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I can't say I thought that, after 2 1/2 on campus under Steve Orsini's leadership that ...

+ The football team, coming off a painful 1-11 season, would have a seven-figure coach and a 1-9 record with the worst defense in America.

+ The men's basketball team, with a high-paid former national coach of the year, would open his third season by scoring 46 points vs. a team picked to finish last among 16 in its conference (the Big East).

Big East Preseason Poll
1. Connecticut (9) 214
2. Louisville (3) 205
3. Pittsburgh (3) 200
4. Notre Dame (1) 195
5. Villanova 153
6. Marquette 146
7. Georgetown 141
8. Syracuse 139
9. West Virginia 121
10. Providence 99
11. Cincinnati 91
12. Rutgers 53
13. Seton Hall 50
14. St. John’s 44
15. DePaul 43
16. USF 26

+ The women's basketball team, coming off a season-record for wins and an NCAA Tournament berth, would open their season at home by losing to UTA, a team that lost to TCU by 55 points last season.

+ The men's soccer team would lose Hall of Fame coach Schellas Hyndman and then promptly fail to make the NCAA Tournament (of which SMU is hosting its national title game) for the first time in 15 years.

+ The women's soccer team would be a non-factor in its own conference and finish 6-13-1.

As Vince Lombardi would say, "What the hell is going on out here?" And, don't label me a pessimist. It's pretty clear: The rise to the "Top 25 in everything we do" is going backwards. Backwards.

All that said, originally, when Robinson and Sanders spit the bit this week, I was peeved. Now, that June has acknowledged he had the same issues in his first seasons at Hawaii, I actually feel better about it. While he doesn't appear to instill discipline with his demeanor, it's evident that he has rules and there is no tap-dancing around them. Hopefully, his blend of players' coach and disciplinarian will take hold with a solid off-season and another top recruiting class.

Knowing our Ponies, they will leave it on the field in El Paso on Saturday. Don't be surprised if it's a real tussle, probably a high-scoring tussle. We seem to bow up just when people least expect it (including the last trip to the 915 when Willis was suspended).

newshound wrote:I can't say I thought that, after 2 1/2 on campus under Steve Orsini's leadership that ...



+ The women's basketball team, coming off a season-record for wins and an NCAA Tournament berth, would open their season at home by losing to UTA, a team that lost to TCU by 55 points last season.

And...

LaFleur scores 28 as TCU hands No. 5 Maryland opening loss

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncw/recap?gameId=283192628

HB Pony, I'm disappointed you even know that

well, simply ANOTHER swift kick to the nads as a Pony fan. I was told by a couple of people close to the program that I should not expect too much from this team...but this year, I convinced myself we had to be better.........that Doherty surely had addressed our biggest shortcoming (SCORING the basketball!!!!!!!!!) but like always, we were let down.....playing a team picked to finish last in their conference and missing their two best players. And our best player isn't in the starting lineup?? Was it punishment for something??

somebody forward newshound's post to orsini asap

newshound's post might just be the most depressing post I've read on this forum (and, mind you, that's coming from a rather large pool of depressing posts). It's still too early to be all that depressed about the men's basketball team, though. If we can't handle Houston Baptist or Alabama State, then I'll go see a therapist.