Two Months

So you've got just about two months left to wait until we get to see if Coach Hope and the boys can wipe the stupid smile off this sycophant's face.

I can't wait.

USA Overcomes Opponents, Refs, To Win Group C

Let me be the first to say, suck it, rest of the world. We know you don't like us and we know you don't think we're a worthy soccer nation, but I speak of many of us who played soccer for a long time and who actually enjoy international soccer when I say, bite me.

The USA men's team is undefeated (and was almost out of the tourney despite being undefeated) and not only defeated Algeria on an extra time goal, but also overcame two incorrectly disallowed goals in three games. Several incorrect out-of-bounds calls (a late one today that would have resulted in a corner kick for the US), an incorrect handball call on Jozy today, etc., etc. I am not normally one of those people who points to referee calls because I think in sports it usually evens out.

That said, I do not think that about the World Cup this year. The US is widely disliked and, as I have said, thought of as a lesser soccer nation. And the referees displayed ridiculous contempt for the US by trying to screw them over and, in one case, refusing to explain a call that cost the United States a win. Incredible. And inexcusable. Well, again, suck it, and yes, call us arrogant, call us obnoxious, whatever. I don't care. None of us do.

The USA just won their group -- which contained England, among the snootiest d-bags out there -- and moves on.

And good for Landon Donovan. Guy has given a lot to USA soccer and has had his named cursed in many countries for not being up to their standards.

Urinating Upon an Institution: A Microcosm

You can't be angry at her, can you? I mean, sure, she over-sings and seems to be in love with herself...but really, that's what she's paid copious monies to do. Fresh off losing a lot of weight and maybe having some work done, she looks good...but not as good as this tournament looked.

But, Jennifer Hudson didn't hire herself, produce the song, direct the video and make sure that she was in it more than Gordon Hayward or Jon Scheyer. But Mark Grant, who's been around too long to mess something up like this did just that.

I really have no clue why people fidget with things that work really well...But I tend to do the same thing and kick myself square in the ass afterward.

I run a MacBook Pro...great computer, or at least it used to be. I'm not a live or die by any type of computer guy, so this isn't about that. But, I decided to upgrade the operating system about 9 months ago...to make it better. Ever since my upgrade, my once-reliable workhorse has become a demon-infested piece of excrement. I had to tweak it though...had to pick at it.


Mr. Grant, you've turned one of my favorite parts of the tournament into a steaming pile of dung.

Instead of the "One Shining Moment" building from the first games to the finals and the greatest plays and iconic images getting the focus, we got to see Jennifer Hudson's mug...over and over and over.

As Purdue fans, I'm sure most of us thought Kramer had earned a spot into the song...at the very least, the "Blue Tongue Shot" would have made it in...but it didn't. Instead, we saw Grant's shoulder and ear and a cute little Boilermaker for a total of about .5 seconds. Great work.

But it's not about Purdue, it's about everybody else. I don't remember seeing Ohio on the video...if I did, they made it forgettable. I don't remember seeing all of the Big East heroics (sorry bad example). But I think you get my drift. This song wasn't about basketball...wasn't about the tournament. It was about pop culture and wrecking a beautiful thing.

And it's about to happen on a much greater scale.

Just as Grant & Company added goofy sparkles and sunburst effects a few years ago as the ball flew through the air, people were annoyed, but allowed it. In the same way, the tournament committee implemented the ill-conceived, poorly-executed pod system. Which has pretty much translated to Purdue going as far West as possible each year.

And this year, as they completely broke the institution of the great post-tournament song, the NCAA is about to do the same by implementing a 96-team mega bracket for no other reason than to try to get richer on an already beautifully-efficient, awesomely-entertaining product.

Everybody gets into the tourney- My wife, my son, big fans, casual fans. Filling out a bracket is fun, watching the first weekend is an American holiday. But adding in another round of mid-week games and another 32 teams is in NOBODY'S best interest.

We saw this year why the NCAA's basketball tournament operating system doesn't need an update. It fricking works. Upsets don't happen everytime...but they happen a lot. Not all #1 seeds get through, and that's why you watch...and not everybody needs to participate. This is why this thing is special.

Illinois and Virginia Tech both probably should have been in this season...but they didn't do enough. It happens. So they'll get in, but they're not the problem. UNC is. They were awful...but do you think if the selection committee had a chance to reward a mother like the Carolina Blue for their crappy, barely-over .500 season, they wouldn't? Remember, this is the same organization that's about to ruin a great thing get a few extra shekels...and ticket-generating programs=dough.

So, let's stop all of this junk before it goes to far.

Mark Grant, have Ms. Hudson re-record the song without so many riffs for '11...and leave the video camera at the arena this time. And whomever becomes the next director of the NCAA, show some forethought and leave this tournament as it is. Your inconsistency between football and basketball is laughable...but if you do this, you have no other argument other than money, in both sports. And when it happens, just be transparent and change the name of the whole operation to the NCAARG (Nat'l. Col. Assoc. of Athletics for Rev. Gen.). It'll be the only thing to do at that point.

Can We Quit With the Big East Slurping Now?

My favorite interview was right before the WVU-Duke game when Huggins was asked about preparing for a team as good as Duke. He responded with the FIRST thing he said being, "Well, we play in the Big East..."

As though that explains all you should ever need to know about facing good teams because all the best teams are there.

Ah, so, yes, you play in the Big East, Bob. And the two times your boys had their asses handed to them were Jan 1 versus a Big Ten team and in the Final Four against an ACC team. Just wanted to clarify that.

Also, Sports Illustrated had a number of "Big East flexes their muscles" kinds of quotes in their bracket predictions. And then Georgetown lost to the 9th place MAC team, Notre Dame lost to Old Dominion, Syracuse got knocked out by the Horizon League champ, Marquette lost to a Pac 10 team..... and the championship was ACC vs Horizon.

So let's close the book on '09-'10 Big East nut-slurping. It's a good conference, sure, but it's a mega-conference so you're bound to have some good teams.

Just not the best teams.

Thank You, Chris

More later. My heart hasn't slowed down enough to allow a coherent recap.

Boilers Pull Upset; Advance to Second Round

"This is totally gonna screw up Digger's bracket!"

Wait, wait, wait. This can't be right. I must be reading this wrong. Purdue pulled off the upset of the mighty Siena Saints in the first round of the tourney?

Hell yes, you bet your sweet ass they did, 72-64.

Sorry, but we -- along with every other loyal Boilermaker -- are fricking sick and tired of our 28-5 squad being minimized and written off. Yes, they played poorly last Saturday against Minnesota. News flash: it's not last Saturday.

Were we thrilled with this performance? No, we were not, and neither were you, in all likelihood. And that's because those of us who are real fans of this team know they're still capable of big things. Rob's absence hurts, to be sure, but with two current all-conference guys, a former all-conference guy and the current Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, it was a little premature to suggest the Purdue Boilermakers wouldn't dispatch a MAAC team. Not a MAC team -- a MAAC team.

The Saints were all but favored in today's game and Brando and Gminski calling the game on CBS really -- REALLY -- wanted to be calling a 13 over 4 upset. Sorry, fellas, to disappoint you, but Purdue doesn't lose in the first round. It just doesn't happen.

The first hald was complained about by Boiler faithful, including us...BUT, while it was not a good half, the good guys were only down three. To try to be impartial for a moment, if nothing goes right for a team and they're only down 3, that's actually a good sign.

In the first half, there was plenty to be concerned about, as Moore played soft, nobody could rebound and JJ seemed to shrink three sizes against a team he could -- and needed to -- dominate.

Boilerdowd and I commented that we hoped Coach Matty got this team's attention at halftime. I think he did.

When the second half began, the Boilers played the game they are capable of playing, dominating defensively, converting breaks, forcing steals and bad passes, grabbing rebounds and asserting themselves with rattling dunks. As I said to b-dowd after the game, wouldn't you love to see them play that way for even one complete half? They'd be up 20+ on almost anybody.

Ryne Smith finally arrived and took the uniform from the imposter who has been wearing it all season. We kid, of course, as we love all our Boilermakers equally, but it was terrific to see Ryne hit a couple of huge threes. That was about it from the bench, though, as the Boilers' starters did an OSU impression, with everyone but Lew getting 31 minutes or more.

Concerns include the one we knew would continue -- without Rob, rebounding is a huge, HUGE problem. Being outrebounded 42-37 by a MAAC school is.... how you say..... not good. The Saints' top two rebounders had 25 combined, but the good news is JJ led all with 15 boards. Let's aim for our boys keeping the rebounding battle close going forward and we'll all agree to call that a win. Agreed?

Special mention to the efforts of the seniors. Keaton Grant started slowly but kept shooting -- and we needed him to -- and knocked down three treys. And, of course, Chris Kramer became Chris Kramer in the second half, stealing balls, getting breakaway dunks and pissing off the opposition. For those who missed it, early in the second half, as Purdue was making a big run, Kramer saved a ball going out of bounds and whaled it off of Siena's Kyle Downey (I believe), who did not care for that. He stepped up towards Kramer, who gave him that patented, Kramer Look of Disdain. We were all thinking it, too: Mr. Downey, trust us, you want no part of Chris Kramer. E'Twaun Moore stepped between the two and saved Downey from becoming a permanent part of the hardwood.

In the end, the game was a marginal performance, except for about the first 10-12 minutes of the second half. In this case, that was all that was needed. In the next game, we'll likely need more than just 1/4 effort, boys. Hopefully, they're pacing themselves. That said, we liked what we saw. It looked like the guys were increasing learning who they are. It's been hard to pinpoint exactly what to expect from this team, especially since Rob went down. Let's hope they've begun to seriously figure it out.

Oh, and continuing our memo to the mainsteam media: We do not want any props from you anymore. We get accused of whining when you slight our program over and over and over. No more. We quit on hoping you wise up. Leave 'em for dead, it's fine with us. And that includes next year. We don't want to hear a damn bit of pro-Purdue out of stooges like Goodman at Fox, Parrish at CBS, Katz at ESPN, or any other similarly uninformed buffoon who hasn't watched a Purdue game all year. Suck it, all of you. We're through hoping for respect. Our boys will force you to not be able to ignore them. Kind of like they did -- again -- today.

Choo-choo, muthas.

This way to the second round, boys!

Cheering 101 by The Crimson Guard

When I heard that the IU students finally decided it was trendy enough to start sort of caring about IU basketball again and formed an "official" student section, I decided to look into it. And at first, I wanted to mock them. Ha! A student section formed in December 2009 -- what, did they want to wait to see how bad the season would be before doing it?

But then I said to myself, "Self, that's not nice. This is a program trying to claw its way back after being decimated by a cheating coach."

A coach who had a history of cheating who they hired while knowing he was a cheater. So you could argue it was something IU did to itself. But still -- if you're a student there now, it's not your fault. You have the right to assemble. Hell, it's the clever name of your gym.

So I checked out their web site, CrimsonGuard.org. And, of course, they put up the grainy pictures of their championship banners, ranging from 23 years old to 70 years old. Rah-rah, yay!

But still, I thought they should be proud of whatever they want to be proud of. This is Indiana basketball -- these are people who truly know hoops. Right?

They even have several warnings to students not to rush the floor and to "act like you've been there before." And I respect this, because it's good advice.

What I don't respect, though, is a school whose students mock Purdue and act as though they're somehow superior.......and yet need cheering lessons. Let's take a look at the guidance given to students by the Crimson Guard's leadership:

click to embiggen

So we start with the "Purdont" roster. Clever, with the "Purdont" thing. Here's a tip for student sections -- be clever. Being an original idiot makes you sound like a southern Indiana hillrat. Oh, wait....

Among the tips on the first page is not to leave early, "unless you're meeting Purdue in the parking lot." What the hell does that even mean?

I love that they suggest that Rob Hummel "ran his best friend Scott Martin out of Purdue." Indeed, that's how it happened.

They also have a "pop quiz" asking how many national titles the Purdue men's team has won, and then indicate -- erroneously -- that the answer is zero. Way to do your homework, IU students! Not that you're used to having to study or do any research to skate through college.

But that's just the first page. The second page is the true treasure of this embarrassment:

click to enlargerate

Let's start at the top. "When the announcer says the name of a player you scream the first name."

And then....and THEN...they feel compelled to give an example!

"For example: 'Christian Watford.' Balcony and Bleachers unison: 'Christian'"

What, no guidance on how they should pull off doing it in unison? Will there be a conductor? A sign? A megaphone? HOW WILL THEY KNOW??

And then the "Main Level students shout the last name after the balcony and bleachers shout the first name." And yes, they have "after" in bold.

They then tell you that when a player "shots an airball" (assume they mean "shoots" but hey, that's an IU educashun for you) that you chant.... wait for it.... "airball...airball every time that player touches the ball for the remainder of the half."

*raises hand* But what if someone airballs it in the final seconds before the half? Can they chant "airball...airball" early in the second half? I NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE RULES HERE!!

It goes on from there, telling them how to clap and cheer for players, and all about the "left right left right" chant for players who foul out -- which you'll recall SMRT Illinois fans did to Kramer when he fouled out in Champaign with the game comfortably in hand.

Frankly, I'm surprised they don't have rules listed to help the students understand why some buckets count for three and some only for two.

I fully encourage anyone attending the game to create a new, more creative version of this guide, print a couple hundred copies and then distribute to students entering Ass Hall.

The BCS People Will Beat The Drum Until You Give Up

Bill Footpenis I'm sorry, Hancock, is the executive director of the BCS right now, a revolving door role that different BCS stooges take on for a couple years at a time. Basically, it's their agreement -- each of us takes the bullets and pretends we're right and everybody else is stupid for a couple years, then you hand the target and manual for being an ignorant imbecile over to someone else.

Oh, and all the while you collect bags of cash.

He posted a story this afternoon on something called "The American Chronicle," I guess the subtext here being that if you don't like what he has to say about our awesome bowl system, then you're un-American or something.

Well, guess what? It's the same old tired arguments. Same nonsense, different day. And eventually he'll win. People like me will get tired of it and wander off to do something else. But you know what we won't be doing? Watching his sport. At a time when they could own sports for a month. But whatever. For now, I'm still punchy, and so we're going to stampede Bill Footpenis' (I'm sorry -- Hancock's) article. Ready? Me, too.

Like millions of other fans, I love college football.

I don't think you really do. This is like saying starting off an argument against capital punishment by saying, "I love putting people to death." You know what else "millions of other fans" love? A resolution. A champion. Fairness. An attempt at fairness.

Its passion, traditions and pageantry are truly cherished.

By whom? Who "cherishes" such a whimpering end to a sports season? And what tradition is left at this point? The Rose Bowl, where the Pac Ten and Big Ten play... okay. And what else? Nothing. This argument is weak.

Fans will be watching intently on Jan. 7, when the top two teams meet in a bowl game.

Maybe. But there are 32 other bowl games that the only people watching will be the fans of those schools, bored people and gamblers. Meanwhile, I bet you everyone who loves football will watch as many NFL playoff games as they possibly can, regardless of whether their team is playing. You know what else dominates TV ratings? Regular season NFL games. And they have a playoff that, I guess, "dilutes" the regular season. Yeah, makes it downright awful. Nobody watches the NFL. Stupid playoffs.

Such showdowns [1 versus 2] took place only eight times in 56 seasons previously, while they have occurred nine times in the last 12 years

This is called "misdirection," kids. Bill is making an argument against something nobody is arguing about. Nobody is claiming the BCS doesn't pretty much get #1 versus #2 (although only getting it right 75% of the time is hardly an argument for it being awesome). People are saying that, like, if you're Florida and you've been #1 all season and you lose one game, you probably are still pretty good and should play in a game that means something after a 12-1 season.

It will be another exciting finish to the most important regular season in sports.

No, it won't.

Now, to Bill's four repeated bullet points.

First, playoffs diminish the regular season.

How so, Bill? I mean, really, because college basketball has a gazillion-dollar-generating tournament with probably more teams than it needs and I don't recall anyone ever saying the basketball regular season is diminished. In fact, I'd say it diminishes everything that if you lose a flukey game your season is over. Or, you know, if you're Cincinnati and you go undefeated but, well, what didn't they do right again, Bill? Bill? Hello?

The interest of fans, sponsors and others is redirected into the playoff. Now, from August to December, fans nationwide shift their attention from game to game and conference to conference weekly, as teams move up and down the ladder toward the title game. Why would we want to dilute that?

Wh...what? I don't even understand that paragraph. I guess it's hard to argue when you are confused by nonsensical sentences. So, if we had a playoff, nobody would care about college football until the playoff rolled around? Seriously? Is that f-cking SERIOUSLY what he's saying here? The only league where I think that might be a legit argument is the NBA. But the NBA sucks for lots of other reasons, too, so who cares?

Second, playoffs burden the fans. It's unrealistic to ask thousands of college students and fans to travel to faraway places week after week, to follow their teams through a playoff.

Asinine. Simply asinine. You know what else "burdens" fans? Being a fan of Cinci or Boise or TCU and knowing no matter what your beloved school does, it won't matter, because some of you (or all of you) will get screwed out of playing for the title. You know what else is a "burden"? The asinine prices and exclusivity of BCS bowl games. Try getting a ticket, Average Fan. Go for it. Let me know how far that gets you. What if teams hosted playoff games for one or two rounds and then played the bowls? Huh, interesting. Or how about this? You guys already champion conference title games played in neutral site cities. How come it's okay to ask Florida fans to travel to Atlanta for the SEC title game and then to another city for a bowl game, but it's not okay to ask them to go to maybe one more game -- if Florida advanced that far? Because that's what we're talking about. Most people want a simple, small playoff. Top 8 teams, max.

Third, a playoff would fuel even more controversy, as more teams with similar records are left out.

You're an idiot, Footpenis. Controversy will always exist, yes. But it's easy to say "too bad" to the teams left on the outside of larger groupings than, say, TWO teams, because once you get past the top 5, it's hard to have an argument that you deserve to be the best.

Think it's tough picking the top two?

No. Nobody does. You yourself bragged that the BCS has gotten it right a whole 9 out of 12 times.

Try selecting eight or sixteen.

Okay. Top 8 in the BCS. That took me .33 seconds.

Or take the 11 conferences and say they all get in plus five "at-large" teams. Presto, 16 teams.

This would guarantee additional pressure to expand brackets to uncontrollable levels.

No, it wouldn't. This is just silly.

Historical note: The NCAA men's basketball tournament began with just eight teams.

Indeed. And the forward pass used to be illegal, too. What's your point?

Fourth, the vast majority of college athletes will succeed in life because of their classroom -- not football -- performance. These are college students, not NFL pros.

Yes, I forgot. You're concerned about academics. That's laughable. Again, as I said, conference title games in faraway cities in December are fine, but then suddenly when it comes to a playoff we all care about academics. Because lots of schools have classes and finals between Christmas and the first week of January. Putz.

Bill Footpenis then leaves us with this wonderful gem:

In conclusion, with all the serious matters facing our country, surely Congress has more important issues than dictating how college football is played.

Wait, who said anything about Congress? It's almost like when the Law & Order cops are interrogating someone about a murder and they start off with, "Hey, do you know this girl?" And the perp says, "I'm telling you, I didn't kill anyone!" "Who said anything about killing anyone?" replies the streetwise cop.

You're right, Bill. Congress shouldn't have to get involved. But jerkwads like you continue to make a mockery of a sport many of us love, so maybe there's no choice. There are very real and possible and reasonable solutions. Solutions that would still allow gobs of money to be made. Solutions that would not "ruin" or "dilute" the regular season. Solutions that would not be set in stone. You've tweaked your precious BCS before -- why couldn't we tweak the playoff if there was a problem?

And please stop with the "nobody can come up with a perfect system" argument. The New England Patriots missed the NFL playoffs last year with an 11-5 record. Think they felt it was "fair"? Of course not. Everyone agrees -- there is no perfect solution. But there are better solutions than this joke we have now.

You know how it is in November...Survive and advance.

Purdue fans soak up the pre-game atmosphere in St. Thomas

Purdue beat South Dakota State, 74-63. If I would have seen tonight's game, it might have reminded me of a few last season - Hummel got in early foul trouble and played less than 10 total minutes in the first half...and Purdue rebounded poorly. But, last season, Smooge didn't play this way too often.

I'd give you a link for EsPN's box score...but that doesn't exist. Sure, the BC and Tennessee games both received such a luxury...but they're both ranked higher than Purdue. Oh wait, they're not.

Then again, as a fan, what do we really need? TV- nah. Internet media coverage- nope. I can't wait until they put the muzzle on Cliz...it'll complete the media trifecta.

Smooge drives on a player from the sitcom University "State"

Moore finished with 22 points, 5 assists and 2 steals. Hummel and Johnson had 14 and 13 pts. respectively. Kramer had 5 assists while running the point...Smith hit a few shots off of the bench and Byrd had 6 rebounds...and Barlow played significant minutes. But, he made some Freshman mistakes in the closing minutes- silly foul, a turnover...he'll learn.

Purdue will play the upset-minded St. Joe's Hawks who beat BC by 4. On the other side of the bracket, Tennessee whipped ECU by 39 and scored 105.

After the game, Painter assured everyone that if Purdue played like they did tonight against St. Joe's, they'd lose.

This game seemed to be the type that I can remember Purdue teams losing in the past- poor free throw shooting, poor performances by multiple starters...overall sluggishness. But they didn't- that's good.

They played down to their competition- that's bad.
The really good news is they get to play in two days...this time hundreds will be able to watch as the game is on Fox College Sports in super-low definition. I actually have that because I pay an extra $7/mo, mainly for the NFL network through Comcast.

Have I told you how happy I am with the TV coverage Purdue's gotten this season?

Thanks again to all media outlets involved who have made all of this possible.

This Just In: aOSU sucks!

I'm watching The Soup and Joel just showed a rap video by Miley Cyrus...and she was wearing a Buckeye cap. This is one of the reasons I hate Ohio State- bandwagoners. Suck it, Buckeyes, yo yo.

Dear Big Ten Bloggers Who Picked Against Purdue

To those who picked against Purdue behind the scenes in the Big Ten Bloggers Pick 'Em, including Hail to the Orange, OSU Silver Bullet (nice job with Navy, by the way) and Maize N Brew, we just wanted to cordially invite you to....

Cover up? Who? Me? No. Come on!

Sen. Arlen Specter said on Wednesday that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told him that the New England Patriots had been spying on rival teams since 2000 when Bill Belichick took over as head coach.

Since 2000? Can it really be a dynasty if one of its key foundations is that of cheating? What happens to those Super Bowls that were won in that time frame?

"There's no doubt it had an impact on the games," Specter added. "It is hard to tell what games were involved with the destruction of the notes and the tapes. No really valid reason was given for the destruction of the notes and the tapes."

Um, isn't that reason obvious? The NFL is completely covering up the entire situation because this is a nightmare scenario for the biggest cash cow in professional sports. Why would they possibly destroy the tapes so quickly? So that no one else can find out the truth of what's going on, that's why.

Is video taping defensive play calling cheating? Yes. What's worse though, the cheating or the cover up that's going on in the league office? I'd definitely have to say that the cover up is far worse than the actual act.

The tapes needed to be made public so that the Patriots can truly get the punishment that they deserve. Instead, the NFL brushed everything under the rug as fast as possible so that they could protect their precious image. Suck it NFL!

Goodell needs to be fined about $10 million for his role in this. Belichick should be fired for his part. Robert Kraft should be fined $100 million. The Patriots should lose an entire draft, not just one pick. Basically, send that organization back to the stone age. They've gotten to where they are now based on cheating, and what the NFL is telling us is that it's great.

Breaking news! This just in. In describing the Patriots and "Spy-Gate," NFL tells ESPN, "Good for them!"

Oh, because of this run you've made $1 Billion, but we'll fine you $19. Great! What kind of a freaking stance is that? Be a man and bring the pain. The Patriots have made a fortune because of this run. They've made this run in part because of cheating. Therefore, as punishment for the cheating, they really need to be hit where it hurts. In the gonads. Err... I mean, in the pocketbook and in the draft.

SUCK IT NFL! SUCK IT PATRIOTS!