Another Delco Guy In South Jersey

Cabrini Alumni Game 2013 Unites the Eras!

Over 20 guys played, nearly 40 attended, children outnumbered the players and everyone had a great time.

Yesterday was a chilly, beautiful day outside and a warm, family kind of day inside the Nerney Field House at the Dixon Center.

First the women's alumni came out for their annual game, joined by current coach Kate Pearson.  The current women's squad then flattened Cairn 61-37 to run their record to 11-0 in the CSAC and 16-3 overall.  Junior Brittany Sandone led all scorers with 18.

Then the men's team took the floor. looking to avenge a loss earlier this season to CSAC rival Keystone. The Cavaliers started slow, but senior Jeremy Knowles powered the offense with a career-high 29 points against a very athletic Giants team.  The 94-79 win places Cabrini atop the CSAC at 16-5 overall and 10-2 in the league.

A healthy 200 or so friends and family stuck around for the climax of the scheduled events yesterday, as the coaches divided up the alumni and the Blue took on the Gray for alumni game bragging rights.  While some former greats like Jim McMahon, Dave Kerchner, Bill Rookstool and others just watched, 22 guys suited up.  I had the pleasure of calling subs and time outs for the Blue team, while Steve Harrow lent his expertise to the Gray squad.

The game opened with a thunderous dunk by Laval Pickney off a beautiful feed from superguard Corey Lemons.  Competitive throughout the first half, the Blue took a sizable lead before age caught up a bit and the pace slowed. Event organizer John Mack scored 2 baskets in the late going to seal a Blue victory, 74-63.  In a playful dispute about playing time that brought back some vivid memories, gray teamer Derrick Grayson defected to the Blue squad mid-way though the second half to grab a steal and layup in his first action for his new team.  Dom Farello noted 'One minute I am guarding him and the next minute you're subbing him in for me!'

The real story yesterday had nothing to do with the score.  Alumni for all three eras of Cabrini basketball were out on the floor together, joking and having fun but also showing some pretty serious competitive fire.  The 'pre-Dzik' period always brings out a few guys and this year was no exception.  Men of the Dzik Era were disappointed the Big Dog was not in the house, they came out to see each other and Coaches Kelly and Keeley, with all-time leading scorer Bill Carr captaining the Blue team. The usual cast of excellence from Tidwell, Hargrove, and Sticks filled out the group of guys rapidly approaching middle age.  Marcus Kahn's crew provided the fresh legs with recent stars Cory Lemons, Kevin Misevicius, Dom Farrello, Greg Zabel and others more than willing to put up a few shots against the old guys.

I'd like to thank the guys on the Blue bench, especially Greg and Cory, who entertained my kids, John and Emma, throughout the game and kept it all pretty clean!  Thanks to Mailsy and Paul, super fans to the core. Finally, thanks to Marcus Kahn and his great staff, Brian Beacham and everyone in athletics and development who helped make this a great day.  I skipped the post-game party, I am sure a fun time was had by all, but I had a few very important things to take care of.

Photos of everything are up at my photo site.  Great job by Patti snapping the shots while I had fun with the boys!

The Madness Has Ended - Or Has It?

Last night the Prince of Darkness and his minions smashed the forces of All That Is Good and Holy and took the national championship for NCAA Men's Division I Basketball. There was a score, but the score was not really indicative of how much The Prince's (John Calipari) forces dominated the boys from Kansas.  This was as thorough a destruction as I have seen of one team in a championship game and despite a late attempt by Kansas to make things look respectable, the game was really never in doubt.

This was the predicted outcome. The gifted recruiter Coach Cal would finally get his national championship ring and his players would disperse to the winds to prepare for the NBA draft, possibly never having seen a UK classroom this semester. Bill Self's KU squad, already a loser to Kentucky back in November didn't have the firepower then and it didn't last night. Kentucky may not either next year, as they are set to lose freshmen superstars Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for certain and probably also Marquis Teague.

But Kentucky will reload with new talent, the recruiting of top prospects fueled by Coach Cal's first ring and the likelihood that the NCAA is still a few years away from catching up to him at Kentucky.  I don't really have a problem with the players to spend a year 'at school' and then head to the NBA draft.  For me, an educated, suburban, white guy to tell these kids who generally have so little academic preparation for college that they need a college degree to be successful while the NBA beckons with guaranteed millions is just stupid.

However, I do think that this is just another example of how college sports are nothing like what we pretend them to be. There is very little honorable or noble about universities making millions off the labor of athletes who will never graduate. Similarly, the athletes participating in this sham are little more than mercenaries, serving their term of enlistment for the bonus at the end of the line.

And it's not going to change. The NCAA tournament TV contract is an $11 BILLION deal. Anyone who has been to a Final Four has seen the obscene amount of money that gets thrown around in bars, restaurants and clubs wherever the games land each year. Then there is the merchandise.  People who can't find Kentucky on a map are bedecked in school color, wearing foam fingers and painting their faces. It's a virtual orgy of consumerism around a few games played by kids, who for the most part are not even able to drink yet.

It's a giant mess and it isn't going to get better.  I've always been a huge fan of March Madness, but this year may have been the beginning of the end for my enjoyment. The Madness isn't in Lehigh beating Duke (ouch that hurt) or in Butler making it all the way to the final game. It's in the masses believing that this is really amateur athletics and that the experience is somehow important to what colleges and universities are supposed to be about - namely education.

March Madness!

I'm enjoying the D1 national championship game tonight where I am hoping Bill Self and the KU Jayhawks win another national title over the Prince of Darkness and his band of minions who will be playing in the NBA Rookie Game next year.

Enjoy!

General Update

Hello everyone! 

I am back home after a long weekend of basketball in Salem, Virginia and baseball here in South Jersey.  I'd love to do a full post tonight about my alma mater's run to the brink of a national championship and all of the great people I saw at the Final Four.  I could also post a bit about the highs and lows of coaching youth baseball, but alas I cannot.

With the warm temperatures and nice weather comes my nemesis, pollen.  I'm having some pretty tough days right now with my contacts not wanting to stay in my eyes, so my thoughts and photos from this weekend will have to wait.  Sue Serio on Fx29 tells me the pollen counts will be lower later in the week, so hopefully I will get back to posting then!

Friday Fantastic Four - Salem D3hoops Edition

I am down in Salem, Virginia covering the NCAA DIvision III Men's Basketball Championship weekend, so we have a Final Four edition of the Fantastic Four:

What Four Things Do You Love About the Final Four?

1. Senior Guards - They always seem to rise to the occasion this weekend, and I am hoping that this weekend is no different!  It's also great to have a senior all-star game where small college greats like Paul Kouvaris get one more moment in the sun.
2. Crazy Fans - From TitanQ to Mailsy to guys with wigs and army fatigues, it's a festival of fandom this weekend!
3. Great Coaches - I will put the guys in town this weekend up against most of the D1 coaching fraternity any day.
4. The Walnut and Bronze - It's why we're here!

Everyone enjoy the games and your weekend! Thanks to all the great folks at the ODAC, the Salem Civic Center, Mac and Bob's and Awful Arthur's for all your assistance this weekend!

Heading to the Final Four

 

Later today, as the whole nation is glued to March Madness, I will be headed south along I-81 to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball championship weekend in Salem, Virginia.  It's my seventh Final Four and fourth as a member of the media covering the biggest weekend in small college basketball.  And I already know it will be a special time.

 

Improbably, my alma mater, Cabrini College is making its first appearance in the national semi finals.  The carry the nation's best record into the weekend, entering play at 31-1.  Led by senior guard Cory Lemons, the Cavs score 82 points a game and stormed through conference play undefeated.  Lemons is everything you could want in a point guard, strong with the ball, a dangerous outside shooter and quick enough to blow by nearly every defender around. He's a lock for several post-season All-America honors.

The Cavs are coached by 4th year head coach Marcus Kahn, the Middle Atlantic region's coach of the year.  He's got just over 100 wins in his 4 years and has restored a storied program that had fallen on hard times when he arrived.  Freshman sensation Aaron Walton-Moss's fortuitous recruitment has been the difference between this squad and a team that had a lot of weapons but fell short last year.

I am too much of a realist to think that the Cavs will win a national championship this weekend.  Their opponent tomorrow night is the bracket's true Cinderella, Illinois Wesleyan, an unranked, at-large selection to the D3 tournament who had to beat #1 Hope College to even get this far.  They are fast and tall and deep, well-coached with experience in the CCIW, the toughest conference at this level.  They'll be the best team that the Cavs have seen all season and are certainly good enough to send the boys back to Radnor without the hardware.

On the other side of the bracket, things don't get any easier on the quest for the Walnut and Bronze as the MIT Engineers lead the nation in scoring margin, giving up only 57 points a game.  They take on another stingy defense in the University of Wisconsin Whitewater Warhawks, who only allow opponents 59 points per game.

Regardless of the outcomes, it will be a great weekend of basketball and fellowship.  For the first time in seven years, Cabrini coaching legend John Dzik will be in Salem (and at Corned Beef), supporting the current version of the program he built into a national power.  Super fans Paul and Darnelle Engle will also be down south along with hundreds of others making the trek.

I'll see you in Salem!  Go Cavs!!!!

Friday Fantastic Four - March!

It's the first Friday in March.  March is one of my favorite months of the year, full of anticipation and ohpe for the end of winter and the start of spring.

What are your four favorite things about March?

1. Spring Training - It's pretty incredible how much news comes out of Florida every day about the Phils.  I am ready for Opening Day!
2. The Flower Show - America's premier flower show takes place right here in Philadelphia and it's always something special to see.
3. Spring Break - Two long weekends in a row and no students on campus is not a bad way to start the month!
4. March Madness - Whether it's small college conference championships this weekend, the D3 tournament the next three weekends or the Big Dance, this is the best time of year for college hoops!

Have a great weekend!

Friday Fantasic Four

Ok.  We're back for week two of the revived Friday Fantastic Four.  I've been doing some movie watching late nights recently and decided that it's time for a movie-themed Fan 4.  This was one of my first Fantastic Fours, back in the 90s, and my tastes have changed some since then, so it's worth a re-visit.

What are your Four Favorite Movie Lines?

'We'll always have Paris.' -- Humphrey Bogart as Rick in "Casablanca"

'I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything or process anything.  I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed.  I don’t want to process anything bought or sold.  What I really want to do with my life, what I want to do for a living – is to be with your daughter.  I am good at it.' -- John Cusack as Lloyd Dobler in 'Say Anything'

'I think you will find these are the exact same dimensions as our gym back in Hickory.' –- Gene Hackman as Coach Norman Dale in 'Hoosiers'

'I hope when I am your age, I’ll be smarter than that. --- You sure are off to a slow start.' Bruce Willis and Paul Newman as Bruce Roebuck and Sully Sullivan in 'Nobody’s Fool'

There are a lot of great quotes in 'Casablanca,' but this one means a lot to me right now.  The Lloyd Dobler speech is his character's essence, and really sums up what being a teenager was in the late 80s.  'Hoosiers' has a lot of great lines too, but this one says to me, 'Anyone can do anything.'  'Nobody's Fool' is a beautifully written movie, easily one of my favorites.  Paul Newman, Jessica Tandy, Bruce Willis and even Melanie Griffith are masterful!

So what are your top 4?  Everyone have a great weekend!

How Sweet it Is!

Cavs Celebrate at Center Court
Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

I am sure the parties lasted late into the night at Cabrini College last night. But the Cavaliers deserve a party after their improbable 91-84 win to advance to the Division III Sweet 16. I'm also sure that the bus ride back to Westchester County felt like it took all night for the Purchase Panthers. But that's how basketball is at this time of the year. Someone gets to celebrate at center court and someone else rides home in the darkness on a deadly silent bus.

I've been at center court and on the bus. Center court is fun, but you learn a lot about yourself on that bus.

Last year, Cabrini took the long bus ride home after a brutal first round loss to Randolph-Macon in the NCAA tournament. Head coach Marcus Kahn and his young Cavaliers used that loss as a object lesson and jumping off point for the 2010-2011 campaign. The goal was simple: win an NCAA game.

Friday night, the Cavs did that, rallying from a 9 point deficit with 13 minutes left to defeat a wounded New Jersey City University squad 85-76.

Last night, faced with a senior-laden SUNY-Purchase team also looking for NCAA respect, the Cavs looked lost in the first half. It would have been easy for them to hang their heads and say "Hey we accomplished our goal." Down 13 on their home floor, the Cavs emerged from the locker room at halftime to the boisterous cheers of their friends and family.

And they fought back with a ferocity I have never seen from any Cabrini team. Ever. They fought back against the critics who said they had played a weak schedule. They fought back against the naysayers who claimed they didn't deserve to host. They fought back against the folks who STILL ask "Isn't that a girls' school?"

They turned up the defense, fought through screens and made their shots. Senior Dom Farrello and sophomore Cory Lemons helped the Cavs correct every error from the first half and roared back to stun Jeff Charney's Panthers 91-84.

For the second night in a row, the smaller, younger Cabrini team pressured their opponent into mistakes and turnovers, feeding on the crowd, building momentum and running the Panthers to ground. It was thrilling to watch and obviously ecstatic for the young men that did it.

It was great to see so many old and new friends of the Cavalier basketball program watch the team return to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2002. It won't be easy next weekend as the Cavs will face the #5 team in the nation, the College of Wooster Scots on the Scots' home floor.

I'd like to thank Gordon Mann and Pat Coleman for giving me the opportunity to broadcast all three games at Cabrini this weekend. Gordon's a pro and the women's bracket will do well to have him calling their games.  Joe Guinta and Brian Beacham did a great job getting us everything we could have asked for. SID Bobby Ciafardini and Coach Jeff Charney were very great help from Purchase, Marc Brown and SID Ira Thor gave me great information about the NJCU team and Hartwick coach Todd McGuiness will certainly do a lot with that program.

Thanks also to Head Coach Marcus Kahn for rallying the troops, pushing all the right buttons and restoring a proud program. It's a hard job that takes time away from his great family, doesn't pay nearly enough and he does it well. I appreciate the access he gave us and the extraordinary candor he has displayed.

Finally thanks to the young men who have put on the uniform all though the season, giving up holidays with their families and night with their girlfriends to represent Cavalier Basketball in 2010-2011.

It's time for a new goal. Good luck in Ohio.

Alumni Game 2011 Is In the Books

This past Saturday, my son John and I made the trek back to Delco for the annual Cabrini Basketball Alumni Game and a full day of hoops on the hardwood in the Nerney Fieldhouse at the Dixon Center.

The women's basketball alumni tipped the day off at 11 with a run down memory lane.  While I was not able to attend due to fathering duties at home, I understand the attendance for their first alumni game was soild and there are plans to contiune the tradition next year.

The current version of the women's team kept things rolling along with a 74-45 thrashing of College of Notre Dame.  Freshman Annie Rivituso helped the team to its 10th win with her first career double-double.

The men's team continued its dominance of the CSAC with a 90-76 drubbing of Marywood University.  Senior Dom Farrello had a career game in front of the alumni, pouring in 33 points as the Cavs played every man on the roster and nailed down a top seed in the CSAC tournament next week.

The hospitality room had the usual array of goodies and gave Coach Dzik a place to hold forth.  Coaches Joe Kelly, Mike Keeley, Gabby Hartnett and Bob McTamney also stopped in to grab a few bites to eat in between games.  Superfans Mike Fallon, Paul Engle and Darnell Engle also were in the house (as usual).  The best managers any program ever had, Jim Iacovino, Phyllis Cohen, Kelly Gallagher and Andrea Kelliher also made appearances.

The men's alumni game featured 21 players from the past, some of whom looked like they could have suited up for current Cavs coach Marcus Kahn and some of whom looked as if they needed to mix in a few salads. I can't name everyone, but it's safe to say that guys going as far back as "Sticks" Bennett and as recent as Jim Good and company represented every eara of Cabrnin basketball. Former head coach John Dzik took to the mic and called the game.  I coached called timeouts for the blue team and Mike Keeley took the gray squad.  AD Joe Guinta threw in some great prizes and we were honored by the presence of several members of the current Cavs squad, the coaching staff and Cabrini President Dr. Marie George.

The blue squad sprinted out to a 15 point lead, helped a great deal by Laval Pickney's 0-for the half from the charity stripe.  Ultimately youth won over experience, and my blue team succumbed to the gray team by 15 points.  It was good to see so many guys in the house and really wonderful to see the families and friends come back from over the years.

Cabrini basketball is a family and our family is thankful to have the strong support of the current administration and athletics leadership.  They do a great job making sure we feel welcome and putting on a great event.  As I have said before and continue to believe, Marcus Kahn understands the college and D3 basketball and has done a great job restoring the program over the last three years.  Finally, special thanks to John Mack for all he does for the basketball alumni and everything he did to make Saturday successful!

Photos from the day are up on my Flickr site.  If you have some to share, please post the link in the comments section.  Thanks again to everyone who made my son and I feel so good on Saturday and GO CAVS!

The Gang's All Here

Coaches and Players - HoF Induction 2010
Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

On Friday night, John Dzik got what he had coming.

A night dedicated solely to him.

Cabrini buried the hatchet with my old friend, mentor and coach, recognizing his 25 years at the helm of one of the most successful men's basketball programs in Division III history. About 300 friends, family and players filled The House that Dzik Built, otherwise known as the Nerney Field House in the Dixon Center.

As a coach, teacher and person, John Dizk is without peer and it was fitting that he went into the Cabrini Athletics Hall of Fame as the only inductee this year. One day soon, Cabrini should also recognize the two men who coached at his side for the entire 25 year run. Mike Keeley and Joe Kelly are guys who deserve a night like Friday night as well.

I don't have a whole lot I can say about the event. To comment too much would take away from it.  The induction was well-done from start to finish. Joe Giunta gets it and is doing a great job as AD at Cabrini. He's done yeoman's work restoring the trust of the alumni and his work as emcee Friday was solid. Marie Angelella George, Cabrini's president said all the right things in admitting Cabrini's error in casting aside a legend 5 years ago.

Michael "Sticks" Bennett represented the players well in remembering what it was like to play for Dzik. Mike Keeley spoke from the heart about his friend John. Joe Kelly covered all the bases talking about the highlights of the program. Gabby Harnett gave a dead-on impersonation. Mike Dzik spoke movingly of Dzik as a Dad, something no one else could cover.

Then The Big Dog took the stage. I'm pretty sure he thanked everyone he ever met in his 20 minutes at the podium. It was clear he was honored by the chance to say good-bye on his terms, and he took the time to let us know that he is doing just fine now that the sting has gone away. He spoke with dignity and pride, and we listened, attentive as always, as he closed the book on his life at Cabrini.

No one deserves the honors and plaudits more than Coach Dzik and I am glad we all got the chance to let him know how much he meant to us all.

HARD, SMART TOGETHER ... CAVALIERS!!!!

Cavalier Alumni Game In the Books

Cavalier Basketball Alumni - 2010
Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

Whew! That sure was a lot of fun!

On the day that John Dzik lost his first game as head coach in over five years, 30 of his former players put on a heck of a show in the annual Cabrini Cavalier Alumni Game at the Nerney Fieldhouse in the Dixon Center.

The House That Dzik Built was busy all day as the women's Alumni Gmae kicked things off at 11am, followed by senior point guard Deana DiAmico leading the women's team to a 70-56 win over Marywood. The men kept things rolling as Kevin Misevicius became the 14th member of the 1,000-point and led the Cavs over Marywood 91-77. The win locked up home court advantage though the CSAC playoffs.

And then the old guys had their moment in the sun. John Mack kept us organized, Coaches Kelly and Keeley called the action from the table and the Blue squad topped Eric Tidwell's Gray squad 83-76 in OT. The game featured a ceremonial tip from Cabrini President Angelella George, some nice outside shooting, a few Laval Pickney dunks and a lot of griping about my 'coaching' from the blue squad.

In the end we all had a good time and I'm thankful that so many guys came out. Special appearances were made by former coaches Rob Rowe, Ken Schiller, Steve Harrow, Matt Alzamora, and Bob McTamney. Super fan Paul Engle was in the house as were the best managers ever, Kelly Gallagher and Phyllis Cohen. The thirty players brought a throng of moms and dads, friends, family wives, girlfriends and children. My son John loved the basketball, the humor, and the fellowship.

I've been involved in Cabrini hoops in one way or another since 1988. This year the folks at Cabrini got it right. The president was there an involved. The game was prime time. No more being ignored by the administration or relegated to a 9 am game. Joe Guinta and his staff, currents Cavs coach Marcus Kahn and the folks from the Mansion treated us well and I am here to say we appreciate it.

Coach Dzik had planned to be here this year, but when he had to take over the Piedmont women's program for the rest of the year, we had to do it without him. He's 6-1 as a women's coach this year and is enjoying things, but looking to turn the reins back over at the end of the year. I spoke to Coach last night as he licked his wounds from his first loss. "I still hate losing," he said. "Some things never change I guess."

He's right. Some things don't change. Coach Marcus Kahn has restored the program to respectability and a spot in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll. We all loved seeing each other and telling old stories. Everyone on campus Saturday was a winner and no one go hurt. Now there's a good way to spend a day!

We come back because we enjoyed our time in the gym. We love the guys we played with and it's great to be involved in something that has endured over four decades now. We've got kids and busy lives, too much to do and too little time, but we still find a way to get back each year and keep it going. Because we're part of the chain and we need to honor the guys who play today as well as those who have gone on and can't any more.

Thanks to everyone who made the day great for us. A few photos from the day are up on my Flickr site. See ya next year!

Origins of The Madness

The Madness is upon us.  65 (now 64) teams will spend the next three weeks scratching and clawing their way toward a heavily modified Ford Field in Detroit for the 2009 edition of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Final Four. 

I generally think that today should be a national holiday. Office productivity will be at an annual low. Brackets will be on nearly every desk.  Water cooler conversation will for a brief period be diverted from American Idol.  Guys will slip away for slightly extended lunches.  Women who pick their brackets based on uniform colors will lead the pools by nightfall.

It's a colossus of television, athletics and marketing.  CBS does a masterful job bringing it all to us, and despite their ability to screw nearly everything else up, the NCAA gets this one perfect. First they get us enthralled in the week prior to the games by encouraging prognostications about who will just barely make it and who will be relegated to the NIT. 

Then they give us an orgy of conference championships that culminates in the 6 pm EDT Selection Sunday show featuring exultant invitees and petulant also-rans. That's followed by the pundits going over every detail of every team that made it and every shortcoming of those that didn't.  On Tuesday they feed us a game between the two worst teams in the brackets, allowing us just a taste of action that starts us salivating for the frenzy that will begin at noon today.

It's a monstrous pageant, almost excessive, but still so compelling that every year, regardless of whether my teams are in, I find a place to watch at 12 and tune in as often as I can over the next few weeks.

At its beginning though, the NCAA tournament was a small thing.  Nearly unheard of really, even in Philadelphia, the basketball-crazed town that hosted the first March madness 70 years ago.  Mark Kram had a great article in the Daily News yesterday that shows just how humble the beginnings of this thing really were.

Enjoy the spectacle. 

And GO CATS GO!

Wow! What a Saturday

The windows are open, kids are playing ball in the back yard and it's warmer in Moorestown than it is in San Diego.  I finished a book on the back patio watching boys be boys while discovering that apparently mosquitoes are not just summer insects.  I think it's amazing actually!

Last night Another Delco Guy headed back to his roots and got a chance to catch Widener's first-round win over Virginia Wesleyan in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball tournament.  Widener used a number of different press defenses en route to the 74-66 win.  Charles Jones carried the Pride with 28 points, showing us all why he's the MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year. 

It's been a while since I was back on Widener's campus.  I worked there for 8 years in the 90s and spent a ton of time in the Schwartz Athletic Center.  Everything they've done to transform that facility makes it a true top-notch D3 venue.  traditionally the locker rooms were pretty gritty, and I didn't make it down to that level, but if they have been upgraded anything like the weight room, I am sure it's pretty plush.

Thanks to AD Jack Shaeffer, Coach Chris Carideo and assistants Bill Leahy and Ian Simon for their help last night.  They made me feel very much at home after all these years.  It was a lot of fun to do color analysis for the game along side a true pro, Pat Cummings.  I'm just sorry that the only reason I was on the air was Gordon Mann's family emergency. 

The Pride will take on Salem State tonight at Schwartz at 7 pm.  Salem State came off a rough loss last week to shut down Rochester Tech in the second half, loping to an 83-71 win to move to the second round. 

Tonight I'll be helping out Dave McHugh on the call as Richard Stockton College hosts Gwynedd Mercy College down in Pomona, NJ.  Stockton powered past RPI 79-65 last night as GMC stunned last year's national runner-up Amherst, 68-62, to set up the second round matchup.

Get out and enjoy the great weather.  I'll see you at the game!

D3 National Champs

  Confetti Rains Down 
  Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

I've uploaded a batch of photos from my recent trip to Salem, Virginia to call the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship weekend.

The photos are here.  And some reflections on what it's like to be a former coach returning to the site of a national Championship with out a team should be posted a bit later tonight.

Wash U Rocks Amherst

As Sweet Caroline plays over the sound system at the Salem Civic Center, The Washington University Bears celebrate their first Men's Basketball National Championship. They downed the Amherst Lord Jeffs 90-68 in a game they dominated from the tip.

Tournament MVP Troy Ruths had 33 points in the victory while Fletcher Walters had 17 for the losers.

Wash U Storms Out

It's been all Wash U so far in the NcAA Division III Men's basketball Championship here in Salem as the Bears  lead  16-8 with 14:36 left in the first half.

From the Hotel Roanoke

It's a beautiful morning in the Roanoke Valley of Southwest Virginia. I'm relaxing with a bit of room service in my beautifully renovated room at the Hotel Roanoke.  Ran into some good folks from Philly last night including the McGarveys from Ursinus and former St. Joe's coach John Griffin.  We watched Villanova storm back and stun Clemson (and me) last night.

Coach Griffin will be on the call for CSTV for today's Division III Men's Basketball Championship game.  we exchanged noted on the Amherst-Wash U matchup and reminisced a bit about his days leading the Hawks.  Thanks to Coach Paige Moir and all the great folks at Roanoke College for the great post-game spread last night.

I'll be over at th Salem Civic Center most of the day.  Catch all the action at D3hoops.com!

Amherst in A Romp

It was close for a half, but Amherst College used size and speed to dominate the Ursinus Bears and move on to the Divison III MEN'S BASKETBALL National Championship game 84-58 here in Salem.

The Lord Jeffs were led by Andrew Olson who scored a triple double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. The Bears were led by John Noonan with 18 points.

Live From The Final Four

-----Original Message----- From: Chris Pesotski

Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 2:57 PM To: Typepad

Subject: Live From The Final Four

I am here on the floor of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Final Four The pre game show is bout to get under way and then it's Amherst vs. Ursinus followed by Hope against Washington U in the nightcap.

It's been a good day so far since landing where in Dixie. I stopped in Martinsville on the way up and actually got to walk on the track as they set up for next week's NASCAR Sprint Cup race. Here in Salem I helped the folks at D3hoops.com finalize the All-American teams and now we're ready for some live action!

Bobby Knight Retires

  Bobby Knight 
  Originally uploaded by dearth85

It came as a shock to me tonight when my brother Matt texted me simply, "Bobby Knight Resigned." 

The ESPN story says a lot, but it doesn't say it all.  He won more games (902) than anyone else, but he did it in a way that created controversy as well as excellence.  He was the best X and O coach ever, but often had to do it without the top level player.

His legendary temper may have driven some of the best players away, but he had the ability to raise the level of everyone around him by simply demanding more that anyone ever had or ever would again.  His mouth got him run out of Indiana.  He ended his career in Lubbock, Texas, having put Texas Tech on the basketball map.

Tonight he walks away from all of that, handing his legacy over to his son and long-time assistant Pat.  The younger generation Knight is a softer rendition of his legendary father.  He coaches in a quieter way, hardly causes a stir in the press room, won't ever throw a chair or take a swing at a cop.

Pat Knight now steps out of his legendary father's shadow.  I only hope his father can live without the glare of the lights and the roar of the crowd.

A Good Time Had By All

Over 100 Cabrini College Cavaliers, family,friends and faithful gathered yesterday at the Nerney Fieldhouse in The Dixon Center on the beautiful campus of Cabrini College for the annual Cavalier Alumni Basketball Game.  More then 35 former Cavs participated in the game, as Coach Keeley's Blue Squad stormed back for a 68-66 victory over my White Squad.

Current Cavalier coach Greg Herenda welcomed everyone to the game and served as a gracious host all day long.  Coach Kelly read a letter from Coach Dzik, who was supervising the festivities as the Peidmont Lions took on Maryville in Demorest, GA.  Also missing was one of the original Cavaliers and great Cabrini benefactor, Tom Nerney, who was down with pneumonia.  Doctor Romano made a surprise appearance and was warmly received.  Doc Girard also made a pre-retirement appearance.

Our thoughts were especially with the Dailey family who lost their son Jeff tragically this year.  Jeff was remembered by his former teammates with a special on our alumni game shirts.   We're also thinking about former Cabrini great Tim Anderlonis as he ships out to Iraq with his Marine unit.  We missed you guys!

Despite the important absences, the game was spirited and played at a good pace, despite several players claiming "colds" and sporting red faces.  Cavs came from far and near, and both experience and youth were well-served.  Beef and Sticks were standouts in the "plus 40" crowd, while point guards Kris Pittman and Coach Saleem Brown distributed the ball well to the shooters all afternoon.

After the alumni dragged their tired butts to the buffet, Coach Bobbi Morgan's women's version of the Cavaliers pounded the Immaculata College Mighty Macs 69-41.  In a well-played game, junior Brittany McLeod led the team with 16 points and 5 rebounds.

The women's game was a harbinger of things to come as Coach Herenda's men's squad came back from an early deficit to stun PAC Conference leader Immaculata, 69-59.  Senior leadership was a key to the Cavs' intensity as Randy Reid and Bruce MacClelland both tallied double figures in points and rebounds.

The Cavs faithful made a quick stop at Christopher's on North Wayne before heading to the Official After-Party at J.D. McGillicuddy's in Ardmore.   Nearly 200 Blue and White faithful packed the second floor party room, feasting on excellent roast beef, mannicotti and not-so-hot wings.  The beer and wine were flowing and I didn't see a sad face all night.  Among the party-only people were Jim (I gave you a parking ticket??) Iacavino, Tim Feeney, Jimmy Welde, Tom Egan, Rob Uff and about 100 others.

It was great to see everyone out for both the game and the party.  Special thanks go out to Coach John Mack, who ran the show so well.  Also to everyone at Cabrini, especially Coaches Herenda and Morgan, who welcomed us back and really "get" what it means to be part of the winning tradition that IS Cabrini Cavalier Basketball.  Thanks also to everyone, especially superfan Paul "WolfPAC" Engle, who tolerated my very excited son John who really loved everyone's welcome to the Cavalier family.

Photos from the game are up HERE.  Enjoy!

The First Basket

Today the NBA, and basically all of basketball, is dominated by black athletes.  For anyone younger than say 35, it has always been this way in their memory.  So it's pretty hard to imagine that the dawn of the NBA was dominated by short Jewish guys.  In fact, much of the history of basketball until roughly the mid-1950s was centered on Jewish players and coaches.

Did you know that Red Auerbach was Jewish?  That there are dozens of Jewish players and coaches in the Basketball Hall of Fame?  That a largely-Jewish series of teams at CCNY and LIU were a major college basketball powers of the 40s and 50s?

I might have known some of this in the vaguest of senses, as I hail from the town that spawned the greatest Jewish basketball team of all time, the South Philadelphia Hebrew All Stars (SPAHS), but it had been pushed to the back recesses of my mind by the high-flying acrobatics of today's NBA, and even college and high school game.

And then I had the chance to go to the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival's presentation of filmmaker David Vyorst's 86 minute documentary "The First Basket" on Monday night.   Vyorst did a wonderful job weaving together vintage black and white footage of mid-20th century hoops games, modern day interviews of many of the major Jewish players of the 40s and 50s, as well as contextual material on basketball, the Settlement House movement and Jewish-American history.  The film is richly narrated by actor Peter Reigert, who lends his nasal Bronx accent to the images.

The title of the film derives from the fact that the first basket in NBA history was scored by a Jewish player, Ossie Schectman on November 1, 1946 as the New York Knicks beat the Toronto Huskies 68-66 at Maple Leaf Garden in Toronto.   Yup, the first NBA game ever played was played before  7,090 confused Canadians in a hockey arena.    

Vyorst covers the men who made the NBA a force in American athletics, guys like south Philly's Eddie Gottlieb, who owned the SPAHS, the Philadelphia Warriors and ran the NBA into the 1960s.  He interviews Auerbach at length, who tells giant stories of little men though clouds of cigar smoke.  Vyorst spends a great deal of time detailing the accomplishments of Nat Holman, the Hall of fame coach of the CCNY Beavers at their heyday.  He also talks to about a dozen Jewish superstars of the 50s, many who animated re-tell the best stories of the glory days of their youth.  Their stories really carry the film and it was sad to note that several of them passed on before the film was completed. 

The film is a touch New York-centric, though it covers Philly ball a good bit.  There is an inexplicable 15 minutes devoted to basketball in Isreal, which seems a late appendage rather far from the core of the movie.  The Jewish-dominated points shaving scandals of the early 1950s are covered, though briefly.  The later scandal involving Jack Molinas is ignored completely.  David Stern appears, but with little context and one is left to wonder  who he is and why he is there.

All in all it's a very good film, but one is left wondering if Vyorst was making a feel-good film about the heyday of Jewish athletics in America or a true documentary.  It ends up feeling a lot more like the former.   It's a good film that deserves wider attention, and should be seen in the context of the contributions that the profiled pioneers made to today's game, and also a commentary on how much has changed.  Today there isn't a single Jew in the NBA, CCNY is a mediocre team competing among the worst of the Division III teams and LIU is an is a shadow of its former self on the D1 scene.

I'd like to thank my good friend Bob Arrow, the coordinator of the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival for the opportunity to see the screening of "The First Basket."  Bob recently announced that he will shortly retire from his posting at the PJFF of the last six years.  I wish him all the best!

Friday Fantastic Four

To celebrate the beginning of the football season, we have a sport-related list today. 

What are your four favorite sports events? 

For example – in 1983 when I hit a home run off Suzy Sample to win the Kidde Kup World Series or the 2003 Daytona 500 or whatever.

1. Taking the kids and GF to Yankee Stadium in 2006.  Yanks lost, but John was enthralled
2. Game 5, 1993 World Series - Schilling beats the Blow Jays 2-0.  Bryen O'Boyle and I sit in the 700 Level and drink lots of beer, later falling asleep in the parking lot.
3. 1997 1998 Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Baskeball Championship - Cabrini beats Allentown Alvernia to cut the nets down in the last game ever at Sacred Heart Hall.
4. 1985 NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball Championship - Villanova plays the perfect game and downs the vaunted Hoyas 66-64 on April Fool's Day.

Ditto

I was about halfway through writing a diatribe about the Phillies shitting the bed yesterday afternoon and how happy I am that football season is starting tonight before I noticed my brother's post over at the700level.com.

He said it all and better than me, so I will shut up now.

Except to say that I'm taking my fantasy QB Drew Brees and the Saints to win outright tonight over the Colts. 

A Sad Passing

  Steve Nash and Eddie Griffin 
  Originally uploaded by Fashionable Male

Somehow we all knew that it would eventually end like this for Eddie Griffin.  Maybe the details of his death were not set in stone, but somehow you knew that his life would be tragically short, and that we would read of his violent passing in the paper one day.

Griffin was a wonder on the basketball court at Roman Catholic.  6'10" with explosive speed and a nice outside jumpshot.  He wasn't afraid to mix it up inside either and was capable of domination against high schoolers as well as playground foes.

I remember seeing him steal the ball from an opponent going up for a shot in a summer league game, go around a defender, take it coast to coast and slam it home behind his back.  It was pure virtuosity.

All I could say was "Jesus!"  Coach Dzik sat beside me and just laughed.

But all was not well with Griffin.  Teammates didn't have much good to say about him.  There were rumors out of Roman of dark moments, a horrible temper.  His one season at Seton Hall was marred by an ugly locker room fight.

His NBA career never lived up to the potential.  There were car wrecks, problems with teammates and stays at Betty Ford and mental hospitals.  The Twolves cut him this year after finally deciding that it wasn't going to get any better.

The lights appeared to be going out on Eddie Griffin's life.  I remember thinking that maybe he would get it together this summer and play again, but it was not meant to be.

After medical examiners had to use dental records to identify his remains following the train wreck that ended his life, his lawyer spoke with uncharacteristic bluntness for an attorney:

"Eddie was a wonderful, gentle soul, but he was an alcoholic," Rusty Hardin, Griffin's attorney, told the Houston Chronicle. "Alcohol always got in the way. The one thing the Rockets didn't know and none of us knew was the extent of the problem. It's really tragic."

Alcohol and depression are a tragic combination.  They rob the world of great people every day.  My heart goes out to those who knew Eddie Griffin well and I hope they remember him as I do, smiling and laughing, giving teammates high fives after a summer league game.