SimonOnSports

Degrees of Loss Separation: Michigan Hoops

2013-02-08T15:57:00.004-05:00

This is just for hahas, but Michigan hoops is really good this year. Just how good? Check out the Degrees of Loss Separation Michigan > Illinois > #1 Indiana Michigan > Arkansas > #2 Florida Michigan > NC State > #4 Duke Michigan > WVU > TCU > #5 Kansas Michigan > Illinois > #6 Gonzaga Michigan > Cal Poly > UCLA > #7 Arizona Michigan > Iowa > Iowa State > Florida Gulf Coast > #8 Miami Michigan > Pitt > #9 Syracuse Michigan > #10 Ohio State Michigan > Pitt > #9 Syracuse > #11 Louisville Michigan > Minnesota > #12 Michigan State Michigan > #13 Kansas State Michigan > Illinois > #14 Butler Michigan > #10 Ohio State > Rhode Island > St. Louis > #15 New Mexico Michigan > Iowa > Iowa State > Drake > #16 Creighton Michigan > Pitt > #9 Syracuse > #17 Cincinnati Michigan > #18 Minnesota Michigan > #18 Minnesota > Stanford > #19 Oregon Michigan > Pitt > #20 Georgetown Michigan > Arkansas > #2 Florida > #21 Missouri Michigan > #13 Kansas State > #22 Oklahoma State Michigan > #23 Pittsburgh Michigan > Arkansas > #2 Florida > #24 Marquette Michigan > NC State > UConn > #25 Notre Dame Total Degrees 59 Furthest separation is Miami who lost to some schmucks at the start of the year New Mexico who plays completely different teams Creighton as it appears that the Missouri Valley does not play the Big 10 at all The Opposite Teams with 1 degree of separation to Michigan: Indiana and Ohio State Teams with 2 degrees of separation to Michigan: Wisconsin, Illinois, Butler, Duke, Michigan State, Kansas Conclusion Essentially every team in the country outside Michigan has lost to a suspect opponent or to Michigan.

UConn Be Dead

2012-12-13T14:16:00.001-05:00

Top Ten people KG Will Ask Darko to Kill

2012-10-04T15:29:00.000-04:00

"That's what Boston is all about. It's not about one guy. It's about everybody. Whatever my job is going to be -- if I have to get into the game and kill somebody, I kill him." Darko Milicic

With that statement KG has likely come up with a list of targets. Here's my best guess.

1) Ray Allen
2) Ray Allen
3) Ray Allen
4) Lebron
5) DWade
6) Lebron
7) DWade
8) Shane Battier
9) Lebron
10) Dwade

Chris Bosh is not included because KG thinks he can take him by himself.

Optimism is Dying

2012-10-04T11:57:00.002-04:00

The above image is the Jets Drive Summary from this weekends game against San Francisco. I decided to peruse it on monday to make sure what I saw with my own eyes could be verified just as terribly on paper. The conclusion was yes, verified.

The above drive chart shows you that the MOST successful drive the Jets had for the entire game was their first. This drive lasted all of 7 plays, gained a total of 30 yards, and ended in a punt. WOOOO! SUCCESS!

After a drive like that, one could only expect the remainder of the possessions to pale in comparison. And they did just that. From the conclusion of that possession no Jets drive would contain the following combination 1) Garner at least 1 first down & 2) Punt. Of the 11 remaining possessions, only 4 included the Jets gaining a 1st down. Each of these 4 possessions ended in a turnover. So if you're adding it up at home, after the first and most successful possession, the Jets followed that up with 4 turnovers and 7 three and outs.

Tell me how you can look at that drive chart and maintain abundant optimism?

Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?

2012-09-25T09:52:00.000-04:00

This is what I thought of while watching the end of the Seahawks game last night. Was the decision to give the Seahawks a touchdown and the next fifteen minutes not amazing television? Seeing Pete Carrol interviewed before the game was technically over and him being told they need to kick the XP for which he replies "Get me any 11 guys", all while watching the Packers run off the field only to trot back on, pulling random helmets out of a bucket so they could "defend" a completely meaningless extra point. For entertainment purposes that was on another level. As the saying goes, everybody watches a train wreck, and this train wreck is fantastic.

Outside the fact that it was pretty clearly an interception, I don't understand why people are so up in arms with this result. Or the fact that the officiating botched the call in the first place.

A) If you're not a Packers fan, a fan of a different NFC West team or a gambling man who lost $$$, wouldn't you prefer the Packers (the team that went 15-1 last year) to lose?

B) I enjoy the hypocrisy of "Replay can only review whether a ruled 'simultaneous catch' was caught" and not whether it was a simultaneous catch in the first place. The NFL continues to want officials to stand by what they deem as "judgement calls" when every single call in a football game is a judgement call. Every spot, every flag, every catch ruling, every single thing a ref does is in real time and can be questioned yet only some of it is reviewable. If the NFL didn't have dumb rules with their replays then the Packers would have won last night, which again who cares?

If I was Goodell I would send out a memo to the officiating crew and say, just don't take 45 minutes to conference on every call to make sure you get it right. Who cares if you get it right? Just don't botch the flow of the game and everyone will whine about the officiating like they always do every single season regardless of whether they are replacement or Eddie Muscles.

My 2 cents....

Lions 2012 Helmet Schedule

2012-09-17T10:44:00.001-04:00

Bills 2012 Helmet Schedule

2012-09-17T10:22:00.001-04:00

2012 Boston Red Sox Magic Numbers

2012-09-06T12:36:00.000-04:00

I think it's very important that we count down the Boston Red Sox Magic Numbers for playoff elimination. This will be calculated periodically based on their distance between the AL East leader and the #2 Wild Card leader.

9/6: Current Red Sox Record 63-75

AL East Magic Number: 11 (New York Yankees 77-59)

Wildcard #2 Magic Number: 12 (A's/Orioles 76-60)

8/29: Current Red Sox Record 62-68

AL East Magic Number: 20 (New York Yankees 75-54)

Wildcard #2 Magic Number: 24 (A's/Orioles 71-57)

8/27: Current Red Sox Record 61-67

AL East Magic Number: 22 (New York Yankees 74-53)

Wildcard #2 Magic Number: 27 (A's/Orioles 69-57)

8/24: Current Red Sox Record 59-66

AL East Magic Number: 25 (New York Yankees 72-52)

Wildcard #2 Magic Number: 30 (Tigers/A's/Orioles 67-57)

Optimism, I HAZ IT

2012-09-04T16:01:00.000-04:00

The 2012 season starts in 29 hours and for some strange reason I have an abundance of optimism. If you look at power rankings or predictions anywhere you will notice that almost universally the Jets are predicted to finish at or below .500. Last year, the Jets were predicted to be one of the best teams in the league and even got a super bowl championship prediction or two. Oh the media, how you can powerfully spin the universes perception with coverage one way or the other.

The 2011 New York Jets were a disappointment. A team that angered me endlessly at the tail end of the season and a team that all but gave up in Week 17. That team finished 8-8, which is now hilariously at roughly the peak of a media man's prediction. I've already made one post around why a Jets fan should look forward to this season but I think it deserves a more detailed one.

Roster Composition

Key Losses: S Brodney Pool, OG Robert Turner, WR Plaxico Burress, RB LT, QB Mark Brunell, CB Marquice Cole, S Jim Leonhard, LB Jamaal Westerman and TE Matthew Mulligan.

Please look at that list of players and tell me whom outside of LaDainian a Jets fan should truly worry about having lost? Plaxico was mediocre at best last season and is being replaced by a taller younger version of himself in Stephen Hill. Jim Leonhard and Brodney Pool were both replaced by better safeties who have made pro bowls before. Essentially this team has to "replace" a running back that rushed for 280 yards and a Wide Receiver with zero break away speed who was only useful in the red zone.

On the other hand the Jets finally drafted a DE in Quinton Coples who is athletic and strong. Coples, who gathered several sacks over the preseason, combined with a full season of Aaron Maybin may help the Jets get sacks without bringing an army on the blitz. Plus they got rid of Wayne Hunter, hooray. This roster can EASILY be argued to be improved from last season.

Schedule Strength

While looking at preseason schedule strength is usually a poor idea because the NFL always has some fluctuation, it would be hard to make the case that playing the NFC West / AFC South is going to be more difficult than playing the NFC East / AFC West. The Jets last year went a combined 3-5 in those games. In addition the defense was "Top 5" last year, in yardage given up, and please look at the quarterbacks they play and tell me how scared you are that the Jets are going to give up a ton of points.

A Little Bit a Luck

The Jets led the NFL in a fun statistic last season. I don't think the statistic has an actual name, but lets call it points given up while the defense is not on the field (figure out an abbreviation for that one). Even if the turnover rate stays as high as it was last year, you have to believe if you are a Jet fan that at least some of those turnovers won't be pranced into the end zone while Sanchez still has a helmet on.

In addition injuries always happen, but the Jets really really really sucked without Nick Mangold last year.

Tim Tebow Will Not Start

People that think Tim Tebow will start for the Jets are wrong. Mark Sanchez finished 9th in the NFL in touchdown passes last year. Tim Tebow is going to be the best punt protector ever! ...... If Tim Tebow starts that means shit went really really wrong.

Conclusion

I could be drastically wrong. This team could start off 1-4 because their "difficult" part of the schedule is the beginning. The team could panic and insert the Tebus as their "savior" and watch him throw ducks into the stands and fall to a sub .500 record. Santonio Holmes could be a whining baby again that has a miserable season. Anything can happen. I just don't know why if you are a Jets fan you aren't optimistic, why you wouldn't be pumped for the season and why you wouldn't think that Rex and his defense will get this team back to the postseason..

2012 Nebraska Cornhuskers Helmet Schedule

2012-08-29T14:51:00.003-04:00

2012 Philadelphia Eagles Helmet Schedule

2012-08-29T11:05:00.001-04:00

Texas Tech 2012 Helmet Schedule

2012-08-29T10:49:00.000-04:00

2012 Alabama Crimson Tide Helmet Schedule

2012-08-23T10:33:00.000-04:00

If You Want to Put a Positive Light On the Jets 2012 Season

2012-08-22T12:44:00.002-04:00

Just in case you are a Jet fan and do not want to be debby downer. Here is something you can show people or say to people as a backing point to why you think the Jets (not the Jets offense mind you) will not suck.

1. Ryan Fitzpatrick
2. Ben Roethlischeesburger
3. Ryan Tannehill
4. Alex Smith
5. Matt Schaub
6. Andrew Luck
7. Tom Brady
8. Ryan Tannehill
9. Matt Flynn or Russell Wilson
10. Sam Bradford
11. Tom Brady
12. Kevin Kolb or John Skelton
13. Blaine Gabbert
14. Jake Locker
15. Philip Rivers
16. Ryan Fitzpatrick

This is the list of Quarterbacks the Jets will face this season. They currently have at least 3 games against rookie QBs and 2 against Sophomores. Outside those 5, they face the NFC West which consists of Alex Smith, 1 decent year in his career, Sam Bradford who has like 6 wins in 3 years and two teams that have yet to decide who their starter is.

The Jets play exactly 5 games this entire season against teams with QBs that you would say are good to very good. Even if you have them losing every one of those games, tell me which other quarterback on this list you would take over Mark Sanchez and tell me which QB you actually expect to put up 20 points on the Jets defense.

So what am I saying? Sure the offense looks atrocious and this whole Tim Tebow over coverage is annoying, but the Jets defense should be BETTER than last year with the additions of two non slow and small and white safeties as well as the drafting of Coples. They face 11 mediocre or bad or inexperienced QBs this year. Get used to some low scoring games but the Jets are going to win games this year.

2012 Penn State Helmet Schedule

2012-08-22T11:37:00.001-04:00

2012 NFL Helmet Schedules

2012-08-22T10:59:00.000-04:00

Currently I am doing individual NFL team schedules. The ones published are listed below. If you would like a team that I have not done yet, please shoot me an email at SimonOnSports at gmail.com

AFC East: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets

AFC North: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers

AFC South: Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans

AFC West: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers

NFC East: Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, Washington Redskins

NFC North: Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings

NFC South: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFC West: Arizona Cardinals, San Fransisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks

2012 NCAA Helmet Schedules

2012-08-22T10:48:00.002-04:00

Here is the list of current college teams that you can find on this site. If you would like me to create one for a team not listed, please shoot me an email at SimonOnSports@gmail.com. I do not plan on putting together the full spreadsheet I have made in the past because its ludicrously time consuming.

Alabama Crimson Tide, Michigan Wolverines, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Virginia Tech Hokies

2012 Pittsburgh Steelers Helmet Schedule

2012-08-22T10:45:00.004-04:00

2012 Seattle Seahawks Helmet Schedule

2012-08-22T10:45:00.001-04:00

2012 New Orleans Saints Helmet Schedule

2012-08-22T10:44:00.001-04:00

2012 Minnesota Vikings Helmet Schedule

2012-08-22T10:43:00.001-04:00

2012 Washington Redskins Helmet Schedule

2012-08-22T10:42:00.001-04:00

2012 Ohio State Buckeyes Helmet Schedule

2012-08-22T10:41:00.003-04:00

2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Helmet Schedule

2012-08-22T10:41:00.001-04:00

2012 New England Patriots Helmet Schedule

2012-08-22T10:40:00.001-04:00

If you need another team that's not listed, let me know.