@spiegelmama
This just made an episode of Psych so much more hilarious

#PatronSaint #StBonaventure #pooping

Scripture

But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame.

1 Peter 3:14–16

Reading

Have you ever once considered how to explain the fact that men like Augustine, Anselm of Canterbury, Bonaventure, Thomas [Aquinas]—not to mention the thousands whose names are unknown to those who have no connection to them but who without doubt were no less intelligent than us enlightened folk—that these men have seen in the despised dogma the highest that is available to the human mind and the one thing that deserves the sacrifice of life? With what justification are you able to designate the great teachers and the great holy ones of the Church as either idiots or clever defrauders? Certainly one may pronounce such an outrageous suspicion, as each of these words suggests, only after the most thorough examination of all of the facts that come into consideration. Do you not want once and for all objectively to answer these questions, if not for yourself, then for me? Just answer them! You do not have to answer them for me if you do not want to.

Letter 85
19 June 1924

Prayer

Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross,
called from the people of the Old Covenant,
help us to live together in peace and
to foster reconciliation between peoples and religions;
graced with the freedom of the spirit,
be close to all who seek the meaning of their lives,
the truth, and deliverance from all bondage.

(here mention your intentions)

Perfected in the wisdom of the Cross,
accompany us and all people
in every distress of body and soul.

Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory be…

Saint Edith Stein, pray for us.

Novena prayer from the Carmel of Mary of Peace in Cologne, Germany
Image of Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) © 2023 Ruben Ferreira. Used by kind permission. Visit rubenferreiraart.com to explore more inspirational art by Ruben Ferreira.

Stein, E. 2014, Edith Stein: Letters to Roman Ingarden, translated from the German by Hunt, H, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

All scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.

Let us unite in prayer

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/07/26/edithnov24-8/

#answer #DoctorsOfTheChurch #dogma #intercession #novena #prayer #questions #RomanIngarden #Saints #StAnselmOfCanterbury #StAugustine #StBonaventure #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedictaOfTheCross #StThomasAquinas

The NCAA has uncovered severe violations from the Atlantic 10 that have hurt the conference’s 2025 men’s basketball season, which have led the NCAA to strip the A10 of it’s automatic-bid to the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

According to the NCAA offices in Indianapolis, “The Atlantic 10 conference has been found guilty of multiple violations according to the NCAA bylaws. We are unfortunately forced to hand down a harsh punishment of stripping the conference of its 2025 automatic bid toward the 2025 NCAA Tournament.”

The Atlantic 10 office was shocked to hear of the punishment from the NCAA.

“We are deeply disappointed in the NCAA for this harsh punishment,” said A10 public affairs coordinator George Ham. “We as a conference pride ourselves on our integrity on how we handle our highly competitive men’s basketball season.”

The violations uncovered by the NCAA involve tampering with the 2024 conference tournament multiple times.

The NCAA took this drastic action in response to attempts by the A10 to influence the results of games. These attempts range from prematurely shooting their load of confetti in an attempt to bring bad vibes upon Duquesne, to paying an evil witch to cast an evil curse on Dayton ensuring they will never win an Atlantic 10 Tournament, and to what the suspension explanation simply referred to as “Siegel Center Refs.”

“Frankly, this level of playing favorites and trying to influence who wins games is only acceptable at the power conference level, where our TV and betting partners genuinely want brand names like Duke, Kansas, and NC State to have easy paths to victory so ratings are better,” said NCAA President Charlie Baker.

Baker continued: “What makes the Atlantic 10’s acts so abhorrent is that no one really cares whether Duquesne or VCU represents the conference in the Atlantic 10 outside of insane VCU fans and Duquesne fans who had never known happiness until this year. Because of this, we felt we had to come down extra hard on the conference and strip it of its automatic bid. This will ensure that a deserving 18-15 Big 10 team will make the tournament next year, as an added bonus.”

The most conspiratorial twitter account in the A10, @Flyerfan010621, tweeted “I knew it!” in response to the news.

Around the country, multiple power conference commissioners weighed in on the news, including SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. “We applaud the NCAA on holding the Atlantic 10 accountable for their actions. We look forward to replacing an A10 conference tournament champ with a really good 13-17 Vanderbilt team next season.”

Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti wasted no time commenting on the situation via a zoom call with A10 Talk. “We have been waiting for Commissioner Baker to do something about that damn league for a long time,” Petitti said while popping off a bottle of champagne. “It’s about time the NCAA started to bully the bullies like the A10 and reward the little guys like the Big Ten, ACC, SEC, and the Big 12.” Sankey was also seen on this zoom call with a glass of champagne in the background as well.

When asked if they were going to appeal the sanctions from the NCAA, the A10 responded with, “Whatever power you think the NCAA has….we have less.”

As a result, the A10 is mulling different solutions for its conference tournament champion for 2025. We have been told by the league office that solutions include the champion being given an auto bid into the NIT, CBI or CIT (with programs still having to pay their own way into those tournaments), or each player and coach on the winning team’s roster be given a $25 gift card to Ruby Tuesday.

A10 Associate to the Commissioner Bernie McBoyd spoke to the possible solutions, saying “We are talking to other tournaments to see if our tournament champion can join them if they don’t get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, so for right now, the front runner is definitely the Ruby Tuesday gift cards. We have a long standing relationship with Ruby Tuesday, where we conduct the conference schedules and count the paper ballots mailed in for the post season awards. Their establishments are well equipped to handle any team in the A10.”

Several A10 programs have responded differently to the news.

The A10 office has told us that, “Because of this news, UMass is actively working with the MAC to join in Winter 2024, ahead of their July 1st agreement. Dayton and VCU have both been contacted by the Big East, as the conference has expressed their sympathies and has reengaged in expansion talks with both A10 programs out of respect.”

Even some of the A10 coaches are handling the news differently. According to sources, after hearing this news Frank Martin flew directly to the NCAA offices in Indianapolis and waited in the parking lot preparing to bare knuckle box Charlie Baker.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks as we update you more with this story as we gain more information.

Photo credit:  Hunter Hensel, A10 Talk

https://www.a10talk.com/2024/04/breaking-ncaa-strips-the-a10-of-its-2025-automatic-bid-amid-multiple-violations/

#A10 #A10 #A10Basketball #A10Talk #A10Tournament #ACC #Atlantic10 #Atlantic10Basketball #Big12 #bigTen #charlieBaker #Dayton #DaytonFlyers #Duquesne #DuquesneDukes #featured #FrankMartin #gregSankey #NCAA #Richmond #rubyTuesday #saintJosephS #SEC #StBonaventure #tonyPetitti #UMass #UMassMinutemen #VCU #VCURams

(Photo courtesy of Hunter Hensel)

BROOKLYN, NY – Upsets have dominated the headlines so far during the Atlantic 10 Tournament, with the top four seeds, who had all earned double-byes, losing in the quarterfinal for the first time since 2006.

But, the biggest underdog this week in Brooklyn may be Noel Brown, St. Bonaventure’s redshirt junior backup center who has stepped up and been the catalyst in their run to the semifinal. 

Brown is in his first season at St. Bonaventure after transferring from intra-conference rival George Washington, and has primarily played in a low-usage reserve role, backing up All-Conference second teamer Chad Venning. During the regular season, Brown averaged a career high 5.9 points and 2.1 rebounds over 13.6 minutes per game.

After Brown’s second season at GW, Jamion Christian, the head coach who recruited him, was fired. Chris Caputo, GW’s current head coach, replaced him, and inherited a roster of players meant for a different system. Caputo prefers to play a smaller, quicker and more defensively versatility lineup, which did not put the 6-11, 265 Brown in a position to succeed.

“It was kind of a thing where I felt like the direction that the team was heading, not that it was bad or anything, just something where the focus wasn’t trying to get me to a certain level of play and I just wanted to give myself a shot,” said Brown. “Even if it worked out or didn’t work out, I wanted to give myself the best opportunity, the best shot and see what it looks like in a year.” 

Brown continued, “St. Bonaventure, they just promised to work me out. They didn’t make a bunch of core promises, none of that extra stuff. They were just like, ‘There’s a real opportunity for you, we can work you out if you do these things, you’ll be in good shape.’”

The first time Brown really became aware of St. Bonaventure was during his first season of college basketball in 2020-21. In the final game of the regular season, GW trekked up to Olean, and lost 41-88. Brown played 14 minutes and had four points and two rebounds. 

“They beat us by like 50. It was nuts,” said Brown. “After that, I kind of had an imprint of the Bonnies.”

Brown also had someone in his ear who knew what it was like to play, and win, at St. Bonaventure. His teammate for two seasons at GW, Brendan Adams, is the brother of St. Bonaventure legend Jaylen Adams. The former A-10 co-Player of the Year who helped upset UCLA in the NCAA Tournament spoke about the success he had and the culture at St. Bonaventure, and helped convince Brown to give them a shot.

Head coach Mark Schmidt also seemed like the perfect person to help Brown blossom. Venning, at 6-10 255 plays a similar bruising, physical post-centric basketball, and was able to transform his game when he transferred to St. Bonaventure. In his first two seasons of college basketball at Morgan State, he was effective in limited minutes, but struggled to get any real opportunity, only starting 11 games his sophomore season and averaging just 13.8 minutes per game. Schmidt was able to help develop Venning into one of the top centers in the conference. This season, he averaged 14.0 points per game, 5.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks while shooting 53.7% from the field.

“I think we made a living on individual instruction programs, skill development. We didn’t want [Brown] to just be a rebounder or a physical guy. We wanted him to have skills,” said Schmidt. “I thought he’s really worked on his jump hooks with his right and left hand. And he’s going to be a guy that’s going to come off the bench and spell Chad [Venning]. But we wanted him to be a productive player.”

“My footwork, my moves, they were like, ‘it’s good, you have a good base, but your footwork can be so much better.’ They started drilling that over and over again,” said Brown. “Offensively, they’ve just gotten me to progress to see more reads, make plays, not necessarily when I’m scoring but trying to get other people open and run the offense.” 

While Brown still was coming off the bench and playing a limited role, he was having by far the most efficient and productive season of his career and looked like a completely different player. He shot 72.5% from the field, up from an already respectable 58.1% that he shot in his junior season at GW. Brown was also showing off a far more advanced offensive skill set, proof that the plan that Schmidt pitched to Brown in the offseason and the work that they both put in was working. 

Despite his clear improvement, Brown still rarely closed games, and mostly acted as someone who could step in and play a style of basketball similar to Venning so St. Bonaventure wouldn’t need to alter their schemes in a major way when Venning sat. 

In his reserve role, Brown was able to earn the trust of his coaches and teammates. When Venning began to struggle when things mattered most, Brown was there.

In St. Bonaventure’s first game of the tournament as the No. 7 seed, a second-round matchup against No. 10 La Salle, Brown was subbed in for the second time at the 10:58 mark for Venning, and took over. He quickly scored five points, extending St. Bonaventure’s lead to nine. 

After checking out for about two minutes, Brown re-entered the game and immediately scored again. And, just as the first half clock was winding, Brown got the ball in down low and nailed a turnaround jumper at the high post off the glass for his ninth points of the half and to beat the buzzer, sending St. Bonaventure to the break with a 42-34 lead.

Well timed ⏰@nsbrown19 || #Unfurl pic.twitter.com/5w0VOzYuIw

— Bonnies Men's Basketball (@BonniesMBB) March 13, 2024

Brown only scored two more points in St. Bonaventure’s 75-73 win, but continued to be effective while he was on the court. He ended with a game-high +/- of +9, and played just one fewer minute than Venning, who had a team-low -6. 

Speaking after the win over La Salle, Brown addressed on his development this season. 

“Honestly, I just have to say — I keep saying “my guys,” but honestly, it is my guys and the coaches, the amount of people that have poured into me here,” said Brown. “They made me feel like I could turn around and see a whole family behind me, even though I’m not at home. These guys really stepped up. I think it’s just consistency, too.”

Up next for the Bonnies was a matchup with No. 2 and co-regular season champion Loyola Chicago. Once again, Venning struggled, paving the way for Brown, who had established that he was a more-than-capable option. 

Brown’s biggest impact came late in the second half. St. Bonaventure was down 47-58 with 6:02 left in regulation. As the Bonnies were trying to mount a furious late comeback, Brown subbed in at the 3:07 mark and was an immediate game-changer. 

At the 1:06 mark down 55-58, Brown was able to corral a no-look pass from redshirt senior guard Daryl Banks III, draw a foul and get the contested layup to go. 

NOAH BROWN AND ONE TIE GAME 😱 WHAT A PASS FROM BANKS

58-58, 39.6 left. USA NETWORK NOW pic.twitter.com/ihfgnHdJkb

— A10 Talk (@A10Talk) March 14, 2024

A10Talk apologizes for getting Noel’s name wrong in the heat of the moment. Live tweeting highlights isn’t easy. 

Brown then got the free throw to fall, converting the and-one and tying the game.

In overtime, Brown continued to see the court and contribute on both ends. He ended up fouling out in the second overtime period, but his timely free throw shooting, rebounding and interior defense while he was in was key for the Bonnies holding off Loyola.

Just like against Saint Bonaventure, Brown had a game-high +/- at +9, and Venning had a game-low -20.

“We were able to give [Brown] the ball inside. Loyola was pressuring us on the perimeter. From a coach’s perspective, or an X’s and O’s perspective, you want to relieve pressure by throwing the ball inside,” said Schmidt. “And Chad [Venning] struggled a little bit yesterday. And Noel was scoring inside and played good defense.”

Schmidt continued, “I just thought that his physicality and the skill around the basket was really good for us.”

Brown spoke about what’s led to him being able to step up when his team needed him most. 

“I think first and foremost, definitely my faith in God. Every night before I go to sleep, and whenever I’m feeling panicked, I just open my Bible and read through some scriptures. It always calms me down,” said Brown. “And the next thing obviously, my family and the team. I’m thankful for this opportunity and what’s happening, but it’s not necessarily just me out there, you know what I’m saying? I’m representing everyone who pours into me.” 

It’s become clear that those within the St. Bonaventure program aren’t surprised by Brown’s dominant conference tournament performance.

“It’s been that way all year. We wouldn’t have the record that we have without Noel’s presence. Chad [Venning] can only play 20 minutes a game. Noel has been a godsend,” said Schmidt. “You hear him speak, he’s articulate, he’s smart. He’s just–he’s been everything. He’s the best backup five-man that we’ve had since I’ve been here. 

Schmidt continued, “We wouldn’t have just won the last two games, but we wouldn’t have won a lot of games this year without his productivity.” 

“Right now, yes, it’s me for the past two games. Next game it could be anyone,” said Brown. “I’m grateful right now. God is using me, giving me this platform. I think honestly, I’m just blessed right now.” 

With the way things are looking, it’ll be tough for Schmidt to shy away from playing Brown. But, Brown only played about five minutes and was held scoreless in each of their two losses to semifinal opponent No. 6 Duquesne in the regular season. 

“I just try and do my best and stay focused and support the team however I can,” said Brown. “I know it’s not always going to look like scoring, it’ll be passing, setting good screens, being physical, but these guys are important to me.” 

St. Bonaventure likely would have been bounced in the second round against La Salle without Brown’s first half scoring. If they were able to advance, there’s no chance they would have come back against Loyola Chicago without Brown’s game-tying and-one and stifling interior defense that helped hold the Ramblers scoreless for the final 6:02 of regulation and the first 2:18 of the first overtime period.

Whether or not Brown continues playing such a critical role going forward, these past two games have been special. Brown is someone who was just waiting for his moment. 

He was cast off of a GW team that finished last in the A-10 this season. Then, he tirelessly worked on his craft while backing up an All-Conference player. Now playing the most important minutes of St. Bonaventure’s season, Brown has showed just what type of player he was, and always could be.

https://www.a10talk.com/2024/03/a-godsend-noel-brown-keeps-stepping-up-in-the-a-10-tournament-for-st-bonaventure/

#A10Tournament #Bonnies #ChadVenning #featured #GeorgeWashington #MarkSchmidt #NoelBrown #Revolutionaries #StBonaventure

The St. Bonaventure Bonnies won a close game against the La Salle Explorers 75-73 today in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament. This victory comes after La Salle defeated St. Bonaventure in their regular season matchup on February 21st. The win keeps St. Bonaventure’s tournament hopes alive.

https://www.a10talk.com/2024/03/video-la-salle-vs-st-bonaventure-a-10-tournament/

#LaSalle #StBonaventure

A10 Men’s Basketball Power Rankings –  March 11, 2024

First place votes (in parentheses)

Voting Breakdown:

https://www.a10talk.com/2024/03/a10-mens-basketball-power-rankings-march-11-2024/

#A10 #Atlantic10 #Blog #Davidson #Dayton #Duquesne #Fordham #GeorgeMason #GeorgeWashington #LaSalle #loyolaChicago #powerRankings #RhodeIsland #Richmond #saintJosephS #SaintLouis #StBonaventure #UMass #VCU

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — St. Bonaventure’s last chance to end their season on a high note begins Wednesday at the Barclays Center.

The Bonnies (18-12, 9-9) received the No. 7 seed in this week’s Atlantic 10 tournament and will play the winner of No. 10 La Salle and No. 15 George Washington. They lost to both teams by double digits this season. The Brown and White squandered a chance at a top-four seed and double-bye in the A10 tournament by losing to GW in Foggy Bottom on Wednesday.

For head coach Mark Schmidt’s group, the 2023-24 regular season was anything but consistent.

Not too long ago, the Bonnies looked like they were hitting their stride just at the right time. They took down Loyola Chicago convincingly, who earned a share of the regular season conference title. The win over the Ramblers paved a clear path to a double-bye in Brooklyn. They had to take care of GW and Saint Louis, who are both at the bottom of the conference standings.

Then, they dropped both games to stumble into postseason play.

Through periods of positive momentum and confusing losses, Schmidt mentioned that his group continues to worry about what’s next, not stewing on the past.

“We can beat anybody,” Schmidt said after the loss to Saint Louis. “I heard a quote the other day, that you have to be humble enough in this league to know that if you don’t play well you’re going to lose. But, you have to be confident enough to know that if you play well you have a chance to win. We’ve proven (that).”

He’s right. That adage encapsulates the conference schedule for the Bonnies. They swept both VCU and UMass. They beat Loyola Chicago and came close to taking down Dayton. But often struggled against some of this year’s A10 bottom feeders.

They can beat anyone, but they can lose to anyone also.

Now, St. Bonaventure has a clean slate. Even though they always maintained a mentality of focusing on one game at a time, their season is only the next game from here on out.

How can St. Bonaventure keep their season alive in Brooklyn?

The Bonnies need to await the result of La Salle vs. George Washington on Tuesday to fully plan for their first game in Brooklyn. But, they have plenty of tape and experience to learn from no matter who they see on the floor.

La Salle beat the Bonnies 72-59 Feb. 21 at Tom Gola Arena, before GW got the best of the Brown and White 86-75 in Foggy Bottom. In both losses, Bona’s got beat on the glass, which was an issue in their most recent loss on Senior Day to Saint Louis.

St. Bonaventure grabbed 32.6 rebounds per game (RPG) during the regular season, a mark that is 311th in the country. But, they have a +0.9 rebounding margin on the year. They can, and often do, come out with a positive over their opponents on the boards. But when they don’t, it’s a problem.

Graduate senior Charles Pride leads the team with 5.7 RPG. He’s one of the best rebounders coming from the guard spot across the nation. Starting forward Assa Essamvous (5.2 RPG) and big man Chad Venning (5.0 RPG) are also key contributors in securing possession. Barry Evans, the versatile second-year forward, averages five rebounds off the bench.

Schmidt mentioned that rebounding the ball better is a clear focus area for improvement heading into the A10 tournament. Against Saint Louis, his team was -17 on the glass.

Venning, the team’s offensive cog, found himself in foul trouble early on Saturday against the Billikens. Backup big Noel Brown hurt his ankle, according to Schmidt, which kept him from contributing his normal minute load against SLU. Evans played as a small-ball five man in support, which gave the team energy. But Schmidt doesn’t want to play him at the five for a long period of time due to size.

Brown has looked great this as a second-big, but if his ankle injury lingers, Venning will need to stay out of foul trouble at Barclays.

If the Bonnies can get by La Salle or GW, their next opponent would be the A10 regular season co-champion Loyola Chicago Ramblers. Bona’s beat them 79-64 Feb. 27 at the Reilly Center. LUC recovered from that loss and rattled off three wins in a row over Dayton, Davidson and La Salle. Drew Valentine’s squad is rolling. They’d love a date to seek revenge against the Bonnies.

But as Schmidt said, anyone can beat anyone in the A10. And anyone can lose to anyone. Just as St. Bonaventure’s conference schedule has shown.

Featured image courtesy of Dan Nelligan (SBUnfurled/A10 Talk)

https://www.a10talk.com/2024/03/bonnies-brooklyn-st-bonaventure-a10-tournament-preview/

#Bonnies #feature #GamePreview #StBonaventure #StBonaventureBonnies