The Blame Game

For two days every sports media member has had his say on the events Saturday at the Cintas Center; the last two days its been the water cooler aficionados turn.  The name-calling and finger pointing is outrageous.  Each fan base firmly believes that its players and coaches were the victims and the other players and coaches are the real cause of all the problems.

From Bad to Worse

Forward to 3:15. This couldn't have been handled any worse by Xavier. Why are they back on the floor? Why are players in the UC family & friends section? Where is the coaching staff?

"That's what the Crosstown Shootout is about, Guys getting ejected, guys throwing elbows."

Snowballs chance in hell. That's what I would have told you the chances were of me ever writing anything in support of Mick Cronin.  However,  the events of the last day and a half have left me no choice.  The Xavier - UC game was a horrible event. Both sides should be embarrassed to no end and actions of individuals on both sides were deplorable.  That being said, Mick Cronin rose above the fray and acted how a leader of young men should act in that situation.  From the jump he was contrite, apologetic and vowed repercussions.

On flip side you have the Xavier reaction.  Immediately, 21 words in to his press conference, Chris Mack referred to the brawl as a scuffle.  My little sister and I scuffled as kids. What we were all witness to yesterday was a street fight, complete with trash talking, sucker punches and cowardly kicks. Next, Mack flat out lied to the media, "We’re not in the locker room talking about, ‘Let’s go after their throat or anything like that.’ " We know this is false because Terrell Holloway (Tu is not a name), told us as much after yesterday's game (and apparently after the Vanderbilt game as well), "We’ve got a whole bunch of gangsters in the locker room—not thugs, but tough guys on the court. We went out there and zipped them up at the end of the game. That’s our motto: We zip them up. That’s what we just did to them.”  So which is it? Is your motto to "Put 'em in a bodybag" Cobra Kai style or is it not? Someone is lying, and judging by Terrell's general lack of shyness, my money is on him.

All this being said, UC doesn't get a pass just because their coach has handled the post-game better than its Jesuit counterparts across town.  It was the UC players that acted most "gangsta," in Terrell's words, during the "scuffle." (Oh Chris you slay me) It was the UC players seen clearly throwing sucker punches, kicking Frease when he was on the floor, and attacking Redford as he was just getting there.  And unsurprisingly, the UC players received the harshest suspensions today.

If it were up to me Gates would have been done for the year, everyone else at UC that threw a punch would have received 5 game suspensions, and anyone that left the bench, 2 games.  As for the Muskies, I would have cancelled the trip to Maui (not realistic, I know), but it would have sent a message. I'm actually fine with Wells' four games, but Lyons & Terrell deserved more.  It was their actions that set the whole course of events in motion...that and the glorified GCL referees assigned to the game.

Talk leading up to the game was about the decreased interest in the game both locally and nationally, well they did a bang up job making sure everyone pays attention next year.  Well done to both sides.

Not a good weekend in sports

Ya take the good, ya take the bad...

That's what this weekend was in the sports world. Sure there were some
great games with great individual performances - did you see Tebow
intercept that pass at the end of the game to set up the FG by Tebow -
but we were also reminded this weekend of what's wrong with sports as
currently constructed.

The BCS sucks. Next subject.

Football has become a glorified game of two hand touch. Almost every
tackle has become a game of wait and see. Will he be flagged or won't
he. Big hits, that several seasons ago were celebrated on MNFs "Jacked
Up", are now outlawed and demonized. Players play every down in fear
that a 15 yard penalty and thousands of dollars in fines wait at the
other end of the whistle. Because of this; every player, college and
pro, is now thinking too much and going against what every coach
they've ever played for taught them, "Just play." How can you just
play when the are no universal rules - roughing the passer to one
referee is a good clean hit to another. Watch the last four weeks of
NFL play and the college bowl season. Examine the tackling, it's awful
because players are thinking and not playing.

Ron Santo is not a Hall of Fame baseball player and 96% of the voters
in his first year of eligibility, 1980, agree with me. Santo has zero
RBI, zero hits, and zero HRs in the ensuing thirty-one years, yet he
is now worthy of induction to a once exclusive club? How is this
possible? It's possible because the sporting world is soft. Santo, may
he rest in peace, was, by all accounts, a helluva guy, decent husband,
loving father; his baseball numbers, however, are most similar to Gary
Gaetti, Chili Davis, and Dale Murphy. Only Murphy is even a borderline
vote worthy player. The Baseball Hall has become the participation
trophy at the end of tee ball season with Santo's inclusion, who's
next...Sean Casey?

The Mrs. is the best.

Not a lot of women would let this occur, but not only does The Mrs . allow it she usually partakes. She's the best.

The Nose vs. Rat Face

Holy Shit! I totally forgot about the Greg Paulus aspect of this game. This is like Luke vs Darth but only if Luke was a whiny bitch that couldn't shoot.

Welcome

I have no idea what I'm doing here or where this is going, but I'm going to give it a shot.  My wife, from here on out known as "The Mrs.," told me I needed to do this because she thought I "should share your knowledge of sports."  Lucky for you I KNOW A LOT! So here we go...this will either go very well and I'll get rich and famous or this will die after a week.  Either way, sports will be watched and enjoyed.  We'll start it off with the coolest sporting moment I've ever witnessed.