Bagels & Biscuits

Do you prefer bagels and cream cheese or biscuits and gravy? Football on Saturdays or Sundays? Big 10 or SEC? The Braves or the Yankees? You know what? It doesn't matter. You can have it all right here.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

The Ever Shifting Bubble

Through games at 5:20 p.m. EST here is how the bubble is changing...

Mississippi State and Michigan have fallen completely off. Arkansas is flying up fast, but still on the outside, looking in. Oklahoma State is winning early right now. A win over Texas could catapult them up the list. Kansas State played Kansas close, but lost. Arkansas's victory certainly doesn't help the Wildcats. Purdue's loss to Ohio State won't kill them. Nor would an Illinois loss to Wisconsin (though Illinois can't afford to get lown out here in the last nine minutes of the game).

So...

Final Six In:
1. Old Dominion
2. Georgia Tech
3. Illinois
4. Purdue
5. Drexel
6. Texas Tech

First Eight Out:
1. Missouri State
2. Florida State
3. Arkansas
4. Kansas State
5. Oklahoma State
6. Air Force
7. West Virginia
8. Stanford

But what do I know? I'm not on the selection committee. If I were on the selection committee this is how I would want it to play out, but of course there are many factors being discussed by the committee right now. That, and they have more information to work with than I have. But, this is my best guess as of 5:20 p.m. EST.

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Seeding the Tournament

I've tried to once again seed the tournament...Here is what I've come up with...

East Rutherford Region
1. Florida
16. Niagra

8. Michigan State
9. Syracuse

4. Maryland
13. Wright State

5. Creighton
12. Gonzaga

3. Texas
14. Pennsylvania

6. Virginia Tech
11. Drexel

7. Louisville
10. Xavier

2. Wisconsin
15. Delaware State

St. Louis Region
1. Ohio State
16. Central Connecticut State/Mississippi Valley State

8. Virginia
9. Vanderbilt

4. Washington State
13. New Mexico State

5. Notre Dame
12. George Washington

3. Pittsburgh
14. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

6. Boston College
11. Texas Tech

7. Kentucky
10. Illinois

2. Memphis
15. Albany

San Jose Region
1. North Carolina
16. North Texas

8. Villanova
9. Arizona

4. Nevada
13. Holy Cross

5. BYU
12. Winthrop

3. Southern Illinois
14. Long Beach State

6. Marquette
11. Purdue

7. Duke
10. Virginia Commonwealth

2. UCLA
15. Eastern Kentukcy

San Antonio Region
1. Kansas
16. Weber State

8. Butler
9. Indiana

4. Oregon
13. Akron

5. UNLV
12. Davidson

3. Texas A&M
14. Oral Roberts

6. Tennessee
11. Georgia Tech

7. Southern California
10. Old Dominion

2. Georgetown
15. Belmont

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NCAA Tournament Projections: The Day Before

Selection Sunday is tomorrow! So let’s jump right into the fray here and let you know what is going on. I am going to change up the look so you can see all the bubble teams together (just a reminder, automatic bids are given to the highest team left in the tournament).

Bubble teams are really sweating it out now that both Xavier (Atlantic 10) and Nevada (Western Athletic) both lost in their respective semifinals. Both of those conferences would have been one-bid conferences had those teams won. Now, they are likely to be two-bid conferences stealing precious at-large space.

One-Bid Conferences (18):
America East: Vermont
Atlantic Sun: Belmont
Big Sky: Weber State
Big South: Winthrop
Big West: Long Beach State
Ivy: Pennsylvania
Metro Atlantic Athletic: Niagra
Mid Continent: Oral Roberts
Mid-America: Akron
Mid-Eastern Athletic: Delaware State
Northeast: Central Connecticut State
Ohio Valley: Eastern Kentucky
Patriot: Holy Cross
Southern: Davidson
Southland: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Southwest Athletic: Mississippi Valley State
Sunbelt: North Texas
West Coast Conference: Gonzaga

The following are one-bid conferences assuming the top seed wins.

Conference USA (1): Memphis

Now for the rest of the conferences (total current bids in parenthesis):

Atlantic 10 (2):
Automatic Bid: George Washington
Lock(s): Xavier
Bubble In: None
Bubble Out: None

Atlantic Coast Conference (7):
Automatic Bid: North Carolina
Lock(s): Boston College, Duke, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Maryland
Bubble In: Georgia Tech
Bubble Out: Florida State

Big 12 (4):
Automatic Bid: Kansas
Lock(s): Texas A&M, Texas
Bubble In: Texas Tech
Bubble Out: Kansas State

Big East (7):
Automatic Bid: Georgetown
Lock(s): Marquette, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Villanova, Louisville, Syracuse
Bubble In: None
Bubble Out: West Virginia

Big Ten (6):
Automatic Bid: Ohio State
Lock(s): Wisconsin, Michigan State, Indiana
Bubble In: Illinois, Purdue
Bubble Out: Michigan

Colonial Athletic (3):
Automatic Bid: Virginia Commonwealth
Lock(s): None
Bubble In: Old Dominion, Drexel
Bubble Out: None

Horizon (2):
Automatic Bid: Wright State
Lock(s): Butler
Bubble In: None
Bubble Out: None

Missouri Valley (2):
Automatic Bid: Creighton
Lock(s): Southern Illinois
Bubble In: None
Bubble Out: Missouri State

Mountain West (2):
Automatic Bid: BYU
Lock(s): UNLV
Bubble In: None
Bubble Out: Air Force

Pacific-10 (5):
Automatic Bid: Oregon
Lock(s): UCLA, USC, Arizona, Washington State
Bubble In: None
Bubble Out: Stanford

Southeastern (4):
Automatic Bid: Florida
Lock(s): Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Bubble In: None
Bubble Out: Arkansas, Mississippi State

Western Athletic (2):
Automatic Bid: New Mexico State
Lock(s): Nevada
Bubble In: None
Bubble Out: None

They way I figure it, there are six spots still left on the bubble with 16 teams fighting for those spots. That means a ton of possibilities over the next couple of days. Here is how I am breaking down the bubble:

Ranking the Final Six on the Inside:
1 Old Dominion
2 Illinois
3 Purdue
4 Georgia Tech
5 Drexel
6 Texas Tech

Ranking the 10 Teams on the Outside:
1 Missouri State
2 Florida State
3 Kansas State
4 Oklahoma State
5 Air Force
6 West Virginia
7 Stanford
8 Arkansas
9 Michigan
10 Mississippi State

With Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Arkansas and Mississippi State still in their respective conference tournaments, they have the biggest opportunity to jump up or down in the final rankings.

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Wednesday, March 07, 2007

ESPN can throw its weight around

IF NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is watching ESPN's SportsCenter right now, he's probably gritting his teeth. Maybe he's cursing under his breath. Or punching the wall.

Regardless of what he may be doing to vent his anger, he's probably not happy. And the source of his rage may have a lot to do with those clips of indoor football stealing valuable seconds from those few-and-far-between hockey highlights.
Bettman has seen how ESPN can giveth and taketh away.

The cable network, located in Bristol, Conn., has become sports' biggest superpower. Bigger than the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Lakers or Dallas Cowboys. Bigger than any of the leagues it has brokered deals with to televise their games. Bigger than perhaps ABC — a television giant in its own right that carries the ESPN logo on any athletic event it broadcasts.

ESPN is so influential it can sway the masses to stop paying attention to one sport and focus on another.

Remember when the last time the NHL was relevant?

Try May 27, 2005.

That was the day before ESPN declined the option to televise games for the upcoming hockey season and ended its agreement with the struggling league. The end of the NHL's relationship with the network came on the heels of a labor dispute between the players and owners that led to the cancellation of the previous season.

The NHL has since stuck a deal with Versus, which was formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network, to bring its product into homes across the nation. But it hasn't been the same for the NHL. While ESPN continues as a juggernaut, the NHL has been marginalized. It's hard to even classify hockey as one of the four major sports anymore.

Meanwhile, ESPN has tried to bolster the popularity of the Arena Football League, which it has owned a minority stake in since last December. Suddenly, clips of games that would never have never appeared on the network's most prominent program — SportsCenter — are being shown.

So are lengthy packages on the AFL's most prominent stars. It won't be surprising that in the coming years if the AFL gains a stronger foothold in the cluttered sports landscape.

In fact, with ESPN behind it, it would be more shocking if it didn't.
Gary Bettman knows this all too well. And he can't do anything about it.

Photo Source: www.cbc.ca