Baseball Articles
The tradition continues
Posted by Huckleberry on June 15th, 2009 under Baseball
College baseball tradition, that is.
As you may have read from me before, college baseball is seriously tilted to the west. Additionally, I have a tendency to use the Mississippi River as the dividing line both because it’s geographically important as well as the fact that it takes LSU away from the east and leaves them in no man’s land as they’re on the Mississippi. Anything to further an argument, of course.
Anyway, all three teams from east of the Mississippi lost their first round game in Omaha this year. The big upset was, of course, Arkansas over Fullerton. Even the Razorbacks meet this criterion as a western team. Somewhat humorously, the SEC has two teams in the winner’s bracket in Omaha and they are the only two teams in the conference that are not located east of the river. The reason I bring this up is the continuing ESPN talk that the ACC is now a power baseball conference. The real fact of the matter is that the ACC and SEC are obviously more likely to play other eastern teams in their regionals, which makes their roads to Omaha easier. Now, each individual bracket may only be slightly easier than a western team’s bracket, and in a few cases they will be harder as this isn’t a 100% certain rule. But add them up and the only reason the east gets nearly as many teams to Omaha as the west is because of the geographical assignments in the regionals.
But you say Texas has beaten two SEC teams in the championship this decade. They had to get all the way there. True enough. But in 2002, South Carolina was in their half of the bracket with Clemson, Nebraska, and Georgia Tech. One non-eastern team. Their regional was all eastern teams (Virginia Commonwealth, James Madison, North Carolina) and their opposite regional was all eastern teams (Miami – whom they beat in the Super, Florida, Bethune-Cookman, Florida International). They had one game against a team west of the Mississippi, against Nebraska in the first elimination game, before playing Texas. That compares to 11 games against eastern teams.
What about 2005? Florida’s run to the championship series was somewhat more impressive. While all 8 teams in their Super Regional bracket were eastern, they did get through Nebraska and Arizona State in Omaha. Arizona State took them to the edge as a #2 seed that had won a regional at Coastal Carolina (shocking) and then beat Fullerton. Actually a surprisingly good showing for an eastern club.
What about North Carolina’s back-to-back championship series appearances (where they shockingly lost both to western teams)? 2006 – all 8 Super Regional teams were eastern, 2 of their 3 Omaha half opponents were eastern (Fullerton was the exception). 2007 – all 8 Super Regional teams were eastern. 2 of their 3 Omaha half opponents were eastern.
Last year’s CWS? Won by Fresno State. Sure they were a ridiculous Cinderella story, but you’re not going to see an underdog out of the east take the baseball tournament by storm. Georgia advanced to the championship series against Fresno State by having all 8 teams in their super regional from the east and 2 of their 3 Omaha opponents from the east (sound familiar?). Stanford was the only western team in their way before Fresno State.
I know at some point the tide should turn. Maybe. But right now if you want to bet on a college baseball game and a team from east of the Mississippi is playing a team from west of the Mississippi, you know how to bet if you don’t have time to do any more research than that.
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Activity
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Scipio Tex commented on the blog post Now THAT’S Taking One For The Team 4 minutes ago
He played for New Mexico State.
We recruited him briefly, along with Louisville, Pitt and a host of others. Everyone ran when they realized he was a lunatic.
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Scipio Tex commented on the blog post Now THAT’S Taking One For The Team 4 minutes ago
He played for New Mexico State.
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Jorgrama commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 6 minutes ago
Had some harsh words about Barnes in that podcast, that’s for sure. . . .
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dick commented on the blog post Now THAT’S Taking One For The Team 9 minutes ago
Didn’t we think we target him at one point?
He’s a good player, imagine UNM with him on their #3 seed roster.
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dick wrote a new blog post: FLV March Madness First Round Bets 11 minutes ago
Here we are, my favorite weekend of the year. I’ve taken sick days on the first two days of the tourney every year except my first and this year is no different (i’m feverish, which is true). My one goal for the gambling season (August thru first weekend of April) is to have enough money to bet on every
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Scipio Tex commented on the blog post Now THAT’S Taking One For The Team 41 minutes ago
Pope was a real head case recruit, if I recall correctly.
Shot four times in high school too.
Transferred to the Hall from New Mexico St after all of the Big Schools gave him the cold shoulder for his recruiting antics.
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Scipio Tex wrote a new blog post: Place Your Bets, Gentlemens 48 minutes ago
First, if you’re not reading Fading Las Vegas or March to March, you’re missing out on the best college basketball prognostication available in the free market. The vast bulk of Kevin Berger’s basketball writing is going to be found there, so click accordingly.
The key delineation to make is that Fading Las Vegas
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admin commented on the blog post Final Four Prediction 1 hour, 40 minutes ago
Baylor scares me. They have no idea what the bright lights feel like.
Huggins also has a horrible history with high seeds from his days at Cincy.
Bingo.
Bingo.
Yet Gary Williams has a ring. Maybe this is Huggy’s year and maybe Scott Drew can get laid in a morgue. Love to see what Huggy could have
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admin commented on the blog post Final Four Prediction 1 hour, 40 minutes ago
Baylor scares me. They have no idea what the bright lights feel like.
Huggins also has a horrible history with high seeds from his days at Cincy.
Bingo.
Bingo.
Yet Gary Williams has a ring. Maybe this is Huggy’s year and maybe Scott Drew can get laid in a morgue.
I have these guys in my bracket. DEEP.
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dick commented on the blog post Early NCAA Tournament Bets 1 hour, 51 minutes ago
Travis,
63-58 on KenPom for 121. That’s still a really low scoring game
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Scipio Tex commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 2 hours, 31 minutes ago
Thanks, dick. Interesting perspective.
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dick commented on the blog post The Definitive Bracket: 63 Guaranteed Winners! 2 hours, 54 minutes ago
KB,
You are going to be too smart for your own good. A common fault amongst Bracket makers. There’s a reason why the 55 year old admins win 80% of these things every year.
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dick commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 2 hours, 58 minutes ago
“which impresses me since I know he didn’t hear the podcast.”
You shouldn’t be, after reading both guys over the past year, KB knows more about basketball and gambling than Millman does and it’s not even close.
A little warning about Chad Millman. I was pretty excited when I heard that ESPN hired a
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Luke wrote a new blog post: Some perspective for a generation of Wildcats 2 hours, 59 minutes ago
Kansas State is beginning the NCAA tournament as a #2 seed with legitimate final four hopes (just ask the president) in less than 24 hours.
I’m going to need a moment to admire that sentence…….
OK, I’m good.
As the anticipation has built over the last few days, I’m sure I’m not the only one who has taken
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whiskey wrote a new blog post: Chalk Talk: The ND 3-4 Transition Part I- Expectations 3 hours, 24 minutes ago
Welcome to the first of what I hope will be many installments of “Chalk Talk” with LB Coach. I am excited to introduce LB Coach as a new contributor to One Foot Down. LB Coach has a significant amount of experience playing football at Notre Dame and on the professional level. He also has a
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dick commented on the blog post Early NCAA Tournament Bets 3 hours, 40 minutes ago
I’ll post all of my first day games tonight.
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srr50 wrote a new blog post: Now THAT’S Taking One For The Team 6 hours ago
Aggie Corp with “Squeeze Army?”
POSERS
Texas Tech forward Darko Cohadarevic doesn’t just talk the talk — he walks the walk.
Tuesday night Tech faced Seton Hall in a first round NIT contest. With the game tied at 10, Seton Hall forward Herb Pope delivered two below-the-belt blows to Cohadarevic.
After Pope was ejected, Tech went on
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 7 hours, 43 minutes ago
Louisville has a great chance if Jerry Smith is healthy.
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post Final Four Prediction 7 hours, 45 minutes ago
Good team that took number 1 seeded Louisville to the wire in last year’s tournament. Start 3 seniors and two juniors, very athletic. Solid pass first point guard. Their leading scorer was player of the year in the conference.
Good club that plays multiple defenses.
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ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 8 hours, 10 minutes ago
I just took Baylor going to the Elite 8. It’s a crazy mixed up world we live in.
Is it just me, or does it pain anyone else to not be able to determine who is going to beat Duke early? It’s bound to happen, but who will it be?
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Art Vandelay commented on the blog post Final Four Prediction 8 hours, 12 minutes ago
By “we” I meant the Horns. Kevin, why should I take Siena over A&M?
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 8 hours, 26 minutes ago
colorado ag, Utah State is as athletic as Nebraska. You’ll be fine as long as they don’t go 16 for 31 from three.
Siena, on the other hand, is going to beat you like you stole something. Maybe not, but the Saints should win.
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 8 hours, 30 minutes ago
Great article Scipio. Also, thanks for the dime.
Looking at the Tournament futures market, Vegas is telling us what they think about Onuaku’s health. The Orangemen have the easiest region and road to the fianl four, yet they’re +700 to win it all, while UK and Kansas, teams with much tougher roads, are +250
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Art Vandelay commented on the blog post Final Four Prediction 8 hours, 35 minutes ago
My brackets are pretty much locked down except the South. Can’t get myself to take Baylor, and Duke doesn’t feel right. Nobody seems to be high on Nova. It’s all about the Big East and Big 12 this year.
It’s a crying shame we suck so bad. We are in a good
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James commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 8 hours, 45 minutes ago
Scip, like a peaceful Indian in the 1800’s, I never trust a Mormon that can shoot. Utah State has me worried.
If we escape the first weekend, things get very interesting with a potential Sweet 16 match-up with Duke. Ugly up the game and guard like hell on the perimeter in front of a
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Scipio Tex commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 9 hours, 15 minutes ago
CJD -
Possibly. However, I’m telling you – the beauty of these intergame lines is that when you see that all-too-familiar big early game lead that you know will evaporate down the stretch as soon as the team starts regressing to their 3 point shooting mean, there’s some money to be made.
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Scipio Tex commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 9 hours, 17 minutes ago
uthookem-
I’d say you have your priorities straight.
colorado -
Anytime. How far do you think the Aggies go? A lot of people think Utah State is the most dangerous pure shooting team in the tournament.
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uthookem commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 9 hours, 28 minutes ago
Last year in Vegas, Friday morning, stumble to the line at 8:30 to make my bets, put $20 on a four-team parlay on the four 9:00 am games, nailed it! Three of the four games’ spread was determined in the final 0:30. Walked away with $220.
Yeah, so what if that is the only
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James commented on the blog post Sending Aggies to the NFL 9 hours, 29 minutes ago
Jordan, all just wild, premature conjecture. I’d hedge that only a third of that 2013 list ever makes an NFL roster. It is picking which third that is the tough part.
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James commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 9 hours, 31 minutes ago
Very interesting piece. These games can’t start soon enough. Thanks, Scip.
Bo Jackson said:
June 15th, 2009 at 6:49 am
Bo knows baseball and Bo is from east of the Mississippi!
Vasco De Gama said:
June 15th, 2009 at 7:11 am
I’m sorry, it’s LSU east of the Mississippi?
hot stove steve said:
June 15th, 2009 at 7:41 am
I wonder why the huge imbalance. Is it because players from the east are more likely to get drafted out of high school, thus shrinking the overall pool of good players for college?
UTomlinson said:
June 15th, 2009 at 7:58 am
LSU is West of the Mississippi.
intellectual type said:
June 15th, 2009 at 8:11 am
Actually, Baton Rouge is directly East of the Mississippi River.
View Larger Map
Ben said:
June 15th, 2009 at 8:11 am
Vasco,
You can see LSU’s Alex Box Stadium from the Mississippi River Bridge.
Huckleberry said:
June 15th, 2009 at 8:47 am
See what happens when I make a post that doesn’t have a table or a graph or a chart or something? Wiseasses, that’s what happens. Here, allow me to define “west of the Mississippi” by state instead to clarify for some people.
CWS Championships by above regions
Green – 52
Red – 10
Tate Pittman said:
June 15th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Your charts help me in ways you’ll never understand.
Levander Williams said:
June 15th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Since the vast majority of LA’s land area (and probably the majority of their in-state propects) is west of the Mississippi, and the campus & stadium are only an HGH-induced long fly ball away from the western bank, I LSU to the west is defensible.
Louisiana Purchase said:
June 15th, 2009 at 8:59 am
Why not filter me out as well??? Better yet, can you analeyes based on the six flags of Texas?
H. Greeley said:
June 15th, 2009 at 9:03 am
It isn’t as much West versus East as Southwest US versus Southeast.
Took a quick glance at this year’s MLB draft and noted the selected US high school players. California produced 94 high school players selected in the draft, FL was second with 64, Texas third with 48, Ga. fourth with 28, and Az. fifth with 22.
To give you an idea oh how those 94 players from California compare that is more than from the NE and NW US combined. Pull out Florida and that is more than the rest of the Southeastern US. The only area the exceeds that number is the SW which just so happens to be home to UT and ASU.
I can’t say for sure that each of the preceding drafts matched those same numbers, but if I were a better man I would guess there would not be much variance over a long period of time.
Scottish kilt said:
June 15th, 2009 at 9:29 am
With better recruiting efforts that will change over time.
Art Vandelay said:
June 15th, 2009 at 9:49 am
More Jorts in the Southeast = skinned knees = rather play football or have a Mojito.
intellectual type said:
June 15th, 2009 at 10:16 am
The Engineer in me appreciates your figures and charts. Feel free to continue graphically conveying information.
Huckleberry said:
June 15th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Quick, everybody pretend Virginia is west of the Mississippi. I don’t want to have to update my map.
Spread Eagle said:
June 15th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
The way Texas played last night, I’d say they belong in the red portion of your graph. Talk about an overrated team.
Even a Horn homer would agree that the wrong team won last night: we kicked y’all’s asses on the field and we actually played the better game. Is there a more undeserving and weenie way to win than the way y’all won?
People over here in Mississippi are speculating that some of your big wig donors must have gotten hold of the members of our bullpen and got them to throw the game in y’all’s favor. That’s the only reasonable conclusion we can come up with over here to explain the inexplicable disaster that happened last night.
The key to beating Texas: make Texas’s smurf ball team actually hit the ball and don’t give them a bunch of gimme walks. That and keep members of your team away from the grimy grips of the Texas big wig donors.
From what I could tell, the only way your sorry ass team is in the green is only if that signifies the green your big wig donors pay out for other teams to deliberately throw the game.
Mike Lansing said:
June 15th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
As much as I appreciate your chart, I don’t agree that Wyoming – the the only state in the union without high school baseball – is in the “Good at baseball” category when Florida is not.
College baseball unfortunately is clearly a hot weather sport and therefore a southern phenomenon.
The wounded remains of northern college baseball were dealt a death blow by title nine and her ugly sisters softball and women’s soccer. A pox be upon 5′-8″ x 5′-8″ women throwing underhand
uthookem said:
June 15th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Nice to see you back, spread. Yep, we paid everyone off, it’s the only way we ever win anything.
Also, any team that hits a batter and walks three while tied in the ninth does not deserve to win, so you are wrong, the correct team won last night.
Hook ‘em!
T. Hicks said:
June 15th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Spread Eagle is telling the truth. I did have to pay up the staggering sum of two transistor radios WITH earpieces to listen to the Brett Farve retirement press conferences in class, a box of moon pies, and 2 RC colas and a bag of peanuts to drop in them.
Damn near wiped me out with the way radio is going and all, but well worth the investment.
Jethro Bodine said:
June 15th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Dumb dang coon asses from the South. Everyone knows if you want to throw the ball straight you got to put sum possum fat on the ball first.
R. Nagin said:
June 15th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Spread’s just mad because we got all good mobile homes from FEMA.
Spread Eagle said:
June 15th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
“Also, any team that hits a batter and walks three while tied in the ninth does not deserve to win”
Does any of this mean that your team deserved to win? Both teams played so poorly that both of them deserved to lose. No one deserved to win that poor excuse for baseball displayed last night.
Congrats to your sorry, arrogant asses for the win, but is there anyone here who is foolish enough to believe that Texas is going to get very far in the tournament, given how weak and wimpy your hitting is? Not a very realistic scenario, in my book, without very generous big win donors.
Your smurf ball is the most unmanly way to win in baseball that has ever been invented. Here in Mississippi we still have a sense of traditional integrity: we would rather just lose like men than win in the sissy, girly way you guys do. Why don’t you guys just go ahead and put on the dresses when you guys go up to bat? It would be more fitting.
HenryJames said:
June 15th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Stolen from Continental Op on ShaggyBevo:
“Don’t worry, Corky. Life goes on.”
intellectual type said:
June 15th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
IMO, it’s actually harder to play small ball than to swing away. So…we’re technically challenging ourselves more than a free-swinging team like LSU, USM, ASU. We depend more on our defense and pitching which have to be near perfect to win. Not that I like any of this, but it’s much harder when you’re giving up outs freely. Huckleberry’s statistical analysis proved that already guy. Read or GTFO.
Levander Williams said:
June 15th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
I guess I missed the part where USM hit more home runs than Texas last night. Or doubles.
Big talk from fan who’s team had only two extra base hits on the night.
Vasherized said:
June 15th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Spread Eagle is a Man’s man. He scratches his nuts in church and kisses the hood ornament on his truck every night before he goes to sleep.
He had a kid who was a sissy and that kid ain’t around no more. Spread Eagle is disgraced about falling into the wimpy losers bracket and having to take down that baby blue basketball school. He was sexually violated by a smurf as a young child and it has since shaped his viewpoints into all things smurf (bad) and all things non-smurf (good).
We are pleased to have Spread Eagle around and will miss his inevitable disappearance next week, a quick exit with integrity and manliness.
Black Scholes said:
June 15th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Spread Eagle (really, how unintentionally appropriate) brings up a good point. Is it big wig? Bigwig? Big Whig?
Ball 4 Eagle needs to be less focused on how we won and more on if they can get out of the loser’s bracket.
HenryJames said:
June 15th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Eagle should focus on getting out of life’s losers’ bracket.
intellectual type said:
June 15th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Sick burn.
Submariner Pitchers said:
June 15th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Cannot get it over the plate
the Bobs said:
June 15th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
“…we would rather just lose like men…”
I guess you accomplished what you came for… congratulations then?
W.T. Sherman said:
June 15th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Loss like men? Ha!!! The entire fucking South is my bitch!
Spread Eagle said:
June 15th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
“it’s much harder when you’re giving up outs freely. Huckleberry’s statistical analysis proved that already guy. Read or GTFO.”
Leave it to an engineer to lose the forest for the trees. The main point is not so much that “it’s much harder”: it’s that it is damn near impossible to keep winning at all with the sissy, premeditated capitulation smurf ball you guys are forced to play cause y’all suck so much at the plate.
Face the facts, engineer geek boy, the only way you guys can keep on winning is if the other teams continue to give the game away with abnormal shitty play. You guys could not even play to the level of the lowest seeded team in the whole tournament and needed a series of gimmees just to eek out a last minute, gift from God win. Either Texas continues to get lucky gifts from the other team or Texas will soon GTFO of the CWS tournament. From what I have seen so far, your team just does not have enough talent to win in a legitimate and uncontestably manly fashion.
Huck, you maybe missing a color on your graph, if you want your graph to truly be a reflection of the real state of things in the collegiate baseball world. From the way Texas plays hardball, your state, Texas, ought to be awarded the special and unique color of pink, pink as in pink panties.
My God, I swear, watching your team bat is like watching women’s softball play when a good pitcher is on the mound. Your team has about the most unmanly batting lineup I have ever seen in the CWS and, I have to admit it, it totally sucks and sucks that we ended up losing and giving the game away to a bunch of undeserving sissies like yourselves.
flamingmonkeyass said:
June 15th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
The team that played better defense, had better pitching and hit the ball better won. End of story.
Oh and your “manly” team bunted more than Texas did last night.
Sasha_Is_A_Longhorn_Dog said:
June 15th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Spread Eagle reminds me of Tim. A lot of hot air, peppered with ridiculous, unfounded insults, followed by blatant stupidity.
Texasholdem said:
June 15th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Is the manly team the one that needed two walks, an infield single, an error, a wild pitch, and a f-ing catcher’s interference to take the lead?
Speaking of tradition isn’t small ball how the game was played back during the War between the States? So technically, isn’t Texas’s the more tradition of styles?
Nero said:
June 15th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Spread –
For me to get your comparison to women’s softball, I would have to actually watch a women’s game, which I have never, ever, done. How’s that for manly.
CrazyJoeDavola66 said:
June 15th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
“Spread Eagle reminds me of Tim.”
What do you want to bet that SpreadEagle IS Tim?
We’re all assuming that SE is, um, “discussing” in good faith. My guess is he’s as connected to Southern Miss as Vladimir Putin is.
Black Scholes said:
June 16th, 2009 at 12:14 am
Spread Eagle = didn’t have the grades to get into Ole Miss.
You’re going to need to let that anger go, son. There are 5 or 6 kids every year who don’t have what it takes to get admitted to Mississippi’s finest.
And the reason the Phi Delts asked you to not come back was all of the talk about manly, sissies and style points made everyone, well, uncomfortable.
douchebag detector said:
June 16th, 2009 at 7:19 am
it’s tim
hg03 said:
June 16th, 2009 at 7:42 am
“it’s tim”
It has to be Tim. Someone needs to see if the ip address can be traced back to the electronics department in the Lubbock Wal-Mart.
Homoeroticism said:
June 16th, 2009 at 7:47 am
What Spread Eagle said!
hg03 said:
June 16th, 2009 at 7:51 am
I mean how likely is it that:
1. There are actually USM baseball fans.
2. There are actually USM baseball fans with internet.
3. Said fans would choose BC to come flaunt their “manliness”. Hornfans, shaggybevo, and rival websites generally attract the shitbirds from opposing teams.
huge said:
June 16th, 2009 at 8:07 am
no way spread is real
Vasherized said:
June 16th, 2009 at 8:22 am
no way spread is real
Correct.
Spread Eagle = Tiger Bashball = Shaggy Aggie.
Are you remotely surprised?
Huckleberry said:
June 19th, 2009 at 7:26 am
The last four teams standing are all in the green area. However, this is only the second time (2005) in the last 13 CWS that no California team is in the final four. 1996 was a weird year altogether as none of the last four teams that year were from west of the Mississippi. LSU was the westernmost team and they were joined by Clemson, Florida, and Miami.
The last time all of the final four teams were from the red region above? Never. 1996 was as close as it ever got. In 1953 Texas was joined by Boston College, Lafayette, and Michigan in the last four. In 1952 Missouri was joined by Holy Cross, Penn State, and Western Michigan.