Holiday Season

First off I'll have to apologize to all the Huguenuts out there for my (our) absence from the blog. Hopefully we haven't driven all of our endearing fans away.

I just thought that I would reach out to all of our fans and wish all of them and their families a very happy and happy holiday season. In addition to the presents, annoying family members, tacky holiday sweaters or posters of Harley the average sports fan gets to sit back and watch 30 something college bowl games, NBA Hardwood, cold ass NFL games and especially college hoops!

Iona vs. UCONN, Kobe and Lebron, Big Blues departure from "the stadium" and New Years day football, that's our weekend! Sorry mom and dad your presents don't mean crap compared to the emotional wins Iona gives me or the tears in my eye to see Big Blue wave goodbye to the seats! Not to mention the thrill of watching 30 bowl games while holding your parlay sheet like Tom Landry and Scotty Bowman held game notes!

I went to Iona v. FDU last night, Jay will be in East Rutherford on Sunday while Mike, Brendan and my self will be in Hartford to watch the Gaels do battle the Huskies. All of us would have been at the Iona/FDU game last night but, Mikey5 had gotten up at 4am to purchase the new Jordan's, Jay was in CT getting fit for a tuxedo for a big sports award ceremony in April and Brendan had one of his 11 holiday parties for his sports junkie family! See, all of our lives revolve around the games we live, love and play!

Make sure you tune in to the Iona/UCONN game and have a very Merry Christmas!

The Big 13, 14, 15???

No fluffy bullshit today folks, let's just get done to business.

Now there's a million things I could discuss today...Tiger's Debacle, Saints/Colts drive for perfection, the recent deals made by the Red Sox and Yankees, the untimely passing of Chris Henry, but one story has more impact on me than any other...Big Ten Expansion.

I make no bones about it, since my childhood days when I first saw my father don Penn State gear, I've had a crush on the Big Ten. The oldest conference in America boasts some of the most elite and well-known universities in the country. Their endowments would do much to help ya boy Obama get us out of the financial crisis. Their love of sports, legendary. I was probably 9 or 10 when I decided that a Wolverine just sounded more ferocious than a Nittany Lion and I've bled Maize and Blue ever since.

I don't want Big Ten Expansion folks...there's too much history here, too much personality (no doubt all of you reading this know there are not 10, but 11 institutions in the Big Ten, just check out the logo and look closely).

Ya, I know it worked for the ACC and it even turned out to be a good thing for the Big East (by default), but the Big Ten is better than that.

But Brendan, they would be able to add a Championship Game, play past Thanksgiving, and it would give them a better shot at a national title year in and year out.

I can't disagree with you kids, but I'm simply asking that for once, tradition trumps monetary gain.

With the exception of Penn State gaining membership in 1993, the Big Ten Conference has remained largely untouched since 1896....the same can't be said for the Pac-10, Big 12 or SEC.

So Pac-10 take your beautiful women, Big 12 enjoy your fantastic, pro-style QB's, and the SEC can continue to shell out 4.2 second 40-yard dash times each year...I'll take my slow, methodical, plodding, 11:00AM local kickoff time, run between the tackles, Big Ten style any day of the week.

Which team would be the best?

Seeing as how Joe Pa has been begging for expansion ever since the mid to late 90's, I'll appease him to at least disclose (if it had to be done!), which team(s), I'd pick.

Obviously, Notre Dame on location and prestige alone would be fantastic. Besides half the teams the Irish seem to play each year reside in the nation's oldest conference. Let's be honest here though folks....Notre Dame loves it's label as one of only three independents left in the country (Navy and Army being the others), and over my dead body will they give up a lifetime TV contract with NBC.

So how about Pittsburgh...has a natural rivalry with Penn State, it's already in pseudo Big Ten country, has a big time football program? Sounds good huh? Ain't gonna happen though for one reason and one reason only...the Big Ten likes to play its games on campus before packed and frenzied crowds....the Panthers play at Heinz Field....the Big Ten doesn't like corporate.

How about UConn or 'Cuse? They'd certainly up the ante on the hardwood! Sorry folks, this deal, like the 2004-2005 exodus in the Big East, is all about the pigskin and the Orange and Huskies just don't cut it. Besides, both schools are so closely linked, you'd figure either both would go or neither.

I'm not even going to entertain the thought of Missouri, Nebraska or Iowa State....they already all play in the Big 12, no sense in leaving.

So who does that leave? Ahhh, the State University of New Jersey, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Now before I go into this, understand that I think Rutgers and the Big Ten go together like eskimos and heat, I'm just talking from the Big Ten's prospective. Let's see...they play on campus, access to the New York media market, outstanding academics, a football tradition that dates back to 1873!, half the kids that play Big Ten football already come from the New Jersey area, and the last few years Greg Schiano's bunch has been quite formidable. Seems like the obvious choice if you ask me?

Big Ten....your notoriety is in your tradition....don't give that up!

You bet your ass, I'll be on my way to Piscataway for that first Rutgers-Miiiiiiiiiiiichigan game though!