ALL THINGS CONSIDERED...
'Cut me Mick...'

... I'd rather be in Philadelphia. And we will be, this Saturday.

The Nuts are going on the road. We've gotten a taste of hoops in the Big Apple, so now we're hitting the road and heading to the burgh that spawned Liberty, Ben Franklin, and World B. Free* to see how they do roundball down there. Yes, at the crack of 10 this Saturday morning, the Captain and I will be piling into the Ducat's jalopy and cruising down the turnpike with the soothing soul sounds of the Delfonics, the O'Jays and LaBelle ringing through our ears.

Our ambitious schedule has us tackling a tripleheader. After a bloody mary breakfast, we'll be heading to the world-famous (ok, Philly-famous) Palestra to see a Big 5 matchup between St. Joe's and LaSalle. At 4, we'll be popping over to the DAC to see the Illadelph-leading Drexel Dragons take on the Delaware Blue Hens, the most dangerous 5 and 20 team in the nation. And then it's back to the Palestra for an Ancient 8 battle between Harvard and Penn to cap the night. Somewhere in there we'll be sure to cram in a cheesesteak, wit whiz.

According to this story, Villanova already wrapped up Philly's coveted 'Big 5' championship with a win over St. Joe's earlier in the week. We on the Nuts Competition Committee have an issue with this assertion given the fact that the Drexel Dragons aren't considered part of this old boys network. Looking at our own Illadelph Division standings at the right of this page, it appears to me as though Drexel is the class of the city, looming over all other comers, including 'Nova. Want proof? How about tonight's game in which they knocked off Hofstra, the leaders of the Empire Division, ending the Pride's 28-game home winning streak. Or how about earlier this season when they bested Villanova. That proof enough for ya? Honestly, what's so small about these Dragons that they aren't considered 'Big'? Perhaps it's time to change the moniker to "The Big 6"? It is this lack of respect that is driving us to visit the DAC Center on Saturday afternoon, where we'll be seated right behind the Dragon bench. Of course, all huffing and puffing aside, we'll be rooting for Delaware. Sorry Drexel, I feel your pain but do you really think we can cheer for a team that has the audacity to beat our beloved Pride? Get real. Go Blue Hens.

Much disrespect.

While all this basketball action on Saturday is sure to be exciting, there's really only one reason we're heading down the turnpike this weekend: Simon Kirke. Who is Simon Kirke you ask? A hot-shot point guard for the St. Joe's Hawks? Legendary coach of the LaSalle Explorers? Trainer extraordinairre for the Penn Quakers? No, no and no.

You wanna know who Simon Kirke is? This is Simon Kirke:



That's right, he's the drummer for classic rock bands Bad Company and Free. He's a Straight Shooter and a Shooting Star I tell ya, and he'll be rocking the kit at halftime of the Penn/Harvard game. Whoo ah! If that's not reason enough to drag your ass down to Philadelphia, I don't know what is.

Let's get Nuts y'all. Philly style.

Road trip!

* For the record, Free actually cut his teeth in Brooklyn. So there.

FALLEN TREES

Stanford guard Anthony Goods, left, forward Brook Lopez, and guard Mitch Johnson look on as the final seconds tick down in the second half on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2007, in a college basketball game against Washington State in Pullman, Wash. Washington State won the game, 45-58.

This photo looks awfully familiar to me... where have I seen it before? Oh yeah, here. Honestly, the sight of dejected opponent benches in Pullman is becoming quite commonplace.

Loved this little bit of the AP story reporting on the Cougar victory:

Indeed, players were asked if it was too early to dream about the first Pac-10 title in the program's history, especially for a team that was forecast to finish last.

"I think about it every night," Clark said. "It's a very realistic goal for us."

Damn straight. Shock the world Cougs.

NUTS NOTES: WHERE WE AT?


Well, we're about halfway through this nutty little ride, about to make our mid-season turnpike trip to the land of Dragons and cheesesteaks. As we turn the corner, I think it's an appropriate time to check in on the standings. So far this season, we've let the Captain loose on an unsuspecting Ivy League, we got drunk cheering the Pride and frightening children at Madison Square Garden, and we explored the far reaches of a magical fairytale land called Riverdale. Oh, and considering this blog is supposed to be focused on NYC hoops, we probably spent too much time talking about the Pac-10. But hey, my Cougs are kicking ass, so deal.

All along, we've had a special eye on the Iona Gaels, who up until this past Saturday were on the verge of something magical. Then they had to go and ruin it with a win over Rider. It's been bugging me ever since. See, the thing is, the Gaels could've done something special, they could've been somebody. A loser somebody yes, but still, a somebody. Now, they're just another pack of losers, a 1-win team at the bottom of a shit-ass conference. It's sad.

As far as I'm concerned, the University of North Florida is the only school left with something to prove, and that makes them our new special favorites. The Ospreys are 2-21, their only wins coming over non-Division I teams Concordia College and Skidmore, which I don't even think is a school as much as it is a nickname for that kid in the 4th grade who always crapped his pants. Unfortunately, unlike previous Google image search results for Iona (see here), when I search for "Ospreys", this is the best I can come up with:



Not hot. And terrible at basketball.

Oh well, let's check in with the rest of the Empire, shall we? Up-to-date division standings can be found on the right-hand side of the page. Here's the mid-season rundown:


For the most part, Long Island's own Hofstra Pride have battled it out with the Poughkeepsie kids from Marist College for the top of the Empire Division. The city teams really haven't been anything more than mediocre, although Fordham has shown some flashes and could challenge if they can get hot again after a tough loss to Rhode Island on Saturday. Prior to that, the Rams had won 5 in a row, beating two teams, LaSalle and St. Joe's, from the Illadelph Division. We'll be up in the Bronx next Thursday for a key game vs. UMass at Rose Hill Gym. Stay tuned.


Meanwhile, the Manhattan Jaspers have been inconsistent at best. At times, they've looked like the best in the MAAC conference, as they did when we saw them knock off Marist in Riverdale last week. And yet, despite the fact they are currently in second place and only a game out of first in the MAAC, they sit in the middle of the pack in our own Empire Division with a 12-11 record. Not impressive. As for the Empire's lone Ivy entrant, Columbia, I wanted to write them off after they lost three in a row, but then they went ahead and won two this past weekend to stay in the upper half of the Empire. Too bad there's no Ivy tournament, otherwise I'd say the Lions had a shot. Still, they're clinging to life here in Nuts land.


And then there's St. John's, a maddening team going nowhere in the Big East but hanging around the Empire. They've had some quality wins, besting both Notre Dame and Syracuse back-to-back a few weeks ago, but then they got smashed by Georgetown and Pitt. They're 13-10 and sitting in fifth place right now, just ahead of Army. That Army? Yes, that Army. The Black Knight's 13-11 record is deceiving however as almost all of their wins came out of conference. I think they played the Coast Guard 13 times before Patriot League play even started. It's understandable really, they're probably too worried about being 'surged' into Iraq by that moron in the White House to worry about some stupid basketball game.


Bringing up the tail end of the Empire are the two Brooklyn entrants, St. Francis and the LIU Blackbirds, and the boys from Staten Island, Wagner. Oh, and Iona of course. Funnily enough, of all these teams, Iona may have the best shot of actually going to the NCAA tournament. Yes, you read that right, Iona does. See, all MAAC teams make the conference tourney, meaning the Gaels are guaranteed a shot at the automatic bid. In the Northeast conference however, the bottom three teams miss out on the conference tourney, meaning LIU and St. Francis' seasons are probably already over. That said, I'll still suffer with a few dozen other fans at both a Blackbirds and Terriers game in the second half of our experiment.

And finally, as bad as these teams are, they can at least take comfort in the the fact that there may be an even worst team in the area then all of them, Iona included. The St. Peter's Peacocks from Jersey City have lost 19 of 20 games, including 15 in a row. They currently sit at the bottom of a very poor Outsiders Division here in the RBN league. They suck.

But hey, at least I get this in my Google search:



Mmmmmm, sexy. Seriously nice plumage.

Later this week, in anticipation of our Saturday tripleheader in Philly, I'll give a quick rundown of the Illadelph Division, the Nuts alternative to the famed 'Big 5'. Seriously, how 'Big' can it be if it doesn't even have a Dragon?

ONLY 21 GAMES UNDER .500 NOW



How does Iona spell relief? R-I-D-E-R, that's how.

Yep, after 22 losses in 22 tries, Iona finally found a team it could beat. Not surprisingly, the Gaels just had to look toward Jersey to get the job done. After handing the 0-22 Gaels their first win, Jersey City's Rider College must not be feeling too good about themselves tonight. Oh, and Savannah St.? You can rest easy, your mark is safe.

It was about time the Gaels finally pulled one out, they'd been so close all season. Head coach Jeff Ruland must've let out a huge sigh of relief when this thing ended. Talking to the press afterward, he had this to say: "Now we can get on with the business of winning some more games this season."

Whoa there Coach, let's not get greedy now. The most important thing is that you've made Ms. Iona happy...



... and that's all we really care about.