March 15, 2003

That was the last day BU was in an America East final. At the end of that game, which was won on a last-second shot by some frosted-hair pansy on Vermont, I stood in the front row of Case Gymnasium and stared motionless for about 10 minutes out at the court, where the Catmounters reveled with a few hundred of their fans. On our floor.

That's a terrible feeling. Tomorrow, it's time to return the favor.

If you're watching ESPN 2 tomorrow at about 1:55pm ET, I'll be the one dancing on Vermont's floor, possibly taking a dump on the Catamount's mouth at center court.

PAYBACK!!!

Where the F&%# is Rhett

On December 21, I attended the Mount St. Mary's/BU game at the Roof. At least I thought it was a home game at the Roof, but I couldn't really tell... because our damn mascot still doesn't show up for games!!!


Because of the joys of being an out-of-town fan, I have been to 3 regular season home games over the last 2 years. And our mascot Rhett has been at exactly none of them. Does he even freakin exist anymore? Or did they put him to sleep because he's too damn lazy? I remember when Rhett was a mascot I respected. His old suit used to be a bad-ass muscular physique, not the girly teddy-bear look he has now. And he showed up for EVERYTHING.

What is the point of having a mascot if he doesn't go to games? I don't care if he's been to every single hockey game (he probably has in fact!) - this school's athletic program is thankfully more than hockey. And don't tell me this is a holiday thing. The cheerleaders and the entire band were able to be at all of those games.

How sad is it that our mascot can't show up to a game, yet this guy is able to be there and waltz around our gym freely:

I'm serious. Who wears this to a BU game? The ticket guy at the entrance should have knocked this guy out.

Aaaaaand, we're back: The Mount St. Mary's Preview

It's been quiet lately in these parts, as it has been in all of TerrierLand. The team has played only one game in the last two and a half weeks. Ditto for blog posts. You could say I had my own personal finals week.

But the Terriers are back tonight, and so am I. I'll be at tonight's game against Mount St. Mary's at the Roof. Maybe there will be a video or two.

We lost to the Mounters last year by 9, but MSM was better last year. They were picked preseason #1 in their conference this year, just like us, but have not been good so far even though they still have their best players from last year.

We need to beat teams like this (and Bucknell and Marist). This would give us our first 3 game winning streak going into the non-conference finale against Dayton - we can use all the momentum we can get!

Fun Fact: Mount St. Mary's is the most blasphemous school name in Division I ever since Boink St. Elizabeth's College dropped to D-3.

Where's Your Football?: The Northeastern Preview

Today, coming off the rush and exhaustion of a long Puerto Rico trip, a brand new experience, the team stays home to host one of its most familiar opponents, Northeastern. The all-time series is 70-66 in favor of BU, including last year's destruction of the Huskies that served as Jake O'Brien's coming out party.

The timing of this game is questionable. I'm sure there's a good reason for scheduling it on an afternoon on the day before Thanksgiving, but I don't know what it is. Probably squeezing in an extra day of rest after the San Juan trip. But on any other day (except maybe Thanksgiving itself), this game seems like it could be a pretty decent draw for students and alumni, maybe even hold it in The Greek. Today, I think we'll struggle to bring 500 people out to the Roof.

Northeastern has only played two games, a pretty close loss to great Siena team during the 24-hour ESPN showcase, and a close win over an OK Utah State team. The Huskies may be a little more talented this year, but the Terriers are already in mid-season form having played 5 games already. NU is predicted to finish near the top of the Colonial Conference this year, led by senior sharpshooter Matt Janning, who was kept relatively in check in last year's meeting despite his 22 points.

Finally, it must be mentioned: Northeastern dropped their football team this week. And while many people across the collegiate athletics landscape might express sadness, most BU fans are wearing a smile this week. Countless "BU football" chants over the last 12 years are coming back to bite those obnoxious fans in the ass. I love it. Come up with something new at the next Beanpot, losers!

There's no place like home

There was yet another Freep column today about which building BU should play basketball inside of. The Hot Dog has established in the past that he is strictly in favor of Case Gym as the home for BU basketball. The guy who wrote yesterday's article, known to Freep.com readers only as "MEYER," is in favor of playing our home games at Harry Agganis Arena. I thought I'd weigh in.

First, the Hot Dog's case for Case stems mostly from the performance of the current and recent teams, in terms of winning percentage and shooting percentage. The reality is, those things are going to correct themselves back to the mean in time. There is no Agganis Curse, as Coach Wolff rightfully insists and I'm sure the HD knows this. But Hot Dog makes good points about practice time and comfort level on the Agganis floor that are valid - but I think those are things that will improve on their own over time as well. The Terriers won their fifth game at The Greek this year, and looked more comfortable than I have ever seen them play there in their win over Albany. They play the last game of the season there against Hartford, and I'm predicting the comfort level will continue to improve with each game.

I disagree with MEYER's original complaint that BU's "big deal" of a Bracketbuster game should have been played at Agganis; it would have been a big deal if it were a real Bracketbuster on TV, but it wasn't... and if we had gotten a TV game, I believe it would have been held at The Greek. But he/she makes good points about many teams having separate practice facilities, about The Roof being the smallest AE facility BY FAR, and about impressing recruits with our nice new arena.

Look, we are not filling up either gym. Attendance at Case is probably hovering somewhere around the 500 mark. While it's only marginally better at Agganis, it looks bad no matter where we play. Might as well give the fans a thrill by being lonely in a big-time arena.

And about the fans. Many fans are attached to The Roof, including me. They say it sounds louder in there because every is closer to the action. But they said the same thing when the hockey team moved from Walter Brown Arena to Agganis. And they were right to an extent, but I don't think anybody is complaining about it any more.

The bottom line is that if we have an A+ facility on campus, we should use it. Playing there more often should alleviate the comfort concerns of the players, and playing some lesser opponents there should get that winning percentage back on the right track. As far as attendance is concerned, it sucks right now no matter where we play. The only thing that can fix that is winning. And that has little to do with where we play the games.

Let's try this again: The Binghamton Preview

Today marks our second straight contest fighting for the top spots in America East. After the Vermont disaster, we find ourselves out of the first place battle for now, but we play Fake BU today for second place.

Last time we played Binghamton, we were coming off a disaster against Vermont. Sound familiar? All the fans were feeling down, and we were pessimistic about our chances. And the Terriers came out and dominated on Binghamton's home court.

This time, we're at The Roof, where we tend to dominate. I like our chances.

The Terriers are going to be fighting fatigue from here on out, but they need to be careful not to hype themselves up too much. Sure the game is important, but we need to just get into our game and relax.

It's Valentine's Day. Feel the love, Terriers.

Mascot issues

Lots of pixels lately on the interwebs about the America East mascots for some reason. America Least decided to do a Mascot Bracketology, and the Hot Dog wrote up his own rankings of the mascots. Hot Dog obviously placed Rhett the Terriers as the #1 mascot, and the America Least brackets have yet to play out.

But as big a fan as I am, I have a bone to pick with Rhett. I attended my one and only BU home game a couple weeks ago (you may remember it... it went 4 overtimes). I had a young lady with me who may not be the biggest basketball fan but is a huge fan of mascots. And Rhett the Terrier decided not to show up for that Monday night home game at the Roof!! All she wanted was a picture with Rhett. While I would have felt pity for the poor soul who had to endure four overtimes in that stuffy suit, it would have been nice to have a little entertainment in between periods for those of us who were excited to see Rhett.

We did a little investigating, and found out that the reason for Rhett's absence was that the athletic department for some reason didn't have access to the Rhett suit that night. Huh???

We were told that it was locked up in some inaccessible part of Agganis because of the hockey game TWO NIGHTS EARLIER or something. That's not even the worst part, get this: there are TWO different Rhett suits, and they couldn't get the other one either! The story on that is apparently it was somewhere in East Campus and nobody bothered to go get it. What was it doing in East Campus you might ask? Hell if I know, maybe walking around Myles dining hall or some other such non-athletic activity. Come on BU, these are really sad reasons not to have your mascot at a home basketball game.

The mascot impropriety doesn't stop there, however. Two days ago, BU had a game on ESPNU, and since we're not often on national TV, they bused down to Hartford with the cheerleaders, band and some fans, plus our lovable Rhett. Cool idea, right? Yeah, cool idea -- except I'm watching on TV and I almost spit out my Miller Lite:

RHETT THE TERRIER IS WALKING AROUND THE HARTFORD GYM IN A HOCKEY JERSEY.

What the shit? This is an outrage. This is worse than Rhett not showing up to a home game. Would Rhett ever prance around at a home BU hockey game dressed in a basketball jersey? No, he'd be laughed off the ice. BU fans who go to basketball games dressed in their hockey jersey have a special place in hell reserved for them. And not only does our mascot do that, but he does it at an AWAY game, on NATIONAL TV, for everyone else to see how pathetic it is.

Ugh. Come on, Rhett. Time to step up your game. The team needs you. The fans need you. I need you.

At least we know the BU Dance Team is still on top of things:

THE ROOF!!!: The Stony Brook Preview

For those who were wondering, no you can't use the GSU's wireless network without being a student. Lame. I eventually wandered down to Bruegger's Bagels in Kenmore, which for the price of a cup of soup and a Nantucket Nectar allowed me to plop down for the whole Binghamton game.

Gotta say, I was not expecting to watch the game I saw. I was expecting something similar to the Vermont game, since Binghamton has been real good lately, and just beat UVM at their place. No, the Terriers decided to come out swinging, dominating from wire-to-wire in a blowout.. WTF. John Holland, as usual lately, led the Terriers with 28... he's averaging close to 25 per game since TyLos went down! He has been a beast. The team has been a roller-coaster ride.

Although I've watched almost every game on the 'net, today is the first time this season I'll watch the Terriers live. Pathetic, I know. And it's Stony Brook, but that's just the way the timing worked out. And even though Stony Brook has shown a little feistiness this year... it's still Stony Brook.

More exciting is the fact that the game is at The Roof. When the flashy new kid comes to town (Agganis), you kind of forget about Old Reliable. A place that nurtured my love of Terrier basketball. Over the last few years, I've somehow managed to make it to Boston only for games at The Greek... I think because I planned around the biggest games (Vermont, Michigan, UMass, etc). So I haven't been to a game at The Roof in years... and I've been missing out.

The chance to be sitting within body-odor range of the players. Sitting anywhere you want. The little concession booth out in the hallway. It's all great. Walking up those steps to the ticket-takers from the West Campus dorms, hearing the band playing inside and knowing that the Terrier basketball experience is right through those gym doors -- it's a feeling of anticipation I grew to love during my time at BU, and I'm pumped to get to re-live it today. Even if it's against Stony Brook.

On Hold For the NFL: The Delaware Preview

Today's Delaware game is going to be a good barometer game. Have the Terriers truly improved since last year? This will be a good way to find out.

One year ago, the High Roller and myself, along with the Hot Dog and Jesus and maybe 3 other BU fans, suffered through a tough game in Delaware where the Terriers got straight out-played. The High Roller had almost as much trouble finding the arena, searching for a good hour in confusing Newark, DE, as BU did on the court.

But this year, the Blue Hens have already lost to Vermont by 15. The don't seem to be the same team they were last year, and luckily neither to we, since this was right about the time we were having major injury issues.

Let's hope those friendly Case Gym rims do their job today. Looking for a big one for Holland today - he needs to get back on track!

Not getting on track, in my opinion, will be BU home attendance. Who could sit in Case when there's some serious NFL games on tap today (including my Titans!)? Hey schedulers, how bout no more Sunday afternoon games until NFL season is over?! So even I'll be watching the online feed a little later today. Nobody tell me what happens!

Win against St. Peter's, Lose against The Quest

It wasn't the blowout we were all hoping for, but last Saturday BU at least came away with a win against St. Peter's. Despite the final score, BU was clearly the better team all day long and was firmly in control. Two droughts, near the end of each half, allowed the score to get a little closer than it should have. But even a 5-point margin was a vacation compared to the full-on, Dennis-Wolff-vein-popping Cardiac specials provided by the first two overtime games.

BU has a winning record for the first time since the very beginning of last season when we were 1-0.

Johnny Holland went off for a "quiet" 26 (well, it seemed quiet to me, except for his thunderous alley-oop slam from Mr. Corey Lowe) in only 24 minutes. Someone remind me why he only got 24 minutes. This effort, combined with the one against Bucknell where he took over in OT, was enough for him to snatch the Co-Player of the Week award, his first of what I assume will be several this year. Corey had another good game, but again missed some key FTs down the stretch. Jake O'Brien had tough shooting night, which I guess we have to expect once in a while - but boy does he love to shoot when he gets the ball, whever he gets it. But Wolff doesn't mind, as he said after the game, "If he’s looking at the basket and his feet are set, I’ll be mad if he doesn’t shoot."

Finally, Scott Brittain returned to the active roster. He wasn't the unquestioned difference-maker right away - with 2 points in 11 mins - but that is our fault for expecting too much. It's obvious Wolff is easing him back into the rotation, totally understandable because you can't be too cautious with head injuries. Take your time Scott, and we know you're gonna come up huge for us down the road.

As for The Quest for 901, that went sadly unfulfilled. A paltry 600 settled into the Roof for its opener, well short of the half-enrollment of St. Peter's I was hoping for. We'll have to settle for one-third of their total enrollment. Maybe the Dec. 10 matchup against Yale in Case Gym will bring more luck, although I suspect they have an enrollment a bit larger than St. Peter's.

The Quest for 901: The St. Peter's Preview

St. Peter's is almost certainly the worst team we will play this year. They only won 6 games last year, and only 5 the year before that. We were forced the play them on the road in last year's Bracketbuster, squeezing out a bit-too-close-for-comfort 3-point victory. And so we're forced to play them again this year at our house. Hopefully that will be the end of this boring series.

While BU has played two opponents of decent quality to a 1-1 split so far, St. Pete has played two poor teams, Wagner and Lehigh, and lost to both of them by double-digits.

The peacocks are led by Wes Jenkins, who led the team in scoring last year and seems to be well on his way again this year: he's the only 'Cock in double figs so far, with 22.5 ppg through 2 games.

On the BU side, we should get a YOOGE boost from the return of Scott Brittain, who will play but not start. I'm very excited about Scotty coming back - I thought we would have won both our games so far in regulation with his help. I'm expecting big things and much improvement from him, thanks to some tough love from Wolff:

“I’ve been on him relentlessly for a kid that I really, really like,” Wolff said Nov. 7. “I’ve said to him at the end of the year, you’ll either be on one of the all-league teams or you will hate me.”

Moving on, this will be the second home opener for BU this year -- this time they're opening up the Roof. Historically, attendance for games at the Roof has languished in the triple-digits, a stark contrast from games at the Greek. This will be compounded by tomorrow's no-name opponent. However, it's still early in the season, so people are supposedly still excited about the team. And students haven't left for Thanksgiving yet, for the most part. Here's a fun game: the total enrollment at St. Peter's is 1,802. The capacity of Case Gymnasium is 1,800. Assuming the 12 student athletes on the St. Pete's basketball team were sitting on the bench, they don't even have enough students to fill our tiny high school-style gym.

But here's the question: Can BU pack at least HALF of St. Peter's enrollment into Case for tomorrow's game? That's 901 Terriers fans and sympathizers. Why or why not?

Two frustrating games

BU games are becoming so demoralizing these days that I can only write them 2 at a time. Which is fine because the last two games made me feel exactly the same way. Both games were broadcast on NESN, and I made the mistake of watching both games.

BU is just extremely frustrating game to watch. When the outside shots arent falling, we are unable to do anything else. Tyler and Carlos aren't doing anything these days, so that leaves us with one scoring option - not enough.

The Hartford game from Saturday was bad... but I think the Albany game was worse. It's one thing to lose to a decent team on the road (and yes, Hartford is a decent team). It's another thing if BU can't even get up for a home game against the defending champs, with 1500 fans present. The crowd looked AMAZING on TV last night -- I wish I was there! -- but we still came out flat.

The worst part is, each game we got into a big deficit early, and then we came back to make it close, giving me hope!! And then of course, the hope is dashed, we lose by 7 or 9 - and I feel like feasting on the brains of the next poor soul who tries to talk to me.

Sorry to vent. Frustrated right now.

BU's New Hampshire Primary

As thousands of journalists, political operatives and campaign volunteers scramble to get the hell out of New Hampshire today, so too do the Wildcats of UNH -- on their way to Case Gym to take on the Terriers tonight.

For Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain and others, New Hampshire stood as the second test in what will be a long and grueling campaign; and likewise, New Hampshire is the second test of BU's conference schedule, setting the tone until the presidential election in Vestal, NY, in March 2008.

And if nothing else, Hillary and McCain prove that even if you get blown out in Iowa (Binghamton), you can still come back and shock the world in New Hampshire.

So in that spirit, the Terriers need to get out there and do the equivalent of door-to-door canvassing and phone calls: boxing out, making free throws, playing gritty defense. If BU takes care of business and does all the little things, we can sit back and watch the victory come to us. Go BU!!

Oh yeah, and Kucinich is Stony Brook.