The Divisions

Per ESPN , except the divisional names. I will refuse to call them anything else.

Bo Division	Michigan Nebraska Iowa Michigan State Northwestern Minnesota
Woody Division	Ohio State Penn State Wisconsin Purdue Indiana Illinois

Prepare for the world to explode.
More to come later.

Big Ten, Big Decision

As the leaders of the Big Ten work to restructure the conference, there has been A LOT of conversation and passion about what to do with the Michigan/Ohio State game. Not that it will make any difference, but I am interested in seeing what you all think.

BIG TEN, BIG DECISION

What do you do with the Michigan / Ohio State game? Place Michigan & Ohio State in the same division and leave THE GAME untouched at the end of the regular season schedule. Place Michigan & Ohio State in different divisions and leave THE GAME untouched at the end of the regular season schedule. Place Michigan & Ohio State in different divisions and move THE GAME to another part of the regular season schedule. Current Results

Turn and Face the Strain

And these children that you spit on

As they try to change their worlds

Are immune to your consultations

They're quite aware of what they're going through

~ David Bowie. Changes.

In the next couple of weeks, there is going to be an announcement regarding the future construct of the Big 10 conference. There have been very strong indications that Michigan and Ohio State will not be in the same division and THE GAME will not be played as the last game on the schedule.

This change will be met with predictable disdain and a universal outcry from both sides of the rivalry. Personally, I am not sure how I feel about it. I understand that M/OSU is the greatest rivalry in sports. I recognize this contest has been the jewel of the Big Ten conference for decades. I acknowledge the historical importance of Bo & Woody. In a perfect world this would go on forever. The days of the Big 2 and Little 8 are gone and they are not coming back.

The truth is, the rivalry has lost some of its luster at the same time other conferences have spiked in national attention. In some respects, I believe we brought this upon ourselves. I can’t help but think the bright national spotlight and overwhelming hatred has become so heavy it has collapsed upon itself. To many outside the rivalry, this thing we have with the Buckeyes is just not that important compared to real conference championship games. We have certainly not been holding up our end of the deal by losing 6 straight games. Couple this one sided situation with the fact Ohio State was whipped twice by SEC teams in the BCS Championship games, and you can understand why the Big Ten Conference is seeking this change.

To the leaders of the Big Ten, this is all about national perception and responding to the competitive challenge presented by the SEC/Big12/Pac12. They are faced with these choices.

1. Place Michigan & Ohio State in the same division and leave THE GAME untouched at the end of the regular season schedule. Run the risk of creating a lopsided balance of power for a single division (see Texas & Oklahoma in the B12 South) and lose all possibility of Michigan/Ohio State ever meeting in the B10 championship game.
2. Place Michigan & Ohio State in different divisions and leave THE GAME untouched at the end of the regular season schedule. Run the risk of having M/OSU face each other two weeks in a row. I (along with many others) didn't want to see this in 2006 and don't want to see it now.
3. Place Michigan & Ohio State in different divisions and move THE GAME to another part of the regular season schedule. Allow the rivalry to continue and set up the possibility of a eventual M/OSU B10 championship game.

Yes, all this is very unsettling. In a perfect world, traditions would continue and no change would be necessary. In the real world, this change is necessary. We have been playing the Buckeyes the end of the season every year since 1935 except when we didn’t, like in 1942 (Iowa), 1986 (Hawaii) and 1998 (Hawaii). The world did not shatter during those seasons, and it won’t now.

There was a time when Oklahoma v. Nebraska was part of our last game of the season club. That rivalry game was changed with the birth of the B12 and both of those programs have moved on and have found new success. There is no reason we won't both survive and thrive.

Rather than rip my hair out and moan about the “good old days” – I am willing embrace this change and see it as a new opportunity. Replacing Ohio State with Sparty that weekend before Thanksgiving sounds like a lot of fun to me – plus if we are both good enough, the prospect of watching Michigan play the Bucks in the B10 Championship game is just too much fun to imagine.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner: WBB to play Sparty

Michigan, the seventh seed in the B10 Tourney, tallied a 67-54 victory today over #10 seed Northwestern.



And the recap from mgoblue.com

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team raced out to a 38-16 halftime lead and weathered an 18-2 Northwestern run in the second half to earn a 67-54 win over the Wildcats in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday (March 4) inside Conseco Fieldhouse.

All eight Wolverines that saw floor time scored, with five reaching double figures. Sophomore Courtney Boylan (Chaska, Minn./Chaska) led the way off the bench with 14 points on 3-of-6 shooting, including a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. Sophomore Carmen Reynolds (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard) scored 13 points with seven rebounds, while junior Veronica Hicks (Chicago, Ill./Thornwood) chipped in 12 and senior Krista Phillips (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Aden Bowman Collegiate) had 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Freshman Jenny Ryan (Saginaw, Mich./Nouvel Catholic Central) also stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, eight boards, four assists, two steals and a block in 40 minutes of action.

U-M scored the first four points out of halftime to take a 42-16 lead before Northwestern made its run, an 18-2 spurt over eight minutes that cut the lead to 44-34. A pair of Boylan free throws with 8:47 remaining ended a 7:45 scoring drought for the Wolverines, pushing the lead back to 12. Back-to-back three-pointers from Hicks and Reynolds on the ensuing possessions allowed Michigan to regain the momentum and keep the lead in double digits throughout the rest of the half.

After coming up empty on the first two possessions to open the contest, the Wolverines took control early with an 8-0 run in a span of 1:17, courtesy of three-point baskets from Phillips and Reynolds along with a shot-clock beating 18-footer from Ryan. The Wolverine lead increased to 25-9 with 6:38 remaining in the half when Hicks banked in a three-pointer from the left lane line to beat the shot clock.

The Maize and Blue closed the first half on an 11-2 run to take a 38-16 lead into the locker room. U-M shot 46.9 percent (15-for-32) from the field in the first half, hitting six three-point baskets, while Northwestern managed only a 25-percent (6-for-24) clip. The Wolverines took advantage of a 25-11 rebounding edge, leading to 12 second-chance points. Ryan and Phillips led the way, both scoring eight, while Hicks and Boylan chipped in six apiece.

The Wolverines advance to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament and will take on No. 2 seed Michigan State on Friday (March 5) at 11:30 am.

Curmudgeons at NCAA may kill emerging sport for women...SAND VOLLEYBALL

Oh yes gentelmen, this could be a Title IX legislative disaster of epic proportions.
Back in April 2009, the NCAA added Sand Volleyball as one of its emerging sports for women---along with the other revenue-risky sports of equestrian, rugby, and squash.
As you can imagine, allllll sorts of snickering and bickering started over sand volleyball.....
The New York Times is reporting today that the NCAA will vote soon to kick sand volleyball off the list !!!! W T F

And guess who is leading the pack??? The BigTeleven ! along with Duke, Stanford, and Clemson.
Our own volleyball coach says this to the NYTimes:

"But Mark Rosen, the volleyball coach at the University of Michigan, opposes sand volleyball because he says it puts schools in cold-weather states at a disadvantage. “If a school in the south has both programs and one in the north doesn’t, it forces me to lose a recruit or ask my athletic director to spend money where he can’t spend it elsewhere,” he said.

Rosen said many northern schools will end up playing a majority of their games on the road because it will be too cold at home to play outdoors in March or April.

Schools that want to override sand volleyball also question how many new scholarships will really be created. Initially, cash-strapped schools may ask indoor volleyball players and coaches to play sand volleyball as well.

“When you start double-dipping, you’re not adding,” Rosen said."

Like Baseball, Softball, and Track don't need to find warmer climates to play in come spring!?
Oh no, this is a much bigger issue than weather.
This is an affront to women's sports!!! This is clearly one more slap at female athletes everywhere, and must not be tolerated!!

BigTeleven Makeover

I don't need to tell anyone here that the image of the Big Ten has take a hit over the last couple of years. Historical failures in the Rose Bowl and recent memorable flops have added fuel to national discontent. Add in the generalized perception of over sized slow players, Ohio State losing two straight BCS games, Michigan falling into the college football abyss and the wild fire is blazing.

The flash point for this happened in November 2006 when Michigan and Ohio State were both undefeated and ranked #1 and #2 in the polls. Following an epic (and painful for me) contest there was a lot of talk of a BCS title game rematch (I wanted nothing to do with a rematch). The SEC PR engine (cough, cough, CBS sports) started up hasn't slowed down since.

The recent conversations about adding a 12th team and a championship game got me thinking: What would a B11 makeover look like? I decided to start with the helmets. Rather than just choose a few, I decided to include everyone. I realize that in most cases, a change is ridiculous. But hey, we are in the off-season and content is hard to come by.

I know, I know... I have too much time on my hands. In any case, I would be interested in hearing which of these you like best, which one you think is the worst, and any additional concepts or ideas you may have.

	Illinois: This one is the most simple and obvious needed change of the group. The hideous orange version the current Illinois helmet is embarrassing. I know the NCAA would have a problem with using the Native American imagery, but I don't care. I also don't think the non-existent Illini Indian tribe would either.
	Northwestern: I have nothing against the current Northwestern helmet, but this is a complete overhaul project and everyone needs to participate. I went through a couple of iterations of this before I just settled with the simple text design. The actual Wildcat logo is an amateurish drawing and did not work for me.
	Wisconsin: I am a big fan of the mascot paw track. Not many people know this, but Wisconsin actually uses a Badger Paw as a trademarked logo. I included the classic Wisconsin "W" to eliminate confusion on which school is wearing these helmets.
	Michigan State: Sparty changes their design a lot, but they have never used anything other than a green helmet (in the modern era). After attempting to design a black helmet and a silver helmet using a Spartan image, I settled on this white version. MSU uses the state of Michigan on their basketball court.
	Minnesota: Of all the helmets in this project, I think I like this Gopher one the best. In fact, I had to stop myself from using other cartoonish mascots for more schools because I loved this one so much and did not want to dilute its awesomeness.
	Purdue: The Boilermakers rolled out all black helmets for the 1989 and 1990 seasons, but for the most part they have always been a gold with the Purdue "P" team. The smoking train logo is way cool and should be used more.
	Indiana: Indiana is one of the more difficult teams in the B11 to work with graphically. There exists no Cornhusker like cartoon Hoosier and there really isn't an alternative to the standard interlocking IU logo. Quite honestly even that looks like the greek letter psi. So I just made something up using a block I and the state of Indiana.
	Iowa: I think the current Iowa Hawkeye logo is one of the best primary trademarks in the NCAA. As such, I saw no need or had no desire to change their outstanding and distinctive design.
	Penn State:This when I expect the rotten tomatoes to start flying. From what I can tell, the current simple white helmet is as important as Joe Paterno himself. I went with the equally bland blue helmet with numbers as they had from '68 to '74.
	Ohio State: Before I start getting death threats over the loss of the Coors Light Silver Bullet design - you need to remember the Buckeyes wore scarlet helmets during 1966 and 1967 seasons coached by Woody Hayes himself. I resisted the temptation to put the cartoon version of Brutus and kept the chronic atta boy stickers.
	Michigan: I realize I am biased, but I think the existing Michigan helmet is a work of art. Attempting to make-over the winged helmet is like asking someone to augment the Mona Lisa. It just doesn't feel right. My first idea was to design a wolverine version of the USFL Michigan Panther helmet, but I couldn't get it right. So I just reversed the colors and turned my head away in shame.

HT: Davidson at Chris Creamers Sports Logos Forum for the incredible helmet template.

1/14 edit: This post has generated a lot of interest (and hits). As you expect, everyone has their own opinion. Just so my intention is clear to anyone reading this -- This is nothing more than an conceptual off-season conversation starter. I DO NOT think that the teams from the B11 need to change their helmets (except Illinois). As a conference, we have some of the best helmet designs and color combos in the country. I was just playing around. If you don't like what I have done, fire up your computer and share your own ideas.

For my next project, I may do an SEC helmet makeover next just to see if I can piss them all off too.

Bowling update

Congrats to the Iowa Hawkeyes for the impressive showing last night in the Orange Bowl. The win ensured the Big Ten will have a winning record in bowl games this year. Personally I don't think conference bowl records mean anything, but maybe it will silence the Big Ten football critics for a couple of weeks. If you consider the conference was a FG away from winning 2 more bowl games (Minnesota and Northwestern) things are looking much better than they were a year ago. It is safe to say that Sparty was the only dark spot in an otherwise good bowl season.

Not many people remember, but Iowa was a miracle (in the form of two blocked FGs in a row) away from an Appy State like meltdown in the first game of the season against Northern Iowa. The Hawks dominated the entire game at the line of scrimmage against Georgia Tech. I am biased, but I think Navy runs the option attack better than the Yellow Jackets. It would be interesting to see if they could do better against the Iowa D. I do not look forward to seeing Mr Clayborn next year in Michigan Stadium.

Speaking of impressive, how about that fake FG attempt by Iowa in the 4th quarter ? The flip from the holder to the kicker was as innovative as I have ever seen. He essentially got off his knee before he caught the snap and flipped it thru his legs to the slow (but sprinting kicker). It did not work, but it still as awesome. Watching the play made me ponder two things:

1) Why do the refs not blow most fake FGs dead when the kneeling holder catches the ball ? He is technically down.

and

2) Why do the refs not call intentional grounding when a team spikes the football to stop the clock ? The QB is still inside the tackle box and the ball never makes it past the line of scrimmage.

Anyway, with two games left, here is the Spawn Bowl Pick 'Em update. According to my records, no one has a chance at a perfect 5-0 record. It has come down to Hemlock and myself (and possibly others). I am hoping for a lot of points in the BCS game.

Big Ten Bowl Open Thread

Northwestern / Auburn at 11AM this morning in the Outback Bowl. Winner gets free Bloomin' Onions for a year. I did not watch any of Northwestern's games this year, so I have no idea what to expect.

Penn State / LSU at 1PM in the Capital One Bowl. By playing in the actual game, both teams get the advantage of not having to watch the stupid Capital One Credit Card commercials during each break. Seriously, has there ever been an advertising campaign that was any more annoying or stupid?

Ohio State / Oregon at 4PM in the Rose Bowl. My mom always told me if I can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all.

The Idiocy of Hope

Game Day GACK.

Oh my. Epic Fail. So much head-shaking.....
Now Penn State is the real deal, and they are a great football team, but holy moly football fan---we WHIFFED on that game.
No execution. No offensive flow. No go.

I can't even really be mad. I'm mean how young are these kids??? First rain game. Crazy hype with the flyover and the opening TD, followed by complete collapse. I at least give Rich Rod credit for saying that this one was mostly on the coaches and that he was really disappointed.

4 turnovers today, which is one less than the 5 against Iowa. A safety? Molk gone. Warren and Hemingway kneecapped in one play??? oh. my.

The one shining star?? BRANDON. GRAHAM.

discuss....

Forget Lil' Bro---Cousins crushes the family

Yeah, Dantonio is definitely short some inches.
And poor Kirk Cousins. With the opportunity to put the dagger thru Fat Charlie once and for all, he forces a throw off his back foot and chucks a pick to McCarthy, thereby crushing Sparty's hopes of yet another victory in South Bend.

Drew Sharp tries to lipstick the pig in the freep: Spartans show character in hard-luck defeat I can only imagine how forgiving and supportive AC Drew Sharp would have been if we lost.

Directors' Cup, bitches, Directors' Cup

The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics recently announced the Directors' Cup Winners. Stanford once again (actually for the 15th year in a row) takes home the hardware for Division I, but note the top five finishers if you will....and the school in the 10 slot. Yep, we're in the fifth slot behind some not too shabby athletic institutions. Our champs include (clockwise from top left): men's gymnastics, men's golf, women's water polo and softball.

Grand Valley State won it's 5th straight Directors' Cup as well in Division II.


Directors' Cup Division I Final Standings 2009
1. Stanford 1455.00
2. North Carolina 1184.25
3. Florida 1172.75
4. Southern California 1137.75
5. Michigan 1131.80
6. Texas 1105.50
7. California 1072.00
8. Virginia 1059.00
9. Louisiana State U. 1029.00
10. THE University of Ohio State 1015.80

Jim Delany does not agree with ME

The Big Ten commish says "No" to expansion discussion.

"The issue has come up with our football coaches a couple times -- with the extra week and if we did expand, would we be more competitive?

I would say in some years they might be right. But has it enhanced the competitiveness of the ACC in football? Has it enhanced the competitiveness of the WAC? I don't know.

Just because you have a championship doesn't make you more competitive. It's about coaching the players. The SEC game has been a marketing bonanza. I wouldn't discount that. But others have struggled with it."

I have one thing to say: Marketing is a verb.

It is this kind of stone aged thinking that is going to keep the conference down for years to come. Essentially the commissioner is conceding that the SEC players and coaches are better and the B10 is more like the WAC or ACC at this point. If I were a B10 Athletic Director right now I would either be looking for a new job south of the Mason Dixie line or organizing a coup.

Joe Paterno agrees with ME

Should the Big Ten add a 12th team and hold a post season championship game ?

I posted about the need for Big Ten expansion in December. It is refreshing to see that Joe Paterno agrees with me. There are soooo many things that are right with B10 expansion. The most fundamental is the competitive advantage the other conferences get heading into the bowl season.

Joe's remarks

"We go into hiding for six weeks, Everybody else is playing playoffs on television, You never see a Big Ten team mentioned. So I think that's a handicap. I've tried to talk to the Big Ten people about, 'Let's get a 12th team -- Syracuse, Rutgers, Pitt -- we could have a little bit of a playoff.'..."

Hooiser news

On September 26th Michigan opens the Big Ten Season with Indiana making the trip to Ann Arbor. According to IU Coach Bill Lynch, the Hoosiers will do it without the services of their most dangerous weapon.

Indiana announced yesterday that senior football player Kellen Lewis has been dismissed from the IU football team for violating team rules. In the statement released through IU media relations "We are disappointed to have to make this decision, When you have expectations of those on your team that are not met, you need to do what is ultimately in the overall best interest of your program.”

In three years as Indiana’s quarterback, Lewis produced 48 passing touchdowns, over 6,000 passing yards he also ran for 17 touchdowns and over 1,600 yards. He was set to play wide reciever this season, but you just know that he would have been taking snaps at QB when they played Michigan.

Wanted

Penn State police are looking out for Joe Paterno's Coke bottle-thick glasses. Vandals apparently cut the glasses off just above the base of the ears of the 7-foot sculpture outside of Beaver Stadium between 11 a.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday, when a police officer noticed the damage. This is not the first time that the statue of JoePa has been vandalized -- and Penn State fans are getting pissed off. We were able to contact some of the other coaches in the Big Ten had and they provided these comments and support about the missing glasses.

Jim Tressel: I have no idea why anyone would steal such an iconic part of this great conference. I have asked each of my players to look inside themselves (and their gym bags) to come up with any clues to help the Penn State police. If I find anyone from my team did it, I swear I will sit them down for one, maybe two plays. Maybe you should check with those smart kids at Northwestern, they seem to know all the answers on tough tests...

Pat Fitzgerald: I know that no one from Northwestern had anything to do with the missing glasses. We are all studying so hard, plus we didn't even play Penn State this year. Did you check with the criminals that Ron Zook is collecting down at Illinois ? I bet they had something to do with this...

Ron Zook: Are you kidding ? I have no idea where those ugly things are. We have been out on the recruiting trail since the season ended and I know that none of my guys would do this. Check with Ferentz at Iowa, they are a suspicious bunch...

Kirk Ferentz: I know that we should be the primary suspects, since we were the only conference team to beat the Nitts this season -- but I swear I have no idea where those glasses are. If I wanted a pair, I could just go out and buy my own pair. Oh yeah, we were the only Big Ten team to win a bowl game. Suckers.... You might want to check with Sparty.

Mark Dantonio: I think we should have a moment of silence for Penn State and JoePa's glasses. I am just trying to build a program here that the good people of the state of Michigan can be proud of and change the culture of the conference at the same time. Did you check with those arrogant assholes down in Ann Arbor. You know they went 3-9 last year.

Fiesta Bowl Open Thread

Ride 'em Buckeye... Ride 'em...

I feel a little dirty wanting to see an Ohio State win tonight in the Fiesta Bowl. I know it is only natural for most of you to root for Texas, but for me it is a little different -- I live in Austin and I have to put up with the Longhorn marketing machine all year long. I have tried to root for Ohio State before in the past and never made it past the 1st couple of plays before I started pulling for the other team. I am going to give it another shot tonight -- for the benefit of the Big Ten.

Go Bucks !!

That's why they play the games

Last night's drubbing of mighty (?) Alabama by the lowly (double ?) Utes stirs up sooooo many thoughts and opportunities for analysis that I thought we all deserved a new thread to discuss things.

1) Conference Competition.
Hmmm. Let's see, the PAC 10 won all 5 of it's bowl games making them the winner of the nefarious Bowl Cup (which sounds like an oxymoron of sorts, no? bowl. cup. whatever...) Would anyone have said, Oh the PAC-10 is the strongest conference and will surely win all their games??? I think not.

2) Big Ten whiffs. Again.
The Big Ten teams who actually did show up for their games included Iowa and Northwestern. I won't even get started on MooU and have nothing but empathy for Penn State, as they were up against Andre the Giant, poor things. As for us? Well I'm just glad we weren't there to contribute to the ridicule. Best for us to sit this one out--at least this year. On the positive side, it was highly encouraging to see that the best games, with the best offenses included what sure as heck looks like RichRod's spread offense in some way shape or form. And some talking head along the way pointed out that the spread is completely dependent on a skilled QB to run it. Absent one of those (testify!) the spread gets creamed...... Hope springs eternal in A2. Book it.

3) The BCS Championship Series.

DISCUSS.....

4) The Mid-Majors.
Well that moniker just seems like a plain-old insult now doesn't it? We could talk all about the successes of Troy (who took Southern Miss to OT), Florida Atlantic over Central, Rice (soon to be new home of Sam McGuffie), or resurrected Houston--but the biggest story of them all is of course Utah. Not only was 'Bama outhustled but I submit to you that 'Bama was completely out-coached. And I mean from the git-go. From the defensive sets to the poorly cobbled-together offensive line. But the most egregious behavior came from Saban himself. How many times did the camera show him angry and frustrated with his players? Yelling at them or being overly-demonstrative with his frustrations? Dude. You are the Head Coach--don't act like a disgruntled fan on the side-lines. Show some leadership--make your kids believe that they can. Saban contributed to the tight pressured play of 'Bama all night long. This loss is all on him.
And I don't mean to take a thing away from Utah. We know from first-hand experience just what they are. I'm just saying that in response to Utah's quickness and well-coached schemes 'Bama had nothing--and that to me, is about coaching. Particularly when Alabama had been #1 in the polls for most of the season.

I could go on and on!
But, I'm really interested to hear what all of you have to say...so have at it!!!

Rose Bowl Open Thread

Believe deep down in your heart that you're destined to do great things.
~ Joe Paterno

Penn State holds the national perception of the Big Ten in their hands tonight.
It is time to stand and deliver.

Sparty Bowl Open Thread

Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his (my little) brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers.

I promise I will root for the Big Ten the rest of the bowl games.

I just can't do it for Sparty.