HOOPS
- Gaels: Bookmark these for posterity ... Queen's coach Rob Smart summed up Saturday's OUA East semi-final against Carleton by telling The Whig, "If we were in Vegas, I'd say we'd be looking at about 1,000 to one." Mitch Leger, who put up a game-high 20 points in the Gaels' first-round romp over York, also had a gem: "We have so many rookies that haven't had four years of not beating Carleton."
Stranger things have happened. But that Carleton crew seems bent on never having a loss to Queen's on their conscience. - Gee-Gees: Ottawa's Mr. Everything, Josh Gibson-Bascombe, had a noticeable limp in his return from a three-game absence with an injured knee, not that it mattered much vs. Ryerson. Toronto can really put a backcourt man through the ringer, but at least JGB gets an extra day of R-and-R. Toronto has scheduled the other OUA East semi for Sunday afternoon -- to draw more students returning from Reading Week? -- instead of Saturday night. It gives JGB one more sleep before having to play again on that knee.
Even with the knee heavily bandaged, Gibson-Bascombe provided a somewhat humourous late in the third quarter, a couple minutes after the game had turned into a blowout. Off a Ryerson turnover in the backcourt, Gibson-Bascombe, who's about 6-foot-3½, had an uncontested basket. He went up like he was going to dunk the ball and you could just hear the Gee-Gees' bench holding their collective breath, worrying about him aggravating the injury. He got up high enough to dunk and then gently laid the ball in. On the sideline, coach Dave DeAveiro couldn't help but smile. - Ravens: That's a hell of a feat for a Carleton's women's team to have a one-possession game (64-61) in the playoffs in Toronto's gym. In a year or two, they'll start winning those games.
HOCKEY
- Gee-Gees: Gut instinct says the U of O men might have just enough to win on Friday and take their series back to Trois-Rivieres for Game 3. Their power play, which had six goals vs. Toronto, was just 1-for-7. Still, they made a game with it, with Yanick Charron cutting the lead to one inside of the two-minute mark before a penalty with 41 seconds left sealed the game.
- Gaels: It was 6-1 in Game 1 of Queen's series vs. McGill. No need to ask who scored the six. The CFRC Sports gang might have more to say later on today.
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5 comments:
Ah, Rob Smart, always the optimist. This is after all the same guy who told me the Gaels' last game against Carleton in the regular season meant "next to nothing," as both teams were locked into playoff spots and he was expecting to lose. Still, I think he's probably underselling his side on purpose to create low expectations: sure, they'll probably lose, but if they knock off Carleton, it's an amazing upset. He also said that he wasn't even focusing on the first round for the last couple weeks of practices, instead gearing up for Carleton, so I get the feeling this team might have something up their sleeve. Queen's demolished York pretty handily in the first round, and Carleton had a bit of trouble with a wounded Ottawa side in the last regular season game that the Gaels beat 64-48 the week before, so I think the Queen's-Carleton matchup should at least be close...
Well, Mr. Smart does practise law, he knows how to be on point and on message better than us silly journalists.
It would be great if the Gaels could pull it off somehow, but honestly, Carleton seems to have it ingrained that they never, ever lose to Queen's.
Smart's trying to create low expectations against a team he has zero chance of beating? I am shocked - SHOCKED.
There's more of a chance than Mr. King would have us believe.
Hell, on the phone before the first Queen's-Carleton game the other coach Smart gave the Gaels a chance. Never say never.
1000 to 1 is like the varsity blues football team winning a game next year against someone other than York or Waterloo.
Based on the last game between carleton and Queens, i'd say queens has a shot...
With a couple of defensive adjustments and a better field % i'd give them 10 to 1 odds.
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