Showing posts with label tournament. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tournament. Show all posts

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Russell's Mea Culpa: Biteless Bulldogs Lack Fight, and Now I'm Eating Humble Pie

After Russell picked the Butler Bulldogs to take the NCAA Championship Game, we knew that he would be back here with his tail between his legs to let us know why he was wrong. Here's what Russell had to say:
Like the Butler Bulldogs, Russell is upset by the finale (Arbiter)
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Throughout the history of sports there have been dozens of ridiculous statements made by athletes. From Pete Rose "I did not bet on baseball" to Rafael Palmeiro "I did not take steroids period" as well as the myriad guarantees made by athletes that, in retrospect were total nonsense. Well after the the national championship game last night we may need to add my "They may be underdogs, but Butler will be Top Dogs on Monday" to that illustrious list. I believed in Brad Stevens, I believed in Matt Howard, I believed in the Butler defense, and now I believe I will be served humble pie at lunch for the next week.

In what was easily the most painful championship game to watch possibly ever, Butler battled early before folding like a cheap tent. But as UConn settled down the Bulldogs just got more frazzled, shooting heavily contested long jumpers that only contributed to scoring droughts that seemed to last almost as long as my Physics class. A team renowned for their defense and hustle did some of that, but their inability to score was truly astounding. Butler missed 22 out of 23 shots in the start of the second half! It was one of the most atrocious offensive performances in the history of basketball, and they picked a heck of a night to do it. Butler shot 18.8% from the field. Butler shot 3-31 from inside the paint with no points inside in the entire first half! Yes the Huskies big men were solid but this reflects badly on Butler not well on UConn's D. The Bulldogs got open looks, they had layups that rolled around and dropped out, they had good looks at the basket, but just couldn't get anything to drop.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

A Standing O: The Madness March-es On

Like Russell, I am mourning the death of my bracket. First it was Louisville dealing me a nice shot in the family jewels before an uppercut from the most awful foul ever killed Pittsburgh--and my bracket. So now that the Madness has settled, I'm left without a ton to root for. But Alex O gives me some hope in his latest post:
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At the bottom of this post are the odds for the next 2 evenings of madness. This is what one resorts to when their bracket has blown up----- Texas, Purdue, and Pitt not good picks. At least I am ahead of Rochelle Rochelle in the NYaT pool!

I am sure I am not alone in rooting for the dogs--- and I don’t mean the Huskies---- they are either a pick ‘em or a favorite. I mean the underdogs: VCU, Richmond, and Butler. I’ll even throw in BYU, why not. I’ll root for Jimmer, who was graced with a name that somehow reminds me of the famous Johnny Cash song “A boy named Sue” --- worth a download.

Interesting side note is that VCU and Richmond make Richmond the first city to have 2 sweet 16 teams since LA in 2007. More on that go here.

Estimates place the total dollar amount of American office pools in excess of $3 billion, with the total cost in lost productivity in the neighborhood of $1.8 billion. Wow, how about them apples.

It was nice to see that Yahoo in their matchup breakdown includes the spreads. To me it is essential in doing any analysis, the oddsmakers in Vegas--- or I guess in the Caymans for the on-line bookies, do their hard work and tell us what the spread is. Sometimes I think there are wrinkles. VCU has blown out its last 3 opponents after barely getting in---- how much is that a factor in the spread vs. Florida State?

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Upping the Ante on our NCAA Tourney Pool

Let all your friends know your skills
If you thought bragging rights was a pretty sweet deal, the prize for winning the NYaT NCAA tourney pool is getting even better. From our own Alex O: "I will donate this XL t-shirt to winner of your NYaT tourney contest. Order has been placed. I like that it does not have a year on it."

That's right; you not only get bragging rights and the ability to pen your own guest post about how you whooped all our butts, but you also get an awesome t-shirt to let everyone know for years that you whooped people's butts in an NCAA tourney bracket. Put your mad skills to the test against the rest of the NYaT field.

Zero dollars to join, zero risk involved. So go sign up now. Directions are here in this first post. Goodluck!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Join NYaT's Tournament Pick'em and Win Blog Bragging Rights

March is halfway done but the Madness is only getting started. We're talking about the NCAA Tournament, a time when everyone has a team and dreams live and die on the sound of a buzzer. Here at NYaT we're keeping up the tradition of the blog league and anyone who wants to can join and take on college hoops expert Jay Hyne (hint: he's probably picking UConn) and the rest of the NYaT bloggers.

Follow this link to get you started: http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/group/62720/invitation?key=80dbee3a509eff71

What's the prize, you ask? A chance to be able to brag for an entire year that you are the best of the blog and the right to write your own blog post lauding your own picking ability. Last year, I finished 12th out of 13th in the NYaT league and this year I'm out for revenge. So try your best against NYaT's best and see if you can be King of the Blog on April 4th.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Three Reminders: Poll, Fantasy Baseball and NCAA Tourney Pick'em

Three reminders for you on this Tuesday night before LOST as the New York Rangers fight for their playoff lives with the Montreal Canadians.

First, we have the poll going on the right side for the best closer in New York. Right now, it's a runaway win, but there's still time to vote.

We also have a free Fantasy Baseball league with two open spots and a NCAA Tournament Pick'em League with NYaT bragging rights on the line.

Picture from the Albany Times Union

Monday, March 15, 2010

NYaT's Free Tournament Pick'em League

Are you interested in joining our free NCAA tournament pick'em league? Well the details are below so make sure to sign up to earn NYaT bragging rights. No cash involved--just the chance to reign supreme over all NYaT readers! And if you're interested in our fantasy baseball league, there are a few spots left.

Yahoo! 
Sports

Yahoo! Sports Tournament Pick'em

Hello NYaT reader, I would like you to join our group in Yahoo! Sports Tournament Pick'em!
To accept the invitation, just follow this link. For reference, here's the group information.
Group ID#: 118751
Password: nyat
-- Tournament Pick'em Commissioner
http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1