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Post by hcpride on Apr 5, 2024 6:27:04 GMT -5
I am elated that graduating from Holy Cross was a priority for Matt Sluka. I am so happy for him. Now he can join Crossports and tell me that I am an idiot for writing the stuff I write. Of the big three, Sluka, Coker & Hansen. Will all graduate with a highly sought Holy Cross degree? CJ has already graduated. Coker and Sluka graduate in May. All players playing their 5th years somewhere else (Newman - Michigan State, Schon - Duke, Spence - JMU) will also graduate in May before reporting to their new destinations in June. Purdy and McMurtrie (both JMU) played their max years at HC and like CJ graduated in December. Listening to my favorite Notre Dame podcast , I learned that Notre Dame has a couple of graduate transfers in the Sluka/Coker category (finishing undergrad degree at another school this semester). BUT they are on the Notre Dame campus observing spring practice (not permitted to participate in team practices and workout) while doing the remote option with their undergraduate schools. Of course they can work out on their own, bond informally with future teammates, and chat with football coaches at Notre Dame all semester.
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Post by hcpride on Apr 4, 2024 9:47:18 GMT -5
Iowa-LSU sets women's NCAA hoops ratings record with 12.3M viewers
Caitlin Clark can claim another record -- the most watched women's college basketball game in history.
Iowa's 94-87 victory over LSU in the Elite Eight of the women's NCAA tournament Monday night averaged 12.3 million viewers on ESPN, according to Nielsen.
The viewership surpassed the 11.84 million who watched the 1983 NCAA championship game between Southern California and Louisiana Tech.
Iowa-LSU outdrew all but one of the five games in last year's NBA Finals, along with the clinching game of last year's World Series (11.48 million).
Last year's LSU-Iowa national championship game on ABC drew 9.9 million viewers. Monday's LSU-Iowa rematch, on cable, crushed that number.
It was also the most watched men's or women's college basketball game ever on ESPN, more than doubling the prior largest audience.
www.espn.com.au/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39862514/iowa-lsu-rematch-shatters-tv-ratings-record-123m-viewers More than any MLB game last year, more than any NBA game last year except the clinching game in The Finals, more than any regular season college football game last year except OSU-Michigan, more than any Thursday night NFL game last year. And, not on free TV......Stunning While Friday night 9:30 on ESPN may not be absolutely optimal in terms of viewership, the UConn - Iowa game should also get big ratings. (Whether Geno is going to flub a defensive plan for Caitlin Clark is another matter).
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Post by hcpride on Apr 3, 2024 3:50:32 GMT -5
Iowa-LSU sets women's NCAA hoops ratings record with 12.3M viewers
Caitlin Clark can claim another record -- the most watched women's college basketball game in history.
Iowa's 94-87 victory over LSU in the Elite Eight of the women's NCAA tournament Monday night averaged 12.3 million viewers on ESPN, according to Nielsen.
The viewership surpassed the 11.84 million who watched the 1983 NCAA championship game between Southern California and Louisiana Tech.
Iowa-LSU outdrew all but one of the five games in last year's NBA Finals, along with the clinching game of last year's World Series (11.48 million).
Last year's LSU-Iowa national championship game on ABC drew 9.9 million viewers. Monday's LSU-Iowa rematch, on cable, crushed that number.
It was also the most watched men's or women's college basketball game ever on ESPN, more than doubling the prior largest audience.
www.espn.com.au/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39862514/iowa-lsu-rematch-shatters-tv-ratings-record-123m-viewers
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Post by hcpride on Apr 2, 2024 9:17:29 GMT -5
I'm most concerned with winning all three CAA games and hoping at least two of those would be considered quality wins. We'll see. In 2022 lightning struck, going 11-0, beating an FBS team, beating H&Y in the same season for the first time ever, Fordham being ranked when we beat them, then earning an at large bid, and HC was coming off three straight playoff appearances which led to the last seed and bye. Going forward, to paraphrase General Douglas MacArthur it's the auto-bid, the auto-bid, the auto-bid. However, the stronger our opponents and the better our record the better chance for a home playoff opener and an easier route to go deeper in the tournament. And if good FCS teams move up or current leading FCS programs falter HC could be seeded again, no rule against it. And HC isn't a novelty act any more in FCS. Yes. The assumption (of course) is a one-bid league with quality wins getting us a seed. (With a secondary assumption the PL wins aren’t quality wins).
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Post by hcpride on Apr 2, 2024 7:50:51 GMT -5
I'm most concerned with winning all three CAA games and hoping at least two of those would be considered quality wins. We'll see.
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Post by hcpride on Apr 2, 2024 7:44:59 GMT -5
Taking a peek at the women's bracket, and how the teams got to where they are today. Quick quiz question: What was the closest scoring of the four #1 vs. #16 games? Everyone gets three guesses, but the first two don't count. One clue: The team that won that first-round game earned its Elite Eight spot over the weekend by beating its opponent (the #5 seed) by a wider margin than they won their first round (vs. #16) game. Bogus clue. Iowa beat us by 26 and beat Colorado by 21. I was wondering what the point was since Iowa beat Holy Cross even more decisively than they beat Colorado or West Virginia. Which actually makes sense since the HC game was a 16-1 matchup. On the bright side and if that margin of 26 points is depressing, we did hold CC to 'just' 27 points. Well below her average and well below the 41 LSU gave up last night. UConn v Iowa matchup looks to be another case of Iowa's opponent having the better starters (minus Caitlin Clark). The way they are playing, I'm leaning UConn.
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Post by hcpride on Apr 1, 2024 20:40:16 GMT -5
LSU did not score at will from down low tonight LOL. The LSU coach literally said they were scoring at will down low during her half time interview. The problem is they lost patience with working v the smaller Iowa bigs…especially with CC bombing threes in the 3rd QTR and pulling away.
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Post by hcpride on Apr 1, 2024 20:09:09 GMT -5
While Caitlin Clark detractors can certainly find fault with her game, she’s having a pretty good one now. LSU scores at will from down low and blocks and rebounds really well.
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Post by hcpride on Apr 1, 2024 17:28:31 GMT -5
Tonight’s 7:15 LSU v Iowa matchup is interesting in that Iowa’s starting five (minus Clark and maybe Steulke) is weaker than LSU but LSU has a pretty thin bench if there are foul issues.
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Post by hcpride on Mar 31, 2024 6:25:09 GMT -5
Terrific passing display by CC (29 pts, 15 assists) in Iowa’s easy win over Colorado in the Sweet Sixteen. LSU also won. Their game Monday will draw plenty of viewers.
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Post by hcpride on Mar 29, 2024 16:36:35 GMT -5
Considering the huge hits Notre Dame took in the injury department this year, their recent run thru the ACC tournament and opening games of the NCAA Tournament is very impressive. Their lack of offensive firepower and size, given the injuries, finally caught up to them. (Shooting percentage and rebound stats were particularly lopsided in favor of Oregon State). Played only six women due to roster issue.
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Post by hcpride on Mar 28, 2024 12:42:44 GMT -5
Didn't we just raise over $3 million for athletics at HC ? - Well, maybe a little of that can go to trying to get us out of the cellar After the winter season: Overall Standings (No. of sports) Points Boston University (11) 84.75 Navy (11) 79.25 Army West Point (11) 77.75 Bucknell (13) 75 Colgate (13) 62 Lehigh (12) 60.25 American (12) 50 Lafayette (13) 49.75 Loyola Maryland (10) 49.5 Holy Cross (13) 46 I think low score wins (like golf).
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Post by hcpride on Mar 28, 2024 11:30:44 GMT -5
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Post by hcpride on Mar 28, 2024 10:22:40 GMT -5
A financial advisor once told the parents of my kids graduating class that you're better off being poor than saving every penny when it comes to college. We all know very few pay sticker price for college. I'm convinced schools like BU, Tufts and Wellesley see these prices as a badge of honor. IMO it's time to either require colleges to keep costs down or lose federal funding and be prepared to pay taxes. They are no longer non-profits. Im not sure about the poor part but many years ago a very smart guy told me not to bother scraping and saving for my girls’ eventual college bill because it would be gobbled up in any case. I have to say, for me it worked.
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Post by hcpride on Mar 28, 2024 10:06:24 GMT -5
Re: brands, my experience with marketing consumer products is that in the consumer’s mind the strongest indicator of quality is price. I’ll guess that HC will want to be one of the most expensive (list price) colleges to avoid conveying that it is of lower quality. That’s a very good point and one administrator from SUNY Stony Brook once told me the same. It took a while for his school but once the bright NYC kids/parents saw the real deal (about 15-20ish years ago) some of the Long Island private (and much more expensive) colleges were left in the dust. But I’ll bet there is still a nagging thought amongst some along the lines of, “How can it be much better if it is much cheaper?”.
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Post by hcpride on Mar 27, 2024 19:15:49 GMT -5
From today’s Boston Globe If you thought the Iowa v Holy Cross 3.23 million network viewership was huge…: Caitlin Clark, Iowa draw record 4.9M viewers in 2nd-round NCAA win
BRISTOL, Conn. -- It didn't take long for Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes to break their viewing record in the women's NCAA tournament.
The Hawkeyes' 64-54 victory over West Virginia in Monday night's second-round game averaged 4.90 million viewers on ESPN, according to Nielsen, making it the most-viewed women's tournament game ever -- excluding Final Four contests and title games.
The viewership surpassed the 3.23 million who watched Iowa's first-round win over Holy Cross on Saturday on ABC.
Monday night's game is also the most-watched NCAA tournament game -- men's or women's -- on cable this year. The previous high was 4.09 million for Houston's overtime victory over Texas A&M Sunday night on TNT.
It was the fourth Iowa women's game this season, and first one on cable, where the viewer average was over 3 million. The others were on Fox, CBS and ABC...www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39822075/caitlin-clark-iowa-draw-record-49m-viewers-2nd-round-ncaa-win
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BPC
Mar 27, 2024 7:12:26 GMT -5
via mobile
Chu Chu likes this
Post by hcpride on Mar 27, 2024 7:12:26 GMT -5
How about Iowa? Coach got a first hand look at her the other day. And the’ll have at least one opening in the starting lineup.
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Post by hcpride on Mar 26, 2024 9:59:44 GMT -5
Back on track to WBB, I heard a podcaster online compare Clark to Johnny Manziel. While not a fair comparison due to his various off the field issues, it does throw a spotlight on the NIL money (which didn't exist back in Manziel's playing days---legally), complaining, and general attitude of entitlement. That being said she is a pure, gifted shooter. I would still take Paige over her as a teammate and overall all around player. Johnny Football? How about Ryan Leaf? LOL. To be fair she’s not a bad passer (well over 1,000 career assists) and her team does seem to have won quite a few games in the four years she’s led them. One of the more unusual things about her (for those who follow the better college women) is the fact that she’s been remarkably free of major injuries and has played over 30 games each one of those four years. I just saw the Johnny Manzeil special (Netflix?) and that guy was an absolute ( drug and alcohol fueled) trainwreck . Cleveland did zero due diligence. Surprised he didn’t fall beyond 22 in that draft.
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Post by hcpride on Mar 26, 2024 9:30:46 GMT -5
Nice W last night for Notre Dame, Hidalgo is having a great year and is fun to watch. Considering all their injuries to key starters, Notre Dame’s late season success is a bit surprising.
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Post by hcpride on Mar 25, 2024 9:31:58 GMT -5
The idea of legions of young girl fans (and their families) jamming the turnstiles to watch women’s hoops has been the WNBA’s dream since it began. Somehow, despite some very popular college players, it hadn’t consistently materialized. Some poor choices and poor messaging by the WNBA accounts for a part of that. They need an appealing star and, with any luck, the leading pros in the WNBA can appreciate that they themselves will benefit from CC’s success - but I’m not so sure. Yeah, the veterans may give her a "BPC welcome."🤣 Beyond a hard forearm to the face, they might (if they are unaware how much $he could benefit them) spout off with criticism, etc. But I don’t see her new franchise giving her the ‘Pete Maravich welcome’. For those interested, Iowa plays West Virginia tonight at 8 on ESPN.
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Post by hcpride on Mar 25, 2024 9:17:15 GMT -5
Caitlin Clark's counterpart in music for the past year or so is Taylor Swift. I admire the way Swift built her business and has kept her fans and how much joy they get from following her. I'll give Clark a couple of years to see if young girls are lining up at the turnstyles when her WNBA team comes to their region. Maybe it's not a fair comparison. The WNBA plays 40 games a year and Swift only tours once every few years. The idea of legions of young girl fans (and their families) jamming the turnstiles to watch women’s hoops has been the WNBA’s dream since it began. Somehow, despite some very popular college players, it hadn’t consistently materialized. Some poor choices and poor messaging by the WNBA accounts for a part of that. They need an appealing star and, with any luck, the leading pros in the WNBA can appreciate that they themselves will benefit from CC’s success - but I’m not so sure.
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Post by hcpride on Mar 25, 2024 8:04:36 GMT -5
Yeah, but her on-court demeanor needs work....that stuff is not going to work at the next level... It might, because she will be the Michael Jordan of the WNBA from Day 1. At least as far as the pedestal she'll be put on by the media. Won't be easy, people will be expecting her to score 30 every game and dominate like she did college. Bar has never been set higher for an incoming WNBA player. Taurasi distant 2nd in that regard. I agree. There are a fair amount of detractors to her game (several high profile ones emerged when she was closing in on various records) but certainly the WNBA/TV execs see her as an opportunity. I’m treading lightly here but she may have significantly broader appeal than some of their other stars for a number of reasons. Soooo, her success in the WNBA is something WNBA/TV execs really really really want. Beyond that, one of Pistol Pete’s problems was the mismatch with his first team. CC is all set in that particular regard.
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Post by hcpride on Mar 25, 2024 7:19:59 GMT -5
Yes, on the one hand getting (accidentally) punched square in the face really didn’t faze her (some/most) players would have gone nuts over it, but on the other hand her frustrations over her own play and no-calls in the first half were a bit dramatic/petulant. And she’s got to know the cameras and eyes are on her. Constantly. I’ve watched about ten of her games and in a couple she’s acted like this when frustrated. After the game Clark said that BPC's elbow just grazed her nose. In other words, she took a dive. I appreciate that she also said she didn't think it was intentional, but she needs to work on her demeanor. Even many Iowa fans are fed up. Thats funny, BPC seemed to think she smacked her pretty hard or at least that was the gist of BPC’s on and off the court apologies. And it is true CC brushed off the blow in post game comments and wasn’t looking to dwell on it.
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Post by hcpride on Mar 25, 2024 7:01:37 GMT -5
She plays with an edge and a personality Much like other great players like Pistol Pete Yeah, but her on-court demeanor needs work....that stuff is not going to work at the next level... Yes, on the one hand getting (accidentally) punched square in the face really didn’t faze her (some/most) players would have gone nuts over it, but on the other hand her frustrations over her own play and no-calls in the first half were a bit dramatic/petulant. And she’s got to know the cameras and eyes are on her. Constantly. I’ve watched about ten of her games and in a couple she’s acted like this when frustrated.
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Post by hcpride on Mar 25, 2024 4:56:05 GMT -5
mm What was the score? I don’t think we have ever beaten them. Holy Cross is 2-20 against UConn and last win was 1982. Not likely to ever beat them again. We lost the posted game by about 40. The following year we lost to UCONN by 60.
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