MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[jscwittfan]

Wittenberg has announced that the University is closed for the second straight day due to the snow (which, after years of living in Erie, represents the first time in over 10 years I've had school cancelled due to weather, and the first time ever I've been off back-to-back days for weather).  Classes are cancelled, administrative offices are closed.  However, as of now, tonight's basketball games are still on.  If I hear any other updates, I will be sure to let everyone know.

[pennstghs]

yeah honestly i think wittenberg could have gone today on their original 2 hour delay plan, but im not complaining at all. it would have taken a good half hour to clear my car of ice.

I think the game will go on tonight as the roads should be fine by later on today. If it were to be moved to tomorrow wouldn't create any problems but i dont see them moving it to Friday as Wittenberg has an away game at Allegheny the very next day.

[jscwittfan]

http://www4.wittenberg.edu/news/athletics/news/2007releases/02_14.html

Both Wittenberg games tonight have been postponed due to weather.  They will now take place Thursday at the same schedule times (women at 6, men at 8 or 30 minutes after the women's game).

[pennstghs]

can i get a mulligan on my last post?

[imderekpoe]

Denison at Earlham and Oberlin at OWU are also postponed.
I haven't seen any word on Wooster at Kenyon and Allegheny at Hiram, but I'm betting they'll also be postponed.

[Li'l Giant]

How can any legitimate conversation about the greatest sports movie ever made not include CADDYSHACK.   

Didn't there used to be a guy that posted here under the name "mitchcumstein"?

[David Collinge]

Denison at Earlham and Oberlin at OWU are also postponed.
I haven't seen any word on Wooster at Kenyon and Allegheny at Hiram, but I'm betting they'll also be postponed.

Allegheny at Hiram is also postponed, rescheduled for Thursday.  Denison/Earlham is also now a Thursday game.  OWU has not announced makeup dates for their men's or women's games.

http://www.hiram.edu/athletics/news/article.xsp?id=1207
http://bishops.owu.edu/

The entire women's slate of games has been postponed with Thursday make-up dates (except Wooster at OWU.)

That just leaves Wooster at Kenyon men.  Sitting here approximately halfway between these two schools, I think I can confidently predict a postponement. 

[smedindy]

Wabash is competitive in cycles and on up cycles has given Wooster and Witt fits, though not always losses. This group at Wabash next year may be one that gives them fits, as Zimmer, Simkus and Rooks will be seniors and the kiddie corps will have one year behind them.

[wally_wabash]

There is an interesting article in Wooster's Daily Record. I don't know the reporter, Aaron Dorkson (maybe David does?), but he says that he has been watching Wooster basketball for the last 10 years.

http://www.the-daily-record.com/news/article/1590801

He refers to the NCAC as the Big Two and Little Eight, and said "What's wrong with these other teams?" He basically calls out the other programs to step it up: "It would just be a lot more fun to see them get some better challenges from someone else in the league beside Wittenberg, and OWU on occasion. It would also serve [the Scots] better for the NCAA Tourney."

Next up on Dorksen's hard hitting sports-op pieces: What's wrong with the "other" eight NCAC swimming programs?  I can't wait. 

Frankly, I think the article is tripe.  Let me count the ways:

- The whole piece is a statement of the obvious.  Wooster and Witt are historically better than the rest of this conference.  What's news about this?  There's no real journalism here. 

- What knowledge does he have of athletic departments at the rest of the NCAC institutions and to what degree they emphasize men's basketball?  Apparently none. 

- The problem has been identified, but what solutions are proposed?  Dorksen's blueprint is "coaching stability and better players."  It's almost like he's chanelled John Wooden himself here.   

- Speaking of coaching stability, there is coaching stability around the league outside of Wooster and Springfield.  In fact, the longest tenured coach in the NCAC is Mac Petty (a Wooster native even!) at 30+ years.  Mike DeWitt has been at OWU for 8 years.  Jeff Justus is in year 9 at Earlham.  Denison's Bob Ghiloni has been around for 5 years now. Allegheny's Rob Clune has been around for 4 years and replaced a 14-year head coach so there is not exactly a revolving door there either.   

- Dorksen proclaims that Wooster gets no competition from anybody in the league outside of Witt and occasionally Wooster.  I'm guessing Dorksen missed Saturday's game when Wooster was a 4-point play away from losing to lowly Wabash. 

Probably the thing that ticks me off the most about this high-falootin' piece of trash is the overtone that Wooster's struggle to get their hands on the Walnut & Bronze is somehow partially (maybe even mostly) the fault of the rest of the conference for not providing Wooster with enough stiff competition in the second half of the season to get the Scots tournament ready.  It can't be that Wooster just isn't a good tournament team (let's face it, they haven't been).  Nope.  It must be everybody else's fault.  Give me a break. 

[David Collinge]

I took the Springfield News-Sun to task last week for being a rag, so I guess I should point out here that the Wooster Daily Record is also a crummy paper.  It's the kind of paper you subscribe to for the obituaries.  I don't think they employ editors, since there's frequent errors of grammar and spelling, outrageous headlines, and almost never any local editorials.  However, while the Daily Record is filled with poorly-written and poorly-reasoned junk like Dorksen's article, at least it tends to avoid the factual inaccuracies that the News-Sun seems unconcerned with.  And the Daily Record does cover COW men's basketball and football in great depth; this week alone there's been a puff piece on women's player Beth Besancon-Sidle and another on the men's coaching staff, plus this bit of homer journalism.  Maybe the News-Sun does stuff like that, too; I don't know.  I wonder if there are any other local papers that cover NCAC teams in depth, even if that depth is shallow as evidenced by Aaron Dorksen's writing.

I like where he says

I enjoy watching the Scots so much that I've gone on my day off many times to watch them play.

Yeah, me too. 

[Li'l Giant]

Yeah, me too. 

Let's not forget Denison and Kenyon, too, DC. 

[smedindy]

The fact that Mr. Dorksen has been at Wooster's paper for 10 years says something. I think newspapers like that have people who are basically there until the next good job. When you get to papers in large cities or large college towns (like Lafayette, IN) then people tend to stick around.

[BigRedAlum]

DC,
You are the best!!
It is nice to see that guy takes his "day off" to watch Wooster.
Now there is a fan!!

Bummer about the cancelled games but the teams should not be on the roads in this crap.

[jscwittfan]

The entire women's slate of games has been postponed with Thursday make-up dates (except Wooster at OWU.)

That just leaves Wooster at Kenyon men.  Sitting here approximately halfway between these two schools, I think I can confidently predict a postponement. 

While not yet posted on either school's website, the NCAC website lists this game as being postponed until Thursday.  

According to the same page, ALL games scheduled for tonight will be played tomorrow (including that Wooster-OWU women's game).

[ScotsFan]

I like where he says

I enjoy watching the Scots so much that I've gone on my day off many times to watch them play.

Yeah, me too. 

I had the same thoughts when I read that article.  And I really was amused at the part you quoted above, David.  I just thougt, how generous of you to grace Timken with your presence on your day off even?!   While you won't find top notch journalism from the Daily Fish Wrap or Daily Mistake or whatever you wish to call it, I can't fault them too much because of the way that they cover the   CoW's sports program.  As David said, I doubt that there is a local fish wrap that does a better job of covering the local college than the Daily Mistake does with the CoW.

The fact that Mr. Dorksen has been at Wooster's paper for 10 years says something. I think newspapers like that have people who are basically there until the next good job. When you get to papers in large cities or large college towns (like Lafayette, IN) then people tend to stick around.

It either says he doesn't want to move on to a bigger paper or he's not good enough to warrant such a move.  He is a local boy like many of the Sports staff writers are, so that may have something to do with it.