With Billy Gillispie Out… Big Blue Nation Wonders “Who’s Next?”

After two turbulent seasons, Billy Gillispie is gone from the Big Blue Nation. What's next for the 'Cats?

By now (unless you are living under a rock) you’ve heard the news that Billy Gillispie was fired as the head coach at the University of Kentucky yesterday afternoon.

Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart said that it really had little to do with wins and losses (although Kentucky did tie for the second most losses this season in school history) and had more to do with the fact that he was not the ‘ambassador to the university that they would like the head coach at the University of Kentucky to be.’

Having said that, Kentucky is now in the market for a new head coach and as a member of “The Nasty Boys” that has been absent for more than a year at this point… I figured this was as good of a time as any to bring myself back to the blogging world with a Top 5 list of candidates that I think the “Big Blue Nation” should consider.

One other thing I’d like to add before jumping into my list is that regardless of who Kentucky hires as their next basketball coach.. so long as Patrick Patterson & Jodie Meeks come back next season and the new coach can keep Daniel Orton committed to Kentucky, they “should” be at least a Sweet 16 team in my opinion next year if not better.

Having said that, lets be honest here, I don’t think  Billy Donovan nor John Calipari, or even Tom Izzo, are going leaving their posts to come to Kentucky, so they will not be on my Top 5 list.  But let’s start with number one on my list…

1.   Jay Wright (Villanova Head Coach, Bucknell ‘83)

Most people don’t believe he would leave Villanova for Kentucky after many believe he privately rebuffed UK two seasons ago, but now may be as good of a time as ever for him to leave.  He’s on the verge of a Final 4 at Villanova this season and is still relatively young in the coaching ranks (48 years old this year).  But he’s probably going to lose a lot of his core to this seasons’ team (Scottie Reynolds, Dante Cunningham) and if he is not going to leave for an NBA job, UK is about as close to NBA type pressure as it will get.

Wright’s been to 4 Sweet 16’s in the last 5 seasons at Nova and has recruited to Philadelphia awfully well, which many UK fans want to hear.  He is also probably one of the most personable coaches in America and is very charasmatic, which I believe Kentucky needs more than anything with their next hire.

The only thing tying him to Nova’ right now is the fact that he was an assistant there under Villanova great Rollie Massimino, but the opportunity to leave the rugged Big East for the SEC may be another thing that lures him in.

All and all, I think Wright would be a fantastic hire for the Cats.  But if he turns them down, lets move on to #2 on my list…

2. Rick Barnes (Texas Head Coach, Lenoir-Ryhne ‘77)

Another name that most don’t believe would leave his place at Texas for UK after he was also believed to have privately rebuffed UK, but obviously the situations are a bit different now.  Barnes was coming off of a second round NCAA loss to USC and had a strong core in place at the time to make a Final 4 (not including Kevin Durant).  The next year with D.J. Augustin the Horns’ made the Elite 8 before bowing out to Memphis and this season lost in Round 2 to Duke.

Again, like Wright, he’s likely going to lose some key players to graduation or the NBA in Damian James, AJ Abrams, and company and if he’s going to leave, now is as good a time as any from that standpoint.  Again, like Wright, he has a wonderful personality and would be a great ‘ambassador’ that Barnhart says he is looking for, so I’m sure he will get another call.

The sticking point with Barnes is that his teams tend to lack the ‘killer instinct’ for one thing and I personally don’t believe his recruiting has been as strong lately as it has been in the past.  A second thing that stands out is that he’s been around the block a bit having been at George Mason, Providence, and Clemson before settling at Texas in 1998.  So he may see Texas the place he plans to spend the rest of his career.  So we will move on to #3 on the list…

3. Thad Matta (Ohio State Head Coach, Butler ‘90)

From Hoopeston, IL, this man has basketball in his blood and is very young at age 41.  He’s a relentless recruiter as evident by the talent he’s been bringing into Ohio State over the past few seasons with Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Evan Turner, and others.  And he’s also seems to be a pretty likeable and personable guy who would represent the university well.

He’s shown that he has been known to be a bit of a ‘job jumper’ as his first job was at his alma-mater, Butler, where he spent only 1 season before moving on to Xavier for 3 seasons, and then to Ohio State for where he has been the past 5 seasons.

One thing that worries me with Matta is whether he is a great coach and great recruiter?  Or is he just a great recruiter and an ‘ok’ coach?  I tend to lean towards the second answer myself, but his last 2 seasons he has had very young teams in Columbus, so maybe it’s just the growing pains of starting freshmen & sophomores.

Either way, given the talent that UK ’should’ be able to get on a yearly basis if he were to be coach, he would be a good fit.  The question is does he want to leave a place where football is king for a place where basketball rules the landscape?  On to #4 on the list…

4. Mike Anderson (Missouri Head Coach, Tulsa ‘82)

Anderson is a bit of a wild card name getting toseed around thanks to the run he is experiencing with Mizzou in his third season on the job.  The team is on to the Elite 8 and will face UConn in a chance to take Mizzou to their first Final 4.  A lot of UK fans will remember Mike from his time at UAB where he took down #1 overall seed Kentucky in the second round of the NCAAs in 2004.

Anderson was a long time assistant to Nolan Richardson at Arkansas and I believe would love to get back to the SEC if he could seeing as how he grew up in SEC Country (Birmingham, AL).  His style of play is very similar to Pitino ball with what many has dubbed “Controlled Chaos” where they press for 40 minutes and try to lure you into a track meet.

The question with Anderson is really a matter of if he can recruit well enough for UK?  At Missouri and UAB, he’s never landed any ‘major’ recruits and he reminds me an awful lot of Tubby Smith.  I’m not so sure Barnhart is going to want to hire a guy similar to that which many people wanted out when he left for Minnesota.

This leads me to #5 on my list and the man I ultimately believe will end up with the job…

5. Travis Ford (Oklahoma Sate Head Coach, Kentucky ‘94)

He’s young (39), he’s entergetic, he understands Kentucky basketball probably better than anyone else Kentucky is looking at for the job seeing as how he played under Pitino in the early 90s, and this is his dream job.  I am not so sure that any of the above names on my list can say that Kentucky is truly their ‘dream job’.  I believe Travis can say that.

He brings a style of play that is very similar to Pitino’s and would be welcomed by the UK fan base, not to mention that he is very charismatic and would certainly represent the university well.

The downside is that he doesn’t have much NCAA Tournament experience as he’s only been to the tournament twice (once with Eastern Kentucky, and then again this season with Oklahoma State), and he’s certainly not Kentucky’s #1 choice.

Then again, when UK hired Pitino after the whole ordeal with Eddie Sutton, I don’t think he was the #1 choice either, so maybe this would work.

Regardless of the fact that he’s not been a head coach at a major program but for just one season at Oklahoma State, he did a helluva job with the situation he was put in and almost led them to the Sweet 16 without a real legitimate post player.

I believe that if he was offered this job, he would jump at the opporunity without hesitation.

Other Names Who Missed The Cut But You May Hear About:

Sean Miller (Xavier)
Bruce Pearl (Tennessee)
Bob Knight (Ex-Texas Tech & Indiana Coach)
Avery Johnson (Ex-Dallas Mavericks Coach)

Please keep in mind that this is just my personal opinion of who I feel UK should take a look at and in no way do I have any inside sources that are telling me these are the guys who will be looked at.

Please feel free to leave any comments or questions you have in regards to the list, or heck, send us your own list.  Would love to hear others thoughts on the situation at hand for the Wildcats.

2008 NBA Draft… Derrick Rose Or Michael Beasley?

The on-going debate for the Chicago Bulls, the team holding the #1 pick in Thursday’s 2008 NBA Draft is, “Do we take Derrick Rose or do we take Michael Beasley?”

Multiple sources — from what I have read — have said that while the Bulls state they are still “deciding” on who to take, they believe Derrick Rose will be the #1 pick in the draft. After this, apparently the Miami Heat, who hold the #2 pick in the draft, are attempting to trade out of the pick (thus assuming Rose is not on the board) with either Seattle or Memphis.

According to various articles and sources I have found on the internet, Seattle is proposing a swap of their #4 pick plus power forward Chris Wilcox for power forward Mark Blount and the #2 pick. The reason for this deal being intriguing to Miami would be the fact that Blount still has 2 years and 16 million dollars on his contract whereas Wilcox is, what they call in the NBA, an ‘expiring contract’. Simply meaning, his contract runs out after this year is up.

Another rumor involves the Memphis Grizzlies offering point guard Kyle Lowery, shooting guard Mike Miller and their #5 pick for the #2 pick. Miami, however, wants Memphis to sweeten the deal by having Memphis give up last year’s top pick, point guard Mike Conley, instead of Lowery while the Heat would then add in shooting guard Daequan Cook.

Either way, it appears that the Heat have zero interest in Michael Beasley on their team. My question is: WHY???

Beasley is, in fact, the same kid who took a Kansas State team who really wasn’t very good, put them on his back, and led them to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament, which is no worse than what Kevin Durant did at Texas last year with DJ Augustin, among others, on his team.

Beasley is the same kid who averaged over 26 points a game, led the Nation in rebounding with over 12 per game, was Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Big 12 Player of the Year, a concensus First Team All-American, and probably would’ve been the National Player of the Year if people were not in love with Tyler Hansbrough. If you compare Beasley’s stats to that of last year’s freshman phenom, Kevin Durant, they are actually better.

So someone explain to me why Beasley is most likely going to be passed over by the Bulls for Derrick Rose and why the Heat are trying to trade the pick away?!? Don’t get me wrong, Derrick Rose is a fantastic point guard, but he is not on the same talent level of Michael Beasley. Rose can’t score the way Beasley can, he can’t play in the post, command double teams, rebound, and well, you get the idea.

And please don’t give me the “oh, well Rose has no character issues and Beasley does.” Sure, Beasley seemed to have character issues in high school that probably came from moving from school to school and having a lack of maturity. But, Amare Stoudemire did the same thing, moving from school to school and while he wasn’t a #1 pick because of it, based on his production, you think teams in that draft would LOVE to have a do-over? I think so. Not to mention, you saw zero issues from Beasley of ‘immaturity’ in college, and from what I can tell, all 19-20 year old kids like to have fun and joke around, so it is not just limited to Beasley.

Simply put, while Derrick Rose is a very good player, I just don’t understand why there is even a comparision between he and Michael Beasley. Especially with the Bulls need for an offensive presence in the post. But apparently, actually having ‘fun’ is going to hurt Mr. Beasley in the end if the Bulls do indeed draft Rose.

For Bulls fans sake, if they do infact draft Derrick Rose, they better hope this ‘Mike’ doesn’t turn out to be like the last ‘Mike’ we saw in Chicago, or the team will never live it down.

Link: ESPN.com

Who Will Go #1 In The NFL Draft?

With the number one overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins select…

Glenn Dorsey

New Dolphins Head Coach Tony Sparano runs a 3-4 defense — thanks to the tutelage of Bill Parcells — and although I’m sure Glenn Dorsey would be effective in a 3-4 system, he’s not really the type of player who is a typical ‘nose tackle’ in a 3-4 system. Dorsey is also not a real great fit in either DE spot in the 3-4 defense, as well. Due to this, Dorsey most likely will not be Miami’s top choice.

Chris Long

Chris Long would be a great fit as he played in the 3-4 system at the University of Virginia under Al Groh — another coach who learned under Parcells — and was extremely effective as a DE and NT in that system. Long is the player that makes the most sense for the Dolphins at this point given the holes they have on defense.

Matt Ryan

They could go the obvious route of QB and take Matt Ryan with the #1 overall selection which I know they are rumored to be discussing. The issue I have with Ryan at #1 is that they passed over Brady Quinn last year in the First Round because they seemed to be ’so sure’ of John Beck from Brigham Young University, whom they took in the Second Round.

Condo’s Take

Granted, Parcells and Sparano were not around when these decisions were made thus Beck may not be a player they particularly care for and therefore end up drafting Ryan. But I personally believe it would make more sense for them to draft a player that I think you can be sure will be of immediate help to you in Long, based on the system you are going to run, and give Beck a chance.

I would do this over taking Matt Ryan #1 overall and completely scrapping what you have at QB, especially when the QB you have in Beck is only in his second season.

The other route I could see the Dolphins going is trading the pick in an attempt to accumulate more picks since they have several holes they need to address. The question being would they get enough value out of trading the #1 pick, and my personal opinion is no.

Condo’s #1 Draft Pick

Chris Long – DE – The University of Virginia

Johan Santana Traded To The Mets

In case you have not visted ESPN.com in the last little bit… pending a physical and a contract extension for Santana, the Mets are the winner’s of the Johan Santana sweepstakes. The package includes Mets prospects Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey. The top prospect of this group is Carlos Gomez, who is a CF that fills a void the Twins have after losing Torri Hunter to Free Agency with the Angels. There will be a 48-72 hour contract extension window for the Mets to work something out with Santana and his agent.

Personally, if this gets done, the Mets will have gotten a steal in my opinion as really none of the prospects the Twins receive are ‘can’t miss’ prospects. I believe the Twins were best suited hanging on to Santana and making a run at the division with a 1-2 punch of Santana & a healthy Liriano leading the way. I understand why the Twins made this move, I just don’t personally agree with it. What do you think? Leave your comments below and tell us what you think of this trade.

Condo’s Power 16

I’ve been away for a while after being lost in “Historic Gallagher-Iba Arena” looking for the Sutton’s secret stash of booze. After being unsuccessful in my adventure, I came back to realize that we are midway into conference play in college basketball and felt that a “Power 16″ list was in order. The idea is to list the Top 16 teams in the land based on performances to this point in the season. I will try to update this list weekly until Selection Sunday, at which point I will then list my Final 4 picks and ’sleepers’ for those of you who may need help filling out your brackets.

But, without further ado, here is “Condo’s Power 16″

1. Memphis (19-0)
Last Week: Won @ Tulsa 56-41 (1/23), Won vs Gonzaga 81-73 (1/26)
This Week: @ Houston (1/30), vs UTEP (2/2)
You could make a case for Kansas in the #1 spot as well, but I have to commend Coach Calipari for his scheduling of the non-conference this season. Knowing that the selection committee would need to see some tough games on the schedule considering the C-USA is anything BUT strong, he went out and put Arizona, USC, Gonzaga, UConn on the non-conference schedule and so far it has paid dividends. Hopefully this will help lead Memphis to a #1 seed this season and it has put Memphis in the #1 spot in my power 16 for the mean time.

2. Kansas (20-0)
Last Week: Won vs Iowa State 83-59 (1/23), Won vs Nebraska 84-49 (1/26)
This Week: @ Kansas State (1/30), @ Colorado (2/2)
As I previously said, you could make a case for Kansas at #1, especially the way the team is destroying their opponents. Coach Self has this team on a “National Title or bust” campaign it seems after last season and they are responding. Big game Wednesday vs freshman phenom Michael Beasley and the K-State Wildcats.

3. Duke (17-1)
Last Week: Won @ Virginia Tech 81-64 (1/24)
This Week: Won @ Maryland 93-84 (1/27), vs NC State (1/31), vs Miami (FL) (2/2)
Duke is only one crazy night at the MSG (Thanks Isaiah) from being unbeaten, falling at the hands of ‘pre-injury’ Pittsburgh in OT. This team lacks an inside presence and has to rely on slashing and shooting to win, but so far, they’ve been up to the task. Leading the ACC at any point in a season is always tough, and Duke looks to stay atop until a big match-up vs UNC in Chapel Hill on Feb. 6.

4. North Carolina (19-1)
Last Week: Won @ Miami (FL) 98-82 (1/23)
This Week: vs Boston College (1/31)
North Carolina got back to their old-selves by putting up 98 at Miami last Wednesday. The Heels look like the college version of the Phoenix Suns with their run-and-gun style. That may be fun to watch, but it can also get you in trouble if shots don’t fall and your defense is lacking (see Maryland). They may be the most talented team in the country, though.

5. UCLA (18-2)
Last Week: Won @ Oregon 80-75 (1/24), Won @ Oregon State 85-62 (1/26)
This Week: vs Arizona State (1/31), vs Arizona (2/2)
Kevin Love and the Bruins are another team that have had a couple of close calls this season that they came up on the wrong end of. But this is a very talented team that is the class of the Pac-10 it appears and should keep playing that way. Freshman Forward/Center Kevin Love has been the star of the team, but point guard Darren Collison is the engine that really makes this UCLA team go.

Who Wants To Win The Heisman?

This year’s Heisman Trophy race is more like a game of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” with nobody stepping up to the plate to win the $1,000,000 prize.  There have been many contestants who as soon as they get out in the spotlight as the favorite, fall out of the race. (See: Andre Woodson of Kentucky, Darren McFadden of Arkansas, and Matt Ryan of Boston College)

The Heisman Trophy is an award that has become an award that goes to the best player on the best team rather than the best player in college football.  Typically, there is one or two players who tend to seperate themselves from the pack and their respective team is almost always unbeaten and at the top of the polls.  Last year it was Troy Smith, the year prior it was Vince Young and Reggie Bush, and before that Matt Leinart. 

However, the way this season has played out with the polls being turned upside down and no clear cut top player on a clear cut top team, it’s made the race one of the most debated in recent memory.  Guys like Dennis Dixon at Oregon and Matt Ryan at Boston College who were not even consideration for the Heisman when the season started have been at the top of the list in recent weeks with Dixon having the upperhand at this point because his team didn’t lose last week.

Could this be the first season that the Heisman may go to the best overall player instead of the best player on the best team (in the polls that is)?  If I had to make the call on the top 5 players on my Heisman ballot, it would like this:

2007 World Series Breakdown

Well, after Boston completed yet another comeback in the ALCS, we finally have our World Series match-up between two teams that couldn’t have been any further away from each other before the season started. I remember back at the beginning of 2007 when current Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton was pondering waiving his no trade clause to be traded to the team he will now be facing tomorrow in Game 1 of the World Series.

If anyone predicted that it would be Boston and Colorado fighting for the world title before the season started, then by God, you must either not know anything about baseball, or you’re from the Denver area.

Let’s breakdown some key factors in this series:

Pitching Staff:
The Boston Red Sox have two of the best big game post season pitchers in recent memory with Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett. They also have one of the best closers in the game in Jonathan Papelbon whereas the Rockies have… well, they don’t have any names they come close to the level of what Boston has, but they’ve been exceptional this post season. I think Boston has the edge in the rotation but outside of “Paps” the Red Sox bullpen to me does not seem as solid all the way around as the Rockies pen, at least in this post season.
Overall Edge though goes the Red Sox

Hitting:
The Boston lineup features big time sluggers such as Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz coupled with other capable bats like Mike Lowell, Dustin Pedoria, and Kevin Youkilis. The Rockies lineup has only one big time slugger that people have heard of in the name of Matt Holliday, but the rest of the lineup is good too and features players such as Todd Helton, Garrett Atkins, and Brad Hawpe.
I think that in when the games are at Fenway, Boston has a serious edge because of the DH, but when it moves to Coors Field, the edge swings to the Rockies because of Boston having to take out either Youkilis or Ortiz.
So I believe the overall edge is a push

Defense and Execution:
I believe the defensive edge goes to the Red Sox with a gold glover in Mike Lowell over at the hot corner and solid defense everywhere else throughout the field. Execution I believe is a push, seeing as how the Red Sox are not asked to execute many bunts, sacrifices etc.. throughout the season being in the American League as the Rockies are asked to do in the National League.
Overall Edge again goes to the Red Sox.

Manager:
Terry Francona and the Bo Sox hold the edge yet again because he’s been here before. I’m sure nobody has forgotten what he did in 2004 leading the Red Sox to the first world series in 86 years and the fact he has experience as a former manager in the National League with the Philadelphia Phillies. Clint Hurdle is a relative unknown outside of the baseball guru’s and although he is the main candidate to win manager of the year, he is not on the same level as Francona, at least experience wise in these pressure situations.
Overall Edge again goes the Red Sox.

So what does all this mean you ask? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Everything to this point has shown that Colorado has no business being in this World Series in the first place and what they are doing here nobody seems to know or care. I think this is just like the 2003 Florida Marlins team that has ZERO clue what is going on and they are just playing the game the way it was meant to be played, hard and fun! Do I think the Rockies will keep this crazy win streak up? No, most likely not, but I do believe that in the end, the Rockies will be flying up a World Series banner at the beginning of next season.

Condo’s Prediction: Rockies in 5 closing it out in Coors Field.
World Series MVP: Troy Tulowitzki — Colorado Rockies SS

Mike Gundy: The Kind Of Coach I Would Want To Play For

By now, many of you sports fans have either seen, or heard about this ‘tirade’ that Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy went on. The author of the article he is referring to, Jenni Carlson, is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman newspaper based out of Oklahoma City. In her article, here, she tells a story of how former starting quarterback Bobby Reid lost his starting role. A lot of this article appears to be attacks at Reid’s character and attitude rather than at his performance on the field.

A player on the Oklahoma State football team’s mother brought this article to Gundy’s attention right before he was to go to the press conference after the team’s 49-45 victory over Texas Tech. And rather than talk about the game, Gundy was infuriated, as you can tell in the press conference, and went off about the article and stood up for his former quarterback who had done absolutely nothing wrong.

All I can say to this press conference tirade is THANK YOU MIKE GUNDY! You ABSOLUTELY did the right thing by calling out this reporter for this piece of junk writing that she put out there. After their shootout win against Texas Tech, it does suck for the players that this is all the media is covering and not the great game they had just finished playing. But I’d like to see a former athlete, whether it was in Pee Wee up to the pros, who wouldn’t want a coach like this to be their coach. Any coach who sticks up for his players like this when they are being kicked around is the kind of coach that I certainly would want to play for. Even if he may not be the best X’s and O’s coach, Gundy just earned A GREAT DEAL OF RESPECT all around the nation from fans, players, and coaches alike. And I for one would like to say…

THANK YOU MIKE GUNDY!

Patriots, Belichick Penalty Harsh Enough?

By now, you’ve already heard the news about the New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick having someone on the sidelines using a video camera this past Sunday versus the Jets to steal their signals from the sidelines.  And the punishment from Roger Goddell is in: $500,000 fine for Head Coach Bill Belichick (the NFL max. for a fine), a $250,000 fine for the New England Patriots, and the loss of a 1st round pick if the Pats make the playoffs or a 2nd and 3rd rd. pick lost if they don’t make the playoffs.

Now the question at hand is this, ‘Was this fine harsh enough?’  And my personal belief is, no, it was not.  The loss of money hurts, don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t hurt the Patriots at all when it comes to this season and previous seasons (if the spying was being done in the past which rumor is it was) and doesn’t really affect the overall team as a whole here.  The loss of a 1st round draft pick if they make the playoffs, which obvious consenus is they will, hurts as well for following seasons, but if they finish with a league’s best record and a Super Bowl victory that they are expecting in New England, losing the 32nd pick in next year’s draft isn’t really a ‘big’ loss considering they own the rights to San Francisco’s 1st round pick which will be better than their own next season anyways.

Let’s face it, it was a heavy penalty, but it does not ‘hurt’ the Pats the way it should for basically cheating to gain an advantage to win football games.  Look, if a player gets a 4 game suspension for using a banned substance because he is trying to ‘gain an advantage’  shouldn’t a coach get the same suspension if he is caught doing something that is considered ‘cheating’? 

Belichick should’ve been suspended without pay for 4 games rather than getting a $500,000 fine.  This way, not only does he lose money, but he loses the ability to coach the team in practices and in games, and in effect, it could quite possibly have an effect on the Patriots for this season which is what needs to be done.  The other penalties do nothing for what he was caught doing this season.  And don’t really even hurt the team for ensuing seasons.

If the commissioner didn’t want to do that, then he should’ve just forced the Patriots to forefit the game versus the Jets and be 0-1 instead of 1-0.   He needs to send a message to everyone in the league that cheating will not be tolerated.  And while this penalty will cause teams to shy away from even considering doing what Belchick and his staff has done, it also shows that if you have a deep enough pocketbook and enough quality draft picks for the upcoming draft, you can maybe get away with it, too.

 

Condo’s Super Bowl Predicitions After Week 1

Usually, when you look up NFL Playoff and Super Bowl predictions, it’s before the season actually starts. But I figured, “hey, why not wait ’til Week 1 so I can at least get a little bit better glimpse of a teams’ offense and defense for an entire game, rather than one quarter like you see in preseason.”

So, without further ado, here are my predictions for the NFL Division Winners, Playoffs and the Super Bowl:

Weeknight College Football, Good For The Sport?

As I sit here this evening typing this article, I am flipping between a couple of college football games between Louisville/Middle Tennessee State and Cincinnati/Oregon State. And then, of course, I’m watching the NFL opener between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints.

Most people think that football is meant for the weekend. Saturday is college football day, and Sunday is pro football day. Thanks to the power of television networks, however, you can catch a football game almost any night. If you are a football junkie like myself, especially college football, this is a great thing. However, some people seem to think it ruins the whole ‘mystique’ of football.

Personally, I think they are crazy because, before a few years ago, you could have never seen a team like Louisville, Cincinnati, or Oregon State on TV. And thanks to television, it’s not only allowing football junkies like myself a chance to see these teams in action, but recruits that those schools are targeting as well. It brings the programs national exposure and helps bring more “parity” to college football.

Think about it, thanks to television during the weeknights late in the season, recruits are getting a chance to see D-1AA teams (Football Championship Series) in the playoffs. This is helping those schools possibly get recruits who are of D-1A (Football Bowl Series) caliber but are more interested in playing for championships instead of being pasted by the USC’s and Florida’s of the world year in and year out. And thanks to this, it’s giving these schools enough overall talent to compete with the big boys. See: Appalachian State/Michigan this past Saturday.

Look at schools like Louisville, West Viriginia, and Cincinnati, for example. A few years ago, they were only on TV if they were getting ready to be pasted by Miami (FL) or Virginia Tech, for example. Now, they are on almost every Thursday night and recruits are getting better looks at these schools and because of this, these schools are getting more talented players.

The Big East went from being left for dead as a conference to now having four legitimate Heisman Contenders, two of which are on the same team.

The atmosphere on a Thursday night may not be nearly the same as it is on a Saturday afternoon. You miss some of the tailgating, the mingling among fans while drinking countless beers and yelling obscenities at the other team’s fans.

That obviously isn’t going to happen as much on a Wednesday or Thursday night, but I tell you what, if it means bringing this much parity and this much more excitement into college football, then I say bring on more weeknight games. 

If this past Saturday was any indication of where college football is heading, I am DEFINITELY ON BOARD.

Discuss this post and others in the “Sports Bar!” 

Link: “T.N.B. Sports Bar“