Why sportswriters' blanket assumptions are retarded

I am so absolutely sick and tired of hearing the same tired, lazy, lemming-like hack job that self-anointed sports “experts” spew about NC State basketball. Maybe somehow, somewhere this piece will get some attention and people can draw their own conclusions based on REAL analysis and facts.

According to the national and regional sports media, NCSU is hopelessly over its head in ACC basketball, merely because the university is within close proximity to UNC and Duke. Fans of the program that speak of its long history and tradition are living in the past and not in tune with the real world and can’t comprehend that that history is gone and cannot and will not ever be repeated. They’re in denial. They had a head coach that led them to the program’s modern ceiling, and the ungrateful and hostile fan base showed no appreciation and caused him to be terminated from the program. It is completely irrational and perverse for said fan base to ever imagine that a coach with any above-average ability or “sky is the limit” ceiling would ever consider coaching at NC State, because, again, the fans are completely irrational, unknowledgeable rednecks that care about nothing but beating UNC and Duke – in fact that’s why said fan base practically tarred and feathered the best coach they could ever hope to have again. Also, no coach in his right mind would ever consider going up against three of the best in the business (Williams, Williams and Krzyzewski), in the premier college basketball conference in the nation (at least it used to be), at a large, nationally recognized research institution, in one of the fastest-growing and highest-quality metropolitan areas in the United States, playing in a gorgeous, large facility.

I am only one NC State basketball fan. I don’t pretend to speak for an entire fan base. But I know when I hear and read all the tripe from the “experts” I get very irritated and annoyed with their sheer oblique ignorance. I am setting the record straight at least with regards to this one fan.

First of all, Herb Sendek did NOT coach at NC State for five seasons; he coached there for 10 seasons. It’s very disingenuous for the media to conveniently forget about Sendek’s first five seasons and focus only on his last five, as they can spout off arbitrary numbers to give the impression that State’s fans are ungrateful twits. It’s important to consider the full body of Sendek’s work, because quite simply, in my opinion, his fourth and fifth seasons tempered how he was viewed and tolerated in seasons six through 10. Even in those last five seasons, Sendek was not constantly barraged with derision; in fact, his biggest problem may well have been that he showed flashes of potential only to consistently backtrack.

To say State fans simply couldn’t tolerate Sendek because of his abysmal record against UNC and Duke must be one of the most ludicrous conclusions ever drawn in sports history. Here are some numbers to consider BESIDES his 8-38 record against those two teams. Please feel free to make use of these figures in future “professional” analysis.

· Overall record at NC State: 191-132 (.591)

· Overall ACC regular-season record: 71-91 (.438) – This corresponds to an average finish in the conference of fifth place. If Duke and UNC were State’s only problems, shouldn't that average be closer to third place?

· While State never finished in last place during Sendek’s tenure, in eight of his 10 seasons the team that did finish last beat the Pack. In two seasons the last-place team beat State twice.

· NCSU had a cumulative 13-10 (.565) ACC Tournament record, with three appearances in the championship…and three second-place finishes.

· NCSU had a cumulative 10-10 mark in postseason play – 5-5 in the NIT and 5-5 in the NCAA. State missed the postseason once, and made it to the NIT semifinals once (finishing fourth) and the Sweet Sixteen once. Beyond that the Pack never advanced past a second round.

· Sendek’s teams accumulated a 22-21 record vs. non-conference BCS teams (.512)

· But his teams also lost nine total games to non-BCS schools over the course of six of his 10 seasons (to his credit he did not lose to a non-BCS school in his final three seasons).

· State’s longest winning streaks by season: 6, 6, 3, 7, 4, 5 (twice), 5, 5, 8, 7. As you can imagine nearly all of these streaks occurred at the beginning of each season, against the softest portion of the schedule.

· The teams’ collective record over the last 10 games (including postseason and ACC tournament) of the 10 seasons in question: 49-51 (.490). What that boils down to is that Sendek won about 64 percent of his games thanks to often frontloading embarrassing early-season schedules, and finished each season floundering. In fact, only twice in 10 years did he finish above .500 over the season’s final 10 games.

· State’s record versus ranked teams over the decade in question? 28-71 (.283)

· If you went to every game NC State played against an ACC foe from 1996-97 season to the 2005-2006 season, you on average watched the Wolfpack lose 70-69.

· Since the media wants to make this all about Duke and UNC, if you just went to those games over those 10 seasons, you walked out of the arena after seeing, on average, a 77-67 defeat.

· Of Sendek’s 132 losses while at NC State, 62 of them were of 10 points or more – an astounding 47 percent of all losses.

· But even the close games weren’t much fun to watch; the Pack was 18-31 in games decided by three points or less (.367)

· And what about the other ACC schools? We hear all about the 8-38 record against Duke and UNC, but were fans any happier with going 1-3 against Boston College, 7-16 against Maryland or 9-16 against Wake Forest? In fact, Sendek’s performance against the teams he bested – Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, Virginia and Virginia Tech – comes out to a .682 winning percentage. But his record against Boston College, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina and Wake Forest add up to a stellar .255.

· His total ACC record, including ACC Tournaments and squaring off against Wake in the 2000 NIT, was 85-101 (.457)

We hear so often how Sendek took NCSU to five straight NCAA Tournaments (never mind the team made it to the second weekend only once), but how does that compare with the achievements of the Wolfpack’s peers during the same period? Under Sendek, NCSU finished runner-up three times in the ACC tournament. They made the NCAA tournament five times, as a 3 seed, 7 seed, 9 seed and twice as a 10 seed. These invitations led to one Sweet Sixteen appearance, three trips to the second round, and one one-and-done trip.

Now look what the other current ACC schools did during that time (Boston College and Miami numbers are mostly from their time in the Big East).

· Boston College

o One ACC Tournament runner-up

o Six trips to the NCAA Tournament, as a 3 seed, 4 seed (twice), 5 seed, 6 seed and 11 seed. In those appearances, the Eagles made it to one Sweet Sixteen, four trips to the second round, and one one-and-done.

· Clemson

o Two trips to the NCAA tournament, as a 4 seed (Sweet 16) and a 6 seed (one and done).

· Duke

o Seven ACC Tournament championships

o Two ACC Tournament second-place finishes

o 10 trips to the NCAA Tournament, eight times as a 1 seed, once as a 2 seed and once as a 3 seed.

§ One NCAA title

§ One second-place finish

§ One other Final Four appearance

§ One Elite Eight

§ Five Sweet Sixteens

§ One trip to the second round

· Florida State

o One trip to the NCAA Tournament, going to the second round as a 12 seed.

· Georgia Tech

o One ACC Tournament runner-up

o Three trips to the NCAA Tournament, as a 3 seed, 5 seed and 8 seed. Those trips yielded a national semifinal appearance as well as a trip to the second round and a one-and-done.

· Maryland

o One ACC Championship

o One ACC Tournament runner-up

o Eight NCAA tournament trips, as a 1 seed, 2 seed, 3 seed (twice), 4 seed (twice), 5 seed and 6 seed.

§ One NCAA Championship

§ One additional Final Four appearance

§ Three Sweet Sixteens

§ Two second rounds

§ One one-and-done

· Miami

o Four NCAA Tournament trips, as a 2 seed, 5 seed, 6 seed and 11 seed. That led to one Sweet Sixteen, one second-round appearance and two one-and-done shots.

· North Carolina

o Two ACC Tournament championships

o Two ACC Tournament runner-up finishes

o Eight NCAA Tournament invites, three times as a top seed, a 2 seed, 3 seed (twice), 6 seed and 8 seed.

§ One NCAA Championship

§ Three additional Final Fours

§ Three second rounds

§ One one-and-done

· Virginia

o Two NCAA Tournament invites, as a 5 seed and 9 seed, losing in the first round each time.

· Wake Forest

o Six trips to the NCAA Tournament, as a 2 seed (twice), 3 seed, 4 seed and 7 seed (twice). The invites led to one Sweet Sixteen, four second round appearances and a first-round exit.

Virginia Tech never made it to a conference title game or NCAA Tournament from 1997-2006.

This means that five ACC teams had more NCAA invites than NC State during Sendek’s time in Raleigh. Eight other ACC teams in addition to NCSU made it to at least one Sweet Sixteen during this decade. Three won national championships. Between all teams in Sendek’s decade at NCSU, there were a collective:

o 55 NCAA Tournament invitations;

o 11 first-round losses;

o 20 trips to the second round;

o 13 Sweet Sixteens;

o 1 Elite Eight;

o 5 Final Fours;

o 2 Runners-up; and

o 3 NCAA Championships.

So again, when looking at the big picture and objectively comparing with Sendek’s peers, State was solidly average: sixth in total number of NCAA invitations; eighth in average seeding; a five-way tie for fifth place in NCAA Tournament winning percentage; sixth in total number of NCAA Tournament games played.

And then, for me at least, there are some very specific instances that caused me to lose hope:

· Nov. 12, 1997 – Putting up 36 points in a loss to Princeton at the Meadowlands

· March 6, 1998 – Getting pummeled by 27 by UNC in the first round of the ACC tournament after beating the Heels by 16 two weeks earlier.

· The 1998-99 season – losing 9 of 14 games by 11 points or more, including a 20-point loss at Duke, a 46-point loss at Maryland and a 29-point loss at Wake Forest.

· March 15, 1999 – Concluding the 1999 season with another loss to Princeton, at home, in the NIT.

· The 1999-2000 season – Starting the season 15-4 before ending it 5-10.

· Jan. 27, 2000 – Bringing a respectable 4-2 conference record to Littlejohn Coliseum, including a win over 12^th-ranked Maryland and close losses at 14^th-ranked UNC and 5^th-ranked Duke… and then proceeding to shoot 37 percent and turn the ball over on 29 percent of possessions to get waxed by 17 by Clemson, who was 6-12 heading into the game.

· Feb. 6, 2000 – Still 5-3 heading to College Park for a chance to sweep 25^th-ranked Maryland. State went into the half up 12; then Damon Thornton got a technical foul, the Pack gave up 49 second-half points while getting outscored by 17, lost the game and thus began a seven-game losing streak and eight losses in 10 games (including another loss to Maryland in the ACC Tournament).

· March 28-30, 2000 – Feeling some part of the season was salvaged with at least a trip to the NIT semifinals…but then losing to Wake in the semis and Penn State in the third-place game.

· Nov. 18, 22, 2000 – Losses of 17 points against Charlotte in Reynolds Coliseum and 19 points against Fresno State in the RBC. State doesn’t put together any back-to-back wins after Dec. 22 and Dec. 30.

· Feb. 3, 2001 – I distinctly remember being on a weekend golf outing in Myrtle Beach and watching this game. State had a good lead, was playing well, and my non-State fan friends couldn’t understand my lack of excitement, since the Wolfpack was leading the 12^th-ranked team in the nation by nine at the half. I proceeded to diagram the Pack’s collapse and they were slack-jawed as everything I said actually happened moments later. State loses 54-53.

· Feb. 20, 2001 – Horrendous 29-point loss at Maryland wherein the team essentially screams at the world that it doesn’t care. Pack finishes 13-16, a tremendous setback after four years of incremental baby steps forward.

· 2001-02 season – State begins 16-4, finishes 7-7, including a 30-point drubbing by no. 3 Duke in the ACC Championship after a dramatic win over 2^nd-ranked Maryland in the semis. Sendek’s first trip to the NCAA tournament, with a quality win over Michigan State and an oh-so-close loss to Connecticut.

· March 17, 2002 – Pack’s down one to UConn with 47 seconds left and Julius Hodge gets screwed on a terrible foul call on a desperation Caron Butler heave from 3-point land as the shot clock expires (depending on who you ask, the clock had already expired, making the debate over the foul call irrelevant). State loses by 3, but it’s difficult to be angry at anyone but the refs, and hope springs anew.

· 2002-03 season – If the critics are right there should be nothing to complain about, as State knocks off UNC and Duke back to back on Jan. 22 and Jan. 26. Then they only lose by 11 at 8^th-ranked Duke and beat UNC again. But the season stalls and starts: 5 wins, loss, 2 wins, loss, win, 2 losses, 3 wins, loss, win, 2 losses, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss. The Pack concludes the regular season a pedestrian 16-11 and probably out of NCAA contention. UNTIL…

· March 16, 2003 – State knocks off 9^th-ranked Wake Forest to earn a trip to the ACC finals for a third time under Sendek, this time to face 12^th-ranked Duke. State builds a 15-point lead with 10 minutes to play and then proceeds to put together an immense choke, letting J.J. Redick – a freshman - score 23 of his 30 points in the final 10 minutes. State loses 84-77 and critics don’t understand that the way the game was lost was every bit as bad as the fact that it was to Duke. Had the loss been to Florida State it still would’ve been infuriating – maybe moreso.

· March 20, 2003 – NCSU can’t recover, and loses to Cal in OT in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This really is the beginning of the end, for me anyway.

· March 3, 2004 – State, ranked 16^th, looks like it may be on the way to its first 20-win regular season in forever, as they face Maryland on senior day. The Pack proceeds to fall behind by 17 points in the first half before closing to 10 at halftime. They come back to lead 60-59 with 9 minutes to play but end up losing 70-69, relegating the season to 19 wins.

· March 13, 2004 – 10 days later State builds a 19-point halftime lead and leads by as many as 21 on this same Maryland team in the ACC Tournament semifinals, but never leads after the 8-minute mark of the second half and loses by three.

· March 21, 2004 – State leads Vanderbilt by 11 points with 3:30 to play in a very winnable second-round NCAA Tournament game. The Pack manages to get outscored 19-6 in only 3:26 to blow the game.

· Dec. 30, 2004 – State’s best start in a long, long time, 10-1, is impressive, and it looks like it can be built on as the Pack heads to Madison Square Garden to take on a bad St. John’s team on Julius Hodge’s senior trip back to his hometown. State scores 10 first-half points and shoots 20 percent for the game as they lose by 18. This was to a team that finished the season 8-19. State loses nine of their next 12. The 10-1 start leads to a 17-12 regular season finish.

· March 2005 – Nevertheless, State goes 2-1 in the ACC Tournament, including an easy win over 3^rd-ranked Wake Forest that made up for a very contentious loss five days earlier. That’s enough to get the Pack into the NCAA Tournament, where they down in-state rival Charlotte, and get sweet revenge on 13^th-ranked Connecticut for their first Sweet Sixteen appearance since what, 1986? A little hope creeps back up.

· March 25, 2005 – NC State leads or is tied with Wisconsin from about 15 minutes in the first half until about 11:30 to go in the game. But they go nearly five minutes without a bucket while the Badgers build a 10-point advantage. State is outscored 34-19 over the last 13:14 of the game and blows a chance to face UNC in the Elite Eight. No one is surprised.

· Feb. 22, 2006 – NC State is an unthinkable 21-5 heading into a home game with 21^st-ranked UNC (though granted the five losses are by an average of 10 points each). Maybe the breakthrough season is finally here! Maybe State will build on the bitterSweet Sixteen experience from the previous year! Nope. The Pack gets their worst whuppin’ of the year, losing by 24. That’s the first of four losses and five losses in six games. That includes back-to-back losses, in six days, to Wake Forest – the ACC’s last-place team. One of those losses bounces the Pack in the first round of the ACC Tournament, so 21-5 became 21-8 and a first-round conference tourney loss to the lowest-seeded team. State wins an almost incidental game with Cal in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but nobody even cares when they get shellacked by Texas in round two.

Of course, it’s way easier for writers and analysts to look at the total picture from as high an altitude as possible, draw vague conclusions from the cursory glances and then have all their peers simply ape what they see. But if anyone bothers to take the time to read this, maybe they’ll think twice about their innate Sendek commentary. In the end, Sendek wasn’t a bad guy, but he simply exhausted his fan base by constantly teasing it, only to let the same script play out over…and over…and over.

Is Lowe any better? Of course not. Would Lowe be NC State’s head coach right now had Lee Fowler not directed the search for Sendek’s replacement? Of course not. But that’s another story for another time.

file:///Users/mwcramer/Movies/iMovie%20Events.localized/New%20Event%209-16-10%20-%20Day%209/Daddy.mov

My Field of 65 is complete...for now

With the last full week of the college basketball regular season upon us, here is who I think should be in the dance, with seedings (including major bias, of course):

1 seeds
1. Duke
2. Kansas
3. Syracuse
4. Wisconsin

2 Seeds
5. Purdue
6. Kansas State
7. Brigham Young
8. Ohio State

3 Seeds
9. West Virginia
10. Kentucky
11. Maryland
12. Missouri

4 Seeds
13. Texas
14. Florida State
15. Villanova
16. Baylor

5 Seeds
17. California
18. Clemson
19. Xavier
20. Michigan State

6 Seeds
21. Texas A&M
22. Vanderbilt
23. Pittsburgh
24. Butler

7 Seeds
25. Tennessee
26. Temple
27. Utah State
28. Nevada-Las Vegas

8 Seeds
29. Virginia Tech
30. Arizona State
31. New Mexico
32. Texas-El Paso

9 Seeds
33. Mississippi State
34. Old Dominion
35. Oklahoma State
36. Northern Iowa

10 Seeds
37. Florida
38. Gonzaga
39. San Diego State
40. Richmond

11 Seeds
41. Saint Mary's
42. Virginia Commonwealth
43. Memphis
44. Siena

12 Seeds
45. Alabama-Birmingham
46. Murray State
47. Marshall
48. Tulsa

13 seeds
49. Wichita State
50. Cornell
51. Rhode Island
52. Kent State

14 Seeds
53. Illinois State
54. Wofford
55. Louisiana Tech
56. Sam Houston State

15 Seeds
57. IUPUI
58. Harvard
59. Akron
60. Iona

16 Seeds
61. Morehead State
62. Fairfield
63. William & Mary
64. Coastal Carolina/Northern Colorado

There's already a good baker's dozen teams that have played well enough to be considered for NCAA berths, but there just aren't enough slots: Vermont, Appalachian State, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Oakland, College of Charleston, Stephen F. Austin, Stony Brook, Western Carolina, Morgan State, North Texas, Eastern Kentucky, Quinnipiac and Robert Morris.

Heading into the final week, all sorts of madness can happen, with some big teams firmly on the bubble, particularly Georgetown, Marquette and Georgia Tech. Louisville, Dayton, Washington, Wake Forest, Illinois, Mississippi, Notre Dame and Miami could also sneak in, but it'll be tough.

We're up to the 9 seeds now

It's been a busy week in college basketball as the regular season hits the home stretch. Hard to believe, but a lot of conference tournaments will get under way in about two weeks or so. That being said, I've updated my list of tourney selections, which is now up to 36 teams - seeds 1-9.

1 Seeds

Kansas

Duke

West Virginia

Syracuse

2 Seeds

Purdue

Brigham Young

Kentucky

Texas

3 Seeds

Ohio State

Kansas State

Baylor

Villanova

4 Seeds

Michigan State

Virginia Tech

Utah State

Temple

5 Seeds

Old Dominion

Butler

New Mexico

Gonzaga

6 Seeds

Richmond

Northern Iowa

Saint Mary's

Murray State

7 Seeds

Alabama-Birmingham

Siena

Cornell

Wichita State

8 Seeds

Wofford

Louisiana Tech

Akron

Northern Colorado

9 Seeds

Coastal Carolina

Vermont

Oakland

Morgan State

Some big games tonight:

Vanderbilt gets in with a win at Ole Miss (7 p.m. EST, ESPNU) - probably around a 7 seed

Wisconsin gets in with a win at Minnesota (9 p.m. EST, ESPN) - probably as a 1 seed

Pitt gets in with a win at Marquette (9 p.m. EST, ESPN2) - another probable 7 seed

Western Carolina gets in with a win at The Citadel (7:05 EST) - probably as a 10 seed

Ohio State crashes the party - debuts as a 3 seed

Ohio State's impressive win on the road against a surging Illinois squad punched their dance card today fo sho. After looking over Saturday's games I've reordered my seeding a little. Since Syracuse got beat today I may have to drop them down too; I still have to do my own amateur RPI'ing to determine.

The 29 teams I'm liking now:
1 Seeds
Kansas
Duke
Syracuse
Brigham Young

2 Seeds
Purdue
Texas
Kansas State
Kentucky

3 Seeds
Villanova
Ohio State
Old Dominion
Michigan State

4 Seeds
Virginia Tech
Utah State
Butler
New Mexico

5 Seeds
Temple
Gonzaga
Richmond
Murray State

6 Seeds
Saint Mary's
Northern Iowa
Cornell
Siena

7 Seeds
Wichita State
Louisiana Tech
Northern Colorado
Coastal Carolina

8 Seeds
Oakland
???
???
???

Tomorrow (Feb. 15) I'm keeping an eye on Morgan State as they host South Carolina State. Morgan State is unbeaten in the MEAC and they have a quality win at Arkansas. The MEAC is so bad that no matter what they'll have to win the conference tournament to get a bid, but in my fantasy world a win tomorrow puts them in the running for an at-large.

28 down, 37 to go...

Lots of great basketball today, and a lot of teams earned my "lock" status for today - locks as in no matter what they do the rest of the season they've earned a bid to the NCAA tourney as far as I'm concerned. Of course, as other teams get locked in and automatic bids start going out, there will probably be too many teams to make the list of 65...

But anyway, after seeing today's games and highlights, and without much analysis, here's my field, through the first 7 seeds.

1 Seeds
Kansas
Duke
Syracuse
Purdue

2 Seeds
Brigham Young
Kentucky
Kansas State - Debuts in the list today
Villanova - Drops from third to final 2 seed

3 Seeds - All brand new today
Texas
Old Dominion
Virginia Tech
Michigan State

4 Seeds
Utah State - Debuted today
New Mexico - Dropped from the last 2 seed
Butler - Dropped from the top 3 seed
Gonzaga - Dropped from the second 3 seed

5 Seeds
Temple - Debuted today
Northern Iowa - Dropped from the third 3 seed
Murray State - Down from the fourth 3 seed
Saint Mary's - Down from the top 4 seed

6 Seeds
Richmond - Debuted today
Siena - Down from the third 4 seed
Cornell - Down from the second 4 seed
Wichita State - Down from the fourth 4 seed

7 Seeds
Louisiana Tech - Debuted today
Northern Colorado - Debuted today
Coastal Carolina - Down from the top 5 seed
Oakland - Debuted today

Ohio State at Illinois is the Feb. 14 game of the day. Win and the Buckeyes probably rate a 3 seed from me.

Gonzaga's in

Gonzaga posted a pretty impressive win last night over a very good Saint Mary's team that I already had as an NCAA tourney participant. I think the win means the Zags have a foolproof argument for admission as well, regardless of how the rest of their season plays out. They jump in front of Northern Iowa on my list, which now looks like this after the other games from Feb. 11 are considered:

1 Seeds

Kansas

Duke

Syracuse

Purdue

2 Seeds

Brigham Young

Kentucky

Villanova

New Mexico

3 Seeds

Butler

Gonzaga

Northern Iowa

Murray State

4 Seeds

Saint Mary's

Cornell

Siena

Wichita State

5 Seeds

Coastal Carolina

???

???

???

If West Virginia can win at Pitt tonight, they're my next team in.

Saturday, I think Michigan State punches their ticket with a win at Penn State; UNLV gets an invite if they win at San Diego State; Kansas State is in if they beat Colorado; Texas gets in with a win over Nebraska; the winner of the Rhode Island-Temple game makes my list; Tulsa gets in by beating Memphis; and Virginia Tech punches its ticket with a win over rival UVA.

And then on Sunday, I think Ohio State locks in a spot with a win at Illinois. So by the close of the weekend, I could have nine more teams on my bracket list, filling it in halfway through the 7 Seeds.

Duke is in my Field of 65

Granted, UNC is not much of a team this year - though people seem to forget they started season ranked fourth in the polls. However, Duke has bounced back well from its loss to a very good Georgetown team and won on the road at its biggest rival in a hostile environment - as hostile as a bunch of wine-and-cheesers can get, anyway.

UNLV, however, choked, losing at home to New Mexico in what could have been a tourney invite clincher. Obviously I think they'll still get a bid, but they haven't earned it on my list yet.

And for the second day in a row, I have a new No. 1 seed. Duke joins Purdue at the top this week, pushing Kentucky and Brigham Young to 2 seeds.

So far:

1 Seeds

Kansas

Duke

Syracuse

Purdue

2 Seeds

Kentucky

Brigham Young

Villanova

Butler

3 Seeds

New Mexico

Saint Mary's

Northern Iowa

Cornell

4 Seeds

Murray State

Siena

Wichita State

Coastal Carolina

So that's a quarter of the field down. Gonzaga will join my list tomorrow if they knock off Saint Mary's at home tonight.

Purdue added to tourney projections

Purdue's impressive win at Michigan State last night locked up their NCAA tourney bid, in my opinion. They are now my final number 1 seed, booting BYU to the top 2 seed:

1 Seeds

Kansas

Syracuse

Kentucky

Purdue

2 Seeds

Brigham Young

Villanova

Butler

New Mexico

3 Seeds

Saint Mary's

Northern Iowa

Cornell

Murray State

4 Seeds

Siena

Wichita State

Coastal Carolina

???

If Duke beats North Carolina tonight and UNLV beats New Mexico, the Blue Devils and Runnin' Rebels make my field as well.

Updated tourney projections

Based on what I've seen and read, there are only 14 teams I'd extend an invite to as of right now, regardless of what happens the rest of the season.

1 Seeds
Kansas
Syracuse
Kentucky
Brigham Young

2 Seeds
Villanova
Butler
New Mexico
Saint Mary's

3 Seeds
Northern Iowa
Cornell
Murray State
Siena

4 Seeds
Wichita State
Coastal Carolina
?
?

For me, the winner of tomorrow night's Purdue - Michigan State game is the next team in.

Time for the NCAA tourney watch...

So I like to populate my expected NCAA field via the most dire predictions possible. In other words, if Team X lost the rest of its games from here on out, would they still make the tournament? Given that equation, here are the teams I think are in no matter what happens the rest of their seasons, and here's how I'd seed them so far:

1 Seeds
1. Kansas
2. Syracuse
3. Brigham Young
4. Kentucky

2 Seeds
5. Villanova
6. New Mexico
7. Northern Iowa
8. Murray State

3 Seeds
9. Coastal Carolina

Yeah, yeah, it's totally unrealistic, but it'll change day-to-day as the conference tournaments draw nearer. I'm just having some fun, but typically my final 65 aren't a whole lot different from the actual field. We'll see how close I get this year.

'Cougar' tours banned on Carnival Cruise Lines - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

'Cougar' tours banned on Carnival Cruise Lines - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

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PROF BUSTED IN COLUMBIA GAL 'PUNCH'

A. Is there any doubt this would be prosecuted as a hate crime had this guy not been black?

B. Is there any doubt Columbia would've fired him in a heartbeat if he weren't a minority? And ironically he's upset over "white privilege."

PROF BUSTED IN COLUMBIA GAL 'PUNCH'

By PERRY CHIARAMONTE, BETH STEBNER and JEREMY OLSHAN

Click on the link below to access the story.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/prof_busted_in_columbia_gal_punch_JmsXQ3NzaAt8uG6uUySGTN

A prominent Columbia architecture professor punched a female university employee in the face at a Harlem bar during a heated argument about race relations, cops said yesterday.

Police busted Lionel McIntyre, 59, for assault yesterday after his bruised victim, Camille Davis, filed charges.

McIntyre and Davis, who works as a production manager in the school's theater department, are both regulars at Toast, a popular university bar on Broadway and 125th Street, sources said.

The professor, who is black, had been engaged in a fiery discussion about "white privilege" with Davis, who is white, and another male regular, who is also white, Friday night at 10:30 when fists started flying, patrons said.

McIntyre, who is known as "Mac" at the bar, shoved Davis, and when the other patron and a bar employee tried to break it up, the prof slugged Davis in the face, witnesses said.

"The punch was so loud, the kitchen workers in the back heard it over all the noise," bar back Richie Velez, 28, told The Post. "I was on my way over when he punched Camille and she fell on top of me."

The other patron involved in the dispute said McIntyre then took a swing at him after he yelled, "You don't hit a woman!"

"He knocked the glasses right off my face," said the man, who would only give his first name as "Shannon." "The punch came out of nowhere. Mac was talking to us about white privilege and what I was doing about it -- apparently I wasn't doing enough."

McIntyre had squabbled with Davis several weeks earlier over issues involving race, witnesses said. As soon as the professor threw the punch Friday, server Rob Dalton and another employee tossed him out.

"It was a real sucker punch," Dalton said. "Camille's a great lady, always nice to everybody, and doesn't deserve anything like this."

Davis was spotted wearing sunglasses yesterday to conceal the black eye. Reached at her Columbia office, she declined to comment on the alleged attack.

McIntyre was released without bail at his arraignment last night.

"It was a very unfortunate event," he said afterwards. "I didn't mean for it to explode the way it did."

Additional reporting

by Sarah Makuta

The only saving grace is that he attacked another minority with some victim status, but I think black victimhood trumps woman victimhood on the PC scale. I just think it's ironic that what set him off was "white privilege" but it's victim privilege that is going to allow him to get away with this unscathed. The charges will be dropped, or if not, he'll get some pansy-assed misdemeanor and given no sentence; he'll keep his job, and he won't even get fined or disciplined by the school or anything.

Is there any doubt that had he been white the story would've been the lead on NBC, MSNBC and CBS every hour on the hour from 8 a.m. the next morning until at least Monday at 11 p.m.? Seriously. And if the woman had been black? Jeeeeeeee-zus, he would've probably been sentenced and executed by now.

The New York Times ran a story too, and here's the only thing that rag mentioned about race:

"The encounter happened in Toast, a popular, noisy bar and restaurant on Broadway north of campus, where the chatter often runs to current events and politics. Professor McIntyre liked to engage fellow patrons on the subject of race, according to one regular customer, Daniel Morgan, who considers himself a close acquaintance of both Professor McIntyre and Ms. Davis."

Nowhere in the Times story was the victim or perps' race revealed. No, there's no double standard there.

Since this story hit a month ago (Nov. 11), I did a news search on this guy again to see what follow-up there's been. The NY Post ran an editorial about Columbia U. in general Nov. 30 that mentioned the incident, and that's the last it's been mentioned. Disgraceful. The double standard that is acceptable in the United States is ridiculous.

Too Much is Never Enough

Would it have killed the fucking insurance companies to just revise the way they deal with people with pre-existing conditions? Seriously. Are there enough people in this country with dire pre-existing conditions that signing them onto policies would've bankrupted any of these mega-insurance firms? That's the shit that pisses me off about big business. They all want to be allowed to do whatever they feel like doing and they just have to keep poking the bear until he wakes up EVERY TIME. All the insurance industry had to do was make some concessions that would've reduced their profit margins from obscene to very very high, and the government never would've gotten involved.

Same with the banks. Do you absolutely have to nickel and dime people to death? Do you absolutely have to issue accounts to illegal immigrants? Do you absolutely have to provide loans to people you know won't be able to pay them off, so you can make tons of money on fees off of them until they go belly up? And then, in their orgasmic throes amongst piles of ill-gotten cash, they suddenly put on a frowny face and go to Uncle Sam for help. And then Uncle Sam keeps their balls for collateral and nobody wins.

Capitalism is the best economic system in the world, provided there are more good people running the show than dipshits. What's happened in this country though, is that in fields like insurance and banking, all the dipshits buy out all the good people and the handful of monolith mega-dipshits left all frame identical policies and procedures so that in effect there is no competition. With this understood collusion, they never settle for enough and just bleed Americans dry for every ounce of profit they can, until inevitably enough people complain that the wrath of government is incurred. And then what are we in the middle left with? Corporate greed or government incompetence. What a great choice.

Why the fuck is it so hard for people to be honest and be good corporate citizens? Why is too much never enough? Because of these assholes, we'll now STILL have a handful of mega-wealthy operations, but with the added bonus of government regulation, which will also be floated by our tax dollars. So the banks and insurance companies continue to wallow in cash, the government and politicians continue to get fat while under the guise that they're doing something helpful, and my health care and bank accounts stay about the same - only they cost me more money. God bless America.

Hickson a rising performer for the Cavaliers - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

Hickson a rising performer for the Cavaliers - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

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Great PR tactic

So there's a fairly big story down here about this municipal judge who was just sentenced to 18 months' probation. Why, you ask? Because this guy - A JUDGE, I REMIND YOU - "was found guilty in August of declaring himself as a resident of Sunland Park in March 2008, a requirement for candidacy for the judgeship and - after winning the race - falsifying a document that acknowledged he was a qualified voter. He also was found guilty of voting twice in the November 2004 general election, once in Texas and once in New Mexico. Each count was a fourth-degree felony."

So naturally, the guy getting 18 months' probation is lame. He is also required "to take introductory government classes under Bill Taggart and Nancy Baker at New Mexico State University and deliver a speech to the schoolchildren of the Gadsden Independent School District on 'civic engagement, getting involved and why the rules exist.'" Even lamer.

But here's the best part, in my opinion:

"Arrieta (the guy's defense attorney) also said that Favela (the judge) was targeted by the district attorney's office for prosecution because he was a member of the 'wrong' political party."

Really? So if he was in the "right" political party lying about his residence and voting twice in two different states would've been okay?

And...

"Favela told the judge he was not a bad or dishonest person.

'I want to apologize if, with my desire to run, if I put anybody through hardship,' Favela told the judge. 'I'm an honest man, I've always tried to do the best for the community and if I unknowingly broke the law, I take full responsibility.'"

LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

IF I UNKNOWINGLY BROKE THE LAW?!?!?!? LOL some more. YOU'RE A JUDGE, DUDE! YOU DETERMINE IF OTHER PEOPLE BROKE LAWS OR NOT AND THEN PASS SENTENCE ON THEM IF THEY'RE FOUND GUILTY! HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW LYING ABOUT WHERE YOU LIVE AND CASTING TWO VOTES IN TWO DIFFERENT STATES IN A FEDERAL ELECTION IS NOT LEGAL?

Brilliant PR move. Of course, a good segment of our society o'retards will eat it up. If I were him, I think I would've said:

sein-george-wrong.wav. LOL

NEWLY REVEALED DOCUMENTS Conradict NEA Chairman Landesman

NEWLY REVEALED DOCUMENTS Conradict NEA Chairman Landesman

PROF BUSTED IN COLUMBIA GAL 'PUNCH'By PERRY CHIARAMONTE, BETH STEBNER and JEREMY OLSHAN

A. Is there any doubt this would be prosecuted as a hate crime had this guy not been black?
B. Is there any doubt Columbia would've fired him in a heartbeat if he weren't a minority?
And ironically he's upset over "white privilege."

Click on the link below to access the story. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/prof_busted_in_columbia_gal_punch_JmsXQ3NzaAt8uG6uUySGTN

A prominent Columbia architecture professor punched a female university employee in the face at a Harlem bar during a heated argument about race relations, cops said yesterday.

Police busted Lionel McIntyre, 59, for assault yesterday after his bruised victim, Camille Davis, filed charges.

McIntyre and Davis, who works as a production manager in the school's theater department, are both regulars at Toast, a popular university bar on Broadway and 125th Street, sources said.

The professor, who is black, had been engaged in a fiery discussion about "white privilege" with Davis, who is white, and another male regular, who is also white, Friday night at 10:30 when fists started flying, patrons said.

McIntyre, who is known as "Mac" at the bar, shoved Davis, and when the other patron and a bar employee tried to break it up, the prof slugged Davis in the face, witnesses said.

"The punch was so loud, the kitchen workers in the back heard it over all the noise," bar back Richie Velez, 28, told The Post. "I was on my way over when he punched Camille and she fell on top of me."

The other patron involved in the dispute said McIntyre then took a swing at him after he yelled, "You don't hit a woman!"

"He knocked the glasses right off my face," said the man, who would only give his first name as "Shannon." "The punch came out of nowhere. Mac was talking to us about white privilege and what I was doing about it -- apparently I wasn't doing enough."

McIntyre had squabbled with Davis several weeks earlier over issues involving race, witnesses said. As soon as the professor threw the punch Friday, server Rob Dalton and another employee tossed him out.

"It was a real sucker punch," Dalton said. "Camille's a great lady, always nice to everybody, and doesn't deserve anything like this."

Davis was spotted wearing sunglasses yesterday to conceal the black eye. Reached at her Columbia office, she declined to comment on the alleged attack.

McIntyre was released without bail at his arraignment last night.

"It was a very unfortunate event," he said afterwards. "I didn't mean for it to explode the way it did."

Additional reporting

by Sarah Makuta

____________________

So how does the PC crowd handle this? The minority perpetrator attacked another minority with some victim status, but I think black victimhood trumps woman victimhood on the PC scale. I just think it's ironic that what set him off was "white privilege" but it's victim privilege that is going to allow him to get away with this unscathed. The charges will be dropped, or if not, he'll get some pansy-assed misdemeanor and given no sentence; he'll keep his job, and he won't even get fined or disciplined by the school or anything.

It's already been five days since the fight occurred. Is there any doubt that had he been white the story would've been the lead on NBC, MSNBC and CBS every hour on the hour from 8 a.m. the next morning until at least Monday at 11 p.m.? Seriously. And if the woman had been black? Jeeeeeeee-zus, he would've probably been sentenced and executed by now.

I just did a Google news search for Lionel McIntyre and the only hit I got was a New York Times story from yesterday. And here's the only thing that rag mentioned about race:"The encounter happened in Toast, a popular, noisy bar and restaurant on Broadway north of campus, where the chatter often runs to current events and politics. Professor McIntyre liked to engage fellow patrons on the subject of race, according to one regular customer, Daniel Morgan, who considers himself a close acquaintance of both Professor McIntyre and Ms. Davis."

Nowhere in the Times story was the victim or perps' race revealed. No, there's no double standard there.

ESPN analysts sell souls in Isiah lovefest

Watching the 2009-2010 college basketball opener on ESPNU last night provided a double dose of disgusting.

First off, of course, was having to watch UNC open the season with an easy win. It's bad enough to see Carolina win at all, but then you have to see on an ESPN network, where they're constantly slobbered over, and then they're the only game on, so they get even more attention.

I've mellowed as I've aged, though, and UNC doesn't set my teeth on edge as the team used to. It doesn't hurt that I've moved far enough way from North Carolina that I don't have to hear shit from waves upon waves of bandwagon fans that wouldn't know a Tar Heel from an ingrown hair on their ass.

No, the real problem last night was the complete sellout of the ESPNU crew in displaying unfettered love and affection for Florida International coach Isiah Thomas. I wish I had DVR'd the game so that I could provide you with exact quotes here, but trust me, it was disgusting.

Over and over again, the guys in the booth spoke to Thomas' overall wonderfulness: What a great smile! What a good guy! My, how he's overcome adversity! Gee, he's a great teacher!

What? The guy's legacy over the last dozen years resembles the same legacy a tornado leaves behind in an Oklahoma trailer park. He completely ruined the New York Knicks with asinine personnel moves and insane spending habits. On top of that, he was embroiled in legal issues regarding sexual harassment and a general lack of control over his team, especially Stephon Marbury. Now it turns out he's even pissed off Magic Johnson, who in his new book apparently slams Thomas for spreading false rumors about his sexuality (without having read the book I'm assuming Magic is accusing Thomas of suggesting he was gay, hence contracting HIV via homosexual practices - brilliant).

So what did ESPNU do? They gave Thomas a friendly platform from which to deflect these rumors and appear like a martyr. He denied being the catalyst of such talk, which is fine I guess, but he followed that by saying that he such a gosh darn wonderful compassionate fella that Magic could come groveling back to him any time for forgiveness. And the U just sat back and watched. Funny, compassion never seemed to be a word to describe him in New York, or Indianapolis, or Detroit for that matter.

And most laughable of all was how they let Thomas prattle on about how UNC is the model for which he wants to use for the FIU program. Does anyone believe this? What made the UNC program what it is is that it's had a total of five head coaches over the past 58 years. Isiah won't be at FIU for 58 months. It wouldn't surprise me if he doesn't last 58 weeks more.

If Thomas can turn the Panthers program around, he'll use that success merely as a steppingstone into a more high-profile job; it's hard to believe anyone thinks he would've taken the job for any other reason. His reputation has been completely ruined after his infamy in New York, and this is clearly his attempt to rise from the ashes - with lots of media help, apparently (and inexplicably). I can't believe there's a single person on this planet who thinks Thomas has any long-term plans to remain in Miami - unless it's as coach, president or GM of the Heat, or maybe the U.

More likely, however, is that Isiah will stamp his brand of boorishness on the university and get the boot. I predict that in three years or less, Thomas will be embroiled in some type of recruiting or academic scandal at FIU. He will bring in players totally out of place in the university's highly selective, research-based environment - most likely thugs with plenty of baggage. I guarantee you there will be at least one ugly on-court altercation from Thomas or his players - a nice addition to the football team's embarrassing behavior vs. Miami a couple years back. It's so easy to see these things coming.

I'm astounded that FIU ever hired this guy to begin with. This isn't some McCollege that needs cheap publicity for ticket sales. While the Panthers will most likely never be renown for their athletic prowess, the school is one of the largest universities in the United States and has an outstanding academic reputation as an institution of research. It's really sad that the administration felt it had to compromise these standards in hiring Thomas, given his nasty baggage. It will be interesting to see how the school spins its way out of the inevitable problems with him and his team, coming down the pike.

Josh Powell's overlooked skill

Josh Powell's overlooked skill

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