Live blog from the Final Four

I will be live blogging from the Final Four in Detroit this weekend. I will also be filing daily updates on my travel page.

Hopefully, things go a little more smoothly than last year. At least this time, I'm driving.

Live Blog: Purdue @ Illinois

I will be in Champaign on Sunday, Feb. 8 at Noon CT to live blog the Purdue-Illinois game. You can follow along on the live blog page.

Live Blog: Georgetown @ Marquette

I'll be doing another live blog on Saturday, January 31st. This one is from Milwaukee, where Georgetown takes on Marquette at 1 PM CT.

Click here for the live blog page.

Live blog from Miami

I'll be live blogging the BCS title game tonight at http://www.collegebcs.com/bcstitle.html


You can also read about my time there on that page.

BCS Title Game Coverage

I'm in Miami covering the BCS title game. You can follow along at http://www.collegebcs.com/bcstitle.html

Move live blogging - Wooden Tradition

Blogging from the Duke-Purdue game was so much fun, that I'm taking the Ernie Banks attitude and playing two. Or blogging two, as it were.

I'll be at the Wooden Tradition on Saturday, December 20th blogging the double header that starts at 3 PM CT. The first game is Davidson and Purdue, followed by Southern Illinois and St. Mary's.

Click here for the live blog page.

What'd I do?

Texas fans have been taking my name in vain all week, but they aren't alone. Apparently, people are lining up all over to take shots at me.

I received a surprising phone call from a friend this morning to tell me that the folks on the ESPN Sports Reporters show took aim during some BCS discussion.

It was a typical BCS discussion, whining about the ratings, especially the computers, the lack of a playoff, and the system in general. Very low-level stuff. High on outrage, low on ideas.

At some point, Mike Lupica of the NY Daily News says, "How many of these computer geeks, who have so much power in this sport, are gonna let the numbers fall, and the season hangs in the balance for Texas and Oklahoma, it's not right."

John Saunders, the moderator of the group, then says, "Computers are only 1/3 of the equation...But what a lot of people have a beef with is the Harris Poll, where a gentleman by the name of Jerry Palm is on the list."

Lupica interjects, "who sits in his basement in (simultaneously with Bob Ryan) Indiana!"

I've never met Saunders or Lupica. I'm surprised they have even heard of me, let alone know where I live. Perhaps they are confusing me with Jeff Sagarin, who also lives in Indiana. I don't know what I did to float to the top of their minds, and especially to inspire such disdain.

To be clear, I am not a voter in the Harris poll. If nominated, I would not run. If elected, I would not serve.

And one more thing: I sit in my attic, not my basement.

Football Saturday Live Blog

I decided that since I was going to be sitting around watching games all day, I should do a live blog. If you've ever been on one of my live blogs, it's like a souped-up chat session. It's easy for readers to participate, so I hope you will.

Click here for the blog page.

Live Blog from Duke @ Purdue

I will be live blogging from the Duke-Purdue ACC-Big Ten Challenge game at Mackey Arena on Tuesday night, December 2nd. The game starts at 8:00 PM CT, but I'll be on a little before then.

Click here for the blog page. You can go there before the game and set an e-mail reminder for yourself if you like.

The blogging program I use allows for things like reader input and polls, so we'll try to have fun with it. If it goes well, I may do some more games later in the season.

Oregon-Purdue live blog

While the Cubs continue their 1969 impression and slide deeply into oblivion (although they have won one game in a row!), I'm going to hide my head in the sand on Saturday and live blog the Oregon-Purdue game.

To follow along, click here.

Rutgers losing arms race

One of the concerns of many in college athletics is what is called the "arms race," as teams try to build bigger and better facilities to try and remain competitive. That term is also applied to the ever escalating coaches' salaries.

Rutgers seems to be falling behind. In an effort to capitalize on their breakthrough season of two years ago, they decided to expand and renovate their football stadium. However, fundraising is going very poorly, according to this story in the Newark Star-Ledger.

My favorite line comes from the Rev. M. William Howard, the chairman of the Rutgers board of governors. He says, "We're looking at everything. I mean, Jesus, that's what prudent leadership is required to do."

In case you missed it, that's a reverend who is so frustrated that he was quoted taking the Lord's name in vain.

I'm sure that kind of thing never happens at Notre Dame!

Big Ten Media Day, Part 2

The second day of the Big Ten media festivities starts with some one-on-one-or-so time for the media with the coaches and selected players. A ballroom is set up with a table for each player and coach, and media types just float around the room to talk to who they want. It's a two hour session, and there are also tables for some of the Big Ten Network types and league officiating coordinator Dave Parry.

Unless I'm writing for someone else, I usually spend my time with Parry, the Purdue folks and the Big Ten Network guys.

As an ex-official, I always find the talks with Parry interesting, even though I never worked football. This year, I had questions about the new horse collar rule and the interpretation of unsportsmanlike celebration.

The horse collar rule only applies if the player is brought down immediately by the collar. I asked Parry why it was safer to bring the player down by the collar after a few steps, and he said it is because the player gets more of a chance to brace himself, and that the defender usually ends up grabbing something else as well, making it a safer play. I'm not entirely sure I agree with that, but we'll see how it's enforced.

I was also concerned that any individual celebration of a play might get penalized. That may not quite be true, but I think we are going to see a lot more of those flags this year. In short, anything choreographed, prolonged, and/or aimed at the opponent will be penalized.

If you take a flying leap into the end zone - penalty. If you take a flying leap into the stands after a touchdown - penalty. If you sack the QB, look down on him, and say or do anything - penalty.

Things like the entire Georgia team taking the field to celebrate a first quarter score will fall under "trespassers will be shot." Actually, that will just be something on the order of 60 penalties.

After that, I checked in with Purdue QB Curtis Painter. On his table was a bunch of calendars and videos promoting him as a Heisman candidate. That's probably a bit far-fetched, but you can't blame the school for trying.

Painter will have some new faces around him this year. In particular, he needs to find replacements for the production of TE Dustin Keller and WR Dorien Bryant.

Bryant will be easier to replace. He put up some big numbers, but was always a bit soft. Desmond Tardy will probably be an upgrade. Keller will be a little tougher. He was a first round pick after all, but Kyle Adams won't be too much of a dropoff.

As for Painter himself, he hopes to become more consistent. He cut his interceptions from 19 to 11 last year. He's looking for a similar improvement.

Joe Tiller enters his last year knowing more about his team than he usually does. That's because so many projected starters were injured in spring ball that a lot of backups got a lot more reps than they might have otherwise. That helped develop some depth, perhaps, but Tiller said he'd rather have had all his starters.

He also thought that put the team behind the curve a little bit entering fall camp. Although, it's not as bad as it might seem. Some of those 15 starters that missed spring ball were guys like Greg Orton and Sean Sester, who have been starters for a while. The missed time doesn't hurt guys like that as much.

The position of biggest concern may be linebacker. Tiller is hopeful that redshirt sophomore Kevin Green, a highly regarded prospect, has finally seen the light. Tiller said they recruited him because he was a physical player, but so far "has looked like Tarzan and played like Jane." He was much more physical in the spring, and if that carries over, "we'll have a hard time getting him off the field," Tiller said.

Tiller also talked about the situation he's in with his replacement being on staff. He said it wasn't his idea, but AD Morgan Burke's. He said he told Burke he was OK with it as long as the replacement was someone he was comfortable with.

There was a public flirtation with Wisconsin OC Paul Chryst that Tiller says probably would not have worked out for him. Neither he nor anyone on his staff knew Chryst or worked with him before, which would have made for an uncomfortable season.

Danny Hope, the man Purdue hired, was an assistant with Tiller at Wyoming and his first five seasons at Purdue. He's a friend of Tiller, so comfort is not a problem. Also, he's the offensive line coach this year, so he has an important job besides recruiting. Tiller is pleased with the way the line is shaping up under Hope, and the energy he brings to the job.

Once the media session is done, it's the fans' turn. Each school sets up a table for fans to come up and get trinkets and autographs. The Ohio St line seemed to wind all the way to lower Wacker Drive (or in that case, Wacko drive).

Following that is the luncheon, where fans get a good meal and hear each of the coaches speak about their teams. And take shots at each other.

The luncheon was hosted by ABC's Brent Musburger, who got off a few good lines of his own. He told of how the players were disappointed to see him instead of Erin Andrews. He also thanked Joe Tiller for providing the "snake oil and vinegar" dressing for the salad.

Most of the coaches introduce, or at least acknowledge, the players they brought with them, their AD, and/or their wives. Then, they talk about how excited they are about their team.

It used to be that you could tell what the coaches really thought of their teams by what they said. Coaches that mentioned their players "character" or "work ethic" usually had bad teams. Last year though, nobody used that phrase. This year, the only one who did was Tiller. Damn.

Tiller said he gets asked a lot about why he would retire back to Wyoming with it's rough weather. He said that the weather there is misunderstood. He explained that, "it's always clear and still. Snow clear up to your butt and still coming down."

He also said that since he announced his retirement, everyone has been very nice to him. In fact, "if I had known they would be so nice, I would have retired three years ago, and then came back. Then retired again, then came back."

While he was trying to welcome new Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez (a man he recently referred to as a snake oil salesman), he mistakenly called him "Rich Alvarez." He explained that he confused him with Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez because, "I need a haircut and Barry and I use the same barber."

He then decided he had to tell one story, even though he doesn't usually.

At the Ohio St game last year, the Buckeyes brought "43,000 fans with them. Fortunately, we didn't have 43,000 seats available. Out in the parking lot though, one of our long-time season ticket holders was trying to give away one of his tickets."

An Ohio St fan tried to buy it, but he was insistent on giving it away. He said it used to be his wife's, but since she died, he has no one to sit with at the game and he just wants some company.

The OSU fan asked if he didn't have any children or family who could go with him to the games. He said, "yes, but they're all at the funeral."

After the laughter died down, Tiller said that just shows the remarkable passion Big Ten fans have for football.

The only person who could follow Tiller to the dais was Joe Paterno. I can't write fast enough to keep up with him.

Commenting on Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald being elected to the Hall of Fame, he said, "it's great that he got in so young. It took me 58 years."

To Tiller: "Did I hear correctly, 'Snow up your butt?' It's going to take a lot of snow to fill your rear end."

He had the most fun though with Rodriguez.

"We played them once when he was a player at West Virginia. His wife was a cheerleader. Cute as can be! We took a picture together.

"Then he becomes a coach. Our first Nike trip together, his wife comes up to me and says 'Do you remember me?'

"I said, 'Do I remember you!' I'm old, but I'm not that old!

"I'm really couldn't care less that Rich is in our league now, no matter how much he payed to get in, but I'm sure glad his wife is here."

Then, he had Rodriguez wife stand up. Really, if Paterno wasn't so old, his fawning might have been creepy.

He also took a shot at former UM coach Lloyd Carr, who wasn't there to defend himself. "I always loved following him because he was such a lousy talker. Even his wife used to wait for me to talk."

And, it would be Joe if he didn't get a shot in at the refs. "Sometimes, in a game, you gotta wait for the refs to screw the other team, like with Purdue last year. Boy, they got screwed. That was one of the worst officiated games, wasn't it Joe (looking at Tiller)? But at least the calls all went our way."

Minnesota coach Tim Brewster seemed relatively calm, which means he was only much more wired than any other coach. He did have one funny moment when he tried to introduce his wife, but she wasn't there. "Is she here? Did she stay in the room?"

He also talked about, "change being a painful process. 1-11 is pretty painful."

Indiana coach Bill Lynch was the halfway point, and he said he'd be brief "because if you're like me, you'll have to go to the restroom soon."

He also made RB Maurice Thigpen stand up and model his fluorescent peach suit and suggested everyone come down to Bloomington for a game and pick one up for themselves in the clothing stores afterwards.

He also thanked disgraced outgoing AD Rick Greenspan. That got a bit of a groan from the room.

When Musburger introduced Rodriguez, he mentioned all the "Wanted" posters hanging up in West Virginia. Rodriguez said it's not the posters that concern him. "They sell a lot of guns in that state."

RR also told Brewster that, "change isn't just painful, it's costly."

Then, he told Lynch not to worry about Paterno. "He'll just get up and go when he has to, whether it's the middle of a luncheon or the middle of a game." Sure enough, later on, Paterno disappeared for a while.

He's also excited about Michigan fans, although he pointed out that of the 110,000 fans that show up on Saturdays, "109,000 are offensive coordinators. I don't think I'm going to hook them up to my headset just yet, though."

I'll leave you now with some of the thoughts of Wisconsin coach and comedian-in-waiting Bret Bielema.

"One thing I've learned is that the older you get, the more you get away with. One guy gets up here and talks about snow up to his butt. I didn't even know you could say 'butt' here. Another guy gets up and goes on about Rich's wife.

"I'll save some introduction time because I don't have a wife. If anyone stands up, I'm in trouble.

"One thing I'm going to miss about Joe (Tiller) is sitting next to him at these banquets. He keeps me thoroughly entertained, and he helps me translate Paterno."

As for people who think the league is down, Bielema says, "the easiest way to shut people up is to win."

Big Ten Media Day Live Blog - cancelled

It turns out that once again, internet access does not exist in the interview room. I'll post something at the end of the day. I might also get something up during lunch.

The order of the speakers today is:
Ron Zook
Pat Fitzgerald
Bret Bielema
Joe Tiller
Jim Tresssel
Bill Lynch
(lunch break)
Mark Dantonio
Tim Brewster
Joe Paterno
Kirk Ferentz
Rich Rodriguez

They start at 10:30 and go until 2. At 2, Jim Delany takes the floor for about an hour.

You can also watch all of this on Big Ten Network.

Billy packs it in

Billy Packer is gone from the airwaves of college basketball. CBS and Packer mutually agreed to end their relationship, and Packer will not broadcast ACC games on Raycom either. Packer says he is working on other college basketball projects.

Presumably, that will not involve learning about the tournament selection process. For a guy who was supposedly intelligent, that was a subject upon which he was woefully ignorant. I suspect that was by choice. I used to dread the part of the selection show where he would get to interview the selection committee chair because he would usually beat the drum for some completely irrelevant cause. My favorite was a couple of years ago when he whined ad nausem about the selection of several non-major at-large teams instead of middle-of-the-road ACC teams because the ACC had a better tournament history. As if that had ever mattered.

I have to say, I never really enjoyed listening to him call games either, mostly because he didn't seem to enjoy it. He seemed to be knowledgeable on the air, but there was no joy in his work.

Fortunately, I didn't watch him much because I have been to the last several Final Fours in person.

You may have noticed that I said he seemed knowledgeable "on the air." Off the air was different, and I say that from personal experience.

I met him when I was working at Michael Jordan's charity golf tournament in Chicago the summer before Glenn Robinson was to start playing for Purdue. I asked him if he thought the addition of Robinson would make Purdue a contender in the Big Ten and he said, and I quote, "I don't know. I never watch Purdue." He was a bit surly about it too.

I was floored. He has a reputation for being unpleasant off-camera, and he did not disappoint in that regard, so that's not why I was surprised. I could not believe a major national basketball analyst like him would admit to knowing nothing about Purdue.

I suppose he could have just been blowing me off, but it's not like I asked him about Prairie View A&M. You know, as annoying as Dick Vitale can be at times, he could tell you something about Prairie View. He has a passion for the college game. I just never got that from Packer - on air or off.

He'll be replaced by Clark Kellogg, who will be an improvement. Kellogg has always been one of my favorite analysts and it will be great to have him back courtside. Not that he was bad in the studio, but he should be doing games.

There's no need to fear, Wonderdog is here!

Fresno St won the College World Series 6-1 over Georgia last night, capping a remarkable postseason run.

Fresno entered the tournament with an RPI rating of 84, which basically means they only got into the NCAA tournament because they won their conference tournament.

Like basketball, the baseball tournament is a 64-team field. OK, technically, the men's basketball tournament is 65, but set that aside for the moment. In baseball, teams are broken into 16 regionals with the teams seeded 1-4 in each region. Fresno was a 4-seed in their region. That makes them roughly the equivalent to a 13-14 seed in the basketball field. So, Fresno winning the CWS is like Valparaiso winning the men's basketball championship.

Not just making the final four. Winning the whole thing.

For some perspective, when George Mason made the basketball Final Four in Indy three years ago, they were a 11-seed.

Oh, and the Bulldogs did all this without their best starting pitcher, Tanner Scheppers, who missed the CWS with an injury. Scheppers was the second round choice (48th overall) of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Wonderdogs, indeed.

For more coverage of this event, check out Eric Sorenson's Extra Innings blog.

Gorilla Ball

Rule #1 of attending a game is, "never leave your seat." That comes from when I took a friend of mine to his first Cubs game back in 1984. He got up in the bottom of the sixth to get a beer, and while standing in line and watching on TV, he saw his empty seat during the seventh-inning stretch as they showed our sheet sign, and then he saw it again a couple of batters later when a Cubs home run hit two rows below us in the right field bleachers. That was it for the Cubs offense in the game, and he missed it in the beer line. At least the Cubs won.

Apparently, this applies to watching on TV also. Last night, I was watching game two of the College World Series final between Georgia and Fresno St. I got to it a little late because of eating dinner, and when I turned it on, it was 5-0 UGa, withe Georgia still batting in the top of the 3rd. A few minutes later (now bottom 3rd), I had to put the little kids to bed. That only took 10-15 minutes, and when I came back, Georgia was up again in the 4th, but the game was now tied at 6. At the end of that inning, I went out to put up my grill - a relatively short task, but when I got back to the game, it was 8-6 Fresno. Runs were being scored at will, but only when I was away from the television.

I did manage to catch the last 15 runs of the game though, a 19-10 Fresno win that extends the series to a deciding game tonight. Pitchers, especially Georgia's, were hiding in the clubhouse, hoping not to get called into the game.

Check out my friend and CSTV colleague Eric Sorenson's coverage on his Extra Innings blog.

Balls leaving (and entering) the yard

I watched most of two games yesterday with no shortage of dramatic home runs.

First, the opener of the Cubs-Sox series at Wrigley. The Cubs were coming off a sweep at the hands of the Devil Rays (I know, they dropped "Devil," but once you get a little of the devil in you, you can't get it out). That was the Cubs' first three-game losing streak of the season. Still, they had the best record in baseball, percentage points ahead of the Red Sox.

The Sox, on the other hand, appeared to have bounced back from a skid where they lost six of seven by sweeping Pittsburgh earlier this week.

Things looked good for the Sox early yesterday also. Jermaine Dye blasted a shot that still hasn't landed to tie the game in the second. Cub-killer AJ Pierzynski hit a two-run homer in the third to make it 3-1 and there they sat until the seventh.

Octavio Dotel came in to pitch for the Sox and Derrek Lee smacked his first pitch into the right field bleachers to make it 3-2. Just as the crowd was settling down from that shot, Aramis Ramirez made it back-to-back shots to tie it up. Those also cost WGN radio $10,000. They give a lucky listener 10Gs whenever the Cubs go back-to-back in the 7th inning.

The Sox started the 9th with a double against Kerry Wood, but couldn't do anything with it.

Scott Linebrink then came on to pitch the bottom of the ninth, but he didn't last long. Ramirez hit his second pitch into the center field shrubbery for the game-winner.

My nightcap was the College World Series elimination game between LSU and North Carolina.

They actually started the game the night before. Carolina had two runs in and the bases loaded with one out in the top of the first before the rains came and postponed the game to last night. LSU changed pitchers overnight and got a double play to get out of that jam.

It was 3-1 Heels in the sixth when Matt Clark, the nation's leading home run hitter, came up with a man on for the Tigers. Instead of pitching around him, UNC's Brian Moran went right after him. Big mistake. Clark bombs one out and the game is tied.

LSU was threatening again in the eighth with Clark at the plate, two on and one out, looking to duplicate Ramirez, when a streaker ran onto the field. The little delay seemed to suck the pressure out of the situation. Clark walked (NC pitched very carefully to him this time) and then ACC pitcher of the year Alex White got out of it.

On to the top of the ninth, where a single and two intentional walks (the first after a stolen base and the second after a sacrifice) loaded the bases. UNC catcher Tim Federowicz then hit the first grand slam in a CWS in eight years. White made that stand up and the Tar Heels save some face for the ACC.

The ACC entered the NCAA tournament with three of the top four seeds. #1 Miami and #4 Florida St joined the #2 Tar Heels. They all advanced to the CWS and were the top three seeds in Omaha. But Miami and FSU both laid eggs. The Seminoles went 0-2 and were the first ones gone. Miami managed to go 1-2, but their only win came over FSU. Carolina is now 2-1, with both wins over LSU. They will face the other FSU, Fresno St, next.

To see Eric Sorenson's take on the game yesterday, including exclusive photos of the streaker, check out his Extra Innings blog on the former cstv.com.

Two big TV deals

Two big TV deals were announced today.

First, NBC announced an extension of their contract to cover Notre Dame home football games. NDBC will now carry on through the 2015 season. The current deal, which paid the Irish $9M per year, was set to expire in 2010. No word on financial terms of the new deal. Notre Dame games on NBC had their lowest ratings ever last season.

The interesting thing about this deal is that it requires Notre Dame to play seven true home games and one off-site "home" game per year beginning in 2009. So, Notre Dame will play only four true road games per year. That will certainly making getting into a BCS game a lot easier.

Also, the war between the Big Ten and Comcast finally came to an end with a peace accord that will put the Big Ten Network on the cable provider's systems.

Comcast will initially offer the network on its expanded basic package in the Big Ten states. However, in Spring of 2009, Comcast will be free to move it to a more expensive (to the customer) digital package.

Outside the Big Ten states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin), the provider can offer it up any way it wishes, including as part of a sports package.

Comcast will also be able to offer up some BTN programming through its video-on-demand service.

There were no details on the amount Comcast will charge subscribers as a "Big Ten Tax." Look for that line item on your next bill.

Stretching the truth

It's not unusual for teams to fudge a little when listing the height of a player, especially in basketball. Guys who are really 6'1" show up as 6'2" or sometimes even 6'3" in the media guide. Since I cover basketball and get close to players, I can usually tell which ones are a little inflated and which ones aren't. That's especially true of guards, who are closer to my own height (6'1").

On rare occasion, you'll find a guy who looks taller than his listed height. Stephen Curry of Davidson is one of those guys. He's still growing, so when I saw him in Detroit, he looked a little taller than his listed 6'2".

The Bulls lucked into the #1 pick in the NBA draft, which means they'll choose between 6'3" Memphis G (and Chicago native) Derrick Rose and 6'10" F Michael Beasley of Kansas St. Beasley was in for a workout yesterday, and the big news out of that workout is that he only measured 6'7". A three-inch difference between listed height and actual is pretty remarkable.

Rose comes in later this week. Maybe we'll find out he's only 5'6".

Florida St goose-eggs

When I made my College World Series picks, I said I was risking making a fool of myself, and I did just that. Florida St, my pick to get through bracket 1, slinked home again without the trophy.

In the Noles first game against Stanford, they came back to tie it with three in the bottom of the eighth, only to give up 11 in the top of the 9th to lose 16-5.

In their elimination game yesterday with archrival and #1 Miami, they out-hit the Canes 18-11, but still lost 7-5. They left a whopping 17 runners on base. That's one short of a two-per-inning average.

So, FSU has now made 19 CWS appearances without winning it.

I did have Georgia at 2-0, so my picks weren't a complete disaster. The Bulldogs await the winner of Miami-Stanford, the two teams they beat.