Illinois will face off against USC in the Rose Bowl, meaning that Michigan will be in the Capital One Bowl, typically reserved for the #2 team in the Big Ten (this year, it will be the #3 team, as the conference has two BCS teams). The Wolverines will face off against the Gators of Florida, likely giving Ron English one last chance to stop a spread offense.
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With both Wisconsin and Michigan State doing some flailing, it was up in the air which game next week would fall to the Big Ten Network.
Michigan/Michigan State has been selected by ABC, and OSU/Wisconsin will fall to BTN. This means Michigan’s final three games of the season will be on network television.
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Three Illinois freshmen, Brian Gamble, Daryle Ballew, and Mark Jackson, were arrested outside a bar on campus Wednesday night. Coach Zook decided after practice Thursday to suspend the three for at least this weekend. The charges against all players are alcohol-related.
Gamble has played in six games for the Illini, clocking time as both a receiver and ball carrier, as well as in the defensive secondary. He has 5 rushes for 19 yards, and 8 receptions for 77 yards. Jackson and Ballew have both been non-contributors so far this year.
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Cy-Fair vs. Cypress Falls tonight at 8pm EDT on ESPN2. As Brian put it, Sam McGuffie gets more national coverage than the University of Michigan. I’m going to try to watch at least halftime through the beginning of garbage time and give my impressions.
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For those who aren’t quite aware of the coverage situation, it basically breaks down like this:
There are more nuances, but these are the relevant aspects of the deal for now. The Big Ten Network played their second choice card this week, and they have 2 of them left. Michigan must be covered in November. Their November games are as follows:
These are all big games, with Ohio State definitely slated to appear on ABC, and one of the other two having to be on the Big Ten Network. The November 3rd weekend Big Ten schedule looks like this:
…I think you can figure out where this is headed by now. The Wisconsin @ Ohio State game is already locked into ABC. The Big Ten has a second-choice card left. They will play it in a week that a) gives them the bet game they can get, and b) puts a ton of pressure on Comcast.
The Michigan/Michigan State game is almost guaranteed to be on the Big Ten Network. Please note that this is mostly speculation, but it is not without good sources.
I am going to Northwestern this afternoon for the game tomorrow. Expect fun updates with lots of pictures and stuff. I will probably make fun of nerds to almost the degree that I do it when I’m in Ann Arbor (zing!).
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As I may have implied (or even stated outright, I don’t remember) in this space, I am currently interning for the Big Ten Network for a semester. I have also interned in the past for ESPN, and for the past two weeks, I have worked for them again. The quality not only of the product, but also of the working environment between the two companies is night and day.
Working for the Big Ten Network (I’ve done it once this year, for the Appalachian State game) is not good at all. When I work for them, I’m honestly embarrassed to be associated with such a poorly run organization. The supervisors have no fucking clue what they’re doing, and employees doing work that is contracted out don’t show up (or, more likely, the BTN forgot to hire some).
ESPN, on the other hand, is run smoothly. Fair enough, they’ve been around for 20-some odd years, compared to the BTN’s 1. However, I could literally step in and do a better job than many of the production-side employees at Big Ten Network than they do. The same could not be said for ESPN. When there is nothing for a runner to do at ESPN, it is because there really is nothing to do. At Big Ten Network, there is work to be done, but the supervisors just have no clue what the hell they’re doing.
ESPN is organized and efficient, and the Big Ten Network is, like, shitty.
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I feel compelled to write something about the BTN open house, but really nothing too much happened. Bill Martin wasn’t there, but I don’t think that is significant in any way. There were only 5 questions allowed and they were generally stupid or not pertinent.
The one question that really got a rise out the room was a little old lady who walked up to them microphone (which wasn’t working, yet everyone adjusted it to their height) and asked “Do you have a number where I can call Comcast and talk to a real person?” She was immediately surrounded by reporters because she was little, old and full of spunk!
The most entertaining thing to me, mainly because I have a unique (read: bad) sense of humor was a statement Jim Delany made during his speech. He is obviously not a politician since he doesn’t know how easily a quote can be taken out of context. The quote is:
We’re very happy to listen, explain and advocate for an idea that we think is awful…
In real life, he finished it with “important,” so he should have used the adverb instead the adjective .
Anyway, we’ll try to get the media from the open house soon. Just out of curiosity, would you people out in the Internet prefer the full video or an mp3 file of the event? The whole thing is about 45 minutes. Let us know in the comments if you have a preference.
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Not a particularly illuminating event today, especially since there was a time crunch, but some interesting information nonetheless.
Big Ten Comissioner Jim Delany was there and bitched about SEC Speed for 20 minutes before BTN President Mark Silverman took the podium and gave interesting information. Some tidbits: 
Paul was also there, so he’ll probably give a little more insight later. Also, audio/video from the event is forthcoming, as is a bit of video from football media day.
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