2024-25 College Basketball Thread

Having covered the Great Alaska Shootout in its decline phase, they spent about $5 on that tournament. I've covered high school tournaments that had better, well, everything. Glad I went for the adventure of it, but it might be the least favorite tournament I ever covered as far as the organization of the tournament itself is concerned.

 

I don’t remember Glen Rice being upset about it.

 

Nine teams in this week’s AP poll including my hellscape scenario of Tennessee-Auburn in the top two slots. Also holding down Nos. 5, 7 and 9. Three (EDIT: four) other SEC teams receiving votes.

What hath God wrought?

 

SEC Shorts is going to have to expand into the basketball season.

 

And yet somehow Mizzou knocks off No. 1 and remains unranked.

 

Cincinnati sends cease and desist letter to middle school in Tennessee for using its logo and also threatens them if they keep calling their teams the Bearcats. Hilarity ensues.

https://www.wcpo.com/news/education...nt-cease-and-desist-over-bearcats-mascot-logo

 

Nor Sarah Palin.

But that was way before the decline phase up there.

 

Thanksgiving growing up meant an all-day stay at my Granny’s apartment stuffed to the gills with family (she had eight kids who survived to adulthood) and filling up on turkey and sides while watching the end of the Lions game and then the Cowboys with my uncles. Sometime in there we drew names for Christmas. The adults would play Rook or Uno or Spoons while the younger cousins played back in the bedrooms.

Finally it was time to go home. Granny would send me home with some homemade chicken and dumplings before we put on our coats and endured the icy wind until we could get in a car that wouldn’t warm up until 10 minutes into a half hour drive. Get home, heat up the chicken and dumplings to knock off the chill while watching the end of Horns-Aggies. Then the first glass of egg nog for the season in time for the 11 pm tipoff from the Great Alaska Shootout.

How was I to know that was as perfect as life got?

 

Nah. It would be fun, but it just doesn’t mean as much.

 

They have to do this to protect their trademark (not copyright) and dozens of schools around the country get these letters from colleges and professional sports teams annually. You can lose rights and/or control over trademarks if you don't defend them when you become aware of infringements.

I'm honestly amazed the frequency with which schools blatantly rip off logos. Just this weekend my kid had a wrestling tournament at a rural school about an hour from us that has "Western" in its name and the logo is Wisconsin's W. Same color red and everything. I'm like, can't you at least make it a different color?

The Bearcats to Musketeers thing is pretty funny, though.

 

Wallenpaupack does it right!

 

Some schools will license it out as long as you ask first. That’s why you see a million variations of the Power Cat from K-State. Many NFL teams do likewise and will even let them have it for virtually free in the interest of goodwill and growing the sport. But I can see why Cincy wouldn’t be interested in granting retroactive permission. The no Bearcats thing feels like a step too far though. This is hardly the only place using that mascot.