I Wish I Could See This In Person More Often

Ain’t nothin like it…

Fantasy Football Overreaction: Week 3

With the 3rd Pick of the 4th Round in the Cowbell Correctional Facility draft, drafting DeAngelo Williams seemed like the lesser of  about 10 running back evils. Cedric Benson. Christ, no. Beanie Wells. Not touching him. Hey, Javhid Best might break out, right? Pssshhhh. Knowshown Moreno has some potential. Yeah, so did Corey Feldman at one point in his career. All of these choices would have been infinitely better than Williams with the exception of Moreno (if everyone in Denver wasn’t so hard up for Tebow they might realize that KM is never healthy and hasn’t been since high school). But when you name your team after a reference  to a has-been soft rock singer the choice is simple. Draft Williams. Who cares if he hasn’t done shit since 2008?

Thank you, DeAngelo. Seriously. I put some sort of blind-retard faith in you and this is what I get. Cam Newton is laughing at me and it feels bad, man.

 

 

 

 

Bracket Math – How did I do?

I’m very pleased with my first attempt at bracketology.  One thing I’ll have to consider in the future is the selection committee’s hard-on for RPI.  I don’t like it and prefer Sagarin ratings, so I made most of my decisions based on those numbers. Also, it appears the selection committee frowns upon schools who play a weak OOC schedule.  In the end, those two things (RPI/weak OOC) put some blemishes on my bracket.

How did I do:

• I picked 65 of the 68 teams in the field.
• I nailed 35 teams exact seeds.
• I picked 19 teams within one seed line.
• So, 54 of 65 teams were exact or within one seed line

The general rule for bracket scoring is this:  3 points per correct team, 2 points for exact seed, and 1 point for within 1 seed (exact seeds count here too). A perfect score is 408.

My score is:  65 teams (x3) =195 / 35 exacts (x2) =70 / 54 within 1 =54

Total Score:  319

How did I fare against the “experts”?  Move over ‘Joey Brackets.’

• Bracketology 101: 64 of 68, 49 exact or within 1 seed = 299 score
• Joe Lunardi : 65 of 68, 51 exact or within 1 seed = 302 score
• Jerry Palm: 66 of 68, 52 exact or within 1 seed = 302 score

(Source of numbers: Bracketology 101 – They didn’t list the number of exact picks, someone had already figured them into the total. I’m going to do a count on my own when I get time later today, just to be sure.)

Final 2011 Bracket Projection

Selection Sunday has arrived.  A few things will happen in the next couple of hours: the official NCAA Tournament bracket will be released, some bubbles will burst, others will continue their journey into the tourney, and I’ll either get a nice self-esteem boost or realize how stupid I was for keeping UGA in and leaving Bama out. Whatever happens I’ve had a blast watching tons of basketball and deciding who I think is in or out.

Before we tip-off the greatest sporting event in the world, I’d like to say thanks to Championship Week.  Kemba, Princeton, Gus Johnson fueling the Huskies, SDSU’s revenge, Big shots from the Blackbirds, Penn State coming up HUGE, and Spider hugs.  Many thanks to a great week of basketball.

The selection show starts in an hour, and my attention will shift to filling out brackets instead of projecting the field.  Here’s the final bracket projection.

Last 4 in: Clemson, St. Mary’s, Georgia, Virginia Tech

First 4 out: Alabama, Boston College, UAB, USC

Next 4 out: Washington St, Missouri St., VCU, New Mexico

Mac’s Bracket Projection v4.2 (Championship Saturday update)

Two words: Nittany Lions.  Penn State’s wins over Wisconsin last night and Michigan State today will send them to the Dance.  They take USC’s spot.

Also, I have a new #1 seed.  The North Carolina Tar Heels.  I like the Heels to win the ACC Champ game tomorrow over Duke and take the #1 seed from Notre Dame.  If Duke wins, I’ll give them the top spot.

Last 4 in: Clemson, VA Tech, Georgia, Penn State

First 4 out: UAB, Alabama, USC, Boston College

Next 4 out: Missouri St, UTEP, Washington St, New Mexico

Mac’s Bracket Projection v4.1 (Championship Week update)

What I learned on Thursday:

-Colorado is safely in with a win over K-State.

-Georgia should feel better, but their game against Bama tomorrow is a play-in and I think UGA takes it and sends Bama to the NIT.

-UAB blew it.  No big wins. Couple of not so great loses. Donezo without some help.

-Notre Dame continues to look like a #1 seed.

-New Mexico’s win over CSU may not seem like much, but they have good wins vs Colorado and BYU (x2). If they beat BYU again tomorrow, they’ll sitting square on the bubble.

-After further review, USC has some really nice wins (Texas, Tenn, Zona, Washington, UCLA) and some awful loses (Rider, Bradley, TCU).  Big wins are huge with this weak bubble, so they are in my last 4 in now.

Last 4 in: Michigan, Michigan St, USC, Clemson

First 4 out: Alabama, Virginia Tech, UAB, New Mexico

Next 4 out: Memphis, Penn State, Missouri State, Washington St

Mac’s 2011 Bracket Projection v4.0

Moving on up:  Notre Dame, UNC, Syracuse, Cincy,Kansas St, West Virginia, UNLV, Gonzaga

Falling:  Georgetown, Nova, Temple, Tennessee, George Mason, Michigan St

Last 4 in:Alabama, Michigan, Colorado, Boston College

First four out: Virginia Tech, Clemson, Washington St, Missouri St

Next four out: Nebraska, USC, VCU, Penn State

Mac’s 2011 Bracket Projection v3.0

A weekend full of work and the Oscars pushed my bracket update back a night.  The bubble doesn’t get any clearer.  Teams fall off (Nebraska/VCU) and new teams make huge jumps (Colorado/Michigan). Other teams hang around (Minnesota, Baylor, Memphis,  Colorado St). The discrepancy between RPI and Sagarin Rating can be huge (See Memphis: Rpi-33 Sagarin-72) and I tend to favor the Sagarin when making bubble decisions.  What do you guys think?

Last 4 in: Gonzaga, Alabama, Butler, Michigan

First 4 out: Memphis, Minnesota, Boston College, Maryland

Next 4 out: Clemson, Colorado St, Baylor, Penn State

Not getting anywhere close to my bracket: Southern Miss

Mac’s 2011 Bracket Projection v2.2

I needed to get rid of a couple of teams that were bothering me (Virginia Tech and Baylor).  I also set my First/Second round locations with this update. This will be final update of the week, I promise.  Next Update will be v3.0 on Sunday (2-27).

I have to come to terms with my mid-major/low-major infatuation. RPI and Sagarin ratings were given more weight.  I had Coastal Carolina as a 10 seed, then an 11, now I have them seeded more accurately as a 13.
Also, I’ve decided to put Minnesota back in my bracket.  They have some injuries, but their schedule to close the season is weak and I can see them winning 3 of 4, which would make them tournament worthy.  I finally decided to leave Marquette in the bracket where they belong.  VT has to take a step out.  Baylor is out as well, and in comes UAB. C-USA will get 2 teams.  UAB is the pick right now as that 2nd, but Memphis is standing on their heels.

Last 4 in: Richmond, Minnesota, UAB, Colorado St.

First 4 out: Virginia Tech, Memphis, Baylor, Nebraska

Next 4 out: Clemson, VCU, Butler, Missouri St.

As always, give me some feedback. I’d love to hear some different opinions.

Mac’s 2011 Bracket Projection v2.1

Here’s the most up-to-date installment of my bracket.  The bubble is still big and weak, but I got some help this weekend.  Not any huge changes. Duke moves up to #1, St. John’s to #5,  Clemson into the bracket as a #12. UConn(now a #5) flips with Louisville (#4) due to Louisville sweeping the season series and UConn falling to 10th in the Big East. Marquette (#11) enters the field this week. Minnesota drops out and is probably done. Memphis lost to Rice (awful) so they’ll need to finish strong to find their way back into the bracket.  Missouri St was a bracket-buster victim and the MVC is looking like a one-bid league now.

Last 4 in: Michigan State, Colorado St., Clemson, Baylor

Last 4 out: Minnesota, Marquette, Memphis, Missouri State

Next 4 out: UAB, VCU, Gonzaga, Butler

EDIT: I accidentally left out Washington when moving teams around. I definitely meant to have them in.  They are in as a 10 seed, replacing Marquette (11 seed).  UTEP moved into the 11 seed spot and St. Mary’s moved to a 12 seed.