Chicago Sports Day » Wednesday Evening

With win over St. John’s Pecora may be ahead of his plan at Rose Hill

Rich Mancuso — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:55:28 +0000

Tom Pecora the first year men’s basketball coach at Fordham University reiterated how important the game was Wednesday evening up at Rose Hill. The annual “Battle of the Bronx” against Manhattan College went his way 76-59, the 103rd meeting between the Bronx schools and a two game wining streak for Fordham in almost three years.

The meeting with Big East New York City power St. John’s University, in which the Rams won up at Rose Hill Saturday evening, may have put Pecora ahead of his plan. Fordham certainly is a dominant squad and not showing any effects of a team that won five games the past two years.

The game was sold out, a rarity at Rose Hill. Fordham overcame a 20-point deficit, and showed no signs of a team that would quit. It was perhaps one of the most memorable games up at Rose Hill. And after their 84-81 triumph, that put Fordham over the .500 mark at 5-4, many in the crowd stormed the court

They were not storming the court for the “Red Storm” of St John’s. It was the Rams of Fordham, believe it or not, who can truly say they are right now the premiere college basketball team in New York City.

“This wasn’t about me,” Pecora would say afterwards about the most significant win for a Fordham basketball team in the past five years. “This was for these kids, for the fans,” he said. Truly, after Saturday, at least for the time being the suffering was over up at Rose Hill.

There is still a competitive Atlantic 10 conference schedule to come in January, That will determine how good this Fordham team is, or if they truly are going to be a competitive basketball program once again in New York. Pecora has definitely seen the competiveness of his team and a revival of the interest since taking over the program last March.

“Saturday is going to be fun to play and fun to watch,” said Pecora after his team defeated Manhattan College earlier in the week up at Rose Hill in the annual “Battle of the Bronx.” “These matchups revitalize New York college basketball,” he said about consecutive games against Manhattan and St. John’s.”

After that win over Manhattan, Fordham reached the .500 mark for the first time in three years. Pecora said more than once, something special is happening at Rose Hill. There is no talk about the dismal past after an abysmal, 2-26 overall mark and 0-16 record in the Atlantic 10 Conference of last season under former coach Dereck Whittenburg.

They have already equaled their win total of the last two seasons. The players, many who have been a part of the previous losing seasons up at Rose Hill, believe there has been a change of culture. Their coach wants them to believe that.

“We don’t look at what happened here in the past,” said senior Brenton Butler had a game high 21 points for the Rams against Manhattan and was a big part of a 16-0 run against St. John’s that narrowed the gap. Butler averaging 15.3 points per game has now scored in double figures in seven of his last eight games and had 22 in the win Saturday.

The last Fordham win against the Red Storm came in December of 2000. The entire campus anticipated the matchup, a buzz about Fordham basketball that hasn’t been heard in a long time.

“It’s a great environment, it’s awesome, it’s exciting,” said Butler who had not heard this reaction about an upcoming game, the one with St John’s in his four years at Rose Hill. He is a five year player that wanted to stay and be a part of this new culture that Pecora has preached.

Pecora said his team stayed around and stole one late against St. John’s. To the contrary Fordham did not steal this one. They have convinced their faithful and suffering fans they are ahead of the plan to revitalizing basketball up at Rose Hill.

NOTES: Butler was named Most Valuable Player of the Manhattan game by writers at press row and received the Mike Cohen Award, a trophy in memory of the late New York City public relations executive and former Manhattan Sports Information Director….

Before tipoff prior to the Manhattan game, a moment of silence was observed for Freddy Schuman, “Freddy Sez” a fixture at Fordham and Manhattan games and also at New York Yankee games with his trademark frying pan and motivational sayings. Also silence was observed for former New York Yankee and former Fordham baseball coach Gil McDougald who passed away last week.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring76@aol.com

With win over St. John’s Pecora may be ahead of his plan at Rose Hill

Rich Mancuso — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:55:28 +0000

The last Fordham win against the Red Storm came in December of 2000. The entire campus anticipated the matchup, a buzz about Fordham basketball that hasn’t been heard in a long time.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring76@aol.com

With win over St. John’s Pecora may be ahead of his plan at Rose Hill

Rich Mancuso — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:55:28 +0000

The last Fordham win against the Red Storm came in December of 2000. The entire campus anticipated the matchup, a buzz about Fordham basketball that hasn’t been heard in a long time.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring76@aol.com

Dominican Guard Offers Hopes for the Rams

Rich Mancuso — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:57:11 +0000

NEW YORK - Rayner Moquete was in his dorm room Tuesday evening on the south lawn at Rose University on Rose Hill. The freshman guard from Santo Domingo joined the Rams roster on December 26^th got a call from interim head coach Jared Grasso. He would getting the start Wednesday evening when Fordham hosted Atlantic 10 Conference opponent LaSalle University,

“Try not to do crazy stuff,” is what he told me explained Moquete. The 6’1, 181-pound point guard who cleared NCAA Clearinghouse issues in late December, scored his first collegiate basket on January 13^th at Madison Square Garden and finished with seven points in a Fordham loss to A-10 opponent Dayton.

Moquete is one of those promising athletes coming from the Dominican Republic, an Island known more for its production of baseball talent that come to the states. But the last few years there has been a revival of talent coming off the basketball court from Santo Domingo and other parts of the Republic,

And as Grasso says, his new point guard has the potential to be a leader and for the time being will get the start as Fordham continues to struggle. They lost their 12^th straight game Wednesday evening 80-73, now 2-17 overall, 0-7 in the conference. Moquete finished with five points, had three assists and was 2-for-2 from the free throw line.

“He’s going to be good in certain spots and comes here in the middle of the season as a starting point guard in a difficult situation,” said Grasso about Moquete. “He’s trying to pick up everything we do offensively and defensively. It was his first start, solid and he will get better.”

Moquete is also getting some help from newcomers, because the young Rams have only one veteran player from last year’s squad that get the start, senior Brenton Butler. Moquete was one of four freshmen that got the start against LaSalle. And he seemed to adjust quickly in his new role, not doing the “crazy: things that Grasso referred to.

“let the game come to you and give me the opportunity to help this team win,” said Moquete after the game, referring to how he approached his first start. It was the same type of approach that got him a spot a spot on the Fordham roster. A graduate of Our Savior New American School in Centereach New York, Moquete averaged 15 points per game in his last year.

A call came from Miami Dade Community College, but he waited to get cleared and go for the good education and potential start up at Rose Hill. “They showed interest,” he said about Miami and other schools,” so did Fordham. “I think this is a perfect fit for me. Fordham is a good school and we can do something big here.”

This was the first game Fordham stayed competitive in the second half. And at one point it looked like the Rams were headed to victory. But LaSalle made 17 of their 25 shots in the second half, including mistakes by the young Rams that led to four important free throws in the final minutes that made a difference.

On the court most of the time, Moquete played 25 minutes, there was the intensity, hustle and leadership. Butler missed one of key free throws that could have tied the game at the four minute mark. Moquete went to the line and quickly gave Butler a tap to the head after he missed the first shot.

“Part of my game is to pick my teammates ,” he said “He will make a difference for us, said the other freshman, forward Chris Gaston who led the Rams with 21 points and 15 rebounds, his 12^th double-double game of the season.

Email Rich Mancuso: Ring7876@aol.com

A Big East Win St. John’s Needed at the Garden

Rich Mancuso — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:02:50 +0000

When Dwight Hardy, the St. John’s junior guard made the tying and winning shots at the line with second remaining at Madison Square Garden Wednesday evening against Cincinnati there was a message sent to the Big East Conference. Perhaps St. John’s will have more of these games in the month ahead.

“Every time you win at the Garden, it’s awesome,” said St. John’s coach Norm Roberts who saw his team snap a three game losing streak and win 52-50, their first conference game of the season over the 11-6 Bear Cats. “Every time you win a Big East game it’s awesome,” added Roberts.

His team is 11-5 overall, 1-3 and more importantly this was a win that was needed. Because now the Storm will be tested as they get into the thick of the conference schedule. St. John’s also snapped a three game losing streak to the Bearcats dropping two games they played against them last season.

And for Hardy, who matched a career high with 19 points, the win was extra special. He was the impact player from the Bronx who spoiled the homecoming of Bearcat freshman Lance Stephenson, the all-time PSAL scoring leader from Lincoln High School in Brooklyn who won four city championships on the same Garden floor,

Hardy would get fouled in the final moments of a game that saw both teams have their lowest point productions of the season. He went to the free throw line, made both, going a perfect 6-for-6 at the charity stripe. But those final moments, of an otherwise dull contest are what make Big East Basketball contests at the Garden so unique when two New York City players are involved in the outcome.

“We just wanted to spoil his homecoming basically,” said Hardy about his reunion with Stephenson who considered St. John’s but opted for Cincinnati. “They needed a win but we needed it more being that we didn’t have a win in Big East play. So we just wanted to get in his head and keep him from scoring as many points as possible.”

Stephenson struggled, the entire game finishing with seven points and could not get the ball inbounds in the final seconds. Hardy would win the battle forcing two deciding turnovers that got him to the line. “There are a lot of positives except the last 10 seconds,” commented Cincinnati coach Mike Cronin who saw his team fall to 2-3 in the conference.

What Roberts hopes for is more significant play from Hardy. The close conference games like this one would not have been won by the Storm the past few years. “Everybody has a role and Hardy knows his role,” said Roberts adding that his point guard can score and be aggressive.

And more importantly, after losing a tough conference game at home to Providence last week in Queens, this win showed that the Storm may be getting close. “We’re going to have to grind it out to get confident in what we’re doing,” said Roberts, “because we’re really, really close.”

FORDHAM RETURNS TO GARDEN AND ANOTHER LOSS: In the second game of the Garden doubleheader the Fordham University Rams made their first appearance at the arena since 2002. It was not a good return as Fordham lost their eighth straight losing to Dayton 74-58 in an Atlantic 10 Conference game.

It looked promising for the Rams, (2-13, 0-3) in the first half but Dayton went on a 11-0 run in the second half. Brenton Butler led Fordham with 20 points and his 3-point basket with 10:33 left in the game was the last field goal for the Rams.

“I thought the kids played hard again but Dayton was able to constantly bring in fresh players from the bench” said interim head coach Jared Grasso who is 1-9 since replacing Dereck Whittenburg on December 3^rd. “I am proud of our effort but we have to be 40 minutes good, not 25 or 30.”

Next for the Rams is another conference tilt at their Rose Hill gym on Saturday against the Rhode Island Rams at 2pm.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

Undefeated Professional Boxers Continue Win Streak at Broadway Boxing

Howard Goldin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:56:33 +0000

Five young, professional boxers continued their undefeated professional careers in the ring at B.B. King’s Blues Club and Grill during the latest edition of DiBella Entertainment’s Broadway Boxing on Wednesday evening, December 16. Each of the young pugilists displayed the skills acquired during an impressive amateur career. Although most of the bouts were short in duration, they were filled with action. Lou DiBella is a promoter who is known for giving local, young prospects an opportunity for exposure and advancement. Each of the five victors took advantage of the opportunity given to him on Wednesday.

The opening encounter was a four round junior welterweight clash between Christian Martinez (2-0, 2 KO’s) of New York City and Gabriel Morris of Toledo, Ohio (1-5-1). Referee David Fiields stopped the slaughter after 58 seconds of the first round after Morris had been knocked to the campus three times. The three knockdown rule gave Martinez had second TKO win, both at B.B. King’s.

Two Latino featherweights faced one another in the second bout. Luis”Orlanditio” DelValle (8-0, 6 KO’s) of Bayamon, Puerto Rico claimed the win over Noe Lopez, Jr. (5-5, 4 KO’s), a native of Sonora, Mexico after the end of the second round. The ringside physician, after checking on an of Santiago, Cuba. injury to the left hand of Lopez, advised the referee to halt the bout. Overjoyed fans chanted “Tito” after the close of action, Del Valle like Martinez was very comfortable in the venue as it was his fourth pro fight at King’s.

Another local favorite Gabriel Bracero (8-0) of Sunset Park, Brooklyn followed the pattern of his past pro fights by gaining a victory but not stopping his opponent. The 28 year-old never fights far from home. All of his bouts took place in New York City. Bracero’s opponent, Carl McNickels (6-3, 6 KO’s) does not fear a challenge. He traveled to Manhattan from Gulfport, MS to face a New York City fighter, and has fought an undefeated boxer in his last four bouts. McNickels dropped to the canvas in the third, but opened a cut over the left eye of Bracero. The votes of the judges at the end of the six-round junior welterweight bout was one-sided, 60-53, 59-54, and 58-55.

Heavyweight Tor Hamer (10-0, 8 KO’s) is making an effort to move into the rankings and represented the United States in a weight class that had been dominated by Americans in the past. The Penn State graduate had no difficulty with Mazur Ali (6-5, 3 KO’s) of Egypt. After receiving a body shor to the stomach, Ali spit out his mouthpiece and leaned over the ropes. The referee stopped the bout at 1:38 of the opening round. Mazur was a late replacement for Dominic Jenkins. At the pre-fight physical examination, a fracture was discovered in Jenkins’s skull, and he was forbidden to box. Promoter DiBella was incensed by Ali’s ring demeanor. He said to reporters, “If you don’t want to fight, don’t come.”

The headline bout featured one of the most heralded amateur boxers in recent years, Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux (4-0, 3 KO’s) of Cuba. The 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games gold medalist for Cuba defected to the United States in the early part of 2009, after being taken off the Cuban National team prior to the 2008 Olympics. He has since begun a professional boxing career. The 29 year-old Cuban like Hamer was fighting a last minute replacement, Lante Addy (6-5-1, 4 KO’s) of Ghana. Addy’s record may look better than it is because his last five bouts were fought in the U.S. In all five of the bouts (four losses and a draw) his opponents were undefeated. Each of those five bouts, including the one on Wednesday went the distance. Rigondeaux floored Addy in the first round. Neither was again in trouble in a lackluster and one-sided encounter. The crowd jeered the lack of action in rounds two and four. Both were in excellent condition to last eight rounds. The score of the judges were: 79-72, 80-71, and 80-71.

SEC and Big East Clash at MSG

Howard Goldin — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:01:40 +0000

The major conferences in the NCAA have entered into rivalries/partnerships within the last decade. The Big Ten and ACC, the Big 12 and the PAC 10 and the Big East and SEC have scheduled interesting matchups. The last of the three groupings scheduled a doubleheader at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday evening.

The opening contest featured New York City’s traditional basketball powerhouse, St. John’s University Red Storm (7-1) against the University of Georgia Bulldogs (4-4). St. John’s was for many years one of the premier basketball programs in the nation. The school ranks seventh in Division I victories, 1,693, and ninth in winning percentage in Division I games. The team has fared poorly since the controversial and unsuccessful years the team was coached by Mike Jarvis. The team, thus far this season, appears to be improved.

The Red Storm, on the familiar court of MSG, where it was appearing in its 638^th game, took an early 9-3 advantage. The visitors, after its 9-3 scoring run, tied the game at 12 with 11:58 remaining in the half. St. John’s scored 8 of the next 10 points to achieve its biggest lead of the half, 20-14. St. John’s not only never relinquished the lead, but increased it to double digits in the second half. The final score was 66-56. Red Storm coach Norm Roberts spoke enthusiastically of how his players closed the game in the second half, “I thought we played with more energy in the second half. We were much better defensively. I thought we turned them over, which is what we needed to do, and I thought we finished plays better and moved the ball better in the second half.”

Interestingly, four of the men were starting their first game of the year. Sean Evans, D.J Kennedy, and Paris Horne were not in the starting lineup for the first time this season. All three upperclassmen were late for the team bus to MSG, and were kept from their normal starting spots. Roberts explained, “If you have seniors showing up three minutes late or whatever, what are you telling our freshmen? That they can show up late too. D.J., Paris and Sean are great leaders, great kids. Ninety-nine percent of the time, they do everything we want them to do, but today they were a little late, so it was a good teaching point, learning point…I think it is important for our guys to learn from mistakes because everybody makes them and try to turn a negative into a positive.” Justin Burrell also did not start for the first time this year. He sprained his right ankle in the team’s last contest, and is expected to miss three weeks of action.

The usual non-starters did an excellent job. Evans spoke with high praise of the job done by the newcomers to the team who were in the starting lineup, “I think that is a big from our team. It shows we have depth. A lot of people stepped up today. It took a load off from me. Everybody came off from the bench and played well.”

The second game was an elite match-up of highly ranked teams, each of which had its large group of vocal supporters in the arena. The University of Kentucky Wildcats (9-0) kept its record unblemished as it won a close victory over the Connecticut Huskies (6-2). After the first four minutes, the game appeared as if it would be a rout as the Wildcats took a 12-0 lead. The game turned into a “barn burner” after the Huskies scored the next 10 points. The 18-16 Kentucky lead with 9:17 remaining in the first half was its last until it recaptured the advantage with a 41-40 score with 11:35 left in the contest. Jerome Dyson, with 13 points in the first half, put the huskies back into the fray. The 64-61 Kentucky win gave the team a 9-0 mark. This was the first time since the 1930-31 season that the winningest team in NCAA Division I history has started a season this well. The fourth ranked team in the nation is carrying five freshmen on the roster. Three of them had major roles in the victory. The player of the game was John Wall, who scored 25 points and had six steals. Kemba Walker, who guarded him in the contest, said, “He’s not a freshman at all. The ball is always in his hands and that’s good for him and his team.” Calipari, the former New Jersey Nets coach, who was booed lustily when introduced before the game, was not enthusiastic about his team’s play, “We were lucky to win. We got to get more consistent. We’re a 4-5 club.”

Boxing Notebook

Rich Mancuso — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:23:59 +0000

A home coming win for Hopkins and Roy Jones could be next: Bernard Hopkins hoped to get Roy Jones Jr. as his next opponent in May. After he defeated Mexico’s Enrique Ornales with a unanimous 12-round decision at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia Pennsylvania Wednesday evening, there were doubts about the fight with Jones. When he woke up Wednesday morning, the boxing world got news from Australia about the veteran Jones losing by knockout in the first round to Australian native Danny Green.

Hopkins went to work Wednesday evening at the homecoming fight tabbed as “The Broad Street Brawl.” He last fought in his hometown in 2003 when he defended the middleweight title against Morrade Hakkar. Scores at ringside from the judges were 118-110, 120-109, and 119-109 that showed his dominance in getting his 50^th professional win. And afterwards, Hopkins claimed the fight with Jones can still be made.

“When they told me he lost, I asked ‘How did he lose,’” said Hopkins who will turn 45-years of age in seven weeks. The former middleweight and light heavyweight champion fought Jones 17 years ago and was back in the ring after a 14-month hiatus after defeating middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik at 174 pounds.

The 29-year-old Ornales (29-6, 19 Ko’s) landed some good punches in the third round and was able to stay in there with Hopkins, but the former champion showed he can still take a punch avoiding a good right uppercut by Ornalis in the fourth round.

And in the sixth round, Hopkins briefly caught Ornalis with a good combination but he was able to counter. But after the fourth round, Hopkins seemed to take control of the fight. He took the next three rounds by finding and using his right uppercut to his advantage.

“I blocked it out of my mind,” said Hopkins of the Jones result. To keep interest in another fight with Jones, Hopkins quickly defended Jones regarding the quick stoppage. “When you have someone like Roy Jones Jr, he deserves the benefit of the doubt,” he said. “He was fighting that guy in his hometown and I think they stopped the fight prematurely.”

Jones appeared to still be on his feet and never hit the canvas. “I think I can still fight him,” commented Hopkins about Jones. “He went out on his feet, not on his back. Let him defend himself or quit before you stop the fight.”

As for Ornalis, there was no reason for shame. He never went down and made it interesting at times. “I give him a lot of credit,” he said about Hopkins. “He’s one of the best. I know I was the underdog. I wanted to show him just because I am smaller I wasn’t going to back up. I am really proud and I was here for the challenge,”

The question now is will the public buy a fight, a possible pay-per-view encounter of Hopkins against Jones? Hopkins believes it can still happen, but a more intriguing possibility is Hopkins moving to the heavyweight division and challenging David Haye who was recently crowned the new WBA heavyweight champion.

WILLIAMS FACES MARTINEZ ON THE BOARDWALK: HBO Sports salvaged the show Saturday evening at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City New Jersey and kept middleweight Paul Williams busy. First it was supposed to be against middleweight champion Kelly Palvik for the title.

But Palvik a month ago had to be pulled because of a continuing staph infection on his right hand. In stepped New York based promoter Lou DiBella and he worked a deal with Goosen Tutor Promotions who handles Williams. It will be Sergio Martinez (44-1) of Argentina, a DiBella fighter facing Williams, 12-rounds, on the HBO card Saturday evening

Williams, perhaps the most talented fighter in the middleweight division, will have a tough test,. He could have moved a bit up in weight and been a part of the “Super Six” Middleweight tournament that Showtime is televising. Pavlik is still on the agenda and a win against Martinez could still make that fight happen.

The co-main event features the Mexican Cristobal Arreola facing Brian Minto. It will be Arreola’s first fight since losing to WBC heavyweight title against Vitali Klitschko. The HBO telecast begins at 9pm.

NEW YORK WLCOMES BACK FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMP LOPEZ: Madison Square Garden, in the adjacent WaMu Theatre will once again will welcome WBO junior featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez on January 23, 2010 on an HBO televised “Boxing After Dark” telecast that will also feature WBA featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa of Cuba.

Lopez and Gamboa will once again be showing their skills in separate title bouts. The hope is if both fighters prevail, Top Rank, promoters of the card will put the two in the ring at the Garden in June. The most likely date would be on the eve of the National Puerto Rican Parade in mid June. That is a date that former WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto always had.

But Cotto, resting in Puerto Rico is talking about retirement sometime next year after losing to Manny Pacquiao last month in what was the most anticipated fight of the year. “Cotto has made his money and is looking at two more fights and then leaving the ring,” said Ricardo Jimenez of Top Rank at the Lopez-Gamboa Garden press conference Thursday afternoon.

Lopez (27-0, 24 KO’s) from Caguas Puerto Rico has defended his title five times, four by knockout but had a hard time getting the tough 12-round decision at the Garden back in October against Rogers Mtagwa. He will oppose WBO Featherweight champion Steven Luevano (37-1-1, 15 KO’s) of La Puente California. Mtagwa (26-13, 2, 18KO’s) a top ten featherweight takes on the 16-0 undefeated Gamboa in the co main event, a 12-round fight for the title.

“I am not looking ahead,” commented Lopez when asked about an eventual fight with Gamboa. He commented that his last fight in New York against Mtagwa was harder than expected. “I have to do better,” he said. “I love fighting at the Garden. I come to fight all the time.” And that means doing his part and possibly setting up the eventual fight with Gamboa.

Throwing the punches: Top Rank promote Bob Arum had a legitimate reason and a good one to not be at his press conference in New York Thursday, He was busy in the Philipinnes and successful getting his welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao to agree and fight Floyd Mayweather Jr, for the title.

Earlier this week, Mayweather, who will also be a promoter of the fight, dispatched Golden Boy Promoter Richard Schaffer to meet Arum and Mayweather agreed. So the Oscar De La Hoya Golden Boy outfit will also be involved in the fight one way or the other.

The date set is March 13 on HBO pay-per-view and could set the all-time boxing PPV record, also becoming a fight more anticipated and coming with more hype than the recent Pacquiao-Cotto championship bout. What remains is who gets what, with Mayweather obviously looking to get the better deal.

The other obstacle is where the fight will take place. New York is out of the picture. Madison Square Garden and Yankee Stadium in the Bronx are not possible venues as promoters refuse to deal with the ridiculous tax structure that promoters and HBO will have to deal with.

There has been talk about the new stadium in Dallas where the football Cowboys play, but a leading source at Tip Rank said Thursday that the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, site of the Pacquiao-Cotto fight is the leading contender to play host. Vegas offers the free rooms and meals, has plenty of accommodations, and the Nevada tax structure is so much easier to work with.

The difference is not having this fight in New York will give promoters, the pay-per-view affiliates, fighters and trainers 50 percent more of the revenue that would otherwise go to the stingy and corrupt New York State government tax system. ..

Maybe because it is close to an end of the year thing but on the ridiculous side because boxing kills itself by events of the past week with the amount of press conferences, teleconference media calls, and fights. Two press conferences in New York this week, the Hopkins fight in Philadelphia, another show in Manhattan Thursday night, and the Williams fight in Atlantic City Saturday,

The promoters earlier this year formed an alliance and said they would get on the same page. Yeah, not for the boxing fan and the media who cover this stuff. Because we either have nothing or too much,

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

Patience and Hope for Rams as they Break 12-game Skid

Rich Mancuso — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:52:06 +0000

Bronx, NY – Fordham University men’s basketball coach Dereck Whittenburg had a reason to finally smile Wednesday evening up in the Bronx at the Rose Hill Gym. His Rams (1-2) won their first game of the season with a 76-66 win over Sacred Heart, and in the process snapped a 12-game losing streak that carried over from last season.

And though this is a much different Fordham team, eight new players joining five veterans, the win came at the right time because most don’t expect Fordham to be any more competitive than their 3-25 finish of last season. “The streak is over,” commented Whittenburg now in his seventh year at Fordham. “It’s a new season,” he said.

There is some optimism that this could be the beginning of the resurgence up at Rose Hill. Whittenburg alluded to the lack of chemistry with some of the seniors last season. Clashing with the coach behind the scenes, or as he says, “outside influences that got into the kids heads,”

In other words it was the ugliest season in Whittenburg’s tenure at Fordham with the exception of the first year in 2003-2004 when the Rams finished 6-22. The Rams finished last in the Atlantic 10 Conference and for the first time failed to qualify for the A-10 post season tournament with a 1-15 conference mark.

You saw things in their third game that offered some optimism, though Sacred Heart offers no comparison to some of the nationally ranked teams in the A-10. Things that the coach liked coming from 6-7 freshman Chris Gaston who scored 22 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked five shots.

“I saw him as a freshman and how he can be in there with the bigger guys,” said Whittenburg who recruited Gaston out of New Hampton Prep School in New Hampton, New Hampshire where he averaged over 17.0ppg and 12 rebounds. In the season opener against Maine last week, Gaston got his first collegiate double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Gaston made 8-of-16 shots for the Rams. He showed confidence on the floor, but Whittenburgh cautioned he is still a freshman. “I want to keep him focused,” he said about Gaston. “I had a talk with him. If you don’t play defense and just concentrate on scoring then I’m taking you out of the game.”

Gaston listened to that talk in the second half. Perhaps what happened last season was that lack of communication. Whittenburgh sees the difference with Gaston and some of the other newcomers. “We executed better,” said the coach, words that were hardly said all last year.

“I am just going to do everything that I can to show them my ability,” said Gaston. He knows that his ability could lead the Fordham program back to respectability. “It’s been developing all week as to what I can do,” he said. “This is a team effort and all we have to do is execute and take control.”

Part of that execution against Sacred Heart (2-1) was Fordham going on a 21-2 run over a span of 7:25 in the second half. That gave them a 72-51 lead. Gaston had eight points during the run and senior guard Brenton Butler, 15 points, also had eight during that span.

So it was a team effort and reason for optimism before traveling to Hartford, and taking on the Jaspers at Manhattan College for the annual Battle of the Bronx all in the next ten days.

“We’re gonna see the true test of our team,” said Whittenburg.

E-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

Hofstra Takes Pride in Downing William & Mary, 55-44

Wire Services — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 07:03:53 +0000

HEMPSTEAD, NY – The Hofstra Men’s Basketball team held William & Mary to just 44 points on 29.2 percent shooting as it captured a 54-44 home win on Wednesday evening at the Mack Sports Complex.

With the win, the Pride improves to 12-7 overall and levels its Colonial Athletic Association record at 4-4. William & Mary falls to

6-12 overall and 1-7 in league play with the loss.

Junior guard Tony Dennison (Long Island City, NY) scored eight straight points in the second half, and junior guard Cornelius Vines (Syracuse,

NY) scored all of his 15 points in the final 20 minutes to lead the Pride. Vines hit four three-pointers in the second half and Dennison scored all but one of his 10 points in the period. Sophomore guard Charles Jenkins (Queens, NY) was the third Pride player to score in double figures, adding 11 points and five assists. Junior guard David Schneider led William and Mary with 18 points.

Vines’ three-pointer with 10:40 left ignited a 13-0 run and erased William and Mary’s final lead 7:33 into the last half. Moments later, Dennison capitalized on the Pride’s offensive rebounding prowess, hitting a key shot from beyond the arc after three Hofstra offensive rebounds to make it 34-29 at the 9:01 mark.

Dennison then continued his run of eight straight points. After hitting back-to-back threes, Dennison added a jumper and then picked up an assist on a fast break following a defensive stop. Dennison stole the ball at one end, dribbled to the right side of the paint and fired a centering pass to a streaking Greg Washington (Centereach, NY), who punctuated the drive with a two-handed dunk that made it 41-29.

William and Mary cut that lead to four points at 41-37 with 5:35 left behind two three-pointers from Schneider, before Vines provided key insurance points. Vines stole a Steven Hess pass attempt near midcourt and converted the fast break while drawing the foul on Schneider. Vines added his third trey of the evening on the next possession, putting the Pride up 11 points with 3:39 left to secure the win.

Washington, a sophomore forward, energized the crowd almost seven minutes into the second half, racing down-court and leaping at the last second to swat away Schneider’s lay-in attempt from behind. Washington stole a pass shortly after the Tribe in-bounded, setting up Jenkins’

jumper and a 28-27 Pride lead. Jenkins took a hard fall with 9:30 left, needing help to walk off the court. He returned four minutes later, finishing 4-11 from the floor in 36 minutes.

Both schools failed to develop an offensive rhythm early, failing to crack the 30 percent mark from the field in a low-scoring first-half that saw the Tribe take a 17-15 lead into the break. Senior forward Darren Townes (New York, NY) gave the Pride a presence in the low post early, grabbing five offensive rebounds and two on the defensive glass through the first 20 minutes.

Hofstra’s defense held the Tribe to 2-14 shooting at the outset before an 8-0 run, put William and Mary up, 14-8, with 4:37 left. Alex Smith and Schneider hit the Tribe’s first three-pointers of the half during the run, as the Tribe held Hofstra scoreless for a span of 9:01.

Jenkins scored the next five points, capped by his running floater through the paint, and Washington’s drive to the basket resulted in an easy lay-in as the Pride responded with a 7-0 run. Quinn McDowell gave the Tribe some momentum heading into the break, taking Sean McCurdy’s swing pass and burying a three-pointer from the top key just before the buzzer to hand William and Mary a 17-15 halftime lead.

Schneider was the only William & Mary player in double figures.

Washington finished with seven blocked shots off the bench for Hofstra, setting a new career high. Hofstra held a 42-26 advantage on the boards, led by eight from Townes.

The Pride will next be in action when it travels to James Madison on Saturday for a 7 p.m. contest.