While many college football fans are giddy for the BCS system of deciding a national title to be over and done with at the end of this season thanks to a 4-team playoff, they should be very careful on what they ask for.
Isn't the Playoff Committee that has been assembled just a smaller version of the voters/computers that have helped decide the title game in the BCS era? The 13-person committee consists of former players, coaches, and even a former Secretary of State. Do you honestly think that fans of teams in the BCS hunt are going to believe in the legitimacy of these people, who I presume have either all gone to universities with football or are currently in a position of power at an NCAA institution (or at the very least, have had a strong rooting interest in a particular team)?
For instance, one of the committee members is Tom Osborne. Do you think a fan of a PAC-12 team (let's say Oregon) will respect the opinion of the committee if one year, Nebraska (Osborne's former team) somehow edges out the Ducks for a chance to play in the playoff?
And what about the 5th best team in the nation (or 9th best in an 8-team playoff, etc.)? You think fans of bubble teams and the media talk too much/complain about the teams that don't make the March Madness tourney...and multiply it by about a hundred. With March Madness, 68 teams out of 351 NCAA teams make "the playoffs", including 37 "at-large" teams who fail to win their conference tournament (or conference in the case of the Ivy League), you have 19.3% of teams represented in the tourney....and you still have people complaining about a 19-14 team not making the tournament over a 21-12 team with perhaps a slightly less strong resume. Many fans don't subscribe to my theory of "if you've put yourself in that position of being considered a 'bubble team', then you can't complain if they don't make it," and I don't see that changing for the football version, which will initially have 4 of its 124 teams (as of this year), or just over 3% of the teams. Even if you make it 8 teams, it's still a significantly smaller percentage of teams in there as there are in March Madness. And w/ NCAA football arguably having a stronger hold over the country than basketball, imagine how ugly some of those message boards (which are ugly enough without the playoff) will be if the playoff committee slights their team's prospects of a chance at the BCS title. Imagine how much time ESPN and other sports media organizations will spend on the teams that didn't make it.
If we use the final records of teams in the top 15 of the BCS standings (the final standings before the bowl games) as a basis for the teams likely to be considered in the Top-8 discussion (assuming they eventually go to the 8-team format), here are the records of all the teams from the past 5 years (before their eventual bowl game):
2008: 12-0 teams (2)*; 12-1 (3); 11-1 (4); 11-2 (1); 10-2 (2); 9-3 (3) - 9 teams with 1 loss or less
2009**: 13-0 teams (3); 12-0 (2); 12-1 (1); 11-2 (1); 10-2 (5); 9-3 (3) - 6 teams with 1 loss or less
2010: 13-0 teams (1); 12-0 (2); 12-1 (1); 11-1 (5); 11-2 (2); 10-2 (3); 9-3 (1) - 9 teams with 1 loss or less
2011: 13-0 teams (1); 11-1 (4); 11-2 (2); 10-2 (5); 10-3 (2); 9-3 (1) - 5 teams with 1 loss or less
2012: 12-0 teams (2)***; 12-1 (1); 11-1 (3); 11-2 (3); 10-2 (5); 9-3 (1) - 6 teams with 1 loss or less
(stats above do not include any teams with these records outside of the top 15 of the final BCS standings before the bowls)
*neither of these teams (Utah and Boise State) even finished in the top 6 of the rankings and had no shot in hell of making the BCS title game.
**Of the 5 undefeated teams at the end of the year, only Alabama and Texas - the title game participants - received 1st place votes at the end of the season.
***Ohio State was not eligible for the title game due to NCAA sanctions
Showing posts with label march madness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label march madness. Show all posts
10/18/2013
3/23/2013
How's Your Bracket & Other March Madness Musings
How does your bracket look?
Honestly, I stopped looking at mine with the string of upsets on Thursday, particularly New Mexico (one of my Final Four). But with that loss, I decided that this March (and future Marches) would not be considered a success or failure based on my brackets. Instead, my focus will be strictly on my gambling account.
Does this look like a successful bracket to you?
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I don't think this bracket is going to win me anything. Too many red lines too early in the tourney.
But you know what? As long as the bets I make are coming in, I don't care if this whole sheet is full of red lines.
I have had some bad bets (Montana was my worst bet of the year, possibly a top-5 all-time worst bet) - note that I don't always bet with my bracket (but usually do). For instance, one of my best bets ever came on Friday, betting on Florida Gulf Coast against Georgetown (the first half line of +7.5, game line of +13.5 & the best part, the money line of +800 - the biggest money line I've ever hit for a single game).
Are We the Champions?
The big bets still alive exist in the East bracket, where I have two teams still alive for my prop bet to win the tourney. Illinois did what they could to blow their huge lead, but ultimately held on to win. They face Miami on Sunday. I'm not really sure what to expect from them, but I'm hoping that they or California (preferably both) can pull off upsets in their Round of 32 matchups - Cali has Syracuse Saturday night.
A California title would net me $3750 on a $15 bet, while an Illinois championship would pay $4125. The odds of either team winning it are still remote, but it's still nice to see them stay alive. I hope one of them teases me with another win and a promotion to the Sweet 16.
Speaking of Illinois...
I've heard there's a lot of Illinois fans consumed with hatred of Bruce Weber, so much so that they seem to be enjoying the Kansas State loss more than their school's win. If you have any issues with Weber, you have issues yourself. I'm not sure what he did to get people to hate him so much. So what if he wasn't the best basketball coach? It's not like the guy murdered anyone - no reason to root so hard against a guy that led your school to its only title appearance in 2005.
If you're an Illini fan reading this and you're angry with Weber about his stint with Illinois....get over it. It's over and done with. Embrace the current and future Illinois teams. Enjoy watching these teams coached by a fantastic young coach (John Groce was a great hire) who has proven himself as a solid recruiter. Don't waste your energy on a part of our school's past that frankly wasn't all that bad.
Speaking of bad...
Did any of you attempt to watch most/all of the March Madness action? If so, I apologize. My eyes and brain hurt greatly from the poor quality of games so far this tourney. Forgive me if you disagree, but the quality of play from most teams was evident. I'm sure you can cite a plethora of reasons for this: (1) playing outside of normal game conditions, (2) lack of overall talent due to underclassmen going to the NBA, (3) pacing of games is choppy with all the TV timeouts, coaching timeouts and fouls, etc.
For me, especially this year, it's been almost impossible for me to watch games without having a reason to watch it (i.e. gambling). And for many of you, you'd probably not be watching these games if you didn't have bets on it or a bracket to follow. Gambling and brackets drive the March Madness, not the quality of play. We get so blinded by how great college basketball supposedly is by the 63 items to fill on those brackets that we don't even realize how poorly played these games are. Sloppy fouls, horrible turnovers, ridiculous shots that require viewers to consume shots. If you can enjoy these games without a bracket and without bets, then all the more power to you - I can't.
Good luck with your bets/brackets the rest of the tourney. I hope the games are higher quality than we've seen so far.
Honestly, I stopped looking at mine with the string of upsets on Thursday, particularly New Mexico (one of my Final Four). But with that loss, I decided that this March (and future Marches) would not be considered a success or failure based on my brackets. Instead, my focus will be strictly on my gambling account.
Does this look like a successful bracket to you?
I don't think this bracket is going to win me anything. Too many red lines too early in the tourney.
But you know what? As long as the bets I make are coming in, I don't care if this whole sheet is full of red lines.
I have had some bad bets (Montana was my worst bet of the year, possibly a top-5 all-time worst bet) - note that I don't always bet with my bracket (but usually do). For instance, one of my best bets ever came on Friday, betting on Florida Gulf Coast against Georgetown (the first half line of +7.5, game line of +13.5 & the best part, the money line of +800 - the biggest money line I've ever hit for a single game).
Are We the Champions?
The big bets still alive exist in the East bracket, where I have two teams still alive for my prop bet to win the tourney. Illinois did what they could to blow their huge lead, but ultimately held on to win. They face Miami on Sunday. I'm not really sure what to expect from them, but I'm hoping that they or California (preferably both) can pull off upsets in their Round of 32 matchups - Cali has Syracuse Saturday night.
A California title would net me $3750 on a $15 bet, while an Illinois championship would pay $4125. The odds of either team winning it are still remote, but it's still nice to see them stay alive. I hope one of them teases me with another win and a promotion to the Sweet 16.
Speaking of Illinois...
I've heard there's a lot of Illinois fans consumed with hatred of Bruce Weber, so much so that they seem to be enjoying the Kansas State loss more than their school's win. If you have any issues with Weber, you have issues yourself. I'm not sure what he did to get people to hate him so much. So what if he wasn't the best basketball coach? It's not like the guy murdered anyone - no reason to root so hard against a guy that led your school to its only title appearance in 2005.
If you're an Illini fan reading this and you're angry with Weber about his stint with Illinois....get over it. It's over and done with. Embrace the current and future Illinois teams. Enjoy watching these teams coached by a fantastic young coach (John Groce was a great hire) who has proven himself as a solid recruiter. Don't waste your energy on a part of our school's past that frankly wasn't all that bad.
Speaking of bad...
Did any of you attempt to watch most/all of the March Madness action? If so, I apologize. My eyes and brain hurt greatly from the poor quality of games so far this tourney. Forgive me if you disagree, but the quality of play from most teams was evident. I'm sure you can cite a plethora of reasons for this: (1) playing outside of normal game conditions, (2) lack of overall talent due to underclassmen going to the NBA, (3) pacing of games is choppy with all the TV timeouts, coaching timeouts and fouls, etc.
For me, especially this year, it's been almost impossible for me to watch games without having a reason to watch it (i.e. gambling). And for many of you, you'd probably not be watching these games if you didn't have bets on it or a bracket to follow. Gambling and brackets drive the March Madness, not the quality of play. We get so blinded by how great college basketball supposedly is by the 63 items to fill on those brackets that we don't even realize how poorly played these games are. Sloppy fouls, horrible turnovers, ridiculous shots that require viewers to consume shots. If you can enjoy these games without a bracket and without bets, then all the more power to you - I can't.
Good luck with your bets/brackets the rest of the tourney. I hope the games are higher quality than we've seen so far.
3/21/2013
Brian's Bracket - 2013 Version
Nothing else needs to be said, aside from my two tourney bets that aren't reflected on my bracket:
Good luck with your brackets. Here is my bracket of integrity (in an offshoot, I have New Mexico winning it over Indiana)
| 169809293-1 | 3/21/13 12:54am | $15.00 | $4,125.00 | Pending | 3/21/13 12:15pm Basketball NCAA Men's Basketball +27500 National Champion 2012/13 - Illinois |
| 166242856-1 | 3/2/13 2:54am | $15.00 | $3,750.00 | Pending | 3/2/13 12:00pm Basketball NCAA Men's Basketball +25000 National Champion 2012/13 - California |
Good luck with your brackets. Here is my bracket of integrity (in an offshoot, I have New Mexico winning it over Indiana)
3/20/2013
Sleeper Cell in Champaign: Making A Case for The Fighting Illini
It would be fitting for me to write a blog about a sleeper team as most people are snuggled away in their beds, having March Madness nightmares. Flying brackets are coming at them at high speeds, with large seeds being planted deep in their membranes. Should I pick that upset? Should I keep this team in my Sweet 16?
Yes, you should pick that upset - that's what March Madness is for. And yes, keep them there - you're always better off going with your gut instinct with these things.
One team you shouldn't sleep on is one that practically fell asleep mid-season, but was fairly awake for the beginning part of the year along with wet dream games against Ohio State and Indiana. In fact, they lay claim as the only team in the tourney that can say they beat three of the top eight seeds in the tourney.
Yes - Illinois fits the role of the Cinderella. Will the shoe fit?
Beating the Big Boys
It fit when they traveled to Spokane in the early part of the year when they shot lights out against Gonzaga in a hostile environment. A month later, they never trailed in a blowout of Ohio State at home. Another month after that, a spirited second half comeback helped the Illini upset then No.1 Indiana.
Sure, they've had their clunkers (see: plenty of the Big Ten schedule, especially games against Northwestern at home and at Wisconsin). Not too often an 8-10 Big Ten team is worthy of a 7 seed in the tourney, but the Illini's strength of victory has to be considered when the bracket is put together.
This blog might be useless come Friday afternoon if they lay a dud against Colorado (possible). But the way Illinois has played this season, they feel like they are just as likely to advance to the Elite Eight as they are to lose in their first game.
Yes, I believe they can beat Colorado, Miami and their third opponent (whoever it may be). Hell, if Indiana is still standing at that point, I believe Illinois could beat them as well - they already proved earlier this year that they can play with them.
Track Record
Besides, let's not forget what their new coach John Groce did with mid-major Ohio last year, leading them into the Sweet 16 and taking top-seeded North Carolina to overtime before just missing a chance at an Elite 8 appearance.
When Illinois is playing at its peak, it has proven it can beat the top teams in the country. Here's to hoping, especially as an alumnus of the Fighting Illini, that they can find some of their early season magic, which led to a 12-0 start and win a string of games that can take them into the second weekend of the tourney and beyond.
I have Illinois losing to Indiana in the Elite Eight, for what it's worth. I might take a shot before the tourney starts at Illinois' 275/1 odds to win the tourney.
When they lose in the first round against Colorado, don't say I didn't warn you (and don't say I covered my ass by including this disclaimer - talking out of both sides of our ass is what writers/prognosticators do).
If the shoe fits....we shall see.
Yes, you should pick that upset - that's what March Madness is for. And yes, keep them there - you're always better off going with your gut instinct with these things.
One team you shouldn't sleep on is one that practically fell asleep mid-season, but was fairly awake for the beginning part of the year along with wet dream games against Ohio State and Indiana. In fact, they lay claim as the only team in the tourney that can say they beat three of the top eight seeds in the tourney.
Yes - Illinois fits the role of the Cinderella. Will the shoe fit?
Beating the Big Boys
It fit when they traveled to Spokane in the early part of the year when they shot lights out against Gonzaga in a hostile environment. A month later, they never trailed in a blowout of Ohio State at home. Another month after that, a spirited second half comeback helped the Illini upset then No.1 Indiana.
Sure, they've had their clunkers (see: plenty of the Big Ten schedule, especially games against Northwestern at home and at Wisconsin). Not too often an 8-10 Big Ten team is worthy of a 7 seed in the tourney, but the Illini's strength of victory has to be considered when the bracket is put together.
This blog might be useless come Friday afternoon if they lay a dud against Colorado (possible). But the way Illinois has played this season, they feel like they are just as likely to advance to the Elite Eight as they are to lose in their first game.
Yes, I believe they can beat Colorado, Miami and their third opponent (whoever it may be). Hell, if Indiana is still standing at that point, I believe Illinois could beat them as well - they already proved earlier this year that they can play with them.
Track Record
Besides, let's not forget what their new coach John Groce did with mid-major Ohio last year, leading them into the Sweet 16 and taking top-seeded North Carolina to overtime before just missing a chance at an Elite 8 appearance.
When Illinois is playing at its peak, it has proven it can beat the top teams in the country. Here's to hoping, especially as an alumnus of the Fighting Illini, that they can find some of their early season magic, which led to a 12-0 start and win a string of games that can take them into the second weekend of the tourney and beyond.
I have Illinois losing to Indiana in the Elite Eight, for what it's worth. I might take a shot before the tourney starts at Illinois' 275/1 odds to win the tourney.
When they lose in the first round against Colorado, don't say I didn't warn you (and don't say I covered my ass by including this disclaimer - talking out of both sides of our ass is what writers/prognosticators do).
If the shoe fits....we shall see.
3/19/2013
Dos and Don'ts of March Madness Bracketing
Wanna be charged with a case of bracketeering?
Don't get on my bad side when it comes to filling out March Madness brackets. I'll point out the few types of folks that bother me the most.
(P.S. If you want to join my Yahoo bracket league, click on the following link and join: http://y.ahoo.it/Z7vBSl5l or just look up Group 12771 on Yahoo's Fantasy Sports Tournament Pick'Em page)
Don't Be The...
1. Guy Who Fills Out 10 Brackets...and then is bragging when one of them has an upset that occurred. If you want to fill out several brackets, that's cool. But one of your brackets has to be the master copy - the one which has what you think will actually happen, not every single upset possible just to brag when one of the 30 comes in.
2. Guy Who Picks a Square Bracket - Will each bracket feature a #1 vs. #2. in the regional final? Probably not. Will the top 4 seeds in each bracket make it to the Sweet 16? I'm going out on a limb and saying no. Please, please, please....don't be that guy who picks nothing but the highest seeds to advance in every round. Even if you're in a money pool, there's a handful of people already doing that, so you will need some variety to your picks.
3. Guy Who Picks Notre Dame over Montana in the NCAA Final: According to a friend of mine, he knows someone who has this match-up as the championship game of the tourney. If anyone does this in the groups I entered, I will say - thank you for your donation. At this point, you've probably picked so many upsets that winning the pool is completely unrealistic.
I'd be willing to donate a testicle to science if this is the NCAA final game.
On the other hand, you should be the....
1. Guy who has a handful of double digit seeds winning in the first full round. What fun is it to pick all the top seeds (1-8)?
And while we're at it, you should sprinkle in a few of these teams into the Sweet 16. Not all of them, but some of them.
2. Guy who has 1 or 2 #1 seeds in the Final Four. The likelihood of all 4 #1 seeds making the Final Four pays off at a 50/1 clip on 5dimes. On the other end, the likelihood of no #1 seeds making the Final Four is a 4/1 proposition - 12.5 times more likely to happen than all #1s. The best odds lie in 1 or 2 top-seeds to make the Final Four. My bracket fits this bill.
For what it's worth, the sportsbooks have the over/under of the total sum of all seeds in the Final Four to be at 12.5 - which my picks are slightly under that. I'll post some more of the fun props below.
3. Guy who has a top 3 seed winning the tourney. Realistically, the top 3 seeds are the best bet when determining who will be the champion. In the 30 previous Final Fours of my lifetime (including 1983), there have been only four teams who have been seeded 4th or higher that won the title, and none since Arizona as a 4 seed in 1997.
Many of you are entering pools when doing these brackets, so why not think over some of these tips when entering your brackets? I wish everyone the best of luck with their brackets. I will post my bracket on Thursday.
In the meantime, ponder some of these props that are on 5dimes:
I already have a bet from late last month on California to win the tournament at 225/1 odds - 15 to win 3750. I am considering some other long shots (Kansas State at 100/1 & Illinois at 275/1 are crossing my mind).
Don't get on my bad side when it comes to filling out March Madness brackets. I'll point out the few types of folks that bother me the most.
(P.S. If you want to join my Yahoo bracket league, click on the following link and join: http://y.ahoo.it/Z7vBSl5l or just look up Group 12771 on Yahoo's Fantasy Sports Tournament Pick'Em page)
Don't Be The...
1. Guy Who Fills Out 10 Brackets...and then is bragging when one of them has an upset that occurred. If you want to fill out several brackets, that's cool. But one of your brackets has to be the master copy - the one which has what you think will actually happen, not every single upset possible just to brag when one of the 30 comes in.
2. Guy Who Picks a Square Bracket - Will each bracket feature a #1 vs. #2. in the regional final? Probably not. Will the top 4 seeds in each bracket make it to the Sweet 16? I'm going out on a limb and saying no. Please, please, please....don't be that guy who picks nothing but the highest seeds to advance in every round. Even if you're in a money pool, there's a handful of people already doing that, so you will need some variety to your picks.
 |
| If your bracket looks like this, don't join my pool. Or any pool for that matter. Your brackets need a little variety and spice. |
3. Guy Who Picks Notre Dame over Montana in the NCAA Final: According to a friend of mine, he knows someone who has this match-up as the championship game of the tourney. If anyone does this in the groups I entered, I will say - thank you for your donation. At this point, you've probably picked so many upsets that winning the pool is completely unrealistic.
I'd be willing to donate a testicle to science if this is the NCAA final game.
On the other hand, you should be the....
1. Guy who has a handful of double digit seeds winning in the first full round. What fun is it to pick all the top seeds (1-8)?
And while we're at it, you should sprinkle in a few of these teams into the Sweet 16. Not all of them, but some of them.
2. Guy who has 1 or 2 #1 seeds in the Final Four. The likelihood of all 4 #1 seeds making the Final Four pays off at a 50/1 clip on 5dimes. On the other end, the likelihood of no #1 seeds making the Final Four is a 4/1 proposition - 12.5 times more likely to happen than all #1s. The best odds lie in 1 or 2 top-seeds to make the Final Four. My bracket fits this bill.
For what it's worth, the sportsbooks have the over/under of the total sum of all seeds in the Final Four to be at 12.5 - which my picks are slightly under that. I'll post some more of the fun props below.
3. Guy who has a top 3 seed winning the tourney. Realistically, the top 3 seeds are the best bet when determining who will be the champion. In the 30 previous Final Fours of my lifetime (including 1983), there have been only four teams who have been seeded 4th or higher that won the title, and none since Arizona as a 4 seed in 1997.
Many of you are entering pools when doing these brackets, so why not think over some of these tips when entering your brackets? I wish everyone the best of luck with their brackets. I will post my bracket on Thursday.
In the meantime, ponder some of these props that are on 5dimes:
| Thu 3/21 | 15743 All #1-#4 seeds in Final 4 | +173 | |||||
| 1:40PM | 15744 Any #5-#16 seed in Final 4 | -205 |
| Thu 3/21 | 15731 Exactly three #1-#3 seeds in Final 4 | +135 | |||||
| 1:40PM | 15732 Not exactly three #1-#3 seeds in Final 4 | -155 |
I already have a bet from late last month on California to win the tournament at 225/1 odds - 15 to win 3750. I am considering some other long shots (Kansas State at 100/1 & Illinois at 275/1 are crossing my mind).
7/13/2012
B List - Stupidest Sports Arguments (List 9)
I still plan on writing about the new NCAA playoff format and how it's going to cause more problems than it creates.
For now, I will mention it among six other sports arguments that I consider to be among the stupidest. This will likely have a slight Chicago lean, as I have listened to many an argument about sports from friends and strangers alike.
Here's the list of arguments that I consider to be among the most pointless.
7. Tebow - There's no way to have a reasonable debate on Tim Tebow. He's such a polarizing sports figure that you may as well discuss your stance on abortion, gun rights and gay marriage and be more productive in talking. His critics (such as myself and anyone who likes their quarterbacks to be accurate and good) will never convince his fans (who love what he stands for and his ability to win close games) that he sucks, and his fans will never convince his critics that he is the greatest quarterback of all time. I'm convinced that ranking systems like NFL Networks Top 100 players (ranked him 95th best player in the league) and NFL Films (ranking him the 7th best Heisman winner in NFL history - a ranking that was to measure the career accomplishments of Heisman winners) were just to grab attention and ratings. Anyone who thinks Tebow has accomplished more in his short career (one in which he hasn't started a complete season) than Earl Campbell (8th) and Marcus Allen (9th) is smoking the kind of crack I'd like to smoke if I was into that sort of thing.
6. Comparing Michael Jordan to anyone - There are way too many times people want to compare the best players of the day to MJ. I discussed this in a blog almost two months ago with Kobe and how he and Lebron are often brought up by people who want to discuss today's players with the best of all time. No reasonable person would argue that these guys are better than MJ. Many times, this argument, at least from my observations, is usually addressed by the folks who are so hard for MJ that they can't wait to bring his name up anytime Kobe or LeBron does something good. "Kobe's good, but he's no MJ" or pictures of MJ flaunting his rings asking LeBron about his rings are just a few of the examples that pop up when people want to remind the world that MJ is the best. I don't think we need these comments/pictures posted on FB all the time to know that MJ is better than both of them. Let it go.
5. Old champs vs. new champs - Media and public folks do this a lot. How would (current champ) do against (some old great team), with most of the folks who are on the elderly side of the debate usually arguing for the latter. The most recent example of this was Kobe being asked if he thought this current collection of Olympians could beat the Dream Team in a game, with Kobe answering affirmatively. Did everyone expect Kobe to say, "No, you know what, I think we'd get killed." It's not in Kobe's DNA to admit that he can't do something, even if his heart of hearts believed that his current squad would have no chance. In one game, sure, this collection of guys may be able to win, but the Dream Team, whose player composition included all but one Hall of Famer, would likely win most matchups. But you know what? You can't possibly know what would happen because it can never happen. Therefore, these type of arguments are deemed pointless in my eyes.
4. Best running back ever - I've heard this many times argued among friends and on TV alike. There's only a few names that I would even consider being reasonable to discuss in the equation - including Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, OJ Simpson, Earl Campbell, and of course Walter Payton. Living in Chicago, the most common debate I heard was Payton being the best, with a few of my Dallas friends arguing Emmitt's case. It may not be the worst argument in sports, but with the way I've heard it argued, it usually turns into an ugly conversation. Perhaps that's more of a reflection of my friends arguing it than the argument itself. Since I am not old enough to have seen (or remember) many of these guys play, I can only go by statistics to say who was the best. And I don't think that's fair to the debate. I've always contended that Jim Brown was the best ever. Take a look at his stats and accomplishments if you get the chance to understand why I would think this. I'd rather not get into this argument, so I'm going to stop now.
3. BCS - For most of its existence, people have denounced the BCS as a crappy way to crown a college champion. The truth is - there is no perfect way to do this. Since there are many conferences and there's no way that teams can play completely balanced schedules, there will always have to be a human element involved with deciding who should be considered for the right to be champion (or at least play for the championship). The system that preceded the BCS was straight up voting, with many seasons in NCAA history ending without the two best regular season teams facing each other based on how the Bowl system would place teams into specific Bowls. Instead, the winner was voted on in polls before the BCS. At least with the BCS, you have almost always had two of the top 2-4 teams in the nation playing for the national championship. This new 4-team playoff is going to cause more problems than it will solve and will likely become one of its own top 2-3 dumb sports arguments out there. Whenever a selection process is used to decide who will make a playoff (as this playoff will be), you will hear about at least 2-3 teams a year (if not more) who got screwed out of a chance to play.
2. NCAA Tourney snubs - Speaking of NCAA and selection committees, one of the dumbest arguments I hear on a yearly basis is the teams who were left out of the NCAA March Madness tourney. Every year, a big part of ESPN and CBS broadcasts on Selection Sunday is devoted to the teams who barely squeaked in and the teams who just missed the tourney. Cases are made for each team who didn't make it (teams who are roughly 18-12 and lost in the second round of their conference tourney) as if they were leaving out the best team in the nation. It's gotten so bad with the tourney that they've even expanded the tourney several times in our lifetimes and people still complain about the last team who didn't make it. If you can't convince people that you are not one of the best teams in the nation when you have an 18-12 record and you don't win an automatic bid, you can't complain when you leave your team's postseason fate in the hands of a committee. The screams for the last team in are bad with the NCAA tourney - imagine how bad it will be when football gets around to their 4-team playoff.
1. All Star snubs - And the grand champion for stupid debates for me is All Star snubs. And this is by far the stupidest for me. While baseball is fresh in my mind, this also applies for the other sports who host an annual All-Star game. However, the bickering over baseball All Stars is probably the loudest (and definitely the most annoying). Even with expanding rosters, you could always find an idiot who says "My guy should have made it". Yeah, he could/should have, but who cares? In some ways, I'd rather have my guy rest for 3-4 days than go to a glorified exhibition game that most fans (at least the ones I know) don't care who wins. Even with the White Sox making a run towards the postseason, I have given little thought to the fact that they would be travelling for Game 1 of the World Series if they were lucky enough to make it that far because a collection of AL players lost 8-0 the other day. The new rule of adding a World Series stipulation to the game inspired the slogan "This Time, It Counts" from Fox for the longest time, inspiring even more annoying banter among people who say their guy should have made it and been able to help their league out in what should be a meaningless All-Star game. The emotion that is wasted when one gets sad or angry about their guy being left off a roster should instead be used to cheer that player on after the All-Star break ends. At the end of the day, the All Star game is an exhibition, whether the MLB's WS stipulation tells you or not.
For now, I will mention it among six other sports arguments that I consider to be among the stupidest. This will likely have a slight Chicago lean, as I have listened to many an argument about sports from friends and strangers alike.
Here's the list of arguments that I consider to be among the most pointless.
7. Tebow - There's no way to have a reasonable debate on Tim Tebow. He's such a polarizing sports figure that you may as well discuss your stance on abortion, gun rights and gay marriage and be more productive in talking. His critics (such as myself and anyone who likes their quarterbacks to be accurate and good) will never convince his fans (who love what he stands for and his ability to win close games) that he sucks, and his fans will never convince his critics that he is the greatest quarterback of all time. I'm convinced that ranking systems like NFL Networks Top 100 players (ranked him 95th best player in the league) and NFL Films (ranking him the 7th best Heisman winner in NFL history - a ranking that was to measure the career accomplishments of Heisman winners) were just to grab attention and ratings. Anyone who thinks Tebow has accomplished more in his short career (one in which he hasn't started a complete season) than Earl Campbell (8th) and Marcus Allen (9th) is smoking the kind of crack I'd like to smoke if I was into that sort of thing.
6. Comparing Michael Jordan to anyone - There are way too many times people want to compare the best players of the day to MJ. I discussed this in a blog almost two months ago with Kobe and how he and Lebron are often brought up by people who want to discuss today's players with the best of all time. No reasonable person would argue that these guys are better than MJ. Many times, this argument, at least from my observations, is usually addressed by the folks who are so hard for MJ that they can't wait to bring his name up anytime Kobe or LeBron does something good. "Kobe's good, but he's no MJ" or pictures of MJ flaunting his rings asking LeBron about his rings are just a few of the examples that pop up when people want to remind the world that MJ is the best. I don't think we need these comments/pictures posted on FB all the time to know that MJ is better than both of them. Let it go.
5. Old champs vs. new champs - Media and public folks do this a lot. How would (current champ) do against (some old great team), with most of the folks who are on the elderly side of the debate usually arguing for the latter. The most recent example of this was Kobe being asked if he thought this current collection of Olympians could beat the Dream Team in a game, with Kobe answering affirmatively. Did everyone expect Kobe to say, "No, you know what, I think we'd get killed." It's not in Kobe's DNA to admit that he can't do something, even if his heart of hearts believed that his current squad would have no chance. In one game, sure, this collection of guys may be able to win, but the Dream Team, whose player composition included all but one Hall of Famer, would likely win most matchups. But you know what? You can't possibly know what would happen because it can never happen. Therefore, these type of arguments are deemed pointless in my eyes.
4. Best running back ever - I've heard this many times argued among friends and on TV alike. There's only a few names that I would even consider being reasonable to discuss in the equation - including Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, OJ Simpson, Earl Campbell, and of course Walter Payton. Living in Chicago, the most common debate I heard was Payton being the best, with a few of my Dallas friends arguing Emmitt's case. It may not be the worst argument in sports, but with the way I've heard it argued, it usually turns into an ugly conversation. Perhaps that's more of a reflection of my friends arguing it than the argument itself. Since I am not old enough to have seen (or remember) many of these guys play, I can only go by statistics to say who was the best. And I don't think that's fair to the debate. I've always contended that Jim Brown was the best ever. Take a look at his stats and accomplishments if you get the chance to understand why I would think this. I'd rather not get into this argument, so I'm going to stop now.
3. BCS - For most of its existence, people have denounced the BCS as a crappy way to crown a college champion. The truth is - there is no perfect way to do this. Since there are many conferences and there's no way that teams can play completely balanced schedules, there will always have to be a human element involved with deciding who should be considered for the right to be champion (or at least play for the championship). The system that preceded the BCS was straight up voting, with many seasons in NCAA history ending without the two best regular season teams facing each other based on how the Bowl system would place teams into specific Bowls. Instead, the winner was voted on in polls before the BCS. At least with the BCS, you have almost always had two of the top 2-4 teams in the nation playing for the national championship. This new 4-team playoff is going to cause more problems than it will solve and will likely become one of its own top 2-3 dumb sports arguments out there. Whenever a selection process is used to decide who will make a playoff (as this playoff will be), you will hear about at least 2-3 teams a year (if not more) who got screwed out of a chance to play.
2. NCAA Tourney snubs - Speaking of NCAA and selection committees, one of the dumbest arguments I hear on a yearly basis is the teams who were left out of the NCAA March Madness tourney. Every year, a big part of ESPN and CBS broadcasts on Selection Sunday is devoted to the teams who barely squeaked in and the teams who just missed the tourney. Cases are made for each team who didn't make it (teams who are roughly 18-12 and lost in the second round of their conference tourney) as if they were leaving out the best team in the nation. It's gotten so bad with the tourney that they've even expanded the tourney several times in our lifetimes and people still complain about the last team who didn't make it. If you can't convince people that you are not one of the best teams in the nation when you have an 18-12 record and you don't win an automatic bid, you can't complain when you leave your team's postseason fate in the hands of a committee. The screams for the last team in are bad with the NCAA tourney - imagine how bad it will be when football gets around to their 4-team playoff.
1. All Star snubs - And the grand champion for stupid debates for me is All Star snubs. And this is by far the stupidest for me. While baseball is fresh in my mind, this also applies for the other sports who host an annual All-Star game. However, the bickering over baseball All Stars is probably the loudest (and definitely the most annoying). Even with expanding rosters, you could always find an idiot who says "My guy should have made it". Yeah, he could/should have, but who cares? In some ways, I'd rather have my guy rest for 3-4 days than go to a glorified exhibition game that most fans (at least the ones I know) don't care who wins. Even with the White Sox making a run towards the postseason, I have given little thought to the fact that they would be travelling for Game 1 of the World Series if they were lucky enough to make it that far because a collection of AL players lost 8-0 the other day. The new rule of adding a World Series stipulation to the game inspired the slogan "This Time, It Counts" from Fox for the longest time, inspiring even more annoying banter among people who say their guy should have made it and been able to help their league out in what should be a meaningless All-Star game. The emotion that is wasted when one gets sad or angry about their guy being left off a roster should instead be used to cheer that player on after the All-Star break ends. At the end of the day, the All Star game is an exhibition, whether the MLB's WS stipulation tells you or not.
4/02/2012
Kentucky's Derby
In case you hadn't noticed from the first March Madness blog I did at the start of the tournament 2.5 weeks ago, Jen picked the correct championship game - Kansas versus Kentucky. Not bad for a first time filling out a bracket. I think I've done that 2 or 3 times in my life of filling out brackets for 15-16 years at least. I've picked champions about 3-4 times in my life (not including this one). I had Kansas to win it all the past couple years, so I probably bet them to lose this year (Round of 32 vs Purdue) because of the bad taste they've left in my mouth. If Jen had been in a pool last year, she may have had avoided the Jayhawks as well.
However, her title pick (Kansas) is getting routed at the half by "my" Kentucky Wildcats, which means I'd get my choice of dinner for her to make. I was thinking BBQ chicken pizza, but maybe I'll go a different route. Does anyone have any good ideas for food I should ask the lady to cook?
Perhaps I shouldn't post this with a half to go, but I'm one of the few sports fans in the world who doesn't believe in jinxes - so here goes nothing.
But what's really sad now is that the end of college basketball closes the end of a betting season for me. NBA is still there till June, but I was just starting to hit my groove with March Madness betting for once. Most years, I tank any NBA winnings or regular season college winnings in the first weekend of the tourney - and this year was almost no exception.
My first 6 bets of the tourney (all first day bets) were toilet money, ranging from a couple of money line bets (including a long shot in UNC Asheville) to some first and second half bets. My last two bets on the initial day were winners, but that momentum didn't carry over after losing 4 of my first 5 bets of the day, digging myself into quite the hole.
I can thank Xavier for starting my great run with a win against Notre Dame - overall, Xavier netted me $660 in their three games of the tourney. Only Louisville (+$850) was better for me.
Even though entering the tourney finale my record was 23-24, I was able to sport a profit of $801 for the tourney games - thank God for Xavier + Louisville covers. Outside of their games (the ones I bet on, didn't bet on Louisville game), I was down $709 (eeeek) with a 16-24 record.
As I've typed this, Kentucky has had their lead chipped into a little bit - let's hope this doesn't get chipped into further. Go Blue (sorry Jen & Sherman).
However, her title pick (Kansas) is getting routed at the half by "my" Kentucky Wildcats, which means I'd get my choice of dinner for her to make. I was thinking BBQ chicken pizza, but maybe I'll go a different route. Does anyone have any good ideas for food I should ask the lady to cook?
Perhaps I shouldn't post this with a half to go, but I'm one of the few sports fans in the world who doesn't believe in jinxes - so here goes nothing.
But what's really sad now is that the end of college basketball closes the end of a betting season for me. NBA is still there till June, but I was just starting to hit my groove with March Madness betting for once. Most years, I tank any NBA winnings or regular season college winnings in the first weekend of the tourney - and this year was almost no exception.
My first 6 bets of the tourney (all first day bets) were toilet money, ranging from a couple of money line bets (including a long shot in UNC Asheville) to some first and second half bets. My last two bets on the initial day were winners, but that momentum didn't carry over after losing 4 of my first 5 bets of the day, digging myself into quite the hole.
I can thank Xavier for starting my great run with a win against Notre Dame - overall, Xavier netted me $660 in their three games of the tourney. Only Louisville (+$850) was better for me.
Even though entering the tourney finale my record was 23-24, I was able to sport a profit of $801 for the tourney games - thank God for Xavier + Louisville covers. Outside of their games (the ones I bet on, didn't bet on Louisville game), I was down $709 (eeeek) with a 16-24 record.
As I've typed this, Kentucky has had their lead chipped into a little bit - let's hope this doesn't get chipped into further. Go Blue (sorry Jen & Sherman).
3/31/2012
The Rides of March - Final Four Preview
It's getting to the end of the college season, which I'm sure some of you are mourning like me, while others are just glad their boyfriends aren't going to be watching this March Madness crap anymore.
Both games feature regular season rematches from December. Kansas continued their dominance on their home court and handled Ohio State last time around, but the Buckeyes were without Jared Sullinger, a late scratch in the game.
While Ohio State was expected to dominate the Big Ten and compete for the title this year, Kansas was thought to be in a rebuilding process - at least for them. Many projects had Kansas finishing behind Baylor and Missouri in the Big 12.
Louisville +8.5 vs. Kentucky
Kentucky downed Louisville by 7 on New Year's Eve, but were up by double digits much of the latter part of the game. As the cliche goes, these teams are a shell of what they were. Kentucky's young guns are much more seasoned, while Louisville has developed into one of the best defenses in college basketball.
At this point in the tourney, when you're betting some of these Final Four teams throughout the tourney and riding them to profit, it becomes difficult to bet against them. For me, the team that fits this bill the best is Louisville, a squad I have backed from the Round of 32 into the Elite Eight.
Despite the bet being a squarish (very public/popular) bet, I refreshed my phone in delight as Louisville covered the spread by a bucket over New Mexico on St. Patrick's Day. Five days later, I was delighted to see the Cardinals as 5 to 5.5 point underdogs versus Michigan State, the top seed in the region with a coach (Tom Izzo) who has a reputation for great coaching in March Madness.
After Louisville's convincing win there, they had to face the Florida Gators, who many sharp bettors thought had the better chance to advance to the Final Four thanks to more scoring options. It was looking that way for the first 33-34 minutes of the game, with Florida storming out of the gate with an insane shooting display. They led much of the game, mainly in the 7-10 point range, but a late rally by Louisville led -----> this guy <------ to celebrate to a third consecutive gambling win for me on Louisville.
In all, this Cardinals run netted me $800, so you can see why I may have a soft spot for them tonight against Kentucky, who I picked to win the tourney when the brackets came out. As any gambler knows though, you have to take emotion out of the equation and you have to ignore who may or may not have won you money. With Kentucky tourney games, I went 1-1 (bet on them against Indiana, against their spread versus Baylor).
This is no way to analyze a game, but stuff I must keep in mind before making an emotional type of bet on the games. I do think this is going to be a hard-fought rivalry type of game. Their December 31st matchup featured 50+ fouls, which hopefully won't get quite that high today (for fear of the referees making themselves part of the game).
Kentucky has the superior talent, while Louisville has the better team defense. I expect this to be the Civil War that everyone is dubbing it. Rick Pitino prepares his teams well after long layoffs between games, which will be one of the reasons this game stays so close. Like their last game, I say Kentucky wins, but Louisville covers.
Kentucky 67, Louisville 61 (Betting Louisville +8.5)
Kansas +2.5 vs. Ohio State
I don't have as much of a feel on the other game. The scary thing about Kansas so far is that they haven't really played that great yet despite making the Final Four. The Jayhawks escaped with a win over Purdue and could never put away North Carolina State in the regional semifinals. They were going back and forth versus UNC before saving their best three-minute span of tourney basketball for the last three minutes and eventually running away from the Tar Heels.
Ohio State has confused some bettors this year, with people not sure what they are going to get out of the Buckeyes. Come tourney time, and the Buckeyes started taking care of business. Like Kansas, they downed a 1-seed to advance to the Final Four, thanks to a strong second half performance.
While Kansas won by 11 the last time around, I'd definitely say that the absence of Sullinger was the main reason to such a convincing victory. If I decide to bet this game, I'm leaning on taking Ohio State - just not sure how convinced I am that Kansas isn't going to show its talent a little more than they have so far in the tourney.
Ohio State 74, Kansas 70
Enjoy the games everyone.
Both games feature regular season rematches from December. Kansas continued their dominance on their home court and handled Ohio State last time around, but the Buckeyes were without Jared Sullinger, a late scratch in the game.
While Ohio State was expected to dominate the Big Ten and compete for the title this year, Kansas was thought to be in a rebuilding process - at least for them. Many projects had Kansas finishing behind Baylor and Missouri in the Big 12.
Louisville +8.5 vs. Kentucky
Kentucky downed Louisville by 7 on New Year's Eve, but were up by double digits much of the latter part of the game. As the cliche goes, these teams are a shell of what they were. Kentucky's young guns are much more seasoned, while Louisville has developed into one of the best defenses in college basketball.
At this point in the tourney, when you're betting some of these Final Four teams throughout the tourney and riding them to profit, it becomes difficult to bet against them. For me, the team that fits this bill the best is Louisville, a squad I have backed from the Round of 32 into the Elite Eight.
Despite the bet being a squarish (very public/popular) bet, I refreshed my phone in delight as Louisville covered the spread by a bucket over New Mexico on St. Patrick's Day. Five days later, I was delighted to see the Cardinals as 5 to 5.5 point underdogs versus Michigan State, the top seed in the region with a coach (Tom Izzo) who has a reputation for great coaching in March Madness.
After Louisville's convincing win there, they had to face the Florida Gators, who many sharp bettors thought had the better chance to advance to the Final Four thanks to more scoring options. It was looking that way for the first 33-34 minutes of the game, with Florida storming out of the gate with an insane shooting display. They led much of the game, mainly in the 7-10 point range, but a late rally by Louisville led -----> this guy <------ to celebrate to a third consecutive gambling win for me on Louisville.
In all, this Cardinals run netted me $800, so you can see why I may have a soft spot for them tonight against Kentucky, who I picked to win the tourney when the brackets came out. As any gambler knows though, you have to take emotion out of the equation and you have to ignore who may or may not have won you money. With Kentucky tourney games, I went 1-1 (bet on them against Indiana, against their spread versus Baylor).
This is no way to analyze a game, but stuff I must keep in mind before making an emotional type of bet on the games. I do think this is going to be a hard-fought rivalry type of game. Their December 31st matchup featured 50+ fouls, which hopefully won't get quite that high today (for fear of the referees making themselves part of the game).
Kentucky has the superior talent, while Louisville has the better team defense. I expect this to be the Civil War that everyone is dubbing it. Rick Pitino prepares his teams well after long layoffs between games, which will be one of the reasons this game stays so close. Like their last game, I say Kentucky wins, but Louisville covers.
Kentucky 67, Louisville 61 (Betting Louisville +8.5)
Kansas +2.5 vs. Ohio State
I don't have as much of a feel on the other game. The scary thing about Kansas so far is that they haven't really played that great yet despite making the Final Four. The Jayhawks escaped with a win over Purdue and could never put away North Carolina State in the regional semifinals. They were going back and forth versus UNC before saving their best three-minute span of tourney basketball for the last three minutes and eventually running away from the Tar Heels.
Ohio State has confused some bettors this year, with people not sure what they are going to get out of the Buckeyes. Come tourney time, and the Buckeyes started taking care of business. Like Kansas, they downed a 1-seed to advance to the Final Four, thanks to a strong second half performance.
While Kansas won by 11 the last time around, I'd definitely say that the absence of Sullinger was the main reason to such a convincing victory. If I decide to bet this game, I'm leaning on taking Ohio State - just not sure how convinced I am that Kansas isn't going to show its talent a little more than they have so far in the tourney.
Ohio State 74, Kansas 70
Enjoy the games everyone.
3/21/2012
Bracket Update & Other Sport Shorts
Boy, it's been a slow sports week, hasn't it? Hard to believe that the Peyton Manning signing to Denver is not even top 3 news this week. This Saints fiasco along with Tebow being traded to the Jets, then not, then supposedly being able to "choose" the Jets over the Jaguars after all, has made for an interesting start to the week. And notice....this is all NFL news - a season that doesn't even start for another six months.
The important news first:
Bracket challenge (Brian vs. Jen - Winner Winner gets Dinner Dinner)
Once again, it looks like I picked the wrong upsets for the 18th year in a row. To date, I think the best upset I ever picked in a Round 1 was San Diego over Uconn in 2008. I tried a 14 over 3 (St. Bonnies shat all over themselves at the end, going for two 2s while down 3 with less than 6 seconds left), 12 over 5 (S Florida worked, but I hardly call that an upset), but most of them ended up failing. I only had 8 of 16 Sweet 16 teams right, with the biggest seed I picked correctly left being Xavier as a 10.
Meanwhile, the lady has a one point lead on me (37 to 36), with her edging me by 1 point in the first round and also landing just 8 of 16 Sweet 16 squads. Her championship team (Kansas) was trailing much of the game against Purdue, but they managed to squeak out a win and advance to play the lowest seed remaining in the tourney, facing the #11 seeded NC St on Friday night.
Luckily, ALL of my Final Four teams are alive (Louisville, Ohio St, Kentucky, UNC), so I have a good chance to get this dinner from the girlfriend. She lost two of her Final Four, with Murray State & Vanderbilt falling within an hour of each other this past Saturday (she has Kansas & Kentucky left). I'll have to pick something good for her to make - perhaps one of her BBQ chicken pizzas (mmmmmm). I have a great shot of winning this if I can land 2 or 3 of my Final teams and Kanas doesn't win it all. I'd love to win this bracket challenge so I don't have to eat these words. I'd rather eat a homemade pizza to be honest.
NFL News Galore!
I must say the week didn't start out the way I wanted it for the Niners. Peyton Manning decided he'd rather end his career in Mile High than go to a team that was two muffed punts away from a Super Bowl last year. I don't give a crap about Alex Smith's confidence coming from this. With this being a business, I don't have any sympathy for these guy's feelings. He had a chance to sign with other teams, but didn't, so here we are. He has a new contract with the Niners (3 years I believe, I don't feel like looking it up), which I believe gives us a chance for outs each year in case he regresses back to 2005-2010 Alex Smith. Colin Kaepernick remains the back-up. I wouldn't mind seeing what he can do sooner rather than later - I think he will start 2013 as the man behind center. He may even get an extended look at points this year if Smith shows off his old form. Remember, Smith has been benched for the likes of Troy Smith and T.J. Sullivan, among others, so it wouldn't shock me if Harbaugh took a good look at CK for a chance to start at some point in 2012.
Coming from the Manning news, Tebow was traded to the Jets (along w/ a draft pick) for a couple of picks. I don't consider this a major move for any of these teams' futures, only more of a distraction for the Jets. I follow an NFL beat writer from NY on Twitter (Bart Hubbuch), who was losing his mind with all the NFL news going on today - and only half of it had to do with his city. Many people who root for Tebow root for him irrationally. By that, it's not so much perfomance-based as it is what he represents - a supposed underdog who leads his team to victory. I won't even bring up the religion angle (ok, I just did, screw that), as that plays a big part in his cultish following, who for some reason thinks he is a capable NFL QB. I admire his work ethic and his attitude, but I give him a 1% chance of ever being a great quarterback consistently. I give Alex Smith 5%, so that tells you what I think of each of them.
The Saints' aftermath of BountyGate was done in true Roger Goddell fashion, in the form of a year-long suspension for the coach, indefinite suspension for the hitman orchestrator Gregg Williams & the loss of draft picks for the Saints the next couple years, among other things. No player suspensions have come of this year, but there will be. Current and former Saints are shocked, with Drew Brees speaking highly of Sean Payton and wanting more information as to why the punishment was so steep. Apparently, Brees has been living under a rock all these weeks since the story broke. Lord knows Brees would be asking for the league to lay similar suspensions and punishments on another team (say the Falcons) if they were found to have a bounty on him. He doesn't give a crap only because it was his team bending the rules.
Speaking of Brees, any chance this debacle makes him leave New Orleans? I'm not sure how competitive the team will be this year - I expect this to be a HUGE distraction this year. And you know referees are going to be flag-happy this year against the Saints, with any hint of late hits getting a fast yellow hanky on the ground. I know Brees is franchised right now, but it makes me highly question his length of stay in the Big Easy.
Baseball is Back (Almost)
If you haven't already looked at my 2012 Baseball Preview, I suggest you get reading it RIGHT NOW RIGHT HERE. I am looking forward to baseball returning, if only for the consistent nice weather - although this weather right now resembles it right now.
I just finished my first fantasy baseball draft, having the last pick of a 10-team draft. I drafted former teammates Ryan Braun & Prince Fielder with the first picks. Some other highlights include getting a pair of aces with my next two picks (Lincecum & Felix Hernandez) and me drafting both ends of the Mariners-Yankees trade from the offseason (Michael Pineda, Jesus Montero). If you really want my whole team analysis, I'll be glad to provide it to you. I also drafted a couple of White Sox (Brent Morel & Matt Thornton), which usually ends up happening even though I'd prefer to keep my homerism out of these drafts. I did absolutely no draft study on this, so we'll see how this year turns out.
Until next time, peace out my folks.
The important news first:
Bracket challenge (Brian vs. Jen - Winner Winner gets Dinner Dinner)
Once again, it looks like I picked the wrong upsets for the 18th year in a row. To date, I think the best upset I ever picked in a Round 1 was San Diego over Uconn in 2008. I tried a 14 over 3 (St. Bonnies shat all over themselves at the end, going for two 2s while down 3 with less than 6 seconds left), 12 over 5 (S Florida worked, but I hardly call that an upset), but most of them ended up failing. I only had 8 of 16 Sweet 16 teams right, with the biggest seed I picked correctly left being Xavier as a 10.
Meanwhile, the lady has a one point lead on me (37 to 36), with her edging me by 1 point in the first round and also landing just 8 of 16 Sweet 16 squads. Her championship team (Kansas) was trailing much of the game against Purdue, but they managed to squeak out a win and advance to play the lowest seed remaining in the tourney, facing the #11 seeded NC St on Friday night.
Luckily, ALL of my Final Four teams are alive (Louisville, Ohio St, Kentucky, UNC), so I have a good chance to get this dinner from the girlfriend. She lost two of her Final Four, with Murray State & Vanderbilt falling within an hour of each other this past Saturday (she has Kansas & Kentucky left). I'll have to pick something good for her to make - perhaps one of her BBQ chicken pizzas (mmmmmm). I have a great shot of winning this if I can land 2 or 3 of my Final teams and Kanas doesn't win it all. I'd love to win this bracket challenge so I don't have to eat these words. I'd rather eat a homemade pizza to be honest.
NFL News Galore!
I must say the week didn't start out the way I wanted it for the Niners. Peyton Manning decided he'd rather end his career in Mile High than go to a team that was two muffed punts away from a Super Bowl last year. I don't give a crap about Alex Smith's confidence coming from this. With this being a business, I don't have any sympathy for these guy's feelings. He had a chance to sign with other teams, but didn't, so here we are. He has a new contract with the Niners (3 years I believe, I don't feel like looking it up), which I believe gives us a chance for outs each year in case he regresses back to 2005-2010 Alex Smith. Colin Kaepernick remains the back-up. I wouldn't mind seeing what he can do sooner rather than later - I think he will start 2013 as the man behind center. He may even get an extended look at points this year if Smith shows off his old form. Remember, Smith has been benched for the likes of Troy Smith and T.J. Sullivan, among others, so it wouldn't shock me if Harbaugh took a good look at CK for a chance to start at some point in 2012.
Coming from the Manning news, Tebow was traded to the Jets (along w/ a draft pick) for a couple of picks. I don't consider this a major move for any of these teams' futures, only more of a distraction for the Jets. I follow an NFL beat writer from NY on Twitter (Bart Hubbuch), who was losing his mind with all the NFL news going on today - and only half of it had to do with his city. Many people who root for Tebow root for him irrationally. By that, it's not so much perfomance-based as it is what he represents - a supposed underdog who leads his team to victory. I won't even bring up the religion angle (ok, I just did, screw that), as that plays a big part in his cultish following, who for some reason thinks he is a capable NFL QB. I admire his work ethic and his attitude, but I give him a 1% chance of ever being a great quarterback consistently. I give Alex Smith 5%, so that tells you what I think of each of them.
The Saints' aftermath of BountyGate was done in true Roger Goddell fashion, in the form of a year-long suspension for the coach, indefinite suspension for the hitman orchestrator Gregg Williams & the loss of draft picks for the Saints the next couple years, among other things. No player suspensions have come of this year, but there will be. Current and former Saints are shocked, with Drew Brees speaking highly of Sean Payton and wanting more information as to why the punishment was so steep. Apparently, Brees has been living under a rock all these weeks since the story broke. Lord knows Brees would be asking for the league to lay similar suspensions and punishments on another team (say the Falcons) if they were found to have a bounty on him. He doesn't give a crap only because it was his team bending the rules.
Speaking of Brees, any chance this debacle makes him leave New Orleans? I'm not sure how competitive the team will be this year - I expect this to be a HUGE distraction this year. And you know referees are going to be flag-happy this year against the Saints, with any hint of late hits getting a fast yellow hanky on the ground. I know Brees is franchised right now, but it makes me highly question his length of stay in the Big Easy.
Baseball is Back (Almost)
If you haven't already looked at my 2012 Baseball Preview, I suggest you get reading it RIGHT NOW RIGHT HERE. I am looking forward to baseball returning, if only for the consistent nice weather - although this weather right now resembles it right now.
I just finished my first fantasy baseball draft, having the last pick of a 10-team draft. I drafted former teammates Ryan Braun & Prince Fielder with the first picks. Some other highlights include getting a pair of aces with my next two picks (Lincecum & Felix Hernandez) and me drafting both ends of the Mariners-Yankees trade from the offseason (Michael Pineda, Jesus Montero). If you really want my whole team analysis, I'll be glad to provide it to you. I also drafted a couple of White Sox (Brent Morel & Matt Thornton), which usually ends up happening even though I'd prefer to keep my homerism out of these drafts. I did absolutely no draft study on this, so we'll see how this year turns out.
Until next time, peace out my folks.
3/14/2012
March Madness Interview w/ the Lady - A n00b to the Bracket Scene
Since I'll be too distracted to do it tomorrow (and since nobody is stupid enough to copy my picks), I decided I'd post me & Jen's picks tonight.
If you read the blog last night, you're likely one of many who is filling out a March Madness bracket. My girlfriend & I are no exceptions. Except for Jen, this is her cherry experience with filling one out - for me, I've been filling these out since my pre-teen years.
All the more reason to see who will win the bracket challenge. As you will see in the interview below with the lady, a bet was agreed to regarding the tourney.
8. Would you have ever done this without me?______________________________________________
My Bracket
Jen's Bracket
.jpg)
If you read the blog last night, you're likely one of many who is filling out a March Madness bracket. My girlfriend & I are no exceptions. Except for Jen, this is her cherry experience with filling one out - for me, I've been filling these out since my pre-teen years.
All the more reason to see who will win the bracket challenge. As you will see in the interview below with the lady, a bet was agreed to regarding the tourney.
16a.Is this the first
time you’ve ever filled out a March Madness bracket?
16b. Yes______________________________________________________
1. How long did it
take for you to fill out your bracket?________________________
16. It took about 10
or 15 minutes—reading the matchups and making my decision.
8. Would you have ever done this without me?______________________________________________
9. I probably would
have eventually because other people do it. People have asked me to be a part
of it before, but I’ve just never done it because there is always a bet
involved.
5. How many college
basketball games have you watched this year? In your life?
12. Only when I’m
around you. I’ve watched more NBA than college (in my life). Never really
watched college.
4. What was your
strategy with making these picks, if any?
13. I read those
picks in the paper (Chicago Sun Times) that I filled my bracket out of. I
looked at the matchups, looked at the middle column in the paper about best
Cinderella, best player, etc. But mostly, I went with my gut.
6. Why did you pick
Kansas to win it all?
11. Sometimes, when
everybody is talking about one team, I like to think an underdog or an upset
can happen. Even though everybody seems to think Kentucky is the best
contender, I’m gonna go with Kansas.
14a. Will filling out
this bracket make you watch these games at all?
14b. If not watch the
game, definitely pay attention to the highlights on SportsCenter.
3. Are you prepared
to watch some of these games with me?
14. Yeah, sure.
Especially when it gets down to the Elite Eight or Final Four…if my bracket is
still together at that point (laughs).
7. Are you willing to
make any sort of friendly wager with this? If so, what?
10. We can do a
dinner thing, sure. You’re gonna take me out.
2. Will you be happy
when this tournament is over?
15. Yes, especially
when I win.
My Bracket
Jen's Bracket
.jpg)
3/13/2012
March Fadness: You're Not Cool Unless You Fill Out a Bracket
Around this time of year, it's actually more shocking when you come across a person who hasn't filled out a March Madness bracket of some sort.
It's not just the hardcore basketball fans that enter office tourneys or engage in side bets with their friends. In fact, it seems like it's about this time when many people are watching their first glimpses of college basketball this year.
With my social group, it is no different. I set up a bracket group on Yahoo, which you are welcome to join here - http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/group/31988 . It's free to join, so no risk involved.
Many of the members in the group of 19 so far do not watch a lick of college basketball, and I'd be willing to bet that one of them is going to win this group challenge. It happens across offices everywhere - someone who fills out their alum school to go far or picks a team based on its name or mascot can be the person who collects the first place prize.
I'm getting into the spirit of things by posting my bracket versus my g/f Jen's. Like many of you, she'd rather just avoid watching basketball altogether, but I forced her to fill out a bracket for the purposes of a blog - she's such a good sport*.
*She wasn't forced to do anything - She'd beat me up if I forced her to do anything**
**She'd never beat me....I don't think.
We don't have a bet at the moment, but perhaps dinner (her making it versus me taking her out for it - my cooking skills are limited to the grill and microwave) could be made.
I'll post some of the highlights of our brackets (My picks subject to change - I will repost if I change anything below):
First round Upsets - i.e. 11 over 6 and above (I'll ignore the 7/10, 8/9 matchups)
Brian: Long Beach St., St. Bonnies, Texas, Winner of Cal/USF
Jen: Belmont, NC State
Any #1 seeds eliminated before Sweet 16?
Brian: no
Jen: no
Double digit seeds selected to Sweet 16:
Brian: 4
Jen: 1
Top 2 seeds left in Elite 8 (out of 8):
Brian: 5
Jen: 5
Final Four
Brian: Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio St, UNC
Jen: Kentucky, Murray St, Vandy, Kansas
Championship Game...(to be posted Thursday)
In the interests of people wanting to copy all of our picks because they are so awesome (and also because my picks might not be final), I will release our full brackets later (Thursday morning) and re-post them in the blog here.
We will see if watching basketball every weekend (i.e. me) matters or if you'd be better off just completely ignoring it and asking your boyfriend to change the channel when he turns it on in your company (i.e - Jen).
Enjoy the games, and let me know if you want to join the money part of our bracket. So far, there are 5 people in the $20/entry pool. If we get 7/8 or more, I'll make a 2nd and perhaps a 3rd place prize. I'd be happy to donate my $20 to you.
It's not just the hardcore basketball fans that enter office tourneys or engage in side bets with their friends. In fact, it seems like it's about this time when many people are watching their first glimpses of college basketball this year.
With my social group, it is no different. I set up a bracket group on Yahoo, which you are welcome to join here - http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/group/31988 . It's free to join, so no risk involved.
Many of the members in the group of 19 so far do not watch a lick of college basketball, and I'd be willing to bet that one of them is going to win this group challenge. It happens across offices everywhere - someone who fills out their alum school to go far or picks a team based on its name or mascot can be the person who collects the first place prize.
I'm getting into the spirit of things by posting my bracket versus my g/f Jen's. Like many of you, she'd rather just avoid watching basketball altogether, but I forced her to fill out a bracket for the purposes of a blog - she's such a good sport*.
*She wasn't forced to do anything - She'd beat me up if I forced her to do anything**
**She'd never beat me....I don't think.
We don't have a bet at the moment, but perhaps dinner (her making it versus me taking her out for it - my cooking skills are limited to the grill and microwave) could be made.
I'll post some of the highlights of our brackets (My picks subject to change - I will repost if I change anything below):
First round Upsets - i.e. 11 over 6 and above (I'll ignore the 7/10, 8/9 matchups)
Brian: Long Beach St., St. Bonnies, Texas, Winner of Cal/USF
Jen: Belmont, NC State
Any #1 seeds eliminated before Sweet 16?
Brian: no
Jen: no
Double digit seeds selected to Sweet 16:
Brian: 4
Jen: 1
Top 2 seeds left in Elite 8 (out of 8):
Brian: 5
Jen: 5
Final Four
Brian: Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio St, UNC
Jen: Kentucky, Murray St, Vandy, Kansas
Championship Game...(to be posted Thursday)
In the interests of people wanting to copy all of our picks because they are so awesome (and also because my picks might not be final), I will release our full brackets later (Thursday morning) and re-post them in the blog here.
We will see if watching basketball every weekend (i.e. me) matters or if you'd be better off just completely ignoring it and asking your boyfriend to change the channel when he turns it on in your company (i.e - Jen).
Enjoy the games, and let me know if you want to join the money part of our bracket. So far, there are 5 people in the $20/entry pool. If we get 7/8 or more, I'll make a 2nd and perhaps a 3rd place prize. I'd be happy to donate my $20 to you.
1/11/2012
B-Bo's Bucket List: The Sports Version
Watching the Saints get the cover in the last 4-5 minutes of the game left me with a taste of football in my mouth. Immediately after the game ended, Jen and I had just left her apartment Saturday night to head to the Loop for a birthday get-together.
It was as I walked out of the apartment that I decided that watching football on TV this month wasn't enough. I had to go to a playoff game!
New Orleans' victory ensured them of a Saturday afternoon matchup at Candlestick Park against San Francisco - my favorite squad. A month earlier, me and Jen discussed going to a game together but didn't know what weekend it would be since they hadn't clinched a week off at that point. Jen's job of working at a salon forces her to have set appointments a month ahead of time, so this plan of us going was put on the scrap heap.
Between realizing that we couldn't go together and that moment Saturday night, I hadn't thought much about going to San Fran. I figured that if me and Jen weren't going, I wouldn't go, especially since none of my friends that I hang out with consistently are Niners fans.
With a simple Facebook status posted, I found out that lacking a Niner fan background did not matter to some of my friends. My friend (we'll call him Kudes) instantly texted me and was on board with the idea. Tickets for the game and flights were bought and a nice hotel was reserved for a three-night stay. Another friend (we'll call him Tom) showed interest but after the purchases were made.
(Check out our seats - Section 28 (Upper Reserved), Row 1)
Another friend (ok, Wolf is his name and we'll call him that) said that he would have loved to go as well, whether it was his team or not. All of this interest got me thinking...what would I put on my sports bucket list of sports events or experiences that I would like to see at some point in my life?
In the spirit of the new year, I'll name '12 different sports events/experiences (in no particular order) that I'd love to do (some I've done, some I haven't)
I have many years to achieve these items on the Bucket List. Let's hope I can get this list whittled down sooner rather than later.
It was as I walked out of the apartment that I decided that watching football on TV this month wasn't enough. I had to go to a playoff game!
New Orleans' victory ensured them of a Saturday afternoon matchup at Candlestick Park against San Francisco - my favorite squad. A month earlier, me and Jen discussed going to a game together but didn't know what weekend it would be since they hadn't clinched a week off at that point. Jen's job of working at a salon forces her to have set appointments a month ahead of time, so this plan of us going was put on the scrap heap.
Between realizing that we couldn't go together and that moment Saturday night, I hadn't thought much about going to San Fran. I figured that if me and Jen weren't going, I wouldn't go, especially since none of my friends that I hang out with consistently are Niners fans.
With a simple Facebook status posted, I found out that lacking a Niner fan background did not matter to some of my friends. My friend (we'll call him Kudes) instantly texted me and was on board with the idea. Tickets for the game and flights were bought and a nice hotel was reserved for a three-night stay. Another friend (we'll call him Tom) showed interest but after the purchases were made.
(Check out our seats - Section 28 (Upper Reserved), Row 1)
Another friend (ok, Wolf is his name and we'll call him that) said that he would have loved to go as well, whether it was his team or not. All of this interest got me thinking...what would I put on my sports bucket list of sports events or experiences that I would like to see at some point in my life?
In the spirit of the new year, I'll name '12 different sports events/experiences (in no particular order) that I'd love to do (some I've done, some I haven't)
Baseball Road Trip(Achieved)- Fitting enough, this man we call "Kudes" was part of this original trip of sporting awesomeness in my life. Along with the Luzzman, we visited 12 different baseball stadiums in a 12-day span. This includes five stadiums that have since closed and a city that lost its baseball team (au revoir Expos). This once-in-a-lifetime trip is remembered more for the travels to and from places rather than the games themselves (life motto: process of traveling to destination oftentimes > destination itself).Watch the Final Game of a Sport (Achieved)- Luzzman won the right to buy tickets to the 2010 Final Four in Indianapolis (Sounds silly I know). The hometown Butler Bulldogs came within a halfcourt heave away from winning the title against Duke. It was amazing seeing a close game to close the season of a sport. I did miss Easter with the family but we did enjoy a nice Easter dinner with my friend Phil and his wife who live in Indy.- Attending NFL Playoff Game (Will Be Achieved) - As noted, this will be achieved Saturday. Our seats are in the first row of the upper deck. We will be playing the role of tourists on Friday. The only thing in question now is the flight leaving on time. Normally I don't care about snow, especially working from home. However, any delay will annoy me slightly. Nevertheless, a little snow won't ruin my mindset as I get ready to watch one of the NFL's best defenses play against one of the NFL's best offenses.
Attend MLB Playoff Game (Achieved)- After seeing a dud of a game in the 2000 playoff season, which was the start of the White Sox getting swept by the Mariners, I had higher expectations going to the 2005 ALCS opener against the Angels, who were on little sleep after long flights from NY to Cali and back to Chicago and were starting John Lackey on short rest. Needless to say, the Sox lost. Luckily, I can tell the story of going to the White Sox's only postseason loss that year for the rest of my life.- Yankees/Red Sox
- Duke/North Carolina (NCAAB)
- Packers/Bears (not achieved) - I lumped all of these things together. All of these games are at or near the top of their respective sports' best rivalries and I have yet to see any of them. Obviously the latter is the most likely based on geography. I think I can get out to a game of the other two at some point. For all of these games, it doesn't even matter what venue I see them at - seeing as though I'm not a fan of any of these teams. I'd probably lean going to NY to see the new stadium but Duke/NC can be seen anywhere...someday....someday.
- Big Ten football stadium outside of Illinois (likely Mich vs. OSU) (not achieved) - I'd like to see a good college football rivalry game, so odds are the Mich vs. OSU game would be the best one to go to geographically. If Wisconsin and Mighigan State continue to stay strong, I wouldn't mind to go to either of their stadiums to see a good matchup
- SEC football (LSU, Bama or Florida) (not achieved) - The nation's best college football has been in the southeast for the first part of the 21st century, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I'm not sure if I'm ready to handle the craziness of this type of atmosphere, but I figure to blend in after about a beverage or ten and I can grow a wicked mullet.
- The first weekend of March Madness...
- and the Super Bowl....in Vegas (not achieved) - Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've been to Vegas a half-dozen times. In fact, the first time I went was about four years ago around this time, in which I lost my first 4-5 bets placed (including some NFL playoff bets). However, there's something about the merging of certain times of year and Vegas that seem like a perfect marriage (see: peanut butter & jelly; rice a roni & applesauce; David Lee Roth and Van Halen). With March Madness, there are 32 games in the first 2 full days of the tournament and would go from 9am till about 10-11pm Pacific time in the four days.
On the other Spectrum, the Super Bowl is one game, but it is THE GAME. It is by far the most bet-on game of the year (legally and illegally) and lately has featured some amazing matchups. Any sports fan who likes the reaction of fans as a game swings one way or another needs to go to a sports book when a point spread is on the line. It's a great site to see the agony of defeat on dozens of peoples faces at once (one of those faces is usually mine) contrasting the joy seen in the gentlemen who won thousands on games. I must go to Vegas for these events at some point. At the same time, I must be prepared to lose a ton of money - The Super Bowl (not achieved) - I put this near the bottom since I consider it the least likely of events to attend. This is all due to cost. I'd pretty much have to win tickets to the Super Bowl or get an awesome 30th birthday gift to go to the 2013 game (cough, hint). Actually, I wouldn't expect anyone to fork over money for that. This year's Super Bowl's cheapest seats on Stub Hub are going for $2200 apiece. These Super Bowl tickets are not going to get any cheaper.
On the other hand, going to the Super Bowl site and just hanging out is always an option. I may consider going to the Indy area if the Niners somehow make it there. I know a couple of friends of mine that made the trip to Miami 5 years back just to watch the Bears against the Colts at a local bar and had a good time. I'd likely do this with the lady if she agreed to go - don't think I'd do this solo.
I have many years to achieve these items on the Bucket List. Let's hope I can get this list whittled down sooner rather than later.
1/29/2011
How Do I Live?
 |
| Where's my football?!? |
The past 20 weeks (I initially typed years, kinda what it feels like), I've had my Sundays occupied with football games. Whether it be at Olivers or the city, I always parked my ass on a seat somewhere to watch the games. Now with the Pro Bowl doing everything it can to make me hate football, I will be looking for something else to do on a Sunday afternoon for the first time in 5 months.
And then when the Super Bowl is complete, that's when I usually hit my low for the year. I miss football like a fat man misses cake after he eats a whole one. I need to get a life in two weeks, or else I'm in for a long month between now and the start of March Madness.
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| Have you seen my football? |
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