Day of the Dolphin

It seems to happen every year at the beginning of the college basketball season.
Every season, some unheralded, unsuspecting NCAA Division II team will jump up and shock a big-time Division I team, causing a national stir while creating some badly-need publicity and ESPN highlights for their programs.
Last night, tiny LeMoyne College knocked off cross-town powerhouse Syracuse 82-79 in a preseason game at the Carrier Dome. I lived in Syracuse many moons ago and I've witnessed a few Syracuse-LeMoyne tussles over the years, but nothing like this.
Christopher Johnson became the darling of ESPN Sportscenter with his last-second 3-pointer, which was his sixth of the game, to give the Dolphins a victory that will be talked about in town for many years. The cover of the 2011 LeMoyne media guide is already set in stone.
It was a shocking upset to see a Top 25 team lose to a Division II school, especially one from their own back yard, but it has happened before. You can always count on at least one of these "little brothers" biting big brother in the butt during the preseason.
Last season, Southwest Baptist, a Division II school in Bolivar, Mo., upset Utah on the road. At the beginning of the 2007-08 season, Division II Grand Valley State stunned Big Ten power Michigan State in East Lansing.
Many of these Division I programs have Division I caliber players, especially the top ones. Toss in the motivation of playing against a major college power and their probable lack of focus and the 3-point shot and you have the potential for all kinds of early-season madness.
It happens folks.