Monday, November 24, 2008

A Very Special Futile Superfans Holiday

An ignominious autumn Saturday for the alma mater, as the William & Mary football team fell, 23-20, in overtime to arch-rival Richmond after committing 7 turnovers and the Tribe cagers went two better (worse?), succumbing to Navy, 102-99 in triple overtime. The loss to Richmond spelled the end of W&M’s 1-AA playoff aspirations, while the defeat at the hands of Navy may be a foreshadowing of a temporary (definitely temporary – in Tony Shaver G:TB trusts) return to times we don’t like to talk about at cocktail parties.

The Tribe carries a 1-3 record into the Thanksgiving break, when they face a fairly glamour-free set of matchups with Radford, South Carolina State, and either Liberty or Coker (I don’t know what that latter thing is, either). Anything less than 3-0 really isn’t all that good.

Tuesday, November 25 – Radford (2-1) @ William & Mary

As I’ve said before, and will undoubtedly say again, I think it’s phenomenal that Radford University chose to honor the criminally underrated Christopher Lambert with their mascot. The Highlanders (ironically, there are more than one…Houghton College, MacMurray College, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and the University of California, Riverside share the moniker) just gave UVA a scare, which may or may not mean anything, since Dave Leitao’s bunch is fairly dreadful. Nonetheless, Brad Greenberg’s squad is touted as a favorite in the Big South, mostly based on the fact that they return five starters (from a 20-loss team). Three days ago, I’d have written this off as an easy win for the Tribe, but today finds me in a pensive mood regarding the Green and Gold. They should win this one, but it’s no sure thing.

Saturday, November 28 – South Carolina State vs. William & Mary (@ Lynchburg, VA)

The Bulldogs are 3-0 as of this writing, having beaten Erskine, Allen, and Carver Bible College. At least W&M’s playing real colleges. Tribe should roll over their MEAC foe.

Sunday, November 29 – Liberty/Coker vs. William & Mary (@ Lynchburg, VA)

If W&M doesn’t play Liberty here, then something has gone really wrong (for either the Tribe or the Flames). So much so that I’m not even bothering to do any “research” on Coker. I assume it’s a small school from either North Carolina or Virginia, and may or may not be named for something related to coal mining. As for Liberty, hopes are high after the Flames landed Stephen Curry’s younger brother as the cornerstone of a top-50 recruiting class (Really? Liberty? Someone call the NCAA – this smells loaves and fishy, and using divine miracles is clearly a recruiting violation.) For the Tribe’s sake, let’s assume Liberty’s a year away from turning that into success on the court. W&M takes this one by a dozen.

48 comments:

rob said...

dan snyder just turned 44. that's depressing on a number of levels.

rob said...

how good a game is oklahoma/florida going to be?

and, yes, there's a little wishful jinxing happening here.

T.J. said...

No worries tiny, Bama is def losing.

Can't wait til Mizzou wins the Big 12.

rob said...

oh, i'm well aware of that, teej. there'll be some consolation in the fact that their loss will pave the way for a terrific matchup. they're giving their life so that others may benefit. really very noble.

T.J. said...

Yep, when I think noble, I think Alabama.

And William Wallace.

T.J. said...

Coker? I don't even know her.

rob said...

mark's covering his eyes and ears and pretending that he can't see this line of commentary. also, he's coughing up buckets of snot.

T.J. said...

I'm picturing Mark like Skeet Ulrich in the movie theater scene from Outbreak.

Mark said...

Sadly, Rob's about right on both counts. Honestly, I haven't even begun to consider Alabama yet. This Saturday in Tallahassee is more than enough to keep me sufficiently occupied and worried right now, thanks. And yeah, It'd be great if I could actually enjoy some booze by the time Thanksgiving and all that will follow it arrive.

Mark said...

TJ...you excited about the 'Cuse-Florida roundball matchup tonight? I, for one, can't wait to see Paul Harris throw up brick after brick from 3 point land. (though I think the Cuse wins).

T.J. said...

Paul Harris should be banned from working outside the arc, especially now that it is a foot farther back. That being said, your boys are going down tonight. Book it.

rob said...

as it turns out, coker college is a fine small school from darlington county, south carolina. my sincere apologies to all the cobra fans that wrote in to sing the praises of their school.

Anonymous said...

tj whatever happened to that macho man posting???

T.J. said...

"Driving in to Darlington County..."

I think I've shared with all of you my "Darlington County" story, yes?

T.J. said...

Jesus, you ignore one reader request and then they pop up in the comments. Young man, I enjoyed that clip greatly, and did indeed send it around to the editorial staff. It just never made it to the big screen. Keep 'em coming.

rob said...

darlington county is my favorite springsteen song. carry on.

Whitney said...

Any song with the lyrics "rock and roll music blasting out the T-top" is good by me.

Whitney said...

And according to the people who've done more math than I, Texas Tech may well get into the National Championship game if OK State wins this weekend. The John Lydon in me wishes for that result quite a bit.

TR said...

Whit:

You should never post comments to this blog when another man is "inside you."

Ever.

Whitney said...

I have a whole lot of people inside me, all telling me what to do. So I don't need you telling me what to do as well.

Whitney said...

Speaking of gay and and a kick in the balls, what are the chances Tribe men's soccer takes down #1 seed Wake tomorrow night in the Sweet 16?

I know you guys have an opinion on this.

rob said...

ncaa soccer is a crapshoot. tribe has a puncher's chance.

TR said...

Nice insight Rob.

rob said...

yes, thank you. i figured that's all whitney needed.

in reality, the tribe's not very good, so i expect them to lose 3-0.

Shlara said...

Sorry I'm late to the Eddie Jordan commentary, my actual job got in the way of my blog-watching today.

1. Eddie is not the problem and firing Eddie is not going to solve anything. It may get them to play a little bit better for a few games, but that's it.

2. The problem is personnel. We don't have enough players and we don't have the right mix right now with all of the injuries. And we're tied up with salaries for the near future, so we can't make any real moves to improve.

3. They should have canned Ernie. He got us into this mess. He never liked Eddie and has been waiting for a chance to do this. He should have taken the fall.

4. They need to play Young and McGee more in the next 6 weeks--those kids are good and need minutes to adjust to the NBA game. Hopefully it will pay off with improved mental toughness after the all-star break. That's the difference between players at this level. 95% of them have the physical skills. The ones who succeed have the mental toughness to perform at a high level, day in & day out, year after year.

5. I'm hoping that the eastern conference teams that depend on Olypmic stars to win will fade out in the second half of the season b/c they are tired from Vegas/China and we'll be able to contend for the 8th spot.

6. I honestly don't care if they don't win 50 games, just as long as they put forth a good effort and make the games entertaining. The last 10 games have been painful to watch. It's like we've taken a time machine back to 1994. And I'm paying good money to watch now...

Geoff said...

TJ, Skeet Ulrich wasn't in Outbreak. You are thinking of Patrick Dempsey.

Good night.

Whitney said...

Wow, Shlara. You still have your finger on the pulse of Les Boulez, well after your tenure with the team.

Yeah, back in 1994, Rob and I were the shmoes paying for tickets. Somewhere in the neighborhood of $11 a pop, if I remember correctly.

rob said...

teejay's retort to geoff would be better if it were posted in the correct thread.

Mark said...

Somebody should grab Andy Rautins by the back of his gay ass euro-mullet and smash his head against a curb. Between he and Devendorf, I think 'Cuse has the market on douchey/annoying white swingmen cornered.

Mark said...

All good point Shlara, though I'm not sold on Young. Doesn't look like a guy who'll ever put it all together. McGee though, he's the most promising big the Wiz have had since, well, they were the Bullets.

rob said...

c'mon, mark. you can say it. rhymes with norge?

Mark said...

You know...it would be pretty swell if Nick Calathes could guard somebody.

rob said...

something's wrong with my television. it looks like this game is being played somwhere other than the carrier dome, but it's still november and i know for a fact that can't be possible.

Mark said...

Not just out of the state Rob. Out of the eastern time zone.

rob said...

this would never happen if jim boeheim was still alive.

Mark said...

So...now that I've seen what Walter Hodge's haircut consists of, umm, I probably owe Andy Rautins an apology and I'm a little bit ashamed.

Mark said...

i heart Erving Walker.

rob said...

wait. ralph sampson's not in the college hall of fame?

Mark said...

File Under: Why Don't I get paid to watch basketball?

As the Magic announcers were talking about Tyronn Lue being in the NBA for 11 seasons (thats really fuckign long time for an average backup pg), one asked the other if they could think of any other NBA player from Nebraska. Of course, neither could and I immediately named one.

I imagine a few guys around here could too.

rob said...

either both of these teams are great passers or neither is playing very good defense. or a little bit of both.

rob said...

eric piatkowski was a husker, wasn't he?

Mark said...

Its definitely a little bit of both for Florida. They are the essentially same team as last year. Probably a bit improved on both ends but still a long, long way from top 10 team.

Mark said...

Indeed he was. How come we know that and David Steele and Matt Guokas don't?

Mark said...

I like Jonny Flynn. But he needs a nickname. I nominate "Darkness" (but you have to say it like Dave Chapelle when he's impersonating Rick James).

T.J. said...

I was commenting on the wrong post. I hate you all.

Magnum P.I. can dunk?

Mark said...

Seriously, me and erving walker...making babies.

Mark said...

Not a whole lot of defense in this MNF game, huh?

Good, I prefer teams I don't care about who aren't especially consequential to the overall playoff picture to be involved in shootouts.

Whitney said...

So Teejay botched the rest of you guys' perfect week of picks? Seems about right.