MBB: MAC Freedom League

[NEPAFAN]

With this years' appearance Scranton is 2 all time with 20 moving ahea of F and M.

[royalsfaninwisconsin]

Obviously, I don't get to see any MAC games anymore since I'm out here in the Midwest, but I was surprised to see Scranton at 21-6 this year.  How would you guys compare them to Scranton teams of the past, and do they have a legitimate shot at making some "noise" in the tournament?

[saratoga]

RoyalFan: They sure as heck play with heart. They suffered a ton of injuries all season & kept playing through it...so they are battle-tested. The NCAA's are a funny beast though...sometimes you pencil yourself in for the championship round & you don't get out of your first region...other schools get a break along the way by having a team they don't even come close to matching up with get upset & then they handle that winner. I think alot also depends on where the refs are from...does the NCAA open up their wallets & move some really good people around that have no ties or affiliations with certain leagues or regions or is it the good old boys calling the game for the hometown crowd? The Royals can sneak up & get the job done against any one of the 3 teams in this region, no question about it. They have an excellent point guard, good perimiter shooting, an inside presence & they play serious D. They should be in any of these games as long as their point does not get into foul trouble...if he sits for any appreciable lenghth of time, the team stalls & the deficit grows. A very young team getting valuable experience on the National level...and, that's a good thing. The big thing the coaching staff must do is preach that it's not just about "getting here", that they have a very real chance to come out of the Big Apple with 2 victories & a chance to roll the dice again next weekend. Thanks for checking in.

[Section J Guy]

CC, thanks to your picture, I'm getting called out by a four-eyed 8 year old.  Eh, beats getting called by a former Wilkes center... right,  Ned Flanders??

CJ you have a mind like a steel trap. Good memory.

Good post Saratoga. If I could give Karma I would..

[royalsfaninwisconsin]

Thanks for the info Saratoga.  I hope the Royals can make a strong showing!

[naismith]

CC,

Heading to Bucknell Friday for a doubleheader with a bunch of graybeards.

Maybe some ECAC action at Keystone....
Where are you heading?  Lady Royals?

Anyway, starting to think about baseball and football. (Phils and Yanks tomorrow)

I was listening to that Mike and Mike show and they were doing one of those 'all time great'
type of things.
Of course, when it came to quarterbacks, they have no reference points as to the great ones of an earlier era.
Like how could you not consider Otto Graham? After all he is the greatest ...right?
Played 10 years and won the division or league crown every single year.
52-4-3 in the All American football conference 1946-50. 4 championships.

Browns won 3 championships in his 6 years with that NFL club.

How could they have named Unitas and not Otto?

Naismith aka Walter Camp

[cold_case]

"It was like being in the huddle with God."........Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey on what it was like to play with Johnny Unitas."

'nuff said.

We're open next weekend. Let me know. If you want to take the ladies, fine. If not, cool.

[nedflanders]

Hidlly Hodilly Posterinos.

This is the Flandersman reporting in from his world wide recruiting tour for da U. Currently in Deutchland Uber Alles and found an 8 foot tall center with a skyhook named Lars. Unfortunately he has already gave his verbal to the College of Charleston. Maybe Wilkes will steal him as a senior transfer.

Any who, how bout dem Royals. Kevin Courtney and Mike Reno must have been crying like babies when they heard the Wilkes/Scranton game close out. I was listening on my USR online streaming radio. Ok, not really. But I'm glad to see the Royals play like that, I only wish that I could have been there with the Swami and Section J Guy drinking some purple Margaritas.

Ok, next is Latvia after Germany. I hear there is a kid who can jump and put the ball through the hoop at the same time. In Latvia they call it a "slam dunk". I think it will revolutionize the game.

CJ: I would never be as insulted as being called Boncheski.

[ColonelJohn4Life]

So, was Swami the guy that had his megaphone taken away?  Was Guy, SJ the one wearing his grandmother's sweater??  Or were they among the nameless rabble wearing free purple t-shirts?

One of these days I'll have to regale alll of you with the true story of the College of Charleston transfer.  He does exist, but he's not 6'8"...

Kevin Courtney - that's a name I haven't heard in some time.  If O'Donnell stayed on as a coach, you think he could bring his cousin back??

Cold Case, Unitas as best ever?  Sorry, he beat my Giants in the Greatest Game Ever (TM) in 1958.  He's out.  Why, how many Super Bowls did Johnny U ever win?  Exactly - one less than Phil Simms. (Just kidding, if I had a vote, he gets mine.  Rice - best player ever, Unitas - best QB ever.)

[cold_case]

Wait a minute, hold on here. You're embarking on sacred ground when you compare The Man, The Myth, The Legend against any other QB.
By the way, you forgot to mention the Colts 1959 NFL Championship blowout of the G-Men as well.
The super bowl didn't come along until Johnny U. was 32. He did manage to get his team to Super Bowl V before leaving the game with a torn ACL which I still say was a cheap shot by former Marquette product, George Andre. Even without TM, TM, TL, the Colts did beat the Cowboys.
Remember, there wasn't much greed with over-expansion in back then so the rosters weren't severly watered down like today.
I will say that Columbia's Sid Luckman does compare to Johnny U, but just a little.
Ever notice Naismith is the one that always starts controversy?

[adam]

Can we please make it a point to never mention the name, "Phil Boncheski" again?  The only time I ever wan to see his name here is if I bring back another season of Freedom League Survivor.
By the way, does anyone remember the two winners of Freedom Survivor.  I remember one, but the 2nd escapes me.

[naismith]

Wait a minute, hold on here. You're embarking on sacred ground when you compare The Man, The Myth, The Legend against any other QB.
By the way, you forgot to mention the Colts 1959 NFL Championship blowout of the G-Men as well.
The super bowl didn't come along until Johnny U. was 32. He did manage to get his team to Super Bowl V before leaving the game with a torn ACL which I still say was a cheap shot by former Marquette product, George Andre. Even without TM, TM, TL, the Colts did beat the Cowboys.
Remember, there wasn't much greed with over-expansion in back then so the rosters weren't severly watered down like today.
I will say that Columbia's Sid Luckman does compare to Johnny U, but just a little.
Ever notice Naismith is the one that always starts controversy?

There's no controversy.

Colt Johnny U
Was among the Few
Cowboy Staubach
Might be there too

Niner  Joe Montana 
Is no Second Banana
And Denver's Elway
Might Have some Say
 
Patriot Tom Brady
Just Might be First Lady
While Dolphin Dan
Surely He Can

If Winning Be the Key
Then Even a Blind Man Can See
Ten Years and
Ten Banners
Leave All Others
In Tatters

Cleveland's Own Otto Graham
Undoubtedly the Man
A Quarterback Supreme
For Johnny U Just a Dream.

Naismith aka Walter Camp

CJ,
Jerry Rice...greatest ever? Catching 5 yard slants run off illegal picks for 15 years...please....the man cannot dance...

The greatest player by far was Jimmy Brown. No one close.......He had it all.....power, strength, speed, durability, quickness and vision.

[cold_case]

Nais,
Graham sure put up impressive numbers during his four years in the AAFC against the likes of the Buffalo Bisons, Chicago Rockets, Los Angeles Dons, Miami Seahawks, New York/Brooklyn Yankees, etc. What, no Honey Pot Ramblers?
That league was like the old ABA. When the league folded, the Baltimore Colts, SF 49ers and Browns were all that was left when they joined the NFL.
In essence, the AAFC was equivalent of Arena Football.
I agree the Browns had a high success rate once they joined in the NFL, but Graham's performace in the real league was less than stellar -- it actually seemed like Cleveland won despite him.
In the AAFC, Graham had a passer rating of 99.1, while throwing 85 TD's and 41 INT's.
During his six-years in the NFL, which wasn't exactly a reign of terror, Otto passed for 88 touchdowns, but threw an eye-popping 94 interceptions and had a passer rating of 78.2.
Comparing Graham to Johnny Unitas is like comparing pizza from Nanticoke to pizza from Old Forge. Just can't justify it.
Your serve!

[ColonelJohn4Life]

Nais,
5 yard slants?  That's all you think he could do?  This is why we call you Naismith and not Tagliabue!!   The guy at his peak broke every single record available to wide receivers.  Recently, the idea of the "possession receiver" has given a new single-season reception record.  But, guys like Marvin Harrison are nowhere near Rice's career stats.

Define greatness for me.  Is it statistics?  He has more receptions, yards, and TDs than anyone who has ever caught a ball.  Is it titles?  He has 4 of those.  Is it "being clutch"?  He also has a Super Bowl MVP - one of only 5 receivers to claim one, and no one has 2.

Jim Brown - best 2 sport athlete, sure.  Best pure football player ever?  If they stopped playing football in 1966... MAYBE!

[oiler]

1st Round NCAA Tournament

Scranton vs. William Paterson
at Baruch College, NYC

6pm

www.scranton.edu/wusr
www.scranton.edu/athletics