this could be the year

Northwestern last won at Assembly Hall in Bloomington on January 13, 1968. the 08-09 schedule has not been released yet, but assuming NU plays @ IU next season, we'll have our best chance at winning there in 41 years. why? because as of right now it will be a stretch for Tom Crean to dress five players.

New women's coach announced

it is pretty common for a team (in any sport) to have jerseys ready for new draft picks or even players aquired via free agency or trade. however, i don't believe i've ever seen a team do it for a coach, especially not when the coach is a 52 year-old male and the team is a women's team. i hope this isn't one of Jim Phillips's brilliant new marketing strategies.

Another guy we didn't hire

for the second time in a few months, Sports Illustrated has done a feature article on a Princeton basketball man not named Bill Carmody. this time it is Craig Robinson, who was an assistant under Carmody before taking the Brown job. two observations:

a) i suppose it is a backhanded compliment to NU when this article says, "Oregon State is widely perceived to be the toughest basketball position of any in the six major conferences."

b) while NU has been ignoring its basketball program, its not like we've "spent $80 million renovating the football stadium"