Does anyone else like how Stewart Madel has the divisions set up?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/stewart_mandel/06/22/expansion-divisions/index.html
I don't. He has Nebraska as our annual cross over game instead of Penn State, Minnestoa, or Iowa?
Didn't see it. Neg away for not paying attention.
as our annual crossover game as opposed to Minnesota, Penn State, or Iowa?
Maybe, because Mandel realizes that the BigTen understands that Michigan vs Nebraska will garner more ratings and interest from ABC/ESPN than Michigan vs Iowa or Minnesota. A Penn State vs Ohio State cross over makes more sense than a Penn State vs Michigan cross over.
I would much rather protect the Minnesota rivalry game than PSU or Iowa.
Hmm, I'm not convinced by just your MGoName. Name your dog/child/significant other after the Jug and then I'll know you really care about it.
"Little" - see McDonald's thread
"Jug", "Juggie" - waaaay too close to 'Juggalo' for anyone else to trust your parenting/ownership skills. Significant Other would likely be offended as well.
"Brownie" - (heckuva job joke here)
Another reason Nebraska is better as a cross-division rival is competitive balance. They are as successful as Michigan most of the time, so it makes sense to match us up. Put the best with the best (M-NU, PSU-OSU and the worst with the worst (Indiana-Minnesota).
With the current Big Ten set up, Michigan State is at a disadvantage because they play Michigan and Penn State as their permanent rivals, No one else has two of the three top teams always on their schedule, and most teams have at least one rotate off at any one time.
One division is OSU-Mich and the Four Dwarves (in other words, for the moment, OSU and the Five Dwarves) and the other is stacked with a bunch of contenders.
The gap between the top four and the next two (especially more recently) is small enough that if you're going to worry about balance (something I really don't think they should worry about too much unless it's extremely out of whack, as that will shift often enough that divisions built on balance now are still going to look unbalanced at some point), it makes sense to split the top six 3-3, even if it's 1-2-4, 3-5-6. Plus I hate the SEC-style crossover rivalries; it means there are five teams you play only 40% of the time.
I enjoy how your title asks "does anyone else like", then you say you don't like it.