Bay Area Billiken

As I recall, this change happened when Coach Grawer was the Basketball Coach, and it was discussed on TV at SLU's NIT game in Madison Square Garden. The explanation was the university wanted to have its own identity from the City. Your STL Post-Dispatch routinely still calls SLU "St. Louis University," which was its name when I was there.

I'll give you that. But they say Rome was not built in a day. I think those last two seasons should really be discounted. I know they are in the books, that Bill Parcells says you are what your record is, etc. But two years ago Fordham was still saddled with Derek Whittenberg, who was relieved of his duties in the pre-conference part of the season after a bizarre post-game situation at cross-Bronx rival Manhattan. And last season, Tom Pecora was going into battle with 6 principal players. That's why that St. John's win was such an incredible upset. Fordham sent a totally outmanned team out there, was forced to switch to a soft zone in the second half for self-preservation, and somehow pulled off the most incredible of rallies to win that game. Let's use an analogy from baseball. The 1962 NY Mets were 40-120; the 1969 NY Mets were World Series Champions. Closer to home, the 1998 St. Louis Rams were 4-12; the 1999 St. Louis Rams were Super Bowl Champions. Now I'm not saying Fordham is going to win the NCAA Tournament. But teams can rise from the abyss. Closest to home, this has happened in the history of our SLU Billikens.

Well hopefully, with the tournament in Brooklyn from 2013 through 2018, Fordham will be there during that time. I expect Fordham will. I'm expecting improvement this season, which will be Chris Gaston's Junior year. Note that St. Bona and Duquesne were down not that long ago and have both advanced their programs. Do you really think the same cannot happen at Fordham? Of course, it can ... and will, in my opinion. I will be surprised if it doesn't.

Ultimately, Fordham is a good school that provides the A-10 and SLU with a presence in New York City. Have you ever been to Rose Hill Gym? The program is rebounding from a long dry spell. It did have a winning season in recent times when Bryant Dunston was there. But there are a lot of basketball banners hanging from those rafters, enough to fill the west side of the old gym. So Fordham has won in the past in basketball, as evidenced by all those banners. There are NCAA, NIT, and conference championship banners up there. As I've said, I think Coach Pecora is a good one. Rich Grawer, the savior of Billiken Basketball as we know it, did not have a winning season until his 4th year in 1985-86, and Pecora is starting Year 2. SLU's next previous winning season was in the second to last year of Bob Polk's tenure, 1972-73. SLU had 12 consecutive losing seasons from the 1973-74 season through the 1984-85 season. Regrettably, I was at SLU for 7 of them. And please note, my moniker is Bay Area Billiken, not Bay Area Ram, make no mistake about that. When my son chose Fordham, I told him we were going to beat Fordham all 4 years he was there, ... and we did. Thank goodness.

The point in this is that Fordham brings something to the A-10 table, and should not be so quickly dismissed. The Fordham basketball program is being built. I believe Fordham finally has a good coach to advance the process. The fact that the A-10 is moving its tournament to New York City is important. It is good for the entire A-10 to have a presence in New York City, the media capital of the world.

You should give up. It is past time. The Knicks could have picked from a muliplicity of gyms to hold a practice. They were doing an outreach to Fordham. As I recall, their cheerleaders were also present. And no, I don't think the Knicks' announcer went to Central Missouri games, although anything is possible. But as former Billiken Dick Missavage often said, "What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?"

And when do you think it occurred? I don't even have to look it up, but I did to be safe: It was 1985-86, 18-12, Year 4. SLU lost the MCC Tournament Championship game to Xavier, with Dick Vitale at the mike on ESPN. I remember Vitale giving Redditt Hudson a basketball compliment by terming him "a garbage man." Believe me, I know what year it was. It was my first year out here, and my first year away from St. Louis.

I don't like bunting with a position player to give away an out. It is a longtime pet peeve of mine. Also Berkman runs well enough that I don't think a pinch-runner was needed for him in the 8th. The problem there is it takes his bat out of the game in the 10th. Another gut wrenching loss. Can the team recover from it? I think they can, as they have battled back all month. But they still need help from the Phillies. And the Cards must win these last two games, to state the obvious.

Isn't this college basketball, emphasize the word "college?" SLU isn't in the SEC, is it? You've gone from no one cares, to virtually no one cares, to "little interest." Thus, the Fordham basketball program is advancing right here in this thread at Billikens.com with your own posts. Good job. You are helping the cause. Do you want me to put you in touch with Coach Pecora? With AD Frank McLaughlin? With Father McShane himself? It's too bad Cardinal Dulles is no longer among us. But maybe Fordham should hire you to promote its basketball team. "Little interest?" Do you know who was at the St. John's at Fordham game in Rose Hill Gym? Answer: both Mike Breen, NY Knicks announcer and Michael Kay, NY Yankees TV announcer. Does the presence of a lead NBA announcer and alumnus at a Fordham basketball game equate to "little interest?" The NBA is basketball, correct? Don't the New York Knicks play basketball? Imagine that, their announcer was at a lowly Fordham game. Did you know the New York Knicks themselves held an open practice at Rose Hill Gym? Again, are the New York Knicks a basketball team? The Knicks greeted Fordham students, whose presence for the practice at Rose Hill Gym clearly shows they have "little interest" in basketball. Well let's see, right off the top of my head that's the NY Knicks announcer and the NY Knicks themselves being at Fordham, exhibiting such "little interest."

Supposedly Fordham did not have to pay rent for those games in the Meadowlands. Fordham drew not a great, but halfway decent, crowd when it played Villanova there. And it is playing Boston College there this coming season. There is speculation about why Fordham played and is playing games there. For one thing, without knowing, I suspect Fordham cannot get Villanova and Boston College to play it at Rose Hill Gym. I readily concede that the biggest current problem with the Fordham basketball program is Rose Hill Gym. But the students love that place, like to be able to walk over to the old gym from their dorms to see the game. Fordham has enough potential that it deserves a chance. And let me say, I was often there among about 1,000-1,500 of my fellow Billiken fans at The Checkerdome (Arena) in the Ron Ekker Era. I was there at Kiel Auditorium during Rich Grawer's early days with 2,000-2,500 of my fellow Billiken fans. SLU played a game at Mizzou my Junior year at SLU. The TV cameras showed a kid holding a sign that read: "St. Louis U. In Division 2." Imagine that. There was a time when SLU was at rock bottom, and SLU has resurrected itself from that. Fordham can do the same, and I think is on the path to do so. It takes some time. Rich Grawer's first winning season was in his 4th year at SLU.

No. Do you know anyone from Fordham? Have your ever been there? Did you know that U2 played on Edwards Parade at Fordham 3 years ago on Good Morning America, meaning that Fordham was on national TV, coast to coast? Did you know that the sequel to Wall Street was filmed at Fordham? Did you know that Matt Damon filmed a movie at Fordham? Did you know that recent Fordham commencement speakers include NBC's Brian Williams this year, and Tom Brokaw in a recent year? Did you know that Vince Lombardi played on the Fordham football team and was part of the famed Seven Blocks of Granite? Did you know that Digger Phelps coached the Fordham basketball team immediately before going to Notre Dame? Do you think any of this is good for Fordham, for the A-10, and by extension for SLU to be associated with such a school, a school in which you claim that either "nobody" or "almost nobody" cares about?

That is really not worthy of a response. Nice try, again. But for your information, yes Vin Scully was part of Fordham victories as a member of the Fordham baseball team. Vin Scully is a Hall of Fame baseball announcer, a civic icon in Los Angeles. Do you want me to add that Denzel Washington, Alan Alda, and even Susan Lucci (Erica Kane herself) all went to Fordham? How about Donald Trump? He went to Fordham too for his first two years of college before transferring to Penn. He was known as Don Trump and was a kicker on the Fordham football team. What is your issue with Fordham University? That school has a lot to offer and is a sleeping but rising giant. It is good for Saint Louis University to be associated with such a quality school as Fordham, the #53 ranked national university and 4th ranked Catholic University, and vice versa, as it is also good for Fordham to be associated with SLU.

Yes, "very wrong," and you need to check your facts. Fordham is not playing St. John's in the Meadowlands. Fordham and St. John's are in the midst of a 3 game series: first year at Carnesseca Arena on the St. John's campus in Jamaica Queens, St. John's home game; second year at Rose Hill Gym on the Fordham Rose Hill Campus in the Bronx, Fordham home game; third (this coming) year at Madison Square Garden.

No, it isn't. I see a lot in Fordham of what I saw when I was at SLU. My 4 years as a SLU undergraduate coincided with Ekker. I see Pecora at Fordham as very much like Rich Grawer coming to SLU. What Fordham really needs is a new facility. I've suggested to my son that if they want to keep Rose Hill Gym, they should see if they can raise the roof and go straight up with the stands, at least on the east side, the one that is next to Jack Coffey Field, the football field. Raising the roof and going straight up is what transformed 6,578 Harmon Gym into 11,800 seat Haas Pavilion at Cal Berkeley. Real estate is not cheap in New York City, and there are complicated issues. Fordham students and alumni are tired of losing, and are tired of playing second fiddle to St. John's. There are a number of Fordham alumni in prominent positions. The NY Knicks announcer and NY Yankees TV announcer are both Fordham graduates, as is Vin Scully.

No, it isn't. I see a lot in Fordham of what I saw when I was at SLU. Remember, my 4 years at SLU coincided with Ekker. I see Pecora at Fordham as very much like Rich Grawer coming to SLU. What Fordham really needs is a new facility. I've suggested to my son that if they want to keep Rose Hill Gym, they should see if they can raise the roof and go straight up with the stands, at least on the south side, the one that is next to Jack Coffey Field, the football field. Raising the roof and going straight up is what transformed 6,578 Harmon Gym into 11,800 seat Haas Pavilion at Cal Berkeley. Real estate is not cheap in New York City, and there are complicated issues. Barclay's Center could be an option for Fordham, not the best because it is in Brooklyn, but certainly better than Izod Center in the New Jersey Meadowlands. Fordham students and alumni are tired of losing, and are tired of playing second fiddle to St. John's. There are a number of Fordham alumni in prominent positions. The NY Knicks announcer and NY Yankees TV announcer are both Fordham graduates, as is Vin Scully.

Moving the ACC Tournament out of Atlantic City and to Barclay's Center in Brooklyn will move it out of the Big East footprint and literally right under its nose. The A-10 Tournament traditionally is played the 2nd weekend of the conference tournaments. If that continues, the A-10 Tournament will be played in the same time frame as the Big East Tournament. The teams and fanbases presumably will cross paths in the hotels and on the streets of Manhattan. And although St. John's is the traditional basketball school in New York City, Fordham is the Jesuit University of New York and has a huge alumni base in the New York Tri-State Area, including Downtown on Wall Street. Time will tell, but with good marketing, the A-10 Tournament at Barclay's Center has a chance to be well received. We should give it a chance.

The Oregon uniforms are a conversation piece and an attention getter.

Nice try, but you are very wrong. Fordham was the talk of the town last year when it upset St. John's. Fordham Coach Tom Pecora was all over the NYC media. To say that nobody cares about Fordham is to put it politely, very incorrect. You can trust me, I know- my son was in the Fordham Class of 2011. Now this being said, of course the Fordham basketball program has a long way to go. But things are looking better there. Chris Gaston is a good player and getting better, was the A-10 Freshman of the Year 2 seasons ago. Coach Pecora is in Year 2 and will have a second year of his recruits. He had a good program at Hofstra and understands the New York recruiting landscape. St. John's controls MSG in college basketball. That and the exorbitant rental fee are the reasons Fordham doesn't play more games at MSG. Fordham is playing St. John's this coming season at MSG in Year 3 of their deal. As I posted before, and as I told Fordham President Father McShane after commencement in May, Fordham's win over St. John's was the greatest upset I have ever seen. And if you saw those two teams, I dare say you would not think I am exaggerating in saying that.

I'll take that right now. And that 5 v. 12 NCAA game often spawns upsets.

He sounds like more of a 4 than a 5. At this point from afar, it looks like a loss to me. But if he was headed out of town, then what more can SLU do? As always, it takes two to tango. I agree with Billikan that our team is going to be good this season, and have high hopes.

And what are those gray things Oklahoma State is wearing? At Oregon it is experimental art with the uniforms. You never know what uniform, or even colors, the Ducks are going to wear from week to week. Oregon's basketball court looks like a forest. After finally visiting Eugene last month, I understand that. Eugene is a Columbia, MO in a valley below mountains and forests, with a river running through it.

I'd like to see the Rays overtake Boston too. Boston survived in 14 innings in Game 2 last night at Yankee Stadium. Boston ranks right up there with the Cubs, Giants, and new ingrates, Milwaukee and Cincinnati, on my list. Wherever Dusty Baker manages is on that list. Cards have brought great excitement to Cardinal Nation. I like the way this team has gone about its business in September. The attitude of the team looks good, which is important. Wearing Hawaiian shirts on last night's team flight to Houston was a good morale builder and tension lightener. Absent that horribly blown call which gifted Atlanta that win against Pittsburgh in the 19 inning game, Atlanta and the Cards would be tied right now.

Question for those in St. Louis that have seen him play: How good is Nolan Berry? Is he the next Larry Bird? Doubtful. Is he similar to David Lee? If so, then yes, not getting him is a loss. Is he more like a young Evan Pedersen, Mike Ivester, et al.? If he is not a David Lee type, then his going to Butler seems more of a PR hit for SLU than that big of a loss. Coach can always get another similar player from the Land Down Under ...

C-USA- Memphis, Houston, SMU- those are not mid-majors. WAC- Read my post. The WAC was considered to not be a mid-major. But the soon to be WAC will be losing Nevada, Fresno State, Hawaii, and others. In some ways the new WAC won't even be as high as mid-major. A-10- Xavier, Temple, Dayton, UMass, Rhode Island- those are not mid-major, and I would argue that with Rick Majerus as Coach and Chaifetz Arena, neither is SLU.

It's not that Temple, along with St. Joe's and LaSalle, won't be able to get to Brooklyn; they will be able to easily get to NYC on Amtrak. But I think other schools will be more likely to attend if the tournament is in the new arena in Brooklyn. I think it's worth a try.