MBB: Midwest Conference

[woosterbooster]

.....coming from a guy with a Karma rating of -90.  Geez, things must be rough over in Ohio. 

Someday I'll introduce you to WallyWabash.

Hey your ratio of karma to posts is still w-a-a-a-a-y better than AO's.

Depends on what you consider to be "better".

You're my new idol.  Or is this a rigged karma record, achieved against the Faith Baptists of the world?     Seriously, I've earned about half of my hits, but the rest are the result of piling on by certain individuals from Indiana.

[woosterbooster]

That's good enough for me; I'm a fan of anyone who can get under the skin of that group of louts, for whatever reason.  But that's the school itself, it's philosophical stance.  And knowing that now, it maybe makes it more upsetting, or at least more confusing, that the basketball program would engage in what they did.  I'd expect it more out of a lesser institution.

This makes no sense. I understand that you're a political liberal and that you're thus favorably inclined towards schools whose social policies reflect your ideology, but ethics with regard to sportsmanship is a neutral construct when it comes to political ideology. Everyone, be they politically liberal, moderate, or conservative, is capable of grasping and agreeing with the idea that keeping in a starter to the very end of a huge blowout so that he could keep jacking up shots in order to break a record is an example of poor sportsmanship.

If there was an institution involved in that particular game whose ethos would've naturally precluded it from such ungracious behavior, it wasn't Grinnell ... it was Faith Baptist Bible. As an evangelical Christian school whose membership is exclusively in the National Christian College Athletic Association and whose public profile is very much that of a school primarily tailored to train church workers -- nine of the 13 majors are explicitly oriented to that purpose, and the school also contains a graduate seminary -- Faith Baptist Bible demands a high level of ethical behavior out of its students, as is to be expected from a school that represents a faith tradition that's based upon proselytizing. Players at schools such as FBBC are constantly reminded that their public role is as much that of an ambassador for their school and missionary for their faith as it is that of a basketball player whenever they wear their school's uniform.

Whether you or I or anybody else agrees with that faith tradition and that multiple-purpose persona expected of a basketball player or a basketball coach is immaterial. The fact is that it exists, and it thereby constrains players and coaches from teams such as FBBC from engaging in poor sportsmanship. Most coaches regardless of school, I would imagine, want their players to exhibit good sportsmanship, but for a team like FBBC good sportsmanship is part and parcel of their raison d'etre as an institution and as individuals. If Faith Baptist Bible ever kept in a starter to the final buzzer and deliberately changed its tactics in order to break a record in a game that'd already turned into a huge rout in its favor, it'd be just as startling as seeing a team from a Quaker school like Earlham or a Mennonite school like EMU start a brawl on the court.

Greg, many of the posts on this very board from those defending Grinnell seem to indicate that not everyone is capable of grasping and agreeing with the idea that keeping in a starter to the very end of a huge blowout so that he could keep jacking up shots in order to break a record is an example of poor sportsmanship.

As I said, that surprises me, considering the caliber of both the students and graduates at Grinnell.  Had it been Faith Baptist that had set this contrived record, that would have surprised me as well, for the very reasons that you mention.  I still maintain that I would be less surprised had it happened at one of the larger sports factory D1 schools.  That's my opinion, and I still feel that way.

[Gregory Sager]

Greg, many of the posts on this very board from those defending Grinnell seem to indicate that not everyone is capable of grasping and agreeing with the idea that keeping in a starter to the very end of a huge blowout so that he could keep jacking up shots in order to break a record is an example of poor sportsmanship.

I think that they're capable of grasping and agreeing with that idea. They're simply resisting it due to their partisanship as Pioneers fans.

As I said, that surprises me, considering the caliber of both the students and graduates at Grinnell.  Had it been Faith Baptist that had set this contrived record, that would have surprised me as well, for the very reasons that you mention.  I still maintain that I would be less surprised had it happened at one of the larger sports factory D1 schools.  That's my opinion, and I still feel that way.

As do a lot of us. I think that, regardless of political ideology, religious affiliation, or any other sort of cultural divide, those of us who follow D3 sports tend to agree that this level lends itself better to ethical behavior ... because money isn't the driver behind winning and losing, and because scholarships aren't involved. That's not to say that D3 or any of its member institutions is perfect, of course, but the temptations to commit unsavory or questionable behavior on behalf of a sports program aren't there the way that they are in those D1 sports factories.

[woosterbooster]

Greg, many of the posts on this very board from those defending Grinnell seem to indicate that not everyone is capable of grasping and agreeing with the idea that keeping in a starter to the very end of a huge blowout so that he could keep jacking up shots in order to break a record is an example of poor sportsmanship.

I think that they're capable of grasping and agreeing with that idea. They're simply resisting it due to their partisanship as Pioneers fans.

No doubt this is part of it.  And, I could make an away-from-sports analogy here, but I won't.

[jeffp]

Psst! Jeffdc! They're talkin about us like we aren't here! Are you as moved by this thoughtful analysis of our (non apologetic Grinnell supporters) abilities to grasp basic concepts of sportsmanship as I am? Yeah? That's what I thought. I'm gonna go to bed.

[Greek Tragedy]

There's actually conference games this weekend.  Let's talk about that.  Why isn't anyone running the pick em anymore?

Knox at Lawrence...surprised LU lost at Ripon.  LU should bounce back.
Lake Forest at Ill. College...last year's conf champs took one in the chin at home vs. Carroll.  Should win on the road.
Ripon at Grinnell...most entertaining matchup.  Can Ripon pull the upset, again?
St. Norbert at Cornell...Look for Norb's to roll.
Monmouth at Beloit...Beloit should win at home.

[scottie]

There's actually conference games this weekend.  Let's talk about that.  Why isn't anyone running the pick em anymore?

Knox at Lawrence...surprised LU lost at Ripon.  LU should bounce back.
Lake Forest at Ill. College...last year's conf champs took one in the chin at home vs. Carroll.  Should win on the road.
Ripon at Grinnell Honey Boo Boo...most entertaining matchup.  Can Ripon pull the upset, again?
St. Norbert at Cornell...Look for Norb's to roll.
Monmouth at Beloit...Beloit should win at home.

[jeffdc]

good luck to GC - er, HBB - vs RC today!

[cciwrabblerouser]

There's actually conference games this weekend.  Let's talk about that.  Why isn't anyone running the pick em anymore?

Knox at Lawrence...surprised LU lost at Ripon.  LU should bounce back.
Lake Forest at Ill. College...last year's conf champs took one in the chin at home vs. Carroll.  Should win on the road.
Ripon at Grinnell Honey Boo Boo...most entertaining matchup.  Can Ripon pull the upset, again?
St. Norbert at Cornell...Look for Norb's to roll.
Monmouth at Beloit...Beloit should win at home.

i absolutely love the revised name from grinnell to honey boo boo.  maybe grinnell... errr... honey boo boo needs to change its mascot to the 'duck dynasty.'

[scottie]

We can rouse a little rabble ourselves, here in the MWC.   

I'm picking Ripon over Honey Boo Boo, and that the Scots continue to roop - I mean roll - against Beloit. 

[jeffp]

Grinnell - 134
Ripon - 97

Good old fashioned methodical system butt stompin'...By system (sub?)standards.
Feed wasn't too bad.
Biggest observation: not much drop off from line one to line three. Good Luck, MWC.

Oh, and Jack Taylor is a 'baller. For real.

[jeffdc]

I also noted that - 3 strong squads.

I will give Ripon props for continuing to nut it out, even when half of its small bench was in foul trouble.

Great playing by Maher, Levin, Lentsch, and of course Taylor.

Grinnell - 134
Ripon - 97

Good old fashioned methodical system butt stompin'...By system (sub?)standards.
Feed wasn't too bad.
Biggest observation: not much drop off from line one to line three. Good Luck, MWC.

Oh, and Jack Taylor is a 'baller. For real.

[AndOne]

There's actually conference games this weekend.  Let's talk about that.  Why isn't anyone running the pick em anymore?

Knox at Lawrence...surprised LU lost at Ripon.  LU should bounce back.
Lake Forest at Ill. College...last year's conf champs took one in the chin at home vs. Carroll.  Should win on the road.
Ripon at Grinnell...most entertaining matchup.  Can Ripon pull the upset, again?
St. Norbert at Cornell...Look for Norb's to roll.
Monmouth at Beloit...Beloit should win at home.

Cornell beat St. Norbert? Really?   
Looks like "Norb's" didn't roll too well. Maybe they need an oil change. 
Perhaps the MWC won't be so happy to have Cornell after all. 

[ExBBaller40]

My take on Grinnell-Ripon and Lake Forest-IC as well as games from the WIAC and NAC http://diiihoopsblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/weekend-analysis-1-good-start.html

[Greek Tragedy]

There's actually conference games this weekend.  Let's talk about that.  Why isn't anyone running the pick em anymore?

Knox at Lawrence...surprised LU lost at Ripon.  LU should bounce back.
Lake Forest at Ill. College...last year's conf champs took one in the chin at home vs. Carroll.  Should win on the road.
Ripon at Grinnell...most entertaining matchup.  Can Ripon pull the upset, again?
St. Norbert at Cornell...Look for Norb's to roll.
Monmouth at Beloit...Beloit should win at home.

What in the world?

Lawrence takes care of Knox, as expected, 81-66

Illinois College blows a huge 2nd half lead and survives Lake Forest's comeback to win 74-73

Grinnell builds a 30-pt halftime lead and cruises over Ripon, 134-97

The conference favorites slip on the road as Cornell tops St. Norbert 58-54

Beloit slowly pulls away from Monmouth to win 78-64