Monday, May 24, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Big 11 Expansion: Let the Dominos Fall
A lot of people have been speculating about a Big 11 (Ten) shakeup in recent months and boy I love it!
First I love it because it keeps the Big 11 in discussion year-round even though the conference has taken a beating in the national media for being too “slow.” Absolutely Ohio State, Penn State and Iowa play a power style and can’t fully compete with team speed SEC schools like LSU, Florida and Georgia. But last time I checked the Big 11 is still winning bowl games, still producing top-flight prospects for the NFL and still having as strong of fan bases as anywhere. Big 11-commissioner Jim Delaney may be a self-centered prick, but so is Donald Trump, Vince McMahon, Mark Cuban and any other power hungry businessman hell bent to be at the top of his profession.
The first move was putting together the Big 11 network which from what I understand has been a success, although I don’t know how, so to have it’s own revenue hoarding network as well as a contract with ESPN/ABC they are way ahead of the game.
Move two is probably adding five teams to get to 16. Best-case scenario is landing Nebraska, Missouri, Rutgers, Notre Dame and UCONN/Syracuse.
Notre Dame: Slam-dunk, home run for the whole conference. Adds to rivalries against Michigan, Purdue and Michigan St. People will salivate for more games against Penn St. People in Ohio will love proving themselves against another proud program. Who are we kidding every team in the conference is wanting this to happen
Nebraska: Proud tradition, only game in town, a great draw on the road. A more than solid addition.
Mizzou: Growing program, a bit of a stepchild in Big 12. School’s athletic programs have great, new facilities and a history of disappointment a la our Golden Gophers. This would be great for the Big 10 adding the St. Louis market (Kansas City too, but K.C. is a predominant Kansas Jayhawks market.) This still gives Mizzou a great non-conference clash with Kansas every year to help solidify their non-conference schedule.
Rutgers: New York market. 40,000 undergrad students. NYC/NJ is so big they’re large groups of every Big 11 school to get hyped up. And just getting the Network in that market would mean millions upon millions of dollars.
UCONN/Syracuse: Big schools, not the best football programs, but hey someone’s got to lose! While this expansion is purely a football play, adding one of these schools could be a way to talk about how this improves the basketball conference too.
I’m not sure if I see Notre Dame joining. While the rumors are rampant that the Big 11 has extended offers to Nebraska, Missouri and Rutgers if it’s just those three it’d be a bit of a let down but still works for me.
16 team, four-division outlook
A. 1. ‘Cuse/UConn
2. Rutgers
3. Penn St.
4. Ohio St.
B. 1. Michigan
2. Notre Dame
3. Mich. St.
4. Purdue
C. 1. Wisconsin
2. Minnesota
3. Northwestern
4. Indiana
D. 1. Iowa
2. Illinois
3. Mizzou
4. Nebraska
Something to that effect, not an exact science but that’s not the point. Four division champions that leads to a mini-playoff and a championship game. A+ in my book. Plus it also cuts down on the amount of time the conference has between the last game of the season and the BCS bowl games. Only caveat: If the championship game is played in Detroit, we all lose.
But if Notre Dame doesn’t join the conference and we only get the aforementioned three schools who’ve reportedly been offered invites we can see a great seven-team, two division look.
A. 1. Rutgers
2. Ohio St.
3. Penn St.
4. Purdue
5. Indiana
6. Michigan St.
7. Northwestern
B. 1. Wisconsin
2. Illinois
3. Minnesota
4. Iowa
5. Mizzou
6. Michigan
7. Nebraska
Again, rough sketch, but this way we can separate Michigan and Ohio St. which would be a hurdle whether it makes sense or not, and in reality both divisions stack up fairly well with one have a top tier of Ohio St., Penn St. and Michigan while the other has Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska and Iowa. I think everyone wins here.
The greater point this makes is instead of having six power conferences (Big East, SEC, ACC, Big 12, Big 11 (Ten) and Pac-10 we can up the ante. Suddenly Colorado, Utah, BYU and Boise St. join the Pac-10 and create a Western Super Conference. Arkansas and TCU join a Mid-South Super Conference, And the rest of the East/South East straighten out boundaries. By doing so we’ll have much clearer victors in conferences and the top 25-30 programs get on a more level playing field.
Before we know it the BCS/Bowl Game picture becomes more precise and less confusing
Especially pertaining to a National Championship game.
Because of the Big 11’s movement towards expansion, they’ve pressed other schools and conferences to make big decisions that will lead to better conference championship playoff games and possible min-tournaments (like our 16-team conference points out) and next thing you know we have the foundation or a basic structure for a national playoff!
It should be noted that it is really is all about money. And I don’t think anyone under the age of 40 really feels this mystique of what was the classic Big 10. Added bowl games, padded non-conference schedules and recruiting pipelines have helped dissolve an appreciation for classic match-ups. On Monday, KFAN’s Dan Barreiro had a great segment talking expansion. It’s totally worth looking up on iTunes or on kfan.com, It’s a must listen because Barreiro comes off as an out of touch grump who’s bitching for the sake of bitching. People like him are holding on to this old-school mentality that has just been so worn out. The mentality that Rutgers wouldn’t be a great grab because it’s so far away is ludicrous, the pining for the “old days” isn’t valid since Penn St. joined the conference in 1990 and anyone who doesn’t want a traditional powerhouse like Nebraska or an up and coming program like Mizzou doesn’t like football.
Dominos will fall in the coming months and years. Any step we can take to eliminating debate on how good teams like Boise St, TCU, Rutgers or Cincinnati are is a step in the right direction in my book.
Ohh and by the way, I think the University of Minnesota should join the MAC.
First I love it because it keeps the Big 11 in discussion year-round even though the conference has taken a beating in the national media for being too “slow.” Absolutely Ohio State, Penn State and Iowa play a power style and can’t fully compete with team speed SEC schools like LSU, Florida and Georgia. But last time I checked the Big 11 is still winning bowl games, still producing top-flight prospects for the NFL and still having as strong of fan bases as anywhere. Big 11-commissioner Jim Delaney may be a self-centered prick, but so is Donald Trump, Vince McMahon, Mark Cuban and any other power hungry businessman hell bent to be at the top of his profession.
The first move was putting together the Big 11 network which from what I understand has been a success, although I don’t know how, so to have it’s own revenue hoarding network as well as a contract with ESPN/ABC they are way ahead of the game.
Move two is probably adding five teams to get to 16. Best-case scenario is landing Nebraska, Missouri, Rutgers, Notre Dame and UCONN/Syracuse.
Notre Dame: Slam-dunk, home run for the whole conference. Adds to rivalries against Michigan, Purdue and Michigan St. People will salivate for more games against Penn St. People in Ohio will love proving themselves against another proud program. Who are we kidding every team in the conference is wanting this to happen
Nebraska: Proud tradition, only game in town, a great draw on the road. A more than solid addition.
Mizzou: Growing program, a bit of a stepchild in Big 12. School’s athletic programs have great, new facilities and a history of disappointment a la our Golden Gophers. This would be great for the Big 10 adding the St. Louis market (Kansas City too, but K.C. is a predominant Kansas Jayhawks market.) This still gives Mizzou a great non-conference clash with Kansas every year to help solidify their non-conference schedule.
Rutgers: New York market. 40,000 undergrad students. NYC/NJ is so big they’re large groups of every Big 11 school to get hyped up. And just getting the Network in that market would mean millions upon millions of dollars.
UCONN/Syracuse: Big schools, not the best football programs, but hey someone’s got to lose! While this expansion is purely a football play, adding one of these schools could be a way to talk about how this improves the basketball conference too.
I’m not sure if I see Notre Dame joining. While the rumors are rampant that the Big 11 has extended offers to Nebraska, Missouri and Rutgers if it’s just those three it’d be a bit of a let down but still works for me.
16 team, four-division outlook
A. 1. ‘Cuse/UConn
2. Rutgers
3. Penn St.
4. Ohio St.
B. 1. Michigan
2. Notre Dame
3. Mich. St.
4. Purdue
C. 1. Wisconsin
2. Minnesota
3. Northwestern
4. Indiana
D. 1. Iowa
2. Illinois
3. Mizzou
4. Nebraska
Something to that effect, not an exact science but that’s not the point. Four division champions that leads to a mini-playoff and a championship game. A+ in my book. Plus it also cuts down on the amount of time the conference has between the last game of the season and the BCS bowl games. Only caveat: If the championship game is played in Detroit, we all lose.
But if Notre Dame doesn’t join the conference and we only get the aforementioned three schools who’ve reportedly been offered invites we can see a great seven-team, two division look.
A. 1. Rutgers
2. Ohio St.
3. Penn St.
4. Purdue
5. Indiana
6. Michigan St.
7. Northwestern
B. 1. Wisconsin
2. Illinois
3. Minnesota
4. Iowa
5. Mizzou
6. Michigan
7. Nebraska
Again, rough sketch, but this way we can separate Michigan and Ohio St. which would be a hurdle whether it makes sense or not, and in reality both divisions stack up fairly well with one have a top tier of Ohio St., Penn St. and Michigan while the other has Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska and Iowa. I think everyone wins here.
The greater point this makes is instead of having six power conferences (Big East, SEC, ACC, Big 12, Big 11 (Ten) and Pac-10 we can up the ante. Suddenly Colorado, Utah, BYU and Boise St. join the Pac-10 and create a Western Super Conference. Arkansas and TCU join a Mid-South Super Conference, And the rest of the East/South East straighten out boundaries. By doing so we’ll have much clearer victors in conferences and the top 25-30 programs get on a more level playing field.
Before we know it the BCS/Bowl Game picture becomes more precise and less confusing
Especially pertaining to a National Championship game.
Because of the Big 11’s movement towards expansion, they’ve pressed other schools and conferences to make big decisions that will lead to better conference championship playoff games and possible min-tournaments (like our 16-team conference points out) and next thing you know we have the foundation or a basic structure for a national playoff!
It should be noted that it is really is all about money. And I don’t think anyone under the age of 40 really feels this mystique of what was the classic Big 10. Added bowl games, padded non-conference schedules and recruiting pipelines have helped dissolve an appreciation for classic match-ups. On Monday, KFAN’s Dan Barreiro had a great segment talking expansion. It’s totally worth looking up on iTunes or on kfan.com, It’s a must listen because Barreiro comes off as an out of touch grump who’s bitching for the sake of bitching. People like him are holding on to this old-school mentality that has just been so worn out. The mentality that Rutgers wouldn’t be a great grab because it’s so far away is ludicrous, the pining for the “old days” isn’t valid since Penn St. joined the conference in 1990 and anyone who doesn’t want a traditional powerhouse like Nebraska or an up and coming program like Mizzou doesn’t like football.
Dominos will fall in the coming months and years. Any step we can take to eliminating debate on how good teams like Boise St, TCU, Rutgers or Cincinnati are is a step in the right direction in my book.
Ohh and by the way, I think the University of Minnesota should join the MAC.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Twins Potential Problem...Solved.
“(Brendan) Harris and (Alexia) Casilla were both in Sunday's lineup, with shortstop J.J. Hardy out with his third injured body part (wrist) of the season, and with (Ron) Gardenhire deciding that second baseman Orlando Hudson should sit for the first time and rest a sore shoulder.
Whatever that pair accomplishes today, it makes no sense with a four-man bench to have two backup infielders - one (Casilla) that brings little more than an ability to pinch run for Jim Thome, and another (Harris) who simply is taking up space if he's not a productive hitter.
The need for another infielder has not been a much-discussed issue, not with problems such as Joe Mauer's heel injury, Hardy's questionable durability and a bullpen that has a couple of holes.
Yet, if the idea is to keep improving a club, then the Twins have to look down that bench and say, "What are both Harris and Casilla doing here?'”
The whole article is worth a read but I have to agree.
Casilla is such a waste of space on a limited bench. The team needs outweigh his use on the bench. I’m confused because he’s kind of aloof often on defense as well the base paths so he’s not the kind of pet Gardenhire likes to keep on the roster. If there that paranoid about keeping him off waivers than the people in power for the Twins have no business being in baseball.
While looking for a solution to a potential problem one needs to look no further than espn.com’s Jayson Stark. In Stark’s weekly “Rumblings & Grumblings” column last Thursday, he provides this nugget:
“One longtime friend of Mike Lowell says that if the Red Sox resume their efforts to trade him, he'd love to wind up with the Twins or Angels. But would the Red Sox even be interested in trading him to two teams they could meet in October (if they can find a way to get there)?
If not, barring injuries, there might not be another contender in either league that will be shopping for a third baseman this summer. Lowell has a limited no-trade clause, but indications are that he'd waive it to join any team that could offer regular playing time.”
While Lowell has had injury issues throughout his career, the guy is no doubt a pro’s pro. For one he’s a veteran leader with plenty of playoff experience, would come cheap and if you trade for him around July you wont be riding him too much.
Put Casilla on waivers and suddenly you can have Nick Punto there for a defensive sub or a couple of starts a week in the infield and Harris becomes an insurance policy.
With as strong of lineup this team has you wouldn’t be acquiring Lowell to be a huge difference maker; he’d still probably bat in the seven hole in the lineup.
While Lowell’s postseason numbers aren’t fantastic: .252 batting average, .326 on-base percentage and a, .426 slugging percentage.
It should be noted his World Series numbers are .289, .372 and .474. Throw in the fact he was the World Series MVP in 2007 with the Red Sox and is a career .313 hitter with 12 home runs and 53 rbi against the Yankees and I’ll be all for such a pickup.
(Note- The stats versus the Yankees are fairly irrelevant, just making a point that he wouldn’t play like a pussy cat versus New York, which our Twins slightly tend to do.)
I’m really a big believer that this team can contend for a serious playoff run and the addition of a (healthy) Mike Lowell is the kind of transaction you can look back on in November and can honestly say “that made the difference.”
Monday, May 10, 2010
Nissan's Electric "Leaves" More Questions than Answers
Yahoo! has an exclusive review of Nissan's new electric car, the "Leaf." It gets a very favorable review overall, and I am truly fascinated by car technology as well as green technology, Yahoo! leaves me pondering a few things when talking about the range the vehicle gets (the amount of mileage you can get before recharging it, ala your cell phone battery.)
" The bottom line is that currently the 2011 Nissan Leaf has a range of just 100 miles, and that's worked out to the U.S. LA-4 driving cycle (the original EPA city driving cycle, before the current FTP cycle was instituted), and this means that even Nissan admits that the car's owners are going to struggle to achieve it. Moreover, the Leaf will top 90 mph, but it won't travel 100 miles at that sort of speed — 60 miles is more like it, we're told. So this confirms what we all know about electric cars, which is that they are meant for city streets, not interstate freeways."
A couple questions for the writer of this article.
1. Who's buying a small, electric Asian branded car to drive it over 70 mph?
2. What is a U.S. LA-4 cycle?
3. Is there a Highway 4 in Los Angeles that this was tested on?
And a few questions for Nissan/Car makers in general.
1. The Leaf...huh? That is the stereotypical "Green" name you came up with?
"Daddy, Daddy can we see you new car!?" "You sure can kids, it's an electric, so you know it's good for the environment and it's named after one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history!"
2. Why is it all these hybrid's/electric's have to have a lack of a grill? I know they are semi-useless without and a big block engine under the hood to cool it down, but I get the sense that most sensible car buyers notice/like/purchase cars by the look of it and the grill is a major part of that. Let's not be naive and think the second generation Escalade or 300c sold like hot cakes because of it leather interior.
3. When are these companies going to cut the bullshit and unveil cars that get several hundred miles to the gallon? The upper-hand a company like Ford could get on the market if they just went all-out and admitted the oil companies really run things would lead to car sales this country would never imagine.
I have a hard time imagining that in 2010 we are still struggling to construct affordable, cost-effective, eye-appealing sedans that can break 40 miles per gallon. Cut some horsepower and build up the fuel efficiency. The people of the Gulf Coast appreciates it.
" The bottom line is that currently the 2011 Nissan Leaf has a range of just 100 miles, and that's worked out to the U.S. LA-4 driving cycle (the original EPA city driving cycle, before the current FTP cycle was instituted), and this means that even Nissan admits that the car's owners are going to struggle to achieve it. Moreover, the Leaf will top 90 mph, but it won't travel 100 miles at that sort of speed — 60 miles is more like it, we're told. So this confirms what we all know about electric cars, which is that they are meant for city streets, not interstate freeways."
A couple questions for the writer of this article.
1. Who's buying a small, electric Asian branded car to drive it over 70 mph?
2. What is a U.S. LA-4 cycle?
3. Is there a Highway 4 in Los Angeles that this was tested on?
And a few questions for Nissan/Car makers in general.
1. The Leaf...huh? That is the stereotypical "Green" name you came up with?
"Daddy, Daddy can we see you new car!?" "You sure can kids, it's an electric, so you know it's good for the environment and it's named after one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history!"
2. Why is it all these hybrid's/electric's have to have a lack of a grill? I know they are semi-useless without and a big block engine under the hood to cool it down, but I get the sense that most sensible car buyers notice/like/purchase cars by the look of it and the grill is a major part of that. Let's not be naive and think the second generation Escalade or 300c sold like hot cakes because of it leather interior.
3. When are these companies going to cut the bullshit and unveil cars that get several hundred miles to the gallon? The upper-hand a company like Ford could get on the market if they just went all-out and admitted the oil companies really run things would lead to car sales this country would never imagine.
I have a hard time imagining that in 2010 we are still struggling to construct affordable, cost-effective, eye-appealing sedans that can break 40 miles per gallon. Cut some horsepower and build up the fuel efficiency. The people of the Gulf Coast appreciates it.
One Sentence Movie Reviews
Recent films I've seen in one sentence or less
Year One- Possibly the worst movie I've ever seen.
The Ugly Truth- Scotland's Gerard Butler fails at an American accent.
Whip-It- Phenomenal directorial debut for Drew Barrymore.
Inglorious Basterds- Certainly a must see, keeps you on the edge of your seat for two-plus hours.
I would certainly recommend going out of your way to see Whip-It while Basterds earns the praise it's received. One may be worth seeing just for how dreadful it is, that and Olivia Munn being in it.
Year One- Possibly the worst movie I've ever seen.
The Ugly Truth- Scotland's Gerard Butler fails at an American accent.
Whip-It- Phenomenal directorial debut for Drew Barrymore.
Inglorious Basterds- Certainly a must see, keeps you on the edge of your seat for two-plus hours.
I would certainly recommend going out of your way to see Whip-It while Basterds earns the praise it's received. One may be worth seeing just for how dreadful it is, that and Olivia Munn being in it.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
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