The Year of the MEAC?

Big Stein's Bog Poll is up; my votes are below. As I wrote on Saturday, Towson jumps into the poll with an impressive performance against Loyola, knocking the 'Hounds clean out of my Top 10. Richmond's brief, gallant, appearance last week was probably its last (losing to Norfolk State will do that to you). Hampton dispatches Tulsa and puches Maryland to the brink. VCU will have to prove itself worthy of #2 with three games this weekend in a tournament in Puerto Rico.

My biggest disparity with the voters is their inclusion of Old Dominion and American over Hampton and UMBC. I thought Old Dominion lost too much to graduation to get this much preseason recognition and American has shown nothing (but will have a chance to do so tonight at Loyola). Could be a big year for the MEAC, with Hampton looking strong, Morgan State coming on and Norfolk State beating Richmond.

1. Georgetown
As an exercise in building team unity, John Thompson has Hoyas sew their own Final Four banner. Jessie Sapp has a killer cross stitch and can really (wait for it … ) thread the needle.
2. VCU
Rams win opener against UMES, which actually stands for United Methodist Elementary School, but those kids ball like middle schoolers, yo.
3. Virginia
UVA beats UVM, avoiding prolonged exposure to harmful UVB rays that can have a negative affect on your RPI.
4. Maryland
Bad weekend for birds of prey facing University of Maryland teams.
5. George Mason
Will Thomas goes for 16 and 17 against Vermont, delighting those of us who gambled on him with a second round CAA Fantasy League draft pick.
6. GW
Virginia Tech transfer Wynton Witherspoon is mistakenly listed as Wynton Witherpoon on ESPN.com. Do not Google this.
7. Hampton
Go ahead, make all your cute little Pirate jokes, but it’s Hampton that’ll be having the last laugh, mateys.
8. Towson
Pat Kennedy processed more transfer requests in the offseason than Lieutenant Jonathan Kendrick, Rifle Company Windward, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
9. Virginia Tech
Hokies defeat Elon, a team known as the Fightin’ Christians until 1999. Apparently university administrators found this punctuation to be offensive and changed the nickname to Phoenix.
10. UMBC
Retrievers excel at running down long rebounds. Unfortunately they drop them at the feet of their opponents and bark at them until they shoot again.

Rising Junior

The Doc and I took the boys to see a local rivalry game featuring Loyola at Towson last night. If I had paid for the tickets, I figured I could deduct the cost because these are Bog Poll eligible teams, but I should still be able to claim the mileage, no?

In the season opener for both teams, Loyola came in as the favorite. The Greyhounds were 18-13 last year and returned four starters, including All-MAAC guard Gerald Brown, who was the eighth leading scorer in the nation last season at 22.2 ppg. Brown came out wearing green socks pulled up to his knees, a great look if you are playing sweeper for Limerick F.C., but I don't see this trend catching on.

Brown transferred to Loyola from Providence and was joined in the starting lineup by Hassan Fofana, a 6-10 transfer from Maryland, and Omari Isreal, a 6-8 transfer from Notre Dame. With so many transfers in his lineup, it's no wonder that Loyola coach Jimmy Patsos was recently praised by Al Gore for his environmentally savvy commitment to recycling.

All the talk about Towson, on the other hand, centered around the question, "What will they do without Gary Neal?" Neal was the fifth leading scorer in the nation last year and is currently playing pro ball in Turkey where he is known as the "American Hedo Turkoglu." Towson coach Pat Kennedy has also gone green in his recruiting, bringing in 6-8 Junior Hairston from College of Charleston, and junior college players Vernon Carr and Tony Durant (who is not making nearly as much money as his little brother, Kevin).

With campuses only four miles apart, there was plenty of spirit from both sides. Several hundred Loyola students turned out in bright green T-shirts and did their best to go Cameron Crazy. Towson countered with its umpteen-time national champion dance team, who not only performed two numbers but also patrolled the lobby, soliciting donations in exchange for 8X10 glossy team photos. Advantage: Towson.

Brown took only ten seconds to jack up a three as the game got underway. He missed but was fouled and made two of three. Towson broke Loyola's fullcourt press easily but Fofana swatted the Tiger's shot and the Greyhounds appeared to be in control. Except that they didn't score a field goal for nearly nine minutes. Kind of reminded me of the Ravens. And the Wizards. And the Orioles. Maybe I should move to Boston.

Not that Towson was blowing it wide open. Most of the Tigers' points came off turnovers, breaking the Loyola press, or on offensive rebounds, but they clearly missed Neal in the halfcourt offense and could only build the lead to 11. By halftime, Loyola had closed to within 2, 31-29.

Loyola took another offensive hiatus to start the second period, and the Tigers stretched the lead to nine as Hairston began to assert himself on offense and defense. Patsos stomped, fumed and sweat through his suit like the Gary Williams protege that he is, and Loyola clawed back and took the lead. And then Hairston really took over. In a five-minute span, he found two teammates for open three-pointers, altered a Loyola layup attempt, grabbed three rebounds, one steal and tossed in two free throws. Towson 59, Loyola 49. The lead grew to 14 and then shrunk to four, but every time Towson needed a boost, Hairston stepped up. Final score 83-69. Final stat line for Hairston: 26 points on 10-15 shooting, 21 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, one steal. All together now: Gary Who?

For Loyola, Patsos has to hope this is a wakeup call. His team got outhustled all night. Brown finished 5-13 from the field but did lead his team with five assists and four steals. There were no bright spots for Fofana and Isreal, who combined for six points and eight rebounds. If the Greyhounds are going to compete in the MAAC, they'd better figure out how to beat a 1-3-1 zone.

For the Tigers, the wakeup call goes out to the CAA. Nothing will come easy for visitors to the Towson Center. At 6-8, 205, Hairston is quick in the paint with a nice array of lefty moves. Durant is a solid compliment inside and guards C.C. Williams, Rocky Coleman and Rodney Spruill are quick enough to force more bad decisions than peer pressure. Towson's conference rivals should also note that the Tigers were without Carr and forward Tommy Breaux, who is Hairston minus the offensive skills.

Bottom line for the Bog Poll? Towson in, Loyola out.

Inaugural Poll

So the TV writers are on strike, and I support them because I like to write and I have strong Socialist leanings and anything that stops production of "Desperate Housewives" and makes the hiatus of "Back to You" a permanent situation has to be a good thing. Nevertheless, I will cross the digital picket line and post to my blog for the second time in two days which is something of a record around here, of late.

I ended yesterday's Ravens tirade with a throwaway line about college basketball, and, wouldn't you know it, today marks the appearance of the first Big Stein DC-MD-VA college basketball poll. As I am sure you will recall, this poll ranks the top 11 Division I men's college basketball programs in Washington, Maryland and Virginia, according to the votes of a group selected using very low admissions standards. Anyone can tell you who the top teams are nationally (UNC, Memphis, UCLA, Georgetown, etc), but not many people take the time to assess the impact of Morgan State's transfer class and how Richmond's slowdown offense makes the Spiders a tough out on the road.

Anyway, here are my votes for Week 1:

1. Georgetown
Roy Hibbert staying at Georgetown so he can graduate and go to medical school like his idol and role model, Dr. Julius Hibbert.
2. VCU
Nontraditional college basketball powers will henceforth be known as mid-Maynors.
3. Virginia
Sean Singletary hopes to be the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-doubletary.
4. Maryland
In honor of the start of college basketball season, College Park Mattress Discounters store holds a “Burn One, Get One Free” sale.
5. George Mason
Flights from Dulles to San Antonio are already sold out for the Final Four weekend.
6. GW
If the Firebirds took them to overtime, just imagine how they are going to struggle against the Corvettes and the Camaros.
7. Loyola
Jimmy Patsos counting on the emergence of Hassan Fofana, fana bobana, banana fana, fofana, fee, fi, momana, Fofana!
8. Hampton
Kevin Nickelberry is so confident of his team’s prospects he has already requested film exchange with North Carolina and UCLA for his first round NCAA game.
9. Richmond
Spiders celebrate season-opening win over Maine, lose to Memphis in the meantime.
10. Virginia Tech
Biggest question of the season is whether Coleman Collins will miss a dunk in the alumni game.

Big Red Break

Brian "don't call me Da" Vinci wants to see less American Idol and more Cornell sports here on FitzFacts. The best I can do is say that there will be no AI until at least Wednesday. As far as Cornell, any mention at all would be more, I suppose, so let's see ... the Big Red men's hoops team finished 16-12, 9-5 in the Ivy League, a nice mark but not enough to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since I sported some seriously hideous facial hair. Cornell basketball was best summed up by then Coach Mike Dement, who, after losing to Syracuse, was quoted as saying, "They've got a 6-9 guy who next year will be in the NBA, and we're trying to guard him with a 6-3 guy, who next year will be getting his MBA." Tougher times for the women's basketball team who went 12-15, 8-6. Kudos to the underpublicized wrestling team, which will send eight grapplers to the NCAA Championships, and of course, watch out for the hockey team, which hosts a quarterfinal round of the ECAC Tournament next weekend. For more information, call the Big Red hotline at 255-2385!

Okay, now back to our regularly scheduled Monday, which, as it almost always does, features the local college basketball poll. But first, congrats to Big Stein and the lovely Mrs. Big Stein, who became parents last week. The Bog Poll continues during his paternity leave, but will appear sans pithy comments, but you can always get plenty of those right here. My votes are below, but let me beat you to the punch and say that these rankings are ridiculous and utterly indefensible. The results of the last two weeks have made it nearly impossible to place these teams in any sort of rational order. So, I would be more surprised to see learn that you agree, rather than disagree with them.

Maryland regains the top spot, just barely, over Georgetown. I know the Hoyas won 11 in a row and lost to a desperate team at Syracuse, but Maryland has been a beast lately and I'm sure Duke was every bit as motivated as Cuse. Either way, it's very close but then a big drop to the mess that begins at #3 and ends at #8. VCU moves ahead of Old Dominion and the puzzling UVA Cavaliers and the baffling Va. Tech Hokies. GW is close behind them, and George Mason is probably going to get a lot more credit than they deserve (unless they win tonight, in which case, they do deserve it). Anyway, before I change my mind again, here they are:

1. Maryland
Terps win seventh in a row, Gary Williams reportedly recruiting sons of Keith Hernandez, Mookie Wilson and Lenny Dykstra.
2. Georgetown
When asked about Georgetown’s chances for an NCAA berth, radio announcer Rich Chvotkin repilies, “Hoyas in! Hoyas in! Hoyas In! Hoyas in! Hoyas in!”
3. VCU
Billy Packer gives Rams kiss of death, picks them to win against George Mason tonight.
4. Old Dominion
After losing to George Mason, Monarchs’ Coach Blaine Taylor said he hoped this would finally get his colleague Jim Larranaga some well-earned recognition.
5. Virginia
Apparently, much like Miami, Winston Salem has a strong Puerto Rico vibe.
6. Virginia Tech
This is the part of the roller coaster ride where Seth Greenberg gets off and throws up, and then he and his friends run and get in line to go on it again.
7. GW
Colonials now travel to the A-10 Tournament in Atlantic City, where, if they’re smart, they’ll buy a bag of lemons and try to find Susan Sarandon.
8. George Mason
If they win tonight … dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria.
9. Loyola
The bad news is the Greyhounds lost. The good news is they don’t have rabies, so Travis doesn’t have to go out back and shoot them.
10. American
I almost gave this spot to the Harlem Globetrotters, whom I saw at the Towson Center yesterday. They’ve got the record but their strength of schedule is very weak, and frankly, could use some variety.

Yesterday's News

I know Monday is usually Poll Day, but the Pinewood took precedence in many ways the last week. Of course, I submitted my votes before Georgetown lost at Syracuse last night, so just pretend that didn't happen yet. Maryland gets the big boost to #2 from its win over Carolina and Virginia tumbles perhaps a bit too much for losing at Miami. Lots of wins in the top seven, too many losses in the bottom three. Other than George Mason, I think all of these teams have a shot at winning their conference championship, so watching some of the early conference tourney games should be fun this week. Here's where I have them.

1. Georgetown
John Thompson calls Karl Hobbs, asks to borrow the term “overachieving.”
2. Maryland
Terps making a bigger comeback than Jackie Earle Haley.
3. Virginia Tech
Seth Greenberg stuns college basketball world by announcing that he is openly metrosexual.
4. Old Dominion
They have won 11 in a row, they beat Georgetown at Georgetown, and they are still three spots behind the Hoyas. This is why dead people get elected to Congress in this country.
5. Virginia
Miami’s proximity to Puerto Rico causes Cavaliers to stumble.
6. VCU
24-6. Yeah, that’s about where I had them this year.
7. GW
Domain name firekarlhobbs.com becomes available in a two-for-one special with firegarywilliams.com.
8. Loyola
After the Greyhounds beat the Golden Griffins, Jimmy Patsos makes good on his promise to take them to the Golden Arches.
9. George Mason
About as much fun to watch as Perry Mason.
10. American
Loss to Bucknell in Patriot League semifinals seems almost as inevitable as an Oscar for Martin Scorsese.