Sunday, February 27, 2011

I Can Hear the Screaming from Blacksburg All the Way Up Here

You know, for a weekend headlined, advertised, and sold as "Judgement Day" by the media... there really wasn't a whole lot of Earthshattering upsets to happen.  But since we are talking about March implications, lets talk bubble teams that picked up some signature wins this weekend.

Obviously, the biggest upset was unranked Virginia Tech knocking off Duke.  I'm pretty conflicted on this subject.  On one hand, I was raised to dislike Virginia Tech pretty much from birth by the majority of my extended family.  West Virginia and Virginia Tech have had a long standing rivalry, and VT is number two on the list of teams to hate behind Pitt.  On the other hand, Virginia Tech is a team that hasn't caught a lot of breaks lately, and you kind of feel for them as a team.  After all, the law of averages should really come back around and pay them a favor or two in the form of Malcolm Delaney FINALLY making an NCAA tournament.  Looks like I need a tiebreaker.

Virginia Tech passes the eye test, no question.  They should probably be a 9/10 seed based on that alone.  But do they have the resume?  Uhhh... well, not really.  It is true that they now have two top-50 RPI wins (Duke and FSU).  And it's true that while I wouldn't use the word rigorous to describe Virginia Tech's non-conference scheduling, it's definitely good enough to get into the postseason.  These two things (top-50 RPI wins and tough OOC scheduling) are what the committee primarily looks at.  However, here are the faults the committee will find with Virginia Tech:

1. Though they now have two wins, both are from in-conference play.  The committee still certainly looks at at in-conference wins, but they treat them more as a supplement.  They like to see just as many OOC wins in the top 50 as there are in conference (thus showing that you play a non-conference schedule roughly equivalent to your conference's difficulty level, which is obviously relative to each individual team's talent level).  Virginia Tech's OOC top-50 RPI?  Zero.  They lost every major out of conference game they played (Kansas St, UNLV, Purdue).
2.  Bad Losses.  Two to UVA, one to boston college.  Every team usually has a couple bad losses, but Virginia Tech's seem... I don't know. Worse, somehow.

Is Virginia Tech in?  If I was a committee member, not yet.  The Duke win puts them in the conversation, but I think they need one more signature (such as one against UNC in the ACC tournament, should they play) win  to solidify their at large bid. Alternatively, they could win their final two games (at home against 7-7 Boston College and at 8-6 Clemson) and that would most likely stamp their ticket as well.

However, I am not a committee member, and I firmly believe that the bubble is so soft that regardless of how many at large bids are stolen by conference tournament upstarts, the committee will put them in.  They can drop their potential last 3 games (two regular season, one conference tourney) and still be put in, albeit as a 11/12 seed.

The bottom line?  Relax, hokie fans.  You can sleep easy.  I think you'll be dancing in March.



Alright, are there any other big upsets from the weekend?  Well, maybe one (let's not count Baylor- if it's forseeable, it's not that big).  Colorado came from 20 points down in order to edge Texas, who seem to have lost their midseason form.  I would go so far as to say if the national champion was awarded in January, Texas would have won it, and it wouldn't even be close.  Unfortunately for the longhorns, the national champion is crowned in April, and they most likely have seen their potential #1 seed slip after losing to both Nebraska and Colorado in 7 days time.  Once in command of the Big 12, they are now barely in 1st, holding the tiebreaker for 1st over Kansas.  The regular season will be decided when Texas hosts Kansas this week.

But what of Colorado?  Well, they're at .500 in the Big 12.  Will they make the tournament?  Probably not, barring a big run in the big 12 tournament.  Still, they're worth mentioning here as I close out the weekend.  For now, they can enjoy the inevitable hangover of Texas.


This weekend: 15/20
Alltime: 32/42 (.762)

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Rant Time: Let the Mat Decide

This blog is devoted to primarily covering college sports.  By now, most of you likely already know this.  However, since today it my rant day, I’d like to write about what I’m really ready to rant on.  It’s not college basketball.  It’s not a college sport of any kind for that matter.  I will also not be taking a step forward to professional sports either.
In fact, I’m doing just the opposite.  Today, I’m taking a step back to the world of high school wrestling.
 
Perhaps you’ve heard over the course of the last week or so the saga that has unfolded in the heartland of our country.  A fourteen year old freshman in an Iowa high school has become the center of a controversy that hardly limits itself to high school athletics. 

Meet wrestler #1, Cassy Herkelman.  Yes, she’s a girl, and she’s a wrestler.  If you didn’t know that some girls wrestle, now you do.  I happened to know one female wrestler during my time in high school, and it happened to be a girl I was very close with.  She was built very small and wrestled in the smallest division- 104 lbs and under.  She was tough, but she was a girly girl too.  She wore skirts and dresses and had routinely had sleepovers with her girlfriends.  Cassy Herkelman is no such girl.  She’s broken her collarbone and done severe damage to her septum while wrestling.  Her father refers to her as “his son,” and one writer who wrote a piece on the story calls her “as dainty as a forklift.”  Needless to say, I don’t want to see her in a dark alley regardless of which set of anatomical parts she has.
What I didn’t know when I first read about this story is that wrestling in Iowa is kind of like football in Florida or Texas.  Wrestling is your meal ticket if you’re good.  It can pay your bills and it can get you into college.  Many of the top wrestling prospects come out of the state of Iowa on an annual basis.  So when I tell you that Cassy Herkelman won 20 of her 33 games and made the state wrestling tournament, it means that she is very good at what she does.  At this point, I don’t know what is more impressive- that she does all of this against what some might say is “superior male competition,” that she has such a good record in arguably the most competitive state for her sport, or that she does all of this as a 14 year old freshman.  It is all for naught.  The bottom line is that Cassy Herkelman is a hell of a wrestler.

Just as any Iowa wrestler would be, Cassy was understandably ecstatic at the opportunity to compete in the state tournament.  Add in the fact that she was the first female wrestler to ever make it to the state tournament, and young Miss Herkelman must have been feeling quite the rush of anticipation for her first round, a historic matchup where the she could become the first girl in Iowa wrestling history to win at the state level.  If I was her, I would be pumped.  I would be psyched.  The only thing that would stop me from the wrestling equivalent of a bloodbath would be my own death via (insert violent wrestling move here).

You can imagine her disappointment, then, when she was granted a default win in her first round.

Sure, it’s a win.  And sure, she did officially become the first girl to win at the state level.  But when you’re a passionate athlete, you don’t want to leave any doubt.  You don’t want to be awarded a win, you want to earn it.  You want to prove your worth.  Cassy has that kind of passion for what she does, and such a turn of events completely tainted her state wrestling performance, regardless of the W next to her name.  What could possibly drive someone to forfeit at the state level, anyway?

Meet wrestler #2, Joel Northrup.  In some ways, he is the exact wrestling equivalent of Cassy- not only are they in the same weight class, they both way exactly 112 pounds.  Joel is 16, however, which makes him two years Cassy’s elder.  That experience proved the difference over the course of the regular season as Joel held an exceptional 35-4 record.  Yet just as they were about to go to the mattresses, as the Godfather might say, Joel tapped out before the bout even began.  Why would he do such a thing?  You probably know where I’m going with this.

“As a matter of conscience and my faith I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner,” Joel told the media.  “Wrestling is a combat sport and it can get violent at times.” 

Good looking out, Joel.  I’m glad you informed Cassy of the fact that wrestling is a sport that is intrinsically violent.  After all, Cassy had probably not yet figured out the nature of wrestling after the 33 matches that she had participated in this year.  That deviated septum of hers probably wasn’t enough of a hint that this was a violent sport. 
The fact of the matter is that Cassy Herkelman knew exactly what she was getting into in the state wrestling tournament.  She wasn’t pushed, shoved, or otherwise forced into the violence.  She made a conscious decision to get involved in a physical sport and then kicked a lot of ass in the process.  To deny her the opportunity to prove she was worthy of being there on the grounds of gender inequality is naïve at best, and chauvinistic at worst.  I’m not a feminist or anything, but COME ON!  This is just ridiculous!  Sure, as a guy, I can admit that wrestling a girl might be a little awkward, but awkward is not the same as immoral.  If I’m a wrestler and my opponent is a legitimate competitor such as Cassy, the only reasonable response to strap up and wrestle.  Let skill decide who’s better, just like any other competitor in any other sport.  Awkwardness be damned!

“We believe in the elevation and respect of women,” Joel’s father told a reporter as a media firestorm descended upon Des Moines. 

Don’t we all?  Is there anyone reading this blog that actively believes in not respecting women?  Do you go out of your way to purposely disrespect them?  No one?  Yeah, didn’t think so.
Young Mr. Northrup should have gone out there and honored the accomplishments of Cassy by squaring off with her.  Instead, Joel and his family sent the message that Cassy wasn’t worthy to compete.  He may have not meant to come off in such an elitist manner- but this is ultimately how his words and actions were perceived.  Do you want to elevate and respect women?  This probably wasn’t the way to do it.
 
The truth is that the most respectful thing Joel Northrup could have done was to go out on the mat and try his best to beat the crap out of young Cassy.  Or pin her.  Or make her tap.  I admittedly don’t know very much about wrestling.  What I do know is that it shouldn’t matter if Cassy is a girl or boy, white or black, green or purple, tall or short, a freshman or senior.  For a supposedly religious family, they seem to like playing God an awful lot.  It is not for Joel, his parents, or anyone else to decide what Cassy Herkelman is or isn’t capable of.  It’s not for them to decide what is or isn’t appropriate for her.  And it certainly isn’t up to them to decide whether or not she should win or lose what could have been a historic match.

That’s what the mat is for.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Pregaming for Judgement Week(end)

Hi all, hope my readers didn't miss me too much as I took a much needed day off to... well, not do anything really that important.  Other than watch every team I like get stomped into the dirt by double digits, of course.  I digress.  To the weekend pregame!


Interesting Matchups


Michigan at Minnesota-

Minnesota is on a general slide.  Michigan just suffered a tough home loss after a Wisconsin buzzer beater.  Both teams teeter on the brink of missing the NCAA tournament.  Who will prevail?  Personally, I've gotta think that Michigan has the edge here.  Even though the wolverines have been consistently mediocre throughout the entire season, they seem to be figuring some things out of late.  At least theyre going in the right direction.  Minnesota, on the other hand, has lost 6 of their last 7, dropping them to  8th place in the eleven-team Big 10 (I refuse to say "B1G" because I am not twelve years old.)  Who knows?  Maybe Michigan gets hot again and makes a run in the tournament.  Then again, maybe Evan Turner shows up and kills their dreams again.  I wouldn't be surprised either way.


St Johns at Villanova-

I told all my friends at the beginning of the year that St Johns would be back in a couple years, as their upcoming recruiting class makes John Calipari's group look like a middle school basketball team.  Little did I know they would be back this year.  If you're looking at quality of wins alone, St John's should be a number one overall seed in this postseason.  However, bad losses to the likes of St Bonaventure have relegated St Johns to the likes of a seed in the mid single digits.  Regardless of the regular season as a whole, no one can deny how hot the Johnnies are right now.  They followed up their last second upset of Pitt with an absolute beatdown of DePaul (side note: look for the blue demons to pick up another win this weekend at home against USF).  Now they go on the road to Philly to try and stay hot against the wildcats, who haven't been playing up to their potential of late.


Texas A&M at Baylor-

You know what they say about desperate teams... one more loss will all but eliminate Baylor from at large contention.  Texas A&M, meanwhile, is a team that has a tendency to drop games that make you think... huh?  They lost to who?  It's definitely a potent combination.  In case I'm not making this clear, I think Baylor is going to win.


Recommended Saturday Basketball Watching Schedule- As stated before, this schedule is centered around the "best" basketball games and matchups, not necessarily the highest ranked teams that are playing.

12-2:  Syracuse at Georgetown
2-4: BYU at SDST
4-6: Arizona at UCLA
6-8: Miss St at Tennessee
9-11: Texas A&M at Baylor


Predictions:
last week: 17/22

Saturday

Duke at Virginia Tech
Kansas at Oklahoma
BYU at San Diego State
Texas at Colorado
Seton Hall at Notre Dame
Arizona at UCLA
Syracuse at Georgetown
Florida at Kentucky
St Johns at Villanova
Texas A&M at Baylor
Vanderbilt at LSU
Mizzou at Kansas St
Idaho at Utah St
Temple at George Washington


Sunday

Indiana at Ohio St
Pittsburgh at Louisville
Purdue at Michigan St
Northwestern at Wisconsin
UConn at Cincinatti
Maryland at UNC

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

CAA Dominaton, Virginia Tech Elimination, and WCC Anticipation!

Hey all you Wednesday readers.  We're talking conference drama today.  Let's get to it---


CAA Update:

Not really much to cover here, since the only games the CAA has played in the last week were non-conference bracketbuster matches as well.  If you're a fan of the conference, you'll be happy to hear that the CAA did extraordinarily well.  With the exception of Hofstra, who got blown out at Wright State, all of the top teams earned tight wins over significant non-conference opponents.  These wins mainly came at the expense of the MVC, who saw their conference lose on such a massive scale that the league will undoubtedly end up a one-bid conference.

George Mason has all but locked up the season title, with two games left against Georgia St and Northeastern.  The only real big matchups remaining are JMU's final two games, which will pit the dukes against ODU tomorrow night in Harrisonburg and VCU in Richmond on Saturday afternoon.


ACC


Ahh, the ACC.  Sorry, it's just really average.  Okay, at the very least they aren't living up to their potential.  Duke is clearly a good team, but the lack of Irving takes away their championship potential.  Those are some cold, hard facts.  Duke has played 25 games this year, and yet only 8 of them have been road games.  Half of those games have been against ACC teams below .500 in conference.  The other four?  A loss at FSU, a loss to St. Johns in MSG, a win at 6-6 Maryland, and a beatdown at UNC Greensboro  This is clearly a team that enjoys a great home court advantage that powers it to slightly misrepresentative record.  That being said, Duke is a solid team that will most likely steal a #1 seed from a team that might not be flat out better, but probably has a much stronger portfolio for a top seed.  If Irving does not return for the postseason, look for Duke to have matchup problems against teams with two things:

1. a point guard with a good Assist:Turnover mark
2. big men that can matchup with and defend against the size of the Plumlees


Otherwise, the ACC is kind of a crapshoot.  I have moments where I think UNC is a very good team that might even be a little underrated... then I have moments  (like after the 2 point, 48-46 win at home over Boston College) where I think this team's talent could easily be overshadowed by its youth and immaturity.  Florida St is schizophrenic.  Maryland underachieves.  Virginia Tech is constantly injured.   And despite the lack of talent throughout the bottom half of the conference, these teams are constantly rising up and knocking off conference adversaries, a la UVA's double-trouble upsetting of Virginia Tech this year.  Can we get some love for the cavs up in here?  Let's be honest, they dont get a lot of wins in the football/basketball arena.  Meanwhile, Virginia Tech... well, what can you say about them.  Their best win is in-conference against FSU.  Short of that they have no top 50 RPI wins.  Lunardi has got them in as an 11 seed right now, but I really cant see that happening as of this very moment.  They just don't have the resume, and some of their losses are killer.  (see "UVA" and also "UVA")


Pac10

How about that Arizona white-out?  Pretty awesome if you didn't see it.  I dont know, maybe I have a soft spot for white outs.  (lifetime pat white reference number #2356)

Anyway, if you watched the Washington-Arizona game, it was one of the most fast-paced games I've ever seen.  A good thing?  Sort of.  On one hand, you saw the standout talents of each team's respective starts, Isaiah Thomas and especially Derrick Williams.  You saw the great transition game of both teams.  And you saw the great conditioning these players have, and the resulting pace they are thus capable of. 

On the other hand, I saw a LOT of sloppy basketball.  There were thirty turnovers over the course of this game, and it certainly felt like even more while watching it.  I'm fine with a team pushing the pace, but at a certain point, you have to say "okay, this is fast enough.  lets take advantage of the other team at this relative speed."  You cant indefinitely make the game pace faster.

Much like the ACC, it gets ugly pretty quick after the top of the conference.  UCLA is probably a tournament team.  Washington St is pushing for an at large seed with the bubble as soft as it is, but a loss at conference-worst Arizona St probably will be the dagger for their potential bid.


West Coast

The staging of this conference is incredibly fascinating.  If you look at how the conference standings have unfolded, it's almost like each conference team has a team that it competes with in sets of 2.  Loyala Marymount and San Diego both compete to not be the worst in the conference; Pepperdine and Santa Clara both compete around the .500 mark; San Francisco and Portland are both pretty decent and consistent squads that have hovered about .500 and are capable of challenging for an upset of the top two teams.  And that, of course, brings us to St Mary's and Gonzaga.  Gonzaga is the perennial power in the WCC, but St Marys had its coming out party as a regional power when it beat Villanova last year in the second round of the NCAA tournament.  St Marys won the first game this year at Gonzaga, but here's what you need to know:  the regular season will be decided tomorrow night when Gonzaga travels to St Marys in a high power shootout featuring some great perimter players.  There's about a 40% chance that you'll see both these teams in the dance next month.  Forget the mid-major label, this will definitely be a great game worth staying up late for!

Speaking of games tomorrow night, tune in for some great big east showcases tomorrow night.  Marquette will look to add to their portfolio at UConn, and after that I (and hopefully all of you) will be enjoying the second annual edition of the backyard brawl.  It's in Pitt, so wherever you are in the world, expect to hear distant screams of several four letter words.  I'll catch you all back here tomorrow!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

I'm Feeling a Little Melodramatic Today

It's Tuesday, which means a brief jaunt through various offseasons and professional sports.  Here goes:


-Last night, sources confirmed that Carmelo Anthony was traded from Denver to New York in a massive three-team, twelve-player deal.  You most likely heard this, but in case you weren't briefed on the final details, here are the former and future locations of all nine players involved:

Carmelo Anthony (Denver to New York)
Chauncy Billups (Denver to New York)
Wilson Chandler (New York to Denver)
Raymond Felton (New York to Denver)
Danilo Gallinari (New York to Denver)
Timofey Mozgov (New York to Denver)
Shelden Williams (Denver to New York) (side note- one of my favorite college basketball players EVER)
Anthony Carter (Denver to New York
Renaldo Balkman (Denver to New York)
Anthony Randolph (New York to Minnesota)
Eddy Curry (New York to Minnesota)
Corey Brewer (Minnesota to New York)

Holy crap.  Does anyone else's head hurt?  But the fun isn't even over yet.  In addition to all those swaps, it has also been reported that Denver will get New York's first round draft pick all the way down the line in 2014.  They would also get two upcoming second round draft picks that were acquired by NY from the Warriors in the trade for David Lee last offseason.  And let's not forget the big heaping sums of cash Denver is getting out of this as well.

Does anyone else think this isn't really that good of a trade for New York?  I realize they're trying to clear a lot of salary space, most likely in an attempt to try and land a high profile point guard that goes into free agency soon via CP3 or D-will.   Dwight Howard will also be in free agency soon, but seing as the Knicks already have Stoudemire, I don't think that's a primary route they want to take.  After all, you've got a star PF and SF now, go get yourself a guard.  But back to my original point, I don't think it's that good of a trade.  Ignore the money and the draft picks.  New York gave up a lot of their young, promising talent in order to put themself in a position where they are ever so slightly closer to being a relevant franchise again.  Possibly the most potentially damning part of this trade is the acquisition of Billups.  He doesn't have a lot of gas left in the tank, and if the Knicks fail to lock down a star point guard to finalize their own Big 3, they will certainly be in trouble, having traded away major draft picks and a decent portion of their young talented depth.  It's certainly a high risk, high reward scenario, but even if eventually get what they want, I don't see them challenging Miami consistently in the future.  Carmelo Anthony is good, but he's not LeBron James.

-Stories of late in the MLB are all about who's getting paid lots of money.  While this isn't new to fans of the NFL or even the NBA, money isn't really focused on quite as much in baseball.  And yet I can't feel like it's dominating storylines of late.  Jose Bautista just signed a 65 million dollar contract after hitting 54 HR's for the the blue jays, who have made home run hitting their mantra.  Pujols wants 30 million a year.  The White sox thing thats "asinine."  And why do they so mad again?  I missed that part.  If you ask a player what he wants in relation to a trade offer, don't get mad when he answers you.  Also, in one of the funniest stories I've ever seen, the Texas Rangers captain set up a meeting with a three-year old.  But I can't decide what's funnier- the story itself, or the timing which it has been published at.  It's certainly a nice thing to do; it's also certainly frivoulously irrelevant with practices well underway.  We're not exactly in the midst of the offseason here, sports writers.  I want to start hearing about player performances!

-If you're a fan of Virginia Tech, Stinespring seems to have had one of his feet placed out the door by the school.  Though he is retaining the title of offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach Mike O'Cain is actually going to take on the play-calling abilities moving forward into the next football season.  Shane Beamer has also been upgraded from RB coach to associate head coach.  I'm sure that decision is completely based on his merit, and not at all on his last name.

As far as the draft class goes for this year... do any of you not really put much stock in this set of qb's?  Sorry, but if the highest ranked guy under center this year is Gabbert out of Mizzou, I'm thinking I'll stick out with my crap qb's I already have and pick up some nice defensive players.  I'm not a big fan of Nick Fairley out of Auburn because I think he's an absolute thug and a bit of a dirty player, and those players generally don't make good, disciplined NFL players.  However, I think Clemson's Bowers is a great prospect.  I would definitely take him over these crap qb's, even if my team is severely offensively challenged.  Not that I'm thinking of any specific team or anything.  I would never presume to tell Carolina what to do... ahh. whoops.

Finally, Eric LeGrand, the Rutgers defensive tackle that fractured his c3/c4 vertebrae last season and was hospitalized for a great portion of the season, made his first public appearance on Saturday night.  It's clearly a sign that his recovery continues to go well.  Doctors were initially unsure if he would ever regain consciousness.  He then was declared paralyzed from the neck down when he did wake up.  He has since started to regain the use of his shoulders, and has started to feel sensitivity throughout the rest of his body. 

Tomorrow, I'll spend some time on the ACC and Pac-10.  See you all then.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Duke Jumps to #1 as Top Four Teams Lose

Welcome to Monday, where I will discuss the AP and USA Today top 25 polls in addition to how I would have voted if I had the priveledge of having a say in the polls.  If you haven't seen it yet, here are the polls:


AP:                             USA Today                  Rank                              My Vote

Duke                              Duke                            1                                  Ohio State
Ohio State                       Kansas                        2                                    Texas
Kansas                          Ohio St                         3                                     Kansas
Pittsburgh                     San Diego St                  4                                     Duke
Texas                             Texas                           5                                     Pittsburgh
San Diego St                 Pittsburgh                      6                                     BYU
BYU                                BYU                          7                                     SDST
Purdue                           Purdue                          8                                    Purdue
Notre Dame                  Notre Dame                  9                                     Arizona
Arizona                           Arizona                       10                                  Notre Dame
Georgetown                   Georgetown                 11                                   Wisconsin
Wisconsin                      Wisconsin                    12                                    Georgetown
Florida                             Florida                       13                                      Florida
Uconn                             Villanova                    14                                     Villanova
Villanova                        Uconn                         15                                      Uconn
Louisville                         Louisville                    16                                      Louisville
Syracuse                      Texas A&M                  17                                      Syracuse
Vanderbilt                       Vanderbilt                   18                                     Vanderbilt
UNC                                UNC                        19                                       Missouri
Missouri                           Syracuse                   20                                        UNC
Texas A&M                     Missouri                    21                                       St John's
Kentucky                        Kentucky                    22                                      Texas A&M
St John's                          Utah State                  23                                        Kentucky
Temple                              Temple                     24                                        Xavier
Xavier                               St John's                   25                                    George Mason


Obviously the top of this poll is a complete and utter mess.  On the one hand, you've got three very good teams who all just lost to clearly inferior teams that are incredibly hard to beat at home.  You've got a fourth team that lost on the road to an archrival, and a fifth team that, while it hasnt lost recently, has arguably the worst single loss of any of the five teams.  Behind them are two Mountain West teams that have not played schedules quite as difficult, but are still incredibly good; these two facts create a problem which makes it difficult to ascertain where BYU and SDST truly lie relative to the other five major conference teams.

It's all pretty subjective after that.  Generally if there are two teams that have played, I give a nod to the head to head winner unless the loser's at large profile is so much greater that I cannot ignore the difference (hence decisions like ranking Xavier over Temple).  Other than that, my top 25 is basically the same teams in a different order, with the addition of George Mason at the end of the poll.  I felt that GMU's comeback win at Northern Iowa, in addition to their tearing through the second half of their conference schedule, warranted a top 25 ranking.

Check the blog tomorrow for updates on college football, the NFL draft, and baseball news!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

I Probably won’t be the Only one with a Hangover Tomorrow

The “Friday Pregame” is aptly named as a piece that is designed to prime the average fan and get them ready for the weekend’s occurrences.  That being said…

Welcome to the Sunday Evening hangover- named not only because the basketball I watch over the weekend sometimes makes me sick, but also because of the massive amounts of time I spend watching basketball on a given weekend (and generally ignoring all other aspects of my life in the process, such as studying) are enough to make my stomach hurt at the work I need to make up come Monday morning.  And with the epic amount of quality basketball that was on this weekend, let’s just say that my free time tomorrow is no longer free time.

Wow, though.  Clearly I won’t be the only one with a hangover tomorrow.  Of the top ten teams, four of them lost on the road this weekend- Texas, Pitt, Ohio St, and Notre Dame.  Granted, all played in very rough environments, but the loss is the loss, and all four will be smarting from the lost opportunities for some time.  Factor in the Kansas loss earlier in the week, and you’re looking at some real insanity at the top of the polls.
There were even more wins just barely scraped out by other ranked teams.  Villanova needed overtime to escape DePaul, a team I highlighted a few days ago as a team to watch as they got hot (when you’re DePaul, a one game winning streak is hot).  Other prominent teams that barely (and I mean BARELY, as in the game came down to final possessions) squeaked out wins against unranked opponents: Arizona, Texas A&M, UNC, and Syracuse.

So what does it all mean?  Well, for one thing, bubble teams are finally making a push.  I don’t know, maybe all the very average teams out there have finally realized that it’s crunch time.  Maybe they have realized how soft the bubble is, and all these mediocre teams still have a shot with a few key wins coming down the stretch.  Either way, bubble teams are sending a clear message in the last weeks of the regular season.  Watch out, tournament locks.  Nothing is more dangerous than a desperate team.

The last thing I will feature at the end of every Sunday Evening Hangover is my record from the games I predicted on Friday.  This is mostly so most of you can mock me when I have a bad weekend.  Don’t say I never did anything for your all’s collective self-esteem.

This weekend: 17/22
Alltime: 17/22

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Rant Time: One and Don't


I’d like to start off by stating a fact that many of you who have ever watched sports with me already know:

I really do not like Jay Bilas.

It started as a purely personal thing.  I would find him commentating West Virginia games with increasing frequency, and it just seemed like he never pointed out anything good that my Mountaineers did, choosing instead to only highlight what they would do wrong.  The dislike carried over as I watched him comment in a manner that I deemed unfair against other random teams I decided to watch on a slow weekend.  I would find myself thinking, ‘Jay Bilas is the last commentator I want talking throughout my game.’  And yet there he always was: my nemesis, Jay Bilas.

And yet… when I see him comment on non-game related topics, usually the state of college basketball, I usually cannot help but agree with what he says.  It’s an extremely confusing dichotomy in my head- the primary job of a college basketball commentator is, after all, to commentate- that I find myself agreeing with my nemesis more and more in non-game, ideological type conversations that may not matter to many… yet nothing is more important to me than the philosophical, political type conversations regarding different aspects of college sports.

This morning I found myself in a similar predicament while watching college gameday.  I’m only half listening as I clean up the inevitable mess that plagues my room every Saturday morning from whatever shenanigans were going on in the previous night.  So I pay little attention as Reese and company offer seemingly random amounts of money to some undeserving pretty boy that ESPN producers think visually represents the average student at whatever university (today was Michigan State).  Suddenly, though, my attention is commanded by a conversation that seems to come from nowhere.  The CGD crew has started to talk about basketball players more and more are declaring for the NBA draft after their freshman year of college.  The first commentator to speak is, of course, Jay Bilas.  His argument is fervently against the so-called One and Done’s because it hurts every aspect of the entire draft process.  The player doesn’t fully develop.  The team suffers from the loss of a potential four-year player.  The NBA suffers from underdeveloped talent.  The list goes on.  Finally, Bilas summed up his argument by saying that no one is in control of the situation, and freshmen will continue to declare and hurt everyone involved until someone takes charge, or is given control, of the situation.  He recommended a chancellor to govern NCAA basketball and set some ground rules regarding draft eligibility, pointing to the “baseball rule.”

(For those unaware, the rules regarding baseball are something like this:  you may declare right out of high school, but should you choose to attend a collegiate baseball program, you must play for three years before again being eligible to declare for the MLB draft)

Well, damn. He’s done it again.  The chancellor suggestion is enough to raise a few eyebrows, especially considering all the controversy that Roger Goodell has caused in the NFL’s version of an active judiciary.  But overall, it’s hard for me not to agree with him.  I had the treat of watching the east regional final in last year’s college basketball postseason, a 73-66 win for my mountaineers over the Kentucky Wildcats.  Win or lose, though, it was one of the most exciting basketball games I think I’ve ever watched.  Watching that game, it was hard to deny the raw athletic ability of John Wall and co.  Still, when I watched Rome is Burning the next day, I completely agreed with Jim Rome’s analysis of the game.  Despite a matchup that was probably a wildcat win on paper, a veteran, disciplined WVU team pulled out the win.  Here lies the heart of the Freshman phenom problem.  As talented as every freshman on that Kentucky squad was, they were still beatable.  They were exposed.  They were flawed.  John Wall was terrific- but his lack of basketball IQ showed at times.  DeMarcus Cousins was a dominant force in the paint- but his maturity level was definitely freshman.  These are players that would have benefitted from more time on the college level.  Do you think NBA coaches and assistants want to have to deal with all of the stress it takes to coach in professional sports, PLUS teach rookies things they should have learned in a four-year college career?  And take a moment to think just how good Kentucky would have been should they have kept that entire recruiting class for four years.  That team would have been absurdly good.  A national championship would be considerably more than a distinct possibility.

…and that’s all for naught.  Cousins now plays for the kings, John Wall for the wizards.  And though they were briefly reunited in their romp of the sophomore NBA players, their combined force will never again be what it could have been, and should have been, another epic three years of college basketball at the University of Kentucky.

Realizing a lot of players do it for the money, Jay Bilas followed up his mini-speech with another one-liner that I was forced to agree with: “Do you think Grant Hill has ever wished he had more money?”  Of course he hasn’t.  Grant Hill, a successful four-year player from Duke, has enjoyed a long and very prosperous career in the NBA.  In the long run, John Wall will make millions of dollars.  I don’t think declaring a couple years early for the NBA would change the fact that he will be a multi-millionaire for a very long time. 

And I will even go a step further than Jay.  You know all that “parody” that’s going on in college basketball lately?  No one seems to have an answer for its source.  I’m not saying this is the only reason, but I think it’s definitely one.  Top tier programs that are used to their 25 and 30 win seasons are still getting most of the top recruits, but they’re not staying around.  You know who is staying in college for four years?  The second-round draft picks at these middle-of-the-road and mid-major schools who are developing into complete players over four years.  You can take your 1st round draft picks all day- I’m gonna back the team with the experienced players and the teamwork that can only be built over multiple seasons of blood, sweat, and tears.  Ask Kentucky who’s gonna win the matchup of those two teams.

No player has ever been hurt by extra practice or extra coaching.  No player has ever been hurt by an education.  Right now, we fans are watching good basketball; I’d like to get back to watching great basketball.  One-and-done’s, I’m looking at you.

So is my nemesis, Jay Bilas.  And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Big Weekend for Upstarts, Top Teams Alike

Thursday I wrote about what to watch for.  Fridays, which I have humorously dubbed the “weekend pregame” will be a hodgepodge of interesting matchups, recommended games to watch, and predictions.  So without further ado:

Interesting Matchups

Villanova at DePaul-
Surprise!  DePaul actually won a conference game.  Sure, it was against lowly Providence, who is even worse than last year’s squad (at least they could shoot the three ball last year).  Nevertheless, a win is a win for the blue demons.  In fact, DePaul is definitely on the rise.  They’re actually staying in some games this year, losing three conference games to decent teams by four points or less (WVU, @L’ville, Cincinnati).  The improved DePaul team coming off its first conference win of the season may pose an interesting problem for a Villanova team that many consider have been sliding to a degree as of late.  In fact, the last three teams Villanova has played against on the road are a combined 12-28, yet Villanova is just one 1-2 in those games.  The one game they did win was a three point edge at Seton Hall; the losses were at Providence and Rutgers.

Pittsburgh at St. John’s-
It’s no surprise by now the Johnnies are capable of springing some upsets of big teams.  They followed up their romp over Duke by getting another statement win over UConn and will now host 12-1 Pittsburgh in the Mecca of basketball.  To the surprise of most fans, the Red Storm are tied with the likes of UConn, Villanova, and Louisville.  St John’s could definitely present a problem to the panthers without start guard Ashton Gibbs, who’s still out with a minor MCL injury.  Even if Pitt were to lose, though, they’d still be in command of the Big East- but you can’t deny the impact a loss to St. John’s could have on an injured Pitt team coming down the stretch.

Virginia Tech at UVA
UVA has been a bit bipolar this year, often playing solid games (or at least solid halves) in Charlottesville.  They managed a three point win in Blacksburg to take the first game of this series, and they can finish off the sweep of Virginia Tech this weekend.  Obviously the Cavaliers won’t be competing for an at large bid this year, but they can still earn bragging rights over their archrivals if the semi-decent UVA team decides to show up.

Recommended Saturday Basketball Watching Schedule (this is based on the “best” games to watch in my opinion, NOT the highest ranked teams that are playing.  If you want that information, get on ESPN.  Also, if you plan on following this schedule, you will probably need to access ESPN3)
12-1- first half of Pitt at St. Johns
1-3- Georgia at Tennessee
4-6- Oklahoma at Kansas St (if you’re looking for a really physical game, though, check out Oregon St at Oregon)
6-8- Washington at Arizona
9-11- Utah St at Saint Mary’s (or Illinois at Michigan St)

Predictions- For this section, I will predict the winners of all the USA Today top 25 matchups- NOT the AP poll’s top 25.  I may also feature one or two other games that have big implications.  Sunday I will reveal how well I did, so you can all have the privilege of mocking me.  Teams in bold are my predictions. 

Friday


UConn at Louisville

Saturday

Colorado at Kansas
Texas at Nebraska
Pittsburgh at St. Johns
San Diego St at Air Force
Notre Dame at West Virgina
BYU at TCU
Georgetown at USF
Washington at Arizona
Villanova at DePaul
Texas A&M at Oklahoma St
Vanderbilt at Auburn
Boston College at UNC
Rutgers at Syracuse
Missouri at Iowa St
S. Carolina at Kentucky
Utah St at Saint Mary’s

Sunday:

Georgia Tech at Duke
Ohio St at Purdue
Penn St at Wisconsin
Florida at LSU
St. Joes at Temple

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Bracketbusters to Watch

Major fans, take a seat.  You’re not going to like where this conversation goes.

Ahh yes, bracketbusters.  Depending on who you are, it’s a weekend full of exciting games with huge postseason impact, or a multitude of mind-numbingly boring little guy vs littler guy matchups.  While I am not usually a big proponent of mid-majors, I do love this weekend.  Any time you get teams together with approximately even talent levels and march madness bids on the line, the result is gonna be games that are instant classics.

In case you aren’t familiar with Bracketbusters, it’s a weekend that usually features several strong mid-majors in contention for an at large bid playing marquee out-of-conference games very late in the season.  And this weekend it proves to be my featured Thursday content.  Without further ado, teams (or matchups) to watch:

5. Missouri State
As I said yesterday, Missouri St is right there in the hunt in the MVC.  They’re stepping out to play a very good Horizon league team in Valparaiso.  Much like the winner of my number 5 game, Missouri St will not be awarded an at large seed even if they do win this game, so this game is also important for the purposes of momentum.  However, I do believe that a win over Valparaiso, couple with a MVC tourney title, would push the bears into contention for a #10 seed.  It’s slim, but it’s definitely possible.

4. George Mason
You all know by this point that I’m big on Mason right now.  The patriots are going out to the Midwest to play Northern Iowa this weekend in what could be a matchup between the best basketball team in Virginia against the best basketball team in Iowa.  GMU is most likely close to locking up an at large bid, and this win could push them over the edge.  That alone could provide a huge stress reliever when the CAA tourney comes around in a couple weeks.  Of course, like all BB matchups, this game could greatly impact Mason’s seeding.  If they win out, they could be as high as a 6/7 seed.

3. ODU vs Cleveland St
Cleveland State is a solid team from the Horizon league, the same league last year’s runner-up Butler is from.  They’re pretty good, but they’re not an at large team.  You know who might be?  ODU.  Everyone wants to talk about how ODU is failing to live up to preseason expectations, dropping four games in conference play with two tough ones left to go.  You know what they don’t talk about?  For one thing, ODU dropped a game to powerhouse Georgetown by 3 points.  Their wins against Clemson and at ECU.  Wins over three separate Atlantic 10 teams- middle of the road Dayton, Richmond (currently 1 game back), and conference leader Xavier.  A win against Cleveland St might seal the monarchs’ ticket to the dance pending a couple impressive performances in the conference tournament.

2. VCU vs Wichita St
VCU seems to have played itself out of at large contention while George Mason has picked up the rams’ early-season dominance of the CAA.  However, they can still get a marquee win and some great momentum going into the CAA tourney in a couple weeks by winning at MVC preseason favorite Wichita St.  I talked a lot about the shockers yesterday, so I won’t spend much time talking about this game.  But it’s definitely a big game as far as seeding goes and is worthy of the number 2 spot on this list. 

1.  Utah St at St. Mary’s
This game is gigantic.  Enormous.  Huge.  Gargantuan.  Enormous.  Grande.  Okay, I’m running out of synonyms for large on Microsoft Word, so I’m going to stop because I think you guys got the point.  Both these teams are currently ranked- Saint Mary’s at 23, Utah St at 24.  Do I agree with the rankings?  Hell no- but maybe that is why this game is so big.  St Mary’s has been the favorite to win the WCC for most of the year and has played well enough to probably earn an at large bid regardless of how they finish their year.  And you would think that the 24th best team in the nation this close to postseason time would too, right?  Well, you’d be wrong.  Despite whatever the AP voters, and despite USU’s 12-1 WAC record and 24-3 overall mark, Utah St has not a single win over any top 100 RPI team.  In other words, Utah State hasn’t beaten a single team that even has a chance of making the tournament.  That’s not to say they haven’t played any, though- they lost to BYU on the road, and then got crushed by Georgetown in DC.  Their third loss?  At lowly Idaho, who sport a completely average record of 14-11, 7-6.  Utah St might be ranked, but they are FAR from safe this postseason if they don’t win the WAC title.  So in some way’s this game is really only important for St Mary’s seeding- if you’re asking me, Utah State winning this match by 100 points would not warrant a bid next month.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Mid-Majors vs Middling Majors

Ahhh yes.  The age old debate.  Who is more deserving of the 36 at large bids to the NCAA tournament- mid major teams that have dropped a few easy wins, or middle-of-the-pack "major" teams that play harder schedules with average records?

   

I will undoubtedly be doing an editorial piece about this one day.  I'm extremely excited to write it, as its one of the most polarizing topics for basketball fans.  Until then, take note of this EXCELLENT five-part series of articles ESPN is running on who is more deserving.

 

 

 

Argument for Majors

Argument for Mid-Majors

The Dangers of the Eye Test (arguably the best one)

Good Luck to the Committee

Who cares? (this year)

The Return of George Mason, SEC Bandits, and 11-letter words that start with Cluster


Hi all and welcome to my first real blog post. Today is Wednesday, which means I'm talking all things conferences. Each Wednesday will feature 3 different conversational topics:
-CAA Updates
-Conference-wide coverage of two or three of the Big 6 conferences
-One other mid-major conference
Hopefully, these different levels of breakdown will keep everyone informed on what they want to know both locally and nationally, but also maybe highlight some teams that aren't really on anybody's radar. Remember, there are 32 auto-bids in March, and upsets are bound to happen!


CAA Update


In case you missed it yesterday, white-hot George Mason absolutely blasted VCU at the Siegel Center in Richmond, coming away with a huge 20 point victory. If anyone considered George Mason under the radar, even on a national scale, they certainly aren't anymore. If you're a Virginia native, you certainly remember the state-wide fervor that swept through in 2006 when GMU made it all the way to the national semifinals. A lot of people are talking about that kind of run again, and while it may not be as improbable as it was 5 years ago (George Mason's latest seed projection is as high as an 8), the potential is certainly there for the team to make a deep run.
VCU's loss dropped them into a three-way tie for second place with ODU and Hofstra. And to give you a fuller picture of how good GMU really is, consider the following:
1. GMU has picked up a two-game lead in conference play and is most likely a lock to be the #1 seed in the conference tournament.
2. George Mason is now in possession of a twelve-game winning streak, the longest active streak in all of Division 1 College Basketball.
3. During the patriots winning streak, 5 games have been won by 20+ points (@NE, Drexel, @Delaware, Towson, @VCU). 11 of the 12 have been by double digits. The only game that was at all close was on January 22 at- you guessed it- JMU. The final score was 75-73.


After GMU and the VCU/ODU/Hofstra mess, the standings drop off pretty quick. JMU is in 5th at 9-7, holding the tiebreaker over also 9-7 Drexel. JMU still has a chance to make some noise, too. After stepping out of conference to play Miami of Ohio this Saturday, JMU's final two games are at home against ODU and at VCU. While JMU is statistically relegated to no better than 5th place in the regular season, they certainly have a shot to play their way into the Madness via the conference tournament. If this team gets hot at the right time, they will absolutely have a shot at the CAA title. And their season finale is certainly set up to give them some serious momentum going into March.


Big East


Let's be clear. The Big East is the best basketball conference in America. This conference is so deep that half of the teams in the conference won an early season tournament. Two more were finalists. In case you suck at math, that's ten teams… and that's moderately absurd. The conference hasn't really lost any steam at all either, despite appearances that they're all losing. There's a great quote by some coach in the conference, and I can't remember who it was that said this for the life of me, but it was something to the effect of "We spend the first half of the season beating up on the rest of the country, and then we spend the second half beating up on ourselves." I couldn't have put it better myself. At one point, the Big East had 9 of the 16 teams ranked in the national top 25 poll. That's essentially 40% of America's best teams all in one place. Teams like WVU and Cincinnati have since come out of the poll, with WVU twitching back and forth in that 20-30 range, but both are still certainly capable of springing some upsets down the stretch here. And don't be surprised to see one of them pretty deep in the Big East tournament, either.
Stepping off my soapbox, Pitt has maintained its 1.5 game lead in conference play, which is remarkable with Ashton Gibbs sitting on the bench. As much as it pains me to say it, Pitt is good. They're final four good. They're not going to blow anybody out in March- it's not their MO- but they will continue to win games. And as the moniker goes, all you have to do come tournament time is survive and advance.
Speaking of Notre Dame, the Irish have been generating a lot of talk lately about how they've dropped the Jekyll and Hyde act and started actually winning games on the road. My response? Not so fast. Sure, the win at Pitt was completely impressive, and it definitely got my attention. However, take a look at the rest of their winning streak since their win in the Oakland Zoo- a blowout of DePaul in Chicago, a seven point home win over Rutgers, another home win over a good Louisville team that took the Irish to overtime, and another road blowout of a South Florida team that is second only to DePaul in sucking this year. However, the Irish have a few chances to impress upcoming. They play in Morgantown this Saturday, a game which I unfortunately am no longer attending due to travel issues. Having experienced the atmosphere in the WVU coliseum from courtside seating earlier this season, I can tell you that any team that can win in that crazy atmosphere absolutely gets my vote for impressive performance. The Irish will also close out their season at UConn, which will inevitably be another chance to impress the selection committee.

After Pitt and ND… well, I'm thinking of an 11-letter word that starts with cluster. Red-hot Georgetown is a game behind Notre Dame at 9-4. Half a game back from them is Louisville at 8-4. Half a game back from them is Villanova at 8-5. UConn, St. Johns, and Syracuse are all a game back from Villanova. WVU follows them by half a game, and Cincinnati/Marquette are half a game behind the Mountaineers.
Here's the crazy thing: every single team I just mentioned has a solid case for an NCAA tourney bid. Every single one. I say with a completely straight face that the Big East will get double digit bids this year. Lunardi has been predicting 11 bids basically all year, and I'm just a shade under him at 10. Everyone down through WVU will definitely get a bid with the exception of St John's. Out of the Johnnies, Cincinnati, and Marquette, two of those three teams will most likely get bids. I'm guessing the third will be Cincinnati, barring an impressive run in the BE tournament.


SEC


Have any of you ever traveled in the southeastern part of our fine country? Short of traversing a good portion of interstate 95 to take a vacation in Orlando a few years back, I really hadn't at all. Most people say it's beautiful, and until this year I'd be inclined to agree with them. But this year, I found out about a horrifying reality sweeping the southeastern portion of this fair land.
Bandits live all over the roads.
Yes, it's true. Bandits are everywhere, just waiting for you to hop on the road so they can take advantage of you. They won't think twice about stealing your precious road wins valuables and leaving you with a remarkably average in-conference record empty pockets, stranded on the bubble in the middle of nowhere.
Okay, but seriously. What is up with SEC road teams this year? I can't be the only one that has noticed this. Conference leader Florida, who has beat the likes of Kansas St, Xavier, and Kentucky, has lost at Miss St? Vandy loses at Arkansas? And BOTH of them lost at South Carolina? There's Tennessee, who beats Pitt AND Villanova, but loses at Alabama? Let's be honest- Alabama has a good record because they play in the atrociously bad SEC West, and NOT because they're that good of a team.
Pop Quiz- no cheating!!!
1. Ten games into SEC play, what is Alabama's in-conference record?
A. 7-3
B. 9-1
C. 5-5
D. 8-2
E. 4-6
2. Alabama played three teams in the Paradise Jam tournament this season: Seton Hall, a below-average Big East team; Iowa, the last place Big 10 team; and St Peters College, a team that is currently 10-5 in the MAAC.






Ready for the answers? 1 is most definitely D- Alabama has squeaked out an 8-2 conference record. And which teams did Alabama lose to? That'd be all of them. In addition to their tournament play, they also went on to play OOC games against Providence and Oklahoma State and lost them both as well.


Of course, no team epitomizes losing on the SEC road than Kentucky, a team that has been nationally ranked all year yet currently holds a 1-5 road record, losing to the likes of Ole Miss, Georgia, and others. Sure, you can attribute a lot of it to immaturity- maybe think about recruiting some players that have plans to actually stay at your school, John Calipari- but come one, UK should be able to pull out a few road wins with their #1 ranked recruiting class.
But why the hell does any of this matter? Well, it matters because road wins are a big criterion that the selection committee looks at. Hence why there are probably more bubble teams in this conference than any other conference in America. UK, Florida, and Vandy are definitely in. Is Georgia? South Carolina? Alabama? Tennessee? All these teams inability to definitely prove their worth makes for an incredibly hard attempt to prognosticate how good these teams actually are via the incredibly annoying yet necessary "I" test. My prediction? Georgia and Tennessee are in, SCAR and Bama are out.


MVC


If you're a hard core basketball fan, you know the Missouri Valley Conference is mainly known for its abundance of perimeter shooters and bracket buster winners. If you're more of a casual fan, you probably are more familiar with last year's Northern Iowa squad that upset the overall #1 seed Kansas in the second round of the NCAA tournament last year and screwed all of our brackets up. The conference doesn't have such a dominant team this year- the two teams that are tied for first place both have 3 conference losses- but the potential for major upsets is definitely there. Wichita State is a team that has been quietly good all year, beating Big-6 schools like UVA and LSU and coming extremely close to beating UConn early in the season when the huskies were arguably playing their best ball. They've got a big non-conference game coming up against VCU as they push for an at large bid, assuming they lose the MVC autobid to Missouri State. Mizz St doesn't quite have at large resume that Wichita has, losing all their big OOC games to the likes of Tennessee, Tulsa, and Oklahoma St. However, they've been much more consistent in conference play, losing at Indiana St by 1 and again at home to Northern Iowa by 1. Their third loss is at Evansville, the MVC giant killer. Wichita has been slightly more erratic in conference play, losing all three games at home. Though one loss did come at the hands of Missouri State, another game via 5-10 Southern Illinois.
So what does it all mean? Outside of powerhouse mid-majors like the A-10, MWC, CUSA, and the CAA, non-big 6 conferences are generally one-bid leagues. The MVC may prove to be the exception to the rule: should a team not named Wichita St win the conference tournament, the conference may become a two-bid league this year. Should the shockers pull of the win against VCU this year and lose in the finals of the MVC, I think you have to consider them as a viable at large team, albeit possibly a play-in 12 seed. If the shockers win the MVC tourney, no other team carries the OOC schedule and wins that Wichita has, and the league will most likely be awarded just the one bid. The VCU game then becomes irrelevant (at least to the Shockers), and they will most likely be seeded as a 10 or 11.




Thanks for staying with me, 2000 words later. Look for another post tomorrow around noon!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Get to Know Your Wonderful Blogger

 

Hey all you sports fans out there, welcome to my blog of all things college sports. For those of you that don't know who I am, here's a little bit about me:

 

-As of today, February 14, 2011, I have been in my 20's for exactly 6 days.
-I attend James Madison University. This is my second year, but because of credits from high school, I'm considered a junior.
-Though I started my collegiate career as a Biology major, I switched to Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication. WRTC 200 is the class that inspired this blog.
-I am a facebook addict (don't judge, you probably are too). You can friend me on fb here follow my sports feed on twitter here.

 

Possibly most importantly, I'm a sports fan first, blogger second. I will do my best to use this as a forum to communicate news and offer my own opinions, but don't think of me solely as a disconnected writer. When the big game comes around, you can find me plopped in front of the 37 inch flatscreen in my room, watching with my friends. Yes, I scream at the TV in a vain attempt to insult a referee's manhood after a bad call. Yes, I will plan an entire 16-hour day around a three-hour football game. Yes, I have stayed home on weekend nights to watch a big hockey game. And yes, I have skipped class in order to watch March Madness (sorry, mom). Thus my passion for sports writing comes directly for my love of the game. That being said, I think it's only fair that you all know where my fan loyalties lie:

College Sports: West Virginia Mountaineers (I will also cheer for Duke every once in a while, as I was born in Durham)
NFL: Tennessee Titans
NBA: San Antonio Spurs
NHL: Washington Capitals
MLB: Baltimore Orioles (your sympathy is appreciated)

 

I am just as passionate about the teams I love as I am about the game itself. That being said, I am fully capable of having an opinion and being unbiased at the exact same time. Call it call it good journalism, call it Orwellian double-think. Call it whatever you like. I promise not to be obnoxious, but I won't promise to not be opinionated. In a world where ESPN dominates sports headlines by simply having a massive collection of sports news, opinionated commentary is the only thing that can separate print media such as this blog from a culturally dominant video-based fact-spewer like ESPN. Don't get me wrong- I love ESPN, and I watch Sportscenter twice daily. But it shouldn't be the only tool used to keep yourself in the loop with sports- hence my rationale behind the blog.

 

 

Anyway, down to business. Although I will from time to time post randomly with my thoughts on one thing or another, I will post every day with the following topics, which will vary from day to day:

 

Sunday- Weekend Recap
Monday- New Poll Commentary
Tuesday- Offseason and Professional Sport Updates
Wednesday- Conference Talk
Thursday- Teams, Players to watch
Friday- Weekend Pregame
Saturday- Editorial Rants/Viewer Questions

 

Look for my first posts on Wednesday (February 16). Thanks for reading!