Empire 8

[superman57]

I give P-Dam credit for being a good team, they were not better than Fisher and I will stand to that this day,  Fisher played 28 great games in a row, and they finally beat themselves,  Fisher let the stress get to them and that's that, hopefully they will not let those nightmares of last year haunt them again

[auerbach]

ok.... but beating yourself is one thing, 24 pts is another. valid point with all your wins. the team we saw had no chance. your argument about wins stands up, no team that wins 20+ games could be that bad. good luck to you . hope everybody plays to their potential this weekend.

[fisheralum91]

Was that an olive branch red?

If so then we will se you in the elite 8!

[fpc85]

Which of the four teams in the regional can win with a "B" type game and their opponent plays an "A" game.

[fisheralum03]

no one can, well, now that I think about it, probably Amherst. Fisher, Utica and Tufts would have to play like Syracuse did for 39.5 min today out of the 40 to win.

[thebear]

Folks - I was there at the Fisher/Potsdam game last year.

Potsdam won that game because Jimmy Connelly and Ryan Lynn flat out shut down Fisher's guards (including O'Brien).  O'Brien had 7 TO's in that game, Connelly had 7 steals.  Junior Clayton made nearly every shot he took in a solid 20 minute performance.

Although Potsdam '04-05 had great size, with two solid big guys, Turner & Harris really weren't a factor as they both got into foul trouble and played a combined 33 minutes.

Ducena, Barton, and Mike Brooks made huge contributions off the bench, while for Fisher, McGee and Sidney were 4-19 from the field.  One last point, Fisher's leading rebounder was someone called TEAM (e.g. the zebra's)

I kept arguing all year last season that Fisher hadn't played anyone, and no one would listen. I think this year, the LL has been a little tougher, but Fisher also lost Sidney.

I don't see them beating Amherst at home.  No Seth Hauben or Gabe Perez on this Fisher team.

Play tough defense on the point, get out on the shooters, hit the boards hard, and Fisher should fold like an unlucky poker player.

[senatorfrost]

 Whether or not anyone is interested, I thought I would mention a few restaurants in the Amherst area that I think are pretty good. Last year people complained that Amherst didn't serve much food so assuming they won't this year either==

Bub's BarBQ- Sunderland, North of Amherst on 116- Popular place and very good.

Amherst Chinese-My girl likes this place-near Town hall. (Amherst)

People like Panda also.

The Fresh Side=Also near Town Hall. Women seem to like this place so I'll mention it.

Bueno Y Sano Near Town Hall also.-Great Burritos. My Favorite Take out place. You can actually order a Zucchini Burrito and it will be good. (They have Steak, Chicken etc also)

Monkey Bar and Chez Albert- Mid Town Amherst- Never ate in either place but folks say they are both good.

Antonio's Pizza (Amherst) Always busy. Pizza good but not if you want to sit and relax.

Bertuccis-More genteel than Antonios-you can sit and relax and have heathy Pizza.

Rao's-Very good coffee.

NORTHAMPTON-

Spoletos-Nice place-good food,

East Side grill-Pricey and crowded but VERY good! You can say The Senator sent you.

[retired12]

Superman you cant be serious with your last comments on Fisher being better than Potsdam. A 24 point loss on a neutral site should be enough to prove that....Bottom line the Empire 8 is soft and Fisher played scared that whole game. The best team in the history on the Empire 8 was blown out by a Potsdam that was tourney prepared by the Sunyac regular season.

[col]

The Empire 8 is very very soft.  At this point in the season, that is obvious.

[fisheralum91]

Well,
Here we are and it's showtime!
I'm here in Pioneerland and the Utica O-D has made the UC boys media darlings.
Great coverage on this site too!

I think I'm the only guy in Utica that wants them to lose!

Anyway- let's hope for a great game - one that Fisher wins!

[bamm]

Col... well played.

Superman -- thanks for the prestigious honor.  Looking forward to defending my title next season.  

Hard to go with anything but a Cardinal win tonight, even if Fisher will have to exorcise their demons in that gym.  

I, too, saw the game last year.  Potsdam was a horrible matchup for Fisher.  Extremely physical and quick.  Fisher was unprepared for their intensity.  The Bears were better.

That was last year.  

This year, there are two Empire 8 teams left playing in the NCAA tourney.  There are 0 SUNYAC teams playing.  An Empire 8 team won the ECAC's.  Banner year for the league, really.

As for next season, look for the race for the league title to be wide open.  The cast of contenders will be Utica, RIT, Fisher, and maybe Ithaca and Naz.  I don't see Fisher being the favorite, we'll have to see what they start at the guard positions.  Will be a very interesting year.
 

[gobombers15]

Superman you cant be serious with your last comments on Fisher being better than Potsdam. A 24 point loss on a neutral site should be enough to prove that....Bottom line the Empire 8 is soft and Fisher played scared that whole game. The best team in the history on the Empire 8 was blown out by a Potsdam that was tourney prepared by the Sunyac regular season.

Alright, I am officially tired of talking about that Potsdam game. Can we just all agree that Potsdam was a tough matchup for Fisher and the game may have been a product of all the pressure building up on Fisher throughout the year. Potsdam was not 24 points better than Fisher last year, but they were on that night. I'm pretty certain, under different circumstances, Fisher COULD have beat Potsdam last year. That said, congrats to Potsdam, they did what they had to do. By no means, however, does that mean anything more than Potsdam was better than Fisher on THAT night and I take exception to Retired12's implications that the victory over the "greatest Empire 8 team ever" has anything to do with a SUNYAC/E8 comparison. Yeah, the SUNYAC is awesome. That's why mediocre Ithaca beat what many considered to be your best team on their home court in the ECAC finals, right? That's why you guys still have two teams in the NCAA's, right? It changes year-to-year and I'm really tired of blanket statements by both sides saying how much their conference is better.

http://democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060310/SPORTS08/603100387/1007/SPORTS

Good article about O'Brien. Read the beginning, I was friends with Ryan Klick and was one of those kids "dominating" him at pickup games. I was two years older and, at that age, that's fairly significant. That said, I never saw him growing up to be as good as he became. Also, check out the thinly veiled shot he takes at Potsdam in the article, essentially saying the only reason Potsdam won was because Fisher played horribly.

Predictions for tonight:

Fisher 72 Utica 66: Fisher comes out lagging a bit and I see a tight one going into half. Fisher will come out firing in the 2nd half to win it.

Amherst 81 Tufts 74

[reggieball22]

Whats up with Goodemote on the front page of this website.....Is he applying for a job at Fisher or something?? Jesus get off their nuts.

[fisheralum91]

GB- thanks for the link!
Good article!
One thing that I will say is this about the whole UC mystique-
I am getting a little tired of the self effacing stuff.
My big brother this and they are better that.

Put up or shut up.

[fisheralum03]

well everyone, the day has arrived. Sweet 16 day. After today we will be down to 8 teams in Men's D3 basketball. I can't wait for ROUND 4 between Fisher and Utica at 6 PM. Too bad I'll be at work until 7. Thankfully I can listen to it on the internet. If Fisher wins, I'll be on the road tomorrow by 10 on my way to Amherst. GO FISHER!!!