Can The Fun Continue This Weekend?

Fun. Great concept that QU Sports, espeically Men’s Hockey have forgotten about lately. So can it continue?

Men’s Hockey would just like to play a solid game. They play St. Lawrence tonight and Clarkson tomorrow, with hopes of attaining a 4th seed in the ECAC tournament. If they can sweep both games, and get help, they could get a much-needed first round bye. If that doesn’t happen, there will be hockey at the TD Banknorth Sports Center next weekend.

For Men’s Basketball, they have the phrase everyone likes to hear: “we control our own destiny.” A victory tomorrow against Wagner will assure them the 4th seed, and a home playoff game on Thursday night. If they don’t win, they can also get the 4th seed if Monmouth can beat Mt. Saint Mary’s this weekend.

Victory. That’s what we all need right now. Victory.

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My Jets Do Something Positive!

As I said in my first introductory post, I’m a big New York Jets fan. Needless to say, their season did not go as planned. Opening the season with playoff hopes, they finished 4-12. In fact, I’ve been trying so hard to put the 2007 season behind me, I forgot what their record was. From guard problems on the offensive line to problems on the defensive front 7 to a quarterback controversy that is sure to stretch into this year’s training camp, the Jets needed help.

This morning, at the stroke of midnight, NFL free agency began. And the Jets got to work quickly. Once star linebacker Jonathan Vilma, whose role was diminished when Head Coach Eric Mangini went to a 3-4 defense 2 years ago, was traded to the New Orleans Saints for a conditional draft pack in 2009 that could be either a 4th rounder or 3rd depending on how Vilma plays this year.

This is a trade the Jets had to make — rookie David Harris stepped up at the position after Vilma was placed on injured reserve last year after a knee injury. With this trade they enable themselves to have more draft picks to acquire young players in the years ahead. And GM Mike Tannenbaum is one of the best in the NFL at making smart draft choices.

Following that trade, the Jets made another one, fixing up their need for a defensive lineman. They aquired Kris Jenkins from the Carolina Panthers in exchange for 3rd and 5th round picks in this year’s draft. We also gave him a new 5 year contract. He’s been to the Pro Bowl before and we hope he can return to the form he had before season-ending injuries in 2004 and 2005.

Apparently, the Jets have signed former Steelers offensive lineman Allan Faneca to a 4-year $32 million contract. He will help sure up the hole on the offensive line made vacant by the departure before the start of the season by Pete Kendall. And the Jets offensive line just wasn’t the same after that.

So maybe, just maybe, this is the first sign of my Jets being on the rebound.

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Quinnipiac’s Radio Call of Buzzer Beater

Whenever someone makes a big play like the buzzer beater last night by Senior Guard DeMario Anderson, everyone looks for the announcer’s call of the play. ESPN has been playing the COX TV call, but here’s the WQUN Radio call, with play-by-play man Bill Schweizer, and Color Commentator Bill Mecca, as played last night on ESPN Radio:

WQUN’s call on ESPN Radio

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Bobcats Buzzer Beater is #1 Top Play on SportsCenter

Speechless. When the Quinnipiac University Athletics department gave us, the student body, a chance to attend this crucial game against Central Connecticut, I pounced. Little did I know.

When I have more energy tomorrow I’ll post more, but when Bobcats’ Senior DeMario Anderson hit a half-court, buzzer beater shot in OT to give us a 76-73 victory, it proved to all of us who made the trip why we went.

But it got better. All over ESPN all night. LEADING OFF SPORTSCENTER!!! And then the grand daddy of them all, the #1 TOP PLAY ON SPORTSCENTER for this night, February 28, 2008!!!

And that’s why we’re all fans.

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PGA Tour Digest Vol. 1 No. 12

On Tuesday, the PGA Tour amended the cut rule that has come under so much criticism and scrutiny this season. Rule 78, enacted for the first time this year, stated that if the number of players who made the top 70 and ties was over 78, those players would not be able to play on the weekend, and the next lowest and ties would make the cut. They would be payed, however.

Most players didn’t even realize this rule went into effect and when more than 15 players got “MDF”‘d (Made Cut, Did Not Finish) at the Sony Open in Hawaii, they cried foul. So Commissioner Tim Finchem called a special meeting of the 16-player Player Advisory Council (PAC) this week at the Honda Classic, and they voted to change the rule.

The new rule keeps the old, 36 hole cut at 70 and ties, and if the number of players is over 78, there will be another cut on Saturday to the lowest 70s and ties. Those who do not make the Saturday cut will still get paid. Finchem also announced that research will commence in possibly making the future 36-hole cut Top 65 and ties, which is something he says that the players are very interested in.

I applaud the PGA Tour for this move. “MDF” became a sore spot for all golfers, and this rule gives everybody 1 more round to prove themselves that they belong a part of Sunday’s final round. Also, the players research into going to a top 65 and ties cut shows that the ultimate intention to eliminate this new Saturday cut down the line and simplify the cut system. All should be happy with this news.

(I blogged about this issue here earlier this season.)

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Quinnipiac Hockey Has Some Serious Issues

A 3rd period goal to put the game into overtime. Two goals given up in the last 60 seconds for losses. Twice — in two days.

Quinnipiac Men’s Hockey was ranked 12th just a few short weeks ago. Last week they’re 19th. Now they probably won’t be ranked anymore.

Today’s loss to Colgate by a score of 4-3 is their 4th straight, after losing to Cornell 3-2 on Friday night in overtime. Their lack of defense and proper execution is becoming more and more evident; their need for a 1st round bye is becoming a wish that is less likely of coming true.

I’m not a big hockey guy  in the sense of specifics on the game, so I don’t know exactly what the specific problem is or how to fix it. All I know is that if this team doesn’t fix their ills, their going to have some issues come tournament time.

Meanwhile Men’s Basketball, trying to follow up on that heroic victory against Monmouth on Friday night, lost a tough game against Sacred Heart 88-74 yesterday. They need to finish strong and find a way to beat both Central Connecticut and Wagner next weekend to give them a boost going into the NEC Conference Tournament.

Women’s Basketball rolled over Sacred Heart yesterday, are now 22-3 on the year, will most likely get the #1 seed in the NEC Women’s tournament, and should deserve to get some national votes in this week’s new national poll rankings.

What a weekend at the TD Banknorth Sports Center.

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Tiger Wins Again

With the exception of that J.B. Holmes match on Wednesday, and a match against Aaron Baddeley on Friday, Tiger Woods dominated this week.

With his 8 & 7 victory in today’s championship match against Stewart Cink at the Accenture Match Play Championship, Tiger made 51 birdies this week over the course of the 117 holes he played. Domination.

Tiger has now won his last 4 PGA Tour events dating back to last year’s BMW Championship. The only other player in golf history to win 4 straight events more than once: Ben Hogan. He’s won 6 straight events he’s entered, including the unofficial Target World Challenge in December and the Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour. And he’s 3-3 so far this year.

His game, while not perfect, especially with the driver, is not 100% on yet. He does still have two months to hone that in before Augusta. And if he can. Man, watch out.

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Magic Starts a Hopefully Magical Weekend for QU Sports

2.6 Seconds Left. Down 1. Must Win. Just make a play. And Bryan Geffen did.

His swished 3 with 2.6 seconds left last night versus Monmouth helped the short-handed Quinnipiac Bobcats Men’s Basketball to a must-win 62-60 victory. Playing without star Senior DeMario Anderson who was attending once again to family issues, the Bobcats were not the same team and had to scratch and claw to get ahead and did — a 7 point lead late in the 4th. But after Center Karl Anderson fouled out and we lost our low post threat, we relinquished the lead. But we fought back, and Geffen’s 3 brought us the jublilation that we all expect from college basketball.

Hopefully that continues tonight when Men’s Hockey has a must win game versus Cornell. A team that has been plagued by injuries all year, they could desperately use a first round bye, so they need a big victory tonight, and another Sunday afternoon against Colgate.

Men’s Basketball returns to play Saturday afternoon against Sacred Heart in a statement game. Beating the #1 team in the NEC Conference could be a huge confidence builder heading towards the NEC tournament just two weeks away.

The dominant Women’s Basketball team also plays Sacred Heart on Saturday, and closes the weekend with a game against Monmouth on Monday.

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Tiger NEVER Ceases To Amaze

In an instant PGA Tour Classic, Tiger Woods has just defeated his first round opponent in the Accenture World Match Play Championship, #65 in the world J.B. Holmes.

This match started in the worst way possible for Tiger, hitting his tee shot Out of Bounds (the first time he’s done that to open around since I believe this past year’s British Open). As the front side went on his swing and shot results were erratic at best, and after taking an unplayable lie on the 13th hole after hitting his tee shot into the desert, Tiger stood 3 down with 5 to go on the 14th tee.

However starting on the 14th tee he made 89 total feet of putts over the next 4 holes, capped over by a beautiful long range eagle putt on the 17th that led to the most enthusiastic fist pump Tiger fans have seen in years.

He walked to the 18th tee 1 up, and after J.B. failed to down a birdie putt at 18, Tiger was a winner, not a loser. Now I know it’s early, and I know if Tiger doesn’t win the next 5 matches and win this Championship people may not remember today’s comeback at all, but for me this was possibly Tiger’s best comeback since the final round of the 2000 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where he was 7 shots off the lead with 7 to play and went birdie-eagle-birdie-par-birdie to win and Matt Gogel.

What a day for Tiger.

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The Jason Kidd Nets-Mavericks Trade

Yesterday the much talked about, extremely complicated Jason Kidd trade from the New Jersey Nets to the Dallas Mavericks was finally completed.

The trade is this as detailed on ESPN.com: “The details: Kidd, forward Malik Allen and swingman Antoine Wright are sent to Dallas for 24-year-old point guard Devin Harris, center DeSagana Diop, swingman Trenton Hassell, guard Maurice Ager, Van Horn via sign-and-trade, first-round draft picks this June and in 2010 and $3 million in cash. The teams originally planned to move Wright to Dallas in a separate transaction but were able to make the salary-cap math work in a single trade after the deal was reconfigured over the weekend.”

My thoughts on the trade are as follows: it works for both teams. Rod Thorn, the Nets President, said yesterday that he felt that Kidd didn’t have his heart fully in it over the course of the season. Even though he was with one of the better “Big 3′s” in the NBA — Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson, Thorn felt that he wanted to be traded to a team that had true championship potential. As it stands right now, the Nets would be the 8th seed in the horrible Eastern Conference if the playoffs started today, while the Mavs would be the 6th in the much stronger Western Conference.

What this trade enables Dallas to do is compete with perennial powers in the West like the San Antonio Spurs, the Phoenix Suns who just acquired Shaquille O’Neal, and the Los Angeles Lakers who also just aquired Pau Gasol.

Meanwhile for the Nets the edition of Harris, who is going to be an awesome point guard in this league, (he’s only 24) Diop (a great big man), and the always useful Ager, they have an opportunity to compete for a higher seed in the East. While the top of the East is loaded with the talent-loaded Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, and Toronto Raptors, a strong run could get them to at least the 6 seed or possibly the 5, overtaking a Cleveland Cavaliers team that has failed to give any help to Lebron James.

So in the end, one of the most complicated deals in NBA history may turn out to be one of the most useful for the teams and players involved.

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