'DOGS DROP THRILLER TO CARDINAL

FSU Hoops

Probably frightened by an unparalleled mass of people in the seats, the Fresno State basketball team let a pretty decent opportunity to knock off Stanford slip away at the Save Mart Center on Tuesday night. This Bulldog team played a solid game throughout, with only a questionable effort in the final seconds to lament as they lost 69-67.

Over 15,000 fans showed up at SMC, and though that was a record, it wasn't the strangest thing about the attendance. An inordinate amount of the fans were wearing white T-shirts which would almost lead one to believe that the whole thing was planned. Like some sort of "white-out" promotion was going on. But God knows nobody around here will do what you tell them and season ticket holders can't possibly be expected to show up on the day of a game, much less wear something that isn't red because somebody told them to. I'm still wondering what the hell that was all about.

But I wasn't the only one distracted. The 'Dogs themselves came down the floor in the waning seconds with a chance to tie the game or even go for a win with a three-pointer. After over 39 minutes of tight action and drama with the Pac-10 foe, down by two points, the ball was in the hands of.......JaVance Coleman.

Ok, anybody who has been paying attention this season knows that a three-ball isn't going in. So what happened? In Ja'Vance went, finding his way to several tall guys wearing red uniforms until the ball got knocked out of bounds with .01 on the clock. Game over.

(Bag on Ja'Vance? Don't bag on Ja'Vance? Hmmm.)

Ja'Vance Coleman has been a great player around here and everybody loves him, as they should. But it ain't happening so far this year, and who knows why. Not too many months ago I would have been screaming at the tube for Coleman to launch that thing from the perimeter. Not this year. It capped a four-point night for Ja'Vance who went 1-10 from the field including 0-4 from three-point range.

Unfortunately Hector Hernandez and Quinton Hosley were on the bench at this time. Hernandez had nine points on three treys and Hosley had 18 points. Dominic McGuire was the star with 25 points and 13 rebounds.

On the other side of the court, Stanford got 17 points from Lawrence Hill and 12 from Fred Washington to lead a balanced attack. It was Hill who nailed a pair of free throws with 14.7 seconds left to give the Cardinal its two-point lead.

The Lopez twins, Robin and Brook from San Joaquin Memorial High School, brought their seven-foot frames back to the Valley and each put in 10 points. Just like Chris Hernandez of Clovis West, these two Valley high school stars took their acts to Stanford, which begs a baffling question. Why in the hell would a kid want to move to a remote dump of a city like Palo Alto and play Pac 10 basketball while becoming a doctor when he could much more easily stay home and attend Fresno State and live out a lucrative career of delivering pizzas to the fine establishments along Motel Drive. Who knows why, but some of these kids opt to head north.

Fresno State fell to 9-2 with the loss while Stanford improved to 7-2. Obviously the NCAA needs to look into why Stanford has played two fewer games and it was probably that extra rest that put them over the top. There could be sanctions against this outlaw program in the near future so stay tuned.

Next up for the 'Dogs is a Saturday game against Cal Poly at the Save Mart Center.

TIME TO MOVE ON

Football's over. Well, around here anyway. I probably should have posted that San Jose St. beat the Bulldogs in the season finale to drop FSU to 4-8 on the year. It just got to where it wasn't that big of a deal, I guess. Maybe when my ticket order arrives next summer and they've gone up another 20% I'll get all fired up again.

Meanwhile, it's basketball season. Pre-season, yes, but still, it's time for hoops. The early unbeaten run is over after a loss at Santa Barbara. That's not a big deal, according to Follies Central. The basketball team is on the right track and the official position here is that they will grow into that big arena sooner rather than later.

But isn't that just like the Fresno State administration? Just when they've got a good thing going in a perfectly laughable basketball program, they go and hire a solid coach and individual like Steve Cleveland and start turning things around the right way. That's OK. Not a problem. The humor in Fresno State athletics is most prominent in its logic-impaired fan base. When the local buzz turns a win over North South Central Western University Tech into a breakout win that demands national attention, I'll be here for you. All of you. Because you know it's going to happen. They bounced back from the UCSB loss with another victory over Montana St., but if they lose the next 11 straight and then bounce back with a double digit win over La Tech, I'll have to turn off the Paul Swearingen show because of all the Big Dance talk from the various goofball callers.

Tune back in soon for a recap of the 2006 football team's dream season. I might mention losses, lack of experience, ticket prices and the jackass that talked shit to me over the phone. I'm not sure if I've covered those topics yet.

WIN OVER LA TECH MAKES THREE

Buckeyes Brace For Date With Streaking 'Dogs

Well, maybe not. It appears either Michigan or USC are still in line to face Ohio St. for all the marbles next month, despite Fresno State's three-game winning streak. The latest conquest was an exciting 34-27 victory over Louisiana Tech. With that the 'Dogs of Fresno improved to 4-7 while the 'Dogs of Ruston dropped to 3-9.

This type of scenario makes for a challenge here at Follies Central as a three-game winning streak late in the year is definitely to be applauded. Especially for this young FSU team. However, this blog's stated purpose is to offer clear-minded commentary on a pattern of events surrounding this university that are nothing if not comical.

All that having been said, celebrating this victory and the two that preceded it are a lot like me celebrating routine acts like getting the mail and taking out the trash. Or at the very least they should be, if you believe the hype and the arrogance of the last few years.

With my skull still bruised from being beaten over the head by Coach Hill about what a national phenomenon this program is; with the arrogance of the university fresh in my mind after dealing with tickets, seating, stadium experience, et al.; and with a brain that understands sports by not allowing it to be overrun by my heart, I look at the last three games as wins over New Mexico St., Idaho and Louisiana Tech. No more, no less.

And when I compare that stretch to the scenario that unfolded in the fourth quarter of the USC game last year, it's hard not to laugh. If you're thinking clearly, that is.

In November of 2005 the Bulldogs walked off the LA Coliseum field thinking they should have beaten the top-ranked Trojans and Pete Carrol proclaimed them a top-10 team, "no doubt about it."

In November of 2006 the Red Wave rejoices at the ability to pull one out in the waning seconds of a game that was attended by fewer people than I saw in line at Wal-Mart this afternoon.

At least Florida State has national championship hardware in its trophy case and is suffering its losses to teams in a major conference.

Does this season's events sober up the university or not? I doubt it. For crying out loud, they "offered" to put a cupholder on the back of the seat in front of me for a mere $18 just a couple of seasons ago. And all the while, the team was treading water and the scoreboard graphics remained EXACTLY the same as every season since I started attending games. Same on-field features, same music at the exact same times. Same shit, higher price. Tradition's special if you're talking about Touchdown Jesus and a Golden Dome. But they can dump "Jump Around" any decade now at Bulldog Stadium. And just put that damn cupholder there, it's at every other relevant stadium in North America, including the one the Grizzlies play in. But then again, the Grizzlies are on the Triple A level, and that is a bit of a step up from the local college football team at the moment.

Next Up: @ San Jose St.