I have settled all debate regarding whether of not the University of Southern California has a durrrrrty athletic department and in honor of the end of this debate Xtina’s hit Durrrrrrrrrty is the new school fight song. I have called school administration and informed them that Ms. Aguilera is now a permanent member of the Song Girls and that it be required that she sing her hit tune each and every time the team hits the field/court/other playing surface.
In case you’re curious what the hell I am talking about … click here. In a nutshell it appears that USC’s OJ Mayo may have been taking durrrrrty money for some time now.
If I were Reggie Bush I’d by hiding behind Kim Kardashian’s tush. Lord knows its large enough.
Ok, not quite but in the SEC this may hold the same significance. Troubled LSU QB Ryan Perrillioux has been dismissed from the team, FINALLY.
Being a Big Ten fan I have grown to despise all things SEC. Yes, the glaringly obvious reason is the past two national championship games but I also hate the fact that they truly believe they are completely dominate over everyone. NO! Just Ohio State.
Perrillioux’ dismissal from the team really leaves a huge void at QB, similar to the one Michigan is facing. Couple this with the losses of Jacob Hester and Early Doucet and the Tigers could become an offensively challenged squad. This isn’t to imply that Les Miles’ cupboard is bare as I fully expect the defending national champions to be a quality team but you have to no longer expect them to win their division. Bleaux Tigers.
I’d look for Florida or Georgia to come out of the SEC this year as champ. Auburn and LSU will be competitive, South Carolina will be overrated as usual, and Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide (and why the heck is their mascot an elephant?) to be medicore again. The surprise team of the year may just be Arkansas; especially if Michigan transfer Ryan Mallett receives a waiver from the NCAA allowing him to play this season under offensive genius Bobby Petrino.
I apologize it has been so long; even if I am only apologizing to the 3 of you who visit the page 10 times daily. A lot has happened since my last post but I am happy to announce that the Michigan State campus has failed to burn to the ground at this moment in time and seeing as how school is letting out it may survive until football season. Yes, Mark Dantonio that is good news.
There is this recent hubbubaloo about the plus one model that was floated around for the BCS. A lot of people, like Matt Hayes from The Sporting News, want to quickly blame the Big Ten and the Pac 10 because they have for the longest time been the loudest opponents to any ‘playoff’ idea. Never mind that 1) the vote to continue discussions was shelved by a 4-2 vote with only the SEC and ACC voting to continue discussions and 2) the actual proposal would not actually solve anything. If anyone remembers last season’s final BCS standings were: 1) Ohio State 2) LSU 3) Virginia Tech 4) Oklahoma. Can someone explain to me how that alleviates those who feel that Georgia, USC, and Hawaii were somehow cheated out of their chance to win a National Championship? Really all a plus one model would accomplish is to open up the level of complaining by more and more teams.
I suppose I can be crucified publicly for being on the side of the argument that is against a playoff in college football at it’s highest level. The game, commerically, is slowly becoming more and more and more like the NFL every season; even the rules are progressively becoming more ‘professional’. I like that fact that essntially one, sometimes two, slip ups and you’re out of the discussion. Sure, it is sometimes fun to get behind a team like Davidson and their run through the most recent NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, or, be proud when Pittsburgh with an 11-5 regular season record (and wild card winner) stormed to vctory in Super Bowl 40. But these instances are few and far between because let us face the music — for the most part the BCS formula generally gets it right.
The other topic I wanted to hit on is Big Ten football coming out of Spring practice. I had previously put out my pre-Spring Big Ten rankings and there has been a slight change. The new order, with estimated records will follow.
Ohio State 12-0 (8-0)
Wisconsin 10-2 (7-1)
Penn State 10-2 (6-2)
Illinois 10-2 (6-2)
Mich State 9-3 (5-3)
Purdue 7-5 (6-2)
Michigan 6-6 (4-4)
Iowa 6-6 (4-4)
N’Western 5-7 (3-5)
Minnesota 3-9 (1-7)
Indiana 2-10 (1-7)
Now Michigan fan before you get all over me understand this … I think Michigan will be competitive but even the best coaches, including yours, have struggled in their first years at a new school - Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll, they both did. There are just too many questions offensively right now and maybe after Fall ball I’ll have a better grasp on things and how Michigan is going to stack up but with how thin they are offensively …. yikes. Of course, keep in mind, Ohio State was going to have to rely on their defense to get by and turned out to be quite good offensively. So maybe there is a surprise in the works.
My guesses for Big Ten Awards:
Offensive POY: Chris ‘Beanie’ Wells, Ohio State
Defensive POY: James Laurinaitis, Ohio State
Freshmen of the Year: Sam McGuffie, Michigan
So, I believe I am somewhat caught up. Time will tell what is in store for this upcoming season and I tell ya, I cannot wait!
Say what you will about the raucous at Michigan State this past weekend; unless you’re stating that this is a complete embarrassment you’re dead wrong and potentially a complete buffoon. Scratch that, you are a complete buffoon. As a former Michigan State student myself I am beyond ashamed.
The riot this past weekend does not find its roots in any celebration of athletic success nor does it find its roots in celebration of academic success. Something tells me these folks weren’t assembled to celebrate last semesters selection to Dean’s List. Just a hunch. No this riot finds its roots in the belief that an event that was banned in the City of East Lansing in 1987 should be reincarnated. Hey! If it was a bad idea 21 years ago and there were serious issues then what in the world makes you think it is a good idea now?!? To give you an idea of how bad it truly was here is a video depicting the events of this past weekend’s melee (note: vulgar language and acts of violence are prevalent in this video):
Since when does the assemblage of 3,000 to 4,000 students, a majority of whom are probably more than inebriated, make sense in a non-controlled environment? It’s not like this is the first time there have been issues in the Cedar Village area after all; recent memory alone should serve notice to that. The following information was taken from a Wikipedia entry dedicated to MSU riots
September 6, 1997: 500 partygoers in the Gunson Street neighborhood confronted police, throwing bottles and damaging police vehicles.
May 1, 1998: An estimated 3,000 students protesting the ban on alcohol at Munn Field tailgate parties resulted in police firing tear gas at the crowd.
March 27, 1999: Following a loss by MSU’s basketball team to Duke in the NCAA Final Four, thousands of students and non-students (estimates range from 5,000 - 10,000 people) gathered around the Grand River Ave. area of East Lansing. Eventually this mass of people rioted; breaking windows, overturning cars, and starting bonfires in the streets. Local police called in reinforcements from as far away as Howell, MI to help quell the unrest and utilized tear gas and riot gear to control the crowds. By the time local law enforcement regained control, over $150,000 in damage had been done to the campus and surrounding city.
April 2, 2005: An estimated 2,000 students and non-students took to the streets immediately following the men’s basketball team’s loss to UNC in the final four, causing an estimated $8,275 in damage to the city of East Lansing and costing area law enforcement an estimated $190,389 in expenses. The April 2 event was marked by accusations of police abuse and mismanagement. Though large segments of the disturbance were documented on video, no specific acts of violence were seen until after tear gas was launched at the students.
The issue here seems to be that there is a culture of rioting at MSU. It has been said that some of those present at the melee were chanting, ‘tear gas us, tear gas us’ as if this was some rite of passage. That by somehow being tear gassed in a riot on Cedar St. is some sort of throwback to the past.
It is time for Michigan State University, the City of East Lansing, students, and the citizenry to find the means to ensure this rioting ceases completely. I am not overwhelmingly concerned with what dialogue needs to take place just that it does take place. Ohio State took significant actions following the riots of 2002 after the football Buckeyes defeated Michigan to head to the BCS Championship Game. I haven’t heard of couch burning in Morgantown for some time either.
The fact of the matter is this - in a little more than 10 years there have been 5 significant disturbances in East Lansing. While it might be said that the revelers for the most part are not Michigan State students this certainly doesn’t excuse the behavior of those who do call themselves Spartans and find themselves amongst the chaos. One Spartan being arrested during these types of disturbances is one too many and all involved must take the action necessary to ensure that if there is a next time that the number of arrests of MSU students equals zero.
Oh my God, the world is crashing. The end is near! A Big Ten team did not advance out of the Sweet Sixteen of this year’s Men’s NCAA Basketball tournament; this somehow has equated into the Big Ten becoming irrelevant in both football and men’s basketball. Nevermind that a member, excuse the fact that it’s the same member, played for the football championship the last two seasons and for the men’s basketball title last season.
I believe it is safe to say that the SEC is currently the kings of college football; the conference has won consecutive national titles, they’ve won the most BCS games, and possess the most BCS titles with four.
While it is easy to pinpoint the current superpower in football it is less so in regards to men’s basketball. The ACC has won the most championships in the last 10 years, however, the Big East is right on their heals. While the Big Ten hasn’t won a championship in men’s basketball since Michigan State did so in 2000 the conference has played in only one less Final Four and one less championship game than the ACC.
Yet, with all of this said people want to question the relevancy of the biggest revenue generating sports for most (if not all) universities in the Big Ten? Really?!? Yes, really.
Say what you will about the embarrassment of the past two Ohio State blunders in the BCS Championship game. Say what you will that its been since 2002 since the conference has won a championship in either of these sports (Ohio State over Miami in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl). Quite frankly, you can make any assertion you like. The proof, as usual, is in the pudding.
Take into account the past ten years of the men’s basketball tournament:
Conference
Number of Bids
ACC
47
Big East
58
Big Ten
54
Big 12
53
SEC
58
Pac 10
44
Conference
Number of Final Fours
ACC
9
Big East
5
Big Ten
8
Big 12
5
SEC
4
Pac 10
4
Conference
Number of Championship Games
ACC
5
Big East
3
Big Ten
4
Big 12
1
SEC
3
Pac 10
2
Conference
Percentage of bids to play for Title
ACC
10.64%
Big East
5.17%
Big Ten
7.41%
Big 12
1.88%
SEC
5.17%
Pac 10
4.54%
After looking at these statistics it ought to become quickly evident how relevant the Big Ten remains in NCAA men’s basketball. The fact of the matter is that out of the ‘elite six conferences’ the Big Ten ranks: 2nd in Final Fours, 2nd in title games played in, 2nd in percentage of teams in to play for a title, and 3rd in total bids. That would be in the upper half of all of those categories. The fact of the matter is the Big 12 and the Pac 10 have not won championships in men’s basketball in the past ten years; however, you hear no mention of these leagues no longer being relevant even though they essentially rank even with the Big Ten in football championships over that same time period.
The strength and relevancy of the Big Ten remains evident in football to date as well. You can make the argument about inferior conference play till you’re blue in the face and perhaps the depth of that argument can stand on some levels. Since this argument is seeking relevancy … I’m not so sure it stands here. In the BCS era the statistics are:
Conference
Rank by wins
SEC
11
Big 10
8
Pac 10
6
Big East
6
Big 12
6
ACC
1
Conference
Rank by losses
Pac 10
4
Big East
4
SEC
4
Big 12
8
ACC
9
Big Ten
9
Conference
Rank by losses
Pac 10
4
Big East
4
SEC
4
Big 12
8
ACC
9
Big Ten
9
Conference
Rank by titles won (played for)
SEC
4 (4)
Big 12
2 (4)
ACC
1 (3)
Big East
1 (2)
Big Ten
1 (3)
Pac 10
1 (2)
Judging the relevancy of a conference in these two sports is largely an exercise in futility and apparently an exercise I was willing to undertake (one of few I might add). The fact of the matter is this, the Big Ten has won more men’s basketball championships in the past ten years than 2 conferences and has won as many as 3 of the other conferences during that same stretch. The Big Ten has played in more BCS games than any other conference, a clear testament to the conferences pre-conference and conference sustainability. The fact that the Big Ten is nearly on par with the ACC in terms of Final Fours played in and title games contested in men’s basketball the past 10 years screams of their relevancy. This is a conference standing up to another conference with perennial basketball powers Duke and North Carolina.
And if that isn’t good enough for you since 1939 the number of total championships own in both sports (note: multiple winners in football were counted up until 1998).
Conference
Rank by titles won
Big Ten
28
SEC
26
Pac 10
23
Big 12
22
ACC
19
Big East
11
Yeah, that’s right, I took one straight out of Michigan’s book … historical records baby!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Yeah, that’s right …. forget Christmas, this is the most wonderful time of the year. It’s excusable to sluff off at work on Thursdays and Fridays. It’s completely reasonable to discuss sports and let paperwork slide for a few moments. In fact, it’s completely okay to slide a fiver under the table to your coworker in hopes of winning the office prize. It’s the one time of the year that people turn their heads and enjoy what time of the year that it is.
While we may not ALL partake in the glory that is the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament you cannot deny the power it holds over this country; its popularity undoubtedly sprung due in part to Vegas and the interest of a few extra bucks.
I helped a buddy at work this year with his bracket and right now after the first weekend Adam and I sit in 3rd place - only 1 point out of first (and it’s my fault for forgetting to fill in one game, arrrrgh!). Nevertheless, we’re sitting pretty, all of our Elite Eight picks are still alive.
Our bracket started off pretty good. We hit 25 out of the opening 32 games but the second round bit us some going 10 for 16. If we push through the round of 16 pretty, look out. Our Elite 8 looks like this:
UNC versus Tennessee in the East
Kansas versus Wisconsin in the Midwest
Memphis versus Texas in the South
UCLA versus Xavier in the West
Our Final Four stacks up:
Tennessee versus Kansas
Texas versus UCLA
The Championship Game will feature
Tennessee versus UCLA
And the winner will be ……..
We’ll see what happens but this is one of the things I absolutely love about the NCAA tournament … we all have a chance at looking like geniuses at the end of the tourney. Even if you are the bosses daughter who thinks UNC wears a pretty shade of blue but you’ll put Davidson in the Final Four because that red would look fantastic on your lips.
The saga that was the recruitment of Terrelle Pryor has finally come to a close; thankfully. Yes, I fully realize I continued to add fuel to the fire sharing my thoughts but I don’t live in a glass house so stones be a tossin’.
I’m glad young Mr. Pryor chose the Buckeyes. I think I am just as excited about Rich Rod not having him as I am getting to (enjoy) watch him play his collegiate ball. But with all of this said let us put a few things to bed.
* Terrelle Pryor is not guaranteed to lead the Buckeyes to a national title in his first year or any year for that matter. Folks, he hasn’t played a down of college football. Ever heard of Xavier Lee? Exactly.
* He’s 18 years old and I find it unfair to call him a prima donna, attention seeker, or potential trouble maker. Yes, his extended recruitment may have given the appearances of these issues, however, I have this eerie feeling that this is going to be more the norm; that is increased (and near ridiculous) amounts of exposure on kids who haven’t even attended their Senior Prom. Let’s see what type of man Terrelle becomes before we ostracize him to the land of number 13. Actually I think he has an inmate number now.
* Michigan fan … shuddup. Seriously, shut up. I know, I know … winningest program of all time, I get it. But lately your sore loser pout has grown to astronomical proportions. Terrelle didn’t sign with Ohio State because his scores weren’t good enough to get into Michigan and should he wind up being a classless jerk he would wind up being one under Rodriguez or Tress. Your incestuous incessant yapping and whining is putting you on par with Cubs fans (and by the way, I like the Cubbies). Its as if Steve Bartman swooped in and carried Pryor to Columbus. Christ, get over it.
With all of that said here are my current pre-Spring football predictions for the outcome of the Big Ten.
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Penn State
Illinois
Michigan State
Michigan
Purdue
Iowa
Northwestern
Minnesota
Indiana
Oh, and Notre Dame will continue to suck it up and what a blessing it is to watch.
I haven’t had much to write about …. not of interest lately. The Buckeyes, most likely rightly so, got snubbed by the NCAA, Big Ten basketball was getting about as boring and predictable as Carr’s offense (RIP), and there wasn’t anything going on with college football. Until now, baby!
Spring football is kicking off!! Pretty sure I’m going to head down to Columbus and take my little girl (not littlest) to the Spring Game. Maybe wife too … if she’s good. I digress.
Apaprently the Rich Rod era at Michigan has kicked off in high gear and the new energy has come as a surprise to some of the players. Word out the Free Press and MGoBlog is these guys are woofin’ at the end of practice learning the new no huddle schemes and that they’re nowhere near in the type of shape they’ll need to be to compete with this type of offense. Summer workouts ought to be interesting in Ann Arbor.
Do you think the Ann Arbor News series on possible academic issues within the athletic department is hurting things in Ann Arbor. Word is one professor in the independent studies department may have made things easier for football players. I haven’t read the article in it’s entirety but perhaps this was the Ann Arbor News’ ploy to help in the recruitment of Terrelle Pryor? Besides, we know all Michigan fans think Ohio State is the shadiest of all shadies … so if Terrelle is leaning towards Ohio State and U of M can fancy up their post Bill Martin shady maybe that can help even the score? I don’t know though, didn’t work on Mateen Cleaves and he even had the joy of Bill Martin escapades on a recruiting trip.
Terrelle is supposedly going to announce this week and all wisdom points to his signing with Ohio State. I think I am more excited about this for the fact that Richy Rod doesn’t get him than I am the Buckeyes snagging him. If you want my general thoughts on why I think he goes with Ohio State here it is:
1) He never took another official visit. 2) It has come out that Ohio State is where he was going to sign on February 6th. 3) He did show up on Ohio State’s campus for a basketball game on February 24th and spent time with fellow Buckeye 2008 recruits and Jim Tressel. 4) He’s spent more time with the guys that have already signed to play there. 5) He could help lead them to a championship right now, not 2 or 3 years from now.
Again, just my thoughts from following the story closely. I could be wrong …. but I’d most certainly be surprised.
Yesterday I was flipping channels desperately searching for something to watch. I took a break on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew and took in the train wreck that it is for a short while; I do consider myself an amateur social scientist so it can’t hurt, right? What strikes me as funny is the first commercial I see come on is for the ‘Bender Method.’ Now while the commercial was about the next quick fix to your flabby ads it certainly could have doubled as the best way to negate your time at rehab as well. Nearly a day later it still brings a smile to my face. I think in response the makers of the Magic 8-ball ought to buy up some ad space on the reruns.
On to sports things, or thing. Or, I don’t really know.
Still sitting her nearly two months after another blown shot at the BCS Championship and I still can’t get all those SEC big mouths out of my head. They’re still everywhere. Actually, I think the nation is turning into some sort of Big Ten protagonist nation. I even read an article if Terrelle Pryor would wind up choosing Oregon over the Big Ten schools on his list it would be another loss for the Big Ten in a long list of embarrassments.
I realize the Big Ten hasn’t been the cream of the crop as of late but two schools from the conference hold an honor that no other schools that play D-1 ball do.
What two schools have won national championships in baseball, men’s basketball, and football?
Dan Dakich is the interim coach at Indiana following the Kelvin ‘Cheat’ Sampson scandal. I like Dakich. Maybe because his name rhymes with jock itch, maybe not. Probably not. Never the less, I like the guy, liked him at Bowling Green, liked him less when he had his flirtations with West Virginia (UM fans can thank him for backing out and allowing John Beilein the opportunity to build that program), and finally liked him more for his gracious return to BGSU. I wish him nothing but the best of luck and hope that at the end of the season the folks at IU will remove the interim tag.
I know I have said a lot about Cheat and everything surrounding him but two other things have come to mind.
First, what in the world was Indiana thinking they were getting with this guy? He came in under scrutiny for crying out loud. Play with fire and you’re bound to get burned. In my humble opinion the Hoosiers should take the step of a post-season ban this season and right now. Yes, I understand that it wouldn’t be fair to punish these players for Sampson’s transgressions and I would agree. Unfortunately it does not work that way. It didn’t for Ohio State in Matta’s first season and to those players and it didn’t matter when Michigan did it a few years back either. The message needs to be sent and made clear … don’t cheat.
Second, I need to give credit where credit is due. Kelvin you’ve apparently raised a great son. Sampson’s son Kellen is the graduate assistant for the Hoosiers. Kellen didn’t leave the team upon his dad’s resignation. When asked what his reasons were for not leaving the team with his dad his said there were 13 reasons to stick around; 13 is the number of players on the roster. Kellen Sampson, you’re a classy guy and I mean that. I also mean this … perhaps your father needs to pay attention and exhibit the same class he has taught you.
