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Monday, March 15th 2010 - Sports Commentary
Some old traditions were honored last night when the men's NCAA basketball tournament was seeded. One loss wasn't held against Syracuse, a quarterfinal loser at the Big East Tournament. The committee rewarded the season long body of work and the Orange got their first number one seed in three decades. Perhaps more significantly, also not held against the Orange was the status of fifth year senior center Arinze Onuaku, who was injured in the Big East Tournament loss to Georgetown. He was helped off the floor and the Orange tried to paint an optimistic picture of his NCAA availability, though it surprised no one when, after the seedings were announced, coach Jim Boeheim announced Onuaku's not likely to be ready for at least the early games. Syracuse went to the Big East as a likely number one seed. The fact that nothing that's happened since, particularly the loss of Onuaku, changed that should be of particular interest to a local coach awaiting tonight's selections for the women's tournament. The University of Hartford is in a similar situation to Syracuse, facing the loss of a key player, senior forward Erica Beverly, and coming off one loss in the conference tournament, to Vermont in the America East championship game. Going into that game the Hawks had compiled a 27-3 record that included a clean sweep of the conference slate, two of those wins over Vermont, while riding a twenty game winning streak. The Hawks went into Saturday's game poised for a six or seven seed. Now it's time to see if the NCAA is as good as it's word. That should not change. Last summer the NCAA called sixteen powerful, high profile coaches, including UConn's Geno Auriemma, Sherry Coale of Oklahoma and Hartford's Jen Rizzotti, to Indianapolis for a mock selection and to pick their brains on how various situations should be factored. The coaches were solid in their feelings about injuries. "There was a very strong concensus from all the coaches that you don't punish a team for an injury or a suspension", said Rizzotti, who then cited a situation from last season, "Baylor lost (leading scorer and rebounder) Danielle Wilson before the Big Twelve Tournament but went on to win it. How do you really predict that a team's not going to be able to play? The coaches were very adamant about not punishing a team for injuries." Rizzotti is quick to point out that she now has a horse in this race, but the opinions were expressed to the NCAA long before Beverly went down. What really separates her situation from that at Syracuse is that Boeheim has gone primarily with a seven player rotation. Rizzotti has played ten players deep all season. "The difference between a seven, eight, nine, ten seed is pretty significant", she says, "So don't punish us for an injury, because we're a very deep team that has a lot of weapons. It's not in my control, we'll worry about our seeding when it comes out", she says, "But I hope they reward our program for what we've accomplished." That should be the final word when the selection committee comes out of its room in Indianapolis tonight. This tournament is supposed to be a reward and nobody can predict outcomes. Every year twelve and thirteen seeds, even some lower, advance in round one. Taking it off the paper and playing the games is what makes it interesting. It's about the body of work, what you've done, not what the future may or may not bring. With a comment from the sports world, I'm Scott Gray.
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 - Sports Commentary
What streak? I didn't see any streak. If Geno Auriemma wasn't aware of any streak why should I be? All I remember is a blur of double digit wins, one getting to the point of looking so much like all the others. I don't really recall any streak. Somebody did say something about a streak going into last night's Big East semi final game at the XL Center, something about the top ranked UConn women's basketball team going for some kind of greater glory as they faced sixth ranked Notre Dame in the Big East tournament semi finals, but greater glory than what? A streak that would be better than one put up by another UConn team, from 2001-2003, but how could any team that didn't have Diana Taurasi possibly be better than one that did? Less than a minute into the game Skylar Diggins drove for a Notre Dame layup and just like that the streak everyone was talking about was in jeopardy. I do remember an eleven point win over Georgia Tech at Gampel Pavilion in November in another lifetime, but that came after a loss to Stanford in the previous final four. No streak there. There were some moments I suppose. I remember Maya Moore scoring forty points against Syracuse at the, let me see, was it the Civic Center or the XL Center, whatever, but that was just seventeen wins. It was about Maya, it wasn't about any streaks. Twenty minutes gone last night at the XL Center and the streak was still in jeopardy. UConn by three over a team that only lost to them by ten points forty four wins earlier. Shave one point off that margin, now that would have been something. It was only twenty seven straight wins, who ever could have known? Kalana Greene got the second half started last night with a twelve foot baseline jumper but Notre Dame followed with a layup and that streak, the one that would be better than Diana's, was still in danger of never happening. But Greene was relentless, eleven points in the second half, resurrecting memories of forty games earlier and a twenty point, ten rebound double double in a shellacking of South Florida. Seven games later, revenge for that afforementioned loss to Stanford and one win later, number thirty nine. Now that's a streak to take note of. Ten games later and the streak was in trouble. The damned Cardinal from Stanford again, leading at the half at the XL, until Maya Moore's flying, one touch, volleyball pass on the fast break served up a tantilizing preview of next year, when Geno really turns her loose. The streak was forty nine. And on it went. On and on and on, all by double digits, trailing for less than one hundred minutes in two seasons. There was a time when it was bad for women's basketball, bringing the competitiveness in the sport into question and removing all suspense, but now is no longer that time, as the curious draw closer to see just how good great can be, and for how long. "I thought this one, up to this point, was as difficult as any game we played", Geno said last night, when the streak was no longer in jeopardy. What streak? For seventy one games Geno said he didn't see any streak. I didn't see any streak. All I saw was a blur. But what a magnificent blur it was. With a comment from the sports world, I'm Scott Gray.
Wednesday, March 10th 2010 Sports Commentary
A very dejected Jim Calhoun sat head down in the interview room at Madison Square Garden yesterday afternoon talking about two basketball teams going in opposite directions, one climbing the heights of the Big East and the national polls, the other mired in unfathomable depths. He was talking about his UConn Huskies, limping home from the Big East tournament following the most dismal performance of the Calhoun era, wondering if an N-I-T bid is in the offing, or if it's worth accepting, and the St. John's Red Storm, the team that made the Huskies look so bad in extending their Big East tournament losing streak to five years. Calhoun could have been talking about his team and the one in the players lounge at the opposite end of Gampel Pavilion. It has definitely been a tale of two teams from Storrs and a tale of two senior classes. At Madison Square Garden yesterday afternoon, in the opening round of the Big East tournament, the senior Calhoun depended on the most, Jerome Dyson, had four points while turning the ball over nine times. At the XL Center last night, in the championship game of the women's Big East tournament, the senior Geno Auriemma depended on the most, Tina Charles, hit a jumper from the right elbow with just under thirteen minutes to go to give the Huskies their first double digit lead of the second half on the way to a win over West Virginia, their seventy second straight double digit win. Eighty seconds later she hit the same shot from the same spot and a devestating 27-4 game closing run was in full swing, the Huskies on their way to their sixteenth tournament title. In New York Jim Calhoun's fifth year senior, Stanley Robinson, continued to demonstrate a return of the immature attitudes, on the court and off, that led Calhoun to eject him to the real world for a year to get his head straight. In Hartford Geno Auriemma's fifth year senior, Kalana Greene, who'd been confronted with the harsh realities of life a sudden injury can bring and a major decision a year ago, whether to return for her final year of eligibility, vaulted herself to a Most Outstanding Player award with a fifteen point, twelve rebound, three assist effort while spearheading that defense that allowed just four points in the final fifteen and a half minutes. She continued to display her maturity after the game, telling reporters she wasn't sure what she'd be doing right now if she hadn't decided to return. She never got to the point of thinking that far ahead. At 33rd Street and 7th Avenue Jim Calhoun's little used forward who blossomed into a factor as a senior, Gavin Edwards, sat on the bench for the final four minutes, hands draped over his knees, looking straight ahead, wondering where it had all gone wrong. At Trumbull and Asylum Geno Auriemma's little used guard who blossomed into a senior role player, Meghan Gardler, adjusted her pony tail, set herself for the pass and the shot and buried the trey with just under five minutes left that would serve as the final dagger. What a way for a guy to pay back his high school coach, taking his daughter on the ride of her life. Two basketball teams are headed back to the Storrs Campus today. With the seniors leading the way they're going in different directions. With a comment from the sports world, I'm Scott Gray.
Thursday, March 11th 2010 - Sports Commentary
From where I'm sitting a four million dollar boost to the market's economy is worth keeping, and worth fighting for. All projections put the impact of hosting three basketball tournaments, the women's Big East at the XL Center and the men's and women's America East at the University of Hartford's Reich Family Pavilion, at at least that much. It's not too soon to say, "Let's do it again!" The America East has to be delighted with the job at Hartford, hosting two tournaments at once, something a lot of observers didn't think could be done. After years of hosting the women's tournament they made it look easy. Hartford offers a central location for all league teams, from Maine to Baltimore, and their fans, and there was an electricity in the building for all games, not just those involving the host teams. With a sponsor of Newman's Own's profile, if Hartford wants it again it should be a no brainer. The Big East is more problematic. They couldn't put ten thousand fannies into the seats for any session and the league has yet to talk extension beyond next year, the final year on the current deal. There's a feeling among league officials that Hartford hasn't created the sizzle the event needs and there's lobbying for a change to a "destination" site, such as Tampa, Florida. It's time for Hartford to step up. XL Center Executive Director Chuck Steedman is working his brains out, doing every little thing he can on his own to make it fun to be here. Tuesday morning his staff creamed the Big East staff in a game of full court basketball on the arena court. But this is a big time enterprise that needs a big time, market wide committment. Let me throw out some ideas just to get my e-mail burning with reasons why it can't be done. But, you know what, if you want to impress people you make the undoable doable. The state has a lot of resources, use them. Let's bring Rentschler Field and it's beautiful, hardly ever mentioned, banquet facility into play. Bring the teams from both conferences in a day early and host a gala affair for league officials and coaches from both, attended by the state's top dignitaries, the governor, senators, congressmen, they all have a stake in this. Take out the Convention Center at the same time, two floors with ongoing entertainment for the players from both leagues (bring in some of the quality half time acts both teams have employed that the players never get to see). Let the seniors police their teams while the coaches are at their suaree across the river, they're mature and capable and the kids get a night on their own. Make this market a "destination" by putting our best foot forward where everyone can see it with some form of creative competition at each party offering a grand prize of off season trips for four to Hartford, a four day weekend, air travel, limousines, dinner at Max, a Saturday afternoon backstage tour at the Bushnell with front and center orchestra seats for the latest Broadway road tour that night, Sunday brunch on the Lady Katherine, tours of the Mark Twain and Harriett Beacher Stowe houses, a shopping trip to a high end downtown haberdashery. When they come here to play basketball they don't get exposed to Hartford's hidden gems. A contest like that would put them all up front for people to see and two lucky attendees will get to experience it all first hand when the city's in full bloom. That's the sort of thing that creates a buzz. And make sure the parking garages are all on the same page during the tournaments. Five bucks for each round of the Big East at Constitution Plaza, two blocks away, is perfect. Let's sell ourselves. "Welcome to Hartford. You'll be glad you came!!" By the way, the press room food was better at the America East. Kudos to Jim Keener and Dan Reude for the barbacued brisket. With a comment from the sports world, I'm Scott Gray.
Friday, March 12th 2010 - Sports Commentary
Before fans of the UConn men's basketball team start lining up on the Bulkley Bridge for a cold header into the Connecticut they should take a deep breath and reassess the situation, now that the big piece of the puzzle that this season's edition of the Huskies became is in place. Yesterday coach Jim Calhoun, the architect of the rise to national prominence, issued a statement saying he will be back next season, an announcement confirmed by athletic director Jeff Hathaway. No fans in America should be more aware of the emotional roller coaster ride college basketball, with it's ever changing rosters, is than UConn fans. Last season the Huskies advanced to the final four, this year they'll wait until the NCAA tournament brackets are filled to see if they get an NIT bid. The balance from season to season can be fragile. At UConn it comes down to Calhoun. He has the final say on which recruits are offered scholarships and his success rate with those decisions has been remarkable, as thirteen current NBA players attests. In most cases when a player comes up short of expectations it has more to do with mental toughness than physical ability. UConn fans judged this year's team too harshly in the wake of a disappointing finish that caused the NCAA bubble to abruptly burst. Scratch the surface of this season's underachievers and you may find some diamonds in the rough, for whom the NIT could be the perfect finishing school. The end of this season could become a case of addition by subtraction for the Huskies, with a mixed bag of exiting seniors. Gavin Edwards developed into a nice role player, but he was never an impact player in the Big East. Jerome Dyson was just named the Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year, but his late season meltdown might indicate he was one of those players not mentally strong enough to respond to Calhoun's coaching style. Nor was Stanley Robinson, who spent his junior season, after a year in Purgatory, looking like a smaller version of Rip Hamilton and building some NBA draft cred before spending the second half of his senior season giving all that equity back. Watching him down the stretch one can only wonder at what's actually going on there. The returnees are that thin line of dawn's light on the horizon. Sophomore guard Kemba Walker tried to be the galvanizing force on a team with three seniors, an uncomfortable position to be in, but one in which he showed himself to be a true Calhoun player. Anyone who saw the kids from Tilton Academy play at the prep level knows there's a lot more to Alex Oriachi and Jamaal Coombs-McDaniel than we got to see this season. They're very talented players who appear to just be looking for a comfort level at this talent level. Ater Majok is still a project, but one who demonstrated he's capable of moving forward by giant steps, earning a starting role, and of yet living up to Calhoun's hype. Coming in are three quality recruits, two of whom, guard Jeremy Lamb and swingman Roscoe Smith, have already signed letters while center Michael Bradley has committed but has yet to sign. Getting another recruit may be problematic. Calhoun has one more scholarship but the NCAA has yet to rule on the Nate Miles matter. That scholarship may be in jeopardy. But the core four awaiting the incoming class give them a much stiffer backbone to be propped up by than this year's newcomers had. Don't jump off that bridge yet. The solid nucleus is there for next year. More importantly, the key component announced yesterday that he will also be back. With a comment from the sports world, I'm Scott Gray.
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