MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[MIdoubleA]

I'm suprised we have talked about the Hope cheerleaders for so long without anyone mentioning the pom squad. They are much more fun to watch if you ask me 

[Pat Coleman]

I was disappointed with the broadcast because it was distributed nationally but the local announcers made no effort whatsoever to make the game accessible to a national audience. We went until the 7:20 mark of the first half before it was even mentioned that this was Division III. No notice while I was watching (first 30 minutes or so) that it was the greatest rivalry in Division III. They kept referring to "M-I-Double-A" as if everyone in the world is supposed to know what the heck that stands for. They made a big deal out of "No. 2-ranked Hope" losing surprisingly to Albion but no mention that Albion was ranked pretty darn highly itself.

It was OK for local standards and local viewers but for a national game I almost would have preferred to see CSTV announcers give it a shot. This was a Division III showcase game and it was NOT treated as such by the local crew.

[sac]

Thanks for the perspective Pat, I can definately see how the game could have been delivered a little better.

I guess as a local I sort of take for granted the Hope/Calvin rivalry stuff as I'm sure most of us familiar with the schools do as well.   There were many out there who would have liked a little more info to go on.

I am curious what kind of audience the game had since CSTV is a pretty obscure channel even though its national.

I'm just going to guess D3 is never going to draw a decent audience nationally.  These are local games and its part of what makes D3 unique.

Also curious what you thought of the new place Pat.  TV doesn't do it justice in my opinion but it did put its two biggest flaws on display........lets just say day games are not a good idea.  8)

[flash96]

Did anyone else feel that the annoucers for the Hope/Calvin game were predominately pro-Calvin?  I realize this could be construed as me being a poor winner.  But for the past several times I have watched the WGVU broadcast they have seemed pro-Calvin.  But Grand Valley is closer to Calvin than it is to Hope.

I did noticed the large window in the end of the Fieldhouse and that could get distracting.  I recall in the Civic Center if anyone opened the blinds the ushers quickly had them shut.  But that may have been because the blinds were so old they would fall apart upon contact.

[kcrest]

Also curious what you thought of the new place Pat.  TV doesn't do it justice in my opinion but it did put its two biggest flaws on display........lets just say day games are not a good idea.  8)

So SAC for those of us who have not been there, what are the two flaws?  I thought the broadcast was pretty decent although the lighting seemed a little suspect for a national TV game.  Maybe that's just my old eyes.  I appreciate Pat's comments from an "outsider's" perspective and will see that they get to the WGVU folks for next year.

[kresgekrazy]

Carl, hwmnb.named, Greg and others of that ilk - I am hereby pushing to make Olivet, MI(aka the armpit of the US) a part of Canada. Must be the Iranian promise to freeze all oil exports to the US  has already been successful and has halted all transportation in Olivet (except for Amtrak and the Amish horse and buggy ride).  I stopped at 1:30 on fumes at the only sign of civilized life in Olivet (the gas station).  There was another young man attempting to get gas out of the pump with his credit card as his car stereo was thumping some ol' skool Eazy-E ("Gimme dat N _ _").  He was white and definitely not as Gangsta as I am.  Nonetheless, no gas.  I proceeded to drive to Charlotte (Home of Adam Auvenshine, and Jud...forgot his last name), but was stopped short, minus Mr. Costanza, at the exit 1/2 mile away from the Meijer Gas Station.  This chick attendant had the yellowest teeth I have ever seen.  One might ask her if she could butter bread with those teeth.  Steal a toothbrush one time, lady!  Jeesh.  So I walked until about 2:30 til I filled up my car.  I spent a lot of time listening to Sports Talk Radio, but heard nothing of the Hope/Calvin game.  ESPN 1000 doesn't think we're good enough or some garbage.  HWMNBN!! I called you the other day on my trek to IU.  Where have you hidden yourself?  Are you the new bearded lady I saw advertised on PT Barnums Big Top posters?  Just very familiar, I thought.  How did "Pops" play Dutchies?  Did he even play?

GO BRITS

Nate

[AndersDY]

Sac, yes Michigan has an incoming linebacker recruit named Brandon Graham, but perhaps the MIAA was thinking closer to home as in stud Hope running back of the 90's, Brandon Graham. He was actually a student teacher for a high school class I had.

Speaking of Michigan football, it was fun to see the wave at a Hope game, even if it was stolen right from the UM student section (the wave is still only truly cool to me when another 110,000 people are doing it). In case no one noticed, they had also started the round prior to the slow-mo wave with what was supposed to be the super-fast wave, but it didn't keep going around that way (too fast for all those old alums). It would have been interesting to see them try to reverse directions or split the wave in two opposite directions, particularly since double waves would have crossed right in the Calvin section that wasn't participating. The last time I recall mention of a wave at a Hope game was at the women's championship game at the Civic in 1990 so perhaps this will be a new feature for the new building.

Does anyone know if the Hope women JVs won on Saturday? I saw the men's JV squeak it out and the women's varsity score was posted on the scoreboard. We were curious if Hope had managed a full 4 game sweep of varsity and JV for the day, doubt that happens too often.

Someone mentioned that Rademaker is the Hope JV to watch for the future, but I'm also curious to see if anything comes of the 6'10" Slotman kid on the JV team. He certainly needs some weight room time, but if he can get some solid fundamentals, it's always nice to have somebody that big to use at this level.

One other random thought while I'm at it, does Calvin have a campus landmark that would be the clear target for Hope vandalism if they did retaliate? I haven't seen much of the campus there, but also have never heard mention of something like the Anchor or Sparty which would seem to be the ideal place to leave a mark.

[NW Hope Fan]

One other random thought while I'm at it, does Calvin have a campus landmark that would be the clear target for Hope vandalism if they did retaliate? I haven't seen much of the campus there, but also have never heard mention of something like the Anchor or Sparty which would seem to be the ideal place to leave a mark.

Better yet... I think Hope will just leave its mark on the court in a few weeks, much as they did on Sat. No need for vandalism 

[Carl Yastrzemski]

NW Hope Fan,

"Better yet... I think Hope will just leave its mark on the court in a few weeks".

I think you just created a job opening at Calvin with that last statement. The custodian for the athletic facilities just handed in his mop. Who wants to clean up that mess?

...Winkle is still a rat.

[Pat Coleman]

Sac,

I didn't notice the flaws that I know of. The things that struck me as being odd were the window and the big cinder block (?) wall in the corner that looked out of character.

[kresgekrazy]

HAAAA!        

Winkle!  I remember that chant!  Oh those were the days.  Remember

getting chewed out for those antics - red bug and Relska?  5.50 out the door.  

Check this out- latest headlines.  

Michael Vick's kid brother just signed a letter of intent to attend Va Tech in the fall.  He's supposed to be a better player than his brother and an even better person.  He was an eagle scout in his early teens and provided peer mediation to help stop violence  from erupting in his high school.  What a great kid.  BEAMER BALL!

Some kid named Steve Honda, Hundred, Hornied??? something like that leads Calvin College back to the top of DIII Hoops.  I heard he is better than Wade "coochie coochie Guuugino"

SUPERSWEET!

[sac]

Pat, with regards to the lighting, I assume your talking about the very evident glare coming off the court on TV.  There are windows at ceiling level on either side of the arena.  During bright days, like Saturday,  these windows produce a reflection that can be seen from higher seats.  Those windows don't affect the shooting at all.  The large arch window at the East end has to affect it somehow, its a pretty significant distance from the floor so maybe it doesn't.  From the floor its visually just above the backboard.  I haven't yet noticed any difference in performance but it has to be a little unusual.

The artificial lighting in the arena is supperb, its just that during day games the natural light that comes in sort of overpowers the lighting.   Obviously at night the Arena is darker and I believe the backdrops become better.

The other flaw in my humble opinion is the East entrance allows cold air to filter directly into the Arena with no barrier wall.  If you sit in that end you'll notice a steady stream of cold or cool air filtering down to the floor.

But I wouldn't trade the place for anything, its a great place to watch basketball.

[gohope]

Finally to a computer!!!  Dead computers at home are just not good!!

Here are some of my favorite highlights from Saturday's game:

1.  In the first half, official Dave Joppe makes a er, um, "call" of which the Dew Crew replies, "We want Ernie!!"

2.  In the second half, Calvin brings the ball down the court, #42 is at the point and passes to..... no-one, as the ball goes flying out of bounds!  It was priceless to watch official Wallace Whitfield (who was the closest being to the ball) try his hardest "not" to catch it!!  The Dew Crew replies, "He's not playing!!!"

3.  Ditto to the earlier comment about Cramer's slam in the 2nd half.  The scoreboard, now named "Jumbotron," had photos of prior slams by Cramer with the words, "Air Cramer."

4.  At 3:37 left in the game, the Dew Crew began the chant, "Fire Millen" with signs popping up in the Crew!!  (Now do you know why I'm a Steelers Fan!!!)


Go Hope!

[AndersDY]

Also priceless on the pass to no-one in particular was that the eventual recipient of the pass was VandeStreek. That was late enough in the game that it was clear Calvin's whole team got up on the wrong side of the bed so VandeStreek barely reacted as the ball landed right in his lap. He just had the blank stare of complete helplessness caused by what he was watching on the floor.

[albionbritfan]

Pat Coleman and others-
Do we know why wins and losses against Tri-State are not counting as an in-region game?  I thought Tri-State was beyond its provisional membership status in DIII.  They do show up on the NCAA's sponsoring institutions list for DIII.  What am I missing?