St. John's and Steve Lavin

Steve Lavin, fun ex coach of UCLA (particularly compared to Ben Howland) is in charge of St. John's.  Now normally I wouldn't mention this now as of the Nincomopoopery Curse.  However, I have already done so with Steve and St. John's so he seems impervious to it.
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Steve has done the impossible.
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Made the New York Times treat the team like a local sports team.  By that I mean that the New York Times, whose sports section rivals those of the Paducha Gazette and the Oshkosh Weekly Reader, is pumped about a local school.
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It is a kick to see this city behind the gutty little Red Men.
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As for Ben Howland, Offense Wins Games, Defense Wins Conferences and then craters in the Final Four.  He has wonderfully resolved this by staying far far away from the Final Four now.
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Yes, I do not like Ben.