Small Ball Report-January 8

SCIAC Conference

Men's Basketball:

Conference play actually didn't start yesterday.  It is going to start on January 9. 

Women's Basketball:

Conference play has started!

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 41, Cal Lutheran 68
Redlands 62, La Verne 54
Whittier 76, Caltech 43
Occidental 62, Pomona-Pitzer 53

Standings:

Cal Lutheran 1-0 SCIAC, 8-3 overall
Occidental 1-0 SCIAC, 8-3 overall
Redlands 1-0 SCIAC, 8-3 overall
Whittier 1-0 SCIAC, 8-4 overall
Claremont-Mudd-Scripp 0-1 SCIAC 9-3 overall
La Verne 0-1 SCIAC, 7-5 overall
Pomona-Pitzer 0-1 SCIAC, 4-6 overall
Caltech 0-1 SCIAC, 4-8 overall

GSAC Conference

Men's Basketball:

Fresno Pacific 74, Vanguard 71 (OT)

Standings:

Biola 4-0 GSAC, 14-0 overall
Concordia 4-0 GSAC, 14-0 overall
California Baptist 3-1 GSAC, 10-4 overall
The Masters 3-1 GSAC, 10-4 overall
Fresno Pacific 2-2 GSAC, 12-2 overall
Westmont 2-2 GSAC, 10-3 overall
Point Loma Nazarene 2-3 GSAC, 5-8 overall
Vanguard 2-3 GSAC, 3-8 overall
Azusa Pacific 1-3 GSAC, 8-6 overall
Hope International 0-4 GSAC, 4-9 overall
San Diego Christian 0-4 GSAC, 2-12 overall

Women's Basketball:

Hope International (5-9 overall) 53, Chapman 52
Vanguard (4-1 GSAC, 8-1 overall 85, Fresno Pacific 65 (0-4 GSAC, 3-11 overall)

Tim's Two Cents-January 8

Alabama Wins BCS National Championship.  It was the game we've been waiting for the last 32 days and let me tell you, it ended up being worth the hype.  It didn't look like it would be that way at the start however. 

The big story that developed in the beginning was the shoulder injury that Texas's Colt McCoy suffered on their first offensive possession.  Alabama also got off to a shaky start with a failed fake punt play and a fumbled punt recovered by Texas.

Once Alabama was able to calm their nerves, it was clear they were the better team on the field, regardless of whether Colt McCoy was in the game.  I realize that it could have been different if he hadn't suffered an injury.  The bottom line is Alabama had an amazing all around game throughout.  Mark Ingram got into a groove after a slow start.  From what I saw, he is a beast.  He is a hard man to tackle as Texas defenders were struggling to bring Ingram down once he settled into a groove. 

As far as Texas, they deserve some credit in defeat as Freshman quarterback Garrett Gilbert played very well in place of Colt McCoy, granted it took him a little time to find a groove as well.

So congratulations to head coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide on the win.  For Saban, it is his second National Championship to go with 2003 at LSU. Nick Saban can finally relax a little and hopefully enjoy the moment.  That looked like a pretty good Gatorade bath.     

Wide World of Sports Venues-January 7

Rose Garden

Portland, OR

Opened: October 1995
Construction Cost: $262 Million
Capacity: 20,630 for Basketball, 18,280 for Ice Hockey/Lacrosse, approximately 20,500 for Center stage at concerts, approximately 15,000 for End stage at concerts, approximately 6,500 for "Theatre of the Clouds."
Home Teams: Portland Trail Blazers (NBA) 1995-Present, Portland Winterhawks (WHL) 1995-Present, Portland Forest Dragons (AFL) 1997-1999, Portland Pythons (WISL) 1998-1999, Portland Fire (WNBA) 2000-2002, Portland LumberJax (NLL) 2006-2009
Events Attended: None

Photo courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and Fcb981 under CC-SA 3.0 License

Small Ball Report January 7

SCIAC Conference

Men's Basketball:

Senior guard Kyle Knudsen of Cal Lutheran and Fresman guard Mike Edwards of...brace yourself...Caltech have been named Co-Male Athletes of the Week yesterday.

Knudsen was selected to the D3Hoops.com National Team of the Week after scoring a career-high 38 points in a 71 to 62 victory over Pacific (OR) University of December 20.  Over the last six games Knudsen has led the Kingmen offense averaging 17.5 points per game and currently ranks fifth in the SCIAC Conference at 16.3 points per game for the season.

Edwards scored 28 points against Rivier College on Saturday in the Holiday Classic.  He added 9 rebounds and 3 assists.  For an encore performance, Edwards scored 29 points against Westminster (PA), including a Caltech record seven three-pointers.  As a Freshman, Edwards is averaging 21.9 points per game on the season and 4.4 rebounds.  He also has 19 steals and 8 blocked shots while shooting 84% from the free throw line

Wednesday's Results:

Chapman 60, Caltech 42.  Caltech is now 0-11 on the season.  SCIAC Conference play begins tonight.

Other College Action:

Citrus College (15-2, 1-0) 67, Bakersfield 65

Pasadena City College 77, LA Harbor 73

Mt. SAC 87, El Camino 76

Women's Basketball:

Aria Krumweide of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps was named SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week yesterday.  She was the MVP of the Caltech-CMS Holiday Classic scoring 46 points with 6 assists as CMS came back from a 13 point second half defecit to beat Buena Vista Universit 82 to 78 and also Knox College 75 to 58. 

Conference play starts tonight.

Other College Action:

Citrus College (9-8, 1-0) 67, Bakersfield 48

Mt. SAC 65, Cerritos 46

Minor League ECHL Hockey:

The Ontario Reign lost once again to the Las Vegas Wranglers 2 to 1 in the first of three straight games against Las Vegas.  Their next matchup is tomorrow in Sin City at 7:05 PM.       

Tim's Two Cents-January 7

Gilbert Arenas Suspended Indefinitely by the NBA.  This is a good move by the NBA and commissioner David Stern.  It was only a matter of time when this decision was going to be made.  This kind of suspension makes perfect sense considering what has happened in the NBA over the last few years.

These sort of suspensions can be traced back to the infamous "Malice at the Palace" between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons during the 2004-2005 season.  As a result, the NBA instituted a number of new policies to create a better image of the game, such as a dress code for the players.  Ron Artest, who was with the Pacers then, was suspended for the remainder of the season.  At the time, it was the longest suspension in NBA history.  So it is no surprise that Gilbert Arenas has been suspended indefinitely based on previous events. 

What is somewhat surprising is that the suspension didn't come sooner since it is against league rules to bring guns to an arena in the first place.  The length of the suspension is yet to be determined, but you can be fairly certain it will probably be for the remainder of this season at least.  Lastly, I've got a newsflash for you Gilbert Arenas.  Bringing a gun to an NBA arena is no laughing matter.  You got what you deserved with the indefinite suspension.      

Wide World of Sports Venues-January 6

Jobing.com Arena

Glendale, AZ

Opened: 2003
Construction Cost: $180 Million
Capacity: 17,799 for Ice Hockey, up to 19,000 for Concerts, 18,300 for Basketball
Home Teams: Phoenix Coyotes (NHL) 2003-Present, Arizona Sting (NLL) 2003-2007
Events Attended: None

Photo courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and Paul Kucher under CC-BY 2.0  License

Small Ball Report-January 6

GSAC Conference

Men's Basketball:

Concordia's Justin Johnson was named Men's Basketball Player of the Week yesterday.  In his Junior year, Johnson averaged 21.5 points per game as Concordia won both of its games last week to move into a first place tie with Biola in the GSAC.

Monday's Results:

Vanguard 70, Hope International 57,
Biola 85, Azusa Pacific 69
Point Loma Nazarene 72, San Diego Christian 63
Concordia 61, The Masters 54
California Baptist 81, Westmont 66

Standings:

Biola 4-0 GSAC, 14-0 overall
Concordia 4-0 GSAC, 14-0 overall
California Baptist 3-1 GSAC, 10-4 overall
The Masters 3-1 GSAC, 10-4 overall
Westmont 2-2 GSAC, 10-3 overall
Vanguard 2-2 GSAC, 3-7 overall
Point Loma Nazarene 2-3 GSAC, 5-8 overall
Fresno Pacific 1-2 GSAC, 11-2 overall
Azusa Pacific 1-3 GSAC, 8-6 overall
Hope International 0-4 GSAC, 4-9 overall
San Diego Christian 0-4 GSAC, 2-12 overall

Women's Basketball:

Senior Colleen Planeta of Point Loma Nazarene was named the Women's Basketball Player of the Week.  Planeta averaged 25.5 points per game, and 8.0 rebounds per game last week.  She also had 18 blocked shots, 12 steals and 5 assists.

Monday's Results:

Point Loma Nazarene 73, San Diego Christian 49
Azusa Pacific 70, Biola 56
The Masters 80, Concordia 62
Vanguard 91, Hope International 86 (OT)
California Baptist 79, Westmont 67

Standings:

Azusa Pacific 4-0 GSAC, 11-3 overall
Point Loma Nazarene 4-1 GSAC, 13-1 overall
Vanguard 3-1 GSAC, 7-1 overall
Westmont 3-1 GSAC, 10-2 overall
California Baptist 3-1 GSAC, 10-4 overall
The Masters 2-2 GSAC, 7-5 overall
Biola 2-2 GSAC, 6-6 overall
Concordia 1-3 GSAC, 8-4 overall
Fresno Pacific 0-3 GSAC, 3-10 overall
Hope International 0-4 GSAC, 4-9 overall
San Diego Christian 0-4 GSAC, 3-10 overall

SCIAC Conference

Men's Basketball:

Pomona-Pitzer 56, Emerson 62 at Occidental
West Coast Baptist 74, La Verne 89
La Sieera 80, Redlands 94

Standings:

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 8-3 overall
Occidental 8-3 overall
Whittier 6-4 overall
Cal Lutheran 6-5 overall
La Verne 4-7 overall
Pomona-Pitzer 4-7 overall
Redlands 4-7 overall
Caltech 0-10 overall

Women's Basketball:

There was no action on Tuesday.  Conference play starts on Thursday.