Sports Poets Society

Incredibile ma vero, la 17 giornata della Liga si era aperta così, coi fischi dei quasi settantamila al Bernabeu contro il loro simbolo prima ancora che iniziasse, Real Madrid-Real Sociedad. Fischi che il club ha cercato di coprire alzando a palla la musica dagli altoparlanti dello stadio. Neanche fosse una contropropaganda alla campagna anti-florentino, denunciata in conferenza stampa alla vigilia, da rafa benitez per difendere il real, sin qu, mai stato davvero suo. I fischi sono piovuti poi anche al primo di due rigori regalati ai merengues, dopo che CR7 lo ha sbagliato. Non succede spesso, ma succede: a Cristiano Ronaldo era già capitato il 1 ottobre 2014, in Champions contro il Ludogorets. Anche stavolta, sbagliato il primo, ha freddamente trasformato il secondo. Pure questo un cadeau natalizio, seppure fuori tempo massimo, del senor José Luis González. Una volta sbloccata la pratica, Cristiano - più che il Madrid - è tornato se stesso.  E il suo classico "Eu estou aqu...

Red Storm Hosts Creighton for Conference Opener at Carnesecca Arena  http://www.redstormsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/123015aaa.html QUEENS, N.Y. (Dec. 30, 2015) – The St. John’s men’s basketball team will kick off BIG EAST action Thursday at Carnesecca Arena against Creighton (9-4) as part of the conference’s New Year’s Eve twinbill on FS1. Tip-off for the Red Storm’s first league opener in Queens since 2011 is set for 2:15 p.m. Justin Kutcher and Donny Marshall are on the call for the national telecast which is also available via FOX Sports Go . St. John’s IMG Radio Network broadcast can be heard on 970 AM WNYM, SiriusXM channel 81 or through the TuneIn app . St. John’s (7-6) looks to get back on the winning track and maintain its unblemished record versus the Bluejays in New York City on Thursday. After winning seven of the first 10 contests, including a marquee victory over Syracuse at MSG, the Red Storm was sidetracked in its last three games all within a five-d...

FRESH START 1 - The Red Storm got off to a solid start to the non-conference portion of the schedule, despite having to rapidly recruit nine scholarship players after the new coaching staff arrived in April . St. John’s won seven of its first 10 games , which included a marquee victory over Syracuse before 13,473 fans at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 13.   Due to the roster overhaul, the Red Storm freshmen have had the opportunity to play big minutes and make significant contributions already in their young careers. They have accounted for nearly 50 percent of the team’s scoring offense and more than one third of the squad’s total rebounds .  Federico Mussini continues to impress as the 6-foot-1 guard from Italy leads the team and ranks 12th in the BIG EAST with a 14.0 scoring average.   Classmate Yankuba Sima is quickly developing into one of the premier centers in the league . His defensive talents have put him on the national radar as he leads Division I with ...

St. John’s hosts its BIG EAST opener for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign, which was also the last time the Red Storm won a conference debut defeating Providence 91-67 on Dec. 27, 2011 in Queens. The Red Storm is 6-2 at home this season and has held teams below 60 points in 5 of the 8 contests. Freshmen Federico Mussini (13.8 ppg) and Yankuba Sima (9.8 ppg) are two of the team’s top three scorers at home .  Mussini has hit 20 of his 30 3-pointers in home contests while Sima is averaging 8.6 rebounds per game. Only 4 players on St. John’s roster have experienced BIG EAST competition .  Among the team’s newcomers, Durand Johnson is the only player to have previously faced a BIG EAST opponent. As a freshman in 2012-13, Johnson played in all 18 regular-season BIG EAST games at Pitt , which included a season-high 13 point effort at Villanova. St. John’s is tied for fifth in Division I averaging 6.5 blocks per game.  Freshman center Yankuba Sima leads the cou...

BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS  BACKCOURT B-  FRONTCOURT C-  BENCH/DEPTH C-  INTANGIBLES B+  LOCATION   Queens, NY CONFERENCE   Big East  LAST SEASON   21-12  CONFERENCE RECORD 10-8 (5th)  STARTERS RETURNING/LOST 0/5 NICKNAME Red Storm  COLORS Red & White  HOMECOURT  Madison Square Garden (19,979)/Carnesecca Arena (5,602)  COACH Chris Mullin (St. John’s ’85)  RECORD AT SCHOOL First year  CAREER RECORD First year  ASSISTANTS  Barry Rohrssen (St. Francis [N.Y.] ’83) - Matt Abdelmassih (St. John’s ’07)  WINS (LAST 5 YRS.) 21-13-17-20-21   RPI (LAST 5 YRS.) 28-156-91-82-52  2014-15 FINISH Lost in NIT first round.  Chris Mullin has returned home . Last spring, Mullin, the Naismith Hall of Famer and two-time Olympic gold medalist who spent 16 years in the NBA , took over the head-coaching position at his alma mater, St. John’s....

http://www.omaha.com/creighton/creighton-s-watson-limiting-miscues-after-tough-run/article_fe04abb1-66a6-5465-888a-7486d571028c.html By Steven Pivovar / World-Herald staff writer | Posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 1:00 am Watson limiting miscues after tough run After struggling to adjust early this season, Creighton transfer guard Maurice Watson has 31 assists and 5 turnovers the past four games. Creighton figured it was getting a player in guard Maurice Watson who knew how to distribute the basketball. In 2 seasons at Boston University, Watson recorded 410 assists. As a sophomore during the 2013-14 season, he ranked third nationally in APG (7.1) and AST (248). Five games into his first season with the Bluejays, Watson was still dishing out assists at a high rate. He also was committing turnovers at an alarming rate, raising concerns in some corners about his ability to transition to a higher level of competition. One group that never lost faith in him was his teammates. “We ...