FB: Liberty League

[wesleydad]

Congrats to Union.  Nice win.  No more hype needed.  Good enough to win the LL.  2 tough games left.

[Bartman]

First, congratulations to Union, RPI , Ithaca and SLU on their wins. I was happy to see RPI and Ithaca beat their E8 opponents ...it helps the LL. I will be rooting for the the best competition by all in concluding an exciting race.
Second, sorry for my depression post last  night. I know how hard everyone in Statesman land has worked to succeed this year and the high hopes that everyone had. I will always feel that this team should have won every game ( except frankly Brockport is on another level) ....But should have won and actually winning are two different things, that is why we play the game.Again congrats to Union.
I will leave it there and not over analyze this loss as it was an emotional day for other reasons yesterday. Many years ago, in the last century, in my Freshman year we played Union(when they still had Freshman teams) and one of my HS teammates was on the Union side.....we both played hard and shook hands afterwards as we were past brothers in HS just finding our place with our new brothers in college.....I still remember his smile indicating it was just great to compete against a friend and give our all, as imperfect as our play may have been(I think Union won ,but I really only remember his smile)....This past week, my old friend ,HS teammate and Union opponent passed away........ For me, the memory of that smile and handshake at the end of the game at Union is now much more important than the result of one game many years ago or the Hobart loss yesterday.

[dlippiel]

First, congratulations to Union, RPI , Ithaca and SLU on their wins. I was happy to see RPI and Ithaca beat their E8 opponents ...it helps the LL. I will be rooting for the the best competition by all in concluding an exciting race.
Second, sorry for my depression post last  night. I know how hard everyone in Statesman land has worked to succeed this year and the high hopes that everyone had. I will always feel that this team should have won every game ( except frankly Brockport is on another level) ....But should have won and actually winning are two different things, that is why we play the game.Again congrats to Union.
I will leave it there and not over analyze this loss as it was an emotional day for other reasons yesterday. Many years ago, in the last century, in my Freshman year we played Union(when they still had Freshman teams) and one of my HS teammates was on the Union side.....we both played hard and shook hands afterwards as we were past brothers in HS just finding our place with our new brothers in college.....I still remember his smile indicating it was just great to compete against a friend and give our all, as imperfect as our play may have been(I think Union won ,but I really only remember his smile)....This past week, my old friend ,HS teammate and Union opponent passed away........ For me, the memory of that smile and handshake at the end of the game at Union is now much more important than the result of one game many years ago or the Hobart loss yesterday.

+k bartman! Dlip is sorry for the loss of your friend. That is one of the things that make sports so great is the connections we make with friends. Thanks for sharing that story. That's a friendship and game no one can ever take away from you and him buddy. Maybe next year if dlip heads to Geneva we can say hello?  Thanks again for sharing something so meaningful!

[Bartman]

Thanks Dlip......good luck the rest of the way

[Bartman]

OK, need to ease the pain...... shifting to soccer, Hobart undefeated in LL so far, big game against SLU next Saturday for LL title 

[UfanBill]

+k from me too Bartman...It's really hard to lose a friend. I lost one recently myself...

Dlip and I were hoping to meet you at Frank Bailey yesterday. Sorry it didn't work out. You were spot on with your prediction of the game. Union was ahead at halftime and the Statesmen did have a spirited late comeback. As I said in earlier posts, I always sit behind the visitors bench. Over the years I"ve heard a lot of woofing and belittlement when the visiting squad was winning and a lot of profanity built from frustration when Union has the lead. Often you see players smash their helmets down, kick something , yell at teammates or even get in the face of a coach. Most times it's very classless. Yesterday in the third quarter, when things were going right for Union and wrong for 'Bart, I heard NO profanity, saw NO confrontations, NO water coolers were spilled. Sure there was frustration but loud encouragement was what I heard. All credit to Hobart and coach Craig for the discipline and class of his team.  They fought hard all the way to the end. I know they never gave up. It's an honor to know Hobart is a fellow member of the Liberty League.  Good luck to you and the Statesmen. Hope to meet you sometime down the road.

[Bartman]

Thanks UfanBill...back at you and glad to hear the boys handled themselves well yesterday. Coach Cragg runs a class program...I know we will see a game together down the road ...perhaps it will be back at Union after you have at least one recent LL title under your belt.......I think Coach Behrman and his TEAMs will be a force for many years in the LL   

[AUPepBand]

Many years ago, in the last century, in my Freshman year we played Union(when they still had Freshman teams) and one of my HS teammates was on the Union side.....we both played hard and shook hands afterwards as we were past brothers in HS just finding our place with our new brothers in college.....I still remember his smile indicating it was just great to compete against a friend and give our all, as imperfect as our play may have been(I think Union won ,but I really only remember his smile)....This past week, my old friend ,HS teammate and Union opponent passed away........ For me, the memory of that smile and handshake at the end of the game at Union is now much more important than the result of one game many years ago or the Hobart loss yesterday.

Sorry to hear of your loss, Bartman. Matters of life (and death) certainly have a way of putting wins and losses into proper perspective.

[Bombers798891]

Bartman I'm sorry for your loss

[Oline89]

I have now attended the first six Hobart games in person, and watched the last two complete games online (Union could step it up a bit in quality), and despite the results of the Statesman's last game, I wore my Hobart Football gear all day with pride.  This team clearly has the talent to be 8-0 at this point, but it is obvious that when competing against the LL teams (and the E8 teams I have seen), just showing up is not enough.  Every aspect of the game, offense, defense and special teams (punt return team responsible for a critical turnover for Hobart this weekend) has to be firing on all cylinders to win in this league.  I can't quite figure out why Hobart has had such a difficult time getting the offense started in every game this year.  I do know that when the offense is struggling in the first half, the defense is spending extra minutes on the field, and by the second half that tired defense will begin to break down (take a look at the tape of today's NY Giants game).  Regardless, no excuses should be made, the best team that day wins the game, and Union clearly was the best team yesterday.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this season in the LL, and I hope that our league champion does some damage in NCAA's!  That being said, I am sure that Coach Cragg and the boys will have a little extra juice saved up for Union and Ithaca next season!

[Bombers798891]

So, since we're not going to get any clarity on the LL AQ race this week, I thought I'd ask: What do you guys think of the E8/LL bowl game?

I have to admit that I was not too pumped about it. Our teams play so many games against each other in the regular season, and I didn't know if a rematch would move the needle.

Over in the E8, Cortland is pretty much locked into the 2nd spot unless Brockport beats Alfred.

The LL is less clear, but, if RPI were to run the table and Ithaca were to top Union, the Bombers will finish in 2nd place in the LL, giving us a Cortland/Ithaca matchup...two weeks in a row.

Now, I don't think this will happen. Union's got a very good team, and I don't think they'll drop both of their remaining games. They've played Ithaca too tough in recent years, they get RPI at home; I think the Dutchmen win at least one of those games, if not both. But we have to acknowledge the possibility of it happening.

There's also a possibility we get say, an RPI/Alfred rematch, but there's a lot of complicated math involved there involving a pair of three way ties.

I just don't know if this is a good thing for the conferences. ECAC games were always sort of a coin flip in the sense that while you might get two teams pumped to prove the NCAA selection committee wrong, you might get a team that just doesn't really want to be there, and you see kind of a sleepwalking performance.

And IC/Cortland two weeks in a row? I mean, who knows? Are the teams going to get up for playing each other twice in two weeks? And, strangely enough, Ithaca's going to be on Thanksgiving break, but Cortland won't be, so you could have a really strange situation like Ithaca hosting it and being outnumbered in terms of fan support.

Like I said, this is a longshot, but it's interesting to think about

[Bartman]

On the E8/LL game, I would have been disappointed to compete in this game, but now I wish Hobart could qualify. As far as a rematch of any LL/E8 teams in the runner-up playoff, I think this is possible  as the LL and E8 are natural scheduling matches for OOC games during the season. Frankly, if it was a  BPort-Hobart rematch, I would have loved another chance at BPort. I understand a rerun of Cortaca may be weird, but if you lost it you may feel happy to even the score. Qualifying for the NCAA is preferred (even if you get clobbered) but on balance, I think the E8/LL runner up bowl is a good idea.

[UfanBill]

I get your point Bombers. As much as we've been clamoring for a "NYS Super Conference" and this bowl matchup sounds good, nobody wants to see meaningless rematches especially two weeks in a row. From a Union perspective, any game against the E8 would be welcome since the only E8 team regularly on the Dutchman's schedule was Ithaca, now a league mate. Union did play Morrisville this year for the first time ever and had a recent 4 year run with Utica but has never played Buff St. or Brockport and hasn't seen Alfred, Hartwick or Fisher in over a decade. While a game against an unfamiliar E8 team is desirable, one against a MAC, NJAC or top NE team would be nice too.

[Bombers798891]

While a game against an unfamiliar E8 team is desirable, one against a MAC, NJAC or top NE team would be nice too.

Yeah, this is what I would have hoped for. Let's get a NY/NJ or NY/NE Bowl going, you know? If nothing else, it's fertile recruiting ground for our schools and they aren't down/up there often.

Watching these two conferences, it's like they're just doing everything they can to basically be a NYS super conference and not actually be one to preserve the two Pool A bids. Which, I get, from their standpoint. But as a fan, it's simply odd.

[Bartman]

Ok, I have figured out that I am a fan of Union the rest of the way because if they beat both Ithaca and RPI(a tall order, no doubt), Hobart gets the bid for the "runner up " bowl probably with Cortland(that would be a great game for E8/LL bragging rights). If Hobart/RPI and Ithaca have a 3 way tie for second at 3-2,I think the same tie breakers would apply and we would look at records against winning teams .. BUT Ithaca must also lose to either Utica or Cortland, giving Ithaca the lower record against over .500 teams and then it is a H2H between Hobart and RPI won by the Statesmen. I never thought I would be rooting for the Dutchmen after a disappointing loss , nor be happy with making the Empire 8/LL bowl ...but you gotta readjust and make the best of the season( of course Hobart cannot overlook SLU or U of R). My preferred scenario would be Union winning out and Cortland beating Ithaca for the jug...setting up Hobart playing the Jug winner........so , as you can see I am very desperate to paint such a fantasy of future games just to get Hobart in one more game...please excuse my selfish analysis....Good luck to all the rest of the way(especially Union)