There you go. A four quarter effort of high defensive pressure and the hawks are back in the winners circle.  The forward line was still too inefficient but the defensive effort didn't need a huge score. Keep this up and the hawks are good. The forwards finally click and they are very dangerous.

Quote from: HSCTiger74 on June 03, 2025, 11:33:37 PMOz, what's up with the Hawks? I can't remember the last time they lost three in a row (although I'll admit that I don't follow the matches as closely as I used to).

Two things, unfortunately.

First, the forward line has been under-manned all season. We've cobbled together a line that doesn't include a big gorilla to anchor it. Well-structured defence can just sit on everyone.  So if you can only generate limited scoring shots, you must score six every time. We haven't.

Second, our effort has really fallen off. Footy is a game that requires players to push themselves beyond their limits when the lungs are burning and the muscles are so tired. We've had a run against three top teams, the fourth in another day, and they have simply outworked us.  Good footy is 90% effort. If you're willing to outwork the other team (tackle more, repeat sprints in defence to maintain zones, thankless repeat sprints off the ball in offence to provide options that may never be taken) then you win nearly every time.

We'll see how we go. Four quarters of 100% effort is the only way to win at the top of the ladder.

Quote from: DuffMan on June 02, 2025, 09:45:15 AMWhat a tease.

When is the kickoff luncheon? We'll surely find out then if redtooth forces us to wait.

Heh. I picture the BU rocket team swagger as you arrive on competition day.

https://youtu.be/sYq_Jpxdq2A?si=Ns0jsspe6AmMaxm0

Good luck, Art. I hope your boys (and girls?) do really well again this year.

Quote from: art76 on May 18, 2025, 12:11:14 AMNon-D3 football post follows: Just got back from this year's Oral Presentations and Safety Checks for the Upper Mid-West High-Powered Rocket Contest that will have the launches done tomorrow in North Branch, MN. There will be 19 teams launching tomorrow - yikes! The MIAC is well represented with Augsburg, Bethel, Concordia, Gustavus, and Macalester. Other notables mentioned here would be St. Thomas and Whitewater. Some of the bigger schools include NDSU, University of Iowa, Austin Peay, and three teams from the U of MN. It's gonna be a fun day launching tomorrow - could easily end up being over 50 or 60 flights.

Go Bethel!

I'm disappointed the Johnnies don't have a rocket team. I would have loved to be part of that.

The Hawks continue to win despite not playing great football. 7-2 at this point and now they head to Darwin next weekend to play the Gold Coast Suns in humidity as thick as pea soup.

Quote from: hazzben on May 05, 2025, 09:47:07 AM

Quote from: faunch on May 05, 2025, 09:08:59 AMHow will this impact D3?
Considering very few, if any generate any real revenue.

https://www.startribune.com/ramstad-this-could-be-the-week-the-ncaa-becomes-a-professional-league/601335749

I don't think it will. Article notes it's for Division 1, I'm not sure the revenue sharing will be applied below that level. To your point Faunch, there aren't many small college athletic departments that make money. Frankly there aren't that many D1 athletic departments that do outside of the Power4.

It also comes down to who drives the most revenue into their program and operates it profitably. Shockingly the Top 25 revenue athletic departments is an exclusively B1G and SEC party.

Doesn't the D1 money from just a few sports (men's bball and football?) fund the post season tournaments in D3?  If they carve 1/4 off the top of all D1 revenue, then that's a whole lot of spare change which will no longer be available for D3 playoffs, no?

Quote from: faunch on April 30, 2025, 10:19:41 AMGot an extra $30K laying around?

"Luxury suites and premium seats
Anderson Arena will host up to 4,000 fans for men's and women's hockey and up to 5,000 fans for men's and women's basketball. The salespeople are busy trying to find buyers for the suites ($24,000 for a season of basketball games and $29,000 for a season of hockey).

Premium courtside and rinkside seats are also available for season ticket holders in basketball and hockey. You can join the Legacy Club for $2,650 or the Capital Club for $1,025 for hoop games and $1,075 for hockey games. There's even something called the Tommie Score, which offers points for being a season ticket holder, an alum (or spouse) and for donating money to the Athletic Department."

https://www.myvillager.com/sports/wright_call/st-thomas-is-rising-to-the-challenge-of-d-i-sports/article_1e855f1e-17e6-43fb-b03a-ee7123e91552.html

You need an unusually Tommie-connected target group to justify a $30k box.  It's a ****s and giggles investment for a Tommie tragic.  It's not a Gopher box where anyone would be interested in going, even non-Gopher fans.  Plus, the Gophers play teams that invitees may be interested in seeing.

Who knows?  Maybe the Tommies will have a one or two marquee D1 hockey and basketball teams playing in St Paul each year that will justify a big cash drop like that for the invites it enables.

Quote from: faunch on April 22, 2025, 04:59:22 PM

Quote from: SagatagSam on April 22, 2025, 03:35:17 PM

Quote from: DuffMan on April 22, 2025, 01:02:22 PMI can't imagine the mess that would create with transfer credits, etc.

Duff your comment shows your D3 mindset. That line of thinking was thrown out the window years ago at the D1 (and some of the D2 schools/conferences).

"Student"-athletes.

So you're saying that college should really be about learning and accruing credits toward a degree?

Well, it's a whole lot of money to spend if all you get from it are good stories.

(Heh, #'s 2 & 3 brought up an old money story regarding SJU over the weekend.  They get a kick out the time I wrote the finance office and asked for a $220 dollar refund, or whatever I calculated the cost of a single intro chemistry class to cost, when the teach cancelled on short notice because of an unspecified conflict.  I reasoned that if I had to pay when I skipped class, then I got my money back when the teach did the same.

Denied.  But my girls appreciate the effort.)

Another Easter Monday thriller at the G. And another close loss to Geelong, we go down by seven points.  Arg.

Mrs Oz and #3 are Geelong supporters and have enjoyed this long run of Easter Monday success.  All I have in consolation is that we win when it matters most on that last Saturday in September.

Quote from: BiggieSmalls on April 21, 2025, 10:58:49 PMWonder what changed for him to just be passing through

Good question.  He came in Jan, left in April?  Maybe someone else is obviously going to win the starting job.  Or maybe a scholarship program reached out and offered him a starting spot.

EDIT:

I noticed in this article (https://www.stcloudlive.com/sports/college/johnnies-bringing-in-division-i-transfer-qb-beau-bush-from-usd) announcing his transfer to SJU that post his trip to Collegeville in the morning, he called up UST and cancelled his visit with them scheduled for that same afternoon.  Any idea on where he's going?  St Glenn didn't stay in his ear, did he?

Quote from: DuffMan on April 16, 2025, 08:37:59 AMThough I am not thrilled at the caliber of this non-con matchup, I think the first year of the NPI showed us that, with the current "dial settings", wins carry the bulk of the weight, so it's not a bad move, especially considering that SJU needs to fill Syverson's monster shoes.

Correct weight on both points.

Man, the Hawks got smashed by Port Adelaide last night.  A horrible thrashing.  Hawthorn are now 4-1.

It's sad to hear about Fr Don. He was a good man. My first year dorm guy.

99 runs, a good innings. As they say in cricket parlance.

Quote from: DuffMan on March 30, 2025, 03:59:06 PMLast time the Johnnies and Scots met was my junior yet, and I just turned 44. 

I went to a Johnnie v Scots game way back when @ Mac. Bud Grant was there.