Queen City Burning
Welcome to the Queen City Burning feature of Cincycoolness.com. What you will find here is two ridiculously passion-driven fans of their respective local college basketball programs. Smokey Graham will give the U.C. point of view and D.S. Ledgewood will give the Xavier perspective. They will give their sometimes informed and sometimes sublime views of one of the best rivalries in all of sports. One thing these guys agree on is that since the departure of Bob Huggins, the rivalry has lost some steam and it seems to be more in favor to be more friendly with each other. Well, screw that! These two programs have deep-rooted disdain for each other and it is time to bring it on again! That's what this feature will be all about... Enjoy!
Smokey Graham Entry #8- (Newest Entry)
Friends and fans of UC basketball. First of all I want to explain my MIA status for the last five or six games of the season. It all started with Syracuse. Call it foresight. Call it anticipation. Call it what you will.
Is there anyone out there that did not know that they were gonna drop the next three games. MIA! My confidence was rattled! Mick has never performed well in March. Anyone who has payed attention had butterflies in their stomach going into that March 3rd game against USF. Those butterflies were gone with the fans after that road loss.
Need I say more! The question now " do we follow Mick". I ask what is wrong with the fans? I anticipated this fall yet I never turned the channel on my Bearcats. Its going to be tough. Its going to be dreadful. Don't turn down your tickets. Don't turn the channel. Get out. sit down and tune in. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Mick and the Bearcats need our support.
Though these young men that represent Bearcat basketball might not be the the best in the BEAST the last thing we should do as fans is turn the blind eye. Support, support, support! I venture to say that we the fans are part of the problem. Seriously! Cincinnatians are commonly accused of being "fair weather fans". I'm guilty! I realize that everyone wants to be a winner but to really appreciate winning you have to appreciate losing. That's what a true fan does. You support your team when it hurts. We are all hurt right now but there will be a winning season in the future, there will be wins against XU in the future and there will be NCAA touney runs in the future.
We just watched our players give in but I refuse to be apart of that. Now it's on you!
The good word by Smokey Graham.
D.S. Ledgewood Entry #7-(Newest Entry)
So this is rivalry week. Obviously tonight the basketball world will be awaiting its greatest rivalry, Duke vs. North Carolina. However up the road in Dayton, OH one of the best under the radar conference rivalry games will be taking place when #14 Xavier visits UD Arena.
Make no mistake, Dayton fans can’t stand Xavier. The game is sold out and their students will have their ‘Beat Xavier’ shirts on. Xavier has beat Dayton 6 consecutive times over the past two seasons which is only adding to the disdain.
One of the underlying reasons for this intense despise is envy. Dayton feels they have everything to offer that Xavier has yet year after year it is the Muskies making the NCAA Tournament while the Flyers are at home watching or at best getting a chance to host a N.I.T. game.
UD has the arena, the budget, the fan base, the tradition but for some reason they have had a tough time in recent years matching the potential their infrastructure should be affording them.
This year the Flyers are making their most serious run for a bid to March Madness since their last appearance in 2003. A win at home over Xavier would go a long way to boosting those chances as well as alleviate some of the demons that have developed the past couple of years.
Xavier vs. Dayton no doubt is the showcase game for the A-10. These are two major programs in a conference considered mid-major. Recruiting battles could be won or lost over this game. The coaches don’t exactly have love for one another. The fans can be down right obnoxious towards each other. It’s everything you want in a big time game.
Tonight’s game really is college basketball at its best. It may not get the hype of a Duke vs. Carolina but will have every bit the passion, intensity, and importance. For Xavier it may not be their biggest rivalry game that still has to be the Cross-town Shootout. For Dayton this is their Super Bowl. Still, it is a game Xavier and their fans no doubt want to win very badly, don’t let anyone fool you by telling you otherwise.
Of course it is amusing that this article about the Dayton student fan group called 'Red Scare' is deciding ahead of time whether or not they are going to rush the court if Dayton wins? Of course these are the same lame people that brought us this winner of a video last year...
Instead of worrying about rushing the court they should be planning their contingency plans for this year's crisis that is about to happen after they lose to Xavier again tonight...
The best part about having such an intense rival in your conference is no matter what happens tonight, we get to do it all over again on March 5 at Cintas Center. By then the stakes may be even higher? For now, let’s enjoy the game.
D.S. Ledgewood, telling it like it is...
Smokey Graham Entry #7-
It's nice to see the Bearcats win the last five out of seven. Wins over Georgetown and Notre Dame help to make up for both losses to Providence. At Georgetown on Saturday will be a tough must win game for UC. Although I doubt Georgetown has got their confidence back after a ten point win against Rutgers on Tuesday evening. UC plays St. Johns on Wednesday then enters another stretch against some of the best teams in the country with Pitt, UL, and WVU. Lacking a true point guard UC has their work cut out. Handling the rock under pressure has proven poiseness for the Bearcats. Villanova exposed UC's flaws a week ago in the twenty one point loss. Seventeen turnovers and a twenty eight field goal percentage added up to a big loss when UC was winning by seven at one point. On the flip side, UC turns around and commits five turnovers and puts up a forty four percent shooting percentage against Notre Dame on Wednesday night. A ten point win would be the outcome. Where has Larry Davis been this year? UC is looking for a couple of these young guys to step up and play with some confidence. Yancy Gates put up fifteen points followed with eight rebounds. Both will be with us next year.
Mick Cronin backs up his status as a big time recruiter with addition of Sean Kilpatrick! Kilpatrick a big time shooter from White Plains, NY will be a nice addition to Cashmere Wright at point from the outside. Some depth at the guard position has been non existence at UC in the last couple of years. So lets be excited about the recruiting job Mick has added to the program and look forward to the up and coming seasons of Bearcat basketball. Who would you rather have? Kenny Frease, Terrell Holloway or Yancey Gates? You have a starting point guard on a good team, who is playing well. A center coming off the bench to average six points and about four rebounds a game. Then you have a starting forward in the Big East averaging ten points a game with six rebounds throwing up some of his best games against big time NBA prospects as an eighteen year old young man! Fourteen points against Notre Dame, four blocks against Georgetown, nine rebounds against UConn and nine rebounds against Memphis. This is a player that is refining his game. A young man that has all the tools to be a dominate collge basketball force! Nice job Mick!
The good word from Smokey Graham!
D.S. Ledgewood Entry #6
I find it interesting sometimes that Xavier’s perception locally is not nearly as favorable as their perception nationally. I am not sure if it’s the fact Cincinnati is still a major league town first or the fact U.C. at the end of the day has a much larger following due to size, but for some reason many people here still don’t want to acknowledge what Xavier has become, a big time national ‘high major’ program. Take the game at LSU over the weekend for example; it was the Tigers first sell out of the season and their largest home crowd since 2006. This is a program that was in the Final Four two years ago and having Xavier come to town in January was their biggest game of their year to date. Fact is any team when they look at their schedule and see Xavier on it will instantly be pointing to that game as being one of the biggest of their season. As mentioned in this spot before Nike has deemed Xavier one of their ‘elite’ programs for next season and the Muskies will be sporting Nike’s top threads reserved for a select few teams. When I still hear Xavier haters around town try to use the ‘small’ or mid-major argument, it’s almost embarrassing for the person trying to make it because it is so ignorantly laughable. It is obvious that there are just some people in Cincinnati that are big school apologists and can’t handle the fact that tiny Jesuit Xavier not only has been crashing their party but are becoming the life of that party as well.
So that was a good win for the Muskies over the Weekend, going into such a hostile environment and polishing off an 80-70 win has definitely given me renewed hope that this version of Xavier may be more ready come March than I thought to make another deep run. It’s not that I expected this to be a rebuilding year or anything but with all the new and young players being introduced coming off the elite 8 run, I really consider this measure of success to be exceeding expectations on a year I would have been willing to give a pass on. Obviously next year’s Xavier’s squad could be a mainstay in the top 10 all year long.
After playing 3 of 4 on the road it’s now 3 straight at home for the Muskies riding an 8 game winning streak. First up is Charlotte Wednesday night. This leads me to my question of the week: Who will draw more fans Wednesday night? U.C. is home for Georgetown and Xavier hosts Charlotte. Expect the Xavier game to be a sell out, 10, 250. So the real question is can U.C. draw more than that for their Big East showdown with the Hoyas? The Bearcats largest home crowd of the season was of course Xavier. Their second largest crowd was when they hosted UConn which was in the 9,000 range. U.C. is averaging a little over 6,000 a game so it would mean they would have to get 4, 000 over their average to draw more than Xavier will. The U.C. game is been aired on ESPN 360 which is some sort of internet channel which nobody in Cincinnati can get due to contractual disputes, that fact should help them because the only way to see this game will be to buy a ticket or go to Kentucky. Regardless, my money says they’ll get a similar draw as they did for UConn, around 9,000. Still that means around 20, 000 people will be attending college basketball games in this town Wednesday night which isn’t all bad considering if you listen to talk radio nobody around here is interested in college hoops anymore.
D.S. Ledgewood, telling it like it is...
Smokey Graham Entry #7-
Providence, Providence, Providence! Two losses to Providence marks the probable kiss of death for UC's tournament hopes. Not because it's Providence but emotion and confidence have to be fleeting after tonight's performance. This road stretch was an important piece of the puzzle for a fading tournament fantasy. As much as I hate to say it, UC is more than likely "done for the year when it comes to March Madness". I anticipate losses to all the usual suspects combined with more losses to a couple of unlikely's. Taking a deep breath while accepting this reality is not plesant nor what I wanted to be writing about at this point in the season. In every thing that happens there is something to be learned. So what is the lesson to be taken from this nightmare of a season? You can't take a win to the head and you can't take a loss to the heart! Selective memory would be the key. UC is going to have to play harder than they have ever played to redeem the first half of the season. UC needs moral victories to start building on a productive 09-10 season. Young and without a true leader the future seems so far. But let us not forget that young just means inexperience. These are young men who have more than enough capacity to learn what the winning mentality is all about. Talent is what this team has plenty of. We still have not seen Wright in action and Gates will not mature for atleast a couple of years. Hopefully Vaughn will give us another year which I suspect will happen and UC will have a togetherness that has been missing since the year of Kennedy. These kids will grow as will the program to be a competative force in the most challenging conference in basketball.
Is UC better off in the Big East or should they have stayed in CUSA? The football team says "Big East" and the basketball team agrees! With the loss of one of college basketball's all time coaches UC was bound to go through a slump. This team would have a better record in CUSA but would still be in the rebuilding phase. We are going to be looking up no matter what conference we are in. Hugs has already taken WestVa to the tournament and has more than moved on with his dream job. We miss him "yes" but we need him "I think not". It takes time. Give Mick time! Lets get some unexpected wins and finish the games that we are supposed to in this Big East conference. It takes time to become a power house in this conference. It takes recruiting and it will be a while before we get players that will stay and learn how to win against the best teams on aweek to week basis. Be patient, pay attention and know that the good times are on the way.
I am calling a win against Georgetown this season. I'll say no more! Except FUCK XAVIER! If you are an XU fan soak it up. UC will be back. Have fun while you can and enjoy the next game against St. Bonnies. Sounds like an exciting match up. Count on a drop in the RPI after your next win over this high school caliber Bonnies club. Withrow might have a chance against this team.
Smokey Graham with the good word.
Smokey Graham Entry #6
Coming off a four game losing streak UC has a must win game tonight against Rutgers. This game is at home. The first key to being a competitive basketball team is winning your home games. After tonight's home game UC is on the road for three games. DePaul, Providence and St. Johns are must wins if UC wants to stay mathmaticaly alive in the race four a big dance bid. Plus UC is going to have to beat a couple of teams that they are not supposed to beat. Last season UC smashed West Va, got a nice win against Louisville and managed to tackle Pitt. So its not impossible although defending the three point shot has been a problem thus far. Shooting percentage for UC has been low. And after UC's three game road trip the next six out of seven games are against top 25 teams. UC needs to get to 14-6 to gain momentum as they enter the toughest stretch of games they will play in the regular season. It's exciting, it's nerve racking, it's everything playing in the Big East is about. Every night is important and every night is a serious battle in two months of war. This is what we signed up for no looking back.
Meanwhile our crosstown rivals are busy with their sleepy conference schedule. I was at my local pub recently and a die hard XU fan was questioning the lack of a XU band wagon. XU plays Rhode Island on Thursday. I'm not sure if anyone knows but RI has only five losses at the hands of Duke, three Big East teams and a big twelve team. They will probably lose to XU on Thursday as well but overall RI has been competitive with some good teams this year. The problem for XU is that as well as RI has played this year, win or lose for XU, its just RI! It just doesn't sound exciting. XU is going to win its conference, as it should and walk into the dance rested and ready. Good for XU. Just don't expect Cincinnatians to be overwhelmed by the excitement of the A10 battlefield. Cause its boring! Just a little food for thought.
More of the good word brought to you by Smokey Graham.
D.S. Ledgewood Entry #5
Bigger isn’t always better. It’s tough to knock too many things Xavier is doing right now. Currently ranked #15 and #16 in the major polls, with a #7 R.P.I., the Muskies are in great position as conference play is starting to heat up. These days the only thing I still hear Xavier detractors continue to point out is that they play in the A-10, this God awful horrible excuse for a basketball league. I could go on the defensive and talk about how the A-10 isn’t as bad as it is perceived to be. That the teams in the league have a dominant winning record over teams from the Big East the past two years. How the A-10 this decade has produced 2 national players of the year a team who got a #1 seed in the big dance, and a team (Xavier) who has reached two elite 8’s. However, it is what it is. In most of their markets, the A-10 teams are the second fiddle team. Though the league is probably the best conference outside the B.C.S. six, because of the media bias it has to endure, it will always be difficult for the league to garner the recognition it deserves. All that being said, is it really a bad thing for Xavier to be in the A-10? I would say inevitably Xavier will eventually have to make the move to a premiere conference if it wants to continue to aspire to be a national title contending program. For right now though, the A-10 works just fine for Xavier. Is it better to be the flagship program in the A-10 or in the middle of the pack in the Big East, ACC, or SEC? Xavier entered league play with the #1 strength of schedule in the country. They now get to go through the A-10 schedule, which will be tough some nights but not every night. Likely Xavier will win the league with at least a 12-4 record and will be sitting pretty in March looking at a 3-5 seed in the big dance. When a team has to play in the Big East for example, every night is an exhausting battle. It takes a top 25 caliber team to go 9-7 or better in the Big East and to be able to do that two consecutive years can be a major challenge. Come March I believe a team that has had to go through that many consecutive tough games in January and February will find it a tough go to keep that energy level up when they get to the NCAA tournament. Ultimately in college basketball, programs are defined by what they are able to achieve in March. So while Xavier is fine tuning their team for a run in March against quality but inferior A-10 opponents in front of sell out crowds at the Cintas Center, teams of equal talent in the Big East will just be trying to survive by going .500 in league play in hopes of being on the good side of the NCAA bubble. As a Xavier fan following this scenario, I prefer my team’s chances to win some games in the tournament. Then there is a team like U.C. They aren’t even trying to survive; they are just trying to find a win anywhere they can get one in league play without getting blown out by 30 plus too many nights. Thoughts of a bid to the NCAA tournament are laughable and even a N.I.T. nod is a long shot. The good news for U.C. this year is all 16 teams make it to the Big East tournament. However the teams that finish in the bottom four will have to win 5 games in 5 days to win the tournament and get the automatic NCAA bid. Good luck with that. So go ahead Bearcat fans and enjoy your team being in the Big East, but remember bigger isn’t always better, and come March being at home watching the NCAA tournament on television is even worse.
D.S. Ledgewood, telling it like it is...
Smokey Graham Entry #5-
Fans , friends and UC students. Now is the most exciting part of the year! UC basketball gets into the primed stage that is the Big East. On Monday UC plays Memphis and then Marquette a week later. Both top 25 teams on the road poses a real challenge for the Bearcats. I hope that this young team learns to move without the ball to generate some offense. Without the three point shot UC stands to put up some awful offense against decent defensive teams. We are missing a true point guard. I said that "shit happens" about our boy Cashmere at the beginning of the season but man, its like we are "walking around with shit on our shoe". Always looking down. Come on Mick! Get these kids excited about a game. They need to run without the ball as well as with. The talent on this team is solid. We have three point shooters, slashers, a couple of big men, one with talent and a leader with Vaughn. Show me a well run offensive set and I'll show you a team that can win some games in the Big East. Next year recruit another point guard. Its called a back up.
This Marquette team is beatable. They have losses against Dayton and Tennessee. Both by ten plus points. Its on the road and this Golden Eagles team has put up 80+ eight times this year including two one hundred point games this season. Ranked #25 in the country this is a dangerous team. I'm only mentioning these stats to bring up the point and fact that Xavier will play no more ranked opponents the rest of the season. XU fans have to be excited about playing Fordham! Or how about La Salle. I'll make sure to TiVo that one. Three games until March will be televised on ESPN of our home town Muskies. It just seems like these XU fans are full of hot air after two straight losses to the best two teams that they will be playing all season. Yes, I know that you never want to turn down a game, on a neutral site, with another "high major program" but that game just didn't look like it was worth it. Duke was playing its backups with a quarter of the game to go to allow XU to shrink the lead to 18 points when Duke should of won by 35. Have you ever heard the term "high major program"? Cause I have not! I've heard the terms "major program" and "mid major program" . "high major program" sounds like something made up for solid smaller programs. I just made up a term "solid smaller programs".
The good word brought to you by Smokey Graham!
Smokey Graham Entry #4-
Wow! What a disappointing Crosstown Shootout for UC . I consider myself to be a pretty big fan of UC athletics and I'll be the first to say that this Crosstown Shootout was just awful. The first ten minutes really knocked the wind out of any sail of hope that we harbored for our Bearcats. Rule #1: when playing a top ten team intensity must be present for all forty minutes to stand a chance. We could blame it on the lack of fans, the disfunctional four years that the program has recently experienced or even the recent and exciting buzz of the Orange Bowl. I don't beleave in excuses. I saw a team that just didn't play hard enough. A team that didn't stay focused enough for forty minutes to give themselves a chance. You can't sugarcoat lack of desire. All said and done UC bounced back and put up a nice 19 point win against Chaleston Southern on Monday night. Alvin Mitchell looks impressive when he gets quality open three point looks. Yancy Gates had a real inside presence putting up 18 points. Both players should be back next year and still have a ton to learn about winning colllege basketball games.That is exactly what this year is about. There is enough young talent on this team to be competative. The energy that these players put forth wil directly affect the years to come. Deonta Vaughnwill have to step up and push this team through the upcoming battles as we get closer to the Big East schedule. XU was a nice measuring stick for this UC team. We fell short this time but there is alot of basketball left. Mississippi State walks into Cincinnati on Thursday at 6:30. This will be a test. We now know how hard we are going to have to play to stay in the game with stronger deeper teams. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season. Though disappointed about our loss to XU I'm still looking forwrd to hearing about XU's upcoming loss to Duke. Afterall I will never quit hating the broke back Muskee's. I mean what did you expect. I'm all Bearcat!
Smokey Graham with the good word!
D.S. Ledgewood Entry #4-
Cross-town shootout: Xavier 76 U.C. 66.
Last night at U.S. Bank arena, the crowd looked like a Cyclone game sized crowd for the U.C. game.
Tomorrow...
#6 Duke vs. #7 Xavier on CBS
D.S. Ledgewood, telling it like it is...
Smokey Graham Entry #3-
Friends and fans. I want to say how excited I am about Saturday night. Another game against our biggest rival. D.S. Ledgewood is correct. This will be the Bearcats' first game on national t.v.. I just hope that everyone understands that it has nothing to do with XU. This is a game that has been on national t.v. for more than a decade and will continue to captivate college basketball fans forever and more. This is about rivals . This is about pride. The importance of the game is the proximity and tradition. The first meeting was in 1927 and since they have played 74 times. As we all would have predicted UC owns this rivalry at 47-28. Another notable fact: Mick Cronin won his debut in the Shootout in 2006-07, becoming the first rookie head coach in the last seven to win the first time out. Since XU has been a so called " big time program" they have not been succsessful against our Bearcats. Fact says it will take XU at least 20 straight years to beat the number of spankins that they have taken to our beloved Bearcats. XU fans will watch and learn this Saturday at 8pm as we deface and punish our adolescent rivals from Norwood. In a standard blog I would have more to say but this week the Crosstown Shootout will speak for itself. UC 67 XU 61!
Smokey Graham with the good word!
D.S. Ledgewood Entry #3-
So here we are on the eve of another cross-town shootout. These days it is obviously a huge game for U.C. However, I’m not going to sit here and say this is not a big game for Xavier because their next game is against Duke or that U.C. is a drag on Xavier’s R.P.I. Nothing annoyed me more than to hear U.C. fans excuse their team from losing this game because they felt it was Xavier’s ‘Superbowl.’ Bottom line, this is a huge game for Xavier, just like it was a huge game for U.C. back in the day when the roles were reversed. Trust me also when I say that on the surface these two coaches may play the friendly role publicly but deep down they want to beat each other just as badly as Gillen and Huggins wanted to beat each other. After Xavier knocked off Ohio U. the other night, it was obvious to the media that covers the Muskies that there was a different tone in the media room. It also was reported that Xavier coaches were already going over U.C scouting reports which is not normal after a game. That’s because this is not a normal game and this is not just another rivalry. This is a city/sports rivalry at its finest. Yes, the villain that is Bob Huggins is gone but the fundamental differences between the two schools remain the same. U.C. is the big state school that now plays in the prominent Big East conference and by all rights should wear the crown as the premiere program in the city. However, there sits Xavier just 3.7 miles away, a tiny Jesuit school that plays in an average A-10 conference but is ranked in the Top 10 nationally, has been to two Elite 8’s in the last 5 years, and has been drawing more fans in a fantastic on-campus facility. In the New York metro area they are promoting Xavier’s game against Duke next Saturday at the Meadowlands as a game between two of college basketball’s ‘powers.’ Yes, Xavier is a power in today’s college basketball landscape. As much as it got under U.C fans’ skin when an upstart Xavier team would knock off a more highly touted Bearcat squad, this has to be much more annoying for them. Guess what U.C. fans, Xavier is no longer mid-major, they are high major. Xavier just signed a Nike deal equivalent to the ones given to North Carolina, Duke, and Kentucky. Even though the Muskies might have pulled off the upset in the shootout on one random night, come March, it was usually U.C. getting a higher seed and advancing further in the NCAA tournament. Now Xavier is the team that, win or lose tomorrow night, will still most likely be the team advancing further come March. I believe that so many times in this game that the team with more to prove or with more of a chip on their shoulder is more likely to prevail. Funny thing is, despite all the of Xavier’s accolades and the lack of attention U.C. basketball has been getting, thanks in part as well to their football program, I still think this year it is Xavier that has more to prove. The Muskies are a team searching to find an identity with several new players thrust into more prominent roles. Some call the 8-0 start a fluke. The way I see it is this is a team that accepts the fact it has been passed the baton and believes it is talented enough to go even further. The other thing is they seem to adapt well to their circumstances and find a way to win. B.J Raymond and C.J. Anderson may not have gotten as much credit as the seniors that played ahead of them last year, but they flat out know what it takes to finish off a victory. As pathetic as it is, U.C. was unable to sell out this great game in advance. This proves another argument for another day that many so called U.C. supporters in this town are fair weather. I mean U.C. only had an announced attendance of 6,500 for their game last Saturday against UAB. I heard if they even had an actual head count of 5,000, that would be optimistic. That said, though this means more blue will be prevalent in the stands than usual tomorrow night, this will still be the first true hostile environment this Xavier team has faced. I think the crowd enthusiasm and the Bearcats intense desire to win this game will keep it close, but in the end Xavier’s defensive pressure, size on the front line, and experience in big-time games will allow them to prevail. Prediction: Xavier 76-U.C. 67. Sorry Bearkitties, you’ll have to hope your upset of a top 10 team comes later this season against one of your big bad Big East foes. Oh, and win or lose tomorrow night, come March, you can still expect to be watching Xavier advancing in the Big Dance. If you’re lucky, U.C. will get to host a N.I.T. game against Miami (OH) in front of another ‘announced’ crowd of 6,500…
D.S. Ledgewood, telling it like it is...
Smokley Graham Entry #2-
Fellow friends and fans the excitement is about to begin as we are rolling into an exciting two weeks in UC's basketball schedule. UAB poses a nice challenge for our young stars and in a week and a half XU strolls in for the crosstown shootout. Cronin faces a Xavier team that beat them last year in a nail biter in the Cintas Center. As we all know this is a game that can go either way. Both teams seem to struggle when favored in this matchup. Yancy Gates and Mick Cronin both from Cincy know what this game means to the fans. It means that for the rest of the year no matter what happens after this game we can look down the bar at our fellow XU fans and say"piss off we own you this year". Bragging rights. Thats right! Bragging rights. The funny thing that I've noticed in this town is the the attitude of the XU fans. All of the sudden they think that they are on top. XU is a program that has a very short tradition. Pete, Skip, Thad and Sean are all guys that "know whats up". They all understand the stepping stone. Come to XU and move on to a greater program. The MIDMAJOR label that XU has carried for so long has really kept it down. True a couple of solid runs in the NCAA tournament have helped its image but let's be honest. In comparison to UC's history XU is still The A10's brightest. Which is saying exacyly that. The A10's best's. The A10 has never been anything but the 7th best conference in the country. This causes XU to try to schedule the best out of conference teams to up their schedule because they play 20 nobody's in their conference. Hoo Ray. We can win the A10 every year! That's about exciting as women's basketball! UC beat out teams like Memphis and Louisville on a regular basis in CUSA. Whats up? The best thing UC has done in the last three years has joined the BEAST. Big EAST! That's right the toughest conference in the country. XU= A10. UC=BIGEAST. Let's be serious! If you want to watch major basketball in this town watch UC. UC is in the proess of rebuilding. But UC plays the best teams in the country on the regular. That is just fact. XU will be beaten badly by DUKE this year. The only reason why they landed a neutral site game against DUKE this year is for charity. Yes! Duke felt humble enough to give to charity! Hope that XU can take it! Mean while UC will be busy playing teams like UCONN, PITT, ND, Memphis, Georgetown, Villanova, Louisville and WestVa. On a regular basis. Are you kidding me! You can watch XU for a couple of games or you can watch UC play the best teams in the country for 11 games. And catch a great program progress against the best teams in the country for a third of a season. It's a joke. Progression vs. small conference hope. I'll take progression every single time! It's exciting and it matters. XU is easy to bet against because they have never done it. Final four? NO! Elite Eight? A couple of times in the history of the program. UC has been ranked #1 for 45 weeks! That's 4th all time. Fourth to progams like Duke, UCLA and UK. When XU can boast anything close to that, I might take them a little seriously. A10 blows. UC on the come up!
Smokey Graham with the good word!
D.S. Ledgewood Entry #2-
I’ll be the first to admit that the national rankings are more about hype than substance. That being said, it’s still a very cool thing for Xavier to be ranked #14 in both the coaches poll and the media poll. Factor in their current and more substantive RPI ranking of 8, and it really couldn’t be a better start of the season for the 7-0 Muskies. There are great advantages for ranked teams. For example, every time Xavier plays, their highlights now pop-up on ESPN as well as other national television outlets, and there is a story about their game in every major newspaper/internet source in the country. This type of exposure is invaluable for the school and especially for recruiting. Xavier is landing better and better recruits every year. One of the reasons we know we are going to see Xavier highlights is because every single Xavier game is being televised this year, including a national CBS audience for their match up with Duke from the Meadowlands on December 20th. Unfortunately for U.C., they are neither ranked nor televised as often as Xavier. If they were, we all would have witnessed their 47 point outburst during a tough 58-47 loss in Las Vegas last week against a stellar Florida St. squad that just got drubbed by 14 at the hands of another basketball power, Northwestern. [Yes, you smell the sarcasm!] Hopefully for the Bearcats, whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas! In fact, the last 4 U.C. games have not been televised, and the only screen you could have watched their games on might have been the Jumbotron at the arena where their game was being held. I bet many Bearcat fans' first real look at this year’s team will be during the Cross-town Shootout, which of course is still being nationally televised thanks to Xavier. They’ll be saying, “I heard of that Gates kid. Oh, so that’s what he looks like.” By the way, Yancey Gates wears #34 in case you Bearcat fans want to be sure it’s him. Actually, there is a silver lining for U.C. because ranked teams get their highlights played on national sports shows like Sports Center. As of today, 8 teams from their Big East conference are currently ranked in the top 25. Of those 8 teams, the Bearcats will play a few of them twice. Add in the fact that they are playing ranked Xavier, and that means about a dozen U.C. games will get national highlights this year. However, I predict most of those highlights will be their ranked opponent throwing one down on them or dropping a 3 on their heads. Come to think of it, now I get why U.C. didn’t work out a better deal to have all their games televised… Hey Smokey, this Blount's for you!
D.S. Ledgewood, telling it like it is...
Smokey Graham Entry #1-
There was a time when the excitement over Cincinnati basketball was one of the only sporting seasons we had to look forward to as Cincinnatians. I remember when the Reds couldn't pitch their way out of a brown paper bag, the Muskies struggled to get a couple of wins in the Big Dance and the Bengals well, need I say more? But the Bearcats were a big deal. Bob Huggins was the coach in this town. The Bearcats were a lock to win the GMC or the CUSA. Every one knew it and it was expected. Now the Bearcats' football program is better than ever, locking down a BCS birth and who has come around the corner looking bigger and badder than ever? It's our crosstown rivals located over in Norwood. Watch out for the Blue Blob or should I say the "Blue Mob" getting stronger and stronger every chance they get. Is this town too small for two major college basketball programs? I don't think so! Let's not forget the forgotten. UC basketball is on the rise my friends. I mean after all the last 2 years have been so bad for us Bearcats that the only place we have to look is up. Up is where we are headed. Lead by two hometown heros in Mick Cronin and Yancy Gates. Gates is a beast! Athletic and strong a shoe in for the role of "Muskie killer" and then there's Cronin. Cronin has just been a winner every where that he has landed. Yeah, I know that we are really missing Cashmere but lets face it "shit happens". Deonta Vaughn will be there just as he has to pick up the pieces. I'm looking forward to a team that has a new leader, a new spirit and two seven footers to get us back to the "Show". So if you're not on board yet now is the the time to grab a ticket. Mark my words! UC will make the tournament this year! UC will be competitive in the Big East this year! And most of all UC will beat Xavier this year! I am all in. My only question to all you so called Beacat fans. Are you behind Mick?
The good word brought to you by Smokey Graham.
D.S. Ledgewood Entry #1- One of the realities of being a Xavier fan in Cincinnati is no matter how much national acclaim is heaped on the Muskies; there has always been the big dark shadow across town that is the U.C. Bearcats! I get it, they have the cities name on their chest, they have a good tradition, and they have more current students than Xavier has living alumni. Xavier fans are second fiddle in the local media and on local talk radio. That’s what makes their success so remarkable. Every time I walk into Cintas Center I still am in awe. I am in awe that Xavier has one of the best facilities in college basketball, a fan base that has averaged over 10,000 fans per game since the opening of the Cintas Center, and a program that keeps getting better in one way or another every year. I remember talking with one of the most remarkable people I have ever met, the late Xavier President Father Hoff in New York City at an alumni reception preceding Xavier’s NIT final four appearance. At the time we were discussing the rumors that another equally remarkable man, the late Skip Prosser, was being rumored to leave for another job. I looked up at Father Hoff and told him that Xavier is building a basketball program that has to be bigger than any one individual. He looked back at me and said, “I couldn’t agree with you more.” When you look at what Xavier has done in the last 25 years, is there any doubt that is exactly what Xavier has done? The best part is, as great as the past has been; the future continues to look even brighter. This is because Xavier has and continues to build a program that doesn’t rely on one coach or one player or one alumni but the culmination of multiple individuals. Whether you are a former player, student, or just a fan that buys a six-pack every year and sits in the upper sections, you are part of the family. A family that doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone anymore because the shadow that once still got under our skin from across town no longer has that one individual U.C. so relied on for success, Bob Huggins. Guess what Bear kitties? You need Xavier right now. That’s right; you need to copy the Xavier model for success to help resurrect your basketball program. You need to beat Xavier in the cross-town shootout because it is the only quality non-conference opponent you have coming to Clifton. North Dakota, Charleston Southern, Arkansas-Pine Bluff? If U.C. is charging for those games they should be embarrassed, though not as embarrassed as they should be for that sorry excuse for a basketball arena they play in. You need Xavier to help fuel a fire back into your fan base to help get those blue hairs out of the their seats. So let the fun begin Smokey, let the niceties be gone, this is a rivalry, let’s act like one!
D.S. Ledgewood telling it like it is...