Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Boosters support McCullum

Editor's note: This story will appear in the Feb. 28 edition of the Oracle

The Web site for Sports Illustrated magazine, SI.com, published an article Monday stating that a member of an anonymous USF athletic booster club said the club is interested in buying out the remaining three years of men’s basketball coach Robert McCullum’s contract and replacing the third-year coach, who is 27-57 in his tenure at USF, with former Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins.
However, anonymous sources close to USF athletic boosters have disparaged the SI article, as well as a story in the Tampa Tribune stating that “a group of prominent boosters” is interested in doing the same.
SI’s Seth Davis cited an unnamed booster in his article who said “supporters of the program” have been in contact with Huggins’ Cincinnati attorney Richard Katz. According to the SI article, Katz said Huggins “would be interested in the Bulls coaching job if it opened up.”
However, one group, the Iron Bulls, which is a booster club that donates more than $10,000 to athletics each year, has sided with McCullum, not the reports produced just days before the men’s basketball team — only two losses away from going winless in the Big East — hosts No. 2 Connecticut.
“Robert McCullum is a man of character,” said Buddy Johnson, chairman of the Iron Bulls. “He’s a proven winner (at places such as) Florida and Western Michigan. Any coach that takes a team that’s pretty much been decimated with injuries and nearly knocks off three of four Top-20 teams has done a good job. If he is given an additional year to get some more players, I’m confident he’ll continue to do the great job that he is already doing.
“There has not been any discussion (of a contract buyout) among my friends at the Iron Bulls,” Johnson said. “I’m a strong supporter (of McCullum). I think he’s done a great job.”
Buying out McCullum’s contract would cost more than $850,000, and both McCullum and Athletic Director Doug Woolard have declined to comment on such reports, as Woolard continues to stick by his policy of not commenting on coaches who are in the midst of a season, winning or losing.

Mike Camunas

Monday, February 27, 2006

Food or Tuition?

In this blog Tony and I have made fun of the numerous contests the Athletic Department hosts during breaks at the basketball games. We’ve even wrote a story about how the Athletic Department almost didn’t pay Jason Deck, the lone contestant who made a half-court shot this season for $500.
From Dance 4 UR Dinner to the new putting challenge, to the Score on Rocky, to the ever-dreadful Hamster Ball Run, Athletic Director Doug Woolard divulged to me Saturday at the women’s basketball team’s 66-56 win over West Virginia a new contest the Athletic Department will try to incorporate next season.
While both Woolard and Assistant Director of Athletics for Marketing and Event Management Kosha Irby were both at St. Louis University, they had a contest known as Tacos for Tuition. The game is as follows: The contest has a chance to make five straight free throws. If he/she makes one shot, he/she wins a taco. Two in a row, everyone wins a taco. Three shots, tacos for a month. Four shots, tacos for a year. Five straight shots equals full tuition paid for one semester.
A deal hasn’t been finalized yet. Woolard and Irby are working on changing tacos to burgers from Sonic.
Most students should dig this contest and head out to practice shooting. I still can’t decide whether I would like burgers for a year or have my tuition paid.
Doing the math, total amount of burgers doesn’t equal tuition for semester even if you only took one class.
Decisions, decisions for any of those who may get picked.
Listen, at least make two. That way I get a burger as well.

Mike Camunas

Saturday, February 25, 2006

The Takeover

Shantia Grace just had a no-look pass to Ezria Parsons, who converted the shot. On the next stoppage of play, Fernandez removed Grace and replaced her with Jessica Jackson, who missed two consecutive three-pointers and had a turnover. As I look over to Fernandez, I can’t help but think he is happy the Oracle now has a blog.

— Halftime: Rod Smith is in the house, sporting a Bill Belichick-like hooded sweatshirt and chewing on one of the strings, in very deep thought. He’s obviously thinking about all of the awesome plays he’s got in store for next season.

— Dear Athletic Department,
Please remove the Dance 4 UR Dinner competition from the middle of the third quarter. Three contestants and I saw “the worm” from one, no dancing from another and three cartwheels from a dude named “Marcelo.”
Hold on, I take it back.
Marcelo just restored my faith in the dance-off portion of the competition when he missed the third cartwheel in his combination and ended up on the ground.
Maybe you guys can keep the contest, just call it “Impress the audience for dinner,” or “Faceplant on the court for food.”

— More contests: A young girl of about 4-to-6 years old holed out a ten-foot putt for a brand new bike, using a cross-handed grip. When asked about her putt, the girl said “Doggy,” and ran off. (Not really.)

Parsons just went down clutching her head, so I’ll throw in the my notes for the game: With the game out of reach, West Virginia coach Mike Carey called two timeouts with 30 seconds left in the game… Three Bulls players attempted to carry senior Sharon Cambridge on their shoulders and off the floor but only got about seven yards before they had to let her down.

Tony Marquis

Too much time on our hands

Tonight for the Oracle Blog: live posting from the women’s basketball game against West Virginia. Missing in action for the Mountaineers is Meg Bulger, sister of Rams quarterback Marc Bulger. Like her brother, injuries ended her season a tad bit early.
Anyways, tonight is also senior night for the Bulls, honoring Courtney Hunt, Tristen Webb, Sharon Cambridge, Ezria Parsons, team manager Melissa Barber and fellow team manager Andy Christensen, who also helped with the scout team by playing against the women in practice.
Nice scene, nice gesture by the coaches to frame up the players jerseys as well.

— These last two games for the women are pretty important. SID Mike Hogan informed the beat writer Charles Gonzalez and I, that if the Bulls win out the regular season tonight and Tuesday at Georgetown, as well as the first round of the Big East Tournament, they should make the NCAA Tournament. I looked it up, and USF’s RPI is up to 29 and with the 10-15 Hoyas on for Tuesday, making the tournament looks pretty solid for the women. Whether its luck or shear determination of the team’s part, making the tournament is a godsend after dropping both games to Pittsburgh, losing four of five games at one point and losing to LSU and UNC by a combined 67 points.
However, if the women do win out the rest of the season, they will clinch the No. 7 seed in the Big East tournament, playing the No. 10 seed on March 4.
So with the men just extending the nation’s longest losing streak, at least the women’s basketball team will continue playing later into March.

— Tony just arrived and he’ll be doing the rest of the live blogging tonight. The Bulls are all tied up at 13 with WVU with 13 minutes left in the first half. Be nice and superstitious with that one.

Mike Camunas

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

The waiting game

The future of men’s basketball coach Robert McCullum will be a hot topic in the next couple of weeks or even what will happen to him over the summer. Obviously he’ll probably continue recruiting unless he gets fired about five minutes after the last game against Georgetown on March 4.
Editor in Chief Mark Lennox and Tony argued whether he should be fired at the season’s end in today’s paper — here’s the link for those who don’t get to see the Oracle in print: Treading thin ice?
I don’t think McCullum will be fired. While this is my opinion, I agreed when the Tribune beat reporter pointed out last week in his blog that McCullum’s buyout would be too expensive when paying for a new basketball coach as well as coach Jim Leavitt’s salary, which jumps to $1 million a year in the fall.
Throw whether he’s the right man for the job out the window; that’s not important. But with transfers such as Kentrell Gransberry from LSU and Jesus Verdejo from Arizona waiting to show what they can do just like injured guard Chris Howard, you’ve got to figure that McCullum’s team with depth in the fall won’t look as bad as they did against Rutgers on Saturday, despite only having a few scholarships left to use
Seriously, like him or not, transfers are definitely something McCullum can pull in.
Now, if he can just get those transfers as recruits the first time around.

— In ESPN’s latest and might I add brilliant bracketology — which could never possibly be wrong — it has the women’s basketball team as a 12th seed in the Albuquerque bracket of the NCAA tournament. The Bulls would face off against No. 5-seed Utah on March 19, a major step up from the past two years and two NIT berths.
Ranked ahead of USF in the same bracket is Florida at No. 7 and Louisville at No. 10, the team the Bulls face tonight at 7:30.
I’m not quite sure I have a thought on this — well, at least pending the outcome of tonight’s game.
However, players such as Rachael Sheats (14 points), Ezria Parsons (13 points), Nalini Miller (nine points, nine rebounds) and Shantia Grace (13 points) were impressive against the Golden Eagles on Thursday when Jessica Dickson was having a down night, even though she still scored 14 points. Imagine what the team could do if Dickson — still hanging on as the nation’s leading scorer with 23 points a game — had a better game in which she has a more typical 25-30 points in that game.
A 30-point loss to UNC or LSU might not even happen.
We’ll see what happens against Louisville, which, like the USF women’s team, has a better conference record than its men.
Shocker.

— Thanks for reading. Keep an eye out for some stories coming up, such as a feature story on former Bulls receiver Scott McCready, who’s in Tampa practicing with the Hamburg Sea Devils, and a story on men’s tennis player Juan Barragan and his kidnapping ordeal.
And just in case all of you didn’t know, there is no chin underneath Chuck Norris’ beard, just another fist.

Mike Camunas

Friday, February 17, 2006

Taking what they're giving...

Along with the Oracle I also write for another certain area newspaper. So when I’m not at USF, I’m either at school or possibly at a girls high school basketball game between Freedom and Lake Gibson, like I was on Tuesday night.
At the conclusion of the game, in which one player scored 43 of the team’s 82 points, I ran into women’s basketball assistant Amy Wright. A college coach sighting isn’t unusual at a prep basketball game, but when I asked Wright who she was scouting — assuming she would tell me nothing — she informed me that USF is set for their ’06 class, but it’s looking more toward ’08 and ’09 classes.
Just when I thought I was one of the hardest working people at USF, coach Jose Fernandez and staff have to trump me by recruiting right in the middle of a run before the Big East Tournament. Maybe when Fernandez declines to comment after a late night game in Pittsburgh or St. John’s, I’ll think back to how hard his staff works and give him a few days to rest — or maybe I won’t.
Side note: The Lake Gibson player who scored 43 points is a sophomore by the name of Andrea Smith.

SIX DEGREES OF LOGAN FLECK: One thing I enjoy about talking to women’s soccer coach Logan Fleck is that there are no silly questions. I am never embarrassed, for example, to ask Fleck what he would choose to have on a hypothetical submarine sandwich that would be named after him. Also I am sure to hear an interesting Fleck-ism or Fleck story such as…
I would be a fool to assume everybody knows the Kansas City Wizards and the MetroStars are playing an exhibition game at the USF Soccer Stadium on Saturday.
I’m sure less people know that Wizards goalkeeper Bo Oshoniyi played on the same two-time Division II national championship Southern Connecticut State University team with men’s soccer coach George Kiefer. But it doesn’t stop there…
In 1992, SCSU’s second national championship was televised, and who provided his expert analysis during the game? Who else but T. Logan Fleck.
Upon further review, it’s not surprising Fleck was calling a national championship. I mean, when you combine a man’s two gifts — in this case, soccer knowledge and the gift of gab — it’s only natural he’d be successful at it.
That would also explain the reason I am in this business: In no other profession is it acceptable to both obsess over sports and eat in excess, and those happen to be my two gifts.

Tony Marquis

Sunday, February 12, 2006

New kids on the blog...

So I finally got around to making a post. I promise Tony and I will try to make more posts, but last week was entirely way too busy with the regular paper and the baseball/softball preview.
I’m surprised I gave into this whole blog thing in the first place. When it comes to technology, I’m always way behind. Hey, I didn’t have an e-mail address until I was 17. So Tony convinced me, and with Greg Auman at the Times and Brett McMurphy at the Tribune keeping theirs pretty updated, I knew we had to be more on the pulse.
Besides, there are plenty of things we pick up on the beat that we know would be perfect for this…such as:

— I had an interesting conversation with Athletic Director Doug Woolard on Wednesday. What’s great about this guy is he’s always happy about something … at least when he’s talking to me. Even with a men’s basketball team on an 11-game losing streak — which is Doug’s favorite sport — he’s still smiling and still got a spring in his step. We got to talking about the renovations for the entire athletic complex on the west side of campus, which many of the employees of the Athletic Department have very rough artist’s renditions of what everything would look like.
The most promising-looking renovation on the map has to be the new location and designs of stadiums for both the softball and baseball teams. Surrounding the “road to nowhere” on campus — the dinky roundabout road parallel to 50th Street that was originally built for Greek Village 1993 — will be a stadium on one side and the other straight across from it. Whether those plans hold up, it gives that side of campus the most professional look compared to the rest of campus.
Woolard said — and I didn’t expect to hear this come from him — that most of those drawings would get better, making the renovations they are planning to give the facilities a “sexier” look.
Sexier? I’ve been at this school for five years and I’ve never heard anyone, student or faculty, use the word “sexy” to describe campus.
With the Sun Dome coming along with the new screen and floor, and the progress of the renovations taking some time, perhaps eventually the facilities will look sexy, even if the Sun Dome gets a powerwashing at the very least.
Or at the very least the new baseball field will have a press box — from which I’m writing this — bigger than most closets at Campus Lodge.

— Speaking of writing from the game, it’s freezing today, which is Sunday. High of 47, if most of us warm-blooded individuals are lucky. And if anyone deserves props, it has to be president of the Student Bulls Club, Chris Lau. Wrapped in more cloth than a burn victim, Lau is the only one of the club present at today’s baseball game.
He has to be the only person on campus who sees more USF sports than I do.
I haven’t figured out if that’s a good thing, but no one pays him to go to the games.

— Spoke to Brian Baisley the other day, and he gave me a quick update on his brother, Jeff, who reports to the Vancouver Canadians, Oakland’s single A club, on March 11. Jeff, who through 61 games batted .252, had six homers, 38 RBI, 28 runs, 15 doubles and a .413 slugging percentage, was named the team’s MVP. Among the handful of former Bulls players in the minor leagues — Myron Leslie, Tim Mattison, Kyle Schmidt, David Austen, John Raburn, Devin Ivany and Mike Eylward — Baisley seems to be putting on the best showing and probably has the best chance to move up the ranks.
It’s just getting rid of that other third baseman the Athletics have and maybe Baisley will get his shot.
What’s the guy’s name? Eric Chavez something?

— Stop the presses. Stop the presses. I have some urgent news for the Athletic Department. I need everyone to stop what they are doing and listen. The sports information directors are working their tails off to get the redesigned official athletics Web site up and running by the end of this week. Contract negations with the company running the Web site, XOS Technologies, Inc., were just stalled in getting the site up. I’ve seen it and just about anything would be a vast improvement from what’s up there now, but they way the site looks, which can only be described as, well, “sexy.” The site was supposed to be up early January, but talks have taken so long that super agent Drew Rosenhaus must have been someway involved.

— Got a chance to sit down with seasoned baseball coach Eddie Cardieri earlier in the week. What’s great about EC is after 21 years he knows what he can and can’t do as a coach. He’s been at USF longer than some buildings, and after nine NCAA trips, five Coach of the Year awards and 16 winning seasons people still talk about how the guy should be fired, say if he has a poor year in the poor Big East baseball conference.
The Bulls were picked to finish third in the conference in preseason polls, but if Carideri is worried about unemployment, he sure isn’t showing it.
He’ll still sit on the visitor’s bench, which he calls his office, sucking on a wad of dip, not worried about if anyone else besides he boys are on his side.
He said those things beyond the game are “out of his hands” and people will say whatever they want about him. He says he’ll keep doing his job — coaching young adults at the Red — until they, the Athletic Department, make him stop.
All business for EC, I guess.

— Speaking of Cardieri, his son, Nick, just hit an RBI single to drive home Brian Baisley in the bottom of the fifth to take a 7-6 lead over Northwestern. The Wildcats must be used to this 40-degree weather, because EC is on the sideline doing his best JoePa impression with the towel rolled up in the jacket to stay warm.
Thankfully, EC doesn’t need coke bottle glasses … yet.

— And last but not least, there is a rumor going around the west side of campus. Word has spread that women’s soccer coach Logan Fleck has made the switch.
A frequenter of Rocky’s on 56th Street has been sited two Saturdays in a row at the all-new Bull Ring Restaurant, housed in the old Hop’s building by Toys “R” Us. The Oracle wrote a story on the place, which I’ve visited, and it’s very classy inside.
Here’s the link to the story written by staff writer Tristan Wheelock: The Bull Ring enters the arena.
The owner, Jim Zmerich, attends every single basketball game and chats with Fleck and just about every customer.

— That’s enough for today. College baseball started this weekend, and I’ve barely watched the game I’m covering today, especially since Northwestern’s Antonio Mule hit a home run to tie the game in the top of the seventh inning.
As mentioned before, watch for more updates on the blog including a picture of the week’s feature, some new graphics and anything else we can put on here that will massage our egos.

Mike Camunas

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

When in Rome...

With other media outlets making blogs, the Oracle Sports Desk decided to get in on the fun. Mike and I will try to update this at least twice a week; feel free to post your comments or suggestions. Now for my thoughts…

— The women’s basketball team has one believer. On Monday, the newest ESPN/USA Today poll included one vote for South Florida, despite the Bulls’ 78-71 loss to St. John’s on Sunday. And no, Jose Fernandez isn't one of the 31 coaches with a vote in the rankings. A possible USF supporter could be Seton Hall coach Phyllis Mangina, who represents the Big East in the ESPN/USA Today poll. If Mangina is the lone voter, then it will be interesting to see next week’s rankings depending on how the Bulls (15-8) handle the Pirates (6-15) in South Orange, N.J. on Wednesday night.

— There’s also something to look forward to if you like the other football. The USF men’s soccer team released its spring schedule, and besides the Major League Soccer squads usually in the schedule, the lineup features an intriguing game. On Mar. 5, the Bulls have a rematch against the University of Virginia — the same team that ended USF’s season by beating the Bulls in a penalty kick shootout in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
“Virginia’s coming here to beat us,” coach George Kiefer said. “A team you last faced during the season and they advanced and you didn’t — that doesn’t sit well.”
The game will be played at IMG Academy in Bradenton.

— I think it’s always curious when a coach departs right after signing day, so when Rick Kravitz announced he would be following his fiancĂ© to North Carolina, I decided to consult Rivals.com for its vast recruiting info. According the site, of the six players who have info on who recruited them, only one was recruited by Kravitz: linebacker LeBrandon Glover. (Side note: Wally Burnham recruited four.) I can’t speak for Glover, but I’m sure Kravitz’s departure had some sort of effect on him. At his signing day press conference, Leavitt praised Kravitz’s work in the panhandle of Florida. It will be interesting to see if this has any effect on the minds of the young student athletes down the road.

— Mike and I are working with the same company who is helping the Athletic Department with their Web site, so look for it to be completed some time in March — 2010.

Tony Marquis