MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Stinger]

Jealous of the Hope Cheerleaders?  No offense to CT, but they're always in the frickin way.  Ive seen them at the Rolla Dome taking up half the court as the Hornets are trying to warm up!  It's ridiculous. Stay on the sidelines where you belong.

[tniem]

Refresh my memory, what exactly was the fake stolen banner from last year?  I don't seem to recall that incident.

Calvin students annually (although I did not hear last night on the tv - perhaps a hangover from last season) chant "Where's your banner?" to reference their national championships and our lack of success in Salem VA.  Last year we made sure to have something ready for them.  We set them up with a "Where's your freshmen?" chant (the GR Press that fall had run an article about how Calvin's enrollment was way down while Hope's was a new record) and they predictably responded.  Out came the stolen banner with a chant of "Stole your banner."  Anger rose from those dressed in yellow.   I thought a couple in the front row were going to run across the court during the middle of play to get it back.  They eventually came with a weak "We've got extras..." (which was pretty good) and we responded with "Let's play football and go dancing."  Lots of fun. 

Generally Hope's response is to try and defend against it. In the past I know there have been people that camp out and make sure no Calvin fans paint anything, but apparently nobody did last night.

So did they get the Anchor too?  Or just Bultman's garage?

I have spent many a night defending the anchor, disappointed that no one was out this week.  Although, the President's garage seems pretty classless of the perputrators.  That goes beyond harmless fun.

And to answer FDF's question, I am not aware of a response at Calvin.  And I assume (I hope?) I would have been involved at least once if we did hit their campus in that way.

The classic of the day was the slo-mo wave that the Dew Crew initiated.

This is where coverage of the game on WGVU could be way improved.  Show me more of both the Hope students and the Calvin students and what they are saying/doing.  And get some better microphones on the court to hear what is happening.  About the only microphone that seemed hearable, other than the announcers, was on the rim after clanked free throws.

And regarding coverage, this was my first one on the tele.  Lots of fun with the Hope and Calvin alums out here in DC.  Both poked some good fun at each other at the beginning of the game.  At about the midpoint in the first half, I think everyone there began thinking about how the Skins would do because this one was clearly over.  Until next year...

[tniem]

You guys certainly deserve it or at least to be in consideration for it.  But don't fall into the same trap that the Hope fans did this week.  At this point of the season having that top ranking puts a bullseye on your back.  If Albion needed any more motivation before Wednesday's game, they got it with being leap frogged by Hope in the rankings.  Seemed to be motivation for the fans at the very least and I believe contributed to Hope's sloppy and uninspired start.

If you are the top team in the country, you will be noticed soon enough when you go undeafeted the rest of the way.  Or when you win it all.

Take it from a Hope fan that got way too excited about the #2 ranking.  The games are what count not the polls.

[ziggy]

Jealous of the Hope Cheerleaders?  No offense to CT, but they're always in the frickin way.  Ive seen them at the Rolla Dome taking up half the court as the Hornets are trying to warm up!  It's ridiculous. Stay on the sidelines where you belong.

Definately not jealous of high school minded girls, a fat kid, and two mini me look alikes.  Its not just Hope, I think Cheerleading in general is ridiculously stupid.

[Outnthewoods]

Now be careful with the slam on cheerleaders.  Having viewed my fair share of competitive cheer competitions, the ladies who do competitive are the most discipined and talented athletes at any school, regardless of sport.

[NW Hope Fan]

Definately not jealous

Yeah... Yeah you are!
You wish you had an ounce of the team spirit and supportiveness these kids have.

[Gregory Sager]

I tune out cheerleaders completely. But I like looking at them.

That's my dirty-old-man observation for the day.

(And please don't bring up the fact that Hope has male cheerleaders as well. Like the celebrity status of Paris Hilton and the White Sox 2005 World Series championship, I try to live my life in blissful denial that such things even exist.)

[tniem]

Gotta watch my tape of it, to see if there were any shots of the condiments.   

As I recall from the halftime show about the DeVos Fieldhouse there was a perfect shot from inside the food station at a couple fans.  There should have been a bottle of mustard and ketchup right there in the corner but also, like they wanted to spite this board and removed them, there was nothing.  Someone else may have gotten a better view.

[sac]

Ah the aftermath of another Hope/Calvin game.........cheerleader remarks! 

Even more impressed with Hope's win today, and it certainly put a nice perspective on the Albion loss and the things Hope didn't or couldn't do vs the Britons.

I don't know what it was yesterday but Calvin looked completely out of it.  Meckes and Draayer were complete non-factors and I didn't think I'd see that.  Hope pretty much took both completely out of the game.  This left the chances of victory in some very young Knights hands and they just didn't have the fire-power to say with Hope.

Andy Phillips may not be having an all-american season but he doesn't need to be one.  His energy and activity continue to give Hope sparks at the right time.......now if he can just get some of those puppies to fall.

Hope comes out of the toughest stretch of their schedule 1-1 which isn't all bad.  We still have 10 more league games to go and Hope just dismantled a team that was 8-1 going in its last 9 games.

Perspectives on the rest of the league

Albion struggling to beat Alma was maybe a little surprising but it took a 3 point barrage from the Scots to get back in the game.

Alma is 8-7 which isn't all that bad, true they have some bad losses.  I'm thinking the Scots will play everyone tough at home.  Personally I would'nt read much into Albion stuggling with Alma.  Thats what happens in a competitive conference.  Ablion v Calvin next Saturday will be a big game for both schools.

1,2,3 in the league will be Hope, Albion and Calvin in some order.  But boy is it tough to figure out the rest.  I think we'll see more competitive and close games the rest of the way between the 5 of Adrian, Alma, Kzoo, Olivet and Tri-State.  Any win by one of these 5 over the top 3 would give them a huge advantage in the final standings for the #4 spot.

Looking forward to the rest of the season for sure.

[sac]

Gotta watch my tape of it, to see if there were any shots of the condiments.   

As I recall from the halftime show about the DeVos Fieldhouse there was a perfect shot from inside the food station at a couple fans.  There should have been a bottle of mustard and ketchup right there in the corner but also, like they wanted to spite this board and removed them, there was nothing.  Someone else may have gotten a better view.

They just missed them, it was a nice recruiting video as well 


I thought the TV coverage was one of the best in recent memory, good graphics etc, etc.  But they needed to show more of the students for both schools for sure.  I don't think they had a hand held camera on the sideline.

Brent (or Bret?) Bakita doing color added a nice local touch.  He added quit a bit to the broadcast being the best at covering the local High School scene that he is.  Tom Cleary was actually the best I can remember him, still needs to back off on playing referee while broadcasting though.


Here's some more photos from the Hope website, love the one with Ernie Cryer stretching with the Dew Crew, we'll miss that amusing moment for sure.

http://www.hope.edu/pr/athletics/mbb/0506hopecalvingallery.html

[ziggy]

why is miaa.org referring to Brandon Crawford, the player of the week for the third consecutive week as "Brandon Graham"?  Thats an embarassing oversight.

[sac]

why is miaa.org referring to Brandon Crawford, the player of the week for the third consecutive week as "Brandon Graham"? Thats an embarassing oversight.

Someone's thinking Michigan Football, Graham is a LB for Michigan.

[Picket Fence]

Hope pulled it out in the end.  Two players to watch for in the future:

Calvin - Brady Eilers
Hope - Ryan Rademaker

Did you notice who the point guards are on varsity? Two freshmen. Brady is likely one and done.

[flash96]

Hope Cheerleaders... At the risk of having my masculinity questioned, I will admit that I was a Hope Cheerleader for a season.  I will say that cheerleaders actually work hard in practice on their stunts, etc.  Some of the players commented on the fact that they appreciate the energy which they bring to the games with cheers and such.  We were instructed that if the fans were booing the refs or opposing players we were to start a "Lets go Hope" chant or something like it.  We were also forbidden to say anything to the refs or opposing players.  As for being in the way or on the floor it is difficult to not get caught up in the action of the game and crowd the floor a bit. 

For those of you who want to question me about being a male cheerleader, I will leave you with this... did you happen to notice where the guys were placing their hands on the women?  Bet that many of you can't get away with that!

[NW Hope Fan]

At the risk of having my masculinity questioned

Some of Hope's best male cheerleaders have been all-MIAA football players. Hope had quite a few when they competed nationally in Fla. and were on ESPN. (another nice perk) And there have been a number of marriages (legal even in the state of MI) between Hope cheerleaders.

So don't worry about having your masculinity questioned. And if it is, just ask the other guy how to explain getting his butt kicked by a "cheerleader".