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Athens, GA (Feb 28, 2009) - Here we are, heading into the final couple of weeks before March Madness kicks into high gear. That means we will be seeing more of the much hyped bracketologists on the air and on-line. It may be Joe Lunardi over at ESPN, Jerry Palm over on CBSSports.com, and Frank Burlison over on FoxSports.com.

Frank who? Frank Burlison of course, who has Siena College as a number 8 seed in his bracket. Obviously he has not gotten the news that mid-major teams do not get number 8 seeds. But then again, he did not put Siena and Niagara University in the MEAC, as opposed to the MAAC conference they belong to, as SportsIllustrated.com did in a headline this morning:


Herein lies the problem. Unless a school is from a top-tier conference, the media and most of theor bracketologists have no clue what they are saying or writing. If it is a one-bid conference, they just plug in whoever is leading the conference on that given day. They do not do their homework, and it is probably because thier main audience does not really care about these smaller schools and conferences.

Instead, they write about the BCS schools and conferences, as if that should make a difference come selection Sunday. of course, it does because these schools and conferences have enough money from football to support a top-tier basketball program. And for the most part, they can get away with it because if there is a conference tournament upset, it becomes a no harm, no foul situation. If the number one seed in the MEAC, currently Morgan State and not Siena, loss there is no impact. Only one team from the MEAC is going to the show anyway.

But what happens when there are two very good teams in a mid-level conference and the number one seed loses to the number two seed in the conference championship?

This could very well happen this year if Siena (22-7, 15-2 MAAC) and Niagara (23-7, 13-4 MAAC) square of in the MAAC , not MEAC, championship game. Assuming they both win their final games tomorrow, and make it to the finals, you will have two teams with a gaudy 25+ win season.

Siena has a very, very good RPI this year in the the low 20's. If Niagara should pull an upset and wins, does Siena go home to pack for the NIT or do they deserve a NCAA bid? In all fairness, they should, as they played a tremendously tough non-conference schedule. The naysayers will point out that they lost these games to this tough competition, and they let Niagara hang 100 points on them last night.

But they still took on that schedule and played it as it was written. And that includes a 13 point loss to Pitt and a 7 point loss to Kansas.

Niagara will probably not get an invitation to the dance if they do not win the championship game, despite the fact that they would have a 26-8 record. Even though they have an impressive 13-5 road record,the selection game is not played that way.

But if Niagara should pull an upset, what does the commitee do about Siena?

Athens, GA (Feb 27, 2009) - Looking back on it now, the decision by the Rocky Mountain News to live twitter the funeral of a 3-year old boy should have just shouted "jumping the shark." But who knew back in September 2008 that today, February 27, 2009 would be the last day that the presses would be rolling for that newspaper?


Yes, today will be the last day the Rocke Mountain News gets published after nearly 150 years of service. It should be a sad day for everyone, because it will not be the last newspaper that will have to fold. Forget the Internet, for without newspapers and their trained journalists, we all lose.

Some newspapers like the Atlanta-Journal Constitution will deserve their fate as they have dumbmed down their content so much that it has become a mockery of an institution. But those newspapers who have not lost their way like the Washington Post and the New York Times need to survive and be read, because they do make a difference, even if you do ot like their editorial slant.

We need to start paying for newspaper content on-line, as written in a recent Time Magazine essay. We have got to end this expectation of the free lunch on the Internet. It takes time, people, and money to produce the content. Advertising alone will not pay the bills.

We may not like it when web sites like ESPN takes content and puts it behind a paid wall. But it is a business decision that has to be made. Whether you find value in paying for content by writers such as Andy Katz and other writers is up to you.

And there is a bottom line simple question we need to face up to. Has the Internet really made life better for we as people? Sure, it may have made life simpler in a lot of ways. But how do we weigh those benefits against cyber-stalking, identity theft, cyber-fraud, and increased organized crime activities in the ether?

Related Link(s)

Denver, Rocky good sports (Rocky Mountain News)
Time Magazine: How to Save Your Newspaper
Paper's Decision to Twitter 3-Year-Old's Funeral Sparks Outrage (ABC News)

St. Louis, MO (Feb 26, 2009) -The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has announced finalists for the 2009 Oscar Robertson Trophy, to be presented to the association's national player of the year.

• DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh (6-7, 265, Soph., Pittsburgh, Pa.)
• Sherron Collins, Kansas (5-11, 200, Jr., Chicago, Ill.)
• Dante Cunningham, Villanova (6-8, 230, Sr., Silver Spring, Md.)
• Stephen Curry, Davidson (6-3, 185, Jr., Charlotte, N.C.)
• Tyreke Evans, Memphis (6-6, 219, Fr., Chester, Pa.)
• Blake Griffin, Oklahoma (6-10, 251, Soph., Oklahoma City, Okla.)
• Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina (6-9, 250, Sr., Poplar Bluff, Mo.)
• Luke Harangody, Notre Dame (6-8, 255, Jr., Schererville, Ind.)
• James Harden, Arizona state (6-5, 218, Soph., Los Angeles, Calif.)
• Ty Lawson, North Carolina (5-11, 195, Jr., Clinton, Md.)
• Jerel McNeal, Marquette (6-3, 200, Sr., Chicago, Ill.)
• Jodie Meeks, Kentucky (6-4, 208, Jr., Norcross, Ga.)
• Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut (7-3, 263, Jr., Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania)
• Jeff Teague, Wake Forest (6-2, 180, Soph., Indianapolis, Ind.)
• Evan Turner, Ohio State (6-7, 205, Soph., Chicago, Ill.)

Athens, GA (Feb 26, 2009) - Last year, Fox Sports started a great initiative called "Fox Sports Supports." Each major Fox Sports Property was aligned with a charity for the 2008 year. It provided great visibility for the charity, and lots of people wondering what was up with the lapel pins being worn by Fox Talent.

The 2009 partnerships are now in place, and kicked off at the 2009 Daytona 500. Here are the charities being supported by Fox Sports this year.

NASCAR and Susan G. Komen For the Cure











With February being breast cancer awareness month, it is fitting that NASCAR has teamed up with Susan G. Komen For the Cure.

About Susan G. Komen For the Cure

Susan G. Komen fought breast cancer with her heart, body and soul. Throughout her diagnosis, treatments, and endless days in the hospital, she spent her time thinking of ways to make life better for other women battling breast cancer instead of worrying about her own situation. That concern for others continued even as Susan neared the end of her fight. Moved by Susan’s compassion for others and committed to making a difference, Nancy G. Brinker promised her sister that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever.

That promise is now Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the global leader of the breast cancer movement, having invested more than $1 billion since inception in 1982. As the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists, we’re working together to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®, and generous contributions from our partners, sponsors and fellow supporters, we have become the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.

Organization Web Site

MLB on Fox and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research










Perhaps the most visible face of Parkinson's Disease is Michael J. Fox. For 2009, MLB on Fox team will partner with the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

About the Foundation

The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson's disease within the decade through an aggressively funded research agenda and to ensuring the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson's today.

Foundation Web Site

NFL on Fox and City of Hope











For 2009, the NFL on Fox team will partner with the City of Hope, which is located north of Los Angeles.

About the City of Hope

City of Hope is recognized worldwide for its compassionate patient care, innovative science and translational research, which rapidly turns laboratory breakthroughs into promising new therapies.

We are one of only 40 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers nationwide and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. An independent biomedical research, treatment and education institution, we are a leader in the fight to conquer cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases.

On our park-like campus just northeast of Los Angeles, researchers advance ideas into discoveries, physicians bring emerging therapies to patients, and students learn to transform the landscape of modern medicine – all supported by the generosity of philanthropists from across the country.

Every day we pursue new and better ways to improve the lives of men, women and children here and around the world – and have for almost 100 years.

City of Hope Web Site

BCS on Fox and Malaria No More











As the BCS winds down its contract with Fox Sports, the broadcast team will join an effort first highlighted by Kiefer Sutherland on 24: Redemption, partnering with Malaria No More. , helping to fight this terrible disease which kills so many in Africa.



About Malaria No More

Malaria No More was born of a simple, startling insight: that ending malaria's death grip on Africa is the best humanitarian investment we can make in the world today. Nothing else can have the same impact on as many people's lives and livelihoods as quickly or cheaply.

We have the tools (mosquito nets, medicine, spraying) to eliminate malaria deaths, but we need to dramatically scale up efforts to deliver them to the people who need them most. The challenge is principally operational, not scientific, and therefore amenable to business-style problem solving. Malaria No More was established in December 2006 by two widely respected business leaders—News Corporation President and COO Peter Chernin and Wall Street pioneer Ray Chambers—who are applying their private-sector experience and considerable networks to tackle this problem.

Malaria No More Web Site

Hopefully people will not be doing massive searches for information on the lapel pins being worn by Fox Sports talent this year. This can only done if Fox Sports does a better job of publicizing it during live broadcasts. Perhaps they can do it witt sponsored "Bug" drops, sponsored down and distance markers, and more.

Related Link(s)

Fox Sports Supports

Athens, GA (Feb 25, 2009) - Perhaps it is fitting that Tiger Woods is returning to the PGA Tour on Ash Wednesday of 2009. It is too bad that he could not hold off to Easter Week. If so, the media platitudes and gushing might sound something like Matthew's Gospel account of the Resurrection of Christ.

An adaptation of the Gospel of Mathew, Chapter 28: 1-10

¹After the Sabbath, at dawn on the fourth day of the week, Tim Finchem and the media went to look at the tomb.

²There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

⁵The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Tiger, who has been missing in action. ⁶He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Arizona. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

⁸So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹Suddenly Tiger met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰Then Tiger said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Arizona; there they will see me."

Yes, I know that this may sound sacrilegious, but is it any more over the top than this promo being aired by The Golf Channel this week (as highlighted by Brian Powell over on Awful Announcing)?



Now don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Tiger. In fact I only watch golf when he is on and competing, as most of the players I knew when caddying on the PGA Tour have either moved on to the Champions Tour or are not competing anymore. But the narrative given by Samuel L. Jackson in the promo is a wee bit scary. It openly acknowledges that the PGA Tour is nothing without Tiger.

I, like others, would love to see his return today. Unfortunately, because the PGA Tour has moved all weekday coverage to The Golf Channel, I and many others will not be able to see it. Notwithstanding, here are the air times for this weeks coverage on The Golf Channel, Sirius - XM Radio and NBC Sports:

Wednesday, February 25	SIRIUS-XM	12 - 8 PM ET
Wednesday, February 25	The Golf Channel	2 - 6 PM ET
Wednesday, February 25	The Golf Channel	7:30 - 11:30 PM ET
Thursday, February 26	The Golf Channel	12:30 - 4:30 AM ET
Thursday, February 26	SIRIUS (209), XM (146)	12 - 8 PM ET
Thursday, February 26	The Golf Channel	2 - 6 PM ET
Friday, February 27	The Golf Channel	2 - 5 AM ET
Friday, February 27	SIRIUS-XM	12 - 8 PM ET
Friday, February 27	The Golf Channel	2 - 6 PM ET
Saturday, February 28	The Golf Channel	2 - 5 AM ET
Saturday, February 28	The Golf Channel	10 - 2 PM ET
Saturday, February 28	SIRIUS-XM	10 - 8 PM ET
Saturday, February 28	NBC Sports	2 - 6 PM ET
Sunday, March 1	The Golf Channel	10 - 1:30 PM ET
Sunday, March 1	SIRIUS-XM	10 - 12 AM ET
Sunday, March 1	NBC Sports	2 - 6 PM ET

Hit it stiff Tiger!

Related Link(s)

• Awful Announcing: The Golf Channel One Ups NBC In The "Welcome Back" Tiger Ads
• PGA Tour Bracket(ology) Leaderboard
• Eye on Sports Media: How Tiger Woods Ruined The PGA Tour

Athens, GA (Feb 24, 2009) - When reading Darren Rovell's always excellent blog over breakfast this morning, something caught my eye in his post about AT&T becoming Tiger's Woods' bag sponsor. Darren wrote

Besides Woods' tournament, they sponsor two other PGA Tour events, including the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and the AT&T Classic (emphasis added). They also are the presenting sponsor of the Cotton Bowl.

There is only one problem. AT&T dropped their sponsorship of the AT&T Classic (most recently known as the Bellsouth Classic) after the 2008 Tournament at TPC Sugarloaf. It has ben replaced on the schedule by the Valero Texas Open, which moved from the meaningless fall series schedule on the PGA Tour.

So if you are not yet confused, PGATour.com does not make it any easier. If you Google the AT&T Classic, you are brought to the tournament page on the PGATour.com site. Here you will find a prominent banner advertising the now non-existent 2009 tournament, including a link to http://www.attclassic.com/, a site that no longer exists.




The PGATour.com has always been an excellent example of data availability and data presentation. But a mistake like this is one that should never happen. Even though you will not find the tournament listed in the tournaments page, Google does not forget.

Related Link(s)

Darren Rovell: Tiger Will Have AT&T Golf Bag
AT&T Classic Page at PGATour.com

Athens, GA (Feb 23, 2009) - The buzz is flowing up from the Hudson River to the rolling hills and campus of the United States Military Academy at West Point. It has nothing to do with Navy. It has everything to do with internal pride and competition. Tomorrow night, Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas (a favorite of the cadets) return to visit the Corps of Cadets for the Annual Brigade Boxing Finals. ESPNU will broadcast the event live from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm et. Rebroadcasts of the event will be Thursday, Feb. 26 at 1:00 p.m. et and Friday, Feb. 27 at 12:30 a.m et.

Ryan Yanoshak of the West Point Athletic Communications Department was kind enough to pass along the following images from last year's event.

Related Link(s)

ESPNU To Air West Point's Brigade Boxing Open on March 1, 2008

Athens, GA (Feb 22, 2009) - Meg·a·lo·ma·ni·a (měg'ə-lō-mā'nē-ə, -mān'yə) is defined as "a psychopathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of wealth, power, or omnipotence." In the blogging world it is defined as an ASW (an attention-seeking whore), and these type of people are not usually a welcome part of the blogging community.

Self-described megalomaniac Ken Krayeske brought new meaning to ASW with his interaction with University of Connecticut Men's Basketball Coach Jim Calhoun. After UConn defeated South Florida 64-50. Krayeske decided to take on Calhoun over his salary, and it was not pretty.



Watching this video, there are two questions that come to mind. From Calhoun's initial response of "not a dime back", it seems that he has been under pressure on this topic. Why else would he reply so abruptly and curtly before Krayeske even finished his question.

The other question is how did Krayeske even get a credential to begin with? If you look at his web site, which will not be linked to from here, everything he writes about seems to come from a self-aggrandizing point of view. He came into the press conference with an agenda.

And guess what? He won. He got the attention he wanted, and Calhoun came across as a bitter man with lots of money. How would this play with the lower-middle class and unemployed of Connecticut? Sure, UConn basketball brings a lot of money into the school, but most people don't distinguish between state money and athletic revenue. They just see a man yelling at a "reporter", defending the frankly outlandish amount of money he receives.

Unfortunately, all Krayeske really accomplished is make it more difficult for members of non-traditional media to get access to events and people. In his megalomaniac attack on Calhoun, he acted irresponsibly. Not only did he tick of Calhoun, he managed to draw the ire of the other media members in the room (listen closely to the video).

Thanks to TonyBlogs.net for providing the link to this video and story.

Related Link(s)

Jim Calhoun Vs. Ken Krayeske Over UConn Salary (Hartford Courant)

Athens, GA (Feb 22, 2009) - There were tears of joy last week. From Black Rock to 30 Rock to Sawgrass and beyond, the news that Tiger Woods would be returning to action on the PGA Tour this week was big enough to surely bring tears to everybody's eyes. The television ratings could be salvaged.

So how does NBC Sports celebrate? They schedule a special media call on Monday afternoon to let the media question the NBC golf talent about the importance of his return. But why have a media call? The answer is bottom-line simple. Without Tiger, no one but the most die-hard fans care about golf on television.

NBC can only hope that Tiger makes it to the weekend of this weeks event.

Athens, GA (Feb 22, 2009) - Charles Bloom is the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Associate Commissioner for Media Relations. He has been with the SEC since 1995. Recently, he has been working on bringing the SEC into the Web 2.0 world of social media. Last week, he officially launched the SEC presence on Facebook and Twitter.

Charles (pictured left) has also entered the world of blogging. No, it is not a blog tied to the SEC (which would be very cool). It is a personal blog called Principled Profiles in Sports: Showing the lessons learned and benefits of participation in sports. He launched the blog this past Saturday, and right now he is focusing on linking to stories and editorials found elsewhere in the news world. Hopefully he will soon be adding his own thoughts on the stories he is linking to. That may be challenging given his workload. Even so, he is coming from a position that may help open channels of discussion and understanding between organizations such as the SEC and run-of-the-mill sports bloggers.

Welcome to the discussion Charles!

Related Link(s)

Principled Profiles in Sports: Showing the lessons learned and benefits of participation in sports

Athens, GA (Feb 19, 2009) - ESPN may be buying a whole bunch of sports properties, but that does not mean they get to keep all of the fun with them. In this video, Gary Parrish of CBS Sports online property (CBSSports.Com) talks about the realities for the teams participating in this weekend's BracketBuster games on ESPNU.

Athens, GA (Feb 18, 2009) - For troops, whether they are in a war zone or deployed to a faraway place, there is nothing better than when people from home come to entertain you, giving a small respite from your duties. For years, Bob Hope did this as part of his U.S.O. tours. These days troops will get visits from entertainers and football coaches. For six years now, they have been entertained by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

The logistics to move a show like this can be challenging, as freelance audio engineer Marc "Frenchy" Lanciaux has described in parts one and two of this series of articles. In this final installment, Frenchy talks about waking up to the Islamic call to prayer (the fard salah), helicopters, and machine gun fire. He also talks about the challenges of not having power...again.

Eye on Sports Media cannot thank Frenchy enough for allowing us to republish these posts from his blog. His writing and storytelling are excellent, and they set a bar for all sports related blogs, including this one, to strive for. The orginal posting of this installment can be found on his blog.

Iraq IV - Back to Baghdad - Part Three
by Marc Lanciaux

You don't need as much sleep as you think.

This, above all else, is a lesson that I have taken home from Iraq. Every year. I'd say that on average, the crew gets about ten hours of sleep in four days, give or take. I was racking up my dreamless hours when, suddenly, my sound sleep was shattered by the Adhan, the Muslim fard salah, or call to prayer. The helicopters flying overhead all night may have briefly made me stir; the sporadic sound of gunfire as patrols leaving Camp Victory test their 50 cal machine guns might have made me roll over; but when I heard the wailing call of the Adnan at 5 AM, I knew I was done sleeping for the night.

So, I did what any transient in Cyclone City would do when wide awake at 5 AM, I ponied up my credit card and signed on to the in suite WI-FI router. If I can't sleep, I may as well rant.


It was a little weird to see the header in Arabic. I tried to sign on. And failed. Several times. I kept getting an error message - in Arabic. WOW, that's helpful! I struggled for a while, until I figured out (by figured out, I mean made a wild guess) that Arabic reads from left to right. Entering my password first, then my username was the way to open the sesame to Blogger.com.



I wrote a silly little rant, added one picture, then waited thirty-seven minutes while the post and picture uploaded. The Internet may not be free, but at least it's slow. While waiting, I carried out the second half of my Iraq mission, writing the first of two installments of my 'crew blog' for the WWE.com website. Before the trip began, I was asked if I'd write a blog about what it takes to set up an arena in the desert. I figured I'm going to blog about it here for the Faithful Fifteen to skim, why not write something on a website that people actually visit? The WWE wisely hid my blog from all but the most dedicated fans, including my brother Eric, Unleaded of The Great Nova Scotia Expedition and Air Force fame, and my Dad, who posted three of the five comments I received. To save time and trouble, here's a link to that blog: WWE.com

Set day number two started much like set day one ended. Dark, with no electricity.




I wanted to see if my signature left from the 2006 Tribute to the Troops was still there.


The electricians guarantee power 'sometime after lunch.' Then they promptly go to lunch. They neglect to specify which lunch the power will come after. Those electricians! Such a merry bunch of kidders!


For once, they weren't kidding. After their mandated post-lunch, pre-break break ends, they flip a circuit breaker, we all hold our collective breath, and, rather than filling with smoke like we expected, miraculously, the tent fills with the wonderful sounds of whirring fans, electronic beeping and blinking lights. With half a set day to go, we're in business!

Suddenly, there is a fairly loud explosion not too far away. The second lesson I've taken away from Iraq is - It's Always Something. I flash back three years to the last time in Baghdad. We were waiting to go to lunch when a mortar attack hit the dining facility. Something about a rocket exploding a few hundred feet away really put me off my lunch that day. But this time, nobody's running; nobody's shouting "Get the fuck down!" In fact the soldiers working with us don't even seem to have noticed. I walk outside to see what happened.


Well, whatever it was, it was pretty close. But if nobody else is going to worry about it, I won't either. Back to work! Inside Supershooter Green, racks are set up, and the long, tedious job of patching everything together begins.





After suffering through another brief power outage, much briefer than the previous day-and-a-half long outage, I get as far as I am going to get for the day. I'd say that I'm about 80% ready for tomorrow's show, which is close enough for comfort. Speaking of comfort, before leaving for the day, we pour some smuggled adult liquid comfort from a flask, and hoist a red plastic cup to the Best Set Day Ever.