FB: Liberty League

[ICAlum16]

Predictions Wednesday

RPI 21 Ithaca 19 - The week I put my homerism aside. RPI will always come with a great game plan and stout defense, especially against IC they always seem to have the perfect scheme in place. That coupled with a resurgent RPI offense and Ithaca's struggles playing in Troy I see a close game where the ghosts of Engineers past come out and some how block or push a last second field goal wide.

Union 30 Rochester 10 - Union continues to roll in a game that I foresee being close in the first half, maybe even a small UR lead at the half but the athleticism and talent of Union pull away in the 2nd half.

Buff st 9 Hobart 42 - An angry Hobart team takes out its frustration on the struggling Bengals and the Statesmen use this as an opportunity to pad the stats and get some young guys some playing time.

Another note-- as an Ithaca alum I absolutely HATE the turf. I understand getting with the times and maybe helping with recruiting but the grass was a tremendous home field advantage as the season goes on AND you can't beat the view from Butterfield with the grass and the lake as the fall roles in. Now we look just like everyone else.

[Ice Bear]

Ithaca @ RPI -

This is most certainly the LL game of the week and to me, I don't have enough to go on to make a definitive pick. With that said, my questions are the same as they've been over the last couple weeks regarding both teams. Is RPI's O for real? They certainly seem much improved and from what I have seen of Jake Kazanowsky he is much improved. He has great size and so far has shown the ability to lead this offense to some impressive wins. Saturday is the test. Between Buckley, White, and Kazanowsky RPI has put up almost 600 yards and 10 TD's on the ground. Jake has 0 INT's combined with 80 yards and 6 TD's through the air.

For IC you've got a consistent defense that is physical, has some speed, and can make big stops. Special teams are what they always are for the Bombers; special. For me the question is can they do enough on O to get the W? Can that O generate enough points to defeat a very strong opponent? They couldn't against Hopkins, which is admittedly a very top Tier 2 D3 team. They have against the likes of a very good Endicott team and that 76 yard 4th quarter TD was awesome to seal up the Hobart game. My thinking is IC holds strong in Troy, stifles the Engineer O for much of the game, and walks away with a hard fought close win. 17-13 Bombers

Union @ Rochester

Like Mach, I was feeling the Yellowjackets a bit. I do believe they have improved, but the result against Buffalo State, being outscored 13-0 in the third quarter against that team, worries me. I don't think an average defense can afford to take a quarter or more off against a Union offense that is rolling and most importantly confident. With that said there is something about Rochester that always picks at me and I feel like this week the Garnet Chargers will get a wake up call. That 3 1/2 hour bus ride, paired with some confidence and swagger will lead to Union coming out flat and going through the motions. I don't think Papantonis has a big day against our front but I think Rose will throw it around a bit with some success. Union will pull away late for an unimpressive victory. I do think Union is good, but even good teams on occasion struggle to get up for road games against inferior opponents. Union 28-10

Buffalo St. @ Hobart

This is going to be ugly from start to finish. Hobart's third teamers will be asked to show restraint by the fourth. Hobart 48-7

[Machiavelli]

Re: ICTV — remember that this is a completely student run station, with lots of other teams they cover, not to mention non-sports programming, and their actual coursework.

Maybe give them some time, rather than putting on a public message that it's not up (checks calendar) 24 hours later.

Pat Coleman reminds us that SIDs are always overworked and to give them a break — and he's right. That should go double for students who are also often overworked, and aren't even paid for the privilege.

ICTV is a gem. Much better production values for their streaming broadcasts then almost anything else in D3.

When people ask what the best video productions are in D-III, I typically start with Wabash and Ithaca. Trinity (Texas) is right up there right now. Whitewater's is up there in recent years as well. ... There's another which I am forgetting, and I apologize for that.

Edited to add North Central.

RPI's youtubeTV channel is pretty good these days. Has really gotten the 'professional' feel over the last 2 years. Broadcasters are solid and the quality is relatively good overall.

[IC798891]

Another note-- as an Ithaca alum I absolutely HATE the turf. I understand getting with the times and maybe helping with recruiting but the grass was a tremendous home field advantage as the season goes on AND you can't beat the view from Butterfield with the grass and the lake as the fall roles in. Now we look just like everyone else.

So I want to say one thing that might, if not convert you to the idea of turf, at least help you understand.

Put aside helping recruiting, being with the times, and pretty much everything to do with just football.

The field at Butterfield Stadium is a massive outdoor space, and it was essentially used five to seven days a year: Home football games and commencement. Commencement has now been moved indoors, which takes away one of those days of usage. Having a massive space like that used so rarely, and exclusively by one team is just not feasible for a college that has close to two dozen varsity athletic teams, recreational sports, and also hosts community events (such as the Special Olympics). Particularly one in the Northeast, where bad weather can make the grass field unplayable even for a field that is barely used.

(The 2018 ECAC game was held at Cornell rather than Butterfield. Know why? Because 3 weeks earlier, the Bombers played back to back home games, and the field was torn up so badly, it was still unusable three weeks later.)

That's what I think so many people have failed to understand. They're framing this as "Look what the football team is losing" rather than "Look at what the entire college is gaining"

Edit: Tried to post a picture, not sure how

Edit 2: Happy to email anyone the photo who would like to see the condition of the field. If you're smarter than me, you can post it.

Also, please do not construe what I said as a criticism of the grounds crew, who are amazing. The fact that that ECAC game is the *only* home game we've ever lost is a testament to just how amazing they are

[UfanBill]

Re: ICTV — remember that this is a completely student run station, with lots of other teams they cover, not to mention non-sports programming, and their actual coursework.

Maybe give them some time, rather than putting on a public message board that it's not up (checks calendar) 24 hours later.

Pat Coleman reminds us that SIDs are always overworked and to give them a break — and he's right. That should go double for students who are also often overworked, and aren't even paid for the privilege.

Hey IC, you know little of which you speak...It was you that suggested on Saturday evening that the game would be up in archives and Io check the ICTV.org link you provided. Something I had already done but I checked again. On Sunday I checked once again. I'm fully aware that ICTV is a student run operation but they do have a contact page (by email) so I decided to send an inquiry direct to ICTV, not to the SID. On Monday I received an email from a female sports staff member of ICTV (she identified herself but I will not) thanking me for reminding her that there was much interest in the game rewind and informing me the game was now up for viewing. BTW it's the first sports archive they've posted since February. No soccer , no field hockey, no x-country, nothing so your comment about them being busy with other sports is nill...Again do you have a problem with that...or do you have a problem with me?   

[IC798891]

Re: ICTV — remember that this is a completely student run station, with lots of other teams they cover, not to mention non-sports programming, and their actual coursework.

Maybe give them some time, rather than putting on a public message board that it's not up (checks calendar) 24 hours later.

Pat Coleman reminds us that SIDs are always overworked and to give them a break — and he's right. That should go double for students who are also often overworked, and aren't even paid for the privilege.

Hey IC, you know little of which you speak...It was you that suggested on Saturday evening that the game would be up in archives and Io check the ICTV.org link you provided. Something I had already done but I checked again. On Sunday I checked once again. I'm fully aware that ICTV is a student run operation but they do have a contact page (by email) so I decided to send an inquiry direct to ICTV, not to the SID. On Monday I received an email from a female sports staff member of ICTV (she identified herself but I will not) thanking me for reminding her that there was much interest in the game rewind and informing me the game was now up for viewing. Again do you have a problem with that...or do you have a problem with me?

I don't have a problem with you. The fact that I answered the question asked rather than telling the poster to use the internet like a grown adult and find it themselves, should tell you I don't have a problem with you.

But onto my post:

I said where it would be. I did not say when it would be made live.

That you then felt the need to tell everyone on a public message board "Well, as of a day later it wasn't up there" was needless. So what that it wasn't there a day later?

[IC798891]

BTW it's the first sports archive they've posted since February. No soccer , no field hockey, no x-country, nothing so your comment about them being busy with other sports is nill...

Oh look, another criticism of overworked students. What a great guy you are.

Being busy with other sports does not mean "Being busy posting other television broadcasts on the website archives."

You were wrong to make a post about how the game wasn't up a mere 24 hours later. You're wrong to be bringing up all the other things they haven't done since whenever. Who are you to post anything at all about what students haven't done?

The polite thing to do would be to say "Hey, anyone who is interested, ICTV has posted the game — which as per usual is one of the best productions in the entire country — on the website someone else was nice enough to direct me to."

[UfanBill]

A question for you Ithaca guys. I'll be attending the St. Lawrence/Union game today but would like to watch Hobart/Ithaca after. Does ICTV archive their football broadcasts? Since the Bombers haven't played a home game yet I was unable to find a definitive link. Thanks

IC, My initial inquiry is here from Saturday. I did not ask you specifically to respond but I was grateful someone did. Obviously I had already looked for sports archives on the ICTV site. There's a lot there and most of it is not sports related. Finding a link to game archives is not easy but I did find the Bomberslive page before your help. That's how it's identified, not as Bombers archives etc, so it's tough to find. I was miffed that there wasn't anything there since February so I thought maybe there's another link. That's why I asked. You continue to ridicule me even now with your "grown adult" comment. I am not amused. Grow up...Pat is right. You are a "Peach". 

And just as I was about to post this I see further criticism from you. ICTV has a sports director. That is of whom I inquired.

[Machiavelli]

Why is everyone always soangry?

[Bartman]

Ok, I appreciate IC7 for posting the link, and UFAN for alerting me that the video is up. Now IC7, be very careful because UFAN has his own cannon

[Bartman]

Student run productions can be great(Oswego Hockey is really excellent), but I love Hobart and William Smith's Ted Baker who broadcasts almost every football, soccer, basketball , hockey, and lacrosse game for both women's and men's sports. The students do the color and all of the technology. Ted also gives you the history of the programs and stories about the great past athletes because he was there even when  William Smith soccer and Hobart hockey won National Championship recently. We are lucky to have Ted. Ted is on right now broadcasting the RIT soccer game(hwsathletics.com).....please note the awesome natural grass field dedicated to soccer.FYI Hobart beat RIT 1-0 and is in first place in the LL .

[IC798891]

And just as I was about to post this I see further criticism from you. ICTV has a sports director. That is of whom I inquired.

You realize that students with professional titles like "Sports Director", are still students, who have other responsibilities beyond posting content to websites?

I could see how going to the ICTV site would be confusing. You'd have to:

Click the link at the very top of the page called "Shows". Super confusing, because the top of the page is never where important information is listed, and the other categories are "Home", "About", "Schedule", "Resources" and "Contact"

Then once you'd mastered that puzzle, you'd need to scroll down until you saw the word "Sports." Again, super confusing since you're looking for sports.

Then you'd see a listing of sports shows, one of them called "Bombers Live" which is literally a guy holding a football. I wonder if that could be the place where that content could be located.

But apparently, you navigated that byzantine labrynth of content to find that the football game which had been completed mere hours earlier wasn't on the website yet, and rather than just, you know, waiting, you posted on a public message board that since it hadn't been posted with in 24 hours, you decided to request it.

As for you being miffed about the lack of other sports content on the ICTV page, that's a you problem. Since the question I was asked was only about football, I only answered the question for football. If you — or anyone else — is actually interested in the Bombers' other fall sports like soccer, cross country, or volleyball, I'd direct you to the place where most of that content is, which is different than the ICTV site. Much like it appears to be for Union.   

[unionpalooza]

Why is everyone always soangry?

I vote that Pat sets up a new thread for Region 2 entitled "People Overusing the Bold Feature While Arguing About College TV Stations."  I probably wouldn't post, but would definitely lurk.  Would be more active than the NEWMAC thread for sure.

[Bartman]

Why is everyone always soangry?

I vote that Pat sets up a new thread for Region 2 entitled "People Overusing the Bold Feature While Arguing About College TV Stations."  I probably wouldn't post, but would definitely lurk.  Would be more active than the NEWMAC thread for sure.

+k (fresh, not taken from IB)

[IC798891]

So, this is a bit of an overshare, but here we go.

Long story short, I'm dealing with some extremely difficult personal challenges. I thought I'd be able to compartmentalize my emotions in this regard, but it's very obvious I cannot.

This is, of course, not an excuse. It is the reason, however, for the tone in my recent posts, as well as their combative nature. Which is not what this board, or its members, deserve. So I'm going to take some time away from...all this...in order to get myself in a better state. That will likely not be until next season, at the earliest.

But, I do apologize, publicly and honestly, to all the people I've mistreated on the boards, and in the comment section, the last few weeks.

Unionpalooza, UfanBill, Bartman, Pat Coleman, and Ice Bear: I'm sorry for the way I've spoken to all of you. None of you did anything to deserve any of my comments, karma snipes, pretty much everything. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the season, and wish your teams the best of luck.

Take care and be well, all.