BREAKING NEWS: Princeton Earns CBI Berth
For the first time in six years, the Princeton Tigers extend its season past the end of Ivy League play. The Tigers learned late Sunday night that will host Duquesne in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational. The game will be played Wednesday night at 7:00 P.M. EDT The game will also be broadcast live on 103.3 FM and online at listen.wprb.com beginning at 6:40 P.M. EDT.
For more information about the game, click here . We will post more information about the game here as soon as it becomes available.
March Madness, Baby! It’s Awesome with a Capital A!
Today is Selection Sunday. Conference tournaments have, for the most part, finished (the ACC, Atlantic 10, SEC and Big Ten have their championship games on Sunday afternoon). Everything is rounding into place for the NCAA tourney, which will start next week. The 65-team tournament is always one of the most exciting sporting events every year. The first weekend of basketball is full of upsets, Cinderellas and buzzer beaters. However, the tournament has actually already begun. The beauty of the NCAA basketball championship is that nearly every Division 1 team can earn a bid in the first weeks of March. Conference tournaments are held around the nation, and the NCAA awards the winner an automatic bid to the “big dance.” This means 30 separate tournaments with over 300 teams. Only the Ivy League awards its automatic bid to the regular-season champion, so they do not have a conference tournament.
Then, there are the 34 “at-large” bids handed out to the top teams which could not win an automatic bid. The selection committee has the difficult task of deciding which teams are worthy of an invitation. The media and the public follow this with non-stop speculation and predictions about the seeding and the notorious “bubble.” While I will discuss this so-called “bracketology,” I want to give the conference tournaments their proper due.
Briefly let me discuss some “bracketology” that is still up in the air. Your #1 seeds will be Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse and one other team. The fourth #1 team will be Duke if they win their ACC final against Georgia Tech on Sunday. If Duke loses, it’s a toss-up between Ohio State (assuming they beat Minnesota in the Big Ten final) and West Virginia, who won the Big East Tournament by defeating Georgetown last night.
For the last teams in/out, Illinois has proven to me that they deserve to be in, especially with their win over Wisconsin and their heart-crushing double overtime defeat to Ohio State. Minnesota has likewise shown me that they deserve another weekend of basketball, with impressive wins over Michigan State and Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament. They can also put all those doubts aside if they defeat Ohio State for the automatic bid. Georgia Tech is definitely in after making a surprising run to the ACC final defeating North Carolina, Maryland and North Carolina State. The Yellow Jackets can likewise earn an automatic bid by beating Duke in the ACC Tournament final on Sunday. Another team that can earn their way in would be Mississippi State, who plays Kentucky in the SEC Tournament final on Sunday as well. I expect the Bulldogs to make the tournament regardless of the outcome of that game, but another automatic bid lies in the balance. Many expect Virginia Tech to get a bid, but I think their loss to last-place Miami in the first round of the ACC tournament puts them on the outside looking in. Joining the Hokies just barely on the wrong side of that “bubble” will probably be Seton Hall, USF, UAB, Memphis, Rhode Island, Florida, Mississippi, Dayton, Cincinnati, Arizona State and Wichita State.
Rumors have floated around that the NCAA wants to expand the tournament to 96 teams. Though this is primarily a cash-grab, some have justified the change as giving more teams an opportunity to shine on the big stage. Mid-major teams generally receive very few at-large bids, so more overall bids may give them a better shot. Though this is potentially true, there is the possibility that the extra bids will still go to “power” conference schools with middling records. The main oversight of this argument is that all of these teams have the opportunity to earn a bid through their conference tournament. I will give you several examples of this phenomenon from this year.
Wichita State finished their season at 25-9 overall, 12-6 in conference play. The Shockers are a quality mid-major program, but clearly on the bubble this year. Finishing 2nd in the Missouri Valley Conference, many argue Wichita State should earn an at-large bid. The truth of the matter is that the NCAA tournament started a couple weeks earlier for Wichita State. Win your conference tournament, and there is no question about whether you get in or not. Wichita State lost to Northern Iowa by 15 in the finals of the MVC championship. Now take San Diego State, who finished 25-8 and 4th place in the Mountain West Conference at 11-5 in league play. They, too, were firmly on the bubble. However, all doubts were erased as the Aztecs defeated the Colorado State Rams, the #8-ranked New Mexico Lobos, and the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels on three successive days to win the MWC tournament and earn an automatic bid. No waiting on Selection Sunday needed for the Aztecs.
The fact is: win and you’re in. Wichita State didn’t. San Diego State did. I love conference tournaments because they are essentially extensions of the NCAA tournament. For many smaller schools, conference tournaments are the only shot at making the big dance. On Saturday, Morgan State played South Carolina State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament final. You’ve probably never heard of either of these schools. The Morgan State Bears had finished 15-1 in conference play, finishing 1st in the MEAC. But a regular season championship means nothing if you don’t earn your automatic bid to the NCAAs. Morgan State prevailed 68-61, earning their second straight NCAA bid. Later that day, the Ohio Bobcats faced the Akron Zips in the Mid-American Conference championship. The Ohio Bobcats had finished 7-9 in conference play, giving them the #9 seed for the MAC tournament. On their way to the final, Ohio upset #1 seed Kent State, as well as #4 seed Miami (OH). The Bobcats finished their improbable run with a victory over the #2 seed Akron Zips, winning in overtime by the score of 81-75, punching their ticket to the big dance on the way.
Great stories and games from these smaller conferences are everywhere. In the Big Sky Conference, the Montana Grizzlies defeated the Weber State Wildcats, 66-65. That may not seems noteworthy until you learn that Montana was down by 20 points at halftime. Anthony Johnson, a senior guard on Montana, scored 34 of his total 42 points in the second half, as the Grizzlies overcame a 22-point deficit to pull out the one-point victory, upsetting the favored Wildcats. In the Southern Conference, we turn our attention to Wofford College. This school of about 1500 students qualified for its first ever NCAA tournament. This is even more impressive with the fact that the school has only been in Division I since 1995. The Terriers from Spartansburg, SC, had their first winning season ever in Division I basketball last year, finishing 16-14. Only a year later, the Wofford Terriers are champions, and now they have their eyes set on the NCAA tourney.
This is what I love about college basketball. Small schools get the chance to play with the big boys, if only for one day. Anybody can come out of nowhere to win their conference tournament and get that automatic bid. Anything can happen.
Preview: Harvard @ Princeton Men’s Ice Hockey, ECAC Playoffs
Last year at this time, Guy Gadowsky and the men’s ice hockey team were relaxing in Hobey Baker Rink, practicing and waiting to see who their ECAC quarterfinal opponent would be. That time – and that season as a whole – seems long ago. As the Tigers prepare to host the Harvard Crimson this weekend, they have to look back on the past few months as a great disappointmet – yet also notice reasons for optimism.
The 2009-2010 Tigers (12-14-3, 8-12-2 ECAC), perhaps feeling the aftershocks of the most devastating loss in program history to Minnesota-Duluth in the first round of the NCAAs, slipped to 8th place in the league, and were fortunate to even achieve the goal of hosting a playoff series. They needed a win against Brown combined with a Crimson loss at St. Lawrence to move the series from Cambridge to Princeton. Injuries, players playing out of position, inexperience, and just general inconsistent play all combined to make the Tigers a much weaker force in conference play than they were the past two years. Star goaltender Zane Kalemba, a Hobey Baker finalist last season, failed to even make third-team All-ECAC honors. Only one player – defenseman Taylor Fedun – was honored by the league, earning a spot on the second-team conference roster.
But these Tigers won’t have that negative mindset going into this weekend. Regardless of future outcomes, they are the favorites in this series and know it – not that they are feeling arrogant by any means, but simply confident. Their two games against Harvard (7-19-3, 7-12-3 ECAC) this season were a 3-3 tie at Hobey Baker Rink and a 2-1 victory in Boston. Injuries that have decimated the roster this season are less of a factor. It’s a new season now (as cliche as that sounds) and the Tigers are well aware that to receive a third straight NCAA tournament berth, they must win the ECAC crown. The first step in that path is a victory in the three-game series at Baker this weekend.
Let’s take a look at the statistics in the matchup, which show that the teams are actually quite similar in many respects. The third period has been the downfall of each, with Princeton being outscored by its opponents 38-27, and Harvard by an even larger margin, 45-25, so one team is going to have to break that trend, and whoever does so likely will be moving on. Both teams have struggled on special teams. Harvard scores on 17.6% of their power plays, and gives up goals on 21.1% of the opposition’s man advantages. Princeton’s special teams are prone to more goal-scoring, but they still run a deficit of 20% conversion rate on their power plays to a 24% rate for their opponents. Both teams have a lower shooting percentage than their opponents.
Princeton has three distinct advantages: faceoffs, number of shots, and penalties. Princeton wins 50.6% of its faceoffs, not an outstanding number, but compared to Harvard’s miserable 45.6%, it’s much better. Time of possession – and specifically time in the offensive zone – will be key for both teams, because neither team has – based on the stats from this year, though Kalemba comes in with the best netminder reputation – a goalie who consistently will stand on his head and turn away shot after shot during sustained offensive pressure by the other team. Having watched the Tigers this season, one of their downfalls has been the inability to clear the puck from the defensive zone, even at even strength, and from seeing one game against the Crimson, the same assessment applies to them. The faceoffs are an obvious way for a team to establish possession, and Princeton would seem to have the upper hand, but they need to control the puck in the offensive zone to capitalize on this advantage.
Additionally, Princeton takes many more shots than its opponents, while the opposite is true for Harvard. Princeton outshoots its opponents by 5 shots per game, 36-31, whereas Harvard is outshot 35-29. Princeton’s statistic may be a little deceptive, given that they often struggle to generate a continuous offensive possession and sometimes settle for low-quality shots, but the goaltending for Harvard has not been top-notch this year, and sometimes throwing the puck at the net and seeing what happens can make or break a game. Harvard will have to work hard to send a barrage of shots Kalemba’s way, but assuming Princeton can do the same to the Crimson goaltender, they should be in decent shape. Speaking of goaltenders, who will start for Harvard? It’s unclear. Kyle Richter and Ryan Carroll have platooned all year; Carroll started last Friday in a 2-1 OT loss to Clarkson, and Richter started on Saturday in St. Lawrence, but was relieved by Carroll after allowing three goals. The play from last weekend might seem to give the edge to Carroll, but head coach Ted Donato will likely go with the hot hand.
The last advantage held by Princeton is in penalties. Harvard has taken 158 minors and their opponents have only taken 142, whereas Princeton has taken fewer than its opponents, 152-154. Because both teams have weak special teams, power plays become crucial – not only because they allow for goal-scoring chances, but because they keep the other team out of a 5 on 5 situation in which both teams are better.
So what are 3 keys to the game for each team?
Harvard:
- Get Louis Leblanc going: there’s a reason he’s so highly touted, and why he leads Harvard in goals and points. Keep him on the ice as long as possible.
- Find a rhythm in goal: neither Richter nor Carroll have dominated this season, but one of them is going to have to step up and be the guy. A goaltender rotation is generally ineffective in playoff hockey, where a hot goalie can carry a team a long way. One of the two is going to have to step up.
- Have great puck control in the offensive zone: Princeton has trouble clearing the puck, even during 5 on 5 situations. The longer possession stays at Princeton’s end, the more vulnerable the defense becomes to a fluke deflection or a juicy rebound. Get the puck out to the point and be patient.
Princeton:
- Zane Kalemba plays like Zane Kalemba can: he was fantastic in last year’s ECAC tournament, even in the loss to Cornell in the semifinals (in fact, I think that was his best game). He’s been shakier this year, but he’s displayed some amazing performances, including the second game against Harvard, a 2-1 Princeton victory. It seems obvious to say, but he needs to be better if Princeton wants to beat Harvard, much less get to Albany for the ECAC semis.
- Senior leadership: forwards Dan Bartlett and Mark Magnowski are the leading point-getters on this Tiger squad. Jody Pederson and Brad Schroeder anchor the blue line, and of course Kalemba stars in net. This is certain to be their last weekend at Baker Rink, so expect them to have a little extra motivation.
- Get the first goal: Princeton outscores its opponents 27-16 in the 1st period, and those goals are sorely needed given the 3rd period letdowns that have plagued the Tigers all season long. Applying pressure early, rattling the goaltender – and whether its Richter or Carroll, they’ll have to play well to stay on the ice, which could cause some nerves – and jumping out to that early lead will force Harvard to lead the 3rd period onslaught, something they are unaccustomed to doing as evidenced by their negative goal differential in the 3rd.
The games are at 7 PM on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (if necessary) so come on out to Hobey Baker Rink if you’re in the area and get your tickets before they sell out.
Prediction: Tigers in 3
How Fed Takes Advantage of the ATP Tour
One of the awesome things about being a tennis fan is that you don’t have to suffer through a long off-season without any Nadal, Sharapova, or Roddick stimulation. Unlike almost every other sport, the ATP and WTA only takes a short break between the year-end championships in December and the Aussie Open in January. While the long, grueling season leaves some players unhappy, the near-constant play keeps tennis junkies happy..
So let’s break down how the ATP tour is structured (frankly, I care much more about men’s tennis – sorry ladies!). The high points are clearly the four majors – the Aussie, French, Wimbledon, and US in January, May, June, and August respectively. In between these majors are mini-”seasons” for different types of hard courts. In general, hard-court events will lead up to the Aussie and US Opens, clay court events to the French, and grass events to Wimbledon.
Obviously, the 4 majors are the biggest events in terms of publicity, money, points, and excitement. Each slam gives 2000 points to its winner, double that of the 9 Masters events (1000 points for winner). If we throw in the (1) year-end ATP World Tour Finals, we have the “big 14″ tournaments that make up the main component of rankings points among the movers and shakers of the tennis world.
What’s the best way, as a player, to take advantage of this system? If we look at the case of Roger Federer and many of the other top-ranked players, it’s clear that consistency at slams is HUGE in staying atop the rankings. If you look at the current ATP Top 10, you’ll notice that Fed is more than 3,000 points ahead of Djokovic for the #1 spot. How does he do it?
As we mentioned, consistency is no joke for the Fed-meister. If you watch news stories carefully, you’ll see that the 28-year old maestro almost always errs on the side of caution in less-important tourneys so that he’s ready to go for the big ones. For instance, just a couple weeks ago he pulled out of Dubai due to a lung infection. He only pulls out if he’s forced to, you say? Not so. In the last few months, he has also withdrawn from: Kooyong, Tokyo, and Shanghai (not to mention tournaments like Paris and Halle in the past year).. He cites various reasons for withdrawing, but mostly it’s the same thing: he spends his down-time resting his back or legs and takes time to return to all-around top form.
Do I need to emphasize how effective this strategy has been? Aside from his perch atop the men’s tennis world (he’s closing in on pete’s all-time record of total weeks at No. 1 and should hit the mark this summer if he stays on form), he has won 4 of the last 6 slams, been in the finals of 18 of the last 19 slams, has won a record 16 slams total, and has made a RIDICULOUS 23 STRAIGHT SLAM SEMIFINALS!!!
Wise sports writers don’t normally say things like this (for good reason), but I honestly feel that Fed’s Straight Slam Semifinals record is one that will never be broken. Just imagine the excellence, good health, perseverance, and – yes – luck involved in not missing a slam semifinal for almost 6 straight years! That’s 115 matches (23 x 5 to get to semis) that he couldn’t lose either (a) b/c of a bad day (b) b/c of injury (c) b/c his opponent was playing phenomenally or (d) b/c S*&$ happens!
Doing well in slams is the real-deal of the tennis world – one slam is worth 4x the points of a hum-drum ATP 500-level tourney.. The big stage of the majors separates the men from the boys, and I think the adage “The proof is in the pudding” applies to Federer’s response to that stage.
This post is long enough as is, so I’ll sign off. Next time you see the Swiss master play, however, think about the effort he puts out not only on the court, but also in smart tournament selection.. Cheers!
The Media Trying to Tame the Tiger
“The issue involved here was my repeated irresponsible behavior. I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did is not acceptable, and I am the only person to blame.” –Tiger Woods, From his February 19th News Conference (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
Why do we care about Tiger Woods? Well, it’s all about brand recognition. Sure, we all know how spectacular Tiger Woods is on the golf course. Few golfers have been able to stare the man down on Sundays, when he has victory in his grasp, and pull out a win over one of the most dominant athletes of this generation. Yet today, one associates Tiger Woods with golf as much as he or she associates him with the swoosh symbol on his chest. People see him sinking a birdie putt in a tournament as often as they see him driving a Buick or palling it up with Roger Federer in Gillette commercials. The Tiger Woods cheating scandal has severely damaged the Tiger Woods brand. Just as a corporation like Toyota has to issue statement after statement and scramble to reclaim consumers’ trust and loyalty following its recent vehicle recalls, Tiger Woods had to repair his image to fix his brand. He took the first step towards said reparation last Friday, in a closed press conference where he addressed his recent struggles. No members of the media were allowed to ask any questions, the statement was for Tiger to restore consumer confidence in the Tiger brand and speak to all those he felt he had wronged.
Tiger Woods’ mechanical apology to the world last Friday was a reminder that even the most transcendent public figures have to answer to someone, at some point, in their lives. In his address, Woods was surprisingly candid with his admission to having extramarital affairs. He said he was “deeply sorry” for his “irresponsible and selfish” behavior. He apologized to everyone, from his wife Elin, to his sponsors, to his fans. Tiger even stated that he was undergoing therapy to better himself and that his desire to “become a better person” and a “better man” trump his desires to play the game he’s dominated for the last ten or so years. And yet, for some, Tiger’s apology wasn’t enough. Media members from across all genres and platforms have denigrated Tiger’s statement, saying it wasn’t “remorseful” or that it was too “cold” and “rehearsed”. Others complained that Tiger didn’t take any questions from the media, citing that his statement was another example of Tiger’s insatiable desire to control anyone and anything around him.
To all these criticisms, I say that Tiger’s personal life, specifically in reference to his genuine emotions, is none of our business. In reality, there’s no way any of us truly know what is going on inside of Tiger Woods’ heart. He’s never been one to publically display his personal emotions to the media, so it’s difficult to gauge his sincerity without a baseline. There’s no magical elixir to make Tiger Woods tell the truth, nor is there any magical instrument to tell if tiger is actually sorry about cheating on his wife. Even if such a device existed, should it really matter to the general public whether or not Tiger feels true remorse for his actions? Going back to the Toyota analogy, are consumers today more concerned about whether or not the corporation is genuinely sorry for producing faulty cars, or more concerned with the brand’s plans to insure that cars in the future will be safe and functional?
It definitely was necessary for Tiger to speak after the media firestorm detailing his actions. He needed to clear the air on a variety of issues because of his status as one of the world’s largest, most influential figures. His endorsements with brands like Nike and Gatorade as well as his supposed status as a role model made it necessary to prepare his image with some type of statement. But much of the anger related to the nature of Tiger’s apology is misguided. With his apology, Tiger said that:
- He is sorry; he let down his sponsors and fans, and wants to be forgiven.
- He believes that he deserves to be criticized for his ridiculously selfish and privileged behavior.
- He wants to become a better person in the future for his family, and is undergoing therapy to help him through the process.
- He wishes that his family be left alone as they work things out.
- He doesn’t know when he will return to golf because getting his life in order is more important.
What more can anyone want from Tiger Woods after an apology where he outlined all the vices that have plagued him, says he is trying to get better, and asks for some time and forgiveness for his actions? The delivery or motivations behind his apology shouldn’t matter to the average person.
It’s OK not to like Tiger Woods. Given the media exposure of Tiger Woods’ personal life, it’s understandable that some are repulsed and insulted by his actions. Some people didn’t like Tiger before his scandal and will continue to dislike him. Others looked up to Tigers Woods with admiration before his recent struggles. They will choose to either support him as he tries to mentally recover and repair his image or take offense to his recent actions and abandon the Tiger brand altogether. Regardless of how someone feels about Tiger, no one has the right the judge the sincerity of his actions or expect certain level of real emotion as he speaks. Whether or not Tiger is truly sorry for his actions should only be his wife and family’s concern. They are the ones who are truly invested in Tiger Woods’ life. They are the individuals who have been most affected by his actions. They are the group that has to look in him eye everyday and trust that he has changed for the better. They are the people who Tiger Woods desperately needs to appease–not some low-level member of the media who doesn’t know Tiger Woods and is somehow outraged that he can’t ask him questions at a press conference.
Tiger ended his address by saying that he hopes those that who have been offended, disgusted, or disappointed by his actions will find room in their hearts to “one day believe” in him again. The consumers, the general public, will believe in him again through their wallets and increased viewership of tournaments at which he plays. Let’s hope for Tiger’s sake that he can find a way to make his wife and family believe in Tiger Woods, the man. Unlike media or the general public, Tiger’s family probably could care less about the growth of his brand and more about his personal development and signs of true change.
Preview: Princeton Men’s Basketball @ Cornell
The Princeton men’s basketball team is having one of their best seasons in recent memory. The Tigers have compiled a 16-7 record while going 7-2 in Ivy League play. With 5 games left in the season, Princeton has a chance to win 20 games for the first time since the 2003-2004 season, which happens to be the last time the Tigers won the Ivy League title and went to the NCAA tournament. Currently the Tigers sit in 2nd place in the Ivy League, 1 ½ games behind league leader Cornell, who are 9-1 in the Ivy League and 23-4 overall.
With the Tigers vying for their first Ivy League title in six years, Princeton travels to Ithaca, N.Y. this Friday to take on the Cornell Big Red, in a game that could decide the Ivy League title. A win for the Tigers would pull them within a ½ game behind Cornell in the Ivy League standings, though Cornell has played one more game than the Tigers so far. If Cornell were to win on Friday, the Big Red would hold a commanding lead over the Tigers and the 3rd place Harvard Crimson (7-3 in Ivy League). Cornell would be in great position to win their third Ivy League title in a row. If Princeton wants to go dancing in March, the Tigers will most likely need to win at Cornell on Friday, and to win their remaining games as well. Even if the Tigers do all that, the Tigers and Big Red would likely play a one-game playoff to decide the Ivy League champion. Considering all of this, Princeton certainly has a daunting task ahead of them if they plan on making the NCAA tournament. It all starts with the matchup at Cornell this Friday night.
The Tigers lost a heart-breaker against Cornell two weeks ago, losing 48-45 in Jadwin Gymnasium. The game was tightly-contested down to the last possessions, though Cornell led nearly the entire game. Princeton clawed back from a six point deficit at halftime to lead briefly with the score at 30-28. It was the only time the Tigers held a lead during the game. With the game tied at 34-34, Cornell scored five straight points with 4 minutes left and never relinquished the lead. The Tigers, led by sophomore Douglas Davis’ 20 points, fought back and pulled within one point with 24 seconds left. However, Cornell’s Ryan Whitman and Louis Dale hit four clutch free throws in the final minute to secure the victory as Doug Davis missed a last second three-point attempt.
Since that game, Cornell has continued their winning ways, beating Harvard 79-70 in Cambridge last Friday and defeating Dartmouth 88-70. Meanwhile, the Tigers bounced back with strong performances against Penn, winning 58-51 in Philadelphia on Tuesday, then coming back home to crush Yale 82-58 on Friday. However, a disappointing performance against Brown on Saturday led to a surprising defeat, with the Bears topping the Tigers by the score of 57-54.
This time around the Princeton Tigers need more contribution from their big men. The interior offense was nonexistent in the first Cornell game with their primary post players scoring 6 points combined. Senior Zach Finley scored 4 points, and freshman Ian Hummer added 2, but senior center Pawel Buczak was held scoreless. If the Tigers want to compete with the Cornell Big Red and their seven-foot center Jeff Foote, the Princeton post players need to be aggressive and score in the paint. The Tigers cannot rely on 3-point shooting and perimeter offense alone. This was made clear by the team’s dismal perimeter shooting in Saturday’s loss to Brown. The Tigers made 6 out of 25 3-point attempts, just 24%. Consistent and efficient scoring from interior players must be the focus of Princeton’s offensive gameplan this weekend.
On defense, the Tigers need to keep up their exceptional performance this season, ranking first in the nation in scoring defense at 52.7 points per game. Also, the Tigers lead the Ivy League with 8.0 steals per game. In order to win in Ithaca, the Tigers are going to need to be aggressive and disciplined on the defensive end. The Tigers had only 4 steals in the first matchup with Cornell, and only forced 10 turnovers. This time around, Princeton needs to show defensive intensity and use pressure and traps to force Cornell into mistakes. Coach Sydney Johnson, Princeton class of ’97, needs to vary his defensive schemes, integrating zone defenses and half-court traps to slow down this high-powered Cornell offense, which averages nearly 76 points per game. Look for junior Kareem Maddox to make contributions on the defensive end, as he has the length and athleticism at 6’7” to bother the Cornell perimeter scorers.
The Princeton Tigers have a great chance to pull the upset this Friday. Hopefully, Princeton plays up to their potential and competes with a talented Cornell team. Balanced offense, with interior and perimeter scoring, and aggressive yet disciplined defense will lead the Tigers to victory in Ithaca. With another road game at Columbia on Saturday, a weekend sweep for the Tigers will make for an exciting end to the Ivy League season. If Princeton can win these two crucial games, they finish with three home games and an excellent chance to challenge Cornell for an Ivy League title and NCAA tournament bid.
You can listen to Princeton play Cornell on WPRB 103.3 FM or online at wprb.com. Gametime is scheduled for 7:00 PM Friday with pre-game coverage starting at 6:40 PM. Also, tune in on Saturday when the Princeton Tigers take on the Columbia Lions at 7:00 PM. That game will be on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com as well.
UEFA Champions League Redux
The UEFA Champions League is the most unique sporting competition in the planet. No other sport has the sheer number of teams to be able to field a competition that is so large and so well contested. At first glance, it may seem that its simply the best European teams play each other in a tournament with some funky rules regarding home and away games, and determine who reigns supreme. But its more, its called the Champions League for a reason. It’s not a tournament, but rather a near year-long quest to be crowned champion of Europe. Who gets to play? Why do we make such a big deal about it every year? Why is it going to be great this year, and who’s going to win it all?
The Worst Team in History
Last night, the New Jersey Nets played in front of 1,016 fans. Sure it was “SnowMegeddon,” and sure they were playing the fairly uninteresting Milwaukee Bucks on a Thursday night, but to be honest, this attendance wasn’t much worse than it’s been all season. Currently the Nets rank last in the league in attendance, averaging a little more than 13,000 per game (though that’s tickets sold, not fans in attendance) and Nets tickets in the first level can easily be found online for $10. Brett Yormark, the Nets President and CEO, has had to turn to alternative ventures to try to bring in money. There were the two sided jerseys which had a Nets home jersey in front and a Kobe Bryant jersey in back. There’s the free day care that is offered at the IZOD Center. The Nets have even given what few season ticket holders are left (I used to be one of them) two free tickets to select games. And then today, the Zappos.com Be the Nets’ Coach for a Day sweepstakes opened up. The sweepstakes offers the grand prize winner a day on the bench of the Nets complete with a full practice run through, and potentially a halftime speech along the lines of “Let’s get this game within 15!” While some movie buffs like myself may be asking the question “Isn’t this the plot from Eddie?” Nets fans around the world (it’s a loose term, I admit) are asking “Can it be for more than just a day?” After Thursday night’s loss, the Nets’ current coach Kiki Vandeweghe was quoted as saying “I’m not sure exactly what happened.”
But I digress. As the Nets head into the All-Star break, they sit 13.5 games behind the Washington Wizards (The second worst team in the Eastern Conference), and are on the verge of making history. At 4-44, they are tied with the 1973 Philadelphia 76ers for the worst record in history and will need to finish 6-28 to avoid tying the worst record in NBA history.If they do in fact finish worse than 9-73, they will have the worst win-loss record of any team in NBA, MLB, and NHL history. But the more important question is, are they the worst team in professional sports history?
The Nets are the worst offensive team in the NBA, averaging 90.1 points per game, and scoring 100+ points only 7 times in 48 tries. They have the worst point-differential in the league, and they are -552 points on the year. They are the worst 3pt shooting team in the NBA and give up 101.6 points per game.
It’s hard to compare across sports. Obviously in the NFL there are the 0-14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and recently the 0-16 Detroit Lions. But with such a small amount of games, it can be hard to really tell just how bad a team is – and after all, the Nets did start 0-18 this year. In baseball, the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics went 36-117 and never won more than two games in a row over 151 games. Nets players would die to win two games in a row. The 1962 expansion New York Mets are also remembered as one of the most embarrassing teams to put on a professional uniform, but in this discussion expansion teams get a pass because they are not given the same resources to start a season as the teams they compete against. Besides the 1973 Sixers in basketball, the 1992 Dallas Mavericks hold the record of worst point differential in NBA history at -15.2 (compared to the Nets -11.5) though they were able to win 11 games.
But that is what makes this Nets team so terrible. They are frequently presented with a chance to win a game, but can always be relied upon not to. In basketball, most games come down to the final 10 plays. The middle of the game is spent trying to maintain a stronghold on the momentum and staying within striking distance. The Nets usually do a good job at sticking with teams for 3+ quarters. But when the game gets down to crunch time, the Nets crumble. Courtney Lee showed during the Magic’s playoff run last year that he can be counted on when a big play is needed. Devin Harris hit four game winning shots last year, and Brook Lopez memorably hit a game winning shot against Marquette in the 2008 NCAA Tournament. But after getting off to an 0-18 start, these Nets give up in crunch time assuming, reasonably, that they will lose.
If the Nets do get refreshed by the All-Star break, and go 6-28 to avoid the worst win-loss record in NBA, MLB and NHL history (though I still think that the 1992 Mavericks and the 2008 Detroit Lions would still share the distinction as the worst teams in history) they’ll need to find a way to score when the opposition ramps up its defense in the final 2 minutes. They’ll need to find a way to come together as a team, and expect that they can win against another NBA team. They’ll need to be cliche and focus on the fundamentals and get back to having fun. Only then, will the fans return.
This Year’s Super Bowl Most Watched Ever
Last weekends contest between the Colts and the Saints was a day for the record books. I’m not talking about the Colts 96 yard drive in the first half, which set a Super Bowl record for the longest touchdown drive or the fact that the Saints won their first Championship, breaking a 41 year drought for the organization. No, this year’s game set the record for the most watched program in television history.
Die hard fans are probably not surprised. It seems obvious that the Big Game should draw television viewers out of the woodwork (nearly 107 million people tuned in). But very few people realize just how good this news is for the sport.
After all, at its most basic level, football is just a business. And while owners get rich through better ticket sales, the league itself makes its money through broadcast deals with networks. Networks make their money through advertising.
This year, weekend games dominated in ratings shares regardless of the Network they showed on and regardless of the competition they faced. Moreover, networks that used Sunday games to lead into their regularly scheduled programs generally owned the entire night.
Just ask Fox how significant the difference in viewership was for their iconic Sunday night cartoon line up “Animation Domination” when it got a football lead in compared to when it did not. Better yet, ask CBS, ABC, and NBC how many viewers they lost on such nights and you will find that the role football plays in the ratings dynamic is no laughing matter. You can bet that next year, the bidding for these games, especially in the postseason will be vicious and expensive.
Okay, some of you are thinking, that’s cool I guess, but what does this mean for us regular fans? Two words. More football, more football, more football. Need I say more? Broadcast affiliates are scrambling for the ad revenue to be made off of these games, and you can be sure that this means networks are going to push for more weekend double headers and more extensive coverage of the NFL. If you need any further convincing that the increased ratings are a good thing, remember that the NFL draft will be broadcast in prime time for the first time this year. What more could any football fan ask for?
Come out on Saturday and watch Princeton take on #22 Cornell!!
You can also listen to all the action on WPRB 103.3 and listen.wprb.com, pregame starts at 5:40. We will also have a live score blog here on WPRB.com/sports as the Tigers try to take back Ivy League dominance from the Cornell Big Red.
