Sunday, November 21, 2010

DISREGARD: We're Moving (IMPORTANT)

We are now back. Ignore this post.

__________

 

In order to gain additional exposure, I have decided to move this blog to BleacherReport.com. You can view me at http://bleacherreport.com/users/414163-gregory-koch. This blog will remain open for the purpose of viewing old posts.

Keep in mind that the BR Profile will contain posts about other sports as well, although I expect to have lots of commentary about UConn. Go Huskies!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Notes


  • It has been brought to my attention that I have not posted a review for the Women's game vs. Baylor. I am currently about to finish packing, before going to bed and heading home tomorrow morning for Thanksgiving. I should post at some time while I am there.

  • Also, apparently SUBOG is not selling bus tickets for the football game vs. Cincinnati. Therefore, I will not be attending. I have been unable to sell my ticket, and am quite desperate at this point. If anyone is still on campus and is reading this blog, I will give you the ticket for FREE. Email me at gregory.koch@uconn.edu ASAP and we will arrange to meet tomorrow morning. I also recommend texting me. I am not giving out my phone on this blog, but send a text (from your phone, or if that doesn't work, use vtext.com) to gregorycellphone@gmail.com (which should then forward it to my cell phone). (I am leaving at around 11 or whenever my dad gets here. I would like to conduct the exchange at 10 AM at the latest, because I'm not waiting for you if my dad arrives to pick me up.)  I'll probably be asleep unless you do this within the next half hour (dead campus = no incentive to stay up late) so I'll get back to you in the morning. Specify a time you want to meet me (my alarm is set for 8 AM so don't expect me to get your message before then). Unless you specify otherwise, meet me in front of Whitney Hall (East Campus). I am not going to go very far, but I do plan on heading to Starbucks for breakfast (much closer than Putnam + better food = fine by me), so keep that in mind. I would be willing to meet you there.

  • That is all. This will probably be my final post before Thanksgiving (except for the Baylor review and possibly a report on the football game vs. Syracuse) so Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Updated Schedule for Next two Weeks

Now that it seems more likely for us to have a playoff soccer game on this Thursday, here is the updated schedule for the next two weeks, with the post reinserted and modified. Note that I will unable attend Vermont BB game due to class.


With Thanksgiving the week after next, here is the next two weeks of schedule for games I will be at, through Sunday November 28th, beginning Monday, November 15th (games this weekend are already noted.

Key:

(Y)= Definitely Attending

(P) = Probably Attending

(M) = Might Attend

(D) = Doubtful to Attend

Tuesday, November 16:

Women’s Basketball vs. Baylor 6:00 PM (Y)

Thursday, November 18th:

Men's Soccer NCAA Tournament vs. TBD, TBD (P)

Note: If this game is on Thursday, and it is at 7:30 (or similar time) I will attend.

Saturday, November 20th – Thursday, November 25th:

Thanksgiving Break, Will Be Off Campus

Friday, November 26th:

Women’s Basketball vs. Howard ~7:30 PM (Y)

Note: This game begins 30 minutes after Lehigh/LSU, which starts at 4. I will likely be returning to campus around 2:00 PM, so I should be at Lehigh/LSU around tipoff, but only the UConn game will be included in the ratings. Ditto for the next two nights.

Saturday, November 27th, 2010:

Football vs. Cincinnati, TBD (Y)

Women’s Basketball vs. Lehigh, ~7:30 PM (P)

Note: Will attend if no conflict with football

Sunday, November 28th:

Women’s Basketball, ~4:30 PM vs. LSU

November 14th, 2010: Women's Basketball vs. Holy Cross

What: Women's Basketball vs. Holy Cross

When: Sunday, November 14th, 2010, 2:00 PM

Result: Win 117-37

Summary: Wow, my first Regular Season UConn Women's Basketball Game, and we win by 80. Only bad part is we will probably never have such a blowout again during my tenure here. But it was amazing. Tiffany Hayes got 30 points in the first half, which was as many as Holy Cross did. And HC only got 7 in the second half (Tiffany got 2, before we took her out). But it was fantastic. And they had the first student prize giveaway of the season, even though I didn't win. Just as well. I don't want Usher Jingle Jam tickets anyway. I'd rather have PC Richard Gift Card.

Ratings:

Environment:

Fan Friendliness: No issues to report here. Fans were very good, very respectful, overall a good atmosphere. Rating: 10/10

Fan Enthusiasm: Pretty enthusiastic, though many left when we got up by 50+ points. But still a good job cheering even when it was over. Rating: 14/15

Event Atmosphere: Good atmosphere. Prize giveaway at the end, Dance Cam (I got on) and much more. Pretty fun. Rating: 13/15

Atmosphere Total: 37/40

On-field:

Quality of Play: Holy Cross looked terrible out there. We looked dominant. But it's ok. This is an interesting one to rate because we dominated so much. Rating: 11/20

Excitement: Not much. It was over before halftime. Heck, it was over before tipoff. Nevertheless, we wanted to see how much we could win by. Rating: 3/10

Quality of UConn Play: Utter Domination. Need I say more? Rating: 10/10

Result: Win 10/10

On-field total: 34/40

Other:

Clarity of Fan Communication: No issues: Rating 5/5

Magnitude of Event: Opening day, but it's just another game. Baylor on Tuesday will be huge, but this one really is a game we knew we'd win and we did. Rating: 8/15

Size of Crowd: Half full or so. I expected better, for such a good team. Rating: 8/15

Other total: 21/35

Overall total: 92/125



Friday, November 12, 2010

Schedule through November 28th (includes Thanksgiving Break)

With Thanksgiving the week after next, here is the next two weeks of schedule for games I will be at, through Sunday November 28th, beginning Monday, November 15th (games this weekend are already noted.

Key:

(Y)= Definitely Attending

(P) = Probably Attending

(M) = Might Attend

(D) = Doubtful to Attend

Tuesday, November 16:

Women's Basketball vs. Baylor 6:00 PM (Y)

Saturday, November 20th - Thursday, November 25th:

Thanksgiving Break, Will Be Off Campus

Friday, November 26th:

Women's Basketball vs. Howard ~7:30 PM (Y)

Note: This game begins 30 minutes after Lehigh/LSU, which starts at 4. I will likely be returning to campus around 2:00 PM, so I should be at Lehigh/LSU around tipoff, but only the UConn game will be included in the ratings. Ditto for the next two nights.

Saturday, November 27th, 2010:

Football vs. Cincinnati, TBD (Y)

Women's Basketball vs. Lehigh, ~7:30 PM (P)

Note: Will attend if no conflict with football

Sunday, November 28th:

Women's Basketball, ~4:30 PM vs. LSU

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

November 7, 2010: Field Hockey BE Tournament vs. Syracuse

What: Field Hockey Big East Tournament Final vs. Syracuse

When: Sunday, November 7, 2010, 1:00 PM

Result: Loss 1-0

Summary: Sorry for being so late in posting this. I've been busy. Anyway, final of the Big East Tournament, probable #1 seed in NCAA Tournament on the line. And while we lost 1-0, it was still fun. The refs were awful though. That really didn't matter much, nor put a damper on the game. But now we probably won't get a #1 seed (Selection Show is tonight.) Oh well. So this will have been my last Field Hockey game of the season. Oh well. It's been nice. And there's next year. Now for the ratings, and remember these will not be included in the composite.

Atmosphere:

Fan Friendliness: Pretty good crowd. Nothing out of the ordinary except a few criticisms of the refs, which were entirely justifiable quite frankly. Not much of an issue. Rating: 9/10

Fan Enthusiasm: A good crowd, really getting into it here. It was fun and there was cheers. Rating: 12/15

Event Atmosphere: It had the flair of a conference championship, which really meant a lot. It was pretty nice, but not overly impressive. Rating: 11/15

Atmosphere total: 32/40

On-field:

Quality of Play: Both teams played very well. High marks here. Rating: 18/20

Excitement: 1 goal game down to the very end. We had a lot of chances to equalize but couldn't capitalize. Rating: 9/10

Quality of UConn Play: We played well, but not well enough to win. Good job by Sarah Mansfield in goal, allowing just the one score. Rating: 8/10

Result: Loss 0/10

Overall on-field: 35/50

Other:

Clarity of Fan Communication: No issues. Rating: 5/5

Magnitude of Event: Conference Championship, #1 seed and home field for two rounds in NCAA on the line. I'd say that's pretty big. Rating: 14/15

Size of Crowd: About 3/4 full, though some were Syracuse fans. Rating: 11/15

Overall other: 30/35

Overall total composite: 97/125

Sunday, November 7, 2010

November 6th, 2010: Men's Ice Hockey vs. Canisius

What: Men's Ice Hockey vs, Canisius

When: Saturday, November 6th, 2010, 7:05 PM

What: Men's Ice Hockey vs. Canisius

Result: Tie 1-1

 

Summary: Got to Frietas around 6:30. I knew the student fan group Blue Liners was meeting Friday, but I wasn't there because of soccer, and was unaware that they were meeting Saturday as well. But I got there, got my ticket, and went into the Arena. It was smaller than I expected. But anyway, game ended in an OT tie, and things got a big chippy towards the end, with several penalties for fighting or cheap shots. I thought college wasn't like that. Well maybe normally it isn't. Anyway, my first hockey game attended of any kind (I watched Olympics and a little bit of NHL on TV) and it was impressive. Well played, close to the action, nice.

Ratings:

Atmosphere:

Fan Friendliness: Really no problems to report here. Not much beyond "Suck". There was a few humorous remarks about the ref, but other than that nothing. Rating: 9.5/10

Fan Enthusiasm: Somewhat enthusiastic. Student section was a little enthusiastic, though not really. Rest of the crowd was basically almost silent. Not too good. Rating: 7/15

Event Atmosphere: Jonathan the Husky (costumed, not live) was there in a hockey uniform, and as usual there was the Goal of the Game and also Chuck the Puck (where you have to get your puck closest to the target). I won neither. Oh well. Maybe next time. Women's Ice Hockey may give me a better chance since there's less people. We will see. Anyway, somewhat good. Rating: 8/15

Overall Atmosphere: 24.5/40

On-field:

Quality of Play: Pretty good from both teams, aside from the near-fights and the somewhat small actual fight. Good action. Rating: 17/20

Excitement: Pretty good. Canisius got a goal in the second period, we equalized in the third, and OT. Unfortunately, NCAA doesn't do 4-on-4 OT. That's a shame. 4-on-4 is pretty exciting. Nonetheless, it was pretty exciting. Rating: 9/10

Quality of UConn Play: Pretty good, not excellent, but still pretty good. Rating: 8/10

Result: Draw 5/10

On-field total: 39/50

Other:

Clarity of Fan Communication: No issues at all. Rating: 5/5

Magnitude of Event: Just another home regular season game. Nothing special. Rating: 7/15

Size of Crowd: I'd say the place was about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Rating: 11/15

Other total: 23/35

Overall: 86.5/125

Atmosphere Total: 38/40

November 6th, 2010: Field Hockey vs. Louisville (BE Semifinal)

What: Big East Field Hockey Semifinal vs. Louisville

When: November 6th, 2010 1:30 PM

Result: Win 2-1

Summary: Second game of a Big East Tournament Doubleheader. I was at part of the opener, #4 Rutgers vs. #1 Syracuse, which the Orange won in a blowout. This will not be reviewed. For this contest, although it was played on campus, the Huskies were the "away" team, and hence were announced first, wore their blue uniforms, etc. This is because they had a lower seed. Anyway, it was a packed house, about as packed as I've ever seen it, including a large Louisville contingent. Admission was free for me as a student, but others had to pay (unlike normal Field Hockey matches). And Louisville's best player, who won BE Offensive Player of the Year, was ejected towards the end of the first half, her team already down 2-0. Nicole Youman will be suspended for the first game of the NCAA Tournament should her team qualify, but if not, as a Senior, there's really nothing else to suspend her for. I don't know how that would work exactly. I remember when Zinedine Zidane was suspended 3 games for his headbutt in the 2006 World Cup, but had planned on retiring immediately after and as such couldn't serve it, he did three days of community service through FIFA's program instead. Perhaps NCAA has a similar route? I don't know. Anyway, just as a reminder, this game, and today's final vs. Syracuse, will be reviewed but will not be included in the ratings as it is not a "home" game or a "Campus sites" postseason game.

Ratings:

Atmosphere:

Fan Friendliness: A pretty friendly crowd all around. Some heckling of calls, but not much. Rating: 9/10

Fan Enthusiasm: Very boisterous crowd. They were getting into it on both sides. Excellent. Rating: 13/15

Event Atmosphere: Tournament atmosphere, great job all around. Didn't have the "fun" that regular UConn matches do (Goal of the Game, etc.) but since UConn Athletics wasn't running it that shouldn't be surprising. Rating: 12/15

Total atmosphere: 34/40

On-field:

Quality of Play: Great job from both sides. Really good play, except for the Youman red for stick to the head. But Louisville managed to play decently with a man down (woman? is it sexist to say "man down"? Or would "woman down" be more sexist? I'm going with man down since that seems to be what everyone uses. You don't say Maya Moore was playing "good woman-to-woman defense" so that's what I'm going with.) Rating: 16/20

Excitement: Very exciting. One goal game for most of the second half, with a berth in the Big East Finals on the line. The winner of the Final has a good chance of getting a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and hosting the first two rounds. UConn or Syracuse definitely will with a win, and Louisville, by virtue of wins over the #6 and #4 teams in the country on consecutive days, might have an outside chance if they had won. Rating: 9/10

Quality of UConn Play: Very well played all around. Excellent job by the Huskies. Rating: 9/10

Result: Win 10/10

Overall on-field: 46/50

Other:


Clarity of Fan Communication: No issues, all announcements made obvious. Rating: 5/5

Magnitude of Event: Big East Semifinal, as I said berth in the final on the line for a chance at maybe getting a #1 seed. And Louisville with the loss is a probable "bubble" team in the Field of 16, though UConn should certainly get in no matter what happens. It just will change whether they get a #1 or #2. Rating: 13/15

Size of Crowd: Near full house. Rating: 14/15

Friday, November 5, 2010

Schedule for Week Ending 11/14

This is a relatively uneventful week. I'm missing the Pitt game because of an Econ exam. So not much. Possibly one or two NCAA Field Hockey Games. I'll know for sure come Tuesday.

Key:

Y- Definitely Attending

P- Probably Attending

M- Might attend

D- Doubtful to attend

Friday, November 12th:

7:00 PM: Men's Basketball vs. Stony Brook (Y)

Saturday, November 13th:

TBD: Women's Field Hockey vs. TBD (M)

Note: If we have a home game for this, I will be attending. I don't know for sure if this will happen yet. We will see.

Sunday, November 14th:

2:00 PM: Women's Basketball vs. Holy Cross (Y)

TBD: Women's Field Hockey vs. TBD (D)

Note: In all likelihood if this game is home, it will be at Noon or 1 PM, in which case I will not attend due to Women's Basketball. If it is at 11, I may but leave early. If it is a night game, I definitely will.

November 5th, 2010: Men's Soccer vs. Depaul

What: Men's Soccer Big East Tournament vs. DePaul

When: November 5th, 2010, 7:30 PM

Summary: Well, the game was delayed until Friday, after it was scheduled to start on Thursday, a day after the other Big East first round games. But that didn't matter. It got off, and went well. We won 2-0. And I was cheering incredibly enthusiastically. So now I have no voice almost. Oh well. And a bunch of people thought I was drunk. I have not drank any alcohol in my entire life. Just putting that out there. And I have a feeling I am going to end up on Youtube now. We will see. If so, I'll be sure to post the footage, however hilarious/embarrassing it may be. And one guy (who looked about 45, and I believe was the father of one of the high schoolers who were basically cheering me for cheering) first pointed to a cup of hot chocolate that had been stuck in the fence, and said "did you drink from that?". I told him no. He told me "What did you drink?" I told him the only think I drank was a bottle of water. He said "Well whatever that is, I want some." It was water, not alcohol. Why must everyone assume I am drunk just because I am cheering incredibly rowdily and enthusiastically? Anyway, just some of the quotes I threw out there were referring to the chubby DePaul goalkeeper as "a Teletubby", "A pumpkin Teletubby", and "Tinky Winky's Husband". (It is a well-known fact that the purple Tellitubby is gay, see this article from BBC) I also hollered random names of foods, like "Look, cake. Go eat it!" and screamed "GO UCONN!" repeatedly. And there was that routine where I said "Hey Goalie, I have to take a Mamadou", then proceeded to pantomine going to the bathroom, before mock wiping my (clothed) buttocks with a glove as if it were toilet paper and pretending to throw it on the field. Never before has "Mamadou" been used as a euphemism for a bowel movement. Boy, it was fun. But I have no voice. It was worth it all though. Completely and absolutely. GO HUSKIES! Now for the ratings. (And these will count because although it was a conference tournament, it was designated as a "campus sites" game rather than us hosting the entire tournament.)

Atmosphere:

Fan Friendliness: Great crowd, although at times the people around me were more focused on me than on the field. But how could they not be (I don't mean to brag)? Still pretty cool. Rating: 9/10

Fan Enthusiasm: Quite frankly, if I were the only fan there I'd have probably earned at least 8 points here. And the rest of the crowd was great too. Excellent job. Loud, rowdy, amazing. Rating: 15/15

Event Atmosphere: Crazy. Just crazy. Would have been more crazy if many students hadn't gone home for the weekend as they had planned months ago (weekend after Halloween, of course they will.) Still pretty good. Oh, and it's the conference tournament. Need I say more? Rating: 14/15

Atmosphere Total: 38/40

On-field:

Quality of Play: Great job. Both teams played well (except for DePaul's Own Goal. Wonder what would have happened if this was a regular season game with the Goal of the Game contest. Would they have had to specify the DePaul player or would "Own Goal" suffice? And who would pick "Own Goal" anyway?) Rating: 18/20

Excitement: Very exciting. Conference tournament and cool. Rating: 10/10

Quality of UConn Play: We played very well. Not many mistakes at all. Rating: 10/10

Result: Win 10/10

Overall on-field: 48/50

Other:

Clarity of Fan Communication: Great. No issues. Rating: 5/5

Magnitude of Event: Playoff conference game. Big one on the line. Oh boy. Rating: 14/15

Size of Crowd: Near sell-out. Good job UConn Country. Rating: 14/15

Other total: 33/35

Overall total: 119/125

November 4th, 2010: Women's Basketball vs. Franklin Pierce

What: Women's Basketball Exhibition vs. Franklin Pierce

When: Thursday, November 4th 2010, 7:30 PM

Result: Win 112-41

Summary: Exhibition game and a blowout. Just a large win. Hopefully we can play like this when it matters. But we've got games that are a lot tougher than this one so we shall see. For now though, emotions are high but it doesn't count in the end, and you've got to remember that.

Ratings:


Environment:

Fan Friendliness: No issues here. A good crowd, clean crowd, fun crowd. Rating: 9.5/10

Fan Enthusiasm: Some fans weren't cheering for an exhibition, but oh well. Still impressive. Rating: 10/15

Event Atmosphere: Geno Auriema came out at the end and spoke to us about how great a season it's going to be and prizes/giveaways that they'll have at the end of each game. Looking forward to it. For now, should still be fun. Rating: 11/15

Total Environment: 30.5/40

On-field:

Quality of Play: Quite Frankly, Franklin Pierce was terrible. We were pretty good but they were horrible. Not very good. Rating: 11/20

Excitement: Blowout. The only excitement was how many points could we score. Rating: 3/10

Quality of UConn Play: Got to give full credit here. We dominated. Rating: 10/10

Result: win 10/10

Overall On-field: 34/50

Other:

Clarity of fan communication: Good job, no issues. Rating: 5/5

Magnitude of Event: Exhibition, not too fun. Rating: 2/15

Size of Crowd: Somewhat packed, but not really. Only half full or so. Rating: 8/15

Overall other: 15/35

Total Score: 79.5/125

Update on Soccer Game

I have received word that the Men's Soccer game will be at Morrone at 7:30 PM. So, I will be attending that, and will not be at the hockey game. Tomorrow and Sunday's schedule remains unchanged. A review and rating for last night's women's basketball game is coming shortly.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Blog Update: Men's Soccer Postponed, Where We Go From Here

I just got word that tonight's Men's Soccer game has been postponed. According to a source in Goal Patrol, the game will be made up at 7:30 tomorrow evening. We don't know where yet though. An announcement will be made by 11 AM tomorrow, and if the field is playable the game will be at Morrone, and if not, it will be in Bridgeport. I will not be making the trip to Bridgeport, but if it's at Morrone, I'm going. Here's what happens as a result:

  • I will be in attendance at the Women's Basketball game tonight vs. Franklin Pierce. As this is an exhibition game, it will be reviewed and rated but not counted in the overall ratings.

  • If Morrone is playable and the game is there tomorrow night, I will be attending that in place of the Men's Ice Hockey Game vs. Canisius. Saturday events (Field Hockey and Ice Hockey) remain as normal.

  • If the game is moved to Bridgeport, I will not be attending the soccer game and will attend Ice Hockey as originally planned.


As always, I will keep you posted and look for another announcement in the late morning tomorrow, as well as a review of the Women's BB game.