I think everybody in his/her right mind agrees that the tournament has to
expand to 16 teams (or back down to 8--yecch!) to eliminate the byes.
To put a Thurs-Fri-Sat (or Fri-Sat-Sun) invites a "HockeyFest" type
tournament. While it worked well (for a while) for the ECAC & HEA (1991 was
a great 'Fest), I wonder if it would work for the NCAA's?
Wouldn't it be better to have 4 regional sites?? Campus sites won't work,
but if you put one each, say in Worcester/Albany, New Haven/Hartford (or
Trenton), Michigan, and somewhere west of the Mississippi, you have 4
somewhat geographically dispersed regions that can play Thurs & Sat or Fri &
Sun. (Note: If it was Worcester & Hartford I wonder how many folks would be
zooming up & down the highways to catch all 6 games)
We can then expand the TV opportunities (memo to NCAA --> put the Women's
finals in the "dead" week between the Men's regionals and finals. Better
play them on Fri & Sun) for 4 days of college hockey.
I am encouraged that the NCAA has taken notice of the "day after" problem.
As a short-term fix, can they put an off day between the regional dates??
Joe
PS Congrats to Minnesota-Duluth on capturing the Women's Division 1 crown.
I saw the game on TV and, yes, it was slower than a men's game, but it was
kind of fun to watch. They can pass, shoot & skate. I just wish there were
more fannies in the seats.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew Weise" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, March 26, 2001 8:39 AM
Subject: Re: Time to say "buh-bye" to the... er, byes.
> 3/25/01 8:10:02 PM, Greenie <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >Is the theory really that it's "better for the fans" for teams to play on
> >successive days? It certainly isn't better for the teams. What's wrong
with
> >Thursday-Saturday or Friday-Sunday matchups at this stage?
>
> In that case, why don't they expand to 16 teams (8 in each region)
> and play 2 games on Thursday, Friday, & Saturday? I admit that's a
> lot of hockey....
>
> This is an excerpt from a Saturday article in the Albany Times Union:
>
> 'Early Saturday afternoon, Tom Jacobs, the Director of Championships
> for the NCAA, marveled over the intensity of the two overtime games,
> but admitted the format will be discussed. "It is awfully tough for a team
> to play that late and come back and play a team that had a bye,'' Jacobs
> said. "It is an unfortunate situation.'' '
>
> This was in respect to Maine & Colorado College playing overtime games
> on Friday and then having to play a rested team the next night.
>
> This may not mean anything to a lot of us, but at least the NCAA is
> acknowledging that the format is a little unfair to those who do not have
> the bye.
>
> I agree with Greenie. I've been interested in knowing when the NCAA
> will expand to 16 teams, given that the number of eligible teams is
> growing each year and that the bye is (almost) too much of an advantage
> for the top 2 teams.
>
> >With the extra week now thrown in, why not have the regionals in
successive
> >weeks rather than successive days? I'm not crazy about it, but it sure
> >beats this bye-game business.
>
> How would that work, then? Play the first round in week 1 on Friday &
Saturday
> and then the QFs the next week? That would be a lot of travel for the
teams,
> unless the tournament is moved back to on-campus sites.
>
> -Andy
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