Good morning Buckeye America. I hope everyone is recovering from a quality 4th of July and enjoying Magna Carta.
The most sports action happening right now is probably in your front yard instead of on TV, which is interesting considering the debate over the influence of TV on athletics conference decisions.
Jeremy Fowler explores whether the ACC was actually "handcuffed by a television bogeyman" in its decision to add Pitt and Syracuse. That is, who really sits on the iron throne of collegiate athletic decisions? Delany has an opinion:
Television has input and influence but isn't dictating to conferences.
At least not at the highest levels, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said.
"The guys at the top dictate terms -- they have more leverage, they can control their terms," said Delany, who says he didn't consult ESPN or Fox when adding Maryland and Rutgers last fall.
So, does that imply that the ACC isn't one of "the guys at the top?" You tell me.
I would imagine that he's telling the truth that the Big Ten didn't consult ESPN or Fox in the most recent round of expansion – he didn't need to.
Delany had the Big Ten Network to do that kind of market research for him. Even when you control your own TV network, complete with all of the leverage and term-controlling that comes with it, TV can still be the primary impetus for expansion and schedule decisions.
The difference is that the leverage is in-house, which is a definite advantage for Delany.
If a conference has leverage, Delany says, it can define the "rules of engagement" on matters such as scheduling.
"You could then align the programming and the start times, and you could have more control," Delany said. "The more powerful you are in the marketplace, the more control you exert, not less."
Analyzing conference decision making is difficult because the relationship between money, TV, and athletics is complicated.
BRAINS, BRAINS! Nebraska is doing football a solid and helping research a better way to detect concussions. Because of the new Nebraska Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, the day may have arrived when players may be able to slip on an EEG net and get reliable results on whether they have a concussion.
That means no more controversy about whether certain players have concussions and then return to games.
Craft and Stanzi: True American heroes Not only does this program improve athletes' lives and scientists' understanding of concussions but it has the potential to further academic research in other areas while athletes are being scanned.
While the tech isn't quite ready for primetime, the Tom Osborne-supported initiative looks extremely promising all around.
I NEED ABOUT (TREE) FIDDY. Listen, July 4th is one of the best days of the year, but it's a slow day for sports news. So why not run a story about the top 50 college players in 2013?
USA Today is actually fairly comprehensive in this list, including the obvious (Johnny M, Clowney, Marqise Lee) as well as some up-and-coming stats monsters (Brett Hundley, Ed Reynolds, Aaron Lynch).
Braxton, Shazier, and Roby are the three Buckeyes that made the cut:
9. Braxton Miller [QB(Jr) - ...Questions linger about Miller’s ceiling as a passer. He can still run his way to a Big Ten title.
27. Bradley Roby [CB(Jr) - One of the best cover-corners in the country. Gets it done on defense and special teams. While this 40 time is almost certainly an exaggeration, he’s very quick.
31. Ryan Shazier [LB(Jr) - Yeah, he’s not the best pass rusher. Yeah, he could work on his tackling technique. But Shazier has an innate timeliness you can’t really teach. He makes plays in the backfield. He can drop back into coverage. He will have to be the leader for a young Ohio State front seven.
I'll give you that RDS's early season tackling technique needed some work, but it absolutely improved as the season went on. Second, RDS isn't a good pass rusher? Really?
WAHLBERG IN THE BIG HOUSE. This is undoubtedly the worst move of Wahlberg's career – yes, including Max Payne. Mark recently took in Michigan's practice and caught a few passes from Gardner while filming Transformers 4 in the area.
Luckily Vint is there to make fun of it (and the rest of the Big Ten). My favorite:
Wahlberg caught a pair of touchdown passes from Gardner. Those two scores will give Wahlberg the Big Ten touchdown reception lead until November.
I'm actually not sure if that's a joke or a fairly decent prediction.
AMERICAN LINKS. Very patriotic of you, UConn... Which teams toss the rock the most?... The return of fullback... Honey Badger fluff piece... Ray Lewis is on a big mountain... IMPORTANT... UF QB Driskel signs with Red Sox as insurance after his football career is over.
