Just a mere 30 hours after losing team captain Adam Foote and veteran center Sergei Fedorov, the Columbus Blue Jackets would have to compose themselves to face the San Jose Sharks Wednesday night.
The team realized quickly it is tough to move forward without your veteran core.
Columbus Blue Jackets winger David Vyborny has faced trade rumors for the last several months was not traded in the slew of deadline deals on Tuesday. Good thing as he provided Columbus all the offense in their 4-2 loss to San Jose. His first goal came off of a long rebound on a Gilbert Brule shot he backhanded into the new. His second goal came eight minutes into the second period, this time Jan Hejda had the shot that Vyborny sticked in with his backhand. His goal even gave the Jackets a 2-1 lead. But San Jose would score three unanswered goals to close out the second period.
A turning point in the game was with the game tied at two with seven minutes left in the second. Blue Jacket forward Rick Nash got called for a roughing penalty even though he was being attacked by two Sharks. The result was a Jeremy Roenick goal which proved to be the game winner.
“There was a couple of calls that we thought were extremely poor,” Blue Jackets head coach Ken Hitchcock said. “Those are issues that when you’re whining and sniffling you complain about.”
With the loss, the Blue Jackets have now lost six in a row at home though they have won six of their last 10 on the road.
“We’re playing better on the road lately than have at home, we haven’t been bringing the effort that we want and expect so something has to change,” Nash said.
Columbus entered the game with the third best penalty kill in the league with an 85.1% kill percentage. Much of that can be attributed to the play of Foote and Fedorov. In their first game away from the team, the Blue Jackets only killed off three of the San Jose’s five penalties.
“They’re in shock,” Hitchcock said about his team. “They know the business. They know exactly what takes place. Scott was truthful with them… but they’re still shock, can you blame them? In an ideal world and I’ll write it down on paper, we would like to say ‘movin’ on’, but that is not how it works.”
So who will take leadership with Foote and Fedorov out of the dressing room. Vyborny and Nash are already alternate captains and will likely be even more vocal, however neither player has seen the playoffs, much less been in a race before. 33-year-old wingers Fredrik Modin and Michael Peca likely now have more of a leadership role with the team. Peca has played in 93 career playoff games, and Modin has a Stanley Cup ring.
“People are really disappointed that we subtracted a few pieces and left some holes in our lineup, but those will be filled by people who at this level should be able to compete and earn that responsibility,” Peca said. “From my perspective, from Freddy Modin, and David Vyborny, and Rick Nash we have got to inspire people by our play and try to move this thing forward and get everybody to still believe in what we got here.”
The team will travel to Vancouver for a Friday night match against the Canucks. After that the team will travel to Edmonton and Calgary hoping to put a dent into the five point deficit the team has behind eighth place Nashville.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Columbus State Cougars Sports... Feb. 27
Smith’s second half play leads to huge upset
Last Wednesday, the Columbus State Cougars men’s basketball team pulled off one of the largest upsets in the OCCAC this season defeating fourth ranked Cincinnati State 72-69 in the Delaware Hall gym
Things did not look good early for the Cougars in Wednesday’s matchup. They got down by as much as 19 in the first half as the Surge was able to have their way shooting the basketball. They shot 58% from the field in the first half. The Cougars managed to climb in the game with a couple key baskets late in the first half by Columbus State’s Greg Rice.
With Columbus State down 11 at halftime, they began to chip away at Cincinnati State’s lead. With 12 minutes left in the game, no team would have a lead larger than five.
But the biggest thing was the Cougars got baskets when they needed them. Down by three, Cyrus Smith would hit a three to give Columbus State their first tie at 57 with 7:40 left. After the Surge took a three point lead, Smith did it against less than a minute later.
A big turning point came with 3:40 left in the second half when Cougar guard Brandon Bland had a steal which led to a fast break dunk to cut the Surge’s lead to 69-66. Two minutes later, after a couple missed buckets in a row by Columbus State, Cougar center Greg LeSage tipped in an offensive rebound to make it a one point game.
“It was pumping, we’re on a five game win streak and this was this was just to get us to 8-6 in conference and we’re battling back,” LeSage said.
Smith tied the game with 1:10 left by splitting a pair of free throws, and within seconds, Cincinnati State committed a turnover to give the Cougars a chance to win the game. Smith worked his second half magic by hitting two huge free throws. Columbus State made a defensive stop with just under a minute left as Mariano Bowles had a huge rebound. He made a free throw. Columbus State made their biggest defensive stop of the year when as Cincinnati State was looking for an uncontested three for the final 20 seconds of the game. The Surge attempted a three from the right point with under two seconds left, but it was off target. The Cougars held Cincinnati State to no offensive points in the final four minutes of the game. Smith had 18 of his game high 22 points in the second half.
“It was fun…We stuck together and just really got it together and just played hard and had fun,” Smith said. “It was fun, I am speechless right now.”
Arguably this was the largest win in Columbus State’s head coach Patrick Carlisle’s career. With the win, the Cougars finish OCCAC action at 8-6.
“We played hard, we changed some things at halftime and it all came down to kids working together – they did great,” Carlisle said. “Cyrus (Smith) had some huge shots, Mariano (Bowles) had some huge boards, and everybody had some defensive stops. Greg Rice was huge guarding their point guard.”
To add icing to the cake, the win was in front of the largest, and certainly loudest crowd of the season in the Delaware Hall Gym. One of those in attendance was Ohio State head basketball coach Thad Matta. Matta was there to recruit Marquis Mathis of Cincinnati State. Mathis is a first year player from Columbus Harvest Prep. Mathis’ performance certainly did not win him a spot with the Buckeyes next season as he only played 18 minutes and had eight points as he was in foul trouble for most of the game.
“You dream for moments like this and you have to take advantage of them,” Smith said about the atmosphere.
After getting off to a 3-6 start in the conference, Columbus State has now finished with five conference wins in a row, and six wins overall. They still have two non-conference games this weekend followed by a trip to Cuyahoga Community College to participate in the regional tournament.
Cougars finish regular season on winning note
The Columbus State women’s basketball team finished the regular season last Wednesday night at home with an 89-81 win against the Cincinnati State Lady Surge.
The win boosted Columbus State to a tie for second in the OCCAC with a 10-4 conference record. Columbus State was looking to bounce back after a blowout loss at Cincinnati State earlier in the season.
“They beat us up pretty good down there at their place, they beat us up by 32 points,” Columbus State head coach Randy Crites said.
Columbus State held a 59-40 lead with 16 minutes left in last week’s game, but poor rebounding led Cincinnati State to charge back into the game. Cincinnati State would go on an 8-0 run and eventually cut the Cougars’ lead to single digits for the final 10 minutes.
At 81-73 with 4:30 left, Cougar Center Kerri Imwalle fouled out as the team needed rebounding; her presence was not there. The Lady Surge would make it a one possession game at 84-81 with 1:13 left. Good free throw shooting and Cincinnati State turnovers led to the final of 89-81.
It was a battle between good shooting and excellent rebounding. Columbus State shot 48% from the field and Cincinnati State outrebounded the Cougars 47-28. Also the Lady Surge had 26 turnovers compared to 12 for Columbus State.
“We played really well as a team, and this was one of our strongest games we had together,” Cougar Brenda Carter said. “That has been on our weakest things all season is rebounding. Coach (Crites) is stressing how important it is to rebound but they got us there tonight.”
Cougar Nyesha Watson staked a claim for OCCAC Player of the Year with her 30 point, seven assist, and five steal effort. She is second in scoring and first in assists and steals in the OCCAC this season. For Watson, Wednesday’s game was her final home game at Columbus State. For her career, she scored 871 points.
“I am sad about it but we won so it makes the ending a happy ending,” Watson said.
Watson is a member of Crites’ winningest class. Seven players who were members of both this and last year’s teams had back to back 20 win seasons.
“It is tough, it is hard when you have eight or nine kids who are not coming back. This was their last home game and they made the most of it,” Crites said.
The most important part of the season is yet to come. The team will take this week off from game action to prepare for next week’s NJCAA Regional Tournament. The Cougars are still waiting for the chips to fall to see who their matchup will be. The brackets will be announced early next week. Columbus State could end up getting a one seed when the bracket is released. Crites said there difference is a “bunch” between the one and two seed. He said the second seed could mean they would have to play Mott which finished third in the NJCAA National Championship last year.
Last Wednesday, the Columbus State Cougars men’s basketball team pulled off one of the largest upsets in the OCCAC this season defeating fourth ranked Cincinnati State 72-69 in the Delaware Hall gym
Things did not look good early for the Cougars in Wednesday’s matchup. They got down by as much as 19 in the first half as the Surge was able to have their way shooting the basketball. They shot 58% from the field in the first half. The Cougars managed to climb in the game with a couple key baskets late in the first half by Columbus State’s Greg Rice.
With Columbus State down 11 at halftime, they began to chip away at Cincinnati State’s lead. With 12 minutes left in the game, no team would have a lead larger than five.
But the biggest thing was the Cougars got baskets when they needed them. Down by three, Cyrus Smith would hit a three to give Columbus State their first tie at 57 with 7:40 left. After the Surge took a three point lead, Smith did it against less than a minute later.
A big turning point came with 3:40 left in the second half when Cougar guard Brandon Bland had a steal which led to a fast break dunk to cut the Surge’s lead to 69-66. Two minutes later, after a couple missed buckets in a row by Columbus State, Cougar center Greg LeSage tipped in an offensive rebound to make it a one point game.
“It was pumping, we’re on a five game win streak and this was this was just to get us to 8-6 in conference and we’re battling back,” LeSage said.
Smith tied the game with 1:10 left by splitting a pair of free throws, and within seconds, Cincinnati State committed a turnover to give the Cougars a chance to win the game. Smith worked his second half magic by hitting two huge free throws. Columbus State made a defensive stop with just under a minute left as Mariano Bowles had a huge rebound. He made a free throw. Columbus State made their biggest defensive stop of the year when as Cincinnati State was looking for an uncontested three for the final 20 seconds of the game. The Surge attempted a three from the right point with under two seconds left, but it was off target. The Cougars held Cincinnati State to no offensive points in the final four minutes of the game. Smith had 18 of his game high 22 points in the second half.
“It was fun…We stuck together and just really got it together and just played hard and had fun,” Smith said. “It was fun, I am speechless right now.”
Arguably this was the largest win in Columbus State’s head coach Patrick Carlisle’s career. With the win, the Cougars finish OCCAC action at 8-6.
“We played hard, we changed some things at halftime and it all came down to kids working together – they did great,” Carlisle said. “Cyrus (Smith) had some huge shots, Mariano (Bowles) had some huge boards, and everybody had some defensive stops. Greg Rice was huge guarding their point guard.”
To add icing to the cake, the win was in front of the largest, and certainly loudest crowd of the season in the Delaware Hall Gym. One of those in attendance was Ohio State head basketball coach Thad Matta. Matta was there to recruit Marquis Mathis of Cincinnati State. Mathis is a first year player from Columbus Harvest Prep. Mathis’ performance certainly did not win him a spot with the Buckeyes next season as he only played 18 minutes and had eight points as he was in foul trouble for most of the game.
“You dream for moments like this and you have to take advantage of them,” Smith said about the atmosphere.
After getting off to a 3-6 start in the conference, Columbus State has now finished with five conference wins in a row, and six wins overall. They still have two non-conference games this weekend followed by a trip to Cuyahoga Community College to participate in the regional tournament.
Cougars finish regular season on winning note
The Columbus State women’s basketball team finished the regular season last Wednesday night at home with an 89-81 win against the Cincinnati State Lady Surge.
The win boosted Columbus State to a tie for second in the OCCAC with a 10-4 conference record. Columbus State was looking to bounce back after a blowout loss at Cincinnati State earlier in the season.
“They beat us up pretty good down there at their place, they beat us up by 32 points,” Columbus State head coach Randy Crites said.
Columbus State held a 59-40 lead with 16 minutes left in last week’s game, but poor rebounding led Cincinnati State to charge back into the game. Cincinnati State would go on an 8-0 run and eventually cut the Cougars’ lead to single digits for the final 10 minutes.
At 81-73 with 4:30 left, Cougar Center Kerri Imwalle fouled out as the team needed rebounding; her presence was not there. The Lady Surge would make it a one possession game at 84-81 with 1:13 left. Good free throw shooting and Cincinnati State turnovers led to the final of 89-81.
It was a battle between good shooting and excellent rebounding. Columbus State shot 48% from the field and Cincinnati State outrebounded the Cougars 47-28. Also the Lady Surge had 26 turnovers compared to 12 for Columbus State.
“We played really well as a team, and this was one of our strongest games we had together,” Cougar Brenda Carter said. “That has been on our weakest things all season is rebounding. Coach (Crites) is stressing how important it is to rebound but they got us there tonight.”
Cougar Nyesha Watson staked a claim for OCCAC Player of the Year with her 30 point, seven assist, and five steal effort. She is second in scoring and first in assists and steals in the OCCAC this season. For Watson, Wednesday’s game was her final home game at Columbus State. For her career, she scored 871 points.
“I am sad about it but we won so it makes the ending a happy ending,” Watson said.
Watson is a member of Crites’ winningest class. Seven players who were members of both this and last year’s teams had back to back 20 win seasons.
“It is tough, it is hard when you have eight or nine kids who are not coming back. This was their last home game and they made the most of it,” Crites said.
The most important part of the season is yet to come. The team will take this week off from game action to prepare for next week’s NJCAA Regional Tournament. The Cougars are still waiting for the chips to fall to see who their matchup will be. The brackets will be announced early next week. Columbus State could end up getting a one seed when the bracket is released. Crites said there difference is a “bunch” between the one and two seed. He said the second seed could mean they would have to play Mott which finished third in the NJCAA National Championship last year.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Nationwide Arena firesale complete
Blue Jackets fans -- say goodbye to Adam Foote and Sergei Fedorov. Say hello to... well we have to wait to see. Well Teddy Ruth is someone we will get to say hello to, but his welcome may not come until 2010 or 2011. He is currently a one-way defenseman from Notre Dame. He has a +13 ratio.
But I know some are wondering whether this was a good move for the team considering they may have blown a shot at the playoffs. Take this in perspective. As nice as it would have been to sneak into the playoffs, what would have we done once we got there? Probably not a whole lot. And would we get there because of Foote and Feds? Maybe we can still get there without the duo.
But let us come back to Earth. First off Fedorov and Foote were way overpriced for what they did. Foote was having a good season, but he is overall on a downward slide. Paying him $4 million a year is a mistake for any team. For GM Scott Howson that side of things was a smart move. For Fedorov, an even bigger case for someone who is higher priced. He has lacked his offensive prowl that he was once known for. The fact that Howson did not dump any others show that he is still in it for this season.
We could have kept Foote through the season and let him go through the season for the hope we would get a playoff spot, but now we get a first round draft pick, and possibly even another bonus draft pick if Foote signs with the Avs was a good move for the long haul. And Fedorov is just plain old overpriced and now we get out of his contract. Plus the future indicates we will need solid defensemen. With Rick Nash in full bloom, Jason Chimera tied down for a while, and Nikolai Zherdev heating up, this team has the offense for the future. The defense will be what we will need in the future.
As for this year, don't fret fans. Young guys = energy. Getting a younger core may mean this team might be better suited to make a run to end the regular season. There is still enough leadership left to get it done. But instead of having over the hill leaders, we have still in their prime leaders i.e. Michael Peca, David Vyborny, and Fredrik Modin. If the team does not make a run, it is likely not just because the team lost their two highest payed players.
Who knows? Losing two hot shot, big name players like Foote and Fedorov might allow this team to take an identity more to the liking of coach Ken Hitchcock: Stay within yourself and make ourselves a hard fighting, blue collar team.
What to look for: The second tier scorers need to step up and Pascal Leclaire just needs to keep doing what he is doing. If that happens, this team will not lose a step.
But I know some are wondering whether this was a good move for the team considering they may have blown a shot at the playoffs. Take this in perspective. As nice as it would have been to sneak into the playoffs, what would have we done once we got there? Probably not a whole lot. And would we get there because of Foote and Feds? Maybe we can still get there without the duo.
But let us come back to Earth. First off Fedorov and Foote were way overpriced for what they did. Foote was having a good season, but he is overall on a downward slide. Paying him $4 million a year is a mistake for any team. For GM Scott Howson that side of things was a smart move. For Fedorov, an even bigger case for someone who is higher priced. He has lacked his offensive prowl that he was once known for. The fact that Howson did not dump any others show that he is still in it for this season.
We could have kept Foote through the season and let him go through the season for the hope we would get a playoff spot, but now we get a first round draft pick, and possibly even another bonus draft pick if Foote signs with the Avs was a good move for the long haul. And Fedorov is just plain old overpriced and now we get out of his contract. Plus the future indicates we will need solid defensemen. With Rick Nash in full bloom, Jason Chimera tied down for a while, and Nikolai Zherdev heating up, this team has the offense for the future. The defense will be what we will need in the future.
As for this year, don't fret fans. Young guys = energy. Getting a younger core may mean this team might be better suited to make a run to end the regular season. There is still enough leadership left to get it done. But instead of having over the hill leaders, we have still in their prime leaders i.e. Michael Peca, David Vyborny, and Fredrik Modin. If the team does not make a run, it is likely not just because the team lost their two highest payed players.
Who knows? Losing two hot shot, big name players like Foote and Fedorov might allow this team to take an identity more to the liking of coach Ken Hitchcock: Stay within yourself and make ourselves a hard fighting, blue collar team.
What to look for: The second tier scorers need to step up and Pascal Leclaire just needs to keep doing what he is doing. If that happens, this team will not lose a step.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Last week's Cougar News Sports
Sorry for the lateness.... but here it is!
Cougars looking to finish season with bang
The Columbus State women’s basketball team was faced with an unexpected challenge Saturday from a Clark State squad that was looking for their first conference victory this season.
The Cougars were able to pull off the victory Saturday against the Clark State Eagles. The win follows a win at Edison State in overtime last Wednesday. With the pair of wins, Columbus State is now 9-4 in conference, 19-6 overall.
When Columbus State hosted the Chargers in January, the Cougars needed to go on a big late game comeback to win that game 65-59. They would need to hang tough in the overtime period to win 89-84 this go around.
The Clark State Eagles entered Columbus State’s campus with a 21 game conference losing streak dating back to Jan. 13, 2007. They were one basket away from ending that conference losing streak. The Cougars had an 18 point first half lead trimmed in half by halftime. Clark State never had a lead in Saturday’s game.
Columbus State got a big basket with 50 seconds left by Tiffany Powell to give the Cougars a five point lead. Clark State’s Stacey Strayer tied the game at 77 with a three pointer with nine seconds left. Columbus State would get the ball into the hands of Powell who drove the lane and got fouled with 2.5 seconds left. She drained both her shots and the Cougars prevailed 79-77.
Powell had 20 points for the game; all of which in the second half.
“It felt good (to make those shots),” Powell said. “I just wanted to pull my team out knowing that I had no points in the beginning… I am good at free throws so I thought I wanted to be on the line.”
Tonight is the final home game for eight Cougars. The class of 2008 is the winningest class in head coach’s Randy Crites 13 year stint according to Crites. With Saturday’s win, the team is 39-14 since the start of the 2006-07 season.
“I give (Clark State) a lot of credit, we didn’t do anything to stop their inside game,” Crites said. “I don’t know that I was surprised. I think they have played well against good opposition… They can play.”
Columbus State welcomes the Cincinnati State Surge into Delaware Hall tonight. Columbus State lost to Cincinnati State by 32 on Jan. 23. The Surge is ranked in the top 20. The Cougars are 0-4 against teams ranked in the top 20 this season. The winner of tonight’s game will finish
second in the OCCAC behind Sinclair.
Cougars perfect in February
The Columbus State men’s basketball team’s success in the month of February continued Saturday with a 97-73 win against the Clark State Eagles. The win followed a much closer 63-61 win at Edison State last Wednesday.
The pair of wins put the Cougars over .500 in OCCAC action at 7-6 and they are now 18-8 overall.
The OCCAC also announced that Cougars Mariano Bowles and Jerrell Sanders are co-conference Players of the Week for their play against Lakeland and Owens the week before.
“It was great (being selected), I wasn’t expecting it because I am a freshman. I have been playing hard lately and as a team, we are on a five game win streak which is always good,” Sanders said.
“It is good that two players from one team got it,” Bowles said.
Saturday’s win was against a struggling Clark State squad that has only won a single conference game all season. Columbus State had four players scoring in double figures with Greg LeSage getting a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Columbus State shot well at
49.3% from the field.
With only one conference game to go and a few weeks before the start of the regional tournament, this is a good time to be playing the best basketball of the year.
But conference leading Cincinnati State comes to Columbus State tonight for the conference finale. Cincinnati State is 12-1 in conference, 23-3 overall. The Surge is ranked in the top five nationally and defeated the Cougars in one previous outing this season.
“We got a real big game against Cincinnati State… I feel like we are the most athletic and more talented team, we just have to pull it through, execute, run our offense and play good defense,” Bowles said.
“We pull this win off, that would be an eye opener for the rest of the conference,” Sanders said. “It would really get some people really looking out for us and get our confidence up going into the tournament.”
The Cougars still have some non-conference matches coming up including a Friday night showdown at Southern State.
Cougars looking to finish season with bang
The Columbus State women’s basketball team was faced with an unexpected challenge Saturday from a Clark State squad that was looking for their first conference victory this season.
The Cougars were able to pull off the victory Saturday against the Clark State Eagles. The win follows a win at Edison State in overtime last Wednesday. With the pair of wins, Columbus State is now 9-4 in conference, 19-6 overall.
When Columbus State hosted the Chargers in January, the Cougars needed to go on a big late game comeback to win that game 65-59. They would need to hang tough in the overtime period to win 89-84 this go around.
The Clark State Eagles entered Columbus State’s campus with a 21 game conference losing streak dating back to Jan. 13, 2007. They were one basket away from ending that conference losing streak. The Cougars had an 18 point first half lead trimmed in half by halftime. Clark State never had a lead in Saturday’s game.
Columbus State got a big basket with 50 seconds left by Tiffany Powell to give the Cougars a five point lead. Clark State’s Stacey Strayer tied the game at 77 with a three pointer with nine seconds left. Columbus State would get the ball into the hands of Powell who drove the lane and got fouled with 2.5 seconds left. She drained both her shots and the Cougars prevailed 79-77.
Powell had 20 points for the game; all of which in the second half.
“It felt good (to make those shots),” Powell said. “I just wanted to pull my team out knowing that I had no points in the beginning… I am good at free throws so I thought I wanted to be on the line.”
Tonight is the final home game for eight Cougars. The class of 2008 is the winningest class in head coach’s Randy Crites 13 year stint according to Crites. With Saturday’s win, the team is 39-14 since the start of the 2006-07 season.
“I give (Clark State) a lot of credit, we didn’t do anything to stop their inside game,” Crites said. “I don’t know that I was surprised. I think they have played well against good opposition… They can play.”
Columbus State welcomes the Cincinnati State Surge into Delaware Hall tonight. Columbus State lost to Cincinnati State by 32 on Jan. 23. The Surge is ranked in the top 20. The Cougars are 0-4 against teams ranked in the top 20 this season. The winner of tonight’s game will finish
second in the OCCAC behind Sinclair.
Cougars perfect in February
The Columbus State men’s basketball team’s success in the month of February continued Saturday with a 97-73 win against the Clark State Eagles. The win followed a much closer 63-61 win at Edison State last Wednesday.
The pair of wins put the Cougars over .500 in OCCAC action at 7-6 and they are now 18-8 overall.
The OCCAC also announced that Cougars Mariano Bowles and Jerrell Sanders are co-conference Players of the Week for their play against Lakeland and Owens the week before.
“It was great (being selected), I wasn’t expecting it because I am a freshman. I have been playing hard lately and as a team, we are on a five game win streak which is always good,” Sanders said.
“It is good that two players from one team got it,” Bowles said.
Saturday’s win was against a struggling Clark State squad that has only won a single conference game all season. Columbus State had four players scoring in double figures with Greg LeSage getting a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Columbus State shot well at
49.3% from the field.
With only one conference game to go and a few weeks before the start of the regional tournament, this is a good time to be playing the best basketball of the year.
But conference leading Cincinnati State comes to Columbus State tonight for the conference finale. Cincinnati State is 12-1 in conference, 23-3 overall. The Surge is ranked in the top five nationally and defeated the Cougars in one previous outing this season.
“We got a real big game against Cincinnati State… I feel like we are the most athletic and more talented team, we just have to pull it through, execute, run our offense and play good defense,” Bowles said.
“We pull this win off, that would be an eye opener for the rest of the conference,” Sanders said. “It would really get some people really looking out for us and get our confidence up going into the tournament.”
The Cougars still have some non-conference matches coming up including a Friday night showdown at Southern State.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Women's Basketball Takes Back Seat
I am right now at home watching tonight's Big Ten showdown between Purdue and Ohio State. For those of you haven't noticed - and judging by the attendance - you haven't, the Buckeye women's hoopsters are poised to win another Big Ten title even without Jessica Davenport. Jessica who? She is the girl who was the 6'5" beast from Independence now in the WNBA, that's who! Winner of today's game will become the front runner in the Big Ten race.
And to create an atmosphere for ESPN coming to town, they're giving away rally towels and doing the whole white out thing, which appeared that the people who showed up are doing. But that is just the thing, the number of people who showed up. What also makes the white out work is that they left a white towel on everyone one of the seats in the lower bowl which means most of the towels are free for the picking, with the upper bowl closed with a black curtain. The team said towels will be given for the first 12,000 in attendance... well if you make everyone leave and come back twice, there maybe some towels leftover.
My question is what made the 20-30 students show up? Are they getting a grade, or looking for a nice quiet place to complete some homework? It is a sad but true story right now.
Here it is, a big time match up and no eyewitnesses. Most top 25 games can at least draw a good crowd. So why can't the lady hoopsters? I really have no clue. It is sad but true on a night like tonight, no one cares about women sports in the city of Columbus. Go Bucks!
And to create an atmosphere for ESPN coming to town, they're giving away rally towels and doing the whole white out thing, which appeared that the people who showed up are doing. But that is just the thing, the number of people who showed up. What also makes the white out work is that they left a white towel on everyone one of the seats in the lower bowl which means most of the towels are free for the picking, with the upper bowl closed with a black curtain. The team said towels will be given for the first 12,000 in attendance... well if you make everyone leave and come back twice, there maybe some towels leftover.
My question is what made the 20-30 students show up? Are they getting a grade, or looking for a nice quiet place to complete some homework? It is a sad but true story right now.
Here it is, a big time match up and no eyewitnesses. Most top 25 games can at least draw a good crowd. So why can't the lady hoopsters? I really have no clue. It is sad but true on a night like tonight, no one cares about women sports in the city of Columbus. Go Bucks!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Jackets blown-out In Modin’s return
Something was amiss at Nationwide Arena Wednesday night. After losing in a shootout to the worst team in points in the league on Sunday, the Jackets were burnt by turnovers and a lack of effort against a young Chicago Blackhawks team.
Wednesday’s 7-2 loss for Columbus marked the most lopsided loss in over two years. As the team has now lost their third in a row, they continue to fall further away from the eighth and most critical spot in the West.
The game started off bad from the beginning for the home team. Fredrik Modin who is fresh off the Injured Reserve list committed a tripping penalty minute just 2:30 into the game. Just over a minute later, 19 year-old rookie Blackhawk Patrick Kane scored his 13th of the season on the man advantage. The Jackets never had the energy to keep up. Less than two minutes later, Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook scored on a breakaway after blocking a Michael Peca shot. The scoring assault by the Blackhawks continued.
Chicago defenseman Dustin Byfuglien scored his first of two goals with less than six minutes remaining in the first. Jackets head coach Ken Hitchcock had seen of enough of starting goaltender Fredrik Norrena and on came Pascal Leclaire for the final five minutes. He did not fare much better as Byfuglien added his second goal. With Hitchcock trying to give his leading goaltender rest heading into the upcoming five game road trip, he decided to play Norenna the final two periods.
Finally the Jackets got on the board when newly acquired Dick Tarnstrom scored on the power play. After Chicago made it a 5-1 game thanks to a goal my Martin Havlat, Modin scored his third goal of the season.
“We gave the puck away the first five goals,” Hitchcock said. “We had the puck on our stick and we either gave it away or we were checked off the puck. Pretty simple. When you give the puck away as much as we did, you’re not going to win very many hockey games.
Chicago’s James Wisniewski added a goal late in the second, and Robert Lang notched the final goal in the third. Chicago won the turnover margin 6-2, and hits 11-8.
“We lost tonight because we didn’t have near enough competitive players. We didn’t have enough players who compete at a high level. And we certainly didn’t compete on the puck and every time we turned it over, it was in our net,” Hitchcock said.
“We can’t make excuses, you don’t do that at this level,” Blue Jacket captain Adam Foote said. “We just have to regroup. There is not enough time to get negative. Every team I have played on has gotten blown out. That was one of our first. We had two other bad games that the score didn’t show.”
One positive coming out of the game was having Modin back in the lineup. Scoring has been hard to come by for everyone except for Nikolai Zherdev and Rick Nash. To have Modin in the lineup boosts the scoring opportunities.
“It is always good to get back and play hockey,” Modin said. “It doesn’t matter if it is the first or the last one, it is always disappointing when you come out and get outplayed like that. We just got outplayed tonight. That is the bottom line. We don’t have time to mope around about it.”
The team goes on the road Friday to play St. Louis followed by Detroit and then Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal before seeing home ice on Feb. 27.
Wednesday’s 7-2 loss for Columbus marked the most lopsided loss in over two years. As the team has now lost their third in a row, they continue to fall further away from the eighth and most critical spot in the West.
The game started off bad from the beginning for the home team. Fredrik Modin who is fresh off the Injured Reserve list committed a tripping penalty minute just 2:30 into the game. Just over a minute later, 19 year-old rookie Blackhawk Patrick Kane scored his 13th of the season on the man advantage. The Jackets never had the energy to keep up. Less than two minutes later, Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook scored on a breakaway after blocking a Michael Peca shot. The scoring assault by the Blackhawks continued.
Chicago defenseman Dustin Byfuglien scored his first of two goals with less than six minutes remaining in the first. Jackets head coach Ken Hitchcock had seen of enough of starting goaltender Fredrik Norrena and on came Pascal Leclaire for the final five minutes. He did not fare much better as Byfuglien added his second goal. With Hitchcock trying to give his leading goaltender rest heading into the upcoming five game road trip, he decided to play Norenna the final two periods.
Finally the Jackets got on the board when newly acquired Dick Tarnstrom scored on the power play. After Chicago made it a 5-1 game thanks to a goal my Martin Havlat, Modin scored his third goal of the season.
“We gave the puck away the first five goals,” Hitchcock said. “We had the puck on our stick and we either gave it away or we were checked off the puck. Pretty simple. When you give the puck away as much as we did, you’re not going to win very many hockey games.
Chicago’s James Wisniewski added a goal late in the second, and Robert Lang notched the final goal in the third. Chicago won the turnover margin 6-2, and hits 11-8.
“We lost tonight because we didn’t have near enough competitive players. We didn’t have enough players who compete at a high level. And we certainly didn’t compete on the puck and every time we turned it over, it was in our net,” Hitchcock said.
“We can’t make excuses, you don’t do that at this level,” Blue Jacket captain Adam Foote said. “We just have to regroup. There is not enough time to get negative. Every team I have played on has gotten blown out. That was one of our first. We had two other bad games that the score didn’t show.”
One positive coming out of the game was having Modin back in the lineup. Scoring has been hard to come by for everyone except for Nikolai Zherdev and Rick Nash. To have Modin in the lineup boosts the scoring opportunities.
“It is always good to get back and play hockey,” Modin said. “It doesn’t matter if it is the first or the last one, it is always disappointing when you come out and get outplayed like that. We just got outplayed tonight. That is the bottom line. We don’t have time to mope around about it.”
The team goes on the road Friday to play St. Louis followed by Detroit and then Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal before seeing home ice on Feb. 27.
High above nationwide arena
I am sitting in the press box at Nationwide Arena going through stats before tonight’s game. There are two things that I have noticed instantly: Jackets fans still do not think there is anything to get excited about here and boy howdy, these Blackhawks are young.
Let me first touch on my first point. We simply do not have playoff like fans here in our arena for at least the second straight game Sunday night, we had a weekend crowd slightly under 16,000, about 2,200 short of a sellout. Granted it was a lengthy game, but when it came shootout time, maybe 2/3 of the crowd remained to watch the Jackets lose in the shootout to the Kings. An excited fan base would not show up in such small numbers and leave so early That attitude needs to change.
Walking around the arena tonight, it appears we will be even well short of Sunday’s small crowd. But at the very least, better hope that we at least get fans who remember what is happening on the ice.
Second point is about Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Both of which are 19 years old. They each have averaged a point a game against us this year. I will be looking at which of our defensemen will matchup with these two young stars, and I will have something later tonight.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
COUGAR NEWS SPORTS... 2-13-2008
The following are by Sports Editor J. Justin Boggs
Jackets still clawing for the playoffs
Some might consider the past week a glass half full kind of week; others might consider the week as a glass half empty. Either way, the Columbus Blue Jackets ride a four game point streak into tonight’s game with Chicago; however they are losers two in a row.
Thursday the team won a goaltending duel in San Jose 2-1, followed by a 2-1 overtime loss at Phoenix Friday night. Both nights, Jackets starting goaltender Pascal Leclaire was injured and was unable to make the trip. Fredrik Norrena played well in his absence and the team picked up three of a possible four points on the quick west coast road trip.
Los Angeles came into Nationwide Arena on Sunday with the worst record in the NHL and the Jackets were bringing back Leclaire. Anze Kopitar opened the game’s scoring just 43 seconds into the game for the Kings. Columbus responded later on in the first with a power play goal from defenseman Ron Hainsey who benefited from Jason Chimera screening Kings goaltender Dan Cloutier.
Leclaire said after the Los Angeles game that he was feeling good despite the recent injury.
“I felt good out there,” Leclaire said. “It was good enough to play. It didn’t bother me at all
tonight so there is no issue.”
Kopitar added his second goal nine minutes into the second on the power play. Los Angeles had the first 10 shots of the second period even though Columbus was able to come back and get nine of the final 11 shots in the second. Jackets forward Rick Nash scored his 29th goal of the season on the power play. The Blue Jackets finished the game 2-4 on the man advantage. Los Angeles almost scored the game winner with 1:18 to go in the second period when Patrick O’Sullivan kicked a puck past Leclaire. The goal was allowed originally but video review negated the goal.
After a scoreless third period and overtime, the game went to a shootout. On the second round of the shootout, Nash and Los Angeles’ Dustin Brown both scored. In the first sudden death round, Chimera’s shot was stopped by Cloutier and O’Sullivan would avenge his waved off goal with the game winning shootout goal.
“I thought the first two were not the best two periods,” Nash said. “We didn’t play too well, and to have a chance to win in the third – lucky for us, and we came out just didn’t bury our opportunities.”
Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Ken Hitchcock thinks the team needed to turn the recent stretch of overtime/shootout losses into victories.
“We’re getting singles when we should get doubles,” he said. “We can’t live on one points, it is not going to be enough at the end of the day. We have to find a way to get two points in these type of games.”
Columbus still remains on the outside looking in for the playoffs. If the season ended Sunday, Nashville would have gotten the last spot in the West, and Columbus is three points behind the Predators. Columbus begins a rough stretch after finishing the two game home stand tonight against Chicago. They will travel to Detroit and St. Louis in the coming stretch.
“They’ve (Chicago) got five or six forwards who are really skilled and have strong dynamics
offensively,” Hitchcock said.
Cougars pick up big conference wins
Redemption is always sweet. Last time the Columbus State men’s basketball team played the Owens Express, the Cougars blew a late double-digit lead as Owens won the game on a lay-up at the buzzer. That was January; this is February.
Columbus State won the game in Toledo against Owens 78-71 Saturday afternoon, as well as picked up a key home win against Lakeland last Wednesday 91-72. With the pair of wins, Columbus State is 5-6 in OCCAC action and 16-8 overall.
Columbus State head coach Patrick Carlisle said that him and team were looking for payback after a “heartbreaker” at home in January.
“Huge game; small word but huge,” Carlisle said about playing Owens. “Just playing Owens at a playground is tough.”
Columbus State forward Mariano Bowles said before the game he was also looking for payback.
“We’ve got to pay them back, we had them by nine points with four minutes left and had four turnovers in the last three minutes of the ballgame… we defiantly need to pay them back,” he said.”
In Columbus State’s home win last Wednesday, Lakeland’s backcourt duo of Jahmil Rippy and Bryan Wright combined for 44 points, but Columbus State held the rest of the team to just 28 points. The Cougars also out rebounded the Lakers 43-37.
“It wasn’t drawn up that way, they got theirs and you held everybody else,” Carlisle said. “We’re second in the league in defense besides one game last week against Cuyahoga, we have played phenomenal d the whole way through.”
In the home win against Lakeland, six Cougars scored double digits, with Bowles leading the way at 19. Cyrus Smith added in with 10 points and five rebounds.
“It gets us some confidence,” Smith said about the win. “We have really been struggling lately we have been losing close games lately and gets us going and ready to play.”
Columbus State travels to play the Edison State Chargers tonight followed by a home game against the highly ranked Cincinnati State Surge Saturday. Cincinnati State comes into Saturday’s game ranked in the top 10 nationally and will be looking to clinch their third consecutive conference championship in Delaware Hall.
Cougars’ road to Toledo difficult
Long time Columbus State women’s basketball head coach Randy Crites said he does not remember the last time his team won a game in Toledo against the Owens Express. Cougar guard Nyesha Watson thought the team has never won at Owens. Two years ago, Columbus State lost by 65.Last year, they lost by over 30.
Arguably the most important game of the women’s basketball season for both the Columbus State Cougars and Owens Express was on Saturday afternoon in Toledo. The winner of the game would be in great shape for the top seed out of Ohio in the NJCAA Regional Tournament in early March. Unfortunately for the Cougars, they were unable to pull out a win as Owens won 93-80. The loss did follow a hard fought 20 point home win last Wednesday against Lakeland.
“I don’t know what it is about their place up there but it is difficult to play,” Crites said. “It has been a while (since the Cougars have won at Owens). Even when we played well and had good teams, we couldn’t win up there.”
The last week was not all bad for Columbus State. The Cougars were able to shutdown a shorthanded Lakeland team dressing only seven players. Lakeland jumped out early with a 19-7 lead, but Columbus State dug deep and ended the first half on a 36-12 run. Led by Watson’s 22 point and five assist effort, Columbus State was able to go on the road with a win.
Cougar Kassie Glispie scored 13 points in the first half and three rebounds. Glispie was a non-factor in the second half for the exception she took an elbow from Lakeland’s Caprita Bell on a loose ball in front of the Lakeland bench. Glispie was charged with the foul, but had to leave the game briefly due to the elbow. The play was an example according to Crites on the type of game Lakeland played.
“I looked up at the scoreboard and fouls are 10-4 – we had the 10,” Crites said. “They’re beating us to death and 10 fouls called on us and four on them. I didn’t think (the Glispie foul) was a good call. I thought that girl turned herself into (Glispie) and knocked her out of bounds on purpose.”
“We knew it would be (a physical game),” Glispie said.
Columbus State is still in good shape going into the postseason. They’re 7-4 in OCCAC action and 15-6 overall. Two of their remaining three games are at home where in the last two seasons, the team is 10-1 in Delaware Hall in conference matches. Even though the Cougars are in fourth place in the conference, half the teams get split up during Regional’s. Columbus State is on pace for the two seed out of Ohio, but that could be bumped to a one seed if Owens losses.
“If we go in with a two seed, we are still good,” Watson said. “Edison went in (last season) with the last seed and still won the whole thing.”
The Cougars travel to Piqua to play Edison tonight. Edison is also 7-4 in conference action and Columbus State barely won their game against them last month thanks to a late game comeback by the Cougars. Columbus State returns home for the final two games Saturday. They will play Clark State which the Cougars defeated by 33 on Jan. 19 in Springfield.
Jackets still clawing for the playoffs
Some might consider the past week a glass half full kind of week; others might consider the week as a glass half empty. Either way, the Columbus Blue Jackets ride a four game point streak into tonight’s game with Chicago; however they are losers two in a row.
Thursday the team won a goaltending duel in San Jose 2-1, followed by a 2-1 overtime loss at Phoenix Friday night. Both nights, Jackets starting goaltender Pascal Leclaire was injured and was unable to make the trip. Fredrik Norrena played well in his absence and the team picked up three of a possible four points on the quick west coast road trip.
Los Angeles came into Nationwide Arena on Sunday with the worst record in the NHL and the Jackets were bringing back Leclaire. Anze Kopitar opened the game’s scoring just 43 seconds into the game for the Kings. Columbus responded later on in the first with a power play goal from defenseman Ron Hainsey who benefited from Jason Chimera screening Kings goaltender Dan Cloutier.
Leclaire said after the Los Angeles game that he was feeling good despite the recent injury.
“I felt good out there,” Leclaire said. “It was good enough to play. It didn’t bother me at all
tonight so there is no issue.”
Kopitar added his second goal nine minutes into the second on the power play. Los Angeles had the first 10 shots of the second period even though Columbus was able to come back and get nine of the final 11 shots in the second. Jackets forward Rick Nash scored his 29th goal of the season on the power play. The Blue Jackets finished the game 2-4 on the man advantage. Los Angeles almost scored the game winner with 1:18 to go in the second period when Patrick O’Sullivan kicked a puck past Leclaire. The goal was allowed originally but video review negated the goal.
After a scoreless third period and overtime, the game went to a shootout. On the second round of the shootout, Nash and Los Angeles’ Dustin Brown both scored. In the first sudden death round, Chimera’s shot was stopped by Cloutier and O’Sullivan would avenge his waved off goal with the game winning shootout goal.
“I thought the first two were not the best two periods,” Nash said. “We didn’t play too well, and to have a chance to win in the third – lucky for us, and we came out just didn’t bury our opportunities.”
Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Ken Hitchcock thinks the team needed to turn the recent stretch of overtime/shootout losses into victories.
“We’re getting singles when we should get doubles,” he said. “We can’t live on one points, it is not going to be enough at the end of the day. We have to find a way to get two points in these type of games.”
Columbus still remains on the outside looking in for the playoffs. If the season ended Sunday, Nashville would have gotten the last spot in the West, and Columbus is three points behind the Predators. Columbus begins a rough stretch after finishing the two game home stand tonight against Chicago. They will travel to Detroit and St. Louis in the coming stretch.
“They’ve (Chicago) got five or six forwards who are really skilled and have strong dynamics
offensively,” Hitchcock said.
Cougars pick up big conference wins
Redemption is always sweet. Last time the Columbus State men’s basketball team played the Owens Express, the Cougars blew a late double-digit lead as Owens won the game on a lay-up at the buzzer. That was January; this is February.
Columbus State won the game in Toledo against Owens 78-71 Saturday afternoon, as well as picked up a key home win against Lakeland last Wednesday 91-72. With the pair of wins, Columbus State is 5-6 in OCCAC action and 16-8 overall.
Columbus State head coach Patrick Carlisle said that him and team were looking for payback after a “heartbreaker” at home in January.
“Huge game; small word but huge,” Carlisle said about playing Owens. “Just playing Owens at a playground is tough.”
Columbus State forward Mariano Bowles said before the game he was also looking for payback.
“We’ve got to pay them back, we had them by nine points with four minutes left and had four turnovers in the last three minutes of the ballgame… we defiantly need to pay them back,” he said.”
In Columbus State’s home win last Wednesday, Lakeland’s backcourt duo of Jahmil Rippy and Bryan Wright combined for 44 points, but Columbus State held the rest of the team to just 28 points. The Cougars also out rebounded the Lakers 43-37.
“It wasn’t drawn up that way, they got theirs and you held everybody else,” Carlisle said. “We’re second in the league in defense besides one game last week against Cuyahoga, we have played phenomenal d the whole way through.”
In the home win against Lakeland, six Cougars scored double digits, with Bowles leading the way at 19. Cyrus Smith added in with 10 points and five rebounds.
“It gets us some confidence,” Smith said about the win. “We have really been struggling lately we have been losing close games lately and gets us going and ready to play.”
Columbus State travels to play the Edison State Chargers tonight followed by a home game against the highly ranked Cincinnati State Surge Saturday. Cincinnati State comes into Saturday’s game ranked in the top 10 nationally and will be looking to clinch their third consecutive conference championship in Delaware Hall.
Cougars’ road to Toledo difficult
Long time Columbus State women’s basketball head coach Randy Crites said he does not remember the last time his team won a game in Toledo against the Owens Express. Cougar guard Nyesha Watson thought the team has never won at Owens. Two years ago, Columbus State lost by 65.Last year, they lost by over 30.
Arguably the most important game of the women’s basketball season for both the Columbus State Cougars and Owens Express was on Saturday afternoon in Toledo. The winner of the game would be in great shape for the top seed out of Ohio in the NJCAA Regional Tournament in early March. Unfortunately for the Cougars, they were unable to pull out a win as Owens won 93-80. The loss did follow a hard fought 20 point home win last Wednesday against Lakeland.
“I don’t know what it is about their place up there but it is difficult to play,” Crites said. “It has been a while (since the Cougars have won at Owens). Even when we played well and had good teams, we couldn’t win up there.”
The last week was not all bad for Columbus State. The Cougars were able to shutdown a shorthanded Lakeland team dressing only seven players. Lakeland jumped out early with a 19-7 lead, but Columbus State dug deep and ended the first half on a 36-12 run. Led by Watson’s 22 point and five assist effort, Columbus State was able to go on the road with a win.
Cougar Kassie Glispie scored 13 points in the first half and three rebounds. Glispie was a non-factor in the second half for the exception she took an elbow from Lakeland’s Caprita Bell on a loose ball in front of the Lakeland bench. Glispie was charged with the foul, but had to leave the game briefly due to the elbow. The play was an example according to Crites on the type of game Lakeland played.
“I looked up at the scoreboard and fouls are 10-4 – we had the 10,” Crites said. “They’re beating us to death and 10 fouls called on us and four on them. I didn’t think (the Glispie foul) was a good call. I thought that girl turned herself into (Glispie) and knocked her out of bounds on purpose.”
“We knew it would be (a physical game),” Glispie said.
Columbus State is still in good shape going into the postseason. They’re 7-4 in OCCAC action and 15-6 overall. Two of their remaining three games are at home where in the last two seasons, the team is 10-1 in Delaware Hall in conference matches. Even though the Cougars are in fourth place in the conference, half the teams get split up during Regional’s. Columbus State is on pace for the two seed out of Ohio, but that could be bumped to a one seed if Owens losses.
“If we go in with a two seed, we are still good,” Watson said. “Edison went in (last season) with the last seed and still won the whole thing.”
The Cougars travel to Piqua to play Edison tonight. Edison is also 7-4 in conference action and Columbus State barely won their game against them last month thanks to a late game comeback by the Cougars. Columbus State returns home for the final two games Saturday. They will play Clark State which the Cougars defeated by 33 on Jan. 19 in Springfield.
Are the buckeyes tournament bound?
The Ohio State men's basketball team has played one of the toughest schedules in the nation. Their record is not bad as well. They have the 22nd toughest schedule in the country. The one thing every critic including myself is asking: where is the quality win? The team is 0-6 against teams ranked in the RPI top 40.
Typically 40 is the magic number to get into the tournament, and Ohio State is at 36. As of right now, they would probably get one of the very last spots in the tournament. They're biggest win is against 16-8 Syracuse Orange. To get into the tournament, they need to do better than that. Also 20 wins would likely lead to an NCAA touranment bid. The next two games are against Michigan and Northwestern. Both games are on the road, but neither team have posed much of a threat. But after that, Ohio State has to play four of their final five games against - you guessed it - the RPI's top 40.
0-10 against the RPI's top 40 would doom the team. The good news is three of those four games are at home. The Buckeyes haved played Purdue and Michigan State on the road, and team could say they gave them a good run for their money on their home courts.
On the positive, at 16 wins, Ohio State simply put will needs a few wins down the stretch. If this team gets to 20 wins, they have a good chance to get into the tournament. 21 wins, they have a great chance. 21 wins meant at the very least they beat either Wisconsin, Indiana, or Michigan State. Also many have considered the Big Ten a conference that will get five teams in regardless of record. Minnesota is at 5-5 in the conference (and in sixth place) and lacks the schedule the Bucks have. So as long as OSU can take care of business down the stretch, the Buckeyes will be playing somewhere in March.
ON A SIDE NOTE: Cougar Sports will be posted soon and read here tomorrow night for a recap of the Blue Jacket's game with Chicago.
Typically 40 is the magic number to get into the tournament, and Ohio State is at 36. As of right now, they would probably get one of the very last spots in the tournament. They're biggest win is against 16-8 Syracuse Orange. To get into the tournament, they need to do better than that. Also 20 wins would likely lead to an NCAA touranment bid. The next two games are against Michigan and Northwestern. Both games are on the road, but neither team have posed much of a threat. But after that, Ohio State has to play four of their final five games against - you guessed it - the RPI's top 40.
0-10 against the RPI's top 40 would doom the team. The good news is three of those four games are at home. The Buckeyes haved played Purdue and Michigan State on the road, and team could say they gave them a good run for their money on their home courts.
On the positive, at 16 wins, Ohio State simply put will needs a few wins down the stretch. If this team gets to 20 wins, they have a good chance to get into the tournament. 21 wins, they have a great chance. 21 wins meant at the very least they beat either Wisconsin, Indiana, or Michigan State. Also many have considered the Big Ten a conference that will get five teams in regardless of record. Minnesota is at 5-5 in the conference (and in sixth place) and lacks the schedule the Bucks have. So as long as OSU can take care of business down the stretch, the Buckeyes will be playing somewhere in March.
ON A SIDE NOTE: Cougar Sports will be posted soon and read here tomorrow night for a recap of the Blue Jacket's game with Chicago.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Feb. 6 Columbus State Sports
So I have been asked by a few folks to start putting on articles I do for Cougar News. I really haven't seen the need, but since our newspaper is now without a website and there is content I submit that doesn't make the newspaper, I now see the need. Enjoy this week's Cougar News Sports Section!
Cougars back on winning track
The Columbus State women’s basketball team got back on the winning track with a pair of wins last week at home. They defeated the Ohio Dominican non-starters followed by a hard fought 72-65 conference win against the Cuyahoga Challengers.
Columbus State would at times jump out to large leads against the Challengers. The Cougars had a 40-28 lead at halftime thanks to a large rebounding advantage and better shooting.
Columbus State would carry an 11 point lead into the final 8 minutes but Cuyahoga went on a 9-0 run to cut Columbus State’s lead down to 67-65. 13 second half points by Brenda Carter and a solid performance by Molly Dinneen led to the victory.
Cuyahoga only dressed seven players and had four Challengers playing over 30 minutes in the game. The Challengers came into the week with only one conference victory. Cuyahoga almost pulled off an upset at the very beginning of conference season in December. Columbus State won that game 70-69.
“They hustled and they’re scrappy,” Cougar center Kerri Imwalle said. “We out rebounded them and dug down to deeper and found a way to win.”
The Cougars were in the midst of playing four games in seven days. A tough stretch especially considering Columbus State is in the final month of the regular season.
“We want to win, make it to the tournament and I think we’re getting tired but I think the outcome and the reward is bigger,” Carter said on the stretch.
Columbus State head coach Randy Crites agreed that there are challenges playing a tough stretch, but said there are benefits as well.
“I think at this time of the year, you would probably rather have the rest,” he said. “The game Monday (against ODU) was a good –fast paced ballgame; as good as a practice.”
The team will try to continue their winning ways at home with a home match against the Lakeland Lakers tonight followed by a critical road game Saturday in Toledo against Owens. Columbus State protects home court well. They’re 6-1 home this season. Dating back to December of last year, they’re 16-1 in Delaware Hall and in that stretch is 10-1 in conference matches.
“We have to make sure we get past Lakeland and then we really have to be prepared to go to Owens,” Crites said. “Going to Owens is really going to be big to us right now. You can see, if you look at some of the other scores when (conference leading) Sinclair goes there, they get beat by 31. That’s a hard place to play.”
Columbus State is also on the recruiting trail. At last week’s game against Cuyahoga, they had possible recruits watching on. Several of those are from Columbus’ Independence High School.
Chenae White and Amanda Odom are high school seniors looking at Columbus State. Both have applied to the college and are looking to join the 2008-09 team. Independence is known as a local women’s basketball powerhouse. Former Ohio State and current center for the New York Liberty Jessica Davenport as well as current Buckeye Star Allen are both graduates of Independence.
“They (the coaches) seem very nice and caring and take care of the team,” White said. “They keep saying how different it is playing from high school to college and I can see that right now."
Odom said that she has had various four year college’s offering a spot on their team, but one factor in her decision is those schools do not offer scholarships.
They can officially sign with the team in April.
Cougars’ conference losing streak continues
A field goal here, rebound there, a defensive stop to boot – that is how close the Columbus State men’s basketball team is from being contenders in the OCCAC. Instead they are in seventh place far removed from conference leading Cincinnati State. At 3-6 in conference, the recent stretch has been disappointing for the Cougars as they lost three in a row in OCCAC action.
Last Wednesday, Columbus State hosted the Cuyahoga Challengers. For most of the game, it was very close. The game was tied at 38 at halftime. Many lead changes. In the second half with the game tied at 64, the Challengers would go on a14-3 run to create some separation. Columbus State would try to claw their way back into the game. They got the ball back down five with 40 seconds left. The Cougars would attempt to get the ball into the paint to cut Cuyahoga’s lead to three, but the ball went out of bounds, and once against Columbus State losses a heartbreaker. 99-88 was the final. Cuyahoga was tough to stop from outside the three point line shooting 64%. Also they forced Columbus State to commit 18 turnovers in the fast paced game.
“We struggled in close games,” Columbus State coach Michael Walker said. “It could be anything - a turnover or rebound or anything like that... It is the small things that make the close games.”
Columbus State did many little things right in the game. They out rebounded Cuyahoga 37-34 and Columbus State also shot well from the free throw line making over 80% of their attempts.
“I defiantly thought we were the better team,” Columbus State’s Mariano Bowles said. “They put the pressure on us and I feel my teammates and myself didn’t execute in the end. When they put the pressure on us, we choked up.”
The season is far from over for Columbus State as they have plenty of time to improve on their record and seeding heading into the post-season. Columbus State hosts Lakeland tonight at 7 p.m. in Delaware Hall followed by a trip to Toledo Saturday to play Owens. The Cougars beat Lakeland on the road in December by seven. Columbus State could be out for redemption against Owens as the Express defeated Columbus State with a shot at the buzzer on Jan. 12.
“We are in shape, in good shape,” Cougar Raylon Almon said. “We just have to play with our heads. It is not so much our legs, it is our mental game and we’re not playing smart.”
Jackets lose games; ground in West
The last week for the Columbus Blue Jackets has been one of the roughest stretches of the season. After going into the NHL All-Star Weekend playing well, they now have to play catch-up for them to have a chance of making the playoffs.
Columbus is 25-23-6 and has 56 points on the season. They are in 11th place and trail Nashville by three points for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Columbus lost a trio of games, two of which at home in Nationwide Arena. Jan. 29, the team lost to a Wayne Gretzky coached Phoenix Coyotes team. The Blue Jackets leaped to an early lead thanks to a Fredrik Modin goal just 21 seconds into the game. Phoenix answered with a goal in the middle of the second period. Jason Chimera added a goal in the second period to give the Jackets a lead. But third period goals by Mathias Tjarnqvist and Peter Mueller gave the Coyotes the lead for good. Phoenix forward Radim Vrbata added with an empty net goal with under a second to go to give Phoenix the 4-2 win.
Columbus would travel two nights later to Nashville without veteran forward Modin, and a weakened captain Adam Foote. Foote typically plays 25-30 minutes a game; only registered 20 minutes of play. Forwards Dan Fritsche and Nikolai Zherdev did notch goals but they were not enough as Nashville won 4-2.
The week finished Saturday back at Nationwide Arena in front of the first sold out crowd of the season. The Jackets needed a big performance from backup goaltender Fredrik Norrena playing Northwest Division leading Minnesota. For 54 minutes of the game, Norrena and the Blue Jackets dominated Minnesota.
The Blue Jackets would trail the Wild 1-0 through the first period though outshot Minnesota 9-8. Columbus would tie the game early in the second with Derick Brassard scoring his first career goal thanks to Frtische out muscling Minnesota’s James Sheppard off the puck in the corner and handing off the rookie.
“I was pretty happy about it (scoring the goal),” Brassard said. “I just tried to help Fritsche in the corner, and he threw a great pass to me in the slot.”
But in a game Columbus outshot Minnesota 34-20 and outhit the Wild 18-14, six minutes filled with turnovers and odd man rushes sunk the Blue Jackets. Minnesota’s game winning goal was scored just minutes after Brassard’s game tying goal when Blue Jacket Jiri Novotny turned the puck over right in front of his own goaltender to Minnesota’s Pierre-Marc Bouchard who passed off to Brian Rolston who scored. Wild leading scorer Marian Gaborik added a pair of goals within six minutes of the Rolston goal to give Minnesota the 4-1 victory.
“After the all-star break, you see teams their level rises at least 10%,” Fritsche said. “All the playoff bound teams turn it up. There is a huge difference between the beginning of the season and the end of the season.”
“Disappointing for everybody, players included. We have poured a lot into this season,” Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Ken Hitchcock said. “We have really created an identity here… We’re going to have to get back on track here. We are in it for the long haul; we are going to keep battling.”
The Blue Jackets will go back to the battlefield this week to play Washington and Los Angeles at home and go the west coast to play Phoenix and San Jose.
Cougars back on winning track
The Columbus State women’s basketball team got back on the winning track with a pair of wins last week at home. They defeated the Ohio Dominican non-starters followed by a hard fought 72-65 conference win against the Cuyahoga Challengers.
Columbus State would at times jump out to large leads against the Challengers. The Cougars had a 40-28 lead at halftime thanks to a large rebounding advantage and better shooting.
Columbus State would carry an 11 point lead into the final 8 minutes but Cuyahoga went on a 9-0 run to cut Columbus State’s lead down to 67-65. 13 second half points by Brenda Carter and a solid performance by Molly Dinneen led to the victory.
Cuyahoga only dressed seven players and had four Challengers playing over 30 minutes in the game. The Challengers came into the week with only one conference victory. Cuyahoga almost pulled off an upset at the very beginning of conference season in December. Columbus State won that game 70-69.
“They hustled and they’re scrappy,” Cougar center Kerri Imwalle said. “We out rebounded them and dug down to deeper and found a way to win.”
The Cougars were in the midst of playing four games in seven days. A tough stretch especially considering Columbus State is in the final month of the regular season.
“We want to win, make it to the tournament and I think we’re getting tired but I think the outcome and the reward is bigger,” Carter said on the stretch.
Columbus State head coach Randy Crites agreed that there are challenges playing a tough stretch, but said there are benefits as well.
“I think at this time of the year, you would probably rather have the rest,” he said. “The game Monday (against ODU) was a good –fast paced ballgame; as good as a practice.”
The team will try to continue their winning ways at home with a home match against the Lakeland Lakers tonight followed by a critical road game Saturday in Toledo against Owens. Columbus State protects home court well. They’re 6-1 home this season. Dating back to December of last year, they’re 16-1 in Delaware Hall and in that stretch is 10-1 in conference matches.
“We have to make sure we get past Lakeland and then we really have to be prepared to go to Owens,” Crites said. “Going to Owens is really going to be big to us right now. You can see, if you look at some of the other scores when (conference leading) Sinclair goes there, they get beat by 31. That’s a hard place to play.”
Columbus State is also on the recruiting trail. At last week’s game against Cuyahoga, they had possible recruits watching on. Several of those are from Columbus’ Independence High School.
Chenae White and Amanda Odom are high school seniors looking at Columbus State. Both have applied to the college and are looking to join the 2008-09 team. Independence is known as a local women’s basketball powerhouse. Former Ohio State and current center for the New York Liberty Jessica Davenport as well as current Buckeye Star Allen are both graduates of Independence.
“They (the coaches) seem very nice and caring and take care of the team,” White said. “They keep saying how different it is playing from high school to college and I can see that right now."
Odom said that she has had various four year college’s offering a spot on their team, but one factor in her decision is those schools do not offer scholarships.
They can officially sign with the team in April.
Cougars’ conference losing streak continues
A field goal here, rebound there, a defensive stop to boot – that is how close the Columbus State men’s basketball team is from being contenders in the OCCAC. Instead they are in seventh place far removed from conference leading Cincinnati State. At 3-6 in conference, the recent stretch has been disappointing for the Cougars as they lost three in a row in OCCAC action.
Last Wednesday, Columbus State hosted the Cuyahoga Challengers. For most of the game, it was very close. The game was tied at 38 at halftime. Many lead changes. In the second half with the game tied at 64, the Challengers would go on a14-3 run to create some separation. Columbus State would try to claw their way back into the game. They got the ball back down five with 40 seconds left. The Cougars would attempt to get the ball into the paint to cut Cuyahoga’s lead to three, but the ball went out of bounds, and once against Columbus State losses a heartbreaker. 99-88 was the final. Cuyahoga was tough to stop from outside the three point line shooting 64%. Also they forced Columbus State to commit 18 turnovers in the fast paced game.
“We struggled in close games,” Columbus State coach Michael Walker said. “It could be anything - a turnover or rebound or anything like that... It is the small things that make the close games.”
Columbus State did many little things right in the game. They out rebounded Cuyahoga 37-34 and Columbus State also shot well from the free throw line making over 80% of their attempts.
“I defiantly thought we were the better team,” Columbus State’s Mariano Bowles said. “They put the pressure on us and I feel my teammates and myself didn’t execute in the end. When they put the pressure on us, we choked up.”
The season is far from over for Columbus State as they have plenty of time to improve on their record and seeding heading into the post-season. Columbus State hosts Lakeland tonight at 7 p.m. in Delaware Hall followed by a trip to Toledo Saturday to play Owens. The Cougars beat Lakeland on the road in December by seven. Columbus State could be out for redemption against Owens as the Express defeated Columbus State with a shot at the buzzer on Jan. 12.
“We are in shape, in good shape,” Cougar Raylon Almon said. “We just have to play with our heads. It is not so much our legs, it is our mental game and we’re not playing smart.”
Jackets lose games; ground in West
The last week for the Columbus Blue Jackets has been one of the roughest stretches of the season. After going into the NHL All-Star Weekend playing well, they now have to play catch-up for them to have a chance of making the playoffs.
Columbus is 25-23-6 and has 56 points on the season. They are in 11th place and trail Nashville by three points for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Columbus lost a trio of games, two of which at home in Nationwide Arena. Jan. 29, the team lost to a Wayne Gretzky coached Phoenix Coyotes team. The Blue Jackets leaped to an early lead thanks to a Fredrik Modin goal just 21 seconds into the game. Phoenix answered with a goal in the middle of the second period. Jason Chimera added a goal in the second period to give the Jackets a lead. But third period goals by Mathias Tjarnqvist and Peter Mueller gave the Coyotes the lead for good. Phoenix forward Radim Vrbata added with an empty net goal with under a second to go to give Phoenix the 4-2 win.
Columbus would travel two nights later to Nashville without veteran forward Modin, and a weakened captain Adam Foote. Foote typically plays 25-30 minutes a game; only registered 20 minutes of play. Forwards Dan Fritsche and Nikolai Zherdev did notch goals but they were not enough as Nashville won 4-2.
The week finished Saturday back at Nationwide Arena in front of the first sold out crowd of the season. The Jackets needed a big performance from backup goaltender Fredrik Norrena playing Northwest Division leading Minnesota. For 54 minutes of the game, Norrena and the Blue Jackets dominated Minnesota.
The Blue Jackets would trail the Wild 1-0 through the first period though outshot Minnesota 9-8. Columbus would tie the game early in the second with Derick Brassard scoring his first career goal thanks to Frtische out muscling Minnesota’s James Sheppard off the puck in the corner and handing off the rookie.
“I was pretty happy about it (scoring the goal),” Brassard said. “I just tried to help Fritsche in the corner, and he threw a great pass to me in the slot.”
But in a game Columbus outshot Minnesota 34-20 and outhit the Wild 18-14, six minutes filled with turnovers and odd man rushes sunk the Blue Jackets. Minnesota’s game winning goal was scored just minutes after Brassard’s game tying goal when Blue Jacket Jiri Novotny turned the puck over right in front of his own goaltender to Minnesota’s Pierre-Marc Bouchard who passed off to Brian Rolston who scored. Wild leading scorer Marian Gaborik added a pair of goals within six minutes of the Rolston goal to give Minnesota the 4-1 victory.
“After the all-star break, you see teams their level rises at least 10%,” Fritsche said. “All the playoff bound teams turn it up. There is a huge difference between the beginning of the season and the end of the season.”
“Disappointing for everybody, players included. We have poured a lot into this season,” Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Ken Hitchcock said. “We have really created an identity here… We’re going to have to get back on track here. We are in it for the long haul; we are going to keep battling.”
The Blue Jackets will go back to the battlefield this week to play Washington and Los Angeles at home and go the west coast to play Phoenix and San Jose.
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