So far, my hockey predictions are worse than my basketball predictions. 0 for 4 last night. Just like in basketball with Duke, one of my teams in the final, Miami, got beat in the first round. Ouch.
The way to pick hockey teams at tournament time is to ask the question—how important is winning this game to my school's athletic department? This explains why the Big Ten Michigan teams usually underperform—they are MUCH more concerned about their basketball teams.
The main reason Herb Brooks won three NCAA championships at Minnesota in only six seasons is because Brooks made hockey IMPORTANT. I was at that 1976 semifinal game in Denver between BU and the Gophers. I have NEVER experienced such intensity at an athletic event before or since—I now understand why the playing field at Aztec stadium in Mexico City is surrounded by a MOAT because they do this sort of enthusiasm on a regular basis.
And sure enough, there was a bench-clearing brawl about two minutes in that required an hour to sort out. This wasn't NHL pro rasslin'—this was a freaking war between east and west, between an all-USA team and one with a bunch of Hosers who thought USA players were easily intimidated wimps, between a Catholic school and a relentlessly secular land-grant University, between dump and chase and Tarasov creativity. Both teams could have been easily disqualified but since Brooks teams were notorious for NOT fighting even when provoked, they decided to play the game after tossing out the instigators. Minnesota won—it wasn't even close. Tarasov hockey usually wins, after all, especially when it cannot be intimidated by a one-hour brawl.
I'm definitely going to have to come up with a better selection strategy. After the first round, only one of my Frozen Four picks remains, and they may be eliminated this afternoon.
I'm sorry I missed the golden days of Gopher hockey.
One note, though. BU was a Methodist-sponsored school. BC is the Jesuit-run school. Both are extremely expensive private schools in Bahhston, though, so it doesn't take much away from the analogy.
The way to pick hockey teams at tournament time is to ask the question—how important is winning this game to my school's athletic department? This explains why the Big Ten Michigan teams usually underperform—they are MUCH more concerned about their basketball teams.
ReplyDeleteThe main reason Herb Brooks won three NCAA championships at Minnesota in only six seasons is because Brooks made hockey IMPORTANT. I was at that 1976 semifinal game in Denver between BU and the Gophers. I have NEVER experienced such intensity at an athletic event before or since—I now understand why the playing field at Aztec stadium in Mexico City is surrounded by a MOAT because they do this sort of enthusiasm on a regular basis.
And sure enough, there was a bench-clearing brawl about two minutes in that required an hour to sort out. This wasn't NHL pro rasslin'—this was a freaking war between east and west, between an all-USA team and one with a bunch of Hosers who thought USA players were easily intimidated wimps, between a Catholic school and a relentlessly secular land-grant University, between dump and chase and Tarasov creativity. Both teams could have been easily disqualified but since Brooks teams were notorious for NOT fighting even when provoked, they decided to play the game after tossing out the instigators. Minnesota won—it wasn't even close. Tarasov hockey usually wins, after all, especially when it cannot be intimidated by a one-hour brawl.
I'm definitely going to have to come up with a better selection strategy. After the first round, only one of my Frozen Four picks remains, and they may be eliminated this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I missed the golden days of Gopher hockey.
One note, though. BU was a Methodist-sponsored school. BC is the Jesuit-run school. Both are extremely expensive private schools in Bahhston, though, so it doesn't take much away from the analogy.