Just found out

Just found out that the U.S. Women's National Soccer team will be playing on ESPN2 tonight at 9pm Eastern.

Unenviable position

UConn Women's Basketball is in an unenviable position because of the success of our Women's Basketball team. Failure is not an option. We aren't only supposed to beat teams, we are supposed to blow them out. If we lost in any of the next few games we will be choke artists. Everyone will celebrate beating us and everyone will be happy to see us lose.

It's hard being such an overwhelming favorite with such a big target on your back. In a way it's no fun because if you win, you were supposed to, and if you don't your horrible and everyone is happy that you were horrible.

Anyway I hope we win, because everyone knows that we were the best team throughout the course of the season.

I hate that Baylor and Stanford won. Those are two very good teams that UConn does not want to have to face should they advance to the final four. I am afraid of a team with such an inside presence such as Baylor's 6'8'' Britney Griner. It will be tough to score buckets close to the hoop with her around. She is such a defensive presence. UConn will need to hit outside shots to win. Baylor is going to be very good for the next few years unless someone can find someone to stop Britney Griner. People don't think that the women will ever lose a game again, but they will, and I have a feeling that Baylor, maybe not this year, but next year will be the team to pull off the victory. Maya Moore can't do things all by herself. Someone will need to elevate themselves to the level of Tina Charles in order for UConn to be dominant in 2010-2011. First will have to see how the rest of this season plays out first. Hopefully, UConn can get past three tough teams to go undefeated again.

Goalie nets a hat trick

The greatest goalie in the history of the Western Mass Lady Pioneers, Mandy Schwartz, netted a hat trick in intramural soccer yesterday. Mandy was so good that no goalkeeper would follow in her footsteps for the Lady Pioneers. Because of that the team had to shut down it's operations.

Team Awesome

When I think of an UNoriginal name for an athletics team I think of Team Awesome. I think it's only better then Super Team.

If I had a bracket part 2

So I know everyone's bracket is really messed up.

If you go back a little bit I did pick West Virginia, at the start of the tournament...although I didn't do that on my blog before then, to win the whole thing. They made the final four.

I would have had Michigan State in the final four again and they play tomorrow. We'll see. I wouldn't have had Duke or Baylor.

But the team I would have picked to win it all had I filled out a bracket is still alive.

It's amazing what I know about college basketball when you consider the fact that I probably know the favorite foods and candies of women's soccer players better than I know men's college basketball.

I didn't know who Evan Turner was for way too long, but I do know that the first UConn Women's Soccer freshman to score a goal in the state of Wisconsin since 2002 likes Snickers.

Curtis Kelly

Former UConn basketball player Curtis Kelly transferred to Kansas State a couple years ago. He's still playing this year, as Kansas State advanced to the Elite Eight. He also scored 21 points and grabbed 8 rebounds today.

Hate to say this...UConn could have used him this year, but who knows if things would have worked out had he stayed.

Big Series

Keep an eye out for the UConn baseball team this weekend. The team has a big weekend against 7th ranked Louisville at Louisville. Should be very interesting to see how this team stacks up with the Cardinals. UConn is having a special season so far, and a good weekend will keep momentum and buzz building for this team.

Nationwide is on your side

What a strange title.

Anyway a child in Hartford this morning greeted me with a hand shake and said "Nationwide is on your side" which is from the Nationwide car insurance commercial. He said this all day, even when he was playing BINGO.

I'm interested to see if the BIG EAST has any reaction to it's teams struggling in the NCAA Tournament. Maybe the BIG EAST Tournament is too long, maybe the regular season is too much of a grind. I say change nothing, but usually there are complainers when only one of the eight teams makes the Elite Eight.

I guess I like the NFL's new overtime rule. I'm so used to the old rule that it wouldn't bother me if it was still in place. This new overtime rule seems fair.

I'm sad that Franklin Pierce was bounced in the Final Four last night in women's basketball. I watched the game on ESPNU and it just wasn't there best performance. Cynthia Gaudet played really well for the Ravens.

I'm saddened by the news that a Florida International Football Player was stabbed to death on campus. This certainly brings back painful memories and I cannot understand how something so terrible could be repeated again, somewhere else.

What Goalies SHOULD NOT Do

This is embarrassing. I know I will never see any one of the four goalies I've met make this mistake....

Actually I take that back, Ryan Grace (an intramural goalie) might actually do this once.

The other three goalies I know have way too much experience, and ability to do this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQngj516J1U&NR=1

In watching this again, I wonder if the goalie was helping to throw the game away for his team for some reason.

Birthday

Today is Geno Auriemma's Birthday. I thought that might be interesting.

Some baseball

Matt Barnes is a darn good pitcher. Enough said.

It occured to me

I am thrilled that I will be back next year. I am so happy to be back in Storrs for two more years. (I feel like I was re-elected to congress)

I also realized that a lot of people that I know, not all, (probably not even most people I know) will be leaving next year. I will be back, but some of the people that I know really well won't be around any more.

I actually just got a dose of that reality last night. My friend Vlad and I would often play soccer on 50 degree plus nights. I went to play, but Vlad is in California now so he obviously couldn't join me.

This also makes me wonder a little bit about red-shirt athletes. They enter as a class and, while they make friends with other teammates, there is still a special bond that they have as a group. However, once they become a redshirt-senior they don't have the rest of their class with them. In a way it must be a little strange for them because the people they have known the best over their past four years aren't around.

UConn Baseball

It is really nice to see 660 people at a UCONN baseball game. They drew that many people today. It wasn't a win, but it was still nice to see everyone show up.

Lee Mazzilli, the former Major League Manager, Coach and Player was in attendance. His son is on UCONN. It is great for our program to have someone of his status involved in the program. He seemed like a nice guy when I saw him at the field today.

I also saw another Women's Soccer fan (she was wearing a T-Shirt) at the baseball game today. I see so many women's soccer fans at baseball games for some reason. I told her she was wearing a nice shirt and that she should look forward to the 2010 season. She was very happy to see that Brittany Taylor got drafted 6th overall.

If I had a bracket

If I had a bracket it would certainly be messed up. I'm not supposed to have one so I didn't make one.

The team I would pick to win the NCAA Tournament (and I know I am a little late) would be West Virginia.

I would pick the favorite on the women's side.

To be fair I would have two things wrong if I had done a bracket

I would have picked the Hartford Women over LSU, but they lost.

I would have had Nova getting to the final four, but they lost.

I like March Madness. It is fun having so many games on at once. That is why I like the first couple days of the tournament.

Bike for Books

My friend Meghan Nanfeldt will be biking across country to try and help raise money for students in Hartford this summer and I am trying to help her get the word out about her cause. Any ideas, suggestions or people who are big into cycling and could give Meghan tips would be very helpful!

http://bikeforbooks.weebly.com/what-is-bike-for-books.html

I'm sad

As the biggest fan of the Western Mass Lady Pioneers, EVER, I am really sad that they will not be playing next season. I will miss them and Lusitano Stadium. I have great memories from there.

I will not be able to travel to Rochester or Canada to see the Ravens play. I'd like too, but I can't, so I will follow online.

I am looking forward to rooting for all the teams with players from UConn.

DII

Franklin Pierce won the region in the NCAA Division II Tournament in a win over Holy Family in overtime. It was a great game and Franklin Pierce senior Johanaah Leedham recorded her 3,000th point in her career.

Lets talk some DII Women's Regional Action

So I feel like talking about Emily Rousseau of Stonehill who pulled off one of those trick in bounds plays that you see from those And 1 street ball tours. She in bounded the ball off the back of a Holy Family player and scored a lay-up.

If Walt Clyde Frazier was announcing the game he'd probably use a GRE word, like conspicuous, to describe the play by Rousseau. I really thought of Walt Frazier when she made that in bounds play. I just could imagine the words he'd use to describe it.

Anyway, Stonehill, the favored team, dropped the game to Holy Family. At the time I thought that play might wake up Stonehill, who really struggled out of the gates. It didn't though. I wouldn't say it really pissed off Holy Family either though. Sometimes those trick plays can backfire and motivate and inspire.

Maya Moore remembered watching Candace Parker dunk at UConn and then UConn went on a big run.

I remembered watching the 30 for 30 about "The U" which spoke about how a trick play by Nebraska reinforced confidence that Miami would beat Nebraska. Basically coach Schnellenberger told Miami that if Nebraska was going to try one of those plays to win, that they must be desperate.

Speaking of inspiring I loved the 30 for 30 about Reggie Miller and the Knicks. Spike Lee should come to mind here.

They need confidence too

So I always wonder about athletes and their confidence levels. I've never wondered about referees confidence levels until the Division II tournament. The gym was small and the fans were right on top of the action and were yelling at the referees loudly and clearly. Referees need to stay confident say they can maintain control of the game and make decisive and correct calls.

Fans and coaches and players always complain and can easily disrupt the confidence of referees, especially more inexperienced ones. It's crucial for referees to have thick skin and to go with their instincts on calls.

It was evident to me that the referees were somewhat effected by the feedback they were getting at the games yesterday. The referees seemed to cope with that feedback by talking to me during media timeouts as I swept the floor and also spoke with each other. They would talk to each other and tell them that they were making good calls to keep their confidence up.

Tourney Day 1

You know you love what you do when you work for 12 hours and don't get paid, and still enjoy your day.

I was very impressed with how the Division II Tournament was run today. It went really well. I swept the floors today. That is certainly a first for me. I was also the only person in the arena who understood what a media timeout is. At UConn when I work a basketball game I do marketing things based on media timeouts so I'm ready and prepared for them. In Division II there are rarely media timeouts because they aren't usually needed in Division II games. I was sweeping the floor before even the referees seemed to realize that it was a media timeout.

I must have done a good job because a kid came up to me and shook my hand and said "great work out there."

I hope he wasn't serious. It's not that hard to sweep the floor. Atleast he didn't ask for my autograph.

(Yes I swept floors for free...maybe it will help improve my curling game)

As a floor sweeper I also got to speak with the referees during all four of the games. That was fun.

Division II

I will be volunteering at the Women's Basketball Division II National Championship Tournament today and tomorrow. This will be really interesting for me because I've been to a Women's Basketball Final Four game before, (actually Elite 8, Sweet 16 and the first and second rounds twice) for Division I. It will be interesting to compare the two. It is also going to be interesting because Women's Basketball is so big at UConn so I am used to sell outs and lots of interest. I wonder what today will be like.

UConn lacrosse

I did say that UConn Lacrosse would be the team most likely to improve this year in my spring sports preview.

I love it when I am right. Last year the team was 3-13 and the team is 5-1 right now.

I've also been right about baseball, so far they are 6-2 and they just beat USC, a program that has won 12 National Championships in baseball.

NCAA Rules

NCAA Rules prohibit a lot of things. They are generally good and keep schools in line. I'd be afraid to know where the NCAA would be without those rules. However, all rules can have unintended consequences.

Mainly there are a lot of rules that are coming out now that limit what teams can do via new technologies. There are rules that limit what you can and can't put on the internet and because the definitions are so broad of what you can and can't do sometimes you don't want to chance anything.

I think that rules limiting social media and posting of videos etc. is good for sports that generate a lot of publicity. People don't have to go too far to find information on college football or college basketball and it's good that there are rules in place to help prevent recruiting from getting any shadier.

However, the majority of NCAA sports don't generate a lot of publicity and it would benefit their sport in general if they were allowed to do more things with social media. Teams are allowed to do lots of things with it, the NCAA doesn't limit everything, but there are other things that can't be done and I think they come at the expense of smaller sports and female sports in general. Those sports don't get as much media coverage and maybe the rules should be different for those teams and basketball and football teams.

One example is that teams aren't supposed to post stories from local newspapers or newspapers that report mainly on a certain school or team. That's fine for big time programs like North Carolina Basketball because ESPN is always talking about them, however it does hurt Western Duluth Ice Fishing (totally made that up, so don't go googling the school...ice fishing isn't a NCAA sport) who only gets local media coverage.

NCAA Rules are a complex issue. They are full of good things, but they also have some bad things and unintended consequences. Football and Basketball need a lot of policing and rules. It would be nice if other sports were allowed to do more things with social media and marketing. Football and basketball got themselves in trouble, they don't need to bring everyone else down with them.

Facebook friends

Sometimes you can just have too many facebook friends. I decided to delete one yesterday. He plays men's basketball at UConn. I don't need him as a friend.

Randomly I thought about teaching a class on the history of UConn athletics since I will be a graduate student. Thought maybe I could teach a one credit class. We'll see if I could even do that.

Handball

I don't know much about Handball, but it looks really cool and exciting. According to the person who sent me this, a lot of handball players are former soccer players. Thought this was interesting to share.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT0fAYwu-s4

Busy

I have been busy on break because I've been working on a fun but time consuming project.

71 is great. It's amazing that I was at their last loss, because that was such a long time ago.

78 is the only number that really matters and I hope the streak doesn't become a distraction or burden. Unlike last year, this year winning the Championship will be more of a relief than an accomplishment. While UConn was expected to win it last year, they are really expected to win it because they have won so many in a row.

I have more to write about, including what I said I will write about coming up.

Break

It's nice to be on break and especially nice to be at my Lake House. On the way here there was no snow anywhere until I got maybe 15 minutes from my house. Then the snow just seemed to pile up.

I was glad we had snow because I got to do some cross country skiing on the frozen lake. I brought my Ipod with me and probably went skiing for a total of 45 minutes. It was fun and was a good workout that I feel today. I began to get comfortable on the skis.

I will write about two things soon.

One will be on NCAA rules and how they may inadvertently hurt female athletics exposure and another will be on why the NCAA Tournament for Basketball should stay at 64 teams.

Karma

So having a bad week means something good must happen, like GETTING INTO GRAD SCHOOL.

So it looks like I will be around Storrs for two more years. I think that's a good thing!

Little Giants continued

Me not liking the Little Giants shows how highly identified I am as a Dallas Cowboys fan. I did some investigating and spoke to two other Cowboys fans about the movie. They didn't dislike the movie because the Cowboys lost. Basically I am just crazy, but I think we already knew that.

I am so disorganized

One of the worst things about me is my lack of organization. I have a real problem with losing things. For example my recorder, which I brought to basketball games starting in 2008 (including the Final Four) and my latest interviews with my latest team has been misplaced and is missing. I think it fell out of my backpack. I remember that part of my backpack was open not that long ago. At the time I didn't think anything was missing and now a couple of days later I can't find my recorder...

I think I need a separate back-pack for extracurricular things so that I can be more organized.

Tina Charles

I'm really happy for Tina Charles and her school rebounding and scoring records. She has come so far in her career. She has become a dominant force and should be National Player of the Year. She has come up really big in all of UConn's big games this season.

Disappointed

So Women's Ice Hockey Coach Heather Linstad was recognized for her 300th career win, which is among the top of all women's ice hockey coaches in the history of the game, at the Men's Basketball game today. (On top of that the team is ranked in the top 10.) We also honored all of our All-Americans. I was one of maybe 50 students who stood up to clap for all the All-Americans except maybe Renee Montgomery. She probably got some more than 50 people. I was probably one of only a handful of students to clap for Coach Linstad. I noticed that my friends and in particular the friend next to me weren't clapping and I asked him why he wasn't and didn't get much of a response...and this friend of mine is pretty good about supporting other UConn teams.

I was able to convince him to become a women's basketball fan and now he goes to all the games. I believe he also went to part of a women's soccer game. He atleast did stand up with me to support the All-Americans, but still Women's Ice Hockey didn't get enough support. They are the second highest ranked team at UConn right now. I don't expect a standing ovation, but clapping would be appropriate.