A10 Tournament Moving...

[For-DaLove]

i will say i would rather it be in NYC than atlantic City.

but my preference would have been to accomodate the three biggest attendance producers in the conference. saint louis, dayton and xavier. geographically even pittsburgh would be better imo.

i guess it doesnt matter to me personally until at least 2014 as i have two more seasons of going to florida the same week to see my daughter's spring softball games. i return to regular conference attendance in 2014.

We should be in the MVC by then so you won't have to worry about going to the tournament haha

[The Pelican]

AC is a dump. NYC will be accessible and a fun place to visit. I am pumped about the move. This will make for a more neutral playground.

[superslu]

This is an outstanding move on multiple levels.

1. It gets the A-10 more into New York City, the media capital of the world. There are a veritable multitude of things to do in New York City. The Barclay's Center is in the heart of Brooklyn and easily accessible by the New York subway from Manhattan and the hotels, Times Square, the theater district, the Lincoln Center, etc.

2. It gets the A-10 Tournament out of Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall, which was a de facto Temple home court.

3. This could very much help the Fordham program. Fordham is talking about playing some regular season games at the Barclay's Center, as it is locked out of the closer (to Fordham) Madison Square Garden by St. John's.

4. New York City is much easier to reach by air than is Atlantic City, with 3 major airports and non-stop flights, without the need to drive from the Philadelphia Airport to Atlantic City.

5. Until the Fordham program rises, although that is coming sooner than you probably think under Coach Pecora, Barclay's Center will be a more neutral court.

6. This will be putting the A-10 brand- and more importantly A-10 schools, such as SLU, right under the lenses of the Big East, and the Catholic Big East (CYO) to boot.

7. This provides more A-10 visibility in the recruiting hotbed of New York City.

Fordham doesn't play at MSG because of the Knicks, Rangers, and THEN St. Johns. And then there's the fact that nobdy cares about Fordham.

[Bay Area Billiken]

Fordham doesn't play at MSG because of the Knicks, Rangers, and THEN St. Johns. And then there's the fact that nobdy cares about Fordham.

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.

[Bay Area Billiken]

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.

[RF1]

If the A-10 has to rely on Fordham and its "fans" to make this work, the league is screwed.

[kshoe]

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.

Pretty sure your personal attachment to Fordham is clouding your judgment when talking about how many people care about Fordham basketball. The term "nobody" is of course not accurate but its pretty close to nobody.

The success of the A-10 tourney in NYC will have little to do with Fordham and much more to do with the willingness of the fanbases to travel to one of the more exciting cities in the world.

[Bay Area Billiken]

Pretty sure your personal attachment to Fordham is clouding your judgment when talking about how many people care about Fordham basketball. The term "nobody" is of course not accurate but its pretty close to nobody.

The success of the A-10 tourney in NYC will have little to do with Fordham and much more to do with the willingness of the fanbases to travel to one of the more exciting cities in the world.

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.

[Bay Area Billiken]

Pretty sure your personal attachment to Fordham is clouding your judgment when talking about how many people care about Fordham basketball. The term "nobody" is of course not accurate but its pretty close to nobody.

The success of the A-10 tourney in NYC will have little to do with Fordham and much more to do with the willingness of the fanbases to travel to one of the more exciting cities in the world.

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.

[billiken_roy]

You all have convinced me its a good move, maybe the conference can negotiate some decent travel deals for saint louis, dayton and x to make it a great move.

[superslu]

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.

"very wrong"? After beating St. Johns, Fordham had a couple of sellouts in their 3470 capacity gym. Isn't that about the size of UMSL's gym? How many tickets did they sell for their games over in the meadowlands? No offense, but "success" at Fordham has to be put into context.

The reason Fordham is playing St. Johns at the Meadowlands for 3 years is because of St. Johns, not Fordham. It's a good local interest novelty act.

MSG has 2 really good home teams and a pretty good one with St. Johns. There's not much room for Fordham there.

[superslu]

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.

So Vin Scully is going to help lead Fordham to glory?

[Bay Area Billiken]

"very wrong"? After beating St. Johns, Fordham had a couple of sellouts in their 3470 capacity gym. Isn't that about the size of UMSL's gym? How many tickets did they sell for their games over in the meadowlands? No offense, but "success" at Fordham has to be put into context.

The reason Fordham is playing St. Johns at the Meadowlands for 3 years is because of St. Johns, not Fordham. It's a good local interest novelty act.

MSG has 2 really good home teams and a pretty good one with St. Johns. There's not much room for Fordham there.

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.

[superslu]

Pretty sure your personal attachment to Fordham is clouding your judgment when talking about how many people care about Fordham basketball. The term "nobody" is of course not accurate but its pretty close to nobody.

The success of the A-10 tourney in NYC will have little to do with Fordham and much more to do with the willingness of the fanbases to travel to one of the more exciting cities in the world.

I couldn't fins last year's attendance numbers, but from the previous year Fordham's average attendance for home games was about 2,600. If you want to nitpik at "nobody" cares about them, fine. Can we agree on "almost nobody"?

[Bay Area Billiken]

So Vin Scully is going to help lead Fordham to glory?

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.

[superslu]

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.

Sorry for the mistake. I thought the games were at MSG, but I typed "meadowlands" by mistake. Mea culpa, my bad. I was only pointing out that nobody went to see Fordham at the Meadowlands when they played there. A very bad idea.

The fact is that very few come to see Fordham at Rose Hill. As I pointed out in another post Fordham aveaged about 2600 fans per game a two years ago. Either way St. Johns is driving the local interest.

I sincerely apologize if I offended a true Fordham fan. They are truly one of the great programs in the nation.

[Bay Area Billiken]

I couldn't fins last year's attendance numbers, but from the previous year Fordham's average attendance for home games was about 2,600. If you want to nitpik at "nobody" cares about them, fine. Can we agree on "almost nobody"?

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?

[superslu]

No. Do you know anyone from Fordham? Have your ever been there?

I know a couple of Fordham grads. No, I've never been to a game there...along with 99.99999% of the rest of the world. There were 6 D2 and 1 D3 team that outdrew Fordham 2 years ago.

[Bay Area Billiken]

Sorry for the mistake. I thought the games were at MSG, but I typed "meadowlands" by mistake. Mea culpa, my bad. I was only pointing out that nobody went to see Fordham at the Meadowlands when they played there. A very bad idea.

The fact is that very few come to see Fordham at Rose Hill. As I pointed out in another post Fordham aveaged about 2600 fans per game a two years ago. Either way St. Johns is driving the local interest.

I sincerely apologize if I offended a true Fordham fan. They are truly one of the great programs in the nation.

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.

[superslu]

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?

Addressing the rest of your post...

U2 also did a concert a Graham Chapel at Wash U once upon a time.

Who cares about Fordham's commencement speakers?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Do Brian Willimas and Tom Brokaw go to basketball games?

Wall Street 2 was filmed at Fordham? Wow, Escape from New York was filmed in St. Louis. I guess we're even.

Digger phelps left Fordham for greener pastures? Good for him. I can't believe you didn't mention that Lou Gehrig went to Fordham in the teens. Shame on you!

Matt Damon? Wow. When I think of Matt Damon I always think basketball.

Vince Lombardi is obviously remembered as a college football player and not an NFL coach.

Seriously, nothing you mentioned has ANYTHING to do with basketball. I'm not saying that Fordham is a bad school. I'm saying there is little interest in their basketball team. Your Bono & Brokaw plugs don't change that.

[superslu]

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.

You might want to check your facts about Rich Grawer's first winning season at SLU.

[Bay Area Billiken]

Addressing the rest of your post...

U2 also did a concert a Graham Chapel at Wash U once upon a time.

Who cares about Fordham's commencement speakers?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Do Brian Willimas and Tom Brokaw go to basketball games?

Wall Street 2 was filmed at Fordham? Wow, Escape from New York was filmed in St. Louis. I guess we're even.

Digger phelps left Fordham for greener pastures? Good for him. I can't believe you didn't mention that Lou Gehrig went of Fordham in the teens. Shame on you!

Matt Damon? Wow. When I think of Matt Damon I always think basketball.

Vince Lombardi is obvisouly remembered as a college football player and not an NFL coach.

Seriously, nothing you mentioned has ANYTHING to do with basketball. I'm not saying that Fordham is a bad school. I'm saying there is little interest in their basketball team. Your Bono & Brokaw plugs don't change that.

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."

[jbizzle09]

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.

I am going to have to agree with kshoe and say that you have some rose-colored glasses on when looking at Fordham. Perhaps you just like to be an eternal optimist, which is pretty admirable. But I also think that if your son did not attend Fordham you would hardly be banging the drum for them so vehemently.

I just don't see what you are seeing with Fordham. While I can see why you might see them as a sleeping giant due to their location in NYC, this is a program that has a total of one winning season since joining the A10 in 1995-96, with 9 of those seasons ending with them having single-digit win totals.

They don't even have that much tradition or history to hang their hats on. I guess you can point to the Digger Phelps season of 1970-71. However, he coached just that one season and immediately bolted for Notre Dame, and Fordham slipped right back into obscurity. They have had only one other tourney appearance since then, when they were the auto-bid out of the Patriot League in 1991-92.

Some teams are just made to be doormats in basketball. Fordham happens to be one of them. This isn't to take anything away from them as a university, as they are top notch and do have some rather famous alum. But there a lot of great universities out there that have crappy sports programs.

[superslu]

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."

Did any of this put Forham in the top 100 in terms of attendance? 150? 200?

This is doing very little to persuade me that people care about Fordham. I'm more interested in the fact that Central Missouri had better attendance than Fordham 2 years ago. I'll admit that I'm not sure if any of the NY Knicks announcers went to any Central Missouri games. However, the fact that a couple of local media types showing up at 1 game has convinced me that Fordham is America's team. I guess the fact that the Knicks held an open practice there means that Fordham is really important and not that they were looking for a small building that was suitable for the occasion.

This has gotten absolutely silly. I give up! Fordham is clearly the next Kentucky! I think Ashley Judd will be at all of their games this year!

Please put me in touch with the coach. I'd love to meet him for lunch the next time I'm in NYC!

[Bay Area Billiken]

You might want to check your facts about Rich Grawer's first winning season at SLU.

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.