The Jim Jabir Jambaroo

Surging To The Semifinals

2010-03-07T12:31:00.002-05:00

It's on to the semifinals for the University of Dayton women's basketball team at the 2010 Atlantic 10 Championship in Upper Marlboro, Md. The second-seeded Flyers improved to 24-6 Saturday evening with a 83-66 victory over No. 7 St. Bonaventure in the quarterfinals.

The sophomores led the way to victory, scoring 54 of UD's 83 points. Justine Raterman scored a team-high 20 points, and Patrice Lalor added a career-high 18. Kayla Moses added 10 more off the bench, while Casey Nance netted five points and Elle Queen scored one.

“I feel like we beat a very good team today. It was not an easy game by any stretch. I think St. Bonaventure is one of the best coached teams in the country,” head coach Jim Jabir told DaytonFlyers.com. “I thought our defense was a little suspect, and they took advantage of it. We were able to get enough points on the board to compensate.”

St. Bonaventure (22-9) scored the game's first points on a Dana Mitchell basket, but UD reponded with a Raterman three-pointer - one that started an 8-0 run and gave the Flyers the lead for good.

UD led 37-30 at halftime thanks in part of Lalor, who scored eight of UD's last nine points of the first half. She scored 12 before halftime and continued a trend of excelling against the Bonnies. Her previous career high of 16 points also came against SBU in January.

“Last time (against SBU), I attacked, and that’s how I got a lot of my points. I attacked and went to the hole and got fouled. I did the same thing today,” Lalor told DaytonFlyers.com. “I tried to be more aggressive because this was a really important game for us. I wanted to go out and do as much I could for the team.”

Dayton cruised to victory in the second half and set up a rematch with No. 3 Temple Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The Flyers defeated the Owls Feb. 20 in a key A-10 showdown. UD won 73-61 behind a big effort from Kendel Ross. The team's lone senior scored a team-high 16 points and became the 19th UD women's basketball player to reach the 1,000 career point mark.

Atlantic 10 Tournament Time

2010-03-05T09:50:00.000-05:00

The Atlantic 10 women's basketball tournament begins today at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md., but the Flyers won't take the court until Saturday evening. Second-seeded UD will face the winner of No. 7 St. Bonaventure/No. 10 Saint Louis at 5:30 p.m. The Bonnies and Billikens face off at 5:30 p.m. tonight. The Flyers have played and beaten both teams at UD Arena this season. Against SBU, Patrice Lalor had a career day with 16 points Jan. 16 in a 76-65 victory. UD's lone senior, Kendel Ross, recorded a double double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Flyers used their size to batter the Bonnies, outscoring SBU 42-16 in the paint. Against the Billikens, 13 Flyers scored points in a 73-54 victory on Feb. 7. Ross again led the effort with 14 points, while junior Kristin Daugherty and sophomore De'Sarae Chambers each added 10 points.

Dayton (23-6, 11-3) has to be viewed as one of the tournament contender. UD only lost three times in the A-10 during the regular season, and two of thoe defeats came to top-seeded Xavier. The Musketeers (24-3, 13-0) are ranked fifth in the nation and are the clear favorites, although UD did beat Xavier in the A-10 tournament last season. Temple (22-7, 11-3) and Charlotte (16-12, 9-5) also have first-round byes.

Here's a look at the today's A-10 tournament action:

No. 8 Richmond (18-11, 7-7) vs. No. 9 UMass (11-18, 5-9) at Noon - Winner plays No. 1 Xavier; UR won the regular season meeting 73-62 at UMass.
No. 5 Saint Joseph's (16-13, 9-5) vs. No. 12 Fordham (8-21, 2-11) at 2:30 p.m. - Winner plays No. 4 Charlotte; SJU won earlier meeting 62-57 in what was both teams' A-10 opener.
No. 7 St. Bonaventure (21-8, 9-5) vs. No. 10 Saint Louis (11-18, 5-9) at 5:30 p.m. - Winner plays UD; SBU beat SLU 75-63 earlier this season.
No. 6 Duquesne (19-10, 9-5) vs. No. 11 George Washington (6-21, 3-11) at 8 p.m. - Winner play No. 3 Temple; The Dukes beat GW 66-64 in the regular season meeting.

Look Ahead To La Salle

2010-02-25T19:48:00.003-05:00

Coach Jabir’s charges return to the court Saturday afternoon for their regular-season finale at La Salle. The Flyers really shouldn’t have much of a problem against the Explorers, who bring a measly 7-21 record and a 2-11 mark in the Atlantic-10. Seniors Morgan Robertson and Jamie Walsh led LU. Robertson, a 6-0 forward, is the team’s leading scorer with an average of 10.1 points per game. Walsh, a guard, averages 9.9 points per game. If UD can slow these two players down, the Flyers will cruise to an easy victory. The Explorers are the worst team in the A-10 in scoring average.

The Flyers will also likely dominate the battle on the glass. UD ranks second to only Xavier in rebounding offense with 42.8 boards per game. Conversely La Salle is dead last with 29.1 per game. Again, Walsh leads the Explorers’ rebounding efforts with 5.4 per game. UD's leading rebounder, Casey Nance (right), could have a big game.

Despite the obvious mismatch, don’t expect Dayton to sleepwalk through the game. UD still needs to beat La Salle to clinch the No. 2 seed for the upcoming Atlantic 10 Tournament, which will be held March 5-8 in Upper Marlboro, Md. If the A-10 standings stay the way they are heading into this weekend, the Flyers would next play March 6 against the winner of the 7/10 first-round matchup. Right now that would be St. Bonaventure (20-8, 8-5) vs. UMass (10-17, 4-8).

A New Era

2010-02-24T22:16:00.001-05:00

Yes, you've read the banner correctly. For the rest of the 2009-10 college basketball season, Peanut Butter and A Blanket has become the Jim Jabir Jambaroo. Just because the men's basketball Flyers have essentially given up doesn't mean UD fans should ignore the talented women's team that calls UD Arena home.

In case you haven't paid much attention to Jabir's squad, here's a quick synopsis. The Flyers, led by standouts Justine Raterman, Kendel Ross and Kristen Daugherty, look like a lock for the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance. UD has wins over three major power conference schools: Michigan State, Georgetown and Purdue. UD boasts a 23-6 record with a 11-3 mark in the Atlantic 10. This squad is the third consecutive group to post at least 20 wins - a program record.

They defeated Rhode Island 75-56 last night on Senior Night, one game after Ross - the team's lone senior - became the 19th UD women's basketball player to join the 1,000-point club. Ross scored eight points and the Rams (9-19, 2-12) posed little threat. UD led by 20 in the first half, built a 38-21 halftime lead and cruised to victory. Raterman led the Flyers with 14 points, with Patrice Lalor (12) and Elle Queen (10) posting double-figure scoring efforts. Casey Nance, daughter of former NBA All-Star and 1984 Slam Dunk Contest champion Larry Nance, pulled down 10 rebounds.

The Flyers are currently tied for second in the A-10 with Temple and trail only Xavier. The Musketeers, who have already clinched the regular season conference title, are No. 5 in the nation and have handed UD two of its three conference losses, including a 80-79 overtime defeat on Feb. 17. FYI, if UD and Temple end the regular season with the same conference record, the Flyers would get the No. 2 seed thanks to their win over the Owl on Feb. 20.

Jabir's crew finishes the regular season Saturday at 1 p.m. at La Salle. I'll hopefully have a look ahead to the game against the Explorers before then.

BAH!!!

2010-02-21T15:29:00.002-05:00

I wrote this after UD lost in the NIT quarterfinals at Ohio State (after leading at halftime) two seasons ago. I thought about it again this afternoon as UD lost at Duquesne.

• It's fitting that UD's season ended tonight at Ohio State, a place where "nice guy" John Cooper was fired. Cooper had a nice overall record and got OSU to a few good bowls, but he couldn't beat Michigan and the Buckeyes usually struggled in the postseason.

To me, Brian Gregory is John Cooper. Gregory is a nice guy with a nice overall record at UD. But the man cannot coach/motivate. He can't get it done against Xavier, and I just got home from watching his Flyers once again play well in the first half only to come out in the second flat and uninspired. I'm just sick of it honestly. It's a broken record.

Turns out, I'm still fucking sick of it. I'm sick of late-game dumbassery. I'm sick of this team, which cannot shoot threes consistently for ANYTHING, falling in love with the long-range shots. I'm sick of inconsistent point guards, mind-numbing substitution patterns and dry spells that last five minutes a game. I'm sick of watching Brian Gregory get his head handed to him by mediocre-at-best A-10 coaches. The Flyers are a fucking terrible 21-34 in A-10 road games. Twenty-one-and fucking-34. Holy shit, that's awful. They've won a whopping two road conference games this season at powerhouses Fordham and Saint Bonaventure. Oh, and the Rams and Bonnies were without their best players...and STILL LED UD IN THE SECOND HALF!! Do you have ANY hope at all this team can win at Temple or Richmond?

This was the end of the season this afternoon, folks. Don't fucking reward mediocrity by going to any NIT games. I don't care who comes to UD Arena to play in the first round. Don't send the message that this is acceptable in any way. You think Gonzaga, Butler or even fucking Xavier would be OK with a season like this? I'm a native Daytonian who has followed UD basketball since I was a child, and I can't think of a more disappointing season than this one.

Holy crap.

What's NOT Acceptable?

2010-01-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

This blog.

What's Acceptable?

2009-12-14T14:56:00.004-05:00

Dayton has played most, if not all, of their tough non-conference matchups. They currently have a win over a good Georgia Tech team, two losses to good BCS caliber opponents, and a handful of other uninspired wins against mostly weaker competition. Our beloved Flyers are looking at a 7-2 record through nine games, with five non-conference games remaining.

Here's the remaining non-conference schedule with records and RPI rank (according to Sportsline.com as of 12/14/09.

vs. Presbyterian (2-8, RPI 284)
vs. Applachian State (5-4, RPI 190)
vs. Boston University (4-6, RPI 148)
@ New Mexico (10-0, RPI 8)
vs. Ball State (3-4, RPI 232)

I think it goes without saying that the Flyers have to win the remaining four home games. The question becomes the New Mexico game. Are you willing to forgive a loss to the Lobos on their home floor? Would you be satisfied with an 11-3 non-conference record?

Or do you think the New Mexico game is a must-win, since it is two non-BCS schools going head-to-head?

While I want the Flyers to win out certainly, I would accept a close loss to New Mexico. I would gladly take an 11-3 record into the conference schedule. The Nova loss is fine, and the Kansas State loss keeps looking better and better as they rattle off more and more wins.

Your thoughts?

I Wish I Were Rich

2009-12-07T18:44:00.007-05:00

My Dad, who knows everyone apparently, gave me lower bowl tickets for UD's recent rout of Lehigh that he got from a friend. The game wasn't great, but these seats were. After graduation, I've been stuck in the 400 level and it was great to be close again. Here are a couple of photos I took before my battery died. I really wish I had charge the battery so I could have gotten a photo of the melonin-deficient end of the game.

Not only were the seats great, but the tickets came with a parking pass. That meant I could actually park near the arena instead of in the St. Bonaventure lot.

Dayton vs. Lehigh Official Prediction Thread

2009-12-05T09:48:00.003-05:00

I'd like to say I'd do a live blog of Dayton vs. Lehigh today at two, but I won't.

Need reasons?

1) It's not on TV anywhere near where I live.
2) While I could listen to the streaming audio feed, it's hard to live blog a radio broadcast.
3) It just doesn't compete with other things I want to watch today, most notably UC/Pitt in football, UK/UNC in basketball, and Florida/Bama in football.

A few notes:

-UD should win this game big. Richmond beat Lehigh by 12; Stony Brook handed them a 19-point defeat. I'll take the Flyers by 6.

-Lehigh's team nickname is the Mountain Hawks. I'm envisioning the annoying St. Joe Hawk standing on top of a mountain, flapping his wings. I hate that stupid Hawk.

-I realize that not a lot of people pay attention to this, but it's worth pointing out that UD's women team is in the top 25 for the first time in school history. They beat #10 Michigan State to start the season, and also took out a ranked Purdue team on their way to a 7-1 start. Congrats to Jim Jabir and the players.

Add your thoughts or predictions in the comments.

M Is For Mediocre

2009-12-03T09:22:00.008-05:00

It wasn't pretty - as usual - but the Flyers defeated Miami last night at Millett Hall. I'm sure you've probably checked out the DDN or watched the game on TV or online, so I'll save you all the recapy stuff. Instead, here are just some things I noticed from the short road trip my wife and I took.

- Holy crap is the drive from Columbus to Oxford awful. Actually, it's not bad until you pass Dayton. Then it's a matter of traversing on dark, rainy (in yesterday's case) rural highways until you get there. I think I had forgotten who awful the trek was.

- This was my third UD road game against a MAC school, and Millett Hall was the worst of the three. The first trip was to Akron last year, and while James A. Rhodes Arena looks like a large high school gym, the sight lines are fine and the atmosphere is OK. Toledo's basketball team sucked last year and sucks now, but Savage Hall is pretty nice. It's a clear No. 1 for me. Good seats, the rows are built up instead of on a slight slope (which puts you far from the action). Unfortunately, Millett Hall was bad. I didn't have high hopes. I knew it was a multipurpose facility, but it's just not good. First our seats didn't have a good angle, as you can tell from the blurry photo my wife took with her phone. You can't hear the PA announcer, the crowd noise seemed off. It was just a little disappointing. Miami has a pretty campus, but not a good basketball facility.

- As for the game, it was pretty much what I expected. UD would struggle out the game (and an 18-6 deficit counts) but would come back and probably win. The final couple of possessions were nervewracking, but it's just what I've come to expect for a Brian Gregory led team. They won't blow anyone out. At least it doesn't seem that way.

- Why does this team need to bleed its own blood this season before they start trying? The Flyers fell behind 18-6 before climbing back into it.

- Kurt Huelsman may have had his best game in a long time. At least in games I've been at. He actually wanted the ball and seemed to know what he wanted to do with it when he got it. Same could be said of young Josh Benson in his limited action.

- Charlie Coles still looks like the Cryptkeeper. He's still a great coach, though.

- Miami was led early by Kenny Hayes, who is probably in his 30s by now. I read that he's a fifth-year senior, but I'm pretty sure that's a typo. It feels like was at Miami when I was still at UD, and I graduated in 2004.

- To call the crowd last night "late arriving" would be an understatement. The Miami fans arrived late and basically sat on their hands for most of the game. That was only after they got done standing in my sight line for most of the first half.

- A note to the unfortunately dumbass majority of UD's fanbase. Stop saying "Luuuuke" and save your love for a player that brings consistent value to the team. The fans should love Chris Johnson like UD Pride posters love unrealistic expectations. Chris Johnson is my man crush and I don't care who knows it.

- When my wife and I went to Minneapolis last season for the NCAA Tournament, I told her that Charles Little wore the Daddy Pants in the win against West Virginia, so in his honor, each game I'm going to give out the Charles Little Daddy Pants Player of the Game. It may not be the best player on the court, but the one who steps it up when he's needed. Thus, the first winner of Los Pantalones del Padre is London Warren for his final two free throws. I was fairly certain he'd miss, and I'm really happy he didn't.

Good Times

2009-12-02T10:44:00.004-05:00

I will make my first trip to Millett Hall tonight to watch the Flyers and RedHawks. I hope UD won't need this type of miracle, but who knows?

As for the game itself, it really seems like this is one that UD should win, but it never really works out that way. The Flyers have only won in Oxford three times since 1984, which is only slightly better than the zero times they've won at Xavier in my lifetime.

Charlie Coles will have his team ready as usual, and Miami will probably make 3/4 of their three-pointers because that's what always seems to happen against UD this season. Hopefully the Flyers can weather the storm and leave with the victory.

I've only been to Miami's campus once. It was with a good friend of mine who was meeting his girlfriend. We were both students at UD at the time and his lady was a Miami student. Seemed like a nice enough campus. I know the whole "popped collar" Miami stereotype, but I didn't see it that day. Doesn't mean it's not true, though.

This also be another stop on "MAC World Tour" I started last year with my wife. We went to the games in Toledo and Akron last year.

It's Been A While

2009-11-30T15:14:00.004-05:00

Hey Guys! Remember me? I'm the person who probably checked in on this blog more than anyone else over the summer to see if new stuff was posted, only to leave disappointed.

So why didn't I post anything? Well, something about working 12-14 hours a day, 7 days a week over the summer just ruins your hopes of contributing to a college basketball blog.

Anyhow, I wanted to weigh in on the Flyers early season results thus far.

First off, let me start with my preseason thoughts which should have been posted about a month ago. This year's team has a chance to do something special. Ten of the top 11 scorers back, some experienced stars with some young up-and-comers. I've gone on record as saying "if the Flyers are ever going to make some noise on a national stage, this is the year it's going to happen."

Now, onto the season...

The Creighton win was interesting in that it was a double digit victory, yet I didn't feel good about the game after it was over. The Blue Jays were without a couple of their players, and yet still put up 80 points on the Flyers. I'm not going to argue with a 10 point win, but I was a little bit skeptical.

Then the Flyers went to Puerto Rico, and knocked off Georgia Tech in the first round. I was ecstatic. I was bouncing around the office that afternoon, ready to purchase my Sweet 16 tickets. I even found myself saying "even if they lose to Villanova, this is still a successful tournament." My reasoning was you get to play a top 5 team, and barring a complete blowout loss, it'll help the overall package in terms of record, quality opponents, etc.

So the Flyers to go on to lose to Villanova, but at least made it interesting at the end. While I'm never happy when they lose, I was pleased with the second half effort and the fact that the Flyers were able to compete with the big boys.

Then Kansas State happened. The loss to the Wildcats turned a great tournament for UD into a bad one. I'm sorry, but going 1-2 in Puerto Rico after beating the Yellow Jackets in round one wasn't acceptable. You had to go 2-1 in that tournament. Say what you want, but I was majorly disappointed with the loss and the effort in that game.

Additionally, the Flyers dropped out of the top 25 with two losses in Puerto Rico. Now that might not seem like a big deal at this point in the season, but to me, I think it's huge. How many wins will it take to climb back into the top 25? What about the national exposure that comes with being in the top 25? While some may call this petty, I think being able to see your team's name on ESPN's Bottom Line over and over again is big. It creates national exposure, you get your highlights on TV more often, and people talk about you when you are in the top 25. No one talks about the "Others Receiving Votes".

So now we get to Saturday, and the Flyers struggled mightily with a Towson ballclub at UD Arena. I realize that there are very rarely 20+ point blowouts in college basketball anymore, but there's no way that UD should have been dicking around with a team like Towson. These are the games that need to be controlled from beginning to end. Yes, kudos to the team for rallying back and getting the victory. But try putzing around with Xavier, LaSalle, or any team in the NCAA tournament, and you won't be able to put together a 24-5 run to get back in it.

Anyhow, looking at the schedule, UD should be able to reel off seven or eight wins in a row, with a game at George Mason being the only possible stumbling block. But with the A-10 doing it's best to lose big games early in the season (UD's lost twice, Xavier has lost to Marquette and Baylor, LaSalle has fallen by double digits in their big games), you don't want to start playing tight games with inferior teams.

I'm still sold on this team being in the NCAA's, and I still think they'll be in a top 25 team most of the season. But the play has been a lot sketchier in the early season than I had hoped, and my level of concern has risen despite the fact that we aren't out of November yet. And in the immortal words of Roy Flynn, the legendary Flyer TV administrator, that's NG (not good).

Towson Second Half

2009-11-28T14:54:00.063-05:00

2:55 p.m. - The second half couldn't be as bad as the first, right? The rebounding wasn't that bad for the Flyers, but they took 11 fucking threes. They fall in love with those long jumpers and they simply don't make enough of them to justify it.

3:01 p.m. - UD is the first team out of the lockerroom. I assume Brian Gregory may have voiced his displeasure during the break.

3:03 p.m. - The Flyers start the half by goaltending a Towson shot. Goodie. 44-35, after a UD basket.

3:05 p.m. - Towson's zone is just killing them. 47-35.

3:06 p.m. - Marcus Johnson wakes from his slumber and makes a three.

3:07 p.m. - Chris Wright is 6 of 7 from the foul line. He's the only one who apparently realizes this game counts. Towson leads 49-39.

3:09 p.m. - 49-41 after a London Warren running layup. But Towson answers with a three, naturally.

3:10 p.m. - Media timeout at 15:37. 52-41 Towson. My wife and I made the trip to Minneapolis last March to watch the Flyers in the NCAA Tournament. I'm thinking we'll be able to save that money this March.

3:12 p.m. - Desperation has set in. Fabrizius has made a shot inside the arc. 54-43.

3:13 p.m. - Remember when UD had a great defense? That was awesome.

3:16 p.m. - A layup and a foul for Towson. RaShawn Polk misses the FT, but it's 56-43.

3:18 p.m. - Towson can't miss from beyond the arc. Timeout UD. 59-43.

3:20 p.m. - Towson's 2-3 zone is stifling UD offensively and the Flyer defense is still just awful. I have no idea what they're problem is. Did they read their press clippings this season? Do they miss Charles Little that much? Were they just that lucky last year? Perhaps it's all three...

3:21 p.m. - Stop me if you've heard this before, but Towson just made another three. It's a 17-point game.

3:22 p.m. - Media timeout 11:14. 62-45 Towson.

3:23 p.m. - Who should feel worse today? UD or Oklahoma State's football team?

3:26 p.m. - I made the mistake of looking over at the UD Pride forums. The Blackburn boys are right about those people. There's a thread about how there's a curse on the alternate unis. I love talking about unis and what I like and don't like, but the players in them are what matters. When they play like this, it doesn't matter what they're wearing they'll lose.

3:28 p.m. - 64-50 Towson after a Fabrizius basket.

3:29 p.m. - 7:54 left. Still 64-50 with Towson heading to the line.

3:32 p.m. - UD is in the double bonus. They still have an outside chance if they make free throws, but who honestly expect that to happen? Wright does make both, however, to cut it to 64-52.

3:33 p.m. - Towson misses an open three...for the first time today. Marcus Johnson then makes a driving layup and was fouled. UD cuts the lead to 10 pending the FT. The FT is good. The deficit is nine, 64-55, with 7:31 left. Towson TO.

3:34 p.m. - UD on a 9-0 run after falling behind by 18.

3:35 p.m. - Towson makes a jumper to stop the bleeding but UD answers with a three to cut it to eight.

3:36 p.m. - Chris Johnson, my man crush, drains a three! Timeout Towson. 66-61. The crowd is finally back in it. 6:28 to go. Towson with 10 team fouls. UD with seven, FYI.

3:38 p.m. - Towson's Polk heads to the line shooting a one-and-one. Makes both. 68-61. 6:05 left.

3:39 p.m. - Chris Johnson misses a three, Towson using all of the shot clock, but turns it over out of bounds. 5:20. 68-61.

3:40 p.m. - Nice pass to Wright from Warren, but he couldn't hold on. Jump ball, UD keeps possession.

3:41 p.m. - Lucky foul for UD. Franklin runs into Warren trying to force a steal. 4:57 with London at the line. Misses the first. Makes the second. 68-62.

3:42 p.m. - A handcheck foul on Warren, his fourth. Morris for Towson heads to the line with 4:27 left. Makes first. Misses second. 69-62.

3:43 p.m. - Perry with an open three. 69-65. Then an offensive foul on Towson. Media timeout at 3:44. 69-65.

3:45 p.m. - It's not just the basketball team that's seemed off today. The pep band isn't having it's best day, either.

3:46 p.m. - Chris Johnson misses a three, Towson rebound. After a Towson miss, Wright dunks! 69-67.

3:47 p.m. - Towson turnover when Morris throws it away! UD can tie. 2:36 left.

3:48 p.m. - Paul Williams misses a jumper. Towson rebound. Then Towson throws it away again. 1:56.

3:49 p.m. - UD drains shot clock... Chris Johnson makes a three!!! UD 70-69. Towson misses a deep three! UD rebound and timeout! I love me some Chris Johnson. 54 seconds left.

3:50 p.m. - Per Larry Hansgen, UD has outscored Towson 24-5 in the last nine minutes.

3:51 p.m. - Paul Williams with an open three!!! UD 73-69. Good ball movement to find Williams alone! Timeout Towson!! 31.1 left.

3:52 p.m. - I'm going to hate this team so much this year.

3:53 p.m. - Sophomores have come through again today. Chris Johnson and Paul Williams with big threes.

3:54 p.m. - After a missed Towson three, Towson offensive rebound and another miss, UD grabs the rebound and will go to the line. Williams with the big rebound. Timeout again. Seven seconds left.

3:55 p.m. - Towson has not scored in four minutes.

3:56 p.m. - Williams makes one of two, but Wright grabs the final rebound! UD wins 74-69. Holy shit.

4:06 p.m. - Well, that was certainly something. My wife and I are heading to a wedding tonight. Good thing it's open bar.

Towson Game Thread

2009-11-28T13:59:00.033-05:00

1:59 p.m. - Why not get back into the swing of things with a game thread? The Flyers shouldn't have any trouble against the Tigers of Towson, but you never know. If UD rebounds like it did in Puerto Rico, it could make me an Angry Matt.

2:02 p.m. - The Flyers are currently being introduced. They're wearing royal blue uniforms today, which I'm totally OK with. Unlike the godawful black set, blue is a UD color (just like the light blue they've worn the past two years). I'm watching this online with college football games on the tube (muted so I can listen to Larry and Bucky, natch). Good times.

2:05 p.m. - We start with a Chris Wright dunk. Good times again.

2:06 p.m. - And I should mention that the unis look good. The blue isn't too dark, which I worried about. Huelsman gives up an easy Towson bucket but responds on the other end. Flyers 4-2.

2:07 p.m. - 6-2 UD after a Chris Johnson layup. He's starting today, and so did Mickey Perry. London Warren did not start because he missed a team meeting. He's already subbed in in place of Perry, though.

2:08 p.m. - Towson's center misses an open dunk. I'd make fun of him, but I can barely tough the net myself. UD 8-2.

2:09 p.m. - Marcus Johnson's first jumper of the game clanks off the side of the backboard. Ugh...

2:11 p.m. - Back-to-back threes ties the game. 8-8.

2:12 p.m. - 15:17 left. Media timeout with UD up 11-8 after a Mickey Perry three.

2:15 p.m. - Robert Nwankwo, Towson's center, looks just as bad as Huelsman. Yeah, that bad. Luke Fabrizius misses a three and then fouls a Towson shooter who makes the basket. I don't get the Fabrizius love at all. If this UD team needs Fabrizius to be a major contributor this year, get ready for a disappointing NIT season.

2:18 p.m. - Chris Wright makes a pair of FTs to give UD a 13-11 lead.

2:19 p.m. - Wright dunks again. I don't know how you can not cover him. But Townson leads 19-15 after a pair of threes.

2:20 p.m. - Stop me if you've heard this before, but Huelsman gets the ball in the paint and does absolutely nothing with it. Media timeout with UD trailing by four. 11:43 left in the half.

2:22 p.m. - UD getting outrebounded yet again. By another team they are bigger than.

2:23 p.m. - Wright with an and-one. He makes the FT to cut the deficit to 19-18. Wright already has 11 points.

2:24 p.m. - Paul Williams looks for a kickout pass, but he threw it into the third row behind the Towson bench. In his defense, the old lady was open.

2:26 p.m. - Fabrizius makes a three to give UD the lead. Timeout Towson. 21-19 with 9:12 to go.

2:28 p.m. - Huelsman make a shot in the paint. Yes, you read that right. 23-19. Fabrizius has three rebounds. Yes, you read that right as well.

2:30 p.m. - Marcus Johnson dunks to increase the lead. 25-19. If this were in Puerto Rico, Johnson would have missed the dunk and possibly exploded.

2:31 p.m. - Media timeout at 7:07. 25-21. I was going to mention how much I liked having the DDN's new UD GameTracker this season, but it hasn't been updated today. Oh well. It really helped me when the Flyers were in Puerto Rico and I was stuck at work.

2:33 p.m. - Towson takes a 26-25 lead after a long three. This was after UD missed three straight threes on the previous possession. Ugh.

2:34 p.m. - 29-27 after UD answers the three with a basket and Towson drains another long three.

2:35 p.m. - Towson is 6 of 10 from beyond the arc. It seems more like 9 of 10.

2:36 p.m. - Another Towson three. 32-27.

2:37 p.m. - Fabrizius, trying to silence my criticism, takes a charge.

2:39 p.m. - Towson's Josh Thornton has made all five of his fucking three-point shots today. 35-28.

2:40 p.m. - Towson leads 35-30 at the under four timeout. Searcy just made a basket and was fouled to go into the TO.

2:41 p.m. - Towson is 8 of 13 from beyond the arc as a team. Who do they think they are? Luke Fabrizius? Jimmie Binnie? Searcy makes the FT to cut the lead to 35-31.

2:42 p.m. - Ice cream sandwich break, FTW.

2:45 p.m. - So I got married during PB&B's downtime. What's the best part? My wife has the remote and is rotating between the good college football games while I do this game thread.

2:46 p.m. - Thornton makes yet another fucking three. He has 20 points. Towson leads 42-33.

2:47 p.m. - That's the score after a fucking awful first half.

2:54 p.m. - Quick Stats...
Leading scorers
Towson - Josh Thornton 20 (7-8 shooting, 6-6 3s)
UD - Chris Wright 13 (4-5 shooting, 5-5 FTs)
Team stats
Rebounding - UD 20, Towson 13.
Off. Rebounding - UD 7, Towson 2.
Team shooting - Towson 51.6 (16-31), UD 40.0 (12-30)
Team 3s - Towson 64.3 (9-14), UD 18.2 (2-11).

Ain't Dead Quite Yet

2009-11-25T15:44:00.005-05:00

Yeah, I know, we haven't updated with any substantial in a long time. But we're not dead yet. Stay tuned, hopefully we'll get things going soon.

And by "we'll" I probably just mean Stonemill and I. Possibly Broadcasting Fool. Who knows?

It's October

2009-10-01T11:14:00.000-04:00

Get Pumped.

Philadelphia Woman Channels Sammy Smith

2009-05-28T08:34:00.002-04:00

At least Sammy had the decency not to involve any small children or Flyers teammates.

Authorities already had their doubts about Bonnie Sweeten's elaborate abduction story. But it completely fell apart when police learned they had all sorts of surveillance camera pictures of Sweeten and her 9-year-old daughter, Julia, boarding a flight bound for Orlando, Florida.

Less than two hours after Sweeten said she was calling 911 from the trunk of a Cadillac and that she and her daughter had been abducted, security cameras at Philadelphia International Airport captured images of the two boarding a plane for Orlando. Law enforcement sources say they were boarding the plane without coercion.

http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/national_world&id=6835891

Some More Early Love for the Flyers

2009-05-25T21:05:00.003-04:00

This one from someone who covers St. Joes in Pennsylvania:

http://www.examiner.com/x-7770-Saint-Josephs-Hawks-Examiner~y2009m5d24-A-way-too-early-preview-of-the-200910-Atlantic-10-mens-basketball-season-4th1st-place

1. Dayton- A team that went under the radar nationally for much of the year, Dayton won 27 games last season, including a win over West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament. The Flyers will look to take one more step and win a regular season title in the Atlantic 10 this season. The pieces are certainly in place, as the only regular contributor that the Flyers lose is Charles Little. Little was a steady player as a power forward, but the Flyers are a relatively deep squad which will be predicated on defense. The one recruit brought in by Brian Gregory, who earned himself a contract extension after another solid season, is Matt Kavanaugh, a 6’9 forward/center. It is likely that he will be able to contribute right away as a member of the rotation. If there was ever a year for Dayton to knock Xavier off of their perch, its this season.

Notice the number one in front of Dayton. Yes, he has picked UD to win the A-10.

A Super Early Top 25

2009-04-10T13:44:00.002-04:00

Andy Katz posted his early predictions for next year's top 25, and Mr. Katz has the Flyers ranked 23rd.

Here's what he has to say: "The Flyers were second to Xavier this season, and next season might be more of the same. That's OK. That shouldn't keep them out of the Top 25. Dayton will be one of the more experienced teams with Chris Wright, Marcus Johnson and Rob Lowery, the latter two rising seniors. Dayton coach Brian Gregory doesn't have superstars, but he has players who understand his system and are winners."

Nice to see a little early hype for what has the potential to be UD's best season in a long time.

Former UD Assistant Now a Head Coach

2009-04-02T16:28:00.001-04:00

Shaka Smart was an assistant at UD while I was there, and now he's the head coach at VCU. That's really all I have, but it's sort of relevant to this blog.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/11582796

Crappy, Shaky Videos From UD's Win

2009-03-25T11:50:00.003-04:00

Despite 16-of-72 Today, Season a Huge Success

2009-03-22T17:39:00.004-04:00

Like the rest of you, I was hoping for a better performance certainly, but like most of you, I was also very realistic. Heck, I'm the one who flat out said I thought UD would lose by double-digits to WVU, so I guess I can't complain, and I won't.

I'll give Kansas and Bill Self a lot of credit. They certainly didn't underestimate UD's athleticism, and they challenged every shot the Flyers took. I tend to agree with the comment in the post below about Bill Self being the best coach (or one of the best) in the nation. He certainly has done a remarkable job this year, especially when you consider everything they lost after winning the title last season.

Now back to the Flyers. I really don't care what the final score was today, or how poorly the team shot from the field (22.2%). By any standard, this season was a huge success.

-The team had 27 wins, including solid regular season victories over Marquette and Xavier.
-Dayton made it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 5 years
-The team won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in 19 years

Those three things alone make it a great season, particularly the last one. Plus, with only Charles Little graduating, you have to feel good about next season as well.

Sure it sucks to lose today, but I'm really not that broken up about it. I've already switched into the "Let's be happy for what this team achieved, and let's get geared up for a great run next season" mode.

Congrats to the Flyers on a great year, and here's to more success in 2009-2010.

A Kansas Preview

2009-03-21T15:34:00.005-04:00

To get a feel for the biggest game in the history of college basketball (no hyperbole on this blog), I did the whole Q&A thing with Cory Brenneman of Rock Chalk Talk. Check out their site here if you wanted to see what a real blog's supposed to look like as opposed to this shady operation. It's kind of embarrassing really. I asked questions that I thought might make me sound either funny or smart, and Cory was gracious enough to humor me with answers. If you want to find out that Tyrel Reed is the name of a white guy, how a kid from Kansas with a dream could have gone so terribly, terribly wrong, and how many pancakes Mark Mangino eats in one sitting, read on my friends. Read on.

Peanut Butter and a Blanket: So we all know KU won it all last year. Then the team lost its top three players to the NBA. How much of a rebuilding year did you expect this to be? And how pleased are KU fans to have won the Big 12 and earned a 3 seed in this tournament?

Cory Brenneman: Actually, we lost more than just the top three. We lost all 5 starters, and the second guy off of our bench. Really, in what was a 7-man rotation we basically had, we are returning one player (Sherron Collins), plus the 8th member who saw, at most, 4 minutes a game (Cole Aldrich). So, yes, this was definitely a planned rebuilding year. Despite the notorious Final Four-or-bust expectations at the basketball bluebloods, like Kansas, we all are very impressed. I did a post at the beginning of conference play, trying to convince some people that, if everything broke right, we could maybe tie Oklahoma for the Big 12 title. So, we've come quite far. However, now that we're here, we aren't just willing to settle. This season is already a success, in my mind, but that doesn't mean that we don't want more. Realistically, once we saw the brackets the goal became the Sweet 16. It won't be easy, but it's feasible.

PBB: What were the reasonable expectations for this year's Kansas squad? I think there is a chance (not sure how large) that UD will be content or complacent just to have gone this far. I take it KU fans don't have that same concern?

CB: The goals for most Kansas fans, me included, saw a Top 4 finish in the Big 12 and a single-digit seed in the NCAA Tournament. Maybe, if we improved a bunch, we could win a game in the Tournament. If you were a big dreamer back in November, you thought the Sweet 16 was the ultimate goal. This season has, obviously, already passed those expectations, and is already, in my mind, a success. But this is still Kansas, and they won't be willing to settle with a single victory. Even in such a rebuilding year, a 2nd round upset wouldn't look good in the history books of Kansas, where, in 10 years, would forget this was a senior-less team. With Sherron Collins leading the way, I doubt we'll be truly satisfied until we are cutting down the nets for the second year in a row. Obviously, there is an infentesimal chance of this actually occurring, but that's the mindset of this team.

PBB: What kind of defense does Bill Self like to play? Dayton is a pretty poor outside shooting team. Do you expect we'll see any zone tomorrow?

CB: Bill Self is a disciple, of sorts, of Larry Brown. And just like Brown, Self is extremely stubborn in his M2M defense. Now, we play it just about as well as anyone in the country (maybe not this year, but we had the best Adj. Defense in the country the two years prior to this one), so there isn't too much to complain about. But it took a 14-point deficit before we switched defenses against Texas a couple of weeks ago, and that's a team with all of one good outside shooter. So, bet your bank account we start out the game in M2M, and we likely won't switch out of it unless it gets ugly. Then, Self will be willing to switch it up, with his favorites being the Triangle-and-2 and the Box-and-1. Rarely, if ever, do we go to a pure 2-3 zone.

PBB: Does Sherron Collins have to be KU's primary ball handler, or can any other players help him out at the point and at least help him get the ball over half court? Dayton will press and try to wear Collins down over the course of 40 minutes. He already plays 35 minutes per, so do you see this strategy being effective?

CB: Sherron Collins is definitely our point guard, but he actually rarely brings the ball up the floor. Tyshawn Taylor or Tyrel Reed almost always are tasked with dribbling the ball up, then (usually) handing it off to Sherron at the top of the key to get our offense into action. This is all, as you said, an effort to limit the pressure Sherron faces, so he can play more minutes. If you press, I imagine he will bring it up more, because we trust him more than our other ballhandlers, but it still won't be a whole lot. We have fared terribly, by-and-large, against the press all year, so yes, I think a press would be a brilliant strategy for Gregory. We just can't handle it, for whatever reason.

PBB: The Flyers have some sick athletes. After the WVU win, Bob Huggins made a comment that he didn't think his players realized just how athletic Dayton is from watching them on film. No way we have better athletes than KU, right? And no way KU is surprised by Dayton's athleticism, right? Right?!?

CB: This year, we will probably be out-athleted by you guys. We've been out-athleted a couple of times already this season, which is definitely a new thing for us Kansas fans. We primarily go with a 8-man rotation, and two of those are white kids from smalltowns in Kansas (Brady Morningstar is from Lawrence, which isn't that small, while Tyrel Reed is from a 2,000-person town) that aren't all that good of athletes. We still have some athletic freaks (Tyshawn Taylor, Cole Aldrich, Sherron Collins), but not nearly as many as you're used to seeing, and it pales in comparison to last year's team. But, to answer your other question, I doubt we'll be surprised. Self isn't the best coach (well, at least we think so) in the country for nothing, and he's getting them prepared as we speak, I'm sure, for Chris Wright and Company. Particularly with the pair of embarrassing end-of-season losses to Texas Tech and Baylor, this team is incredibly focused. There will be no overlooking.

PBB: Say Kansas center Cole Aldrich gets his 15 and 10, but the Flyers hold Collins below his scoring average, who is the next most likely Jayhawk to step up and make me hate him and his family for the rest of his life?

CBB: There are two answers. All year long, the third scorer has been the key to any success we have, but it's never been one person. However, there are two main culprits: Marcus Morris and Tyshawn Taylor. Morris is a 6'7" freshman who plays the 4. He struggled a bunch at the beginning of the year, and still isn't a solid lowpost offensive threat, but he will kill you on the offensive glass. Taylor (guard) is much more likely to explode, though. He reminds me a lot of a freshman Sherron Collins: will make plenty of stupid plays, including his mandatory once-a-game travel when he slips on the floor, and isn't a consistent shooter, but can get to the bucket with ease and makes enough threes to make you respect the shot.

PBB: Dayton goes really deep. You will see at least 10 guys play tomorrow, if not 11. How deep do the Jayhawks go, and is UD's depth a concern at all?

CB: Our rotation is very nebulous. We have a core rotation of 8 players, all of which will see plenty of action. However, two others have seen some PT as a part of the rotation at times, particularly Travis Releford. So, if I had to guess, I'd say that we'll play 9 players tomorrow. Dayton's depth shouldn't cause us any problems, but it just takes away the advantage we've had over most teams, including North Dakota State on Friday morning. We're used to being able to throw out more bodies than the opponent, and while I think we can handle the other team having more options to go to, we will lose our advantage.

PBB: Got anybody who matches up well with Chris Wright? Which Kansas defender will be the given the task of stopping him from getting to the rack and dunking in your grill all game long?

CB: No. I'm angry about it, too. It will have to be the Morrises (Marcus has a twin brother, Markieff) and Mario Little, I suppose. All are newcomers this year, though, and none of them are all-that-good defensively. There should be plenty of doubling when Wright takes the ball down low, but I imagine that they will often be left on an island. If they can perform admirably out there, then we should be in good shape. If not, as I'm expecting, then it should be a close game throughout.

PBB: How is KU overall as a defensive team, especially regarding stopping dribble penetration?

CB: We're good. Not as good as usual, but still 14th in the country. As of late, though, we've struggled a bunch with dribble penetration, and that could give us some trouble. Ben Woodside of NDSU had no trouble getting into the lane time-after-time, which was very disconcerting. If I were Self, I'd back off your guards (particularly London Warren), since they are poor three-point shooters. We'll see how we defend, though, and if we play tight M2M, you all shouldn't have too much trouble getting into the lane.

PBB: You run a Kansas blog and, I'm assuming here, live somewhere in that state. Yet you are going to Xavier next year. Why? Do you hate me? Hate yourself? Love ugly, white chicks? Explain your reasoning if you'd be so kind.

CB: I grew up in Kansas, yes, but have since moved to Lexington, Kentucky, and now currently live in California. I wanted to head back towards the midwest for college, and didn't want to go to Kansas. I came up with a list of requirements for my college: small, less than 10,000, D-1 basketball program (preferrably a good one) and a Sports Management Major, because that's what I want to do after college. Xavier showed up on the list, and I liked the research I did. So no, no hate is involved.

PBB: You have the misfortune of being entered in a pancake-eating contest with Mark Mangino. He sees you and immediately spots you 30 pancakes just to make things "fair." You have 15 minutes to eat as many as possible (butter, maple syrup, washing them down with your drink of choice are all legal). What's the final tally?

CB: I would lose. That's all you need to know.

PBB: KU wins if:

CB: If the Morrises play well and we hit our threes. Those are the two keys, to me, of any potential game, particularly in games against teams like Dayton. With how tough your defense is, we will have to hit our open perimeter shots or we won't score that often. And the Morris twins absolutely must at least handle Chris Wright, or we could be toast. Plus, we need their extra offensive rebounds and second-chance points to round out our offensive attack.

PBB: Dayton shocks the world if:

CB: The above doesn't happen? I'll also say that we'll lose if Sherron Collins wants to win it all by himself. He is incredible, and we wouldn't have made the Tournament without him, but sometimes he takes too much of the load on his own shoulders and tries and single-handedly shoot his way to a victory. It rarely ends well for us.

PBB: Give us a prediction on the final score and the player of the game.

CB: My favorite player will come up huge, Marcus Morris, and he will do a fine job on Chris Wright. He will also provide plenty of offensive rebounds and things, and he'll come out of nowhere. Still, Cole Aldrich is the Player of the Game because Dayton has no answer for his massive frame. Plus, dude's playing 10 minutes from his house. Gotta represent in front of the fam.

Kansas wins, 72-61, in a defensive struggle. Dayton can't shoot well enough to hang with Kansas, though.

WOW

2009-03-21T13:02:00.003-04:00

I honestly had no idea what to title this post. I thought about calling it, "Holy shit we just won an NCAA Tournament game," which is a text message I either sent or received about a dozen times yesterday. After struggling to find the word(s), I decided that "wow" would sum it up just fine. So much has already been said about yesterday's win, so there isn't a whole lot for me to add. But I'll give you a few things:

Bob Huggins is a really good basketball coach, but that was not his finest hour. A lot of people will chalk it up to Huggins being a choker in the Tournament, but let's not forget that he was 13-3 in the NCAA First Round and 13-1 all time against UD going into yesterday's game. Dude can coach, but he made some head-scratching decisions yesterday. Most notably, leaving Ruoff in with three fouls so he could pick up his fourth with 18:00 to go. Having the other team's best shooter on the bench for 10+ minutes in the second half sure didn't hurt the Flyers.

Also, Tom over at the Blackburn Review alluded to this but didn't actually say it. I just got the feeling that West Virginia heard we had some sick athletes and thought, "Shit we play Louisville, UConn and Pitt every week. We see athletes every night in the Big East. We ain't worried 'bout it." Then Chris Wright dunked on them again and again and again and, before you knew it, it was 27 points and 10 boards en route to a big fat mother-fucking Flyers W.

"I don't know after watching them on film that our guys knew they were as explosive as they were," Huggins said. To me, that's like saying, "We knew but we didn't really know till it was too late."

From the game recap, "Wright's fifth dunk of the game, a LeBron-like hammer in transition, punctuated Dayton's first NCAA tournament win since an 88-86 triumph over Illinois in the first round in 1990."

Read that again and tell me that the words "Lebron-like," "Dayton," and "NCAA tournament win" all being in the same sentence and it actually making sense doesn't cause you to tear up a little.

I was talking about text messages earlier. If a chick you haven't talked to since you graduated UD texts you, "Are you watching this game?" ... What is an appropriate response? Is, "No, dumb bitch, I only went to every single home game at UD for four fucking years and about 15 road games. I now watch the majority of UD games these days on a tiny-ass laptop with the fuzziest picture you can imagine. BUT, now that we're in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004 and playing on CBS, I decided to sit this one out." okay? What about, "Any chance you dropped 20 pounds and now live in the greater Cincinnati area?"?

And finally, it is rarely pretty but it has been effective 27 times this year. "There's times that we don't play very well," Gregory said. "But we never back down."

That's so key, the not backing down part. I'm so used to Dayton teams coming out like we did against Tulsa in that infamous 13-over-4 upset. The Flyers look scared shitless to be under the bright lights and on the big stage; then by time they recover, it's too late. They've dug themselves too deep a hole to climb out of. Yesterday, the only hole was a 3-2 deficit. After that, the boys in red never trailed. In what were arguably the two biggest games of the season (X at home and yesterday), UD was behind for a total of about 30 seconds. That's just how we do, I guess.

Anyway, I have a lot more to say but I don't even really remember it all. Still flying high from that one. We're also working on a KU preview. Look for that coming up early this evening.

Road Trip Part 3 (aka Greatest. Trip. Ever.)

2009-03-20T23:46:00.015-04:00

Your new desktop background. You're welcome, by the way. What an awesome day. UD won a NCAA Tournament game. And I was there! Here's a quick rundown of my first ever day in Minnesota.

The Future Mrs. and I got up early and drove from Menononie, Wis., to Bloomington in Minnesota. That's where our hotel for tonight is. We couldn't check in when we got there (we really didn't think they would, but we tried. We then drove to the Mall of America and parked there. We then took the Light Rail to downtown Minneapolis. By the way, the Light Rail is a great idea that more cities should adopt. By the way, this is a photo I took from the car. I believe this is St. Paul, not Minneapolis.

A photo I took right when I got off the Light Rail in front of the Metrodome. It's flipping cold in Minnesota. And windy.

The sign in front of the dome promoting Friday's games.

The view from Sect. 6. The Metrodome is nice enough, but I don't know why they put it here. It's too big and even the good seats are far away.

The North Dakota State Bison. The crowd in the dome was probably 80 percent NDSU. I joked that everyone in the state must be here. I'm not sure I wasn't on to something.

Kansas fans hate Missouri.

The Jayhawks outlasted a very game NDSU team. The game was remarkably competitve in person. Not sure how it translated on TV.

Holy shit! I'm at a UD tournament game! I honestly did not take that many photos during the game (too into it). I tried to take a couple of videos during timeouts. I'll try to add them another time.

Dr. Willie Morris hamming for the camera. Of course he wore this suit. The Kansas band (in the background) totally loved the suit, though.

After the win, Brian Gregory and Chris Wright were interviewed by Len Elmore. How awesome.

I can't get over what a great day it has been. I'm watching the late games (OSU in 2OTs!) and drinking some Sam Adams White Ale. It's a great cap to an awesome day. I have no voice. My head hurts. I have spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars this week. Unfortunately I won't be here on Sunday. Real life beackons on Monday. That, and the good people at Enterprise would be pissed if the car didn't make it back.

But I wouldn't change a thing. I saw the Flyers win in the NCAAs. How awesome is that?!

Finally, I'll leave you with some game thoughts:

- Chris Wright > Everyone. That is all.

- What about Charles Little today?! Someone wore his Daddy Pants this afternoon. After watching him struggle around the rim all season, he found it today. A big effort by the senior.

- I spent a lot of my voice yelling at Kurt Huelsman to finish inside. He rarely did. His only basket was a goaltend of a shot that had no chance of going in. But his rebounding late was nothing short of clutch. As loud as I yelled when he frustrated me on Friday, I yelled even louder for him in the end.

- I like London Warren the more I watch him mature. Thomas did fine. Perry struggled, but oh well.

- A big thank you to the alumni association for passing out the towels the UD contingent was waving during the game. The Future Mrs. and I got ours at halftime. Pretty cool.

- After the NDSU/KU game, most of the Bison fans left. That allowed us to sit with the UD fans gathered near center court, which was awesome. Especially because no one checked our tickets.

WOOOOOOO!!!!1!!!1!!!!

2009-03-20T17:36:00.004-04:00

How awesome was that?

Chris Wright plays the game of his life, the game he and the rest of us dreamed about when he signed with the Flyers. Charles Little decides to become the go-to guy in the clutch and delivers the dagger. Even Kurt Huelsman came up with some big rebounds down the stretch.

And defense, boy was there some defense being played by the guys in red today.

This might only be the second or third time in the BG era that I've felt the Flyers were in complete control of a game against a big-time opponent. And they've never been in control quite like this.

They picked a hell of a time to do it.

UD vs. WVU Game Thread -- 2nd Half

2009-03-20T16:02:00.002-04:00

Everyone is watching, no one is coming here. Enjoy. We'll talk when it's over.

UD vs. WVU Game Thread - 1st Half

2009-03-20T14:42:00.012-04:00

I'm at work, so I can't really live blog. But I'll check in and invite you to leave comments to this post. If anyone wants to step up and live blog, knock yourself out.

I'll try to provide comments at each media timeout, provided my boss isn't looking over my shoulder.

Halftime: UD Leads 33-28
-I'll take it. Low scoring, always good for Dayton.
-I missed most of the final 8 minutes because of work stuff. I'll try to do better in the second half.
-Going back and looking at the stats, it looks like Chris Wright really picked it up down the stretch. He's at 11 points and 6 boards at halftime. More of the same could help UD to an upset.

Fourth Media Timeout: 3:47 to play, UD Leads 28-22
-Didn't see much. Work stuff.

Third Media Timeout: 7:38 to play, UD Leads 21-15
-Little back in, no worries there.
-Not a pretty game, big time favors Dayton.
-WVU is shooting about 30% so far.

Second Media Timeout: 11:15 to play, UD Leads 16-12
-Johnson with 8 points early, good start for him.
-WVU has been to the free throw line six times, UD has not been there yet.
-Chris Wright has two turnovers, not a good start for him.

First Media Timeout: 15:05 to play, UD leads 9-8.
-Little left with an injury, although doesn't look major.
-Pace favors Dayton so far, but a bad turnover let WVU get an easy two.
-UD doing a solid job on the boards early.

9 Point Dogs

2009-03-20T09:28:00.002-04:00

As of this morning, the Flyers are 9 point underdogs to West Virginia.

Just thought I'd let you know.

5 more years of BG

2009-03-20T09:15:00.004-04:00

We interrupt your NCAA madness to bring you this bit of news about the University of Dayton Flyers:

In the least surprising news of the day, the Flyers extend Brian Gregory's contact for another five years beyond the current deal, which was already through 2013. So he's now locked up through 2018 (verbal agreement so far, financials after the season ends).

http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/college/ud/2009/03/19/ddn031909spgregory.html

I would imagine this is primarily an insurance policy on both sides. Gregory has the long-term contract that every coach wants, and he can sell that to recruits. UD will probably include some clause about if Gregory gets offered jobs at bigger programs, then they get something in return.

Not really a major story in my opinion, but it's definitely worth noting.

Please feel free to return to your madness as we are about six hours away from tip-off.

Road Trip Part 2 (aka getting ready for tomorrow)

2009-03-19T23:15:00.004-04:00

No pictures. I put my camera away after the stop at Panera.

Greetings from Menomonie, Wis., which I didn't know existed until an hour ago. The Future Mrs. and I have stopped here, roughly 90 minutes from the Metrodome, for the night. We'll be up extra early tomorrow and on our way to Bloomington, where our hotel for Friday night is, then it's on to the Dome.

I still don't have a feeling for the game. This won't be my first NCAA tournament game in person, but it is my first UD tournament game. I want them to win, obviously, and I think they can. But I know deep down WVU may be better. I just want both games I see (NDSU/KU and UD/WVU) to be close and entertaining. And a Flyer win would just be fucking fantastic.

I'll try to post again after the game.

Road Trip Part 1 (aka why I'll never live in Indiana or Chicago)

2009-03-19T15:48:00.005-04:00

Greetings from Arlington Heights, Ill., where the Future Mrs. and I have stopped from lunch (Panera, bitches. Try the tomato soup.) We left suburban Columbus at 8:45 a.m. and our GPS said the trip to Minnesota would take more than 12 hours (the arrival time is CST). We may not make it all the way today, but we're going to get close.

Here's a photo I took at a red light in Lima, Ohio. We passed by the stadium further down the road. I guess it's the home of the Fighting Beans.

This sign straight up lied to me.

For good karma for tomorrow, we decided to drive past the campus of Valparaiso - a mid-major that posted a big upset years ago. The stop sign is in the way, naturally. By the way, Indiana is still as fucking boring as I remember.

Ah, the downtown Chicago skyline. Chicago's nice if you're walking. If you're driving, it's awful. I'm actually glad I'm not driving this weekend. The Future Mrs. is a far more agressive driver. I'm too passive for Chicago.

I'll post again if we stop somewhere with WiFi or if our hotel has WiFi.

The Official Predictions Thread

2009-03-18T16:29:00.001-04:00

Okay, I've been slacking on this blog, maybe worse than anyone. So let's see what everyone thinks. This is the official first round predictions thread. I want only a prediction for the final score of Friday's game against West Virginia. You can be realistic, you can be a homer, just tell me what you think.

I'll start.

West Virginia 72, Dayton 61

Sorry :(

Road Trip!

2009-03-17T11:06:00.002-04:00

A 24-hour round trip? Driving through boring ass states like Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin? Passing through my old stomping grounds of Beloit, Wis.? Probably being dragged to the Mall of America?

Why the fuck not?

The Future Mrs. and I will be leaving early Thursday morning for Minneapolis. The car has been rented. The tickets just got here this morning. It's go time. UD may lose by 30 on Friday, but I'll sure as fuck be there!

Stay tuned to PB&B later this week for updates from my trip. I'll be brining my laptop and if our stops have WiFi, I'll be updating the site.

We're Still Savoring It..

2009-03-17T10:21:00.001-04:00

The entire crew at Peanut Butter and a Blanket is still in "happy mode" about the Flyers making the tournament..that's why there's been no posts lately. I'm sur eour fine staff will have oodles of info to write before Friday's game (Tpoff is @ 3:40 with the venerable Gus Johnson!!!! SCORE)

In the meantime, it's time for our 2nd Annual Peanut Butter and a Blanket Bracket Challenge.

Click the link below to join and compete for the golden jar of jif!

http://pbflyers.mayhem.cbssports.com/

Password: sammy smith

Frank Igoudala Really Does Live!

2009-03-10T21:46:00.004-04:00

For those who watched the Duquesne game from the beginning, I'm sure you vividly remember the opening tip-off for Charles Little on Senior Night. If not, let me refresh your memory..

It looked very similar to a play that was run for another senior on his final night off the tipoff in 2004 against the Rhode Island Rams. That senior's name, Frank Igoudala. and so the lore of Frank Igoudala continues for another generation

They Really Are Saying LUUUKE

2009-03-07T20:53:00.002-05:00

"I tell you what, the big fella's got me a little excited, too." - Bucky Bockhorn

Me too, Bucky. Me too.

Luke Fabrizius has five first-half three pointers as the Flyers take a 13-point lead into halftime tonight against Duquesne.

Amazing. This game was nip-and-tuck until Mr. Fabrizius started raining threes.

Hopefully, the good times keep rolling.

Good, Bad and Awful

2009-03-06T09:38:00.008-05:00

(I'm glad Marcus Johnson isn't a senior)

Good:
- The game probably doesn't mean much in terms of the NCAA picture. It's just a loss to a ranked team on the road.
- UD still controls its destiny in terms of getting an A-10 bye.
- None of the players got hurt.
- Marcus Johnson (19 points) Charles Little (11) and Chris Wright (10) tried.
- The game was over early enough so that I could watch my DVR'd episode of 30 Rock.

Bad:
- Kurt Huelsman: I'm done explaining it.
- Luke Fabrizius: When the Flyers need him to play minutes that matter (10 last night) they'd fucked. Xavier puts a rock in the locker of the player who its coaching staff deems did not do a good job "defending the rock." Fabrizius should have a road cone in his locker today because that's all he was defensively.
- Every time the Flyers made a run, they'd do something stupid. Whether it was a bad offensive possession capped with a shot that had no chance of going in or playing 35 seconds of good defense only to give up an offensive rebound, whatever the worst thing they could do was they did.

(Either a missed shot or - most likely - a pump fake that will turn into a pass)

Awful:
- The pregame bullshit. You haven't won at Xavier since Jimmy Fucking Carter was in office. Shut the fuck up.
- The bench points? Xavier 31, UD 16. Ugh.
- Second-chance scoring? Xavier 26, UD 7. Fucking seven.
- Watching Xavier cut down the nets after another A-10 title.
- Foul trouble: Huelsman wasted no time getting into foul trouble and Chris Wright and London Warren was on the bench too much as well. I felt UD got almost all of the close calls when it came to charges/blocks when Xavier was at UD Arena. Xavier got all of them last night.
- And, yes, the uniforms. It was fitting they wore black because they played like they were at a fucking funeral. I don't care if the players like them or not. Fucking burn them, scoop up the ashes and bury them 20 feet underground and never speak about them again.

Searcy Out For Thursday

2009-03-04T19:40:00.004-05:00

So says the Dayton Daily News.

I can only assume UD's practice is similar to a UFC fight.

On Ugly Unis, Suits

2009-03-02T15:22:00.007-05:00

I have to admit that I am excited about UD's chances at Xavier this week. That's a big thing for me to admit, seeing how I am the most negative fan I know.

But there is one thing I'm not excited about.

I have no inside information, but I'm pretty sure this awful thing is going to be debuted on Thursday in front of a national television audience. There's no way UD would wear anything unusual on Senior Day, so that just leaves the Xavier game.

I get it, really. Try to do something different to try to break the losing streak that lasts longer than I've been alive. I really do.

But this is still just an awful look. I'll obviously want the Flyers to win on Thursday. But I'll hope they'll burn these monstrosities when they get home.

Maybe Gregory should join in and wear all black. Like this...

He couldn't look any worse than Rick Pitino looked recently.

Feeling A Little Better

2009-02-28T18:01:00.003-05:00

Phew. Now beat Xavier again.

Let's Not Get All Chicken Little..Yet

2009-02-24T09:59:00.004-05:00

If you're like any ~~Mets~~, ~~Jets~~ or Dayton Flyers fan you have that sense of impending doom anytime your team starts to slip up. It's the "other shoe is dropping" theory or better broken down, "The Charlie Brown Theory." Let me explain:

Charlie Brown and Lucy have this recurring gag that Charlie is going to kick the football while Lucy holds. Lucy knowingly sets Chuck up by saying she promises not to yank the ball away at the last second, making our dear Charlie fall. Charlie believes her, lines up the kick and as he's ready to wind up on the ball, Lucy pulls it away causing him to fall. This has occured god knows how many times and yet he still continues to try and kick that ball. This is how Dayton Flyer fans feel, we come so close and someone yanks the ball away from us.'

This is probably how you feel now after losing to St. Louis. In this case I'll be the reasonable one..

The Sky Is Not Falling!

Here's why:

1) St. Louis was not a bad loss - This is a much better team than anyone (including the Billikens) thinks. They are by far the hottest team in the A-14. Their RPI is close to and will likely dip under 100.

2) The Flyers might lose at Rhode Island..and that's ok. Once again, the A-14 is much better than is given credit for. Just look at the RPI rankings, the folowing teams are in the top 100:

Xavier, Dayton, Temple, St. Joe's, Rhode Island..even Duquesne!

Even the mainstream media realizes this. If you have checked Bracketology (and are like me and check 8 different ones, 3 times a day), you'll notice the Flyers have not sniffed the last four out column and have been pretty steady in the seeds between 7-10. Realize this, Dayton's body of work is much better and more solid than it was last year. They have already won 9 games in the conference, last year they won 8 during the regular season. They have also been more consistent (not shooting or scoring, but winning).

3) These are the new Dayton Flyers - They're a resilient bunch. They haven't had a losing streak, let alone back to back losses this year. They're hungry and confident. They're undefeated at home.

4) They're playing with house money - Raise your hand if you thought at the beginning of the season this team, with this schedule, would even be a consideration for an NCAA bid..ok hand down Bucky. This was an NIT team that was a year away. Maybe they've overachieved this year, or maybe we were wrong for selling them short.

Will I be a nervous wreck on Wed. night, absolutely, but if the Flyers go 1-1 in the next 2 games, things will be fine. If they don't..well than the hand goes in the blender

St. Louis 57, Dayton 49

2009-02-21T23:31:00.002-05:00

Damn this man and his uncanny ability to control the tempo of a game.

The Flyers shot 30 percent from the field, 26 percent after halftime. A game like that against the insanely annoying Billikens is not all that unexpected. It just would have been nice to pull out a win.

What do we think this means in terms of bracketology?

Some Good FN Photos

2009-02-18T11:59:00.004-05:00

A lot of us at PB&B are former Flyer Newers, and I thought I'd give the current crew a well-deserved shoutout for their awesome photo gallery from the Xavier game last week.

http://flyernews.com/gallery/4774

Ryan Kozelka and Will Hanlon did a great job capturing the atmosphere of the game and making me wish I had been there.

Bah! ... Wait, not bah ... No, Bah!

2009-02-16T13:33:00.006-05:00

In general, I don't worry about whether the Flyers are ranked in the Top 25 or not. It's a completely arbitrary list that has little to no effect on who makes it to the NCAA Tournament (read: the only thing I care about).

But this is bullshit. What more does this team have to do to get any recognition? First the Xavier game gets bumped off ESPN2 for a soccer game, now this shit.

So far, only the ESPN/USA Today poll is out, and UD is 26th. That's behind great teams like Utah "We just lost to Boise State and haven't played anyone of worth all year" State and LS "We lost at home to Xavier and play in the vastly overrated SEC" U. Bah!

~~The AP poll will be out later, but don't hold your breath. The Flyers were actually ranked higher in the ESPN/USA Today poll last week.~~

So it actually looks like UD will be ranked in the AP poll, according to the DDN's Tom Archdeacon. That's good, but it should still be higher than just No. 25. So, still, bah!

71-58

2009-02-11T21:52:00.001-05:00

I'm in.

Xavier Live Blog

2009-02-11T18:44:00.050-05:00

Since Uncreative doesn't want to blog angry, and since Broadcasting Fool probably considers himself a jinx after the Charlotte debacle, I'll go ahead and give this a shot. I promise precious few insights and many announcer criticisms. See you for tipoff.

6:55 - My TV says ESPN Classic has American Gladiators at 7. I assume that was before they bumped the game from ESPN 2. Though if the pessimists are right, I might prefer American Gladiators at some point this evening.

6:58 - I'll take this opportunity to say I have no feel for this game, much like I have no feel for any Brian Gregory team, ever. I wouldn't be shocked to see a win. The Flyers seem to get up for big games and if they shoot the ball well, they'll be in it. I also wouldn't be shocked to see a 20-point loss.

7:00 - The game has, in fact, pre-empted American Gladiators. The Arena appears to be rocking. We could use a good start to keep it that way.

7:01 - Bob Wichusen and Adrian Branch are your announcers. I was hoping for the Hometown Coach.

7:03 - My feed is jumpy. This is on TV. This is not supposed to happen. Is WHIO involved somehow?

7:04 - Well that's a start. London to the basket for the bucket and the foul. Eight seconds into the game. Free throw good.

7:06 - Nice little defense possession and a follow by Marcus Johnson. The first 56 seconds of this game have been awesome.

7:07 - Xavier's second trip ends in a shot clock violation. I don't know if the defense is that stifling or if the Muskies are sluggish, but I like it.

7:08 - This is the first game I've watched on TV, rather than the tiny, blurry internet broadcast. As a result, I can finally tell London Warren and Rob Lowery apart in regular game action.

7:10 - Two fouls on C.J. Anderson. Could be big. On the ensuing trip, Lowery drills a three. It's 8-1. This is the start we needed.

7:12 - Short jumper by Raymond fo Xavier's first field goal. It took four minutes.

7:16 - "They call Kurt Huelsman 'The Professional.'" I would like to know who calls him that, and how on earth they came up with it.

7:20 - Interesting stat: With 12:43 left, Xavier has had just six field-goal attempts.

7:21 - Nice steal by Paul Williams, and an awesome finish plus the foul from Marcus Johnson. He misses the free throw but the Flyers still lead by seven.

7:27 - Three-point play by Raymond and we've suddenly got a two-point game. This could be a crucial stretch. Xavier has taken a punch. Can the Flyers respond? Follow slam by Wright is a pretty good start.

7:28 - Lowery down with an injury. Holding his knee, and clearly in pain. Not good.

7:31 - Lowery is being helped off. Hopefully he's alright. For now, paging Stephen Thomas.

7:32 - Hey Stephen Thomas! A little floater on his first possession. Nicely done. Thank you for not transferring yet.

7:33 - Mickey Perry with a step back three? Why not? That's a 6-0 run since Xavier cut it to two.

7:41 - Palming called on Thomas. There are few things I hate more in college basketball than the random palming call. It's like refs carry a pager, and when it goes off, they have to call palming, just so everybody remembers that they can call it. Anyway, Raymond just hit a three, and it's down to a one-point lead. If the Flyers aren't forcing turnovers and are trying to go basket-for-basket, they're not going to win this game.

7:43 - Well maybe I spoke too soon. Perry matches Raymond's three with one of his own.

7:45 - As Brad Redford hits a three and starts on the path toward hateability, the surprisingly insightful Adrian Branch discusses Dayton's small margin of error. Xavier shoots well, the Flyers don't. They have to make that up somewhere.

7:47 - I have not officially expressed my love for Chris Johnson like some others, but I would like to go ahead and do that.

7:50 - Sean Miller was screaming at his team during the media timeout. When he screamed, it looked like he spit out a tooth.

7:56 - Mental lapse by Xavier leads to a Stephen Thomas steal and free throw. He's got five points, Perry has five and Searcy has six. Big contributions from those guys.

7:57 - Well, that was about as good a half as you could expect. Branch is right in saying that the Flyers' defensive rebounding has had a big impact. Limiting Xavier to one shot is pretty crucial. Also, the Flyers have done good job of not letting the Musketeers take control. I don't know how they've done it, because they never do it, but this is actually Dayton's kind of game. See you after halftime.

8:14 - Thirteen seconds into the half, Warren picks up a cheap third foul. Paging Stephen Thomas again.

8:16 - Shaky start to the half. I didn't think the Flyers needed much in the way of adjustments. Just needed to play the way they'd been playing. So far, not so good, but UD still in the lead.

8:19 - Chris Wright with a three, and all of a sudden the lead is seven and the crowd is in it.

8:21 - Xavier is all about quick answers tonight. Two dunks from the Muskies, the second after a bad miscommunication by the Flyers. Gregory takes a timeout.

8:28 - Chris Wright drills another three. WOW. Eight point lead and a timeout from Xavier. I like that Chris Wright wants to take over this game.

8:32 - So that depth that sometimes masquerades as a wealth of mediocrity? Not so much tonight. Paul Willias with a three for the 11-point lead, largest of the night.

8:39 - Xavier isn't going to go away, but the Flyers have had a lot of answers tonight. They've got a 10-point cushion. they just need a few more answers.

8:42 - Incredible dunk follow by Chris Johnson, but they waive off the basket because he went "over the back." Awful call. he didn't go over the back. Dante Jackson just got in the way.

8:44 - And now the refs are going to the monitor to check for a shot clock reset when the ball clearly, clearly hit the rim. Bang-up job, fellas.

8:45 - Or we're going back to the foul by Chris Johnson and giving Jackson a 1-and-1. Yeah, let's just pretend that last possession by Xavier didn't happen.

8:48 - So that ended up being a four-point swing. I really hope that doesn't have a huge impact on the game. This has been a good one, and pretty well-officiated.

8:51 - Big drive and finish by Marcus Johnson gets the lead back to nine. With that and an ealier bucket by Warren, that's a good response to the rough stretch. Then Anderson misses two free throws. Big.

8:52 - MJ with a huge three. He's the natural choice for go-to guy and he's delivering tonight.

8:53 - Two more missed free throws by Xavier, a runner by Wright and suddenly the Flyers have their largest lead. Timeout X. Still five minutes left. Thhis game isn't over, but Dayton is firmly in control.

8:54 - I'm excited.

8:55 - It seems like there should be less than 4:45 on the clock, and I kind of wish there was. Still feeling good, but still a lot of time. Two free throws by Wright and the lead is 14.

8:59 - Redford hits a three, then MJ jacks one up early in the shot clock and misses it. Heading to the final media timeout, the Flyers lead by 11. If they play solid defense, and don't jack up any more threes they'll be in good shape.

9:03 - Pull it out and run down the shot clock? Nah, Wright will just drive, hit a shot and get fouled. Fine. Either way. No on the free throw, but the lead is 13.

9:07 - Steal by Warren and he saves possession by calling a timeout. Flyers by 13 with 58 seconds left. This one is almost in the bag. Again, I'm excited.

9:10 - That's it. Gigantic win, maybe the biggest of the last several years. Well done, Flyers. Feel free to start believing again. More later.

Why You Should Hate Xavier

2009-02-10T15:36:00.005-05:00

• Daytonians who went to Xavier - I would never actually wish ill on a person. I may be full or rage, but even I have my limits. Having said that, however, I wouldn't feel that bad if perhaps something not that serious (yet still painful) happened to players like Derrick Brown and Romain Sato. If you lived in Dayton and chose to go to Xavier, fuck you. Don't even come back up I-75.

• They're on Fox Sports Ohio like all the time. To watch UD games here in Columbus, I have to pull out my laptop and hope it's on ChannelSurfing.net

• The Blue Blob. It could be the worst mascot in all of college sports (right up there with the Stanford tree) (UC note: This was a submission and I have to admit that I kinda disagree about the Tree. He even gets wasted!).

• D'Artigan. Is he French? I have no idea, but I do know he's lame. He's probably a sex offender, too.

• Stanley "Hammer Time" Burrell. With that name, you should shut the fuck up and play basketball. But no, he also had to be the whiniest bitch ever. Here's how much I hate Stanley Burrell. I DVR'd Xavier's NCAA loss to UCLA - just so I can watch Burrell cry at the end of it. Yes, I still have it saved.

• They were the losers at the end of We Are Marshall.

• UD hasn't beaten Xavier since 2006. The last UD recipient of the Blackburn-McCafferty MVP Trophy? Norman Plummer! Let that one just soak in for a little bit. Before Plummer it was Marques Bennett.

• Those three losses against Xavier last year may not have kept UD out of the tournament on their own, but they sure didn't help.

• David Fucking West. Enough said.

• Still haven't won at Xavier in my lifetime. And I'm 27.

• Justin ~~Gage~~ Cage. He's a graduate of Pike High School in Indianapolis. Do you know who else is? Me.

• They've been to the Elite Eight twice since the turn of the century. UD still hasn't won a tournament game since the first Stanley Burrell was relevant. Does that seem like jealous? Damn right it is. There's no difference between UD and Xavier on the surface. The schools are basically identical.

• This crap always breaks their way:

• Last year at Xavier. Remember how great it was when UD was ranked in the top 20? Yeah, that didn't last long. I remember being really excited for the game and going to the Columbus alumni game watch. The Future Mrs. and I left after halftime. We won't be attending the game watch tomorrow.

• Because of the feeling of dread I have. I'm not going into tomorrow all that confident. I want the Flyers to win and I'm going to cheer from home (thanks, alumni chapter for not having the bus trip this year, that's just great), but I can't shake the feeling of impending doom I have every time UD plays Xavier now. I'm hoping for the best, but I'm expecting a 30-point loss. If that's not a good enough reason to hate Xavier, I don't know what is.

Last Call For Rage-ohol!

2009-02-09T11:40:00.002-05:00

Since there's nothing positive to talk about stemming from Sunday's debacle, how about we turn our attention to hating Xavier.

This is the last reminder to e-mail the reasons why you hate Xavier to xavierhate@hotmail.com. If your reasons don't suck, they'll make the post (which should go up before tomorrow night since I have tomorrow off).

Charlotte Live Blog - Second Half

2009-02-08T13:54:00.027-05:00

Just a quick thought before the second half resumes: Xavier losing to Duquesne last night is the worst thing that could have happened for UD. I would have liked them to come into the Arena on a long winning streak. Now they know they can be beat, and will be playing with passion so as to not lose two in a row. I'm not saying the Flyers can't beat them, and I am certainly holding out hope, but I just don't like playing a Xavier team coming off an embarrassing loss. Now onto the second half...

2:06 PM -- Color commentator is Derrick Dukes. I have no idea who he is either.

2:08 PM -- While looking at the halftime stats, Mike Hartsock tells us "That turnover number is wrong. The turnovers are six each, not nine-to-two as the graphic says." Again, I love WHIO.

2:09 PM -- Dayton by four as we start the second half. Charlotte gets possession.

2:10 PM -- Hartsock totally butchers Chris Wright's name on a beautiful dunk, followed by Derrick Dukes calling him "The Wright Stuff." There are times that I'm ashamed to be a broadcaster. This is one of them. (As an aside, I should mention that I am not perfect as a broadcaster, and if someone did a live blog of my broadcast, they would probably have times when they would rip me apart too. So if any media members are reading this, don't take it personally. There, that should suffice as a half-hearted apology and keep me from being blacklisted in the Dayton media market. Just no one use my real name on this blog, and we'll be okay. LOL)

2:13 PM -- At the 17 minute mark, UD leads by one until Mickey Perry drills a three from the top of the key. Hey Mickey you're so fine...see, I can be lame too.

2:15 PM -- Nice hook by Searcy to put UD back up by six. I think that ties the largest lead of the game.

2:17 PM -- "Anderson likes to blow a kiss to his wife after every 3-pointer." GAY! And yes, I'm a bitter single guy.

2:21 PM -- Despite a shot clock beating jumper a few minutes ago, Lowery is having a horrible game. Dayton by two, Charlotte's ball with 13:45 to go.

2:23 PM -- A three by Charlotte puts them back in front by one. Timeout UD. Uncreative Commuter weighs in with a note on Derrick Dukes being a Flyer from the early 90s. My apologies. In my defense, I didn't become a Flyers fan until I was 18 when I decided to go to school there. Don't hate me.

2:26 PM -- A three by Marcus Johnson gives Dayton the lead at 49-47. And it will stay at the score at the under-12 timeout.

2:29 PM -- Apparently Frank Iguodala Lives is having trouble with the feed too. He just wrote to me on AIM "Fuck this inactive bullshit."

2:31 PM -- Charles Little picks up his fourth foul with 10:24 to go in the game, sending Mack to the line. Lamont Mack is good, but doesn't have nearly as cool a name as Leemire Goldwire. Mack hits both free throws to tie the game at 49. On the other end, Chris Wright picks up an offensive foul.

2:33 PM -- Wright picks up a foul away from the ball on a missed three. Seventh team foul on UD. Bonus the rest of the way for the 49ers with 9:52 to go. Mack hits them both to go up by two. 51-49 Charlotte.

2:34 PM -- Wright gets it stolen from behind, Charlotte gets a layup, then Wright gets blocked. Horrible stretch by "the Wright stuff". Timeout with UD down by four with 9:03 to go.

2:37 PM -- Offensive foul on Wright, his fourth. This might be the worst 6 minute stretch of real time action in Wright's life.

2:38 PM -- Alley Oop for Charlotte puts them up by 6. Marcus Johnson fouled on the other side. He'll shoot after the TV timeout.

2:41 PM -- Frank Iguodala Lives trying to steal the show with this quote: "wow those cheerleader uniforms are very conservative..and that's probably a good thing."

2:42 PM -- Marcus goes 1-of-2 from the line, Charlotte by five with 7:30 to go. Make it seven on a putback dunk. Dayton is falling apart at the seams.

2:43 PM -- Another foul, two more free throws, Charlotte by nine. I feel ill.

2:44 PM -- UD has forgotten how to box out. I remember my first basketball coach teaching me how to do that. I've lost count on the number of dunks Charlotte has. They lead by 9 with 6:06 to go. Another timeout by Dayton.

2:46 PM -- Another UD turnover (16th of the game), Charlotte scores, they lead by 11. Little misses on the other end as we hit the five minute mark, Dayton down 63-52. Warren picks up a stupid foul.

2:48 PM -- Alley oop to Charles Little. Flyers down 11 with 4:15 to go. Timeout Charlotte. If this is how my live blogs are going to go, I will never do one again.

2:51 PM -- Dayton down by 9, Charlotte going to the line. 3:26 to go. I've lost all faith in a comeback.

2:53 PM -- This seems like a good time to point out that Charlotte is 1-6 in the A-10, and that Xavier beat them by 22, and Temple beat them by 27.

2:54 PM -- Not to be an ass, but isn't it a "backboard", not a "bankboard". It's a bank shot, but it's not a bankboard, is it?

2:55 PM -- Fabrizius airballs a three, just for good measure. I'm giving up as the Flyers are down 12 with under three to go. I'll come back and post the final score.

3:05 PM -- Final Score, Charlotte 79, Dayton 66. Let the pessimists run wild.

Charlotte Live Blog -- First Half

2009-02-08T13:03:00.026-05:00

Alright, I'm bored. I'll try my hand at a live blog for the UD/Charlotte game. I have the video feed online from whiotv.com, so I'll be listening to the sweet sounds of Mike Hartsock on the play-by-play call. And away we go.....

1:05 PM -- Mickey Perry is starting because the Flyers are still having problems with the flu. This can't be a good sign.

1:07 PM -- The Flyers control the tip, and after good ball movement, Chris Wright was fouled going up for the shot. He makes one of two, but Flyers get the rebound. Huelsman with a lay-up for an early 3-0 lead.

1:09 PM -- Charlotte with two quick buckets to go up 4-3, but Huelsman puts on a nice spin move to draw a shooting foul on Charlotte. Kurt hits one to tie it at 4.

1:10 PM -- Now would be a good time to mention that the streaming video feed doesn't seem to enlarge at all, so I'm watching the video in a 2 by 3 inch window.

1:12 PM -- I have no idea who the color commentator is yet. I'll try to figure it out. In the meantime, Dayton is not playing defense and Mickey Perry has missed two threes and committed a charging foul. Charlotte up 10-7.

1:14 PM -- Warren misses a layup, Searcy gets blocked, but Little comes up with a basket and a foul. Good work on the offensive glass. Dayton down 1 at the first media timeout with a free throw to come after the commercials.

1:17 PM -- Little misses the free throw. That's 3 misses from the charity stripe already by my count.

1:21 PM -- Perhaps the ugliest four minute stretch in basketball history as we hit the under 12 timeout with the game tied at 15. That's right, the two teams combined for five points in the last four minutes.

1:22 PM -- Apparently the live stream from WHIOTV.com closes if you are "inactive" for a certain period of time. This is stupid! I'm watching a freaking game! What do they want me to do, click on the screen every 2 minutes? Lame.

1:24 PM -- Three NBA scouts are in the house today apparently. The broadcasters joke that they are here to listen to them, not scout any of the players. Sadly, that might be accurate. In the meantime, UD has committed two more fouls to get up to 6 in the half.

1:26 PM -- London goes coast to coast for an easy layup and the 17-15 lead.

1:26 PM -- And Charlotte answers with a three, followed by a UD turnover. 18-17 Charlotte.

1:28 PM -- Chris Johnson with a bucket and the foul. He hits the free throw to give him nine points and tie the game at 20.

1:30 PM -- Apparently UD can't shoot free throws today. Lowery just misses a pair, and they are now 3-of-8 from the line. Horrible.

1:31 PM -- A three by Lamont Mack triggered this exchange:
color guy: "Mr. Lamont Mack with his third three-pointer of the game"
Hartsock: "That's Mack's second three-pointer giving him eight points."
You gotta love WHIO.

1:36 PM -- Big dunk for Chris Wright to put UD back out in front 26-25 approaching the under four timeout.

1:37 PM -- Hartsock: "Interesting that Dayton has been on six fouls for a while, and there's a whistle away from the ball." Yep, that's a foul on the Flyers. Nice jinx there Mike.

1:38 PM -- Good steal by Searcy, and Marcus gets fouled on the other end to put the Flyers on the line after the commercial break.

1:40 PM -- Marcus makes the first, misses the second, but Chris Johnson cleans up the miss with a dunk. Charlotte answers with a 3. Flyers by 1.

1:42 PM -- Chris Wright airballs a free throw. Always good for a chuckle.

1:45 PM -- Charles Little with a "runner" according to Hartsock. To everyone else watching, it was a "turn-around jump shot". Flyers by 4.

1:47 PM -- After a three point play by Charlotte, Chris Wright takes a shot to the head and is still down. The commentators think it was Huelsman that may have got him. There's nothing worse than seeing one of your players laying on the court with trainers around him. Thankfully he gets up and walks off under his own power. Flyers by 1 with 1:14 to go in the half and possession.

1:50 PM -- Huelsman misses a free throw (go figure). Lane violation on Charlotte. Huelsman misses again followed by Chris Johnson committing a stupid foul on the rebound. This game is getting ugly fast.

1:50 PM -- Bobby Lutz picks up a technical foul. He was upset about the foul called on Huelsman, but waits to get his T until after UD commits a foul. Now UD leads by 3 after the two free throw makes, with Charlotte going back to the line on the other end with a one-and-one opportunity.

1:52 PM -- Luke Fab-Three-Zius just drains a long ass three. I'm stunned. UD wastes the last shot of the half but takes a four point lead into the half. It probably should be a one or two point game, but Lutz with the technical foul was really stupid. Be back in 20 minutes for the 2nd half.

Why You Should Hate Charlotte

2009-02-07T19:22:00.009-05:00

(Not pictured: Gold)

49ers?!: Here’s the problem. There’s no gold in Charlotte. There never was. No one even really knows for sure why the school uses that nickname. According to that bastion of knowledge and truth, Wikipedia, it is either because the school was saved from being shut down by the state in 1949 or because of the “49er spirit” (whatever the fuck that means) that embodied the university. No matter which reason is true, it’s still stupid.

They Haven’t Helped The A-10: When Charlotte and Saint Louis joined the A-10 I thought it was a great idea. Saint Louis has had success in the past and the 49ers had been to the NCAA Tournament five of the previous seven seasons. Since then? No appearances.

What Should We Call Them?: The athletics department has gone simply by Charlotte since 2000. But it’s still a part of the University of North Carolina system. It’s still technically UNC Charlotte or the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The school was often called the wrong name (N.C.-Charlotte, UNCC, etc.), but it’s still kind of silly to switch the name just for the athletic department.

Their Coach Is Cheap: Not only is Bobby Lutz on the hot seat in Charlotte, but he can’t afford his own Web site.

Typical Road Struggles: UD is 4-3 against the 49ers all time. The Flyers have only played at Charlotte twice before - and lost both times.

Notes: First, no live blog tomorrow. I have work. Second, remember to e-mail the reasons you hate Xavier for the next dose of hate early next week. If your reasons are good, they'll make the post. E-mail xavierhate@hotmail.com.

Seriously? What's Wrong With Us?

2009-02-07T08:01:00.003-05:00

And by us, I mean the fans who post on this blog. Why are we becoming the sky-is-falling type of fans that never believe in a good thing?

At the beginning of the season, I think we all pretty much had 3 main requests for the Flyers this year:

1) Win 20+ games.
2) Quit losing to second-rate teams like Duquesne and Fordham.
3) Get an NCAA tournament bid.

Okay, so let's see where we stand:

1) Already have over 20 wins
2) With the exception of a loss to UMass, the Flyers have beaten everyone they are supposed to beat. So one bad loss.
3) Still in question, but let's face it, at 21-2, the Flyers are well on their way to a bid barring something crazy happening.

So I would say that 2/3rds of our requests have come true, and Dayton is on its way to an NCAA bid. We should be happy, right?

So why is everyone complaining about the nature of the wins? Do you really think on Selection Sunday that the committee is going to look at the Flyers resume and say "Oh, they only beat LaSalle by 2, they should have won that one by 8"? Of course not. No one cares how badly you beat LaSalle, or Fordham, or St. Bonaventure. In those games, all they look at is whether you won or not. And the bottom line is that the Flyers continue to win.

Listen, I'm not completely innocent here either. I've been cracking jokes about the Flyers "huge" wins the last few weeks, when they are beating teams by one or two. I even agreed when a friend of mine joked that the Flyers were the worst 18-2 team ever a few weeks ago. But I'm coming around on this team quite a bit. Let's just forget about the fact that they are "close wins", and look at them strictly as "wins".

Let's enjoy the fact that the Flyers are 21-2. Even if they are the worst 21-2 team ever, isn't that still better than being the best 2-21 team ever? I'll take the wins, ugly or not, any way that I can get them.

So ... About Wednesday Night

2009-02-04T21:51:00.006-05:00

Another road win, but also one that does not leave you feeling very well.

So is this team a fraud? A "team of destiny?" Who the hell knows anymore...

I just know I'm really dreading next Wednesday. Actually, I don't feel very good about Sunday either.

Let me know what you think in the comments...

St. Joe's Road Trip!

2009-02-02T23:05:00.011-05:00

The Future Mrs. and I decided that since I had a rare Sunday where I did not have deadline we would make the trip from suburban Columbus to Dayton to watch the Flyers face Saint Joesph's. As lowly non-season ticket holders we don't have parking passes, so the university in its infinite wisdom has us park in a lot past the ramp to I-75. I dubbed it the Saint Bonaventure Lot - kind of a part of UD Arena's parking but not really. Kind of like how Saint Bonaventure is a part of the A-10 but not really.

The first thing I did when I got into the Arena was check out the Korporate Kasuals store. There was some good stuff, including the beautiful throwback jersey the Flyers wore against St. Bonaventure. Too rich for my blood, though. Also, check out the red zip-up in the upper left-hand corner with the old UD logo. Good times.

Our seats were in Sect. 410, Row Q. That's one row from the top.

The view from our seats. Could be worse.

That damn Hawk made the trip of course. Here he is flapping (naturally) before the game.

It was a six-point UD lead at halftime. Here you can see that the scoreboard above the court was obstructed.

UD cruises to victory and everybody was happy. Especially me. I had concerns that the Flyers would be exposed against a Phil Martelli team. Turns out St. Joe's was exposed.
Brian Gregory does his postgame radio show from the court. I had forgotten what Larry and Bucky look like.

The final score.

Observations:

- It has been a nerve wracking season for watching UD basketball, but I was never concerned after halftime. The Hawks looked like they had very little other than Ahmad Nivins offensively.

- A solid performance by Kurt Huelsman, who was named the player of the game. He had some nice moments offensively, as long as you totally ignore his 12-foot free throw. Both Huelsman and Devin Searcy did a good job of containing Nivins.

- The UD offense looked like a normal offense for at least one afternoon. Chris Wright had 14 points, and Charles Little and Marcus Johnson both had 13. Freshman Chris Johnson also had another solid (yet quiet) performance and led the Flyers with eight rebounds.

- Marcus Johnson played without his headband in the second half, which is probably something that only I care about. It got eerily silent when Johnson went down late in the game. Hopefully he'll be fine long-term. I know he says he's fine, but I'll believe it when I see him on the court again.

- We went to the game thinking it will be the last we can make it to. Now I'm thinking about getting Xavier tickets on StubHub...

BONUS CRAPPY VIEDOS:

Pregame.

After the St. Joe's timeout when UD took an 11-point lead.

We're ... 26!

2009-02-02T14:31:00.007-05:00

UD is as close to being ranked as possible in the latest USAToday coaches poll - the first team listed as receiving votes. Not that being ranked really means anything right now, but I need something to print out and put on my wall at work to replace the rankings from last year.

Oh well. The AP poll comes out later. At least the Flyers are solidly in the latest Bracketology.

I was actually at the St. Joe's game yesterday with the Future Mrs. because I actually had a rare Sunday off. I will have photos and video I took from my spot in the 400 level tomorrow. Today, deadline looms...

Why You Should Hate Saint Joseph's

2009-01-31T14:05:00.004-05:00

The Hawk: I hate the Hawk. It's cool at first. "Ah, it never stops flapping. That's neat." Then by the midway part of the second half, you're ready to storm the court and stop that OCD asshole. Or try to put an inner tube around its arms, like the Rhode Island Ram tried to a couple of years ago...

OK, I have to admit it – the fact that the Hawk was still flapping coming to beat some Ram ass is pretty cool. But he's still annoying.

The Martellis: Phil Martelli's a good coach, and this dose of hatred may be purely out of jealousy. Yet his teams always seem to be good, and to me that's a good enough reason to hate him.

I titled this note "The Martellis" because, while I respect Phil, I remember that his son was a douche. I was in the second row of the student section for home St. Joe's game in 2003. Dayton won, 65-55, but all I can remember is Phil Martelli Jr. literally crawling out on the court to get a better view when the action was on the far side of the court. And usually he was right in front of me and way into it. Like Greg Kohls-slapping-asses into it. It annoys me to this day that I think I saw more of Phil Jr.'s ass than basketball that day. Phil Jr. is still in college basketball, too. He's an assistant coach at Niagara.

Success: Yes, this is pure jealousy. but in the 13 seasons SJU has had under Martelli, the Hawks have been to the postseason nine times. Five of those trips were to the NCAA Tournament and three of those advanced past the first round, including an Elite Eight run in 2003-04 with Jameer Nelson and Delonte West (who I just can't hate for some reason). Again, I mention that the last time UD won a NCAA Tournament game, I was in the third grade. Ugh.

Joe Lunardi: Fuck this guy. Seriously. I hope SJU gave him a bonus last year because he kept the Hawks in the bubble discussion long enough for them to get a spot with an upset of Xavier in last year's A-10 Tournament. I dislike him thoroughly. Why doesn't ESPN have to say "HEY HE WORKS FOR ST. JOES!" every time he mentions the Hawks. It's a total conflict of interests.

Be A Part Of The Hate

2009-01-31T11:00:00.003-05:00

Do you hate Xavier? Of course you do. You read this Web site, after all. I'm looking for some reader submissions for the upcoming Why You Should Hate Xavier post.

E-mail why you hate Xavier to XavierHate@hotmail.com. If your submission doesn't suck, it'll be one of the many reasons you should gather up a good helping of hate on Feb. 11.

U-G-L-Y

2009-01-29T22:01:00.002-05:00

You ain't got no alibi, you ugly (clap, clap), you ugly.

It was ugly, but it was a win. Given that both teams were top-13 in the nation in scoring defense, you had to figure it was going to be a grind-it-out type of game.

I'm still not overly impressed with the Flyers, but I like the record, and I like that they keep finding ways to win. I guess we should start giving this team a little bit of credit.

Big game this weekend against St. Joe's. Let's grind out another ugly win Flyers.

Billiken Briefs

2009-01-29T15:54:00.003-05:00

* As has been noted on the Blackburn Review this week, Saint Louis' particular brand of basketball since Majerus came to town is, at times, completely unwatchable. It is deathly boring and should be banned. That said, there are times our offense looks like it might have trouble scoring on the Holy Angels School seventh and eighth grade "B" team. If either team scores over 60 in regulation, I'll be shocked.

* While Rick Majerus' coaching strategy is not admirable due its penchant for destroying any chance for fun basketball to exist in the Atlantic 10, there is one moment that defines Rick Majerus to me. Please look at Steve Lavin's face through this fine moment...

* I don't know what things are like in Dayton, but down here in Louisville, the university is shut down for the third consecutive day and the roads are, outside main thoroughfares, a complete nightmare. In my neighborhood, trees and powerlines are all over the roads and the ice has made most of it irreparable until it gets above freezing, which isn't supposed to happen for a couple days yet. If the situation in Dayton is at all similar, the Flyers could find themselves in a much quieter building than they are accustomed to. I don't think there's much ice in Dayton though, so the streets are likely fine. There is a decided advantage for our guys when that building is packed so let's hope it looks that way tonight.

* The aforementioned downed lines have affected me personally. I'm posting this from a nearby coffee shop with internet access as a tree in front of my building has taken down the fiber-optic cable carrying my cable and internet service. So, since my nice, expansive cable package is currently useless, I will be spending the evening at BW-3 watching the Flyers and drinking whatever is the cheap beer of the month (please, oh please, don't be Miller Lite). I hate this ice storm for taking away my TV and making the roads impassable, but mostly I hate it because I am forced to be in this shop with all these irritating Highlands hipsters. This neighborhood is dumb.

Why You Should Hate Saint Louis

2009-01-29T12:56:00.007-05:00

(Don't feed it after midnight)

WTF is a Billiken?: It kind of looks like a rejected puppet for a movie Gremlins. According to the SLU Web site, a Billiken is a good luck symbol that became a national craze in the early 1900s. Like when people wore onions on their belts I guess. Two St. Louis sportswriters thought SLU's football coach looked like a billiken, and that's where the name started. Lame.

Players To Hate: Seniors Kevin Lisch and Tommie Liddell are your top targets of rage and anger. They are both 1,000-point scorers and are basically the only two players the Flyers really need to worry about. The rest of the starting lineup is made up with two freshman and one sophomore. The trio combine to average 16.4 points, less than the 16.5 Lisch and Liddell average.

(Not pictured: UD's NCAA hopes bouncing away)

It's Always Close: Remember 2008? The Flyers played three overtime games and won all of them. Two were against the Billikens (the other was the double OT game vs. Akron). Days after Saint Louis scored a whopping 20 against George Washington, the Billikens took the Flyers to OT at the Savvis Center (or whatever the fuck it's called now). Then in the first round of the A-10 tournament, UD needed the five extra minutes to advance. Four of the last six times UD and SLU have played the game has gone into overtime.

(I still hate Trent Meacham)

Trent Meacham: Yes, you read that right. Noted turncoat Trent Meacham has ties to Saint Louis. He is engaged to SLU women's basketball player Theresa Lisch, sister of Kevin Lisch. I'm sure Trent will stay with her for a year before he realizes that she's not in Champaign and thus will transfer his love to a woman more close to his family.

NOTE: There will most likely be a live blog tonight. My fiancee and I were going to go to the game tonight, but the roads here in Columbus still suck, so we'll watch from home if ChannelSurfing.net comes through. The sad part is that this game was likely the last I can make it to. The lame-ass Columbus Alumni Chapter isn't doing a Xavier bus trip and every other home game in on a Sunday. I work on Sundays. Bah.

NEW NOTE (7:08 p.m.): No live blog. We're heading to the nearest BW3s to see if they'll turn one of the TVs to CSTV.

Oh What A Beautiful Morning!

2009-01-27T09:25:00.003-05:00

It's Tuesday morning, the law school is snowed in and I am free of that nonsense, if only for a day. Things are looking up all around today. The Flyers are currently a VERY unexpected 18-2 and 4-1 in the Atlantic 10. Now, I understand the state of college basketball well enough to that even at 18-2 the Flyers are treading on very thin ice. The weak schedule means that a loss to a bad team would really sting our chances at the tournament.

But I don't want to focus on that. Sure, we're definitely not an exceptional basketball team. We've spent good chunks of this year looking much the same as we did last year during the months in which Chris Wright was hurt. But is there a doubt in anyone's mind that last year's team would have lost those games to Fordham, GW and Duquesne? Sure, we've escaped with some close wins... but they were still wins weren't they? Not a bad performance at all for a team with NO post presence.

This week is a big one for the Flyers. With Saint Louis (a mid-level A-10 team) and St. Joe's (one of the other teams trying to play the "Who's Second Behind Xavier" Game) both play on our home floor. For the Flyers to make the tournament, I really feel that one thing has to hold true for the rest of the year. We cannot lose ANY home games. The schedule is actually favorable in that regard in that both St. Joe's and Temple play at UD Arena this year. If we drop either home game this weekend, it may be early enough in conference play to make up for it... but it won't be easy.

That was pointless drivel that everyone already knew, so I promise I have a reason for this post. Last week I whined about the fact that I missed out on Korporate Kasual's Marian Blue shirts with the interlocking UD logo. Well weep no more.

And it even has the name and number of everyone's favorite 50's Flyer and color analyst, Bucky Bockhorn. At long last, I own a Marian Blue UD shirt. They also have a red one with blue lettering for Roosevelt Chapman that I'm thinking about picking up as well. It's only quarter to ten and today's been a good day.

You Knew I Would Mention It

2009-01-25T19:19:00.007-05:00

St. Bonaventure Second Half Live Blog

2009-01-25T14:56:00.028-05:00

2:56 - I didn't get home until about midway through the first half. So after hitting up the Gatti's pizza buffet and watching Louisville take out Syracuse on their home floor, I elected to take a decided step backwards and watch my beloved alma mater play St. Bonaventure.

2:59 - They're recognizing the '73-'74 and '83-'84 tournament teams at halftime now. It's infuriating to pull for a program that is completely reliant on games from more than 20 years ago to sound like they matter.

3:01 - My only analysis from the first half is nothing new. To this point, nearly every time the Flyers do something outstanding on defense, it's followed by something equally bone-headed on the offensive side of the ball to prevent developing a lead. The oop dunk by Chris Wright near the end of the half was nice though.

3:09 - Marcus Johson with a breakaway tomahawk dunk. Great.

3:10 - Nicholson, SB's stud freshman, bones a dunk. Chris Wright slams it home at the other end. I love when stuff works out like I want it to.

3:12 - If I have to hear Bucky declare what a good team St. Bonnie's is one more time, I might lose it. While we're at it, Temple's football team and the Cincinnati Reds aren't nearly as bad as they appear on paper.

3:15 - Chris Wright and Marcus Johnson go for back to back dunks. Four dunks in the first few minutes of the second half. If these two guys can start to do what we thought they'd do from the beginning of the season, then we'll win some more games. A bunch more.

3:17 - I just messed my pants... because of dunkiness. Things are going well right now... and I am knocking on every piece of wood furniture I can find. Lowery taking a charge right before the timeout is the capper to this little run. ALL OF IT was generated by smothering, lightning-quick defense. I lost track of the steals count over the last few minutes.

3:20 - I hate to go negative while we're up 15 and playing well... but I hate you Luke Fabrizius. That is, I don't hate you; I hate the way you're used. He misses a three then comes down and commits a foul. That is NOT valuable use of playing time.

3:28 - Bucky has little quirks of pronunciation that drive me crazy. He says Saint Bona-VENTURE, whereas I would say Saint BONA-venture. I don't know how to do accent marks in this format.

3:35 - Chris Johnson continues to exude his beastliness. Three at a moment I really wanted some points.

3:37 - Chris Wright makes a free throw to complete a three-point play and expand the Flyer lead to 16. He has 17 points already. A shockwave from his awesomeness has apparently shut down I-70 eastbound by causing four separate accidents. Just out of curiosity... what's the weather like up there today?

3:41 - Another oop dunk. Marcus Johnson was WAY above the rim on that one. Other end, another foul... that's 10 on the Flyers with 8 minutes left.\

3:49 - London has just gotten back-to-back absurd floaters to go. He is nerve-racking. I love him when it works, I hate him when it doesn't.

3:50 - Lowery makes one while getting hacked and falling down. That makes three consecutive possessions where the Dayton point guards have done something ridiculous and it's worked. Rita? Is that you?

3:53 - Less than four minutes to go, 69-55 Flyer lead. Dayton working the clock as the Bonnie's hang around between 17 and 12 points down.

3:57 - I hate Atlantic 10 officiating. I'm more of a more Big-East-style, let-em-play mentality. I don't care how rough the game is, if you've called as many fouls as these guys have, you're too loose with the whistle.

3:58 - Two minute warning. Flyers lead 73-59. Marcus Johnson has 14 points, 12 of them are in the second half. The Johnsons have been awesome today. I've been watching basketball for four hours now and don't have the energy to make the obvious jokes.

4:01 - Back-to-back NBA range threes by SB's Matthews and its an 8-point game. I don't know who was guarding him on the second one, but he played about three feet off him. HORRIBLE DEFENDING.

4:05 - Just trying to make free throws now. With 38 seconds left, I'm almost beginning to feel comfortable. Dayton by 13.

4:06 - Matthews makes another three. He has 28 points today. Lowery makes two free throws. Flyers up 80-68.

4:08 - Matthews finally misses a three. And that's how it ends, final score 80-68.

4:09 - Flyers move to 18-2 on the season and 4-1 in the Atlantic 10. It's been real folks. Work schedules, weather and the Good Lord permitting, Uncreative Commuter will be back to the live blog on Thursday.

St. Weldaventure Open Thread

2009-01-25T10:56:00.003-05:00

Because I have to work today (stupid deadlines), there will be no live blog. Instead, here is an open thread to freak out in during what will most likely be a close game (because all UD games are close ones).

George Washington Live Blog

2009-01-22T19:24:00.089-05:00

7:24 p.m. - Live, from my couch in Columbus, it's Thursday Night Basketball!

7:27 p.m. - Wow. If you can pull up the ChannelSurfing.net feed, please do so quickly. There's no video, just a WHIO-esque graphic with the team names and graphics. And some dance music in the background. Just dance!

7:29 p.m. - The video feed just flashed to the court, but just for a second. Odd.

7:30 p.m. - Video's back up and running. No black jerseys. Thank God. The anthem signer is "a little pitchy, dawg," according to the future Mrs. Uncreative Commuter.

7:34 p.m. - I think the video is straight from the scoreboard at the Charles E. Smith Atheltic Center. This should be fun. There is no audio other than your standard arena rock fare so far.

7:35 p.m. - UD wins the tip and we get audio. Hurrah.

7:37 p.m. - A reverse layup by Marcus Johnson starts the scoring. Diggs answers. Someone should make sure he doesn't score damn near 30 points like last year.

7:38 p.m. - Wow. Warren with a being-the-back pass to Wright, who throws it down. Very pretty.

7:41 p.m. - Media timeout at 15:28 left. GW 7-6. The GW cheerleaders are giving away Dominos Pizza. I'd tell them to keep it, but I'd do the same for Papa John's. Awful.

7:43 p.m. - Man-crush Chris Johnson gives UD the lead with a three.

7:45 p.m. - Kurt Huelsman gets fed the ball inside, and misses a shot inside. Bah.

7:48 p.m. - Both teams have been scoreless for the last two minutes. GW leads 10-9.

7:50 p.m. - Media timeout at 11:58. Same score, but Wynton Witherspoon (or Spoon as the annoying GW audio guy is calling him) is heading to the line following the TO.

7:52 p.m. - Spoon! misses one of two FTs. Stop me if you've heard this, but this game is ugly.

7:54 p.m. - Spoon! has eight points. UD trails 15-11.

7:55 p.m. - Searcy dunks, but about 10 seconds afterwards they wave it off and called an offensive foul on Marcus Johnson away from the ball.

7:56 p.m. - Ok, I'm about to mute the video feed and try to pull up 1290's feed. I can't hear Spoon! again. At this rate I'd eat soup with a fork just not to hear that word. GW leads 17-11. Timeout UD. Great start.

7:59 p.m. - Luke Fabrizius misses an open three. Again.

8:00 p.m. - Media timeout at 7:57. GW 17-13.

8:01 p.m. - Bucky, coming in choppy, says UD has four team fouls. GW has none. Wow.

8:02 p.m. - Looooooooooooong three by Lowery to beat the 1-3-1 trap. 17-16. Spoon! answers. 19-16.

8:03 p.m. - Huelsman gets the ball, gets doubleteamed, gives up the possession on a jump ball. He can feel free to sit down anytime.

8:05 p.m. - Huelsman with a hook shot. Nice. He's still struggling. 21-20 GW.

8:06 p.m. - Chris Johnson's layup off a GW turnover gives the Flyers the lead. Hobbs calls timeout for the Colonials.

8:08 p.m. - A foul on GW! It's a miracle! And then another!

8:10 p.m. - Under-four timeout. 23-21 UD.

8:12 p.m. - The audio and video are way off. The video is about five seconds or more ahead of the video. It's still better than listening to the GW audio feed.

8:14 p.m. - Huelsman scored another basket! The pace is picking up. Spoon! is killing them. 27-26 GW.

8:16 p.m. - GW run gives the Colonials a 29-26 lead with 1:23 to go. And another fucking UD turnover.

8:17 p.m. - A GW three. 32-26. It's a 9-0 GW lead and UD is a disaster on offense right now.

8:18 p.m. - GW can take the last shot with under 20 seconds left. ... The defense finally holds. At halftime, it's GW 32-26. Embarrassing.

8:30 p.m. - My Internet died during halftime. It seemed fitting after that awful first-half performance.

8:35 p.m. - The second half begins...it better go better than the first.

8:37 p.m. - Chris Wright misses a leaner. He's 2 for 7 from the field.

8:38 p.m. - UD is getting action inside, but the defense is just awful. Trading baskets.

8:39 p.m. - So UD has two losses this year, but neither are "bad losses." This would be a bad loss.

8:41 p.m. - Maybe the Flyers should have worn black. They're playing like it's a funeral. 37-30 GW.

8:42 p.m. - Media timeout at 15:32. GW 37-32.

8:44 p.m. - Lowery hits a three to cut the deficit to two.

8:46 p.m. - Dayton ties the game with a Chris Wright alley-oop dunk! Apparently a 14 on the Bud Light Dunk Meter. GW timeout with 14:08 to go.

8:49 p.m. - Things haven't gone great for the Flyers so far, but it could be worse. St. Louis is trailing Temple 43-16.

8:50 p.m. - UD leads after a Marcus Johnson long two. 39-37.

8:51 p.m. - Media timeout at 11:55. Tied 39-39.

8:55 p.m. - GW timeout after back to back Flyer baskets.

8:58 p.m. - And the lead is gone after a basket and free throw from Travis King. 44-44.

8:59 p.m. - King gives GW the lead with 9:04 to go. Chris Johnson is down for the Flyers. He's OK though.

9:01 p.m. - GW is starting to take control in the paint. The Colonials lead by four now thanks to a 9-1 run.

9:04 p.m. - Make that an 11-1 run. Timeout UD with 7:19 to go.

9:05 p.m. - Lowery breaks the press and makes a layup to stunt the momentum.

9:07 p.m. - Media timeout with I think 6:35 to go. 50-46 GW.

9:10 p.m. - Marcus Johnson with a big three. Dayton within one. And all the sudden the audio and video are almost on sync. How odd.

9:11 p.m. - Hollis makes a three for GW to extend the lead back to six. I have a bad feeling about this one.

9:12 p.m. - Dayton down four after a transition layup.

9:13 p.m. - Final media timout at 3:38. GW leads 55-51 and is heading to the line for the one-and-one.

9:15 p.m. - Hollis makes both the free throws. Colonials lead 57-51 and we're less than four minutes from a disasterous loss.

9:16 p.m. - Mancrush with a big three, but GW answers. 59-54 with under three left.

9:17 p.m. - Little misses two fucking free throws. Great. GW grabs the rebound after a scrum and calls timeout with 2:47 to go.

9:19 p.m. - GW runs the clock and gets bailed out with a UD foul. That's about as bad as it could have gone. King going to the line for the Colonials. ... He misses the first ... and makes the second. 60-54. 2:14 left.

9:21 p.m. - Marcus Johnson with a three with under two minutes left. Need defense! UD gets a stop. They have the ball back with 1:38 to go. 60-57.

9:22 p.m. - WRIGHT AND A FOUL! With 1:28 to go.

9:22 p.m. - And he makes it. 60-60.

9:23 p.m. - London Warren forces a turnover. UD ball with just over a minute left.

9:24 p.m. - Chris Johnson misses an three. GW timeout with 35 seconds to go. There's a 10 second differential between the game clock and shot clock.

9:26 p.m. - Wright goes for the pump fake. Hollis to the line. Wright loves to fall for that pump fake. ... Hollis misses the first. ... Makes the second. 21.9 to go. GW by 1. Delay after the made FT. I have no idea why.

9:29 p.m. - There was a technical foul (??) against GW? They had six players on the court? Marcus Johnson makes two free throws. UD ahead with 21.9 to go. it's 62-61 Flyers and UD keeps the ball on the technical. The audio is so choppy, I don't know feed. In fact, now the audio dead. And now back.

9:31 p.m. - Marcus going back to the line after drawing a foul on the inbound. One-and-one. He makes the first, misses the second. The Colonials have a chance to tie or win it, but UD holds.

(I totally understand the despair now)

UD finishes with a 9-1 run. Thanks Karl Hobbs! God, you're an awful coach. How do you let six players stand on the court during a free throw? Can't you count?!

Why You Should Hate George Washington

2009-01-21T21:24:00.007-05:00

- Last season: In a second half collapse full of crappy moments, the loss at GW may have been the worst. Brian Roberts tied the game 54-54 with a 14-foot jumper with 35 seconds left, but Wynston Witherspoon made a wide-open three pointer with just under two seconds left to give the Colonials the win. This game was before I had my laptop, which is a PC. I only had my Mac Mini, so I could not watch on ChannelSurfing.net. I had to watch CSTV’s GameTracker, which just made the loss more disappointing.

- Rob Diggs: He’s the guy to stop tonight. He scored a career-high 29 points and nabbed 11 rebounds last season. He leads the Colonials with 12.7 points and 7.5 boards per game this year. Only he and Damian Hollis average double figures in points.

- Karl Hobbs scares me: Well, not him, but this picture of him from the firehobbs.blogspot.com site.

- The 2005 game: I’m glad I wasn’t even in the same time zone when it happened. You know what I hate more than the buzzer beater? The sight of Trent Meacham. A coworker of mine covered the OSU-Illinois game Tuesday night. I asked him to punch Meacham in the nuts. He declined.

- And I just thought I’d leave you with one more video. If that doesn’t start the hate, nothing will.

UPDATE: I am hoping to do another liveblog tonight. Check back at 7:30 p.m. for tipoff and join me.

Awful, Just Awful

2009-01-21T13:39:00.007-05:00

First, a note. I know not everyone cares as much about the uniforms and colors and logos as much as I do. If you don't care, skip this post.

So, yeah, about those black jerseys...

I know why UD is bringing out all of these alternate jerseys - money. Times are tough, and the school can sell more merchandise if they break out new looks. I'm totally fine with this. Sports teams have done this throughout history. Hell, UD did a great job last year bringing back Marian blue and debuting a retro checkered jersey. Those were both very nice, and anyone who has ever read this blog knows how much I love the Marian blue and think it belongs in the school's permanent color scheme.

But they've gone too far now. The powers that be have simply outthought themselves. I can even imagine how the pitch meeting went. They were trying to think of something more they can do, someway to add another alternate look. Instead of looking back through history and maybe bringing back a different jersey from Flyer history, they decided looked back to 1990 sports fashion trends and say, "How about a black jersey? Why the fuck not?"

I hate black. It's an awful color for sport teams. It's uncreative and played out. The Mets should drop black, as should my beloved Cincinnati Reds should drop it. If you're ever at a Reds game and you walk past me, you'll know exactly who I am. I'm the only person at the game with an all red Reds hat with a white wishbone C with no black drop shadow like the current hat has. That's how much I disagree with the inclusion of black.

So obviously when I read Archdeacon's Obama column and the note about UD's black jerseys (talk about burying the lede) I was displeased. I was happy it would have Marian blue and would likely have trim (unlike the awful blank tops the team wears now), but I couldn't imagine a black UD jersey looking anything but stupid.

Then I saw the photos on the UD Pride board today and knew I was absolutely right. It. Makes. No. Sense.

But hey, let's not stop at black. Let's add more jerseys.

How about an orange jersey. Orange makes as much sense as black!

How about tennis ball green?

Purplish-pink?

Or how about we just fucking put Rudy's face on a white jersey and call it a day.

And you know what's the worst part? Frank Igoudala Lives! is probably right. These jerseys will become so popular that UD will keep them. I love the Flyers, but many of their fans are fucking idiots. Want proof? Here are just some of the comments on the UD Pride board about the black uniforms:
"The black uniforms are really slick."
Well you are really dumb.

"black is really just a base color for pretty much all sports teams. kind of like white or gray. yes, some teams use it as their primary, but a lot of teams just use it to make a cool alternate (like UD in this case). these unis sound sweet idk why you would call them pointless. lets just toss the old school blue out too. matter of fact, lets just wear plain t shirts with only read and blue. you know what? lets just kill fun all together. really dumb post man."
First, I declare shanangans on black being a base color for all sports teams. Is black a part of the Yankees color? How about the Browns? The Lakers? Red Wings? Second, the old school blue IS a UD color, moron. I don't want to kill the fun all together, but I'd like you to go play in traffic.

"Havent seen the black but I do like the alternate columbia blue and retro. Im still waiting to see a khacki home or road alternate."
First, it's khaki, and no.

"I'm excited to see these black uniforms. They can't look any worse than the light blue jerseys."
Don't breed.

"these look even better than i imagined!"
You must have been dropped on your head as a child.

We're not Oregon. Keep the red, royal blue and Marian blue and go with that. Don't give the university the wrong idea by buying any of this black crap. And while we're at it, stop buying stuff with the Dayton Flyers block script logo. This is why we look like a rec league team. NCAA Division III schools have better looks than UD.

Just Say No!

2009-01-21T11:01:00.005-05:00

Uncreative Commuter is the flag-bearer on our little blog for all things uniform related, and rightfully so. His insights on color schemes are wonderful and his mockups are top notch. But since he hasn't brought this up, I felt that somebody needed to.

The Flyers have yet another uniform set they will be using this year. Don't believe me, surely you'll believe the venerable Tom Archdeacon:

Look Towards the Bottom

You want pictures? We got pictures

WOW..put me down in the "Not a fan" column. Black is not an approved Dayton color. Plus, black is so 10 years ago (along with teal..sorry Florida Marlins). It looks like a funeral.

The positives, I like the trim, red and marian blue..gotta love that marian blue. My greatest fear is that these get so popular that they become the always used uniforms..like the New York Mets and their ugly black uniforms.

By the way, this makes 5 different uniforms that the Flyers will use this year (Home, Away, Alternate Blues, Throwbacks & Black). The good news is that it only puts UD 17 uniforms behind Oregon.

Dayton 78, Duquesne 69

2009-01-18T12:52:00.003-05:00

Doug Harris wrote in the DDN today that "Lowery and his mates certainly put on an exquisite display of Dayton basketball at Duquesne on Saturday, shooting a season-high 58 percent from the field on their way to a 78-69 win . . ."

If shooting 58 percent from the field is Dayton basketball, we're not likely to see Dayton basketball again all year. If this team needs to shoot that well to win, then we're in trouble. For me, that's tempering any thoughts of this game serving as a turning point.

But, turning point or not, the fact remains: The Flyers just picked up a big road victory. In fact, looking back at previous years, it's the best road victory I can find since 2006, when the Flyers beat a St. Louis team that finished with a 10-6 conference mark. No matter how messed up our fan psyches are after a strange week, that has to count for something.

Judging from the postgame quotes, it looks like Brian Gregory was most pleased with the effort. If anything, that's the Dayton basketball Doug Harris was talking about. Shooting will come and go, but if the effort level stays where it was Saturday, then this team will at least give itself a chance.

Some notes:

We've been waiting for you (and yelling at you), Luke Fabrizius, and you finally showed up. Career-high 11 points and 3-of-5 from three-point range. Hopefully, this is one aspect of the shooting performance that will be a turning point. This team needs a shooter to emerge.
Remember when Aaron Jackson wasn't supposed to play much because of an injury? Yeah, he played more minutes than anybody in the game and scored 18 points. But beating the Dukes with Jackson is much more impressive than beating them without Jackson.
The Flyers tied the single-season school record for dunks last night, prompting Marcus Johnson to say, "They don't call us the Dayton Flyers for nothing." Remember when Frank Iguodala was the only wing player on the team who could dunk?
On the same subject, Chris Wright had this to say: "I think people should start calling us the `Fly-yahz' with a z. Maybe it will catch on." We can hope.
Road game against GW is up next. The wheels have come off for the Colonials lately. They've lost six straight. If the Flyers can pick up a win there, they've got a home game against the Bonnies after that. It could be a nice little stretch.

Late Second Half Duquesne Live Blog

2009-01-17T20:35:00.025-05:00

8:36 p.m. - I just turned on the feed from ChannelSurfing.net and I can see the picture but can't understand a word they're saying. UD has given up two baskets and committed two turnovers. It appears to be going really well...

8:38 p.m. - Actually, it's not going that poorly apparently. UD leads 59-55 at the under-eight media timeout.

8:39 p.m. - I thought I would be here in time for the start of the game, but a trip to the mall, Target and Panera for dinner went long. Oh well. I was keeping up with the score on my cell phone.

8:41 p.m. - UD has 22 turnovers. Bah. The audio from WHIO is ahead of the video, which is kind of disconcerting.

8:44 p.m. - I can hear the cheer from the UD fans in attendance as Marcus Johnson makes a jumper. UD by six.

8:45 p.m. - Fabrizius with a three! He must have tried to miss it. UD by nine. The London steals, misses a layup and the Awesome That Is Chris Johnson follows up with a dunk. UD by 11 and Duquesne calls timeout.

8:46 p.m. - This would be a big win, especially after the players only meeting this week.

8:48 p.m. - Final media timeout with 3:58 left. It's 68-57 UD with Duquesne going to the line.

8:49 p.m. - Luke Fabrizius has 11 points?! WTF

8:50 p.m. - UD struggles with the press after two made FTs. I think I've seen that before. ... Make that 22 turnovers for UD after a Flyer falls with the ball.

8:51 p.m. - UD timeout at 3:23. Marcus Johnson makes a tomahawk dunk after a steal, but Duquesne answers with a three. Gregory then calls a quick timeout. UD leads 70-61.

8:53 p.m. - Wright dunk and UD is actually looking good down the stretch. It's nice to see.

8:54 p.m. - 1:35 to go. UD by nine.

8:55 p.m. - Duquesne timeout with 1:14 to go. UD by seven, 74-67. The Dukes just made a shot and called timeout.

8:56 p.m. - Duquesne starts fouling. Chris Johnson going to the line for the one-and-one after DU's seventh foul.

8:57 p.m. - CJ makes both. 1:05 left. UD leads 76-67.

8:58 p.m. - Duquesne turnover. They foul Lowery. ... He misses the front end. Duquesne ball out of bounds. Under 50 seconds left.

8:59 p.m. - Duquesne layup. UD going back to the line. 22 seconds left. Marcus Johnson to the line.

9:00 p.m. - Marcus makes the first...and the second. 78-69.

9:01 p.m. - Warm up the bus, bitches. UD wins 78-69.

Post Fordham Open Thread

2009-01-15T10:53:00.004-05:00

So this is kind of going to be an open thread, as real life (aka work) has been keeping me busy). Here are some topics to discuss:

- Do you like the Live Blogs? As Jersey said, I should have mentioned that I would be doing one for the Fordham game beforehand. Honestly, I wasn't sure I was going to until right before I fired up my laptop.
- Are these last two games bumps in the road? Or are they a sign that once again a UD basketball team is going to fall apart while the coaching staff fiddles.
- What do you expect to see Saturday at Duquesne?
- I'm not going to ask if this team should be in the NCAA Tournament right now. I've always found that kind of stupid. You don't have a good grasp on that until later in the season than now. So my question is: What will it take the rest of the way to make it to the Big Dance? We all know 8-8 in the A-10 won't do it.
- Is this season a failure if UD goes to the NIT again?
- What is up with Kurt Huelsman? Hell, you could ask the same about Chris Wright.
- Time to stop using a 12-man rotation? Who would you cut out? (Please say Fabrizius.)
- Wouldn't UD be better if they brought back the Marian blue? No?

Fordham Live Blog

2009-01-14T19:37:00.085-05:00

After a 90 minute drive home, I have cooked dinner and will do another live blog.

7:37 p.m. - Fordham leads 3-2. I assume Michael J. Fox is excited. Or he doesn't care.

7:38 p.m. - Charles Littles goes down, but he eventually walks off.

7:39 p.m. - Chris Johnson hits a three. He's starting because of illnesses hitting the Flyers. I still have a man-crush on CJ. I don't care who knows. After a Fordham three, Huelsman actually took a shot! He missed.

7:41 p.m. - Little his in the tunnel hobbling, and while a FU player is shooting a free throw, Lowery goes up the tunnel. He might be throwing up.

7:42 p.m. - Media timeout at 15:54. Fordham 9, UD 8. Actually, that's Alberto Estwick 9, UD 8.

7:45 p.m. - In case you're curious, I made a Greekish chicken dish tonight. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked in a skillet with olive oil, garlic, chopped-up olives and tomatoes with some salt and pepper. Tasty.

7:46 p.m. - Estwick leaves the game after scoring Fordham's first 11 points. Hopefully UD can take advantage.

7:48 p.m. - Stop me if you've heard this before, but the Flyers aren't making any shots. Fordham leads 13-8.

7:50 p.m. - Luke Fabrizius misses a three. In other news, water is wet and the sky is blue.

7:51 p.m. - Media timeout at 11:44. Fordham 13-11.

7:52 p.m. - Dayton's 4 for 13 from the field. Ugh.

7:56 p.m. - Remember this time: Kurt Huelsman made a shot. And Fabrizius has two rebounds and a block.

7:58 p.m. - UD ties the game at 15-15, but it's still ugly.

8:00 p.m. - Media timeout at 7:53. Fordham 20, UD 17. That's simply embarrassing.

8:03 p.m. - Wright made two free throws! A UD player made free throws! FU 20, UD 19.

8:05 p.m. - Man vs. Food is on the Travel Channel and the challenge has to do with the Thurman Burger in Columbus. I've never had that, but I bet it has melted cheese on it. I hate melted cheese.

8:06 p.m. - 26-21 Fordham after yet another open three.

8:08 p.m. - Rob Lowery hits his second three of the night. UD down two.

8:10 p.m. - Lowery makes one of two free throws to cut the lead to one.

8:12 p.m. - Marcus Johnson makes a free throw to tie the game. It's his third FT miss of the half.

8:14 p.m. - Media timeout at 3:46. Tied at 27.

8:17 p.m. - UD leads 29-28 for the first time since it was 5-3 after a CJ FT. It does last long after a layup by Fordham.

8:18 p.m. - Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuke misses a three. Stop chanting that when he plays.

8:19 p.m. - UD timeout after a Fordham three.

8:20 p.m. - Marcus Johnson dunks after the timeout. Then he ties the game with a layup after a steal. He's good. Could be a three-point play and another UD lead.

8:21 p.m. - FU timeout after Johnson makes the free throw with 1:24 left in the half. UD leads by one.

8:24 p.m. - UD leads 36-33 at halftime but the Flyers finish with a turnover. Fitting.

8:35 p.m. - I hear Sandstorm by Darude, so halftime's almost over...and, yes, I have this on my iPod. I have terrible taste.

8:41 p.m. - UD quickly loses the lead and then gets it back after a Chris Johnson basket.

8:43 p.m. - A steal and layup gives Fordham the lead. The longer the Flyers keep them around, the angrier I get. The flu ain't an excuse.

8:45 p.m. - Marcus Johnson makes a jumper. I wish he'd do that more often.

8:46 p.m. - Searcy with a dunk and a foul after a London Warren steal. Official timeout at 15:57. UD 44-39.

8:50 p.m. - This may only interest me, but the Flyers have different warm-ups on. In fact, they appear to be Marian blue...

8:53 p.m. - UD up nine after a Charles Little dunk. This is a little more like it, but I still don't feel better. Fordham answers with a three, then Little dunks again off a Perry miss. Little has a non-little vertical. ... I'm sorry. That wasn't funny.

8:55 p.m. - Fabrizius makes an open three and Fordham calls timeout with UD ahead 11. I think Fabrizius is Jimmy Binnie. He'll make only one three a game.

8:56 p.m. - Apparently the blue warmups are for Bucky Bockhorn. I love the Marian blue. There's nothing not awesome about it.

8:59 p.m. - UD's lead is down to six with just under 12 minutes left.

9:01 p.m. - I'm trying to catch up on Top Chef while watching the UD game. I've fallen behind. I think I'm just heartbroken about the lawsuit preventing season six of Project Runway. And no, I'm not kidding. I love PR. I bet Tim Gunn smells like sunshine.

9:04 p.m. - The lead is down to five after a Fordham three.

9:05 p.m. - Another Fordham three and it's down to two. Ugly. Sagging defenses are killing UD.

9:07 p.m. - 7:48 left. Fordham now leads by one. So UD is a fraud, fucking fraud or another damn fucking fraud?

9:09 p.m. - UD gets a break after Fordham's Estwick is called for an intentional foul as Lowery was going for a layup on a fast break. Lowery misses the first free throw, makes the second. UD trails 58-57.

9:13 p.m. - This team can't make free throws. I swore we were past that crap.

9:14 p.m. - Huelsman gives UD the lead after finishing a fast break with a layup. He still has no rebounds.

9:15 p.m. - Estwick retakes the lead for Fordham with a basket and a UD foul. Free throw good. UD trails 61-59.

9:16 p.m. - Dear god, they might lose to Fordham. At home.

9:18 p.m. - One Huelsman free throw makes it 61-60.

9:19 p.m. - Marcus Johnson gives the Flyers the lead with a layup.

9:20 p.m. - Final media timeout with 3:45 and Fordham heading to the line after a blocking foul call on Huelsman that looked like a charge.

9:21 p.m. - Moore at the foul line for Fordham. He misses the front end of a one-and-one.

9:22 p.m. - Lowery with a big three from the corner at the end of a sloppy offensive series. Timeout Fordham. UD leads by four.

9:24 p.m. - An awful rushed series by UD turns into a layup for Fordham. 65-63.

9:25 p.m. - Big block by Wright to save the lead. UD timeout with just more than a minute left.

9:27 p.m. - Wright going to the line after drawing a foul...He makes the first...and the second. UD up by four with 45 seconds left...Timeout Rams with 39 seconds left.

9:29 p.m. - Charles Little draws a charge. Big play. Timeout UD.

9:31 p.m. - Marcus Johnson fouled with 30 seconds to go...Makes the first...and the second.

9:32 p.m. - London Warren fouls a three-point shooter and I wonder why this team is fucking stupid.

9:34 p.m. - Thomas to the line with UD up by three and 19 seconds left.

9:36 p.m. - Fordham hits a three to cut the lead to one. Ugh.

9:37 p.m. - Dear god... Fordham going to the line to potentially take the lead.

9:38 p.m. - Fordham makes the first. It's tied. UD timeout. 10 seconds left. This would be the worst loss in a long, long time.

9:38 p.m. - He mades the second. UD trails by one.

9:39 p.m. - Lowery coast to coast to give the Flyers the lead! Then he makes a steal at halfcourt to preserve the win! UD 72, Fordham 71.

9:40 p.m. - It's a win, but nothing to be happy about...

UMass Live Blog

2009-01-10T12:46:00.076-05:00

For the safety of my iced-in home in Columbus, I will be posting my thoughts during the UD game this afternoon at UMass. Feel free to follow along and add your thoughts in the comments.

12:56 p.m. - ChannelSurfing.net lists the game, but it's not working!

1:02 p.m. - Well, the video isn't working, and I'm not paying $10 for the UMass feed. Thus, I am stuck with Larry and Bucky. They're introducing the starters now.

1:04 p.m. - There's a Winter Storm Warning north of I-70, according to Larry. I live north of I-70! That explains why my car doors are iced shut.

1:06 p.m. - I still don't know why this game is in Springfield, Mass. It's nice, according to Bucky.

1:07 p.m. - UD wins tip. UMass starts in man-to-man.

1:10 p.m. - Marcus Johnson made a three! UD made a three! UD 5-4 early.

1:11 p.m. - Lowery makes a three! Wait, now it's a two. Thanks for nothing, Larry.

1:13 p.m. - Gaffney is killing the Flyers, but UD hits another three. The Flyers seem to like these rims.

1:14 p.m. - First media timeout at 15:21 mark with UD leading 10-8.

1:15 p.m. - WHIO airs a radio promo for the Rush Limbaugh program, which momentarily turns my brain into mush. That's the last political comment I will make. I promise.

1:17 p.m. - Another three! But Searcy commits a foul. Basket counts.

1:19 p.m. - For some reason there's a random beeping noise on the radio broadcast that's annoying me. UMass has tied the game, which has also annoyed me. UD has no rebounds yet, either. That's annoying.

1:24 p.m. - 11:06 left, UD 17-15 at the second media timeout. UD is getting outrebounded 10-3. Goodie.

1:27 p.m. - Gaffney may be hurt. Back spasms? Good.

1:29 p.m. - I'm watching Scrubs on mute and there was just an ad for Paul Blart: Mall Cop. I'd love to have heard the pitch meeting for this. "Yeah, so how about we make a movie about a mall cop. He's got to be fat. Who's available? Oh, yeah, how about the fat guy for the King of Queens. He's probably got nothing to do."

1:30 p.m. - UD has six team fouls already. Great.

1:31 p.m. - Harris hits a three. UMass now leads 20-17.

1:32 p.m. - UMass now in the one-and-one at the official timeout. There's 7:51 left and it's 20-17 Minutemen.

1:34 p.m. - It's 15-5 UMass on the boards. Ugh. Isn't that what Huelsman was supposed to be good at? He can't score, but he supposedly could rebound and play defense?

1:36 p.m. - London "Larren" steals and dunks to give UD a lead. Larry tripped over his words.

1:37 p.m. - 26-20 UD after Paul Williams (!) hits a three. UMass timeout! UD has only missed one three all game.

1:41 p.m. - So I like the Showtime series Dexter, even though I don't have Showtime. I watched the first season replayed on CBS during the writers' strike and got hooked. I have the first two seasons in DVD. The reason I mention this is that the actor who plays Dexter, Michael C. Hall, just got married to the actress who plays his sister. That kind of creeps me out for some reason.

1:42 p.m. - Nine team fouls already on Dayton with 4:25 left in the half. That's getting old.

1:45 p.m. - Chris Johnson gets a 10 on the Bud Light Dunkmeter according to Larry. I'd love to see what that Dunkmeter looks like. But UMass hits a three to tie the game.

1:46 p.m. - Last media timeout of the half at the 2:52 mark. 31-31.

1:48 p.m. - I have the Michigan State-Kansas game on mute on my HDTV (awesome, by the way) and they had a graphic with the Tom Izzo Coaching Tree. They circled Brian Gregory, but I have no idea what they said.

1:49 p.m. - That's 10 team fouls for the Flyers. UMass is 6-for-7 at the line. Ugh.

1:50 p.m. - UMass leads 32-31 after one made free throw.

1:51 p.m. - Kurt Huelsman gets his second foul, which is probably for the best.

1:52 p.m. - Wright's tip ties the game 33-33. Then Wright commits an offensive foul after a UMass turnover. At least it's just Wright's first.

1:53 p.m. - Larry and Bucky are angry at a call that went against UD. UMass gets a basket and a foul instead of what was apparently a walk. Ricky Harris has 17 points for the Minutemen. UD takes 30-second timeout after a missed free throw. Fourty-seven seconds left in the half and UD down two.

1:55 p.m. - I spoke too soon with Wright. That's his second straight offensive foul.

1:56 p.m. - UMass leads 35-33 at halftime. Time to switch my laundry...

2:05 p.m. - With my laundry changed from the washer to the dryer (How I love having a washer and dryer in my apartment!), I return to the cancellation list on WHIO. According to my finacee, everything in Dayton is closed.

2:08 p.m. - This is going to be a huge second half for UD. Here's my take. There hasn't been that much buzz about the 14-1 start because of last year's A-10 collapse. With a win here, people will feel better about the solid start. With a loss, the 14-1 start will mean absolutely nothing.

2:15 p.m. - The second half has begun...

2:19 p.m. - Searcy shows some strength in the paint and scores. I wish Huelsman would do that... A steal and a dunk by Lowery gives UD the lead.

2:20 p.m. - Fabrizius in. I'll let you know when he makes a stupid three-pointer attempt.

2:21 p.m. - One minute is the answer when Fabrizius would take an ill-advised three. He missed, natch.

2:22 p.m. - Media timeout at 15:49. UMass 44-40.

2:23 p.m. - UMass has been to the foul line 14 times. Six for UD.

2:25 p.m. - Hey, I found the video of the broadcast!

2:26 p.m. - Luke Fabrizius is awful. I turned on the video just to see him commit a turnover and then take another stupid shot on offense. Good god. Sit his ass down, please. UMass has it's biggest lead, 49-42.

2:28 p.m. - Ugh. I shouldn't have started watching this. They look just awful. Not to mention that the audio and video are off sync.

2:30 p.m. - UD down nine. Timeout. Same shit as last year.

2:32 p.m. - I've decided to go with Larry and Bucky on the radio with the UMass video feed. We'll see if that's any better.

2:33 p.m. - Actually this is even more off sync. Ugh. And I looked back in time to watch London Warren lose the ball on offense and commit UD's seven foul of the half - and it's flagrant.

2:34 p.m. - That's it for the video for me. I haven't seen a thing I've liked since I turned it on. Just radio for me.

2:35 p.m. - UD can't hit anything on offense. Stop me if you've heard it before, but here's a Dayton A-10 road game where the Flyers have come out totally fucking awful after halftime.

2:36 p.m. - UMass now up 13 after a block and a dunk. Good times with 11:47 to go. It's totally a disaster at this point. UMass, who lost by 30 in its last game, leads 55-42.

2:39 p.m. - Kurt Huelsman has four fouls, FYI. Hopefully he'll pick up the fifth soon.

2:41 p.m. - Since the game's essentially over. I thought I'd mention that the actors on "How I Met Your Mother" have recently gotten a raise. I just got into that show, and it's really good. If you haven't seen it, you should watch it. It's too late to save "Pushing Daisies," but hopefully the same fate won't befall HIMYM.

2:42 p.m. - UMass is on a 15-0 run, if you're still paying attention. I'm only half listening. Minutemen lead 59-42. It's a 20-4 run over the past 7 1/2 minutes, according to Larry.

2:44 p.m. - This is where the Flyers are screwed this year. A-10 teams are smart enough to know that UD can't hit the broad side of a barn on offense. Pack the paint and make them his a shot. They can't. They'll continue to lose.

2:45 p.m. - UD scores! Wow!

2:48 p.m. - A Fabrizius foul (He does more than take bad shots!) brings the game to a merciful media timeout with 7:39 left. UMass 59-44.

2:49 p.m. - My favorite quote from 30 Rock last week: "“When she’s in a foul mood she can be horribly unpleasant. But, other times, she is asleep.” — Jack. I love 30 Rock.

2:51 p.m. - Larry does a promo for Flyer Spirit. I've been there. There's nothing good there. Everything's overpriced and ugly.

2:53 p.m. - Huelsman fouls out. No points, two rebounds. I don't need to make a snarky comment. That line speaks for itself.

2:55 p.m. - UD timeout after a Gaffney dunk. UMass leads by 15.

2:57 p.m. - Larry says it's not quite time to warm up the bus. Yes, in fact, it is. He does a promo for Tanks. I lived in Dayton for more than 20 years. East Dayton even! And I've never been to Tanks.

2:58 p.m. - Final media timeout at 3:34. UMass 63-51.

3:00 p.m. - For what it's worth, I like the Ravens and Panthers today.

3:01 p.m. - UD within nine. It's too late.

3:02 p.m. - UMass hits a three to make it a 12-point game again. If Luke Fabrizius is the guy who is looked up to get the Flyers back in games when they're down, this team is totally fucked.

3:05 p.m. - Here's a suggestion for UD fans. Stop talking about being ranked. Stop talking about bracketology. Until this kind of garbage stops happening in the A-10, just shut up. This looked/sounded exactly like last season. A .500 record in the A-10 won't do it.

3:07 p.m. - It's mercifully over. UMass wins 75-62. And the annual A-10 collapse begins...

UMass Preview

2009-01-10T10:32:00.004-05:00

UMASS MINUTEMEN (5-8)

Head Coach: Derek Kellogg (first season)

Game Time: 1 p.m.

Location: Mass Mutual Center, Springfield, Mass.

Television: WHIO

All-Time Series: Tied 7-7

Last Meeting: The glorious unveiling of the blue uniforms last year was ruined when the Minutemen snapped UD's 13-game winning streak with an 82-71 victory at UD Arena.

UMass' Best Win: 61-60 over Kansas. Not sure how this team loses by 17 to Green Bay (they have a college?) then beats Kansas.

Probable Starting Lineup

G Ricky Harris - Jr. - 6'2 175 - 19.2
G Chris Lowe - Sr. - 6'0 160 - 10.8
G Anthony Gurley - So. - 6'3 185 - 11.5
F Tony Gaffney - Sr. - 6'8 208 - 10.8
C Luke Bonner – Sr. – 7’1 245 – 6.2

What a Win Would Mean

The Flyers are off to their best start in 52 years, but the way things went in the non-conference season and then in conference play last year probably has a lot of people feeling uneasy. Winning here would make everyone feel a little better about that start.

What a Loss Would Mean

Here we go again.

Breakdown

When I wrote "a lot of people" above, I was referring to myself. I've always considered myself a believer, but sub-consciously, I think I've tried to downplay this team's achievements, mostly because of how things went last year.

Speaking to that, this is about as fitting a conference opener as the Flyers could have:

1. It's a road game, and they've sucked on the road.

2. It's against UMass, the first team that exposed them last season.

Of course, this UMass team isn't the same one. The Minutemen no longer have star Gary Forbes or coach Travis Ford. They averaged 81 points per game last season. This year, 68.9.

And yet, this team looks like one that can still do some damage.

Ricky Harris was the A-10's most improved player last season, coming in right behind Forbes among the team's scoring leaders. His PPG have dropped from 18 down to 10 this year, but he's still a guy who can light it up.

Tony Gaffney and Chris Lowe, regular starters last year, are also back in the fold. They both average in double figures, with Gaffney averaging a double-double. In all, four players are in double figures, which is pretty solid balance.

For a while, things were working great for the Minutemen. That win over Kansas was part of a four-game winning streak in December. But since then, UMass has dropped two straight by wide margins. Houston beat the Minutemen 80-54 on Dec. 30. In the most recent game, Vanderbilt beat them 78-48.

That's a really bad loss, by the way, even though Vanderbilt's having a good year. Losing by 30 on your home court is rough. From what I can tell, the loss can be pinned largely on a bad shooting night. UMass hit on just 26 percent from the field.

It'll be interesting to see how they react. Today's game is in Springfield not Amherst, and it sounds like the Athletic Department has been trying to drum up a lot of interest. I guess they ended up with a marquee opponent, too, since the Flyers finished non-conference play with the best record in the A-10.

What the Flyers do from here on out will define their season. Today's the first step.

Can We Reach 40 Points?

2009-01-06T20:51:00.004-05:00

YES WE CAN!

Ugly ugly

2009-01-06T19:48:00.002-05:00

I'm watching the Miami game on my laptop, and it's 17-17 at halftime. I'm only mentioning this because I'm pretty sure my brain may turn into goo if the game gets any uglier, and this may have to serve as my final post.

Scouting the Enemy

2009-01-04T15:05:00.006-05:00

So I went to a Xavier game on New Year's Eve. I'm not proud of it. In fact, I don't even know why I went. Probably because I was bored, I have no life, and it was a free ticket to go see a Division I college basketball game.

I figured by going it would be a good chance to scout out the Musketeers and see how good they really are this season. The problem is that they were playing Robert Morris, who held the lead for about 30 seconds in the entire game and are not good at all (7-7 record as of this post, with their best victory coming over Delaware according to the ratings at http://www.kenpom.com/).

Before we get to the Musketeers, how about a few little known facts about Robert Morris coming to you from his page at wikipedia.org:

Was a signer of the Declaration of Independence

He was the first to use the dollar sign ($) on official documents in the U.S.

There is both a Robert Morris University (the one we are talking about) and a Robert Morris College (near Chicago, and not affiliated with the University)

Despite roughly three minutes of searching, I couldn't find any notable alumni worth passing along to you

Okay, enough of that crap. Let's talk about Xavier for a bit.

As I said before, it is very difficult to get a read on a team when they are playing the likes of RMU. There was no passion from the Xavier players, and it was a rather boring game. But I did come away with some impressions, which I will list below.

Jason Love quietly amassed 15 points, which I later found out was a career high. If you had asked me after the game how many points he had, I would have guessed around 6.

I leaned over to my friend who gave me the tickets (and is a Xavier fan), and said "I honestly don't know if Kenny Frease is good or just tall." My friend agreed, although we both concluded he has a lot of room to grow.

Xavier went 20-of-27 from the free throw line, and yet I still felt that they were not a good free throw shooting team (and the season numbers back me up on this).

Brad Redford can shoot lights out from 3-point range, and is going to be one of those annoying players that comes off the bench and lights you up for the next 4 years.

The Cintas Center is really nice. I've been there before, but I really like that arena.

If you try to click the stats link on Xavier's athletic website, it takes you to the roster page. That annoys me greatly.

The halftime entertainment was the Red Panda. She caught all the bowls perfectly. I was both amazed and slightly aroused at the same time, LOL.

In conclusion, I think Xavier is a good team. In fact, I would say that they'll probably win the A-10, but only by default. This team is nowhere near the Xavier teams of 4-5 years ago starring David West, Lionel Chalmers, and Romain Sato. They don't have that go-to guy that can just light you up. They seem to be much more balanced from 1 through about 8-9 on the bench, which makes them dangerous because you can't take away just one option. Again, I'm judging them based on a game against Robert Morris (and a few games I've seen on TV living in the Cincy area), but I'd be shocked if this team gets past the Sweet 16. They are nowhere near a top 10 team, and I have doubts whether they are even top 20.

Still the best team in the A-10? Sure, until someone proves otherwise. A Final Four contender? Not a chance.

Road Trip Photos

2009-01-03T12:35:00.022-05:00

Yesterday, my finacee and I continued our 2008-09 MAC World Tour when the Flyers traveled to Toledo. We made the trip to the Glass City just as we did when UD played Akron. I got a new fancy camera for Christmas, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to get back into taking photos, just as I did when I was a sportswriter in Wisconsin. I learned that I haven't changed much - for every 10 photos I take, maybe one doesn't suck. Here are some of the less-sucky ones:

The view from our seats. We really lucked into them. I called the UT ticket office Friday morning to buy tickets. I asked to be behind the UD bench, and the lady said those cost $36 (that's probably the first row there). I asked what was the next best, and she gave me seats in the corner of UT's student section, near the UD bench. It only cost $7, which was much better than $36. The problem was that Toledo students actually did show up, and that made a big mess. Students sat around us, but people had bought those seats. It was a big disaster, but at least we didn't have to move.

Chris Wright is introduced. He was probably called for a foul here. I can't really remember.

The opening tip, won by Toledo.

Early on, Kurt Huelsman was trying to establish himself inside. It didn't really last.

Somewhere in there is Brian Gregory...

Rocky the Rocket is a rejected Power Ranger. Know why he was rejected? Split pants.

It's no Red Panda (or Asian Bowl Lady, as Secaur calls her), but this halftime show was pretty good. These are the Russian Bar performers, and they were pretty good. This group actually gets more points than Red Panda because of the danger element. The worst thing Red Panda can do is break a bowl or two. The Russian Bar lady could break her neck. She lived, FYI.

Chris Wright comes off the court after his third foul. His constant foul trouble is starting to irritate me.

This photo saddens me. I knew the dunk was coming and it's still slightly burry. And you can't see his face that well. Taking action photos is hard.

A story that has kind of gone overlooked this season is the play of London Warren, who has been quietly impressive. No turnovers last night. Did you ever think you'd read "London Warren" and "no turnovers" in the same sentence before? I didn't. London's been solid.

When Luke Fabrizius came off the bench, a couple of older UD fans in front of us yelled out "Luuuuke!" I yelled back, "Stop doing that! You'll make him shoot more!" Naturally, he took the first two shots he could and missed the both badly.

Chris Johnson finished with five points and seven rebounds. He's still my man-crush.

Marcus Johnson was very good.

Finally, and this is my favorite moment of the night, the cheerleaders lead a chant of "T-O-L! E-D-O!" But these perky undergrads think they go to Tolode. Go Tolode! And this wasn't one of those situations where they did it once and realized their mistakes. They never noticed.

Overall, it was a fun trip. The camera's battery actually died in the final minute, but I had taken tons of photos over several hours on the drive to Toledo and before the game. I did a poor job of keeping track of the battery's power.

We actually made one last stop of the MAC World Tour after the game when we stopped for dinner near Bowling Green. Good times. And I have to ask why anyone would go to Toledo over Bowling Green. BGSU was 100 times nicer.

Ranked, or Not Ranked? You Be the Judge

2009-01-03T09:04:00.003-05:00

The Flyers are 13-1 for the second straight season.

They have quality wins over Marquette and....(well, that might be the only quality win, unless you count Auburn...and I don't because Auburn lost at home to Mercer, and any team that loses to Mercer can't be that good).

UD's lone loss is to Creighton, who appears to be pretty good with wins over Dayton and St. Joe's, amongst others (and conveniently ignoring the loss to Arkansas Little Rock).

So when the polls come out Monday, do you feel the Flyers deserve to be in the top 25?

Leave your comments below.

It's Marcus Johnson's world...

2009-01-03T01:15:00.004-05:00

...you just live in it.

More photos and fun tomorrow...

Why You Should Hate: Toledo

2009-01-01T16:41:00.008-05:00

(About as bad as the Dayton Flyers script logo)

The Toledo Rockets are 2-10 and really shouldn’t beat UD Friday night. That being said, they’ll probably keep the game close because it’s:
A) On the road.
B) Just one of those games UD usually fouls up.
C) A game I will see in person.

The Rockets have only defeated one Division I team - UMass(?!). The other win came against D-II West Georgia in the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic - whatever the fuck that is.

(You suck, UMass. Even Wright State beat Toledo.)

But there are plenty of reasons to hate Toledo, which always makes games more interesting. Once again, I am here to give you reasons to boil up some good old hate.

- They’re the St. Bonaventure of the MAC: Not in that they quit in the middle of a season because of a welding scandal, but the Rockets have recently been involved in a different type of scandal.

For those who perhaps didn’t read about this last summer, a former University of Toledo player was charge with fixing games. Sammy Villegas has been accused of shaving points in games during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons as part of a federal gambling probe. The last article I read about this was date in August. It made it seem like Villegas cooperated with the government and was to be sentenced in November. But I never found any updates. The charges reportedly carried a maximum sentence of five years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine.

Villegas was also accused of paying a Toledo teammate to take part in the point-shaving scheme. Stay classy, Glass City. Oh, and who bets on Toledo men’s basketball?!

- The Toledo War: Everyone knows about the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry, but the competition between the two states dates back to a near bloodless conflict between the Buckeye state and what was then just the Michigan Territory. And it was over Toledo. How lame.

The two states were fighting over the Toledo Strip, from the Indiana border to Lake Erie. It was claimed by both states because there was some disagreement as to where the state line should be. Militias from both states were sent to Toledo but there was no real fighting. The only injury was suffered by a Michigan sheriff, who was stabbed in the leg by an Ohioan after members of Michigan militia stole two horses, two pigs and chickens. Ohio was eventually awarded Toledo and the rest of the strip and Michigan got the beautiful Upper Peninsula. That’s an even trade.

I've been to Toledo before. I wouldn't fight for it.

- They ruined their hockey tradition: I know hockey is just below women’s pro beach volleyball in fans’ psyches right now, but I love the sport. I have to, really, since my parents met after a Dayton Gems IHL game in the 1970s. Anyway, my favorite minor-league hockey area when I was little was the Toledo Sports Arena, home of the Toledo Storm of the ECHL. It’s really old and smells bad, but it was a great place to see a game. Now it’s empty. The Toledo Mud Hens baseball team bought the Storm, shut them and the Sports Arena down and established the Toledo Walleye. That’s a stupid-ass nickname. Their new arena may be nice, but it’ll never be the Sports Arena.
/end rant.

(Not pictured: Dignity)

- Rocky the Rocket: He may be the lamest mascot ever. WTF? Is he a rejected Power Ranger or what? Apparently sometimes he shows up as an inflatable rocket that looks like a penis and is only used at football games. Lame.

- Tyrone Kent: There’s not other real reason to garner up some hate for this Toledo senior other than he appears to be the only Rocket who could hurt UD Friday night. He has led Gene Cross’ team in points per game with 14.5. He led the MAC in scoring last season with 16.9 PPG. Kent also had a 37-point performance in a loss to Xavier in a game in which he scored 32 in the second half.

On Kurt Huelsman/Booing

2008-12-30T09:48:00.003-05:00

A lot has been made over the past couple of weeks about the play of center Kurt Huelsman. The 6-10 native of St. Henry was apparently booed during the Marshall win last week (I was not there and I did not get a chance to watch it on my laptop). According to the DDN’s Doug Harris, Huelsman was booed when he would miss an inside shot.

Here’s what Brian Gregory had to say, in case you haven’t seen the most recent DDN article:

“I was shocked and, to be truthful, a little disappointed because I believe the majority of Flyer fans appreciate how he’s trying to positively impact our team,” Gregory said. “As a head coach, if fans want to get on me, that’s part of the job. I understand that. But as a young athlete, I think the only time you should be called out by the fans is if you’re not giving 100-percent effort. And there’s never a time Kurt Huelsman steps on the court that he’s not giving everything he has.”

Now I agree with Gregory that Huelsman does play hard. I can tell that he cares and that he’s trying. But he is averaging 3.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. On a team that can’t shoot from the perimeter, that’s simply not acceptable.

Unlike Gregory, I have no problem with fans booing. I never have. I do not think a fan should boo high school kids, but Division I basketball players get paid - they get a free ride to their university. And as someone who will be paying back student loans until he’s 70, getting a full scholarship is getting paid.

Yet I’m not sure UD fans should be booing Huelsman. Yes, he’s not making himself a presence in the paint. I’d argue Devin Searcy is doing a better job of that this season in his minutes on the court. However, I’m not entirely sold that the guards are getting him the ball in the best of situations. Nor do I think fans should totally ignore his rebounding, free throw shooting (which has skyrocketed this season) and defense.

I think the fans are frustrated because they (and I do, too) think about how good this UD team could be if they had an inside presence. It’s going to be the key to the season. Brian Roberts ain’t walkin’ through that door. The Flyers are going to need a post presence.

Beatdown Musings

2008-12-21T13:06:00.009-05:00

It was a game UD was supposed to win big, and the Flyers did exactly that. I don't think anyone is going to be able to take much knowledge away from this one, but it was still nice to see the Flyers take advantage of a team they were supposed to.

Here are my thoughts as I was watching:
• I wish Charles Little was like this every game. His vertical is illegal in most states.
• Nine dunks was a school record? I think a couple of Little's (especially the one on the inbounds play) should have counted twice.
• UNC-Greensboro is a bad basketball team. I honestly felt bad at times. The Spartans could never handle UD's pressure (usually it's the other way around!). I felt especially bad for PG Daniel Oliver, who not only struggled against the Flyers' D, but also got essentially knocked out in the first half. He did show toughness coming back in the second half, although he probably had to. The Spartans had less than a dozen players dressed.
• With about 10 minutes left and UD up 35 or so, I started thinking that it was time to get Chris Wright and Little out. No need for injuries. I held my breath.
• Kurt Huelsman was a little more aggressive. I've come to the conclusion that it's not all his fault. He's not getting the ball in good spots on the court because teams are daring the Flyers to beat them outside (which is smart). I would just like to see Huelsman be a little more assertive to try to make those 2-3 zones (which is all we're going to see when the Flyers play in the A-10) work a little more.
• Luke Fabrizius made two shots inside the three-point line. And he had a rebound! It's worth noting.
• I officially have a man-crush on Chris Johnson. That is all.
• And finally, yes, I am going to comment about the Marian blue unis. They were better in person than they are in photos. My aesthetic heart was aflutter. See UD? Trim on the arms and neck is your friend!
Seriously though:

Awesome jersey

Not awesome

I'm not saying use the blues all the time, but bust them out now and then. Keep them in the rotation. The Flyers should be wearing red on the road, but don't be afraid to break them out at Toledo or at one of the lesser A-10 road foes. Maybe even use them at Xavier just to shake things up. My only wish was that the shorts were like the regular shorts (with the checkers). That would have been great (and almost identical to the ones I proposed during the offseason).

Oh, and last year's blue jerseys were not cursed. UD lost to a NIT finalist that night, assholes. Someone sitting two seats down from me suggested burning the blue jerseys after the game. Of course he was old and stupid, but I still wanted to hit him in the face with a shovel.

It's because of the older, crusty fans/alumni that we can't have nice things. And it's their fault the "Dayton Flyers" block script is still our awful-looking logo. In the row in front of me, a little old lady proudly displayed a sweater with a giant block Dayton Flyers logo on it that she was going to give someone for Christmas. It's her fault. Stop buying that! That's an ugly logo on an ugly navy blue sweater. Ugh.
/end rant

Yes! Yes! Yes!

2008-12-16T18:48:00.005-05:00

The Marian blue jerseys are back!

YES!!!

UD will wear these bad boys Saturday vs. UNC-Greensboro, and I will make the drive to see them in person.

Astute Uni Watch nerds like myself will notice that these jerseys are different. The blue seems to be lighter (although that might be just in the photo - red backgrounds are a bitch when toning a photo). And the Dayton script is red.

For comparason's sake, here's the one they wore last year (and I own and will wear Saturday).

The blues do look different. I like my jersey's blue better, but I have to admit that I like the numbers and the red Dayton better.

You Know What's Worse Than Losing A Basketball Game?

2008-12-11T01:01:00.003-05:00

This...

IT'S ROSIE O'DONNELL IN LEATHER! LOOK AT IT! LOOK AT IT!!! THINK OF THE MOVIE EXIT TO EDEN AND LET FLY IN VOMITOUS GLORY THE BURRITO SUPREME YOU ATE EARLIER TONIGHT!!

************************************

Now, think about how you feel right now. Then reflect back on what you felt like after the Flyers' game. See, not even close. The sun will, in fact, come out tomorrow... so long as it can find its way from behind Rosie. (Insert canned laughter here)

There's no doubt that tonight's loss was disappointing. After starting 8-0, there's no way an 18-point loss can be put into much of a positive light, especially to a team from Omaha. But let me try anyway.

We played a road game against a team that had trouble missing shots. Not a stellar defensive effort (Remember guys, when there's a white guy at the perimiter, stay on him like, well, white on rice.), but one I can live with for tonight. We had bad nights from our two top scorers in Wright and M. Johnson, which is never good. And we played without Stephen Thomas and Little's knee injury was clearly more of a factor that Coach Gregory had hoped given the steep drop off in performance from last week to tonight. We were set up for failure tonight, folks.

Luckily, in the coming weeks the Flyers' schedule has nobody the caliber of Creighton. Toledo and Miami are likely the two toughest non-conference opponents left and Toledo lost to previously 0-6 Wright State earlier tonight. Looking at those teams, I see little possibility that UD is any worse than 13-2 heading into the conference opener against UMass on Jan. 10. Furthermore, I didn't think we'd beat Marquette, so we're already a game up on where I thought we'd be at this point.

In the end, we as fans would be fooling ourselves if we thought this season had any real importance outside conference play. Even if we'd lost to Marquette and even if we still lose to George Mason or Miami... all that matters for us is that we play well in-conference for the first time in what feels like ages. For the next couple weeks, it's all about getting the momentum going as we near January.

Besides, it could be worse... you could be waking up next to Rosie... in Omaha, Nebraska... at a cheap motel owned by the Korver family. But on the upside... free HBO. "Exit to Eden" starts in 15 minutes. Nice.

59-77

2008-12-10T22:07:00.004-05:00

Well, that was fun...

I don't even have much to say, but I'd figure people might want to leave comments.

Secaur's right, you know. Here's what he said after the Akron game and my happy post following it:
"I just feel bad for all of the poor UD fans getting suckered in for the third straight season. Sorry to be the perpetual wet blanket, but the 8-8 record in A10 play is coming, as is the NIT/CBI bid. Don't say I didn't warn ya."

Why must he hurt me with his words and his logic?

Why You Should Hate: Creighton

2008-12-10T14:39:00.008-05:00

(This little guy is a blue jay, not a bluejay. "Bluejays" don't exist.)

• It's "Blue Jays," not "Bluejays" – I'm a stickler for that kind of thing.

(Am I jealous I can't be happy like that? Yes. Although I wouldn't wear a Spam suit.)

• Success – Creighton has been to the NCAA Tournament six times in the 21st Century: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007. UD? Two appearances.

(L.A.M.E.)

• They did a "White Out" – There's almost nothing I hate more than White Outs. They're lame and unoriginal, unless you are in Winnipeg and the NHL's Jets happen to come back to town. Otherwise, it's no different than Thundersticks and the Wave, something that needs to die.

(Not pictured: Whoever is being called for a foul.)

• Nate Funk – This jerk scored 38 points in UD's last trip to Nebraska, a double-overtime loss to Creighton in which Funk made 15 free throws. Fifteen!! UD shot 15 – as a team! Oh, and Funk was not called for a foul all game. Obviously. Funk actually suffered a season-ending injury days later. Too bad it didn't happen four days before the UD game.

• It's Jesuit – You know which other school is Jesuit? You got it. Xavier. Fuck Xavier. All the hate comes back to Xavier.

I knew I liked Gary Parrish for a Reason

2008-12-08T14:24:00.003-05:00

He has UD in his top 25 + 1 which can be found here: http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/polls/top25

I particularly found the note interesting: "The Flyers are now 21-2 during the past two seasons when Chris Wright is in the lineup."

In addition to pointing out that Chris Wright is a beast, I think this shows a little bit how much the injury last year really hurt UD during the A-10 season.

Not in the top 25, but....

2008-12-08T14:18:00.002-05:00

...getting a little love, as the Flyers are ranked 27th if you extend the "other receiving votes" category.

Also, I saw this today on ESPN.com. It's admittedly full of terrible puns, but UD is getting a bit of national recognition.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3753638

Road Trip Fun

2008-12-07T14:59:00.008-05:00

(Photo by the DDN, bad text additions by me)

On Friday, my fiancee (a 2004 UD grad like myself) and I decided we would make the trip to Northeast Ohio Saturday night to watch the Flyers play their first official road game at Akron's Rhodes Arena. We had debated whether or not to go all week. We went to the UD-Akron game last season, which nearly gave me a heartattack, and my record at UD road games was awful (0-4). But with the college football season winding down, I have more free time, so I decided to buy general admission tickets and find UD fans to sit it. It was totally worth it.

I neglected to take a camea, mainly because I'm stupid and because the camera's battery power sucks. Thus, I don't have any photos. However, I did take down some notes to let you know what I was thinking before/during/after the game.

The weather was awful. I can only imagine what it was like for the buses of UD students/fans who made the trek. We only had to drive a couple of hours in a blowing snowstorm. I'm sure the trip was longer and more difficult for those coming from Dayton.
Some counties just suck and need to be called on it. Morrow County, I'm talking to you. I know it only officially snowed about an inch or two, but you still have to salt and plow the main highway in your crappy county. I-71 was a disaster in Morrow County. Also, thumbs down to the lower half of Ashland County. I wasn't expecting the roads to be perfect, but we couldn't even see the lanes on the way home in Morrow County.
We parked in a free parking garage near the arena. I was a huge fan.
Things I didn't know until we arrived at Rhodes Arena: Bob Huggins was the Zips' coach back in the day. There was a big banner with all of his accompishments there. I also did not know that there was/is a volleyball NIT. Apparently there was/is because Akron has been there twice. Also, I did not know that Zippy, Akron's kangaroo mascot, was the 2007 Capital One Mascot of the Year. But still - Rudy > Zippy.
I know everyone knows this, but UD fans are great. It was not a sell out, but I'd say anywhere before 40-50 percent of the fans there were wearing red. It was also a good showing by UD students, who were louder than Akron's Ak-rowdies. Oh, and Ak-rowdies is a stupid name for a student section, even if it's a section of less than 50 students.
The Red Scare shirt with "Bridge Out" and "We'll swim" on the back is awesome. The one with a big RS on the butt in the Dayton Flyers typeface is awful.
While I thought the students were great, I do have a complaint. Since when did the name of the school become Daytoooon? I love the Dayton Flyers chant, but stop adding 'Os.' It sounds stupid. Really stupid.
Brian Gregory's getting it. I felt he substituted well, kept players fresh. I think he's got the guys he wants now, and he's using them to try to wear other teams down. A deep bench also helps when he wants to send a player a message. For example, after Kurt Huelsman went up weakly for a shot on offense early in the game, Gregory immediately yanked him. I liked it. Gregory did nothing last night that frustrated me.
Chris Wright is better than you. And by "you" I mean everyone. He was clearly a man amongst boys. He needs to work on his midrange shots, though, and I want him to be more aggressive. He needs to be the go-to guy and play like it.
Akron native Marcus Johnson tried to do too much. UD won, so it's OK, but I felt he was trying too hard.
Charles Little may drive me insane. He's so athletic and talented, but sometimes it's just not there. He was great and awful at times yesterday.
The point guard play is going to be up and down all year. At times London Warren, Rob Lowery and even Stephen Thomas were bad. And at others they were good.
I like Huelsman. I just wanted to say that before I say that he's a wimp on offense. He does well defensively and (usually) in the rebounding category, but he's just not getting it offensively. I lost count of how many times he was just soft in the paint. Everytime he got the ball, he wasn't looking to score - he was looking for someone to pass the ball to. Go up strong, young man. I was going to say he played like a girl inside the paint, but I recently watched the UD women play in the Buckeye Classic, and that's just not fair to Justine Raterman and Casey Nance. I'm frustrated by Huelsman because he's got the talent.
Another reason I wanted Huelsman to do more was because of the officiating last night. It was just fucking awful. Against both sides, too. It was just atrocious. Too many fouls being called by refs who were the furthest away from the action. It was hard to watch.
The Red Panda acrobat performed at halftime and it was awesome. If you haven't seen her, check this out.
What pleased me the most about the victory was that I felt this would have been a loss last year. Akron started off hot, made a couple of threes and were up early. But UD never panicked, chipped at the lead over time, eventually tied it and won it. It was far from pretty, but it was gritty.
Nonetheless, they better play better than that at Creighton, or they'll lose. By a lot.
Also, Brian Gregory thanked me and my fiancee for coming and I thought that was pretty cool. We waited for the crowd to disperse after the game, and after Gregory finished his postgame radio interview on the court, we were standing over where Gregory would be heading back to the UD lockerroom. As he passed under us, he waved up and thanked us for coming and supporting the team. While I still occassionally disagree with some things he does on the court, I thought that was pretty cool.

Fuck You, AP

2008-12-07T10:14:00.002-05:00

Associated Press

AKRON, Ohio -- Charles Little's dunk with 1:56 left gave Dayton the lead and Chris Johnson hit two foul shots with 3 seconds left to preserve it in the Flyers' 54-50 victory over Akron on Saturday night.

Brett McKnight's 3-pointer with 3:45 remaining gave Akron (5-3) a 50-47 lead. A foul shot by London Warren and two by Kurt Huelsman tied it before an Akron miss led to Little's dunk that put the Fliers (8-0) ahead to stay.

The Fliers? The god damn Fliers? How hard is it to spell Flyers? Honestly. You go to hell and you die, anonymous AP writer.

Getting Too Old For This

2008-12-07T01:24:00.004-05:00

Two-plus hour drives in a blinding snow (at times) back and forth from Columbus to Akron to watch UD win a nailbiter. I'm exhausted.

More tomorrow – but I did want to say that this was a game last season's team probably would have lost.

Nice Dunk

2008-12-05T18:36:00.003-05:00

In case you missed it (and I did because I don't live in the Dayton area), here is video of Chris Wright's dunk a few games ago. My thanks to a loyal blog reader for sending me the link, and reminding me of every time I slack off and don't post in the blog.

http://thebiglead.com/?p=9743

Why You Should Hate: Akron

2008-12-05T14:23:00.007-05:00

First, a question: Who has two thumbs and is totally making the two hour road trip to see the Flyers for the first time in person in the regular season?

Answer: This guy.

OK, on to the hate. Akron is a MAC school, which isn't a reason to hate. I like the MAC. But their nickname is the Zips.

What the fuck. Seriously. A kangaroo? The name Zips apparently came from "zippers," which (according to the baston of truth, Wikipedia) were overshoes that were nationally popular in the 1920s and 1930s. They were invented in Akron. Fucking Lame. Good thing the Flyers aren't the Onions, since tying an onion on a person's belt was the style at the time.

Another reason to hate Akron? Rhodes Arena. Granted, I haven't been there before, but it's named after James A. Rhodes, the Ohio governor who ordered the Ohio National Guard to Kent State prior to the May 4, 1970 shootings. I guess I shouldn't judge, UD hired a former governor/crook a couple of years ago.

Other reasons to hate:
The Buchtelite: Akron's student newspaper. I know Akron used to be called Buchtel College, but it's still stupid. Flyer News > Buchtelite. FN forever!
Last Season: In the only regular season game I made it to last year, Akron took UD to double overtime before the Flyers prevailed. Jeremiah Wood and Ohio State transfer Nick Dials led the Zips with 21 and 19 points, respectively. I was all excited to see the ranked Flyers cruise, only to have to sit in the 400 level and watch the Flyers almost choke. Not good times. Dials and Wood are both gone now, but Nate Linhart (9 points, 10 rebounds) remains.

HEY!!!

2008-12-03T17:30:00.004-05:00

Holy shit! I’ve got huge news!!!

DAYTON IS 7-0!!!!!!1!!1 They beat Marquette!!!11!!!!!

What? You already knew?

Damn.

See, it’s been awhile for me here at PB&aB. Though I’m the same thousands of miles away from Dayton that I’ve been since I created this blog, I’ve felt further away than usual. I share a wireless internet connection with my neighbor, and my laptop doesn’t seem to really believe in its wireless abilities. Even listening to Larry and Bucky is an iffy proposition.

So here I am, seven games into the season, making a self-indulgent post trumpeting my return. Pretty lame, but I guess the point is, we’ve been struggling a bit in these parts. The same thing happened last year. Only, now we’re slightly more irrelevant due to the typically strong showing at Flyers Fieldhouse and the yeoman’s work being done over at the new Blackburn Review.

But I have a feeling we’ll eventually flip the switch and get this thing going. I’m going to try to do my part. Hopefully we’ll carve out a little niche. If anybody wants to buy me a new laptop, that might help.

In the meantime, I’m going to talk about myself again.

My first real "Dayton is playing now, you should pay attention" moment came when I saw the same ESPN headline that Broadcasting Fool made reference to below: “Dayton (0-for-24) sets 3-point futility record in win.”

Which is an awesome little gateway to the season. Futility.

But, as we’ve noted, it was a record and a win.

Since seeing that headline, I’ve tried my best to catch up, and I have to come one conclusion: this team is different than I thought it would be.

It’s true that I was unsure what kind of expectations to assign the Flyers this year. The loss of my ~~soulmate~~ favorite player Brian Roberts really left me wondering. This team was so reliant on him last year. I legitimately wondered how they would score points. I think I was actually afraid. I know a major college basketball team can score 40 points by accident, but still I worried.

But it would appear, from what I can gather, that the absence of Brian Roberts has actually opened things up. The Flyers are averaging 71.3 points per game without a single player averaging more than 13. That’s some balance we haven’t seen around here lately.

The bigger difference in this team seems to be their identity – and that’s the difference I’m most excited about.

In all the years BG has been at Dayton, I’ve not only questioned the Flyers’ identity, I’ve wondered if they’ve ever really found one. In years’ past, they’ve tried to be great at everything. In the process, they’ve been great at nothing.

It looks like this team has an identity, and it revolves around defense and rebounding. The Flyers haven’t yet allowed an opponent to shoot over 40 percent this year. Their rebounding margin is +9.3. Compare those numbers to last year. The Flyers allowed teams to shoot 43 percent from the field, and their rebounding margin was +4.3.

Statistically, these are not gigantic differences, but they’re big enough. More importantly, I think they underscore this team’s identity. They play defense and they rebound.

If we learned one thing from last year, it’s that those are good things to rely on. Last year, much of Dayton’s early success hinged on hot shooting. When the shots stopped falling, the Flyers stopped winning.

But look at the Auburn game. If the Flyers went 0-for-24 from three and shot 28 percent from the field last year, they probably lose by 20. This team won.

That’s pretty encouraging.

Anyway, that’s what I’ve got so far. If I need to be enlightened, enlighten me.

Otherwise, keep checking back, and we’ll try to get some more things going.

Go Flyers.

A Little Love for Marcus Johnson

2008-12-02T08:38:00.003-05:00

So even though my posts don't have much substance, I still like to think that I'm helping to carry the torch of this site, since a bunch of others aren't posting. I'm more of a traditional blogger, in which I read way too many other sites, and link to them when I see something interesting.

Over at sportsline.com, Gary Parrish has some good college basketball columns, and he referenced Marcus Johnson in yesterday's "Monday Look Back" (http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/11144735)

For those of you that don't like to follow links, here's his entry on Johnson:

"Player who deserves improper benefits: Marcus Johnson is to be recognized, not for what he did as much as what he didn't do. You see, Friday, Johnson launched five 3-point attempts, missed all five and helped Dayton set the record for most 3-point attempts without a make in a 60-59 overtime win against Auburn. Then on Saturday he adjusted, took zero 3-pointers and helped the Flyers to an 89-75 upset of Marquette while proving that less can be more, particularly when less means less misses and records for futility. "

FYI: He has a player who deserves improper benefits every week, and a player that should lose his scholarship each week as well. Don't read anything into it, it's just his way of praising a good performance or ridiculing a bad performance.

Why You Should Hate: Marquette

2008-11-29T16:18:00.007-05:00

Tonight, the Flyers will look to earn another win (and maybe make a three pointer) in the Chicago Invitational vs. Marquette. Here are some reasons to hate the Golden Warriors.

Who Are They Anyway?!: This team has had more nicknames than Wright State has fans. From Warriors, to Golden Eagles, to Golden Avalanche (my favorite), to Gold, to Hilltoppers, this team can't decide who they want to be. I can understand wanting to switch from the Native American logo and name, but pick something cool. And, no, Gold was not cool. It's the Golden Eagles for now, which just screams "high school."
Dwyane Wade: That's not how you spell Dwayne or Duane. Yes, you're a great player. But you lost to UD when you were in school. I should know. I was there. He didn't even lead Marquette in scoring. In that game, a 92-85 overtime win by UD, Ramad Marshall led all scorers with 23 points. (Go Go) D.J. Stelly added 18.
The Bradley Center: I spent two years in Wisconsin covering awful high school sports, and I call tell you that covering a game in the Bradley Center sucks. I know no one cares but me, but it's awful to shoot basketball photos there. Fuck that place.
Head coach Buzz Williams: No one named Buzz is a good person. Just take Home Alone as an example. That Buzz was a dick, so this Buzz is a dick.

A Win and a Record

2008-11-29T12:31:00.003-05:00

I'm pretty excited about last night's win over Auburn. I'm of the mindset that if you beat an SEC team on a neutral court to improve to 5-0 on the season, then you have a lot of reasons to be happy. No, I didn't see the game and I'm sure the Flyers have a lot to work on, but at this point of the season, a win is a win, particularly against a big conference opponent.

So here I was, delighted about the success of the Flyers, when I go to espn.com today and see this headline: "Dayton (0-for-24) sets 3-point futility record in win" http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=283332168

While I am sad to see the team go 0-for-24 from behind the arc (and seriously, could the new rule be making that big of a difference, or can this team just not shoot?), I'm still happy that the headline DIDN'T read like this: "Dayton (0-for-24) sets 3-point futility in loss". I will take an ugly win over a strong loss every day of the week.

Why You Should Hate: Auburn

2008-11-28T13:30:00.000-05:00

Just like the young man in the above video, I am a hater. I love this video because it's all hate. That is what's great about sports - the blind hate fans have for rival teams. It really gives sports a kick.

Obviously we all hate Xavier, but we UD fans should find reasons to hate all of the Flyers' opponents. As time permits, I will try to give you reasons to work yourself into a hate-filled lather prior to each UD game.

Today's target of hate: Auburn.
On first glance, there's not any specific reason to hate Auburn. They don't play UD often (only twice before today - both UD wins). They're in the deep South, far from A-10 territory. They're not even a basketball-obsessed school.

But there are reasons to hate Auburn. Here are a few:

War Eagle: I'm sorry, but War Eagle is just fucking stupid. For those who do not know, War Eagle is not only the school's battle cry and the name of its fight song, but it is also a live mascot. The current War Eagle, named Nova, is the seventh bird to live at Auburn. So why is War Eagle dumb? Because Auburn is the Tigers, not the Eagles. It's just lame.
Augie: Augie is the other Auburn mascot. He looks like he rides the short bus.
Location: Auburn is in Alabama. No one should have to live in Alabama, let alone choose to live down there.
Quantez Robertson: This 6-3, 200-pound senior guard is from Cincinnati. That's not really a great reason to hate Auburn, until you remember Xavier is in Cincinnati. It all comes back to hating Xavier.
NCAA Success: The Tigers have won five games in the Big Dance since 1989-90, which is five more than the Flyers have. That's a great reason to hate.