[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.]
Test test test
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[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.]
The FDIC has a podcast? OMG nerdgasm!
Bracketology 2012
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Joe Lunardi’s inaugural speculative NCAA bracket for 2012 is out!
Kentucky the #1 overall seed! Gonzaga a #3! USC a #12! Notre Dame in the NIT! (Fire Mike Brey!) Harvard the Ivy champ! Belmont a #8! Wichita State a #10! Jimmer-less WCC rookie BYU a #11! Saint Mary’s a #12! (3 bids for the WCC!) Virginia Tech, finally off the bubble as a #6! Indiana, back in the tourney and First Four-bound! UAB in the First Four again! Butler a #13, needing the autobid to get in! Oh, the humanity!! Oh, the meaninglessness!!
ONLY 327 DAYS UNTIL SELECTION SUNDAY!!! 😉
P.S. But seriously, watch out for Belmont next March. For real this time!
44 killed in “one of the largest tornado outbreaks in history”
For a purported weather nerd, I’ve been shamefully lax in my blog coverage (or rather, the total absence thereof) of the massive, historic tornado outbreak across the South from Thursday through Saturday — I blame a general lack of free time — but Capital Weather Gang has a good summary, including this illustrative graphic from NOAA:
(Hat tip: AMLTrojan.) See also Dr. Jeff Masters and Wikipedia.
Ohio State makes money, UConn gets slammed in BCS Bowl revenue
The Stanford Daily put together a great article outlining one of the biggest non-playoff related problems with the BCS bowls*. Schools are required to sell a given number of tickets, and any unsold tickets must be paid for by the school. The schools have no ability to decide how many tickets they want to sell; that decision is up to the Bowl administrators. In the case of poor UConn, which got sent all the way to Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl, those unsold tickets cost the school $1.7 million.
Ohio State (playing with five NCAA rules violators and a coach who covered it up) managed to make money, just under $300k. Other schools who gained profits from their trips? Wisconsin ($80k), Oklahoma ($9k) and Arkansas ($5k). Stanford “broke even” according to their AD, but as they and TCU are both private, they didn’t have to supply the figures for verification. The other money losers were Oregon ($300k), Virginia Tech ($400k) and Auburn ($600k).
The various school and conference heads may not be interested in switching to a playoff format, but they SHOULD be interested in telling the BCS bowls to take a hike on mandatory ticket sales. Schools should commit to an amount based on what they believe they can sell, not based on what the bowls tell them to sell. Going to one of these games is supposed to be a reward, not a financial burden.
*I am unaware of how the non-BCS bowls allocate tickets and whether schools are required to sell minimum amounts.
Two cheers for the welfare state
It’s a few days old, but via Jim Kelly, I’ve just discovered David Frum’s article “Two Cheers for the Welfare State.” Frum, if you don’t know, is a former National Review editor and George W. Bush speechwriter, a one-time “true believer” in all things conservative, but who has become associated in recent years with the GOP’s centrist wing. Anyway, I think his article is great, and instead of excerpting it, I’ll just encourage everyone to go and read the whole thing.
I’d be curious to hear what our resident conservatives think about it, or more specifically, about its substance (in other words, yes, I know you all think Frum’s a RINO — but why is he wrong?). Also, any links to good conservative rebuttals of the piece that have already been published (I’m sure they’re out there) would be appreciated.
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[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.]
Playtime at Sterne Park in Littleton, then lunch at Merle’s. I love springtime adventures.
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[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.]
12 days after it ended in a loss, my As-You-Go #GiantBracket has been relocated to the basement. Still not quite ready to put it away entirely…
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[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.]
My list of most played iTunes/iPod/iPhone songs is an amusing mix, dominated by songs Loyette likes. In fact, only #7 is there because of me. (#2 is because of Becky.)