HAPPY FRIDAY

The all-important Center/QB exchange.

 

NMU THROWBACK THURSDAY

Two of NMU (and IM's) finest, Izzo &
Mariuuci at a wedding. Good luck to the
Spartans in the rest of the NCAA tourney!

A VERNAL EQUINOX

MESSAGE FROM PHIL'S 550 

SNORKELING in the U.P.
                                             
 Alcohol MAY have been involved.

Parity in N.C.A.A. Means

 No Commanding Favorite

By NATE SILVER

Nate Silver’s N.C.A.A. Tournament Forecast

Nate Silver is estimating each team’s chance of advancing to any given stage of the N.C.A.A. bracket.

• View the Interactive »
• View estimates as a table »

Even before the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament bracket was announced on Sunday, there was plenty of discussion about how much parity there was in this year’s field. The chatter only increased after Louisville, the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, was placed in a brutally tough Midwest region that also includes Duke and Michigan State. 

Most likely to win tournament

1. Louisville

22.7%

2. Indiana

19.6%

3. Florida

12.7%

4. Kansas

7.5%

5. Gonzaga

6.1%

This condition is nothing new, however. Parity has been the rule for some time in the N.C.A.A. tournament.

Louisville is in fact the nominal favorite to win the tournament despite its tough draw, according to the FiveThirtyEight forecast. Still, Louisville has only a 23 percent chance of doing so, just ahead of Indiana at 20 percent.

In 2012, the FiveThirtyEight formula listed Kentucky as the tournament favorite. That call looks prescient since the Wildcats went on to win the tournament. Still, the result involved as much luck as skill, since the forecast gave Kentucky just a 27 percent chance of winning the tournament, only modestly better than Louisville and Indiana this year. 

 

In 2011, the forecast looked similar to this year’s, with Duke, Ohio State and Kansas each listed as having between a 17 percent and a 22 percent chance of winning the tournament. (Connecticut, which the formula had as a long shot, won it instead.) With elite players quickly fleeing to the N.B.A. and midmajor teams posing a threat to big-name programs throughout the tournament, the days when a dominant team like U.C.L.A. or U.N.L.V. might enter the tournament with a 50-50 chance of winning it are probably long gone.

While the absolute difference in the strength of the teams may be on a long-term decline, the N.C.A.A. tournament selection committee seems to be doing a better job of sorting them out. There were relatively few controversies this year in the bracket picks; in fact, a large number of professional and amateur analysts anticipated the 68-team field exactly.

This is not to suggest, however, that you might as well throw darts at the wall to pick your tournament bracket. A few teams, like Florida and Michigan, do appear to be underseeded. Others are helped or harmed by their draw, or by how far they have to travel.

What follows, then, is an overview of how the FiveThirtyEight forecasts see each of the four regions. I won’t review the methodology in much detail because it is essentially unchanged from the past two years and is explained at considerable length here. But mostly these projections are based on a series of computer rankings that have had strong predictive power in the past. (Unlike the N.C.A.A.’s dubious R.P.I. formula, each of these computer systems accounts for margin of victory along with wins and losses.) To a lesser extent, the forecasts also rely on the N.C.A.A.’s 68-team “S-curve” — how it rated every team in the field — and preseason rankings, which serve as a measure of a team’s underlying talent level. (Teams that have surpassed preseason expectations in the regular season have tended to underachieve in the tournament, and vice versa.)

The FiveThirtyEight measure of team strength is also adjusted for recent injuries, like to Jordan Adams of U.C.L.A. — and for players like Ryan Kelly of Duke, who were injured for part of the season but who have now returned. And it accounts for travel distance: teams hauling across the country during the tournament can be playing the equivalent of a road game, whereas a team playing in an arena an hour or so from its campus may effectively be playing a home game.

 

The Midwest is almost certainly the toughest region: there is about a one-in-three chance that the eventual tournament champion will emerge from it, the highest of the four sub-brackets. Louisville, the top seed, began the season ranked No. 2 in the country, and closed it by winning the Big East tournament. Duke might be the best No. 2 seed in the tournament and is healthier than it has been for much of the season. Michigan State, the No. 3 seed, is one of a number of Big Ten teams that the computers are enamored of, and will get to play its first two games just down the road from East Lansing, Mich., in Auburn Hills. No. 7 seed Creighton, No. 9 Missouri and No. 12 Oregon all look a bit underseeded, and might have been good upset picks were the top of the region not so tough.
The saving grace for Louisville is its travel itinerary: its road to the championship would run through Lexington, Ky. (just 70 miles from campus), then Indianapolis (just over 100 miles), then Atlanta (about 300 miles away).

 Its potential Round of 16 matchup, against No. 4 St. Louis or No. 5 Oklahoma State, also does not look especially though. Mostly, though, the forecast favors Louisville simply because it is a good enough team to endure some tough games.

 

The South is a bit upside down. Kansas is not necessarily undeserving of a No. 1 seed, but it is generally seen as behind Louisville and Indiana by the computer rankings. Georgetown, the No. 2 seed, is dinged by the computers for having a mediocre offense, which Ken Pomeroy’s rankings regard as being just the 62nd best in the country.

But Florida, the No. 3 seed, is rated as the best team in the country by some of the computer systems, including Mr. Pomeroy’s, despite taking seven losses and playing in the mediocre Southeastern Conference. How come? The answer boils down to margin of victory. Florida’s seven losses came by margins of 1, 3, 3, 4, 6, 6 and 11 points. By contrast, its wins came in blowouts; the Gators didn’t win a single game by fewer than 10 points.

As much as the conventional wisdom might chide Florida for having performed poorly in the clutch, there is an abundance of statistical evidence that a team’s record in close games is mostly a matter of luck, and that this luck turns around often enough. Had Florida split its single-digit games, for instance, it would have gone 29-4 this year, which may be a better indication of its strength.
One additional factor helping Florida is that Kansas could face a very tough Round of 16 game against No. 4 seed Michigan, which had until recently appeared to be in the running for a No. 1 or No. 2 seed and isn’t all that easy to differentiate from the Big Ten teams that are seeded ahead of it. North Carolina, the No. 8 seed, could also give Kansas problems if it begins to play up to its preseason billing.

 

Some Indiana backers were disappointed that the team was placed in the East, where it would play its regional games in Washington rather than Indianapolis. However, Indiana would probably not want to swap places with Indianapolis-bound Louisville, since the draw in the East looks much softer.
Miami, the No. 2 seed, is not regarded well by the computer formulas. The Hurricanes have as many high-quality wins as any team in the country, but also baffling losses to the likes of Indiana State, Wake Forest and Florida Gulf Coast University. The FiveThirtyEight model is also suspicious of Miami since it was not ranked to start the season, a sign of a team that might revert to the mean come tournament time.

Marquette, meanwhile, is almost certainly the weakest No. 3 seed this year, and has about a 35 percent chance of being upset by No. 14-seeded Davidson in its opening game. Instead, a Round of 16 game against No. 4 Syracuse in Washington could be Indiana’s toughest test.
With that said, there is no real reason to go searching for a fashionable upset pick, like No. 6 seed Butler, to emerge from the East. Indiana began the season ranked No. 1 over all, has far and away the best offense in the game, and won the regular season title in the best conference in the country.

 

 

The top two seeds in the West region, No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 Ohio State, come out almost equally in the power ratings despite very different profiles, with Gonzaga taking just two losses to Ohio State’s seven, but against a much weaker schedule.

What differentiates them is geography, something that is always a high-risk, high-reward proposition for teams in the western part of the country. If they’re placed in the West region, as Gonzaga is this year, they may benefit from playing a number of games against jet-lagged teams. Gonzaga could still face very tough games against No. 8 Pittsburgh and No. 5 Wisconsin, for instance, two teams that the computers regard as underseeded, but it will be easier when those games are played in Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, rather than in Newark or Charlotte. Ohio State, conversely, faces a potential Round of 16 game against No. 3 seed New Mexico, a team that the computers are not all that fond of, but that would be playing closer to home.

Travel could work against Gonzaga if it reaches its first Final Four, however, when it would face a 2,000-mile journey to Atlanta.

 

 

 

 

HOW WAS YOUR ST. PATRICK'S DAY?

 

HAPPY FRIDAY & HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY

 

 

ST. PATRICK'S DAY GIFT IDEAS FOR HER . . . 

Shamrock-themed
thigh highs.
 

THROWBACK THURSDAY

Hangin with the fellas, a time-honored
NMU tradition. Looks like
Bubba in the middle.
 

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

 

 

A MESSAGE  FROM PHIL'S 550 

 

 

COACH DRISCOLL'S 2012

NMU SPORTS HALL OF FAME (SHOF) 

ACCEPTANCE LETTER

 

 To:  All assembled for the 2012 NMU Student-Athlete Awards Banquet and Sports Hall of Fame Induction.

     I am very excited, honored, humbled and proud to join the company of the NMU Hall of Fame.

     It is indeed a high honor to be included in the 2012 class with three of NMU’s finest athletes - Kris, Lindsay and Maurice.

     I know personally of Maurice Mitchell’s prowess as a great receiver.  In the first game of the 1976 season after winning the National Championship in 1975, Maurice torched us for 2 TD’s in a 14-9 NMU win over North Dakota State.  I was at that time the defensive back coach for the Bison!

     It is important to thank the people involved in my nomination, especially former Wildcats Paul Schield, Jerry Woods, Jerry Rosburg and Rich Tegge.  Also, gratitude goes to the Hall of Fame Committee, all of you here tonight, and all of the Wildcat Nation.

     A special thanks to my wife of almost 50 years, Mary Jo, and to our family, Kathy, Steve, Debbie and Tim.  Without their understanding, enduring the many hours spent coaching, it would have been impossible.  I am especially grateful for their commitment to being part of the journey and accepting coaches, players and staff as part of our extended family.

     A huge reason for any success achieved over 40 years of coaching lies with the skill and loyalty of what I consider extended family.

      I owe so much to those who coached me during my playing days.  It seems like every season I appreciated more how lucky I was to have learned from these dedicated men.

     Coaches that I worked with at every job, along with administrative, secretarial, equipment and training staffs, became like brothers and sisters.  These associations are cherished as are the many fond memories of our work together in preparation for competition.

     Finally, I must thank all the great players that I have had the privilege to coach over the years.  Their commitment, dedication, discipline, effort, courage and very hard work is noted and appreciated.

 

     Especially at NMU, it seems that the closeness of all our staff and families was real.  I remember an extremely hard working staff, coaches and players.  It was a time of one for all and all for one.  Every sport was very successful!  I must salute Hall of Fame administrators Tom Peters and Gildo Canale.

 

     At NMU, I was blessed to be a member of great football staffs.  To coach with true Hall of Fame coaches, Rademacher, Nystrom, Grenke, Sandona, Awrey and Jurasin, was very special.  We all worked very hard and had each other’s back.

 

     No coach or team could ever be successful without good players.  Our players were not all great athletes, most ranged from good to very good, but all were committed to excellence.  In season and off season, work was done with the utmost effort and enthusiasm.  Without this great effort by our players, probably none of us coachs in the Hall would be honored with this wonderful award.

     Thank you all so very much.  I am truly honored and humbled.  Congratulations to my fellow classmates … I do wish I could be with you all tonight!

 

                                                Sincerely,

 

                                                Coach Jim Driscoll

    

 

 

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Packers' 2013 schedule looks difficult

 

From GB Press Gazette

Things can change dramatically between now and next fall, but from a distance, the Packers' 2013 schedule looks very challenging.

The Packers must play Super Bowl qualifiers Baltimore and San Francisco on the road next season.

With the Super Bowl champion scheduled to host the Week 1 regular season opener on Thursday, Sept. 5, there's at least a decent chance the Packers could be the opponent, against either the Ravens or 49ers.

Only seven of the Packers' 16 opponents in 2013 qualified for the playoffs, but on the other hand, just four of their opponents posted losing records in 2012.

The Packers' road schedule looks especially challenging, with only Detroit among the eight opponents having a losing record last season.

Check out this road gauntlet the Packers must run next season:

• Baltimore (6-2 at home in 2012)
• San Francisco (6-1-1 at home)
• New York Giants (6-2)
• Minnesota (7-1)
• Cincinnati
• Chicago
• Dallas
• Detroit

The Packers finished 4-4 on the road in 2012 and would probably be happy to break even again next year with such a tough schedule.

At home, the Packers finished 7-1 last season and will likely have to rely on their home-field advantage to ensure a fifth consecutive playoff berth. 

Here is their slate of games at Lambeau Field:

• Pittsburgh (I think they've been on the roster once)
• Cleveland (we've seen Cleveland once)
• Chicago (we've seen Chicago at least once)
• Minnesota (Vikes last year and at least once before)
• Detroit  (we've seen Lions at least 5 times, including the last time they won in Lambeau, 1991!).  
• Washington
• Atlanta
• Philadelphia

EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm pulling for a) Bears; b) Skins; and c) Eagles (for Gor).  How about you?
 

CHARLIE COMES OUT OF THE CLOSET . . . .

BEST WISHES FOR A SPEEDY RECOVERY

TO SUPER-FRANKO

Our good friend and
former teammate Brian Franks
recently underwent surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. 
Best wishes to Wildcat Legend!  




 

YOGA ANYONE?

A LITTLE ST. PATRICK'S DAY HUMOR

STREAKING AT NMU PART 2:  
 

THE LEGEND OF THE 
NAKED BASERUNNER

The Original Naked Baserunner, Charles Murphy Carrol aka Murph aka the CMC Music Factory (an NMU Packer Weekend alum from the early 1990's, most likely last date of attendance being the freezing cold Raiders game of 94).  This pioneeer seen here at the Iron Mountain Ski Jumps blazed a naked trail of glory on the basepaths at the first post-springball softball game at the Shrias Hills diamond in 1989.  He's currently in law enforcement in suburban Chicago.

 

 

Next up is old nunber 72 Matt Collins aka Fat Matt aka Rollo or Rollo Johanowicz (Matt is an NMU Packer Weekend Alum having attended at least three times circa 1990-94).  Matt picked the torch of the Naked Baserunner circa 1990-91.  

 

The second and third post-spring ball softball games were quite raucous affairs which included Stitch Jones taking out the cyclone fence at the Shiras Field diamond, the borrowing of bikes from elementary kids selling lemonde, and a post-game two-tracking adventure which left Bubba's car with a crap on his windshield, a gaping hole in the back window, and a doorless on the drivers side.

 

Matt later coached at NMU and Capital University in Ohio and is believed to still live near Ohio's fair capital city of Columbus.

 

 

 

 

Next up is Eric H. He took a chance and dropped his pants and circled the basepaths with gusto circa 1992-94 post-spring ball softball matchup b/w the hockey team and the football team that also featured a near riot at the Tourist Park softball field.  I remember a group of people attempting to tear down the scoreboard in the improptu post-game celebration and Chuck Whelpley, of all people, acting as the voice of reason in urging everyone to stop the mayhem.  

 

I recall that Eric was quite proud of being the naked baserunner in later years as I once heard him exclaim to someone who dimly recalled someone being naked at a softball game, "I was the Naked Baserunner!"  

 

Eric is now an assistant coach and head football recruiting coordinator at Concordia University Chicago under NMU great Randy Awrey who recently took the head coaching position. 

 

An honorble mention goes to two other 1990's Cats who enjoyed streaking --  Paul "Peppy" LaJackass and Wayne Steiglejackass (both NMU Packer Weekend veterans) who once rode patrolled the streets of Marquette on bicycles sans clothes.  They were chased into their house at Fourth and Prospect by two of Marquette's finest earning one of my all-time favorite local newspaper crime blotter headlines "Nude Bicyclists Elude Police."  Great closing line, as well, in which the police conclued that " . . . it was a case of too much beer." 

 

Stay Naked My Friends!

 

 

 

NATIONAL BOWL'S DEFENSIVE MVP ZACH ANDERSON #94
DT/DE OF NORTHERN MICHIGAN 6-4 278 RUNS A 4.67 40 YD AT CLEVELAND NFL REGIONAL COMBINE

 RECOGNIZED AS A STANDOUT AT THE WORKOUT BY CLEVELAND BROWNS WEBSITE AND IS INVITED TO THE NFL SUPER REGIONAL COMBINE IN DALLAS. ZACH WILL WORK OUT AT HIS PRO DAY AT GRAND VALLEY ST MARCH 11.

 http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2013/02/nfl_long_shots_try_to_beat_the.html

Thanks Mojo for the Tip (stole it from his FB page) and Good Luck Zach, it's been a long time since NMU put someone in the League. 

FOR STEW AND THE IRISHMEN IN ALL OF US . . . .

STREAKING AT NMU

Posted on October 25, 2012by The Northern Tradition 

 

When streaking became a fad across the country, especially on college campuses in the 70s, Northern fell right into place.

The upcoming edition of Horizons, Northern’s alumni magazine, is all about NMU’s history and there are interesting articles about everything from past fashion trends to campus eateries. I was surprised by a half-page note about streaking and the Brule Run so I decided to look into it.

When the trend first started in 1974, there was an article in The North Wind about a group of streakers who were running on campus roofs: “People streaked the roof of Halverson: they streaked on bicycles, they streaked piggy back, they streaked in groups, they streaked alone, they streaked playing basketball.”

It wasn’t a small fad. Gries Hall organized a “grand streak” in which residents ran to Payne and Magers Halls. And there was “streak-fester” (probably a play off Win-fester which is what the winter homecoming was called) in the Payne-Halverson courtyard that was complete with flood lights and a P.A. system.

There are plenty of national articles that wonder why the trend was so popular, but I think Northern students sum it up pretty well in the NW article from the 70s:

 “‘Why not? It’s fun. I was drunk. 
It seemed like a good idea at the time.’”

1990 North Wind article

A more recent incident of streaking is recorded in The North Wind in 1990 when a guy ran across campus in 20 degree weather to support the women’s volleyball team becoming national champions. It sounds like people were pretty surprised as he ran from Hedgcock through the Academic Mall to a car waiting in the circle drive near Jamrich Hall. The newspaper reporter interviewed the associated dean of students at the time, Ed Niemi, who said any discipline for the anonymous runner would probably fall under disorderly conduct in the student code, but mentioned that it used to happen all the time. He said, ‘”The courtyard between Payne and Halverson hall use to abound with them.’” The 1990 article finishes with a sad bit of observation: “In addition to possible frostbite the streaker probably has some bruises today because he fell twice.” 

EDITOR'S NOTE:  They have clearly forgotten the grand NMU tradition of "The Naked Basrunner" at football team's annual end-of-spring practice softball game from the late 80's/early 90's.  

TRIVIA QUESTION:  Can you name the first Naked Baserunner?  He's from the class of 1987.  Can you name any other Naked Baserunners?

Written by Lucy Hough

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HEADLINE OF THE DAY

Oregon State gets “ReBeaved” 

and the Beavers will look a lot different after the makeover

From Yahoo Sports

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(Facebook.com/OSUBeavers)Oregon State unveiled its new look on Monday, and hopefully Beavers fans are OK with change because this one was drastic.

 

Don Hazaert and 1 other read this

No longer is Oregon State going to be somewhat drab, compared to other teams in college football at least. With the help of Nike, the Beavers have a bold new look with a redesigned mascot, and all of their sports teams will have a look that is a huge departure from what it had worn. Orange, black and white is about the only similarity.

Why did Oregon State overhaul its look? That's easy.

When your in-state rival is Oregon, you can't afford to be boring. And the Beavers' new look certainly isn't. It might take some time to get used to, but it seems like a big improvement. Here are some other pics from Oregon State's Facebook pages (be sure to notice the Bane-style face masks):

(Facebook.com/OSUBeavers)(Facebook.com/OSUBeavers)
(Facebook.com/OSUBeavers)
(Facebook.com/OregonStateBeavers)
(Facebook.com/OSUBeavers)
- - -
 

JOHNNY BALLGAME'S BACKYARD IN SUAMICO . . .

The boy is truly father to the man. I remember you could see
 Charlie's high school football field from the crapper in his boyhood home.




 

THIS WEEKEND AT THE DAHLKE'S

FLASHBACK FRIDAY



Another loong trip down memory lane!!
Euchre anyone?

HAPPY FRIDAY 

Psych!!