Shameless Promotion #1: LVS mentioned our various Twitter feeds last week. We also have a Facebook page. You can't hope to stop our social media-ing, you can only hope to contain it.
As it happens, the SB Nation corporate honchos are offering a financial incentive in the near future based on the number of people we get signed up as "Liking" the TOC FB page. So, if you don't mind, click through to the page and then click the "Like" box next to the title at the top. Our work at TOC is still very much a labor of love, but a little walking around money never hurts. (Someone's gotta support the compulsive football ticket-buying habit my participation in this blog has led to, after all.) As a bonus, you'll get links to TOC's stupendous analysis and commentary delivered straight to your FB feed, and a few of your FB friends might be induced to join our little community.
While you're at it, check out SB Nation's other Detroit area sports sites (and their Facebook pages). You can start at the SB Nation regional site and scroll down for links to the individual teams sites.
Shameless Promotion #2: Remarkably, we've managed to go, like, almost a full week without mentioning that WE HELPED WRITE A REAL BASKETBALL MAGAZINE--THE KIND YOU CAN BUY AT A REAL BOOKSTORE THAT REAL PEOPLE GO TO AND BROWSE THROUGH THE MAGAZINE RACK AT. All the spectacular details on Spartan Tip-Off 2010-2011 are here. Unfortunately, the shipment date for pre-ordered copies of the guide has been pushed back a week--to next Monday.
To make up for the delay, here's a free preview article Maple Street Press has made available As it happens, it's one of the pieces I wrote: A look at the historical statistical trends for MSU basketball under Tom Izzo. (I know you're shocked that my writing for the magazine would involve a heavy dose of statistics.)
Have a look. There's 122 more pages of (ad-free!) content where this came from. If you haven't done so yet, you can still get your pre-order in. Alternately, it goes on sale at news stands throughout Michigan on the 26th of this month.
An embedded version of the article follows. Click on the image to put it in full-screen mode.