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2011 Championship Week(s) Primer
By Mike Rutherford@CardChronicle Mar 1, 2011, 6:03am EST
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My disdain for the BCS - or, more accurately, college football's complete and utter lack of a postseason that caters to the basic principles of sport - has been pretty well documented here. It's gotten to the point where I can no longer say, with any degree of honesty, that I am a college football fan. I love the game, love the tradition, love waking up early on fall Saturdays for College Gameday, but because of the system in place I can't go above classifying myself as merely a Louisville football fan.
I haven't seen The King's Speech yet. Actual critical claim aside, if friend after friend saw this movie and reported back that it had a tremendous beginning, the most brilliant and inspiring middle of any film in cinematic history, but an end that left everyone in the theater angry and completely unfulfilled, I would not even consider ever seeing that movie, a stance every one of you would also take. This being the case, it absolutely blows my mind that the powers that be in the world of college football continue to get away with this.
When I first started playing sports at the YMCA, I would keep score in my head because I knew after the game the official would tell us that the teams had tied. I couldn't stand competition without a clear victor then, and the same can still be said today. Sure there can be lesser or moral victories for the teams that don't claim the sport's top prize, but ultimately all that extracurricular stuff we follow, the recruiting, the scheduling, the summer work-outs; it's all part of a pursuit to be that one team standing on a podium on the first Monday of April.
In college football, almost 50% of the games are completely meaningless in terms of their relation to who gets to lay claim to the title of national champion. To me, that's maddening, and it's why when Louisville's season is done, for all intents and purposes, I'm done.
The antithesis of this begins tonight when first round action will tip in the Big South and Horizon League conference tournaments.
From here on out, every single game will have some direct influence on who gets to cut down the nets five weeks from now. Maybe 16 days from today Liberty becomes the first 16 seed to ever knock off a No. 1, but maybe they only get that far because Coastal Carolina, a team which would have knocked them out in the conference title game, got upset by Gardner-Webb in tonight's tournament opener. Maybe that No. 1 seed - let's call them Duke - would have ended up winning the national championship had they drawn any other team in the field of 68 as their first round opponent.
As I said at the very beginning of the year, obtaining the sport's top prize is extremely unlikely for the vast majority of the 346 teams competing in Division I, but thank God it's not impossible. Thank God the bottom-tier RPI school that won its conference tournament gets the chance to prove itself on the sport's biggest stage, and not inside a quarter-full stadium against a team that doesn't really want to be there, in a game that, for all intents and purposes, has absolutely zero significance. Thank God when Butler beat UTEP in the first round a year ago that wasn't how their season ended.
Championship Week(s) is the fun before the fun. If filet mignon is the main course here, then char-grilled lobster tails are the appetizer. Starting tonight, we're treated to 13 days of nothing but dream-fulfilling, career-ending, win-or-turn-in-your-jersey action. All the elements that draw casual fans so completely into the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament are inherent in each and every one of the 30 conference tournaments that will take place over the course of the next two weeks.
Quite simply, it's high drama that you can't find anywhere else in sport.
Everyone loves to take their shots at ESPN, but the fact remains that each and every one of us are enormously indebted to the worldwide leader for what it does during college basketball's postseason. Between today and Selection Sunday, ESPN will air 190 conference tournament games on its family of networks. If it was possible for me to get sick of the sport, I would.
Mid and low-major D-I basketball is an acquired taste, and it's one that's especially difficult to attain when the team you love and follow plays in a conference like the Big East. So while I'm fully aware that the majority of you likely aren't interested in any of what you're about to read, allow me to say this: I don't care. This is my favorite time of the year, I'm currently smiling as I type, and this post is going to happen whether you like it or not.
For the rest of you, it's time to get briefed for Championship Week. It's a time primarily for the little guy, so focus here excludes the six major and four mini-major (A-10, WAC, MWC, C-USA) conferences.
YOUR COMPLETE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT DATES AND LOCATIONS
It's the most logical, if not exciting, jumping off point, and we all know this blog has always been rooted in practicality.
Let's go ahead and include the big boys in this one just because we can.
Conference Tournament site Dates
ACC Greensboro, N.C. March 10-13
America East Hartford, Conn. March 3-6, 12
Atlantic Sun Macon, Ga. March 2-5
Atlantic 10 Atlantic City, N.J. March 8, 11-13
Big East New York March 8-12
Big Sky TBD -- regular-season champion March 5, 8-9
Big South Campus sites (higher seeds) March 1, 3, 5
Big Ten Indianapolis March 10-13
Big 12 Kansas City, Mo. March 9-12
Big West Anaheim, Calif. March 10-12
Colonial Richmond, Va. March 4-7
Conference USA El Paso, Texas March 9-12
Horizon Campus sites (higher seeds) March 1, 4-5, 8
Ivy League No Tournament
MAAC Bridgeport, Conn. March 4-7
MAC Cleveland March 8, 10-12
MEAC Winston-Salem, N.C. March 8-12
Missouri Valley St. Louis March 3-6
Mountain West Las Vegas March 8-12
Northeast Campus sites (higher seeds) March 3, 6, 9
Ohio Valley Nashville, Tenn. March 2-5
Pac-10 Los Angeles March 9-12
Patriot Campus sites (higher seeds) March 2, 6, 11
SEC Atlanta March 10-13
Southern Chattanooga, Tenn. March 4-7
Southland Katy, Texas March 8-12
Summit Sioux Falls, S.D. March 5-8
Sun Belt Hot Springs, Ark. March 5-8
SWAC Garland, Texas March 9-12
WAC Las Vegas March 9-12
West Coast Las Vegas March 4-7
Parity in college basketball this season isn't limited to the top of the food chain. A year after Butler came within a couple of inches of the national championship, the dominant mid-major is an endangered species. For the first time in a decade and just the second time in the past 21 years, there are zero teams in the country with a perfect record in league play.
As Pat Forde tells us, the last time this happened, things got wild.
The only other time nobody in that span ran the table in conference play was 2001 -- and if that year is a guidepost for what's to come, we're on the bullet train to the cuckoo's nest come tournament time.
Of the 29 conference tournaments in 2001, 14 were not won by the top seeds. That included Iowa (7-9 league record) winning the Big Ten, Hawaii (8-8) winning the WAC, Indiana State (10-8) winning the Missouri Valley and Northwestern State (11-9) winning the Southland.
Then the Big Dance got really goofy. There were 13 first-round upsets in 32 games, still the NCAA tournament record since the field was expanded to 64 in 1985. The upset epidemic included the last 15-over-2 we've seen (Hampton over Iowa State), two 13-over-4s (Kent State over Indiana and Indiana State over Oklahoma), and the obligatory 12-over-5s (Utah State over Ohio State and Gonzaga over Virginia). A double-digit seed (No. 11 Temple) advanced to the Elite Eight, too.
If you look away for even one night this March, you're liable to miss something crazy.
EIGHT SQUADS FOR THE BUBBLE BOYS TO PULL FOR
If you're a major conference fan still with us, I'll humor you.
The crop of mid-major squads poised to head to the dance regardless of league tourney performance is fairly thin in relation to recent years, which is great news for middling squads in BCS conferences. With rare exception, a regular season champion getting knocked off is not going to result in a stolen spot this year.
Rapidly aging fans of teams that haven't done enough yet to warrant "lock" status should adopt these squads as their own for the next couple of weeks.
1. George Mason (Colonial Athletic)
The Patriots own the nation's longest winning streak (14) and a national ranking (25th in the coaches' poll). They're dancing regardless of what happens this week.
2. Old Dominion (Colonial Athletic)
For all the attention mid-major leagues like the Missouri Valley and the Mid-American get, it's been the CAA which has been the most consistent in terms of NCAA Tournament success over the past 10-15 years. A season ago it was the Monarchs who won the Colonial title and then made noise in the tournament by upsetting sixth-seeded Notre Dame in the first round. They won't need to win three games in three days in Richmond this year to get another shot to shine in the national spotlight.
3. Saint Mary's (West Coast)
The Gaels beat Richmond and Villanova on their way to the Sweet 16 in 2010, but Randy Bennett's team has been the topic of much debate in recent weeks. They lost three of four to end the regular season, but the fact that they beat St. John's and played a quality non-conference schedule (BYU, San Diego State, Vanderbilt) should be enough to get them in should they slip-up in the WCC tourney, where they are the top seed.
4. Gonzaga (West Coast)
A perennial occupant of any such list, the "down" 'Zags probably just need one win the WCC Tournament (they'll start in the semifinals) to remove any doubt about their inclusion in the field of 68.
5. Butler (Horizon League)
The 2010 national runners-up are squarely on the bubble, but their unusually weak major conference counterparts might be enough to get them in without the Horizon's auto-bid.
6. Missouri State (Missouri Valley)
The Bears just claimed their first MVC regular season title, but they have zero top 50 RPI wins and three losses to teams outside the top 100. Remember, this is a program that was left out of the dance in 2006 despite an RPI of 21, still the best ranking of any team not to make the NCAA Tournament. Maybe the committee throws them a bone if Arch Madness eats them up.
7. Wichita State (Missouri Valley)
Almost certainly on the outside looking in at the moment, but a tough loss in the MVC title game to Missouri State might be enough if none of the other bubble candidates make any noise in their respective conference tournaments.
8. Belmont (Atlantic Sun)
Definitely a long-shot, but the Bruins (27-4, 19-1) have dominated the Atlantic Sun so thoroughly that the Alabamas and Clemsons of the world should probably pull for them this week just to be safe.
EIGHT OTHER HEAVY FAVORITES
These teams may be heading into the postseason as runaway tournament favorites after dominating their league's regular season, but an upset will relegate each of them to the NIT.
Is it fair that they're occupying both this list and the one immediately preceding it? Yes, because this is my post and I say so. The Bruins' lone conference loss came to a senior-laden Lipscomb squad that they might have to face in the semifinals.
2. Oakland (Summit League)
You might as well go ahead and familiarize yourself with Oakland now, because if the Golden Grizzlies take care of business in the Summit League tourney this week they're going to be the 12/5 or 13/4 upset pick that all the "March experts" at your office hit you over the head with. They dominated the Summit (17-1) after playing perhaps the nation's toughest non-conference schedule (West Virginia, Purdue, Illinois, Michigan State, Michigan, Tennessee, Ohio State).
3. Coastal Carolina (Big South)
The Chanticleers won the Big South by three games (16-2), but may not belong in this category because, after what's happened over the past 12 days, I'm not sure they're the league favorite anymore. It was just two weeks ago when Coastal had the nation's longest winning-streak at 22 games and was knocking on the door of a top 25 ranking, but then sophomore point guard Kierre Greenwood went down with a season-ending injury, the Chanticleers were stunned by Gardner-Webb and UNC-Asheville, and the NCAA announced it was investigating the program, which is being led by former Auburn/Clemson coach Cliff Ellis. Because of the investigation, leading scorer Desmond Holloway was suspended indefinitely. No other regular season champ is heading into the postseason with more lingering issues.
4. Long Island (Northeast)
Rekindling memories of the Charles Jones era, the Blackbirds are again one of the nation's most exciting teams and won 18 of their last 19 contests to take the Northeast crown by a full three games. They're looking to go dancing for the first time since '97 when they and Jones (the nation's leading scorer) hung 91 on Villanova in a first round losing effort.
5. Bucknell (Patriot)
After a brief down period, the darlings of the middle part of the last decade are back. Sort of. This team couldn't hang with the Bettencourt/McNaughton squads, but they did post a 13-1 mark in the Patriot League, they knocked off Richmond on Jan. 2, and they'll put the fear of God into a three seed if they can first hoist the PL trophy on their home floor come March 11.
6. Fairfield (Metro Atlantic Athletic)
The MAAC has been known as Siena's conference in recent seasons, but with the Saints struggling in Mitch Buonaguro's first year, the Stags took advantage and won the league by two games. Not that they were overly convincing in doing so. Just two of Fairfield's last 13 games ended in a double-digit victory for the regular season champs. It'll be a fun conference tournament to follow (thank you, SNY), but neither this team nor any other in the field is built as well as the Siena squads of the past couple of years.
7. Long Beach State (Big West)
The 49ers, a perennial powerhouse in the Big West, have won eight straight and own a three-game advantage over Cal Poly in the league standings with just one contest to play.
Casper Ware's legit, so are those unis
8. Texas Southern (Southwestern Athletic)
The Tigers began the season 1-7, but lead the SWAC by three games with two to play. A conference tournament championship will almost certainly send them to Dayton for a "First Four" appearance.
15 PLAYERS WHO WILL BE HEARD FROM
1. Kenneth Faried (Morehead State/Ohio Valley)
Despite standing just 6-7, Faried broke Tim Duncan's career-rebounding record on Feb. 19 and figures to hear his name called in the first round of this summer's NBA Draft because of his unbelievable knack for getting to the ball. The shoe-in for OVC Player of the Year is averaging an astounding 14.4 rebounds per game to go with a career-best 17.6 ppg.
2. Charles Jenkins (Hofstra/Colonial Athletic)
In a move that was anything but ordinary, Jenkins, the reigning CAA Player of the Year and Hofstra's all-time leading scorer (2,441 career points), had his jersey retired on Senior Day over the weekend. Jenkins is the mid-major Jimmer Fredette, complete with the cult following. If you get the chance to see him put the ball in the basket this week (the Pride are the No. 3 seed in the CAA), you'll understand why.
3. Norris Cole (Cleveland State/Horizon League)
The senior guard, who sports one of the nation's best haircuts, was not only named the Horizon's Player of the Year, but also the league's top defender. He averaged 21.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.2 steals per game. On Feb. 12 he scored 41 points, grabbed 20 rebounds and handed out nine assists in a seven-point victory over Youngstown State. Cole and the third-seeded Vikings are in action tonight against No. 10 Illinois-Chicago.
4. Keith Benson (Oakland/Summit League)
Benson is the nation's second-leading shot-blocker at 3.8 per game, and also averages a double-double (17.7/10.2) for the top-seeded Golden Grizzlies. And he's not just doing it against mid-major competition. Of Benson's 16 double-doubles this season, four came against Purdue, Michigan State, West Virginia and Tennessee.
5. Steven Gray (Gonzaga/West Coast)
He hasn't received nearly the attention of other Gonzaga stars in recent memory, but the highly-talented Gray (14.1 pts/4.0 ast) is easily the biggest reason the 'Zags are headed to the NCAA Tournament for the 12th straight year.
6. Andrew Goudelock (Charleston/Southern)
The senior guard has been a star at Charleston for four seasons and is the main reason the Cougars are a division champ in the SoCon and Bobby Cremins has a terrific shot at making it back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996. Top competition has brought out the best in Goudelock, who claimed the school's all-time leading scorer title earlier this season. In four games against teams from BCS conferences he averaged 26.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
7. Cam Long (George Mason/Colonial Athletic)
If you watch even an average amount of college basketball over the next two weeks, you're going to get sick of the line: "Who's going to be the next George Mason? Maybe George Mason." A big reason for that well-shared position is Long, who is destined to finish as the runner-up to Jenkins for the CAA's top honor, but might be the better pro prospect. The senior is averaging 15.1 ppg and shooting just a touch under 50% from behind the three-point line.
8. Mike Muscala (Bucknell/Patriot League)
Muscala pulled off a bit of an upset Monday, edging out Lehigh's C.J. McCollum (the conference's leading scorer and reigning POY) for Patriot League Player of the Year honors. Muscala leads the top-seeded Bison in scoring (14.9), rebounding (7.4), blocked shots (1.9) and field-goal percentage (.517). A showdown with McCollum and Lehigh likely looms in the Patriot semifinals.
9. D. J. Cooper (Ohio/Mid-American)
Behind then-freshman point guard Cooper, the Bobcats made an improbable run to a MAC title last year, and then shocked No. 3 Georgetown in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a runaway 97-83 victory. Cooper scored 23 points in both the league title game and the win over the Hoyas, burying 5-of-8 three-point attempts in the latter performance. He's averaging a healthy 16.7 ppg as a sophomore, but should be more known for being second in the country in assists at 7.5 dimes per game.
10. William Mosley (Northwestern State/Southland)
The nation's leading shot-blocker by more than one rejection per contest, Mosley has swatted 10 or more shots on three separate occasions for the Demons.
11. Shelvin Mack (Butler/Horizon)
With Butler in danger of suffering the embarrassing distinction of playing in the NIT a year after their miraculous run to the national championship game, Mack put the team on his back and was the catalyst of a seven-game win streak to end the regular season. In his junior season, the Lexington (Ky.) native is averaging 15.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, and 3.7 apg.
12. Anatoly Bose (Nicholls State/Southland)
Raised on a farm in Kazakhstan and then in a beach-town suburb of Sydney, Australia, Bose has turned himself into one of the most prolific scorers in the country. The senior guard is the Southland's leading scorer (21.9 ppg), and dropped 37 in a loss at Oklahoma State earlier this year.
13. Donald Sims (Appalachian State/Southern)
Sims is averaging over 20 points per game (21.3 ppg) for the second year in a row, and heads into his final SoCon Tournament hoping to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
14. Orlando Johnson (UC-Santa Barbara/Big West)
Johnson has scored in double figures in each one of the Gauchos' 27 games this season, and has eclipsed the 30-point mark four times. Santa Barbara will look to defend its Big West crown starting next week.
15. Devon Beitzel (Northern Colorado/Big Sky)
Beitzel leads the Big Sky in scoring at 20.4 ppg, and has the Bears on the verge of their first conference title.
FIVE MORE JUST BECAUSE I CAN
Ryan Rossiter (Siena/Metro Atlantic Athletic)
C.J. McCollum (Lehigh/Patriot League)
Kyle Weems (Missouri State/Missouri Valley)
Xavier Silas (Northern Illinois/Mid-American)
Kareem Maddox (Princeton/Ivy League)
FIVE TITLE GAMES YOU WANT TO HAPPEN
1. Murray State vs. Morehead State (Ohio Valley)
A potential rubber match between the league's last two champions and two teams that are obviously the class of the league again in 2011. Plus, Kenneth Faried, dude.
2. Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary's (West Coast)
It was in contention before, but the last couple of years have solidified this as the best rivalry in mid-major basketball.
3. Missouri State vs. Wichita State (Missouri Valley)
Anyone who watched the de facto regular season championship game between these two on Saturday wants to see a rematch on March 6.
4. George Mason vs. Old Dominion (Colonial Athletic)
Probably the two best mid-major teams in the country. Either one is fully capable of making it out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
5. Harvard vs. Princeton (Ivy League)
Sure, the league doesn't actually have a tournament, but these two teams (at 10-2 and 10-1, respectively) are the only ones with a shot at capturing the Ivy's auto-bid. Princeton won the first meeting in early February, but the rematch is this Saturday in Cambridge.
FIVE CRAZY COMPETITIVE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS
Parity reigns supreme and should make for some tremendous games in each of these leagues.
1. Mid-American
Much has been made about the demise of the once mighty MAC, but you can't say the league lacks parity. With all teams in the conference having played at least 14 games, no one has more than ten wins. All six teams in the East division have records of at least .500.
2. Metro Atlantic Athletic
The bottom three are abysmal, but outside of that the league is wide-open. Fairfield's record is a gaudy 23-6, but the Stags haven't been blowing their competition away. Two-time defending champ Siena is the No. 7 seed and will play on the tournament's first day, but the Saints still have a bit of swag and are more than capable of making a run.
3. Southern Conference
The SoCon also made this list a year ago and then promptly delivered a tournament featuring one game that was decided by fewer than ten points. Still, 7 of the 12 teams in the conference won 10 or more games, and there were ties atop each of the two divisions at the end of the regular season.
4. Missouri Valley
The king of mid-major basketball tournaments will undoubtedly deliver again in 2011. No one in the league won fewer than four games, and five teams posted double-digit victories.
Cuonzo Martin showing the mild amount of passion that comes with MVC basketball
5. MEAC
Bethune-Cookman will be your surprising regular season champion, but two-time defending tourney winner Morgan State and two others are right behind with matching 10-5 league marks.
FIVE LESS-EXCITING CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS
There's been a growing trend in recent years of leagues starting their regular season champions, or top two seeds, in the semifinals of the postseason tournament. It makes sense in that it adequately rewards regular season performance and gives the league its best shot to be well-represented in the NCAA Tournament, but it's like, not as fun.
It's not a coincidence that two of the first league's to employ this set-up (Horizon/West Coast) just happen to include the two biggest names in mid-major basketball (Butler/Gonzaga). You don't send your #3 dog to Westminster.
Here are five conference tournaments that hope the prince cheats on Cinderella in ten years:
1. Big Sky
Not only does the Big Sky automatically place its top two seeds in the semifinals, but it only includes six teams in the whole tournament. A conference tournament that has as many total games as a first round baseball playoff series is un-American. I said it.
2. Horizon League
The Horizon has been utilizing this practice for a few seasons, but three years ago they stepped it up (down?) a notch. Now the top two seeds get an automatic bye into the semifinals, while the other eight teams have to win four games in four days if they want to dance. Cleveland State actually tied for the regular season title, but because of the tiebreaker they now have to win two games just to get to the semifinals where Milwaukee and Butler are already resting comfortably. The Vikings did, however, pull off the four wins in four days feat in 2009.
3. West Coast
Gonzaga and St. Mary's will both begin league play in the semifinals, again making this the easiest championship game to predict in the history of college basketball.
4. Big West
The Big West gives its top two seeds a bye into the semifinals, but it's also one of the few leagues that employs the NHL style of having the highest remaining seed play the lowest remaining seed in each round. Smart? Sure. Annoying as hell for fans of postseason college basketball? You bet.
What have we learned so far? Conference tournaments west of the Mississippi are infinitely lamer than conference tournaments east of the Mississippi. The Big East has four games for three straight days. THREE STRAIGHT DAYS OF FOUR GAMES.
Grow up, left coast.
5. Ivy League
Say what you will about the other four, but at least they have tournaments. Also, studying: not cool.
Bonus Crappy Tournament: Ohio Valley
Giving its top two teams an auto-bye to the semis for the first time in 2011. This is me judging you.
FIVE TEAMS EVEN THOSE WHO STOPPED READING AN HOUR AGO SHOULD WATCH
This team is far more skilled than the vast majority of mid-to-low major teams you'll see over the course of the next two weeks. I'm telling you, the guy you hate at work who thinks he should be on Around the Horn will spend literally 85% of his time at work during the Monday-Wednesday before the tournament talking about how this team is going to "shock the world."
2. VMI (Big South)
Once again, your top-scoring team in the nation. If they can get past perennial powerhouse Winthrop tonight, don't be surprised if they pull the upset over top-seeded, but reeling Coastal Carolina on Wednesday night. That game will be on ESPNU.
3. Hofstra (Colonial Athletic)
Charles Jenkins.
They aren't quite the LIU Brooklyn of the late-'90s, but they're close, and they might actually be better. The Blackbirds have scored more than 80 points in 13 of their last 14 games.
5. Chattanooga (Southern)
Georgetown transfer Omar Wattad leads the second-highest three-point barrage in the nation.
TEN POTENTIAL NON-TOP SEEDS WHO COULD GO DANCING
1. Boston (America East)
The Terriers ended the regular season on an eight-game winning streak and swept the season series with league champ Vermont. BU won in overtime at "The House of Pan and Freezin' Rain" in Saturday's regular season-finale.
2. Weber State (Big Sky)
Weber's won eight straight conference games heading into Saturday's finale against Eastern Washington. The Wildcats were upset in the Big Sky title game a year ago by Montana.
The Keydets are always a tough out in the Big South tourney, and head into the postseason winners of their last five league games. They won at their first round opponent, Winthrop, on Saturday, and would likely face a struggling Coastal Carolina in the semifinals They defeated second-seeded Liberty by 10 on Feb. 15.
George Mason and Old Dominion may be the two mid-majors most likely to do damage in the NCAA Tournament, but the Pride are playing as well as any team in the conference and can lay claim to the league's best scorer.
5. Ohio (Mid-American)
They're getting hot at the right time for the second year in a row. The Bobcats are winners of four straight and six of their last seven, a span which includes an overtime victory at East division-leading Kent State. No team in the MAC is more talented, and Ohio has the advantage of knowing they won this tournament a year ago from the eight hole.
6. Robert Morris (Northeast)
The defending champs should've knocked off Villanova in the first round of the dance a last year. RMU won its last six regular season games and will open the NEC Tournament against a Wagner team it just defeated by 17.
7. Morehead State (Ohio Valley)
Kenneth Faried, dude.
8. Stephen F. Austin (Southland)
The Lumberjacks have lost once since Feb. 2, and that was to West division-leading Texas State in overtime.
9. Alabama State (SWAC)
The Hornets were 3-6 in the league before their current seven-game winning streak started. They just waxed conference-leading Texas Southern by 12.
10. Oral Roberts (Summit League)
Oakland has owned the league this year, but the Golden Eagles still feel like this is their tournament. They've also won eight straight.
FIVE MORE BECAUSE, YEAH, I STILL CAN
American (Patriot League)
Lipscomb (Atlantic Sun)
Wofford (Southern)
Cleveland State (Horizon)
Quinnipiac (Northeast)
And there you have it.
If you didn't read every word, you know the drill...KFC Famous Bowl for lunch. It's a punishment, but you're also supporting the community. Yeah, not reading every word of a championship week preview on a blog aimed directly at Louisville Cardinal fans is akin to dealing a small amount of marijuana.
Wednesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes The start of the Jeff Brohm era inches nearer.
Joe Crocker Signs With Louisville Football


(18 January 2019, Hong Kong) The Murray, Hong Kong, a Niccolo Hotel, is excited to partner with Art Basel Hong Kong for a second consecutive year. Scheduled to take place from 29 to 31 March 2019 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the seventh edition of the international art fair will once again present diverse and outstanding works from regional galleries and artists, attracting media and collectors from around the globe.
As a prelude to the main event, rooftop restaurant and bar, Popinjays will host "A Masquerade of Art" dinner on 22 March from 7pm. Comprising four-courses, menu highlights include Foie Gras Terrine and Smoked Eel as well as Ink Risotto with Obsiblue Shrimps.
During this exclusive dinner, guests will be transported to a dream-like space surrounded by artwork by KAWS, the renowned American graffiti artist. Diners will also enjoy live performance which explores expressionism, movement and authenticity. Titled "She Stirs", the conceptual dance is by Kate March and Siobhan Dumigan of I AM – a passionate and powerful all female collective based in Hong Kong and New York City with projects all over the globe.
This artistic gastronomic experience is priced at HKD 1,900 per guest with wine pairing option is also available for an additional cost of HKD 500 and features premium wines from Margaret River's Leeuwin Estate.
Further details on The Murray, Hong Kong are available at niccolohotels.com.


text:
Examining A's starting rotation possibilities for playoffs
/ by Jessica Kleinschmidt
The A's secured a playoff spot and are polishing their AL West crown after taking it away from the Houston Astros.
So, now what?
With the playoff bubble in sight, one important question remains: What will the A's playoff rotation look like?
For the first time in a long time, A's manager Bob Melvin has plenty of options, led by Chris Bassitt.
Yep, Chris Bassitt.
The guy has come such a long way and has become the A's No. 1 starter without even realizing it.
He's able to fool hitters with an exceptional curveball he executes quickly after throwing an explosive fastball. Those two electric pitches coupled with his unique delivery have led to an impressive 2020 season.
Chris Bassitt, Nice 69mph Curveball. 👍♋
A man who knows what he wants. pic.twitter.com/QdhB83KTYh
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 12, 2020
With a 2.57 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 56 innings (10 starts), Bassitt admitted he's OK with whatever role he's given. He proved last season he could come out of the bullpen if needed when former closer Blake Treinen's season ended early due to a back injury.
Beyond him, there's Jesús Luzardo who, scheduling, and matchup permitting, could be the second starter of the American League Wild Card Series.
Luzardo got a late start to the season after he tested positive for coronavirus heading into Summer Camp, but ended up pitching well after transitioning from the bullpen. He's currently boasting a 3.86 ERA and 1.132 WHIP.
After Bassitt and Luzardo things get a little interesting.
Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea are essential … if they can be the pitchers they've shown they can be in the past.
Montas was a highly-touted starter heading into spring training and was in the preseason discussion for the AL Cy Young Award. But Montas has struggled this season, going 3-5 while posting a 6.32 ERA in 10 starts.
As for Manaea, he's had a so-so season, going 4-3 with a 4.50 ERA. However, having a lefty in the rotation could be important if they plan on facing the Los Angeles Dodgers' scary lineup further down the road.
It would also create a beautiful storyline for Manaea who is desperate to come back from a heartbreaking loss in last year's AL Wild Card Game to the Tampa Bay Rays. He wants to prove he can do it.
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Mike Fiers' veteran status is a bonus and he certainly has seen his fair share of postseason action. He doesn't have sexy velocity, but his secondary pitches have kept him employed for a decade, and if you really look at it, opposing batters aren't hitting the ball that hard off of him.
We're still unsure how the A's could utilize Mike Minor who was acquired around the trade deadline. He too said he's open to any role both as a starter and out of the pen.
Melvin didn't appear to make any decisions about his postseason pitching possibilities following Wednesday's 6-2 win over the Dodgers. He was asked specifically about Manaea who had started on the mound in the win.
"We'll probably talk about it next week when we get home and talk about who our starters are, but [Manaea's] pitched extremely well after a slow start, which you almost expect out of him," Melvin said. "He's put himself in a position to do whatever we need him to do."
RELATED: Jonah Heim says family support is unbelievable
Melvin does have options, and even if some of those options can't go deep into the game, the bullpen is fantastic. The unit had a 2.42 ERA heading into Wednesday night's game.
With an expanded playoffs and no AL Wild Card Game -- which the A's have struggled in -- Oakland has a chance to make something special happen in October.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Marchionne helped stoke speculation about Jeep's future by saying FCA could spin off more divisions like it did with its Ferrari supercar unit.
DETROIT/MILAN -- While automakers around the world covet Jeep for its strong growth and fat profits, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles sees potential for much more, banking on the rugged brand to vie with global giants like Toyota, Volkswagen and Ford.
FCA is forecasting Jeep's annual sales to jump about 30 percent next year to 2 million vehicles and predicts the brand could eventually deliver 7 million units a year as appetite for SUVs surges worldwide, CEO Sergio Marchionne has told analysts. That would continue impressive growth for what was once a niche offroad brand, with little more than 300,000 deliveries in 2009, when Fiat took control of Jeep as part of its acquisition of Chrysler.
Even if Marchionne has plenty of reasons to see more growth ahead for SUVs, that level of expansion would be unprecedented. Jeep would need at least one model to sell more than 1 million a year. Only the Toyota Corolla, an affordable bread-and-butter compact that's unlike anything Jeep offers, averaged that much global volume since the start of the decade, according to IHS Markit.
While Marchionne, 65, helped stoke speculation about Jeep's future by saying FCA could spin off more divisions like it did with its Ferrari supercar unit, the brand is all but untouchable, despite drawing interest from China's Great Wall Motor Co., as first reported this week by Automotive News. Jeep has emerged as a the focal point of the automaker's mass-market car plans, without which the company could scarcely attract a partner necessary to weather the disruption looming over the auto industry.
Fiat Chrysler executives are considering options including a plan to spin off the upscale Maserati and Alfa Romeo divisions and its car-components operations, according to people familiar with the discussions. The company intends to keep Jeep to anchor the mass-market car business that also includes the Dodge and Ram brands, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. A Fiat Chrysler spokesman declined to comment.
Jeep, which is valued by Morgan Stanley at 23 billion euros ($27 billion), is already being transformed into a global player. SUV production started in India this year, following new plants in China, Brazil and Italy. Marchionne sees SUVs and crossovers as potentially becoming a third of the global industry, or as much as 35 million vehicles per year. With Jeep's cache and pedigree, it could capture a fifth of that market, he said on an earnings call on July 27.
The brand's lineup will expand with the addition of the Wagoneer, Grand Wagoneer and a pickup in the coming years, joining the Renegade, Compass, Cherokee and Grand Cherokee in showrooms. To reach Marchionne's sales projection, those models would have to combine to sell about 50 percent more vehicles than what all of Fiat Chrysler delivered last year.
"It seems pretty pie-in-the-sky at this point," Richard Hilgert, an autos analyst at Morningstar, said of Marchionne's long-term projection. Still, he noted most observers were dubious years ago that Jeep could expand to 2 million in annual sales by 2018, a projection that now looks reachable.
Marchionne spoke plainly about the rationale against splitting Jeep from the rest of Fiat Chrysler on the earnings call, warning that the remainder of the company might not be healthy enough to survive.
And without a robust and global Jeep, FCA has little to offer a potential partner, which would be needed to address strategic weaknesses. The automaker has the least fuel-efficient fleet in the U.S., and it's poured less investment into technology like autonomous driving than bigger rivals.
Spinning off Maserati, Alfa Romeo and parts divisions including Magneti Marelli, Teksid and Comau probably would help toward Fiat Chrysler's goal to eliminate 4.2 billion euros in debt by the end of next year. The luxury-car operations could be worth as much as 7 billion euros, while the components businesses may fetch up to 5 billion euros, analysts estimate.
Fiat Chrysler's shares listed in both U.S. and Italy each closed at record highs Wednesday. The rise continued Thursday in Milan with Fiat gaining as much as 5.9 percent, giving it a market value of 18.8 billion euros.
The deal speculation surrounding Fiat Chrysler has more investors realizing that the company is "exceedingly undervalued," Hilgert said. The Milan-listed shares are still among the cheapest in the Stoxx 600 Automobiles & Parts index.
"Now we're starting to see the valuation perk up a bit and getting some interest," Hilgert said. "There are some valuable assets in this organization after all."


text:
The Truth Behind Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page Offering Cocaine Has Been Revealed
Enes K.
Last week, late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham's son Jason John Bonham had a recent interview with Howard Stern's SiriusXM and revealed that Jimmy Page gave him cocaine when he was 16.
"Jimmy was the first one to ever give it to me. We got called to his room.
I was 16 at this point, and there was a woman on the floor with a collar on, meowing, and he had this grinder thing and he turned it over and he went, 'Here you go,' and I went, 'Thanks."
Before you continue, you can click here to read the article.
Today, John Bonham shared a recent statement on his web site and apologized Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page.
Here's his statement:
"On or about 9 April 2019 I, Jason Bonham, gave an interview on the radio with Howard Stern. In that interview, I made certain untrue and derogatory statements concerning Mr. James Page of the legendary band Led Zeppelin.
I unconditionally retract all derogatory and defamatory comments relating to Mr. J Page that I made in that interview. In particular, it is wholly untrue that Mr. J Page offered me any illegal substances either when I was a minor or at all.
I apologize to Mr. Page, unreservedly, for making these unfounded and untrue comments about him.
Out of my long-held respect for Mr. Page I will make no further comments on the interview and I agree to make no further comments which Mr. Page might view as disparaging, either now or in the future."
Click here for the source.
Jimmy Page News
Led Zeppelin News
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Hi there! If you have any questions or tips, don't hesitate to send feedback to me: enes@metalheadzone.com


2. NS3 has RAM requirement so please make sure you have at least 2G memory.
Just a heads up, the dependency "python2-pygraphviz" should be renamed to "python2-graphviz".
First of all, like FlorianJacob said, Mercurial should be a dependency or this will not install properly. And so should pygoocanvas.
Secondly, I thought this would have given me python bindings to ns3. Does it not? Because I can not import ns or ns.core in python. It says there is no such module.
The ns3 modules are installed into /usr/lib64 which would cause problems when installing.
Also the pygccxml should suffice.
Maybe mercurial should not be an optional, but (or also) a build dependency? I got an error because it was not installed on my machine when it tried to download the sources.


text:
Graciliaria is a monotypic genus of gastropods belonging to the family Clausiliidae. The only species is Graciliaria inserta.

The species is found in Central Europe.

References

Clausiliidae

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Kaliakra Palace Hotel is situated on the first line on the beach in the heart of Golden Sands resort.
The hotel is a 7 storey building with two lifts, 200 guestrooms and suites. All bedrooms are elegantly furnished and offer bathroom, balcony, hairdryer, telephone, Satellite TV, mini bar.
- A-la-carte dinner in the Barbeque, or in the Fish Restaurant (once per stay).
- Variety of imported and local alcoholic drinks, soft drinks. They are offerd for free at the Lobby bar and 2 pool bars.
The hotel features 3 swimming pools, children swimming pool with water slides, chairs, umbrellas, sports field, children playground, outdoor massage studio, fitness, sauna, medical center, hairdresser, dentist, shops, office exchange, internet booth, animation hall.
* The prices are in euro per room per night, ultra all inclusive.
* Cancellations can be made free of charge providing details of this are received at least 10 days prior to check-in time on the day of arrival and 15 days during 15 July - 15 August 2019 - cancellations made after this period will incur a fee equivalent to the cost of two night's accommodation.
Please, post a comment on Kaliakra Palace Hotel.
- 25% discount for bookings made until 30 April 2019!


Wi-Fi is a technology that has taken a primary place in our daily lives. Before Wi-Fi, there was Bluetooth, a revolutionary technology (at the time) but was limited to only a few meters of connectivity and with a relatively poor speed. Today, a new technology appears: The Li-Fi. The Li-Fi or the 'Light Fidelity' uses … Continue reading Imagine a world where every light could connect you to the internet!


To establish our distribution, Solastape.com and T-ISS have several agents and distributors all over the world. These distributors can sullpy you with the full range of SOLAS tapes and Safety Items. Also, they are able to supply you with the range of T-ISS products. If you have interest in these, please visit the T-ISS website for more information.
It's also possible to become a distributor yourself. For this option, click the right button below.


text:
using System;
using System.Linq;

namespace SharpVk.Spirv
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Represents a single line of a SPIR-V shader file.
    /// </summary>
    public class SpirvStatement
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Create a new SPIR-V statement with the specified opcode &
        /// operand arguments.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="op">
        /// The opcode for this statement.
        /// </param>
        /// <param name="operands">
        /// The arguments for any operands of the specified opcode.
        /// </param>
        public SpirvStatement(Op op, params object[] operands)
        {
            if (operands.Any(x => x.GetType().IsArray))
            {
                throw new ArgumentException("Array passed as operand");
            }

            this.Op = op;
            this.Operands = operands;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// The Opcode for this statement.
        /// </summary>
        public Op Op
        {
            get;
            private set;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// The operands arguments for this statement.
        /// </summary>
        public object[] Operands
        {
            get;
            private set;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Returns a string representation of this statement.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>
        /// A string representation of this statement.
        /// </returns>
        public override string ToString()
        {
            return this.Op + this.Operands.Select(x => " " + this.FormatOperand(x)).Aggregate("", (x, y) => x + y);
        }

        private string FormatOperand(object operand)
        {
            if (operand.GetType() == typeof(string))
            {
                return $"\"{operand}\"";
            }
            else
            {
                return operand.ToString();
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Determines whether the specified object is equal (by value) to this
        /// instance.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="obj">
        /// The object to which to compare.
        /// </param>
        /// <returns>
        /// True if the instances are equal by value; else false.
        /// </returns>
        public override bool Equals(object obj)
        {
            var other = obj as SpirvStatement;

            if (!object.ReferenceEquals(other, null)
                    && this.Op == other.Op
                    && this.Operands.Length == other.Operands.Length)
            {
                for (int index = 0; index < this.Operands.Length; index++)
                {
                    if (!this.Operands[index].Equals(other.Operands[index]))
                    {
                        return false;
                    }
                }

                return true;
            }

            return false;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Returns a hashcode for the value of this instance.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>
        /// A 32-bit signed integer hash value.
        /// </returns>
        public override int GetHashCode()
        {
            if (!this.Operands.Any())
            {
                return this.Op.GetHashCode();
            }
            else
            {
                return this.Op.GetHashCode()
                        ^ this.Operands.Select(x => x.GetHashCode())
                                        .Aggregate((x, y) => x ^ y);
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Determines whether the specified objects are equal (by value).
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="left">
        /// The first value to compare.
        /// </param>
        /// <param name="right">
        /// The second value to compare.
        /// </param>
        /// <returns>
        /// True if the instances are equal by value; else false.
        /// </returns>
        public static bool operator ==(SpirvStatement left, SpirvStatement right)
        {
            if (object.ReferenceEquals(left, null))
            {
                return object.ReferenceEquals(right, null);
            }
            else
            {
                return left.Equals(right);
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Determines whether the specified objects are not equal (by value).
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="left">
        /// The first value to compare.
        /// </param>
        /// <param name="right">
        /// The second value to compare.
        /// </param>
        /// <returns>
        /// True if the instances are not equal by value; else false.
        /// </returns>
        public static bool operator !=(SpirvStatement left, SpirvStatement right)
        {
            return !(left == right);
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


First off, Lauren and Andy are one of the sweetest couples I've ever had the pleasure of working with. They had a ton of amazing ideas and fabulous locations for us to use. Also for this session we legit had an entourage with us, which came in super handy during the few down pours we encountered as we moved from location to location. I'm just so glad it didn't rain while we were on the cliffs. But, seriously, this session was everything I dreamed and more. These two high school sweethearts have the brightest future together and I'm so excited to watch their story continue to unfold.


Our talented and motivated alumni fellows pursue a number of exciting sustainability careers, across a variety of sectors and industries. A breakdown of our alumni network careers can be found here.
A few EDF Climate Corps alumni have shared their stories--from where they started to where they are today.
Ten years ago, Radhika Lalit was invigorated by a new sense of purpose and determination: Instead of helping people adapt to a changing climate, she was going to stop it from happening.
Having grown up in a family of gardeners it was only natural that Jess Newman would develop a love for the environment. And it wasn't long before it became her mission to protect it. Jess realized that to achieve the change she wanted, she had to work with the "movers and shakers" in the private sector. So when a position in raw materials procurement at Anheuser-Busch opened up, she knew she had found a perfect fit.
What's something you don't hear often? An environmentalist working in big oil. As a Group Carbon Opportunities Manager at Royal Dutch Shell, Tyler Van Leeuwen identifies and implements innovative ways that the company can reduce its own CO2 emissions, as well as those of its customers.


Squaro Prestige is a design object with unique character. Surface effects applied individually by hand turn each free-standing Squaro Edge 12 bath into an exclusive and unique item. A traditional manual process taking up to 32 hours for each Squaro Prestige bath is used to apply fine real wood veneers or an elegant leather look. Together with the bath's award-winning design and pleasantly warm, skin-friendly Quaryl® material, they turn the Squaro Prestige into a highly sophisticated masterpiece for your bathroom.
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Experience the highest standard of ceramic art: with Octagon. A masterpiece of precision and craftsmanship, with precise angles, unique facets and fine surfaces made from the innovative TitanCeram material.


text:
Home Featured Stories Jaindl-Watson's Northampton Business Center gets approval for on-site concrete batch plant
Jaindl-Watson's Northampton Business Center gets approval for on-site concrete batch plant
During the Allen Township Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, March 9, supervisors granted permission for development company Jaindl-Watson to install a temporary on-site concrete batch plant at their Northampton Business Center project. This on-site plant will allow developers to mix and pour concrete at the warehouse construction site between Howertown and Seemsville Roads.
The main reason for this request, explained Christine Sutjak of Jaindl-Watson, is to limit the development's impact on the community and decrease the number of trucks entering and exiting the site.
The plant would operate between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Approximately six to eight mixing trucks would enter the site in the morning and remain on-site throughout the day. Sutjak said 56 concrete pours would take place over 112 days. However, if the plant was moved off-site, the project would take 224 days.
Adam Kochanski, of Blue Rock Construction, added that Monday through Friday will be the typical work schedule, with weekends open in case of bad weather. The plant would be 1,000 feet away or greater from neighboring properties.
Supervisor Gary Behler said he appreciated the decrease in truck traffic, but asked whether a condition can be made that would ban the mixing trucks from going north on Seemsville Road. Instead, he wanted to see trucks travel south on Seemsville Road to Route 329, keeping them off local routes.
The number of construction vehicles on local roads was an issue addressed earlier in the evening by resident Jason Andrews of Mud Lane. He said dump trucks entering the Jaindl-Watson property were moving at "ridiculous speeds."
"Someone is going to get seriously injured or killed," he warned supervisors.
All Jaindl-Watson and Blue Rock representatives said it is possible to follow this rule and keep the concrete trucks from township roads. The request was approved by supervisors with these conditions.
In other news, supervisors and township manager Ilene Eckhart have begun preparing the township's Municipal Waste and Recycling contract for 2022. The previous contract angered some residents when it limited the number of garbage bags put out to the curb to three per week. Supervisors said they do not want to repeat this mistake and asked Eckhart to survey residents.
"Every resident should ask themselves what they put out," said Supervisor Dale Hassler. "If they put out three bags and they are happy with that, let us know. [But] if you are only putting out three bags and [choose] unlimited, that is not too smart either."
"That is an important message we have to get out to people," added Behler. "If we try to go back to unlimited that will ultimately be more money…At some point, the yearly garbage bill will go up."
Residents will soon be receiving the survey to help supervisors make this decision. The next Board of Supervisors meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 23, at 7 p.m. via Zoom.
Allen Township Board of Supervisors
Blue Rock Construction
Jaindl Watson
Jaindl-Watson Northampton Business Center
Seemsville Road
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Traditionally, herbs have been used to support the healthy function of liver, kidneys, lungs, and, blood, and for thousands of years the Chinese have used herbs to cleanse toxins from the body. Considered to be helpful in promoting clear, healthy skin, and increasing the flow of energy (Chi) to the body and mind, these herbs are also beneficial for promoting calmer, more positive and peaceful emotions.
Our Daily Detox tea formula combines 10 powerful Chinese purification herbs for superior body cleansing. Let Wellements Daily Detox teas help you make purification part of your everyday. Daily Detox's difference is steeped in every cup. We hand blend all natural whole leaf teas with fresh pure herbs.
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text:
Hugo VIII el Viejo de Lusignan o Hugo III de La Marche o Hugues VIII-le-Vieux de Lusignan fue el hijo mayor de Hugo VII y de Sarrasine o Saracena de Lezay. Se convirtió en señor de Lusignan, Couhé, y Château-Larcher y conde de La Marche a la muerte de su padre en 1151. Nació en Poitou, alrededor de 1106-1110 o en algún momento después de 1125, murió en Tierra Santa en 1165 o 1171.

Se casó en 1140/1141 con Bourgogne o Burgondie de Rançon, señora de Fontenay, hija de Godofredo o Geoffroy de Rançon, señor de Taillebourg y  su mujer Fossefie (Falsifie), señora de Moncontour, por  lo que también se convirtió en señor de Fontenay: murió el 11 de abril de 1169. En 1163 o 1164 fue en peregrinación y en la cruzada a Tierra Santa participó en la batalla de Harim, donde fue hecho prisionero.

Sus hijos fueron:
 Hugo (1141-1169), co-señor de Lusignan con su padre, se casó con una cierta Orengarde con  la que tuvo a Hugo IX de Lusignan;
 Roberto, hijo muerto en 1150;
 Amalarico II (1145-1205) rey de Chipre y Jerusalén;
 Godofredo (1149-1224) conde de Jaffa y Ascalón, señor de Mervent, Vouvent y Montcontour;
 Pedro, tal vez un sacerdote;
 Guido (1159-1194), rey de Jerusalén y Chipre.

Referencias
Sidney Painter, "The houses of Lusignan and Châtellerault, 1150-1250" in Speculum vol. 30 (1955).
Sidney Painter, "The Lords of Lusignan in the eleventh and twelfth centuries" in Speculum vol. 32 (1957).

Nacidos en el siglo XII
Fallecidos en el siglo XII
Casa de Lusignan
Nobles de Francia del siglo XII


text:
Appreciate the Music
Appreciate the Music Menu
TRYING TO RESTORe THE VALUE OF SOCIETY'S FAVORITE ART FORM
Christmas Music: Big Nostalgia, Big Business
Tis the season to be listening to Christmas music! And if holiday tunes are on your playlist, there is no shortage of options to choose from. In fact, there are so many choices, that I can't help but wonder, just why are there so many Christmas albums?
To get a feel for numbers and variety, I went to Tidal, and simply did a search for "Christmas." I scrolled through the list of hits for over 30 minutes, and didn't even scratch the surface. I'm sure I saw at least a thousand distinct albums of Christmas music, in virtually every style, instrumental combination, and recommended venue you can imagine.
Some of the styles that stood out as intriguing to me included dubstep, Motown, bluegrass, reggae, rap, 80s pop, and K-Pop. Artists like Boney M., Earth Wind and Fire, Bad Religion, The Ventures, Snoop Dogg, Twisted Sister, and Afroman stood out as artists who seemed to think making Christmas albums was a good idea.
Other compilations were designed to appeal to fans of specific instruments and ensembles. Naturally, there was plenty of orchestral, choral, and solo piano music. Some of the instruments that struck me a little odd included ukulele, pan flute, Moog synthesizer, and (my personal favorite) "sexy saxophone."
There were collections assembled for specific occasions and settings as well. Need music for Christmas dinner, an office party, "party dance" events (whatever that means), for gatherings of hipsters, or to play at the spa? We gotchya covered.
What initially intrigued me in this topic is the sheer number of successful Christmas albums released by non-Christians. Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, India.Arie, Zooey Deschanel, Snoop Dogg, and Leonard Bernstein represent Judaism, Rastafarianism, and Atheism.
In fact, interfaithfamily.com noted that in 2012, 12 of the 25 most popular Christmas songs (based on ASCAP records of sales data) were composed by Jewish songwriters. "Winter Wonderland," "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Sleigh Ride," "Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!," "White Christmas," "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," "Silver Bells," "I'll Be Home for Christmas," and "There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays" number among these songs. Most of these songs were created as part of the Tin Pan Alley tradition, the birthplace of much of the American popular music tradition.
So, the question comes back to: why? Why is recording a Christmas album (or several) such a common occurrence that this music spans so many stylistic boundaries and is even written and recorded by people who don't celebrate the holiday? Well, I suspect the answer is obvious, if a bit cynical, money.
Much of the music we hear at this time of year has passed into what is called public domain. Stanford University Library defines public domain as "creative materials that are not protected by intellectual property laws such as copyright, trademark, or patent laws. The public owns these works, not an individual author or artist. Anyone can use a public domain work without obtaining permission." (fairuse.stanford.edu) In other words, any artist can record a song in public domain, and they do not have to pay for the rights or give up any portion of the profits to a songwriter or publisher. As Jason deftly put it, "It's like printing money."
Art works fall into public domain after the copyright has expired. This can happen in several ways: a given period has passed since the death of the copyright holder (that number has changed several times over the decades, making the specifics more complex that we need to worry about), the copyright holder has deliberately placed the work in public domain, or the copyright holder has failed to follow copyright rules.
Another factor in the vast number and variety of Christmas albums, I suspect, stems from listeners' desire to hear how their favorite artists translate familiar tunes into a modern, stylistic language. Much like comparing cover songs to the original, we take a certain degree of pleasure in noting the unique features of different artists' interpretations of songs we know well. There's less "newness" that we need to process during the listening process, so we can focus our attention on what makes version X distinct from all of the other recordings we've heard over the course of our lives.
The familiarity of the music itself likely also makes the process of recording a Christmas album quicker, and therefore less expensive. If all of the musicians already know the song, creating a variation on familiar theme is easy to do.
So, ultimately, Christmas albums are inexpensive to make, fun to listen to, and tap into our sense of nostalgia. These works create a perfect reflection of modern American society.
LISTENING EXAMPLE
There was one specific Christmas album that I had been searching for. I spent years combing through bins of $5 Walmart CDs, dug through racks at Best Buy, record stores all over, without success. I was only able to obtain a copy of this album when we got Tidal, and I downloaded it to my phone for offline listening.
The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole features 18 distinct tracks, 15 of classic Christmas favorites, and three songs that strike me as last minute additions needed to fill the time, along with a spoken holiday greeting from the singer. Cole's voice makes me melt!
Given the choices of songs, largely being those in the public domain, it seems pretty safe to surmise that this album was made as a holiday cash grab (though with slightly more credibility than something like the Grumpy Cat Christmas Album released in 2014). But, nonetheless, Cole sings with such sincerity and warmth that familiar songs like "O Holy Night" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem" come off as the soundtrack of a happy childhood holiday. The dedication to technique demonstrated by Cole becomes slightly problematic in "All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)," which sort of loses its charm when song without the requisite lisp.
Suffice it to say, my Christmas has been made much more merry now that I have Nat in my collection. Hopefully, he'll have the same effect for you. In the meantime, I wish you all the happiest of holidays, and I look forward to continuing to talk about music with you in 2016.
The Concept Album in the 21st Century
So I recently heard an album that I had been curious about for quite a while: Blurryface by twenty one pilots. While I have enjoyed the two singles from that album, "Tear in My Heart" and "Stressed Out," the songs themselves were not really what had me curious about the album. What intrigued me was the fact that band were calling their recent release a concept album.
Concept albums have been around since the late 1960s. The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is often considered the first concept album, the premise of such a project being an entire album with a unifying theme, such as a consistent narrative story that is carried from one song to the next or a dominant idea that is explored throughout. The psychedelia movement brought several early classics in the genre, such as Sgt. Pepper and the Moody Blues' Days of Future Passed. And concept albums really hit their stride with the Prog Rock movement in the 1970s with groups like Yes (Fragile), The Who (Tommy and Quadrophenia), Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and The Wall), and Jethro Tull (Aqualung). The vast majority of these albums tell stories with a discrete beginning, middle, and end, and one might contend that this temporal kind of format is the best known for these types of projects. This was the sticking point that confused me with the twenty one pilots album. How can one tell a story with a specific narrative trajectory, using a medium where the typical listener plays music on a randomized setting?
I've done a lot of research on the process of story telling in other musical contexts, and one consistent factor of narrative, whether in a novel, a play, a movie, or an album is that the events occur in a specific order. The story teller, or in this case, song writer, can present that events out of their natural order (like a flashback in a TV show or movie that provides background or a flash forward meant to tease the audience), but this must be intentional and done with a design so that information is conveyed in the most compelling way. By the time we, the audience, get to the end of the story, we should be surprised, or relieved, or sad, but somehow, we must feel different when we're finished.
Modern albums are rarely consumed in the order in which they are intended. Even if we listen from a CD, players often shuffle the contents, and if we are streaming or playing mp3s, this randomizing process is almost always in effect. So, with all that in mind, what does it mean for a group in the digital age to release a concept album? How do you tell a story if all of your components are likely to be received in a random order?
I suppose the most likely solution to the problem is to reexamine the notion of a concept album from its beginnings. Of all of the albums I listed above, one in particular stands out: Yes's Fragile. What makes this work a concept album has little to do with an extra-musical storyline, but more of a song writing technique and performance constant. The drummer of the band, Bill Bruford, pitched the idea, "Why don't we do some individual things, whereby we all use the group for our own musical fantasy?"[1] Keyboardist Rick Wakeman expanded on the notion, "[We] could find out where each individual player's contribution lay."[2] In other words, the concept that unifies the Yes album is the individual members' own creative direction, their virtuosity, and their willingness to work together to envision one another's ideas. Truthfully, I don't know if such a project would even be considered a concept album if it were made today.
Anyway, back to twenty one pilots. A similar notion unifies this album: the insecurities of the lead singer and primary songwriter, Tyler Joseph. Music, its creation and performance, serve as the unifying theme for this new album, both conceptually and lyrically. The title of the album, Blurryface, refers to a fictional character of the same name, who represents Joseph's struggle to come to terms with his work in the music industry. Lyrics on the album refer to a lack of confidence in his own song writing ability: "I wish I had some better sounds no one's ever heard. I wish I had a better voice to sing some better words. I wish I found some chords in an order that is new. I wish I didn't have to rhyme every time I sang."[3]
As a way to combat his fears of being on stage, Tyler began to create a stage persona. To embody this fictional character, which he called Blurryface, he took to wearing ski masks and black makeup on his neck and hands on stage. The album, named after his alter ego, also deals with the duality that began to emerge in his professional life, as his own personality began to merge in certain aspects with the artificial one that he had created. This battle comes to the forefront in the final song on the album, "Goner," with the lyric, "I've got two faces, Blurry's the one I'm not. I need your help to take him out."
What makes this album compelling is the fact that it holds up, not only to the conceptual unity that is the hallmark of a concept album, but as a product of the twenty-first century. The songs relay different facets of a single theme, but they do not require a sequential hearing in order to convey their story. It's more like a sitcom, comprised of discrete episodes that relate to a theme, but don't require that the viewer watch them in order, rather than a drama, where missing a single airing can potentially ruin an entire season.
To me, this album almost negates its own reason for existing - but in a good way. I would be hard-pressed to compare it to any of the classic concept albums I mentioned about, but the lyrics are clever, the songs are catchy, and the premise behind the work as a whole is relatable. To explicitly identify Blurryface as a concept album automatically raises comparisons with some truly magnificent music, but taken of its own accord, I found this album to be quite enjoyable.
Let me know what you think of twenty one pilots and their album Blurryface. Does the theme benefit from listening to the songs in order, or does it matter? How does changing the order of the songs alter the listening experience? What do you think of the music itself? Does Joseph Tyler have reason to be self-conscious about him music?
[1] Hedges, Dan. Yes: An Authorized Biography (London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1982), 62.
[2] Welch, Chris. Close to the Edge: The Story of Yes (London: Omnibus Press, 2008), 117.
[3] Lyrics from the song "Stressed Out."
Time to listen: Not always easy to come by
So, as I mentioned recently, Jason and I signed up for a trial account with Tidal, the full-resolution music streaming service that offers millions of songs that can be heard at the click of a mouse. As we enter into the second week of the trial, I'm saddened to say that we haven't used it all that much.
Now, before making any harsh judgments, my fair reader, I think it only reasonable that I take a moment to explain our reasons for not using Tidal over the past week. It all boils down to one simple factor: time.
Listening is a process. I've said this many times, but listening to music and hearing music are two very different activities. We did not want to abuse the enormous catalog that Tidal offers on music that would only be heard. We want to listen. And listening takes time, effort, concentration, and focus.
This week has seen a major holiday, complete with a visit from my parents; the last week of classes at the university where I teach, and the accompanying avalanche of grading, meetings, and special projects; the approach of a major deadline for a course Jason is taking for work; and the approach of Christmas and all that entails.
We were pretty excited to show Tidal off to my parents during their visit. It was kind of fun to say, "Name a band you haven't heard in forever," and to be able to pull up their complete discography with a few clicks. I wasn't even manning the controls, and I felt a little like a musical magician, pulling musical memories out of thin air. Plus, we got to hear Spooky Tooth, so win-win!
After the folks left, Jason and I settled in for a sigh and some cocktails. That's when we did our only listening of the week (in between catching up on TV shows and Youtube subscriptions). We listened to something Jason had heard about from a friend (at least I think that's where it came from – I could ask, but he's studying, and I don't want to interrupt). A songwriter, guitarist, and DJ from England who calls himself Fink performed a concert in Amsterdam with the Royal Concertgebouw. He had heard one song from the album on Youtube, a stunning fusion of a folk-rock like song with a swelling orchestral accompaniment. We wanted to hear the rest. So we did.
The concert, and as such, the album, contains several orchestral arrangements of Fink's songs, which the artist describes as being in a style of "indie folk," "pounding blues," and "atmospheric trippery." Now add to that one of the most well-respected orchestras in Europe, and the result is quite stunning! In addition to Fink originals, the album also contains his performance of Henry Purcell's "What Power Art Thou" (from the 1691 semi-opera King Arthur) and moderns instrumental compositions by Christopher Rouse (The Infernal Machine) and Charles Ives (The Unanswered Question). All in all, it's very modernistic (yes, even with music that is over 300 years old) and powerful.
So, here's the thing. I think I'm getting over my apprehension about letting go of the physical artifacts that I have always associated with listening. As it turns out, I haven't really used them for their intended purpose in a long time. And even though we haven't had a chance to use it as much as we'd hoped, I have a feeling we will be making the transition from trial users to Tidal subscribers once our 30 days is up.
Why? Practicality more than anything. As much as I love the hunting and gathering nature if our exploration in used CD shops, the fact of the matter is that there just aren't that many of them any more. As far as we can tell, the nearest one to us is in Atlanta – a forty-five minute drive away. I'll probably still want to take a peek whenever I'm in the neighborhood, but the practice we had of buying a few CDs a month has simply become unsustainable from where we're living.
Also, from a purely financial standpoint, Tidal is a really good deal. Sure, Spotify is cheaper (truthfully, I've used Spotify for years, and I've never paid for it), but the sound quality is lacking. If I want background music while I clean the house, cook, or drive, Spotify is fine. It's particularly good for pulling up listening examples in the classroom, where sound quality is not an issue. But for intensive, critical listening, full resolution sound is totally worth $20 a month. We'd spend that much on our used CD excursions, and this way, we don't have to worry about whether or not we can find most things (there are a few things I've noticed aren't available, but that is for another day, after I've had more time to play "Stump Tidal"), and we get a lot more for our money.
Now, all we need is the ever elusive time to listen…
Seriously, check out this live recording. Fink Meets the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (2012). It's really diverse in terms as styles and moods, but it's cool. I've heard it two or three times now, and I find myself wondering about the audience for such a performance.
Just what kind of person is a fan of "indie folk," "pounding blues," "atmospheric trippery," Henry Purcell, Christopher Rouse, AND Charles Ives???? I guess I am…
Molly M. Breckling holds a Ph.D. in Historical Musicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her areas of research interest are the songs of Gustav Mahler, popular music, and music history pedagogy. Her goal is to help others listen to music more actively and to develop a greater appreciation for the music that surrounds us every day.
Listening Experience
Morning Phase


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DIAMONDROCK HOSPITALITY COMPANY ANNOUNCES TAX TREATMENT OF 2022 DIVIDENDS
DiamondRock Hospitality Company
BETHESDA, Md., Jan. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DiamondRock Hospitality Company (the "Company") (NYSE: DRH) announced the following tax treatment of the 2022 distributions to holders of the Company's common and Series A preferred stock.
per Share
(Box 1a)
(Box 1b)
(Box 5)
Series A Preferred
DRH Pr A
Shareholders are encouraged to consult with their personal tax advisors as to their specific tax treatment of the Company's distributions.
DiamondRock Hospitality Company is a self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT) that is an owner of a leading portfolio of geographically diversified hotels concentrated in leisure destinations and top gateway markets. The Company currently owns 35 premium quality hotels with over 9,600 rooms. The Company has strategically positioned its hotels to be operated both under leading global brand families as well as unique boutique hotels in the lifestyle segment. For further information on the Company and its portfolio, please visit DiamondRock Hospitality Company's website at www.drhc.com.
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Our Manufacturing Facility
Letters From The CEO
Client Advocates
2015: Year of Emerging Dominance
Armstrong Steel begins in-house fabrication in 2015
It doesn't only happen once you've died, or when it's too late to change your direction. You leave a trail of legacies on a daily basis.
As every CEO does, I've made a couple missteps along the way. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I don't think I could ask my employees to focus on the human experience our customers face if I didn't realize my own humanity. Mistakes are part of it. But my legacy isn't defined by my mistakes, it's defined by the spirit in which I made them.
But I made a promise, in writing, to my customers; I promised, basically, "If you're willing to trust us – to trust me - with your dream, your factory, your hard earned building funds, we'll give you more than you might expect, we'll go the extra mile every time." That's the legacy I'm compelled to leave – mistakes and all. That's the legacy I've got to convince Armstrong Steel's employees to leave, as well. And we don't do it by haphazardly stumbling into the future and hoping for decent memories, we do it by being mindful of it in every moment.
By insisting that everything we do in the present at Armstrong feeds into that growing legacy puts us on a trajectory to a future where we won't have to resolve to 'improve' or 'do something better' because we'll already be doing it. Armstrong is about more than selling, we're constantly improving. Not just improving our company or our service but the industry as a whole. Sometimes that means taking the lead; and that's exactly what we're doing here in Colorado, in our own backyard.
Very soon, January in fact, Armstrong's manufacturing facility here in Colorado will be open for business. We're grabbing control of the last bit of the process and we're not apologizing about making the sacrifices we needed to make to get here.
What this means is, now when I ask a customer to trust us – to trust me – I can do it with absolute license because the promise of quality and going hard through that extra mile is something Armstrong can now control all the way to the delivery of the building on site.
The years ahead will be great ones for Armstrong Steel and for the positive progress of our manufacturing facility. We aren't frightened by adversity, we flourish by it. We don't continue to thrive despite jealous competitors who insist on dragging our name through the mud, we thrive because of them. This type of behavior in the marketplace is desperate and causes a company's best assets to lose respect for the leader encouraging such nonsense, and seek out greener pastures.
We remain focused on the quality of our product and the excellence of our service, not on smearing our competitors. It's a paramount component to the Armstrong legacy. We've also toughened up – because of our competitors - we grew up fast and had to play ball in the majors a season or two before we may have been 'ready' because our competitors thought they owned the field and controlled the clock. But our agility, our eagerness, and our adaptability has made it a different ball game - and there are new rules on the field. We've lightened up – because of our customers.
Ten years ago, the nature of the steel building industry wasn't pretty. But, it's different now. The once rampant deceptive business practices of industry thugs during the age of radio advertising is no longer a sustainable model. Businesses no longer have the luxury of a one-sided conversation. We now have a consumer who can speak back and, frankly, it scares a lot of them – because of their own legacies.
Evil businesses find themselves paralyzed by their own customers' word of mouth which now travels at the speed of a 4G connection. Yet, some of these companies have elected to blame everyone but themselves for their actions – for the legacies they've created. The page has turned on that sad and bizarre chapter in the steel building industry and a new chapter is being written.
Fortunately for customers, we've never had such ample access to information as we do today and the marketplace is responding – in words online, in the way companies are now perceived, and in the way a more sophisticated and empowered buyer chooses a company to pay for a service or a product. It's exciting, if you ask me, but maybe because I'm not worried sick about whether or not my legacy is going to come and haunt me – I know it's something I've been building.
As the demand for Armstrong Steel Buildings continues to rise; as we continue to meet the demand with honesty, integrity, and transparency; as we continue with our strategy of promising to go the extra mile even when the game could easily be called, we're excited to leap into the future, we don't fret about it. So while some may wish they could hide their past, we've got nothing to be shy about – we're giving a nod to it, working the present, and excited for the future.
Thank you for being a part of it,
Ethan Chumley
Steel Building Resources
More information for people interested in a Steel Building and how Armstrong can help save them money.
Armstrong v. Competition
Compare Armstrong Steel vs The Competition here


We present experimental studies of static and dynamic properties of 0, π, and 0−π superconductor-insulator-ferromagnet-superconductor (SIFS) Josephson junctions of small and intermediate length. In the underdamped limit, these junctions exhibit a rich dynamical behavior such as resonant steps on the current-voltage characteristics. Varying the experimental conditions, zero-field steps, Fiske steps, and Shapiro steps are observed with a high resolution. A strong signature of the 0−π Josephson junction is demonstrated by measuring the critical current as a function of two components (Bx and By) of an in-plane magnetic field. The experimental observation of a half-integer zero-field step in 0−π SIFS junctions is presented.
Pfeiffer, J., Kemmler, M., Koelle, D., Kleiner, R., Goldobin, E., Weides, M., Feofanov, A.K., Lisenfeld, J., and Ustinov, A.V.


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