The Villanova Update

Yes, I watched the Holy War on Tuesday night. And yes, it gave me heartburn in the first half. But the Cats pulled out the win, thanks to the brilliance of Kyle Lowry, who's fast becoming one of my favorite Villanova players ever.

For those not familiar with the rivalry between my alma mater and the Pigeonrats (sorry, Hawks) of St. Joe's, the Philadelphia Daily News had a little piece the day of the game that described how the rivalry has gotten out of hand. Maybe so, but I still want the damn Hawk costume to be hanging off a lamppost on the Main Line.

In the meantime, as a public service to my fellow 'Nova grads, a little clip-n-save that I put together for any instance when St. Joe's fans are annoying us -- a list of ten points to discuss with St. Joe's alumni when they talk trash about basketball...

1. Okay, we'll limit the discussion to sports-related topics, since it's unfair to compare your "school" to ours. Maybe St. Joe's should compete with someone that's a better comparision to them academically, like Gordon Phillips or Lincoln Tech.

2. We play in the Big East. They play in the Atlantic 10. Our conference post-season tournament is played to full crowds in New York freaking City, while theirs takes place in the backwoods of Ohio. The reason they play the A-10 tournament in Ohio now was because no one would go to the games when they were played in Philly.

3. Speaking of athletic programs, how's that St. Joe's football team?

4. The Hawk will never die... sure. Just because we haven't felt like wasting a bullet on it doesn't mean that overgrown diseased rat is immortal.

5. And for those Hawk fans who think no one's ever gotten their hands on the Hawk, the La Salle cheerleaders did jump it over a decade ago, before it was saved by the players. Man, that's one tough mascot, when it needs to get saved from the La Salle cheerleaders.

6. Hey, who has the most NCAA Men's Basketball championships in Philadelphia? Fine, we'll exclude Villanova, because we're not "in the city." The answer still isn't St. Joe's; it's La Salle.

7. Meanwhile, Villanova has two official Final Four appearances (1939 and 1985) and one title. St. Joe's NCAA Titles: 0.

8. St. Joe's only Final Four appearance in 1961 was later wiped off the books. To be fair, Villanova also had an appearance wiped out in 1971, but our star player was taking money from an agent. St. Joe's players were taking money from gamblers, and neither Pete Rose not Rick Tocchet had anything to do with the team.

9. So, to summarize, St. Joe's has zero NCAA Titles and zero official Final Four appearances (every other school in the Big Five has made an official appearance). Well, we're sure they have an NIT Title, right? Temple, La Salle and Villanova have all won at least one NIT each, so how hard could it be? Much like the SAT, it's too hard for St. Joe's.

10. So, hey, we understand that they'd make a big deal when they beat us. After all, it's all they have. But we're really glad that the Hawks haven't scored a 100 point game yet, since the math professors at St. Joe's would have had to teach the freshman about three-digit numbers before they were ready.

One final note about the Holy War -- you have to love a game that means so much that our bedridden tonsilitis stricken point guard, Mike Nardi, tries the following, according to coach Jay Wright...

Nardi, known as a hard working perfectionist, was not happy to be laying in bed on Tuesday, when the Wildcats beat St. Joseph's for the Big Five title. Seeing Villanova trail at halftime made him feel even worse, Wright said.

Nardi called Villanova assistant coach Jason Donnelly at halftime and even asked his mother to drive him to the Palestra, Wright said.

"He is not a good patient," Wright said.

Get well, Mike. Go Cats.