responded with four straight points, off three kills and an ace from Thompson, forcing a Springfield timeout. Another Thompson kill brought the Beacons within one at 16-15, but Springfield responded by rattling off three of the next four points, taking a 19-16 lead, and forcing a UMass Boston timeout. Springfield appeared in control of the set at 23-20 after a Torvi kill, however, back to back Pride attack errors brought the score to 23-22 and led to Coach Dearing calling timeout. The Beacons would go on to tie the game before the teams would trade side outs to make it 25-25. Lively gave the Pride game point at 26-25, and sophomore outside hitter Cassie Seymour (Sebastopol, Calif.) sent the match into a fifth game with an ace into the deep right corner.
In the fifth and final set, UMass Boston opened up a 6-3 lead after another Thompson kill, which forced Springfield to call timeout. Heading into the switch, Thompson produced another kill out of the middle, giving the Beacons an 8-4 advantage. The Pride then went on a 4-1 run, pulling to within one at 9-8, and forcing the Beacons to call a timeout but out of the stoppage they extended the lead to 14-9 and championship point on a block assist by Clemons and Sullivan. The Pride were able to tack on two points before Thompson slammed home the game-winning kill to seal the 15-11 fifth set win, securing the 3-2 match and a trip to Washington University in St. Louis, MO for the 2010 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship weekend.
Thompson was the difference in the match as she pounded out a match-high 25 kills to go along with 18 digs. Porter, a fellow All-Tournament team selection, also had a standout performance with 13 kills, 12 digs, and seven service aces. The Beacons also received 10 kills apiece from Sullivan and junior middle hitter Molly Rattigan (Dorchester, MA). Sophomore libero Bethany Rossoll (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was credited with 17 digs in the win. Junior setter Cassy Hanneman (Denver, Colo.) and sophomore setter Frana Burtness-Adams (Fairbanks, AK) combined for 50 assists. "Needless to say, Shannon really played well tonight," said UMass Boston head coach Terry Condon. "Shannon was Shannon, and I'm not sure I could say it any better than that. But so did Corrine, she played well. We really blocked well as a team. Overall, it was just a great match. Both teams played well, and it really could have gone either way."
For the Pride, both Sarah Lang-Rodean and Tessa Smolinski were named to the All-Tournament Team after registering 13 kills on the night. Smolinski finished the night with a team-best 17 digs, while both Meaghan Hart and Itza Nieves posted 13 digs. Heather Lively posted 13 kills and Kelsea Hellyar handed out 44 assists. Lauren Torvi was also responsible for eight kills and four blocks.
"It was exactly what I expected. I expected a battle, and that's just what we got," described Springfield College head coach Joel Dearing. "The Springfield, Mass. regional has a very worthy champion in UMass Boston. I really like their style. We're two teams that take the same approach. We are both very aggressive. It's a fun way to play, and a fun way to coach. I couldn't be more proud of this regional, this tournament, our seniors, and our entire staff. We got what we wanted in almost every way. We played as hard as we could for as long as we could. We wish UMass Boston all the luck in the world out in St. Louis."
The Beacons will return to action in an Elite-8 match up on Friday, November 19 when they face Calvin College at 4:00 p.m. in the Washington University Field House in St. Louis, MO. Calvin defeated Wittenberg, 3-1, in the Springfield, OH regional to advance to the Elite-8. The meeting will be the first between the two programs. For more information about the Elite-8 pairings, check out the 2010 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball interactive bracket online.