First of all, congrats to the University of Alabama on a well-played game. They’re deserving of their first national title in 18 years. Really, how can you not be bitter when you have the likes of Mark Ingram on that team and all that he’s been through in his young life? And there are many Texans who are proud of Southlake Carroll product Greg McElroy.

Second, I’m proud of my Longhorns. They could have packed it in after Colt was injured early in the game. And Gilbert was definitely shaky early on. But man, to have a freshman at quarterback – on the biggest stage in college football – lead the team to within three points of the SEC champions is just phenomenal. I think the team is going to be in good hands now that Colt’s moving on. That’s a testament to the recruiting they do in Austin.

And yeah, OU fans, I feel your pain now.

Congrats, again, to Alabama. And I think good things are in store for Texas for years to come.

??@jdowdell Suppose Olympics Committee disqualified Russian athletes while their country is invading another? What would happen then? Might they do it???

You can find that “here”:http://twitter.com/jdowdell. Fucking Textile.

Now, on Game 7 Eve, I’m reminded of just how special this team is. We may not win the Stanley Cup, but this team’s never-say-die attitude should make any Stars fan proud.

GO STARS!!!

It’s simple. Win and become the first back-to-back-to-back champions since the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors from ’86-’90. While the Tornado has a 4-0-0 record this season against the Icedogs, the Icedogs were the best team in the regular season.

And this is the playoffs where everything changes.

Updates at each intermission and after the game.

*An Evening Chock Full O’ Other Things Update*
Well, as much as I would love to sit here at the computer (and I do, I really do), I’ve got other things to do, so y’all will be on your own…again.

Yes, it’s shameful that I haven’t been able to sit through a full game of the Robertson Cup Tourney, but things happen.

So, the link above gets you audio and the “Pointstreak scoreboard”:http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/scoreboard.html?leagueid=164 always comes in handy.

*3rd Time’s the Charm Update*
LET THE CELEBRATION BEGIN!

Behind 2 goals from Karl Sellan, the Texas Tornado cruise to a 4-2 victory over the Bozeman Icedogs and do become the first threepeat champions in over 15 years.

More thoughts to come as I let this one sink in, but the team will be flying home tomorrow and should arrive back at the StarsCenter at approx. 1:30 pm. If you’ve got the time, go welcome the champs home!

Bozeman dispatched the Mahoning Valley Phantoms easily, shutting them out 3-0. They’ll also play in the Championship Game. The Express and Phantoms are playing for third place.

When I first started this post, it was originally going to be a gripe about how confusing the new playoff system is, but after seeing today’s results and thinking about it a little, it does make sense.

On the first day, the Division Winners are seeded. Seeds 1 & 4 square off while seeds 2 & 3 are matched up. Bozeman beats Cleveland and Southern Minnesota beats Texas. Now, the two losers have to play an extra game. But who plays Mahoning Valley when they enter the tournament?

Well, it would be the *lower seed* from the two winners, which was the Express. They got the extra game.

Now, here’s where things get interesting. Bozeman, as the higher seed of the winners from opening night, got to play Mahoning Valley, because they lost their first game, the one against the Express. That leaves the two winners of yesterday’s games to play each other. The winners from those games play in the Championship and the losers play in the 3rd Place game.

So let’s play What If? in order to make this crystal clear. Here are the seeds as they were when the Robertson Cup Tournament started:

# Bozeman
# Texas
# Southern Minnesota
# Cleveland

Suppose that Texas beats the Express and Cleveland beats Bozeman on the first night.

This is how things would be scheduled for the next day:

* Game 3: Southern Minnesota vs. Bozeman (losers from Games 1 & 2; the home team would be the team with the best regular season record).
* Game 4: Cleveland vs. Mahoning Valley (lowest seed of winners from Games 1 & 2; Cleveland is lower seed than Texas. Home team determined same way as above).

Now, let’s say Bozeman loses to the Express…and Mahoning Valley sticks it to Cleveland for knocking them out back in the Divisional Semi-Finals. You then have Day 3 shape up like this:

* Game 5: Southern Minnesota vs. Mahoning Valley (winners of Games 3 & 4. Again, best regular season record determines home team)
* Game 6: Texas vs. Cleveland (higher seed of winner from Games 1 & 2 vs. Loser of Game 4. Home team, best record, you get the idea)

From there, the winners go to the Championship and the losers go to the 3rd Place game.

So, obviously, win-loss records don’t mean a thing like they did in years past. Also, the new playoff format places a premium on how a team finishes the regular season. Now, it’s not just enough to win your division; you also need to finish out the regular season strong in order to get that extra little bump that might give you a day’s rest.

It also pays to be the host team apparently. Back in the real world, Cleveland beat Mahoning Valley in the Semis. Now, look. Cleveland goes home empty-handed, Mahoning Valley could finish third.

Very interesting.

Here are the necessary links to follow along at home/work:

“Tornado Game Audio”:mms://broadcast2.elinksystems.net/tornadoaudio/

“Pointstreak NAHL scoreboard”:http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/scoreboard.html?leagueid=164
Just click on “Boxscore” and you’ll be taken to a detailed scoring sheet with penalties, rosters, and goal scorers. At the top right, just above the logos, you can click 120 sec. refresh for automagic scoring updates.

So, we did stay alive yesterday with a 5-3 win. Southern Minnesota got to play Mahoning Valley in the night cap and Bozeman, as the #1 seed took the day off.

With all said and done, we draw the Express again. Hopefully, we’ll do better.

Here are the necessary links to follow along at home/work:

“Tornado Game Audio”:mms://broadcast2.elinksystems.net/tornadoaudio/

“Pointstreak NAHL scoreboard”:http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/scoreboard.html?leagueid=164
Just click on “Boxscore” and you’ll be taken to a detailed scoring sheet with penalties, rosters, and goal scorers. At the top right, just above the logos, you can click 120 sec. refresh for automagic scoring updates.

I’ll be by in the evening, hopefully to give my thoughts on a Tornado win and to cover the game against Mahoning Valley.