MBB: University Athletic Association

[Marty Peretz]

Below is a copy of a brilliant and hilarious manuscript about WU's national championship win. It was written by a friend of mine who joined me in Salem this weekend. He apparently got bored during law school and rattled this one off..enjoy.

*           *         *           *        *          *                  *              *               *             *              *
And so it was understood then, that the Words of Wallis held the weight of Prophecy; for it was He that levied great criticism on his band of merry men upon their first battle with the Blue Jays of Elmhurst, which proved the Nadir of their campaign of pillaging and looting throughout the Land.

Upon the rampage of the Bears through Lawrence, leaving only Scorched Earth in their Wake, Wallis lamented to find that they would not meet the Blue Jays again, but rather the Warhawks, who said unto them: "We have left the Blue Jays for dead, and we will render the same unto you." To this proclamation Wallis responded with Booming Laughter, and he and his band of merry men Romped over the remains of Elmhurst and Dispatched the Warhawks with Prejudice.

It was then that the Bears were assailed on two Fronts: one by the Lyons of Wheaton, and on the other by the brigands from St. Thomas. And the Lyons Boasted: "You have entered our Domain, and Here we will show our true Strength and strike you down in Blood and Glory." And the Tommies Boasted: "We have come with not a Flaw in our Armor, and surely, you shall not be the first to Inflict one."

But Wallis was not fazed, and his Apostle Nading was not fazed, and his Apostle Thompson was not fazed, and his Apostle Smith was certainly not fazed. For the Lyons had unleashed their Fiercest Warrior, the one named Raymond, and his Sole Intent was to Shred the Bears One by One, and it was the Apostle Smith who boldly opposed him and said, "I am the Protector of this band of merry men. If Ye shalt Smite my Brothers, and Burn my Land to the Ground, the path is tread through me and only me, and none other." And it was his heroism that delivered the day for the Bears, and it was never to be forgotten.

So the Bears had found themselves on Exalted Ground then, with only three Competitors left Alive, and Wallis then smelled the Blood he would spill on his Blade. And the Quakers of Guilford shook with fear when they Beheld Him, and Wallis punished them with Rancor and Fury. And when they Objected and Rebelled against his Judgment, Wallis would have none of it and struck once, then twice, and Eleven times in all, and his word then was Final. And he unleashed upon them the Apostle Thompson, and in his Dominion over the Clouds, he Rained Wrath over the Quakers, not once, not twice, but Eight times in all.

And Wallis was left to taste Distilled Victory by Feasting on the Ospreys. And at first he unleashed the Apostle Thompson, and when he could not Summon his Clouds to punish the Ospreys with Scalding Acid, he Withdrew and despaired. And Wallis, and his Apostle Nading, and his Apostle Smith, had turned to his Apostle Thompson and said thus: "It is in such Times that we shall come together, this band of merry men, and Wrest the day in Unity for us, and yea, the Day has come when thy Rain hath Ceased, but we shalt never wilt in the face of Calamity, and combine our Efforts to Take you with Us to the Promised Land." And Wallis instead unleashed the Apostle Nading upon the Ospreys, and the Apostle Nading channeled the Essence of the Beast, and upon hearing his Roar, the Ospreys cowered in fear and fled.

And when All was Said and Done, the Walnut and Bronze was left to Wallis and band of merry men, the Company of Bears, and there was mirth and joy and jovial celebration. And all the Land praised Wallis in recognition, leaving Him to be Remembered and Cherished in the annals of History forever.

--Sealms 20:09

[hopefan]

Marty, I'm a numbers guy, not literary beyond my Stephen King Collection, but even I have to admit that's pretty darned cute..  A++

[BUBeaverFan]

Bravo my friend, Bravo!

[deiscanton]

I don't know why the manuscript used the nickname for the Wheaton College of NEWMAC (The Lyons are from Wheaton (MA), and not the nickname for the Wheaton College of the CCIW (The Thunder is from Wheaton (IL)), but other than that, bravo!

[jeloesel]

Speaking of the Bomb Squad... gut feeling says the baby powder fun may be out as an option - at least in a return trip to Salem!

I was there ... it's one thing when the "king" does it solo at a pro game ... it's another when 200 undergrads do it in unison at a college game. 

Congratulations to the Bears.  You made this alum proud.

I took what may be the definitive photos of the Bomb Squad baby powder explosion.  Send me an email at the address below and I'll send them on to you.  

JELoesel@aol.com

[David Collinge]

Congratulations to the Bears.  You made this alum proud.

I thought you were an Oberlin alum, Jim.  Maybe the Yeomen can reach Salem next season and stimulate even more pride. 

[jeloesel]

Congratulations to the Bears.  You made this alum proud.

I thought you were an Oberlin alum, Jim.  Maybe the Yeomen can reach Salem next season and stimulate even more pride. 

I imagine there are times even a Wooster grad finds it advantageous to claim he is a Tulane law school grad.     Yes, an Oberlin vs. Wash U championship game would present some serious conflicts for me, but I sleep well at night not worrying about that possibility.

I haven't received an email from you requesting the pictures.  Should I infer that Woosterites are too proud to accept handouts from Oberlinians, no matter how valuable the gift?   

[Hugenerd]

Congrats to Ryan Einwag for being second team all South Region by the ECAC.

http://www.ecacsports.com/sports/winter/mbkb/AllStars/2008-09/ECAC_Mbkb_All-Stars_-_D3_South.pdf?dec=


Steve DeLuca was named to the first team in the New England Region.

http://www.ecacsports.com/sports/winter/mbkb/AllStars/2008-09/ECAC_Mbkb_All-Stars_-_D3_NE.pdf?dec=


Mike Chmielowiec was named first team in the Upstate region.

http://www.ecacsports.com/sports/winter/mbkb/AllStars/2008-09/ECAC_Mbkb_All-Stars_-_D3_Upstate.pdf?dec=

[BUBeaverFan]

Best of luck to Wash U Assistant Coach Tim Whittle as he takes over the Macalester program as their new head coach. 

[Pat Coleman]

It's with sadness that I have to report the death of Patrick Abegg. We will miss him.
http://d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2009/04/26/rip-patrick-abegg/

[Gregory Sager]

That is really terrible news. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. Forty-four is much too young an age to die.

There are undoubtedly so many other ways in which those who knew him and loved him will miss him, but D3 basketball fans will certainly miss his statistical contributions to this site, especially in terms of compiling Pool C contender data in the Pool C room. His unexpected passing will leave a huge hole come next February.

[hopefan]

The announced return of Sean Wallis to Wash U is really exciting news - the Bears will have a bigger target than ever on their backs as 2 time defending champs - Looking forward to great games next year -  The level of competition at sectionals and regionals was unbelievable this year - it's as good as it gets out here in the midwest!!!!

[martin]

A fun basketball story -
Sun Times
Chronicle




Veteran space walker could find three-point line during Hubble Space Telescope mission
By Steve Koppes
News Office

     
Photos courtesy of NASA’s Human Spaceflight Collection

Astronauts John Grunsfeld (top) and Richard Linnehan participated in a six-hour, 48-minute space walk in 2002 designed to install a new Power Control Unit on the Hubble Space Telescope. The two went on to replace the original unit launched with the telescope in April 1990. Grunsfeld is on the end of Columbia’s Remote Manipulation System robotic arm, controlled from inside the crew cabin by astronaut Nancy Currie. The image was recorded with a digital still camera. Grunsfeld, the payload commander (below), waves at a crewmate inside Space Shuttle Columbia’s crew cabin during a brief break in work on the telescope.
   
     
   

Even Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls would find it impossible to match the star power of the Chicago Maroons’ Big Ten champion basketball teams of 1907-08 and 1908-09. Playing forward for the Maroons during those seasons was a 6-foot-2-inch undergraduate named Edwin Hubble.

Most people know Hubble (S.B.,1910, Ph.D.,1917) as a famed astronomer, the namesake of the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. But as an athlete he also helped the Maroons post records of 24-2 in 1907-08 and 10-3 in 1908-09. There was no post-season tournament back then, but the Helms Athletic Foundation assembled a panel of experts that retroactively named the Maroons national champions both years.

“It illustrates that scientists are people too, and that a great scientist can be a great athlete,” said Michael Turner, the Bruce V. and Diana M. Rauner Distinguished Service Professor in Astronomy & Astrophysics and the College.

Now another Chicago alumnus, astronaut John Grunsfeld (S.M.,’84, Ph.D.,’88), will fly into orbit a century-old basketball that Hubble tossed around in a 1909 victory against Indiana University. The space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to launch Tuesday, May 12, which will be Grunsfeld’s third mission to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Telescope.

“Chicago has always been at the forefront of exploration through the Laboratory for Astrophysics and Space Research, South Pole research and so much more,” Grunsfeld said.

Grunsfeld had borrowed the basketball from the Department of Physical Education and Athletics, with Turner serving as intermediary, so that he could fly it into orbit. He plans to return the basketball personally to the University after the mission, when it will go on display at the Gerald Ratner Athletics Center.

Grunsfeld grew up near the University’s campus on Chicago’s South Side, where Nobel laureate Enrico Fermi oversaw construction of the first nuclear reactor during World War II.

“I was inspired as a young man by the exploits of Enrico Fermi as a scientist and as a mountaineer in the Dolomites, and he became a role model for me,” said Grunsfeld, who studied physics at Chicago.

Before joining NASA in 1992, he had amassed research experience in X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy, high-energy cosmic ray studies and the development of new detectors and instrumentation. Grunsfeld has since used the Hubble Telescope in his own research. As NASA’s chief scientist from 2003 to 2004, Grunsfeld helped develop the President’s Vision for Space Exploration.

During his four previous space flights, he logged more than 45 days in space, including five spacewalks totaling more than 32 hours:

    * STS-67, Endeavor, March 1995: This was the second flight of the Astro observatory, a complement of three ultraviolet telescopes. The crew, including mission specialist Grunsfeld, conducted around-the-clock observations of faint astronomical objects and ultraviolet light coming from hot stars and distant galaxies.
    * STS-81, Atlantis, January 1997: This was the fifth mission to dock with Russia’s Space Station Mir, and the second to exchange U.S. astronauts. Grunsfeld served as flight engineer.
    * STS-103, Discovery, December 1999: During this mission, the crew installed new gyroscopes and scientific instruments and upgraded systems on the Hubble Telescope. Grunsfeld performed two spacewalks totaling 16 hours and 23 minutes.
    * STS-109, Columbia, March 2002: The crew upgraded the Hubble Space Telescope, installing a new digital camera, a cooling system for the infrared camera, new solar arrays and a new power system. Grunsfeld served as the payload commander in charge of spacewalking activities and the Hubble payload, as he will for the next mission. He performed three spacewalks totaling 21 hours and 9 minutes.

The Hubble Telescope has orbited Earth more than 100,000 times since its 1994 launch. NASA expects Grunsfeld’s STS-125 mission to extend the telescope’s life into the next decade.

“It’s been a glorious career, and I’ve been incredibly privileged to fly in space and to work on the Hubble Space Telescope,” Grunsfeld said.

[y_jack_lok]

Modestly noteworthy. Wash U's Coach Edwards threw out the first pitch at the Cardinals baseball game last night. Not a bad arm.

[Hugenerd]

Anyone else notice that 4 UAA teams have changed travel partners?  Brandeis/NYU and WashU/Chicago remain the same, but CMU is now partnered with CWRU and Emory is with Rochester.

I am sure that it is motivated due to travel concerns (Cleveland and Pittsburgh are about 2.5 hours apart by bus, compared to about a 5 hour drive to Rochester from Pittsburgh), but I think this favors the other four teams in the league.  The Rochester/CMU weekend has been a tough one in recent years and to split it up with two perennial bottom feeders will make it easier for the other teams to prepare for CMU or Rochester.  Although, if Case or Emory are stronger this year, that theory goes out the window (but I would have to see to believe that), or if CMU or Rochester are down.  Regardless, it will be interesting to see how this change mixes things up this coming year.