For the second time in two years, the Columbia Spectator is calling for the firing of football coach Norries Wilson.
In an editorial today entitled "Fire Coach Wilson, Part 2," the paper says that after an 0-5 start to the season and a crushing homecoming loss, it is time the school cut its losses and cut the man in charge:
The results of Saturday’s homecoming game were heartbreaking, if expected. ... While the players are partially responsible for the loss, it was poor coaching that ultimately cost the Lions what would have been their first homecoming win in 11 years. Now they are continuing their losing streak for the season—a deplorable 0-5. Coach Norries Wilson is largely the one to blame for these pathetic results, and as such must be fired at the end of this season.
In five and a half seasons with the Lions, Wilson has gone 16-39 overall, 9-28 in the Ivy League. Despite the 0-5 start, which includes a loss to lowly Princeton, The Spec's editorial does not call for a mid-season shake-up — a move Penn sports fans are familiar with after the December sacking of Glen Miller.
Firing Wilson mid-season would do nobody any good, and would only cause drama and disorganization. But come next season, there must be someone more qualified in his place. Victory is not too much to ask.
I had a very Penn sports weekend, watching the football game at Smokes with the Red and Blue Crew before heading down to Rhodes Field to catch some footie. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday. I'll also give the food at Smokes a thumbs up. I know the basketball team eats pre-game meals there, so I guess they might too.
Before Sunday, Penn field hockey had scored more than one goal once this season. Sunday, thanks to a hat trick from freshman Alex Iqbal, the Quakers exploded for 5 in a win over Appalachian State. But that was only after they dropped an Ivy match earlier this weekend.
Not a banner weekend for volleyball, which dropped matches to lowly Brown Friday and Yale Saturday. Even after two tough losses, the team commendably took some time out to teach local middle-schoolers some volleyball skills.
Multimedia: Penn Athletics talked to Ryan Mitchell after a big receiving day at Columbia:
Extra Extra: Shopping in FroGro this weekend, I came across this brand of pasta sauce, which I will only buy from now on. As Emiril Lagasse would say, BAM!
Whenever you have the opportunity to travel 140 miles to watch bored NBA players take the court in a meaningless exhibition game, you have to take advantage of it, right? That's Rule No. 76 of the Mano-A-Mano handbook, and you better believe your favorite Buzz tandem obeyed it this weekend. Kevin Esteves and I made the trek to Washington D.C. for Saturday's "Chocolate City for the City of Brotherly Love" scrimmage at Coolidge High. Call it a case of attempting to cure our post-lockout withdrawal. Here are a few notes, observations, tidbits and early-Monday morsels from our travels -- most importantly: how this Battle for I-95 compared to that epicone at the Palestra a few weeks ago, which we still can't believe happened:
Takeaway #1 from this game? Appreciate how awesome the Team Philly vs. Team Melo game at the Palestra was. I realize the play on the court left something to be desired -- LeBron James in particular seemed thrown off that Team Philly defenders were, you know, actually playing defense (or at least acting as an obstacle to highlight-reel dunks) -- but the atmosphere that night was unmatched by any on this NBA exhibition tour. For one, comparing the Coolidge High gym to the Palestra would be like comparing Bryant Reeves to Kobe Bryant. In D.C., the stands were about two-thirds full and the place wasn't half as loud as the Palestra (it was, however, air-conditioned).
Maybe I'm an overly sentimental Philadelphian, but Team Philly really embodies the spirit of Philadelphia basketball -- scrappy, tough-as-nails and above all, proud. The squad is easily likable because of how starkly the players contrast some of the pampered, self-entitled stars on Team Melo and Team D.C. (I won't name any names, JeBron Lames and CaMarcus Dousins). Instead of stars, Team Philly is comprised of basketball journeyman who began their blue-collar careers in the City of Brotherly Love, from Hakim Warrick to Mardy Collins. Even Atlanta-born Sixer Lou Williams (who hung a ridiculous 53 points in the defeat of D.C.) has taken on Philly's feisty personality in standing up to Melo and D.C.'s titans. And, as Kevin pointed out, Lou just seems to genuinely love balling -- before both games, he was the first out on the court to shoot around by himself.
The Palestra absolutely played in a role in Team Philly's Battle for I-95 upset, as those Big 5 graduates just had a greater appreciation for the moment than Team Melo did. Saturday, their personality shone through again in that they didn't want to be shown up and refused to roll over to Kevin Durant, John Wall and the hometown heroes.
If you thought the 131-122 game at the Palestra was high-scoring and free-flowing, you should've seen the 172-169 D.C. game. There was a lot less contesting of layups and a lot more I-dare-you-to-shoot-that three attempts (and makes). Of course, it helps when you replace LeBron 'Ames (there's no J) with Durant and his unlimited range.
Aside from the taxi and subway rides and the Sbarro dinners and late-night 7-11 snacks (#lifeofasportswriter), the Team Philly beat isn't so bad. Maybe there are some positives to this lockout after all...
If you needed to have your blood pressure checked after this game, then you are not the only one.
The Quakers made sure their second Ivy League game was just like their first and came down to the last drive. Columbia played much of the first half with a great deal of energy that seemed to catch the offense off guard until the final drive of the first half when Billy Ragone punched it in to tie the score in the final seconds of the half.
Penn's defense in the first half was its typical self, loading up to stop the run and hoping the secondary could keep things in front of them. For the most part the secondary was able to to take care of business and keep the Columbia offense at bay. There were a few big plays by Columbia's offense but when a team makes 39 pass attempts they are bound to make a few plays, it's just they way the game goes.
This may have been one of the more balanced games Penn's offense has had in a few years. There were 35 pass attempts and 42 rush attempts. If the Quakers can keep up this type of a balanced attack then it will be tough for the other Ivy League teams to keep up with what type of plays Penn will be running for the rest of the year. One of the key plays in the second half came midway through the third quarter when Matt Hamscher picked off Sean Brackett and Penn was able to make it a 4 point game with a field goal and keep their morale at a high level.
In the 4th quarter Penn was able to pull back in front only to allow Columbia to tie it up with a field goal with just a few minutes left in the game. Penn, for the second straight Ivy game, was able to make a last minute drive all the way down the field to take the lead and show that they know you have to play an entire 4 quarters to be an elite team. The final drive was highlighted yet again by some clutch catches from 5th-year senior Ryan Calvert, who also went over the century mark in receiving yards for the game tallying 8 receptions for 105 yards. The exclamation point was put on the game with an interception by wide receiver Joe Holder.
If Penn can continue to show this sort of resilience they will be in good shape for their 3-peat efforts.
The Good: Two more crucial and successful two minute drills for Penn. The Quakers marched down the field and tied the game at 10 to end the first half, only to do it again in the fourth quarter to get the decisive touchdown. Billy Ragone did not look like the kind of quarterback who could engineer that kind of win early on — coach Al Bagnoli even put backup QB Ryan Becker in for a few series at the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second. But Ragone showed the same gusto with which he beat Dartmouth two weeks ago.
Video of the game winning TD, courtesy of Penn Athletics:
The also Good: The crowd that came out to Smokes to watch the game with the Red and Blue Crew and the DP. Thanks to Penn Athletics for providing some solid giveaways.
The Bad: Somebody has to plug the holes in Penn's secondary because Ragone will not be able to keep bailing the team out, especially against Yale next week and Harvard next month. This was a winless Columbia team, after all. The play that stood out was in the fourth quarter, a fourth-and-10 on the Penn 35 when, after both teams took timeouts, Sean Brackett completed to Kurt Williams for 24 yards to put the Lions on Penn's doorstep. Only thanks to some horrendous penalties on Columbia's part did the Lions only score a field goal.
The Ugly: Columbia's squib kick to set up Penn's final drive. If you're gonna squib it, you can't set the other team up on the 40 in a tie game. Pointless.
It's homecoming in New York, and Columbia (0-4, 0-1 Ivy) is hosting Penn (2-2, 1-) for a 3:30 kickoff. Penn hasn't dropped a game to the Lions since losing back-to-back meetings in 1995-96. The Quakers are still defending their 16-game Ivy winning streak and are hot off a big-win over Fordham last weekend. Follow the action in our liveblog below:
The sun is shining in New York and the Quakers are looking to spoil Columbia's homecoming today and improve to 2-0 in the Ivy League. And there's that 16-game conference winning streak on the line. The Lions are 0-4 this season, but they're offense is led by talented quarterback Sean Brackett. The question for this weeks roundtable: Columbia QB Sean Brackett isn't just leading the team through the air, but he's the Lion's leading rusher as well. What does Penn need to do to contain the Light Blue's main threat?
Bradford Blackmon: When you think of a Penn defense one of the things that comes to mind is dominating. That doesn't necessarily come from having the most talented players on the field, although that certainly helps. It comes the prep work done throughout the week by Coach Priore and his staff. He's gonna have his defense knowing every play the offense runs before they run it and that's what will help them out today to stop Columbia's dual threat QB. The blitzes he creates are team specific and the coverages that go with them are designed to fill the voids left by the blitzers. Columbia will make some plays but what people might not know is that's part of the defensive scheme, make them go where we want when we want and then close the door.
Kevin Esteves: Well, I don't think the Quakers have to devise a complex plan here. Sure, Brackett is the team's main threat, but even as Columbia's rushing leader, he averages just 3 yards per rush (and 45 yards per game). I would worry about his passing game much more — he averages 193.5 yards per game through the air (4th in Ivy League). So sure, send a few blitzes Brackett's way so he doesn't get too comfortable in the pocket, but the focus should be on the secondary and how it will prevent those big plays that have been burning Penn this year.
Brian Kotloff: I agree with Kevin. Brackett is no Billy Ragone when it comes to scrambling. Though I don't have the benefit of seeing game tape, his rushing total probably reflects a poor offensive line that forces him to break the pocket more than his running ability. Anytime your quarterback is your leading rusher, that's a bad sign for your offense. Brackett's been sacked 14 times and has thrown five interceptions this season. That likely means one thing: heavy blitzing. Kevin is justifiably worried about the secondary, but the best way to shut down a downfield passing game is to throw off its timing. So I expect the Quakers to bring the heat just like last year, when they sacked Brackett five times, so that the QB doesn't even have time to look for receivers deep. If that gives Brackett running room, so be it -- his long rushes from the past three years are 33, 25 and 20, minimal damage compared to a big pass play.
Calder Silcox: Another week, another agreement with Kotloff. I haven't seen anything too convincing out of Penn's secondary to know that they aren't going to give up the big play or two that could be a real problem. I'd rather rely on the guys up front in Penn's defense to shut things down. Let Brandon Copeland take it to the weak Lion's o-line and get in Brackett's head early and often. Columbia will be amped up for Homecoming, especially at the start, so Penn must set the tone on both sides of the ball from the get-go.
Megan Soisson: I remember I had a similar concern going into this game last year. Of all the Ivy quarterbacks, on paper, Brackett seems to be the closest to Billy Ragone. I wondered what it would be like for the Quakers to get a taste of their own medicine, but then Columbia rushed only 44 yards total. Like Brian mentioned, the defense sacked Brackett five times — twice by Matt Hamscher — and he only netted 8 yards on the ground, with 43 yards lost. Penn knows how to beat this team and shut down rushers, and I do think the legitimate concern is a long pass play. If the Quakers are dominating the game like last year, a 57-yd. touchdown pass isn't a huge deal. But if Columbia comes out of the gate quickly with a downfield bomb, the game totally changes.
The Big 5 has always been about intense local rivalries. But a growing quarrel off the court may be putting cracks in the foundation of Philadelphia's classic conference.
Yesterday, the Big East invited six teams to join its conference among ongoing realignment. Not invited: Temple, which has tried mightily to put itself in a position to move its football team out of the Mid-Atlantic Conference. According to Dick Weiss of the New York Daily news:
Temple officials feel Villanova did not want another Philadelphia team in the league and used the the support of the other Big East Catholic schools to keep their school out when it came to a vote on which six teams to invite.
The Inquirer's Mike Jensen also weighed in on the news. The beginning of his column was ominous, to say the least:
Let's start with the long view: The Big Five is in jeopardy.
If it splinters again, if all the schools stop playing each other, Villanova will be the culprit, again.
and then towards the end:
Temple is smart enough not to comment on all this right now. We doubt too much of it would be printable
And both writers think this politicking could have bigger implications for Philly basketball. From Weiss:
If Temple is relgated to the MAC in football and the Atlantic 10 in basketball, its annual basketball civil war against Villanova at the Liacoras Center this season promises to turn ugly and could eventually lead to the disolution to the long time round round City Series game that has become the corner stone of the hallowed Philadelphia Big 5.
What does this mean for the Quakers? Penn, it appears, is at the mercy of the powerhouses in the Big 5. Especially since the program has not been successful in the City Series for a few years, the Red and Blue don't have a ton of sway. The gap between Temple, Villanova and the rest of the Big 5 has widened — Neither the Owls nor the Wildcats have lost to Penn, La Salle or St. Joe's in the last three years. The sad reality is that the Big 5 may be becoming less relevant.
And there are other issues the conference must deal with. This year St. Joe's announced it would no longer play all of its Big 5 games in the Palestra, as the Hawks want to build their fanbase back up at home. St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli is one of the biggest backers of the Big 5, but even he realized the dire situation his program was in.
Amidst a year of drastic conference realignment in college sports, the Ivy League appears unblemished. But Penn's other affiliation, the Big 5, may not be long for this town.
Just like the men, the women's basketball season is underway and the team has announced its two leaders this season, seniors Jess Knapp and Jourdan Banks.
Knapp was a captain last year, when she averaged 8.1 points per game and was second in rebounding on the team. Banks came in off the bench her junior season and led the Red and Blue in shooting percentage, hitting 39 percent from the floor. The captains have the task of bringing a very young class up to speed — the two seniors are joined by just two juniors — in the month before their season kicks off on Nov. 13 at home against St. Francis.
Check out Penn Athletics' interview with the Knapp and Banks:
Four weeks. Four short weeks from today the men's basketball season will officially tip-off (on the road, unfortunately) and another winter in the Palestra will commence.
For the team, though, it begins today, as preseason practices begin in full. Team policy keeps the first few practices closed, but until then we'll bring you up to speed:
The Red and Blue finished an even 7-7 last year, putting them fourth behind Princeton, Harvard and Yale. It was a modest improvement over the disastrous 2009-10 season, when Penn finished 5th at 5-9 after an 0-10 start to the non-conference schedule. And yes, a 5th place finish is disastrous for a program as historically successful as Penn.
The Ivy League this year has all but been written off to Harvard, which returns its entire team, including Player of the Year Keith Wright, and his paint-mate, junior Kyle Casey. While the Crimson split the 2010-11 title with Princeton, the Tigers have since lost their coach Sydney Johnson and key seniors Kareem Maddox and Dan Mavraides.
The Quakers have arguably the best backcourt in the league with the trio of Zack Rosen, Tyler Bernardini and Miles Cartwright. But their depth in the frontcourt is a major vulnerability. The key questions for Penn will be whether senior forward Mike Howlett can stay healthy, whether sophomore big men Cam Gunter and Fran Dougherty can step up to replace graduated seniors, and whether the freshmen forwards can make an immediate impact.
The Line — Penn's annual season kickoff event — will be Friday Oct. 21. From what I've heard it will change again from last year as the athletic department continues to try to attract more students to games.
My colleague Mike Wisniewski put together a great feature yesterday about the last time Penn football lost to Columbia — a disappointing overtime loss in 1996 due to a botched extra point.
He briefly alluded to the fact that Penn actually lost to the Lions two years in a row. The loss the year before might have been just as mortifying.
Over the 1992, 93, 94 and 95 seasons Penn put together an unbeaten streak of 24 games, which still stands as the longest in the football championship series. Then Columbia happened. On Oct. 7, 1995, the Quakers went to New York and suffered at 24-14 loss to end their run.
Penn still finished second in the Ivy League at 5-2, and even though Columbia was 3-4 on the year, the Lions had their signature upset — on their homecoming no less.
That sets the scene for this weekend, when Penn, with a 16-game Ivy winning streak heads to Columbia's homecoming once again. Just like in 1995, Penn is fresh off an Ivy championship.
Will Columbia do it again? Unlikely. The Light Blue are 0-4 this season, including a 21-14 loss to Fordham and a 24-21 loss to Princeton. But if 1995 taught Al Bagnoli anything, it's to beware of the upset.
If you picked up the DP today you'll notice that men's basketball sophomore Dau Jok is back in the headlines, even though practice doesn't officially start until tomorrow.
“Education is much more powerful than violence,” Jok told the group. “Kids in South Sudan don’t have the opportunity to fail like we do at Penn. Our goal is to teach them the value of a true education.”
Jok has lofty goals for the group, mainly raising $65,000 to fund his work. As you might remember, Dau earned a $10,000 grant in a Davis Projects for Peace award. Last semester the DP wrote a stirring profile of his time growing up in Sudan which inspired him to start the foundation.
Jok also traveled to Rwanda this summer with a Penn group (including teammate Zack Rosen) on a community service-based trip. He was supposed to continue on to Sudan to aid in the work for his foundation, but was forced to return home due to violence that broke out there this summer.
Nonetheless, he is moving forward with the work here in the States. From the DP:
Members of Jok’s foundation were selling bracelets and about 50 attendees signed up for more information. “The event made progress, as our goal is to promote recruiting and awareness,” Jok said.
Ever watched a Penn football game on campus and thought, 'I could use a frosty beverage,' or 'Man, I could go for a hot dog,' or the ever popular 'I wish there were some sportswriters here...'?
Well finally you can realize one, two or all three of those desires, as DP Sports and the Red and Blue Crew are throwing a viewing party at Smokes for Penn football's game Saturday at Columbia.
The Quakers will play their first of three games on Versus this Saturday against the Lions and we want to get together with you and watch as the Red and Blue look to extend their Ivy winning streak to 17 games.
Come to Smokey Joe's starting at 3:00. Our classic campus watering hole will have the game on TV — as well as the Buzz's critically acclaimed live blog — and there will be food and drink specials galore. Just mention The Buzz. Meet the leaders of the Red and Blue Crew as well as your DP Sports staff. The RBC will have prizes and giveaways as well.
Best of all, all ages are welcome. Freshmen: that means if your ID always gets turned down at the door, you can finally see the inside of Smokes! Seniors: You can finally see what Smokes looks like in the light of day! Of course you must be 21+ to drink.
Check out the facebook event for more info and stop by Saturday afternoon!
How many students currently on campus know that the Penn men’s basketball team made a trip to the Final Four in 1979, only to fall to Magic Johnson and Michigan State? Or that the football team has seven claimed national championships, tied with powerhouses Michigan and Oklahoma for seventh all-time? Every week, I’ll dig deep into the DP archives and take a look at the rich sports history that exists here at Penn — feats from both the glory days and the not-so-great days.
On this day in Penn sports history …
October 12, 1996: This date marks the last time Penn football fell at the hands of Columbia.* Just one year earlier, the Lions ended the Quakers’ 24-game winning streak — which still stands as the longest winning streak ever by an FCS school (tied by Montana in 2002) — in an 24-14 upset at Wien Stadium. Coming into the game, Penn sat at 2-1 overall, 0-1 in the Ivy League, and was fresh off a 30-21 overtime win over Bucknell the week before. Columbia was 3-0, 1-0 in the Ivy, and had just blown out Holy Cross, 42-16, the previous week.
The game was a defensive struggle: Penn’s only regulation touchdown was a 93-yard interception return in the first quarter, and Columbia’s one-yard touchdown run was also set up by an interception, which had been returned to the Penn 1. Each team added two field goals, and the game went into overtime, 13-13.
In the extra period, the Lions won the toss and elected to play defense first. For the second straight week, the outcome of a Penn football game would be determined by a blocked kick in overtime. In the team’s victory over Bucknell the previous week, the Quakers, already up 24-21, blocked a Bison field goal attempt and returned it for a touchdown, sealing the victory. This time, however, Penn was the victim. After scoring a touchdown to take a 19-13 lead, the Quakers’ extra point was blocked. Here's Al Bagnoli (back in his 5th season) on the special teams meltdown:
"It was disappointing because we really executed well in overtime, and then we got so caught up in the touchdown we forgot to protect on the extra point ... Jeremiah [Greathouse, the kicker] never had a chance. There were probably three guys in there that almost beat the snap back."
When Columbia received their possession, they scored on their third play — a 25-yard touchdown pass over the middle of the field to tie the game, 19-19. They made the extra point, of course, and celebrated another dramatic victory over Penn. It was the Lions’ first 4-0 start to the season since 1945. They would finish the Ivy season 5-2, a winning record in the Ancient Eight for the first time in 24 years. The second place Ivy finish was also their best since 1961.
Columbia has not defeated Penn since that game, and this weekend, the Quakers will put their 13-game winning streak against the Lions on the line, when they play in New York on Saturday at 3:30PM. The game will be broadcast nationally on Versus.
*Excluding Penn’s forfeit loss in 1997. The Quakers had defeated the Lions 24-7, but were forced to forfeit after the fact, due to the use of an ineligible player. This forfeit is not recognized by the NCAA.
The Quakers are already looking ahead to this weekend's matchup with Columbia in NYC, but here are some extra tidbits from last week's 35-20 win over Fordham.
Penn coach Al Bagnoli speaks about the improvement the team has showed in this interview with CBS Philly, but he is still concerned about his team giving up too many big plays.
Speaking of Bagnoli, the coach said in his weekly media conference that junior running back Lyle Marsh has suffered a broken ankle and is done for the season. Check out Cal's post below for more info.
Last season it was a shattered forearm against Villanova, this year a fractured ankle against Fordham. The diagnosis is different but the outcome is the same: Penn football will lose junior running back Lyle Marsh to a season ending injury.
Marsh was carted off the field in the fourth quarter against Fordham Saturday after he was hit in the backfield for a loss during Penn's game-sealing touchdown drive. Coach Al Bagnoli said today in his weekly media conference that the back fractured his ankle and would be done for the year.
The news is particularly disparaging for two reasons: first, Marsh was closing out a career night, in which he scored three touchdowns and averaged 5.1 yards per carry. Starting in place of classmate Brandon Colavita, Marsh bulldozed through the Fordham defense and was key in Penn's dominant 35-20 win. Second, the promising back will miss the bulk of the season for another year after breaking his arm in an early non-conference game last year.
If it's any consolation, coach Al Bagnoli has set himself up for success with a stable of three powerful backs who can each, at any time, step in to the offense ready to go. After Marsh' injury last year, Colavita stepped up and was basically unstoppable in Ivy play, earning second-team All-Ivy honors. Jeff Jack, who split the carries with Marsh Saturday, is always a threat as well.
Bagnoli also announced today that Colavita would play Saturday against the Lions. After the Fordham game the coach said that "Brandon could have played if this was a week 8, week 9. ...He’s been a little bit banged up with his shoulder, so we wanted to rest him."
Joining Colavita in his return to the gridiron Saturday will be Matt Hamscher, who also sat as a precaution against Fordham.
Things have been kind of slow on Schoellkopf field for the past few years, as Cornell football has struggled in the Ivy League. That all changed Saturday. No, Cornell didn't upset Harvard, but a surprise visit from Bill Murray shook things up at halftime as the two bands performed.
"This guy in pink pants walked up and said, 'Hey, play that song again,'" said Harvard University Band Manager Rachel L. Hawkins '12. Hawkins said that the band had no idea Murray was at the game and that "Ghostbusters" is just part of their usual set list. "He kind of appeared out of nowhere. It was very serendipitous."
Once Murray returned to his seat to watch the last quarter of the game, the trombone section pointed itself in his direction and played the theme song for him one more time. At the end of the game, Murray reappeared and treated the band to a special performance. "We were playing our fight songs, and he came over and started mock-conducting us," Hawkins said.
And if it's still too crazy to believe, here's some video evidence. At the end you can hear Murray say, "Harvard won the game, but you kicked their band's ass." Penn band, the ball's in your court now.
Editor's note:Last week we introduced buzz contributor Bradford Blackmon, a 2011 Penn football graduated and former Red and Blue captain. This week we are once again extremely excited to introduce another new contributor who will be a familiar face to many: Jack Eggleston. Also a 2011 grad and former captain for Penn basketball, Jack is joining us all the way from Leverkusen, Germany, where he plays for the Bayer Giants, a third-division pro basketball team. He'll be blogging occasionally about his experiences abroad and his young professional career. We can't confirm or deny whether Senior Sports Editor Cal Silcox actually does write love poems about Stephen Strasburg.
My theory is that Young Silcox has contracted an early case of Senioritis. Disillusioned with his work at the DP, Cal wants to spend the rest of his senior year at Penn drinking heavily, chasing girls, and writing love poems to Stephen Strasburg. All he had to do was suggest to me that a few people might be interested to hear what I've been up to and he found his replacement. I hope to be checking in every once in a while to give a little insight into the exclusive and thoroughly exciting world of third division German basketball. I'm no Paul Shirley but I'll do my best to mix it up from the typical Penn sports coverage you read here.
Other than the language, the biggest change in my life in Germany is my relationship with time. Like most Penn students, I always thought there were never enough hours in the day to do all that I needed to do. Each day felt like a battle between academic, athletic and social. Rest was the runt of the litter, who never stood a chance. For the past month and a half, nothing could be further from the truth. Time has gone from a scarce resource to an abundant one. Instead of trying to decide which things I wouldn't be able to get done in a day, I have to figure out what to do all day.
The one thing that hasn't changed is how I mark the passage of time: by games. Much to my chagrin, all of the marking to this point has come with L's. Cal deserves some of the blame for writing that obvious jinx of an article at the end of last season calling me an "iron man." After missing one practice in four years at Penn, I only practiced three times in the first month of my pro career. I suffered a partially torn ankle ligament in our second preseason game, and three games into the regular season I'm still not back to full strength.More than anything, an injury makes time grind to a halt. Every day is a countdown to the time you can get back out there. If I was going nuts after two weeks, I can only imagine how guys like Andreas Schreiber, Darren Smith, and Larry Loughery felt missing multiple seasons.
Despite being in another continent and six hours ahead, I do my best to keep up with people back in the states. Recently one of my close friends tried to talk me out of this whole basketball as a career choice idea. He said, "Don't you think you're just putting your life on pause? Nothing you're doing right now is building toward anything else down the road." I hesitated for a little bit. In a way he's exactly right. Playing basketball isn't going to help get me a real job. And traveling back and forth between the U.S. and Europe isn't conducive to maintaining any sort of relationship that would start a family.
But being surrounded by the fast-paced Penn lifestyle for too long has forced my friend to fall prey to the popular fallacy that life is short. It's not. Coach Allen used to say that he had minutes in his pockets, and whoever wanted to play had to come grab them. Over here I have hours and hours in my pockets and nobody around to take them from me. I'm happy to have my life on pause and as long as people are willing to pay me to keep it that way, I'd be a fool to say no.
Penn announced today it would play Canadian team Cartleton in a Nov. 5 open exhibition at the Palestra at 4:30 p.m., following the Penn-Princeton football game.
From Penn Athletics' release:
Based in Canada, Carleton is a member of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference and last year won the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championship for the seventh time in nine years. During the months of August and September, Carleton went 5-4 in the Cross-Border Battle, including wins over Saint Louis, Niagara and UC-Santa Barbara as well as a two-point loss to La Salle.
Mid-Monday Mix is on Fall Break like the rest of Penn. To hold you over until we start back up Wednesday, here are some scores from the weekend:
Football: Penn 35, Fordham 20Sprint Football: Penn 48, Post 35
Volleyball: Penn 3, Cornell 1
Volleyball: Columbia 3, Penn 2
W. Soccer: Penn 2, Columbia 0
M. Soccer: Penn 3, Columbia 2
Field Hockey: UC Davis 3, Penn 1
M. Hwt Rowing (Navy Day Regatta, Varsity 8): 3rd
M. Lwt Rowing (Navy Day Regatta): 4th
W. Rowing (Navy Day Regatta, Varsity 8): 2nd
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