MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[big_yellow_hat]

All this Final Four talk has got me thinking about Salem and the civic center (Salem).

Does anyone else think that Salem and its venue are not a very appealing place for the Final Four?

Personally the Stadium was not that large and was quite run down and outdated.  It reminded me of a 4 times larger civic center (Holland) with falling out ceiling panels and mediocre lighting.

Also while the city seemed to have lots of hotels, there wasn't much else to it and what I saw of it was pretty slumish (if that's a word).

I feel that the NCAA could do a whole lot better considering this is the Championship.

Why not some place a little further south so it will be nice and warm.  Or how about Grand Rapids and the Van Andel Arena?  I don't think it would be that more expensive than having it at Salem.

I know they have a contract with Salem but its time to move on to bigger and better.

P.S.  The drive through the mountains was fun though.

[realist]

Tniem:  I've been keeping track of those sell-out numbers for the De Vos.  Last weeks games, and this weeks games sure make a strong case for a few more seats, but of the cheaper variety.  I thought the women's games would attract more fans.  Go figure.
Calvin needs a win or two more on that floor before one could say they really like the design.

[Flea]

... I'm going to buy Hope some MIAA Championship banners to hang around the place ... Maybe then it would look like the "Garden".

I think Hope's NCAA runner-up banners are stretching it.

If Calvin put up NCAA 2nd place banners they'd add 11 banners ...
- Women's T&F (2001, 2004, 2005)
- Women's XC (1992, 1993, 1994)
- Men's T&F (2002)
- Men's XC (1998, 2001, 2002, 2005)

... to go along with the 7 NCAA Championship banners ...
- Women's XC (1998, 1999)
- Men's XC (2000, 2003, 2004)
- Men's BB (1992, 2000)

... it'd look like they'd hung Buddhist prayer flags in the Fieldhouse.

[realist]

BYH:  The finals were held at the Knollcrest fieldhouse for a number of years in the  80's.  You may not know it, but MIAA (several years ago) made a pitch to get the final 4 back to GR using the Delta plex on the north end as the "neutral site".  Salem doesn't exactly sell out most years, so why go to a Van Andel size facility? It obviously didn't sway the decision makers, and perhaps Salem had deeper pockets to sweeten the deal for the NCAA.  The football final may also have been a factor.
Call me a purest, but I don't care for B-ball games played in any hockey rink.  Gosh, the refs. can't hear my witty comments!!
What surprised me in Salem was how hard it was to get a drink even in the "big name" hotels after 9.   I went for the games, but wanted to celebrate abit as well.

[tniem]

Tniem:  I've been keeping track of those sell-out numbers for the De Vos.  Last weeks games, and this weeks games sure make a strong case for a few more seats, but of the cheaper variety.  I thought the women's games would attract more fans.  Go figure.
Calvin needs a win or two more on that floor before one could say they really like the design.

Realist, you are correct in the demand for these games to be much higher than what Hope built.  No need to rehash my entire argument.  Simply put, Hope decided that they would rather turn people away on these special occassions than have an empty barn much of the season.

But I don't think anyone would disagree right now that they wished there were another 1,000 seats for the tourney...

[Flying Dutch Fan]

FDF-
If you hadn't worn the orange shorts, you may have been warmer.  Save those for game day.

Now why didn't I think of that

Am I to understand correctly that there is some sort of "don't remove "THE SHORTS" thing in playoff times? If so, may God have mercy on your wife. 

There are plenty of reasons for God to have mercy on my wife - but "The Shorts" are only worn to men's games at the DeVos.  In fact, they are known as "The DeVos Shorts", as I retired the Civic shorts last year.  The DeVos shorts currently have a perfect record 

[Flying Dutch Fan]

... I'm going to buy Hope some MIAA Championship banners to hang around the place ... Maybe then it would look like the "Garden".

I think Hope's NCAA runner-up banners are stretching it.

If Calvin put up NCAA 2nd place banners they'd add 11 banners ...
- Women's T&F (2001, 2004, 2005)
- Women's XC (1992, 1993, 1994)
- Men's T&F (2002)
- Men's XC (1998, 2001, 2002, 2005)

... to go along with the 7 NCAA Championship banners ...
- Women's XC (1998, 1999)
- Men's XC (2000, 2003, 2004)
- Men's BB (1992, 2000)

... it'd look like they'd hung Buddhist prayer flags in the Fieldhouse.

Oh brother - want a little cheese with that whine?

[dothedew]

BIG YELLOW HAT,
Perhaps YOU as a Calvin student have the luxury of wanting the Championship in Florida or somewhere fun bc you went last year.

As a Hope fan....I wouldn't care if the final four was in Fargo, ND!!!!!!

It would still be one of the best weekends of my life!!!


one game at a time...GO HOPE!

[pointlem]

I'm just sick thinking about several people who won't get in, despite having been at every game - including away games - for the last couple of years.

With most attendees of the first game likely leaving after their game (including nearly all of the losing team's fans) there will surely be lots of empty seats for the second game at Hope . . . which either should allow the college to oversell the general admission tickets, or to sell those empty seats when they can see them at game time.  If I were unable to get a ticket, I'd just come. 

I agree that it would be aggravating for a loyal season ticket holder not to get in.

I did hear that if there is a Hope-Calvin game on Saturday it will be televised on local cable.

[dothedew]

can anyone else back the statement that it might be on TV???

[AndersDY]

We picked UW-Stevens Point last year. The year before the team we picked made it to the title game but lost.

Glad to know you're working with a track record of knowing what you're talking about. I obviously didn't think you made crazy picks as my Pick 'Em bracket has Hope beating Wooster to make a VA Wesley, IWU, Amherst Final Four where they would beat IWU in the finals. Hopefully great minds think alike on such things. And it would also be great to see a Hope-IWU final 10 years too late. Even though you have a good history with your picks, I sure hope that no one at all connected with the team read your prediction. They played last weekend like a team with a mission so if they keep playing with similar focus, they will be very tough to beat anywhere.

Since I brought up IWU, I would have a hard time picking against them in any tournament game. Has anyone noticed their roster sports EIGHT seniors this year? That's the formula for a big time sense of urgency in the tourney, and wow do I wonder how bare that cupboard might be next year.

[devossed]

We picked UW-Stevens Point last year. The year before the team we picked made it to the title game but lost.

Glad to know you're working with a track record of knowing what you're talking about. I obviously didn't think you made crazy picks as my Pick 'Em bracket has Hope beating Wooster to make a VA Wesley, IWU, Amherst Final Four where they would beat IWU in the finals. Hopefully great minds think alike on such things. And it would also be great to see a Hope-IWU final 10 years too late. Even though you have a good history with your picks, I sure hope that no one at all connected with the team read your prediction. They played last weekend like a team with a mission so if they keep playing with similar focus, they will be very tough to beat anywhere.

Since I brought up IWU, I would have a hard time picking against them in any tournament game. Has anyone noticed their roster sports EIGHT seniors this year? That's the formula for a big time sense of urgency in the tourney, and wow do I wonder how bare that cupboard might be next year.

Yes, it is my hope that great minds do indeed think alike!!! I needed someone else to concur with me and noone was taking the bait. Thanks for the validation of my picks.

York, DePauw, Bridgewater and Wisc. Luth. 

Oh, come on, stalker, that's a joke, right?  I mean, I know you know better than to leave us hanging as to which York you mean! 

Actually, the York v. York (sounds like a divorce case) matchup make me think of a little tune...that goes something...like this:
[sings] York, York, a town.   8)

Should Hope host and win, I predict one of the best-attended Final Fours to date:

My picks are pretty close to iwumichigander's: IWU, Va Wesleyan, Amherst, Hope.

There's just something about those schools with Christian roots that seem to be winners.

Plus the hope of seeing Dennie Bridges on a NYT bestseller list someday swayed me.

Or the fact that there's a "Ton Ton Balenga" on a roster somewhere.

Not to $1 billion endowment, fueled by the early sales of Noah Webster's dictionaries

Or even the inherent ludicrousness of an aviator/squirrel mascot debate...

[Flying Dutch Fan]

For me the question about IWU is how did they loose to Wheaton???

[dren]

For me the question about IWU is how did they loose to Wheaton???

http://www.d3hoops.com/story.php?story=45368

"With 18:15 remaining in the second half, senior Jordan Kemper drained a three-pointer to spark a 26-11 scoring run for the Thunder (9-13, 5-6) to tie the game at 53-53 with 7:50 left in the game. Kemper was sensational over the span of 8:25, scoring 19 of Wheaton's 26 points in the run. During the hosts' run Kemper was 7-for-7 from the floor, with a 5-for-5 effort from three-point range, adding three rebounds and a steal."

Wheaton was also coming off a game in which they upset Augustana.

http://www.d3hoops.com/releases.php?release=45367

Also interesting is that Wheaton took IWU to OT in there first meeting @ IWU.

[kcrest]

can anyone else back the statement that it might be on TV???

I don't believe this to be the case.  The only thing that might be a possibility would be some sort of local cable access broadcast, but as far as I know there are no plans for WGVU to do the game (they do the two regular season games) or for any of the local networks to pick it up.  Comcast Local does some games (Grand Valley, GR Griffins, etc) but that's not a cheap undertaking either.  A few years back WZZM did the MIAA tourney final I believe, thinking it would be Calvin-Hope, and it ended up being Calvin-Kalamazoo.  Not a good scenario for them.  The risk for anyone deciding to do the game would be televising an all Wisconsin title tilt.  

As for attendance at the new DeVos I'm pretty sure the number of tickets that Hope bases its percentages on is 2,916 (in other words Hope has half of 2,916 and Calvin and the two Wisco schools split half of 2,916 three ways).  So there won't be 3,500 people there regardless of what the boxscore says.  I'm guessing you could shoehorn a few extras in beyond 2,916 ....