Doc

Ha!! Yes I kept the L-Ville cup to add to my Big East collection. Haven't seen the tape. I got pretty excited after that TD and I guess that comes from watching too many AZ Cardinals games where TD-onside kick-TD-onside kick-TD combos are usually required in garbage time. One of these days I'll see it actually happen. . .

. . . that's if you go by time since last loss rather than number of wins. By my count, only 11 schools in D-1 finished last season with a victory (national champ, NIT champ, and nine others without conference tourneys or who didn't qualify for one), and eight have already gone down to defeat this year. Only Florida and TAMU-CC have gone longer without a loss. Also, for what it's worth, with Georgia Tech's impending loss tonight, the number of unbeatens will dwindle to just 60. Several more to go down before we take the court again. Still on that list: UCF, Greenberg's Hokies, upcoming opponents Richmond, MoSt, TAMU-CC, Wake Forest, and six other Big East schools. What does this mean? Well, about 8 years ago we took a winning streak in to mid-December and got some national attention before Tennessee knocked us off at home in OT. It didn't, however, get us any votes or any extra conference wins. Still, I'll take any positive spotlight over those "only team to not win a conference game. . ." tags they were flashing on the ESPN ticker last year.

Have already ordered my MSG tickets, but no plane ticket. . . of course I'm driving to Hartford and NYC come March whether our teams are there or not. For what it's worth, the Sagarin ratings currently have us ahead of six Big East schools. Non-conference record doesn't play into tie-breakers, but I'd rather beat the likes of FIU and SC St. than have losses to Wofford and Jackson St.

And how much did we lose when Louisville beat West Virginia? Or when Rutgers beat Louisville? I don't think anyone in Rutgers cares about the great disservice they did to the conference by upsetting Louisville. I say, win both games, pass Rutgers, and take a big portion of the BCS publicity and money for ourselves. If the Rutgers-WVU game is still meaningful to us, anyone else up for a trip to Morgantown???

The way I see it, Rutgers, even with two losses, stays ahead of South Florida in the BCS rankings. Our only shot is to win out and have Rutgers lose all three remaining games. Highly unlikely for the BCS, but still mathematically possible. which is more than Miami and Florida State can say right about now. But wouldn't it be the Fiesta Bowl? I think they get the last pick this year and the Orange Bowl would probably take Boise State ahead of us.

After hearing and reading nothing but doom and gloom for this season, I'll take a victory any day of the week. And a solid performance as well. Buffalo is not half-bad and probably a tougher opponent than most we'll face this non-conference season. And look around the Big East and you'll see plenty of other teams struggling this first week, like highly touted DePaul. And yes, all twelve teams in the Big East tournament last year went to either the NIT or NCAA. A winning overall record and a 12-seed in MSG should do it, though I'm not saying we'll cover these.

Who else is going to make it to the game this weekend? It's just a four hour trip for me from St. Louis but I haven't heard if there is going to be a pre-game gathering like there was at Kansas.

I admit it, I couldn't resist the urge to purchase a Gators hand-towel this week. That way, when I'm playing our fight song at select road softball/baseball games next year, I'll have something with which to clean out the spit-valve.

Fortunately, I was out at a sports bar for that Seton Hall game. My hat made more than a few trips into the big screen that night. At least I didn't have to pay for any damage.

Incredible! Congratulations to Solomon Jones and best of luck in Atlanta! I stand by Coach McCullum, but whether you do or don't, there's no question this helps recruiting tremendously. Even in a bad year, you still play in a conference that gets enough exposure to make these dreams come true. How many Golden Knights got drafted tonight? Bulliever, thanks for the video clip! After storming out of a sports bar in Orlando after they kept taking away the volume from my TV (which others were watching too), I made it home just in time to miss the selection. . .

JewBull, yeah, got a few more days off than expected this week so I'm visiting the family in Orlando. Ricky, sorry I missed you. . . I was already out looking for a place here in Orlando to watch it.

I'm back in Florida this week -- wondering if anyone's up for an NBA Draft watch party Wednesday night. Just name a place and perhaps we can get together a group of the Bulls faithful.

We haven't been the Brahmans in over twenty years, but I'll give that website credit for doing their research and correctly identifying the type of bull Rocky is (or is supposed to be). I'm still partial to the previous costume, though, over the current steroided incarnation. Anyone else on-board with changing the womens teams back to "Brahmans" to avoid the gender-specific label? As for Otto the Orange, I have to rank him far higher than the website did. The squat-and-bounce and squat-and-roll routines always get a laugh from the crowd.

I'm also not convinced that an OCS should be a priority for the school at this time. Nothing wrong with the atmosphere at RJS (and I haven't even been to the "big" games since 2002). For comparison, I happened to be passing through West Virginia last Thanksgiving and stopped at the Pitt-WVU "Backyard Brawl" and the atmosphere there wasn't much different than what you'd see at our home games (I believe they have an OCS in Morgantown). I've never been to a football game at Gainesville, Tuscaloosa, etc, but I have to believe that the atmosphere at those games differs from ours due more to the relative importance their fans place on college football -- it seems they have nothing else to live for in those towns and a significant portion of their fans are not students, nor alumni, nor employees. I really don't see that happening in Tampa and building an OCS won't bring in those non-USF-affiliated fans. Winning would do more. However, as for that pirate ship in the endzone, no one hates the Bucs more than I do. So, instead of storming the field after the next big win, how about storming the ship and carrying out its masts onto Dale Mabry instead of the goalposts? Don't think security would anticipate that. . .

For those who believe McCullum needs more than a trip to the Garden to stay on-board, keep in mind that all teams who made it to New York last season got into the Big Dance or the NIT. And all four who went to the NIT won at least one of those games. So six conference wins and an overall winning record might just do the trick. However, I see fewer than six conference wins getting a ticket to the Garden next season, and four or five might get you in if you win the right games (negating my MSG=NIT theory). The teams who finished 10th through 15th basically split all the games among themselves, creating that ugly log-jam with what amounted to "play-in games" between RU-SJU and ND-DePaul on the final weekend. With ANY kind of spread between the haves and have-nots, a team can very realistically get in with 4 or 5 victories. Unfortunately, some of our biggest beatdowns came at the hands of the 13th, 14th, and 15th placed teams.

Any more crying from that guy, and I say the Big East kicks him out -- to the Metro Conference, perhaps? I'm sure C-USA would be happy to have him back. . .

The Big East already has a "17th" school -- Loyola (Md) for lacrosse only. I have never been a big fan of single-sport-only schools and so would not favor adding ECU or anyone else for that matter. I think it's pretty clear that the Big East will stand as it is for now, although some of the other rumors for the future I've heard out there include: Notre Dame added for football -- solves scheduling mess, pretty much everyone's happy (except ND), but obviously won't happen. Too easy. Notre Dame to Big10 for all aports, Penn State to Big East for all sports -- the fans in South Bend fantasize about the Big10 and during our basketball game there, they announced scores from Michigan, Michigan St, Purdue, etc., before any scores from the Big East. Penn State has always longed to be in a strong east coast conference. And hey, both schools are now about even in football and men's BBall. . . but the realignment penalties will probably prevent this from happening any time soon and I don't think Penn State would favor the dropoff in football competition (though only temporary of course). Notre Dame totally out, and Central Florida to Big East for all sports -- whenever the currrent contract runs out with ND, the conference may set an ultimatum to join in football (see above) or say goodbye to the Big East for all other sports. If Notre Dame tries to call the bluff, they get the boot, and Central Florida takes their place. Rumors say that the conference indeed wants to get an in-state rivalry going in football. Plus, it would relieve some of the problems with travel-partners in the less lucrative sports. Rumors only, of course. I personally would be OK with any of the above, yes, even UCF to replace ND. I'm also fine with Villanova or Georgetown making the jump if committed and a bit more ready. But agreed, no rush.

With the new logo in 2003, the school decided to officially add "South Florida" to the list of unacceptable names used by media or on merchandise (like "St. Louis" is for Saint Louis or "Depaul" is for DePaul; S.Fla, So.Fla, and South FL were already on the banned list). Although mostly ignored, it was a bad idea in my opinion. I've found that depressingly few people outside of Hillsborough County can correctly identify all three words represented by U.S.F. which ultimately leads to your typical mistakes. I've even encountered someone who was familiar with "South Florida" sports but thought "USF" was a different school! I guess the university has since backed off its stance (that "South Florida" is not to be used in print except as "University of South Florida" and then only the first time, and thereafter could only use USF . . . ), and my last trip to the campus bookstore found more official merchandise with "South Florida" written (although "The University of" is always in small print, never far away). UCFKnights04, point taken and agreed. Although, there are a few waitresses here in St. Louis who intentionally call us "Southern Florida" when I ask for a game on TV simply because they know it gets under my skin. . . oh well, at least it saves me money on the tip.

Beautifully done, Sheriff! Although, I must admit, a part of me misses the old Sheriff I remember who thuggishly "attacked" a pair of flag-waving Memphis fans in the Dome or the one who "allegedly" led a midnight raid to Gainesville's campus on the eve of a BBall game. . . As for that sewer known as Gainesville, couldn't agree more. Although, nice softball complex. I do plan on mailing their softball coach a "Property of FAU" T-shirt when I can get my hands on one. No question about Doug Woolard. He's always been known as a stand up guy. His departure from SLU made BIG news here in St. Louis (the only time our logo made it on the local FSN broadcast), and keep in mind that the Billikens are really only an afterthought here(Mizzou and Illinois are the main events). But as for soccer, I'm afraid that's more a St. Louis city thing rather than a Woolard thing. Saint Louis U has been a soccer power since the 1950s and the city is one of the very few hotbeds for the sport in the U.S. What really blew me away was the fact that SLU's homecoming is not BBall, but rather soccer. . . when they played us in 2003, I found a 2,500+ capacity crowd, and was nearly mauled by the mascot. I confess that I have never been to a home soccer match at USF, but I don't suppose we come anywhere close to that number or atmosphere.

Sheriff, hope you had a great time at the games. . . I eagerly await your account of the experience. As for 2007, I got my work schedule for next year and of course, just my luck, travel will be tough come late May-early June. At least March should be wide open for the womens-BBall tour deep into the NCAAs. And to the softball team, THANK YOU for the thrilling ride this season and look for bigger and better things in the year to come! The performance against UCLA shows how narrow the gap is between USF and the Pac10 elites.

Phil & Bulliever, good to see you guys! I remember that pom-pom incident, and with coach Eriksen approaching, our catcher stood up as if she had done something wrong and was about to be scolded. . . funny how the USM coach didn't complain until her team fell behind. Still, not as bad as that "third out in third inning" quote, right Phil? Some of the Death Row stories I remember hearing involved shoes being thrown into stands by coaches, burning effigies of Crum, pounding on the hotel window of the visiting head coach's window on the night before the game. I remember the tombstones my first season (1995-1996) but they slowly disbanded from there. Still, coach Deane of Marquette would cry in the papers every time he played us in the Dome and had one of his players get bonked in the head by a foam basketball during one of the time-out promotions where fans aimed at a guy wearing a Bball hoop. That was the last game where that promotion was used. . .

Thanks for the warm welcome!!! I still travel whenever I can to see my Bulls (any and all sports) in action, and yes, driving distance to me includes East Hartford, CT! At Ozzie's Sports Bar here in St. Louis, no employee would dare call us "Southern Florida" again, as I continue to educate and spread the word of the Bulls. I'm already public enemy #1 when the Gators fans gather there on Saturdays and they've already hatched plans to get me banned from their Big Screen section. And of course, at the hospital, the dry-erase board in the conference room is not filled with medical teaching but rather shows the Sweet-Sixteen softball brackets (last round, it had the inning-by-inning box scores of all our games). During BBall season, the Big East conference standings occupy a sizable portion of the board (with tie-breakers thanks to my nifty cards -- JewBull knows what I mean). Yeah, Collin, don't forget my creepy T-shirt with the "I (heart) (horny-hat-guy photo)" I tried selling to the DePaul, Louisville, and Southern Miss softball players after heckling them and getting them to flick me off. Reaper, it's been awhile!!! How have you been and how's that knee holding up? Yes, I'm still in St. Louis and will be so for at least another three years. As for Death Row, their history is undoubtedly entwined with that of USF fan-dom. I even had a former UAB player once approach me in the stands during a C-USA tourney game in Cincy to tell me about his recollection of their antics! Legendary stuff!

JewBull, how are you man??? Yes, I finally gave in and updated my 1994 desktop PC. . . Sheriff, the brewery is a nice place to visit, especially with the two free beers at the end of the tour. And yes, there are people who just keep getting back on line all day long (one scruffy visitor I saw even came dressed with a Budweiser cap and Busch T-shirt). I'll certainly let you know if I'll be at the Kansas game once my work schedule is out. Bullzfan4life, be careful at WVU! I actually went to the game between Pitt and WVU last year on Thanksgiving (on my way to Hartford for our game two days later) and man was it COLD! And windy as hell up in those mountains. Their fans love their team although they are a bit hard to understand when they speak -- seriously. I found myself having to just smile and nod when the locals approached me to ask about USF.

No doubt UCLA is a tough draw, but we have the pitching and defense to maybe keep the score low. I was there on the road in Louisville when our girls swept the then #18 Cardinals, who went 19-1 against the rest of the Big East (if you don't count their loss to Notre Dame in that hoax of a "tournament" where all seven road teams were grumbling about the conditions). But that was the Big East. The Pac-10 is brutal as all seven who made the 64 are through to the 16 (a combined 22-1 so far, I think). Even when they get shipped out east for a regional, they tear everyone a new one, like a six-seeded Oregon State did to us a little while back. Perhaps the biggest thing in our favor is the fact that I'll be absent. Aside from those two wins against Louisville, USF is a combined 1-12 (all sports, some pretty good like football, womens BBall, softball) when I make the drive this season! Sheriff, love that Cat in the Hat hat. Will be looking for it on TV this weekend.

It's good to be here! You're too kind. . . although about the SunDolls, I'm surprised there hasn't been a restraining order yet filed against me, especially after that altered photo with the girl wearing my horns ended up in The Oracle a few years back. Sheriff, I hope to see you at the Kansas game. . . I posted a response about that in that other thread. I still make it out to a handful of games in most sports and of course wear the same costume and revolting vest with grease stains from your tire we tried changing a half-decade ago. Not much has changed, except that now the DePaul Demon Dancers are frightened of me instead of the SunDolls. . .