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Two hundred wins sounds nice, right?
It is a nice, round number. It is a good way to encapsulate a career.
But I have a feeling the number of wins Danny Hale has had over the years is well over 200. If it is true that some coaches get into the business to make an impression on the lives they coach, then Hale has thousands of victories.
Hale will be going for his 200th career win on Saturday when Bloomsburg takes on Cheyney at 3:30 p.m. The win is little more than a formality for the Huskies, who will have no trouble dispatching the perpetually struggling Wolves.
And after the game, you can be sure Bloomsburg officials will make a big deal out of the 200 games that Hale has won in his tenure at the school.
But what should also be honored is the thousands of players who suited up for Hale who will stand up and admit their lives were better because they played for him.
The great thing about Hale is that he continues to win games with limited scholarship resources and without having to rebuld every four or five years with new faces. He has figured out how to reload rather than rebuild, and he has done it with class the whole way.
Two hundred is a nice number. But we should not forget the thousands of other victories Hale has had.
That is what is really important.
LOOKING AHEAD
There is still a long way to go until the playoffs start, but the picture is starting to clear up a bit. Here is how things look this week:
In years past, the PSAC got four teams in the playoffs, but that might not happen this year. There is such parity in the league that it might be difficult for four teams to rise to the top.
Teams such as West Chester and IUP probably cannot afford another loss in division play in order to retain playoff hopes. C.W. Post probably has to win the East, and that means beating Bloomsburg.
The teams in best shape are probably Bloomsburg, California and Slippery Rock. Their destiny is in their hands.
LAKERS IN LIMBO
Mercyhurst had hopes of winning the PSAC West again. Those hopes are probably gone, thanks to an injury to quarterback Travis Rearick.
Rearick, one of the top passers in the region, suffered a serious knee injury in a loss to Gannon last week, and the university announced this week that the senior would not play again. Instead, the Lakers will turn to redshirt sophomore Anthony Venedemia, who will make his first start on Saturday, against IUP.
After IUP, Mercyhurst has games against Edinboro, California, Slippery Rock and Shippensburg ahead.
Nobody likes to put pressure on one player, but if Venedmia cannot at least come close to the production Rearick put up, the Lakers will probably struggle the rest of the season.
SAD BUT TRUE
Care to guess at how long it has been since Lock Haven beat any team besides Clarion, Cheyney or Mansfield?
Eight years.
No joke. In 2003, Lock Haven won three games, against Bloomsburg (seriously), California (pre-good times) and Cheyney.
Fast forward to today, and it has been almost four years since the Bald Eagles have won a game of any kind, since they defeated Clarion in the final game of 2007. Lock Haven visits Clarion on Saturday, and it is probably the Bald Eagles only hope for a win this season.
Should Lock Haven finish the year 0-11, they will take a 43-game losing streak into 2012.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Slippery Rock at Edinboro: Call it an elimination game. Should Slippery Rock win, Edinboro is pretty much out of the race for a playoff spot and the West crown. Should Edinboro win, The Rock will have to win out the rest of the way to entertain playoff hopes.
This should be a pretty entertaining game, as it usually is when these two get together. The Fighting Scots are coming off a painful 19-0 loss to IUP in which they never seemed to show up. Slippery Rock is trying to build off a 27-13 win over Clarion that should have been a blowout.
The Edinboro offense will face a tough test against a Slippery Rock defense that is statistically the best in the nation. But the Fighting Scots do have some serious weapons that could present problems. Slippery Rock will likely try to expose the Edinboro run defense much like IUP did last week.
Like most games, this one will come down to turnovers and ball control. Give the edge to Slippery Rock.
POWER RANKINGS
Based on nothing but my opinion:
It is a nice, round number. It is a good way to encapsulate a career.
But I have a feeling the number of wins Danny Hale has had over the years is well over 200. If it is true that some coaches get into the business to make an impression on the lives they coach, then Hale has thousands of victories.
Hale will be going for his 200th career win on Saturday when Bloomsburg takes on Cheyney at 3:30 p.m. The win is little more than a formality for the Huskies, who will have no trouble dispatching the perpetually struggling Wolves.
And after the game, you can be sure Bloomsburg officials will make a big deal out of the 200 games that Hale has won in his tenure at the school.
But what should also be honored is the thousands of players who suited up for Hale who will stand up and admit their lives were better because they played for him.
The great thing about Hale is that he continues to win games with limited scholarship resources and without having to rebuld every four or five years with new faces. He has figured out how to reload rather than rebuild, and he has done it with class the whole way.
Two hundred is a nice number. But we should not forget the thousands of other victories Hale has had.
That is what is really important.
LOOKING AHEAD
There is still a long way to go until the playoffs start, but the picture is starting to clear up a bit. Here is how things look this week:
- In contention: Bloomsburg, California, Edinboro, Kutztown, Shippensburg and Slippery Rock,
- Not looking good: C.W. Post, IUP, Mercyhurst and West Chester.
- Out of it: Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Gannon, Lock Haven and Millersville.
In years past, the PSAC got four teams in the playoffs, but that might not happen this year. There is such parity in the league that it might be difficult for four teams to rise to the top.
Teams such as West Chester and IUP probably cannot afford another loss in division play in order to retain playoff hopes. C.W. Post probably has to win the East, and that means beating Bloomsburg.
The teams in best shape are probably Bloomsburg, California and Slippery Rock. Their destiny is in their hands.
LAKERS IN LIMBO
Mercyhurst had hopes of winning the PSAC West again. Those hopes are probably gone, thanks to an injury to quarterback Travis Rearick.
Rearick, one of the top passers in the region, suffered a serious knee injury in a loss to Gannon last week, and the university announced this week that the senior would not play again. Instead, the Lakers will turn to redshirt sophomore Anthony Venedemia, who will make his first start on Saturday, against IUP.
After IUP, Mercyhurst has games against Edinboro, California, Slippery Rock and Shippensburg ahead.
Nobody likes to put pressure on one player, but if Venedmia cannot at least come close to the production Rearick put up, the Lakers will probably struggle the rest of the season.
SAD BUT TRUE
Care to guess at how long it has been since Lock Haven beat any team besides Clarion, Cheyney or Mansfield?
Eight years.
No joke. In 2003, Lock Haven won three games, against Bloomsburg (seriously), California (pre-good times) and Cheyney.
Fast forward to today, and it has been almost four years since the Bald Eagles have won a game of any kind, since they defeated Clarion in the final game of 2007. Lock Haven visits Clarion on Saturday, and it is probably the Bald Eagles only hope for a win this season.
Should Lock Haven finish the year 0-11, they will take a 43-game losing streak into 2012.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Slippery Rock at Edinboro: Call it an elimination game. Should Slippery Rock win, Edinboro is pretty much out of the race for a playoff spot and the West crown. Should Edinboro win, The Rock will have to win out the rest of the way to entertain playoff hopes.
This should be a pretty entertaining game, as it usually is when these two get together. The Fighting Scots are coming off a painful 19-0 loss to IUP in which they never seemed to show up. Slippery Rock is trying to build off a 27-13 win over Clarion that should have been a blowout.
The Edinboro offense will face a tough test against a Slippery Rock defense that is statistically the best in the nation. But the Fighting Scots do have some serious weapons that could present problems. Slippery Rock will likely try to expose the Edinboro run defense much like IUP did last week.
Like most games, this one will come down to turnovers and ball control. Give the edge to Slippery Rock.
POWER RANKINGS
Based on nothing but my opinion:
- Bloomsburg (5-0): Just keep rolling along.
- California (4-1): The Vulcans have improved quicker than could have been expected.
- Slippery Rock (4-1): Must beat California on Oct. 15.
- Shippensburg (3-2): Pulled off probably the biggest upset in a decade.
- Kutztown (4-1):Is the blueprint out there now how to beat the Bears?
- IUP (2-2): Improved QB play would make this team a contender.
- Edinboro (4-1): Need to rebound. And quickly.
- C.W. Post (2-3): Easily the least predictable team in the league.
- West Chester (2-3): Could be in for a free-fall with tough schedule ahead.
- Gannon (2-3): Still plenty of issues on offense.
- Mercyhurst (3-2): Far different team without Rearick.
- East Stroudsburg (1-4): How bad is Pace? Yikes.
- Millersville (2-3): The best of the bad teams.
- Cheyney (1-4): No winnable games left.
- Clarion (0-5): Now we realize how valuable Alfonso Hoggard really was.
- Lock Haven (0-4): Whole season rides on beating Clarion.
