Shipwreck

When a ship steers unadvisedly onto the wrong course, when the captain ignores all the warnings coming from wise and legitimate sources, when the ship hits rock-bottom and goes down...then nobody steps up to take responsibility -- not the captain and not the people who hired him, then we have a problem.

Why did they hire this guy in the first place? Did they NOT know this ship had never done this poorly with the previous captain - nor with ANY previous captain -- this is record poor steering performance?
And what about all the people willing to jump ship and abandon the vessel - leaving behind empty seats and willing to abandon the money they had already spent? How many of these passengers are gone for good - how long before anyone can be lured back to board this ship or any like it in the future?

And where are the folks who are supposedly the higher-ups that run the whole cruise line - why have they not come forward to take some responsibility? After all - isn't the passengers' interests that should be paramount in all this, not the cruise line big wigs who are enjoying their huge salaries but denying any responsibility here!
I don't know about you, but I sure have my doubts about this ship being seaworthy at any time in the near future. The whole cruise line has become a laughingstock of the industry. But watch for the captain and the cruise line officials to continue to deny responsibility and claim everything's going to be OK.

Followups of BU guys and recruits, more ISU issues, etc...

Here's how a few other our past Bradley Braves players and former recruits fared over the weekend...

-Andrew Warren's Cairns Taipans won again beating Adelaide 87-75, with Andrew playing well especially on defense.

-Zach Andrews played well again for his LA D-Fenders of the NBDL...
He had 10 pts, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal...
Osiris Eldridge who was playing for the opponent, Bakersfield, had 24 pts, but took 23 shots (as usual) to get it done.

-Halifax won again 113-99 as Lawrence Wright rested a bit this game and scored only 6 pts, in 15 minutes....Boogie is still 5th in the league in scoring!

-Chris Roberts had 8 pts, 6 rebs in his team's easy win - Texas Legends 91 - Canton 82.

-Dodge City lost to #12 ranked Seward 81-75...as always I have the stats when they are simply unavailable anywhere else...
The score was quite close the whole way with Seward outscoring Dodge City down the stretch to take an 11 pt lead at 76-65 - but DCCC stormed back and almost sent the game to overtime before Seward fended off the challenge for the final 6-pt margin of 81-75.
Dodge normally gets good production off the bench but didn't in this game - and were outscored in bench production 18-5 by Seward.
Tyshon was 5-11 from the floor, and also 6-9 from the FT line for
16 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists, and 2 steals....in 36 minutes.

-Jim Les lost another of his starters to injury over the weekend - it's gonna be a long year...
but a very bright spot is the play of Tyler Les...
he made 3-5 from 3-pt range over the weekend, and now he is the LEADER in the entire conference (Big West) in 3-pt shooting and hitting nearly 50% and making more than 3 per game...

-Turkey has an All Star game that divides their best players into Turkish players vs. their foreign players...
We don't have any ex-Braves playing in Turkey but the "Foreigners" won 140-139.
http://www.eurobasket.com/Turkey/basketball.asp?NewsID=257056

-Ex-Bradley recruit Matt Roth (6 pts on 2-2 from 3-pt) helped the Hoosiers beat Penn State 73-54...
Sadly though they game turned ugly at the end...
One of the Penn State players fouled Christian Watford as Watford launched yet another 3-pt attempt with only seconds to go and Indiana already ahead by nearly 20!
It happened right in front of the Indiana bench and Tom Crean verbally attacked the Penn State player then some of his bench players - notably Will Sheehey, went onto the court after the guy...
Sheehey picked up two technicals and was run off the court & ejected.
The fight is seen here about 4 minutes into this video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLOU_-D_ojw

Also seen after one of Matt Roth's 3-pointers is a little cocky trash talking and the ever-present and stupid little "3-goggle" crap that every high schooler seems to do nowadays.....come on guys - grow up a little...
by the end of his college career, Matt Roth may just have a grand total of maybe 500 career points - and a little over 100 3-pointers - not even what Jeremy Crouch had in ONE single season in 2007-2008 ...so let's put this into perspective...

-AP (Anthony Parker) is still with the struggling Cavs - he's off to a slow start but the Cavs have a chance to battle for a playoff spot this year!
They were at .500 until losing their lst 3.

-Danny Granger is having another solid season - 16 ppg, 4 rpg - but those numbers are definitely way off his recent years' numbers.


-Lastly - ex-Bradley recruit Iman Shumpert is getting a great chance to play for the Knicks - since the Knicks management simply did not plan well and they have NO other point guards!
He had a really nice game Saturday with 18 pts, 7 asst., and 4 rebs..
In 12 games now he's averaging 12.3 ppg, and 3.6 apg.
The Knicks also went after Josh Harrelson who is also underproductive and now out with fracture and my miss the rest of the season...
and we all recall Renaldo Balkman (1st round pick) who doesn't even see the court any more!
They have not planned well nor made good decisions despite spending plenty of millions....and to think people criticized Isiah Thomas!!


I get a real kick out of ISU fans who point at minor discipline issues at other schools...do those fans have no clue what's going on right under their noses??

They have multiple players currently on their own basketball roster with assault arrests...
Their reported "suspension" for disciplinary reasons lasted a grand total of a couple days and one game...a meaningless blowout of SIUE...
http://wjbc.com/tags/darious-clark/

But not only have their been a whole lot of major legal issues at ISU recently - a whole lot of kids have been run out at ISU the past couple seasons...here's just some....
..Kellen Thornton, Bobby Hill, Justin Clark, Terry Johnson, Kenyon Smith, Jeremy Robinson, Ty Modupe, Sead Odzic, Landon Shipley, Mike Vandello..
...all of whom have been Janked out thru the revolving door at ISU in just the past year or two ...many after getting arrested...serious stuff!
Here's just a brief list of some of just the more serious-robberies, batteries, rapes-
http://is.gd/JBXI7y
http://is.gd/NieUbF
http://is.gd/iiTZxU
http://is.gd/eULhfp

They've also had a few DUI's a drug related arrests..and virtually none of those was ever suspended even a single game!! Not even a single practice - as has been proven before..
I get a snicker out of ISU folks pointing fingers at other schools who have minuscule issues by comparison...



Also at ISU - they have a football player who has walked on for basketball and he was logging some pretty good minutes although he had only 6 pts in their BLOWOUT loss at Drake - but he was still in near the end of the game and re-injured his previously fractured ankle...
Bryant Allen is said by head coach Tim Jankovich to have an injury more serious than a sprain - so there's speculation it could be broken again.
He has not played in over a week since that loss.



Also - seems that the very people who whined that Bradley had to make massive changes and that we'd be immediately better - are all suddenly going into hiding although some are occasionally bitching about this year's team or out there shooting messangers...
one of our local sports editors was among the MOST vocal demanding a change and saying we couldn't be any worse...
Well, KW, you got your wish but you're being pretty naive saying we look good and could be out of the cellar in the MVC soon...
I sure don't remember JL's squads being this inept at scoring - barely hitting in the 40's and unable to even get a decent shot on key possessions.
As bad and fraught with injuries as we were last year - we only scored in the 40's twice...and once was at Duke and the other was still only a 20 pt loss at Wichita not 40 points.
We've scored in the 40's already four times this season - you have to go back and include the entire LAST four seasons of the JL era to find four 40-point regular-season games....
It might seem BU is at a low ebb - but it seemed that way a month ago and it clearly has gotten worse since..
Look for even a bit more fallout - it's not done yet...




The team from the Canarias Basketball Academy - where Michael Ochereobia was from - is touring the US and playing here...
http://www.zagsblog.com/2012/01/23/canarias-basketball-academy-making-u-s-tour/

BU loses at Evansville - just when we had a good game vs. UNI...

I guess I had my hopes up a bit that after the 2nd half against UNI we'd come out in Evansville and play well.
But nobody will say we played well - we were embarrassed by a team that clearly has no overall greater talent than we have.

Even Kirk Wessler this morning followed the Phil Theobald school of journalism - that if you have nothing good to say then say nothing at all. Because he said nothing at all - not a word....which was a kind gesture.

Hard to believe that after a shellacking like that last night in Evansville that the PJS would have a front page headline saying this...
"BU FALLS ON THE ROAD"

That's all...we just fell...pretty kind way of putting it
I sure wish some of the headlines the past 6-8 years were as kind...
the online story starts with "Evansville throttles Braves 90-67"..again a pretty kind statement as if we played well but Evansville just played better...

Even the Evansville paper was more to the point...
The headline in the Evansville paper read...
"UE, Colt Ryan trample Bradley"

And somehow DR comes up with this quote in his column...
"Evansville coach Marty Simmons said Bradley was a difficult team to guard because of its quickness and athleticism."

But that sure isn't the opinion of most who watch our games...
Recall the Big Ten broadcasters when we played Michigan repeatedly pointed out that Bradley's main tactic on offense was to just give the ball to someone and go one-on-one, and that the first person who gets the ball in the frontcourt was quite often the guy who instantly launched the shot....

And here we are, now, 20-games into the season and it seems little different.
Other teams screen well, get their shooters wide open, get them the ball (like Colt Ryan) and score, while we're still doing a whole lot of shake and bake, spin moves, reverse pivots and wild shots!

Marty is right that we are hard to guard but we then make it easy by getting off shots that are never going in anyway, so they don't need to guard very well.
Those dribble-drive, reverse spin moves that even our forwards make, then they throw up an impossible shot - is why we simply cannot score - we need better shots and and an offense that utilizes team play rather than just individual one-on-one moves.

In JL's first year as head coach - we had ONE 23-point loss - it was the the road game at Creighton in 2002-2003.
But now we've had four 23 (and 23+) point losses already this year - let's hope we've seen the last one.

In fact - in the entire rest of the 9-year Jim Les era - Les had only four more regular season 23-pt losses and three of them were to top ranked non-conference teams (Michigan State in 2006, Florida in 2008, Duke 2010) - never, ever did this happen when playing a middle-of-the-pack Valley team!!

And I am calling this a 23-point loss but for all intents and purposes we know it was actually a 30+ point loss and Marty was kind to flood his bench with his walk-ons & deep subs and call off the dogs...

Too bad we didn't make a few more subs earlier -- the guys starting and playing might just respond a bit if they knew their starting positions and playing time had to be battled for...

Stat-wise this one stands out..
They had 26 assists on 32 made baskets...and 16 turnovers
We had just 13 assists better than usual but 21 turnovers...

..and Marty does a good job helping pad the guy's stats playing him 38 minutes and launching more shots with a 30 point lead.



In the ISU win over Indiana State I noticed ISU never plays Trey Blue any more -- the guy must regret the day he transferred there --

BTW - -did you see that an ISU fan tried to rebut and argue the statement that Bryant Allen was a football player walking on playing basketball...
Duhh..what am I missing -- here's what his own ISU official bio says...

"Originally came to Illinois State as a member of the football team, as a wide receiver ...
Prior to Illinois State: ... played two seasons at Minnesota on the football team"

Opinions on the Valley, Bruce Weber now trying to recruit another Sammy and steal another mid-major star, and 5-year assessments...

Here's one to ponder... the ISU beat writer has already declared and anointed ISU's Nic Moore as the MVC Freshman of the Year...

Here's his piece - titled...
"Moore headed for Valley award"

Then he says even though he hasn't even seen all the other freshmen in the Valley...
"Nic Moore's mother better clear some space on the family mantle for the MVC Freshman of the Year award.
...it is pretty clear Moore might be a unanimous winner."

http://www.pantagraph.com/blogs/redbirds/isu-basketball-moore-headed-for-valley-award/article_1e7542e6-3c92-11e1-b013-001871e3ce6c.html

Well - I can't say he won't - right now he probably is in the lead for the award but only a third of the Valley season has been played - a lot could still happen.
But seriously -- what this writer is really getting after isn't how overwhelmingly great Nic Moore is....but rather how shallow the Valley is this year with freshmen.

Compare to last year....the Freshman of the Year (Doug McDermott) also won the Newcomer of the Year and had awesome numbers!
Even a few of the runnerups from last year such as Jake Odum, Rayvonte Rice, etc...still had way better numbers last year than Moore has this year.

Currently Nic Moore is averaging almost 27 minutes per game out of desperate need the Redbirds have for anyone with point guard skills, and yet his averages pale in comparison to last year's winner...
Just 9 ppg, 3.7 apg (3.5 in conf. play), 40.5% FG shooting.

In fact - since this season is so weak with its freshman class and so strong with upperclassmen -- if you even tried to find an All-Freshman Team at this point you'd be hard pressed.
I can only find a handful of freshman playing in the Valley that have even logged noticable minutes...and as I am naming them I suspect many readers won't even recognize some of these names...

--UNI's Seth Tuttle & Deon Mitchell, SIU's Dantiel Daniels, Bradley's Shayok Shayok, Drake's Jeremy Jeffers..plus Moore, and that's about it!! And most of those guys also hardly deserve All-Conference recognition as frosh but they may back into it for lack of anyone else who's any stronger of a candidate.

Pretty weak field - so if Nic wins this year then congrats are due - but he's lucky his freshman season is 2011-2012 and not 2010-2011 or any other year!



Some will remember Jake Barnett - the top freshman from the Mac who wanted out and bartered his talents last year and settled for Saint Louis. Bradley would have loved to have him but he spurned BU and went to SLU. Wonder if he's happy - as he sat out a year and he's not even playing this year!! No more than 2 minutes even in some blowouts!! And even tho SLU was highly regarded they start the A-10 season 2-2 and look very vulnerable....
So right choice or wrong choice???



BU's Bryan Gaul selected in MLS draft - nice Job BG!
http://www.bradleybraves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205363915&DB_OEM_ID=3400



In athletics when a coach or someone has been in charge 4 or 5 years - then I guess it's fair to say it has been time enough to make a fair judgement on the guy's performance and progress.
Obviously Coach Ford's been here way less than a year so he deserves time before people can be judgemental (although some jerks have tried).

BUT - Isn't 4-5 years enough to make a call on how someone's doing on the job??
Surely you see there's people questioning the progress and performance of guys like UCLA's Ben Howland and SIU's Chris Lowery -- if they're doing way worse now than they were 4-5 years ago then it's time to say so, right??

Surely by the time anyone has been in place and in charge 4-5 years - there would be some demands to see progress or some accomplishments by year 4 and 5...makes sense!

These kinds of demands and pressures were also laid onto Jim Les but we all know by year 4 - Coach Les had accomplished plenty - leading Bradley to a Sweet Sixteen, plenty of headlines, a 1st round, lottery pick NBA player, and tremendous optimism that then landed Coach Les a huge contract extension!

But let's just glance at the progress four and a half to five years into a couple other tenures...

First - take a look at Eastern Kentucky...they're a mid-major in the Ohio Valley Conference.
In their current head basketball coach's first 4-5 years (he is now at yr-6) he's barely better than .500 - and that was taking over a really strong program when Travis Ford was hired away...
Last year they dropped to 15-16 and now they're 10-9...so at best I think you can say in the 4-5 years after that change was made - they've been mediocre at best...

Their Athletic Director - hired by their University President just before she departed to take the position at BU - has now been there going on 6 years and few of their sports programs have gotten any significant accomplishments in that span...
Their premier sports - football, men's basketball in particular - have foundered...

So let's compare to Bradley -- where Dr. David Broski stepped down in mid 2007 almost 5 years ago....
Some were pretty happy with Broski's performance - after all his selection of Coach Les took us further than Bradley had been in the NCAA in 60 years!

So -- remember -- Bradley had been to the NCAA, the Sweet 16, and had already had some major accomplishments in several other sports...including success in soccer for several years running!

BUT -- you'd better figure that now there's time to glance at how have we done in the 4-5 year span since?? Some will ask we better off? What, if any, sports are doing better now? Almost all of our sports have had coaching changes in the interval...but surely people can't say that 4 and a half to FIVE years just isn't enough time to judge!! You make the call -- I am a 100% positive Bradley fans so I am biased towards the POSITIVE but others might judge a bit differently.

Why judge some would ask but - if you can't have a fair and honest assessment after nearly FIVE years after a changeover - then that would make absolute hypocrites out of the people who demanded Jim Les' head after just 3 or 4 years...
So I ask -- you make the call - in the past 4 to 5 years, with all the changes, AD changes, massive Athletic Dept. changes, coaching changes, even huge sums expended to make the changes -- how far have we come?
We have great facilities...are the programs following along as well?
How much better are all the sports programs - surely we'd expect to see a quantum jump forward and there's some evidence to back it up....I think we see the beginning.

Right at this time five years ago we were still basking in a trip to the Sweet 16, we have players going pro, record attendances, talk of record boosts in the funding and revenue for athletics....so if we were doing that well five years ago - then it's time that the local papers do some fair coverage of how far we've come - or are we, like Eastern Kentucky, kinda stuck in the mud and still mediocre according to our local press? LMK...



Did you see - University of Illinois basketball (Sammy's team) now sits in FIRST PLACE in the Big Ten all by themselves!!
They play Penn State tomorrow and a win will keep them in 1st place.
http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/m-baskbl-standings.html

Speaking of Illinois did you see what Bruce Weber said about Sam Maniscalco??

He said he'd like to fill the open scholarship he now has from Crandall Head's departure - with another player just like Sam Maniscalco - a graduate student transfer from some other school - specifically from some "lesser" school or midmajor...

Here's his quote..
"Weber may take another transfer to fill scholarship spot
If Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber wouldn’t have taken transfer Sam Maniscalco last spring, the former Bradley point guard likely would be somewhere else in the Big Ten Conference.

But Weber isn’t sure he likes the rule allowing players to transfer for a fifth year to attend graduate school without sitting out a season.

“If I was at a mid-major or a low-major, I wouldn’t like it at all,’’ he said Tuesday.

...“We’re just putting out feelers now, seeing what’s out there and what might become available,’’ he said. “We’re going to watch, wait and see what’s out there.’’
Weber doesn’t expect the rule to change, so it’s conceivable he would add another experienced fifth-year point guard next season. Like Wisconsin looking for another quarterback, the Illini might need help after Maniscalco leaves."
http://www.sj-r.com/sports/x713195756/Illini-Basketball-Weber-could-take-another-transfer

There it is....Weber saying that other Big Ten schools were also trying to lure Sam Maniscalco from Bradley - and that he was the successful one - and had he not been the successful one - then one of the other Big Ten schools would have been.

PLUS - he all but admits he's out there recruiting players off other schools' teams..
he says they're putting out feelers!! Seeing what's out there!!
He apparently now has such disdain for "mid-majors" that he sees them as just a source for rosters to pick over and go shopping from!!

Does anyone doubt he'll be giving DSE a call to see how close he might be to being able to get a degree by the end of summer?



Nice article on Nate Wells this morning - but I have a question -- why doesn't Nate dress and go through warmups at each game??
When AT and Jordan Prosser redshirted they dressed and went thru warmups - so did Cameron Sweatman and Saihou Jassey - even though they knew they were redshirting...so why doesn't Nate do it this year - it would give him more practice, more shooting, more drills, etc...
Anyone have an answer??



Lastly - I read where one of the local writers said that Walt Lemon's lob pass to Taylor Brown was a 50-foot lob pass...

OK let's dissect this one....
First the lob pass happened right in front of me so I can say with certainty that it did NOT come from the backcourt as some have said...Walt was on the fly, running, and released the pass a couple steps over half court so maybe 6-8 feet into the front court.
Even if it was from half court - the entire half court is only half of 94 feet and at least 5 feet of that distance is behind the front of the rim and four of those feet are actually behind the backboard....so a lob from half court would still have been only 42 feet or so...

BUT - since the toss came from well across the half court stripe I'd say a better estimate on the length of the lob for the dunk was maybe more in the 35 foot range...but if the local writers are going to exaggerate or tell mistruths then at least one kinda makes the Braves seem better not worse like those misstatements generally do!



I think we can declare the Occupy movement DOA -- belly up...
They had a rally in DC and only a few hundred showed up, they're running out of money and the only headlines they're getting are because they're beginning to get so violent and are throwing bombs...
yesterday they threw smoke bombs at the White House!!
Can you imagine the uproar had the Tea Party done that??
Whoa...

Also their Iowa rally last week had about 5 or 6 people that's all..
embarrassing........
http://www.salon.com/2012/01/04/the_complete_failure_and_unnoticed_success_of_occupy_iowa/singleton/

No transfers in or out, new InSU verbal, and some media talk...

The window for players transferring from one D-I school to another in this mid-season has closed...
There were some "rumors" that Max Bielfeldt would be transferring - maybe even to Bradley --
there were also some statements made elsewhere that guys like Donivine Stewart and Devon Hodges had played so few games that they might just shut it down and not play then redshirt the rest of the year - which is, of course, ridiculous since you can't redshirt if you've played, and a "redshirt" is actually different than a "medical waiver" or medical redshirt".

So unless someone who has already completed their transfer has not yet been made known or publicized --
then it is clear that nobody will be leaving University of Michigan and nobody will be transferring here mid-season ..and it won't be happening anywhere else because they are now into the 2nd semester.

Now, if anyone leaves and transfers - from now 'til the end of the summer - they'd have to sit out a FULL year and then NOT be eligible until fall of 2013...

I simply can't imagine anyone currently redshirting would then also make a move that would require them to also MISS next season as well due to D-I transfer rules....

One other thing...
There are TWO players on our roster that had they been injured and unable to play the rest of the season - they would have qualified for a medical waiver (medical redshirt) this season...
DS has played only 8 games and DH only four.....(but even one game eliminates a standard redshirt - contrary to some of the uninformed opinions elsewhere...)

BUT -- since BOTH played in the Wichita State game on 1/13/12...they have now eliminated the possibility of even a medical redshirt should they get or have an injury...

The reason is because one requirement of medically redshirting is that you cannot play beyond the mid-point of the season -- even one minute of play at any time in the 2nd half of the season destroys any chance of a medical redshirt.

The Wichita game last week was our 18th game of the season well beyond the mid-point - so there will be no other redshirts than Wells...for any reason...
Sad....it's kind of a waste to give up a whole year of scholarship eligibility to play a handful of minutes only in just a few games of a bad season where there's essentially no hope of post-season play...


One other transfer followup...
Osamueda Egharevba is a 6-6 freshman forward from Wichita State who can play guard - and was a fairly highly regarded prep schooler..but he was apparently asked to redshirt by Gregg Marshall - stayed a little bit then left - reportedly because he didn't want to redshirt so he left..
He has now landed at Midland juco and will play there next year and will still be a freshman...



Indiana State Sycamores just landed a verbal from a junior college sophomore at nearby Wabash..Michael Samuels...
Listed some places at 6-11, and elsewhere as 6-10 center - originally from Pennsylvania, his current averages at juco..
6.1 ppg, 48% FG shooting, 62% FT shooting, 4.3 rpg, 0.9 bpg

Year before that he was at Vincennes...and averaged 2 ppg, 2 rpg..
here's a picture...

http://www.njcaa.org/schools/athleteimages/SamuelsForWeb.jpg

http://njcaa.org/colleges_college_player.cfm?sid=4&collegeid=1408&category=Roster&slid=2&teamid=105754&athleteid=314365



Regarding all this mushy stuff about Bradley being so much more open with the press and that some think the press is NOTreally all that negative or hostile towards anyone at BU or ever has been....
I can state with certainly and from many personal conversations with those involved...that every single coach, assistant, and Athletic Dept. personnel at Bradley (going back decades) has been of the opinion and been on constant guard - that the local press and sports writers are unfairly and aggressively negative -- going back at least all the way to the beginning of the Dick Versace era....and also into the Dick Lien era..

You can have any opinion you want - but you'd still have a hard time explaining why the very people closest to the situation - the very people most capable of seeing what's going on, and knowing the facts and the truth, literally every single BU basketball staff member has accepted it as a given that our local press goes overboard and beyond the call of duty to highlight the negative...
So..no matter what anyone else says - and even if I didn't see a hint of it myself - I'd still choose to believe that Versace, Albeck, Mo, Les, and all their staff have a better knowledge of this than anyone else and I'd believe them.



One other thing...

I keep reading and hearing people say...
"this staff is so much more open with the press, they are more honest, etc..."

Whoa....I wish I had a couple bridges to sell people who swallow that stuff....

I'd like for someone to show me how it's true....
Is Geno talking about what recruits he's going after?? Of course not -- is he revealing his game plan?? Nope..
What's more open than before...

Might I remind you some of the most fierce attacks leveled at Jim Les were because he didn't reveal what was going on behind the scenes, wouldn't say why certain players were suspended, wouldn't reveal his starters or explain why he made changes to the starting players, etc...

Duh.....did Geno ever say what Taylor Brown did to get suspended from the exhibition? Did he ever go into detail about why he made the change to the starting lineup - why Jake started the SIU game and DSE came off the bench??
If it was a foot injury as some had claimed - then does it surprise you DSE came immediately off the bench, played as much or more as other starters, and showed NO hint of injury as he was the Player of the Game and leading scorer and assist man..and nobody mentioned any injury in any of the game interviews?

Every coach maintains his secrets - it's no different now than ever but yet this staff has done a good job of buffaloing people into thinking they are doing things differently and some have gone for it...
I'm ok if they fool people into thinking things are way different or better - but Geno knows how to deal with the media and he's on guard 24/7

BU Booster Newsletter

The folks at Bradley are doing something new....they are sending out via e mail a newsletter called..
"January, 2012 Booster 101 Newsletter"

A lot of it has to do with how NCAA rules affect boosters and their contact with athletes..but there's also some other useful info - so I thought I'd pass it on and reproduce it here...........

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

(edit - insert deleted and moved to the private page)




However - I will tell you one thing -- there has been one player dropped from Bradley's roster and he is no longer a member of the team...

I won't give you any more details

Here's the roster as it currently looks...
http://www.bradleybraves.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=3400&SPID=1498&SPSID=19333


Here's the player just recently deleted from Bradley's roster...
http://www.bradleybraves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=3400&ATCLID=205014758

more to come.....

More bad science and who's to blame for Bradley's bad record??

Another article in the media for those interested in science...
but as is so common - the article is not very scientific - and instead shows publicity-hungry "scientists" offering little more than hopeful speculation.
If this stuff falls under the banner "Science" then I guess there's precious little left to put into the column "Conjecture"..

It's the AP story on page 2 of the PJ Star titled "Astronomers see more planets than stars"..

First - the headline is so totally false and inaccurate that it caused me to almost gag when I read it.
Do you know how many stars can be seen by astronomers?

-With the naked eye we can see at least 1000 stars - compared to only a half dozen or so planets visible - all within our own solar system (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn).

-Then with even the cheapest Sears catalog telescope - at least a million stars can be seen and still only about eight planets (you can add Uranus & Neptune).

-With the most elaborate telescopes, hundreds of millions - and even billions of stars are easily visible.
And yet as the article states - there's perhaps 700 planets CONFIRMED - and perhaps a few thousands more suspected...
anything beyond that is pure speculation....but they have NOT been seen as the headline states.

SO -- isn't the headline a bit misleading?? Isn't it NON-science and pure speculation that if they've found a few thousand planets then there must be BILLIONS??

Again -- science is - according to those who are scientists - all about the measurable, observable, provable, reproducible, and confirmable.
But this story is pure fantasy-speculation.

BUT still -- I have no problem with speculation - just be honest and call it that and don't lie and claim this is good science --- but this story even one-ups that...

One thing that this story also confirms is that the very things these SAME scientists believed to be facts just a few years ago are now totally overturned and they believe NEW "facts".

So.... just how factual are facts if they get revised every few years?? Hmmm -- sounds like we're really talking speculation and theories here and not facts.

The column says that just a few years ago - scientists believed it was NOT possible for planets to orbit a double star/sun...

they said...
"this type of two-sun system is too unstable to support planets"

BUT -- now they believe the total opposite - that it can happen...
I guess I wonder how sure can they be of some theory or concept if just a couple years ago it replaced a different theory or concept they thought was fact at that time?

Come on -- facts should not change and be substituted with "new facts"!
Just maybe a little caution and skepticism is due here but these guys sure don't think so -- they're raving about their new-found "facts"...

Just a few years ago - they were sure that these exoplanets (planets orbiting other stars) were rare - maybe only one in 100 or even 1000 stars had them.
Now they totally reverse that and say they are much common -- and speculate they may even be more common than stars (but the headline still remains totally false because nobody sees that many).

Then there's this statement...
"Because it's so hard to see these size planets, they must be pretty plentiful, (John) Johnson said. It's kind of like cockroaches.."

"must be plentiful"??? Again - just how scientific is that??? We don't see them, and it's quite difficult to see them - so let's speculate and say there MUST BE plenty of them!!!

Using that argument I could say it's "so hard to see pink elephants and little green men - thus they must be pretty plentiful!"

I don't claim to be any world renowned scientist but these guys are funny - they defy their own definition of science and substitute pure speculation whenever they want to grab some headlines - or maybe sell a book.

But you know where this is all headed -- it just goes with the claim many scientists make that since there's endless numbers of planets "out there" is somehow "proves" there must be intelligent life out there as well. (it's some effort to cheapen life on earth and make it less unique and special)

Baloney - it proves no such thing. IT IS MANDATORY by the very definition of science - that we have to observe some evidence of life before we say it's out there or even possibly out there...and we have observed NONE even after looking intensely for it for more than 6 or 7 decades.

In fact - the more planets we find - then the more the Fermi principle fits -- that if there's so many planets and they have intelligent life on them- then why doesn't at least one of them (intentionally or unintentionally) emit or send out a signal (as we earth people have done many times for decades in the form of electronic signals, laser signals, spacecraft like Voyager that even contained message for other intelligence to find, etc...)?
If there's life on any planet nearby or even close to nearby - then within a few years after intelligence gets to the electronic age we'd start receiving non-random electronic signals that can be interpreted as intelligently formed.
I am not saying it will never happen - we have no way of knowing but it sure hasn't happened yet!

S0 -- still - nothing - no evidence -- never has been and I believe never will be....
I think the evidence is clear - we are alone -- if we were not then why wouldn't at least ONE of those intelligent civilizations come and make contact -- just one????
And for those who say they have then they have to invent to "conspiracy" arguments or the "someone's hiding it" arguments...

The most laughable "pseudo-science" is on History Channel in the form of the "Ancient Aliens" shows -- how laughable is it that aliens came to earth long ago - when they built pyramids, when the Native Americans scrawled their cave-man like drawings, and even when Hitler was fighting WWII.

AND - in every case they gave the earth civilizations NEW technology. But still there's no evidence that any technology at that time was anything more than stone-age or contemporary "technology"...
The final argument is that if the aliens were helping Adolph Hitler and the Germans - why didn't they give Hitler the technology to make A-bombs and win the war - or digital technology, or stealth technology, etc....why did they give Hitler only enough technology to be a force in the world but not enough to avoid losing the war to more technologically advanced nations like us??
Do these people not see how really silly and stupid they look with these ridiculous theories?

But these stories do make for some good entertainment...



Lastly - there is lots of blame being thrown about by miserable and unhappy fans of Bradley basketball - this is hardly new....
There have been people whining about sub-par play and records for years always looking for someone to blame it on.
They blame the coach, the players, and even the other fans that support the team.
Yes - I was told once by an angry and disgruntled BU fan that he blamed me personally because he saw ME as someone who supported Coach Les - thus I was responsible in his eyes for JL not being fired.
Never mind that I couldn't have either kept him in place nor gotten him fired by any action or support I ever had - no matter what and no matter how loony that thought is...
Truth is - JL was fired as soon as the person firing him could get Board of Trustee approval and it happened moments after that occurred and couldn't have possibly happened sooner.

Well - despite warnings and predictions from those who are the bright ones in the fans base - Bradley is way, way worse now than ever in anyone's memory and the "other shoe" may not have even dropped yet...
in other words it may get worse and overall dissatisfaction gets the players down and we might yet see some player departures.

Anyway -- I don't bother hardly ever reading the crap people post on the message boards where the trashing and whining is not only allowed but encouraged and where it is the norm....and I never go to a certain board where irrational and schizophrenic thoughts abound among people always quick to heap blame for their own actions onto someone else.
But people tell me what's going on. And it is obvious that there's a small crowd of endless whiners and complainers who gotta find someone to blame for their misery.
They have tried blaming the players and it's even getting harsher and more vitriolic - maybe even blaming the fans who continue to cheer and support (God-knows where the logic comes from on this one??)...
but none of those bozos have yet to properly figure out who really deserves the blame.

So I will put it succinctly -- the blame - nearly 100% of it - goes to those who spent the last couple years clamoring for and demanding that we fire Jim Les...
those are the people whose own actions - as selfish and short sighted as they are - have gotten exactly what they demanded - and it's landed us where we are now.
The people who wanted JL fired and who got what they wanted have shot themselves in the foot and are now looking to shoot the other foot as well by blaming everyone but themselves and creating bitterness and dischord.
You guys who wanted to run Jim Les and everyone associated with him out of town have only yourselves to blame...

Look in a mirror, then ask yourself this..
"Did I open my mouth and ask for this change? Was I one who bitched and whined and wanted to make the move or even wrote or said that we ought to fire Jim Les and move on from there and been a strong and open supporter of that move?"

Then if you answer yes to that question - then blame yourself for what you're now trying to blame everyone else for.
Most who answer "yes" were never really supporters of BU anyway - they whined loudly all the time and never gave any financial support, and when they became the LOUD squeaky wheel they triggered the actions that led to this - and that's a fact!
We are where we are - with perhaps the worst team and the worst record in anyone's memory - because of YOU. At least in 2002-2003 we had a ton of fine young players in Gillingham, Gilbert, etc...other years we at least had injuries to account for sub-par performance, but this year we are not playing well and yet lose our best player and only consistent scorer when the season ends.

Sorry - I know this will send some off the deep end - as some will deny it but others will know it's true and will go ballistic trying to lie, deflect and deny....the traits they're best at..

Meanwhile - I feel we still have a group of fine young players with potential and the job can still get done. I am not bailing and I'll be there enjoying every game - although I see the disappointment with what could have been.
As I noted - somewhere there's a coach or two who are financially very well set - saying to themselves - whoa - what a mess they have in Peoria - a mess of certain people's own doing and am I ever glad to be outta there.

Just some interesting reading from the past...

I have no particular point here -- you can draw all your own conclusions -- but...
Here are some random comments - just a sampling of what I found today from the past couple years about what Bradley basketball "fans" wanted to see .....
These are culled directly from message board opinions....
I am still very hopeful we can get there - I look at every single game as the next chance to win - and even expect a win at every opportunity.
There are some things that are discouraging and it's not like we weren't warned about the fallout........
There's plenty more - maybe even some better and more enjoyable comments - but remember - these were all people saying these things 1-2 years ago - and oddly all those same people seem to have suddenly grown satisfied with the exact things they had previously said they hated and wanted to replace....


"There are those who are comfy with CBI and CIT tourneys ...Mediocrity should not be our mantra. We all should expect more. We all should demand more.
I just want more than this middle-of-the-road stuff year after year."

"I WANT BRADLEY TO BE BETTER THAN AVERAGE.
I cannot sit year after year and watch the same result. I want more than this.
.... I don't see any improvement. I don't see stability. I don't see the signs of this turning out successful..."

"..I thought about what you want in a coach.
These are just some things that came to mind (in no particular order):

1. teaches fundamentals...players shoot, pass, defend well

2. sound defensively....in position, flexible, know the X's and O's

3. gets the most out of or develops players ....growth in skill is obvious

4. good recruiter....team is deep and talent is varied by position.

5. contends for titles (league, tournament, etc)

6. instructs players outside of basketball...ie, being a good student, being a better man, working hard

7. coaches motivate players.........to achieve, play hard, buy in to program"

"I want a coach who adapts system to fit personnel and situation, rather than the other way around. This is what makes most great coaches great"

http://www.bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=17407

Then an entire long harsh critical thread really unloading directly on Jim Les and attacking his coaching ability...
http://www.bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=14160

(this is just to expose the stupidity and dishonesty of those who claim the message board never allowed anyone to criticize Coach Les -- ha, that's all they did for several years and here's proof!!)

and some funny ones...
http://www.bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?p=155017#post155017

More evidence of serious financial issues for one of Peoria's major corporations

I guess you won't read it anywhere else..but there are some very disturbing facts about Methodist Hospital in Peoria - which does business as Methodist Medical Center of Illinois..and it's simply not being reported anywhere locally.

I noted their serious debt crisis that is well reported by major national financial sites:

http://bubravesblogger.blogspot.com/2011/08/reuters-reports-on-financial-troubles.html

And then recently they canned their CEO of 11 years and sold out to an Iowa Corporation.
But now......... just as soon as the new Iowa corporation takes over they begin a "fire-sale" of assets.

Many in Peoria are familiar with a facility that Methodist just built and touted as a state-of-the-art outpatient facility. They built and owned the medical facility called the "Methodist at North Allen Road" - an outpatient and office facility right at the intersection of Allen Road and Rt. 6 (in north Peoria) which was built to compete with the new OSF facility close by on Rt. 91.

Here's the announcement that they were going to build it back in 2008 at which time they believed it was going to get done for $30 million. These are their own words:

http://www.mymethodist.net/about/newsroom/2008/Methodistonallen/

However - the costs were said later to have spiraled as they often do and it was reported to have cost much more to build and even more when you figure in all the operating costs currently.

But here's the bad news - they just unloaded it for a little over $24 million...
Could it be they are in deep financial trouble and it's not being reported?
It looks like a desperate fire-sale as they unloaded it to apparently the first buyer they could get - an outfit out of New York called "American Realty Capital Healthcare Trust, Inc."

http://nyinc.com/view/full_story/16863903/article-American-Realty-Capital-Healthcare-Trust-Acquires-Methodist-North-Medical-Office-Building-and-Odessa-Regional-Medical-Office-Building?instance=home_lead_story


I guess I am puzzled that this is big enough news that it should get reported in Peoria but the PJS doesn't have a clue??

Observations from the Creighton game

As noted elsewhere -- here's the play-by-play from the BU-Creighton game as it applies to Doug McDermott's scoring and who we had playing the post at the time.
You draw whatever conclusions - and I am not in any way saying that it was JP nor AT who were the ones assigned to cover McDermott...because several players took turns..

All I am saying is look at McDermott's scoring and compare it to who we had playing the post...
I have pruned the play-by-play as cut and pasted from the official web site - and tried to show only the relevant parts regarding McD, JP, and AT...
Here it is.......


Play-by-Play
#24 Creighton vs Bradley
01-07-12 7:07 p.m. at Peoria, Ill. - Carver Arena

1st PERIOD Play-by-Play (Page 1)
HOME TEAM: Bradley
TIME SCORE MAR
VISITORS: #24 Creighton

20:00 - Prosser in to start
18:38 GOOD! JUMPER by McDermott
17:24 GOOD! LAYUP by McDermott
16:53 GOOD! LAYUP by McDermott
16:53 Good! FT shot by McDermott
15:45 GOOD! JUMPER by McDermott
SUB IN : Thompson, Anthony 15:05
SUB OUT: Prosser, Jordan 15:05
12:06 SUB OUT: McDermott
10:53 SUB IN : McDermott
SUB IN : Prosser, Jordan 10:00
SUB OUT: Prosser, Jordan 09:10
07:52 GOOD! LAYUP by McDermott
06:30 SUB OUT: McDermott
GOOD! DUNK by Thompson, Anthony [FB/PNT] 05:07
SUB IN : Prosser, Jordan 04:07 SUB IN : McDermott
SUB OUT: Thompson, Anthony 04:07
02:58 GOOD! JUMPER by McDermott
SUB IN : Thompson, Anthony 01:58
SUB OUT: Prosser, Jordan 01:58

GOOD! FT SHOT by Thompson, Anthony 00:34
...end of 1st half...Creighton 44, Bradley 34



2nd PERIOD Play-by-Play
Prosser in to start 2nd half 20:00
19:05 GOOD! JUMPER by McDermott
17:32 GOOD! JUMPER by McDermott
SUB IN : Thompson, Anthony 17:08
SUB OUT: Prosser, Jordan 17:08
16:26 GOOD! LAYUP by McDermott
15:50 GOOD! LAYUP by McDermott
13:47 TURNOVR by McDermott
SUB IN : Prosser, Jordan 13:35
SUB OUT: Thompson, Anthony 13:35
MISSED JUMPER by Eastman, Jake 13:21
13:02 GOOD! 3 PTR by McDermott
11:42 GOOD! LAYUP by McDermott
11:22 GOOD! LAYUP by McDermott
11:17 SUB OUT: McDermott
SUB OUT: Prosser, Jordan 11:17
SUB IN : Thompson, Anthony 11:13
SUB IN : Prosser, Jordan 10:39
SUB OUT: Thompson, Anthony 10:39
09:57 SUB IN : McDermott
SUB OUT: Prosser, Jordan 09:44
09:10 GOOD! JUMPER by McDermott
07:57 GOOD! 3 PTR by McDermott
06:21 3 PTR by McDermott
SUB IN : Prosser, Jordan 05:31
04:47 GOOD! LAYUP by McDermott
SUB OUT: Prosser, Jordan 01:32
01:00 GOOD! FT SHOT by McDermott
01:00 GOOD! FT SHOT by McDermott
00:33 GOOD! FT SHOT by McDermott
00:33 GOOD! FT SHOT by McDermott
00:07 GOOD! DUNK by McDermott
End of game.........


In summary - what it shows is that Anthony Thompson played 17 minutes...13 of which were in the 1st half and the entire last 10:39 AT did not play..

BUT do the math -- in the entire 17 minutes that AT played - McDermott was in the game almost all of that time and scored only 6 points while AT was in there -- SIX total of his 44 points.
In the 23 minutes AT did not play - McDermott scored 38 points.
BUT when BOTH AT and JP were playing together - only about 3 minutes - then Doug McDermott did not score at all!
I'm not claiming he was totally neutralized - maybe he was still helping his team but at least we have pretty solid evidence of how to stop McDermott's scoring -- AT inhibits McDermott's shots around the hoop because of his long arms and the duo of AT & JP forces McDermott to pass out of the post.

I think if we neutralize McDermott's scoring we have a chance to win.

I know all of our best scorers are our non-post players (TB, Walt, DSE, Jake, SS) so it is possible our scoring drops a bit when we go with two post players - but considering that Creighton's scoring takes an even bigger hit it might be worth a chance next time!

Go BU - get a win vs. Creighton!

Tonight is a great chance for the Braves to snap out of the losing streak and surprise everyone who expects Bradley to lose to Creighton -- I'll be there cheering them on but I see now a few loser fans and some in the media are turning on Bradley.
it's sad - because most of the worst critics are the very ones who wanted to make the changes last spring that got us here -- they are the REAL cause of the current struggles!

Wasn't this predicted?? Didn't a few observant people say the fallout would be way more severe than most expected?
And yet I see people arguing on message boards that this isn't so bad and that lots of other coaches who took over programs in the Valley recently have done no better...
Well - again the facts make fools of those folks - just check the numbers - Bradley is currently doing as badly and are on course to to even WORSE than any other Valley team in the past two decades in their first season under a new coach!
Sorry - but read it and weep -- we are hurting despite that I and the best Bradley fans are still still 100% behind this team!
http://www.bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?p=246690#post246690

Didn't the most faithful and knowledgeable fans point out that we were headed from bad to worse and might even be worse than just about anyone imagined?
(Even tho we have the talent to do better!)

Not only were some of the player and recruit departures foreseen - plus the HUGE dropoff in attendance that's worse than all but a tiny few had imagined (LINK), but the poor play as the players try to adjust to a completely new system and set of coaches?
All of this was precisely predicted by some - so maybe those who laughed at those predictions should shut the h*** up and accept that they've been schooled when it comes to knowing how these things work.
Weren't even the media attacks on players, the endless weak efforts to blame this all on Jim Les as we approach a year since he was fired, and even the insane efforts that some fans make to even blame other fans - especially the good ones who are still faithful -- all this was FULLY PREDICTED!

Well - it keeps rolling -- Bradley is not playing well but true Braves fans are still there pulling for them...I am but I sure don't see th epudest of the loudmouths and bashers..they're in hiding (perhaps they know just who is responsible for their misery).

But the pretenders are lashing out in full force...and knowing that Coach Les isn't here any more it's getting harder and harder to keep a straight face when they bash JL for whatever they see wrong currently.
So now... the bashers are going after the players --

If you look ahead you will see that we might lose the next several games as well so even more fans will turn "Salukitalk" on the players - let's see -- it really says a lot about a so-called "fan" when they immaturely rip on he kids when there are numerous factors out of their control at play here.

BTW -- anyone else remember the 11-game losing streak of last year?
Dave Reynolds wrote about it almost daily and reminded fans endlessly as if it was the worst thing that could ever or has ever happened to Bradley basketball.
(BTW - we broke that streak last year against Creighton - so let's git-R-done)

If you read the sentiments of those OTOB they are viciously unloading on the entire team and all its components. But then if fans like that bail and boycott - is it really a boycott or a healing?

also - I note KW is beginning to get a bit more vicious as well - more and more direct insults and attacks on BU's players....
but aren't hey just doing what they just pieces in a larger puzzle?
http://blogs.pjstar.com/wessler/2012/01/06/sayonara-angelo-bu-no-d-bowl-games-failed-proposal/


I know winning will evaporate a lot of this...but some fan behavior is pretty embarrassing for the university - but it's not the only thing that's causing Bradley to be embarrassd on a national stage right now...

SIU in town...and other news from around the Valley

SIU in town for tonight's game against Bradley - will Justin Bocot play?
After he was held out and suspended during his questioning & investigation for a sexual assault - he was reinstated after missing FOUR whole games. Bocot then returned amid little mention nor fanfare and played a lot in the Kansas State game and the games against Clemson, Xavier, and Evansville...and shot A LOT but shot poorly (a combined 12-36)
In those four games he apparently must have not shown reason to continue to play him, because when SIU beat ISU last weekend, Bocot did not play at all!
There are some reports that the case has been completed and there are no plans to file charges - so he might be in the clear but he's still not playing....we might be hearing more on this soon...

The Braves absolutely have to get a win tonight!


Nice story on Jim Les and the job he's getting done at UC-Davis...
http://www.davisenterprise.com/sports/aggies/ucd-mens-hoops-squad-works-to-find-its-stride/

and of course Coach Molinari is getting the job done at WIU - who won again last night bringing their overall record to 7-5 and they are 2-2 in conference.
Both those win totals equal their number for ALL of last year!

So - if both Jim Les and Jim Molinari are getting praises for how they're getting things done, and if not ONE single player on either one of their rosters would have ever played or even been recruited to the Valley nor at BU - then surely we're gonna be next with the roster we have that contains kids who got pre-season All Conference mention and who are fine scorers....right?
There's just no way with the players we have that we should be losing to low majors - so expect to see a turnaround.

A few interesting news items around the Valley and elsewhere...

-Wichita killed us then returns home and loses to Creighton -
Then the Wichita fans, on their message board, are blaming their crowd for the home loss to Creighton - saying the home fans sat on their butts while their team had an 8-point halftime lead, and did not support the team in the 2nd half...allowing Creighton to outscore the Shockers 37-22 to win the game.
I have heard of blaming the refs, and the ever popular trend among pseudo-BU fans of blaming the players and coaches, and even recently blaming the coach that was fired LAST YEAR...and I have even been told that MY support for the coach of last year even means that I am to blame (if you can figure out the sheer stupidity of that one) but now we're seeing more and more of this trend of blaming the fans!

-Missouri State is off to a 2-0 start and they beat Creighton in Omaha - causing some of the national pundits to suddenly change their useless & ever evolving "bracketology" - now placing Missouri State in as an at-large team!
Joe Lunardi has MSU as a 13-seed - but as if early-season "bracketology" even needs any debunking - it'll change tomorrow, anyway...
It's a feather in the Bears' cap but it's as meaningless as anyone's opinion at this point of who's gonna be in next year's World Series.
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

BTW -- Missouri State's Caleb Patterson will sit out tonight when Illinois State visits Missouri State due to some symptoms from a concussion.

-Northern Iowa appears to be planning on two players, Chris Olivier & Matt Bohannon redshirting..they have not played a minute yet - and one guy who did play some minutes earlier - freshman Marvin Singleton - has disappeared and not played at all lately - but can no longer redshirt.

-Yet another one of SIU's ex-players has gone on and is getting headlines somewhere else..
http://is.gd/mVH8BU

-Drake fans had some fairly high expectations - but now after a couple straight losses - some fans are already talking about next year...!

Bradley fans in Chicago...

I had a great weekend and wanted to share some surprising experiences that made me proud to be a Bradley fan...
I was in Chicago with plenty of family and went to the Chicago Bulls season opener Sunday night vs. Memphis and then spent time at the museums, restaurants, etc...

Everywhere we went I and most of my family members wore our Bradley gear - since the red and black kinda fit well with being at the Bulls game anyway.
Time after time after time, at the United Center, while standing in line at concessions or even just walking up the aisles...people would stop us and ask - are you Bradley grads....and we started a conversation.
Every time it was someone who still keeps in touch and who follows Bradley basketball...
Even a few of the young workers and guides working at the museum during the extra heavy attendance days over the holiday week - were either Bradley students or grads and loved talking Bradley basketball.

By the way - the Bulls game was great -- opening night, raising the Divisional banner, and lots of other great activities.....plus a tremendous blowout win.
The only drawback was the game being such a blowout that the starters didn't play a whole lot in the 4th quarter.

Also - sat right near Chicago's Jesse Jackson...and he really looked a little different than I have ever seen him...
he was slowed down a little bit, walked a bit stiffly, had to be lead up the stairs.
He was fine standing and talking and even greeting fans and the players but was definitely less mobile that I have seen him in the past....(and I found in one recent "march" where he was filmed walking with Occupy protesters he was firmly held on both sides while he walked as if he had to be steadied a bit...)
This caused a couple medical experts sitting in our section to comment that it looked as if he had early Parkinson's Disease, but he simply did not look very energetic as we often see him.


Just a few ex-Brave followups...
In the past weekend's games...

Cellus had a 17 pt game on 7-10 from the field for Le Mans in France

Patrick O'Bryant had 11 pts, 7 rebs in a win that puts Kavala a half game out of 5th in the13 team Greek top pro league.

Andrew Warren's Taipans won again Saturday 74-57 with Andrew having an off nite - but the Taipans are only one game out of 3rd and two games out of 1st

Zach Andrews' LA D-Fenders are winning again with Zach just under a double-double - 11 ppg, 9 rpg

Halifax won again yesterday to go and Lawrence Wright had yet another GREAT game..
Boogie hit 9-14 shots and 6-8 from behind the arc...finishing with 28 points, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 steals.
Boogie's averages are...18 ppg, 50% overall FG shooting and 42% from 3-pt range, 77% on FTs, 5.4 rpg.
Boogie stands at 4th in the league in scoring, 5th in 3-pt FG%, 6th in 3-pt FG's per game, and 6th in blocks

Antoine Tisby of the St. John's Mill Rats is and also 4th in rebounding at 8.7 rpg, 10th in scoring (16 ppg) and 3rd in blocks at 1.4 bpg.