...with three straight years of an intact staff (Oregon is out).

I know you've pined for it before Brian, but sending a football team full of 18-22 year olds to Denver instead of somewhere warm with a beach just seems like more of the 'using poor black kids to fund rich white people activities' that you're typically against.

You'll have a bunch of 18-22 year old kids from generally poor backgrounds who have never been skiing, their families have never been skiing and their coach won't dare let them go skiing during a bowl trip on the chance that someone blows out a knee.  At least in Florida the kids can go to the beach or go ride roller coasters at the theme parks.  It's not much but it's at least some sort of reward for the players.

(and yes I realize most 18-22 year olds would prefer drinking on Bourbon St to any of those alternatives but I don't think I'm going too far out on a limb to say most players in CFB would rather go somewhere in Florida, get a half day at the beach, a half day at a theme park and some warm weather than they would a trip to Denver where they can look at the mtns 30 miles away but won't be allowed to go skiing).

The bowl system certainly needs reforming, but I'm not sure that putting bowl games in places that overwhelmingly draw upper middle class or rich white people is the answer to that.

I'm not sure I see a huge difference between Denver, Atlanta, Houston, Tampa Bay, or Dallas.  Bit urban cities, none have any particularly historical value, or a unique culture about them. None are bad places for a bowl game, mind you. I just don't see the big dividing line. Most of my trips to Denver have entailed leaving Denver to go to other cities and their microbrews and such. Tampa sucks, Denver rules seems totally based on whether you like the beach or skiing. 40 isn't bad, but it's not exactly an exciting bowl destination. New York is porbably the only one that offsets "crappy weather."

And Los Angeles, sure, but let's be honest, that's a trip where none of the ends meet. You're not anywhere near anybody else who went, you're not near the game (unless you're staying in Pasadena...then what is there to do?), and everything you want to see that's unique is a horrifically long freeway drive from the next thing you might want to see. LA is Orlando spread out.

And Santa Fe? Santa Fe??  You think San Antonio's a bad destination, but Santa Fe is a land of culture and worth?

one issue that i have found with the bowl destinations is that tickets, accomodations, air fare are often packaged in one group, either by the university or alumni groups. so, even if the bowl game were in paris,  you are not going to the louvre unless you specifically make an effort to do so. if not, you are part of the cattle on a bus heading somewhere.

caution: video contains one very NSFW word

the worst part about Cleveland is that it's in Ohio. Other than that, it's actually quite nice. I am biased, however.

1. Detroit is an awesome city for a bowl game because, firstly, it's close and, secondly, Detroit is just plain fucking awesome.

2. Denver sucks.

3. Bacardi Bowl.  Since it turns out that there once was a bowl game sponsored by a rum company in the Caribbean (link), this needs to be brought back.  Havana would be fascinating but with embargos & all, I'd be open to other suggestions.

That somewhere in the college hockey pantheon, there is a good goalie on a bad team, or sitting on a bench somewhere, that's looking at this situation at Michigan and licking his chops at the prospect of 1)playing and 2) playing behind what will hopefully be a decent team next year and thinking about transferring. But I also can't think of any player that's transferred into the program and I haven't heard any rumors or really thought of anyone that might fit the bill. So it's just a fond thought.

is the first one. The good ol' Jr High shuffle. That should've been a travel and Michigan ball.

I posted about a year ago on the site, and I was critical of the basketball coverage on MGoBlog.  Just wanted to say that over the past 6 months or so I've noticed an increase in both the amount of bball coverage and the quality of it.  Ace has really added to the site's coverage of the sport, and I like that a nuanced analysis of the game (Ace's inside the play posts) is becoming commonplace.  While I tend to think KenPom is a somewhat lazy way to view the game, I understand its value and enjoy when it is used in addition to "eye-test" methods.  Keep up the good work, Brian and company.

I think we can all agree that the bowl destination illustration works as a funny joke but not as a graphic of realistic bowl destinations.

Bowls are hosted by places that are willing and capable of hosting bowls. It's not some insidious plot hatched by Jim Delaney. People like warmth and beaches and that's probably why so many otherwise boring Florida cities are tourist destinations also making them willing and capable bowl hosts.

The only realistic alternative presented is Denver. I like Denver but I also like Tampa and have very little interest in Atlanta. I think this conversation can go off the rails very quickly if people start explaining why cities they like are so much more worthy and cultural. Everywhere has history and culture and things to do. It's not like we're talking about Fargo, North Dakota in February here.

I don't think Jim Delaney understands the definition of a "Test Market".

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/test-market

Or as the always correct Wikipedia would say:

A test market, in the field of business and marketing, is a geographic region or demographic group used to gauge the viability of a product or service in the mass market prior to a wide scale roll-out. The criteria used to judge the acceptability of a test market region or group include:

1. a population that is demographically similar to the proposed target market; and
2. relative isolation from densely populated media markets so that advertising to the test audience can be efficient and economical.

So in Delany's case, his rollout market must be the universe since he's already tested his product on all of the Earth people. For two years.

Well played Delaney, well played.

While I have adopted new technology at a greater pace than my years would suggest, I still haven't found any value from Twitter.  As a product manager for mobile software products it is interesting to me that the twenty somethings and below have picked it up as a replacement/parallel addition to texting and email.  A typical not famous teen is basically only being followed by their "true" friends.  So I don't think any of these kids entering college realize what can happen when they are a celebrity, and suddenly the entire world has access to them, and it is access they have freely given to the entire spectrum of public opinion.

But I do love this quote from the article the most, especially since it's from a teammate,

"What we are about is the people in the locker room and the people close to us," says Stauskas' teammate, Corey Person. "Fans are going to be your best friends when you win and walk away when you lose. The danger is you start to play for the fans instead of for the people in the locker room."

emphasis mine.  And think what a great thing it is to be a part of something that is, The Team.

I really hope that college basketball players start to realize the value college as a place where they can take the time to learn and grow before the big responsbilities of the world hit them in the face, and they are all alone.  Because once you are making millions of dollars a year, who really is your friend?  

What does Atlanta have besides traffic congestion and Waffle Houses? Scottsdale and the greater Phoenix area have great weather in winter, more golf courses than you can shake a stick at, and unique Sonoran desert scenery.

One word: Bahamas

http://concacaf-futball.blogspot.com/2011/06/bahamas-national-stadium.html

Full of Big 10 fans.  Denver is a city mostly made of transplants, with a bunch of them coming from the midwest (like me, anything to get out of Ohio).  There are entire bars dedicated soley to OSU and Michigan alumni that are jam packed every Saturday gameday.  Also, slight correction from the article.  Denver is not an hour away from the front range.  Denver is on the "front range", it is an hour away from the mountains.

Brian, did you get your MGoFluShot?

Not a very interesting story for others and probably won't even be read at this point but in regards to warm beaches and Bowl Games being a destination for people in need of the said climate:  I went to the Orange Bowl in 2010 for the Iowa-Georgia Tech game.  Great win for Iowa.  Okay trip overall, I guess.  The best part of the trip, though?  35 degrees at kickoff and a 50 degree day at the beach a day or two before the game.  What a friggin crock of sh*t.  My first and only time in Miami, Fl and the coldest temperatures recorded occur.  Also, I had zero sympathy upon return as 2 feet of snow had dropped in Iowa.

Thats the pic you lead with...?

Go back to bed. You're still sick. 

Of Brian's cities I have been to Prague & Stuff, Tampa, Denver, Detroit, Vancouver, New Orleans, New York, Atlanta, San Francisco and Scottsdale.

I don't agree that Tampa belongs in the crappy city category.  The stadium area sucked, but I enjoyed channelside and Ybor distict.  I don't think that Atlanta has anything on Tampa.

That said -- a bowl game in Prague, Vancouver or San Francisco would be awesome.

Awesome! The video is beautiful, along the same lines as Lattimore's injury. An interesting note: Charles Woodson is the DB covering Edwards when he blows out his knee. australian online gambling