Better late than never: Big 5 Hall of Fame induction stuff

They held the Big 5 Hall induction luncheon back on Jan. 29, with Chaney, Rollie and Speedy all getting in. We’ve already remarked on Chaney’s and Rollie’s inductions, but we felt it was worth passing along Dick Jerardi’s Daily News story about Speedy Morris, too. Speedy is a Philly Guy through and through, and his early years at La Salle were marked by some of the school’s greatest successes — well, certainly the most recent anyway. It was fascinating to learn about Speedy’s humble basketball background, but even more to to get his thoughts on La Salle’s disastrous move out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, which set the program back years:

“Why did we ever leave the MAAC?” Morris said. “I might still be there. We owned the MAAC.”

It’s certainly a question worth pondering, given the Explorers’ struggles ever since it happened. But 10 days ago, it was also worth pondering the collective impact guys like Speedy, Rollie and Chaney had on college basketball in this city. And on that day, anyway, that’s all that mattered.

After the jump, we’ve got video of a portion of Chaney’s all-over-the-place acceptance speech, which Jerardi had written about for the Daily News‘ Philly Hoops Insider blog here.

Links: Chaney is still awesome [BIG FIVE POST]
Was inducting Rollie the right move? [BIG FIVE POST]
Speedy gets his due [Daily News]
Hall of Fame induction coverage [Philly Hoops Insider]
Video: [YouTube.com]

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Posted: Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 3:29 pm by dom
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Did Rollie deserve to get into the Big 5 Hall of Fame?

Wait. Isn't he the guy who busted things up?From 1991-92 through 1998-99, the Big 5 wasn’t really the Big 5. Instead, during those eight seasons, the spectacle of the city’s five teams all playing one another in a given season was reduced to a lame, round-robin format in which everybody only played one game against two of the others, rather than against all four.

It was a time of great change, really. Conference affiliation was starting to matter. Television was taking over, if it hadn’t already. And financially, it made sense for schools — even Big 5 schools — to play as many home games as possible on campus, rather than at the P, because of the revenue advantages. As far back as the ‘86-87 season, in fact, both Villanova and Temple played their Big 5 “home” games in their own gyms. But with Villanova being in the gauntlet that was (is?) the Big East, the Wildcats — and their coach at the time, Rollie Massimino — did not want to have the bulk of their non-conference schedule loaded with games against city rivals. So they opted out. And for many, the bitterness has lingered ever since. The question, though, is how much of that bitterness was finally put to rest with Rollie’s induction into the Big 5 Hall of Fame last Friday?

There are many who never forgave Villanova — and, by the same token, Rollie — for big-timing the rest of the city like that. The Wildcats had won that national championship in 1985, and the perception of them — fairly or not — seemed to change overnight. Sure, La Salle had those great teams with the L-Train in the late ’80s and early ’90s, and Temple made a few runs to the Elite Eight, including the ‘88 team that was ranked No. 1 in the country for a significant stretch of the season. But with the Big East and all that league was becoming in the ’80s, ‘Nova did seem to be on another level.

Last week, when the Big 5 inducted Massimino into its Hall along with Temple’s John Chaney and La Salle’s Speedy Morris, the specter of what Daddy Mass did by busting up the Big 5 was the elephant in the room: How could the administrators of the city’s five schools pay their highest tribute to the man who was most responsible for essentially busting up the organization those five schools had created?

The Daily News, which did separate stories on Chaney, Massimino and Morris in the days leading up to last Friday’s induction luncheon, did a pretty solid job exploring this topic in its story on Coach Mass. The conclusion? That enough time has passed for any and all wounds to heal. After all, why else would the Big 5 go through the trouble of placing Massimino into the Hall at the same time as Chaney and Speedy? The point was obvious: That despite any fractured feelings, or any old grudges, these guys were all a part of something together. That the Big 5 is above such squabbles, even if it really sucked to have to wait every two years to get payback against Villanova for their having carpet-bagged it out to the Main Line just to play a game no one actually wanted to see against a team — The School of the Blind? The Little Sisters of the Poor? — no one had ever heard of.

 

 

Kansas football to be featured on Rivalries Live

KANSAS CITY, Mo., October 1, 2010 – One of the most anticipated games of the college football season locally is between in-state rivals: the University of Kansas and Kansas State University. On October 14th, Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas, will be packed with fans from both sides cheering on their teams. The stadium parking lot and student front yards won’t be the only places for fans to ramp up their spirits before the game; Boulevard Brewing Co., along with The Oread hotel and FOX Sports Midwest, will host a pregame party on the hotel’s 9th floor terrace for spectators to sport their college colors, enjoy a cold Boulevard beer and bask in the hype leading up to kick-off.
“We are excited to be a part of this Kansas tradition,” says John McDonald, founder and president of Boulevard Brewing Co. “Both Lawrence and Manhattan have shown great Boulevard pride over the years and for us to be able to help provide a celebration for students, alumni and other fans to show their university pride, is an honor for the brewery.”
FOX Sports Midwest (FSN) will start the night’s broadcast with the pregame show, Boulevard Rivarlies Live, at 6 p.m. FSN will highlight cutaway footage from The Oread festivities during the show, providing fans a chance to show viewers watching at home on either FOX Sports Midwest or FOX Sports Kansas City, their team pride.
“This year’s game is the 100th consecutive meeting between the schools, making it the nation’s fourth-longest uninterrupted series,” said Nancy Longhurst, general manager of The Oread. “We can’t think of a better way to celebrate than showing viewers at home folks celebrating on the top of our hotel,”
In addition to this game, Boulevard Rivalries Live will air on FOX Sports Midwest immediately prior to the Kansas vs. Missouri game on November 17th. The shows prepare fans for the games, breaking down the match-ups and delivering the latest news from the site of the game, along with buzz from throughout the Big 12.
About Boulevard Brewing Company
Boulevard Brewing Company has grown to be the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest, dedicated to the craft of producing fresh, flavorful beers using traditional ingredients and the best of both old and new brewing techniques. Boulevard’s portfolio of year-round and seasonal beers are available in nine Midwestern states, with selected offerings distributed in an additional 10 states.
About The Oread Hotel
The Oread, Lawrence’s newest premiere hotel, is the most unique and complete center for lodging, hospitality, business and social leisure activities in the region, perched atop Mount Oread, at the north gate of The University of Kansas. The Oread is currently taking reservations for rooms, conferences, meetings, parties and weddings at (785) 843-1200 or www.theoread.com.
About FOX Sports
FOX Sports Midwest, a regional sports television network, is the leading provider of local sports in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa, reaching more than 5.9 million television homes. FOX Sports Midwest telecasts more than 2000 hours of live local programming each year, including St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, and Cincinnati Reds baseball, St. Louis Blues hockey, Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever basketball, plus Big 12, Missouri Valley Conference, Kansas State University, University of Missouri and University of Nebraska athletics, local high school sports and much more.
FSN is the nation’s leading provider of local sports. Through its 19 owned-and-operated regional networks, FSN serves as the TV home to more than half of all MLB, NHL and NBA teams. In 2006, FSN launched FOX Sports Indiana, a regional network that airs Pacers basketball and Reds baseball. FOX Sports Indiana reaches 1.2 million homes in Indiana (those 1.2 million homes are counted in the 5.9 million home for FOX Sports Midwest). In 2008, FSN launched FOX Sports Kansas City, a regional network that airs Royals baseball and Kansas State basketball and reaches more than 1.6 million homes in western Missouri and Kansas.

Hockey Big 5

The origins of hockey can be traced back to the earliest civilisations of the world. The modern sport of Field Hockey was developed in the British Isles as an alternative to Football for cricketers seeking a winter sport in the mid-19th century.

The game spread through the British Empire, largely due to the British Army, who played it at their many bases all around the world.

Until the 1970s, Hockey was always played on grass, but top-level matches now take place on pitches made of synthetic turf, which allows the ball to roll more smoothly.

This has increased the speed of the game and the skill level of the world’s top players.

Hockey at the Games

Hockey made its first appearance at the London 1908 Olympic Games. It did not return until the Antwerp 1920 Games, but has remained ever since. The first Women’s event was held at Moscow 1980.
How to play – and win

Hockey is played on a 100 x 60 yard (91 x 55 metre) outdoor pitch by two teams of 11 players. There are 16 players in a squad and substitutes can roll onto and off the pitch thoughout the match.

Each player uses a stick that is flat on one side, rounded on the other. Players must use the flat side of their stick to hit or control the hard Hockey ball.

Goals can only be scored by a member of the attacking team from inside the shooting circle, or ‘D’ - a semi-circular area in front of their goal. At the end of a 70-minute match, the team with the highest number of goals wins.

Sometimes more than 100 substitutions are made in international matches.

Volleyball Big 5

Volleyball began in the same place as Basketball – a YMCA gym in Massachusetts, USA.

In 1895, four years after James Naismith invented Basketball, his friend William G. Morgan came up with a game he called ‘Mintonette’ – designed as a more gentle alternative to Basketball for older members of the gym.

Mintonette grew into modern Volleyball, which is anything but gentle, as players leap and smash their way to success in one of the world’s fastest sports.

Volleyball at the Olympic Games

Volleyball first appeared in the Games at Tokyo 1964. Historically, the dominant forces in world Volleyball have been Brazil, Italy and Russia.

How the competition runs

Volleyball is played by two teams of six on an 18m by 9m (60ft by 30ft) indoor court. The teams are divided by a net that stands 2.43m (96in) high for men and 2.24m (88in) for women.

The object of the game is to hit the ball over the net to land in the other team’s half of the court. Players normally use their hands to try to keep the ball in the air and set up point-winning plays, although the ball can be played by any part of the body.

Each team is allowed three touches of the ball before it must cross back over the net. Matches are the best of five sets, with 25 points needed to win a set (15 in the fifth and deciding set).

In 2012, the Olympic Volleyball competition will feature 12 teams in a preliminary round, divided into two pools of six teams.

A total of 76 matches will be played during 16 days of competition – 38 matches each for women and men.

Kiwi chef de mission Dave Currie confirms exit from Commonwealth role

New Zealand's Commonwealth Games team boss Dave Currie has confirmed that the Delhi Commonwealth Games would be his last as chef de mission.

Currie would come back to manage the Kiwi team for 2012 London Olympics, but after that he would look at making a change.

"I've had an extraordinary run. As much as I love it, it will be time for something else. It's been on my mind for a while. But, when I get there, I might still pull a David Lange and say I want to keep the job," The New Zealand Herald quoted Currie, as saying.

"People ask me how I got here... and I have no idea. I can join the dots backwards. However, I'm not prepared to go and have cups of coffee forever yet. I'm committed to London, but not ready to retire to Raglan [his home town]," he added.

Currie further said that the Delhi Commonwealth Games experience, where he has been immersed in ongoing security, hygiene and safety concerns, have tested his passion for the job.

"People tell me I do the job moderately well, but it's never easy. It's times like this when you are tested that enjoy is the wrong word, but it's probably why you do it because it is hard. One of Tenzing Norgay's quotes is "be great and make others great" so the driver for me is to be the best we can be," he added.

Currie is contracted with New Zealand Cricket until early 2012 before he completes his role as a chef de mission in London.

He will return to his other job as Black Caps manager two weeks after the Commonwealth Games.

The New Zealand cricket team will be in India for a six-week tour. (ANI)

 

Basketball Big 5

Basketball is usually considered an American sport, but it was actually invented by a Canadian churchman called James Naismith.

He wanted to create a game that could be played indoors during the winter, as a way of keeping his students at the YMCA in shape.

Today, Basketball is played worldwide, with players from more than 30 countries strutting their stuff in the American National Basketball Association (NBA) - the world’s leading professional league.

Basketball at the Games

The US men’s team has dominated Olympic Basketball.

For 36 years after Basketball entered the Games as a full medal sport at Berlin 1936, the question was always who would win silver.

Then, at Munich 1972, the Soviet Union won a tight gold medal match, beginning a rivalry that lasted until Barcelona 1992.

At Barcelona, professional players took part for the first time, and an all-star NBA ‘Dream Team’ won gold.

Women’s Basketball – first held at the Games in Montreal 1976 – has not been so one-sided, although the United States and Russia still dominate.
How to play – and win

At the Olympic Games, Basketball is played on an indoor court by two teams of five players.

The aim is to score points by shooting the ball into your net (or ‘basket’), which sits on a backboard 3.05 metres (10 feet) above floor level.

The players move the ball around the court by bouncing it along the floor and throwing it to one another. Games consist of four 10-minute quarters with teams changing ends at half-time.

Boxing Big 5

Boxing is the original combat sport. It featured in the ancient Olympic Games, when opponents would fight each other with strips of leather wrapped around their fists.

After centuries of bloody – and sometimes deadly – bareknuckle fights in England, the sport was eventually regulated by the Queensberry rules, created by the Marquess of Queensberry in 1867.

Today’s best boxers fight their way to the top through a combination of strength and skill.

Boxing at the Games

Although it was one of the most popular events at the ancient Olympic Games, organisers of the first modern Games thought Boxing was too dangerous to be included in the programme.

It was eventually brought in by public demand, and has been part of every Games since Antwerp 1920.

The Games has given fight fans their first chance to see many great boxers, including the young Cassius Clay Junior, later known as Muhammad Ali.

Women’s Boxing made a brief appearance, as a demonstration sport, at the 1904 Olympic Games. Following an historic decision of the IOC Executive Board on 13 August 2009, Women’s Boxing will be included in the 2012 Olympic Games.
How to play – and win

Boxing at the Olympic Games is governed by the sport’s amateur body, AIBA. It has different rules and equipment from Professional Boxing.

Male Olympic boxers will compete in 10 weight classes, from light flyweight (for boxers under 49 kilograms) to super heavyweight (over 91 kilograms).

Male bouts take place over three three-minute rounds. Boxers score points for every punch they land on their opponent’s head or upper body.

Female Olympic boxers will compete in three weight classes: flyweight (for boxers under 51 kilograms); lightweight (for boxers under 60 kilograms); and middleweight (for boxers under 75 kilograms).

Female bouts take place over four two-minute rounds, with points awarded in the same way as the men's.

Football Big 5

Football is one of the most widely played and oldest games in existence. The ancient Chinese, Greeks and Romans played something very similar to Football long before the English Kings in the 1300s and 1400s tried to outlaw what they described as a violent sport.

In modern terms, Football began when the Football Association of England was founded in 1863. The game was spread throughout the world by English sailors who used to play it wherever they went.
Football at the Games

Men’s Football was a demonstration event at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens 1896.

It became a full medal sport from London 1908. At Barcelona 1992, professional players were allowed to take part in the Games for the first time. The rules were changed to make it an Under-23 event, with three players over this age allowed in every team.

Women’s Football has no age limits and appeared at the Games for the first time in Atlanta 1996.
How to play – and win

Football is played on an outdoor grass pitch by two teams of 11 players.

The aim of the game is to score a goal by putting the ball in the other team’s net. The team that scores the most goals wins.

Only the goalkeepers on each team are allowed to touch the ball with their hands. The other players use their feet, head and body to move it around the pitch.

Matches are played over 90 minutes – two 45-minute halves.

Muralitharan to make a surprise farewell tour to Australia, play 2011 World Cup

Highest wicket taker in ODIs and Test cricket Muttiah Muralitharan is all set to make a surprise farewell tour of Australia and has also declared his intentions to play the 2011 World Cup in the subcontinent.

Murali, who retired from Test cricket in July with a record 800 wickets, told Sri Lankan cricket officials that he was keen to continue playing one-day cricket.ri Lanka will tour Australia in November and Murali has made his intentions clear to play three one-dayers.

The first one-dayer, at the MCG on November 3, will witness Murali back in action.

Sri Lankan selectors have yet to formally pick Murali in their tour squad for Australia but it is impossible to imagine them overlooking the man who is adored in his homeland, The Daily Telegraph reports.

"Murali wants to pick and choose his tours for the shorter version of the game ... but he has said he is available for selection for the forthcoming tour of Australia. He has also indicated his availability for the World Cup," a source close to Murali told the paper.

Murali has not played international cricket since July but was part of the Chennai side that recently won the Champions League Twenty20 tournament in South Africa. (ANI)