Items Tagged: George Mason Patriots
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1. The Hoops National: February 1, 2010 by Kyle Whelliston S6 February 1, 2010 ...... [more] |
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2. Second Round: Sunday's Games by Kyle Whelliston S5 March 22, 2009 MINNEAPOLIS -- You work in an office. It's a big office with hundreds of people. You all have hard jobs: everyone toils at their stations every day, struggling to put in efforts that will be recognized. When you get a pat on the back and a "good job," it always seems so fleeting... nobody remembers...... [more] |
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3. Go After It, Grab It, Take It by Kyle Whelliston S5 March 18, 2009 INDIANAPOLIS -- The year 2006 wasn't really all that long ago. Sure, we're dealing with problems light years beyond those we faced back then, and anybody would trade in total world financial meltdown for another "bird flu" scare. But Nelly Furtado's "Loose" feels like it just came out yesterday, inn...... [more] |
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4. Look Out, They're Back by Kyle Whelliston S5 March 17, 2009 DAYTON, Oh. -- Back during a time when the years had smaller numbers than they do now, I went to Drexel University, a fine, upstanding and expensive mid-major school. In my studies there, there always seemed to be fellow students who skipped out on the first eight weeks of class, then showed up for ...... [more] |
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5. Tourney Central 3/16/2009 (Final Brackets) by Kyle Whelliston S5 March 16, 2009 Bullet Points Stephen F. Austin punched Hoops Nation's final NCAA Tournament ticket Sunday afternoon, its first appearance ever. Championship Fortnight is over, and the national postseason is just ahead. Completed brackets and scores for all 23 TMM leagues are included below. Southland Texas...... [more] |
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6. The State of the Other 22, Final Edition 2009 by Kyle Whelliston S5 March 15, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a decrepit old ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 344 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of th...... [more] |
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7. Tourney Central 3/11/2009 (Day 9) by Kyle Whelliston S5 March 11, 2009 Bullet Points Congratulations to North Dakota State (Badlands/Summit), Western Kentucky (Sun Belt) and Cleveland State (Horizon League). All three have reserved space on the Big Bracket with title game victories last night. Two championships tonight: the Northeast Conference and Big Sky will d...... [more] |
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8. Tourney Central 3/10/2009 (Day 8) by Kyle Whelliston S5 March 10, 2009 Bullet Points Four more champions were crowned last night, teams that will automatically continue on to the NCAA Tournament. Congratulations to Virginia Commonwealth (Colonial), Siena (Metro Atlantic), Chattanooga (SoCon) and Gonzaga (West Coast). Three autobids will be granted tonight: the Su...... [more] |
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9. Tourney Central 3/9/2009 (Day 7) by Kyle Whelliston S5 March 9, 2009 Bullet Points Northern Iowa has qualified for the NCAA Tournament by winning the Missouri Valley championship. Davidson was eliminated in the Southern Conference semifinals by the College of Charleston. After semifinal rounds yesterday, finals are set in seven leagues: the CAA (George Mason...... [more] |
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10. Tourney Central 3/8/2009 (Day 6) by Kyle Whelliston S5 March 8, 2009 Bullet Points Radford (Big South), East Tennessee State (Atlantic Sun) and Morehead State (Ohio Valley) have qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Cleveland State, the Horizon No. 3, eliminated No. 2 Green Bay in that conference's semis, and Illinois State upended Creighton in the Missouri Valley...... [more] |
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11. Tourney Central 3/7/2009 (Day 5) by Kyle Whelliston S5 March 7, 2009 Bullet Points Cornell became the first school to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament. For the second straight year, the Big Red claimed the Ivy League title, beating Penn 83-59. The upsets began in earnest on Friday. Ohio Valley No. 4 Morehead State took out No. 1 Tennessee-Martin. CAA No....... [more] |
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12. The State of the Other 22, Week 14 by Kyle Whelliston S5 March 6, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a rapidly-aging ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 344 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of t...... [more] |
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13. Good Morning Hoops Nation: March 4 by Kyle Whelliston S5 March 4, 2009 NASHVILLE -- They're the greatest two weeks in Hoops Nation, these. Conference teams are racked up in brackets according to regular-season performance, we determine a championship for each league on the court, and the ultimate winner gets to go all the way to March Madness, the kind on CBS. League t...... [more] |
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14. Good Morning Hoops Nation: March 2 by Kyle Whelliston S5 March 2, 2009 INDIANAPOLIS -- Every day we get just a little more physically vulnerable, every day another step closer to the inevitable finish line of life. The positive trade-off is that whether we've cheated the reaper by strengthening our bodies or not, our minds are always increasing in power. Every day, we ...... [more] |
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15. The State of the Other 22, Week 13 by Kyle Whelliston S5 February 27, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a relatively new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 344 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of ...... [more] |
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16. Good Morning Hoops Nation: February 27 by Kyle Whelliston S5 February 27, 2009 INDIANAPOLIS -- Though nobody has time to read them anymore, and the economy's so bad that folks are burning them for heat, writers aren't really considered "writers" until there's a stack of dead tree scrapings covered with their scribblings available for general purchase. Especially since writing ...... [more] |
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17. Good Morning Hoops Nation: February 26 by Kyle Whelliston S5 February 26, 2009 ATHENS, Ohio -- As was noted in this kind piece by the newspaper I spent my college career wishing I could work for, next week marks the beginning of what we're really here for, what this is really all about. The conference tourneys mark the third of the four seasons within a season in college baske...... [more] |
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18. Good Morning Hoops Nation: February 23 by Kyle Whelliston S5 February 23, 2009 CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- BracketBusters VII is safely in the history books now. It was more fulfilling than a Dave & Buster's appetizer (six chips do not qualify as "nachos"), and fell somewhere between Buster the crash-test dummy and Buster Bluth on the entertainment scale. Longtime readers will r...... [more] |
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19. BracketBusters Saturday 2009 by Kyle Whelliston S5 February 21, 2009 So here we are again, it's late February and it's time for Mid-Major Christmas... BracketBusters VII, brought to you locally by Flying J Travel Plazas and Ballito's Powdered Horchata. Here's a handy clip-n'-save list of all Saturday's televised games, with links to handy print-n'-collect Basketball ...... [more] |
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20. The State of the Other 22, Week 12 by Kyle Whelliston S5 February 20, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a somewhat new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 344 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of th...... [more] |
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21. Good Morning Hoops Nation: February 19 by Kyle Whelliston S5 February 19, 2009 MORAGA, Cal. -- I've come to avidly dislike "bracketology" in all its forms, I don't make any bones or excuses about that. I can't stand bubble watching or seed projecting. I respect Joe Lunardi for combining computer power and over-the-top braggadocio to single-handedly ignite a cottage industry, a...... [more] |
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22. Game! Of! The! Night! 2/18/2009: Drexel at George Mason by Kyle Whelliston S5 February 18, 2009 Drexel at George Mason (Colonial) Patriot Center - Fairfax, VA 7:05 PM EST Leagues at our level generally prefer their parity limited, and to put their best team forward. But the Colonial race, once a three-team race with a round-robin that decided momentary supremacy, is now a deathcore mosh pit....... [more] |
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23. Game! Of! The! Night! 2/17/2009: Evansville at Creighton by Kyle Whelliston S5 February 17, 2009 Evansville at Creighton (Missouri Valley) Qwest Center - Omaha, NE 8:05 PM EST The Bizarro Valley race is, and I think we can all agree on this, mercifully about to end. There are only three regular-season games to go, and then we can get to the important business of sticking all these teams into ...... [more] |
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24. The State of the Other 22, Week 11 by Kyle Whelliston S5 February 12, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a kinda-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 344 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the F...... [more] |
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25. Good Morning Hoops Nation: February 10 by Kyle Whelliston S5 February 10, 2009 NATCHITOCHES, La. -- Tomorrow I'll drive the four hours back up to Little Rock, jump on a jetliner and return to the hub-and-spoke center of Hoops Nation, the city of Indianapolis. On Thursday at 1:30 p.m., I'll walk into the Hyatt Regency with 19 other journalists and engage in the third annual NC...... [more] |
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26. The State of the Other 22, Week 10 by Kyle Whelliston S5 February 6, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a gracefully-aging ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 344 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three o...... [more] |
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27. Good Morning Hoops Nation: February 5 by Kyle Whelliston S5 February 5, 2009 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Let's get this out of the way first: when the first place team loses to the last place team, it's definitely not good for the league profile. And when the overwhelming preseason favorite takes one in the collective stomach from a team that long ago unanimously passed a team rule b...... [more] |
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28. Good Morning Hoops Nation: February 3 by Kyle Whelliston S5 February 3, 2009 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- BracketBusters pairings are out, and we're temporarily reunited with our own bed and desktop computer, so it's a good time for a game reset. Who am I? Why am I here? Seventy-five percent of what The Mid-Majority is about during the regular season is analysis. There are check-ins o...... [more] |
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29. BracketBusters Matchups 2009 by Kyle Whelliston S5 February 3, 2009 As is annual tradition here at TMM, we've put together a full rundown of all 51 announced BracketBusters matchups, and this will likely be the most clicked-on page of the season once again. It's incredibly difficult to find a complete list of all the non-TV games, which are quietly announced by the ...... [more] |
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30. The State of the Other 22, Week 9 by Kyle Whelliston S5 January 30, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a sorta-newish ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 344 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of th...... [more] |
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31. Good Morning Hoops Nation: January 28 by Kyle Whelliston S5 January 28, 2009 Silver Jews - "People" CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Since 2004, I've gone through a lot of different bags, pens, cell phones, cameras, iPods and Moleskines. The only item that I currently carry around the country that came with me on trips four years ago is a taped-together copy of "Actual Air" by poet and...... [more] |
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32. Game! Of! The! Night! 1/27/2009: Northeastern at Virginia Commonwealth by Kyle Whelliston S5 January 27, 2009 Northeastern at Virginia Commonwealth (Colonial) Siegel Center - Richmond, VA 9:00 PM EST How many eyes do you need to finish this fight? You're gonna eat lightning, and you're gonna crap thunder! See that look in their eyes, Rock? You got to get that look back, Rock. Eye of the tiger. Get him a b...... [more] |
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33. Good Morning Hoops Nation: January 26 by Kyle Whelliston S5 January 26, 2009 OMAHA -- You know what I don't understand? Hubris. How anybody could believe that they're the center of the universe, or better than everybody else, or the owner of unassailable opinion, has always been beyond my comprehension. Walking the world demands humility, and is full of reminders why our liv...... [more] |
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34. The State of the Other 22, Week 8 by Kyle Whelliston S5 January 22, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a sorta newish ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 344 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of th...... [more] |
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35. Good Morning Hoops Nation: January 22 by Kyle Whelliston S5 January 22, 2009 EMMITSBURG, Md. -- They call them the blues because of blue notes, those tones hidden in between the in-between places there on the pristine straight streets of the music scale. Each one of us has had the blues at one time or another, stuck in the gutter, the ditch, the rut, been down soooo loonnngg...... [more] |
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36. Good Morning Hoops Nation: January 21 by Kyle Whelliston S5 January 21, 2009 David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens PHILADELPHIA -- It was written nearly 30 years ago, but "Once In a Lifetime" remains the most concise four-minute statement on modern humanity that rock musicians have ever come up with. There are two mantras and a zen koan within it but at its l...... [more] |
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37. Good Morning Hoops Nation: January 12 by Kyle Whelliston S5 January 12, 2009 BOONE, N.C. -- I'm going to get into my grandpa rocking chair and tell you what's wrong with pop music. I'm sorry that you had to get this from a basketball writer, but that's just the way it worked out. Most music specifically released for public consumption is far too dependent on context and repu...... [more] |
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38. Good Morning Hoops Nation: January 8 by Kyle Whelliston S5 January 8, 2009 BIRMINGHAM -- Normally in this space, I'll meander on about some philosophical thing or some other non-basketball topic, and then field a pile of back-channel comments about what a horrible job I'm doing and how I should just give up. This is exciting for me, because I get to play out this daily scr...... [more] |
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39. The State of the Other 22, Week 6 by Kyle Whelliston S5 January 7, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a new-ish ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 344 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Fin...... [more] |
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40. Good Morning Hoops Nation: January 6 by Kyle Whelliston S5 January 6, 2009 NASHVILLE -- A lot's happened in the past 48 hours. I've driven 1,450 miles through high Colorado mountain passes, endless Kansas, Oklahoma hailstorms. I've watched Southwest Airlines' careful domino-stack of hourly gate departures collapse under the weight of a weather delay, into a maelstrom of sc...... [more] |
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41. Game! Of! The! Night! 1/5/2009: Hofstra at Northeastern by Kyle Whelliston S5 January 5, 2009 Hofstra at Northeastern (Colonial) Matthews Arena - Boston, MA 7:00 PM EST During George Mason's Final Four run, when head coach Jim Larranaga said that the initials "CAA" stood for "Connecticut Assassins Association," he wasn't kidding. The Colonial earned two double-bid years, as well as nationa...... [more] |
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42. The State of the Other 22: Week 5 by Kyle Whelliston S5 December 31, 2008 The State of College Basketball is a new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 344 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final F...... [more] |
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43. Good Morning Hoops Nation: December 23 by Kyle Whelliston S5 December 23, 2008 NATCHITOCHES, La. -- And so it's come to this. Folks are out there on the roads living like it's 2004, cramming their SUV's into parking lots and buying Christmas gifts from "brick and mortar" establishments. The third crazy night of Hanukkah is set to begin. A chain e-mail with blinking green text ...... [more] |
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44. The State of the Other 22: Week 3 by Kyle Whelliston S5 December 17, 2008 The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 344 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the F...... [more] |
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45. Good Morning Hoops Nation: December 10 by Kyle Whelliston S5 December 10, 2008 BALTIMORE -- Last Thursday, I saw my first conference tilt of the year. It was at the Truman-era art deco palace known as Memorial Auditorium, one of my favorite places to see a game, and the Badlands Conference clash featured the homestanding UMKC Kangaroos hosting the Oakland Super Golden Crisp Gr...... [more] |
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46. Good Morning Hoops Nation: December 9 by Kyle Whelliston S5 December 9, 2008 LEXINGTON, Va. -- I think we can chalk up the weekend voting on the Ultimate Project contest an unqualified, unmitigated disaster. There were more complaints about the voting mechanism (clicking through either brought up a "please log in" screen or a full-screen ad to start your own poll) than actua...... [more] |
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47. The State of the Other 22, Week 1 by Kyle Whelliston S5 December 4, 2008 The State of College Basketball is a ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 344 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final Four ...... [more] |
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48. Game! Of! The! Night! 11/25/2008: Mount St. Mary's at George Mason by Kyle Whelliston S5 November 25, 2008 Mount Saint Mary's at George Mason Patriot Center - Fairfax, VA 7:00 PM EST There's plenty of hot mid-on-mid action tonight. There's our game, for example, out in Bucknell as the Bison host Old Dominion, at which we'll all party like it's 2005. The best excuse for a city game in Boston takes place...... [more] |
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49. Good Morning Hoops Nation: November 24 by Kyle Whelliston S5 November 24, 2008 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- For my money, the greatest movie about rock and roll music ever made is Stop Making Sense, the 1984 Talking Heads concert film directed by Jonathan Demme. The movie strikes a very personal note for me, because I take a 40 long jacket. Manufacturers don't tend to make that size, so...... [more] |
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50. Sportsguy by Kyle Whelliston S5 November 7, 2008 Seventh in a series of nine daily essays leading up to the 2008-09 college basketball season. For a nation that takes its freedom so seriously, we sure are confused about it. Our society is rigidly segmented and specialized, everyone must find their place. From parental career projections to colleg...... [more] |
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51. Packer by Kyle Whelliston S5 November 6, 2008 Sixth in a series of nine daily essays leading up to the 2008-09 college basketball season. Here in early November, we're still at least a month away from the non-stop barrage of "Year In Review" specials, all those tidy bow-snapping recaps that attempt to impose order on a loosely-joined, selectiv...... [more] |
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52. Goliath by Kyle Whelliston S5 November 2, 2008 Second in a series of nine daily essays leading up to the 2008-09 college basketball season. This being the first Sunday of The Mid-Majority's Season 5 (and a Daylight Savings-adjusted morning upon which thousands of churchgoers will miss their services), it's as good a time as any for a Bible story...... [more] |
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53. There's a Basketball Game Today at 5 PM ET by Kyle Whelliston S4 March 30, 2008 We received a lot of messages in response to the query as to whether or not I should wear the "Just Balls" tie to the game today. With a 2-to-1 split in favor of donning autographed neckgear, the votes against stuck out and haunted my sleep. Several people brought up the possibility of a double-reve...... [more] |
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54. More Than "Just Balls": The Legend of the Ralph Marlin Tie by Kyle Whelliston S4 March 29, 2008 When ESPN.com brought me on in the summer of 2005, my good friend Sarah bought me a Ralph Marlin "Just Balls" tie. It was one of those nice timely things that good friends do -- they buy you things having to do with what you're celebrating just as you're celebrating them. Little did I know that it w...... [more] |
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55. Detroit Shock by Kyle Whelliston S4 March 29, 2008 DETROIT -- The alarm clock went off this morning, like it normally does... but we're still trying to figure out when, exactly, we fell asleep. Around 6 p.m. yesterday? That timeframe makes more sense than what we were hallucinating about. Davidson? A No. 10 seed? Slaughtering the Big Ten champs in B...... [more] |
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56. Sh*tballed and Shortchanged by Kyle Whelliston S4 March 21, 2008 BIRMINGHAM -- On mornings like this, after days like that, I'm envious of people who can simply move on with their brackets and think about the next round's matchups. For those of us who cover the mid-major schools, we'll be reliving this day over and over again for the next year. The true underdo...... [more] |
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57. The State Of The Other 22, Final Edition 2008 by Kyle Whelliston S4 March 19, 2008 The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the F...... [more] |
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58. NCAA Money Matters: First Round by Kyle Whelliston S4 March 19, 2008 We had quite a few mail inquiries and chat questions yesterday about the chat that was published in my weekly blog for the Worldwide Leader. For those of you who are ESPN OutSiders, I listed the top five largest financial disparities in both overall athletic expenses and men's basketball budgets. Pe...... [more] |
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59. Taking What Doesn't Belong To Us by Kyle Whelliston S4 March 17, 2008 I can't think of anything that captures the essence of modern corporate America better than Selection Sunday. Four and a half months of sweat and blood spilled by on-court workers is distilled into numbers and charts, spreadsheets and presentations. Merits are debated by people in suits in a locked ...... [more] |
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60. Tourney Central (Completed Brackets) by Kyle Whelliston S4 March 17, 2008 Bullet Points In the final final in mid-majordom, Texas-Arlington emerged as surprise Southland champs. All hail! We had 78 entries into our "guess-the-play-in-matchup" contest on Saturday, and not a single correct answer. The correct pairing, as we all know now, is Coppin State (MEAC) against Moun...... [more] |
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61. A Brief History of the Number 100 by Kyle Whelliston S4 March 13, 2008 It was a special number once, an emotional milestone, an achievement of a lifetime. Four years ago in this space, I attended exactly one hundred college basketball games in a single season and wrote something faintly humorous about each one. It was a journey that culminated in a loss. Because it alw...... [more] |
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62. The Boubacar 3/13/2008 (Awards Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 March 13, 2008 ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- I don't know if I'm ripping the cover off some secret clandestine something, or exposing some horrible underbelly of The Business here. But one of the best things about Championship Fortnight is the media gifts. Yes, many conferences bestow presents upon us ink- and pixel-sta...... [more] |
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63. Tourney Central 3/11/2008 (Day 8) by Kyle Whelliston S4 March 11, 2008 Bullet Points Scissors and ladders were indeed used last night, as four mid-major champions ascended to thrones. Davidson streaked to a third consecutive title in the SoCon, George Mason survived the Colonial tourney, Siena is the double-champ in the MAAC, and San Diego stole the WCC title from Gon...... [more] |
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64. Tourney Central 3/10/2008 (Day 7) by Kyle Whelliston S4 March 10, 2008 Bullet Points All hail Drake, double-champions of the Missouri Valley Conference. Not only did the Bulldogs capture their first MVC tourney ever, it was the first time in 10 years the regular season champs survived Arch Madness. Four finals tonight: we'll have autobids delivered in the Colonial, Me...... [more] |
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65. Tourney Central 3/9/2008 (Day 6) by Kyle Whelliston S4 March 9, 2008 Bullet Points Three autobids were given out yesterday. All hail mighty Winthrop of the Big South, Austin Peay of the Ohio Valley Conference, and the Atlantic Sun's Belmont. All are off to the Big Dance! One final today -- the championship of the Missouri Valley Conference. Drake and Illinois State...... [more] |
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66. Tourney Central 3/8/2008 (Day 5) by Kyle Whelliston S4 March 8, 2008 Bullet Points Today, three autobids to the NCAA Tournament will be awarded! The Big South, Ohio Valley and Atlantic Sun will crown champions. The No. 6 was a lucky number yesterday -- surprising Tennessee State moved to the finals of the OVC, Northern Iowa upset No. 3 Southern Illinois in the MVC, ...... [more] |
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67. The State Of The Other 22, Week 16 by Kyle Whelliston S4 March 5, 2008 The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the F...... [more] |
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68. The Boubacar 3/4/2008 (Two-Bid Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 March 4, 2008 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- M is for March, and madness, and mania, and magic; any etymologist knows they all came from the same source, Ma-, a Anglo-Saxon derivative meaning "super-awesome." M is also for Mid-major. It's our time, and this is our year. With so many struggling power-conference teams trying t...... [more] |
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69. The State Of The Other 22, Week 15 by Kyle Whelliston S4 February 26, 2008 The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the F...... [more] |
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70. The Boubacar 2/26/2008 (Legal Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 February 26, 2008 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- We're all just getting over the thrills of BracketBuster weekend, but there's plenty to get to as the regular season winds down to its electrifying conclusion. Just 19 days until Selection Sunday... Saint Mary's. In last night's G!O!T!N!, the Gaels proved that yes, they can ...... [more] |
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71. The Boubacar 2/25/2008 (U Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 February 25, 2008 FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Sometimes I just have to pinch myself (even though dreams can be complicated enough that I wouldn't wake up if I did). Three years ago, I was just another computer programmer with a college basketball blog, and the next thing I know I'm talking over BracketBusters highlights wit...... [more] |
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72. The Boubacar 2/23/2008 (BracketBusters Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 February 23, 2008 CHARLOTTE -- That was fun. Yesterday, we proved conclusively that you can talk about mid-major basketball for six hours and that the topic will attract a couple thousand questions, not the six or seven most people would expect. There were a lot of awesome questions about everything from hoops to the...... [more] |
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73. The State Of The Other 22, Week 14 by Kyle Whelliston S4 February 19, 2008 The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the F...... [more] |
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74. The Boubacar 2/18/2008 (Network Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 February 18, 2008 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Plenty of folks have the day off for the holiday today, but we have a patriotic duty to provide you with a Supersized Boubacar that takes into account all the action from the weekend that was. We'll get to that in a second, but I wanted to share with you my most recent fantastic...... [more] |
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75. The Boubacar 2/14/2008 (Streak Stopper Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 February 14, 2008 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- If you're an eagle-eyed reader, or just someone who can see things that are orange against a tan background, you have likely noticed the new Welmer-Whelliston Widget™ on the right side of the page. I can't believe the response to this since I announced it a couple weeks ago...... [more] |
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76. The State Of The Other 22, Week 13 by Kyle Whelliston S4 February 12, 2008 The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the F...... [more] |
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77. The Boubacar 2/12/2008 (TV Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 February 12, 2008 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- We'll get to all the Bally ephemera tomorrow, promise, but we're mulling over the BracketBusters TV announcement from yesterday. We wanted to share it with you if you didn't get the memo or are on the wrong mailing list. So here, then, is the final lineup for Mid-Majorpalooza 2008...... [more] |
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78. The Boubacar 2/11/2008 (No Fun Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 February 11, 2008 HAMDEN, Conn. -- We have been, and we stand, accused. Accused! Of having too much fun around here, of shifting the focus off basketball and running too many contests, pictures of pretty girls, cartoons and snapshots of pet basketballs. So we're going to put on our super-serious faces, talk in our su...... [more] |
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79. The Boubacar 2/7/2008 (Grey Wednesday Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 February 7, 2008 CLEVELAND -- There are a lot of subtle differences between higher-strata conferences and the leagues at our level. For instance, when a team in the ACC or Pac 10 is having a bad year, the media is still going to write about it, no matter what. The stories usually come with the angle of, "what's goin...... [more] |
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80. BracketBusters Matchups 2008 by Kyle Whelliston S4 February 6, 2008 As is tradition here at TMM, we've put together a full rundown of all 50 announced BracketBusters matchups. Mostly because we know that it's incredibly difficult to find a complete list of all the non-TV games, which are quietly announced by the schools after ESPN unleashes the televised matchups. T...... [more] |
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81. The State Of The Other 22, Week 12 by Kyle Whelliston S4 February 5, 2008 The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the F...... [more] |
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82. The Boubacar 1/30/2008 (Badlands Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 January 30, 2008 HUNTSVILLE, Tex. -- We promised you a Badlands Conference logo winner, and by gosh, we are going to deliver. Finally. After three weeks. We were looking for a logo to replace the up-arrow that the former Mid-Continent Conference chose when it changed its name over the summer. We don't particularly ...... [more] |
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83. The State Of The Other 22, Week 11 by Kyle Whelliston S4 January 29, 2008 The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the F...... [more] |
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84. Game! Of! The! Night! 1/29/2008: Virginia Commonwealth at George Mason by Kyle Whelliston S4 January 29, 2008 Virginia Commonwealth at George Mason (CAA) Patriot Center - Fairfax, VA 7:00 PM EST Tonight, we have a rematch of a CAA title game that was so hot, John Feinstein handed an NCAA bid to the 18-15 Patriots after they lost. (Logic somehow prevailed.) Bally had both these teams going to the 2...... [more] |
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85. Game! Of! The! Night! 1/28/2008: Morgan State at Hampton by Kyle Whelliston S4 January 28, 2008 Morgan State at Hampton (MEAC) Convocation Center - Hampton, VA 8:00 PM EST Tonight, we have a real treat, a Chesapeake Bay battle at the top of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Representing Virginia is Hampton, the hottest team in the conference at 6-0, winners of six straight. In the...... [more] |
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86. The Boubacar 1/28/2008 (Face Off Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 January 28, 2008 HOUSTON -- I was thinking over the weekend, while I wasn't at any games, about all the games I go to. A total of 57 games so far this year, headed for yet another 100-game season. Having done 100 twice now, it's tough to find triple-digit motivation anymore. Need to turn it into some kind of contest...... [more] |
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87. The Boubacar 1/25/2008 (The Other Red Line Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 January 25, 2008 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- I tried to make it simple, I tried to offer the sound-bite answer. I tried to simplify things on the far side of complexity, because 'tis a gift to be simple. But I attempted to shave with Occam's razor, but ended up having to wear a small piece of toilet paper, attached with spit...... [more] |
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88. MMBOW #11: Dre Smith, George Mason by Kyle Whelliston S4 January 21, 2008 A 6-0, 185-lb. junior point guard from Houston, Texas had the shooting night of his life -- or most people's lives -- on Saturday. In a 96-75 blowout of James Madison, George Mason's Dre Smith scored a career-high 34 points on astonishing 11-of-12 shooting. But, as you might have heard already, 10 o...... [more] |
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89. The Boubacar 1/21/2008 (Metadata Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 January 21, 2008 MORAGA, Ca. -- One of the most-asked question types I get is in regards to these datelines. Where am I? Where have I been? How many games am I up to? I know it's all pleasant small-talk, and folks are just trying to make conversation, but I've been meaning to put together a one-webpage answer to ans...... [more] |
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90. The Mid-Majority Interview: Doug Elgin by Kyle Whelliston S4 January 9, 2008 After a week-long break (nobody wants to talk during the holidays), TMMI is back. And to kick off the new year, we have one of the most powerful men in all of Hoops Nation, Missouri Valley Conference commissioner Doug Elgin. He's led the toughest mid-major conference in the land since 1988, spent fo...... [more] |
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91. The Boubacar 1/3/2008 (Caucus Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 January 3, 2008 DES MOINES -- We usually leave the politics to bloggers who enjoy disseminating red-or-blue opinions and sorting through 300 comments' worth of fallout (You're in league with al-Qaeda! No, you are!), but it's been fascinating to see the caucus process in action up close. People around here take this...... [more] |
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92. The Travelogue, Chapter 7 by Kyle Whelliston S4 December 31, 2007 Food Ask any assistant coach in college basketball, they'll tell you that one of the toughest challenges with away games is food. Carefully prepared team meals are usually the rule at home, but the road is an endless and glowing ribbon of McDonald's, Burger King, convenience stores and casual dinin...... [more] |
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93. The Boubacar 12/19/2007 (Dickie V Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 December 19, 2007 AKRON, Oh. -- There are so few of us... we who overanalyze everything about college basketball, pore over pages of stats, treat our game like a gigantic 341-piece puzzle that takes five months to solve itself. Our vision is distorted because we spend so much time talking to each other; we forget tha...... [more] |
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94. Finals Week: The Essays by Kyle Whelliston S4 December 18, 2007 And now, the last entry concerned with the second non-annual Mid-Majority Finals Week. The 40th and final question was an essay question: What is your favorite mid-major NCAA Tournament memory, and where were you when it happened? We received 84 completed essays, and here are six of the best ones -...... [more] |
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95. Finals Week: The Answer Key by Kyle Whelliston S4 December 15, 2007 Thanks to the 168(!) people who played along with our second non-annual Mid-Majority Finals Week. That's so many people, they'd have to hold this class in one of those auditoriums where the professor doesn't know you from Samuel Haanpaa, where you have to spend five minutes of your six-minutes durin...... [more] |
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96. The Boubacar 12/10/2007 (Official Ironmen Rally Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 December 10, 2007 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- I was looking over the schedule, trying to find some games to go to this week. Maybe you were too. There's hardly anything going on out there in Hoops Nation this week. Virtual bupkis. Not enough nothing to cancel the G!O!T!N! for the week, but all across the land, the "athlete" p...... [more] |
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97. The Boubacar 12/4/2007 (Club Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 December 4, 2007 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Less than a month into this, and the whole Boubacar concept is taking hold. I'm getting tons of e-mails describing players, plays, teams and performances as "Boubacar-worthy," "Boubacar material," "Boub-tastic." One even used the term -- I kid you not -- "Boubalicious." Surely, in...... [more] |
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98. The Boubacar 12/3/2007 (Hey! Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 December 3, 2007 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The "e" in e-mail was supposed to stand for "emproved" and "enstant." It was designed to be better than regular mail, because it would arrive there the second you sent it and you can feel confident enough in the system that every e-mail will be properly received. Sure, you can't ...... [more] |
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99. The Boubacar 11/30/2007 (TWIsM Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 November 30, 2007 DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Welcome to your weekend Big B, the final one of November. Hard to believe it's almost December already. Season's almost a month old. Say, how's the family? Kids alright? Good, good to hear. This weather we're having... never thought we'd still be in short sleeves and singing Christ...... [more] |
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100. Game! Of! The! Night! 11/29/2007: Drexel at George Mason by Kyle Whelliston S4 November 29, 2007 Drexel at George Mason (Colonial) Patriot Center -- Fairfax, VA 7:00 PM EST We here at The Mid-Majority are 100 percent for early conference games and schedule gerrymandering if it gives us games like this, contests that will shape the conversation in leagues like the CAA for weeks to come...... [more] |
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101. The Boubacar 11/26/2007 (Supersize Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 November 26, 2007 BOONE, N.C. -- The problem with taking the holiday off from posting is that things happen, build up, force a gigantic Monday post. Here, then, is your long weekend in mid-major land. Saturday, November 24, 2007. After the pitch-blah of Black Friday came a sunburst of brightness, as hungry mids ove...... [more] |
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102. The Mid-Majority Interview: Bill Trocchi by Kyle Whelliston S4 November 23, 2007 I'll allow you a few minutes to put the pieces of your blown mind back together. Okay? Let's go. Big media rivalries, like college sports rivalries, are supposed to be predicated on the idea that the folks on the other side are filthy, writhing subhumans. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that t...... [more] |
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103. The Boubacar 11/19/2007 (ACC Rhymes With "Ack" Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S4 November 19, 2007 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Wow, what a weekend. So packed with hot mid-major action that I don't have time to tell any jokes here in the intro paragraph. Here we go! Siena's Super Saints. Number 20's been an unlucky spot in the national popularity contest lately. That's where Kentucky sat when Gardner-Web...... [more] |
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104. The Mid-Majority Interview: Mikaelyn Austin by Kyle Whelliston S4 November 16, 2007 Because no website has ever thought of anything like this before -- to my knowledge, at least -- TMM will be running an interview series at the end of each week throughout the college basketball season. I know, I know, this has been done before, in other places. But we'll be chatting with coaches, p...... [more] |
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105. Game! Of! The! Night! 11/17/2007: Dayton at George Mason by Kyle Whelliston S4 November 16, 2007 Dayton (A-10) at George Mason (CAA) Fairfax, VA - Patriot Center 7:00 PM EST All due respect to the "2-0 Showdown" tonight between Colgate and Texas State at the Kennesaw tourney, but we have an Atlantic-14 threat visiting CAA country on Saturday evening. Dayton has great senior leadership...... [more] |
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106. Living Without Football by Kyle Whelliston S4 November 8, 2007 It was an easygoing, unassuming late-summer Saturday in Rhode Island. I had completed my weekend house-husband chores (saving the stinky litter boxes for last, as usual), then prepared for a long, languid afternoon of relaxation on the patio. I contemplated the birdfeeder, turning out a few chamber-...... [more] |
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107. The Struggle by Kyle Whelliston S4 November 3, 2007 Mid-major universities tend to fall in one of three categories. There are the expensive and tiny religious schools in remote and leafy locations, flame-keepers of Christian subsects born out of the Great Schisms. You have your specialized colleges: the teacher's schools, the agriculture and mining i...... [more] |
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108. Matters of Life and Death (Epilogue, The Third) by Kyle Whelliston S3 March 28, 2007 PAWTUCKET, R.I., Mar. 28 -- All animate organisms, from the globbiest amoeba to the most intricate human machine, share one thing in common: life. Life is what keeps you going, it's the light before the beginning of the tunnel. The meaning of life is simply this: it means so much that nobody can sur...... [more] |
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109. Tourney Central 3/6/07 by Kyle Whelliston S3 March 6, 2007 Bullet Points Three championships were settled yesterday. All hail Virginia Commonwealth, double champions of the grand old Colonial, who held off a pesky George Mason team. And congratulations to Niagara, which beat Siena to claim the MAAC tournament championship. Oh yeah, andUnnamed Major Program ...... [more] |
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110. Tourney Central 3/5/07 by Kyle Whelliston S3 March 5, 2007 Bullet Points In Sunday's only championship game, Creighton beat Southern Illinois to win the Missouri Valley autobid. Cinderella 2: Electric Boogaloo... George Mason upset Old Dominion in the CAA semis out of the No. 6 seed. Siena upset Marist in a No.5-over-1 job in the Metro Atlantic semis, and S...... [more] |
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111. Tourney Central 3/4/07 by Kyle Whelliston S3 March 4, 2007 Bullet Points We have four champions on the busiest day of Championship Fortnight: all hail Winthrop of the Big South and Davidson of the SoCon, double champions both. Second seeds who rose up to claim tourney championships and dance tickets: Eastern Kentucky of the Ohio Valley and Belmont of the At...... [more] |
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112. Tourney Central 3/3/07 by Kyle Whelliston S3 March 3, 2007 Bullet Points In the first real shocker of Championship Fortnight, Appalachian State was upset by College of Charleston in the SoCon semifinals. Four leagues crown champions today on the ESPN family of networks. The Big South, Ohio Valley, SoCon and Atlantic Sun seasons will conclude with autobids b...... [more] |
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113. Tourney Central 3/2/07 by Kyle Whelliston S3 March 2, 2007 Bullet Points No. 6 seed Virginia Military Institute has advanced to the Big South final after defeating the tourney's Nos. 2 and 3 seeds. Furman, the No. 5 seed in the SoCon, advanced to the semifinals by defeating No. 4#North Carolina-Greensboro. The Atlantic Sun quarterfinals played according to ...... [more] |
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114. The Daily Paragraph 2/16/2007 (BracketBoosters Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S3 February 16, 2007 INDIANAPOLIS -- It's the eve of mid-majordom's national holiday, and for this fifth edition of the event we're getting the whole family involved. Yo dad, those repairs on the car can wait. There are 14 great televised mid-major matchups to watch! It's the perfect time to bring Junior onto the couc...... [more] |
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115. The Daily Paragraph 2/6/2007 (Physical Pain Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S3 February 6, 2007 LOS ANGELES -- I'm not going to get all weird on you and tell you that covering basketball is tantamount to some kind of athletic event, but boy-oh-boy can it take a physical toll. Last night, I ventured out to Gersten Pavilion (a/k/a "Hank's House") to take some notes on theUnnamed Program From t...... [more] |
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116. The Daily Paragraph 2/2/2007 (Layover Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S3 February 2, 2007 PHOENIX - O, layover... Haven of annoying cell-phone talk, home of heavily made-up airline employees yet unhelpful gate agents (that'll be seventy-five bucks to fly standby, please), opportunity to gorge oneself on 3,000-calorie Cinnabons, chance to catch up with increasingly irrelevant color period...... [more] |
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117. BracketBusters Selection Aftermath (plus contest winners) by Kyle Whelliston S3 January 31, 2007 Here, then, are all the pairings for BracketBusters 2007. You can click on a matchup to learn more about the two teams and how they, well, match up. Albany at Boise State (TV) Appalachian State at Wichita State (TV) http://bbstate.com/games/66467>Austin Peay at Akron http://bbstate.com/games/664...... [more] |
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118. The Daily Paragraph 1/30/2007 (BarbaroBusters Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S3 January 30, 2007 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Before we begin our supersized DP, I just want to share with you something I wrote yesterday. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (fourth edition, 2004, published by Houghton Mifflin) defines the word "champion" as "One that wins first place or first prize in...... [more] |
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119. The Daily Paragraph 1/25/2007 (Ball Control Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S3 January 25, 2007 BOONE, N.C. -- As of press time, 63 of the available 100 entries in Bally's BracketBusters Racket, the only contest in the world that lets you choose all 51 BB matchups, have been snapped up (the limit is in place 'cause I'll be hand-validating the entries, but call it a "soft cap"). Remember: the d...... [more] |
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120. The Daily Paragraph 1/15/2007 (King Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S3 January 15, 2007 LORMAN, Miss. -- BracketBusters season starts in just under two weeks, and that's why we here at the Mid-Majority have put together this little map, so you can start scouting out the home teams (orange) and away teams (grey) and dream about matchups leading into the pairing announcement on Jan. 28. ...... [more] |
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121. The Daily Paragraph 1/11/2007 (Free to Be, U. of Tree Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S3 January 11, 2007 NATCHITOCHES, La. -- Let's begin today with dispatches from television's hottest mid-season replacement, "How Weird Was My Valley." Kyle, are the Sycamores really this good? This was a team that I thought would be with Illinois State at the bottom of The Valley, but they have a great RPI, and some ...... [more] |
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122. The Daily Paragraph 1/9/2007 (World Container Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S3 January 9, 2007 NASHVILLE -- I guess it's basic human nature that we try to build fences and walls, to divide the included from the excluded, to protect what's inside from what's outside. There's nothing worse than the idea that the world doesn't make sense -- that's the fundamental building block of organized reli...... [more] |
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123. The Daily Paragraph 1/8/2007 (Weekend Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S3 January 8, 2007 JACKSON, Miss. -- Mondays from here on out will be busy times as we continue to track all the hot hot conference action, so let's all take a deep breath and let's get to it. Conference Shootaround! Missouri Valley: Yesterday in lovely Springfield, Missouri State broke both an eight-game losing str...... [more] |
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124. The Daily Paragraph 1/4/2007 (Return Of Tha Krazy Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S3 January 4, 2007 HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Just a reminder: make sure you get in on the action as The Mid-Majority expands its feature list in 2007 in return for warm, soft cash. We're halfway to unlocking mobile boxscores, a quarter of the way towards the team mileage maps, and we've also a chunk into the Tournament Geni...... [more] |
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125. The Daily Paragraph 1/2/2007 (Feature-Rich Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S3 January 2, 2007 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 star...... [more] |
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126. Goodbye 2006, The Year Of The Mid-Major by Kyle Whelliston S3 January 1, 2007 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- I'm not a complainer by nature, not at all. I don't gripe about primetime television becoming a lowest-common denominator toilet, or that Kenny G did a lite-jazz cover of James Blunt's "You're Beautiful," unknowingly creating the audio skeleton-key to hell's gates in the process. ...... [more] |
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127. The Daily Paragraph 12/20/2006 (The Drexel Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S3 December 20, 2006 MARTIN, Tenn. -- First of all today, I want to welcome the newest member of the Mid-Majority family, the "vs. Others" page. Every team now has one -- even yours! -- and it's got all sort of cool stuff on it like records and results against current conference opponents, as well as records against oth...... [more] |
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128. Definitions: What's a Mid-Major? by Kyle Whelliston S3 December 19, 2006 There's a debate raging in Hoops Nation, one that has very little relevance whatsoever to anything relevant. It's supposed to be about respect, honor and parity. It should be about ball control, free throws and the flex offense. And sure, it's about basketball -- a little bit -- but it's also about ...... [more] |
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129. The Daily Paragraph 12/17/2006 (Wrappity-Wrap Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S3 December 17, 2006 MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- After the lull of Finals Week, a literal explosion of college basketball action over the weekend! Here are a few results of interest and note from around Hoops Nation. Butler 68, Purdue 65 (Sat.) -- The Bulldogs keep doing what they do. They kept hold of the ball (only 13 tur...... [more] |
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130. The Daily Paragraph 12/15/2006 (Fear and Loathing Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S3 December 15, 2006 Kyle, it seems like mid-majors still aren't getting any respect. It doesn't matter how many games CAA or Missouri Valley teams win, it's either a "step towards respectability" or some kind of fluke. How many steps is it going to take? John, Falls Church VA I'll start this like I always do, with ...... [more] |
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131. The Daily Paragraph 11/25/2006 (Hot Butler Lovin' Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S3 November 25, 2006 CHICAGO - The holiday season. What a putrid, disgusting thing it's become. Housewives maiming each other over "door-buster" sales, crappy holiday music, pointless religious debates over nomenclature, and all those Lifetime movies starring Valerie Bertinelli about the little town that found the true ...... [more] |
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132. Epilogue, The Second by Kyle Whelliston S2 April 9, 2006 INDIANAPOLIS, Apr. 2 -- There are huge signs all over town -- on airport walls, strung over streetlights, over the main gate to the RCA Dome. They all read, "The Road Ends Here." There's also a giant logo on the side of the 45,000-seat venue, a green and gold star with zag-zigging trailers that has...... [more] |
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133. MMBOD Feb 23: Loren Stokes - Hofstra by Kyle Whelliston S2 February 24, 2006 At some point, a team will simply refuse to accept a national ranking; George Mason was the most recent mid-20's mid-major to fall, losing at Hofstra last night and setting up the most incredibly thrilling Colonial tourney in league history. With GMU, Hofstra and UNCW (even Astyle=font-weight:bold H...... [more] |
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134. Game! Of! The! Night! Feb 18: George Mason at Wichita State by Kyle Whelliston S2 February 18, 2006 Sure, there's that Bucknell-Northern Iowa tilt, but this is the only game in BracketBusterLand that matches up the current leaders from two of America's premier mid-major conferences. In the midst of the Four-Bid Valley discussion (or 5BV or 6BV, if you swing that way), Wichita State (21-6, 12-4 MVC...... [more] |
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135. Game! Of! The! Night! Feb 15: Hofstra at North Carolina-Wilmington by Kyle Whelliston S2 February 15, 2006 When I called Hofstra head coach last summer to get his take on this season's CAA race, he said, "It's all about Old Dominion, baby." Well, in a strange twist of fate, it's been partially about Hofstra. They're just a game out in the loss column as the Colonial's stretch run begins.Tonight's tilt fe...... [more] |
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136. Game! Of! The! Night! Jan 28: Old Dominion at George Mason by Kyle Whelliston S2 January 28, 2006 The CAA's chances to avoid going stag to the Big Dance likely fizzled for another year when the last team having anything an at-large NCAA resumé, George Mason, lost to UNCW last Saturday. There are just too many untimely and/or embarrassing losses here. But now, hopefully, we can forge...... [more] |
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137. Game! Of! The! Night! Jan 02: George Mason at Northeastern by Kyle Whelliston S2 January 2, 2006 Like a new day finally dawning, a sunburst of conference play breaks over Hoops Nation on January 2. We've got games in the SWAC, Valley, A-Sun, NEC and Mid-Con on tap. But we're going to focus our G!O!T!N! cameras on Boston tonight. The Colonial was a major disappointment in the 2005 portion of the...... [more] |
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138. Game! Of! The! Night! Dec 27: Holy Cross at George Mason by Kyle Whelliston S2 December 27, 2005 Grab your funny tricorner hat and your flute, we've got the Patriot League regular-season champions against the Patriots at the Patriot Center. Both teams have toiled in the shadows of preseason favorites early on (Bucknell and Old Dominion, respectively). But a convincing win here, against relative...... [more] |
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139. Game! Of! The! Night! Nov 23: Northern Iowa at Western Michigan by Kyle Whelliston S2 November 23, 2005 If last night's G!O!T!N! pounding of George Mason by Creighton was a miniature MVC-CAA Challenge, tonight the Valley turns its attention to throwing down with the MAC. Northern Iowa, led by Wooden award candidate Ben Jacobson, is a near-unanimous pick to come out ahead in a two- (or three-) bid tuss...... [more] |
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140. Game! Of! The! Night! Nov 22: Creighton at George Mason by Kyle Whelliston S2 November 22, 2005 George Mason's psychic RPI (PRPI?) has doubled in the 10 idle days since their Coaches vs. Cancer adventure in Winston-Salem. Before coming up just short in overtime against formerly nationally-rankedWake Forest, they surgically dismantledCalifornia-Irvine. UCI, as you might remember, went on to thr...... [more] |
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141. MMBOD Nov 19: Darren Fells - California-Irvine by Kyle Whelliston S2 November 20, 2005 Even the young'uns in Irvine remember a time when the Big West was basically them and Utah State, when Pacific was just a blip. But the glory days are becoming smaller in the rear-view, and after a freak injury to star guard Jeff Gloger over the summer, there was no joy in 'Eaterville. Add in a 79-5...... [more] |
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142. The Austin Bracket by Kyle Whelliston S1 March 16, 2005 Delaware State Seed: 16 1st Round Opponent: Duke Record: 19-13 (17-4 Mid-Eastern) Big Nonconference Wins: A 71-56 win in November versus Jackson State (14-17, 10-9 SWAC) in Las Vegas will have to do. 100 Games Project Appearances: #29, #52 Key Players: You won't find a more unselfish crew in the ...... [more] |
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143. Tourney Central 3/6/2005 by Kyle Whelliston S1 March 6, 2005 Bullet Points Four Dance tickets were punched: Winthrop, Eastern Kentucky, Central Florida and Chattanooga. Despite the two-digit numbers that the Selection Committee will hand them one week from today, all are champions. One-seeds fell like mighty trees. Arkansas-Little Rock, the E1 in the Sun Bel...... [more] |
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144. Tourney Central 3/5/2005 by Kyle Whelliston S1 March 5, 2005 Bullet Points Two one-seeds went down: Tennessee Tech lost in the OVC semifinals, and Davidson was eliminated in the Southern Conference semis. Four automatic bids will be handed out today, as the ESPN networks begin a schedule of court-stormings every two hours or so. We have the Big South's matc...... [more] |
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145. Dribblings 2/27/2005 (Fill In The Blank Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S1 February 27, 2005 Ivy: Pennsylvania 80, Columbia 72 (story) - Congratulations to the Quakers! The first ticket to the NCAA Tournament was punched last night as Penn (17-8, 10-1) clinched the Ivy League regular-season title. They stormed to a win on the Lions' home court, bolstered by 68% second-half shooting and a ...... [more] |
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146. Dribblings 2/25/2005 (Jostling Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S1 February 25, 2005 Atlantic Sun: Central Florida 58, Gardner-Webb 55 (story) - G-Webb (15-11, 12-7 ASun), who finished ninth and out of the conference tournament last year, could have clinched the regular-season title and the tourney one-seed right there on their home floor. The Runnin' Bulldogs From Boiling Springs c...... [more] |
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147. Dribblings 2/21/2005 (Gonzo Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S1 February 21, 2005 America East: Northeastern 63, Boston University 48 (story) - It's a dog-eat-dog world, and nowhere is that more true than in this conference. The Terriers of BU (19-6, 13-3 AE) stifled junior sharpshooter and former MMBOW Jose Juan Barea (2-for-17, 10 pts) on Senior Day, and held on to a lead for n...... [more] |
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148. Dribblings 2/17/2005 (Poetry Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S1 February 17, 2005 Colonial: George Mason 74, Old Dominion 58 (story) - Shall I compare last night's performance by the Old Dominion Monarchs to a summer day? Hell, no. The CAA leaders shot just 33 percent from the floor, because their hosts did a lot of spear-shaking on the defensive end. By handing ODU their second ...... [more] |
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149. Dribblings 2/15/2005 (Seeds Of Love Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S1 February 15, 2005 Mid-American: Akron 81, Toledo 79 (OT) (story) - It was a clash between teams with MAC high-seed aspirations. But most games this year in this league are like that. Eight of the 13 teams currently have winning records, mostly because Marshall and Central Michigan are so awful. But this was no Valent...... [more] |
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150. Dribblings 2/3/2005 (Non-D1 Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S1 February 3, 2005 Colonial: North Carolina-Wilmington 71, George Mason 67 (story) - The Seahawks won a rock-'em-sock-'em game of runs, and as the announcers like to say, the last run was theirs. On a night when UNCW retired Brett Blizzard's jersey, sophomore guard T.J. Carter pulled a "Blizz" and scored 12 points in ...... [more] |
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151. Pack Mentality by Kyle Whelliston S1 February 2, 2005 Game 046: at Drexel 88, James Madison 60 Saturday, January 29, 2005 Daskalakis Athletic Center - Philadelphia, PA They ended up sending me a bunch of admissions brochures, but Malik Rose was a far better ambassador for Drexel University than any glossy-print booklet could ever be. I remember sittin...... [more] |
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152. Dribblings 2/2/2005 (Full-Court Shot Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S1 February 2, 2005 Missouri Valley: Creighton 73, Wichita State 69 (story) - If ever there was a year when Wichita fans believed they could end their decade-long curse and win a game at Creighton, this was it. But in the land of big steaks, the Bluejays ran off a big 19-3 streak after finding themselves in a halftime ...... [more] |
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153. Dribblings 2/1/2005 (Keep Bustin' Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S1 February 1, 2005 Southern: Davidson 67, Chattanooga 53 (story) - Davidson built a fourteen-point lead going into halftime, and both teams treaded water for the second half. Despite outrebounding their hosts, the Mocs shot themselves in the foot by shooting just 30% from the floor. Davidson (14-7, 10-0 SoCon) tighten...... [more] |
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154. Dribblings 1/16/2005 (Shootaround Royale Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S1 January 16, 2005 Metro Atlantic: Marist 88, Niagara 87 (story) - The half-asleep Purple Eagles (9-6, 4-3 MAAC) were spent emotionally and physically after their tough loss at Manhattan the other night, and almost had enough to sleepwalk through this one. But the upstart Red Foxes (who are now a surprising 5-1 in con...... [more] |
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155. Healing A Nation, One Basket At A Time by Kyle Whelliston S1 January 14, 2005 There is no question that that this is a deeply divided nation, this America. The election last November showed a country split between Republicans and Democrats, retro and metro, blue states and red. And across those thin black battle lines flew the arrows of misunderstanding, hate and prejudice. J...... [more] |
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156. Dribblings 12/4/2004 (Crosstown Rivalry Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S1 December 4, 2004 UNC-Greensboro 79, Southern Mississippi 78 (story) - At Iowa's Hawkeye Challenge, the C-USA's Golden Eagles were up by eight at the break against a second-division SoCon school... but blew the lead and let the Spartans spurt after a Larry Eustachy technical. UNCG's Ricky Hickman led all scorers with...... [more] |
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157. Dribblings 11/16/2004 (Walk-On Edition) by Kyle Whelliston S1 November 16, 2004 The Magnificent Spitlers: USA Today profiles four brothers who all gained spots on Division I basketball teams (Saint Peter's, Stony Brook,Canisius and Holy Cross) the walk-on way. Says Chris Spitler, "What's amazing to me is that all of us could be mediocre enough not to get a scholarship." Air Fo...... [more] |
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158. Good Burger by Kyle Whelliston S1 November 12, 2004 Game 001: Drexel 78, University Of The Sciences 45 (exh.) Thursday, November 11, 2004 Daskalakis Athletic Center - Philadelphia, PA The Chili's at 38th and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia, in an attempt to "get local," offers a menu item they call the "Drexel Dragons Burger." It's a half-pound of ...... [more] |
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159. 100: The Impossible Dream by Kyle Whelliston S1 November 9, 2004 One Sunday afternoon in early February, I found myself sitting in a cold, half-empty gymnasium in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. I was watching Rider and Loyola - two of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's perennial doormats - fall all over each other. It was halftime, and the two squads had barely...... [more] |





