ELynah Forum

A deeply disturbing performance, one of the worst I've seen in any Cornell sport at any time. The score -- and even the stats, as lopsided as they were -- don't capture the Hoyas' total domination. Cornell disorganized, undisciplined, error-prone, selfish, and lacking commitment. That makes it three years in a row of ineptitude against Georgetown ... and another nasty rainstorm, although at least this one was temporary, as opposed to 2002.

Thanks for your continued hard work on this site, Adriano. A quick question: How do you create a flat view of a selected topic? There used to be a "button" near the bottom of a selected thread, but I can't find it. It's likely I'm being blind and/or dense, so please forgive.

I think Matt's right about Cornell chances of getting an at-large bid. Doesn't look good. It seems that the Committee's first criterion is wins over teams that finish the season in the top 15 slots of the RPI rankings. I gather they'll be clustered into three groups, 1-5, 6-10, and 10-15, with different (and unspecified?) rewards for each level. Cornell has two wins over teams that have prayers of finishing the season in those slots: Penn State and Dartmouth, and they're both currently occupying low-reward 10-15 slots in the RPI. I think there might've been a chance that Penn State could've sneaked into a 1-5 position in the RPI, but that's out the window now -- they might even finish the season with a losing record. It's AQ or die, I reckon.

Cornell's performance in its four biggest games of the season -- Georgetown, Hofstra, Syracuse, and Princeton -- was beyond disappointing. I don' know if this team deserves the Ivy AQ. At any rate, I'm not getting my hopes up for no damned 33% shot.

So let's talk next year. 2004 will be a freaky transitional season for the league. This year's Princeton team had the most senior-laden roster I've ever seen in any college sport ever (which, by the way, makes the poor recent performances against Dartmouth and Loyola all the more mysterious). Yes, they get Boyle and Donegar back, but they lose almost everything else. That doesn't mean they'll suck. They're too well-coached. But the door is open. Problem is, can Cornell -- or anybody else in the Ivies other than up-and-comers Dartmouth -- step into it?

Next year, Cornell loses (in order of impact) McClay, Schalk, Sands, Haswell the elder, Viola, and a few others (am I forgetting someone?). It's hard to assess Cornell's recruiting class, because it's continuing the recent trend of more and more private school kids -- a source that I just don't know well. But I think it's safe to say that the two most important recruits are goalies: Matt McMonagle of Episcopal Academy in the Philadelphia area and Ethan Vedder of downstate powerhouse Yorktown. Washington & Lee transfer Brandon Ross was heroic in a few games this year, and he kept improving. But the goalie situation was, to put it as nicely as possible, problematic. I wish some of the young close defenders had showed a little more this year. Then I'd feel that we had a shot. We'll see if guys like Pisco will step up. But I'm not gonna count on it.

Al wrote: "Apparently Hartofilis didn't play for Princeton--suspended for some kind of team rule violation. Two other Princeton starters were injured as was their face-off guy."

All true, but it's also worth noting that Dartmouth played without its leading scorer, attackman Jamie Coffin (Greenwich, CT), one of the nation's best freshmen -- and source of about a fifth of Dartmouth's point production.

It has been a dreadful year for the league, and Dartmouth is the only team that can claim that the 2003 season exceeded expectations.

As a devastated Caps fan, it was hard to watch Martin St. Louis shred my team. He scored three game-winning goals in the series, and his line accounted (I think) for nearly every single goal scored against the Caps in all six games.

But the man is a joy to watch. We all knew he could score goals. But who knew he such a tough, gritty, hard-working little nut? I agree with Adam. He is, without a doubt, my favorite ECAC alumnus in the NHL after the Cornellians and Halpern.

It's fascinating to see how many kids from western Canada are represented: Four from British Columbia (LeNeveu, Gare, Hemingway, Fast); four from Alberta (Brown, McElhinney, Joseph, Stevenson); and one from Saskatchewan (Kunitz). That's more than a third of the total.

By contrast, those wacky hockey hotbeds of Indiana, California, and Pennsylvania each have as many All-Americans as Ontario: one.

My earliest memory of glass-scaling is from the 1984-5 season, after we beat Yale in the ECAC quarterfinals. You can't see the scaling, but you can see the end result in the 1985 yearbook.

Glenn Gould didn't smile while performing.
Fyodor Chaliapin didn't smile while performing.
Joe Strummer didn't smile while performing.

Some art forms are about power, not joy.

The cowbell is so much more than a cheer. It's... it's... Physics. Like "Let's Go Red," the cowbell should be the physical manifestation of a game's momentum. I think Adriano has extraordinary sensitivity with his timing, perhaps more than any of his predecessors. Because of this, I don't care how he looks when he performs it ...but a purple/dour face would be appropriate.



>>>>EDIT: How much does a new beater cost, anyway? I'll contribute.



Post Edited (03-31-03 19:22)

Will watching that clip over and over again make hair grow on my palms?

DC folks,

If the whole ESPNZone thing doesn't work, I strongly recommend heading over to The Rock on 6th Street, NW (opposite the east side of the MCI Center). I gotta say, I have had nothing but bad experiences when it comes to watching college hockey at ESPNZone. The people at The Rock are MUCH more hockey-friendly. They've let me have a TV to watch much less significant Cornell games than this one over the last three years or so. I'm almost pretty sure they subscribe to DirecTV's Sports Pack. Yeah, The Rock is a dive with lousy food, but because they have three floors, there are plenty of isolated, semi-private corners on the upper floors with TVs that they can dedicate to college hockey without pissing anybody else off.

If that fails, here are several other options in the District:

* The Grand Slam, which is the sports bar in the Grand Hyatt at 10th and H NW. They once let me watch a Cornell lax playoff game in 2000.

* Senators, which is in the Holiday Inn near Capitol Hill on the 400 block of New Jersey Ave NW. Not so friendly, but seldom used, so easy to get TVs switched to the right thing.

* The Lucky Bar, on Connecticut Ave NW, just north of Rhode Island and M. A soccer-oriented place run by a Welshman. Very friendly. Best to check if they can get the regional sports networks.

* Capitol Lounge, on Capitol Hill -- Pennsylvania Ave SE between 3rd and 4th. Also primarily a soccer bar. Love the soccer scarves draped everywhere behind the bar. Best to check if they get the regional sports networks.

Here is a condensed directory of live broadcasts of this weekend's NCAA tournament games for folks who get DirecTV (with "Sports Pack"). I repeat: for folks who get DirecTV only, not any other satellite service.

This does not include tape-delayed or joined-in-progress broadcasts.


----------

East Regional (Providence)

Cornell - Minnesota State-Mankato, Saturday 12:00, ESN/FSNN
Boston College - Ohio State, Saturday 3:30, ESN
East Final, Sunday 12:00, FSNP/NESN

Northeast Regional (Worcester)

Boston University - Harvard, Friday 4:00, NESN
New Hampshire - St. Cloud, Friday 7:30, not available live*
Northeast Final, Saturday 8:00, FSNP/FSNY/NESN

West Regional (Minneapolis)

Ferris State - North Dakota, Friday 5:00, not available live*
Minnesota - Mercyhurst, Friday 8:30, FSNN/FSNP
West Final, Saturday 5:00, FSNY/NESN

Midwest Regional (Ann Arbor)

Colorado College - Wayne State, Saturday 12:00, FSND
Maine - Michigan, Saturday 3:30, FSND/FSNN
Midwest Final, Sunday 3:00, FSNP/NESN


KEY FOR DIRECTV USERS WHO GET "SPORTS PACK"

ESN = Empire Sports Network, Channel 626
FSND = Fox Sports Net Detroit, Channel 636
FSNN = Fox Sports Net North, Channel 641
FSNP = Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh, Channel 628
FSNY = Fox Sports New York, Channel 624
NESN = New England Sports Network, Channel 623


*In addition to the live broadcasts listed above, many of these games will be rebroadcast on tape delay on many of these channels.

Update on watching Saturday's Cornell-MSUM game from Providence with DirecTV...

This is what was posted on the MSUM Athletics site this morning: "All three games of the Eastern Regional will be carried live by Fox Sports Net North. Sean Grande will call the play-by-play and former WHA goaltender Cap Raeder will provide analysis."

If that's true, then DirecTV viewers who subscribe to the "Sports Pack" add-on (or sports bar patrons who go to places that pay for "Sports Pack") will be able to watch the game live at noon on Channel 641.

Matt and John (above) are right: I see that I somehow failed to read the part of the NCAA page (links above) saying that several more clearances will be announced today. I'm sure other networks/systems will be picking up this game.

More for DirecTV subscribers: It looks like Fox Sports Pittsburgh is the only network on DirecTV's "Sports Pack" that will be showing the East Regional Final in Providence on the 30th. Fox Sports Pittsburgh is on Channel 628. Unfortunately, the links above seem to suggest that nobody's broadcasting either of the two East Regional Semifinals from Providence on the 29th. Anybody know otherwise?

David (and other DC area folks),

I may be wrong, but doesn't Friday's Cornell-Brown game (ECAC semifinal 1) begin at 3:30, not at 4:00? If so, I assume the good people at Fran O'Brien's will let us have a screen then.

David (and other DC area folks),

I may be wrong, but doesn't Friday's Cornell-Brown game (ECAC semifinal 1) begin at 3:30, not at 4:00? If so, I assume the good people at Fran O'Brien's will let us have a screen then.



Post Edited (03-20-03 10:27)