Hartley Miller's Slap-Shots November 9th Edition

By Hartley Miller

Early signs indicate that the UNBC Lady Timberwolves will be a strong force in BCCAA basketball this season, while the UNBC Men appear unpredictable.

In their inaugural game, the Lady T-Wolves blasted Kwantlen 71-56, and followed up the next night with a convincing 62-38 verdict over Langara.

On the other hand, the men’s team looked comfortable in its new home with an 87-74 triumph over Kwantlen, but demonstrated rookie mistakes in the 81-72 loss to Langara, a score that flattered the hosts.

These were the first four results at the Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre. The games contained all elements of excitement, with the exception of a dramatic finish; in fact, there wasn’t one buzzer beater. Well, so much for those critics that believe that basketball starts in the last two minutes.

Although parkas and mittens were needed in a very cold gymnasium (could somebody please turn the heat on for future games?) the atmosphere was electric, with approximately 1200 spectators in attendance on opening night, followed by roughly 800 the next evening. In the future, UNBC staff may consider counting ticket stubs to determine accurate attendance.

The DP Todd band, Judy Russell’s energy squad dancers, and UNBC business students who were dressed in red, certainly added to the festivities. The business students repeated chant in the Kwantlen game of “losing team” (pointing to the visitors) and “winning team” (pointing to the T-Wolves) was original and memorable.

The Lady Timberwolves are young, but played like an experienced team. The 12 player roster includes six rookies including forward Kady Dandeneau of Pender Island, who chose UNBC over Camosun just prior to the season and delivered with a total of 34 points (24 vs Kwantlen and 10 against Langara). “Dandeneau played fantastic all weekend. She’s extremely strong and she’s very competitive. I think all the rookies played well”, stated Head Coach, Loralyn Murdoch, who added. “I think all the hard work paid off. We didn’t let the pressure get to us and at the end of the day our defence is what won both games.”

Meanwhile, the UNBC men are carrying 14 players, 8 of whom are in their first year.  They were composed against Kwantlen, but lacked poise against Langara. “I really felt we were intimidated by their (Langara) size so our execution just wasn’t there. I was pleased with the Friday night game. I thought we played like a team and moved the ball well, but definitely it was the opposite Saturday. I felt we forced things a lot. It was discouraging and I’m disappointed with the lack of discipline. They came off a 10 hour bus ride but to be honest we looked like we came off a 10-hour bus ride”, said
Coach Zane Robison.

The frustration hit a peak with three inexcusable technicals in the loss. “Yes, a real lack of discipline. At the beginning we didn’t address that and now we will address it and it won’t happen again”, affirmed Robison.

Tonight, in their final regular season home game in 2007, the Timberwolves entertain Columbia Bible College. They also play at UNBC January 12th, Feb 1st, 2nd, 8th and 9th and will host Provincials Feb 28^th-March 1^st.

The schedule for the UNBC basketball teams remains an issue and needs to be addressed. It is ridiculous that the T-wolves will only play one home game from November 9th to the end of January.
Don’t blame the fans if they lose interest because this scheduling faux pas lends credence to the old adage, “Out of sight can indeed lead to out of mind.”

From the quote rack:

“This is starting to sound like a vintage beer commercial: More money! Less taste!”Reggie Hayes of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo being spotted partying with Britney Spears after agreeing to a $67.5-million contract extension.

“Britney Spears mom is writing a book on child rearing and not to be outdone Travis Henry’s mom is writing a book on birth control.” Contributor Derek Wilken of Calgary (http://smacksport.blogspot.com/)

“The NFL is investigating the Colts for piping in fake crowd noise. Footage of Indy personnel setting this up reportedly appears in a confiscated Patriots video camera.”Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California

“Former Dolphin Coach Don Shula says that if the Patriots go 19-0, an asterisk should be added because of Spygate.  In other news, Henry Aaron announced that he will not attend this year’s Super Bowl.”Littlejohn

“To give you an idea how long ago that was, in 1963 Astroturf didn’t exist, there was no Super Bowl, and Vinny Testaverde was just a rookie.” Comedy writer Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California, on the Navy football team beating Notre Dame for the first time since since 1963.

“That’s weird -- I thought Wimbledon was played on grass.’”Calgary comedian Jeff Funnekotter, in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, on five-time Grand Slam tennis
champion Martina Hingis testing positive for cocaine at Wimbledon.

And in case you missed it:

Aleksandar Sapic of Belgrade has a one-million dollar a year contract (with a Russian club team) making him the highest-paid water polo player in the world.

And how was your week?

Hartley Miller is the sports director for radio stations 94X and the Wolf@97fm. He also writes for the PG Free Press. Send along a quote, note or anecdote to hmiller@94xfm.com

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