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Post by Gorf on Dec 17, 2006 3:11:37 GMT -5
From the championship pre-match comments:
Head Coach John Dunning Opening Statement: "I know the group we have has been looking forward to this match for a long time. Whether they consider themselves lucky to be here or excited to be here, they've worked hard enough to earn this moment and they are looking forward to it. There's been many people who came together to make this moment a very special moment in the history of volleyball and I think it will be a moment we remember for a long time. No matter who the two teams would have been, it was on its way to being a historic moment and a great setting."
Head Coach John Cook Opening Statement: "These are two of the premier programs. I think Stanford has set the bar on how many national championships they've won. We had a great match with them last year and a lot of the same players will be on the court [on Saturday]. I think the two best teams are playing in the finals. I want to go back and say I think this was a very tough final four, with the quality of teams."
[sarcasm] OMG:
Dunning mentioned nothing about Nebraska, while cook gave praise to not only Stanford but indicrectly to the other Pac-10 teams in the Final Four as well by saying: "I want to go back and say I think this was a very tough final four, with the quality of teams."
That John Dunning is just a mean spirited coach for not thinking to say anything about Nebraska in his opening statement. [/sarcasm]
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Post by cbrown1709 on Dec 17, 2006 3:15:20 GMT -5
You guys need to stop. This Nebraska's moment. They can do no wrong right now. Let them have that.
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Post by clivehusker on Dec 17, 2006 3:19:07 GMT -5
Dunning mentioned nothing about Nebraska, while cook gave praise to not only Nebraska but indicrectly to the other Pac-10 teams in the Final Four as well by saying: "I want to go back and say I think this was a very tough final four, with the quality of teams." [/sarcasm] [sarcasm] omg you are right, what a cocky arogant jerk that Dunning was for not doing that. [/sarcasm]
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Post by Kampy on Dec 17, 2006 3:22:15 GMT -5
Kampy, Did you just get back from the game? Looked great on t.v... I was there Thursday, but this looked even more insane. Both teams played awesome Yes, made the drive back to Lincoln, and I really need to go to sleep if I plan to be at the big party at 11 Sunday (this!) morning. It was a great atmosphere, and honestly, I think it got loudest when the Huskers hit point #27 in the 4th game. Then, Stanford made their run, and the crowd got a bit tense, but after Larson put away Championship Point, it was a sweet, sweet scene. Akinradewo and especially Waller had my stomach tied in knots. I think the gameplan was to stop Barboza and make Waller beat the Huskers. She almost did. Great match for her. But Pavan "did not let her team lose" and God bless her for that. I think I'm most happy for the Dani's, who cap their careers by going out on top. IT'S A GREAT DAY TO BE A HUSKER!
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Post by Chance on Dec 17, 2006 3:29:55 GMT -5
Cook comes off as arrogant. I've thought that for quite some time now, i just dont bother mentioning it because it's not a big deal to me. I'm generally pretty positive about Nebraska, so i dont think people have to have something against Nebraska to say that...
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Post by lilred on Dec 17, 2006 4:18:44 GMT -5
I've watched the match for a second time and an interesting thing stood out.
As much as I have defended Nebraska's on court (some would say staid) demeanor during matches, I have to admit it was exciting seeing the team show so much emotion during the match. Specifically Larson. In game 3 after her solo block on Waller, the whole team did an impromptu (I'm assuming) UCLA slide to the middle of the court. When she hit the down the line shot that almost decapitated Nnamani (sorry Nnamani) she strutted back to the huddle, did a chest bump with a teammate and even Pavan was breaking out in a huge grin over it. She just played with unabashed emotion tonight and I hope she continues. You can tell that is actually her natural personality, but for some reason when she gets on the court she kind of supresses a lot of it.
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Post by Keystonekid on Dec 17, 2006 8:27:19 GMT -5
Did you see Cook's interview with Cox after the game? He was very emotional, and couldn't put a sentence together. You see people at the academy awards forget to thank their spouses for petes sake. It's interesting (or sad) that nobody who is bashing Cook, brought up the fact he drove to Lincoln the day of the match to go to Jen Sally's graduation. I don't think that is the actions of a person without class. You bash Cook for not recognizing the accomplishments of Stnaord, but you are doing the same thing by not recognizing his and his teams? Maybe that makes John an ungracious winner, but that certainly makes you a ungracious loser.
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Post by flatlander on Dec 17, 2006 11:42:54 GMT -5
Can someone tell me why Gates went in the game? I was watching the match, but at someones house, and wasn't paying particular attention to Coppers play. Was it that bad? Just curious to why she was in the game. I have the match recorded on my DVR, and will watch it again eventually, but thought someone could tell me. I know quoting myself is completely obnoxious -- sorry for that, but I don't feel like re-typing --, but here were my thoughts from Stanford vs Nebraska game thread.... One perplexing thing that I didn't understand. Cooper seemed to be playing well. Why Gates at such a crucial time? I watched the match on TV after I got home (made for a REALLY late night). If you only watched the match on TV, I can understand why you're puzzled about the substitution. It didn't seem on TV that it made much difference. But being there, it was clear that Gates's entry changed the entire complexion of Game 3. Kehoe had been doing a tremendous job during most of Game 2 and all of Game 3 of freezing Cooper and leaving NU's outsides 1-on-1 against Stanford's outsides, and Waller, especially, was really making NU pay for that. Plus, NU was not running the middle hardly at all (at least to the front), and Cooper, when she did get the ball, wasn't terminating. Wasn't much point having her in there. When Gates came in, NU recorded something like 2 stuff blocks in the next 4 points, and the block finally started closing on the outside. Gates didn't add much offensively, but she did have a couple of great plays off the net as well -- a diving 1-armed up of a dribble serve over the net is one that particuarly I recall. I was having a fit about even this year's reduced NU block not showing up to this match until, voila -- Gates. Stanford was outblocking NU (!!!) until the end of Game 3. Gates's blocking got the team and the fans fired up, and I think that had a real effect on Stanford. A little irony here: Stanford and NU tie for blocks at 13 apiece, but Nebraska outdigs Stanford. When's the last time THAT's happened?
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Post by pavbfan on Dec 17, 2006 12:16:02 GMT -5
Which brings up the question... Does anybody remember what the opening statements were last year? I'm honestly curious... no clue what the press conference was like then. Did Jim congratulate Nebraska? Did John congratulate Cook? Or were we so caught up in the non-shaking ceremony that we didn't care who said what? I think what we have with Cook is a guy who is very demanding of his players that when they finally accomplish the goal they have been set out to accomplish, his need to publically congratulate them overwhelms his sense of congratulating the other team as well. I'm sure he probably went to Dunning directly after the match and probably even said a few words to the Stanford players. For all I know, they'll be chatting about this tomorrow. To me, the action is more than what is said. Yes, I have sour grapes, I'm bitter, I'm disappointed, and I'll nitpick about Cook. Just mention Stanford once. It's common courtesy. And since I have nothing better to do, here's McLauglin's statement from last year: Head Coach Jim McLaughlin Opening Statement “I don’t have a whole lot to say. We’re gonna have some fun with this one. Nebraska is an unbelievable program and a great university. We played our best match of the year against them. It was just a good match from start to finish. I’m just unbelievably happy for this group. The time they put in, it’s a little bit of pay-off, but more a gratification for an awful lot of hard work.”
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Post by TheRange on Dec 17, 2006 15:17:53 GMT -5
I agree, Cook screwed up. It would have shown great class to first and foremost mention your opponents, but sometimes your emotions get the best of you in those moments and you don't always say what you would have liked to. The issue here is whether it was on purpose or not. I hope and think that it was not. While many on this board are not enamored with Cook, very few of us actually know him, and therefore, cannot say with any certainty whether it was intentional or not. As for Dunning, I think he's a great coach and person, but the first person you acknowledge anytime you lose a great match are the people that beat you. He swallowed his pride, showed his class, and did so. Let's not get too nit picky here, it was a great match, played by two great teams, in a great atmosphere. Hopefully this was a pivotal moment for collegiate volleyball in the U.S. It just seems that some of us don't want it to belong to John Cook. It doesn't though, it belongs to the players who scraped and clawed their way through this match on both sides of the net. To see Richards after the match truly made you understand the greatness of the game. It was heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time.
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Post by FreeBall on Dec 17, 2006 16:46:39 GMT -5
Is video or a full written transcript of the post-match press conference available online? If (as some posters seem to assume), the quotes posted on the NCAA and Huskers.com websites are a complete transcript, it must have been the shortest press conference in history.
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Post by dorothymantooth on Dec 17, 2006 18:20:32 GMT -5
Cook did in fact talk about Stanford in the interview room. He said something to the affect of Stanford is a great team, and they may even be better, but we were better than them tonight. Gave lots of props to Stanford during the week as well. I will try to see if we can get a transcript, but you folks believe everything you read, and also don't consider that not everything that was said gets printed.
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Post by pavbfan on Dec 17, 2006 19:08:53 GMT -5
With the 17,000+ Nebraska fans at the match, I did manage to hear Stanford's Clifford doing his yell throughout the match. I assume Stanford fans know who I'm talking about. It's amazing how one voice could come over the TV loud and clear.
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