Matt Carberry (kingpin248) wrote,
Matt Carberry
kingpin248

Tuesday, January 25.

Late last Friday afternoon, I decided that maybe it would be good to check on the buildings and rooms where my Spring 2011 classes would be held. That way, when the new semester opened yesterday, I would have to wander around campus with my head in the clouds.

I logged in and clicked "view schedule," followed by " next week." All right, good...but why isn't there anything listed for Monday and Tuesday? Hmm. It might be a good idea to check the academic calendar again. And so I found that we don't get underway until tomorrow (weather permitting, of course, although it looks like it will).

I'm not particularly moved one way or the other by Keith Olbermann's departure from MSNBC, as I never watched the show. There are a lot of issues on which I disagree with him. But mhaithaca tweeted this yesterday, about Olbermann's generosity toward WVBR in the late 1990's. I was one of the many beneficiaries of this gift, as it meant VBR was still around in the spring of 2000 (when I joined the sports staff). It wasn't enough to bring those studios out of disrepair (or even up to code). Of particular note is that Olbermann's gift was both "no questions asked" and "no strings attached." That's the kind of guy you want on your side.

On the other hand, if I were interested in the athletic or academic pursuits of the University of Connecticut, I would feel like I could do without Richard Burton. A recent letter he wrote to UConn has gone public. He's not happy that he wasn't consulted about the Huskies' new football coach. Not only does he not intend to give Connecticut any more money, he wants a refund of the $3 million he paid to buy the naming rights on the football center. Maybe this is an old fashioned view, but once Burton gave the money to UConn, didn't it cease to be his money? All of this isn't anything new - it sounds somewhat similar to what happened about a decade ago, in the course of construction of a new hockey arena for the University of North Dakota.

I'm beginning to get the feeling that something might be in the cards for Hofstra basketball. At the midway point of the Colonial Athletic Association season, the Pride Flying Dutchmen are 8-1 and tied for first, and set to square off against co-leader Virginia Commonwealth on Thursday. This comes on the heels of two head coaching changes during last offseason, and the transfer of both recruits from the class of 2013. Quite an accomplishment so far. But what has transpired thus far has little effect on the state of affairs before the Dutch. It remains the case that the only way into the Big Dance will be to win in Richmond on the first weekend in March. I know this because Hofstra is ranked 89 by the RPI; and they're 92nd in the Z-Ratings produced by yours truly. (And Pomeroy and Sagarin are much less kind.) So, why does the first half of the CAA season have "little effect" on Hofstra's prospects, as opposed to "no effect"? Two reasons. One, finishing in the top four of the standings means a first-round tournament bye, and thus not needing four wins in four days. Second, as the sports pundits quip, Hofstra is learning how to win. Pulling out close wins against good teams - like last night, in overtime against James Madison - might be the best preparation a team can get for the high stakes of the conference tournament.

Finally, some Islanders speak. I guess Evgeni Nabokov likes neither money nor playing time, as he has refused to report to Uniondale. Here's the thing - if he plays well, it probably won't matter where he does so, because he'll get another contract somewhere else. Maybe Nabokov should just file his retirement papers. The Islanders should hold their course and not enable him.
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