MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[abominable_snowman]

AND NOW FOR MY 100th POST!!!!!

http://www.stthomas.edu/magazine/showarticle.cfm?ArticleID=158419296

An article on our beloved rivalry. (From a Tommy writer, but fair I think)

Below are basketball specific portions, a good read if you have time.

******************************************************

The schools have won the MIAC post-season men's basketball tournament seven times in the 15-year history of the playoffs. They've also won or shared the regular-season championship nine times in the last 14 years.


Old Gyms Stoked Rivalries


St. Thomas alumni director Greg Hendricks remembers a wild finish of a game in his senior season in 1981 in Collegeville. "I tipped in a shot at the buzzer that won the game (52-51)," he said. "But the officials didn't signal anything and ran off the court. The St. John's official scorer didn't put the points on the scoreboard. My teammates and I were celebrating, and the Johnnie fans initially thought they had won and they rushed the court. Fritz had to go down into the officials' locker room and have them come back out to verify that the shot was good and we had won."

Even though the Tommies have won 10 of the last 12 men's basketball meetings, few have been easy games. In the last meeting, in February 1999, it took three overtimes before the Tommies outlasted St. John's 85-83 in Schoenecker Arena. It was nearly 10 years to the date of another three-overtime game won by the 1988-89 Tommies, 72-70 on the UST campus. Fritz' teams are 8-0 against St. John's in overtime games.

The 1992-93 Tommies had to play four games against the Johnnies, the latter two in the conference finals and the NCAA playoffs. St. Thomas won all four, although three of the four were decided by three or less points. The next season, the Johnnies handed MIAC champion St. Thomas its only two conference defeats, but UST won a rematch in the playoff finals and went on to become just the second conference men's team to reach the NCAA Division III Final Four.

Denning played baseball for UST in the 1960s but he was several years removed from the intensity of the rivalry when he drove to a basketball game in Collegeville about 10 years ago. "I was athletic director at Cretin-Derham Hall and I know we didn't tolerate much in the student sections," Denning said. "Then I go up there to St. John's and I thought a riot was going to break out. I couldn't believe what was going on. I see all these security guards taking people out of the gym. I find out later the security guys were just St. John's students."

Even still, both sides agree that today's games are relatively calm compared to the atmosphere before 1975, before the teams played in new, roomier arenas.

"When we played in the old gyms, the fans were right on top of the court," Smith recalls. "You talk about noise — you couldn't hear yourself. You couldn't get into the games if you didn't have a ticket or show up by 4 p.m. I knew of two of our students who didn't have tickets. They drove down the day of the game, went to the gym and played racquetball, then hid inside lockers so they could get into the building. Another time we got off the bus and saw some students climbing up a ladder and into a third-floor window."

"Our old gym held about 900 fans and all four sides had fans sitting virtually on the court," Fritz said. "As a player it was very exciting. But to play well, you had to try to avoid all the distractions."

People say it wasn't unusual for home-court fans to grab an opposing player and hold him in the stands or try to pass him up the crowd. More than once, a player's shorts were pulled down on an inbounds pass.

There were some very intense games that occasionally produced some fights," Smith said. "I'm glad that doesn't seem to happen anymore. It wasn't the players and coaches who had problems — it was more the spectators who usually got out of control."

It wasn't just the students who were caught up in the emotion of the games, however. UST's Monsignor James Lavin laughs when he talks about beloved school nurse, Ann Scanlan. "Annie sat right behind the Tommie bench and she was famous for ringing a cowbell at the games," Lavin said. "I remember one night in that old gym at St. John's. A fight broke out on the floor, and Annie was in the middle of it swinging her purse. I think Steve (Fritz) had to jump in and rescue her."

The one that got away


And if the Johnnies happen to get the best of St. Thomas, there is one way to silence an annoying Johnnie alum at your workplace. Just mention Ignatius Aloysius O'Shaughnessy. You know, the guy whose name is on so many buildings at St. Thomas. In his case, the Tommies lost the initial recruiting battle, but won the war.

O'Shaughnessy, the youngest of 13 children and the son of a shoemaker, left Stillwater at age 16 to attend St. John's, where four of his older brothers had attended. He played on the 1901 Johnnie football team, which beat St. Thomas 16-0 in the first game between the two schools. Later that school year, O'Shaughnessy and several classmates skipped a vespers chapel service to go to a party. When the group was caught, the punishment was swift — all were expelled from school.

Not wanting to face his parents, O'Shaughnessy took a bus straight to the St. Thomas campus and threw himself at the mercy of the priest in charge of admissions. He admitted wrongdoing and was given another chance at college. He went on to star in football, serving as the Tommies' team captain in 1905. He stayed on at the school after graduation and worked as the St. Thomas business manager.

O'Shaughnessy later moved to Oklahoma, founded Globe Oil Company and became one of the country's most prominent businessmen. He developed a worldwide reputation for philanthropy to Catholic causes. He was a part owner of the Cleveland Indians from 1956 to 1962, and his friends included former president Herbert Hoover, church and university leaders.

His major gift in 1940 let St. Thomas build a state-of-the-art athletic building, and subsequent gifts provided for a football stadium. When he died in 1973 at age 88, O'Shaughnessy left much of his estate to three institutions — St. Thomas, St. Catherine and Notre Dame.

The moral of the story — St. Thomas was lucky to have a friend like I.A. O'Shaughnessy. And when it comes to athletics, the Tommies are lucky to have an "enemy" like St. John's.

[sumander]

A-Snow, Congratulatuions on #100. Good article +k for that. The Johnnies need to take care of business tonight or the game will lose a little of the lustre!

[columbianmaffia]

AND NOW FOR MY 100th POST!!!!!

http://www.stthomas.edu/magazine/showarticle.cfm?ArticleID=158419296

An article on our beloved rivalry. (From a Tommy writer, but fair I think)

Below are basketball specific portions, a good read if you have time.

******************************************************

The schools have won the MIAC post-season men's basketball tournament seven times in the 15-year history of the playoffs. They've also won or shared the regular-season championship nine times in the last 14 years.


Old Gyms Stoked Rivalries


St. Thomas alumni director Greg Hendricks remembers a wild finish of a game in his senior season in 1981 in Collegeville. "I tipped in a shot at the buzzer that won the game (52-51)," he said. "But the officials didn't signal anything and ran off the court. The St. John's official scorer didn't put the points on the scoreboard. My teammates and I were celebrating, and the Johnnie fans initially thought they had won and they rushed the court. Fritz had to go down into the officials' locker room and have them come back out to verify that the shot was good and we had won."

Even though the Tommies have won 10 of the last 12 men's basketball meetings, few have been easy games. In the last meeting, in February 1999, it took three overtimes before the Tommies outlasted St. John's 85-83 in Schoenecker Arena. It was nearly 10 years to the date of another three-overtime game won by the 1988-89 Tommies, 72-70 on the UST campus. Fritz' teams are 8-0 against St. John's in overtime games.

The 1992-93 Tommies had to play four games against the Johnnies, the latter two in the conference finals and the NCAA playoffs. St. Thomas won all four, although three of the four were decided by three or less points. The next season, the Johnnies handed MIAC champion St. Thomas its only two conference defeats, but UST won a rematch in the playoff finals and went on to become just the second conference men's team to reach the NCAA Division III Final Four.

Denning played baseball for UST in the 1960s but he was several years removed from the intensity of the rivalry when he drove to a basketball game in Collegeville about 10 years ago. "I was athletic director at Cretin-Derham Hall and I know we didn't tolerate much in the student sections," Denning said. "Then I go up there to St. John's and I thought a riot was going to break out. I couldn't believe what was going on. I see all these security guards taking people out of the gym. I find out later the security guys were just St. John's students."

Even still, both sides agree that today's games are relatively calm compared to the atmosphere before 1975, before the teams played in new, roomier arenas.

"When we played in the old gyms, the fans were right on top of the court," Smith recalls. "You talk about noise — you couldn't hear yourself. You couldn't get into the games if you didn't have a ticket or show up by 4 p.m. I knew of two of our students who didn't have tickets. They drove down the day of the game, went to the gym and played racquetball, then hid inside lockers so they could get into the building. Another time we got off the bus and saw some students climbing up a ladder and into a third-floor window."

"Our old gym held about 900 fans and all four sides had fans sitting virtually on the court," Fritz said. "As a player it was very exciting. But to play well, you had to try to avoid all the distractions."

People say it wasn't unusual for home-court fans to grab an opposing player and hold him in the stands or try to pass him up the crowd. More than once, a player's shorts were pulled down on an inbounds pass.

There were some very intense games that occasionally produced some fights," Smith said. "I'm glad that doesn't seem to happen anymore. It wasn't the players and coaches who had problems — it was more the spectators who usually got out of control."

It wasn't just the students who were caught up in the emotion of the games, however. UST's Monsignor James Lavin laughs when he talks about beloved school nurse, Ann Scanlan. "Annie sat right behind the Tommie bench and she was famous for ringing a cowbell at the games," Lavin said. "I remember one night in that old gym at St. John's. A fight broke out on the floor, and Annie was in the middle of it swinging her purse. I think Steve (Fritz) had to jump in and rescue her."

The one that got away


And if the Johnnies happen to get the best of St. Thomas, there is one way to silence an annoying Johnnie alum at your workplace. Just mention Ignatius Aloysius O'Shaughnessy. You know, the guy whose name is on so many buildings at St. Thomas. In his case, the Tommies lost the initial recruiting battle, but won the war.

O'Shaughnessy, the youngest of 13 children and the son of a shoemaker, left Stillwater at age 16 to attend St. John's, where four of his older brothers had attended. He played on the 1901 Johnnie football team, which beat St. Thomas 16-0 in the first game between the two schools. Later that school year, O'Shaughnessy and several classmates skipped a vespers chapel service to go to a party. When the group was caught, the punishment was swift — all were expelled from school.

Not wanting to face his parents, O'Shaughnessy took a bus straight to the St. Thomas campus and threw himself at the mercy of the priest in charge of admissions. He admitted wrongdoing and was given another chance at college. He went on to star in football, serving as the Tommies' team captain in 1905. He stayed on at the school after graduation and worked as the St. Thomas business manager.

O'Shaughnessy later moved to Oklahoma, founded Globe Oil Company and became one of the country's most prominent businessmen. He developed a worldwide reputation for philanthropy to Catholic causes. He was a part owner of the Cleveland Indians from 1956 to 1962, and his friends included former president Herbert Hoover, church and university leaders.

His major gift in 1940 let St. Thomas build a state-of-the-art athletic building, and subsequent gifts provided for a football stadium. When he died in 1973 at age 88, O'Shaughnessy left much of his estate to three institutions — St. Thomas, St. Catherine and Notre Dame.

The moral of the story — St. Thomas was lucky to have a friend like I.A. O'Shaughnessy. And when it comes to athletics, the Tommies are lucky to have an "enemy" like St. John's.

+k snow congrats

i like quoting long posts becuase then it looks like i might have said something kinda smart

im making chocolate covered baked beans for valentines day

[Drake Palmer]

Watch – Dude, I think I gotta beef wit you.  You're a tough taskmaster.  Last Friday you're complaining about the lack of posts...

Wow, must be alot of Bosses cracking down today!! The board has never been this silent before a game all season! And there is a playoff hunt on.....

Then yesterday you're busting my chops talking about the supposedly high # of my posts.  By my count this is my 4th post in the past 24 hours & you've dropped 5.  What's the difference? 

Speaking of post counts, Sumander - you're about to become an admiral or sumthing like that in the D3Hoops army.  996 posts & counting.  Are you cooking up anything special for post #1000?

And of course, a special shout-out to Snow!  Nice job in reaching the 100 post milestone.  Fun article to read as well!  So in recognition of your milestone & your alma maters' school colors, here's a couple of purple tinged milestone markers. 

Purple Rain (or is it reign?) baby!

[VOJ]

I have a tommie-johnnie story for you...from back in the days when Troy Bigalke ruled the roost...

AT St. Thomas the tommie fans were riding Troy pretty good during the game which the Tommies were in but the J's were up, so Troy comes down and drains a "3" lengthening the lead and turns up the floor but does not say anything, J's get a rebound and Troy drains another "3" and turns to the crowd as the J's take control of the game and says "that's why I am the MIAC MVP"...didn't hear another peep out of them the rest of the game...

[miacwatchmen]

Drake, I was just asking for a long post warning so I know what I am getting myself into when I read your posts thats all. 

Now with that being said, Drake will you be my Valentine?




hahaha

[sju56321]

Being in the Rat section in the early 80's was a lot of fun and although we did not grab a player, we did get a UMD cheerleader passed though the section-I'm not sure she was very happy, though.
But those early days in the 60's and early 70's must have been something-what about the time the Rat ran through the sign the Tommie cheerleaders were holding up? Almost no game because of the riot. Good times.

[SJU09]

The tail was cut off the Tommie Mascot when I was there in the late 80's.  Those poor Tommie Cheerleaders were useless against the SJU Fan's (Rat's)  back then. 

[tmerton]

Since this is basketball related, I thought I'd post Bobby Knight's golf tips over here as well.  Get ready for the snow to melt and the courses to open.  8)

[Dunkmachine]

Ok, first things first.....Freebird, props to your movie quote knowledge.

Drake, I am a MIAC, and basketball fan so my opinion is bias.  I must admit I am not a large historian of the football background.  I will always love basketball but I do think the MIAC is a great league compared to many in America!!

[Dunkmachine]

NOW to Hoopscoopsmiac....

Here is the deal, I don't care that there are women posters on here who used to hoop.  I could take any of them using my left hand only.  I have played against many great players who played in the levels of D-3, D-2, D-1, and NBA.  I also have played pick-up with WNBA players.  Women cant hoop.  They just can't.  The girl who played in the WNBA had great handels and saw the court well but guess what, she wasnt even close to the best player on the court.  I had a teammate who went to UW-Madison and played on the practice squad for the UW Women Badgers.  He was not a great player but he told me the coach would allow him and some other scrubs to play 100% when she was angry at her team.  When the guys played 100% they mopped the women up.

Top (Proven) reasons girls cant hoop:
1. They take that awkward step when they shoot.
2. Many have to still jump when shooting freethrows.
3. No strength, causing tons of loose balls and jump balls in every game.
4. They reach for rebounds on their tip toes instead of jumping.
5.  At the highest level of womens basketball, highlights consist of slow moving lay-ups and once every couple of decades a weak weak semi dunk.

No offense to women because they can do many things better than us guys, BUT basketball will never be one of them.  I wouldnt be afraid to go 1 on 1 with any women on earth!!!!!!!!

take that hoopscoop       

[Dunkmachine]

Sweet, I know how to do pictures!!!

So here is my question, if they switched jerseys and came out on opposite teams in an Auggie - St. Johns game would anyone really be able to tell?

[hoopscoopsmiac]

NOW to Hoopscoopsmiac....

Here is the deal, I don't care that there are women posters on here who used to hoop.  I could take any of them using my left hand only.  I have played against many great players who played in the levels of D-3, D-2, D-1, and NBA.  I also have played pick-up with WNBA players.  Women cant hoop.  They just can't.  The girl who played in the WNBA had great handels and saw the court well but guess what, she wasnt even close to the best player on the court.  I had a teammate who went to UW-Madison and played on the practice squad for the UW Women Badgers.  He was not a great player but he told me the coach would allow him and some other scrubs to play 100% when she was angry at her team.  When the guys played 100% they mopped the women up.

Top (Proven) reasons girls cant hoop:
1. They take that awkward step when they shoot.
2. Many have to still jump when shooting freethrows.
3. No strength, causing tons of loose balls and jump balls in every game.
4. They reach for rebounds on their tip toes instead of jumping.
5.  At the highest level of womens basketball, highlights consist of slow moving lay-ups and once every couple of decades a weak weak semi dunk.

No offense to women because they can do many things better than us guys, BUT basketball will never be one of them.  I wouldnt be afraid to go 1 on 1 with any women on earth!!!!!!!!

take that hoopscoop       

About the only girls I see not jumping are the 6'3" chicks that never had to jump and still don't. Hardly do you see girls jumping on free-throws and if so...so what? At least girls are proven to be more tougher than most guys. Guys constantly are being babies and afraid to push through pain, one thing that I can say is not true for most girls. Girls will never be as tough as guys, but there have been some pretty brutal girls in the MIAC. And I didn't know basketball was about the dunks...so what if girls highlights don't consist of slam dunks. What about all the other aspects of basketball, defense, steals, passes. Oh wait why do I even bother, you're just going to tell me that they suck at passing, play no defense, etc. Back in my day our guys wanted to play with us girls because we never gave up, always outhustled them and were going to push and shove with any guy. Basically your reasons are pretty pathetic...and just compared us to guys because they can do something we physically cannot...like dunk.

But whats the point of arguing with a sexist pig?

[Drake Palmer]

Sweet, I know how to do pictures!!!

So here is my question, if they switched jerseys and came out on opposite teams in an Auggie - St. Johns game would anyone really be able to tell?

Getting clever & staying out on that limb aren't cha?

Dan Graf before buzzcut, or at least I'm assuming that's who that is.




 

[she_scores51]

NOW to Hoopscoopsmiac....

Here is the deal, I don't care that there are women posters on here who used to hoop.  I could take any of them using my left hand only.  I have played against many great players who played in the levels of D-3, D-2, D-1, and NBA.  I also have played pick-up with WNBA players.  Women cant hoop.  They just can't.  The girl who played in the WNBA had great handels and saw the court well but guess what, she wasnt even close to the best player on the court.  I had a teammate who went to UW-Madison and played on the practice squad for the UW Women Badgers.  He was not a great player but he told me the coach would allow him and some other scrubs to play 100% when she was angry at her team.  When the guys played 100% they mopped the women up.

Top (Proven) reasons girls cant hoop:
1. They take that awkward step when they shoot.
2. Many have to still jump when shooting freethrows.
3. No strength, causing tons of loose balls and jump balls in every game.
4. They reach for rebounds on their tip toes instead of jumping.
5.  At the highest level of womens basketball, highlights consist of slow moving lay-ups and once every couple of decades a weak weak semi dunk.

No offense to women because they can do many things better than us guys, BUT basketball will never be one of them.  I wouldnt be afraid to go 1 on 1 with any women on earth!!!!!!!!

take that hoopscoop       

Dunkmachine:
I hope for their sake that you don't have a wife or a daughter, or sisters or any women in your life. If so, I feel bad for them that they have such a chauvinist for a husband/father/brother/son/whatever. How can you even compare men's basketball and women's basketball? They are practically two different sports. I don't think any women basketball player in her right mind would claim that she could compete with a decent male basketball player. They are worlds apart on so many levels.

My question is: If women's sports (especially basketball) are so difficult to watch, why on earth would you have wasted your time playing so many women (DIII, DII, DI and even NBA?!?!) in basketball? Does your ego need stroking that badly?