(05-14-2013 11:46 PM)Rick Gerlach Wrote:  And yes, I'm optimistic about next fall, but not Optimistic - - that's Buddy's job.

I look forward to next year in football. I also think next year will be a good one in basketball - maybe not in absolute terms of W/L, but I think we will see a lot regrowth in our basketball team. Year after next should be a good year.

Baseball isn't yet over for this year, so it is too soon to start looking forward - we still have a job to do.

(05-14-2013 04:57 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(05-14-2013 04:35 PM)NicevilleWRC Wrote:  

(05-14-2013 01:48 PM)JOwl Wrote:  Personally, I'd gotten sick of the unhappy tone and squabbling on the in-game threads. I told myself this year I'd only read through threads after I knew we won, to give myself the impression that we're just a big old group of happy, fun Owl fans. But turns out that reading a thread when you know the outcome isn't that compelling, so I've pretty much not followed it on the board at all this year.

I'm in this boat. The game threads just aren't enjoyable, both for the results and the negativity in the posts. I've taken to avoiding going in game threads at all. Hard to want to follow along when every other post begins with "And Rice fails to advance the runner AGAIN..."

It would certainly be more enjoyable if the posts all read " And once again Rice successfully translates a leadoff walk into yet another run, streching the lead to..."

I believe the growth of twitter sources has more to do with declining viewership of mid-game posts. In the past, this was pretty much the only venue for "live" updates.

During a game, I'm looking for in-game line scores and updates as opposed to chat about the game or other topics, as the tangents veer.

This is a fine venue for chat but for in-game details I'm viewing twitter: RiceOwlsdotcom, D1 Baseball and College Baseball 360.

(05-15-2013 06:26 AM)Da.Owl Wrote:  I believe the growth of twitter sources has more to do with declining viewership of mid-game posts. In the past, this was pretty much the only venue for "live" updates.

During a game, I'm looking for in-game line scores and updates as opposed to chat about the game or other topics, as the tangents veer.

This is a fine venue for chat but for in-game details I'm viewing twitter: RiceOwlsdotcom, D1 Baseball and College Baseball 360.

Me too

(05-14-2013 10:26 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  For those that think we're having a down baseball season, Stanford (who were consensus preseason Top 10) just lost their 6th consecutive game-- this time being shutout 3-0 to #280 Santa Clara at home (after being swept by Nevada at home and losing a weekend series to Utah at home earlier in the season). They're RPI has dropped out of Top 100 (according to Warren Nolan), and their record is only 26-21, with weekend series left against top ranked UCLA and then Cal. They're only 8-14 vs. Top 100 and only 9-5 vs. Top 101-200.

Yeah, Stanford and Texas have fallen further! There is always some cyclical effect going on, LSU had a few down years there and are back to elite the last half-decade, and Stanford has gone through similar swoons and rebounded. I would like to see Rice get a few bashers in the lineup, I wonder how the 1996-1999 teams would have faired with these bats? Someone should ask coach, that would really put in perspective the effects of the bats.

(05-15-2013 07:57 AM)mrbig Wrote:  

(05-14-2013 10:26 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  For those that think we're having a down baseball season, Stanford (who were consensus preseason Top 10) just lost their 6th consecutive game-- this time being shutout 3-0 to #280 Santa Clara at home (after being swept by Nevada at home and losing a weekend series to Utah at home earlier in the season). They're RPI has dropped out of Top 100 (according to Warren Nolan), and their record is only 26-21, with weekend series left against top ranked UCLA and then Cal. They're only 8-14 vs. Top 100 and only 9-5 vs. Top 101-200.

Yeah, Stanford and Texas have fallen further! There is always some cyclical effect going on, LSU had a few down years there and are back to elite the last half-decade, and Stanford has gone through similar swoons and rebounded. I would like to see Rice get a few bashers in the lineup, I wonder how the 1996-1999 teams would have faired with these bats? Someone should ask coach, that would really put in perspective the effects of the bats.

Not an accurate comparison as Rice Baseball has yet to have the degree of "down year(s)" that UT, LSU and Stanford have had over the past decade in which they missed multiple post-seasons. Yes, we've faltered of late on the post-season, but we've only failed to earn a regional host bid three times in the last decade (including this year), have made the post-season every year since 1995, and are only 2 years removed from our last national seeding. Let's keep things in perspective here, folks.

(05-15-2013 11:34 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Let's keep things in perspective here, folks.

But then we can't be annoyingly reactionary...

(05-15-2013 11:34 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(05-15-2013 07:57 AM)mrbig Wrote:  

(05-14-2013 10:26 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  For those that think we're having a down baseball season, Stanford (who were consensus preseason Top 10) just lost their 6th consecutive game-- this time being shutout 3-0 to #280 Santa Clara at home (after being swept by Nevada at home and losing a weekend series to Utah at home earlier in the season). They're RPI has dropped out of Top 100 (according to Warren Nolan), and their record is only 26-21, with weekend series left against top ranked UCLA and then Cal. They're only 8-14 vs. Top 100 and only 9-5 vs. Top 101-200.

Yeah, Stanford and Texas have fallen further! There is always some cyclical effect going on, LSU had a few down years there and are back to elite the last half-decade, and Stanford has gone through similar swoons and rebounded. I would like to see Rice get a few bashers in the lineup, I wonder how the 1996-1999 teams would have faired with these bats? Someone should ask coach, that would really put in perspective the effects of the bats.

Not an accurate comparison as Rice Baseball has yet to have the degree of "down year(s)" that UT, LSU and Stanford have had over the past decade in which they missed multiple post-seasons. Yes, we've faltered of late on the post-season, but we've only failed to earn a regional host bid three times in the last decade (including this year), have made the post-season every year since 1995, and are only 2 years removed from our last national seeding. Let's keep things in perspective here, folks.

Amen. I agree 100%, Walt.

I forget the timing involved, but in reference to the initial post in this thread, recall now that GTS took away guest status for everyone. So that certainly would lower the thread view totals (unless guests don't figure into the view totals although I believe they do).

I agree that Stanford and Texas have fallen further than we have. There are other programs too going back a few years before our ascent that also have fallen way down in the pecking order. Wichita State might be the most prominent example of that group.

(05-16-2013 05:51 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  I forget the timing involved, but in reference to the initial post in this thread, recall now that GTS took away guest status for everyone. So that certainly would lower the thread view totals (unless guests don't figure into the view totals although I believe they do).

I agree that Stanford and Texas have fallen further than we have. There are other programs too going back a few years before our ascent that also have fallen way down in the pecking order. Wichita State might be the most prominent example of that group.

None moreso than Tennessee-- a perennial Top 15 - 20 team up until 2006, and they've since fallen off the map...and, of course, the biggest fall from grace has been the once king of college baseball (or co-king with UT), USC....and both of these programs have more than ample funding.

I think there's no truer testament to the job that Wayne has done than the fact that we are apoplectic about a season that we would have been ecstatic about in the pre-Wayne years.

(05-16-2013 06:28 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I think there's no truer testament to the job that Wayne has done than the fact that we are apoplectic about a season that we would have been ecstatic about in the pre-Wayne years.

+1 (and we'd be ecstatic about it in every other sport too).

(05-16-2013 10:20 AM)Gravy Owl Wrote:  

(05-16-2013 06:28 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I think there's no truer testament to the job that Wayne has done than the fact that we are apoplectic about a season that we would have been ecstatic about in the pre-Wayne years.

+1 (and we'd be ecstatic about it in every other sport too).

True, but that just illustrates that expectations rise with achievement. Some people here have said that they would be happy if the football team won 7-8 every year and went to the conference championship once in every four. Bull. If/when we reach that level, or any other, we, just like the fans at any other school, will want more.

We have been to the top in baseball, and won't willingly backslide to the 80's.

(05-16-2013 11:16 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(05-16-2013 10:20 AM)Gravy Owl Wrote:  +1 (and we'd be ecstatic about it in every other sport too).

True, but that just illustrates that expectations rise with achievement. Some people here have said that they would be happy if the football team won 7-8 every year and went to the conference championship once in every four. Bull. If/when we reach that level, or any other, we, just like the fans at any other school, will want more.

We have been to the top in baseball, and won't willingly backslide to the 80's.

Not really. For me, being happy and wanting more are not mutually exclusive.

In my time as a Rice fan, there has only been one sport-season where I didn't want more (and you know which sport and year that was). But there have been a number of seasons in various sports that I was happy with.

(05-16-2013 01:13 PM)Gravy Owl Wrote:  

(05-16-2013 11:16 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(05-16-2013 10:20 AM)Gravy Owl Wrote:  +1 (and we'd be ecstatic about it in every other sport too).

True, but that just illustrates that expectations rise with achievement. Some people here have said that they would be happy if the football team won 7-8 every year and went to the conference championship once in every four. Bull. If/when we reach that level, or any other, we, just like the fans at any other school, will want more.

We have been to the top in baseball, and won't willingly backslide to the 80's.

Not really. For me, being happy and wanting more are not mutually exclusive.

In my time as a Rice fan, there has only been one sport-season where I didn't want more (and you know which sport and year that was). But there have been a number of seasons in various sports that I was happy with.

Well, just because I would have been happy with .500 football in certain periods of our past doesn't meean I would be satified with it now and forever.

I just think if we had five 10 win seasons in football in a row, we would have a sizable contingent wanting to hire a new coach because clearly this one can't take us to the next level. Anyone wanting to keep Joe Tenwin would be in danger of being labeled as OK with mediocrity. But right now, 5 ten win seasons in the next five sounds pretty good. The difference would be that expectations would change.

(05-16-2013 05:51 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  I forget the timing involved, but in reference to the initial post in this thread, recall now that GTS took away guest status for everyone. So that certainly would lower the thread view totals (unless guests don't figure into the view totals although I believe they do).

This is correct. Guests have been shut out since the current server became overwhelmed. Guests are about 50% of site traffic. We've had over 100 new registrations a day since I shut off guest access, if that helps quantify it for you.

Guests do count toward view totals.

Also, only Googlebot, Alexa, and Bing are currently bypassing the guest filter. All other search engines, which tend to touch EVERY SINGLE PAGE, are currently not getting through either. Googlebot has latched onto our master RSS feed and literally never leaves the site.