after the first half of the sweet 16, here's where the poop on boozer staff stands:
1st: d.r.w. (38 of 52)
2nd: k.c.r. (37 of 52)
3rd: k.l. (36 of 52)
i'm hanging tough, though - especially because d.r.w has memphis in his finals. let's go no. 3 seeds!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
day 1 bracket update
after day 1, here's where the poop on boozer staff stands:
1st: k.l. (15 of 16)
2nd: k.c.r. (13 of 16)
3rd: d.r.w. (12 of 16)
i think k.c.r. and d.r.w. are just celebrating that memphis didn't choke and ruin their final four!
1st: k.l. (15 of 16)
2nd: k.c.r. (13 of 16)
3rd: d.r.w. (12 of 16)
i think k.c.r. and d.r.w. are just celebrating that memphis didn't choke and ruin their final four!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
poop on ranked mid-major teams
poop on butler.
the 16th/17th-ranked bulldogs lost to cleveland state in the horizon league championship tuesday night, losing 57-54 as the vikings rained threes in indianapolis. awesome, right? everyone loves an underdog!
nope.
by losing, butler handed cleveland state its first berth in the ncaa tournament since 1986. again, awesome, right? this is what makes march MAD!
nope.
see, here's the thing. butler was going to make the dance regardless of last night's result. but now, we have to deal with TWO horizon league teams in the tournament.
yes, the last time they were there, the vikings upset the 3rd-seeded hoosiers and generated some serious excitement. but would you really rather watch cleveland state instead of teams like maryland or arizona? these squads are in danger of not making the tournament if random upsets like this continue to happen in mid-major conference tournaments.
so poop on you, butler bulldogs, for ruining the dreams of fans of ACTUALLY exciting teams in the REAL basketball conferences. while all 16,000 cleveland state students are undoubtedly quite excited about their berth, i'm sure that the crowd of 29,000 (and 240,000 alumni!) at college park is raving mad.
the 16th/17th-ranked bulldogs lost to cleveland state in the horizon league championship tuesday night, losing 57-54 as the vikings rained threes in indianapolis. awesome, right? everyone loves an underdog!
nope.
by losing, butler handed cleveland state its first berth in the ncaa tournament since 1986. again, awesome, right? this is what makes march MAD!
nope.
see, here's the thing. butler was going to make the dance regardless of last night's result. but now, we have to deal with TWO horizon league teams in the tournament.
yes, the last time they were there, the vikings upset the 3rd-seeded hoosiers and generated some serious excitement. but would you really rather watch cleveland state instead of teams like maryland or arizona? these squads are in danger of not making the tournament if random upsets like this continue to happen in mid-major conference tournaments.
so poop on you, butler bulldogs, for ruining the dreams of fans of ACTUALLY exciting teams in the REAL basketball conferences. while all 16,000 cleveland state students are undoubtedly quite excited about their berth, i'm sure that the crowd of 29,000 (and 240,000 alumni!) at college park is raving mad.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
question of the day
as posed by d.r.w.: why is tim lincecum's contract figure so low?
the associated press reported that the cy young winner signed a one-year, $650,000 contract with the giants thursday. that's not even double the league minimum.
huh, you might wonder.
it seems that lincecum is probably more concerned about what happens post-2009. as the AP further reports, he is likely to be eligible for arbitration after this season.
read: BIG BUCKS.
if lincecum can post the sort of numbers he did this year, he stands to get a contract that might come close (but surely not all the way) to rivaling that of rotation-mate barry zito. so why not take the easy contract now with a team and pitching coach that he's comfortable with and go for the bigtime in a year?
still, it seems like he could have squeezed a little more out of the giants. is the kid just that nice? or is he pumped about a rotation that now features three cy young winners (lincecum, zito, and randy johnson)?
you may not be excited about lincecum or the giants, but you should sure as hell be excited that it's spring training. baseball is BACK.
the associated press reported that the cy young winner signed a one-year, $650,000 contract with the giants thursday. that's not even double the league minimum.
huh, you might wonder.
it seems that lincecum is probably more concerned about what happens post-2009. as the AP further reports, he is likely to be eligible for arbitration after this season.
read: BIG BUCKS.
if lincecum can post the sort of numbers he did this year, he stands to get a contract that might come close (but surely not all the way) to rivaling that of rotation-mate barry zito. so why not take the easy contract now with a team and pitching coach that he's comfortable with and go for the bigtime in a year?
still, it seems like he could have squeezed a little more out of the giants. is the kid just that nice? or is he pumped about a rotation that now features three cy young winners (lincecum, zito, and randy johnson)?
you may not be excited about lincecum or the giants, but you should sure as hell be excited that it's spring training. baseball is BACK.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
_______________________
What is the sound of silence?
Pointless philosophical drivel? Sure. But also an important question when posed in reference to the A-Rod scandal. One of the biggest sports stories of the past few months at least, and three POB writers (and one guest writer!), one of them an avowed Yankees-hater, have remained conspicuously silent on the subject. What does this mean? That we all have lives--jobs, wives, kids, what have you--and are too busy to post? Sure, it means all of that. But it also means this: the A-Rod scandal is boring.
Go ahead, say it. It's okay to admit it. It doesn't take anything away from it; a story can be important and boring at the same time. But even for A-Rod haters, what's interesting about this story? He took an illegal substance, but at this point, it's starting to seem like everyone did, at least among the great hitters of this era. We don't get an infuriating/entertaining denial a la Bonds/Clemens, or fun, evasive squirming a la Sosa/McGwire. We get a perfunctory apology and that's it. Baseball's cheaters have wised up, and in doing so, become less fun to hate. A-Rod seems as lifeless when reacting to a steroids scandal as he does playing in front of 40,000 home fans that hate him.
The big news--that 103 other people also failed drug tests--isn't even news, since we don't know who they are. And there don't seem to be any signs of Major League Baseball changing its policies. So, to sum up: we've confirmed the sneaking suspicion that everybody's been cheating, we're still not going to do anything about it, and A-Rod is sorry, but he promises that he only took substances that one time they were testing for them, and he's not even sure what they were, and he's totally sorry. Seriously, the most interesting part of this whole story was when A-Rod was bright orange for his entire confession and used the term "loosey-goosey" for some reason. When do actual baseball games start?
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
GUEST POST: poop on the top line!
since we here at poop on boozer have been slow with the posts recently - hey, come on, we have to earn our rent, too! - here's a guest post from the one and only r.e. to keep you entertained.
yeah, i know he writes a lot. give him a break - it's tough being a tar heels fan in 2009.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As an avid follower of both emerging technologies and most major American sports, usually my life only gets better when the two worlds collide. Just think – hasn’t TiVo changed the way you watch sports (read: instant replay)? How much better is watching football on a 42-inch HD set compared to your old 32-inch CRT? How much more intense is March when you can see individual beads of sweat fling off Stephen Curry’s hand as he buries a three to down Georgetown? Sports, in part, is about the drama created through amazing athleticism, and as technology improves, so does our ability to both appreciate the art of the game, and to become immersed in the event as if we were truly taking part.
It therefore came as such a surprise to my roommate, Poop on Boozer beat writer K.L. (I’d say the one-and-only, but I don’t want Facebook to make a liar out of me), to hear me verbally abusing the television set because of a technological advance, not due to the lack of one of my many likely ill-fated technological pipe dreams (don’t you also want to smell Stephen Curry’s sweat?). For those of you who tuned in to the predictably… well, predictable BC / Maryland game on ESPN2 tonight, you probably already know what my beef is, because you’ve been thinking the same thing for the last two hours: for what possible reason do I need to read comments from viewers who likely know less about basketball than I do?
My apologies – let’s take a step back. As part of its ongoing effort to widen its appeal across audiences and across platforms, ESPN is piloting an updated version of “Interactive Tuesdays.” Yes, I can already hear you groaning, and rightfully so. To put it short, “Interactive Tuesdays” is a broad expansion of tools like the SportsNation poll (which, let’s face it, is completely and shamelessly biased based on users’ geographic location) from the web straight to your TV. Individuals (who require no more certification than a free ESPN.com account) can submit comments via ESPN.com (search “Interactive,” as if embedded searches ever work) or text message (to 43776) to discuss the featured game of the day. This is nothing new; ESPN.com has held similar chats with experts as well as allowed users to comment on news articles in the past in an effort to build an online community. What is new, however, is that now a selection of these comments (obviously filtered by someone in the Bristol mailroom) are displayed in a new scrolling “Top Line” (all rights reserved, R.E., 2009) above the actual action you tuned in to watch.
Now, you tell me: why, exactly, should I care what users like “Sheydel” ("Maryland has to take better shots…") or “asimpso1” ("MARYLAND is SOOOOO bad!!!! Hahahahahaa") have to say, even if they’re right (Maryland did need to take better shots, and, let’s be honest – how many more times can Maryland jump out to a commanding lead only to buckle under the – wait, what pressure?)? Find yourself speechless? I hope so. As it is, half of the ‘insights’ and ‘analysis’ provided by the broadcasters literally came out of my mouth 30 seconds earlier (and likely several other times throughout the game), and I doubt that these other guys have anything else of any value to add. At least when Dicky V talks about some Duke kid in a diaper, he doesn’t get in the way of Danny Green sticking it to Greg what’s-his-face-I-don’t-remember-because-he-got-benched-his-senior-year.
To give ESPN some credit, at least they’re trying something different and attempting to enhance the fan experience. It even makes sense from a business perspective – this program increases awareness of additional features on the website, which drives traffic (and thus ad revenue), increases attachment to the brand, and so on. However, let me suggest that they make some other more basic improvements instead. Like, for instance, the indiscernible lack of HD coverage on nationally-broadcast weeknight games. I understand that Maryland doesn’t hold the same national prowess as it did in the early 2000s, and that they are fresh off a seemingly 98-point loss to the Blue Babies, but why on Earth was this game left in standard definition while the other ACC game (Miami vs. NC State) did get the special treatment, even though it was broadcast on ESPNU, which only .0034% of the country actually gets? Think, ESPN, please; if you’re going to cut off the top of my screen with useless comments, at least give me some 1080p coverage instead of those grey ESPN logos on the left and right.
On a day that clearly could have gone better for Terps everywhere, hopefully Gary Williams can take solace in knowing that user “neal990” ("I think Gary Williams got fired at halftime, that explains this collapse") has a short memory (as much as it pains me to throw in a Duke highlight, hopefully it only gives credence and a level of balance in this otherwise biased post), and won’t be among the masses calling for his head at season’s end.
So, ESPN, there you have it – Poop on the Top Line (all rights still reserved).
Whoops... looks like I owe myself a benjamin.
yeah, i know he writes a lot. give him a break - it's tough being a tar heels fan in 2009.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As an avid follower of both emerging technologies and most major American sports, usually my life only gets better when the two worlds collide. Just think – hasn’t TiVo changed the way you watch sports (read: instant replay)? How much better is watching football on a 42-inch HD set compared to your old 32-inch CRT? How much more intense is March when you can see individual beads of sweat fling off Stephen Curry’s hand as he buries a three to down Georgetown? Sports, in part, is about the drama created through amazing athleticism, and as technology improves, so does our ability to both appreciate the art of the game, and to become immersed in the event as if we were truly taking part.
It therefore came as such a surprise to my roommate, Poop on Boozer beat writer K.L. (I’d say the one-and-only, but I don’t want Facebook to make a liar out of me), to hear me verbally abusing the television set because of a technological advance, not due to the lack of one of my many likely ill-fated technological pipe dreams (don’t you also want to smell Stephen Curry’s sweat?). For those of you who tuned in to the predictably… well, predictable BC / Maryland game on ESPN2 tonight, you probably already know what my beef is, because you’ve been thinking the same thing for the last two hours: for what possible reason do I need to read comments from viewers who likely know less about basketball than I do?
My apologies – let’s take a step back. As part of its ongoing effort to widen its appeal across audiences and across platforms, ESPN is piloting an updated version of “Interactive Tuesdays.” Yes, I can already hear you groaning, and rightfully so. To put it short, “Interactive Tuesdays” is a broad expansion of tools like the SportsNation poll (which, let’s face it, is completely and shamelessly biased based on users’ geographic location) from the web straight to your TV. Individuals (who require no more certification than a free ESPN.com account) can submit comments via ESPN.com (search “Interactive,” as if embedded searches ever work) or text message (to 43776) to discuss the featured game of the day. This is nothing new; ESPN.com has held similar chats with experts as well as allowed users to comment on news articles in the past in an effort to build an online community. What is new, however, is that now a selection of these comments (obviously filtered by someone in the Bristol mailroom) are displayed in a new scrolling “Top Line” (all rights reserved, R.E., 2009) above the actual action you tuned in to watch.
Now, you tell me: why, exactly, should I care what users like “Sheydel” ("Maryland has to take better shots…") or “asimpso1” ("MARYLAND is SOOOOO bad!!!! Hahahahahaa") have to say, even if they’re right (Maryland did need to take better shots, and, let’s be honest – how many more times can Maryland jump out to a commanding lead only to buckle under the – wait, what pressure?)? Find yourself speechless? I hope so. As it is, half of the ‘insights’ and ‘analysis’ provided by the broadcasters literally came out of my mouth 30 seconds earlier (and likely several other times throughout the game), and I doubt that these other guys have anything else of any value to add. At least when Dicky V talks about some Duke kid in a diaper, he doesn’t get in the way of Danny Green sticking it to Greg what’s-his-face-I-don’t-remember-because-he-got-benched-his-senior-year.
To give ESPN some credit, at least they’re trying something different and attempting to enhance the fan experience. It even makes sense from a business perspective – this program increases awareness of additional features on the website, which drives traffic (and thus ad revenue), increases attachment to the brand, and so on. However, let me suggest that they make some other more basic improvements instead. Like, for instance, the indiscernible lack of HD coverage on nationally-broadcast weeknight games. I understand that Maryland doesn’t hold the same national prowess as it did in the early 2000s, and that they are fresh off a seemingly 98-point loss to the Blue Babies, but why on Earth was this game left in standard definition while the other ACC game (Miami vs. NC State) did get the special treatment, even though it was broadcast on ESPNU, which only .0034% of the country actually gets? Think, ESPN, please; if you’re going to cut off the top of my screen with useless comments, at least give me some 1080p coverage instead of those grey ESPN logos on the left and right.
On a day that clearly could have gone better for Terps everywhere, hopefully Gary Williams can take solace in knowing that user “neal990” ("I think Gary Williams got fired at halftime, that explains this collapse") has a short memory (as much as it pains me to throw in a Duke highlight, hopefully it only gives credence and a level of balance in this otherwise biased post), and won’t be among the masses calling for his head at season’s end.
So, ESPN, there you have it – Poop on the Top Line (all rights still reserved).
Whoops... looks like I owe myself a benjamin.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Odom's Gesture
The Clippers filed a complaint to the NBA this weekend complaining about a certain "gesture" that Lamar Odom made after a 4th quarter dunk.
Unfortunately, I haven't seen the video, but apparently after the dunk, Odom grabbed his crotch. What that means? I don't know. Perhaps he got hit? Maybe it was like, "get off my jock"? I don't know, but it offended the Clips.
Just last week, after hitting a clutch 3, Kobe did the Pedro Cerrano "You have no marbles" dance (sorry, couldn't find a video from Major League II, but here's the Kobe ).
That's certainly more "offensive" than anything Lamar probably did, but you don't see the Spurs complaining. Maybe because they won? Or maybe because they aren't the Clippers and sitting at 10-32 halfway through the year. Either way, this is the NBA, and players are obscene. Get over it.
Unfortunately, I haven't seen the video, but apparently after the dunk, Odom grabbed his crotch. What that means? I don't know. Perhaps he got hit? Maybe it was like, "get off my jock"? I don't know, but it offended the Clips.
Just last week, after hitting a clutch 3, Kobe did the Pedro Cerrano "You have no marbles" dance (sorry, couldn't find a video from Major League II, but here's the Kobe ).
That's certainly more "offensive" than anything Lamar probably did, but you don't see the Spurs complaining. Maybe because they won? Or maybe because they aren't the Clippers and sitting at 10-32 halfway through the year. Either way, this is the NBA, and players are obscene. Get over it.
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