TheRoundUp 8/11: До свидания, Marcus Williams
by UConnBlog Justin on Aug 11, 2010 6:10 PM EDT
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PrintIn The News: UConn’s Marcus Williams Bails On NBA – LostLettermen.com
After dominating the Puerto Rican league, Marcus Williams off to Europe to take over basketball in Russia and help end the Cold War.
Marcus Easley could be out for a long time | National Football Post
Sad news out of Bills camp, as Marcus Easley, UConn's patron saint of ball-catching, appears to be done for the season after suffering a knee injury in training camp.
2011 NFL draft: Mel Kiper's best NFL prospect at each college football program - ESPN ($)
Mel Kiper's hair unveiled his list of the top prospects at every Division I school. For UConn he surprisingly chose Zach Hurd over, say Jordan Todman. Here's what Kiper had to say about the Huskies' guard.
An emerging guard prospect with adequate size and footwork.
Josiah Turner To Visit; Andre Drummond To Reclassify To Class Of 2011? - UCONN | Men's Basketball
More on Drummond's potential reclassification and more recruiting tidbits, including a visit from the 12th-best player in the class of '11.
UConn Secondary Needs Jerome Junior To Be A Leader - Courant.com
Jerome Junior, who was burned often in his first season as a starter in 2009, is now the safety with the most experience heading into next season. However, Junior seems to really be taking advantage of the opportunity.
The Associated Press: Panthers rookie McClain honors slain teammate
While UConn's secondary struggles to find itself, former CB Robert McClain is making headway in Panthers camp.
Journal Inquirer > Sports > UConn football: Counting on a big return
Jon Silver has a good update on Bennett, the massive tackle who was in line for a starting spot before an injury derailed his 2009.
Breaking down the 4-team trade - TrueHoop Blog - ESPN
Indiana gets its point guard of the future in Darren Collison. Meaning any chance of A.J. Price somehow usurping the role is pretty much out the window.
University of Connecticut Official Athletics Site - Men's Soccer
UConn men's soccer picked to finish first in the Big East.
Can anything save Michigan's sad-sack defense? - Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports
If you need a good pick-me-up.
Mailbag Aug.11: What Are You Hearing On 'Nova Moving Up? - UConn Huskies Football Blog | Hartford Courant | Desmond Conner
Looks like Villanova won't be joining the party any time soon, says Dez Conner.
Keeping The Hartford Whalers Alive: Our Message Board For Fans Is Live - Courant.com
Ugh. Give it up, Connecticut.
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Don't Dis the Whale
It’ll never die. It will never be over. Not until Gary Bettman and Pete Karmanos’ heads are on a pike on Asylum Street.
Hard to believe that the NHL wouldn't want to come back to Hartford
You know, what with all the sellout crowds the Whalers played in front of.
Also, who’s up for a road trip for UConn-St. John’s men’s soccer in October?
Orange Bowl/dual Final Fours or bust in 2011. We're going all-in.
defintely
"...Don't talk black to me. How do you even talk black? End words with izzle..." Modern Family
by kemba walker is my hero... on Aug 12, 2010 12:42 PM EDT up reply actions
actually...
The greatest lie ever told was that the Whalers consistently didn’t draw. They failed to draw after the team was gutted and the sucking vacuum that followed alienated the crowds. When Pony-Tail Pete put up that phony goal for how many season tickets they had to sell, the people met the goal, even though it didn’t matter anyway. And it’s not like they’re drawing in Carolina when there isn’t a NASCAR driver running the Zamboni or some shit. Basically, the Whalers drew much better than most of the teams now residing down south where ice does not naturally occur. Now, the NHL is a long shot, but if you’re going to set a goal, you might as well set a high one. If Howard Baldwin buys The Wolfpack away from those fuckhead MSG people and makes an effort to build the team in the community again, I’m back in. I’m hoping against hope for the day I take my son to see the Whalers and Bruins in the playoffs, and a 125 year old Gordie Howe lines up on the checking line.
Oh yeah, and UConn will whip St. John’s, so that may be doable. I haven’t yelled at strangers in a long time. And don’t pay any attention to national polls: They are based on what kind of team you were last year, not so much on the present.
Attendance numbers
From this site (not cherrypicking, his data only goes back to 1989-90):
1989-90: 13,705
1990-91: 12,404
1991-92: 10,896
1992-93: 10,144
1993-94: 10,492
1994-95: 11,822
1995-96: 11,967
1996-97: 13,680
Those are UConn men vs. random America East team numbers. Even in the last season, when it was the Whaler fans’ last chance to show their team/city pride, the Civic Center still had 2,000 empty seats per game, and the Whalers drew fewer fans than all but two teams.
The Hurricanes, meanwhile, are drawing a helluva lot more fans than the Whalers did; they’ve been above that 13,680 number every year (save one) since 2001-02.
The Whalers’ small, devoted core of fans is clearly dedicated, whatever. Not questioning that. I just found it amusing and rather sad, when I lived in CT for the first time during college, that so many tears are spilled over a team that flat-out did not draw for its final ten years.
But I’d love to continue this discussion in Queens when we pound the Red Storm.
Orange Bowl/dual Final Fours or bust in 2011. We're going all-in.
by Kevin Meacham on Aug 11, 2010 10:57 PM EDT up reply actions
well
91-95 is the sucking hole. That’s when ownership went from sad to incompetent to retarded. One of those years the Whale made the playoffs and only averaged 9K for the playoff games. That series against the Habs was also one of the great unsung playoff series in history, because the Whale made it a seven game series even though they had no business being in the playoffs in the first place, but anyway. The team did everything it could to fuck up, the fans got tired of being fucked over and responded with their pocketbooks, the management in turn punished the fans more. I guess the reason that I’m enthusiastic about the new Whale is that it’s a return to a community hockey team, not just an outpost for MSG to spread their own unique form of mediocrity. I’ll be at the WhalerFest on Saturday with my son, planting the seeds.
And, until the last two seasons, the Bruins couldn’t draw to save their lives with that bunch of losers. And they even play in what might as well be a shopping mall. The Bruins have become the Whalers really. Ironic. Except the hockey minds in Hartford produced more great players in the last 15 years than the B’s.
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