Rich's Weblog

Mets PR Disaster

2008-06-17T12:25:00Z

I honestly don't know where to start I am so infuriated by what the Mets did to Willie Randolph last night (this morning).

It was pretty obvious that, barring a huge surge, the Mets were going to fire Willie. While I think he's one of the classiest baseball people I have ever met, I can't disagree with New York for wanting to make a change.

But, unless something happened behind closed doors to expedite his departure, the way the Mets handled it is a joke of epic proportions.

First off.. they made him travel to Anaheim, all the way acrossed the country. Talk about taking the long road to your own execution.

Then they made the decision to fire Willie, but hide behind the clock. They know the newspaper deadline in NY. It's not 3:15am either. Putting out a statement at that time is nothing short of cowardly. Be men, Mets front office. Yes Omar Minaya (who by the way shares a lot of responsibilty for the Mets failure), I mean you. Did you think by waiting to announce this at 3:15am, we'd all forget by the morning? That the NY papers, and those acrossed the country for that matter, would not write about it today? If you did, then your lack of media savvy is matched only by your disrespectful treatment of a classy individual.

Did Willie make mistakes in shooting his mouth off about SNY and the way he was being treated, at one point bringing race into the picture? Yes. The comments coming in an interview with reporter Ian O'Connor and later reported in this excerpt from the New York Times were damaging.

In those remarks, Randolph questioned the way he was portrayed during broadcasts on the Mets’ television network and wondered whether he was held to a different standard than some of his white counterparts.

Although Randolph did not say anything particularly inflammatory in O’Connor’s column and did not suggest that the Mets’ organization was not supporting him, the fact that he brought up the issue of race and challenged the Mets’ TV outlet created a new distraction for a club that has had a bunch of them lately. Randolph is the first African-American major league manager in New York, and he was a popular one until the Mets’ sudden collapse last September left them out of the postseason.

“Is it racial?” Randolph asked in reference to the criticism he and his players are hearing it from fans as the Mets have combined good games with bad ones. “Huh? It smells a little bit.”

“I don’t know how to put my finger on it, but I think there’s something there,” Randolph added, citing the former Jets coach Herman Edwards as an example of a fairly successful black coach who did not last long when things soured. He also mentioned Isiah Thomas, who was recently dismissed as the Knicks’ general manager and coach. “Isiah didn’t do a great job, but they beat up Isiah pretty good,” Randolph said, adding, “There’s something weird about it.”

Asked about those comments Tuesday before the first game of a day-night doubleheader with the Atlanta Braves, Randolph tried to tone things down.

“It’s been a lot of negative stuff going on around here and I’ve been feeling some of that and I was just expressing how I felt at the time, but it wasn’t anything to do with race,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to bring race into it. I probably should have thought more about what I was going to say.”

“I don’t think it’s about race,” he added. “It’s about winning ball games and getting back to the way we are capable of playing.” He also said any discussions of race, and of possible dissension in his clubhouse, would disappear if the Mets found a groove. - New York Times article May 20, 2008

Even Willie would admit some of the things he said were off base. But he apologized and seemed to move away from those comments. Apparently, the Mets did not.

So Willie gets a one way ticket back acrossed the country, returning home without a job. And the Mets are left to clean-up a public relations disaster created by their front office. Mets PR man Jay Horwitz is known through out the game as one of the best there is. You feel for him and his staff as you've gotta believe he advised against handling the situation the way the Mets have.

At 5pm ET today, Minaya and Manuel will speak to reporters in Anaheim. Lets just say, they've got some 'splainin' to do for the mess they've created.

What do you think??? I'd like to know. Leave your comments here or start a new threat on the site comments section of our web site.

A Record Setting Night Downtown

2008-04-25T12:22:00Z

142 minutes, 58 seconds... appproaching 3 full hockey games played last night/this morning at the Times Union Center.

It's a shame someone had to lose.

Ordinarily, I can't stand that cliche.. but this is one time it was true.

River Rats and Phantoms played one of the great hockey games of all time last night, and not just because it was a long game, in fact, the longest ever in the AHL.

Just consider some of the stats:

Michael Leighton 101 shots face, 98 saves

Scott Munroe 67 shots face, 65 saves.

There it is right there...you can't get outshot 101 to 65 and expect to win...funny

Leighton estimates he drank 15 bottles of Gatoraide last night. The guy is unbelievable, played every second of the game then still join us outside of the locker room and answered all out questions. By the way, he was the 2nd star in last nights game. 98 saves = 2nd star. What's a guy got to do to get first star?

Leighton's save total is an AHL record. The old Rats record? 41 Saves by Frederic Henry back in the last playoff game in Downtown Albany prior to this series. Leighton had 41 saves 3 shots into overtime. We still had a full game and another period to play.

Rats forward Marc Cavosie, the Cohoes native and former RPI star is getting to be an old hand at these games. He played in the 2nd longest game in AHL history, 134:56, in 2003 when he was with the Houston Aeros. Marc quick to point out that the Aeros lost that game, and then went on to win the Calder Cup.

Oh the things a guy comes up with after 5 hours and 38 seconds of hockey.

Game winning goal scorer Ryan Potulny said he played a game like this, a 5 overtime game in high school. His team won making him 2-0 in 5 overtime games. That's gotta be a record on some level, right?

Game Six in Philly, about 36 hours after Game 5 ended. Count on all the players being ready. After all.. they're hockey players!

Phew.. what a weekend

2008-02-25T03:25:00Z

Just waiting to fire up the FOX23 Times Union High School Sports Show, Sunday edition... what a weekend it was... 36 high school basketball games, hockey and wrestling we covered this weekend. So much drama and fun watching the players celebrate after a win, but it's hard to watch the players who leave it all out there see their seasons end. I saw Gerard O'Shea of Averill Park in near tears as we walked off the court at Hudson Valley. What a player he is... hate to see guys like that, and there are many of them, have their season end.

Want to take this space to acknowledge what a great part of this sports department Brent Martineau has been. If you haven't heard, Brent is heading to Jacksonville, FL to continue his career with our ClearChannel sister station. Not only has Brent been a great friend to me, but also to so many players, coaches, fans around Section II. He has delivered so many great stories and done it with humor, respect, clarity. A few that come to mind.. Mike Bennett's return to Columbia's basketball team after the shooting at that school.. Justin Perry, an athlete at Shaker High School who contracted meningitis..and a Giants story with Amani Toomer where the veteran wide receiver doused Brent with water.. There are so many others. We have been fortunate to have Brent here with us and I thank him.

His email is brentm@fox23news.com if you'd like to drop him a note.

He'll be doing his last FOX23 Times Union High School sports show tonight and wrapping up a very successful stay with FOX23 on Wednesday. I can't wish him, Stefanie and the kids enough good luck in J-ville.

The Steroid Hearings...at what cost and for what benefit?

2008-02-13T23:34:00Z

Whether Roger Clemens is lying or not, I don't really care. What I do care about is how Congress continues to force itself into places where it's role is very unclear. What is the end game in today's show court, as one Congressman called it. To make Clemens look bad? To make McNamee look bad? To justify the Mitchell report? I have no idea. The "this is for our children" line coming from the Congressmen is bunk too. If we totally clean steroids and HGH from baseball, which by the way is not going to happen, but let's just say we do. What benefit is that to my children or to yours?

Oddly enough, I as wrote in this space before, every politician who spoke at the hearing today has a November date with their own destiny, election day. Surely, they're not grandstanding for their own benefit?

Republicans fired away at McNamee, Democrats, took on Clemens, especially House Oversite Chair Henry Waxman (D-California), who gaveled Roger to silence at the end of the hearing. Clemens said he didn't use, McNamee said he provided and injected Clemens, blah, blah, blah.

Kudos to the congressmen and women who stood up and questioned the role of the House Oversight Committee in this area. One member indicating that the committee was off track and more on a witchhunt than involved in cleaning up steroids. Bravo, a voice of reason.

Five hours of testimony today to get what? Several congressmen said the day ended in a draw... which means nothing really got done, which actually sounds like a typical day on the Capital Hill.

Time for a new Blog

2008-02-12T13:53:00Z

It's about time I gave you something new in this space. Sorry, it's been a rough couple of weeks.

Yes I'm still in Patriots denial. No way the 18-0 best team ever should have lost to the Giants. But, that's why they play the games. Congrats to Big Blue. Should be a very interesting Camp UAlbany this season. Hope the kinder and gentler Tom Coughlin returns. He can be a very funny guy when he lets his guard down a bit.

Siena got screwed by ESPN and the bracketbuster crew. ESPN360, who cares! I thought these BB games were going to be televised, not stuck somewhere in cyberspace where most everyone in the Capital Region can't see them. Wonder if it's too late for Siena to withdraw? Seriously, what could happen? Would the MAAC fine Siena for making the decision? My colleague and Siena beat writer Pete Iorizzo says it's a 20K trip to Boise for the Saints. Surely the fine wouldn't be that much. Might make a withdrawl economically the right thing to do. Nope, Fran McCaffery's got too much class for that. Privately, he might be angry. Publically, he'll get his team ready and make a trip that Will Brown will tell you is just no fun.

Speaking of UAlbany, is there anyone who thinks this team can't win the America East this season...or is there anyone who thinks this team will get knocked out in the first round of the America East this season. Yeah.. that's the way the Danes have been, a real life version of Jeckel and Hyde. As Forrest Gump might say, you never know what you're going to get. A very nice win over UVM last night at Patrick Gym after a not so nice loss to Hartford at SEFCU. Maybe the Danes are emulating the Giants, road warriors. Okay, you'd have to forget about the loss at UNH and the loss at UMBC, oh and the losses at Delaware and Bonaventure and... okay, forget the road warrior thing.

Many of you may have read in the Times Union or Gazette that FOX23 sports reporter and weekend anchor Brent Martineau is leaving us for Jacksonville. Sure are sad to see him go. Not only is he a great friend, but he's one of the top story tellers I've worked with. His efforts on stories like Mike Corso, a golfer who is blind, Mike Bennett, the Columbia teacher/coach who was injured in a shooting incident and former Shaker athlete Justin Perry are textbook lessons on how to convey emotion without overdoing it. Couple that with his everyday effort in covering UAlbany and our market in general and you've got someone who has not only been an asset to FOX23, but to the Capital Region as a whole. It's proof positive that good things do happen to good people. Brent will be a covering the Jacksonville Jaguars football team, auto racing, Florida, Florida State as well as the high school scene. We here wish him well. If you see him before his departure at the end of the month, make sure you do too!

Okay.. I'm out of thought. If you've made it this far, why not take a few extra minutes and add some yourself. We always want your ideas for the show, the web. What can we do to make sure our team and your team mesh. Let us know either here or by dropping me an e-mail to richbecker@fox23news.com

As jed Bartlet would say.. Okay.. what's next?

Ever have one of those nights????

2008-01-19T17:56:00Z

Friday night in a TV sports department is a challenge on any night. Especially at FOX23 where we not only put together a half hour high school sports show, but also our regular 10:52 slot on FOX23 News at 10. Fortunately, our team works well together and everything usually turns out fine.

Usually.

Last night was not one of those nights, Astute FOX23/Times Union High School show viewers noticed a distinct lack of action in the girls basketball section of the show. Talk about a logistics mess.

First, when we went to Cohoes for the Colonial showdown between the Tigers and Knights...the boys were playing. Wait a minute, weren't the girls supposed to be up on the hill tonight was the question. The answer.. yup they were, at 6pm. Yes folks the old mid-season boys and girls double header. Now I would advocate that we play boys and girls varsity doubleheaders every game. I also understand why it would be very difficult to do that. In any event, I never checked with the schools to see what was up, so that one got messed up as the did our planned coverage of Guilderland-Ballston Spa boys, which was not at Guilderland, but part of a b-g DH at B Spa.(like those abbreviations?)

Then we had a crew in Ravena for a news story. That crew was to go to Maginn to catch the boys playing the Falcons, then over to AHS to see the girls play. Only one problem, the girls started at 7pm instead of 7:30, meaning by the time we got there...no game. Our photographer on the scene, Joseph Mahar, hightailed it (at the speed limit of course) over to Colonie where he caught the last 1:43 of the Raiders matchup with Niskayuna. Fortunately, it was a close game, so there was a bit of a story still to tell.

Not done yet. The boys got a taste of Murphy's Law too. We made a stop at St. Mary's in Amsterdam to get the Harlem Knights basketball team in action. Those guys are great and very entertaining. Had a full house at St. Mary's too, so that ended up being a very good call. From there, Gloversville for the Knights/Dragons (never can remember which nickname to use) played a rivalry game with Glens Falls. Our crew had a little bit of difficulty getting from point a to point b. So, by the time they got done at Gloversville and hustled down 30a and 5 to get to Fonda.. whoops.. that game was over already.

We fought the law and this time the law won. Hope you still enjoyed all the great action from a Friday night.

One other quick note - checked out Rensselaer's new gym at a wrestling match the other night. The Rams should be very proud of their new home. Very bright with a large set of bleachers on one side, a smaller set on the other. The blue on the floor and in the air ducts really jumps out at you. Also the table and chairs seating above the large bleachers is a very nice touch. We'll see the Rams basketball team play Cairo-Durham there this Friday night. Could be the headliner on the show. Go from here to the high school sports show page and vote on the You Make the Call FOX BOX question.

Stay warm!

Here's a simple question...

2008-01-17T13:42:00Z

Don't you think congress should be spending it's time on more important things than baseball steroid hearings. In watching some of the proceedings (CSPAN Rocks), the grandstanding was pretty obvious. Very little new information came out of the questioning. (baseball did a bad job initially on it's policing of steroids.. reallly???? Thanks)

One thing to remember.. this is 2008, an even election year, meaning all 435 reps are up for re-election. Just something to consider when wondering why these hearings are held. Not often a rep. can reach the SportsCenter audience.

Siena fans... where is the passion?

2008-01-11T13:13:00Z

When basketball recruits come to Siena for a visit, one of the first places they go off campus is downtown to the Times Union Center. There, they see a 14,000 seat first class facility with a jumbotron scoreboard and banners hanging from the rafters. As impressive a facility as there not only in the MAAC, but in all of New York, excepting the Carrier Dome.

But once the games start... where is the home court advantage? Siena has some trememdously loyal fans; fans who not only go to every home game, but travel to most of the road games as well. Yet they can only make so much noise on their own. Where is the noise from all the other fans who are at the game.

Case in point: 1:43 left in the game, Siena's Ryan Rossiter gets a rebound basket to cut Fairfield's lead to 1, time out Fran McCaffery. At that point, the fans should be on their feet, screaming their heads off in approval. And if not there, certainly when the Saints come back out on the floor after the timeout. A few sections were up, but many were just sitting there waiting for the game to restart, not exactly providing a boost for the home team. A home court needs to be loud and involved to reallly make a difference.

Take a few minutes and see a Saint Rose game.

The Dirty Dugout guys and girls are always involved in the game, understanding the situation and supporting the Knight with loud voices. Granted, the Nolan Gym only seats 1,000 so it's easier to make the place fill with sound.

It's time for the cocktail party atmosphere to end and for fans to get involved again. Not only to benefit the basketball team, but to benefit everyone in the area. I understand not every Siena opponent brings out the venom of the Saints faithful, but I guarantee the fans at Duke are every bit as loud when Cornell or Albany come to town as they are when it's an ACC game.

Most fans never had a chance to experience what it's like to play division I sports in front of a big crowd. For the those who spend the money to come to the TU Center, this is that chance to be part of the team.

See, and maybe, hear you at the next game.

See Ya Joe...

2007-10-18T22:26:00Z

Joe Torre is gone as Yankee manager, which I think is the right move. It is time for the Yankees to start anew...however.

The way the Yankees handled the Torre situation will for years to come be the case study on how to bungle a situation.

It's pretty clear the Yanks didn't want Joe back by the things they said in the post decision conference call. No one seemed too upset by the decision. No one would say if they even cared about the decision, other than "we respect Joe and his decision".

C'mon.. this is a guy who's consistantly brought class to the Yankee name. He's a guy who's won 4 World Titles and been to 12 straight post seasons. The you say we needed to go to something performance based. Here's the quote from Yankee president Randy Levine:

"Under this offer, he would continue to be the highest-paid manager in major league baseball. We thought that we need to go to a performance-based model, having nothing to do with Joe Torre's character, integrity or ability. We just think it's important to motivate people."

Like Joe was just sitting there during the playoffs, not caring about the outcome, instead counting his million. That's ridiculous and insulting to Torre.

The Yankees had to know Torre wasn't going to take a $2,000,000 plus salary cut, even if the incentives would put him to as much as $8,000,000.

By getting on the plane and flying with Brian Cashman to Tampa, Torre made it clear he was still interested in coming back for another season. But Joe does things his way. When the incentive talk came to the forefront, it's a good bet Torre said, thanks, but no thanks.

Who's next? Don Mattingtly, Joe Girardi, Tony LaRussa. A Cardinals swap of LaRussa to the Yanks and Torre to the Cardinals would make sense. Although making sense and the Yankees don't often go together.

One other question to be answered - doesn't Brian Cashman share an responsibility for the state of the Yankees? Just asking.

If you want to give the Yankees credit, consider this. Maybe, to let Joe down with dignity and how fire him, they made an offer they knew he'd reject. He looks like the tough guy, then look like the bumbling idiots.

If that's the way it went down.. the Yankees sure played their part perfectly

What is wrong with the Yankees?

2007-07-02T02:06:00Z

Like I know???

I can tell you this, it's not Joe Torre's fault. He was a good hitting catcher/1st baseman/third baseman. He was not and is not a pitcher, especially a relief pitcher...and that's where the Yankees biggest problem lies.

Didn't Yogi Berra says 50% of the game is 90% pitching.. or something like that. Not that the Yanks are hitting those home runs over the wall (Whoops that's from the Mets song), but the starting pitching, (excepting Andy Pettitte today) has been ok. Hello bullpen.. anybody home.. would anyone like to help.

Loved the site of Farnsworth tossing his glove when he got pulled Friday night after putting 2 runners on. Hey pal, you're lucky your teammates aren't throwing their gloves at you. I know you're trying, but come on. How about a 1-2-3 inning once in a while. A stat I heard the other night.. He's got 2 (1-2-3) innings this season...2!

Scott Proctor is one of our favorite guys. He was fantastic at the Center for Disability Services telethon.. but on the mound right now...ouch!

In his past four outings, Proctor is 0-2 with a 10.38 ERA allowing 10 hits and walking three without a strikeout in 4 1/3 innings.

"Right now I'm just throwing like (junk)," he told the Newark Star Ledger. "You can't expect to throw the ball down the ... middle and expect to get an out out of it."

After Saturday's loss, Proctor took his glove and other things belonging to him out to the field and set them on fire.

Hey.. whatever works, and nice symbolism too.

Who gets the blame? Gator, Cashman.. how about we just place it where it really belongs.. on the pitchers themselves. They dug this hole. It's up to them to figure out a way out. The Red Sox are probably out of reach now. They can't let the wild card get away.. can they??

Did Junior Make the Right Call by Leaving DEI?

2007-05-11T19:54:00Z

Let's first make one point that cannot be disputed. There is no more popular driver in NASCAR today than Dale Earnhardt Jr.(although Scott says it's Jeff Gordon).

In a battle with his step-mom, Teresa Earnhardt, for control of Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, the company Dale Senior started for his son to someday run, there is no way Junior could lose.

Stay and gain control... Junior could run the team the way he wants.

Leave and become a free agent.. a huge payday and perhaps the chance to someday drive his fathers #3.

The deal is the exact opposite(thanks Captain Obvious) for Teresa.

Cede control of the team to Dale Jr...she no longer has control

Lose Dale to another team...enjoy life with Paul Minard and Martin Truax, Jr.(maybe) as your two drivers. Truax has loads of potential. He could turn into a star. But nowhere near as big a draw as Junior. Maybe Tony Stewart said it best... "Without Dale Junior, DEI is a museum."

So even before he made a move, Junior wins.

But by making the move, in my opinion, he wins even more. Junior is a huge family guy. Teresa is not his family, and while DEI was started for Junior, it's not his Dad's team anymore, so we can dump the loyalty angle. He and Teresa never got along anyway.

Childress gave Dale Senior his opportunity, and by extension, Junior his opportunity to get into racing. That kind of makes Childress more of a family member than Teresa.

FOX25 in Boston says it's already a done deal. Junior will join RCR in 2008 with an announcement coming today. Haven't seen it yet, but qualifying is going on right now, so maybe something after it ends.

No matter what Junior does or how long he takes to make the call, I think leaving DEI was the right call.

Anatomy of a Working a Story

2007-03-30T12:14:00Z

Even though I work for a ClearChannel owned station, I don't have a ClearChannel radio show with which to use as a bully pulpit to rail against my competitors. Even if I did, I would keep those thoughts to myself.

But not everyone has done that with regard to the Will Brown-UAlbany-St. Bonaventure coaching situation. As you may or may not know by now, that story came to a close late Thursday night when Brown decided to stay at UAlbany, earning himself a contract extension, more money for himself and his staff.

Throughout the search, there were many rumors spread on message boards and much conjecture by fans as to what Will Brown would do. It's our job to sort through all of the information and weed out only what we can confirm as fact.

Here's how it works at FOX23. Any and every story we report that doesn't come directly from the person the story is about is independently double sourced. There is no tossing stuff out there with the hope of being right. We have to know we're right.

For example, we heard last night at about 7:30 from several sources in Atlanta(site of the Final Four, currently coach haven) that Brown would not take the Bonnies offer and would stay at Albany. Not good enough. Too many of those sources were talking to each other and perhaps passing an incorrect rumor. So we got a second source from the western NY area. However, since that source was a bit too close to the Atlanta gang, we decided to take extra care. Why? Integrity is job one. Always has been, always will be. My colleague, Brent Martineau, who has worked tirelessly on this story, finally confirmed the story and called it in so we could bring it to you at the end of our 10pm newscast.

When we reported on Monday that Brown had discussed an offer with Bona, it's because we knew, through trusted sources, that he did. It may not have been a written contract style offer, but even discussing parameters of an offer is the same as making an offer. We reported such.

We also, after confirming it with two sources, said that Brown was going to interview with Quinnipiac. This was also true at the time, but because of the timing of the job situation, Brown decided not to take the interview. A change of mind after our report. Brown alluded to this in his comments last night.(www.fox23news.com, see sports in video on demand for the entire interview)

There is nothing we take more seriously that being accurate. School classes that I speak to hear it on every visit. I would rather be second and right than first and wrong. It's a fundamental of journalism.

Are we wrong sometimes?

Yes.

Does that make us work harder to make sure we get the truth?

No.

We are working with maximum effort every single day to make sure every fact is correct. That never changes or wavers. If you don't or can't trust what we tell you, then we've failed.

If ever you have a question about something we've reported, please call me at the station or e-mail me and we can talk about it...in a two-way conversation.

Will Brown's latest dance....

2007-03-21T03:22:00Z

He's got to do it. He's got to do the show with St. Bonaventure. They called and asked, he owes it to himself to sit down and talk with them...and then say no thanks.

Short of a stolen chock full Brinks truck cranking out an OSHA back up tone in front of Brown's house, this is a time where he should park any ego, any thoughts of rebuilding another program from the bottom up and take a pass.

Granted, I'm not on the inside of Bonnie-land, but the outside sure isn't pretty. Ten league wins in 4 seasons, a rapidly aging building in a small city an hour from the nearest airport.

If you don't have a job, or are an assistant looking to get that first head coaching job, OK. But this should not be a destination for an established coach, and that's what Will Brown has become.

There are other more attractive openings, and will likely be more openings caused by those who fill current openings.(read it again, it makes sense)

Scenerio - Anthony Grant goes from VCU to the Big East and South Florida. Will Brown to VCU. Good job, good program, high academic standards, no welding degrees(OK, that was a cheap shot, sorry)

Bottom line is this. The Bonnies called. You have to answer or people will think you're not willing to move. Will Brown is willing to move. He's said all along, and Will is nothing if not honest, he wants to coach at the highest level and try to win a national title.

I'd like to see him have the opportunity to do that too. Even at the young age of 35, he's certainly earned it. Think of it as the end of a close game...it's a time that calls not for a fast break, but to use the entire clock and get the best possible shot. That's what will provide the coach a win, even if it's a loss for UAlbany.

Albany's Elated, Niagara got screwed and other NCAA Seed Situations

2007-03-12T13:44:00Z

Congratulations to Will Brown and the UAlbany team. The 13th seed in fantastic and a load of respect for a program that's only been Division I since 2001.

The 13 is a direct response to Albany's performance last year against UConn, and rightfully so. The Danes nearly made themselves into a trivia answer by defeating the #1 seeds. That team has banked respect for the entire program. That respect manifested itself yesterday in a 13 seed.

Remember what happened the last time an America East program got a 13th seed in the NCAA tournament?? The answer, if you don't know, later..

Which brings me to my next point.. Syracuse got jobbed. I'm pretty sure anyone who knows me knows that while I like the Orange(my wife is a grad), I can't stand the fact that the media in this market treats Syracuse like they're located in Rotterdam Junction, not 135 minutes away.

But that's not the point here.

Fairness is the point here.

Syracuse won 10 Big East games. Forget the often spoken and accurate accessment that Syracuse doesn't play any decent teams in the non-conference schedule. This, by the way, is born out in the fact that none of SU's non conference foes got NCAA at large bids (Penn and Holy Cross got in by winning their conferences). The Orange still won 10 Big East games, including a win over Georgetown (15-1 in the last 16 games).

Here's two teams SU could have replaced. Arkansas is in at 7-9 in the SEC. Old Dominion is in from the CAA. They too beat Georgetown, but lost to Marist, and a James Madison team that finished 7-23. The Monarchs did finish 24-8. I guess the Orange losses to Drexel, Oklahoma State and a pretty bad UConn team really hurt in the end. Instead, it's NIT Wednesday night against South Alabama. For you SU fans, I hope the Orange come ready to play and to prove the NCAA committee wrong. We only need look back to the NIT in 1997 to know why I make that statement. (Florida State 82 Syracuse 67 at the Dome).

Now to the biggest crock of the entire tournament. Niagara in the PIG. (That's short for play in game). The Purps have won 11 straight including the MAAC title game. I realize the MAAC, as a whole, is down this season, but that should not have taken Niagara this far down.

A colleague, who I respect, suggested the NCAA did this because they, and TV, did not want two predominately black colleges in this this game. What century is this? I can't believe that would even be a consideration. But it does offer a reason for something otherwise unexplainable.

I am sick of two schools who earned the right to be in the tournament by winning their conference tounrament getting stuck in this game. Why can't we put the last two at large schools in the PIG and let them fight it out for spot 64.

OK, the complaining is done.. Let's get on with the tournament...

Here's the answer to the above...(#13 Vermont 60, #4 Syracuse 57).

Beating a Team Three Times in the Same Season...

2007-03-11T03:49:00Z

Confuscious says one of the hardest things to do in sports is beat a team three times in one season.

So far this March Madness season , we've seen proof positive and proof to the contrary. That's what makes this time of the season so special. There are no rules, no absolutes, other than some team from the Big 10 crabbing about their lousy seed on selection Sunday. That seems to happen every year.

But I digress..

Let's look at the facts...proof positive first... Siena beats Marist. After two overtime losses the Saints did their business in what was, to that date, their biggest game of the season, the MAAC semifinals. Hey if you're going to beat a team just once in a season, that's the time to do it.

The Siena got screwed by the rule the next day, losing to a Niagara team it beat twice previously.

More proof...UAlbany.. not only had the Danes lost twice to the Cats, they'd never beaten UVM on it's home court. Both deals blown up yesterday with the 60-59 win and the Danes 2nd trip to the NCAA.

Oh but there's evidence the other way too....

Siena beat Manhattan in the MAAC quarters.. the third win by the Saints over the Jaspers..and did you happen to see who North Carolina State beat in the ACC tournament...Virginia Tech. Sidney Lowe's team 2-0 regular season against the Hokies.

So how about we do this. Since there's too many holes in this stupid rule anyway, lets lose it from he rule book. You know toss it aside like travelling and 3 seconds. Nobody calls those anymore either. We can call them optional rules. When they work for you, bring em up. Like the guy in the pick up ball who pitches a tent in the lane, then complains when I stay in too long.

Anyway, enjoy selection Sunday. Hope your team isn't the Big 10 complainer this season.