The Sports Corner - Talking All Kinds Of Sports

[Geezer]

Is there a rule that states you have to schedule non-conference teams? They could, theoretically, have each of the 11 teams play every team in their division, plus a conference championship.

Even if they didn't though, look at the Big East in basketball. Its a huge conference and they still make it work.

[Buscemi]

It's standard for a college team to have 3-4 non-conference teams on the schedule. Also, smaller schools depend on the money.

[Geezer]

I know it's standard, that wasn't the question. And they could easily just play a rotating schedule. They don't have to play everyone. It probably won't last, but I think its a step towards deflecting the super-conferences, which they need to do, if they want to be included in the eventual playoff structure.

[Buscemi]

I don't really know if it's required but it is encouraged.

[Buscemi]

And the conference moves continue. TCU and West Virginia join the Big 12 (giving the Big 12 East Coast exposure), Missouri is about to join the SEC (giving the SEC Midwestern exposure) and Central Florida, Houston and SMU are to be confirmed as Big East members on Tuesday.

At the moment, the Big 12 plans to stay at 10 (I really don't get why, as the jokes of the inaccurate name as well as the memories of Dan Beebe trying to destroy the conference will continue) and will not seek Louisville despite Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's attempts to get them in. Meanwhile, the Big East is attempting to offer BYU, Army, Memphis, East Carolina and Temple deals to enter their conference to keep a BCS bid.

My suggestion to the Big East: encourage one of the non-football schools to start football or attempt Division I-A status. Georgetown and Villanova have Division I-AA teams and could see increased revenue by expanding their athletic programs (they also are in the large markets of Washington and Philadelphia). DePaul and Marquette also have large to decent-sized markets (Chicago and Milwaukee) and could benefit from football. And St. John's has the New York market. These teams are missing out on a good opportunity to not only increase revenue, but save their conference too.

[Geezer]

Boosh, everything you said makes sense.

[Buscemi]

For real or are you joking like always?

[Geezer]

No, for real. It makes no sense for the Big 12 not to attempt to get back to 12 teams, unless they really want their conference to die. And it would make sense for big schools in the Big East to at least try and assimilate into 1-A football. Look at how well it worked for Uconn. They've already been to a BCS bowl and have only been a 1-A program for a couple years. I don't see why Georgetown of Villanova can't do the same, or at least attempt it.

[Buscemi]

The Missouri to SEC move is official. I figured it had to happen sooner or later, seeing how disastrous their football season has been.

[Buscemi]

The end of an era in Penn State: Joe Paterno has been let go as head coach after an chain of events (such as an assistant coach who couldn't keep his hands off players) partially linked to him got out in the past week. I was convinced that he would keep coaching until he died, seeing how much he loved the job.

[Geezer]

The Penn State story would make a FANTASTIC film. Think about it, there are just so many angles, so many players, so many interesting characters. A major institution, with a cult-like following, who practically owns an entire region, covered up the biggest scandal in the HISTORY OF SPORTS for years and years. You have the Grad assistant who saw the monster Sandusky rape a young boy, he tells Joe Paterno, the infallible and beloved head coach, and what happens? Nothing. The Grad assistant gets a promotion and a full time job to stay hushed up. You have Second Mile, Sandusky's front of an organization who are supposed to be helping at risk kids when in reality its a feeding ground for his sick pleasures (and potentially for pimping out children to wealthy boosters at Penn State). You have the District Attorney who was prosecuting the case who DISAPPEARED and all they found was his laptop in a bottom of a river. Its SO FASCINATING. Someone call Oliver Stone. A JFK style film would be brilliant about all of this.

[Buscemi]

Hollywood would tone down the molestation elements, a major part of the story, though.

There have been some people who think that this will be what Paterno will be remembered for. I don't. Woody Hayes had a similar firing (for punching an opposing player) but that gets overshadowed by his wins. I expect Joe Pa to be vindicated the same.

[Geezer]

Punching a player and covering up child rape are very different.

And in the right hands, they wouldn't have to tone it down. There have been plenty of really dark themed films. I'm not saying it has to be shown, but I just feel like this is too good a story not to be explored

[Geezer]

Call it "Cowardly Lions"

[Buscemi]

As a sports movie, Hollywood would want that teen crowd. Friday Night Lights was toned down to a PG-13 and suffered. The Basketball Diaries, though R, toned down a lot of the drug content from the book and really suffered (updating the setting didn't help either). Coach Carter suffered as a PG-13 film since it didn't feel very realistic due to toning down content. An R rated movie would be better but it wouldn't be commercial (football movies also don't make money internationally).