Who wants to punch Urban Meyer?

For those of you who didn’t see Urban Meyer’s tirade against Orlando Sentinel reporter Jeremy Fowler last week, we can fill you in. (Also, make sure you adjust the video clip to reflect ESPN’s pro-Florida stance just in case they ever have to enter this piece of Gator protection into talks to purchase more SEC games from CBS.)

Anyway, it’s the classic story that brings two people together. Players says something dumb to reporter. Reporter does his job. Coach gets pissed and rants to preserve his gridiron domain.

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Let’s pass out some blame here. First of all, Deonte Thompson has to be more aware of what he’s saying. Yes, it’s probably a simple misunderstanding, but as a journalist, it’s not Fowler’s job to affix meaning to an interviewee’s words. Fowler presented them with plenty of context and the offending sentence came at the end of a long quote. If Urban’s going to be mad at someone, maybe it should be at the player who apparently sleep-walked through his media relations briefings.

That brings me to Urban, who absolutely confronted the wrong person in this situation in the wrong way and, thankfully for the rest of us, at the wrong time near a video crew that could broadcast his childish tantrum to the world. If he was going to take it out on someone, maybe it should have been Thompson for spilling the secret that Meyer spent countless hours diagramming offenses to try to hide. Surely, most everybody attending NFL workouts knows it, as does any wideout running a 20-yard out route off a five-step drop.

And finally, there is some blame that has to go out to Fowler himself. Not because he did his job wrong; he absolutely didn’t. As far as anyone has reported, he obtained the quote properly and followed all due diligence in the process with the lone exception of checking the “Urban Meyer Manual of Self-Service” which should be located next to his AP Style guide. The major mistake he made was not dropping Meyer like a bad habit right then and there. Yes he would have lost his job, but he would have entered the halls of infamy forever, and become something close to the next Jim Rome.

I also have to say that I’m disappointed with Fowler’s interview with media after Big Bad Urban found it in his heart to be told to apologize. Of all people to give a meaningless interview which tells people nothing and is full of lip service and cliches, you’d think a journalist would shy away from it for karma’s sake, if nothing else. I understand he has to cover his ass and try to patch the bridge which Meyer just fire-bombed for the good of his career, but from the outside, it just looks like acquiescence to the Gator machine.

-Matthew De George ’10

St. Joe’s vs. VCU LIVE Blog

8:50: Prim gets called on the foul, her third. VCU hits two free throws, which is answered by a Djouara layup. Patterson then misses both free throws. Kuester misses a three, and with that the game is over. Final score 74-63.

8:46: Kita Waller hits the dagger, a three to give VCU a 15 point lead. Prim hits a layup but it’s too little, too late. 73-60 VCU with 45 seconds left.

8:43:  Moss knocks down another two on free throws, and this game looks to be done.

8:37: On the next possession, Logue gets called for the offensive foul, and After two more from VCU, the Hawks get one on a Prim free throw. The Hawks then get another chance after a VCU foul, but Ford gets called on the travel. Prim then gets clotheslined on the next possession, Katie Kuester gets an obvious no call. I’m sorry, but this officiating is on par with today’s Villanova-Robert Morris game. I think I’ll quote Bill Simmons and modify it just a bit,  would Cindy Griffin be wrong for punching the ref at the end of this game?

Rhode Island ends St. Joe’s season with hard fought 87-76 win

There may not have been any points bigger in the last four years than Lamonte Ulmer’s 1,000th.

The senior forward’s historic tally came when his team needed it most, cleaning up a missed free throw and laying the ball in to push the lead back up to nine and all but clinch an 87-76 victory for the Rams over St. Joe’s. The win sets up a date between the Rhode Island and St. Louis on Friday in the A-10 Quarterfinals in Atlantic City and keeps their dreams of an NCAA berth alive.

“I’m disappointed in the result,” said St. Joe’s head coach Phil Martelli. “I’m happy for our players that they go the chance to experience postseason play, and really maximize the effort, and we still leave not good enough.”

St. Joe’s vs. Rhode Island LIVE game blog

10:29- That’s all for tonight as I brave the wilds of New England on the way home. Thanks for tuning in all, game story’s above. This is Matthew De George, signing out on his final St. Joe’s men’s basketball game. Have a good night

8:58- Crosgile misfires on a three, and the Rams run out the clock with an 87-76 win. Postgame recap and coverage in a bit…

8:57- Cothran hits one of two from the line, but Ulmer again cleans up the mess, earning a trip to the line. Cothran leads the Rams with 15 points tonight, all in the second half. Ulmer hits both, and the Rams are up 87-76 with 23 ticks left.

8:56- Govens lays up and in, and Prescott, in for Williamson, fouls Marquis Jones, who misses both.  Crosgile lays the ball in to cut the lead back down to eight, 84-76.

8:53- Hilliard commits his fourth foul on James, who makes one, but Govens turns the ball over, and Williamson picks up his fifth foul of the game, ending his college career. He finishes with eight points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists.

Ulmer misses one of two, and were it not for his put back earlier, this finish could be much different. The Rams are just 14-22 from the line, and have at least five of those misses down the stretch.

For more play-by-play, keep reading here…

Oh, when we were young! Revisiting our preseason predictions

Ok, I’ll take the blame: I was responsible for ranking the men’s Atlantic 10 basketball field in our Basketball Preview way back when in November. With the A-10 Tournament looming, what better time than the present to simultaneously pat myself on the back while kicking myself  over the path taken by my prognostications? All comments, insults, and compliments (especially compliments) are welcomed.

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Dayton

Our prediction: 1

Final place: 7

It’s hard to figure where Dayton’s season went awry. They started out 13-3—with a win over a ranked Georgia Tech and two narrow losses at other ranked opponents in New Mexico and Villanova. But the Flyers stumbled down the stretch, going 6-8 in their final 14 games, including losses in five of their last seven outings. Defense’s penchant for keying in on Chris Wright successfully has limited his ability to take over games. He hasn’t been the superstar he’s needed to be, and the supporting cast has been unspectacular.

Xavier

Our prediction: 2

Final place: 2

Bull’s-eye! I’ll take any victory I can get. It didn’t look that way early on, with the Musketeers stumbling out of an extraordinarily tough nonconference slate with an 8-5 record. But this young squad, led by A-10 scoring champ Jordan Crawford and the rapid maturation of Jason Love into a premier big man, has meshed down the stretch. They’ve crept into the Top 25 thanks to a seven-game win streak, and could end up with a high seed in the Big Dance if they can buck their trend of poor showings in the A-10 Tourney in recent history.

Williamson only Hawk honored by Atlantic 10 in postseason awards

St. Joe’s guard Garrett Williamson was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive team today, the only Hawk to garner any postseason recognition.

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Richmond’s Kevin Anderson was named Player of the Year, while Fordham’s Chris Gaston was honored as the Rookie of the Year. Damian Saunders earned recognition as the Defensive Player of the Year, and Temple’s Ramone Moore was named the Sixth Man of the Year.

Temple’s Fran Dunphy took home Coach of the Year honors, while Dayton’s Chris Johnson earned the Chris Daniels Most Improved Player award. Yves Mekongo of La Salle was named the Student-Athlete of the Year.

Anderson leads a first team comprised of all underclassmen, including A-10 co-scoring champ Jordan Crawford. Ricky Harris of UMass, who finished tied with Crawford at 19.7 points per game, landed on the third team.

Williamson struggled early on, but has turned in some tremendous performances down the stretch, solidifying his reputation as one of the best on-ball defenders in the conference. The season highlight for him and the Hawks was his emphatic block in the waning seconds against Dayton to seal the upset over the Flyers.

Hawks earn spot in Atlantic 10 Tourney with win over La Salle

On the day in which they were honored at half court prior to tip-off, St. Joe’s seniors delivered a dominant performance, ensuring they would be college basketball players for at least one more game.

Garrett Williamson led all scorers with 18 points, including 10-10 from the free throw line, and Darrin Govens added 14 first half points and 17 on the game to lead the Hawks to a 74-59 win.

“We approached this game like a playoff game,” Williamson said. “It was either win or go home. I feel like we came out here with a mature approach, real methodical.”

The Hawks’ win assured them a spot in next week’s Atlantic 10 Tournament. They earned the 12th seed thanks to UMass’ upset of Rhode Island, which slotted the Minutemen into 11th in the final standings, and officially put an end to the Explorers’ season. The Hawks will likely travel to fifth-seeded Rhode Island for their first round game.

St. Joe’s-La Salle LIVE game blog

5:52- And there he is!! Martelli calls time with 57.6 and inserts Brown for O’Brien, much to the delight of his sizable cheering section in the crowd. He manages a rebound, but misses the put back before Martelli calls timeout to get his two senior starters out for a standing ovation. The Hawks run out the clock, the ball in Brown’s hands, with a 74-59 win and a berth in the A-10 Tournament. Postgame comments momentarily.

5:50- Jones does it again with a stop-and-go move that gives him a lane to the hoop to stretch the lead to 16. Williams answers with a bucket, but Govens gets hacked by Mekongo, his fifth foul, and makes one of two to restore a 15-point spread. I hear chants of “WE WANT C.J.”!

5:49- La Salle commits its 12th turnover of the night as Giannini turns to his assistants and claps in resignation. Murray’s three-point attempt doesn’t help matters, and sends the normally boisterous coach to take a seat for one of the first instances all night.

5:46- Williamson hits two free throws out of the break, and Grant nearly strips Jones after Mekongo misses a three. But Jones instead heads to the line, and hits both to stretch the lead to 14, the biggest margin of the day, 71-57.

5:43-  JONES TO THE BUCKET! He hits a lay-in driving right to left, up and under a defender to move the margin to 10 at 67-57 with 4:09 to play. As Bill Raftery would say, “a little early onions from the youngster!”

He’s got 12 off the bench, one of four Hawks in double-figures today. The score stays that way into the final media timeout with 3:39 to play.

Also, in Amherst, the Rams hold a slim 50-47 lead. And the Explorers’ postseason hopes.

For more play by play, click here…