80mins

That one could be tough--residence halls over winter break still have contracted occupants (and all their stuff), even if they are home for the break, unlike summer programs, when the students have vacated completely until the following fall semester.

Struck me as odd too, but I guess when you're in the locker room often enough that you get to know the players, and/or when familiarity leads to better stories, speaking on a familiar level with the players is not out of the question. It's not that far-fetched at all when you think about it.

Great find! Excellent--both the content and the pub itself.

Believe me Hoss...If USF cant beat us in Baskeball...you have the worse team in the nation...we totally suck Id be much more worried about the football team...not that USF shouldnt be the favorite and win....But maybe your basketball team might like to play our football team... ;D UD, don't take our bball team lightly, there is a very real chance ECU will beat us with the round ball this weekend.  with all the pirates talkin all their smack they are all just so sure they will lose, but if they would just shut up for one second they would realize they have a fighting chance against us in basketball. with all your smack i hope your willing to come back here and take your lumps should ecu actually win this bball game If you think for a second that I was joking about our BB team....you have not done any research...hell we lost to UNC-Wilmingon...and the real ugly loss was to Jerry Faldwell U...Liberty....A loss to ECU= My team sucks bigtime. :-[ (I currently work at UNCG and was at the game where ECU handed us one)

hey BA, glad to hear your making the trip. Sadly, I won't be able to, but I'll be home for the holidays in Wilmington. Do you know if the Philly/S. Jersey chapter is doing a watch party? I'd love to join some other Bulls to see the game!

Some of it was funny, I'll admit. a lot more was lame. But I really like this from Grey Beard's signature: ;D

I'm going to the Men's Hoops game at WSSU this week after having not seen the Basketbulls since C-USA days in the Sun Dome (my last game was the Charlotte upset, so I left on a high...). Should I be optimistic or trepidacious going into this game? I'd like to think this is a no-brainer, but I've seen how we matched up with MEAC competition last year... :-/

Agreed. My office here boasts alumni from Penn State, Ohio State, UVA, Iowa, Clemson, NCState.. it's taken alot of loud proud bull-thumping (and our teams play) for folks to realize this Bull wasn't going away. :-)

Interesting concept--it's really little more than a modified horseshoe... that would be BADA$$!

A few years ago when Wisconsin was at the Outback Bowl, the Badger Band did an outdoor concert out at Channelside. It was a great event for the fans and served both as an additional pep rally and a showcase of the band. There were easily a couple hundred Badger fans there. Any thought of staking out a place in B'ham and doing something similar?

I was in B'ham on business a few months ago and stayed in the Doubletree mentioned above. I'd recommend it as far as closeness to 5 points, etc. It's not close to the stadium, but if you're there with a car or something, it's no big deal. Also, I don't know if hours will be limited since it's the holiday season, but B'ham has a trolley system you can ride around town for a quarter a trip, and that or a cab ride of $10 or so will get you from the Sheraton at the Convention Center to Five Points (a brisk walk or the same trolley or a cheaper cab ride'll get you there from the Doubletree)

Eh speak for yourself (as I'm sure 'vexis was)... I'm still torn in Louisville/Wake--root for the in-conference team who I generally despise, or root for the down-the-road team with the cinderella season to which I have no other ties? And I definitely can't support Boilers over Terps. :-)

The good thing is, at least during football season, there are really only two in-state universities you have to worry about making any noise--Wake and App State.

Right now hopes for my attendance at the bowl are looking grim... if I don't make it, I'll be home for the holidays in Delaware. Do you know if the Philly/S. Jersey alumni chapter'll be doing a watch party? I'd love to watch the game with some fellow BULLS!

thanks! Where'd you find that out?

I'm not disappointed in our almost-certain appearance there. As many have said, we haven't earned the right to poo-poo any bowl. i'm disappointed with the lack of information available on their website about the events surrounding this game. FanFests? Pep Rallies? Parades? Luncheons? None of that information exists. I know they're a new bowl, but many of the other brand new bowls have this information available. IMO, this is crucial information needed for those who intend to travel to the bowl but need to know when else they need to be there to make a fan showing for their team. I think this is irresponsible of the bowl.

LSU/USC would be a good game... settle that 2004 National Championship picture once and for all. :

Hitchcock's been Knightro AND Rocky? :-X Good article--mascotting is serious business and a serious culture--I remember my mascot in undergrad at UMBC was roommates and best friends with another local mascot (I think Testudo, the Maryland Terrapin) Interestingly enough, I was at my holiday parade in Wilmington DE and one of our local fire companies has a mascot that I thought looked like he was related to the Phillie Phanatic. Being reminded that a former Phanatic runs the Mascot Hall of Fame and Raymond Entertainment Group in Newark, it may be entirely possible.

A nice piece on Solomon Jones from the Hawks website: http://www.nba.com/hawks/feature/Solomon_Jones_Feature_110906.html don't know how old it is, but it's currently featured on the main page on the site. But now on what drew me there: I saw on the Bottom Line that Josh Childress, forward for the Hawks, is expected to miss 4 weeks with a foot injury. Unfortunately, Childress is listed as the backup at small forward, and SoJo's listed in the depth chart as a center, even though his position is still listed as forward.

...says the one who started the geography discussion in the first place.

I'm going to attempt to break it down for the slow kids once again. If you don't get it this time, you're on your own. Southern California is in the Southern part of the state of California. Southeast Missouri State is in the Southeastern portion of the state of Missouri. North Texas is in the northern part of hte state of Texas. Following that logic, East Carolina is in the eastern part of the state of Carolina. Only you and the Catamounts continue to acknowledge this state.

The eastern part of the state of Carolina? Interesting, since that province hasn't been around since the 1720s. Let's face it, East Carolina, South Florida, neither of us have room for geographical smack talk.

The only way it has an impact is if they sell over half the stadium and we attempt to but the game sells out before we have a chance to "catch up".

True enough, but I'm trying to find a way to put butts IN those seats.

It also helps USF who had to buy the block of tickets to get the bowl in the first place. Yes, but it does relatively little in the big picture. Bowl organizers don't want to see a bunch of empty seats either. And two more tickets sold =/= two more tickets used, bodies in seats, meals purchased, hotel rooms purchased, etc.