Villanova Apparel in Porn: Bad PR?

Via an email tip. Yes, this is from an adult film. I assume that this was made by theater graduates, and is an advertisement for our new performing arts center?

Daniel Ochefu No Longer at Westtown

I was waiting to say something about this because I'd only seen rumors about it and some circumstantial evidence on his Twitter page, but 2012 Villanova recruit Daniel Ochefu is no longer attending Westtown School and is now at Downingtown East High School according to a report by Mike Kern of the Philly Daily News. There's nothing specific, but it's apparently because of a "minor internal disciplinary action," which sounds an awful lot like "minor teaching point".

Ochefu is still coming to Villanova right now, but this obviously isn't very good press, especially after the JayVaughn Pinkston debacle.

Everything's Better With Japanese Commentary

Exhibit A

The end of this year's Indy 500 was exciting by any standard, but  nothing compares to watching it with the Japanese commentary. Some may say that it was the fact that Takuma Sato, a Japanese driver was doing well but on further research, I've found that to be not the case at all.

This holds true to sports other than auto racing, check out these examples of 100m Olympic finals after the jump.

The Highlight of The 2011-2012 Villanova Basketball Season

Seriously..

Villanova Has Its First 2012 Olympian

Adrian Blincoe, a 2003 Villanova graduate (accounting), Villanova assistant coach and New Zealand's national record holder in the 5000 meters has been selected to his second Olympic Games, making this the  17th consecutive Summer Olympics that has featured a Villanova runner, a streak started by Americans George Guida and Browning Ross in the 1948 London Olympics.

Next month, Bobby Curtis, Jen Rhines, and Sheila Reid all have realistic chances to qualify for The Olympics, Rhines and Curtis for The United States and Reid for Canada.

Villanova National Championship Qualifiers

This weekend in Jacksonville, Florida, five Villanova athletes qualified to run at the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Drake University in Des Moines Iowa. Of those who qualified, three are women and two are men.

Qualifiers

Men:
Sam Ellison 800m: First appearance
Sam McEntee 1500m: First appearance

Women:
Shericka Ward 100 meter hurdles
Sheila Reid 5000m- Defending champion
Bogdana Mimic 5000m

The NCAA Championships last from June 6-9th

Less Than 100 Days Left!

 

I'm Excited, are you?

Off Topic: Bob Saget Sings The National Anthem

Awesome. Meanwhile in Jacksonville..

NCAA East Regionals Live Stream Link

Tonight is the final night of the NCAA Eastern Track and Field Regionals and there are six Villanova athletes looking to join half-miler Sam Ellison, who qualified for the NCAA Championships with a huge personal best of 1:47.76, which was the fourth best time at regionals. The big night is tonight though, with defending champion Sheila Reid and fellow All American Bogdana Mimic competing in the 5000m, Australian miling sensation Sam McEntee competing in the men's 1500, Emily Lipari in the women's 1500 and Shericka Ward in the 100 hurdles and Samantha Francis in the triple jump.

The schedule is right below, and click here for the high resolution video link.

Video: Maalik Wayns NBA Draft Workout

A fine performance from someone likely to go in the latter clutches of the second round or not at all.

Tim Higgins And Bob Donato Retiring

Tim Higgins and Bob Donato, reeferees responsible for two of the biggest highway robberies in officiating history are retiring.. Needless to say that they will not be missed.

Also, this:

Hopefully Jim Burr's next.

Dante Cunningham Is The Best Inside Shooter In The NBA?

image via deadspin

That's what's being said on Deadspin. Randy Foye is also the best three point shooter from a certain spot on the floor.

Opera Singing Cab Driver Remembered

Busted for providing a vital service, what a shame. Everyone raise a glass for a Villanova legend. Here's to you, Lavender.

Bill Stewart: 1952-2012

As much as West Virginia's fans crucified Bill Stewart, his record as head coach was 28-12 including a huge upset in a BCS Bowl. He inherited a program in turmoil after a head coach left and was undermined at every step by an overambitious athletic director. Andy Talley, who is not one to mince words about opposing coaches always had great things to say about him, and a Bill Stewart coached team bitchslapped one of the best Villanova teams ever. He left that program in a better place than it was when he got there and never got any credit from WVU fans, and that's unfortunate.

Rest in peace.

Video: Four Days At The Staples Center

This is awesome.

Dom Mazzetti Graduation Video

It includes a Temple joke, so I thought I would include it. I have a problem that he talked about going to Kelly's instead of the finest bar in the land, Erin Pub.

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2012. May you all enjoy your unemployment thanks to our shitty economy!

Video: Matt Szczur on Playing In Daytona

As a bit of an update, Szczur hit a home run last night, his first of the season  and has been absolutely on fire since getting off to a bit of a rough start this season.

Video: Maurice Sutton Career Highlights

Since Maurice Sutton should be graduating this weekend, and it's a tossup as to whether he'll be back next season, I thought this would be the proper time to break out the highlight video I have made of Maurice Sutton's career.

Off Topic: Calvin Johnson.. Baseball Player?

This guy singlehandedly won me my fantasy league, so I thought I would share this. MEGATRON.

The NCAA Is Not The Problem

Yes, The NCAA has been slow to adapt to the hyper-commercial frenzy that college sports, especially football has become. Yes, they play a role in the problem with some of their ridiculous rules and violations that disproportionately affect the underprivileged. The problem is that people shouldn't go to college to play sports, they should go to college to learn and get degrees. For decades, the NCAA has done this right, but as the recent shitstorm of bullshit that has ripped college football to shreds has shown, they have been cuckolded by a bunch of greedy football playing schools which have dictated what it takes to have a competitive athletic department, even outside of football by building ridiculous cathedrals to athletic pursuits that are far more ostentatious than they need to be, just because the money is there.

In every sport but two, the NCAA gets it right which tells me that it needs to sever those two cancers and allow them to pursue what they feel to be a "better" way. Scholarship athletics are fine, but the minimum qualifying standards should be closer to that of normal students, and we must present a different way for stars in football and basketball who are not good students to climb the athletic ladder without coasting through college.

Villanova At The Olympics

Mike Neill Catching the final out to win Villanova's most recent gold medal

With The Olympics at London coming up in August, I figured I would take today to reflect on Villanova's history at the Olympics. Since 1948, when George Guida and Browning Ross made the second London Olympics, there has been an unprecedented string of Villanova at least one Villanova product competing at every single Summer Olympic Games, including an American representative at each games. To add to representatives at each Olympics, Villanovans have won 12 Olympic medals, eight gold and four silver.

The first Olympics where Villanova brought home a medal was the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, where Ron Delaney (1500m) of Ireland and Charlie Jenkins (400m) of USA each won an individual gold, and Jenkins added a gold in the 4x400m Relay. Four years later in Rome, pole vaulter Don Bragg won the third individual gold medal, and the most recent gold medal not won as a member of a team or relay. In the next Olympics in Tokyo, Paul Drayton won Villanova's first silver, in the 200m dash and a gold as the lead off leg of the 4x100m relay. The 1968 Olympics at Mexico City represented the high watermark for Villanova's participation at The Olympics, with Larry James winning an individual silver in the 400m dash and a gold in the 4x400m relay. Also in Mexico City, hurdler Erv Hall  finished second to legend Willie Davenport in the 110m Hurdles. After 1968, it was a long 24 years before Chip Jenkins won a gold medal for running in the rounds of the 4x400m relay, becoming the first son of an Olympic Champion to win an Olympic gold medal in the same event. Finally in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, on her third try at The Olympics, Sonia O'Sullivan of Ireland won the Silver medal in the 5000m in a thrilling sprint finish, marking the first time that a Villanova woman won an Olympic medal. To cap things off there was Mike Neill's performance for the USA baseball team, winning Villanova's most recent gold medal.

Now what do the 2012 London Olympics hold for Villanova? Well, New Zealand 5000m record holder Adrian Blincoe is a virtual lock for the Olympics in that event provided that he shows fitness tomorrow night at Occidental College. There's also Bobby Curtis, who peaked a little too early last season but is one of the fastest Americans ever over 10,000m. American Jen Rhines is looking to tie the Villanova record by making her fourth Olympic games, presumably at the 10,000m. There is also the current queen of Villanova athletics, Sheila Reid looking to represent Canada for the first time, and Marina Muncan who will try to qualify to compete for Serbia. Former Villanova basketball player Andrew Sullivan will be captaining the British side as they attempt to not get embarrassed by the established basketball powers.

Amile Jefferson Committed To Duke?

Also, I told you so.

Sam McEntee 3:36.81 NCAA #3 Time

One of the fastest times ever by a Villanova runner, and an all time NCAA top ten in-season time plus he's only a freshman in his outdoor eligibility.

Ten fastest in season 1500 times by collegiate runners in history compiled by Track and Field News

1. 3:35.30——Sydney Maree' (Villanova)    6/06/81
2. 3:35.59——Kyle Merber (Columbia) 5/14/12
3. 3:35.79——Abdi Bile' (George Mason)    6/06/87
=4. 3:35.84—— Joe Falcon (Arkansas)    4/16/88
=4. 3:35.84——Brian Hyde (William & Mary)    5/13/95
6. 3:36.25——Miles Batty (BYU)    4/15/11
7. 3:36.48——Joaquim Cruz' (Oregon)    6/02/84
8. 3:36.62——Kevin Sullivan' (Michigan)    5/15/98
9.3:36.77—— Lawi Lalang' (Arizona)    4/29/12
10. 3:36.81——Sam McEntee (Villanova)  5/14/12

Villanova Recruit Josh Lampron Runs Fastest 1500m In The Nation

On Saturday night, Villanova track recruit Josh Lampron  (Mansfield, MA) ran the fastest 1500m time in the nation by more than five seconds running 3:45.70 and finishing sixth as an unattached runner in a college meet. For those who don't know, his time is roughly the equivalent of a 4:03 mile. Lampron's run was the third fastest high school 1500 in Massachusetts history and the 18th fastest in history for American high schoolers. We'll see how he does in the near future, but it looks like Marcus O'Sullivan has found himself quite a good high school miler.

Notable for Villanova this weekend, half-miler Chris FitzSimons ran 1:48.91 in the 800m, which is the fastest 800 for a Villanova runner since Matt Gibney ran 1:48.66 last season. That time qualified him for regionals.

Ask Yourself: Is This Worth Death Threats?

I say no. Kentucky fans think different.

We Have Advance Knowledge of Amile Jefferson's Decision

To be honest, I don't really care.

An Open Letter To The Montgomery County DA Re: JayVaughn Pinkston

Dear District Attorney Ferman,

I understand your chief responsibility as an officer of the court is to pursue justice, and I would like you to know that I firmly believe in justice, and the role of the judicial system in of its pursuit of it. My issue is that the continued prosecution of Villanova student JayVaughn Pinkston is not justice. Not because he is extraordinarily talented on the basketball court, but because he's a young man with a bright future who by all accounts has done one stupid thing in his life, over a year and a half ago and was sufficiently punished by being forced  to live a year of his life with his future in limbo along with the public humiliation this situation has surely caused him.

By all accounts, neither of the defendants suffered permanent injuries, and Pinkston was not the person who instigated the altercation. It's time to let bygones be bygones and drop the felony charges. Give the kid probation, and an opportunity to put this unfortunate incident behind him.

Sincerely,

A Supporter of JayVaughn Pinkston

Sheila Reid Entered in Two Fast 1500s

The next month figures to be a busy one for Sheila Reid, the best female athlete at Villanova in the last 20 years. After skipping the Big East championships, she will attempt to achieve the Olympic 1500m 'A' qualifying standard at either the Occidental High Performance Meet on May 18th in California, or the Prefontaine Classic on June 2nd at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon or possibly both. I don't know what this means about her possibly defending her NCAA title(s), but it's clear that she's hungry to make The Olympics in the 1500.

It'll be interesting to see what singlet she competes in if she competes at Occidental, and if she competes at all at the NCAA East Regionals which are the 24-26 of this month.

Matt Szczur Is Getting Hot In Daytona

Last time we checked in on former Villanova two sport star Matt Szczur, he was struggling mightily after a week or so of games. That continued to a degree in April, but late in the month he picked up, and over the past ten games, he is hitting .318/.362/.500 line. In 31 games this season, he's hitting .254/.354/.357. One very encouraging trend during this season is that he is walking often and not striking out a ton, which is very important for a player without a ton of home run power. Another positive is the fact that he has been successful on 16 of his 20 stolen base attempts, which is well above average, but that's not a huge surprise because everyone has known that he's fast. If Szczur continues his hot streak, he could be off to AA at around the All-Star break or a little thereafter.

Tony Chennault Senior Highlights

Don't expect any of this.

Tony Chennault To Villanova

According to SNY's Adam Zagoria, former Wake Forest guard and Neumann-Goretti product Tony Chennault will be returning home to Philadelphia and will transfer to Villanova. As the post that announced the move said, this isn't a surprise, as there had been speculation about this for weeks. Chennault's transfer is different from many others, because there seems to be a decent likelihood that he could be granted a waiver to play immediately due to the fact that his mother is ill.

What does this mean for Villanova? Well, it adds experienced backcourt depth on a team that needs it after the departure of Maalik Wayns to the pros. You can't be sure that true freshman Ryan Arcidiacono will be 100% ready after sitting out his entire senior season with a back injury. You can't expect Chennault to shoot well, or create too much, but he is apparently a solid defender for a point guard. Really, this is a depth move above all else.

We Talkin' Bout Ten Years Ago

It's hard to believe that it was ten years ago today that this happened because I remember it like it was yesterday. You know what? AI was right. He didn't need practice, he needed a supporting cast. But we talkin' bout PRACTICE! The NBA isn't as interesting without Allen Iverson in his prime.

BREAKING: John Marinatto Resigns From The Big East

100 years and one month after the fateful sinking of his ship Titanic, Captain E.J. Smith has resigned his commission from the ship effective immediately After a three year reign of near-comical incompetence, which saw the conference go from power player to basement dweller, and saw several of its schools leave, Big East commissioner John Marinatto has resigned his post atop that conference. There will obviously be more of this in the coming hours/days. Hopefully they find someone who isn't from Providence and is also a friend to Villanova.

I won't miss him.

58 Years Ago Today- Roger Bannister Goes Sub-4:00

I know we've been really track heavy (I'm sacrificing page views, people) but today is a special day in the history of sports, the anniversary of when an Oxford educated medical student by the name of Roger Bannister became the first person in history to run a sub-four minute mile. Although his record of 3:59.4, set at Oxford on May 6, 1954 lasted only a month, and Bannister retired at the end of the season, he was still to set the benchmark which remains one of the few true recognizable benchmarks of greatness. Unfortunately, the mile is no longer the standard distance as it once was, and that has hurt the sport of track immensely, but there is a movement to bring the mile back, and we should all hope that it succeeds. 

Back to Villanova track: at the Big East Meet today, Sam Ellison (800m), Samantha Francis (Triple Jump) and the women's 4x800 meter relay of Stephanie Schappert, Ariann Neutts, Nicky Akande and Emily Lipari won Big East titles to add to the 5000m title that sub-4:00 miler Sam McEntee ran last night. Five time national champion Sheila Reid and hurdler All-American Shericka Ward did not run at the meet.

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

To bring you this. Say what you will about Coldplay, but this is a fitting tribute to a fallen member of one of the most important musical groups to be popular in your lifetime. If you came of age during the 80's or 90's and didn't own a Beastie Boys album, there is something seriously wrong with the way you listen to music. If you didn't feel anything at the end of this song, you have no soul.

Big East Day One: No Sheila Reid

In an unexpected, but shrewd move, Villanova's own Canadian sensation Sheila Reid will not be defending either of her Big East championships. The Big East meet is about the fourth most important meet of the season, so this is not a big deal. It's smart of Sheila to focus on the Olympics and defending her NCAA titles.

More to come when complete results are in.

Amile Jefferson Might Want A Turkey Sandwich

Dear Diary,
I've been thinking to myself for a few hours about whether I want a turkey and cheese sandwich today for lunch, but I'm not sure. My mother offered to make me one, but I think I'll hold out until she offers to make me a foot long Italian hoagie. Oh man, I would boss that Italian hoagie, especially if coach Cal gave me an opportunity to eat it. Sure, Villanova may offer me something nice, but I'm holding out for a delicious Italian hoagie made by someone like Calipari. Mmmm, my mouth is watering at the thought of it. Now mom is yelling at me, telling me to eat the turkey sandwich.. Fuck that shit, I'm going to eat what I want to eat when I want to eat it, but maybe I'll end up eating the turkey sandwich anyway. Diary, I really can't decide what I want for lunch. Help me?

Sincerely,
Amile

Villanova To Take on Syracuse at 7 PM on Thursday

What: Villanova Lacrosse vs. Syracuse
Where: Villanova Stadium
When: 7 PM on Thursday

The game will be live on ESPN3 and tape delayed on ESPNU. Villanova won the matchup prior in the season against Syracuse, but other than that have never won against Syracuse in Big East play. The winner will play against the winner of Notre Dame and St. John's in the championship game. Tickets are on sale now.