Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Third Time's a Charm


I could begin this post talking about the Rutgers game. About the questionable calls down the stretch. About the off-balance, game-winning, three-pointer from J.R. Inman. About the fact that Gonzo almost punched Fred Hill in the mouth, with good reason I might add.

Or what about the fact that Dave and I sat in our seats completely dumbstruck by the loss, refusing to vacate the arena even after the ushers threatened us with violence. A move that would later pay major dividends, as the Seton Hall players would congregate half-an-hour later in the Ice lounge with the university boosters – a group which we would go on to infiltrate. Mike Davis, Stix, Paul Gause. They were all there. We talked strategy with John Garcia’s father. We stared awkwardly at Eugene Harvey’s brother. We learned that Robert Mitchell carries multiple other nicknames in addition to “Stix,” including “Sticky” and “Sticky Icky.”

It was an eye-opening experience to say the least. We learned about the inner workings of the team, heard all the gossip, saw the world behind the curtain. (We’ll post more about this another time.)

But for now let’s focus on the future. Because that future starts tomorrow.

On Wednesday night, Seton Hall faces off against Marquette in the first round of the Big East tournament. It will be the third time the Hall faces the Golden Eagles this season, and there’s quite a lot of bad blood between these squads.

Despite the fact that Seton Hall lost both meetings, there’s reason to be optimistic. After squandering a big lead against RU, the Hall is a team with some unfinished business. Seniors Jamar and Brian deserved to be sent off with a win, and the team failed to deliver. Well, you can bet the Hall will do everything in their power to turn things around in NYC.