Feline Nicknames and Mascots Amongst College Basketball Teams

Zappa the Family Cat lives in New Haven, Conn., but he roots for the Princeton Tigers instead of the Yale Bulldogs because of the Tigers' nickname (actually, unlike ESPN, we are not based in Connecticut).

Here is a look at ten schools with feline nicknames and the names of the mascots, not all of these teams made the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

1) Pittsburgh Panthers. Roz the Panther*

2) Auburn Tigers. Audie the Tiger (pictured top)

3) BYU Cougars. Cosmo the Cougar (pictured center)*

4) Cincinnati Bearcats. (pictured bottom)

5) Villanova Wildcats. Will D. Cat.

6) High Point Panthers. Prowler the Panther.^

7) Princeton Tigers.

8) Kentucky Wildcats. Blue the Wildcat*

9) Arizona Wildcats. Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat.*

10) Houston Cougars. Shasta the Cougar.

*-Teams which made the NCAA Tournament

^-Teams which made the NIT
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-basketball/mens-tournament/

Sports Desk_ College Basketball Teams by Area Code in North Carolina (1 of 2)

We were hoping to add mascots from High Point University, Wake Forest and Western Carolina, but we are pressed for time here at the Hartford Public Library in Hartford, Conn. (not really where I am).

But, here is our first of two looks at North Carolina teams by area code. We have Virginia and Washington, DC, teams by area code on our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

There are an impressive 18 Division One colleges with men's basketball teams in North Carolina. Even though the four ACC programs get a lot of attention, there are plenty of competitive teams outside Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill. Here is a look at some of them:

336 (Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point)

1. UNC-Greensboro  Spartans(10-12, Southern Con., picture): Next game vs. Appalachian State on Thursday @ 7:00 p.m.

2. North Carolina A & T Aggies (8-13, Greensboro, MEAC): Next game vs. Coppin State (Maryland) 8:00 p.m., tonight

3. High Point University Panthers (7-12, Big South) Next game @ Presbyterian (SC) @ 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

4. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (14-6, Winston-Salem, ACC): Next game vs. #2 Syracuse Wed. @ 9:00 p.m.

5. Elon Phoenix (10-11, Elon/Southern Con.): Next game vs. Western Carolina on Thurs. @ 7:00 p.m.

828 (Asheville, Boone)

 1. Appalachian State Mounatineers (6-13, Boone, Southern Conf.) See UNC-Greensboro

2. Western Carolina Catamonts (11-10, Southern Conf.) See Elon

3. UNC-Asheville Bulldogs (10-10, Big South): Next game vs. VMI, Tues. @ 7:00 p.m.


http://www.uncgspartans.com/

http://www.ncataggies.com

 http://www.wakeforestsports.com

http://www.uncabulldogs.com

College Volleyball Notebook: Radford U and Yale are Among Emerging Small School Teams

While our last entry was on teams in the ACC, a conference with three nationally-ranked programs, we now turn our attention to two smaller schools which are having great years.

The first one is Yale University. The Bulldogs' Mollie Rogers (pictured top) was named co-Ivy League Player of the Week along with Alexis Censke of Penn. With home weekend straight-set wins over Columbia and Cornell, Yale also won their fourth consecutive Ivy League with two remaining games in the season. Brittani Steinberg of the Bulldogs had 15 kills in the win over Columbia.

Meanwhile, Radford University (the alma mater of the blog editor), is gradually pulling ahead in the Big South Conference with one remaining weekend of play, which will include two games on the road.

For the Highlanders, Rachel Wiechecki (pictured bottom) was named Big South Player of the Week. She led her team to a home victory over Campbell University with 22 kills and 19 digs in a game that went to the full fifth set. Additionally, she had 20 kills on Saturday when the Highlanders won another home game in straight sets over High Point University.

Here are weekend scores for the Ivy League, Big South and other east coast games.

Friday:

Big South:

Radford 3 Campbell 2

Winthrop 3 Gardner-Webb 0

High Point 3 Liberty 2

UNC-Asheville 3 Presbyterian 2

Other scores:

Yale 3 Columbia 0

NC A &T 3 Savannah State 0

Wofford 3 Elon 1

Saturday:

Big South:

Radford U 3 High Point 0

Winthrop 3 UNC-Asheville 2

Liberty 3 Campbell 0

Other Scores:

Penn 3 Harvard 2

Furman 3 Elon 1

UNC-Greensboro 3 Wofford 1

Princeton 3 Dartmouth 2

Brown 3 Columbia 0

Yale 3 Cornell 0

Sunday:

Univ. of Rhode Island 3 George Washington 1

Quote of the Day/Week- Bart Starr

Today, we go 'old school' as we conclude our month-long quotes from Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks with a quip from Green Bay Packers great Bart Starr, 78, who guided his team to victories in Super Bowl I in 1967 (35-10 over Kansas City Chiefs) and Super Bowl II in 1968 (33-14 over Oakland Raiders).

Starr was also a star quarterback at the University of Alabama, and we are quoting his fellow Crimson Tide great Joe Namath on our other blog, "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" today.

Here is Starr's quote:

"Athletic competition clearly defines the unique power of our attitude."

SIDEBAR: Yesterday, we mentioned how several Big South Conference schools fared in the annual college basketball bracket busters.

And, jut last night, High Point University Panthers guard Nick Barbour (senior, Danville, Va.) set the school's men's basketball scoring record by recording 44 points against the visitors from Campbell University, in eastern North Carolina.

The school which is conversely located in High Point, NC, won the game by a 98-60 margin. The Panthers finish the regular season (12-14, 8-10 Big South) and await their first-round opponent in the Big South Tournament.