2008 Woodie Awards
RedHawks fail to finish strong in postseason
Ben Garbarek
Issue date: 3/25/08 Section: Sports
As the month of March separates the champs from the chumps, Miami University has fallen short so far in its marquee men's winter sports.
The ice hockey team came the closest to hoisting hardware this month, succumbing to the University of Michigan in the CCHA Tournament final. Is it nit-picking to criticize a team for making a championship game? Absolutely, but merely being content is like telling Rosie O'Donnell to pluck her eyebrows: you're missing the point.
The Red and White fought valiantly to get there and dodged a bullet with their overtime, come-from-behind win over the University of Notre Dame in the semifinals. Yet, as Miami builds toward becoming one of the nation's elite hockey programs, RedHawk fans should raise their standards and not be merely satisfied with just making it that far.
The Miami-Michigan hockey rivalry has skyrocketed this season, but unfortunately for the RedHawks it's beginning to resemble Roger Federer and Andy Roddick more than Duke University and the University of North Carolina.
Healthy rivalries feature evenly matched teams with contests that are rarely predictable. Duke and North Carolina square off on the hardwood every year, and while the Tar Heels may be the better team this year, next year it may be the Blue Devils.
So far this season, Miami has failed to notch a single win against the Wolverines in the three biggest games of their season. As much as I may hate to admit it, until the RedHawks start winning more critical contests against Big Blue, it's tough to even call it a rivalry.
Fortunately for Miami, they still have a chance to redeem themselves. Both squads will compete in the NCAA Tournament and have their sights on the national championship. A big weekend in Denver will make RedHawk fans forget all about their heartbreak in Detroit.
The men's basketball team didn't have much luck around St. Patrick's Day either. The stage seemed set for another magical run to the Big Dance. However, it was déjà vu all over again as Miami finished the season with a 15-14 record for the second year in a row.
The ice hockey team came the closest to hoisting hardware this month, succumbing to the University of Michigan in the CCHA Tournament final. Is it nit-picking to criticize a team for making a championship game? Absolutely, but merely being content is like telling Rosie O'Donnell to pluck her eyebrows: you're missing the point.
The Red and White fought valiantly to get there and dodged a bullet with their overtime, come-from-behind win over the University of Notre Dame in the semifinals. Yet, as Miami builds toward becoming one of the nation's elite hockey programs, RedHawk fans should raise their standards and not be merely satisfied with just making it that far.
The Miami-Michigan hockey rivalry has skyrocketed this season, but unfortunately for the RedHawks it's beginning to resemble Roger Federer and Andy Roddick more than Duke University and the University of North Carolina.
Healthy rivalries feature evenly matched teams with contests that are rarely predictable. Duke and North Carolina square off on the hardwood every year, and while the Tar Heels may be the better team this year, next year it may be the Blue Devils.
So far this season, Miami has failed to notch a single win against the Wolverines in the three biggest games of their season. As much as I may hate to admit it, until the RedHawks start winning more critical contests against Big Blue, it's tough to even call it a rivalry.
Fortunately for Miami, they still have a chance to redeem themselves. Both squads will compete in the NCAA Tournament and have their sights on the national championship. A big weekend in Denver will make RedHawk fans forget all about their heartbreak in Detroit.
The men's basketball team didn't have much luck around St. Patrick's Day either. The stage seemed set for another magical run to the Big Dance. However, it was déjà vu all over again as Miami finished the season with a 15-14 record for the second year in a row.
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