Happy New Year! The holidays have come and gone, but there’s still plenty to look forward to in the coming year. Here are five sports events I’m looking forward to watching in 2010.
1. Blackhawks Stanley Cup run — The way the Hawks are playing lately, winning eight of their last 10 games and currently sitting atop their conference standings with 61 points, you have to believe this is their year to make it to the Stanley Cup finals.
2. White Sox starting rotation — While most of the lineup and bullpen is still a big question mark, the White Sox starting rotation of Jake Peavy, Mark Buehrle, John Danks, Gavin Floyd and Freddie Garcia makes me yearn for the start of the baseball season.
3. Winter Olympics in Vancouver — The Olympic Games are one of my favorite sports events, and this year is no exception. Several athletes will be worth watching, including: skier Lindsay Vonn, who could medal in four of the five alpine ski events she’s participating in; Apolo Ono, who could surpass Bonnie Blair in number of Olympic medals won, speed skater Shani Davis, who could win several medals, and figure skater Evan Lysacek, the current world champion who will challenge a very deep men’s field for a gold medal.
4. Illinois colleges in NCAA/NIT post-season play — Illinois, Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Loyola (Chicago) and Northwestern are among the state-based schools with winning records in college basketball. Look for most, if not all of them, to be involved in either the NCAA or NIT tournaments.
5. Better performances by the Chicago Bears — After a disappointing 7-9 season, the Bears can only get better, right? Give Cutler another year in the Bears’ organization, with a new offensive coordinator who can create a game plan that will capitalize on Cutler’s talents. Give him a stronger, faster offensive line and better, faster receivers. Then watch this team take off in 2010.
Showing posts with label college basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label college basketball. Show all posts
Monday, January 04, 2010
Monday, November 23, 2009
Study: Fewer Fouls Called on Home Team
Just as I’m heading out to watch a college basketball game tonight between my alma mater, Illinois State, and the University of Illinois-Chicago, I find this interesting piece on ESPN.com about foul calls in college basketball. It seems a recent study by a couple of college professors finds that the home team often gets fewer fouls called during these games.
The study, which appeared in The Journal of Sports Sciences earlier this year, finds that the chances that the visiting team would get a foul called on them was 7 percent higher than on the home team. When the home team is leading, the probability of the next foul being called on them was 6.3 percent higher than when the home team was trailing. Teams that are leading on nationally televised games also tend to get more fouls called than those leading in locally televised games.
Also, the bigger the difference in called fouls between the two teams, the more likely the next foul would be called against the team with fewer fouls. And when the home team had five or more fouls than the visiting team, there was a 69 percent chance that the visiting team would get the next foul.
While this is all supposedly happening subconsciously by the referees, it is somewhat amusing to realize that there really is something odd going on with the ref calls. And supposedly, it all evens out in the end, although the home team gets a slight edge. All the more reason to root for the home team.
The study, which appeared in The Journal of Sports Sciences earlier this year, finds that the chances that the visiting team would get a foul called on them was 7 percent higher than on the home team. When the home team is leading, the probability of the next foul being called on them was 6.3 percent higher than when the home team was trailing. Teams that are leading on nationally televised games also tend to get more fouls called than those leading in locally televised games.
Also, the bigger the difference in called fouls between the two teams, the more likely the next foul would be called against the team with fewer fouls. And when the home team had five or more fouls than the visiting team, there was a 69 percent chance that the visiting team would get the next foul.
While this is all supposedly happening subconsciously by the referees, it is somewhat amusing to realize that there really is something odd going on with the ref calls. And supposedly, it all evens out in the end, although the home team gets a slight edge. All the more reason to root for the home team.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Ohio State Playing For Pride
In a most unlikely scenario, Ohio State will face Florida in the NCAA men’s basketball final tonight, the same two teams that square off in the BCS football championship in January. When asked about the rematch yesterday at a press conference, both OSU coach Thad Matta and Florida coach Billy Donovan downplayed the significance of the rematch, saying they were focusing only on the game at hand, not what happened several months ago.
While that may be true for the Gators, who have enough motivation to win back-to-back national basketball titles for the first time since Duke did it in 1991 and 1992, OSU has to be thinking about payback time after Florida upset them in the BCS football title game. OSU’s football team was ranked number one going into its championship game, just as its basketball team was number one before the NCAA tournament began. You have to believe that the Buckeyes are playing for school pride, not just for a national title.
As much as I’d like to see the Buckeyes win, I’m afraid Florida will reign supreme again.
While that may be true for the Gators, who have enough motivation to win back-to-back national basketball titles for the first time since Duke did it in 1991 and 1992, OSU has to be thinking about payback time after Florida upset them in the BCS football title game. OSU’s football team was ranked number one going into its championship game, just as its basketball team was number one before the NCAA tournament began. You have to believe that the Buckeyes are playing for school pride, not just for a national title.
As much as I’d like to see the Buckeyes win, I’m afraid Florida will reign supreme again.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
And Then There Were Four…
So the NCAA Final Four is set for this weekend in Atlanta: Ohio State vs. Georgetown; and UCLA vs. Florida.
What are the chances that the national title will be decided between Ohio State and Florida – a rematch of the NCAA football championship? You couldn’t write a better script than that.
CBS must be drooling over that potential matchup.
What are the chances that the national title will be decided between Ohio State and Florida – a rematch of the NCAA football championship? You couldn’t write a better script than that.
CBS must be drooling over that potential matchup.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
NIU and ISU Introduce New Head Coaches
While the Southern Illinois Salukis were fighting their way through the first two rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament last weekend, two other state schools were shopping for new head coaches.
Patton to Lead the Huskies
At Northern Illinois, former Colorado coach Ricardo Patton was named as the new head coach. In 11 seasons with Colorado, Patton posted a 184-160 record, and six of his teams won 18 games or more. Twice, he took his teams to the NCAA tournament. He is brought on at NIU to turn around the fortunes of the Huskies who finished the season with a 7-24 record.
From Jayhawk to Redbird
Meanwhile, my alma mater, Illinois State University, announced the hiring of Kansas assistant Tim Jankovich as their new coach. He has been an assistant at Kansas for four years under Bill Self as well as at Illinois. He was also an assistant at Vanderbilt, Texas, Oklahoma State and Colorado State. The ISU Redbirds finished the season at 15-16 and lost in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament to Indiana State, which had a worse record. The MVC has become highly competitive with Southern Illinois, Bradley, Wichita State, Creighton and Missouri State making either the NCAA or NIT tournaments the last two seasons.
As an ISU alum, I love the hiring of Jankovich. Here’s hoping he’ll bring the Kansas playbook with him to Normal, Ill.
Patton to Lead the Huskies
At Northern Illinois, former Colorado coach Ricardo Patton was named as the new head coach. In 11 seasons with Colorado, Patton posted a 184-160 record, and six of his teams won 18 games or more. Twice, he took his teams to the NCAA tournament. He is brought on at NIU to turn around the fortunes of the Huskies who finished the season with a 7-24 record.
From Jayhawk to Redbird
Meanwhile, my alma mater, Illinois State University, announced the hiring of Kansas assistant Tim Jankovich as their new coach. He has been an assistant at Kansas for four years under Bill Self as well as at Illinois. He was also an assistant at Vanderbilt, Texas, Oklahoma State and Colorado State. The ISU Redbirds finished the season at 15-16 and lost in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament to Indiana State, which had a worse record. The MVC has become highly competitive with Southern Illinois, Bradley, Wichita State, Creighton and Missouri State making either the NCAA or NIT tournaments the last two seasons.
As an ISU alum, I love the hiring of Jankovich. Here’s hoping he’ll bring the Kansas playbook with him to Normal, Ill.
Monday, March 19, 2007
NCAA Doubleheader at the United Center
UNLV Upsets No. 2 Wisconsin; Kansas Too Much for Kentucky
It was a beautiful afternoon in Chicago yesterday. So where was I? At the United Center for Round 2 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Having the first two rounds of the tournament in Chicago was a treat for me, and I could not resist the opportunity to watch two of the games in person.
Game 1: No. 2 Wisconsin vs. No. 7 UNLV
UNLV came out shooting on Sunday. Wisconsin had a difficult time defending the outside shot, and the Rebels smoked the Badgers with a bunch of three-pointers early in the game. It was reminiscent of Wisconsin’s first-round game on Friday when they fell behind to Texas A&M – Corpus Christi before the Badgers came back to win it. UNLV led by 12 points at half time, but Wisconsin went on a 16-2 run for a five-point lead in the second half. But the Badgers could not close it out, and UNLV joins the Sweet 16.
Game 2: No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks vs. No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats
During the first half, Kentucky kept the game close and I began to wonder if I would be seeing a double upset. But Kansas showed why they are a number one seed in the tournament. I know a lot of people like North Carolina and Florida, but don’t count out the Jayhawks. They’re quick and very talented.
While these were both entertaining games, the most exciting contest was Xavier vs. Ohio State in overtime on Saturday. Billed as a “Battle of Ohio,” Xavier had the Buckeyes on the ropes late in the game with a 9-point lead with less than three minutes to play before the Ohio State tied the game with two seconds left on the clock to put the game in overtime.
That’s why I love watching this tournament.
It was a beautiful afternoon in Chicago yesterday. So where was I? At the United Center for Round 2 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Having the first two rounds of the tournament in Chicago was a treat for me, and I could not resist the opportunity to watch two of the games in person.
Game 1: No. 2 Wisconsin vs. No. 7 UNLV
UNLV came out shooting on Sunday. Wisconsin had a difficult time defending the outside shot, and the Rebels smoked the Badgers with a bunch of three-pointers early in the game. It was reminiscent of Wisconsin’s first-round game on Friday when they fell behind to Texas A&M – Corpus Christi before the Badgers came back to win it. UNLV led by 12 points at half time, but Wisconsin went on a 16-2 run for a five-point lead in the second half. But the Badgers could not close it out, and UNLV joins the Sweet 16.
Game 2: No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks vs. No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats
During the first half, Kentucky kept the game close and I began to wonder if I would be seeing a double upset. But Kansas showed why they are a number one seed in the tournament. I know a lot of people like North Carolina and Florida, but don’t count out the Jayhawks. They’re quick and very talented.
While these were both entertaining games, the most exciting contest was Xavier vs. Ohio State in overtime on Saturday. Billed as a “Battle of Ohio,” Xavier had the Buckeyes on the ropes late in the game with a 9-point lead with less than three minutes to play before the Ohio State tied the game with two seconds left on the clock to put the game in overtime.
That’s why I love watching this tournament.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
NCAA Tournament Gives Employees Another Excuse Not to Work
How much time do you think the average college basketball fan will spend at work reading about, talking about or watching the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, which begins next week?
Chicago-based consulting firm, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, estimates that employers could lose more than $1.2 billion due to employee lost productivity during the tournament. The first two days of the tournament alone on March 15 and 16 when 32 games are scheduled could cost employers as must as $260 million in wages because employees will be watching the games instead of working. An additional $86 million could be lost as a result of fans watching games online over the first two days, courtesy of streaming video of 56 games on NCAAsports.com.
An estimated 22.9 million working fans with Internet access will spend an average of 13.5 minutes per day checking on scores and getting tournament updates.
And these figures don't even take into account all the conference tournament games that are played the week before the tournament.
The consultants also suggest that employers can use the tournament to build camaraderie among the staff with office pools, have the games on in conference rooms or encourage employees to wear apparel of their favorite team.
That’s what I call team spirit.
Chicago-based consulting firm, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, estimates that employers could lose more than $1.2 billion due to employee lost productivity during the tournament. The first two days of the tournament alone on March 15 and 16 when 32 games are scheduled could cost employers as must as $260 million in wages because employees will be watching the games instead of working. An additional $86 million could be lost as a result of fans watching games online over the first two days, courtesy of streaming video of 56 games on NCAAsports.com.
An estimated 22.9 million working fans with Internet access will spend an average of 13.5 minutes per day checking on scores and getting tournament updates.
And these figures don't even take into account all the conference tournament games that are played the week before the tournament.
The consultants also suggest that employers can use the tournament to build camaraderie among the staff with office pools, have the games on in conference rooms or encourage employees to wear apparel of their favorite team.
That’s what I call team spirit.
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