(R)uffda!

If I Could Save Time in a Bottle

2009-12-29T11:33:00.000-08:00

I bet that it'd be harder than ketchup to get out of there.

Speaking of time, not necessarily in a bottle, it turns out I haven't blogged since the end of November, which means I missed out on the entire NCAAs-thing and probably some other stuff that I've already forgotten. Now it's almost 2010 and I'm not in the mood for a "Best of" list, or any damned resolutions, or even something blatantly libelous. Actually, come to think of it, something blatantly libelous would be kinda fun.

But first:

***

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day
Till Eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure and then,
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty
Except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with

***

Hmmm. I had planned on having some fun with this lyric, but Jim's dead, which lends the danged thing just enough poignancy that my heart just isn't in it. Reminds me of 1970-something. I'm working for the YMCA's Rent-A-Kid program and some family has optimistically set me up scraping the paint off their storm windows. I last a day, maybe two, before they tell me "Maybe this just isn't for you." Jim was singing on the radio while I was failing miserably, there on that family's screen porch, the poorest excuse for a handykid the world would ever know. Who knew that I was in the middle of a metaphor for my life? Not I. I thought I was earning enough money to buy some golf balls or something.

Should have gone with "Junkyard Dog".

Happy 2010.

Three things

2009-11-22T20:09:00.000-08:00

Here are three things from my week of volleyball, stuff that nudged its way into my consciousness. I won't pretend that they are profound, or even worth the time you will spend reading them, but I'm humble that way. They probably are profound and worth your time. I'll leave that to future generations to determine, the ones who will be writing all about me and lamenting about how poorly you all treated me.

*Conference tournaments are inherently stupid in their own right, but when the #1 seed is not rewarded with the home court advantage, they are downright criminal.

*TV networks should do everything in their power to insure they are not placing their main camera behind the up ref. When they do this, it just shows remarkable incompetence -- or proof that they don't give a fig about what they are televising, probably the more likely reason.

*Mary Slinger is terrific. Maggie Mac is too, but everyone knows that.

What I've learned (so far this week)

2009-11-04T15:06:00.000-08:00

The Pac 10 uses five different brands of volleyballs. I learned this from Karch and Paul during the Oregon-Oregon State match, and I subsequently asked Volley Talk if it were true. Apparently it is. Money, of course, is behind it all.

Mikasa and Spalding, however, are not in on this action.

That's it. I knew everything else.

Best wishes to TheSantaBarbarian.

My top 30 (again) + a few more (again)

2009-11-01T18:41:00.000-08:00

Not proud of this list, but here it is.

1--Penn State 24-0
2--Texas 18-0
3--Washington 19-2
4--Iowa State 19-3
5--Hawaii 20-2
6--Illinois 18-3
7--UCLA 18-6
8--Nebraska 16-6
9--Stanford 15-6
10--Oregon 15-5
11--Kentucky 22-2
12--California 13-8
13--Minnesota 17-7
14--Michigan 19-6
15--Florida 18-3
16--USC 15-8
17--Florida State 21-2
18--Arizona 16-6
19--LSU 18-5
20--Baylor 19-5
21--Texas A&M 14-6
22--Washington State 16-6
23--St. Mary's 16-4
24--Notre Dame 16-4
25--UCSB 18-5
26--Ohio State 18-7
27--Northern Iowa 22-2
28--St. Louis 17-6
29--Colorado State 18-4
30--LBSU 14-6

HM--Dayton 21-3; Florida International 24-2; Ohio 19-5; Oklahoma 15-7; San Diego 15-5; Tennessee 17-6; UC Irvine 17-6

It's almost Friday

2009-10-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

You may be wondering where I've been, maybe not. You may be thinking the Brook Dieter news has sent me scurrying for my bunker, maybe not. You may be listening to Barry Manilow and downing one peach daquiri after another -- and I'm guessing that's probably the most likely scenario.

I admit I haven't much felt like blogging. One likes to think everyone is happy as clams on the team one follows and when one finds out there's some lobstery activities going on, why it can be irksome. So, yes, I've been irked some.

But what can you do? You suffer those slings and arrows or you choose another sport, hoping that outrageous fortune hasn't discovered cross country yet.

Anyhow. Things are bound to get better, right? After all, it's Penn State in Happy Valley tomorrow night. How bad could that be?

My top 30 + a few more

2009-10-18T19:45:00.000-07:00

I've changed my mind about a few things over the last couple of weeks and have just submitted the following to RichKern.com. Also of little interest to most everyone, this afternoon I went to see "A Serious Man", watched the last 10 minutes or so of the Vikings near-collapse, put together an IKEA table/puzzle for my mother, and then watched the first installment of the Monty Python documentary on IFC this evening.

Send your complaints to Ron.

1 Penn State (20-0)
2 Texas (14-0)
3 Washington (17-1) -- Huskies are looking more and more vulnerable as the weeks go by.
4 Hawaii (16-2) -- we won't know enough about this team until the NCAAs, as usual.
5 Iowa State (15-3) -- huge test v. the Huskers this week.
6 Illinois (14-3) -- inconsistency is still a problem, but they now have wins over both Minnesota and Michigan.
7 Oregon (14-3)
8 Stanford (12-5)
9 Nebraska (14-4) -- Werth hitting her stride and the Huskers may be hitting theirs.
10 Minnesota (15-5) -- still have to prove they can beat a top 10 team. Iowa State is it, so far.
11 Michigan (17-4) -- first match with Minnesota this weekend, at Williams Arena.
12 UCLA (14-6)
13 Kentucky (19-1)
14 California (10-7) -- biggest disappointment of the season, so far, for me.
15 Florida (14-3) -- unless it's the Gators instead.
16 Arizona (15-3)
17 Florida State (17-2)
18 USC (13-6) -- shouldn't this team be better than they are?
19 Texas A&M (13-4) -- big wins over Nebraska and Baylor.
20 LSU (15-4)
21 Baylor (17-4) -- sliding a bit. They need to dig in.
22 St. Mary's (12-4) -- loss to San Diego means the WCC doesn't have a power this year?
23 UCI (16-3)
24 LBSU (12-5)
25 Washington State (15-4) -- has to be THE surprise team of the year.
26 UCSB (14-5) -- up and down.
27 Colorado State (16-3) -- may be much better than this, but MWC still looks down for 2009.
28 San Diego (12-4)
29 Notre Dame (13-4) -- another team that may be better than this ranking.
30 St. Louis (13-6) -- tough loss to Dayton.
HM Dayton (18-2)
HM Florida International (19-2)
HM Ohio (16-4)
HM UNI (18-2)

Tough weekend?

2009-10-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

Hey, boys and girls! I have an idea! Let's tot up the Top 25's upsets this past weekend:

#5 Florida loses 2-3 to Kentucky
#6 Michigan loses 2-3 to #12 Illinois
#7 Oregon loses 2-3 to unranked Oregon State
#9 California loses to 2-3 to #13 USC and 1-3 to #16 UCLA
#12 Illinois loses 2-3 to #23 Michigan State
#13 USC loses 0-3 to #11 Stanford*
#16 UCLA loses 1-3 to #11 Stanford*
#17 Florida State loses 2-3 to Georgia Tech
#18 Arizona loses 0-3 to unranked Washington State
#20 San Diego loses 0-3 to unranked Pepperdine
#25 Wichita State loses 1-3 to unranked Creighton

Special mention to UCSB, unfairly just outside the top 25 last week, who lost 0-3 to unranked Cal State Fullerton; and Purdue who lost 2-3 to unranked Indiana.

Add to these matches several close calls -- Nebraska 3-2 over unranked Oklahoma, Kentucky 3-2 over unranked South Carolina, San Diego 3-2 over unranked LMU and Florida State 3-2 over unranked Clemson. In short, it could have been worse. Or better, depending on your viewpoint.

Do I have a point? No. Just saying.

*Technically not upsets, but USC and UCLA were at home, so we're calling them that.

The rest of the story

2009-09-27T15:48:00.000-07:00

Purdue does not go up on Michigan 2-0. They not only lose that game, they also lose the match 3-2.

No other near upsets this Sunday, although Washington State does give Oregon a good match.

I will post my Top 30 when I have it done. Still some tricky stuff this week.

If you were an AVCA voter ...

2009-09-27T08:44:00.000-07:00

It's never too early to start this discussion. What's tomorrow's poll going to look like and why will it offend us all deeply?

But, first of all, a few disclaimers. Yes, I know it doesn't really matter -- except, of course, in terms of how programs are perceived by the volleyball community and, more to the point, by prospective recruits. (In other words, yes, it does matter.) No, I don't claim to know more about the sport than the coaches doing the actual voting (but I may put more thought into it than some of them). No, I don't claim to have seen more than a few of these teams play (but who has?). Yes, I have my own personal biases, some formed from a lifetime of perceived slights, actual slights, and petty jealousies. And, yes, the girls who treated me so badly in junior high school factor in this somehow! You know who you are!

OK? OK.

1 - Penn State. Last week, the Lions collected 50 of the 60 first place votes. I've been voting them #2 in Ron Kern's poll and Pablo has them at #6, probably due to that DIII schedule they've been playing. (Do I need to explain what Pablo is again? I think not.) But they absolutely destroyed Illinois in Champaign last night, and Pablo (sadist that he is) will love that. I may have to rethink my vote, too. Regardless, the AVCA folks will keep them at #1.

2 - Texas. Big win for the Horns in Lincoln, a real barrel of monkeys off their backs. This has been my #3 team and Pablo puts them at #2. Probably no changes here, although they may lose some of their 7 first place votes from the coaches, depending on what impressed them more, PSU's win at Illinois or this bit of monkey removal.

3 - Washington. I am starting this blog Sunday morning, so the Huskies still have Oregon State to play, but I'm going to assume (for now) they win. This has been my #1 team since the preseason poll and Pablo agrees with me. They handled Oregon fairly easy, one game of the sweep decided by two points, and the Ducks are a Pablo fave. Still, as I mentioned above, PSU is starting to sew some doubts in my all too fertile mind. I will probably stick to my guns, bucking the AVCA contingent who will keep them at #3.

4 - Hawaii. The Wahine, as always, are hard to peg. The UCLA win looks much less special now, but they did sweep Stanford and also pushed Cal to 5 after falling behind 0-2. Pablo picks them for #7. The WAC schedule won't tell us a lot, unless they should stumble. What to do? What to do? One thing you cannot do is move them higher than #4, even if one of the top 3 is upset. That just would not be right. I have them at #4, as does the AVCA. They will stay there. But this is not a confident placement from me.

5 - Florida. Alabama match is still to be played, but I don't see any change here. Pablo sees some weakness (as do I, based on the UW and FSU matches) and can only give them #11. I had them behind Iowa State last week and they've done nothing this week to warrant a move up, my doubts about ISU at #5 notwithstanding. I still think there is a huge upside to this team and they could be really dangerous. But that's what I thought last year, too.

So, #1-5 will not change, barring today's results. Here's where things get really interesting and also where I regret re-upping for the Kern poll, let alone starting this particular blog.

6 - Nebraska. Not the best week ever in Huskerville, a team I had at #9 last week. First, there's the hassle of having to play at College Station on Wednesday against an underrated Texas A&M team, in spite of the fact Texas is coming to Lincoln on Saturday. Then, they go and lose to that underrated TAMU team, which really does not help them focus on the enormous task at hand, and the Horns show them little mercy, winning at the Coliseum for the first time since 1988. (I read that on Volley Talk. This has not been fact-checked.) What to think about the Huskers? So many teams are affected. Michigan's win does not look as impressive, Minnesota's loss looks less forgiveable, UCLA's win also is tainted a bit. What we do know is that Nebraska will drop. But how far? Read on, but I predict #11.

7 - Oregon. The Quack Pack, depending on whether Washington State cooperates (and loses for the first time in 2009), stands to move up to #6 (replacing Nebraska) even though they were swept on Friday by the Huskies. It's possible, should Michigan beat Purdue today, that the Wolverines could slide past them, since they were only 55 points back in last week's poll, but this would overlook that Michigan loss to Oregon State, something that really needs to be front and center in the discussion. I had Oregon at #7 last week and will be moving them up to #6 as ISU falls back.

8 - Michigan. I don't know why the Wolverines were only dropped two spots last week after losing to an unranked team, but I suspect it's because the voters had a hard time dropping them further while giving Nebraska the #6 spot. If there was some sort of hand-in-hand adjustment this week, with Nebraska bound to fall, Michigan would fall with them, but this won't happen. Purdue, of course, could be the correcting factor this afternoon, but if the Wolvies win, the AVCA moves them up to #7. I had them at #12, so I am not as boxed in. (But I have other problems, as you shall see.)

9 - Minnesota. The team I watch the most finally came home for a pair of matches, both sweeps, over the toothless Badgers and the wingless Hawkeyes. OK, that latter description is overly harsh. I had the Gophers at #8 last week and ISU's loss to Baylor means they probably rise to #7. The AVCA has an open spot, too, due to Nebraska's loss to TAMU, so the Gophers probably end up at #8.

10 - Stanford. My guess is that Cal (3-2 winners over the Cardinal at home) move to #9 and Stanford remains #10, with Nebraska ending up in the #11 spot. This seems reasonable and therefore probably won't happen.

11 - Iowa State. What to do with the Cyclones? The AVCA voters didn't have them at #5 last week, as yours truly did, so they don't have that stall to muck, but they still have to do something. Since I had Baylor at #17 (as opposed to their #24 ranking), they still have some explaining to do. Complicating matters are the less than stellar results from Arizona for #13 USC and #14 UCLA, #15 Illinois's flop against PSU and #16 Michigan State making all those AVCA voters look silly. Sillier. Who does that leave them with for #12? Kentucky? Florida State? Pablo has FSU at #5. I'm guessing ISU only falls one spot and they reward Baylor. That's what I'd do if I had Baylor has underranked as they do.

12 - California. Up to #9. I already had them at #10, so they won't jump as far for me. Good team, getting better. I originally had them at #4 to start the season.

13 - USC. Arizona loss offset slightly by ASU win. Good news for the Trojans is that there's no one banging on the door behind them. Although I'd make a case for Baylor, I doubt the AVCA folks will pop them this high.

14 - UCLA. ASU loss offset slightly by Arizona win. Good news for the Bruins is that there's no one banging on the door behind them. Although I'd make a case for Baylor, I doubt the AVCA folks will pop them this high.

15 - Illinois. PSU loss offset slightly by the fact it was Penn State. Good news for the Illini is that there's no one banging on the door behind them and that PSU is PSU. Although I'd make a case for Baylor, I doubt the AVCA folks will pop them this high. I had Illinois at #11 last week and I'll be watching the Purdue-Michigan result closely.

16 - Michigan State. Say goodbye to the Top 25 for 2009, I'm afraid. Way overrated, but could still put together a decent season. Indiana loss, however, did not help.

17 - Kentucky. Up to #16? I'm thinking AVCA puts Baylor at #16.

18 - Florida State. Pablo ranking of #5.

19 - Arizona. Big win over USC and then that darned loss to UCLA. Treading water?

20 - Wichita State. Loss to Missouri State will probably knock the Shockers out of the Top 25, perhaps replaced by Northern Iowa, keeping the MVC in the poll?

21 - UC Irvine. Gauchos push Anteaters to the cusp. Room needs to be made for UCSB.

22 - San Diego. An uneventful week, with only the sweep of San Diego State.

23 - Saint Louis. Also an uneventful week.

24 - Baylor. Seriously underrated and in need of a big jump up. This will finally happen this week. Pablo has them at #4. I had them at #17.

25 - Long Beach State. Nice win over Fullerton, solidifying their spot in the Top 25.

Conspicuously missing? TAMU, Purdue, UCSB. Notre Dame? WSU?

I'm going to go ahead and post this, but I'll tweak things after the Sunday matches. Purdue, for instance, is about to go up 2-0 on Michigan.

Great blog idea

2009-09-26T20:04:00.000-07:00

The news is playing in the background, which is a little distracting. Something about someone kicking a blind woman's dog. She was arrested after someone alerted the owner and the building security looked at the surveillance footage. Then something about a 16-year-old girl faking her own kidnapping to extort $500 from her family.

I've decided to stop listening.

The great idea for a blog? Top ten TV cliches from volleyball telecasts! Who cares that I haven't really thought this one through? I'm going for it!

Let's see. We'll put them in order later.

*The aces to error ratio for serving, part of that whole end-of-the-world attitude toward service errors. No one ever mentions that you have to break some eggs to make the hen cry. Is that the right saying?

*There's also that whole "seven times you can never miss" blather about serving. Who owns that again? Pink slip her! Like telling someone they can never miss is ever going to be helpful.

*Someone on VolleyTalk mentioned this one, but I'll use it anyhow: "hitting efficiency is like a batting average" or comparable to it. No it's not. When's the last time someone batted .500?Stop.

*Rotation/overlaps and the libero overhand set prohibition are impossible to explain, so we won't try. No they aren't. Do some prep.

*Volleyball in the Pac Ten is so superior to every other conference's volleyball that we're not sure why they even play it elsewhere. Shut up. Just shut up.

*She needs to drop that hand into the cross court angle blah blah blah. Blocking is sooooo easy.

This isn't working. I should really do some prep myself. In the mean time, I need to go crack some eggs. That hen looks waaaaaaaaaaay too happy.

You say it's your birthday?

2009-09-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

Well, happy birthday to you!

For those of you who do not know, Ron Kern turns 83 today. For those of you who don't know who Ron Kern is, well, first of all, shame on you! Second, he's the old guy over at richkern.com who runs the Rich Kern Show. You can't miss him. He's the guy on the porch in his longjohns, the one toting the shotgun.

People often ask me how I know Ron, usually just before they ask me to lend them a ten-spot. I've stopped telling them the truth -- about the bank heists, the cell in Leavenworth, the needlepoint, etc. -- and now give them a poem I wrote for him back in 1962, a poem I am not about to share with you here. What I will tell you is that there are few people in this world for which I would be willing to stand up and fight, and Ron probably isn't one of them. But that says more about me than it does about him. I just don't like getting hit. Sue me.

What was I talking about? Ron's birthday, right. I never forget this event, coming as it does just before the autumnal equinox. I know if the sun's setting pretty much due west that Ron's just about completed another trip around the sun. And that's cool. It's like he has his own celestial milestone.

So happy birthday, Mr. Kern. You want more than that, haul out that poem.

Luke takes a look

2009-09-13T17:15:00.000-07:00

First of all, me in my heyday. I'm the good-looking one, on the left.

So where's (R)uffda!? Apparently, he's been traumatized by this morning's viewing of Inglorious Basterds and is upstairs in the bathtub, cowering with his rubbie-duckie.

That means it's time for good old Luke to take his turn at blogging this sucker and I, if I say so myself, have a great idea. What say we take a look at (R)uffda!'s pre-season rankings and see just how well El Grande Bozo is doing?

Forgotten his picks? Of course you have! Well, here they are (were):

1--Washington [Have to hand it to him for this one. Plus he picked the dogs.]

2--Penn State [Duh.]

3--Texas [Duh deux.]

4--California [Oopsie! Looks like the genius needs a map for that clue of his.]

5--Florida [Iffy.]

6--Nebraska [Too high, but credit for not making them the easy #4 pick.]

7--Minnesota [Jury is still out, but this one still looks OK, even if you think it's a homer-pick.]

8--Illinois [Would look good if not for that loss to FSU. But (R)uffda! would look good if not for that face.]

9--Stanford [Credit here, too. Who would have thought they should have been even lower?]

10--Hawaii [Too low, but not embarrassingly low.]

11--Iowa State [OK.]

12--UCLA [Hmmm. The guy has it in for the Bruins, true, but this one is only a little too low, so far.]

13--USC [Good. Trojans done in by Spartans. Go figure.]

14--San Diego [Another miss, thanks to the two Gaucho wranglings. But the Tor-whatevers could still make it back up here.]

15--Utah [Major error, one matched by the AVCA's preseason #17. But there's more Mountain West blunders to come.]

16--Oregon [Team should have been up there with UCLA, USC, Stanford and Cal. 12ish?]

17--Kentucky [Good call, (R) old boy.]

18--Michigan [Understandable. Wolverines' season, so far, is still pretty much the Nebraska win. But too low, by the results.]

19--Long Beach State [His faith in the Beach has once again proven to be misplaced. When will he ever learn? When will he e-ver lah-ern?]

20--Wichita State [Fair enough.]

21--St. Louis [Jury also on vacation about this team. Tough schedule, but bad loss to Cincinnati.]

22--Colorado State [The other Mountain West blunder, although they are playing better and now look like the best of the MWC.]

23--Purdue [Too high. Could improve.]

24--Baylor [Another nice one. Maybe.]

25--Arizona [And another one.]

26--UCI [Three in a row!!]

27--Pepperdine [Done in by the Army Blanket. Bummer.]

28--St. Mary's [OK.]

29--Texas A&M [OK.]

30--Cal Poly [Really, really bad call here.]

HM--Kansas State [Good spot, too high if anything.]

HM--Santa Clara [OK.]

Missing? Dayton, FSU and LSU. UNI and MSU (maybe, but probably not, for both). Notre Dame?

All in all? This dog has some bark to him. So far. I wish I could say otherwise, because now it just looks like he's used a nom de blog to pat himself on the back.

But if that's the case, only a real egomaniac would go ahead and post it, so I can't be he? Now can I?

Entering schedules for Ron

2009-08-30T17:46:00.000-07:00

Good times this past week. I've been inputting DII schedules (Heartland, Lonestar and MAIC conferences) for the Kern site and now there are DIII schedules to be done. I hope I didn't screw up Texas Vinyl Flooring's schedule; it was a little confusing.

The in-laws sold their house (on the market for one day), so there's also been some heavy lifting. Literal heavy lifting, mind you, which is my least favorite kind of heavy lifting. Somehow, in the middle of the Nebraska-Minnesota match last night, a huge black metal file cabinet appeared in the back of a trailer in our alley. I missed most of game 3 wrestling with it (no big loss there given how awful game 3 was) and it then spent the night in our backyard. Today, every time I look out the kitchen window, I am startled by its presence, something right out of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Why am I bringing this up? Because I have a creaky neck from staring at the monitor, sore biceps from where the damned cabinet (now on our back porch) dug into them, and a huge letdown from the quality of play at the AVCA tournament.

I'm in a foul mood. Beware of blog(ger).

The problem with foot faults

2009-08-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

Well, it's obvious, isn't it? It is not the foot's fault. It's the person attached to the foot's fault.

Which brings up net faults. Has the net done something wrong? Of course not. "Oh, excuse me for getting in the way of your fingers!" Like blaming the toaster for zapping you when you stick a fork into it to dislodge that damned bagel. (Do not try this, by the way. I know it's tempting, but trust me.)

And what's with all the blame in volleyball anyhow? Rotation faults, service errors, blocking errors, attack errors, passing errors, illegal attacks ... the list goes on and on. There's too much fingerpointing, metaphorically, and whistle-blowing, literally. How's a player supposed to feel good about herself?

The problem with ball carts

2009-08-23T19:32:00.000-07:00

The balls at the bottom require stooping for retrieval. Who wants to stoop? You could get the shallow ball cart, but they don't hold as many.

Has anyone invented a ball cart that has an interior under tension? You put ten balls in, it sags to allow another ten. You take ten balls out, it pushes the first ten toward the top? It's tricky, I know. Volleyballs don't weigh much. But there are smart people out there!

Or maybe a foot pedal mechanism?

It's a gold mine, I tell you. Build a better ball cart and the world will beat a path to your doorstep. (Of course, if you already have a sidewalk, that could be annoying.)

The problem with intersquad scrimmages

2009-08-23T15:14:00.000-07:00

Not the place for the glass half empty, crud floating in that half-filled glass, guy. For every kill, you can lament the fact it was not blocked or dug; every block or dig, you can rag on the poor attack. Every pass is the result of an ineffective serve; every ace the consequence of poor passing.

It's like playing yourself in chess. One man's checkmate is another man's ... well, checkmate.

I am against projecting too much about a season's potential from an intersquad scrimmage or scrimmages. I am also against playing solitaire chess. I also don't like liver (just as long as we're setting the record straight).

Pre-season ranking

2009-08-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

Read it and weep. Or just weep. I'm not picky.

1 Washington
2 Penn State
3 Texas
4 California
5 Florida
6 Nebraska
7 Minnesota
8 Illinois
9 Stanford
10 Hawaii
11 Iowa State
12 UCLA
13 USC
14 San Diego
15 Utah
16 Oregon
17 Kentucky
18 Michigan
19 Long Beach State
20 Wichita State
21 St. Louis
22 Colorado State
23 Purdue
24 Baylor
25 Arizona
26 UCI
27 Pepperdine
28 St. Mary's
29 Texas A&M
30 Cal Poly
HM Kansas State
HM Santa Clara

OK, just about there

2009-08-14T20:55:00.000-07:00

I'd worry that I was boring my readers if I actually thought I had any readers, but since I do not suffer from that delusion, I soldier on.

Since I last posted, three "Bigs" have published their pre-season picks, although one of them has inexplicably misplaced 5 of its schools. I am sure they will be found in time for the season, but it is still awfully careless.

Anyhow, the Big 12 has picked Texas, Nebraska and Iowa State as its top 3 teams, followed by Texas A&M, Baylor and Kansas State. I am slightly surprised that TAMU is ahead of Baylor and a little more surprised that KSU has fallen so far out of favor, but they did lose a large chunk of their team (if I may use the term "chunk" without offending). Missouri at #8 is another eye-opener. Maybe.

The Big 10 has Penn State (of course), Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Purdue as their top 6, with only the Badgers spot bucking conventional wisdom, if there is actually any conventional wisdom in this field. The other 5 schools are a mystery, but we presume they are practicing, working hard, and will field teams this fall, even if the conference has forgotten all about them.

The Big East, all 15 of 'em, will be led by Louisville, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, South Florida, St. John's and Marquette, or so say the coaches. Is it just me or has the Big East become a little too big? Quiet! I know I have become a little too big. That's not what I meant, wiseass(es).

So do these three polls persuade me to rearrange my own rankings, the one on which I have been so diligently working? I think so. I'm going to drop Kansas State to an Honorable Mention status and elevate the Aggies into the top 30. I will also put Wisconsin back on the radar, although not quite blipping as an HM. Purdue might slide a spot or two, but I'm keeping them above the Badgers. So there.

I have a feeling I won't be seeing anything from the ACC or the SEC this weekend. I'll just have to rely on my own judgment, something that has invariably let me down in the past. Oh, well. I am sure the world will keep spinning.

Meanwhile, time to read more about Nebraska's "fast offense." Nothing excites the VolleyTalkers more than speculation about programs willing to put the pedal to the metal.

This just in

2009-08-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

The West Coast Conference picks:

1 -- San Diego
2 -- Pepperdine
3 -- St. Marys
4 -- Santa Clara

This was exactly how I picked them! I know I'm impressed.

Correction: Turns out I actually had ranked St. Marys ahead of Pepperdine. I am less impressed with myself now (not that I was ever really all that impressed).

Volleyball magazine has also released their top 20 poll, probably in their "Girls of the Pac Ten" issue:

1. Penn State
2. Texas
3. Nebraska
4. Washington
5. Stanford
6. Cal
7. Hawai‘i
8. Minnesota
9. Florida
10. UCLA
11. Iowa State
12. USC
13. Illinois
14. Oregon
15. Michigan
16. San Diego
17. (tied) Wichita State
17. (tied) Saint Louis
19. Utah
20. Santa Clara

Others Receiving Votes: Purdue, Pepperdine, Cal Poly, Kansas State, Kentucky, Long Beach State, Wisconsin, Colorado State, Louisville, Texas A&M, Duke

Finally: I must give serious consideration to UCI over Cal Poly in the Top 30 or ignore the coaches' input. What to do?

The Lincoln Blogs

2009-08-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

Someone once asked Abe Lincoln how long his legs were and he famously replied, “Long enough to touch the floor.” What a wiseass.

I wonder if he ended up with really poorly fitting pants. I hope so. I hope his calves were showing. Jerk.

Not that I would wish his ultimate fate on any man. Who wants to go to the theater and get shot in the head? One or the other maybe, but not both.

But if it has to be both, I suppose it really does need to be in that order. Who wants to go to the theater after being shot in the head? I mean, it’d have to be a really good show, right?

What’s this have to with volleyball, you ask? Well, I’ll be coming to that, eventually.

Lincoln. They put the guy on the penny! Man, talk about disrespect. Better to not have a coin at all than to be on the penny. But that’s what you get when you’re a wiseass.

I can see the guy in a restaurant.

“What can I getcha, Abe?”

“Depends on if you have a wagon or not.”

“Pardon?”

“You could get me a lot of stuff, if you had a wagon.”

Jerk.

What’s this have to do with volleyball, you ask again? Oh, you’ll see.

Kind of an ugly guy, that Lincoln. But people were uglier back then. Shorter, too, although Lincoln was supposedly eight-foot-three. Maybe I don’t have that exactly right, but I do recall that he was seen as a real freak in his day. Ugly and tall. And ruder than an old cuss with a boil on his butt.

How’d he get elected one might wonder. Well, no TV. Really good attack ads in the papers. Plus his opponent – Dewey, I think – was a squirrel.

“Who ya voting for?”

“Think I’m going to vote for the ugly giant with the bad-fitting pants.”

“But he’s so RUDE!”

“True. But I just can’t see voting for a squirrel.”

(That was another conversation from the diner, by the way. Case you were wondering.)

So, what does this have to do with volleyball!? Dammit!

You settle for things in Life. Sometimes rally-score – to 25! – is better than the alternative. Sometimes you just can't bring yourself to vote for the squirrel. Sometimes, although this is rare, one can even have a pleasant time at the theater. You don’t want to have to sit through Cats or be shot in the head, of course, but you might just find yourself entertained.

That’s what I’m hoping for this season – a little entertainment, no assassins.

The thirty teams (probably)

2009-08-06T19:34:00.000-07:00

The WAC and the MWC have shared their findings. I had hoped for more, but I will blog rather than pursue the latest topic over at VolleyTalk – the absence of sex in Harry Potter World. Hmmm. That does sound interesting.

The news from the WAC – Hawaii picked to win it all! – is not much help. NMSU was picked to finish second, but I’m tempted to write that off as leftovers from seasons past. I really don’t think they have what they need coming back to crack the top 30, but I will keep an eye on them. The conference probably only has the one top 30 team this year, but it will be interesting to see who joins the battle for second – and how good that team is.

Utah is the pick in the MWC, collecting twice as many first place votes as #2 CSU. New Mexico edges out BYU for #3. Interesting. I’m still looking at two in the top 30.

Here’s what I have as of this evening, still subject to fine-tuning:

1-12 -- same as before.
13 – USC. Been warned away from them, but I think there’s too much talent and Mick’s too good of a coach for them to be as disappointing as they were in 2008. Let's hope I'm wrong.
14 – San Diego. Everyone is back, as far as I can tell. Possible problem is that they weren’t that good in 2008. Certainly not as good as I thought they’d be. So. This could be way too high for the Toreoreos.
15 – Utah. Seems right to me. And bravo! for surviving the Salvo/Anderson smackdown.
16 – Oregon. Someone I trust says they have weapons to replace Maricic and that the ball control will still be there. Still, I couldn't put them above the Trojans.
17 – Kentucky. A daring pick, I think. Almost everyone back, good talent, a decent 2008 showing.
18 – Michigan. I’m giving them the edge for #4 in the Big Ten, at least to start the season. Purdue could easily be flopped into this position and the Wolverines into Purdue’s.
19 – Long Beach State. I’ve been predicting the 49ers will return to the top 10-15 for a couple of seasons now. I’m being more cautious this year, but still going with top 20.
20 – Wichita State. I still have no idea how good the Shockers are, but they have everyone except Broussard back from 2008's Dangerfield squad.

21 – Purdue. Could be really good, but probably not right out of the terminal.
22 – St. Louis. Another team I wish I knew more about. Possible shortcomings in the middle, but otherwise a decent facsimile of the 2008 team, which was pretty good.
23 – CSU. Fornstrom loss is big, I think. They still have Nelson. Minnesota kid, dontchaknow?
24 – KSU. Could be way too high or way too low. They lost a lot of players and I'm guessing way too high. They have, however, been consistently top 20, so I'm probably wrong.
25 – Arizona. Underrated in 2008 and most everyone is back.
26 – Cal Poly. Another huge disappointment for me in 2008, but there's still talent there and more coming in.
27 – Baylor. Very possible that they are better than KSU. Everyone back and they have a good recruiting class. Big 12 dark horse.
28 – St. Marys. Why do I bother trying to evaluate the WCC? Past performance is indicative of future problems, bet your farm on it.
29 – Pepperdine. Ditto.
30 – Santa Clara. Ditto.

The one team I am really tempted to find room for? I thought I had one, but darned if I can find it now. I did consider Missouri, NMSU, Oregon State, Dayton and possibly a team from the ACC, but, not too seriously. Right now, I think I have my 30 teams.

Now then, about Harry Potter ...

Man at Work

2009-08-02T13:22:00.000-07:00

My project – building a 2009 pre-season ranking – has been put on hold. I have been waiting patiently for the various conferences to post their own pre-season predictions so I can lean a bit on the opinions of the coaches, but to date only the Big West and the Atlantic 10 have done so. Now, I could go ahead and continue to build in spite of the flimsy foundation, but I won’t. This is what I like to call Integrity of Purpose.

I have no idea what that means, but I like to call it that, just like I like to call my bathtub "The Shallow Abyss of Cleanliness".

I know there are literally one or two people out there who might care about this development and to them (or to him (or to her)) all I can say is GET OFF MY BACK!

Do you think the Italians, when they were building the Parthenon, took shortcuts, left out a column or two? Or that the Japanese, when they were constructing that Great Wall over there in China, kept right on going when they ran out of bricks? How about the Forty-Niners when they were building those pyramids out there in the deserts of Egypt? What would have happened if they didn't have any pointy blocks for the top? I suppose you think they would have just used a potted plant for that last bit? A sphinx maybe. Well, a sphinx would have been damned cool, but you see my point, pardon the pun. Don't you?

So here’s what we do know: The Big West coaches have picked Long Beach State, UCI and Cal Poly to finish one-two-three in their conference; and the Atlantic 10 coaches have picked St. Louis, Dayton and Xavier in theirs. That helps, but it’s not all that I need.

So we wait. Patiently, more or less.

I'm giving up discussing politics in Off-the-Net. I'm dedicating myself to pure entertainment. And unentertaining recipes.

Next stage completed

2009-07-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

Conference USA

Tulane appears to be losing 2/3 of their starters -- Linder, Radosevic, Rebrovic (their setter) and Wells, as well as Boatwright, Bernards and McGehee. That's what you call significant information.

Ditto for UAB, with Bozic, Dent, Domingos and Stefanov (their setter) moving on, as well as Vujovic. It will be interesting to see the coaches' pick for this conference title.

SunBelt

Florida International only loses Drumeva. Better yet, Rosa is still there.

Middle Tennessee only drops Asberry.

Big West

Cal Poly -- Atherstone, Houston and Waller. Nice class coming in.

LBSU -- Vargas and Verdin, plus Murray. Where are the recruits?

SEC

Kentucky only loses Nzenwa and could be the sleeper in the SEC.

Tennessee lost Clarke and Flynn, plus Loyd transferred. Two setters transferring in?

LSU -- Martinez and Washington, plus Skender

ACC

North Carolina -- Eskola, Jansma (setter) and Prussing

Clemson -- Abbott and Hepburn

Duke -- Carls and Norman, plus Wherry

Miami -- Ellis, plus Bomhack

FSU -- only Moon

Georgia Tech -- Kandell, Kellogg, Miller and Niekamp (setter). And Bond. Ouch.

Missouri Valley

Wichita State drops Broussard, plus Jakubov. Shockers could be looking at another stellar year?

Creighton -- Cvejdlik, Decker and Lebeda (setter)

Northern Iowa -- Sampson and Stelken, and Benson transferred to Wisconsin

Western Athletic

New Mexico State could be in a heap of hurt, with the departures of Gintant (setter), Simpson, Torres and Yon, plus Steinmetz transferred.

Big East

Cincinnati -- Elley, plus Peterson and Torok. Brandl and Nevelle transfers can't help, although recruiting class was ranked.

Louisville -- Kolesnikova, Matiasovska and Liu, and Tomko transferred

St. Johns -- Brooks, Chen, Kovaleva, Leszczynska (setter) and Yee. Another ouch.

Mid-American

Ohio -- Anderson and Dearmond, plus Maiden, Mangan and Mauck

Western Michigan -- only Vogl

Miami -- Schroeder, plus Wolfe

I'm ready to put together a preliminary top 30, and then I'll wait for the coaches' conference picks.

Less progress

2009-07-26T09:43:00.000-07:00

Nothing new as to #13 on down, but I have gone through some potential teams, checking on who they lost from 2008. Probably could use a second set of eyes, but all I have is a dead dog. Not much help there.

West Coast

San Diego loses Sutherland (not a starter)
Pepperdine lost Chamberlain and Rubenstein
St Mary's lost Barker, Groess and Parker (but only Groess was a starter?)
Santa Clara lost Lowe and O'Brien, plus reserve Clark, plus transfer Parker
San Francisco is hit hard: Babin, Carroll, Gambos and Webster, all starters, plus Bednarova and transfer Lowe

Big Ten

Purdue drops Lynch and Merlau, plus Miller, and Ullrich and Nichols transfer
Michigan loses Karpiak and Hance
Indiana loses Pierce and Short
Michigan State has Verdun transfer, McDaniel was a non-starter
Wisconsin loses Jeffers, Dykstra and Salow, plus Klingsporn tranfers

Pac Ten

USC brings the entire team back, minus Carico -- which explains the recruiting class (although Fuller is highly-regarded)
Oregon is smacked a bit -- Forristall, Maricic, Swoboda, plus Milosevic move on
Arizona loses Buringrud and Goodenough
Arizona State only drops Giordano (dark horse in Pac Ten?)
Oregon State is minus Evans and Rinderknecht (another dark horse?)

Big 12

Kansas State may be hurting, losing Farr, Jantsch, Korobkova and Liliom
Texas A&M loses Bryant and Donaldson, plus Phillips
Baylor only loses Elliot (dark horse in Big 12?)
Missouri has two transfers, Wilson and Johnson
Oklahoma loses Barnes and two transfers, Machen and Bess

Mountain West

Utah bids adieu to Baird and Haynie
Colorado State says aufwiedersehen to Fornstrom (their stellar setter!) and Strauss
New Mexico has an adios for Fairchild, Tripp and Kwasigroch
BYU waves arrivederci to Dyer and Porter, plus transfer Marquardt (not to mention Kylin Munoz)

Atlantic 10

St. Louis appears to only lose Christman. Kern has her listed as their only middle in 2008, not sure why. I tried checking the Billikens' stats, but their website does not seem to have a link to any. Also odd. So I'm left with no clear idea about how large a part of their squad Christman was. Will 2009 be the Nightmare After Christman?
Dayton drops at least three starters, Akerhielm (B), Bateman and Robbe, plus Norris

Has any of this research helped me? A little. Only 30 or so more teams to look at.

Progress

2009-07-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

I think I have my top 12 teams, not necessarily in this order, but not necessarily not in this order either.

#1 Washington (Swarbrick gone)
#2 Penn State (Fawcett, Harmotto, Holehouse)
#3 Texas (Paolini)
#4 California (Beck, Reilly, Solomon)
#5 Florida (Bowers)
#6 Nebraska (Larson, Gates, Schwartz)
#7 Minnesota (Roehrig, Hartmann, Schmidt, Vatterrodt)
#8 Stanford (Barboza, Akinradewo, Waller, Fisher)
#9 Illinois (Bazzetta, Turner)
#10 Hawaii (Hittle, Houston, Keefe, Thomas, Simmons (t))
#11 Iowa State (Bisenius, Malcom, Vos)
#12 UCLA (Spicer, Piggott (t))

Now, it gets difficult, although I believe USC, KSU, Purdue, Michigan probably, are all top 20. But I have work to do elsewhere.