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Ballwinner



Joined: 29 Dec 2004
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PostPosted: 01/02/05 11:53 pm    ::: Notre Dame book Reply Reply with quote

Has anyone else read Nice Girls Finish First by Mark Bradford? It is the story of the 2001 Notre Dame championship team. I just started reading it after getting it for Christmas. Just wonder what others think of it.



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Queenie



Joined: 18 Nov 2004
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PostPosted: 01/03/05 9:45 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

I liked it, though it's a bit too treacly for me. The style's also a little confusing, in essence telling each story from start to finish in isolation. But it's always good to read about basketball, and I liked learning more about the coach.

For an interesting counterpoint, I'd recommend The Same River Twice, by John Walters, about the 2001 UConn team. It's interesting to read about incidents from both sides, plus it has a fabulous moment between Alicia Ratay and one of the UConn beat writers. It's the kind of book that makes you laugh a LOT.



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Alepp03



Joined: 25 Nov 2004
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PostPosted: 01/03/05 2:36 pm    ::: Reflecting... Reply Reply with quote

I am enjoying this year a lot but...

2001 is to this day, the most memorable WCBB season to date for me.

ND just had the pieces. Niele was a stud, Ruth was dominant, and Ratay was lights out, to name a few.

UConn may have had one of the most storied seasons in my memory, even though it ended in a loss. They proved over and over their depth and talent, with losing Shea and Svet, and still remaining tough with Swin, Sue, and Shu stepping in. You could really see a changing of the guard at UConn that year, but it was almost tragic as it came through injuries instead of through successes.

Add in Tamika, Ashja, and DT giving you 8 players who were drafted into the WNBA. Ashley Battle may find a way to stick on a roster after this season which would up that number to 9. UNHEARD OF! Seven of the eight players who were drafted into the WNBA stuck, barring only Shea who many say was the best of the whole bunch if only she hadn't had all the injuries. Each of those seven players have scored 20 points or more at least once in their WNBA careers.

Okay, so that year, not one single time did I cheer for UConn, but I am no fool. Look at that team, the players, the talent, and a great coach.

Throw in the Katie Douglas story, Tamika's ACL, and a controversial Final Four that ended with a glorious Notre Dame championship for the hometown girl Niele Ivey and I am not sure I can fathom calling another year more interesting.



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pilight



Joined: 23 Sep 2004
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PostPosted: 01/03/05 2:49 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

The funniest thing, Alepp, is that you didn't even mention the thing that was the #1 WCBB story at the time, which was the Jackie Stiles scoring machine.



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Alepp03



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PostPosted: 01/03/05 4:17 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Even worse, pilight, is that I am from Missouri and am a huge Stiles proponent. I am embarassed for not including that in the post!

That was the season of two themes:

1. Things come together for a story book ending...

2. Things Fall Apart (A great book by the way)

Some storylines have a little bit of both. The ending of the college careers of Svet, Shea, and Catch is absolute tragedy, but the regrouping of UConn, the amazing Katie Douglas, Stiles beating the odds bringing SMS to the Final Four, and Ivey's homecoming championship are all just things that tell me that someone up there likes when things work out.

2001 WCBB was a thing of beauty.



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pilight



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PostPosted: 01/03/05 4:21 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

I really enjoyed watching that ND team play. I got to see them in person when they dismantled North Carolina in early December and they already looked like a well oiled machine.



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Kelli



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PostPosted: 01/04/05 11:17 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

The 2001 ND team is probably my favorite team of all-time. The players were so accessable to the fans (even more than Purdue--the only team that I can compare them to--was in 1999, IMO). There was something about that team. I'm not sure what it was or how to explain it though. It was like they knew what they neeeded to do and just went about it like it was just another day. But at the same time, they were very aware of what they were doing and the impact on the public they were having. They were having fun, but not losing sight of the goal. Just a fun season to be a part of.

Oh yeah, I read the book. I liked the part about Muffet's doorbell playing the ND fight Song.


Ballwinner



Joined: 29 Dec 2004
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PostPosted: 01/04/05 4:07 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

I read The Same River Twice this summer and absolutely loved it. It helped stir up my interest of the 2001 Final Four again--even with my STL-bias, I truly think it has been one of the best. Any book that has a foreword by Rebecca Lobo has high standards, and it was certainly able to reach those.

Nice Girls... has been very disappointing. I love the story, but it is lost in the poor writing. My expectations of the book were rather low, since it started with the pathetic gimmick of a dictionary definition (perhaps most sad was that the dictionary referenced was neither Oxford's or Webster's). The author illogically split up the story by team members, creating a lot of repetition and destroying any suspense. Most frustrating of all is that there are huge editing errors on almost every page, including the very obvious misspellings of the "Big Eat" Conference, "Stoors, Connecticut," and Diana "Taurisi." While I will quietly disagree with a writer's style, I have great difficulty putting up with his inability to understand the difference between they're, there, & their.

I am saddened that one of the most exciting sports stories in recent basketball history was presented so poorly. Where is Sally Jenkins when you need her?



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Keegan



Joined: 17 Nov 2004
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PostPosted: 01/04/05 5:54 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Ballwinner wrote:
Nice Girls... has been very disappointing. I love the story, but it is lost in the poor writing. My expectations of the book were rather low, since it started with the pathetic gimmick of a dictionary definition (perhaps most sad was that the dictionary referenced was neither Oxford's or Webster's). The author illogically split up the story by team members, creating a lot of repetition and destroying any suspense. Most frustrating of all is that there are huge editing errors on almost every page, including the very obvious misspellings of the "Big Eat" Conference, "Stoors, Connecticut," and Diana "Taurisi." While I will quietly disagree with a writer's style, I have great difficulty putting up with his inability to understand the difference between they're, there, & their.


Sack the proofreader and the copy editor.
Queenie



Joined: 18 Nov 2004
Posts: 18013
Location: Queens


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PostPosted: 01/05/05 9:21 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

I'm with Ballwinner on the editing for Nice Girls Finish First. It's very frustrating, especially to someone who has high PSG standards.

I just picked up Raise the Roof yesterday and read my way through it; I'm now afraid that my rug will spontaneously combust because both a Tennessee and a UConn book are sitting on it. It's also a great book, with some surprisingly hysterical moments.

I must say, though, it's been very hard for me to get my hands on women's basketball books. Barnes and Noble, at least the four branches in NYC that I haunt, pretty much only carries Raise the Roof and She Got Game. I've had to rely on bizarre coincidences to get some of the classics. Has anyone else had that problem?



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