By Steve Mazzucchi
Esquire
It had the aura of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object: The New Orleans Saints and their high-flying, 36-points-per-game offense facing off against the New York Giants and their stingy, 14-points-per-game defense. But then the Saints went out and put up 34 in the first half on their way to a 48-27 blowout. In the wake of the bayou boys’ best start since Jim “Playoffs?!?” Mora was coaching in the early nineties, fifth-year Saintsation Ashlyn Falgout is understandably pumped. The law school-bound U. of New Orleans senior, avid outdoorswoman (“I once caught a 16-pound redfish”), and future politician (“I’m very interested in economic development”) educated us on New Orleans’ tough new D, the dreaminess of Drew Brees, and, yes, the likelihood of a Cajun-fried Super Bowl — not to mention blowouts of the Pats and ‘Boys along the way.
ESQUIRE: At what point did you know this one was over?
ASHLYN: On our first drive, when Mike Bell went in for the touchdown on fourth-and-one and we went up 7-0. This is the fifth game we’ve scored on the first drive, and when we do that, I think, “Oh yeah, it’s in the bag.” It’s not cocky, it’s confident. I can say that because, trust me, we’ve been through some rough years.
ESQ: What’s the atmosphere like in the dome when the Saints’s offense is rolling?
AF: It’s unbelievable. I couldn’t hear anything. I couldn’t even hear our music because the fans were so loud. Of course, they are louder when we’re on defense. I was completely lost. I was just like, “Okay, everybody cheer, have fun, good deal.”
ESQ: Four of the five Giants wins came over some pretty bad teams. Did you think they might be overrated?
AF: I don’t think I did. I mean, with the Saints’ luck, we were really nervous when we played Detroit. We didn’t want to come in too cocky. New York is still a really good team — of course they have a New Orleans boy as their QB! — but we were more prepared and effective today.
ESQ: Indeed. You guys hung nearly 500 yards and 48 points on what was the No. 1 defense in the league. What makes the Saints offense so good?
AF: Balance. Our offensive line creates tons of protection — Drew Brees was hit just three times today and not sacked at all — so we can run and pass and spread the ball evenly. We use our tight end Jeremy Shockey, who came from New York, as a scoring player. We have great runners in Mike Bell, Pierre Thomas, and Reggie Bush. And then Marques Colston, Lance Moore, and Robert Meacham all had touchdowns today, too. We have several guys working great together. I would like to see Bush play a little more as a slot receiver. He has the speed and vertical to be very effective in the slot.
ESQ: Brees always seems to do and say the right thing. Is he as dreamy as he seems?
AF: I’ve worked with him for the United Way and, honestly, yes. Anytime you need someone to do a community activity or charity, he and his wife are always there. He is really a great person — a great asset to the team and the city.
ESQ: As potent as the offense is, it’s been spectacular for years. Meanwhile, the defense has improved from twenty-third in yards allowed per game last year to sixth so far this season. What’s been the key to revamping the D?
AF: Gregg Williams, our new defensive coordinator, has done a great job changing the way they play. Since training camp, he’s had a policy: if the ball hits the ground, you have to pick it up and run with it, regardless of whether a flag is thrown. You saw that in Scott Shanle’s fumble recovery at the end of the first half. It’s amazing to watch them now. They’re always running, working hard all the time. It’s mostly the same guys, but a totally different defense, really playing as a team. But the real reason we’re winning is the cheerleaders, of course!
ESQ: Is there any area where you think the team could still improve?
AF: Only our team can bring us down. I think if we can avoid injuries and keep working hard, we can go all the way. The NFC championship game is on my birthday, so that’s going to be a great present for me when we win and go to Miami for the Super Bowl.
ESQ: Someone’s confident. The Saints haven’t trailed all season. Do you think they could struggle if they fall behind?
AF: I don’t think so. Toward the end of games, teams in the lead tend to play a soft prevent defense, and we can score two, three, four TDs in a quarter. So if we do trail, it’s not going to be too hard to recover.
ESQ: Looking at the rest of the schedule, only the Falcons, Patriots, and Cowboys have winning records. Can anyone stop you guys?
AF: A lot of people say the Patriots and Cowboys, but I know we are going to blow them away, so I don’t feel threatened. The fans have a lot to do with it — their energy gets the players pumped up and hitting hard and being successful, and it goes full circle. The Cowboys game isn’t until December, and every one of my friends has claimed my two tickets. They’re fighting for them. I’m like, “Come on, y’all.” I’m putting everyone’s name in a hat.
ESQ: You can put ours in. Anything we’ve forgotten to cover here?
AF: Did I mention we’re gonna win the Super Bowl? Did I say that already? I think that’s it.
By Sasha Roe
Lawrence Journal-World
Christina Frazier doesn’t have the typical hair salon clientele.
Frazier, Lawrence resident and owner of Connections for Hair in Overland Park, travels to Dallas every month to work with some of the most recognized women in Texas — the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
Frazier visits each month to apply and maintain PerfecTress hair extensions. She also worked with the women during the filming of the makeover episode of CMT’s “Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team 3.” The show follows the cheerleaders through the selection process, from their first tryout to their first performance in the Cowboys Stadium. Frazier may be featured on an episode.
Frazier joined the team because of her work with Miss USA pageants. Micaela Johnson, Miss Nebraska 2008, received Frazier’s hair extensions as part of her prize package.
At first, Johnson was strongly opposed to the extensions. As a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, Johnson remembered how many cheerleaders’ extensions constantly fell out or ruined their hair. Johnson decided to try the extensions and was so pleasantly surprised she recommended Frazier be a hair extension sponsor for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
“The job isn’t something you just recommend anyone for,” Johnson says. “But the extensions stayed in so well and were such good quality I knew they’d help the girls maintain their look much easier.”
Johnson said the cheerleaders needed extensions that could endure their rigorous schedule and last the entire season with little maintenance. Cheerleaders are required to maintain full hair and makeup all the time — through workouts, rehearsals, appearances and even going to school. Johnson says sometimes she would do her hair and makeup five times a day. Frazier’s extensions were perfect because they are made of human hair, reusable and applied in small sections — not big sections that are glued in and make a mess of the woman’s hair.
Frazier usually stays in Dallas for a week, applying new extensions and maintaining ones she has already done. Being around the filming for the show and experiencing the women’s lives firsthand, Frazier quickly learned that the public’s idea of a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader was completely off-base.
“When I first got the job I thought, ‘Oh great, diva-land,’” Frazier says. “But it’s not like that at all. It’s such an honor and so competitive to be on the team that there’s really no room for the egos and drama.”
Rainer Schneck, of Salon Atelier in Dallas, has done the cheerleaders’ hair for the past 12 years. He says working with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders can be intimidating at first. Schneck says he’s been impressed with Frazier’s professionalism and commitment to the cheerleaders.
“I think anybody would be nervous at first,” Schneck says. “They’re our Texas pride. We expect the best for them.”
Frazier says being with such hard-working women makes the commitment of traveling to Dallas easy.
“It’s incredible how demanding their schedules are,” Frazier said. “I really want them to think of me as part of their team.”
Christina Frazier, right, adds extensions to a client’s hair at her salon, Connections for Hair, in Overland Park. Frazier, a Lawrence resident, travels to Dallas each month to add hair extensions to clients with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Melissa Kellerman shows how much length her hair extensions add. Lawrence resident Christina Frazier now does the hair extensions for the Cheerleaders.
Have you dreamed of Going Pro? Professional dancers and cheerleaders perform for thousands, act as community role models, represent professional sports leagues, travel to entertain the military, and more!
Learn what pro cheer and dance is all about and get inside, honest tips from the pros! The Pro Cheer All Stars are top alumni from NBA and NFL cheerleaders and dancers, and they invite YOU to join them during this special event!
This three-hour workshop will showcase alumni cheerleaders from local teams. Learn choreography, makeup and hair tips, fitness and nutrition planning! Practice communication skills and learn the top mistakes in applications and photographs. Receive discounts from local sponsors! Enter to win a free custom audition outfit by Zonas Designs, a makeup palette by BE Cosmetics, as well as local contests.
Just announced! REGISTER NOW!
Event: Indianapolis Pro Cheer All Stars Workshop
Date: Sunday, November 15, 2009
Time: 1:00-4:00pm
Location: Dance Legacy, 8091 Crawfordsville Rd, Indianapolis IN
Roster: Choreography and Tips from NFL and Pro Bowl Cheerleader Kristie Minton, Salon sponsorship and more.
The Manchester Millrats organization is seeking a new dance team coordinator.
“KeriAnn Lynch did a great job for us the previous two seasons, and we were fortunate to have her help in coordinating the dance team as well as our home game entertainment,” stated Millrats GM Ian McCarthy.
The ideal candidate would have experience on a professional dance team, be organized and enthusiastic, and be a go-getter. Duties would include conducting the dance team tryouts, recruiting, booking entertainment for the home games, and developing & maintaining corporate sponsorships related to the dance team. Interested candidates should send their resumes to millrats@gmail.com.
Woman Who Says Flu Shot Brought On Disability Completes Race
From FoxNews.com
A woman suffering from a severe muscle disorder, which she says was brought on by a seasonal flu shot she recently received, completed an eight kilometer race in Virginia Saturday.
Desiree Jennings, 25, suffers from dystonia, causing her to struggle with simple tasks such as walking forward. She says the muscle disorder suddenly surfaced about ten days after she received her flu shot in August.
Jennings now finds eating very challenging and suffers from seizures.
Before she became sick, Jennings was an active Cheerleader Ambassador for the Washington Redskins.
Now she cannot walk forward without great difficulty or her muscles twitching in different directions.
Jennings says her condition is worsening. “My neck and tongue are not moving anymore,” Jennings told reporters before the race, according to MyFOXDC. “They’re paralyzed … that started yesterday.”
Still, she says she is able to feel like her old self again when she runs, which is the only time her muscular disorder does not give her any trouble. She can also walk backwards without much trouble.
Friends assisted Jennings at the start of the race by physically supporting her on each side as she progressed into a run. Once she got her stride, she was fine to run the race solo. She crossed the finish line in under an hour.
The FDA says there have been no other reports of such severe reactions to the batch of flu vaccine that Jennings received, according to MyFOXDC.
George Washington University Immunology Researcher Peter Hotez says flu shots are safe, according to MyFOXDC.
But Jennings does not feel the same way. She is placing all of her hope in her doctors, and physicians from “Generation Rescue,” to help figure out a way to stop the progression of her disabling condition.
With the Phillies in the League Championship Series, the Eagles have almost been an afterthought in the city this past week. But the Eagles Cheerleaders are never an afterthought.
A pair of first-year Cheerleaders: Michelle and Ayva at the Acme in Doylestown on Saturday.
Ayva is Majoring in Strategic and Organizational Communications and plans plan to pursue a career as an Event Planner, after graduation.
Michelle is Majoring in Accounting and plans to pursue a career as a CPA
On Sunday Julia and Kim were at CR Hooligans in the Trolley Square section of Wilmington for the WYSP away game party.
Second-year veteran Kim is a Penn State grad and a Landscape Architect.
Julia is Majoring in Communications and Journalism and plans to become a fashion writer after graduation.
And some bonus photos from Reader Mike:
Lindsey (?) and Amanda at Chalfont Car Care.
Amanda and Michelle at the 7-11 on Washington Avenue.
Amanda
Bill Bergey with Amanda and Michelle.
Michelle
[Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders]
The second round of voting for the the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders Survivor Contest end Sunday night. Cast your votes here.
At last Sunday’s Bills-Browns game, The Buffalo Jills wore pink uniforms as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Phil of the Buffalo Pro Cheer blog has a report and photos.
By Steve Mazzucchi
Esquire
Can anything positive come out of a Week 5 snorer where two struggling franchises produce a total of nine points? Perhaps only the undimmed spirit of a Buffalo Jill and her confidence in Terrell Owens and coach Dick Jauron.
Unless you hail from Buffalo or Cleveland — or you’re a big fan of The T.O. Show — odds are you didn’t exactly circle the 1-3 Bills against the 0-4 Browns on your must-see-TV schedule. Be glad you didn’t. In a game so offensively ugly it’d make a Pop Warner coach cringe, Browns quarterback Derek Anderson completed two of seventeen passes and the Bills rang up nine false starts before return man Roscoe Parrish muffed a late punt, and the game, in a 6-3 loss. But out of the chaos emerges the lovely Liz, a second-year Bills cheerleader, to make sense of things. The aspiring child psychologist, ripping snowboarder, and lifetime Bills fan talked T.O., the no-huddle offense, and whether coach Dick Jauron deserves his spot on the hot seat.
ESQUIRE: This is the second game of the season that the Bills have lost thanks to a sloppy return in the final minutes. Does the team need to invest in stickier gloves?
LIZ: I think the gloves are probably okay. It’s just something they have to keep working on. Leodis McKelvin’s fumble in the first game was a real gut-wrencher, but to go into the Patriots’ house and almost take a win away against such a great team also gave so much hope to Bills fans. Today, we were having a hard time generating anything. On the field you could sense the frustration.
ESQ: How much did the swirling winds add to the offensive ineptitude?
L: It was extremely windy. I don’t know how much it affected the players, but for us it was a huge factor. We couldn’t see anything because our hair was in our faces the whole game! Dealing with the elements makes it trickier, but there was no rain or snow, and it’s something you have to rise above.
ESQ: The Bills are 1-4 and have lost consecutive games to previously winless teams. What’s the biggest problem right now?
L: The offense just doesn’t seem to be communicating and meshing. I don’t know if it’s because they’re young. They’ve shown signs of greatness, but the execution just isn’t happening. They’re still getting used to the no-huddle offense, and some people are wondering if they should throw it away. I think they need to improve it a lot or use it less.
ESQ: You’ve also lost six defensive players to injury. How difficult is that?
L: Injuries are definitely a factor. Losing linebacker Kawika Mitchell today was a blow, but the defense has actually handled itself very well. I think the Browns had twenty-three passing yards. I’ve heard Paul Posluszny should be coming back pretty soon. That will be a welcome return.
ESQ: Terrell Owens’s line so far… zero temper tantrums, one reality show, and just eight catches for 158 yards and a TD. What’s the feeling right now about No. 81?
L: I think people are still really excited to have him. He’s still getting acclimated. People like to point fingers at T.O. or Trent, but the offense as a whole isn’t meshing that well. Marshawn Lynch is back now — he had 125 yards today. It was hard for the offense without him. The fans still cheer when T.O. makes a play. He did a little dance today, and they liked that.
ESQ: We hear you’re a Sabres fan. What’s it like cheering in a game that ends with what looks like a hockey score?
L: It’s a little bit tough on the field, because we’re trying to amp up the fans. But Buffalo fans are great — they are in it to the end no matter what happens. It’s more fun when the team is winning, but the game was still close, so there was a lot to fight for. It’s hard to describe just how loud it is when we are on defense. It’s very rare that they’re quiet — if they’re not going to cheer, they are going to boo. Today there was quite a bit booing, the most I’ve heard in a game.
ESQ: Do you think Dick Jauron is worried about his job?
L: With all the penalties today, it’s easy to blame the coach, but I don’t think getting rid of Jauron midseason is a good move. In the history of that happening with NFL teams, it doesn’t improve the situation. The players love Jauron. They have nothing but positive things to say about him. He’s not a very emotional coach. He’s not fired up and screaming, but they have other guys in the locker room to do that. He’s very cool and collected, and that can be an advantage.
ESQ: The Bills face a strong Jets team next week, but the schedule gets a bit easier after that. Do you think the playoffs are still possible?
L: I definitely think they can make the playoffs. It’s still early. We just need to get our injured players back and start to click. I mean, that has to happen soon, but I wouldn’t count us out yet.
ESQ: Do you have to say that because you’re a cheerleader?
L: No! I’m a Bills fan and a cheerleader. It’s only the fifth game. It’s not impossible.
