ESPN Power Rankings

[NJCat83588]

Meaningless this early, but fun nonetheless......Cats come in #3. I'd put Minny over NU on the basis that their offense looked better against a much better opponent than Stanford, and their defense was strong against an extremely powerful Froggers.........

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/123146/big-ten-power-rankings-week-1-2

 

[phatcat]

"It's probably no surprise that the Hawkeyes, the Mendoza Line of the Big Ten,..."

Mendoza line - LMAO!!

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Fantastic! I told u so! We will pass MSU soon,but we ain't beating Bucky! Best in the country

 

[Hungry Jack]

"It's probably no surprise that the Hawkeyes, the Mendoza Line of the Big Ten,..."

Mendoza line - LMAO!!

Ouch.

 

[ChiDoc]

Meaningless this early, but fun nonetheless......Cats come in #3. I'd put Minny over NU on the basis that their offense looked better against a much better opponent than Stanford, and their defense was strong against an extremely powerful Froggers.........

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/123146/big-ten-power-rankings-week-1-2

I would disagree overall, I think you are right about the two offenses, but I think the NW defense is easily the best unit on either side of the ball for the two teams. You don't bloody Stanford and dominate them on the lines on both sides of the ball unless you are legit. Also TCU's Rush D looked very suspect to me. They were replacing 6 starters on D, I think a lot of teams would have run all them over. Too bad the MN OLine was so banged up and couldn't take advantage for the B1G because imo the Frogs looked overrated. Their offense may take them to a Big 12 title but once they play a strong power running team like the Buckeyes or a top SEC team their D will be exposed imo.

 

[ChiDoc]

"It's probably no surprise that the Hawkeyes, the Mendoza Line of the Big Ten,..."

Mendoza line - LMAO!!

Hilarious!

 

[FeliSilvestris]

"It's probably no surprise that the Hawkeyes, the Mendoza Line of the Big Ten,..."

Mendoza line - LMAO!!

When he writes:
"no surprise that the Hawkeyes, the Mendoza Line of the Big Ten, are smack-dab in the middle"
he may be misusing the phrase "Mendoza Line"...it seems he means that IOA is like the median of the B1G...betterthan about half the teams in the conference...

The Mendoza line (a phrase that originated in baseball) is supposed to mean the line that defines minimal acceptability...that is, falling below that line is supposed to mean getting dangerously close to not belonging (in the majors, or wherever). IOA FB is generally decent....more like a median line (a team better tha IOA is in the top half of the conference), as opposed to a Mendoza line (a team worse than IOA doesn't belong in the B1G)....Perhaps Indiana is the Mendoza line of B1G FB (if for example Rutgers FB fall consistently behind Indiana, then one can reasonably argue they don't belong in the conference, athletic-wise)

He is definitely wrong here.

 

[NJCat83588]

The Mendoza line (a phrase that originated in baseball) is supposed to mean the line that defines minimal acceptability...that is, falling below that line is supposed to mean getting dangerously close to not belonging (in the majors, or wherever).

Thanks for the definition. It is clear to most objective observers that you are definitely below the Mendoza line........

 

[phatcat]

When he writes:
"no surprise that the Hawkeyes, the Mendoza Line of the Big Ten, are smack-dab in the middle"
he may be misusing the phrase "Mendoza Line"...it seems he means that IOA is like the median of the B1G...betterthan about half the teams in the conference...

The Mendoza line (a phrase that originated in baseball) is supposed to mean the line that defines minimal acceptability...that is, falling below that line is supposed to mean getting dangerously close to not belonging (in the majors, or wherever). IOA FB is generally decent....more like a median line (a team better tha IOA is in the top half of the conference), as opposed to a Mendoza line (a team worse than IOA doesn't belong in the B1G)....Perhaps Indiana is the Mendoza line of B1G FB (if for example Rutgers FB fall consistently behind Indiana, then one can reasonably argue they don't belong in the conference, athletic-wise)

He is definitely wrong here.

yeah, George Brett made it up, and I think it now refers to someone actually batting below .200, which is, of course, awful. And while I fully agree that .200 is below mediocre, even by today's weakened standards, it was funny to see Iowa characterized this way, and I plan to keep the quote (see below) alive for a period of time, long after people forget the context, just to be disparaging to Iowa

 

[hdhntr1]

yeah, George Brett made it up, and I think it now refers to someone actually batting below .200, which is, of course, awful. And while I fully agree that .200 is below mediocre, even by today's weakened standards, it was funny to see Iowa characterized this way, and I plan to keep the quote (see below) alive for a period of time, long after people forget the context, just to be disparaging to Iowa

Mendoza line should be closer to Purdue or Indiana than IA.

 

[hdhntr1]

Mendoza line should be closer to Purdue or Indiana than IA.

The actual Medoza Line was to describe the career batting average of Mario Mendoza Aizpuru . He had a lifetime batting average of 0.215 but the Mendoza line is typically thought of as 0.200. Mendoza actually spent 8 years in the majors and the term was coined by his teammates Tom Paciorek and Bruce Bochte. THe reference to George Brett had to do when he has having a tough start and teammates started kidding him

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendoza_Line

 

[PurpleHaze525]

Mendoza line should be closer to Purdue or Indiana than IA.

If it's supposed to be the minimum acceptable level of performance, I think Iowa is perfect. Coaches that consistently finish behind Iowa tend to find themselves on the hot seat. On the other hand, Ferentz's job seems to be safe forever at that level, even if it's bad enough to cause some grumbling among fans.

FWIW (probably not much) Darrell Hazell and Kevin Wilson are #1 and #2 on coacheshotseat.com.

 

[hdhntr1]

If it's supposed to be the minimum acceptable level of performance, I think Iowa is perfect. Coaches that consistently finish behind Iowa tend to find themselves on the hot seat. On the other hand, Ferentz's job seems to be safe forever at that level, even if it's bad enough to cause some grumbling among fans.

FWIW (probably not much) Darrell Hazell and Kevin Wilson are #1 and #2 on coacheshotseat.com.

Mendoza line is not supposed to be minimum level of acceptable performance but more an insult. IT represented one of the lowest lifetime averages recorded for a guy with more than say, 1000 at bats.

He is listed number 1 in the list of the 100 worst MLB baseball players of all time,

 

[PurpleHaze525]

Mendoza line is not supposed to be minimum level of acceptable performance but more an insult. IT represented one of the lowest lifetime averages recorded for a guy with more than say, 1000 at bats.

Well, to quote from the same Wikipedia article you used, "The Mendoza Line is an expression in baseball in the United States, deriving from the name of shortstop Mario Mendoza, whose mediocre batting average is taken to define the threshold of incompetent hitting... This is often thought of as the offensive threshold below which a player's presence in Major League Baseball cannot be justified"

Agree to disagree I guess!

 

[FeliSilvestris]

This is often thought of as the offensive threshold below which a player's presence in Major League Baseball cannot be justified"

Agree to disagree I guess!

Well, your own text fails to support your argument.

As I indicated in my first post in this thread, IOA is typically a middle of the pack B1G FB program, which occasionally has very good seasons.

That is far from the the "threshold below which" a program's PRESENCE in the B1G "cannot be justified".

Indiana is probably that level for the B1G, as indicated above. Even Purdue is above that very low threshold.

As I and others have pointed out, Mendoza's offensive performance (ca. .215 lifetime batting average) was extremely poor, for a player with a significantly career in the majors.... just about the bare minimum for one to stay long in the league (thanks to defense and/or other valuable attributes).

IOA FB performance (in recent decades) would likely be comparable to a .260 batting average (which is a bit above the MLB average).

 

[hdhntr1]

yeah, George Brett made it up, and I think it now refers to someone actually batting below .200, which is, of course, awful. And while I fully agree that .200 is below mediocre, even by today's weakened standards, it was funny to see Iowa characterized this way, and I plan to keep the quote (see below) alive for a period of time, long after people forget the context, just to be disparaging to Iowa

George Brett did not make it up. It was Tom Paciorek and Bruce Bochte. Some teammates started kidding him about his poor start and he mentioned it in an interview.

 

[nycat33]

I prefer the How I Met Your Mother version the "Vicky Mendoza Diagonal" line, which determines how attractive a girl must be in order for him to date her depending on how "crazy" she is

 

[ubercat]

I prefer the How I Met Your Mother version the "Vicky Mendoza Diagonal" line, which determines how attractive a girl must be in order for him to date her depending on how "crazy" she is

Sounds very similar to the "Hot / Crazy Matrix." (Too lazy to link it, but very instructive)

 

[nycat33]

Sounds very similar to the "Hot / Crazy Matrix." (Too lazy to link it, but very instructive)

Yes the guy in that video is great

 

[docrugby1]

"It's probably no surprise that the Hawkeyes, the Mendoza Line of the Big Ten,..."

Mendoza line - LMAO!!

The Mendoza line-I can't remember a Mendoza that could not hit his weight-but I remember Willie Miranda , a shortstop for the Orioles in the 50s that rarely hit over .200. Was there a Mendoza or has Miranda morphed into Mendoza ?

 

[ubercat]

The Mendoza line-I can't remember a Mendoza that could not hit his weight-but I remember Willie Miranda , a shortstop for the Orioles in the 50s that rarely hit over .200. Was there a Mendoza or has Miranda morphed into Mendoza ?

Quite possibly. Just the other day a cop had to read me my Mendoza rights.