This is Uncalled For

Watch the video first unless you have a masters of better in history:



Got it, a disastrous raid into France to appease Uncle Joe Stalin (interesting new book about Stalin)

As it turns out, K and Williams were right as the raid on the Big East has become the ACC’s Dieppe with its football equally as mediocre as it ever was, and its treasured conference championship football game unable to cut it in Florida, having been moved to North Carolina where it still didn’t sell out.

Did you get the mistake? Partial credit for those that know that the ACC Championship has not yet bombed in North Carolina. The real problem are:

1. Assuming that more than a handful of readers know about Dieppe and those that followed the directions above are in know. Mike Burke seems to think he is now the Dennis Miller of Cumberland, Maryland sports.

2. Giving credit to Mike Krzyzewski and Gary Williams for opposing the ACC expansion. Both understood that the expansion would diminish their standing as the limelight would be diverted from them to football or dilute the basketball with the addition of Miami and Virginia Tech both traditionally marginal

For now the dollars favors the expansion of the ACC. This blog was in part motivated by the ACC expansion and that action and last year we marked the five years since the raid with---

Part #1: Atlantic Swofford: Raiders of the Lost Dream

Voices From Beyond

For the record the reference to Dieppe is refreshing and adds a much needed spark to the sports page,

Onion Sports

Could college football be far behind----

NCAA Expands March Madness To Include 4,096 Teams

Early Rivalry Game Ticket Prices

Rivalry Game Ticket Futures--prices per StubHub.com 3/14/09



Over the coming months the cheap seats for these high profile games will be monitored.

Ohio State at Michigan Football Tickets Saturday, November 21, 2009
Section Row Qty. Price
End Zone 35R 97 2 $250.00 each
End Zone 11R 96 2 $258.00 each
End Zone 36R 94 2 $259.00 each

Miami at Florida State Football Tickets Monday, September 7, 2009 at 8:
Upper Level End Zone 320 24 2 $109.00 each

Oklahoma vs. Texas Football Tickets Saturday, October 17, 2009
Section Row Qty. Price
Upper End Zone 115 29 Up to 6 $258.00 each
Upper End Zone 116 TBD Up to 12 $265.00 each
Upper End Zone 115 30 Up to 6 $278.00 each

USC at Notre Dame Football Tickets at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, IN
Section Row Qty. Price
Lower Level End Zone 18 TBD 2 $335.00 each
Lower Level End Zone 18 TBD 2 $335.00 each
Lower Level End Zone 19 TBD 2 $335.00 each
Lower Level End Zone 17 TBD 2 $335.00 each
Lower Level End Zone 1 TBD 2 $335.00 each
Lower Level End Zone 19 TBD 2 $335.00 each
Lower Level End Zone 17 45 2 $336.00 each
Lower Level End Zone 18 45 2 $336.00 each

Alabama at Auburn Football Tickets in Auburn, AL
Section Row Qty. Price
Lower Level End Zone 41 54 Up to 4 $306.00 each
Upper Deck Sideline 99 35 Up to 4 $306.00 each

Spot On

Fraud and Friction at Florida St. from Inside Higher Ed does an excellent job of countering the "poor Bobby" chorus.

To quote the article:

What the committee did focus on in the Florida State case was the fact that the situation presented one of the most widespread cases of cheating in the association's history. Three former members of the university's academic support team for athletes were found by a university investigation to have given improper academic assistance of various sorts -- including answers to exams in online courses and help in preparing papers for athletes considered to be learning disabled -- to a total of 61 athletes in 10 sports.

Florida State as an institution was a party to this cheating and should pay the price as as a group including Mr. Bowden.

Watch your Wallet

With the Big Ten Network now cutting big checks to memeber institutions look for others to beat a path to this free money.

Want to hear a blood curdling scream? Want until at Gator or Dawg fans has to pay for the ACC Channel.

The BTN had its first profitable quarter, which ended at the conclusion of the last year, and has plans to expand in a variety of areas with more Internet streaming of sports such as women's basketball and baseball.

That means more money for the Big Ten, which already received a $70 million -- and growing -- rights fee from Fox, partial owners of the Big Ten Network, and has a profit-sharing arrangement with the schools in the conference.

Plop plop

Heard a story about a famous coach while at College of William and Mary years ago that directed an assistance to, “Do whatever it takes” in order to get a certain recruit to visit the school. The dutiful assistance then did what was needed and was fired after the AD got a call from a grateful mother thanking him for the money given her son. True or not this illustrates the pressure put on subordinate to get the job done.

The press coverage in the Florida State cheating scandal is concerned with the fate of Bobby Bowen's wins and ignoring the underlying question of institutional integrity. FSU did self report which is to be commended. Was this scandal the fault of rogue elements in Tallahassee or an institutional failure.

In any workplace there are unwritten rules of conduct: those actions which will and will not be tolerated. Although there is an element of the group dictating the rules, it is the function of top management to set the tone. Those charged with tutoring student athletes must feel the pressure that everyone pass and stay eligible. The question is, “How much pressure came from above?” The pressure need not be overt, rather the subtle culture of an organization might enough to create and environment of questionable actions to reach the goal.

The NCAA also placed show-cause orders — ranging from three to five years — on the three university employees: Hillard Goldsmith (former academic adviser), Brenda Monk (former learning specialist) and an unnamed student tutor.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/seminoles/orl-sportsfsupenalties08030709mar07,0,4044978.story
Does this cause the powers that be at Florida State proud of their culture or reaching for the Alka Selter?

Eyes of the Beholder

In about 1985 distance 2nd place furniture polish Behold in a 7oz. can had a half price package that grew sales dramatically. The company then change from two size of Lemon Behold 7oz. and 14oz. to a pair of 9oz. products Lemon Behold and Natural Wood Behold. Part of the presentation to the trade was that, "Our brand has growth".

It was not a lie. It was using the numbers to tell your story. The proposal from the Mountain West Conference for a replacement of the current BCS system has a funny ring to it as the number given are stacked in the MWC favor.

Beautiful numbers in the eyes of the right beholder (from USA Today in a .pdf).

Mildcats

Kansas State released their 2009 schedule on February 23 and in order to get that very profitable 7th home game will play two FCS teams in UMass and Tennessee Tech. They have visits to the ULL Ragin Cajuns and UCLA to round out the OOC schedule. Teams playing two FSC team maybe balancing the bottom line in the short but are hurting their product. Or is it the case that KSU failed to plan ahead and just grabbed something.



http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/1050336.html

What do you bring to the table?

When did you make the move to the “big people table” at holiday meals? At what point did you graduate. For most it was a mere matter of age. There were those awkward years where you were seated in the kitchen with the six year old cousin that is no longer cute and then the first year sitting with the adults where you were all but invisible. Once you made the move there was no going back.

The Mountain West wants a seat at the BCS table as they have fielding very competitive teams that have already won three BCS games—more wins than the ACC (2004-2009) despite not having the coveted automatic bid. In the 2008-09 final poll the MWC had 3 teams in the final top 25 as compared to 2 for the Big East and 3 for the Atlantic Coast Conference. If the MWC were applying for an opening they would definitely be the top candidate.

The Mountain West resume as impressive as it is lack one critical element...television numbers. Given that the BCS is a television driven event the ability to demonstrate that your conference can deliver the eyeballs is of paramount importance. Currently, this key piece is missing. Looking at the 2008 numbers from ESPN you'll see that the MWC fails to deliver impressive numbers.

The road to the BCS may go through the Magic Kingdom of college football. With ESPN having the BCS broadcast rights, the folks in Bristol have unprecedented influence over the agenda. In short given the overwhelming influence ESPN has over the college football storyline, Craig Thompsonthe, MWC commissioner first needs to get the conference a place on already crowded regular season broadcast schedule.

How can the MWC prove that the conference can deliver the all important television rating and the dollars to justify the BCS payout, if the games are hidden on the mtn. , CBS College Sports, and Versus? While it may sound harsh but your on the field performance will get you an invite to the BCS when warranted, a permanent berth requires that you prove the financial angle is covered. Can the addition of one of the non-BCS conferences grow the pot of money? Until the answer is yes the current situation cannot change.

If Congress wants to get involved and regulate college football they might want to start with assuring equal television exposure. Yes, a return era to the equal time. Organize the Fall sports schedule towards make sure that we get to see Wyoming, Troy, and FIU in prime time. While we are nationalizing the banks, maybe we can nationalize cable TV. And start by moving the masters of Bristol to the shores of the Potomac.

The alternative for those not at the BCS table is to grow (up) and earn your place at the table.