Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard
Link copied to clipboard

Gonzo: Not much difference between 4 and 5

As the song goes, "Mama said there'd be days like this, there'd be days like this, my mama said." Who knew the Shirelles were into Temple basketball?

No. 5 seed Temple will play No. 12 seed Cornell on Friday. (Caroline Morris  / Staff Photographer)
No. 5 seed Temple will play No. 12 seed Cornell on Friday. (Caroline Morris / Staff Photographer)Read more

As the song goes, "Mama said there'd be days like this, there'd be days like this, my mama said." Who knew the Shirelles were into Temple basketball?

If you went to Temple or root for the Owls, these are dark times. What utter disrespect the NCAA tournament selection committee showed for the Atlantic Ten (home of powerhouses Fordham and St. Bonaventure) by making the Owls, the regular-season and conference champions, a No. 5 seed. If you listen to Owls fans - in between the sobbing and screaming - it was a grave, unmatched historical injustice, the kind of gross public insult that ought to motivate protesters everywhere to stand up and lash out on Temple's behalf.

Where are Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton when you need them? Where's the ACLU? Temple has been discriminated against. The Owls' rights have been infringed upon. If Temple has to shoulder the crushing weight of a 5 seed, then shouldn't we question the very democracy that allowed something so terrible and oppressive to unfold? The Republic is in danger, friends. Flee to Canada before it's too late. Or maybe just take a deep breath.

By all accounts, Temple had a terrific season. The Owls were 29-5, beat Villanova (which was inexplicably awarded a No. 2 seed), and earned an RPI of 8. All six people in the country who truly understand the RPI were super-impressed by that. But, then, Temple hasn't won a tournament game since 2001. And the Owls may have beaten 'Nova this year, but they also got crushed by Kansas. They had nice wins over Siena and Virginia Tech, but they also lost to St. John's. There are lots of ways to look at this thing.

The four teams that received No. 4 seeds (Vandy, Maryland, Purdue and Wisconsin) also had good seasons, and each played in tougher conferences than Temple. If you want to move the Owls up, that's fine. But doing so would mean moving another deserving school down. Someone gets jobbed either way.

If you're with Temple coach Fran Dunphy, who said he thought the Owls would be a 4 seed, that's cool. Just remember that the 4 seed will play the 5 seed in the second round if both advance past the first day. It's not as though the Owls were treated like one of the last teams in and are faced with a road radically different than expected. They were bumped a line and they'll have to play a pretty good Cornell squad. Bummer. But here's the thing some Owls fans seem to forget: Temple was going to have to play someone in the first round regardless. It's true. The NCAA doesn't give byes, much to the apparent chagrin of basketball lovers on North Broad Street.

There's another issue here that's been bothering some Temple fans. A friend who attended the university believes the selection committee purposefully tried to pit Dunphy against his former disciple, Cornell coach Steve Donahue. And he's not alone. Dunphy thinks the same thing.

"I think they said, if it's in the neighborhood, Temple's going to play Cornell. That's my opinion," Dunphy told The Inquirer. "They moved us a line, probably, to match up with Cornell."

Maybe they did. And so what? Story lines are part of what make sports great. Rivalries and coaching matchups add to the fun and excitement. Unless, of course, you support the Owls. Then it's clearly not fun or exciting. Then you're just like Sisyphus, rolling your basketball expectations uphill every year, only to have them roll back down and flatten you. Sad stuff.

Try to cheer up, Temple fans. It could be worse. You could have gone to La Salle.

After Comcast scooped up NBC (can't wait until 30 Rock takes aim at Philly for that), it targeted an even more important media entity. Comcast SportsNet recently purchased The700Level.com and will incorporate one of Page 2's favorite Philly blogs into its online operation. It's a big deal - even if some of the stories about the move accidentally trivialized it. "The Sports Business Journal called us 'The 700 Club,' " joked founder Enrico Campitelli. "Ahh, Mainstream Media - oh [expletive]. Wait a minute." . . . When asked about the Flyers making the playoffs, chairman Ed Snider told CSNPhilly.com "We better damn straight make 'em." You've got to love that if you're a Sixers fan. He gets all worked up about the Flyers while the Sixers stumble, largely unnoticed, through another disappointing, mediocre season. . . . Your weekly programming reminder: Tomorrow's "Ask Gonzo" chat will start at 1 p.m. on Philly.com. Potential topics: Placido Polanco hurt his knee and left a spring-training game in Florida yesterday, ESPN's report/rumor about the Phils trying to trade Ryan Howard for Albert Pujols, Archer rapidly becoming one of my favorite shows, and upset specials for the NCAA tournament. March doesn't have anything to do with it; Page 2 chats are always Madness. Plan accordingly.