News and Notes: Wednesday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Wednesday...

• Mid Major Madness previews St. Bonaventure, an expected 2011-2012 Cornell road game opponent.

• Cody Toppert ('05) has launched a new blog highlighting his basketball resume complete with photos and videos of his collegiate and professional career. Toppert played during the 2010-2011 season with the Plymouth Raiders of the British Basketball League before moving to Italy and signing with Fulgor Libertas Forli of Italy's LegaDue (2nd Division). Toppert was cut from the the Marco Polo Shop sponsored Forli club before the close of the season. This Is Plymouth, a British newspaper writes, "Guard Cody Toppert, 28, left [the] Raiders at Christmas for a shot at the big-time and a pay day at Forli in Italy's second division. Toppert bade farewell to the Pavilions in sensation[al] style, scoring a game-high 41 points in Raiders' 116-106 win over Guildford Heat on December 29. However, after making seven appearances, Forli axed him and he was suddenly without a club. [Plymouth head coach Gavin Love told This is Plymouth], 'Money's not everything. It's about being happy.' ...Love, who graciously allowed Toppert to be released from his contract to try out in Italy, added, 'When players like Cody get other opportunities, I would never stand in their way, because I want players who want to be here.'"

• WHRB Sports analyzes our suggestion of an Ivy League-Patriot League Challenge.
  

• BC Soaring reviews the 2010-2011 season of Boston College. The site writes, "The 2010-2011 season began with a new coach at the helm: Steve Donahue. Hired from the Cornell Big Red, our new coach came into the program and began his overhaul. Out was the tight flex offense run by Al Skinner, and in was a motion offense that is incumbent upon hot shooting and lots of attempts from beyond the arc. We knew, from previous experience, that the roster we had assembled simply wasn’t very good at it."

• Below, a Date in Cornell Basketball History:
  

In what was essentially an Ivy League-Big Ten Challenge, between December 28-29, 1949, Cornell and Harvard met Ohio State and Michigan State in the first ever Spartan Classic hosted by Michigan State. The Big Ten foes went 3-1 against their Ivy opponents with Cornell losing to Ohio State in the first game, 43-42, followed by a 61-54 Big Red loss to the hosts the very next evening. Harvard knocked off Michigan State 68-57 in their first game but fell to Ohio State 59-48 on the second day. The Buckeyes would go on to finish ranked second in the nation in the final AP poll. Cornell finished the '48-'49 season with a disappointing 11-15 record, but would bounce back the following year with an 18-7 finish. Above, the A.P. recaps the first ever Spartan Classic.