Worst Brackets Ever

Okay, I'm almost done with graduate school...I promise. I won't be so negligent for much longer. But it's March - I had to write SOMETHING.

Just a quick rant about these brackets, though. Usually Selection Sunday is like a holiday for me. I love seeing the brackets come out, and I love doing my expert analysis. This year? I was hurt. I was betrayed by the tournament selection committee. Evidently the rights fees are so high now that this tournament is officially 100% about ratings, and 0% about basketball. It really makes me sad. And for those of you casual fans or people who just fill out a bracket and don't watch any basketball, let me explain what I mean. I saw months ago that the rules on rematches were changing for the tournament, but I didn't fully understand what they were trying to turn the tournament into.  Now I know.

These are by far the most “made-for-tv” brackets ever. Every region is all about old rivalries and rematches. I mean, Nebraska plays Baylor in an old Big 12 matchup, and then if the Huskers win they could have a rematch with in-state rival Creighton. Not to mention 2 more Big 12 schools are in the same region - Oklahoma and Oklahoma State - who happen to be rivals with one another.  But it gets worse. Cincinnati, UConn, Providence and Villanova are all in the same bracket for at least one potential old Big East matchup - not to mention THREE AAC schools (UConn, Cincy, Memphis) are all in that region for potential rematches, along with a potential Villanova-St. Joe's Philadelphia Big 5 game.

Louisville and Kentucky could play each other again. A Duke/Michigan rematch is possible. Florida is in the same region as UCLA and Ohio State, conveniently the same 2 teams the Gators beat for the back-to-back titles, and the Gators have a potential rematch with Kansas, and a chance for VCU to play Florida.  If you're unaware, VCU's coach Shaka Smart used to coach under Florida's Billy Donovan.

Dayton has tried to schedule a yearly game with Ohio State and the Buckeyes refused because they won't play in-state games for fear of being embarrassed or something, so the committee put them together in the first game. Arizona could meet up with Oregon again after Oregon beat Arizona to end the regular season. And let's not ignore the fact that Oregon opens with BYU, who they already beat in overtime this season. It also doesn't seem like a coincidence that Wichita State's 2 best wins came over St. Louis and Tennessee, and the Shockers just happen to be in the same region with those 2 teams.

I know I'm not alone in noticing all the bracket flaws, and this is not an exhaustive list.  Rick Pitino isn't happy about having to play Manhattan, and it's understandable. It's all about story lines this year instead of basketball. These brackets are just terrible, but they did it all on purpose. It’s 100% made for television. Anyway, I'm sure you already know who I want to win it all this year, so I'm not gonna go over my bracket here. Regardless of the NCAA selection committee's terrible job this year, I hope to see Florida cutting down the nets in Arlington. GO GATORS!!!

2014 - A New Beginning

Okay, so I'm still in graduate school, and I'm still neglecting my blog.  But that will end this year.  I'd also like to point out that it's 2014 now, and in this year, Florida football is undefeated, and Urban Meyer is winless.

In 2013, I was lucky enough to attend two Gator basketball games.  One at UConn and one at MSG against Memphis.  The UConn buzzer beater broke my heart, but I was much more upset about the disgraceful attitude of the drunk UConn fans.  I've learned that Storrs is just a trashy suburb of Boston, and the fans there are a bunch of uneducated, drunk, rude Boston fans.  For any Gator fans reading this, just think of them as the "LSU of basketball" and it should be clear how unpleasant they are.

The Jimmy V Classic was a much better experience.  The Pitt/Cincy fans there for the first game were civil to each other and to me, and I don't think a Memphis fan did so much as even shoot my group of friends in Gator gear a dirty look.  Much classier group of fans.  Much more enjoyable.  And the better outcome didn't hurt.

Gator Nation at MSG for the Jimmy V Classic - December 17, 2013

So unfortunately, the Gators have had a whole bunch of problems with suspensions and injuries and general ineligibility this season.  The two losses we had were single-digit road losses without our full roster, so I can't read too much into them.  However, the Gators made a huge statement yesterday with a big road win in overtime at Arkansas.  Arkansas may not seem like much to look at if you watch them on the road.  But man...at home? The Razorbacks are tough.  They can score.  A lot.  They had won 23 games in a row at home.  So I already knew they'd be a tough team.  Then I heard our leading scorer Casey Prather would be sitting on the bench with a bruised bone in his knee.  Then I heard Patric Young and Scottie Wilbekin were questionable for the game and definitely wouldn't be starting.  I worried that we'd be down to 5 scholarship players and Jacob Kurtz.  Scottie and Patric stepped up and played through the pain.  Dorian Finney-Smith was on fire with 22 points and 15 rebounds.  And Scottie really stepped up and showed his senior leadership at the end of regulation.  That was a GREAT win yesterday, and I fully expect the Gators to jump to #9 in both polls with Louisville and Iowa State losing.  GO GATORS!!!!

But the Gators weren't the only ones to make a statement yesterday.  ESPN made a statement about customer service.  Most of the first half wasn't aired due to "technical difficulties." Does anyone else remember that the SAME THING happened during the 2013 Florida-Arkansas football game? Because it did.  Those who know me well know that I live in New York City, but I grew up in a suburb in New Jersey that is within the New York City DMA.  Apparently ESPN is unaware of that, though.  My father still lives in my hometown, and we saw very different things at the end of the Florida-Arkansas game.  My ESPN2 stayed with the Florida game until the conclusion of overtime.  

Somehow, ESPN decided my father lives close enough to Philadelphia that he should be what's known as a "mandatory pullout" for the Memphis-Temple game.  Let me assure you, my father does not care about seeing the first few minutes of the Memphis-Temple game.  Sure, Memphis is ranked.  But Temple was 5-8 going into that game.  Florida was playing on the road without its leading scorer, with 2 more starters playing hurt, at an arena where Arkansas had won 23 straight...and the game went to overtime.  As soon as Scottie Wilbekin hit that 3 in overtime, my father got a message that he could continue watching the Florida game on ESPN3, and he was switched to the Temple game.  This makes no sense to me.  I grew up in that house.  Sure, we got some channels from Philadelphia, but our local television was primarily out of New York City, and I happen to know that county falls in the New York City DMA, not Philadelphia's DMA.  

So I wrote to ESPN about my concerns - both about the switch and about the feed trouble that persisted.  Anyone reading this who tried to watch the game yesterday knows exactly what I'm talking about.  You were watching the game, it kept flickering in and out, they apologized for technical difficulties, and switched us to the Iowa State at Oklahoma game.  So imagine my surprise when the "customer care" representative wrote back to me and said they didn't know about any feed trouble.  That's interesting.  If you don't know about any feed trouble, why is your on-air team apologizing for it?

ESPN's response, which made absolutely no sense

Thanks ESPN for showing you not only don't care about your viewers, but instead of actually having someone available to read actual concerns from viewers, you'd rather send an irrelevant automated response with a shameless social media plug.  I'm embarrassed for you.  I wrote back to this response, even though I'm quite sure no one will ever see it.  I also work in TV, so I didn't appreciate the complete lack of effort in providing me a proper response.

Anyway, Ohio State lost 2 straight in basketball, so I'll go to sleep happy tonight.

GO GATORS!!

Basketball, at last.

I know, I've been negligent.  I've been too heartbroken to focus on football.  Each day I'm reminded of the possibility of an Ohio State-FSU national championship game, which would send me on a drinking binge so intense that I might never fully recover.  So for now, I say roll tide and go bears.  Baylor should be ranked #3.  I'm putting that out there.  I know they haven't played Texas Tech or Oklahoma State yet, but guess what? Ohio State hasn't played anyone.  I'm much more impressed with Baylor, and the Bears should 100% be ranked ahead of the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad buckeyes.

For this weekend, I'm a Wake Forest fan.  The 2 "good" games outside of the SEC were last night, and Oregon was atrocious.  Made me wonder how anyone thought they could contend for a national title.  Just awful.  Stanford got lucky, but they played smart and took advantage of Oregon's football team completely forgetting how to play football.  The final score made it look much closer than it was.  Oregon should be embarrassed by that display.

As for this weekend, let's go Huskers! Michigan is not good.  If you can't beat them, you're not good.  I'd also like to see Houston beat UCF.  Alabama will beat LSU again.  And Gators.  This one would really help with bowl eligibility.  South Carolina and FSU still loom....wins over Vandy and Georgia Southern may be necessary to make a bowl game.  Regardless, I've never been on board with Will Muschamp.  I've made that clear since the start.  I wanted Kevin Sumlin as coach, and everyone said I was crazy.  I don't know who I want now, but I do know I want Muschamp and Pease OUT.  They've had their chances.  They've done nothing.  Muschamp is afraid to beat his alma mater, and I can't continue living in a world where Florida continues to lose to Georgia.  Georgia sucks.  I also need someone on the coaching staff who can recruit a decent quarterback! Brantley? Brissett? Driskel? Murphy? Chris Leak, can you maybe take on that responsibility? Clearly no one else can...I'm hereby assigning that job to you.  Find UF a QB ASAP.  Thanks.

Chris Doering will be serving as the "celebrity" Mr. Two Bits for homecoming. We could really use the Wuerffel/Doering pair on offense right now.

 

Ah, to have a quarterback...

Thankfully, today officially marks the start of the Florida basketball season.  Our boys tip off at 3pm, playing the Ospreys of North Florida.  Unfortunately, we'll be short-staffed "indefinitely."  We'll beat UNF, though.  I'm worried about who will be available Tuesday.  I can't have us losing to an overrated Big Ten team - especially one my brother attended.  Billy Donovan, please take a page out of the Ole Miss playbook and leave the remainder of the Harris/Finney-Smith suspensions for the start of SEC play.  And if they can't play, let's just hope enough of our team is healthy enough to beat Wisconsin.  I'll say it before anyone else says it, and I'll say it proudly as usual: THE BIG TEN WILL NOT WIN A MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP THIS SEASON.  My brother has this pattern of making stupid bets with me.  Usually he'll bet me something like "$20, 1,000:1 odds, Purdue goes undefeated."  And I say, "Okay, easiest $20 I'll ever make."  And I win.  This year he bet me $1, 5000:1 odds, Wisconsin goes undefeated in basketball.  Of course I took the bet.  Can't make an easier dollar.

Also, I'm planning to go to two Gator basketball games next month, and I could not be more excited.  Hopefully the team will be healthy by then!

GO GATORS!

Back on the Road

All 3 of my teams are on the road this week.  Nebraska's backup QB will start on the road at Purdue, and that's the one I'm least worried about (because it's Purdue...I mean, they're one of the worst teams in one of the worst conferences).  Nebraska should beat Purdue.  But the other 2 games are cause for concern. 

Rutgers plays tonight in the biggest test of the season for the Scarlet Knights: on the road at overrated Louisville.  Sure, Rutgers is only a successful 2-point conversion away from an undefeated season, but that near meltdown at SMU was a bit troubling.  Props to SMU on that 2-point conversion in regulation - though I'm still 100% sure the touchdown that brought you to that point was a foot short.  It doesn't matter now since the better team won, but the officiating was quite poor. Start the video below at about 9:00.  He didn't get in. But for tonight, let's go RU! Chop Louisville!

The Gators looked fine against Arkansas.  But I mean, it was Arkansas.  It was Bielema.  I can't take them seriously right now.  And I was satisfied with Nebraska's relatively easy win over Illinois, who is not good.

The most disappointingly overrated team of last weekend: Northwestern.  Are you kidding me, Wildcats? Ohio State is not good!!!! How much did Urban pay you guys to lose that game? If Ohio State plays any team with so much as a hint of a defense, they're going to get slaughtered.  Braxton Miller is not good, and Hyde only looks good because of his level of competition.  And Kenny Guiton, who is clearly the best player on Ohio State, is back to riding the bench.  Great coaching by Meyer...

While Northwestern clearly shouldn't be ranked, there was one team last weekend who shouldn't be anywhere near the top 25.  In fact, I don't know if they belong in the top 100.  You know who I'm talking about.  The Maryland Terrapins.  They just climbed inside their little shells for 4 quarters and let FSU have its way.  That was just embarrassing - and not just for Maryland.  It's embarrassing that the voters actually snuck Maryland into the top 25 to make it look like FSU destroyed a ranked team.

Washington played a close game with Stanford and I came away disappointed.  That game pretty much came down to whoever had home advantage would win.  I'm excited for Washington-Oregon this weekend, and I really hope the Huskies feed off the home crowd and can stop Oregon's explosive offense, which I think is far superior to Stanford's.  Let's go Huskies!

As much as I despise Georgia, I see Missouri's undefeated run ending this Saturday in Athens.  I don't think Oklahoma is that good this year, but I don't think Texas has a prayer in this year's Red River Rivalry.  The Sooners will be eating Bevo for brunch.  I actually think South Carolina is going to struggle at Arkansas after that pathetic display against Kentucky, which they only won by one score.  I understand how important Clowney is to the team's success, but it still shouldn't have been so close at home against a team like Kentucky.  I think South Carolina comes away with a victory at Arkansas, but not by much.  And Northwestern loses at Wisconsin.  

And then there's the big one.  Florida goes on the road to LSU.  Well, the good news is LSU's defense has looked sad in every game, and Florida's defense is arguably the best in the country once again.  The bad news? Florida's offense has been far from impressive, and LSU is averaging more than 45 points per game.  The Gators are only giving up about 12 point per game.  So who wins out? Florida's defense or LSU's offense? I'm just happy it's not a night game in Death Valley.  Don't let me down, Gators!!! BEAT LSU!!!

Lane Kiffin, You're Fired!

Thank you, USC.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  FINALLY.  No more Kiffin.  Will anyone else want him? He's clearly not a good coach.  Or a good person.  All I know is he better not end up coaching the New York Jets.

From the Florida-Tennessee game in 2009.  I flew down just to watch Lane Kiffin lose and cry.

The Gators beat Kentucky.  I never get tired of saying that.  Longest active win streak in an uninterrupted series - 27 in a row.  GO GATORS!

But Wisconsin couldn't quite pull through for me, so I wasn't exactly satisfied.  As usual, Wisconsin played a close game and lost at the end.  Even with a new coach, they have the same approach to college football.  I'm more interested in what Wisconsin's former coach is up to this weekend...

Bielema, you're not ready for THE SWAMP.  You kept it close with the money badger, but they have no defense.  Florida is has a fantastic defense.  Arkansas does not have a fantastic defense.  This is not the sorry Big Ten.  This is REAL college football, Bielema...I wouldn't expect to make it to a bowl game this year.  Earlier this year, someone told me they expected Arkansas to start 4-0 and lose every other game.  I said Arkansas was losing at Rutgers.  Sure, the Scarlet Knights took a while to get going.  But they pulled off the win.  The Swamp is a much more hostile environment than High Point Solutions Stadium.

Rutgers will beat Southern Methodist (sorry, June Jones!).  Nebraska should beat Illinois.  Really, really pulling for the Terps at FSU this weekend! Pulling for a big upset at Stanford too - let's go Huskies!! Is Northwestern actually any good? I'm thinking no, but I'm also thinking Ohio State is tremendously overrated.  Also, they benched their better QB.  SO LET'S GO WILDCATS!

Most importantly, Florida will beat Arkansas to improve to 3-0 in the SEC.  GO GATORS!!!!

Murphy, you're up!

I know I've complained a lot about Driskel (because he's a turnover machine) and I have jokingly said I'd break his legs.  I just want to be clear...I didn't actually want Driskel to break his leg.  I just wanted him to sit on the bench and give someone else a chance.  I wish Driskel a speedy recovery.  At the same time, I hope Tyler Murphy can make the most of this opportunity and finally give the Gators a QB worth cheering for (for the first time since Tebow).  Also wishing Easley a speedy recovery.

So Murphy stepped in and helped the Gators beat Tennessee for the 9th consecutive time.  Nebraska (sans Martinez) beat South Dakota State, not surprisingly.  And Rutgers had the best comeback of the week.  Take that, Bielema! Rah Rah! A friend of mine who works for Arkansas texted me to gloat in the third quarter of the game.  He spoke a little too soon.  Way to finish, RU! (side note: the Gators men's basketball team could learn a thing or two from the Rutgers football team about how to close games...)

For those who haven't heard it directly from me, I'd like to reiterate: I think Ohio State is better with Guiton than Miller.  I said this after the Purdue game last year and I stand by it.  Don't get me wrong, they're not winning a championship this year with Guiton either.  I just think they're so invested in the Miller hype that they're ignoring a better player.  No surprise, though, given who Urban Meyer let play RB at Florida...  Two words about their game this weekend: ON WISCONSIN.

Bucky the Badger at Nebraska's Homecoming Game in 2012

Picks this week:

If it wasn't clear, I'm picking Wisconsin  to upset the tremendously overrated Buckeyes.  Ole Miss, you've had a decent start, but Nick Saban will pay the refs whatever is necessary if this game gets close.  I'm honestly still not impressed with Alabama, but they'll win this game.  Oklahoma will beat Notre Dame - but who cares? Torn on LSU-Georgia....but I think I'm going with LSU.  Georgia showed they don't play well against Tigers, so I'm picking cats over dogs.  Rutgers and Nebraska are off this week, so that leaves me just one team to worry about: FLORIDA.

Ronald Reagan was President of the United States the last time Kentucky beat Florida in football.  None of the players on either team were alive the last time it happened.  They live in a world where Florida doesn't lose to Kentucky in football.  And I think that stays the same.

GO GATORS!!!

Still waiting for the good games...

Okay, so Alabama vs Texas A&M was good if you ignore the fact that neither team felt like showing up on defense.  But really, where are all the good games?

Arizona State-Stanford COULD be good...but who knows.  I'm not sold on either team.  Arizona State arguably beat Wisconsin because the refs were confused.

Stanford's defense struggled with Army.  I don't think there are any good teams in college football this year.  But what I can tell you for sure in the Pac 12 is that Cal is absolutely awful.  Ohio State plays no one, and I was really hoping Cal would come through with a big upset.  Instead, they basically gave Ohio State a 6 minute head start in which the buckeyes scored 21 points.  After that, Cal actually outscored Ohio State by 3 the rest of the game, but it was too little too late.   Let's go FAMU Rattlers! Beat those silly, overrated Buckeyes!

Oregon's offense looked good as usual, but they'll slip up.  Likely at Washington.  Auburn, you had a nice start...but LSU wins this weekend.

Rutgers - you better beat Arkansas.  Nebraska - I don't care who is injured, you better beat South Dakota State after that pathetic display last week.  I mean really...did you just decide to only play for one half? Awful.  Basically just proved how awful the Big Ten is.  Don't even get me started on Michigan-Akron.  Zips should have won....but I guess Hoke gave the refs just enough money to blow the game.

Let's be real...there's only one game I really care about this weekend.  LET'S GO GATORS.  BEAT THE VOLUNTEERS AGAIN!!!!!

Why does Tennessee have checkerboards in the end zones? ...Because they can't spell Tennessee.

GO GATORS!