The only things I'll add to this excellent summary:
1) The weather did not cooperate. While the temp reading said 61, it felt like 45. (Got nicer later towards the evening.)
2) M needs to do better with pick plays on D. I don't have the actual stats, but it felt like at least 5 goals game directly after an M defender just allowed the pick to take them out of the play, leaving the attackman 1v1 with Taylor.
3) Taylor, as you mentioned, did not have a great game. He got beat on high-to-high shots in the 1st Q that, honestly, just shouldn't have been goals at this level.
4) On a positive note, M's first 2 goals game on Man Up plays that were very nifty quick-passing / slipping into space set pieces. Found that very encouraging.
5) To back you up, the UVA goalie made some incredible saves. In particular, at 2 different points in the game, M was mounting runs to get back in the game (2 goals to pull things into a 4 or 5 goal deficit early, then later in the 2nd I think we scored 3 in a row to bring things into striking distance) and that dude just stoned point blank shots.
6) I don't know about UVa being punks, as I thought M (#16??) kind of lost his mind very early in the game, getting into with almost the entire UVA defense. Things just kind of progressed from there with lots of chirping on both sides. That said, I sat with the UVA parents (pretty much), so I didn't really hear much negative from the crowd either way.
I'm just baffled that they (NCAA, schools) are OK burning money in pit like this. You're literally throwing away 100s of thousands of dollars every year by putting games on at neutral sites. And it's not just the gate, obviously, it's all the concessions and gear they could be selling.
Another issue, and this is more from a recruiting standpoint, is that you are not putting your best foot forward as a sport with these lame 1/4 full venues. College hockey's home crowds are notoriously loud and knowledgeable. It's part of what makes the game so special. Yet, by the time fans are tuning in on TV, they are seeing these weird playoff games with almost zero buzz in the building.
I was at a Lions watch party here in MD... Dude is a lifelong fan and he's from Bethesda freakin' Maryland. I still marvel that the dude CHOSE this life... Anyways, I wore my 2024 Rose Bowl shirt and got a lot of great commments.
But what amazed me is that there MI fans out there that don't live and breath this site. Whole room full of dudes and none were aware of MGoBlog.
Stunning. This site breaths live into the sport for me. Thank you to the OP and to Brian and to everyone that makes this place so special. I'm getting old and really didn't think this was ever going to happen.
I've been randomly smiling like a crazy person since we beat PSU way back when. What a ride.
Might get some crap for this, but I actually kind of like the idea of breaking up the post game into two days. Take your damn time, Brian. I love knowing I've got excellent content to read tomorrow. (And in this season, it would've taken some of the doldrums produced when Opponent Watch was put on the shelf.)
Which, in hindsight, almost wish he'd recovered it in the endzone. HOWEVAH... what I was much more worried about in the moment was AL recovering said muff. As has been said here and elsewhere, that would've been the most MI nightmare fuel way to lose a game since... I dunno, Stewart to Westbrook?
Recency bias is crazy on this. Freshman year JJ, backing up Cade... Y'all forgetting some of the absolutely bananas throws he attempted?? This year, for the most part, he's been pretty flawless. But even last year there was chatter about him needing to step up in his decision making for M to be successful.
Talking about a freshman at UCLA having issues... Like, yeah, of course he did.
I'm happy to live with a healthy dose of dislike for OSU, their AD and its coaches. And I'll admit that in my youth, I would extend that to the players.
But, yes, with time comes some wisdom. And "hating" a 20 year old kid* is next level unhealthy and detached from reality.
* I have "kids" older than most of the players... They are kids to me.
I'm actually a little choked up typing this.. The fact that the team rallied around this moment, ripping off 10 straight points, just shows the love this team has for one another.
I'm getting old. I've seen a lot of stuff. These last 3 seasons have made a lot of very dark periods fade into the distant past.
Thank you Sherrone, all of the coaches, and most importantly this special group of young men. You don't win today without a culture of excellence, and that's VERY difficult to create and maintain.
As a MD resident, can confirm. It's especially prevalent "by the oh-shun" or "or on the bay" or "out on the shore". The variant I like to use is with grapefruit instead of crushed orange. The ladies like to replace Sprite with club soda and I have to admit, that can take the sweetness level down multiple notches.
But, yeah, Crushes at The Starboard are a thing (even though Dewey is in Delaware, most Marylanders claim it as their own.)
The pretty obvious (to me) answer is that some number of coaches were aware that something was up with Stalions. To what extent, we may never know, but eating the suspension quiets that story considerably.
That said, I would not be surprised if a few coaches are asked to leave the program over this.
Yeah, this is one of the only times I've felt like I had something worthy of posting a separate thread about... I guess I don't have enough points to start a thread? Possible I'm just missing something.
I very rarely trot this out and I mostly lurk here, but... I have a very reliable source that says MI very specifically leaked this story to Thamel, just to see what he would do with the information.
The silence from him/ESPN on the recently leaked information about other schools sharing signals is deafening.
I very rarely trot this out and I mostly lurk here, but... I have a very reliable source that says MI very specifically leaked this story to Thamel, just to see what he would do with the information.
The silence from him/ESPN on the recently leaked information about other schools sharing information is deafening.
The angle that seems to be most routinely missed or ignored that is driving me crazy: There has been a smattering of reports that MI was particularly good at decoding signs going back AT LEAST A YEAR.
So, really, at this point, trying to claim MI was gaining an advantage on B1G teams with sign stealing seems ludicrous. What's the reasoning? These opponents, who have been told to switch their signs by their coaching colleagues are just ignoring the issue?
So, these opponents are just negligent? Lazy? MSU knew they had to switch their signs up and we all saw that result. OSU was pretty sure something was going on last year and yet, somehow, we gained some huge advantage from sign stealing.
This... all of it. I, too, am old enough to have grown up during the Bo-Woody years and the 97 run was absolutely glorious. And, yeah, maybe it was turmoil and utter defeated feeling under much of the RR/Hoke years that make this run feel sweeter.
But there's really no arguing your point in terms of longevity, at this level... Going into Y3 of this run and this sure seems like the most "professional" and competent team, if only on the margins.
I have no ill will towards Fitzgerald or NW... In fact, I grew up in the era where NW didn't win a game for 3 or 4 years. Bimbo's used to have a live band and you could request B1G fight songs and me and my buddies got a kick out of requesting the NW song and no one knew what the heck was playing.
All that said, I'm pretty shocked that NW hasn't fired him already. I know we get angry with UM's administration for making it hard for the athletics program at times with admissions and a general (seeming) antipathy for the sports culture... NW is that on steroids. There's no scenario where, if these allegations are true, Fitzgerald should be able to get past this. He either knew or he didn't... both are incredibly bad looks.
=-=-=-=-=-=
Um. The locker room monitor position? Who the hell wants to take that job. Jeepers.
BTW, nice to see The Earle is still alive and kicking. My mom worked back of the house (mostly) while she worked her way through grad school land I spent a lot of time there and got a lot of great leftovers as a result.
I know there's a heavy focus on eateries here, but I grew up in Ann Arbor and we had free run of the downtown area as 12 year olds:
Focus, Double Focus... And, hoo boy, when Simulation Station showed up on the scene, we went nuts.
Had to scrounge around for recyclable bottles and cans to fund our habit, but it was well worth it.
=-=-==
This is kind of esoteric, but being able to just walk onto the field and play pick-up tag football and kick field goals at the Stadium was REALLY cool.
I love the idea that Twitter opinions being stupid somehow invalidates the opinions of those of us who know what we're looking at. I have nothing to do with Twitter, yet I'm not all that psyched about GGG coming back.
I've been following and analyzing US soccer since the late 80s. (Yes, I'm old.) I'm not objective (I'm a fan), but I sure can look at talent and the overall set-up of a squad and provide a critique. GGG all too often constructs rosters that leave much more talented guys off with MLS pluggers taking their place. It's not all that complicated.
And the analysis that we were a few bounces away from playing ARG in the quarterfinals is pretty close to disqualifying in terms of its simplicity. What many don't seem to grasp is that because the US roster lacked quality backups AND the trust of the manager, our midfield was completely gassed by the time we played NED. Our high press style runs our front 7-8 into the ground. You have to play your bench in the group stage so that you can compete in the knockout stages.
That's 100 percent on the manager, yet it barely gets talked about by the "experts" who talk about our performance at the WC.
That last paragraph, to me, points to something else going on beyond 5-3 record. Especially when you pretty much need to wipe out last year, dude was barely given a shot.
I missed 2019, but have been in two other years (I live in the area) and MD fans are about as apathetic as it comes. Which I find pleasant because MI fans are about 50-50 in attendance so if you squint enough it feels like a home game.
FFS, the band played hail to the victors after the teams left the warm up session. I don't know if they still do that for every team, but I was, like... Maybe don't play the opposing teams fight song?
On the flip side, if you ever want to watch MI on the road in a completely benign and pleasant atmosphere, join me in College Park. The fans just don't really care about the game and they are all very nice to hang out with.
I moved from Ann Arbor to Bethesda right before high school. That school was named after Walter Johnson, for reasons that remain unclear. The mascot was a Spartan and the colors were MSU green and white. (stand up, sit down, fight fight fight.)
I got over wearing green really f'ing quick.
I will say this, though, I really try not to wear either of those colors on game days.
Well, knock me over with a feather, a guy that's known for being a traditionalist... Who by many accounts left college basketball because of the overall change in culture (one and done/focus on getting to the NBA)... A guy getting up there in years...
Shocked to hear it's not going well in the NBA for him. I wish him well, but this is possibly the least surprising development in recent MI-related sports news.
Oh, that's gonna happen. My two kids in college now, but we hit Disney and Universal on 3 separate trips.
The OP is right in terms of this being the worst time to go. But he also wasn't really giving you theme park tips. One of the best investments you can make is to actually stay on property. Not just from a proximity stand point, you get into the parks early, which allows you to ride the more crowded attractions before the place fills up AND if you're really on your game, it allows you to get fast passes for other rides before they become insane (getting a fast pass first thing in the morning for the busiest rides will get you on the ride around lunch or so.)
Co-sign on this being a remarkably bad overall broadcast. There were multiple plays that warranted a replay and they are so busy pushing whatever narrative they want to jam on the viewer, they simply can't be bothered.
Back in the day, when a broadcast missed a play, they'd come back from a break, apologize, and show multiple replays.
These jokers barely even acknowledged that the play happened. Truly bizarre.
Anyone talking about Rudolph initiating is being ignorant (maybe willfully so) of the context of that play. THERE WERE 5 SECONDS LEFT. Garrett had no business tackling Rudolph like that.
None. Zero. It was a garbage time play to run the clock out. It was taking a knee without going through that specific process. Garrett flipped out, probably felt disrpekted, and the rest is history.
And there is a history of charging athletes with crimes for using weaponry on the playing surface. Please Google McSorley and Ciccarelli of NHL infamy if you need a refresher.
Hopkins alum here. They have had a D1-level team since before it was an NCAA sanctioned sport, so... (The MD-Hopkins rivalry in this sport goes back to pre-1900 and they've played each other well over 100 times at this point.)
Just to reiterate: They didn't get voted out because they were "too good." They got voted out after years of strife in the conference because of their enrollment size and the resources going into their athletic department. These are areas where St. Thomas started to increase over time, so it's not like the other schools just looked up and noticed an existing situation.
St. Thomas has had designs on being a D1, regional school for about 12 years now. And that's perfectly fine. But it's also perfectly fine and reasonable for the teams in their D3 conference to call them out on this stuff.
D3 schools are that classification for a reason. It's simply an unfair and unbalanced situation when one school steps outside of those parameters.
Killed it, as always. The Chris Ash tribute slideshow had me laughing for 2 minutes straight.
Sanity-saving request of BiSB: If you know you aren't going to be able to post this, please throw up a "Sorry Folks, Park's Closed..." sign or something. I don't think I'm the only one that comes here on TH/FRI refreshing a bunch.
Recent Comments
If you love the Sklars, checkout their podcast: Dumb People Town (with Daniel Van Kirk.) Top notch comedy.
(I was lucky enough to grab an ussie with Randy at the Rose Bowl. Might get it framed.)
The only things I'll add to this excellent summary:
1) The weather did not cooperate. While the temp reading said 61, it felt like 45. (Got nicer later towards the evening.)
2) M needs to do better with pick plays on D. I don't have the actual stats, but it felt like at least 5 goals game directly after an M defender just allowed the pick to take them out of the play, leaving the attackman 1v1 with Taylor.
3) Taylor, as you mentioned, did not have a great game. He got beat on high-to-high shots in the 1st Q that, honestly, just shouldn't have been goals at this level.
4) On a positive note, M's first 2 goals game on Man Up plays that were very nifty quick-passing / slipping into space set pieces. Found that very encouraging.
5) To back you up, the UVA goalie made some incredible saves. In particular, at 2 different points in the game, M was mounting runs to get back in the game (2 goals to pull things into a 4 or 5 goal deficit early, then later in the 2nd I think we scored 3 in a row to bring things into striking distance) and that dude just stoned point blank shots.
6) I don't know about UVa being punks, as I thought M (#16??) kind of lost his mind very early in the game, getting into with almost the entire UVA defense. Things just kind of progressed from there with lots of chirping on both sides. That said, I sat with the UVA parents (pretty much), so I didn't really hear much negative from the crowd either way.
Username checks out. :-)
I'm just baffled that they (NCAA, schools) are OK burning money in pit like this. You're literally throwing away 100s of thousands of dollars every year by putting games on at neutral sites. And it's not just the gate, obviously, it's all the concessions and gear they could be selling.
Another issue, and this is more from a recruiting standpoint, is that you are not putting your best foot forward as a sport with these lame 1/4 full venues. College hockey's home crowds are notoriously loud and knowledgeable. It's part of what makes the game so special. Yet, by the time fans are tuning in on TV, they are seeing these weird playoff games with almost zero buzz in the building.
Due to proximity (MD resident), the fact that it's going to be 65 degrees and some friends' ties to VA... I'm actually going to be at this game.
I can be your first away correspondent!
(And, no B1G and NCAA, I'm not filming the Wahoo sidelines!)
This is a goofball post. I love it.
I was at a Lions watch party here in MD... Dude is a lifelong fan and he's from Bethesda freakin' Maryland. I still marvel that the dude CHOSE this life... Anyways, I wore my 2024 Rose Bowl shirt and got a lot of great commments.
But what amazed me is that there MI fans out there that don't live and breath this site. Whole room full of dudes and none were aware of MGoBlog.
Stunning. This site breaths live into the sport for me. Thank you to the OP and to Brian and to everyone that makes this place so special. I'm getting old and really didn't think this was ever going to happen.
I've been randomly smiling like a crazy person since we beat PSU way back when. What a ride.
That dude went to my high school.
Might get some crap for this, but I actually kind of like the idea of breaking up the post game into two days. Take your damn time, Brian. I love knowing I've got excellent content to read tomorrow. (And in this season, it would've taken some of the doldrums produced when Opponent Watch was put on the shelf.)
Which, in hindsight, almost wish he'd recovered it in the endzone. HOWEVAH... what I was much more worried about in the moment was AL recovering said muff. As has been said here and elsewhere, that would've been the most MI nightmare fuel way to lose a game since... I dunno, Stewart to Westbrook?
Recency bias is crazy on this. Freshman year JJ, backing up Cade... Y'all forgetting some of the absolutely bananas throws he attempted?? This year, for the most part, he's been pretty flawless. But even last year there was chatter about him needing to step up in his decision making for M to be successful.
Talking about a freshman at UCLA having issues... Like, yeah, of course he did.
I'm happy to live with a healthy dose of dislike for OSU, their AD and its coaches. And I'll admit that in my youth, I would extend that to the players.
But, yes, with time comes some wisdom. And "hating" a 20 year old kid* is next level unhealthy and detached from reality.
* I have "kids" older than most of the players... They are kids to me.
I'm actually a little choked up typing this.. The fact that the team rallied around this moment, ripping off 10 straight points, just shows the love this team has for one another.
#Bet #GoBlue
I love how he and Jesse seem to be so close, too.
I'm getting old. I've seen a lot of stuff. These last 3 seasons have made a lot of very dark periods fade into the distant past.
Thank you Sherrone, all of the coaches, and most importantly this special group of young men. You don't win today without a culture of excellence, and that's VERY difficult to create and maintain.
As a MD resident, can confirm. It's especially prevalent "by the oh-shun" or "or on the bay" or "out on the shore". The variant I like to use is with grapefruit instead of crushed orange. The ladies like to replace Sprite with club soda and I have to admit, that can take the sweetness level down multiple notches.
But, yeah, Crushes at The Starboard are a thing (even though Dewey is in Delaware, most Marylanders claim it as their own.)
The pretty obvious (to me) answer is that some number of coaches were aware that something was up with Stalions. To what extent, we may never know, but eating the suspension quiets that story considerably.
That said, I would not be surprised if a few coaches are asked to leave the program over this.
This is the answer. I've seen multiple insiders say the two parties are talking to avoid going to court on Friday.
The parking at Metro lots is free on the weekends.
KG play ranks up with Mikey's batted down pass last year.
Bet. Go Blue... and B1G... Fuck you.
Other teams walking right into the fucking around and finding out trap.
Yeah, this is one of the only times I've felt like I had something worthy of posting a separate thread about... I guess I don't have enough points to start a thread? Possible I'm just missing something.
I very rarely trot this out and I mostly lurk here, but... I have a very reliable source that says MI very specifically leaked this story to Thamel, just to see what he would do with the information.
The silence from him/ESPN on the recently leaked information about other schools sharing signals is deafening.
I very rarely trot this out and I mostly lurk here, but... I have a very reliable source that says MI very specifically leaked this story to Thamel, just to see what he would do with the information.
The silence from him/ESPN on the recently leaked information about other schools sharing information is deafening.
Mostly a lurker, but love your stuff bronx.
The angle that seems to be most routinely missed or ignored that is driving me crazy: There has been a smattering of reports that MI was particularly good at decoding signs going back AT LEAST A YEAR.
So, really, at this point, trying to claim MI was gaining an advantage on B1G teams with sign stealing seems ludicrous. What's the reasoning? These opponents, who have been told to switch their signs by their coaching colleagues are just ignoring the issue?
So, these opponents are just negligent? Lazy? MSU knew they had to switch their signs up and we all saw that result. OSU was pretty sure something was going on last year and yet, somehow, we gained some huge advantage from sign stealing.
It makes ZERO logical sense.
This... all of it. I, too, am old enough to have grown up during the Bo-Woody years and the 97 run was absolutely glorious. And, yeah, maybe it was turmoil and utter defeated feeling under much of the RR/Hoke years that make this run feel sweeter.
But there's really no arguing your point in terms of longevity, at this level... Going into Y3 of this run and this sure seems like the most "professional" and competent team, if only on the margins.
It's great, to be...
I have no ill will towards Fitzgerald or NW... In fact, I grew up in the era where NW didn't win a game for 3 or 4 years. Bimbo's used to have a live band and you could request B1G fight songs and me and my buddies got a kick out of requesting the NW song and no one knew what the heck was playing.
All that said, I'm pretty shocked that NW hasn't fired him already. I know we get angry with UM's administration for making it hard for the athletics program at times with admissions and a general (seeming) antipathy for the sports culture... NW is that on steroids. There's no scenario where, if these allegations are true, Fitzgerald should be able to get past this. He either knew or he didn't... both are incredibly bad looks.
=-=-=-=-=-=
Um. The locker room monitor position? Who the hell wants to take that job. Jeepers.
BTW, nice to see The Earle is still alive and kicking. My mom worked back of the house (mostly) while she worked her way through grad school land I spent a lot of time there and got a lot of great leftovers as a result.
I know there's a heavy focus on eateries here, but I grew up in Ann Arbor and we had free run of the downtown area as 12 year olds:
Focus, Double Focus... And, hoo boy, when Simulation Station showed up on the scene, we went nuts.
Had to scrounge around for recyclable bottles and cans to fund our habit, but it was well worth it.
=-=-==
This is kind of esoteric, but being able to just walk onto the field and play pick-up tag football and kick field goals at the Stadium was REALLY cool.
Oh hell yeah... Many birthday parties at that joint. I seem to recall their version of the birthday song was accompanied by a big bass drum.
They sponsored my youth hockey team one year, then I got switched to the ACE Hardware team.
Co-sign.
I love the idea that Twitter opinions being stupid somehow invalidates the opinions of those of us who know what we're looking at. I have nothing to do with Twitter, yet I'm not all that psyched about GGG coming back.
I've been following and analyzing US soccer since the late 80s. (Yes, I'm old.) I'm not objective (I'm a fan), but I sure can look at talent and the overall set-up of a squad and provide a critique. GGG all too often constructs rosters that leave much more talented guys off with MLS pluggers taking their place. It's not all that complicated.
And the analysis that we were a few bounces away from playing ARG in the quarterfinals is pretty close to disqualifying in terms of its simplicity. What many don't seem to grasp is that because the US roster lacked quality backups AND the trust of the manager, our midfield was completely gassed by the time we played NED. Our high press style runs our front 7-8 into the ground. You have to play your bench in the group stage so that you can compete in the knockout stages.
That's 100 percent on the manager, yet it barely gets talked about by the "experts" who talk about our performance at the WC.
That last paragraph, to me, points to something else going on beyond 5-3 record. Especially when you pretty much need to wipe out last year, dude was barely given a shot.
I missed 2019, but have been in two other years (I live in the area) and MD fans are about as apathetic as it comes. Which I find pleasant because MI fans are about 50-50 in attendance so if you squint enough it feels like a home game.
FFS, the band played hail to the victors after the teams left the warm up session. I don't know if they still do that for every team, but I was, like... Maybe don't play the opposing teams fight song?
On the flip side, if you ever want to watch MI on the road in a completely benign and pleasant atmosphere, join me in College Park. The fans just don't really care about the game and they are all very nice to hang out with.
One area the media is doing a really bad job on:
There is mounting evidence that even asymptomatic carriers are seeing damage to their heart and lung tissue.
Everyone keeps saying these students aren't seeing any effects... That's just not true, they just don't know it yet.
I moved from Ann Arbor to Bethesda right before high school. That school was named after Walter Johnson, for reasons that remain unclear. The mascot was a Spartan and the colors were MSU green and white. (stand up, sit down, fight fight fight.)
I got over wearing green really f'ing quick.
I will say this, though, I really try not to wear either of those colors on game days.
Anyone know what had Juwan so worked up? I was paying about 60 percent attention during EYLT and missed it.
As someone that often wears a ball cap to sporting events, I'm going with "snatching off and replacing cap in disbelief/bemusement."
Either way, solid f'ing catch... Love stuff like that!
Well, knock me over with a feather, a guy that's known for being a traditionalist... Who by many accounts left college basketball because of the overall change in culture (one and done/focus on getting to the NBA)... A guy getting up there in years...
Shocked to hear it's not going well in the NBA for him. I wish him well, but this is possibly the least surprising development in recent MI-related sports news.
Oh, that's gonna happen. My two kids in college now, but we hit Disney and Universal on 3 separate trips.
The OP is right in terms of this being the worst time to go. But he also wasn't really giving you theme park tips. One of the best investments you can make is to actually stay on property. Not just from a proximity stand point, you get into the parks early, which allows you to ride the more crowded attractions before the place fills up AND if you're really on your game, it allows you to get fast passes for other rides before they become insane (getting a fast pass first thing in the morning for the busiest rides will get you on the ride around lunch or so.)
Co-sign on this being a remarkably bad overall broadcast. There were multiple plays that warranted a replay and they are so busy pushing whatever narrative they want to jam on the viewer, they simply can't be bothered.
Back in the day, when a broadcast missed a play, they'd come back from a break, apologize, and show multiple replays.
These jokers barely even acknowledged that the play happened. Truly bizarre.
…
Oh man, this was glorious.
Exsanguination. That's some serious shit right there.
Thanks for your awesomeness, I know I speak for a ton of people when I say this is one of the highlights of the Mgo football experience.
Anyone talking about Rudolph initiating is being ignorant (maybe willfully so) of the context of that play. THERE WERE 5 SECONDS LEFT. Garrett had no business tackling Rudolph like that.
None. Zero. It was a garbage time play to run the clock out. It was taking a knee without going through that specific process. Garrett flipped out, probably felt disrpekted, and the rest is history.
And there is a history of charging athletes with crimes for using weaponry on the playing surface. Please Google McSorley and Ciccarelli of NHL infamy if you need a refresher.
Picking up on Steven Strasburg tipping his pitches - Absolutely, 100 percent OK.
Using any kind of technology, but specifically cameras in between the foul poles - Expressly forbidden by the league.
In writing, in the by laws. It's not some subjective "baseball unwritten rule" nonsense.
A lot of very ignorant comments in this thread. Do 3 minutes of Google "research."
I mean, they are padding their resume walking onto Kenyon's campus.
Hopkins alum here. They have had a D1-level team since before it was an NCAA sanctioned sport, so... (The MD-Hopkins rivalry in this sport goes back to pre-1900 and they've played each other well over 100 times at this point.)
Just to reiterate: They didn't get voted out because they were "too good." They got voted out after years of strife in the conference because of their enrollment size and the resources going into their athletic department. These are areas where St. Thomas started to increase over time, so it's not like the other schools just looked up and noticed an existing situation.
St. Thomas has had designs on being a D1, regional school for about 12 years now. And that's perfectly fine. But it's also perfectly fine and reasonable for the teams in their D3 conference to call them out on this stuff.
D3 schools are that classification for a reason. It's simply an unfair and unbalanced situation when one school steps outside of those parameters.
Killed it, as always. The Chris Ash tribute slideshow had me laughing for 2 minutes straight.
Sanity-saving request of BiSB: If you know you aren't going to be able to post this, please throw up a "Sorry Folks, Park's Closed..." sign or something. I don't think I'm the only one that comes here on TH/FRI refreshing a bunch.