Dont Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth Definition
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:43:08 +0000
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Here's another senseless one, also incidentally related to horses. If you guessed this was referring to the Trojan Horse (ironically a Greek horse), congrats, you watched Jeopardy! on March 11, 2006. Don't get too cocky, though, because I would fuck you up in Jeopardy! and you know it.
Yes, Virgil coined this beauty after watching the Greeks crack a Troja's skull at Troy. Unlike the previous saying, this one is pretty straightfoward: Greeks are not to be trusted because they hide people in horses. But there are more than a few things wrong with this. I will list two:
1) It's racist. I know the Greeks are smelly and shit, but this is too racist even for me. And no, if you get an honorary "Πέρασμα γειτονιάς," that doesn't entitle you to use it, either. The stereotype of Greeks constantly trying to jump out and kill everyone they give a gift to is wrong, anyway. That's more of a Hungarian thing. So let's stop crossing the street when we see a Greek carrying anything but souvlaki.
2) It's old. The Trojan War was like a hundred years ago, I think it's time we just dropped it. You don't see the Germans still getting shit for being Nazis, right? How'd you like it if everyone kept bringing up that one time you couldn't find the fucking Meadowbrook? It's only RIGHT OFF THE FUCKING ROAD ONCE YOU GO OVER THE BRIDGE.
3) It's dumb. Whoever decided that taking a giant horse from an enemy army was a good idea was mega stupid. What the hell were the Trojans thinking? "Oh, this giant wooden horse will go so well with our giant wooden skunk in our giant wooden menagerie!!!" If you're dumb enough to take a giant wooden horse, and NOT immediately convert it into a giant killer horse robot, you deserve to get punked by like five Greeks. Either way, the only reason this is even an idiom is because the Trojans are dumb, and that's not the problem of the Greeks.
So why don't we bury the hatchet once and for all.
Ensor is a gigantic idiot.. I hope he holds Bridgeport and Springfield to the same standards he does Albany. The folks that work security at that arena are part-time workers. Perhaps the cash the MAAC picks up can pay the OT for more cops at the TUC.
Comment by Boogie — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:04 pm
Ensor, you are a loser. Have fun taking the MAAC tournament away from the largest revenue base it has ever experienced.
Comment by Saints are Dancing — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:07 pm
Wow- this guy is clueless. Stop putting the blame on Siena students and Bob Belber. Bob is a class act Rich- you are a disgrace. Every other small school conference student sections that win storm the court because that is what college students do. It allows the common student and the student athletes to enjoy the moment together- one that live with them for the rest of their lives. Let’s hope Ensor steps down sooner versus later otherwise the MAAC doesn’t have much of a future. Bob Belber- keep up the good work- we love the TUC and Siena.
Comment by Jim — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:07 pm
Dear Mr. Ensor,
1. Niagara stormed in 2007.
2. Fairfield would have stormed (or at least tried to) if they won last night.
3. You were asking for it as soon as you publicized the fact that you wouldn’t let them do it. And any of the schools’ students would have stormed in response. Don’t go an single out “Siena”
4. Stop talking about this, and start cheering on the Saints in the NCAA. They make YOU look good.
Comment by gosaints — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:08 pm
Get over yourselves. College kids are adults. They broke the arenas stated policies for that night. Any student on those tapes should get a disorderly conduct charge and be forced to do community service in the local elementaries. If other conferences allow it, then those students are following whats allowed. IT was stated many times going on to the court was not allowed. Keep your butts in the seats. Last year kids were very close to being trampled. This year you had these ADULTS storm over peoples seats. Disorderly conducts for all of them.
Comment by yankee — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:15 pm
Ensor = Fired
You are making the MAAC a joke. Winning the conference championship is the only means for any team to make the tourney. Not your joke of a tourney, the one that actually matters. Sorry fans and students want to celebrate with the fellow classmates/players. Who are you to decide how they celebrate. It happens and you can’t stop it, idiot. You made things way more dangerous, you did. You did it by trying to have the TU stop all these students, no easy task, and some used excessive force. Now you know we all hate you and the MAAC wont come back until there is a new commissioner.
We need a new MAAC comm. ASAP. Fire Ensor!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by jpalmer0622 — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:16 pm
any siena fan who buys one ticket to a maac tourney event ever again is a fool…. I implore you not too.kids have rushed the court in every maac mens hoops championship I have witnessed in the lat 12 years… just so happens when it is not Siena, it does not make an impact…
Comment by Mitch Rapp formerly silverbrunogate2008 — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:17 pm
Good luck trying to stop the dozens of fans attending next year’s Finals from storming the court Mr. Ensor…you’re doing a fantastic job alienating roughly 50% of the MAAC’s loyal followers.
Comment by Totes McGoats — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:19 pm
It really might be time for Siena to leave the MAAC. The confernece is small time and a total joke. Look at the guy running it, is he serious? Complete IDIOT. The MAAC is nothing without Siena and Siena has become too big for such a poorly run outfit.
Comment by Leave Already — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:20 pm
PS – Mark, et al, why not ask ENSOR with all of the CONSULTANTS he has used to figure out where to hold the TOURNEY why he did not bring in a crowd control consultant to help with his wet-dream. Major tours have security specialists that assist the local venues with the nuances of their events… If he REALLY cared about SAFETY he would have put his $$$ where his mouth was.
BOYCOTT THE MAAC! No Tourney Tickets Ever… Signs at all MAAC televised home games….
Comment by Mitch Rapp formerly silverbrunogate2008 — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:21 pm
Ensor, you’re an idiot of the highest order. Taking the tournament to a city that will never begin to support it in the manner Albany does proves this point.
The issue of students rushing the court is a manufactured “problem.” The words of Ryan Rossiter show how the players feel:
“They told me they were going to be on the court no matter what,” Rossiter said. “And I loved it.”
Comment by 0325 — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:24 pm
The sad part about all of this is he doesn’t care.. His apathy towards the conference is is supposed to be the leader of is astounding.. Here is hoping he steps aside and let’s someone with passion and a vision take over.
Comment by Niagarafan — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:26 pm
A tradition to storm the court that has developed at Siena?!? I guess the top teams at the major conferences don’t have the students storm the court because they’re used to the winning. You have a team bringing national attention to the conference and you criticize the students for doing exactly what every other school does when winning a championship game. Or a big upset even. The other execs in the MAAC should start distancing themselves from Clueless Ensor.
Comment by SaintsFanatico — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:29 pm
This guy needs to go. If do not see the tournament coming back to Albany until he does.
Comment by Shane — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:30 pm
Siena fans are not the problem, Mr Ensor…your decisions ARE. You will be sorry when the revenue is a joke and you are looking for something else to do with your time…your days as commissioner should be over soon!
Comment by DB — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:31 pm
FYI– Ensor is on Twitter http://twitter.com/MAACCommish
Comment by gosaints — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:33 pm
http://chuckleheads.podbean.com/
about 5 minutes in they talk about the TU ushers and students
Comment by jpalmer0622 — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:34 pm
So did Ensor just say if we all go run on the court next year in Bridgeport they’ll have no choice but to call a technical foul on Fairfield?
Comment by $cott — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:35 pm
#16. What a petty piece of crap he is… look at that post he made. Hope Belber keeps up the pressure and does not back down.
Comment by Mitch Rapp formerly silverbrunogate2008 — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:37 pm
more like 11 minutes in
Comment by jpalmer0622 — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:37 pm
Funny, it is a Siena home game? I don’t recall Siena having a choice for seating or even to keep banners up.
I think it is possible that Ensor is just the middle guy for the college presidents.
Pretty obvious this group is a bit short sighted. Would any of you know who St. Mary’s of California was unless Gonzaga became a national power? Do they really think they could keep college kids from the floor?
The MAAC is becoming less of what it states it wants to be-the best conference it can be.
Comment by Siena '86 — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:38 pm
I keep telling myself is boycott the maac tournament when it moves to Springfield in 2012…but I just can’t…I love Siena basketball too much and will spend the coin. Unfortunately, that is exactly what Ensor is counting on – a large contingent of Siena fans heading over the Mass Pike.
Comment by Siena85 — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:47 pm
Wow. Could Ensor come off worse? What a jerk. This clown runs the MAAC? I guess we need to hope he moves on and soon.
Comment by John O — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:53 pm
In the words of Ensor: “…is really a reflection on the students, not the league…”
Way to go Ensor, bite the hand that feeds you.
If it wasn’t for Siena and all the national attention it’s gotten over the last three years, your league would be as lost and absent as your common sense as a commissioner.
Comment by Brendon — March 9th, 2010 @ 4:57 pm
3 years in Albany 3 straight attendance records for the tournament. I guess this is his way of saying ‘thank you’? See you on the court in Bridgeport next year, Rich.
Comment by Eric Heidelmark — March 9th, 2010 @ 5:04 pm
Ensor seems to have a problem with Siena. Even when he congratulates Siena he notes “playing at home”. He also takes a shot at the Siena student body. I can only hope that Siena puts out a statement supporting their team, students and fans.
It will be hard to boycott the tournament if you want to support the team. My hope is that if Siena is not able to repeat next year, that it is Fairfield and their students rush the court holding up the game for 10-15 minutes with a no rushing the court policy in place.
Comment by Saints Alum '97 — March 9th, 2010 @ 5:10 pm
Bring on the AMERICA EAST TOURNAMENT…Let’s lock them up on a long term deal and when (not if) the MAAC comes crawling back we’ve got a great big KMA for Ensor…. Talk about biting the hand that feeds Ya! The AE might not be at the same level,,,now,,,as the MAAC is but hey,,we made the MAAC where they are now and can do the same with the AE…..
Comment by LGM59 — March 9th, 2010 @ 5:11 pm
It is apparent that Mr. Ensor has no idea how important the student bodies are to college sports. Only a very small percentage of college students actually participate in college sports and the balance of them live vicariously through them. To state that it is wrong for the students to rush onto the floor to celebrate their teams victory shows just how far removed Ensor actually is from sports. He doesn’t have a clue. His decision was wrong and now he is trying to blame everybody but himself. The MAAC Tournament is doomed with him as president. Good luck in trying to get the turnout that you had in Albany….it isn’t going to happen! Hang it up Ensor…this is your second major bad decision.
Comment by Mike — March 9th, 2010 @ 5:12 pm
That didn’t take long: http://twitter.com/FakeRichEnsor
Comment by Donnie — March 9th, 2010 @ 5:23 pm
#22. I feel ya. But… it is the only answer. Send the kids off with a party, be there when they get home… but don’t put one cent in the MAAC’s pocket… or, better yet, give a restricted gift to Siena to pay for more students to go to the championship games so they can Storm.
Comment by Mitch Rapp formerly silverbrunogate2008 — March 9th, 2010 @ 5:27 pm
Esnor is just pissed because his “partner in crime” threw him under the bus! lol
Ensor is such a PIONEER!! He’s going to be the FIRST league commissioner to stop students from celebrating on the floor with the players they go to school with!! That type of energy and worthwhile event made all the ESPN runs and helped promote the league.
The players safety? Right Richard. this si YIU being a politician trying to condone your FAILED attempt at keeping the celebration to a dull roar.
ps-I’m glad he hates all the Siena fans/students so much. Your tournament will NEVER, EVER be as good as it is in Sienas house. Have fun at Bridgeport with your 20,000 fans. At least the hot dog lines will be shorter for ya!!
Comment by obviously... — March 9th, 2010 @ 5:32 pm
What a joke. Watch any championship game this week and no matter what team wins the students will celebrate on the court with the student athletes. In fact watch any commercial or promo for championship week and you will see a clip of students rushing the court. It has become synonymous with college basketball. Yet Siena students are irresponsible and a poor reflection on the MAAC. Anyone that is against this really needs to get over themselves and lighten up. Were you ever a kid and if so did you have any fun? I’m sorry if your college experience sucked (if you even went to college) but don’t ruin this for these kids and their student athletes. These young men (the Siena team) work their butts off and bring a lot of joy to a lot of people. Did you see how happy they were celebrating with their community? Why take that from them, especially at a school as small as Siena where these athletes probably know and or recognize most of the people on the court. How do you get the job as MAAC commissioner and how can we make enough noise to get someone removed from that position? The last few decisions have made no sense and his disdain for the team that is currently generating the most attention the conference has ever received really shows he is a poor business man that is not qualified to run a league. What are his qualifications anyway? Pete?
Comment by jd siena — March 9th, 2010 @ 5:38 pm
Ensor say’s…There’s a duty to protect the players, to protect the game,” “That was our plan”. Over the past Three years. There were no Injuries. So WTF is he saying?.
Comment by Wtf — March 9th, 2010 @ 5:40 pm
How could anyone come off looking any worse? it’s not even belieavble. Pete, did he really say this or was it an imposter? I mean, if you asked someone to make the worst possible comments about the situation, this is what the person would say.
Calling into question Bob’s ability to secure the facility? Are you serious? 1,000 or more students on the floor. How were they to stop that?
Ensor thinks he runs the NBA. Marketing is what matters. Storming the floor is marketing. Compare it to Edwin’s dunk last night. For safety reasons, you want him to simply place the ball in the basket and score two points to assure the victory. But it sure did look good on ESPNs top plays. Recruits see that. Voters see that. Fans and sponsors see that.
When you are not at the mountain top, you do not get to have it all the safe and easy way. The MAAC, this tournament, and the commish himself owe Bob and Siena a debt of gratitude.
Without the TUC, Siena is not where they are on the national stage. Without Siena and the job they have done, the MAAC is garbage. Siena’s play and the elevation of their game has caused other member schools to raise the bar. The other coaches all talk about it. Because of the arena and the coverage the MAAC and Siena get because of the facility, other member schools get to use that as a recruiting tool. Without the building and without Siena, Rich Ensor is gets to lead one of the worst conferences in the country. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you…and apparently well.
There are simply no words to describe the ineptitude of an individual who does not see the clearest of facts.
Comment by steve — March 9th, 2010 @ 5:44 pm
Apparently he went to St Peter’s. Now I get it. I’d be bitter too at the success, the atmosphere and the experience compared to what St. Pete’s has to offer. Not trying to knock St Pete’s but if you’ve ever been to their gym you know what I’m talking about. The experience is not comparable. I wonder if he would have an issue with students rushing the court if it was his peacocks that were dominating the league.
Comment by jd siena — March 9th, 2010 @ 5:44 pm
This man is a complete moron. I was going to head out of town to watch the tournament but it does not feel (after last night) that Ensor would like Siena fans to do so. Even on his stupid twitter feed (not the fake on) he comments on “oh poor Fairfield coach had to play in Siena’s house” blah.
I say we storm his office, but it would be hard to get through the stacks of cash he just made by having it in ALBANY!
Comment by screw u ensor — March 9th, 2010 @ 5:44 pm
#32, excellent point. The posters promoting the event are of the on court celebration, post-storm, last year. The MAAC produces them !!!!!!!! Unreal.
Comment by steve — March 9th, 2010 @ 5:47 pm
Lets stop dancing around the issue. The issue is jealousy plain and simple. Siena holds one vote over Ensor’s future, the nine jealous sisters hold nine votes. We will never win with this math. Trustees of Siena it is time to move on. We have the venue, and we have the fan base. We also have the coach and some incoming great players it is A-10 or bust.
Comment by Siena '73 NJ — March 9th, 2010 @ 6:02 pm
Hey fat pig, you are cutting off your nose to spite your face. Good luck buddy. To put down the school that makes this league relevant is a real show of your character or lack there of. Siena has more class in its parking lot then you will ever have you piece of trash. Take your tournament elswhere and see how good you do. How dare you put down the team and arena that has provided you with more success than you can ever imagine. See ya.
Comment by Mike — March 9th, 2010 @ 6:12 pm
#5- it’s also against the rules to drink under 21 years of age. I guess we should reasonably expect every college student to abide by every rule that suits make up right?
Comment by 09Siena — March 9th, 2010 @ 6:40 pm
Does Ensor really have any idea how much money they will lose by leaving the TU? Over 10,000+ attendees attended the championship game alone….people don’t go to games to sit on the sidelines and not celebrate with their team. Just because Ensor wasn’t able to control the outcome doesn’t give him the right to bash others!
Comment by Donna — March 9th, 2010 @ 6:46 pm
tour guides on campus used to say “we have 17 Division 1 athletic teams”.
now they say “you watch SportsCenter, right?”
I say we all storm Bridgeport and not pay for tickets. the conference doesn’t deserve a nickel after this. you wouldn’t tip a waiter who smacks you in the face, would you?
Comment by 09Siena — March 9th, 2010 @ 6:50 pm
My company has been a sponsor of the MAAC for several years and we have gotten less and less out of our sponsorship each year. We do not see a lift in business, but I’ve always felt that it was important to support the MAAC conference and have approved the funds. I was on the fence about renewing our sponsorship this year, but knew that the attendance would be strong for this years tournament and it would be nice to be a part of it. I am 85-90% sure that I will not renew our sponsorship for the tournament next year. I could have lived with the moving of the tournament and the lack of business it brings to this area, but not agreeing with now several decisions the commissioner has made and reading what he had to say about the situation has left me with little respect for him and those who support him in the MAAC.
Even if this is the way he feels personally, how do you not understand that you need to give a politically correct response to the situation to avoid making the issue worse? Are you that arrogant as the commissioner of the MAAC that you feel you can just say what you want? Well sir, I can tell you that the organization that the MAAC hired to sell sponsorships (Thanks to the MAAC for the free food, beer and wine pre-game) might be a little short next year and I hope others follow. I’d rather look to spend our money directly with Siena or one of the other conferences that some of your people have joined throughout the years. Quite frankly as you put it, the MAAC just isn’t “very pleasant to be involved in”.
Go Saints!
Comment by B — March 9th, 2010 @ 6:58 pm
A-10 anybody?!?!? I’ll enjoy watching Siena move on up and the MAAC going from a relevant Mid-Major to just another small conference…
Anyone know if Bridgeport or Springfield can even hold 10,000+ in their building?
Comment by Dump the MAAC!!! — March 9th, 2010 @ 7:18 pm
To clarify some falsely written comments… “yankee” wrote “you had these ADULTS storm over peoples seats”, being one of the students to storm the court, fans stood up and ushered us through their seats cheering us on and giving us all high-fives. No one to my knowledge pushed through rows and stomped on fans without the fans egging us on. As for the brutality, once again I was in the midst of it, and those of you who are bashing Siena students, unless you were right there and witnessed what was going on, do not have the right to say that we behaved disorderly. We had adults tackling us, forcefully pushing girls to the ground and throwing people around, and if we college students are considered adults, most of us did the right thing and attempted to negotiate with security-until we were brutally mishandled- which is where I ask you, as an adult if another adult threw you to the ground, how would you behave?? Yes I understand the safety reasons and whatnot for security wanting to hold us back, however think of the seniors- this is their last time to storm the court- and even the players love having all of the attention brought to them with the big celebration. Technically did we break the rules- Yes. If security just let us run onto the court after half of the stands already got past them, would their be less injuries on both parts- Yes. We come from a small school and it is an amazing feeling to win and move onto larger teams, I encourage you to think about our excitement and enthusiasm. It doesn’t matter if you move the championship to another location, because it’s not just Siena students that will storm the court- it is any group of animate fans who love the sport and their team for winning- look to all of the other times fans have stormed the court, field, rink etc. for all other sports.
Comment by Siena Student — March 9th, 2010 @ 7:28 pm
I live in Albany but graduated from Fairfield. There is still no sensible way you can stick up for this complete mess of a person who is in charge of the MAAC. Although I root against Siena you have to be a complete moron not to realize that without Siena in the conference the last decade the MAAC is nothing, mine as well just join the JUCO league. I attended most of the mens bracket and was completely astonished by how many Siena fans attended just to watch basketball. You can put Manhattan and Marist on the court for a three game series and you’ll get 4,500 Siena fans to come out and watch, its amazing! Its no wonder that the MAAC seems to be stuck in a rut, what can you expect when you have an incompetent piglet running your league? He is creating a league in which teams are stuck in rather than happy to be playing in, he’s going to drive McCaffrey and any other asset the MAAC has out because of the ridiculousness of his actions. Ive traveled to all MAAC championships in the last 12 years but I am officially done, my father made the same decision last year because of this wiener’s decisions and I didn’t really understand why. After a year of actually paying attention to the fool its so clear that he is totally content in running a sub par league and wants to ruin anything that shows progress for the league. I think Siena fans owe him a beer in the face, or whatever your carrying at the moment you see him after what he said about the school, without you guys my Stags would either be in the America East or have folded altogether.
Comment by Tom — March 9th, 2010 @ 7:36 pm
Ensor is a complete fool and his comments in the article prove the jealousy he has towards Siena. Regardless of my bias, I know many alumns from other schools in the MAAC who are very disappointed in this man. Someone should really put a grass routes campaign out there to get this man fired or at least force him to resign. You get enough almuns from the schools annoyed and there’s probably a good chance this could happen.
Good luck to the Saints in the tournament!!! Maybe we can have a big party on Ensor’s front lawn big screen and all. Let’s pi$$ off all his neighbors and get him kicked out of where ever he comes from.
Comment by Siena 99 — March 9th, 2010 @ 7:39 pm
The silver lining to this whole hoopla may be that Siena upgrades to the A-10. The basketball program would clearly thrive in that league and I think some of the other sports would hold their own. In the A-10, Siena hoops would play in the postseason 2 out of every 3 years. The MAAC has been great for Siena, but clearly Siena has grown up and is now too big for this conference. Prediction: In 3 years Siena is playing conference games against Temple, Xavier, St. Joe’s, the Bonnies, etc. Average attendance about 9K.
Comment by Chris Nowak — March 9th, 2010 @ 7:55 pm
I would like to point out that Siena students were not the only ones to rush the court. There were multiple fans besides students that rushed the court, and that there would not have been any problems if the security did not try to stop us. The Albany police officers were telling them to stop attempting to stop the students or else more injuries would occur. Also the goal of getting the players and coaches off the court in a safe manner is a joke because the players want to be in the middle of that. It was a come from behind overtime victory winning a championship. What makes Siena different from other schools is the relationship with the community and if you are criticizing the fans you are criticizing the entire Albany area. The support we have for our school and teams is something special that there is no rule against so its too bad that other schools don’t try harder and pride themselves on the support they have for their teams.
Comment by Siena2011 — March 9th, 2010 @ 7:56 pm
This is absolutely ridiculous. Storming the court/field is a deep rooted NCAA tradition. Ensor is nothing but a piece of trash. It may be time for Siena to leave the MAAC and step into a real conference.
Comment by mighty — March 9th, 2010 @ 8:01 pm
I think Mr. Rich Ensor’s decision to keep students off the court after a championship game is going to fail every time, no matter where the game is played. You can’t challenge college kids and not expect them to accept the challenge. He should watch ESPN and see how many times other conference accomplished this. To bad he is being so foolish, Siena basketball is the biggest and best thing in the MAAC.
Comment by John M — March 9th, 2010 @ 8:07 pm
Yes, Ensor has a problem with Siena – remember folks he is a graduate of St. Peter’s (that should tell you something right out of the box – how in the hell do they recruit/attact students? Do the bars on every window on every house adjoining that campus make potential students feel safer. OOOPPPPSSS, I digress, back to the post).
This clown is an embarrassment to all things collegiate. His biggest fears were aimed at fan reaction to the opposing team – he must have had money on Canisius – they would have found themselves at risk if they had beaten their way to the MAAC final vs Siena. So he takes no action regarding violence from his teams ON the floor but gets postal over potential violence by fans coming from OFF the floor in a game devoid of the Canisius thugs or the Manhattan showboaters! NJ logic, I guess???? Certainly, NJ behavior! I hope he gets his wish and we LEAVE the “family” before it ever has a shot at coming back. Let me see, after one financially disastrous year (hope that stimulus funds are still available for then defunct Springfield) the MAAC would come crawling back to Albany in 2012. Maybe sooner, when Springfield gets to see what a smash hit the MAAC is in Bridgeport they may get cold feet even before the start of the 2011-2012 season. One can only hope we’d either be in a real conference or one with a real commissioner by then.
Comment by Chuck — March 9th, 2010 @ 8:14 pm
People can try and stop Saints fans from rushing the court, but THEY CANNOT STOP THE SAINTS FROM DESTROYING ALL OPPONENTS ON THE COURT AND WINNING THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!
Comment by Final Four Siena — March 9th, 2010 @ 8:22 pm
Again, the policy was out there. Attack the policy if you want. But once it is stated, and it was ahead of time, the students willfully broke the rules and could have harmed many people. They were wrong and WILL atone.
Comment by Yankee — March 9th, 2010 @ 8:22 pm
Siena2011, well said. Storming the court last year was not as difficult as it was this year, and this years victory was definitely more exciting
Comment by Siena 2012 — March 9th, 2010 @ 8:28 pm
Hey Chuck I love you man, but easy on those of us from NJ. My wife and I and 3 children are all Siena Grads and we love the school dearly. Don’t let the short sightedness of Mr Ensor color all of us who live in NJ.
Comment by Siena '73 NJ — March 9th, 2010 @ 8:28 pm
Dear Mr. Rich Ensor,
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth
Meaning: Don’t be ungrateful when you receive a gift.
Siena College has been the MAAC’s “Cash Cow” for the past several years. Sold-out games=$, 50,000+ at the Conference tournament=$$, NCAA tournament wins=$$$.Not to mention the fact that the Saints, their student body and the best fans in the conference have brought respectability back to the MAAC on a national level. So we don’t seem to live up to your standards of acceptable behavior. Well fear not and while you say your goodbyes to our fair city and bad mouth our inhabitants, do you really think Bridgeport or Springfield can offer what Albany has accomplished the last 3 out of 4 years? I for one feel that not only have the Saints outgrown the MAAC, but the entire Capital District has also.
Comment by pfam518 — March 9th, 2010 @ 8:33 pm
Can you imagine the Big East Commish trashing Uconn or SU ? This is gross insanity, is he trying to run Siena out of the league. This man needs to have the screws in his head tightened.
Comment by le — March 9th, 2010 @ 8:33 pm
This guy needs to go, no question about it! Just remember the world is round it will come back to bite him in the ass!
Join us on Facebook under the group name: Fire Rich Ensor, The Incompetent MAAC Commissioner.
Comment by Chris — March 9th, 2010 @ 8:52 pm
the fact is that they are students this country or state depending on how u look at it wont let them drink til they’re twenty-one so let them celebrate with their fellow students, it is greatly overlooked that majority of students are still considered young adults/teenagers, they go to college just because college basketball brings in so much money for so many people does not mean one should overlook the fact that it is the kids experience to enjoy and celebrate with their fellow classmates…
Comment by stlybrowser — March 9th, 2010 @ 9:01 pm
rich.ensor@maac.org LET STAND UP AND DO THE RIGHT THING AND GET THIS PERSON FIRED BEFORE THE START OF NEXT SEASON AND DON’T LET UP EMAIL HIM AND CONTACT THE MAAC AND ASK HIM TO BE REMOVED FOR HIS JOB.
ALSO LET START A LETTER GOING AROUND AND GET PEOPLE TO SIGN IT TO HAVE THIS PERSON REMOVED.
Comment by snowball — March 9th, 2010 @ 9:09 pm
Has Siena responded? Siena should formally respond and defend their students and fans, then they should respond via action and leave this pathetic conference.
Comment by Bill — March 9th, 2010 @ 9:11 pm
You know, I can understand Ensor’s desire to have the tournament at a neutral site (we can’t really deny the advantage Siena has at the TUC), and the MAAC got the financial guarantee that they needed to move it to Springfield in 2012. So, OK, I’m not happy, but I get it.
Then I hear that he’s decided they need to keep the kids off the court at the end of the game. Just a horrible decision, I thought; an unfortunate byproduct of our regrettably hyper – litigious society.
Now I see these responses and the things he has said about the students at Siena and I can only conclude that he is a bitter, sour windbag who truly knows nothing about what makes college basketball so special and unique in the world of sports. This man does not belong at the head of a Collegiate athletic conference; he belongs at home watching re-runs of Matlock and Murder She Wrote. Just get this guy the hell out of the MAAC or get the Saints into conference with a clue.
Comment by Big fan — March 9th, 2010 @ 9:19 pm
Nice, Siena students break the rules and now want to get a man fired. Great life lessons. Lets storm the court, trample over people who paid for their tickets, break stated rules, and fire the man who says the students acted irresponsibility. My god, they ran around like kindergarteners trying to find spots to get on the court.
Comment by Yankee — March 9th, 2010 @ 9:22 pm
alright, Ensor said his peace, he obviously has a big issue with Albany & Siena right now. I ask him to PLEASE don’t bother to follow the MAAC rep to the dance this year. That’s right, typically the league commish and other rep’s do attend the game/location of the maac teams where they are playing, so no thanks Rich, we Siena fans do not want you ANYWHERE near our location, just sit in a bar down the street with your other 3 friends until the game is over. Seem to recall a while ago how you actually begged the Siena Admins to get the men’s basketball program back in order, because it was needed to anchor the MAAC, well now you have it and your pushing the cash cow over the edge, what a poor business man indeed.
Comment by Saints Guru — March 9th, 2010 @ 9:26 pm
Butler is playing right now , on their Home court, for a championship. I don’t hear anyone saying a thing about them playing on their home court. Those idiots at the arena were slamming kids down on the ground. Funny how these guys can just fire out One memo about last night, and question what had happened, both of them. As though the hundreds of fans are in correct with what they saw. AS for the idiots who have mentioned the “kids” broke the rules, We have enough interference from government, state and other institutions attempting to control every aspect of our lives. This is not a communist state yet, just a dysfunctional democratic society. Strip us all of all the things that make this country worth living in.
Comment by okla — March 9th, 2010 @ 9:27 pm
I heard a radio interview with Ensor the other day. If you read between the lines you could tell he has no love for Siena or Albany, seriously. Court storming is a practice that goes on all over the country, leave it up to an amateur commissioner of an amateur conference to try and stop it. Seriosuly foolish to think they could, you are only inviting more risk. When was the last time somebody got hurt doing it too? It’s 100x more dangerous to drive to the arena than to storm the court.
Furthermore what’s with the TU Center metal detecting and doing pat downs? One incident in 20 years sets off a whole new level of security? Our over reacting society again (Albany in general is really notorious for this)
I implore all to resist the urge to go to the MAAC tourneys in other cities to make this fool look terrible.
Comment by The Original Mike — March 9th, 2010 @ 9:31 pm
yankee – I see your point, but I think you’re taking a very narrow view. Do you also think that everyone who drives at 66mph on the Northway should get a ticket?
The policy WAS crap and the enforcement of the policy was far more likely to cause harm/injury than the behavior they were attempting to regulate.
Comment by Big fan — March 9th, 2010 @ 9:34 pm
Just re read the article. Wow this guy is unprofessional. You have to listen to the interview he did with 104.5’s Brian Sinkoff last week. He really doesn’t like Siena. The comments at the end about criticizing the kids for storming because it was their third win in a row is really really amateur and would have never bene said by a big time conference commissioner.
Comment by The Original Mike — March 9th, 2010 @ 9:37 pm
why not more of us send email directly to mr ensor and his staff. their email addresses are below. feel free to touch base with them directlty with your thoughts and he might start to rethink his position, actions, and words.
—–Original Message—–
From: ssssssss.comm
Cc: ssssssss.com
Sent: Tue, Mar 9, 2010 6:11 pm
Subject: MAAC Basketball Tournament
Mr. Ensor;
Possibly with an attitude like this with your comments below, Siena really needs to consider their options of going to another conference such as the A-10. Not coming back to Albany? You might as well cut you and your staff’s income after you see 2,000 people at the final the next five years and thats only if Siena gets there; otherwise it will be 1,000. That should make the league look good on national TV. Next thing you know ESPN is giving you the ESPNU 9pm spot for your final/
We all know that many of the Siena fans and alumni would love to see Siena move to the A-10 if they would have us. To their credit. and lucky for you, the powers to be at Siena continue to remain loyal to the MAAC. We all know that Siena and the Albany Times Union Center draws at least three times more the fans and the revenue than any other MAAC school yet the school itself is no larger than any of the other MAAC schools. Imagine losing that jewel in your league because of the sentiment you are establishing toward Albany and it’s fans and Siena students and Times Union Center . Believe me, I would love to see Xavier and Richmond and Temple coming into Albany at least once a year.
Mr. Ensor. You were wrong about the the whole student rushing the court issue; dead wrong. How you have handled it since then is also dead wrong. Your words toward Bob Belber and the students and your actions concerning the students rushing the floor were wrong. There is not another tournament I am aware of trying to enforce such ridiculous rules. You could have had many more injuries with kids getting trampled or stampeded over or hurt by guards going overboard. Refer to some of the english soccer matches when they have screens up and people have gotten crushed against them as there is no where to go. That could have easily happened last night if the security held that group back. You can sit back and defend your decision all you like but the overwhelming opinion by not only many of us here in the Albany area but I am sure the nation as a whole, is that end of tournament celebrations; especially from a one bid league; regardless how many times your team has accomplished this feat, is the norm and a memory these students can take to their grave and is not an injury plagued or classless act or hard to watch. Heck; it’s fun and isn’t that what this is supposed to be about. Though someone could always get hurt, for the most part, it’s completely harmless! And it happens all across the country!
So please Mr. Ensor, man up and come back with a public apology to Bob Belber and the Albany area and the MAAC’s most loyal fans tenfold. Otherwise, possibly the administrators will start to listen to the many fans and alumni like myself and move to the A-10 where what our area brings to the table and the conference as a whole might be more appreciated. We all know that if Siena was in the A-10, we could draw probably 10,000 fans in a conference that in any given year is a two or three team bid conference with at least one or two teams in the Top 25.
Why by the way before Siena’s recent run has it never been much of an issue? They were favored this year and last year to win, and they did. They were supposed to win and have won the tournament only once in Albany when they were the underdogs coming in. Come on Mr. Ensor; an apology is due./sienafanallyearlong
Quotes from Rich Ensor in the Albany Times Union – 3/9/10
“I think the problem Bob has is he still thinks the event is coming back to Albany,” Ensor said. “But every time one of the member schools goes through this experience, it lessens the chance of the event coming back here.”
Ensor also criticized the Siena students.
“You’d expect everybody to be reasonable. Sometimes that doesn’t occur. I think there’s a tradition that’s developed at Siena that they want to storm the court and be a part of the action. The first time you win a championship, maybe there’s a reason for the spontaneity. At this point, it’s gotten beyond that to a very systematic approach. It’s not very pleasant to be involved in.”
Why by the way before Siena’s recent run has it never been much of an issue?
katie.miranto@maac.org
jill.skotarczak@maac.org
marshall.foley@maac.org
ken.taylor@maac.org
bchurch@maac.org
rich.ensor@maac.org
=
Comment by sienafanallyearlong — March 9th, 2010 @ 10:37 pm
It really is time (perfect time in my opinion)to move on and let the MAAC become another Northeastern Conference type league (no disrespect to those fine teams) Wont the A-10 be looking for a team or two in the next 3 years once any of the other leagues have movement in them?
Comment by Fran M - not coach M — March 9th, 2010 @ 10:39 pm
Oakland just won their championship on ESPN,,, the fans stormed the court, and joined the players on the middle of the floor. A little jumping up and down, I guess these freaks forget how it is to be 20 years old and to totally support your team like Siena fans do.
Comment by okla — March 9th, 2010 @ 11:03 pm
Bigfan, these adult students, many over 20 years old ran around like chickens with their heads cut off to find sneaky ways to get on the court. They invaded areas where people paid over 40 dollars a ticket, areas where families were. Don’t anyone try to tell me they all were happy to have these ADULTS pushing them out of their paid seats so they could run on a court and jump up and down. The policy was there. Maybe the policy was flawed. BUT it was the policy.
Comment by Yankee — March 9th, 2010 @ 11:10 pm
http://chuckleheads.podbean.com/ At about 11 mins in on volume three they dicuss what happend last night
Comment by Anson 45 — March 9th, 2010 @ 11:47 pm
Hey Yankee, The students pay 30 grand a year to go to the school so I dont wanna hear complaining over a 40 dollar ticket.
Comment by Anson 45 — March 9th, 2010 @ 11:53 pm
“I wish he had spent as much time on the security plan as he did writing a memo (to the Times Union) overnight.”……hahaha wow what a fat jerk. Keep it classy Ensor.
Comment by boom — March 10th, 2010 @ 12:29 am
I have gone to the last 5 MAAC Championship games including the games that Siena won on the Times Union Center court. In all five games the winning teams fans stormed the court after the game ended (Iona-06, Niagara- 07, Siena- 08, 09, 10). The atmosphere at the Times Union Center was amazing on Monday night. The students storming the court on Monday showed what college basketball was all about. In my honest opinion, many students stormed the court to stick it to Rich Ensor and his unnecessary comments about Siena fans (and to MAAC student fans in general). Bridgeport may do well, if Fairfield, Iona, or any other NYC based MAAC team does well. The MAAC tournament in Springfield will never match the success it has had in Albany the last couple of years.
Comment by DinoD — March 10th, 2010 @ 1:02 am
Honestly, I can see how some fans could be disgruntled by the students, BUT the majority of fans were purposely making room for the students to go between the seats and were cheering us on. I am sorry if you were not one of those enthusiastic fans who can remember back to his own college days and how much fun, times like this were, and understand our own enthusiasm as we ran through the stands. Maybe you can talk to family members or whatnot who may have had a better experience in college than you. This whole mess could have been avoided if security just let us through- many of the security guards even helped students get over the barrier because they even realized how silly the rule was. No one is saying that Ensor didn’t mean well in trying to protect the officials and players, but the way it was handled caused more chaos than order.
Comment by Siena Student — March 10th, 2010 @ 1:04 am
Poor Yankee had to get out of his $40 seat with :30 to play
There wouldn’t been any “sneaking” or “violence” if the MAAC/TUC just let the kids storm the court. With the seating they removed from the end zones they had plenty of room to “store” the kids there until the final buzzer went off, and no one would be in any danger, but it’s all been documented how poorly this was handled. By ALL parties involved.
This WILL NOT be a problem at Bridgeport next year. Iona might have 12 guys moon the St. Peters fans, but that’s the extent of it.
Comment by obviously.... — March 10th, 2010 @ 1:45 am
Siena, you need to SERIOUSLY look at this as a wake-up call to leave the MAAC. Go to the A-10 where you will be appreciated. Mr. Ensor has grown tired of you and your prosperity and your OUTRAGEUOS student body. I guess nowhere in america or the world for that matter do students behave the way they do at Siena. Run to the hills Siena! Run for your life!
Comment by Didio — March 10th, 2010 @ 6:48 am
This comment section verifies everything I ever thought about the small-time, small-town attitude of Cap Region sports fans.
1. Storming the court is NOT something the fans from every team that makes the NCAA tourney MUST do. This is a HUGE misconception that, apparently, the majority of Siena fans believe. Learn about the game of college basketball, kiddies, before insisting that it’s your ‘right’ and that ‘everybody does it.’ Oh, and when you’re the #1 seed and EXPECTED to win at HOME, you don’t rush the court, either. It makes you look uninformed and small-time.
2. While there are a couple thousand (at MOST) truly hardcore Siena fans who support the team no matter what, it doesn’t take a mathematician to look at the team’s record vs. attendance over the years @ the TU Center and realize that the community, and the students, do NOT support this team unless they are winning. And after a season of seeing 150 students per game, suddenly the entire campus shows up and wants to rush the court? What a joke. If everyone who rushed the court had to show their season ticket stubs from the whole year, there would have been 5 kids on the court.
3. ‘We are too big for the MAAC and should move to another conference’ is fall-down hilarious. Siena fans, be happy that you’re in the MAAC, because Siena would never be able to win conf. championships in a larger, more talent-rich conference, and losing at least 10 a year would become common, and you’d start seeing 2,000 a night being routine at the TUC.
4. None of this surprises me, as McCaffery is a thoroughly classless, small-time coach. The guy sets the bad example for the fanbase. If I were a Siena fan and my coach got into the habit of pulling players out of the handshake line, I’d be ASHAMED. What did he think, all those gangsters from the mean streets of NYC were going to start a brawl? Haha. It’s misplaced arrogance and some of the worst sportsmanship I’ve witnessed in 20+ years as a college bball fan.
5. Of course, the small-time way the TUC handled the situation was typical and not surprising.
Comment by bballfan — March 10th, 2010 @ 6:51 am
Ensor should move to the NFL in its No Fun League division and monitor end zone celebrations. He’d be a natural. He’s a perfect front man for the MAAC. It’s time for Siena to bolt from this two-bit, one bid conference and join the Atlantic 10. They’ll never be more than “one and done” in the Big Dance until they do.
Comment by Siena Alum — March 10th, 2010 @ 6:55 am
D’Argenio please get us out of this joke, one bid conference.
http://www.atlantic10.com/sports/m-baskbl/atl10-m-baskbl-body.html
Comment by The Original Mike — March 10th, 2010 @ 6:56 am
Rich Enso is a fool and I will not be renewing my season tickets after 8 straight seasons because of what I saw Monday night with security. Maybe if Siena leaves the MAAC I will reconsider but I’m still pissed at the TU Staff. They should know better than to entice a mob mentality into a potentially dangerous situation. An announcment that fans would be allowed on the court after the opposing team exited the court should have been announced at the beginning of the game. Students would have entered the court in an orderly manner. Instead lines were drawn in the stand and in the end the mob of 800 students won. The APD knew you weren’t stopping the students and watched in amusement the part-time security staff try to contain students in the stands. What a joke. Enso get a life your pathetic.
Comment by John — March 10th, 2010 @ 6:56 am
D’Argenio, its definitely time take this program to a higher level. It’s time to sit down with Bernadette V. McGlade and get Siena into the A10. No question attendance levels will rise and we’ve already proven we can hang with the A10 teams. We have outgrown the MAAC conference and Dick Ensor has made it clear he really doesn’t care for us. The simple fact that we wouldn’t be in a one bid conference anymore would mean a lot to us fans.
Can you imagine if we had lost to Fairfield the other night? We would have gone 19-2 in conference play and Fairfield would have gotten the NCAA bid. The NCAA tournament committee has absolutely no love or respect for the MAAC, none. How many years did they send the one MAAC team who won the conference tourney to the play-in game? Come on John, lets do this. The locations of the other A10 teams are reasonably close to us and why wouldn’t they want to take us in? We’ve built quit the program over the last few years. Now is the time to make the jump.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Atlantic10Locations.png
Comment by Mike — March 10th, 2010 @ 7:07 am
I honestly didn’t believe there was a Conference Commissioner as completely useless as Nero of the America East, but Ensor takes the cake.
We all know I am not a Siena fan…but as a hoops fan, to take the game away from its biggest revenue base…and to then pull this garbage is indeed idiotic. The scene I watched the other night made me a bit jealous (near sold-out arena) and I can admit that. Not jealous that it was Siena…but that a championship game was that packed. Of course that had to do with hometown fans, both Siena hardcore fans and the casual fan who wanted to watch a championship NCAA game.
While I understand the neutral court thing to an extent, the ability for the college kid not to enjoy himself at the end of the game is just assinine…and frankly alienates a ton of future MAAC fans who have the means to travel.
Don’t take this as a shot across the bow, but if SIENA did build up its other teams (as it is seemingly doing in LAX now)…then you would be attractive to other conference because of the scene on Monday night. But…until then, much like Albany and Nero, you have to deal with a moron in Ensor.
Comment by Dane Supporter — March 10th, 2010 @ 7:46 am
Anyone consider what would be the repercussions if someone got trampled and serisously hurt or even killed during a somewhat uncontrolled rush to the floor?
And No, it is not an NCAA tradition to always rush the floor or field during a conference or national championship. I attended a Division I school that won many national championships. It happens at times, but certainly not all the time and hardly a ‘tradition’.
Comment by rjs — March 10th, 2010 @ 7:55 am
How the heck is this guys still running the league…he should have been FIRED YESTERDAY!
This is crazy and makes the MAAC look like the BS conference that it is.
Comment by clickclack — March 10th, 2010 @ 8:25 am
I am a Siena fan and have been for over 20 years and I still get excited when they win and have an opportunity to move on to the NCAA tourney. I have read and heard many people say that students storming the court when their team wins thier conference tourney is commonplace. Not necessarily the case, especially when the team winning has done it three years in row. Siena fans should start acting like the team has done this before. I understand the excitement of winning your first invite to the dance, or being the underdog, or even having to win in a hostile environment. But to win as the overwhelming favorite on your home court for the third year in a row??? What Siena fans and the school did Monday night will only hurt Albany’s chances of hosting the tournament in the future. Other schools warn and discourage students from storming the court in these situations and go as far as to discipline students for taking part. It is not the spectators right to join their team on the court. Let’s use Butler as an example. They won their conference tourney last night as the overwhelming favorite on their home court. Not one spectator stormed the court, not one! They stood on their feet and cheered for over ten minutes for their team. Bottom line…congrats Siena for makingn the dance for the third straight year and let’s hope for another 12 or 13 seed upset. Fans, show some restraint and maturity and act like youor team has actually done this before.
Comment by Mike — March 10th, 2010 @ 8:26 am
It’s Wednesday morning and this is still making news. WHY? Oh I forgot, we’re in Smalbany.
It’s over. Move on. Mr. Belber can now focus on the TUC. By the way, is Billy Joel & Elton John really going to play tomorrow night or will they cancel for the 6th time?
And thankfully we won’t hear or see Mr. Ensor in Smalbany for several years. Unless of course he comes back with his tail between his legs after the first year of Springfield when the riot-size crowd of 3 fans try to storm the court.
Comment by Toby — March 10th, 2010 @ 8:28 am
Let’s relax with this whole “Siena put the MAAC back on the map.” The Maac is still a joke. If you’re in college now you probably don’t remember Luis Flores or Kiki Clark. Those two guys were in the national spotlight years ago. Remember, Manhattan and Bobby Gonzalez were dominating the MAAC just like this early in the 00s (also winning a big first round game) before he left for Seton Hall and the Jaspers’ program was detroyed. so while McCaffery deserves a lot of credit for this run, it’s not like the MAAC has never had a bracket buster in recent history. Also, it has been a great 3 year run at the TUC because Siena has had a great 3 year run. And if Fairfield is as good as they were this year, I think the Arena at Harbor Yard is going to do well also. As for the Springfield idea…LAME! Ensor is an idiot.
Comment by Sean — March 10th, 2010 @ 8:32 am
#87 and #89 are absolutely right.
Based on Mark McGuire’s Blog Monday AM, everyone expected Siena to win, correct? Act like you have been there before…
I think he bottom line here is that if a student gets hurt on the court after the game, do you think your $40,000 per year parents are not going to go after the responsible party for damages?
Comment by chunkylover49 — March 10th, 2010 @ 8:37 am
As a Siena alum, I am proud of the Saints, the tournament attendance, and this amazing run we have been able to enjoy. I agree with Ensor in that last year was ridiculous. Students crowding the floor before the game is over is not safe. Ensor is right about having to get the officials and losing team off the court. I feel like storming the court is getting cliche. The other night had a different feel because Siena really clawed its way back into the game and pulled out. So even though the game was in hand with over a minute to go in OT, I understood the passion. In general though, I think Mike is right and there comes a time when you don’t need to storm the court.
Comment by Steve — March 10th, 2010 @ 8:38 am
Yankee, you sound like a real piece of work. Clearly someone who lives their life by the letter of the law. I hope you never do 36 mph in a 35 mph zone.
I feel the head of any organization has a responsibility to keep the peace amongst those they represent. He is the head of the MAAC taking shots at the TUC and Siena students. He never said he didn’t instruct the TUC to hold students back, only that they did a bad job of it and didn’t plan it well. He’s a bloated fool and this isn’t the only reason the guy should be booted.
Comment by Yankee Hater — March 10th, 2010 @ 9:16 am
This guy is a jerk. remember when the Saints were losing during the beyer years. He basically intervened and told the Siena community beyer had to go. The problem was, Siena has always been his cash cow and the cow wasn’t producing any milk. Now that the Siena community has made him look good, he kills the cow. Dick, go back to your cruddy law practice. You’re done!
Comment by Bob — March 10th, 2010 @ 9:18 am
What is really sad is all the attention is directed toward two grown men(and I use this term loosely) using the media to have an argument. When the story should be on a team that gives their heart and soul to Siena on and off the basketball court. If these two men want to squabble in the media they should save it until after the NCAA Tournament.
Comment by erin — March 10th, 2010 @ 9:32 am
“I think the problem Bob has is he still thinks the event is coming back to Albany,” Ensor said. “But every time one of the member schools goes through this experience, it lessens the chance of the event coming back.”
Are you kidding me? Didn’t this year’s tournament just break an attendance record? What is Ensor trying to say – if you don’t behave and do as I say, then you won’t get the tournament back – ever! Students in every conference have been celebrating like this for years and will continue to. Mr. Belber is correct, let the kids celebrate! Mr. Ensor sounds like a sad old man who never had the chance to celebrate anything in his life! Instead of making threats, Mr. Ensor should be happy that Siena will be representing the MAAC (for the third time) in the NCAA tournament. Grow up, and stop acting like a child who hasn’t gotten his way!
Comment by OneMoreTime — March 10th, 2010 @ 9:33 am
It all should have been so simple. There should have been two priorities:
1) Make sure there aren’t fans crowding the court before the game ends.
2) Ensure the safety of the Fairfield players and the referees.
This could have been accomplished quite easily by the TUC putting their entire security force around the court instead of in the stands and holding the students back until the last second at which point they immediately turn their attention to the Fairfield players and the officials.
By Ensor shifting the focus instead to stopping students from getting to the court altogether it not only compromised both of the priorities above but also caused the incidents of students being taken down hard for no good reason. Think about it, what would have happened if some of the students that did get through security decided to go after Fairfield players? With all of the security up in the stands there would be no one to stop them. Why would you possibly put the priority of preventing students from celebrating over the priority of protecting the players? This was just a terrible decision by Ensor and as soon as he announced it everyone knew it would end badly. Fortunately, that bad ending is just a lot of hurt feelings and a few bruises and not any serious injuries.
Comment by $cott — March 10th, 2010 @ 9:56 am
Students abide by the rules? How many of you do-gooders broke the speed limit driving to and from the Siena game? You should lose your license for 30 days.
MAAC needs to be held in a church for you people.
Comment by Harry — March 10th, 2010 @ 10:00 am
If we’re gonna talk about the class of the Siena students Ensor, lets first talk about the Manhattan basketball team’s “class” when PLAYING Siena…pretty sure a bunch of college kids are a less of a negative reflection on the MAAC than a TEAM is.
Comment by Mike — March 10th, 2010 @ 10:00 am
I know I agree that the MAAC shouldn’t play in Springfield. At worse, the site of the tourney should rotate between Albany, Bridgeport, Buffalo and Newark. You know, where they have actual arenas and more important, teams that play in the MAAC.
As far as Siena moving to a bigger conference..I guess that would depend on how much money they are willing to invest in their programs. If they can/will spend the money, the A-10 would make sense. Or, should the football schools leave the Big East, they would fit in perfectly with the likes of St. Johns, Seaton Hall, Providence, etc.
Comment by Kris — March 10th, 2010 @ 10:02 am
It is disappointing to read the comments by a commisioner who’s job it is to be neutral to all universities within the MAAC. As a loyal Siena fan (but not an Almuna), I have appreciated the opportunity to attend the tournament at the TUC and also understand the decision to move the tournament to a different location.
With that being said, I believe most Siena and non-Siena fans have accepted the impending moves to CT and MA. However, Mr. Ensor continues to perpetuate the issue and apparently has strong feelings against Siena, a college that has brought more revenue and attention to the MAAC that any other team in recent history.
The Siena students were very well intended on Sunday evening; as a witness in row C, it was a situation that was going to get out of control regardless of how much Security was in place. The mere fact that Siena pulled the win off after the early half defecit was reason enough to storm the court; not to mention the 3-peat appearnace at NCAAs.
Mr. Ensor should issue an apology to Mr. Belber; a man who has taken a great deal of pride in hosting the tournament for the past 3 seasons. Mr. Ensor was absolutely inappropriate to threaten the return of the MAAC to the TUC; I have never so shockingly seen anyone speak above their pay grade; it was shameful. Do not put Mr. Belber in an impossible position and try to turn the tables; let the man do his job.
Mr. Ensor; I invite you to respond to MAAC loyalists, whether they choose to where Green and Gold or not. You owe it to us; after all we pay your salary.
Comment by Jennifer — March 10th, 2010 @ 10:18 am
This is just another in a string of brain-dead decisions by the MAAC and its leadership. It may also be a fitting end for its run of tournaments at the TU Center. The decision to move the tourney to Bridgeport and then to Springfield, while nominally defensible as being done in the interest of fairness, is wholly indefensible as an economic one. Frankly, the schools that complain should have been told to beef up their fan support and home attendance numbers if they wanted to host the tournament in a city and arena near them–or even their home arena (if it’s big enough). Think Bridgeport or Srpingfield (or Buffalo for that matter) will send nearly 11,000 fans to a conference final and over 40,000 to the tournament overall? Think again. Not even if Siena is in the finals. Siena carries this league. That’s the honest truth. Unless another school steps up to challenge on THAT basis, I see no real issue in having the tourney remain here in Albany.
Comment by ausman — March 10th, 2010 @ 10:23 am
Who cares where the mickey mouse MAAC tornament moves to? This should be the last MAAC game for the Siena Saints.
Siena trustees please step up to the Atlantic-10. They have wanted us for years. There is no competition in this one bid MAAC. If you want to pack the TUC, put Siena on the national map and forget about Mr. Ensor-step up. Hopefully, something postive will come from this fiasco.
Comment by art vandalay — March 10th, 2010 @ 10:34 am
act like you have been there before/smallbany/wait for the other siena teams to gain national attention before moving up…and then there was this guy below…../
- negativity-negativity-negativity-stop being such haters-siena is local-they have their flaws but they are good-very good-there is no reason not to jump onboard as they are truly our biggest game in town and until suny in general really gets serious-always will be
here is mr negativity himself;
81.This comment section verifies everything I ever thought about the small-time, small-town attitude of Cap Region sports fans.
- actually we love to live in a small town region where we can go to every major urban market in the northeast with a short drive as well as the adirondacks and still not “have to be” be in the day to day rat race. at same time we would love to have more big time college sports locally for a siena in the a-10 and even would love to see suny try to go big by getting in the big east with suny albany to the east and suny buffalo to the west. syracuse is a smaller market than the capital region and a much more dismal place to live than the captial region and i think they have done pretty well with their regional fan base that for the most part, “are not” alumni.
1. Storming the court It makes you look uninformed and small-time.
- who cares-we like small time-and we know we are informed so we don’t care what others think and its for the students so let them have some fun like hopefully(not sure you did) you did when you were young-we are not only small nationally but are the smallest school in the maac-and remember-its for the students-its fun!-it brings memories for both them and the players and coaches-did you see all the smiles going around “between” players and students-it’s called comraderie and a sense of loyality and togetherness between the student body and the players and did i already say- it’s fun!-i could care a less what students went to what games-they were there when memories were being made-it was great to see eubiles on the shoulders of his fellow students-loosen up the neck tie or tool belt will you and smile already-it was 9pm at night when this happened after a great game in which the local team won-so you shouldn’t be thinking about work or our lofty image of been there done that so lets be cool about it-that’s high schoolish- don’t treat it like it was not any big deal or a big accomplishment-heck; it was a huge accomplishment-beating three good teams in three days that you have already beat twice that year already-huge, huge accomplishment-with all the marbles at stake-pressure; expectations; only one loss in last 23 games against league members; 37 game win streak at home on the line to protect for another season; in front of a very loud boystorous crowd of over 10,600 fans; huge; huge!-remember, no matter how loud we get as fans; the players; the 18-22 yr old student athlete players-playing against other very good 18-22 yr old student athete players- who want to win just as bad as our players do-still have to get it done on the court; huge accomplishment!!! how can you minimize that?? really -how can you-do you know how hard it is to succeed as often as this team for the last three to four years-ask the other players and coaches and fans in the maac how hard it is-i can only imagine what 1/2 empty glass conversations you must have at home-you probably went home and the first thing you said to your bored with you spouse was not with a smile on the face or excitement in your voice tone that siena won and what a great game and how the tu was rocking and the students came out in force but rather something along the lines of “those kids are idiots and fran sucks as a coach and eubiles sucks and bla, bla bla…and siena sucks but i am still a fan” – now thats a joke!
2. While there are a couple thousand (at MOST) And after a season of seeing 150 students per game, suddenly the entire campus shows up and wants to rush the court? What a joke.
actually at least about 4000-5000 current season ticket holders and even in its worst days, about 5000-6000 overall attending the games… but to a degree, yes, people;fans-not just at siena but all over the world..usually have better attendance to their local teams when they are winning. do you think duke football fills up its stadium week in and week out….of course not…because they stink …year in and year out…. but duke basketball…they win so we have the duke crazies….how many duke crazies are their at their football games….probably about a dozen or so who are still drunk from their friday nights…..winning usually attracts fans and losing doesn’t..pretty simple.
3. ‘We are too big for the MAAC and should move to another conference’ is fall-down hilarious. Siena fans, be happy that you’re in the MAAC, because Siena would never be able to win conf. championships in a larger, more talent-rich conference, and losing at least 10 a year would become common, and you’d start seeing 2,000 a night being routine at the TUC.
-we would probably be the largest attended fan base for mens hoop in the a-10 right from the get go-seriously-we would be or at least in the top 3-without a doubt. we would attract at least 10,000 a night for the upper level teams such as xavier or temple or dayton or st. joes when they are good and 6,000-8,000 a night for the fordhams and st. bonnies of the league for a 8,000 avg. for league games. now think of the non-conference games we could get at home as being a part of the a-10. the caliber of athlete we would be able to attract to want to come to siena to play over other a-10 schools and now yes, power conference schools where they might have to wait a few years to get playing time would be very very competitive as this program and the area and its central location and the tu center and its fan base and the school have a lot to offer. remember, parents have alot of influence of their student atheltes choices and as long as their child is able to play against big time competition year in and year out, there is many a parent out there who “educationally” likes small over big when it comes to class sizes and an ability to connect with their professors. sure we would be middle of the pack in some years but in others, we would be at or near the top and a consistent top 50 team and every few years a top 25 team who would gain an at large bid if we did not win the a-10 tournament. we would also probably have the stability of having fran here until retirement.
4. None of this surprises me, as McCaffery is a thoroughly classless, small-time coach. The guy sets the bad example for the fanbase. If I were a Siena fan and my coach got into the habit of pulling players out of the handshake line, I’d be ASHAMED. What did he think, all those gangsters from the mean streets of NYC were going to start a brawl? Haha. It’s misplaced arrogance and some of the worst sportsmanship I’ve witnessed in 20+ years as a college bball fan.
-he’s never done it before and probably won’t do it again. i think his reasoning was he did not want one of his guys getting into it with one of the jaspers and then getting kicked out for the semifinal or/and final and hurting their chances of getting to the big dance, so possibly a very smart decision. as far as small time goes, being in the nd environment for as long as he was where he was nothing even remotely close too being in the small time, served him well for being able to recruit and know what the big time programs are doing vs. a mid major. small time coaches would celebrate their tournament championship for at least a couple of days; but small time coaches do not get out on the recruiting trail like fran is right now this week trying to fill those last two very important open scholarships for next year.
Comment by bballfan — March 10th, 2010 @ 6:51 am
- you may be a bball fan but my guess is your more of a complainer in life and nothing local is good enough for you; especially a small school like siena-it’s ok though-we understand- but all that being said- we will always accept you into being a true fan anytime you want to reconsider and possibly get a smile on your face and look for the positives when good things happen. ps-it will also help your heart!
Comment by sienafanallyearlong — March 10th, 2010 @ 10:39 am
To anyone complaining about how many fans go to games on a regular basis…the majority of the student body belongs to the Dog Pound (the season-ticekt holding club on campus). The only reason there aren’t more is because the TUC refuses to open more student seating behind the hoop, and no efforts have been made to open up the side of the floor for student seating (like you see at many major, big-time schools). Also, transportation is an issue. First year students (sometimes the most eager to be there) don’t have a car on campus and aren’t given first preference for the Dog Pound.
Comment by St. Francis — March 10th, 2010 @ 11:26 am
rich.ensor@maac.org
write to him.
Comment by screw u ensor — March 10th, 2010 @ 11:28 am
The MAAC really is a joke and it is really time for us to move on. I’d rather see Siena finish in the middle of the A-10 for a few years than win the MAAC every year.
There are really two hard things to take as a MAAC team and this is a big reason why it’s hard for alot of people to get into Siena basketball.
1. You have to win the MAAC conference tourney to get into the NCAA. It doesnt matter if you went 17-1 in conference play, this is a true one bid conference.
2. Currently the absolute best thing that can possibly happen to Siena, and any other MAAC team is that they win one game in the NCAA tournament, that is the ceiling.
Lets get into the A-10 where we can get an at large, get more fans at the games and better talent. Lets break that one NCAA tourney win ceiling and elevate the level of local college basketball.
Currently you can be a fan of Siena but you also need to pick a big time program to be a fan of so you atleast have the hope that your team can win the whole thing. For me and alot of others around here its Syracuse. I’m not saying that Siena can ever win the whole thing but Sweet 16 would be nice.
Comment by The Original Mike — March 10th, 2010 @ 11:38 am
Email him folks and let him know how strongly we want to be in the A-10
jdargenio@siena.edu
Comment by The Original Mike — March 10th, 2010 @ 11:41 am
why move to the a-10? some vaild reasons why we could compete
-ncaa total attendance figures for mens basketbtall-top 100 based on 2008-09 figures
#27-dayton-12,765 #41-xavier-10,097 #71-st. louis-7,627
#72-siena-7,467 #85-charlotte-6,184 #86-st. joes-6,154
#90-temple-5,933
like i said; we would move into the top 3 in attendance for the a-10 right away. i think they would accept us as we bring alot to the table. we would have the largest arena in the league. we would probably move into the top 50 in the nation in avg attendance right away.
why can’t we be the gonzaga of the east. no reason. program like gonzaga with all it’s success ranked #89 with an avg attendance of 6,000
a-10 is the 10 highest ranked conference in the lad for attendence at 5,640 while the maac is the 19th at an avg attendance of 2,462 and that is with siena figured in. it’s the 3rd highest league attendance after the power conferences and mountain west and missouri valley conference. if providence can “survive” in big east with 3,500 students, siena could be successful in the a-10 with 3,000 students.
please siena adminstrators- get in the a-10 now.
Comment by sienafanallyearlong — March 10th, 2010 @ 11:46 am
#109,
The A-10 argument has beaten beaten to death. Siena can’t afford the A-10. It’s not about mens basketball, it’s everything else. The required increase in athletic budget would bankrupt the college. Siena is a small, tuition funded college with a very small endowment.
The MAAC is the perfect fit for Siena in terms of the demographics of the other schools in the league.
Be thankful for what you are, the big fish in the small pond. Gonzaga and Butler don’t mind that status…why should Siena.
Comment by BC85 — March 10th, 2010 @ 12:08 pm
Listening to Ensor on the Sinkoff show last week was a real eye opener – this man actually BELIEVES the tournament will attract 4,000 fans per session out there who have no affiliation to ANY school in the conference. SO, the commish is banking on 4,000 locals to pay handsome prices to show up and root for…no one? Really Mr. Ensor? And you have the audacity to call Mr. Belber a politician?? Your comments are spin control at its finest. Then he went on to say that they could sell 2,000 more seats to the schools (read: SIENA fans) and have a real good, near capacity crowd of 7,000 for the finals. Ok, but 60% of those 7,000 are rooting for…no one. Nice atmosphere to present on national TV. The man is clearly under pressure from 9 other schools who feel slighted, and this is the best he came up with…a neutral site with 4,000 locals with no rooting interest. Wow…but you’ll have a nice banquet at the hall of fame, and we all can see how much Mr. Ensor likes his banquets.
Comment by BD — March 10th, 2010 @ 12:24 pm
BC85. Your comments are based solely on opinion and lack facts.
the MAAC is a perfect fit? Siena fits perfectly into a bottom of the barrel one bid conference whose other teams average less than half of the attendance as ours?
Clown
Comment by The Original Mike — March 10th, 2010 @ 1:43 pm
This guy is clueless. That being said Siena students should not be storming the court like its the first time they have ever made it to the tourney. Act like you have been there before.
Comment by JB — March 10th, 2010 @ 2:10 pm
Congratulations on attempting to take away a college experience, Ensor. Sorry if the student fans are excited that their team made the NCAA tournament..I don’t know if you guys know, but this is a big deal. I don’t care how many times we make the tournament, I hope Siena storms the court every time. It’s clear that the people who matter (Siena students and players) don’t mind the court storming. And as someone who has been involved in the act, trust me, no one is going after the losing team, they’re safe. Don’t be scared.
Comment by weredancing! — March 10th, 2010 @ 3:00 pm
I couldn’t be prouder of Siena. My son was at the game. These students didn’t throw punches, tackle people, or choke anyone. That was the security personnel. They did “rush the court” and celebrated like the ladies and gentlemen they are. No one was hurt, no destruction of property, no drunk and disorderly conduct despite what some would have you believe. Mr. Ensor owes Siena and Albany an apology. GO SAINTS!!
Comment by Proud Siena Mom — March 10th, 2010 @ 3:07 pm
And in other news, these same college “kids” who stomped over peoples seats to jump up and down on the court are planning to hold a protest by sucking on their thumbs and shouting, “its not fair Mr. Ensor, its not fair, we should be able to jump up and down, its not fair”. CBS news radio report.
Grow up college students. Abide by the rule, even if you don’t agree with it. Watch last years tape and see how close kids were to being trampled. GROW UP.
Comment by Yankee — March 10th, 2010 @ 3:26 pm
He is not cut out for his job, he simply uses big words when he is confused.
“The first time you win a championship, maybe there’s a reason for the spontaneity”
That sentence leaves the reader with the conclusion that he felt rushing the court was done in spontaneous manner.
“It’s very systematic approach”
This offers the conclusion that he believes the uncoordinated storming of the court is “systematic”.
Websters disagrees:
1 : relating to or consisting of a system
2 : presented or formulated as a coherent body of ideas or principles
3 a : methodical in procedure or plan
However, we should give him the benefit of the doubt despite his poor word usage, after all it’s not like he is the public face of the MAAC…..
The deeper issue is that despite all common sense, he has come to he believes rushing the court is both systematic and spontaneous at the same time.
Logical flaws? Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!
Not only is he inept, he also has a vendetta against his cash cow team. Just what you want out of your chief administrator.
Comment by Espeee — March 10th, 2010 @ 4:04 pm
#117…Do you realize the fact that Mr Enser/MAAC used the shots of the ON COURT CELEBRATIONS in their advertisement of the MAAC tournnament? These “adults” felt it made sense to promote the tournament using this image in order to sell tickets but suddenly felt that this type of celebration was dangerous? Mr Enser could have used any other image to sell tickets but he chose not to. If he truly was concerned about safety then don’t use this “dangerous act” in your marketing of the tournament!! Instead of sucking their thumbs, Yankee, these business students have pointed out something that you didn’t even think of.
Comment by DB — March 10th, 2010 @ 4:16 pm
DB, THE POINT is the rule was made. Just because people disagree with it does not allow them to break it. You guys make it seem like its ok to break the rule because the rule “stinks”. That is not how the world works. Stop justifying the childish, illegal acts of suppossed adults because you didn’t like the policy in place. The college should be embarrassed their students ran through and over people who paid for tickets, many of whom had children with them. The college should be ashamed they got into physical altercations with security guards and police officers. THE SECURITY and police were following the STATED policy. If I am the president of Siena, I am lecturing every single student they can find on those tapes.
Comment by yankee — March 10th, 2010 @ 7:03 pm
Ensor is a prude for his grudges. That said, Siena should NOT leave the conference for one simple reason: McCaffery could possibly be gone after this season to coach at a bigger school. It will be REALLY tough for a new coach to recruit the same kind of talent McCaffery’s been able to get. Furthermore, it could be even tougher to convince what talent RETURNS to stick around playing for coaches and systems they may not know.
For the time being, though, GO SAINTS!
Comment by AC — March 10th, 2010 @ 7:10 pm
OMG….50 Robert Morris fans just “stormed the court” AT Quinnipiac!! They better hire Ensor to “fix” that conference problem.
Comment by obviously.... — March 10th, 2010 @ 9:09 pm
great point #119
yankee- lol-you must be an accountant with your don’t break the rule policy for such things like this. wonder what rules you break on a daily basis? i am sure you have a bunch of things that need to come out of that closet of yours.
Comment by sienafanallyearlong — March 10th, 2010 @ 9:29 pm