MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Pat Coleman]

Seriously, though, here's some friendly advice. You're new to this board. It's been around for almost twenty years now, and it has a certain style to it. While we always have a few laughs here, it's a board that takes the game and this league seriously. If you're going to comment here, be prepared to back up your claims -- especially if you're saying something that can be construed as homerism, since almost everyone who posts here does have a favorite team that he follows. And leave the personal insults for some other board; we try to maintain a respectful tone here. The people who needle each other in this room are people who have been posting here for many years, and because of that familiarity they more or less know how to engage in banter with each other without unduly stepping on toes.

Holy crap. True.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Seriously, though, here's some friendly advice. You're new to this board. It's been around for almost twenty years now, and it has a certain style to it. While we always have a few laughs here, it's a board that takes the game and this league seriously. If you're going to comment here, be prepared to back up your claims -- especially if you're saying something that can be construed as homerism, since almost everyone who posts here does have a favorite team that he follows. And leave the personal insults for some other board; we try to maintain a respectful tone here. The people who needle each other in this room are people who have been posting here for many years, and because of that familiarity they more or less know how to engage in banter with each other without unduly stepping on toes.

Holy crap. True.

Yeah... that dawned on me last night when I realized I had been posting on the site since .. yeah... so 20 years. Unreal.

[mr_b]

Seriously, though, here's some friendly advice. You're new to this board. It's been around for almost twenty years now,...

Holy crap. True.

Yeah... that dawned on me last night when I realized I had been posting on the site since .. yeah... so 20 years. Unreal.

I guess that's how you are able to amass thousands of postings!  I've been following the boards for 13 years and have just over 1,000 postings.  That's about 80 a year, or about one evening's worth of exchanges between Greg and the IWU posters.  I guess I better get on the stick.

[D3_Commenter]

D3_Commenter,

Simple contradiction rather than a rebuttal; a personal insult; and bad formatting? Now, there's a triple-threat post. 

Seriously, though, here's some friendly advice. You're new to this board. It's been around for almost twenty years now, and it has a certain style to it. While we always have a few laughs here, it's a board that takes the game and this league seriously. If you're going to comment here, be prepared to back up your claims -- especially if you're saying something that can be construed as homerism, since almost everyone who posts here does have a favorite team that he follows. And leave the personal insults for some other board; we try to maintain a respectful tone here. The people who needle each other in this room are people who have been posting here for many years, and because of that familiarity they more or less know how to engage in banter with each other without unduly stepping on toes.

**Sips red wine**

WELL GREG, I do apologize for the poor formatting but, you were new once too right??

I understand how message boards work, this is not an exclusive club - it is a public forum to discuss D3 basketball. It is all banter from my side, but I will clean it up, dont sweat it.

PS - this is what a guy gets for complimenting your buzzwords?!?

[D3_Commenter]

Seriously, though, here's some friendly advice. You're new to this board. It's been around for almost twenty years now, and it has a certain style to it. While we always have a few laughs here, it's a board that takes the game and this league seriously. If you're going to comment here, be prepared to back up your claims -- especially if you're saying something that can be construed as homerism, since almost everyone who posts here does have a favorite team that he follows. And leave the personal insults for some other board; we try to maintain a respectful tone here. The people who needle each other in this room are people who have been posting here for many years, and because of that familiarity they more or less know how to engage in banter with each other without unduly stepping on toes.

Holy crap. True.

Yeah... that dawned on me last night when I realized I had been posting on the site since .. yeah... so 20 years. Unreal.

Also, 20 years, woah.......

1996 is B.V.S era

(Before video streaming)

Could you imagine having to physically be at all these games?? That couldnt make for very happy wives, or maybe it could 

[Gregory Sager]

Also, 20 years, woah.......

1996 is B.V.S era

(Before video streaming)

Could you imagine having to physically be at all these games?? That couldnt make for very happy wives, or maybe it could 

I don't have to imagine it. I lived it. In fact, three of us posters (April Lee and David Collinge being the other two) had an informal contest about a dozen years ago to see which of us could attend the most D3 games. None of us had spouses at the time, which explains how we were able to go to so many games. I'm a city dweller who doesn't have a car, so I attended a lot of games at Elmhurst, Wheaton, North Central, and Carthage via Metra and games at Chicago, Dominican, and Concordia (IL) via the CTA. That was before I inherited Mr. B's job as NPU's official scorer for both men's and women's basketball, which curtailed a lot of my ability to attend road games, and after a few years of that I started broadcasting games at the crackerbox, first for the men and then for the women as well.

We certainly weren't the only gym-hoppers, either. There was a group of three or four guys out in the western suburbs who rotated between Aurora, Benedictine, Wheaton, Elmhurst, and North Central games every season. Titan Q got to an awful lot of games before he moved away. Pete McBride went to a lot of different gyms, too, and I could probably name other CCIW Chat posters who did the same thing if I put my mind to it.

Video streaming has changed all that. It's for the better, of course -- not only can you now avoid bad winter weather and still see a game, you can now get a much better perception of D3 as a whole by watching teams from across the country. But, still, it's by no means a perfect substitute for seeing games live; you're at the mercy of the camera operator when you watch a video feed, as opposed to watching specifically what you want to watch from almost any angle that you want to watch it from (the ability to sit almost anywhere at a D3 game is one of its biggest selling points). And I definitely miss the live atmosphere of the other gyms. I haven't been to a game at Tarble or King in several years, for example, and I used to see more games in those gyms than a lot of Carthage or Wheaton fans did. The only non-crackerbox games I get to much now are Chicago games down at Ratner, because the UAA plays that odd Friday/Sunday schedule.

That's why Hopefan is my hero. His league (the SLIAC) doesn't have the same advantage as the CCIW in terms of every team having a video or audio feed, much less both, so he hops in his car without thinking twice about it and drives halfway across Illinois or Missouri from his home in St. Louis to watch SLIAC games (he doesn't have a rooting preference, so he bases his attendance decisions upon which game looks like the best matchup). Heck, he even drives to Kentucky to watch SLIAC games. I have no idea why his long-suffering wife puts up with that, but, considering that he always gives a full write-up of the games he sees and that his road trips make him the league's biggest men's basketball authority by a huge margin, the entire SLIAC should be glad that she does.

[Gregory Sager]

That's about 80 a year, or about one evening's worth of exchanges between Greg and the IWU posters.

Blame it on the opera.

[WUPHF]

His league (the SLIAC) doesn't have the same advantage as the CCIW in terms of every team having a video or audio feed, much less both, so he hops in his car without thinking twice about it and drives halfway across Illinois or Missouri from his home in St. Louis to watch SLIAC games (he doesn't have a rooting preference, so he bases his attendance decisions upon which game looks like the best matchup). Heck, he even drives to Kentucky to watch SLIAC games. I have no idea why his long-suffering wife puts up with that, but, considering that he always gives a full write-up of the games he sees and that his road trips make him the league's biggest men's basketball authority by a huge margin, the entire SLIAC should be glad that she does.

He could stop watching SLIAC games effective immediately and still remain the leagues biggest basketball authority by a huge margin, at least through the end of the season...

Ah, the SLIAC...

[Gregory Sager]

He could stop watching SLIAC games effective immediately and still remain the leagues biggest basketball authority by a huge margin, at least through the end of the season...

True ... but he'd then lose his godlike status among the handful of people who read the SLIAC board, and I suspect that he feels an obligation to keep up appearances atop SLIAC Olympus.

[petemcb]

That's about 80 a year, or about one evening's worth of exchanges between Greg and the IWU posters.

Blame it on the opera.

LOL and a +1

[WUPHF]

To the point about video stream, what I really admire most about him is his commitment to watching the games in person.  I'll watch games online if I have to, but there is something special about being in the gym.

Not to take anything away from the hard work of broadcasters everywhere... 

[AndOne]

Sure is strange to see key conference games in December.

IWU70

His league (the SLIAC) doesn't have the same advantage as the CCIW in terms of every team having a video or audio feed, much less both, so he hops in his car without thinking twice about it and drives halfway across Illinois or Missouri from his home in St. Louis to watch SLIAC games (he doesn't have a rooting preference, so he bases his attendance decisions upon which game looks like the best matchup). Heck, he even drives to Kentucky to watch SLIAC games. I have no idea why his long-suffering wife puts up with that, but, considering that he always gives a full write-up of the games he sees and that his road trips make him the league's biggest men's basketball authority by a huge margin, the entire SLIAC should be glad that she does.

He could stop watching SLIAC games effective immediately and still remain the leagues biggest basketball authority by a huge margin, at least through the end of the season...

Ah, the SLIAC...]

Speaking of the SLIAC...

Perhaps we could interest them in accepting the southernmost member of the current CCIW. Lots of positives for all concerned. Said member would be able to more easily compete in the SLIAC, many CCIW teams would lose their longest conference road trip, and the CCIW could go back to waiting until after the 1st of the year to begin playing their conference games. Besides that, it would give HOPEFAN more games to see!

I know, blasphemy to CCIW traditionalists. But, hey, it's just an idea. And, if this board is for the expression of ideas, and the open discussion of them, then consider this idea an opportunity for discussion. 

And, if the SLIAC isn't interested, since the IIAC has acquired a team from it's western neighbor, and is now really the NIIAC, perhaps they would be interested in acquiring a team from just across the river from their eastern boarder, thus becoming the NIIIAC! 

[iwumichigander]

Sure is strange to see key conference games in December.

IWU70

His league (the SLIAC) doesn't have the same advantage as the CCIW in terms of every team having a video or audio feed, much less both, so he hops in his car without thinking twice about it and drives halfway across Illinois or Missouri from his home in St. Louis to watch SLIAC games (he doesn't have a rooting preference, so he bases his attendance decisions upon which game looks like the best matchup). Heck, he even drives to Kentucky to watch SLIAC games. I have no idea why his long-suffering wife puts up with that, but, considering that he always gives a full write-up of the games he sees and that his road trips make him the league's biggest men's basketball authority by a huge margin, the entire SLIAC should be glad that she does.

He could stop watching SLIAC games effective immediately and still remain the leagues biggest basketball authority by a huge margin, at least through the end of the season...

Ah, the SLIAC...]

Speaking of the SLIAC...

Perhaps we could interest them in accepting the southernmost member of the current CCIW. Lots of positives for all concerned. Said member would be able to more easily compete in the SLIAC, many CCIW teams would lose their longest conference road trip, and the CCIW could go back to waiting until after the 1st of the year to begin playing their conference games. Besides that, it would give HOPEFAN more games to see!

I know, blasphemy to CCIW traditionalists. But, hey, it's just an idea. And, if this board is for the expression of ideas, and the open discussion of them, then consider this idea an opportunity for discussion. 

And, if the SLIAC isn't interested, since the IIAC has acquired a team from it's western neighbor, and is now really the NIIAC, perhaps they would be interested in acquiring a team from just across the river from their eastern boarder, thus becoming the NIIIAC! 

Southern most member has looked at SLIAC before but not really a good fit.  As I recall, Millikin was among the original CCIW members.  And, they were not always the Southern most member - that award goes to Illinois College in Jacksonville.

[D3_Commenter]

Also, 20 years, woah.......

1996 is B.V.S era

(Before video streaming)

Could you imagine having to physically be at all these games?? That couldnt make for very happy wives, or maybe it could 

I don't have to imagine it. I lived it. In fact, three of us posters (April Lee and David Collinge being the other two) had an informal contest about a dozen years ago to see which of us could attend the most D3 games.

You also have to keep in mind that Video Stream games are BYOB so that is an advantage - Only other CCIW Arena that is BYOB is Wheaton, at least thats what ive heard.......

[WUPHF]

Perhaps we could interest them in accepting the southernmost member of the current CCIW. Lots of positives for all concerned.

If you are the President and Board of Trustees of Millikin, more than anything else, you NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER  NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER consider giving up on an organization that ties you to the Chicago market.  Certainly not in exchange for something that gives you newcomer status to the St. Louis market.