MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Massey must be having a problem with the game counting on Ferris's schedule, but not on Calvin's from an NCAA perspective.  A quick check would be any other schools that meet that criteria.
Unlike some other posters I would be inclined to think the odds of a CCIW sweep are much lower than either a 1-3 (CCIW) or even a 2-2 split.  It's not that I don't think the CCIW schools are good, it's more I don't think they are that much better than either Hope or Calvin.

I certainly hope you are right - and my thinking is in line with yours.  The only thing Mr Ypsi has going for him is history.  The MIAA is afterall 1-11 when playing in a CCIW gym in the Challenge.

[Knight2Day]

Anyone know what Bunn's injury is/was? Any insight as to why it remained an undisclosed injury?

Well, due to the fact that they keep saying that he broke his wrist last year you can bet it has absolutely nothing to do with his wrist, especially seeings how due to the injury they "don't want his blood pressure up", that just adds to the fact that it probably is nothing to do with a wrist and is something more serious than that.

[hope_hoops1]

I would have to agree with the assessment that it is more severe than a wrist injury.  However, there must be some reason it is remaining undisclosed, whether it be from the family/school.  I wouldn't exactly consider Hope to be like NFL teams and provide misleading injury information, so I guess we'll have to accept it as is.

Big weekend for Hope/Calvin.  I'll be following from the friendly confines of my home as opposed to taking the long trek to Carthage.  For those going, safe travels!!

[Knightmare]

What is strange regarding the Bunn situation is that they said in the article that he couldn't even do anything that risked increasing his blood pressure including simple running to stay in shape and at the same time the school said this was caused by "after-effects" of an injury suffered prior to last season.  Would seem that an injury of that nature or severity prior to last season would be a known issue even to Hope/MIAA fans as we all assume that a wrist injury doesn't have those type of after-effects.

Let's just hope that this isn't of the nature that could cause life-long issues.  Here's to a quick and speedy recovery Mr. Bunn as the new and improved "Baby Knights" are eagerly waiting to compete with you. 

[gohope]

Nice article in today's Kalamazoo Gazette:


http://www.mlive.com/sports/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/12/shilts_vs_shilts_kalamazoo_val.html

[realist]

Nice article in today's Kalamazoo Gazette:


http://www.mlive.com/sports/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/12/shilts_vs_shilts_kalamazoo_val.html

The caption below the picture reads: "KVCC's Ken Gordon, left, looks for an opening past Calvin's Tom Snikkers Wednesday night in the second half."

[almcguirejr]

I would have to agree with the assessment that it is more severe than a wrist injury.  However, there must be some reason it is remaining undisclosed, whether it be from the family/school.  I wouldn't exactly consider Hope to be like NFL teams and provide misleading injury information, so I guess we'll have to accept it as is.

It's private information.  It should be left at that. 

[Knight2Day]

I would have to agree with the assessment that it is more severe than a wrist injury.  However, there must be some reason it is remaining undisclosed, whether it be from the family/school.  I wouldn't exactly consider Hope to be like NFL teams and provide misleading injury information, so I guess we'll have to accept it as is.

It's private information.  It should be left at that. 

It can be private information, but much like EVERYTHING else on this board, it's something people can always speculate on. Some people might have more info than others, but speculation doesn't hurt as long as no private info is shared. Everyone is so jumpy these days....

[HopeConvert]

This is what the Sentinel said:

"Bunn had been sidelined entirely for at least three weeks with an undisclosed health issue, which the school described as an after-effect of an injury Bunn suffered prior to last season.

Bunn broke his wrist prior to the 2009 season."

Connecting the wrist injury to the current situation is speculation on the Sentinel's part. Neither Hope nor Bunn have provided any specifics about the injury.

[wiz]

I would have to agree with the assessment that it is more severe than a wrist injury.  However, there must be some reason it is remaining undisclosed, whether it be from the family/school.  I wouldn't exactly consider Hope to be like NFL teams and provide misleading injury information, so I guess we'll have to accept it as is.

It's private information.  It should be left at that. 

It can be private information, but much like EVERYTHING else on this board, it's something people can always speculate on. Some people might have more info than others, but speculation doesn't hurt as long as no private info is shared. Everyone is so jumpy these days....

If you have followed any of my posts, you know that I don't much care for Hope College or anything or anyone associated with it.  But, when it comes to protecting the privacy of a student athlete's personal health issues, please know that I will go to the wall to protect the privacy of Hope College's Peter Bunn.  It is none of our damn business and it's time to drop it.  Let's move on.

Want to speculate?  Here's something we can speculate about.  I expect both Hope and Calvin to be victorious on Saturday.  Friday will be more difficult, especially for Hope.  But, I think the MIAA will look good in Kenosha.  It is a bit of a crap shoot though as these two teams have a combined record of 4-4. If either one has a cold shooting night, all bets are off.  And maybe Adrian and Trine can pick up a couple of w's this week as well.  Probably won't put much money on Alma's chances though.  Can't wait for the tipoff tomorrow.

[HopeConvert]

If you have followed any of my posts, you know that I don't much care for Hope College or anything or anyone associated with it.  But, when it comes to protecting the privacy of a student athlete's personal health issues, please know that I will go to the wall to protect the privacy of Hope College's Peter Bunn.  It is none of our damn business and it's time to drop it. 

I've rarely seen such a remarkable juxtaposition of charity and its absence in one paragraph.

As for me, I've met a fair number of posters on this board who are Calvin fans and have high regard for every one of them. I'd even go so far as to say I care for them. I think that's part of what makes this rivalry so great.

[goodknight]

If you have followed any of my posts, you know that I don't much care for Hope College or anything or anyone associated with it.  But, when it comes to protecting the privacy of a student athlete's personal health issues, please know that I will go to the wall to protect the privacy of Hope College's Peter Bunn.  It is none of our damn business and it's time to drop it. 

I've rarely seen such a remarkable juxtaposition of charity and its absence in one paragraph.

As for me, I've met a fair number of posters on this board who are Calvin fans and have high regard for every one of them. I'd even go so far as to say I care for them. I think that's part of what makes this rivalry so great.

Alas!  And amen!

[Busted Stuff]

In my asking about Peter's injury, I was just wondering if the injury was known just not necessarily disclosed to the paper.  I'm not trying to invade any privacy or the personal life of any player or his family, I'm just a curious bystander.

The mutual respect, despite the bitter rivalry, that Calvin and Hope have for either school is something that is truly special and is overlooked far too often.

[devossed]

So for Hope this weekend:

Bunn = out
Venema = out
King = out
Mysliwiec = out
Neil = maybe (with hurt ankle)?

...I'd say 1-1 would be a miracle for the remaining Hope 10 and cause for much joy in Mudville...

[sac]

That....six year itch?

It doesn't seem possible but it is, every 1st weekend of December for the last 6 years Hope, Calvin, Carthage and Wheaton have spent this particular weekend playing basketball together.  In 2004/05 it was the first one, and from the day of the original announcement a year or two earlier I had made plans to be there one way or another.  As my shaky memory recalls I left straight from work in Holland, with just enough time to make the 3 1/2 hour trip to arrive at Wheaton probably during warmups, thanks mostly to the time change.  As December days go it was a pretty decent one, clear driving and not very cold.

Prior to 2004/5 I don't remember traveling much to see the Dutchmen, or rather the Dutchmen didn't travel much to give me much of a reason to go see them.  There was a trip to Univ. of Chicago at the old Crown Fieldhouse a couple years earlier that I enjoyed, but for several years between the 1998 final four in Salem, and the 2005 season there just weren't many road trips.  Hardly any NCAA tournaments...I missed both the NCAA trips to St. Norbert and Carthage in 2002 and UW-Oshkosh at home in 2003 because of my neice's birthday.  In fact I'm not  so sure I had even been to all the MIAA gyms at that point.

The 2004/05 season for Hope (and the MIAA) was a memorable one.  4 months later I would watch 2 MIAA teams battle each other for the right to go to Salem, that may never happen again.   For Hope it was the string of misfortune that struck the team before the season even began.  Greg Immink had gone down with a season ending knee injury before it even began, several players would start the season suspended for indiscretions of the underage drinking kind......latter on Andy Phillips would hurt a finger, yes a finger that would leave him out of the lineup for a good chunk of the season.  So at Wheaton, Hope fielded a shadow of the team they had planned on having.  (eerily sounding familiar)

I don't remember exactly how, but I got lost.....very lost, and ended up with a self guided tour of what turned out to be Glen Elyn and part of Lombard, at least the Christmas lights were nice.  You see I had failed to get directions to Wheaton College before I left, and realized this somewhere on the I-80/90 mess, but I knew if I found Main Street I could find Wheaton.....who knew Glen Elyn also had a Main Street, and that's where the trouble began.  My journey through the burbs I hate so much, was probably profanity laced and full of a lot of clock-watching and sighing.  I finally got my bearings right but somehow ended up on toll road going way far away from Wheaton and things went from bad to worse.

I finally strolled into King Arena just in time to see the final 45 seconds, Hope lost by 5.  I was later consoled by other posters that Hope had made a good showing.  This was where I met Greg Sager for the first time and several other Wheaton posters who's real and posting-up names escape me.  I remember having good conversations about basketball and we all watched in amazement as Andy Draayer went 8-12 from 3 and 26 points, some pretty ridiculous, as  Calvin lost to Wheaton by 4 in OT in the second game.  Calvin would get their revenge later that year beating Wheaton by 1 in the NCAA tournament.



While lost in suburbia, I stumbled across a soccer store, one I stopped at after the games and bought a couple items.  At this time in my life, I was getting a budding interest in English soccer and happy to purchase a couple items, one for myself and one for a friend.   The other day, I ran across one of those items....






I don't even like Manchester United, but I was happy to own something from an English Premier League club.  On a trip up North the next fall I ran into an English gentlemen in Munising and he frowned at my ManU shirt......but it struck up a conversation and I learned he was from Leeds, and he learned that at that time my favorite player was not David Beckham as he had grumbled, but Michael Owen.  His eyes lit up and for a brief moment I think he was happy to meet an American who knew much more about 'football' than David Beckham.  It was a pretty interesting 15 minutes that for some reason I remember frequently.

The shirt has long been relegated to the 'I don't care how crappy it looks but I'm cold and I'll wear it when nothing else is clean' pile.  It, like me has seen better days, much better days.  Its material is thinned, also like me has now permanent wrinkles that won't go way.  Its cuffs are nearly shredded, and also like me its shape is now stretched and baggy in places it shouldn't be.  I always remember how, where and the circumstances that I came about that shirt.  So long ago now.

I stayed with a friend that night, near Riverside, and returned for the final two games on Saturday.  Calvin won the first game, again in OT over Carthage, Hope was no match for Wheaton. 

Looking at the names of players who took part in these games this week, it occured to me that nearly everyone who will play in them this weekend was in high school then, and even some not yet in high school.  I imagine the Neil kids were probably chucking up halftime 3's even then.

So much has happened and changed since then,  2 new coaches replacing long time legends.  A couple Final Four's and a couple other deep tournament runs.  Conference championships for each team involved, all-americans etc, etc........and for me numerous trips and miles to see the Dutchmen play.

I recall 2004/05 very fondly, it was a great season in many ways.  It was the year I met most of the people who I've met from the board, my love of the NCAA tournament chases was rekindled by unnecessary kindness from the folks at Albion.  It was a happy time in my life, or at least happier.  Looking back and just remembering what that basketball season and overall year was like has made me kind of long for those days again.  Hence the 6 year itch.



I won't be in Kenosha this weekend, I made that decision several weeks ago......I'm tired these days, really tired.  It has been a very, very long and eventful year none of it having to do with things that made me happy, like Hope basketball.  This has become an escape, a few moments of habit, something to take the mind off things you don't want to think about.  I'm pretty grateful for all the great moments I've seen on the court, and off these last few years....the people I've met, communicated with, ate with, laughed with and even cried a little with. 

Six years is long time, here's to six better years ahead and hopefully another memorable weekend of MIAA/CCIW challenge basketball.