College basketball is weird this year

In a given season, I think we generally expect three of a group of 6, Duke, North Carolina, Arizona, Michigan State, Kentucky and Kansas to be near the top of the heap and earn tournament 1 seeds, with a second tier, including Syracuse, Villanova, Connecticut, Memphis, Louisville, UCLA, Florida and Gonzaga occupying several of the higher seeded spots, with maybe one or two upstarts filling in a final 1 seed, or claiming a stray 2 or 3 seed. This year, looking at the top 12 teams in the country, there are several new faces. Looking at the AP poll, those schools are
2 - Virginia - an ACC team usually forgotten behind the rest of a formidable conference, though resurgent in recent years
3 - Purdue - Despite my high regard for them, this is the best Purdue team in decades.
4 - Oklahoma - OU can usually recruit, and has the best freshman in the country, for the first time since the days of Blake Griffin.
6 - West Virginia - Bob Huggins is still coaching, but doesn't seem to be getting in as much trouble as he used to. He might just be good at his job.
7 - Wichita State - They even switched conferences to raise their profile. Mission accomplished!
8 - Texas Tech - what
11 - Xavier - The A-10's finest, which is usually only good for being ranked 20th or so.
12 - Cincinnati - By these rankings, Cincinnati isn't even the best team... in Cincinnati! And yet, they are the 12th ranked team in the country.

That's 75% of the top 3 seeds that would go to teams that most people wouldn't describe as blue bloods. That's going to make for an interesting tournament this year. (But it will probably be Villanova vs Duke in the championship game.)

The NCAA basketball "belt" Where is it?

A couple of years ago, I was talking to my friend Jon, speculating on what it would be like if college basketball passed around their championship like they do in combat sports. The championship, or the "belt" as it is in so many sports, transfers only when the top team is defeated, and then it goes to the side that bested them.
Given the tumult at the top of the rankings in a typical year, this seemed like a good sport to follow such a championship around. This year, with Purdue #3 in the country, it seems like a good year for me to try to track the belt.
Last year, for those that don't remember, the North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the Gonzaga Bulldogs to win the NCAA Tournament, so the belt starts with them.
Their first loss came in that PK80 tournament to the Michigan State Spartans, another blueblood in college basketball. Then, it changed hands only one more time. The belt is staying in the Big Ten until the tournament, as Ohio State, undefeated in the Big Ten to this point. There is a chance for Purdue to grab it on February 7th, assuming the Buckeyes don't lose it before then.

Now that it's 2018... here are the year's teams for Following the Compass

I've already updated this on the Following the Compass page, but I did want to alert all of my long time readers to the teams for our annual Following the Compass festivities. First off, what Following the Compass is:
In an effort to see the country and appreciate every team out there, I randomly select two games across the college and professional sports calendars, by first selecting a team and then picking a game off their schedule. This weighs things more towards college sports, which is fine, because that opens up more of the country to my inquiring mind. Last year, the two teams were NYCFC and the Toronto Maple Leafs, so every once in a while, so it's not all college teams all the time.
I try to then select a game, again randomly, off the schedule and try to get to the game. Failing that, I will watch the game on TV or online, and then follow the team for the rest of the year. I already said that it's not college teams all the time but of course this year, it is.
On the eve of the College Football National Championship, I am proud to say that both teams are college football teams. Team number one is the Texas Tech Red Raiders from the Big 12.

The Big 12 is a conference that releases schedules early. I picked the 2nd game off of their schedule, which in 2018 is a non-conference contest with Lamar, an FBS school located in Beaumont. The game will be in Lubbock on September 8th When I was interested in grad school many years ago, I took a swing by Texas Tech, considering it a candidate. I'm curious to see how it looks 10 years later.
The second team is out of the ACC. It will be a conference game, which is problematic, because their conference schedules aren't out yet. Game 7 on the season, which is what I drew, will fall in mid-October. This year, that game was against Clemson. The team I am interested in, however, is Syracuse.

When their schedule comes out, I will certainly keep you updated... eventually. 

"Hey, let's turn this into a movie!"

Ok!

Movies in 2018 are going to be pretty legit

Is this the face of Minnesota now?

In case you hadn’t heard, Minneapolis will be hosting the Super Bowl next month. There is a chance that the Vikings could even be in it, which is exciting for local fans, and a first of it' kind event in the NFL, but regardless of who appears in the game, it will be a touchstone event for the city, with

ramifications for a generation.

With an eye on the city, you can bet that the national TV cameras will be looking for an ambassador, especially one who holds the Vikings near and dear to their heart. With that in mind, undoubtedly, cameras will turn to the most famous, most ardent Vikings fan around.

Nick Swardson

As a qualifier, I should say that Swardson is undoubtedly the most ardent, famous Viking fan out there. Certainly, there are other Vikings fans, though not as vociferous, in the celebrity community. Nobody tops Swardson for his forthright allegiance. This isn't a great look for the state of Minnesota.

The problem in general is a lack of interest in Minnesota sports from Minnesota celebrities. If you look around the internet for most famous fans of particular teams, you will find one CBS.com article that calls Craig Kilborn the most famous fan of the Timberwolves, Swardson of the Vikings and Bleacher Report suggests  Josh Hartnett for the Twins with Kris Humphries, a basketball player, second.

Prince passed away last year, but was a much more renowned figure in Minnesota and in Vikings fandom, but other Minnesotan celebrities seem to have a casual disregard for Minnesota sports. Andrew Zimmern owns some concessionaries at the various stadiums around town, but good luck getting him to a game or chatting about the teams when he isn't there. I'm not sure Bob Dylan follows sports.

There are, of course, other celebrities in the Twin Cities that have a national presence, like Josh Hartnett or Kevin Sorbo (I guess), but they are just as distanced from Minnesota athletics as the previous examples, and surely not as active on social media, for better or worse.

So Swardson is the main event. Oh, I'm sorry,  we've made it this deep into the post, and you don’t know Nick Swardson? Let me try to You might recognize him and not know it. He is the late joining member of Adam Sandler's crew, the one who joined right around the time Sandler stopped creating anything innovative or funny. In fact, Nick Swardson's lone lead role is in the lowest rated movie of all time on Rotten Tomatoes.

Swardson's career started as a stand up in the Twin Cities. He's not clever, not particularly witty, but he's always been affable, and seems like he must be a good guy to have in a circle of friends, but as a representative for your group? I mean, his most famous bit involves a ghost with flatulence. Not a hell of a lot of nuance there.

A look down his twitter timeline suggests a blind allegiance to the Vikings, which is excellent for the purposes of this piece, but also not so great because the Tweets are generally just SKOL with some emojis, or a crude expression of sexual gratification because of the success of the team.

For a famous person, Nick Swardson has an alarmingly low degree of talent, and is especially barren of the skills it would take to be any sort of ambassador for the city.

And now with the scandals besetting so many Minnesota figures, like the well spoken Al Franken and Garrison Keillor, there aren't even many revered candidates that simply have Minnesota ties, if not ties to the Vikings, that could step up and be the public face of Minnesota sports that make a whole lot of sense. None that are actively putting out fresh content, or are often in the public spotlight now.

Cameras during the game, and in the lead up to the game will be drawn to the shining stars that might represent the town. Given the successes of the team this season, the Vikings in the Super Bowl would further the demand for a local face to put on this event.

Jacob Frey or Melvin Carter, freshly elected mayors of the Twin Cities would be capable ambassadors, of course, as would Senator Amy Klobuchar or Governor Mark Dayton, but they don't possess the readymade celebrity of, well, readymade celebrities. They do have the ear of the people, however, which Swardson does not. That could be a useful tool as well.

Yes, Swardson, and probably Andrew Zimmern and a couple of other more tolerable celebrities will make TV appearances in the days leading up to the Super Bowl, but on the ground, the visitors will be interacting with us. With you and me. Sure, Swardson can get out there and give us a black eye, but people that come here, the international media and football fans the world over, and appreciate the hospitality organized by local leaders and provided by us. We can leave them with a good impression.

There will be a lot of new attention paid to the Twin Cities this February, as the Cities fill up with out of towners and media from across the world. If you ever want this kind of attention lavished on the Twin Cities again, it behooves Minnesotans everywhere to be on our best behavior, and ensuring that the cameras look to the city, rather than its celebrities. 

Let's make some playoff predictions

In the interest of honesty, I must be very clear... My NFL predictions this year were very bad. I picked the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl, and they aren't even in the playoffs. I also picked Bon Jovi to play halftime, and now we know that Justin Timberlake will be the halftime act instead, so my track record isn't great. With that in mind, let's look at what the playoffs have to offer.

Tennessee Titans @ Kansas City Chiefs - The Chiefs are a dynamic offensive threat, which seems ill at odds with the perception of the Chiefs for so long. The Titans were the team I expected to win the AFC South, but that was largely because I thought they were in a very soft conference, not because they were especially talented. The Chiefs seem like the better team, because of their playmakers. The Titans have a better quarterback, but the Chiefs are just better. Pick: Chiefs

Atlanta Falcons @ Los Angeles Rams - Yes, the Rams have been stellar all year, but the fact is, they are sending 2nd year quarterback in a 2nd year stadium and a first year coach into the playoffs against the defending NFC champion. The Falcons aren't substantially worse than they were last year, but the AFC South was much stronger this year than last. I think they are battle tested enough to get through a game in Los Angeles. Pick: Falcons

Buffalo Bills @ Jacksonville Jaguars - What world are we living in that these two teams are both in the playoffs? Against each other? What?!  And during the season, the Bills traded one of their best defenders to the Jaguars. And the Bills decided one week, while they were in the throes of a playoff race, they decided to replace their quarterback in one of the greatest catastrophes in recent NFL history. The Jaguars have been so bad for so long it seems incredible that they are this good, but in fact, it's not smoke and mirrors, and finally, the breaks have gone their way. There is NO WAY the Bills should win this game, or even be in the playoffs. Obviously... Pick: Bills

Carolina Panthers @ New Orleans Saints - These are two good teams in what should be the highlight of the weekend. More than any other game of the weekend, I think it's a toss up. The Saints are a better offense, while the Panthers are a better defense. Two playoff tested quarterbacks, and two playoff tested teams. In this season in which nothing makes sense, the Panthers traded their best receiver, Kelvin Benjamin, to the.... to the BILLS. What?! Ugh, I'm just picking the home team. PICK: Saints

That brings us to the Divisional matchups.
Atlanta Falcons @ Philadelphia Eagles - For all the successes that the Eagles have had this year, they haven't been the same since Carson Wentz was injured. The Falcons are 7-3 after a 3 game losing streak early in the year. They are in a good spot, the Eagles are not. Pick: Falcons

Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots - The Patriots have a long history of getting gifted some terrific matchups in the playoffs. They will not lose to the Bills in January. Unless, of course, they are so stunned that the Bills are in the Divisional round of the Playoffs and don't come to play. Which isn't happening. Pick: Patriots

Kansas City Chiefs @ Pittsburgh Steelers - Definitely more than in the NFC, the AFC seems to have a severe break between the top two teams in the playoffs and the bottom 4. All that said, if there is a team that can beat the Steelers in this round, its the Kansas City Chiefs, with their big playmakers could put enough points on the board to put a scare into Pittsburgh. A scare, yes, but I think they don't have the necessary killer instinct. Pick: Steelers.

New Orleans Saints @ Minnesota Vikings - Here it is, the big game for local fans. The Vikings have their situation, after so many issues, figured out. Case Keenum can throw, he has a lot of options, and their running game is still a valid option despite Dalvin Cook's injury. Their defense is dominant, and the game is being played at home against a team they've already defeated. Pick: Vikings

So, who will play in the Super Bowl?

Pittsburgh Steelers @ New England Patriots - The Patriots were bold enough to trade Jimmy "undefeated in the NFL" Garaoppolo, so they must feel like they have something with quarterback Tom Brady. I just feel like the Patriots are in a late Renaissance, and Brady, Belichick and the rest of the squad are out to prove that they aren't ever going to get too old to keep winning.  They did this last year, and they always seem able to beat the Steelers. Pick: Patriots

Atlanta Falcons @ Minnesota Vikings - The Cowboys and Bills are the only teams to play each other in consecutive Super Bowls, and I don't think we are going to see that happen again this year. The Vikings have a long history of completely blowing it in important games, and will be acutely aware of their history when they are facing the Falcons in the Championship. The good news is that the difference between this Vikings-Falcons NFC championship is that this time, the Vikings are going to be way better than Atlanta. Pick: Vikings

Super Bowl:

New England Patriots @ Minnesota Vikings - The ting about the Vikings of 2017 is that they just don't ever seem to rattle. They've stepped up to the plate in every test this season, from playing strong teams to losing their best players to injury, but they just keep on pounding. The Patriots have only lost to one team in the Super Bowl (twice, but still) and don't often waver in the face of adversity, like playing a road game in the Super Bowl. What does it come down to? What would be the most annoying thing? Usually, it's another Patriots victory, but as someone who lived in Chicago White Sox territory in 2005, I can tell you it's insufferable to live among fans of a championship team when you are not a fan of said team. The Vikings winning the Super Bowl would be so annoying. Pick: Vikings.