Sports
NCAA Mascot Madness – Genius Bracketology
March 20, 2013 | Drew Troller 4
This year, I’m trusting in the unpredictable. I’m doing something bold. I’m trusting my brackets not to expert advice or probability or whether I believe a high-scoring offense or a solid defensive core will win basketball games.
I’m making a bracket based on which mascot would win in a fight. For every game. It’s perhaps the first time someone has gone on the internet and actually advocated mascot-based bracketology. It’s NCAA Mascot Madness. It’s genius.
For safety – and science – I made a bracket that was based on my own (mostly safe) picks. And I’m stacking it up against a bracket which – by my own arbitrary determination – asks which team’s mascot could kick the other’s ass. The results are fascinating. Read More
NCAA Tournament: South Region Preview
March 20, 2013 | Josh Buchanan
NCAA Tournament: South Region Preview
Tournament Faux Paux
It is always interesting to see a number one seed described by their coach as the worst team he has ever coached, especially when that team was one game away from a national championship last year. Granted, this commentary came when the Rock Chalk nation lost to the Horned Frogs of TCU in Fort Worth, TX earlier this year. But even still, when crafting your bracket it is worthwhile to take note of certain anecdotes from well regarded coaches in addition to past performances.
NCAA Tournament East Region
March 20, 2013 | Jason Behler
NCAA Tournament East Region
This year’s NCAA Tournament East Region is full of former Cinderellas that have outgrown their slippers as overlooked mid-major sleepers. Butler went to back-to-back National Championship … Read More
NCAA Tournament West Region
March 20, 2013 | Mike Zoller
NCAA Tournament West Region
The West region is being called the weakest of the four this tournament and rightfully so. There was a lot of discussion on which team would get the final number one seed and Gonzaga beat out Ohio State and Miami for the last number one spot.
NCAA Tournament Midwest Region
March 20, 2013 | Adam Reeves
The NCAA Tournament Midwest Region starts off Thursday with a sight sure to make every Kentucky fan sick: The University of Louisville Cardinals will open play as the tournament’s overall number one team on Kentucky’s home floor. This feeling is only worsened by Kentucky’s loss to Robert Morris in the first round of the NIT (short for “Not In Tournament”). Just how many UK fans show up to root against the Cardinals isn’t the only storyline in a region chocked full of contenders. Here’s a breakdown of the Midwest Region, just in time to fill out your bracket (and promptly throw it away when Duke loses to a 15-seed. Again).
The NHL Streak We Almost Missed
March 18, 2013 | Mike Zoller
The Streak
It’s hard to believe that the NHL season is already more than half over. Well maybe it’s not that hard to believe since the 2013 season is only 48 games. What might be harder to believe is that the Chicago Blackhawks went the entire first half of the season without a regulation loss.
NCAA Selection Show Live Blog
March 17, 2013 | Tristan Chan 2
Join us at 6 p.m. Eastern 4 p.m. Mountain time as we cover the NCAA Selection show. We’ll break down the biggest snubs, seedings and surprises from the committee’s selection. Be sure to join in on the conversation when we launch the chat option in our live blog! Also get your tweets onto the live blog by using the hash tag #pdselectionshow
Funeral for a Friend: Big East Basketball
March 12, 2013 | Josh Buchanan
Editorial update: Notre Dame has reached an agreement with the Big East to leave the conference and join the ACC on July 1st. ND will remain an independent in football but will play 5 ACC teams each season starting in 2014.
Its a funeral for a friend this March in New York City. The service will be held over five days and roughly 100,000 people will stand witness. You won’t hear a formal ceremony starting off in a similar tone as “We come here to celebrate the life of…” because it is tacit knowledge to the attendees. But this eulogy will most likely bring attention to the lives touched by the Men’s Big East Basketball Conference Tournament. Rather than focusing on the quantitative (16 teams will always have its critics), it was the quality. For recent generations, its the 2009 6OT title game between Uconn and Syracuse (for your viewing pleasure); its the performance of Gerry MacNamara or Kemba Walker, it can even be the time Allen Ray almost lost his eye from Karl Krauser…ok too fatalistic, I apologize.
Ban Home Plate Collisions
March 4, 2013 | Mike Zoller
In baseball contact is frowned upon. Any contact except for the ball hitting the bat is discouraged and can include discipline if it is severe enough. So why in a sport that steers away from collisions do we have one of the most violent incidences in professional athletics?
No Good From Playing Derrick Rose This Season
February 20, 2013 | Mike Zoller
Walk around downtown Chicago and you will hear a variety of sports topics being debated. You’ll hear the classic Cubs vs. Sox, Chicago Stadium vs. United Center and the hot topic of the past few weeks has been should Derrick Rose play this year or not?
The MLB Name Game: Baseball’s Best Hypothetical Matchups
February 11, 2013 | Drew Troller
DISCLAIMER: Even if you don’t like baseball, you can read this article. Believe me, it has SHOCKINGLY little to do with the actual sport.
This year, professional baseball is taking a huge step by shifting its American and National Leagues to two leagues of 15 teams each. This means that on any given day, an AL team will be playing an NL team, and interleague play will no longer be a special small stretch of the season. The Reds vs. the Angels will open the season as the first-ever Opening Day interleague game, and this season promises to create some new never-before-seen rivalries in baseball.
Looking over all the teams in baseball, something occurs to me: some teams have WAY cooler names than others. Teams are named after animals, American traditions, or in some cases just colors of socks. So in preparation for this season, I preview matchups not of actual baseball teams of players, but of team names themselves. Some matchups just make SENSE based on their names – who would win in a fight between a Cub and a Tiger? Which color Sox is the best? I will use any asinine criteria I wish to determine the outcome of these logical (and also sort of insane) hypothetical games.
PorchDrinking Super Bowl Roundup
February 3, 2013 | Tristan Chan
All week we’ve had your complete Super Bowl coverage, featuring game previews, recipes, bingo boards, and do’s and don’ts for the game. Here’s a complete Super Bowl round up of our entire week of coverage just in case you missed anything from earlier. Enjoy tonight’s game, go (insert team you’re rooting for), have an awesome Sunday Funday and be safe out there.
Super Bowl Recipes Pinterest Board
February 2, 2013 | Laura Mego
Still trying to figure out what to bring to impress all of your friends for the Super Bowl party? We’ve put together a handy Super Bowl Recipes Pinterest board chock full of amazing treats to help you prep for the big game. So don’t show up at your friends’ house with a box of Doritos Locos Tacos or a half eaten pizza… well, do show up with a box of half eaten pizza, that’s actually pretty funny. But if you really wanna knock it out of the stadium create something gourmet. Oh, and be sure to follow us on Pinterest.
Beginners Guide to Watching the Super Bowl
February 1, 2013 | Tristan Chan
Lets face it, not everyone is an avid football fan. Heck even the most diehard football fanatics may not be fully into this game, and for good reason. For some, the Super Bowl can be considered a religious experience, and for most it’s an excuse for a Sunday Funday with mildy entertaining commercial breaks. But no matter what, you dont want to be that “guy” who ruins the party. I’ve comprised a list of do’s and don’ts to make sure you aren’t the odd one out while watching the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl Commercials Bingo
January 31, 2013 | Kate Stark
Be sure to check out our updated bingo boards for this year’s big game between the Broncos and the Seahawks!
Earlier this week, Mike Zoller brought you downloadable bingo cards for the big game. However, if you aren’t really into football, chances are you’ll still be watching the Super Bowl, if only for the commercials. A lot of companies have already released info about their planned ad campaigns, and we’ve used that info along with trends from previous years to piece together a second set of bingo cards for this Sunday.
Super Bowl Bingo
January 29, 2013 | Mike Zoller 1
Be sure to check out the 2016 Super Bowl 50 version of our Super Bowl Bingo Boards.
With the big game less than a week away there always seems to be so much more to talk about than a football game. The Super Bowl has people talking about commercials, celebrities, half time shows and the most unique and obscure bets a person can make.
You have your typical football bets on the actual game, but for the Super Bowl, bookies will take everything from how long the national anthem will take to sing to how many tweets will be sent about the game. Basically anything is fair game when it comes to the most watched sporting event of the year.
So at your Super Bowl you might participate in football squares or a variety of other betting games, one other popular one is Super Bowl Bingo. For those of you that want to play but don’t want to make your own board, PorchDrinking.com has created a great board for the game Sunday.
Super Bowl Super Preview
January 28, 2013 | Adam Reeves 2
Monday kicks off our week of coverage leading up to Super Bowl XLVII here at PorchDrinking.com. Today, Adam Reeves reviews the matchups on the field and the storylines off it. Tomorrow, Mike Zoller brings you Super Bowl Bingo.
On Sunday, February 3, the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens will kick off the forty-seventh edition of America’s biggest holiday—the Super Bowl. In the week leading up to the big game in New Orleans, every fact, statistic, angle and storyline will be hashed, re-hashed, and then hashed some more. For those readers lacking the stamina needed to sort through all this hype and hyperbole, don’t fret, this article is for you. Whether you’re a concussion-hardened football fanatic or just watching for the commercials, this article will tell you everything you need to know to enjoy the game, impress your friends, and avoid saying embarrassing things like “wait, are those coaches related?”
Caveat Emptor! Lance, Manti and Believing the Sports Media
January 21, 2013 | Adam Reeves
If you happen to take your inspiration from sports figures, last week was not your week. First, Lance Armstrong confessed that his Tour de France titles were fueled by blood doping and performance enhancing drugs. Next, Deadspin.com reported that the most “heartbreaking and inspirational story of the college football season” was a hoax. Turns out Manti Te’o’s deceased girlfriend Lennay Kekua, to whom the Notre Dame linebacker dedicated much of his play this season, was never real. These revelations are shocking to be sure—Armstrong’s for the sheer duration of his previous denials and Te’o’s for the sheer weirdness. The idea, however, that these revelations will make the sports media change the way it reports them is as much an illusion as Kekua herself.
Who’s Worthy for Cooperstown Now?
January 14, 2013 | Mike Zoller
Many might not have realized it, but January 9th will be a day that changed the future of professional baseball in America forever. For just the 8th time in the history of the Hall of Fame voting, no players were elected into the HOF in Cooperstown. But if it’s happened before why is this time more significant? It’s simple and can be summed up in two words – steroid era.
Perception Beats Reality In New Jersey’s Showdown Over Sports Gambling
January 7, 2013 | Adam Reeves 1
Every week in his gambling blog on Grantland.com, “Cousin Sal” Iacano recommends creative prop bets for readers tired of betting over/unders or picking against the spread. Because sports gambling is illegal pretty much everywhere, Cousin Sal counsels his readers to place their bets using something he calls “Jermajesties”—an imaginary currency named after Jermaine Jackson’s fourth son, Jermajesty Jackson. While naming your son Jermajesty is arguably less absurd than Cousin Sal using the term to advocate illegal gambling without actually advocating illegal gambling, this practice begs the question: why bother?
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