This is what March Madness is all about! I know in a perfect world we all would get Thursday and Friday off the opening weekend of the tournament, but its not a perfect world. It is, however, still great! That is because on the day your team plays it is almost expected by everyone, including your co-workers, that you be home on time to watch the whole game. The excitement that comes along with it is like waking up on Christmas morning as a kid knowing that Santa visited last night.
I was driving and heard the phone ring, I didn't need to look to see who it was, I already knew. Sure enough it was one of the boys also cruising home from work, just as excited and ready to go. Its almost like we are there, sure we don't get to watch it live and join in on the pre-game partying with those who are lucky enough to be pumping it in Milwaukee, but its a different feeling of excitement getting out of work early to sit on the couch and cheer on the Gophers while your co-workers are stuck in the office. A feeling like you are once again a kid in a candy store.
Yes, this is what its all about.
Ski U Mah!!!
Friday, March 19, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
NCAA Tournament Expansion
I am 100% against expanding the NCAA tournament. This is March Madness, not kindergarten where everyone's a winner. I was watching some of the games scroll by the last two days of the teams playing in the NIT, the teams that would have made the dance with an expanded tournament. I got a little excited, North Carolina was playing, and William and Mary kept it close...then I realized that North Carolina lost earlier in the season back to back to National American University and University of Phoenix. UCONN was playing, they were good right?? Oh yeah, they finished something like 13th in the conference. Illinois St. played at Dayton, Stony Brook, Troy, Tulsa, Webber St.....half of the teams came from conferences that haven't ever sent more than one team to the tournament. Memphis? St. John's? Come on. Sure Virginia Tech, Illinois and Ole Miss were close, but they had opportunity after opportunity to make the dance. Illinois could have beat Minnesota at home and they would have been in. Virginia Tech lost to Temple at home, the only good foe they played out of conference. Ok, Seton Hall is decent, but that too was a home game. Penn State was supposed to be good, but so was North Carolina. They played Duke, G Tech, Maryland and Wake Forrest each once, the four best teams in the conference. Ole Miss played in the SEC. The SEC was terrible this year! KY was great, Tennessee and Vandy were good. Mississippi St looked pretty good, but they played in a bad conference. Ole Miss just wasn't that good.
Just face it, there aren't 4 more teams that are deserving to be in, let alone 32. This is the National Championship Tournament, not the Stroke Everyone's Ego tournament. It should be special to get in. Did you see Ohio go crazy when they won? Did you see the excitement when Minnesota got in? Right now its special because you know you have to have had a great season or a great run to be in. If 96 teams were invited would it fun to be in? No. Think of how many teams would make it EVERY YEAR. This is supposed to be for the teams who proved they might be able to win it all, and even now half of the teams have no shot.
The NIT's this year might as well be called the Kohler tournament because that's what it is, a toilet bowl.
Keep the tournament at 64 teams and keep the greatest sporting event just that.
Just face it, there aren't 4 more teams that are deserving to be in, let alone 32. This is the National Championship Tournament, not the Stroke Everyone's Ego tournament. It should be special to get in. Did you see Ohio go crazy when they won? Did you see the excitement when Minnesota got in? Right now its special because you know you have to have had a great season or a great run to be in. If 96 teams were invited would it fun to be in? No. Think of how many teams would make it EVERY YEAR. This is supposed to be for the teams who proved they might be able to win it all, and even now half of the teams have no shot.
The NIT's this year might as well be called the Kohler tournament because that's what it is, a toilet bowl.
Keep the tournament at 64 teams and keep the greatest sporting event just that.
Is Notre Dame Hitting the Panic Button????
I know this may be hard for some swallow, but Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick's comments last week about the possibility of having to join a conference in the future was much more than a thought, it was a plea.
What is the plea for you might ask? It is a plea for the Big Ten Conference to recruit Notre Dame hard to join when they expand, and equally important it is a plea for the Big Ten to only expand by one team this time around.
I know this sounds crazy, but there is a lot to be lost by Notre Dame if they do not eventually Join. First of all, and some would say most importantly, the money would be a lot better in the Big Ten than as an independent. Remember, the Big Ten Network brings in a LOT of money. The Big Ten also has a contract with ABC/ESPN bringing in a good chunk of money. When the conference expands, it will only bring in more too. If the conference adds Pittsburgh, Missouri or Nebraska, they add a nice following of people to the conference. If they add Rutgers, they have a chance to try and tap the city of some college fans. Sure its hard to get people to watch Rutgers when they host South Florida, but if OSU came to town, people would watch. The Big Ten will also add a conference Championship game, which we know brings in a large sum of money.
Notre Dame does do pretty well with their NBC deal, and if they make a BCS game they get to keep all of the check right now. Not to mention they really do not need money, they are Notre Dame. The fact is though, no matter how well off they are they can always use more money.
Pride might be able to overcome the desire for a little bigger paycheck, and Notre Dame is VERY proud of being an independent. They are outright snobs about it. I don't like it. A lot of people don't. People who are fans of the team are though, whether we like it or not, so we have to deal with it. With the push for a Playoff in the future though to determine a National Champion, and with the Big Ten and Pac 10 looking at expansion (not to mention any other conference could at anytime) pride is also pushing Notre Dame to join a conference. If there is a playoff with eight teams I can GUARANTEE that everyone not named Notre Dame will make sure that the top team from each power conference and the next two best teams (most likely determined by the BCS ratings) get in. There will be no sweet deal like Notre Dame has now with the BCS where they get in when they should be playing in some bowl before New Years Day. The Power conferences are where all the money is it, lets face it. They will make sure that in a year like we just had Florida would still be in the tournament if Boise St or TCU had lost along the way. On top of that, Notre Dame will not be able to get as high in the BCS as the power conferences expand. Just look at last year. A one loss Notre Dame team would have been the second team left out. Florida would have finished ranked ahead of them because the SEC was too strong. When Michigan and OSU were undefeated going into the season finale the same situation would have arisen.
With all of this going on, there is just too much against Notre Dame to stay independent.
So, this brings us to the point of the story, Notre Dame is panicking. They now realize they need the Big Ten, whether now or int he near future. They are too proud to ask to be let in though, so they are putting it out there so the conference comes to them. If they are not ready to join yet, they can at least have discussions behind closed doors making sure the Big Ten knows they are intrigued. Right now Notre Dame is afraid that a scenario might arise where three teams like Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Missouri, Nebraska or Syracuse might all want to join. They might all actually try to get in, knowing the shift is going to happen (and knowing the Big Ten Network is growing bigger and bigger). If the Big Ten were to take three teams, that would almost definitely lock Notre Dame out for good. Then Notre Dame is stuck fighting for themselves against the mighty conferences or having to join the Big East in football, which they DO NOT want to do, especially if Pitt leaves. If the conference knows Notre Dame wants to join in a few years though, they will only expand by one team leaving the door open.
That is right, Notre Dame is panicking because they don't want to locked out of the Big Ten, but at the same time they don't want to swallow their pride and admit it, so by coming out with the statements he did last week, Jack Swarbrick is hoping that the Big Ten comes at them with what the school can say was "an offer they couldn't refuse".
For the record, for the good of the Big Ten my first choice for expansion would be Notre Dame, followed by Pitt, Mizzou, Nebraska, Rutgers and Iowa State. Texas makes no sense for all of the sports other than football and men's basketball. Finally, one team is enough. 12 teams is perfect because each team plays their division rivals every year and plays half of the other division every year. 14 teams is too many to keep the rivalries, even if they go to nine conference games a year.
What is the plea for you might ask? It is a plea for the Big Ten Conference to recruit Notre Dame hard to join when they expand, and equally important it is a plea for the Big Ten to only expand by one team this time around.
I know this sounds crazy, but there is a lot to be lost by Notre Dame if they do not eventually Join. First of all, and some would say most importantly, the money would be a lot better in the Big Ten than as an independent. Remember, the Big Ten Network brings in a LOT of money. The Big Ten also has a contract with ABC/ESPN bringing in a good chunk of money. When the conference expands, it will only bring in more too. If the conference adds Pittsburgh, Missouri or Nebraska, they add a nice following of people to the conference. If they add Rutgers, they have a chance to try and tap the city of some college fans. Sure its hard to get people to watch Rutgers when they host South Florida, but if OSU came to town, people would watch. The Big Ten will also add a conference Championship game, which we know brings in a large sum of money.
Notre Dame does do pretty well with their NBC deal, and if they make a BCS game they get to keep all of the check right now. Not to mention they really do not need money, they are Notre Dame. The fact is though, no matter how well off they are they can always use more money.
Pride might be able to overcome the desire for a little bigger paycheck, and Notre Dame is VERY proud of being an independent. They are outright snobs about it. I don't like it. A lot of people don't. People who are fans of the team are though, whether we like it or not, so we have to deal with it. With the push for a Playoff in the future though to determine a National Champion, and with the Big Ten and Pac 10 looking at expansion (not to mention any other conference could at anytime) pride is also pushing Notre Dame to join a conference. If there is a playoff with eight teams I can GUARANTEE that everyone not named Notre Dame will make sure that the top team from each power conference and the next two best teams (most likely determined by the BCS ratings) get in. There will be no sweet deal like Notre Dame has now with the BCS where they get in when they should be playing in some bowl before New Years Day. The Power conferences are where all the money is it, lets face it. They will make sure that in a year like we just had Florida would still be in the tournament if Boise St or TCU had lost along the way. On top of that, Notre Dame will not be able to get as high in the BCS as the power conferences expand. Just look at last year. A one loss Notre Dame team would have been the second team left out. Florida would have finished ranked ahead of them because the SEC was too strong. When Michigan and OSU were undefeated going into the season finale the same situation would have arisen.
With all of this going on, there is just too much against Notre Dame to stay independent.
So, this brings us to the point of the story, Notre Dame is panicking. They now realize they need the Big Ten, whether now or int he near future. They are too proud to ask to be let in though, so they are putting it out there so the conference comes to them. If they are not ready to join yet, they can at least have discussions behind closed doors making sure the Big Ten knows they are intrigued. Right now Notre Dame is afraid that a scenario might arise where three teams like Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Missouri, Nebraska or Syracuse might all want to join. They might all actually try to get in, knowing the shift is going to happen (and knowing the Big Ten Network is growing bigger and bigger). If the Big Ten were to take three teams, that would almost definitely lock Notre Dame out for good. Then Notre Dame is stuck fighting for themselves against the mighty conferences or having to join the Big East in football, which they DO NOT want to do, especially if Pitt leaves. If the conference knows Notre Dame wants to join in a few years though, they will only expand by one team leaving the door open.
That is right, Notre Dame is panicking because they don't want to locked out of the Big Ten, but at the same time they don't want to swallow their pride and admit it, so by coming out with the statements he did last week, Jack Swarbrick is hoping that the Big Ten comes at them with what the school can say was "an offer they couldn't refuse".
For the record, for the good of the Big Ten my first choice for expansion would be Notre Dame, followed by Pitt, Mizzou, Nebraska, Rutgers and Iowa State. Texas makes no sense for all of the sports other than football and men's basketball. Finally, one team is enough. 12 teams is perfect because each team plays their division rivals every year and plays half of the other division every year. 14 teams is too many to keep the rivalries, even if they go to nine conference games a year.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cinnamon Toasters - and The Imposter
Cinnamon Toast Crunch is one of the best cereals out there when eaten dry. It probably has to be in the top 5. I am not as big of a fan of it in milk, in fact I can't remember the last time I ate it with milk because it is exponentially better dry. It is like eating an entire bowl of desert, one piece at a time, savoring every bite.
If you don't know me though, I am a guy who loves to find deals on food. Yeah, I am that fool with only 15 bags of frozen steam-in-bag vegetables in my cart because they are on sale and I will eat them....eventually. I also used to go to the store multiple times in one week and end up with about 15 boxes of instant oatmeal, 10 boxes of granola bars and 15 boxes of cereal because they were over 50% with coupons and that would last me a few months, until the next sale like that.
Of course, those sales are no more. So I look to the next best thing, off brands. Marshmallow Maties is of course, as everyone should know, much superior to Lucky Charms, and less expensive. When it comes to Cinnamon Toast Crunch off brands Malt O Meal comes through again with Cinnamon Toasters. It basically is Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I can't tell a difference. Sure Cinnamon Toast Crunch holds up a little better being in a box and all, but most places Cinnamon Toasters is cheaper (At Wal-Mart check the cost per ounce, Cinnamon Toast Crunch is cheaper if you buy the right box)
So I thought since Malt O Meal nailed the taste I would give Great Value Brand Cinnamon Crunch a try to see how it stacked up. Well, lets just say it was like going for a cold drink of water from the hose after some backyard baseball and instead getting that first hot burst of water that causes you to have to spit it right back out. It was not good. Sure it was a rice cereal with some cinnamon and sugar on it, but what a joke. Wal-Mart should be ashamed of itself for selling that. It belongs over the dog food isle, assuming you don't like your dog very much. I don't think it should be that hard to copy a cereal, but somehow they really dropped the ball on this one.
So if you are looking for something a little cheaper than Cinnamon Toast Crunch, go with Malt O Meal, you won't be disappointed. DO NOT however go with Great Value Cinnamon Crunch. If you do, its your waste of time, money and a good meal.
If you don't know me though, I am a guy who loves to find deals on food. Yeah, I am that fool with only 15 bags of frozen steam-in-bag vegetables in my cart because they are on sale and I will eat them....eventually. I also used to go to the store multiple times in one week and end up with about 15 boxes of instant oatmeal, 10 boxes of granola bars and 15 boxes of cereal because they were over 50% with coupons and that would last me a few months, until the next sale like that.
Of course, those sales are no more. So I look to the next best thing, off brands. Marshmallow Maties is of course, as everyone should know, much superior to Lucky Charms, and less expensive. When it comes to Cinnamon Toast Crunch off brands Malt O Meal comes through again with Cinnamon Toasters. It basically is Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I can't tell a difference. Sure Cinnamon Toast Crunch holds up a little better being in a box and all, but most places Cinnamon Toasters is cheaper (At Wal-Mart check the cost per ounce, Cinnamon Toast Crunch is cheaper if you buy the right box)
So I thought since Malt O Meal nailed the taste I would give Great Value Brand Cinnamon Crunch a try to see how it stacked up. Well, lets just say it was like going for a cold drink of water from the hose after some backyard baseball and instead getting that first hot burst of water that causes you to have to spit it right back out. It was not good. Sure it was a rice cereal with some cinnamon and sugar on it, but what a joke. Wal-Mart should be ashamed of itself for selling that. It belongs over the dog food isle, assuming you don't like your dog very much. I don't think it should be that hard to copy a cereal, but somehow they really dropped the ball on this one.
So if you are looking for something a little cheaper than Cinnamon Toast Crunch, go with Malt O Meal, you won't be disappointed. DO NOT however go with Great Value Cinnamon Crunch. If you do, its your waste of time, money and a good meal.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
RPI
I know the RPI has its place in College basketball, and for the most part it is a pretty good gage, but we see this season the major flaw of the RPI and that is the Strength of Schedule. Cal has played one of the 10 hardest schedules in the country and has won 23 games, including the Pac 10 regular season title. They have an RPI of 31, meaning they should be the 31st best team in the country. However, they have only beat ONE, yes one team that is ranked in the top 50 in the RPI, and that was a win at home against Washington....who only made the tournament because they won they Pac 10 conference tournament. How can you be considered a good team without a quality win? Comparing them to the two Big 10 bubble teams isn't even fair. Illinois beat Wisconsin twice, once at the Kohl Center, which does not happen. They also beat Michigan State, won at Clemson and beat Vandy. Minnesota beat Butler on a neutral court, beat Wisconsin, OSU and now Mich St and Purdue in the tournament.
I hope the committee puts aside the RPI this year and looks at the quality of teams. Illinois and Minnesota both should be dancing over teams like Cal, Miss St, Ole Miss. Playing a hard schedule doesn't mean anything if you don't win, otherwise Providence should be in because they had to play in the Big East.
I hope the committee puts aside the RPI this year and looks at the quality of teams. Illinois and Minnesota both should be dancing over teams like Cal, Miss St, Ole Miss. Playing a hard schedule doesn't mean anything if you don't win, otherwise Providence should be in because they had to play in the Big East.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Put on the Dance Shoes!
After making Purdue look like a team that should be playing in the MIAC (no offense to the MIAC) there is no question in my mind that the Gophers have punched their ticket to the dance where anything can happen. The win last night against Mich St was impressive, but being a last second basket away from the worst beatdown in conference tournament history proved that we deserve a bid. The Gophers finally seem seem to have found their stride. Iverson is a beast underneath is getting better by the game. Devoe Joseph is proving that he will be a guy to reckon with the next two years, but he still would be better suited as a SG, which is why we NEED his little brother to chose us over Texas and UCONN. He would change the team dramatically and make us a legit top 25 team, regardless of Royce and Mbakwe's fates.
The biggest thing we saw today is how good Ralph Sampson III can be. He is a player who, when is confident, can take over on offense and alter shots on defense. His problem though is he can disappear at times.
Now we have OSU tomorrow, a team we split with, although an asterisk could have been put on the first game. Evan Turner is clearly the best player in America, and with him healthy tomorrow it will be tough. The biggest thing the gophers have going for them is depth. OSU is a 5 deep team, well PJ hill got a minute today so they went 8 deep, but playing 3 games in 3 days with 5-7 guys is a lot harder than 4 games in 4 days with 10 guys. Turner is great, but the rest of team can disappear at times, and the gopher should be able to match up well on D.
Prediction: Gophers 63 OSU 57
The biggest thing we saw today is how good Ralph Sampson III can be. He is a player who, when is confident, can take over on offense and alter shots on defense. His problem though is he can disappear at times.
Now we have OSU tomorrow, a team we split with, although an asterisk could have been put on the first game. Evan Turner is clearly the best player in America, and with him healthy tomorrow it will be tough. The biggest thing the gophers have going for them is depth. OSU is a 5 deep team, well PJ hill got a minute today so they went 8 deep, but playing 3 games in 3 days with 5-7 guys is a lot harder than 4 games in 4 days with 10 guys. Turner is great, but the rest of team can disappear at times, and the gopher should be able to match up well on D.
Prediction: Gophers 63 OSU 57
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