Some Valley player followups..and a non-sports story sure to ruffle feathers..

In case anyone was wondering how Kevin Dillard and all the kids from the great 2007-2008 SIU recruiting class are doing...here's a little followup.......


As most know, Kevin Dillard came to Southern Illinois and head coach Chris Lowery as perhaps the most highly touted recruit and most highly decorated recruit in many years.
He was Illinois' Mr. Basketball, and ranked among the best in a strong class in Illinois.
There were predictions that he'd be a starter from day one, and along with the others in his very strong recruiting class at SIU, would lead the Salukis to their next level of national prominence.

Dillard played two years at SIU, 2008-2009 and 2009-2010, and is now gone and transferred to Dayton.
In those two years, SIU went 13-18 and 15-15 - unimpressive despite KD acting as team leader....and Dillard amassed 734 points, and 275 assists.
Just for a stat comparison..... -- Sam Maniscalco totaled 746 career points and 224 assists in his first two seasons at Bradley.

When Dillard first left SIU and went to Dayton, he said he wouldn't talk about the reasons he left..
"I don’t really want to talk about what happened. I just want to move forward."
http://www.daytondailynews.com/o/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/daytonflyers/entries/2010/05/24/_kevin_dillard_a_former.html

But he did give some hints--
"I got to sit in on one of their workouts and saw how hard they work and how dedicated they are to the game. That impressed me"

He also commented several times in interviews how he "connected" with Dayton coach Brian Gregory.
"BG was No. 1 in that category. BG is a person you can talk to off the court. He knows the game and he’s well-established at the college level. With the work I’m willing to put in, he can really help me to excel."

But outside observers commented on how Dillard was actually run out of SIU for poor work ethics.
Just read what FoxSports' Jeff Goodman had to say -- that Chris Lowery simply couldn't win with the lazy prima donnas he had and he far preferred to have lesser talented kids who worked harder and had a "chip on their shoulder".
http://community.foxsports.com/goodmanonfox/blog/2010/05/24/lowery,_siu_going_back_to_old-school_ways

So obviously Dillard must have heard those comments and taken them personally, because he then went BACK on his word not to talk about the reasons he left SIU and he gave an interview telling a lot more...
Even though he is NOT playing, he's talking to the press...waiting for his turn... but one of Dayton's best players, freshman sensation Juwan Staten, is a lock to be point guard the next couple years and to cut significantly into Dillard's chances at playing time.
"I wish I could play.
I want to play, but at the same time, I’m happy for my team.
We work hard all week in practice.

Asked how the Flyers look compared to Missouri Valley Conference teams, Dillard said: “The guys here, they work a lot harder. I wouldn’t say there’s more competition or less competition. But the drive to get better is there. I can see it every day in practice. And on game days ... the atmosphere here is crazy."
http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/university-of-dayton-flyers/transfer-dillard-eager-to-be-on-the-court-for-flyers-1013669.html

So -- if you read between the lines, he's saying that they maybe didn't work all that hard in practice at SIU and didn't have that drive to get better.
Really?? This was the team at SIU under Lowery that MSU's Barry Hinson said practices by rubbing raw meat all over their arms then bringing in a pack of junk yard dogs and police dogs!!
And remember -- the guy who played ahead of Dillard as a freshman was Bryan Mullins, and one of the assistants was Tony Young -- two of the absolute toughest and hardest working guards ever to see playing time in the Missouri Valley.
So if KD is hinting that SIU practices were soft, he loses all credibility.

So I think Dillard is just spinning what is, in reality, a situation at SIU that exposes the lousy work ethic that he has.
Despite talk of how hard he is now working at Dayton, you gotta wonder....we just don't have the jury in yet....

Remember -- even before they got Dillard, Dayton had the talent that some thought could and WOULD win the Atlantic-10!
Dayton was picked 1st in their conference Preseason Poll last October (2009),
and they were picked to win by a rather LARGE margin!!
Dayton in 2010 is coming off a 27-8 season in which they had grabbed 33 of 57 1st place votes in the A-10 Preseason Poll.
So this year, 2010, they also were getting 1st place votes, and were very close to the top vote getter Temple..

But has Dayton gotten better this year?? The jury is still out....
It's hard to know...they have played a very weak schedule so far...
they are 8-3 with wins over Mt. St. Mary's, Akron, Ole Miss, Savannah State, Florida A&M, Miami, Central Connecticut, and Western Carolina. There have also been losses to East Tennessee State, ODU, and an incredibly embarrassing loss to Cincinnati in which Dayton scored only 34 total points, and lost by a whopping 34 points, 68-43.

Currently Dayton has an RPI of 114, 8th best in the A-10, but a SOS of 189...
Both SIU and KD are starting over, so we'll see how each will do without the other.
Dayton fans are, at times grumbling, and thinki9ng with the talent they have and the weakness of the schedule played to this point, that they should be doing better -- certainly not getting humbled by 34 points, and allowed to score only 34 points against in-state rival Cincy!

One last thought -- Dayton coach Brian Gregory is one of the top guys coaching in the mid-majors. His name comes up a lot as a great coach and a possibility to move up the ranks. Now remember that when you look at how many wins he's had over the past 5 years -- he's had fine players, including some top kids left over from the Oliver Purnell era, and he's got a higher profile ability to recruit there in Dayton and has NOT had to deal with the numerous injury issues that Jim Les has had to deal with...
so surely he must have won TWICE as many games there at Dayton as Jim Les has, right??

Nope -- 5 year win totals are nearly identical!!
Gregory has won 108 games in the past 5 seasons, while Jim Les has won 102!
And Gregory went 8-8 last year in the A-10 despite being picked to WIN the league with the best talent...at the same time BU also won 9 games in the equally tough MVC, and some fans at BU were disappointed....just like some at Dayton are expressing dismay.



Moving on to others.....
SIU's Anthony Booker, once rated inside the top 30 nationally, left Carbondale and transferred to Iowa State, part of a huge group of transfers Iowa State will have next year.

Booker is reportedly getting rave reviews as part of the Iowa State scout team..playing in practices against the regulars..
http://www.clonechronicles.com/2010/12/18/1884518/finals-are-over-time-for-first-semester-grades

More
http://is.gd/j5kgZ

Looks like Iowa State's transfer guys sitting out are pummeling the guys they have eligible!
"Iowa State’s 75-72 win over Iowa made up for the loss the Cyclones suffered in a recent intrasquad scrimmage to the players sitting out as transfers.

“The day before the Iowa game,’’ coach Fred Hoiberg said, “they kicked our guys’ butts.’’
Among those in wait are Minnesota transfer Royce White, a 6-8 forward who was a national Top 30 recruit; Michigan State transfer Chris Allen, a 6-3 guard who started 27 games on the Spartans’ Final Four team last year; and Southern Illinois transfer Anthony Booker, a 6-9 forward voted to the Missouri Valley all-bench team last year.

“They have really embraced the role of getting our team prepared,’’ Hoiberg said. “The future is really bright for our basketball team.’’
http://is.gd/j5kzQ


More on Nick Evans
Finally settled his court issues at SIU, then was activated at USI..and has found his niche..
USI now ranked #20 in D-I is 7-1 and Nick Evans has played in 7 games, averages 12 minutes per game off the bench, 4 ppg, 3 rpg, and a 6/17 A/T ratio!
he was doing considerbly better at SIU (16 mpg, 5.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg) and now his playing time and production has fallen off the charts...


Torres Roundtree ..booted kinda early his freshman year -- bounced around and got booted a few other places (CSI, SWIC..) and other jucos, has finally settled at a place called State Fair Community College (11-3)...
..a junior college in Sedalia, Missouri...finally showing he does have D-I talent!
He's doing OK when he plays, and has appeared in only 8 of their 14 games (not sure if he missed due to injury or other reasons), averaging 18.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 4.5 apg, but only 24% from 3-pt.
On Nov. 30, Torres had a fine game just missing a triple double with 23 pts, 9 rebounds, 9 assists.


Ryan Hare as we all know was booted at SIU but has since been booted from his juco team this year as well -- having never even gotten into a game.
he has reportedly returned to Chicago to take care of "personal problems".
Nothing on him recently to know what his future plans are...


Sharpshooter Josh Bone wasn't part of the same recruiting class as the others, but was tied intimately into their recruiting class.
Bone was a guaranteed starter and was starting on their Canadian tour in 2008, when he objected to getting subbed by Dillard...and presto -- Bone was gone and Dillard became the starter...and the rest was downhill for Chris Lowery -- who should have tried harder to keep Josh Bone.
Bone eventually walked on at Tennessee -- played a key off-the-bench role in making it to the Elite Eight last year, and is currently a senior at Tennessee, embroiled in turmoil as they are, this year.

So of the six top young kids at SIU in 2008, Dillard, Booker, Hare, Evans, Roundtree, and Bone -- not ONE is currently playing D-I ball! Who'da thunk it!!

In addition, only a couple, Dillard & Booker, and maybe Roundtree if he gets picked up by anyone at the D-I level -- even have a chance of ever contributing at the D-I level!




Here's a non-sports story and no matter where you stand politically, you'll have to admit there's a certain irony to this story......

It involves relatively poor people in Macon Georgia who are unable to afford heating bills this winter.
Obviously it doesn't get as cold in Georgia as a lot of places but Macon has a system where people can appeal and local agencies give them help with their heating bills.
Hundreds are even turned away when the amounts of support run out...
http://is.gd/j5mX7

BUT -- here's the irony -- just as you start to feel a little sympathy for folks in this situation, they run this story...
http://is.gd/j5nj2

and look especially close at this picture...
http://is.gd/j5nEQ

..which shows a woman claiming that she can only afford to heat ONE ROOM in her home...
So what's the irony?? The irony is that she is standing in her home right in front of a 65-inch plasma screen TV and an XBox-360..
The approximate value of those two items alone would easily pay the women's heating bills for at least a year - even here in the midwest -- so likely they'd pay her bills for several years in Macon, GA!
So I would argue it is clearly a matter of priorities....
I personally still watch the same old color TV that I bought in 1986...and nobody in my household has ever wasted money on an XBox or anything of the like.
I know I am going to insult some people with this point of view, but I would love to hear the spin on this, that she's entitled to spend $4000-$5000 on frivolous electronic gadgetry for pure entertainment and pleasure, but expects others to pay for her basic needs, which she states she is not willing to nor "able" to pay for herself.
Like I say -- someone please let me hear your spin!

Busting even more myths about education at "elite schools"...

When the recruiting battle for Rock Island's Chasson Randle was going on, there was a secondary debate that cropped up several times...

The extra debate had to do with the perceived quality or value of an education at Stanford vs. a similar education at University of Illinois.

Some argued vehemently that lots of proof existed that the education a kid gets at Stanford was better and would serve him better in his life -- in any ways measured - such as earnings, prestige, or satisfaction.

Well -- seems we have to do this all the time, but I am going to have to bust that myth as well.
This new data will put the final nail in the coffin of that age-old but inaccurate argument.

One of those who took the side of Stanford even argued that Stanford produced MORE Nobel and Pulitzer laureates and more Olympians that University of Illniois...
However, I had no trouble slamming that myth right back in his face, as those numbers are undeniable....University of Illinois has considerably more on all counts, and even top college profs, University Presidents, High Court Justices, etc...

So -- just maybe the only remaining "mythical" argument left, that Stanford gives a "Better education" or a more satisfying experience -- just maybe that argument is flawed as well.......

Here is the proof.........two recent studies find them and read them if you dare to see your preconceived unfounded notions go up in smoke...

The first report........
http://www.springerlink.com/content/n3112v2q139t2007/

The first study notes that most data about people who go to elite colleges and whether they do better, earn more, or are happier are decades old data....really old enough such that those opinions are outdated and not valid today...so let's look at recent data...

So -- here's the first study in more than a decade and guess what?? The "elite" schools simply are NOT ELITE!!!
.....the kids who go to local schools, state schools, and non-"elite" schools do as well or better and ARE HAPPIER and more satisfied with their outcome!!

"These findings do not support the view that graduating from elite schools will necessarily lead to greater job satisfaction."

..so even if the education is MORE expensive and known historically to be "better -- things may just have changed -- and now any difference is JUST NOT WORTH IT and the job satisfaction of the grads from the "elite schools" is clearly worse!!

Here's more data from other researchers........
"Everything we know from studying college student experiences and outcomes tells us that there is more variability within schools than between them,” said Alexander C. McCormick, a former admissions officer at his alma mater, Dartmouth College, and now an associate professor of education at Indiana University at Bloomington. “This is the irony, given the dominance of the rankings mentality of who’s No. 5 or No. 50,” Professor McCormick added. “The quality of that biology major offered at School No. 50? It may exceed that at School No. 5."

In this 2nd study -- researchers said the above about data from 1999 -- showing that earnings were about the same when all variables were looked at and that the education at an "elite" school was simply not better and maybe in this day when you don't need an unnecessary, enormous extra debt...just maybe the education at the "lesser elite" school was far better!!..

"Still, one flaw in such research has always been that it can be hard to disentangle the impact of the institution from the inherent abilities and personal qualities of the individual graduate. In other words, if someone had been accepted at an elite college, but chose to go to a more pedestrian one, would his earnings over the long term be the same? In 1999, economists from Princeton and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation looked at some of the same data Professor Eide and his colleagues had used, but crunched them in a different way: they compared students at more selective colleges to others of “seemingly comparable ability,” based on their SAT scores and class rank, who had attended less selective schools, either by choice or because a top college rejected them." "The earnings of graduates in the two groups were about the same — perhaps shifting the ledger in favor of the less expensive, less prestigious route."


The first study notes that most data about people who go to elite colleges and whether they do better, earn more, or are happier are so old as to be irrelevant in any debate today!
So -- when they do actual studies instead of speculation on anything current....
............guess what??
They supposed top schools, the "elite" simple are no longer so elite...

This is a pretty telling conclusion....
"These findings do not support the view that graduating from elite schools will necessarily lead to greater job satisfaction."

so even if the education is MORE expensive and known historically to be "better -- things may just have changed --
and now any difference is JUST NOT WORTH IT and the job satisfaction of the grads from the "elite schools" is clearly worse!!

Zach Andrews has another great game, and blame America for everything -- it gets old..

Zach Andrews had another tremendous game for his Japanese pro team...
He hit 11-12 from the floor, had 25 pts, 16 rebounds, only 1 turnover!
http://www.eurobasket.com/boxScores/Japan/2010/1218_4121_15307.asp



UNI just beat SIUE 68-47, Ahelegbe had 9 pts and zero assists.



Here's a news story on the prep school game between La Lumiere (Bobo Drummond) and St. John's (Manual's Lawrence Alexander)....
http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2010/12/13/sports/doc4d06da386abdd039983724.txt

La Lumiere with all the talent they have went 0-7 to start the season and now are 2-7

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/dec/07/nesbitt-boxes-out-memorial/

http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20101213/SPORTS11/12130362/1001/Sports




I found this story a bit incredible...blaming us for a tragic fire in India??
Are they saying it would it be better if we did NOT buy their products??
Wouldn't they all starve??
Seems this writer never thought of that consequence...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/19/cheap-clothes-bangladesh-lucy-siegle

Speaking of fashion....here's the latest fashion trend...
Women's clothes so ugly that they repel men..
"....recent runway looks: fashions that, though promoted by designers and adored by women, most likely confuse — or worse, repulse — the average straight man. These include turbans, harem pants, jewelry that looks like a torture instrument, jumpsuits, ponchos, furry garments .."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/fashion/16MANREPELLER.html



Here's one writer's opinion on why Julian Assange is one of the lowest forms of life on earth...
1st -- he's wildly promiscuous....kinda like a rabbit in heat...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1339859/Wikileaks-Julian-Assanges-promiscuous-lifestyle-revealed-Jemima-Khan-look-away-now.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

But even beyond that he's slimy and disreputable....he was reluctant to publish leaked "climategate emails" that discredited the global warming people...showing Assange is an activist -- and NOT a free and objective person at all..
but he releases documents that might get operatives worldwide killed!

Women's group support Assange despite the accusations and evidence of assault and fairly solid proof he's a prolific womanizer and sexual abuser..
Contrast this to the exact same women's groups who lined up behind and supported the lying Crytal Mangum (the Duke lacrosse rape accuser) -- so it is obvious here that just about the only consistent thing is their extreme liberalism and not any sense of wanting to defend or stand up for women.

And Assange is the single biggest hypocrite in the world and those who support him are right behind in their hypocrisy.
He takes what does not belong to him, papers, documents, and legally protected private information..then is involved in the stealing of that property, and then puts it on his web site for his own benefit and profit...
Thus he's no different than someone who deals in buying stolen merchandise then selling it for gain.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1339862/Wikileakss-Julian-Assange-preaches-openness-demands-privacy.html

SCUMBAG...



These writers attempt to show the hypocrisy among those who claim the rich should pay more taxes and should be more charitable...
In fact, it is mostly powerful liberals who say these things...
and this writer gives proof that liberals are only liberal when it's to their gain...
secretly and privately they hate and avoid liberalism when it is not to their gain..

Their own acts betray them as hypocrites and you can find NO similar example among conservatives who appear to live the very thing they preach, unlike liberals.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/liberals-the-secret-elitists-2158531.html

Separate looks at lots of known documents that show the tax returns of the most liberal who are sometimes also the most wealthy such the Kennedy's, President Obama himself (earned $5.5 million last year), and John Kerry...show they virtually never give anything to charity -- and they also seem to pay suspiciously LESS that what would seem to be their fair share of taxes!!!

Ted Kennedy
http://books.google.com/books?id=QwbM6Z5BaEEC&pg=PA60&lpg=PA60&dq=%22ted+kennedy's+tax+returns%22&source=bl&ots=4HdZyJ892m&sig=zo9abwivrQwlFmeUbKR9A3uNdRc&hl=en#v=onepage&q=%22ted%20kennedy's%20tax%20returns%22&f=false

John Kerry
Hi tax returns -- gave essentially zero for most years to charity and often paid virtually NO taxes despite being one of the wealthiest men in the NATION!
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?hl=en&um=1&tab=nw&q=cache:7qYLfRLMg_AJ:http://old.nationalreview.com/york/york200404140841.asp+%22john+kerry%27s+tax+returns%22&ct=clnk

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?hl=en&um=1&tab=nw&q=cache:ax86aImxC7sJ:http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/03/mccain_blisters.html+%22john+kerry%27s+tax+returns%22&ct=clnk

VP Biden -- earned $400K gave $3900 to charity...hmm....charitable...
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/vp-biden-2010-complete-return.pdf

Finally a signature Valley win but overall Valley play = not good

The Missouri Valley went 4-2 yesterday, and the major thing is that one Valley team finally got a real quality win..
Wichita State beat LSU 70-69 at LSU!
The rest of the numbers look good, but the other wins were over Middle Tennessee State, Idaho State, and Saint Louis.

Wihcita State didn't shoot especially well, but rebounded better than LSU and that combined with poor shooting by LSU was the key.

Evansville beat MTSU by two with Colt Ryan getting 22 pts. One of the announcers doing the Indiana State-Purdue game yesterday was trying to hype the Valley and said Ryan should be the MVC Player of the Year. He had a good performance yesterday - but I am not sure I'd give it to him yet. For almost exactly the same number of shot attempts, Andrew Warren gets 2 points per game more scoring, plus AW has twice the rebounding and more assists.

Indiana State hung with Purdue for 30 minutes, then ran out of gas. Dwayne Lathan looked great at times, but 8 turnovers for a guy not even playing point guard is one of the things that killed them.

Creighton debuted Greg Echenique...and he played 18 minutes, got 12 pts, 5 rebs.
Echenique cut significantly into Kenny Lawson's playing time, and Lawson only had 7 pts, and 2 rebs in his 18 minutes...
Hmm....Lawson is the Preseason Player of the Year in the Valley and everyone says it's his award to lose.
Don't you think dropping Lawson's playing time to just 18 minutes is going to hurt his chances? This will be interesting.

Missouri State went pretty much the whole way with starters (33-38 minutes) and Weems had a 10-14 night with 26 pts. in their win over cold shooting Saint Louis.
The fact that MSU got to the FT line a ton more than SLU and that nobody on SLU had more than 3 or 4 rebounds made a little difference as well.

Drake scored only 19 1st half pts, and lose to Iowa 59-52.

One other interesting game, Ohio played St. Bonaventure to 4 overtimes, but lost 112-107. Point guard DJ Cooper was 17-41 from the floor and scored 43 points, and had 13 assists.
Here's an amazing discrepancy in this game -- Ohio was 40-101....they took an amazing 101 shot attempts!!
St. Bonaventure was 38-67 -- taking 34 fewer shots than Ohio! DJ Cooper alone took MORE shot attempts than four of SBU's starters COMBINED!


Here's the bad news for the Valley...
the MVC's conference RPI ranks them 13th among conferences, trailing even the Ivy League, the Colonial, and even the Horizon!
http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_conf_Men.html

The Valley hasn't been outside the TOP 9 conferences in RPI since 2004, and they haven't been as bad as they are currently since more than a decade.

I think the team that steps up with strong upperclassmen and good play down the stretch will win the Valley.

Upsets..

Some upsets today of BCS teams..

Illinois traveled to the United Center and loses 57-54 to UIC.
UIC had previously only beaten one D-I opponent, Toledo...
But Illinois played sloppy, too many key turnovers, missed shots.

Speaking of the United Center -- one famous guy who played there has a couple sons at University of Central Florida...and one of them, Marcus Jordan helped his UCF Knights stay perfect, beating Miami 84-78.
Jordan had 23 points, UCF goes to 10-0.

Indiana State plays Purdue and so far, early on they're hanging close...
Evansville is leading MTSU...
Valley needs at least on good win...so GO Sycs!

Kansas can find a new AD, some BU and Valley news, and lots more..

Here's the story of the day in sports...
Kansas is looking for a new Athletic Director...they have a mess with a ticket scandal but their old AD was making $4.5 million per year and so it STILL has to be a pretty attractive job, right??

Well....seems not -- everyone they interview turns the job down, and even when they thought they had their hire...
They were going to name the Tulsa Athletic Director, a guy named Bubba Cunningham, as their NEXT AD at Kansas....and the guy pulls a "Dana Altman" -- and bolts back to Tulsa!!
So what's wrong at Kansas that they can't beg anyone to be their Athletic Director??
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/12/16/2526245/ku-reopens-search-for-an-athletic.html

One writer thinks this means there some real scandal brewing at Kansas, and possibly some real potential sanctions....or why would the guy bolt??
He wants Kansas to come clean and admit to the public what's going on!!
http://www2.kusports.com/news/2010/dec/17/public-deserves-truth-surrounding-bubba-cunningham/



Here's some good news for the Valley -- TOP Wichita prep star 5-STAR Perry Ellis has trimmed his list of colleges and narrows the field to just 6 choices...
and WICHITA STATE remains among them!!
That's great, even tho they have to be the long shot!!
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/12/17/2528493/wichita-prep-star-perry-ellis.html



Here's a comment by Kentucky's John Calipari hinting that Kentucky should have an NBA team...is he lobbying for a new job??
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5931443



Not many good college games going on as most schools have scheduled easy for the pre-Christmas and final exam time period...

In Valley play -- UNI beat SC-State 66-52...but point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe had just 8 pts, and 1 assist. He is averaging 10.8 ppg, 2.2 assists per game -- not very impressive and the worst his stats have been since his freshman season five years ago -- given Kwadzo was some people's pick as Valley preseason POY!
They gat to face SIUE and Indiana next.


Nice story on Dodie Dunson today...
http://www.bradleyhoops.com/news/x74199099/Dunson-on-point-as-always


Dana Altman is having a rough time...
He lost last night to Virginia 63-48. Doesn't seem to have many shooters.


Arizona State won last night 78-75 over Nevada...with Dodie's brother Brandon getting 6 pts in just 4 minutes of playing time!!
The kid needs to play more!!


Bruce Pearl's Tennessee Vols lost again -- this time to mid-major Charlotte, last game it was mid-major Oakland. They're ranked #7 nationally but obviously don't belong there. Ex-Saluki Josh Bone has not been playing...wrist fracture.
The team and the fan base are melting down -- some can't wait 'til Bruce starts serving his suspension.


Indiana has an enormous 34 point home blowout win vs. hapless SIUE -- so surely Matt Roth must have gotten a lot of playing time..
so I anxiously checked the box score.....and, well.....he sorta did get a lot of playing time.
Matt Roth got 10 minutes of playing time in EACH half...giving some rest to IU's injured starters like Verdell Jones who's nursing an ankle injury and Maurice Creek still with nagging knee problems.
In 20 minutes, Matt found one shot and went to the FT line once..
his stat line -- 5 pts, no rebs, 1 asst.
Of the 11 Hoosier players who played and scored -- only one scored less than 5 pts...and that was a walk-on (Kory Barnett who had 3 pts in 6 minutes).


Locally here in Peoria - a few big high school games...
-Peoria Notre Dame beat Central 58-47, with Max Bielfeldt getting 17 pts, 8 rebs, 6 blocks.
-Manual beat Richwoods 80-50, Jeff "Keke" White had 19 pts for Manual.
-Limestone lost to East Peoria 78-68 with Donivine Stewart out with an ankle sprain.
http://www.pjstar.com/preps

I went to a game last -- a fairly obscure high school game..
and saw Carlton Fay's little bro playing for Putnam Co..
There's two minor differences between Carlton & Harold other than age (Carlton's a senior in college, Harold is a soph in HS)
-- one is that the younger Fay is 9-10 inches shorter...maybe only 5-10 or so but he might grow some still..but he sure does look just like Carlton!
--the other has to do with ability to impact the game -- so needless to say the younger isn't drawing any college recruiters yet..


Here's something fun...a couple Blake Griffin highlights..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWOOUdwL5XI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTgZdLO8XOQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNYdXxcRQ9k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHtqR2hW0hk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JroN-ZCR_zg&feature=fvw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVwDQO1a3ig&feature=related


One of the ex-Illini is doing pretty well in Europe -- Trent Meacham...
http://www.eurocupbasketball.com/ulebcup/competition/results/showgame/report?gamecode=20

Ex-Drake Bulldog Josh Young signs with a new team in Germany..
http://www.godrakebulldogs.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15700&ATCLID=205057006



Did you see this?? The accuser in the Duke lacrosse rape cases....Crystal Mangum..
is in trouble again.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/17/AR2010121705417.html

This lady has been in the headlines for various crimes and arrests for the past four years since she fabricated the allegations and destroyed the lives of all the players on the Duke Lacrosse team.
She actually got off easy -- since the jury deadlocked on the attempted murder charge when she set fire to one of her ex-boyfriend's homes.
In the process, she almost killed her own three kids who were in the apartment when she torched it!!
Wow -- what a specimen -- and this lady is still free to wander the streets, have more kids, and even accuse more people of this and that??

Pretty telling that even before the facts were known and even before we knew how corrupt and disastrous this woman's life was -- all the "women's groups" like the NOW, etc...all lined up behind her, supported her, lied for her, helped her get on TV all the time, and championed her as an innocent victim!!
I guess it only goes to show that what passes as "women's groups" are really hostile anti-male and anti-society activist groups that have no real desire to seek the truth or fairness..only to promote their extreme wacko agenda!!

And to think this woman was going to "pen her memoirs" and try to cash in and make money on her lies and attacks..
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3415717/

Want to know how well this book sold??
Well...it really didn't - nobody wants to hear this haggard old gal make up more lies....and every reviewer of this book also points out it is filled with lies and totally ignores the NOW OBVIOUS and well known truths that she made it all up!
Her book peaked at ...get this....at..
#176546 on the best seller list, and sits currently at...
#438773 on the best seller list...wow -- impressive...
Even my life story would sell better than that and I am sure nobody'd want to read my life story!
That's close to the bottom and among the worst selling books of all time.
Probably didn't even generate enough sales to pay for the paper the first copy was printed on.



Then I can't let this story get by...
more evidence of how someone must be lying -- but of course don't expect the dishonest press to tell you -- they love lies if it fits their agenda!!

For six months we have heard this ..
that the Gulf oil spill left disastrous consequences and tons of oil contaminating the floor of the gulf...

CBS news said a THICK layer of oil covered vast areas of the gulf floor
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/09/14/national/main6864328.shtml

Many, many other news outlets went with the same story...
"Thick oil layer found on Gulf of Mexico sea floor"
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_699366.html


So a multi-agency force including the Coast Guard and independent researchers went there to study and find all this oil that's contaminating the entire Gulf...
and here's the results...reported today...
"extensive sampling of the Gulf of Mexico seafloor found oil in quantities too small to collect ..
We are not finding any recoverable amounts of oil" on the seafloor"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/17/AR2010121702662.html

So...
"Where's the oil??"
http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/401574/abel-harding/2010-12-09/wheres-oil

Hmm...just more lies that pass in the media as facts....



BTW -- someone passed on a note that somewhere I used some text off a site and didn't give a reference...
Hmmm...oh really??? This is odd...as I give more links than just about any blog in the blogosphere...check it out -- everything I say and almost every paragraph has a link and nothing's quoted except where I say that it came from...
I have often been told that I use TOO MANY links and go overboard citing references, so it's odd that someone now sees it the other way around!
But there is one other aspect to this....the fact that text from this blog is taken and used on other sites, mostly for criticism, and they don't always give proper credit or links in return -- and this has already been going on for months!!
....in fact I have seen people posting on the very site -- a message board -- that whined about not properly giving links, and my words were taken, used in someone's sighnature, and not linked to where they came from.
So the very guy supposedly complaining is guilty and has been guilty of the very thing he's accusing others of!
Is stuff on a message board under copyright?? I think not, and I have never made a stink when someone steals stuff off my posts (which happens almost daily) or this blog.
So if you are gonna whine about quotes not getting referenced, then start in your own back yard please!

Valley news, RPI, and more about Duke (no, not the team, the school board shooter)

Here's some RPI news.....not that it matters much since it's doubtful any MVC team would ever get an at-large bid with the RPI's they all have...even Wichita State's RPI is in the 80's -- not at-large quality!!
http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_mvc_Men.html

...scroll down and look at the teams at the absolute bottom of the RPI-
http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_mvc_Men.html

Note it is filled with many of the usual suspects, independent teams and teams that just recently went to Div I like #348 Morris Brown?
But the lowest rated school from a major conference is Oregon State at #330!
Next is Auburn at #325, then DePaul at #313, but then you have to go all the way up to #264 Wake Forest and #255 Alabama.

And here is the MVC-
http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_mvc_Men.html

Note the worst RPI in the MVC is Illinois State!!
Bradley's doing bad, but we have real reasons to explain it...what's ISU's alibi??
The MVC looks weak. Only 3 teams in the top 140..

Bradley has unfortunately gotten much weaker since the start of the season due to the losses, but ISU should be getting stronger since they now have their superstar new addition eligible after sitting out his penalty of 5 games..

But their new addition in "mid-season"....hasn't been helping that much -- (John Wilkins)
as they've lost all their road games and lost every game to any team whose RPI is better than 177....and plummeted to the lowest spot in RPI in the entire Valley!
I know BU has a bad RPI, but missing three starters has a little to do with that....

Painful to see a full strength Missouri Valley school (ISU) get their schedule rated at 327th in D-I and their RPI >> 250...and keep in mind the only game saving that team from having a 345 SOS was the one they did not schedule, as it was part of the MVC/MWC setup..



Here are some interesting RPI findings-
Duke is only #3 in RPI despite being everyone's consensus #1 team-
http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_Men.html

The MVC is still #13- the worst they've been for years!!
http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_conf_Men.html

Here's a surprise --- Oregon State is- RPI #330! As you know the head coach at Oregon State is President Obama's brother in law...so obviously this must be a political attack or else just more of the bad karma that's hitting the Prez...
http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_pac10_Men.html




Here's something odd.......
.... a story on Tel Aviv Maccabi team trying to develop basketball in Israel..
and it says Anthony Parker was a Jew!!

"Brody addresses many controversial issues..
.. I also talked about Israel to the African-American
community. I told them about African-American
basketball players in Israel and the Ethiopian
community. They didn't know there are black Jews.
Many of these kids are going home and passing the
message: 'Anthony Parker of Cleveland played for two
years for Maccabi Tel Aviv - and he's one of us.' "
http://www.israel21c.org/201012148611/people/from-high-hoops-to-home-truths

Just in case you have any doubts, Anthony Parker has been very public about his religious beliefs...
he is an outspoken member of the Fellowship of CHRISTIAN Athletes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tut75fJCtYI



Some ISU news -- and a little rebuttal....
In an online Q&A the main writer for Illinois State from the Pantagraph speaks to some of the issues of this year's Redbirds...but some of this answers are kinda debatable..so I will bite and debate them...
Overall -- the piece is just fine, but I wanted to add a few thoughts......

From MVCfans...

"Question 1.
Dinma Odiakosa and Osiris Eldridge completed their NCAA eligibility
without a trip to the NCAA tournament. How disappointing was this to
Redbird fans and Coach Tim Jankovich? With whom does blame (if any) fall?

A. ISU fans, coaches and players alike were all extremely disappointed...
(but)......There is really no one to blame."

..but I disagree...clearly they missed trips to the NCAA and failed to get their team prepared for tough competition by scheduling so incredibly poorly -- and blame falls squarely on the head coach, Tim Jankovich, and the AD Zenger.


"Question 2.
The Bradley-Illinois State series is widely acknowledged as the best
MVC rivalry. How would you describe the importance of this game to fans
of other teams who might not understand the rivalry?

A. To ISU fans, the importance of the ISU-Bradley series is evident by
the attendance. The game usually sells out at Redbird Arena. No other
game does."

..so finally an admission that the following of ISU basketball is abysmal -- unable to sell any tickets for any game at all, except when Bradley comes, the place sells out...so just WHO is it responsible for that sellout?? It's obviousl that they just admitted that Bradley is a bigger draw than their team and all their other opponents put together!!


"Question 3.
Illinois State has taken a lot of criticism from fans of other MVC
teams due to their scheduling philosophy. How do you think the perceived
"soft" out of conference schedule has helped or hampered the Redbirds? Do
you think the criticism was valid?

A. There is some valid criticism to ISU's nonconference schedule,
although whether it has hurt the Redbirds come MVC time is debatable.
Personally, I don't think it has."

...wow this is total BULLPUCKY...the schedule is the thing that has killed them plain and simple...
Sure, they play lousy once in a while and draw poorly -- but that's really not what the NCAA sees when placing ISU well beyond even the "bubble"....trust, me - if ISU had two NCAA bids out of the last 3 years -- they'd be hootin' and a-hollerin' about their prowess...nope -- the schedule that we told them about years ago -- has now come back to haunt them and they still haven't figured it out.

"Question 4.
Sophomore John Wilkins became eligible recently and many Redbird fans
are excited about his future. How does his presence change the team?

A. John Wilkins is going to make a huge impact for ISU this season. He
is a good 3-point shooter who has the ability to spread the court when
opposing power forwards have to come out and guard him. However, Wilkins
has not played a game in the last two years because his transcripts and
eligiblity were in question."

...The jury is still out...and I like John Wilkins and believe he has the potential to be a really good player...
but here are some facts...
--first -- his transcripts had NOTHING to do with not playing last year....
Newsflash, Mr. Benson --- it was because he was deemed a professional and got caught in some shady and corrupt NJCAA decision on his pro-team play, not because of transcripts -- even kids with NO transcripts or kid who flunk out of high school can enroll in junior college and be eligible to play there -- remember kids with grades issues like Edgerson and kids with no transcripts like Shang Ping??

Also -- thus far -- against woefuly weak opponents - his 3-pt FG% is... 33.3% and his overall shooting pct. is under 38% -- he is clearly taking way too many 3-pt and long attempts and would be better to play as a big guy -- but apparently that was not what JW got in his "promises".

"Question 5.
llinois State has had three consecutive twenty win seasons and Top 3
MVC finishes. This year looks to be a rebuilding year in a lot of ways. ...

A. Jankovich .. is perplexed why the Redbirds have struggled so much ....If a couple of the young ISU players mature by the first week in March..."

...so they're using the young and inexperienced excuse...??
..but note that four of their top 7 players are seniors...and even all their other guys are juniors, sophomores, and SIX of their guys have benefited from at least one redshirt year!

I know they lost three good players, but what they have left is still a team with a lot of experience...and if they face BU with the lineup they're using, they'll average at least 1-2 years older across the board than the Braves, and a good year or two more experience per player than Bradley!!!.....so again, I don't buy it.....




Here's the non-sports section............

Here's an interesting sequence of news headlines..

1920's - Panic about global cooling

1930's - Panic about global warming

1970's - Panic about global cooling again

1990's - to present - Panic about global warming...
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/30713

Do you maybe get the idea that the panic is created artificially by the media and they want "panic" because it creates interest and sells newspapers??
Kinda shines a little different light on what's really happening...

Here's even more evidence of media dishonesty...
Surely you have all seen the panic and hysteria about the melting of the regional ice shelf called the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
Most reports are accompanied with hysteria about worldwide global warming claiming this Ross phenomenon is further proof of how widespread the warming is...

But is that true...here's their own faulty and dishonest data -- this is their OWN STUFF .. and note that the only tiny warm spot anywhere hear Antarctica is the Ross Ice Shelf, and everything else for thousands of miles is either average or COLDER than average...
In other words...the whole Ross Ice Shelf issue is nothing but a tiny area, a regional anomaly and has NOTHING at all to do with any worldwide phenomenon!!

Here's the map.......
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/2010/12/with_climate_change_its_the_lo.html

--first, note the single warm spot on the Ross ice shelf in Antarctica...
almost ALL of the rest of Antarctica is normal or cooler than normal..thus exposing how dishonest the warmers are when using the Ross ice shelf as proof of anything when it's clearly a very small, isolated phenomenon..

--then note there HAS to be some dishonesty here..

Much of England and northern Europe for a FULL year has been in the throes of RECORD cold weather..
yet -- that's not what this map says...they have all of England and northern Europe as being warmer than usual over the past year!
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/214932/THE-COLDEST-WINTER-FOR-100-YEARS-SO-WHERE-ARE-THE-GRITTERS
http://news.carrentals.co.uk/coldest-november-weather-for-17-years-grips-britain-34225518.html

Every single month since July in England has been at least 0.8 degrees below average..
http://www.meteogroup.co.uk/uk/home/weather/weather-news/news/ch/7f4f9ce2789b31b0e1f4c3a1205b13bb/article/uk_monthly_weather_review_august_2010.html

September was 4.4 incredible degrees colder!! Coldest since 1993!!
http://www.meteogroup.co.uk/uk/home/weather/weather-news/news/ch/3a6ed8d775cafdddaa06fbf9228a9a5b/article/review_of_septembers_weather.html
http://www.meteogroup.co.uk/uk/home/weather/weather-news/news/ch/d58a89791834d14ea0983ecc18b77e7e/article/autumns_temperatures_fall.html

...and November & December have been setting all kinds of cold records!!!

.......so as usual -- I just don't buy the data on global temps if they are so vastly different from what the people in England are saying!!
remember -- they are actually there!!



Then this interesting story......
...they say this forest of trees is 2 million years old..
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2010-12/16/mummified-forest-in-canada

http://cdni.wired.co.uk/620x413/k_n/mummyforest3.jpg

I think they are absolutely insane -- those trees are probably less than a thousand yrs old...and if they were honest, they'd essentially blow their whole "ancient earth"/millions of years philosophy!!



More bizarre and unanswered questions about Clay Duke-- the school board gunner....

But this msnbc story almost sounds like it's written by his ex-wife -- giving all kinds of alibis and excuses for what he did and making him sound like he was such a nice guy -- intentionally misfiring to save lives!!

-why was the woman he claimed was his wife, who he was so impassioned about that he was willing to die and also shoot up a bunch of innocent people...
why was she calling herself by a different last name and not living with Clay Duke, but instead living with her mother "in a nearby town."
In fact, the reports suggest she hadn't been living with him for quite some time and hadn't seen him in a while.

-She said -- "The economy and the world just got the better of him," ... in a rambling press conference."
..gimme a break -- the guy had every great opportunity a person can have, a college education, freedom, etc..

-the guy had at least 25 more rounds of ammo in his pockets...so you think he was only going to put a couple bullet holes in the wall??

No...he's a coward and would have planned to go down firing had he not been nailed by the security guard

--"Duke's wife said Wednesday he was an excellent marksman and probably missed the five board members — sitting steps away — on purpose"
..I don't buy this -- he was probably drunk or on drugs and he "missed by inches" according to others...and if you are going to fire that close, then you know you are going to hit someone.

Note he married this current wife, Rebecca, in 1999 but in 2000 he was still stalking his previous ex-wife -- that's when he got arrested for stalking and shooting at her.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40691150/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

Note one of the reader responses..
"I really feel for this guy..and he was totally right about the wealthy in this country.
Heck we resemble a third world country at this point! RIP."

Really?? Even the poorest among us drives a car, has a color TV, lives in an air conditioned home, and has a cell phone..
tell me what about the US even remotely resembles a third world country?

But again -- in that entire long article -- where'd he get the gun??
How come nobody in any report yet seems to have addressed this issue of where the gun came from??
The guy was a convicted felon and a "psychotic" according to reports, and they just don't hand out pistols to guys like this.

Here's an idiot who writes that Clay Duke's "Psychotic behavior"
is similar to.......
get this....
"over-reaction to a person on an airplane who's wearing Muslim religious headdress."
then later likens this guy's rant to being a racist..
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/abraham/detail?entry_id=79245

Does this description from that link sound familiar....?
"The overall idea that "someone is out to get you" is
coupled with people who make threats to the same
people. And all for no reason. The Internet has
become the great bullhorn for people who may, either
temporarily or permanently have such problems."

...Hmmm...they must be viewing message boards....this sounds familiar.....



Lastly...football's Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys' quarterback) -- who just recently broke up with starlet Jessica Simpson....just got engaged.......

Kind of interesting that he'd get engaged to a Jessica Simpson look-alike after breaking up with Jessica Simpson...
Here's his fiancee on the left, Jessica on the right...



http://www.theunticket.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/candice-crawford-romo.jpg
http://jessicasimpson.celebden.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/jessica_simpson.jpg

Maybe this is why he has played so poorly this season- he's getting distracted??
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20451599,00.html

Kansas senior arrested -- and 50 years -- but people still don't know the truth...

Uh oh -- bad stuff starting at Kansas -- Bill Self's team is further self-destructing...
Senior Mario Little was arrested "on charges of battery, criminal damage and criminal trespassing".
http://www2.kusports.com/news/2010/dec/16/ku-basketball-player-mario-little-arrested/?mens_basketball


CAUTION ** before anyone reads the next segment -- make sure you know I am NOT telling anyone nor even trying to tell anyone what to do with their own personal choices...you decide...but don't fire back that this isn't my business and I should stop telling others what to do.

About birth control pills...

Here's one bit of info discussed at the conference celebrating 50 years since the development and introduciotn of the oral contraceptive...
I am sure this'll create debate -- and it seems no other area of medicine has so much confusion and such widespread disagreement...

But if you are interested -- read this..
"78% of all women currently between 15-44 have used "the pill" and 35% are currently using it"
More than 50% of women taking the pill "don’t know the side effects of the pill"
"...a wealth of statistical data from various sources to support a fact that is known by the medical community to be true yet is rarely acknowledged: use of the pill has been strongly linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. The pill is also believed to increase the risk of cervical cancer and liver cancer.
“This stuff is not new... linking pill use to the 660 percent rise in non-invasive breast cancer since 1973."
http://www.lifenews.com/2010/12/03/nat-6908/http://hliamerica.org/files/2010/12/hliamerica-survey-analysis.pdf

But a very powerful drug company lobby and even a liberal social atmosphere that doesn't want to "put pressure" on women into making lifestyle changes....keeps this news from being disseminated.
Even if you decide to disagree with or ignore this news, isn't it odd that most people never hear it because it doesn't get mentioned.
The drug companies even fiddle with data and try to prove the opposite and say the oral contraceptives DO NOT cause any increase in caner -- but check how they do this...
they measure the incidence of young women -- as young as teenagers and 20 year aolds...and when they don't see any beast cancer -- they report that this is proof "the pill" doesn't cause cancer!
http://www.preventcancer.com/patients/med_avoid/pill.htm

But even a dummy can see the fallacy in this type of study -- since breast cancer virtually NEVER occurs in these age groups...and would be far more likely later, when those women are 50 or 60, then reporting the data of study subjects that young is a "smoke-and-mirrors" sham -- and they are doing it for the pure purpose of being deceptive and hiding the real facts. In other words,.... it's the drug company's spin so they can seell tons of their product.

Again -- You decide....
Even if something like red meat or cell phone use is thought to increase cancer risks -- the media jumps all over it and carries the stories for years on the front pages.
But there's a widespread tendency to ignore things like this since they fear an uproar from all the pill takers....

So here's the result -- as you might figure, another study says that half of all women taking birth control pills are unaware of the risks, and claim they've never been told of the risks!
So, someone's not doing their job...could it be that there's money to be made in duping women into using this product??
http://hotair.com/archives/2010/12/03/are-doctors-disclosing-cancer-risks-with-the-pill/



Anyone see all the coverage this stuff got??
http://watching-tv.ew.com/2010/12/12/sarah-palin-alaska-kate-gosselin/

Note to you guys...this is a TV show...it's acting by not-very-good-actors! Most of these so-called "reality" shows even go on a script...I know this for a fact, as I just recently talked with a friend who was actually on one of them, and they keep filiming and even repeating action until they get what they want.
Any time I see an article about how this or that happened on anreality show -- I think "gotcha"....those folks doing the Palin show got those idiots writing the columns to believe it was real and write about it...
Sucker landed!!! Couldn't get better advertising and PR and all this is free!!



But this isn't scripted..this jerk won a bunch of money acting loony on a reality show, then he fails to pay his taxes. I have no pity whatsoever -- he's cheating you and me and everyone else.
http://www.abc6.com/Global/story.asp?S=13679342

More on the loony guy who shot up the Florida school board meeting and died trying to make a comical point...

First - here's the video -- the first 5 minutes he runs most people out then debates a bit and whines to the men on the school board before starting to shoot at them -- then gets felled by the armed security guard..
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/school-board-gunman-had-dec-14-marked-on-1121178.html


Here's more.... the Red "V" that the school board gunner spray painted on the wall....
That insignia is from a comic book called "V for Vendetta" and again -- I challenge you to find even one news or media outlet that checked into it and what it means....
and even if they did -- they have not told you what it is...

Now --- if the guy chooses a comic book insignia, and also uses the same insignia on his Facebook and appears to liken his entire focus in life to what this "V" stands for, then I think it displays the incredible shallowness of this man and his life...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_for_Vendetta

The comic book series "V for Vendetta" was written in the 1980's and was a futuristic fictional work about the future 1990's where the world (Britain) was under severe oppression by those with wealth & power...ruled by people who loved themselves and trampled on others...
The hero of that series is a guy who defies the totalitarian government and overthrows them - thus freeing everyone to rule themselves...

BUT -- the hero was a transsexual guy who embodied all the usual aspects of liberals -- hating those who have wealth or fail to give to or help the poor, etc..
The hero is modeled after Guy Fawkes, a man from English history around 1600 who tried to overthrow the government and kill the king because he wanted his own people (the Catholics) to be in charge.

Fawkes actually did everything he did for purely selfish reasons and NOT to help anyone but himself -- and certainly NOT to benefit the poor or oppressed...
So in reality Guy Fawkes was NOT a hero to anyone -- but selfish people adopted him as a hero...showing again the shallowness of their understanding.
So -- over the centuries some have come to describe Fawkes as a sort of anti-government and anti-oppression type hero.

Anyway -- back to "V for Vendetta"..
this whole scenario of this madman in Florida using the "V" as if he's a true hero himself is like me claiming to be the Green Hornet and shooting up a school board meeting because they served my kid the wrong lunch...kinda loony!!!

But here's the key as to why the media has yet to really come down hard and name this kook for what he really is -- a total lunatic and LIBERAL activist....and political terrorist!!
It's because most of these kooks ARE left wingers -- and seem to be favorites and heroes to the liberal press, kinda like they're making Julian Assange out to be!
...and the only time these types of terrorist's lives are put on display and they're vilified is when they are the Timothy McVeight-types....who are only 1% of such terrorists..

In the end -- the real focus of the "V for Vendetta" stories is that the V-guy is portrayed as a superhero that is akin to a SUPERMAN going around saving everyone from everything that's bad...
and this loonie guy must have pictured himself in an egomaniacal way as being likened to some Superman-type hero -- like he was saving the world and everyone in it..when in fact, he was simply disrupting the perfect example -- a meeting of elected school board members -- the perfect example of this being the freest country and best country in the entire universe!!!!
The guy was barking up the wrong tree and as wrong and misguided as can possibly be.

This school board terrorist, Clay Duke, has a Facebook page that is still available online-
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001890028704

He describes himself as a "humanist".
Yet Humanist organizations always like to boast that they are peaceful and want to protect all people's rights. They like to always point out all the harm that organized religions do, and how many people they kill. Right....

Also, notice the quote on his bio page on Facebook-
Rise like lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number.
Shake your chains to earth like dew.
Which in sleep has fallen on you.
Ye are many – they are few.

Look up that quote, and you'll find it's from this poem by
Percy Bysshe Shelly called The Mask of Anarchy
http://www.artofeurope.com/shelley/she5.htm

It is about overthrowing a government that you do not agree with. It is a quotation that appears in many ultra-radical leftist blogs and speeches. It embodies the ultra-leftist philosophy. Ironically though, it advocates non-violent resistence, not violence like this moron resorted to.

And check out the links he places on his Facebook page-
http://www.theprogressivemind.info/
.......this site worships Julian Assange for his leaks..and it's obvious that this wacko is afar left progressive!

Plenty more of Clay Duke's links take you to ultra liberal sites that worship Assange- And these sites that subscribes to the wacko theory that 9-11 was an inside job, and that the US blew up the World Trade Center

Nothing excuses this man's behavior -- and I sure don't think all liberals are like him -- but no doubt if he had quoted Rush Limbaugh, all the news organizations would have jumped on that aspect of it.

Some interesting basketball news...and stuff you just don't see every day!

Andrew Warren is not only leading the MVC in scoring, he's also among the rebounding leaders. He is a very GOOD rebounder!!
AW currently averages 6.0 rpg, good for 8th in the Valley and TOPS by far among Valley players who are listed as guards...

I went back more than a decade to see who were the best rebounding guards in the Missouri Valley, and here's what I found...
These are the ONLY guards dating all the way back to the mid-1990's who appear among the leaders in rebounding in the MVC..
oddly -- as a senior, OE's rebounding dropped way off to just 4.0 rpg.

2004-2005 David Moss of InSU averaged 6.5 rpg
2005-2005 PJ Couisnard of WSU averaged 6.2 rpg
2008-2009 Osiris Eldridge of ISU averaged 6.2 rpg
2003-2004 Darren Brooks of SIU averaged 5.7 rpg
2002-2003 Darren Brooks of SIU averaged 5.5 rpg

Andrew has an opportunity to end up among the best scorers and the best rebounders in the Valley over the past decade...I think AW is way underappreciated...and some are way off base in any negative comments about AW - who is one of the Valley's best players since last century!
Very few guards in the Missouri Valley have ever accumulated 1500 points AND 500 rebounds -- and yet Andrew Warren is on pace to reach those numbers! Those are Anthony Parker - level career numbers!



There's just a little bit more interesting basketball news today...

Tennessee is sure a Jekyll & Hyde team -- beating other top ranked opponents, then losing at home to Oakland!
http://www.utsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2010-2011/ut1214.html

Charlotte dismisses their team's best player -- for behavior issues....kind of a stark difference from when we see Valley schools with rapists, thugs, girlfriend beaters, crooks, and druggies, that are coddled and some don't even serve a single day of suspension...
http://www.charlotte49ers.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=23200&ATCLID=205055038

Kobe Bryant has found a way to tick off all the Kardashians -- and one of them is married to Kobe's teammate Lamar Odom!
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-12-15/bryant-s-turk-ties-ire-l-a-armenians-like-kardashian.html

One of Missouri's players, Marcus Denmon, sadly had a cousin who was shot to death in gang violence.
But gangsters know no bounds for indecent and horrific behavior..
during the funeral ceremony, a bunch of them drove by and opened fire on the mourners.
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/12/14/2520936/gunmen-open-fire-outside-church.html

Here's video of a high school player getting a foul call for flagrantly attacking an opponent - then an ejection, then going after the ref and punching him out...body-slamming the ref to the floor...
the kid should be banned from all sports for life -- but if he gets a lawyer, he'll probably be back for the next game.
http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2010/12/15/florida-high-school-basketball-player-attacks-referee/

Mississippi State's John Riek -- once ranked #1 in the entire Nation as a 5-Star recruit, scored 2 pts, last night -- keeping his average at 2.0 ppg, and bringing his career scoring total in his two college seasons to 20 points.



I suspect you all saw this story of a loonie at a school board meeting in Florida shooting a gun...
http://gawker.com/5713637/the-facebook-suicide-note-of-school-board-shooter-clay-duke

This guy pulls a gun at a Panama City, FL school board meeting out of anger and wanting some kind of revenge...

He ends up dying -- reportedly killing himself, but one major factor was that there was an armed security guard there who fired at the guy -- thus stopping him...

You simply will NOT find a single news outlet that tells you the TWO main truths about this incident..

#1-- had another guy not been there who HAD A GUN -- then maybe this idiot's rampage might have gone on for hours and others might have been killed.
The armed security guard being there likely saved lives...thus proof that "gun control" would have killed people in this incident.

Note that he started firing AT the school board members -- apparently trying to kill them but was a lousy shot and missed, then he was shot and HIT a couple times by the armed security guard -- then immediately turned to the armed guard, realized he was a goner and shot himself!
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3277651/School-gun-siege-terror-on-camera.html?OTC-RSS&ATTR=News

#2 - this guy was a far, far left wacko...
read the link above and note he was a 9/11 conspiracy idiot and hated the rich folks and believed the US government conspires with the wealthy to enslave 95% of the population..

Almost NO news source anywhere in the world has reported the things posted on the guy's Facebook that clearly detail the guy as a far, far left, liberal wacko -- but had he been a Sarah Palin follower or a religious conservative -- the press would have certainly been all over that angle!!
They'd have tied the guy to Rush Limbaugh and blamed the Tea Party!



If I never see another article about Julian Assange, I would be happy...the money grubbing and publicity seeking traitor has few redeeming qualities. Certainly he is the idol of the far, far, far left wingers like Michael Moore & Keith Olbermann -- who virtually bow down and worship they guy on msnbc as if he's doing the world a favor by releasing all this info, including names and reports that will most certainly get people killed for talking to and cooperating with the governments..
Funny how those same people condemned Bush & Plame when secrets were released.

Everyone keeps secrets...even Michael Moore's health and bank records are his own private business...and if I hacked and then publicly released that stuff, or other secret info about him or anyone, it would be unfair, illegal, and damaging. But they worship this guy who does it to millions on an international scale..



Moon stuff --
Neil Armstrong likens going back to the moon with the Europeans coming to the New World or with Americans exploring their own nation as we did via Lewis & Clark...
http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2010/12/08/131910930/neil-armstrong-talks-about-the-first-moon-walk

....but I see numerous ENORMOUS differences..

-one is that people in Europe were often getting away from bad things like persecution and going to a better place..
The Moon is not a better place for anyone and nobody will ever live there permanently.

-another is that people going from Europe to America could find and return with good things, corn, tobacco, gold, etc...
Face it -- the costs of going to the moon make it prohibitive to bringing anything of any value back.
Even if we brought back diamonds -- it would be a money-losing venture because of how costly it is going to the moon.

-also -- after numerous moon trips in the 60's and 70's nobody has YET named or listed any significant development, discovery, or benefit that came from it, other than the thrill or excitement of going there and learning a few new things about the moon that have no real practical purpose here.
If thrill is all they got, then ride a roller coaster.
It's about a trillion dollars cheaper than going to the moon...

-the only answer Neil Armstrong gives is that there's still a lot of surface area left to explore that's never been seen!
So the best reason even Armstrong can come up with is the remote possibility that there's still something there we might need to see!
BUT -- did you know, that the oceans cover 3/4 of earth and the bottoms of the oceans on earth are 95% unexplored....so that is also surface area that has also never been explored..
SO -- there's more surface area BY FAR right here on earth that's never been explored, than there is on the moon -- so just stay here!
Wonder if Neil had ever thought of that?
http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2010/12/08/131910930/neil-armstrong-talks-about-the-first-moon-walk



Just when you think you've heard it all...then you read this...it speaks for itself...
http://www.aolnews.com/2010/12/07/woman-who-was-declared-dead-has-six-kids-with-uncle/

Note that the proper authorities have been investogating this weird couple since 2003, and in a failure-filled effort that reminds me of how California authorities failed to help Jaycee Dugard..these social investigators & caseworkers never got the job done and missed all these kid being severely abused.

And this --
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/8197617/German-man-castrates-teenage-daughters-57-year-old-boyfriend.html

Odd saga of Memphis' Angel Garcia...

Angel Garcia....this is a pretty long, and weird story with several twists and turns...

Garcia is a tall (6-10) kid from Puerto Rico who was convinced by handlers to come to the US and get into high school because he had a definite potential for a basketball future.
You can check several old links and what you find is that early on he did pretty well in high school, playing at Lake Forest Academy with several other good prep-caliber players. But in high school -- 6-10 is the tallest guy on the floor in virtually every game and gave a distinct advantage that he wasn't going to have at the next level.

Then Garcia had some academic issues and was ushered out at LFA then enrolled in public high school in East Chicago. There he had gobs of issues getting eligible, due to both the transfer concerns plus background transcripts were insufficient.
But he and a lawyer pulled a great ploy -- they sued IHSAA, the Indiana state high school athletic association -- and while the case was playing out -- Angel completed his eligibility, getting several decent scholarship offers, but jumping at the one from Josh Pastner to go to Memphis in the Post-Calipari era, where the roster was depleted and Garcia was likely to get plenty of immediate playing time.

But then even more twists and turns, first he couldn't clear the NCAA Clearinghouse -- so he missed 2008-2009 almost the same reason he couldn't stay at Lake Forest.
Then in 2009-2010, an injury then a desire to play away from the basket and not be a post player -- killed the chances he had of getting playing time...
He considered redshirting to get well from the knee injury, then came back and played the final month of 2009-2010 because of the player shortage and opportunity.

BUT -- now this year is a different thing...
Now Memphis, after a tremendous recruiting year is way, way deeper, and least of all do they need a 6-10 guy who hits only 30% of his shots because he plays away from the basket.
So -- 8 games into his 3rd year at Memphis, after all the twists and turns, and with Angel Garcia only averaging 13 minutes per game, and 6 ppg, he up and quits after agreeing to a contract with a European team.
Honestly -- Memphis will barely notice his absence -- they have the depth that they won't miss him...
http://www.gotigersgo.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/garcia_angel00.html

But here's the odd part -- ESPN's Andy Katz thinks this is maybe one of the worst things to happen to college basketball in all of history!
http://is.gd/iKKSb

He even copmpares it to Iowa State's loss of Lucca Staiger and same for a guy named Christian Drejer...
Now, Katz says this is a really disturbing trend!!!

Gimme a break -- this is a real rarity and seems to only occur when NCAA jacks these Euro kids around and makes then sit out a year or more...so what do you expect...you think these kids feel loyalty or bonding with the NCAA?
Nope -- if they get a decent pro contract they are going to take it but I think the sport can withstand this trend.

Given that the coach can choose not to play the kid (as Pastner has) or can even pull the scholarship out from under him, why can't the kid keep his own options open and choose what's best for himself and family?

I think Katz is making a mountain out of a true mole hill -- and that this issue is minor and he's the only one who really even notices..
BUT -- even so it's simply not happening enough to anyone of significance, that it won't have a detectable effect on US college or pro ball.

John Shurna off to a great start this season -- and Valley scoring stats, and more...

Last night Northwestern's John Shurna had another tremendous game...going 10-11 from the floor - despite a horrible (for him, relatively) night at the FT line, going only 4-10!
Shurna had 26 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists..
He has only scored fewer than 20 points once this season (17 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff when he was rested the final 10 minutes)
he is hitting 64.3% of all his shots, including 64.5% on his 3-pt attempts (20-31)

So just how did so many other schools miss on this guy??

He was rated only 1-2 Stars coming out of Glenbard West in Class of 2008...
Many of the major recruiting services never mentioned the guy's name until he verballed to Northwestern...and some didn't even have Shurna in the top 20 players in Illinois.
Here- he's ranked #24 in Illinois behind kids who never even made it to D-I basketball...(Chris Parrish, Supo Sanni, Byron Woods..)
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showpost.php?p=27285&postcount=1

Also -- one other experts who always gets every other prediction right on......
...didn't have Shurna in his Top 20...and said he was maybe "Top 50"....I guess Shurna posted this one on his bulletin board!

Here's the quote:
"Shurna is a bit overrated to me. I think he fit the Illinois Wolves system very well which helped him with the offer from Northwestern. He'll do solid in their system but will be an average player at their school. He's undersized for a 4-man but is skilled. I'd give him top 50"

So, Top 50 in Illinois, huh??? Maybe time to rethink this........

In spring of 2008, Shurna verballed to Northwestern the exact same day as long time friend and AAU (Illinois Wolves) teammate Nic Fruendt also verballed to Northwestern...and Fruendt was ranked #8 in Illinois.
And his only other offers came from Army, Davidson, Loyola, and Washington State...meaning that current BU assistant Jim Platt knew what he was doing!!

Here's an old article about the Illinois Wolves from April of 2007, just before Shurna's senior season at Glenbard West...
http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=664159

..and Shurna gets a fairly brief mention noting only that he's got interest but still no offers at that time!

But clearly there's one guy who knew about John Shurna and who was 100% convinced he not only had the talent to play at top levels of D-I but also to excel and be a star...
Check these quotes out......

"As soon as Ohio State junior Evan Turner began to dominate college basketball, Illinois Wolves club coach Mike Mullins knew it was just a matter of time before Northwestern sophomore John Shurna would do the same.

Mullins coached both players in high school and has noticed an eerie similarity between the two. Both are quiet and polite. Both are nearly the same height (Turner 6-foot-7, Shurna 6-. Both can shoot, dribble and drive. Both gradually improved in high school and blew up as seniors. Both ended up in the Big Ten. Both showed glimpses of their abilities as freshmen and stepped up as sophomores when a star teammate was injured (David Lighty for Turner, Kevin Coble for Shurna). Now with Shurna's emergence this season, both have become premier college players."

"Both of them are extremely nice-looking kids and well-mannered, but they have an assassin's heart when it comes to the game," Mullins said. "They're very versatile and multiskilled. They can beat you in all the different areas of the court offensively and defensively. You look at them as sophomores, and people are surprised when you challenge them, and they bite back real hard."

Shurna's game has evolved, and Mullins expects that development to continue like Turner's.

"John is capable of carrying a team on his back," Mullins said. "He did it in high school. He did with us. He's capable of putting up double-doubles every night, big scoring games, big rebounding games.
"I think John has a chance to play professionally for a long time."

These are AAU coach Mike Mullins' words some time before Shurna burst onto the scene as a clear-cut star...so obviously Mullins knew something a lot of other people did not figure out 'til lately!
http://is.gd/iKbKk

Before he ever had an offer...Mike Mullins was singing Shurna's praises saying he'd be able to play at a high D-I level, and even be a pro!

Discuss further right here --
http://www.bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=17125



Did you know ---
there hasn't been a 20 ppg scorer in the Valley or even anyone close since Tarise Bryson averaged 22 ppg in 2000-2001.
(although Danny Granger was averaging 19.s ppg after 14 games into the 2002-2003 season, when he left Bradley (and the Valley) thus voiding his stats and making them ineligible for the league's official numbers.

Even Kyle Korver's best year was 17.7 ppg!

Here are the Valley leaders every year this past decade--

2009-2010 Osiris Eldridge 15.5 ppg
2008-2010 Shy Ely 18.9 ppg
2007-2008 Josh Young 15.9
2006-2007 Nate Funk 17.7
2005-2006 Blake Ahearn 16.2
2004-2005 Ben Jacobson 17.9
2003-2004 Darren Brooks 16.5
2002-2003 Phillip Gilbert 18.9
2001-2002 Luke McDonald 17.9


Here are the country's current top scorers-
http://is.gd/iKd3k

NIU's Xavier Silas is #2
Most of the top scorers are from small schools in low-major conferences
Shurna is #11 with 23 ppg
Note Michael Glover at #16- maybe he is good!
Note Damien Lillard at #20- he is a kid Bradley recruited.
E'Tuawn Moore is the #2 player in the Big Ten at 20.6 ppg
Will Clyburn of Utah is #43, tied with Noah Dahlman of Wofford
Andrew Warren is on page 2- #80 in the country and #1 in the MVC with 17.7 ppg.



Most people anywhere close to Peoria know or know of Pete Vonachen, and Pete is a great Bradley fan -- having season tix for 40 years going back to the 60's..and the past 28 years at Carver Arena..

Pete is the subject of a Phil Luciano column this morning...Pete has been very good for Peoria and sports in Peoria...he is a very nice man, a tireless worker, and a friendly guy..
Pete is in the hospital..
http://is.gd/iKdPZ


Did you see what liberal film maker Michael Moore did...
He gave his money for the purpose of bailing this crook, rapist, and enemy of the United States, and international traitor, Julian Assange, out of jail!
http://is.gd/iKdoq



Did you see the news about what Michelle Obama is saying in the
LATEST NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT??
http://is.gd/iKcgt

"childhood obesity isn’t just a public health threat, it’s not just an economic threat, it’s a national security threat as well."

She spoke yesterday at a news conference and said that childhood obesity is a "national security threat"!!
Ahem.......most intelligent commentators are saying this is a little bit of a reach at best, and a flat out delusion at worst!

A look at the Valley stat leaders 1/3 of the way through the season, and some warming thoughts

Let's face it -- all the Valley teams are playing bad...
Even the one that's gotten the best early season press -- Wichita State -- being ranked in some people's top 25..
..the Shockers have gotten hammered when they've been away from home, and had unimpressive wins over Texas Southern (79-67) and Chaminade (Chaminade hit 46% from 3-pt and and forced 21 Shocker turnovers)

But here are what I think are the top surprises in Valley stats......

#10 Nobody has more than 1.5 steals per game - that means there isn't a Valley player anywhere in the NATION's top 100! (Warren has 1.4)
Supportive evidence of lousy defense in the MVC?
#9 Mamadou Seck (10.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 61.3 FG%) may just be the surprise player in the MVC this year despite SIU's bad 5-5 start, and despite Greg McDermott getting the better pub..
#8 only two players in the entire MVC average over 3.8 assists per game!
#7 only 8 players total shoot better than 39.4% from 3-pt (Warren 42%)
#6 BU's FT shooting was great last year but we're only 9th best in the MVC this year
#5 Among players who have attempted at least 4 FT per game, only TWO are over 80%! (Andrew Warren 42-48, 87.5% & Jake Koch 8-33, 81.8%)
#4 with no other real shooters, defenses can focus on Andrew Warren, yet AW still leads the MVC at 17.7 ppg
#3 Illinois State is 7-3 and have only played one game that they should have lost - and as bad as BU is shooting, ISU still has a way worse 3-pt shooting pct. of only 28.3%, and all their best shooters and players are healthy
#2 Carlton Fay (33 attempts-15%) and Kenny Lawson (27 attempts-26%) and Justin Clark (32 attempts-22%) have almost as many or even MORE 3-pt shot attempts than most of the TOP 15 guys in the official MVC 3-point FG Pct. stats!
In other words...all the guys who can shoot are launching way fewer shots than all the guys who can't shoot -- could this just maybe be the key to why the Valley is so bad?
#1 the Valley overall is a miserable 51-38 with virtually no real quality wins...
http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/confstat.htm?DB_OEM_ID=7600


Here are the scoring averages and where they rank for the MVC preseason All Conference selections

1st team--
Ahelegbe - 11.1 - T20th, 2.6 asst
Lawson - 12.9 8th
Maniscalco - out for season
Murry - 11.1 - T20th
Weems 15.3 2nd

Hon. Mention-
Taylor Brown - out for season
Durley - 11.9 12th
Leonard - only avg. 9.1 - way off the pace
Colt Ryan - 15.3 3rd
Van Deest - 12.1 11th
Andrew Warren - 17.7 1st


Other current top performing players who did NOT get preseason mention...

-Dwayne Lathan (InSU) - 15.2 ppg
-Antoine Young (CU) - 14.1 ppg
-David Kyles (WSU) - 14.0 ppg
-Doug McDermott (CU) 12.9 ppg
-Carl Richard (InSU) - leading the valley with 8.6 rebounds per game
-Rayvonte Rice (DU) - 12.3 ppg, 1.5 steals






UNI's Adam Koch, averaging just 2 ppg, 2 rpg, has been "fired" by his Czech team, Nymburk..
http://www.eurobasket.com/Czech-Republic/basketball.asp?NewsID=211476

Here's a picture of Koch..
http://www.sport.cz/clanek/179181-nymburk-vyhodil-americkeho-basketbalistu-kocha.html


WHOA -- CELLUS WITH YET ANOTHER CAREER GAME FOR THE EX-BRAVE...
25 POINTS, 14 REBS last night for his Paris-Levallois team
http://www.eurobasket.com/boxScores/France/2010/1211_339_8.asp

Marcellus Sommerville is one of my favorite Braves...

last night he had an absolute monster game...

playing all 40 minutes, he was 10-19, including 4-9 from 3-pt,
and scored 25 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and had a couple asst.
Sadly, the rest of Cellus' team didn't help much...
http://www.eurobasket.com/boxScores/France/2010/1211_339_8.asp


Also -- Zach Andrews had a monster game as well.......
Zach played 30 minutes, was 7-15, scored 16 points, grabbed 19 rebounds, and had 3 steals!
Zach's season averages improve to 12 ppg, 11 rpg
http://www.eurobasket.com/boxScores/Japan/2010/1211_4121_7206.asp



Also -- Pekin's Todd Peterson (NIU) was just signed by a ProB French team -- congrats Todd!
http://www.eurobasket.com/France/basketball.asp?NewsID=211329

In his first game, Todd came off the bench for 12 points and a team leading 7 rebounds!
http://www.eurobasket.com/boxScores/France/2010/1211_3838_6483.asp


One of the board's posters predicted Todd would be hired as an assistant at BU!!
He said last spring when saying who the next BU assistant hired would be......
"Think a local player in the mold of Crouch that went to NIU. Whether Crouch would be promoted and Peterson
take Crouch's spot or whether there are further openings will be interesting to see."



One of Illinois' top post prospects is Nnanna Egwu -- and Egwu's team went head to head with Peoria Notre Dame yesterday ...
Now, don't get me wrong -- Egwu is GOOD, and he's had several TRIPLE DOUBLES this year!!!

but here's the outcome.......

Peoria Notre Dame 48 -- Chicago St. Ignatius 46

Bielfeldt - 26 pts, 13 reb, 4 blocks
Egwu - 6 pts, 5 reb

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/highschool/ct-spt-1212-prep-bkb-st-ignatius-peor20101211,0,6183260.story

(the Trib article hints that Bielfeldt would go to Illinois, redshirt a year then get a scholarship..)


In another game -- Ryan Boatright scored 63 points in his team's 113-104 win
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/highschool/ct-spt-1212-prep-bkb-proviso-west-eas20101211,0,7925139.story

One other notable performance......
Chicago Morgan Park's Wayne Blackshear (going to Louisville), played against Chicago Ellison yesterday, Morgan Park winning 103-57 -
with Blackshear scoring 56 points, 21 rebounds, 8 blocks, 7 steals.....



Here's some more coverage of Bielfeldt and other locals from elsewhere...
"Notre Dame 59 Manual 48
Game started off a bit slow and bit sloppy, and after it picked up in the middle, both team looked exhausted in the hot and muggy gym by the end. Manual controlled the 1st quarter, knocking the Irish back on their heels with some aggressive defense and a pack it in from the weak side approach against Notre Dame big man Max Bielfeldt. Leading 17-11 after a quarter, Manual struggled in the second quarter and Notre Dame put it together. Behind 8 points from Max Bielfeldt in the 2nd stanza and 6 from David Molinari, ND turned a 25-20 deficit into a 34-25 halftime lead.

The rest of the contest was Manual trying to make a run, but Notre Dame always seemed to have an answer on both ends as they led by 7 at the end of the 3rd quarter and after a few free throws at the end held on for the 11 point win. Molinari led ND with 13 points, while Bielfeldt added 12 points, 10 boards and 6 blocks, as well as 3 assists. Lane also had 11 for Notre Dame. Manual got 13 from Isaiah Duncan.

The Players
2011 Max Bielfeldt Peoria Notre Dame
He has definitely slimmed down and looks more agile and athletic. He looks to be right around 6-foot-6 or 6-foot-7, despite being listed at 6-foot-8. He didn't get many touches, finishing 6-10 from the floor, but due to the constant double teaming he helped get his teammates open. Defensively, this was probably the best game I have seen him play, as he blocked 6 shots and altered others against a Manual frontline that has decent size. His jumper looked good in warmups, but his only perimeter attempt missed off the back iron.

As one longtime Peoria basketball observer noted after the game, teams in Peoria do a nice job of slowing him down because they send 2 or 3 guys his way before he catches it, while teams that haven't seen them play just let him go 1 on 1 for 30+ points. He did almost all of his work in the paint, scoring around the hoop using body control, strength and a deft touch. Hopefully on Saturday in Assembly Hall we can see him go 1 on 1 and not face as many double teams.

Max is really more of a center right now, despite his shooting touch and passing, because he doesn't handle the ball real well on the dribble, and despite the imporvements physically, stil isn't real quick..

2012 Jacobby Roddy Peoria Manual 5 points, 4 rebounds
The 6-foot-5 energy guy struggled with foul trouble that saw him sit most of the first half. In fact, he really didn't get untracked until the 4th quarter when he showed off his motor and quickness with some full court pressure and along the baseline. He only missed one shot, a dunk in traffic, so we didn't get to see him do much offensively. Defensively he has the ability to be a stopper at the next level. Roddy still has mid majors following him, including Southern Illinois.

2012 Jeff 'Kiki' White Peoria Manual 7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
White, formerly known as 'Jeff Stokes', ran the show for Manual, handling the great pressure put on by the Notre Dame guards. He showed the ability to stay under control and get to the basket in the half court, while also finishing with his left hand. His perimeter jumper is a work in progress, but he is becoming a true point guard. SIU really likes his potential as well.

Notable
-Loved the way these two teams defended. It was full court pressure for 32 minutes on both ends. And both squads were gassed at the end.

-2011 Manual forward Andrew Jordan had the block of the night, catching ND guard Molinari from behind for a swat off of the backboard, but didn't get much else done before leaving with an apparent knee injury in the 4th quarter. The tools are definitely there, but Jordan still hasn't put it all together.

-David Molinari, the transfer from Peoria Christian, is definitely a calming influence on this squad, and he handles the ball well enough to be a point guard while being a very solid perimeter shooter. What's not to like?"



More on Max..
"Every year a few Seniors in Illinois will have a breakout year and emerge onto the scene, with higher level schools giving them more of a look. In the class of 2011 one such player is Max Bielfeldt from Peoria (Ill.) Notre Dame High School.

Max Bielfeldt
The Irish are off to a great start, beating Champaign Central, O'Fallon and McCleur North in the Tournament of Champions over Thanksgiving in a trio of marquee matchups and Bielfeldt is excited about the team's fast start.

"Our season is going great, I've got no complaints," he said. "We're playing well and winning games. My team is great this year. Our guards are great, have experience and can handle the ball. They have such a variety of skills, from shooting, defense and ball handling, they have everything we could possibly want. I have a great big guy to work with me that helps take the pressure off of me. When we played Limestone they were double and triple teaming me and he really stepped up and had 10 points in the first half.

Bielfeldt has always been a solid player, but some improvements this past summer have allowed him to expand his game and grow as a player. He scored 39, 26 and 40 in the three games in Washington (Ill.) and he attributes that to mostly an improvement in conditioning.

"Over the summer I improved my game," Bielfeldt said. "I've added 2 inches on my vertical and I've lost 10-15 pounds which has made me quicker on my feet and really benefitted me in keeping my strength up."

These points were'nt put up against weak sisters either. Champaign Central features 6-foot-7 2012 Purdue commitment Jay Simpson, O'Fallon is one of the top teams in the southern part of Illinois, featuring Butler signee Roosevelt Jones. McCleur North features Wisconsin-Milwaukee commitment Shaq Boga and is a perennial power in the St. Louis area.

The ability to score has always been there for Bielfeldt. Using his 6-foot-6 and 225 pound frame he is able to draw contact and still finish, and he makes his free throws when he gets to the line. He's also been forced to be a better passer.

"Really, I score when I have one guy on me but when I get the double and triple teams, I'm passing it off," Bielfeldt said. "I've hit a couple of three's, but probably free throws have been the biggest thing for me. When I had 39 points, I was 18-19 from the line. I've been getting to the line a lot more and making my free throws, and that's really been big."

Although most Illini fans are focused on the Shootout at the Hall this weekend, Peoria Notre Dame and Bielfeldt have their conference opener on Friday night as well against Peoria Manual. They will then play St. Ignatius and Illini signee 6-foot-10 Nnanna Egwu in a game on Saturday afternoon at 3:45PM. It's a huge weekend and one where they want to make a statement.

"This weekend is going to be huge," he said. "If we can go 2-0 it will really make a big statement. I've got no doubt in my mind that we can go 2-0 if we play well, but it's going to be tough. Manual on Friday, it's our first conference game, and conference is the most important thing in the regular season. Our goal is to win conference, so beating Manual would be very important and make a statement. The Saturday game will be tough coming off of the Manual game on Friday, but you've got to be tough and get through it. We're going to come back and give it 100% and try to take it to St. Ignatius too, and get that win."

Peoria has always been a hotbed for basketball talent, and this year is no different. Notre Dame is off to a great start, but it gets even tougher when they begin playing within their conference.

"Every conference game, our conference is unbelievably tough, so every weekend is tough," he said. "There are just 4 teams in our conference in Peoria including Notre Dame/ That's Manual, Central, Richwoods and us. Manual got 2nd in state, Richwoods got 2nd in state and Central was ranked in the top 10 last year. Just our regional will have 4 of the top 20 teams in the state. You have to realize that every game is important and you have to go out play every night and realize that it is so important."

As far as recruiting goes, his play early this season has put some college coaches on notice that he is a player to watch.

"My original offers were from Ball State, Western Michigan and Wright State, and I just got another from University of Illinois-Chicago," Bielfeldt said. "The University of Illinois has offered me a preferred walk-on spot, and said that I would most likely have a scholarship by my sophomore year, if I redshirted. The Ivy League schools can't offer, but I've gotten a lot of interest from Brown, Dartmouth and Penn."

"If they offered me a scholarship, that would be my only high major offer, and with the family ties I'm pretty sure my family wouldn't be against me going there for sure, but I'd have to take into account my playing time and my role," he said. "I don't think it would be something I would jump right on, but it would definitely have a really big effect."
http://illinois.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1163747



I have a question for the experts...
Almost every expert agrees, that average temperatures in the southern hemisphere are up about one degree since 1900...
ONLY ONE DEGREE in more than a century....and so how can that account for what they claim is massive melting of Antarctic ice sheets, in an area where the temps are 10-30 degrees BELOW freezing??
Could there be a different answer??? Some think it has more to do with the release of small bubbles of methane or natural gas from the floor of the seas, which carries warmth to the surface occasionally then reverses....see below...
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BB0DS20101212


Anyway -- all this predicted rise in ocean levels has NOT occurred despite the claims we hear (and those claims are bogus).
So are we being fooled?? You decide...
here's abundant data that says the temperatures in Antarctica are NOT rising...not at all...maybe even falling and almost certainly the ice levels on the continent are INCREASING...
and that the melting of ONE isolated area of ice shelf is a local/regional phenomenon ONLY -- the very thing that always rag on everyone else about using as proof.
Just like if we tried to use the ice storm in Minnesota this week as proof of cooling -- they'd go ballistic and say you can't use regional data or phenomena. But that's exact what the warming proponents are doing!
http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/science/global_warming.htm

Note especially how the "warming" people misused the melting Ross ice shelf data from 2002 to claim proof of global warming -- when that particular ice shelf re-froze within just a matter of days and has remained frozen ever since and returned to the backburner of their arguments.