Pirate Galaxy » underestimate a team with so much resour

Over a two-week span, were answering the following question for college basketballs 10 best conferences: Which venue in each conference is the toughest place to play? A number of factors beyond capacity and attendance could affect a venues place in the order. Where does your school fall?Fans who frequent the arenas of the West Coast Conference generally can become part of the game. Most of the venues are small enough that there really are not any nosebleed seats. And they are by and large intimate enough that the banter between coaches, players and officials can be heard too. What that really means is that the crowd can be heard and felt and make a difference in the game.10. San Diego Toreros: Jenny Craig Pavilion, opened in 2000 Like everything in San Diego -- it looks really nice. It blends in with the rest of the campus 16th century Spanish Renaissance architecture. Not only could you picture yourself playing for the Toreros, you might even picture yourself living in the gym. Thats not so good though, when it comes to creating a difficult environment for opponents. The pavilion is usually at its best when USD reaches out to surrounding Naval bases and midshipmen men and women dressed in uniform fill the upper bowl. But its not an intimidating place.Fun fact: The Jenny Craig Pavilion played host to the Super Bowl XXXVII luncheon. Meal portions did not come with a calorie counter.9. Loyola Marymount Lions: Gersten Pavilion, opened in 1981 The LMU band, which occupies one end of the floor behind the basket, might be the best band in the conference. When the Lions have a game that becomes an event, few arenas can pack it in and do it better. Los Angeles being what it is, the crowds can be hit or miss. Historically, Gersten has been a difficult place to play and when the team improves the environment is likely to follow.Fun fact: Hanks House is the unofficial name of Gersten Pavilion as a tribute to former LMU star forward Hank Gathers, who led the NCAA in scoring and rebounding the 1988-89 season. (Gathers died in 1990). Gathers (44) and Bo Kimble (30) have the only retired jerseys that hang in the pavilion.8. Pacific Tigers: Spanos Center, opened in 1981 The Spanos Center is a gym opponents have come to loathe. When the 6,150-seat arena isnt packed, it can have the look and feel like playing in a big, empty place. The lighting isnt the best in the league either, and that darker backdrop can sometimes lull an opponent to sleep.Fun fact: The center is named after Alex G. Spanos, the owner of the NFLs San Diego Chargers, who is a Pacific alumnus.7. Pepperdine Waves, Firestone Fieldhouse, opened in 1973 No one can blame Pepperdine students or alumni from stopping short of packing Firestone Fieldhouse. After all, scenic Alumni Park that overlooks the Pacific Ocean is situated before approaching the building. Basketball game, or picnic and chill? Tough call. Not to mention Pepperdine isnt an easy drive from Los Angeles. Thats why those who do make it inside really want to be there. Many in the student spirit group, nicknamed Riptide, sport orange jumpsuits to the game and their presence is making it an increasingly tough place to visit.Fun fact: The biggest crowd to pack the fieldhouse was 4,500 in Pepperdines 93-91 upset of No. 3 UNLV on Feb. 6, 1976.6. Portland Pilots: Chiles Center, opened in 1984 Portland is the second-smallest school in the league and participation in the student section isnt always where it needs to be. (During the 2009-10 season, the Pilots had beaten Oregon, UCLA and Minnesota and were returned home ranked No. 25. They drew only 2,413 against Portland State and lost 86-82.) The program has to work hard just to maintain a connection with the city itself, but the NBAs Blazers could be a reason why it hasnt fully happened.Fun fact: It could be said that former President Ronald Reagan scored first in the arena, giving a speech three days after it officially opened. The basketball team did not play in it until a month later.5. Santa Clara Broncos: Leavey Center, opened in 1975 The Leavey Center is considered one of the best arenas in the league and Santa Clara just added a touch to make it more distinct. The playing court now includes a stained painting of the universitys iconic Mission Church.Fun fact: The Leavey Center was originally called Toso Pavilion when it opened and it featured an air-supported roof similar to Syracuses Carrier Dome. (The Pontiac Silverdome and the former RCA Dome in Indianapolis had similar bubbled roofs.) The building was renovated in 2000, deflating the leaky roof for good.4. San Francisco Dons: War Memorial at Sobrato Center opened in 1958 Formerly known as War Memorial Gymnasium, the arena was built on the strength of the Dons back-to-back national titles in 1955 and 1956. The oldest gym in the league is currently getting a much-needed facelift. Construction began in May to upgrade the facility. When its packed, it can be as loud as any venue in the West Coast Conference.Fun fact: John A. Sobrato, a real estate developer whos $15 million gift made renovations possible, is actually a graduate of Santa Clara.3. Saint Marys Gaels: McKeon Pavilion, opened in 1978 The place is a pressure cooker. Saint Marys could build a bigger arena than its 3,500-seat venue and fill it. (Construction will begin this month to expand it an additional 500 seats.) But its special as it stands. Its an old school kind of venue that gets hot fast and can make opponents feel like the walls are closing in. The Gaels blast Keltic music and with their successful recruiting pipeline into Australia, its not out of the ordinary to be heckled with an Aussie saying.Fun fact: The Gaels played on McKeon Pavilions original floor from 1978 to 2004, which gave them a bit of a home-court advantage when dead spots occurred due to its free-floating placement. The updated floor, made of first-grade Maple, features an anchored system that eliminated the dead spots.2. BYU Cougars: Marriott Center, opened in 1971 The Marriott Center used to be the largest on-campus arena west of the Mississippi River and the oldest in the nation with a capacity of more than 20,000. But with renovations and upgrades through the years -- including changing some bleacher seats to chairbacks -- capacity is now listed at 18,987. Regardless of the configuration, the crowd is still rowdy and what separates it from other venues is the Marriott Center does not sell beer or alcohol.Fun fact: The Cougars played on the Marriott Centers original floor until 2006. During the final game before the courts upgrade, they retired the jersey of Kresimir Cosic, who played in the first game on the arenas floor.1. Gonzaga Bulldogs: McCarthey Athletic Center, opened in 2004 No question the magic that vaulted the Bulldogs from mid-major to a perennial top-25 program in the old Martin Centre continued when they opened the new Kennel a dozen years ago. Gonzaga consistently pops up among the nations longest home win streaks and it owns a .926 winning percentage in the 6,000-seat arena. One opposing assistant coach said Gonzagas students had the best hecklers in the league during pregame warm-ups.Fun fact: Every game played in the McCarthey Center has been a sellout for the Bulldogs, who currently have sold out 208 consecutive home games dating to 2003. Evan Engram Jersey . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. Custom Ny Giants Jerseys . At a Manhattan federal court hearing, attorney Jordan Siev said his law office has gotten more evidence nearly every day to support its lawsuit accusing MLB and Selig of going on a "witch hunt" to ruin Rodriguezs reputation and career. He said the defendants went "way over the line. http://www.giantsonlineteamshop.com/dexter-lawrence-jersey-cheap.html . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Deandre Baker Jersey .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. Daniel Jones Giants Jersey . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes Ferrari has dedicated a lot of its resource this year to an assault on the title in 2017.Ferraris challenge to Mercedes has faded as the season has progressed, but with big regulation changes looming this winter each team has had to decide how to divide resources between 2016 and 2017. Wolff thinks Ferrari may have toned down its development of its current car to use its wind tunnel time and CFD capacity to develop next years challenger.No, I dont think you can write Ferrari off, they have clearly had a tough time most recently, Wolff said when asked if he thought Mercedes and Red Bull would be the teams to beat in 2017. I think they [Ferrari] switched off [2016 development] very early to focus on 2017.Never underestimate a team with so much resources and so much passion.Wolff said it is important for Formula One to have cclose competition at the front of the grid after he expectedmore of a challenge from Ferrari this year.dddddddddddde need to be fair sportsmen and Formula One lives because of the great battles between drivers and teams. Ferrari is a great brand with capable people and it would have been good fun to fight it out on track. For whatever reason they have not been able in the most recent races to reach the levels they expected to perform and we expect to perform, but I cant really look into it in detail and I dont know the reasons.For me, a battle with Ferrari would be great for F1 and, even if this sounds a little bit absurd, I was really looking forward to it and I hope they find their strength again and we fight it out on track. ' ' '