the wrap-up

First Christian Laettner, now Demitri Goodsen.  Alas!

liveblog–wku vs gonzaga 2nd half

all times central

8:32– Getting close to the start of the second half.  Apparently Jeremy Evans is a good artist.

8:34–and 15 seconds in, Gonzaga goes up one and M-V gets his third foul.

8:38–We get reminded about Ty Lawsons toe as the zags hit a free throw to go up 47-42.  Then the tops hit a three as fouled, miss the free throw but rebound and score to tie it at 47.

8:41–Tops still can’t hit free throws, and they still aren’t finishing drives.  But, the Zags aren’t capitalizing though they lead 49-47.

8:45–Gonzaga nails a transition 3 to go up 54-47.  It’s their biggest lead of the game.  McDonald needs to think about getting M-V back into the game.

8:48–M-V is back in the game.  Tops pull within 3.

8:51–M-V is totally disrupting Gonzaga’s d.  He hits a 2 right over one guy, and then drives and gets the assist the next trip down.  Tops are within 2 now.  Gonzaga is looking brilliant at times and really sloppy at times on offense.  They’ve had some luck going inside.

8:55–tops go up 60-59.

8:56–Gonzaga is up 61-60 with 10:00 left to play.

9:00–Gonzaga fouls a WKU shooter on a 3-pointer.  Unfourtunately, the free thrown woes continue and he misses 2 of three. That keeps Gonzaga’s lead 63-61 with 8:22 left.

9:04–Gonzaga is hot on the inside, the Tops are hot on the outside.  Zags are up 67-64 with 6:53 left.  I still think WKU needs to get M-V off of some screens.

9:10–Slaughter fouled on a 3.  He hits all three to pull the tops within five. Zags are hot right now, the Tops are cold.  M-V needs to take some shots. He’s distributing well, but others aren’t finishing.

9:13–Announcers say that WKU needs a defensive stop.  They get it, but then force the shot on the other end.  Zags are still up 6 with about 3 and a half minutes to go and they have the ball.

9:15–Pargo drives, get’s fouled and hits the shot to put the Zags up 8 (with a free throw pending).  When Gonzaga’s on, they’re tough to stop.  Slaughter picks up his 4th.

9:19–WKU is forcing shots.  M-V does hit another 3.  If anyone is going to force, it should be him.  Hopefully, he will start to do so.  Meanwhile, another Gonzaga drive leads to a foul.  Then, another WKU 3, so we are at a net seven point Gonzaga lead.

9:21–Mendez Valdez hits another 3.  Zags by 4. 1:20 left.

9:23–Gonzaga turnover, Tops score, are within 2.  Gonzaga misses ashot, Tops rebound, timeout.  22 seconds, Tops ball, down 2.  YIKES!

9:26–Tops miss the three, gets the tip, tie it.  Gonzaga runs it up, and Goodsen scores with .9.  Tops miss the desparation heave, Gonzaga wins.

liveblog: wku-gonzaga halftime

This is turning out to be a pretty good game. It has alternated between brilliant and sloppy at times, but entertaining overall.

Both teams are shooting around 50 percent. In fact, the stats are pretty are close in every category. Thus, it’s a close game overall.

Gonzaga has been more balanced. They don’t have anyone in double figures yet. Mendez-Valdez has 17 of WKU’s point, but Gonzaga has shut him down over the last 10 minutes. WKU needs to set some screens for M-V to get him some open looks, and needs to find a third scorer, who may be Jeremy Evans who came on late to finish the half with 7 points. They also need to do a better job finishing on drives, which they did somewhat in the second half. They also need to shoot free throws better, finishing 1 for 6 in the half.

Gonzaga need to be more patient and wait for their shot. They’ve forced some shots, but when they’ve taken their time, good things have happened.

Should be a fun second half. Go TOPS!!!

liveblog-wku vs gonzaga first half

all times central

7:27 pm –the teams trade 3s to tie it at 3.

7:28 pm –Mendez-Valdez is a great name, and that was a great shot to beat the shot clock and put the tops up 6-3.

7:37– first TV timeout.  WKU is alternating turnovers and 3’s. Before the game, the analysts said that Gonzaga’s strength is ball movement.  When they’ve moved it, they’ve scored, but they’ve also been forcing some shots.  Tops lead the Zags 9-8.  Mendez-Valdez has 2 threes already.

7:40–WKU can’t hit their free throws so far.  Both teams started hot from the three point line, but seem to be cooling off a bit.  Zags lead 14-11.

7:43–Both teams have gotten a bit sloppy.  Neither team is finishing well on drives.

7:46–Bill texts me to point out that WKU only has one senior starter (which bodes well for the future). That one senior is Mendez-Valdez, who is taking over the game by hitting 2 consecutive 3’s (that’s 4 total, and he has 14 points).

7:49–Tim Brando just points out that the score is now Mendez-Valdez 14, Gonzaga 14.

7:50–M-V makes another 3, and the pace of the game is picking up.  Tops 23-20.

7:52–Gonzaga ally-oops topull within one.  It was a sweet play.

7:55–TV Time out. Gonzaga is watching M-V really tightly now, which is opening driving lanes for WKU.  Unfortunately, they still aren’t finishing their drives.  Its 25 all.  M-V and AJ Slaughter are the only tops who seem to be able to score.

8:00–AJ Slaughter is starting to finish his drives.  The Tops go up 31-25, causing Few to call a timeout.  Slaiughter/M-V have 27 of WKU’s 31.

8:04– Slaughter leaves the game, and the Zags hang up 4 to close the game to 31-29.  Maybe the Tops should set some screens for M-V.  Both teams shooting over 50 percent.

8:08– I’ll give the Zags this:  the can run the ally-oop.  But, M-V does a sweet behind the back pass.  Now they seem to be trading baskets.  37-34 Tops with0:54 in the first half.

8:12– Tops are up 37-35 at halftime.

liveblog:western kentucky vs gonzaga

Note: All times Central

6:28 pm–I’m writing at you live from Ames, Iowa. Right now, NC is pulling away from LSU. Winner of this game takes on the winner of WKU-Gonzaga.

6:40 pm–And, my first technical difficulty of the liveblog has already taken place.  Oh well.  Anyway, UNC has just made it official, beating LSU 84-70.  The SEC is officially done in the NCAA tourney.

6:43 pm–So, I’ll try and ask this again:  Might this be a “torch passing game?”  Over the past decade, Gonzaga has been considered the top “mid-major” team.  This was launched in part by a run of multiple sweet 16 appearences by Gonzaga from 99-01 (including an Elite 8 run in 99).  Over the past few years, the Zags have lost in the first couple of rounds.  If WKU were to win tonight, giving them back to back sweet 16 appearences, while beating Gonzaga in the process, would that make WKU the new “mid-major king?”

6:51 pm–Tipoff is slated for 7:10 pm, so 19 minutes.  Meanwhile, Purude is about 6 seconds from beating Washington  I really like CBS streaming all of the games online this year.  I like being able to pick which game I want to watch without having to pay for Direct TV.

6:54 pm–I just got a comment from Matt VD telling me that this is my “audition” to be a guest liveblogger at the website four our tournament pool (which combines the NCAA, NIT, CIT, and CBI).  You can check it out at http://marchmadnesschallenge.blogspot.com .  There you can see just how horribly I’m doing this year.

6:57 pm–One big question about this game:  will the winning coach be at the same school next year.  Mark Few is already a hot commodity every year, and this year he is expected to be the top candidate for the Arizona job.  Meanwhile, if WKU wins, Ken McDonald may become a popular hire.  Though, after the Dennis Felton era, I’m betting Georiga doesn’t go for another WKU coach.  Gonzaga’s ablitly to keep Few all of these years is the big reason they’ve had such an outstanding run.  It would be interesting to see what happens to the zags if he leaves.

7:04 pm–Oklahoma just beat Michigan.  So far, no huge surprises today.

7:09 pm–Just so you know, this blog will not be impartial.  Go Hilltoppers.  And, in case you are wondering what a hilltopper is, you can check out my post from last year on the topic.  It is the most read post on my blog.

7:19 pm– Apparently, tipoff has been moved to 7:26. And, according to the poll on CBS sports, only 26 percent of America things the toppers can pull this one off. And, according to Big D, I’m currently in the lead of the NCAA portion of our pool. If WKU wins, don’t I have to be the guest blogger for their sweet 16 game?

7:24 pm-And we’re about to tip . . . I’m starting a new post for the first half.

programming note

Tonight I’m going to try something new: liveblogging during sporting events is the new big thing, so I’ll be “liveblogging” the Western Kentucky vs Gonzaga game tonight.

new church

Some of you know, and some of you don’t, but I’m leading worship for a church here in Ames that just launched a few weeks ago, Freedom Ridge. And, due to a certain chain of events, I found myself in suddenly in that same role at my campus ministry, CCF. So, I imagine that I’ll be writing a lot about worship music in the future. But, yesterday, this old post from Stuff Christian’s Like came into my head after church. It came to me because while I do well with number 1 and 3, I struggle a lot with number 2.

the 1000th “i’m back” post

These are pretty common on blogs. I’ve written quite a few. You know the drill: “I haven’t written anything in the last 6 months, but starting now, I’m going to post at least once an hour,” kinda thing.

So, no promises this time. But, I’ve been wanting to get back into it. I enjoy blogging. Part of me even needs to do it. It’s good for me. Most of the time, anyway. But, for me, there is a creative rythmn that I have to get into, and often that rythmn gets broken. But, I’ll try. For now.

sec and bcs bowl picks–post week 11

Only one thing changed in my SEC bowl picks this week. Based on Tennessee winning it’s last three games (Wyoming, Vandy, and Kentucky), I had them pegged to head out the Nashville for the Music City Bowl. However, Wyoming did the Sun Belt a solid and beat TN, making them officially Bowl Ineligible. Clearly, it appears that the Vols have quit on the year, so now I’m also picking Vandy and Kentucky to beat the Vols, which doesn’t change my order at all, other than Vandy moving up a line and now the Independence and Papajohns.com bowls are empty and thus the spots will go to a worthy Sun Belt Team. The SEC Projections:

1. BCS Championship: Alabama (13-0)
1b. Sugar Bowl: Florida (11-2)
2. Citrus Bowl: Georgia (10-2)
3East: Outback Bowl: South Carolina (9-3)
3West: Cotton Bowl: LSU (9-3)
5. Peach Bowl: Kentucky (8-4)
6a. Liberty Bowl: Ole Miss (7-5)
6b. Music City Bowl: Vanderbilt (7-5)
8a. Independence Bowl: Vacant
8b. Papajohns.com Bowl: Vacant

Note: I refuse to call the Citrus Bowl “The Capital One Bowl,” and I refuse to call the Peach Bowl “The Chick-Fil-A Bowl.”

Also, Note that CBS Sportsline seems to have read my blog and has corrected their selections. They now match mine exactly, except they pick Florida to beat Alabama in the SEC title game, thus swapping the teams on the top line. ESPN is still all goofy.

The BCS picture hasn’t changed a whole lot. Well, Plan A is still intact, but what happens if top teams lose has changed. Penn State is out of the title picture. So, they go to the Rose Bowl where they belong. And, as things stand, the most of the pairing don’t change a bit.

The big exception is with the ACC Champ. Honestly, Maryland last week was a close my eyes and point kind of pick. I wanted to pick North Carolina, but they were mired in second place in their division. But, they now stand at the top of their division, poised to head to the title game. So, they are the new pick for the Orange Bowl. They will play the winner of the Pitt/Cincinnati game in a couple of weeks. For now, UC is the pick.

The biggest change, however, is the makeup of the top 16. Last week, there were no teams from the Big East, ACC, MAC, or Sun Belt in the BCS top 16, the pool from which the at large teams are chosen. The Pac-10 and only had one team. Meanwhile, the Mountain West had more teams (3) than the Big 10 (2).

Now, the Mountain West has lost 2 teams (BYU and TCU). The ACC now has North Carolina at 16 and the MAC has Ball State at 14. The Big 10 now has Michigan State at 15, giving them 3.

However, Buckeye fans, this doesn’t help you guys drop out of the BCS. But for now, you still get to avoid USC in the Rose Bowl.

BCS Title Game
1. Alabama vs 2. Texas Tech

Rose Bowl
USC (Pac-10 Champ) vs. Penn State (Big 10 Champ)

Sugar Bowl
Florida (At Large) vs Ohio State (Al Large)

Fiesta Bowl
Texas (automatic as top 4 team) vs Utah (automatic as conference champ in top 12)

Orange Bowl
North Carolina (ACC Champ) vs Cincinnati (Big East Champ)

more buckeyes

For one who is not an Ohio State Fan, I’m finding myself writing a lot about Ohio State this week. First off, Andy commented to the effect that he hoped OSU would get drop and go to a bowl where they would be awesome. I do think that the best spot for them would be in the Citrus Bowl playing Georgia. Both teams are very good but not great this year, and it would be a fun matchup. I don’t know who would win.

But, the reason I write about the Buckeye today is something that I read on ESPN.com, in Ivan Maisel’s I Formation. He raises the possibility that even if Penn State were to make the title game, the Rose Bowl still may not pick up OSU, given that they went to a team similarly ranked last year (Illinois) and ended up with a blowout. Given that OSU has already played and been blown out by USC, they Rose Bowl might look elsewhere.

It is an interesting theory. Chances are, they will go with the traditional Pac-10/Big 10 matchup. But, it might depend on who they get. Let’s say Alabama goes undefeated, and then loses to Florida in the SEC title game. If Texas Tech wins the Big 12, that sets up Texas Tech number one vs Penn State number 2. Florida would go to the Sugar Bowl. Since the Fiesta Bowl would lose the number 1 team, they get first dibs. Lets assume they take Texas or Oklahoma, who both may be top 5 teams at this point.

The Rose bowl gets the next pick, since they lost the number 2 team. Do they pass up on Alabama for Ohio State? Given recent history, they probably do.

Still, if they do take Alabama in this example, this still doesn’t drop them to the Citrus Bowl. At this point, there are no more SEC or Big 12 teams who can be taken, and there are no Pac-10, Big East, or ACC teams eligible. The only chance they have out of the BCS is to a. lose and drop out of the top 16 or b. 2 non-bcs conference teams get chosen (ie Utah and Boise State).

a little satire

So, I don’t feel like writing about the election just yet, and this made me laugh. I can’t embed the video, so you’ll just have to click it.

hyperbole

Tought for the day:

Obama is no more a socialist than Bush was a facist 4 years ago.

Discuss.

Note: Wednesday is not a good writing day, so I’ll write tomorrow.

election rants

A lot of stuff has annoyed me about this election. But, then there are some other things that I just don’t quite understand. A few:

1. Why was it so important for everyone to get out and “vote early.” I mean, there were some people who were just absolutely insistent that I (and you) truely MUST get out and vote early. Even though I personally had no conflicts today, my polling place was on my way to work, ect. I voted on election day, and it was all good.

2. Why didn’t the lady from CNN ask me if I wanted to fill out an exit poll. It was the first time I had ever seen an exit poller. Honestly, I hate exit polls, and think they should be illegal (and yes, for the sarcastically challenged, that was a bit of hyperbole there). Still, I probablly would have filled one out, and was a little hurt I wasn’t asked.

3. What’s up with the whole “As long as everyone votes then all is well” thing that people like to say (and no, I promise I’m NOT picking on you, Barnes). I think that it probablly goes along the lines that the process itself is important, and that participation is important, and to that extent I agree. At the same time, I know and have encountered people who really should NOT go vote. They don’t know who’s running, or any of that stuff. I don’t think randomly selecting people is a good thing.

Also, I personally think “not voting” is a perfectly legitimate political statement to make. I don’t think not voting cause I’m lazy is valid, but not voting as a way to say “none of the above” is legit. Personally, I think that “none of the above” should be on the ballot.

4. With that in mind, do we have to elect every government official. I mean, today, I had to vote for “County Agricultural Extention” or something like that. I really have no idea what those people do. I had to pick 4 out of 6 names for that office. I didn’t even know I would be voting for that until I picked up my ballot. Why don’t the county supervisors just appoint them.

And, I had to vote yes/no on about 8 judges. Again, I don’t even know why we vote on any judges. I really think it’s one of those desicisons that shouldn’t be on the people. I really think you need a law degree to really understand whether or not a judge is good or not. That’s what I like about the federal court system: we vote on the guy who then has guys who follow that stuff and helps him make decisions.

5. Kentucky is one of the stereotypical “backward” state. And yet, in Kentucky, I don’t ever remember there being any major election problems. Somehow, someway, the state that ranks about 45th in education is able to hold elections without major issues.

But somehow, elsewhere, people seem to have problems casting their votes. Machines are inaccurate. Paper ballots are too confusing. Is it really that tough?

more bcs: the case for the buckeyes

So, Tommy doubts my projection that Ohio State will be a BCS at large team. Though an OSU fan, he doubts their worthiness this season. Personally, I agreed, at least initially. But, based on the BCS selection criteria, they are sitting pretty. Consider:

1. To go to a BCS bowl, a team must be in the top sixteen of the BCS standings, unless they are a conference champion. To date, the following teams would be eligible:

1. Alabama 5. Florida 9. Oklahoma St. 13. Georgia
2. Texas Tech 6. Oklahoma 10. Boise St. 14. Missouri
3. Penn State 7. USC 11. Ohio State 15. BYU
4. Texas 8. Utah 12. TCU 16. LSU

There are 10 total spots. First of all, Number 1 automatically plays number 2, so remove Alabama and Texas Tech. Then, the conference champions from the SEC, Big 12, Big 10, Big East, ACC, and Pac-10 automatically get bids, so also remove Penn State and USC from the list. Note that there are no teams from the ACC or Big East on the list of 16. This is part of the reason that OSU is likely to make it.

Next, one conference champion from a non-BCS conference makes it if a. the are ranked in the top 10 or b. in the top 16 and ranked higher than a BCS league champion. There are actually 4 non-BCS memembers in the top 16 right now, which is pretty amazing. Utah, being the higherst ranked, would get the nod. Also, whoever is ranked 3 and 4 get automatic bids if they aren’t conference champs, so Texas is in.

That leaves the following for the remaining 2 spots:

5. Florida 11. Ohio State 15. BYu
6. Oklahoma 12 TCU 16. LSU
9. OK State 13. Georgia
10. Boise St 14. Missouri

Now, only 2 teams can go from each conference, so all of the Big 12 teams remaining should be removed, leaving the following.

5. Florida
10. Boise St
11. Ohio State
12. TCU
13. Georgia
15. BYU
16. LSU

Florida, being ranked well above the rest, seems to be a lock. Now, in this scenario, they are projected to lose to Alabama in the SEC title game. They will drop, but should still make it. This would give the SEC two teams, making the following the teams vying for the final spot:

10. Boise St.
11. Ohio State
12. TCU.
15. BYU

Ohio State is the only team eligible from any of the major conferences. It is possible that Boise could get the bid, but it is highly unlikely. So, Tommy, rest assured, your buckeyes are BCS bound!

The worst part is that there is an election tomorrow, and yet I find this a lot more interesting. Here’s my predicitons for that:

Obama in a close one.
Big gains in the house and senate for the Democrats, but they don’t get 60 in the senate.

I hope Mitch McConnell loses, but don’t think he will.

And my biggest prediction:

Regardless of who wins tomorrow, the apocalypse does NOT happen.

sec bowl and bcs watch

Despite Kentucky’s relative medicority in respect to the last couple of seasons, I’ve been quite interested in how college football has shaped up this season.  So, most Sundays, and occasionally on Mondays between now and BCS announcement Sundays, I’ll be making bowl predictions for the SEC, and projecting how the BCS games will shape up.

To start off, I rank the BCS conferences like this:

1.  Big 12
2. SEC
3. Big 10
4. Pac-10
5. ACC
Big East (tie)

The reason I’m doing SEC bowl projections is that the 2 main sites I normally read on this subject, cbssportsline and espn.com don’t seem to realize how the bowl assignments for the SEC work. CBS, for example, has LSU in the Outback Bowl and South Carolina in the Cotton Bowl. Now, these 2 bowls are both on the third line of the SEC bowl selection, coming after the BCS and the Citrus Bowl (NOTE: I refuse to call it the Capital One Bowl, just as I refuse to call the Peach Bowl the Chick-Fil-A Bowl). The Outback gets first pick from the Eastern Division, and the Cotton Bowl gets first pick from the Western Division. The bowl can take a team from the other division, but only after the bowl who has rights from that division has chosen. So, in this scenario, the Cotton Bowl has given up LSU in order to take South Carolina. I highly doubt that. Also, both sites seem to unanimously concur that Kentucky will go to the Music City Bowl yet again. CBS does this with Tennessee going to the Liberty Bowl, and ESPN does it with Vandy going to the Liberty Bowl. The Liberty and Music City Bowls pick at the same time. If both pick the same team, then the school gets to choose. It seems very unlikely that the Music City Bowl would pick Kentucky for a third straight year, particularly with teams from TN in the mix. Now, I suppose it’s possible that both bowls pick the same TN team, with the TN team picking the Liberty. But, the Liberty bowl has really wanted UK the last few years (and were scouting their game this weekend). It just seems unlikely. So, with MY expert projections:

BCS Title Game: Alabama (13-0)
Sugar Bowl: Florida (11-2)
Citrus Bowl: Georgia (10-2)
Outback Bowl: South Carolina (8-4)
Cotton Bowl: LSU (9-3)
Peach Bowl: Kentucky (7-5)
Liberty Bowl: Ole Miss (7-5)
Music City Bowl: Tennesee (6-6)
Independence Bowl: Vanderbilt (6-6)
Papa Johns Bowl: no team eligible

I’m picking Kentucky to beat Vandy, Tennesee to win out, Bama to win the SEC title game over Florida.

BCS projections:

Title Game:
1. Alabama vs 2. Texas Tech

Sugar Bowl:
Florida vs Ohio State

Fiesta Bowl:
Texas vs Utah

Rose Bowl:
Penn State vs USC

Orange Bowl:
Cincinnati vs Maryland