[NU Sports] Maybe the Big Ten ...

[Jonathan Hodges]

Oh no, not the 12th member discussion again...  didn't we just go through
this a couple of months ago when Delany made that off the cuff remark about
getting another major TV market into the fold (for the BTN's purposes)?
Anyways, the fact is that Notre Dame is the best fit, and as long as NBC is
showing them the money the deal isn't going to happen.  And you think that
instituting a playoff will take a while... eliminating America's love for ND
will take a long run of futility in South Bend, which probably won't happen
(given the fact that they'll run whomever out of town even if they've given
him tens of millions of dollars) and they'll still pull in the top talent
across the nation.  Not that I don't want to see them fall flat on their
face every year and watch their recruiting erode and the NBC contract get
pulled, but it ain't going to happen (at least not within the next couple
years).

Anyways, if there is any conference that will stick with the status quo,
it's the Big Ten.  It took about 40 years before PSU got signed up (which
took the Big East nabbing most of their former rivals), and then another
5-10 years for the B10/Pac-10/Rose Bowl to get signed up for the BCS after
most of the other conferences were trying it with their Bowl
Coalition/Alliance.  Unless ND suddenly does a 180 and asks to join the B10
I imagine we'll see things stay relatively the same for a while within the
conference.  The only conceivable change would be to extend the Big Ten
season, and that will probably take some more national championship bowl
losses (and some evidence that the layoff is to blame).

Regarding the BCS - I am now firmly of the opinion that if a team cannot win
its conference (at least a share of the title) it doesn't deserve to get a
shot at the national title (at least under the current system, and probably
in a "plus one" 4 team playoff system.... obviously with regular playoffs
that shouldn't be the case).  Anyways the BCS "got it right" this year by
putting the 2 top teams (when considering the entire season) in the title
game - sure neither of them are as pretty as usual - but in this season of
the upset I think it's entirely appropriate.  They have the fewest flaws of
the available teams; I'll just name a few here: Georgia - didn't win their
division, let alone the conference, and lost to a 6-6 non-bowling team and
got blown out by their division champ; Mizzou - lost twice to one team;
failed to win its conference; USC - lost to a pretty bad team at home as
well as garnering a second loss; Kansas - beat absolutely nobody notable and
lost its final game, failing to win its own division; Va. Tech - lost big to
another 2 loss team; Hawaii - played only one reasonably good team; other
than that played NOBODY (TWO I-AA/FCS teams, who were both pretty bad);
Arizona St. - again, 2 losses - and those were to the best teams on their
schedule.

Anyways I think over the past 2 years the pollsters did their jobs by
putting the "most deserving" teams into the title games - teams that won
their conference and had the best resume over the course of the season.
Sure, the final results don't make much sense relative to the polls the
prior week(s) BUT the job of the system is to pick the top TWO teams AFTER
the regular season is completed.  If anything, this should just go to show
how polls and standings within the season don't make a whole lot of sense
(especially when the coaches are voting for teams they most likely haven't
seen at all or are biased for/against).

Jonathan


On Dec 3, 2007 10:04 PM, Roy Lamberton <rstetson at capps-assoc.com> wrote:

> Another year like this one and N**** D*** will have their initiation fee
> paid by
> NBC so they can get out of the contract....
>
> If ND comes back, maybe Mizzooo?
>
> rsl23077
>
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> Roy S. Lamberton - Senior Associate
> & sometime Unix Guru....
> Computer Applications & Support Associates
> ==========  Go Cats - Beat 'em All  ============
> "You have a Republic Madam --
>  If you can keep it" - Benjamin Franklin
> ============================================
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com]
> On
> > Behalf Of Dennis W. Brandt
> > Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 8:49 PM
> > To: nwu-sports at tssi.com
> > Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Maybe the Big Ten ...
> >
> > One announcer made an excellent point over the weekend.  Why should Ohio
> > State get a pass because it ended its season three weeks?  Missouri,
> with
> > the same record, was forced to play an additional game which, if they
> lost,
> > knocks them out of any possibiltiy of playing for the national title.
>  That
> > is, of course, what happened.  The Big Ten needs Notre Dame, two
> divisions,
> > and a playoff game in which the Cats defeat Ohio State 45 - 10.
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > nwu-sports site list
> > nwu-sports at tssi.com
> > http://romaine.tssi.com/mailman/listinfo/nwu-sports
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nwu-sports site list
> nwu-sports at tssi.com
> http://romaine.tssi.com/mailman/listinfo/nwu-sports
>



-- 
Jonathan W. Hodges
1237 Emerson St Apt 2
Evanston, IL  60201-3577
(847) 736-2449
jonathanwhodges at gmail.com