Your Day-Late, Buck-Short Liberty Bowl Post

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Or: The MSU offense, it's even more inept in person.
What better way to cap off a few weeks of quality family time than to go to State's first bowl game in six years in the comfy confines of our old stomping grounds of Memphis? Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Somehow, my tickets were actually good. We were in the corner of the nice maroon MISS. STATE endzone four rows up. Like a dumbass, I left my camera in the car (which was parked in a suspiciously close parking spot right by some of the huge donor MSU fan RV's). But here's my ticket stub and souvenir cup.
Anyway, a huge thumbs down to the city of Memphis who acted like they had no idea that 65,000 people were traveling on four roads in town towards the same place. Sure, they were glad the game was a sellout and made us State fans feel at home with the big cow-judging stalls right next to the stadium, but Airways was a glorified parking lot going in. Central was the same going out. I saw TWO cops the whole time and only one was directing traffic. And memo to the "Event Staff" guy I hit with my car: Just because you have a yellow vest doesn't mean you can cross four lanes of traffic without looking first. Another huge "fuck you, MPD" from my brother, sister-in-law, and former roommate who spent the first quarter stuck in a non-moving mass of people trying to get to their seats while another non-moving mass of people tried to get to the restrooms and concession stands located right by the turnstiles. The crowd only started to clean out once an elderly person passed out and needed oxygen. I shit you not.
Anyway, back to the game, it's not like the latecomers missed anything, because the first quarter was one of pure offensive ineptitude. The endzones might as well have been draped in barbed wire (like everything else in the fairgrounds area). The much ballyhooed Kevin Smith was pretty good, but UCF seemed like a one-trick pony for the most part. The MSU offense was the one I've come to accept over the season. They think they can pass. They say they run the west coast offense. They'll pass on any down. Do they complete any of these things? No. The protection was non-existent, and we had a great view of constantly saying "oh crap, that one's up for grabs." Fortunately, the Central Florida passing game was a total non-factor, too with Derek Pegues ending up catching as many UCF passes as some of their receivers. Long story short, one good drive by the offense was all it took for State to get a touchdown and the win. To put it mildly, this game was ugly. For the views of people who get paid to write about this kind of thing, there's this from ESPN, from the Clarion-Ledger, from the Commercial Appeal, from CBS, and this again from ESPN. As one of those fans getting their pride back, this season has been a pretty big suprise. After the game, most UCF fans were gracious, if not disappointed, but then this morning at the hotel, I encountered this:
If you can't tell what it is, it says UCF! =) (smiley face not pictured) on the rear spoiler of my dusty car. The totally adorable smiley face clearly indicates the work of a girl or total amateur. This smack, much like the football played in Conference-USA might appear to be competent to the casual viewer, but is eventually, only found to be superficial at best. Really, drawing on a dirty car? I went to an SEC school. I expect pee-stained tires, gum under the door handles or broken bottles behind the tires. I had an elderly Alabama fan swear at me once while he was parked in MY yard! This half-assery is bush-league! Step it up, UCF (oh, and get a field goal kicker while you're at it). At least some of your fans were wearing jorts in the hotel lobby this morning (and it was 35 outside!). So to sum up: so what if the game was dull as hell? I got to spend some quality time with the family, some friends I haven't seen in a while, and got to savor some barbecue nachos while enjoying a win. That should be a good enough weekend for anyone.

A Christmas Gift Hint

Sure, the normal hints like DVD and CD suggestions have already been dropped, and my Liberty Bowl (featuring the only program in the SEC West that's not just dirty, filthy skanks) tickets are supposedly en route, but nothing truly says holiday lovin' like an $800 ham. That's right. An eight. Hundred. Dollar. Ham (more or less, depending on weight). In musical news, you can now mathematically calculate exactly how much of a sellout your favorite band is when you hear them in a commercial (Iggy Pop in the cruise line ads: 111. The Transplants in the shampoo ads: a whopping 201. Band of Horses in the Ford commercial: a staggering 455). And since this post will now double as my normal personal monthly update: I'm loving my new job. The joys of a 37.5 hour work week can't be accurately described here, even though my chances of random encounters with both Big Red and Kige have increased exponentially.

Mississippi State University: Alabama State Champs

Thanks to a big win over Alabama (and previous wins over Auburn and UAB). I've watched this clip about a dozen times now.

Wish I could have been there.


















Hell, I wish I could have seen more than the last minute that ESPNNews cut in to show, but I did get to see Titus Brown drop John Jacob Jingleheimer Sara Jessica Parker Lindsey Wilson to the turf like a bag of dirt for the last play. Incredible fact for the day: Alabama hasn't scored an offensive touchdown against State since 2004. Thats 12 quarters, which equals the number of points the $4 million dollar man's offense was able to score on Saturday. Looks like the term "Croomed" might have become meaningless, too. Now State is bowl eligible for the first time since 2000, and the only remaining games against an against-the-ropes Arkansas team and an Ole Miss squad that has yet to win a conference game (and I'm nervous about both games, with history backing me up).

Hundredth Post Craziness!

Okay maybe not. I really should get out more. Anyways, add another emotion to the Paps-amometer. Ecstatic. And jumpy.



















Anyway, seconds before this picture, he struck out one Mr. Seth Smith, who attended the University of Mississippi. So at baseball's highest level, it all came down to one final round of State vs. Ole Miss. Kinda cool, huh? And yes, I am fully aware that no one else really noticed or gives a shit. And congrats to my hometown D-III Millsaps Majors for getting some pub around the net today. You know them, they're the team in purple that just will not tackle. (SATURDAY'S A RUGBY DAY!!!)



Yep. That's them.

And finally, I'm trying to watch an entertaining evening of my Broncos on the ESPN, but it's turned into a Farve-centric Farve-tacular on Monday Night Favre-ball. We get it. He's a legend. Trust me, I've had to keep up with him since I was in Jr. High and he was at USM. I've played against his high school, one of my friends swears he sees him at church occasionally, etc, etc. I am well aware of his legendary NFL stature. His wife's story is certainly inspirational (his gangbanging sister...not so much). It's just a little overdone in true ESPN sports-ENTERTAINMENT style. The constant highlight reels going to commercials, the shots of cheeseheads in Mile High. Ugh. I feel like I'm rooting for the Washington Generals or the bad guys in a wrestling match or something.

I spoke too soon

Did it seem like my last post would indicate that a certain college football team had been a frustratingly inconsistent waste of my Saturdays? Because if you thought for a minute that I doubted them...well, then you could see why I drove nine hours for a wedding instead of three for the MSU-UK game. Who knew?
































And now for the recaps:
Miss. State 31 Kentucky 14
A Balanced Offense? What team was I watching again?
State of Shock
And the locals, they aren't exactly taking this well. Work should be fun tomorrow. One thing I've noticed is people saying that Kentucky was worn out after playing LSU and Florida in consecutive weeks, but I'd just like to point out that State had to play at UK after having played UT and then at West Virginia (with a ridiculous result), so that excuse doesn't cut it.
So now State is one game away from being bowl eligible, with three games left. I hope it doesn't come down to the Egg Bowl, because Ole Miss would just LOVE to screw State out of a bowl. Kentucky is already bowl eligible, and for them there's always basketball season.
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REAL Long Time No Post

What can I say, in the process of finding a new job and not going totally batshit crazy at work (to say nothing of the recent crop of weddings and annual birthday malaise), my "craft" here has suffered. As has my liver, but that's another story for another time. My normal pedestrian Fall weekend distractions of football have sadly been of little solace. I'm looking at you, alma mater. And my normally competent NFL team has mysteriously been mediocre, too (but hopefully that's changed). It's enough to turn anyone into a beliver of bleak, dehumanized, jumpsuit or trenchcoat-laden futures, so here are the Top 50 Dystopian movies. There, I feel better already.
And now, since it is World Series time, here are the many faces of former Bulldog Jonathan Papelbon

Focused



















Jubilant (and still frighteningly intense)

















...I have no idea, but it looks like fun

The Post-Mortem

This is me not complaining.
I don't have anything to say, really. We all knew it would be bad, but come on.

More Pregame Seething Bitterness

Or: No Fear of the Underdog Edition.

After the inevitable thrashing, I will not bitch any about the outcome. This game is absolutely no way to gage how the season will go (okay, so ONE of them is kinda in the national title hunt). It’s the first one. You wouldn’t want to base all of your more…intimate relations going strictly by the first one. I mean you think you’re going along pretty well, and then the next thing you know, it’s 11:45 and you’re at some truck stop on Hwy. 49 wondering if Resolve will discolor suede and whatever the hell prom dresses are made out of. But I digress. Cases in point, since 1991, LSU has lost to State exactly twice. In 1991 and again in 1999. In that seems-like-forever-ago era from 1997-2000 when State had the Western Division’s best overall record LSU won 3 out of the four games with the overall score being 126-70. The 1998 MSU team that won the SEC West? Lost to LSU (finished 4-7) 41-6. So historically, sure, we’re kinda due, averaging a win every eight years. Keep in mind that some of those LSU teams were pretty bad. Curley freaking Hallman beat them 3 out of 4 times. Gerry DiNardo lost to State once (barely, but it still counts) and got canned a month later.


Awww. Cheer up guys, there's one surefire slumpbuster on that schedule.






So an LSU team that's favored to win the SEC West against the team that...probably...won't? It could be brutal. Good thing the game isn't featured as the beginning of the kickoff...weekend...for...football...DAMMIT, now everyone will watch.the competitive first quarter. But hey, stranger things have happened. Technically there is a chance. And there was an eclipse yesterday. And past results do not guarantee future success (according to my broker). Tomorrow, sobriety pending, I might get around to cataloging the horrible events of heartbreak, booze and the occasional beatdown that surround this game for me.

LSU Week Begins: Red Stick Diaries

My last post might have implied that all LSU fans have never set foot in a classroom in Baton Rouge. That is not the case, LSU has a quite large, diverse student body. The rowdy student section is known for being a living nightmare for opposing fans and their own livers. Lively celebrations at football games, no matter how unconventional are welcome.













Keep in mind, that as drunk as they undoubtedly are, it's a wonder they're still standing. But hey, Baton Rouge is a place where you are free to be yourself and just let your freak flag fly.
















Uh, guys, that's not exactly what I had in mind, although it does count as freaks flying flags. I'm sure General Sherman would be proud. Still, you have to wonder what the students do in their spare time other than not study (no, not #1, we'll make fun of them another time, go to #8.) Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it's productive, and not just some raving bat-shit crazy antics of a stoned coonass.

Interesting way to start a turnaround season

So if you're a backup quarterback that had just slogged through a hideous scrimmage that featured tons of dropped passes, and was highlighted by such crappy special teams that the one guy they signed up just so SOMEBODY might be able to put a ball in the end zone for kickoffs breaks his damn foot, how do you cope? If you answered "go out and get yourself a DUI, spend an evening in the 'Johnny Cash Suite', and get suspended indefinitely" crack open a tall boy. Looks like I picked a hell of a week to stop sniffing glue. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a TiVo'ed preview special to watch (one drink for each time "improvement" is mentioned).

Your College Fooball Season Opener: Countdown to the Disappointment

and now, a jaunty little number to distract you.

Yes, in just two weeks, the college football season kicks off with my beloved Dawgs getting their annual thrashing at the hands of the LSU Tigers. Growing up, I had no real qualm with the LSU types. Hell, several of my family members went there. One great uncle even played for them back when they still wore leather helmets. He had some really neat stories about the game from way back in the day. Then, right about the time I started college, my family moved to the coast, and I got my typical college student thankless summer job at a hotel in Biloxi. This one, to be exact (the part under the displaced barge).

There, during the slow weekdays, our visitors were mostly tourist families from some exotic locale to the north or west passing through on their way to Florida, or the occasional bus full of elderly gamblers. But the weekends, we were packed full with cantankerous, drunk folk, primarily from points west. They were mainly either: total 'yats residing in Kenner or Marrero enjoying a weekend of nickel slots and free Crown and Coke, or full blown coonasses from Plaquemenes or Houma, enjoying their "two weeks off" portion of vacation. Both groups shared a love of hittin' 'da boats, enjoying 'da best seafood boo-fay, and harassing yours truly, the maintenance guy/pool boy. And all of them shared an undying love of the Louisiana State University. Never mind that the only college most of them had ever seen was the occasional course at Delgado or the semester at Nichols State, they were purple and gold to the core. The week that LSU was in the College World Series was especially fun (especially the guy with the ironic "Roll Tide" coozie: 'I look at my beer, think about the title game, take a drink...and laaaaaugh). And if they found out that yours truly attended Mississippi State? Then it was on Taunts, insults, the occasional thrown beer and threat of "beatin' 'yo worthless pool boy ass". Keep in mind, this was just before State's mysterious run at respectability in the late '90s. We sucked hind tit then (but not quite to the extent that we do now). It was at this point that I grew to despise LSU, and their Busch-swilling, bandwagon-jumping, "why dohn dey sell no likka' at 'da K&B heah" fans. Hey, that sort of crap builds character, I'm told. Anyways, the next two weeks I will examine the finer nuances of the fanbase, leading up to the inevitable skull-fucking that my alma mater will suffer on the 30th.
Exhibit one: skull tat guy. Be afraid. Be very afraid.














Next week, we'll get into the gruesome numbers over the recent domination, and include some personal stories of personal degradation and humiliation that have occurred as a result. Pull up a seat, stock up on bourbon, and enjoy.

Weekend boredom

The world's most popular sports team signed their newest player after seeing his YouTube video. He's nine. And now has a contract with Manchester United. When I first heard about this story, I thought it was from The Onion. I eagerly await Rhain's US arrival in 20+ years to kickstart American interest in soccer. Again. Hopefully, American teams will refrain from jumping on this youngster bandwagon before things get out of hand.
Also, Tom Brady and myself are just about the same age. He wins Super Bowls and is even known in non-sports circles for his ability to get top shelf tail. So yeah, our lives are pretty much identical.

Only 321 Days to Go!

before my long suffering Mississippi State football team ends its probation, and the whole SEC will be riding clean, baby!!! With no sanctions holding us back, the rise to the top will be one for the ages. Look out world, here we come! Oh, and today at media days, Croom might have compared the pressure to win at MSU to his prior playing days. In junior high.

Are amps set to 11 eco-friendly?

Here's The Loudest Band on Earth: Spinal Tap! and their mighty bassist army from Live Earth. HELLO CLEVELAND!

Me fail English? That's unpossible!

Young Ralph Wiggum is apparently a State fan. Who knew?

Sadly, the local Nebraskans were also unable to help with the spellcheck, either.
In other news, rasslin' fans might be easy to dupe. Shocking, I know.

Greetings From Deep Inside the Loser's Bracket

So currently it's the bottom of the 7th and Louisville is totally demolishing State 11-3. And I'm out of beer in a town that doesn't sell it on Sundays. For MSU, the pitching that amazingly stepped it up to just-win-baby status against Florida State and Clemson has returned to their miserable regular season form, and the chock-full-of-freshmen infield has managed to turn the routine into the spectacular for most of the afternoon (coincidentally Louisville started pitching a lights-out freshman, but that's beside the point.) State has pretty much mailed it in ever since that disastrous sixth inning Friday night to start the furious UNC rally that put them in this situation. I guess just getting to the College World Series was enough for this team, but as young as they are (if not the most talented crew ever) the pressure will definitely be on next season. Now it's on to football season. Dammit.

Bottom 7th 2 Outs. Tying run on first. 10-9 U of L leads Rice

And there goes my chance of getting press credentials for an NCAA event. Oh well.

One Last Pre CWS List of Links

Here's the rundown of tomorrow's College World Series action, action, action, on ESPN2, 2, 2! (that I'm taking off work for. Don't judge me.)
Here, Southern College Sports breaks down Bracket 1 for you. Newcomers to all this at Card Chronicle take their look at the bracket. Good luck guys (okay fine, I'll say it: Please beat Rice). For more homerism, here's CollegeBaseball Blog's MSU preview. And for more of a travelogue of some lucky State fans, there's The Beef on the Road to Omaha. As mentioned in The Commercial Dispatch, State's on a 4-0 roll here recently when it comes to ACC teams. It's also a quasi-revenge tour by eliminating Clemson, who has helped oust State from the regionals twice recently. The last time UNC and MSU played was in the 2003 Starkville regional and UNC won in extra innings. The game tying homer in the ninth was given up by some stiff named Papel...something. I wonder what ever happened to that guy? It was also my last sporting event as a college student. How fitting. Overall, State's College World Series history is full of early exits , even with talented teams (cough, like the basketball team, cough). I mean, check out this list of an All-Star team made up of the respective teams all-time greats. Yeah, even THAT TEAM (1984) that placed four players on here managed to go 1-2 in Omaha. Hopefully this year's team chock full of scrappy overachievers will do something the more talented squads (prove me wrong, guys) couldn't. To sum up: this years team started out great, fell flat on its face to finish the season, and is now damn hot in the post season (post SEC tourney). Keep it up, guys.
Oh, and I just might liveblog at some point during the games. Because that story just won't go away quietly. Like I'd ever get press credentials for something in the future.

Empassioned college baseball tech-savvy fans/nerds unite!

So the Courier-Journal's Cardinal blogger was booted from the press box at the super regional for...live blogging during the game. Oddly enough, he could have kept writing from outside the ballpark or comfortably from his couch watching ESPN, just not at the game, from the press box. Some rule about in-game updates being expressly prohibitive and violating broadcasting rights. It seems a bit ridiculous, but if the NCAA is really about anything, it's asinine rules (and hokey commercials). College baseball is a niche sport at best. Schools are usually in either of two categories here: 1. Good at it 2. Don't care. Not to generalize, but the pool of teams that makes the regionals is kinda the same most years. That's why it's exciting to see teams like Louisville (and UC-Irvine) doing well. I'm not sure what harm was done by live in-game updates. I guarantee you that nobody was turning away from the ESPN broadcast to check out the on-line update. Everybody with any interest in that game whatsoever was either there or glued to the tube. I guess the CSTV guys got the message, notice how their blogs end before the game starts, then pick back up with the post-game wrap up. The occasional "underground" media outlet might show some passing interest, but the story will probably just go away after a few days. And then hopefully someone will start giving live updates from Omaha. And now, your day late/buck short update that my repeat visitors (hey, lil' brother) demand, nay, deserve. This just in: MSU's beat writer has been given the ultimatum by the NCAA. Only posts about conditions/atmosphere are acceptable (sigh). Oh and just to clarify, was Rick Cleveland at the game on Saturday? If so, he was clearly running afoul of the rules. Way to fight the power, Rick!

MSU Baseball: Omaha Bound Again (who knew?)

or: Just win, baby!


So, the MSU baseball team that was picked LAST in the SEC pre-season polls and somehow managed to lose to powerhouses like Dallas Baptist and Austin Peay is headed to the College World Series after sweeping Clemson in the Super Regional. They're even on the front page over at ESPNU.com right now! State finished up the regular season by dropping the last three SEC series, and then proceeded to go 0-2 in the SEC Tournament. Mysteriously, they then proceeded to go to Florida State and beat the nationally seeded Seminoles (who some experts said had the easiest regional draw) twice to advance to the Supers to face the winner of the Coastal Carolina/Clemson matchup. The complete turnaround was something that most State fans really didn't see coming. Then, it was announced that Starkville would finally be the host site. The Clemson fans didn't take the news well that the "vastly inferior" Bulldogs would host, while ignoring the facts that State beat a better opponent, didn't get to play in their home state, and had traveled to Clemson for regionals/supers twice in the past few seasons (newsflash, Brett; finishing ONE PLACE ahead of MSU in the RPI can hardly be considered "superior", and the fake shock over the role of money in college athletics just makes you look ignorant). Surely after a few days, they would get over it. Wrong. Right up until game day, their athletic department bitched (apparently they had no idea how the bid system worked, so blame the school that figured it out), their coach bitched (not unlike a good old Ron Polk diatribe against the NCAA, but I digresss) and their fans. You better believe they bitched (see the Scout article). Apparently IPTAY is from a Cherokee word meaning "endless whining." Then, came the predictable Starkville jabs. Sure, there were plenty of hotel rooms in several surrounding cities, but that fact wouldn't have done much for the fantastic hyperbole. This point is especially ironic, since the only time I've been to Clemson (full disclosure: for my brother's graduation) the closest hotels were almost a half hour away. Late night update: They're still bitching!!! Check out the last sentence. Apparently ya'll are pretty dense, so I'll type this slowly: THERE IS NO HOSTING CONTROVERSY! There is no great NCAA conspiracy that holds MSU in some great light. Trust me. State's been screwed on bowl bids, basketball seedings, and even baseball regionals. It sucks, but it happens to everybody. There are 13,000 reasons (and $100K+) why your self-proclaimed superior team didn't get to host. Take your "deserve" and "logic" and sit on it for the whole offseason while you self-entitled pricks watch MSU play in Omaha. Seriously, bringing it up again and again just makes you look petty. If your team was so much better on the field, as you claim why couldn't they (and their high draft picks, oh look, that's an excuse too, now!) manage to get a single win in Starkville? It can be a three game series. Just get one win. Now, for the actual games. It's doubtful that many Clemson fans could have gotten any tickets, anyway, since the State fans packed Dudy Noble Field (@PDS) to the gills. From Veazey's Blog:

Friday's Starkville Super Regional attendance of 12,620 was more than the other three Super Regional sites combined. Louisville, North Carolina and Rice drew a combined 11,992.

Keep in mind this was for a game at 11 in the morning on a Friday. But surely, the club that's presumptuous enough to emblazon "Omaha" in their logo on the back of their hats could win two more on the road, right? Especially from such an overmatched hack of an opponent? Apparently not. At least the writer from the Charleston paper had fun out in the lounge (pic from the Clarion Ledger, making me all nostalgic-note to my friends, sadly no, that's not me to the left of "flag guy" I was at freaking work) watching the "vastly superior" Tigers lose in a great back-and-forth game. Today's game was another great nail-biter that the Dogs won 8-5 to advance to Omaha where they'll play a to-be-determined Carolina team (either North or South) on Friday. It's State's first trip back to the CWS since 1998. And for a fanbase that knows a thing or two about adversity, it's pretty freaking sweet.

The TB is resistant to antibiotics, but not irony.

Not to make light of the plight of the infamous traveling TB lawyer, the dozens of nervous fellow travelers, and the boneheaded border agents, but the situation is chock full of all sorts of irony. First, his new father-in-law studies TB at the CDC. That should make for some interesting conversations when he's home for the holidays. There's the fact that everyone knew about the disease before he left for Europe (but good luck convincing a good Southern girl that her special day might not go off perfectly due to some little antibiotic resistant TB- after all, this would make a lousy wedding photo). Then, there's this:

Legal scholars say Mr. Speaker could be sued by fellow airline passengers, especially if any caught the disease from him

What kind of law does he practice? Personal injury.


And now, apropos of absolutely nothing, enjoy this epic tantrum from the manager of the Mississippi Braves (which mysteriously can't be embedded on here). The rosin bag/grenade bit is a piece of improvisational genius. Admit it. You wish you could do this at your job (and get applause for it instead of being escorted away in cuffs).

The Delta's Latest Culinary Treat

The flat northwestern quarter (roughly) of Mississippi is known for a few things. Stifling heat, fields as far as the eye can see, incredible poverty in places, home of the best bluesmen in the world, cotton, catfish, and a pretty strong culinary heritage. There's been some famous food writers from there, some classic American restaurants, and a fascination with tamales. It should go without saying that the world's best catfish and some fine barbecue are never hard to find. The local University mascot is the Fighting Okra! It's even where fancy, big-assed, expensive ranges come from, launching a foodie-fueled revitalization of Greenwood. Hell, I'm from there (originally, sort of). It doesn't so much make me a good cook, but it doesn't hurt. To quote Anthony Bourdain from his Les Halles Cookbook:

It is no accident that in just about every county you might want to visit, the good cooks always seem to hail from the most ass-backward and impoverished backwaters.

I think of this as a complement. Anyway, what is the next big culinary breakthrough to tickle the palate of the hard-toiling everyman from Memphis to Vicksburg? I give you, rest of America (courtesy of the New York Times), Kool-Aid brined dill pickles. Hmmmm.

Have I mentioned the rampant diabetes epidemic there?
I just wonder if I have the nerve to try one when I go home?

Now Playing in the Waiting Room For Hell

I'm pretty sure this vid is on a continuous loop there.

The horror...the horror...

It's more evidence that no fan base can truly bring the crazy like the SEC West. Alabama fans are busy naming their kids after a coach that hasn't won a game yet and selling out the freaking Spring game. Not to be outdone, Arkansas is busy debating if they should fire their coach that had the nerve to get to the championship game last year. I would post more, complete with links, but nobody reads this thing.

Well, that was State-tacular.

"Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you're the Charlie Brown-est". I think that phrase lost out for a spot on the university crest to "Learning, Service, Research" by very few votes. Case in point: tonight's game. First of all, it's the NIT. We know, it's the Not Interested/Invited Tournament. The battle for #65 66. It's the custom-made tourney for such a perpetual bridesmaid like us. So, by making it all the way to MSG for the final, what happens? Much like the other MSG, you're halfway done and you realize: this can't be over, can it? Nope. The couch-burnin' cousins mount an incredible comeback that we all knew was coming and win on a damn buzzer beater. Stateskills has the liveblog breakdown for the real masochists out there. Truly an epic second half choke in the red-headed stepchildren of postseason tournaments (yes I got a C+ in adjective school, why do you ask?). For those that would dare to compare this to a certain school's loss to some school called "Valpo"...nice try, but no dice. This was two fair-to-middling schools trying to rise to their mid 50's RPI rating, not some freaky Cinderella pulling a huge upset out of their ass.
To sum up the outcome of the game: DISAPPOINTING.




But not all that surprising. So disappointment, you can keep your bitter sting (and your namesake point's snazzy lighthouse)













Say it with me State fans: Wait until next year. The team will be totally loaded with talent and now just a tiny bit of tournament experience. Besides, the hard bigotry of high expectations has never bitten us in the ass in the past in any other sport now, has it?

An open lament for the 12 seed

What happened man, you used to be cool. Every year somehow at least one of you was a surefire way to separate the wheat from the chaff in an office pool. Some years a few of you would upset some hapless 5 seeds and really make some noise. Hell, my team has fallen victim to your shenanigans twice! What happened? Did the selection committee finally stop stocking you with scrappy "mid-major" underdogs and instead replace you with underachieving, milquetoast "big conference" bubble teams (in their nearly successful attempt to rid the first rounds of any meaningful upsets)? What's that you say, 11-6 came through twice? Please. That's for suckers afraid of taking a stand (and besides, those 6 seeds were vastly overrated media darlings). Hell, it might as well be 10-7. It lacks the panache that only a 12-5 can bring to the table. I just want the magic back, 12-5. I know, next year.
Also, thanks to the nonstop pimping they receive from certain media outlets, I was led to believe that the ACC was the OMG! greatest conference EVAR!!!!!1!!! And the Big10 was not far behind it. Well, well, well. How wrong you were. Looks like those "power" conferences managed to squeak by with one team each (the #1 seed, unsurprisingly) into the Sweet 16. I'm sure the Big 10 commish is writing a letter lamenting how his slow, plodding, pillars of ethics, Rhodes scholars-to-be didn't have a chance. On a postive note, if they ever take Ambien off the market, the first half of the UCLA-Indiana game can be used as a sleep aid.
And finally, congrats to the Dogs for making the Semi's of the "other" tourney.

A Day in the Life of a Fan of the Most Bipolar Team Ever

About this time yesterday, I was still giddy after MSU beat Kentucky in the SEC tournament. It seemed like the game was in the bag midway through the second half, and a co-worker commented to me "so, you like your chances of winning this one yet" to which I replied "Oh hell no, this is Mississippi State we're talking about" Well, a few minutes later my pessimism became reality. The game ended in some unconventional drama at the free throw line. Which seems to be the main thing about the game that anyone remembers. An aside here: listening to the game on the big blue network, the announcers bitched a lot about the officiating, and many UK fans have followed thier lead into crazy conspiracy-theory land. Their team didn't have three players foul out. Which team had a player with 18 free throws? Spare me the bias crap. The refs sucked for both teams. Anyway, following the wackiness was an incredible buzzer-beating three by Jamont Gordon that sent the game into OT. Let's have a look.

Nice. Anyway, after a hard-fought overtime, State came out victorious. Hello NCAA bubble. So much for that "awful" SEC West talk. Yep things were looking good.
So, with so much on the line and in full control of their own post-season destiny, how do my bulldogs respond? By completely and totally pissing down their own leg. They just get outplayed and outhustled by Arkansas. The Arkansas faithful been so thrilled with their season they just might fire their coach! Not only that, but the Razorbacks are led by a transfer...FROM STATE! How much perverse Shakespearean crap does one fan base have to put up with? We should have seen this one coming. The glass is half empty, and the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train. Hopefully the NIT will give the Dogs some more experience and something to build on. Say it with me State fans: "just wait until next year."

Update: Championship Edition

Embrace the mediocrity pairity State fans, we're champs again. Sure, at 8-8 technically co champs with Ole Miss (?!), but State gets the top seed in the tourney. Just to prove that I'm not a total homer, I still don't think we'll make the big dance this year. As for the game, the big stats are 20 turnovers for Bama (11 steals), 12 freaking blocks for State. Bama folded like a $50 suit in the second half and might have just imploded themselves right into the NIT. It was beautiful. To wit:



In other news, Jake Plummer is apparently retiring instead of being dealt to the Buccaneers. Update: or not, whatever. I wish him luck. Sure, I've sworn at some of his boneheaded plays in the past, but I think he's a quirky (albeit with unconventional choices in facial hair at times), decent guy (road rage incidents aside). Plus, he gets points in my book for bagging himself a cheerleader. Kudos.

Make the Homies Say 'Ho'...

If you can finish that title, keep reading (both of you).

Sleep well America. The Moononites can't hurt us now.

So sure, random glowing signs left on overpasses might raise some eyebrows, but a total freak-out? Really? The things were weeks old. And had been in ten cities without incident. And you just knew a politician seeking restitution would break this line out. “It is outrageous, in a post 9/11 world, that a company would use this type of marketing scheme,” He also confusingly cited "corporate greed" as another cause. Natrually, other cities are following suit (maybe literally). And everyone seems to be throwing the term "hoax"; i.e. deliberate trickery intended to gain advantage, around pretty freely in their descriptions. Of course, I remember back when every white powder was automatically assumed to be anthrax, even in east BFE where I lived. Maybe now every spare box will have to be assumed to be a bomb.