Leap Day Suggestions

What will you do with an extra day? That is a question several people should ask themselves as the once-every-four-year day of Leap Day is coming Friday.

As all of you know, every four years there is an extra day added to the Gregorian calendar to compensate for the solar year of 365 days and six hours.

While Leap Day is nothing more than another day for some, others are left with questions running through their heads of all the day’s implications.

We at The Herald would like to propose that you consider Leap Day as an “extra day.” Take this once-every-four year opportunity and make the most of it. For most of you, this will be your only Leap Day spent in college. For those of you on the Van Wilder Plan, have fun you might be able to celebrate your third collegiate Leap Day in 2012.

Leap Days just so happen to present neat opportunities if you are keen enough to catch them. Leap Days are on Presidential Election years, giving the American public an extra day to make up their mind. Leap Days also line-up with Summer Olympics now, giving fans of the Olympiad yet another day of anticipation.

People who like to get their shopping done early should take heart as well, you have an extra day of shopping until Christmas.

Feel free to use some of our ideas to celebrate your Leap Day. You could leap around campus on your way to class, or you could get in a first round of golf of the semester. You could use the time more constructively and take time to write a letter to a friend or work on your sketching prowess around campus.

Whatever you do on Leap Day, make it a memorable day. While Chicago Cubs’ fans can say “there’s always next year,” the same can’t be said of Leap Year fans. If they don’t get their kicks in tomorrow, they’ll be left saying “there’s always 2012.”

So how are you going to spend your Leap Day? Go online to The Herald’s blog site at asuheraldblog.blogspot.com, and share with us what you are going to do by posting to the blog.

Happy Leap Day to all and to all a good leap!

ASU and UALR men's games

-Arkansas State will try to end a 7-game losing streak as they take on conference and instate rival UALR. The Indians have won 5 straight against the Trojans.

11:00 1st half: The Indians trail early 15-9 against UALR. Senior guard Adrian Banks is back with the team after taking a "leave of absence" and missing the Louisiana-Lafayette game. Banks has 4 points early, while Ryan Wedel has 3 and Yima Chia-Kur has 2.

9:14 1st half: ASU was forced to call a timeout as the Trojans have gone on a run to build a 19-9 lead. A great crowd is out to watch this game.

7:23 1st half: At the third media timeout, ASU is mired in a funk as UALR now leads 23-9. The Trojans are also on a 10-0 run. UALR sophomore forward Mike Smith is also having a field day against the Tribe defense as he has scored 9 early points.

3:50 1st half: UALR's 10-0 run has turned into a 21-4 spurt as the Trojans have built a 34-13 lead.

Halftime: ASU went on a 10-2 run to close the gap to 36-23, but UALR responded in the final minute. The Trojans scored another 2nd chance FG and ASU's Shawn Morgan missed a lay-up with 3 seconds left as UALR took a 38-23 halftime lead.

Lady Indian and Lady Trojan final stats

UALR/ASU
Score: 66/51
Rebs: 30/37
Assists: 21/8
TO's: 16/18
FG %: 50/33.3

ASU and UALR women's final game notes

The Arkansas State Lady Indians have suffered a discouraging 66-51 conference defeat at the hands of instate rival UALR. The loss drops the Tribe to a 1/2 game back of UALR in the SBC West race. Final stats will come as they are made available.

2nd Half ASU and UALR women

Arkansas State's first half struggles have continued as their deficit has grown to 19 points as they trail 38-19 with 16:02 left in the game. Head coach Brian Boyer just used a timeout to try to settle his team down.

15:08: After the first media timeout of the second half, the Lady Indians trail 40-21. UALR has increased their shooting percent from just over 43 percent in the first half to 51.5 percent. Another key difference has been the assists where the Lady Trojans have moved the ball effectively in picking up 15 assists. On the other hand, the Tribe has just three assists.

The Arkansas State men's basketball team has arrived at the arena. Most of the players are watching a portion of the women's game from the stands.

12:54: UALR was forced to call a timeout as they try to end a mini-run by the Lady Indians. ASU has scored 6 consecutive points to pull within 40-27.

11:59: The Tribe's run has continued as Lyndsay Schlup just scored from the low block in the lane. Schlup was fouled and will go to the foul line out of the second media timeout. ASU has closed their deficit to 40-29.

7:45: After ASU closed the gap to 10 points with a 9-0 run, UALR has regained momentum leading 49-35. The Lady Indians have turned the ball over on two consecutive possessions, the last which allowed the Lady Trojans' Chastity Reed to get a lay-up and a foul. Reed converted on the free throw to build their lead to 50-35.

5:47: ASU trails UALR 52-37. It's been a struggle for the Lady Indians, who barring a major comeback might see their SBC West Division title hopes slip away. The Lady Indians play their final two games on the road against North Texas (13-14, 8-7 SBC) and at home vs. Louisiana-Monroe (17-9, 10-5). Meanwhile, UALR has three games left against Louisiana-Lafayette (5-20, 1-13 SBC), Denver (10-15, 5-9 SBC), and Louisiana-Monroe (17-9, 10-5 SBC).

3:33: ASU trails 59-40 and has seemed lifeless on the court over the past couple of minutes. The Stephens Center is slowly filling up with more fans as the anticipation builds for the ASU and UALR men's game. ASU has won five straight games against the Trojans and are 2-0 at the Stephens Center. The game has even more anticipation as fans and media alike are interested in how the Indians respond in their first game following former head coach Dickey Nutt's resignation.

ASU and UALR women's game

Arkansas State and UALR's game Thursday should decide a lot about seeding for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Mobile, Alabama. The Lady Indians (16-10, 11-4 SBC West) are 1/2 game ahead of the Lady Trojans (18-7, 10-4 SBC West) going into tonight's game. After tonight, the Tribe has two games left, while UALR has three regular season games left.

Halftime: Arkansas State trails UALR 30-15 at the half. The Lady Indians are struggling offensively, while UALR was shooting above 50 percent for part of the first half. In addition, the Lady Trojans have connected on 5 of 10 3-point field goals. Meanwhile, ASU has hit only one three and six of 26 shots overall from the field.

Each team is stuggling to take care of the basketball as the Tribe has turned the ball over 11 times, while UALR has turned the ball over eight times. However, rebounding has been a positive for the Lady Indians as they have outrebounded the Lady Trojans 19-17.

More information on the game and updated stats can be found here on the Herald blogsite throughout the second half.