Superman @ 75: My Sketches (Part Two)

Here are the rest of my Superman-related sketches. Ever since I broke in my second sketchbook in 2006, I've kicked off each book with a Superman sketch. Scroll over each sketch to get the artist and location information. If I get enough feedback, I'll post more themed sketch blog entries in the future.

Superman @ 75: My Sketches (Part One)

Anytime I get new sketches at comic shows or conventions, my first move is to scan them, followed by uploading them onto my ComicArtFans and Flickr accounts. Then I e-mail Andy Khouri over at Comics Alliance and submit the cream of my crop for CA's weekly feature, Best Art Ever (This Week). A few days ago, I sent over a few neat sketches I got at New York Comic Book Marketplace last Saturday. Imagine my surprise when this week's installment was all about Superman. The occasion: The Man of Steel's 75th anniversary.

I've been getting sketches on a regular basis since 2000. According to my CAF page, I've collected almost 600 sketches. I like to think that I'm not obsessive . . . though I did spend the past five weekends at comic shows of various sizes in the New York/New Jersey area. I could go for six tomorrow, but I figure that I need a break. Right now, I'd like to show off my Superman-themed sketches, starting with those from the first three books I had. Enjoy!

The Boredom Files: March Madness & The NEC

I keep meaning to post more often, but I never get around to it. Right now, The Masters is in the second round of playoffs, marking the fourth consecutive week that The Amazing Race will be delayed or pre-empted. While I keep track on when (or whether) tonight's episode will air, I'd like to talk about the Northeast Conference.

I'm not into college basketball. I think part of it comes from having attended Wagner College, a small liberal arts school in Staten Island with a lovely campus. Wagner is a member of the Northeast Conference, located in Divison I. No NEC team has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. The most notable win in the conference's history can be tracked to this year's National Invitational Tournament (yes, that's still a thing), where Robert Morris shocked Kentucky in the first round, 59-57, at the Colonials' home court in Moon Township, Pa. The Wildcats would've hosted the game, but Rupp Arena was playing host to -- irony!!! -- two rounds of "The Big Dance." If not for a impressive crop of incoming freshmen for the 2013-14 season, I'm convinced head coach John Calipari would've committed hara-kiri at midcourt.

It's not that basketball isn't a big deal in the NEC. I actually went to the title game in 2003, when Wagner earned their first trip to the tournament, and on their home court to boot. It was thrilling to see the Seahawks get to cut down the net off the rim, one player at a time, one snip at a time. About a week later, Pittsburgh pounded on the fifteenth-seeded Seahawks, 87-61. In the history of the NEC going back to 1982, teams that have won the conference tourney and gone to the NCAA tournament have gone 3-32. And all three wins have come in humiliating "play-in" games, where small conference teams and squads with mediocre regular season records fight, with the winner getting fed to a hungry no. 1 seed. In contrast, Florida Gulf Coast University was founded in 1991, started playing basketball in 2002, became a transitory Division I team in 2007, became a full Divsion I team in 2011, won their Atlantic Sun Conference title in March, and followed that up by becoming the first fifteenth-seeded team to make the "Sweet Sixteen" by shocking Georgetown and San Diego State.

With the help of Wikipedia, boredom and free time, I've built a table on the NEC's "March Madness" history. It features each year's NEC representive, the opponents that usually stomped on them, and the opponents' ultimate fate in the tournament. In this day and age, information becomes really easy to compile . . . so don't judge me too harshly, okay?

Year	Team	Seed	Region	Opponent	W/L	Score	Opponent’s Final Result
1982	Robert Morris	12	Mideast	Indiana	L	94-62	Lost in Second Round
1983	Robert Morris	12*	Mideast	Georgia Southern	W	64-54	-
		12		Purdue	L	55-53	Lost in Second Round
1984	Long Island U.	11*	East	Northeastern	L	90-87	Lost in First Round
1985	FDU	16	Southeast	Michigan	L	59-53	Lost in Second Round
1986	Marist	15	Southeast	Georgia Tech	L	68-53	Lost in Regional Semis
1987	Marist	14	West	Pittsburgh	L	93-68	Lost in Second Round
1988	FDU	16	Midwest	Purdue	L	94-79	Lost in Regional Semis
1989	Robert Morris	16	West	Arizona	L	94-60	Lost in Regional Semis
1990	Robert Morris	15	East	Kansas	L	79-71	Lost in Second Round
1991	St. Francis-PA	15	West	Arizona	L	93-80	Lost in Regional Semis
1992	Robert Morris	16	West	UCLA	L	73-53	Lost Regional Final
1993	Rider	16	Southeast	Kentucky	L	96-52	Lost In National Semifinal
1994	Rider	15	East	Connecticut	L	64-46	Lost in Regional Semi
1995	Mount St. Mary’s	16	Southeast	Kentucky	L	113-67	Lost Regional Final
1996	Monmouth	13	East	Marquette	L	68-44	Lost in Second Round
1997	Long Island U.	13	East	Villanova	L	101-91	Lost in Second Round
1998	FDU	15	East	Connecticut	L	93-85	Lost Regional Final
1999	Mount St. Mary’s	16	Midwest	Michigan State	L	76-53	Lost in National Semifinal
2000	Central Connecticut State	15	Midwest	Iowa State	L	88-78	Lost Regional Final
2001	Monmouth	16	East	Duke	L	95-52	Won Championship
2002	Central Connecticut State	14	South	Pittsburgh	L	71-54	Lost in Regional Semi
2003	Wagner College	15	Midwest	Pittsburgh	L	87-61	Lost in Regional Semi
2004	Monmouth∆	15	Atlanta	Mississippi State	L	85-52	Lost in Second Round
2005	FDU	16	Chicago	Illinois	L	67-55	Lost National Final
2006	Monmouth	16*	Minneapolis	Hampton	W	71-49	-
		16		Villanova	L	58-45	Lost Regional Final
2007	Central Connecticut State	16	South	Ohio State	L	78-57	Lost National Final
2008	Mount St. Mary’s	16*	East	Coppin State	W	69-60	-
		16		UNLV	L	113-74	Lost National Semifinal
2009	Robert Morris	15	Midwest	Michigan State	L	77-62	Lost National Final
2010	Robert Morris	15	South	Villanova	L	73-70†	Lost in Second Round
2011	Long Island U.	15	East	North Carolina	L	102-87	Lost Regional Final
2012	Long Island U.	16	West	Michigan State	L	89-67	Lost in Regional Semi
2013	Long Island U.	16*	East	James Madison	L	68-55	Lost in Second Round††

FDU: Farleigh Dickinson University

Boldface indicated NEC Regular Season Champion

* “Play-In” Game

^† Overtime

^†† “Second Round” = “Round of 64”

^∆ Tied for Regular Season Championship