Tag: Belmont

It’s Time To Start Punching Tickets!!

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s March.

And that means more than ‘Spring is coming’. It means the Madness is upon us. This past Sunday (aka yesterday), four teams officially stamped their names in the bracket of 68:

Radford

Lipscomb

Loyola-Chicago

Michigan

One of these things is not like the other. Michigan, representing the Big Ten, is the first major conference to send their conference champion to the big dance. Now, they wait….

Radford

Unless you were overly concerned with the outcome of the Big South Conference Championship, you’ve probably never heard of Radford University. Radford is a small school located in Radford, Virginia. This will be their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2009, when they promptly got their butts kicked by UNC (101-58).

To advance to the dance, Radford took down Liberty University. Man, was this game ugly!! But then the television tells you this game ended in “thrilling” fashion. Yes, Carlik Jones hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer. The result of play, exciting. The execution of the play, awful.

Watch the play here. Because nothing screams preparation like dribbling around, 30-feet from the basket, and hoisting an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer. Did I mention the game was tied, with 13 seconds to play, and they were coming out of a timeout?!

Lipscomb

The Lipscomb Bisons scored 108 points on Sunday. Insanity!! After scoring 60 points in the first half, and leading by as many as 32 points over FGCU, Lipscomb nearly choked this game away. With 7:05 to play, Lipscomb led by just 5 points. FGCU was able to storm back thanks to a 24-point half by senior guard, Brandon Goodwin. However, it was too little too late, as Lipscomb held on 108-96. Lipscomb will represent the Atlantic Sun Conference in their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

Loyola-Chicago

The Loyola-Chicago Ramblers are headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1964. They earned their tournament birth by beating up the Illinois State Redbirds Sunday, 65-49. This game was never close, so I don’t have to much to say here….

Michigan

After losing by a combined five points to Purdue (over two losses) during the regular season, Michigan was seeking revenge Sunday evening. Thanks to big-time performances from Moritz Wagner and Jon Teske, Michigan defeated Purdue 75-66. Wagner dropped 17, and Teske dropped 14. For those (degenerates) who bet the over of 141.5, all I have to say is; OUCH!!

And now, Michigan and company will have to wait an extra week for the REAL tournament. Hooray scheduling!!

By the way, Purdue will NOT go far in the NCAA Tournament. They rely on one player, Isaac Haas. Granted that player is 7’2″ and virtually unstoppable, but it’s a hard tournament to win playing one-on-five.

**Murray State also clinched a birth to the NCAA Tournament, defeating Belmont 68-51 on Saturday.

Did you watch any of these games?? If so, please post your thoughts, comments, questions, and concerns  in the comment section below.

You can now find me on the Radio too. Download the TuneIn Radio App and search OWWR. I’ll be on live every Wednesday from 6:10 P.M. – 8:00 P.M EST. I also broadcast every show on Facebook Live via my DaveTalksSports.com Facebook Page: http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports.

Since you enjoy my writing, follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like my page on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. You can also Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading!! Now go tell all your friends!!

 

The Islanders Are Headed Back Where They Belong — HOME!!

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

New-York-Islanders-Belmont-1024x473

Welcome back to the island!! Long Island. My island. My home. And now, the new (old) home of the New York Islanders. On Tuesday, according to Newsday and other sources, the Islanders won the bid to build a new stadium next to Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont. The Islanders must have been extremely home sick, as they left for Brooklyn just 3 years ago.

This move is being made possible by the team and the Sterling Project Development. The Sterling Project Development is run by the owners of the New York Mets, the Wilpon family (uh oh). The Islanders’ new stadium will seat approximately 18,000 fans, an increase from the 15,795 seats (2nd smallest in the NHL) in Barclays Center. The ‘play hockey at Barclays Center experiment’ didn’t last long — for good reason. The scoreboard was off-center. And last time I checked, you can’t have obstructed views in an arena. Someone get me in touch with the structural engineer on that job. Idiot.

While both the Islanders and Barclays Center have an opt-out clause in their contract this coming January, expect the Islanders to call Brooklyn home until the new stadium is ready. New stadiums generally take 2 or 3 years to complete. I’ll get out there and help build it if it means I don’t have to travel to Brooklyn anymore to watch hockey….

This news is an early Christmas present to real Islanders fans. I mean, who wouldn’t appreciate a 20 minute drive to a professional sporting event?! Also included in the proposal, plans to reopen a Long Island Railroad stop at Belmont Park. Beautiful!! Now you can partake in a few extra Yoo-Hoos on the way to the game.

The official announcement is set to come today, Wednesday, December 20th, 2017 by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.

Many believe this will make the Islanders a more attractive franchise. Their hope is they’ll be able to resign all-star center, John Tavares, when he becomes a free agent next July. Will a new state-of-the-art stadium be enough to keep Tavares in Orange and Blue??

Only time will tell….

 

Are you excited for the Islanders to come back to Long Island?? Pour your heart out in the comment section below.  

You can now find me on the Radio too. Download the TuneIn Radio App and search OWWR. I’ll be on live every Wednesday from 6:10 P.M. – 8:00 P.M EST. WE HAVE A SPECIAL, EARLY SHOW FOR YOU TONIGHT FROM 5:45 – 7:00 P.M. EST. I also broadcast every show on Facebook Live via my DaveTalksSports.com Facebook Page: http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports .

Since you enjoy my writing, follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like my page on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. You can also Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading!! Now go tell all your friends!!