#georgias bracket round 3

[atlantisblasebl]

THE GEORGIAS BRACKET: ROUND 3

Ahoy, and welcome to Round 3 of the Georgias Bracket! Round 2 was full of close calls, with some polls remaining neck-and-neck to the last minute, but when all was said and done, these are the players that came out on top! We're down to our Sweet 16 now, and this round will determine our quarterfinalists! Don't forget to #Vote!

But first, some statistics from Round 2...

Fish Summer was the player with the greatest margin of victory, with 73% of the vote over Juan Murphy! Juan may be number Juan in our hearts, but xe'll have to settle for thirty-second place in the Georgias bracket.

Rigby Friedrich, conversely, had the most narrow margin of victory, barely eking out a win over Siobhan Chark with 51.7% of the vote.

The poll with the most votes was Nanci Grackle vs. Mint Shupe, with 69 votes total. (Nice.) Conversely, the poll with the fewest votes was Norman Muggins vs. Daisuke Witless, with only 29 votes total.

As always, anyone is allowed to participate in voting, whether or not you're familiar with the Georgias (or even Blaseball in general). Just vote for whichever player you like more in each pair, and winners will progress to the quarterfinals in Round 4! And don't be afraid to do a bit of campaigning for your favorites, if you feel like it.

You can find all matchups under the #georgias bracket round 3 tag on our blog, or in the list below:

Rigby Friedrich vs. Nanci Grackle

Niq Nyong'o vs. Steals Chark

Ankle Halifax vs. Flattery McKinley

Ji-Eun Clove vs. Neerie McCloud

Slosh Truk vs. Randy Dennis

Frankie Hambone vs. Daisuke Witless

Mordecai Kingbird vs. Fish Summer

Lady Matsuyama vs. Beck Whitney

Current placements for eliminated players are under the cut!

64. Goodwin Morin II - 0%, 0/37 votes 63. Basil Ball - 0%, 0/35 votes 62-61. Nagomi Mcdaniel III/Vernon Glump - 5.6%, 2/36 votes 60. New Megan Ito III - 8.1%, 3/37 votes 59. Poseidon - 10%, 4/40 votes 58. Jenkins Ingram - 11.8%, 4/34 votes 57. Cote Loveless II - 17.6%, 6/34 votes 56. Khulan Kebede - 18.8%, 6/32 votes 55. Alexander Horne - 19.4%, 7/36 votes 54-53. Dickerson Morse/Justin Alstott - 21.2%, 7/33 votes 52. Wyatt Mason III - 23.1%, 9/39 votes 51. Montgomery Bullock - 25.7%, 9/35 votes 50. Lance Serotonin - 26.1%, 12/46 votes 49. Jon Tumblehome - 29.0%, 9/31 votes 48. Goobie Ballson - 30.3%, 10/33 votes 47. Jessica Twolephone - 31.3%, 10/32 votes 46. Pitching Machine - 32.6%, 14/43 votes 45. Kit Ratoon - 34.4%, 11/32 votes 44. Jelly Burgertoes - 35.1%, 13/37 votes 43. Erin Jesaulenko - 35.3%, 12/34 votes 42. Agnes Caster - 35.5%, 11/31 votes 41. Lachlan Shelton - 37.1%, 23/62 votes 40. Gita Biscuits - 39.4%, 13/33 votes 39. Knight Triumphant - 41.2%, 14/34 votes 38. Angelika Aufdiscord - 41.9%, 13/31 votes 37. Mckinney Vaughan - 43.3%, 13/30 votes 36. Zephyr McCloud - 43.8%, 14/32 votes 35. Sosa Hayes - 46.4%, 13/28 votes 34. Doc Cash - 46.7%, 14/30 votes 33. Wyatt Mason IV - 47.5%, 29/61 votes 32. Juan Murphy - 27%, 10/37 votes 31. Jan Canberra - 31.9%, 15/47 votes 30. Geraldine Frost - 32.4%, 12/37 votes 29. Waverly Mori - 33.3%, 12/36 votes 28. Yurts Buttercup - 33.3%, 14/42 votes 27. Emmet Atomic - 35.3%, 12/34 votes 26. Manu Candle - 35.5%, 11/31 votes 25. Son Jensen - 37%, 20/54 votes 24. Norman Muggins - 37.9%, 11/29 votes 23. Hercules Alighieri - 38.5%, 15/39 votes 22. Hiroto Wilcox - 42.3%, 22/52 votes 21. Chorby Soul V - 42.6%, 20/47 votes 20. Mint Shupe - 46.4%, 32/69 votes 19. Ortiz Lopez - 46.7%, 21/45 votes 18. Penelope Video - 46.9%, 15/32 votes 17. Siobhan Chark - 48.3%, 29/60 votes

[proton-wobbler]

Warbler Showdown pt 2; Bracket 1, Poll 1

Yellow-throated Warbler (Setophaga dominica)

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Range: The migratory population moves from the Bahamas and Greater Antilles to lowland Eastern and Midwest states; a more sedintary populations seem to live year-round in parts of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.

Habitat: prefers wetter habitats, such as wooded steam bottomlands and cypress swamps, though they can be found in dry pine or mixed pine-deciduous forests. Also common in loblolly pine stands.

Subspecies: 3

Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca)

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Range: breeds in the New England, Appalachia, and the Easter providences of Canada. Overwinters in the northern Andes, heavily concentrated in Peru, Ecuador and Columbia.

Habitat: coniferous or mixed forests, though during migration they can be found in any wooded area.

Subspecies: none

Image Sources: YTWA (Tyler Ficker); BLBW (Kyle Tansley)

[aroace-awsomeness-arena]

Here is the bracket for the AroAce/A-spectrum Awesomeness Arena!

Round 1, Part 1:

Todd (BoJack Horseman) VS Ash (Pokémon)

Hunter (The Owl House) VS Toph (Avatar: The Last Air Bender)

Sonic (The Sonic The Hedgehog Franchise) VS Kris (Deltarune)

ENA (ENA) VS Lilith (The Owl House)

The Collector (The Owl House) VS Maki (Danganronpa Franchise)

Ruby (RWBY) VS Tails (The Sonic The Hedgehog Franchise)

Marcy (Amphibia) VS Light Yagami (Death Note)

Todoroki (My Hero Academia) VS LIng (The Diviners)

Sakuko (A Couple Without Falling In Love) VS Pit (Kid Icarus)

The Tin Man/Nick Chopper (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) VS Alastor (Hazbin Hotel)

Alix (Miraculous) VS John (Homestuck)

NNY (Johnny the Homicidal Maniac) VS Max (Camp Camp)

Reyna (Riordan) VS Saiki K. (The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K.)

Kale (Monster Prom) VS Teardrop (Battle for Dream Island)

Phoenix (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney) VS Senku (Dr. Stone)

Amethyst (Steven Universe) VS Jughead (Archie Comics)

Miya (SK8 The Infinity) Vs Percy (Epithet Erased)

Round 2, Part 1:

Piccolo (Dragon Ball) VS Riz (Dimension 20)

Finn (Adventure Time) VS Perry (Phineas And Ferb)

Caduceus (Critical Roll) VS Sasha (The Magnus Archives)

Merida (Brave) VS The Eleventh Doctor (Doctor Who)

Jonathon (The Magnus Archives) VS Connor (Green Arrow)

Elatsoe (Elatsoe) VS Emma (Sidekick Squad)

Blanche / Entity 140 (Backrooms) VS Ralph (Plainview)

Big Man (Splatoon 3) VS Yelena (Black Widow)

Ike (Fire Emblem) VS Matt (Wii Sports)

Takahashi (A Couple Without Falling In Love) VS Kel (Omori)

Sans (Undertale) VS Papyrus (Undertale)

SpongeBob (Spongebob Square Pants) Vs Reigen (Mob Psycho 100)

Georgia (Loveless) VS Mr. Clean (Procter & Gamble)

Peridot (Steven Universe) VS Murderbot (The Murderbot Diaries)

Jo (Little Woman) VS Luffy (One Piece)

Hiro (Big Hero 6) VS Waluigi (The Mario Franchise)

Round 1, Part 2:

Ash (Pokémon) VS Toph (Avatar: The Last Air Bender)

Sonic (The Sonic The Hedgehog Franchise) VS Kris (Deltarune) VS Lilith (The Owl House)

The Collector (The Owl House) VS Tails (The Sonic The Hedgehog Franchise)

Marcy (Amphibia) VS Todoroki (My Hero Academia)

Pit (Kid Icarus) VS The Tin Man/Nick Chopper (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)

John (Homestuck) VS Max (Camp Camp)

Saiki K. (The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K.) VS Kale (Monster Prom)

Phoenix (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney) VS Jughead (Archie Comics) VS Miya (SK8 The Infinity)

Round 2, Part 2

Riz (Dimension 20) VS Perry (Phineas And Ferb)

Sasha (The Magnus Archives) VS Merida (Brave)

Jonathon (The Magnus Archives) VS Emma (Sidekick Squad)

(Blanche / Entity 140 (Backrooms) VS Big Man (Splatoon 3)

Matt (Wii Sports) VS Takahashi (A Couple Without Falling In Love)

Papyrus (Undertale) VS SpongeBob (Spongebob Square Pants)

Georgia (Loveless) VS Peridot (Steven Universe)

Jo (Little Woman) VS Hiro (Big Hero 6)

Round 3, Part 1

Toph (Avatar: The Last Air Bender) VS Lilith (The Owl House

Tails (The Sonic The Hedgehog Franchise) VS Marcy (Amphibia)

Pit (Kid Icarus) VS Max (Camp Camp)

Saiki K. (The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K.) VS Jughead (Archie Comics)

Round 3, Part 2

Perry (Phineas And Ferb) VS Merida (Brave)

Jonathon (The Magnus Archives) VS Big Man (Splatoon 3)

Matt (Wii Sports) VS Papyrus (Undertale)

Georgia (Loveless) VS Hiro (Big Hero 6)

Round 4, Part 1

Toph (Avatar: The Last Air Bender) VS Tails (The Sonic The Hedgehog Franchise) VS Pit (Kid Icarus) VS Saiki K. (The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K.)

Round 4, Part 2

Merida (Brave) VS Jonathon (The Magnus Archives) VS Papyrus (Undertale) VS Georgia (Loveless)

Round 5, The Finale

Pit (Kid Icarus) VS Papyrus (Undertale)

I know little to nothing about a lot of these characters so please tell me if I made any mistakes.

If you have any fanart, propaganda or whatnot please put it in the asks.

[imaginespazzi]

Hey bestie, it’s me 🙋‍♀️ but this time for something non-ucla fic related (omg!)

Was just inspired after the top 16 reveal, so here’s what i’m predicting based off the current top 16 and bracket assignments even though there’ll likely be a lot of movement between now and selection sunday. Also, forewarning, some of these are purely based off vibes (and the assumption that all 16 make it to the sweet 16 even though i’m sure there’ll be 2nd round upsets) 😅:

Elite 8:

South Carolina vs Oregon State (yep i’m calling Oregon St “upsetting” Iowa in the Sweet 16)

Ohio State vs LSU

Stanford vs Texas

UCLA vs UConn

Final 4:

South Carolina vs UCLA (I wanna say I see us upsetting UCLA real bad but i just can’t i’m sorry 😭 plus i’m punishing ucla fic paige for ucla fic azzi 😌)

Ohio State vs Stanford

Championship game:

UCLA vs Ohio State (i know i know, i have ucla upsetting socar 🫣)

Champs:

Ohio State (note: I loooove Jacy, Cotie and Celeste so this may be slightly biased 🤪)

I know it’s not the most bold of takes given i have all no 1 seeds making it to the final 4 but i tried sprinkling in some hotter takes?? I’m keen to know your predictions bestie!

Big love always 💗💗

Hi my love <3

These are some SPICY predictions omg I love them. South Carolina not making the championship game? OSU winning it all?? ��

I feel like mine are much more basic ngl.

Elite 8

SC vs Oregon State (I'm with you babes, I just don't think Iowa has it personally)

Colorado vs LSU (this was actually really hard but I'm a staunch Jaylyn Sherrod fan and what is USC outside of Juju lol)

Stanford vs NC State (could easily be Texas, I just think NC state might have a little bit more to give)

UCLA vs UConn (Paige > Georgia, Aaliyah > Liz everybody else is whatever but I'm still kinda terrified)

Final Four

SC vs UConn (I just think that we played the worst basketball of our lives and only lost by 10 and if we just play well we could beat UCLA *famous last words*)

Stanford vs LSU (LSU is not gonna lose to the same team twice...I think)

National Championship

SC vs Stanford (I feel like this is pretty self-explanatory though I will say March Li and P)

Champions

Stanford (CAMERON BRINK SUPREMACY)

For all my thoughts and vibes, apparently I'm still holding out hope on UConn but also this actually seems like an okay enough bracket for us to get through (more famous last words). Anyways this bracket isn't gonna hold either but I actually do think Stanford could win at the end of the day.

Thanks for coming, love you bestie <3

(I feel like we write letters to each other lol)

[qprsmackdown]

Full bracket update! Text version below the cut.

[Image ID: A 64 seed bracket showing three rounds completed. Matchups are as follows.

Round 1, Side 1: q!parrotduo vs jesus christ (mary magdalene) emerald duo vs Nepeta Leijon and Equius Zahhak ineffable husbands vs beeduo slimecicle vs zelink etho/skizz vs timsasha Dave Miller and Jack Kennedy vs Bob and Larry me/your mom vs Jesus Christ pt. 2 (12 disciples) samfro vs Merlin and Arthur Kaladin and Syl vs Kim Dokja, Yoo Joonghyuk (ORV) mk/mei vs Lapis Lazuli and Peridot james bond and q vs The Fellowship Of The Ring james kirk and bones vs hamlet and ophelia Mochizuki and Yoisaki vs Will Truman and Grace Adler Camilla Hect and Palamedes Sextus vs Jo March and Professor Bhaer Kimiko & Frenchie vs Poeta huevos (Ferdinand, Rododendro and Gabrelle) Kodama Sakuko and Takahashi Satoru vs Izaya Orihara and Shizuo Heiwajima

Round 1, Side 2: Scarian vs Huntlow Dogwarts vs Swagdoons poly pirates vs benchtrio renchanting vs majorwood smajor/pearl vs c!eret and c!foolish smajor/cleo vs clowndoons arenaduo vs georgia and rooney from loveless the three hunters vs gil galad and elrond and celebrian polywagon vs poly prime defenders All Of Lifesteal SMP vs greater mana polycule Polygun vs All Of The Mechs Polychives vs poly boatem Balloon/Suitcase vs Doc and Donut starfire vs mothman and bigfoot primary colors vs ocie and ceci chaos (Fable SMP) Aero and Lennie (Challenger SMP) vs OC/IRL QPR BRACKET WINNER

Round 2: q!parrotduo vs emerald duo beeduo vs zelink timsasha vs bob and larry jesus christ pt. 2 vs Merlin & Arthur Kaladin and Syl vs Lapis Lazuli and Peridot The Fellowship Of The Ring vs james kirk and bones Will Truman and Grace Adler vs Camilla Hect and Palamedes Sextus Kimiko and Frenchie vs Kodama Sokuko and Takahashi Satoru Scarian vs Dogwarts benchtrio vs majorwood smajor/pearl vs smajor/cleo arenaduo vs the three hunters polywagon vs the greater mana polycule All Of The Mechs vs poly boatem Doc and Donut vs mothman and bigfoot Ocie and Ceci Chaos (Fable SMP) vs Aero and Lennie + Michael and Mantis

Round 3: emerald duo vs ineffable husbands timsasha vs jesus christ part 2 Lapis Lazuli and Peridot vs The Fellowship Of The Ring Camilla Hect and Palamedes Sextus vs Kimiko and Frenchie Dogwarts vs majorwood smajor/cleo vs arenaduo polywagon vs poly boatem mothman and bigfoot vs Ocie and Ceci Chaos (Fable SMP)

End ID.]

[namedafterflowerstournament]

Botanic Tournament : Unspecific Flowers Bracket 2 !

Round 1 Poll 3

[eurovision-song-bracket]

“Hatrið Mun Sigra” (Iceland 2019) They got ROBBED at the final when there was a ...technical error. This is a really good industrial techno song that captures the anger and hopelessness of living in a world that is only going to get worse AND its a bop 

“Lock Me In” (Georgia 2022)

[esc23snubbracket]

round 1 side B bracket 3

[theultimatefan]

National Lacrosse League Playoffs Begin Saturday; Schedule to Feature Broadcasts on TSN and ESPNU

The National Lacrosse League’s (@NLL) new unified standings aimed to make every game count, and it took until its 135th and final regular season game to set the 2024 NLL Playoffs bracket and schedule. With Rochester defeating Philadelphia, 12-3, the postseason field of eight is set, with quarterfinal play beginning on Saturday, April 27.

The top-seeded Toronto Rock (15-3) and No. 2 San Diego Seals (13-5) are joined by the No. 3 Albany FireWolves (11-7) and No. 4 Buffalo Bandits (11-7) in hosting single-elimination quarterfinal games next weekend.

Two teams, the No. 7 Panther City Lacrosse Club (9-9) and No. 8 Rochester Knighthawks (8-10), punched their tickets based on the wild final weekend results.

This year’s field includes six teams that advanced to the postseason in 2023, including defending champion Buffalo.

TSN will feature Rochester at Toronto to start quarterfinal weekend on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET. ESPNU’s coverage will include the No. 5 Georgia Swarm at Buffalo Saturday night, 7 p.m. ET, and No. 6 Halifax Thunderbirds (10-8) at Albany on Sunday at 3 p.m ET. Every postseason game can be seen on ESPN+ and TSN+.

Here is the complete 2024 NLL Playoffs quarterfinals’ broadcast schedule (all times ET):

Saturday, April 27 – #8 Rochester at #1 Toronto, 4:30 p.m., TSN, ESPN+, TSN+

Saturday, April 27 – #5 Georgia at #4 Buffalo, 7 p.m., ESPNU, ESPN+, TSN+

Saturday, April 27 – #7 Panther City at #2 San Diego, 10 p.m., ESPN+, TSN+

Sunday, April 28 – #6 Halifax at #3 Albany, 3 p.m., ESPNU, ESPN+, TSN+

Quarterfinal winners advance to their respective best-of-three semifinal series, which will commence on Thursday, May 2, through Sunday, May 5, and continue Thursday, May 9, through Sunday, May 12.

The best-of-three 2024 NLL Finals are scheduled for Thursday, May 16, through Sunday, May 19, and Thursday, May 23, through Sunday, May 26.

Additionally, should both semifinal series end in two games, the League may move the 2024 NLL Finals up to the preceding week.

Exact dates and broadcast schedules for TSN and ESPN for the semifinals and NLL Finals rounds will be announced after the pairings and dates are set. To view the 2024 NLL Playoffs bracket, visit https://www.nll.com/standings/.

[gaybookstournament]

Round 1, bracket 9

Propaganda under the cut, feel free to add more in comments or reblogs

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Evelyn Hugo is a famous Hollywood star, after retiring from the spotlight after 3 decades, she became a recluse in her old age and made few and far appearances, leaving 7 husbands in her wake. The two things these marriages have in common is that they end in tragedy and Evelyn is the only one currently alive. Young up and coming writer Monique is requested by Evelyn personally to write her biography. Monique spends days with Evelyn getting her story of stardom and tragic love, finding out some interesting information that has never seen the light of day, until now.

Loveless – Georgia has never had any romantic feelings for anyone, boy, girl, other. But as a fanfic writer, she is sure she’ll meet the one, or at least she hopes. When she leaves to go to university, she plans to live out her teenage dream of finding romance. But after a series of incidents she starts questioning her whole identity.

[gunnygazette-blog]

Semi Final – Game of the Week

(10) #15 Mee-ah-Mee Raid  (5-5, 3-0) @ (3) #3 Angry Fairies (9-0, 2-0)

Welcome to the Game of the Week...the South Championship...the Florida Championship...and the REAL Championship…  

“Wait...what?...but the Former FFA teams were eliminated in the North Bracket…”

Well...yay Georgia...but none of those teams were “top teams” in the FFA...as the last time a team from North of I-4 beat one of the Southern Play-off teams was 2018 (a team that no longer exists)…and the last time a northern team even made a Championship game in the FFA was 2012 (Orlando)...and from North of Orlando...2006 (Jax)… In short...none of those teams have beaten a South Play-off team in play-off game...EVAH…and it’s been REALLY BAD...  So the chance of a Joe Namath Super Bowl outcome we will talk about next week…  

For the actual game...we get a third match-up of two teams that met in weeks #2 and #12...all Undercover-Bulls wins…  The Raid got here by persevering through the top seeds in each round...the Over-rated...the less than full strength...and the bad match-up (no real run attack)...to get a team that will be the most balanced and ready team they will match-up with…  But they are looking to eliminate the top three seeds…  The Angry Fairies...have had arguably the easiest play-off run...with teams not known for their play-off success…  Finishing with the closest game by 18pts…  

When the Silver-n-Black have the ball...they will field the #11 Offense (24.5ppg) against the #11 Defense (12.8ppg)...they are pass happy...and look for the big play...but more importantly...have cut down on the turnovers…  The defense here could be steady the whole game...but if they turn their head...and they could give up a big play…  The Brownies will force the O to drive the length of the field…  Long and steady is not in the Raid’s wheel house.  

When the Ugliest Uniforms have the ball they will field the top ranked Offense still playing and the only one in the single digits...#2 ranked (37.3ppg) which will face the #6-ranked (15.0ppg)… The Brownies O is balanced enough...and persistent enough with the run to give this defense fits…  The Power running game would have a lot of success...if the Brownies can find a powerback.  The Silver-n-Black are a bend-don’t-break (too often) and be opportunistic…  If they can get Turnovers...they will have a chance…

The Algorithm picks the Big Uglies 36-18...but the Raid have heard this song before…  Will this be the game they make their “Big Mistake”...or will they squeeze through on another upset...  

[atlantisblasebl]

LADY MATSUYAMA: Seventh Fall Ball Georgia. Has previously played for the Mechanics and Fridays, and played in the ILB Semi-Centennial as a member of the Rising Stars after receiving Ego from the Ego Share blessing. Currently a respectable 4-star batter on the Georgias, marking the start of a long string of good hitters. I've been envisioning her as the team captain, but I'm not sure how popular that interpretation is.

BECK WHITNEY: Sixth Fall Ball Georgia, and the first with a noteworthy amount of established lore, which led to a moment of rejoicing among Georgias fans. Was one of the best hitters in all of Blaseball beta, and remains a pretty dang good hitter in the Coronation Era, forming a solid offensive core on the Georgias with Lady Matsuyama, Juan Murphy, Khulan Kebede, Mckinney Vaughan, and Daisuke Witless. Faxed a baby back in Season β22.

[whenyouknowyouknow]

Harry the Womanizer

 This thing started because I find the whole womanizer image of Harry absolutely disgusting and wanted people to see how utterly bad and wrong it was.

Please be aware that the following does not reflect Harry’s personality but it shows us the image their label wanted him to be seen as.

Some disclaimer about where the data comes from

written, digital coverage (no print,  1-2 videos, no radio)

google search “Harry Styles”, I looked through the first 20 hits each month but didn’t read all of them ( headlines usually are a dead giveaway if an article contains a new “conquest”)

I did not list every woman that was mentioned in the same article as Harry. Also not those that showed interest in him. But most of those that were said he showed interest in (I might have skipped a few in the worst years just bc it was so freaking disgusting)

Often articles contained offhand comments about his pulling power or unrelatedly recounting his latest conquests in any given article to enforce the womanizer image. These did not make it into the list.

Deleted articles are of course not included (as of Aug 2020)

Some of the women turn up again for a round 2 (or 3 or 4), I only mention them once a year tho

I put the women into the list on the date the news coverage happened/started because many articles date back things by saying  “pics have circulated since…” “They have been reportedly seen together since…” or simply tell a story that supposedly happened a few years prior

Some dates overlap. Thats either bc they pushed several woman at once (very effective to drive the whole womanizer image home) or its bc one woman was seeded in while the other was happening.

Because this is a freaking long post, I’ll put it under the “read more”

About the list

split by years

each year has Harrys age for that given year in brackets

each data set has in brackets the age, occupation and date of news coverage for the woman (if available)

winter gf get their own category as they sometimes overlap with other woman

Some of the woman get brought back up (not just mentioned in passing), those are listed at the end of each year with the dates when they where brought back up

“again” is for those who dated him again

Women linked to Harry

2010 (16)

5(?) girls from bootcamp

Cher Loyd (17, txf fellow contestant, Oct)

unnamed girl fan (13.11.)

2011 (17)

Adele (23, singer, 27.09.)

Sarita Borge (record executive, 29.11.)

2011-2012

Caroline Flack (31, txf, 23.10.-27.01.)

2012 (18)

Pixie Geldoff (21, 09.02.)

Alexa Chung (28, model, 16.02)

Alexandra Burke (23, txf, 20.02.)

Jo Wood (56, ex of Ronny Wood 21.02.)

Denise Welch (54, actress, 21.02.)

Georgia May Jagger (20, Mick Jagger daughter, 21.02.)

Sarah-Louise Colivet (24, photographer, 11.04.)

Lily Halpern (19, singer, 11.04.)

Jillian Harris (32, reality TV star, 13.04.)

Emma Ostilly (18, actor for Gotta be You MV -  22.04.) 

Ellis Calcutt (18(?), friend, deniedm, 30.04.)

Emily Atack (22, TV star, 20.05.)

unnamed girl (Article about her one night stand with H, 06.06.)

Lucy Horobin (32, radio presenter, 24.06., dated back to Aug-Oct 2011)

Caggie Dunlop (23, TV star, 12.07.)

Allyssa Reid (19, singer, 23.07.)

Blond girl with pink bag (from a night out, 26.07.)

Cara Delevingne (19, Model, 05.08.)

Natalie Imbruglia (37, singer actress 28.09.)

 2012-13

Taylor Swift (22 singer 19.10.-07.01. (fling dated back to April 2012 then getting back together)

2013 (19)

Hermione Way (27, reality star, 08.01.)

Millie Brady (18, actress, 24.02.)

Shaniece Nesbitt (fan, 11.03.)

Yvette Fielding (44, TV presenter, 11.03.)

Fia Litton (niece of Preston Mahon (security), 14.03)

Chelsea Ferguson (25, stripper, 14.04)

Kimberly Stewart (33, confirmed by Rod, 27.04.)

Camilla Foss (18, fan in oslo, 09.05.)

Kara Rose Marshall (22, model, 03.07.)

Alexis Allen (19, fan, 21.07.)

Cara Delevingne (20, model, 11.09.)

Paige Reifler (17, model, 30.09.)

Sjana Earp (18, model, 25.10.)

Samantha Armytage (36, TV presenter, 27.10.)

Daisy Lowe (24, model, 01.12.)

Caroline Flack (brought back up, 01.02./11.09.)

2013-14

Kendall Jenner (17, model, 21.10. - 23.02)

2014 (20)

mystery brunette (20.01.)

Alison Mosshart (35, singer, 07.03.)

Daisy Lowe (25, model, 11.04.)

Larissa de Macedo Machado (21, brazilian popstar, 08.05.)

Lou Teasdale (30, hairdresser, 26.05.)

Sinitta (45, Smons ex, 22.07.)

Paige Reifler (18, again, model, 25.07.)

Meghan Trainor (20, singer, 27.08.)

blond woman (at Coldplay concert, 18.09.)

Katy Perry (29, singer, 01.10.)

Erin Foster (31, 08.10.)

Kate Moss (40, model, 03.11.)

two blond woman (leaving a club in LA with H, 30.11.)

Taylor Swift (brought back up, 12.02./02.03./20.08./14.10./04.12.)

Emily Atack (brought back up, 23.03.)

Caroline Flack (brought back up, 26.03.)

2014-15

Nadine Leopold (20, model, 20.12.- 12.03.)

2015 (21)

Emma Watson (24, actress, 14.01. dated back to 26.12.14)

Suki Waterhouse (23, actress, 05.04.)

Joy Muggli (23, talent agent, 12.05.)

Sara Sampaio (23, model, 15.06.)

Georgia Fowler (22, model, inspiration for Kiwi, 15.10.)

Nicole Scherzinger (34, singer, 17.10., dated back to 2013)

Taylor Swift (brought back up, 15.01./13.02./10.03./08.05./13.10./28.10.)

Caroline Flack (brought back up, 24.05./11.10.)

2015-16

Kendall Jenner (again, 30.12.- 31.01.)

2016 (22)

Pandora Lennard (28, model 31.01.)

Lindsay Lohan (30, actress, 10.03., dated back unspecified)

Kendall Jenner (again, 05.09.)

Kara Rose Marshall (brought back up, 07.10.)

Suki Waterhouse (again + dated back to 2013, 11.11.)

Taylor Swift (brought back up, 01.02.)

2017 (23)

Tess Ward (26, food blogger, 09.05.)

Townes Adair Jones (20s, 17.05., dated back to 2014)

Camille Rowe (31, model, 31.07.)

Sjana Earp (22, again, 05.12.)

Taylor Swift (brought back up, 18.04./12.05./03.09./09.11.)

Kendall Jenner (brought back up, 31.01.)

2018 (24)

Delta Goodrem (33, voice coach, 27.04.) 

Camille Rowe (ends 31.07.)

Kendall Jenner (brought back up, 15.07./12.12.)

Taylor Swift (brought back up, 21.03./)

2019 (25)

Kiko Mizuhara (28, denied by K, 12.01.)

Camille Rowe (brought back up, 22.11.)

Kendall Jenner (brought back up, 11.12.)

Taylor Swift (brought back up, 23.08./04.11./13.12.)

2020 (26)

Daisy Lowe (brought back up, 20.06.)

Taylor Swift (brought back up, 02.03./24.07.)

data from here on is not included in the graphs, I will keep adding when things happen

Tracee Ellis Ross (48, actress, 28.10.)

The age differences

The graph shows clearly how

the age gaps are very big in the beginning, likely to attract an older audience in addition to the usual target audience of teenage girls

the amount of woman linked to Harry gets smaller each year because in later years, articles could just reference his history with woman

the amount of woman linked and mentioned in regards to Harry gets significantly lower after hiatus started

A rough timeline of women that where connected to Harry over the years

Why give Harry the womanizer image?

Would the image of a womanizer not damage the image of 1D?

If they’d portrait him as a sleeze it would have surely damaged the overal image of 1D. But Harrys image portrait him as charming, a bit quirky and overall an airhead that likes people and doesn’t want to be tied down. Thus giving the illusion of being potentially available to every woman and showing them a good, no strings attached, time. Which is a massive selling point for boybands to increase the age range of their fans.

In addition, all his conquests would be used to stir up drama or simply generate attention at crucial times to get 1D in the press without mentioning their current promo focus in every headline.

The winter girlfriends had a special role as they were the only ones actively worked as continuous dating. To build some attachment, have a continuous storyline that could be tied to the just released album and bridge the holiday pause, and when the relationship ended generate more drama to be used for promo.

Harry did keep on using his womanizer image to promote both his solo albums but in a very controlled manner. The numbers of new woman linked to him declined to 1 in 2019, for now we are at 0 (1) in 2020

HS promo used 3 woman as inspirations for songs (Towns, Fowler, Swift) and a tour gf (Rowe)

FL promo only uses the previous tour gf as now ex to push the storyline of a breakup album

He is very visibly changing his image while still maintaining a level of connection to his old image. Whether that's due to contractual restrictions or a strategy to not alienate to many fans is unclear

Jeff Azoff

For what I’ve seen Jeff and Harry seem close (the Azoff family having him on family pictures, posted by Jeff’s brother)

Looking at the timeline of Jeff and Harry

2014-03-25 first mention of Harry at Azoff family home in an article about Irvin

2014-04-23 first pics of Harry and Jeff at a sports event (Jeff named as a friend, no name or position yet)

2014-12-22 Jeff not named yet but identified as his agent

2015-01-10 first time Jeff being named and being the link between Harry and a woman

2016-03-07 Jeff leaves CAA as a music agent and launches his own company Full Stop Management

2016-03-11 Harry confirmed to have joined Full Stop Management

Jeff likely took over as Harry’s agent in early 2014. In 2015 Harry’s image change starts to become aparent and changed drastically after hiatus.

Harry choosing Jeffs management firm as soon as he left Modest is a clear indication that he feels Jeff will represent him how he wants

The Timeline - Women connected to Harry and Promo

I started the visual timeline in end 2011 when his womanizer image started to take off

The instances before where likely used as seeding for this image (first instance was a segment in txf where he was linked to 5 of the girl contestants and funny enough one older guy)

purple - women from the entertainment industry

pink - fans/no-names

lilac - winter gf

dark burgundy - thos who date him again

dusky pink - brought back up

light blue - single release

royal blue - album release

mid blue - other releases

dark turquoise - tour legs

Adendum: a few numbers analyzed,

[junker-town]

Western Illinois, Year 40, 2046-2047

The final season of our sim dynasty with Western Illinois in College Hoops 2K8 is here.

Welcome back to our simulated dynasty with the Western Illinois Leathernecks in College Hoops 2K8. You can find a full explanation of this project + spoiler-free links to previous seasons here. Check out the introduction to this series from early April 2020 for full context. As a reminder, we simulate every game in this series and only control the recruiting and coaching strategies. Dynasty mode runs for 40 years.

Before we pick up with the Leathernecks at the start of Year 40, here’s a recap of everything that happened last season:

Western Illinois entered Year 39 trying to three-peat as national champions for the first time in program history. We lost two starters early to the NBA coming into the season, but still had enough talent to be ranked No. 10 overall in the preseason polls.

We ran through the regular season schedule, losing only one game to UCLA during the non-conference season and sweeping Summit League opponents once again. We entered the NCAA tournament at 29-1 on the year and earned a No. 4 seed to the big dance.

We beat Brown in round one, knocked off Georgia Tech in the round of 32, beat Indiana in the Sweet 16, and lost to Florida in the Elite Eight. We know enter the final season of my career tied with John Wooden with 10 national championships.

We added three players in our last ever recruiting class: five-star JUCO SF Jerald Obasohan, four-star SG Erwin Walls, and four-star PF Kenny Butler.

Here’s a first look at our roster for Year 40:

It feels like only yesterday that a fresh-faced, 25-year-old came to the small town of Macomb, Illinois with big dreams. Coach Rick was hired by Western Illinois to do the impossible: win a national championship with arguably the worst team in college basketball. After 39 seasons at the helm, our tiny program has accomplished that and so much more. Now it’s time to hang it up.

Our journey at Western Illinois is finally coming to an end. In literal terms, College Hoops 2K8 forces mandatory retirement upon coaches in dynasty mode after 40 seasons. All good stories need closure either way. As we start our final season, we have some big stakes attached to our swan song.

Western Illinois has won 10 national championships in the Ricky Charisma era. That ties us with UCLA legend John Wooden for the most in history. What started as a mission to win a single national championship has now left us with a different goal: to become the undisputed greatest program in the history of the sport.

While we failed in our bid to three-peat last season — falling to Florida in the Elite Eight — we did bring back all four breakout juniors for this season. We only lost starting center DJ Foster to graduation. Yeah, it’s been a while since we last published Year 39 (thanks for your patience), so let’s go over the roster:

PG Christano Ngounou, junior, 89 overall: Ngounou made major strides after being forced into the starting lineup last season, and now looks like a rock solid contributor going into our final year. An international recruit out of Cameroon, Ngounou is a fast 6’3 guard with lockdown defensive ability and a slightly above average three-point shot. We have bigger names on this squad who will be expected to carry the scoring load, but Ngounou is going to play a huge role because he’s way better than every other point guard on the roster. We need quality minutes from him in the tournament. Former five-star international recruit with B potential.

SG Bernie Doyle, redshirt senior, 92 overall: Doyle is an incredible talent who enters his senior year looking to fully blossom into a superstar. The 6’9 shooting guard uses his immense size on both ends of the floor. He’s elite at getting into the passing lanes and forcing steals (a team-high 1.8 per game as a junior) on the defensive end, and has a sweet three-point stroke offensively. Doyle is such a smooth scorer and dominant defender that it feels like he has the natural talent to develop into an all-great in his senior year. Let’s hope he’s up to the challenge. Former No. 36 overall recruit from Detroit with C potential. Projected lottery pick.

SF Floyd Keller, redshirt senior, 92 overall: Keller checks every box for a small forward. He has good size at 6’7. He has a three-point rating in the mid-80s. He’s the best dunker on the team. He’s an elite offensive rebounder for a wing with a rating in the low 90s, which helps equip him to play minutes at the four. After a tough shooting night in our Elite Eight loss last season — he went 1-for-7 from three — we’ll need Keller to be consistently great if we want one more run through the bracket. Former No. 101 overall recruit out of Dallas with C+ potential. Projected second round pick.

PF Oscar Fray, redshirt senior, 88 overall: Fray enters his third year as a starter with a fascinating combination of size and skill that could set him up for a breakout senior year. The 7-foot power forward is a great three-point shooter for his position with a rating just below 80. Defensively, he’s the top-rated shot blocker on the team, and also does a pretty good job on the glass. Former No. 118 overall recruit out of Lynn, MA with C potential. Projected second round pick.

C Brody Munoz, redshirt senior, 92 overall: Munoz finally gets the spotlight as a senior after backing up DJ Foster — a one-time NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player — for his entire career up to this point. We’re expected big things, and not just because he’s tied for the highest rated player on the roster going into the regular season. What Munoz lacks in elite size at 6’11 he can make up for with strength, agility, and rebounding. We expect him to be really good at forcing turnovers, grabbing putbacks, and helping fortify the paint. Former No. 169 overall recruit (No. 6 center) out of Nashville with B potential. Projected lottery pick.

We have an incredibly deep bench for our final season. Center Logan Polk (85 overall) will be our sixth man, and should be able to form a three-man front court rotation with the two starters in the tournament. After that, we have a lot of options but not a lot of good options.

Here’s the rest of the bench: wing Jaycee Queen (80 overall), wing Jerald Obasohan (79 overall), guard Archie Howell (78 overall), wing/guard James Haranga (74 overall), guard Edwin Walls (74 overall), and power forward Kenny Butler (74 overall).

This is really it. Year 40. The last dance. What a ride it has been. We start the season at No. 4 in the polls.

How did the regular season go?

For our final regular season, we tried to schedule a good mix of local schools and historic big conference rivals with a couple in-season tournaments thrown in for good measure.

Here’s how the regular season went:

Win over Bradley

Win over Nebraska

Win over UTEP

Loss to Southern Illinois

Win over Florida

Loss to Northwestern

Win over New Mexico

Win over DePaul

That sets up a rivalry game against Illinois. We’ve played the Illini in almost every season, and we don’t want to end this dynasty without one more dub. The losses to Southern Illinois and Northwestern were a real bummer, and we need a palate cleanser. Let’s go!

Big win, 102-68. Look at Cristano Ngounou hanging 17 points and six assists on the Illini. Love seeing both starters in the front court — seniors Oscar Fray (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Brody Munoz (18 points, 11 rebounds) — each dropping a double-double, too. And how about our new five-star JUCO addition Obasohan chipping in 12 points off the bench? Really promising performance from the boys.

We get a big win over Kansas in our next game. That sets up another marquee game with a program we don’t like very much out of the state of North Carolina: Duke. We’ve battling with Duke on the court and on the recruiting trail for 40 freaking years. Can we end this rivalry with a dub?

Ugh, loss, 88-83. Nice games from Bernie Doyle (19 points, four assists) and Oscar Fray (14 points, 12 rebounds), but it isn’t enough. That’s our third loss of the season. Get bent, Duke.

We end the year with three more non-conference games.

Win over Illinois-Chicago

Win over American

Win over Arizona State

While we may have lost the final battle to Duke, I won the war over Coach K with a significantly better career by any measure (more on that in a minute). Now it’s time to jump into conference play in the Summit League.

Did we go undefeated in conference season?

Yes we did, another perfect 18-0 stretch.

Now we enter the conference tournament. Can we punch one more automatic bid to the NCAA tournament?

Win over UMKC

Win over Southern Utah

Win over UL-Calcutta

We’re going to the NCAA tournament for the last time, but that isn’t even the headliner after winning the Summit League. Im taking home the conference tournament championship, I won game No. 1,171 of my career. That currently puts me ahead of Coach K for the most wins all-time.

We have built a great legacy at Western Illinois. Before we enter the NCAA tournament, let’s take a look at our statistical leaders:

What a year for Munoz. Dude sat on the bench for four seasons before finally getting a starting spot, and all he did was lead our team in scoring at 17.2 points per game. Fray was awesome, too, averaging a hair under 15 points per game while chipping in nearly two blocks and six rebounds per game. It’s good to see Keller and Doyle both hit double-figures in scoring. I’m a bit surprised Cristano couldn’t even put up seven points a night after his big game against Illinois, but the assist and steals numbers are solid. We’re going to need him in March.

The Leathernecks are heading into the NCAA tournament at 32-3 on the year. I can’t wait to see what seed we get.

2047 NCAA tournament

Well, we couldn’t end this dynasty without getting swindled by the Selection Committee one more time. We’re a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament. I thought we should have been a top-four seed without question.

We’ll open the tournament with a game against No. 11 seed Syracuse. Sheesh. Before we get to the game, let’s check in on our roster one more time:

I’m loving the way this group progressed through the year. We have two awesome wing scorers with an elite combination of size and shooting in Keller and Doyle. We have plenty of beef up front with Munoz, Fray, and Polk. Ngounou entered the program as a 77 overall and shot up to a 92 in three years without a redshirt. The bench also really improved during the season and should give us plenty of different lineup options in March.

This is going to be a tough run, starting with Syracuse. The Orange have knocked us out of the big dance before, and consistently put together really strong teams.

Our last dance starts now. As always, we’re simulating every game, I’m not controlling the ‘Necks.

Let’s go!

Win, 105-73! What an absolute beatdown. We’ve moving on to the round of 32.

Long-time followers of the series will know that our Leathernecks have always been known as a second half team. It happened in a big way in this game. Syracuse ended the first half strong to cut our lead to nine points, but we quickly turned it into a blowout out of the break.

I thought this was a tremendous all-around team effort. Six players hit double-figures in scoring with no one putting up more than Floyd Keller’s 15 points. Everyone who played recorded an assist. I loved this play from the first half when we set two screens for our five-star JUCO Obasohan that helped get him an easy layup.

Our bench is a big question mark coming into this tournament, mostly because it’s filled with a lot of fresh faces who haven’t played big minutes in clutch spots before. I have to say, the performance of our reserves in our tournament opener was super encouraging. Obasohan in particular looks like a keeper after scoring 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and knocking down a three. We always need wing depth, and he should be able to provide that on this run.

The clear highlight of Obasohan’s night: this sick two-handed dunk in transition for an and-one.

We love to turn defense into offense, and Ngounou and Doyle’s ability to get into the passing lanes really helps us out there.

Speaking of Ngounou in transition: he had a beautiful finish on the break to put the game fully out of reach. That’s what you want out of your point guard.

The win sets up a second round game against Colorado State

The Rams have been a solid program throughout this sim dynasty, regularly making NCAA tournament appearances. We have a decisive edge in talent heading into this game.

We are one win away from going to the Sweet 16 and extended our run in the big dance. One time, ‘Necks. Let’s go!

Win, 109-79! We’re going to the Sweet 16!

We didn’t need to be a second half team in this one. Our ‘Necks blew the doors off Colorado State from the opening tip-off. I thought we played a great game offensively thanks to our inside-out ball movement.

We had five scorers in double-figures in this one, but it was senior starters Bernie Doyle and Oscar Fray leading the charge. We know Doyle is capable of taking over a game at his best, and he was awesome in this one: 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from three. The real story was Fray, though.

Fray was probably the least appealing long-term prospect of our recruiting class when he entered the program alongside Doyle, Keller, and Munoz. That was mostly because of his 74 rating and C potential grade. While he’s always been rated a few points lower than his classmates, Fray’s skill set on the court is so important to us. He’s a massive 7-foot power forward who can protect the rim and shoot threes. What more do you want?

Fray went off in this game: 22 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals on 9-of-11 shooting. I love watching the big man shoot from deep. This was from NBA range.

Here’s one more catch-and-shoot three for good measure.

Fray might get slept on a little on this team, but he’s absolutely critical to our success if we want to win it all.

I also want to shout-out the bench for another solid performance. I liked what I saw out of Obasohan (11 points) and Howell (10 points). Since we already have two Obasohan clips in this post, why not make it three? Love him hitting this triple in the first half to help us open up the lead.

We’re rollin’.

The win sets up a Sweet 16 game vs. Alabama

We’re now four wins away from ending this dynasty with a national championship. A Sweet 16 game against Bama is going to be an absolute battle.

In our simulated future, the Tide have become a basketball school. This program seems to make the tournament every year, and they’ve given us plenty of trouble in the past.

A trip to the Elite Eight is on the line. Let’s go!

Win, 112-69! We’re onto the Elite Eight!

Say it with me: SECOND. HALF. TEAM. After a tight first half left us with a six-point lead coming into the break, our ‘Necks absolutely torched the nets in the second half to come away with the blowout win. Seriously: we scored 66 points in the final 20 minutes. That was an offensive clinic at its best.

I had a good feeling about the second half when Cristano got this three hit the rim like 50 times before falling. Sometimes you need some good luck on your side.

A couple possessions later, Floyd Keller came down a ripped another three. We finally had a double-digit lead, and we’d never look back.

It was great to see Keller (15 points) get going from deep. He hit all three of his attempts from beyond the arc.

While we don’t have any clips of the front court from this game, they absolutely deserve credit for the win.

Fray turned in another incredible performance, this one somehow even better than his last. He ended the game with 25 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and three blocks on 10-of015 shooting. He didn’t attempt a three (booooo) but he dominated the game on both ends. His front court mate Munoz was almost as good. The senior center finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds. We kept going inside — Munoz and Fray combined for 35 (!) field goal attempts — and they were making the Bama defense pay.

Not the best Bernie Buckets game (9 points on 3-of-10 shooting), but I clipped this shot from the first half, so I might as well embed it here.

Elite Eight, here we come.

The win sets up an Elite Eight matchup against No. 1 seed Indiana

Our run in the NCAA tournament has been a breeze up to this point, but I fear things about to get a lot more difficult. Our plucky No. 6 seed is about to run into one of college basketball’s blue bloods: the top-seeded Indiana Hoosiers.

The Elite Eight has been something of a bugaboo for us. We lost in this round last year. We’ve lost in this round many times before. I don’t want it to happen again.

A Final Four trip is on the line. As always, we’re watching a simulated version of this game; I am not controlling the Leathernecks. Let’s go!

***

***

***

***

***

***

Loss, 96-86. Oh my gosh. And just like that, our dream of ending this dynasty with a national title is over.

I am devastated. I really thought this team was good enough to send me out on top, but it wasn’t meant to be. The Hoosiers’ outside shooters did us in. Indiana’s guard-heavy lineup caught fire from deep (10-of-21 for 47.6 percent), and our perimeter attack couldn’t keep up. We only hit 6-of-22 (27.3 percent) attempts from three.

What happened to our second half team this time? We were only down two going into halftime, but we were outscored by eight over the final 20 minutes. Tough scene.

There were some solid individual performances. Munoz went out strong with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Bernie Doyle dropped 21 points and hit this three-pointer to keep us in it early.

Floyd Keller just didn’t give us enough on the wing. He shot 1-of-8 from three in the loss. He did give us a little juice in transition, at least.

Cristano played all 40 minutes, and had eight points and nine assists. I really wish I got another year with him as a senior next season.

Unfortunately there is no next season. After 40 years at Western Illinois, our sim dynasty is over. Here are some final numbers on the series:

Final record: 1,177-213

10 national championships (tied with John Wooden for the most in men’s college basketball history)

15 Final Four appearances

25 Sweet 16 appearances

Final NCAA tournament record: 113-27

38 Summit League regular season championships

35 Summit League tournament championships

38 seasons with 20+ wins

61 players drafted

The thing I’m most proud of? After we made the NCAA tournament for the first time in Year 3, we didn’t miss it again the rest of this dynasty.

Is Ricky Charisma the greatest men’s college basketball coach ever?

I think so. Here’s how we stack up to other top coaches in NCAA history in important categories.

Total wins

Ricky Charisma: 1,179

Mike Krzyzewski: 1,170

Jim Boeheim: 1,083

Roy Williams: 903

Bob Knight: 899

Dean Smith: 879

Jim Calhoun: 877

Adolph Rupp: 876

Bob Huggins: 828

Eddie Sutton: 806

Tournament wins

Ricky Charisma: 110

Mike Krzyzewski: 94

Roy Williams: 77

Dean Smith: 65

Jim Boeheim: 57

Tom Izzo: 52

Jim Calhoun: 49

John Wooden: 47

Final Four appearances

Ricky Charisma: 15

Mike Krzyzewski: 12

John Wooden: 12

Dean Smith: 11

Roy Williams: 9

Tom Izzo: 8

Rick Pitino: 7

Denny Crum, Adolph Rupp, John Calipari: 6

Consecutive tournament appearances

Western Illinois: 36

Kansas: 31

North Carolina: 27

Arizona: 25

Duke: 24

Michigan State: 23

Gonzaga: 22

Winning percentage

Ricky Charisma: 84.7

Mark Few: 83.44

Sam Burton: 83.33

Clair Bee: 82.444

Adolph Rupp: 82.1

John Wooden: 80.3

National championships

Ricky Charisma: 10

John Wooden: 10

Mike Krzyzewski: 5

Adolph Rupp: 4

Roy Williams: 3

Jim Calhoun: 3

Bobby Knight: 3

Who is the best player in Western Illinois history?

That’s the big question within the fanbase right now. Before we get to it, let’s look back at our greatest recruiting wins.

We landed five five-star recruits out of the domestic high school ranks during my time at Western Illinois. We also signed nine five-star JUCO recruits, and six five-star international recruits from places like New Zealand (shout-out Dave French), Montenegro (anti shout-out Vitor Andrisevic), France (what up, Kim Kone!), and Cameroon.

The highest-rated recruit in program history was Sammy Yan at No. 10 overall in 2032. He was pretty much a disappointment. The program’s all-time leading scorer was center Vinnie Harmon with 2,452 career points during his career. He was the No. 122 overall recruit and the No. 8 center (those that followed the series or played the game know that centers are always weirded underrated on the recruiting trail).

Here are some more numbers during tournament games only (aka, the games we streamed), from the amazing Leathernecks Database maintained by our fans:

The highest rated player in program history is a tie between small forward Nic Cummings and point guard Duncan Martinez, who are the only players to reach 97 overall. Cummings in particular is a great choice for the GOAT. He ended his career with three national titles, though only one as a starter. He’s top-10 for me, but not No. 1.

The people’s choice for the GOAT is Deke Van, the legendary center who helped carry us to our first national title in Year 8. Deke’s turn from from Year 7 goat to Year 8 GOAT is the most memorable we’ve ever had. We couldn’t have done any of this without you, Deke.

When Coach tell you youre guarding @deke_van https://t.co/RDhmDAPRA8 pic.twitter.com/fm2udgvMZT

— Ryan Thomas (@RTtheSID) May 10, 2020

As the series went on, other great players emerged who finished with gaudier stats and better resumes.

My personal favorite might be Bert Draughan, Mr. Basketball out of Chicago (No. 29 overall recruit), who went on to win a title with us in Year 13 and also starred for our Year 11 team that began the season 35-0 before losing to Michigan State in the Final Four. Harmon is another fine choice. Skip Clemmons helped us win three national titles in Year 23, Year 24, and Year 26. Albert Jagla, Clemmons’ former teammate, played a big role in our first back-to-back championship squad, and is arguably the greatest perimeter bucket-getter in program history.

All-time favorite moment? Impossible to say. The first one that comes to mind is Kim Kone’s go-ahead corner three in the 2024 tournament. Najeeb Goode’s steal vs. UCLA in the Final Four to help us win our second title in Year 13 also stands out. There was also the time superstar power forward Allen Cunningham took off his pants mid-game.

Thank you to everyone who read, watched, and interacted

I started this series on April 11, 2020, a few weeks after the pandemic had shut down all ‘real’ sports. At the time, I was gearing up to cover the 2020 NCAA tournament. That never happened. I had college basketball on my mind, and I always wanted to write something on ‘College Hoops 2K8’, probably my favorite video game ever. This project is what came of it.

I had no idea if anyone was going to read this. I definitely did not think I’d finish out all 40 years like a complete lunatic. I didn’t think I’d write the equivalent of multiple books in terms of total word count.

Just before I dropped the first post in the series, I tweeted this:

Got a real dumb blog post coming

— Ricky O'Donnell (@SBN_Ricky) April 11, 2020

I wrote around 70 posts in the series, counting the inaugural Hall of Fame induction (read a big Deke Van retrospective at that link) and two posts of my Deke Van x Seattle Supersonics spin-off. I’m estimating I wrote 200,000 words in this series. That’s about the length of “The Fellowship of the Ring.”

I still can’t believe everything that came from this series. The Washington Post wrote a profile on it. I went on WGN TV and did a few radio spots promoting it. We sold a Deke Van t-shirt with Homefield Apparel. Our series inspired a new friend in Japan named Thanh Nguyen to write a pair of e-books adding greater depth to our story. Friend of the program Mike Rutherford did an amazing hype video for our first championship run. When I moved the series to Substack for a few months, more than 7,000 people signed up for email updates and still remain. Our first Twitch stream for the Year 8 Final Four drew more than 7,000 total viewers, and had 2,500 concurrent viewers on it at as we were closing out the win. On SB Nation, the series has been viewed more than 500K times.

What really made the project special was always the community around it. Some quick shout-outs:

The Leathernecks Database is an amazing companion to this series. You can lost in there. Thank you to the diehards to helped maintain it, and reader Evan for starting it.

Thanks to my guy who started the Leathernecks Nation instagram fan page and whoever is behind the wondrous fake Deke Van twitter account.

Thanks to everyone in the Discord who maintained ‘Necks discussion always and forever.

Thank the diehards that came out for every Twitch stream. I don’t want to name names because I’ll forget someone, but you know who you are. I love you all. I also want to thank the readers for keeping up with the recaps, and everyone who emailed me feedback throughout the series. I also want to thank my buddy Scott for introducing me to the game and running through multiple 40-year dynasties with me way before I ever considered blogging through it like this. This series would not exist without him.

What a ride it’s been. As I sim through to the end of the calendar, I’m greeted with this message.

Thank you, everyone. Go ‘Necks.

[qprsmackdown]

round 5 bracket (text version under the cut)

[Image ID: A 64 seed bracket showing four rounds completed. Matchups are as follows.

Round 1, Side 1: q!parrotduo vs jesus christ (mary magdalene) emerald duo vs Nepeta Leijon and Equius Zahhak ineffable husbands vs beeduo slimecicle vs zelink etho/skizz vs timsasha Dave Miller and Jack Kennedy vs Bob and Larry me/your mom vs Jesus Christ pt. 2 (12 disciples) samfro vs Merlin and Arthur Kaladin and Syl vs Kim Dokja, Yoo Joonghyuk (ORV) mk/mei vs Lapis Lazuli and Peridot james bond and q vs The Fellowship Of The Ring james kirk and bones vs hamlet and ophelia Mochizuki and Yoisaki vs Will Truman and Grace Adler Camilla Hect and Palamedes Sextus vs Jo March and Professor Bhaer Kimiko & Frenchie vs Poeta huevos (Ferdinand, Rododendro and Gabrelle) Kodama Sakuko and Takahashi Satoru vs Izaya Orihara and Shizuo Heiwajima

Round 1, Side 2: Scarian vs Huntlow Dogwarts vs Swagdoons poly pirates vs benchtrio renchanting vs majorwood smajor/pearl vs c!eret and c!foolish smajor/cleo vs clowndoons arenaduo vs georgia and rooney from loveless the three hunters vs gil galad and elrond and celebrian polywagon vs poly prime defenders All Of Lifesteal SMP vs greater mana polycule Polygun vs All Of The Mechs Polychives vs poly boatem Balloon/Suitcase vs Doc and Donut starfire vs mothman and bigfoot primary colors vs ocie and ceci chaos (Fable SMP) Aero and Lennie (Challenger SMP) vs OC/IRL QPR BRACKET WINNER

Round 2: q!parrotduo vs emerald duo beeduo vs zelink timsasha vs bob and larry jesus christ pt. 2 vs Merlin & Arthur Kaladin and Syl vs Lapis Lazuli and Peridot The Fellowship Of The Ring vs james kirk and bones Will Truman and Grace Adler vs Camilla Hect and Palamedes Sextus Kimiko and Frenchie vs Kodama Sokuko and Takahashi Satoru Scarian vs Dogwarts benchtrio vs majorwood smajor/pearl vs smajor/cleo arenaduo vs the three hunters polywagon vs the greater mana polycule All Of The Mechs vs poly boatem Doc and Donut vs mothman and bigfoot Ocie and Ceci Chaos (Fable SMP) vs Aero and Lennie + Michael and Mantis

Round 3: emerald duo vs ineffable husbands timsasha vs jesus christ part 2 Lapis Lazuli and Peridot vs The Fellowship Of The Ring Camilla Hect and Palamedes Sextus vs Kimiko and Frenchie Dogwarts vs majorwood smajor/cleo vs arenaduo polywagon vs poly boatem mothman and bigfoot vs Ocie and Ceci Chaos (Fable SMP)

Round 4 (Quarterfinals): emerald duo vs timsasha The Fellowship Of The Ring vs Camilla Hect and Palamedes Sextus majorwood vs smajor/cleo poly boatem vs Ocie and Ceci Chaos (Fable SMP)

Round 5 (Semifinals): emerald duo vs Camilla Hect and Palamedes Sextus majorwood vs poly boatem

End ID.]

[thecrownedsite]

2018-19 NFL Football Playoff Predictions

The regular season has come and gone, leaving 12 teams with the opportunity to lift the Lombardi Trophy in Atlanta, Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium after Super Bowl LIII. Last year’s participants in the Super Bowl (New England, Philadelphia) have both made the playoffs again but neither are in the same position of power as their previous season’s standing. New England still has a first round bye but is looking as beatable as ever in their recent renaissance of the last few seasons, and Philadelphia needed a late-season surge along with the reappearance of super backup QB Nick Foles to squeak into the NFC side of the playoffs as the 6th Seed.

Looking at the entire bracket, this might be one of the most wide-open playoff seasons in recent memory with at least 7 or 8 teams with credible chances of being the sole survivor at the end. Of course, there is also the chance it could end like many Super Bowls of late, with New England representing the AFC against a top seed from the NFC.

This year’s first seeds: Kansas City Chiefs (AFC), and New Orleans Saints (NFC) did not distance themselves from the pack and as late as the last few weeks of the regular season could have found themselves without a first round bye and hosting a Wild Card weekend game instead. Both teams have high powered offenses but inconsistent defenses that make the likelihood of shootouts possible.

The second seeds: New England Patriots (AFC), and Los Angeles Rams (NFC) are top teams that have flaws and are opposites in terms of experience. Everything about New England says old and reliable, the same old same old, while Los Angeles is bright and new and proving itself in the postseason with expectations on its results now after two amazing regular seasons.

The third seeds: Houston Texans (AFC) and Chicago Bears (NFC) feel like dark horses, as both had slow starts to the season with little expectations of challenging for a championship, yet caught fire and surged past their division competitors to get home field for the Wild Card weekend. Chicago feels like the 2018 version of Jacksonville, yet Trubisky continues to improve in ways Bortles didn’t. Houston has a healthy Watson and that makes a difference.

The four seeds: Baltimore Ravens (AFC) and Dallas Cowboys (NFC) have a lot to prove in the postseason. How much of their success was mainly due to the struggles of the rest of their divisions? And both face extremely tough opponents despite being the higher seed with home field.

The five seeds: Los Angeles Chargers (AFC) and Seattle Seahawks (NFC) played well enough to have home field in some round of the playoffs but had the misfortune of being in a division with a just as good or even better team as them. The Chargers were one hair away from being the #1 seed of the AFC, and the Seahawks slow start kept them from challenging the Rams more seriously for the division crown.

The six seeds: Indianapolis Colts (AFC) and Philadelphia Eagles (NFC) have both caught fire at the best time, leading to both hurdling other teams to snatch the last spot in the playoffs. Indianapolis has a healthy Luck at QB and he is one of those QBs that could win a game on his own if it’s a special night. Philadelphia has to feel the same with Nick Foles. Having come in for an injured Wentz, Foles is definitely playing the same chords as last season when he led Philadelphia all the way to the Super Bowl. The sixth seed is a new challenge but there is a chance.

Here are my predictions: (HOME TEAMS IN BOLD)

WILD CARD Weekend:

6. COLTS over 3. TEXANS

5. SEAHAWKS over 4. COWBOYS

5. CHARGERS over 4. RAVENS

6. EAGLES over 3. BEARS

DIVISIONAL Weekend:

1. CHIEFS over 6. COLTS

5. SEAHAWKS over 2. RAMS

5. CHARGERS over 2. PATRIOTS

6. EAGLES over 1. SAINTS

CONFERENCE Weekend:

5. CHARGERS over 1. CHIEFS

5. SEAHAWKS over 6. EAGLES

SUPER BOWL LIII: (NFC) SEAHAWKS over (AFC) CHARGERS