The Northerner

Norse show they can hang with the big ones

Nick Kayiatos

Give credit where credit is due. Neither Norse basketball team was ran off the floor when opening their new digs, The Bank of Kentucky Center, two weeks ago. Both basketball teams, despite losing to the University of Louisville Nov. 8, were respectable against a pair of Top 10 teams.

Read Story

Basketball is strong suit on campus

Nick Kayiatos

Successful sports are becoming a year-round thing here in Highland Heights. Men's and women's soccer, volleyball, even the baseball team have all achieved some success. As winter is quickly creeping up on us, it's time for basketball. Good basketball. It's not the University of Kentucky, Louisville, or Western Kentucky University, but a guy knows good basketball when he sees it.

Read Story

Offense gets a woman’s touch to it

Nick Kayiatos

For all of the hype about NKU's defense, also known as the "Norse Wall"- the offense has picked up in recent weeks. And really, it could not have come at a better time. The Norse have been nothing short of dominant the last three weeks, which should do wonders come Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament time.

Read Story

Women’s soccer scoring in bunches

Nick Kayiatos

There are two conflicting styles of play for the two Northern Kentucky soccer teams. The men, on one hand, win with the "Norse Wall." The Women's team, on the other hand, scores. - a whole lot. Look at last week, for example. The women's team rolled up 10 goals against Saint Joe's.

Read Story

Chia finds success in transfers

Nick Kayiatos

Lost in the shuffle of Carrie Underwood, the arena's grand opening ceremony and the best Division II Men's Soccer team in the United States is the volleyball team. They haven't been touched since Sept. 13 and, as a result, they've cracked into the Top 25.

Read Story

Struggles for women, success for men’s team

Nick Kayiatos

Swept up in the last few days and really, weeks, of the Norse Women's Soccer team was the much deserved hype and success of the much-ballyhooed Men's Soccer team. And rightfully so. They're the best team in the country and have only allowed three goals on the season.

Read Story

Soccer shows signs of big success in 2008 season

Nick Kayiatos

Now that the Norse have begun to their ascent into the elite of NCAA soccer, sports in the fall are now more relevant in Highland Heights than ever before. For the first time since I've been here, there is a legitimate fall sports contender not only for a conference title, but also a national title.

Read Story

Struggles in Sunshine State for volleyball

Nick Kayiatos

The Sunshine State wasn't terribly kind to the Lady Norse. I'm sure the majority of us had a more pleasant Labor Day Weekend than the Northern Kentucky University Volleyball team. But at least it's in the early going. It would be unfair for anyone to say that the Norse lost to a couple of cupcakes - unless you consider the No. 7 and No. 9 ranked teams in America to be schedule softeners or stat-padders.

Read Story

Volleyball is motivation to excel in education

Nick Kayiatos

The Norse volleyball team has had to wake up every day since last October without a key component to its success. Actually, it was the key component. Not only was the Cincinnati native voted GLVC Player of the Year, but she was given the most prestigious honor in the GLVC as the Woman of the Year-in all sports.

Read Story

Athletics is growing as much as the university

Nick Kayiatos

As the school year commences, one thing can be said about the Northern Kentucky University Athletics Program: It's no longer a one-dimensional, basketball-emphasized school. That's not to take anything away from the women's unexpected, nearly unparalleled success en route to a second Division II National Championship in this decade.

Read Story

NKU wraps up largely successful sports year

Nick Kayiatos

Somehow it's the end of another school year. This is easily the fastest semester and fastest school year I've had so far. And it's been a fast year in sports at Northern. A successful one, but it's gone by in a blur. Records set, conference titles won and a National Championship to boot.

Read Story

Baseball stumbles towards tourney

Nick Kayiatos

I probably spoke too soon when I rambled on and on about the Norse's recent turnaround here in the last two weeks. Because all of a sudden, the Norse hit a brick wall. Bellarmine swept the Norse in a four-game series over the weekend, and they have lost five in a row and six of their past seven, The possibility of the Norse winning the GLVC East dwindled, as did their formerly high-powered offense.

Read Story

Crunch time: Can baseball emulate the women?

Nick Kayiatos

Things looked bad at the beginning. I mean bad. A team can't look much worse than the Norse did at the start the season. You can't get much worse than a 0-and-6 to start. However, since Todd Asalon collected victory No. 400 as a college baseball coach, the NKU baseball team has been on the offensive.

Read Story

Lady Norse have nice outlook to next season

Nick Kayiatos and Nick Kayiatos

I'm sure the Lady Norse don't want to even think about next season yet. After all, we are not even two weeks out of this year's biggest Cinderella story. So keep celebrating, Norse Nation, you deserve to. No one saw this coming, and it will be the most remembered title run, in any sport, men or women's for years to come.

Read Story

Congrats to Lady Norse on winning tournament

Nick Kayiatos

I'm not going to lie. My head is still spinning. What just happened? The Norse weren't even given an outside chance to go to the Elite Eight, much less to win the national title. Cinderella's Slipper does, in fact, still fit. I think the only people who really thought the Lady Norse had a shot at the NCAA Division II National Championship were, well, the Lady Norse.

Read Story

Men’s team loses tough one in NCAA

Nick Kayiatos

The Northern Kentucky University men's basketball team could not accomplish the same thing it did last year in the NCAA Men's Division II Tournament. That is, to go to the No. 1 team in the country's home gym and knock off the best team in the land in front of a hostile crowd.

Read Story

Overlooked Morton coming up big for NKU

Nick Kayiatos

For all he's done this year, Harrison Morton hasn't gotten very much publicity, and for our part, the Northerner apologizes. Maybe it's for the best, though. I've always said that, in any sport, it's probably better to have balance in all facets of the game rather than one superstar.

Read Story

Basketball pays respect to Regents

Nick Kayiatos

Hard to believe isn't it? The one place where both of Northern Kentucky University's basketball teams called home is now in the rearview mirror. That's not to say it will be forgotten. It's hard to believe, but it was nearly four decades ago when the NKU men's team first laced up their Converses and threw on what would now be considered socially unacceptable short-shorts at Regents Hall.

Read Story

Women win five straight thanks to teamwork

Nick Kayiatos

Unfortunately, only one of the two basketball teams made it out of Regents Hall with a win on Homecoming. In what has become one of the most intense rivalries in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, the Northern Kentucky University women's team beat counterpart Bellarmine, who traveled 100 miles up I-71, only to fade away in the second half.

Read Story

Healy shows style with dominant low-post play

Nick Kayiatos

At the beginning of the semester, I boldly predicted that Highlands graduate and senior center Angela Healy, would have a great impact on the NKU women's squad. Turns out I was right. Not only is she arguably the most instrumental part of the team (although, the team is equally balanced this year as it was last) she is wreaking havoc on the entire Great Lakes Valley Conference.

Read Story

Men on tight leash for GLVC East lead

Nick Kayiatos

It's been a while since I last wrote. Not that I could help it, though. God blessed with me with six wisdom teeth and believe it or not, your teeth are an integral part of doing anything, whether it be chewing or writing an article. The bad news: The Norse didn't beat any schools they were supposed to beat last week.

Read Story

Home-made players lead Lady Norse

Nick Kayiatos

As the saying goes, sometimes the best things are in your own backyard. And in Angela Healy's case, she grew up in Northern Kentucky University's backyard while attending Highlands just down I-471. In her senior season, Healy is securing the possibility of becoming a Division II All-American.

Read Story

Norse men’s

Nick Kayiatos

It's been a while since I have written a column. A long while. Six weeks, to be exact. It's nice to get away from the Concrete Jungle for a bit. However, the Norse men's team did not really get the break the rest of us enjoyed. But they have been playing rather impressively of late, heading into mid-January with a 9-2 overall record and a 2-1 record in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

Read Story

Bezold’s recruiting different from norm

Nick Kayiatos

Is anyone else noticing a trend with the men's basketball team since Dave Bezold took over? Maybe "trend" isn't the right term. The manner in which Bezold recruits is just different than what we're used to in having Kenny Shields around for 16 years. What Bezold is doing is utilizing players available from the junior college ranks as well as getting players who formerly played on Division I teams.

Read Story

Exhibition against UC bewilders hoops fans

Nick Kayiatos

I'm trying to decide whether or not I should look very far into the near-upset of the University of Cincinnati by the men's basketball team. Granted, it's an exhibition game. Basketball in October has about as much relevance as the Reds' spring training in March.

Read Story

New look for men’s team as season is set to open

Nick Kayiatos

Looking up and down the roster this week, I noticed two things. One, there is an abundance of talent and experience returning from last year's team. Two, there's no Steven Wright. But it's not the end of the world. Players like Wright come around once in a blue moon at best.

Read Story

Men’s team sets school record for soccer wins

Nick Kayiatos

I'm somewhat skeptical on commenting about the success of the Norse Men's Soccer Team. I have this problem where if I start commenting on a team's success, suddenly the team turns to mush. That's not always the case, but sometimes when I open my mouth, the team I'm pulling for starts to stumble.

Read Story

Liz Holmes is key factor to strong start in volleyball

Nick Kayiatos

As if both the Norse soccer teams weren't calling enough attention to Northern's fall sports programs, the volleyball team is also off to a hot start. The Norse had a big win against No. 7 in the nation, Hillsdale College Sep. 7. However, the team followed this up with a loss to Missouri-St.

Read Story

Lady Norse kicking it, ranked in top 25 poll

Nick Kayiatos

I wasn't going to forget about the girls. But because Northern's men's team has been so impressive thus far, I dedicated last week's article to the men's team. The Northern Kentucky University Women's Soccer Team, however, has been equally impressive. The Norse had boasted a perfect record and had earned a No.

Read Story

Show some love to top soccer team

Nick Kayiatos

In case you haven't noticed, no one wants to play Northern Kentucky University soccer these days. That's because the men's soccer team has yet to lose a game, and the first of October is just around the bend, and the Norse are causing quite a stir in the Division II Top 25 polls.

Read Story

Reds and Bengals throw us a d

Nick Kayiatos

Once the month of September comes rolling around, it looks a lot like "Groundhog Day" here in Cincinnati. The Reds' annual "play-out-the-string" has commenced, leaving all of us thankful that The Bengals are no longer a dread to watch. First off, I would like to apologize.

Read Story

Questions, concerns still arise from pre-season

Nick Kayiatos

For everyone out there worrying about the Bengals sub-par preseason, let me please remind yourself that the preseason games in which the boys (well, the defense really) have looked like anything but AFC Title contenders, don't count. That's not to say there aren't things to worry about.

Read Story

Vick gets bite out of crime

Nick Kayiatos

We Can All Learn a Lesson from Michael Vick. The ongoing Michael Vick saga is coming to a close with Vick's own guilty plea. Many questions arise from his upcoming official admission of guilt. Is his career over? Will we know exactly how many dogs were tortured or what kinds of activities took place inside those walls at Vick's Hampton, Va.

Read Story

Bonds chase brings “?” about using enhancers

Nick Kayiatos

I'm not writing this to defend Barry Bonds as a person. I'm not going to support a guy who tells a small group of six-year-olds to "f*** off" when they want an autograph. My parents taught me better than to support a guy like Bonds. I also can't explain how, during what should be the decrescendo in a player's career, Bonds got better.

Read Story

Looking back at the 2006-07 sports

Nick Kayiatos

It's hard to believe, but the semester is just about over and final exams are in the not-so-distant future. As we gear up for one of the most stressful weeks of the year, I decided to take a look back at the semester that was in Northern Kentucky University sports.

Read Story

Northern quietly creeping up in GLVC

Nick Kayiatos

Northern quietly creeping up in GLVC Don't let a modest overall18-19 record fool you. The Norse have been taking care of business in the GLVC over the last week or two, and despite having a below-.500 overall record, find themselves out of first place by only one game heading into this week.

Read Story

Slow start moving fast

Nick Kayiatos

The Northern Kentucky University Baseball Team has started off inconsistently at best for the 2007 season. However, there might be a bit of a silver lining in the clouds after braving the unseasonably cold weather in a recent series sweep of Lewis University.

Read Story

Sports scene

Nick Kayiatos

Like the men's team, the Lady Norse will lose valuable members of the 2006-07 team to graduation. The Lady Norse won't exactly have a bare cupboard for 2007-08. NKU did not have a superstar on the team. It was balanced in just about every category, especially in scoring, led by senior Brittany Winner and junior center Angela Healy.

Read Story

Norse Men have bright look to ’07-’08 season

Nick Kayiatos

With a 66-42 loss to Grand Valley State two weeks ago, the '06-07 season ended for the Northern Kentucky University Men's Basketball Team. However, so did the careers of Division I transfers James Cripe, Anthony Teague and Steven Wright. Fifth-year senior and team workhorse Kevin Schappell also suited up for the last time.

Read Story

Norse Women Ousted in First Round

Nick Kayiatos

The madness began even before CBS announced the NCAA Tournament brackets March 11. That's because Ferris State University upended a Northern Kentucky University Women's Basketball Team that had been one of the hottest teams in the country after a slow start.

Read Story

Sports scene

Nick Kayiatos and Nick Kayiatos

You have to give the Cincinnati Reds General Manager Wayne Krivsky credit. In his first year at the helm as the Reds GM, Krivsky traded for two gems that played an integral part in the 2006 season. Trading Wily Mo Pena, a raw, unproven talent to the Boston Red Sox for Bronson Arroyo made Krivsky look brilliant.

Read Story

Sports scene

Nick Kayiatos and Nick Kayiatos

The Northern Kentucky University Women's Basketball Team has proven that it doesn't matter how you start; it matters how you finish. The Lady Norse, who were standing on shaky ground at the turn of the new year, have righted the ship and already qualified for a berth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.

Read Story

Sports scene

Nick Kayiatos and Nick Kayiatos

Northern Kentucky University remains No. 1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division after defeating the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Feb. 10 for the 12th consecutive time at Regents Hall. Transfers, center James Cripe, forward Anthony Teague and guard Steven Wright have all been integral parts of the Norse's success this year.

Read Story

Sports scene

Nick Kayiatos and Nick Kayiatos

Be patient, Bearcat basketball fans, be patient. It's going to take a while for new head coach Mick Cronin to turn things around on the University of Cincinnati campus. After all, Cronin doesn't have much to work with. He had little time to throw together a team of junior college transfers and an incoming freshman from Indianapolis who wasn't very highly touted.

Read Story

Sports scene

Nick Kayiatos and Nick Kayiatos

Last Sunday, Peyton Manning proved he could overcome the Patriots curse that he and the Indianapolis Colts had endured twice before. After all, it was New England that thwarted the Colts' chances of getting to a Super Bowl in the 2004 and 2005 American Football Conference Playoffs.

Read Story

Sports Scene

Nick Kayiatos and Nick Kayiatos

For the first time since Tim Couch was at the helm of University of Kentucky's pass-happy offense, UK football fans are eager for an upcoming season. That's right. Kentucky football. Coming off of a 28-20 Music City Bowl upset over Clemson University, the Wildcats have already received some good news for the 2007 season.

Read Story

UK fans to be excited for football

Nick Kayiatos and Nick Kayiatos

For the first time since Tim Couch was at the helm of University of Kentucky's pass-happy offense, UK football fans are eager for an upcoming season. That's right. Kentucky football. Coming off of a 28-20 Music City Bowl upset over Clemson University, the Wildcats have already received some good news for the 2007 season.

Read Story

Sports Scene

Nick Kayiatos and Nick Kayiatos

If the National Championship game Jan. 8 proved anything, it was that preseason rankings don't mean a thing on the field. Ohio State University, which was almost unanimously ranked the best team in the country dating back to as early as last summer, proved that it was not worthy of its No.

Read Story

BCS proves advantage is not key

Nick Kayiatos and Nick Kayiatos

If the National Championship game Jan. 8 proved anything, it was that preseason rankings don't mean a thing on the field. Ohio State University, which was almost unanimously ranked the best team in the country dating back to as early as last summer, proved that it was not worthy of its No.

Read Story