Photo by Tom Grimbert (@tomgrimbert) on Unsplash In the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) last week, Tottenham advanced, beating Manchester City by an aggregate score of 4-4. Wait, what? How does a team lose through tying? The culprit is soccer’s away goals rule, used in many competitions including the UCL, which…
I won’t pretend to follow all the weekly ins and outs of the golf world. Like many people with deep respect, though not total dedication to the game, I tune in for majors and take note when something miraculous happens elsewhere. Majors bring together the best in the world and…
The following story is a column from the year 2047, written by a sportswriter born in 2019. Everything that takes place before 2019 is real. Everything afterward is fiction. At least, until it becomes reality… ~~~ Underdog Stories ~~~ April 28, 4:30 a.m. – Wooden Complex, Court 73 Legends often…
2019 was an important year for the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. In the first year of the new NET rankings and with a historically weak bubble, the committee’s decisions on Selection Sunday were poised to set a precedent for future seasons. The result was a pleasant surprise for many fans…
Selection Sunday has graced us once again, which means it’s time for the 4th edition of the Top Level Sports Bracket Challenge! As always, the contest will be run on Yahoo. You can find a link to join it here. The group password is “connor“. You can also find a…
Data uses games played through Mar. 17 TLS-Bracketology-2019-3_17_19-PM-S-CurveDownload Here are my final projections for the 2019 March Madness field. The only changes today are record/auto-bid updates and swapping out St. Bonaventure for Saint Louis, who won the A-10 Championship. Thanks to everyone who followed my Bracketology this year. I’ll create…
Data uses games played through Mar. 16 TLS-Bracketology-2019-3_17_19-AM-S-CurveDownload What a crazy Saturday. From a controversial no-call at the end of the Auburn-Florida game to Tennessee pulling out a nailbiter against Kentucky, and Villanova narrowly avoiding another overtime game to win the Big East Championship, it was a day full of…
Data uses games played through Mar. 15 TLS-Bracketology-2019-3_16_19-S-Curve-1Download Well, it was fun while it lasted, Belmont. Just hours after I wrote about how something like VCU losing in the Atlantic 10 Tournament could be enough to knock Belmont out of the field, VCU fell to Rhode Island in the A-10…
Data uses games played through Mar. 14 TLS-Bracketology-2019-3_15_19-S-CurveDownload Welcome to the field, Belmont! The Bruins are the beneficiaries of a number of teams (Texas, Clemson, Creighton, Indiana) striking out on their last chances to make an impression and gain a quality win or two. Now with all of these teams…
Data uses games played through Mar. 12 TLS-Bracketology-2019-3_13_19-S-CurveDownload St. Mary’s became the first official bid thief of 2019 when they knocked off Gonzaga in the WCC Championship. Credit to the Gaels – Gonzaga entered that game ranked #1 in the country and scoring over 90 points per game. Last night,…