07-06-2004, 09:03 AM
If this guy didn't speak out of both sides of his mouth all the time, I could take this more seriously.
A Big Ten swing-and-miss
By Matt Hayes - SportingNews
We begin with a story of college baseball -- the ping of aluminum, the double-digit innings, the 5-hour games ... I'm already bored. We're talking baseball because without it, we can't see the BCS for what it really is: an exclusive, hypocritical, members-only club.
Let me state for the umpteenth time that I don't mind the concept of the BCS; what I mind is the way the BCS administrators do their business. It's sleazy and deceitful, and above all else, you almost get the feeling they think we're a bunch of blithering idiots. Case in point: the proposed restructuring of college baseball.
The Big Ten Conference is upset about (I swear I'm not making this up) competitive inequity in college baseball. The league that, along with the Pac-10, is holding the BCS hostage while dangling the lucrative Rose Bowl is upset because The Man is keeping them down. Yep, they say, forcing Big Ten teams to play baseball on the road in February and March because their fields are snowed under creates a competitive disadvantage for the league when it comes to qualifying for the NCAA Tournament and the College World Series.
So the Big Ten wants the baseball season moved back, beginning at least a month later (early March) and ending well into July. And it's probably going to happen.
"I don't see how it couldn't," says a member of the NCAA baseball committee.
The reason, of course, is money. When there is money to be made -- college baseball is a clay-covered Cullinen diamond waiting to be spit-polished -- everyone has his hand out.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, we give you the connection to college football: By moving the baseball season back, the presidents of these prestigious universities are allowing an NCAA sport to be played not only beyond its proposed semester but beyond the school year. Meanwhile, the steadfast argument against a national football playoff has been that it would extend the season into the second semester. When the fifth BCS game was announced last month, it was revealed that the championship game would be played a week after the other four BCS games -- or one week into the second semester.
When the hypocrisy of that was mentioned to Oregon president Dave Frohnmayer, he quickly turned into Mel Tillis, stammering and stumbling over every response. At one point, he said the "readiness" of some universities would come into play; you know, the players, administration, fans and bands.
Holy mother of God -- the bands.
Given all that, how about that Jim Delany -- the gall of the man. We always knew the Big Ten commissioner was the most powerful BCS czar, but even he had to know how incredibly hypocritical his claim of unfair competition in college baseball sounded. Hey, Jimbo, how about we give your pitchers an expanded strike zone and your batters an extra out, too? Better yet, how about this tradeoff: We'll give you competitive baseball equity, and the Big Ten gives the Southeastern Conference a slice of the Frozen Four revenue.
If there is a divide between the Big Ten and the rest of college baseball, it's the same between the BCS and non-BCS teams in football. Those who spend money on a sport and make a systematic effort to enrich the program on and off of the field reap the benefits. Rice and Cal State Fullerton, the past two College World Series champions, have immaculate facilities and long-standing commitments that make most Big Ten baseball programs look like your local Little League teams.
The Big Ten is like the king complaining he doesn't have enough gold.
Staff writer Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. Email him at mhayes@sportingnews.com and include your name and location.
A Big Ten swing-and-miss
By Matt Hayes - SportingNews
We begin with a story of college baseball -- the ping of aluminum, the double-digit innings, the 5-hour games ... I'm already bored. We're talking baseball because without it, we can't see the BCS for what it really is: an exclusive, hypocritical, members-only club.
Let me state for the umpteenth time that I don't mind the concept of the BCS; what I mind is the way the BCS administrators do their business. It's sleazy and deceitful, and above all else, you almost get the feeling they think we're a bunch of blithering idiots. Case in point: the proposed restructuring of college baseball.
The Big Ten Conference is upset about (I swear I'm not making this up) competitive inequity in college baseball. The league that, along with the Pac-10, is holding the BCS hostage while dangling the lucrative Rose Bowl is upset because The Man is keeping them down. Yep, they say, forcing Big Ten teams to play baseball on the road in February and March because their fields are snowed under creates a competitive disadvantage for the league when it comes to qualifying for the NCAA Tournament and the College World Series.
So the Big Ten wants the baseball season moved back, beginning at least a month later (early March) and ending well into July. And it's probably going to happen.
"I don't see how it couldn't," says a member of the NCAA baseball committee.
The reason, of course, is money. When there is money to be made -- college baseball is a clay-covered Cullinen diamond waiting to be spit-polished -- everyone has his hand out.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, we give you the connection to college football: By moving the baseball season back, the presidents of these prestigious universities are allowing an NCAA sport to be played not only beyond its proposed semester but beyond the school year. Meanwhile, the steadfast argument against a national football playoff has been that it would extend the season into the second semester. When the fifth BCS game was announced last month, it was revealed that the championship game would be played a week after the other four BCS games -- or one week into the second semester.
When the hypocrisy of that was mentioned to Oregon president Dave Frohnmayer, he quickly turned into Mel Tillis, stammering and stumbling over every response. At one point, he said the "readiness" of some universities would come into play; you know, the players, administration, fans and bands.
Holy mother of God -- the bands.
Given all that, how about that Jim Delany -- the gall of the man. We always knew the Big Ten commissioner was the most powerful BCS czar, but even he had to know how incredibly hypocritical his claim of unfair competition in college baseball sounded. Hey, Jimbo, how about we give your pitchers an expanded strike zone and your batters an extra out, too? Better yet, how about this tradeoff: We'll give you competitive baseball equity, and the Big Ten gives the Southeastern Conference a slice of the Frozen Four revenue.
If there is a divide between the Big Ten and the rest of college baseball, it's the same between the BCS and non-BCS teams in football. Those who spend money on a sport and make a systematic effort to enrich the program on and off of the field reap the benefits. Rice and Cal State Fullerton, the past two College World Series champions, have immaculate facilities and long-standing commitments that make most Big Ten baseball programs look like your local Little League teams.
The Big Ten is like the king complaining he doesn't have enough gold.
Staff writer Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. Email him at mhayes@sportingnews.com and include your name and location.