Category Archives: NCAA

MARCHING TO MY OWN BEAT

Posted on March 17, 2011 | 2 Comments

March Madness is everywhere.  Millions of hours of work time are being wasted across the country as brackets are filled out, the President is making his picks as nuclear reactors are on the verge of explosion and water cooler arguments are erupting across the country in a quest to prove ourselves more knowledgeable then our neighbor.  In fact March Madness and the promise to fill out a bracket is why I originally chose to coach College Basketball.  I could watch basketball every day for hours at a time, on top of weeks at a time and call it research for my job. 

My love for filling out and winning the brackets goes back to college when I won the Colonial Square pool in college.  There was no electronic bracket, no constant updates on pool totals, no up to the minute breakdowns on who had moved into first place; all we had was a pencil, a paper bracket and some poor guy totaling up the correct picks on a nightly basis.  I still have no idea how I won as it seemed like everyone was upset that year but I wasn’t going to argue. $300 goes a long, long way at nickel beer night for at least several months, in fact if I hadn’t run out of eligibility I think that I could have gotten another few months out of those nickels. 

 Each year my husband runs a bracket but of course there is no money involved since our family and friends are spread out over the entire world.  This year when March rolled around I started reading what the experts where saying and decided to throw everything they believed out the window and use my own method of madness.  I chose my picks based on simple reason, I either like you or I don’t or I dislike you less then I dislike the other coach.  So in no particular order and no rhyme or reason here are my picks.

I picked the winner of the USC/VCU game over Georgetown because anyone growing up in New York when Chris Mullin played at St. John’s can’t pick Georgetown to win anything.  So Hoya Hoya Saxa pack your bags and go home. I have Notre Dame going to the Elite 8 and hitting the road because ND was up by 38 points last week and Mike Brey could only find 3 minutes to play his senior walk on.  Well that and the twins of Kansas will be too much for the Irish.  My college roommate said the other day after Notre Dame’s OT loss to Louisville, “It’s so hard being a ND fan sometimes.”  Course if that is too challenging you could try being an Army fan like we are in this house.  (I’m willing to bet that we were two of the only stay at home mom’s in the country who were having a mid day conversation about the Fab 5 documentary from Sunday night).

Ohio State beats Kentucky because Calipari is the Coach who has had two Final Fours vacated from his record, along with a Championship game vacated.  Apparently if you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying should be his motto.  So Ohio State advances to the Elite 8 where my love for the ‘Cuse, going back to Seikaly and Coleman sends the Buckeyes back to Columbus with Syracuse losing to Duke in the Final Four.  Villanova ended the season in what has to be one of the worst skid’s in Jay Wright’s career,  but I’ll be damned if Jay allows his team to lose to George Mason in the first round.  Coach Wright is the man who used to pencil in on the practice sheet when an assistant coach had to dive on the floor to save a ball so the players would understand that everyone goes hard all the time.  I’ve got Connecticut beating Cincinnati just because they are the better team, but I have them beating San Diego State because Calhoun is clearly smarter than Steve Fisher.  Calhoun has managed to avoid getting caught in any major cheating violations, where as Fisher well we know where his Final Four Banners are now hanging.  St. John’s advances two games in my bracket because I love St. John’s, but I am scared to death of Gonzaga.   Michigan State and Florida meet with Florida moving on to the Elite 8 because Billy Donovan is still the little PG from Long Island who accomplished more than most ever thought possible. I have Utah State and Belmont advancing to meet each other, with Utah State beating Belmont and then losing to Pittsburgh.  Florida will give Pittsburgh a run for their money but Jamie Dixon has the greatest angel in college basketball sitting on his shoulder.  So Pittsburgh and Duke it is in the championship game with Duke winning it all. 

Duke wins because Coach K is the greatest coach in the game right now.  He adapted and motivated his team this year in the face of adversity and somehow led them to a #1 seed after Kyrie Irving was injured in December. There is no doubt in my mind that Irving’s injury was a blessing in disguise allowing players like Kelly and Curry to develop and gain valuable experience. Now with Irving on the verge of returning to the court and splitting defenders, I can only see defenses scrambling to recover. So Duke wins back to back championships and another banner is raised in Cameron.  

FOR NOW I am like a kid on the night before Christmas because when I win our pool my husband will be putting the kids to sleep for a month.

→ 2 Comments

Posted in basketball, Duke, March Madness, NCAA

Tagged , , ,

A COKE AND A SMILE

Posted on March 11, 2011 | 2 Comments

We all know by now that BYU has suspended Brandon Davies from the basketball team for the rest of the season.   Rumor or truth I don’t know which but it is because he had premarital sex.  Honestly I don’t care what transgression he committed as he navigates his way through his college life, it is not my business.   In my opinion his mistake should be between himself and his school.

Brandon Davies, his teammates and all student body members sign an Honor Code when they enter BYU. If a student chooses to violate the Honor Code that is their choice and with choice comes repercussions.   When I coached at Hawaii Pacific University several years ago our opponent BYU-Hawaii did not suspend one of their female players when she became pregnant, they kicked her out of school.  So are the consequences of the Honor Code at BYU applied consistently? Why is the female player kicked out of school, but the male player so far allowed to remain enrolled in school?  Each committed the same indiscretion but received very different consequences.  What about the student who is not an athlete or a participant in extracurricular activities?  How are they punished when there is no love of the game to take away?

The world of NCAA athletics is fraught with players and coaches cutting corners, violating rules and then refusing to accept responsibility.  Jim “I don’t think less of myself” Tressell can’t figure out whom to report a violation to at Ohio State.  Even though I am 100% positive he has an NCAA Compliance Office in his athletic department and an Athletic Director who could tell him how to find it if he is that confused.  Thank goodness part of his punishment is going to be to attend compliance meetings.  Then again this is the man who convinced the NCAA that his players who committed a violation should sit out games next season and not the Bowl game that was next on their schedule.  (Perhaps the NCAA accepted this because of the money bowl games generate?)  Course we could always reference the precedent set by Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl who cried on television about his mistakes after lying to the NCAA about his cheating ways.  Then several days later “bumps” a recruit while out on the recruiting trail.  Yes, yes I think he learned his lesson well.  I say fire the athletic directors who allow them to get away with this nonsense. 

My point is that BYU is an institution that is actually enforcing their rules, their regulations and their Code.  They shouldn’t be commended for enacting their rules, but they are finding themselves in the spotlight because so few schools actually hold their players, coaches and administrators to the standard that is set for them by the NCAA.   My heart breaks for Brandon Davies because the entire country is now aware of the “sexual” misconduct he and his girlfriend committed, since BYU chose to handle their mistake on a national stage, when it is most certainly not any of our business.

FOR NOW I AM GOING TO DRINK A COKE WHILE I GO REMOVE BYU FROM MY ELITE 8 BRACKET

 

→ 2 Comments

Posted in basketball, Brandon Davies, BYU, NCAA

Tagged , , ,

The Rich Get Richer

Posted on April 28, 2010 | 2 Comments

THE RICH GET RICHER

Apparently the powers that be in the NCAA office heard my rantings that expanding the NCAA tournament to 96 teams would be the equivalent of handing out trophies to everyone just for participating.  Gone would be the prestige associated with qualifying for the tournament and being considered an “elite” team.  This week the NCAA announced that they would expand to 68 teams, which in my mind is the best possible solution given the fact that the NCAA was hell bent on expansion.

 The NCAA and CBS sports signed a $10.8 billion deal good for the next 14 years.  On the plus side March Madness fans will be able to see regional games in their entirety, on the negative side student athletes still won’t be receiving any of the money that their hard work, dedication and drive do so much to generate.  In an era when million dollar contracts are the norm for high level coaches don’t the student athletes deserve to have a trust established for them so that when they graduate and suddenly find themselves going “pro” in something other than their sport they actually have the opportunity to succeed in finding a job? 

 No student athlete at the DI level has the time to participate in internships relevant to their major or hold summer jobs to build up their financial reserves for when they graduate so that they can afford to live while they job hunt.  The fairy tale of DI athletes being handed jobs is simply that a fairy tale.  Nor is it appropriate to state that the value of their scholarship is equivalent to the time and effort they invest on a daily basis to participating in a collegiate sport.  If the average cost of tuition, room and board works out to about $30,000, a regular student could work 40 hours a week at $14.00 an hour for 52 weeks and be able to pay off their tuition.  The regular student athlete easily devotes 40 hours a week to “athletic” related activities even though rules state 20 hours a week of practice and film time.  Naturally that doesn’t factor in bus and airplane rides, time in the training room, optional but mandatory shooting, volunteer clinics and a litany of other time consuming items.  It would also be remarkable if the NCAA factored injury pay to help pay for long term care down the line.  How many former collegiate athletes 15 years after graduation are suffering the after effects of concussions, knee reconstructions, steel rods implanted in shin bones and shoulder reconstructions incurred during their playing years? My sister, best friend and husband combined have had 12 surgeries, all former collegiate athletes.  How many of them are receiving health care help from the NCAA? NONE

 In my opinion the NCAA has the most brilliant minds in the country working for them as they have found a way to legally make money off the backs of individuals that they do not compensate.  How absolutely brilliant is that? They have managed to “hire” workers for free as it is the colleges’ responsibility to provide the scholarships, fund the teams and pay the staff.  In some cases the workers are under the age of 18, so I am thinking that Kate Gosselin has nothing on the NCAA.  They maintain their tax exempt status as a non-profit because they are organized and operate exclusively for educational purposes.  Is the NCAA any more worthy of tax-exempt status then the “houses” in my parents’ neighborhood that hang a sign out front and call themselves a church?  In this case I would argue that the NCAA’s tax exempt status is a good thing because it forces full disclosure and transparency.

 In any case the rich are getting richer while the student athletes are still well student athletes.

 FOR NOW I AM WAITING TO SEE HOW THE RUMORED BIG TEN EXPANSION EFFECTS MY BELOVED BIG EAST BASKETBALL CONFERENCE.

→ 2 Comments

Posted in basketball, Duke, NCAA, Uncategorized

Tagged , ,

FLYING DUTCHMEN YOUR SHIP WAS SUNK BY NAPOLEAN…I MEAN Stuart Rabinowitz

Posted on January 23, 2010 | 1 Comment

In early December, President Stuart Rabinowitz of Hofstra University announced that they would be dropping their I AA football team. Not man enough to inform the team and coaching staff himself, Rabinowitz allowed his athletic director Jack Hayes to drop the bombshell to the team just hours before the news was made public. Stuart cited the excessive cost of $4.3 million to field the team as the reason for its demise. That number is damn misleading as tuition, room and board at Hofstra is $46,348 (according to their website) at 63 football scholarships equals $2,919,924.  The football program doesn’t actually pay Hofstra that money because it would be the equivalent of you paying your parents for allowing you to live in their house when you were a child. That $4.3 million is now $1,380,076 and suddenly the football program isn’t so abhorrently expensive.  Need more money Stuart? Then perhaps we can knock $364,366 from your $864,366 salary and put it in line with President Obama’s at $500,000 a year. (I figure if he can lead a country on that salary then you can lead a fiefdom for the same salary minus Airforce One and the White House). Just like that we have the football team’s deficit down to $1,015,710 and if we drop the Music, Dance and Drama program and allocate that money to football we will be knocking off another $300,000. Does that suggestion sound preposterous and shocking to you?  Anymore so then taking the football money and distributing it to “new and enhanced academic initiatives and increasing funds for need-based scholarships.”

 Any fan of Hofstra is certainly acquainted with all of the names who have gone onto play or coach in the NFL; Raheem Morris, Adams, Chrebet, Shulters, Colston, Ellis, Newton, Harris, Fiore, Graham, Colon, Arrington, Bowen and Carmazzi.  The NCAA has a great commercial that says, “There are over 400,000 NCAA student-athletes, and almost all of us will be going pro in something other than sports.” This is where Rabinowitz fails to understand the true importance of athletics and the impact Hofstra football has on the Long Island community.  During the press conference Stuart stated that “The cost of the football program, now and in the future, far exceeds the return possible.  There is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow”.  Can returns only be valued in dollars and cents? 

 Jimmy Jones rushed for over 2,000 yards as a Hofstra football player and has repaid the value of his scholarship to the Freeport community a hundred times over.  Jimmy’s family funding his college education was not an option (does that fall under a need based scholarship Stu?) and coming out of Freeport High School he made the decision to attend Hofstra (turning down out of state offers) and play in front of the community that supported him during his high school years.  Today Jimmy Jones is a Phys Ed teacher and the Football Varsity Assistant Coach at Freeport High School and is a daily walking example to his students, his players and his community of what hard work, dedication, sacrifice and dreams can allow you to achieve.  Everyday Jimmy is making a difference in the lives of children and isn’t that what higher education is supposed to embody.  Thanks to President Rabinowitz there will never be another Jimmy Jones who remains home to play football at Hofstra, returns to his community and succeeds in every sense of the word.  The next Jimmy Jones will leave Long Island to play 1AA football, not return to his community but remain in the area of his University as so many Hofstra football players have done in the past and instead make an impact on that community.  Jimmy Jones, Toby Elmore, Rocky Butler all active in the Long Island community are the true return of the value of a Hofstra football program. 

 Rabinowitz says a two year study was conducted on sports spending at the University and that cutting football was the only cost effective option.  Where was the transparency during this study?  How many former Hofstra football players, coaches or athletic directors were invited to participate in this study?  The free advertising Hofstra receives when ESPN airs a special on Colston, or when Raheem Morris coaches a game in Tampa Bay was that broken down into dollars and cents? Did anybody suggest moving football game times to Friday or Saturday night start times so they didn’t conflict with the hundreds of high school games that are occurring at the same time on Long Island?  Hofstra athletic events have never been supported by the students, the fans have always been from the Long Island community so why not provide them with the opportunity to actually attend games.  Long Island has long suffered from an identity crisis due to the hundreds of towns that are all locally governed.  Rabinowitz could have utilized Hofstra Football as a unifying point for Long Islanders but missed the boat completely.  If Rabinowitz truly wanted to save football why not hire an outside marketing firm to promote and fill the football stadium since Hofstra is located in the largest media outlet in the world. I am full of ideas and suggestions, I can only imagine what others could have contributed if given the opportunity to participate. Perhaps this was all simply a self fulfilling prophecy for Rabinowitz.

 As a former student athlete and coach at Hofstra University I am truly saddened by the termination of the football program because it is a direct representation of Rabinowitz’s view on athletics. If you have met Rabinowitz you know immediately he is not a fan of athletics and wants Hofstra to be known in the upper echelons of higher education for which I can’t fault him. I can condemn him though for not having the guts to embrace former President Shuart’s legacy of athletics, while building his own vision for Hofstra University. 

For now I have joined Help Keep Hofstra Football on Facebook, but am realistic enough to know that the only way Hofstra football will return is when the regime I mean Rabinowitz retires. 

→ 1 Comment

Posted in College Football, NCAA

Tagged , , , , ,

From Volunteer to Trojan Man

Posted on January 16, 2010 | Leave a comment

I had planned to write about my new expanded hunting vocabulary from a trip to my in laws this past week but my dedicated following of fans will have to wait another day for that run through.  Instead the oh so inspired hiring of Lane Kiffin by USC has provided me with the opportunity to share my brilliant views on this fiasco which seems to be another “quality” hire by athletic director Mike Garrett who thrives on name hirings with little substance. 

 Just so happens that I was on the phone when Lane and Mike were speaking in late December about Lane leaving Knoxville and returning to Trojan land… “Mike I truly want to be the head TROJAN MAN but we really need to wait until 31 December when my daddy’s retention bonus of $300,000 is given to him.  Any time after that and you can name me the new head coach at USC. Also I would like a clause written in my contract that if I go 9-6 in 2010 I get my own special bonus since that is my best won-loss record to date.  The other demand I have is that we find a more auspicious manner in which to pay off our players.  I discovered that leaving an envelope of cash and a new car for Reggie worked well to make him happy but seems the NCAA has kinda sorta caught on.  Take care of all of my requests Mike and you can call me TROJAN MAN”.

 A few nights ago the fans in Tennessee rioted over Kiffin leaving, but I prefer to view it as a celebration of good riddance. Tennessee took a chance on Kiffin who repaid them by remaining a whopping 14 months in Knoxville, leaving recruits dreams in tatters, a trail of secondary violations, a feud with Urban Meyer, 3 players arrested for armed robbery, an average record of 9-6 and his daddy’s pockets lined with enough green to run the Hofstra football program.  Tennessee is a program with history, tradition, fans and money to keep any coach happy. If you are a good enough coach you can win a national championship at Tennessee and so Tennessee fans you should be happy to rid yourselves of a coach that will step on and climb over anyone to get to where he is going, loyalty be damned. 

 Mike Garrett always goes for name and flash when it is time to hire coaches.  He proved it when he hired Michael Cooper for the women’s basketball job in June allowing him to start coaching at the end of September even though he had never coached at the college level.  Cooper inherited a team of talent that should have been marching him into the Sweet 16 (maybe even the Final 4) but with a record of 9-6 that hardly seems likely. 

 Tim Floyd brought the men’s program back into the national spotlight by snagging the great OJ Mayo for a large handful of cash.  Floyd and Mayo are in the NBA having a blast, while this year’s basketball team is left with their playoff dreams snatched from their hands as USC has announced self imposed sanctions for cheating when Mayo was playing.  Sweet huh? 

 Seems to me that Mike Garrett is right on track with the Kiffin hire.

 For now I would love it if someone formed a committee to oversee Mike Garrett

→ Leave a comment

Posted in College Football, NCAA

Tagged , , , ,

Elizabeth Lambert vs. Tonya Harding

Posted on November 19, 2009 | 1 Comment

 Elizabeth Lambert vs. Tonya Harding

For those of you who have been living in a black hole the past few weeks and don’t know who Elizabeth Lambert is let me help you out.  She is the University of New Mexico Soccer player who achieved millions of hits on YouTube when her brain was stolen by aliens in a conference playoff game vs. BYU.  “Miss” (I use the term loosely) Lambert over the course of the game kidney punched an opponent, tripped another player, slapped a player in the face while battling for the ball and then to top it off yanked a player’s hair so hard it probably gave her whiplash as she slammed to the ground.  Yesterday she broke her silence after the aliens finally returned her brain.

“I think the way the video came out, it did make me look like a monster.  That’s not the player I am.  I’m not out there trying to hurt players.  I definitely feel that because I am a female it did bring about a lot more attention than if a male were to do it.  The female, we’re still looked at as, Oh we kick the ball around and score a goal.  But it’s not.  We train very hard to reach the highest level we can get to.  It’s a game. Sports are physical”

 Let me help you out dear sweet Elizabeth…the way you play the game is an insult to any player that takes the field in soccer, male or female.  The reason you look like a monster is because you became one when the aliens took away your common sense and self control.  As for training hard, I am assuming you trained in the secret land where they teach you how to attack when people aren’t looking (Tonya Harding hmm), as the kidney punch, the slap to the face and the hair pulling occurred when your opponent had their back to you and the trip was delivered when your opponent was about to beat you.  In the school yard I grew up in you would be called a bully.  The fact that you use your female sexuality as an excuse for the attention you have garnered is a crock and I don’t mean of honey.  The attention is because you are a poor excuse and example of a student athlete.  It would have been safer for your opponent to step onto a college wrestling mat with no experience because at least the referees could have protected the BYU players.  Which leads me to the question of where was the control from the U of New Mexico coaches and referees for the players on the field?

 Through all of these actions not one Coach on the University of New Mexico sideline said (bear with me while I state the obvious) “We need to get Lizzy off the field; she has clearly lost her mind and is going to hurt someone”.  What a terrible breakdown in the leadership of the coaches as they failed Elizabeth, their U of NM team, BYU and all of the young people who were watching this game.  Furthermore the two sideline judges with the cool flags and the referee couldn’t get their act together (besides a yellow card for the tripping) to somehow help this young lady who had clearly lost all control.  Currently Elizabeth is suspended indefinitely while her Coach and A.D. decide what repercussions will suit her actions. (I don’t know maybe a charge of assault) In the meantime who is deciding what repercussions her Coach will receive for the terrible leadership the University of New Mexico displayed as a staff and the missed calls by the referee?  (And you thought the umpires had issues in the World Series)

 If each one of Elizabeth’s actions (excluding the ponytail hair pull) had occurred separately over the course of the season they could be attributed to tough physical play but the fact is that her clashes transpired during one game which shows true loss of self control which is intolerable. Nor is it acceptable that her coaching staff failed her.  At the end of the day she can only blame herself and the aliens who ironically years ago made off with Tonya Harding’s brain.

 FOR NOW I am waiting for UFC to set up a fight between Elizabeth Lambert and Tonya Harding.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in NCAA, Soccer

Tagged , , ,

WHO LEID JIM DONOVAN

Posted on October 6, 2009 | Leave a comment

Athletic Director of the University of Hawaii, Jim Donovan had the opportunity to make a  statement in hiring a new women’s basketball coach, instead he has simply left the majority of college women’s basketball fans scratching their hands and saying huh? The job posting for the University of Hawaii Women’s Basketball Coach should have read:  If you have PAC-10 experience, are among all time coaches in wins, represented the USA in the Olympics for Basketball, left the island to gain experience in the game of college basketball you NEED NOT APPLY.  So Joan Bonvicni former Head Coach of the U of Arizona, Mark Trakh former Head Coach at USC and Pepperdine and Cynthia Cooper-Dyke two time MVP in the WNBA and Olympic Gold medalist THANKS BUT NO THANKS FOR YOUR APPLICATION WE ARE JUST GOING TO FILE IT here next to we don’t give a crap about women’s basketball.

Instead we are going to hire Dana Takahara-Dias.  Oh you have never heard of her?  Well she was the City and County of Honolulu’s Director of the Department of Customer Service. Each year she puts together an A.A.U. Team with Mayor Mufi Hannemann to travel to the mainland.  Years ago she was the administrative assistant to legendary coach Vince Goo at the University of Hawaii and later coached Moanalua High School to several state championships. Now had she remained in her position as high school coach I believe a justifiable argument could be made for her hiring, except for the fact that the job posting stated you had to have a minimum of 4 years Head Coach experience at the college level.  So how exactly did the University of Hawaii circumvent their own advertisement especially at a state school? Perhaps they rewrote the requirements, but failed to repost the job so that the rest of the Directors of Customer Service across the country could also apply. 

Jim Donovan certainly managed to make quite a statement with this hiring, especially to all the coaches who have sacrificed families, spouses, relationships with their own children, sleeping on an office couch instead of their own beds, weddings, funerals and other obligatory observances all in the name of coaching college basketball.  Jim Donovan you have spoken volumes with this hire and I wish Coach Takahara-Dias the best of luck, as all accounts are that she is truly a great person.  (So is my mom by the way).  I would love to see this nonsense happen on the men’s side of college basketball…yeah right.

FOR NOW I AM LEFT TO WONDER WHO LEID JIM DONOVAN?

→ Leave a comment

Posted in basketball, NCAA

Tagged , ,

TODAY WE SALUTE YOU MR. YELLOW JACKET MAN and MRS. BASKETBALL PLAYER’S MOM

Posted on January 12, 2009 | 3 Comments

Tonight my husband and I loaded up the family and drove north to San Jose to support my former boss at the U of Hawaii, Jim Bolla as his team took on the San Jose Spartans.  We should have stayed home. 

Our 2 year old, Isabella was excited as we entered the gym and began yelling, “Basketball Basketball”. Unfortunately for her, when the event staff at San Jose dons their bright yellow jackets it causes them to misplace their sense of kindness and understanding.  Isabella had the audacity to run up and down the sidelines (supervised and behind the rope) when Mr. YELLOW JACKET MAN approached us, informing us that he thought it best if Bella sit down for the rest of the game.  I explained to him that she was 2 and with 326 people in a 5,000 seat arena I didn’t think she was obstructing anyone’s view.  Mr. Yellow Jacket Man thought he should offer some outstanding parenting advice by telling me that I should let her know who the parent was in this relationship.  Hey thanks buddy I wasn’t sure who popped her out after 12 agonizing hours of labor. 

I held my New York tongue against my better wishes and took her over to an area where there was not a single soul in the 200 seats in that section.  We sat on the bottom step and tried to watch the game.  Faster than I used to down a Bud Light in college,  Mr. YELLOW JACKET MAN whipped out his big walkie talkie, radioed his co-worker that we were sitting on the stairs and she raced over to inform us that the stairs had to remain clear in case of an emergency.  HUH?  Whose escape are we blocking?  The 200 people not sitting in that section? To top off the night, our two month old had an explosion that would never allow me to get her to the bathroom; however there was an abundance of empty bleachers, so I laid the changing pad down and took care of business.  Wouldn’t you know, MR. YELLOW JACKET MAN didn’t think this was appropriate and started to head for us.  Fortunately my husband shot him with his look of death and MR. YELLOW JACKET MAN changed course.  Careful MR. YELLOW JACKET MAN, you never know who my husband is in real life.

SO TO YOU MR. YELLOW JACKET WEARING MAN I SALUTE YOU AS A TRUE AMERICAN HERO. AS BUD LIGHT SO ELOQUENTLY STATES, “More than any neon sign or exploding scoreboard your yellow jacket says look at me…you think it looks cool, but made of space age fiber it can repel anything including women”.  WAY TO BE A HERO!

Isabella and I did return to our seats where we had the pleasure of sitting in front of a Mrs. Basketball Player’s Mom, (you know everything about basketball, even though your full time job has nothing to do with coaching) from the U of Hawaii and truly witnessed objectivity blinded by love. Thoughtfully, she introduced Isabella to the word Bull Sh**, which I thank you for since now I won’t have to include it in her vocabulary lesson next week. (Saves me some time)  Note to the family, if you want your child to get playing time move up 18 rows, don’t sit three rows behind the bench and scream at the coach “That’s B.S.” numerous times.  When your daughter throws the ball 4 feet over another player’s head, ITS NOT A GOOD PASS!! As my father very gently explained to me in 1992 that if I wasn’t playing it was probably because the player in front of me was better.  (She did have 1000 pts and 500 assists).  So lady get a clue, no coach sits someone that can help their team win.

So to you Mr. Yellow Jacket Man with the big walkie talkie, the cool jacket and the orthopedic shoes I offer you a word of advice; you are Mr. Yellow Jacket Man not secret service, let a supervised child have fun.  And to you Mrs. Basketball Player’s Parent- Those that can, DO; Those that can’t, teach and those that can’t Do or Teach, TALK the WHOLE FREAKING GAME.  So please just shut up, take the blinders off, invest in a dictionary, and get rid of all the hate. Last I checked Coach Bolla of Hawaii has over 350 wins and if you are sitting in the stands it probably means you have zero at the college level.

FOR NOW I AM DISGUSTED WITH MR. YELLOW JACKET MAN and MRS. BASKETBALL PLAYER’S MOM.

→ 3 Comments

Posted in basketball, NCAA

Tagged , , , ,

IT’S A GREAT DAY TO BE AN OTTER!

Posted on December 15, 2008 | 1 Comment

If you live anywhere from Santa Cruz to Carmel Valley the time has come to get off your couch, out of the mall, leave the nail salon, hop in your car and drive over to a CSU Monterey Bay Women’s Basketball game.  When time allows I volunteer with the CSU-Monterey Bay Women’s Basketball team, not because they need my basketball knowledge but because I need them to keep my sanity with two young girls at home.  The OTTERS are off to a school record start of 6-2, breaking records for game attendance, upsetting the top ranked team in the CCAA and their charge out of the gate has everything to do with first year head coach Renee Jimenez.

Leadership can make or break a program, especially when attempting to build tradition, while changing the culture of a team that is accustomed to losing.  Coach Jimenez leads her team with positive energy, great communication and high standards of accountability for all team members including herself.  What a refreshing change in this era of high maintenance coaches! (There is a lot to be said for having a coach who can recently recall her own playing days).  How did CSUMB manage to land a head coach who helped engineer a turnaround at San Diego State University as an assistant and who interned at Stanford under the legendary Tara Van Derveer?  There could be a million reasons, but the most obvious is the opportunity to build tradition at CSUMB, be the leader of her own destiny and affect student athletes’ lives in a positive way. 

Coach Jimenez has convinced All-American candidate Dana Andrews to place the team first and her scoring average second.  I hate to use the word convinced since Dana is a competitor who wants to win first and foremost, so while her scoring average might be a bit lower than last year (17ppg vs. 18.8ppg), the Otters have already doubled their win total from last season and are only 8 games into the season.  Did I mention Dana has a 3.8 GPA and is graduating in the spring?  Anyone out there have a job for this young lady?

People are often evaluated by the company they keep and Coach Jimenez has done herself and the OTTERS a world of good by hiring Tina Samaniego as her assistant coach.  I would find it hard to believe that there is a more motivated or qualified assistant in the CCAA.  Personally, I like her because her bluntness and sarcasm is guaranteed to make me laugh at least twice at practice. (If I didn’t know better, I would swear she was a native New Yorker). 

When my husband and I left a team dinner the other night he said, “I never expected the coaches to be this enjoyable”.  I think he had become accustomed to the nights I spent sleeping in an office, student managers having to hold the head coach’s diet coke while standing in a bus aisle, so it wouldn’t spill on her if we hit a bump and the early mornings of driving a boss’s husband to work.  I think now he understands why even when I am absolutely exhausted from our month old baby, I make an effort to be around the CSUMB family. 

So on your next free Friday or Saturday night, come find out what the CSUMB community already knows… it’s great day to be an OTTER in the KELP BED!

FOR NOW I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT HOME GAME ON January 15th at 5:30pm against San Francisco State University.  (Did I mention this is Coach Jimenez’s alma mater?)

→ 1 Comment

Posted in basketball, NCAA

Tagged , , , , ,

Happy Holidays Graham

Posted on December 12, 2008 | Leave a comment

 “Hi, you have reached Graham Harrell, I can’t get to my phone right now, I’m in Orlando at the College Football Awards, after that I will not be on my way to New York City for the Heisman Trophy Awards Ceremony.  Leave a message at the tone and I will get back to you.”

 

“Hiya Graham, this is Tim Henning coordinator for the Heisman Trophy Trust.  Just wanted to let you know we are sorry that we didn’t invite you to participate in the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York.  I know, I know you have 4,700 yards passing this year and Texas Tech, Florida, Oklahoma and Texas all have an identical 11-1 record.  You see fact of the matter is that Texas Tech is not a big name football school and has never been a big-name program.  You have done a tremendous job bringing recognition and prominence to a football program that has never before been in the national spot light.  Unfortunately, we just can’t reward you for your hard work and outstanding leadership, as this has everything to do with politics.  I hope you won’t take it too personally.  Besides the way the economy is right now, we didn’t really want to spring for an extra plane ticket and hotel room in NYC.  You know how overpriced NYC hotel rooms are especially during the holidays.  Oh yeah before I forget, good luck going for those two touchdown passes you need to break Colt Brennan’s career record. Happy Holidays!”

→ Leave a comment

Posted in College Football, NCAA

Tagged , , , , , ,