Saturday, November 01, 2008

Quinnipiac 4, UConn 1

The Bobcats come back to score four unanswered goals and win the contest.

OK, promise this is the last time I ever write about hockey on this blog. Trust me, that's a good thing. My knowledge of hockey isn't very strong, to say the least. Much rather be writing about Andre Lafleur than Guy Lafleur, Scottie Haralson than Scotty Bowman, Hasheem Thabeet than ... well, you get the point.

UConn vs. Quinnipiac ...

... in men's hockey. Tonight. As in right now. I'm covering this baby, since Quinnipiac hockey is actually pretty big down here in Hamden/New Haven. In fact, the beautiful TD Banknorth Sportscenter appears sold-out (or nearly so), with a heavy student presence. Personally, I've never been a Hockey Krishna -- not sure if I could name a single member of this year's Boston Bruins team -- but it's a fun atmosphere here tonight. A little chippy out on the ice between these in-state rivals, too.

Anyway, UConn fans will be happy to know that the Huskies are up, 1-0, after one period, thanks to a Stevie Bergin goal off a Justin Hernandez assist. I won't pretend you're all interested in live updates, but for the five or six UConn fans who might be interested in the outcome, we'll post it here once the game ends.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

In Case You Cared ...

Some musings while home alone on a day off, finding myself strangely addicted to watching Mike Francesa talk on television:

***Briefly spoke with the elusive Durand Scott today. He was in a doctor's office so he wasn't very conversational, but he did confirm that the final three schools on his list are UConn, Miami and Pittsburgh. He also claimed he had no idea when he would make his final decision.

***It's obvious why the Phillies beat the Rays in the World Series. Philadelphia had just one Rhode Islander while the Rays had two
(That's Phillies first base coach Davey Lopes, an East Providence native, and Rays' outfielder Rocco Baldelli and pitcher Dan Wheeler, respectively). As a native Rhode Islander myself, I can say that. Actually, I covered while he was at Bishop Hendricken High in Warwick, R.I., and you won't meet a better guy. Very happy to see he got to contribute to the Rays' success this season, considering the myriad physical ailments he's had. Bet you didn't know he was offered a scholarship to play hoops at Providence and to play volleyball (volleyball!) at UCLA, as well as to play baseball at Wake Forest.

***The NBA season started this week. Can't we just fast-forward to June, when David Stern orchestrates a Celtics-Lakers rematch?
If David Stern ran MLB, I'm convinced we would have somehow gotten a Cubs-Red Sox World Series this year.

***Recently got a Facebook account, at my wife's urging. Felt a little silly about it, since I always believed this was the realm of high school and college kids. However, it's a pretty good resource, and it's helped me re-establish communication with several old friends already.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

A Legend in UConn's Midst?



Am I the only one who sees a resemblance between A.J. Price and popular R&B singer John Legend?

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

UConn's Got a Shot at Scott

According to Adam Zagoria's blog, Durand Scott has narrowed his list down to three colleges, and UConn is one of them. Miami and Pittsburgh are the other two.

Scott, a high school and AAU teammate of current UConn freshman Kemba Walker, was in Storrs over the summer for the Connecticut Elite Camp. He's a 6-4 shooting guard ranked No. 9 at his position for the Class of 2009 by Rivals. We know the UConn coaching staff loves him because, above all, the kid is a winner.

Scott should make his decision soon.

Monday, October 27, 2008

We're Talkin' 'Bout Practice ...

Some notes from today's practice at Gampel:

***A.J. Price said his surgically-repaired left knee was particularly sore today, probably a result of having the weekend off and then coming back hard for today's three-hour practice. His knee was wrapped with ice while he chatted with the media.

***Craig Austrie continues to be just "OK," according to Jim Calhoun, and wouldn't be in the starting lineup if the season started tomorrow -- something the coach wouldn't have figured just two or three weeks ago. "He has not asserted himself," said Calhoun.

***After a slow start in his early practices, freshman Scottie Haralson has really started to catch fire from beyond the arc. During one scrimmage, he hit about four out of six at one point, and in a 3-point shooting drill virtually carried the rest of his teammates as they knocked down just enough to avoid having to more.

***7-foot backup center Jonathan Mandeldove has been suffering from back spasms over the past several days and didn't participate in practice today. Calhoun hinted that this may make a decision to red-shirt Mandeldove easier.

***Charles Okwandu, who will be Hasheem Thabeet's backup at center if Mandeldove doesn't play this season, has looked strong in early-season practices. He's raw, sure, but he's also got some obvious skills. Okwandu's best move of the day was saving a ball from going out of bounds and passing it, behind his back, to a teammate -- all in one motion.

***Stanley Robinson was in the house after practice, nailing down one jumper after another during a shooting drill. (Oh, and there's no way he's gained 30 pounds of muscle over the past six months, as has been reported).

***Sports Illustrated was at Gampel on Monday, taking photos of Hasheem Thabeet and women's star Maya Moore for its college basketball season preview front cover shots. Apparently, there will be six different regional covers featuring a player from both the men's and women's teams from the following schools: UConn, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Arizona State.

Cover Boy (and Girl)

Sports Illustrated is at Gampel today taking photos of Hasheem Thabeet and Maya Moore for its college basketball season preview cover shots.

Apparently, there will be six different regional covers featuring a player from both the men's and women's teams from the following schools: UConn, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Arizona State.

Which begs the question: Are there really five other regions of the country that care about women's basketball, besides this one?