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Two quick notes before I get into some pretty heavy self-indulgent praise for the OTE Staff for a pretty outstanding week, if I do say so myself.
1) When I say that it's not hard to be a timekeeper, it's not that I don't understand that there is room for human error and a second here or there can be missed, but even so, start the clock when the ball is touched. THIS IS NOT AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK! When officials spend more than maybe 30 seconds to determine the time left because the home timekeeper can't press start, and then do it again, we really need to question one's general abilities.
2) In the case of foul/don't foul at the end of the game, I find myself indifferent. However, while we all know that was a crap call on the MSU 3 Point shot, what the heck were they doing getting up in his face like that. Straight up defense. Don't even let the officials get close to calling that. Either foul before the shot and put them on the line or contest without contact. Sure, that's easier said than done, but this is also the number one team in the country. They should be able to do that.
3) BONUS POINT! Appling... apparently you play terrible against the Hoosiers. I mean, .25 assist-to-turnover ration and 8% shooting. A lot of people, me included, felt that the Hoosiers wouldn't be able to stop Appling two games and he would be an X-factor at home. That did not work out nearly as well as I thought it would. Kudos to the Hoosiers on the win. Wild few weeks left!
On to the week that was on OTE!
Note: There were no user-submitted stories this week to highlight. That's totally okay, but feel free to put anything up about any sport. As a short teaser, I am working with Hilary to create some sort of Big Ten Non-Rev Hub so that all of you who like the sports that do not get love, but we love here in the B1G can chat and spout off about how awesome your school is. This is totally a work-in-motion, so be patient as we evolve things, but I think it will be cool.
The Basketball Diaries Writings Awesomeness (Come on, section names are as tough to write as time keeping)
- B1G Bracketology - A Graham Filler Production: A story about six teams from the B1G getting invited to the dance and the lengths at which the seventh team worked really hard to get noticed. Since this story was written, not much has changed, but we do know that there is a lot left to be played. On that note, seriously Illinois, great work the past couple of weeks. Maybe this Groce guy isn't too bad? Who knows...
- Matt Painter Part 1 - Brought to you by MSULAXER: I mean, what is there to say about this piece that wasn't said in the 507 comments it generated? Honestly, this is worth splitting into two entries so that you read both separately and enjoy the comments sections. I had no idea that there was so much angst between Indiana, Purdue, and to a lesser extent, MSU fans. This was outstanding. Also, I really liked the research done because there was a little bit of objectivity on the site. That's never a bad thing.
- Matt Painter Part 2 - Brought to you by the man who wrote Matt Painter Part 1, MSULAXER: In looking at the debate on how good a coach is -- specifically Matt Painter in the pantheon of B1G CBB Coaches -- it is important to compare to his peers. I know that as a Nebrasketball fan, I am still learning what a good coach looks like, but I look forward to one day getting to compare Tim Miles to these guys.
- Michigan State is Loaded for the Near Future - Produced, Written, and Directed by apy5000: This served as a preview and longterm outlook for the Spartans. In looking at draft outlooks and who could stay, there is definitely an argument to be made that Sparty looks good. It is also worth pointing out that after some Spartan fans complained there was not enough coverage for these guys, there has been a lot since. This team looks primed for a run, unless they play Indiana.
- Tubby Time is Toast - The zipsofakron Presentation: Outstanding piece that dropped this morning. It's a little long, but it is passionate and definitely well thought out. I have very little else to say, but fans of any coach that pushes the limits of your patience should read this. Awesome article all around.
The Everything Else Our Writers Wrote Section
- Valentines Day - Graham Style, by Graham "Never-Met-a-Situation-a-Dating-Analogy-Doesn't-Fit" Filler: If this isn't the best Valentine's Day piece I've ever read, I don't know what is. The comments also deserve a gold star for creativity and well timed one-liners. I loved everything about this.
- Jim Delaney Takes Over the World, by Ted "They'll-Rue-The-Day-They-Questioned-My-Expansion-Knowledge" Glover: Truthfully, this is basically one big ball of win. I know I said I would be crazy self-indulgent today in talking up what we wrote this week, but this is one was a gem. Come on people, we can't not love disembodied heads talking, especially when one of them is the Emperor himself.
- I Think the NCAA Sucks, by Jesse "I-Can't-Make-Up-My-Own-Nickname" Collins: This was kind of weird one-off piece for me, but let's be honest. The NCAA has looked terrible lately and after the Miami investigation, can't everyone agree that they are at least primed to get overhauled? No? Well then... Still, the NCAA sucks.