Empire 8

[gobombers15]

I do have to agree with you on the after game celebration. There is always a line and this one time Naz did not know how to win elequently. I was sitting next to a girl who went to high school with the kid who was giving everybody the middle finger, She was really upset about it. During the whole game there were a few naz fans who were giving the fisher student section different types of obscence gestures. Now on that note the Fisher student section has never and will never be a nice place to sit. But they do have respect and a tight leash, as in when a bull**** chant started the AD was right there telling us to cut it out. I really wish people in all sorts of sports new how to win. This was a great game to watch, right down to the very end, but we need to know how to celebrate and how to not.

Superman, I like you. I think you're a level-headed Fisher poster who usually makes good points. However, I'm going to go ahead and disagree with you about how "respectful" the Cardinal Crazies are. On more than one occasion I have heard several people scream racial epithets within earshot of security or administrators. For instance, a couple of years ago when Ithaca was visiting Fisher and a section of the Crazies began an "Osama Bin Laden" chant for Ithaca player Tariq Ahmad; no doubt referring to his ethnicity. Later that same year in the E8 tourney, I overheard Crazies yelling "Milato cookie" and "Halfrican" at Jon Whetstone. I understand this only SOME of this group and may not be representative of all the student fans, but don't play this off like Fisher fans are Angels. They basically incited a brawl two years ago!

I give credit to the Crazies for making Fisher such a tough place to play. I'm sure most D3 teams would love to have the atmosphere Fisher does. That still does not change the fact that many of the "Crazies" are there to do nothing more than belittle opponents and take potshots at opposing players.

Was the Naz kid wrong for flicking off the Fisher student section? Absolutely. Will he hear about it the next time these two teams play? Definitely. Did his true colors come shining through there? Yes. But I'll be honest, assuming what those guys undoubtedly heard from the student section today, I'm not sure I would have had the self-control to stop myself from doing the same thing.

That's my stance on that issue. In other news, looks like Brian Joe didn't play for Ithaca today. I hope he isn't injured too badly.

[fisheralum91]

Um, I know I went out last night - but did I read the paper wrong- Fisher lost?
Ouch!
That's going to hurt!
Oh, well at least it wasn't Georgetown!

[clearconceit]

GBomber you are right!  We shouldn't take for granted who will be second because we still could be 1st and the tourny may very well be in Utica baby.  We absolutely dominated you yesterday.  The score wasn't as close as it looked.  And we did it on a neutral floor.  Ray Bryant as I have stated earlier is the best player in the league.  Everybody keeps talking about Cichon but Bryant is our best player and the best player in the league.  He is a man amongst boys.  Just ask your Ithaca players - they had no way of stopping him.
Than you NAZ WHOOOOOHOOOOO - now it is back to even.

And MadHawk - congrats to you too!  Hey with a few more wins people will stop picking on you!!!!!!!

Peace

[the bird man]

Wow, just got back from Rochester and what a dissapointing end to the weekend.

After taking care of the South Henrietta Institute of Technology, to lose to Naz like that...damn.

It was a great game, but Fisher didn't play very well. Didn't shoot the ball well at all, and really went away from what was working (Mcsweeny, and Beigle) for a long stretch in the 2nd half.
Can't take anything away from Naz, they played well and hit the shots that they needed to.
Still not to worried, Fisher should still win the league. The RIT/Naz weekend is always a really tough one. That is 2 pretty intense games in less than 24 hours.

[Jukebox Hero]

McSweeney is the convienent scapegoat for missing the 2 FT's, but Fisher couldn't shoot from the line all night. And #50 from Naz (don't know his name off hand, although I probably should from how many times HE was at the line) killed us, especially from the line....automatic.

The only positive that came from that game is how much Bennett and Co. shut down Canori.....1-12 for 4 points (all on one play) Yuck.

I agree with this...

Naz had a great shot at beating Fisher next year, but neither of us ever considered the possibility that there would be an upset this season.

I even had told the people I was with that Naz was much improved and would probably even give us a fight....but didn't see THIS coming.

And as far as the T against RIT....I saw the ref actually make the call, but like everyone else, didn't know who it was actually against.

[ricco1]

Many people talk about how the Fisher or Naz fans behave, but I can tell you right now I've never seen a better fan base for any of the other schools in he E-8. You couldn't here your self think. It was great! Yes Bennett did do a great job on Canori. A matter of fact the four points Canori got came when another player was covering him. I can't wait for the game at Naz. Fisher just took Naz to lightly next time Fisher should take it.

[superman57]

GB15, I'm refering to the Crazies post the brawl, because before the brawl they were out of control, then after the brawl when admistration took moore control they have gotten better.  I mean Bamm was at the game on friday, while there are a few who could be called annoying they never crossed a line of being disrespective to the other team,

[gobombers15]

GBomber you are right! We shouldn't take for granted who will be second because we still could be 1st and the tourny may very well be in Utica baby. We absolutely dominated you yesterday. The score wasn't as close as it looked. And we did it on a neutral floor. Ray Bryant as I have stated earlier is the best player in the league. Everybody keeps talking about Cichon but Bryant is our best player and the best player in the league. He is a man amongst boys. Just ask your Ithaca players - they had no way of stopping him.
Than you NAZ WHOOOOOHOOOOO - now it is back to even.

And MadHawk - congrats to you too! Hey with a few more wins people will stop picking on you!!!!!!!

Peace

Wait, Utica as the top seed? What did I miss here? Doesn't that first require Utica to be able to beat Fisher, something it's obvious they can't do? And let's not put the cart before the horse, I'm not even sure Utica can beat the "average" teams in the league on the road. The way Naz is playing right now, next Friday night may be a tough game for the Pioneers. On Saturday, Utica plays at RIT, somewhere they haven't won since the Clinton administration. I'd be very surprised if Utica goes 2-0 next weekend.

As for your comments about the Ithaca game, talk all you want. Utica always beats the Bombers by double digits in Utica, then Ithaca returns the favor(usually by more points) when the game is at Ithaca. How can you say the game wasn't "as close as it looked?" It was 54-47 with 6 minutes to go. If anything, doesn't that suggest it was CLOSER than it looked. Ithaca also played without its top 3-point shooter. Not saying that would have been the difference, but it certainly woulda made things closer. I'm pumped to see if Utica can actually beat a competent team on the road this year.

[AUPepBand]

A tough weekend for my Saxons. Dropping games to Naz and RIT (OT) at McLane. And THEN traveling to Fisher on Tuesday? OUCH! Let's hope the Saxons can pull themselves together to give Fisher a game.

[superman57]

I hope that Fisher come to play against Alfred, if they do then I don't see much of a chance for Alfred, but if fisher plays how they did against Naz then this could be a long season

[UCgrad45]

"Wait, Utica as the top seed? What did I miss here? Doesn't that first require Utica to be able to beat Fisher, something it's obvious they can't do? "

Actually, Utica beat themselves against Fisher this year. Utica is the more talented team.

The last team in conference to beat Fisher before last night was Utica. That same season Fisher only beat them by 3 at home to win the tournament.

Last year, Fisher beat Utica by one point. Utica has improved many times over from last year, and Fisher has declined.

I know a few guys on Fisher, and talk to them quite often. The last 3 years they have told me the same thing: Utica is the only team that gets them nervous.

Utica getting the number 1 seed is not at all far fetched. You can't even begin to compare this team to past teams as far as their attitude and ability on the road. In the past Utica relied on one or two guys. This year they have at least 10 that they can go to. Almost every night they have 4-6 guys in double figures.

They didn't play well at Hartwick, so what? Hartwick came in hyped up like they were playing Duke, and Utica came in hyped up like they were playing in gym class against the chess team. Nazareth, who is 6-9, beat a Fisher team, who despite the rivalry, probably didnt take them serious either. Utica learned not to sleep on anybody, as you could see in their next game against Elmira. Fisher fans had better hope Fisher reacts the same way, or they may lose to another conference team as well.

Utica has learned to take it one game at a time, are getting better each game, and are finally starting to get the concept of every team being nameless and faceless, and worrying about their own game. They are finally becoming a mature enough team to understand that if they play their game and don't beat themselves, they should win.

[bamm]

I have no doubt that Utica can beat Fisher.  The Naz win this weekend put to bed any notion that the Cardinals are untouchable.  However, I'm in agreement with GB15 that no one should consider Utica the favorite in the conference until they prove they can win on the road, and specifically in Rochester. 

They have not beaten either RIT or Fisher on the road in at least 3 years (I didn't bother looking back further).  To take down the 1 seed they will probably have to beat them both.  And it's not as if Utica hasn't been talented.  I think all GB15 is saying is "prove it," which is entirely appropriate given the Pioneers history.

They have a nine day stretch that goes @Naz, @RIT, @Alfred, @Fisher.  If they win the first 3, the final game at Fisher should be for the regular season championship.

[bamm]

Current Standings:

Utica	4-1
Ithaca	4-1
Naz	3-1
Fisher	3-1
RIT	2-2
Alfred	1-3

I won't list Hartwick because they don't matter and it will piss MadHawk off.

Alfred couldn't hold serve at home and it will take some road wins to have a shot at that #4 seed.  Nazareth got that big win over Fisher and has the early lead for the #4 spot.  Biggest games this year will probably be Ithaca @ Naz, Ithaca @ RIT, RIT @Naz, and this Tuesday's Naz @ RIT.  Those 3 will be fighting it out for the last two tourney spots.

[UCgrad45]

I have no doubt that Utica can beat Fisher.  The Naz win this weekend put to bed any notion that the Cardinals are untouchable.  However, I'm in agreement with GB15 that no one should consider Utica the favorite in the conference until they prove they can win on the road, and specifically in Rochester. 

They have not beaten either RIT or Fisher on the road in at least 3 years (I didn't bother looking back further).  To take down the 1 seed they will probably have to beat them both.  And it's not as if Utica hasn't been talented.  I think all GB15 is saying is "prove it," which is entirely appropriate given the Pioneers history.

They have a nine day stretch that goes @Naz, @RIT, @Alfred, @Fisher.  If they win the first 3, the final game at Fisher should be for the regular season championship.

I'm not saying that Utica is the favorite. There is no favorite. But to suggest that they can't beat Fisher is a little off the wall.

This is not your typical Utica team folks. The attitude is better than they have had there in about a decade when they started out something like 16-0.

[superman57]

BAMM, where were you sitting at the Fisher RIT game.  on a side note two big games comming up for Fisher home against Alfred and at the Bulb in Ithica, I hopefully will be at the Ithica games, but these are big games for all three teams, if Fisher is able to win both it makes them that much closer to possibly getting the number 1 seed