Thursday, December 08, 2011

This Week in Wrenball: The Healing

Old friend Dave Fairbank* of The Daily Press takes Tribe head man Tony Shaver's temperature today and finds the coach surprisingly sanguine. Says Shaver, “I’ve said it before, but I really like this group. What I would hate to be in is a position where so many things have gone wrong that I don’t enjoy going to practice every day. But I really like this group. They give an honest effort, and we all feel like it’s going to turn for us.”

Shaver's optimism is based in large part on Quinn McDowell and Tim Rusthoven finally recovering from injuries that have kept both from playing to their full potential to date.  Having the two vital contributors able to fully practice has given the Wrens more in-squad continuity, though they've yet to test it against real-game bullets.

We want to believe, but we're reeling from back-to-back 30-point waxings at the hands of Richmond and Georgia State. As a wise, wise man once said, "lotta ball left".  We're going to take deep, cleansing breaths for the rest of the calendar year lest we sprain something and pray to the god of shooter's rolls that the turning of the calender page will mean good things for the Tribe.

In the meantime, here are the the results of this week's CAA Bloggers Poll, where several others have joined yours truly in backing VCU as the league's top team:

1. VCU (3)
2. Mason (4)
3. ODU (1)
4. JMU (1)
5. Georgia State
6. Northeastern
7. Delaware
8. Drexel
9. Hofstra
10. UNCW
11. William & Mary
12. Towson
(first place votes in bold)

* Fairbank probably doesn't remember it, but we shared several beers at Paul's Deli after the final game of the Tribe's miserable 5-6 1991 campaign. He, the veteran scribe, me the young W&M Sports Information Office intern, and a passel of other ink-stained wretches. We're pretty tight.

51 comments:

Shlara said...

pickin gup from the plane/train ugly travelers conversation yesterday...

I was on the 7am train from DC to NYC yesterday--crowd was OK looking, definitely nerdier than average.

And the dude next to me spend the 10 minutes between Union Station and BWI to sort out his sex schedule with one of his ladies. They not only discussed when & where, but for how long and what they would do to each other. He was taking a break from his TPS reports to have this conversation. And he wasn't whispering.

Dave said...

this post is not in the spirit of gheorghe-mas! wtf?

T.J. said...

Settle down, teach

zman said...

Shlara sat next to tr's old friend! I think I'm an acela convert now. Not because of shlaras story though.

TR said...

That 1991 season must've been interesting. Despite a respectable .455 winning percentage, they cancelled the season after 11 games?

Clarence said...

I think he means football, goofball.

Although, based on the way he spelled "calender," anything's possible.

TR said...

Ohhh. Who the fuck is Dick...

TR said...

Pretty sure this is an article about Marls: (SFW)

http://tinyurl.com/cutq7fp

Squeaky said...

TJ, is this why you go to all those state fairs?

http://goo.gl/ZYSF2

Danimal said...

i second what dave said.

didn't someone else here have a very similar story about a train ride many months ago? i wonder if it's the same dude. was this a phone conversation? i want to know more and i don't know why. where did he come in at on the attractive scale?

Danimal said...

ya'll (feeling a bit southern today) remember me mentioning the co-worker who dates the magician? well we had our annual "holiday" dinner last night. the magician was in attendance as was his bag of tricks. he's got some good shit. magicianing is his full time job. when asked what he does all day, he responded, "watch tv".

zman said...

Pujols to the Angles is as painful to me as Valentine to the Sawks is hilarious.

Shlara said...

Danimal--he was a frumpy, middle aged dude, which made it funnier. And he was on the phone, so I could only hear half ov the conversation. Sample quote, "well, if you have 4-5 hours we could get a room."

Shlara said...

He also promised to provide her with "a string of o's" and then proceeded to explain how he would do so.

zman said...

Was he wearing a tshirt with a picture of a collie on it?

Danimal said...

that's good stuff. picturing "o-face" now.
he probably had no one on the end of the line. i do that often.

Jerry said...

Nice addition of the "really" on the tag. I've been considering suggesting that for a while.

Bottom line - the only thing that matters at this point is the conference tournament. Shoot 60% from 3 point range over that weekend and we've got a chance.

What a great day of soccer yesterday. Except for our draw against a team of young hotheads that we should've won, it couldn't have been more enjoyable.

Mark said...

I now want to be a full-time magician.

Dave said...

does "he's got some good shit" refer to drugs? because i would assume a magician would have some drugs in his bag of tricks-- it's probably easier to fool people when they are stoned.

was he anything like job from arrested development? what tricks did he do? details!

Dave said...

just put the finishing touches on gheorghe-mas day eight . . . i promise music and fun, and you might learn something before it's done.

hey hey hey.

Danimal said...

no dave, i was not making a reference to drugs, but to tricks. ya know, slight of hand tricks - a ring on a rope that's tied in a knot that is being held by one of the guests with the ring somehow ending up on a pen being held by another. card tricks. but i know it's not real. i know this b/c his significant other, my coworker, has a very large backside. if he could truly perform magic, he'd make it disappear, or at least smaller. that's mean i know. but i'm just saying. it's BIG.

this will likely elicit boos from the crowd but i never got into arrested development. i will now though b/c you guys seriously influence my current preferences and i strive daily to be like so many of you. really. for example, at this very moment i am spotifying.

rob said...

in my decidedly inexpert opinion, miami getting battier is a big, huge, ginormous deal. i welcome the opinions of those who follow the nba more closely.

rob said...

and day 4 will be posted tomorrow. pace yourself, gentlemen.

you won't learn shit, but you might enjoy it.

zman said...

Battier is a punk. I've felt this way, some might say irrationally, since his days at Dook.

Did you ever consider, young Danimal, that your coworker has so much acreage in her backyard because that's how her magician friend likes it, so he wiggled his nose and made it so?

rob said...

battier a punk? you sure you've got the right guy? and you sure you're using the right dictionary?

Danimal said...

the thought never occurred to me.

Danimal said...

more mayhem at va tech.

Mark said...

I agree, Rob. He's an elite defender and, along with LeBron will give perimeter scorers facing the Heat nightmares. His ability to spread the floor and consistently knock down 3s will also be huge. Plus, he's an adult who cares about winning over everything else which can't be understated if the Heat want to win championships.

zman said...

I said "perhaps irrationally" in light of the fact that I root for the Tarheels.

zman said...

In related news, I got the Cubano for lunch today. Not only was it a disappointment, my office now smells like TR was here.

TR said...

Screw you Zman. Where's my $625?

Danimal said...

can see an aircraft carrier heading out to see from jax. that carrier - the USS George H.W. Bush. a fine vessel it is.

T.J. said...

I picture danimal just sitting in his office, back turned to the door, staring out the window all day long, while Christoper Cross plays softly in the background.

rob said...

man, inflation's really been a bitch since 'better off dead' was released.

Danimal said...

i think you meant Kriss Kross.

T.J. said...

The danimal will make you, jump, jump

Greg said...

2 points of order. A "trick" is what a whore does for money or coke. Magicians create "illusions". 2. Ships are all feminine. The correct statement would be "she is a fine vessel".

zman said...

The second-most-recent time I hung out with TR was an outdoor event (Jets game) at which he farted repeatedly, steadily, and stinkily so that a cloud of digested saeurkraut fumes engulfed section 224 in a suffocating cloud of stench.

I'll pay you next time I see you.

zman said...

the second "cloud" was supposed to be "shroud."

Jerry said...

From TrueHoop:

"Last March, the Grizzlies had a Saturday afternoon date with the Heat in Miami. After arriving at their downtown hotel on Friday evening, most of the Grizzlies players got dressed, then gathered in the lobby to hit the town -- a common ritual for any visiting team that lands in Miami on a Friday or Saturday. Battier was notably absent. He'd turn up later at a nearby steakhouse, eating by himself while watching the first round of the NCAA tournament. Asked if he could name the three NBA guards who turned down screens most frequently off the dribble, Battier named two out of the three within seconds (he missed Earl Boykins)."

Danimal said...

you are assuming the vessel i speak of is the one not in my pants.

zman said...

Your dinghy?

rob said...

charlie weis took the kansas job because mark mangino makes him look skinny

Mark said...

And because Kansas has figured out they can only succeed in football with arrogant fat guys. Wish I could say I'm sad to see Charlie go...but, I'm not.

Also, I love Battier a little more because he didn't name Earl Boykins. Nobody talks about Earl and gets away with it.

T.J. said...

Muschamp apparently had no idea Wesi even interviewed for Kansas job. You keep it classy and professional, Chuckles.

Mark said...

Muschamp broke something in the last hour. Guarantee it.

mayhugh said...

Danimal, I will never boo you if you ultimately do get into Arrested Development. I was not in on it from the ground floor either and watched nearly all of it on DVD's as I was. You can probably mow through all~60 episodes in a couple of weeks. I recommend you doing so with the following 8 words: "just ring it up with the dong tea".

rob said...

cp3 to the lakers for odom, scola, martin. rockets get gasol. why does new orleans make that deal? that smells like shit.

rob said...

new report says cp3 for odom and bynum. that makes a bit more sense.

Dave said...

i made the mistake of going on facebook a moment ago and a person who will remain nameless was complaining that her son's 6th grade teacher said a book was fantasy because it had santa claus in it and that this ruined santa for her 6th grade son. so she was going to call the teacher and complain. my kids figured out that santa was fake last year-- they were in kindergarten and first grade, and i think they were suspicious of the whole thing the year before. wtf? do i have to be careful about this in high school?
do sixth graders really believe in santa?

Clarence said...

I am in Muskegon, Michigan tonight. Very cold. Drove through Holland, Michigan today, and passed a street called Felch Avenue. Come on, Michigan. Get it together.