Miller to Ivies: "enjoy it while it lasts"

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While Penn coach Glen Miller knows his team isn't the League's best in 2007-08, he certainly isn't backing down.

Well, his mouth isn't, anyway.

After the 74-58 loss at Columbia, Miller had this to say for his opponents reaping the benfits of a weaker Penn squad.

"I would just say to our opponents in the Ivy League: Enjoy it; it won't last long."

For anyone who followed Penn under Fran Dunphy, you're probably as shocked as I am to hear a Penn coach talking in this manner. Dunphy couldn't stop talking about how much respect he had for the other side, calling his adversaries a "very good basketball team" no matter what its record was. Pigs will fly before Dunphy says something like this.

Dunphy is politically-correct, Miller is entertaining, but Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli is the perfect combination of the two.

Martelli praised Penn for its rebounding after the 40-point loss and called Villanova still the premier program in Philadelphia after crushing them in the Holy War. But he could only think of criticism about No. 13 Xavier after the near-upset against the Musketeers.

"Is there anybody here from the Xavier administration?" Martelli said, after dramatically removing his glasses. "Do you know when graduation is? That goddamn [Stanley] Burrell, every goddamn game, makes a shot against us. He was averaging 7.5 points coming into the game, in seven or eight league games. He doesn't look like the same player, playing great defense. Dagger.

"I want to be here to make sure that son of a bitch gets out of here to be honest with you."

Martelli is the man. I've never seen a joke tirade like this before.