Basketball the way it should be

I grew up playing basketball. It has always been and always will be my favorite sport to play. There is no sport that epitomizes the term “team” better than Dr. Naismith’s game.

Here’s a quick history lesson for you non-basketball fanatics: Naismith was told by Dr. Luther Halsey Gulick, the head of Physical Education at the School for Christian Workers, to create a new indoor game that the children could play during the frigid New England winters. He ultimately thought of the game basket ball, which is the distant relative to modern-day basketball. In basket ball, players weren’t allowed to run while in possession of the ball (seriously). This meant every player on a team touched the ball on virtually each possession.

Fast forward to contemporary times, where we see 50-point games in the NBA almost weekly, players dribbling out the entire 24-second shot clock without passing to a single teammate, and me-first attitudes everywhere. Naismith would be appalled.

Even college basketball, which is widely acknowledged as a much more team-based form of the game than the NBA, is heading down the dark path of star players dominating the landscape.

But just before we give up all hope on the greatest team game ever conceived, let’s look at the Amherst College men’s basketball team. They sport a 20–0 overall record (6–0 in their conference) with only four regular season games remaining. The kicker? The team’s leading scorer, senior forward Dan Wheeler, is averaging a paltry 12.8 points per game. Three other players average just more than 10 points. Five players average 3.5 rebounds or higher, with the leader averaging a mere 4.5 per game.

No gaudy statistics. No give-me-the-damn-ball-type guys. Just an undefeated record for the Lord Jeffs, and a more-than-realistic shot at winning an NCAA Championship this season. Oh yea, I almost forgot, Amherst racked up 18 of a possible 25 first-place votes in this week’s Division-III Top 25 poll.

They are playing the game like it should be played, and they’re winning – a lot. Is there any better combination?

Nothing but sweat pants and take-out

I love Saturdays. But then again, who doesn’t? The beautiful combination of sleeping a lot, doing a little and reveling in unabashed laziness is one of life’s little treasures. If you happen to be a sports fan, then Saturdays are as close as you can get to heaven. Late fall through early winter means a glutton of college football games. The start of the New Year through early April means a plethora of college basketball games.

At the moment my computer is a virtual sports smorgasbord. I’m listening to radio broadcasts of the Ithaca - St. John Fisher men’s basketball game, as well as the Utica - Nazareth men’s basketball game … simultaneously. I don’t even know how I can pull that off. Earlier today I listened to the Ithaca - St. John Fisher women’s basketball game.

Strewn amongst random issues of Sports Illustrated and ESPN the Magazine on my desk is a bag of Doritos (ranch flavored of course), a can of Mountain Dew and a list of things to do that I am enjoyably ignoring. And I just got two score updates from empire8.com in my e-mail inbox. Life is good.

One thing I have noticed today is that St. John Fisher basketball still reigns supreme. On the men’s side, Utica College was picked as the preseason favorite, but the Cardinals won’t be giving up their stranglehold on the Empire 8 any time soon. They’ve won the conference title each of the last four seasons, and don’t appear to be falling off. The Cardinals have been all over Ithaca today, and currently lead 67-40 half way through the second half.

The race will be closer this year than in past seasons, but my money is on St. John Fisher to still be playing in March. My money right now though is on chinese food, because it is after all Saturday. I love Saturdays.

‘Quarterback’ Sharpe racks up rushing yards

Let’s have a round of applause for the Atlanta Falcons’ Michael Vick. No, not for his recent legal troubles, but for becoming the first ever NFL quarterback to break 1,000 yards rushing in a single season. Impressive to say the least, but wasn’t Vick touted as a running back with a cannon arm? Scouts called him a hybrid player for the new era of professional football. And indeed he has been just that.

But with all he has accomplished, Vick can’t hold a candle to Springfield College junior quarterback Chris Sharpe. Why exactly can’t Vick, a 6-foot, 215-pound former 1st overall pick in the NFL draft, compete with Sharpe, a 5-foot-nine-inch, 204-pound quarterback from Derry, New Hampshire? Consider Sharpe’s stats from this past year for a moment: 261 rushing attempts, 1,941 rushing yards, 35 rushing touchdowns. Hell, LaDainian Tomlinson didn’t even have these kinds of numbers.

Staggering would be putting it mildly. Especially when you consider his passing numbers: 15-of-38, 39% completion percentage, 476 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. The fact that Sharpe is a converted running back helps to explain a lot. But his video game-type season can mostly be attributed to the Pride’s triple-option offense. To explain it simply, it means that Springfield runs the ball on nearly every play. Case in point: the Pride had 716 rushing attempts, compared to 40 passing attempts.

Sharpe finished with the second-most rushing yards in Division-III and the most rushing touchdowns in Division-III (by a nine-touchdown margin). Was Sharpe’s season a byproduct of the Pride’s offensive game plan, or just an unbelievable individual campaign? While that’s hard to tell, at least we all will have the pleasure of watching just how many yards he can rack up in his senior year.

That is, unless you’re the team playing him. Good luck with that.

Make it another one for Mount Union

Eight out of 11 is good. In sports, it’s really good.

Eight out of 11 games won? An 8–3 record in any sport is usually a lock for first place.

OK, so how about eight out of the last 11 national championships? Well that’s just absurd. Ridiculous. Preposterous.

Or is it? In case you missed it – and you probably did – little Mount Union College, located in Alliance, Ohio, won its eighth Division-III national championship (gloriously known as the Stagg Bowl, in honor of football pioneer Amos Alonzo Stagg) in the past 11 years, and ninth overall on Dec. 16.

Just let that simmer for a bit. Eight out of 11. And yes, I double-check my facts. Eight out of 11. And what about those other three “losing” seasons? Oh, just two losses in the semifinals in 1999 and 2004 by a combined 10 points, and one loss in the Stagg Bowl in 2003.

Amazing isn’t it? That a tiny private school in middle-America, U.S.A that enrolls about 2,300 undergraduates can lay claim as the most dominant football factory in the country. Honestly, this team makes the squad from the Briscoe High Nike commercials look like a bunch of JV middle schoolers.

Most of the team’s success can be attributed to its fearless leader, coach Larry Kehres. In 21 seasons patrolling the Mount Union sidelines, Kehres has amassed a record of 246–20–3. That translates into a 92% winning percentage, tops among any college coach, in any division, ever. Period.

So why doesn’t this powerhouse get more attention nationally? Well, it could be that they play in shadow of Columbus’ Division-I beast, The Ohio State University. Granted, Ohio State football is in itself a sports Mecca, it’s about time that Mount Union got some coverage outside of d3football.com.

Hey, if I were a betting man, I’d put my money on title number ten this time next year.

Round one

College sports is a multi-billion dollar industry. Football bowl games bring in millions of dollars annually. The basketball tournament is one of the highest rated television events each year. Athletes get crazy free-ride scholarships.

Oh, yeah… that’s just Division-I sports. My bad. But hey, can’t we get some love for Division-III sports? Come on, seriously.

Someone step up to the plate. Give 110%. Leave it all on the field for the stars of D-III athletics.

With my blog, I will bring you sports fans a new tidbit from around the raucous world of D-III sports each day.

So lace up the cleats and get ready. Check back every day. Leave me comments.

And no, this is not a hockey blog.

Cheers.