MBB: Centennial Conference

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I hope someday the CC goes away from the double round robin format. It dilutes SOS under current ranking format & leaves way too few out of conference games to play diverse competition. NESCAC approach would work better.

D.B. - you might not want that wish. I have talked to a number of committee members who say they discount the NESCAC's schedule a bit because they aren't playing their conference opponents twice. In other words, it taints their numbers a bit because their SOS might be really high since they aren't doing a traditional conference schedule.

So it might give you a chance to not have a weakened SOS because of conference play... but committee members will also look at what they think of an over-inflated SOS in the other scenario and it might end up not helping you.

[godips04]

I have only read articles about the game, so can someone who watched it give me a good recap as well?  It appears 3 pt shooting was the big difference?  Was it this simple or am I missing a big part of the story?

Thanks.

[LustyLarryintheToilet]

Dare i say that this message board has degenerated into the TTToilet?  I know CC fans are waiting with baited breath for the Lusty one's take on the weekend.

First of all, on Friday the video feed from St. Mary's City was unwatchable, as it froze every three seconds.  Thankfully the audio feed remained intact.  I have to disagree with the Commish though, i do not feel entitled to a great feed, nor do i expect ESPN360.  But i do not think it is unreasonable, in 2010, to get a live feed of a play-off game if we are told we are getting one.  This occurred at several locations in the opening round and in the sectional round.  

Second, i'm not going to bash Dave personally.  My guess is he doesnt get paid to do this, or if he does he doesnt get paid well, so insults are not warranted.  He does have a fairly strong announcing voice.  But to be fair, the Friday commentary was most certainly St. Mary's leaning.  All i needed to hear was after an early SMC 3 pointer, the excited call SIX - SIX SEAHAWKS!!!!!!  As for saturday, I did come away with the fact that apparently two ODAC teams potentially making the final four was not only the most important sporting event of the decade, but possibly the greatest development in human history since the birth of Jesus.  I know this because Dave mentioned it approximately 837 times in the two hour broadcast.  

As for the games themselves i mean not much you can say.  Friday's game was won because of a highly efficient offense that held St. Mary's at arms length for most of the second half.  Saturday went pretty much according to how i thought, except for the amazing performance by RMC from 3 point range.  Reminded me a lot of the Gettysburg title game from 2009.  That happens in sports.  

Final question, what happened with the ustream ban?  why was a ban put in place?

[docmarc]

Dave- It was great meeting you down in SMC.  Nice gym but a FAR drive!  Thanks for the work that you put into this site and dealing with the Toilet that this site has become. 

As far as the game, F&M lost momentum several times when they could not hit key foul shots.  Something to improve before next season.  I hope Haek can develop and be a force inside. 

See everyone in Salem next year!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

doc - it was a surprise to meet you... but thank you for coming up to me. I do appreciate it - though, which night was that? It is all a blur right now.

Lusty... I completely disagree with you... but you aren't going to see it any other way... so I will move on after saying this: If I was being bias in any particular direction, there are a number of people who I respect for that type of critic that were listening/watching that would have told me during the broadcast. They didn't... and being that I am a PA announcer and have done my fair share of neutral games (heck, my radio experience has been nothing but neutral games), I know how to keep neutral. BTW, the basket you refer to was a bit shot early in the game... it was worth getting excited about it. I got just as excited for a big shot at any other time in the game for any other player for either team.

Finally... as for Friday's video... the problem was a combination of my computer and the internet connection. I think I have explained this before, but in case I haven't... the IT service at SMC apparently got complicated this weekend. I had lots of trouble with the ethernet line which didn't seem to have any reason for occuring. It was so bad Saturday night at one point, I disconnected from the hardline and broadcast via wireless... which is not standard operation procedure and easily could have caused a larger problem. But it held for the game and I am thankful for it.

The other problem had to do with me trying to put on the best product possible I was streaming two video sources (the game and the scoreboard) along with the audio on the broadcast. I didn't realize until the next morning that my computer had major problems working with the two video sources. It didn't come up in my tests prior, so it was a surprise to me. On Saturday I eliminated the scoreboard camera and everything worked just fine (except the internet problem).

Please remember that at D3sports.com we took a major jump this year to add video to our broadcasts. It is probably harder then any school operation does for their normal home games. We are hauling our equipment around and in an effort to try and save our backs and room in our vehicles, we don't bring three computers, three cameras, hundreds of feet of cables, and three extra people to help run it all. Many of us are doing it as a "one-man-band"... set-up, broadcasting, and audio. And when we switch from location to location and deal with different IT departments and set-ups at gyms, it is amazing sometimes we even get on the air. I was allowed to be in the gym two hours before the first game was set to tip on Friday... that sounds like a lot of time... but trust me it barely is enough time.

And as for being paid... nope. Nobody at D3sports.com is paid for their content (though, there might be exceptions). Pat, Gordon, myself, and others are all working full-time, 40-hours-a-week jobs along with having families. We don't get anything extra for this work... and we don't complain about it. We are doing this because we know there is a dedicated and passionate fan base along with schools that are searching for this type of coverage for Division III athletics. We love providing that source of information and content. We also appreciate feedback and criticism. We have made many an adjustment when it comes to those comments. However, we all don't necessarily react well to those who belittle the work or make completely false, irrational, or bash our work because they have nothing better to do. To those, we tend to lash back because it is the LAST thing we want to hear when we have been on the roads for hours... set-up for hours... worked hours after a game has finished... and may even have to get back on the road.

Just my two-cents.

[diplomaniac1]

Dips -

Although you didn't make it to Salem again this year, thanks for a great season. You represented both F&M and the Centennial Conference very well again and you made us all proud! I made the treks to both Kings Point and St Mary's City and wouldn't trade them for the world. They were well worth it.

THANK YOU!

Eric

[crambam]

The announcing was terrible, but the games were not.  The announcers can either accept it or not.  Ultimately, the old mute option was there, so their calls didn't matter. 

The video kinks I'm sure can be worked out in 2011. 

While yes, RM's 3 point shooting was excellent, F&M's biggest failure was on the line.  It's a problem that plagued them all tournament.  Eventually, at that level, you need to make foul shots.  Missing 2 foul shots with a 4 point deficit with under 2 minutes left pretty much decided the game right there.  It really made it that much tougher when F&M would walk away from so many foul shooting attempts with 1 point or less.   It's something that needs improvement.

RM was a good team.  It will be interesting to see what they do in Salem.

[Gabriel]

Dips -

Although you didn't make it to Salem again this year, thanks for a great season. You represented both F&M and the Centennial Conference very well again and you made us all proud! I made the treks to both Kings Point and St Mary's City and wouldn't trade them for the world. They were well worth it.

THANK YOU!


Eric

Well said and thank you for your work in coordinating the weekly picks.  It was fun.
F&M should be proud of their season and they deserve all the accolades they have gotten.

I am looking forward to next year already.  The Dips are good and return almost everyone next year although losing Brooks will hurt.  I think he was underrated on both ends of the court. 

The CC should be very competitive next year and don't think for one moment that F&M will win it easily.  I don't think any of the other coaches are conceding anything.  They are out recruiting right now and I think there will be five----perhaps as many as seven teams in the mix next year.  That would be good for the conference.

[Warren Thompson]

The announcing was terrible, but the games were not.  

Perhaps one ought ignore the announcing, like it or not, and simply enjoy the games (at least, that is, till the Apocalypse is upon us and the announcers become able to affect the outcome of the games).

[crambam]

I agree.  Ultimately, while the announcing was indeed putrid, a win's a win, and winning is all that matters.  Losing sucks, but while announcing may not affect the OUTCOME, it can affect enjoyment of the game.  But you're right, it can be ignored simply by turning it off and following the live stats.

[NEPAFAN]

Okay already. We get it you didn't like the announcing of the game. Despite the fact that this was a service being brought to you by a bunch of people that weren't getting paid.


Do you all want some cheese with your whine?

[Pat Coleman]

I agree.  Ultimately, while the announcing was indeed putrid, a win's a win, and winning is all that matters.  Losing sucks, but while announcing may not affect the OUTCOME, it can affect enjoyment of the game.  But you're right, it can be ignored simply by turning it off and following the live stats.

Then, dude, don't watch the game. Heck, try to start up a competing webcast and see if you can do it better.

[crambam]

Ah the old--if you don't like it, don't watch it argument.  There are Hollywood writers who have that attitude that see their shows get canceled.  Newsflash--that's exactly what I did.  I went to the live stats because the announcing and video were so putrid. 

How about this one--do better.

Annonucers shouldn't be homers unless they actually go to that school.  If that was a St. Mary's broadcast, brought to us by St. Mary's, that's one thing--but a website that claims neutral should have neutral announcers. 

You're not blessing us with your broadcasts.  You are not some missionary.  This came OFF like a "service" brought to us by people not getting paid.  Enjoy the offseason. 

[sunny]

Ah the old--if you don't like it, don't watch it argument.  There are Hollywood writers who have that attitude that see their shows get canceled.  

Because there are other shows competing with them, hence Pat's line about starting up a competing broadcast ... Not to mention, they are depending on ad revenue to survive on those shows.  The video broadcasts are clearly not a money-maker for D3Hoops, so I'm not sure where the parallel is ...

How about this one--do better.

I believe, as far as the video goes, all parties involved have acknowledged that it was a work in progress this year.  And, aside from some (not even all) F&M fans, no one else seems to think the announcers were blatantly anti-F&M.  There was an admitted "bias of familiarity" from Brett Adams when it came to St. Mary's (he's not a practiced broadcaster and, as a CAC coach, of course he's more familiar with a CAC team), but no one who doesn't see through blue & white tinted glasses has trashed the announcers.  By the way, Dave has done audio for a host of games in the past and I can't remember any other group of fans getting on him like this.  I guess he just has some secret axe to grind with F&M??

This came OFF like a "service" brought to us by people not getting paid.

That's pretty much what it was.  Maybe if they were charging for the broadcast, you'd have more of a leg to stand on when barking about quality ...

[r.w. mcnickels]

Congrats to the Dips on another tremendous run in the tournament. Took me a few days to recover from the trip to St. Mary's (and the end of basketball season), but the people in St. Mary's were great hosts and the gym was a wonderful facility.

I have to agree with Reserved Seat: the Sweet 16 game was the loudest I've ever heard a gym. An incredibly intense game, and one that I think many past F&M teams would not have won. This team seemed to relish playing on the road, being the only team in this year's NCAA field, as far as I can tell, to win two games on an opponent's home floor. An especially good run in light of playing in the cozy confines of Mayser all the way to Salem last year.

Will be interesting to see how Randolph-Macon does in Salem. The Jackets are a great team with a balanced attack. The Dips clearly need a sniper who can hit 3's on a consistent basis. Without that final piece of the puzzle, I don't think they can win the national title.

James McNally had the best season by an F&M post player that I have seen, saving his best play for the NCAA tournament. Congrats to McNally on his first-team All-Region honor; he should be a lock to make one of the All-America teams. The departure of Anthony Brooks from the starting lineup will hurt -- good luck to Brooks and Sal Salvati, great leaders.

Also, I listened to part of the archived broadcast from the weekend and thought D-Mac did a good job. It's a shame that these boards were polluted with vitriol during the best time of year. I agree with Commish and others who have noted that the sense of entitlement displayed by certain posters doesn't represent F&M or this conference. Thanks to all who helped bring the action to those who couldn't make it.