I am in total shock...

[NDgettysburg]

WTF happened to our hockey team tonight? Holy hell! I mean, Bemidji is flying all over the ice with an awesome display of speed, but lets be realistic here...this is a team that was 3 games over .500 and lost 15 freaking games during the season....18-15-1....ND won 30 freaking games. WTH?

Down 3-0 nearing the end of the 2nd period. Cripes, I'm near suicidal.

 

[NDOM]

Choke job thats what. We should have beaten this team easily.

 

[NDgettysburg]

Yeah I know...it's just kinda unbelievable.

 

[IHateMarkMay]

Is this part of the tourney single elimination or best of the group stage advances?

 

[phork]

Single elimination... Always next year!

 

[NDOM]

Single elimination I think.

 

[IHateMarkMay]

well that sucks

 

[IrishInFl]

UMD lost to Miami last night, so now I have no one to root for. Maybe BSU since they are from Minnesota... nah.

 

[ACamp1900]

THis is exactly why playoffs don't work in regards to showing who is better over the course of a whole season... Not because ND lost, but because some team BARELY over .500 gets a shot to knock off a team that proved ALL YEAR LONG they were on a higher level...

 

[phork]

Well if you are that good, then prove it.

 

[ACamp1900]

Well if you are that good, then prove it.

this is such a tunnel vision way of looking at it...

teams that finish that higher in the standings during the reg season already proved it ALL YEAR... why should they have to prove they are better than some 500 team that is unjustly given a second life in a one and done setting??

like the Pats weren't better than the G men two years back??? Playoffs destroy the great stories in sports, not create them

 

[phork]

Thats why they play the games bro. The Pats might have been the best team all year, offense really, but the Giants D put a stop to that. Besides the fact that the Giants almost beat them in the regular season. Why don't we just go out and say that any losses ruin a teams season!
Frankly you play hard to earn the #1 seed so you can either get a bye or play a cupcake in the first round. And although this was ND, sorry you lost!

 

[ACamp1900]

Thats why they play the games bro. The Pats might have been the best team all year, offense really, but the Giants D put a stop to that. Besides the fact that the Giants almost beat them in the regular season. Why don't we just go out and say that any losses ruin a teams season!
Frankly you play hard to earn the #1 seed so you can either get a bye or play a cupcake in the first round. And although this was ND, sorry you lost!

again, I say this is tunnel vision... making the entire occurrence of the reg season secondary and then saying playoffs reflect the reg. season (That is the WHOLE point of course, crowning a great team for the WHOLE YEAR) is a complete joke... if you take ONLY teams of elite records then of course (but no major sport in this country does anymore)... but allowing teams of barely .500 marks and then calling it fairness is a insulting... people complain about the BCS but it's playoffs that have become about the money while stomping on fairness... hence the constant expansion in every single sports playoff system since the 1950s

that's why people who say, "win it when it counts" and are full of crap or just plain stupid... how can a second season determine the best team over the course of a season all while shiting on the importance of the season itself?? Playoffs defeat themselves in that way, but it's the status quo so no one either wants to hear or flat out never thinks about that side of it

also as far as "Why don't we just go out and say that any losses ruin a teams season!" you destroyed your own argument there... that is EXACTLY what a playoff does... give some average team with nothing left to lose a second and at times third shot at destroying some greats team season AFTER that great team has often undeniably established dominance over the course of the entire year, and call me crazy but an eniter season is a MUCH better sample then one game will ever be... no matter who much mucho "win it when it counts" BS people try to drop, expanded playoffs aren't right and never will be

what the hell are "cupcakes" even doing in a supposed "championship" setting anyway????

 

[PADOMERNUT]

well they are in the frozen four, clearly bsu is not a cupcake

 

[IrishInFl]

well they are in the frozen four, clearly bsu is not a cupcake

All I know is that my Bulldogs beat them every year. BSU is on a nice run though, but they will not win the frozen four.

 

[PADOMERNUT]

I never said they would. It is BU's tournament to lose. But the fact they are there proves they are a good team.

 

[NeuteredDoomer]

again, I say this is tunnel vision... making the entire occurrence of the reg season secondary and then saying playoffs reflect the reg. season...

Agree.

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

again, I say this is tunnel vision... making the entire occurrence of the reg season secondary and then saying playoffs reflect the reg. season (That is the WHOLE point of course, crowning a great team for the WHOLE YEAR) is a complete joke... if you take ONLY teams of elite records then of course (but no major sport in this country does anymore)... but allowing teams of barely .500 marks and then calling it fairness is a insulting... people complain about the BCS but it's playoffs that have become about the money while stomping on fairness... hence the constant expansion in every single sports playoff system since the 1950s

that's why people who say, "win it when it counts" and are full of crap or just plain stupid... how can a second season determine the best team over the course of a season all while shiting on the importance of the season itself?? Playoffs defeat themselves in that way, but it's the status quo so no one either wants to hear or flat out never thinks about that side of it

also as far as "Why don't we just go out and say that any losses ruin a teams season!" you destroyed your own argument there... that is EXACTLY what a playoff does... give some average team with nothing left to lose a second and at times third shot at destroying some greats team season AFTER that great team has often undeniably established dominance over the course of the entire year, and call me crazy but an eniter season is a MUCH better sample then one game will ever be... no matter who much mucho "win it when it counts" BS people try to drop, expanded playoffs aren't right and never will be

what the hell are "cupcakes" even doing in a supposed "championship" setting anyway????

Do you also take exception to the NCAA Basketball tourney? This year has been the exception with all the favorites making it so far, but do you have a problem with lesser teams toppling the big boys in the tourney? Teams have to come ready to play every day, no matter who they play or whether they are in the regular season or the playoffs. I hear what you are saying, but I don't agree that the playoffs make a regular season worthless. Championship caliber teams play like champions every day.

 

[ACamp1900]

Do you also take exception to the NCAA Basketball tourney? This year has been the exception with all the favorites making it so far, but do you have a problem with lesser teams toppling the big boys in the tourney? Teams have to come ready to play every day, no matter who they play or whether they are in the regular season or the playoffs. I hear what you are saying, but I don't agree that the playoffs make a regular season worthless. Championship caliber teams play like champions every day.

I didn't say worthless, I said secondary... and yeah the NCAA tourney is a joke... no team in history was Championship caliber every single day they took the field or court... THe Pats of a couple years back are a great example of that, they were CLEARLY the best team in football that year, and one of the greats of all time... since baseball has expanded how many teams have won the World Series that in the old format would never have even sniffed the playoffs??... wild card teams in the super bowl???... I can't stand that crap... I don't think the BCS is close to perfect but I would rather have two teams that have proven a chance at a title all year and have one or two other teams kicking and screaming than give a bunch of barely .500 teams a chance to destroy an otherwise great season... I know I am in the minority but I stand very frim on that one?? Hell isn't that the whole point?? TO decide the GREATEST team for that season?? NOT the hottest team during the playoff....

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

I didn't say worthless, I said secondary... and yeah the NCAA tourney is a joke... no team in history was Championship caliber every single day they took the field or court... THe Pats of a couple years back are a great example of that, they were CLEARLY the best team in football that year, and one of the greats of all time... since baseball has expanded how many teams have won the World Series that in the old format would never have even sniffed the playoffs??... wild card teams in the super bowl???... I can't stand that crap... I don't think the BCS is close to perfect but I would rather have two teams that have proven a chance at a title all year and have one or two other teams kicking and screaming than give a bunch of barely .500 teams a chance to destroy an otherwise great season... I know I am in the minority but I stand very frim on that one?? Hell isn't that the whole point?? TO decide the GREATEST team for that season?? NOT the hottest team during the playoff....

I understand what you are saying and I can kind of see your point to an extent, but isn't it great that a team can have struggles all season and limp into the playoffs only to put together all the pieces and make a great run at the championship? That is where great stories are made. What about the 1980 Olympic hockey team? Not exactly the same as what you are talking about, but it is stories like that where the team that has no shot, shouldn't even be in the same room with their opponent goes out, and against all odds, pulls off the upset. That is where the magic comes from.

I don't always want #1 vs #2 for the title. I believe in preserving magic and wonder in sports. I like that a Bemidji State can go out and whip some butt (even if it is at the expense of my team) because that is what young players dream about their whole lives. I think of how many games I won at the buzzer in my backyard against Bobby Knight's IU teams or Patrick Ewing's Georgetown team. I did that because I have seem magic in sports and there is always hope. I remember exactly where I was and what it felt like when Al Michaels asked if I "believe in miracles". And I remember watching a nearly-crippled Kirk Gibson hobble to the plate against Dennis Eckersley and crank one over the wall. I was court side when LMU beat Michigan after Hank Gathers passed away. Those are memories that will be with me for the rest of my life. Can't seem to recall too many #1 versus #2 games.

It's just my opinion, but I think it is the magic and joy of some of those games that keeps people believing it can happen to them too...someday.

 

[ACamp1900]

The dodgers earned their way into a playoff by winning their divison and beating ONLY division champs in the playoffs... being an under dog is different from being a wildcard or the 65th team in the tourney...and the 1980 hockey team won a round robin tourney, totally different...

I see everyone's point with the upsets and moments for entertainment value, i get caught up in it too from time to time... but once we expanded to include x ammount of teams we took the true nature out of the beast imo

 

[PADOMERNUT]

i respect you bro, you might be the only person in america who thinks the ncaa basketball tournament is a joke. it is one of the greatest sporting events of the year.

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

The dodgers earned their way into a playoff by winning their divison and beating ONLY division champs in the playoffs... being an under dog is different from being a wildcard or the 65th team in the tourney...and the 1980 hockey team won a round robin tourney, totally different...
I see everyone's point with the upsets and moments for entertainment value, i get caught up in it too from time to time... but once we expanded to include x ammount of teams we took the true nature out of the beast imo

Yeah, mentioned that one was different already.

But, my point I was trying to make was the point of view that an "underdog" beating a huge favorite (as both of those examples demonstrate) is what brings the magic to sports and creates lasting memories. You want the top teams from the regular season to be there and any lesser opponents beating them somehow demeans their accomplishments in the regular season and makes the playoff system a "joke".

You are entitled to your opinion and I respect it. I am just saying that things like the Miracle on Ice and other examples of David vs Goliath (in the playoffs or otherwise) are what make special memories in sports for the rest of us.

 

[stonebreakerwasgod]

The Final Four kicks ass all over the frozen four. However...that thing is gaining traction. Nice to see Miami (oh) get a little play in the tourney.

As far as the Freezing Irish...they get Rickrolled.