TigerFan54

I never though Four was half as good as advertised.

I'm going to correct your spelling, Mat: should be "rein in" (as in, pulling on the reins of a horse), not "reign in."

Wow -- that is very early. "Spring practice" in winter.

Very thorough discussion -- thanks for that.

When does spring practice begin?

This is discouraging. TF has great scrambling ability, but without a solid and cohesive line, he'll be doing that a lot more than he did, which increases the chance of injury and decreases his effectiveness.

Is Brennan's injury serious? He had some strong games last year, and given how tough our schedule is, we need our best goalie in there.

I had other things to do tonight -- couldn't watch or chat. I had a feeling we might ride the wave from last week, and NE isn't as strong as I expected them to be this year, so they were vulnerable. But I'm happy for our guys; it's nice to see them get some payback for hanging in through tough times.

PS tells Spiro on the most recent "Tiger Basketball Report" that Timberlake is done for the season and will be able to redshirt.

The common thread in our two CAA wins: Alex Thomas displaying his (otherwise non-existent) shooting touch. I'm happy for the guy.

Rob calling plays doesn't bother me. We were more inventive/unpredictable the years he was his own OC.

Diondre is an impressive guy. I wish him the best.

I'd never heard of Briar Cliff, had to go online to learn it's in Iowa and an NAIA program. Football sounds like it's essentially DIII there, so this will be as big jump.

I assume he'll handle kickoffs and punts, and take over FGs and PATs after Aidan graduates. (Assuming also that he proves to be a worthy successor.)

I guess he's trying to build on the Tibo experiment. Anyone know more about this? https://twitter.com/hashtag/TowsonTigersAroundtheWorld?src=hash

JMU women are also 4-0, but they don't come here till mid-February. Would be a good game to cover if both teams continue to play good ball.

Impressive. Coach Richardson has turned the program around relatively quickly.

Hmm. This will create more spring reps for Miller and whoever else is on the depth chart. I guess TF likes to stay busy.

I get depressed listening to Skerry's postgame comments with Spiro. Instead of saying, "Maybe I need to alter my coaching philosophy," he says what he always says, "We need to defend better and rebound." Not only is this group not doing those things successfully, but the approach is built around the coach's deficiencies. It all but admits, "I don't know how to come up with effective offensive strategies." In other words, we're going to keep pounding our heads against the wall because we don't know what else to do."

This was the first time I've seen this year's team play in person ... and all it did was confirm what I've seen online. Sanders commits two fouls in the first 1:27 on the game, doesn't finish well around the basket, and turns the ball over too much (though he does have nice form at the foul line). Howard, Dottin and Fobbs couldn't finish on fast breaks (five quick and empty possessions by my count; each went coast to coast without ever looking for a teammate); McNeil shoots 0-8 for the field (and didn't provide any defense that I could see). And our assists stat line continues to be pathetic (8 vs. UNCW's 21). On the other hand, Solomon impressed me -- he made some nice moves to the basket and pulled down 9 rebounds in just 20 minutes. Tunstall showed an improved shooting touch from the baseline (he always been solid following others' shots) and Howard is our best three-point shooter when, as Mat has pointed out, he's playing the 2. If I were Skerry, I'd start Dottin, Howard, Tunstall, Solomon and Fobbs, with Thomas and Timberlake (when he gets back) first off the bench. McNeil's minutes would diminish (today's 24 is double what he should get), as would Sanders' and Betrand's. Would the starting five wear down? These are young guys, so it's hard to imagine they couldn't handle it -- and they might just develop some chemistry. I just don't see us ever getting much out of Sanders or McNeil; Betrand might develop, but he's a liability right now both on defense and whenever he touches the ball. One other note: UNCW's freshman point guard, Toews, had 12 assists. He reminded me of UMBC's old PG, Maura. He was quick and he could create. How come every other team out there finds somebody like that, but we can't? (A common complaint here, I know.)

Hard to argue with any of that. And yet, Skerry talked during the post-game interview about how much of the season is left, and how we can still "become a pretty good team." I don't see it.

Tall order tonight. Brantley and Riller are a nearly unstoppable duo.

It's new branding for the school and not athletics -- it replaces the Nike-style swosh that never represented anything, IMO. The Tiger logo remains.

Anybody know if baseball will use those new practice fields? Those guys are more hamstrung by the weather, which limits access to Schuerholz, than any other sport.

Northeastern beat Drexel by just 10, but I think they'll be tough to beat, especially up there.