Life's Traumatic Events

If I recall correctly, it has been said that the three most traumatic events in life are moving, getting married, and changing jobs.

Heather and I closed on our townhome almost two weeks ago.  I'm working on moving in right now and it's a major pain in the biblical donkey.  Who knew that I had so much shtuff in my little 'ol apartment?  And it all has to be moved or tossed, grrr.  Moving two different lives into one home is already challenging.  But at least seven weeks from tomorrow, we'll be through the whole wedding and landing at St. Thomas, USVI.

Boy could I use that vacation right about now.

It's Tournament Time times three

So, are the best 113 teams in the country actually playing right now?  I'm not so sure, especially considering who's playing in the CBI right now.  I'm happy that Valpo made it into the CBI to at least get another game and am ecstatic that Valpo beat Washington tonight (first ever victory over a Pac-10 opponent and second trip to Seattle in four years, last one was for the big dance).  The only game I got to see Washington play on TV was when they beat UCLA in Seattle, so I wasn't so sure what Valpo would be able to do, but, I digress of what I was hoping to post.

K, back on track now.

Here's my analysis in conference alphabetical order of who is playing where this postseason.  First, the NIT.

        Team                 Record      Conf.      RPI/Conf. RPI

1. UMass              21-10      A-10        42/7
2. Charlotte           20-13      A-10        69/7
3. Dayton              21-10      A-10        32/7
4. Rhode Island     21-11      A-10        76/7
5. Va. Tech           19-13      ACC        52/1
6. Maryland          18-14      ACC        84/1
7. Fl. State             19-14     ACC        60/1
8. Nebraska           19-12     B-12         95/3
9. OK State           17-15     B-12         77/3
10. Syracuse            19-13     B-East       55/5
11. UNC-Ashe        23-9       B-South    43/27
12. Ohio State         19-13      B-10        49/6
13. Minnesota          20-13     B-10        101/6
14. UC-SB              23-8       B-West     89/18
15. VCU                 24-7       Colonial    54/13
16. UAB                 22-10     C-USA     56/10
17. Cleve. State       21-12     Horiz.       63/11
18. Akron               23-10      MAC       75/12
19. Morgan State    22-10      MEAC     134/30
20. IL State            24-9        Mo. Vall   33/8
21. Creighton          21-10     Mo. Vall    46/8
22. So. Ill.               17-14     Mo. Vall    62/8
23. New Mexico     24-8       Mtn. West  59/9
24. SDSU               20-12     Mtn. West  81/9
25. Robert Morris   26-7       NE              135/23
26. Arizona St.        19-12     PAC-10    83/2
27. California           16-15    PAC-10     92/2
28. Florida              21-11      SEC          72/4
29. Mississippi        21-10      SEC          48/4
30. SFA                 26-5       Southland    64/19
31. Al. State           20-10      SWAC       205/31   Seriously? With that RPI?
32. Utah State        24-10       WAC          71/20

Now, the CBI:

        Team                 Record      Conf.      RPI/Conf. RPI

1. Virginia              15-15      ACC          127/1
2. Richmond           16-14      A-10          120/7
3. Cincinnati           13-18      B-East        118/5
4. Old Dominion     17-15     Colonial       129/13
5. Houston             22-9       C-USA         80/10
6. Tulsa                  20-13     C-USA        93/10
7. UTEP                19-13      C-USA        102/10
8. Valpo                 21-13      Horiz.          97/11
9. Brown               19-9         IVY             106/24
10. Rider                 23-10       MAAC        109/17
11. Miami (OH)      17-15        MAC          73/12
12. Ohio                 19-12        MAC           82/12
13. Bradley              17-15       Mo. Vall      105/8
14. Utah                 16-14        Mtn. West    96/9
15. Washintgon       16-16       PAC-10        121/2
16. Nevada             21-11       WAC            74/20

Seriously, Cincinnati with a 13-18 record (I know the Big East was tough this year) had a post-season game?  Did they even make it to the Big East Tourney?  (I haven't checked). 

Now, for a list of the teams that won 19 or more games this season and don't have anymore games to play:

        Team                 Record      Conf.      RPI/Conf. RPI

1. E. Tenn. St.         19-13     A-Sun        145/29
2. N. Arizona           21-11     B-Sky        139/25
3. C.S. Northridge   20-10     B-West       111/18
4. Pacific                 21-10      B-West      140/18
5. UNC-Wilm.        20-13     Colonial      126/13
6. S. Miss.               19-14     C-USA       93/10
7. Wright St.            21-10      Horiz.         86/11
8. Niagara               19-10      MAAC       116/17
9. W. Mich.             20-12      MAC          119/12
10. Wagner                23-8         NE            122/23
11. Ga. South.           20-12     Southern      132/21
12. Sam Houston       23-8      Southland      99/19
13. IUPUI                  26-7     Summit          70/22
14. Ark. LittleRock    20-11    Sun Belt        171/15
15. N. Texas              20-11    Sun Belt        142/15
16. NewMex. St.       21-14      WAC          124/20

As I put this third list together, it looks like IUPUI and Wright State should have the most to complain about given their records and RPI ratings.  However, Valpo beat Wright State THREE times this year in their first year in the Horizon League, so it would be crazy to therefore pick Wright State for the post-season over Valpo.  And IUPUI got that record playing in the Summit.  The Summit used to be the Mid-Con until Valpo left it for the Horizon, then they changed their name.  It wasn't a very good conference even though Valpo was there and it's not any better with Valpo gone.

Here's to hoping everyone enjoys all of the tournaments and all of the teams and fans have safe trips to each and every game.

DCI's New Countdown

For the sake of another entry, I just thought I'd share with you my votes for DCI's new countdown in theaters this year.  My fave six finalist shows from the past three years are:

2007 Blue Devils
2007 Carolina Crown
2006 Phantom Regiment
2005 The Cadets
2005 Bluecoats
2005 Madison Scouts

I was disappointed with a lot of what was on the field in 2006 and 2007 (except for my choices), and I hate Gershwin with a passion (so there's no WAY I could ever vote for '05 Regiment - even with J. Thompson writing the drill).

P.S. on the K.S.

Okay, with $750,000 in his pocket to leave IU, Kelvin Sampson may not need to work for quite some time.  That's as much money as I would make (gross) in about 14 years in my current situation.  Perhaps those inside sales jobs wouldn't end up being so enticing to him.

But I also consider this:  After finishing grad school and the state licensing exam in July of that same year (results didn't come until September), I didn't have a "job."  I had a few bands to write for and a few bands to teach and a few students to instruct.  But after three years of grad school, that work around high school kids just wasn't very intellectually stimulating.  It was great to have the mental break, but at the same time I felt my mind morphing into mental mush.  I've had friends say it would be great to get a six month break from work and just be able to lay around.  Perhaps that would be great if you had plenty of financial resources to make it through those months and didn't have to worry about the resources at the end of the break.  But I don't know.  For me, that kind of break would be great as long as I was able to engage in something purposeful, like helping in New Orleans (an obviously easy thing to think of with so much left to do down there).

Kelvin Sampson

In my line of work, I have to prove that someone is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in order for a jury or judge to find said individual guilty of having committed an act.

In the court of public opinion, the burden of proof is significantly different.  If one has been accused, usually regardless of the source's credibility, they must be guilty.  Any denial by the "guilty" party merely means that they are trying to cover up, or are unwilling to accept responsibility for, their actions.

I'm soooooo tired of hearing about the HGH accusations in baseball (did he or didn't he/they?).  I'm really tired of it because the media and whoever else is involved (govt. getting too big here people?) are digging up dirt on things that weren't illegal at the time the acts were committed.  Seriously, if it were legal to be a professional ping pong player from 2000 to 2003, and all of a sudden that profession were outlawed in 2004, then why on earth should we care in 2008 if someone were a professional ping pong player in 2002?

Which brings me to Kelvin Sampson.  I LOVE college basketball and I love watching good teams play great games (that rarely happens in the NDA with or without Shaq or Kobe.  Oh, NDA= No Defense Association.)  ;)  Kelvin Sampson put together some pretty good teams in the Sooner state and has had a good measure of success in his second year here in the Hoosier State.  However, he (and/or his staff) broke NCAA rules while in Oklahoma and the NCAA invoked additional limitations on him when he was hired at IU-Bloomington.  These are/were limitations that other schools didn't have to live under.

Side note:  It's kinda like being on probation.  A court says that while on probation you can't go to a bar or drink or break laws, even if you could otherwise legally enter said bar or drink selected adult beverage.  Probation is a person's chance for the court to give them a break and if they can't handle it, for the court to then throw the person in jail (as one retired judge put it).

So, it has been alleged that Sampson may have violated the NCAA's terms of "probation" (my word, not theirs) while at IU.  The court of public opinion (In the midwest, this court's jury seems to be made up of IU's BIG 10 rivals) seems to believe that Sampson is in fact guilty.  So what of it?  Imagine you're Kelvin Sampson, you've been making the big-money coaching Div. I college basketball for years and it appears that that is about to come to an end.  What do you do?

Maybe a high school or NAIA program would hire him until he could again be back in Div. I.  Or maybe you go manage a Panera Bread franchise somewhere, perhaps?

Nah.  From the news I've heard, the alleged violations all have primarily involved use of the telephone in the recruiting race.

Up next for Sampson?  Some sort of sales job involving the phone.  Maybe he'll be hawking financial planning for Ameriprise, or maybe he'll be working inside sales for Dell.  Who knows?  But wouldn't that just make sense?  ;)

Peace.