Jan. 25, 2007

By David Scott

Special to CSTV.com

This week's debut subject for "Game Faces" is Iona head coach, Jeff Ruland, whose Gaels have become a bit of a national story with an 0-19 record and the distinction of being the nation's lone winless team. Last season, the Gaels won the MAAC Tournament, went 23-8 and fell to eventual Final Four participant LSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Very rarely can sports talk radio provide a cathartic and therapeutic remedy for that which ails you. The medium mostly just encourages yelling, boasting and juvenile joking.

But on Wednesday afternoon at WFAN 660 AM in New York City, Iona coach Jeff Ruland found both catharsis and therapy with Doctors Francesca and Russo, or as they are more commonly known, "Mike and the Mad Dog."

In the midst of what the New York tabs have now dubbed a "20-game" losing streak (including the Gaels' first round loss last year in the NCAAs), Ruland was a guest of the show - and his pal, Russo - and was given the chance to explain just how bad it is to lose so many, so often, and so closely. (Three of the last four Gael games have been overtime losses.)

Ruland was comical after Russo kept harping on the number of losses...

Russo: "Nineteen straight, Jeff?"

Ruland: "Yeah, Doggy I'm well aware of that."

Russo: ". . . but 19? Wow!"

Ruland: "I heard you the first time."

. . . And he was dead serious as well:

"Listen, I woke up in a hospital bed at 28 and (because of knee injuries) was told my NBA career was over. I went back to school, got my degree, got into coaching. . . My (first) marriage fell apart - my ex-wife will be five years sober in February, a recovering alcoholic who goes around the country speaking. I've been through some things. My mother didn't raise a quitter."

No, she didn't. And she didn't raise a fool either. Much of what Ruland is now doing is deflecting criticism (and embarrassment) from his players, and also controlling the message - while simultaneously getting more exposure for his program - which is what he is hired to do, after all. He can even take the wrath of "liquid courage(d)" heckler who recently received an extended stare-down from the grizzly bear coach.

"I haven't lost too many brawls. . .There will be a lot more wins in the future," he bellows before going Broadway Joe with The Fans listeners. "The light will shine again in New Rochelle. We're going to break through. . . I've got two more years to go after this (on his existing contract). I will cut down the nets again before I leave.

"Book it, it will happen."

Now may be a good time to let you in on a little Ruland history.

First of, it's "Rules." As in, his rules, his ways, his own private turmoil. Simply put, he rules.

A man of Ruland's background should be able to rule, of course. He played in the NBA at a height (6-10) and weight (240) and a time period (the Dr. J `80s) that made him both memorable and mentionable. He has had sutures in his life, for sure - and not all of them were the medical variety. His knees are indeed a mess, but his life's navigation system is pretty simple: go hard or go home.

This year, the Gaels can't go very hard. They've had injuries, academic woes and, oh yeah, the departure of 5,000 career points from Ruland's NCAA tournament team of a year ago.

So he takes the bullets, the backstabbing and says things like, "Criticize me, leave the players alone. The kids don't need it. . ." and he answers every question from every inquisitor with a brutal honesty that ensures his post-career broadcast dreams will be realized.

"I talk to everybody, that's my job - it's my team. I'm man enough to own up," Ruland said during the lengthy radio spot. "I can be obnoxious and combative with the best of `em."

But he can also be the face of the university and somehow, in the toughest media market on the planet, maintain respect and attention. Just wait until you see the crush of media at Saturday's home game against league leader, Loyola. There is no bad publicity in recruiting circles - not when they're spelling your name correctly, anyways.

"Over the last 10 years we've got the best winning percentage in the metro (New York) area - we'll be back, everybody can have their laughs now," says the Big Man. "Don't feel too sorry for me, trust me. It's not like we're getting drilled every night by 20, either. We're teaching guys how to win. Next year it will be the biggest turnaround in NCAA history. I really expect all the media to come out then, too. You know I'll be coming out for them."

His profession is such that his brashness now could translate into wins down the road. Maybe not this year, but certainly the next. He can make guarantees, he can yuk it up with Mike and the Mad Dog and he can even gain some attention for his program.

That's how it goes when Rules is Ruling. It's a time and a place when even sports talk radio can start to make sense. And that's saying something.