The NBA Draft Lottery

In professional sports there is a seemingly constant pursuit of the number one picks for teams that did not make the post season. The most common way to "achieve" this is by tanking.  Tanking is intentionally losing games to achieve a better pick and is typically frowned upon in the sporting world.  Some sporting leagues have taken measures against taking, but others such as the NFL still let teams get away with it.  The main league that has done this is the NBA.  They use a draft lottery and it does not guarantee the team with the worst record the number one pick.  In recent years, the NHL has adopted a lottery system and it seems to be working.  Overall, I think the draft lottery has been a positive for the NBA.  It doesn't befriend teams that tank, but also brings excitement to the draft order.  I don't think the NFL will ever adopt a lottery system, but if they did it could prove to be beneficial.

The Effects of Drinking Five Water Bottles During First Period

On Monday last week, I drank five bottles of water during first period.  My goal was to break my record, which I did.  There was no greater feeling of accomplishment and joy, until I relieved myself during second period.  I typically get headaches throughout the day, but coincidentally I did not get one on Monday.  I think the water bottles played a big part in that.  I did however also break my three year old record of most times using the bathroom during the school day with five.  That makes since, because your bladder, as CJ and I found out, is the same size as a water bottle.  Overall, it was definitely a positive and a good experience to look back on it.

Steelers Draft Review

As a Steelers fan, I was very happy with the results.  I stayed up the night of the first round to watch the Steelers make their selection.  My friends came over, but they had left by the time of the pick.  I was actually studying for an AP Stat exam.  Before the draft I was hoping that they would pick TJ Watt, but I didn't think he would fall to the Steelers.  Watt did fall and I was awaiting their pick.  When they announced the pick and TJ Watt became a Steeler I jumped with jubilation.  The other player I wanted the Steelers to get was Josh Dobbs, a quarterback from Tennessee.  The only recent back up quarterback for the Steelers, who I actually liked was Mike Vick, but I like Dobbs.  I watched Dobbs, Gruden's QB Camp, and found out that Dobbs majored in aerospace engineering.  He is a rocket scientist.  Overall, I was very happy with the Steelers' Draft picks and am excited for the future.

Basketball One Minute Challenge

My FNF comrades, Griffin, CJ, and I, decided to put together a basketball one minute challenge video.  It was a competition to see who could make the most half court shots, free throws, and three pointers in one minute.  I won all three categories.  I only made one half court shot, which was a poor performance, but it was good enough to get the job done.  I got hot from three and made three in a row and ended up with 7.  And I made ten free throws.  It was a purely dominating effort and I put my competition to rest.

NFL Mock Draft

The 2017 NFL Draft begins on Thursday.  This year the draft will be in Chicago.  For teams like the Cleveland Browns, it is the only hopeful day of the season.  Two years ago, I correctly picked the first nine draft picks.  Here is my 2017 Top-10 NFL Mock Draft:

1-  Cleveland Browns: Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
2-  San Francisco 49ers: Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina
3-  Chicago Bears: Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio State
4-  Jacksonville Jaguars: Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
5-  Tennessee Titans: Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford
6-  New York Jets: Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State
7-  Los Angeles Chargers: Jamal Adams, S, LSU
8-  Carolina Panthers: Jonathon Allen, DE, Alabama
9-  Cincinnati Bengals: Mike Williams, WR, Clemson
10- Buffalo Bills: OJ Howard, TE, Alabama

FNF March Madness Tournament

After my heartbreaking loss in the GamePigeon basketball tournament,  I challenged the guys to an actual one-on-one basketball tournament.  I received the number one seed, CJ got the two, Griffin the three, and Bryce got the fourth seed.  We decided to make it a double elimination tournament.  I knew that I would win before the Tournament even began.  I began the tournament with an easy win over Bryce. There was no dramatics, it was classic 1vs16 game.  CJ defeated Griffin, so we played for a spot in the championship game.  I was able to defeat CJ, but it was a little close, because he made a couple threes.  Griffin was able to knock off Bryce and CJ to come out of the loser's bracket, however he had to beat me twice in a row, which let's face it, is nearly impossible for him to do (I had to lose twice, because it is double elimination).  He was able to win the first game, because he made three straight threes to take an early lead and was able to finish.  However, I was able to respond in game two and calmly seal the win.  I was the last one standing and was able to claim the FNF March Madness Championship.

Game Pigeon Tournament Upset

The past couple of weeks, CJ, Griffin, Daniel, and I competed in a 64 team Game Pigeon tournament.  The bracket was set up like an NCAA Tournament bracket, where each person had four teams in each region.  Each person was seeded based on a random number generator, but the maximum number of teams each person had in a region was four.  Because it was random, it was possible for a person to play himself in the first round and automatically advance.
I was the clear favorite after the opening round as I put up unheard of scores with a 77, 76, 74, and a 80.  Of  my 16 entries, 10 advanced to the second round, the most of any competitor.  I only lost three games in the second round, but in one of the games I had to play myself, so I lost an entry that way.  I occupied 6 of the "teams" in the Sweet 16, tied for the most with Griffin.  I lost two entries in the Sweet 16, because I played myself.  I was able to defeat CJ by a score of 73-69, but lost to Griffin after he broke my record for most points with 84.  Griffin and I were the only players left in the Elite 8, but Griffin had 5. Griffin defeated me in every Elite 8 match, with the closest being a score of 82-79.  Griffin composed all of the Final Four teams and won the Championship by defeated.
I lost an opening round game to Griffin 63-62 on a buzzer beater.  That entry ended up knocking out two of my entries and if I had won that game, I would have made the Final Four by default.

T'was disappointing that I easily could have won the championship, but I had a few lapses of judgement.  We followed this up with a one on one tournament, so tune in next week to see how the favorite does then.

Why Duke Lost

Duke's NCAA Tournament loss to my sister's school, South Carolina, occurred for a plethora of reasons.  Even though the officiating was questionable, that is not one of the top reasons they lost.  Duke received a number two seed in the tournament, but because of House Bill 2, they had to play in Greenville, SC.  Originally, these games were supposed to be played in Greensboro, NC, but the NCAA sided politically, which is against their values, and removed championships from North Carolina.  Then, the selection committee put South Carolina in Duke's sub bracket, setting up an essential road game for the Blue Devils.  According to the commentators, the stadium was 90% rooting for South Carolina.  More South Carolina fans were able to go to the game than Duke fans, because Columbia is 100 miles from Greenville, while Durham is over 250 miles from Greenville.  The home-court advantage played a major factor in the upset and putting pressure on Duke.  Duke also got into foul trouble early in the second half, leading to tentative defense and easy buckets for the Gamecocks. 3 key Blue Devils also got injured at some point in the game including Amile Jefferson, Jayson Tatum, and Matt Jones.  Duke began the season as the preseason #1 and definitely had the best potential of any team in the Tournament, but because it took a long time to get their mojo, because of injuries, they had no continuancy with their mojo.  Grayson Allen, Jayson Tatum, Luke Kennard, and Frank Jackson all might leave after this year, but I think Jayson Tatum is the only likely player to leave, as a projected top-5 pick.

Brad-ketology

For the fifth straight year, I competed on the Bracket Matrix.  This is the link to my final bracketology: bradketology.blogspot.com

I ended up correctly picking all 68 teams that made the tournament.  61 of the teams I picked; I correctly seeded or was one seed line off.  However, I only correctly seeded around 33 teams.  Joe Lunardi, ESPN's bracketologist, picked 67/68 teams right, but trumped me with 62 teams correctly seeded or one line off.  My pick to win the National Championship is Duke.

Championship Week

The College Basketball regular season has officially concluded and with it Championship Week has begun.  The week of the conference tournaments is arguably the best week of the College Basketball season not including March Madness.  Conference Tournaments bring a lot of intensity because the winner of every conference tournament gets an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.  For teams that won their regular season conference championship but did not win their conference tournament and did not receive an at-large bid to the tournament, they get an automatic birth to the NIT.  So far, the teams that have won their conference tournament and are going dancing is Jacksonville Gamecocks, Wichita State Shockers, Winthrop Eagles, and Florida Gulf Coast.  This will be the first year that the Ivy League has a conference tournament.  In years past, the Ivy League automatic bid went to the Regular Season champion, but this year the Ivy League's top four teams are competing in a tournament for that bid.  Championship week concludes with Selection Sunday and the Selection Show.  This will be the day that teams on the bubble find out their NCAA fates, then Tournament play begins.

Brad-ketology

Brad-ketology

By: Bradley Stewart

I can hardly believe it is here folks!  This is the final week of the Regular Season and here is my third  bracket of the season.  Most teams only have two games remaining before their conference tournaments  and for teams on the bubble, they are must wins.  Here is an in-depth look of my bracket (I am picking who will make the NCAA Tournament and what seed they will get):  

Number One Seeds: Kansas, Villanova, North Carolina, and Gonzaga are on the top line of this bracket.  Another loss will bump Gonzaga to a two seed, but for now they remain safely a one seed.  UNC has been dominant as of late and as long as no other top ACC team can beat them, they will remain a one.  Villanova and Kansas are both safely on the one line, but a bad stretch could knock them off.  

Teams that could still receive a one seed: Kansas, Villanova, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Oregon, Arizona, UCLA, and Louisville

Butler: Butler was able to upset Villanova for the second time this season last week.  The win gave them 5 RPI Top-25 wins.  The Bulldogs have a Top-10 RPI and a Top-15 Strength of Schedule to go along with a 22-6 record.  With their strong resume and more potential opportunities to strengthen it, the Bulldogs could rise to a two seed.

Butler’s Seed Range: 2-4

Bubble Watch: The Vanderbilt Commodores have rejoined the conversation of a potential Tournament spot and I have them currently playing in a play-in game.  Vanderbilt has a Top-3 Strength of Schedule, which can only get better as they play at Kentucky and vs Florida, four top-50 wins, and wins against ranked Florida and South Carolina teams.  The Dores’ find themselves in a good spot, benefiting from a weak bubble.  Should they defeat Florida or Kentucky and win a couple games in the SEC Tournament, they should be in the field of 68.

Teams that are currently on the Bubble (Could fall out of field or climb into field): Arkansas, Michigan State, Georgia Tech, California, Marquette, Vanderbilt, Wichita State/Illinois State (whoever does not win the Missouri Valley), USC, Seton Hall, Michigan, Providence, Rhode Island, TCU, Kansas State Ole Miss, and Wake Forest

To Look at the FULL BRACKET CLICK HERE

To Look at the FULL BRACKET CLICK HERE

Vanderbilt is the Closest .500 Team To Make the Tourney

Vanderbilt basketball is a year removed from getting absolutely demolished against Wichita State in the play-in round of the NCAA Tournament. The Commodores struggled to start the season with their two key players from last season leaving to go to the NBA in Wade Baldwin IV and Damien Jones.  Vanderbilt found themselves in the midst of a four game losing streak in the middle of conference play, but is 6-3 since then.  They now sit at 14-13, but a strong, last push could potentially slide them into the tournament.  Vanderbilt has four games remaining in the regular season.  They have three crucial road games against Tennessee and ranked Florida and Kentucky.  They just beat no. 21 South Carolina.  If the 'Dores finish the year 3-1 and make the semi-finals in the SEC Tournament, which is in Nashville, they would make a strong case to make the tournament.  Currently, Vanderbilt has a top 50 RPI and has the number one non-conference strength of schedule and a top 5 strength of schedule overall.  They have four top 50 wins, meaning possible wins against Tennessee, Florida, and Kentucky, along with the SEC tournament could help their case.  It's a long shot, but at least it's a shot.

Duke Is Back

Duke found itself in a hole midway through January having lost three of four, including a loss the failure that is NC State basketball in Cameron Indoor Stadium.  Coach K decided to take away the player's jerseys and their rights to the locker room.  The message stuck and Duke was able to comeback for a two point win over Wake Forest.  Then Duke handled #20 Notre Dame in Jeff Capel's last game as head coach.  Coach K came back and was able to knock off Pittsburgh.
Duke then faced off against North Carolina in a rivalry game.  The Blue Devils played well the entire game and shot 50% from three in the eight point win over their rival.  Duke survived a squeaker against Clemson on Saturday.
Duke is on a five game win streak and appear to back on the college basketball landscape.  They look like the team that was ranked in the preseason number one in the country.  Only time will tell if Duke's mid-season changes have a major impact on their ultimate success.