MBB: MAC Freedom League

[bman]

Would that be by the Australian crawl!

[ColonelJohn4Life]

Absolutely, an Australian center would be the answer for Scranton.  Andrew Bogut, Luc Longley, and now this alleged person. 

Good luck if it happens.  The kids in the Marts Center will be the first ones holding up stuffed kangaroos hanging by nooses.  (Is that even the plural of "noose"??)

Once Scranton gets this guy, they'll have to explain things that will confuse the poor kid.  First off, the water in the toilets will go backwards.  Next, football here is neither soccer nor that Australian game with the two tall posts and the two small posts.  Oh... wait... he's going to Scranton, he won't have to worry about football.

[Knightstalker]

Are you sure the plural isn't neese?

[dauofs]

Absolutely, an Australian center would be the answer for Scranton.  Andrew Bogut, Luc Longley, and now this alleged person. 

Good luck if it happens.  The kids in the Marts Center will be the first ones holding up stuffed kangaroos hanging by nooses.  (Is that even the plural of "noose"??)

Once Scranton gets this guy, they'll have to explain things that will confuse the poor kid.  First off, the water in the toilets will go backwards.  Next, football here is neither soccer nor that Australian game with the two tall posts and the two small posts.  Oh... wait... he's going to Scranton, he won't have to worry about football.

Hey we might not have a football team, but our field hockey team is awesome ! Sigh.

[saratoga]

All I know is there will be a b-ball player at Scranton from Aussie-land BEFORE the unknown savior shows up at Wilkes from Charleston. After that, only time will tell. Wilkes has a football team???

[bziadie]

Saratoga, thumbs up to you, you are a fountain of information. I applaude you.  Seriously......

[bench_legend]

Just stoppin in briefly to see whats been goin on, not much I see.  Hope everyone had a good summer, only a few more weeks till things get underway!

[Pat Coleman]

Good evening, one and all. This is the memorial Pat Coleman post No. 10,000. Congrats, MAC Freedom board.

I'm here to write about the state of Post Patterns and Posting Up. In seven short years, this message board has gone from out of control to totally wacky. And I love it.

How else would fans from opposing teams get to know each other and share ... well, let's just say it, beers, rather than insults, at your local tailgate?

How else would we "find out" which team is planning on starting a five-guard lineup against a key conference opponent?

How else would we learn that I hate any of about 100 schools in Division III? (That's true, right?) Also, that I am biased towards about 100 schools? And a lot of names are on both lists, people.

How else would we know that St. John's students have an unhealthy relationship with puppies and kittens?

And when is that College of Charleston transfer getting here, anyway?

When this place started, I had to go through every night and delete old posts by hand so it wouldn't overload the server. (Hey, it was free software, all we could afford.) Then we splurged and bought the "pro" version, which did that for us. And then we found free software that did all that and more.

When we started the message board, getting 2,000 visits was nearly a record for a day. Now it's a disappointing hour.

When the board first debuted, it was a madhouse. SIDs were posting under fake names (anyone remember Dub-C or Master P?), and you know that coaches were too.

Other great moments include an MIAC player posting something on the board, realizing his e-mail address was visible, then posting message after message of filler text to try to get the post to scroll off. Or the entire school's posting population who took me to task (in varying forms of the English language) for predicting their team would get upset in the NCAA Tournament. (They did, in their first game.) Or the coach who basically insulted the entire board for his conference.

Of course, people still think that message board traffic drives the majority of our ad revenue. But that just isn't true. Industry-wide, message boards provide some of the worst ad revenue available. Who's clicking on an ad to leave a message board? Hmm, yeah.

And yet after seven years, some people can't learn. We still have people logging in, saying they're a fan of one team, when posting from another school's e-mail account. (Seriously – happened in the past two hours.) We still have people trying to register with fake e-mail addresses. (Uhm, let's think this over logically. If the password comes by e-mail, how am I going to access it at that fake e-mail account?) We still have PEOPLE POSTING IN ALL CAPS! WHAT'S THAT ABOUT?

So here's to another decade of Division III coverage. Seriously. Let's do it all again. And let's practice safe posting.

[diehardfan]

Wanted to be the first to say...

Congrats Pat!!!!

God bless you for posting 10,000 times, and running these sites in addition to working full time, being a husband, and raising adorable children. As my good buddy Nitzche always liked to say (cause you know, all Christians love Nitzche)... "that which does not kill is makes us stronger." 

Cheers! 

PS. I can't believe you didn't add you yelling at me for not looking at the front page that one time, or me nagging you about Kalsow as some of your favorite memories! Oh wait, yes I can! 

[Ralph Turner]

Congratulations to Pat and the D3sports family!

You have made it possible for Division III athletics to have a very big impact on the lives of its collective fans.  The rate of growth is still accelerating, and you have focused the synergies of 400-plus institutions to make each of those institutons more visible and more credible.  This site tells the stories of the hallowed "Student-athlete" better and more frequently than any other.

We give thanks to you, your "lovely bride" and to your family for the sacrifices and contributions that each has made.  You have certainly brought us enjoyment, educaton and entertainment.

One question please...is there any significance to your posting your 10,000th on the MAC Freedom message board as opposed to any other one?  Thanks!

[ColonelJohn4Life]

Wow.

1. Congrats Pat on Post #10,000.   

2. It's a honor to have such a momentous post on this very board.  As for WHY this board - it's simple.  Kicking Jags off of D3Hoops 74 times, deleting William Wallace's obscenities roughly 125 times, and the College of Charleston transfer - we put Pat over the top.  That, and we gave him Pizza, and Summits thereof.  Thrice.  (Unless, Pat bought.  Then he gave us pizza.  Thrice.)

3. Scranton still sucks.  Figured I'd take such a big moment to remind everyone of that.

[Pat Coleman]

There is a significance, actually. The MAC Freedom board's precursor was the first conversation ever started on Posting Up.

[nedflanders]

I'm liking this no fangled internets that posting up is using. It took me 20 mins to figure out how to post. Danzig hired me to do some recruiting in central Europe for da U. You'll know how its going when Scranton gets a verbal from the next Rik Smits.

And yes, Im kidding.

Where have you gone swami, a nation turns its lonley eyes to you. Woo woo woo.

[Coach C]

Pat -

I just noted that you had made your now somewhat dated 10000th post.  Congratulations to you for all that you have done for this sport and for Division III athletics. 

I have been honored to be part of many a flame war on these boards and who has seen his share of the little red dots obscuring words I should not have typed.  I must say from my experience, it is altogether fitting and proper that the milestone post should come on the board that in its heyday caused more problems for Pat than just about any other. 

Here's to hoping you find a way to make a living off this thing in the next 10,000 posts.

[Section J Guy]

I'm glad I can finally put a pic of Bessior in my Avatar.


What no Marywood or Baptist Bible on the schedule for Scranton? Depressing.

Ned remember not to give out too much information on the board, you don't want a Wilkes goon stalking you.