The second weekend of the tournament is now complete, and I only picked 1 of the Final Four. Preposterous! How can UNC be the only school I expected to see at this point in these games? At the beginning of this weekend's games, I switched gears from rooting for my bracket to rooting for the underdog in virtually every matchup. Because a messy bracket means a happy Heather. I think it's probably like betting against your team in a big game. If they win, you don't even care that you lost the money, and if they lose, you have a payout instead.
And so, I'm having a blast watching this year's tournament fun. The games, for the most part, have been really great -- tight contests with high energy and unexpected performances. This is the part of the year when coaches and players lay everything they have out on the court and see if it's enough. And lay it out there they have. Awesome game yesterday, Villanova! Great game today, Michigan State! There were so many last weekend, I can't even name them all, but if we can keep the underdogs winning, I will be quite the happy camper. Three seed to win it all, anyone?
Showing posts with label my basketball obsession. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my basketball obsession. Show all posts
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Basketball Therapy
This past weekend, I had the most fun I've had in an extremely long time. I took Thursday and Friday off of work, and spent 4 full days watching basketball, basketball and more basketball. I've never actually taken the days off work -- always just was unproductive for the day keeping up with four games at a time. Forty-eight games in four days just doesn't leave a whole lot of time for much of anything else. But it was an absolute blast.
Part of the greatness of the weekend, though, didn't have anything to do with basketball. Recently, I had reconnected with an old friend from college, and on a whim we decided to get together to watch all the games of the first weekend. So I drove up to Dallas on Wednesday night, and I couldn't believe how easily we just jumped back in like no time ever passed. It was the most comfortable I've felt in my own skin in such a long time. I was reminded I used to be funny -- witty, silly, dorky (of course), but mostly I just hadn't remembered being laughed with in so long.
Overall, it was just a perfect vacation weekend. And those two overtime games were about as awesome as they could have been.
Part of the greatness of the weekend, though, didn't have anything to do with basketball. Recently, I had reconnected with an old friend from college, and on a whim we decided to get together to watch all the games of the first weekend. So I drove up to Dallas on Wednesday night, and I couldn't believe how easily we just jumped back in like no time ever passed. It was the most comfortable I've felt in my own skin in such a long time. I was reminded I used to be funny -- witty, silly, dorky (of course), but mostly I just hadn't remembered being laughed with in so long.
Overall, it was just a perfect vacation weekend. And those two overtime games were about as awesome as they could have been.
Monday, December 22, 2008
A Basketball Realization
The most recent basketball game I went to was a snorefest. A&M forgot to play about half the game (the first 10 minutes of each half) and then had to play catchup against SMU. The only redeeming quality of the evening was that SMU was still worse than us so we could still get the win.
While sitting there watching a game that I couldn't have been more detached from, I realized the player numbers were all five or less for each of the digits. I decided this is to make it easier for the referees to indicate who the foul is on. A three and a four is easier to handsign with one hand than a nine and a six. Of course, they could use sign language for the larger digits or they could use both hands, but it just doesn't appear that they do.
Does anyone know if that is an across-the-board rule, or are their basketball players with numbers above 55?
While sitting there watching a game that I couldn't have been more detached from, I realized the player numbers were all five or less for each of the digits. I decided this is to make it easier for the referees to indicate who the foul is on. A three and a four is easier to handsign with one hand than a nine and a six. Of course, they could use sign language for the larger digits or they could use both hands, but it just doesn't appear that they do.
Does anyone know if that is an across-the-board rule, or are their basketball players with numbers above 55?
Saturday, December 06, 2008
I Have a Mouth, and I Did Scream
A set of circumstances came together giving me a free ticket to the Texas A&M men's basketball game against Arizona. And so, my arm was twisted. (Ha. Like arm-twisting is needed when it comes to basketball or the Aggies.)
The game started out much like I expected. I had also gotten to go to a game two weeks ago against Jackson State, and the team generally looked like it hadn't yet figured out how to play together. There was confusion and a lack of energy and teamwork all over the court. We won the game, but it wasn't a pretty win. So, when you go out against a team like Arizona with all their talented players, you just have to play better.
The primary threats that I noticed were Jordan Hill, who pretty much shut us down inside and could hit most anything he posted up, and Chase Budinger, who could shoot from anywhere on the court -- inside, jumpers (including the turnaround), free throws, three-pointers from well oustide the arc, etc. And so, they got out to a quick 15-2 lead. We couldn't make a shot for anything, and they got virtually every rebound, offensive and defesive alike. It was like watching my old mid-nineties team, where you just want them to find a way to pull things together for a few minutes and not look like complete buffoons. Phrases like "moral victory" started dancing in my head. We pulled ourselves together a bit, and kept the deficit generally between 9 and 12 points through to halftime, where we trailed 40-29.
Reed Arena had a decent crowd, considering it's mid-finals weekend. I think it being a later game (8:30 start) meant a few more out-of-towners could make it. We hung in there in the second half, maintaining our deficit. At the worst, we were down by 14, but we never quit. And the second half team had more energy, more fire, and absolutely no giving up in sight. We started managing to stop them on their possessions. They started missing shots. They had a starter foul out. We were closing the gap. Down by 7. A few minutes later down by 5.
The critical point in the momentum of the game came with 6:30 left in the game, and the Aggies down by 7. Hill, the previously mentioned Arizona forward, was called for a technical foul. I didn't see what happened, since I was watching another part of the floor at the time, but Russ Pennell, the Arizona coach, didn't contest it, so I'm assuming it was legit. Josh Carter, the lone senior the Aggies have this year with any playing time to speak of, nailed his free throws and the crowd was loud and crazy and into the game. Regardless of the number of timeouts called by the two teams and for commercials for the rest of the game (4), the crowd was just right back into it each time, and how couldn't we be? We kept catching up and managed to tie the game at 62 with 3:30 remaining in the game. That was the closest we'd been since the opening tipoff. We immediately trailed again, but we could taste the possiblity. And then, with 20 seconds remaining, Nate Walkup, a sophomore, came off the bench and nailed a deep three to put us up 67-66. Elation! And then the reminder that Arizona gets the (likely) last position. Budinger, who'd been particularly hot in the first half, took the off-balance shot, we controlled the rebound, and time expired! We'd managed to get our only lead of the game when it mattered, and then we managed to keep it. Wow.
This game was part of a series of non-conference matchups between the Big 12 and the Pac 10. As far as the other games in this series, we've seen the following results:
Washington (54) at Kansas (73) -- November 24th
Colorado (62) at Stanford (76) -- November 29th
USC (72) at Oklahoma (73) -- Thursday
UCLA (64) at Texas (68) -- Thursday
Oklahoma State (65) at Washington (83) -- Thursday
Several games still remain:
Oregon State at Iowa State (today)
Baylor at Washington State (today)
Nebraska at Arizona State (Sunday)
California at Missouri (Sunday)
Kansas State at Oregon (Sunday)
Stanford at Colorado State (December 14)
There have been some close games, and in those, the home team seemed to win. I know that was the case last night, and I'm sure the result would have been different if the game had been in Tucson. I'm sort of thinking the Big 12 still has some work to do to play with these guys, but it's nice to have the games on the schedule.
Today, as the title of this post suggests, I have a bit of a scratchy throat. Of course, I'll take it.
The game started out much like I expected. I had also gotten to go to a game two weeks ago against Jackson State, and the team generally looked like it hadn't yet figured out how to play together. There was confusion and a lack of energy and teamwork all over the court. We won the game, but it wasn't a pretty win. So, when you go out against a team like Arizona with all their talented players, you just have to play better.
The primary threats that I noticed were Jordan Hill, who pretty much shut us down inside and could hit most anything he posted up, and Chase Budinger, who could shoot from anywhere on the court -- inside, jumpers (including the turnaround), free throws, three-pointers from well oustide the arc, etc. And so, they got out to a quick 15-2 lead. We couldn't make a shot for anything, and they got virtually every rebound, offensive and defesive alike. It was like watching my old mid-nineties team, where you just want them to find a way to pull things together for a few minutes and not look like complete buffoons. Phrases like "moral victory" started dancing in my head. We pulled ourselves together a bit, and kept the deficit generally between 9 and 12 points through to halftime, where we trailed 40-29.
Reed Arena had a decent crowd, considering it's mid-finals weekend. I think it being a later game (8:30 start) meant a few more out-of-towners could make it. We hung in there in the second half, maintaining our deficit. At the worst, we were down by 14, but we never quit. And the second half team had more energy, more fire, and absolutely no giving up in sight. We started managing to stop them on their possessions. They started missing shots. They had a starter foul out. We were closing the gap. Down by 7. A few minutes later down by 5.
The critical point in the momentum of the game came with 6:30 left in the game, and the Aggies down by 7. Hill, the previously mentioned Arizona forward, was called for a technical foul. I didn't see what happened, since I was watching another part of the floor at the time, but Russ Pennell, the Arizona coach, didn't contest it, so I'm assuming it was legit. Josh Carter, the lone senior the Aggies have this year with any playing time to speak of, nailed his free throws and the crowd was loud and crazy and into the game. Regardless of the number of timeouts called by the two teams and for commercials for the rest of the game (4), the crowd was just right back into it each time, and how couldn't we be? We kept catching up and managed to tie the game at 62 with 3:30 remaining in the game. That was the closest we'd been since the opening tipoff. We immediately trailed again, but we could taste the possiblity. And then, with 20 seconds remaining, Nate Walkup, a sophomore, came off the bench and nailed a deep three to put us up 67-66. Elation! And then the reminder that Arizona gets the (likely) last position. Budinger, who'd been particularly hot in the first half, took the off-balance shot, we controlled the rebound, and time expired! We'd managed to get our only lead of the game when it mattered, and then we managed to keep it. Wow.
This game was part of a series of non-conference matchups between the Big 12 and the Pac 10. As far as the other games in this series, we've seen the following results:
Washington (54) at Kansas (73) -- November 24th
Colorado (62) at Stanford (76) -- November 29th
USC (72) at Oklahoma (73) -- Thursday
UCLA (64) at Texas (68) -- Thursday
Oklahoma State (65) at Washington (83) -- Thursday
Several games still remain:
Oregon State at Iowa State (today)
Baylor at Washington State (today)
Nebraska at Arizona State (Sunday)
California at Missouri (Sunday)
Kansas State at Oregon (Sunday)
Stanford at Colorado State (December 14)
There have been some close games, and in those, the home team seemed to win. I know that was the case last night, and I'm sure the result would have been different if the game had been in Tucson. I'm sort of thinking the Big 12 still has some work to do to play with these guys, but it's nice to have the games on the schedule.
Today, as the title of this post suggests, I have a bit of a scratchy throat. Of course, I'll take it.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
The Season is Over
I got to go to the last Aggie basketball game of the season on Thursday. It was great to be there, but it was so stressful to watch. When we lost by the single point, I cried a little. It was a great season, and I'm sad for it to be over.
The rest of the teams aren't all the exciting to watch. I watch the tournament for the upsets and to root for the little guys. There are none of those left.
The rest of the teams aren't all the exciting to watch. I watch the tournament for the upsets and to root for the little guys. There are none of those left.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
First Round Review
We've made it through our first 33 games. Here's a recap of how I did with predicting exciting games in this first round.
I missed that the Duke beating by VCU would be the most exciting upset game of the tournament. I picked VCU to win, but I didn't know it would be such a hotly contested game. Overall, not a bad take, considering that these were the games that I felt were basically tossups. I did alright in my picks. I tried a new system this year, and I'll just have to see how that plays out. In my old system, I finished the first round with a 30 and 3 record. In the new system I'm 26 and 7. I guess the old system's pretty good, but likely means I will be slaughtered in the next round or two. It's virtually impossible to keep that sort of streak going.
- Arizona vs. Purdue This wasn't the best 8/9 matchup -- that title fell to the 2-point Xavier win over BYU.
- Butler vs. Old Dominion ODU didn't upset, but I guess with no 12 seed upsets in the tournament this year, I could still claim that this was the most likely.
- Maryland vs. Davidson Again, no 13s upset 4s, but this was a good game for 35 minutes, until Maryland finally pulled away.
- Notre Dame vs. Winthrop Winthrop delivered! This was a fun game to watch.
- Nevada vs. Creighton Surprisingly, all the 7 seeds won their games. This was the most exciting, though, as the only overtime game in the first round.
- Texas A&M vs. Penn My Aggies, unfortunately, delivered on a stressful game to watch, even allowing those Quakers to take the lead for a while. I was quaking in my shoes (I'm trying to be a sports writer or commentator, using lame lines). Thankfully, I have good breath-holding skills these days, so I was able to will them to win.
I missed that the Duke beating by VCU would be the most exciting upset game of the tournament. I picked VCU to win, but I didn't know it would be such a hotly contested game. Overall, not a bad take, considering that these were the games that I felt were basically tossups. I did alright in my picks. I tried a new system this year, and I'll just have to see how that plays out. In my old system, I finished the first round with a 30 and 3 record. In the new system I'm 26 and 7. I guess the old system's pretty good, but likely means I will be slaughtered in the next round or two. It's virtually impossible to keep that sort of streak going.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
First Round Bracket Preview
I have now created and locked in my various guesses as to how this NCAA Tournament will shake out. As a result of this process, there are a couple of games that I am really looking forward to in just the first round, mostly because I can't decide who will win.
These are the games I will be watching most closely today and tomorrow, hoping they deliver on my expectations of good, hard-fought battles. Obviously, I'm expecting the most fun in that strong MidWest region -- virtually anyone in that region can win their first-round game, and that makes for great tournament watching. I'm certainly picking other upsets, but I feel pretty confident in those. Good thing lots of games are being broadcast simultaneously, so I don't get bored with stupid stuff like the work I'm being paid to do.
For those of you making your selections based on the mascots in each game, good luck with the Kentucky-Villanova (both Wildcats) and the Louisville-Stanford (both Cardinal(s)) games.
- Arizona vs. Purdue Statistically, Arizona has the edge, but there is something about those Boilermakers that tells me this is going to be the toughest 8/9 matchup. And 8/9s are a tossup anyway.
- Butler vs. Old Dominion This seems to be the most likely 12/5 upset, and I just love to watch those games.
- Maryland vs. Davidson And here we are with the most likely 13/4 upset.
- Notre Dame vs. Winthrop I just want to see those Eagles kick some Irish butt. It should be a fun one.
- Nevada vs. Creighton I can't decide who I want to win, but these are some seriously well-matched teams.
- Texas A&M vs. Penn I have to watch all Aggie games with my breath held, lately.
These are the games I will be watching most closely today and tomorrow, hoping they deliver on my expectations of good, hard-fought battles. Obviously, I'm expecting the most fun in that strong MidWest region -- virtually anyone in that region can win their first-round game, and that makes for great tournament watching. I'm certainly picking other upsets, but I feel pretty confident in those. Good thing lots of games are being broadcast simultaneously, so I don't get bored with stupid stuff like the work I'm being paid to do.
For those of you making your selections based on the mascots in each game, good luck with the Kentucky-Villanova (both Wildcats) and the Louisville-Stanford (both Cardinal(s)) games.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Purple Eagle Love
No one cares about the play-in game of the NCAA Tournament. Most people don't even seem to realize it exists (even among people that follow the tournament). But, regardless of when the tournament bracket selection closes, the tournament starts on Tuesday night.
The first game, last night, pitted the Florida A&M Rattlesnakes against the Niagara Purple Eagles. They played for the opportunity to lose to Kansas in the "first" round. And Niagara won. How many MAAC teams can say they won an NCAA Tournament game? So what if it's before most people even recognize that the Tourney has started -- they got a win. And sometimes that's all a team needs to feel really good about their season.
Also, I picked Niagara to beat Florida A&M, so I'm 1-0 for my bracket, while everyone else is still 0-0. Just sending some props to the Purple Eagles for their win last night. Enjoy it!
The first game, last night, pitted the Florida A&M Rattlesnakes against the Niagara Purple Eagles. They played for the opportunity to lose to Kansas in the "first" round. And Niagara won. How many MAAC teams can say they won an NCAA Tournament game? So what if it's before most people even recognize that the Tourney has started -- they got a win. And sometimes that's all a team needs to feel really good about their season.
Also, I picked Niagara to beat Florida A&M, so I'm 1-0 for my bracket, while everyone else is still 0-0. Just sending some props to the Purple Eagles for their win last night. Enjoy it!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Oh...The Horror!
One can tell they are way too busy when the pivotal day of the year comes and goes, and you've missed the Selection Show for the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
I didn't actually forget it, I just had in my mind that the selection show was at 6, but it was 6 eastern time. When I turned on the TV to get my hour-long droolfest in, I found "60 Minutes" instead -- I'd missed it. Normally, I would have been watching all the big conference championship games, and the selection show would come on and I would never have missed anything. Instead, I had to find out that A&M is a 3 seed in the South division (San Antonio, here I come!!) by checking the web. The build-up and drama is missing that way.
I haven't missed a selection show since I realized I love basketball. Every year you could find me on the couch, pen and paper in hand, analyzing matchups as they are displayed. Somehow, though, with all the packing and moving stuff going on, I missed it this year.
My husband rolls his eyes every year when March shows up. He prefers to just disappear for a month while I watch game after game after game. However, even he indicated that he felt bad for me that I missed it. He left me alone while I spent an hour on the web trying to catch up on the information I missed.
I didn't actually forget it, I just had in my mind that the selection show was at 6, but it was 6 eastern time. When I turned on the TV to get my hour-long droolfest in, I found "60 Minutes" instead -- I'd missed it. Normally, I would have been watching all the big conference championship games, and the selection show would come on and I would never have missed anything. Instead, I had to find out that A&M is a 3 seed in the South division (San Antonio, here I come!!) by checking the web. The build-up and drama is missing that way.
I haven't missed a selection show since I realized I love basketball. Every year you could find me on the couch, pen and paper in hand, analyzing matchups as they are displayed. Somehow, though, with all the packing and moving stuff going on, I missed it this year.
My husband rolls his eyes every year when March shows up. He prefers to just disappear for a month while I watch game after game after game. However, even he indicated that he felt bad for me that I missed it. He left me alone while I spent an hour on the web trying to catch up on the information I missed.
Friday, March 02, 2007
The Elephant in the Room
I might have gone to a certain double overtime basketball game this past Wednesday night. And I might have watched my Aggies lose their third conference game by just two points. I might also have enjoyed said game, even despite the loss. And I'm certainly still a fan, and am looking forward to what is yet to come this season.
And then I came across this quote from A&M coach Billy Gillispie:
Now, Gillispie is a tough guy. He shows very little emotion in any press conference I've ever seen. He talks about everything coming down to the win or the loss and what we need to do better. He doesn't believe in "moral victories" or other such sentimental things. When I saw this, I felt the tears start to well up in my own eyes.
Acie started his freshman season during Melvin Watkins' last year -- a phenomenally bad 0-16 conference season. He stuck around when Gillispie came, and has been a key part of the turnaround that we've seen in the last few years. He's an amazing player, and his improvement with the team has just been wonderful to watch. And that's just from my perspective as a fan. I would imagine that as a coach, that improvement would be even more exciting and humbling to watch.
If, after the last home game tomorrow, Billy starts crying, I think I will too.
And then I came across this quote from A&M coach Billy Gillispie:
I cry like a baby and just thinking about [Acie Law] playing his last game at home will make me cry.
Now, Gillispie is a tough guy. He shows very little emotion in any press conference I've ever seen. He talks about everything coming down to the win or the loss and what we need to do better. He doesn't believe in "moral victories" or other such sentimental things. When I saw this, I felt the tears start to well up in my own eyes.
Acie started his freshman season during Melvin Watkins' last year -- a phenomenally bad 0-16 conference season. He stuck around when Gillispie came, and has been a key part of the turnaround that we've seen in the last few years. He's an amazing player, and his improvement with the team has just been wonderful to watch. And that's just from my perspective as a fan. I would imagine that as a coach, that improvement would be even more exciting and humbling to watch.
If, after the last home game tomorrow, Billy starts crying, I think I will too.
Monday, February 26, 2007
What a Difference a Week Makes
In last weeks polls, A&M was hanging out at 8th/9th in the nation. Then, this last week happened to teams in the top 10. There were a lot of losses for top ten teams when they went other places to play. Apparently the road was a hard master:
-- Wisconsin lost at Michigan State and at Ohio State, and slipped from 2 to 5
-- Florida lost at LSU, and slipped from 3 to 4
-- UNC lost at Maryland, and slipped from 5 to 8
-- Pitt lost at Georgetown, and slipped from 8/10 to 12
-- Washington State lost at Oregon, and slipped from 9/11 to 13
What's great about these slippages is that A&M was able to insert itself to #6 again, tying our highest point in the polls so far. Of course, we didn't have a tough road game this week. I think Oklahoma State might have just laid down and died when we came into the arena. This week, however, we have a tough road game against Texas, who has managed to work their way up to 15th in the nation. Oh, and they're mad we beat them earlier in the season. If we can impact Durant's effectiveness this week like we did a month ago, and not get shut out of scoring from our side, I look forward to embarrassing the Longhorns at home.
-- Wisconsin lost at Michigan State and at Ohio State, and slipped from 2 to 5
-- Florida lost at LSU, and slipped from 3 to 4
-- UNC lost at Maryland, and slipped from 5 to 8
-- Pitt lost at Georgetown, and slipped from 8/10 to 12
-- Washington State lost at Oregon, and slipped from 9/11 to 13
What's great about these slippages is that A&M was able to insert itself to #6 again, tying our highest point in the polls so far. Of course, we didn't have a tough road game this week. I think Oklahoma State might have just laid down and died when we came into the arena. This week, however, we have a tough road game against Texas, who has managed to work their way up to 15th in the nation. Oh, and they're mad we beat them earlier in the season. If we can impact Durant's effectiveness this week like we did a month ago, and not get shut out of scoring from our side, I look forward to embarrassing the Longhorns at home.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Things I've Avoided
I have tried not to post about basketball as often as I've thought about it. I realize that most of my two readers don't care about sports. But then I remember: this is my blog, dammit!
Also, I haven't wanted to jinx my Aggies amazing season. However, I've decided there is nothing I can do to derail them at this point -- they're just too good. Earlier this afternoon I thought I heard a commentator say that Texas A&M was out of the tournament. I had to run to the TV to see what stupid sports dude was about to be out of a job. Then, I realized they were just saying that A&M wouldn't get a #1 seed. Well, that's a perfectly acceptable thing to say. Wait -- was he trying to say that there was a time that A&M could have gotten a #1 seed? I just can't imagine. When there's only 4 of those, and we haven't been ranked above 6 in the nation, there would have been some teams really pissed off if we'd been seeded that high. I'm still holding out for a good last two conference games, a good Big 12 tournament showing, and therefore a #2 seed in the San Antonio region. That would be my ideal situation, and I would have to have tickets to their Sweet 16 and Elite 8 showings if that was the case. Yeah.
Our next game in this Wednesday night here in Austin, and yes, I'll be there. We're taking a great 22-4 record into the Erwin center, and we've proven we can play Durant's game and beat him at it. I can't wait to be there to cheer us on to do it again. I love going to the A&M/UT game each year in Austin. It's just a great feeling to be rooting for the visiting team in a hostile environment. It adds to the pressure, and I love watching the home team fans get beaten and how dejected they collectively act. I'll have to let you all know how that goes.
Also, I haven't wanted to jinx my Aggies amazing season. However, I've decided there is nothing I can do to derail them at this point -- they're just too good. Earlier this afternoon I thought I heard a commentator say that Texas A&M was out of the tournament. I had to run to the TV to see what stupid sports dude was about to be out of a job. Then, I realized they were just saying that A&M wouldn't get a #1 seed. Well, that's a perfectly acceptable thing to say. Wait -- was he trying to say that there was a time that A&M could have gotten a #1 seed? I just can't imagine. When there's only 4 of those, and we haven't been ranked above 6 in the nation, there would have been some teams really pissed off if we'd been seeded that high. I'm still holding out for a good last two conference games, a good Big 12 tournament showing, and therefore a #2 seed in the San Antonio region. That would be my ideal situation, and I would have to have tickets to their Sweet 16 and Elite 8 showings if that was the case. Yeah.
Our next game in this Wednesday night here in Austin, and yes, I'll be there. We're taking a great 22-4 record into the Erwin center, and we've proven we can play Durant's game and beat him at it. I can't wait to be there to cheer us on to do it again. I love going to the A&M/UT game each year in Austin. It's just a great feeling to be rooting for the visiting team in a hostile environment. It adds to the pressure, and I love watching the home team fans get beaten and how dejected they collectively act. I'll have to let you all know how that goes.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
A Tale of Two Polls
In most sports, there are multiple polls to tell you about the relative merits of teams in the league. Since I primarily follow college basketball, I am mostly aware of the Coaches poll and the AP poll. As far as I can tell, there is no objective basis for either poll, unlike the flawed BCS ranking system, which we won't discuss here. Instead, the Coaches poll takes the votes of coaches in Division I basketball, and the AP poll takes the votes of sports writers around the nation. I guess that's why the word "poll" is used.
Anyway, I have become very aware of these little numbers this season with my Aggies beginning the season ranked 13th, and proceeding to move around in the polls as high as 6th as the weeks progress. What's interesting to me in all this is that no one seems to be very consistent about which poll they use. If they want to make two teams seem better matched or more separated, they'll use the ranking from one poll and the other poll for the rank of the other team. In the sports sites for each of the teams, they seem to just use whichever one is higher. Last week, A&M's site proudly displayed a number 6 ranking (from the AP poll), and this week, after losing to Tech, we're using the number 8 ranking from the Coaches poll to toot our horn (the AP has us down to 10).
So, I wonder, do people naturally gravitate toward whatever makes themselves sound better, or is there any group out there that keeps measuring themselves against the same stick? Companies reporting a loss in a quarter will try to highlight revenue growth or investment in future technologies. Teams that lose all the time resort to pointing stats they've improved ("Sure we didn't get any touchdowns, but did you see that we had 13 first downs in that game -- isn't that great?!"). Is it just a defense mechanism to not dwell on the bad stuff?
I suppose we do it in our lives, too. I certainly justify my slow running by looking at the improvement I've made rather than the absolute time. I try to look past the gazillion dollars we spent on eating out last year in favor of noting that we cut our movie expenditures from .1 gazillion to .05 gazillion. My car may not get the best gas mileage, but I'll point out the 1-3 mpg improvement right after I've filled up my tires.
Since it's not really that odd a behavior, I guess I'll forgive the sports teams trying to make themselves look better. It's all about getting more butts in the seats to make more money, and that seems a decent way to do it. It's just odd to me that the pollsters give them ample data to pick and choose from, rather than sticking to just one ranking list.
Anyway, I have become very aware of these little numbers this season with my Aggies beginning the season ranked 13th, and proceeding to move around in the polls as high as 6th as the weeks progress. What's interesting to me in all this is that no one seems to be very consistent about which poll they use. If they want to make two teams seem better matched or more separated, they'll use the ranking from one poll and the other poll for the rank of the other team. In the sports sites for each of the teams, they seem to just use whichever one is higher. Last week, A&M's site proudly displayed a number 6 ranking (from the AP poll), and this week, after losing to Tech, we're using the number 8 ranking from the Coaches poll to toot our horn (the AP has us down to 10).
So, I wonder, do people naturally gravitate toward whatever makes themselves sound better, or is there any group out there that keeps measuring themselves against the same stick? Companies reporting a loss in a quarter will try to highlight revenue growth or investment in future technologies. Teams that lose all the time resort to pointing stats they've improved ("Sure we didn't get any touchdowns, but did you see that we had 13 first downs in that game -- isn't that great?!"). Is it just a defense mechanism to not dwell on the bad stuff?
I suppose we do it in our lives, too. I certainly justify my slow running by looking at the improvement I've made rather than the absolute time. I try to look past the gazillion dollars we spent on eating out last year in favor of noting that we cut our movie expenditures from .1 gazillion to .05 gazillion. My car may not get the best gas mileage, but I'll point out the 1-3 mpg improvement right after I've filled up my tires.
Since it's not really that odd a behavior, I guess I'll forgive the sports teams trying to make themselves look better. It's all about getting more butts in the seats to make more money, and that seems a decent way to do it. It's just odd to me that the pollsters give them ample data to pick and choose from, rather than sticking to just one ranking list.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Moving Out of the Depression
This will be my last post about basketball for a while, I promise. I don't know if any of you noticed, but my Aggies lost a 1-point heartbreaker to LSU to exit from the NCAA tournament. I was so excited about how well they've played this season, so that made this loss really hard. Oh and the part about not getting to go to the Sweet 16 game I'd imagined between A&M and Duke in Atlanta tonight. I was going to Atlanta anyway today, and I had delusions that I would be going to that game. But, it wasn't to be.
But now I'm coming out of my sadness about that loss. We had an awesome run, and a great season. Next year holds even greater promise as a result. I'm glad we got the opportunity to have a couple of wins in post-season play, both in the Big 12 Tournament and in the NCAA Tournament. That has to boost our recruiting abilities, and we have our best players back next year to go with that. All leads to a very promising future for the team.
Thank you for allowing me to talk about this run in this forum. I know you don't really have any say in what I write here, but I'm trying to be gracious.
But now I'm coming out of my sadness about that loss. We had an awesome run, and a great season. Next year holds even greater promise as a result. I'm glad we got the opportunity to have a couple of wins in post-season play, both in the Big 12 Tournament and in the NCAA Tournament. That has to boost our recruiting abilities, and we have our best players back next year to go with that. All leads to a very promising future for the team.
Thank you for allowing me to talk about this run in this forum. I know you don't really have any say in what I write here, but I'm trying to be gracious.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
My Aggies Rock
Did you see that they won? Did you see that they won?? If not, I'll go ahead and spoil your TiVo watching for later. Texas A&M beat Syracuse in the first round of the tournament! It was exactly A&M's kind of game -- a defensive, low-scoring battle that is won by the three and running out the shot clock on every possession. The tempo was ours. Gerry McNamara was ours. He has been so hot lately, and his play in the last few games of the season and the Big East tournament are why Syracuse was listed as a 5 seed (does anyone remember how they were being talked about as a bubble team just before the Big East tournament?). However, A&M completely shut him down. No field goals. At all.
And that's why we won. Good defense and a lot of heart. I am so proud. And we'll be playing again on Saturday. LSU, you better get ready for us.
And that's why we won. Good defense and a lot of heart. I am so proud. And we'll be playing again on Saturday. LSU, you better get ready for us.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Customer Bracket Bragging
Quite a few of my customers made it to the big dance this year. Last year, I only had 5 in the tournament. This year, it's 8 of my 62 customers. That's a pretty good percentage, considering how many of my customers aren't Division I schools or are all together in one of the wimpy conferences that only gets their automatic bid. Here's the breakdown, by seed, for my little list of customers that made it this year:
2 Ohio State
5 Syracuse
5 Pittsburgh
6 Michigan State
9 Bucknell
12 Texas A&M
12 Kent State
15 Pennsylvania
Unfortunately, I am guaranteed to lose two of my customers in the first round, since they are in head-to-head 5/12 matchups. And of course there's my 15-seed. But overall, it was a good showing. I know it seems strange to look at things like this, but last year, I bet against Bucknell, even though they were my customer. And you all know how that went down. Well maybe you don't, but they upset Kansas, and 14 seeds just don't do that very often.
Meanwhile, I am so pumped about my Aggies. The first trip to the big dance in nearly 20 years. It's certainly the first time since I've been paying attention. Do they have a tough road ahead of them? Sure. But you have to watch out for those 5/12 pairings. Every year one or two 5 seeds fall in the first round. I hope my "little team that could" can be one of those. And have I ever mentioned that I'm ecstatic that Josh Carter is just a freshman this year? And that Acie Law and Joe Jones are still juniors, and we'll get another year out of them? The prospects for next year are so good, I can hardly contain myself.
2 Ohio State
5 Syracuse
5 Pittsburgh
6 Michigan State
9 Bucknell
12 Texas A&M
12 Kent State
15 Pennsylvania
Unfortunately, I am guaranteed to lose two of my customers in the first round, since they are in head-to-head 5/12 matchups. And of course there's my 15-seed. But overall, it was a good showing. I know it seems strange to look at things like this, but last year, I bet against Bucknell, even though they were my customer. And you all know how that went down. Well maybe you don't, but they upset Kansas, and 14 seeds just don't do that very often.
---
Meanwhile, I am so pumped about my Aggies. The first trip to the big dance in nearly 20 years. It's certainly the first time since I've been paying attention. Do they have a tough road ahead of them? Sure. But you have to watch out for those 5/12 pairings. Every year one or two 5 seeds fall in the first round. I hope my "little team that could" can be one of those. And have I ever mentioned that I'm ecstatic that Josh Carter is just a freshman this year? And that Acie Law and Joe Jones are still juniors, and we'll get another year out of them? The prospects for next year are so good, I can hardly contain myself.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Alert: Further Basketball Commentary
Today, another Big 12 coach appears to be reaching imminent dismissal. Eddie Sutton, coach of Oklahoma State for the last ... well, for forever, has been cited for drunk driving in an accident last week. So, while he is recuperating from the accident, the administration is deciding when to end his season.
I am certainly not justifying his behavior. I'm only commenting to wonder what is happening to the coaches in my conference? Why are they making themselves targets for mid-season removal? Are they trying to prove that the Big 12 sucks this year? Are they hoping to ensure that only the winner of the conference will get to go to the Tournament?
I do realize that my Aggies are barely marginal this year, and we'd be lucky to be picked up for any post-season anything. But I would hate for us to finally have a good record, finishing fourth in the conference or something, and then not get to go to the Tournament. I suppose that's the breaks when the conference isn't very good this year.
I am certainly not justifying his behavior. I'm only commenting to wonder what is happening to the coaches in my conference? Why are they making themselves targets for mid-season removal? Are they trying to prove that the Big 12 sucks this year? Are they hoping to ensure that only the winner of the conference will get to go to the Tournament?
I do realize that my Aggies are barely marginal this year, and we'd be lucky to be picked up for any post-season anything. But I would hate for us to finally have a good record, finishing fourth in the conference or something, and then not get to go to the Tournament. I suppose that's the breaks when the conference isn't very good this year.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Alert: Basketball Commentary
Big announcement in Big 12 basketball today: Quin Snyder is resigning. After scrutiny from the NCAA last season and popular desire for him to get fired due to the number of losses in the last two seasons, Snyder and Mizzou have reached an agreement and his resignation is effective immediately. Now, it's bad enough to leave in disgrace. And worse to leave in the middle of the season. But now their acting head coach is Melvin Watkins. Now, Watkins had a great record at UNC-Charlotte, and I'm sure he knew what he was doing there. However, he couldn't do much with the 6 years he was at Texas A&M (his last season saw an abysmal 0-16 conference record leading to his dismissal). Not sure if he can coach in the Big 12. They haven't name him their permanent coach, yet, but it seems likely (otherwise why would they have picked him up last year -- head coaches don't go back to being assistants without some assurances). I hope he is able to do more in that environment than he was at A&M. And then again, maybe I don't. Two guaranteed wins each year would be nice. A&M would be more than happy to take Missouri's spot of late as 5th or 6th in the Big 12 each year, with a good chance to go to the NCAA tournament.
Meanwhile, the loss of "Coach Q" on the sidelines makes me sad, almost as sad as he made me when he cut his curly hair shorter. He's been the best looking college coach I've seen for a long time (even with his shorter hair), and I hope he's back soon. He doesn't seem to be a bad coach, and his players certainly seemed to want to play hard for him. So, it would seem he has a future, and I have a chance to keep watching.
Meanwhile, the loss of "Coach Q" on the sidelines makes me sad, almost as sad as he made me when he cut his curly hair shorter. He's been the best looking college coach I've seen for a long time (even with his shorter hair), and I hope he's back soon. He doesn't seem to be a bad coach, and his players certainly seemed to want to play hard for him. So, it would seem he has a future, and I have a chance to keep watching.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Ah...Basketball
I went to my first Aggie basketball game of the season last night. Texas Tech and Bobby Knight came to College Station, and in the first half, they were red-hot. The Aggies couldn't hit anything, couldn't even get in the paint, and had more team fouls than points for about the first 10 minutes of the game. We went into halftime down by 9. Coach Gillespie did something good during that half-time pep talk, while we enjoyed frisbee-catching dogs. When they came out in the second half, they were playing better defense, hitting their shots better, and just playing more like a team than five individuals. It took a bit to make up the deficit, but the second half was very exciting, and the crowd was into it and very loud. By the end, we had managed a 63-55 win.
It feels great to be back into another season of conference play.
It feels great to be back into another season of conference play.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Aggie Basketball Update
I have to say I was a bit worried when Antoine Wright entered the draft after his junior year. However, so far so good for my team. Both Joseph Jones and Acie Law IV (as well as a couple of new guys) have stepped up to play well so far in exhibition and non-conference games. They're 6-0 so far for the season, with some great games in there. True, they haven't played Duke or Kentucky or even Missouri, and all but one of their non-conference games are at home, but they are showing the kind of promise that is enough to get me to look through the schedule and see which games I should try to get to. Hmmm...Texas Tech comes to College Station for the Big 12 opener on January 7th. That's a Saturday, and would definitely fit into my schedule. Is it too early to start planning for that?
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