Sports Then and Now

We’ve hit midseason, and College Basketball is in full stride. So why not rank the 6 Power Conferences? Onward…

The Big Ten is the best conference in America as of now.

#6- PAC-12:

When you look at this Conference, your first impression is, “Hmm, mediocre, only three teams under .500.” Then, when you look at who they have beaten, you laugh. No team in the PAC-12 has beaten a Top-25 Team. None. Nada. I don’t know what the deal is with the scheduling, because there is absolutely no chance to grab an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament if you haven’t beaten, or played a ranked opponent. College Fans are starting to dismiss the Big East as a “Power Conference” in College Football. Can you please turn your attention to the “Power Conference” who’s best showing in the RPI is California at 37, and then Colorado at 62! Compare that to the 6 teams the Big East has in the RPI Top 25, and you get an absolutely disgraceful conference. All insults and opinions aside, the Pac-12 is looking at 1 team to make the NCAA Tournament. They have a possibility of having no at-large bids. NONE! Granted, it’s an Off-Year for USC, UCLA and Washington, but the fact that 12 schools are mediocre at best, is hard to imagine.

Regular Season Champion: California (16-5)

Anything can happen in a Conference Tournament, but the regular season title unanimously goes to Cal. They’ve gotten embarrassed by every good team they have played, but they can beat the teams they need to beat to win the regular season crown.

At-Large Bids: None

On The Fence: Stanford, Oregon

#5- SEC:

The SEC has been better than recent years, but still falls into their usual ranking. Get past Kentucky and possibly Florida or Mississippi State, and you get the same thing the Pac-12 has, mediocrity. Granted, the SEC actually has one of the best teams in the country, and Florida and Mississippi State are solid teams, but we thought LSU would be a Top 25 team. We thought Tennessee would be a quality team after the Bruce Pearl era. They both aren’t. However, watch Vanderbilt to make a move at Kentucky and the Top 25, as the Commodores beat Marquette at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Vandy just has to learn how to close out big games, as they have three losses against ranked teams in overtime. A loss to Mississippi State put them back, but that OT loss was only their 1st in SEC Play. We’re looking at 3-5 bids for the Southeastern Conference, but only if Vandy or another un-ranked team can step up late in the season. Florida, Mississippi State and Kentucky are all locked in.

Regular Season Champion: Kentucky (19-1)

Is a comment necessary?

At-Large Bids: Florida, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt

On The Fence: Alabama Read the rest of this entry →

ESPN's Sportsnation chooses ST&N as the "Site We Like."

Sports Then And Now, was chosen as the “Site We Like” by ESPN’s Sportsnation today. Hosts, Colin Cowherd and Michelle Beadle, showcased the site especially the post, Ranking The Super Bowls.

This is an incredible honor and deserved recognition for all the folks who put in the effort and long nights to make the Sports Then and Now family successful. Thanks to you and all of our readers!

Sports Then and Now: Dean, Bethany and Nate

Welcome to the new design for Sports Then and Now.

After six months on Blogspot, we have switched over to a format that provides more opportunities and hopefully will result in an increase in interaction and involvement by passionate fans who enjoy today’s sports world, but also have an interest in the past.

My hope for this site is that you, as a passionate sports fan (if you found our site and have stuck around long enough to read this you must be passionate) will share your thoughts about what is happening in the sports world today while also sharing with us stories of the memories, players, teams and games that you remember most from the history of sports.

I have already lined up a number of great writers to share their stories and also have received submissions from regular fans who appreciate the opportunity to share their memories. Both are welcome.

In addition to revamping this site, we have also created three new sites that build on the Sports Then and Now theme. The first three city specific Sports Then and Now sites (Baltimore Sports Then and Now, Boston Sports Then and Now and Chicago Sports Then and Now) are designed to give sports fans of teams in those cities a one-stop shop to see what is happening today as well as reminisce about great teams, players and moments in the sports history of those cities.

My hope is that those sites will be exactly what passionate fans are looking for and will be just the start of a Sports Then and Now network of sites.

Please check them out and let me know what you think.

Some of the content on those sites will be added to this site, but most will be content original to that site.

So, please be patient as it will take a couple days to get the bugs out of this site, but please feel free to let me know what you like (or don’t like) and to share story ideas or send me new content to include on the site.

Also, I want to be sure and thank our web designer, Jessica Borsits, who has done a wonderful job. You can check out her site at bufordcreek.com.

Thanks for being a supporter of Sports Then and Now.

Dean (dean@sportsthenandnow.com)