[CornFed]

https://stanford.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1791900

I am struck by the uniformly upbeat tone of all the quotes, but it reminds me that we're just going to hear what they want us to hear.  The drumbeat is so strong that it makes me think there is an element of "whistling through the graveyard" underlying their comments.  I suppose it is all to be expected at this stage and is, by and large, innocuous.  But last year it turned out that there had been a tinge of toxicity on the team and it took an impassioned speech by a walk-on player to straighten them out.  Prior to hearing about that recently here on the CardBoard, I had had no idea what the problem was that was leading to lackluster results.

Noor Davis is out until after mid-season.  Cajuste is going to be held back "as a precaution".  This piece mentions that Whitfield got dinged up somehow.  The list is fairly lengthy.  I imagine on our opponents' equivalents of the CardBoard there are pretty busy threads on "Today in Opponent Attrition: Snodfart".

I am deeply grateful to the contributors here who provide reality checks and I have been consistently amazed by the insights you all have provided.  But even you folks are ultimately dealing with limited access to information.  I have read here descriptions leading to the conclusion that Stanford has an outside chance to go undefeated; to mentions of the fact that they may lose six or seven games.  Obviously, there is some kind of bell curve of outcome probabilities and that will lead the quants among us to conclude that the most likely season outcome is 9.34 wins.  That, too, is arbitrarily exact.

The bottom line is we will just not know until we see the games; one by one, adjusting our perspectives each week as the season unfolds and more is revealed.  And even then we will not be sure that there aren't currents at play in the team chemistry that are dramatically affecting outcomes.

The real bottom line is that I am going nuts waiting for the season to start!  I feel like I'm trapped in a dentist's chair  and  time    is    going      slower      and        slower        and          slower . . . . . . . . .

Damn!  Let's get this party started!  Go Cardinal!

[CornFed]

https://stanford.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1791900

I am struck by the uniformly upbeat tone of all the quotes, but it reminds me that we're just going to hear what they want us to hear.  The drumbeat is so strong that it makes me think there is an element of "whistling through the graveyard" underlying their comments.  I suppose it is all to be expected at this stage and is, by and large, innocuous.  But last year it turned out that there had been a tinge of toxicity on the team and it took an impassioned speech by a walk-on player to straighten them out.  Prior to hearing about that recently here on the CardBoard, I had had no idea what the problem was that was leading to lackluster results.

Noor Davis is out until after mid-season.  Cajuste is going to be held back "as a precaution".  This piece mentions that Whitfield got dinged up somehow.  The list is fairly lengthy.  I imagine on our opponents' equivalents of the CardBoard there are pretty busy threads on "Today in Opponent Attrition: Snodfart".

I am deeply grateful to the contributors here who provide reality checks and I have been consistently amazed by the insights you all have provided.  But even you folks are ultimately dealing with limited access to information.  I have read here descriptions leading to the conclusion that Stanford has an outside chance to go undefeated; to mentions of the fact that they may lose six or seven games.  Obviously, there is some kind of bell curve of outcome probabilities and that will lead the quants among us to conclude that the most likely season outcome is 9.34 wins.  That, too, is arbitrarily exact.

The bottom line is we will just not know until we see the games; one by one, adjusting our perspectives each week as the season unfolds and more is revealed.  And even then we will not be sure that there aren't currents at play in the team chemistry that are dramatically affecting outcomes.

The real bottom line is that I am going nuts waiting for the season to start!  I feel like I'm trapped in a dentist's chair  and  time    is    going      slower      and        slower        and          slower . . . . . . . . .

Damn!  Let's get this party started!  Go Cardinal!