Midnight.

A lot to write about from Midnight Madness. I'll try to keep this brief.

-- Flannagan is officially back (as is his buddies' Hope of Glory chants) and looks as good as we remember him. He had three buckets, the first of which was a three. You can't see it, but i'm excited.

-- The "Secret Agent" Basketball man officially had more turnovers than Sam Titus. (Seriously. I counted. 5 to 1.)

-- Donny had one fun little moment as he described his 09-10 Barons team. As he talked about Flannagan's stats before he left for Austria last year, he sounded like my dad describing the new HDTV he just bought. "You won't believe the things this thing can do!" Good to see Donny excited again.

-- Good to see Oscar back for his 18th season as Finnegan Fieldhouse MC.

-- A new intro video! I wish someone took a picture of my face as the new vid hit the screen. I must have had 30 different types of shock bleeding from my eyes. I turned to celebrate with my bud about the new video until ..... i realized it wasn't a video. Franciscan University: where we re-use "pump-up" videos for multiple years and then replace them with slideshows. That's it, i'm walking in late every game naked in protest.

-- The birth of Powder Pete. Not only did he have the single best introduction of any Baron during the night, but it was hands down the best one i've seen in my time here. Props to him and his fan section for such a crafty idea. I overheard someone making jokes about the Transfiguration and God's voice coming out of the cloud of baby powder that lingered over the bleachers for a while, it was that good-looking. 

I'm saving my thoughts on the scrimmage for my season preview. Check back soon.

Go Barons.

Things that rule:

1) The blog is back.
2) The Barons are back.
3) Connor's back.


See ya at midnight madness.

Tough Loss(es) to Swallow

Hey Baronballers.
Sorry it's been so long since we've posted, but the beginning of school crush has taken its toll on the other writers, and banging out a super 1st troub has got me caught up.
But recapping this semesters games can be summed up in on sentence:
We lost, again.
Unfortunately the arrival of Pete Burak hasn't stopped the bleeding of the loss of Connor Flannigan. We lost again tonight in heart-breaking fashion, blowing a 12 point half-time lead to loose 66-61.
Some quick facts before we end the night:
- We completely shut down their two best players in the first half using a zone defense (1st time I've seen it all year). Waajid (#52) had 3 fouls and 4 points, while Kucenic (#24), had only 2 field goal attempts and no points. Final lines: Waajid had 19 point, 18 rebounds, and still only 3 fouls. Kucenic had only 9 points, but 15 and 12 from any player in one half is enough to earn a W. Why we moved from the zone in the second half made sense (they started draining threes right and left), but Waajid totally destroyed our man defense with 5 HUGE O-Rebounds in the latter part of the second half.

-Srgt. Slaughter had 21 and Duke had 12, but Duke shot pretty poorly, going 4-11 from the field.

Thats all for now. Feeling quite depressed after this one. We're now 0-7 in conference play, and 2-3 at home.
THE BARONS ARE BACK

No Connor = 2 Losses

Why the hell are there two home games when the majority of the student body is not even at school?  Most students cannot check in until 12 o'clock on Sunday.  Its horse-shit.

Jan 7th story from FUS, story from them and the box score.

Jan 10th story from FUS, story from them and the box score.

(3-6) (0-4)

Does Connor Get to Play?

Frostburg State rolls in to Stuebs tomorrow for the first conference game of the spring semester. The biggest questions everybody is probably asking is, "How will the team cope without Connor?"  The bigger question should be, "Will Connor be playing?"  According to the Student Handbook's calendar, students will not depart for Austria until Sunday the 11th.  So, theoretically Connor could play both home games before he bolts for a lucrative European contract.  

Fearless Prediction: Connor plays and we win our first conference game.  Final Score 75-71.

Name Game: Better Than an AK-47?

Nicknames really don't come cooler than something like an AK-47 or a CP3.  Those nicknames are badass.  So it is really too bad that the school, our Franciscan University, does not take the initiative to buy jerseys that would make for a really awesome nickname.  But then if one thinks about it, does one really want to have the same nickname as this guy?  He plays for the Utah Jazz and has a really gay haircut.  The answer is no, and you don't want the prototype, you want the gun that is three models better and three times as kickass.

I give you the AK-50, or Andrew "AK-50" Kay.

Name Game: Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto?

Next up in the name game. The one, the only, the injured (hopefully not anymore)...Robert Slattery. Fortunately, since I'm packing up to head back to Stubie, we've done this once before for him. So not to get into it again, "Sgt. Slaughter" Slattery's creation story can be found here.

THE BARONS ARE BACK!!!!!!!!

Name Game: Finnegan's Royalty Continues. . .

As every fan of Baron basketball eagerly awaits the return of BaronBasketballMania, we present Curtis Allen up for the Name game.  As a senior who has played every year on the Baron basketball team, I'm surprised we've never given him a nickname before.  Curtis, this is long over due.

Let the record state that I worship everything Indiana Pacers.  Like I wear Reggie Miller pajama's at night.  I don't remember Chris Mullin for his golden years on the Warriors (once a Pacer, always a Pacer).  I will even admit that Ron Artest is one of the most tragically misunderstood players ever in the NBA.  That brawl against the Pistons in '04 only proves every wretched rumor about Detroit, it's fans, and the entire Pistons organization.  All except one.  Tayshaun Prince.  I cried myself to sleep the night he had this block on Reggie Miller in the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals.  Ever since then, I've respected him and his game changing abilities on both sides of the court.  In this way, Curtis is like. . . no. . . Tayshaun is like Curtis.  Both players are known for their key defensive stops, but they are also more than capable of leading their team in scoring on any given night.  Plus, as one of the handful of seniors on the team, you're gonna be pressed to find a more respected guy on the team.  Since this is his final semester on the team before he graduates, I know he will post one of the biggest semesters he's had on the Baron basketball team.  I shudder at the thought of ever rooting for the Pistons.  Unless its just for Taysh. 

 Congratulations, Curtis "Prince" Allen.  Let the reign continue.  

The Duke of Finnegan

Josh "Duke" Ducoulombier.

Not much else to say.

NAME GAME

Well Baronfans...here at the baronblog we are getting a little bored. With no baronball going on we are having a little withdrawl. So to pass the time we are going to do something a little different. It's time for nicknames. Each day we will put up three names, and either:
A) Tell you their nickname and why they have it
or
2) Give you an option for a few nicknames and let you vote on it (if i can figure out the voting thing)

So without further ado, let's get to the name game.

THE BARONS ARE BACK!!!!