Comments on: Expansion 96: Brace Yourselves, It’s Coming…

By: golfitup

golfitup — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 22:28:02 +0000

I am legitimately angry right now. Nothing like messing up the best tournament in American sport.

By: rtmsf

rtmsf — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 07:27:52 +0000

In reply to THager. You'll be back.

By: THager

THager — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 06:07:47 +0000

I will never ever ever give in to the idea that this will happen and that this could ever be a good thing. I quit basketball the day this happens.

By: nomorespinsports

nomorespinsports — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 02:13:06 +0000

“Wild Wild Wild” by the utterly quotable Talking Heads currently playing in my head

By: nomorespinsports

nomorespinsports — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 02:08:15 +0000

I just hope we don’t go down the path of the UK, where the Labour Party recently put out a series of proposals on reforming soccer in that country. adding the government makes it more murky and chaotic. I’d love to see the expansion stop, but I don’t want that to be in the form of government intervention. Would be an overreach, but that’s just my Federalist speaking.

By: Mark P

Mark P — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 01:57:13 +0000

Stupid stupid stupid stupid. What are the chances of a cindarella making to the Sweet Sixteen? Much less Elite Eight, Final Four, etc…. Not high. Not high.

It’s crap like this that makes me want to become Marxist.

By: rtmsf

rtmsf — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:09:05 +0000

In reply to JC.

JC – I guess they could do it that way, but the tourneys with bye situations I’ve typically seen are such that the #16 would play the #1 in the next round. And so forth.

NoMoreSpin – hilarious. Keep it coming…

Andrew – Now don’t you understand that if Bonnie comes home and finds a 96-team NCAA Tourney in her house, I’m gonna get divorced. No marriage counselor, no trial separation — fuckin’ divorced. And I don’t wanna get fuckin’ divorced. The last time me an’ Bonnie talked about this shit was gonna be the last time me an’ Bonnie talked about this shit. Now I wanna watch the games, I really do. But I ain’t gonna lose my wife doin’ it.

JR – don’t get me wrong, I’m still 100% against it. But there comes a time when you have to realize that it doesn’t matter what you think, and shit’s gonna get done regardless. It doesn’t mean that I like it, but it does mean that I can find some silver linings in it. And I’m preparing myself now.

By: JR

JR — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:42:21 +0000

I am amazed how well you spun this article considering not too long ago you guys bashed the thought of expansion and were the first to point out that the early round games would be crap.

You don’t have to like it just because it is inevitable. You can still argue how it is a bad idea (which it is).

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:25:31 +0000

I just don’t think I can come to terms with this at all. I am in serious denial, and like to believe that if this ever comes to fruition that I simply won’t watch the opening round of the tournament (much like I don’t watch the current “play-in” game).

And frankly, after watching basketball from morning to night on just the Thursday and Friday of the current opening round, I’m friggin’ exhausted. Watching basketball all day for four straight days would have me burned out by the time the Saturday/Sunday games come around, not to mention the fact that it would probably get me divorced… (okay honey, I know I haven’t seen you in like two weeks as it is what with the Championship weeks going down, but we sure had a nice Monday together, huh? Okay, now see you next Monday… Or maybe I can schedule an hour or two of quality time for Sunday evening, although I will likely be in a state of basketball-induced zombification at that point)…

By: nomorespinsports

nomorespinsports — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 22:57:10 +0000

“Hey, don’t you know it’s a waste of your day / caught up in endless solutions” — A Life of Illusion, Joe Walsh

This quote basically sums up my opinion on proposed expansion of the NCAA Men’s Division I basketball tournament. It seems likely that the tournament will expand from 65 to 96 teams. let me count the ways I hate this idea.

The tournament already allows for the inclusion of 34 at-large teams, it usually incorporates the top 40-45 teams would you account for conference tournament champions. There already is a large enough avenue for teams to get in. If they can’t avail themselves of these opportunities I’m sure they can find a mirror to yell at. Currently the top 10% get into the tournament. This tournament should be about the best teams and conference champions. It should not be simply an equivalent of a participation badge for the above-mediocre. We don’t need to add the Not Invited Tournament (known in an alternate universe as the NIT) to the NCAA tournament.

But, of course the only purpose of an expansion is an expansion of revenue stream. Anyone who tells you differently is a liar or a delusional. The NCAA assumes that more games equals more money. They’re probably right. But that doesn’t mean an expansion of the tournament will make the tournament better. It’s kind of like adding ice to a drink. At first, it seems like a good idea because it makes the drink cold. However, after a while all it does is water it down.

It’s kind of hilarious to me that the latest news regarding tournament expansion comes from a USA Today interview with Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney. This from a man who is against a playoff in big-time college football. What a ridiculous dichotomy.

If the tournament does expand, here is what should happen. Coaches like Seth Greenberg Virginia Tech who always try to electioneer their bubble teams into the tournament should get a little karma. All of these coaches who basically push for expansion deserve to have terrible seasons if there is expansion. If there is any karma in the world, next year Virginia Tech will not be good enough to get in even to an expanded 96 team field. It may sound harsh, but if there is to be expansion, teams like Virginia Tech deserve to go 11-19-ish and have their coaches fired. If you’re going to ruin it, at least make it a little fun.

Here is a line Nancy Reagan and Dylan Thomas can get behind. Just Say No to an expanded tournament, and Rage, Rage against the Dying of the Light that is the sanity of the current format.

Here’s a slogan: 65+0 Or Fight!

By: The Hemogoblin

The Hemogoblin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 22:12:42 +0000

Please god… no no no no no.

By: JC

JC — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:44:50 +0000

1. Agree w/ GGB regarding the football missing class argument.

2. What makes you think the bracket would be as shown above? I see each region as follows:
23v24 – 1
9v10 – 8
15v16 – 5
17v18 – 4
13v14 – 6
19v20 – 3
11v12 – 7
21v22 – 2

Because money is apparently the main reason for expansion, this layout makes the most $ sense to me.

By: rtmsf

rtmsf — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:18:52 +0000

In reply to GBBound. Yeah, BE Tourney ends on a Saturday night, but point is still salient.

By: Free

Free — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:18:42 +0000

Long time… first time…

While I agree that expansion would be all around shitty, your 2nd point on the week-long basketball-kake is actually fairly interesting.

I think it would also be interesting if you kept the games as they are now, we could get down to 32 on the first weekend. Elite 8 on the following. And then the final weekend would be the ultimate conference tourney/high school tourney style… Sat, Sun., Mon. for all the marbles.

With some of the sting taken out of the first two days of the tourney with NIT-level games, that final weekend could replace it as the ultimate sports weekend. Maybe?

By: GBBound

GBBound — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:11:11 +0000

For all the talk about the importance of why we can’t have a football playoff because students will be missing school, a team could potentially play 8 games in a little over a week. For example, let’s take the 10th place team from the Big East, who might miss the current iteration of the tournament:
They would play in the first round of the Big East Tournament ona Wednesday and win
They would play in the second round of the Big East Tournament on a Thursday and win
They would play in the Quarterfinals on a Friday and win
They would play in the Semifinals on Saturday and win
They would play in the Finals on Sunday and lose.

They would likely make the new iteration of the tournament as an at-large and play on Tuesday and win
They would then play the following Thursday and win
They would then play the following Saturday.

8 games in 11 days….is that really good for basketball?