tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post2310911575683961610..comments2023-10-31T06:31:41.395-04:00Comments on Bottom of the Barrel: Gregg Easterbrook Thinks If It Weren't For Bracketology, There Would Be No WarBengoodfellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09401971573776672570noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-85784015068379158562011-04-04T22:28:52.346-04:002011-04-04T22:28:52.346-04:00Sun, it is an easy article and I think that is wha...Sun, it is an easy article and I think that is what explains it. They can talk a/b Obama's bracket or criticize him for something. <br /><br />It is a good point to make. Some of the facts a/b graduation rate are hard to see, but no one ever brings up grad rate for non-players b/c it ruins their argument. Can't let the facts hurt the argument.Bengoodfellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09401971573776672570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-80504097539688269102011-04-04T20:12:56.057-04:002011-04-04T20:12:56.057-04:00The annual "Obama brackets" nonsense is ...The annual "Obama brackets" nonsense is annoying. Both for the thing itself(I tune in for sports news and I'm seeing ESPN dipshits fawning over a jackass politician for what reason, exactly?) and the subsequent press coverage criticizing Obama for doing it. If he should have better things to do than talk about his brackets, the media should also have more important stories to cover or offer criticism on.<br /><br />I was going to bring up the same thing about general student graduation rates but I see I was already beaten to the punch. These guys who bitch about athlete graduation rates never put the numbers in full context because that would almost always hurt their argument.your favourite sunhttp://contributor.yahoo.com/user/937240/john_darcy.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-9856522927566077102011-04-04T19:04:12.238-04:002011-04-04T19:04:12.238-04:00Martin F, that's a good point. I don't kno...Martin F, that's a good point. I don't know if it is non-PC to say that most NBA level players are African-American. Buzz Bissinger has already established for us this is true and we are all waiting on the Great White Hope. <br /><br />So if those guys aren't counted in the rankings, then it may make sense for higher profile schools to be ranked lower because more of their athletes are leaving for the pros. <br /><br />I don't have a huge problem with the overall graduation rate of athletes. To me, the bigger problem is the disparity between white and African-American athletes. Still though, what is overlooked is what you said. The graduation rate of African-American athletes exceeds that of normal African-American students. So why things are not great, they aren't dreadful either. <br /><br />Many kids drop out of college at some point, I didn't know it was as high as 50%, so I don't think the athlete numbers as a whole are as scary as they are made to be.Bengoodfellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09401971573776672570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-86708434482635892522011-04-04T17:51:38.899-04:002011-04-04T17:51:38.899-04:00We've touched on this before, but one of the p...We've touched on this before, but one of the problems with "graduation rate" is it says guys who leave college early to play in the NBA are not graduates. It also helps explain slight disparity at some of the top schools with African-American vs non grad rates. <br /><br />Let's not be PC about this, most NBA level players are black, if not African-American. When Calipari's entire starting 5 leave to join the NBA, it's going to absolutely destroy the grad rate and the African-American grad rate at that school. When Arron Afflalo and Bryan Westbrook leave UCLA, it's going to be about a 7% difference between grad rates.<br /><br />One thing that Gregg doesn't point out with his made up out of thin air numbers is that almost 50% of male students drop out of college anyway. Any grad rate over 50% is thus above the national curve and should be lauded, not bitched about.Martin F.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14565240074256943063noreply@blogger.com