Abstimmungen » Auburn to its first ever appearance in the NCAA Tourname

The wizarding world that J.K. Rowling imagines for us in Harry Potter books feels intimately familiar, as if we also attended Hogwarts as a teenager, drove past the Dursleys house on a Sunday morning, and consider it perfectly normal to fly on broomsticks and travel through fireplaces.We accept the feats of athletics with the same faith -- unquestionably believing the speed of a fastball, the grace of a free throw, and the strength of a tennis player. We feel the magic of being transported through watching something that seems real but has not been personally experienced.Rowling understands the importance of sports as a way to bring people together. Even if you have never held a Harry Potter book in your hands, you have probably heard of quidditch, a flying sport played on broomsticks in midair.?In a literary sense, quidditch serves as a way for Rowling to introduce the idea of women leaders in sports as neither taboo nor remarkable.Notable is Angelina Johnson, portrayed in the story by Rowling as a tall black girl who played chaser on the Gryffindor quidditch team and later becomes captain of the coed team. Rowling doesnt emphasize either Angelinas gender or her race. But it seems an intentional move. Last summer, she publicly defended tennis star Serena Williams when a Twitter user said Williams was built like a man.Rowling coolly came to Williams defense by sarcastically tweeting: Yeah, my husband looks just like this in a dress. Youre an idiot.?She also showed her support of Williams by tweeting, I love her. What an athlete, what a role model, what a woman!?Rowling is deliberate in her allyship. She is a writer who uses her skills to subtly insert the invisible back into our own consciousness.Her forthcoming and much anticipated book, The Cursed Child, is a play, which requires a different kind of reading. Your eyes act as ears, as if the story were being told to you and your brain creates the rest?-- where the light comes from, and how the eyebrows wiggle. Left to its own imagination, another thing the mind does is fill in skin color, which some readers proved when they assumed the character Hermione was white. Rowling had to clarify in a 2015 tweet: brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione.The Cursed Child is an opportunity to soften the possibilities of our imagination. Like good fiction, sports bring us the magic of being transported. Sports, like reading stories, are a way for us to train our minds, to observe whats going on and to be immersed in the present moment as we wait for the ball to swoosh, to land, to plunk.Many thanks to J.K. Rowling for the magical world she helps us imagine.Carrie Ann Welsh is a writer based in Wisconsin.? Belgium Jerseys .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. Michy Batshuayi Belgium Jersey . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. http://www.soccerbelgiumteamonline.com/Dries-Mertens-UEFA-European-Belgium-Jersey/ . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. Simon Mignolet Belgium Jersey . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. Michy Batshuayi Jersey . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The No. 16 Auburn soccer team reached new heights when it defeated No. 9 Florida in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 on Sunday afternoon, 3-1. The Tigers (17-6-0) advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history and also set a new record for most wins in a single season with the victory.First, congratulations to Florida, said head coach Karen Hoppa. Theyre a tremendous team, the SEC Tournament champions, and obviously played a great game.Im incredibly proud of our team. I thought we did not play particularly well in the first half. We fought hard and defended well, but we didnt play soccer the way we wanted to and to go into halftime up - credit to Brooke [Ramsier] to get a goal against the run of play - I was really proud of the team and the adjustments they made in the second half.Kristen Dodson, Bri Folds and Brooke Ramsier each notched a goal in the 90-minute affair to guide the offense. Sarah Le Beau went the distance between the posts and made six saves.Playing in front of a raucous crowd of 1,152, Auburn had a shaky start out of the gate. The Gators (17-5-1) put in a pair of dangerous efforts in the opening 20 minutes, drawing one Le Beau save, and controlled the possession early on.However, a counter-attack in the 25th minute changed the whole complexion of the match.A ball that found the feet of Dodson was then pushed forward into a danger area, but the three surrounding defenders were able to get a foot on it.The ball, however, ricocheted off a defender and dropped to the feet of Ramsier. The Dallas, Texas native then blasted a volley from 20 yards away to the far-post corner and found the back of the net.The goal marked Ramsiers second of the weekend and was the 16th point shes secured in her last seven matches.Auburn maintained a 1-0 lead into the locker room and had only one shot - Ramsiers rocket.The Tigers roared out of the break after tallying a pair of shots and drawing a corner in the opening two minutes of the second halff, but were held in check.ddddddddddddIn the 62nd minute, Dodson took a feed over the top of the defense and drew a hard foul in the box that flipped the match heavily in favor of Auburn. The Florida defender was issued a red card and a penalty was given.Folds then calmly took her first career penalty and fired it into the back of the net to double Auburns lead to 2-0.Just 53 seconds later and down a player, the Gators responded by scoring a goal and cutting the margin in half at 2-1.After a plethora of chances for both squads, Dodson put the match away in the 84th minute.The junior picked off a pass from Florida and took on three defenders at midfield. Dodson then saw the goalkeeper was off her line and chipped it up and over the final line of defense from 35 yards away to seal the victory.The Tigers remained compact in the final five minutes and closed out the program-defining win, sending Auburn to its first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals.Making it to the Elite Eight with this group is incredible, stated Ramsier. Credit to all of us because theyre such a bond this team has and it really is a family. We fight for each other. We go out there and play 90 minutes for each and every girl on and off the field. Its just a crazy feeling and were so happy.Auburn earned its second win in Gainesville this season after topping the Gators 3-0 back in September. In both matches, the Tigers defense held strong, limiting Florida to their lowest two goal-outputs of the season.We just stick together and support each other if we get beat, stated senior defender Kiana Clarke. We cover for each other and pick up after another. We know we have each other to depend on and I think thats a big part of our success today.Auburn makes its historic debut in the NCAA Quarterfinals on Friday when it travels to No. 3 USC. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ' ' '