Wednesday, March 30, 2011
The Final Four of the 80s Cartoon Championship
It's time for the Final Four of the 80's Cartoon Championship! Scrooge McDuck will take on He-Man and the Thunderscats will battle it out with the Joes. There is no room for pretenders at this point!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
The Elite Eight of the 80s Cartoon Championship
We are down to the Elite Eight and looking at an epic Thundercats-Transformers showdown, as well as He-Man taking on the Ninja Turtles. Things are about to get real! Whatever that means.
Just for fun, here is a nice list of theme songs. Don't really agree with the rankings, but I did forget how sweet Pole Position's theme was.
Duck Tales vs. Inspector Gadget
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
G.I. Joe vs. Tale Spin
Thundercats vs. Transformers
Lessons to learn from Jim Tressel
It's Sunday morning, the perfect time to learn some life lessons. So with the career of Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel going up in flames as we speak, I think there a few lessons we can learn from the nasty little situation he has put himself in.
Lesson #1 - Think twice, hit forward once.
Emails are can be very dangerous things. One click and suddenly your entire office knows you have that crush on Jessica Rabbit and you're explaining to your boss why a video of a bulldog and stuffed Pokemon going at it with love songs in the background is funny. - Trust me if they don't already find it funny, you'll never be able to explain it.
Tressel forwarded the email regarding his players without thinking of what it might mean in the grand scheme of things. He simply figured it was the easy way out of a tricky situation that he could then wash his hands of.
If only he would have taken a few moments to ponder the ripple effect. To wonder what would happen if people learned he caught a whiff of this and swept it under the rug. If he would have done that, I'm not so sure he hits send.
Lesson #2 - If you are already in trouble, you might as well just get it all out there.
When the heat is on, you are already caught, and a stiff punishment is staring you in the face, go ahead and let it all out. Go ahead and toss in the lamp you broke, the bad grade in Chemistry, and the fact you were caught skipping gym.
Every kid knows a parent can only punish you so much at one time. You can only get spanked so many times in one outting before your old man's tennis elbow kicks in, so why let him rest it? Why not drop it all on them at once, take your medicine, and avoid your folks feeling like you were trying to pull one on them?
Tressel had his chance more than once to fess up to this whole mess, but rather than dump it all out there at once he chose to stay zipped up. He chose to hold back and now he isn't confessing as much as he is being captured. His punishment, which has already grown from two to five games, will no doubt continue to progress as more details come out and more folks feel like they were taken for a ride.
Lesson #3 - The right thing in the real world, isn't always the right thing in the sports world.
Think about this for a second. If you caught your kid smoking on the corner would you rat him out to the cops? Or might you be tempted to see if his older brother, whom he looks up to, could give him a nudge in the right direction?
I'm guessing the latter and why? Because it's the right thing to do. Even though your kid is breaking the law, my money says you'd still try and curb the Camel Light habit in a way other than reporting it to officials.
Now consider this. What the Ohio State players did, wasn't illegal. Heck , it wouldn't even be a bad idea - depending on the choice of tattoos - in the regular world. But they don't live in the regular world, they live in the world of college sports and there it is considered a top-tier crime.
When we hear about these athletes and coaches getting in "trouble," let's just keep it in perspective. Generally they are simply breaking NCAA rules, which isn't good, but also weren't sent down from heaven on tablets.
Lesson #1 - Think twice, hit forward once.
Emails are can be very dangerous things. One click and suddenly your entire office knows you have that crush on Jessica Rabbit and you're explaining to your boss why a video of a bulldog and stuffed Pokemon going at it with love songs in the background is funny. - Trust me if they don't already find it funny, you'll never be able to explain it.
Tressel forwarded the email regarding his players without thinking of what it might mean in the grand scheme of things. He simply figured it was the easy way out of a tricky situation that he could then wash his hands of.
If only he would have taken a few moments to ponder the ripple effect. To wonder what would happen if people learned he caught a whiff of this and swept it under the rug. If he would have done that, I'm not so sure he hits send.
Lesson #2 - If you are already in trouble, you might as well just get it all out there.
When the heat is on, you are already caught, and a stiff punishment is staring you in the face, go ahead and let it all out. Go ahead and toss in the lamp you broke, the bad grade in Chemistry, and the fact you were caught skipping gym.
Every kid knows a parent can only punish you so much at one time. You can only get spanked so many times in one outting before your old man's tennis elbow kicks in, so why let him rest it? Why not drop it all on them at once, take your medicine, and avoid your folks feeling like you were trying to pull one on them?
Tressel had his chance more than once to fess up to this whole mess, but rather than dump it all out there at once he chose to stay zipped up. He chose to hold back and now he isn't confessing as much as he is being captured. His punishment, which has already grown from two to five games, will no doubt continue to progress as more details come out and more folks feel like they were taken for a ride.
Lesson #3 - The right thing in the real world, isn't always the right thing in the sports world.
Think about this for a second. If you caught your kid smoking on the corner would you rat him out to the cops? Or might you be tempted to see if his older brother, whom he looks up to, could give him a nudge in the right direction?
I'm guessing the latter and why? Because it's the right thing to do. Even though your kid is breaking the law, my money says you'd still try and curb the Camel Light habit in a way other than reporting it to officials.
Now consider this. What the Ohio State players did, wasn't illegal. Heck , it wouldn't even be a bad idea - depending on the choice of tattoos - in the regular world. But they don't live in the regular world, they live in the world of college sports and there it is considered a top-tier crime.
When we hear about these athletes and coaches getting in "trouble," let's just keep it in perspective. Generally they are simply breaking NCAA rules, which isn't good, but also weren't sent down from heaven on tablets.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
80's Cartoon Sweet 16! Vote now!
The Sweet 16 of the 80's Cartoon Championship
The first round is done with Voltron upsetting Count Duckula and Alvin and the Chipmunks edging out the Smurfs. The Sweet 16 features a He-Man-Ghostbusters match up that could get ugly, plus Tale Spin and the Muppet Babies going at it.
**If you need a refresher make sure to clink on the names above the ballots for the intros of each cartoon! (Mario Bros intro rap is particularly awesome, make sure to check it out!)
Inspector Gadget vs. Dungeons and Dragons
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs. Rescue Rangers
He-Man vs. The Real Ghostbusters
G.I. Joe vs. Garfield and Friends
Tale Spin vs. Muppet Babies
Thundercats vs. Super Mario Bros.
Alvin and the Chipmunks vs. Transformers
Office talk cheat sheet for VCU
When you go camping, suddenly everyone's an Eagle Scout. Pop the hood of a car and everybody transitions into gearhead. And when March comes around, the lunch room at work morphs into a round table of college hoops analysts.
Of course the very last thing you want to do is show up unprepared for the conversation, so when an underdog such as Virginia Commonwealth University rolls over a team like Purdue and advances to the Sweet 16, it's understandable if a little concern over your knowledge base sets in.
However never fear. The Back Porch is here to provide you with a few nuggets of information to help you navigate any tricky VCU conversations you might face.
People to know:
Jamie Skeen - 6-9, 240 lbs. - Forward - 15.2 ppg., 7.3 rpg.
- Transferred to VCU from Wake Forest following the 2008 season.
- Scored a career-high 32 points against Delaware.
- Has seven double-doubles this season.
- Has a combined seven rebounds in the Ram's past two games.
Bradford Burgess - 6-6, 225 lbs. - Guard - 14.1 ppg., 6.4 rpg., 1.1 spg.
- Was extremely hot against Purdue, scoring 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while also going 3-for-4 from behind the arc.
- Has shown the versatility to play in the post when needed.
- Went to high school less than two miles from VCU at Benedictine High School in Richmond.
Brandon Rozzell - 6-2, 182 lbs. - Guard., 11.6 ppg., 2.3 rpg., 1.4 spg.
- Had a career-high six 3-pointers against Georgetown and led the Rams in scoring with 26 points.
- Extremely athletic on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court and has been dubbed by Coach Smart as one of the "Energy Brothers."
Head Coach Shaka Smart - 33 years old - VCU head coach since 2008.
- Prior to VCU Smart was an assistant under Billy Donovan at Florida (08-09) and under Oliver Purnell at Clemson (06-08).
- Known as a great recruiter, his 10-11 incoming class at VCU is one of the most highly-touted in school history.
- In his first season at VCU he led the Rams to a 27-10 record and a CBI championship.
- Typically runs a system known "havoc" in which the Rams use a full-court press to force their opponents into playing an uptempo style of play.
A breakdown of VCU's half court offense from HoopGroup.com
On Friday night at 9:45 the Rams will face the Florida State Seminoles (23-10) in San Antonio. Here's a glance at VCU and FSU's common opponents this season.
Wake Forest
11/17 - VCU won 90-69
2/1 - FSU won 85-61
2/19 - FSU won 84-66
UNC Greensboro
11/12 - VCU won 101-86
11/14 - FSU won 97-73
* Using some of the ever-popular lunch room logic, it is also interesting to note that VCU defeated both Purdue and Wichita State as well. Though Florida State did not play either of those schools, Virginia Tech did and Florida State lost twice this season to the Hokies.
A quick argument for VCU:
- 23.1-percent of the Seminoles possession end in a turnover, which very much lends itself to the Rams style of play.
- Over the past two games the Rams have outscored Purdue and Georgetown by a combined score of 168-132.
A quick argument for FSU:
- The Rams are the 301st (32.0 rpg) school in rebounding this season, while the Noles are the 13th (39 rpg.).
- FSU has held their past two opponents, Texas A&M and Notre Dame, to shooting percentages of 31.4-percent and 30.4-percent.
Of course the very last thing you want to do is show up unprepared for the conversation, so when an underdog such as Virginia Commonwealth University rolls over a team like Purdue and advances to the Sweet 16, it's understandable if a little concern over your knowledge base sets in.
However never fear. The Back Porch is here to provide you with a few nuggets of information to help you navigate any tricky VCU conversations you might face.
People to know:
 |
| Jamie Skeen. vcuathletics.com |
- Transferred to VCU from Wake Forest following the 2008 season.
- Scored a career-high 32 points against Delaware.
- Has seven double-doubles this season.
- Has a combined seven rebounds in the Ram's past two games.
Bradford Burgess - 6-6, 225 lbs. - Guard - 14.1 ppg., 6.4 rpg., 1.1 spg.
- Was extremely hot against Purdue, scoring 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while also going 3-for-4 from behind the arc.
- Has shown the versatility to play in the post when needed.
- Went to high school less than two miles from VCU at Benedictine High School in Richmond.
Brandon Rozzell - 6-2, 182 lbs. - Guard., 11.6 ppg., 2.3 rpg., 1.4 spg.
- Had a career-high six 3-pointers against Georgetown and led the Rams in scoring with 26 points.
- Extremely athletic on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court and has been dubbed by Coach Smart as one of the "Energy Brothers."
Head Coach Shaka Smart - 33 years old - VCU head coach since 2008.
- Prior to VCU Smart was an assistant under Billy Donovan at Florida (08-09) and under Oliver Purnell at Clemson (06-08).
- Known as a great recruiter, his 10-11 incoming class at VCU is one of the most highly-touted in school history.
- In his first season at VCU he led the Rams to a 27-10 record and a CBI championship.
- Typically runs a system known "havoc" in which the Rams use a full-court press to force their opponents into playing an uptempo style of play.
A breakdown of VCU's half court offense from HoopGroup.com
On Friday night at 9:45 the Rams will face the Florida State Seminoles (23-10) in San Antonio. Here's a glance at VCU and FSU's common opponents this season.
Wake Forest
11/17 - VCU won 90-69
2/1 - FSU won 85-61
2/19 - FSU won 84-66
UNC Greensboro
11/12 - VCU won 101-86
11/14 - FSU won 97-73
* Using some of the ever-popular lunch room logic, it is also interesting to note that VCU defeated both Purdue and Wichita State as well. Though Florida State did not play either of those schools, Virginia Tech did and Florida State lost twice this season to the Hokies.
A quick argument for VCU:
- 23.1-percent of the Seminoles possession end in a turnover, which very much lends itself to the Rams style of play.
- Over the past two games the Rams have outscored Purdue and Georgetown by a combined score of 168-132.
A quick argument for FSU:
- The Rams are the 301st (32.0 rpg) school in rebounding this season, while the Noles are the 13th (39 rpg.).
- FSU has held their past two opponents, Texas A&M and Notre Dame, to shooting percentages of 31.4-percent and 30.4-percent.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
If a NIT game happens and no one is there, does it make a sound?
 |
| Streeter Lecka/Getty Photos |
You're now looking at two options. Head home, sulk in a pint of Rocky Road, and wait until year. Or put a smile on, take a ticket to whatever random Eddie Murphy-in-a-fat suit move in out right now, and make the best of the situation.
That's the same decision Virginia Tech fans faced this week, as the Hokies hosted the first round of the NIT tournament at Cassell Coliseum on Wednesday. Less than a week removed from scoring key victories in the ACC tournament and feeling like a lock for a ticket to dance in the national spotlight, the Hokies were poised to square off with the Division 1 AA Bethune-Cookman.
The initial response from many fans was to decline the invitation. Terms like "losers' bracket" and "pity tournament" were used as fans felt the Hokies had nothing to fain from participating.
A more reasonable thought came from a fan who explained that the NIT is exciting for an "up and coming team, but not for a team that feels like they should be in the NCAA tourney."
Wednesday night in Blacksburg would prove these sentiments to be less than isolated, as a mere 2,892 fans showed up, over 1,300 of which were students who got in for free.This number is considerably lower than Tech's first round attendance marks over the last three seasons.
07-08 -- 9,628 -- vs. Quinnipiac
08-09 -- 5,878 -- vs. Duquesne
09-10 -- 5,264 -- vs. Morgan State
Whether it was the lack of formidable opponent, disappointment in not making the NCAA tournament, or simply the been-there done-that feeling of a fourth straight NIT appearance, the message from fans was clear. Virginia Tech's first round NIT contest was not a priority Wednesday night.
To be honest, the fans who did make their way out Wednesday didn't exactly see an amazing contest. The Hokies (22-11) steam rolled the Wildcats (23-11), 79-54.
Virgina Tech moves on to face Witchita State, who defeated their first-round opponent Nebraska, 76-49. The game will again be held at Cassell Coliseum on Sunday at 11 a.m.
The Virginia Tech Sports Department has released that adult tickets for the contest will be $15, youth tickets will be $5, all seating in general admission, and the first 2,000 fans will receive a free Hokie basketball t-shirt. Student will be admitted for free with a valid student I.D.
So Virginia Tech fans, will you attend Sunday mornings' game? Why or why not?
Who will be the 2011 80's Cartoon Champion?
The 80's-ish Cartoon Bracket!
Grab a big bowl of cereal, a Pop Tart, two slices of toast, a banana, a glass of milk, and a class of orange juice. Now as you enjoy your 1986 complete breakfast take a few moments to help decide who will take home the championship belt and "Book it!" Pizza Hut coupon as the Back Porch 80's Cartoon Champ!
The East & South
The East Region
This region is dominated by animals who have adventures while wearing shirts with no pants. Duck Tales came in as the no. 1 overall seed and is the favorite, but don't sleep on Count Duckula. Those who know him, love him.
Duck Tales vs. Rainbow Brite
Count Duckula vs. Voltron
Inspector Gadget vs. Care Bears
Gummi Bears vs. Dungeons and Dragons
The South Region
The heavy hitters in this region do more of the group thing. The Turtles and Ghostbusters are clearly the favorites, but He-Man and Chip n' Dale really make this a tough road for anyone to go down.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs. Visionaries
Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers vs. Jem
He-Man vs. David the Gnome
The Real Ghostbusters vs. She-Ra
The West Region
On the surface it seems like Joe has a pretty easy road, but between Baloo and Garfield, it could be tougher than imagined. Also, don't sleep on the Muppets getting a no. 2 seed. Consistency has always been their motto.
G.I. Joe vs. Denver the Last Dinosaur
Garfield and Friends vs. Silverhawks
Tale Spin vs. Rude Dog
Muppet Babies vs. Bravestarr
The North Region
It looks like the Thundercats and Transformers are on a one-way course for an elite eight battle, but the Smurfs could derail that if they can survive Alvin and the Chipmunks. It all depends which Smurf shows up.
Thundercats vs. Snorks
Super Mario Bros. vs. M.A.S.K.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0BzBFWt8V8
Smurfs vs. Alvin and the Chipmunks
Transformers vs. Danger Mouse
If you're wondering where the My Little Ponies, Heathcliff, and others are, a NIT update will be released shortly!
Grab a big bowl of cereal, a Pop Tart, two slices of toast, a banana, a glass of milk, and a class of orange juice. Now as you enjoy your 1986 complete breakfast take a few moments to help decide who will take home the championship belt and "Book it!" Pizza Hut coupon as the Back Porch 80's Cartoon Champ!
 |
| www.ivum.com |
The East & South
The East Region
This region is dominated by animals who have adventures while wearing shirts with no pants. Duck Tales came in as the no. 1 overall seed and is the favorite, but don't sleep on Count Duckula. Those who know him, love him.
Duck Tales vs. Rainbow Brite
Count Duckula vs. Voltron
Inspector Gadget vs. Care Bears
Gummi Bears vs. Dungeons and Dragons
The South Region
The heavy hitters in this region do more of the group thing. The Turtles and Ghostbusters are clearly the favorites, but He-Man and Chip n' Dale really make this a tough road for anyone to go down.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs. Visionaries
Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers vs. Jem
He-Man vs. David the Gnome
The Real Ghostbusters vs. She-Ra
The West Region
On the surface it seems like Joe has a pretty easy road, but between Baloo and Garfield, it could be tougher than imagined. Also, don't sleep on the Muppets getting a no. 2 seed. Consistency has always been their motto.
G.I. Joe vs. Denver the Last Dinosaur
Garfield and Friends vs. Silverhawks
Tale Spin vs. Rude Dog
Muppet Babies vs. Bravestarr
The North Region
It looks like the Thundercats and Transformers are on a one-way course for an elite eight battle, but the Smurfs could derail that if they can survive Alvin and the Chipmunks. It all depends which Smurf shows up.
Thundercats vs. Snorks
Super Mario Bros. vs. M.A.S.K.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0BzBFWt8V8
Smurfs vs. Alvin and the Chipmunks
Transformers vs. Danger Mouse
If you're wondering where the My Little Ponies, Heathcliff, and others are, a NIT update will be released shortly!
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