Rock M Nation

Valentine's Day Evening Thread

2012-02-15T00:41:15Z

@Unsilent
Jack Kogod "I usually get rid of my shorties around now." RT @SarahSchorno Today's least romantic #Wizards player is Jordan Crawford. bit.ly/x477lx
Feb 14 via TweetDeck Favorite Retweet Reply

Just in case someone is either a) single, b) not very romantic, c) freaking exhausted or d) some combination thereof, here's an evening live thread for you. Tech-A&M is on ESPN2, if you're up for some masochism...

First Glimpse at New Uni?

2012-02-14T16:28:21Z

First Glimpse at New Uni?

I cannot imagine how much some might pour over this link and video, but the AD is starting to build the suspense. Just two short months :-)

Caption This 2-14-12 This great photo is from the KU/K-State game last night - a nice couple who...

2012-02-14T15:26:21Z

Caption This 2-14-12

This great photo is from the KU/K-State game last night - a nice couple who love to discuss the game during the game. You know, the most you can hope for in life is someone with whom to share your favorite thing. Happy Valentine's day, you wonderful old K-State fans!

Please give them a winning caption!

Congratulations to bgtd for a strong winner on Monday. You get a Steeeeeve sized bag of Denmoney.

Captions!
RECs!
Happy Valentine's Day!

p.s. The next person to use a "5 dollar foot-long" caption will be banned for 9 days.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Mizzou Links, 2-14-12

2012-02-14T11:39:00Z

First off, a Happy Valentine's Day, both to my wife and to HyVee for being open at 3:30 AM today when desperate teething measures were needed. And a happy nap time to me this afternoon.

Mizzou Basketball Links

So ... Good Season, Huh?
PowerMizzou: Mizzou's road to a top seed
The Missourian: Missouri moves up to No. 3 in rankings
Post-Dispatch: The contrasting fates of Bruce Weber and Frank Haith
Flip, Etc.
The Trib (Steve Walentik): Haith talks Ricardo Ratliffe's offense, Phil Pressey's defense and rematch with OSU

On the defensive play of Phil Pressey against Baylor’s Pierre Jackson on Saturday …

"He was outstanding. He was outstanding. We challenge him. We challenged Phil to get back to guarding the ball the way he’s capable of because Phil can be just a terror on the ball, and he was great — and without gambling. I know Phil’s the steal leader or one of the steal leaders in the Big 12, but those steals will happen if you just stay solid and keep guys in front of you, and we wanted all of our guards to do that, a much better job of that so the ball doesn’t get on our big people. As I said in the press conference, when the game is stretched out and pushed away from the basket, it’s to our advantage. But when it’s closer to the rim, it’s too our disadvantage. So we did a nice job at the frontline of our defense, and Phil spearheaded that with how he was able to contain and guard Pierre Jackson."

On where Pressey ranks as an on-ball defender …

"He’s as good as I’ve been around. Phil has great hands, too. He’s got big hands for a little guy. If you’ve ever watched Phil, he palms the ball. That’s a quality that he has that’s very unique for a guy his size, but he’s as good as I’ve been around — a guy that can control the game from a defensive standpoint, and we need that because we don’t have that backline shot-blocker and whatnot. And creating turnovers, we’re not playing helter-skelter type defense, but he can still have the same kind of effect playing solid. It’s a nice quality to have on your team."

The Missourian: Phil Pressey's defense inspires Tigers' defensive thinking
The Grind
Men's Health: The Missouri Tigers' Surprising Turnaround
Post-Dispatch: MU tries to balance hard workouts with staying fresh
Oh Yeah, Shapiro
The Trib: Bitter ex wants to ruin Haith honeymoon

Mizzou Football Links

Recruiting
SB Nation: Tigers Hold Successful Junior Day
PowerMizzou: Kurzu the traveler
PowerMizzou: Zeke Elliott takes off
Pros
We Are Mizzou: Tigers in the NFL Come Home

SEC (And Expansionapalooza)

Mount USA
CBS Sports: C-USA, MWC dissolving to form new league

Other

Perhaps You Can Relate
Vanquish The Foe: How Twitter Changed My Sports Fandom
SETTLING FOR MEDIOCRITY
Go Comics: Today's Calvin and Hobbes

Rock-M-Tology: February 13

2012-02-13T21:02:41Z

Notes:

I am still weighting Pomeroy data pretty heavily; as I mentioned last week, that lends both an evaluative aspect and a predictive aspect to the proceedings. As mentioned, I will phase him out to a degree as we approach Selection Sunday.
Ohio State's loss means three of the four 1-seeds are virtually automatic right now -- Kentucky, Syracuse and Missouri. Honestly, Kentucky and Syracuse would probably still be easy 1's with another loss. Missouri is treading quite a bit closer to the edge.
Kansas gets the fourth No. 1 seed over Duke, Ohio State, Michigan State and North Carolina right now. That's a pretty easy call for me right now. Yes, Kansas has lost five times, but two of the losses were to fellow No. 1's away from home, and their loss to Duke is countered by their win over (an admittedly Jared Sullinger-less) Ohio State.
Speaking of Kansas ... you were looking for a KU-KSU preview for tonight, right? Good! (And since I'm getting this up so late, consider this your KU-KSU live thread, I guess.)

Who's overrated?

Cincinnati (17-8) - SBN bracketologist Chris Dobbertean had Cincy a 10-seed this morning, but right now they're not even at the top of my "out" list. They're one of those weird teams with a couple of nice wins (Notre Dame, @UConn) blanketing the fact that the rest of their resume is pretty terrible. They rank 92nd in RPI, and they have home losses to St. John's, Marshall and Presbyterian. Oh and they've lost four of six. The good news, however, is that they finish the regular season with five consecutive Top 100 (according to Pomeroy) teams (Seton Hall, Louisville, @USF, Marquette, @Villanova). Perform well down the stretch, and you're in; play poorly, and you might not even be on the bubble anymore.

San Diego State (18-4) - They have four losses, and they are ranked in the RPI Top 25. Good things. Not as good: they are 56th in Pomeroy's ratings, and their win over Long Beach State probably qualifies among their top five wins. They barely escaped a dreadful USC team, they barely beat Boise State at home last week, they beat lowly Chicago State by just eight points ... their resume shows us all of the ways that a points-and-possessions system like Pomeroy tells us infinitely more than "who did they play, and what is their win percentage?" (a la RPI). Jerry Palm had them a 3-seed on Friday, and I kind of had to talk myself into giving them a 6 instead of a 7.

Colorado State (14-8) - They're 15-8, 4-4 in the Mountain West, their second-best win was over Colorado, they've lost four of six ... but Palm still had them in the field on Friday thanks to their strange No. 30 RPI ranking, and both Dobbertean and Joe Lunardi have them on the bubble. They're nowhere close to mine.

Mississippi State (19-6) - They rank 43rd in RPI and 71st in Pomeroy. They have beaten four teams ranked 200th or worse (according to Pomeroy) by 15 points or less (a red flag), and aside from a surprising win at Vanderbilt, they have been dreadful on the road, with losses to Georgia, Ole Miss and Arkansas and a near-loss against Detroit. Palm had them a 6 before Saturday, and Dobbertean and Lunardi had them an 8. I've got them at 12. Call that a bit predictive -- if the tourney started today, there's probably no way a 19-6 team in a major conference gets a 12, but I don't see them maintaining their pretty record.

Who's underrated?

BYU (19-6) - This is another case where point margins matter. BYU's five best wins were probably against Gonzaga (good), Virginia Tech (less so), Buffalo, Oregon, and ... um ... Nevada? They haven't hardly played anybody, and it has provided a pretty large hole in their resume. But their losses are mostly good -- four came against Wisconsin, Baylor (by three) and St. Mary's twice. They have an odd home loss to Loyola Marymount muddying the waters a bit, but their huge scoring margins over most of the bad teams on their schedule (they are 10-0 versus teams ranked 200th or worse, with an average victory of 26.7 points) are a good sign. I say they finish strong enough to receive better than the 11-seed they are currently getting from Dobbertean and Lunardi.

New Mexico (19-4) - The Lobos rank 33rd in RPI and 12th in Pomeroy's rankings and have won 18 of 20, but they are currently gravitating between a 10-seed (Palm) and an 8 (Dobbertean, Lunardi), mostly (I'm assuming) because of November losses to New Mexico State and Santa Clara. But they can prove a lot this week -- they travel to San Diego State on Wednesday, then host UNLV on Saturday. This week could either bump them into discussion for a 6-seed or drop them near the bubble.

Saint Louis (19-5) - I mean, of course I'm going to stick up for a team that ranks 10th in Pomeroy's ratings (and, for that matter, 23rd in RPI). They are an odd blank-slate team that has really neither played nor beaten anybody (best wins: Xavier, La Salle, and Villanova?), but they have drilled the teams they are supposed to drill (aside from Loyola Marymount, which somehow has wins over two of my "underrated" teams), and if they win out (as they should), they will finish the season on a nine-game win streak. They are looking at a 9- or 10-seed right now, but I expect a little higher when all is said and done.

Wisconsin (19-6) - I almost went with Wichita State here, but going with all mid-majors in the "underrated" section is both predictable and boring. Instead, I'll make the case for the Badgers, who are getting 4's from Dobbertean and Lunardi and a six from Palm but should be in serious consideration for a 3. Never mind that Pomeroy has them fifth -- five of their six losses were to high-quality opponents (UNC, Marquette, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State), and five were by seven points or less. They lost in overtime to Michigan State (currently a 2-seed), and they lost by three points at North Carolina. They actually have wins to boast about, too (UNLV, Purdue, Indiana, Illinois, six road wins and a pair of neutral court wins), but their RPI is dinged by the fact that the cupcakes they beat were among the weakest in the country (Kennesaw State, Colgate, Mississippi Valley State), and I struggle to hold that against them.

Who knows?

We'll talk more about these teams in coming weeks, but I simply have no idea where to place them on the bracket right now.

Illinois (16-9)
Florida State (17-7)
Alabama (16-8)
Murray State (21-1)

Last Few In

UConn (15-9)
Miami (15-8)
West Virginia (16-10)
Illinois (16-9)
Texas (16-9)
Seton Hall (17-8)
Long Beach (17-6)
Minnesota (17-8)
N.C. State (18-7)
Arizona (18-8)
Wyoming (16-6)

Names in italics would be among the last in without their conference's automatic bid.

First Few Out

Xavier (16-9)
Iona (20-6)
Akron (17-7)
Cincinnati (17-8)
Drexel (21-5)
VCU (22-5)
Oral Roberts (23-5)
Northwestern (15-9)
Davidson (18-6)
Belmont (18-7)
Washington (17-8)
Central Florida (16-7)
Dayton (15-9)
Colorado State (14-8)

By Conference

8 - Big East, Big Ten
6 - ACC, Big 12
5 - SEC
4 - Mountain West
3 - West Coast
2 - Atlantic 10, Conference USA, MVC, Pac-12

The Bracket

FIRST FOUR (in Dayton)

Long Island (19-7) vs Norfolk State (17-7)
Vermont (17-10) vs Mississippi Valley State (13-11)

Minnesota (17-8) vs Wyoming (16-6)
N.C. State (18-7) vs Arizona (18-8)

SOUTH REGIONAL (in Atlanta)

1 Kentucky (25-1) vs 16 UNC-Asheville (16-7)
8 Florida State (17-7) vs 9 Iowa State (18-7)
in Louisville

5 Gonzaga (20-4) vs 12 Long Beach (17-6)
4 Louisville (20-5) vs 13 Minnesota / Wyoming
in Nashville

6 New Mexico (19-4) vs 11 Miami (15-8)
3 Baylor (20-4) vs Oral Roberts (23-5)
in Albuquerque

7 Saint Louis (19-5) vs 10 Murray State (21-1)
2 Ohio State (21-4) vs 15 Cleveland State (19-6)
in Nashville

WEST REGIONAL (in Phoenix)

1 Kansas (20-5) vs 16 Long Island / Norfolk State
8 Vanderbilt (17-8) vs 9 Notre Dame (17-8)
in Omaha

5 Temple (19-5) vs 12 Seton Hall (17-8)
4 Indiana (19-6) vs 13 Akron (17-7)
in Albuquerque

6 Michigan (18-7) vs 11 Middle Tennesseee (22-4)
3 Marquette (21-5) vs 14 Drexel (21-5)
in Louisville

7 Southern Miss (19-4) vs 10 Kansas State (17-7)
2 Duke (21-4) vs 15 UT-Arlington (18-5)
in Greensboro

EAST REGIONAL (in Boston)

1 Syracuse (25-1) vs 16 Weber State (18-4)
8 Harvard (20-3) vs 9 Alabama (16-8)
in Pittsburgh

5 St. Mary's (21-3) vs 12 Texas (16-9)
4 Wichita State vs 13 N.C. State / Arizona
in Columbus

6 San Diego State (18-4) vs 11 West Virginia (16-10)
3 Wisconsin (19-6) vs 14 Belmont (18-7)
in Pittsburgh

7 Memphis (18-7) vs 10 Purdue (16-9)
2 North Carolina vs 15 Bucknell (19-6)
in Greensboro

MIDWEST REGIONAL (in St. Louis)

1 Missouri (23-2) vs 16 Vermont / MVSU
8 BYU (19-6) vs 9 California (20-6)
in Omaha

5 Creighton (21-5) vs 12 Mississippi State (19-6)
4 Georgetown (18-5) vs 13 Iona (20-6)
in Portland

6 Virginia (19-5) vs 11 Illinois (16-9)
3 UNLV (20-4) vs 14 Davidson (18-6)
in Portland

7 Florida (19-6) vs 10 Connecticut (15-9)
2 Michigan State (19-5) vs 15 Nevada (19-4)
in Columbus

My At-First-Glance Final Four

Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Missouri

Second glance: Ohio State, Kansas, Syracuse, Georgetown

Missouri's inevitable path to destiny™ (ahem)

Vermont, BYU, Georgetown, UNLV, North Carolina, Kentucky. MUCH MUCH friendlier than last week's.

Caption This 2-13-12 Michael Dixon #11 of the Missouri Tigers celebrates with Marcus Denmon #12...

2012-02-13T15:00:12Z

Caption This 2-13-12

Michael Dixon #11 of the Missouri Tigers celebrates with Marcus Denmon #12 and Steve Moore #32 after scoring during the game against the Baylor Bears on February 11, 2012 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri.
Photo: Jamie Squire

Big man needs a winning caption.

Congratulations to threadkiller for his winner in the Friday Contest. Your Denmoney is hopelessly buried beneath 0.75 inches of snow.

Captions!
RECs!
Steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeve!

Mizzou Links, 2-13-12

2012-02-13T14:01:46Z

And here we go with the rest of the weekend's links.

Mizzou Football Recruiting Links

You only thought you were done with football recruiting for a while. Mizzou's Junior Day was this past weekend; Mizzou hosted select juniors from the state and region, and as is somewhat customary, they scored a couple of commits as well: Jeff City linebacker (and pole vaulter extraordinaire) Joe Burkett and CBC cornerback Aarion Penton. The state is low on the highest of high-end talent (i.e. the DGBs and Evan Boehms) this year, but it seems reasonably deep with mid- to high-three-star guys, and both Burkett and Penton will likely qualify as that.

Joe Burkett, Pole Vaulter Aarion Penton (Second Highlight)

2013 COMMIT: JOE BURKETT (6'3, 200, LB, JEFFERSON CITY)
2013 COMMIT: AARION PENTON (5'10, 170, CB, ST. LOUIS CBC)
PowerMizzou: Joe Burkett confirms he committed to Missouri
PowerMizzou: Quick decision for CBC's Penton
KC Star (Campus Corner): An inside look at Missouri's first two '13 football commitments
Junior Day
PowerMizzou: Off and running
PowerMizzou: Spotlight grows for Lee's Summit LB Nick Ramirez
PowerMizzou: Four-star OT checks out Mizzou
PowerMizzou: A family affair for KC athlete Anthony Sherrils
Other 2013 Recruits
Rivals.com: Georgia defensive tackle Jay Woods happy to have first offer

Mizzou Football Links

Looks like Sean Weatherspoon may be replacing Curtis Lofton on passing downs in Atlanta next year. Finally, revenge for 2007, ahem.

Gabs
Jacksonville.com: Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey has busy first month
SPOOOOOOOOOOOON
The Falcoholic: Report: Curtis Lofton May Be Two-Down Player in 2012

SEC (And Big 12)

SEC Scheduling
Outkick The Coverage: Should Tennessee-Alabama, Florida-LSU and Auburn-Georgia Be Saved in 14 Team SEC?
Big 12
Blatant Homerism: Making the BIg 12 more hospitable for expansion
Dallas Morning News: Discussing the Big 12's yet-to-be-released schedule
Daily Oklahoman: Eight difference schedule models under consideration

Other

Quality > Quantity? The Cynic In Me Is Skeptical
Reuters.com: Quality Vs. Quantity Online
Whitney
Nah Right: VIDEO: The Roots Pay Tribute To Whitney Houston

Finally, a quick story. In the summer of 1999 (or was it 2000?), Tigerboard was abuzz with rumors about what would soon become Mizzou's new logo. The Internet was exactly like it is today, only a bit less populated; the rumors were every bit as frantic. I've seen it, it's awful! It's a rip-off of the Kansas State Powerkat! I've seen it, it's amazing! Really modern and nothing like the Powerkat! It's going to be released next week! IT'S GOING TO BE RELEASED TOMORROW!!! People were, generally speaking, a mess. Then, Tigerboard poster (and resident comedian) Iam4Mizzou posted a thread titled something like "I HAVE IT! HERE'S THE NEW MIZZOU LOGO!" I knew as I clicked on it that whatever he had probably wasn't going to be the real thing (his reputation preceded him), but I've still never laughed as hard about anything on the internet as I did when I saw...

Long story short, that same guy purchased www.missouritigers.com a few years ago when he realized the university hadn't, and when they didn't want it, he turned it into a bit of a parody site. (Example here.) It's been down for a while, but he's trying to get the message board and chat room up and rolling again, and since he made me laugh so incredibly hard 13 years ago, the least I could do was pass it along.

Mizzou Basketball Links, 2-13-12

2012-02-13T11:30:04Z

So we'll do here what we did last week: a Mizzou basketball-only links post, followed by an Everything Else links post later in the morning. That seemed to work pretty well.

Also: teething really, really sucks. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Mizzou Basketball Links

MU > Baylor
MUtigers.com: Phil Pressey Leads No. 4 Missouri Over No. 6 Baylor, 72-57
MUtigers.com: Post Game Notes
MUtigers.com: Post Game Quotes
The Trib: Tigers have too many ways to win
The Trib: Moore outplays heralded foe in MU victory
The Missourian: Sell-out crowd ignites Missouri to milestone victory against Baylor
Post-Dispatch: Mizzou's 3-point shooting sinks Baylor
Post-Dispatch: Big Steve Moore rocks the house and the Baylor Bears
KC Star: Three-point barrage helps MU beat Baylor 72-57
KC Star: MU-Baylor notebook | Praise for Phil Pressey
PowerMizzou: PMTV-HD: Statement Saturday
Fox Sports MW: Pressey, Mizzou sharp in win over Baylor
Our Daily Bears: Baylor vs. Missouri Postmortem: Live by the Zone, Die by the Three
SB Nation KC: Missouri's Manhandling Of Baylor Is Telling For Both Big 12 Basketball Teams
Hank's Sports Blog: Phil Pressey scores 19 to lead No. 4 Missouri past No. 6 Baylor
KBIA Sports Extra: Mizzou blows by No. 6 Baylor, 72-57
ESPN.com: Another telling game for Baylor and Mizzou
CBS Sports: Contrast between Baylor, Missouri: stage fright
Dallas Morning News: Are Baylor men NCAA title contenders? Recent play raises doubts
A Two-Team Race For The Conference Title
PowerMizzou: Race Between Rivals
Selection Sunday: Four Weeks Away
KC Star: Mizzou has the horses for long run in NCAA Tournament
Enjoy Retirement, Mike DeArmond (And Thanks For Manipulating Us Into Thinking That The SEC Was A Good Idea, Ahem)
KC Star: Mike DeArmond retires after 40 years at The Star
KC Star (Mike DeArmond): No Long Goodbye
Congrats, Laurence
The Missourian: Laurence Bowers recognized with Mizzou '39 recipients at Missouri game

Rock M Nation

Valentine's Day Evening Thread

First Glimpse at New Uni?

First Glimpse at New Uni?

Caption This 2-14-12 This great photo is from the KU/K-State game last night - a nice couple who...

Mizzou Links, 2-14-12

Mizzou Basketball Links

Other Basketball Links

Mizzou Football Links

Other Football Links

SEC (And Expansionapalooza)

Other Mizzou Links

Other

Rock-M-Tology: February 13

Who's overrated?

Who's underrated?

Who knows?

Last Few In

First Few Out

By Conference

The Bracket

My At-First-Glance Final Four

Missouri's inevitable path to destiny™ (ahem)

Caption This 2-13-12 Michael Dixon #11 of the Missouri Tigers celebrates with Marcus Denmon #12...

Mizzou Links, 2-13-12

Other Basketball Links

Mizzou Football Recruiting Links

Mizzou Football Links

Other Football Links

SEC (And Big 12)

Other Mizzou Links

Other

Mizzou Basketball Links, 2-13-12

Mizzou Basketball Links