Thursday, March 15, 2007

Thursday 03/15 Quickie:
Tournament, Day 1. 'Nuff Said.

It's Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament! It is, arguably (or, actually, no argument) the greatest day of the sports year.

Starting at around noon ET, you can find me over at Deadspin, where I'll be all afternoon, live-blogging all of the day's games. Should be a ton of fun, so be sure to drop by and check it out.

(For a taste from the way-back machine, check out my ESPN.com live-blog of Tourney Day 1 from 2003.)

Quick relevant reminiscence: 10 years ago this week (cripes: 10 years?), I was the college basketball editor at ESPN.com. And today was IT: Probably my finest moment on the job.

I knew that ESPN.com would be the key source for millions of fans across the country stuck at work during the first round's afternoon games. (Remember obsessively hitting "refresh" on the ESPN.com scoreboard pages to track games?)

I decided that the key to my coverage strategy would be to update the front-page lead "top story" blurb as often as humanly possible. (Consider this was more than a half-decade before the word "live-blog" was even conceived.)

My recollection is that I averaged a fresh top-story blurb every 8-10 minutes, reflecting the latest momentum moves and storyline shifts. (Somewhere buried in my file cabinet, I have every single one of those blurbs printed out.)

An hyper-enthusiastic 24-year-old, I thought that my efforts appropriately matched the spirit and intensity of the day for fans. (That day, as I believe it has every year since on the first day of the NCAA Tournament, the site set its new one-day traffic record.)

You would have never known it was me behind the scenes, managing the coverage and obsessively flipping those top stories over (and over... and over...), but I was there, having the time of my life.

Including the greatest ESPN.com front page headline never to see the light of day: When 15-seed Coppin State beat 2-seed South Carolina, the concept on the table was:

Coppin a Feel:
Cocks Go Limp

Without hyperbole:
Greatest. Headline. Ever.

Shout-outs to current ESPN.com college basketball editor Andy Glockner, who will be running the show today, and to friends like Executive Editor Kevin Jackson and Page 2 editor David Schoenfield, both my beat-editing colleagues at the time, who were in on the all-hands-on-deck coverage team then -- as they probably are now. Fans remain in phenomenal hands.

Meanwhile, 10 years later, I am reviving that new-comment-every-few-minutes role – not on ESPN.com, but on the leading sports blog.

That 24-year-old Dan -- a limitless ESPN.com career ahead of him -- could never have possibly imagined how things would work out over the following 10 years. (Indeed: I'm sure he would have yelped, "34? What could THAT fogey know?" Ahh, arrogance of youth...)

But I think that Dan would have been excited to know that the first afternoon of the NCAA Tournament remains his most thrilling moment of the sports year. (Sorry for the 3rd-person reference.)

So I have no other editorial message today besides this: Enjoy it.

LAST CHANCE! Sign up NOW for the "Daily Quickie Readers" group of ESPN.com's Tournament Challenge. Come on: You KNOW you have an entry or two left!

By the way, I don't know if this stat is accurate, but DS.com commenter GuyInTheCorner claims that there are only three ESPN.com Tournament Challenge groups that have more than 1,000 entrants: Mike and Mike's, Deadspin's and "Daily Quickie Readers." For that, I heartily and sincerely thank you.

(As impressive as last year's largest-in-the-country 10,000-person pool group was, this year's total 1,300 – and counting! – is arguably more impressive, because I don't have my ESPN.com platform to drive entries, just this blog. So THANK YOU!)

Meanwhile, just in time for today's Tournament tip-off, Deadspin wrapped up its team-by-team coverage with my preview of Florida. Here it is, in all its biased glory – the biggest symbol yet of my Gators fan-ness!

Previewing Today's Afternoon Games:

4 Maryland over 13 Davidson:
Inconsistent Terps should worry you.

7 BC over 10 Texas Tech
I can't buy BK in the Tourney.

6 L'ville over 11 Stanford
Like Clerks, Cardinal shouldn't even be here today.

3 Washington St over 14 Oral Roberts
Remember when I picked 16 ORU over 1 Memphis last year? Was I a year early on the Oral upset pick?

5 Butler over 12 ODU
Complete toss-up.

2 G'town over 15 Belmont
How strong will trendy Hoyas look?

3 Texas A&M over 14 Penn
A nation of bandwagoneers holds it breath.

6 Vandy over 11 G. Washington
The annual 5 p.m. ET game no one ever sees!

More Sports News:

Syracuse wins NIT opener. Motivated much?

NBA: Mavs-Suns. I had a very hard time getting too fired up for Mavs-Suns last night. Not just because the NCAA Tournament starts today, but because in the grand scheme of things, a regular-season NBA game – no matter who is playing in it – is meaningless. It's even MORE meaningless between top contenders. Does last night's result provide any indication of what will happen in the postseason if/when they meet again? No. Oh, and the Spurs are winning the West. So, really, when does Maryland-Davidson start? Give me one-game, win-or-bust playoff formats any day.

However, all that said: The Suns winning in Dallas in a thriller WAS kind of awesome.

NBA Whining: Phil Jackson says Kobe Bryant is the subject of a "witch hunt" by the NBA? Oh for crying out loud... literally.

NFL: No. 21 in this newly redesigned jersey will be a Top 3 seller among NFL fans.

MLB: Gary Matthews denies taking HGH. Well, of COURSE he does. And short of anyone with proof he took it, it's all speculation, at best.

Meanwhile, the Albany DA will provide the names of all athletes involved in the recent PED bust to MLB. Intriguing! How fast before THOSE are leaked? Meanwhile, the NFL says they don't want to know. (Kidding: But, really, you know I'm not...)

Reptiles at spring training: I have heard that the movie sequel will be called "Snakes in a Press Box." The YouTube parody video writes itself.

But, seriously, are you paying attention to anything else in sports besides the Tournament? No. So here we go!

-- D.S.

221 comments:

1 – 200 of 221   Newer›   Newest»
Mikepcfl said...

I just read that I have the same Final 4 as Simmons' wife! (UCLA, FLorida, Texas, Ohio St) I am SO screwed in my pool.

Mikepcfl said...

Since I am first in, I will also make a quick shout out:

FEAR THE TURTLE!!!!

Awful Announcing- said...

Best. Day. Ever.

Mike- I wouldn't say you're screwed. If yours matched Simmons himself I'd be more worried.

Awful Announcing- said...

Oh and I second that....be afraid Dan....you know they're coming.....

FEAR THE TURTLE!!!!

Natsfan74 said...

3 hours, 17 minutes until all productive work stops!

17 days until Opening Day!

Big D said...

I'm just happy that ESPN didn't add any "confidence points" to the Tourney Challenge like they did with the BCS Challenge. That crap screwed me over.

I'm actually happy that yesterday was the day I had to stay at work until 10pm and not today - I can leave at noon and get home in just enough time to catch most of the games. Sweet.

Not to gloat or anything...

Danielle said...

Absolutely the best four days of the year!! I finally finished my bracket and am very NERVOUS!!! I also went with the "sheet of integrity" this year, lets see how that works out for me.

PS: I rescheduled a meeting with a client in jail so I wouldn't miss any games...is that wrong?

RevScottDeMangeMD said...

I heard the guy who wrote the Xavier and Wright State previews is one handsome son of a bitch!

jhawkjjm said...

You could argue that today isn't the greatest day of the year. You could argue that tomorrow is. If something awesome happens today, then you can't just wait to see what could happen tomorrow. Either way, these two days are absolutely fantastic.

I got KU over Florida in the final 4 so I don't know whether to hate Simmons for picking KU or love Dan for picking Florida. Which is worse, Simmon's curse or the Shanoff curse?

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

Have to work today but will probably leave work early tomorrow. Thank goodness for CBS Sportsline and the MMOD.

I am just curious how many people only do 1 bracket for every pool and how many here do multiple brackets?

Danielle said...

I have always done a different bracket for each pool. This year I submitted the same bracket for each pool. I think the "sheet of integrity" makes me much more nervous.

ToddTheJackass said...

Good luck to everyone's teams, except for FutureLegend's... and if there are any Texas Tech fans (Go BC!)

I'm bummed that the BC game is today at noon as I have a 1pm meeting with my grant manager (essentially the person who oversees the project I work on), so I can't get out of that... I even get tomorrow off for the holiday Evacuation Day (Don't ask).

The Coppin a Feel headline would've been awesome. At least Dan, with this blog, you'd be absolutely free to do that.

Shaggy said...

Here we go ..the begining of the end for all of you, I meant us, so what team do you all having going to the final four that you are the most worried about losing in the first game and hence destroying any hopes of actually winning...Me I have Wisconsin, Kansas, Texas, and Ohio ST..my fear is Texas...But as Dan would say I have drank for the cup of Durant, and I so want to believe..

CMFost said...

Ok, So who else is disappointed that Dan is leaving us to live blog on someone else blog. Come on Dan, you have your own blog post you comments here not there.

As for me, flying through every bit of work I need to get done today, so I will basically be finished by Noon.

but I am screwed tomorrow since I have to give a 2PM Web Demo. I should really work on getting that rescheduled

david said...

Thanks for spending half your post talking about yourself. That makes for GREAT reading.

Jackass.

Natsfan74 said...

My bracketology is a sheet of 95% integrity. I know going in who my final 8/4/2/1 teams are, but as I fill out each sheet I put what I am feeling at the moment for 1st round games. I have 3 brackets (money riding on 2/ ESPN Daily Quickie), and only have 3 differences, is that integrity?

Danielle: I thought I was bad for cancelling a meeting today, but at least my customer isn't in jail -- Yet

ToddTheJackass said...

Also, if there's anyone still interested in joining the Fantasy Baseball league that people from this blog has started, there's now a vacancy. The League is H2H, and is 7 x 7 I believe, with pitcher streaming frowned upon. Drafts next week.

If anyone's interested, they should contact Andy/Lenny.

CMFost said...

With the pools I am in I have a "SHEET of INTEGRITY" for that pool but being in 4 different pools I have 4 different Sheets of Integrity.

CMFost said...

Hey David no need to get nasty.

Brian in Oxford said...

Geez, and I thought simple phone calls this afternoon were going to be a pain in the ass.

I'll have IE and Firefox running separately so I can stream 2 games at once on my computer here.

Everything else operates at half speed for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, this job doesn't approve of beer in the office on Fridays like my old job did. (There is a pub about 200 yds away though....hmmmm.....)

Anyone else collect the sheets in their office? Already, twice, I've had to track down people who left lines blank. Gonzaga-UCLA, no winner picked. (They have Pitt beating whoever, anyways, but that's just throwing away points.)

CMFost said...

Ok, So what game is going to be the best today? And which match up do you thin as the most potential to have a big upset?

I am looking at Indaina/Gonzaga or Mich St/Marquette as being the best for a reall close done to the wire finish.

VCU over Duke or Oral Roberts over Wash St. is the best potential for an upset.

ToddTheJackass said...

I believe to a certain extent to the bracket of integrity, but honestly each time I get a bracket, I just fill it out as who I think will win at that given time. I think in one of my 5 brackets, I have a different final four, but all of them have Florida winning over UNC in the final.

But sometimes you just get a bracket and think, man, Oral Roberts is going to do it, or Old Dominion is going to make the Sweet Sixteen, and you just go with that.

I believe in not widely varying your bracket, but having slight variations, especially in a few games in the first two rounds, isn't a crime.

So I'm with Natsfan on that one.

Unknown said...

The Suns-Mavs game last night was probably the best NBA regular season game of the year. It felt like a playoff game. Nash scoring 10 points in 55 seconds to send the game into OT after Dirk missed a last second jumper.

Then almost a repeat in the first OT. One clutch shot to tie and another one almost going in to give the Suns the win. Finally two Mavs fouled out and the Suns squeaked by. Whew and I am not even an NBA fan really.


In a serious case of sour grapes, having Syracuse left out kind of made me lose my usual excitement over the tournament. I will just root against ACC teams, for mid-majors and Big East teams for lack of any better reason to cheer for one team over another.

Maybe if Duke loses in the first round I will get some enjoyment.

Also I am rooting heavily for Illinois and Arkansas to get blown out just to prove the committee wrong.

Unknown said...

Hey, I am leaving early today as well since it is maturity night at my son's middle school. Maybe I will learn something. If I get out a little earlier I might try to go for a bike ride if it is not raining since it is supposed to snow on Long Island tomorrow.

Perks said...

Merry Christmas everyone (sports fans)!

In leiu of family, I am grateful to be surrounded by:

a computer;
cbs' online watching feature;
my brackets;
Dan on deadspin; and,
My GW Colonials in the tournament!

Anonymous said...

fear the turtle!!!!

Mike pcfl is awesome

oh and by the way my final four is
maryland (completely irrational when it comes to them I have them winning the whole thing, of course this mehtod also won me 100 dollas with the colts so.) texas ( i too am amazed by durant) texanm ( law is too good) kansas (most balanced team and talanted team in the country.)

Anonymous said...

oh and furthermore is there anyone who is not a duke alumnus who is rooting against vcu.... anyonem i think that the worst thing that could happen for me would be duke wiinnning and the terps losing.....

CMFost said...

Jason - That is what is great about the tournament. We can all have different thoughts on what is going to happen in any given day. Also I think you are overrating Duke, let us not forget they are not acutally trending in an up direction coming into the tournament. In fact Duke comes in losers of 3 straight games. Not exactly what you want heading into the tourney. It is one of the reasons for a week i have been saying Duke goes out in the first round.

Matt T said...

I picked my final four on Monday, then read that Simmons and the Atlanta writer picked the same final four.

I didn't change anything though.

I wish we had done a NIT bracket. I picked 13/16 games in the first round.

Georgia and Fresno state combined for 31/62 threes. Highly entertaining

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

Todd thanks for the love. I cannot wait for the games to start a little over 2 hours and we are off.

Natsfan74 said...

I can't believe ESPN doesn't have a countdown clock on the front page. They've had one for a lot less important events than this. But we're inside 2 hours now.

I have entered the stage of "regret" in my brackets. My final four is Florida over Duke, Ohio State over Georgetown. Is Duke gonna lose in the first round and cost me tons of points?

Todd -- sorry to hear you left the baseball league. I hope we can find someone good to fill in, but it would have been fun competing with you.

CMFost said...

The ESPN Expert picks have some interesting potential upsets but pretty much all of them are picking a Florida repeat.



check it out

ToddTheJackass said...

@FutureLegend,

We kid because we love... and I kid because I really hate Duke.

I will say this, the worst thing is people who submit multiple brackets in money pools, where they differ their choices to win money. Totally against that. I have no problem varying some picks from pool to pool, but entering multiple brackets in the same pool is weak.

Andy said...

Not to change the topic from March Madness because that is the big topic of the day. However, we now have an open spot in our Dan Shan Fans fantasy baseball league. One player decided to drop out for various reasons which opens the door for someone else to join up. It's on Yahoo and it's H2H and there is a live draft next Tuesday at 8:45 ET, 7:45 CT. Email me if you'd like to join. The first person to email me will probably get in. My email address is lennyadlgolf[at]yahoo[dot]com.

Brian in Oxford said...

Get in line early. I'm number 12,421 in the VIP line. The general admission line is into the 20,000s and growing.

ToddTheJackass said...

Is there a spot where you can listen to an audiocast of the games? I don't think I could get away with watching the games, but probably could listen to some of them. Anyone know a site?

And Thanks Natsfan. It would've...

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

brian I am 2,280 in the VIP line. Hopefully we can get in before the first game is over

CMFost said...

Brian thanks for the heads up. I am 14,998 in the VIP line.

Andy said...

Damn, I'm 16,753

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

they are playing a message that they will be letting us in at 11:30 et. Please hurry

Mikepcfl said...

I'm heading out in about 30 mins. I traditionally take these two afternoons off from work. But nothing will top last year's first round when St Patrick's Day coincided with the first Friday of the tourney. The best day of my life!

Yes, I'm hoping for a Terp win and a Duke loss. I picked VCU in my one and only bracket because they have quick quards and that is Duke's main weakness. Shocker that an all white backcourt is on the slow side! lol

Andy said...

Once again, anyone that wants in the fantasy baseball league needs to email me at lennyadlgolf[at]yahoo[dot]com

Brian in Oxford said...

I think the first bunch all gets right in, if I remember last year several thousand at a time were "admitted" at a time. I'm in the 13,000s in my 2nd browser window, but IE gave me a scripting error, as it usually does. It had better stream the damned games!

CMFost said...

Todd, I look and they only way to get the games online looks like MMOD. But you could always log into MMOD and just keep it in the backround to hear the broadcast. Even though most people would be to tempted to watch.



click here for MMOD

Andy said...

drdoom, are you aware you have THREE big 12 teams in the final four?? The Big 12 wasn't even that good! You are f-ed!

Brian in Oxford said...

Anyone have a slingbox, where you hook your home TV up to your internet connection and then watch your own TV via the Internet somewhere else?

Anonymous said...

uhm yes andy i am, are u also aware that i have maryland winning it so i am screwed, mainly i picked that way because i am in a large uh monopoly money pool with like 25 people at a 15 monopoly money buy in, so winner takes 3/4 seecond gets 1/4 and third gets money back, everyone was picking similar teams so i figured my best shoit is bein sightly different, and i though anm/kansas would make it to the final four, maryland is just heart pick and texccas is me thinking that durant is the geratest player ever. and yes there is no way all four make it.

Kurt said...

"No Erin Andrews reference? No dick jokes? Yet he can work in Simmons? Then he mentions Joe Kim's Mammy and we don't get a picture? Go back to Harvard or Northwestern or wherever the hell you came from.

Poor Dan, always gettin hated on over at Deadspin yet he keeps goin back for more.

CMFost said...

I do not have a slingbox, but I am going to be travelling a lot soon, So i was thinking of getting one.

jhawkjjm said...

24,493 in line at 9:58 cst. Ouch

Big 12 wasn't good? Depends how you look at it. 6 new coaches this year. The bottom of the Big XII was weaker this year than it has been in awhile. But there's no doubting that the top 3 teams from the Big XII are 3 of the better teams in the country and can play with anyone. I can't think of another conference out there that has 3 high quality teams at the top.

ToddTheJackass said...

Thanks CMFost for looking. I'll just have to do that then.

I'm in the 20,000s... If I remember from last year it moves pretty quickly.

Here's hoping to no one getting fired today!

Brian in Oxford said...

Why am I even here? I should be watching the pre-game show. You know, the one with Bob Barker.

CMFost said...

Wow I would hate to be the guy who is currently last in line for the gen admission line. #58,037.

Perks said...

Number 8521 here. Man, how many do you think get in at first?!

Andy said...

Control the pet population. Have your pets spayed and neutured.

ToddTheJackass said...

I remember last year being in the 200,000s, and eventually getting to watch a lot of the games. So it moves pretty quickly as a lot of people have to turn it off at work, or have computer issues.

Mikepcfl said...

Ahh, Erin Andrews...too bad she cant be loaned to CBS for the tournament.

CMFost said...

Ok, So what is everyones predictions for the first three 12:30 games today. Here are mine:

Maryland over Davidson
Texas Tech over BC
Louisville over Stanford

Brian in Oxford said...

So does the west coast get a 9 am PT game, or do they just get 4 straight games starting with the 2nd games of the day, and including that game that "nobody gets" at 5 ET?

Andy said...

Do the general admission people ever get in? I mean, the VIP's should all get in before them. And VIP's keep getting in line. So theoretically, the gens won't even get in right?

CMFost said...

Looking at todays scheduled:
12:20: 3 Games - MD vs Dav, BC vs TT, and Stan Vs Lou

2:30: 4 Games - ORU V WasSt, ODU v But, Bel v GU, Penn v A&M

4:40: 1 Games - GW v Vandy

7:00: 4 Games - CCS v tOSU, VCU v Duke, Mich St v Marq, WS v UCLA

9:00: 4 Games - X v BYU, WS v Pitt, EK v NC, Gon v IU

Brian in Oxford said...

the GA people do get in, but it can take about half an hour or more. I remember laughing at my assistant last year who didn't get a VIP thing.

Natsfan74 said...

Slingbox is perhaps one of the greatest things ever invented.

We use ours to watch college football gameday on a palm treo when driving to the game (2 hour drive), and then on a computer with wireless connection while tailgating.

I wonder if I could hook mine up to my office computer today?

CMFost said...

Just for the hell of it my National Championship Prediction:

Florida over Ohio State - just have to go with what I predicted several months ago that Florida would beat Ohio State 3 times.

Once in the NC Football
Once in the regular season BB Game
and once in the NC BB Game

CMFost said...

I guess I will have to remember to get in line tomorrow as soon as I get into the office.

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

fost I did that this morning and got kicked out because of no activity. I think the line starts at 10 ET which is 9 for me

Natsfan74 said...

My championship prediction is Ohio State over Florida because I thought it would be great to see how the expectations could be exactly reversed. Popular sentiment was Florida couldn't beat OSU in football and couldn't be beat in basketball. Besides being an OSU Homer, it's also a great role reversal, and the best way to win any pool.

Natsfan74 said...

I just downloaded my slingbox to my office computer. Whoever mentioned that is now my hero!

CMFost said...

Ok, So know it is 11:35 that they will start letting people in

Andy said...

So, it's 11:30 ET and they switched it to 11:35. LAME!

Brian in Oxford said...

uh oh they changed their target time from 11:30 to 11:35....

Brian in Oxford said...

...not to belabor the point.

ToddTheJackass said...

Maryland over Davidson - I think Maryland can win even if Mike James has one of his games where he might as well be in a different area code.

BC over Texas Tech - Sort of a "who shows up game" as either could lose since both teams have had their ups and downs. I like BC more because I'm a BC alum, and I think they're a little bit deeper of a team than Tech.

Louisville over Stanford - Louisville is playing pretty solid bball right now, and my East Coast Bias suggests I can't vote for Stanford.

CMFost said...

So here is my problem, Do I go run out and get something for lunch before the games start or do I wait until the games start and risk getting sucked into watching them and not get back to the office for too long of a time and get fired?

CMFost said...

so how much would it suck to be #1 in the general admission line knowing you have to wait for 55K+ people to get in before you.

CMFost said...

looks like there letting in about 2000 people eveery 20 seconds

Brian in Oxford said...

looks like about a couple of thousand at a time....

ToddTheJackass said...

They're admitting people from both lines at the moment. I'm in GA (didn't realize it until it was too late), and I've moved up considerably already.

Brian in Oxford said...

i'm number 35 in the vip line

Brian in Oxford said...

oh shit, i got bumped!

CMFost said...

Yes, I am in

CMFost said...

Todd it looks like they have an option for audio only once you get in.

Brian in Oxford said...

I'm in on one and back to 40,000th in the VIP line again. please click here to get back in line, my ass.

Patriots64 said...

I am in and it works in Canada, woohoo!

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

I hope they dont' bump people for inactivity. I think I am going to play that bball game on the sidebar.

CMFost said...

wow I suck at that game on the side

Anonymous said...

fear the turtle!!!! oh and i just switched texas to gerogetown fo my final 4, g town is too good, and i know the third (john thompson)... and i know gtrwons offensive corrdinator nad mybro thinks he is going dere... so once again all tht bias and they arebtter.

CMFost said...

You have to be F'n kidding me. They are not going to let me watch the BC game becuase it is on my local affliate.

Can someone please help????

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

i suck at that game too fost. Next year maybe find an address in Montana that will let you watch the east coast games.

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

i just nailed a shot from off the side in that game.

Brian in Oxford said...

I think they can tell by the IP address of where you're connected from. That's what the MLB folks told me, because I live on the edge of Red Sox territory and was worried about not being able to stream games. And the NCAA thing is partnered with MLB, so it wouldn't surprise me that even if you gave them a Montana address, they'd still know you were in Massachusetts.

Danielle said...

@cmfost

are you serious??

That means I am going to be screwed too. Can we listen to it on WEEI?

CMFost said...

I just tried to sign up with a California Address to see what happens.

Brian in Oxford said...

oh good God, the line's trickling in about 200 at a time now (on Firefox). Is the "select a game" screen supposed to be blank at this point still? (on IE)

Andy said...

Dude, I totally got 48 seconds on that game on the side

Patriots64 said...

free throw game > ball on finger game

Andy said...

I'm gonna get screwed by the slow network on campus here. I hate private schools and their crap IT departments......

Danielle said...

Okay, I think I can't figure this out.

Patriots64 said...

@ Brian There is a spinning ball on the screen that says totally free live online.

Patriots64 said...

Showing warmups now. Had sound for 2 seconds.

Brian in Oxford said...

That's what I thought...and sure enough, hitting refresh bumped me out of THAT, and back to the end of the line. I was trying to get some old highlights up on my screen to watch (UConn-Washington '98 has an awesome call by McDonough) and nothing was happening.

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

Do you think Gary Williams has already sweated through his shirt and jacket?

Patriots64 said...

I guess I won't go visit Dan at Deadspin cause that site usually crashes IE.

Andy said...

So I've got the Maryland-Davidson game on MMOD. Is it just me, or does that stadium seem EXTREMELY empty??

Brian in Oxford said...

I'm stuck with WEEI on until I get further than 13,000 away from the front of the VIP line.

Patriots64 said...

An ok to keep viewing just came up so pay attention or you will get booted.

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

anyone else not have any sound or the sound comes and goes

Danielle said...

Brian,

I also somehow got bumped. Not too friggin pleased with that. I too will have to listen on WEEI.

Brian in Oxford said...

yeah, they warn you every half hour to hit a button within 5 minutes, or you get bumped. the line has picked up again suddenly, but it still sucks.

Patriots64 said...

Sound works for the commercials not the games.

Brian in Oxford said...

there's no audio until the game actually starts. you don't want to hear the announcers clearing their throats and ordering gatorade to drink while they're working, etc....

ToddTheJackass said...

So are we going to do a live blogging comment board here? I assume so. Should we set some guidelines to make this run smoother?

Brian in Oxford said...

I wonder if I'm getting bumped because I'm in 2 lines at a time with the same ID. The error message (again!) seems to indicate that.

CMFost said...

My computer does not have any sound, no speaker, crappy work computer, can someone keep me up as to what is going on in the BC game

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

and were off

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

fost i got you for the bc game

Patriots64 said...

Darryl Strawberry's kid is playing, any jokes?

CMFost said...

Ouch that looks like it hurt

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

He's really got a nose for the ball

CMFost said...

Maryland looking a little sloppy early

ToddTheJackass said...

You can still listen to the BC game, though you can't watch it if you're in the Boston area.

Go Eagles!

CMFost said...

Wow no need to take a shot from that far out.

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

Every BC player is wearing headbands. I always love when a team does that and the goofy white guy is also wearing the headband. Just good times.

ToddTheJackass said...

Erg, bad start for BC. Can't afford to get Dudley in foul trouble.

CMFost said...

This Davidson team like throwing up some threes

Patriots64 said...

Dick Enberg is great, BC up 3-0

CMFost said...

9-0 run for MD

ToddTheJackass said...

BC up 5-2. Sounds like both teams are shooting poorly early. And that Texas Tech has mastered the Hard Foul.

Patriots64 said...

Louisville up 4-0.

CMFost said...

Louisville with a 4-0 start

CMFost said...

How big of an advantage do you think Louisville has playing in there home state?

Patriots64 said...

8-2 Louisville.

CMFost said...

Looks like Louisville press D is giving Stanford problems 10-2

Patriots64 said...

12-2 Louisville.

CMFost said...

Davidson on a 9-2 run, lead 20-17 over MD

CMFost said...

oops makes that 22-19

Patriots64 said...

Is Buffalo in the Midwest now & Sacramento in the east lol?

CMFost said...

Any update on BC, Is Dudley really in early foul trouble, looks like he has 2 already?

Danielle said...

He does have two. The announcers said it was the worst call they have seen in 5 or 6 games.

Patriots64 said...

Spears in for Dudley, 24-18 TV timeout.

ToddTheJackass said...

BC is up 24-18 on T-Tech.

BC is distributing the ball fairly well. Dudley has 6 early.

Both teams are doing well when getting established defensively.

Looks to be a grind.

Brian in Oxford said...

this still sucks. I have restarted my browsers, and now the lines to get back in have stalled. I was 5500th 3 minutes ago, and I haven't moved off that spot. Only the line has gotten 4 times longer.

Patriots64 said...

29-24 BC!

CMFost said...

Wow, Louisville is just killing Stanford, 25-10

Patriots64 said...

34-31 TV timeout.

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

Davidson 35
Twerps-27

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

Now 35-30 Davidson

Patriots64 said...

Tony K picked Louisville to the Final 4.

ToddTheJackass said...

Oh, that's crap. I was in, and listening to the audio, but it kicked me out due to inactivity. Why would I be active if I just have it on Audio?

This sucks...

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

Davidson better start finding other baskets to shoot besides the 3. They are not going to outrebound MD and they really seem to have no inside game.

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

that was a lazy pass by the "princeton of the south"

Andy said...

TT35-BC36

Andy said...

Dudley with 3 fouls with 1:40 left in the 1st half!! BC is in trouble!!

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

3 fouls on Dudley and that was an obvious flop dude barely touched him

CMFost said...

Hey Future, If they keep hitting them it wont matter if they can not rebound

Patriots64 said...

41-39 BC!

CMFost said...

Gary Williams does not look happy

Andy said...

Boston COllege 41
Texas Tech 39

Halftime

CMFost said...

Ok, So is louisville this good or is stanford that bad???

35-12 Louisville

ToddTheJackass said...

Dudley is usually pretty smart about playing with fouls. That however, was not a smart foul on Jared.

Lately it's been Tyrese Rice carrying BC. That trend seems to be continuing today.

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

fost i'm flipping and everytime i see Davidson they are hoisting a 3 and the long rebound is going to MD for a fast break.

Andy said...

Stanford is jsut that bad. They never should have been in the tourney.

Brian in Oxford said...

finally, i upgraded to firefox 2 instead of 1.5 and it's working. IE still blows (surprise)

CMFost said...

Louisville just ripped off 6 quick point 41-13.

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

Man Stanford does suck what the fuck could Drexel not have done the same thing or made the game competative?

ToddTheJackass said...

Wow, Stanford really sucks.

CMFost said...

If this MD-Davidson games keeps up the final score is going to be an NBA like 101-98

Mega said...

I have MD in my elite 8. Do not blow it!

Brian in Oxford said...

I just went over to the one guy in the pool with Stanford (in the sweet 16, never mind winning just 1 game) and had a little fun at his expense.

ToddTheJackass said...

So, did anybody pick Stanford to do anything? I'm thankful for my East Coast Bias.

CMFost said...

Dan's Comment on Deadspin
"On TV, we are watching whatever the local CBS affiliate is showing. And we're attempting to use CBS' much-balleyhooed "MMOD" service that lets us watch games online as "VIPs." Last year, they apparently had some "crowd-control" issues. If we can't get access today, I will hurtle myself against the HQ wall until I black out -- or read Gregg Doyel's insightful stylings until my eyes bleed."

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

Very nice Doyel crack. Doyel is a horrible writer.

Mikepcfl said...

Should I start complaining about the refs screwing Maryland now? lol

Come on, the refs have called 2 fouls each on the Terps starting line up and Davidson is an outside shooting team. Did Duke send their 'special' refs for this game?

Maryland is playing like crap though and Davidson is playing as well as they can, so I will take a halftime lead.

Patriots64 said...

CBS Sportsline scoreboard is about 30 secs ahead of the MMOD service.

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

Man Mike you would think after sweeping Duke and winning 4 of the last 5 against the Blue Devils you would not have much to complain about when it comes to officiating. Gary Williams and his paronoia that Duke gets all the calls has really seeped into the mindset of Turtle nation hasn't it.

CMFost said...

Looks Like Louisville-Stanford is going to be a bigger blow out then any of the 1 vs 16 games

Mikepcfl said...

Yes, we are all paranoid. I admit it!

ToddTheJackass said...

First time that BC has led at the half in its last 9 games. Wow...

Andy said...

I have Maryland beating Florida to the Elite 8. They had better freaking beat Davidson.....

CMFost said...

Todd nice channelling of Teddy Sarandis.

Patriots64 said...

I took Louisville to the Sweet 16 on my Patriots64 bracket.

CMFost said...

Ok, So Maryland if they lose today can only hurt me in 1 of the 5 pools I am in.

1- Pool I have them in the sweet 16
2- I have them losing in the 2nd round
2- I have them losing to Davidson

CMFost said...

This is a great line from Dan over at Deadspin

"1:24: Is anyone else with MMOD access strangely fascinated by the MMOD-exclusive "studio show?" It's like cable access, with a wee bit more self-seriousness. I know they've only been on the "air" (or whatever) for about 10 minutes, so I don't want to be TOO harsh too early, but here's my hint: Lighten up! Make it fun! It should feel more like a couple employees gathered around a computer in a cubicle. Lose the mock professionalism completely. Think: Fun! Fun! Fun! (If I might say: Make it more like, say, a live-blog...)"

ToddTheJackass said...

Sarandis has to be the biggest homer in the history of man... it's almost embarrassing as a BC fan listening to him.

Looks like BC-TTech is going to come down to who has the ball last.

Teams went from playing great defense, to both teams playing all offense.

Patriots64 said...

Bobby Knight is gonna start throwing chairs soon!

Andy said...

So I downloaded Firefox because someone said it's better earlier. I can't say I'm too impressed yet......

Unknown said...

I said when the bracket came out that I'd rather play any team that missed the tourney, any other 13 seed, and any 12 seed instead of Davidson.

And I meant it.

Patriots64 said...

Davidson up 52-44. Let's go Maryland!

Patriots64 said...

BC 59-58.

ToddTheJackass said...

As a BC alum, my heartbeat is going crazy. Not sure I can take this...

This game has been incredible. What a way to start the tournament.

I'm a big fan of kicking someone while they're down, so I'll say this. It's fun to see the Stanford Tree burn in flames...

ToddTheJackass said...

Come on Maryland!!!

Gotta pull for the non-Duke ACC brethren.

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

BC is up 6 now

ToddTheJackass said...

Wow, Sean Marshall is feeling it. Big mismatch for Tech.

If only the motion offense wouldn't be destroying BC, then this would be a blowout.

BC up 68-62.

Natsfan74 said...

Well, I don't feel so worried now picking Louisville over Texas A&M. Maybe I picked the wrong 6 seed to go to the Final 4?

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

I have a question for BC fans does it bother you that Dudley and Marshall both always have something to say when the ref makes a call. After every call that goes against them they are always whining to the official.

Patriots64 said...

Maryland take the lead!!!!!!!!

Andy said...

Firefox sucks. I can't even get the video to play on it.

ToddTheJackass said...

It bothers me a little when Dudley and Marshall do it. But for the most part, they're just emotional players, and that's the other side of it.

They're far from the worst whiners I've ever seen, but they do talk. The one thing I will say though is that I can't remember one instance this year where either guy has gotten a technical foul, so they do tend to just argue the calls (as co-captains), instead of insulting the refs.

ToddTheJackass said...

Wow, 2 great games out of 3 is a hell of a way to start the tourney. Let's go ACC!!!

ToddTheJackass said...

Dan wrote:

2:06: Like an election night, as games wind down, the challenge is figuring out when to "call it." Like perhaps, when Dudley just hit that turnaround in the lane to put BC up 7.

I'm pretty sure we just lost because Dan said that...

Damn you Dan!!!

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