at the moment, i feel two conflicting impulses. as one of the seven people worldwide who love northwestern athletics, my goal is to watch the cats hoopsters play every chance i get. problem being, despite the fact that they're an okay team, they always lose when i watch them. the best example of this is the michigan contest, which the cats actually led by eight at the half. i listened to the first half on the radio, and was so excited by the prospect of beating a hot team that i headed to the local sports establishment with satellite television (at least two "sports bars" in the qca have cable tv, and that's it...) to watch the second half. result? utter and complete collapse.

a breakdown of how the cats have fared relative to my behavior:

records are listed (Overall, Big Ten):

watched on television: (0-7, 0-6)

listened to the radio: (4-2, 2-1)

read about after the fact: (6-3, 0-2)

you might be thinking that, when games are on tv, the opponent is obviously of superior caliber - - why would anyone ever televise northwestern-new hampshire (except for the exciting wildcats-wildcats matchup?) - - so the cats are less likely to win. and it's a valid point, but check out the conference record...they only win if i listen to the game!

it's quite simply, frustrating. i know it's better for the team if i listen, but i can't force myself to do so. wednesday's opponent is the gophers, and i think i'm going audio only---better to keep an eye on the american idol vote.

the best thing to come out of saturday's (televised) loss against michigan state was that i bought groceries afterward. my most efficient grocery trip ever. woof.