Sally Jenkins Wash Post Column

[Wbbfan1]

Wash Post - link

"The Huskies’ Caroline Doty threw a flagrant elbow to the face of Louisville guard Bria Smith that left her writhing on the floor, and that started the pasting."

IMHO this reads as if Caroline intentionally threw the elbow instead of the accidental contact it was. She makes it read like it was a dirty play. Am I reading too much into the sentence?

 

[uconnfan68]

Wash Post - link

"The Huskies’ Caroline Doty threw a flagrant elbow to the face of Louisville guard Bria Smith that left her writhing on the floor, and that started the pasting."

IMHO this reads as if Caroline intentionally threw the elbow instead of the accidental contact it was. She makes it read like it was a dirty play. Am I reading too much into the sentence?

No, typical Jenkins. What do you expect from Pat Summitt's ghost writer?

 

[CCinCT]

The article is generally complimentary except for this one glitch. Interesting no note made of Reid's flagrant later on, though.

 

[Icebear]

Wash Post - link

"The Huskies’ Caroline Doty threw a flagrant elbow to the face of Louisville guard Bria Smith that left her writhing on the floor, and that started the pasting."

IMHO this reads as if Caroline intentionally threw the elbow instead of the accidental contact it was. She makes it read like it was a dirty play. Am I reading too much into the sentence?

Exactly. CD' did not throw the elbow at all she pivoted her shoulders and turned and caught a crowding in Bria in the face. She even went over to check on Bria Smith.

 

[pap49cba]

That one misguided inference aside, I thought it was a good (and fair) article.

 

[VAMike23]

I didn't like her description of Caroline's elbow/flagrant either but as CCiCT said, Jenkins' article is generally complimentary and, IMHO, quite well written.

A good read overall.

 

[UConnCat]

In many ways it's typical Jenkins, both insightful and with an edge. She offers up grudging admiration for the program. But I thinks it's a fascinating article and I'm glad she wrote it because of what it says about Chris Dailey and her importance to the program.

The edgy stuff:

The University of Connecticut Huskies simply do everything harder. When they hit you, someone winds up flat out on the floor holding their mouth, and when they run, the score gets out of hand fast, and when they get anywhere near a national championship trophy, they just reach out and grab it.

The Huskies’ Caroline Doty threw a flagrant elbow to the face of Louisville guard Bria Smith that left her writhing on the floor, and that started the pasting.

What she writes on Stewie and CD is terrific stuff and offers a glimpse of the struggles that went on behind the scenes.

She [Stewart] was unaccustomed to the general toughness of the workouts, and the demands of Auriemma and his staff.

She had trouble meeting her teammates’ pace and intensity, and with her gangly build, she got pushed around by the higher-ranked teams. She went scoreless against Baylor and put up just five against Notre Dame. Her body language turned mopey, and she withdrew.

When the notoriously blunt and hard-mouthed Auriemma went at her in the locker room, she would lift her large brown bird eyes to the ceiling, trying to control her tears. It got to the point where, “If he said almost anything to her, she would look up and the eyes would fill, and you’d see the tears,” said Auriemma’s longtime assistant Chris Dailey.

That’s when Dailey stepped in. Dailey, who is every inch the teacher Auriemma is, had watched Stewart founder but waited to intervene, thinking it would be better if Stewart approached her for help than the other way around.But Dailey said it was a miscalculation. “I apologized to her,” Dailey says. “She’s 18. Sometimes they need to be shown. It took us awhile to figure it out.”

Dailey made Stewart her personal project: Every day the freshman reported early to the gym and the assistant coach led her through a series of drills, working on her timing and teaching her how to pick up the pace.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Exactly. CD' did not throw the elbow at all she pivoted her shoulders and turned and caught a crowding in Bria in the face. She even went over to check on Bria Smith.

I actually think it was a ridiculous foul call. It was apparent her arms were directly above her body. In my mind that space belongs to the ballplayer and it was Smith's face that encroached into Caroline's space, thus a foul on her face. At no point was elbows out recklessly. A really stupid call and an imbecile who would even suggest a blatant foul. I would have thrown Reid who brutalized Dolson out of the game and maybe suspended her for a few games starting next season (unless she's a senior, of course). There is such a world of difference in the two calls.

 

[cferraro04]

The phrase, "threw a fragrant elbow to the face of Bria Smith" denotes intention. The writer is savvy enough to know that...so one must conclude that the chosen phraseology was intention. The proper wording should have been, "Doty was called for a flagrant 1 after an inadvertent elbow made contact with Bria Smith's face." There shouldn't have been any mention of Bria writhing on the floor. And, if the writer was fair and balanced (which she isn't) there would have been some mention of the other flagrant 1 foul made by Reid on Dolson which was clearly every bit as intentional as Doty's if not more. Also if I recall it had Dolson wincing as she was clearly shaken up by the play. Furthermore, I really didn't see an remorse on Reid's face, in fact, I thought I say a slight smile as she stood over Dolson looking down at her work.

 

[Icebear]

She, also, goes out of her way to make Geno sound like an SOB and that CD had to rescue Stewie from the ogre. Sally's writing has all the tone of man hater.

 

[UConnCat]

More from Jenkins:

Even their bodies look superior; they are leaner, and more cut, their biceps and triceps pop, and their calves bulge. Their passes are crisper, their screens are bigger, and their pace is more intense. They are quicker to every loose ball. There is not a single idle moment by any player, on any part of the floor, never a lazy foot or a low hand. They never, ever take a play off and they never get tired. Anyone who wants to beat them needs to start by planting a spy in their training room.

 

[CL82]

When the notoriously blunt and hard-mouthed Auriemma went at her in the locker room, she would lift her large brown bird eyes to the ceiling, trying to control her tears.

Large brown bird eyes? Really? Sounds like a novel that would have Fabio on the cover.

edit: lol this sentence certainly does not change that impression -Even their bodies look superior; they are leaner, and more cut, their biceps and triceps pop, and their calves bulge.

Regarding Caroline's brutal elbow, I didn't see a heck of lot contact in the replay, if any at all. Grazed might be a better word. Nor did I see any writhing. I sure didn't see any blood.

Not a big deal in the scheme of things, though.

Oh FWIW, I have no doubt in mind that CD might well throw an elbow if appropriate. She's a competitor... but even then it would be done to sent a message not to injure.

 

[TDiNozzo]

After an early flagrant foul by guard Caroline Doty, the uncertain Huskies recovered and drew away with a decisive 19-0 run in the first half and finished with 13 3-pointers. . (NY Times)

NY Times wasn't that much different in the writing... just saying what it was.....

 

[Icebear]

After an early flagrant foul by guard Caroline Doty, the uncertain Huskies recovered and drew away with a decisive 19-0 run in the first half and finished with 13 3-pointers. . (NY Times)

NY Times wasn't that much different in the writing... just saying what it was.....

Vastly different the Times reports the simple fact and adds no descriptives. Caroline did not throw any elbow. She turned and Bria leaned into it. The Times reports the fact of the Flagrant foul which is accurate.

 

[Wbbfan1]

IMHO big difference in the tone of what the NY Times wrote versus what Sally Jenkins wrote.

After an early flagrant foul by guard Caroline Doty, the uncertain Huskies recovered and drew away with a decisive 19-0 run in the first half and finished with 13 3-pointers. . (NY Times)

NY Times wasn't that much different in the writing... just saying what it was.....

 

[intlzncster]

Did Doty even make contact? I thought the Ville player just sold it. I couldn't tell when from my so comfortable reclined position on the couch.

 

[meyers7]

No, typical Jenkins. What do you expect from Pat Summitt's ghost writer?

True, but it was a pretty good article. Actually a really good article.

U-Conn. does things different — and better — on a consistent basis than every other team in the country.....Even their bodies look superior; they are leaner, and more cut, their biceps and triceps pop, and their calves bulge. Their passes are crisper, their screens are bigger, and their pace is more intense. They are quicker to every loose ball. There is not a single idle moment by any player, on any part of the floor, never a lazy foot or a low hand. They never, ever take a play off and they never get tired.


Walz tells the following story about Auriemma. One day, Walz asked if he could observe a U-Conn. practice. Auriemma agreed — and then took a seat next to Walz and watched his own players work out. Out on the floor, former Huskies Renee Montgomery and Tina Charles ran the practice. Auriemma had his team so programmed, Walz said, “He didn’t have to tell them to go hard.

 

[MilfordHusky]

With Jenkins, you get the bad with the good. My view is that the inaccurate and misleading statements are professionally irresponsible.

 

[meyers7]

Oh FWIW, I have no doubt in mind that CD might well throw an elbow if appropriate. She's a competitor... but even then it would be done to sent a message not to injure.

Yea. CD is not a wilting flower. She's a 5th year senior with lots of experience (and savvy). I'm pretty sure she was aware of what she was doing with her elbows. Sending a message. Or even more accurate, clearing space.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Did Doty even make contact? I thought the Ville player just sold it. I couldn't tell when from my so comfortable reclined position on the couch.

I was at the far end of the arena, but I thought it was an act too. Does anyone mention that it was a no-call in real time?

 

[meyers7]

Did Doty even make contact? I thought the Ville player just sold it. I couldn't tell when from my so comfortable reclined position on the couch.

Oh she popped her pretty good.

 

[Icebear]

You don't throw elbows with your arms up catching them as she did. She did not lead with the elbow.

 

[schmendrick]

I see a parallel in Caroline's "flagrant" foul with Heather's steal, drive to the basket, and layup in the waning moments of the game. Both players going out in a way that makes us appreciate who they are, what they sacrificed for the good of the program, and who they could have been.

 

[CL82]

Yea. CD is not a wilting flower. She's a 5th year senior with lots of experience (and savvy). I'm pretty sure she was aware of what she was doing with her elbows. Sending a message. Or even more accurate, clearing space.

Yeah, I'm not so sure. It looked entirely inadvertant to me.

 

[CL82]

Oh she popped her pretty good.

I did not see that either in real time or the replay. I'll have to go back and look.