FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[OzJohnnie]

The Johnnie broadcasters showed extreme bias and borderline contempt for the Tommies. At one point, one of the guys referred to UST as "the evil empire" that everyone hates. I found that comment and many others to be pure bush league.

The sentence immediately before that VOJ accused Caruso of huddling the whole team up with three seconds to go in order to organise the post-game photo. Looks like VOJ, despite his hopeless homerness, has GC pegged.

Duffman makes the point far more elegantly. Same point though.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Reusse weighs in (no pun intended) ...

Of the three of us -- you, me, Reusse -- I'd say Reusse is in the best shape. He looks good, especially for a guy about to turn 70.

he has come a long way, that's for sure

[RoyalsFan]

Like someone else pointed out, Johnnie posters were making marginally obscene jokes about Tommies all week long and then get upset when they take a team photo on their field.

Come on now! Is this your first season on the board (I know it's not)? Now admittedly the jokes were a bit one-sided this year, but that is because many of the Tommie fans had jumped off the bandwagon. There have been plenty of years with "all Johnnies are gay and Bennies are fat" jokes leading up to the game. If your memory is foggy on that, feel free to look back!

No, it's not my first year - but I also didn't say it, I just pointed out that someone else said that. I see you didn't respond to the original quote.

[retagent]

The above discussion is similar to one we've had at my club regarding the "situation" that occurred at the years Solheim Cup. There seems to be two camps on this. Those that say rules are rules, and all's fair within those rules. Then there's the camp. in which I sit, that says follow the rules, but even more important, is exhibiting good sportsmanship. If you have to resort to trickery, and deception, rather then being a good sport, I don't want to have much to do with you, and you can play your silly games, but I won't be there.

[RoyalsFan]

The above discussion is similar to one we've had at my club regarding the "situation" that occurred at the years Solheim Cup. There seems to be two camps on this. Those that say rules are rules, and all's fair within those rules. Then there's the camp. in which I sit, that says follow the rules, but even more important, is exhibiting good sportsmanship. If you have to resort to trickery, and deception, rather then being a good sport, I don't want to have much to do with you, and you can play your silly games, but I won't be there.

I'm not sure that I understand what you are saying. Are you saying that if you use trickery/deception in a football game, then that is not being a good sport?  I don't see anything wrong with a little trickery/deception and still be a good sport, those things aren't mutually exclusive. Play action, reverses, fake punts, etc. are trickery/deception, are they not?  I probably misunderstood you and if I did, please elaborate.

[TheVoiceofReason]

Running into the Kicker could have been enforced Half the Distance to the Goal for a 2 Pt. Conversion attempt or declined and keep the PAT. A Roughing the Kicker(15 yarder), can be carried over to the Kickoff.

[repete]

First of all, congrats to UST. No question the better team yesterday.

Second, no big problem with the Tommie picture. No doubt SJU will have a similar opportunity in the years ahead. (I'd imagine, though, that if we had the same number of UST posters on this board that some might take offense.)

Third, drunks. It happens. I attended my 1st SJU game as a high school senior in 1971 (10-0 over the Cobbers) with two buddies. One had earlier lost his spleen after taking a helmet to the back in practice and the snapps hit him hard. Another was a strong Baptist, who passed on the bottle and ended up playing hoops at pre-MIAC Bethel. Buddy No. 1  turned out all right ... graduated from West Point. The guy feeding us the illicit alcohol, a sophomore,  served about 20 years a mayor of the hometown. That was a great SJU team BTW with its only loss 22-21 to UMD. But I digress ...

Four, WCCO vs. VOJ/crew. WBHR is a small local outfit that exists by being hyper local. WCCO was/is a giant in decline and was trying to plug holes in its scheduling as its "Great Northwest" franchise faded away when it took on the Tommies. Good on UST for getting them, but WCCO dumps them in a minute if it gets the U of M rights back. As an SJU fan, I mostly enjoy  VOJ's enthusiasm -- not without a few cringes --  but it's not hard to see how that kind of coverage would grate on an infidel. But anyone who thinks that referring to UST as the "evil empire" as anything but a bit of good-natured ribbing is taking a college sporting event a bit too seriously.

But since we're talking media, what about that pre-game KARE report with Ryan Shaver showing up in pumped-up  purple and slobbering all over Caruso? The media ethics section of the UST journalism curriculum probably lasts about 10 minutes so it's easy to sleep through, but that is the kind of fanboy stuff that Mike Augustin, Reusse or Frank R. would never pull. And isn't KARE better than that? It's too easy to say, "it's just TV" when you're a relatively major market outlet. Not a big deal, but somewhat surprising.

Five, Reusse looks great.

[Retired Old Rat]

Amazing scene this morning in Collegeville. So much energy and excitement. Great crowd. Lots of creative signs. I'll post photos tomorrow.

Great showcase for St. John's. Wish it hadn't been so darn early.

ESPN crew was so awesome. Thanking SJU for allowing them to do the show at SJU.

Now the boys need to come up big on the field. Several mentions of the distractions this week for the team.

#proud2bajohnnie

Personally I think it should be the other way around, that SJU should thank ESPN. I think it would be a benefit and an honor for SJU to get some national exposure. I'm sure there are plenty of other schools in the country that would like to host the show even if it is a bit of a distraction.

Trust me, there were a lot of thanks coming from SJU employees and fans to ESPN.  My point was how interesting it was that ESPN was thanking SJU when it was so apparent the benefit to St. John's.

[Retired Old Rat]

Amazing scene this morning in Collegeville. So much energy and excitement. Great crowd. Lots of creative signs. I'll post photos tomorrow.

Great showcase for St. John's. Wish it hadn't been so darn early.

ESPN crew was so awesome. Thanking SJU for allowing them to do the show at SJU.

Now the boys need to come up big on the field. Several mentions of the distractions this week for the team.

#proud2bajohnnie

Personally I think it should be the other way around, that SJU should thank ESPN. I think it would be a benefit and an honor for SJU to get some national exposure. I'm sure there are plenty of other schools in the country that would like to host the show even if it is a bit of a distraction.

I'm sure there were reciprocal thank yous.
You can correct me if I'm wrong, ROR, but it appears you were noting that ESPN was very classy, going above and beyond to say "thanks for having us!"

Exactly.

[Retired Old Rat]

The line, on both sides, has been dominated.

14-35, UST.  A stomp.  Dang.

Wow - I sure didn't expect a monkey stomp, especially after the halftime score of 7-7. Did SJU's line just wear down in the second half?

Yes, I think on both sides of the ball.  UST was bigger and more physical.

[sfury]

Again, the picture I find more humorous than offensive. If Tommie fans can find another team doing a similar thing -- in a game that didn't involve someone tying the all-time victories mark (and I'm going to just assume that even in that game Gagliardi wasn't acting like Mathew Brady in setting up the thing) -- I'll happily admit it doesn't seem like an odd thing to do. But I don't think it's classless.

I pretty much echo repete when it comes to SJU broadcasts. Duff knows my feelings about some of the SJU gamecalls as well ("picked off! Dropped."). That said, yesterday I got a text from my uncle -- neither a Tommie or a Johnnie -- who said he had to turn the game off because Dave Lee "was even more annoying than usual." So different broadcasters can bring out different feelings in different listeners.

Great win for the Tommies. And impressive. It was actually the type of game SJU won many times last year; passing game basically nonexistent but solid D and dominant running game. You'd think eventually St. Thomas will need more production from the passing game but maybe that combination is enough to win the MIAC again.

I also agree with 105 about SJU quarterbacking, although I think I'd put Boyle in the category of guys who made things happen out of nothing, if a notch below Kofoed. But some of the plays and victories he pulled off in 08-09 were as good as anything others have done when it comes to Johnnie Magic. But yeah, there's definitely been a difference in that spot compared to what SJU was used to from like 1989-2007. Of course, if SJU does find another Kofoed, hopefully fans actually appreciate him this time instead of begging for his graduation...

[bennie]

Like someone else pointed out, Johnnie posters were making marginally obscene jokes about Tommies all week long and then get upset when they take a team photo on their field.

Come on now! Is this your first season on the board (I know it's not)? Now admittedly the jokes were a bit one-sided this year, but that is because many of the Tommie fans had jumped off the bandwagon. There have been plenty of years with "all Johnnies are gay and Bennies are fat" jokes leading up to the game. If your memory is foggy on that, feel free to look back!

No, it's not my first year - but I also didn't say it, I just pointed out that someone else said that. I see you didn't respond to the original quote.

What the heck, I have some free time. I know this is not your first season...which I stated in my post. I did not quote the original poster because he is not a MIAC regular...you are! Thanks to the Rev for illustrating my point!

[Retired Old Rat]

I really don't care about the photo.  Reputation is generally earned through a pattern of actions.

I postulate that the photo was at least partially motivated by envy of all the media attention showered upon Collegeville this past week.

I did observe something I found rather odd during the 3rd quarter.  I don't know if the Tommies do this for every game but when they play in Collegeville they bring all the players on the squad.  The non-roster players stand on the side line in uniform warm up suits.

I think it was in the 4th quarter.  SJU had the ball near their own goal line, going north.  Most of the non-roster guy were lined up north of their bench.  All of a sudden Caruso is running north up the sideline like a bat out of hell.  I see him motioning and saying something.  I was not close enough to hear what he said.  These guys all rush down to the south side of bench, where SJU has possession.  A few minutes later I made the same move.  I waited until that series was over and asked one of the guys what that was all about.  Caruso wanted them on the ball to better cheer on the defense.

Is it just me or is that weird?

[faunch]

I really don't care about the photo.  Reputation is generally earned through a pattern of actions.

I postulate that the photo was at least partially motivated by envy of all the media attention showered upon Collegeville this past week.

I did observe something I found rather odd during the 3rd quarter.  I don't know if the Tommies do this for every game but when they play in Collegeville they bring all the players on the squad.  The non-roster players stand on the side line in uniform warm up suits.

I think it was in the 4th quarter.  SJU had the ball near their own goal line, going north.  Most of the non-roster guy were lined up north of their bench.  All of a sudden Caruso is running north up the sideline like a bat out of hell.  I see him motioning and saying something.  I was not close enough to hear what he said.  These guys all rush down to the south side of bench, where SJU has possession.  A few minutes later I made the same move.  I waited until that series was over and asked one of the guys what that was all about.  Caruso wanted them on the ball to better cheer on the defense.

Is it just me or is that weird?

They only do this for the SJU game....something to make the JV feel special. 
I think it's odd that a coach would run around imploring these guys to cheer more and if I recall they were extended along the sideline all the way down to the end zone.  Technically they're not bench personal but in a sense it allows UST to have their bench go goal line to goal. 

Also I think it was during the 3rd quarter just before a big play for the Johnnies I noticed someone standing on a bench and waving a towel in front of the U$T fans imploring them to cheer.  He then jumped off the bench and ran back to his head coaching duties on the sideline....now that was a little odd.

[Retired Old Rat]

I should have posted this first.

Yesterday was a near perfect day.  Sportscenter broadcasts from little old D3 St. John's University.  Even thought is was 6am-8am, it was ESPN SPORTSCENTER! What a thrill to attend that and be able to get up very close to take photos.  The weather was outstanding.  The energy during Sportscenter, tailgating and the game was just amazing.  The outcome of the game itself ruined what could have been a perfect day.

Tip of the hat to the Tommies.  Clearly the better team yesterday on both sides of the ball.  They dominated the Johnnies at the line of scrimmage.  Outstanding game by Jordan Roberts.  He was a beast.  He had gaping holes to run through most of the afternoon. 

Gary and crew learned a lot yesterday about the talent level of the team and the upgrades needed to get back to a consistently elite team which to me means consistently advancing to at least the round of 8 in the playoffs.  I Have every confidence they will get there.  ESPN did a great job portraying St. John's for the great and unique kind place it is.  That can't hurt recruiting.  Got to believe a lot of kids will want to be part of it when they see how awesome it is.

On the way to my car well after the game ended I ran into Nick Martin and Josh Bungham.  Two very disappointed young men.  And very fine young men.  I told Nick he should go home and soak in a hot tub.  He got beat up pretty good yesterday and he was feeling.

Bottom line:  Proud to be a Johnnie.