The athletic trainers at TCU give up Thanksgiving Break, Christmas at home, road trips with friends and eight consecutive hours of sleep.In return, they get out-of-state vacations, a sideline view and 29 "brothers and sisters."

"I have an experience I'm not sure most other college students get," said Aron Low, a senior athletic training major.

Low is one of 30 student trainers who will graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in athletic training.

"It's a very good feeling to know I'm part of something good," Low said.

The TCU soccer team is going on the road for the first time this season to play the SMU Mustangs."It's time to get on the road and see some different scenery," said head coach Dan Abdalla.

The Horned Frogs and the Mustangs tied 2-2 in the spring, soon after Abdalla began coaching at TCU. Abdalla said the tie helped the team gain the confidence it needed to realize it can compete on the Mustangs' level.

Karissa Hill, a junior midfielder , said she agrees that the tie in the spring boosted their confidence.

It all began with a coupon.For many, a coupon could be a ticket to buyer's remorse, but for Brad Skistimas, 22, of Five Times August, it was the beginning of a career.

"I had a coupon for two free guitar lessons and I was getting in to The Beatles at the time, so I asked my mom if I could go," Skistimas said.

Skistimas, a Dallas native, is a singer/songwriter who calls his sound "acoustic pop/rock."

Hollow credits its in-your-face style infused with haunting vocals and unique sounds for its awards, such as "Best Live Act" and "Best Local CD" given by the Dallas music publication Harder Beat Magazine.Guitar player Saul Hewitt describes Hollow's sound as modern-day hard rock with versatility.

"We're right in line with Audioslave or any band that played at EdgeFest," Hewitt said. "We do some acoustics too; (the songs) don't all sound the same."

When TCU meets Oklahoma in Norman on Saturday, the Hyperfrogs plan to be there outfitted in purple.Hyperfrogs, a student spirit organization on campus that also participates in alcohol education, is chartering two buses to take TCU students to Norman, said Brett Buesnel, assistant sports marketing chair of the Hyperfrogs.

"We need to get as many fans to Oklahoma as we can because this is a huge game," Buesnel said, "and we need all the purple we can possibly get."

"Really? I love that song too. I'd let you hear more, but the band only put out three songs. Sorry."While singles are a great alternative to buying an entire album if you only know of a few songs, Warner Music Group's decision to create an "e-label" and rely entirely on digital downloads is a misguided step.

Edgar Bronfman, chairman and CEO of Warner music, said artists would release music on this "e-label" in clusters of three songs over a period of months according to a news.com article published Aug. 22.

Cory Rodgers and Quentily Harmon said they realize their time is now, and they are prepared to step up."It's all about taking advantage of the opportunities," Rodgers said. "We've learned that from a great player."

That great player, he said, is Reggie Harrell.

Harrell played four seasons for TCU and became the first Horned Frog to break the 1,000-yard reception plateau in only two seasons.

Head football coach Gary Patterson said Harrell was an important part of the team.

"Reggie's a special player," Patterson said.

There have been several architectural additions to the TCU campus this year, but one has yet to be seen.The Veterans Memorial Plaza was scheduled to have been completed by this fall but TCU has yet to break ground on the project.

"We wanted to make sure the look is correct," Roger Williams, a university trustee, said. "The plaza is going to be around for a long time and we want it to send the right message."

The plaza is a $150,000 project and as of fall 2004, TCU had raised $80,000, Williams said.

I am a reformed downloader. I'm one of the original Napster downloaders delighted with the idea of having access to millions of songs without having to pay a cent. In the good ol' days I was on Napster constantly - until it became public that Napster was "evil."

Not giving up on my dream of having unlimited music for free, I went through a slew of other programs: Morpheus, Kazaa, LimeWire, you name it, I had it.