I sat on the blue recliner in my living room last week and watched college basketball for hours on end. It was a great time, really. As hard as I can be on Canisius, I owe someone credit for scheduling spring break during the first week of the NCAA Tournament. Well-done.
It saved professors from calling in sick and saved students from skipping class or setting up their laptops while grabbing a seat in the back row (who would do such a thing?). Maybe the idea was to make sure the Griffs didn’t have to worry about missing classes while they traveled to their first-round tournament site, but I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that just yet.
The team still doesn’t have a coach, but the wheels are in motion and an official announcement could come within the next week or two. The school says offering a contract to Jim Baron isn’t true, contrary to rumors circulating Thursday, but denials often come right before the news.
I thought a lot about coaching while I watched the tournament. I don’t think anybody is going to say Lehigh’s Brett Reed is a better coach than Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, even though for a few hours last week, he might have been.
Coach K is the whole package. He’s got the X’s and O’s down, he wins, he gets the recruits and he has kids who respect him. If he can manage the egos on Team USA and get those guys playing together, a bunch of 19- and 20-year-olds should be no problem.
Then I think about Creighton coach Greg McDermott. When 6-foot-9, 270-pound big man Gregory Echenique checked out of the game with defeat imminent, he wrapped his arms around the coach cried into his chest. Whoever was producing the game for CBS kept that shot on the screen for an extended period of time, maybe to show outraged fans in Carolina Blue that the ogre who put down Tyler Zeller has feelings after all.
That bond between coach and player reminded me of Tom Parrotta and the love his players had for him. In a world of win-win-win, it’s a great thing when they can have that type of relationship. But part of me would much rather have the embrace going on in the other locker room – an emotionless but businesslike high-five or handshake that says nice job, now let’s get back to work.
There’s no rule that says the players have to like the coach. They can coexist with mutual respect. I’ve played for coaches I didn’t care for, just like every athlete has. The key is getting over yourself and putting your disagreements aside in order to accomplish the larger goal.
Ruling through fear isn’t necessarily a bad policy either, as long as you’re getting results. But that’s the thing: Canisius doesn’t exactly win. Ever.
There wasn’t very much success under Parrotta and it’s been over a decade since Canisius’ last winning season, but it’s not exactly like his reign was a huge drop off in the culture of Griffs basketball.
Mike MacDonald before him was a good character guy who also didn’t win a ton (108-153). He had one 20-win season in 2000-01 with Brian Dux and Clive Bentick, but if you want to nitpick, that was really a 17-10 team that won three more in the conference tournament.
John Beilein had two 20-win teams in the 90s and Nick Macarchuk had two in the 80s, and those spurts came only when Canisius had some of the best players in school history: Ray Hall and Mike Smrek in the 80s and Craig Wise, Michael Meeks and Darrell Barley in the 90s. There’s no history of success or true Golden Age; rather it seems Canisius has only won when it suited up once-in-a-generation-type players.
Fans are definitely not out of line to ask for some winning seasons, but unless Canisius really makes a bold hire or can find another John Beilein, history seems to be a pretty good expectation of what can be expected.
I LOVE the free agency moves by the Bills. In any other offseason, I’d be pumped to get DE Mark Anderson coming off the edge. But after signing Mario Williams, Anderson is just an afterthought. And you know things are improving when Buffalo fans aren’t making a big deal about signing someone.
The moves give Buffalo one of the best defensive lines in the league, and on top of it, Williams seems like a really cool guy.
The part that’s most interesting to me is how out-of-character these moves have been for Ralph Wilson. What’s gotten into him? Ralph is 93. Babe Ruth was on the Red Sox when he was born. Most people don’t live that long. I hate to say it, but it almost seems like Ralph is sensing the end of the road and he’s making a push to win the Super Bowl before he goes.
Here’s what Ralph told the Buffalo News’ Mark Gaughan last week: “I’d like to see us make the playoffs and possibly the Super Bowl while I’m around … I don’t expect to be around that many years.”
From a pure I-wish-we-had-a-better-team standpoint, whoever the doctor was that put a scare into Wilson should have done it years ago. But from a people standpoint, there’s something sad about it.
Ralph was one of the most influential people in the creation of the NFL and he’s never won the big one. It’s almost like a scene from a movie, where the little old man tries right some wrongs before the end of his life. What’s really sad is that if the last 20 years growing up in Buffalo have taught me anything, I feel like we already know how this one ends.
NIAGARA announced Monday that it is dropping its Division I women’s hockey program, effective immediately. On Tuesday, RIT made the jump from D-III, filling the void left by NU and keeping College Hockey America at four teams. If you’re getting your hopes up that Canisius might be next to add women’s hockey, well, don’t. From what I’ve heard, that’s an uphill battle to say the least.
TIM TEBOW is about as interesting as it gets. I watched the last six or seven games he played this year, and one thing I’m certain of is that he still needs a ton of work as a quarterback. But other than that I flat out love the guy. I want him to be in the league forever … you know, starting for someone else.
Imagine Tebow praying for Denver to get better – and his prayer getting answered by Peyton Manning taking his spot. Be careful what you wish for.
But the way his trade unfolded was different. He was going to the Jets. Then there was a problem with his contract and the deal was going to get reversed. Then he was going to be able to pick between the Jets and Jaguars, and then he ended up back in Jets.
It must be a great week to be a headline writer for the New York Post. Why settle for one below-average quarterback when you could have two?
THIS WEATHER is great. Before break, the baseball team had its earliest home opener in school history. It was so nice out, the Griffs called up UB and said let’s play a game this week. The only person who likes the temperatures more than Mike McRae is probably Mario Williams’ fiancée. Seriously, could she have picked a better week to visit?
OH, and I heard the bookstore is running a promotion where the winner gets a $25 gift certificate. Great, I always wanted half a t-shirt.
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
