The Week of 11/8 Is One You Want to Be in D.C. For

Fresh from Athletics comes announcement of two events that will make your early November AUEagles-tastic. Big ups to Athletics for organizing two events that I hope will become mainstays in the future.

First, November 8, Assistant Director of Marketing Andrew Bashuk writes,

"Coach Jones will be opening up his practice for everyone to come see and get an up-close glimpse of the team as they prepare for the 2010-11 season.  After the practice concludes, he'll be hosting a Chalk Talk and Reception here in Bender to discuss the practice and the upcoming season.  Practice will begin at 5:00pm on the 8th, with the Chalk Talk and Reception then beginning at 6:30pm...The event will be free-of-charge and should be an exciting way to tipoff the 2010-11 campaign!  Light fare will be provided."

Sounds like an awesome event, and when Athletics says it's open to everyone, they mean everyone. No need to be a season ticket holder. So get there to Bender and get your glimpse of the team!

The other great event is something I just heard about today. Preceding AMERICAN MADNESS on November 10th, at 5:30 there will be a Faculty vs. Staff Basketball game in Bender! This is going to be the real deal. Full scoreboard, announcers, jerseys, officials (who may or may not be the coaches, that's TBD). Going to be awesome. Come see your favorite faculty and staff face off and then stay to see YOUR AMERICAN UNIVERSITY EAGLES at AMERICAN MADNESS.

Awesome.

Also, thanks for bearing with us through the long off-season. We're prepping a slough of content that we will unleash on you later in the week.

THE SEASON IS UPON US, FRIENDS. THE LONG WAIT IS OVER.

PRO DEO ET PATRIA AND GOOOOOOOO EAGLES!

This is Madness! THIS IS...THE RECAP!

Last night AU celebrated its storied basketball teams with the second annual American Madness pep rally. What we're all wondering now is, of course, "Was it any better than the first?" Well, as the Burger King commercial so wisely states, "that's more of an...opinion." This blogger's opinion, if it means anything, is that it was a step forward, if not a particularly big one.

For those of you who weren't able to make it to Bender Arena yesterday evening, whether it was because of work, great distance, or just the freezing rain keeping you indoors, it's OK - we've got you covered. The teams first danced their way to the court to the familiar tune of "The Final Countdown" (masterfully played by Bender's unsung [pun intended] heroes, the Screaming Eagles Pep Band) and clumsily missed a few baskets on purpose so that some students could win some fun prizes in good conscience. Sophomore Guard Joe Hill would have none of that, of course, proudly announcing he would beat three cocky Blue Crew members in a 3-pointer shooting contest by five. Amazingly, he won 8-3. Well done, Joe! Let's show St. Francis that same attitude on Friday!

The coaches then made their obligatory heartfelt speeches. Coach Jones echoed many of his sentiments from Patriot League Media Day (if you haven't read Bill's interview with Jones yet, check it out here), offering this succinct piece of insight which I think sums up this year quite well,

"We are not the Patriot League defending champions. That was last year's team. We have our own identity, and we're still searching for what it is."

Well said, coach, well said. The faithful Blue Crew responded with some pretty serious applause, which gives me hope that this year's growing pains will be seen as just that and nothing more sinister. On that note, attendance was pretty decent considering the cold, rainy weather that likely had many hunkering down in the dorms for the night. Not fantastic, mind you, but alright for the circumstances. If you weren't there, one awesome thing you did miss was the freshmen men's dance number with the dance team/cheerleaders. It lasted about three minutes, and all I know is that even if Blake Jolivette doesn't make a single basket this entire season, at least he can GET DOWN (Blake, if you're reading this, don't worry, I know you will score many, many points this season). Check out Hannah Rubin's great video, or my endearingly low-quality cell phone version below:

That's all for tonight, AU Hoops Fans, check back later for an exclusive AU Basketball Central preview of our season opener at St. Francis (PA).

GO EAGLES,
Josh

Quick Check-In

Sorry we've been AWOL this week, just very, very busy! Josh is going to get a recap up from AMERICAN MADNESS last night!

In the meantime, check out this FANTASTIC video of the freshmen from last night. I won't spoil it for you, but it is a MUST SEE. (Courtesy of Hannah Rubin, thanks very much for capturing this fantastic moment!)

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1169997973715&ref=nf

I'll get a St. Francis preview/belated Speculation Tuesday up tonight!

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Midnight Madness...Just Not For The Eagles

Well, AU hoops fans, tonight is the official start of the college basketball season. The actual games don't start for a few weeks yet, but this weekend teams can officially begin to practice. Accompanying this is the event that so many college students and fans spend the first half of the fall semester eagerly awaiting (especially when there's no football) - Midnight Madness. It was with a heavy heart that I spent my night watching ESPN's 4 straight hours of coverage of Midnight Madness at powerhouses such as Duke, Kansas, Connecticut, Washington, Kentucky, Georgeclown, and oddly enough North Dakota State.

It wasn't that our Eagles were not on ESPN tonight that was depressing. Only 9 teams total were featured, eight of them in Andy Katz's pre-season top 25 (and when AU makes that list, hell will actually freeze over and everyone there will get a complimentary AU red and blue ice cream cone). No, it's that we must wait nearly another month for our own version of this tradition, American Madness, on November 11th.

Why must we wait so long to finally see our Eagles take to the court? Well, technically we don't, as there are exhibition games on both November 3rd and 8th, and as sure as a Garrison Carr three-pointer I will be at both. Plus, we should feel lucky to have such an event at all, as according to the archives of student newspaper The Eagle, Midnight Madness at AU was discontinued after the 2000 season for an indeterminate reason (not having a winning season for a decade will do that), and only re-instated last year as American Madness (a tournament appearance will do that). Nevertheless, I'm excited to see what's been cooked up for American Madness this year. Last year was exciting, but pretty basic, seeing as it was the first time in a decade they even bothered.

Definitely come down to check out American Madness if you are able, it should be a really good time and a great way to show support for a young team. Hopefully over the next year someone in the athletics department will come to the realization that the rest of the college basketball world starts the Madness in October. In the mean time, check out this 2008-09 highlight video to get sufficiently pumped up:

Go Eagles,
Josh