MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[oldknight]

Either those cupcakes are a bit more meaty than people are willing to give credit for, or Hope and Calvin are shopping at the same bakery.

No doubt looking for Dutch pastry.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

I take a different stance than you do.  Calvin can play tough teams and gain experience (if Wash U. beats ONU) that are OUT of region and not worry about a region loss.  Same thing for their trip to New Jersey.  With the current system in region wins help out a bunch but in region losses can kill your team.

I agree with you that playing tough teams early is important, I guess I would see the same for Hope playing teams like Elmhurst, Roanoke, and even a potential game with Mt. Vernon Nazarene.  Sure, the latter is an NAIA school, but they have been a consistant tournement team the last few years, and would be a tough test. 

I just don't get how Hope's schedule is so much easier than Calvin's.   

[realist]

FDF:  When I said Calvin had, what I think is a demanding pre-conference schedule, I did not intend to imply that Hope's schedule was any less demanding.     Historically I have thought that Hope's preconference schedules have left somthing to be desired, but recent years have seen an upturn to more quality opponents.     With 6 opponents in common the real difference is in the other 4 potential opponents for this years schedules.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

realist - no problem - I hear what you're saying.  I guess my comments were more about the general gist of the discussion, which seemed IMHO to be that Calvin's schedule was good, yet the only comments about Hope's were negative.

[Dark Knight]

Using last year's Massey ratings and assuming the favored teams win, Calvin and Hope's pre-season ( ) schedules look quite similar this year.

Common opponents: Grace Bible, Cornerstone, Aquinas, Wheaton, Carthage, Aquinas again

Calvin: Wash U (#2), Trinity Christian (cupcake), Keene St (#71), Salem St (#73)
Hope:  Marygrove (cupcake), Roanoke (#55), Elmhurst (#18), Mt Vernon Naz (top-10-ish)

[Flying Dutch Fan]

pre-season ( ) schedules

Living up to your name I see.  I expect a GS post shortly. 

[NW Hope Fan]

*Side Note*

Kalamazoo College (67th) beats out
Hope (97th), Albion (116th), and Calvin (116th)
in US News Top Liberal Arts Colleges for 2008.

[KnightSlappy]

Yeah.... Nowhere in my last post did I compare Hope's schedule to Calvin's for this year or any year previous.

I would say that Calvin, maybe even more so than Hope, has had cupcake pre-conference schedules in the past.

Read the entire post and related posts before you respond with a  .

[Gregory Sager]

pre-season ( ) schedules

Living up to your name I see.  I expect a GS post shortly. 

Here it is ... but this particular fish needs better bait in order to be landed.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

pre-season ( ) schedules

Living up to your name I see.  I expect a GS post shortly. 

Here it is ... but this particular fish needs better bait in order to be landed.

Somedays just a nibble at the line is enough - especially when there are no games to discuss   

[sac]

Sorry, but there's a perception that somehow Hope plays a much weaker non-conference schedule than Calvin, and thats simply not the case.   The only true difference between the two over the years has been Calvin's annual games with Ferris State and thats it, otherwise they've played basically the same schedules and levels of competition.

Read the entire post and related posts before you respond with a  .

I did, and it was implied enough to warrant a 

[KnightSlappy]

sac, quote to me where I compared Calvin to Hope or even referenced the two schools together.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

I believe the word sac used was "implied"

[sac]

http://hope.edu/pr/athletics/

Way to go "Dutch"

[ziggy]

http://hope.edu/pr/athletics/

Way to go "Dutch"

Of course the Hope Cheerleading squad would excel in Wisconsin, it is America's Dairyland after all.