TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

As we approach almost three full years of the "10 Questions" feature, we have reached the century mark - 100 big ones, meaning 1,000 questions and responses. So we will kick off this special edition with a couple of (trivia) questions for you, the loyal reader.

Who is the only person to have been interviewed twice for the "10 Questions"?

Who are the only current head coaches to have never been featured in the "10 Questions"?
Answers at the bottom.

And now, without further ado… the Best of the "10 Questions" (albeit with an occasional running commentary). We will go through them in chronological order. There was lots of sorting, but the following were all chosen for one reason or another. The first because of the excellent investigative reporting on display…

Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe, Women's Basketball (November 19, 2001)
It's a tradition for you to wear long socks for games. What is the story behind that?
I'm always one to be different. I'm not going to wear the same things everyone else is going to wear, ever. It started in Hawaii, and I have no idea why, because it's so hot over there. It's fun to wear them and it's become a bit of a trademark now, so there's no turning back from that.

Now, the "10 Questions" karma begins here. You cannot begin to explain it and you will never comprehend its powers - you just acknowledge its very existence.

Kyle Cerminara, Wrestling (March 14, 2002)
There's a chance you could face a guy like Cael Sanderson - who is a three-time NCAA Champion that has never lost a collegiate match - at some point in this tournament. What would that be like for you?
I'd love to take on a guy like Cael Sanderson. Only 32 people in the country have a shot at doing that right now, and I'm one of them. To have the opportunity to beat the best college wrestler would be a great honor.

Of course, Kyle got the chance to face Cael Sanderson in the second round of the NCAA Championships that year. Sanderson went on to complete his perfect collegiate career, but in the process Kyle got a chance to be interviewed on ESPN's SportsCenter. Two years later, Kyle had another memorable experience at the NCAA Championships, becoming UB's first-ever male Division I All-American. If Kyle wants to come back for some more karma before his run at a National Championship during his senior season, we would be more than willing to help out.

Allison Bennett, Women's Basketball (December 23, 2002)
You once scored 51 points in a game at Kenton Ridge High School. Describe that performance.
It was senior night and my last home game. I got to play with my younger sister, who was a freshman. That was a great opportunity. I hit a couple of three-pointers in the beginning and the game really just had the feel of an ordinary night. In the fourth quarter, I hit some more threes and my coach said something like, "See how many you can hit." I wound up with eight three-pointers. It was an exciting night and an awesome experience. Everyone on my team was on that night.

The power of the karma continues. Allison simply mentioned her sister, and two years later during the same month she was interviewed (coincidence, we think not) her sister Stephanie signed on to play at UB. The two will not only have played together in high school, but collegiately as well - largely due to the help from "10 Questions."

This next response proved to be foreshadowing as well, but we selected it because of the way that Gary Cooper said it.

Gary Cooper, Wrestling (January 16, 2003)
Entering the New York State Championships, you have 100 career victories. That puts you within striking distance of the school's all-time mark. How much significance does that have to you?
Records are nice, but there is always a goal at the end of the season that you are working towards. Each day is geared towards winning a Mid-American Conference title and then later becoming an All-American. But it is nice to be close to a record as prestigious as that. I feel that it's something that will be broken in the next few years anyways, but it's nice to raise the bar for someone else.

Gary did wind up with a school-record 113 victories, but he was right about just raising the bar for someone else. Kyle Cerminara - who had 41 wins this past season - will need only 16 during his senior year to break that mark.

Next, "10 Questions" stretches into a world of controversy. Always unafraid to ask the difficult question, we asked Tyler Balentine to weigh in on the always volatile aluminum versus wooden bats issue.

Tyler Balentine, Baseball (April 14, 2003)
Some summer collegiate leagues are wooden-bat leagues. How much does that favor the pitcher and what are your thoughts regarding the aluminum-bat controversy in the NCAA?
The wooden bats are a pitcher's dream. It is just a huge advantage, especially when the hitters aren't used to using them. You can throw inside quite a bit more, trying to break their bats. Also, since the balls don't take off as much from the bats, the homerun numbers are down. It makes the pitcher a lot more confident. I think they should go to some kind of a wooden-composite bat at the college level to make it safer and to keep the scoring down.

We would not have expected a pitcher to have any other point of view. Keeping with the commentaries on important issues, there was no better person to comment on Annika Sorenstam's invitation to a Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) event than Nan Harvey, UB's Senior Woman Administrator/Associate Athletic Director who has been missed greatly at Buffalo since passing away in September of 2003.

Nan Harvey (June 23, 2003)
What is your view of Annika Sorenstam's recent competition on the PGA Tour?
I was thrilled that Annika was given a sponsor's exemption to play in a PGA tournament that consisted of the best golfers in the world. She obviously belongs in that company and was brave to withstand the media scrutiny and naysayers - truly a pioneering effort. The real benefit realized is the attention that she can bring to the sport of women's golf in general. Not only did she impress some male golf fans, I believe she may have inspired some female spectators to take an interest in the game. I'm sure there are some wives out there, who watch men's golf on television with their husbands, that saw Annika play and might now have an interest in playing, too. I was extremely disappointed that she didn't make the cut, because I would have loved for her to get even more media exposure in the Saturday and Sunday rounds. I was also particularly impressed by professionalism and graciousness of her playing partners.

There is no debating the fact that athletics at UB have undergone a major change in recent years. And who better to comment on that process than Assistant Athletic Director for Development Andy Hurley, who was also a defensive back for the Bulls in 1983 and 1984.

Andy Hurley (July 23, 2003)
How significantly has the structure of UB's athletic program changed since your playing days?
The change in the athletic program from my days as a student-athlete has been dramatic. Perhaps the difference can best be demonstrated by relaying a quick story. In my first season on the UB football team, we played an away game against Norwich, located in Vermont. I remember boarding a yellow "cheese box" bus with no bathrooms. About halfway through the 10-hour trip, we stopped for our pregame meal at McDonald's, where we had to pay for ourselves! Although travel remains an issue today - and by no means do our teams travel in luxury - I'm quite certain (football head coach) Jim Hofher and his team's travel experiences won't match the Spartan-like conditions of 20 years ago. There are many other aspects of that trip and our experiences back then that depict the stark contrast of the athletic program then and now. Yet, it is important to note that the Division III experience was a necessary step to the Division I status we enjoy today. I hope our student-athletes of today appreciate the sacrifices made by many during that era so that they can now compete at the highest level. In turn, all athletes from that period should feel as much ownership in the program today as any former-athlete in UB's history.

Some may argue that "10 Questions" has also undergone a series of changes. Most notably, the creative innovations are never ending. If you have any doubts, look no further than the following excerpt from a groundbreaking interview with not one, but two Russells.

Devon and Emily Russell, Women's Soccer (September 15, 2003)
Emily, you play forward, while Devon is a defender. How did the two of you wind up playing different positions?
Emily: I think it's something that started when we first began playing - she was on defense and I was on offense. She would move the ball up from her position to me and then I would score. (laughing)
Devon: It's all about teamwork. We always say, "You can't go wrong with a Russell on each end of the field." (laughing)

Another example of "10 Questions" going the extra mile for its readers would be when it educates them. "10 Questions" can speak more than one language my friends - how many other features can do that? Word has it that when Yassin Idbihi read over his set of "10 Questions," he was pleasantly surprised to see the brilliant addition (that's "l'addition brilliante" in French) that we added to it.

Yassin Idbihi, Men's Basketball (March 1, 2004)
Of the six languages that you speak, do you have a favorite? Have you gotten the chance to speak all six since coming to UB?
Moroccan is my favorite because it's the one I grew up with. It's the one that I refer back to when I am speaking other languages. I have been able to speak it a "shouia" (little bit) in Buffalo with some people I met from Morocco. Since being at UB, I met some "la gente" (people) from Latin America and spoke Spanish with them and I met some people from French Canada and "ai parlé" (spoke) French with them. Most of the time though, I am speaking English.

Though we went through this Best of the "10 Questions" in chronological order, the best has still been saved for last. Commenting on the wide scope of UB athletics, baseball head coach Bill Breene shows a selflessness that cannot be described - so why try? Here is what he had to offer.

Bill Breene, Baseball (March 22, 2004)
As a head coach, how often do you draw upon your near 15-year experience as an administrator in collegiate athletics?
I can use that experience to obtain a more realistic conclusion as to how the program is progressing. By that I mean not only baseball, but UB's athletic program in general. For example, I truly believe and understand that the investment needs to be made in our football and basketball programs, even if it is - for the time being - at the expense of baseball and other non-revenue programs. I think that UB needs to continue its commitment to the basketball and football programs and give them the resources to be successful. I have been here 16 years, and the last few weeks of the basketball season were absolute proof that if you put a competitive program out there, this community will support it. With that comes a new revenue stream, which eventually helps out the other programs. As a former administrator, I truly understand the goal of our current athletic administration. What (men's basketball head coach) Reggie Witherspoon did was fantastic. I hope not only our athletic administration, but also the campus administration sees that they are going to need the resources to be competitive on a national scale. I always look at things optimistically and know that eventually a sport like baseball - which is one of the six sponsored sports by the MAC - will have its time at UB. I know that eventually there will be an increase in scholarships and even more improvements made to our facility.

So there you have it, the Best of the "10 Questions." Hopefully we did not leave any of your favorites out. It is now time to thank the athletes, coaches and administrators who have taken the time to make "10 Questions" happen. A special thanks goes out to Melissa Wildt, who has never missed a beat in posting each and every set of "10 Questions." And also a final thanks goes out to the UB Athletic Communications Office staff. Paul Hokanson came up with the nifty Best of the "10 Questions" graphic on the homepage, while Paul Vecchio, Heidi Roth and Jon Fuller were always there to come up with a question when needed.

Now here are the answers to the trivia questions.

Who is the only person to have been interviewed twice for the "10 Questions"?
Football head coach Jim Hofher