College Sports

At last, Big 10 fans living in the Big 10 states will actually be able to get the Big 10 Network (BTN).

Comcast, the leading cable provider in seven of the eight states where Big 10 schools are located, came to an agreement with the BTN that will provide access to the network beginning August 15, just in time for kickoff.

The seven states included are Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Iowa, the eighth Big 10 state, does not have any Comcast subscribers.

BTN had been holding out for $1.10 per customer and wanted to be on basic cable packages. They settled for 70 cents per customer and will be on expanded basic in the seven states. Outside of that region, Comcast has the option of placing the network on it’s Sports Entertainment Network or other service tiers.

BTN is owned by the Big 10 Conference and Fox Cable Networks. It is groundbreaking in the fact that it is the first network owned by a conference, although other conferences are now looking into starting their own networks. BTN covers all sports offered on the conference level, giving broadcast views to sports that rarely get it.

As I said in a previous article (Big 10 Network: A Bad Idea Gone Worse) , this idea will probably snowball, and the sports fan will pay and pay and pay. We’ve already been priced out of the stadiums and arenas. Corporate money trumps Joe College Alum any day. But in the hunt for the $$$, the “Show me the money” mentality has taken over.

So stay tuned, America. Next up? SEC-TV. Pac10-a-vision. Big East Coast Bias TV. You name it, you’ll pay for it!

For the first time ever, the top three picks in the NBA draft are all one-and-done’rs. For the second straight year, the top overall pick is a freshman.

Chicago opened by taking Derrick Rose out of Memphis with the top pick. He was followed by Michael Beasley of Kansas State going to Miami, and USC star O.J. Mayo going to Minnesota (although the word is that he is potentially trade bait).

Ohio State’s Greg Oden was the top pick of the Portland Trailblazers last year.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Beasley said, “We actually talked about this earlier. We all grew up together and we all grew up playing against each other and we all made a pact together that we would all be here. Just to see it all fall into place and see it all happen is kind of crazy.”

In addition to the top three picks, five of the first seven were freshmen. And the Pac-10 had five of the top 11 picks.

I don’t have a problem with the kids who are one and done. I do have a problem with the rule. It seems so random. Of course, all three major sports have such random rules about the draft it is hard to keep up.

I have never quite understood why there is not just one rule governing football, basketball and baseball. Baseball’s rule has always been my favorite… you can be drafted out of high school, but if you choose to attend college, you cannot reenter the draft until following your junior season. It allows the schools to be able to build programs, rather than wonder each year what your roster needs will be.

The NBA’s draft rules seem to be the most harmful to a program in the long run. Do you recruit a player knowing he will be gone in one year? Do you hope that you can build that team chemistry quickly and then start all over the following season? Or do you bypass the players who will be “short timers” and go for project players, players you can mold to fit your system.

Tough questions. The NCAA needs to come up with some answers, instead of letting the pro leagues puppet the whole show.

Steve Detwiler had himself quite a night. The Fresno State slugger had two home runs and all six Bulldog RBI’s to lead FSU to its first-ever NCAA Division I Baseball National Championship. Fresno State took the title with a 6-1 victory over eighth-seeded Georgia.Detwiler hit a two-run shot in the second inning to give Fresno State an early lead, and followed that up in the fourth with an RBI double. He capped his night with a two-out, three run homer in the sixth that gave the Bulldogs a 6-0 lead.

Bulldog pitcher Justin Wilson did his part for FSU on the mound. In eight innings, he allowed one run on just five hits, and struck out nine. Reliever Brandon Burke took over in the ninth and got the final three outs. His game clinching performance included getting a double play with Georgia runners on first and second and no one out in the ninth.

Fresno State had quite a run to the title. It marks the first time a regional four-seed has won a national championship, and during the course of the tournament, FSU hade to beat the #2 national seed North Carolina twice, the #3 national seed Arizona State twice, the #6 national seed Rice once, and the #8 national seed Georgia twice.

All in a days work for a team that wouldn’t be denied and who gave us one of the most improbable runs in NCAA baseball tournament history.

Wilson and Detwiler were both on the MCWS all-tournament team while teammate Tommy Mendonca was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Fresno State ends it’s season with a mark of 47-31, while Georgia ends up 45-25-1.

After a long, long college baseball season, it’s all come down to tonight’s game. Fresno State vs. Georgia. Bulldogs vs. Bulldogs. Big Red vs. Big Red.

Both teams have great stories. FSU fought through a region where it was seeded fourth, and became the first regional four seed ever to advance to the championship round. Georgia finished last year with a losing record, but won the SEC regular season, and became the first team with a losing record the prior year to advance to the championship round.

Tonight’s game is one of those classic matchups where you don’t want to see anyone lose. You know both teams are playing on heart as much as ability.

First pitch is just minutes away, on ESPN at 7 p.m. EDT. Catch it!

I was sitting in front of my computer screen, reading about the College World Series and getting a little sad that the Championship will end the college sports season until fall. My five year old was upstairs watching cartoons, when she called to me that something had happened to the TV.

Since it has been on the fritz lately, I figured, “Here we go again,” and went upstairs. But the TV was fine. TiVo had just changed the channel to begin recording something, a program it had picked up on from my list of keywords.

And that’s when I knew that college sports never really ends, it just goes into reruns.

Because there, in front of my eyes, was Peyton Manning, University of Tennessee, getting ready to take on Alabama, circa 1996.

Yes, CSTV and Tivo to the rescue!

CSTV (College Sports Television) runs old football games year round, but is starting to ramp it up to get us through the long, hot summer. And I say, Bring it on! And part of the fun of the old games on CSTV is that it is the entire original broadcast, complete with updates on scores from games that same day. OK, the commercials are current, but that is small potatoes.

Who needs to worry about the future, when you (with a little help from CSTV) can live in the past!

The College World Series has finally whittled itself down to two teams, and the best of three series begins tonight at 7 p.m. Eastern on ESPN 2.

Georgia and Fresno State have both battled through to make it into the Championship series. And I don’t think anyone would have picked either team to make it into the finals.

Georgia entered the tournament as an eight seed and an average won-loss record that now stands at 44-23-1. Georgia becomes the first team to bounce back from a losing season one year and advance to the finals the next.

Fresno State entered the tournament as the fourth seed… in their region! They are the first regional fourth seed ever to make it into the Championship round, and took out national #2 seed North Carolina, a finalist the past two years, in the process.

Georgia has been here before. In 1990, Georgia won the NCAA title. That season the Bulldogs had a utility infielder by the name of David Perno. Perno now goes by the title of head coach at UGa.

Did I mention both Fresno State and Georgia go by the nickname Bulldogs? Seems appropriate.

Here’s an interesting item. Duke University just won a lawsuit against Louisville by claiming they suck at football.

They really do suck at football, too. They have a mark of 6-45 over the past five years, and are 13-90 since 1999. That is really, truly bad.

The lawsuit stems from a four game series that Duke and Louisville were set to play. The first game, played in Louisville in 2002, was won by the Cardinals by a score of 40-3.

Duke yelled “no mas” and opted out of the final three games of the contract, set to be played in 2007, 2008, and 2009. The contract called for a “good faith effort” on the part of Louisville to replace Duke if they opted out of the series, and if they couldn’t replace the game with a team of similar stature, Duke would pay a $150,000 penalty for each game.

Duke’s argument is that they are so pathetic at football, the bar is set so low when it comes to replacing them, that any team would suffice.

According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, Judge Phillip J. Shepherd (Franklin County, Kent., Circuit Court) agreed.
“At oral argument, Duke [with a candor perhaps more attributable to good legal strategy than to institutional modesty] persuasively asserted that this is a threshold that could not be any lower,” Shepherd wrote in a summary judgment issued Thursday, according to the paper. “Duke’s argument on this point cannot be reasonably disputed by Louisville.”

So now, not only does Duke claim they suck in football, but the courts have verified it.

Bet new coach David Cutcliffe is thrilled with this ruling. I can see it now… he enters the living room of a recruit. “That’s right, superstar, come to Duke. We stink it up on the football field, so it can’t get any worse!”

Louisville is looking over the case and will decide whether or not to appeal.

Can’t wait to see Duke’s next defense.

Georgia Tech men’s basketball coach Paul Hewitt was listening to the Knight Commission as committee members highlighted the NCAA’s rating system that penalizes teams that don’t meet certain academic standards.

The Knight Commission is an independent group that has been pursuing academic reform in athletics for more than 20 years.

In the most recent Academic Progress Report (APR), 218 teams from 123 schools received penalties of some sort. Scores have risen steadily since the APR was introduced four years ago

APR scores have been on the rise since the standard was introduced four years ago, but not all are happy with the method used to achieve the results. Coach Hewitt’s name heads the list.

“I do have a problem with putting numbers out there, saying ‘Meet these numbers or else,” Hewitt said. “You’re turning education into a race.”

Hewitt’s fear is that coaches, pressed to keep grades up to keep from losing scholarships, will steer their athletes into easier classes, away from the hard stuff that could actually help the player move toward graduation.

Hewitt came armed with ideas for improvement. He thinks that basketball should be a one semester sport, and a move toward a shorter season and schedule. He also is smart enough to know that the money involved will keep that from ever happening.

And therein lies the rub. The NCAA, once again, wants it all. We want our student-athletes to graduate, they say. Academic progress must be met, they bellow.

Shorten the season? Lose money? Uh, nope, not gonna do it.

The NCAA may want to take the high road, but it’s hard to do when the road is paved with dollar bills. As long as TV is driving the truck, the NCAA will be at their mercy. And the coaches and athletes will keep paying the price.

Is there anything more worthless than a commitment in June from a rising senior?

Here’s the scenario: Star athlete attends summer football camp at Hot Diggity Dog U. He is given the royal (NCAA approved) treatment. “Ooh, look at our stadium.” “Goodness, we just happen to have a jersey in your size.” “Come hang out with the head coach, he’s just a regular guy!”

By the end of the third day of camp, Star Athlete is proclaiming to the local media (who are given access to the campers), “Hot Diggity Dog U. is just what I have been looking for in a school. I feel so welcome, like one of the team already. I think we can win a national title. I am going to sign with Hot Diggity Dog U. and become a HDDU Wiener!”

Yeah, right.

Not one official campus visit has been taken, and Mr. Star Athlete is ready to sign on the dotted line?

But the alums start burning up the message boards. “Welcome, Mr. Star Athlete! We are glad you are coming to HDDU! Can’t wait to watch you burn up the turf.”

First of all, the odds that Mr. Star Athlete ever reads the message boards is, well, non-existent. Secondly, the odds that he ever actually signs is only marginally higher.

Mr. Star Athlete is going to get back home, start getting letters from all over, take a few visits, and then pick. Summer camp will be a distant memory.

Oh, and lest you feel sorry for the poor school that will have offered a scholy, been led to the altar and then jilted, don’t. If Mr. Star Athlete becomes Mr. Can’t Hold On To The Football during his senior season, Hot Diggity Dog U’s scholarship will be pulled faster than the blink of an eye.

So watch them dance the dance this summer, the mating ritual of recruiting. Just don’t get your hopes up.

I know this is a college sports blog, but I wanted to write today about a former collegian.

Tiger Woods is the world’s greatest golfer, most likely the greatest golfer ever. His mind for the game is second to none. He was raised to be the best, by parents who loved him dearly.

But their desire for him to be the best didn’t begin and end on the golf course. Tiger was raised to be exceptional in every pursuit, and that is what he has done, and is doing.

Which brings me to why I am writing this blog about a pro golfer. Before he was a pro, he was a college student at Stanford, where he played on the golf team. Keep in mind that the entire golfing world knew he was special from a rather young age. He could have gone pro at any point, but he chose college.

And not just any college, but a difficult university to get into, and even more difficult to remain in. And did he leave early? Did he jump to make the $$$? Nope, stayed until he got his diploma. What a radical idea! And he still shows up regularly to support the different teams, just like any good alum.

Woods announced today that he was done for the season with golf, that he needs knee surgery. He was aware of this last week, he said, but chose not to talk about it out of respect for the PGA and the U.S. Open. He didn’t want to distract from the prestige and history of the event.

So here we have a former student-athlete who actually graduated, not from a school that turns a blind eye to athletes, but from one that demands their best. He moved into his profession, and has maintained dignity under the glare of the lights. He has married and had a child. Never a whiff of scandal. He respects his “employer” enough to put his own agenda in the back, he checks his ego at the door. He is loyal to his alma mater and his friends, fiercely loyal.

Like most of us, I pull for the underdog. I was pulling for Rocco Mediate to win this past weekend, although I respect Tiger immensely. Then I read the press release today, how he withheld news of his injury so as not to distract from the Open, and so it couldn’t be perceived as an excuse if he played poorly. I’ve rethought my whole line of thinking… what’s wrong with being for the favorite? Hasn’t that person or team earned enough respect to be cheered on?

Folks, Woods isn’t just a success on the course, he is a success in life. He is what every student-athlete should aspire to be… a graduate. Think I’ll be supporting the favorite in the PGA from now on.