MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[TommieHoops4Life]

I hate to see it but Yorky on a Tommies game is not a good thing, if I were Steve Fritz I would light the victory cigar as soon as he walked on the floor for warm ups, he has reffed numerous SJU-UST games in the past and I have always thought it was a conflict of interest, I understand his own children have gone there as well.  If you disagree with "conflict of interest", then just agree it looks bad, Yorky is a talented official, he works DI games in different conferences, but to have him on games involving UST taints the game.

VOJ,

I find this utterly ridiculous and one of the dumbest things I've read on this board. I have a couple friends who ref high school ball, and in talking to them, if you can't leave your allegiances at the door you might as well not even put on the striped shirt. Do you really think an official would stoop that low to give more calls to a team because his kids went to that school? The league would step in and do something if that were even close to a legitimate concern. At least Tim Donaghy was betting on games that he fixed.

[Mr. Ypsi]

I hate to see it but Yorky on a Tommies game is not a good thing, if I were Steve Fritz I would light the victory cigar as soon as he walked on the floor for warm ups, he has reffed numerous SJU-UST games in the past and I have always thought it was a conflict of interest, I understand his own children have gone there as well.  If you disagree with "conflict of interest", then just agree it looks bad, Yorky is a talented official, he works DI games in different conferences, but to have him on games involving UST taints the game.

VOJ,

I find this utterly ridiculous and one of the dumbest things I've read on this board. I have a couple friends who ref high school ball, and in talking to them, if you can't leave your allegiances at the door you might as well not even put on the striped shirt. Do you really think an official would stoop that low to give more calls to a team because his kids went to that school? The league would step in and do something if that were even close to a legitimate concern. At least Tim Donaghy was betting on games that he fixed.

My experience as a youth soccer coach was that 'our' refs generally bent over backwards so far to be fair, that they usually favored the other team (at least from my perspective).  Though quite the opposite was the case in ONE other community, where one ref would flat-out cheat for the team his brother was on.

[Buddo]

Last night was a much needed victory for the Birds! From what I hear they jumped out to an early lead and the trio of Palmer, Holland and Wright were pretty much unstoppable. Looking at the SMU article on the game the three of those guys scored 64 of the 78 points. They did a good job of not settling for as many 3 pt attempts which sometimes I think hinders their abilities.  If Palmer is not the FY player of the year I would be shocked. It seems that the Cardinals have a very talented young player and I would expect big things out of him next season and with Wright and Holland being seniors I will make a very early prediction that next season SMU will be a top 3 team in the league. I am excited to see the things that Coach Landrum is doing in Winona and am interested to see what kind of recruits they can keep getting in!! GO BIRDS

I would agree that SMU could be a scary playoff team next year but there will still be some really good teams at the top who are returning a good amount of firepower. Here's a list of who loses whom next year:

SJU returns their entire rotation
CON returns their entire rotation (besides Baldwin who is averaging 1.1 pts and 1.5 rbds).
CAR loses Rosett (11.6 pts and 7.9 rbds)
UST loses Scott (10.4 pts and 2.5 rbds) Archer (3.8 pts and 2.5 rbds) Peltier (3.3 pts and 2.5 rbds) and Eicher (4.6 pts and 3.0 rbds)
AUG loses Cassens (12.1 pts, 4.1 rbds, 4.5 assts) and Olson (14 pts and 3.0 rbds)
BU loses Lang (6.9 pts and 2.9 rbds) Robertson (12.1 pts and 6.9 rbds) and Vavra (13.8 pts and 2rbds)
HU loses Brown (17.2 pts and 7.3 rbds) Carroll (4.5 pts, 3.3 rbds, 3.5 assts) and Andersen (4.6 pts and 1.4 rbds)
STO loses Torell (14.4 pts, 3 rbds, 2.4 assts) and Weber (4.8 pts and 1 rbd)
MAC loses Kraus (7.8 pts and 5.5 rbds) and Richie (6.5 pts, 2.8 assts, 2rbds)
GAC loses Van Sickel (7.3 pts and 2.2 rbds) McPartland (10 pts 4.9 rbds) Paulson (6.8 pts and 4.4 rbds) and Crowder (1.8 pts and 2.4 rbds)
* SMU does not have any seniors on their roster*

A list of the teams that will be taking the biggest hits from their losses (IMO, of course) from most to least:

1. GAC
2. BU
3. AUG
4. HU
5. UST
6. STO
7. CAR
8. MAC
9. CON
10. SMU
11. SJU

The only reason that I put SMU in front of SJU is because SJU has more players (7-8) that make a bigger impact, in comparison to the "3 headed monster" that is developing in Winona. GAC and UST obviously won't feel the losses as much as other MIAC schools because they are reloading with talent already in the program rather than needing to rely on immediate impact of new recruits.

Great post!

[Willy Wonka]

I hate to see it but Yorky on a Tommies game is not a good thing, if I were Steve Fritz I would light the victory cigar as soon as he walked on the floor for warm ups, he has reffed numerous SJU-UST games in the past and I have always thought it was a conflict of interest, I understand his own children have gone there as well.  If you disagree with "conflict of interest", then just agree it looks bad, Yorky is a talented official, he works DI games in different conferences, but to have him on games involving UST taints the game.

VOJ,

I find this utterly ridiculous and one of the dumbest things I've read on this board. I have a couple friends who ref high school ball, and in talking to them, if you can't leave your allegiances at the door you might as well not even put on the striped shirt. Do you really think an official would stoop that low to give more calls to a team because his kids went to that school? The league would step in and do something if that were even close to a legitimate concern. At least Tim Donaghy was betting on games that he fixed.

Is it just me, or do you come out of the woodwork about once a week to try to blast somebody?

[VOJ]

I hate to see it but Yorky on a Tommies game is not a good thing, if I were Steve Fritz I would light the victory cigar as soon as he walked on the floor for warm ups, he has reffed numerous SJU-UST games in the past and I have always thought it was a conflict of interest, I understand his own children have gone there as well.  If you disagree with "conflict of interest", then just agree it looks bad, Yorky is a talented official, he works DI games in different conferences, but to have him on games involving UST taints the game.

Idle curiousity...how many of the refs for this fall's UST/SJU game had attended SJU? THAT of course did not matter, right? THEY, being Johnnies,  were capable of being impartial  but no one else could possibly be impartial. (then again, any and every call that does not go SJU's way is not impartial or correct in your red-tinted universe)..and no I am not casting any doubts on the quality of the officating of that game.

Personally, I think Yorky is the best ref in the MIAC. He gets the call right, without drawing attention to himself (ala Bako and a few others) and without hesitation and doesnt stoop to the blatant "make up" call BS  (like the incompetent Mauers in particular). I dont always like his calls but I have to admit they are right.

SUM -- was great to see you last night & catch up. For the first time, Ive seen UST win a Cobberville. Nice recap of the game & Glas' comments were spot-on. Did you see the photo in the Fool-em showing a swat team shoveling snow off the roof of the gym yesterday? The story says the heavy snow lowered the backest a few inches.

Hmmm, maybe VOJ should focus his conspiricy theories on snowfalls and snow removal, not refs. That might expalin all those Ls

Maniac I think if you have a tie to either school in a game you should not be a part of the crew that officiates it...I think you are talking about Adam Herbst who is a backjudge on a football crew, as I remember he tossed a couple of flags against SJU defensive backs in that game, I do have to admit my memory is a little fuzzy when it comes to remembering each penalty, the only thing I truly remember is who won

I did go back and where I could find it, I know the record the Js had when Yorky was reffing was not the best...he is a very good official as I stated and agree with you on, however there is a conflict of interest, or at least it could be inferred.

I love how you take a shot at my red-tinted universe while predicting a 93-52 UST win in the first matchup between the Js and Toms and then after the game refusing to give any credit to the way the Js played down the stretch...time and time again I have come on here to congratulate UST and point out their great talent, what they do well and how they won the game, I suppose if you did that it would be like the Wicked Witch of the West getting hit with water and we all know what happened there. 

Carleton is celebrating their 100th year of basketball tomorrow with the a rare men's/women's doubleheader involving CSB and SJU. 

[VOJ]

I hate to see it but Yorky on a Tommies game is not a good thing, if I were Steve Fritz I would light the victory cigar as soon as he walked on the floor for warm ups, he has reffed numerous SJU-UST games in the past and I have always thought it was a conflict of interest, I understand his own children have gone there as well.  If you disagree with "conflict of interest", then just agree it looks bad, Yorky is a talented official, he works DI games in different conferences, but to have him on games involving UST taints the game.

VOJ,

I find this utterly ridiculous and one of the dumbest things I've read on this board. I have a couple friends who ref high school ball, and in talking to them, if you can't leave your allegiances at the door you might as well not even put on the striped shirt. Do you really think an official would stoop that low to give more calls to a team because his kids went to that school? The league would step in and do something if that were even close to a legitimate concern. At least Tim Donaghy was betting on games that he fixed.

I am not saying he made calls to favor UST...read what I wrote..."it is a conflict of interest and if you won't agree to that, it looks bad and it taints the game" which I stand by...there are 30 to 50 officials in the MIAC, pick someone else.

A good friend of mine is an excellent bball official in the MIAC and an SJU alum, he refuses to ref any St. John's games because of his affiliation with SJU.  I have no doubt that he would do a fine job and be fair, but he does not want to put himself in a situation where a call he makes could come under scrutiny.

And just who do you think would come in from the league and do something?  The Commissioner?  The presidents?  Please, this league can't even bring itself to enforcing that MAC compete in every sport, they finally came out of the dark ages regarding the redshirt-transfer rule, somehow I don't think they would take any action.

[VOJ]

I hate to see it but Yorky on a Tommies game is not a good thing, if I were Steve Fritz I would light the victory cigar as soon as he walked on the floor for warm ups, he has reffed numerous SJU-UST games in the past and I have always thought it was a conflict of interest, I understand his own children have gone there as well.  If you disagree with "conflict of interest", then just agree it looks bad, Yorky is a talented official, he works DI games in different conferences, but to have him on games involving UST taints the game.

VOJ,

I find this utterly ridiculous and one of the dumbest things I've read on this board. I have a couple friends who ref high school ball, and in talking to them, if you can't leave your allegiances at the door you might as well not even put on the striped shirt. Do you really think an official would stoop that low to give more calls to a team because his kids went to that school? The league would step in and do something if that were even close to a legitimate concern. At least Tim Donaghy was betting on games that he fixed.

Is it just me, or do you come out of the woodwork about once a week to try to blast somebody?

Yea kind of like Old Faithful but instead of water its venom

[bballfan247365]

VOJ -

I would go as far as to bet a steak dinner at Mancini's that St. Thomas has never lost a game that "Yorky" has reffed...

I also find it hard to believe that Hamline is so hot and cold that it can be called for almost 40 fouls, have 3 players foul out, two technical fouls and one intentional foul in the Tommie game , but in less than 48 hours "fix" thier defense and hold the number 3 team in the conference to 12 points in the second half...

I will try to give him the benefit of the doubt - but when his SON is sitting 3 rows above the scoreres table with his Purple and Grey St. Thomas gear on - durring a St. Thomas game he is working .... it LOOKS like a conflict of interest.

Hang in there VOJ - Good thoughts!!

[sumander]

SUM -- was great to see you last night & catch up. For the first time, Ive seen UST win a Cobberville. Nice recap of the game & Glas' comments were spot-on. Did you see the photo in the Fool-em showing a swat team shoveling snow off the roof of the gym yesterday? The story says the heavy snow lowered the backest a few inches.

Yep I saw that. Wonder how the heck they figured that out?

Don't you think the Cobbs need some quality guards as well? They haven't had anyone who could fill it up from the outside since the Big E, Keith Eckhoff, & the dearly departed Sofa King.   

DP. It looks like the Martinson kid from Chaska has a chance to be a big time 3 point threat for the Cobbs. My only problem with him is...he takes forever to get his shot off.

What do you know about Ebo Nana-Kweson from Coon Rapids? He hit a three and drove to the rack a couple of times. He is rail thin I know that!

Not sure either will measure up to Eckhoff's standards though.

[AO]

VOJ -

I would go as far as to bet a steak dinner at Mancini's that St. Thomas has never lost a game that "Yorky" has reffed...

I also find it hard to believe that Hamline is so hot and cold that it can be called for almost 40 fouls, have 3 players foul out, two technical fouls and one intentional foul in the Tommie game , but in less than 48 hours "fix" thier defense and hold the number 3 team in the conference to 12 points in the second half...

I will try to give him the benefit of the doubt - but when his SON is sitting 3 rows above the scoreres table with his Purple and Grey St. Thomas gear on - durring a St. Thomas game he is working .... it LOOKS like a conflict of interest.

Hang in there VOJ - Good thoughts!!

We must have a lot of refs in Minnesota with a St. Thomas bias based upon the rarity of their losses.  Let's debate the calls that were made rather than the refs that called them.   

Had another debate with a guy at the shoreview league this week about "over the back" calls.  The ref called the foul on the shorter guy who had inside position and undercut my teammate in the air by backing into him.  The shorter guy really thought that he could push all he wanted as long as his back was turned. 

[Drake Palmer]

Ok, let me ask a question or two & chime in on a couple of things.

VOJ, 24/7 - So let me get this straight.  Adam Herbst, an SJU alum can officiate a Johnnies' football game, but John Yorkovich can't officiate a Tommie basketball game? Oh, ok, I get it.

24/7 – The season long question about the Pipes has been which Jekyll & Hamline team will show up on any given night.  This hasn't changed.  Jekyll showed up the other night when they played UST.

I was at the HAM-UST game & the atmosphere in the gym was chippy & competitive from the very beginning. I'm talking about both the Hamline & UST parents/ adult fans in the stands.  For the most part the students from each side were supportive & funny, but the parents from both camps deserved a round of boos & a technical.  

Plus, without looking it up, I would be willing to guess that Hamline is the most heavily penalized team in the league. (I just checked & they're 2nd with 215 personal fouls.  Bethel is first with 217 fouls.)  You know, I know & everyone else in the MIAC knows that Carl Hipp tends to be foul prone. He was called for 4 fouls the other night, nothing new.  Ray Brown & Dan Andersen were both called for technicals for running their mouths.

However, the Tommie parade to FT line was beyond ridiculous in the last 2-3 minutes of the game!  If I was at home I would have changed the channel.  The Hamline coaching staff refused to call off the dogs & instructed their players  to continue to foul.  With 2:10 left in the game, the score is 69-56 in favor of UST.   Hamline is called for 11 freaking fouls over the last 2 minutes & are bringing in deep reserves from the bench to carry out this strategy.  Final score 80-63.

I agree with AO, argue the merits of the call, or call the ref a dweeb, blind, but the loyalty thing is sorta whack if you ask me. I'm not real fond of the officiating crew that did the UST-HAM game the other night, but that's a personality & perceived competency issue, not an alma mater issue.

****
SUM- I was doing some websurfing the other night & saw a little bit if the Cobbs- UST game & noticed Martinson's name in the box score.  Don't know anything about young Ebo other than he made the MIAC FY All-Name team.    From the looks of it he's a quick slasher.  Typically the Cobbs could always use a bit of help in the speed department.  I see that that the Cobbs continue their recruiting strategy of recruiting the outer ring suburbs of the metro area.  Cord has had some success recruiting the Anokas, Osseo, Coon Rapids, Mounds View, & Buffaloes of the twin cities.  Now if they could just find a bona fide sweet guard or two, they could make some noise.
***

[sumander]

I would go as far as to bet a steak dinner at Mancini's that St. Thomas has never lost a game that "Yorky" has reffed...

24/7 Never is a very long time! For a dinner at Manicini's I would be inclined to call you on this statement! But I have neither the time nor the desire to do the research.

Having worn the stripes for 10+ years I can say, If I ever had reffed my home town ( I wouldn't just because of the perception issue) I can tell you I would have leaned hard the other way as Mr. Ypsi suggested.

I have always been impressed with Yorkie as an official. He was at CORD the other night and in my opinion carried the other two officials.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

actually, VOJ, I have paid compliments to the USJ program when warranted and will do so again I'm sure. Yes, they took advantage of sloppy play and poor shooting & shot selection in the final minutes of regulation to rally and force OT. (But I still liked the look on Burns' face when he realized he was dribbling air and Nicolai had swiped the ball from him. It was reminiscent of UST defenders looks when Elliott breezed by them for TDs in days of yore)

No, I pointed out that the victory margin in the rivalry series is 96-46. I said the game score would be about that or worse (I think the same tongue-deep-in-cheek 99-22 that I told WW before the UST/GAC game).

[AO]

I would go as far as to bet a steak dinner at Mancini's that St. Thomas has never lost a game that "Yorky" has reffed...

We have a winner!

[VOJ]

Ok, let me ask a question or two & chime in on a couple of things.

[b]VOJ, 24/7 - So let me get this straight.  Adam Herbst, an SJU alum can officiate a Johnnies' football game, but John Yorkovich can't officiate a Tommie basketball game? Oh, ok, I get it. [/b]

24/7 – The season long question about the Pipes has been which Jekyll & Hamline team will show up on any given night.  This hasn't changed.  Jekyll showed up the other night when they played UST.

I was at the HAM-UST game & the atmosphere in the gym was chippy & competitive from the very beginning. I'm talking about both the Hamline & UST parents/ adult fans in the stands.  For the most part the students from each side were supportive & funny, but the parents from both camps deserved a round of boos & a technical.  

Plus, without looking it up, I would be willing to guess that Hamline is the most heavily penalized team in the league. (I just checked & they're 2nd with 215 personal fouls.  Bethel is first with 217 fouls.)  You know, I know & everyone else in the MIAC knows that Carl Hipp tends to be foul prone. He was called for 4 fouls the other night, nothing new.  Ray Brown & Dan Andersen were both called for technicals for running their mouths.

However, the Tommie parade to FT line was beyond ridiculous in the last 2-3 minutes of the game!  If I was at home I would have changed the channel.  The Hamline coaching staff refused to call off the dogs & instructed their players  to continue to foul.  With 2:10 left in the game, the score is 69-56 in favor of UST.   Hamline is called for 11 freaking fouls over the last 2 minutes & are bringing in deep reserves from the bench to carry out this strategy.  Final score 80-63.

I agree with AO, argue the merits of the call, or call the ref a dweeb, blind, but the loyalty thing is sorta whack if you ask me. I'm not real fond of the officiating crew that did the UST-HAM game the other night, but that's a personality & perceived competency issue, not an alma mater issue.

****
SUM- I was doing some websurfing the other night & saw a little bit if the Cobbs- UST game & noticed Martinson's name in the box score.  Don't know anything about young Ebo other than he made the MIAC FY All-Name team.    From the looks of it he's a quick slasher.  Typically the Cobbs could always use a bit of help in the speed department.  I see that that the Cobbs continue their recruiting strategy of recruiting the outer ring suburbs of the metro area.  Cord has had some success recruiting the Anokas, Osseo, Coon Rapids, Mounds View, & Buffaloes of the twin cities.  Now if they could just find a bona fide sweet guard or two, they could make some noise.
***

Drake...re-read the following...

I hate to see it but Yorky on a Tommies game is not a good thing, if I were Steve Fritz I would light the victory cigar as soon as he walked on the floor for warm ups, he has reffed numerous SJU-UST games in the past and I have always thought it was a conflict of interest, I understand his own children have gone there as well.  If you disagree with "conflict of interest", then just agree it looks bad, Yorky is a talented official, he works DI games in different conferences, but to have him on games involving UST taints the game.

Idle curiousity...how many of the refs for this fall's UST/SJU game had attended SJU? THAT of course did not matter, right? THEY, being Johnnies,  were capable of being impartial  but no one else could possibly be impartial. (then again, any and every call that does not go SJU's way is not impartial or correct in your red-tinted universe)..and no I am not casting any doubts on the quality of the officating of that game.

Personally, I think Yorky is the best ref in the MIAC. He gets the call right, without drawing attention to himself (ala Bako and a few others) and without hesitation and doesnt stoop to the blatant "make up" call BS  (like the incompetent Mauers in particular). I dont always like his calls but I have to admit they are right.

SUM -- was great to see you last night & catch up. For the first time, Ive seen UST win a Cobberville. Nice recap of the game & Glas' comments were spot-on. Did you see the photo in the Fool-em showing a swat team shoveling snow off the roof of the gym yesterday? The story says the heavy snow lowered the backest a few inches.

Hmmm, maybe VOJ should focus his conspiricy theories on snowfalls and snow removal, not refs. That might expalin all those Ls

Maniac I think if you have a tie to either school in a game you should not be a part of the crew that officiates it...I think you are talking about Adam Herbst who is a backjudge on a football crew, as I remember he tossed a couple of flags against SJU defensive backs in that game, I do have to admit my memory is a little fuzzy when it comes to remembering each penalty, the only thing I truly remember is who won

I did go back and where I could find it, I know the record the Js had when Yorky was reffing was not the best...he is a very good official as I stated and agree with you on, however there is a conflict of interest, or at least it could be inferred.

I love how you take a shot at my red-tinted universe while predicting a 93-52 UST win in the first matchup between the Js and Toms and then after the game refusing to give any credit to the way the Js played down the stretch...time and time again I have come on here to congratulate UST and point out their great talent, what they do well and how they won the game, I suppose if you did that it would be like the Wicked Witch of the West getting hit with water and we all know what happened there.  

Carleton is celebrating their 100th year of basketball tomorrow with the a rare men's/women's doubleheader involving CSB and SJU.  

As you can plainly read the bold text...I think if you have some type of connection to the school...alum, kids go there, maybe you coach another sport, then you SHOULD NOT be on the game, so I don't agree with Herbst being on the game as I said to Maniac...too much pressure for him and it taints the game.  You can apologize to me later, Drake