Billiken Law

the facility is a number of things that they are getting for $31 million. Offices for the athletic department and coaches, arena for women's hoops and volleyball, and practice courts so that teams don't have to practice from 9-11pm as some do now.

Frankly, good play and good coaching will take you only so far as the talent does. I advocate the new arena moreso for the atmosphere and the home-cooking advantage I think we can expect. Such an atmosphere might equate into more wins. -If the answer was a new arena why is Louisville so successful? Freedom Hall is a dump and yet it is one hell of an atomosphere for a game. Penn State built a sparkling new arena, what has it done for their program? Assembly Hall in Bloomington isn't anything to write home about yet it doesn't seem to hold back IU. As far as Marquette is concerned ... I read where the options on replacing Dwayne Wade are, in order, 1) Travis Deiner, 2) Scott Merritt or 3) Steve Novak. Gonna be a long year in Milwaukee based on that. -No, those three, along with Dameon Mason, Todd Townsend, Karon Bradley and Carlton Christian will replace Wade. There is no way for one person to replace a talent like DW. However, there will be much more balance offensively. Remember that Wade played poorly against Holy Cross and Mizzou and it was Diener who carried MU. He's proved he can do it. MU will be a Sweet 16 caliber team.

I agree 100% with you. I talked to an administrator at Marquette last year about the whole conference situation. It's a heck of a lot harder to form a conference than just making phone calls, especially with the dependency on TV revenue and the lack of available time slots now due to established contracts (the MAC, so desperate for TV coverage is playing games on Friday nights). Plus, what about the fees each team has to pay for leaving their existing conference. Also, who says some of these teams want to leave? We all assume Butler would jump to move up but why? They are first or second every year in the Horizon and seem to do just fine now (sweet 16 last year). If they left would have to increase already tight funding to their programs and would be at an overall competitive disadvantage against the MU's, XU's and SLU's. There is also the automatic bid problem (4 years to wait). It's a lot easier in theory to form a conference than it is in practice and I have to think that is the main reason our ideal "Papal Conference" has never been seen as a viable option during this whole mess.

One of the little known facts about the McGuire Center is that is that all operating costs were built into the original fundraising proposal and will be funded from an established endowment for the center. Ideally building an arena was the way to go for Marquette but it wasn't feasible in terms of property (no place to put it on campus), cost (other more pressing priorities like academic buildings and new dorms to accomodate record enrollments) and the fact that there are 2 arenas within 8 blocks of campus which thousands of students can walk to. The Bradley Center is a great facility for MU and many recruits have stated that they chose MU because of it (getting to play in a NBA facility). A few years ago a rampant debate on the MU board was "we should play our games at the old MECCA" (capacity 11,000). The administration laughed that off, saying that when full the BC provides an unparalled home court advantage. Now that MU is averaging 14000+ nobody talks about playing at the MECCA. I personally think SLU is making a mistake building the arena. Cost wise $80 million is WAY too much and wasn't it just a few years ago that ESPN named SAVVIS the toughest place in CUSA to play? The goal should be to improve the hoops program to fill SAVVIS. Building an arena will not ensure basketball success - look at how many of our CUSA brethren have their own arena, has it equaled better on-court performance?

i think they are extremely short-sited, and have an overwhelming sense of self-grandeur. -Why is that? MU has an incredible tradition and now 3 final four trips and a national title. What's wrong with pride? slu is a better school, in a better city and with time will have a better basketball program. -I'd say they are even. City wise, I like living in STL but there are certain things Milwaukee has that blows STL away (the lakefront, summer festivals, downtown is definitely superior to STL). Better basektball program? Well, we'll see. i still think that five years ago, had hughes stayed, the program would have been headed in the same direction marquette is headed at the moment. -And what if MU hadn't run off Rick Majerus or if Al McGuire hadn't retired or they took their time and didn't rush to hire Mike Deane? Don't play that game. ALso, remember 4 years ago, SLU and MU had coaching vacancies at the same time and SLU was actually coming off a better season. Compare the programs from that point to now - there is no comparison. Can SLU get to Marquette's level? Sure, and I hope to God they do. But for now Marquette is SLU's measuring stick and MU is showing no signs of slowing down.

you are correct. Same deal with Marquette and DePaul having to sign long term deals with Dayton.

"imo, marquette turned their backs on longtime partners. a hold the line effort of solidarity could have netted a better deal for everyone." Kind of like how SLU turned their backs on Xavier, Dayton and Evansville in leaving the MCC to form the GMC? I have been told of a headline the day of the SLU/MU first round MCC tourney game in Dayton referring to the game as "The Traitor Bowl." I think you'd agree that going to the GMC was a great move for SLU at the time. Should they have been loyal instead of being proactive and bettering their program?

Chicago has a SportsZone, it's Disneyland for adults, IMHO. And the food isn't too expensive and is good too. I love going there. Was thinking STL could use one but even better, why doesn't Sporting News do a sports themed restaurant?

Lasalle gets cut before GW would, IMO. The A-10 tourney was in Philly but never drew so it moved to Dayton last year.

So MU will not only depart now but later raid the A-10 for one of it's premier teams? You guys are cold. -I think 9 teams is an ideal number for a basketball conference as you get to play everyone twice and get 16 conference games. No missing teams like you have in the Big Ten right now. So, it is speculation on my part that they would look to add one more team and honestly, I would hope it would be Xavier because I think Xavier and not DePaul would get the invite to the Big East anyway but the Chicago factor is driving that decision. Would be excellent if that were SLU. Personally, I wish SLU could come with MU and DePaul to the Big East. The ideal situation would be to take the Big East hoops schools, SLU, MU and DePaul, and add X, UD and St. Joe's. However, that isn't going to happen if for no other reason that you'd have to wait 4 years for the automatic bid and you'd have to negotiate new TV deals which means getting stuck with Friday night and Saturday morning games if you want to be on ESPN. This is called making the best of a bad situation and the reality of having to fend for one's self in this whole mess. And believe me, there is no Marquette fan that doesn't realize that this is happening at the perfect time for MU. Also, where is the stability in a conference that knows it's going to break up? -No need to worry about what conference you are going to be in and who you'll be with when the split comes (as we had now). What if MU falls on hard times, i.e. a job Crean just can't pass up? -Trust me, MU will be fine. If Crean was going to leave it would have been this past year. The connection he formed with McGuire will help keep him at MU for the long haul. Remember too, MU is paying him over $1 million a year now and there's plenty more where that came from. Again, MU and DePaul should have hung tough, not with CUSA, but with the idea of starting a new conference altogether. -See the above problems. Again, that would have been the ideal arrangement but it was just too difficult. This is making the best of a bad situation. And really what have schools like GU, Seton Hall, St.John's done lately? -A couple nice tourney runs the past few years. Better than what the current CUSA line-up can offer. As for MU having a big alumni base on the East coast, is that speculation on your part or a fact? -That's a fact. In the 70's MU drew heavily from New York because of McGuire. The NYC club is one of MU's biggest and the turnout for the Coaches v. Cancer game last year and a game at BC a few years ago was huge. On a personal level, when I was in Westchester a few years ago I went to a neighborhood bar to watch the MU/UMass game and asked the bartender to turn the game on, saying only "my alma mater is on ESPN2, can you put it on?" He asked what school it was and when I said "Marquette" he pointed out 3 MU alums among the 15 or so people in the bar and the photo of Al McGuire behind the bar. My loyalties are obviously split and I want the best for both schools. In a perfect world the "papal conference" would be a reality or at least SLU and MU would stay together (geography is SLU's biggest hurdle, IMO) but that isn't going to happen at this time.

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/spo...ges/6837452.htm And this for those who say Marquette is making a big mistake. Think about it this way, MU has a huge presence on the East Coast in terms of alumni and general fan base (thank you Al McGuire). This will further help them in terms of recruiting students from the east coast (as it has tremendously helped Dayton and Xavier when they moved to the A-10) and allow Marquette greater access to the east coast media market, which basically drives sports coverage in the US. Secondly, it gets them access to a superior ESPN television contract (Big Monday) then they have now. Third, even when the conference splits (and we know it will happen) MU has an established conference that will not have to wait for an automatic bid as most new conferences do. From my Marquette point of view, being in a conference of DePaul, ND (assuming ND doens't join the ACC which I just don't see happening) Georgetown, St. John's, Villanova, Seton Hall, Providence is a better arrangement than they have now with CUSA. You have in that group teams in major media markets, schools with a similar academic philosophy which will level the playing field in terms of recruiting and teams whom have all made Final Four appearances in the last 20 years (save DePaul and ND - losers!). Plus, you have stability, something MU has never had in their conference affiliation days. When the split occurs a few years down the road one team will likely be added. I wouldn't be surprised if that's Xavier. In fact, I think Xavier should get the invite over DePaul but the Chicago market is too tempting for the Big East to pass up.

MU and DePaul are Big East bound (I still think it should be MU and Xavier but the Big East wants the Chicago market and thus is overlooking DuhPaul's ineptitude and Xavier's upside). Check out this article: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/Stories/0,14...650277,00.html#

"who will replace the inside scoring and the point production of jackson and wade." JUCO stud PF Marcus Jackson and Scott Merritt for the first part of your question, Diener, Novak, Karon Bradley and freshmen Dameon Mason and Carlton Christian (a real steal on the recruiting front) for the second part of your question. This is a better "team" than last year. They will have a lot of balance on offense and will compete with Cincy and Louisville for the conference title. I see Sweet 16 potential in this MU team.

DuhPaul had an impressive recruiting class (5 top 100 guys) but then again, they're still DuhPaul. Charlotte had a good class as well and Lutz took time off from filming for Seabiscuit to run off Butter Johnson and a few other gutless wonders who quit on him during the UAB game in the CUSA tourney. 1 name to watch out for - Martin Iti. Top 10 player, huge get for Charlotte. They'll be solid as usual. Sorry, SLU will NOT beat Marquette once again this year.

I wouldn't. Yes, they screwed up bad, but they took every step possible to rectify it (unlike some school who cover up and deny improprieties ever occured, and I'm not just talking about our friends to the West). Bona is traditionally a pretty competitive team, took Kentucky to 3OT's in the tourney a few years back, and is a heck of a road trip. They bring much more to the table than Lasalle, Fordham or Duquense.

I'm not sure if it is a step down from what will remain of CUSA (assuming Cincy get the invite which may not happen now thanks to their thug rep). Seriously, do you want to be in a conference where the other members are Tulane, USM, Memphis, USF, ECU, TCU, Houston, and UAB? Assuming Fordham and Duquense are booted (I think Lasalle should be looked at for departure too) the A-10 is a pretty damn good place for SLU. You'd have a 2 division format done East/West with SLU most likely in the same division as Xavier, Dayton, Richmond, St. Joe's and Temple. Not bad at all....

Playing in Europe definitely isn't for everybody and it's obvious that money wasn't a consideration for Marque. NBDL players make between $30-40,000 while Marque could clear 6 figures in Europe. Best of luck to him.

As part of the new conference bottom-feeders Duquense and Fordham would be given the boot. Possibility that Marquette and DuhPaul would be invited if the Big East changes their mind on inviting them to join. Probably the best conference news for SLU since this whole mess started http://www.enquirer.com/xavier/2003/09/20/wwwxu1a.html

Liddell fell off the radar because he didn't play summer ball. That's where rankings are set.

this is news to me. I guess I shouldn't have turned the game off and headed up to bed when Bryant what I thought was the game winner.

It's not just CUSA. Same deal with the Big Ten and other conferences that have similar agreement.

Because of CUSA's deal with ESPN it is possible SLU can't work a deal with Fox Sports Net, seeing how they are ESPN's rival. This happened at Marquette as well (MU games are on a UHF station not on cable).

"Though I still think our alliance with DePaul, Marquette, and Charlotte is strong and we will end up somewhere as a group." There is no "alliance." SLU, MU, DePaul and Charlotte all hired the same person to basically lobby for them but that's it. There is no alliance, no package deal, nothing of the sort. If MU gets an invite to the Big East they'll go even if DePaul isn't also invited (I think Xavier is a better choice than DePaul).

It's Brett Favre tribute night or something like that. I agree, this doesn't make sense on USM's part.

why would MU go through with that? Because they'd be with 7 other non-football, like minded schools with strong traditions and gain even more access to the lucrative east coast market, where MU has a ton of alumni. If/when the Bigger East splits then MU has a conference already established that looks pretty damn good - much better than CUSA sans Louisville and Cincy. Plus, it would likely have Notre Dame and MU loves that ideal Xavier and Dayton are being proactive right now because they want out of the A-10 themselves. They were upset over the addition of Richmond to replace Va Tech and now they are seeing the conference tread water with the membership of bottom feeders Duquense, Fordham and Lasalle. SLU's best option is to get with Creighton, X, UD and St. Joe's and bring in a few other teams to form what, IMO, would be a upgrade from the current A-10 conference. For example, SLU, X, UD, St. Joe's, Creighton, Butler, Charlotte, Detroit. That's a nice conference.