Friday 4 September 2009

Chattanooga Trip Preview; Mocs suspend player

Chattanooga visits the GTA this coming weekend beginning with a game Saturday at noon against U of T Varsity Blues. The Mocs as they are known have had heavy roster turnover from last season as Head Coach John Shulman looks to develop a rotation.

The first article is from gomocs.com and previews Chattanooga's trip to Toronto. Another article is from a local Chattanooga newspaper and talks about a player suspension.

Mocs get head start on 2009-10 season

Some may think it is football time in Tennessee, but it is basketball time in Toronto, Canada as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball program heads north of the border for a four-game-in-three-day tour of the international city. The Mocs depart Chattanooga at 4:30 p.m., on Friday with a scheduled return around 9:43 p.m., on Monday. This keeps the student-athletes from missing a single class.

It also gives a team with no returning starters a jump start on preparing to defend its Southern Conference title in 2009-10. With 10 days of practice to prepare and four games, the Mocs will get a clear picture of what they need to do when practice begins in earnest in October.

This trip is not only basketball. Toronto is one of the world's great cities. Staying downtown gives the Mocs a wealth of cultural opportunities. The team will also take in a major league baseball game with the Toronto Blue Jays hosting the New York Yankees on Sunday afternoon.

Founded on the north shore of Lake Ontario in 1834, Toronto is the largest city in Canada with a population of 2.4 million in the city, and 4.7 million in the greater metropolitan area. Fun Facts about Toronto (from rotmancommerce.com):

One quarter of Canada's population lives within a 160 km radius of Toronto
There are 100 +languages spoken throughout the city

Over half of Toronto's labor force has a university degree or college diploma
Toronto is Canada's number one tourist destination

Toronto is the largest and most important financial center in all of Canada and the fourth largest in North America. Only New York, Chicago and Los Angeles are larger.

North America's largest continuous underground pedestrian system PATH, connects about 1200 stores and restaurants, 50 office towers, five subway stations, Union Station, six major hotels and several entertainment centers under Toronto's financial core.

Yonge Street is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest street in the world, stretching 1,896 km from the lakeshore in Toronto, north to Rainy River, Ontario, near the Minnesota border.

Toronto is home to one of the world's tallest free-standing structures, the CN Tower standing 1,815 feet (553 meters) tall.

Toronto is the third largest center for English language theatre in the world, behind New York and London.

Toronto's public transit system is the second largest in North America and has the highest per capita ridership rate on the continent.

The Toronto Zoo is home to more than 5,000 animals.

Many of today's famous movie stars hail from Toronto and the GTA including Jim Carrey, Mike Myers and Eugene Levy.

About 25% of films produced in Hollywood are actually filmed in Toronto, making it North America's 3rd largest TV and movie production venue.

The Caribana parade is the largest single-day parade and largest Caribbean festival in North America.

Toronto is North America's 5th-largest city after Mexico City, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago

The Mocs will play four games in three days beginning with the University of Toronto on Saturday at Noon. The schedule for the weekend:

Sat., Sept. 5: University of Toronto, Noon
Sat., Sept. 5: York University, 8 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 6: University of Guelph, 8 p.m.
Mon., Sept. 7: Sheridan College, 11 a.m.

GoMocs.com will chronicle the trip throughout the weekend. Scores will posted in the scrolling marquee at the top of the home page, while each day will include a blog-like entry featuring Mocs student-athletes.

QUICK FACTS:

University of Toronto
http://www.varsityblues.ca/index.aspx?skip=true
Nickname: Varsity Blues
Enrollment: 50,159 (full-time/includes three campuses)
2008-09 Record: 16-8

York University
http://www.yorku.ca/sprtyork/interuniversity_sport/teams/index.htm
Nickname: Lions
Enrollment: 45,890
2008-09 Record: 8-16

University of Guelph
http://www.athletics.uoguelph.ca/
Nickname: Gryphones
Enrollment: 18,616
2008-09 Record: 10-12

Sheridan College Institute of Technology
http://www1.sheridaninstitute.ca/services/athletics/
Nickname: Bruins
Enrollment: 50,000 (two campuses)
2008-09 Record: 24-8

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UTC’s Shulman suspends senior from basketball team

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball coach John Shulman has suspended senior forward Ty Patterson for academic reasons.

Patterson will not travel with the Mocs on an exhibition trip to Canada this weekend or any road games during the fall.

Shulman declined to give the exact nature of Patterson’s situation.

“Some people don’t handle success very well,” Shulman said. “Ty is paying a steep price that goes beyond missing this trip and eight games.”

See Saturday’s Times Free Press for more UTC basketball coverage.

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