Black Shoe Diaries: FanPosts

THE FIELD OF 96

2010-03-17T02:53:24Z

If you are a fan of Penn State or would become one if they weren't one of the most underachieving BCS programs in the country, pray that the NCAA Tournament is expanded to 96 teams. It sounds like it will probably happen.

It's not just that Penn State's chances will increase because there are 32 extra spots and that the NIT will disappear(Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), it's that there will be that much more pressure on the school to now make the field.

Right now making the field of 64 is a tough accomplishment. There are 300 some teams and 65 spots, some of which are guaranteed to the lesser conferences. Compare that to college football where half the teams make a bowl game, the mark of a successful season at most schools.

Right now there are a lot of established programs with winning traditions in the Big Ten and other conferences that Penn State has to eclipse on a given year to get a bid. While we still get on the school for not trying their best and not getting there, we see and know why they don't. They don't believe the additional expense provides any greater guarantee that they will become a NCAA Tournament contender.

If the field expands to 96, now the school has no excuse. If you can't make the field of 96, it truly is embarrassing considering your athletic department regularly finishes in the top 10 in revenue.

Can you imagine the outcry if Penn State was regularly missing NCAA Tournaments with 96 teams? Penn State can't field a top 100 basketball team? What is Tim Curley's excuse now?

Expanding the field if anything puts more pressure on the school because of the embarrassment factor. Even though the program should already be embarrassed for a variety of reasons, there really isn't anything truly embarrassing about about not making the current NCAA Tournament. That changes with 96 teams.

If I had a say in running a 96 team field. Byes for the top 16 teams and the bottom 16(small conference guys). Let the middle 64 where there is parity battle it out in the first round. You keep tradition of the 64 team tournament which every one loves by letting the little guys play the best teams and you still protect the top seeds in the first round. Being one of the top 16 teams will keep the regular season important. You protect the drama of selection Sunday and the controversy for the talking heads. Who should have been the 1 seeds, who wasn't deserving of a 4 seed and a bye, who got screwed with a 5 and no bye. What would be really interesting, and would be a way to honor the NIT it's absorbing and had a long tradition within college basketball is to have teams 32-64 host their first round games at home. The teams that would normally have to play in the NIT would have to win on the road in another teams gym in front of sell out crowds. The logistics and broadcasting would probably prevent this ($$$) but it would make those games much more interesting. This kind of set up would create great story lines throughout the tournament. The Cinderella's coming from the first round road teams, the Cinderella's coming from the first round home teams, the little guys still get to play the top seeds, etc.

If they give byes to the top 32 seeds and let 33 through 96 battle it out, they kill the beginning of the tournament. No one is going to care if a little school beats a middle of the pack Big 12 team. Watching Kansas play a NIT team like Seton Hall in the first round doesn't provide the same interest.

I really believe I have created a great tournament with 96 teams.

TOTS!

2010-03-16T19:41:09Z

Sup party people! Our little jtots have finally arrived. Please meet Alexander James (left) and Nathaniel Maxwell (right). Alex was 5.11 lbs / 19.5 inches and Nate weighed in at 5.1 lbs / 19 inches. We're all home and doing well. Wifey has been amazing and our joy and gratitude probably cannot be expressed. I know this isn't a daddy blog, so I thank you all for your patience with me over these past 9mos as I've been anxiously awaiting their arrival. I also want you to know that you all are part of my extended family, however anonymously, and I hope you'll welcome these new fans into the larger Penn State Family. They're already mobile-tested, and the Odyssey is just itchin for a road trip, so I hope you'll get to meet them at a tailgate sometime down the road.

Why you can't spell Nittany without NIT

2010-03-16T16:48:28Z

Curley's statement about another year of Ed made me comment about the fact that I think the problems with Penn State basketball run a lot deeper than the coach. I'm going to try to dissect those problems in this post, and then perhaps posit some ways the University might address them in a subsequent post.

I've been thinking about this for a long time. At the very least, since the spring of my senior year, 2002, when I was lucky enough to participate in a focus group of students that the athletic department assembled to help them better understand how to improve the hoops program. I apologize for failing be part of a focus group, that obviously, FAILED.

Why does Penn State basketball consistently suck?

Because we don't have particularly good players. And even the good ones are usually preternaturally ugly.

Why don't we get better players?

This is the heart of the matter. And I'm going to say that there are three primary reasons, which are related, but nevertheless distinct.

First, Penn State doesn't care. Now, I care, and I know that Fugi, RUTS, and Mike care, and a number of other people who spend time on BSD care, but the Penn State community, at large, doesn't really care about basketball that much. We have little to no basketball tradition. You could start on the basketball team and you'd be less of a big deal to fellow students and fans than the third string qb. Yes, McGloin is the sh$t...but if he's a bigger deal than the starting number four its going to be hard to bring in recruits.

Second, central Pennsylvania isn't exactly a great place to come and spend your time playing hoops. A lot of central Pennsylvanians spend their winter sports' hours on wresting, not hoops. Moreover, let's be frank: most good basketball players are black, and central Pennsylvania isn't exactly a hotbed of racial diversity. Less than ten years ago, the head of the black student caucus at Penn State had so many regular death threats that she got 24-hour FBI surveillance. There are more chapters of the KKK in Pennsylvania than any other state, and those chapters are concentrated in the center of the state. On top of this is the fact that there just aren't a lot of people around State College, and so it would take something really special to manage to get 15,000 people to care enough to leave their warm houses to drive through snow and ice on a weekday evening to go to a basketball game.

Third, we have strong competition for recruits. Let's be clear: western PA basketball sucks. I played four years of WPIAL basketball, I won a AAAA WPIAL championship, I know: the WPIAL sucks. Danny Fortson is the exception, not the rule. There's some crazy stat that there's been a WPIAL alum in every super bowl or something like that. On the other hand, I'm not sure there's ever been a WPIAL player in the NBA finals. Maybe Armand Gillian made it, but I'm not sure and am too lazy to look it up.

There is, of course, a ton of talent in the eastern part of the state and all along the east coast within driving distance of state college. But, if you're a kid and you're deciding between PSU and St. Joe's (because let's be real, no kid is deciding between PSU and Nova or Temple or St. John's...), where would you go? Would you want to live in philly and be the big man on campus and play at a school where the students and alumni eat, drink, and sleep hoops, or would you want to come to Penn State, live in the middle of nowhere and play second fiddle to the football team and compete for attention with the women's volleyball team? Frankly, I'm going to St. Joe's unless you can make a really good push otherwise. To be honest, I find it hard, right now, to make a really compelling case for a kid to come to Penn State instead of St. Joe's.

Let's see: you'll be on TV more often b/c of the BTN and ESPN contract. You'll get to play better competition in the Big Ten. But that's balanced by playing for people that care more, and having a chance to be part of a tradition and a team that, quite frankly, has a much better chance of playing in March than the nittany lions.

Indiana and Kansas are good at basketball. Why aren't we?

This is a ridiculous question and asking it shows that you don't know anything about basketball. Just like central and western PA are all about football, some parts of the country are all about basketball. The UNC branch campuses are better at hoops than Penn State b/c everyone in North Carolina is mad about hoops. Same with Indiana. The guy who invented basketball--James Naismith--coached at Kansas.

Fine. What about Ohio State?

This is a much better analogy. I'm going to say that there's two reasons why OSU is better, but I'd be interested to hear what others think. 1. Columbus ain't State College. TP said it all: we're "too country." 2. Ohio State cares more. They defintely invest more in the team, but I'd also say that the "university community" cares more about hoops. They don't have the volleyball and fencing traditions that we have to hang their hats on, so they turn to hoops.

You want to fix everything? Just fire Ed Dechellis and pay a bunch of money for a top-notch up and coming coach.

It's not at all clear that the athletic department has any interest in spending money on a basketball coach. Given the fact that, as I posit above, the university community doesn't really care about hoops, they probably shouldn't.

You're right, I don't care. I would care if the team was good though. So why doesn't Curley spend money to make the team good so that I'll then care?

This is a terrible argument, yet we hear it a lot. This is like going to your parents and saying: I'm sorry I wrecked my crappy car. But I wrecked it because I never really cared about it because it was so crappy. If you want me to take care of my car, you need to buy me a nice one. No parent in their right mind would ever buy their kid a good car following this argument, and Curley shouldn't spend money that the men's volleyball team could use to go show the Californians how high we can jump in Central PA on the assumption that people would care if the team was better.

Can't you just post one more picture of Calvin Booth so that I have something to laugh at?

Yes I can.

We Need One

2010-03-16T03:28:39Z

Hey folks,

~~The BSD Fantasy Baseball draft is in two days, and we just lost a team from the league, leaving a spot open to someone else here. If you're interested, please sign up ASAP.~~

The league is now full, thanks to team "Iowa Smells". We could still add up to four more teams, but I'd need committments from four to open the league to more teams. If you're interested, please state so in the comments. When there are four, I'll open the league up to sign ups again.

The league is on Yahoo!.

ID#: 253375

Password: joepa

We have four divisions set up, so there will be more competition throughout the season than for simply the top spot in the league. Come, play, win! It'll be fun.

Selection anger

2010-03-15T01:10:47Z

I have a vague idea of what criteria the selection committee uses to determine what teams get into the dance at best. What I do know is that Notre Dame got a 6 seed, which means they were very, very comfortably in, and Illinois did not get in. Notre Dame must have a much better resume than Illinois then, right?

Notre Dame was 23-11, with 5 wins against the Colley Matrix top 50, but 6 wins against teams ranked #235 or lower. 3 of their losses were to teams ranked #28 or higher, but another 3 were to teams that finished #80 or lower.

Illinois was 19-14, with 5 wins against the Colley Matrix top 50, but only 3 were against teams ranked #235 or lower. 8 of their losses were to teams ranked #28 or higher, but another 4 were to teams that finished #80 or lower.

So removing completely understandable losses (#28 or higher) and complete garbage wins (#235 or lower) changes things a bit. Notre Dame is now 17-8 with 5 quality wins and 3 bad losses. Illinois is now 16-6 with 5 quality wins and 4 bad losses.

I'm not here to tell you which resume is better. I'm not trying to say that ND didn't deserve in or that Illinois did. I'm sure that if different arbritrary cutoff points were used in the Colley Matrix (or any other rankings) this could tell a different story. What I am trying to say is that a reasonable person could look at objective, reasonable, unbiased, wins-and-losses data and think Illinois had every bit the season Notre Dame did, if not better.

One is a 6 seed; one is not in.

BSD Tournament Challenge

2010-03-15T00:26:09Z

Bumped: Thanks to kmblue for setting this up. Sorry I didn't have this up 0.2 miliseconds after the selection show.

Yeah, yeah, the PSU Men's Basket FailBall team was a disappointment this year. However, it's time for March Madness, brackets, and watching Cinderellas beat the team that we expected would win it all. Or, to find that we picked the wrong Cinderellas and our brackets are screwed after the first round.

I've started a BSD group on ESPN for this year.

Name: bsd2010 Password: zuggets

I promise to do better in this than I did in fantasy football this year. Join and lets get started folks!

2010 Roster up on gopsusports.com

2010-03-13T00:55:21Z

An updated roster has been quietly posted on the Official Athletic Site. Here's the link. Some items to note:

- Tom McEowen and Brent Carter are not listed. You can lump McEowen in with the other highly rated washouts from the 2006 recruiting class. As previously speculated, this frees up a couple of the schollies needed for the recent recruits.

- Chima Okoli now listed as OL and corresponding number change to 66, however you have to click on the PDF link to see the position change. I hope this works out for him since he couldn't crack the DT rotation.

- Hodges is listed at LB.

-Uni numbers have been issued for the early enrollees except TE Kevin Haplea.

Linebacker-U has more, including the observation that erstwhile punter Ryan Breen is still on the roster.

Vote for Cappelletti in the B10's Icon poll, earn 10K for Alumni Association

2010-03-12T23:08:12Z

Since I'm a fan of Penn State on Facebook, I saw they are promoting a contest that will earn 10K donated by the Big Ten Network, to the winning school's alumni association. Each school is represented by a bobblehead of a school icon (ours is Cappy).

To be able to vote, you need to do a quick registration (which you can opt to not receive any updates from the BTN in case you were worried about spam). Then you click on the school on the bar on the left (we're at the top since we're currently in 1st place), and then you "tap" the bobblehead up to 10 times per day (and you can do it every day).

Usually these are just popularity polls, and don't do anything other than see who can organize the most people to vote, but this time there's actually a benefit to PSU through the donation of $10,000.

Currently we're in 1st place, but according to their very scientific "Bobble Meter" Purdue, and Drew Brees are close behind.

There's also a separate sweepstakes you can sign up for to be entered for a chance to win one of the B10 bobble heads, or a 3-night vacation to an away football game next fall, in case you're interested.

Cast your "votes" here, and remember you can do it every day, click on the bobblemeter in the lower right-hand corner of the screen to register to vote: http://www.bigtenicons.com/

SPRING BREAK!

2010-03-12T00:43:18Z

Five years ago my friends and I were sitting around counting down our remaining PSU days. With classes like MATH 004 (literally - the first lesson was adding positive and negative integers), our days existed mostly of reminiscing, playing volleyball on the court we had out back, drinking, and bemoaning all of the bar tours that were taking place around town. The Senior Bar Tour, to us, was the epitome of douchiness - Joe Student and his friends get together and wear their popped polos and slightly tinted RayBan aviators. On top of that, literally, they wear shirts that have been screen printed to show what bars they are going to. Epic douche move.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good bar tour. We organize one every year in Hartford, CT with a new theme each time (last year was crazy hat - I came in second place after wearing a girl's T-ball helmet all night). However, in our view, the Penn State Senior Bar Tour was, as stated, epic douche. So we decided to do something about it. We did any good Penn State crew would do - we organized a bar tour. Do I contradict myself? Very well. I contradict myself. We upped the douchiness to a whole new level, wearing multiple popped collars, wristbands, and aviators. We made our shirts, only ours were plain T's with magic marker on them and clever names and numbers so that we could distinguish each other.

Now, five years later, we are returning to the scene of the crime. To make a long story a little bit longer, we decided to make it this weekend as all the students are on Spring Break this week, so the town will be a little less crowded and we can act a fool with a little more room. That being said, I'd like to invite anyone in and around town to join this celebration of douchiness. I'm not sure where we'll be and what time we'll be there, but if you're in town, throw on a plain T, scribble some clever bar tour phrase "Gettin Pissy Drunk Bar Tour '96!" and head out on the town. Maybe we'll run into each other and share some 2010 recruiting gossip. Or maybe you'll see one of my idiot friends doing something they shouldn't be. Either way, good times will be had by all.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled programs. And you may further use this post to discuss the best Spring Break moments of your Penn State history.

via pix.motivatedphotos.com

The return of the AFL (and a Penn State legend)

2010-03-10T23:26:19Z

Earlier today I was reading a Fanpost over at BHGP about the return of the Arena Football League and the Iowa Barnstormers. Living in Milwaukee, I decided to see who would be suiting up for the new Milwaukee Iron team and see if there were any familiar names. I'm going down the roster without seeing anyone of note. All of the sudden near the bottom I see at quarterback, standing at 6'4" and weighing in at 232 out of Penn State, none other than Anthony Fucking Morelli. Wow. I think I'll just give up hope for that team already...

Baseball Loses 17-3 to A&M

2010-03-10T06:22:22Z

I made the trip tonight out to College Station, which like State College, you know when you're there because of the increase in road kill just before the city limits, to watch the baseball team take on the Aggies, and man, was it underwhelming. Penn State lost 17-3, scoring the three runs all in the 9th inning to protect from being shut out. That said, I still think Penn State is an above average team in terms of previous Nittany Lions squads, and some of the young pitching tonight will be really good in the future.

Tonight's Nittany starter was freshman righty John Walter. Walter had excellent command of his fastball and a good change in pace with his curve. I couldn't see his change up from where I was sitting, but it didn't seem like he used it much anyway. Walter has a pretty smooth windup, dropping his arm to his back pocket then bringing it over the top. It seemed like he definite tends to a ground ball pitcher. I think he'll be a regular in the weekend rotation starting next year, becoming Penn State's next ace.

Walter ended up going 4 innings on this night, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits, no walks, and 2 strikeouts. The 4 runs came on a string of 4 hits in a row in the fourth. Scott Arthur lead off with a bunt back toward the third base side of the pitchers mound, and with a bang-bang play at first, the umpire made the wrong call (I can say this objectively as a Michigan baseball fan, not Penn State) - safe. Center fielder Brodie Greene then bunted a perfect ball down the third base line, leaving Penn State no play. DH Joe Patterson then dropped a soft hit single into the left center gap, but Penn State's Deegan was able to hold the runners at bay by making it look like he'd catch the fly ball. When it fell, the runners were only able to advance one base. This was followed up by a blast by Aggie first baseman Caleb Shofner to the right center wall. That double would clear the bases, plating A&M's first 3 runs, with only one truly solid hit. Two ground balls later would see Shofner score to make it 4-0 after 4 innings.

The starter for A&M wasn't having any problems. Wacha fanned 11 Nittany Lion batters in just 6 innings of work, allowing just 4 baserunners. The strikeouts were a mix of good pitching, bad pitch selection, and bad umpiring. I kept a tally on missed strike calls, and A&M had 4 really bad strike calls go in their favor in the early innings-all of them well below the knees. This strike zone forced the batters into swinging at a couple extra bad pitches, complicating their hitting woes. To make it worse, the umpire blew 3 strike calls for the Nittany Lions, including one where the entire stadium went silent awaiting the strike three call. It definitely seemed like some home cooking, but then again, every game I've watched this season (about 20 or so) has included some very bad umpiring, especially with the low ball.

After Walter exited, Ryan Ignas entered for the Nittany Lions. Ignas is a side arm righty, and from my seat at the visitors bullpen, he had good control of his fastball but not much on his off speed. That continued on the field. He had a quick 1-2-3 inning aided by a well timed pitch out and caught stealing in the 5th, but with two outs in the sixth, his defense let him down. After giving up a single and stolen base, Ignas induced a pop fly and struck out a batter. A single for Kenny Jackson later would plate one run, but things fell apart after Nittany Lion shortstop Luis Montesinos made his first error of the game. The next pitch, with two runners on, would clear the left field fence by a mile. Three unearned runs crossed the plate. The next batter fouled out immediately to end the inning, and Ignas's night.

So after 6, Penn State was down 8-0, and the game was basically over. David Lutz, a submarine throwing lefty, came in for Penn State in the bottom of the inning, but he was rocked pretty solidly. He gave up a single, hit a batter, gave up a home run of the railroad tracks beyond the right field fence to start the inning. Another Montesinos error, this time on a ground ball through his legs, kept the inning going. Three more singles would lead to another couple runs.

In the bottom of the 8th, hard throwing righty Drew Irsfeld came in and had about as much success as his predecessors. Steranka tried to ole one at third and it got by him, followed by a double off the left field wall, and another home run for the Aggies gave them a 17-0 lead going into the final inning.

Then, and only then, did Penn State wake up on offense. First baseman Joey DeBernardis lead off the innings with a dribbler up the middle. Eramo, who hit a double off the wall in his previous at bat, was pitched around (although probably not on purpose). Then Montesinos attempted to make up for one of his errors by knocking in a run with a single to center. Replacement second baseman Elliot Searer then hit a liner into right for another single.

17-2! We've got a comeback going! But, Steve Snyder was having a bad day. With the hat trick of 3 Ks already, and hoping to avoid the golden sombrero, Snyder one uped himself and grounded into a double play. But in his defense, he was clearly safe at first, and the umpire at first base was ready to go home. I wasn't going to tell the umpire to his face though, as his biceps were almost big enough to rip apart his sleeves. Seriously, the dude was jacked. A run did score on the GDP though.

Leadoff hitter Sean Deegan would single to try and get things going again, but it was all for naught as Heath Johnson struck out to end the game. It was the fastest 14 run win I've ever seen at just about 2 and a half hours.

So yeah, it wasn't so exciting for a Nittany Lion fan, out of the 30 or so that might have been there. Some things were rather annoying. Having to hear the strike out video play 16 times in the game was driving me insane. As was the train that has to honk at the rail road crossing all of 100 feet from the stadium. LOUD NOISES! And their park, while having a decent view of campus and a nice double deck concourse, it doesn't hold a candle to Medlar.

Penn State should still be a pretty good team, and for those of you in State College, I highly encourage coming out to a game. Wanamaker, the ace, is a VERY good pitcher who is coming back from a year off after an injury. Watching him pitch is worth it.

Notre Dame AD Says Football Conference on the Table

2010-03-09T20:30:26Z

After years of trying to avoid it, Notre Dame says it's considering joining a football conference. Specifically, in a New York Times blog, the athletic director is reported to be saying that the school is considering giving up its football independence and joining a conference, although that is not its preference. The writer is Pete Thamel, and here's a link:

http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/notre-dame-considers-not-going-it-alone/?hpw

Maybe we will be awesome soon?

2010-03-07T19:36:14Z

Data and Charts with MS Paint drawn trendlines. Let's do this.

The following are the KenPom ratings for each PSU basketball team in the ED Era (2004-2010), with a 2 year running average inserted:

And a chart of the 2 year running average KenPom:

It's worth noting that the 2004 rating is not a 2 year running average; it's just the rating for 2004, as that was ED's first year. All of the data is taken from the end of the season, including postseason tournaments, and 2010 is not over. Also, the trendline was drawn in MS Paint and is therefore nothing more than a rough approximation. What it does show is that PSU has gotten consistently better over the ED Era, even if the wins aren't necessarily rolling in just yet.

As for 2011, the trend predicts that PSU's running average after next season will be #35, meaning next year's KenPom will have to be #-12. Last I checked, you couldn't do any better than #1, so the trend won't continue next year, but it does say that very big things are on the horizon.

Wrestling Session 3 Update and Open Thread

2010-03-07T17:05:21Z

Session 3 has just gotten underway. I'll be posting updates here. Brad Pataky is currently wrestling Penn State has 6 guys wrestling in the consi semis. Adam Lynch coming up in a few minutes is in a must win situation basically for a chance to go to nationals. The rest should be through with at large bids.

The finals will be shown live at 2 pm on the Big Ten Network. Unfortunately Penn State has just one finalist Cyler Sanderson at 157. The other six guys still alive will be wrestling for either 3rd or 5th at the same time so I'll try to keep updates posted on how those guys are doing while the finals are on tv. Pataky is now beating Niko Triggas bad.

FB Tix-PSU vs Indiana-anyone else po'ed?

2010-03-07T04:54:40Z

I got my email from the Nittany Lion Club on Thursday to inform me that I have just 2 weeks to decide if I want tix for the Indiana "away" game to be held in DC. There were numerous options ranging in price from $60 for nosebleeders to $150 for sideline with buffet. Olay, so far no problem. Here is the rub....why can Indiana fans purchase their tix for a flat $70?

http://iuhoosiers.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/ind/genrel/auto_pdf/IUvsPennStateApp

Something doesn't seem fair here. Either the NLC is taking a cut of the ticket price or FedEx Field is gouging the Penn State fans.

Big Ten Wrestling Championships Session 2 updates

2010-03-06T23:20:10Z

I'll be putting the updates for session two in here. The first rounds of consis will be up first. Pearsall is wrestling now and losing not surprisingly. Ortega and Steadman will be wrestling in this round as well. Lose and their season is done since none of them will be getting wild card bids.

Penn State is currently in 2nd in the team standings with 57 pts Iowa is in 1st with 91 pts. Iowa is having an even better then expected tournament if that's possible. They have yet to lose a match. It's a great start for Penn State but they'll need an incredible session tonight to stay in 2nd.

Pearsall has just lost, so he'll finish his tournament with out and win and his season is over. Likely he won't be a starter next year with some of the talent coming in.

Tonight's semifinals matchups for Penn State

125: #1 Angel Escobedo vs #4 Brad Pataky
141: #1 Reece Humphrey vs #4 Adam Lynch
149: #1 Brent Metcalf vs #4 Frank Molinaro
157: #2 Cyler Sanderson vs Unseeded Anthony Jones Jr.
165: #1 Andrew Howe vs #4 Dan Vallimont
184: #2 Dave Erwin vs #3 Phil Keddy
Hwt: #2 Dan Erekson vs #3 Cameron Wade

So as you can see Penn State has their work cut out for them. Keddy Erwin is really a toss up and the way Iowa is wrestling I would make Erwin the underdog there. Sanderson should be a heavy favorite over Jones who he pinned in the dual earlier this year. However Cyler had a rough first match and Jones has been having an awesome tournament so that could be a sleeper for a big upset.

ACHA Tournament Open Thread (part 1 of a sad 1)

2010-03-06T16:59:59Z

First...

There is, in fact, a tournament access pass at the much more reasonable price of $20 for the entire tournament. You have to go through the ACHA-specific site for Fasthockey. Use http://acha.fasthockey.com to get to the ACHA only site. From there, log-in and then click "Buy" either next to one of the individual games or at the top of the search box (right above the individual games). Also, all of the schedule games you see should be ACHA tournament games. If you are seeing other games, you'll need to go back through that ACHA-Fasthockey website. Once in the purchase screen, scroll through the drop-down box and the very last option is the Tournament Pass for $20. Once it's purchased, you'll have access to all games throughout the tournament. Not surprisingly, I'll be watching the other games - keeping tabs on some, doing some scouting with others.

With that out of the way, it's on to the action!

RMU has two sheets of ice at it's disposal, so there will be two games running at a time (off-set by an hour). Each set of games is also the set where the winners will play each other the next day. Here's the schedule for today (times are EST):

Game #1	First Round	11:00 AM	West Rink	#4	Illinois	vs	#13	Stony Brook
Game #2	First Round	12:00 PM	East Rink	#5	Iowa State	vs	#12	Kent State
Game #3	First Round	2:00 PM	West Rink	#2	Penn State	vs	#15	Canton
Game #4	First Round	3:00 PM	East Rink	#7	Oklahoma	vs	#10	Central Oklahoma
Game #5	First Round	5:00 PM	West Rink	#1	Lindenwood	vs	#16	Rutgers
Game #6	First Round	6:00 PM	East Rink	#8	Minot State	vs	#9	Oakland
Game #7	First Round	8:00 PM	West Rink	#3	Ohio	vs	#14	Robert Morris (IL)
Game #8	First Round	9:00 PM	East Rink	#6	Liberty	vs	#11	Arizona State

I'll be keeping tabs on everything as the day goes on, posting updates in the comments below. I may not follow all of the late games, because I would like to try to have a life at some point this weekend. Overrated, I know.

* * * * *

Quarterfinals are set, and here's the schedule:

#4 Illinois vs #5 Iowa State - 11:00 AM
#2 Penn State vs. # 10 Central Oklahoma - 2:00 PM
#1 Lindenwood vs #8 Minot State - 5:00 PM
#3 Ohio vs. #11 Arizona State - 8:00 PM

And the consolation games (for housekeeping purposes):

9th Place - Oklahoma vs Oakland
11th Place - Liberty vs. Kent State
13th Place - Stony Brook vs Robert Morris
15th Place - SUNY Canton vs Rutgers

I'll see you all back here, bright and early. Or drunk and hungry.

Talor Battle: 2-time Big Ten scoring champ?

2010-03-04T15:46:50Z

The current Big Ten scoring stats have Evan Turner leading at 19.5 PPG, while Talor Battle sits in 2nd place at 19.0 PPG. Based on my calculations, Battle would need 55 points in the final two games vs Michigan State and Purdue to overtake Turner for the lead. (Ohio State's regular season is over.) I would say normally he has a great shot, especially the way he seems to play against MSU, but the way the team is spreading around the scoring recently may hurt his chances, but obviously help PSU's chances to win. I'm going to be a homer and predict that he is going to do it. Any thoughts?

Penn State University Replica Helmet at Kohl's (on sale)

2010-03-04T02:41:14Z

I found a pretty nice deal on PSU helmets at Kohl's. Buy one get one free.

College Replica Helmets - B1G1 Plus 30% Off (Card Holders Only)

The 30% code (MARCH30) and free shipping work (FUN2BMVC) work as well.

So you can get helmets for 80% off if you have a Kohl's card.

Riddell® Penn State Nittany Lions Collectible On-Field Helmet original $269.99

via media.kohls.com.edgesuite.net

Gridiron great. Show your school spirit with this Penn State Nittany Lions on-field helmet.

Authentic team decoration adds signature appeal.
Polycarbonate shell and polyvinyl-coated, steel face mask provide years of enjoyment.
Details:
- Online exclusive
- 10"H x 9.5" W x 13" D
- Not to be used for play
- Certain promotions and price discounts may not apply to this Web-exclusive item.

Riddell® Penn State Nittany Lions Collectible Replica Helmet original $109.00

via media.kohls.com.edgesuite.net

Fan zone. Show your support for the Penn State Nittany Lions with this replica helmet.
- Authentic team decoration adds signature appeal.
- Plastic shell and polyvinyl-coated, steel face mask provide years of enjoyment.
- Details:
  - Online exclusive
  - 9.75"H x 9.25" W x 12.75" D
  - Not to be used for play
  - Certain promotions and price discounts may not apply to this Web-exclusive item.
  Penn State University Mini Replica Helmet original $25.99
via media.kohls.com.edgesuite.net
- - Show your Nittany Lion pride with this Penn State mini replica helmet. Featuring team colors, it's a must-fave for fans.
  - Online exclusive
  - 5"H x 4 1/2"W x 6"L
I found this deal from slickdeals site

Does anyone here live in New Jersey?

2010-03-03T19:10:49Z

I know we've already covered this stuff a thousand times, but why not do it again? It's really boring in March.

Here's an article by Teddy Greenstein: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/chi-big-ten-expansion-side-mar02,0,4339535.story

The consensus among Big Ten sources, officials from other conferences and TV executives is that Rutgers offers the best package. Missouri is second and Pittsburgh third.

Obviously these sources are unnamed!

Fans wonder: Does New York care about Rutgers? The simplest answer: When Rutgers wins, yes.

I agree with Kyle McCann't on this one. "The ’06 game against Louisville was representative of the NYC market and overall interest in Rutgers. However, it was representative for all the reasons the Big Ten should stay away from RU like the poison turd it is; Rutgers was a story that year because they had always been awful. It was new. It was novel. It was short-lived."

Greenstein also lists some helpful items in favor of Rutgers:

Newark Liberty International Airport is 23 miles from New Brunswick, making Rutgers more accessible than many Big Ten campuses.

Really? Minneapolis, Columbus, Ann Arbor, East Lansing, Evanston, and Madison are all within distance of regional airports. And the other schools all have runways capable of handling private jets. Is Michigan flying around in a B-52 now?

Rutgers calls itself "The Birthplace of College Football." It beat Princeton in what must have been a thrilling contest in 1869. Final score: 6-4.

Toht. Face. Melt. Picture.

This article was linked by StoopsMyAss @ BHGP, and there was a short discussion between he, Kyle McCann't, and myself.

Here was SMA's main post on the subject:

the reason Rutgers has never been where it needs to be is their faculty. For years they thought Rutgers was going to become an Ivy League school, they they thought they were going to become NYU. Now they are getting the religion as the money is starting to come in on the sports.

Boise…was a JC. 20 years ago. Look forward gentlemen. Florida, was the Indiana of the SEC 30 years ago. Look forward gentlemen.

Oh, and I thought for the longest time Syracuse was the answer too. I am off them. Not because of Boeheim, he is going to be gone in five years anyway. But because they just are not nestled in close enough to the emerging sports landscape in NYC. You guys need to read about what is happening in NJ … they have a dedicated train station from NYC to the Meadowlands now. The Jets/Giants want big college games at that stadium. Rutgers would play half their games there and half in Piscattaway. The basketball team will change overnight after they complete their new basketball arena from a lowly dumpy 8,000 seater to a CHA [Carver-Hawkeye Arena] type arena. What Vivian Stringer did will be what Rutgers mens b-ball will do. They will get a major stud to come in and just snag every NJ star and then overnight they will be a final four team.

So, refer back to the title of this post. Is there anyone here who has any kind of perspective on the Rutgers program (or should I say "situation"?)?

Poll

If the Big Ten goes east again, who do you want?

Syracuse

20 votes

Connecticut

3 votes

Maryland

10 votes

Pittsburgh

47 votes

Rutgers

16 votes

Other

16 votes

112 votes | Poll has closed