Big Ten Football: Network still has issues
I am now officially worn out from Big Ten Network talk.
I'm tired of the now endless commercials running on local television channels begging fans of Big Ten schools to contact a certain local cable provider to pick up the channel.
We're a mere 21 days away from the BTN launching on DirecTV and several other smaller cable outlets all over the Midwest and portions of the East Coast. That means we're 21 days away from local Penn State fans sans DirecTV being left in the dark for at minimum three broadcasts on television unless a deal is struck with Comcast.
But the network powers took the time Wednesday to layout their blueprint for the network. It sounds fine on paper, but I will be honest, I'm not going to watch this channel for anything other than football coverage, their nightly ‘SportsCenter' type program, or the occasional Big Ten basketball game. I'm more of an SEC basketball guy anyway.
I'm honestly not intrigued at hearing the President of Indiana University speak, I'm not really interested in watching volleyball of either gender, wrestling, tennis, or anything other Big Ten football.
It's not a slight to athletes that participate in those sports, but they just don't appeal to me in that way.
If I want to watch some of the lesser commercialized college sports, I have ESPNU to fulfill that craving. And BTN powers that be can talk all they want about gender equity in their programming and how the channel will give exposure to ‘other' sports, but we know what the cash cow is going to be with the channel.
We know what people will watch it for and likely what they will pass over when flipping the channel.
That said, BTN studio host, and former ESPN anchor, Dave Revsine had some interesting things to say during a conference call with the media Wednesday afternoon.
Among the hotbed questions, equal treatment for all 11 teams on a football Saturday. Every fan of a Big Ten school feels their team deserves top billing no matter how poor, no matter how great.
“Will it be equal treatment? I mean are we going to be sitting there with a stopwatch saying ‘we've got to speak on each team equally?' Absolutely not,” Revsine said. “But will you get more coverage of your team here than you would anywhere else? Whether it be Michigan or Ohio State when they're No. 1-2 in the country, or any other team late in the season? Absolutely.”
Revsine and co-hosts Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith, all three Big Ten alums, will travel to each campus to meet with coaches and players of all 11 football teams in the coming weeks. They will cover all aspects of the conference, good or bad.
“We feel like we have a responsibility, journalistically, to cover the Big Ten,” Revsine said. “And obviously our hope is the primary component of that will be the stuff that's happening on the field and the positive stories that come out of athletic competition. But let's be honest here, part of college athletics is that there are stories that aren't quite as positive and I (asked) those guys ‘are we going to cover those stories,' and they said absolutely.”
“Our thought is this. If somebody has to go somewhere else to get news and information on the Big Ten, on schools in the Big Ten, then we failed.”
Aside from Saturday football coverage, the BTN is in the process of creating several shows to anchor their nightly coverage. One of which is dubbed ‘Big Ten Tonight' which will cover the days events in the conference, in “SportsCenter” form.
Among the other programs:
-A Friday night two-hour kickoff show called “Tailgate Show,” which will have a “live presence” at every Big Ten campus hosting a game that particular weekend.
-On football Saturday's the network will air a preview show that begins at 11 a.m. eastern.
-A postgame show following the first game of the day leading up to the 3:30 p.m game on ABC
-A pregame show for the Saturday night primetime games.
-A wrap-up show every Saturday night in addition to ‘Big Ten Tonight.'
Those are all interesting concepts, and it's doubtful, save for ‘Big Ten Tonight' that type of coverage will be devoted to any other sport besides football.
Bucos to Buckeyes
Ohio State might have a wild-card in their quarterback race headed into the heart of preseason practice. According to the Plain Dealer in Cleveland, 21-year-old freshman Joe Bauserman debuted at practice earlier this week. Bauserman was ranked among the top 50 prep quarterbacks coming out of high school but opted to play baseball in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization when he was drafted in the fourth round of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft.
Junior Todd Boeckman is expected to open the season as the Buckeyes starter, with sophomore Robbie Schoenhoft his likely backup.
Scheduling woes
As Penn State works out the final touches on their 2008 and 2009 football schedules, Michigan officially completed their 2008 schedule Monday by adding Utah. Michigan has reportedly approached Cincinnati about a series according to the Ann Arbor News. Scheduling continues to be an issue for every Big Ten team. Eight Big Ten schools play at least one I-AA opponent this coming season. That number could grow in coming seasons.
Recruiting Notes
Late last week Penn State lost out on Norcross High School (Georgia) star receiver Brice Butler, but they are still in the mix for star running back Michael Shaw from Trotwood, Ohio. Shaw is considering the Nittany Lions among several other schools and the Nittany Lions are also in the mix for Darrell Scott.........The top recruit in state, Jeanatte's Terrelle Pryor is expected to take an official visit to Penn State on September 8 and will watch the Notre Dame game from the sidelines according to one recruiting service.....Altoona star prospect AJ Alexander narrowed his college choices down to five saying he is considering Penn State, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Virginia Tech and Tennessee, with Penn State as his favorite. Alexander de-committed from Florida State earlier this summer and is no longer considering the Seminoles.
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