Big Ten Expanding - Is Pitt It?

Word on Twitter has Pitt announcing a jump to the Big Ten. The official word could come as early as Thursday.

Of course none of this is official.

First off, the only reason I can see for waiting until Thursday to make the announcement is to avoid conflicts with National signing day. (By the way, is there even precedence on what a shift in conference would mean to recruiting?) Regardless, I'm not putting much hope in hearing anything official in the coming days, and that includes denials.

But should Pitt join the Big Ten, the magical 6-team divisions would be one of the next major announcement. Looking at football, this would mean that teams would play all divisional opponents plus half of the other division. At present, Big Ten teams have two exempted rivalries permanently on the football schedule. Seeing as Pitt would supplant one of Penn State's rivals, the dominoes fall. It will be interesting to see if any school wants to revisit their choices (a la Purdue's selection of Northwestern).

How then will the new divisions balance rivalries and geography? Here's how they might break down.

East & West

• East: Pittsburgh, Penn St, Ohio St, Michigan, Michigan St, Indiana
• West: Purdue, Illinois, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa

North & South

• North: Iowa, Northwestern, Michigan, Michigan St, Wisconsin, Minnesota
• South: Purdue, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio St, Pittsburgh, Penn St.

Rivalry Sensitive

• Purdue, Indiana, Penn St, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, Minnesota
  
• Michigan, Ohio St, Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa, Michigan St.
  

End result: These divisions are gonna be a tough mash up. One completely insane idea would be to go with three 4-team divisions.

OK, that won't happen. And let's not forget, this whole Pitt thing might not happen either.

Cheaters!

In a fitting twist, thoughts travel back to a Purdue vs. Penn St. football game in West Lafayette during my time at school. A Purdue player was streaking down the sideline, almost assuredly going in for the touchdown when a player off of the Nittany Lion bench (possibly a late coming 11th defensive player, possibly a Woody Hayes "There'll be none of that round here" guy) and tackled said Boilermaker.

The crowd went ape shit, and somehow one voice rang high above all others screaming with a pristeen decipherability, "CHEATERS!"

Out comes the report that the Big Ten has a lead football official on the books that has not only filed for bankruptcy in the past, but did it all while owing cash to multiple casinos. The bankruptcy is a troubling issue because most officials - at least in theory - are at least somewhat chosen for their ability to not succumb to financial pressures. Ever notice that a lot of NFL referees are lawyers?

With the NCAA being as vast as it is, there's no chance they can find enough six-figure guys willing to pull on the stripes. In steps Stephen Pamon, the offical in question, and the same guy who headed up the crew for this year's Purdue vs. Penn St. game in Happy Valley. The Boilers were driving late in the game when Purdue receiver Selwyn Lymon took a play out of bounds only to have the nearest official rule that the game clock should continue running - causing Purdue to use a timeout - rather than stopping the clock as most plays the go out of bounds tend to do.

Here's why I hate this situation: it actually gives me reason to look beyond reason.

Purdue fans tend to be more self-critical than their in-state counterparts. While there are the requisite odd balls determined that some Freemason led conspiracry is holding the Boilermakers down, most of us can see failure and call it what it is (take tonight's shit the bed performance losing at home to Wofford for example).

These revelations - details that still don't definitively point to a fixed game - actually give Purdue fans a reason to think some Vegas, mob-laced, point shaving conspiracy is in the works each time we lose. We're more than used to living with losing, but we'd rather do it on our terms by overestimating ourselves, being outmatched, or fumbling the game away.

Now, I'm not stuck wondering whether every questionable call is somehow tied to some back judge laying 13 points and his next mortgage payment. I'm just going to be stuck next to a guy at some future game who's certain that's the case.

Like we needed any more pain these days. We're in the Motor City Bowl for Purdue Pete's sake.

You're Not Helping

That's a scene from the October 6, 2007 Purdue loss...uh, routing at the hands of Ohio State. Don't let the large smattering of red in the stands fool you, this was a "home" game for the Boilers.

Sure, it was two weeks ago, but the issue of 15,000 plus OSU supporters at this game is still riling the most loyal Purdue fans, especially with related news from the NFL. More on that later.

The kernel of the argument is this: what good are you doing for your team by giving up season tickets to fans of the opposition? Most Purdue fans smarting from the OSU beat down will answer: none.

Tickets for the endzones of Ross-Ade stadium are offered to the public and allotted for the opponent's fans, so it's natural to find the red there. But at this recent matchup, there were Ohio St. fans at the 50 yard line, between the 30's and throughout the crowd filling seats belonging to long-time season ticket holders and John Purdue Club members. These were not casual Purdue fans or desperate individuals giving up their tickets to feed their families. These seats belong to folks who've forked out lots of money over a significant amount of time. To put it in perspective, my wife and I are John Purdue Club members and have had season tickets eleven years. We've just now crept to the goal line for our seats.

It's unacceptable to let season tickets held by long-time donors and fans fall into the hands of the opposing team, especially if my theory holds up that many older (read: richer) fans decided to forgo the game because of its "late" 8:00pm kickoff. Were they afraid they'd miss Matlock?

Purdue coach Joe Tiller even noted that, "The thing that concerns you some is when you see so much of the opposing team's school colors in what's considered premium seating."

Of course the situation isn't that simple.

The instant counterargument goes a little something like this: They're my tickets. I bought them. I can sell them if I damn well please.

That's true for most things like shoes, cars, and maybe a Fender Telecaster. But buying a pair of shoes does not bring along the inherent obligation to cheer for Nike. You wear them till you blow out the soles and get a new pair. It's a simple utilitarian purchase. On the contrary, no one accidentally joins the John Purdue Club, gives thousands of dollars to the Purdue athletic department, and purchases tickets just to have something to do on Saturdays. Your purchase, by definition, is to support the program. Selling tickets willy-nilly just because you can, especially to the opposing team, greatly undermines that support our team depends upon.

Another counterargument: I got a deal I couldn't pass up.

You know who probably needs a little scratch to make it to their next paycheck: students. And they didn't sell out. The student section was almost 100% decked in Boiler black. (In fairness there was a very small smattering of OSU fans in the student section, but not to the nauseating degree of the rest of the crowd.) If you needed the money, why spend the hundreds of dollars in the first place?

The best counterargument: I did what the university wanted. I couldn't make the game and sold my tickets on the "official secondary ticket provider" Stubhub.

This one hurts the most. How many folks couldn't make the game? I know, I know, that Ben Matlock is one cagey old coot. Again though, this is where the university is cutting off its nose to spite its face. They encourage fans to use Stubhub (read: make money from) to get tickets then are aghast when those same tickets are delivered by FedEx to an Ohio address. Still, the onus is on the fans to guarantee giving the support the team deserves. That means keeping OSU fans off of our sidelines in OUR STADIUM!

In steps the New England Patriots.

The Patriots just won a legal battle to gain the names of 13,000 (not a small number) of ticket holders who sold their seats on Stubhub. If they determine that these individuals were season ticket holders, they just might lose their season ticket privileges.

Of course, the relationship between the Patriots and Stubhub is not akin to Purdue's, and Massachusetts state laws do tend to differ, but the spirit of the Patriots' action is admirable. It's our stadium, it's our team, and damn it when you buy tickets you're agreeing to support us. When you sell the tickets, that agreement goes up in flames and puts some ornery Redskins fan within spitting distance of Bob Kraft's uppity french cuffs.

On the college level - and with a team that tends to sell out despite not having season tickets - Notre Dame takes a very active approach to police the secondary sale of tickets, even using undercover agents (I'm not kidding, I know this for a fact) to scout out scalpers on campus for the games. They too threaten to revoke ticket rights if they find people profiting off of their tickets.

Where's the answer? I think teams have every right to hold their fans to being fans. That doesn't mean you can't voice your displeasure with a sucky performance - like Purdue phoned in against OSU. Instead, if you're tired of things don't come, or better yet, don't buy tickets next year. And if your tickets and your support are such a burden, get the f*ck out. No one will miss you or your money. Most of us are tired of hearing you bitch anyway. But for Purdue Pete's sake, stop giving quarter to the enemy.

Next, Purdue and the Big Ten need to get out of this deal with Stubhub and start making the 15% commission themselves. And if fans have a legitmate reason for not making a game - say, a Matlock-a-thon! - the university needs to establish opportunities to put the tickets into the hands of Purdue fans and not an open marketplace. Do something incredibly draconian like selling only to certain zip codes, I don't care. Students would be the obvious first choice, but since most of them already have tickets and actually show up and cheer, maybe the greater community of Lafayette and West Lafayette could step in. Aren't there some orphans who'd like to watch a football game? Establish a not for profit where fans could donate tickets for a tax write off and the tickets get passed along to schools or community organizations.

In the end, millions of dollars - some of them my own - have been invested into this program and that should preclude surrendering our stadium over to another team's fans. Being a fan allows cheering when they're up and bitching when they're down, but never sabotage or treason.

Safety First, Bone-Crushing Hits Later

Purdue University football coach Joe Tiller wants you to know that safety is paramount in college football...unless you want to be like the NFL.

Tiller is none too fond of the new rule in college moving kickoffs back to the 30 from the 35 and bringing college football more in line with the NFL. The NCAA wants to speed up the game by virtually eliminating fair catches and almost certainly will. Save a gale force tailwind, we'll be seeing more returns and in the case of Tiller's Boilermakers more great returns called back for illegal blocks to the back.

Tiller is not happy with 22 guys careening off of each other with a full head of steam. According to Tiller, "The most violent play in ALL OF FOOTBALL IS THE KICKOFF!"

I think he means it. Seriously, look how close he got to the microphone to tell us. He also seems not convinced that the speed of the game is the driving force behind this decision to "create more G-forces as these kids are running into each other" resulting in "a few more injuries than we've had in the past."

I for one was shocked to find out kickoffs were more violent than a crossing route right into the jaws of some middle linebacker. So if that's the case and kickoffs are the most violent plays, then the victory formation "take a knee" must be the most benign. The most exciting is a interception return, (especially since it starts with an exhilarating pair of words, "Picked off!"). And the most hapless play must be the coin toss at every Duke game.

Ain't football grand!

Lies, Damn Lies, & Preseason Rankings

I've spent the large part of the previous three weeks incommunicado romping around Scandinavia. It was an amazing time with some concrete results.

• 1. I'm a new fan of Carlsberg beer, if only for their ballsy slogan.
• 2. If the numbers work out, I hope to commute from Sweden.
• 3. After being away from American media, I'm quite looking forward to this football season, college and NFL.

Needless to say, I've been trying to catch up for my three-week absence which included many football season previews and predictions. Then it happened. One my least favorite days in the sports year is upon on.

They've released the college football preseason rankings.

Here's my beef: The preseason rankings include too many teams, they don't hold water as far as accurately predicting success, they're prone to the idiocy of Steve Spurrier, and occur too early to be anything but a nuisance.

Let's take a look at last season's rankings, and for the sake of space I'll just be dealing with the USA Today poll. In the 2006 preseason rankings there were 53 teams receiving votes resulting in near 45% of teams gaining consideration. This point actually makes sense. These teams are almost without fail different teams from the season before. It's quite rare for a school to return 100% of starters and coaching staff from one season to the next. Therefore, when dealing with over 100 new-ish teams, one might expect rankings to trickle down to a large number of squads, especially since they haven't played a game yet.

By week 3 of last season only 41 teams were receiving votes. And the final rankings only showed votes for 34 teams. "No duh," you're saying. As more games are played, more facts are known and the rankings become more accurate. This just underlines the foolishness and ignorance of preseason rankings being tabulated before teams have begun fall practice let alone played a game!

Next comes the issue of accuracy. By week 3 of last season, 8 teams of the preseason top 25 had fallen in the poll by an average of 6 positions with two teams falling 10 and 11 spots respectively. An additional 4 teams had fallen from the top 25 all together. Those 13 teams holding steady or moving up only did so by about 4 positions. The polls couldn't even accurately pick the top 5 as only Ohio State held steady while Texas, Notre Dame & Oklahoma fell and USC climbed. This is after a mere three weeks.

By the end of the season, the preseason rankings were a distant mistake. The top 7 preseason teams had all fallen an average near 6 positions, and 9 of the preseason 25 were not to be found in the final rankings.

The most laughable complaint in the presason rankings is Steve Spurrier's insistence on giving Duke a recipricating vote in honor of Duke giving Spurrier a job. That's right, Duke, who went 0-12 last season, is again mentioned in the latest preseason rankings.

Lastly, these rankings have been issued on August 3, weeks ahead of most teams opening games. What does that mean? Boise State gets 27 days (first game August 30 against Weber St.) to talk about how last season's 13-0, Fiesta Bowl winning, ESPY garnering, No.6 ranking season earned them a paltry spot at No. 23. June Jones and Hawaii get to prattle on again how their getting zero love when ranked 24th. LSU, Florida, and Michigan - all No. 1 vote getters - will have to play themselves into the top spot while the overall No. 1 USC only has to not screw it up.

The BCS rankings wait for a few games to be played, and I still believe waiting at least until all teams have played one game to rank them could result in more accurate BCS results.

In the end these preseason rankings are actually good at what they end up doing - getting people hyped for football. Look at me. However, I don't think this hype is remotely necessary especially when it brings along false expectations, hollow storylines, and more Steve Spurrier.