Durzblog

2010-02-10T15:25:00.001-05:00

Our little baby's all grows up. Check me out at durzblog.com from now on....

Dig that, BD

2010-02-10T09:53:00.001-05:00

It's Go Time

Next three games could very well seal the fate of the Huskies. Tonight against at the #2 Orange, Saturday a home must win against Cincinnati and Monday in Philadelphia vs #4 Villanova. To get back into the NCAA picture it would seem that the Huskies (14-9, 4-6) must win two out of their next three. A very tall order, starting with this evening at the Carrier Dome, once again without Jim Calhoun.

Preview from ESPN.com:

Big East powerhouses Syracuse and Connecticut have played plenty of memorable games over the years. It's doubtful, though, that they've been in any that were more extraordinary -- and exhausting -- than the last time they met.
The second-ranked Orange look to stretch their winning streak to 11 games Wednesday night when they host the Huskies in the first meeting since the teams needed six overtimes to decide their Big East tournament quarterfinal last year.
"The Huskies, meanwhile, have split six games since coach Jim Calhoun took a doctor-ordered medical leave. They ended a three-game skid Saturday as Jerome Dyson scored 20 points in a lackluster 64-57 home win over last-place DePaul. "We still have a lot of work to do, but it's a Big East win," guard Kemba Walker said. "We'll just take it and build from this."
UConn is 0-5 on the road and 1-4 against ranked teams. The Huskies have won three of their last four visits to the Carrier Dome, and have taken five of their last six regular-season meetings with the Orange.
"It appears sometimes that we play to the competition," interim coach George Blaney said. "That's what it's starting to look like. So, hopefully, we'll be jacked up and ready to play against Syracuse. We're going up there with our destiny in our hands rather than in anybody else's hands."

2010-02-04T09:50:00.002-05:00

Signing Day -- Uconn Football Inks 20

Uconn head football coach Randy Edsall announced on Wednesday that the Huskies have signed 20 recruits to a National Letter of Intent to join the Huskies program. Edsall said this is the most athletic group he has recruited in his 11 seasons at Connecticut. It includes five defensive backs -- as the Huskies try to address their most immediate need.

"Take a look at not only what these young men have done on the football field, but what they've done in some of the other sports they play," Edsall said. "There are a lot of two- and some three-sport athletes in this class, which I really like."

Signees

(Name Pos. Hgt. Wgt. Hometown/High School)

Alexander, J LB 6-3 215 Waldorf, Md./Westlake
Brown, Ty-Meer DB 6-1 180 McKeesport, Pa../McKeesport
Cruz, Gus OG 6-4 256 Manchester, N.H./Kimball Union Academy
Davis, Geremy WR 6-2 205 Lawrenceville, Ga./Norcross
Frank, Reuben FB 6-2 229 Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie
Hansson, Mark OT 6-5 256 Clearwater, Fla./Palm Harbour University
Jones, Byron DB 6-0.5 175 New Britain, Conn./St. Paul (Bristol)
Jones, Tebucky WR 6-0 180 Farmington, Conn./New Britain
Louis, Jonathan DE 6-5 240 Brockton, Mass./Wyoming Seminary (Pa.)
Mack, Taylor DB 5-10 170 Powder Springs, Ga./The Lovett School
McBryde, B.J. DE 6-5 250 Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver Falls
McCombs, Lyle RB 5-8 175 Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph By The Sea
McCummings, S QB 6-2 210 Natick, Mass./Natick
McKee, Greg OT 6-5 295 Chicago, Ill./Martin Luther King College Prep
Opoku, Andrew DB 6-4 226 North Brunswick, N.J./Fork Union Military (Va.)
Paull, Bryan C 6-4 290 Parkland, Fla./M. Stoneman Douglas
Pruitt, Angelo DL 6-2.5 270 Cincinnati, Ohio/North College Hill
Smallwood, YawinLB 6-3 215 Worcester, Mass./Doherty
Stlouis, Gilber CB 5-11 175 Davie, Fla./Plantation
Steg, Brandon LB 6-3 220 Coral Springs, Fla./J.P. Taravella
Kinnard, Leon QB 5-9 180 Reistertown, Md./Loyola Blakefield
Osiecki, M LB 6-2 225 Seymour, Conn./ Seymour

2010-02-02T10:05:00.001-05:00

Not in the Cards -- Bubble Starting to Burst

Huskies fall behind early and can't come all the way back against Louisville, a recurring theme for the 09-10' Huskies. Uconn's tourney resume looked to be on solid footing after knocking off then #1 Texas in Storrs 3 games ago. Losses to Providence, Marquette and Louisville have left the Huskies at 3-6 in the league with nine games to play.

Connecticut will have to at least 9-9 in the league and likely win one of their tougher road games to feel any sort of safety going into New York and then to Selection Sunday.

2/06 DEPAUL
2/10 @ SYRACUSE
2/13 CINCINNATI
2/15 @ VILLANOVA
2/20 @ RUTGERS
2/22 WEST VIRGINIA
2/28 LOUISVILLE
3/03 @ NOTRE DAME
3/06 @ SOUTH FLORIDA

MUSTS: DePaul, Cincinnati, @ Rutgers, @ South Florida

STEAL ONE OF THREE: @ Syracuse, @ Villanova, West Virginia

TAKE ONE OF TWO: Louisville, @ Notre Dame

Uconn's overall RPI and number # 1 SOS nationally will all help IF this team can turn it around. They team will also likely need to win a game in New York at the BET (I could see them playing in the #8 v #9 game in the 2nd round), losing to a number one seed in the quarters will not be a black eye. The season is not dead yet, but its heading in that direction. I would expect to see Jim Calhoun back on the sidelines a week from tomorrow at the Carrier Dome, if they can't get up for that, then they have some problems.

2010-01-31T20:58:00.002-05:00

Point Break, Huskies in Free Fall

The Huskies (13-8, 3-5) have little time to sulk coming off of this past devastating week, which consisted of two losses in very winnable games to Providence and Marquette without head coach Jim Calhoun. Coach is due to return potentially on Saturday, but the Huskies are damaging the old resume of late in his absence -- big time. The Texas victory from last week has been officially thrown out the window and Uconn is facing a huge make or break game on national TV Monday night. This game might not be a "must win" -- but at this point a win is simply needed to stop the spiral. Interim Coach Blaney is looking for a forty minute effort from the club and against Louisville they are going to need just that -- a complete effort. After Louisville the Huskies will host DePaul, things will seem a bit more clear after this week. For better or worse. Uconn, Get me 2!

2010-01-25T09:00:00.001-05:00

Signed and Sealed -- Huskies Hook top ranked 'Horns

At long last, Uconn adds the elusive signature (OOC) win to their NCAA resume and gave themselves some breathing room from the dreaded NCAA bubble. It was their last opportunity out of the league and against the highest rated team they have played all season, the second half was their best twenty minutes off the season -- and things seemed well in Storrs again Saturday afternoon.

Jerome Dyson scored (career-high) 32 points and the Huskies overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to upset # 1 Texas 88-74 on Saturday. Kemba Walker added 19 points and 10 assists, and Stanley Robinson was solid with 17 points and 12 rebounds for who moved to 13-6 (3-3).

"Now you know you're good, you know you can play," said George Blaney, Calhoun's longtime assistant and interim head coach. "You just beat the number-one team in the country, so that should tell you that you're good."

2010-01-20T22:55:00.000-05:00

By George -- Huskies Snap Skid, 75-59

A Jerome Dyson led Husky squad ended a three-game losing streak with a at times convincing 75-59 win over St. John's before 14,200 in Hartford. Stanley Robinson had 18 points (nine rebounds) and Kemba Walker added 17 points with six assists for UConn (now 12-6, 3-3 Big East), coached by Associate Head Coach George Blaney. The Johnnies (12-6, 2-4) were led by D.J. Kennedy's 19 points.

Blaney on Calhoun's timetable, "Jim and I have always kidded that I'm on a day-to-day contract anyway. I'm not a big history guy and I'm not a big future guy. I'm really a guy who tries to spend with what we have to do today. That's always the way I've coached. That's always the way I've approached the game. I think the game is that - it's what it is today. Who are we playing today, how are we going to play and who is going to win."

Notes:

Uconn continued their recent success at home, the team is 11-1 at home this season and 41-4 at home in the last three years.
The Huskies avoided their first four-game losing streak since it closed the 2006-07 season with four consecutive defeats.
There is no timetable set for Calhoun's return from his illness, he most likely will not be back when the Huskies host Texas in Storrs on Saturday.

2010-01-20T09:14:00.003-05:00

Calhoun to Take Medical Leave of Absence

Jim Calhoun will take a medical leave of absence effective immediately, it was announced Tuesday. Details are mostly unavailable.

Uconn Health Center physician Peter Schulman, M.D., Calhoun's primary care physician, said, "It is my recommendation that Coach Calhoun take a medical leave from his coaching position to address some temporary medical issues, none of which involve any previous medical conditions that he has dealt with."

UConn Director of Athletics Jeffrey A. Hathaway, offered, "Our primary concern is Coach Calhoun's health and his complete recovery. We will do everything possible to support Coach during this time. Jim and I both know that the men's basketball program is in very capable hands under the leadership of Associate Head Coach George Blaney."

Coach Calhoun was not available for comment. Later reports do seem to suggest that the problem is stress related and that he should be back with the program in about 10 days. It's been a tough couple of years for the 67 year old coach health wise, ESPN.com has chronicled his issues:

Jan. 8, 2008: Calhoun leaves game with dehydration. UConn beat St. John's 81-65. Calhoun later explained he was emotionally drained from his brother-in-law's funeral and run down by other minor ailments.
Jan. 12, 2008: Calhoun doesn't coach a game at Georgetown due to illness. UConn lost 72-69. Calhoun was at the game and watched it from the locker room. Returning home from D.C. that night, Calhoun was admitted to the UConn Health Center's John Dempsey Hospital for precautionary reasons.
April 24, 2008: Calhoun goes to UConn Health Center with an enlarging mass in his right upper neck near the jaw line. A needle biopsy reveals squamous cell cancer, which was likely related to Calhoun's prior skin cancer. (Calhoun was successfully treated for prostate cancer in 2003 and skin cancer in 2007.)
May 6, 2008: Calhoun undergoes surgery at the UConn Health Center to remove cancerous mass on his neck, along with 37 lymph nodes that were found to be cancer-free and part of a salivary gland.
June 24, 2008: Calhoun begins six weeks of radiation to minimize the chance of cancer recurrence.
Jan. 3, 2009: At halftime of a game against Rutgers, Calhoun leaves with an illness. UConn won 80-49.
March 19, 2009: Calhoun misses first-round NCAA tournament game against Chattanooga. He spends Thursday night in the hospital due to dehydration. UConn won 103-47 and Calhoun is released on March 20.
June 13, 2009: While taking part in a charity bike ride, Calhoun's bicycle hits a pot hole and the coach tumbles over the handle bars and breaks five ribs. He got back up and completed the race, but fainted due to hydration upon crossing the finish line. Calhoun spent the night at the UConn Health Center.
Jan. 19, 2010: Calhoun takes a medical leave of absence, effective immediately. According to UConn, Calhoun’s leave is not related to his heart nor his previous bouts with cancer.

-- Get well soon coach.

2010-01-14T09:08:00.003-05:00

No Signature, Pitt 67 Connecticut 57

Uconn entered the XL Center last night looking for a marquee victory against a ranked opponent for the first time this season. The Huskies left still looking and now under .500 in the league (11-5, 2-3). The Pitt Panthers held it together down the stretch and prevailed 67-57 in front of 15,300 in Hartford. Connecticut is not hitting the panic button yet -- but the fans seem to be. Kemba Walker is struggling and there does not seem to be a go to guy other than Jerome Dyson (seemingly forcing shots) on the entire team. Small spurts and good play from some younger players (Oriakhi, Majok, JCMD) provide a glimmer of some hope, but things need to start clicking quickly before Connecticut plays themselves into NCAA tournament danger.

Brad Wanamaker and Ashton Gibbs each scored 19 points and the Panthers, while the Huskies were paced by Stanley Robinson's 19 points. Uconn travels to Ann Arbor, Michigan on Sunday for an OOC game against the Wolverines.

Notes:

This was the 10th time in the last 11 games between the two teams that both were ranked
Stanley Robinson scored his 1,000 point, becoming the 44th Husky to reach that mark
The Huskies have lost five straight vs. ranked opponents

2010-01-10T10:25:00.000-05:00

Huskies Blow 19 point lead, Hoyas win stunner by 3

UConn (now 11-4, 2-2 Big East) were up by 19 late in the first half, 15 at the half and by as much as 17 early in the second. Then all hell broke loose, Austin Freeman broke loose...

Freeman scored 28 of his career-high 33 points in the second half, and No. 12 Georgetown came back to beat No. 13 Connecticut 72-69 in a early season Big East matchup. Freeman finished 12-for-20 from the field, with five three-pointers and seven rebounds. Greg Monroe had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Hoyas (12-2, 3-1). Stanley Robinson led Uconn with 16 points, most of his work was done early though.

"It's the most heartbreaking loss this year. It's not even close," said UConn coach Jim Calhoun.

The Pitt Panthers visit the XL Center on Wednesday, a game the Huskies need to have.

2010-01-08T21:50:00.002-05:00

Top Forward Smith Makes Call, it's Connecticut

UConn picked up an oral commitment from Roscoe Smith, a 6-8 combo forward from Oak Hill, according to the Hartford Courant.

Roscoe, the top get of his class thus far for Uconn, chose the Huskies over Duke and Georgetown. The versatile forward, one of the main and major targets for Calhoun's 2010 class, is rated the 31st best overall player and sixth-best small forward in his class by rivals.com. He joins Cleveland Melvin, a 6-8 forward from Notre Dame Prep (Fitchburg, Mass), Jeremy Lamb, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Norcross High in Georgia, and Michael Bradley, a 6-10 forward/center from Tyner Academy in Chattanooga, Tenn., as part of the incoming freshman class for next season. Smith, Lamb and Bradley are all considered top 100 prospects in their class.

# 13 Huskies nip Pirates

2010-01-06T23:24:00.000-05:00

Jerome Dyson (19pt, 10ast, 9 rbd) turned it on when the Huskies needed him to and Connecticut remained perfect at home with a 71-63 conference win. The Huskies were able to contain Jeremy Hazell for the most part and held him to 13 points, 10 below his season average. Uconn with the win improves to 11-3 and 2-1 in the league, while the Pirates come close again, but fall to 9-5 and 0-3 in the Big East.

Dyson led a balanced attack on the night -- Robinson, Walker, Oriakhi and Edwards also joined Jerome with double digit scoring. Junior Forward, Jeff Robinson, led the Pirates with 17 points in 30 minutes off the bench for Bobby Gonzalez.

Uconn returns to action on Saturday in the nation's capital against the Georgetown Hoyas at noon.

Cock Block-- Uconn 20 South Carolina 7

2010-01-04T18:54:00.003-05:00

Uconn made a nice statement in the middle of SEC country, Steve Spurrier's Gamecock's left humbled by what the coach described as a "sad, sad effort."

Andre Dixon, the bowl MVP in his last collegiate game, rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown and the Huskies ended a very trying season with a 20-7 exclamation point at the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, Alabama. The victory was the fourth in a row for the Huskies to close the campaign, their first win over a SEC team and the third bowl win in program history in four tries.

Edsall offered after the game, in light of the Jasper Howard tragedy, "I told them in the locker room that they're never going to be around something like this for the rest of their lives. In all my years of coaching, I have never been around a team like this. It's hard to describe unless you've been through the ride with us."

The Huskies return lots of talent next season and will expect to compete for the Big East title and a BCS birth.

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Merry Christmas

2009-12-23T16:23:00.001-05:00

Hope you all enjoy the Holidays and have a great New Year...

When we return it will be Big East Hoops for a solid nine weeks.

Be Good.

Uconn gets a battle from Jordan and UCF

2009-12-21T12:13:00.005-05:00

Ater Majok made a long awaited yet very silent debut, but two seniors pulled a dreary Husky squad to a 60-51 victory over Central Florida before an announced crowd of 13,685 at the Civic Center. Stanley Robinson had 26 points and Jerome Dyson added 16 points for the generally flat Huskies. Freshman Marcus Jordan, son of Michael Jordan, led the visiting Knights with 13 points.

Uconn (7-2) has a couple of tune-ups -- vs Maine and then Iona -- before they open Big East play at Cincinnati on December 30th.

Ater Majok Postgame Video Following His Sunday Debut Against Central Florida - UCONN | Men's Basketball

Jim Calhoun close to inking 5 year deal

2009-12-20T09:34:00.001-05:00

According to a few reports slowly leaking out of Storrs, the University of Connecticut and Hall of Famer Calhoun have reached a new contract agreement. The deal is reportedly a four year contract extension of the current agreement which expires this June. Calhoun's base pay will rise from its current $1.6 to "north of $2 million" per season. Ken Krayeske eat your heart out. The news should add some firepower to the Huskies staff out on the recruiting trail, where they are after some high end talents in the classes of 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Courant Coverage

Exams and then Majok

2009-12-14T09:07:00.004-05:00

Connecticut got through the first part of the schedule and at 6-2 the Huskies are still very much a work in progress. The problems against Duke and Memphis, effort and shooting (respectively), are things that will remain talking points all season. The Huskies will need to start shooting from the perimeter more to keep opposing defenses honest and there only a few guys who have the ability. Dyson can make deep shots, but he must take them, and the freshman (JCMD, Smith and Trice) are going to get a tryout for playing time as a shooter in the next three games.

Also in the next three games, Ater Majok (pictured), will finally be given the opportunity to get his feet wet before the Big East schedule begins on December 30th. I suspect that Ater is going to start from day 1 and that Oriakhi and Sticks will also start up front, allowing Calhoun to keep Edwards where he likes him -- as the teams highly productive sixth man. When the Huskies head to the nation's capital on January 9th to face Georgetown, we should know a lot more about the club.

12/20/09	vs. Central Florida	XL Center, Hartford, Conn.	1:00 p.m.
12/22/09	vs. Maine	XL Center, Hartford, Conn.	7:00 p.m.
12/27/09	vs. Iona	XL Center, Hartford, Conn.	2:00 p.m.
12/30/09	at Cincinnati *	Fifth/Third Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio	7:00 p.m.
01/02/10	vs. Notre Dame *	XL Center, Hartford, Conn.	12:00 p.m.
01/06/10	vs. Seton Hall *	Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn.	9:00 p.m.

I predict the Huskies will get to 11-3, by going 5-1 during this run (2-1 in the Big East). If Majok is active on the glass and there are a couple of guys shooting the ball decently from the outside, this team should be poised to compete in the top four of the Big East all season long. But those are questions that will need to be answered.
Good luck on your exams lads.
-BD

Huskies to face Cocks

2009-12-06T22:30:00.017-05:00

Connecticut got some great news today when they were awarded a spot in the PapaJohn's.com Bowl to be played January 2nd in Birmingham against the South Carolina Gamecock's of the SEC. Uconn's late three game winning streak took the Huskies from -- out of the bowls all together -- to a January date against a high profile coach from the best conference in the country.

Of the Big East schools Rutgers (very early bowl, vs CUSA) and South Florida (in Canada -- brrrr, vs MAC) received the less desired bowls, St Petersburg and International, respectively -- everyone else should be pleased. When the bowls reshuffle this offseason the folks in Providence must do a better job, the top four are solid, but after that it becomes a little less pleasing.

Cincinnati will play Florida in the BCS Sugar Bowl, West Virginia will face Florida State in Bowden's farewell at the Gator and Pitt will play UNC in Charlotte.

"We're excited with the opportunity to play against South Carolina, knowing they're an outstanding team from the SEC," UConn coach Randy Edsall said. "It gives us another opportunity to work with our young guys before we go down to Birmingham. It gives us another opportunity to play a game, which I think this team so richly deserves after being 7-5 and having gone through all the things that we went through this year."

tickets and travel information, click

World Cup 2010

2009-12-04T13:30:00.008-05:00

The USMNT got a great draw in Cape Town this afternoon -- now the planning for their specific opponents in the World Cup begins. The Yanks escape having two powers in their group -- and will be on equal footing for games two and three of group play. The US will open their campaign against England on June 12th -- any points there would be a great start in sending Bob Bradley's squad through to the knockout stage.

Its been a good day for the red, white and blue, now its time to get the squad healthy and in order to take advantage of where they have been placed. No excuses.

Group C

England
United States
Algeria
Slovenia

-BD

Uconn Beats Notre Dame 33-30 in 2OT

2009-11-24T11:35:00.003-05:00

Huskies pull out biggest win in program's history over the Fightin' Irish in South Bend. The victory, the first since the death of Jasper Howard, was as emotional as they come for the Uconn program. The ground attack and Offensive Line were the difference in the end; Jordan Todman rushed for 130 yards and a TD on 26 carries and Andre Dixon carried 20 times for 114 yards and the winning score.

With two games left (5-5. 1-4), Connecticut has their eyes set on clinching a bowl appearance for a third consecutive season.
One win could do it for them, two will for sure -- and both are winnable. This Saturday they host the Orange at noon and next Saturday night they will end the regular season in East Hartford versus South Florida.

This one was for Jazz...

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Husky Notebook

2009-11-04T10:48:00.012-05:00

Uconn begins their two game exhibition slate Wednesday vs AIC in Hartford and will play Umass-Lowell on Sunday in Storrs.
The regular season commences a week from Friday (the 13th) when they host the Tribe of William and Mary at Gampel.
The NIT starts the following Monday (the 16th) at Uconn hosts Colgate on campus, Uconn hopes to advance to play the winner of Yale and Hofstra the following night. If things go as expected Uconn will be at MSG over Thanksgiving Weekend, potentially playing Duke in the final.
The starting five to start the year is going to be Kemba Walker, Jerome Dyson, Stanley Robinson, Gavin Edwards and either Chuck Okwandu or Freshman Alex Oriakhi.
Calhoun currently is holding two 2010 top 100 commitments (SG Jeremy Lamb and C Michael Bradley).
Word on the street is that two kids are near becoming future Huskies during the fall signing period next week (11-18), highly rated forward, Roscoe Smith could very well be one of them. Corey Joseph may be the other, but he and fellow top rated PG Husky target, Brandon Knight, were expected to wait until the Spring.
UConn will be getting an official visit from highly rated 2010 SG Doron Lamb on Nov. 15-16.
Coach Calhoun spoke about the ball starting to finally roll on a practice facility, noting that it would be near Gampel Pavilion (supposedly where Memorial Field is located).
The facility is expected to house a 1,800-square foot study hall (which would be about six times the size of UConn's current one) as well as areas that can showcase the program's success over the years.
According to Andy Katz, Calhoun wants four-six years but UConn AD Jeff Hathaway hasn't moved yet on the matter -- the current contract expires in June. Get your head out of your ass Jeff. -- BD

Husky Hoops Notebook 10.1

2009-10-01T10:10:00.004-04:00

Recruiting Landscape: Gavin Edwards, Stanley Robinson, Jerome Dyson and Jonathan Mandeldove are all seniors this year and there is already an open spot on the roster. With commitments being made, more and more and certainly in the next few weeks, it is an anxious time for college coaches and for the fans (mostly left in the dark until signings are made) who are starved for any indication from any of the recruits or any information about them. STARVED! As the kids start trimming their list the pictures become a bit clearer. Here is where the Huskies stand at the moment, the players national ranking in parenthesis (Rivals.com):

Out of the Running: A trio of top ten talents recently scratched Connecticut off of their lists: SF (5) Tobias Harris, PG (9) Kyrie Irving and PG (4) Josh Selby.

Still in the Running: Calhoun and his staff still remain on the short list for three major players: PG (1) Brandon Knight (the Gatorade Player of the Year), PG (7) Cory Joseph (pictured above) and are in SF (31) Roscoe Smith's last three with Duke and Georgetown. Joseph and Smith will attend the opening night festivities at Gampel in a couple of weeks.

Signed: SG (68) Jeremy Lamb

In the End: Look for the Huskies to use at least three more scholarships, in addition to Lamb. The list of "Still in the Running" are the top targets, there are others that are less talked about who will come into the picture when/if these kids commit elsewhere. The 4 and 5 positions do not seem to to be the focal point in recruiting, but do not be surprised to see Uconn get a commitment from Michael Bradley a late blooming Center from Tennessee. Bradley is a three star recruit not in Rivals 150 at the moment.

Notes: Its slowly leaking out that the NCAA has not found anything in the Yahoo story (Hoops Weiss) and the program will not be faced with any penalties...the University is working on a contract extension for Calhoun in the neighborhood of 4-6 years (Hartford Courant) -- that should help the recruiting a bit.

-BD

Brandon Knight on Official Visit to UConn

2009-09-25T23:04:00.005-04:00

The top PG in the 2010 class in on campus for his second visit, this one is "official."

The highly coveted Knight is considering UConn, Kentucky, Florida, Miami, Kansas and UCLA. He might be waiting until the Spring to announce his destination.

Tobias Harris trimmed his list today and Uconn is no longer being considered, Calhoun could not promise every single shot and naming the gym after the highly rated Long Island big man. If his dad's only concern is to get his son to NBA, then he might want to think about Maryland, West Virginia and Tennessee again -- all good programs -- but they have zero track record in producing high end NBA talent. Syracuse, Kentucky, Louisville and Georgia Tech are the other schools in Tobias' final 7.

Full scoop on Knight below:

Brandon Knight and Michael Bradley on Official Visit to UConn - UCONN | Men's Basketball

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New York Surf Week hits Long Beach

2009-09-25T19:39:00.004-04:00

11th Annual Unsound Pro in Long Beach, NY, runs through the weekend and overlaps the 2nd Annual NY Surf Film Festival which opens on Friday and runs through Sunday at Tribeca Cinemas.

more: The (Unofficial) New York Surf Week

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Lamb First for 2010 Class

2009-09-23T10:12:00.009-04:00

Jeremy Lamb made an oral commitment to UConn last Tuesday. Lamb, a 6-foot-4 guard from Georgia, impressed many with showings this summer at the Peach Jam (South Carolina) and the Super Showcase (Orlando). The Huskies were the first major school to start recruiting the lanky guard with a reported nose for scoring.

Jeremy's father, Rolando Lamb, told the Courant, "I think when they first saw Jeremy play, they were consistent in going after him, really made him a priority and stayed consistent with that. When we went to visit, we saw a family atmosphere, a great tradition, and we know Jeremy is going to have a great ability to develop at UConn."

Interestingly, Rolando sunk a buzzer beater for VCU to knock Jim Calhoun's Northeastern out of the big dance in 1984. See a young coach Calhoun and listen to a new broadcaster, Bill Raftery, make the call, here

Lamb was being recruited by Texas, Marquette, Georgia, Alabama, Auburn and Georgia Tech. He is listed as a 4 star prospect with an overall rank of 68 in the 2010 Rivals150. With at least 4 openings still available in next year's class, this will start the ball rolling. Uconn is after some serious talent and appear to be poised to grab one of the top three PG's in the country. Brandon Knight will be in Storrs this weekend and Josh Selby is also being heavily sought after.

Scout.com's list of who Uconn is recruiting at the moment:

The number next to the position is the players overall rank at their position

PG	1	Brandon Knight (Pine Crest School) Fort Lauderdale, FL	6-3/175	other schools in the mix Duke, Florida, Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky, Miami (Fl)
PF	2	Tobias Harris (Half Hollow Hills Hs West) Dix Hills, NY	6-8/210/29.2	Florida, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Memphis, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Tennessee, Virginia, Rutgers, West Virginia
PG	3	Josh Selby (Lake Clifton-Eastern HS) Baltimore, MD	6-2/180	Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky, Miami (Fl), Oregon, Texas, Tennessee
C	4	Josh Smith (Kentwood HS) Kent, WA	6-9/270	UCLA, Washington, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, North Carolina, Ohio State, USC, Georgetown, Texas, Gonzaga, Tennessee
PG	6	Cory Joseph (Findlay Prep) Henderson, NV	6-3/170	Florida, Kansas, Memphis, Minnesota, Texas, Texas A&M, UNLV, Villanova
PF	6	Terrence Jones (Jefferson HS) Portland, OR	6-7/210	Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Oklahoma, UCLA, USC, Washington, California,Georgetown, Indiana, North Carolina, Oregon, Oregon State, Texas, Washington State
SG	3	Doron Lamb (Oak Hill Academy) Mouth Of Wilson,VA	6-4/175	Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Pittsburgh, Saint John's (NY)
SF	6	Roscoe Smith (Oak Hill Academy) Mouth Of Wilson,VA	6-7/185	Duke, Florida, Georgetown, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Memphis
PF	7	JayVaughn Pinkston (Bishop Loughlin) Brooklyn, NY	6-6/220	Saint John's (NY), Louisville, Tennessee, USC, Villanova, Virginia, West Virginia
PF	13	Luke Cothron (Flora MacDonald Academy) Red Springs, NC	6-8/205	Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisville, Mississippi State, North Carolina State, Oklahoma, UAB, West Virginia
C	15	Michael Bradley (Tyner HS) Chattanooga, TN	6-10/210	Drake, Virginia Commonwealth, Georgia, Memphis, Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, Oral Roberts, Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee State

SF	17	J.J. Moore (Brentwood HS) Brentwood, NY	6-6/179	Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rutgers, Saint John's (NY)
SF	22	Rod Odom (Middlesex School) Concord, MA	6-8/200	Arizona, Arkansas, Boston College, Harvard, Louisville, Miami (Fl), Seton Hall, Vanderbilt, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State

Uconn Releases Challenging Slate

2009-09-10T13:45:00.004-04:00

Calhoun lays off the cupcakes a bit and looks to challenge the 09-10 squad with some very good OOC games. A potential match-up with Duke in the NIT, the Big East-SEC Invitational with Calipari and Kentucky and the Texas Longhorns in Storrs are a few of the highlights:

The complete UConn schedule for the 09/10 upcoming season:

NOVEMBER

13: William & Mary, Gampel Pavilion
16: NIT Season Tip-Off vs. Colgate, Gampel Pavilion
17: NIT Season Tip-off vs. Yale or Hofstra, Gampel Pavilion
25: NIT Season Tip-off semifinal, MSG (espn2)
27: NIT Season Tip-off final/consolation, MSG (ESPN/espn2)

DECEMBER

2: Boston University, XL Center
6: Harvard, Gampel Pavilion
9. Big East/SEC Invitational vs. Kentucky, Madison Square Garden (ESPN)
20: Central Florida, XL Center
22: Maine, XL Center
27: Iona, XL Center
30: at Cincinnati (espn2)

JANUARY

2: Notre Dame, XL Center
6: Seton Hall, Gampel Pavilion
9: at Georgetown (ESPN)
13: Pittsburgh, XL Center (espn2)
17: at Michigan
20: St. John's, XL Center

23: Texas, Gampel Pavilion (CBS)

27: at Providence
30: Marquette, XL Center

FEBRUARY

1: at Louisville (ESPN)
6: DePaul, Gampel Pavilion
10: at Syracuse (ESPN)
13: Cincinnati, XL Center
15: at Villanova (ESPN)
20: at Rutgers
22: West Virginia, XL Center (ESPN)
28: Louisville, Gampel Pavilion (CBS)

MARCH

3: at Notre Dame (ESPN)
6: at South Florida

Let's Get it On

2009-09-03T11:35:00.006-04:00

The University of Connecticut football team opens up play at Ohio University on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

No TV Coverage
The games will be available at ESPN360.com.
As always Joe D will be on the call on WTIC 1080 (also on WTIC.com)

Game Notes

UCONN V OHIO HISTORY
Not much to speak of....Saturday's game is just the second meeting between UConn and Ohio with the Huskies taking a 37-19 win on Sept. 21, 2002 in Storrs -- the final year of play in Memorial Stadium. Dan Orlovsky was 15 of 29 for 224 yards and a touchdown.

UCONN VS. THE MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Connecticut enters Saturday's meeting with a 14-1 record against opponents from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) since going 1-A.

UCONN AND SEASON OPENERS
UConn is 6-1 in season openers since making the jump to Division I-A and must get off to a good start in 2009. Its not going to get any easier.

HUSKIES ON THE ROAD in 1-A
The road is getting a bit friendlier. The Huskies have put together a 16-22 road record since 2002. In non-conference road affairs over that same span, Connecticut is 13-9 and has won five of its last seven.

HUSKIES VS. NON-CONFERENCE FOES SINCE 1-A
UConn has posted the following records in non-conference games: 6-6 (2002), 9-3 (2003), 4-1 (2004), 3-1 (2005), 3-2 (2006), 4-1 (2007), 4-1 (2008). It would appear that 3-2 in 2009 would keep this team in the mix for bowl eligibility.

TOUGH SLEDDING IN 2009
Three of UConn's five non-conference opponents this fall are members of the BCS; North Carolina, Baylor and Notre Dame. UConn is one of just three schools who are members of a BCS conference to play three fellow BCS conference members out of league (Syracuse and Georgia the others). This is Uconn's toughest schedule to date....

MICHIGAN, TENNESSEE AMONG THOSE COMING TO RENTSCHLER FIELD IN THE FUTURE
UConn has recently finalized an agreement with Michigan for a home-and-home football series in the 2010 and 2013 seasons -- the Wolverines will come to Rentschler Field on Sept. 21, 2013. UConn will also play a home-and-home series with Tennessee beginning in 2015 with the Volunteers coming to Rentschler Field on Sept. 26 with a return trip to Knoxville on Sept. 3, 2016. Other upcoming non-conference opponents coming to East Hartford include Vanderbilt (2010), Iowa State (2011), North Carolina State (2012) and Maryland (2013). By the conclusion of the 2010 season, UConn will have played host to non-conference opponents from the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 10, Big XII and Southeastern conference at Rentschler Field.

AROUND THE BIG EAST

Minnesota v Syracuse

South Florida v Wofford

West Virginia v Liberty

Pittsburgh v Youngstown State

Louisville v Indiana State

Rutgers v Cincinnati (Monday)

Stadium Guide

2009-08-14T10:02:00.010-04:00

I have been to two new stadiums since the summer began and wanted to add them to the Guide

The Home Depot Center:
Carson, CA (attended Red Bulls v Galalxy)

The trip was my first to a US "soccer specific stadium" and I was highly impressed with the venue. The size was perfect and the structure left you feeling that the designers really knew what they were doing. The 27,000 seat stadium is home to both the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA and is about 45 minutes south of LA. I sat on a terrace outside of the American Express Club and was able to mosey about and grab a few beers very easily. I will be back for two games this fall and am really looking forward to it. The other few MLS games I have been to have been in NFL stadiums and I must say that the trend in building soccer stadiums is going to be great for the sport. Next year the Red Bulls will open a beauty in Harrison, NJ and can say good bye to the cavernous Giants Stadium...

New Yankee Stadium
Bronx, NY (attended Boston v New York)
I was of the mind that there was absolutely no reason to move out of the old ballpark, but since Bloomberg decided to bend over for the Yanks and pay for it, oh what the hell. The walk into the stadium is really cool -- with all of the history and tributes -- very well done. The Stadium is massive, and while impressive, its not the coziest place in the world..you won't confuse this play with Fenway. The scoreboards and all of the bells and whistles are very impressive and the concourse and concessions are very fan friendly..though I might urge you to watch your intake. I had a double burger from Johnny Rockets in the 7th inning on Friday night and spent the rest of the weekend on the pot..

looking forward to getting over the Citi Field and ND Stadium in the next couple of months. Be good

-BD

Husky Notes

2009-08-06T16:18:00.005-04:00

Stan Simpson asks Jim Calhoun about his health, future, last year, including the looming NCAA investigation, the Ken Krayeske mess and Nate Miles....
Candid Calhoun on Fox 61's "The Stan Simpson Show'' - Stan Simpson | Just A Thought

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Also, Dave Borges, at the NHR has a few interesting tidbits in his blog this week. It appears that AJ Price is close to signing a multi year deal with the Pacers (great for a 2nd rd pick) and that Jim Calhoun is close to inking a multi year extension with Uconn (great for recruiting)...

click

09-10 Roster is Set

2 Donnell Beverly JR Hawthorne, Calif.
4 Jamal Coombs-McDaniel FR Dorchester, Mass.
11 Jerome Dyson SR Rockville, Md.
33 Gavin Edwards SR Gilbert, Ariz.
5 Ater Majok FR Sydney, Australia
32 Jonathan Mandeldove SR Stone Mountain, Ga.
35 Charles Okwandu JR Lagos, Nigeria
34 Alex Oriakhi FR Lowell, Mass.
21 Stanley Robinson SR Birmingham, Ala.
24 Darius Smith FR Chicago, Ill.
13 Jamaal Trice FR Los Angeles, Calif.
15 Kemba Walker SO Bronx, N.Y.

Jacobs on Uconn and ND deal

2009-08-05T11:52:00.003-04:00

Let me start by saying that I rarely can even read Jacobs, much less enjoy what he has to say. Have a look at this piece though, even if JJ (as he does all the time) leaves out half the story -- like ND having a new AD and not really all that interested themselves -- it is good to see the ol blowhard sticking up for the State U.

I have had it with the pompous nature of ND athletics and this is why I like what is said here. The BE needs to stop being an enabler to the Irish -- let them go find another league to bend over for them -- and if the other catholic schools most go with them, then so be it. The Big East relationship with ND is embarrassing. Its time to move on...over and out.

UConn Doesn't Need Notre Dame -- Courant.com

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Breaking News

2009-07-29T11:21:00.004-04:00

Phillies land Cliff Lee in six player deal with the Tribe

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BD:
The Phils appear to be done with the charade that is J.P. Ricciardi -- and are close to bring last years AL Cy Young winner to the NL. Insiders imply that the Phils and Jays are just about finished and in dealing with the Tribe they can get a top line starter while keeping Drabek and Brown.

Two days until the deadline, stay tuned, this could be just more posturing....obviously Lee is not the same caliber as Doc, but he is a nice fall back plan, for sure.

Stark Updates: Jays reject Phils offer

2009-07-26T13:10:00.005-04:00

Source: Jays reject Phillies' latest Halladay offer

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BD:
The Phillies took both Drabek and Brown out of the deal proposed by Toronto. They offered Happ and their three prospects -- outfielder Michael Taylor, pitcher Carlos Carrasco and shortstop Jason Donald.

J.P. Ricciardi (Tornto GM) reportedly told the Phillies "that's not going to work." Apparently Toronto will not deal unless they are "wowed" by an offer. Starks also reports that the Jays are "very comfortable" keeping Halladay if they don't get what they want. J.P. can keep saying that, but his ace is worth half his current value if he does not deal him this week. The Phils should throw Drabek in the deal and keep Happ and Brown -- they become legit world title contenders for two years immediately and can keep a decent number three in Happ. If they can somehow get this deal done by keeping Drabek though -- that would be a major coup.

Jeff Goodman (FS) on Calhoun

2009-07-25T12:51:00.004-04:00

No matter what, Calhoun goes full-speed ahead

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BD:
Good read. Calhoun is hitting the trail hard as he tries to lure recruits for his 2010 class. This could be JC's last big class and he intends to land some big boys. We'll see how they do, but its good to see him out there as crazed as ever....

DURZ College Hoops -- Preseason top 10

2009-07-23T11:43:00.012-04:00

There are about 4 months until the first tip, but with the NBA draft gone, we now know what rosters are going to look like in college hoops next year. Below Is my summertime top 10.

1) Kansas -- Everyone is back (from a sweet 16 squad) and much has been added, they are the deepest and most athletic team in the land. Collins and Henry should be lethal.

2) Kentucky -- Calamari threw on his GM hat and was wheeling and dealing this off season. Memphis just joined the SEC pretty much. Coach Cal scored a coup with his commitment from John Wall

3) Texas -- A very deep and experienced club adds a great recruiting class and will also get Florida transfer, Jai Lucas, things are looking up for Barnes and the Horns'.

4) Purdue -- Laugh if you must, but the facts are, this team returns a starting five (for the second straight season) and they are coming off of a Sweet Sixteen. Hummel is potentially a first team All-American.

5) Tennessee -- This team is long, fast and just very athletic overall. The best part for Coach Pearl is that they lost absolutely nothing....Look for the Vols' to get deeper into this year's big dance.

6) Villanova -- The Cat's bring back loads of talent in their back court (Scottie and the Corey's), they won't have any confidence problems coming off a FF birth. If Jay Wright can find some answers in the front court, Nova should spend the season highly ranked.

7) North Carolina -- A core of Ginyard and Ed Davis will welcome some serious talent including John Henson. The Heels' lost tons of scoring and rebounding, but don't feel bad for ol' Roy. They seem to reload rather easily.

8) Michigan State -- A large part of last season's national runner-up will return to East Lansing. Kalin Lucas is going to be fantastic, once again, and Izzo is one of the top minds in the game. The Spartan's will load up on wins in the top heavy Big 10 (11).

9) Washington -- Newcomer, Abdul Gaddy, meets up with a talented nucleus. If Romar can find some quality play on the post -- this will be the team to beat in the Pac-10.

10) Connecticut -- Three starters are going, however the Huskies will have the Big East's best 1-3 (Walker, Dyson and Robinson) combo. If the newcomers are as good as advertised, Uconn will battle for league honors.

Recruiting Front

2009-07-09T10:52:00.005-04:00

With scholarships opening in abundance over the next year or two, the 2010 recruiting class for the Huskies is very important. From the current roster the Huskies will lose: Dyson, Edwards, Mandeldove, Robinson and likely to lose Kemba Walker and Ater Majok (at most within two years for the latter two) after this season.

Uconn will have at minimum 4 scholarships available for the 2010 class, I have listed below the prospects they are looking at. Calhoun and Co. will have to do well with this group. Landing any two of those listed would be a good start, as the other scholarships will likely be filled with less touted recruits, however Calhoun is hitting the recruiting trail this time with playing time to offer and that generally is not the case.

Pos.--Nat'l Rank-- Schools involved

PG 1 Brandon Knight -- Connecticut, Florida, Miami (Fl), Syracuse, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Wake Forest
PG 2 Kyrie Irving -- Connecticut, Duke, Florida, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kentucky, Marquette, Maryland, Notre Dame, Seton Hall, Texas A&M
C 2 Fab Melo -- Florida, Florida State, Louisville, Miami (Fl), Syracuse, Connecticut, Texas
C 3 Josh Smith -- UCLA, Washington, Connecticut, Duke, Georgetown, Louisville, North Carolina, Ohio State, Texas, Gonzaga, Kansas, Tennessee, USC
SG 4 Doron Lamb -- Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Saint John's, Syracuse, Memphis, Rutgers, Seton Hall, West Virginia
PG 6 Cory Joseph -- Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Louisville, Memphis, Minnesota, Ohio State, Texas, Texas A&M, UNLV, Villanova, Virginia Tech
SF 5 Roscoe Smith -- Connecticut, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgetown, Kansas, Louisville, Maryland, Memphis, North Carolina, Texas
PF 6 Tobias Harris -- Connecticut, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Maryland, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Syracuse, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Georgetown, Marquette
PF 8 Luke Cothron -- Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Louisville, Mississippi State, North Carolina State, Oklahoma, UAB, West Virginia
PG 9 Phil Pressey (pictured) -- Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M
PF 11 Jayvaughn Pinkston -- Connecticut, Louisville, Tennessee, USC, Virginia, West Virginia

Travelers Championship

2009-06-23T13:41:00.004-04:00

The PGA Tour will make its 57 consecutive appearance in Connecticut when play begins in Cromwell this Thursday. The rebuilt course (1991), brand new practice range (2008), solid sponsorship and place in the FedEx Cup Series have led to stronger fields in the event -- pretty impressive seeing as this tournament did not even have a place anywhere on the tour schedule two years ago until the Lumber 84 Classic ended its relationship with the PGA.

Even with smaller crowds of late, the former GHO, remains the second biggest draw on tour. If the weather cooperates, the strong field will likely lead to roughly 200,000 spectators this week.

The past 10 champions:
2008 Stewart Cink
2007 Hunter Mahan
2006 J. J. Henry
2005 Brad Faxon
2004 Woody Austin
2003 Peter Jacobsen
2002 Phil Mickelson
2001 Phil Mickelson
2000 Notah Begay III
1999 Brent Geiberger

Big Draws/Favorites for 2009
Sergio Garcia, Kenny Perry, Vijay Singh, Brian Gay, Lucas Glover, Zach Johnson, Anthony Kim, Stuart Appleby, J.J. Henry, Hunter Mahan, Justin Leonard, David Toms, Anthony Kim and defending champion Stewart Cink are among the 156 players competing.

Coverage is Thursday-Sunday from 3-6 on the Golf Channel for 1st and 2nd rounds and CBS over the weekend.

Durz Pick: Justin Rose secures first tour win

2009 US Open -- Bethpage Black

2009-06-15T11:05:00.003-04:00

The sternest test in golf has arrived, and the Open gets no tougher than this year at the Black Course in Bethpage State Park on Long Island...Its the tournament where the fans can watch the players, who generally consider even a bad score, hack it around a bit and cherish their pars. The rough will be up, the fairways tight and the greens at lightening speed. On Sunday (or Monday) their will be one lone survivor. That man will have won the most important golf tournament of the year.

Quick Facts about the Course
-- 2nd longest in US Open History at 7,426
-- 3 par 4's over 500 yards, including #7 -- the longest par 4 in any major ever, at 525 yards
-- as anyone in the Northeast will tell ya, its been raining for three weeks, that ought to help the players out and slow the greens down

Here are the past 10 champions:

2008 Tiger Woods
2007 Ángel Cabrera
2006 Geoff Ogilvy
2005 Michael Campbell
2004 Retief Goosen
2003 Jim Furyk
2002 Tiger Woods
2001 Retief Goosen
2000 Tiger Woods
1999 Payne Stewart

Fun Facts:
How it all started, The first championship was played on October 4, 1895, on a nine-hole course in Newport, Rhode Island. It was a 36-hole single day tournament with 11 competitors. The winner was a 21-year-old Englishman Horace Rawlins, who had arrived in the U.S. in January that year to take a job at the host course. He received $150 cash and a $50 gold medal.

Durzpix
Winner: Garcia
Dark Horse: Poulter
Long Shot: J.J. Henry

30 Years of Big East Basketball

2009-06-04T21:05:00.015-04:00

The Big East was founded in 1979 when Providence, St. John's, Georgetown, and Syracuse invited Seton Hall, Connecticut, and Boston College to form a conference focused on East Coast hoops. Villanova joined a year later and Pittsburgh joined in 1982. It has now been 30 years of basketball, we are going to have a look back, way back.

I will break down the performance of each of these schools during the era and then at the end rank them. Boston College abandoned the league (with football schools Virginia Tech and Miami) and will not be looked at and either will the newer entrants (Louisville, DePaul, Marquette, Cincinnati), no offense to the newer teams, but it isn't fair to compare their work in other leagues. Notre Dame kind of get involved in the middle and are a half member, don't get me started on them. Rutgers and West Virginia, though loyal conference members, were also a little late to the dance. I am going with the guys who were there at the start and have stuck it out since the late 70's/very early 80's...

I have left out some criteria, such as overall records, I did not want to favor teams for traditionally playing weak OOC schedules (Syracuse) over those who have challenged themselves out of the league. Also a NIT invite will not get you any points per say, but your overall post season inclusions will, as I feel it is a sign of strength, that even in your down years you can make the NIT. Now more so than five years ago, but even back in the day, you needed to finish .500. The total post season number will be weighted half of the other categories.

I suspect there maybe some concerns with or suggestions surrounding my criteria, I hope that is the case anyways to generate a little discussion.

I will put the rank for a particular category in parenthesis.

Here are the "old boys," in alphabetical order.....

________________________________________

Connecticut

Big East Tournament Championships: 6 (2)

Big East Regular Season Championships: 10 (1)

NCAA Appearances: 16 (t4)

Total Post Season: 24 (4)

Sweet 16: 12 (t1)

Elite Eight: 8 (t1)

Final Four: 3 (t2)

National Champions:2 (1)

Big East Record (including BET): 320-218, 59%, (3)

Uconn, more or less, missed the first 10 years of league play. Starting in 89-90 they have been the best team
Best Player: Ray Allen

Georgetown

Big East Tournament Championships: 7 (1)

Big East Regular Season Championships: 9 (2)

NCAA Appearances: 21 (2)

Total Post Season: 28 (t2)

Sweet 16: 11 (3)

Elite Eight: 8 (t1)

Final Four: 4 (1)

National Champions: 1 (t2)

Big East Record (including BET): 338-217, 61%, (2)

The Hoyas have been solid throughout, making it to the FF a league high 4 times. The original top dogs. Thompson put the league on the map.
Best Player: Patrick Ewing

Pittsburgh

Big East Tournament Championships: 2 (t5)

Big East Regular Season Championships: 6 (4)

NCAA Appearances: 16 (t4)

Total Post Season: 22 (5)

Sweet 16: 5 (5)

Elite Eight: 1 (t7)

Final Four: 0 (8)

National Champions: 0 (t5)

Big East Record (including BET): 262-240, 52%, (6)

Pitt was an up and down program until about 2000, Howland and now Dixon have put them in the current conference elite. NCAA resume is still very suspect.
Best Player: Charles Smith

Providence

Big East Tournament Championships: 1 (t7)

Big East Regular Season Championships: 0 (8)

NCAA Appearances: 7 (8)

Total Post Season: 15 (7)

Sweet 16: 2 (8)

Elite Eight: 1 (t7)

Final Four: 1 (t5)

National Champions: 0 (t5)

Big East Record (including BET): 217-313, 41%, (7)

Pitino's trip to the Final Four is the highlight for the Friars, who have not had a ton to cheer about
Best Player: Ryan Gomes

St Johns

Big East Tournament Championships: 3 (4)

Big East Regular Season Championships: 5 (5)

NCAA Appearances: 16 (t4)

Total Post Season: 20 (6)

Sweet 16: 4 (t6)

Elite Eight: 3 (5)

Final Four: 1 (t5)

National Champions: 0 (t5)

Big East Record (including BET): 286-254, 53%, (5)

The early years under Louie were very good, so good that the last decade has not totally murdered the overall resume. The Johnnies need to start keeping the kids home again, like they always did.
Best Player: Chris Mullin

Seton Hall

Big East Tournament Championships: 2 (t5)

Big East Regular Season Championships: 2 (7)

NCAA Appearances: 9 (7)

Total Post Season: 14 (8)

Sweet 16: 4 (t6)

Elite Eight: 2 (6)

Final Four: 1 (t5)

National Champions: 0 (t5)

Big East Record (including BET): 210-320, 40%, (8)

Before moving to the NBA to get choked by his players, a young PJ had the Pirates on the brink of winning it all. There have been some very poor years of late.
Best Player: Terry Dehere

Syracuse

Big East Tournament Championships: 5 (3)

Big East Regular Season Championships: 8 (3)

NCAA Appearances: 23 (1)

Total Post Season: 29 (1)

Sweet 16: 12 (t1)

Elite Eight: 4 (4)

Final Four: 3 (t2)

National Champions: 1 (t2)

Big East Record (including BET): 356-200, 64%, (1)

Even if some Boeheim teams underachieve in the NCAA, they are generally always there (23 out of 30). Coleman and Douglas were the best tandem the league has ever seen. Four Elite Eight's is shockingly low, but Melo did bring them their title after a long wait.
Best Player: Pearl Washington

Villanova

Big East Tournament Championships: 1 (t7)

Big East Regular Season Championships: 4 (6)

NCAA Appearances: 19 (3)

Total Post Season: 28 (t2)

Sweet 16: 8 (4)

Elite Eight: 6 (3)

Final Four: 2 (4)

National Champions: 1 (t2)

Big East Record (including BET): 304-234, 57%, (4)

Jay Wright is leading the troops back to the top, after a hiatus under Lappas. Rollie's teams in the early years were consistently good.
Best Player: Kerry Kittles

_______________________________________________

Final 30 Year Standings

1) Georgetown, 30 pts

2) Uconn, 34 pts

3) Syracuse, 35 pts

4) Villanova, 68 pts

5) St Johns, 84 pts

6) Pitt, 93 pts

7) Seton Hall, 98 pts

8) Providence, 117 pts

Most/Best

BE Tournament Championships: Georgetown, 6

BE Reg. Season Championships: Uconn, 10

NCAA Appearances: Syracuse, 23

Total Post Season Appearances: Syracuse, 29

Sweet 16s: Uconn, Syracuse, 12

Elite Eights: Uconn, Georgetown, 8

Final Fours: Georgetown, 4

National Titles: Uconn, 2

Big East Record: Syracuse, 64 % winning percentage

Awaking from a Sleepy Spring

2009-05-27T13:46:00.015-04:00

For Uconn Hoops, this is the slow season...Jim Calhoun seems to think that there is soon to be news from the Yahoo/NCAA mess, speaking to a local business group in Danbury he noted, from today's Greenwich Time,

"After 37 years, my record with the NCAA is clean. And you'll see very shortly it is still clean."

full article, click

Other Husky news; Calhoun noted that Ater Majok is leaning towards staying in school, that would lock the Huskies in the preseason top three of the Big East by most pundits, on paper they stack up real well against anyone in what should be a weakened Big East -- relatively weak compared to last year that is. Kemba Walker was selected for the USA U19 trials, he may compete for one of 12 spots, those selected will play in the U19 World Championship in New Zealand this July. UPDATED 5/29 Calhoun has reportedly told Kemba it might be a good idea to stay on campus this summer and concentrate on his grades. Also coming out of Storrs Thursday, was the news that Scottie Haralson is strongly considering transferring out of Uconn this summer, read about those last two items on Mike Anthony's blog, click here.

Additional Notes: All the best to Amy Mickelson who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, its been a tough few years for the Mickleson's off the course...and moving on to those with no regard for human well being, Upsetting news out of Northern Ireland this weekend, a few Rangers fans went into the Catholic part of Belfast to celebrate the Gers' SPL title and ended up murdering a father of three they came across on the street by beating him to death, and just this afternoon a Man United fan (an American) was stabbed in Rome as supporters gathered near the stadium, its a shame that these occurrences continue to happen in the sports world...its just a game folks (with the exception of NCAA basketball of course)...John Daly will return to the PGA Tour in Memphis, after having served a sentence for embarrassing Tim Finchem and golf by passing out on the steps of Hooters and spending a few hours in a drunk tank, he has shown some signs of life in Europe and I wish him all the best...in addition I will be pulling for Roger Federer over the next couple of weeks to finally take home the elusive French Open title...and for Tim Howard to take the FA Cup this Saturday with Everton (FSC @ 9:30 AM) against Chelsea at Wembley

-- BD

Memorial Day

2009-05-21T21:28:00.002-04:00

"I have no illusions about what little I can add now to the silent testimony of those who gave their lives willingly for their country. Words are even more feeble on this Memorial Day, for the sight before us is that of a strong and good nation that stands in silence and remembers those who were loved and who, in return, loved their countrymen enough to die for them. Yet, we must try to honor them -- not for their sakes alone, but for our own. And if words cannot repay the debt we owe these men, surely with
our actions we must strive to keep faith with them and with the vision that led them to battle and to final sacrifice."

- President Ronald Reagan, May 21, 1982, Memorial Day, Arlington National Cemetery

Have a great weekend, I promise to pay this thing some more attention this summer

Moving Right Along

2009-04-21T10:55:00.006-04:00

"I think we can be a very good basketball team next year. We have a lot of work to do, but from a basketball standpoint, we're very excited. ... In some ways we'll be more talented than this year." Jim Calhoun

Starting Five for Next Year
-Walker
-Dyson
-Robinson
-Majok
-Okwandu

09/10' Non conference schedule is taking form:
--at Michigan
-- home with Texas
-- preseason NIT along with Duke, LSU and Arizona State.
-- will likely be part of the preseason SEC-Big East challenge -- playing Kentucky at Madison Square Garden is the hot rumor

Best of Luck Hasheem
Thabeet made himself the 11th Husky to declare early for the draft earlier this month (Eight of the previous 10 were selected in the lottery). Hash is projected to be a top-3 pick.

Anybody taking off?
Uconn continues to recruit, adding to speculation that there will be a transfer or two, seeing as no more scholarships are available. Okwandu has appeared to have straightened out his grades and is spoken about as a key player next year, so that would leave Haralson, Beverly and Mandeldove as the likely candidates. Mandeldove seems to be ok with not playing and is close to getting his degree, not many transfer for their senior year, I say he is staying for sure. That would leave Beverly or Haralson, neither is going to be a star at Uconn -- Beverly appears most likely to play. I would guess that if anyone leaves it would be Haralson. If he does highly touted JUCO, Rico Pickett, will take the last scholarship, all of this speculating has no basis mind you.

Yahoo correctionn
A correction was released by Yahoo last week, which is fine, no big deal. But I thought that these guys released the story when it was ready to go, after long deliberations and fact checking. This thing was rushed to release it during the Sweet Sixteen, right or wrong, anyone who denies that (like Jeff Jacobs) is being an idiot. There do seem to be some glaring oversights by the Yahoo reporters, not knowing what year Nate Miles was classified in and not knowing that the contact periods are different for juniors and seniors...It all begs the question of why this report needed to be taken so seriously by those at ESPN, if nothing else Calhoun deserved the benefit of the doubt from local reporters. We will see what happens this summer I guess.

What now?

2009-04-05T17:57:00.006-04:00

After a memorable year, for many reasons, ultimately including a third trip to the Final Four -- lets look at what might lie ahead for the program:

I Leaving: A.J. Price, Jeff Adrien, Craig Austrie, Hasheem Thabeet (top 5 picks don't stay in school regardless of what he says)

II Staying: (F) Gavin Edwards, (C) Jonathan Mandeldove, (F) Stanley Robinson, (G) Jerome Dyson, (G) Donnell Beverly, (G) Scottie Haralson and (C) Charles Okwandu

III Who's coming: (Guards) Jamaal Trice, Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, Darius Smith (forwards) Ater Majok and Alex Oriakhi

IV Predicted Starters 09-10
PG: Kemba Walker
SG: Jerome Dyson
SF: Stanley Robinson
PF: Ater Majok
C: Alex Oriakhi
First off Bench: Edwards, Beverly, Okwandu, Smith

V NCAA Review
What will come of the Yahoo story and what will the potential fall out be? Could me major and it could be nothing at all. I wonder if every piece of shit journalist who has buried Calhoun the last two weeks will publish written apologies if things are not as they seem? The list is long, and speaking of that...

VI What will Calhoun do?
Will all the NCAA talk and health issues force the big guy to step down? He keeps talking about how Dean Smith left and how it had nothing to do with wanting to stop coaching basketball. He will take his time with the decision, but I think that he will not want to go down in the wake of an NCAA investigation. He has enough talent coming back to perhaps make another run next year

One thing is for certain, its going to be an interesting off season

For the third time, the Final Four

2009-03-29T11:23:00.003-04:00

Kemba Walker, tied a career high with 23 points and led Huskies over Missouri 82-75 in the West Regional final on Saturday. UConn fought hard for their trip to Detroit, on the court and off, and is headed to its third Final Four this decade -- where they will meet either Louisville or Michigan State. JIm Calhoun's 'Elite Eight' record improves to 3-5 and he will be looking to stay unbeaten in the Final Four next weekend. Heading into this tournament, many questioned the legacy of Uconn's upper classmen, some calling them the least decorated class of the last 20 years. That was arguable, but today there is to be no argument; AJ Price, Jeff Adrien and Craig Austrie, the core Seniors, will leave Uconn as some of the best Huskies of all time. They have entered the high society, one of the three best teams ever to wear the American Flag Blue. Congrats boys, you've done us all very proud.

Congratulations are in order for the Villanova Wildcats, who beat Pitt in a new NCAA classic, good luck to Louisville today -- they could have us feeling all a little 1985 before the day is through...

Miles to Go

2009-03-26T11:09:00.008-04:00

Jesus Christ, Nate Miles, thanks for nothing pal! The Courant -which I am thinking about never reading again, simply because Jeff Jacobs is a miserable fraud of a person -- does do a good job chronicling the bizarre world of the troubled Southern Idaho shooting guard here, click

Amid the latest cloud surrounding the Husky Program, some business still needs to be taken care of this evening. Although it may look like it now -- through the reports and giddy journalists trying to bury Jim Calhoun, the man is not a cheater. That matter will not be cleared up until this summer it looks like and certainly not any sooner than that. Right now, the Huskies stand two winnable games away from their third ever Final Four. Tonight provides a good test against a very talented Purdue squad. When the ball gets thrown up tonight in Glendale, for 40 minutes its back to basketball. Calhoun has always persevered under duress, tonight we will see if the boys respond the same way. Calhoun likely has these guys believing that it's them against the world. A win tonight and a great match-up will await them on Saturday. A loss and they say good bye to a special class of players, and start thinking about Nate Miles.

A great night cap is on the docket tonight as well, Duke v Villanova at 9:57 from Boston. To similarly built ball clubs square off with a chance to get to the Elite Eight. Coach K is looking to get back to the Final Four for the first time in a while (in Duke terms) and Jay Wright is trying to get his program over the hump, from a consistent Sweet Sixteen club -- to a national player. Its going to be real good.

West Region
Purdue
Connecticut
7:07 PM ET

Missouri
Memphis
9:37 PM ET

East Region
Xavier
Pittsburgh
7:27 PM ET

Villanova
Duke
9:57 PM ET

Uconn Rolls into Sweet Sixteen

2009-03-23T13:19:00.007-04:00

The second "mini tournament" will begin on Thursday. Uconn and Purdue will go toe to toe, the winner will get the survivor of Missouri and Memphis for a chance at the Final Four. Game previews later in the week, check back.....

After a two year absence from the tournament's second weekend, Calhoun's Huskies are now looking to add to an impressive 20 year NCAA history.

1989-1990 Elite Eight
1990-1991 Sweet Sixteen
1991-1992 Second Round
1992-1993
1993-1994 Sweet Sixteen
1994-1995 Elite Eight
1995-1996 Sweet Sixteen
1996-1997
1997-1998 Elite 8
1998-1999 NCAA Champion
1999-2000 Second Round
2000-2001
2001–2002 Elite Eight
2002–2003 Sweet Sixteen
2003–2004 NCAA Champion
2004–2005 Second Round
2005–2006 Elite Eight
2006-2007
2007–2008 First Round
2008–2009 Elite Eight.....

Since Calhoun took Uconn to the tournament for the first time in the 1990 "Dream Season", they have been to the Sweet Sixteen 12 times and will look to make it to their eighth Regional Final later this week. A couple more wins and the struggles of the last few years will become distant memories.

Things are starting to look a bit brighter in Storrs.

-- BD

Let the Madness Begin, Pitt is It

2009-03-18T09:21:00.006-04:00

In under three weeks, all the dramatics will be over and we will have ourselves a national champion. Right now, we have 64 teams left and the dance is ready to begin. Maybe it is being a fan of a #1 seed that could lose anywhere starting in round two, but I see this tournament as wide open. UNC and PItt are the best teams in the tournament on paper, but they both have some questions as well....Below I am going to lay out my predicted Sweet Sixteen match ups and who I think will get to Detroit from there and eventually be crowned champion...

Midwest
Indianapolis, IN
1) Louisville vs 4) Wake Forest
6) West Virginia vs 2) Michigan State

Elite Eight, Michigan State over Wake Forest

West
Glendale, AZ
1) Uconn vs 5) Purdue
3) Missouri vs 2) Memphis

Elite Eight, Memphis over Purdue

East
Boston, MA
1) Pitt vs 5) Florida State
6) UCLA vs 2) Duke

Elite Eight, Pitt over Duke

South
Memphis, TN
1) UNC vs 4) Gonzaga
3) Syracuse vs 7) Clemson

UNC over Syracuse

Final Four
Detroit, MI
Pitt over UNC
Michigan State over Memphis

Winner: the Pitt Panthers

One Step at a Time

2009-03-16T13:41:00.011-04:00

# 1 seed adds to Huskyland Hysteria

Customary high expectations and standards mixed with nervousness, stemming from a recent trend of poor post season play (and to some extent luck), has the Nutmeg State quite anxious going into this NCAA tournament.

I am starting this tournament off right -- with low expectations. (If and) When Uconn loses I am going to be gutted and devastated as always, but I am going to commence this big dance -- talking a good game at least.

I would just like to caution some fans that Ray Allen, Chris Smith, Donyell Marhsall, Rudy Gay and Caron Butler, to name a few, never played in a Final Four game and they are not bums or gutless (some words that have described this team by the peanut galleries on husky message boards). Connecticut has played in just two FF's in its history. So slow down with your proclamations that its Detroit or bust.

There is some good news though for the naysayers of the bunch: this is only the fifth number one seed in the program's history and they were 27-3 in a league with 3 of the top 4 teams in the country. Are they missing Jerome Dyson? yes they are, but even without him, they are a solid top 5-10 team. Lets just all settle down with calling these guys failures who have never won anything, or on the other side of it, Final Four locks playing in an easy bracket.

What is going to make me happy -- when all is said and done and I look back at this team and the players that are leaving?? Hmmmmm, I am not sure, but one thing is for sure, Detroit is about the last thing on my mind right now. Uconn is going to play this thing as three tournaments and the first one starts on Thursday, and likely will continue on Saturday. So until Saturday night, lets us all forget about Memphis and Purdue and worry about three teams: Chattanooga, BYU and Texas A&M. We get those two wins, then we can start talking about bigger prizes. Then you can start talking about what is apparently the new birthright of people born in Connecticut, to watch your team play in a Final Four every five years.

NOTES on the selections: Arizona has no business being in the tournament (and yes I have picked them to win their first game), the committee completely screws mid major teams. When they are looking at the"body of work" for a team like St Mary's I can understand there are some holes, but some of that is beyond their control in scheduling. In any event its ludicrous to reward the team that lost five of their last six..that is my only gripe -- so I guess they really did do a great job!...Its going to be a long wait until Thursday afternoon, that's for sure...BIG LOVE is getting real good...Way to go Phil, winning his first WGC event

the West Region

1 Connecticut
16 Chattanooga

8 BYU
9 Texas A&M
predict, Uconn over BYU

5 Purdue
12 Northern Iowa

4 Washington
13 Mississippi St.
predict, Purdue over Washington

6 Marquette
11 Utah St.

3 Missouri
14 Cornell
predict, Utah State over Missouri

7 California
10 Maryland

2 Memphis
15 CS Northridge
predictm Memphis over California

Selection Sunday

2009-03-15T11:17:00.011-04:00

My picks for the top seeds are UNC, Pitt, Louisville and Memphis as #1 seeds and Connecticut, Duke, Oklahoma and Michigan State as the # 2's...Look for Uconn to be paired with Memphis out in the West Regional. Uconn might have a better resume of the two, but Memphis has been the hotter team, the Huskies are only 4-3 since they lost Jerome Dyson and quite frankly the committee is probably not in love with giving one league three #1 seeds. Louisville deserves the number one seed more than anyone and Pitt is a no brainer as well. I suppose Duke could slide in for Memphis with a win today, but I would be very surprised.

On the bubble:

28 automatic bids have been awarded and four more auto bids will be won today, and according to ESPN there are 30 locks or just about locks in total. That leaves four spots for about 10 candidates, and it could be three if Tennessee loses to Mississippi State today

I believe Minnesota is in -- so that will leave three, (maybe two, spots) for some very decent candidates...Don't be surprised to see Arizona's name pop up this evening as the last team in. Creighton, San Diego State, Providence and Auburn simply have not done enough to warrant a dance ticket, but stranger things have happened. Here is my pool of bubble boys -- fighting for the last few spots. I predict that at least two of these programs will be left out:

Arizona [19-13 (9-9), RPI: 62, SOS: 36] They appeared in 24 consecutive NCAA tournaments since 1985, the longest active streak in the country and second-longest in NCAA history.

Florida [23-10 (9-7), RPI: 52, SOS: 94] The Gators have put themselves in danger of missing the NCAA tournament for the second straight time, after winning back-to-back national championships in 2006-07.

Saint Mary's [26-6 (10-4), RPI: 48, SOS: 159] The Gaels only have two victories over RPI top-50 opponents, and have a very weak resume -- but a lofty RPI keeps them in the picture. They lost to Gonzaga three times -- including a 83-58 blowout defeat in the finals of the WCC tournament.

Penn State [22-11 (10-8), RPI: 70, SOS: 119] PSU's 10-8 finish in Big Ten play and its six victories over RPI top-50 opponents could be enough to get an invite, IF the committee decides that the relatively soft B10 is worthy of 8 invites -- it would be the most of any conference.

Maryland [20-13 (7-9), RPI: 54, SOS: 22] The Terps finished 7-9 in ACC play after losing at Virginia 68-63 in its regular-season finale. However, Maryland some good wins, including, North Carolina at home and Michigan State and Wake Forest on neutral courts. They are currently playing with the look of a tournament team, a team that could win a game or two if they get in.

Deep Six

2009-03-13T08:41:00.004-04:00

Six Overtime Classic Caps Memorable Day at the Garden

The Big East Tournament was where it was at yesterday. The best conference tournament in the land, reminded everyone of how good it can be last night. The thirtieth BET has become a very memorable one.

It started off innocently enough with Providence laying down for Louisville. The Friars played themselves into the NIT with a tough loss to the Carinals, who are now on a mission for the Big East double -- and will be favored to do so. Villanova in the second game, grabbed control early and threw it away in the second half. Some sharp shooting by Marquette brought them all the way back from 17 down. Jerel McNeal had the ball with the seconds ticking away and tried to end it with a hastily taken jumper, Nova rebounded and with no timeouts remaining -- went down and got an uncontested lay-up at the buzzer to move onto the semis..

After the intermission, Pitt and WVU took the floor. Blair was in foul trouble throughout and Devin Ebanks had a Garden coming out party. Huggins gang won the backyard brawl going away. With the bracket opened up a bit, Connecticut took the floor looking to get a win in the tournament for the first time in 3 years. Its being tabbed an all-time classic and it was quite a game. Right now its feeling more like an all-time kick in the groin. The one good thing you can say from a Uconn perspective is that Kemba Walker and Stanley Robinson (season high 28 points) seem ready to play important roles in the NCAA's. Last night's game though, once they got it to overtime, was a game of many missed opportunities. Credit the Orange for having the heart to keep coming back in this six overtime thriller and to Johnny Flynn for refusing to quit, but if you are Uconn you have to be looking at the stats from the foul line, 24-for-42. Disgusting.

The game was the longest in the history of the Big East and second longest in Division-1 basketball history.

The BET is officially wide open, Nova v Louisville followed by West Virginia and Syracuse tonight starting at 7:00

Uconn will be left to wait for their NCAA seed on Sunday. They threw away the one seed and the East Regional. The ladder is for the best.

Yesterday's Finals
Louisville 73 Providence 55

W. Virginia 74 Pittsburgh 60

Villanova 76 Marquette 75

Syracuse 127 Connecticut 117
6OT

Day Three -- Let's Get it On

2009-03-12T08:40:00.007-04:00

All top 8 seeds are left, three games in three days. Somebody is walking out of the Garden with some hardware on Saturday night. Providence struggled a bit, but did advance for their personal NCAA play-in game this afternoon against the top seed, Louisville. Marquette quickly reminded us who St John's is, holding the Redmen to 10 points in the first half (a Big East tournament record in scoring futility) and advanced today to take on Villanova. Last night, West Virginia ended any hopes for ND and Seton Hall hung around for a while, but super-POS Eric Devendorf (pictured being a d-bag last night) took over -- and Uconn will take on the Orange in the nightcap.

Connecticut will have to wait the longest to play a game, the six time tournament champions are looking for their first post season win at the Garden since they defeated Georgetown in 2005. These Huskies, who ( with the exception of Adrien and Austrie) have never won a NCAA game either -- are playing for their legacy. AJ Price, Jeff Adrien, Craig Austrie and Hasheem Thabeet are in the stretch run of their college careers, how they are remembered will have a lot to do with the next couple of weeks. That journey begins tonight.

Noon
No. 1 Louisville vs.
No. 8 Providence
2:00pm
No. 4 Villanova vs.
No. 5 Marquette
7:00pm
No. 2 Pittsburgh vs.
No. 7 West Virginia
9:00pm
No. 3 Connecticut vs.
No. 6 Syracuse

Enjoy the games, fear not Husky fans, since I have been to 4 sessions over the last 4 years and watched Uconn lose every single time, I have sequestered myself out here on Long Island. Marleigh and I will be watching these from the couch.

Should be a great day, I will miss the big skunked garden beer though. I really will.

-BD

Day Two at the Garden

2009-03-11T08:33:00.011-04:00

Noon
No. 8 Providence vs.
No. 16 DePaul
winner gets #1 Louisville
2:00pm
No. 5 Marquette vs.
No. 13 St. John's
winner gets #4 Villanova
7:00pm
No. 7 West Virginia vs.
No. 10 Notre Dame
winner gets #2 Pitt
9:00pm
No. 6 Syracuse vs.
No. 11 Seton Hall
winner gets #3 Uconn

Only 2-2 yesterday. I take Providence, Marquette, Notre Dame and Seton Hall today.

Providence needs the win to keep any NCAA hopes alive, and if yesterday was any indicator there will be some upsets. The middle tilts should be two very good ones and don't be surprised if the Orange have some trouble this evening. All games are on ESPN from today until Saturday. 4 games down 11 to go.

Quotes from yesterday:
DePaul coach Jerry Wainright, "Hopefully, we proved there is a lot value in bringing everybody in."

Georgetown coach JTIII, "I think it's a long season. I said that from the first team meeting, first press conference and during the course of the season, you have to handle the highs and the lows, and we haven't responded well to the lows, whether it be from a possession on the court to a loss. The ability to forget, to learn from and forget the emotional part and move on, we haven't done well this year.

Hasheem Thabet accepting his co-BE POY award, ""I'm just looking forward for next couple games and maybe next year I'll be up here again. I have such a great time around the coaches, around my teammates. I would definitely love to be a part of the team still."

Coach Calhoun quickly reminded us that Hasheem ain't coming back, "I wouldn't recommend he come back. I would love him to come back. Could he get better? Sure. Could he be more ready? Without question. But right now, if he said, 'Coach, can I go contribute in an NBA game?' Yeah. If he's going to be taken - and I've heard enough different things - in the top three, you can't say, 'Come back.' We'd love to have him come back. Obviously, it would be great for a number of different reasons. But there's no way I would say, 'You're not ready.'"

Congrats to (former Rutgers) coach Gary Waters on taking Cleveland State to the NCAA for the first time since 1986.

Let the Games Begin

2009-03-10T08:57:00.009-04:00

Final update...
The Irish send home Rutgers and Seton Hall takes care of USF behind 23 from soph Jeremy Hazell. What about Holland over the Dominican!! Good night

update 6:00

Final Big East Awards Announced...

Player(s) of the Year
Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut
DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh

Rookie of the Year
Greg Monroe, Georgetown

Coach of the Year
Jay Wright, Villanova

Update 5:00, Two upsets at the Garden in two games. DePaul gets their first win over BIg East opposition (and first win of 2009!) and the hometown Johnnies squash any Gtown Cinderella dreams before they begin.

the coaches (of losing programs) asked for it, and so today we get it, all 16 teams with a chance...Oh, and what exactly is ESPN or ESPN2 showing that they can't have these games on?? That's right they have to show Sportscenter 12 times and the duece needs to show "First Take" the worst show ever! You can watch online if you like, click

12:00
# 9 Cincinnati v # 16 DePaul
DePaul is playing for pride after finishing the season 0-18 in Big East play (the third school in the league's 30 year history to not win a game). The Bearcats need to win today and tomorrow over Providence to get back into the NCAA discussion. I take Cinci by 12.

2:00
#12 Georgetown v # 13 St Johns
The Johnnies took their meeting at the Garden last week, look for the Gtown to get some revenge. The Hoyas have the potential to get on a roll, with a troubled Marquette awaiting the winner in round 2. If Georgetown can take care of those two, they might just play themselves into the dance with a win over Nova (their SOS and wins over Memphis and Uconn in case you are wondering why the 7-11 has a chance). First things first however. Hoyas by 8

7:00
#10 Note Dame vs #15 Rutgers
ND can possibly get to the quarters, where they would play Pitt. Win that an anything is possible. Something tells me though that Huggy is going to be ready for Wednesday's game. Should be a good one, this one? not so much. ND by 14

9:00
# 11 Seton Hall vs #14 USF
The game with the least implications will serve as the nightcap. Gonzo's club won't be playing on Tuesday next year, they should take care of business tonight and give the Cuse a little trouble before bowing out. Hall by 7

Early Crack at the Brackets

2009-03-09T11:39:00.007-04:00

1) Uconn*, Pitt, UNC*, Oklahoma*
2) Memphis*, Michigan State*, Louisville, Kansas
3) Duke, UCLA*, Wake Forest, Villanova
4) Missouri, Washington, Xavier*, Gonzaga*
5) Purdue, Clemson, Florida State, Illinois
6) LSU, Tennessee, Syracuse, Marquette

7) West Virginia, Butler, Cal, Arizona State
8) BYU, BC, Texas, Utah*
9) Dayton, Minnesota, Oklahoma State, UNLV
10) Siena*, Wisconsin, Utah State*, Ohio State
11) Penn State, Providence, Charleston*, Arizona
12) Creighton, New Mexico, Michigan, South Carolina
13) VCU*, North Dakota State*, Northern Iowa*, Western Kentucky*
14) Stephen F Austin*, Miami (OH)*, Weber State*, Buffalo*
15) Cornell**, Bingampton*, American*, Robert Morris*,
16) Morgan State*, Radford*, East Tennessee State*,

play in: Cal State Northridge*, UT Martin*
*automatic qualifier, predicted tournament champion
**Ivy league champion

Garden Party

2009-03-09T10:34:00.009-04:00

The BET is ready to go, all 16 teams will play over 5 days at the worlds most famous arena. The big hitters are off until Thursday night -- but the first two rounds will present some opportunities for a few surprise teams to crash the party. Some teams are trying to get their dance tickets punched (Providence, Cinci, maybe even Notre Dame) and the big boys are looking to grab top seeding in the NCAA tournament. Three of the top six teams in the land will be there -- Its going to be interesting...

prediction: Uconn over Louisville in the final

Louisville BE Regular Season Champs, Uconn #3 seed in New York

2009-03-09T08:51:00.007-04:00

Pitt 70, Uconn 60
Uconn slows down the junkyard dog ( Blair), but has no answer for Sam Young -- the senior had 31 points and 10 boards as Pitt swept the season series with the Huskies..In doing so the Panthers denied Uconn a share of the Big East regular season title, Louisville took the crown alone with their win in Morgantown on Saturday. Husky fans who have seen enough of Pitt are going to have to regroup quickly, the two are likely to meet on Friday night in the Big East semis, can Uconn find any answers in the interim?

The Huskies, who finished the regular season 27-3 (15-3) will return to action Thursday night at approximately 9:30 in a Big East quarterfinal vs either Syracuse, Seton Hall or South Florida

Tuesday the POY and COY will be announced. Those honors will likely go to Terrence Williams and Jay Wright. Yesterday the all-league honors were unveiled:

First Team
Hasheem Thabeet, UConn, Jr., Center
Terrence Williams, Louisville, Sr., Forward
Jerel McNeal, Marquette, Sr., Guard
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, Jr., Forward
DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh, So., Center
Sam Young, Pittsburgh, Sr., Forward

Second Team
A.J. Price, UConn, Sr., Guard
Wesley Matthews, Marquette, Sr., Guard
Jonny Flynn, Syracuse, So., Guard
Dante Cunningham, Villanova, Sr., Forward
Da'Sean Butler, West Virginia, Jr., Forward

Third Team
Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati, Jr., Guard
Jeff Adrien, UConn, Sr., Forward
Earl Clark, Louisville, Jr., Guard/Forward
Levance Fields, Pittsburgh, Sr., Guard
Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall, So., Guard

All-Rookie
Yancy Gates, Cincinnati, Fr., Forward
Kemba Walker, UConn, Fr., Guard
Greg Monroe, Georgetown, Fr., Center
Samardo Samuels, Louisville, Fr. Forward
Mike Rosario, Rutgers, Fr., Guard
Devin Ebanks, West Virginia, Fr., Forward

Notes: Watched UNC/Dukes yesterday, observations-- until Duke gets some game back, Mike Patrick can cool it with calling it the best rivalry in sports, Duke is soft and for my money Pitt is better than UNC, the Heels are a legit #1 seed however...the hits just keep on coming for A-roid, out for 9 weeks ouch...nice win by Y.E. Chang yesterday at the Bear's Trap, after 2 NBC tournaments I have already had enough Johnny Miller to last me a while...I am kind of in to the WBC, I know I am the only one -- but I think its pretty interesting...TO to the Bills, HEYO, HEYO -- let's go Buffaloooooo!...Super Wanker, David Beckham, got his wish and is staying at AC Milan though the end of the season, but is excited to return to the Galaxy this July, the agreement allows him to, "continue my commitment to develop soccer in the United States, which is something I am passionate about," clearly...Congrats to Hasheem Thabeet who was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season, 5 more blocks and he will pass Patrick Ewing for the most in the history of the league...

-- BD

2009 UConn FB Schedule Released

2009-03-06T13:21:00.006-05:00

Sept. 5 @ Ohio
Sept. 12 North Carolina
Sept. 19 @ Baylor
Sept. 26 Rhode Island
Oct. 10 @ Pittsburgh
Oct. 17 Louisville
Oct. 24 @ West Virginia
Oct. 31 Rutgers
Nov. 7 Cincinnati
Nov. 21 @ Notre Dame
Nov. 28 Syracuse
Dec. 5 South Florida

the OOC schedule includes 2 to 3 likely preseason top 25 teams -- the Huskies most challenging schedule since the transition to 1-A.....The road portion is highlighted by a trip to famous Notre Dame Stadium on Nov. 21 to take on the Fighting Irish, the game will be televised on NBC -- a first for the program. Also of note, every single Uconn game will be played on Saturday this season.

BE Title up for grabs

2009-03-02T09:05:00.015-05:00

Uconn @ Pitt, 2:00, Saturday on CBS

Huskies took a close one over Notre Dame on Senior Day at Gampel..Adrien, Austrie, Price and Thabeet played their last game on campus and took over the #1 spot in the country again. #801 for Calhoun was not without struggle, the game remained in doubt until the closing seconds. Jeff Adrien, one of the most under appreciated Huskies in a long time, left the Pavilion in style -- with a season high 25 points. Hasheem Thabeet chipped in 16 points and, once again, carried the defense with 11 rebounds and eight blocks.

Up Next:
The Huskies (27-2, 15-2), will now have to wait until Saturday before the much anticipated rematch with Pittsburgh. The nationally televised battle royale will have Connecticut playing for either a shared BE title or a conference title of their own (that will depend on Louisville's result versus West Virginia ) -- a regular season trophy will be their 11th since 1990.

After Pitt, Uconn will wait until the Big East quarterfinals before they play again on March 12th. Lots to play for and lots of time to prepare.....

Notes:
(from Mike Anthony) -- three highly touted sophomores from Sagemont School in Weston, Fla., were on unofficial visits to UConn this weekend. Fab Melo, a seven-foot center from Brazil; Rod Days, a 6-foot-6 forward; Richard Peters, a 6-10 center. Andre Drummond and Tobias Harris also attended the game on Saturday.

other notes, the Seniors were not the only ones honored on Saturday, John Toner, the AD who hired Calhoun and Geno Auriemma, was inducted into the "Huskies of Honor" at halftime. ...and a banner was unveiled for Calhoun's 800th win.

BE Title Chase (updated 3/5)
Connecticut 15-2 (@ Pitt)
Louisville 15-2 (@WVU)
Pittsburgh 14-3 (Uconn)

Worth it...at Any Price

2009-02-26T09:03:00.008-05:00

Price and Robinson lead Huskies, as Calhoun wins 800th

It was a fitting way to enter such a elite list of coaches. It was done his way.

On the road in front of a sellout crowd, with two kids he has stuck behind, having performances like never before. Coach has always given kids a second chance: AJ for his involvement in the famous computer heist of 4 years ago and Stanley for not quite giving it his all as a student athlete. He saw something in these guys and he gave them another shot and his support. He was rewarded in spades on this night.

Price went for a career high 36 and eight three pointers and Sticks was a man possessed, adding 19 points and 10 rebounds. It was the largest crowd ever to see a college basketball game in the state of Wisconsin (19.091) -- and they were all treated to a show. The #10 ranked Golden Eagles were paced by a super effort from Jerel McNeal and his 26 points. Unfortunately, senior guard -- Dominic James, suffered what appears to be a career ending fracture in his foot -- a bitter result of a very good basketball game.

The Huskies will host Notre Dame in Storrs on Saturday afternoon, where the Husky faithful can thank and congratulate Calhoun for his 800th win. Jodi Rell may be the governor -- but Jimmy is the King.

Congrats Coach.

800 win Club (*active)
Bob Knight 902
Dean Smith 879
Adolph Rupp 876
Jim Phelan 830
*Mike Krzyzewski 826
Eddie Sutton 804
*Jim Calhoun 800

February Madness -- He's Back

2009-02-24T12:10:00.010-05:00

WGC World Match Play Preview (prediction by groups of four/two rounds)

JONES BRACKET
(1) Tiger Woods
(16) Brendan Jones
(8) Tim Clark
(9) Retief Goosen
--Woods over Clark

(4) Rory McIlroy
(13) Louis Oosthuizen
(5) Mike Weir
(12) Hunter Mahan
--Weir over McIlroy

(2) Geoff Ogilvy
(15) Kevin Sutherland
(7) Trevor Immelman
(10) Shingo Katayama
--Immelman over Ogilvy

(3) Camilo Villegas
(14) Rod Pampling
(6) Miguel A. Jimenez
(11) Rory Sabbatini
--Villegas over Sabbatini

--Woods over Weir
--Villegas over Immelman

Quarterfinal, Villegas over Woods

HOGAN BRACKET
(1) Vijay Singh
(16) Soren Kjeldsen
(8) Ben Curtis
(9) Luke Donald
--Donald over Singh

(4) Ernie Els
(13) Soren Hansen
(5) Steve Stricker
(12) Dustin Johnson
--Els over Stricker

(2) Phil Mickelson
(15) Angel Cabrera
(7) Zach Johnson
(10) Graeme McDowell
--Mcdowell over Mickelson

(3) Lee Westwood
(14) Prayad Marksaeng
(6) Stewart Cink
(11) Richard Sterne
--Westwood over Cink

--Els over Donald
--Westwood over Mcdowell

Quarterfinal, Westwood over Els

PLAYER BRACKET
(1) Sergio Garcia
(16) Charl Schwartzel
(8) Ian Poulter
(9) Jeev Milkha Singh
--Garcia over Poulter

(4) Justin Rose
(13) Boo Weekly
(5) Adam Scott
(12) Sean O'Hair
--Rose over Scott

(2) Robert Karlsson
(15) Peter Hanson
(7) Alvaro Quiros
(10) Stephen Ames
--Karlsson over Ames

(3) Kenny Perry
(14) Mathew Goggin
(6) Paul Casey
(11) Aaron Baddeley
--Baddeley over Perry

--Garcia over Rose
--Karlsson over Baddeley

Quarterfinal, Garcia over Karlsson

SNEAD BRACKET
(1) Padraig Harrington
(16) Pat Perez
(8) Robert Allenby
(9) Ross Fisher
--Harrington over Allenby

(4) Jim Furyk
(13) Anders Hansen
(5) Martin Kaymer
(12) Stuart Appleby
--Appleby over Furyk

(2) Henrik Stenson
(15) Davis Love III
(7) Justin Leonard
(10) Andres Romero
--Leonard over Stenson

(3) Anthony Kim
(14) Lin Wen-Tang
(6) K.J. Choi
(11) Oliver Wilson
--Kim over Wilson

--Appleby over Harrington
--Kim over Leonard

Quarterfinal, Appleby over KIm

_____________________________

Semis,
Villegas over Els
Garcia over Appleby

3rd Place,
Appleby over Els

Final,
Garcia over Villegas

Outside of the majors, perhaps the most entertaining tournament of the year. Obviously some added excitement this week with the return of Tiger. Enjoy the action!

I'm in Trouble Deep

2009-02-09T08:56:00.006-05:00

According to a new SI report, A-Rod failed a test for steroids in 2003. In typical fashion, the report came from four unnamed sources -- who saw a legally confidential document that included Alex's name on a list of 104 players that failed the test 6 years ago -- I am no fan or apologist for Rodriguez, but this is total bullocks. The whole unnamed source craze in the media is a gripe for another day -- these sources at the very best made a federal offense and who ever responsible ought to be sued.

What is the next step for Alex? -- will he go Pettitte and cry, Giambi and kind of admit it, OR is he going to go the lie some more route (see Barry, Palmeiro, Clemens et al). I'm hoping for some truth, but I highly doubt it -- its never been his style.

MLB continues to be an absolute embarrassment and the Players Union ought to be ashamed of themselves. Why is it OK to continue to drop these names out to the public all willy nilly. I'm still outraged by the Mitchell Report, unless you are going to tell me every player who has used steroids -- then I would rather not know any. I'll just assume that at least half of the guys in the majors from 1997-2003 were on the juice, if you weren't -- you just weren't trying hard enough. Show me all 104 or show me none and please stop hiding behind these unnamed sources. A-rod is going to take a big public hit for this, but until last week, everyone thought he was going to be the one to break all the records, "clean". Who else is sitting all pretty who failed drug tests 6 years ago? I guess we will just wait until they become a really big star before we out them. After-all, this is about selling mags and newspapers.

Validated

2009-02-03T09:30:00.003-05:00

Monday afternoon, Connecticut climbed to the top of The AP Top 25 for the first time in nearly three years -- the fifth time in school history that the men and women are simultaneously No.1.

On Monday evening they let the everyone know that their ranking is legit, 68-51. Uconn took the floor on the road --in a tough venue at Freedom Hall w/ 20,000 amped up Card fans, against a top 10 team -- and outclassed them throughout. With the win (their 8th already over a ranked opponent and 10th in a row) -- Uconn got to 10-1 in the league and only Marquette (8-0) stands above them in the Big East. Uconn will have to navigate a tough remaining schedule including two with Pitt, but have positioned themselves well to have a run at Calhoun's 11th regular season BE crown...

Adrien (18,7) and Thabeet (14,11) were terrific and Huskies got enough out of the back court to win this one rather handily, going three guards nearly exclusively and getting some solid contributions from Walker, Price, Dyson and Austrie. Thabeet's presence, 4 blocks did not tell the story, made Louisville into a jump shooting team -- and they are not very good in that regard. Louisville did get a great night from Terrence Williams who led all scorers with 26 points, unfortunately for him, that was more than half of his teams total points.

Rick Pitino impressed, "We played decent basketball all season, but we ran into a team that was much better than us tonight. They are ... very deserving of their ranking. They were just a much better basketball team and totally out of our league. They are a great basketball team on both ends of the floor."

Two games in Storrs up next for Uconn, hosting Michigan on Saturday and then Syracuse on Wednesday evening. Uconn is putting itself into position to get one of the double byes and go directly to round three of the BET. Success there should have Uconn in the East Regional with 1st and 2nd in Philly and potentially 3rd and 4th in Boston --

but lets not get ahead of ourselves just yet.

the Big 11

2009-01-29T12:28:00.008-05:00

Taking Seton Hall, St John's, DePaul, Rutgers and USF out of the mix you have 11 teams in the BE playing for post season positions and BE hardware. As we approach the halfway point in the season, looking ahead at the schedules is very interesting..I will predict below where these teams are going to finish in league, their NCAA seed or an NIT prediction and add some overall thoughts on each program:

Predictions:

T1) Louisville: 14-4 (23-7)
The Cards will tie for the Big East crown this season, partially because they have the easiest schedule of the top teams (USF, ND, WVU as home and homes). If Uconn loses to them Monday at Freedom Hall, they might just win it all alone. Every team likes to say this, but Pitino's squads actually do get better as the season goes on. NCAA 2 seed

T1) Uconn:14-4 (26-4)
Winning 8 in a row after a stinker against Gtown should have this team ranked # 1 in the country on Monday. Three left with Pitt (2) and Louisville, the schedule does not look easy. The balanced attack of Uconn should have them in the top three the rest of the season and in the enviable double bye position for the BE tournament. NCAA 1 seed

3) Pitt: 13-5 (25-5)
Pitt showed last night that foul trouble can really hurt them. I think they will split with Uconn and lose at least two more along the way. Look for the Panthers to have a nice run at the Garden and perhaps an even nice run in the Big Dance. If healthy and under control, they have all the pieces. NCAA 2 seed

4) Marquette: 13-5 (24-7)
Marquette's last four games are a real who's who of BE talent. They may have had a bush schedule thus far, but the challenges are coming. They will lead the league most of the way, courtesy of their veteran guards but will split with Gtown and likely lose at Nova -- I seem them losing at least 2 of the last 4. NCAA 4 seed

T5) Syracuse: 11-7 (23-8)
The Orange are a talented bunch who are going to have some highs and lows. With Flynn and Devo in the back court they will have enough to win their share of tight ones. Their next three are challenging (WVU, VU, UConn) and will tell us a lot about the club, they end with a relatively soft slate. Boeheim gets back to the dance after a two year drought. NCAA 5 seed

T5) West Virginia: 11-7 (22-9)
Huggins has the athletes now and will benefit from a nice stretch at the end of the schedule where his club will load up on some wins. Morgantown is not a fun place to play and they have nice mix of solid guards and forwards, they are not going to light the world on fire, but they should quietly get their wins NCAA 6 seed

T5) Providence: 11-7 (19-11)
I am asking this team to go 5-5 from here on out and it could be a tall order, but keep in mind they have 2 with Rutgers and 1 with USF. Davis has the boys playing hard and smart hoops, if they can keep their friends and family off the court they could be in business this year. Curry, McDermott and Brooks are nice players. NCAA 10 seed

T5) Georgetown: 11-7 (20-9)
Remember Nova last year? The Hoyas have the tools to go on a nice run and the schedule will calm down a bit. They have 4 game left vs the bottom 5 of the league, that can be a major help. They will go to New York looking for some help. NCAA 10 seed

T9) Villanova: 9-9 (21-10)
Nova got the signature win it needed last night at Pitt. The Cats would do themselves a favor by winning either at the Dome or in ND, the OOC resume is not going to be helpful. They will need a win in the BET. Somebody is going to miss the party. NIT

T9) Notre Dame: 9-9 (18-11)
The Irish may have the hardest league slate of them all and a loss to St John's may end up being the one that kills them. At minimum they will need to split the Pitt/UCLA games and avoid any more lapses. Still the hole is too deep for a team without a third scoring threat. NIT

11) Cincinnati: 8-10 (18-13)
Cinci does look good right now and do play everyone hard, but at this point Cronin does not have the talent to get over the hump in this league. No post season

Should be fun to watch, lots of great games.

Hard Luck

2009-01-25T10:34:00.005-05:00

The the No. 3 (soon to be # 2) Huskies took a 69-61 battle over No. 19 Notre Dame before 11,418 at an amped up Joyce Center . ND's 45-game home winning streak (the longest in the nation) and their 20-game BE home streak (tied for best all time) are now history. Digger's green tie and the ESPN Gameday crew had the joint in a frenzy, but the veteran Husky squad had their mind on settling another score -- Providence you're next on that list.

Adrien (19 boards) was a beast and Price and Dyson did what they do. Harangody (24, 14) was very impressive, but in the second half his wing man, Kyle McAlarney, was not. Uconn improves to 18-1 (7-1) and with a third loss in a row, the Irish are looking for some answers.

One Irish student held up a sign for the cameras, "Hey Thabeet, Can you spell ESPN?"

hey pal, can you spell bubble?

"I love the silence in the final minute of a game," Jim Calhoun said. "I've always kind of liked to go on the road. There's something about fighting on the road that I think develops character and brings out character."

Bad Work, If you can get it...

2009-01-23T09:13:00.010-05:00

Just was looking at the Post with some coffee and was reading some BE coverage, the paper is very kind in that regard. Full pages on Seton Hall and St John's -- proud hoops programs that are in the toilet. Go ahead and throw Rutgers in the mix -- and you have your three metro NYC programs as the worst in the 16 team league (a combined 1-17 in BE play), save USF...All three coaches will be fired within 2 or 2 1/2 seasons -- Roberts after this year (his fifth), Gonzo next and Fred Hill will go last. Hill will get some more time because he can recruit (he would be awesome on Calhoun's staff, did great work at Nova) and he has not been there long. St John's has been bad for 6 years now, not a lifetime -- but its getting to the point where kids they are recruiting can't remember them being any good or the Garden being jammed. Last night they lost to Cinci, blowing a 11 pt halftime lead, in front of 4,500 in Queens -- last week they played Uconn in front of 8,000 at the Garden (4,000 were Uconn fans)...at 1-5 in the league they are staring at 5-13 type season and Roberts will be gone. Over in South Orange, Bobby Gonzalez is having little success and he is pissing of the University all the while, the Hall was just in the dance three years ago (for the 2nd time in 3 years) and then fired Louis Orr, if Gonzo could get those results, they would name buildings after him -- times have changed. Why is that these schools cannot get it done? Assuming Gonzo and Roberts get fired (I am assuming they will and am not saying they should fyi), where do these schools turn? Who can get them over the hump. Who can set up some sort of blockade for Uconn, Pitt, Ville, Nova and even Duke and UNC (for the elite recruits) to stop coming in poaching all of the best prospects NYC has to offer?

At this point these three jobs are nothing but career killers and a road back to the mid/low major sidelines. The competition in the 16 team BE has played a role in all of this -- being average with the depth of the conference gets you nowhere, when you consider that national programs like Villanova and WVU or around the 8th or 9th best team in the Big East, you begin to understand what it takes to become a player. Rutgers is never going to get it done, but Seton Hall and St John's could come back. People always say the league is a better league with a good Red Storm squad. How does it happen and when does it happen, things have to change..A potential split of the league in 2 years will help these schools I believe, the Johnnies and Pirates will find it easier to manage in a league that is smaller and less potent, at least at that point you can start towards the middle of the pack instead of in the 12-16 holes. Gonzo could be a star coach in the "Catholic" BE league (Nova, Gtown, ND, SH, SJU, Prov, Depaul, Marq) if a split were to happen, but will he last that long?

I will wait on Fred Hill and Bobby for now (though he needs to cool it), but Norm Roberts has go to go...

St John's should look to a list that includes Sean Miller, Paul Hewitt, Tom Pecora, John Calipari, Mark Jackson and Matt Doherty. They need to make a splash, this next one really counts.

Competition's Payin' the Price

2009-01-22T09:23:00.007-05:00

UConn, led by a career-high 29 points from Price, prevailed with an exciting 89-83 victory over No. 20 Villanova before 15,385 at the Xl Center (quick aside -- come on folks, not selling out for top 25 teams anymore? I know times are tough, but come on...).

"I just took what the defense gave me," Price said. "I was a product of what they gave me."

AJ was on fire throughout -- drilling 10 of 13 shots. Additional strong efforts by Jerome Dyson (19 pts) and Jeff Adrien (12 pts, 14 rbs) were just enough as the # 3 Huskies improve to 17-1 (6-1 Big East). The pesky Nova squad placed 5 guys in double figures, led by Dwayne Anderson's 15 -- they left Hartford still looking for that quality win to get them over the hump. Plenty of opportunites are still out there...As for Uconn, a trip to the Joyce Center is on the Horizon on Saturday night..

Dribbles...Ater Majok has been admitted to the University but will not play for Uconn until second semester next season, he is being deemed a partial qualifier, which the BE does not allow -- so clearly that is not the correct terminology, but thats what I am reading anyways...so next year we are adding three high quality forwards (all top 35 guys) and Majok will get a chance to beef up a bit...Wake lost last night, so a win on Saturday will have Connecticut up to # 2 in the polls on Monday...Calhoun on his trip for the Inauguration, "We got the tickets through a combination of everybody, we picked them up at Joe Lieberman's office. We were in the yellow section. There was one more section before being up on the Capitol steps. I saw Muhammad Ali and Magic Johnson up there. I was about two rows from Mariah Carey. Some of my players were wondering why I didn't bring them."...Jarrid Famous, a 6-11 forward Westchester Community College in Valhalla, N.Y, is on the radar as a possible Thabeet replacement, they will need someone as Mandeldove and Okwandu are not going to get it done alone...

be good, BD

Get after it

2009-01-21T11:39:00.007-05:00

So far the Huskies have done what they were supposed to do, one off night through 17 games is not the worst thing in the world. Tonight's game in Hartford and Saturday's in South Bend are going to give us a real progress report on the club. If Uconn fails to win tonight's game vs an undersized Nova squad their is cause for concern...we will know that this is not a top 5 team. Nova has played three legit NCAA teams this seaaon and has lost all three (Texas, Louisville, Marquette) -- Uconn has lost 3 of its last 4 with Nova and does not need to be the "signature win" that they covet. If the Huskies can contain Reynolds and keep Stokes quiet, this has the makings of a 10 point win. Uconn then takes the show on the road to ND, a tough place to play, and an easier potential loss to swallow. In both games the current squad has scores to settle..2-0 would be great, 1-1 is the minimum. I see the Huskies going 3-1 in their next 4 and heading to Freedom Hall at 19-2 (8-2)..then the schedule is really going to heat up. Dyson needs to get his stroke back (he has been awesome on defense) and Uconn still has to figure out how to get Stanley in the mix -- if the 1,4,5 positions continue to get a little better, this team may end up playing some very big games this March, we shall see, starting tonight at 7:00.

Notes...No news on Ater, not good for those of you looking to see him this year...Calhoun spent the morning yesteday in DC at the Obama Inauguration...Congrats to Howie D on his 200th win at Central...

Everythings gonna be Aight

2009-01-02T10:41:00.016-05:00

Uconn has landed another recruit for next year's class and he is not a five star All-American (admittedly not even close to that) -- so the word in Husky Nation is that the sky is falling and we are all doomed. Figure I would take this opportunity to look at what the crew should look like next year. This might settle some of you down a bit -- so you can get back to complaining about the under performing (albeit top 5) current squad.

With AJ Price, Jeff Adrien and Craig Austrie leaving after this season and Hasheem Thabeet very likely joining them, things are going to be fluid.

Who's back and what class they will be in (for 2009/2010):

Backcourt

6-1, So, Kemba Walker
6-4, Sr, Jerome Dyson
6-4, Jr, Donnell Beverly
6-4, So, Scottie Haralson

Wing

6-9, Sr, Stanley Robinson

Frontcourt

7-0, Sr, Jonathan Mandeldove
6-9, Sr, Gavin Edwards
7-1, Jr, Charles Okwandu

Newcomers

6-9, Fr, Alex Oriakhi (the 2nd highest rated C in the 2009 class, big kid -- already weighs 245)
6-7, Fr, Jamal Coombs-McDaniel (top 70 recruit, long wing player, teammate of Oriakhi's at the Tilton School, both committed over two years ago)
6-5, Fr, Jamal Tice (big two guard playing at Mt Zion, unranked late bloomer, seemingly out of left field -- think Donnell Beverly, Patrick Sellers sees something in the kid)
6-10, Fr, Ater Majok (3rd ranked power forward in class of 2008, from Australia will likely not clear the NCAA blockinghouse this season, will be a 3 or 4 -- has great driving and shooting ability for a kid his size)

09-10 Expected Line-up

Starters

PG: Kemba Walker
SG: Jerome Dyson
SF: Stanley Robinson
PF: Gavin Edwards
C: Alex Oriakhi

Projected Bench (ordered by expected minutes)

PF: Ater Majok
PG: Donnell Beverly
C: Jonathan Mandeldove
SG: Scottie Haralson
SF: Jamal Coombs
C: Charles Okwandu
SG: Jamal Tice

That is 12 guys, most likely will recruit for a big to take Thabeet's ship, but not sign anyone until he makes a decision. This team would have a top 3 BE back court and some nice size on the post, a solid top 20 team. There will be at minimum 3players in the 2010 class, look for Calhoun and Co. to devout their time to these kids from here on out...

Year in Review -- Champions

2008-12-30T11:59:00.017-05:00

the great triumphs -- 2008 year in photos

the Big Nasty

2008-12-11T15:51:00.006-05:00

Big East Hoops Preview
With the OOC portion of the schedule dwindling down, finally we are here. No more Morgan State, Houston Baptist or Alabama State -- its time for league play. The Big East slate this season in going to be gruesome -- there will be no place to hide. Granted there is some filler at the bottom of the league ( DePaul, St John's, Rutgers and USF) -- but even those games can at times be tests. At the top of the league, you have eight teams currently in the AP top 25 and six in the top 15. How good is the league? I have current #24 Marquette slotted to finish 10th...Here is a quick look at the teams: where they will finish, who the top scorers are (with this year's early averages), and who is going to be All Big East First Team.

1) Pitt (14-4) NCAA

Sam Young	F	20.8	6.2	1.9
DeJuan Blair	F	14.9	13.4	1.3
Levance Fields	G	11.0	2.2	7.0

Lots of talent and lots of balance -- this might be Dixon's year to go to the Final Four.

2) Uconn (13-5) NCAA

Jerome Dyson	G	15.4	3.5	3.1
Hasheem Thabeet	C	14.5	12.5	0.5
Jeff Adrien	F	14.0	9.1	1.9

Will someone step and hit the three ball? if so the Huskies can also get to Detroit.

3) Louisville (13-5) NCAA

Samardo Samuels	F	16.3	5.2	0.8
Earl Clark	G-F	12.5	8.2	3.5
Terrence Williams	F	9.0	9.5	4.3

Always loaded with talent, will Samuels live up to his billing? how do they replace Padgett?

4) Notre Dame (12-6) NCAA

Luke Harangody	F	23.0	12.0	1.3
Kyle McAlarney	G	18.9	2.4	3.8
Ryan Ayers	G	13.0	3.3	1.4

Gody and McAlarney are savvy vets that get the job done.

5) Georgetown (11-7) NCAA

DaJuan Summers	F	13.7	3.9	1.1
Greg Monroe	C	13.3	5.7	2.0
Austin Freeman	G	13.1	4.6	2.9

Some nice pieces return for JTIII and Monroe looks like a beast.

6) West Virginia (10-8) NCAA

Da'Sean Butler	F	15.8	6.8	1.8
Alex Ruoff	G	14.3	2.9	2.3
Darryl Bryant	G	9.9	1.9	2.5

WVU will surprise some folks, getting Ebanks will be big.

7) Syracuse (9-9) NCAA

Jonny Flynn	G	19.5	1.8	5.4
Paul Harris	F	14.8	8.9	2.4
Eric Devendorf	G	14.1	1.1	3.1

Devo's days are numbered, but you have to feel that JB is going to will his team into the dance -- three years in a row in the NIT for the Orange? Impossible.

8) Villanova (9-9) NIT

Dante Cunningham	F	17.9	8.4	1.1
Scottie Reynolds	G	13.6	3.4	4.8
Corey Stokes	G	12.7	3.7	1.1

I expect Wright's boys to have an up and down year in the rough and tough Big East, not to worry a national top 5 class is coming in next fall with a couple of bigs.

9) Providence (8-10) NIT

Marshon Brooks	G-F	14.1	4.0	0.8
Weyinmi Efejuku	G	13.2	4.0	1.2
Jonathan Kale	F	12.4	5.8	0.4

Not a good league for on the job training as Keno Davis will soon find, but the Friars will get better as the season goes on.

10) Marquette (8-10) NIT

Wesley Matthews	G	20.4	5.9	2.6
Jerel McNeal	G	18.5	5.0	3.8
Lazar Hayward	F	15.8	9.6	1.1

I always feel that Marquette is overrated, this year I will be right.

11) Seton Hall (7-11) NIT

Jeremy Hazell	G	23.5	3.4	1.1
Robert Mitchell	F	15.0	6.8	2.2
Eugene Harvey	G	13.5	4.1	4.9

Gonzo is on the verge of either getting his team over the hump or a nervous breakdown -- recruits always bailing is not a great sign.

12) Cincinnati (6-12)

Deonta Vaughn	G	13.7	3.9	4.6
Mike Williams	F	9.9	5.3	1.3
Alvin Mitchell	F	9.7	3.4	1.3

Cinci is a solid club, unfortunately this year -- that gets you nowhere.

13) St John's (5-13)

D.J. Kennedy	G-F	14.3	7.3	1.9
Anthony Mason Jr.	F	14.0	4.3	3.3
Paris Horne	G-F	12.7	3.7	2.

Lil' Mase going down is not going to help the always short handed Roberts' squads.

14) Rutgers (4-14)

Mike Rosario	G	16.0	3.8	1.0
Gregory Echenique	F	10.4	10.0	0.7
Anthony Farmer	G	8.4	3.6	2.

Despite Rutgersal's proclamations, things are not getting much better on the floor in Piscataway. Hill can recruit, but coach...not so much.

15) South Florida (3-15)

Dominique Jones	G	18.5	5.0	4.7
Jesus Verdejo	G	17.2	2.7	1.2
Chris Howard	G	8.8	2.8	4.2

They should beat Memphis in the St Pete's Bowl.

16) DePaul (2-14)

Dar Tucker	F	20.3	7.0	1.6
Mac Koshwal	C	12.8	10.8	1.3
Will Walker	G	10.3	2.6	2.4

Morgan State losses are unacceptable, especially on the heels of a 30 point loss to Northwestern.

All Big East Starting Five
Jonny Flynn, Syracuse, G, So.
Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati, G, Jr.
Sam Young, Pittsburgh, F, Jr.
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, F, Jr.
Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut, C, Jr.

Husky Football Notebook

2008-12-09T13:04:00.016-05:00

________________________
Uconn Accepts Invite to International Bowl, ey....

The struggling Huskies (7-5, 3-4) will square off against the MAC champion -- UB Bulls -- on January 3rd in Toronto. Edsall and the lads will try and put a little gleam on a season that has turned upsetting for many a whiny Husky fan. Five years of existence and three bowl appearances people, lets have some perspective...

Ontario may not be warm this time of year..but the bars are great and the Leafs and Raptors are in town. Sounds like a potentially good dudes weekend to me.

bowl information and ticket packages can be found at uconnbowl.com

_________________________
Big East Bowls
(three ACC v BE showdowns)...

Cincinnati v Virginia Tech -- Orange (Miami)
Pittsburgh v Oregon State -- Sun (El Paso)
West Virginia v North Carolina -- Meineke (Charlotte)
Rutgers v North Carolina State -- Papajohns.com (Birmingham)
Connecticut v Buffalo -- International (Toronto)
South Florida vs Memphis -- Magicjack (St Petersburg)

___________________________
Final BE Standings

Cincinnati #12	6-1	-	11-2
Pittsburgh #21	5-2	-	9-3
West Virginia	5-2	-	8-4
Rutgers	5-2	-	7-5
Connecticut	3-4	-	7-5
South Florida	2-5	-	7-5
Louisville	1-6	-	5-7
Syracuse	1-6	-	3-9

_____________________________
Donald Brown Named BE Offensive POY

Connecticut junior running back Donald Brown was named the 2008 BIG EAST Conference Offensive Player of the Year on Wednesday. Brown, who led the country in rushing yards and was also a unanimous All Big East First Team, becomes the first Husky to win a major individual BIG EAST football award since the Huskies began league play 5 years ago.

NCAA Rushing Leaders

1.	Donald Brown, UConn	338	1822	5.4	63	17
2.	Shonn Greene, Iowa	278	1729	6.2	75	17
3.	MiQuale Lewis, Ball St	306	1701	5.6	64	22
4.	Javon Ringer, Mich St	370	1590	4.3	64	21
5.	Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma St	228	1518	6.7	68	14
6.	Vai Taua, Nevada	213	1420	6.7	79	14
7.	LeSean McCoy, Pittsburgh	284	1403	4.9	58	21
8.	Jahvid Best, California	174	1394	8.0	86	13
9.	Tyrell Fenroy, La Lafayette	227	1376	6.1	89	19
10.	Julian Edelman, Kent St	215	1370	6.4	58	13

_____________________________
Musing, ACC Title Game

and the hits just keep on coming for greedy pig (ACC commissioner) John Swofford. In his attempt to gut the Big East and leave it for dead he had grand dreams of Miami and Florida State playing in the Dr Pepper ACC Championship in front of full house in Florida...he thought he was building the next SEC or Big 12. new locale (Tampa instead of Jacksonville) same story...actually its getting much worse...

By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune 12/9/08

TAMPA - Saturday's ACC Championship Game between Virginia Tech and Boston College drew an actual attendance of 27,360 to Raymond James Stadium, according to figures from the Tampa Sports Authority.
And thousands of those were not paying customers.

Which one is Simon Bird?

2008-11-30T12:52:00.003-05:00

Over the holidays, some family and I had a look at some of the best press conference meltdowns in the world of sports. The Calhoun and Kinnear rants are by no means work or child safe, as a matter of fact if you are no into the c or f word -- I might steer clear.

But for the rest, enjoy it -- I was in stitches...

4) Jim Calhoun, jumps all over a reporter in Hartford when asked about Ryan Gomes. Apparently Jimmy had grown tired of people wondering why he let the Providence standout leave the state, he f'd up, ok? watch it

3) Oklahoma State Head Football Coach, Mike Gundy, goes bonkers after a game versus Texas Tech last season. Upset about a reporters writing about one of his players, he really unloads on the female reporter. I'm a man..I'm 40

2) An all time classic. Jim Mora and playoffs..playoffs?? No further introduction needed.

and the winner is....
1) Newcastle's new manager, Joe Kinnear, goes wild on a group of reporters who he feels are having a go at him shortly after his surprise appointment -- I think he says the f-word 52 times, audio -- Follow the transcript here for the full package, click

hope you enjoyed, please leave me any good ones you have in my comments.

be good.

Huskies Take Paradise Jam

2008-11-25T17:13:00.005-05:00

Uconn rolls into form with three solid wins over La Salle (89-81), Miami (76-63) and Wisconsin (76-57) to take home the Paradise Jam Championship in the Virgin Islands. A team that came in with a lofty ranking, to high for most, might have made some believers in this trip to the Caribbean.

I am not sure if they are the number two team in the land, but they appear to be well on their way. Both Miami and Wisconsin came in with top 20 rankings and both could not contain Connecticut over 40 minutes. If this team adds Stanley Robinson and Ater Majok in early December, as expected, the sky could be the limit.

We now know that;

Kemba Walker is a big time impact freshman
Jerome Dyson (21pts v Wisconsin) is focused and scoring
AJ Price is getting into form and showing a nice stroke
Hasheem (PJAM MVP) can play a big role, albeit when he wants to

It was good to see the Huskies open it up from the outside a bit and great to see the old 2-2-1 press back at times in the Wisconsin game, this has the makings of a very fun season...Yesterday they hung out at the beach and were the last team to leave the islands this morning. The 5-0 Huskies return to action on Saturday against Bryant in Hartford.

Notes...Doug Wiggins got arrested up at UMASS for an attempted B & E, well done Doug...congrats to Uconn men's soccer who knocked off UVA 2-0 yesterday in Charlottesville to advance to the NCAA 3rd round...the Red Bulls luck ran out in the MLS Cup final on Sunday, kudos to Frankie for leading Columbus to their first title, oh and check out Hedjuk celebrating in style with the Crew fans here...Barry Melrose waited along time for a return to coaching -- looks like he should have waited a bit longer...the Giants are the best team in the NFC -- are the Jets the best in the AFC? -- could be...Coach Randy Edsall is back to being considered a dope on the message boards after a road loss to USF (where Lorenzen looked awful), mere days after people were pouting about him possibly leaving for Syracuse -- get a grip folks...Have a great Thanksgiving everyone, I'm going dark meat all the way...

Sweet Little Lies

2008-11-17T15:40:00.009-05:00

Blocked Punts, Bowl Eligibility, Lorenzen is back, Moody Reporters -- and not just the Hartford Courant, Cuse Coach fired, Randy Edsall very interested, Edsall is not interested -- never was, message boards have gone bat shart since Saturday...

All the fun started on Saturday night when the Huskies took the field for their first series with good old Tyler Lorenzen behind center. Pretty surprising and pretty cool news for Husky supporters. Upsetting to the beat writers of Uconn football who were lied to on Thursday about Tyler's availability by the Uconn HC... not only them, but resident asshole Jeff Jacobs couldn't miss a chance to knock down a prominent Uconn figure -- could he?

Let's see, he kills: Jimmy, Gino, Edsall...Ray Reid better watch his back.

Usually level headed beat writers Desmond Connor and John Silver take some shots at the coach's decision making and Des even goes after his character (just terrible). Unbelievable if you ask me. What is not unbelievable was Jeff Jacobs "piece" on Sunday. Par for the course...Does the Courant realize that the reason any male between the age of 17-65 reads their paper is because of Uconn athletics? Its has got to the point where the New London Day and New Haven Register are much better reads if you want Connecticut sports news. I have linked below some quotes from Edsall that talks about all these subjects...

On the field there were some pretty good stories as well.

Uconn (7-3, 3-2) assured themselves they would making their third bowl appearance in school history this December
Donald Brown (131 yards, one TD), ran for 100-yards for the ninth time this season and became the school's all-time leader in rushing yards, now with 3,254 yards
Future star, Jordan Todman, ran for 78 and a TD

After the game the action began to heat up. Not only where the reporters upset about not knowing about Tyler, they would not let it go. Do they really think the public cares? Uconn won the game boys, i'm sorry if being a beat writer is a tough job -- made tougher by a less than forthcoming coach. But these guys are ridiculous. Uconn won and if Edsall doesn't want to talk to a reporter for the rest of the season -- fans don't really care. This nonsense seems very childish and totally bush league..

The Orange on the other hand have a great guy for a coach, one who the reporters really love...one slight problem he is 9-36 overall and 3-25 in conference play at the once proud football program. An unnamed source yesterday told the Syracuse Post-Standard that Edsall was very interested in taking the job at his alma mater. On Sunday, Edsall had no comment and on Monday he said there was no interest on his part, all due respect to Syracuse.

Sunday Uconn travels to Tampa to take on USF on national TV and RE will talk about that...

Edsall Quotes:

on the 39-14 victory:

"Seven was the magic number for us but we're not stopping there, we want to get eight, we want to get nine, we want to shoot for 10, but we knew seven was the first and foremost number we had to get to"

asked about possibly being on the Orange sideline next year:

"You know, that's really bad. That's not appropriate at all. That's not very appropriate at all."

to the reports post game about hiding Lorenzen's availability:

"and again guys, to the Connecticut media, I guess I can apologize but I'm not going to apologize because there's certain strategical situations that go through with the quarterback situation. I knew when he was going to play but I didn't want it out there because he means so much to us and I think when you play Tyler, your game plan changes a little bit than if we're playing Zach [Frazer] or Cody [Endres] so, again, sorry, but it's a competitive game and we're judged on wins and losses. I'm not going to give up anything from a competitve edge when it's so tough to win."

when told that Robinson was fired:

"I've been watching film and everything I haven't heard that. Is that what happened? Oh. Greg's a good guy, he's a good coach, things like that happen in our profession."

then when asked about being a candidate for the vacancy Sunday:

"I don't talk about personnel issues and never will"

statement on Monday (to the New London Day, a newspaper that does not attempt to create scandal to sell newspapers):

"There has been speculation in various media outlets that I am a candidate for the job. But with all due respect to my alma mater and the people at Syracuse, I am not interested in being a candidate"

Desmond Conner's blog, in case you've missed it

Big East Standings

*Cincinnati	4-1	8-2
*Pittsburgh	3-1	7-2
*West Virginia	3-1	6-3
Rutgers	4-2	5-5
*Connecticut	3-2	7-3
*South Florida	1-4	6-4
Louisville	1-4	5-5
Syracuse	1-5	2-8

* bowl eligible

BE Gyms -- Stadium Guide

2008-11-11T16:20:00.031-05:00

As the college hoops season gets underway I figured I would have a look at the best venues to watch a game in the Big East Conference. In total there are 19 (I have only been to about 10 of them and will rely on a combination of reputation, television, common sense and hearsay for the rest). There are some great arenas in this league, even my lowest rated are pretty good:

19) Carnesecca Arena (SJU), 6,008 -- this joint is high school quality. Not much to say about it actually other than I have been to much nicer gyms for MAAC, America East and NEC games. Improvements are coming this season and the renderings do look good..the product on the floor these days is not helping...

18) Allstate Arena (DEP), 18,500 -- In general the structure of the building is not great (same will be said of the civic centers in Providence and Hartford), but in addition to its age, the place is just to damn dark, in the middle of nowhere and averages 8,000 empties per tilt...

17) USF Sun Dome (USF), 11, 324 -- This building suffers from its tenant -- there is nothing really wrong with the place. In fact, its a good size and the crowd is very near the court. However, if this is an exercise in where to watch your team on the road, USF will remain at the bottom of the list for most...

16) Prudential Center (SHU), 18,000 -- The Rock, as it is known, is a very nice building and the trains in and out are pretty easy. The Pirates are generally not very good and if this puppy is on a Tuesday night the place is dead (season average was 6,600 and even with half the building curtained off, it feels empty). A big upgrade from the IZOD anyway you cut it.
15) The Pavilion (VIL), 6,500 -- The student section at the ski lodge is pretty cool and the crowd can get loud, but it should be, the place is tiny...if my man (buckeye over at vusports.com) got his way and got the place expanded to 14,000 it would sky rocket up the list. But for now, I'll take my Nova games at the Wach...

14) Fifth Third Arena (CINC), 13,176 -- This arena has been open since 1989 and the Bearcats have only lost 27 contests in the building. The arena will fill for big games and the crowds appear quite lively. The Cats are typically difficult hosts. All in all a very decent prospect for a trip...

13) Dunkin' Donuts Center (PROV), 12,993 -- Great place to watch a game...good town as well. Though its an old building -- the renovations have helped a bit. The Friar fans are worth the trip alone, the venom spewed at Calhoun is unmatched, it is like a derby match in British soccer. If the Friars are good they tend to have very strong turnouts for most games...

12) XL Center (UCONN), 16,294 -- Ahh memories, this place is as outdated at Providence and the Allstate and most Uconn fans would prefer the games in Storrs, but when this place gets going -- it is one of the tougher places for a visitor to try and steal a win in the league. A bad crowd is 15,000...

11) Verizon Center (GTOWN), 20,600 -- Its big and the Hoyas draw well. Like the Wachovia it is not a band box that is impossible to win at for an opponent, but a nice place to watch a game. Its nice and clean, food is decent, beer is moderate -- not much else to say.

10) Wachovia Center (LOU), 21,600 -- The Cats don't play here a ton, but when they do, a big boy is in town and the place gets jammed. Nova is likely tougher to play on campus, but this is a good experience. The ticket has grown a bit tougher to get -- the out of towners are now usually up in the nosebleeds. A far cry from court side during the Lappas era...

9) Madison Square Garden (SJU), 19,522 -- Blasphemous I know, this place is one of the best places to watch a sporting event anywhere. Rangers, the Big East Tournament...the vibe of the arena is top notch, that is why watching a Johnnies game at the present moment, in the World' Most Famous Arena, is depressing. St John's get back in the top 25 though and this is top 2/3 in the league...
8) the RAC (RU), 8,000 -- If Rutgers was ever any good this place would be one of the toughest places to play in the country...They aren't and it's not, however its still a neat place to go to a game, and hit a grease truck while there. The students are loud and the stands are steep, nobody seems that far from the court...The Scarlet Knights seem to really get up for their home games...

7) Joyce Center (ND), 11,418 -- There is a history in this building, I can feel David Rivers running through the lane and those older than me can still picture ND shocking the famed UCLA Bruins. Its quaint and nondescript, but it is still a great venue. The Irish fans don't always come out, but when they do, its a tough place to play...

6) WVU Coliseum (WVU), 14,000 -- The Gym is large feeling and can get quite loud, part of the plan when they built the arena with a concrete ceiling. When the fans aren't yelling the N-word, they are very supportive and the Mountaineers are a tough match at home. Not many buildings have a statue of Jerry West to greet its visitors...

5) Bradley Center (MARQ), 18,717 -- One of the oldest "new"arenas around...Its a NBA gym that is a bit dated. All that being said, the Marquette fans make the experience a positive one. They are rabid fans and not in the northeast -- i'm going to dump a beer on your head and slap your wife -- kind of way. These are nice people who like their team and get really into the action. Overall a good experience...

4) Petersen Events Center (PITT), 12,508 -- They did their homework when building the Pete. The student section (Oakland Zoo) is right on top of the court and you can feel them. At the same time it is the only gym in the league to have court side suites for the Panther bigwigs. Its a great size and the atmosphere will not disappoint...

3) Gampel Pavilion (UCONN), 10,167 -- My personal favorite for obvious reasons. This building symbolizes Jim Calhoun and the program that he has built. Its loud and bright and you can feel the crowd wishing every ball through the hoop, it is truly the home of Connecticut basketball. The kids too lazy to get to Hartford for the Fairfield type games are always on fire and are usually rewarded with a W...

2) Freedom Hall (VILL), 18,865 -- Not may teams have a home that has hosted six final fours, Louisville does. The crowd not only loves the Cards but they know their hoops. The support is always strong, Ville is always in the top 5 in attendance nationally.

1) Carrier Dome, (CUSE) 33,000 -- With the exception of Cameron, this is the best place in the country to watch a college hoops game for my money. Syracuse treats Big Monday like an NFL Sunday and fill the place to the extreme (either one or two every year in NCAA home attendance). The faithful are tough on their Orange when things are going poorly, but are in jubilant hysteria when Cuse is on a roll. This place is Big East basketball

New Commish....

2008-11-10T10:20:00.016-05:00

According to a couple news reports (most notably the Charleston Daily Mail Oct 31, click) a new Big East commissioner -- only the third in the league's 30-year history -- should be named before the end of the year. The search, guided by a committee of six Big East university presidents, has been very quiet with any details surrounding Mike Tranghese's successor.

The search is being led by Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg and Georgetown President John DeGioia. One football and one hoops, seems fair to me...

Tranghese, 64, took over in 1990 from Big East founder Dave Gavitt, who ran the league from its seven-team inception in 1979. Gavitt is a legend and although Mike T takes loads of heat -- he has done a great job with what circumstances have provided him. The new commissioner will lead the league through a very important crossroads period and perhaps even a conference restructuring after the TV deal expires in 2013. Some see a potential split as the reason Tranghese is stepping down, a basketball guy through and through, he would not want that to happen on his watch.

Published reports have linked several candidates, nobody who is going to wow the sports world, but some very solid choices do exist -- among them:

former Big 12 Conference Commissioner Kevin Weiberg, who left that conference in June 2007 to become a vice president with the Big Ten's TV network
From the Big East staff, senior associate commissioner John Marinatto
BE associate commissioner (television, men's basketball scheduling) -- Tom Odjakjian, a former ESPN administrator
BE associate commissioner Nick Carparelli (football)
former Big East administrator Chris Plonsky, an associate AD at Texas
Tim Pernetti, an ex-Rutgers football player who is a vice president at CBS College Sports Network (formerly CSTV)
Central Florida AD Keith Tribble, a former Orange Bowl chief

Whoever takes the job will run the best basketball league in the land, but a conference that still needs to build on its football reputation. As they say, football drives college athletics.

With the gripes about scheduling, the annoyance of ND's blatantly self serving policies, the lack of NCAA bids for a 16 team super conglomerate in hoops -- there seems to be quite a bit of interest from football schools to split up and go it on their own and even a bit from some basketball coaches. Some roadblocks are out the for sure; 2013 TV deal, weak pool of candidates for a 9th football and a general reluctance from those who love BE basketball (Calhoun, Boeheim...), who gets the name, who gets the garden?? Issues persist, breaking up is hard to do. Must it be done?

I think yes, call me a traitor -- But i think that forcibly laying down for Notre Dame all these years and a general disregard for the interest of the football side has pressed loyalty too far -- the schools have different interests at heart. The days of Seton Hall and St John's carrying any significant interest in the NYC market have gone -- I contend that markets really don't play that much of a roll in the NCAA athletics anyways (did BC help the ACC win the Boston market?, look at the SEC -- if your product is good, the coutry will watch). A loss of Villanova (recent top 25 staple) and Georgetown (recent FF run) is going to hurt in hoops quality, no doubt, but it does not outweigh the cost of staying together. Providence, Seton Hall and SJU all run their basketball programs at A-10 quality levels as it is, ND's mere presence in the league screams bush league to the rest of the world, and Depaul and Marquette we hardly know ya...

If the split happened, who would be the best candidate to join these 8, lets look first how does the football league stand on its own for both major sports?

Cincinnati (strong tradition in hoops. fball program is strong at the moment -- top 25, should remain solid in a great state for football)
Connecticut (two time national champ in the last 10 years in hoops. young and solid fball program)
Louisville (great hoops tradition and coach, current top 10 consistently. fball is up and down with a great fanbase and very good facilities)
Pittsburgh (top 15 fixture over a 10 year period in hoops, traditional fball power that appears to be coming back, currently top 25)
Rutgers (miserable hoops tradition, recruiting is up under FH -- we will see on results. football program has found their rise to greatness a bit bumpy, still have a good coach and have garnered some NYC interest in CFB)
West Virginia (top 25ish hoops over the last 5 years and with Huggy in charge -- they should stay that way. Fball team is the league's representative to big time football and has done quite well in their BCS outings)
South Florida (terrible basketball and that won't quickly change, however a talented fball program in the midst of the hottest recruiting hotbed in the land, will battle for BCS bids consistently before long)
Syracuse (recent national champion and multiple FF participant under JB, football program has great tradition, but is in shambles -- somebody has to the lose the games I guess. new coach will arrive next year, that is good news)

the basketball strength will still remain, five of the eight are current top 35 programs. three of the eight reside in the pre-season top 5. Aside from that, Cinci is average and getting better and you have the potential for Rutgers to have some competitive teams in the future and USF can play the roll of whipping boy. The football is the same obviously, you have WVU and then 6 teams who are anywhere from 20-50 and then the Orange. Its currently the fifth or sixth best league (even though the Big 11 is over hyped they are still better up top) and is just a smaller version of the ACC, that happens to play better in the bowls for whatever reason. So the trick would be to add one team that can strengthen one or the other -- scheduling would become a dream and the competition on both sides would have the TV dollars stay right where they are or lessen just a little -- now they are less people in line to get a piece of the pie. If that's what you're into...

the best candidates from non BCS leagues, in order of my preference
(this is going the realistic route, I am not going to say lets get Maryland, Penn State, Notre Dame and have Umass, Nova or G-town upgrade and all of that -- if that ever happens -- awesome. I won't be holding my breath however, I'd like to think that all of the "raiding is over" and I have seen how impossible it is to have people buy into an upgrade -- and lastly I will be staying away from the military -- they can draw people to football games but in general its not a fit. I will add that I hope any restructuring is done in an honest and upfront manner, especially with regard to the hoops schools and any conference that the BE might poach a team from)

Memphis, aside from their somewhat sleazy basketball coach (we let Pitino in) and average to below average academics, this University does offer quite a bit. Coach Cal has built a winner and along with Uconn, Ville, Pitt, Cuse you are looking at a nasty league and plus the bonus of built in rivals Louisville and Cinci from the C-USA days. Facilities are top notch for hoops. The football team is average, but competitive coming off of a five bowls in six year run that ended in 2007. The Tigers play in an old but large Liberty Bowl, that could also be added as a bowl tie-in. Plus if the basketball schools decide to keep the Garden, the Fedex Forum offers a nice tournament venue, perhaps on a rotating basis...
Central Florida, possible sleeping giant in Orlando. Would also help the BE bowl arrangements, they have great new facilities of their own and would be a great rival of USF. Does the league want so much in FL, especially considering their lack of basketball strength?
ECU, might it be nice to have a presence in the Carolinas, you bet. But at what cost..They are a good football program, will that continue when Holtz leaves? No guarantee there, poor hoops and the academic profile are all minuses.

My Proposed All Sports League

Cincinnati
Connecticut
Louisville
Memphis
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
West Virginia
South Florida
Syracuse

that would leave: Villanova, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Notre Dame, Marquette, DePaul, Providence, St John's to potentially add a couple of schools to form a league that might be considered a mid major (technically -- since they are not BCS), but would still be very good in basketball. They could pick from a group of Fordham, St Louis, Dayton, St Bonaventure, St Joseph's, LaSalle, Xavier or any other non catholic A-10 team they would like. Point being this is not a death sentence for the basketball schools...

Proposed New non-Fball League (10 teams, 18 game schedule)

DePaul
Georgetown
Marquette
Notre Dame
Providence
St John's
Seton Hall
St Joseph's
Villanova
Xavier

let me know your thoughts..

-BD

Uconn tops AIC

2008-11-06T08:48:00.005-05:00

The Huskies opened their Hoops season with a 83-58 exhibition-game victory over AIC last night night. Calhoun afterwards categorized the effort as, "OK", nobody really did all that much with the exception of freshman Kemba Walker and Thabeet -- I am not going to elaborate on how great it was to see Hasheem dominate players a foot shorter than he, but he did reportedly play well (9 for 9 field).

Walker, the story of the night (10 points, eight rebounds and four assists in his debut), pushed the ball up the floor frequently and was able to find open teammates for some easy hoops. He hooked up with Hasheem for a couple of alley-oops, one of them on a no-look pass that thrilled the crowd of 9,500. Calhoun was excited about his energy and enthusiasm after his first game, "He'll make more shots in a game than in drills, because he's a gamer. He knows how to win."

Uconn ends its exhibition on Sunday against

Notes
Neat stuff regarding some Uconn and AIC history from Dave Borges' blog..."On Dec. 4, 1963 – just a couple of weeks after John F. Kennedy was assassinated...Jim Calhoun played against the team he would eventually lead to a pair of national championships. Calhoun, a forward for American International College, scored nine points against the Huskies that day in a 95-49 UConn victory...Tony Kimball led a well-balanced UConn attack with 19 points, while another familiar name – future UConn head coach Dom Perno – added 14. Calhoun rebounded a year later, however. On Dec. 1, 1964, Calhoun poured in 27 points on 10-for-19 shooting from the floor, and also pulled down six rebounds. The results weren't much better for AIC, however – a 98-67 loss. Kimball again led UConn with 30 points, followed by 20 from Wes Bialosuknia. Future URI and Texas coach Tom Penders netted two."

Ater Majok...is on campus and is still awaiting word from the NCAA clearinghouse as to whether he'll be able to enroll at UConn for the second semester...Calhoun on the # 2 ranking..."It is obviously a nice honor, one that I am not sure we are quite deserving of at this point but certainly something we hope to develop into as the season moves on."...Uconn is apparently showing interest in Rico Pickett, a 6-4 guard from Miami-Dade Junior College. Pickett originally attended Alabama but quickly transferred and will begin his second season in Miami this year...Durand Scott (the highly ranked 2009 2 guard) has his list down to Uconn, Miami and Pitt and is in no hurry to make his decision...the early signing period begins Nov. 12

Champagne High

2008-10-30T08:43:00.007-04:00

Lidge and the Phillies close out Rays in game 5, 4-3

The Phils are the world champs!

Bundled in parkas and beer scarfs the fans were electric at Citizens Bank Park last night and they were rewarded with history. The city of brotherly love claimed its first major sports championship in 25 years. Hamels would be awarded as the MVP, but nearly everyone played a very important role. It was cold, hard working, nail biting baseball: it was truly Philadelphia...Mitch you are forgiven, Scotty Rolen -- we aint mad at ya, hell even JD Drew is ok today. World Series Champions! I just hope I am not about to turn 60 before we do it again...

Full Espn Coverage