Happy College Football Week Zero to those who celebrate- to honor the occasion, re-booting this classic once again from 2018, enjoy! I absolutely loved ESPN College Gameday, about a decade and half ago when it was only one hour long, instead of three. Back in those days, it was not overrun with wall-to-wall native advertising, and it was much more about football than what's … [Read more...] about ESPN College Gameday: From Transcendent Genius to Unwatchable Dreck
Michigan Wolverines
Ex-ESPN Pres. John Skipper Predicted College Sports Reckoning in 2014
The total chaos that is unfolding right now in college sports may or may not have been predicted by John Skipper, then President of ESPN, back in 2014. The comments he made almost a decade ago, although vague, were prescient in the grand scheme of things. Let's flash back to that now, and then consider how those remarks stand up today, given what's going on in regards to … [Read more...] about Ex-ESPN Pres. John Skipper Predicted College Sports Reckoning in 2014
R.I.P. Rose Bowl, College Sports “Leagues” and “Conferences”
The Rose Bowl game will still go on, but in non-College Football Playoff years it will never be anything close to what it once was now that the Pac-10 (later the Pac-12) is officially dead. The whole concept of a Big Ten champion versus Pac 10 champion was ingrained in the very DNA of the Rose Bowl game. It will still be held, but when it's not in a CFP format will exist in a … [Read more...] about R.I.P. Rose Bowl, College Sports “Leagues” and “Conferences”
Former MLB COO Tony Petitti Takes the Big Ten Reins
Exactly two weeks from today, former Major League Baseball Chief Operating Officer Tony Petitti will take the leadership role of the Big Ten Conference. He becomes the league's seventh commissioner, replacing Kevin Warren, who has now become President and CEO of the Chicago Bears. Warren was on hand for Pettiti to greet the media, for the first time, on Friday. College … [Read more...] about Former MLB COO Tony Petitti Takes the Big Ten Reins
Puppy Crawl: Greatest Big Ten Halftime Show Ever
When it comes to Puppy Crawl, you can have a debate about it. That debate is: "was is is the greatest halftime show in Big Ten Tournament history? Or "was it the greatest halftime show in basketball history?" One can't say a lot good things about how the Illinois Fighting Illini played last night, in their 2023 Big Ten Tournament loss to Penn State. (We already covered that … [Read more...] about Puppy Crawl: Greatest Big Ten Halftime Show Ever
Michigan vs Ohio: Toledo War of 1835, Frostbitten Convention
This week is rivalry week in college football. Which conjures up memories of the Toledo War and the Frostbitten Convention. This weekend brings awesome games with cool names like "The Iron Bowl" (Alabama-Auburn) and "The Holy War" (BYU-Utah). But only one of these rivalry games can claim an actual war in the history of its geographic region. That's the Michigan Wolverines vs. … [Read more...] about Michigan vs Ohio: Toledo War of 1835, Frostbitten Convention
Bret Bielema ‘very angry’ at Big Ten Refs in Controversial Michigan Loss
It has been a very emotional week for Illini coach Bret Bielema, whose mother passed away a couple days ago. He almost did not make the trip to Ann Arbor, where his team were 22-point underdogs to #3, undefeated Michigan. A time of great sorrow turned into a day of furious anger for Bielema, who lashed out at the officiating (but chose his words carefully as to try and avoid … [Read more...] about Bret Bielema ‘very angry’ at Big Ten Refs in Controversial Michigan Loss
Every Big Ten Football Program as a Character from The Simpsons
The graphic below, of which we are uncertain the origin, serves as the centerpiece of this post. We first saw this on The Big Lead, many years ago, but that link is now dead. Enjoy as we try to decipher why certain Big Ten football programs were assigned certain characters, and others...well, we really have no idea about the analogy. … [Read more...] about Every Big Ten Football Program as a Character from The Simpsons