The next great rivalry?

If you think too much about the Cardinal is not quite enough, you'll enjoy this feast of hyperbole and speculations about the upcoming Stanford vs Connecticut game.

Graham Hays (ESPN) writes, in part:

While winters no longer include the formerly familiar annual clash between Tennessee and Connecticut, the two best teams in the country are ready to continue what fortune and the NCAA tournament have turned into a regular tradition across five meetings in the past six seasons.

The involved parties will say all the right things about a game that settles nothing.

For the rest of us, the fun of it is in settling nothing. And for at least the current contract spanning this season and next, it's a rivalry that will only help the sport get better. Read more...

John Altavilla (Hartford Courant), "While some wonder whether Tennessee and UConn will ever resolve their issues and resume their series, the Huskies and Stanford appear close to a long-term relationship that might someday rival it." He reports that Geno and Tara are both in favor of extending the home-and-home series beyond 2010. Read more...

Jim Fuller (Register Citizen) reports that the players are getting fired up about the game. They leave the big picture talk, the speculation of how the result of the game will impact the national landscape to those more inclined to ponder such things.

Maya said, "I don’t know how to label stuff as rivalries, we just go out and play against who we are [scheduled] to play against. Stanford is a great team and it is going to be fun."

Nneka said, “They are good competition, I am really excited to play against them ... [it] will only make us better. You learn things when you win or lose." Read more...

Roger Cleaveland (Republican American), " ... finding meaningful comparisons that might lead you to believe the opposition could play the Huskies competitively has proved hopeless in the past 14 months. Such is not the case regarding Wednesday’s game against No. 2 Stanford due to one “big” reason: post presence."

"While UConn may have the best center in the country in 6-foot-4 senior All-American Tina Charles, the Cardinal arguably have the best overall post presence in 6-4 senior center Jayne Appel, 6-2 sophomore power forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike and 6-4 small forward Kayla Pedersen."

He suggests that the Huskies’ can neutralize some of Stanford’s size and low post presence by making the Cardinal run up and down the court. (My opinion, "I don't think that's going to work.") Read more...

Jim Fuller (New Haven Register) writes, "Now comes the fun part ... the UConn faithful finally get to see their Huskies get tested." His UConn/Stanford breakdown includes a mid-November scouting report from Charli Turner Thorne. Read more...

Jake Curtis, "Is this Tara VanDerveer’s best Stanford team ever?" He proposes that the game against UConn may determine the answer. If the Cardinal loses, but makes a game of it, the question will continue to be asked. If the Cardinal wins, it will be considered Tara's best team ever — until it loses, that is. Read more...

Scott Ostler (SF Chronicle), "Best Stanford team ever? We'll know more Wednesday after the Cardinal play No. 1 Connecticut, on UConn's court. We already know this might be VanDerveer's gutsiest team, starting with the coach."

He continues with a discussion of Tara's scheduling this tough stretch of games in preparation for, "The East Coast and Southern bullies that Stanford will have to face in the NCAAs." Read more...