Member for

14 years 6 months
Points
120.00

Recent Comments

Date Title Body
I still regret not putting an

I still regret not putting an in-game bet on Man City to win that game in stoppage.

GoBlueRandy, I wish it were

GoBlueRandy, I wish it were just that. I'd be ok with that and could handle it. I work in an office in Newcastle and the majority of my colleagues are NUFC supporters (obviously) but there are Chelsea, ManU, Arsenal, etc. supporters too. Every single one is rooting for Man City. That sort of distain can't be just because Liverpool supporters are proud of their heritage.

I wish that there was more parity in top flight football, as it's not competitive beyond the top 5-6 teams, which is a shame.

I work with a Liverpool

I work with a Liverpool supporter and I can think of nothing worse than having to listen to him talk about the greatness of Liverpool for the next 4 months! Liverpool supporters act like they invented the game and know everything. It's quite annoying. Like some terrible combination of a smug Yankee fan and the self-pity of a Red Sox fan.

I have no special desire to see Man City win it and would prefer they didn't, but they are the lesser of two evils (IMHO).

I read on an Arizona site

I read on an Arizona site that Zimmerman trimmed his list and Michigan wasn't in the teams that made the cut.

Definitely London. I would

Definitely London. I would actually be able to attend a game.

Besides, nothing screams Midwest like Big Ben and the River Thames.

The Other Brian and Big

The Other Brian and Big Bourtros are two I miss.

Ted Ginn.

Ted Ginn.

I think that at the end of

I think that at the end of the day, we won't be able to judge these decisions for another 5-6 years. By then we'll know who the 15th and 16th teams are (ugh, shoot me!) and what the 2017 tier one tv rights contract looks like, plus how much growth there has been in the BTN.

I don't like the super conference idea, but it looks like it's going to happen. Sad times.

Correct. Nebraska announced

Correct. Nebraska announced their move June 2010 and lost their membership May 2011.

This isn't 1956 anymore.

This isn't 1956 anymore. Programs recruit nationally, especially elite programs like Michigan and OSU.

Poor article.

Carriage fees are also a big

Carriage fees are also a big issue here. While the BTN gets only 5 cents for an out of footprint subscriber, the hope is that with the additions and the push for basic cable inclusion that the carriage fees will go to in footprint prices (35 cents) and higher.

If it's one thing I trust, I trust FOX News Corp. to make money because they love money as Brodie said.

I read somewhere that only

I read somewhere that only 11% of the NYC Metro area population are passionate college football fans, but that also equates to 1.8 million people, which apparently makes it the second largest concentration of college football fans in the country.

My preferred additions for

My preferred additions for #15 & #16 would be UVa and UNC, also. However, both have political problems attached (VT and NCState, respectively), unless those two schools found a happy home in the SEC...

UNLV and BYU do not in any

UNLV and BYU do not in any way fit the PAC12 profile. Eight members of the conference are also AAU members, you won't find UNLV or Boise State in the AAU any time soon. In order for the PAC12 to become the PAC16 it will have to add BigXII teams.

As for ACC members FSU, Miami, and Clemson moving to the BigXII soon, the financial incentive isn't there right now. The TV rights package the ACC just negotiated comes to about $17.5-18 million per school, the BigXII contract (with the third tier rights not included, something FSU fans have been bitching about) would pay maybe $21 million a year. That's a lot of money, yes, but not the windfall Maryland just landed by going from $18 million a year to anywhere between $30-45 million a year in the B1G over the next 10 years.

ESPN is another story, the ACC provides a ton of content for the WWL and you can bet it will try to keep the conference together the way it helped the BigXII out a few years back, but not at the expense of their own revenue stream.

Personally, I think the time

Personally, I think the time difference would be a bigger issue than the flight times involved.

Just need some popcorn...

Well, it seems things are getting interesting for the Big East, again. Now I just need some popcorn...

Don't be silly, Oxford or

Don't be silly, Oxford or Cambridge on their own will never get you the London market. You'd have to get two of three from a list of University College London, King's College, and Imperial in addition to Oxbridge.

He's no DeLoss Dodds, that's

He's no DeLoss Dodds, that's for sure.

Do you think we can get

Do you think we can get Marcus Vick to request a trade for us out of the B1G on Twitter?

I'm not saying they are more

I'm not saying they are more valuable, just that their inclusion creates a critical mass for getting BTN on basic cable and not a sports tier in the DC/NJ/NYC area.

News Corp. is purchasing a 49% stake in the YES Network.

News Corp. also has a 49% stake in the BTN.

YES reaches 12 million homes in the NYC metro area with a subscriber fee of $3 a month for revenue last year of $405 million (excluding advertising). FOX and their partners can now turn around and demand that the BTN be placed on basic cable in NYC or else you don't get the YES Network. This also creates added content for the BTN and the advertising fees that go with it. Selling advertising for an Illinois vs Maryland game will get you more money than a Big Ten soccer game.

Rutgers and Maryland are two more mouths to feed, but do you really think that the conference is going to add two new members on a whim? They must be pretty sure that the addition of these two schools will result in a fair amount of extra revenue. Besides, they willalmost certainly have to buy into the BTN the same way NU is currently doing, and thus won't get a full share until year 6 of their membership.

I'm not happy about the addition to these two to the conference, but I see the reason behind it from a revenue stand point if all goes to plan.

You don't need one more

You don't need one more Maryland or Rutgers fan to demand the BTN in order to make money. It's all about the carriage fees that it gets for being on basic cable. You can bet the conference and its partner News Corp. will be pushing hard to get the BTN on basic cable in MD, NJ, and NYC now and most likely succeeding. This doesn't take into account the new First Tier rights which are due to expire 2017.

Lincoln to College Park is

Lincoln to College Park is going to be a long bus ride for the non-revenue sports.

Think about the children!

Money.

Money.

Damn your logic!

Damn your logic!

I believe that Fox and the

I believe that Fox and the Big Ten will try to use the YES Network as a way to get the BTN on to basic cable in NJ and NYC. With Fox having a large stake in both networks, it only makes sense that they'll tell Comcast/Cablevision/Etc.: you don't get YES without the BTN being on basic.

Nothing about this is good. I

Nothing about this is good. I have yet to see anyone make a rational argument as to what the Big Ten gets out of this as a conference, other than more money and a lacrosse league.

100% agreed. This had nothing

100% agreed. This had nothing to do with the PAC trying to get to 12 for a championship game. The Big XII's unequal revenue sharing scheme and the 500lb gorilla of that conference, Texas, deserve a lot of the blame for all this.

This just feels like change

This just feels like change for the sake of change... and obviously a way to increase BTN subscription by forcing it on to basic cable in the Mid-Atlantic / NYC area / Northeast. With News Corp. looking to buy the Yes Network and being partners in the BTN, they can demand that NYC cable companies add the BTN to their basic package or risk losing out on YES.

I am actually Tacopants.

I am actually Tacopants.

Autzen

Agreed. I've never heard Michigan Stadium get as loud as Autzen does, much less for 3 hours straight. That said, 120 is still a damn good number.

Oregon turned to Brady Leaf

Oregon turned to Brady Leaf first and when that didn't work out too well, turned to Justin Roper who had a great Sun Bowl that year.

It won't and if there is any

It won't and if there is any chance it might, Saban is smart (evil) enough to leave the program and accept another NFL job before the s**t hits the fan.

I think Jonathan Stewart

I think Jonathan Stewart would like to have a word with you regarding Dennis Dixon being Oregon's team that year. All joking aside, I agree that the injury derailed a potential great season for the Ducks and hope/pray Denard isn't injured.

To me the number that stands

To me the number that stands out is "12". That's how many medical scholarships 'bama has handed out since Saban took over 3 years ago. The rest of the SEC combined awarded 13 during that same time period. So Alabama is awarding, on average, 4 medical scholarships a year, while the other SEC schools average one every three years.

I think doing this with the

I think doing this with the current scholarship rosters would be more helpful than the recruiting for this year. Seeing how recruiting class make-up can vary from year to year based on talent level, a 4 to 5 year breakdown would be best.

Don't forget Sam McGuffie, if

Don't forget Sam McGuffie, if we're on the topic of former Wolverines. He had a decent day too. 4 receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown. Only 18 yards rushing however.

The last three years have

The last three years have made me uber paranoid.

I enjoy hype as much as the

I enjoy hype as much as the next person, but I would have preferred this team stay under the radar for a bit longer. Hype and expectations are a hard thing for a young team to live up to IMO.

Michigan is playing at the

Michigan is playing at the arenas of the Belgian teams. So today they played in Gent, not Brussels as the original press release said. I believe whoever originally wrote the press release simply made a mistake. As for getting to these places, get a train ticket.

I really like the font on

I really like the font on those 60's throwbacks. You just don't see font like that anymore. Nice.

FYI The footage shown for the

FYI The footage shown for the Captain America "trailer" was rough because well, it was. Filming had only begun on Captain America 4 days prior to the Comic Con trailer, so rough very early footage was edited together for this particular piece. I'll wait to reserve my judgement till I see the finished product (much like recruiting).

I can't wait for Nick Saban

I can't wait for Nick Saban to chime in on this, pretty sure he'll find a way to a) blame the "pimps" who target these "children" and b) remind everyone how amazing he is.

My top 10 in no particular

My top 10 in no particular order:

The Thin Red Line

Letter from Iwo Jima

Apocolypse Now

Patton

Bridge on the River Kwai

Band of Brothers (I realize it's not a movie)

Das Boot

Deerhunter

Generation Kill (Again, I realize it's not a movie)

La Grande Illusion (Grand Illusion) - Jean Renior's masterpiece and possibly the best film I have ever seen.

They're still in Oakland

They're still in Oakland where they've played the majority of their games since 1971 (prior to that time they were known as the San Francisco Warriors after their move from Philly). So yes, the SF doesn't really make a great deal of sense, but the New York Giants and the New York Jets are still playing in New Jersey and use "NY".

I the Defi VSD Basis model

The Defi VSD Basis model can be bought online for around $170 plus S/H, maybe less even as it's been a few years.

I've hated the navy and

I've hated the navy and orange warrior logo with the lightening bolt since it was unvieled, so this change makes me very happy. I especially like the secondary logos.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1271/4709455484_31955d3f02.jpg

If you really have to have a

If you really have to have a HUD, may I suggest an aftermarket one by Defi:



http://www.defi-shop.com/product/basis/basis_top.html

I had one similar to this on my previous car and loved it. HUD is the way of the future IMHO.

The State Legislature in 1974

The State Legislature in 1974 turned the University of Oregon schools of Medicine, Dentistry, and Nursing into a an entirely seperate university, the Oregon Health & Sciences University. Additionally during the 1970's, in order to create differences between UO and Oregon State University, it mandated the closure of the UO engineering department and the relocation of those funds to OSU. It basically turned UO into a large liberal arts university as a result of those actions. Lastly, the State Legislature has voted several times against changing the way the public universities in the state are managed. Unlike other large public universities which have a Board of Regents, the Oregon public schools do not and the State Legislature acts as such. Politics should not play a role in deciding University agenda, only funding, IMHO.

On the surface the Oregon

On the surface the Oregon schools may seem "bad" but the University of Oregon has been an AAU member since 1969 and has some excellent departments. However, funding cuts and the Oregon State Legislature have damaged the university overall since then.

I've wondered about this many

I've wondered about this many times also. I live in the UK and thus I have football fed to me through an IV drip, whether I want it or not. I believe it was last year that a Man U player (possibly Ryan Giggs) broke his arm and ended up missing half the season. I asked my girlfriend's brother why a player would miss time with a broken arm when the use of hands is forbidden, he didn't really have an answer for me other than "I hope Giggs' injury improves Liverpool's chances for the Premiership title". So Drogba's injury raises this issue for me again.