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You are here: Home / Open Threads / NCAA open thread

NCAA open thread

by DougJ|  April 4, 20118:57 pm| 68 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Sports

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Fire up the big screens you bought with your gubmint fiat money, you looters and moochers.

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Previous Post: « Looks Like They Were More Serious Than We Thought
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Reader Interactions

68Comments

  1. 1.

    gex

    April 4, 2011 at 8:58 pm

    Excellent glibertarian channeling. It’s chilling.

  2. 2.

    stuckinred

    April 4, 2011 at 9:01 pm

    Hell yes! Go dawgs!

  3. 3.

    stuckinred

    April 4, 2011 at 9:02 pm

    Hey this is cool:

    WASHINGTON — The federal government is stepping into the labor mural controversy in Maine, demanding that the state either put the artwork back up at the Department of Labor or repay the cost of the mural.

  4. 4.

    me

    April 4, 2011 at 9:02 pm

    A group collecting signatures to recall Wisconsin Senate Democrats says it has enough signatures to recall one of them.

  5. 5.

    Keith G

    April 4, 2011 at 9:07 pm

    Go Bucks!!

    Oh. :(

  6. 6.

    scav

    April 4, 2011 at 9:08 pm

    OT for others. BBC 4x radio is doing Terry Pratchett’s Mort with Anton Lessor and Geoffrey Whitehead.

  7. 7.

    Shoemaker-Levy 9

    April 4, 2011 at 9:08 pm

    Interesting choice of music there by CBS. As they talk about the matchup and fade to the first ad break we hear Mary Clayton singing about rape and murder.

  8. 8.

    khead

    April 4, 2011 at 9:11 pm

    Butler +3

  9. 9.

    WaterGirl

    April 4, 2011 at 9:12 pm

    @stuckinred: What’s that about? I guess I missed that with so much else going on.

  10. 10.

    lol

    April 4, 2011 at 9:14 pm

    @me:

    They got enough signatures to force a recall election for someone who got re-elected with 76% of the vote in 2008. Somehow, I don’t think he’s really in any danger.

  11. 11.

    Tax Analyst

    April 4, 2011 at 9:15 pm

    Well, I’m originally from Connecticut, but I’ve got a close friend whose uncle played for Butler way back when and I like longshot underdogs anyway.

    So I’m rooting for Butler, but I guess I’m OK with whoever wins. Just as long as they don’t find some way to give the title to Duke after it’s all over. I’m SO tired of all the Duke and “Coach K” worshipping.

  12. 12.

    stuckinred

    April 4, 2011 at 9:15 pm

    @WaterGirl: Maine Mural

  13. 13.

    MikeJ

    April 4, 2011 at 9:15 pm

    @me: IS that the third one?

  14. 14.

    jenn

    April 4, 2011 at 9:18 pm

    Argghhh. Transocean gave out bonuses for 2010’s “best year in safety performance.” Tell that to your dead, not to mention the Gulf, you bastards. I think I need to step away from the computer, and go walk the pups!

    http://thinkprogress.org/2011/04/04/ken-salazar-transocean/

  15. 15.

    MizB

    April 4, 2011 at 9:18 pm

    GO HUSKIES!!!

  16. 16.

    ruemara

    April 4, 2011 at 9:25 pm

    @scav:

    This, is why BBC is kinda great.

    My massive flat screen is 32″. Being a young buck with steaks, I’m doing it wrong. :(

  17. 17.

    stuckinred

    April 4, 2011 at 9:26 pm

    Basetball Jones!

  18. 18.

    stuckinred

    April 4, 2011 at 9:32 pm

    Don’t bring that weak shit in here!

  19. 19.

    AkaDad

    April 4, 2011 at 9:37 pm

    I got the 32″ flat-screen because I’d have more money left over for hookers and cocaine.

  20. 20.

    patrick II

    April 4, 2011 at 9:39 pm

    @jenn:
    To give less than normal bonuses for safety would be seen as an admission of guilt by opposing lawyers during the upcoming court battles with BP over liability. The bonuses were going to happen.

  21. 21.

    mr. whipple

    April 4, 2011 at 9:47 pm

    Butler’s got the yips.

  22. 22.

    Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal

    April 4, 2011 at 9:47 pm

    i’m watching it at one of the welfare momma’s i keep on the dime’s luxurious section 8 housing, not just the big screens, and the benzes,its got a mud room and everything!

    and you know what, i don’t feel the slightest twinge of guilt that i am associating with some one who ruined the economy and created the housing bubble.

  23. 23.

    Jeffro

    April 4, 2011 at 9:48 pm

    Is anyone or any organization selling t-shirts with the Maine mural on them? Or prints of the mural? Sounds like a no-brainer fundraiser for Maine Democrats.

    (Dropkick Murphys have a nice pro-union t-shirt & CD bundle on their website, btw. The CD rocks and the t-shirt is well done)

  24. 24.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    April 4, 2011 at 9:51 pm

    And in Ohio news, Senate Bill 5 has gotten all the press, in part because unlike its counterpart in WI, it *doesn’t* exempt first responders. But there is a really troubling portion of the budget that many may not know of yet:

    Tucked between pages 261 and 266 of Sub. H.B. No. 153 are six pages with 200 lines of budget language that make the OBM Director the most powerful person in the State of Ohio. He can contract out any state service to any “qualified” bidder in order to “more efficiently and effectively” provide those services. Period. That’s it.
    __
    So, Ohioans. When you voted for John Kasich, did you know that you also voted to allow one Cabinet Director the sole power to sell off any state operation to the bidder he alone deems “the most qualified”? No public scrutiny. No legislative oversight. No requirement that the contractor provide services at a lower cost.
    __
    There is no requirement that the bidder be current on their taxes, be a company in the state of Ohio, employing Ohioans. There is no requirement that they operate a safe workplace or pay a legal wage. There is no prohibition on campaign contributions by the bidder to any campaign. There is no prohibition on outsourcing.
    __
    So let’s get this straight. A campaign contributor, who operates a call center in El Salvador paying workers $2.50 a day, who is behind in paying taxes can get a lucrative state contract for providing phone assistance to Ohio’s unemployed, if Tim Keen thinks they are most “qualified”.
    __
    Not since Boss Tweed have we seen state government put up for sale like this. Oh, and that’s not all. It also exempts any contractor from paying taxes on gross receipts (that’s the CAT tax!) or on income “derived from providing public services” levied by the state or any subdivision. In other words, they will be exempt from all state and local taxes.
    __
    Can you spell FIRE SALE?
    __
    Here is what Ohio’s people need. Accountability. We can’t depend on an appointed political hack to make these decisions in a smoke-filled room. We need an open, transparent way to monitor whether the state is getting the best deal for its money. These deals need to be evaluated to assure that Ohio’s taxpayers are getting the best value for the money we are forking over to throw state employees out of work and enrich private corporations. Why do I say that? These contractors won’t pay any taxes!! Honestly, private operators of state services should not be able to walk away with taxpayer’s hard-earned money, without paying the taxes that every other business in Ohio has to pay.
    __
    When the Strickland Administration securitized the state’s tobacco receipts for $5.5 billion, they did so using a public authority, whose RFPs required the lowest cost, most responsive bid from every party to the transaction. The Authority’s deliberations were open to the public, and were attended by media and followed assiduously by statehouse legislative finance staff. This is the model that should be used to assure that we don’t sell off Ohio’s assets in shady backroom deals to John Kasich’s best contributors.

    So King John I really does intend to sell off the entire state to his galtian butt buddies, with no veneer of transparency whatsoever. Elected with 49% of the vote, intent on monetizing his office for his crew.

    LinkThis is the 21st century GOP, people. The few, the nasty, the unafraid. Le ciel nous aider.

  25. 25.

    Comrade DougJ

    April 4, 2011 at 9:56 pm

    @Jeffro:

    That’s a good idea.

  26. 26.

    patrick II

    April 4, 2011 at 10:00 pm

    Too much one-and-done for Butler and too many offensive rebounds for UCON.

  27. 27.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    April 4, 2011 at 10:01 pm

    @Comrade DougJ: I’ve pondered whether Tshirts/bumperstickers/file cabinet magnets that say:

    Charlie Sheen makes more sense than John Boehner*

    would sell (*insert name of any GOP idiot). I’d open a cafe press store in a heartbeat if I thought they would, and kick half the proceeds to BlueAmerica or local dem groups.

  28. 28.

    stuckinred

    April 4, 2011 at 10:02 pm

    @patrick II: The trey is the great equalizer!

  29. 29.

    patrick II

    April 4, 2011 at 10:05 pm

    @stuckinred:
    I hope you are right, but it is tough to depend so much on that outside shot for 40 minutes.

  30. 30.

    stuckinred

    April 4, 2011 at 10:09 pm

    @patrick II: God, it’s like Penn State-Wisconsin in the B10 Tourney!

  31. 31.

    stuckinred

    April 4, 2011 at 10:10 pm

    TREY

  32. 32.

    MikeJ

    April 4, 2011 at 10:11 pm

    The two best teams in the country are going to wind up with a final score of 44-38 or thereabouts?

  33. 33.

    patrick II

    April 4, 2011 at 10:11 pm

    22-19 at the half. At this rate it is 44-38 final score. I wonder when the last time there was a lower score.

    Butler is playing remarkable defense, especially for a team not as tall as their opponent.

  34. 34.

    Mark S.

    April 4, 2011 at 10:13 pm

    Kind of a low scoring game.

    Shit, I only watched the last 5 minutes or so. I don’t think UConn scored the whole time I was watching.

  35. 35.

    stuckinred

    April 4, 2011 at 10:15 pm

    1957 North Carolina def. Kansas 54-53 (3 OT)

    Wonder what the score was in regulation?

  36. 36.

    MikeJ

    April 4, 2011 at 10:15 pm

    @patrick II: It’s a pitcher’s duel.

  37. 37.

    stuckinred

    April 4, 2011 at 10:15 pm

    1946 Results Oklahoma A&M def. North Carolina 43-40

  38. 38.

    SixStringFanatic

    April 4, 2011 at 10:17 pm

    It’s two teams playing outstanding defense. And not the NBA clutch-and-grab style defense, either.

    If you’re rooting for Butler, this is the way the game is going to have to go for them to win it.

  39. 39.

    mr. whipple

    April 4, 2011 at 10:19 pm

    I expect them both to shoot better after the half and take a chill pill.

  40. 40.

    stuckinred

    April 4, 2011 at 10:20 pm

    Sir Charles don’t like the game..

  41. 41.

    gwangung

    April 4, 2011 at 10:22 pm

    Sir Charles don’t like the game..

    I suspect he’s got plenty of company….

  42. 42.

    Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal

    April 4, 2011 at 10:26 pm

    kemba got this.

  43. 43.

    patrick II

    April 4, 2011 at 10:28 pm

    @mr. whipple:

    I think UCONN was missing more open shots. Butler just didn’t seem to be able to get anything done inside at all. The best news for Butler is UCONN’s foul situation.

  44. 44.

    MikeJ

    April 4, 2011 at 10:30 pm

    @patrick II: Every Butler game I’ve seen this year in the tourney, they’ve dominated offensive boards. It’s ok to shoot 20% if you get five tries at the bucket. They don’t seem to be dong that tonight.

  45. 45.

    stuckinred

    April 4, 2011 at 10:31 pm

    @MikeJ: You can’t play every team exactly the same way. There is ONE stat that counts.

  46. 46.

    MikeJ

    April 4, 2011 at 10:35 pm

    @stuckinred:

    There is ONE stat that counts.

    How do you quantify hottest cheerleaders?

  47. 47.

    stuckinred

    April 4, 2011 at 10:35 pm

    TREY

  48. 48.

    stuckinred

    April 4, 2011 at 10:36 pm

    @MikeJ: Come to Athens

  49. 49.

    Cris

    April 4, 2011 at 10:50 pm

    Who put the lid on the baskets?

  50. 50.

    Cris

    April 4, 2011 at 11:01 pm

    What’s a guy gotta do to get a freaking shot to fall

  51. 51.

    mr. whipple

    April 4, 2011 at 11:02 pm

    Butler is toast. All over but the weeping.

  52. 52.

    Mark S.

    April 4, 2011 at 11:04 pm

    Butler’s shooting 16% from the floor.

    Maybe 15% now.

  53. 53.

    Shoemaker-Levy 9

    April 4, 2011 at 11:07 pm

    God, what a horrifically-played game. I have never seen a basketball game at any level where one team was shooting 15% midway through the second half and was still in contention. And no, the defense being played is no better than any other tournament game.

  54. 54.

    James E Powell

    April 4, 2011 at 11:07 pm

    Did the Butler Bulldogs blaspheme against the basketball gods or something?

  55. 55.

    Cris

    April 4, 2011 at 11:09 pm

    @mr. whipple: That weeping sound you hear is the advertisers who bought time in the last 15 minutes of the game. Remote controls across the nation are switching to Dancing With The Stars.

  56. 56.

    patrick II

    April 4, 2011 at 11:11 pm

    @James E Powell:

    No, they are just a very well coached team that got way past where there athleticism would normally have taken them. Against UCONN they can’t rebound and can’t get an inside shot. Since they get no clean rebounds they get no fast breaks, and UCONN’s guards are faster anyway. Their only hope was to get UCONN’s bigs in foul trouble early, and that did not quite happen.

    Nice run for Butler, but it’s over.

  57. 57.

    MizB

    April 4, 2011 at 11:18 pm

    I’ll take winning fugly over losing any day-Huskies rule!

  58. 58.

    patrick II

    April 4, 2011 at 11:27 pm

    Sorry stuckinred. It was a great tournament for Butler though.

  59. 59.

    Mark S.

    April 4, 2011 at 11:28 pm

    Painful

  60. 60.

    mr. whipple

    April 4, 2011 at 11:28 pm

    Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Wa? It’s over? I musta dozed off.

  61. 61.

    Montysano

    April 4, 2011 at 11:30 pm

    As a native Hoosier, it’s painful to consider that Butler (if I heard the announcer correctly) just set the record for worst field goal percentage in a final game.

  62. 62.

    Mark B

    April 4, 2011 at 11:33 pm

    Butler University, home of the brick.

  63. 63.

    Shoemaker-Levy 9

    April 4, 2011 at 11:37 pm

    By far the worst played game I’ve ever seen at any level, and that includes peewee league. The defense was solid, but no more so than any other high intensity game. UConn had a terrible shooting night and Butler was even worse, between the two of them thirty or forty wide open looks that clanged off the iron, and I’m not talking from Fredette distance, I’m talking layups, midrange jumpers, open threes. Very disappointing end to an otherwise entertaining tournament.

  64. 64.

    Mark B

    April 4, 2011 at 11:40 pm

    I think it’s hard to assign a most valuable player for that monstrosity of a game. I guess it would be Lamb from UConn, but he just had an average game, but he wasn’t as awful as everyone else.

  65. 65.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    April 4, 2011 at 11:40 pm

    Christ, that was awful. I want my two hours back.

  66. 66.

    Mark B

    April 4, 2011 at 11:44 pm

    UConn was my pick for the overall winner. I suppose I should feel smart for picking them 3 weeks ago, but I just feel kind of disappointed after watching that game. I think the pressure somehow got to both teams. Maybe it’s not a good idea to have games in football stadiums for college players who aren’t used to playing in cavernous areanas.

  67. 67.

    cmorenc

    April 5, 2011 at 12:07 am

    @Montysano:

    As a native Hoosier, it’s painful to consider that Butler (if I heard the announcer correctly) just set the record for worst field goal percentage in a final game.

    The Butler team is a quality bunch of players who tonight, lived a nightmare anti-version of “Hoosiers” in which none of them could shoot well enough to beat their aunt at Horse in the driveway, let alone play in the National Championship game. It was like a basketball version of the classic bright-student nightmare where you suddenly couldn’t remember how to answer ANY of the questions on a really important exam, but with sucking out loud before a huge national TV audience and live crowd substituting for the discovering you’re also naked in front of a considerable portion of the student body part.

  68. 68.

    FlipYrWhig

    April 5, 2011 at 12:55 am

    Lost in how spectacularly badly Butler shot was how badly UConn played. Napier is a showboat, Walker was negligible. They were DAMN lucky Butler totally collapsed.

    P.S. Why does every announcer now say “length” instead of “height”? What the hell? Is a team with good substitutes now called “wide” instead of “deep”?

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