Babblemur on Top of Bloody Week Nine

Week Nine was bloody. Every player but one lost at least 5 games, and every player but two won no more than 10 games. Three top 10 teams were beat, and upsets struck everywhere. The point spread though was not as wide, the lowest was +12 (The CEO), the highest was Babblemur (+25). Everyone else took in between +14 and +20.

Gunz held onto first place for the 8th consecutive week. Although he struggled with a 9-7 record he still brought in +19 points off big wins by Clemson and Oklahoma State and consistent winning by Duke. Georgetown is a big concern now after losses to St. Johns and West Virginia. Bradley dropped three straight.

McGrumps held onto second place off a 12-5 record for +18, but Kentucky's loss to Georgia and Boston College's loss to Harvard sting. Richmond, St. Mary's and Oakland all brought home the bacon.

Babblemur rose from 6th place to 3rd place after winning 9 of 12 games for +25. The high points is credited to Georgia upsetting #10 Kentucky and Colorado upsetting #9 Missouri. Purdue picked up 6 points off wins over Penn St and Iowa, San Diego State won two straight to remain undefeated, St. John's picked off Georgetown, and USC nailed UCLA. Ohio however lost against Miami (OH) which is a bad sign, and Maine lost one they should have won.

The rest of the upper echelon include Mad Mader (+19, 7-5), Mooseye (+15, 9-7) and Boaris (+15, 9-5).

There was no change on the leader board for the bottom seven. The CEO lost ground off a 10-5 record for +12, Jaybird gained some off 10-5 record for +18. Akaoni went 11-8 for +17, Jutdog went 10-5 for +14, and Some Guy in Illinois went 10-5 for +16. Slake B turned up the volume with 20 points thanks to a strong week for Ohio State, West Virginia, Wright State and Miami (OH). Musashisan is keeping pace with +19 off a 9-7 record.

Looking Forward to Week Ten

Ran out of time. Sorry.


Standings after Week Nine

• Current with all Jan 9 (Sunday) Games
• 1. Gunz 175 (89-33)
• 2. McGrumps 151 (93-32)
• 3. Babblemur 151 (88-32)
• 4. Mad Mader 149 (86-32)
• 5. Mooseye 148 (82-38)
• 6. Boaris 146 (89-31)
• 7. The CEO 137 (83-36)
• 8. Jaybird 136 (85-37)
• 9. Akaoni 134 (90-33)
• 10. Jutdog 126 (80-40)
• 11. Some Guy in Illinois 124 (80-40)
• 12. Slake B 111 (69-48)
• 13. Musashisan 103 (73-48)

2010 - 11 Babblemurball Challengers

The challenge is just about set. Draft order will be determined in about 3-4 weeks. To view last years episode, click here.

1. Jutdog, Oshkosh, WI (defending champion, hall of fame)

2. Gunz, Menasha, WI (last year's runner-up)

3. Akaoni, Iowa City, Iowa

4. Babblemur, Oshkosh, WI

5. Boaris, New Berlin, WI

6. Jaybird, Las Vegas (hall of fame)

7. The CEO, Brookfield, WI

8. NotaTurtle, Iowa City, Iowa (waiting on confirmation but almost certainly in)

9. Some Guy In Illinois (SGII), Somewhere in Illinois

10. Musashisan, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

11. MadMader, Appleton, WI (Newcomer)

12. Samic the Hawk, Miami, OH, waiting for confirmation (Newcomer)

13. Mooseye, Cornfield, Iowa, waiting for confirmation (Newcomer)

Babs Grabs Wins, Some Guy Flies High

Week Nine was a week of big upsets, and although the top four on the leader board didn't change, there was action in the bottom six.

Babblemur hit the big points this week, scoring 22 points off a 12-3 turnout. This was helped by a big Notre Dame upset over #8 West Virginia, along with Butler, Maryland and Vanderbilt having solid conference weeks. Babs moved from last to 8th place.

Some Guy in Illinois finished second in points with 20, doing it the old fashioned way going 4-2 over other players and 12-4 over all. Notable: Arizona St went 2-0 in the Pac 10, Louisville went 2-0 in the Big East, and Missouri knocked off a hot K-State team in the Big 12.

Teams that took a beatin'

Jutdog and NotaTurtle's squads took a beatin' this week, both went 7-7, worst records for the week. The difference though is that Jutdog took a league low 13 points from his thrashing, but Turtle nabbed 19 off Georgia Tech's upset over #5 Duke and four other wins over other players. Jutdog's Tennessee Gunslingers upset #1 Kansas on Sunday, but was 2-5 against other players for the week.

Props to the Giant Killers

Props to Tennesse (Jut) for knocking off #1 Kansas;
Props to Wisconsin (Gunz) for knocking off #4 Purdue;
Props to Georgia Tech (Turtle) for knocking off #5 Duke;
Props to Notre Dame (Babs) for knocking off #8 West Virginia;

Week Ten Preview:

Look forward to Saturday Jan 16, on which 70 of the 80 teams will be in play.

WAC battle brewing Wed: Nevada (Jaybird) vs. Utah St (Jutdog); Mountain West battle on Wed: UNLV (Gunz) vs. San Diego St (CEO);

Saturday has too many great games to mention them all, what a day! I will note the Pac10 contest California (Babs) vs. Washington (Akaoni) for best of the worst; Georgia Tech (Turtle) gets another shot to prove they are legit against North Carolina (Some Guy); Syracuse (Akaoni) vs. West Virginia (Jutdog) could be a big Top 10 showdown in the Big East; and finally Dayton (Jaybird) vs. Xavier (Phun) could be a conference breaker in the A-10 (look out for Rhode Island, bitches...)

Standings at the end of Week Nine:

# 1. AKaoni - 166 (98-21)
# 2. Jaybird - 144 (93-26)
# 3. Gunz - 143 (95-31)
# 4. Boaris - 140 (94-29)
# 5. NotaTurtle - 130 (80-39)
# 6. Jutdog - 126 (85-31)
# 7. Some Guy in Illinois - 122 (90-37)
# 8. Babblemur - 122 (82-38)
# 9. The CEO - 120 (86-37)
# 10. Phunmunki - 114 (81-38)

2008-09 Season Recap

I was too bitter to do this last spring, but in an effort to bring closure to last season here it is.

The Second Annual contest came down to the final week, the Final Four, and the Final Game. Entering the Final Four were North Carolina (Jaybird), Villanova (The CEO), Michigan State (Babblemur), and Connecticut (HippieD). Of these four, Jaybird, The CEO, and Babblemur all could potentially win this season's contest by winning the NCAA Tournament. The other 9 players had all been essentially eliminated. In the semis, Michigan St (Babs) knocked off UCONN (HippieD) putting their fate in their own hands. North Carolina (Jaybird) knocked off brother Villanova (The CEO) setting up a showdown for the Championship. A Michigan State win would make Babblemur the undisputed winner of the 2nd Annual Babblemur Basketball Challenge. A North Carolina win would push Jaybird past Babblemur by a single point stealing the championship. (Detecting media bias?)

As it happened, North Carolina spanked Michigan State hard, really hard, it was over before half time, with no chance of a come back. Jaybird became the winner of the Second Annual Babblemur Basketball Challenge, joining his cheatin' brother Jutdog who won the first year as the only two winners of this insane contest!

The final standings:
1. Jaybird (202-88) - 476 points
2. Babblemur (208-94) - 475 points
3. Jutdog (192-82) - 442 points
4. Boaris (196-101) - 437 points
5. The CEO (200-91) - 433 points
6. Akaoni (198-100) - 431 points
7. Phunmunki (195-91) - 383 points
8. ProgressMedia (199-92) - 382 points
9. Gunz (181-108) - 370 points
10. NotaTurtle (172-117) - 348 points
11. Musashisan (167-126) - 340 points
12. HippieD (176-108) - 332 points

Highest scoring Teams from 2008-09 season:
1. North Carolina (Jaybird) 159 points (#1 pick overall)
2. Michigan State (Babblemur) 127 points (#10 pick overall)
3. Louisville (Jutdog) 106 points (#4 pick overall)
4. UCONN (HippieD) 100 points (#2 pick overall)
5. Pittsburgh (Boaris) 93 points (#11 pick overall)
6. Villanova (The CEO) 90 points (#19 pick overall)
7. Oklahoma (Boaris) 89 points (#14 pick overall)
8. Duke (The CEO) 88 points (#6 pick overall)
9. Washington (Akaoni) 75 points (#41 pick overall)
10. Memphis (Gunz) 74 points (#12 pick overall)


2008-09 season spreadsheet

Good season, all! Looking forward to Season 3!!!

THE FINAL WEEK

Our long nightmare is almost over, just in time for planting season for us farmers.

It is down to three potential winners, all in the Final Four

Semi-Finals on Saturday are worth 17 points (plus 2 for beating another player, 1 for the win):
North Carolina (Jaybird) vs Villanova (The CEO)
UCONN (HippieD) vs Michigan State (Babblemur)

Championship Game is worth 21 points (plus 2 for beating another player, 1 for the win)

Prognosis: If North Carolina, Michigan State or Villanova win the National Championship, Jaybird, Babs or The CEO, currently in 5th, 1st and 4th place, will win it all.

If UCONN wins the National Championship, HippieD will rise from 11th to 9th place, but who will finish in first then??? Jaybird or The CEO will pick up 20 points Saturday, putting them at either 452 or 453, still 2 points behind Babblemur. With neither having teams playing in the NIT, CBI, or CIT, that's it - if UCONN wins, Babblemur wins.

NIT - Butter Battle in a Bottle

Still points going on here - Semi Finals on Tuesday are worth 4 points (plus 2 for beating another player, 1 for the win):

San Diego State (Babblemur) vs Baylor (NotaTurtle)
Penn State (Musashisan) vs Notre Dame (Gunz)

Finals on Thursday are worth 7 points (plus the you know)

Commentary: If the CEO or Jaybird were just a little closer to Babs, the NIT may have become the decider in either putting Babblemur over the top or keeping them below the mark. Now it is for glory only.

CBI: Best 2 out of 3?

Whatever, I guess it is something different. Tonight UTEP (NotaTurtle) and Oregon St (Musashisan) play the first in a best of 3 game series for the CBI Title, worth nothing but the points they get playing each other.

CIT: [insert witty comment]

Tuesday is the finals of the CIT, with Old Dominion (Gunz) taking on Bradley for that single point that comes from a win. Combine that point with a Notre Dame NIT Champ and Gunz could move into seventh place leaping past ProgressMedia and Phunmunki.

Power Weekend Points Galore

POWER WEEKEND POINTS GALORE

6 Major Conferences: 30 points
9 Other Conferences: 36 points
15 More Automatic bids: 60 points

And Selection Sunday will result in 34 At-Large bids: 136 points

Who's still in the running for those Conference bids this weekend? Most players have just one or two teams left on the point hunt with the exception of NotaTurtle (3 teams) Babblemur (4 teams) and Jutdog (5 teams). First place Babblemur faces second place Jutdog in three huge games on Saturday that could determine the point spread going into the tournament.

The rundown:

ACC
North Carolina (Jaybird) vs Florida St (Musashisan)
Duke (The CEO) vs Maryland (Phunmunki)

Big Ten
Michigan St (Babblemur) vs Ohio St (Jutdog)
Purdue (Akaoni) vs Illinois (Notaturtle)

SEC
LSU (The CEO) vs Mississippi State (Boaris)
Tennessee (Musashisan) vs Auburn

Big East
Louisville (Jutdog) vs Syracuse (Babblemur)

Big 12
Baylor (Notaturtle) vs Missouri (Gunz)

Pac 10
Arizona State (Babblemur) vs USC (HippieD)

Conference USA
Memphis (Gunz) vs Tulsa (Babblemur)

Mountain West
Utah (Jutdog) vs San Diego St (Babblemur)

WAC
Utah St (Progress Media) vs Nevada (Phunmunki)

The following conferences have players playing against non-player teams for championships (& eight points):

Atlantic 10: Temple (Jutdog) vs Duquesne
Big West: Northdridge (Notaturtle) vs Pacific
MAC: Buffalo (Jaybird) vs Akron
MEAC: Morgan St (Progress Media) vs Norfolk St
SWAC: Alabama St (Jaybird) vs Jackson St
Southland: Stephen F. Austin (Jutdog) vs. San Antonio

X-Mas Time Report

We aren't exactly half way of course, but X-Mas marks the time that teams begin transitioning into conference play, it is a good opportunity to evaluate things so far, and maybe next week make predictions about the future.

First, the Week Six Rundown:

It was another thin week, but Babblemur used it well taking 20 points, winning 4 of 5 p.v.p. matchups including Michigan St. over Top 10 Texas and Syracuse over Memphis. Babs won 10 of 11 total, the only loss to Cleveland St. by Syracuse. Babblemur is in a virtual tie for first place now.

Musashisan took 19 points off 4 of 6 p.v.p. matchups, 11-3 for the week.

HippieD took 19 points off 11-2 play, including 3 p.v.p. wins of 4, with the big UCONN over Top Ten Gonzaga.

Akaoni took 18 points, 3 for 3 in p.v.p., and 12-1 overall for the week. Akaoni is now solidly in third place.

The rest: Boaris & Gunz, 15 a piece; 14 for NotaTurtle, 11 for Progress Media, and 10 for the CEO. 9 a piece for Jutdog and Jaybird, and 8 for Phunmunki, who got killed in week 6.

Team of the Week: St. Mary's (Progress Media) beating both Oregon (Musashisan) and Southern Illinois (Gunz).

And now, the Squigly Rainbow Chart:



Click on the image for a bigger image. Neat!

Biggest Surprise:

Oklahoma (Boaris) and Syracuse (Babblemur). These two teams have put Boaris and Babs in a tie at the Top.

Best 8 Pick So Far:

Illinois State (Progress Media) - 14 points, 10-0. Look out Creighton and Southern Illinois! We got game in the MVC!

Worst 1 Pick So Far:

Memphis (Gunz, #12 overall) - 7 points. Admittedly he could have picked Notre Dame (#13, 14 points) over Memphis since he had the "flip turn" but nonetheless Memphis wins as lowest performing First Round Pick.

That's all for now - Merry X-Mas you pagans!

Week Four goes to Babblemur

Babblemur took Week 4 with 24 points going 12-3 and winning 6 of 8 player v. player match ups. Babs was led by West Virginia with 6 points defeating NotaTurtle's Mississippi and Cleveland State. This strong showing pushed the masked communist solidly into second place.

Boaris and Gunz had strong showings as well, taking 21 points each. Boaris, who still leads the pack, went 11-3, winning 5 of 8 player v. player match ups. Oklahoma brought home the bacon with big wins over USC (Turtle) and Tulsa (Babs). Gunz went 11-2, winning 5 of 7 p.v.p. games.

The rest of the pack:
Jutdog (19), The CEO and Jaybird (18), Akaoni (14), Musa (13), Phunmunki (11), HippieD & Turtle (10), and bringing up the rear: Progress Media with 9.

Team of the Week:
Ohio State (Jutdog) who knocked off both Miami (Turtle) and #7 Notre Dame (Gunz) to bring home 8 points.

The upcoming week is a slow one, finals week.
West Virginia (Babs) v. Davidson (PM) could be a great game on Tuesday.
#6 Texas (PM) v. Villanova (CEO) could be good.
Temple (Jut) has a long shot at #8 Tennessee (Musa) on Saturday.
Memphis (Gunz) v. Georgetown (Musa) on Saturday will be a good game.
#4 Gonzaga (P-munk) v. Arizona (PM) on Sunday could be closer than it should be.

Week 3 Recap: Boaris & Babs

Boaris & Babblemur both brought in 31 points a piece during week three to lead the field, putting Boaris back in first place and Babblemur in third right behind Musashisan. The CEO had the worst week, bringing home to his hungry family only 13 points, falling from 4th place at the beginning of the week to 9th place.

Boaris was carried by Oklahoma, who took the NIT on Friday beating Purdue and UAB earlier; Pittsburgh who knocked off Washington State and Belmont; and Kentucky went 3-0 including a win over West Virginia.

Babblemur picked up two tourney wins - Syracuse took the CBE over Florida and Kansas and San Diego State won the Great (sic) Alaska Shootout.

The CEO's poor performance can be chalked up to Siena going 0-3 with losses to both Tennessee and Oklahoma State; and losses by VCU, Middle Tenn State, and Mount St. Mary's. In fact, The CEO would have done even worse if he hadn't had the opportunity to play himself, assuring that at least one of his teams would win. The shareholders will be discussing The CEO's performance.

Tourney Totals:
Alaska: San Diego St. (Babblemur)
Anaheim: Wake Forest (Jutdog)
Old Spice: Gonzaga (Phunmunki)
CBE: Syracuse (Babblemur)
Maui: North Carolina (Jaybird)
Paradise: UCONN (HippieD)
Puerto Rico: Xavier (Phunmunki)
NIT: Oklahoma (Boaris)
CVC: Duke (The CEO)

Team of the Week:
Wake Forest (Jutdog): 4-0, 11 points, wins over Baylor & UTEP.

Biggest Upset:
Dayton (Akaoni) over #15 Marquette (Jaybird)

Top Picks Knocked Off:
Louisville (Jutdog) lost to Western Kentucky
Tennessee (Musashisan) lost to Gonzaga (Phunmunki)
Purdue (Akaoni) lost to Oklahoma (Boaris)
Texas (ProgressMedia) lost to Notre Dame (Gunz)
Michigan State (Babblemur) lost to Maryland

Best "Last Round" Pick:
Illinois State (ProgressMedia) - 3-0 this week, 11 points to date.