I guess this entry comes way after the fact. I've still been using my free time to catch a game here and there.
The Jordan Classic at the Mecca of hoops madness MSG.

But along the way my travels were cut short as I begin to reinvent myself, the wheel and all of that.

My picture was asked to be taken down by my wife for privacy reasons.
I feel like I'm Michael Jackson all of a sudden and the kid will have to wear some panty hose over her head so no one will recognize her!!!!!



To all of my friends out there, I'll be back but I'll be picking up another sport along the way so watch for some new stuff coming out and a redesign of the site.


As Always
Safe Journey
OTM








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   It was a cool but rather warm night for the Northeast as I headed to Hofstra on Long Island for their contest against winless St.Francis NY. A was thinking there could be a possible upset because it's finals time and the Hofstra student body wouldn't be out in full force. Was I wrong! The atmosphere was pretty good for a Tuesday night game.

   The student body was fired up sitting behind me as I was sitting on the baseline. I want to personally thank everyone at Hofstra for accommodating my request with cat like quickness. The photographers were friendly and they also gave me a few pointers on manual focus and the like. Pretty good stuff.

The student body's reaction to St.Francis players being introduced to the crowd.

 

Carlos Rivera puts a stylish twist to his Nike's as he represents Puerto Rico.

The 3 headed juggernaut of Stokes, Aquido, and Rivera scored 59 of Hofstra's 67 points and shot 50% from the field.

Loren Stokes goes with the white out look and the double socks as he wears his all white air more uptempos. Stokes had a game
high of 25 points.

St.Francis were a feisty bunch as they went on a run and cut the lead from 17 down to single digits but St.Francis in the end
got as close as 3 and had a chance to tie the game but St.Francis last shot fell way short as the buzzer sounded as Hofstra went
onto win 67-64.

As Always
Safe Journey
OTM

Well it was a calm evening as I ventured down to one of my favorite spots for a pre game meal in all
America. I went down to the World Famous Gray's Papaya on 72nd and Broadway. The recession special just
went up to 3.50 for 2 dogs and a drink but it's worth every penny. Mustard, Kraut, 2 pina coladas and it's
a wrap my friends.

I chose this location because I was meeting up with big time shocker fan and friend to the challenge
Ted "Cheddar" Bressman of CnnSi on Campus. He took the drive out past the swamp since the Holland tunnel was backed up. We drove out to Newark, NJ and the directions from the NJIT site were on point. We arrived at halftime which is within the parameters of watching a game for the challenge.

There was a pretty good crowd out there to watch NJIT play the Seawolves of Stony Brook. The Wolves were up 3 at the half by 2 points.

The NJIT campsus is suprisingly nice even though as Kyle Whelliston points out in his ESPN.com piece; NJIT's
surroundings are what they are. It's Newark baby! There is however a Path stop right at the campus which is
convienent for those commuters.

The Second half started with a Stony Brook extending their lead to 6 and then from Montenegro, the Highlanders
Nemanja Milosevic threw down a serious one handed dunk and the foul. This sent the Highlander crowd into a
frenzy. The turning point in the game however came 2 possessions later as the Highlanders Milosevic had a breakaway and he was flagrant fouled as he went up for the dunk. Milo had to be restrained by his teammates. It was a full speed takedown. My nominee for top 10 flagarant fouls of the year thus far.

Stony Brook actually got the Highlanders out of their game as they started hitting the 3 ball. The Seawolves were ready to pull away but NJIT kept it close and had a chance to tie the game but turned the ball over and Stony Brook finally got the win 65-61 and improved their record to 4-5.

As Always
Safe journey
OTM

The morning started with a flight to Denver, Colorado as a 3 1/2 hour drive awaited me at the car rental counter. I had a double header planned for the day which would pit Wichita State vs Wyoming and in the nightcap Colorado State @ Colorado.

I took off in the rental and let me tell you the ride was very how do we say uneventful? I hadn't eaten breakfast and it was lunch time so I stopped in the middle of nowhere and had what else? Taco John's!!!!!! That meal was quite the experience as I took it to go.



I ended up in the lovely town of Casper where the events center up on the hill was the venue for the heavyweight matchup between the Shockers and Cowboys.

I arrived 30 minutes prior to tip off and the fans who had gathered for the game knew one another. It was like going to a town meeting except this is a state where all of these Cowboy fans knew one another and they live 15 to 20 miles from one another!



Cowboy Ken who goes to the many Wyoming football and basketball games is pictured here with a Shockers Fan.


The game got going and the Shockers were reving on all cylinders early as PJ Cousinard takes it to the rack for 2.


Brandon Ewing kept the Cowboys in the game as he goes for 2 of his 20 first half points as the Shockers, held serve and were up  37-30 at the half.



The Halftime entertainment provided by the Wyoming cheerleaders.



The second half was fast paced and furious as the crowd got into the game and the Cowboys came back to take a 1 point lead. It was the first time the Shockers were down in the second half of a game this season.



The Shockers tightened down on defense and behind Matt Brauer's career high 18 points and Kyle Wilson's 19 points  the Shockers came back and eventually beat the Cowboys 83-69.

Photos from this game and many others can be viewed here.

As the game ended I ran out the building without saying a word to Frogirri as I tried to get to Boulder,Co. However 50mph winds, and traffic leaving the arena left me about 5 minutes short of making it to the Coors Events Center.

As Always
Safe Journey
OTM

As I drove up to Storrs,CT for a battle of 2 New England teams; i had to give a call to my spot for all UConn pre game meals. Rein's Deli off of I-84 in Vernon,CT has that NYC feel to it. I ordered the customary Pastrami Reuben which was so big and heavy it fell through the bag. If you don't know you better ask someone!

I made it to Gampel with enough time to spare since it was a 7:30pm tip and I had to go in the opposite direction for Game 2 in New Britian, CT with a 7pm start time. What was I thinking?

I had a ticket waiting for me and the seats were very good, I'd like to thank sincerly Uconn and the great communication we had in order to allow me in their facility. The students were restless and ready as their beloved Huskies took the court.









Here is a video of the Uconn Introductions with of course the newspapers flying in the Student Body Section.




I got to see one of my former players Jeff Adrien from the good ol days. I love the uniforms tonight. The old school early 90's uniforms that I believe Starter used to make for them. Jeff had the long shorts, long socks and mouthpiece. I'd better get this info off to CNNSI.com and my ace in the hole Luke Winn who has a style page on his blog.


Jeff setting the tone early for Uconn as he takes it to the rack.



As is customary in my travels i had to run out of Gampel 10 minutes into the first half with Uconn beginning to extend their lead on Northeastern. The Huskies ended up winning 81-53 as Jeff Adrien scored a career-high 18 points and had 12 rebounds.




The Dance Routine of the Year, sign this kid up!

CCSU goes up 63-60 with a little more than 2 seconds left in the game.

Delaware goes for the tie from 94 feet away.

Georgetown's Introductions prior to their Record Breaking night against the Dukes.

Well I'm thinking as I arrive at the media entrance that the last time i ventured into the Verizon Center, the team I was rooting for lost to that cinderella team George Mason in the Sweet 16 last year.

So i had to dust my shoulders off and rid myself of the demons as I walked in. Georgetown is a class act as my credential was in the R section of the rolodex.

As I walked in I saw a familiar sight. Pierre Curtis freshmen point guard for the JMU Dukes was warming up as I greeted him (He was 1/5th of the Denver East 2004 Undefeated State Championship team with Sean Frogirri).
He was shocked to see me, but hey I wasn't rolling with my Fro wig so it was okay.




 
As I took my seat behind one of the baskets the Georgetown student body first heckled their only male cheerleader which was absolutely hysterical. Then the real life version of the Hoya was walking around courtside.



I felt like something magical was going to happen in the building tonight. Unfortunately for Pierre Georgetown got to comfortable with JMU's
zone since the Hoyas were so much taller than the Dukes.

Georgetown hit a school record 16 3pointers, of which i was able to witness 6 of them before I had to head out to George Washington. Pierre ended the game with 14 points for the Dukes, but it was not enough as the Hoyas ran the Dukes out of the building by a score of 89-53.

Unfortunately as i drove around Pennsylvania Avenue and the White House I got to the GW game at the half and I had my return flight leaving in less than 40 minutes out of BWI. So I left a note for GW and advised them "I'll be back" in the immortal words of Arnold.

They pulled the plane back for me as it was departing when they radio'd to the gate that I was in the building.


As Always
Safe Journey
OTM

Well Saturday December 2nd could come back and be seen as the night that those little high school boys from Wichita went into the Carrier Dome and slayed the Dragon.


A tomultous 27-1 run gave the Shockers their biggest lead of the ballgame late in the first half as the Shox went up 35-12. The amtmosphere was electric sitting behind the Shockers bench as Wichita ran their offense to perfection. The Shox held their own on the boards as THE ORANGE went cold for about a 10 minute stretch. The Shockers capatalized as they repeatdly found the open man within Jim Boheims 2-3 defense.



Kyle Wilson showed his 3 point shooting prowess as he hit 3 in a row from the top of the key to help the Shox get out to such a big lead. The crowd was totally in shock as the Missouri Valley began to flex their muscle. Sean Ogirri hit back to back 3's and Coach Boheim had to use 3 timeouts in the first half. WOW!!!!!!

The Cuse finally stopped the run and went on a mini run of their own as the Shox went into the locker room up 14 at the half. Syracuse is notorious for starting slow and eventually putting it together and going home with the W! Wichita led 39-25 at the half.

The second half started with Matt Braeuer hitting a 3 pointer, Paul Harris hits his first shot of the game to cut it to 15. Kyle Wilson hits a baseline jumper and it's followed by another 3 point bomb from NBA range by Sean Ogirri to up the lead back to 20. Paul Harris proceeds to hit his first 3 pointer of his career in game #7 to cut the lead to 17. After an exchange of baskets and a layup by Paul Harris to cut the lead to 14. Sean crosses over and pulls up on Andy Rautins and then on the next possession he hits what everyone perceives to be the dagger and Jim Boheim calls a 30 second time out as WSU extends their lead to 19 points with just over 9 minutes to play.


Syracuse pulled up their shorts and they mounted a comback that brought them back and the crowd of over 23.875 to their feet. Reminiscient of the Indians in Major League 2  when the Tribe came back to defeat the Yankees and win the penant. The Carrier Dome sounded more like Cleveland Municipal Stadium waiting for the arrival of Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn. The next 6 minutes were about as exciting as it was going to get and then some for the Syracuse faithful as the lead evaporated and then the game was tied at 61.









Kyle Wilson extends the lead to 3.









The Last 13 seconds of the game above




As Always
Safe Journey
OTM

   

 

 

There are so many words or phrases that can try to explain the passion, complexity, mystique, aura, love one might have for this team that plays on one of the most sacred courts in all of basketball. I think after tonight I might have been outdone in regards to passion. As I walked on “Hallowed Ground”, I realized that this is College Basketball.

 

As I had a pre game interview with Duke Radio’s Matthew Laurance, He asked me a question that really screamed to me what my challenge is all about. What does it feel like walking in here? Whether it’s 9000 screaming fans or just a handful? The experiences that I have encountered can move mountains in just 3 ½ short weeks.  Being on the floor pre game at Cameron Indoor Stadium is like being on the field at Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, Heniz Field, Giants Stadium, The Big House in Michigan, Lambeau Field, you get the point. It’s one of those things as a basketball fan you have to experience once in a lifetime. Not only experience it but against a good team.

 

Wow you know it’s a ball game when you see the striped warm up pants it can only mean one thing and one team only. The Hoosiers are in town!

 

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We also got to talk with Dickey V as he came on the court to cheers from the student body. When he found out what I was attempting he said “Oh My, A guy who is more passionate about college hoops than I am Baby!” Who Me?  Yea You!!! Thanks Dickey V!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

Before I could venture into the arena there were scalpers out there and of course they were asking 100 dollars for a single. I told the scalper I’ll be back and he tells me how about 60. I tell him I’ll park and pick it up.

This clip shows the transaction

 

 

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Matthew I tip my hat to you and to all the listeners out in ACC country. The fans were incredible, the history and the small exhibit that honors Blue Devil heroes of the past was awesome. It’s amazing how many pieces of hardware these guys have won. All of it is a class act, by a class institution. Mathew thank you for being David’s dad on 90210 one of my favorite shows of all time! Big poppa and his wife are expecting sometime in the next week so I know how nerve racking that can be on anyone. Good Luck!!!!!

Just remember when the little one dons on her first basketball outfit it will be from me! Go Lady Vols!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

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Wow, is the Duke hat I pulled out of the closet after 15 years, wearing off on me and turning me into a Blue Devil? It might be the Nike Terminator lows that are the championship commemorative edition. I had to take them off and get a photo op at half court after the game was over of course.

 

 

 

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Well lets talk about the ball game. WOW!!!!!! Indiana down 15 at the half, everything going Duke’s way and then all of a sudden the Hoosiers dig down deep and they tie this thing up at 40 with fewer than 8 to go. What a comeback!

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Early on Demarcus Nelson scored 13 of Duke’s first 15 as he single handedly. The Hoosiers got back into the game with just some seriously solid defense.

Don’t sleep on Indiana they’ll be in the thick of it after this effort, trust me on that one.

 

 

The game went down to the wire as Indiana turned Duke over with under 10 seconds in the game. Indiana’s desperation 3 was blocked, but they got another chance as the shot bounced wide of the backboard sending the capacity crowd into a feverish frenzy.

 

 

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The student body is passionate about their academics as well as their hoops and their Blue Devils. Simply put it was amazing, wacky and fun. Hey, Coach Sampson texted me too!  I have to say the fans who traveled from Indiana are pretty brave coming into this environment.

 

 

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Also one last thing about what conference won this battle!
THE ACC BABY!

 

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Jersey popping is not allowed unless you go and play at Bucknell.

 

 

 

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The first game of the evening was VCU vs Elon. A very nice small school about a 30 minute drive from Duke. As I entered there was a line at the will call and I went to a school official and I gave my name and guess what? I was on the list! Thank you for letting me into your facility. VCU went on to beat Elon soundly by the score of 91-49.

 

 

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Once the game started VCU was all over Elon as I could only stay for 1 media timeout. VCU had jumped out to a quick 11-0 lead and of course I had to go. The facility had no bad seats in the house. I got to talking with someone who looked at the credentials hanging from my travel bag. Are you from Manhattan and why are you scouting down here? I had to let him know what  I was doing and he was all freaked out and he asked that accent you from the Bronx huh? I guess, if that means I went to high school there over 17 years ago! Well we all get old sooner or later huh?

I want to thank the staff at Elon and everyone at Duke.

 

As always

Safe Journey
OTM

 

The Right Side of the Buffalo Bills Offensive line. OTM and the X-Man.......... Wichita State joins Top 25 for first time since 1983

By JIM O'CONNELL, AP Basketball Writer November 20, 2006 The last time Wichita State was in The Associated Press' Top 25 its star player was Xavier McDaniel, and current coach Mark Turgeon was still in high school. The Shockers entered the rankings Monday at No. 24, their first appearance since Dec. 6, 1983. It comes following a victory Sunday against George Mason, their recent big rival. ADVERTISEMENT "It's nice when you haven't been ranked in a long time. It's good because I've watched programs build themselves up and get national exposure and be in the Top 25," said Turgeon, the 41-year-old coach who signed a 10-year contract extension last April after leading Wichita State to its first NCAA appearance since 1988. "I'd rather be in the Top 25 in February as every coach says, but right now we're going off last's year's success rather then an early season win over George Mason." The Shockers lost to George Mason twice last season -- at home in the regular season and then in the round of 16 in the Patriots' run to the Final Four. On Sunday, Wichita State (3-0) beat George Mason 72-66, a win that drew enough attention to move them into the rankings. "We were a lot more fired up to play them than they were to play us since they beat us at home last year and then in the NCAA tournament," Turgeon said. "It was pretty exciting for our guys to have another chance at them, and we were ready to play with them hanging their Final Four banner and playing in front of their largest crowd ever. Our guys were fired up for the game." Maryland (5-0) was the other newcomer in the poll, moving in at No. 25 after winning the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. The Terrapins were ranked for the first 12 polls last season, reaching as high as 14th. Florida (4-0) beat North Florida, Jacksonville and Chattanooga by an average of 41 points last week to easily hold the No. 1 spot for a third straight week. The Gators received 66 first-place votes and 1,794 points from the 72-member national media panel. North Carolina (3-0), which had easy wins over Sacred Heart and Gardner-Webb around a bit of a scare from Winthrop, stayed No. 2 and had the other six No. 1 votes and 1,720 points. Pittsburgh, Ohio State, UCLA and LSU all moved up one place from last week and were third through sixth. Wisconsin, Alabama and Duke each jumped two places to seventh through ninth, while Kansas dropped seven places to round out the Top Ten. The Jayhawks (2-1) lost 78-71 to Oral Roberts at home last week, then beat Towson 87-61. Texas A&M moved up one place to 11th and was followed by Memphis, Marquette, Georgetown, Arizona, Washington, Syracuse, Connecticut, Georgia Tech and Kentucky. The last five ranked teams were Nevada, Tennessee, Boston College, Wichita State and Maryland. McDaniel was a junior the last time Wichita State was ranked. The next season he led the nation in scoring and rebounding, just one of three times that ever happened. Hank Gathers of Loyola Marymount did it in 1988-89, and Kurt Thomas of Texas Christian did it in 1994-95. Wichita State moves in and replaces another member of the Missouri Valley Conference, Creighton (1-1), which dropped out from 20th after losing to Nebraska. The Missouri Valley had its best season ever last year with four NCAA tournament bids. "I think right now no question our conference has improved in each of my seven seasons," Turgeon said. "I think we have three, four, possibly five teams that can be in the Top 25 this year. I think Creighton and us were going more off reputation so early, but I think they'll be back. We have some others, so it's good for the Valley to keep a team in there, and hopefully we'll have some more." The Shockers will get a test right away, playing at No. 6 LSU on Saturday. "Their number's a lot smaller than ours, so the pressure is on them," Turgeon said. "I don't think it really matters, because LSU wasn't going to overlook us because of what we did last season. So we were in for a battle any way. What's good is maybe the game gets more national attention with numbers in front of both of our names." Texas (3-1), which lost to Michigan State in the semifinals of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, was the other team to drop out this week, falling from No. 19. In addition to the Wichita State-LSU matchup, the other definite meeting of ranked teams has Florida and Kansas playing in Las Vegas on Saturday. There could be others this week in later rounds of the CBE Classic, EA Sports Maui Invitational and NIT Season Tip-Off. Updated on Monday, Nov 20, 2006 1:56 pm ES

I think i want to change the title of this story to LETHAL WEAPON 3. As SOFRO lit up The Patriots for 19 second half points. But I won't do that yet.




I didn't realize when I took my seat, that Magic Don Juan was leading the Mason Band. I realized he was an impostor when I didn't see his Pimp Cup!



It was a beautiful day as I entertained the masses of the Gold Crushed, I mean Gold Rush as they chanted many not so nice things to the Ogirri contingent as we walked to the Patriot Center. I was thinking that some southern hospitality would be of the essence on this fine Banner Raising day. Unfortunately for the Gold and Green it was a bittersweet day for the more than 9804 in attendance to see 2 Heavyweights go blow for blow on this sunny day in Fairfax,VA.



A close up of this picture reveals some of the nice signs made up by the Mason Nation.........................


The adrenaline was flowing as the capacity crowd stood for the National Anthem, that was the first miscue of the day. The mic wasn't working and I knew from that moment on that it was a sign of what was to come in the final installment of Wichita vs George Mason.

I made sure that the Final Four Banner ceremony was not witnessed by my family or the rest of my Shocker Nation. Since our last loss came at the hands of the Gold Rush, I felt it was my duty to keep the Nation outside the arena til it was the appropriate time to allow them in.



I want the Mason Nation to understand that last year was magical. Now it's time to move on. It started out with Matt Brauer banging 2 3 pointers and giving us a quick 6 point lead. The Patriots had an answer in Will Thomas as the lead see-sawed back and forth throughout the first half. Senior Forward Ryan Martin and Pj Cousinard  got into early foul trouble as the Shockers tried to hang on to end the first half. Will Thomas was a force down low as he hit for 10 early first half points.





Florian Campbell following a Shockers turnover catches an alley as Mason went to the break leading the Shox by 6 points.


The second half began with me picking out my Fro some, and I took off my sunglasses and looked Sean in the eye and said, Playtimes Over Boy!!!

Sean heeded these words of mighty inspiration and began to look like Reggie Miller running off screens, dipping and curling as he proceeded to hit 4 3 pointers in a row. The 5th one was the dagger as the Mason Nation began hitting the exits with 2 minutes to go.

The Shox held off a couple of 3 for 2's by George Mason and the Shockers finally avenged their 2 losses by hitting some late free throws for a 72-66 victory at the Patriot Center.



Sean and Kyle Wilson combined for 34 second half points after going 0-9 in the first half combined.
As a team the starters scored all but 2 points in the contest. Wichita only committed 7 turnovers to Mason's 11 and one side note. Wichita outscored Mason in the second half by 12 on the strength of 6 3pters in the second half.

We met up with some fans after the game and we enjoyed our banner day of redemption as the Shox dispatched of the Patriots.




Shocker Nation running wild and spreading.

The next 2 weeks aren't easy for either of the 2 teams. Rest assured both teams will be making a lot of noise come March.

Good Job FrOgirri....



As always
Safe Journey
OTM