Requiem for the Big East

[Moontan]

Disagree. There's an ignore button. Feel free to use it. Sad that through the whole documentary some folks focus on the "Thuggery" of Georgetown.

They played physical tough ball. They recruited primarily black athletes. They were like the Oakland Raiders of the 80's. Clearly, some people were never able to get over that.

As someone who did live the early 80s rivalry (as an SU student) I can tell you that we were all outraged by the Hoya thuggery.

If you think race had anything to do with it then you're simply wrong. Take a look at footage from the era and check the make up of the Big East teams. 75+% of the players in the league were black, including Syracuse. Yes, there were usually 1-2 white players in the SU rotation during this period (Headd, Schayes, Rautins, Kerins, Spera, Seikaly), but most of the players we were proudly cheering for were black.

If you really want to see who was paying attention to race, you should read this article.

 

[GoSU96]

The real important thing to take away from the show is the Boneyard reaction.

Priceless.

 

[LIVLEVYA]

In fact, such a conference was put together and it was called the Big East. By the time PSU left for the Big 10, Syracuse football was poised for a strong 15 -year run. From 1987-2001 SU had a better winning percentage than PSU. The Big East was a successful football league. It was Miami's departure, not entrance, that killed the Big East.

Sorry...but so long as there were so many schools without a D1A football program, the BigEast wasn't an all-sports conference. It was a hybrid that was doomed to fail because two separate groups within the conference had polar opposite priorities. As for Miami's entrance...the special accommodations (kept football revenue and baseball not joining BE) that Miami got to join the BigEast is proof the conference was grasping at anything to prevent Pitt, Syracuse and BC from pursuing other conferences. And after Miami, it was Notre Dame that got special concessions (all sports but football). Why? Because ND had the clout to ask for them and the BigEast wasn't in a position to say no. The BigTen never could get ND precisely because the conference treated all members equally, at least as far as finances and revenue goes.

 

[cuseattle]

I went to bed early and didn't see the end of this (went to sleep) and I'm guessing the second hour was a lot of Charles Pierce using the big east to make a lot of silly statements about america as a whole. You could see it coming a mile away with some of the same strange asides from the first hour. (like the line about the government making people poor in the 80s which made them like georgetown. ooook)

There is a liberal conspiracy around every corner.

 

[orangehipfan]

There's a lot of revisionist history and controlled ignorance going on here if we don't acknowledge guys like Coleman and Brower in the "thug" department then, and guys who should never have been allowed to play another game. But I'm sure there's a logical distinction between the choke hold by Ewing and the Cornell fracas.

just started reading this thread and was going to mention the Cornell game in reference to previous discussions on thugs. Believe me, DC was my favorite SU player, but by standards mentioned by a moderator, he would have been banned from the league after that game. There were other incidents also. And yes, I do not like Georgetown and agree with part of the discussion on Thompson playing the race card when it would benefit him or his team.

It was a great show, brought back many memories.

 

[CiscoCuse]

The show was great! There was a lot of good PR for CUSE B-Ball. JB sounded like the Senior Statesmen. Yes the good old days of the Big East are memories...good memories for me...especially the couple of times I went to the BET @ The Garden. Props to ESPN for the show.
PS...a nice line I saw on the Boneyard about the show "I think that janitor who they showed cleaning up at the end of the documentary got more screen time than we did."...

 

[Millhouse]

There is a liberal conspiracy around every corner.

Conspiracy? Charles pierce being annoying isn't a conspiracy

 

[rrlbees]

just started reading this thread and was going to mention the Cornell game in reference to previous discussions on thugs. Believe me, DC was my favorite SU player, but by standards mentioned by a moderator, he would have been banned from the league after that game. There were other incidents also. And yes, I do not like Georgetown and agree with part of the discussion on Thompson playing the race card when it would benefit him or his team. It was a great show, brought back many memories.

You'll need to finish reading the thread then for some excellent responses to why Georgetown, Thompson, Ewing, Graham etc do not equate to others such as the Cornell fracas or any other BE fracas. Not even close to one in the same.

 

[Stern]

Side Note: Watching the Boeheim commercial with "The Fat Man" brought back some memories. Whatever happened to "The Fat Man" (real name: Steve Corlett?) Last I remember he was on the air in the early 90's and never heard from again. Does anyone know?

 

[44PRIDE]

Side Note: Watching the Boeheim commercial with "The Fat Man" brought back some memories. Whatever happened to "The Fat Man" (real name: Steve Corlett?) Last I remember he was on the air in the early 90's and never heard from again. Does anyone know?

He made his way to 95x for a show "Dave & The Fatman" with Dave Coombs (TK99). Not too soon after, I believe he was charged with soliciting a prostitute...and decided to leave radio completely. I believe he is still in the area.

 

[Noexcuse]

just started reading this thread and was going to mention the Cornell game in reference to previous discussions on thugs. Believe me, DC was my favorite SU player, but by standards mentioned by a moderator, he would have been banned from the league after that game. There were other incidents also. And yes, I do not like Georgetown and agree with part of the discussion on Thompson playing the race card when it would benefit him or his team.

It was a great show, brought back many memories.

The Cornell players dished it out pretty good in that game. There were a lot of hard fouls under the basket by them. The "fracas" happened near the end of the game, if I remember correctly. Coleman came off the bench to join in.

 

[djcon57]

Just watched this last night. Great stuff.

I loved the narrative at the end of "how dare Syracuse leave". Yeah, we should play Memphis in football in a half empty dome, but AT LEAST we still play Seton Hall in basketball. I mean, seriously, grow up.

 

[Millhouse]

Just watched this last night. Great stuff.

I loved the narrative at the end of "how dare Syracuse leave". Yeah, we should play Memphis in football in a half empty dome, but AT LEAST we still play Seton Hall in basketball. I mean, seriously, grow up.

all to honor the legacy and the supposed wishes of the saint dick gavett who left the conference before anyone else did (as i think Dasher pointed out)

in a show all about greed, no one bothers to mention that the only people who would invoke st gavett's wishes from the grave are the ones who stand to benefit the mo$t

 

[Millhouse]

all to honor the legacy and the supposed wishes of the saint dick gavett who left the conference before anyone else did (as i think Dasher pointed out)

in a show all about greed, no one bothers to mention that the only people who would invoke st gavett's wishes from the grave are the ones who stand to benefit the mo$t

also i get dave gavitt confused with dick cavett because neither of them matter to me

 

[KaiserUEO]

also i get dave gavitt confused with dick cavett because neither of them matter to me

i always got them confused but i thought there was 3.

dave gavitt the announcer, dave gavitt the commissoner and dick cavett the crappy talk show host.

 

[Cowtown]

I've heard reference to the Williams interview several times over the years but that's one of the few notable Big East things I have never seen before.

This contains another viewpoint on that situation ...

http://articles.latimes.com/1987-01-15/sports/sp-4560_1_reggie-williams

 

[Toga]

also i get dave gavitt confused with dick cavett because neither of them matter to me

Here is one way to keep them straight. One is clinically depressed and the other one isn't.

 

[Cowtown]

Georgetown got some bad treatment by some idiotic fans but they actually welcomed negative reactions and used that to motivate their players. They had a rough style of play, (even beyond what we've seen from Pitt and UCONN in recent years), which they got away with. They wanted to be the "bad guys" and everybody accommodated them. I'm still surprised there weren't riots.

Yes, and it needs to be pointed out that Gavitt and the Big East cognoscenti did nothing to address it because it created controversy, drew attention, and generated a lot of revenue for what was not only a developing league, but also a developing TV sports station.

 

[HoustonCuse]

I rewatched part of it yesterday. Another tidbit I picked up (by reading the newspaper they flashed on the screen), was that the "Manley is closed" game was the very first home loss of Jim Boeheim's career. I never knew that and it is quite amazing!

 

[Cowtown]

I wasn't around in the 80s, but they look like thugs to me. I never knew Ewing choked a player like that. Damn.

Did you also see him throw a shoulder into Chris Mullin's jaw?

 

[Toga]

Did you also see him throw a shoulder into Chris Mullin's jaw?

Brutal. What a POS.

 

[senorpalmer]

This contains another viewpoint on that situation ...

http://articles.latimes.com/1987-01-15/sports/sp-4560_1_reggie-williams

Another interesting, unrelated tidbit from that article. ..the unnamed NBA scout who felt Williams was better than Reggie Miller AND Reggie Lewis. Ouch.

 

[Stern]

He made his way to 95x for a show "Dave & The Fatman" with Dave Coombs (TK99). Not too soon after, I believe he was charged with soliciting a prostitute...and decided to leave radio completely. I believe he is still in the area.

HA, he was ahead of his time. If he was on the radio today and got caught with a hooker his bosses would give him a raise. The headlines would be "good for his show" and his ratings would skyrocket

 

[Zippy1808]

Question about the "Manley is officially closed " moment.
Forever - I've heard (and believed) that JT said it over the arena PA via the mic at the scorer's table.
In the documentary, it was said that this happened at the press conference (away from public ears)
Which is true??

 

[Noexcuse]

Question about the "Manley is officially closed " moment.
Forever - I've heard (and believed) that JT said it over the arena PA via the mic at the scorer's table.
In the documentary, it was said that this happened at the press conference (away from public ears)
Which is true??

Definitely not over the PA system. Still can't believe we blew a 17 point lead in that game.