One of the hot topics in college football this week is the newly released Big Ten logo and football divisions . With the addition of Nebraska next year, the Big Ten will now have 12 teams (confusing, right?), which forced the conference to restructure to two six-team divisions with a football conference championship. Most Big Ten fans were happy with the addition of Nebraska while not diluting the brand of the Big Ten in the process.
Many Big Ten fans were not thrilled with the conference after the two football divisions were named "Legends" and "Leaders." A Chicago Tribune survey in today's paper revealed that 94% of fans disliked/disapproved of the name changes. I'm not a huge fan of the division names either, or the logo for that matter. But I think there are more important things, such as the actual competitions.
The Big Ten Conference is convinced that fans will eventually get used to the division names. I'm honestly not to bothered by "Legends" and "Leaders," I think its more important to have the right divisions set up, based on competitive balance and traditional rivalries, as opposed to geography, which would have made the conference names easier to decide. More important than the silly division names is the fact that divisions will be competitive, and the Big Ten will be stronger going into 2011.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Light Reading
I'm one book away from starting to read my copy of "Death to the BCS," a book against the traditional post-season in college football written by Dan Wetzel, Jeff Passan, and Josh Peter. Once I finish reading the book, I will put up a book review and go into what I believe is right and wrong about the book's points and in depth on my views into a college football playoff.
Monday, November 29, 2010
All-Big Ten Picks
The Big Ten Conference released its list of All-Big Ten Football Teams for 2010 today. As a Northwestern fan, I was pretty happy with the lists, one of which is generated by Big Ten Coaches, and one by Big 10 media members. Quarterback Dan Persa was named to the first team by the coaches, and the second team by the media, which is a testament to how well he played before his Achilles' Tendon injury. Persa may have a chance to win the Chicago Tribune Silver Football, a prestigious award given to the Big Ten MVP. Jeremy Ebert, NU's leading receiver also received a first-team selection from the media.
Overall, the selections for Northwestern and the Big Ten as a whole were very fair. What surprised me the most was the fact that Denard Robinson was named Offensive Player of the Year by the league's coaches yet was not a first-or second team selection by the league's coaches.
Overall, the selections for Northwestern and the Big Ten as a whole were very fair. What surprised me the most was the fact that Denard Robinson was named Offensive Player of the Year by the league's coaches yet was not a first-or second team selection by the league's coaches.
More TCU News
After my post yesterday about how the schedules of TCU and Boise State were criticized by Ohio State's Gordon Gee, Texas Christian University made the news again today. In a press conference, this afternoon TCU announced it had accepted an invitation to join the Big East Conference, which is a great move for both TCU and the Big East.
One of the most interesting aspects of this decision is the distance Big East teams will have to travel to Dallas and vice versa. Over the past 5, years the conference has expanded its profile to include schools like DePaul in Chicago, and Marquette in Milwaukee, and now the Big East will have a profile in a huge media market (Dallas-Forth Worth). TCU adds instant credibility to a football conference which has struggled immensely this season. For TCU, the move allows them to join a conference with a tie-in to a BCS bowl game
While TCU and the Big East had been in talks for a while, there were issues over whether TCU would join as a football-only member (and play all their other sports in another conference) or join the league as a full member. All 20 TCU sports teams will be a part of the Big East. With the addition of TCU, there will be 9 football-playing schools and 17 for basketball.
One of the most interesting aspects of this decision is the distance Big East teams will have to travel to Dallas and vice versa. Over the past 5, years the conference has expanded its profile to include schools like DePaul in Chicago, and Marquette in Milwaukee, and now the Big East will have a profile in a huge media market (Dallas-Forth Worth). TCU adds instant credibility to a football conference which has struggled immensely this season. For TCU, the move allows them to join a conference with a tie-in to a BCS bowl game
While TCU and the Big East had been in talks for a while, there were issues over whether TCU would join as a football-only member (and play all their other sports in another conference) or join the league as a full member. All 20 TCU sports teams will be a part of the Big East. With the addition of TCU, there will be 9 football-playing schools and 17 for basketball.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
"Little Sisters of the Poor"
In an interview with the AP this past Wednesday, Ohio State President Gordon Gee implied that Boise State (prior to the Nevada loss) and TCU did not deserve a chance to play for the BCS National Championship. In his words, Gee stated that Ohio State and other power-conference schools play tough schools and not "the Little Sisters of the Poor" on their schedules.
Many people defended Gee's comments as simply admitting the viewpoint of the fans who believe a non-automatic qualifier should be left out of the BCS Championship. However, Gee is not an Ohio State fan, he is the school's president, and it just looks really bad that Ohio State is picking on the non-automatic qualifiers. As Dan Wetzel points out, Gee is likely defending the BCS, which favors teams like Ohio State over teams like Boise and TCU.
My viewpoint is that an undefeated non-automatic qualifier deserves a chance at the BCS national championship or in the future if their is a playoff. If TCU doesn't play in the national championship, there is no way you can say that Oregon or Auburn (the top 2 teams in the country) would automatically beat TCU. I'm looking forward to next weekend of college football. If Auburn or Oregon loses, it will open the door for TCU to appear in the national championship and be able to prove that it can beat anyone. If not, TCU is projected to go to the Rose Bowl where they can go head-to-head against a team like Wisconsin
Many people defended Gee's comments as simply admitting the viewpoint of the fans who believe a non-automatic qualifier should be left out of the BCS Championship. However, Gee is not an Ohio State fan, he is the school's president, and it just looks really bad that Ohio State is picking on the non-automatic qualifiers. As Dan Wetzel points out, Gee is likely defending the BCS, which favors teams like Ohio State over teams like Boise and TCU.
My viewpoint is that an undefeated non-automatic qualifier deserves a chance at the BCS national championship or in the future if their is a playoff. If TCU doesn't play in the national championship, there is no way you can say that Oregon or Auburn (the top 2 teams in the country) would automatically beat TCU. I'm looking forward to next weekend of college football. If Auburn or Oregon loses, it will open the door for TCU to appear in the national championship and be able to prove that it can beat anyone. If not, TCU is projected to go to the Rose Bowl where they can go head-to-head against a team like Wisconsin
Team of the Week: Chaminade Basketball
This week i witnessed one of the more impressive team performances I've seen in college sports in a while, from the Division II Chaminade University Silverswords of Hawaii basketball team. Most people know Chaminade as the host school of the Maui Invitational, a eight team tournament which usually involves several of NCAA's elite teams. Chaminade is usually the only Division II team and entering this year's tournament they had just won 5 games in the 25 year history of the 3-game tournament.
Chaminade's all time record in the Maui invitational reflects the huge difference between Division I and Division II basketball. Think about it like this: There's about 360 Division I college basketball teams which offer 12 scholarships per school, which means there is usually a significant drop-off in talent between the two levels.
Apparently Chaminade didn't receive that memo. In the first of the Silversword's three games, Chaminade played Michigan State down to the wire, losing by just eight points. May I remind you that Michigan State was the #2 team in the country, and a popular pick to win this year's NCAA Division I Championship. Yet Chaminade, led by 5"6 inch point guard Steven Bennett and center Mamadou Diarra were able to keep the game that close.
Chaminade managed to win its third game against the Oklahoma Sooners, 68-64. While Oklahoma is not a basketball powerhouse, they are still a high profile team, and the Silverswords clearly asserted themselves as the better team. As the ESPN analyst mentioned, both Bennett and Diarra are Division I-talent and were good enough to start for the Sooners.
Prior to their win against Oklahoma, the last time Chaminade won was in 2007, against Princeton. At the conclusion, Bennett was named to the All-Tournament Team, an honor shared with some of college basketball's elite players. The last time a Chaminade player made the All-Tournament team was in 2000.
Overall, a very impressive effort and I'm looking forward to see how Chaminade handles its schedule this season
Chaminade's all time record in the Maui invitational reflects the huge difference between Division I and Division II basketball. Think about it like this: There's about 360 Division I college basketball teams which offer 12 scholarships per school, which means there is usually a significant drop-off in talent between the two levels.
Apparently Chaminade didn't receive that memo. In the first of the Silversword's three games, Chaminade played Michigan State down to the wire, losing by just eight points. May I remind you that Michigan State was the #2 team in the country, and a popular pick to win this year's NCAA Division I Championship. Yet Chaminade, led by 5"6 inch point guard Steven Bennett and center Mamadou Diarra were able to keep the game that close.
Chaminade managed to win its third game against the Oklahoma Sooners, 68-64. While Oklahoma is not a basketball powerhouse, they are still a high profile team, and the Silverswords clearly asserted themselves as the better team. As the ESPN analyst mentioned, both Bennett and Diarra are Division I-talent and were good enough to start for the Sooners.
Prior to their win against Oklahoma, the last time Chaminade won was in 2007, against Princeton. At the conclusion, Bennett was named to the All-Tournament Team, an honor shared with some of college basketball's elite players. The last time a Chaminade player made the All-Tournament team was in 2000.
Overall, a very impressive effort and I'm looking forward to see how Chaminade handles its schedule this season
Blog Housekeeping Issues: One Year Later
Just about a year ago, I started my own blog, The Friedman Focus, mostly as a diversion from writing my senior thesis and as a way to write about my thoughts and opinions on certain issues. When I started the blog, I chose not to limit my blogging to a particular subject. Over the course of the past year, I've blogged about a lot of issues, from school politics to shopping to local news. However, I have decided to take the blog in a new direction. For those of you who know me personally, one of the things I am most passionate about is college sports, which is one of the things I feel that I can write about with ease.
This past weekend, at my grandmother's 75th birthday party, I ran into my cousin Lee, who has started her own blog, College Foodie Finds, where she blogs about healthy eating choices geared towards college students (check it out, I recommend it). In talking about blogging, Lee pointed out how she writes a blog post once or twice a day. After thinking about the mission of my blog, I've decided to just focus on college sports instead of focusing on broad topics. I'm going to try to post a news or opinion topic about college sports daily. Also, you may have noticed the new design of the blog.
On to year two!
This past weekend, at my grandmother's 75th birthday party, I ran into my cousin Lee, who has started her own blog, College Foodie Finds, where she blogs about healthy eating choices geared towards college students (check it out, I recommend it). In talking about blogging, Lee pointed out how she writes a blog post once or twice a day. After thinking about the mission of my blog, I've decided to just focus on college sports instead of focusing on broad topics. I'm going to try to post a news or opinion topic about college sports daily. Also, you may have noticed the new design of the blog.
On to year two!
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