This is an Ohio State video that also gives a glimpse to how my interns and I approach every Skull Session production meeting:
There can only be one winner.#WinnerLoser began today.#PowerOfTheUnit https://t.co/NzpcoUO7ps
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) May 18, 2016
CONSIDER THEM ROLLED. Back in July 2011 2006, ESPN and the Big Ten went to the bargaining table. ESPN, the Worldwide Leader in Sports, made the bold play of trying to lowball Heisenberg Jim Delany, the brass-testicled commissioner of the Big Ten. Delany responded with a line that lives in Big Ten lore.
From chicagotribune.com:
"The shortest [negotiation] I ever had," Delany told the Tribune. "He lowballed us and said: 'Take it or leave it. If you don't take our offer, you are rolling the dice.' I said: 'Consider them rolled.'"
Delany had warned ESPN officials that without a significant rights-fee increase, he would try to launch a new channel that would pose competition both for TV viewers and the Big Ten's inventory of games: the Big Ten Network.
Fast forward to 2016, and Jim Delany and the Big Ten are poised to sell broadcast rights for half the Big Ten's football and basketball games for $250,000,0000 to FOX Sports. This is leading to all-time hedges like this from Chicago Tribune's Teddy Greenstein:
Abundantly clear that ABC/ESPN might not be part of next B1G media rights package
— Teddy Greenstein (@TeddyGreenstein) May 18, 2016
It's abundantly clear ESPN may not be a part of the Big Ten's next media rights practice, which also means it's abundantly clear it might get the rights!
Snark aside, when the ACC looked at moving from ESPN to FOX, ACC coaches like Gary Williams and Mike Krzyzewski revolted due to the impending loss of exposure for the conference. The ACC signed with ESPN.
But coaches don't run the Big Ten. So what's the conference to do?
From landgrantholyland.com:
Coaches understand that high school players want to be play on ESPN. That exposure, that brand, resonates with them. If you're a program that isn't getting a ton of attention, like a Purdue or a Maryland, being able to use that ESPN relationship can be even more of an advantage. And in a sport where subjective evaluation is more important than in arguably any other, is leaving a business relationship with the most important driver of conversations that wise?
The Big East, after all, saw their ratings and Q-Rating fall off considerably when they left ESPN for Fox Sports. The NHL also suffered in the short term when they left for NBC Sports. In the immediate future, it's hard to imagine Big Ten exposure not taking a short-term hit if they left for another broadcasting network.
Could the Big Ten make more money elsewhere? Sure. But who benefits from that arrangement? Let's say the Big Ten could make $50 million a year more with TNT/CBS than with ESPN. That's a little over $8 million a school. Is that $8 million the difference between Purdue being bad at football, and average at football? Is it enough to allow a Big Ten program to start a hockey team? Is that what pushes Nebraska over the proverbial hump?
If we're being honest, it probably isn't.
Also worth noting Big Ten revenue is up 33%, which is great news for suit-wearers and no news for the jersey-wearers.
I, like most fans (I assume), don't give a damn what network ends up with the other half of the Big Ten's rights. I watch games on mute; Ohio State's #brand is booming, and as pointed out by Ramzy, ESPN controls College Football Playoff rights until 2025. Buckeye exposure will be fine regardless.
I hope whenever that money tsunami hits the Big Ten's headquarters, some of these hundreds of millions of dollars can be put aside to help past athletes still dealing with the ramifications of their playing careers. If one exists, it should be expanded.
For example, what help was there for a guy like Chico Nelson? The answer is "Not enough."
Instead of lining executives' pockets, creating hockey teams, or building another palatial athletics lounge, I think the Big Ten should help create a medical fund for players of past eras whose bodies are betraying them. It would display the same kind of vision Delany showed with the Big Ten Network.
But given the NFL stonewalling adequate financing for a similar setup, I'm not holding my breath.
EL GUAPO RIDES AGAIN. Carlos Hyde looked poised for an All-Pro season after the San Francisco 49ers' first game last season, but the wagon came unhinged to the point Jim Tomsula, their former coach, might be driving semis in Alaska now.
Enter Chip Kelly, who isn't known for producing punishing, downhill running backs. But neither was his friend, Urban Meyer, before he met a fat and out of shape running back in November 2011.
From ninersnation.com:
"Carlos is a stud," Chip Kelly said. "He's been full-go since we started in the beginning of April. Participated in everything. And he's as advertised. To have someone that size that is that agile, has that vision, it's really impressive to see him work every day. There have been no restrictions on him at all. He's full clear, 100 percent, and he's going. He's really good, we're really excited about him."
I expect my computer football backfield of Ezekiel Elliott and Carlos Hyde to lead me to the City of Kings Computer Football League championship this year. It's a shame one or the other will be forced to lose to the Cleveland Browns and the Robert Griffin–Terrelle Pryor connection in the Super Bowl.
BOSA ≠ WATT. Jeffri Chadiha of NFL.com wrote an article about Joey Bosa being ticketed to play the "J.J. Watt role" for the San Diego Chargers. It makes sense because the two have a lot in common. They're both blond-haired former Big Ten defensive linemen.
From espn.com (via @GoBucks2204):
Can we stop with the comparisons please
— Joey Bosa (@jbbigbear) May 18, 2016
My take: Whether you want to be compared to Watt or not, those expectations come with being the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. While it's understandable that Bosa wants to let people know that he stands on his own, the Ohio State product also should embrace the lofty expectations. Like Bosa, the Chargers have done their best to stay away from the Watt comparisons. However, Bosa has the versatility to move up and down the defensive line in San Diego's 3-4 scheme. Of course, he still has to prove himself on the field first.
My take: Bosa's game isn't built on athleticism. He worked to become the No. 3 pick in the NFL draft, and him being tired of bad comparisons with J.J. Watt doesn't mean he's avoiding expectations.
Bosa needs to prove it, but he will.
GODSPEED, ROBY. I've long held a dream where an athlete presented with the "Talk about..." prompt says, "No" before staring the reporter down to the point of uncomfortableness.
That dream is still unrealized, but we did get a taste of it thanks to Bradley Roby, who is gunning for a starting position with the Denver Broncos this summer:
Reporter: "Do you view yourself as a stater?"
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) May 18, 2016
Bradley Roby: "Yes."
Reporter: "Can you expand on that?"
Roby: "I view myself as a starter."
Bad things happen when reporters create their angles before interviewing their subject.
COLUMBUS: WE'RE NO. 1 IN OHIO! Welcome to Columbus, Ohio, where we exercise once a month, don't like fruits or vegetables, and love to blaze cigarettes.
From nbc4i.com:
According to the latest American Fitness Index report, Columbus is just the 38th fittest city in the United States. 77 percent of people did say they exercised in the last month, but the survey concluded that 33 percent of people living in Columbus are considered Obese. The city also has a higher than average smoker rate at 18.8% and ranked lower than the national average when it came to overall healthy habits, including eating fruits and veggies.
Columbus is also the least fit of the major cities in Ohio. Cleveland ranked 25th on the list. Cincinnati ranked 23rd.
The fittest city nationwide, for the 3rd year in a row, is Washington D.C. The result found 80 percent of people in our nation’s capitol did some sort of physical activity in the last 30 days. Only 3 percent have heart disease, 8 percent have diabetes and 25 percent are considered obese. Overall, 59 percent of people in Washington DC are in excellent or very good health.
I bet $100 Columbus ranks higher than Cincinnati, Cleveland, and D.C. in denizen happiness, though!
THOSE WMDs. The rise of bee thieves... Jelly Belly family sued over WWII tank death... The puzzling plummet of RG3.... Where #teens can legally drink in the United States... Even in fast-changing India, kushti wrestling is a wellspring of power, pride, and identity.
