Buffalo Deserved Better

You could see it in coach Witherspoon's eyes.

You could see it on the long faces of Turner Battle, Calvin Cage and Yassin Idbihi.

You could see it in the once-raucous crowd of UB support that overflowed the allocated sections for students.

Their expressions were not that of shock, but rather disappointment and disgust. Yes, the Bulls lost "fair and square" to a Toledo Rockets squad that was hotter than Trishelle in the Inferno, but the way the team lost left the fans, players and coaches with a sour taste after all was said and done.

The team did not seem distressed that they lost, but dissatisfied that they couldn't pull through the misfortune on the court. This misfortune was very prevalent in the arena and every "boo" or "[insert explicit here]" chant got louder as another call went against UB. In total, 33 fouls were whistled against Buffalo while 13 were seen as actual fouls.

Coach 'Spoon said it best, "My parents told me that if you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all."

That about sums it up. As much as coach 'Spoon wanted to vent about the officiating of the game, he was not or will be allowed do so. The Mid-American Conference has this ludicrous rule that goes along the lines that players, coaches and officials cannot discuss the officiating of a game; no matter how appalling or excellent it was. And it's not just that MAC that engages in this rule; it stretches from professional to the high school level.

Whatever happened to that first amendment that states something along the lines of freedom of speech?

Well, on the other hand, that amendment still holds some truth, just not to coaches and officials - only the two most important sides of a game.

When Turner Battle missed a potential game winning 3-pointer against Canisius in the season opener he had to face the music from the media.

If Mr. Stripes whistles for a charge when it was a blatant blocking foul, does it not seem fair that the three blind mice should be drilled with the same questions? Nope, they're allowed to sail off into the sunset to the nearest 7-1l for a Big Gulp at no one's surprise to share their thoughts on the game.

Specifically, I'm sure on that wintry night in Cleveland, after they stockpiled their coats with Coca-Cola and brownies, they laughed and joked about how they screwed the Buffalo Bulls over.

So while the referees are gallivanting around after the game, the coaches and players cannot vent, even during press conferences.

Blasphemy I say!

While the NBA and NFL are both notorious for handing out fines like cotton candy at the county fair, the money from the fines goes to charity. Stevie Franchise was the latest donator as he gave the NBA $25,000 for speaking what was on his mind, though he used some 'bleeps' to help describe his thoughts.

I doubt any criticism is going to ignite the next world war, we don't live in Iraq and this is just sports. To lessen the complications between the media, officials and coaches, it should be mandatory to allow everyone to speak for themselves after the game.

What the NCAA should do is hand out "fines" to players, coaches or officials who voice their opinion about the officiating and have Rich Neuheisal, Mike Price and Larry Eustachy monitor the transactions between schools and the NCAA. Seems like a winning combination, just as good as Hoobastank and Lost Prophets (please) coming to this year's Spring Fest.

Back to reality, a big thank you goes out to UB athletics, students, alumni, the community and to everyone else who made this men's basketball season one truly to remember. The whole weekend that my colleagues and I were in Cleveland, no student section measured up to what Buffalo brought. Other than the elegant "tator tots", the cheering and jeering was something that was turning heads in the media room and became something to talk about besides that local sports team.

Speaking of good things (for real), for the people who live on campus you might have noticed a flyer on your door advertising for a can and bottle drive. Now this is not just any ordinary bottle drive that you see the local pee-wee football team doing, this drive is helping the American Stroke Association. Just a friendly reminder, this bottle drive is going to help two UB student Athletes, Arielle Korczykowski and Erin Tambs venture to Hawaii to participate in the American Stroke Association's marathon on June 20 with all proceeds going towards the ASA.

The duo will be collecting cans on March 31st from 6-9 p.m. and any help is greatly appreciated.