The overwhelming case against basketball liveblogs

Submitted by tbliggins on
Being extremely superstitious when it comes to sporting events, I completely believe that the curse of the mgoblog basketball liveblog curse is just as strong as the Madden curse, the SI Jinx, and Angry Michigan Safety Hating God. I was shocked to see that Brian does not believe this curse exists, despite his admittance that the evidence is piling up. Knowing that Brian is extremely reasonable when it comes to numbers, I decided to spend some time on this grey, Oregon Saturday to go thru the archives to see how bad the piling evidence actually looks. Warning: the results are not pretty. 04-05 Season: 1/15/05 - 66-62 W @ PSU. Brian's 1st foray into liveblogs was actually successful. This was a messy, injury ridden season so this was also the only game Brian cared to liveblog. 05-06 Season: 11/29/05 - 74-53 W v Miami(yes, that Miami). The high point of the exercise. Arguably Tommy's best team holding their own in the B10/ACC challenge. 3/9/06 - 55-59 L v Minn in the B10 tourney. Arguably Tommy's best team in arguably his most crushing defeat. After an equally crushing loss at home to Indiana that would have likely sealed a tourney bid, the team need a good showing the in B10 tourney to get in. Instead the curse forces a loss to a team that the Wolverines beat 71-55 and 72-50 during the regular season. 06-07 Season: 11/28/06 - 67-74 L @ NC State. Miami(yes, that Miami) is avenged for the loss in the prior season's B10/ACC challenge. 1/24/07 - 58-71 L @ Wisc. Hard to blame this one on a curse as it was on the road against the #2 team in the country, even if Wisc was horribly overrated. 3/9/07 - 62-72 L v OSU in the B10 tourney. A week after blowing a golden opportunity to knock off the #1 ranked Buckeyes and punch their ticket to the dance, the boys had the opportunity to make amends. Win either game and Tommy is probably still coach. 3/13/07 - 68-58 W v Utah State (NIT). No comment 07-08 Season: Brian had his hands full breaking the Carr retirement, forcing everyone onto the ledge w/ the Ferentz/Hoke rumors, and detailing the snake oil. By the time that calmed down the season was in effect already over. 08-09 Season: 1/7/09 - 72-66 (OT) W @ Ind. Probably a close 2nd to the 06 loss to Minn in detailing the power of the liveblog curse. They needed to overcome a 20 pt 2nd half deficit to beat the basketball equivalent to 07 Notre Dame football. 1/14/09 - 51-66 L @ Ill. They hung close for 20 mins before the curse settled in and took over. 1/17/09 - 54-72 L @ PSU. Just a horrible, curse-aided performance on the road. 2/7/09* - 61-69 L @ UConn. W/out the liveblog who knows how those last 4 mins play out? 2/10/09* - 42-54 L v MSU. 42 points against your biggest basketball rival. Enough said. 2/15/09* - 70-67 (OT) W @ NW. Truly, a miracle. The curse gave it a great fight w/ the Coble double-pump 3 to send it to OT. 2/22/09 - 60-70 (OT) L @ Iowa. The curse allows Iowa to send it to OT by sending a 90+% FT shooter to the line twice in the final minute. It then causes havoc w/ the Harris controversy. * An mgoblog liveblog in address only as Brian was out of the country and, therefore, did not host it. Ladies and gentlemen, the defense rests. Brian, I throw myself upon the mercy of the mgoblog court and plead for the liveblogs to cease and desist. I think there is more than enough evidence above to support this decision. Note: If I were more technically savvy I would have provided links to those posts. The dates are there, feel free to use the archive to look at the carnage.

Comments

chillmodious

February 28th, 2009 at 8:18 PM ^

Holy balls! Nice work, but man I wish I didn't know that. I feel very cold all of a sudden. Maybe Maize n' Brew should host the next liveblog? Their first ever foray into CIL earned us a win against Purdue, if you follow the inverse logic of the liveblog curse--perhaps it's just the MGoLiveblogs? Plus, the name 'Laserpants' was coined for Manny Harris during that CIL. I'm all for anything that makes me believe our chances are slightly improved, no matter how far-fetched. BTW, "Just a horrible, curse-aided performance on the road" made me laugh. (EDIT: The aforementioned liveblog... http://www.maizenbrew.com/2009/2/26/772832/michigan-vs-purdue-live-ch And LASERPANTS on the front page... http://www.maizenbrew.com/2009/2/26/773695/laserpants-and-co-still-al )

RONick

February 28th, 2009 at 8:29 PM ^

that maybe we should consider no more MGoLiveblogs... however, some of those games mentioned in the evidence were from teams far inferior to our current team. Maybe it's all coincidence. Either way, let's be safe and leave these games alone.

Tater

February 28th, 2009 at 8:36 PM ^

Does anyone suppose the caliber of competition when he liveblogs has anything to do with it? I know this is supposed to be a whimsical discussion, but the blogs only happen when they play important games against good teams. How about live blogs for every game next year? Let's see how the record is against teams like Coppin State instead of teams like MSU.

tbliggins

February 28th, 2009 at 9:15 PM ^

Minn in 06 was horrible. Iowa is depleted by injuries this year. Indiana is beyond horrible this year. These are important games against bad teams. And they sh*t the bed in 2 of those 3 games (really all 3, but still miraculously beat Ind). They have also won a few important games in that time frame (MSU & Ill in 06, MSU in 07, Duke/UCLA/Purdue this year) that were not liveblogged. All I am saying is why tempt it?

Snidely Doo Rash

February 28th, 2009 at 11:44 PM ^

I am superstitious and drawn to the power of the rings--mainly when it comes to UM games. My take is liveblog the first game based on the golden mean (ie., no curse and the W and L's will balance out in the long run hence Brian is due for wins anyway). HOWEVER, the blog of the Minny game should be contingent on a Wisc win. Mob/pitchfork psychology will leave Brian little choice if it comes down to Minny or bust. Cream the Cheesesniffers.

mattbern

March 1st, 2009 at 1:56 AM ^

Perhaps there is a Brian leaving the country curse? We lost 2 out of the 3 games we played when he was away. Just to be safe I don't think Brian should ever leave the country again. Sorry Brian.

engin

March 1st, 2009 at 2:16 PM ^

Break it down to home/away/B10: Home: 2 wins, 1 losses Away: 3 wins, 6 losses B10: 0 wins, 2 losses 7 games are from this season, 7 previous Liveblogs are more common for away games. Its always more difficult to win on the road and you can lump the B10 tourney in there too. We've made huge strides this season, but like many teams we still need to be more consistent on the road.