the 105-second conversation.

One thing I will most certainly miss when I "retire" from this PA gig is the scorers table camaraderie. I've been working with the same cast of characters for about seven years.

Seven years...wow.

In that time I've seen divorces, deaths (of their loved ones), marriages, promotions and so on.

I'm so used to seeing Joe O. in a striped shirt sitting to my right and Greg Rakestraw sitting to my left that, come next basketball season, I'm going to have to get cardboard cutouts of them just so I know how to behave at a basketball game.

In these past seven years, the gameday crew and I have gotten used to having a full conversation during a media timeout. As the band plays or cheerleaders cheer, we stop what we're doing for 105 seconds and have a conversation. It's kind of funny, really. We pack a lot in those few moments we have. Once that first horn sounds, we're back to business. Joe's on the book, one of the Matts is on the shot clock, CD is on the game clock, Buerge and Adrian or JD or another Kevin are down there doing the stats. And Sherrill's on the phones. Amidst all that racket, we work calmly next to the eye of the storm.

I'm already missing it.

one more game.

My final ORU game was gratifying, to say the least. Oh sure, I wish we'd won by 20, but I'll take a win over ORU any day of the week...especially in, say, three weeks or so when we go to the conference tournament.

I can't believe I've only got one more Saturday at the mic. This season went fast.

Saturday's ORU game wasn't bad. I think I sounded better during the women's game than the men's. That sound system needs a complete overhaul. It was fun to watch the game on TV when I got home that night. It's not everyday IUPUI gets a home game broadcast on TV anywhere!

While my announcing may not have been the best on Saturday night, the crowd was one of the best this season.

I hope some folks can travel to Tulsa for the tournament. I know I'm looking forward to it.

collision course.

For two years, I've been waiting for this game tonight: IUPUI vs. ORU. This is THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE SEASON (to this point) for IUPUI. I won't call it a must-win game, but it's close. Until the conference tournament, this is the one that matters the most.

I'm looking forward to it. I hope ORU brings its students, but word on the street is they're not making the trip. A Tulsa television station is broadcasting the game, though.

I'm going to talk to the band tonight to get our stories straight. I'd like to go back to something we did a couple seasons ago. At about the five-minute mark in the pre-game--before the teams come back to the floor--the JagBand would start a big chant of "Let's go, Jags!" Complete with the drums, clapping and stomping. I think we need that tonight.

I know the Red Zone will join in. This year has been our best student section in my seven years and I hope they bring their A game tonight.

I hope I bring mine as well. But most of all, I hope the Jags bring theirs.

Go Jags.

g.p. for threeeeeeeeeee!

Gary Patterson must've eaten his Wheaties yesterday or something. He was absolutely unconscious. 37 points, 11 three-pointers? That's just stupid.

Good win for the Jags in a game they easily could've looked past. The officials observer (his name escapes me) paid me a very nice compliment last night. He told me "you're very good at what you do." It's always nice to hear.

I can't believe the season is winding down. I'm honestly getting a little sad about it. I've only got nine more games until I "retire" as an announcer:

Men's Games
Saturday, 2 Feb 08 vs. UMKC @ 7 p.m.
Thursday, 14 Feb 08 vs. Centenary @ 7 p.m.
Saturday, 16 Feb 08 vs. Oral Roberts @ 7 p.m.
Saturday, 1 March 08 vs. Western Illinois @ 7 p.m.

Women's Games
Saturday, 2 Feb 08 vs. UMKC @ 4:30 p.m.
Monday, 4 Feb 08 vs. Southern Utah @ 7 p.m.
Saturday, 16 Feb 08 vs. Oral Roberts @ 4:30 p.m.
Monday, 18 Feb 08 vs. Centenary @ 7 p.m.
Saturday, 1 March 08 vs. Western Illinois @ 4:30 p.m.

Three more double-dips...and that Feb. 16 game is looking HUGE right now. I can't wait.

jags soccer player goes pro.

NACOVSKI CHOSEN BY THE CHICAGO STORM IN THE MAJOR INDOOR SOCCER LEAGUE COLLEGE DRAFT
Midfielder was four-time First Team All-Conference pick

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. - IUPUI soccer standout Vangel Nacovski was picked by the Chicago Storm in Tuesday’s Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) College Draft in the opening territorial round, eighth overall. Nacovski, a 5-foot-11 midfielder, was named The Summit League’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2007 and was just the fifth player in league history to earn four straight First Team All-Conference berths. Read more.

just how fabulous are these t-birds?

I wonder if somewhere in the Utah desert is a feeling that tonight's game between the Jags and T-birds is something of a vengeance game in the name of Bill Evans.

Evans, the former coach at Southern Utah, was fired shortly after getting knocked out of last season's conference tournament by IUPUI in the quarterfinals.

Truth is, I wonder if Evans would still be coaching there had they not lost that one game. IUPUI was plagued by injuries last season...well, injurY is more like it. Without George Hill, the Jags were a different team; still highly competitive, but you just don't replace a guy like George Hill.

Nevertheless, tonight's game won't be about Bill Evans. For IUPUI, it's getting closer to locking up at least a #2-seed. As it stands, they're two games up on the nearest team (Oakland). With nine games left, IUPUI needs to win seven (right now).

We shall see.

Looking forward to tonight and Saturday. This is all a precursor to the Feb. 16 showdown against Oral Roberts.

If history is any sort of guide, it promises to be a classic. But first, SUU.

yet another blog.

Though it's barely there, I'm starting another blog:

Summit League Hoops

No, it's not going to be Woodward & Bernstein caliber of journalism. I doubt I'll be getting scoops on the teams and such, but maybe I can draw some interest from fans around the conference to get involved a bit and mix it up for fun.

We'll see.

tulsapalooza2k8.

It's about 75% official. I'm heading back to Tulsa for a return engagement. We'll call it TULSAPALOOZA2K8.

What: Tulsapalooza2k8
When: March 8-11
Where: Tulsa, OK
Why: IUPUI Jaguars will be competing for a Summit League championship

This will be my third trip to our conference tournament. Far from a vacation, though, this is something of a working trip for me. Once every couple years I pretend to be a sports writer for the program and write the game re-caps for the IUPUI Jaguars Web site. In addition, I'm tinkering with the idea of being a regular, courtside blogger as well as posting video updates.

Yeah, I'll be busy. But this is fun for me.

As we draw nearer the dates, I'll keep you in the loop so you can follow the bouncing ball.

jon avery on the umass victory.

I didn't even know this was out there until today. Sophomore forward Jon Avery talks about the significance of beating UMass:


Call me a narcissist, but I like the fact the b-roll audio picks up my announcing. :-)

sound off.

It seems this season will not be an easy ride off into the sunset for me. Because of sound-card issues I have with my laptop, I used an AirPort Extreme to run audio at basketball games. Now, the AirPort Extreme was working fine from home. When I plugged it in at the Jungle, it was dead. No green light. No yellow light.

DEAD!

I had no choice but to run the sound directly from computer to sound board. Fortunately, there were no incidents. It may be like this the rest of the way, I'm sorry to report.

We won the game tonight too. Now if only someone can help us out and knock off ORU a time or two, that would be super.

Mmm...thanks.

...like being shot out of a cannon.

Last evening's Jaguar Jamboree felt like getting shot out of a cannon. There's no other way to describe it. Once the volleyball game concluded, we had about 10 minutes to set up and get rolling. I'm used to about 45 minutes of prep time when I work a basketball game, but I figured it would be no sweat, since this isn't my first rodeo.

I was wrong.

It should've been received as a harbinger of things to come when I learned my standard headset mic was out of commission. The handheld mic I was using is what I absolutely hate because it's arguably the least sensitive of the bunch. So I spent most of the night having to SCREAM into the mic. Anyone who knows anything about public speaking can predict this is a recipe for disaster.

If that wasn't bad enough, we had sound issues all night long. We lost the right channel on our amp and, I'm learning, one entire side of the gym couldn't hear a thing because half the overhead speakers were out.

Everything sounded muddy, muffled and over/under-modulated. It may very well have something to do with the system I run (I run my computer into one of the inputs and play everything through iTunes). It worked fine last year. But now, something is amiss and I need a moment to figure it out. Being as how we only had 10 minutes to get things ready last night, there was no time for rehearsals or anything else.

The upside, however, is former player Angelo Smith did a fantastic job as the floor emcee. I knew he would. He's a good guy with a very warm, friendly personality and it came across well.

The new Jungle looks great. I just wish we had more butts in seats last night.

If I were compiling a wish list, it would begin and end with better equipment. What we need, though, would cost an additional few thousand dollars.

ron hunter: "...on second thought..."

I just received this from a representative of the IUPUI Jaguars Athletics Department:

IUPUI’S RON HUNTER WITHDRAWS NAME FROM BALL STATE COACHING SEARCH

INDIANAPOLIS - IUPUI head basketball coach Ron Hunter has withdrawn his name from the Ball State head coaching candidate search. Hunter, IUPUI’s all-time leader in wins (207) and career winning percentage (.545), is entering his 14th season with the university.

The Ball State job became vacant when Ronny Thompson resigned after one season.

“I was flattered to be in consideration, but I want to be at IUPUI. We look forward to preparing our squad for the 2007-08 season and competing for a Summit League championship.

“I took the opportunity to explore another professional opportunity, but have ultimately decided that I’m happy at IUPUI.”

Hunter has no further comments on the matter at this time.

i guess this is an official announcement...or something.

Without making a big fuss over things, I hinted to IUPUI Jags personnel today that the upcoming soccer and basketball seasons will, most likely, be my final as PA announcer for the program.

Given my intentions to relocate to Las Vegas by as early as August 08, I think the distance would create a rather difficult commute.

Nothing is etched in stone and I certainly enjoy working for the program, but I have decided it's time to pursue other interests in the desert.

There's a good chance I could still be living in Indy well into 2009, depending on the Vegas job market, but after much consideration I felt it was probably best to step aside well before the 08-09 season to allow ample time for the SID to name a replacement.

It's not like my job is brain surgery or anything. They'll have no trouble filling the spot, I believe.

For me personally, though, I admit I'll miss being at the scorers table. I've always told people I get to watch basketball from the best seat in the house. And the camaraderie between myself and the guys at the table has always been great.

Also, it goes without saying that I'll miss the interaction with all the students: the athletes, cheerleaders, dancers and, last but not least, the Pep Band. I'm pushing 40 but always feel young when I'm around them.

So I'm going to savor as much of this season as possible. I'm going to enjoy every moment at every game. And I'll go to one more conference tournament to watch our teams compete.

I look forward to my future in Las Vegas, but I'll certainly miss the experience I've had as a PA announcer for the Jags.

Onward.

BREAKING NEWS!!!!! RON HUNTER LEAVING FOR BALL STATE

ESPN.com is reporting Ron Hunter is set to take over as head coach of Ball State University.

See for yourself:

IUPUI's Hunter expected to replace Thompson at Ball State

By Andy Katz

Barring an unexpected impasse, Ball State and IUPUI head coach Ron Hunter are expected to agree on a contract that would make him the new Cardinals coach.

Hunter is the top candidate to replace Ronny Thompson, multiple sources said over the weekend. Thompson abruptly resigned July 13 after one season as Ball State coach after an internal investigation found that he and his staff violated NCAA rules in 2006 and last May by attending voluntary offseason team workouts. The coaches lied about their involvement in the May infraction, the school has said. Read more.

Stay tuned.

well, that makes one of us who's excited.

Wow...did not see this one coming. From the Mid-Continent Conference Summit League Web site:

Sioux Falls to Host 2009-2010 Summit League Basketball Championships

ELMHURST, Ill. - The Summit League will head to Sioux Falls, S.D., and the Sioux Falls Arena for its men’s and women’s basketball championships in 2009 and 2010 Commissioner Tom Douple announced today.

"We are very excited about having our basketball tournament in Sioux Falls," Douple said. "It will be great for the city and the region, and we anticipate tremendous support from the community. We are especially looking forward to bringing March Madness to the state of South Dakota."
Read more.

The upside is we won't have to put up with scads of ORU fans. The downside is it's still a haul and a half to get there for Jags fans.

heads are rolling in kansas city and chicago....and southern utah????

Heads are rolling with (current and former) Mid-Con teams. According to ESPN.com:

UMKC fires basketball coach Rich Zvosec after 12-20 season

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- University of Missouri-Kansas City fired men's basketball coach Rich Zvosec on Tuesday after a 12-20 season.

Zvosec compiled an 84-91 record in six years and had one year left on his contract, which was extended last summer. Read more.

And then I just saw on the ESPN TV ticker that Chicago State University Head Coach Kevin Jones also was fired today.

I can't say as I'm surprised by either. CSU, as you know, was booted out of "left" the conference after last season amidst a groundswell of allegations against its athletics program. As for Zvosec at UMKC, I half-expected it. I don't know him personally, but he never seemed to elevate UMKC above the middle of the pack.

I now wonder out loud if longtime IUPUI Associate Head Coach Todd Howard will get any looks from UMKC or other schools. As for Chicago State...well, I wonder if that program can survive without a conference for much longer. I predict they'll be forced to shut it down.

ETA: Boy, how did I miss this?????

Bill Evans Leaves Southern Utah

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. Evans was not a bad coach, I thought.

and that's that.

Both teams lost today...both to top seeds. From the looks of things, the top seeds were the best teams. And that ends the Jags' seasons.

It could've been better, it could've been worse.

The women's team no longer had the element of surprise on their side, as they did last season. The men's team no longer had the element of a game-changer once George Hill went down for the season with injury. Then, factor in losing Fred and you're basically looking at a team that lost two integral forces to the starting lineup.

So, this is it. Our part of March Madness is over. Wait 'til next season.

Tulsa, be ready. I'm coming back with a vengeance.

jags win! jags win!

Nice to see both men's and women's team win today. The women beat Western Illinois this afternoon while the men's team just wrapped up a convincing win over Southern Utah. But for both teams, the next opponents loom large:

TOP SEEDS

The women play tomorrow at 12:50 p.m. against #1 Oakland.

The men play tomorrow evening at 6:55 p.m. against—wait for it—reigning champs Oral Roberts University.

Shock the world, Jags. Shock the world.

missing tulsa.

I'm listening to our women's team play Western Illinois right now (down by one at the half). I never thought I'd be saying this, but I miss not being in Tulsa right now. I went last year, had lots of fun, wanted to go this year but couldn't swing it. And now, I'm sorry I didn't go.

I'll be listening and watching as long as our teams are playing. And I'll certainly go next year. In fact, I'm looking into forming an exploratory committee to gauge interest in a bus trip to Tulsa for the tourney next season.

jabba the pa announcer.

Senior Night
Originally uploaded by jawzthejaguar.

Who's that gigantic blob goon sitting at the scorers table, reading announcements? Oh yeah. Me.

Note to self: the season's over...get thine large arse back to the gym.