BEVERLY HILLS (MI) -- Hope all of the
Flyer Faithful had a great Christmas and an even better “Boxing Day.” While it is not celebrated in the US of A, “Boxing Day” is a very big deal in the UK and its current and former colonies, including Canada -- which is why it was brought up here in the first place. What exactly is “Boxing Day” you ask? Vox.com is our friend:
http://www.vox.com/2015/12/26/10661754/boxing-day
We should all consider the return of Dyshawn Pierre for the Arkansas game on December 30th as our belated “Boxing Day” gift from Canada to the UD Arena.
“FTS” spent our “Boxing Day” attending the Celtics/Pistons game with the Younger Dr. Swampette. Got to see a hard fought C’s victory; watch my old YMCA hoops buddy Duane Huff bang the drums for the Pistons House Band; see the Four Tops perform at half time and catch up with
Boston Herald Celtics beat writer and UD grad Steve Bulpett. When I interviewed him earlier this year, Steve recalled how he always busted the chops of UC guys who were in the NBA when they lost to UD, a school “where players actually had to attend class.” We both found the following article to be confirmation of that fact…and more:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...ball/77318732/
The day before “Boxing Day” (otherwise known as Christmas) we joined the throngs headed to the theater to see “The Force Awakens” the latest installment of the “Star Wars” saga. I got totally re-immersed into the galaxy far, far away and came out of the cinema wanting to see the next episode.
We won’t have to wait three years this time, as “Star Wars VIII” will be released in May of 2016. I won’t divulge the plot twists here, but if you have seen the movie and you want to learn more about one fans theory as to what we all saw and what it all means, click here:
WARNING:
MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthi...rjX#.na37D9Wox
Elsewhere:
-- Twitter reacts to UD’s narrow victory over Miami:
http://daytonflyers.blog.daytondaily...n-64-miami-63/
-- Checking in on the Atlantic 10, courtesy of
Rush the Court:
http://rushthecourt.net/2015/12/22/c...source=twitter
-- Another good place to check in on the A-10 is the HoopTen Harbor Twitter feed:
https://twitter.com/HoopTenHarbor
-- Archie Miller teaches us all how to accelerate an offense:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL23Ki4ApjQ
-- If you are wondering why Northwestern was amenable to scheduling UD next year, perhaps the fact that they played so many cupcakes this year (
and that the Wildcats have never been to the NCAA Tournament!) might have something to do with it:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...16-column.html
-- UD tops the “others receiving votes list” on the latest
Pickin’ Splinters Top 25:
http://www.pickinsplinters.com/2015/...y-stay-on-top/
-- There are dumb ideas -- ones that should never see the light of day -- and then there is this: compensating college athletes thru a crowdfunding website, paid for by fans:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/12/sp...ding.html?_r=1
How about no?
-- The Sports Year in Photos, courtesy of
The Wall Street Journal:
http://graphics.wsj.com/Photos-of-th...egory:sports:8
-- Hey, look what’s back, kids!
The Sports Illustrated vault, with every issue all the way back to 1950:
http://www.si.com/vault/issues
-- Whenever you need a good laugh or three, check out comedian George Wallace’s Twitter page. Be prepared, the language can get a little salty:
https://twitter.com/MrGeorgeWallace
That’s it “From the Swamp.”
You can email me at:
swampy@udpride.com