January 31, 2004

Is Sportsmanship Passe?

FROM OLEAN, NY comes word of the latest Division I basketball blowout: the #3 St. Joseph�s Hawks overwhelmed St. Bonaventure by a 51 point margin.�

As the St. Joe�s juggernaut blitzkrieged the hapless Bonnies, there were appeals for sportsmanship, decency and mercy.� With 12 minutes to go in the first half and the Hawks leading by 47-20, St. Joe�s coach Phil Martelli kept hearing (from a fan in the stands), �Why are you pressing, why are you pressing, you�re up 25.��

That the fan was a librarian by the name of Mary Palmer did not prevent Martelli from verbally assaulting her with the following ungentlemanly and unsportsmanlike statement: �Shut up, you nitwit! �You should be embarrassed by your own team, you moron!�

We have all suffered through the antics and indignities of losing players and coaches; but such stinging rudeness by a winning coach is quite uncommon.

Martelli later did the right thing and called Palmer, to apologize. �I wish that it didn�t happen,� he said.� There was no explanation of why St. Joe�s was pressing when they were up by 27 points.

The St. Bonaventure Reilly Center, one of college basketball�s loudest and most cramped venues, has historically provided the Bonnies with a huge advantage versus cowed visiting teams.� But the Reilly Center�s usual outrageousness was even more pronounced for the St. Joseph�s game.� �I�ve never been in a place like that.� You couldn�t see the doors.� There was no way out,� said Martelli.� Cattaraugus County fire marshals please take note.

This was truly a game of men versus boys.� The Hawks inflicted an in-your-face dominance that the Bona faithful had never before experienced in the Reilly Center. �Red hot St. Joe�s was 37 of 56 from the field and 17 of 26 on treys.

The Bonnies� crushing defeat, while humiliating and painful, hardly ranks as one of Division I�s more lopsided games.� Earlier this season, then 14th ranked Oklahoma obliterated Arkansas-Pine Bluff by 70 points, 94-24.� After that debacle, an unrepentant Coach Kelvin Sampson said, �It doesn�t matter if you win by two points or 70.� In the end, it�s a win.�

According to the Official NCAA Basketball Records Book, there have been several basketball games with winning margins more than double the St. Joe�s-St. Bonaventure game.� In 1993, Division III Women�s California Lutheran beat Pacific Christian 124-9�a 115 point margin.� And in 2001, Division II Women�s West Texas A&M creamed National Christian 155-33�a� whopping 122 point margin.� The Division I UConn women�s team averaged a 36.4 winning margin for the entire season.

In college basketball there is no such thing as a mercy rule.� After all, this is not kiddie sports where fun, sportsmanship and lessons in life reign supreme.� However, one would think (perhaps naively) that the dominant teams should dial back a little on scheduling games versus creampuff opponents just for the sake of inflating stats.

Portions of this article were sourced from: The Buffalo News 1-25-04; Philadelphia Daily News 1-28-04, AP of 12-2-03 and the NCAA Basketball Records Book; as well as commentary by College Athletics Clips