The Morning Dish – Monday, October 18th
UConn’s Price Out of ICU: Connecticut freshman guard A.J. Price was released from Hartford Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit ten days after being admitted for a brain hemorrhage. Price, who recently was upgraded from critical to stable condition, was moved to a private room, and was asking for friends, which doctors considered a good sign. UConn head coach Jim Calhoun has been a frequent visitor, but Price’s Husky teammates have not been allowed to visit as of yet. Price was airlifted to Hartford after checking into a Storrs-area hospital with flu-like symptoms and headaches.
Bulldog Injured Already: Fresno State senior starting center Mustafa Al-Sayyad injured his knee within the first hour of practice early Saturday morning. Al-Sayyad suffered a hyper-extended left knee taking a charge in a drill. Head coach Ray Lopes indicated that the team doctor thought Al-Sayyad would miss no more than a week of practice. Al-Sayyad averaged 8.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game last season. He will be backed up by Jack Marlow, who averaged 10 minutes per contest last season.
I’ll Be Back: Oklahoma State head coach Eddie Sutton is vowing to return to the Cowboy sidelines in time for the start of the season. Sutton, who injured his back in a fall on his property this summer, appeared at the Cowboys’ practice early Saturday morning with the assistance of a cane. Sutton’s son Sean, an assistant at OSU, will lead practices until his father’s return. Sutton was in headlines July 20th when he fell down an escalator at LAX and received stitches to his nose. Sutton told the 10,000 fans at Gallagher-Iba Arena that he’ll be able to use his cane to trip referees, to the delight of the crowd.
Wildcats Honor Bibby: The University of Arizona has announced that they will honor former Wildcat Mike Bibby in a ceremony on November 11th. Bibby, a former All-American, Pac-10 Player of the Year and national Freshman-of-the-Year in 1997, led Arizona to their only national championship in an 84-79 overtime victory over Kentucky in 1997. Bibby went on to be the number two overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies. Bibby joins Sean Elliott and Steve Kerr with the honor, though by Arizona athletic department rules, Bibby’s jersey will be retired, but not his number 10. Very odd. Bibby, the son of USC head coach Henry Bibby, is currently a member of the Sacramento Kings.
WAC: No Respect?: Western Athletic commissioner Karl Benson was not honoring the late Rodney Dangerfield when he claimed that the WAC doesn’t get any respect. At last week’s annual pre-season media event in Reno, Benson told reporters that he was tired of the WAC being deemed a “mid-major” conference in basketball. According to the Associated Press, Benson said, “The WAC is not a mid-major conference. A conference that gets multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament … and wins first- and second-round games, which we’ve done, is not a mid-major conference.” The WAC placed both Nevada and UTEP into the NCAA Tournament, with Nevada going to the Sweet 16, and three schools into the NIT Tournament – Hawaii, Rice, and Boise State. All five schools had more than 20 wins. Perhaps the reporters were anticipating the departure of Rice, SMU, Tulsa, and UTEP leaving at the end of this season for Conference USA, while overlooking the new additions of New Mexico State, Utah State, and Idaho to replace them.
For Whom the Bell Tolls: Last week a battle was brewing on the Boise State campus, as students and faculty are protesting the administration to change the name of the Broncos’ home court – Taco Bell Arena. The facility, formerly known as The Pavilion, is coming under fire from activist groups because of alleged exploitation of Taco Bell’s tomato farm workers in Florida. According to university officials, the local Taco Bell franchise is involved with the naming rights, not Yum! Brands, Inc., the owner of Taco Bell, KFC, A&W, Pizza Hut and Long John Silver’s, and that the Boise-area Taco Bell does not use produce from the Florida farms in question. While the BSU Faculty Senate is planning to vote on a resolution tomorrow, the school states that they are in year two of a 15-year contract with Taco Bell, who has been a longtime sponsor of Bronco athletics.
