... replying to my own reply (sorry!) ...

A couple of things have come to light since my reply on this thread ...

- The NCAA rule to minimize air travel is tempered in a number of ways. One
I did not mention is that the rule to avoid same-conference matchups in the
1st round apparently overrides the air travel minimization.  This could be
important to HEA teams if BU falls to Maine tomorrow and UML upsets UNH.
If that caused BU to fall out of the top-4 (a seeded  team in NCAA
parlance), BU, UML, and ME, if all placed in the East, would play in two
games.  Since a same-conference matchup is disallowed, one of those teams
would go West (and it wouldn't be BU).

- The MAAC is considered an Eastern conference. Mercyhurst (Erie, PA) is a
likely winner in the MAAC, and the school is in the Eastern region, as
defined by the NCAA.  However, Mercyhurst is 425 miles from Worcester an
only 187 miles (as the crow flies) from Ann Arbor.  NCAA rules seem to say
non-seeded teams go to a/the regional, if within 300 (this year 400) miles
from school to regional site.

So, to help the possibilities of meeting a less-powerful opening round NCAA
opponent, Maine fans may wish for Mercyhurst to be upset in the MAAC
tournament. ;-)  On the other hand, sending Mercyhurst West, *may* increase
the chances of Maine staying in the East.

My estimate: HEA will be represented by UNH (bye) and BU+ME (home team in
1st round) in the NCAA East regional in Worcester next weekend.

Listen to Maine take the 1st step by beating BU tomorrow at 7 on WZON
(http://zoneradio.com/), with pre-game at 6:30.  IMHO, WZON should
rebroadcast at 10:30 so we can turn down the sound on the tape-delay video
(fsne), but I suppose sync-ing could be tough. ;-)

On a final, and different subject, note: Deron has reported that the Sunday
night at 9pm Selection Committee "show" on ESPNEWS (Chan 123 for local-to-
Orono digital cable subscribers) ... is *10* minutes in duration!

10 minutes is a news spot, not a "show"!  :-(

For what it's worth, the chair of the selection committee says he will
ensure a 30-minute show will return next year.  Guess now's not the time to
expect a recurrence of the (now) wonderful *60*-minute shows a MN network
and the NCAA used to produce! ;-)

cheers, wayne


Wayne Smith -- [log in to unmask] -- Old Town Landing, ME