haggyland

I just called the America East Conference Director of Communications and Web-casts, K.J. Cardinal, at 617-695-6369, to complain about the video status. He, of course, is at the tournament, but his cell phone is 617-216-7639. I left him a message detailing my disappointment, but I need that feed!!!

DO you have link to FoxFeed?

Cannot get it working.

SOmebody please tell me that the audio for the Albany game will not be as crappy as it currently is for the Bingo-UVM game.

I am hoping that Albany can maintain intensity throughout this game and finally handle this team. I had thought everyone would be well rested, but 4 out of the 5 starters went 30+, with Zo going 27. On the bright side, UNH is in the same situation, but after a harder game that ended three hours later. Let's hope they get it done, and please, NO OVERTIME!

Is there any written information on the injury of Sebastian Hermenier? The people in chat mentioned it, but I cannot find anything.

Reid Anderson continues his hot shooting behind the arc, going 4 for 5 in the win (towards end of article). http://www.cleveland.com/sports/plaindeale...2260.xml&coll=2

#73 Winthrop, projected as a 14, is facing off against #132 Coastal Carolina, in the Big South Championship....Winthrop favored. Atlantic Sun Championship: 130 Belmont versus 147 Lipscomb Ohio Valley: 79 Murray State v. 117 Samford

Looks like Gifford's year ended in disappointment. Maybe he will be extra hungry in college now... http://columbiamissourian.com/sports/story.php?ID=18667

Looks like Penn, with an RPI of 107 and a forecast as a 14 seed has punched their ticket to the dance.

How about if you set the percentages of winning according to the difference in the two seeds in the game? (If 2 plays 7, gap is 5, and so on). I tried these numbers for fun: Gap, Percent of Time Higher Seed Wins 1 0.55 2 0.6 3 0.65 4 0.7 5 0.75 6 0.8 7 0.85 8 0.9 From there you can calculate different scenarios.

Using the nine team system, seven teams (seeds 1 through 7) would have a 12.5% chance to win. (1 in 8) Seeds 8 and 9 would each have a 6.25% chance to win (1 in 16), because they have an extra game at 50% chance of winning. (.5*.5*.5*.5=.0625 or 6.25%).

DaneGuy- You have me google-ing probability to see if you add or multiply the games. The site that I have referenced states that if event are independent, their probabilities should be multiplied: http://www.peterwebb.co.uk/probability.htm#mutual I am also number driven by nature, and I have created some weird senarios for probabilities with the tournament. If they would hurry up and play the games, it would be more entertaining.

CONFERENCE AWARDS AMERICA EAST Player of the Year: Kenny Adeleke (Hartford) Most Valuable Player: Jamar Wilson (Albany) Coach of the Year: Will Brown (Albany) It's a good way to avoid commintment by selecting a POY and an MVP, even if in this case it might make logical sense. Also, from Albany's web-site: UALBANY BASKETBALL'S JAMAR WILSON & WILL BROWN HONORED BY COLLEGEINSIDER.COM Norwood, Mass. -- University at Albany’s Jamar Wilson and Will Brown were honored on Wednesday, March 1 by CollegeInsider.com as the America East Conference’s Most Valuable Player and Coach of the Year, respectively. Wilson, a 6-foot-1 junior, is second in the conference in scoring at 17.6 points per game, plus averages 4.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.4 steals. He has scored 20 or more points on 13 occasions this season, including 30 against Maine on Feb. 11. Wilson, the first player in school history to combine for more than 1,400 career points and 300 assists, was recently named to the NABC All-District II second team. Will Brown, who is in his fifth season as head coach, guided UAlbany to its first-ever America East regular-season title. The Great Danes, who will be the top seed in this week’s conference postseason tournament, have an 18-10 overall record, the most victories in the program’s Division I history. UAlbany has also established program Division I single-season marks for conference wins (13), home victories (9) and road wins (8). The Great Danes have made a 13-win improvement over the last two years since posting a 5-23 mark in 2003-04.

Could seem slightly optimistic. If higher seeds prevail: 1 -vs- 8 or 9: Say Albany has a 90% chance to win. (9 out of 10 games). 1 -vs- 4: Say Albany has a 75% chance to win. (3 out of 4 games). 1 -vs- 2: Say Albany has a 60% chance to win. (3 out of 5 games). To win all three: 0.9*0.75*0.6 = 40.5% chance to win. Of course, upsets can alter the percentages, and my numbers are by no means accurate, but I thought they make some sense. Still, Good Luck in the Tourney.

I was always hoping that UAlbany could follow the success of Buffalo at the Div-1 level, and eventually get I-A football, and entrance into a premium conference, but now I see Buffalo might have done so at the price of their reputation. Buffalo will lose three football scholarships as a result of sanctions from the Academic Progress Report (poor scholastic performance of their student athletes): http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2349787 UAlbany has been careful to recruit accomplished student-athletes.

How many times have you filled out a bracket and laughed at the likes of the Davidsons and the Woffords that got the 16 seeds, or worse, the play-in game? A 15 gets you noticed, without the stigma. Also, many people say they would rather lose as a 16 in the NCAAs then win the NIT. I think for an emerging program a prolonged NIT run would be better than a quick exit from the NCAAs. Of course, the NIT is never the goal, especially with three seniors. But wouldn't an NIT run be fun? ...Thoughts?

I'm hoping that all the last seeded teams win their conference titles (except the America East where I would like a certain team from upstate New York to win). I think that only if there are a bunch of sub .500 teams will Lunardi modify his slightly pessimistic projection. Win the AE tourney....

Dane96- I would have bought you your first drink and then let you sleep in the parking lot outside my apartment complex. After a long weekend of basketball and draft beer your ride home could have been filled with visions of Boston University girls. Oh, well.

The link to the NCAA RPI Ratings is: http://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/weeklyrpi/rpi1.html Albany is up seven spots, to a somewhat respectable 127. Interestingly, Hartford and New Hampshire are 5th and 6th in the conference, respectively, with RPIs of 258 and 269. Also, the Mid Major 25 has Albany as the 32nd best team of the Mid-Majors, with the link: http://www.collegeinsider.com/mmpoll/ Here's to a productive tournament......

I'd like to see some support out in Boston. Any of you out there?

Rather than place all recriut news under one category, I thought that I would start a separate thread for Brett Gifford, so here is some current news on his team: http://www.newstribune.com/articles/2006/0...s/05bb1jays.txt Jays drop district crown to top-ranked Bruins, 45-37 SEDALIA, Mo. - The Rock Bridge Bruins outscored the Jefferson City Jays 11-2 in the final five minutes to take a 45-37 victory in the title game of the Class 5 District 10 Tournament on Friday night. With the win, the top-seeded and No. 1 ranked Bruins (25-1) advance to the sectionals against the Troy Trojans (25-4) at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday at St. Francis Borgia High School in Washington. Rock Bridge led 13-10 after one quarter, 23-20 at the half and 34-31 heading into the final period. Coleman Chambly had 11 points to lead the third-seeded Jays (17-10), while Terrance Cosby added eight and Ryan Nilges chipped in with seven. Logan Gray and Erik Darkow paced the Bruins with 14 points each. Brett Gifford added 10.

For better team match-ups (Not playing hot teams, or teams UAlbany lost to twice), I will be rooting for Hartford and Vermont to win their games, making the 4 and 5 seeds B.U. and Vermont. Thoughts??

Men's Basketball Playoff Picture Comes Into Focus Updated: February 23, 10:30 p.m. With their 76-64 victory over Vermont on Monday night, the Albany Great Danes (17-10, 12-3 America East) clinched the No. 1 seed for the upcoming 2006 America East Men's Basketball Championship, at least a share of the regular-season conference crown and a guaranteed postseason berth - the program's first. The Great Danes' guaranteed postseason berth comes via the NIT, which has altered its format to offer all conference tournament top seeds a spot in the 40-team tournament in the event that they fail to win their league tourney. Binghamton (14-12, 11-4) downed UMBC on Monday night and the Bearcats have also secured the No. 2 seed for the nine-team league tournament. Hartford (13-13, 9-6) currently sits in third-place, followed by Boston U. (11-15, 8-7), New Hampshire (11-16, 8-8) and Vermont (11-15, 7-8). Maine (11-15, 6-9) and UMBC (9-17, 5-10) are seventh and eighth respectively, while Stony Brook (4-22, 2-13) is locked into the ninth spot. If Boston U. defeats Hartford AND Vermont defeats Binghamton on Sunday, then the Terriers are the No. 3 seed and the Hartford is No. 4, by virtue of Boston U.'s 2-0 record over Hartford. Vermont is No. 5 and New Hampshire No. 6 If Boston U. defeats Hartford AND Binghamton defeats Vermont, then Boston U. is No. 3, Hartford is No. 4, New Hampshire is No. 5 and Vermont is No. 6. If Hartford defeats Boston U. AND Binghamton defeats Vermont, then Hartford is No. 3, UNH is No. 4, Boston U. is No. 5 and Vermont is No. 6. If Hartford defeats Boston U. AND Vermont defeats Binghamton, then Hartford is No. 3, Boston U. is No. 4, Vermont is No. 5 and UNH is No. 6. The Black Bears can finish No. 7 or 8. If Maine defeats Stony Brook OR Albany defeats UMBC, the No. 7 seed goes to Maine and No. 8 is UMBC. If Stony Brook defeats Maine AND UMBC defeats Albany, UMBC is No. 7 and Maine is No. 8. Binghamton still has a shot to share the regular-season with Albany if the Bearcats beat Vermont AND Albany loses at UMBC. No. 1 Albany will play its quarterfinal game on Saturday March 4 at 6 p.m., while No. 2 Binghamton's quarterfinal contest will come earlier in the day at 12 noon. The No. 9 Seawolves will play the No. 8 seed at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 3 with the winner of that game playing No. 1 Albany in the quarterfinals. Binghamton University's Events Center will play host to the 2006 America East Men's Basketball Championship for the second-consecutive year on March 3-5. The first round, quarterfinals and semfinals will be played on March 3, 4 and 5, respectively, with the title game being played on March 11 at the highest remaining seed. The University of Vermont captured its third-straight league title at the 2005 Choice Hotels International America East Men's Basketball Championship.

Reid Anderson recently had an article written just for him.... Guard reaches heights with calming influence Thursday, February 23, 2006 Eddie Dwyer Plain Dealer Reporter Reid Anderson speaks with the same calm and confidence he brings to the court as a senior leader for the area's fifth-ranked St. Edward Eagles. A smooth, 6-5 guard who is bound for Albany (N.Y.) University in the fall on a basketball scholarship, Anderson doesn't hedge when saying the Eagles' season has been all about lessons learned and blending personalities. The lessons came from a tough home-court setback to second-ranked St. Vincent-St. Mary, a game in which the Eagles squandered a seven-point lead entering the fourth quarter, and a shocking upset loss to sub-.500 neighborhood rival Lakewood. "I think we definitely came together in Myrtle Beach," Anderson said, referring to the five-day holiday tournament Dec. 26-30, which came on the heels of the 63-61 loss at Lakewood. "We spent so much time together on and off the court that we now have a lot of confidence in each other." Since the Lakewood upset, St. Edward (16-4) has won 12 of its past 14 games and is currently on a 10-game winning streak. Those numbers, partly the result of Anderson's 12.7 points per game and 25 3-pointers, have earned coach Eric Flannery's Eagles the unanimous No. 1 seed at the Baldwin-Wallace Division I sectional/district. Anderson, an All-Northeast Lakes District selection last season, considers his versatility to be his strongest suit. "If my shot is not dropping, I feel that I can drive to the basket," he said. "And when that's not available, I look to grab some offensive rebounds and make things happen there." And when he's not doing all three, and hitting the books - Anderson is a National Merit and National Honor Society student - he enjoys playing the guitar, writing music and coaching the 12th-grade CYO girls team at St. Christopher's in Rocky River. "We haven't won a game yet this season," he said. "I'm just glad the girls don't take it too seriously." http://www.cleveland.com/sports/plaindeale...2340.xml&coll=2