The Royce Files

Ben Woodside will be plying his sporting skills this weekend out East front of NBA scouts . Here's who else is there in Portsmouth , VA. I suppose most who are watching these pre-draft talent smorgasbords would wonder why the NBA would even consider a point guard who is 5'11'' especially when there is a load of bigger ones from the big schools. To me the NBA is big and fast. I can't recall many teams that focus on skill. Again, just like the NCAA tournament berth for NDSU, the odds are stacked against him. However, it can't hurt trying. It appears to me that he has the drive and motivation to make it. Scottie Pippen, Ben Wallace, Terry Porter, Sidnet Lowe all played in this tournament and found their way to the NBA . I think the future is bright for Woodside whatever happens. On the flip side, Woodside's cohort, Brett Winkelman, is probably studying and applying for jobs. Maybe he's even thinking of Grad School or a summer trip to Europe. But that's ...

Look what Intramural Glory started! Roane State Community college has a 73 year old guard. Read about it in those New York Times baby! So does IM get a cut of any money made on this venture. I mean it was IM's idea, right? Remember Ace Schoenrock ? So this must be one of those reality becomes even more reality stories.

T onight was the first Bison men's basketball game I saw in almost a year. And both were pretty similar. NDSU won them by wide margins. NDSU had a tight first 5 minutes with the Leathernecks then strolled into some maximum 'leadage.' The final score 86-62 . Ben Woodside put up a lot of baskets and of course Bison Brent did too. With his parents seated behind me, Brent Winkelman cooked up double double of 14 boards and 21 points. Woodside saw much benchtime in the 2nd half after he collected 4 fouls but came away with 20 points. There were a few times throughout the game in which the officials' calls were questionable but I never seem to know why. The Bison seemed to be strong and a bit fast. With their long knee length trunks, I am tempted to compare them to Minnesota phenom Sam Jacobson but the comparison ends short. The Bison are a gritty physical team albeit with a calm demeanor. They punch their way to the basket but are just as capable of hitting from the fiel...

T he penultimate episode of Intramural Glory finds the team coming to terms with the failed expectations as they prepare for their final game. It also seems to be a 2 part conclusion of the the series, but no word on when the conclusion will come or if Humdinger will roll it into a 2nd season. So there's a bit of a cliff at the end. This by far is one of the best episodes of the series. There are so many great commentaries and get this- there's even drama. Yep, the violin would seem to be playing as Ledge attempts to discuss his friends. However, what tops that dramatic display is Shelby. Yep, Shelby comes back with strong performance. In fact it is Mark Anthony like speech to inspire the team which she nails. Too bad the Ledge misinterprets it. I think one could also see the Shelby speech much like the G.I. Joe's "Knowing is Half the Battle" epilogues. The Owen and feral cat caper could be another spin-off show after the confession he makes about handling his an...

W ow. This is the 2nd full episode this month! Once again you can find it on the Intramural Glory website. I blogged in February about the making of this episode here . Also don't read further if you haven't seen the episode. There are spoilers here. Click here for the latest episode, We're Talkin' About Playoffs. By making a incredible comeback in the previous game, Team Unglaublich land themselves in the playoffs. However, a snowstorm attempts to block their progress and not even the Ledge can prevent that. Well, maybe if he had a weather machine. So the team is missing a few players, notably Owen, Boima, Old Guy, and Rob. Kyle makes a surprise visit but cannot be coaxed to play. The Cougar attack saga is still being milked. To try to get to the bottom of things Shelby hires a detective. However, by some miraculous act, Cougar is ready to play. I don't think he contributes much during the game but he certainly gets lots of face time in this episode. So does thi...

Intramural Glory returns again with an episode on its own website: http://www.intramuralglory.com If the episode's title is any indication, then we're in for an epic dramatic climax following the "brutal" attack on Cougar. Well, I'm not sure there was a moment of clarity much less truth. Maybe Owen's moments may have represented something akin to a super villain considering his wrongs and turning around. Whatever the case, Team Umglaubich won. This episode continues to follow the players' antics with Shelby, a spiritual guide, Owen's parole officer, and April the sports psychologist, interspersed with the actual game. I must admit I was wrong about Shelby also being the psychologist. Clearly they are 2 different people. Shelby and April also appeared in a shot together. But where have I seen April before? She almost reminds me of a former classmate of mine name Tara Mandich. Ah, what does the world care? So they win and probably make it to the playoffs...

The producers of Intramural Glory decided to push back a YouTube release of the latest episode and instead released from their own website: www.intramuralglory.com In addition to the release from their own site there is also a contest/feedback thingie going on. $50 dollars of something will be won by some lucky viewer. Maybe an expense paid date with Bobby Ledge. Nevertheless, our latest episode finds the Team Unglaublich trying some new approaches to get primed to make a push for the play-offs. So far their on court performances have been lackluster. Leave it to distant ownership to bring in a psychologist and a spiritist in addition to having Shelby lecture on good manners to prepare the team to win. Coach McCue cannot believe it. Owen's parole officer also makes an appearance and the Ledge has been sheared. And to top it all, a mystery assailant whacks Cougar. This is a pretty beefy episode. I almost expect there to be outtakes coming sometime. Great ensemble performance. I...

Owen gets his own one shot feature in "Thug Love" Although not as complex as the Ledge, Owen is shown living a life of suburban elitist thuggery at its best. As the team's Thug, Owen certainly throws around his brawn. He, however, has not featured much in the soap opera portions. I think mostly because Ledge has been running the show. This could change I believe. I can only imagine Owen stating emphatically- "The Ledge has reached his pinnacle, its time to fall." He would say all this while brandishing a chain saw. My one question, however, how much love is there for Owen? We see the same thugish moment again in this special as has been seen thrice before: Owen goes ballistic on some cowardly opponent. 3 years in the pen and that is all he can do? Or is Owen's thuggery not often caught on camera? What redeems this Thug in my mind are his adulatory comments from the Ace Schonrock special concerning how to block a shot. He kind of seems like a friendly thug as...

S ince episode 5 premieres today I need to post my review of episode 4 of the epic basketball documentry Intramural Glory . Things are looking up for Team Unglaublich although Kyle is out indefinitely. In this installment he claims he will be making a comeback but we'll have to see about that. For insurance GM Kevin brings in Matt, a former All-American Division III player. I met up with Matt a few weeks ago. He doesn't say much. Unlike Ledge, his play does the talking. Not to get down on Ledge, he brings a certain attitude that a team needs to crush the opposition before and after the game. During the game, I am not sure Ledge turns his tude into points, rebounds or assists. Probably the biggest highlight is that Team U actually wins! Has this pack of Internet chosen ballers has now broken ground to emerge as a dominant team? Perhaps. Coach McCue may liken it to directing a soap opera/circus rather than ascending the road to glory. Now for some pseudo-awards: Best Scene- Coug...

T his past Saturday I had the opportunity to catch the last Bison Men's Basketball game of the season. The Bison overcame the Mastadons of the abbreviated school of IPFW which is Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne. NDSU won without the Mastadons putting up much a fight. I arrived at the game a 1/3 through the first half and they were up by 5. Final score was 73-57. Although they won, State did not appear sharp until later in the 2nd half. Both teams were racking up turnovers and missing some easy field goals. It was nothing like that Wisconsin game last year. Senior Andre Smith bid farewell with a slam dunk with a little over a minute to play in the game. Smith has been the poster boy of most of the Bison basketball marketing. The win gave NDSU 20 wins for a season that feature competition ranging from Mayville State to Texas Tech. The Bison held there own against the big guns and really made headlines when they defeated Marquette in December. I went to the game primarily because I had no...

I f you haven't seen the latest edition of Intramural Glory , you should. The rag tag Internet voted squad finally takes it to the hole in their first game but with disasterous results. Indeed, the team chemistry is not cohesive. Boima and Ledge are at their best when their mouths are open not when on the court. One team member gets injuried in pre-game warm-ups and the Old Guy probably has more than birthday party committments that prevent him from attending. After reviewing the footage here's my kudos for best performances: Shelby- best performance. discomfort and cringing provided the most excellent symbolism of the game. Rob - best line of the episode. Kyle - best supporting actor. I can't get enough of Kyle. He exudes a subtle but palatable angst in his performances. For those of you wanting to see more of Danny Myers , he only get's 3 seconds of face time and numerous uncredited back views.