04/19/24
March 13, 2011
SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
Rick Martin, of Sabres' French Connection, dead at 59
posted by tommybiden at 04:28 PM on March 13, 2011
Just watched the worst offensive half of basketball I've ever seen. Bucks are getting clowned by the Celtics. Turnovers, bad shots, no penetration. They don't even look like a NBA team... and they're a game out of the last playoff spot in the East.
posted by tron7 at 07:15 PM on March 13, 2011
I expected (and was hoping) that the one positive of the expanded NCAA tournament would be a decrease in the traditional post-bracket hand-wringing, but alas, it seems to be louder than ever. Why do these guys think that the first few teams who did not make the tournament is such a big deal? I understand in football, when the first teams left out are the third or fourth best teams, and that can be very much in debate, but the teams on the wrong side of the bubble today are tantamount to the 49th or 50th best teams. Sure, it sucks to be close and left out, but who cares who the 50th best team is?
posted by bender at 08:00 PM on March 13, 2011
Bender,
I agree. I'm amazed at some of the bitching from some of the teams. I will say that I'm at least glad that some of the spots went to mid-majors, rather than rewarding the 8th or 9th team in a Power 6 conference. This is why I'm absolutely against a playoff in college football. The pool inevitably gets diluted.
posted by Bonkers at 10:34 PM on March 13, 2011
The tv guys bait them into it. The round table on ESPN spent half an hour talking about why Colorado and VT were better teams than VCU and UAB before they finally moved on to the matchups of teams who actually were selected. I'm not saying that CU and VT are not better than VCU and UAB, but when you play in the Big XII and ACC, and you haven't proven over the course of the season that you belong in the tournament, then I'm not interested in hearing your (or anyone on your behalf's) complaints when you don't get selected.
I will say, if we have to accept adding more teams to the tournament, I do like that they have done so by having the last at-large teams play each other in the first round.
posted by bender at 10:59 PM on March 13, 2011
A pretty good if wayward at times summary of the last 30 years of cricket, war and politics in the country.
posted by owlhouse at 02:14 AM on March 14, 2011
An outstanding Grand Finals, and what a finish!
posted by billsaysthis at 09:42 AM on March 14, 2011
Brilliant game. However I had to watch it on the Herald's live blog. But that was better than my brother - he had to leave at full time.