FB: Empire 8

[JQV]

Is there any greater site than the Rays high-fiving in front of all those empty red seats?

Until you said "red" I thought you were talking about a typical June home game for the Rays.

I have participated in at least one meeting where I advocated paiting each seat at the Trop a different color so it wouldn't look so bad on TV.  Good thing such worries are going for the immediate future.

[Knightstalker]

While the Yanks may not have made the playoffs this year, my other two favorite teams are doing well.  Whoever is playing the Red Sox and whoever is playing the Dodgers.  KS carries on dad KS' hatred of the Dodgers for leaving Brooklyn and KS is passing this on to the Stalkerette so the family tradition can continue.

[fisheralum91]

hmm- i have similar favorites--

anyone who beats:
georgetown U
the dolphins
the yankees
the flyers
nazareth c

[Jonny Utah]

The Rays are a better team hands down. 

Although I was just thinking that if the Sox pulled off that extra inning game the other day (or if Francona didnt have his head in his butt and didnt put in Timlin), we would be looking at a 2-2 series with Dice-K going in the next game.  Then the sox would have a chance of pulling something off.

You still never know.

No question that comeback by Boston in game 2 could have broken a young Rays team.

The point you and LD were making about real Sox fans getting priced out of the postseason at Fenway is being proven true the last two nights.  Empty seats and booing fans.  Doesn't fit with the normal blind loyalty of Sox fans.

Although I never boo, I would not have hung around for the end of that game either I would have been so pissed.

[dewcrew88]

Perhaps it's just Pep, but the current discussion is way over Pep's head. 

Nevertheless, Pep is not at all surprised at the progress being made at Utica this year. Out of the gate, a loss to Becker is downright embarrassing. Pep has more respect for Husson (than other posters) because he's seen them firsthand. They are no New England slouch, but still a loss for the Pioneers. Much growth seen week-to-week, however, as evidence in a close loss to unbeaten (and perhaps untested) RPI. Then they put it to a Mt. Ida team 40-8 that BEAT Becker and BEAT a 5-1 Plymouth State team.

So, Pep figures either of two things are going to happen....
1) Utica wins out and takes the conference with a perfect 6-0 slate and an overall 7-3 slate
...and this in Blaise Faggiano's first year of coaching the Pioneers!

2) Alfred wins out to finish 5-1 in E8 play, 8-2 overall, while Utica tops Hartwick 82-80 in 4 OTs, leaving Fisher, Ithaca, Hartwick and Utica each with at least 2 conference losses
...and this in a rebuilding year at Mayberry! Aunt Bee will be dancing a jig!

The Saxons and Pioneers play for the E8 title at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium this Saturday!!

Pep, you going to be at the game? I'm thinking about it.

Pep was hoping the game would be available via webcast or at least audio. Pep's taking a trip to Syracuse Thursday (work-related), then has a trip planned on Sunday, so seven hours on the road Saturday is out of the question. Plus, Pep couldn't muster any brass (Mid-Semester Break at AU) for the Hartwick trip and doubts he could muster a band for a longer trip this weekend. If you're gonna be there, Pep will give ya his cell phone if you'd be willing to offer some updates.

Pep: empire8tv.com has the game on webcast this weekend... not a bad alternative if you can't get out there live.

[dewcrew88]

settle down deuce--this sox fan is a little testy this morning.

Welcome to the curse of Manny Rameriez... no world series for 99 years

What?

[dewcrew88]

Good example of this: WPI 2007. Started 4-0 OOC, finished 0-6 against the LL.

No, WPI 2007 started 3-0 OOC and 1-0 in the LL... then lost their last 6.

Oops. Did it off the top of my head, and it was 3 a.m.
My bad.

[SJFF82]

Jose,

I am not a Rays fan, but I love what they are doing to the Sox right now.  I always liked Crawford as a ball player.  One more game from making history again this season..

Easily the most underrated player in MLB over the last 5 or 6 years.  Not only a great player, but an even nicer guy I got to know while I was with the club.

The whole thing is surreal.  I'm just loving the ride and all the radio silence I am getting from Sox-fan friends that were all over me after game 1. 

Is there any greater site than the Rays high-fiving in front of all those empty red seats?

what role did you have with the Rays?

[JQV]

I worked in PR for 7 years.

[maxpower]

Is there any greater site than the Rays high-fiving in front of all those empty red seats?

Until you said "red" I thought you were talking about a typical June home game for the Rays.

Pat, if you're able to discern meaning from sentences like:

"Is there any greater site than the Rays high-fiving in front of all those empty?"


I've got some of my undergrads' papers I'd like you to grade.

[AUKaz00]

hmm- i have similar favorites--

anyone who beats:
georgetown U
the dolphins
the yankees
the flyers
nazareth c

Wow, FA91, you're officially my arch-nemesis...

[gobombers15]

Just caught up on a bunch and had to put in my two cents on this.

as much as we want to lie and all... The E8 is a buisness... and big name teams bring big noteriety... what is a big part of pats ATN podcast.... Fisher-Salisbury...  Fisher-Mount got a lot of press and the fact is as of right now fisher has given Mount their best game same far...

So you reward a team who played a redicoulsly hard non-conference schedule.... vs. the team that dropped one game off of their schedule to try and win the conference

Wow.  Interesting discussion of E8 minutiae.  Superman, I think you missed the boat though.  The SEC is a business.  The ACC is a business.  Even the Big-10 is a business, though consisting of less valuable assets (zing).

I am going to guess that the E8 has earned roughly $0 over its entire existence.  It's not like there is bowl money or tv contracts at stake here.

nice one jose...albeit the big 10 actually has STUDENT athletes not  a.p. high school for its players(like certain s.e.c. schools)... and the 100s million dollar grants to do massive research for the u.s. govt i.e. atomic energy/health fields/ etc... 

This is such a tired argument from Big 10 fans, as if the SEC doesn't have its own quality institutions. Vandy is on-par with the Northwestern's and Michigan's of the world. You don't think the Vandy football team has a few double-majors of their own?  The University of Alabama has the 2nd most Rhodes Scholars in the country behind only Harvard. Auburn, UGa, Florida, and Tennessee are all very good schools, too. Vandy graduates 91% of its football players, best of the current top 25 teams (Penn State=78%). Tennessee's women's basketball team had a four-year graduation rate of 100%...and those were teams that won national titles.

The fact of the matter is that it's a faulty argument to extend academic prestige of the undergraduate student body to the athletic departments. Just because Georgia is a good school doesn't mean that the Georgia football players are all smart and/or graduate. Just because Illinois is a good school doesn't mean all of their basketball players are smart and/or graduate.

If you're trying to make the argument that SEC schools are jock factories with no regard for academic standards or the rules, I think that is an outdated stereotype.  For every Auburn grades scandal, I give you Indiana's cheating. My best friend in law school spent both of his summers in Indianapolis working for the NCAA. The program under the most scrutiny and investigation during his time there: Ohio State football. I kid you not.

[JQV]

For every Auburn grades scandal, I give you Indiana's cheating.

Remember when that Auburn dorm burned down and burned up some books, three of which weren't even colored yet? 

Wow, I miss the old ballcoach.

[AUPepBand]

Perhaps it's just Pep, but the current discussion is way over Pep's head. 

Nevertheless, Pep is not at all surprised at the progress being made at Utica this year. Out of the gate, a loss to Becker is downright embarrassing. Pep has more respect for Husson (than other posters) because he's seen them firsthand. They are no New England slouch, but still a loss for the Pioneers. Much growth seen week-to-week, however, as evidence in a close loss to unbeaten (and perhaps untested) RPI. Then they put it to a Mt. Ida team 40-8 that BEAT Becker and BEAT a 5-1 Plymouth State team.

So, Pep figures either of two things are going to happen....
1) Utica wins out and takes the conference with a perfect 6-0 slate and an overall 7-3 slate
...and this in Blaise Faggiano's first year of coaching the Pioneers!

2) Alfred wins out to finish 5-1 in E8 play, 8-2 overall, while Utica tops Hartwick 82-80 in 4 OTs, leaving Fisher, Ithaca, Hartwick and Utica each with at least 2 conference losses
...and this in a rebuilding year at Mayberry! Aunt Bee will be dancing a jig!

The Saxons and Pioneers play for the E8 title at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium this Saturday!!

Pep, you going to be at the game? I'm thinking about it.

Pep was hoping the game would be available via webcast or at least audio. Pep's taking a trip to Syracuse Thursday (work-related), then has a trip planned on Sunday, so seven hours on the road Saturday is out of the question. Plus, Pep couldn't muster any brass (Mid-Semester Break at AU) for the Hartwick trip and doubts he could muster a band for a longer trip this weekend. If you're gonna be there, Pep will give ya his cell phone if you'd be willing to offer some updates.

Pep: empire8tv.com has the game on webcast this weekend... not a bad alternative if you can't get out there live.

Awesome! I'll watch it from home while I'm doing some PC work.

I'm not finding empire8tv.com....help?

Okay, got it....it's Empire8.tv

[labart96]

I worked in PR for 7 years.

check out wilbur's blog on boston.com/redsox.  basically calling the current state of fenway as the most pathetic group of fans ever in fenway history - and being one for 30+ years myself - TGP totally agrees.

tgp had hope after game 1, but will admit to originally picking the sox to lose in 6.  stats favor the rays so much that even if they lose game 5, they will definitely put the series away in tampa.  sox are too banged up, cold offensively and the rays are just hitting the crap out of the ball.

although fox may have preferred a manny/dodgers-papi/sox ws, TGP thinks the Rays/Phils will be a good one for guys who really enjoy good play-off baseball.  less drama, more fundamentals will be nice.

for the sox it's been a good ride, but the rays are the best AL team this year.