MBB: American Rivers Conference

[Full Court Sorcerer]

Dr. Phil,

You are correct with the commentary on the Coe Basketball games.  Both of the kids are great guys, but they do use it as their own personal soap box and get off topic very easily.  Their more of a late night talk show team rather than sports play by play.

[Klopenhiemer]

I have a feeling Dubuque's little run will come to an end this weekend, but for now, they find themselves sitting alone in the #3 spot in the conference!  Congrats!

Is anyone from Loras injured?  I see they squeaked by Luther by 2.  Their posters seem to be M.I.A. as well...

Rock Chaulk DuHawk wanted to run his mouth early in the season.  There were some more that I will not call out.  Funny how the tides turn and people leave for their hiding spots. 

[DBQ1965]

RE: The Show's comments on the upcoming BV - UD game.  Most would say the Spartans don't have a chance ... some would say the best they can hope for is to stay close to the Beavers ... and a few wild-eyed, die-hard, long-suffering fans would say an upset is in the offing.

Whatever ... these past 5 games have been good for my soul.

[doolittledog]

I tried to listen to the Coe announcers last year when Dubuque was playing and couldn't do it.  They were pretty bad but I chalked it up to them being students.  Now if it is the same two kids this year I would hope there is some improvement being shown. 

I have also noticed the Loras gang has grown quiet...maybe they are too busy with their studies???  Could be.  The Duhawks are still a good team and I suspect we will hear more from that team...and then maybe their fans will start posting again.  We know over on the football board they stay away when not winning. 

Dubuque has been on a nice run.  Things likely won't go their way against BV...but I will still be hoping for a win from my Spartans...and hope that it is at least a well played game by both teams.  5 wins in a row is impressive considering they went 5-11 last year. 

Hope all is well with everyone on this board and nobody is too cold.  -18 outside this morning and my office isn't much warmer

[birds of prey]

I have a feeling Dubuque's little run will come to an end this weekend, but for now, they find themselves sitting alone in the #3 spot in the conference!  Congrats!

Is anyone from Loras injured?  I see they squeaked by Luther by 2.  Their posters seem to be M.I.A. as well...

Everyone, except for Rex Parker (ACL), seems to be at or near 100% for Loras right now. Ricky Kolze is still trying to get his legs back, should take a little time. Not being able to run or anything with his high ankle sprain for a couple weeks hurt a little. Other than that, the Norse gave the Duhawks one helluva game. Both teams had high energy for 40 minutes. There were times when it looked like the Duhawks would pull away and then Waddle or Bildstein would nail a triple to keep em in it. Both teams are at the top of the IIAC in Points allowed and it was an expected low scoring affair. Duhawks did a nice job of drawing fouls and getting to the line which may have proved to be the diff in the game. Luther shot nearly 50% from the outside and they always protect their home floor well.

Luther has a lot of young talent on their squad and should show some promise for the next few years.

Too bad Simpson couldn't knock off BV last night, should be a great rematch between them and the Duhawks on Saturday. The loss is still fresh in their minds as they met just last Saturday in Indianola.

[The Show]

Good to hear from you, birds of prey.  BV's Kyle Stribe also has a high ankle sprain and he's missed the past 3 games I believe.  Nice to see that the Beavers have enough depth to utilize the "next man in" theory and not miss a beat.

I want to clarify that the Simpson announcers, whom I'm sure are students, did a pretty good job as far as play-by-play goes and relaying the action with players' names, etc.  I just got frustrated a little when I couldn't tell who was in the lead or what the score was.  I think they only pronounced Bissen's name correctly once, but I've heard far worse, especially when Randy was playing. However, the name Bissen isn't as scary for anouncers as Joekel was a year ago for BV.

Hopefully BV is able to put away UD early on Sat.  If you let them hang around long enough, bad things can happen...

[Storm-what?]

Wow, what a squeaker in Indianola last night. It was a hard fought battle between SC and BV and could have gone either way. For as long as I have watched SC basketball- regardless of the type of season they are having, they are always able to hang with the big dogs (conference leaders) and I have seen them win those big games many times. The final score was 76-70 but that was with Simpson doing some desparate last minutes fouls. Too bad- would have been a nice win.

[sportsknight]

However, the name Bissen isn't as scary for anouncers as Joekel was a year ago for BV.

Its not that scary as long as you're willing to ask the coaches or an SID before the games.

I think it is always interesting to hear what people think of basketball and baseball play-by-play in the IIAC (especially coming from my background).  Most schools bring in a professional to do their football broadcasts, but basketball and other sports are completely different animals.

I graduated from Wartburg in '06, and when I was in school it broke down like this...
Professional basketball announcers - Loras (their former SID, who is now doing minor league baseball), BV (sports guy from the local station), Dubuque (even though they didn't do every game), Central (sports guy from the local station)
Student announcers - Wartburg, Luther
Nothing that I noticed - Coe, Cornell, Simpson

Luther has since started having the sports guy from one of the Decorah stations do their basketball (same guy that does their football in the fall).

BV has students call the games when they do a webcast.  They are usually a step below brutal.

[The Show]

I'm pretty sure the sports guy from the local radio station still does the BV basketball games.  And in my opinion is one of the best around.  When they try doing the video streaming, they usually try the student announcers and sportsknight's accessment on those games is right on.

[bballjunkie5]

Brand new to the board, hoping to get more info on each conference game than just a boxscore. Looks like things went as predicted so far today (although a little surprised as to the margin of victory for BV/Loras). Still have one game in progress; I'd guess Coe will take this one although Luther always plays well at home. Anyone who went to or listened to the other three games - commentary would be greatly appreciated!

[doolittledog]

Brand new to the board, hoping to get more info on each conference game than just a boxscore. Looks like things went as predicted so far today (although a little surprised as to the margin of victory for BV/Loras). Still have one game in progress; I'd guess Coe will take this one although Luther always plays well at home. Anyone who went to or listened to the other three games - commentary would be greatly appreciated!

Welcome to the board.  Always love to add new posters to our group.  I wasn't able to listen to any games tonight because we were out of town at my brother-in-laws sons birthday party.  I would have been listening to the Dubuque game and the fact it was so lopsided meant my wife probably would have put a stop to me listening to it so I wouldn't have been able to tell you much about it anyway!!!

[DBQ1965]

Maybe the Spartans can put together another 5 game (or longer) winning streak.

[doolittledog]

Maybe the Spartans can put together another 5 game (or longer) winning streak.

In the Spartans opening 3 losses they lost big to BV and Loras but lost in OT at Coe...so maybe they can beat Coe this time around at home, and you never know in the rivalry game with Loras what might happen.  Loras is the more talented team but maybe the Spartans can surprise them. 

Hope you aren't too buried in snow over in Michigan DBQ1965!!!

[du-sz]

I finally made it back to Dubuque this weekend to take in the Loras/Simpson game on Saturday. Coming into the rematch with the Storm I was a little worried, but I came out feeling mildly impressed.  The Duhawks jumped out to an early 21-7 lead but proceeded to let it slip away just as quickly.  During Simpson's 23-7 run late in the first half Loras struggled to grab a rebound and turned the ball over on numerous occasions. 
Loras came out fast after the half and never looked back.  In the second frame, the Duhawks out rebounded their opponent 27-13 and the starters had just two turnovers.  This, added to Simpson's struggling offense, essentially led to a much needed big win.
Loras went to their bench early and often in this one, something somewhat new for a team that has relied too so heavily on their starting five.  Greg Gorton must be trying to see what options he has to get the team back to form. 
Although they looked iffy at times, Loras should be happy with their performance as they head into a big matchup with UD.  A reinvigorated Spartan team that always plays well in the cross-town rivalry is nothing to take lightly.

[DBQ1965]

Hope you aren't too buried in snow over in Michigan DBQ1965!!!

We've had our share of snow ... especially "lake effect" ... but warmer temps and rain are predicted for the next two days so we'll get rid of some before the next snowfall on Tuesday night.

However ... my wife and I head out tomorrow for Puerto Escondido, Mexico and two weeks of sun, surf, fresh seafood and even fresher margaritas.  PE is a place we've been visiting for 10 years now ... it is not a tourist destination ... has a nice, small town flavor ... and is a nice escape in the middle of winter.  Retirement does have its rewards.

Hasta luego!