Monday, February 13, 2012

Big Ten Basketball Race to the Finish

It is over halfway through the Big Ten season and, while I intended to start doing this around the end of bowl season, life had other plans.  This is my discussion of the upcoming week in Big Ten Basketball where I update the conference race and project final records and seeding for the conference tournament in Indianapolis. 

The Standings
1. Michigan State (9-3)
    Ohio State (9-3)
3. Michigan (9-4)
4. Wisconsin (8-4)
5. Indiana (7-5)
6. Purdue (6-6)
7. Iowa (5-7)
    Illinois (5-7)
    Northwestern (5-7)
    Minnesota (5-7)
11. Nebraska (3-10)
      Penn State (3-10)

(Note: In the case of ties, I ordered teams based on the tie breaking procedures used in the Big Ten tournament so the order you see is what the seeds for the conference tournament would be. This has the potential to change dramatically from week to week so don't get too worked up about it.)

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Exploring ESPN's 30 for 30: Part 3. Small Potatos: Who Killed the USFL?

Director: Mike Tolin
Varsity Blues
Coach Carter
Big Fat Liar
Radio
One Tree Hill
All That
Keenan and Kell



Synopsis
The film follows the rise and fall of the USFL, an upstart spring football league which folded after trying to go head to head with the NFL in the fall.  The league appeared like a legitimate challenger to the NFL, signing Heisman trophy winners Herschel Walker, Doug Flutie, and Mike Rozier as well as future hall of famers such as Reggie White.  The USFL included 150 future NFL players and 15 pro-bowlers in its' ranks.  The piece pays particular attention to the impact of New Jersey Generals owner and celebrity icon Donald Trump, who spearheaded the move to the fall which ultimately doomed the USFL.  In 1986 the league won a key court decision against the NFL but were not awarded damages which would have kept the NFL afloat.  The league folded before it could play a single fall game.