OT: Peyton Manning to Sign with Broncos

I wonder what ESPN will spend their time talkin' about now...

Any guesses?

ESPN:  Where will Tim Tebow be traded to?

That's going to be all we hear about these next few days as it was just announced that Peyton Manning's agent is negotiating what is believed to be a five-year $95 million deal with the Denver Broncos.

Looks like Brady Quinn made a good decision to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs.

LINK:  ESPN COVERAGE

News and Notes: Monday Edition

Above, the words "Create the Future" appear on the walls of Cornell's Chuck Rolles Class of 1956 Locker Room. Below, news and notes for Monday...
  • The Ivy League Office's postseason release notes, "The Ivy League boasts multiple teams in the postseason for the fourth time in five years and has at least three teams continuing beyond the regular season for just the third time (2001-02, 2009-10 and 2011-12). Two seasons ago, Cornell went on its Cinderella run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament while Princeton went on a run of its own to reach the CBI semifinals and Harvard made its first postseason appearance of any type in 64 years in the CIT."
  • A Columbia Spectator columnist discusses a potential second bid for the Ivy League in the NCAA Tournament and writes, "In recent years, a few members of the Ancient Eight have succeeded on the national level. Anyone who takes even a passive interest in college basketball probably heard about Cornell’s improbable Sweet 16 run [in 2010]... Linsanity may be dead, but the Harvard alum is still putting up solid numbers for the Knicks. And he’s not the only Ivy Leaguer in the NBA—former Cornell center Jeff Foote was recently called up from the D-League by the Hornets. While this kind of success (and the press that comes with it) has been more frequent of late, Cornell, Harvard, and Princeton are still exceptions. The Ivy League has never been able to produce two tournament-caliber teams... Fortunately for all eight Ivy schools, the recent and well-publicized successes of Cornell, Princeton, and particularly Harvard have made the Ancient Eight a more attractive option for potential recruits. The opportunity to become part of a Cinderella story combined with a world-class education is drawing more and more talent into the conference. The Ivy League will never be a powerhouse conference—and that’s a good thing, as its underdog quality is part of its charm. But with improved financial aid packages and a rising national profile, it’s only a matter of time—and not much time, in my opinion—before there are two Cornells or two Harvards in the league."
  • Recapping the end of a high school career of Cornell recruit, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, the Kelowna Daily Courier writes, "The Kelowna Owls' game with the Pitt Meadows Marauders at the B.C. boys 3A provincial basketball championships was not just the team's last game of the season. It was also the swan song for two players who might [be] two of the best in KSS hoops history, but also two of the best to come out of Western Canada in recent memory. Braxston Bunce and Mitch Goodwin formed the most dangerous duo in the province this season, but they went out on a losing note, dropping a 62-53 decision to the Marauders on Saturday at the Langley Events Centre. Bunce, who received 17 scholarship offers from U.S. schools and will play Div. 1 at Cornell in the fall, was unable to finish the game, as he nursed a twisted right ankle picked up in a consolation-round win on Friday over the WJ Mouat Hawks of Abbotsford. 'Obviously, this was not the way we wanted things to go this week,' said a disappointed Bunce following a post-game ceremony. 'It's really tough, but you have to move on.'"
  • Not a member of Twitter? See what The Cornell Basketball Blog is tweeting and retweeting each day by visiting our Twitter Timeline.
  • So how did Cornell finish the 2011-2012 season? Cornell's RPI rank as of March 19 is No. 180 out of 344 total Division I teams. The Ken Pomeroy and Jeff Sagarin rankings are No. 201 and No. 197 respectively. Below are links to our game recap sections from each of Cornell's games this season along with notations of postseason bids received by Cornell 2011-2012 opponents.
  1. November 11, 2011 at St. Bonaventure L 58-79 (NCAA Tournament)
  2. November 14, 2011 vs. Binghamton W 76-61
  3. November 16, 2011 at Buffalo L 59-68 (CollegeInsider.com)
  4. November 20, 2011 vs. Boston University W 71-66
  5. November 22, 2011 at Delaware L 68-76 (CBI)
  6. November 27, 2011 vs. American L 63-65 (CollegeInsider.com)
  7. December 3, 2011 vs. Lehigh W 81-79 (OT) (NCAA Tournament)
  8. December 17, 2011 vs. Albany W 85-82 (OT) (CollegeInsider.com)
  9. December 19, 2011 at Illinois L 60-64 (TV: ESPN3)
  10. December 21, 2011 at Penn State L 67-74 (TV: Big Ten Network)
  11. December 28, 2011 at Stony Brook L 58-69 (OT) (TV: Cablevision 118) (NIT)
  12. December 31, 2011 at Bucknell L 60-63 (CBI)
  13. January 3, 2012 at Maryland L 62-70 (TV: ESPN3)
  14. January 7, 2012 vs. Albright W 78-60
  15. January 13, 2012 vs. Princeton W 67-59 (CBI)
  16. January 14, 2012 vs. Penn L 52-64 (CBI)
  17. January 21, 2012 at Columbia L 56-61
  18. January 28, 2012 vs. Columbia W 65-60
  19. February 3, 2012 at Harvard L 60-71 (NCAA Tournament)
  20. February 4, 2012 at Dartmouth W 68-59
  21. February 10, 2012 vs. Yale W 85-84 OT (CollegeInsider.com)
  22. February 11, 2012 vs. Brown W 72-63
  23. February 17, 2012 at Penn L 66-73 (CBI)
  24. February 18, 2012 at Princeton L 57-75 (CBI)
  25. February 24, 2012 at Brown W 69-63
  26. February 25, 2012 at Yale L 40-71 (CollegeInsider.com)
  27. March 2, 2012 vs. Dartmouth W 70-57
  28. March 3, 2012 vs. Harvard L 63-67 (NCAA Tournament)
  • Below is an updated directory listing of some Twitter feeds associated with the Cornell basketball program. You can also follow The Cornell Basketball Blog on Twitter.
-Josh Wexler ('88)
-Bo Buttenback ('98)
-Steve Cobb ('05)
-Ryan Rourke ('06)
-Andrew Naeve ('07)
-Jason Canady ('08)
-Khaliq Gant ('09)
-Conor Mullen ('09)
-Brian Kreefer ('09)
-Ryan Wittman ('10)
-Pete Reynolds ('10)
-Jon Jaques ('10)
-Louis Dale ('10)
-Alex Tyler ('10)
-Geoff Reeves ('10)
-Jeff Foote ('10)
-Andre Wilkins ('10) (inactive)
-Aaron Osgood ('11)
-Adam Wire ('11)
-Max Groebe ('12)
-Chris Wroblewski ('12)
-Andrew Ferry ('12)
-The Cornell Rebounders Club
-Jonathan Grey ()
-Miles Asafo Adjei ()
-Peter McMillan ()
-Errick Peck ()
-Josh Figini ()
-Galal Cancer ()
-Ned Tomic ()
-Dominick Scelfo ()
-Jake Mathews ()
-Dwight Tarwater ()
-Manny Sahota ()
-Dave LaMore ()
-Shonn Miller ()
-Devin Cherry ()
-Nolan Cressler (committed recruit)
-Braxston Bunce (committed recruit)
-Holt Harmon (committed recruit)
-Tim Higgins (committed recruit)
-Robert Mischler (committed recruit)
-Assistant Coach Mike Blaine ()
-Assistant Coach Marlon Sears ()
-Assistant Coach Arlen Galloway ()
-Brian Delaney, WPIE/ESPN Radio Ithaca ()
-Ed Boulat, Ithaca Journal
-Cornell Daily Sun Sports ()
-Slope Sports ()
-WVBR Sports ()
-Former assistant coach, Jay Larranaga ()
-Former head coach, Steve Donahue ()
-Former assistant coach, Nat Graham ()
-Former assistant coach, Woody Kampmann ()
-Former Assistant Coach Ricky Yahn ()
-Former Intern Assistant Ryan Woerner ()
  • Throughout the year we provide periodic updates on Cornell's alumni playing professionally. Below, some updates:
-Jeff Aubry ('99) (Halcones Rojos, LNBP Mexico premier league/Arecibo Capitanes, BSN Puerto Rico premier league)-As of March 19, Aubry is averaging 3.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game for Arecibo in the BSN Puerto Rico premier league. Arecibo is 3-5 and in 6th place out of 8 teams in the league. Aubry, a 6'11" center, splits his time in both the Mexican and Puerto Rican professional leagues. He is also a member of Puerto Rico's national team joining several NBA stars. A well traveled pro player, Aubry spent several seasons in the NBA D League in the early part of his career with the Fayetteville Patriots and Florida Flame and earned honorable mention all NBA D League in 2002. During his more than a decade of pro experience, Aubry has also played professionally in the ABA (Miami Tropics) and abroad in Puerto Rico (Arecibo, Leones de Ponce, and Santurce, BSN Puerto Rico), Spain (Tarragona, LEB Gold Spain 2nd Division), Mexico (Halcones Rojos and Chihuahua Dorados, LNBP Mexico premier league), Poland (Slask Wroclaw, PLK Poland premier league), Argentina (Libertad Sunchales, Liga A Argentina), Uruguay (Hebraica, LUB Uruguay )and Peru (Alas Peruanas, Peru).

-Cody Toppert ('05) (Logitravel Mallorca, LEB Gold Spain 2nd Division)-As of March 19, Toppert is averaging 3.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. Mallorca is 12-16 and in 14th place out of 18 teams in the LEB Gold (2nd Division). Prior to joining Mallorca midseason, he averaged 6.0 points and 1.8 rebounds per game during 2011-2012 for Ourense in the Spanish LEB Silver (3rd Division). During his pro career, Toppert, a 6'4" wing forward, has played in Spain (Ourense, LEB Silver Spain 3rd Division), England (Plymouth Raiders, British Basketball League), Italy (Forli, LegaDue Italy 2nd division), the CBA (Great Falls Explorers), as well as in Portugal (Barriernese, LCB Portugal premier league), Bulgaria (BC CSKA Sofia, NBL Bulgaria premier league), Germany (Goettingen/Scholz Weissenhorn, BBK Bundesliga Germany premier league) and New Zealand (Taranaki Mountain Airs, NBL New Zealand premier league).

-Jason Hartford ('08) (Unsigned free agent)-As of March 19, Hartford is unsigned for the 2011-2012 season. He was cut during the week of October 17 by Cader Rocha, LUB Uruguay premier league and is now a free agent. He was averaging 12.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, second on the team in both categories. The 6'9" Hartford previously played professionally in Portugal (Ginasio, LCB Portugal premier league), Finland (Huima, Korisliiga Finland premier league) and Mozambique (Maxaquene, D1 Mozambique premier league).

-Louis Dale ('10) (Goettingen, BBK Bundesliga Germany premier league)-As of March 19, Dale is out for the season with a torn ACL. He was averaging 11.9 points, 2.2 assists, and 2.0 rebounds per game before the injury. Dale is in his second professional season, both seasons in Germany with Goettingen.

-Ryan Wittman ('10) (Unsigned free agent)-As of March 19, Wittman is unsigned for the 2011-2012 season after he terminated his contract on September 26 with Zastal of the PLK Poland premier league. He played the 2010-2011 season in Italy (Forli, LegaDue Italy 2nd division) and in the United States (Fort Wayne Mad Ants, NBA D-League).http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7340341118673898826

-Jeff Foote ('10) (New Orleans Hornets, NBA/Springfield Armor, NBA D-League)-As of March 19, Foote is averaging 1.0 points and 1.5 rebounds per game for the Hornets which signed him during March. New Orleans is 11-34 and in 15th place out of 15 teams in the Western Conference. Prior to joining the Hornets, Foote was averaging 14.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 55% from the floor in the D-League. He participated in the Portland Trailblazers' 2011-2012 training camp and was an NBA D-League 2011-2012 All Star. Springfield is 22-16 (1st place out of 8 teams in the Eastern Conference). He played the 2011-2012 preseason with with Zastal of the PLK Poland premier league and the full 2010-2011 season in Spain (Melilla, LEB Gold Spain 2nd division) while on loan from Euro League powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel.

-Adam Wire ('11) (Unsigned free agent)-As of March 19, Wire is an unsigned free agent. He was waived by Vaerlose, Denmark BBK premier league during December. He was averaging 11.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 1.9 assists per game. On November 4, 2011 he was named the Eurobasket Player of the Week for Denmark. The 2011-2012 season is his rookie year.

-Aaron Osgood ('11) (Unsigned free agent)-As of March 19, Osgood is an unsigned free agent. He was waived by Vaerlose, Denmark BBK premier league during December. He was averaging 11.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. The 2011-2012 season is his rookie year.
Visit The Cornell Basketball Blog's Community Forum and Message Board to interact with other fans of Cornell and Ivy League basketball. Membership is free! You may also follow us on Twitter.

Blueprint for Success, the yearbook commemorating Cornell's memorable 2009-2010 season is on sale. Visit the Cornell Athletics website to order your copy today! Or pick up a copy sold in the Cornell Store on campus.

Fans of the basketball program in the Ithaca area should not miss the opportunity to join the Cornell Rebounders Club.

Charles Sollars' Notre Dame Helmet Designs












As an exclusive to the ND GO IRISH BLOG -- Charles Sollars, a Missouri based designer -- has taken the liberty of creating a few helmet designs for the NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH.    

I'll always be partial to the new GOLD HELMET the Irish broke out for the USC game this year -- but, it doesn't hurt to explore new options.

Just click on the photo -- and it will enlarge -- and it will kick you into slideshow mode...

Let me know what you think -- and if you have any new ideas, we'll pass them on to Charles -- use the COMMENTS section below...


Irish Win First Round NCAA Game over Liberty!

Muffet's IRISH made their first FOUR SHOTS in the 2012 NCAA Tournament -- and it was 11 - 0 and GAME OVER, just a couple of minutes in.

The halftime score was 44 - 19 and the FIGHTING IRISH didn't even take a warm-up shot coming out into the second half.  It was just a matter of how bad did Muffet's crew want to play over the last 20 minutes...

The final score ended up: 74 - 41.

Next up for the IRISH -- #8 seed California on Tuesday -- who looked VERY GOOD in their 84 - 74 win over #9 seed Iowa.  This might just be ND's toughest test before FINAL FOUR weekend in Denver.  That's how good this California team is.

LINK:  FINAL BOX SCORE

LINK:  POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE 

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Notre Dame's NCAA Tourney Run Begins Today

Muffet McGraw's #1 seeded Fightin' Irish begin the road to Denver and the 2012 FINAL FOUR -- today at 2:40 PM ET on ESPN2 -- when they take on Jerry Falwell's Liberty University Flames at "HOME" inside Purcell Pavillion.

I'll be sitting in the stands, so expect a "first person" follow-up report this evening.  Here's a link to the NCAA coverage coming out of South Bend:

LINK:  NCAA PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  NOTRE DAME vs. LIBERTY -- PREVIEW

LINK:  TOURNEY CENTRAL

News and Notes: Sunday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Sunday...

ND Band in Ireland for 2012 St. Patrick's Day!


A few members of the Band of the Fighting Irish were in the perfect place to celebrate St. Patrick's Day yesterday -- DUBLIN, IRELAND!  As you'll see here in a few articles and videos from Ireland -- the Notre Dame marching band did us proud!

Twelve marching bands performed during the parade including -- NINE FROM AMERICA!  (the above photo is all I could find so far)

LINK:  VIDEO OF THE BAND OF THE FIGHTING IRISH

LINK:  VIDEO -- RAKES OF MALLOW

LINK:  IRISH TIMES

LINK:  BELFAST TELEGRAPH

LINK:  HOUSE OF BRIGID BLOG

Father Hesburgh Awarded Irish Citizenship!


In a St. Patrick's Day ceremony yesterday -- here on the campus of the University of Notre Dame -- "Father Ted" was honored with IRISH CITIZENSHIP.  Ireland's highest honor was bestowed on ND's former president by Ireland's Prime Minister Enda Kenny.  Here's a couple links to the story:

LINK:  IRISH AMERICA MAGAZINE

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

Video: UK Coach Calipari, Players 2012 NCAA Tourney Post-Iowa St Press Conference

Kentucky's players, coach talk after defeating Iowa State: Kentucky' basketball coach John Calipari and UK players talk after defeating Iowa State to head to the Sweet 16 where they will face Indiana in Atlanta. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com


Photos: 2012 NCAA Tournament UK vs. Iowa State 3/17/12

Quinn & Zbikowski Switch NFL Teams...


Former Irish football stars; Brady Quinn and Tom Zbikowski signed with new NFL teams in the past 24 hours. 

Yesterday, Zbikowski signed a three-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts after starting his career in Baltimore. Today, Quinn agreed to a contract with the Kansas City Chiefs (terms not disclosed) after spending seasons in Cleveland and Denver.  Here's hoping the moves turn out great for both!

LINK:  QUINN SIGNS WITH CHIEFS

LINK:  ZIBBY SIGNS WITH COLTS
Anchors Aweigh Away

The BCs found it pretty stirring this morning when the Naval Academy Band played their team onto the court to the strains of Anchors Aweigh. The Midshipmen (#15 seed in the Raleigh region), of course, had an 11 AM St. Patrick's Day date with the #2 seed, Maryland, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Once the game got underway, it seemed that the early tip off was the Top O'the Morning for the Mids, who are probably used to rising at o-dark-thirty. But perhaps a bit too early for the Terps, who looked like they would rather be drinking coffee at that hour than Gatorade. Which is another way of saying that it took Maryland a wee bit longer than the Mids to get things going. When they finally did -- thanks in large measure to a great second half by Super Soph (and All Everything) Alyssa Thomas -- it was anchors aweigh away for Navy, as the Terps pulled aweigh away, winning 59-44.

To their credit, the women in the Blue and Gold were not intimidated by their much higher-ranked opponent; they fought hard and they gave Maryland a game. We are confident that when these future officers graduate and earn their commissions, they will serve our country well.


AT led all scorers with 17, and notched another double-double (10 boards). She also dished out 4 assists (a number that would have been higher had a couple of her teammates been able to finish). Laurin Mincy also put up double figures, with 14 points. We loved that every Terp got into the game . . . unfortunately, the odds of that happening again will surely decrease as the Tournament progresses.


It was great that some of the players' Naval Academy classmates took time from their spring break to support their team. But, as many of them sported "Beat Army" foam fingers, perhaps someone should have told them the Mids were playing Maryland.

This Navy fan not only knew who her team was playing, but was environmentally responsible enough to recycle an old sign!

In the second half of today's double bill, the Michigan State Spartans squared off against the Louisville Cardinals. The Spartans brought Sparty with them....

. . . and they may have been the "green" team on today's St. Patrick's Day program, but they definitely didn't have the luck of the Irish. The Spartans fell to Louisville, 67-55. This set up a second round game between Maryland and Louisville for Monday night at 7PM.

President Obama, in his women's bracket yesterday, picked Louisville to beat Maryland! We can't imagine this has anything to do with the fact that the State of Kentucky voted for John McCain in 2008, while Obama won Maryland in a landslide victory. In any event, of course, we hope the Terps prove the Commander in Chief to be totally wrong.

The BCs' two other teams, unfortunately, did not fare as well as Maryland did today. (That's why we've sworn off filling out brackets . . . we don't want our heads to get in the way of our hearts during March Madness.) Princeton was edged in a heartbreaker by K-State, 64-67, which means the Tigers will have to wait at least another year for the chance at their first win in the Big Dance. Dayton lost an early lead and fell to the Arkansas Razorbacks, 55-72.

At least the BCs still have Maryland to cheer for!

Go Terps . . . Beat the Cardinals! (Bust Barack's Bracket!)

Photo Credits: DC BasketCases

If Calhoun Returns, UConn Should Consider Naming 'Coach-in-Waiting,' Too


We’ll learn in the coming days or weeks whether or notJim Calhoun decides to return for a 27th year at UConn’s helm. Hardto say right now what his decision will be.

Presuming he does return, however, there’s another stepUConn needs to consider taking: naming a “coach-in-waiting,” like some otherprograms have done (including Syracuse, where longtime assistant Mike Hopkinswill take over whenever Jim Boeheim decides enough’s enough).

UConn is getting killed on the recruiting trail now.Recruits have questions about Calhoun’s health and how long he’ll remain at theschool. Calhoun is the program’s No. 1 selling point, and there isn’t even aclose No. 2 (at least until a practice facility is built). It’s Calhoun who isthe program-builder, the Hall of Famer, the owner of three nationalchampionship rings and – perhaps most importantly to top-notch recruits – who hasput dozens of players in the NBA.

Recruits know Calhoun can’t be here forever. But when heleaves, it would be nice to know that his legacy, so to speak, will be carriedon by another member of the UConn family. Presumably, that’ll be Kevin Ollie,who Calhoun seems to want as his successor. I don’t believe Ollie is ready tobe head coach quite yet, but another two or three years of tutelage and hecould be there. He’s already got tons of credentials on the recruiting trail,and tons of respect from current players.

Personally, I think Glen Miller deserves consideration,as well. But it seems Ollie is the man.

Will either be a better coach than, say, a Shaka Smart orBrad Stevens? Maybe not. But at UConn, I’m not sure Smart, Stevens or anybodycan come in and replicate what Calhoun has done here. He’s one-of-a-kind.Replacing him with a UConn family tree member might be UConn’s best bet.

UConn is said to be considering the coach-in-waitingthing, among many options. Things will finally start getting more concrete oncenew A.D. Warde Manuel arrives. His first day on the job is Monday.

*** One other thing: there’s a lot of speculation whetherAlex Oriakhi is planning to transfer. If UConn is barred from next year’s NCAAtournament, Oriakhi is the only current player who should be able to transferto another school without having to sit out a year, since he’s the team’s lonesenior-to-be.

I don’t know what is going through Alex’s mind right now,but here’s what his mother, Angela, told me a little over a week ago:

“We don’t have any plans of him going anywhere.”

And this: “One thing’s for sure: he loves Coach Calhounto death. Nobody can complain about Coach Calhoun in front of him … he respectsand loves Coach Calhoun.”

Did that change Thursday night? I don’t know, thoughCalhoun was pretty brutal on him. I’ve never sat directly behind UConn’s benchbefore, but that’s where my press seat was for the Iowa State game and, boy,Calhoun is rough.

At one point he screamed at Oriakhi, “Next G-D jump shotby a 6-5 guy, get out of the gym!” Later, he yelled at him, point blank, “Youwanna get out of here, go ahead!”

Not that Oriakhi deserved any praise on Thursday, ofcourse.

Sollars' Notre Dame Football Helmet Designs

I love Charles Sollars' helmet designs -- but, Charles -- I think you could do better for our IRISH! 

Give us something as cool and hot as you designed for; Alabama, LSU, Illinois, Mizzou...

Here's a link to fourteen helmet designs he came up with for Notre Dame -- along with a second link to helmet designs for a few other teams:

LINK:  NEW HELMET DESIGN FOR THE IRISH

LINK:  OTHER SOLLARS HELMET DESIGNS


News and Notes: Saturday Edition

Cornell's 2010 Sweet Sixteen team, which finished ranked #17 in the country, remains the most celebrated Ivy League team of the last thirty years. Each of the Ivy League programs, including Cornell itself, still strive to duplicate or exceed that result. Below, some news and notes for Saturday...
  • Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) and his New Orleans Hornets face the New Jersey Nets tonight at 8pm. This is the last game of Foote's 10-day contract with the Hornets.
  • Committed Cornell recruit, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11 nursed a sore ankle for most of Kelowna's consolation bracket victory at the AAA British Columbia Provincial Tournament. Bunce finished the game with 10 points in the win over Mouat. While covering the tournament, The Vancouver Sun writes, "The Owls’ 6-foot-11 centre, Braxston Bunce... said he didn’t need to go outside the area to find a high-end high school basketball program, although he did transfer from Okanagan Mission to Kelowna secondary as the obvious sign of a larger ambition. After weighing offers from 'probably 20 NCAA schools' the grade 12 student decided on Cornell, an Ivy League school in Ithaca, N.Y., where he’ll enrol in the fall."

Cornell was relatively new to the big dance in 2008, when they made their first tournament appearance since 1988. However, they became well accustomed to March Madness by making three straight tournament fields from 2008 to 2010. While the Big Red aren't competing this March, there are many great moments in the school's basketball history.

5. 2009 vs. Missouri in Boise (First Round)

This was the team's second consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament after finishing their Ivy League schedule with an 11-3 record. The basketball gods weren't with the Big Red as they were delivered a brutal 14th seed and a matchup with Missouri. The extremely athletic Missouri pulled away in the second half increasing a four point halftime lead to a 78-59 victory over Cornell in the first round.

4. 2008 vs. Stanford in Anaheim (First Round)

The battle of the brains, as the game was billed, was Cornell's first tournament appearance of the millennium. The Big Red received a cross country ticket complete with a matchup with the Lopez brothers of Stanford. While the Red fought valiantly they couldn't overcome the pair of seven footers and lost 77-53 to the third seeded Stanford.

3. 2010 vs. Temple in Jacksonville (First Round)

After completing a 27-4 season with a 13-1 conference record, the Big Red earned themselves a 12 seed and a marquee matchup with Temple University. After losing in the first round for the past two years, the Red would not be denied, knocking down nine threes in the game in route to a comfortable 78-65 victory over Temple.

2. 2010 vs. Wisconsin in Jacksonville (Second Round)

Riding high from their first round victory, the Red faced off against fourth seed Wisconsin with a berth in the Sweet Sixteen on the line. Cornell pushed forward once again, and easily upset Wisconsin 87-69 on the merits of shooting over 61% as a team. The victory notified the rest of the field that the Ivy League school from upstate New York was a danger to the remaining teams in the tournament.

1. 2010 vs. Kentucky in Syracuse (Sweet Sixteen)

Nobody could have predicted that Cornell would win their first two games of the tournament to set up an epic matchup with Kentucky in Syracuse, a mere 50 miles from Cornell's Ithaca campus. Earlier in the year the Red took Kansas down to the wire in Lawrence, before falling 71-66. The Red stormed out of the gate to a 10-2 lead over but couldn't match up with the athleticism of a Kentucky team that included John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Eric Bledsoe. Kentucky was victorious 62-45 but Cornell served notice to the nation that the Ivy League was there to play.

The Mornin' After a Bizarre End to a Season


I was up 'til after 2 AM ET -- trying to make sense of what happened to our IRISH...  And, I can't.

Xavier 67 - Notre Dame 63

So, I thought I'd leave it up to Coach Brey, the players and the "experts" in the media.  Here you go:

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  IRISH LOCKER ROOM -- AFTER GAME

LINK:  POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  CINCINNATI.COM STORY

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

LINK:  ESPN BLOG



Referee's Calls -- Determines Final Outcome

Folks, it's truly a shame that with less than 3 seconds left in the game -- and the IRISH down two at the free throw line...

A referee's whistle -- ends the 2011 - 2012 basketball season for our Fighting Irish.

I don't know if it rivals the call made by the first base umpire taking the PERFECT GAME away from the Detroit Tigers' pitcher two seasons ago -- but, it's usually an "un-written" rule that you let the PLAYERS PLAY at the end of the game -- especially an NCAA Tournament game.

Not tonight.  Big East referee Mike Stuart (who's one of the best in the business) made two "back to back" calls that decided the outcome of the game:
  • With Eric Atkins at the free throw line with 2.8 seconds remaining and the IRISH down by 2, Stuart blows the whistle after Atkins made the first free throw -- calling Jerian Grant for a violation -- even though he's almost 20' away from the basket.  Taking the point away from Notre Dame and giving the ball to Xavier...
  • Then, on the in-bounds play that followed -- Stuart blows the whistle before the ball is thrown in, calling an INTENTIONAL FOUL on our IRISH -- awarding two free throws and the ball out of bounds to Xavier -- GAME OVER...

Mike Stuart took CONTROL AWAY FROM THE PLAYERS -- of the final 2.8 seconds of the basketball game -- ultimately making the decision that Xavier WOULD WIN and our IRISH WOULD GO HOME...

Ironically, I found this interview of Mike Stuart (January 2011) talking about the end of games (see cover photo of Stuart above) where he makes this quote -- and I swear I'm not making this up -- click on the article below:

“That game was really a great game where both teams competed at their highest level, and they decided the game,” he said. “At the end of the day, that is our goal.” -- Mike Stuart.

YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS UP!!!

Sleepless in South Bend...

LINK:  MIKE STUART -- LETTING "PLAYERS DECIDE THE GAME..."

Video: UK Coach Calipari on UK-Iowa St 2012 NCAA Tournament game

Kentucky's coach John Calipari talks on Friday about Saturday's UK/Iowa St NCAA Tournament game on CBS at 7:45pm EST. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com.