Thursday, November 17, 2005

Back safe and sound...

...In Evanston, where it is just as cold as Laramie.

Thanks to all who made the Wyoming trip possible--it was a great weekend for WNUR Sports, a good weekend for the basketball team, and a lousy weekend for the football team.

Go 'Cats -- Beat the Illini!

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Championship (of sorts) tonight!

So the 'Cats have a chance to start 3-0 with a win tonight over UNC Wilmington. Incredible.

Catch all the action here on WNUR 89.3 FM tonight at 9pm central.

Go 'Cats!

Who Knew???

I'll be honest, after squeaking by LEHIGH by only 2 points, Guy and I were less than thrilled about playing an NCAA team from last year that outrebounded their opponent last night by 27 and had 40 points in the paint. But thankfully, the Charlotte 49ers chose to shoot 31 percent from the field and the Wildcats took advantage with a big time 61-47 win.

It's amazing how the number "61" can be totally redefined after just 24 hours. One night, you embarass your conference against a Patriot League opponent. The next, you embarass the Atlantic 10 by beating one of their best teams. Regardless of the opponents or the final scores, two wins for this Northwestern team is a huge boost especially after you consider the Wildcats 1-2 start last year in Alaska (including a loss to New Mexico State, who finished 5-23).

After the game, Assistant coach Paul Lee chatted with us and he was beaming to say the least. In short, Lee's theme for the game was "that's what happens when you execute your gameplan." I'm no Bill Raftery, but taking and making high percentage shots, playing tough interior defense and boxing out on rebounds seems to be a pretty solid gameplan.

For our postgame meal, Guy and I ventured to the local Applebee's, where we met up with some Northwestern fans who traveled to the game from the Midwest as well as Coach and Mrs. Carmody and some Carmody relatives. Needless to say, once Coach thought we were loud and obnoxious Laramie locals, he discontinued his interest in us. But the two highlights of the meal were...

A. Guy smashing his head on a hanging light fixture while exiting the table. It was amazing how I did not lose my 9 oz. sirloin on the spot. I believe liberals everywhere laughed a little inside.

B. While Guy and I were exchanging comments about the broadcast, a quick moving Coach Carmody caught our eye. Upon turning our heads and listening to his conversation, he was quickly slapping his hands together and softly muttered a word that rhymes with "pit." Needless to say, we enjoyed a hearty laugh.

Now, we move on to face the University of North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks, who outlasted host Wyoming in overtime. Join 89.3FM WNUR, sports.wnur.org, and NUsports.com as NU looks to start 3-0 in could be a memorable season. We hope all of our listeners have enjoyed our wall to wall coverage of Northwestern sports starting football in Columbus, OH, the SportsVoice in Evanston, and Men's basketball in Laramie, WY. That's it and that's all.

Monday, November 14, 2005

Carmody Quote of the Day...

During the post-game press conference, Coach was understandably critical of his team's performance for much of the game. After several less-than-glowing answers to reporters' questions, one reporter remarked, "Wow, coach....they might have to kick you out of the optimist's club!"

Carmody, without missing a beat, responded: "Oh, believe me, I was NEVER in that club."

The Laramie press corps was eating it up.

A Win is a Win...

It sure wasn't pretty, but it was a win. The Wildcats' 61-59 victory was bittersweet because they won a game that *shouldn't * have been close according to most Cats fans. But these are the 'Cats, after all, and it came down to the wire. A typically slow start resulted in a double-digit deficit in the first half, leading to heartburn for NU fans everywhere. Then at halftime coach Carmody must have had some choice words in the locker room because his team looked like a different squad in the second stanza. They scored 40 second-half points, led by (who else?) Vedran Vukusic, who poured in 25. The breaks and bounces went the Wildcats' way in the crucial final minute, and they were able to survive game one.

1-0. It's a heck of a lot better than 0-1, but this this team will need to play much much much better to beat Charlotte. Tomorrow's game will be a good test for NU.

We'll have the call on WNUR, of course!

Tune in at 6:30 CST for our pregame show--and the tip is slated for 7pm. Ray Garcia will cut his teeth in men's bball play by play, and I'll be on color. It should be a good time, so please join us tomorrow.

Kudos, by the way, to the Wildcat fans in attendance. They were pretty loud, and did a great job at recruiting some Wyoming fans to join our ranks in what they termed the "adopt-a-cat" program. They got a few 'Go U-NU!" chants going, and never lost the faith even when the team was really struggling.

Sunday, November 13, 2005

An Hour and a half until 2005-2006 season

Guy and I are courtside for the UNC-Charlotte vs. Coppin State quarterfinal showdown. The winner of this thriller will square off with the winner of the Northwestern vs. Lehigh winner. And if Northwestern is not in the semifinals of this tournament, then tomorrow's broadcast will be memorable. 8:46

A few notes for today's game:
- the expected starting lineup for the game is Thompson, Vukusic, Doyle, Hachad, and Jenkins
- expect the first guys off the bench to be Williams, Cote, Scott, and Seacat.
- this is the just the second meeting ever between Northwestern and Lehigh. Northwestern won the earlier meeting.
- After the game is over tonight, stay tuned to our postgame show as Northwestern Assistant Head Coach Paul Lee will join us to discuss the game.

Remember to listen to the SportsVoice at 8pm cst on WNUR 89.3 FM and at sports.wnur.org. The Voice will conclude at 8:45pm and our pre-game show will begin sharply at 8:46pm. Like the Voice, the game will be on our WNUR airwaves and on our website. Enjoy the broadcast and let's get to 1-0.

TONIGHT

Game One of the 2005-2006 basketball season is TONIGHT at 9pm CST--only on WNUR.

NU vs. Lehigh - Join us for the call immediately following the Sportsvoice on 89.3 FM or on www.wnur.org

Go 'Cats!