75 game winning streak…and yet they suck?

The Connecticut women are on a 75 game winning streak. I would make jokes about the that number not being a typo, that no a 7 was not accidently hit before I typed the 5, but this is kind of old news. The UCONN women are completely taking over the women’s game.

The Huskies have played Southern, Temple, and Iowa State so far in this tournament and have outscored the three 259-111.  That’s an average of almost 50 points a game. The entire season their opponents have averaged 53.4 points a game while UCONN is putting up 83.9 points. Ridiculous numbers.

So, of course, after watching one of UCONN’s utter annihilations, I posted my Facebook status as “UCONN is going to win the tournament. Just accept it.”

I checked it later and got into an argument about just how good these women are. No one said the UCONN women wouldn’t win the entire shebang. Rather we discussed weather or not this team could beat a Division III one.

I said they definitely could. I mean, come on. Maybe they couldn’t beat some of the top men’s Division I teams, but these women would blow a men’s Division III team out of the water. It’s true that the other top women’s teams aren’t playing fantastically this season, but it’s not like no one else has quality players.

The UCONN women are striving for perfection. On every possession not just over the length of a game or season. No one should demean their accomplishments by saying they couldn’t beat a mediocre Division III team. The women’s game doesn’t have as much prestige as the men’s and may not be as exciting but it’s not an utter disaster.

The solution is to pit UCONN against a men’s team. I would love to see that. Of course there would be too many problems with this. What ball to use? What three point arc?

But back to the point. This team is playing spectacularly  and is looking to extend their winning streak to be the longest in the nation, men’s or women’s game. 75 wins is a lot. It’s not like they got there by luck or sheer mediocre play. They could beat the best Division II men’s team in the country and probably a few mid majors too.

The Big East is really starting to worry me. For such a strong conference, they are really struggling. That could show the strength of the entire field though.

March is so complicated. I'm torn between jubilation that Notre Dame fell in the first round and anger that it wasn't in my bracket.

As much as I hate Villanova (see below) they really need to step up their game against this tough Robert Morris team. Nova is somehow in my Final Four...

You beat me, I hate you

Sports is the one place where it’s okay to hold a grudge. If someone yells at you for something stupid, you shouldn’t hold it over the person’s head for ten years. But if a team beats you in the last seconds for a spot in the Final Four? Yeah, you have every right to hate them forever.

Which brings me to a perfect example. I hate Villanova. Last year, in the Elite Eight, Pittsburgh played Villanova for a spot in the Final Four. Pitt had played well the entire season, was ranked #1 in the nation, and actually looked like they could win it all. Imagine it: your team is poised to take a tournament and then the ridiculous happens.

It was a tight and physical game that didn’t disappoint for a Big East matchup. With five and a half seconds left to go, Levance Fields made both of his free throws and tied the game at 76. Now, all Pitt had to do was prevent Villanova from shooting and for goodness sakes not foul them. If you can’t prevent the shot, at least give them a difficult look.

But as my luck always goes, Pitt couldn’t do it. They didn’t foul, so score for that. But they let Scottie Reynolds catch an inbounds and push it all the way downcourt. He then made a jumper from right in front of the basket with 0.5 seconds left to win the game and punch a ticket to the Final Four.

Screw. You. Villanova.

I was livid. That completely ruined my night. It wasn’t even like it was a miracle shot, or a once in a lifetime occurrence. Pittsburgh let Reynolds shoot an easy jumper. The anger radiated out of my ears.

I’ve had a grudge against Villanova ever since. Which explains why right now I am violently yelling at the television that Villanova sucks. Because they do. Because when you beat my team I can hold a grudge for as long as I want. It’s sports, grudges are completely acceptable. Actually, they’re necessary. 

So when Villanova lost to Marquette today in the Big East Tournament I jumped for joy. Not because Marquette won. But because Villanova lost. That’s the beauty of sports.

Big Ben stands tall

Big Ben Roethlisberger has been accused of sexual assault again. This time, a 20-year-old Georgia College and State University student has accused Roethlisberger of sexually assaulting her early last Friday morning at a club.

TMZ has reported that the woman has dropped out of school in lieu of the supposed incident. Her name has not been released (Georgia laws  state that no rape victim shall be publicized). TMZ also released pictures of Roethlisberger and a woman who they say is the accuser. ESPN reported on SportsCenter this morning that the name of the woman has not been confirmed, nor has the fact that the woman in the picture is the one who is accusing him.  TMZ has taken the photos off of their page.

Last summer Roethlisberger was accused by a woman in Lake Tahoe of sexual assault. Andrea McNulty claimed that Roethlisberger asked her to come into his hotel room to take a look at a faulty TV. Once she was in the room, she said, Roethlisberger started kissing her and refused to stop at that. 

Emails and text messages clearly showed that McNulty made up the allegations. She is currently suing.

This time, Big Ben has been accused of sexually assaulting the young college student in the women’s bathroom of Capital City bar in Georgia, about 84 miles from Atlanta. Roethlisberger owns a house in the area.

The only evidence anyone seems to have right now is these pictures TMZ has. The first issue with the pictures is the fact that we don’t even know if this is the right girl. No one has confirmed this. Second, the pictures are of Roethlisberger with his arm around a smiling blond. They weren’t cuddling, they weren’t close enough to warrant any type of relationship, there is no evidence of any type of force or unwillingness on the woman’s part. The pictures simply look like a Pro-Bowl quarterback with two Super Bowl rings taking pictures with adoring fans. The girl had a large smile on her face for goodness sakes.

Police are investigating the issue, but at the time being there is absolutely no evidence that Ben has sexually assaulted anyone. As for those that point to his prior discretions, such as the case with McNulty, Roethlisberger is a young bachelor who happens to be in the public eye. He is allowed to go out to bars and party on a Thursday night. Unfortunately for him, there are young woman in this world (as well as young men) who realize his celebrity and are willing to take advantage of that. There are those who say Ben should stay home and lay low because he is such a big name. But, honestly, how is he going to do that? If you were in his place, would you really just stay at home because there are those that can take advantage of you? And would you really deny a fan a picture because someone could come out and use it as evidence of rape?

Ben Roethlisberger is guilty of nothing at this point in time. It should stay that way until proper evidence surfaces that he did anything wrong. An allegation by some woman should not impede on a man’s reputation. It’s sad that it always turns out that it does.

One down, so many more to come

I have never been to a professional game of any sort. Really, I haven’t. I’ve been to two Binghamton Mets games, but other than that in all of my almost-19 years on this wonderful sports filled earth, I have never ever been to a game.

This was before last Friday. By the time the clock struck midnight on March 5th, I could say that I had attended a professional sporting event.

Through my college, I went to the   Buffalo Sabres-Philadelphia Flyers game in Buffalo. For a first game, it definitely didn’t lack in excitement.

Anytime you’re going somewhere, getting there is half the fun. Unfortunately for the four others who were stuck in the van with myself and ten of my obnoxious friends, I really don’t think they saw it the same way. Let me revise this…the way there was pretty much my friend Nick and I being extraordinarily obnoxious. Lady GaGa karaoke anyone?

Walking in to HSBC Arena was like seeing the pyramids in Egypt. There were tons of people in blue Sabres jerseys. The escalators were packed tight and I was completely lost. If it weren’t almost 7:30, I would have loved to explore.

We went up the less-often-used cement stairs instead of dealing with the escalators. Our seats were in section 304. My friend Nick’s sister  had told us they were crappy seats (I didn’t fully believe this based on past encounters with her) and I fully thought they wouldn’t be the greatest. I expected to watch the jumbotron to see the more precise aspects of the game.

We got up there and I realized that the seats were great. Maybe not as good as the 100s and the season ticket holders, but I could easily see what was going on on the ice down below. The only time I looked at the jumbotron was during breaks of play.

After the players were introduced to a darkened arena with spotlights on the starting lineups, the game quickly got under way. It was exciting to watch from the stands. And for those that always tell me “You know they can’t hear you, right?” whenever I yell at the TV: maybe they did hear me Friday night (it’s at least plausible…)

After a scoreless first period, the Sabres and Flyers both scored in the second. In the third, the Flyers went up 2-1 on a gorgeous goal that left captain Mike Richards completely alone with Olympic MVP goalie Ryan Miller.

And finally, the Sabres’ Adam Mair scored with precious time ticking off the clock to put the game into overtime. Yes, my first game went into overtime. What more can you ask for? (We did ask for a shootout, and almost got one. But that may have been too greedy, so I wasn’t pushing for it)

Tim Connolly scored on a pass from Mair halfway into overtime to win the game.

The game itself was great, as you can clearly tell. But what else was great was the experience of watching the game in HSBC Arena. First off, the arena invokes awe. When I first got to my seat, I felt like at any moment I could fall forward and catapult to the ice.

Secondly, the people were great. A guy in a Canada jersey was sitting in front of us and we talked for most of the game. He was cheering for the Sabres…at least I think he was. He may have changed a few times. The guys all around him were Flyers fans though. They enjoyed all of our Brockport cheers and even added to some of them. When we cheered “Hit him again, hit him again, harder, harder,” one guy chimed in “They weren’t hitting each other, they were making love.”

On our second goal, they told us we got lucky since that’s what we had cheered when they scored their second goal.

As everyone expected, I had some things to say to other fans. One guy was wearing a Sidney Crosby jersey and flew out of his seat to heckle us Sabres fans on a Flyers goal. I, of course, yelled right back: “I like your jersey, but sit down!”

Nick told me at one point: “Cassie, don’t mingle with the drunks!” (On a side note, if you lost any money in any sort of pool saying I would be on my best behavior at a professional sporting event, you, my friend, are a complete and utter idiot.)

I learned that you should really pay attention to who is yelling what, though. One guy yelled “Go Flyers” and I started to clap for it. I quickly stopped, but I had already made myself look dumb.

Winning the game in overtime and seeing the fans flying out of their seats to cheer—being a fan who flew out of a seat in HSBC—completely made the night. It was a great game to be my first ever in-person game. By the time we got to the van, though, I was beat. Lucky for me, it was a comfy ride back to Brockport with four close friends squeezed into the backseat.

By the way, we decided that a hockey game between the Power Rangers and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would be a hit. The Canada guy agrees.

BTdubs...the Ravens just made out with that deal. They got Boldin and a fifth rounder while the Cardinals got a third and fourth rounder.

The Baltimore Ravens just picked up Anquan Boldin from the Arizona Cardinals on a four-year $28 million deal. He'll be a great threat for third-year quarterback Joe Flacco to have. Mason is getting up in years and Boldin is a three-time Pro Bowler. The Ravens just got more lethal.

Catchphrase of the Olympics

I love yelling at the TV. And making up things to say to athletes. Every time the Colts were on, my friend Taylor and I would constantly say “Garçon” like it was the best name in the world.

And who doesn’t say “The Situation” like the guy on the Jersey Shore whose nickname was “The Situation”?

So I have a new one for you:

“They say OH NO! when they see APOLO!”

Yeah, that’s right. It’s pretty freaking sweet.