REPORTERS NOTEBOOK: 112908 - "What do we eat? What do we eat? Eagle meat! Eagle meat!"

I’ll never forget getting pulled over by police in Bermudian Springs along Route 15 back in 2003.
I was 25 minutes away from home, after traveling to and from Panama City Beach, Fla., for Spring Break 2003.
Altogether, the trip was 1800 miles — I got pulled over when I was 10 miles from home.
Unbelievable.
Police cited me for speeding, and the points just recently disappeared from my record.
I already wasn’t too fond of Bermudian, being an alum of Biglerville, and as you can imagine, that incident further soured my relationship with the York Springs community.
Yes, it was my fault for forgetting about the Route 15 speed trap. We all know about it, although motorists that do not live in our area are not privy to that exclusive Adams County information.
One of those poor suckers is my dear friend Kip Fedako. He was traveling with his wife from Philadelphia for a memorial service last Saturday, and was late to the church.
Why? Because he got pulled over along Route 15, in Bermudian Springs, in the same spot I did after spring break.
“Are those the same people who pulled you over when you were coming home from Spring Break?” Kip asked.
Yes.
“Well,” he said, “at least you beat Bermudian in football this year.”
Now that’s a true friend.
~ Scot A. Pitzer, Times Staff Reporter.

2008 College Football - Ranking the Conferences

So I'm trying to figure out which is the toughest conference based on my rankings. The presumption was, that the Big 12 was the toughest followed by the SEC and Big 10, with the Mountain West coming in after that. I decided to do some math to see what would happen. I came up with 3 different formulas which produced varying results.

The first formula

Sum of the Ranking percentage of the team divided by # of teams in the conference. so the Formula winning percentage that I post is what is used in this formula. Here are the results after last weeks games.

Conference F1 WP
Atlantic Coast Conference 0.651699726
Big 12 Conference 0.651040868
Southeastern Conference 0.650627751
Big East Conference 0.637939143
Big 10 Conference 0.616289968
Mountain West Conference 0.59090955
Pacific 10 Conference 0.469114652
Western Athletic Conference 0.442050934
Mid-American Conference 0.405699024
Conference USA 0.367022237
Sun Belt Conference 0.296733206

Seeing the ACC at the top made me think that something is not right, so I created an inverse ranking of the teams and summed up those rankings and divided by the number of teams. So Utah ranked #1 gets 120 points, Alabama at # 2 gets 119, and so on. Here are those results.

Conference RANK
Atlantic Coast Conference 78.33
Southeastern Conference 76.92
Big 12 Conference 75.33
Big East Conference 74.50
Big 10 Conference 71.27
Mountain West Conference 68.22
Pacific 10 Conference 54.60
Western Athletic Conference 50.00
Mid-American Conference 45.85
Conference USA 41.42
Sun Belt Conference 31.63

Once again the ACC is at the top

Finally, I assigned an arbitrary point value for the rank and added these up and divided by the number of teams. Here is the arbitrary point value

1 - 5 = 15 points
6 - 10 = 14 points
11 - 15 = 13 points
16 - 20 = 11 points
21 - 30 = 9 points
31 - 40 = 8 points
41 - 50 = 7 points
51 - 60 = 6 points
61 - 70 = 5 points
71 - 80 = 4 points
81 - 90 = 3 points
91 - 100 = 2 points
101 - 110 = 1 point
111 - 120 = 0 points

Here are the results

Conference PV
Big 12 Conference 8.25
Southeastern Conference 7.83
Atlantic Coast Conference 7.33
Mountain West Conference 7.22
Big 10 Conference 7.18
Big East Conference 7.00
Pacific 10 Conference 5.30
Western Athletic Conference 4.89
Mid-American Conference 4.38
Conference USA 3.75
Sun Belt Conference 2.63


In this one the Big 12 did come out on top, followed by the SEC, but then the ACC is right in there at 3rd. I'm not sure if any of these formulas would be accurate. If you think they are or have an idea how to improve them or have a different one altogether, please share.

2008 College Football - Week 13 Mentzer Rankings

Utah is the new number 1. But since they have 12 games in, they will only remain there if Alabama loses to Auburn. Penn State gained some ground, but not in the standings. Michigan comes in at 89, not the worst in the Big 10 and Notre Dame comes in at 63 after getting beat by Syracuse. From a Conference perspective. The Big 12 is dominating the Mentzer Rankings followed by the SEC, Big 10, and Mountain West.


Standing Team W L F1 W F1 L W/L F1
1 Utah 12 0 387 0 1.0000 1.0000
2 Alabama 11 0 352 0 1.0000 1.0000
3 Boise State 11 0 304 0 1.0000 1.0000
4 Ball State 11 0 236 0 1.0000 1.0000
5 Texas 10 1 401 6 0.9091 0.9853
6 Oklahoma 10 1 369 6 0.9091 0.9840
7 Texas Tech 10 1 337 6 0.9091 0.9825
8 TCU 10 2 262 9 0.8333 0.9668
9 Georgia 9 2 306 12 0.8182 0.9623
10 Ohio State 10 2 359 17 0.8333 0.9548
11 Oklahoma State 9 2 242 12 0.8182 0.9528
12 Brigham Young 10 2 220 11 0.8333 0.9524
13 USC 9 1 287 17 0.9000 0.9441
14 Missouri 9 2 236 15 0.8182 0.9402
15 Florida 10 1 369 25 0.9091 0.9365
16 Penn State 11 1 395 27 0.9167 0.9360
17 Cincinnati 9 2 297 33 0.8182 0.9000
18 Michigan State 9 3 307 42 0.7500 0.8797
19 Western Mich 9 2 186 38 0.8182 0.8304
20 Oregon 8 3 158 35 0.7273 0.8187
21 Oregon State 8 3 246 56 0.7273 0.8146
22 Air Force 8 4 194 46 0.6667 0.8083
23 Central Mich 8 3 204 56 0.7273 0.7846
24 Nebraska 7 4 166 47 0.6364 0.7793
25 LSU 7 4 158 45 0.6364 0.7783

33 Iowa 8 4 256 98 0.6667 0.7232

63 Notre Dame 6 5 142 138 0.5455 0.5071

89 Michigan 3 9 104 226 0.2500 0.3152

120 Washington 0 11 0 305 0.0000 0.0000

On Details

Try this test.

2008 College Football - Week 12 Mentzer Rankings

Penn State didn't get much with its win over Indiana, but should make substantial gains with a win over 9 - 2 Michigan State. Texas Tech overtook the #1 spot and Michigan is at #82


Standing Team W L F1 W F1 L W/L F1
1 Texas Tech 10 0 324 0 1.0000 1.0000
2 Alabama 11 0 304 0 1.0000 1.0000
3 Utah 11 0 283 0 1.0000 1.0000
4 Boise State 10 0 247 0 1.0000 1.0000
5 Ball State 10 0 166 0 1.0000 1.0000
6 Texas 10 1 366 3 0.9091 0.9919
7 Oklahoma 9 1 266 5 0.9000 0.9815
8 Oklahoma State 9 2 217 8 0.8182 0.9644
9 Brigham Young 10 1 195 8 0.9091 0.9606
10 Georgia 9 2 278 12 0.8182 0.9586
11 TCU 9 2 190 9 0.8182 0.9548
12 Ohio State 9 2 293 17 0.8182 0.9452
13 Missouri 9 2 217 13 0.8182 0.9435
14 USC 9 1 258 16 0.9000 0.9416
15 Florida 9 1 340 23 0.9000 0.9366
16 Penn State 10 1 282 24 0.9091 0.9216
17 Michigan State 9 2 271 31 0.8182 0.8974
18 Cincinnati 8 2 204 26 0.8000 0.8870
19 LSU 7 3 136 20 0.7000 0.8718
20 Air Force 8 3 165 33 0.7273 0.8333
21 Western Mich 9 2 154 35 0.8182 0.8148
22 Oregon 8 3 142 33 0.7273 0.8114
23 Miami (FL) 7 3 201 49 0.7000 0.8040
24 Oregon State 7 3 190 49 0.7000 0.7950
25 Nebraska 7 4 157 43 0.6364 0.7850

48 Notre Dame 6 4 125 71 0.6000 0.6378

82 Michigan 3 8 99 186 0.2727 0.3474
83 Auburn 5 6 61 121 0.4545 0.3352

120 Washington 0 10 0 206 0.0000 0.0000

REPORTERS NOTEBOOK: 11/15/08 - "Football Tickets"

A good friend offered me tickets to Sunday night’s football game in Philadelphia between the visiting New York Giants and Eagles.
Upon further review, the tickets were actually passes to a skybox at the stadium.
With little hesitation, I accepted the tickets, and invited a Philadelphia-based lass to attend the game with me.
But alas, when I arrived in Philadelphia and picked up the stunning gal, I realized that I didn’t have any money to park near her apartment. She scrounged enough quarters to barely feed a meter that night and the next morning until the time expired.
We caught the train to the stadium and arrived two hours early, so we decided to venture up to the box. Unfortunately, we walked halfway around the stadium, and were unable to find our destination.
“Let’s get a drink,” my friend suggested.
I concurred.
We found a concession area, and I asked the waitress how much a Pepsi cost.
She replied: “Six-fifty, please.”
I looked in my wallet. Thirteen bucks. Total.
“We’ll take two!” my friend shouted, as we high fived each other.
Yeah, we’re big dorks. But the amusing part was that I was carrying the skybox passes in my spare hand, and the waitress spotted them.
“You can barely afford two sodas, but you have two box passes,” the waitress deadpanned. “How’d you get them?”
Quite frankly, it’s none of your business.
And no, she did not get a tip. I didn’t have money anyway.
~ Scot A. Pitzer, Times Staff Reporter.

PSU Wrestler Injured...

... out for season. Nittany Lion wrestler David Erwin is out for the season. The junior 174-pounder was ranked No. 18 nationally at his weight. true freshman Quentin Wright will forgo a red-shirt season and make his collegiate debut this Sunday.

The Lion wrestling team is currently ranked 7th in the country.

2008 College Football - Week 11 Mentzer Rankings

Top 25 +. Penn State took a big dive, losing to a 4 loss Iowa, dropping to # 16. Texas Tech took over the top spot after crushing Ok. St. Michigan is on the rise up to # 81. Iowa rose to # 45 and Penn States next opponent is coming in at # 94.

Standing Team W L F1 W F1 L W/L F1
1 Texas Tech 10 0 282 0 1.0000 1.0000
2 Alabama 10 0 255 0 1.0000 1.0000
3 Utah 10 0 244 0 1.0000 1.0000
4 Boise State 9 0 206 0 1.0000 1.0000
5 Ball State 9 0 146 0 1.0000 1.0000
6 Texas 9 1 294 3 0.9000 0.9899
7 Oklahoma 9 1 240 5 0.9000 0.9796
8 Oklahoma State 8 2 159 8 0.8000 0.9521
9 Georgia 8 2 222 12 0.8000 0.9487
10 TCU 9 2 161 9 0.8182 0.9471
11 Brigham Young 9 1 131 8 0.9000 0.9424
12 Ohio State 8 2 236 17 0.8000 0.9328
13 Missouri 8 2 174 13 0.8000 0.9305
14 USC 8 1 198 15 0.8889 0.9296
15 Florida 8 1 258 21 0.8889 0.9247
16 Penn State 9 1 230 23 0.9000 0.9091
17 Michigan State 9 2 229 25 0.8182 0.9016
18 Air Force 8 2 138 19 0.8000 0.8790
19 Cincinnati 7 2 156 25 0.7778 0.8619
20 LSU 6 3 100 20 0.6667 0.8333
21 North Carolina 7 2 202 45 0.7778 0.8178
22 Florida State 7 2 153 37 0.7778 0.8053
23 Western Michigan8 2 132 33 0.8000 0.8000
24 Tulsa 8 1 111 28 0.8889 0.7986
25 Miami (FL) 6 3 145 37 0.6667 0.7967

33 Oregon State 6 3 126 46 0.6667 0.7326

45 Iowa 6 4 141 75 0.6000 0.6528

52 Notre Dame 5 4 84 63 0.5556 0.5714

81 Michigan 3 7 88 144 0.3000 0.3793

94 Indiana 3 7 51 130 0.3000 0.2818

120 Washington 0 9 0 158 0.0000 0.0000

On Understanding Your Situation

An 8 point whitetail buck, 4 pointer and a button buck are standing by a field browsing on acorns.

The 8 pointer says, 'I'm happy with my 10 does, we're really getting along.'

The 4 pointer says, 'I'm happy as heck with my 5, they really take care of me!'

The Button buck says, 'I don't have any does. They all tell me I'm too young. Maybe next year I'll have some.'

Then all of a sudden a GIANT 14 pointer walks out into the field. The three bucks had never seen anything like him before, and they were in awe. The big buck made a huge scrape and pissed in it, rubbed a tree the size of a telephone pole and snapped it off at the ground! The three bucks looked on in amazement.

The 8 pointer says, 'I could probably get by with 4 does...........Who really needs 10 anyway?'

The 4 pointer says, 'You know.... come to think of it, I only really use one or two of mine!'

The button buck was silent, as the other two bucks look over to him in confusion. Suddenly the yearling runs out into the middle of the field! He rips and tears up some grass........ pisses all over the place, snorts & wheezes, rubs his head raw on a tree and chews a lickin branch clean off! Then he runs back over to his buddies.

His friends immediately ask him, 'What the hell are you doing!?'

'I'm just makin' sure that big sumbitch knows I'm a buck!'

The Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders

A good time was had by all.

On Large Numbers

A blonde is watching the news during which the newscaster reports "Six Brazilian men die in a skydiving accident".

The blonde begins weeping, saying to her husband, "That's horrible".

The husband, attempting to console his wife, responds, "Yes, dear, it is sad, but they were skydiving and knew the risks involved."

The blonde continues to sob and asks, "How many is a Brazilian?".

Rooster Arrested in Illinois

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/F44C038B535FB14F862574F7005D5879?OpenDocument

BENTON, Ill. -- A rooster played chicken in the wrong town.That's the word from the downstate community of Benton, where police took a rooster into custody after it allegedly confronted a woman and her child.

Police Chief Mike O'Neill says the rooster has been bothering people lately, trying to keep them from getting where they want to go.O'Neill says officers had enough on Monday and took the rooster into custody after what he described as a brief scuffle.

Nobody was injured and the rooster was thrown in an enclosed area near the police department. There, it lived on chicken feed and water until police located the owner. Chickens aren't allowed to live in Benton and the rooster was turned over to the owner only after he promised to find it a new home in the country.

REPORTERS NOTEBOOK: Gettysburg Times (11/08/08) - "Election Day"

It was comical standing in what seemed like a three mile line with my grandfather Tuesday morning in downtown Aspers to cast my vote on Election Day.
Every other time Pap and I go to the Aspers Fire Hall to vote, it takes four minutes, tops.
We were in line for 45 minutes Thursday. And that was before we even got inside the building.
The backlog, in my opinion, was primarily the result of first time voters — or people who cast ballots strictly when the White House is available and then disappear for four years.
Anyway, Election Day should run like the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The roadway has an E-Z pass lane for frequent motorists.
How about an easy pass lane on Election Day for frequent voters? We could bypass the 45 minute line and all the people who don’t have any idea what they’re doing.
And still make it to the Elkhorn Inn in Bendersville before they quit serving breakfast.
Just an idea.
— Scot Andrew Pitzer.

On Buckeye Fans

There are some buckeye fans that made a preemptive strike trying to keep some of their brethren from starting something they deem bad by taking up URL names such as this. http://www.firejimtressel.com/

They didn't think of all of them

http://www.firecoachtressel.com/

2008 College Football - Week 10 Mentzer Rankings

Top 25 + Others of Interest. Penn State did drop to number 3, but is poised to take over one of the top 2 spots over the next 3 weeks. Texas Tech has Oklahoma State and Oklahoma over the next 2 weeks. Michigan has dropped to #98.


Standing Team W L F1 W F1 L W/L F1
1 Texas Tech 9 0 205 0 1.0000 1.0000
2 Alabama 9 0 204 0 1.0000 1.0000
3 Penn State 9 0 191 0 1.0000 1.0000
4 Boise State 8 0 158 0 1.0000 1.0000
5 Utah 9 0 155 0 1.0000 1.0000
6 Ball State 8 0 113 0 1.0000 1.0000
7 Texas 8 1 240 3 0.8889 0.9877
8 Oklahoma 8 1 190 5 0.8889 0.9744
9 Oklahoma State 8 1 136 5 0.8889 0.9645
10 TCU 9 1 140 6 0.9000 0.9589
11 Brigham Young 8 1 107 6 0.8889 0.9469
12 Ohio State 7 2 169 11 0.7778 0.9389
13 Georgia 7 2 174 12 0.7778 0.9355
14 Missouri 7 2 128 11 0.7778 0.9209
15 Florida 7 1 202 20 0.8750 0.9099
16 USC 7 1 131 13 0.8750 0.9097
17 Michigan State 8 2 172 20 0.8000 0.8958
18 Air Force 7 2 97 18 0.7778 0.8435
19 Minnesota 7 2 122 23 0.7778 0.8414
20 LSU 6 2 90 17 0.7500 0.8411
21 Cincinnati 6 2 106 24 0.7500 0.8154
22 Tulsa 8 1 95 24 0.8889 0.7983
23 Miami (FL) 6 3 134 35 0.6667 0.7929
24 North Carolina 6 2 141 39 0.7500 0.7833
25 Florida State 6 2 111 31 0.7500 0.7817

34 Oregon State 5 3 86 32 0.6250 0.7288

52 Notre Dame 4 3 64 42 0.5714 0.6038

58 Iowa 5 4 72 63 0.5556 0.5333

98 Michigan 2 7 39 110 0.2222 0.2617

120 Washington 0 8 0 106 0.0000 0.0000