Lobofan2003

September is one of the greatest times of year if you're a sports fan (especially of baseball and/or football).

The baseball penant races are winding down, it looks as if most of the races have been decided although the AL Central may come down to the final week between the Tigers and the Twins. Even without many exciting races, September allows clubs to bring up young kids and get a chance for fans to see the future and for teams that will be going to the playoffs to set up their rotations and get players healthy for the playoffs.

College football is off to a fast start with a lot of exciting upsets to start the season. Boise State beat Oregon, BYU beat Oklahoma and Houston beat Oklahoma State just to name a few. The non-AQ conferences are making big strides against the AQ conferences. The perception of the Mountain West is growing off the charts after Utah's win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and the afore-mentioned BYU win. Is this the year that a Mountain West team can get into the BCS with one loss or even possibly get into the (Mythical) National Championship game if they go undefeated? Before we can even think about that though both Utah and BYU have tough matchups tomorrow if they are going to stay undefeated; Utah plays Oregon at Autzen Stadium and BYU plays Florida State at home in Provo. Both teams also have to play a tough TCU team later in the year in conference play. In addition the Mountain West teams, Boise State looks like they could also contend for a BCS spot; could two non-AQ teams possibly get BCS-bowl bids this year?

If the excitement of baseball and college football wasn't enough, how about the start of football season? From trying to dominate my fantasy league once again this year to watching the resurrgent Seahawks here in the Northwest there's plenty for me to watch in the NFL this season. What has you excited this season in the NFL?

With Beltre gone for 6-8 weeks (and even with him in the lineup) it is painfully obvious that the Mariners need a power/RBI producing bat to add to the lineup if they want to stay in the AL West race.

The Angels have been on a tear lately and are threatening to run away with the division here pretty soon if they keep up their current pace. Meanwhile, the Mariners showed in the first game of the Yankee series that they can not score enough runs to keep up with talented offensive teams. Now, management may decide eventually that the Mariners are out of the race and not make a trade. In all honesty, the Mariners are playing better than I would have thought at this point; nobody could have thought they would be only 3 1/2 games out at this point. However, as a fan, I don't want to see any potential opportunity or hope of making the playoffs go by the wayside. Mariner fans have suffered in agony the past few years and it is time for management to show the fans that they want to return the Mariners to the success and exictement of the playoff runs of the early part of this decade just as much as the fans want the Mariners to return to the playoffs.

The Mariners have finally shaken off their good start and begun to play like they did last year.

After a 12-6 start the M's are now 15-15 and not score any runs. Over their 5 game losing streak they have managed a total of 9 runs. This is looking way too much like last year, no offense. Branyan has shown flashes, but other than that there is no power in the middle of the order; Beltre has yet to hit a home run.

Not that it really matters when you can't score runs, but the back end of the rotation has been horrible as well. Silva and Jakubauskas aren't getting the job done, its time to call up some starting pitchers from the minors and give them a try, anything would be better than watching Silva pitch another game.

The Mariners gave their fans a glimmer of hope at the start of the season, but now it is starting to look just like last year.

Boy was I totally wrong about the Mariners struggling without Ichiro. Instead they are 7-2 and Ichiro hit a Grand Slam in his return.

I don't expect the Mariners to keep up this pace, but the AL West looks wide open this year. The Angels pitching staff has been struck by tragedy and injury; the Rangers can hit, but they can't pitch; and the A's are, well the A's. If Griffey can lead the M's into the playoffs in his return to Seattle, he will go from idollized to immortalized status. One thing is for sure, as a Mariners fan, this season has already been better than the horribleness that was last season.

It is a good for Northwest sports; the M's off to a good start, the Sounders have begun their 1st MLS season and the Blazers tied for the NW Division title and have a home-playoff series in the 1st Round.

 

 

Ichiro is out to start the season with an ulcer. They say he will miss only 8 games but by that time we may be 0-8. It sucks to be Mariners fan, we will be in last place yet again!

 

I did horrible with my bracket in the tournament. If I ever give you unsolicited advice in filling out your bracket after Selection Sunday don't listen to it.

That is all.

What does a self-proclaimed Bracketologist do after the Selection Sunday announcements are made? Well they turn their attention from predicting the field to predicting the winners.

I will give you a couple of my picks and give you some help in filling out your brackets:

1- Always pick at least one 12 over a 5- Just about every year a 12 seed beats a 5 seed in the 1st round. Who is likely to pull an upset this year? Western Kentucky is a great team that made a run to the Sweet 16 last year. Arizona is another team I think may pull the upset, Utah is a little overrated at a 5 seed (although I will be pulling for the Utes to support the MWC teams).

2- Don't look at seed in the 7-10, 8-9 matchups- These teams are fairly evenly matched so don't just take chalk in this one, take time to actually analyze the matchups and teams. One 10-7 upset I really like is Maryland over Cal; Terps have been playing well lately and Cal is merely a middle of the pack team in a down Pac-10.

3- Don't pick all four #1 seeds to make the Final 4- Last year was the only time it has happened. I have two #1 seeds falling before the Final 4. Memphis is a great selection to knock off Connecticut and reach the Final 4.

4- Don't be afraid to make mistakes in the First Round- Most bracket challenges award points in higher increments as the tournament goes on. So don't agonize over a first round matchup if you have someone else beating them in the next round.

 

My national championship pick is........

Memphis

 

Here is the final edition of my bracketology. You all can hold me against Lunardi and the experts and see how I do.

Auto bids are in CAPS. The winner of the South Region will play the winner of the East Region; the winner of the Midwest Region will play the winner of the West Region.

Last Four In: San Diego State, Maryland, Wisconsin, Boston College

Last Four Out: St. Mary's, Creighton, Arizona, New Mexico

Next Four Out: UNLV, Auburn, South Carolina, Florida

Note: In my mind the last four teams in, and the last four teams out are interchangable. I wouldn't be surprised to see any of the last four in be out, and any of the last four out be in. In my mind, all eight teams are deserving; there have been just too many bid-stealers for the last four out to get in.

South Region (Memphis)

Games played in Dayton:

1 LOUISVILLE vs. 16 CSU NORTHRIDGE
8 Oklahoma St. vs. 9 UTAH ST.

Games played in Boise:

4 PURDUE vs. 13 AMERICAN
5 GONZAGA vs. 12 W. KENTUCKY

Games played in Miami:

3 Wake Forest vs. 14 AKRON
6 Ucla vs. 11 TEMPLE

Games played in Kansas City:

2 Oklahoma vs. 15 PORTLAND ST.
7 Louisiana St. vs. 10 Minnesota

East Region (Boston)

Games played in Greensboro:

1 North Carolina vs. 16 MOREHEAD ST.
8 Brigham Young vs. 9 Michigan

Games played in Boise:

4 Syracuse vs. 13 NORTHERN IOWA
5 Arizona St. vs. 12 VCU

Games played in Philadelphia:

3 Villanova vs. 14 NORTH DAKOTA ST.
6 Tennessee vs. 11 Maryland

Games played in Kansas City:

2 MEMPHIS vs. 15 E. TENNESSEE ST.
7 Ohio St. vs. 10 USC

Midwest Region (Indianapolis)

Games played in Dayton:

1 Pittsburgh vs. 16 Play-in game Winner (CHATTANOOGA vs. ALABAMA ST.)
8 Texas vs. 9 California

Games played in Miami:

4 Florida St. vs. 13 CLEVELAND ST.
5 Illinois vs. 12 MISSISSIPPI ST.

Games played in Minneapolis:

3 Kansas vs. 14 ROBERT MORRIS
6 Clemson vs. 11 San Diego St.

2 Michigan St. vs. 15 CORNELL
7 W. Virginia vs. 10 Dayton

West Region (Glendale)

Games played in Philadelphia:

1 Connecticut vs. 16 RADFORD
8 Butler vs. 9 Texas A&M

Games played in Portland:

4 Washington vs. 13 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
5 Xavier vs. 12 Boston College

3 MISSOURI vs. 14 BINGHAMTON
6 UTAH vs. 11 Wisconsin

Games played in Greensboro:

2 DUKE vs. 15 MORGAN ST.
7 Marquette vs. 10 SIENA

 

 

 

 I had planned on posting this a lot earlier in the night, luckily I am on West Coast time and am still up, because figuring out seeds and the last couple of at-large teams was extremely difficult. Making the bracket fit the Principles and Procedures was extremely difficult as well, but I think I've finally got it.

This is the bracket that I think will resemble what the Selection Committee will reveal. It assumes Tennessee beats Mississippi St., if not my last team in becomes my last team out.

Auto bids (projected or won) are in CAPS. The winner of the South Region will play the winner of the East Region; the winner of the Midwest Region will play the winner of the West Region.

Last Four In: San Diego State, Wisconsin, Boston College, St. Mary's

Last Four Out: Creighton, Arizona, New Mexico, UNLV

Next Four Out: Auburn, South Carolina, Florida, Penn St.

South Region (Memphis)

Games played in Dayton:

1 LOUISVILLE vs. 16 CSU NORTHRIDGE
8 Oklahoma St. vs. 9 UTAH ST.

Games played in Boise:

4 PURDUE vs. 13 AMERICAN
5 GONZAGA vs. 12 W. KENTUCKY

Games played in Miami:

3 Wake Forest vs. 14 AKRON
6 Ucla vs. 11 TEMPLE

Games played in Kansas City:

2 Oklahoma vs. 15 PORTLAND ST.
7 Louisiana St. vs. 10 Minnesota

East Region (Boston)

Games played in Greensboro:

1 North Carolina vs. 16 MOREHEAD ST.
8 Brigham Young vs. 9 Michigan

Games played in Boise:

4 Syracuse vs. 13 NORTHERN IOWA
5 Arizona St. vs. 12 St. Mary's

Games played in Philadelphia:

3 Villanova vs. 14 NORTH DAKOTA ST.
6 TENNESSEE vs. 11 USC

Games played in Kansas City:

2 MEMPHIS vs. 15 E. TENNESSEE ST.
7 Ohio St. vs. 10 Maryland

Midwest Region (Indianapolis)

Games played in Dayton:

1 Pittsburgh vs. 16 Play-in game Winner (CHATTANOOGA vs. ALABAMA ST.)
8 Texas vs. 9 California

Games played in Miami:

4 Florida St. vs. 13 CLEVELAND ST.
5 Illinois vs. 12 VCU

Games played in Minneapolis:

3 Kansas vs. 14 ROBERT MORRIS
6 Clemson vs. 11 San Diego St.

2 Michigan St. vs. 15 CORNELL
7 W. Virginia vs. 10 Dayton

West Region (Glendale)

Games played in Philadelphia:

1 Connecticut vs. 16 RADFORD
8 Butler vs. 9 Texas A&M

Games played in Portland:

4 Washington vs. 13 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
5 Xavier vs. 12 Boston College

3 MISSOURI vs. 14 BINGHAMTON
6 UTAH vs. 11 Wisconsin

Games played in Greensboro:

2 DUKE vs. 15 MORGAN ST.
7 Marquette vs. 10 SIENA

 

 

Well I have left Vegas now and am visiting some family in the Great NW. Glad to be back to having Internet access (I wasn't willing to pay $12/day for it at what had to be one of the worst hotels I've ever stayed it).

Despite my team getting bounced early I still had fun in Vegas hanging out with friends. We did a lot of cool things without having to go watch the Lobos play.

Anyways some thoughts about what games I did see in Vegas:

San Diego State looks really impressive: The Aztecs beat UNLV soundly on their home floor, beat BYU (who had swept them earlier in the season) and narrowly lost to Utah. If you are looking for a 10, 11 or 12 (whatever seed they'll get) to pull an upset, this is the team to pick. The Aztecs are finally healthly and have a coach who has plenty of Tournament experience.

Utah is lucky: Luck was a lady for the Utes in Vegas this weekend. They get a last second 3 to beat TCU in the 1st Round, then got Wyoming in the 2nd round (more on that later), and narrowly excaped against SDSU in the finals. Don't get me wrong Utah is a good team, but they are a team which may be upset in the 1st Round of the Tournament.

New Mexico chokes with an NCAA tourney appearance on the line (again): They did it last year in the 3-6 matchup, needing one win at least to get to the tournament and lose to an inferior team. The Lobos live and die by the 3 and went 3-23 (yes you read that right) in the game against Wyoming on Thursday. Wyoming on the other hand shot lights out from 3, hitting over 50%. All I can say is this team is glad that none of the NIT games will be played in the Thomas & Mack, as it seems the Lobos are allergic to the rims in that building.

MWC officiating is horrible: Game of note, New Mexico v. Wyoming. Now don't get me wrong the Lobos lost by their own pathetic performance, but the officiating this game was horrible, on both sides. The game was called fairly evenly, but the referees called EVERY, and I mean EVERY ticky-tack foul in the book. There were over 50 fouls in a game that didn't even go into OT. By comparision the 6OT game between Syracuse-UCONN had 66 fouls. Less than 1 foul per minute compared to over 1.25 fouls per minute in the UNM-Wyoming game. MWC teams are not going to be prepared for the NCAA tournament with this kind of officiating in a conference tournament. In the NCAA tournament they are going to allow teams to play a lot more and the Mountain West teams will not be prepared for the physical play.

Thats all I got for now, I will post my bracketology later tonight after all the games have concluded.

 

I don't have time to post a full bracket as I am headed off to the MWC tourney in Vegas in the morning, but here are my seed lines through the conference tournaments of Tuesday.

#1 Seeds: Pitt, North Carolina, Connecticut, Louisville

#2 Seeds: Oklahoma, Michigan St., Duke, Kansas

#3 Seeds: Memphis, Wake Forest, Villanova, Missouri

#4 Seeds: Washington, Clemson, UCLA, Xavier

#5 Seeds: Florida St., Syracuse, Gonzaga, Illinois

#6 Seeds: Marquette, LSU, Purdue, Arizona St.

#7 Seeds: Utah, California, West Virginia, BYU

#8 Seeds: Butler, Tennessee, Dayton, Texas

#9 Seeds: Wisconsin, Texas A&M, Ohio St., Oklahoma St.

#10 Seeds: Michigan, Utah St., Boston College, Minnesota

#11 Seeds: Arizona, Creighton, UNLV, Siena

#12 Seeds: South Carolina, Western Kentucky, VCU, New Mexico

#13 Seeds: Cleveland St., American, Northern Iowa, Stephen F. Austin

#14 Seeds: Binghamton, North Dakota St., Robert Morris, Cornell

#15 Seeds: Portland St., E. Tennessee St., Morgan St., Radford

#16 Seeds: Morehead St., Bowling Green, CSU Northridge, Chattanooga, Alabama St.

Last Five In: Creighton, Arizona, UNLV, South Carolina, New Mexico

Last Five Out: St. Mary's, SDSU, Auburn, Penn St., Florida

I am off to Las Vegas for the Mountatin West tournament in a few hours. (Shuttle for the airport leaves @530 AM) Anyways, I will try and be the unofficial Mountain West tournament blogger, although I am sure I will have more pressing matters to attend to in Vegas .

I don't have time to do a full bracket, but I will post my seed lines as of tonight. I don't know how much "Bracketology" I will be able to do while in Vegas, but I will be sure to post one late Saturday night or before the Selections are made on Sunday.

 

Here's the Bracketology through the majority of Sunday's games. I am going to assume that St. Mary's will win their semifinal game later tonight to get themselves into the bracket, otherwise they would be out of the bracket.

Louisville claims the 4th #1 seed, just edging out Michigan St., by claiming the outright Big East title, although I have a feeling that the Big East will only wind up with two #1 seeds when all this is said and done.

The conference tournaments will really sort out all out of this. The last five in and last five out can easily be switched depending how each of those teams do in their conference tournaments.

Projected Auto bids are in CAPS, if they have already clinched an autobid they are in Bold . Winner of the South Region will play the winner of the East Region; the winner of the Midwest Region will play the winner of the West Region.

South Region (Memphis)

Games played in Greensboro:

1 NORTH CAROLINA vs. 16 BOWLING GREEN
8 Dayton vs. 9 Texas A&M

Games played in Portland:

4 Ucla vs. 13 AMERICAN
5 Marquette vs. 12 New Mexico

Games played in Boise:

3 Missouri vs. 14 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
6 Syracuse vs. 11 South Carolina

Games played in Minneapolis:

2 MICHIGAN ST. vs. 15 CORNELL
7 BUTLER vs. 10 Boston College

East Region (Boston)

Games played in Philadelphia:

1 Connecticut vs. 16 MOREHEAD ST.
8 Texas vs. 9 Ohio St.

Games played in Portland:

4 WASHINGTON vs. 13 NORTHERN IOWA
5 Florida St. vs. 12 W. Kentucky

Games played in Philadelphia:

3 Villanova vs. 14 CHARLESTON
6 LSU vs. 11 Arizona

Games played in Greensboro:

2 Duke vs. 15 E. TENNESSEE ST.
7 BYU vs. 10 Minnesota

Midwest Region (Indianapolis)

Games played in Dayton:

1 Pittsburgh vs. Play-in game winner (CSU NORTHRIDGE vs. ALABAMA ST.)
8 Tennessee vs. 9 Oklahoma St.

Games played in Boise:

4 XAVIER vs. 13 VCU
5 Illinois vs. 12 St. Mary's

Games played in Minneapolis:

3 MEMPHIS vs. 14 NORTH DAKOTA ST.
6 Arizona St. vs. 11 Creighton

Games played in Kansas City:

2 KANSAS vs. 15 ROBERT MORRIS
7 Utah vs. 10 Michigan

West Region (Glendale)

Games played in Dayton:

1 LOUISVILLE vs. 16 RADFORD
8 California vs. 9 Wisconsin

Games played in Miami:

4 Clemson vs. 13 WEBER ST.
5 GONZAGA vs. 12 SIENA

3 Wake Forest vs. 14 BINGHAMTON
6 Purdue vs. 11 Unlv

Games played in Kansas City:

2 Oklahoma vs. 15 MORGAN ST.
7 W. Virginia vs. 10 UTAH ST.

Last Five In: Arizona, Creighton, UNLV, St. Mary's, New Mexico

Last Five Out: San Diego State, Auburn, Penn St., Miami (FL), Florida

Next Five Out: Providence, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Rhode Island, USC

 

Comments? Questions?

 

 

There have been a lot of bubble teams losing. This bracket tries to take that into account for all of the games through the 7PM EST games on Thursday March 5th.

This bracket is structured as if today was Selection Sunday. Auto bids are in CAPS. The winner of the East Region plays the winner of the West Region; winner of the Midwest Region plays the winner of the South Region.

East Region (Boston)

Games played in Philadelphia:

1 CONNECTICUT vs. 16 JACKSONVILLE
8 Tennessee vs. 9 Oklahoma St.

Games played in Portland:

4 XAVIER vs. 13 DAVIDSON
5 Florida St. vs. 12 Penn St.

Games played in Miami:

3 Wake Forest vs. 14 NORTH DAKOTA ST.
6 Syracuse vs. 11 Arizona

Games played in Kansas City:

2 KANSAS vs. 15 BUFFALO
7 BYU vs. 10 Wisconsin

West Region (Glendale)

Games played in Dayton:

1 MICHIGAN ST. vs. 16 RADFORD
8 BUTLER vs. 9 Texas A&M

Games played in Portland:

4 WASHINGTON vs. 13 AMERICAN
5 Marquette vs. 12 St. Mary's

Games played in Philadelphia:

3 Villanova vs. 14 WEBER ST.
6 LSU vs. 11 Unlv

Games played in Greensboro:

2 Duke vs. 15 UT-MARTIN
7 California vs. 10 Minnesota

Midwest Region (Indianapolis)

Games played in Dayton:

1 Pittsburgh vs. Play-in game Winner (CSU NORTHRIDGE vs. ALABAMA ST.)
8 Texas vs. 9 Creighton

Games played in Miami:

4 Clemson vs. 13 VCU
5 Purdue vs. 12 SIENA

Games played in Minneapolis:

3 MEMPHIS vs. 14 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
6 Arizona St. vs. 11 Michigan

2 Oklahoma vs. 15 ROBERT MORRIS
7 W. Virginia vs. 10 Boston College

South Region (Memphis)

Games played in Greensboro:

1 NORTH CAROLINA vs. 16 MORGAN ST.
8 Dayton vs. 9 South Carolina

Games played in Boise:

4 Illinois vs. 13 NORTHERN IOWA
5 GONZAGA vs. 12 W. KENTUCKY

3 Missouri vs. 14 BINGHAMTON
6 Ucla vs. 11 UTAH ST.

Games played in Kansas City:

2 Louisville vs. 15 CORNELL
7 Utah vs. 10 Ohio St.

LAST FIVE IN: Unlv, Arizona, Michigan, Penn St., St. Mary's

LAST FIVE OUT: San Diego St., New Mexico, Maryland, Rhode Island, Providence

NEXT FIVE OUT: Miami (FL), Virginia Tech, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky

 

Questions? Comments?

I have no actual evidence to suggest this but let me offer some anecodtal evidence to my claim that ESPN wishes they still had Mountain West Conference broadcasting rights, at least for this game.

When I was a student at UNM in 2005 the Mountain West was still under contract with ESPN before selling their rights to CBS College Sports (then CSTV) and forming their own television network. Back then ESPN would show a Mountain West game as part of Big Monday at 10 PM MST. In February 2005, Utah was in first place and UNM lead by current NBA all-star Danny Granger was in 2nd place. ESPN wanted UNM Administration to move the game from its 7 PM scheduled start time back to 10PM so that they could broadcast the game. Everybody with me so far?

Anyway, New Mexico AD at the time Rudy Davalos politely declined ESPN's offer saying that a sellout was guaranteed if the game was at 7PM but not if the game started too late for families to come at 10PM. If ESPN wanted the game so much they could televise it at 7PM (which was/still is the Big 12's slot). ESPN was stuck with the scheduled Mountain West game of Wyoming and San Diego State at 10PM.

Fast forward to Tuesday night's game between Utah and New Mexico, again a battle between 1st and 2nd place. It is virtually guaranteed to be a sell out (less than 600 SRO tickets remain) at 7PM MST. ESPN currently has Auburn and Alabama in that time slot. No disrespect to those teams, but don't you think ESPN is kicking themselves for letting the Mountain West get away and essentially telling ESPN to go screw themselves by forming their own network. So the nation will be left to watch Auburn and Alabama tomorrow instead of a battle for first place between Utah and UNM, oh the irony!

As for a prediction of the game; 2005 saw the Lobos upset the 1st place Utes 73-62 in a close game that UNM put away at the end. I believe that history will repeat itself; Lobos win by somewhere around 7-10 points. If anybody wants to watch the game they can find in on the Mountain Network at 9PM EST. (If you don't get the Mountain go to justin.tv and you can usually find a stream of Mountain West games by one of the people on there)