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Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sunday Afternoon On SPEED From Fonatana
Getting ready for the Sprint Cup Race on ESPN at 7PM, SPEED serves-up a couple of hours of pre-race programming.
Larry McReynolds is a consistent presence on SPEED and he starts things off with NASCAR Performance at 4:00PM. McReynolds is joined by Chad Knaus and Bootie Barker. Originally, this show was fascinating for what the smart minds of the crew chiefs could do to the cars in the Sprint Cup Series.
Now, it is a constant exercise in frustration for both Knaus and Barker. NASCAR has put the crew chiefs in a box and there is nothing left to talk about except parts and pieces. At many racetracks, there is little for the crew chief to do except adjust tire pressure and add or subtract wedge during the race.
The mounting frustration of Knaus has been especially noticeable in light of his team's frustrations despite being firmly in The Chase. Knaus is used to a very different level of performance. It should be interesting to hear his views on the box NASCAR has assembled for the teams in Fontana.
Randy Pemberton and Adam Alexander have been taking turns hosting NASCAR in a Hurry which comes along next at 4:30PM. This show uses all the SPEED and NASCAR Media Group footage since the teams arrived in Fontana to review everything that has happened from the Nationwide race to the news from the garage.
The franchise strolls in next, as John Roberts leads the NASCAR RaceDay crew of Jimmy Spencer and Kenny Wallace on-the-air at 5PM for two hours of pre-race programming. Hermie Sadler and Wendy Venturini are the field reporters. Venturini has David Ragan as her guest on The Real Deal this week. Live guests on the show will include Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano.
RaceDay has undergone a huge transformation since being moved back one hour to protect the ESPN pre-race show called NASCAR Countdown. Last season, the RaceDay crew was fired-up to go head-to-head with the NASCAR on ESPN gang. Now, drivers can come to the RaceDay stage because they are still in their street clothes.
Instead of Venturini and ESPN's pit reporters competing for interviews on the starting grid, Venturini is often alone in the bus lot with drivers who look like they just woke up from a nap. The precious hour before race time now belongs to ESPN alone.
The RaceDay crew continues to develop a new show format even as they are surrounded by NASCAR Now on ESPN2 before the show and NASCAR Countdown immediately after. What topics are selected to pursue, the quality of the interviews and the exclusive features are the elements keeping RaceDay popular.
This post will serve to host your comments about the Sunday afternoon shows on SPEED from Fontana. To add your TV-related comment, just click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the easy instructions. The rules for posting are located on the right side of the main page. Thanks again for taking time out of your day to stop by.
35 comments:
- red said...
just have to say that i'll be spending all my pre-race time with cnn on in the background. my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in the path of gustav.
somehow, just when racing seems so very important, we are brought back to a reality that overwhelms. such is life.
- August 31, 2008 at 3:12 PM
- Daly Planet Editor said...
Where were you during my fourteen inches of rain during Fay?
Now, I have skeeters the size of golf balls!
Awful nice that the good folks down on the Gulf are getting out of the way this time. You can rebuild every thing but a life, ya know?
- August 31, 2008 at 4:51 PM
- majorshouse said...
I think I will pass on the pre-race stuff for now. I would rather watch Race Day rather than the crap we are being dished out from ESPN, but think I will spend my time productively doing something else.
- August 31, 2008 at 4:57 PM
- red said...
ah, jd, you KNOW i was thinkin' 'bout you down there in floor-e-daaa. . . but cnn wasn't!
if it helps, i have found swatting at those buggers with either a badminton racquet or, if they're particularly large, a tennis racquet, works wonders -- especially if 'adult beverages' are available. if you REALLY wanna have fun, slip a plastic bag over said racquet and swat away! the advantage here is that you actually get to murder those bloodsuckers and you can see your results.
i'm just sayin' . . . something to do whilst waiting for the race tonight.
majorshouse: i, too, am doing something productive: phillies are up 5-2, 1 out, bottom of the 8th against chicago. it's all good.
- August 31, 2008 at 5:04 PM
- Newracefan said...
The guys are in rare form tonight. Slam Chip Gannassi, slam the new shootout format, wonder what's next?
- August 31, 2008 at 5:26 PM
- bevo said...
We're expecting a bunch of the evacuees here in Fort Worth - Dallas again. Got the comfort stations set up out on I-35. The local ABC station is broadcasting the New Orleans channel on one of the digital channels (8.2).
- August 31, 2008 at 5:28 PM
- Daly Planet Editor said...
RaceDay is having a tough time. ESPN has them surrounded. Ryan Burr and NASCAR Now before them. He does the whole preview thing and has a liveshot from the track.
Then, once RaceDay is over the ESPN guys interview basically all the same drivers. This time, they are in their firesuits and on the starting grid.
Makes you wonder what is going to happen to this show next year when ESPN returns with all this firepower again?
- August 31, 2008 at 5:36 PM
- bevo said...
Did you know that they're going to stream Countdown and the race on ESPN360 tonight?
- August 31, 2008 at 5:43 PM
- bevo said...
Justin Wilson just got his first win and probably the last one for Paul Newman
- August 31, 2008 at 5:49 PM
- PammH said...
That bit w/Drew Carey was HORRIBLE!! If I had kids watching w/me, I'd be steamed-it was pretty dirty, imo. And I don't think I'm a prude-worked in an auto factory 10 yrs.
- August 31, 2008 at 5:55 PM
- Anonymous said...
Once they go to Drew, he can say anything. It was quite funny in my opinion!
- August 31, 2008 at 5:58 PM
- Richard in N.C. said...
JD- Could it be that SPEED moved RaceDay up an hour in exchange for being able to replay the preceding Cup race (carried by ESPN) on SPEED on Thursday afternoon?
- August 31, 2008 at 5:59 PM
- Sophia said...
WOW. Sorry about all the rain you guys, got..last I read I thought you were doing ok ...least that's what I read here.
hope you had no water damage. FOURTEEN inches...yikes.
I am glad the gulf folks are taking heed AND the the NoLa mayor I heard a soundbite twice emphasized to MAKE ARRANGEMENTS for you animals.
I helped a friend nurse to Katrina dogs...one made it for about 1 year...:( Hope all are safe.
- August 31, 2008 at 6:04 PM
- Sophia said...
Just catching bits of RACEDAY.
They had DREW CAREY ON???
How Ironic. I just meantioned him in the Tony Stewart column regarding a certain word about cats. If y'all knew how he used THAT word in an old interview, you'd be more offended than Tony's !!
But back to Race Day> WHAT did they say about Ganassi? I was in the kitchen and had IRL race on. I juse caught them putting down the new Shoot out formate. Jimmy, Kenny and JR all hate it. ME TOO.
It stinks. And nothing against Logano (but I am sick alreayd of the hype on this kid though no fault to him!) but it's ludicrous he coasts into the Daytona Shoot out.
This was a bad, bad call. Oh, and if NASCAR is SO INTO manufacturers, why are no car makers SCREAMING for the lack of CAMERA TIME during an actual race broadcasts...that would go hand in hand imo.
- August 31, 2008 at 6:11 PM
- Anonymous said...
Listening to Jimmy, Kenny, and even JR make their dislike of the new Shootout format known was pretty awesome. I think the new format is ridiculous and not fair to those guys who were so excited to get the pole and get their shot in the Shootout. Or that there will be drivers barely in the Top 35 eligible because there are fewer Toyotas while drivers in the Top 15 who drive Chevys will have to miss out because there are more good Chevy teams. The guys pretty much stated every reason why I don't agree with it. Nice to hear their unvarnished opinion.
- August 31, 2008 at 6:11 PM
- Sophia said...
Pammh...what did Drew do or say?
what was so dirty for Race Day...i am shocked to read of this... miss Race Day, you miss a lot, sometimes it seems.
- August 31, 2008 at 6:12 PM
- haus20 said...
Did you guys hear the excitement in AB's voice as he was calling the "bump & run" in the Gordon / Wallace coverage?
That is what we are missing in the ESPN broadcast!
Dr. Punch are you taking notes?
- August 31, 2008 at 6:13 PM
- Daly Planet Editor said...
There is a new post up for the Sprint Cup Series race on ESPN.
- August 31, 2008 at 6:17 PM
- Sophia said...
OOps...Kenny W just said he drove for Roush when Kurt B 'got that DUI'.
Remember how we were ALL TOLD he was NOT DRUNK?? Least that's what I remember being told....or am I mistaken.
- August 31, 2008 at 6:19 PM
- Newracefan said...
NO Soph he was not drunk, he did give the cop a hard time, I forget what he was eventually charged with. That was actually a pretty big faux pas by Kenny, if someone doesn't know the story they will think Kurt was busted for DUI and since he drives the Miller Lite car that could be a problem
- August 31, 2008 at 6:25 PM
- PammH said...
sophia-he talked about splooshing (sp) on fries, said Rut had been eating a smurf because he had a blue tongue & they were talking about the 10 sec rule (when you drop food on the floor) and Drew said you can't eat me after 10 secs. I just thought it was inappropriate.
- August 31, 2008 at 6:26 PM
- glenc1 said...
Kenny's gonna get busted for that--Kurt was only...it was something like .03 or so...I believe he pleaded guilty to reckless driving. Not a fan of either Busch, but Kenny got it wrong, ouch. Surprised his producer didn't have him backtrack yet.
- August 31, 2008 at 6:30 PM
- glenc1 said...
BTW--I just want to say here how much I've enjoyed watching Hermie Sadler the last few weeks. I think he just gets better and better. I've totally ignored NASCAR Now. I just figured I'd take Jimmy's silly rantings over...well, whatever they're doing over there....
I'm glad they slammed the Shootout, I agree. As for Chip--I think Kenny had a point but I wouldn't have put it quite that harshly--I think if he knew what was broken he'd fix it. And it was Felix (as usual) that was nasty about it this week, not Chip (see comments from Felix on Reed S, link at Jayski.) I love Felix' big heart but sometimes he talks out of another part of his body...
bevo, I had that same thought on J. Wilson...I'm sure that team has been trying extra hard.
- August 31, 2008 at 6:38 PM
- Daly Planet Editor said...
Hermie is a TDP reader and will appreciate your comment.
He is trying hard to catch-up in the TV learning curve and has been working very hard on his TV skills.
- August 31, 2008 at 6:53 PM
- Anonymous said...
Hermie was polite after Jimmy, Kenny ripped the new shoot out format - I agree its awful. JR doesn't like it either. If NA$CAR wants to help manufacturers so much make the CoT look like cars. Duh
Oh well, I muted Drew Carey - Ijust don't care for him at all.
The realdeal piece on David Ragan ( spelling?) was really nice - its good to see someone other than the usual suspects.
- August 31, 2008 at 6:58 PM
- Newracefan said...
Decent show, Real Deal good as always. Still miss Wendy walking the grid, perhaps we'll get it back next season when Fox is back
- August 31, 2008 at 7:02 PM
- Anonymous said...
Did you blog about ESPN's morning show today?
I thought it was a bit odd that Ryan Burr talked about the sun and how the driver's have it in their eyes as they come out of turn 3 and go down the backstretch to turn 4. I always though the part of the track from turn 2 to turn 3 was called the backstretch. Or have I been hearing it wrong all these years?
So far, the RaceDay show has proved interesting. The guys are definitely feeling their oats, so to speak. I kinda agree on the qualification for the Shootout. Even though my driver will be in now, and he is an older driver who hasn't won a pole in a couple of years, it's bizarre that guys like Ryan Newman won't be and yet some rookies will.
As for tonight's Cup race, I'll be attending a dinner party so I will miss most of the pre-race show and the first part of the race.
Honestly, considering how ESPN's coverage has been, I'm not really worried that I'll miss anything new or exciting. Their race coverage is getting to be like basketball-nothing exciting happens until the last 5 minutes of the game so what's the point in watching the whole thing? Or even half of it?
- August 31, 2008 at 7:14 PM
- Anonymous said...
I've always enjoyed Hermie! I look forward to watching him continue to grow :)
Yes it was nice to hear that the guys didn't like the new format as well. I heard that Ms. Martha was on a Sirius show very upset and crying :(. Some of the guys in via manufacturers would have been in anyway but it hurts the teams like FRR that pulled it off and looked forward to the exposure and chance they had :(
- August 31, 2008 at 7:41 PM
- Sophia said...
Victory Lane update
Did you watch to see Kenny W apologized for mis speaking earlier.
said Kurt B did NOT get a DUI.
The crowd was so close to this crew tonight it was bloody annoying.
I am getting to loathe this "Fan up close format" so folks can either stare at camera over shoulders, chat on cells, wave signs, etc.
They should have a screen DIRECTLY behind the talking heads.
Thanks for letting me sound off.
- September 1, 2008 at 1:10 AM
- Anonymous said...
Yes that was good of Herman :)
I didn't like the fans being that close either...I hope they nix that!
I still wish they'd flip the stage back around so the guys are FACING the crowd and then do the crowd shots as we're going to and coming back commercial.
- September 1, 2008 at 1:45 AM
- Sophia said...
I echo your sentiments.
I do not know ANYBODY that enjoys idiots in background to see themselves on camera.
I hate ALL SHOWS that do this.
Oh, and if I was at the track, I would also want to see the SPEED boys FACES from the crowd...not the backside. Stupid, ludicrous concept.
- September 1, 2008 at 4:21 PM
- Sophia said...
p.s. Who is this Ms. Martha???
- September 1, 2008 at 4:22 PM
- Rockin Rich said...
Re — Sophia @4:22 Pm today:
I expect the reference is to Joe Nemechek's mother Martha. She used to be shown frequently at the track with Joe when he was sponsored by The Army. I haven't noticed nearly as much since then. Apparently she isn't as "interesting" a story to the TV folks anymore. Or, maybe she isn't at the track nearly as much?
BTW, speaking of not seeing something anymore, what happened to Sophiaz123?
- September 1, 2008 at 5:11 PM
- Anonymous said...
I am former Sophia.
For some reason, Blogger shortened my name which is fine with me...they keep tweaking blogger..and one day I came here and my name had been changed.
I did not change personalities.:)
Thanks for the explanation on Martha, too,
ok..now this stupid computer will not let me log in as me...sigh.
- September 1, 2008 at 8:35 PM
- Sophia said...
Suddenly another computer does not let me log on here?..sigh...had to go to nosey gmail account first, THEN blogger knows me.
But RR, I am sophia
Personally I am glad the named was shortened.
Soph would be even better.
less to type :)
- September 1, 2008 at 8:43 PM


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Well, yesterday.
Dear MYRTLE found a Civil War Pension Record for Samuel Worthington, my Great-Grandfather. (1843-1897).
This is a card created when he file this Invalid Application on May 21, 1889. The application number is 705.908, Certificate 699.194. I hope to actually see the documents that this is referring to next week.
"Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934", digital image, The National Archives (www.ancestry.com), accessed: 22 May 2012; citing General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. T288, 546 rolls. index for Samuel Worthington.


text:
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - Feb. 26
Colonial...Hofstra's huge win over George Mason earlier in the week made us believers in them again. They still have work to do though. They will most likely face Mason again in the conference tourney semi's and if they can win that game then they can get an at-large bid even if they were to lose to UNC-Wilmington in the championship. UNC-Wilmington needs to reach the championship game to feel safe.
MVC...A huge mess. The conference tourney starting this week will determine so much. The game between Creighton and Bradley on Friday is the most important one. Both teams have their share of good wins and bad losses in and out of conference (Creighton's resume is slightly better). With the Bluejays tourney history we like them in this game so they received one of the last bids. Bradley has really played well down the stretch but they still will need this one to secure an at-large bid for themselves. If Creighton were to lose they would really be sweating it out come Selection Sunday. Southern Illinois kept themselves alive with their win over UNI but they will need to get to the the conference championship to get an at-large because of their bad losses and poor finish. UNI and Missouri State are probably both safe regardless of the outcome of their game.
MWC...We still like SDSU to win the conference tourney (their at-large hopes are non-existant) and as long as Air Force can get by BYU and into the championship it will be enough for a bid.
ACC...No bubble team wants to be the 5th bid out of this league. Out of the teams still clinging to the bubble Miami has the best chance to finish 9-7 in conference, but even if they do they still most likely need to make it to the tourney semi's to get an at-large. Someone will really need to step up to make the ACC a 5 bid conference.
Big 12...Colorado cannot afford anymore bad losses and still get a bid and will need to get to the semi's of the conference tourney to get a bid. Texas A&M is coming on strong but they need a big win for their ugly resume before they can be taken too seriously.
A-10...St. Louis is playing really well right now and look like they are the only team with a shot to take down GW in the conference tourney. If they can take care of business this week there is a good chance you'll see them in the bracket next week as the A-10 automatic bid.
Here is Chris and Craig's latest field:
Last Four In
Colorado, Air Force, Creighton, Hofstra
Last Four Out
Bradley, Southern Illinois, Texas A&M, Seton Hall
In This Week
Indiana, Hofstra, Kent State, Manhattan, Oral Roberts, Lipscomb
Out This Week
Seton Hall, Florida State, Akron, Iona, IUPUI, Gardner-Webb
Conference Breakdown
(Automatic bids in multiple-bid conferences are the first teams listed.)
Big East (8), Big Ten (7), SEC (6), ACC (4), MVC (4), Big 12 (4), PAC-10 (4), Colonial (3), MWC (2), C-USA (2)
America East - Albany
ACC - Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Boston College
Atlantic Sun - Lipscomb
A-10 - George Washington
Big East - UConn, Villanova, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Georgetown, Marquette, Cincinnati, Syracuse
Big Sky - Northern Arizona
Big South - Winthrop
Big Ten - Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Michigan, Indiana
Big 12 - Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado
Big West - Pacific
Colonial - UNC-WIlmington, George Mason, Hofstra
C-USA - Memphis, UAB
Horizon - Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Ivy - Penn
Metro Atlantic - Manhattan
MAC - Kent State
MCC - Oral Roberts
MEAC - Delaware State
MVC - Wichita State, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Creighton
MWC - San Diego State, Air Force
Northeast - Fairleigh Dickinson
Ohio Valley - Murray State
PAC-10 - UCLA, Washington, Arizona, California
Patriot - Bucknell
SEC - Tennessee, LSU, Florida, Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky
Southern - Georgia Southern
Southland - Northwestern State
SWAC - Southern
Sun Belt - Western Kentucky
WAC - Nevada
WCC - Gonzaga
The Seeds
The 1s
Duke, UConn, Memphis, Villanova
The 2s
Texas, Gonzaga, Ohio State, Illinois
The 3s
Pittsburgh, Tennessee, UCLA, George Washington
The 4s
Iowa, West Virginia, LSU, North Carolina
The 5s
Washington, Georgetown, Wisconsin, Michigan State
The 6s
Boston College, Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina State
The 7s
Marquette, Michigan, Florida, Nevada
The 8s
Wichita State, Arkansas, Alabama, Bucknell
The 9s
Arizona, George Mason, Missouri State, Kentucky
The 10s
Cincinnati, California, Northern Iowa, Syracuse
The 11s
Indiana, UNC-Wilmington, UAB, Creighton
The 12s
Colorado, Air Force, Hofstra, San Diego State
The 13s
Western Kentucky, Kent State, Manhattan, Wisconsin-Milwaukee
The 14s
Northwestern State, Winthrop, Murray State, Northern Arizona
The 15s
Pacific, Albany, Penn, Oral Roberts
The 16s
Georgia Southern, Delaware State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Lipscomb (Play-In Game), Southern (Play-In Game)
The Bracket
This Week's Bracket
Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves.
Questions? Comments? E-mail Chris and Craig at firstname.lastname@example.com
31 comments:
Not really sure how you can keep Michigan State up that high. They do have a pretty solid RPI and a good amount of quality wins. Yet they are nonetheless only 7-7 in the conference. Also, their struggles on the road will be taken into account. Their only good road win (in or out of conference) is @Ohio State early in the Big10 season. Also, they have lost 4 out of their last 5 and have some pretty tough tests, albeit at home, to close the regular season.
Keeping in mind both the way they have been playing and the overall(pretty darn good) quality of team they have, I figure they will split their last two games and take a game in the Big10 tourney. That would leave them with a 8-8 conference record, a pretty decent RPI, a few quality wins(@Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa)yet very poor road play and a record of 4-6 going into selection Sunday. With all of that being considered, I believe the comittee will take one of 2 steps with Mich. St. They will either give them a higher seed(4-5), but make them play away from the Detroit pod, or give them a mid-level seed(6-7) while letting them play in Detroit.
Any feedback on this analysis would be greatly appreciated.
1) A-Sun: How can you justify Lipscomb as your pick from the A-Sun? Belmont is playing much closer to home and easily has more talent than Lipscomb. Don't sleep on ETSU at home either.
2)BC will not be seeded at 6 if MSU and Wisconsin are 4 and 5 respectively. A 6-loss ACC team is going to be a 5 or better automatically no matter how many Kennesaw's are on their OOCS.
3) MVC: Creighton is injury-riddled. The loss of Funk is catching up to them. I don't see them beating Bradley and I can't see them justifying a bid.
Agree with your analysis of SIU. Overrated team with inexcusable losses galore. You can't sell short the UNI/SWMS game. I doubt those teams really feel safe.
how can you guys justify Air Force getting an at large? they have zero top 50 wins and 2 100 plus losses. why doesn't Air Force need any marquee wins? you guys critisize other teams that don't have marquee wins. why the double standard Chris?
Pitt deserves a 2 seed more than Illinois
How can UK be seeded ahead of Cincinnati at this point. UK's best win is WVa early on a neutral floor. Name another quality win they have? UC has wins against LSU. @ Vandy @ Marquette & SOS of #3. Please explain!
I think it is an absolute joke that you have Northern Iowa in the tourney and Florida State out..............you're telling me a road loss to a mediocre southern ill team is more respectful than a road loss to any ACC team.....it blows my mind, Northern Iowa has 4 straight conference losses, who really cares if they beat Iowa in December, any team from the ACC who has the same amount of losses from any mid major conference in the country should not lose out on making the tourney to that mid major team.......we all know its insane
i mean they lost by 22 at home to a bad bradley team, come on!!!!...there is just no justfiable reason for giving any mid major 3 or more at large bids, its just not realistic, these teams would finish in the bottom half of every major conference in the country.......wake forest would win the MVC hands down, and their dead last in the ACC
Northern Iowa won at LSU & beat Iowa at home. Creighton crushed Nebraska. Air Force should not get an at-large spot. Who have they beaten?
All QFA:
You can't sell short the UNI/SWMS game. I doubt those teams really feel safe.
it blows my mind, Northern Iowa has 4 straight conference losses, who really cares if they beat Iowa in December, any team from the ACC who has the same amount of losses from any mid major conference in the country should not lose out on making the tourney to that mid major team.......i mean they lost by 22 at home to a bad bradley team, come on!!!!...there is just no justfiable reason for giving any mid major 3 or more at large bids, its just not realistic, these teams would finish in the bottom half of every major conference in the country.......wake forest would win the MVC hands down, and their dead last in the ACC
Hmmm, MOstate not feel safe...RPI in the 20's, no bad losses--met every challenge handed to them. Personally, I think it's funny this year that the "major" conferences are complaining about the overrated MVC, when it's just the same system that gives those same "majors" 6 bids . Maybe if the major conferences would stop running and play the MVC we could settle this--but they won't take the chance. Bottom line:
MoState, Creighton, N Iowa, Wichita St. all go dancing
the real joke is that Colorado is in the bracket. Nobody who gets hammered by K State and Nebraska belongs in the bracket. they lost to fellow bubble team A&M
Well those MVC teams belong in over Air Force. The Mountain West isn't even a top 12 conference this year. I also agree that the Big 12 only has 3 deserving teams.
- Bracketology 101 said...
Some quick hits...
There is a good chance Michigan State's seed will continue to fall especially with the schedule they have left if they can't turn things around. Keep in mind though that they have played the toughest schedule out of any Big 10 school.
The individual talking about Cinci and Kentucky's seeds made good points. Kentucky is the last 9 right now and Cinci is the top 10 so there is really no difference between the two. The Bearcats bigger worry is getting to 8-8 in the Big East. You would expect them to be able to pick up the W at Hall with the way they are playing but if they can't they'll need a home win over WVU to get to 8-8.
Air Force may not have any quality wins but at 21-5 (D-1) and a 39 RPI they have a good chance at an at-large. If they make it to the conference championship and lose they will end up 24-6 out of the MWC (8th rated conference) with a top 40 RPI and they have a good chance to get a bid. I know you can't ignore their lack of quality wins but you also can't ignore their impressive record and they fact that they win games. Both Air Force and UAB are very alike in their profiles and you can make a case that Air Force deserves a bid over UAB. UAB does have the opportunity that Air Force doesn't have to pick up a big win (Memphis).
The MVC is really anyone's guess right now. We looked at the conference realistically and gave them 4 bids which I doubt anyone else will do. I haven't looked around but I imagine most if not all will give the conference 5 or 6 bids. UNI has the out of conference wins that can't be ignored which will get them a bid. The only team that can really feel that safe right now is Wichita State though.
More later....
Thanks for taking the time out to answer some of the issues/questions that were brought up by readers. Keep up this good work. Can you feel the madness starting to spread baby!
Air Force is a team everyone loves to dis, but no one wants to play. Big name programs won't come to a small, loud arena at 7000' and risk losing to a bunch of overachieving student athletes. A mid season spate of injuries resulted in stumbling on a couple of road conference games. Sandwiched around their mid season swoon were early season victories against two ACC teams, pushing Washington to the limit in Seattle in the BCA Classic and a strong conference finish. The Falcons are a deserving team.
Great job on the bracket Matt. All 4 regions appear very competitive & wee seeded. You also did a good of placing teams in the right pods. well done.
What would happen if FSU beat Duke then lost to Miami?
Same thing that happened to Maryland last year after they beat Duke twice.... FSU would need to make the ACC finals to even have a sliver of a chance to get in.
BTW, for all of you whining and b*tching about how so-and-so team would perfom in such-and-such conference, maybe next year your school could move to a mid-major and then they could be outrecruited, get screwed in competitive scheduling, struggle for TV exposure and get ignored on selection sunday with a record that is just as mediocre as this years. Teams from the "Big 6" have a distinct advantage over teams from other so-called "mid-majors" in ways beyond those mentioned earlier. If they are unable to stay even with those "other" teams from the "other" conferences, then perhaps they should fire their coach and hire a new one... who would likely come from another one of those "mid-major" schools.
Gee, I miss the good old days when all you guys got was posts for penis enlargement and love notes from Melissa looking for money!
- Bracketology 101 said...
Couple more quick hits...
Illinois has the edge over Pitt for the last two seed for a couple of reasons. Despite a couple of questionable losses of late, the Illini still have a stronger overall resume than the Panthers. Illinois has seven Top 25 wins (compared to Pitt's two) and has a much much OOC resume, beating Georgetown, UNC and Wichita State while Pitt beat only Wisconsin. Illinois also gets the edge as they are the second team right now out of the Big Ten, while Pitt is the third team out of the Big East.
The FSU-over-Northern Iowa argument is tough to defend. Not only is UNI's resume vastly superior in terms of top 50 wins, OOC wins, RPI, etc. but FSU is coming off a horrible loss to Virginia Tech and can easily lose out and finish 7-9. If they had beaten the Hokies, they would have still been staring at a 9-7 finish and would be in much, much better shape. A better argument would be to compare FSU to UAB or Air Force, who have equally unattractive resumes. Those teams have an advantage right now though because UAB still has a game with Memphis left, and Air Force may need to just get to the MWC tournament final with their RPI and overall record in the 8th best conference in the country to get a bid. Florida State needs a huge finish to get back in. Even a split (losing to Duke and beating Miami) will mean the Noles will need two wins in the ACC tourney and some other conference tournaments to go their way to get in.
- Bracketology 101 said...
Anonymous said...
"Gee, I miss the good old days when all you guys got was posts for penis enlargement and love notes from Melissa looking for money!"
Ahh the good 'ole days...but we've finally paid off Melissa and gotten her to stop spreading those nasty rumors.
oh come on, give me a break....you're saying that fsu isn't even comparable to northern iowa???.....dumbest thing i've ever heard, they both have the same amount of overall losses. How is the VT loss a horrible loss??.....a road game in the ACC is not a horrible loss, this same "horrible" VT team lost on a half court shot at duke. Fsu beat Duke in Cameron except for the simple fact the refs took the game from them, and anyone who watched it knows it.......fsu lost to duke, bc, and unc by a combined total of 5 points.......three top 12 teams in an actual ranking, not this stupid RPI everyone talks about that is a bad ranking system, we shouldn't determine stuff from a stupid mathemtical formula, there's a reason the AP/ESPN polls are a lot different, cuz actual people know more than a computer.......and how is losing at home by 22 points not "horrible"???....or losing 4 straight conference games not "horrible"......losing by one point at Duke, in a game where Sheldon Williams was allowed 20 fouls is much more impressive than beating Iowa at home, and beating Bucknell in double OT at home.......so to say they aren't comparable is absurd, i would love to see these two matched up in the tourney and see fsu win by 20+ so i can just laugh at everyone, we gotta get over this mid major craze.....they never do anything passed the second round
Northern Iowa has 5 wins against the rpi top 25. Florida State has zero. FSU beat nobody in the OOC. Northern Iowa won at LSU & beat Iowa at home. Iowa & LSU are rated in the top 14 of the rpi.
FSU has a better resume than Air Force. They swept bubble team Virginia & beat Maryland. Can either Chris or Craig please answer this question honestly? Why is Air Force in your bracket? They have 0 top 50 wins & 2 over 100 losses.
- Bracketology 101 said...
Air Force is one of our last teams in right now so by no means are we saying they will definetly get a bid, but there is really not much of a case for FSU to be in over Air Force. Both of their out of conference resumes are equally unimpressive. FSU does not have a top 50 win right now either and has a loss outside the top 100. Air Force's losses outside the top 100 were tough conference road games (New Mexico and Wyoming when the Cowboys were playing decent). Air Force has an RPI 25 points higher then FSU though and might very well end up with some top 50 wins in the RPI if BYU or SDSU climb in the top 50, which might very well happen. We give Air Force a bid right because we project that they will make it to the MWC championship game which would mean 3 more wins with one likely coming against BYU. Anything less then that and they will not get a bid. Enough already about FSU's loss at Duke. They got screwed but it's still a loss. If they can beat Duke and win at Miami (which will be tough since they have only won one conference road game this year) then next week they will be in our field and would be looking pretty safe for a bid at 9-7 out of the ACC, but until they do that there is no reason to talk about them.
Air Force and Northern Iowa would lose by at least 20+ at home to Duke, let alone go into Cameron and outplay them, again if you have the ball with the chance to win against both Duke and UNC, you belong in the tourney more than a mid major team who is struggling, and wouldn't even make a game against any of the top teams in the nation, especially Air Force...and how is Air force's losses outside the top 100 legit?? but FSU's road loss to VT(which is outside the top 100) not legit, that makes no sense...
I am constantly amused with people who whine about the RPI, yet have little concept about what it actually is..... RPI is NOT a ranking, it is a RATING. A ranking is defined as "a position on a scale relative to others in a sport." A rating, in this case, is a value assigned to a team relative to their number of wins, losses and the same associative criteria as their opponents. It is when we compare different team's RPI that we lose the value of each rating. As a comparative value, RPI is a rather useless rating, much like statistical variance, because it does not signify a value or correspondence (for instance, just what does an RPI of .600 mean ???)
BTW, I always appreciate how people who b*tch about a "mathemtical formula" are unable to either correctly spell or type the word mathematical.
- Bubbleteams said...
Hmmmm, all this kvetching about a mediocre Florida State team reminds of the "good old days" when teams like 16-14 Villanova (in 1991) and 17-14 Kansas State (in 1990) earned at-large bids because they has a schedule full of "good losses". Forget RPI and look at the teams Florida State has defeated this year. The Seminoles have beaten just five teams with winning records. The Seminoles have no wins against any team with less than 10 losses and the team with the BEST record FSU has beaten is 17-10 Nebraska (in comparative scores, FSU beat the Huskers 74-60 at a neutral site in Florida while MVC bubble team Creighton beat the Huskers 70-44 at Creighton). The Huskers are also the ONLY non-conference team with a winning reacord that FSU has beaten. In addition, the nest win the Seminoles could muster since their mighty defeat of the Huskers is a home win against 15-11 Maryland, yet another team FSU has beaten with double digit losses.
Do the Seminoles deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament ?? Hell NO !! Then again, neither do 6 or 7 of the other bubble teams every "bracketologist" has included in the field . If you wanna make a real case for FSU, start there. Just hope the selection committee finds FSU as the best of a VERY bad lot !!!!!
First and foremost, Bracketology 101 guys, you do a terrific job. Keep up the good work.
Not to belabor the fsu/air force/ uni argument, but this is interesting:
Nov. 14 - Air Force 57, Miami 53
Jan. 29 - Miami 84, FSU 78
- both games were road games for Miami.
Plus, I think the "armchair bracketologists" among us sometimes get so caught up in rpi, SOS, road record, etc. that we overlook a very important stat: Win-loss record. Air Force is 23-5, FSU is 17-8. When profiles are close, (like these) that is a pretty good tiebreaker. (Oh, and if we are going to talk about the 1pt. loss to duke, let's bring up that 22 point loss to nc state)
As for UNI, give me a break. Someone keeps conveniently forgetting UNI's huge ROAD win against LSU (in my humble opinion, the most underrated team in the nation - rpi #10). That, along with the win over Iowa, I believe counts as "making a game against a top team in the nation".
Just my opinion. No offense to anyone intended.
The Air Force-Miami game was on a neutral site in Seattle. Win-Loss records can be very deceiving. Air Force has 0 wins against the rpi top 50
- nando123 said...
No UTEP
we demolished UAB
- nando123 said...
No UTEP
we demolished UAB


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I had a little trouble with this guy. Here's the first drawing I did of Jude Law and his bitch.
I just did it freehand and didn't have a plan or analysis of his head when I did it.
In the next drawing I noticed a couple odd things about his head:
1) It's diamond shaped.
2) the upper half of the diamond is smaller than the bottom. His head comes to a point at top.
This one is sort of realistic.
I'm gonna post more in a bit. See if you can guess who the other folks are with him.
Can any of YOU draw Jude's perfect head?
I'm hoping Katie Rice takes this challenge up to. She's been hinting that she wants to start drawing guys and I can't wait.
I want to see her version of George Liquor. How many of you would like that?


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After that, the UPS guy stopped by to bring me a box of :::::::drumroll::::::: my books! My actual, real, honest-to-goodness book! It isn't a dream after all!
Karen suggested getting some footage of the kids playing outside. I suggested getting some footage of the muddy footprints they tracked inside. She suggested getting shots of Brooklyn playing with her dolls. I suggested getting shots of Clayton taking her dolls away from her just to hear her scream. She suggested getting Savannah cooking dinner. I suggested getting Savannah dropping the entire bottle of bay leaves in the stew.
Karen has 2 kids. On her way home this evening, she made an appointment to get her tubes tied.
OK, I'm just kidding. She actually had the same ideas (and way more!) that I had. We both thought of filming me blogging my idea at the beginning of the episode a la Carrie Bradshaw. Except without the sex. And the city. And the shoes.
I'm totally looking forward to doing this! We're going to have so much fun making these videos! And I really think you guys are going enjoy them too!


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The passing of another state tournament typically leaves a few areas of reflection, and this year's excursion to the Rose Garden proved no different.
South Medford's boys and girls basketball teams advanced together to the final eight-team site for the third straight year, with the Panther girls making their second straight appearance in the state title game while the Panther boys again suffered an 0-2 fate in Portland.
Here's more on their weekend trip.
THE GOOD: The biggest impact South Medford may have had during the state tournament was off the court, where the school earned another Sportsmanship Trophy for the Class 6A girls tournament. Of considerable note here is that no school's community base is farther away than South Medford's and, yet, the energy and emotion provided by the Panther band, cheerleaders, students and families was notable at every South game.
At every session, beginning with the boys' opening game on Wednesday night to their Thursday morning confrontation and the girls' night games that followed, South's following just seemed to grow and the excitement level continued to build. That's not necessarily the case for the Portland-area teams, who draw hundreds of supporters so long as they have a chance at a state title but almost nothing when they fall into the consolation bracket.
When the Panther boys were ousted prior to the girls' first game, they found themselves among an energetic student section for the South girls — as the girl team members had been for their games.
Whether it was laughter-inducing goat sounds to heckle free-throw shooters to roaring support of big plays by the South girls, there was a great deal of enthusiasm for all things involving the Panthers at the Rose Garden.
THE BAD: South Medford's girls team had hopes of defending its first-ever state championship earned one year ago but never seemed to catch fire like the Panthers did in 2012, when they stormed through three games at the state tourney.
The biggest issue South Medford faced was a lack of offensive punch despite entering the tourney averaging a state-best 74.4 points per game. In Portland, the Panthers managed only 46.3 points per game on 35-percent shooting (51-for-144).
The biggest void in South Medford's offense was the ability to connect from 3-point range despite boasting some of the state's top perimeter threats in senior Kylie Towry and sophomore Andee Ritter. The Panthers only made 10 of 46 shots beyond the arc (22 percent) and no more than four in a game after going 4-for-17 against St. Mary's Academy, 4-for-15 against Tigard and 2-for-14 against Central Catholic.
The numbers weren't much better even when there was no defense to contend with. South Medford converted only 60 percent of its free throws (27-for-45) to finish seventh among the eight teams at state.
"We didn't shoot very well up here and that didn't help," South Medford head coach Tom Cole said after Saturday's 57-36 finals loss to the Rams.
THE UGLY: The on-court referees are tasked with such a challenge once the level of play reaches the final eight, and there's no denying their desire to do the best they possibly can, but a few issues have become notable over the years in the difference in officiating at the final site from games in southern Oregon.
Three areas stick out more than anything else: There truly is no such thing as over-the-back at the state tourney, almost no attention is paid to footwork in the post and the physicality in which teams are allowed to play with greatly increases.
At this point, though, that's the norm when it comes to state-tournament play, and it's up to the players to adjust to the way the game is called more than the officials having to adjust to what teams are accustomed to.
"Sometimes you do worry, 'Can we play with these guys up here,' because it's just so different, I don't know what to do," South Medford head coach Dennis Murphy said after his team was eliminated following a second straight close game on Thursday. "It's so hard for us to adjust. But one of my favorite things to say, and it's the truth, is we've just got to figure out a way to get better."
South Medford senior point guard Adrian Garcia said it's a factor that the Panthers, or anyone locally, will have to incorporate into their mindset for future years.
"We just need to remember how they play up here because that's not how the Southern Oregon Conference is played," said Garcia. "We need to get stronger and more physical and be more ready to handle whatever the other teams are doing."
THE GOOD, PART II: The South Medford girls defensive play rivaled any in the state. The Panthers led the state tourney with 14 steals per game, most notably due to the efforts of Ritter and senior Yaremi Mejia, and allowed a tourney-low 42 points per game.
Losing Mejia, Towry and Luisa Tago will cut into South Medford's effectiveness on both ends of the court, but the Panthers are optimistic that a fourth straight trip to the state tournament could be in order in 2013-14.
"I think we're ready for next year," said South Medford junior Ashley Bolston, who will have to take on a more aggressive role for her team to return. "We're losing three seniors but we've got a solid three still (Bolston, Ritter, Julissa Tago) along with Keyari (Sleezer) and Jasmin (Falls) and the other younger players. We should be pretty good."
FOR THE RECORD: Central Catholic seniors Kailee Johnson and Jordan Reynolds were unanimous first-team selections and were joined on the top group by Towry, Oregon City senior Jo Paine and, as a surprise due to her team's 0-2 record, St. Mary's Academy sophomore Martina McCowan.
Mejia was joined on the second team by Bolston, Westview junior Jaime Nared, Beaverton junior Danielle Hartzog and Oregon City senior Montana Walters.
On the boys side, unanimous first-team selections went to Lake Oswego senior Calvin Hermanson and Central Catholic senior Austin Dyer, while West Linn juniors Hayden Coppedge and Ryan Shearmire were on the top list with Central Catholic senior Mitchell Franz.
The second team included Central Catholic sophomore Deante Strickland, West Linn sophomore Anthony Mathis, Lake Oswego senior Connor Griffin, Sunset junior Tyler Gutierrez and Jesuit senior Khyan Rayner. Jesuit earned the Sportsmanship Trophy for the 6A boys tournament.
Final tournament attendance was 25,796.
The high was 5,810 for the championship finals session and lows in the mid-400s for the third- and fourth-place finals.
Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, email@example.com, www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry
Panthers leave Portland with lots to ponder
The passing of another state tournament typically leaves a few areas of reflection, and this year's excursion to the Rose Garden proved no different.


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Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour made his name in music, and now he wants to be president of his homeland.
N'Dour gained an international audience in 1994 with his hit song "Seven Seconds," with Neneh Cherry. He went on to earn a Grammy in 2004 for the album Egypt, becoming one of Africa's most influential and popular singers.
The 52-year-old, known simply as "Youssou" by millions of fans in Senegal and beyond, grew up poor, in the Medina neighborhood of Senegal's capital, Dakar. He dropped out of school at age 13.
Today, he has his own radio station and television channel in Senegal. In addition, he owns a national newspaper that is part of his business empire. He also served as a U.N. goodwill ambassador, supporting causes such as the campaign to fight malaria. And lately, he has become an outspoken critic of the Senegalese government and the president, Abdoulaye Wade, who is 85 years old and has already served two terms in office.
Now, N'Dour has set his sights on the presidency and is predicting victory in the Feb. 26 election.
"I'm going to win this election in the first round. Definitely. No question," N'Dour told the BBC. "I am the most credible, most popular [candidate]. And what I say is coming from the people."
He also said he is confident of local and international support.
"I believe if I do [things] here in Senegal — good governance, freedom, and a lot of things the international community are waiting for — they're going to support my program," N'Dour said. "I think the world has to support a new model. I want to change Senegal, then change Africa."
Mixed Response To Candidacy
African music specialist Daniel Brown says it would be foolish to underestimate N'Dour.
"No one should be under the illusion that Youssou N'Dour is not a serious candidate for the presidential elections," says Brown. "He's a man of the people who has a huge following, both urban and rural. Youssou N'Dour crosses religious and class barriers, too. He's also a savvy businessman."
But will his popularity translate into votes? Reaction has been mixed.
Despite his street credibility as a singer, N'Dour has never held elected office. People are asking if he has the political smarts to lead Senegal — a West African nation that has been a bastion of democracy and stability as other countries in the region battled coups, rebellions and civil wars.
Senegalese opposition politician Abdoulaye Bathily says the doubters have a point.
"The question is whether an artist can be considered somebody fit for leadership," Bathily says. "You can have a lot of support from the young people, but the question is whether this support for an artist can be transferred into political support. This is the first time this kind of thing happens in Senegal."
Critics fear N'Dour's candidacy could split the opposition vote in next month's presidential election. They say he should have thrown his support behind one of the established opposition leaders.
Outspoken Critic Of Current President
N'Dour joins a crowded field of more than a dozen presidential rivals, including Wade, a political survivor with decades of experience and an iron grip on the machinery of government.
The president tried to modify the electoral law in June, which led to unprecedented riots. As a result, Wade dropped that contentious proposal, along with another one that would have created the post of vice president.
But Wade remains determined to run for a third term, though his opponents say this violates the country's constitution.
The opposition warns that the president is compromising Senegal's democratic credentials by trying to cling to power and install a dynastic regime. They say he is grooming his son Karim, who is now an unelected "superminister," even though he suffered a defeat in local government elections.
N'Dour used to be close to the president, but no more.
"Abdoulaye Wade doesn't have the right to go to this election," N'Dour says. "Our constitution says 'no.' I think also, even though I have great respect for him, that he's too old."
Already chanting the mantra of the populist politician, N'Dour is making campaign promises to provide food, electricity, health and education for all in Senegal.
What do Michel Martelly, Joseph Estrada and, closer to home, Ronald Reagan have in common? All three were performers who became presidents of their respective countries - Haiti, Philippines and, of course, the U.S. Now, Senegal's singing sensation Youssou N'Dour wants to follow suit. He's announced his intention to throw his hat in the ring. N'Dour is challenging Senegal's veteran leader and other candidates in the presidential election next month. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton filed this report.
OFEIBEA QUIST-ARCTON, BYLINE: Youssou N'Dour shot to international stardom in 1994 with this hit, "7 Seconds," sung with Neneh Cherry. The Senegalese mbalax musician has gone on to win a Grammy and become one of Africa's most influential and popular singers.
QUIST-ARCTON: The 52-year-old, known simply as Youssou, grew up poor in Senegal's capital, Dakar. Today, he has his own radio station and television channel in Senegal, owns a national newspaper and runs a business empire. He also served as a U.N. goodwill ambassador, espousing noble causes like fighting malaria. And now, Youssou N'Dour says he's ready to become Senegal's new president, and he anticipates victory in the election due February 26th.
QUIST-ARCTON: Youssou N'Dour told the BBC he's confident of both local and international support.
QUIST-ARCTON: But will his undeniable popularity and street cred as a singer in Senegal necessarily translate into votes for Youssou as president? He's never held elective office, and questions are being raised over whether, without much formal education - he dropped out of school at age 13 - he has the political smarts to lead Senegal.
The West African nation proudly flaunted its democratic credentials when other countries in the region were battling coups, rebellions and civil wars. Senegalese opposition politician Abdoulaye Bathily.
ABDOULAYE BATHILY: You know, the question is whether an artist can be considered as somebody fit for leadership. This is the first time this kind of thing happened in Senegal.
QUIST-ARCTON: There's bad blood between Senegal's opposition and the octogenarian president, Abdoulaye Wade, who's seeking a third term in office. His critics accuse Wade of political nepotism and trying to cling to power. Youssou N'Dour used to be close to the president, but has become one of his most outspoken critics. He, and many others, says it's time for Wade to go.
QUIST-ARCTON: Youssou N'Dour is already chanting the mantra of the politician, making campaign promises to provide food, electricity, health and education for all in Senegal.
Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News.
WERTHEIMER: This is NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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I'm getting ready to start posting some of the SWTOR leveling guides for each class, similar to what I've been doing with WoW for the last three years. But before I dive into those I wanted to go with a simple leveling guide that can be used as a general source for everyone. So today I give you tips for leveling in general. Things to keep in mind or consider for leveling your characters. I'm sure that by now everyone who has the game is already on the road to level 50 if they haven't already reached it, so some of this may only be applicable to your alts.
Crew Skills
I know I've talked a lot about crew skills here lately, both on the blog and on twitter, but I think it's worth discussing in a post like this as well.
The impact of Crew Skills while leveling depends a lot on which skills you chose, and how much resources (including credits) you have available going into it. The following list includes my suggestions for leveling all of your characters:
- Level all of your toons with Slicing.
- Do not level with Armormech or Synthweaving
- Think twice before choosing Armstech
- Consider Dual Gathering
- Consider Crafting and related Gathering
I suggest leveling all of your toons with Slicing because it really does make a huge difference in how many credits you'll have available throughout the leveling process. When you reach level 50, by all means drop Slicing for something else. But if you don't want to have to worry about how in the world you'll have the credits you need for all those training costs, mounts, and so on then Slicing is the answer you're looking for. And when you get slicing, level it up to tier 5 and do only tier 5 for the rest of your slicing career. Tier 6 slicing sucks, and tier 5 is incredibly profitable. When leveling with slicing, I have yet to have a character who didn't have over 80,000 credits by level 25.
Armormech and Synthweaving are ones to avoid while leveling for a couple of reasons. First, because in order to make gear that's really, truly worth using while you level you have to be willing to dump your credits into a Mission skill (or the Global Trade Network) to get the mats required for the blue+ patterns, which means you'll be broke for most of your leveling career. Second, because neither of these professions offers anything other than crafted armor, making them the two least versatile (and most boring) professions in the game.
Armstech is similar to the two armor professions in how it works and why I would suggest that you avoid it. The one thing that keeps it viable is that you can craft Barrel mods for your tech classes. Unfortunately, barrels are used only by tech classes which means that half of the player-base finds this profession almost completely worthless (save gearing their companions).
Dual Gathering is a good option for you to consider because it allows you to collect resources that you can either use on your other characters or sell on the GTN for credits. As an altoholic, I send all of my mats to alts until they've become useless all around, and then I dump them on the GTN. This method does keep your bags rather full, so be aware of that, but I find that purchasing a single bag extension (5,000 credits) is plenty of extra room to accommodate dual gathering. Once you reach level 50 you can decide whether you like the idea of having a dual gatherer or if you'd like to consider dropping one (or both) of the gathering skills to pick up crafting or mission skills instead.
Crafting and a related Gathering is a good way to level, so long as you keep tips 2 & 3 in mind. The other crafting professions all have something to offer you while leveling. Whether it's mods, gear for those hard-to-fill item slots, consumables, or explosives they all have something that you'll find useful as you level. While crafting blue+ patterns is appealing for the extra stats and such, they aren't important while you level. Sure, you might be able to make a chest piece that lets you take commendations for quest rewards instead of green items for one planet, but the time and resources you have to sink in to make it in the first place doesn't really balance out (especially the higher you get in levels). The green patterns should be perfectly sufficient for leveling.
Gearing Up
The default method of gearing up while leveling in SWTOR, as with most MMO's, is via questing. Which includes both quest rewards and items that drop while doing said quests. This gear is rarely fantastic, but typically "good enough" to get you through the quests that are designed for your level. That doesn't mean you should settle for quest rewards and drops, it just means that in general you should be able to get by with nothing more than that. If you're looking for something more than that, read on.
Commendation Gear
Every world in SWTOR has commendations associated with it. These commendations can be used to purchase a number of different things, but we're going to look at two of them in particular here. The first option is gear upgrades. In my experience, every planet has gear that you can purchase with commendations. The level of that gear is usually in line with the level range of the planet itself, usually from about the middle of its level range on up towards the top. The starting planets for example offer level 8 armor for the classes that start there.
Not all of the planets' commendation vendors offer the same things. Here you might find boots and gloves and there you'll find weapons, and so on. The gear that they offer also comes in two particularly appealing varieties: blues and modable. Blue gear is higher quality than the greens you'll typically find, and you can often find blue gear that is significantly better than any greens of your level. Modable gear is "special", and I'll cover it in just a minute.
You can get gear from the commendation vendors for anywhere from around 5-7 commendations up to 10-20 depending on which item slot it is and which planet you get it from. The fastest way to farm these commendations is to do the heroic quests which can each be done once per day, or to find areas with high mob populations and obliterating them (though mob farming is significantly less reliable).
PvP Gear
PvP has its own form of commendations. When you call it PvP gear, a lot of people immediately turn their heads away because they think of it in relative WoW terms in which PvP gear is frowned upon for PvE activities. In SWTOR, that's not the case. Well, it is the case for level 50 PvP gear, but not for everything below that. The PvP stat, Expertise, only appears on level 50 gear, so all of the pieces below that point are simply potential gear upgrades that anybody can use.
You can get modable weapons from the PvP vendor starting at level 14. Most of my characters use these weapons from level 14 until sometime into their 20's when I find another modable weapon that just happens to have a cooler look to it. You get blue and/or modable armor from the PvP vendor starting at level 20, though only 2-3 of those pieces are modable.
PvP items usually cost anywhere from 120-350 commendations. But unlike PvE where you usually get about 20-30 commendations during the time you're there, I average around 120 PvP commendations per match which is 15-20 minutes. The prices look higher than the PvE equivalent, but there's really not that much difference given how much faster you earn them.
Modable Gear
This is quickly becoming the preferred method of gearing up your characters for most players. Modable gear is like white quality gear which has no stats of its own save for a tiny bit of armor, or some weapon damage if that. However, it has mod slots that allow you to make it much more powerful. As you level up your character you simply replace the low level mods with higher level ones and the gear essentially levels up with you. They're like heirlooms in WoW, except that you don't get any experience bonus for wearing them.
So the first benefit of modable gear is that it can level with you by simply replacing mods as you level. The second benefit is that you get to pick the way you look…sort of. You can't change the look of modable gear, so don't misunderstand me there, but because you can make that one piece of gear better as you level it means you can find an item that you like the look of and not be forced to replace it. In that way modable gear is like WoW's new Transmogrification feature, though to much lesser degree.
You can purchase many mods from planetary commendation vendors, and each one costs 2-7 commendations in most cases. Mods are also craftable by the various crew skills so you can craft your own, have friends/guildmates craft them for you, or buy them on the GTN. If you would like to know which crew skills craft which mods, you can look at my SWTips: Crew Skills post for more information.
This is the route that I personally suggest that you take for leveling your characters. If you don't want to bother with crafting mods, then you can easily spend your commendations on them and you'll even receive a few as quest rewards here and there. I do prefer crafting my own, but that's because I'm an altoholic and I have a professions obsession which forces me to always have access to all the things.
Class Quests vs. World Quests
Should you focus on your class quest or just do every quest you come across? Should you leave a planet once your class quests there are done, or keep going?
These are big questions for a lot of players right now. Unfortunately there's not an exact answer that can be given because it's really up to you.
Personally, I like to keep my class quest as the focus, but I try not to skip too many of the world quests because I know from experience that it's easy to find yourself in areas where your gear just isn't strong enough to keep you alive if you're always skipping world quests. If I find that all of the mobs I'm fighting on my world quests are grey/green to me, then I start skipping quests. If I find that things are too strong for me, I back off of my class quest and focus on world quests instead.
Even though modable gear exists and it's a great way to gear yourself up while you level, it's not always easy to find a full set of modable gear at an early level. By not doing world quests you might be missing out on upgrades for those other slots. Leveling in gear that you've found in the area works just fine, but leveling in (non-mod) gear that you found 14 levels ago doesn't work quite so well. As far as leveling and progressing your story goes, world quests aren't all that important in and of themselves. However, skipping too many means you're missing out on those upgrades which can really come back to bite you when you progress to the next planet.
If you feel underpowered for the current planet, don't hesitate to pack your bags and head back to the previous planet to explore some of those quests you skipped. You'll still earn experience, you'll still collect credits, and you're only making yourself better by doing so. On the flip side though, don't feel like you need to keep questing on one planet just because you still have quests in your log. It's perfectly acceptable to abandon every one of them and move on if you feel that there's no challenge where you're at.
Heroic Quests and World Bonus Quests
Heroic Quests and World Bonus Quests are both great for leveling your characters. They typically have good gear rewards as well, though most heroics offer only commendations which can be traded for gear or mods (see above) rather than actual gear.
Heroics come in two varieties that I've seen so far: Heroic 2+ and Heroic 4. The Heroic 2+ missions can often be soloed so long as you have the help of a companion, though some of them are tuned pretty high on the difficulty chart and you may be playing a class with little-to-no crowd control and/or healing capabilities which make it extra tough. In those cases you're better off finding someone to run it with you where you can both have your companions out at once, or getting even 2-3 other players in on it.
If you really want to level quickly then you should try to do the heroic quests each at least once while you level. If you can't find a group for them, and can't solo it yourself, that's fine you can just move on and ignore it. But if you get a chance to run it, you really should consider taking it for the rewards.
Heroic 4 quests can be really tough, and often they really will require a full group of four players. But again, I suggest you do them if the opportunity presents itself. While leveling my Trooper I'm able to solo a lot of 2 player content even without a companion because I have great survival, fantastic AoE attacks, and healing spells at my disposal. On my Smuggler, I can't solo 2 player content even with my companion. And on my Sage I can solo Heroic 4 quests without a companion thanks to DoT's, healing, bubbles, and kiting/LoS skills.
To sum up Heroic quests – Do them if you have a chance, always try them at least once if you can, but don't worry about skipping them if you can't get them done or are eager to get to the next planet to continue your class quest.
World Bonus Quests can have some really good rewards, and the story that goes along with them is usually pretty cool as well. In most cases I don't bother with them because I'm ready to move on to the next portion of my class quest, but that's me. These quests should pretty well be handled the same was as the heroics; do them if you can, skip them if you can't.
From the few that I've done, I don't remember the bonus quests requiring multiple players, but like I said I usually skip them.
Space Combat and PvP
This is the last topic that I wanted to cover for the scope of this post; the two odd ducks of leveling.
Space Combat is one of those things that most players either love it or they hate it. I'm one of those that are kind of in the middle sometimes leaning more to one side or the other. Space combat opens up once you get your ship, which for most people is somewhere in their mid-to-late teens. You get some really good experience from it when it first opens and some of the missions continue to be fairly rewarding while you level. Others are rewarding financially as they give a decent amount of credits, but near worthless for experience.
The great thing about space combat is that it's short and sweet, and the rewards are usually worth the time investment even if you don't necessarily love the activity itself. You should definitely give this a try to see how you like it. I suggest you try it on at least 2-3 different missions too, don't just try the first one and decide that you hate it right away. I think the first mission kind of sucks compared to some of the others, so give it a second chance if you didn't care for the first one.
PvP isn't the fastest way to level by any means, but it's still a perfectly legit way to do it. PvP matches reward experience and credits as well as PvP commendations (covered above) which can be used to purchase gear upgrades. Some players like to focus on a combination of PvP and Class Quests for their leveling. Rather than doing world quests they substitute PvP and rely on modable gear and their crafting professions to keep themselves geared up enough to handle class quests.
I've had a blast so far with SWTOR PvP, and as always I recommend everyone at least give it a try. As far as leveling goes it's not nearly as fast as questing, but it's definitely a viable option for SWTOR and one that a lot of people are having fun with. How viable this is for you will vary somewhat based on which server you're on and which faction as those two factors have a direct impact on what kind of queue times you see. On my original server queues would sometimes last up to 30-45 minutes on a bad day as Empire, while my current server queues rarely last so long as 10 minutes as Republic.