Posted on 06/16/2003 3:42:10 AM PDT by putupon
Pickin' and Grinnin': College football goes to the courts
June 12, 2003
The unthinkable has happened. College football is now mirroring society. Let's all officially welcome the group entering through the back door, with their shiny suits and plastic hair and their arguments for the sake of argument. Ladies and gentlemen, lawyers and politicians have their slithery sights set on our sacred game.
The problem: They were invited by five jilted and jaded girlfriends from the Big East, who can't understand why The Bachelor didn't pick them.
Officials from Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Rutgers have filed suit against the ACC, charging that the league and Miami and Boston College conspired to leave the Big East more than a year ago, despite Miami's assurances that it wasn't going anywhere. Yeah, so?
It's as comical as it is pathetic. The ACC decides to expand and invites Miami, Boston College and Syracuse. Those who don't get invites revert to a cycle that any freshmen psychology major could explain. First you kiss, then you beg, then you file suit.
And if all else fails, call your governor for help.
Someone please tell the honorable Gov. Mark Warner that his state has a $535 million shortfall of support for basic education. Let's see, the Hokies in the BCS (which is what this is all about), or the educational welfare of children in Virginia?
A quick aside to the honorable West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise: Don't even think about it. You've got a school there in Huntington that, along with the other 50-plus teams not in the Big Six confernces, has been getting screwed by the BCS since its inception. Can't back one state school and not the other; let WVU take this frivolous fight alone.
The Futile Five started out by joining hands and pleading for unity at the Big East meetings last month. This was the kissing stage. We still love you, we can make it work, we'll pay more attention (give you more money) to you. Then comes the begging stage. For this, we look to Virginia Tech.
First, the Hokies tried to get Warner to politically pressure Virginia into agreeing to expansion only if Tech was involved. Didn't work. The Hokies also tried a fancy double reverse, having a group of university bigwigs travel to the ACC offices and beg for admission. Once that failed, the next stage was inevitable: litigation.
Since when did entitlement become the right of every American? The Futile Five weren't too concerned about the rest of the Division I teams getting hosed by the BCS's monopoly not so long ago. So now, when it suits their needs, they're high and mighty.
What we have here is a group of schools getting booted from an exclusive club they helped form in the 1990s, and now their noses are suddenly pressed against the windows looking in. Does anyone else see the irony?
Instead wasting time and effort and money with pointless litigation, perhaps the Futile Five and Big East commish Mike Tranghese should focus their efforts on landing Notre Dame and keeping their automatic BCS bid. There's a solid base with the Futile Five; Pitt and Tech are among the nation's top 25, and West Virginia is on its way back. Then there's Connecticut, which could be a major player, given time.
And if all else fails, simply adhere to the last stage of denial: acceptance
"Tried to get" is a back asswards way to say "asked". You seem to be confusing "asking" with "groveling". You must be married.
Sorry, I keep thinking of Clinton...I truly wish there was some way Razorbacks could get the stain of him washed clean!
Not about the constituents that support UVa. Last time I checked, UVa was in Virginia. You know, the school founded by limited government supporter named Thomas Jefferson, you may have heard of him.
Mr. Jefferson would be most distressed at his University, or more correctly the community surrounding his University today.
Hey Mud, does UVA have a football team? ;-)
Actually he and the RINOs did get The University to pull for VPI, as did Georgia Tech. In fact, the yellow bellied weasel Casteen may still be for VT or nothing.
But what did those ungrateful wretches from Blacksburg do? Turn around and sue us. What a bunch of lowlifes.
Miami is leaving the Big East and Florida State is going with them, one way or another. So VPI decides it will take the ACC down with it.
Then we can all be playing JMU every year for homecoming.
No, I do have that bassakwards, JMU will consider themselves too good, it's Harrisonburg or nothing for UVa and Tech.
Thanks a load of turkeyspit, you've achieved what happens every time the courts get involved, reducing both parties down to an equal level of misery.
Cryin' shame, ain't it? But from my perspective the fault is in Miami and a few others stabbing the Big East in the back to depart for an inferior football conference. Yes indeed, I said inferior.
We'll decide that issue on 11-29 in Charlottesville. It should be an interesting game this year, to say the least. I'm wondering if MarkyMark Wormer will be in Charlottesville to award the trophy to the winner? And Jerry "sell 'em out" Kilgore? He has season tickets. Somebody already posted where he parks on the football board.
Yo...wait...halt...that is "QB" not "QBs." Singular. One quarterback.
Let's have a show of hands for all those college teams that haven't had players get in trouble with the law. What? No hands? I thought so...
As someone who thought Miami and Florida State had a far too easy road to get to a BCS Bowl every year, I actually welcome the merger because then one or the other might not get to go every year. Let them find out what the Big XII and SEC schools already know - that you can beat yourself silly trying to get to a conference titile game, lose there, and wind up with the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl or the Culligan Water Holiday Bowl as your reward. They can ask Florida how fun that prospect is - if they're still on speaking terms with the Gators.
Lord, where do I start?
Seems the 'Noles have been playing Miami just about every year for forever. They have also been playing Florida, just about every year. Do you know ANY OTHER TEAM that uses two of it's patsy non-conference slots to play teams that consistently rank in the top ten? And when not playing those two non-conference powerhouses, they match up with Pitt or Syracuse or West Virgina...
IN conference we have those easy teams like NC State (11-3), or Virginia (9-5), or Maryland (11-3). Clemson often is tough, as is Georgia Tech. Florida State does not have a cakewalk to the national championship. In fact strength of schedule has been the deciding factor twice in Florida State's favor in recent BCS polling.
Having Miami in the ACC will give the ACC a great championship game and should FSU and Miami play as they have in the past, it is entirely possible they could rematch in the BCS Championship game.
And, no, we are never on speaking terms with the Gators.
One game won't decide anything. The ACC is a superior basketball conference; it's an inferior football conference. (This is coming from an ACC grad.)
PUH-LEEZE!
It's BECAUSE Miami and FSU play such a B-movie conference schedule that they *have* to play each other and Florida to boost their RPI. I'm sorry. Playing every other year in Blacksburg or College Park is NOTHING compared to playing every other year in Knoxville, Columbus or Lincoln with everything on the line - and you know it.
It took FSU - what? - three or four years before they even LOST an ACC conference game. How many conference games did Miami lose in ten years? Less than five? FSU had a terrible year last season and *still* got an automatic BCS bowl bid because the rest of the conference was no better. At least if they and Miami are in the smae conference, they can't both have the same engraved invitation to a BCS bowl every year. They won't each have their own cakewalk to get there.
In the past, when FSU looses to Miami, yes the BE was superior. When Miami was still coming back, FSU was ready to, and did, beat the BE champs chumps every time.
This season, when UVa is ACC champion, and Miami is BE champion (for maybe the last, hopefully) time, well, we won't know unless The University gets the BCS slot that plays them.
As for BB being inferior in the BE overall, that's the another reason, besides the fact the no one likes them but MarkyMark Wormer, SU got the last opening offer over VPI.
The fans in the stands don't mean squat. The people on the couch at home watching the game and the commercials are what count. Solid large population East Coast from Miami to Massachusetts Two Division ACC, now that's what will make ratings, and that's where the real money is. Gate reciepts are just chump change.
Yup...the best in the Commonwealth, as we will demonstrate in November!!
FReegards...MUD
Yup...the best in the Commonwealth, as we will demonstrate in November!!
Now, if we could just find a real Republican somewhere to run for office, we would be set.
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