So we here at The Scrum are slacking on our duties. Admittedly, this should have been up much earlier than Thursday.

Here are the results of the inaugural CISHoops.ca Media Poll for men’s basketball, a ranking that is compiled by 22 media members across the country who cover the sport:

(Team, first place votes, points)
1. Carleton, (21), 252
2. Brandon, 223
3. Calgary, 205
4. Acadia, 160
5. Toronto, 148
6. Ottawa, 146
7. UBC, 128
8. Cape Breton, 119
9. Windsor, 92
10. Laval, 59
Others receiving votes: Brock 49; Alberta 27; Victoria 15; St. Francis Xavier 7; Concordia 7; Saskatchewan 1

I’ll confess a couple of things right off the bat:

1) This wasn’t as easy as I suspected it would be. In fact, just moments before I submitted my votes, Sawatzky alerted me that I had left off UBC (unintentionally). Now you see why newspapers have proofreaders.

2) When sitting at work, I was very surprised to see the poll move on the Canadian Press wire if only because I don’t really think CP ever bats an eye towards university stuff until nationals roll around. They’re not as bad as TSN, sure, but …

3) I won’t be secretive about my voting habits. One of the issues that has arisen from the coaches poll is people regularly questioning how certain teams can be slotted in some spots — ahead of so-and-so team and behind such-and-such — and I think part of that resentment comes from the fact that the coaches poll, while not secretive, isn’t really conducive to full disclosure. So, in that sense it can easily breed disagreement among outsiders who naturally assume there’s block voting or bias going on — even if there isn’t.

So here’s my thoughts:

• I have Brock in the top 10 — undoubtedly — and was surprised to see the Badgers not in at least the 10-hole. Certainly the loss at Western to kick off the second semester wasn’t an overly good one for BU, but if you look at the rest of the Badgers’ work, it’s clear they haven’t been ducking anyone. Since back-to-back losses against Toronto and Carleton (No. 5 and No. 1, respectively) at the end of the first semester, the Badgers are 8-2 in conference and non-conference play and that includes wins over Calgary and Brandon.

• Laval is such a tough team to slot. I think anyone who follows these things with any kind of regularity would all be in agreement that Laval is the only team in the Q worthy of being in the top 10. Still, I’m not sure that the breadth of work really warrants it yet. The Rouge et Or have won their last eight games, but in their past 14 games also sport losses to York (4-13 OUA, 6-21 overall), McGill (5-6 QSSF, 11-11) and Bishops (2-7, 6-11). I’m not sure that that is deserving of being ahead of Alberta, which has come out of the semester gates sluggish but still is ranked No. 3 in the RPI, sports a 17-7 overall record and is 12-2 against the other conferences.

• And all of that discussion, leads to this: It’s very hard to pick up brand new and start a poll in the middle of the season. So you find yourself going over teams’ records and results and you wonder: Where is it I’m supposed to start? Because I’m slotting a team in a brand new poll (assuming that the coaches poll and our poll are mutually exclusive), it’s hard to honestly start new but consider the old, i.e. the results from October and early November. Are bad losses or good wins from the pre-season still to be considered? That’s for each voter to figure out for themselves. At this point in the season, the coaches don’t have the same dilemma because their poll has been slotted and continuously voted on for the past four-or-so months. We’re starting from scratch.

Lest anyone think I’m being negative about the new venture, let me just say I’m wholly on board with this and believe it’s a tremendous idea. I’m just trying to explain my viewpoint and what my thought process was going into the first vote.

The next step should be towards making the new media poll more legit and that means having it actually be considered when nationals (not this year likely) rolls around and I know that is the goal for Mark Wacyk, the creator, et. al. I’m anxious to see what kind of weight this poll can one day carry because I believe it has the steam to do it.

It’s all well and good to have our own little thing here but it’s the same theory that applies to a tree falling in a forest.

If our poll exists but no one applies it, does it really count?

An interview with Brock Badgers head coach Ken Murray (15:15); an epic rant from David Larkins about the people of Ottawa “not getting it” (44:45); predictions for Superbowl XLII; and a very special edition of Blindside (51:47) featuring a choose-your-own-adventure for the ages, plus thoughts on the Miss America pageant, cheerleading, and the town of Morris. Also, Swatter and Larkins contemplate a career in professional wrestling.

 

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There remain only a few real battles for playoff positioning in the Canada West conference but there’s a few teams that are full-on into “playing out the string” mode.

Not surprising, then, that there really isn’t much in the way of shuffling for this week’s Totem.

On with the show:

1. (1) Brandon Bobcats (16-2) — The Bobcats (likely) get to move up the national rankings this week but the tricky road trip to Regina looms this week with the home-and-home against Winnipeg closing out the season. BU may have locked up its place in the playoffs, but now is no time to sleep on two teams that will have some desperation in their games.

2. (2) Calgary Dinos (15-3) — The Dinos and Thompson Rivers did their best CIS impression of “Detroit Pistons-Denver Nuggets Circa 1983″ on Saturday night but not to be lost in all the buckets was that the Dinos officially cemented the fact either Alberta or Saskatchewan will have to come to them in the second round of playoffs.

3. (3) UBC Thunderbirds (15-4) — Speaking of sealing up, the T-Birds locked in on the top seed in the Pacific with two dominant wins over Trinity Western. If a 15-4 team can possibly be a sleeper, this is the one. This year’s version of the Birds has taken a back seat to Brandon and Calgary but they’re still dangerous as all get out.

4. (4) Victoria Vikes (13-6) — A record of 4-3 since the break. Good wins, bad losses. Vic continues to confound. But! No need to play this weekend’s games, Victoria. I already know what will happen. The team that has been the most unpredictable in the Canada West is actually, on closer inspection, quite predictable. The Vikes will split at home with Saskatchewan and Alberta and once again give us all mixed signals as to how good they are. When all is said and done, we still won’t have a clue.

5. (5) Alberta Golden Bears (12-6) — And the luster is wearing off Alberta just a touch even though 12-6 is more than respectable. But we expected more than 5-3 so far in 2008 after starting the season as one of the hottest teams in the conference.

6. (8) Saskatchewan Huskies (10-6) — Sometimes you need to hit rock bottom. And if two losses on the road at Winnipeg and Manitoba were that for the Huskies, then they’ve responded in kind with three wins in their past four games including a nice split against Alberta this weekend. Depending how you see it, the remaining schedule (at UBC/Vic, vs Calgary) is either a demon or a chance to be considered legit again.

7. (6) Simon Fraser Clan (10-10) — The Clan were seconds away from being swept out by Vic at home but were graciously granted a second life in the form of a whole whack of free throws with zeroes on the clock. Sean Burke’s five FTs off a disputed foul and coach Craig Beaucamp’s ensuing technical foul, sealed the deal. SFU is thankful now because it keeps the Clan two points ahead of Fraser Valley for third in the Pacific. But playing a PO’d Vic team in the first round at Victoria might not be a blessing.

8. (7) Winnipeg Wesmen (9-9) — The Wesmen and Regina can’t get their act together and finally decide who wants to host a playoff series. But the Wesmen need to get it first and find another win on the schedule somewhere: The Cougars hold the tiebreaker.

9. (9) Regina Cougars (9-9) — Well, at least they won a road game. That makes one. But, in this instance, it was all they really needed to hold that slimmest of slim edges over Winnipeg.

10. (10) Fraser Valley Cascades (9-11) — Welcome back to the post-season Barnaby Craddock. No disrespect, but we’re not counting on this year’s playoff run going quite as long as last year’s did for you.

11. (11) Trinity Western Spartans (6-14) — I know some of you thought it was premature when I stamped the Spartans with the ELIMINATED tag two weeks ago. Now, with four straight losses, the Spartans have officially done that for themselves.

12. (12) Manitoba Bisons (4-14) — The StatCrew computer program that logs stats for CIS matches crashed at the IGAC at halftime on Saturday night. We don’t know who did what but we do know the Bobcats swept the weekend and the crash simply saved the Herd from having to burn the evidence after.

13. (14) Lethbridge Pronghorns (1-17) — Well Lethbridge, you did it. You made The Scrum’s Jan. 14 prediction come true and you found the win column. Congratulations kids. And, y’know what? We’re reneging on our other promise of not taking you out of the cellar. I don’t know if “earned” is the right word, but … well … just accept our slap on the back.

14. (13) Thompson Rivers WolfPack (2-18) — A word of caution: This might end up being familiar territory.

Because you’re tired of hearing just my opinion and because we’re trying to continue to do some different things on the site here, we welcome you to the Round Table, a hopefully regular feature that enlists the opinions of university sports scribes from around the country on random topics. No need to really explain it more than that. This time around we grabbed the venerable Chad Lucas from the Halifax Chronicle-Herald, the ebullient Chris Kallan from the Halifax Daily News and the ubiquitous Greg Layson of the Guelph Mercury.

1) The switch to FIBA rules wasn’t met with great support by CIS coaches. Now that we’re well into the season, what have you seen out of the FIBA switch in the CIS?

Chad Lucas, Halifax Chronicle Herald: The faster pace means scoring is up — four teams in the AUS are averaging more than 80 points per game, while no one averaged more than 78 last season. Turnovers are also up a bit but shooting percentages have kind of evened out, so the argument that a shorter shot clock will lead to more bad shots doesn’t necessarily hold water. I think the biggest thing the FIBA rules does is widen the gap between good teams and bad teams. Good teams have made the adjustments themselves and also used the shorter clocks to their advantage against bad teams. Two AUS teams are having epically awful seasons, and while it has a lot to do with the fact that their rosters are just plain weak, the new rules make it easier to exploit those weaknesses. Overall, though, it’s not like the game has been reinvented or anything. Most of the coaches I’ve talked to admit that the rules themselves aren’t a big deal; it was the way the CIS forced them into existence that had so many people up in arms. The coaches voted overwhelmingly not to change, and the CIS said, “Thanks for your opinion, we’re doing it anyway, now deal with it.”

Greg Layson, Guelph Mercury: I think the pace of the game is great. I think the fans love it. Teams can’t stall. Teams can’t call timeouts willy-nilly all over the court. Personally, I love it — and I played NCAA rules in college. I wish we played FIBA back then. I watched three games (one women’s, two men’s) on the first home weekend of the CIS season here in Guelph. Tuesday, I watched the Duke game on TV and I thought to myself “My God this is slow.” I don’t think people realize how long 30 seconds really is. Nor do I think they realized at the time that six seconds (and two in the back court) would make much difference. As for the coaches and their support: sometimes they need to remember changes are made to better the game, improve and enhance the game among fans — which is something the CIS usually fails at doing. The coaches are worried their power is slipping. They can’t control everything. Case in point: A three-point game in Waterloo Wednesday night. Waterloo grabs a rebound, trailing by three, but can’t call time out because there was no whistle or score. It’s on the kids. You’re going to see what clutch players are made of. And you’re going to see smart — and dumb — players rise or fall down the stretch of some of these games.

Chris Kallan, Halifax Daily News: Once resisted, the switch to FIBA rules is a non-issue in the Atlantic conference, at least to my knowledge. I thought the games might drag on and on, but I don’t remember cursing even once to meet a deadline (any more than normal, that is). Any CIS men’s team that can’t get the ball past midcourt in eight seconds doesn’t deserve the ball in the first place.

David Larkins, Brandon Sun: I really believed the FIBA rules would be readily apparent, but I have to confess I don’t believe they have been. I still don’t agree with how the change was forced through, but it hasn’t had a completely deleterious effect on the game itself. I think the women’s game, even though they’ve been playing with it a year longer, is more affected in the half-court because the ball movement isn’t as quick as in the men’s game. If you’re watching a team that isn’t effective on the offensive end, then you’re definitely seeing more bad shots late in the clock. Other than that, I think the FIBA switch has just come along at a time where the game was naturally gravitating more towards teams that can play up-tempo.

2) Who is one player you’ve seen who you’d campaign for because you don’t think the rest of the country knows enough about him …

Lucas: Mention Acadia and most people talk about Leonel Saintil or Paulo Santana, but fifth-year swingman Shawn Berry has been the Axemen’s most consistent player all season. He’s a solid shooter, he can get to the rim, and he’s scored in double figures in every single conference game for the 11-1 Axemen. With Santana — the reigning conference MVP — missing most of the first semester with an ankle injury and still not going at 100 per cent, Berry’s emergence has been huge for No. 2 Acadia.

Layson: I’d campaign for a rookie point guard in Guelph named Michael Petrella. This kid reminds me of Brad Rootes, or maybe Jimmy Groezelle. I know both were terrific all-Canadians, but this kid is fast, has handles, is gaining confidence by the minute. He’s started about half the games this season. He held his own against Rootes a week ago and they meet again Saturday. I’m looking forward to four years of watching this kid develop. Guelph assistant coach Aaron Bariagabre, who played for the Gryphons last year, compares Petrella to Ryan Steer of Windsor. I just say he’s the flat-out steal of the rookie class. He went un-recruited, other than by Guelph.

Kallan: Acadia power forward Leonel Saintil has been a beast and a burden against most teams. He sat out last season after transferring from Memorial, but is a legit double-double threat (16.9 ppg, 14.8 rpg) every time he hits the court. It’s rumoured there’s no love lost between himself and Memorial head coach Todd Aughey so no doubt he’s circled Feb. 16 and 17 on his calendar; yup, those are the dates Saintil faces his old Sea-Hawks teammates (the winless Sea-Hawks, I might add) on The Rock.

Larkins: I had a discussion not long ago with someone in the community here and they made a comment of how other players come into Brandon with some buzz about them but, they asked rhetorically, “Do you think other cities get excited when Dany Charlery comes to town?” knowing full well what the answer was. Charlery, if it’s possible, is still going under the radar, but not by coaches who have to scheme for him. He’s athletic, he’s versatile and he is the perfect Brandon Bobcat in the sense of how they want to play. He’s a player that everyone in the country should get a look at at some point. I’ve also been trumpeting Calgary PG Jeff Price as a very underrated point in the country and, hopefully, he’ll get seen on a national scale soon. Add in Tyler Fiddler from Calgary too, a 6-foot-9 freshman guard who has a lot of game.

3) When September rolls around, we will look back on the move to Ottawa for the nationals and think what…

Lucas: I’m hesitant to pre-judge, mostly because I’m from Halifax so anything negative I say will probably be perceived as sour grapes. (But for the record, I’m perfectly OK with the tournament moving. As much as I loved having it three blocks from my office, I knew it wasn’t going to stay here forever.) I think the Final 8 will be a success, attendance-wise, because I think Carleton will be in the championship game again and people in Ottawa have proven they’ll come out in droves to watch the Ravens. I’m very curious to see how many show up for a Saturday afternoon consolation game with no local content, though. And I honestly don’t think this year’s event will be able to match the atmosphere of Halifax, where you walk out the Metro Centre doors and you’re a three-minute stroll from three hotels and a few dozen restaurants and bars. I’ve driven past Scotiabank Place on my way to Ottawa, and from the highway Kanata looks like one big dull suburban wasteland.

Layson: I’ll think what I think now: Good idea. I have no problem moving it out of the East. And I have no problem doing so for three years. And, I also have no problem bringing the championship to a big market with big money (you can’t turn down that $1 million guarantee). I think if they sellout and it creates some buzz, it’ll be seen as a great move. I think this coming weekend (Ottawa vs. Carleton) is just as big of an event. 10,000 people for a CIS basketball game? Are you kidding me? If they can get that for a regular season game, imagine the finals.

Kallan: We’ll think the Carleton Ravens should be barred from competing against CIS competition and should play NCAA D-1 instead. It’s the only fair solution after winning what very well might be a sixth straight Canadian title. To stay on topic, we’ll think the move to move this particular tourney around the country was long overdue. No disrespect intended against the AUS, of course, it’s the principle of the thing. However, the momentum of hosting is lost for the time being, as is the intimate setting that perhaps only a loveable city like Halifax can bring and its loyal following no matter which team was in the final. How another region handles the momentum, intimacy and attendance questions can’t be answered before the fact. However, the notion of granting a free pass to a specific host team will still be bogus today, tomorrow and forever.

Larkins: I really believe all the concerns that have been made public — and I’ve been one who has been vocal in the past about them — are going to be forgotten. The distance between downtown Ottawa and Kanata is still an issue, however, and I think that when all is said and done we’ll look back on it and say “learn by the mistakes and fix it up for next year.” So it won’t be an outright admonishment but still an acceptance that there will be improvements needed here and there, which is far from unexpected when considering the Ottawa folks are rookie hosts.

4) The NCAA decision: Legitimate concern or much ado about nothing?

Lucas: It’s a total non-issue on this side of the country. No way a school like St. F.X. or Saint Mary’s is going to travel six to 12 hours every weekend to play some middling Division II school in New England when they’ve got established history and rivalries in close proximity right here at home.

Layson: Much ado about nothing. I’ve said it for months (since November) it’s a smoke screen by schools who want to give kids more money. But I don’t think they (UBC/SFU) want to give kids more money for the right reasons. They want to offer more money to get better kids. The bigger issue in all this is how the CIS and Canada views university sports. I think our system is as close to perfect as can be. My only changes would be A) that the OUA allows its schools to offer more than the $3,500 cap per athlete B) allow athletes who don’t make the 80 per cent average to receive scholarships. These kids, even if they get accepted into school with the minimum average, bring a lot to the school (i.e face time, success, tradition, etc.). They can’t work if they play sports, so reward them. If UBC or SFU, which can both allow significantly more than OUA schools, don’t like, I say good riddance. I don’t see many other schools following suit.

Kallan: My Canada has all existing CIS teams right where they are. That’s all I have to say about that.

Larkins: I think it’s the most overblown story in Canadian university sports history (honestly, has there even been another topic that’s been overblown?). In the end, the number of teams who are willing AND able to make the move is minimal and for those who do want to make the switch, I believe much of the rest of the country will send you off with a very loud “good riddance.”

5) Who you got for the four conference champions and who’s going to be a sleeper when playoff time rolls around?

Lucas: I’ll take Brandon, Carleton, Laval and Acadia. Not exactly going out on a limb, I know. For my sleeper I’ll say St. F.X. They’re younger and not as deep as some past X-Men teams, but they seem to be hitting their stride and they’ve got the talent to hang with anyone. Going into the AUS playoffs as less than the favourites for a change might actually work in their favour.

Layson: I’ll set the whole National Championship bracket for you (and likely be wrong, way wrong) AUS: Acadia, OUA West: Brock, OUA East: Ottawa (because Carleton is in), Canada West: Calgary, The Q: Concordia, Wild Card: Windsor

Kallan: Saint Mary’s (Atlantic), Concordia (Quebec), Carleton (Ontario) and Brandon (Canada West) are solid picks (writer’s note: Saint Mary’s gets the nod over Acadia solely because of guard Mark McLaughlin. He’s a guy who can almost literally carry a team on his back). The sleeper pick comes out of Sydney, where the Cape Breton Capers are slowly building a team nobody wants to play with their season on the line. They have less talent than last year, but perhaps players’ roles are more defined.

Larkins: I’ve been getting killed locally for not picking Brandon to win certain games this season, but I can’t go against a home team in the conference championship, not when that team is Calgary or Alberta and those gyms are tough to win in. I think Brandon makes the national tournament, but Calgary wins the thing in its own gym. (Side note: The Bobcats get fuelled by doubters, so let me had some of that fuel to the fire). From the Atlantic I’m just going on a limb to take Cape Breton, almost entirely because everyone else is taking Acadia. In Ontario, Ottawa gets the East (because of Carleton’s host berth) and Brock gets the West. Laval gets the Q’s bid and the sleeper team (not necessarily a wild card) will be UBC, a team that is still talented yet I get the feeling is being forgotten about after having won a mediocre three of its last five games.

An interview with Lakehead Thunderwolves head coach Scott Morrison; thoughts on Brandon’s 81-77 win over Calgary; David Larkins declares war on Pat Thompson of the BU men’s volleyball team; and an action-packed episode of Blindside, featuring thoughts on Cloverfield, “dude”, the upcoming NBA slam-dunk competition, and small town landmarks. Plus, our two hosts nearly come to blows (or, more accurately, David Larkins nearly kills Jeremy Sawatzky) discussing which movie star best exemplifies the other person.

 

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Moments after what had to be a pretty frustrating loss, Calgary Dinos assistant coach Matt Skinn came out of the dressing room at the Brandon University Gymnasium and acknowledged what hundreds in attendance had seen for themselves.

“That’s why CIS basketball is great.”

The Dinos lost 81-77 to Brandon — in a battle of top-five teams — but the two squads waged one of the best contests that old gym has held in the past eight years, good enough that even in defeat a coach ackowledged its quality.
Are either of them winning the national championship? Who knows, but we got a look at a match-up that people on both sides are hoping comes along again with a little bit more on the line.

On to the Totem:

1. (2) Brandon Bobcats (14-2) — The Bobcats truly do rise to their opponents and Saturday’s win over Calgary was a good example of that. They get the top spot for knocking off Calgary but in reality this spot could be 1 and 1a. And, lo and behold, for all the talk about how they’re not as good or deep as last season, here the Bobcats are back on pace for matching — or getting darn close —to last season’s win total.

2. (1) Calgary Dinos (13-3) — The Dinos know they put themselves in a hole with an ugly first quarter on Saturday (and paid for it with a loss) but their 20-2 run in the third showed some serious spine when they could have just rolled over. You don’t need us tellling you: They’re legit.

3. (4) UBC Thunderbirds (13-4) — Two things for which the Birds are thankful: 1) Getting Chris Dyck back on Friday night and 2) the fact that Tuesday night games can easily be forgotten three days later (see: home loss to SFU/road win at UVic).

4. (2) Victoria Vikes (12-5) — They take a dip after a “not-ready-for-primetime” performance on home floor against UBC. We’re not suggesting the Vikes aren’t at UBC’s level — far from it — but it leaves a few questions about their elite-ness when they didn’t seize a big opportunity. Again, the Nos. 3 and 4 teams are probably interchangeable on any given week.

5. (5) Alberta Golden Bears (11-5) — Alex Steele might be the biggest X-factor in Canada West (with a very big tip of the hat to Brandon’s Dany Charlery). Case in point was his 20 first-half points to carry the Bears through some lean minutes against Simon Fraser. He’s a big reason why no one is anxious to play U of A in a one-game setting with a nationals berth on the line.

6. (6) Simon Fraser Clan (9-9) — Willing to give the Clan a break here because of the tough scheduling of the past week. However, upon hearing that they agreed to it in the first place, they’re getting off with a warning: Don’t do it again, OK?

7. (7) Winnipeg Wesmen (8-8) — Think the Wesmen are kicking themselves over blowing a late nine-point lead that came complete with a desperation shot to force overtime by UCFV’s Kyle Graves? If it comes back to haunt them in a few weeks and the Wesmen end up having to go to Regina for playoffs, they’ll be kicking themselves even more.

8. (10) Saskatchewan Huskies (9-7) — A temporary demotion in the rankings is followed up by two convincing home wins but the concerns over depth and ability on the road, where they are 4-8 overall, aren’t going away.

9. (8) Regina Cougars (8-8) — A hair separates the Cougars from the Wesmen, so the only thing that is placing them lower than U of W is the slightly more significant stat that Winnipeg has actually won a game away from home (although not many).

10. (9) Fraser Valley Cascades (8-10) — The Cascades have quietly won three of their last four and can see the final playoff spot in the Pacific on the horizon. Two winnable games (at Lethbridge, at TRU) and three toughies (at Calgary, vs UVic, vs UBC) remain so UCFV might not be content to just settle for No. 4 with the third spot just two points away.

11. (11) Trinity Western Spartans (6-12) — The Spartans head our list of teams whose seasons will end in three weeks. See you in September.

12. (12) Manitoba Bisons (4-12) — If the Bisons weren’t under the impression that the CIS played a winter/spring schedule, then we might be talking about them in more significant terms. They’re closing well (Ws in three of their last four), but someone please tell them that the Canada West is actually counting all those other games in November, too.

13. (13) Thompson Rivers WolfPack (2-16) — They’ve had one more year of conference experience over their fellow college newbies UCFV yet have produced nine less wins. And there’s very little sign that things are going to take a dramatic turn any time soon.

14. (14) Lethbridge Pronghorns (0-16) — Two things can motivate Lethbridge this weekend: Living up to The Scrum’s lofty prediction of last week and winning that game against TRU this weekend. And remembering that the Saskatchewan Huskies will be a lot worse off than them in the off-season.

An engaging interview with Henry and Ross Bekkering of the second-ranked Calgary Dinos; a preview of Saturday’s game between the Dinos and the fifth-ranked Brandon Bobcats; a discussion about CIS schools potentially heading south; and a Blindside featuring thoughts on jinxing, Simple Plan, Chuck Swirsky, and the worst social faux pas of all time.

 

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Thinking of making this a regular segment, so feel free to have your say on what you think. Transcribing an interview with coaches that are done in advance of games here in the Wheat City. Reporters talk for five, 10 minutes with a subject and then — maybe — use two of those quotes. So why not actually let people know what they say that doesn’t get in the newspaper? It also fully exposes my inabilities as an interviewer. So, we got that going for us… which is good.

Also, feel free to tell me this idea sucks.

In the meantime, a chat with Calgary Dinos men’s coach Dan Vanhooren, whose 12-2, second-ranked team comes to Brandon for a Saturday night tilt against the No. 5-ranked Brandon Bobcats:

Brandon Sun: Things have been going along pretty well for you guys the last little while. What’s been so big for you as you’ve gone on this nice little run?

Vanhooren: To be honest with you, I think at the beginning of the year we knew we had enough talent, we weren’t sure if we were going to be old enough and mentally, kinda, steady enough to carry it on at times. But I think we’ve kinda found our stride and figured out what works and what doesn’t. So, I think if we continue to utilize what our strengths are, then we can continue to be successful.

Sun: You guys are pretty athletic, but you bang, you work pretty hard. When you talk about some of the things you’re successful at, what you’re good at, what really stands out to you?

Vanhooren: If you look at our stats, rebounding is a big thing for us. We’re a pretty athletic team and we’re big and long, and we do well on the glass. Certainly that’s a big stat for winning and losing basketball games. Since the game is basically a game of lower percentages, so the extra rebounds really help us out. After that, right now for our team, this year defensively we’ve been much stronger and that may be a result of our size and athleticism as well. I think as long as we continue to utilize our size and athleticism and we don’t go away from it and just shoot jump shots and stuff then I think we should be alright.

Sun: And Henry (Bekkering’s) addition has been pretty much what you’d expect it would’ve been?

Vanhooren: We were thrilled, obviously, with having him here and athleticallly he provides some additional excitement outside of his usual basketball skills that he has. He shoots his jumper well and he has some three-point range, his percentages are quite high. He’s a legitimate basketball player, he’s not just a dunker and it’s nice to see him showing that and it sure helps our team out.

Sun: Let’s talk really quickly about the match-up Saturday night (in Brandon). A couple of 12-and-2’s and, I don’t know how you see it, but seemingly it’s two teams that match-up pretty well with each other.

Vanhooren: I think we do. I think we may have some struggles with (Dany) Charlery and I think they may have some trouble with Henry, depending on who’s guarding who, but certainly it’s two teams that are big and athletic and have similar strengths. Our scoring comes from the 3-spot, basically Henry, and Dany is obviously the key for Brandon, from a scoring perspective. They have a couple of big athletes inside that can rebound and so do we so it should be an interesting match-up. I think both teams are very equally matched and to have one ranked higher than the other right now is really, it’s a draw.

Sun: With the lead that you guys have got built up in your division, and Brandon’s got the same situation, how do you approach the last four weeks or so of almost knowing that you’ve got that No. 1 spot (in the division)?

Vanhooren: For us, we don’t have it wrapped up necessarily. There’s eight games left and Alberta is a pretty good basketball team. If we go on this road trip — let’s say we go to Regina and lose and then go to Brandon and lose — Alberta is hosting SFU and Trinity this weekend and if they sweep we’re only a game up on them. So it’s very consequence-based. For the remainder of the year, in talking to the athletes, we’re going to be focused one game at a time and one possession at a time and just continue to try to improve ourselves so that we’re ready for playoffs and I think these road games are a big test for us from that perspective

We can expect some shuffling when the national men’s basketball rankings are released on Tuesday, and The Scrum’s weekly poll is no different where six of the top eight teams in last week’s offering lost at least one game.

What does it all mean? Don’t ask me, I just work here.

Here’s one man’s view on the Canada West totem:

1.(1) Calgary Dinos (12-2) — There was nowhere to go but down for the Dinos this week but they hardly struggled with Lethbridge and now the Central Division bye is basically theirs.

2.(5) Victoria Vikes (12-4) — Sure, they still are a game back of UBC and don’t have the same record as the boys directly below them here, but they took care of business on home floor this weekend and it’s about time we give them a bump. Now, if they can only do something about that less-than-encouraging 4-4 road record.

3.(2) Brandon Bobcats (12-2) — This is where we had questions marks. The Bobcats got a big win over UBC only to follow it up with a season-low 60 points in a loss at Vic. So where does all of that put them? Heck if I know. Stevens Marcelin battled a groin injury and played just three minutes on Saturday, and it seems any time the Bobcats have injury trouble, questions over their depth come into play. Consider this one of those times.

4.(3) UBC Thunderbirds (12-3) — Surely UBC was thankful that the schedule went Brandon/Friday, Regina/Saturday and not the other way around. Sniper Chris Dyck got to rest his injury on the back end of the series and the Thunderbirds weren’t plagued with having to play a heavy-hitter to wrap up a rare three-game week.

5.(4) Alberta Golden Bears (9-5) — Little did they know at the time but their squeaked-out win against Winnipeg ended up being pretty large. They drop a bad one the next night against Manitoba and suddenly the once-impressive Bears are a far-from-shiny 2-2 in 2008.

6. (6) Simon Fraser Clan (8-7) — How much does the schedule suck for the Simon Fraser Clan? Not only did SFU have to play three games last week, it has to do it AGAIN this week with three roadies (Tuesday at UBC, Friday at Alberta, Saturday at Saskatchewan). The Clan can count themselves fortunate if they even get one win out of that stretch.

7. (9) Winnipeg Wesmen (7-7) — U-Dubs has won three out of four coming out of the break and while we’re not ready to loft them into our top five, their effort this weekend was worthy of regard. What’s more, they’ve done it by getting production from players not named Erfan. Matt Opalko, nice to see ya.

8. (8) Regina Cougars (7-7) — Bryden Wright is seemingly getting more and more comfortable as the season goes along but nothing even their fifth-year leader can do will wipe the dirt off this: Regina is 0-6 in conference play away from home and Jeff Lukomski — the sophomore of the 15.1 points per game — is averaging 8.3 ppg and shooting 28 per cent in those six defeats. This is not a road warrior team.

9. (11) Fraser Valley Cascades (6-10) — The Christmastime addition of Doug Plumb has made Fraser Valley deeper but you can’t like losing three of your first four out of the break. Let’s see what they do with the Winnipeg/Manitoba combo coming to Abbottsford this week and a playoff spot right within their grasp.

10.(7) Saskatchewan Huskies (7-7) — Kyle Grant hits nine threes and posts a career-high 30 points, Andrew Spagrud gets his regular double-double (22 an 12) and Rob Lovelace adds in a nice 17 points and you still lose. Why? The rest of your team combined for 16 points. A pretty inexcusable weekend from the Huskies who can start making plans for being swept two straight in Edmonton around Feb. 15-16.

11. (10) Trinity Western Spartans (6-10) — We’re taking Trinity out of the playoff race now. Yes, they’re tied for the final playoff spot in the Pacific but their final seven games come against teams with a combined 36-22 record and TWU is 1-7 against teams that are .500 or better this season.

12. (13) Manitoba Bisons (3-11) — Little to cheer about this season at the IGAC but the Bisons’ first two-game win streak of the season is at least a measure of success. The Bisons deserve all the credit in the world for winning two tough ones at home. Lakeland College transfer Clarence Smith — a 6-foot-8 shooter — had his best weekend of the season averaging 14 points and five rebounds and Brian Crowe tossed in 16.5 points for the weekend. It was said in this space before the Bisons had to have someone else step up and do something. This weekend they got that.

13. (12) Thompson Rivers WolfPack (2-14) — Hey, did you know the Wolfpack are still officially in the playoff hunt? Yeah, we don’t care either.

14. (14) Lethbridge Pronghorns (0-14) — Alright, here we go, bold prediction time: The Pronghorns get off the schneid Jan. 25 against TRU. Bold Prediction No. 2: When it happens, they’re still not climbing out of this basement.

Just a few thoughts from Friday night in the world of sports before heading off to cover the Brandon Bobcats-UBC Thunderbirds women’s volleyball match:

• First, from volleyball: The Bobcats nearly pulled off a major upset over UBC but the gap between the Birds and the young Bobcats was readily apparent despite the fact BU did play two solid first sets. UBC has an ability to turn it on, seemingly at the drop of a hat and it did that in the fourth set. The T-Birds then scored 13 kills — and an ace — out of their 15 fifth-set points, which is unreal. All-star left side Liz Cordonier, however, didn’t play the first set (no particular reason is known as to why) and then came on and ripped at balls in the fourth and fifth. BU simply doesn’t have that kind of X-factor, but the Bobcats were still full marks for playing one of the best teams in the nation right to the wire. Put the Bobcats in the OUA and they’re probably going to nationals. As it is, they have a tough climb in the Canada West.

• Sticking with BU before moving on to the rest of the country: A gigantic road win for the men’s basketball team beating a short-staffed UBC team at War Memorial. The Bobcats came back from as many as 10 down late in the first half to run their record to 12-1 and their winning streak to seven conference games. The Thunderbirds played all but 10 minutes — those coming in the fourth quarter — without leading scorer Chris Dyck, who is a difference-maker. Dyck is injured and coach Kevin Hanson was being cautious with his star. It doesn’t take any luster off the win for BU, but it is noteworthy.

• Take Concordia out of the top 10 already. Second thought, the Stingers brutal loss to Laval on home floor Friday night should do that. CU lost by 23, is now 4-3 on the season and has lost back-to-back games at home. The Stingers don’t have a win over a ranked opponent yet somehow are No. 5 (currently) in the country and were No. 3 prior to the loss to McGill last weekend. Enough. They’re not even winning their conference, so they don’t deserve the top 10. Buuuuuuut, because of the CIS’s “only three spot drop” rule combined with the ridiculous Quebec conference’s one-game-per-week schedule, the Stingers will remain in the rankings.

• Don’t look now but the Lakehead Thunderwolves aren’t completely awful this season. That’s not a slight to the T-Wolves, who stumbled through a 1-21 season a year ago, but rather a call to those who haven’t noticed that LU is only one game back of the OUA West Division’s top spot. That said, I might have just jinxed them with their game against Laurier tonight. The return of Kiraan Posey is obviously huge and I think Lakehead is still in need of support for him and Warren Thomas if the Thunderwolves are to be taken seriously come playoff time. We’ll be having head coach Scott Morrison on this week’s podcast, by the way, so look out for that. UPDATE: Yes, of course I jinxed them. A yucky 72-56 loss to the Hawks.

• Kudos to the Manitoba Bisons for a win over the Saskatchewan Huskies on home floor, the Herd’s first W at the IGAC this season. It was said on this page earlier this week that Manitoba would need production from someone other than Darcy Coss and Isaac Ansah and the Bisons got it with 18 points off the bench from Lakeland College transfer Clarence Smith. Meanwhile, the depth of the Huskies is again an issue. While Rob Lovelace stepped up and hit for 17 points, Saskatchewan did not play any of its non-starters more than nine minutes. The Huskies are a two-game sweep in the playoffs for whomever they play. UPDATE: A gigantic win for the Bisons, knocking off Alberta Saturday night for their first win streak of the season. Manitoba is still four games back of the final playoff spot in the Great Plains.
• The Simon Fraser Clan defined the term ‘trap game’ on Friday. Just a few days after nearly upsetting UBC on the road, the Clan returned home and lost a stinker to the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack, 91-75. It was TRU’s first road win of the season and the first time the Pack has scored 90 points in conference play.

• And one separate Saturday note: Just came across that the Bisons men’s volleyball team (4-7) pumped the No. 8-ranked Trinity Western Spartans in three straight sets. That suddenly puts the rebuilding Bisons in the playoff picture with two big matches against Brandon next weekend in Winnipeg.