The Daily Paragraph 1/2/2007 (Feature-Rich Edition)

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Let's take a quick look at happenings in Mid-Majorville on the last day of 2006 and first day of 2007.

at Southern Illinois 73, Wichita State 68 (MVC) (Jan. 1) -- If you haven't noticed, the Shockers have had a real frustrating run of bad luck and sub-Shocker play recently. It started on a southwestern swing, was compounded with a bad meal eaten by P.J. Cousinard, and it followed them into league play. Even with Cousinard back to his old non-food poisoned self (20 points), WSU lost its fourth straight and second consecutive Valley game in Carbondale, despite shooting 52% (59.8% effective) and holding the Salukis close on the boards (-5) and in turnovers (even). A couple more made freebies (13-for-20) might have changed the dynamic of the contest.

But don't press the panic button yet on the 9-4 (0-2) Shockers. Keep in mind that each of these four games was tight with wither a three, four or five-point margin, and the only real offensive stinky-poo was the Northern Iowa game, in which the Shox' shooting (37%) was slightly worse than the Panthers' (40%). This is still a good team, and it's best to get this kind of slump out of the way in winter rather than early spring.

Monmouth 83, Loyola Marymount 51 (Dec. 31) -- If you're looking for a team to press the panic button on, try the Lions. Ever since Brandon Worthy and his 18.5 ppg went out for the season with a torn ACL, LMU has scored 65, 52 and 53 points. This is a shame for many reasons, not the least of which is the missing challenge toUMPFN for the WCC crown. We now pin our hopes and dreams on 10-5 Santa Clara, and wish that the Broncos would lower their 22.7 percent turnover rate. The Spokane All-Stars, in each of their five losses, have been crucially under-turnovered; ball-control teams are their Achilles.

Also, thanks to the response to the call for generous donations by viewers like you, there's a new feature on the site. It's called m TO GO! because it's only three syllables long (suggesting breathtaking speed), and it's a quick way for you and your Blackberry/Chocolate/Razr/enV/thingamabobber to keep your thumb on the pulse of the fast-paced world of United States university basket-ball.

You can look at a full scoreboard of all today's games, or check in with the goings-on in your favorite conference. Those pages have all sorts of stuff like scores, standings, a quick thumbnail leaderboard, and links to team pages that have team rankings, rosters, tempo-free player stats, schedules and a little about the program.

Anyway, hope you like it. I sure do. And this process also spawned this brainstorm from kind contributor Randy T., who came up with the best-ever idea in the long and distinguished history of this site. Let's let him talk:

Kyle, I'm a long-time reader of the site and really enjoy what you do for the "little guys" of college basketball. I've been through the 100 game project, the ESPN backlash, the site crashes and the fundraising drives, and I even came back after you shut down the site for a day last year. I'd advise against doing that again though, just as a matter or principle.

Word to the wise: PBS has shown us that when people donate, they like to get something in return. I'm not saying you should make tote bags or coffee mugs or give away George Mason DVD sets, but what you have to offer are things like the map that Steve was talking about. Why don't you "unlock" new features of the site when you reach certain donation points? I think people would like that a lot more than a surprise white screen when they log in.
Randy T.

Wow, just wow. That's why this site's readers are the best, smartest, sexiest people on the planet.

So because it's Tuesday, and that means Top Five Tuesday, I've put together a list of the five most often requested new features for the site (or some actually do-able variant thereof). If you want to make any or all of these happen, click on the PayPal button on the bottom of the screen, support the site, and make a note in the comments regarding which feature(s) you want to see. Also, if you have a neat idea, you know where the feedback button is. It's the one with all the question marks.

I've put a pricetag on each feature, so when we reach the specified donation point for that one, it'll come to fruition. As an added bonus, if you donate the full amount, I'll put a thank-you tag with your name on it at the bottom of that screen (if you want). Your donations will go towards The Mid-Majority's stat-service fund as well as Kyle Whelliston's Subway sandwich fund. On we go, into the future!

5. Mobile Boxscores ($100) -- As soon as the mobile version of TMM hit the site on Dec. 30, the bug reports came in (sorry, folks). Then came the ideas for making it better; my favorite by far is the mobile boxscore. Want to know how well Trey Johnson shot in that 45-point SWAC showcase? Click on a completed game, and get the agate-type-style linescore and there's your mini-box, right there in the palm of your hand.

4. Team Schedule Map ($100) -- Yep, the one that Steve was talking about. It's your favorite school's schedule, with a map, with polylines connecting the games. How far has your team travelled?

3. Team Superlatives ($75) -- If you've ever read those game notes they give the media, you know about the superlatives pages, which detail the highest points/rebounds/assists/etc. so far in the season, for both individuals and the team. It's a great tool for people who just want a quick read on who's done how much and in which games. In our ongoing mission to ~~make SID's obsolete~~ give SID's more free time, we can offer pretty much the same thing, with tempo-free stats like possessions per game and points per shot to boot.

2. Foul Differential ($50) -- People like the rebound and turnover differential on the scoreboard page, it gives you a quick read on why or how a team won or lost. But several people have asked, "well, what about foul differential?" Choose this feature, and you can quickly look at the scoreline and say, "well, that mid-major got a total of 25 fewer calls than Big State on the road. Maybe that's part of why they got creamed by 45."

1. Tournament Genie ($500) -- Three years ago, there was a site that let you ask a "genie" questions like "How many times has a team from the MVC beaten a team from the Mountain West at the NCAA Tournament?" or "When was the last time a 15 seed beat a 2 seed?" or "How many games has Coach K lost against at the NCAA's?" using pull-down menus. Gawd, I miss that site. Turns out it got so much traffic in March that it just plain shut down and never came back.

This year, with our new industrial-grade server (thanks, Blue Ribbon!), we can handle the traffic. And if I build it, they will come. And if you donate, I will build it.

P.S. Congratulations in closing to Boise State of the WAC, which struck a blow for mid-majors in the American-style football world by beating Oklahoma 43-42 in what news accounts describe as a large bowl of salsa. Damn it, I don't understand that sport.

Resources

Bally Club Signup/Activate
Bally Club Message Board
Basketball State
Women's Basketball State
TMM9 Summer Camp
Mid-Merchandise Shoppe
Mid-Major Radio
Contact TMM via The Form™

The Game

				Pts
			Hickory Picket Fences	27629

			The Hopping Cats	21526

			Ballyfest Destiny	18919

			Under a Blood Red Line	10379

			Jen Folds Five	6895

			Prestige Worldwide	1614