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Basketball
  • Windsor guard Enrico DiLoreto on the Lancers (12-5) being within a half-game of Lakehead (12-4) for the OUA West lead with three weeks left: "We feel we have to win the rest of our games."

    Good to know people in Windsor are aware the Lancers did not pull into a first-place tie in the OUA West by winning on Wednesday, contrary to misinformation spread by the Guelph Mercury. It's not wins, it's winning percentage. Someone tell the Mercury (and ask what the deal is with that sidebar linking to months-old wire stories). (Windsor Star)

  • Didi Mukendi was the catalyst for the Brock men in their big win over Western on Wednesday, scoring eight of the last 11 Badgers points. (St. Catharines Standard)

  • Calgary Dinos rookie big man Patrick Walker is making progress in limited playing time. One big take-home is a quote from the No. 5-ranked Dinos coach Dan Vanhooren on his recruiting approach: "Patrick is a great athlete, No. 1. I think that's what you need when you recruit, is athletes. We can turn him into a basketball player. He's got hands, he can catch, he can run and he's very quick for a guy his size."

    Some coaches would say it's the other way around. You take basketball players and make them more athletic. (Airdrie Echo)

  • Cape Breton star Kelsey Hodgson visits her hometown this weekend when the Capers play UNB. The Varsity Reds' Emma Russell, who started out with the Capers, is also having a breakout season. (Fredericton Daily Gleaner)

  • Surely it's just a coincidence that McMaster's Taylor Smith became the women's hoops Marauders' first 2,000-point scorer the same week Taylor Swift won four Grammy Awards. This reference has officially been run into the ground.
Football
  • Missed this a few days back, but 900 CHML in Hamilton had an early report on McMaster's schedule. The Marauders, who went 6-2 last fall and beat Ottawa before losing to Queen's in the OUA semi-final, would have Laurier, Western and the Gee-Gees the first three weeks. They would have a bye vs. the Golden Gaels.

  • Guelph assistant coach Bill Brown has been named to Team Ontario West's staff for this July's Football Canada Cup under-18 tourney in Wolfville, N.S. Brown is Ont-West's special teams coordinator. He handles the D for the Gryphons.
Hockey
  • Nice for Western's Keaton Turkiewicz to reach the 20-goal mark in Windsor, where he played some of his major junior hockey. (Windsor Star)

  • A Q&A with Nipissing captain Matt Lahey, former Ottawa 67. (North Bay Nugget)
Oh, and stop by a leave a nice note at Norman James Sports. You'll see.
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11 comments:

  1. "•Guelph assistant coach Bill Brown has been named to Team Ontario West's staff for this July's Football Canada Cup under-18 tourney in Wolfville, N.S. Brown is Ont-West's special teams coordinator. He handles the D for the Gryphons."

    If he coachs special teams like he coaches Defence, Team Ontario West is dead in the water.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Actually, the CIS Blog is wrong. Placing IS based on points, with each win worth 2 points. Therefore, Windsor and Lakehead are tied for first right now. All the teams play the same amount of games, so winning percentage never comes into the equation or determination of placing. The next tie breaker is head to head point differential. At this time, Windsor is actually in first place with the same points as Lakehead (24) but with the edge in head to head.
    Let's not forget about Mac..I don't think it is only between Windsor and Lakehead for first.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lakehead would pretty much have to collapse in order for Mac to finish first.
    The Marauders are two down in the loss column and were swept by Lakehead so
    in effect they are three games out of first.
    Windsor holds the tiebreaker over Lakehead.but has no margin of error.
    As the Windsor player stated, Windsor has to run the table and hope Lakehead stumbles.
    ....Don't know why the CIS uses points in tabulating standings.
    There is no single point awarded when a team loses in OT like hockey so...what's the point of using points?
    The NBA calculates standings the same way MLB does and the CIS should too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good point....but a win is 2 points...and an OT loss gets you nothing. In fact, an OT loss screw the loser...if one team runs away from the other in OT. Obviously, if the game has gone into OT, it's a close game...but the winner can end up winning by 10 points....the loser can then win the next game in regulation by 9.....and guess who gets the tie breaker? Perhaps a loss in OT should get you 1 point?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the feedback. To Windsor fan, we're not wrong. We're not bound to punt on practicality and logic since the OUA wrongly applies a hockey & football custom to basketball.

    There's no point in giving 2 points for a win in basketball, since there are no ties. We use games ahead/behind since that makes better use of logic and common sense. . If Windsor wins its game Saturday and Lakehead splits, then they're tied for first place at 13-5. (Same deal should none of them get a win and they end up 12-6.)

    I see your point, but this is a blog and we're allowed to have our own opinion of how the standings should appear. If Lakehead wins its remaining 6 games and Windsor wins out in its last 5, guess what, Lakehead comes out ahead. So, how could they tied for first?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Exactly...disagreements done respectfully always make things more interesting.

    I stand by my assertion that 2 points earned through wins, determines placing. You are actually making a point for my claim. Lakehead indeed has a game in hand, thus allowing the possibility for earning another 2 points. Yet, at this junction of the schedule, Windsor is tied for first with 24 points, same as Lakehead. Lakehead has an advantage in that they control their own destiny. If they win out, no other team can catch them.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Fair enough — the point is there's no point in even listing basketball teams by points in OUA. Every game is played out until there's a winner (no ties, no OT losses, no tiebreaker procedures) and every game is worth 2 points. It's an anachronism to list a 12-4 or 12-5 team as having 24 points. Just say that one is a half-game ahead or behind. It's more straightforward.

    If it was the NBA, Lakehead would be in first place, a half-game ahead. No disrespect intended, I'll go with the NBA over CIS on a basketball standings matter.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yes...but look at it this way.

    What if Windsor had some games canceled due to weather etc. Consider this scenario.

    Lakehead is 12-4...
    Windsor is 11-3...

    Who is in first? I say Lakehead with 24 points vs. Windsor with only 22.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Windsor would be in first on percentage points.

    Eleven wins in 14 games is a .786 winning percentage, 12 in 16 is .750. You can't reward or punish a team for games it was unable to play due to factors beyond its control.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I guess we'll have to disagree on this...as I would say wins equals points.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Well, what is your basis for that, beyond that's the way OUA and CIS have always done it as such? You have to have a reason.

    This is Logic 101. All points are is a team's win total times two. There is no need to have 2 points for a win in basketball. The NBA just goes by wins and losses. So does the NCAA. Not to condescend, but this is Logic 101. All "points" do is fog the mind.

    In any other basketball or baseball league in the world, to go back to your example, and 11-3 team and a 12-4 team are tied in the standings (with the former listed first due to being "ahead on percentage points"). OUA and CIS do a lot of good things, but they're backwards on this. There's not even an argument.

    ReplyDelete