AURIEMMA VS WOODEN

The UCON women’s basketball team is about to break the UCLA men’s record of 88 straight wins.

You would have trouble filling a Prius with the men (other than those related to the players and/or coaches) who care.

That doesn’t make it any less of an accomplishment, but UCON’s coach, Geno Auriemma took the opportunity on Sunday, when his team tied the record, to take shots at people who don’t care about women’s basketball.

A female writer for SI.com told him to shut up.

My friends in the media are always bombarded by people associated with women’s basketball with questions about the disparity in coverage of the women’s and men’s teams.

They can’t get a simple fact through their heads.

Hardly anybody cares. Sure, the UCON women draw well and there are big crowds in other places but, for the most part, nobody cares.

And — again — that doesn’t diminish anything that UCON or any other women’s team has done or will do.

Why does women’s basketball or any other sport need TV coverage to be validated?

Do what you do and enjoy it. If what you’re doing becomes interesting to millions of people, you’ll be the first to know.

I have absolutely no interest in watching women’s basketball.

I don’t watch the NBA, either. Maybe I’m just not a huge basketball fan.

There are lots of people like me and most of them will acknowledge that the UCON women have done an amazing thing.

But most guys know that their high school JV basketball team would have beaten them.

I know mine would have. (I didn’t play. If the team had been that bad, it wouldn’t be able to beat anybody.)

Date: December 21, 2010

Categories: Sports

Tags: UCONN WOMEN 88 STRAIGHT, UCONN WOMEN TIE UCLA

Comments RSS TrackBack 42 comments

Reply

Erik

in December 21st, 2010 @ 16:11

So does that make me a jerk that i dont care about Womens volley ball and womens golf?

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in December 21st, 2010 @ 16:14

Depends on whom you ask.

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Mike

in December 21st, 2010 @ 17:05

I don’t watch the competition but if either is on ESPN I’ll stop and take a glance before moving on. That probably makes me a jerk based on who you ask.

Reply

Ochotexto

in December 21st, 2010 @ 16:26

“You can’t possibly have had a great day unless you did something to help someone else”. – John Wooden
That guy was a legend, a teacher way ahead of his time who changed people s lives.
Auriemma is part used car salesman part cheap opportunist. He’s a joke.
Reply

hockeytahn

in December 21st, 2010 @ 16:54

Good article. I totally agree with pretty much much everything you wrote. On a side note, it’s UCONN. Sorry for the spelling snobery.
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Mike

in December 21st, 2010 @ 17:08

If they want attention then they should find a men’s team to compete against in an exhibition game next preseason. That could make for some good TV.
Reply

Mike

in December 21st, 2010 @ 17:20

I am going to agree with Bob Smizik’s view on this that it is impossible for UCONN to chase UCLA’s record since they are two different sports. A womans softball team can not go after a MLB streak. I will say though, I think the UCLA streak is amazing but college basketabll was so centralized back then and probably a little corrupt. It was hard from Wooden to create a powerhouse but with the rules in place at the time and exposure he had it made it possible for him to get any recruit he wanted. Most of the teams he played were just as bad as the woman’s college teams now.
Reply

Frank

in December 21st, 2010 @ 17:33

I’ll sit down and watch women’s olympic hockey games, but I have absolutely no desire to watch women’s basketball. I also have no desire to watch the NBA, MLB or soccer. Am I still considered a “miserable bastard” in Auriemma’s book?

It’s not about gender, it’s about interest. These people need to get over it.
Reply

Browndog

in December 21st, 2010 @ 19:03

I wondered yesterday if you were going to comment on this topic. As I type this post, ESPN has spent a major portion of the last 30-minutes trumping this, trying to create a controversy where there is none. Dick Vitale waxed poetic on the injustice. Geno A. with the righteous indignation. Oh, the pain!

The UCONN women’s team is a nice story – no more, no less. The current hype is 3 or 4 orders of magnitude in excess. Geno and Dickie V. should remember what happenned to the women’s olympic hockey team when they played a high school team back in 2006.
Reply

colt

in December 21st, 2010 @ 19:11

The fact of the matter is this: Women are not good basketball players. Just watch them play and you will see. When I was in my early ’40s I played on a men’s basketball team. I was not real good compared to the other guys on the team, some of whom were very good. Our team would have beaten the Huskies – badly! Any half- decent high school team will beat them. In fact, a good Jr. High team will not only beat them, they will also beat any WNBA team. It is just a fact. Women are not that good at playing basketball.

Therefore, why would I want to watch a bunch of players (men or women) play a game in which neither team will perform that well? I am curious which team will win, now that it has been all over the news. I am curious to know if Connecticut’s win streak will go to 89 games. But, that is because it has been on ESPN and elsewhere so much that they have me curious. But, you could never make me watch it. I’d rather watch a re-run of Mister Roger’s. (Well, maybe not; it’s a toss-up.)

By the way, I seem to recall that several years ago a woman was placed on an NBA team. I do not recall her name or what team she went to. I do recall just how very poor a player she was compared to the men. She lasted about 5 minutes. Anybody else remember that?
Reply

Mike

in December 21st, 2010 @ 21:00

John – bought you book and agree with much of what you write. Must ask you tho….how old are your boys? I know you do not care for baseball…but there is still quite a bit of us that do. I’m 54…with a 14 year old boy…who loves baseball…I’m.not much younger than you…and in the Kiski Arrea…at least..baseball is thriving…and the boys that play ball love watching it at PNC Park. I know your opinion of MLB… but brother do not not give up on it. Plenty of young guys guys still love the game man….

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in December 21st, 2010 @ 21:55

I have two grandsons who are 9 and two who are 7. They play hockey and baseball. They know all the Penguins and couldn;t name one player on the Pirates.

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Martin

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 09:24

My sons are 4 and 5. Both play ice hockey. The 5 year old plays baseball and finds it boring. They can both name all the penguins, and pretty much every nhl team. They play street hockey even in the summer. Don’t think they know one pirate.

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JohnSteigerwald

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 09:37

The problem with youth baseball now is that kids join up to learn how to play. It used to be that you didn’t get anywhere near little league until you could actually, you know, catch and throw.

Reply

Martin

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 09:59

That is so true, My 5 year old is actually pretty good and can throw and catch. I would not have let him play if he could not. There are some kids, that are so bad and clearly do not want to be there. Not sure their parents ever play with them. They slow everything down so much that I end up not paying attention and want to quit. I don’t mind a kid who is trying to learn and wants to be there, the ones who clearly dont ruin it for everyone. You dont have that in ice hockey. Even at age 4.

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 10:02

The difference really hit home for me last Spring. I had to take my 8 yr old grandson from his hockey game to his baseball game. His hockey game actually looked like a hockey game. His baseball game was 20 kids standing around watching one kid get 10 swings before he put the ball in play.

Reply

VinceL

in December 21st, 2010 @ 21:45

In a USA Today column one trick pony Christine Brennan had yet another piece on the lack of interest in women’s sports.If only the media would give it more coverage,she pleads,interest would follow.
Of course she has it backwards.She reminds me of my dad telling me to eat broccolli.What,just because you like it I have to eat it?Enjoy.It’s not for me.

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in December 21st, 2010 @ 22:03

Christine Brennan and Leslie Visser are the two most overrated journalists of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Reply

Jim

in December 21st, 2010 @ 22:27

One would think that a person who wrote for a newspaper for many years, not to mention a book, would know when to use “they’re” and when to use “their”
One would be wrong.

To wit:
But most guys know that they’re high school JV basketball team would have beaten them.

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in December 21st, 2010 @ 22:33

One would think that one who knows that one has written over 20,000 responses on this blog that theirs a chance that he might commit a typo. You really think that I don’t know the difference between they’re and their or are you just being an asshole?

Reply

Jim

in December 21st, 2010 @ 22:41

Well, John, I was just “funning’” with you. Did you have a bad day?

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 09:09

Actually, I had a really good day.

Reply

Jim

in December 21st, 2010 @ 22:43

I suppose I shouldn’t mention “theirs” then.

One would think that one who knows that one has written over 20,000 responses on this blog that THEIRS a chance that he might commit a typo.

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 09:10

Their certainly is that chancne.
Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 09:14

I was funnin’ with you. I thought that you would know that their was a reason why I used their there.

Reply

kilrain

in December 21st, 2010 @ 23:13

UConn’s women could play in my backyard and I wouldn’t get off the couch. My daughter plays two sports in high school. I go to her games because she is my daughter and I love her. Otherwise I wouldn’t get off my couch.
Isn’t it sad that the primary spokesperson for women’s college hoops is an arrogant, smug jerk like Aureema or whatever the hell his name is.
Reply

Ryan

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 07:33

The only girls basketball worth watching is if I personally know somebody playing…other than that its awful. I can honestly say I’ve never watched a womens game on TV. Maybe if they played in outfits like the ones worn by sand volleyball players…. Then again maybe not
Reply

colt

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 08:50

And one would think that some pompous person who would attempt to correct another’s grammar and composition would be sure that he put a period at the end of his sentence. To wit: “…would know when to use ‘they’re’ and when to use ‘their’”

John, as far as your question to Jim is concerned, I think that latter is the answer.

Reply

Jim

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 15:19

John doesn’t need you to suck up to him, colt. Just buy his book instead.
I bought the e-book version, coz I’m cheap.
Reply

Jim

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 15:21

BTW, colt, you might want to consider getting your eyes checked. There IS a period at the end of that sentence.

Reply

colt

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 21:25

Jim, you are right; I stand corrected. The period is on the next line and I missed it. I did not need to get my eyes checked, your rebuke did just fine. Merry Christmas, Jim.

BTW, no “sucking up” was intended. I did buy the book.

Reply

GeeWhiz

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 14:46

This response just made my day…LOL

Reply

kilrain

in December 21st, 2010 @ 23:19

UConn’s women could play in my backyard and I wouldn’t get off my couch. My daughter plays two sports in high school. I go to her games because she is my daughter and I love her. Otherwise I wouldn’t get off my couch.
Isn’t it ironic that the primary spokesperson for women’s college basketball is a smug,arrogant jerk like Auremmia or whatever the hell is name is? He takes the spotlight and uses it to lecture and make an ass of himself alienating the people he is trying to convert.
Reply

saneman

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 00:41

I dont think any sport is ENITTLED to mass support. The women’s basketball team should be grateful for any support they get. If they get more support, more power to them.
Reply

Get Shirty

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 12:03

“And –again — that doesn’t diminish anything that UCON or any other women’s team has done or will do.”

Isn’t that exactly what your joke about the Prius or your comment on The Fan this morning about preferring prison to watching women’s basketball does?

Can’t you just acknowledge that Auriemma’s (granted, tactless–there was no need for the ‘miserable bastards’ ) remarks were true without having to add insult to injury? Wouldn’t it have been better to say, “He’s right, women’s basketball isn’t the spectacle men’s is, and doesn’t get the same kind of attention,” congratulate the team, and move on?

Your disparaging tone shows that you don’t think of girls and women as worthy athletes, and that they might as well play their games in tutus are tiaras. Yes, you’re willing to acknowledge that their winning streak is an “amazing thing,” but the comments and tone you surround that acknowledgment with make it so patronizing and condescending as to be meaningless.

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 12:10

My lack of interest in what they do doesn’t diminish what they do. That’s all.

Reply

Get Shirty

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 12:18

No, MY lack of interest doesn’t diminish what they do, but your job is to talk and write about sports. Your lack of interest is exactly what diminishes what they do–at least in the eyes of everyone who consumes sports media.

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 12:21

My lack of interest seems to diminish what they do in your eyes. That’s not my problem.

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Get Shirty

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 12:35

You’re absolutely right that my feelings about your personal opinion–as John Steigerwald, private citizen–aren’t your problem, but I do wish you’d consider how your public opinion–John Steigerwald, whose name is as well recognized around Pittsburgh as Myron Cope’s–affects others’ perceptions about what matters in sports.

Thank you for being willing to reply to my posts, and Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Reply

JohnSteigerwald

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 12:44

Thanks and same to you.

Reply

a-dawg

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 14:45

I went to 1 WNBA game. Cleveland vs Washington. Washington had this girl named Chamique Holdsclaw. She went to Tennessee and played under Pat Summit. She was suppose to be the female version of Michael Jordan.

It had to have been one of the biggest wastes of time in my entire life.

I am confident the WPIAL AAAA champion boys team could beat any WNBA team. No speed…no ability to cut and stop on a dime.

I’ll give the UCONN women their due for THEIR sport….but you can in no way relate this to the UCLA streak….even if they win 300 in a row!!!!

Reply

YNGController

in December 22nd, 2010 @ 15:55

I saw coverage of this yesterday on ESPN as well. What bothered me the most with the whole thing was how both ESPN and the UCONN players interviewed were acting like their win was a done deal. I would have found it beautiful to see them get dismantled.

Tweet @John

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Comments RSS TrackBack 42 comments

Erik

Mike

Ochotexto

hockeytahn

Mike

Mike

Frank

Browndog

colt

Mike

Martin

Martin

VinceL

Jim

Jim

Jim

kilrain

Ryan

colt

Jim

Jim

colt

GeeWhiz

kilrain

saneman

a-dawg

YNGController