I watched PTI this afternoon, and have finally realized that Wilbon is a huge dickhead. Among his comments:
Marquette should not have even been in the tournament
The Big East stinks
Wilbon is a huge PC advocate and also a Big 12/10/11, whatever they will call themselves, and NW homer. For a guy that has a microphone to shill for NW, he sure as hell does not know much about BB.
Yeah, the BEast only has 2 teams dancing, but to keep shilling the Big ????? over the BEast, and to dis our team like that---I am done watching. Kornheiser actually had the cajones to say that MU should be in but that Villanova sould have been left out.
One tourney and the troops start jumping on the BEast. This year was a down year for BB in general--I am glad some of the mid majors are doing well--but the fact that the 9 and 11 tourney seeds are still dancing speaks volumes for the BEast.
More of the penis envy in my opinion.
As a percentage, the Big 10/11/12 actually got more in with 7/11.
Understand that they are PAID to support a counterpoint, an unpopular view.
Unfortunately, it raises the blood pressure of many viewers unnecessarily. ;)
Wilbon's a mouth breather
No, Wilbon is an elite slime sucker!!!
Do you have anything to counter what he said, or are you just gonna hurl insults at him?
Quote from: The Sultan of South Wayne on March 21, 2011, 05:52:16 PM
Do you have anything to counter what he said, or are you just gonna hurl insults at him?
Hurl insults. He said nothing which warrants a counterpoint
Quote from: The Sultan of South Wayne on March 21, 2011, 05:52:16 PM
Do you have anything to counter what he said, or are you just gonna hurl insults at him?
I don't understand the distinction.
Whaddya' expect from a FIB?
Quote from: HoopsMalone on March 21, 2011, 05:40:59 PM
As a percentage, the Big 10/11/12 actually got more in with 7/11.
Not true. 63% to 68%
Why doe no one point out that 2 of the BE teams were eliminated by other BE teams? Seems to me that means we could still have 4 teams playing. Then it would not look so bad.
Quote from: Ruby on March 21, 2011, 06:15:22 PM
Why doe no one point out that 2 of the BE teams were eliminated by other BE teams? Seems to me that means we could still have 4 teams playing. Then it would not look so bad.
The second someone points that out it will be followed with "The only reason 2 teams made it is because they played other big east teams."
The most notable thing in this thread is ww angry that some talking head making nearly the same point that ww has been making all year.
Quote from: tower912 on March 21, 2011, 06:27:42 PM
The most notable thing in this thread is ww angry that some talking head making nearly the same point that ww has been making all year.
Burn city!
B10 bias...
Sorry Tower--I have never said that the BEast stinks as Wilbon has stated. And by the way, Wilbon is a PC Big 10 Homer. You therefore, Sir, do not know what you are talking about and have engaged the Ignore Button.
We can basically look at it like there were only 9 Big East teams. Only that many could potentially advance since we had two 3rd round matchups between Big East teams.
What?!? A prominent, national sportswriter said something you disagree with?!? What an a-hole!
Quote from: Gardner's Postgame Snack on March 21, 2011, 06:55:55 PM
We can basically look at it like there were only 9 Big East teams. Only that many could potentially advance since we had two 3rd round matchups between Big East teams.
Not to mention the Nova selection was questionable. They lost 7 of their last 9 only beating Depaul in OT and the Hall. Clearly the weakest link in the Big East going into the Tourney. Their loss was all but expected going in.
To say that the Big East is garbage is just silly. No other conference can match up team for team. If Marquette played in any other conference they would have no doubt had a well above 500 conference record. Their conference record is the only realistic knock on this team.
Quote from: tower912 on March 21, 2011, 06:27:42 PM
The most notable thing in this thread is ww angry that some talking head making nearly the same point that ww has been making all year.
+1...
Although I don't necessarily like to admit it, Doug Gottlieb had some prescient points on this topic today on ESPN 1000 in Chicago. In summary,
"The Big East is not full of Top 10 teams, but they are a very strong conference."
"Yes, you can make a case that Villanova and Georgetown should not get invites, but tell me who'd you'd invite over them. The answer is no one. They earned a bid for their overall season."
"Four Big East teams had to play each other and knock each other off. And if last possessions go Villanova and Pitt's way, we are touting the Big East possibly for having a huge presence in the Sweet 16."
"What major conference are you going to tout? The Big 10 with 2/7 or the Big 12 with 1/5? College basketball is parity and the noise about the Big East is not warranted."
"I said the only Top 10 talented team is UConn and they still have a legit shot at winning this thing."
"Marquette was great. They made shots and, if they do that, they are dangerous."
Quote from: Warrior Forever on March 21, 2011, 07:41:59 PMAlthough I don't necessarily like to admit it, Doug Gottlieb had some prescient points on this topic today on ESPN 1000 in Chicago. In summary,
"The Big East is not full of Top 10 teams, but they are a very strong conference."
"Yes, you can make a case that Villanova and Georgetown should not get invites, but tell me who'd you'd invite over them. The answer is no one. They earned a bid for their overall season."
"Four Big East teams had to play each other and knock each other off. And if last possessions go Villanova and Pitt's way, we are touting the Big East possibly for having a huge presence in the Sweet 16."
"What major conference are you going to tout? The Big 10 with 2/7 or the Big 12 with 1/5? College basketball is parity and the noise about the Big East is not warranted."
"I said the only Top 10 talented team is UConn and they still have a legit shot at winning this thing."
"Marquette was great. They made shots and, if they do that, they are dangerous."
Agreed with everything there. That's the difference between someone who knows what they're talking about and someone that thinks college basketball is only played for 3 weeks in March.
Wilbon grew up on the South Side of Chicago, but is a Cubs fan. What more do you need to know?
Sorry to keep pointing this out but Northwestern is one word so they are NU not NW.
Many tune out our president, and most tune out Dicky V.
Both of them, however, have far better brackets than Wilbon. He has been far less right than others we easily tune out--so, ..do the same with him.
Wilbon has a platform, being on TV, on a network, which lacks any game broadcasting rights, and has been slamming a lot about this years tourney.
Compare CBS site to ESPN, and you'll see the ESPN folks simply are not tournament central, and its people are green lighted to angles which bash. While they were broadcasting BE during the season, and BE tourney, ESPN was very supportive and nice....now, not so much.
Consider the source, and broadcasting circumstances, and you can find plenty of reasons to simply ignore Wilbon, and Kornheiser's blather.
Bracket results comparisons:
President Obama: 490 points, 99.9 percentile
Colin Cowherd: 440 points, 91.0 percentile
Dick Vitale: 410 points, 68.9 percentile
Mike Greenberg: 410 points, 68.9 percentile
Michael Wilbon: 400 points, 58.4 percentile
Mike Golic: 380 points, 20.2 percentile
Tony Kornheiser: 380 points, 20.2 percentile
Matthew Berry: 340 points, 10.5 percentile -- had Pittsburgh winning it all
Bill Simmons: 350 points, 15.0 percentile
Michelle Beadle: 310 points, 3.6 percentile -- has just one Final Four team left (Ohio State as champs), lost Texas, Notre Dame, St. John's
Quote from: Avenue Commons on March 21, 2011, 08:02:19 PM
Wilbon grew up on the South Side of Chicago, but is a Cubs fan. What more do you need to know?
Pretty typical of today's Chicago youth.
Quote from: willie warrior on March 21, 2011, 06:54:11 PM
Sorry Tower--I have never said that the BEast stinks as Wilbon has stated. And by the way, Wilbon is a PC Big 10 Homer. You therefore, Sir, do not know what you are talking about and have engaged the Ignore Button.
First, I think we have plenty of evidence of you saying that MU didn't belong in the dance. Which is what you are faux outraged about in your original post. Secondly, the grin from last night's win had started to fade off my face, but the thought that you, of all people, would put me on ignore has restored it and left me giggling.
This morning Gottlieb was re-iterating that the Big East is the deepest conference in the country, not necessarily the conference with the best teams. It's simply the conference with the most strong teams. He actually used MU as example, saying that the 11th place team in the conference is in the Sweet 16, which tells you all you need to know about the conference's depth.
Fans often forget that guys like Wilbon, Cowherd, Mike & Mike, etc are paid to discuss the headline stories in the world of sports. They don't necessarily go in-depth to break things down. They're big picture guys. Guys like Gottlieb, Bilas, etc are paid to break down and analyze one specific sport. It should be no surprise that these guys make stronger points when it comes to the Tournament.
I understand that Merritts, but the fact that they lost five teams to lower seeded teams, and MU was the only lower seed team to advance, pretty much means that the BE was overated. Yeah, they are still very good and very deep...just not as good as advertised.
I also know that the tournament is just a snapshot and not necessarily indicative of an entire season, but I actually think Barley was right. The BE is full of tough teams...play very hard...well coached...but outside of Kemba Walker, there isn't a single player that scares the sh*t out of defenses.
Quote from: The Sultan of South Wayne on March 21, 2011, 09:34:44 PM
I also know that the tournament is just a snapshot and not necessarily indicative of an entire season, but I actually think Barley was right. The BE is full of tough teams...play very hard...well coached...but outside of Kemba Walker, there isn't a single player that scares the sh*t out of defenses.
Marshon Brooks scares the sh*t out of defenses and is the best player in the BE.
The worst part was Wilbon parroting Barkley with - "the Big East has great coaches but no great players."
And of course on the TNT coverage that was followed by Kenny Smith - "When I played in the ACC you knew everybody you went against would be playing in the NBA."
Quote from: The Sultan of South Wayne on March 21, 2011, 09:34:44 PM
I understand that Merritts, but the fact that they lost five teams to lower seeded teams, and MU was the only lower seed team to advance, pretty much means that the BE was overated. Yeah, they are still very good and very deep...just not as good as advertised.
I also know that the tournament is just a snapshot and not necessarily indicative of an entire season, but I actually think Barley was right. The BE is full of tough teams...play very hard...well coached...but outside of Kemba Walker, there isn't a single player that scares the sh*t out of defenses.
I think this is fair, its just crucial to note again that there is a difference between the conference disappointing in the tournament and the BEast being overrated. It's impossible to argue that the BEast hasn't underachieved. At the same time, the knee-jerk reaction of, "The BEast is terrible" is equally inane. You can't just say that they are overrated because they got a bunch of teams into the tournament, unless you can name who those other teams would be. The Big East tournament representatives went 121-17 in nonconference this year (.877 winning %). I really don't know who you put in instead of us, Nova, and Georgetown.
Plus, two teams who finished tied for 9th are the ones still playing. Doesn't that say something about the depth of the conference? I'm not making excuses for the articles out there calling the 2011 BEast the greatest conference ever, but I think a lot of the criticism is based on very little. Pressure was put on us by getting 11 teams in (in one of the weakest fields ever), and the BEast failed to live up to it. That doesn't mean it still isn't/wasn't the strongest conference all season.
Nothing to do with MU or the Big East, but a particularly enjoyable takedown of Wilbon's occasional insipidity.
http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2010/06/michael-wilbon-is-an-ass.html
Bilas captured it pretty well here on the Big East. 11 teams deserved to get in. None were great, but they all earned their way in.
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/27752/video-the-big-east-or-the-big-least
http://www.sportsgrid.com/ncaa-basketball/the-big-east-stinks-kornheiser-and-wilbon-weigh-continue-dumping-on-impotent-big-east/
Here is a link to it...
Putting on the Around the Horn/PTI hour is a special hell for sports fans.
I am usually indifferent to Wilbon (don't hate him, don't love him) but something seems amiss in his logic here....
1. The proof that the Big East is overrated is because they have NOT done well in the tournament
2. Marquette does not belong in the tournament even though they have done well in the tournament
?-(
Would not do well on the LSAT with that one.
Quote from: MarquetteDano on March 22, 2011, 12:43:17 AM
I am usually indifferent to Wilbon (don't hate him, don't love him) but something seems amiss in his logic here....
1. The proof that the Big East is overrated is because they have NOT done well in the tournament
2. Marquette does not belong in the tournament even though they have done well in the tournament
?-(
Would not do well on the LSAT with that one.
Haha, great stuff. That is a logic train that derails pretty quickly... so MU doesn't deserve to be in the tourney because the BEast sucks, and the BEast sucks because it hasn't done well in the tourney. It all comes back to the BEast sucks, which is not an argument. I generally like Wilbon, and I'm not even a Chicago guy, but its just so frustrating to hear him rip on the Big East, say MU shouldn't have made it, and then offer no alternatives. Harvard? Harvard is your alternate team, Mike? There would have been a coup if Harvard made the tournament. The only other tournament team they beat all year was Princeton, the Ivy League auto bid.