Sunday, November 27, 2005

Dangerfield?

If a team wins a well-regarded tournament on national television, does anybody pay attention?

Surely not ESPN.COM, which as of 9pm EST on Sunday evening had yet to cover the championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout - - a game it broadcast live last night. Here's what you get if you search 'Great Alaska Shootout' on the ESPN men's basketball homepage.

Incredibly, Yoni Cohen at yocohoops took the time to let his readers know that the USC Trojans edged out UA-A for a win -- to clinch fourth place in the GAS.

Maybe this is merely avoidance, since last week he opined that "Oral Roberts, Southern Illinois, or South Carolina are my odds-on favorites" to win the GAS. Of course, MU promptly dispatched of two of those "odds-on favorites" on consecutive nights. Perhaps this snub should not come as much of a surprise given what Cohen has written about Crean in the past, where injury was completely ignored as a factor in meeting expectations in previous seasons.

I'm all for calling out deficiencies in the MU program -- but positive recognition was warranted in this case from college basketball's premier blogger.

Regardless, the lack of attention paid to MU's extraordinary week by these two outlets might suit the program just fine. In a 16-team league with historic rivalries and Hall of Fame coaches that command the limelight, a young team flying under the radar could do just fine in the long-run.

On to Lincoln.

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