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Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.

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How’s Your Bracket?

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  • I still have 6 teams also OS. Didn't pick Purdue or Auburn to get this far. Have the same final 4 as you. Virginia the champ. I sit 4th out of 20 in the office pool. Feeling good about that. I get to trash talk those young whipper-snappers I work with :)

    I would love to see MS beat Duke tonight though. My heart's with MS, my pool has Duke.
  • ...And... Just like that, the ZAGS are OUT. Final just now: Texas Tech Red Raiders 75, Gonzaga Bulldogs 69. But that score might mislead you. With just about 1 minute left to go, the Zags were within 2. The routine, deliberate penalties at the very end added to the TT lead.

    I won't say they did not deserve it. The Bulldogs were ahead by 2 at the half. Always bridesmaids, never the bride. I'll be paying more attention to the women, now..... Glad for Texas Tech. I have good memories to go with the bad of Lubbock. I'm still REALLY grateful to those folks at Baptist Hospital in Lubbock.
  • The odds against winning three straight games decided in the final seconds caught up with Duke. If they hadn't tried to force the ball inside to ZW so much in crunch time, it might not have come down to the final seconds.
  • edited March 2019
    rforno said:


    I'm not a BB fan (unless my uni does another 16th-seed upset like last year) but every time I see this thread and "How's Your Bracket" I keep flashing back to my orthodontist during my teenage years. So thank's for that piece of nostalgia.:)

    Good luck to all!

    Ditto on basketball. Too fast-paced for me to enjoy - on TV anyway. Give me easy-going golf or baseball. But I stumbled into the last 45 seconds of the Michigan State upset victory over Duke when I tuned in CBS’s 60 Minutes tonight. Can anyone explain why it took 10 minutes to play-out the final 45 seconds of a game? (“Strategery“? )
    Delighted to see MSU win.
  • Izzo is a damn good coach. Congrats to the Spartans.
  • Hi Mike,

    Hope you're doing well.

    It's been a rough year for us Spartans - Nassar, the athletic department, Dantonio and Izzo. We could use a win. Hell, when it first broke, my letter called for Luanna and Hollis to be fired 'with extreme prejudice' [read: beaten with sticks at the foot of Beaumont Tower]. The swine. She may yet get her ass locked up for lying to authorities and the Senate. Serves her right for covering this shit up for years.

    Risk management falls into two categories - strategic and tactical. Strategically, MSU's RM policy was to 1- protect individuals; 2- protect the institution; 3 - protect the athletic dept; 4 - protect the donors; . . . . . nth - worry about the students. As for their RM tactics - stall, hide, sue, lose, stall, etc. . . . sort of like Boeing here to fore.

    and so it goes,

    peace,

    rono
  • @rono: It is practically axiomatic in higher education that upper level administrators should not come from within the university. Take a look at Simon’s career and you’ll see she never worked anywhere but MSU, including during grad school. She does not have a terminal degree in a real academic field, either. I thought it was very revealing that her « demands » when negotiating her exit are free tickets to football and basketball games, along with guaranteed parking. No wonder.....
  • edited April 2019
    Still alive for tie 6/th place & a few bucks ! Busted !!
    Derf
  • @MFO Members: I wonder how many had the Red Raiders playing the Cavaliers in the championship game in their bracket ? I also heard that the folks at CBS Sports are in full cardiac arrest, they will be able count the viewers on one hand.
    Regards,
    Ted
  • edited April 2019
    Ted said:

    @MFO Members: I wonder how many had the Red Raiders playing the Cavaliers in the championship game in their bracket ? I also heard that the folks at CBS Sports are in full cardiac arrest, they will be able count the viewers on one hand.
    Regards,Ted

    Not into wagering. The first BB game I’ve watched in entireity in several years. But it seemed to me the Raiders are a much different type of team than MSU is used to going against. They’re damned fast, superb ball handlers and give 150% on defense. Whatever pattern their offense was running remained a mystery to my uneducated eyes - but, whatever it was, they had obviously rehearsed and perfected it to a high degree of precision and probably could have executed it blind-folded.

    Seemed to be “pressing” downcourt and doing man-to-man coverage and double-teaming against MSU near the boards on defense most of the game compared to a more laid-back MSU approach. It’s a wonder they could keep up that kind of heat without tiring near the end. Certainly a fun game to watch. MSU couldn’t seem to hit the side of a barn with their shots much of the night. MSU looked the bigger stronger team to me - but agility paid off here.

    Any investment themes / lessons related to the contest?

  • Hank, that condition (investment theme) does not apply when Ted starts a discussion.
  • TedTed
    edited April 2019
    .
  • Shouldn't be a big surprise about T-Tech making it to the champ game; they were a top team all year, with a couple of lapses, not sure if injuries played a role in those lapses. I recall a talk segment toward the end of the regular season when one of the boyz on the tube thought they could justify a 1 seed if things broke a certain way at the end.

    Plus, anybody who beats out Kansas in the Big 12 is a very good team. I love watching their defense; much of the time, I want to count to make sure they don't have six or seven guys on the floor.
  • Two of TT stars, Owens and Mooney, are graduate transfers. They play at TT even though they've graduated elsewhere but have "eligibility" remaining. As today's (failing) NYTimes points out, the NCAA may actually change this ludicrous rule. Are any of these "graduate student athletes" really in search of a Master's degree, after all?
  • @BenWP: Come on give them a break, they both got A+'s in basket weaving and finger painting as undergraduate students.
    Regards,
    Ted:)
  • edited April 2019
    BenWP said:

    Are any of these "graduate student athletes" really in search of a Master's degree, after all?

    “Graduate Student Athlete” ?

    A cynic might term that an oxymoron.

  • edited April 2019
    hank said:

    BenWP said:

    Are any of these "graduate student athletes" really in search of a Master's degree, after all?

    “Graduate Student Athlete” ?

    A cynic might term that an oxymoron.

    If they graduated and still had eligibility (four years, as it's been forever), because they didn't play one of the years they were undergrads, or were injured early one year and petitioned successfully for a redshirt year, there's nothing wrong with playing out their eligibility. The undergrads and grads are in pretty much the same boat academically: they can take the easy road, going with the "cooperating" instructors/programs the athletic dept's lined up, or they can get some level of actual education. There's no difference between undergrad and grad in that respect, except I'd guess it'd be harder for the AD to line up "everybody passes" classes for grads.

    The thing that looks off-kilter compared to earlier times is the transfer rule. A transfer used to have to sit out some period of time before playing, I recall it was a year at one point in the past, but now the 'waiting period' must be down to nothing.

    I think it was one of the Tech guys who's played now at three schools ... and in case nobody's noticed, transfers with immediate effect are how football teams pick up a hot QB or other star now to cover a drought year in recruiting - apparently often when the transfer has been relegated to second string at a big-time school and sought "employment" elsewhere.
  • I failed to link the Times article. However, the rule change the NCAA may enforce is to require the school receiving the transfer to lose a scholarship. As basketball scholarships are limited to 13 per year, the impact on the program is significant. Not so much for football, where 85 scholarships are permitted. I think the last two U-M quarterbacks are/were "grad" students.
  • BenWP said:

    ... the rule change the NCAA may enforce is to require the school receiving the transfer to lose a scholarship.

    Got it, thanks; a step in the right direction, at least, since I guess there's no going back.
  • edited April 2019
    Well, it's over. I ended up in 4th place in our office pool. Enough to win $40!!! Both TT and Virginia were deserving I think. Great final. Virginia, I thought, was the best team in the best conference in college basketball. Hard to bet against them.
  • Howdy,

    And my Spartans got killed. Alas.

    Wait until next year.

    and so it goes,

    peace,

    rono
  • @ rono: when is Sparty going to clean up their act ? Will Winston return ? Very nice point guard !!
    Big 10 rules, Derf
  • Hi Derf,

    Things are getting better although we've got ways to go. New interim pres is an academic and most of the rot on the board is gone. Hopefully, they'll convict Simons as that should be quite cathartic. The other two are toast.

    I firmly believe Winston will come back. He's very smart (was accepted to Harvard) and I believe they degree means a lot. He's not really big enough or fast enough or a good enough shot to be a long lasting NBA (at least that's the rap). That said, if he stays and grows, he should get chosen high enough to be able to bank some serious money. Grad school is much nicer with your chauffer dropping you off and picking you up from class. Besides, Josh is coming back as is everyone except Goins and Matt.

    Indeed, should anyone get around a sports book, put a little mad money down on State two ways - Final 4 and Champions.

    and so it goes,

    peace,

    rono
  • @rono: Thanks for your reply. Any comments on college grads transfer ? NCAA was to act on this issue.
    Happy weekend to All, Derf
  • Howdy,

    I've heard nothing and don't really follow it that closely. Nick Ward did declare and I feel it's a mistake, but WTF do I know? He started to go last year and withdrew but he's signed with and agent. Cassius is staying. After their tourney run and with the returning players and the Izzo allure, nothing would surprise me.

    I am staying with the suggestion to bet them two ways - Final 4 and Championship. Geez, that's something that is more or less a must if you get around a Sports Book - bet $10 each on all your teams to win. Just for sh*t's and giggles, but you never know. When Sparky went to the Tigers - they won the first year. When the Browns moved to Baltimore, a local barkeep friend of mine bet $50 at 50 to 1 and mailed in his winning ticket. Hell, they didn't even ask for his SS# but just sent him the check for $2500.

    How about $10 for Tiger Woods to win the Masters? Too late? How about the another major or how about the real Grand Slam? What are the odds?

    and so it goes,

    peace,

    rono
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