I did my weekly for RotoSavants. This time I broke down catching situations that I’m not happy at. I like Jesus Flores of the Nats and I hope he is healthy and doesn’t get hurt by the veteran presence of Ivan Rodriguez.

My weekly CAA piece went up on RushTheCourt. Old Dominion, Northeastern and George Mason are all tied for first and this week there will be a lot of good games, especially on Saturday.

Over at SienaSaintsBlog, we’re continuing the video push. We got this video up about 2 hours after the game in HD quality of Ubiles, a little obstructed, but hitting a three and the crowd goes crazy. I like our videos for their natural sound quality and even our player interview sound quality has been getting a lot better.

Oh yeah and our video is going very well so far. So much that the Times Union blog acquired video from Thursday’s Siena Time Warner broadcast.

So we made our trip to Bridgeport for the Siena-Fairfield game. So here are two of me on press row doing some work. We sat next to Matt Norlander who runs the College Hoops Journal who wrote a piece about the Saints. Nice guy, he’s from up in Connecticut, and runs a very nice site.  I got to use Matt’s laptop, the one with the ESPN logos all over it, to upload the video and that was nice.

Yes I am the one with the most hair of the four there shown on press row.

So another issue is war tops. Where did Matt get this new awesome look to the site? He calls it a “war top.” I’m sure that’s for a reason but it looks a lot like something else he might know about. Oh wait.

Looks like ESPN and is just as cool as a local site. I love the look on the SienaSaintsBlog site when he keeps running these. Matt says the site does better with these war tops, and people appear to like them on the site too. Did I mention they look awesome and make the site look really cool? Plus with the new video, how can you not turn to the page?

Weekly RushTheCourt piece on the CAA came out Monday. What to look forward to this week?

Wed 1/20

William & Mary @ VCU

VCU is coming on strong in conference so far, winning three straight by double digits, and should challenge the Tribe. For William & Mary this will be a trial by fire to see if they are deserving of being one of the top four in the CAA.

Sat 1/23

VCU @ Northeastern

There will be TV for Comcast viewers and a few others, so do not miss this afternoon matchup. There’s a chance Northeastern will be going for an 11-game win streak to tie their 1987 record.

Old Dominion @ William & Mary

A tough week ends at home where the Tribe get the Monarchs in a huge matchup. Entering the week, the Tribe rank 9^th in offensive efficiency, the Monarchs rank 10^th in defensive efficiency.

In my weekly RotoSavants piece, I say I’m not a fan of David Ortiz. Some of the staff might disagree but I think Ortiz is definately on a downhill slope and the real sleeper if he doesn’t perform I think is playing time. The Red Sox have built a quality bench, with the potential of a frustrated Mike Lowell on it, the Red Sox could platoon Ortiz soon.

SienaSaintsBlog did a ton of video and stories at Fairfield on Saturday and will continue to do so. We got a bunch of cool videos and will be sharing them at http://youtube.com/sienasaintsblogvideo. We also met a nice guy from the College Hoops Journal who sat next to us and was doing a story on Siena. His story is here and he used, with permission of course, two of Matt’s photos from Saturday.

Siena Saints Blog now has a YouTube channel and it includes press conferences, highlights and more.

We shot a ton of video on Saturday. Matt said I got lucky when I rolled out this one.

We also got Clarence Jackson, who led the Saints with 22 points, to talk to us.

I think the flip cam does very well, even grabbing sound I think it does very well.

First I want to say, open my image, it proves my recap beat the Times Union Siena recap from Saturday night’s game. Tack one on for Siena Saints Blog!

I also wrote a piece on who’s for real this year in the MAAC for Siena Saints Blog. Iona, Loyola and Fairfield: are they contenders?

The real news though is I’m going to add a new site to the rolls of writing by me.

RushTheCourt.net, a very cool site for college basketball information is letting me be their official Colonial Athletic Association correspondent! So I will be filing stories for them on the CAA every week. Here’s the first story, check it out here and I put it in here just because it was the first piece I wrote for RTC. I will post the links here when I see the article out.

Ryan Restivo of the MAAC-based SienaSaintsBlog is the RTC correspondent for the Colonial Athletic Association.

Standings (as of 1/2):

1. William & Mary (10-2, 2-0)
2. Georgia State (8-6, 2-0)
3. George Mason (7-6, 2-0)
4. VCU (9-2, 1-1)
5. Old Dominion (9-5, 1-1)
6. Hofstra (8-6, 1-1)
7. Northeastern (6-7, 1-1)
8. Drexel (6-8, 1-1)
9. Delaware (5-8, 1-1)
10. James Madison (6-6, 0-2)
11. UNC Wilmington (4-8, 0-2)
12. Towson (3-8, 0-2)

Important Games This Week

Monday 1/4:

UNC Wilmington @ William & Mary — One of the best three point shooting teams (W&M) versus one of the best three point defenses (UNC-W).  Can UNC Wilmington snap W & M’s ten game win streak?

Northeastern @ Virginia Commonwealth — Northeastern has disappointed so far this season amid lofty expectations, will they turn it around against one of the CAA’s hottest teams?

Saturday 1/9:

Hofstra @ Old Dominion — Old Dominion is undefeated at home this season, the Pride and Monarchs are both very good defensive teams.  Expect a battle in the 40-50 range in Norfolk.

Team Reviews

William & Mary is on a Roll. The Tribe have won ten straight, a new school record, and won 48-47 at Hofstra on a Kendrix Brown three point play to continue their historic season.  William & Mary is 2-0 in the CAA for the first time since 1997-98.  The Tribe have not started this well since 1948-49 when they started 14-2.

More impressively, the Tribe never gave up the lead at Maryland after the 4:44 mark in the first half in a convincing 83-77 win in College Park.  After dropping their first two games to Connecticut by nine and Harvard in triple-overtime, the Tribe have racked up impressive statement wins over Richmond, Wake Forest and Maryland.  According to Kenpom.com, their Offensive efficiency is tops in the nation (124.2).

Georgia State is a Mystery.   With no impressive wins on the schedule so far, Georgia State enters conference play at 8-6, and kind of a mystery.  An example:  they took a lead as high as 15 on Saturday against Towson (3-8) only to trail by two with 6:27 to go in the game.  Trey Hampton led the way with 22 points on 9-10 shooting from the field as they showed no rust from a ten-day layoff.

George Mason Starts Off New Decade Right. After posting a one of their worst losses, a 27-point loss to Radford, to close the decade, the Patriots started off the new decade right.  George Mason went on an 18-4 run to take what was a one point game and push it to a 16 point victory.  Ryan Pearson led the way for the Patriots with 17 points and tied a season-high eight field goals made.

VCU…New Decade, No Problem.  Every single VCU player scored at least two points in a 91-57 blowout over UNC Wilmington.  VCU led by as many as 46 and Larry Sanders scored a team-high 16 points in only 19 minutes.  Sanders and the Rams haven’t been tested since grinding out a one point win on December 19th over Tulane.  Sanders has scored in double-digits in every game but one this season and has improved his scoring as well as his field goal and free throw percentages in his junior year.

Defensive Letdown in Fairfax. The Old Dominion Monarchs did not show up in the second half in a double-digit loss to George Mason, and snapped a three game win streak.  The Monarchs have played a tough non-conference schedule and were finally reaping the benefits of their defensive prowess with wins over Georgetown and the Atlantic 10’s Charlotte and Duquesne.

ODU had won five out of its last six entering the game but did not bring the defense that has held opponents to an effective field goal percentage of 42.3% entering Saturday.  They allowed George Mason to dominate inside going 22-41 (53.6%) from inside the arc.  The last time ODU allowed a team to score over 70 points was January 31, 2009 — a span of 28 games.

Hofstra’s Train is Delayed.  What was supposed to be Charles Jenkins’ coming out party this season has been a slight disappointment.  Jenkins has not scored over 20 points in his last three games and was stifled, along with the entire Hofstra offense, in a tough one point loss to William & Mary.  Jenkins scored 23 points on national television at Kansas and followed that up later in November with 38 points against Fairfield at home but otherwise teams have been able to contain him, and the Pride have yet to develop any other threats for their CAA counterparts to guard.  Their next leading scorer, Nathaniel Lester, has two more three-point attempts (24) than turnovers (22) and has regressed from his three point field goal percentage last season.  Hofstra’s best win out of conference might be their four point win over Fairfield, a middling team in the MAAC; they have yet to show that they can compete with the upper echelon of the conference.

Northeastern Managing Expectations. The Huskies entered the 2009-10 season as the preseason #2 team, second only to Old Dominion.  Behind preseason first team all-CAA Matt Janning’s senior leadership, they were expected to rack up quality wins in the non-conference.  The Huskies, however, got on a five game losing streak which included a home loss to Providence and ended with a 15 point loss to Western Michigan.  They were able to recover in Honolulu and win on Christmas over Southern Methodist and showed on Saturday why they have the offense to be a force in the CAA.

The Huskies shot 60% from the floor and scored a season-high 47 points in the first half to blow out James Madison, 73-61.  To put it in perspective, they matched their lowest point total in a game (47 in a two point loss to Drexel) in one half to even their record at 1-1.

Drexel Looking to Rebound.  The Dragons have managed to play many close games but have ended up n the wrong side of all but one this season.  Saturday at Delaware was an enigma.  Having a lead as large as 13 in the first half only to squander it in under six minutes out of the break.  Drexel went cold from the field, shooting 35% in the second half. Leading scorer Jamie Harris scored 11 of his team-high 18 points in the first half.

The Dragons have been on two separate three game win streaks this year for all six of their wins.  They have been led by Harris, who has scored in double-digits in every win but one this season.  Drexel’s offense has not impressed this year and shooting has been the problem.  Shooting less than 30% behind the arc and just over 45% inside it has not helped a team that shoots free throws at 63.3%, good for 303rd in the nation.

Blue Hen Win Streak. Delaware has a two game win streak for the first time since the start of last year.  Led by St. Joseph’s transfer Jawan Carter, who has scored double digits in every game but one, Delaware looks poised to improve on last year’s six CAA wins.  Their problem is that they’ve taken too many three-pointers and shot only 27.1% (324th in the country, last in the CAA) from behind the arc.

James Madison Starting to Come Alive. Texas A&M transfer Denzel Bowles fits the Matt Brady trend of players he can give the ball to and just let them go.  Bowles has averaged over 20 points since debuting in December but sat out a one game suspension for violating team rules on Saturday.  Bowles will probably be given the reins for the rest of the year when he is in the lineup (expected back on Monday night against Delaware).  He has taken double-digit shots in every game but one; he took nine shots in their four-point loss at Stanford.  The proclaimed shot doctor Brady has fixed the Dukes’ two point shooting to where it’s the best in the league (50.7%, 85th in the nation).  They have a chance Monday to snap a two game losing streak against Delaware but then travel to Old Dominion, a team Brady has not beaten on the road in his two tries (0-2 with Marist & James Madison).

UNC Wilmington’s Good and Bad News. The positives for the Seahawks?  They notched an early non-conference win over Penn State on a neutral floor and have one of the best perimeter defenses in the country.  The bad news?  Their offense has struggled mightily, shooting only 16% in the first half and getting down 29-4 in a 91-57 loss at VCU.  The Seahawks have turned the ball over at least 15 times in every game but one this season.  They turned the ball over a season-high 28 times Saturday, 15 in the first half alone.  Monday night doesn’t promise to be any better at conference leader William & Mary, either.

Towson Continues to Struggle.  The Tigers shot a season low 33.9% in losing at Georgia State, 70-61.  The problems this season have been mostly on the defensive end for the Tigers, ranking last among CAA teams in FG% defense and rebounding margin.  Towson will embark on attempting to break some bad trends this week.  Towson has yet to win a road game (0-4) this season and will get two chances at Hofstra and James Madison.  They will also try to break a record against Old Dominion, as eighth-year head coach Pat Kennedy has yet to beat the Monarchs.  The last time the Tigers beat Old Dominion was a 67-55 win in 2002, their only win in the 12-game series history.

I was able to write a few recaps, previews and all that fun for Siena Saints Blog this week. What I’m most proud of? Is beating the Times Union blog story for Saturday’s game because I had a story ready once the buzzer sounded. I rounded out the edges, made sure it sounded clean, took out the parts where I wrote Siena lost (I prepared just in case) and published right away.

12/31 Siena 64, St. Peter’s 53

Siena used a 7-0 run in just over three minutes to take what was a tie game with 9:12 to go into Siena’s 27th straight home victory, a 64-53 win over St. Peter’s Thursday afternoon.

Led by Edwin Ubiles’ game high 21 points on 6 of 16 shooting from the floor. Ubiles has scored double digit points in five straight games.

After shooting 6 for 28 (21.4%) from the field in the first half and barely leading 27-25, Siena recovered to shoot 11 for 25 (44%) and put away the Peacocks for a third straight double digit win.

Ryan Rossiter led the front court with his second straight double-double. Rossiter (14 points, 10 rebounds) has pulled down double digit rebounds in each of the last four games.

The Peacocks were without the services of Junior Wesley Jenkins because of a mild concussion. Darius Conley led the way for the Peacocks with a double double (14 points, 13 rebounds).

Siena made over 20 free throws for the second straight game, sinking 26 of 35 (74.3%).

1/2 Siena 79, Mt. St. Mary’s 76 (OT)

Despite a sluggish start, the Siena Saints were able to come back and go on a 13-0 run to put Mount St. Mary’s away for a 79-76 overtime win.

The third longest home winning streak (27) in the nation appeared to be in doubt for 39 minutes of regulation. Ronald Moore (7 points), unable to convert a field goal in the last two games, scored all four of Siena’s points in the final minute of regulation to push the game to Overtime.

Siena made only one of their first nine shots from the floor, getting down quickly 18-4 to a Mount St. Mary’s team that has lost its last seven games entering tonight.

Siena was able to close a gap as large as 14 to six at halftime thanks to Ryan Rossiter. Rossiter scored 21 points in the first half, shot 8 for 10 from the field and made 5 of 6 free throws. The rest of the Saints combined to shoot 25% (4 for 16) from the field and missed all four three point attempts. Rossiter finished with a career high 29 points and 13 rebounds.

Alex Franklin (17 points) led Siena with a team-high 16 rebounds. Franklin scored all of his points in the second half and overtime. Edwin Ubiles made clutch shots scoring 11 of his 15 points after the first half.

Kyle Downey (8 points) came off the bench to sink two clutch free throws with 8.7 seconds left in overtime to seal victory for the Saints.

Siena’s held early leads of 2-0 and 3-2 until regaining the lead in Overtime. This was Siena’s second win of the season after trailing at halftime. Siena’s last win when trailing at halftime was their 59-53 win over Northeastern.

Siena failed to make a three point field goal for the first time this season.

Mount St. Mary’s last non-conference win was a November 28th overtime win over Navy 66-56.

1/3 Preview: Loyola (MD) vs. Siena

After a hard fought comeback victory Saturday night, the Saints will have to regroup and travel down to Baltimore to face the streaking Loyola (MD) Greyhounds Monday night.

Loyola is on a four game win streak with wins over Howard, Indiana, Bucknell and Rider. Loyola had a lead as large as 24 at Indiana and managed to hold off the Hoosiers for their first win in school history over a Big Ten team.

Brett Harvey has led the way lately for the Greyhounds performing like a First Team All MAAC player. Harvey scored 25 points at Indiana and has shot very well from behind the arc in their four games at home (12 for 17 70.6%). Harvey has scored double digit points in eight of the last ten games.

Saturday, Loyola went on a 14-0 run and took a 17 point lead into halftime against Rider. Ryan Thompson missed a layup with six seconds to go for the Greyhounds to hold off the Broncs 68-66. Loyola is 4-0 at home this season.

Jamal Barney has scored double digit points in each of the last eight games and typically takes double digit shots per game for the Greyhounds. Barney, a transfer from Providence, has improved on most of his skills in his second year at Loyola.

Loyola’s longest winning streak last year was six games.

I wrote a bunch of things for Siena Saints Blog recently.

Yesterday the MAAC announced a press conference for their tournament site selection to be now in Springfield. This led to everyone leading to the quick conclusion that the winner was Springfield.

I wrote a quick piece making sure I used the language that it appeared likely to happen as to not infuriate the MAAC.

Then my Around the MAAC piece came out near 7pm last night. Marist’s chances of going winless still leading the story.

After that, I posted a recap story now that it seemed all but official that the MAAC Tournament will be in Springfield with site specifics I didn’t see with any other story.

Springfield, the home to the National Basketball Hall of Fame, has distinguished itself as an ideal candidate to host the tournament and has an intimate setting of just over 6,000 seats. The MassMutual Center currently hosts the AHL’s Springfield Falcons and the NBA Development League’s Springfield Armor.

The MassMutual Center hosts various UMass Basketball games and is set to host the NCAA Division II Championships, the Elite Eight, in the next two years.

On Siena Saints Blog of course. In my new extra article I posted on the odds that Marist goes winless this season.

Ken Pomeroy (Kenpom.com): Just for the Marist faithful, I’ve added the chance of going winless for all teams. Looks like Marist leads the nation with their nearly 3% chance! Seems like yesterday they were owning the league.

I’m reading my own writing. I did an interview with Steve Amedio of Keepin’ Track of the MAAC and it’s really good stuff. My brother Matt has put forth a great long term plan for SienaSaintsBlog.com and we hope you check out everything we have to offer for the rest of the basketball season!

I also wrote an Expensive in 2010 column on Brian Fuentes for RotoSavants:

Fuentes led the league with 48 saves last year, but that is more a factor of the LA Angels of Anaheim getting into save situations. Fuentes pitched less than an inning in 9 of his 48 saves.

I’m trying out the new Google Chrome now. My brother Matt says he loves it and I am starting to like it too. I have used 4 browsers in the past: Mozilla’s Firefox, Camino and Apple’s Safari other than Google Chrome. I’m finding Chrome to be a very good experience and performing really well so far. It is still a Beta for Macs though but it has done everything I’ve asked of it so far in a few days.

I’m working on the draft kit project as well, mostly updating all the player movement that happened at those Winter Meetings in Indianapolis. A lot of players moved which makes for some fun time in Excel.

This one site is probably getting more than it asked for by writing that Baseball Prospectus Jumps The Shark. He brings up an interesting argument which made me think of a comparison. He must think that it is like Saturday Night Live in the old days, which had so much more talent, and move today where it pretty much is unwatchable.

I wrote the recap to Siena’s easy win over Albany on Saturday night. Siena won 83-54.

I also wrote an Around the MAAC piece for SienaSaintsBlog.com for Sunday.