This year's tourney is the tale of two brackets, one decent and the other crap-tacular.
This year's Final Four:
North Carolina, Oklahoma, Syracuse, Villanova
Mike entered this weekend with two Final Four teams still alive - and both died merciless deaths. First the Dukies, who lost to Oregon in the 16's; then Virginia, who lost to their ACC rivals Syracuse in the 8's. Mike's other two Final Four teams were Arizona (out in the first round to Wichita State, which had a frickin' play-in game) and Kentucky (out in round 2 to Indiana).
Tim lost 2 of his Final Four - Michigan State to Middle Tennessee in the first round (an upset that Mike successfully called), and KU losing to Villanova in the 8's. He successfully picked Oklahoma and North Carolina to get to the Final Four.
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Episode 193 - 2016 League Cup Batsu Game
As you already know, Mike and Tim picked Liverpool to beat Manchester City in the 2016 League Cup Final. They were wrong and must now be punished.
The guys think long and hard for a good punishment - which leads to the two clubs' correlation with MLB: Liverpool is owned by the Fenway Sports Group, which also owns the Boston Red Sox; and City co-owns NYCFC with the New York Yankees (City owns 80% to the Yankees' 20%, and the team play their home games at Yankee Stadium).
The punishment: Mike and Tim - both devout Yankee haters - must pull for the Yankees on Friday, April 15, when the Bronx Bombers host the Seattle Mariners.
Tim still has an outstanding batsu - the Houston gear for his bad NFL picks. Mike has TWO batsu games pending - one for his picking Juventus to win UEFA Champions League, and one for his bad NCAA bracket.
Fair use: due to the subject being Liverpool Football Club, we end with Gerry and the Pacemakers' rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone."
Click here to download.
The guys think long and hard for a good punishment - which leads to the two clubs' correlation with MLB: Liverpool is owned by the Fenway Sports Group, which also owns the Boston Red Sox; and City co-owns NYCFC with the New York Yankees (City owns 80% to the Yankees' 20%, and the team play their home games at Yankee Stadium).
The punishment: Mike and Tim - both devout Yankee haters - must pull for the Yankees on Friday, April 15, when the Bronx Bombers host the Seattle Mariners.
Tim still has an outstanding batsu - the Houston gear for his bad NFL picks. Mike has TWO batsu games pending - one for his picking Juventus to win UEFA Champions League, and one for his bad NCAA bracket.
Fair use: due to the subject being Liverpool Football Club, we end with Gerry and the Pacemakers' rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone."
Click here to download.
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Dukies done. Mike, Batsu Game!
Dukies lost to the Ducks.
The defending NCAA basketball champions Duke Blue Devils are done - in the round of 16, 2 rounds better than Tim predicted but just enough to destroy what was left of Mike's bracket.
Mike, batsu game!
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Episode 192 - 2016 MLB Preview, American League and World Series
Baseball season is around the corner, and the guys make their MLB predictions.
Today, we start by picking the American League.
Mike's AL Champions: Houston
Tim's AL Champions: Kansas City
Mike's World Series Champions: St. Louis over Houston
Tim's World Series Champions: Kansas City over San Francisco
As always, all picks are subject to batsu game.
Click here to download.
Today, we start by picking the American League.
| Division | Mike's Picks | Tim's Picks |
| AL East | Toronto | Boston |
| AL Central | Kansas City | Kansas City |
| AL West | Houston | Houston |
| AL Wild Cards | LA Angels Detroit |
Texas Toronto |
Mike's AL Champions: Houston
Tim's AL Champions: Kansas City
Mike's World Series Champions: St. Louis over Houston
Tim's World Series Champions: Kansas City over San Francisco
As always, all picks are subject to batsu game.
Click here to download.
Episode 191 - 2016 MLB Preview, National League edition
Baseball season is around the corner, and the guys make their MLB predictions.
Today, we start by picking the National League.
Mike's NL Champions: St. Louis
Tim's NL Champions: San Francisco
Next time: the American League and World Series winners
Click here to download.
Today, we start by picking the National League.
| Division | Mike's Picks | Tim's Picks |
| NL East | NY Mets | NY Mets |
| NL Central | St. Louis | Chicago Cubs |
| NL West | San Francisco | San Francisco |
| NL Wild Cards | Washington Chicago Cubs |
St. Louis Pittsburgh |
Mike's NL Champions: St. Louis
Tim's NL Champions: San Francisco
Next time: the American League and World Series winners
Click here to download.
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Tourney Brackets After 2 Rounds
The first two rounds of the 2016 NCAA basketball tournament are in the books. How did the guys do?
First round:
Mike: 22 out of 32
Upsets he got right (10):
Upsets he got right (8):
Mike: 7 out of 16
Correct picks: Maryland, Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Virginia, Gonzaga, Syracuse
Tim: 9 out of 16
Correct picks: KU, Miami, Villanova, Oregon, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Virginia, Iowa State
16's that neither got right:
Indiana and Wisconsin
Mike has 3 of his 8, 2 of his Final Four and his Championship intact.
Tim has 6 of his 8, 3 of his Final Four and his Championship intact.
On paper, Tim picked a better bracket. However, Mike picked a riskier bracket and it shows with the first-round upsets.
It's also too soon to issue batsu games for this challenge.
First round:
Mike: 22 out of 32
Upsets he got right (10):
- UConn over Colorado
- Yale over Baylor
- Northern Iowa over Texas
- Virginia Commonwealth over Oregon State
- Providence over USC
- Stephen F. Austin over West Virginia
- Butler over Texas Tech
- Gonzaga over Seton Hall
- Syracuse over Dayton
- Middle Tennessee State over Michigan State
Upsets he got right (8):
- UConn over Colorado
- Hawaii over Cal
- Virginia Commonwealth over Oregon State
- Providence over USC
- Butler over Texas Tech
- Arkansas-Little Rock over Purdue
- Gonzaga over Seton Hall
- Syracuse over Dayton
Mike: 7 out of 16
Correct picks: Maryland, Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Virginia, Gonzaga, Syracuse
Tim: 9 out of 16
Correct picks: KU, Miami, Villanova, Oregon, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Virginia, Iowa State
16's that neither got right:
Indiana and Wisconsin
Mike has 3 of his 8, 2 of his Final Four and his Championship intact.
Tim has 6 of his 8, 3 of his Final Four and his Championship intact.
On paper, Tim picked a better bracket. However, Mike picked a riskier bracket and it shows with the first-round upsets.
It's also too soon to issue batsu games for this challenge.
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Juventus out. Mike, Batsu Game!
Mike just can't seem to catch a break.
Juventus, the Turin-based team Mike had picked to win this year's UEFA Champions League, crashed out to Bayern Munich 6-4 on aggregate.
Mike will receive a batsu game as a result.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Episode 190 - 2016 NCAA Tourney Picks
It's tournament time again!
Mike and Tim make their picks on today's podcast.
Mike's Final Four: Arizona, Duke, Kentucky, Virginia
Tim's Final Four: Kansas, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oklahoma
Mike's Champs: Duke
Tim's Champs: North Carolina
We welcome you to participate in our Yahoo! Sports tourney pool. Click here to sign up. You must sign up before the first tip-off on Thursday.
Click here to download.
Mike and Tim make their picks on today's podcast.
Mike's Final Four: Arizona, Duke, Kentucky, Virginia
Tim's Final Four: Kansas, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oklahoma
Mike's Champs: Duke
Tim's Champs: North Carolina
We welcome you to participate in our Yahoo! Sports tourney pool. Click here to sign up. You must sign up before the first tip-off on Thursday.
Click here to download.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Why The Word "Market" is BANNED on This Podcast
Below is a tweet linking to a photo explaining it all.
Sports is more than just a business, and fans are more than just customers. The word "market" when used to describe a city or other geographic region implies one thing and one thing only: that fans are nothing but customers.
There's much more to being a fan than just saying "Shut up and take my money." There is an emotional attachment to the team and a sense that it is an integral part of your community, regardless of where you live in the world.
The "market" mentality that's way overused in American sports media reflects an idea that certain sports team owners have of their fans: nothing but customers. It's this attitude that allowed the NFL to unjustly rip a team out of St. Louis to appease an owner who doesn't care about his fans or winning trophies (see a certain North London football club he also owns) or anything for that matter (see said NFL team's last 12 seasons, especially the last 5).
This podcast actively bans the use of the word "market" when referring to cities for this very reason - and, as the most recent episode of the podcast clearly demonstrates, you will be quickly corrected if you do use that word.
As fans, let's do a better job of treating sports as more than just a business.
— Ted Westervelt (@soccerreform) March 12, 2016
Sports is more than just a business, and fans are more than just customers. The word "market" when used to describe a city or other geographic region implies one thing and one thing only: that fans are nothing but customers.
There's much more to being a fan than just saying "Shut up and take my money." There is an emotional attachment to the team and a sense that it is an integral part of your community, regardless of where you live in the world.
The "market" mentality that's way overused in American sports media reflects an idea that certain sports team owners have of their fans: nothing but customers. It's this attitude that allowed the NFL to unjustly rip a team out of St. Louis to appease an owner who doesn't care about his fans or winning trophies (see a certain North London football club he also owns) or anything for that matter (see said NFL team's last 12 seasons, especially the last 5).
This podcast actively bans the use of the word "market" when referring to cities for this very reason - and, as the most recent episode of the podcast clearly demonstrates, you will be quickly corrected if you do use that word.
As fans, let's do a better job of treating sports as more than just a business.
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Mike's Quest for a New NFL Team
It's time to whittle Mike's Maybes list down a little. The following teams are being officially dropped from the list:
Chicago Bears - mostly because I've never really had a good experience in this specific city.
Minnesota Vikings - despite being the most beautiful city in North America, the team's owner was reportedly pro-AMK and, therefore, anti-STL.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - two words: Manchester United.
Chargers and Raiders - because it would be hypocritical of me to pull for a team to move to LA as a tenant of "Art Modell" Kroenke. Chargers have first option, and I fully expect them to take it. Raiders, whether it's to LA if the Chargers pass or elsewhere, will move out of Oakland. No more nomadic teams for me.
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Episode 189 - MLB Parity vs. NFL Parity
Football is headed to where baseball was - and baseball is headed to where football was.
Today's topic: parity in the NFL vs. parity in MLB
This topic came up as a by-product of the NFL Los Angeles debacle.
Mike's observation: more championship parity in the World Series than in the Super Bowl.
Here's the distribution of Super Bowl championships all-time:
Here's the distribution of World Series championships since 1966 (the season that ended with Super Bowl I). Please note that there was no World Series in 1994 because of the players' strike:
Tim makes the argument that in the immediate aftermath of the 1994 players' strike, MLB had significant disparity as the Yankees were able to buy all the big-name talent while lower-revenue teams - like the Royals and the priced-out-of-existence-so-they-moved-to-DC Montreal Expos - struggled at the gate and on the field. We're starting to see the attitudes of then-Yankees owner George Steinbrenner manifest themselves in the NFL in the form of Jerry F. Jones.
Click here to download.
Today's topic: parity in the NFL vs. parity in MLB
This topic came up as a by-product of the NFL Los Angeles debacle.
Mike's observation: more championship parity in the World Series than in the Super Bowl.
Here's the distribution of Super Bowl championships all-time:
- Pittsburgh Steelers - 6
- Dallas Cowboys - 5
- San Francisco 49'ers - 5
- Green Bay Packers - 4
- New England Patriots - 4
- New York Giants - 4
- Denver Broncos - 3
- LA/Oakland Raiders - 3
- Washington - 3
- 3 teams - 2 each
- 7 teams - 1 each
Here's the distribution of World Series championships since 1966 (the season that ended with Super Bowl I). Please note that there was no World Series in 1994 because of the players' strike:
- New York Yankees - 7
- Oakland Athletics - 4
- St. Louis Cardinals - 4
- Baltimore Orioles - 3
- Boston Red Sox - 3
- Cincinnati Reds - 3
- San Francisco Giants - 3
- 9 teams - 2 each
- 4 teams - 1 each
Tim makes the argument that in the immediate aftermath of the 1994 players' strike, MLB had significant disparity as the Yankees were able to buy all the big-name talent while lower-revenue teams - like the Royals and the priced-out-of-existence-so-they-moved-to-DC Montreal Expos - struggled at the gate and on the field. We're starting to see the attitudes of then-Yankees owner George Steinbrenner manifest themselves in the NFL in the form of Jerry F. Jones.
Click here to download.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Episode 188 - FIFA Elections and Needed Reforms to US Soccer Revisited
Tim's on Four Words this time, and Mike is talking about the FIFA elections - congratulations to Gianni Infantino, who was Mike's preference to run FIFA because he wasn't seen as being in the back pocket of the corrupt USSF and may actually do the one thing that is at the heart of the FIFA corruption situation: force USSF to fully adopt FIFA's bylaws, especially the one on promotion and relegation.
Click here to download.
Click here to download.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Episode 187 - Spring Training 2016
While Mike is on Four Words, Tim talks baseball spring training.
As per our tradition on the WSC, we will do our MLB preview in a couple of weeks.
Click here to download.
As per our tradition on the WSC, we will do our MLB preview in a couple of weeks.
Click here to download.
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Episode 186 - Batsu Game Implimentations
Recorded for the first time ever in Topeka, Kansas.
Mike and Tim discuss their Super Bowl batsu games. We will hear the implimentation of Four Words for both Mike and Tim in the next couple of episodes. Mike's New England batsu game happens here, and Tim makes his League Cup Final pick.
Click here to download.
Mike and Tim discuss their Super Bowl batsu games. We will hear the implimentation of Four Words for both Mike and Tim in the next couple of episodes. Mike's New England batsu game happens here, and Tim makes his League Cup Final pick.
Click here to download.
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