Michelle Voepel reprising the bad for basketball argument

[dogged1]

God separated the dark from the light, and saw it was good.

I wish I had thought of that, good one, LOL.

 

[Alydar]

In the history of spectator sports it's been the dominant teams that have grown the sport. I think Michele confuses popularity with competition. She sees building the sport as having more successful programs around the country. But pro basketball took off in the Jordan era when there really wasn't anyone to challenge them. Would pro football be better without the NE Patriots all these years? Or the Cowboys of the 70's? Baseball regained it's popularity during the 90's when the Yankees dominated?

I had to laugh after ESPN's Twitter page was inundated with howls about one bad call the other night. It answered a question. I always wondered what happened to all the UConn trolls who lived on the old ESPN wcbb message board. Now I know, they moved to Twitter. Don't think for one second that ESPN wasn't thinking about them when they hyped that non-call while ignoring all the other non-calls that happened throughout the game. They are pandering to a large block of fans who want UConn to lose more than they want any other team to win.

I'm sure that Voepel, Creme, Hayes et al truly want to build wcbb from the inside but their employer (Disney/Hearst) only wants more viewers watching and if it's hatred for UConn that gets them to watch then D/H is OK with that.

 

[STLCardinal]

The bar SHOULD be set high. Reachable, but high. Not just in sports but in life. There should be examples of how to coach, play and recruit at a level that achieves great things. There should be people who set examples on how to carry yourself, contribute to a team or workplace, show respect for opponents or adversaries. In so many areas of society these days the bar has been set so low you can step over it. Sports provides a learning opportunity for kids. They either learn good things or bad things. The UConn program is not only providing their kids with the opportunity to learn how to be great but they are setting an example that a lot of other programs would do good to follow.

 

[MSGRET]

Jeeez, are we really the WCBB equivalent to the Damn Yankees. Does that make me the equivalent of a Yankees fan.
Oh, God what a horrible thought.
I need a whiskey, make that a quart of Knob Creek.

You might want to make it a fifth just to be sure.

 

[CMC'72]

Thanks for posting the Voepel article, where she says, simply:
"No one has accomplished more than Geno Auriemma's 11 NCAA titles. It's hard to imagine we'll ever see another program replicate this, and for the growth of the sport, it's probably best if that's the case."

I don't take that as Voepel reprising "UCONN is bad for basketball"

Parity IS great for business. Voepel's job is to make the games exciting by raising up the underdog as an advertising point. She does that. But I don't see her being disrespectful to UCONN or Geno in any way.

However, yes, Voepel, again, picks Stanford, and as she did with picking Baylor, she remains destined to be wrong again.

 

[oldude]

Jeeez, are we really the WCBB equivalent to the Damn Yankees. Does that make me the equivalent of a Yankees fan.
Oh, God what a horrible thought.
I need a whiskey, make that a quart of Knob Creek.

Sitting here thoroughly enjoying opening day at the Stadium. My Yankees currently up 2-1 over the Jays in the bottom of the 3rd.......Just sayin.

 

[BBallF]

I just wanted to put my 2 cents in about this unquestioned and glorified concept of parity by which is meant broad based equality.

First of all, it's an illusion in any sport where the players get to choose their venue to play that sport in. Is there parity in college football? Why does it have to exist in women's college basketball? The best players are not going to magically go to numerous and varied schools because UCONN loses an NC or doesn't get to an FF. They are going to go where the other best players are going, where the best coaches are, where the historically successful programs are, and where it will best suit them. That has largely happened in women's basketball except that the parity is concentrated at the top of the sport in the usually represented schools like UCONN, SC, Baylor, Stanford, Notre Dame previously, etc.

Secondly, grow the sport? Most people, men and women, boys and girls, will tell you that the single best game in both tournaments was the UCONN- Baylor game. That, and a player like Paige, and a team like ours this year, grows the sport. What little girl, who was serious about hoops or even just learning would not want to be like Paige? Or to play at UCONN with teammates like these? You want true parity, hypothetically take the top 40 players in the US in high school and send them to 40 different schools. What would you get? A dilution, a drop off in the quality of the sport itself, and people not even watching.

If parity means UCONN doesn't win an NC and someone else does, look at the last 2 full years before Covid. Did that grow the sport? It helped 2 programs ( one only temporarily) but it didn't grow the sport. Growing the sport is agreeing to take your #1 ranked team on MLK Jr. Day in 1995 and play the #2 ranked Huskies on national TV and then being arch rivals for years. Or having a player like DT with her charisma lead her team twice to a title. Or now, with a young player crying with the POY trophy in her hands telling her teammates she loves them and watching them all coming to surround her with pure affection for her and each other. That grows the sport, not an unexamined adherence to an unrealistic concept and an assertion without evidence with a fundamental goal to be to have a woman's sport approached differently from a man's sport.

 

[dogged1]

You might want to make it a fifth just to be sure.

First I will drink the fifth, then I will take the fifth.
"Nah, it couldn't be me, honey, I don't remember drinking that bottle"

 

[CMC'72]

I just wanted to put my 2 cents in about this unquestioned and glorified concept of parity by which is meant broad based equality.

Lots of good points in your post. All parity means no one wants to see the same team win all the time. simple.
Your sense of what creates drama is crucial to great game growth, and that is what the "we have no parity" side of the equation also craves. Methinks we all agree on the grain of truth driving this supposed divide.

 

[pacific 44]

The level that Michelle will go to to be relevant and noticed is just outrageous. Just as an example this is her family car.

 

[j66kicker]

Sitting here thoroughly enjoying opening day at the Stadium. My Yankees currently up 2-1 over the Jays in the bottom of the 3rd.......Just sayin.

Kraken kracks one!! (Will be so good to see the Yankees being bad for baseball this year!)

 

[MSGRET]

The level that Michelle will go to to be relevant and noticed is just outrageous. Just as an example this is her family car. View attachment 66528

Thank God I had finished my coffee before seeing this. I don't think my screen could take another spew of it this morning after the reading of connie's post.

 

[dogged1]

Sitting here thoroughly enjoying opening day at the Stadium. My Yankees currently up 2-1 over the Jays in the bottom of the 3rd.......Just sayin.

One of the most entertaining things there is: sit in a room and listen to the banter between Yankees and Sox fans. As long as it stays at banter.....

 

[fly2themoon]

Poor Ms. Voepel. She may be a good person. I would not know for I don’t know her personally. I know her only by what she writes, says and opines. She wrote So. Carolina should have won, another way of saying Uconn should have lost. She picked Baylor to win or Uconn to lose. Someone said she now picks Stanford to win. She asked Geno about the non-call at the post-game press conference making it an issue. What has the Uconn done to deserve the surrounding controversy. It is the officials who didn’t make a call for whatever reasons. Some say Bayor was robbed of a win as if Uconn shouldn’t have won. I must admit that as a Uconn fan I have a bias in favor of Uconn. In my opinion, Ms. Voepel has anti-Uconn bias in her opinions, statements, writing. How subtle it might have been, she has shown her bias whenever possible. She is entitled to her opinion as a person, but I wish she were more objective as a sports writer in public domain. Just my 2 cents.

 

[fly2themoon]

What is today?

FYI, Today is Thursday, a day before Good Friday.

 

[CL82]

I’m not a big fan of paraphrases. I say if you can’t make your point in a single phrase, don’t say it.

 

[RedStickHusky]

I’m not a big fan of paraphrases. I say if you can’t make your point in a single phrase, don’t say it.

I was going to agree with you and then I saw what you did. I still agree, no more paraphrasing for me.

 

[fly2themoon]

I’m not a big fan of paraphrases. I say if you can’t make your point in a single phrase, don’t say it.

I won’t say it.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Jeeez, are we really the WCBB equivalent to the Damn Yankees. Does that make me the equivalent of a Yankees fan.
Oh, God what a horrible thought.
I need a whiskey, make that a quart of Knob Creek.

Started to pop for a bottle of that maybe a week ago. Not sure if I've ever had it. Went with Elijah Craig small batch instead. Sublime.

Let me know what you think of KC, if you would.

 

[Gus Mahler]

No such thing as favorites in the same event. There can only be one favorite.

Some unique points you're making.

 

[AYusef]

I know we often say NC or bust at Connecticut, but for many programs just reaching the final four is an incredible achievement. Think about how for the last 13 seasons, or 14 years, no team in Connecticut’s bracket has broken through. That’s since 2008, or when Tennessee last won a NC!!! We have continued to be at this bad for basketball level for a long time. Now it seems we are poised to once again be really bad for basketball. With the team we have next year, it should be another final four at minimum. And 3 years of Fudd and Bueckers should keep the ball rolling.

This might be an understatement, I'm excited about the size they have coming in over the next 2 recruiting classes to join forces with Aaliyah Edwards

 

[AYusef]

Well, maybe a little bit of a hot take on my part... I'll admit that "shouldn't happen again" is not exactly "should end". Still, I think Michelle has made it clear that she's had enough U

Voepel: It matters a ton, for all the reasons Charlie said. This is a meeting of two very different generations of coaches who are both successful. No one has accomplished more than Geno Auriemma's 11 NCAA titles. It's hard to imagine we'll ever see another program replicate this, and for the growth of the sport, it's probably best if that's the case.

I can't figure out how the OP twisted this into "Paraphrased - "UConn in it's 13th straight f4. Better for WCBB to end that streak.""

'

Regardless what the OP intended Michelle's take is foolish beyond words. UConn dominance has been one of main contributors of the growth of the sport. When does excellence become passé'?

The last I looked they were beaten in the FF their last two trips because other programs have taken the challenge and tried to compete to their level. If you don't have a UConn or Tenn back in the day what are you aspiring to?

 

[CMC'72]

Thank God I had finished my coffee before seeing this. I don't think my screen could take another spew of it this morning after the reading of connie's post.

True, Connie DID pull off the upset!!