Congrats to the Women's Basketball Team!

This post has been a long time in coming. In a season where the men's team has struggled, the women's team has been absolutely phenomenal. Congratulations to the women's basketball team for going 13-1 in conference and sharing the regular season title with Lehigh!

We took care of business, and I can only say GOOD things about it

Well, like Jeff Jones said in the post-game (thanks to the AU Examiner for sending me the audio of that), the first half and the beginning of the second half were just about the best basketball that we've played all year. We passed well, took care of the ball, scored from inside and outside, played solid defense. Just did everything right. In light of this (and the fact that I'd have to be more ticky tack than the ref who threw Hoop Time out of a game recently) I'm not doing a BAD or UGLY section for tonight. I'm just going to point out the GOOD and some other notes about today. I could get clever and do the GOOD, the GREAT, and the EXCELLENT, but I think you guys pretty much get the picture. So here we go!

Sending the Laughayette Kittycats Home Without a Bowl of Milk

If you remember the last time we played the Laughayette Kittycats, you remember well that they looked like this at the end of the game:

Poll of the Week Wants to Know About a Potential Message Board

So because it got bumped down by a few other posts, the commenting on my latest Speculation Tuesday was a little underwhelming. So I'm going to solicit some opinions via a poll. I hope you'll take the time to vote, and comment, on this so that I know people's opinions about adding a message board to the blog.

Anyway, last week I asked: "Who would you like AU to play in the quarterfinals?"

It turns out, I should've added Navy to that list because there's a good chance we'll be playing them in the first round. Well, I didn't. Ah well. Here are the results from last week:

Bucknell	2 (4%)
Colgate	17 (39%)
Holy Cross	8 (18%)
Lafayette	16 (37%)

I have to say I agree. We definitely either want Lafayette or Colgate. No one wants Bucknell. AU never wants Holy Cross (even in a down year). I think this is the order in which we'd want to play other the other available teams: Lafayette, Colgate, Navy, Holy Cross, Bucknell.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

All Patriot League Playoff Scenarios

Our good friend Mercer3 over at CROSSPORTS posted this today here. He specifically said I was free to use it, and so, I intend to. Here are your PL Playoff Scenarios.

When you're finally on the happy end of a 2OT thriller, there's lots of GOOD but still a little BAD and UGLY

As it happens Bill is a tad indisposed this evening, so I'm going to go ahead and take my first crack at one of the hallowed GOOD, BAD, and UGLY posts! Bear with me here, I actually only tuned in for the last 1:30 of the game (originally thought I was going to miss it completely, oh lucky 2OT), so I'm relying heavily on box score data here. If I miss anything, make sure to let me know in the comments, your analysis is quite often superior to my own. Enough blathering, on to the G/B/U after the jump!

ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY AU EAGLES!

WHERE THERE'S A FIGHT WE'LL SEE IT THROUGH!
YOU CAN BE SURE WE'LL BE TRIUMPHANT,
WHEN WE WEAR RED, WHITE, AND BLUE!

ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY AU EAGLES!
WE'LL CONQUER ALL ADVERSITY!
SO LET'S ALL JOIN IN AND GIVE A YELL FOR AU AND VICTORY!

Good, Bad, and Ugly might take a while to get up. I've got some other stuff to take care of and wasn't planning on the game going to double OT. Feel free to get a head start on it in the comments!

AU Eagles vs. Navy Midshipmen LIVEBLOG!

We Too Have A Battleship

The SS American Victory

Pictured above is the SS American Victory, a World War II-era battleship that is now a museum permanently docked in Tampa, Florida. The aptly named vessel is significant for many reasons. For one, it is named for American University in thanks for the use of our campus during both World Wards. Secondly, tonight our dear Eagles travel to Annapolis to take on the Midshipmen of the Naval Academy at promptly 1900 hours (7:00 PM civilian time). So there you have it Navy, we have a ship too! Now on to more basketball, and less obscure history lessons after the jump!

Speculation Tuesday is Community-Driven

Evening AU Hoops fans! I've had a hell of a day so this is going to be short and sweet tonight. Mostly because what I have to say isn't that important; per usual, what YOU all have to say is more important.

I wondered how long it would be until a message board was brought up. Well, it's been brought up (thanks Matt B). Josh and I have spoken in private about setting up a message board a la CROSSPORTS. We decided not to do it in the middle of the season, but my feeling is that's a direction things could go.

Patriot League Check-In Says: IT IS GUARANTEED THE SEASON WILL PLAY OUT THIS WAY

Good evening AU hoops fans! I want to take a moment to thank the AU Hoops community for the rousing conversation that took place in the comment section of yesterday's Good, Bad, and Ugly. It's fantastic to hear everyone's views, and I emphasize everyone.

Before I begin this too much, I want you all to know that I'm writing this on my Blackberry again so if it lacks the usual panache, just be happy there's an entry at all I guess? I dunno. Anyway...

GOOD: Lump and Simon BAD: Anyone not GOOD who isn't Vlad or Hendra UGLY: Vlad and Hendra

Wow, I did it. I actually did it. I've been putting off all evening writing this entry because I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I flirted with the idea of making the title, "When there isn't much good to write about, it makes for a short GOOD, BAD, and UGLY." I think what I ended up with though is very to the point. Let's you know where everyone stands so you don't even have to read the entry. This frees up more time for your Sunday night so you can rejoice in Team USA's victory over our neighbors to the north. I imagine there are some of you who will read this entry anyway, and for those of you that do be sure to read: the recap, the box score, and our opponents' thoughts on the game. Join me after the jump for what I promise you will be a pretty succinct entry.

AU Eagles vs. Holy Cross Crusaders LIVEBLOG!

Join us at 2pm!

Chris Harris Has a Terrible Game, Navy Loses

Fresh off a Speculation Tuesday that all but served as the coronation of Navy's Chris Harris as the Patriot League Player of the Year, Harris has a Vlad-versus-Bucknell performance and drops this hideous line against the Black Knights:

2-17 from the field, 0-7 from 3, 0-1 from the line, 2 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 turnovers, 4 fouls.

Yeccch.

The Black Knights drop the Mids 69-50, which is fine news for us.

Just keeping you all in the loop.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Kick 'Em In The Keister (and Meister)!

Holy Cross' New "Family Friendly" Uniforms

Alright, Eagles fans, we're in the home stretch. At 5-6 in the League after 11 games, we're basically just clawing for seeding in the bottom half of the conference Tournament at this point. We've got three games to go, and up next is our inevitable away game against the (politically incorrect) Crusaders of the College of the Holy Cross. The Purple Monsters are, undoubtedly, going to be a real challenge on their home court. Our 3-game flash of brilliance only a few weeks ago was nice, but maintaining that level of play in Worcester is going to be tough. Can we do it? Will we succumb to the Crusades? Will we accomplish the regular-season sweep of Holy Cross that neither of our League Championship teams could over the past two seasons? Find out after the jump!

Athletics Takes Us Behind The Scenes

Whilst we eagerly await our showdown tomorrow with those Purple Klutzes up in Worcester, Athletics has decided to take us behind the scenes of a CBS College Sports broadcast from Bender Arena. It's a cool video, and I really like how Athletics is branching out with multimedia. While they do remain notoriously tight-lipped about certain (read: most) things, and, well, I've never met anyone who actually gets CBS College Sports, these efforts are still commendable.

AUHoops CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK: Can you spot Barechested Bender Bill in the video below? Start at the 1:00 mark. It's like Where's Waldo, but BLUE!



Pro Deo Et Patria,
Josh

Open Letter to Nick Hendra

Dear Nick Hendra,

Oh you'll get your new poll of the week, don't you worry your pretty little heads

My inbox was FLOODED today with people who were outraged about my not putting up a new weekly poll question yesterday. Okay, not really, no one even mentioned it. But I'm here tonight to give you a new poll question. First let's talk about last week's. I'm torn between losing in the PL Quarterfinals and losing in the PL Semifinals. If we have a home game, I think we win the quarterfinals. If we don't have a home game, I think we lose in the quarterfinals. You folks all seem to be pretty evenly split between those two choices and, inexplicably, us winning the 2010 NCAA Championship. I didn't ask what was going to happen NEXT year, folks.

When your team plays a great first half and ends up avenging an earlier loss that's GOOD, when it almost gives the game away in the 2nd it's BAD/UGLY

Goooood evening AU Hoops fans. Hope you're all having a good night. I have to say I'm just catching my breath from that loss. I feel like I didn't breathe very well during tonight's second half. I guess you could say I was breathing about as well as our Eagles were playing. All's well that ends well, I guess, and since Cleveland Richard's desperation 3-point heave at the end of the game rimmed out, all is well. Still, I can't help but think that we should have never let it get as close as we did in the second half. Anyway, the night isn't getting any younger. Meet me after the jump for our normal post-game ritual.

18-3

This Eagle Means Business

The title of today's preview is 18-3. Can anyone forward a guess as to why I chose this arrangement of numbers? Well, for starters it's our all-time record against the Army Black Knights, whom we face at 7:30 PM on Wednesday in Bender Arena. Only one of those games (a loss) occurred before we joined the Patriot League, in 1963. That is also the only time Army has ever beaten us in Bender Arena. You can see why this blogger doesn't like losing to Army. See if my dreams will be crushed after the jump!

Speculation Tuesday Doesn't Have Much to Speculate About...Again

Things are pretty quiet on the Speculation front right now. We can speculate about how the Patriot League is going to play out, but I kind of did that last night.

I guess the question I've had since the Bucknell game is, did Vlad lose his opportunity at Patriot League Player of the Year with the 2 point performance he put up against the Buffalo Burgers?

PL Check-in says we saw light at the end of the tunnel and then decided it was much too bright

Gooooood evening AU Hoops fans! Hope you all had a wonderful Monday. If you're still residing in the DC area and work for the federal government, please be advised that you have a 2 hour delay (kind of) tomorrow morning. Since that's the case, please feel free to comment on some of our recent posts!

Before I start tonight's Patriot League Check-in, I want to remind all of you about Alumni Programs' event on Wednesday night that is offering a ticket to the Army game and access to the Eagles Club for only $15! If you're already a season ticket holder, email Heather Buckner and let her know, and you'll be able to get into the Eagles Club for free! There are only a few slots left, so be sure to sign up if you're planning on going to the game. (Those tasty mini potato skin things that Bon Appetit makes are wonderful; take it from someone who has eaten a baker's gross or so in his life).

The Eagle (for once!) Provides Sports Analysis

Be sure to check out this sports column in the Eagle today. Well-researched and cohesively written, and I think the message is one that Lord Baltimore will find particularly satisfying!

We'll be back later with PL Check-In.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

I don't really know what happened in this game, so it's pretty hard for me to tell you its GOOD, BAD, or UGLY

Goooood afternoon AU hoops fans! Sorry it is taking me so long to get this entry up. I have to admit, I tried to go back and watch the game on the Patriot League All-Access site, and it is telling me that the media is unavailable. So that's splendid. I only saw about 8 minutes of the game yesterday, and given that we went into double overtime, it seems like seeing 8 minutes of the game, reading a recap, and looking at the box score isn't really good enough to write a column reviewing the game.

From what I do understand though, we had a ton of chances to win this game and we blew every. single. one. of. them. Up by 5 with 9 seconds left in the first overtime we gave up the Roemer 3-pointer and then had in the in-bound stolen. The game only went to the first overtime because we had no defense in the paint and gave up the layup that tied it at 56.

From what I understand Vlad and Lumpkins had good games (but Lump only had 11 points in 42 minutes? That's it?) Simon also looks like he had pretty solid production.

I don't really understand why Riley only got 11 minutes of play in this game, any ideas?

And we saw the return of Blake Jolivette because Luptak and Munoz fouled out. See, he can get off the pine! I find it interesting that coach put him in instead of Joe Hill.

So basically the long story short is I'm hoping this will be a commenter-generated post. If you were writing the GOOD, BAD, and UGLY, what would you include under each heading and WHY?

An Apple A Day Keeps The Raiders Away

Will the toothpaste jokes ever end? Doubtful.

Wow...just wow. That was my reaction after watching the Bucknell Bison stampede all over us on Thursday. This is just not the same team I watched notch consecutive triumphs over Holy Cross, Navy, and Lafayette not too long ago. Worst of all is what Bucknell did to our beloved Impaler. After not being held to less than 14 points since he began playing in December (including against the likes of Penn State, Florida, and DePaul), Bucknell only allowed Vlad to score a single layup. While many other things went wrong in this game (and oh there were so very many), I'm willing to look past it all. No, I'm not crazy. Today at 2 PM we have an excellent chance to redeem ourselves when we take on the Colgate Raiders in Hamilton, NY. Find out why I'm not fearing for our feathers after the jump!

I'm so frustrated with this team. I can't take it anymore. I can, however, still write about GOOD, BAD, and UGLY things for perusal and critique

I don't even know what to say. If I spent six hours putting pen to paper I couldn't fully express the depth of my disappointment in the team's performance tonight or disdain for the officiating. I'm not going to take that six hours because I feel like the team already wasted my Thursday night with the game they just played. If I had to sum up how this game went from the AU perspective, I would say it was like this (Photo courtesy of The Eagle):



It was really that terrible. If you haven't read the tweets from tonight, I encourage you to do so. Additionally, here's the box score from tonight in case you need some material to look at forlornly while you cry yourself to sleep in the fetal position tonight. Here's the post-game video and recap also.

Athletics is Giving Away Pizza, But Our Boys Are Making Bison Burgers

So we should've gotten this up a lot earlier, so I'm going to be quick and dirty about it. Here's the preview for tonight:

Weekly Poll: The No's Have It, But the No's WERE WRONG

Kind of a lame weekly poll last week. You were all more or less evenly split about whether or not we'd actually have the game on Saturday. (We had the game on Saturday). If you said no (48%), FOR SHAME. If you said yes (43%), BOOYAKASHA YOU'RE A WINNER.

The Show Will Go On, Bison Burgers For Everyone!

According to the latest release from our friends at AU Athletics, it appears that tomorrow's schedule game versus the Bucknell Bison Burgers will continue as planned. Again, they're enticing the snowed-in student body to trek to Bender with free pizza, which seemed to work last time. Additionally, they showered the Blue Crew with compliments and praise ("you are indeed the best fans in all of the Patriot League"), which is always appreciated.

Of course, last time we decided to go ahead with a game during the Snowmageddon, the 2/3 of the officiating staff who made it to the game (including the one who had to park four blocks away and walk) seemed to take it out on us in a very un-unbiased way. So whether this is actually a good idea remains to be seen. This blogger says no, but this blogger does not hold the keys to Bender Arena. Hopefully this blogger will see you in the stands tomorrow, if you are lucky enough to live close enough to campus to safely make it to the game! Check back later for our preview of the game. Official announcement after the jump:

Speculation Tuesday Has Something Pretty Obvious to Speculate About

Goooood afternoon and welcome to the snowbound AU Hoops blog Speculation Tuesday. When will it stop? Will it ever stop? Oh God, what if it never stops? These are all questions weighing heavily on other people's minds, but not mine. I'm all about it coming down for a week straight, at least until it knocks out my power, in which case, I will be happy to have it end. Luckily, I don't have to speculate too much on any of these questions because we know the answers to all or most of these questions. One more uppercut to the collective face of the District of Columbia in terms of a snowpocalypse, snowmageddon, snowgasm, snoverit, whatever, and then smooooth sailing into Thursday's game against the Bucknell Bacon-covered Bison Burgers. So what will I speculate about today? Well, join me after the jump and see!

Pretty Sweet Alumni Event for AU Hoops Fans

I wanted to pass this along to all of you because it seems like a pretty sweet deal for alums.

"Exclusive Eagles Club Access at AU Men's Basketball Vs. Army."

$15 gets you a ticket and Eagles Club access. Additionally, if you're already an alum with season tickets, e-mail Heather Buckner and let her know you'd like to attend. Once she verifies that you are a season ticket holder (don't get sneaky, people!) you'll get Eagles Club access for free!

Act now if you're interested, folks, because the event is limited to 20 people!

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Patriot League Check-In Has a Lot of Striations

Well, I hope you've all dug out after the Snowmageddon and an avalanche of comments to Saturday's Good, Bad, and Ugly hit us this weekend. Don't look now, but we're looking to get another 10-20 inches tomorrow into Wednesday. Woooo boy, I don't know what Washington, D.C. collectively did to Mother Nature, but she is PISSED.

When you get beat on both ends of the court by a team that just flat out outplayed you, there's always GOOD, BAD, and UGLY

Wow. Well this day is just turning out greeeeeat. Hendra suspended, three game win streak snapped, 20 game home PL win streak snapped, chance to enter into a tie for 1st place lost. Yeah, it was one of those days. Check out the AU Examiner's coverage of the game today for a good recap (and the post-game audio from Jeff Jones). Here's the box score. We didn't play well today. We made a ton of mistakes, and we didn't look like we really had our heads in the game. Lehigh also runs a very solid defense. I think even if we had played extraordinarily well, however, we would've had trouble. We didn't, of course, play extraordinarily well. Lehigh has four very good weapons, inside and outside. There's a ton of talent and depth on that team, and while we'll be better suited to competing with them next year, we just don't have the diversity of scorers required to make them spread their pressure out. Anyway, let's get down to it. No one likes ripping off Band-Aids, but it's best to just do it and get it over with.

BREAKING: Nick Hendra Suspended Indefinitely

As if today's loss wasn't fun enough, Jeff Jones revealed at the post-game press conference today that Nick Hendra, who did not dress for today's game, is "suspended indefinitely" for violations of team rules. Actual journalists/bloggers (people other than me) are looking into the situation, and I'll be sure to pass on whatever they turn up.

Given Joe Hill's performance today filling in for Hendra, I'd say this is really terrible news for the Eagles. We'll wait and see how it goes pending more information I guess.

Thanks to Bobby Oler (www.auexaminer.com) and Tom Schad (www.theeagleonline.com) for keeping us informed about this.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Hill Pigeons Can't Fly In The Snow, But Eagles Sure Can

In Bender Arena, Even Lehigh Is A Sitting Duck...Or In This Case, Pigeon

It is Saturday, February 6th, 2010. More than 20 inches of snow has fallen on the District of Columbia, the most the city has seen in almost nine decades. 4400 Massachusetts Avenue is a tranquil sea of white, all of the students seemingly holed up in the their dorms, enjoying a restful day off. But wait...what is that? You stand at Glover Gate, where the faintest of cheers can be heard emanating from Bender Arena. "We are the mighty...", but the sound trails off. You listen closer, "AU Eagles, where there's a fight we'll see it through..." Your eyes light up, because you know that despite the dawn of the new ice age, the AU Eagles are taking on the Lehigh Hill Pigeons with first place in the Patriot League on the line. "A-U A-U A-U", the chanting is now loud enough to drown out the Massachussets Avenue Walk Signal. You leap giddily into the air and skip toward Bender Arena, hoping you make it in time to bear witness to the Eagle's 21st consecutive home conference win...

Updated: AU vs. Lehigh Game NOT Postponed, Will Go On Tomorrow, Unless We Hear Otherwise

Here is Athletics' announcement about the game tomorrow. Game on, indeed.

Can't say I agree with the decision given that, you know, there's a historic snowstorm and all occurring and it may be dangerous for students, staff, and fans to get to Bender. But I understand that logistics being what they are, a reschedule may be difficult. Lehigh is also already in town, so I guess that was a contributing factor, too. Anyway, I'll be there, and I hope you will too!

Be safe out there in the snow!

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Open Letter to Snowbound AU Students

Dear Snowbound AU Students,

Reviewing the Rivals Roster Report - They Think We Could Be Going Dancing!

If you haven't seen this week's Rivals team report for our Eagles, it's worth a look. Here are some excerpts that I think are worth checking out...

If you were all voters, Vlad would impale his way to PL Player of the Year

Goooood evening AU Hoops fans! Be advised that the Lehigh game may have some trouble being played this weekend as another snowpocalypse is making its way toward DC. Projects are for 12-20", and if the Hill Pigeons have some trouble getting down then we may not be playing until Superbowl Sunday, which would be quite a day of sports.

Anyway, it's Wednesday, and that means poll of the week time!

Speculation Tuesday Has News About Tony Wroblicky and Wonders About PL Finish

Evening everyone! If you're in the DC area, hope you're careful on the roads tonight as we're due to get 3-4 inches of the white stuff tonight. I've got some news to share and some speculating to do, so be sure to join me after the jump!

PL Check-In Reveals that the League Has Been IMPALED...Two Weeks Running

Goooood evening AU hoops fans! Hope you're all enjoying this week. Should be niiice and quiet until Saturday, when we have a HUGE game against the Lehigh Hill Pigeons. Some news to discuss today about the Patriot League. Join me after the jump as I show you what for.