huzzah

I don't have a current rule book, but I was wondering if it was a straight and simple shot clock violation. The one ref called a shot clock violation, but the shot clock violation signal did not go off, as I recall. The refs then added time to the clock and play resumed. Maybe the clock was faulty. The refs were so bad it was impossible to tell what really happened and there was no public announcement. Maybe the refs added time to allow them to over rule reversal of the shot clock call. Tom T did not cover this and indicated his blog is down, but tomorrow it may be possible to quiz him.

I was wondering if anyone who was at the game had any comments. I listened on radio only. My general impression was that GW was quicker, taller, and more athletic. After the game Rick said his players tried hard and played hard. Therefore comments here about player effort seem faulty. Rick also stated the team lacked depth and a bench. I think Rick does not play the bench because they lack talent. We know Rick wants to win, so if these players showed anything they would be in the game. My impression, bottom line, is Rick is criticizing the past recruiting more than anything else. This concurs with what the consensus on the board is. I thought the IUPUI game win was the result of great coaching. This is a value judgment because Rick made adjustments in that game I did not understand. I think we have to judge Rick on his recruiting so for and on his getting the most he can out of this team. This year we have only 3 players and Luke Meyer never seems to play the 3, his position. You know we lack depth when you see TL3 playing center and Luke never at the 3.

Indiana University is in Bloomington and draws people from Indianapolis, less than an hour away. ISU is in Terre Haute. From the garage at Lindell and Olive it is a short walk to the new arena and the walk in within the campus and takes you past a beautiful setting. There is additional parking at Grand and Laclede which is also close by. According to a recent post our attendance last year was averaging over 9.000 and we ranked 54th. I suspect attendance will pick up this year as the conference season is about to begin and the conference is more competitive than previously. To get the details on this aspect I suggest going to St. Louis Today, the Post web site, and reading a piece by Tom Timmerman on the A-10. I have been to Carbondale.

The thread here seems to accuse RM of picking on TL. Here is my own observations from a post game situation. After the SIU game ESPN wanted to interview Rick and they wanted the interview badly. Rick was adamant. No No No. Interview the players, they won the game. He grabbed Lisch and directed him toward an interview. However, there was a second star of the game, a person who was as important as Lisch in securing the victory. That player was Tommie Liddell. However, Rick had a hard time locating him in the traffic of players, coaches, etc. However, he actively and aggressively looked for Tommie. He was relentless and did not stop in his quest until he found TL. He then directed him toward the interview area. As it turned out ESPN did not interview the players. However, Rick in his own way acted as if he had anything but total admiration and respect for TL. His criticism of TL reflects his desire for this player to excell, to do better, to achieve his full potential. This coach is different from our prior coaches. He wins. 12 players have made it ot the NBA. We are use to mediocrity. We have to adjust to superior, to excellence, to achievement and fullfillment of potential. I was at the game, I sat adjacent to the player runway, I witnessed this desire first hand, I believe.

I remember going to that club. It was Club Imperial on N. Florissant. You could catch Ike there and Chuck Berry would also play around town. I remember catching Chuck at the old Alhambra Grotto on Grand and Magnolia. What was neat about Ike is that he also played at my high school Roosevelt. Billy Peak was a student at the time and Ike would leave Billy join in. Adding Tina to the band was great. I was sad about the domestic problems, but I retain fond memories of Ike and Tina. I think the owner of Club Imperial was George Edick(sp).

As I recall Tom Holly was color man for TV. He spoke about a recruit we were seeking and indicated that the person should come to SLU. The remarks were regarded as being in violation of NCAA rules. Television solicitation of the recruit. Joe Wiley replaced Tom Holly. What I remember about Granpa's is stepping over the empty oil cans littering the parking lot. Hoosier can be derogatory, but this is not the case in the great state of Indiana. I am mystified by criticism of RM in light of his excellent recruiting and early signees.

I have had chance encounters with both coaches, each twice. Their personalities are 190 degree apart. I ran into Sode on campus last year. He avoided eye contact and did not offer any type of greeting. I then ran into Sode at Union Station 2 days prior to his dismissal. We were on escalators going opposite directions. Again Sode avoided eye contact and communication. I bumped into Rick on campus with a recruit. His eyes bore into my soul. I responded with a greeting which he promptly returned and I got the impression we would have conversed except Rick was im the middle of recruiting. I then ran into Rick on camput about a week later. He was in a cart taking Mitchell down to the arena. Again the fierce stare, again the greeting. Infact, I became fearful Rick might fall out of the cart while engaging in the salutation. I am not sure Sode would have ever closed the deal. Rick is being paid a million for a good reason. He can produce. We have never seen this type of recruiting before. He indicated the SLU job was attractive, in part, because St. Louis is a hub city for this region. This is also why Mrs. Lee bought the Post. Rick is proving the point with recruits from KC, Wisc., and southern Illinois so far. When was the last time we recruited with success out of KC? They send players all over the nation each year. Our only showing for Wisc was Drew Diener. Sode did not take advantage of our hub city status. Lets enjoy these good times. Ticket prices look cheap. The recruits look good plus they will probably improve given Rick's past history.

Lady you are right on. I walked by Bauman-Eber today @ 4:30. Guess who is there? Right, Rick w/ the SLU bb team dressed in streets. He is standing talking. I am a distraction, but here is the important thing. No one notices me because Rick has their complete and undivided attention to a man. I imbibe @ a local bar and return. Rick is now seated, but still talking. This is over an hour later. However, some things do not change. First I remain a distraction, but no one notices me. Second, Rick has the complete undivided attention of the team. I have seen Rick on campus more in the past 3 days then I saw Sode in the past 2+ years. This guy must live and breathe bb. I think our team will morph beginning next year. By the way my comment on Sode does not include fall team practices, but rather the so called dead periods like now. Our players will come back next year fully motivated. The coach gives 100%, so he will demand such from the players. I bet Tommie brings the ball up court in a commanding, self assured, turn over free manner. Rick is working Sat-Sun-Mon, etc. How can you not be swept up in Billiken enthusiasm with Rick working so hard? He is an exorcist, freeing us of the evil spirit of mediocrity. I think the new beginning is November 2007. Attention Cowboy: You may wish to consider changing your handle to: "Its Easy Being A Billiken Fan".

I was on campus today and saw Rick and his assistant coaches w/ a person I assume is a recruit. This person is caucasian, approx 6'3" and looks like a 1 or 2. He has no tatoos or other identifying marks. I guess weight at about 200 or 210. Does this help identify? I don't know for sure that this person is a recruit. He may be a student. There were enough people standing around to fill a brace of carts which were parked near by.

We may not know who the specific recruits are, but here is the neat part. The recruiting pot is boiling. Carts with Majerus and recruits are scooting around campus, Majerus is bringing sausage over to Humphreys, I saw him cast a longing eye at Vitos, and he probably is dreaming about Boccardi's. Have you ever seen anything like this before? It looks as if a glorious November will be in store for Billiken fans.

I was at the last baseball game on campus for the season and saw a brace of carts touring. Rick was in the second and I presume it was with a recruit. A positive note, everyone looked happy. I talked with some students at the game who were graduates and they loved seeing Yogi in person because of his fame. However, they were mildly disappointed in his presentation. According to their report, Yogi came on stage with another person who asked Yogi questions which he then responded to. They thought the comments were irrelevant to the occasion and blamed it on Yogi's age. CL was at the game and gave out photos to the seniors. There was a bar b q following the game for players and family. We lost the game to Dayton by one run. It was a heart breaker - a dropped fly ball in the outfield. Final score 4-3 Dayton. Reporting live from the campus, but on a delayed basis, your friendly campus reporter.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/co...sz/story/F69749

Roy, I am with you on female softball. I watched 3 games this year and they were all exciting. If you sit behind home plate, and there will be room, watching the ball come in with the different speeds and spins is amazing. Our team looked very good. They made plays on par with our men's baseball team. Some of the ground balls are hit hard and it takes good reflexes and good hand/eye coordination to come up with the ball. The infield could play and made very strong throws to first base. If anyone has the time these games are very worthwhile. The bucolic setting is glorious. Our playing fields are immaculate. I also enjoyed the female bb games, but I only saw 2. However, I liked the band, composed mainly of students, the Baby Blues, and the cheerleaders. What is missing is the stupidity. No one is running circles then trying to find a chair, there are not any little kids trying to throw a ball up to a hoop 10 feet in the air, and the band plays a much greater variety of music, unlike at the men's games. You will catch a Billiken Basketball and you will see the Baby Blues up close and personal. I think they are attractive. Our baseball, softball, and soccer fields are very well maintained and the area they are located in is beautiful, especially now with the summer flowers in bloom, baby ducks swimming about, and fish frolicing in the lakes under the spectacular fountains. As Bob Barker is would say "Come on down."

It seems the first game in the new arena could be an exhibition game. We then schedule a couple of beatables to give the team a chance to come together. Other teams do the same.

I was told they are going to try to schedule one additonal home game.

As I recall the Baby Blues were holding try outs. Maybe Patrick is trying to get a crowd over to gawk.

You might want to try Deweys on North and South Rd just south of Delmar. The place does a lot of business, so call ahead or go off peak.

You are correct. My statement is too absolute. It was based on the assumption that we would return to the popularity enjoyed during the Spoon era. We can use either Scott or the dome depending on availability. I was reacting to the statement that we would not go to the dome. This is wrong. If we regain popularity, we can entice a big name, or Ill, or Mo, in here and the dome will be a potential site. For a lesser than blockbuster, but still attractive opponent, I can imagine Washington, we can use Scott. Therefore, bottom line I think both venues are options if we regain popularity.

Big games will be played in the dome.

That is where our Div 1 tennis teams played. They now play @ Davis in Forest Park. Eventually the tennis courts will be re built on campus.

Here is what is interesting about the article. His headline and major premise is that SLU does not spend enough money to be good. He then lists the salaries of several coaches. The lowest paid was Hobbs from George Washington. However, he is the one who won the A-10 tournament and went to the NCAA. Therefore, not withstanding Stu's premise, you need to spend money to achieve success because they are connected, he then proves that there is not a direct correlation between the two. George Washington does not have good training facilities from what I have read previously and the coach is paid $342,000 while we were paying Soderberg appox $425,000. However, the "cheap coach" blew us away in the A-10 tournament. Stu needs to go back to Logic 101. It shows the Post is so anxious to put SLU down that they write this tripe. Did lack of money keep Coach Brad from recruiting a 4 or a 1? Remember Romar recruited the east and west coasts and even Montana. When interviewed Romar indicated he had a harder time recruiting locally since the area is conservative and it takes a while to win the trust of the locals. He said he felt he had achieved local trust just about the time he left. If money is the only problem here then why did Rich Grawer not land another Div 1 job and instead settled for a HS position? Why did Spoonhour flop at UNLV? If the Post wants to be critical of us then why do they settle for the vindictive and the illogical? They should examine their own house, get it in order, and cease producing a "rag".

T&T I agree with you on Fr Biondi. I think he has saved our school. The campus is spectacular. At one time I posted that maybe the Wash U campus was better, but I was in error. Ours is the best. Regarding the Post, I was hoping Mrs. Lee would clean house in the sports dept. The Post has good beat reporters for the professional teams, but is weak after that. Bernies remarks almost sound like he was under the influence of something evil. I know that is not the case, but what shallow remarks. Compare his writing to the Kansas City Star or to the Belleville News Democrat. Mrs. Lee needs to take charge and get someone in there with intellectual depth. You cannot but admire Fr Biondi for his fund solicitations, the new medical research center, the new arena, the revitalization of mid town St. Louis, and he is still going strong. SLU just bought up the grounds where the old Wendys was on Lindell. When Fr. Biondi retires we will really miss him and he will be very hard to replace. I hope we will have a statue or name a building in his honor. He is an academic, but his talent goes beyond that. He can lead, he can inspire, he can build.

I posted this before, so this is a repeat. The job is attractive because: New arena New practice and training facilities. We are located in the midwest. St. Louis is a hub city and thus you have a talent base from St. Louis + KC, Chi, Peoria, and outstate Mo. This is good recruiting territory. Media exposure. St. Louis + the A-10 gives you east coast exposure and key cities on the east coast + media exposure in the home city. The A-10 is a weak conference, so a good coach can win the conference. Scholarships are available. The team has a good talent base already. We have a very attractive campus. St. Louis is known on a national basis by African Americans because of Nelly, etc. St. Louis provides plenty of opportunity for fun. It is a large city and as a consequence there is a lot to do. For student athletes the school has a good rating. #77 according to a post made by David Nark. The negatives were primarily the athletic dept., but this may be in the "repair shop" w/ our new set up.

What are the positives that will encourage a coach to take the SLU job. We are in an easy conference. A good coach will be able to make hay. There is media exposure. This includes not only St. Louis, but exposure on the east coast and in important cities on the east coast. African Americans know about St. Louis. With Nellie coming from here, we are famous. The new arena. Scholarships are available. There is local talent and the 08 class has drawn national attention. We are in the mid west and a hub city, so you can recruit surrounding territory including KC, Chi, Peoria, etc. The Bad Our athletic department is bush league. This is an important negative. Marshall, the Winthrop coach, passed up South Forida and went to Wichita. BB is big in Wichita, but more important the basketball program at South Florida is in disarray. Therefore, Marshall chose the Mo Valley over the Big East. Our athletic dept is in disarray. The Challenge Cheryl's future in on the line. If a search committee is formed then she is over her head. The AD needs to get the athletic dept up to snuff.