Lady Phoenix in Sweet 16

KL31NY · March 22, 2011, 10:57:07 PM

Not sure how many people will care, but the Green Bay Phoenix women's basketball team just defeated Michigan State to advance to the school's and the conference's first Sweet 16! Speaking as a Horizon League fan, it's great to see these ladies represent the conference so well and have a fantastic season, and hopefully it means some extra respect for them and the HL in the future.

As an example, the game's announcers (who I did not care for, shocker!) called Green Bay's win an upset. At 33-1 and facing an at-large selection that was picked higher than them (GB's a 5 seed, MSU a 4), Green Bay has not been given the respect it deserves. Now, with Butler's success on the men's side added, I hope that everyone out there is realizing just how strong we, the Horizon League, are.

Side note: Michigan State won the Big Ten regular season title at 13-3. Green Bay is now 4-0 against the conference (Wins against 1st Michigan State, 2nd Penn State, T-3rd Wisconsin, and 9th Minnesota). It's almost like the Phoenix are actually the ones winning the Big Ten lol

I wish them the best of luck against Baylor. Certainly no easy game there.

vuweathernerd · March 22, 2011, 11:13:39 PM

at 33-1, they got screwed with a 5 seed. typical lack of respect for mid-majors.

vu72 · March 23, 2011, 07:03:13 AM

Does anyone know if the women's tournament makes money for the schools? Obviously it won't be like the men's, but does Green Bay's success so far mean anything for the Horizon?

StlVUFan · March 23, 2011, 10:25:29 AM

Dan McLaughlin is a barely -- if that -- competent play-by-play announcer. I feel sorry for Abby Waner because she was actually decent.

I was glued to my laptop throughout the entire game and loving almost every minute of it, just as I was about this time last year when the Phoenix almost made it to the Sweet Sixteen.

You want to talk about a program that is "Head and Shoulders" above Valpo, no question about it? It's the Green Bay Lady Phoenix. I'm not sure we'll beat them again in my lifetime. Compared to that gulf, our Men's team can be thought of as breathing down Butler's neck we're so close. It's been a long time since I so thoroughly enjoyed Womens' basketball. Heck, half the teams in the Summit League could beat Valpo right now. The JackRabbits, the Grizz, let's not even mention the Golden Eagles who would open up a huge can of whupp-ass on us. Even the Mastodons might be reaching the point where they would own us year in and year out. We'd probably struggle with the Lady Bison and the Westerwinds (I could have sworn they gave up that alternate nickname a year ago, but apparently I was mistaken), and we might consistently beat the Roos (though I could be wrong about that). We'd most likely beat up the Jaguars and the only question would be how long would it take for the Sioux (brand new to the conference) to pass us by. 2003 and 2004 seem like forever to me.

Sorry

KL31NY · March 23, 2011, 01:05:20 PM

Quote from: vu72 on March 23, 2011, 07:03:13 AM
Does anyone know if the women's tournament makes money for the schools? Obviously it won't be like the men's, but does Green Bay's success so far mean anything for the Horizon?

Last I checked the men's tournament and BCS bowl system are the only "tournaments" where the schools get the profits. So there's no immediate monetary advantage for Green Bay's postseason success. At this point, I think we have to settle for extra recognition for the HL.

Quote from: StlVUFan on March 23, 2011, 10:25:29 AM
Dan McLaughlin is a barely -- if that -- competent play-by-play announcer. I feel sorry for Abby Waner because she was actually decent.

Definitely agree on both points. Dan called both Green Bay games in Wichita, and I was not impressed by his misspeaks and overuse of his prep material. If we all had a dollar every time he said "Co-player of the year in the Horizon," we'd be rich. Abby was all right. She worked well given the card she was dealt.

valporun · March 23, 2011, 01:34:55 PM

Dan McLaughlin was the "voice" of the Mid-Con Game of the Week with Dave Kaplan, and would always work the semifinals of the Mid-Con Tourney with Tim McCormick. I didn't like him then, and he's no better now, especially since he's just waiting for St. Louis Cardinals baseball season. He's not a great announcer, and he doesn't really do much to get the fan excited about a game. I'm not too surprised that the campus site selected for the Green Bay games would get a minor-league talent working with a player that knows the women's game very well.

StlVUFan · March 23, 2011, 01:42:48 PM

I like to think of him as "jack of all trades, master of none."

The camera work left something to be desired too. We pretty much missed a couple of Green Bay layups because they were fixated on Suzie Merchant or one of the benches.

At one point, Dan dragged Abby down to his level. They talked completely over a 2-possession sequence, so engrossed in some side-story (at least it was related to the two teams playing the game) that they said not one word about what was going on, and there was at least one whistle in that sequence that went completely unexplained.

In my opinion, Dan McLaughlin is nothing more than a "pretty face". He has no discernible talent whatsoever. He either has dirt on someone really high up at Fox Sports Net or ... I don't know.

rlh · March 23, 2011, 10:30:55 PM

How about Spiro Dedes on the men's games? Has he ever identified who a foul was on yet? I was truly disappointed in his play by play, misidenfication of players and not letting us know who the foul was on....All this is basic Sports Announcing 101 stuff....not network

StlVUFan · March 23, 2011, 11:48:12 PM

Quote from: rlh on March 23, 2011, 10:30:55 PM
How about Spiro Dedes on the men's games? Has he ever identified who a foul was on yet? I was truly disappointed in his play by play, misidenfication of players and not letting us know who the foul was on....All this is basic Sports Announcing 101 stuff....not network

If I had a nickel for every time a whistle blew and I got no help from the announcers, I'd retire tomorrow and pay off all my debts to boot. It is indeed more than just one guy. Dan just seems to be about the worst.

I suspect part of the problem is in the production room, though. I sense a tension between the priority of calling the game and the priority of capitalizing on feel good stories. The game on the court is kind of unpredictable sometimes, and I get the feeling they launch into an anecdote because they think there's going to be enough time to get it in, then they have to follow it to the conclusion because the voice in their ear tells them to in spite of the fact that the action on the court demands some description.

Good announcers know to interrupt a story when the action heats up and finish it off at the next opportunity. Sadly, College Basketball is not exactly littered with good announcers. They tend to be the exception.