■ 09 March 2009 | 8:08 PM
In the CAA, some things need to change
Radford blogging.
I sometimes get the feeling that nobody wants to tell the emperor that he's wearing no clothes. Well, I'm a nobody, but I'm willing to take a stab at this.
While it appears that the CAA Tournament will forever stay at the Richmond Coliseum, right to the day that the place collapses, there are some serious flaws that can be corrected.
Granted, there's no way to take away VCU's decided homecourt advantage, but the Richmond Coliseum, a place where I grew up watching the Virginia Squires, is just plain crummy. But the way the CAA sets up the grounds isn't helping.
On TV, the tournament is almost unwatchable. This season, a huge mid-court sticker announcing that it's the CAA Tournament is predominantly white, which causes a glare for anyone watching games on TV. I've done both this weekend, watching on TV and watching from the stands. The glare is bad enough from the sticker, but it gets worse when you add the LED boards on the sidelines. When they flash light-screened messages, it's as if a super nova has gone off in my TV.
Speaking of TVs, there's a simple reason for the lousy shooting going on at the tournament. It's bad enough that the Richmond Coliseum is one of those expansive arenas where there's no real background. That makes judging depth perception tough on the best of sharp-eyed shooters. But when you put an oversized TV screen DIRECTLY BEHIND THE BASKETS ... well, you are just asking for trouble.
The CAA needs to improve its product. In other words, the emperor is wearing no clothes. They need to bring in a production advisor, some type of coliseum engineer who can make things work. Because as they are, it's not working.
There, a nobody said it.
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Better on TV
Actually, the Coliseum looks a lot better on TV than it does in person. If only Sky would broadcast in hi-def. The picture last weekend was horrible.
The Richmond Coliseum
Let's face it... the Coliseum is on the downtown campus of VCU period. This is a hometeam advantage especially with VCU shirts being handed out to takers at the door. The Coliseum was covered with Black & Gold. Placing the VCU "pep" band on the end of the court where most of us Monarch fans had seats drowned out any support we could lend our team. If the CAA can't find a neutral site then maybe Scope could be the next tournament site (as was mentioned earlier). Ahh... but then again people would complain.
CAA Tourney
The CAA should move the tournament in the name of fairness. That place is FAR FROM A NEUTRAL SITE. Figure it out and get on with it. There is no way the teams that don't have the letters VCU on the front of their jerseys are getting a fair shake.
I hear it said all the time that it's all just about the money. Mr. Yeager, figure it out.That is your job. Get some smart people around you and do what is right. Get yourself and staff out of Richmond and take the pulse of the other schools and fans that aren't named VCU. You can't have one school's fans out number the others by 10 to 1 and call it fair. Just a couple weeks ago VCU could not beat ODU in Norfolk. It matters where the games are played.
Mr.Yeager, CAA Commissioner , do the right thing.
Plain and simple, Yeager and
Plain and simple, Yeager and the CAA have gotten lazy and you are asking them to work and think. He is still milking the GMU run to the final four, but in the mean time the CAA as a product has gone back to being second rate.
I have never missed a CAA tourney since we came into the CAA, but next year, I will have to think long and hard if I want to go up there and put up with that mess and the VCU fans. The tournament, for the last few years has not been fun any more. We need to find a new city and start new traditions. 20 years is enough of Richmond, lets go to Washington or Philly.
Changes...
I think the best option is to rotate the tourney among 3-4 locations, like Atlantic City, Baltimore, Charlotte, DC. Of course, that's probably not a very cheap option.
JPJ
Shoot, what about the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville? 16,000 is plenty for the CAA tourney. It's still close to Richmond for all the CAA suits, yet it's a super nice facility and there are plenty of hotels around town and things to do.
I'm sure the schedule could be worked out with UVA basketball.
I agree
I agree, the RC is a dump and it's an obvious home court advantage for VCU. If the CAA wants to compete with the big boys, then it needs to start acting like a big boy whether there's a home court advantage or not. The CAA leadership just flat out stinks when it comes to the tourney.
How about we get the Verizon Center in DC, or the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte. Let's get a top quality venue. Preventing a home court advantage would be nice but I'd rather see a better venue. The scope wouldn't be much better imo. Yes it would be close to Norfolk and that would be great but then other teams would be complaining about home court advantage.
Gold and black sweatshirt?
To seattle monarch: What does that have to do with anything?
Changes...
AMEN!! I asked the "neutral court" question at the tourney many times and was given the same answers over and over. Coaches are not stepping forward to ask for these changes themselves... at least not publicly.
Is it appropriate that in games of this magnitude one team gets significant advantage that no other team appreciates? Every year?
The least they could do is....
...get an in-stadium PA guy (announcer) that isn't totally biased for VCU. I was watching the Mason game on last night and he basically cheered for every break that went VCU's way. That is just ridiculous during the CAAs.
PS: I won't miss Maynor being out on the court either. That guy is good.