My opinions about the sports world (which includes baseball, football, basketball, college football, college basketball, and anything else important that happens). Sports are always a good time.

Friday, February 24, 2006

Big Dance Breakdown IV

Another wacky week in college basketball gives us another wacky attempt to concoct some sort of bracket. A lot of Mid-Majors get the nod over the big six this week; Air Force, Utah State, Hofstra, and Houston all somehow made it into the bracket. However, with Southern Illinois' recent slump upstart Bradley takes over as the fifth team from the MVC. I wouldn't think that any more than 5 can make it from that conference but I have been wrong before. Also, the Big 12 only gets three bids this week. Colorado needs to start winning more and Texas A&M pretty much has to win out in order for them to be playing in the March bracket that counts. Without strong conference tourney showings they both will be playing in the NIT. Here's the latest:


America
East- Albany (17-10, 139)

Atlantic 10- George Washington (23-1, 31)

ACC- Duke (26-1, 1), NC State (21-6, 24), North Carolina (18-6, 15), Boston College (20-6, 38), Maryland (15-10, 49)

Atlantic Sun- Belmont (15-10, 143)

Big 12- Texas (23-4, 8), Kansas (19-6, 43), Oklahoma (18-6, 16)

Big East- Villanova (22-2, 2), Connecticut (24-2, 4), Pittsburgh (20-4, 7), West Virginia (17-8, 33), Georgetown (18-7, 30), Marquette (17-8, 22), Syracuse (19-8, 29), Cincinnati (17-10, 25)

Big Sky- Northern Arizona (19-8, 131)

Big South- Winthrop (19-7, 87)

Big Ten- Iowa (20-7, 10), Ohio State (20-4, 6), Illinois (22-5, 13), Wisconsin (18-8, 17), Michigan (18-7, 21), Michigan State (18-8, 12)

Big West- Pacific (17-7, 111)

CAA- UNC-Wilmington (21-7, 34), George Mason (21-6, 19), Hofstra (21-5, 39)

CUSA- Memphis (25-2, 5), Houston (17-6, 56)

Horizon- Wisconsin Milwaukee (19-8, 55)

Ivy- Pennsylvania (15-7, 105)

MAAC- Manhattan (17-9, 98)

MCC- IUPUI (18-8, 138)

MAC- Kent State (19-7, 81)

MEAC- Delaware State (16-11, 133)

MVC- Wichita State (21-7, 20), Creighton (19-7, 32), Northern Iowa (20-7, 28), Missouri State (19-7, 23), Bradley (17-9, 41)

MWC- San Diego State (16-8, 65), Air Force (20-5, 46)

Northeast- Fairleigh Dickinson (16-10, 146)

OVC- Murray State (19-6, 80)

Pac-10- California (17-7, 59), UCLA (21-6, 14), Washington (21-5, 36), Arizona (16-10, 18)

Patriot- Bucknell (21-4, 35)

SEC- LSU (18-7, 11), Florida (22-5, 27), Tennessee (20-4, 3), Kentucky (18-9, 37), Alabama (15-10, 40)

Southern- Georgia Southern (17-8, 151)

Southland- Northwestern State (16-7, 64)

SWAC- Southern (13-12, 152)

Sun Belt- Western Kentucky (19-6, 44)

WCC- Gonzaga (23-3, 9)

WAC- Nevada (20-5, 26), Utah State (18-6, 45)

Bubble Teams:

Charlotte (17-9, 97)

Temple (15-10, 62)

Xavier (16-8, 86)

Florida State (17-7, 57)

Virginia (14-10, 60)

Miami (15-12, 66)

Lipscomb (17-9, 160)*

Colorado (17-7, 50)

Texas A&M (17-7, 68)

Nebraska (17-9, 96)

Seton Hall (16-9, 51)

Birmingham Southern (17-7, 129)*

Indiana (14-10, 42)

Minnesota (14-10, 61)

UC Irvine (16-9, 159)*

Old Dominion (20-8, 58)

UAB (18-5, 53)

UTEP (15-7, 76)

Butler (18-10, 84)*

Southern Illinois (18-9, 47)

Stanford (13-11, 99)

Arkansas (18-8, 54)

Elon (10-13, 186)*

Friday, February 17, 2006

Preliminary Big Dance Breakdown III

New projections for the field of 65 are here. Games through February 16th are used to determine the selections. My actual mock bracket is here. I'm working on a website for things with more media characteristics. It's definitely a work in progress but I did get the bracket up. Anyway, here's the field:

*Note: Bubble teams with asterisks aren't in the running for an at-large bid. Rather, they have a legit shot at winning the conference of a one-bid league. Also, the second number in the parentheses beside each team is the RPI ranking from ESPN.com's InsideRPI rankings. Teams in italics are leading their conference in multi-bid leagues.


America East- Albany (16-8, 129)

Atlantic 10- George Washington (21-1, 36)

ACC- Duke (24-1, 1), NC State (20-5, 19), Boston College (21-5, 34), North Carolina (16-6, 23), Maryland (15-9, 44)

Atlantic Sun- Lipscomb (17-8, 164)

Big 12- Texas (22-3, 8), Kansas (18-6, 40), Oklahoma (16-6, 15), Colorado (17-5, 50)

Big East- Villanova (20-2, 2), Connecticut (22-2, 4), West Virginia (18-6, 21), Pittsburgh (20-3, 6), Georgetown (17-6, 30), Seton Hall (16-7, 29), Marquette (17-8, 25), Cincinnati (17-9, 22),

Big Sky- Northern Arizona (19-7, 137)

Big South- Winthrop (17-6, 86)

Big Ten- Iowa (20-6, 9), Illinois (21-4, 14), Ohio State (18-4, 7), Wisconsin (18-7, 13), Michigan State (18-7, 10), Michigan (17-6, 31), Indiana (13-9, 41)

Big West- Pacific (18-6, 110)

CAA- George Mason (20-5, 27), UNC-Wilmington (20-7, 38)

CUSA- Memphis (23-2, 5)

Horizon- Wisconsin-Milwaukee (18-7, 49)

Ivy- Pennsylvania (15-6, 98)

MAAC- Iona (19-5, 67)

MCC- IUPUI (18-7, 125)

MAC- Kent State (18-7, 84)

MEAC- Delaware State (14-11, 141)

MVC- Wichita State (21-6, 17), Northern Iowa (21-6, 24), Creighton (17-7, 32), Southern Illinois (18-8, 26), Missouri State (17-7, 28)

MWC- San Diego State (17-7, 51), Air Force (20-5, 48)

Northeast- Fairleigh Dickinson (16-8, 134)

OVC- Murray State (19-5, 74)

Pac-10- California (16-6, 47), UCLA (20-5, 11), Washington (19-5, 37), Arizona (15-10, 20)

Patriot- Bucknell (21-3, 39)

SEC- Tennessee (19-3, 3), Florida (22-3, 16), LSU (17-7, 18), Kentucky (16-9, 42), Alabama (14-9, 45)

Southern- Georgia Southern (18-7, 155)

Southland- Northwestern St. (18-6, 68)

SWAC- Southern (13-11, 163)

Sun Belt- Western Kentucky (19-5, 43)

WCC- Gonzaga (21-3, 12)

WAC- Nevada (19-5, 33), Utah State (17-6, 58)

Bubble:

Charlotte (15-9, 105)

Temple (14-9, 57)

Xavier (15-7, 65)

Virginia (13-9, 64)

Miami (14-11, 75)

Florida State (15-7, 63)

Nebraska (16-8, 92)

Texas A&M (15-7, 79)

Syracuse (17-8, 35)

Montana (16-5, 83)*

UC Irvine (14-11, 166)*

Birmingham Southern (18-6, 139)*

Hofstra (18-5, 55)

Old Dominion (18-8, 61)

Virginia Commonwealth (16-8, 76)

UAB (17-5, 54)

Houston (16-6, 56)

Butler (17-9, 80)*

Manhattan (16-8, 73)*

Akron (19-5, 69)*

Miami-OH (14-8, 81)*

Stanford (13-9, 88)

Arkansas (16-8, 72)

South Carolina (14-10, 46)

Elon (13-12, 173)*

South Alabama (17-6, 87)*

Louisiana Tech (16-10, 82)

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Preliminary Big Dance Breakdown II

After doing some more extensive research (read: cruising around the web) I decided to only use the top 25 of the RPI for tourney locks. I also only used games through Friday February 10th. As the season comes closer to an end I'll start seeding the teams. Anyway, here you go, enjoy:

America East- Albany (15-8)

Atlantic 10- George Washington (19-1), Xavier (14-6)

ACC- Duke (22-1), NC State (19-4), Boston College (18-5), North Carolina (14-6), Maryland (14-7)

Atlantic Sun- East Tenn St. (15-8)

Big 12- Texas (20-3), Kansas (16-6), Oklahoma (15-5), Iowa State (14-8)

Big East- Connecticut (21-1), Villanova (18-2), West Virginia (17-5), Georgetown (17-4), Pittsburgh (18-3), Seton Hall (15-6), Marquette (16-7), Cincinnati (16-8)

Big Sky- Northern Arizona (17-7)

Big South- Winthrop (15-6)

Big Ten- Iowa (18-6), Illinois (20-3), Ohio State (17-3), Michigan State (18-5), Michigan (16-5), Wisconsin (16-7), Indiana (13-7)

Big West- UC Irvine (13-10)

CAA- George Mason (18-5), UNC-Wilmington (18-7)

CUSA- Memphis (21-2), Houston (15-7)

Horizon- Wisconsin Milwaukee (17-6)

Ivy League- Pennsylvania (13-6)

MAAC- Manhattan (15-7)

MCC- IUPUI (16-7)

MAC- Akron (17-5)

MEAC- Delaware State (12-11)

MVC- Northern Iowa (21-4), Creighton (17-5), Wichita State (19-6), Southern Illinois (17-7)

MWC- San Diego State (16-6)

Northeast- Fairleigh Dickinson (14-8)

OVC- Murray State (17-5)

Pac-10- UCLA (20-4), California (15-6), Arizona (14-9), Washington (17-5)

Patriot- Bucknell (19-3)

SEC- LSU (16-6), Tennessee (17-3), Florida (20-3), Kentucky (15-8), Alabama (13-8)

Southern- Elon (12-11)

Southland- Northwestern State (16-6)

Southwestern- Southern (11-11)

Sun Belt- Western Kentucky (17-5)

WCC- Gonzaga (19-3)

WAC- Nevada (18-5), Utah State (15-5)

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Super Bowl Running Blog

We'll see how long this lasts. Starting at around kick-off time I'm going to start a running blog of the Super Bowl (commercials and all). Will I be able to plant my butt in one seat for 4 hours? I have no idea but I hope it's fun. Anyway, the prediction: Seattle 24, Pittsburgh 20. Have fun watching the game. Time for some Stevie Wonder now.

2:55 pm: Is there a song on TV that is more well-known than the "Are you ready for some football" song? How old is that singer? And does he write his own lines? He's gotta be close to death soon.

2:58 pm: Everyone in the room just looked at each other with a blank stare after that Full Throttle commercial. And they are still running the Patriots offensive line Visa commercial. Visa knows that the Pats aren't in the Super Bowl right?

3:06 pm: Um, everyone noticed that Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw (maybe the best two Super Bowl performers ever) weren't in that Super Bowl MVP thing, right? Ok, just checking.

3:08 pm: "Let your man out." Awesome, just awesome.

3:13 pm: Not so awesome. The Intro songs for the teams and the Star Spangled Banner needed serious help. I can just imagine the players thinking "This is the f'ing Super Bowl right. Why the hell does this suck so far?"

3:28 pm: Looks like the Seahawks aren't afraid to go at Polamalu. 2 plays first down.

3:31 pm: After a promising start the Hawks just kinda fizzled out. Good pressure on Hasselbeck by Pittsburgh.

3:34 pm: I can't speak for all of America but I know that I wouldn't want people on my hamburger. Not sure if that was a smart marketing move by Burger King.

3:35 pm: Great start, Pittsburgh. False start on the first play. I think Bill Cowher might kill Heath Miller.

3:37 pm: Make that two false starts on the first drive. Anyone think that maybe the Steelers aren't really ready?

3:40 pm: Oh Anheuser, that was great. The magic fridge is back! Let's hope that's a prelude to more great commercials.

3:44 pm: If the Steelers don't clamp down on Jackson then there's no way they win the game.

3:50 pm: Seattle's showed some great coverage so far. Roethlisberger's had nowhere to throw and Willie Parker's had nowhere to run.

3:52 pm: One of the stupidest commercials I've ever seen. Pepsi needs to drop Diddy and the whole gangsta rap thing. That was just plain terrible.

3:54 pm: I can hear chants of "MVP" whenever Darrell Jackson's name is called. Five catches already.

3:56 pm: That was the tackiest offensive pass interference of the whole year. Refs haven't called that at all in 2005.

4:01 pm: Anheuser, you're failing me.

4:04 pm: I can't believe how inefficient Roethlisberger has been. Although I think it's more of a testament to a swarming Seahawks defense. Pittsburgh just can't move the ball. At this rate the Seahawks won't need to score again the whole game.

4:10 pm: No one has been as cool and collected in a Super Bowl as these two QBs? I don't think John Madden watched Joe Montana or Terry Bradshaw or Tom Brady. I wonder if anyone has ever told him to shut up.

4:16 pm: John Madden can stop talking now. "The Tackle" huh? Again, I guess he doesn't remember Kevin Dyson being tackled at the 1 with no time left on the clock against the Rams in the Super Bowl. That should have been "The Tackle".

4:21 pm: So this is the lineup for M:I 3: Tom Cruise, Laurence Fishburne, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Intriguing.

4:27 pm: I could see the hit coming but boy was it funny. Michelob Light I applaude you.

4:30 pm: Nice play from Big Ben. The little Brett Favre shovel pass to keep the drive alive. If he starts playing like that then watch out, Pittsburgh will be dangerous.

4:32 pm: I love it when announcers say things like "the Steelers have their deepest penetration all day." Do they know that it sounds dirty?

4:34 pm: Huge sack by Grant Winstrom. Not only does it kill some Pittsburgh momentum but it knocks the Steelers out of field goal range.

4:35 pm: How does that happen? Absolutely horrendous downfield coverage by Seattle. He had to throw all the way across the field, 35 yards away. How does that happen?

4:37 pm: Ready for the 3rd-and-goal play action? I hope Seattle is.

4:38 pm: Does the movie "Poseidon" look exactly like "Titanic" just with a different name slapped on it? Please don't tell me that I'm insane. What's sad is that it will be one of those blockbuster hits.

4:40 pm: Imagine that, a play-action fake. Hate to say I told you so, but...

4:50 pm: Al Michaels just made a pretty decent point: Remember the Carolina-New England Super Bowl (aka the Janet Jackson Boob Bowl)? This game reminds me a lot of that game (minus Janet's nipple, but then again it's not halftime yet).

4:54 pm: That was some of the worst clock management I have ever seen to end the first half. I wonder if Madden still thinks that Big Ben and Hasselbeck have the coolest heads in the history of the Super Bowl.

4:56 pm: Halftime. That means food and the Rolling Stones. I'm almost hoping to see one of them drop dead on the stage. Not cuz I'm sick but because everyone is thinking it.

5:30 pm: No Rolling Stones deaths but I did have some good brownies. Also, one of my roommates chuckles everytime he hears Lofa Tutupa's name. C'mon, how could you not at least smile at the sound of"Lofa Tutupa"?

5:32 pm: All it takes is one play to turn the whole damn game around. I'd say that Willie Parker TD run did that. That guy is ridiculously explosive.

5:34 pm: Oh Ameriquest, that whole plane bit was creative and funny. Kudos.

5:38 pm: Seattle has to answer here. It's pertinent to their success. I think it's time to bench Jeremy Stephens. Two huge drops so far.

5:42 pm: Tiny mistakes are killing the Seahawks. No breaks, two missed field goals, lack of execution, penalties. The game is now Pittsburgh's to lose.

5:51 pm: The Hummer commercial was stupid. Does "Sons and Daughters" look like a quasi-rip-off of "Arrested Development"?

5:53 pm: Holy crap! The momentum just took a major swing. That interception is just what the Seahawks needed to get back in the game.

5:54 pm: Jeremy Stevens just redeemed himself. Huge touchdown pass by Hasselbeck. This second half is gonna be good. I can feel it.

6:00 pm: If Seattle can stop Pittsburgh from making big plays then I think they'll win. The only two scores from Pittsburgh came because of that 3rd-and-forever throw and the huge 60+ yard run from Parker. Other than that Pittsburgh really hasn't shown much life on offense.

6:04 pm: Jeremy Stevens! Please be consistent! Catch a pass, geez.

6:06 pm: And another penalty hurts the Hawks. Without that penalty Seattle's got a first down.

6:09 pm: What happened to Bill Cowher? 3rd and 2 and they line up in a shotgun, trips formation. That's normally the situation for Jerome Bettis to rumble.

6:11 pm: Beautiful punt by Chris Gardocki. Seattle's gonna have to rely on Shaun Alexander to get out of this spot.

6:12 pm: Hasselbeck sure is mobile. Only 124 yards rushing on the season but he can roll-out, scramble, run for first downs. It's something I never noticed before.

6:14 pm: And that's why Pittsburgh hasn't blitzed often. Those quick slants will end up burning the Steelers (as evidenced by the Bobby Engram first down).

6:17 pm: If I was rich I think I'd buy one of those Acuras. That voice activation guidance system thingy is sweet.

6:20 pm: Are you kidding? Another penalty to negate a huge play. Seattle is catching absolutely zero breaks today.

6:23 pm: Could anything else go wrong today? This is a perfect example of Murphy's Law: anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

6:24 pm: As dumb as it was, that Emerald Nuts commercial was pretty creative. C'mon, admit it.

6:28 pm: As soon as the play started I could tell it was a WR pass. So why couldn't Seattle tell? Regardless, great play call, great throw, great execution. Those are precisely the things that Seattle hasn't been able to do.

6:30 pm: Pirates of the Caribbean II anyone? Looks sweet, I'll take it.

6:34 pm: It looks like Seattle is finally going to catch a break. The question is whether or not they'll capitalize on it.

6:39 pm: No execution. Absolutely horrible. There's almost no way Seattle can win this game now.

6:45 pm: I don't think Roethlisberger got that snap off. Pittsburgh catches yet another break.

6:46 pm: And that's your ball game. Barring a major collapse that Randle-El first down sealed the deal.

6:50 pm: The same play that Pittsburgh ran on the touchdown. You think Seattle would do something to at least contain that play. Horrible execution.

6:54 pm: Spare me another crappy Paul Walker movie. Is there a reason why he keeps getting roles?

6:57 pm: Those two missed field goals by Josh Brown loom large now.

7:02 pm: I don't know if I've ever seen worse play calling in a Super Bowl. What a horrible job by Seattle. Pittsburgh wasn't necessarily the better team. Seattle just beat themselves with horrible execution and bad play calling. I would hate to be a Seahawks fan right now. Congrats to Bill Cowher and Jerome Bettis though. Two long careers that really deserved a Super Bowl.

Saturday, February 04, 2006

Preliminary Big Dance Breakdown

After a month and a half of technical difficulties and such I’m finally back. I’m trying to make-do with what I’ve got (and it’s not much). So apologies in advance if the updates aren’t very frequent.

Now that we have that out of the way, it’s time to get back to sports. Here’s my first look at the field of 65 (by conference). An asterisked team is who I think will be one of the teams to play in the “play-in” game for the right to face probably Duke or Connecticut. Also, these predictions are a combination of how teams have done so far and of their future potential. This will explain, hopefully, the instances where I have second place teams of one-bid conferences in the Big Dance instead of the first place teams (see the Northeast Conference). Additionally only three objective rules were used to determine these teams:

1) If a team wins its division then it gains entry,

2) If a team is in the top 30 in RPI then it gains entry, and

3) If a team does not win its division and is not the top 100 in RPI then it is not eligible for entry.

All other decisions were made based on pure analysis and subjective opinion. I’ve also included bubble teams at the end. Games through February 1st were used for selection.

America East (1)- Albany (13-8)

Atlantic 10 (2)- George Washington (16-1), Temple (12-7)

ACC (5)- Duke (20-1), NC State (17-4), Maryland (14-5), Boston College (16-5), North Carolina (12-5)

Atlantic Sun (1)- Lipscomb (13-7)

Big 12 (5)- Texas (18-3), Colorado (15-3), Oklahoma (14-4), Iowa State (13-7), Kansas (14-6)

Big East (8)- West Virginia (16-4), Connecticut (19-1), Villanova (16-2), Pittsburgh (17-2), Georgetown (15-4), Cincinnati (15-7), Marquette (16-6), Syracuse (16-6)

Big Sky (1)- Northern Arizona (15-6)

Big South (1)- Winthrop (14-5)

Big Ten (7)- Illinois (20-2), Michigan (16-3), Michigan State (16-5), Iowa (17-5), Wisconsin (15-6), Ohio State (15-3), Indiana (13-5)

Big West (1)- UC Irvine (12-8)

Colonial Athletic Association (2)- Old Dominion (15-6), George Mason (15-5)

CUSA (2)- Memphis (20-2), UAB (15-4)

Horizon (1)- Wisc. Milwaukee (16-4)

Ivy (1)- Penn (10-6)

MAAC (1)- Iona (15-4)

MCC (1)- IUPUI (13-7)

MAC (1)- Akron (16-4)

MEAC (1)- Delaware State (11-10)*

MVC (4)- Northern Iowa (19-4), Creighton (15-5), Wichita State (18-5), Southern Illinois (16-6)

MWC (2)- San Diego State (14-6)

Northeast Conference (1)- Central Conn (11-7)

OVC (1)- Murray State (15-5)

Pac-10 (4)- UCLA (17-4), Arizona (13-7), Washington (16-4), California (12-6)

Patriot (1) - Bucknell (17-3)

SEC (5)- Tennessee (15-3), Florida (19-2), LSU (15-5), Kentucky (15-6), Vanderbilt (12-6)

Southern Conference (1)- Davidson (13-7)

Southland Conference (1)- Northwestern St. (13-6)

SWAC (1)- Southern (10-10)*

Sun Belt (1)- Western Kentucky (16-5)

WCC (1)- Gonzaga (17-3)

WAC (1)- Utah State (15-4)

Bubble Teams (in no particular order)

Seton Hall (13-6)

Xavier (13-5)

Florida State (13-6)

Clemson (14-8)

Miami-FL (14-8)

Nebraska (14-6)

Kansas State (12-7)

Louisville (14-7)

Montana (16-3)

Birmingham Southern (16-5)

Pacific (15-6)

Hofstra (15-4)

Virginia Commonwealth (15-5)

Old Dominion (15-7)

Houston (12-6)

Manhattan (13-7)

Kent State (14-6)

Missouri State (14-6)

Bradley (13-7)

BYU (12-6)

Stanford (11-7)

Alabama (12-8)

Arkansas (15-6)

Georgia (14-8)

Nevada (15-5)

Louisiana Tech (13-8)

Air Force (18-3)