November/December Madness!!

Update (12 Nov 2004): If you would like to be part of a pool, e-mail me your picks. No money, but if you see the winner you must buy him or her a drink. Send your picks to mill1991 (at) umn (dot) edu.

Once again that time of year is upon us where all anybody can think about is the DII football playoffs. The field of 24 has been finalized, and everybody will be printing out their brackets, forming office pools, and skipping work to watch all the games. It is possible that you will be thinking so much about DII football that your head will turn into a football (Thanks Ian!).

The games start on November 13, with Chris Samp's third-seeded Winona State University (10-1) taking on last year's national champion, sixth-seeded Grand Valley State (8-2) in Winona. Keep your eyes open for a full preview closer to game time (or possibly after). All games are played at the home stadium of the higher seed until the championship game, which is held in Florence, Alabama (where else?) on December 11.

This is the time of year when great players separate themselves from good players, and Samp separates himself from the non-divine. Since this is Samp's third and final senior year, he will be looking to go out with a bang, and I expect nothing but top notch thrills. I don't want to spill any secrets, but he was seen this summer at Peninsula State Park (WI) practicing a play where he is the quarterback and he throws it to himself. His longest completion was like 40 yards. If you are going to be anywhere within range of Winona, MN this weekend (within a 10-hour drive, say), there is no reason not to attend the first game. Posted by mill1991 at November 10, 2004 4:34 PM | TrackBack