If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com. We will add to this post throughout the day as the submissions come in so keep on sending them.
Final Four Notes
- UConn 56, Kentucky 55: “After a 56-55 victory that showed all the guts, glory and guffaws that have defined its season-long sojourn, all the way from a first-game clunker against an America East also-ran to Houston against one of the most storied programs in college basketball, the third-seeded Huskies will move on to the final game of the NCAA men’s college basketball season, to take on Butler for the national title. This UConn team, the same one that was pronounced dead just one (long) month ago, is going to play for the national freakin’ championship.” (The UConn Blog or A Sea of Blue)
- Butler 70, VCU 62: “There is only one thing left on Butler’s business trip to Houston for the Final Four: Winning the national title on Monday night. The Bulldogs gutted their way past Virginia Commonwealth, 70-62, in Saturday night’s national semifinal to earn the shot at redemption. The second straight championship game appearance is unprecedented from a mid-major, and while that accomplishment is amazing in its own right, nobody on this team is satisfied.” (Victory Firelight or VCU Ram Nation)
Pauley Pavillion Seating Controversy
- UCLA Shutting Out Students From Sidelines of “New Pauley”: “UCLA is eliminating student seats from the sidelines. There will be no student seating along the sidelines and they will be limited only behind one basket. If you had any vision of student section at the new Pauley looking like Cameron Indoors, you can stop now. It looks like the athletics department has no interest in infusing our basketball games with energy and raucous atmosphere. One would think the department would have made an earnest effort to get the students closer to the court, closer to the action, and create an atmosphere that is worthy of an elite program.” (Bruins Nation)
- Bait & Switch – The Fleecing of the UCLA Basketball Fan: Examining the changes in seating the UCLA administration made for the new Pauley Pavillion. (Bruins Nation)
- How Other Top Student Sections Compare to Pauley: Comparing the new seating arrangement at Pauley Pavillion to 5 other top programs. (Bruins Nation)
- About That “Den Survey” UCLA AD Used To Justify Banishing Students from Sidelines: Picking apart the survery that the UCLA administration used in deciding to move students away from the court. (Bruins Nation)
- UCLA Needs to Investigate the Cooked “Den Survey”: “I am bringing this up after reflecting on the post exposing the role of the “Den Survey” in justification of the land grab that deprived the students of prized seats. We all need to challenge the integrity of that survey and its use in this dispute. The seat grab is being justified by reference to a “survey” that reeks of academic misconduct — the kind of phony research that besmirches the reputation of any academic institution that tolerates it. People writing surveys know how to ask fair questions; unfortunately, they also know how to “cook” the questionnaire so as to reach a pre-ordained result.” (Bruins Nation)
- Did U.C.L.A. Mislead The Den or Did The Den Cut its Own Throat?: Asking whether the seating change was actually due to the students ill-advised wishes. (Bruins Nation)
- Et tu Den Leader? How UCLA’s Student “Leaders” Sold Out the Student Body: Trying to assign some blame for the seating fiasco. (Bruins Nation)
- (“Students First at Pauley”): UCLA Must Restore Court-side Seating for Students: “Bruins are officially blitzing UCLA Athletics Facebook page voicing their disappointment at the latest episode of Pauley renovation fiasco. We have been closely rearing the outpouring of overwhelming disappointment here on Bruins Nation while the AD has taken pathetic measures to shut out concerned Bruins. We are not going to let this issue die away, which UCLA is probably hoping for it in a desperate manner. The way UCLA athletics mislead (there will be more posts on this specific point) the students is completely unacceptable. It is appalling and an insult to the four letters proudly worn by our alums, students, student athletes and fans of the greatest university in America.” (Bruins Nation)
- Desperate UCLA Deletes Bruins’ Facebook Criticisms of Student Seating Scandal: “The writing is on the wall that this dishonest, corrupt, incompetent organization is seemingly doing everything in their power to do things absolutely the wrong way.” (Bruins Nation)