Episode 82 - Know Your Mid-Majors: MAAC

Today's Know Your Mid-Majors is the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).  Another Northeast conference, this conference is made up entirely of private schools.

The MAAC schools are:

• Canisius
• Fairfield
• Iona
• Manhattan
• Marist (which gave the world Bill O'Reilly)
• Monmouth (fans of the movie Clerks are definitely familiar with this school)
• Niagara
• Quinnipiac (best known for their political polls)
• Rider
• St. Peter's
• Siena

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Episode 81 - Know Your Mid-Majors: NEC and NJIT

Today's Know Your Mid-Majors is on the Northeast Conference (NEC) and we give some love to the sole Division I independent.

The NEC is made up of schools in the Northeast.  The members are:

• Bryant
• Central Connecticut State
• Fairleigh Dickinson
• Long Island (Brooklyn)
• Mount St. Mary's
• Robert Morris
• Sacred Heart
• St. Francis (New York)
• St. Francis (Pennsylvania)
• Wagner

We also give some love to the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), which is the only independent remaining in Division I.  The Highlanders need a conference, and the NEC is the one they most want to join.

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Episode 80 - Redskins Trademark Debate

The sports topic that we discussed in Episode 2 of this podcast series and has just gotten bigger and bigger is back.

The US Patent and Trademark Office recently revoke trademark protections for the Washington NFL team, citing that the term is disparaging toward Native Americans.  Mike and Tim debate the pros and cons of this decision.

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Episode 79 - BCS Conferences Breaking Away From DI?

Mike and Tim discuss the much-discussed possibility that the power conferences (formerly BCS conferences) of NCAA Division I (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC) may break away and form what's being dubbed "Division 4."  Is this a good idea, and what ramifications would it have on the mid-majors?



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Episode 78 - Tony Gwynn Tribute

Normally we don't pay tribute to recently deceased athletes, but today is an exception.

Tim gives a tribute to San Diego Padres great Tony Gwynn, who passed away on June 16. Gwynn is immortalized in Cooperstown for his 19 year career with the Padres, which included becoming a member of the 3,000 Hit Club.

Tim brought with him to the recording a baseball autographed by Gwynn.

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Episode 77 - Mike, Batsu Game!!!

Mike gets his batsu game for picking Miami to win the NBA Finals.

Tim gave Mike a choice:

1. ride the infamous Verruckt waterslide at KCK's Schlitterbahn water park
2. get a KC Royals logo painted on one fingernail
3. drink a chocolate-jalapeno milkshake at a local Sonic drive-through

Mike immediately vetoed option 1 and let a coin toss decide his batsu game - and it wound up being option 3.

After the recording session, Mike went to a Sonic near his home and had the milkshake.  It's chocolatey with a very noticeable jalapeno aftertaste.



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Episode 76 - Know Your Mid-Majors: SWAC

Today's Know Your Mid-Majors is on the other conference comprised entirely of historically black colleges and universities in the South: the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).  This conference centers around the Deep South and the Southern Plains, including Texas.

The member schools of this conference are:

• Alabama A&M
• Alabama State
• Alcorn State
• Arkansas-Pine Bluff
• Grambling State
• Jackson State
• Mississippi Valley State
• Prairie View A&M
• Southern
• Texas Southern

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Episode 75 - Know Your Mid-Majors: MEAC

Today's Know Your Mid-Majors is on the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), which is one of two conferences in DI (the other being the SWAC, our next episode) comprised entirely of historically black colleges and universities.  Not surprisingly, both the MEAC and the SWAC are located in the Southern United States.  The MEAC is the more East Coast-centric of the two conferences.

Member schools of the MEAC are:

• Bethune-Cookman
• Coppin State
• Delaware State
• Florida A&M
• Hampton
• Howard
• Maryland-Eastern Shore
• Morgan State
• Norfolk State
• North Carolina A&T
• North Carolina Central
• Savannah State
• South Carolina State

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Congrats to the San Antonio Spurs!

Congratulations to the San Antonio Spurs on winning the 2014 NBA Finals, beating the Miami Heat in 5 games.  This is the Spurs' fifth NBA title.

Unfortunately for Mike, he had indeed picked Miami to "three-peat."

Mike, BATSU GAME!!!

Congrats to the LA Kings!

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Kings on winning their second Stanley Cup championship this evening.  LA beat another team that Gretzky played for, the New York Rangers, 4 games to 1.

Mike, whose favorite NHL team happens to be the Kings, picked LA to win the Stanley Cup just before the playoffs started.  In terms of batsu game implications, Mike is SAFE!!

However, that safety may be very short lived.  Mike's pick to win the NBA Finals, the defending 2-time champion Miami Heat, are down 3 games to 1 to San Antonio.

Episode 74 - Where Are They Now? 6

Today's Where Are They Now segment focuses on four athletes who served in the United States military.

• Roger Staubach
• David Robinson
• Tom Seaver
• Lee Trevino

We at the WSC podcast salute you - and everyone else who was brave enough to put on the uniform - for your service to our country.



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Episode 73 - 2014 FIFA World Cup

Mike and Tim discuss the 2014 FIFA World Cup and make informal (non-batsu) picks.

Tim's pick: Brazil, the tournament's host country.

Mike's pick: Spain, who won the World Cup in 2010.

Today's episode includes a snippet of "Three Lions" by Baddiel & Skinner & Lightning Seeds.  The song was written as a World Cup anthem for the English national football team, and is used here as a brief outro as the program relates to football/soccer.



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Episode 72 - Batsu Game!

Tim picked Oklahoma City to win the NBA Finals.  Since the Thunder didn't even make the Finals (thanks to San Antonio), Tim got a batsu game.

Tim's batsu: having to wear Mike's Washington NFL #40 Adam Archuleta jersey for the remainder of the podcast recording session.



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Episode 71 - Know Your Mid-Majors: Patriot League

Today's Know Your Mid-Majors focuses on the prestigious Patriot League.  This East Coast conference is known for having high academic standards on a par with the Ivy League and as the home of two of our military service academies.

The member schools of this conference are:

• American
• Army
• Boston University
• Bucknell
• Colgate
• Holy Cross
• Lafayette
• Lehigh
• Loyola Maryland
• Navy

Today's episode ends with "Anchors Aweigh," a song traditionally associated with the Navy and the US Naval Academy.

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