Teams begin to officially practice next week meaning we at Big 12 Hoops have to sharpen our pencils and retrain ourselves on how to use our abacuses.
In order to get our feet wet, we are going to begin a weekly series called "Big 12 Conference Call." In it your humble servants, Joe Loyd, Matt Patton and me, will discuss the hot topics of the week, make some predictions and generally goof around. We cannot guarantee that we won't be drinking during our calls, but we can be assured at least 3 of us will be drunk. So who knows what we'll say.
So to get you guys amped for these calls, and the articles we dutifully submit for your approval, we thought we'd have a "Get To Know You" session. As you can see, we are an eclectic group with wide ranging tastes, but luckily for everyone involved, big 12 basketball is at the center and a common theme. We'll delve into Big 12 topics on the calls, this is just so you know who you're dealing with.
So enjoy, and if you want to participate in the exercise, so we know who you are, feel free to answer the questions in the comments field. If not, then just make fun of us.
1. You're stranded on a desert island. The only thing you have is a solar powered portable DVD player. If you had the choice, what one movie would you have with you?
Joe Loyd: Big Trouble in Little China (don't make fun unless you have seen it)
Matt Patton: One movie is tough: I'd probably go for a comedy just to make life bearable, so I'll say The Big Lebowski. Love the Coen Brothers.
Evan Pfaff: I have been infatuated with Fletch ever since I first saw it. I can recite it word for word, so it might not be the best to take. Big Lebowski is a fine pick, but if Matt took the only copy, I'd almost have to go with Dumb and Dumber. The one movie out of question? Cast Away.
More questions after The Jump
2. What's playing on your iPod right now?
JL: No idea, my wife has "our" iPod but probably would be Seether or Lucky Boys Confusion if I had it
MP: Rage Against the Machine following up Neil Young's Like a Hurricane. Quite the transition, I know.
EP: I am sitting in a coffee shop (quite ‘blogish' i know) and Paul Simon is playing, so while not technically my iPod, it's what I'm listening to right now.
3. What's on your iPod that you probably shouldn't admit?
JL: My wife has 2 songs from David Cook on there which I have heard (he's awful)
MP: Taylor Swift. Guilty pleasure. Very guilty. Not even going to try and explain it.
EP: Well, with a 3-month old baby at home I have "Veggie Tales" and "Baby Einstein's something or other." It is amazing how well those things work in calming down a screaming infant.
4. Smartphone or dumb phone? Which?
JL: Dumb Phone, mine is advanced as me being able to text
MP: Dumb phone all the way. This is it's fourth year, and it's still going strong.
EP: Smartphone. Blackberry curve. I'll gladly change with anyone who wants one...
5. If you walked into your local bar, before you had a chance to order, what would the bartender have waiting for you?
JL: I wish I had something cooler to write but probably just a Miller Lite draw
MP: Unfortunately, a swift kick out the door with a juicebox. Ahh youth.
EP: Out with friends? Colorado kool-aid, Coors Light. Hard day at the office? Crown Royal on the rocks.
6. You are wrongly convicted of a crime and get a last meal. What do you have the chefs make?
JL: Beef & Noodles w Mashed Potatoes (pretty simple I know)
MP: A cheese pizza (it better not be Papa John's) and cheesesticks (if you haven't had the ones from Pizza Hut, you may not have lived). And sweet tea.
EP: Do you think they'd serve something like elephant or tiger? Something wacky? If not, then comfort food like mac and cheese and cornbread. Basically anything you can find at Black Eyed Pea.
7. What is your guilty pleasure?
JL: Umm can Coke Zero be a guilty pleasure or just diet soda in general, if I could get away with not ever drinking any water again and only Coke Zero I would (very lame answer I am aware)
MP: Well my aforementioned Taylor Swift music, but I don't know many other things I'm too guilty about.
EP: I can't go a day without filling up on pop culture. I have no idea why I care who people I have never met (and most times never heard) are dating or what they did last night... but I do!
8. Writing for Big12Hoops.com probably doesn't quite cover your expenses. What is your "real" job?
JL: Work in Credit Department for company here in KC but I will have my MBA soon so if anyone wants to increase my pay please let me know!
MP: I'm a junior in college, but I'm a lifeguard on the side.
EP: I am in the communications field. I also like to buy lotto tickets, but I haven't won... yet
9. When you were 5, what did you want to be when you grew up?
JL: Professional football player for the Denver Broncos (this hasn't worked out for me yet)
MP: I'm pretty sure I wanted to be Batman. Or a jedi. No dice.
EP: Police man, fire man.. some kind of ‘man.' Still waiting for it to happen.
10. If you weren't watching basketball, what sport would you watch?
JL: Both college and pro football, but watch a lot of baseball too
MP: Football, no doubt. Used to be all about the NFL, but being a fan of the Raiders and Panthers has lead me to watch more college the past couple years.
EP: I grew up in Columbus, OH, so I'd be disowned if I didn't say Ohio State football.
11. Regardless of sport or level of play, what's your favorite non-Big 12 team?
JL: Favorite team I cheer for is Denver Broncos (although they make it hard)
MP: Duke basketball (to be clear, I've been a fan my whole life, I'm not just jumping on the national championship bandwagon...and I deserve a team that wins, I cheer for the Raiders and the Panthers...that's Jake Delhomme and JeMarcus Russell for multiple seasons).
EP: Buckeye football and Colorado Rockies baseball.
12. Big 12 basketball has the night off, but all other conferences are playing. What conference do you tune in to watch?
JL: Probably the ACC unfortunately as I can only watch about 5 minutes of Big Ten snoozeball and I don't stay awake long enough to watch many Pac 10 games and I just don't find the Big East as interesting as a lot of other people.
MP: I grew up on the ACC, so it wins in a landslide. As for the Big Ten, it works better as a sedative. Last week, Wisconsin's football team dropped 70 points on Austin Peay, that's 3 points more than their basketball team averaged last season (they only achieved more than 70 points 10 times, two of which were in OT).
EP: We can't have a landslide, so I'll go with Pac-10. I like the style of play out West. The ACC has the rivalries, and I'd probably end up watching any of those Carolina schools battle, but I like the tempo of the Pac-10.
13. Why the love affair with the Big 12?
JL: Grew up in Kansas and went to KSU football games as a kid with my dad and just have always been a Big 8/Big 12 fan. (And I think when I went to those games with my dad I was only person there wearing purple)
MP: I talked about this extensively in an article How I Became a Fan of the Big 12 (http://www.big12hoops.com/2010/7/5/1552779/where-i-come-from-how-i-became-a), but the short story is I was blown away by Kevin Durant's season at Texas. Durant combined with Kansas' Calipari chokehold and Jacob Pullen's beard sealed the deal.
EP: I went to Mizzou. As a freshman I couldn't tell you a damned thing about the Big 12, but 15 (WOW, 15) years later I find nothing I love more than Big 12 basketball (swayed towards a certain school in Columbia).
14. After Nebraska and Colorado leave, what should the Big 12 conference call itself?
JL: Let's just keep it the same so it matches our website name
MP: How about the Better 10?
EP: I love Joe's response. Wish I came up with it first. What about the "Flyover States Conference"?
15. Besides Big12Hoops.com, what other websites do you frequent?
and of course the craigslist "Casual Encounters" section... just to, you know, see what's out there.
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