{"id":898,"date":"2010-06-14T21:15:22","date_gmt":"2010-06-15T01:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=898"},"modified":"2010-06-14T21:15:22","modified_gmt":"2010-06-15T01:15:22","slug":"rhode-island-rams-2010-caa-football-preview-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=898","title":{"rendered":"Rhode Island Rams: 2010 CAA Football Preview #3"},"content":{"rendered":"

JMUSB presents a special treat for our third preview, an interview with senior\u00a0Rhode Island\u00a0correspondent, native “Newpsie”,\u00a0and proud JMU alum, our friend G.G.\u00a0 But first:<\/p>\n

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No way to go but up.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Basics:<\/p>\n

It has to be said that The University of Rhode Island Rams are one of the perenial bottom-feeders in CAA football.\u00a0 URI, athletically most famous for Lamar Odom’s brief stay, is mostly undersized and slow, but they do return a ton of starters (18) and should be slightly better than last year.\u00a0 Of course, last year they were 1-10, 0-8 in the CAA, and they managed to do that while avoiding the mighty Dukes, a feat that thanks to the schedule hocus-pocus needed in the wake of Hofstra and Northeastern’s departures they’ve managed to do again.\u00a0 We could go really in depth, but Towson’s getting better and the Rams will be out of it before Sailing season’s even over in Kingston, pluse we’ve got an interview to get to.<\/p>\n

The Fear: <\/strong>JMUSB does have one serious fear about URI, namely that they are a serious risk to follow Northeastern and Hofstra in the “cheap-assed, CAA North schools that are missing the football bandwagon and dropping football” trend.\u00a0 Even with ODU and Ga. State coming on board soon, the seemingly realistic possiblity of Liberty, and the “slightly” more pie-in-the-sky possibilities involving JMU in FBS, it’s a major concern to see the CAA struggling to keep afloat for football and we’d hate to lose the Rams, another school like UMass with a large enough student population and alumi base that you’d think they could hang in there.<\/p>\n

2010 Outlook: <\/strong>2-9, 0-8 \u00a0CAA, good thing Fordham and Brown are on the schedule.\u00a0 Basically, the Spauldingesque boys from RhodeI will\u00a0get nothing and like it.<\/p>\n

Without further ado: here’s my conversation with URI insider and friend of the SB G.G.:<\/p>\n

1) How would you describe student support for URI football?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>URI still has a football team.
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\n2) How would you describe community support for URI football?\u00a0 <\/strong>See response to #1.
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\n3) Can you name a current URI player?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>No.
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\n4) Can you name any former URI players?\u00a0 <\/strong>No.
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\n5) What is more likely, Rams discontinue football or have a winning season?\u00a0 <\/strong>Based on response to #1, I’ll go with\u00a0discontinue.
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\n6) Over\/Under on 3 for the number of years before URI drops football?\u00a0 <\/strong>Under.
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\n7) Can you give a top five items on the Newport\/Kingston sports landscape?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>a. Newport Gulls – great semipro baseball team plays in Historic Cardines field.\u00a0 Check it out.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 b. great golf, including one of the first clubs in America, Newport Country Club
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 c. sailing, the word is that the America’s Cup might be coming back
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 d. The International Tennis Hall of Fame on Bellevue Ave.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 e. Corn Hole at the Beach
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\n8) Bigger deal statewide – URI bball or Providence bball?\u00a0 <\/strong>No good answer to this.\u00a0 I’m a URI guy, but would root for Providence in the Rams absence were they to make it.\u00a0 And Jim Donaldson sucks!<\/p>\n

Now G.G., get your foot off the boat!<\/strong><\/p>\n