It has only been since August 1st, 2007 that the Big Ten Network has launched, but with the amount of frustrations experienced as a result of it, it seems like much longer to the average sports fan.

I’ve lived within the Big Ten footprint during this time, so naturally I’ve followed this situation carefully. My favorite team is not in my local area, so with this network I was supposed to be getting all of their games. All subscribers to both DirecTV and Dish Network have the network, while cable companies with the channel seem to be very few and very far between.

Frustrations and anxiety have been high as fans head out to bars/restaurants to catch games because they can’t get them at home. In the beginning, it seemed that most of the anger was focused on the cable companies for not making a deal, but now I’m mostly seeing anger directed at the Big Ten conference. After all, these games used to be broadcast for free on basic channels.

The few people that have the channel have now started to complain about the quality of their programming and announcers.

Another problem that has come about as a result of this channel is schools often now have to wait until 9:00 p.m. EST / 8:00 p.m. CST to start the games. As a result, attendance is down at most Big Ten games.

So where do you stand on this? Has the Big Ten Network been a success? If you are a fan of another conference, do you want your conference to launch their own network?

Popularity: 5% [?]

Recently the NFL combine kicked off and values began being placed on the heads of many future NFL athletes.   In addition to competing in all sorts of athletic situations that have nothing to do with their ability to play football on gameday, athletes are also put through some crazy mental challenges.

Unfortunately, the results of these tests will determine the “value” of these players, rather than looking at their on-the-field accomplishments over the previous 3-5 years at their respective colleges.   If you look over the players that have drastically increased their draft value at the combine based on the results of their drills, you’ll often find players that don’t live up to the higher draft slot.

What do you think?   How much stock would you place in the NFL combine if you were a GM/Coach?

Popularity: 4% [?]

January

• David Beckham announced he would be leaving Real Madrid to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
• Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. elected to baseball hall of fame
• Florida Gators defeated the Ohio state Buckeyes to win the BCS National Championship in college football.

February

• Indianapolis Colts defeated the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI.

March

• Morgan Pressell, at 18 years 313 days old, became the youngest woman to ever win a major in golf when she won the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

April

• Randy Moss was traded from Oakland Raiders to New England Patriots.
• The University of Florida became the first school in NCAA history to win a college football and basketball title in the same academic year, by defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Final Four Basketball Championship game in Atlanta.
• Zach Johnson won his first major by winning at the Masters.

May

• Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated Oscar De La Hoya by a split decision and took the WBC Junior Middleweight title.
• Diego Corrales (boxer) died in a three-vehicle car accident near his Las Vegas home.

June

•  The San Antonio Spurs won their fourth NBA championship when they swept the Cleveland Cavaliers.
• The Anaheim Ducks defeated the Ottawa Senators to win the Stanley Cup. 
• The Hamburg Sea Devils defeated the Frankfurt Galaxy to win the World Bowl XV in NFL Europa.

July

• The American League defeated the National League 5-4 in Major League Baseball.
• Bill Walsh (former NFL coach) died of Leukemia.

August

• Barry Bonds became the all-time home run king when he hit his 756th homer.
• Tiger Woods won his 13th major by winning the PGA Championship.
• Lorena Ochoa won her first major by winning the Women’s British Open.

September

• The 5th ranked Michigan Wolverines became the first ever division 1 team to lose to a FSC (formerly division 1-AA) team, when they lost at home to the Appalachian State Mountaineers 34-32.
• Major League Baseball rookie Clay Bucholz of the Boston Red Sox threw a no-hitter in just his second career start.
• Roger Federer won the US Open.

October

• The Boston Red Sox swept the Colorado Rockies to win their second World Series in four years.

November

• Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings set the single game NFL record when he rushed for 296 yards.
• Jimmy Johnson won the Nextel Cup.
• Roger Federer lost back-to-back tennis matches for the first time in nearly five years.
• Sean Taylor (NFL player) died after being shot in a robbery attempt of his girlfriend’s place of residence.

December

• The Mitchell report was released naming players such as Roger Clemens as being associated with purchasing and/or using performance enhancing drugs.
• Quarterback Tim Tebow of the Florida Gators became the first sophomore to ever win the Heisman Trophy.

Popularity: 12% [?]

In the past, BCS has always stood for Bowl Championship Series, but it looks like this year the name will need to be changed to Bowl Chaos Series.  We won’t know until tonight, but Ohio State figures to move to the number 1 slot after two weeks of not losing while sitting on their couches.   Who deserves that other spot?

• USC - Probably the best team in college football right now.   Their loses came to Oregon and Stanford while there quarterback was out.  It looks like there loss to Division 1-AA Stanford will cost them a spot in the title game.  I also think voters will want to see some new blood in the title game.
• Oklahoma - Another great team, but has a loss to the lowly Colorado Buffaloes.  Also, was very close to losing to 3-9 Iowa State.  This team often looks like a national power, but when they are off, they are really off.
• Virginia Tech - This team is not truly in consideration, despite both losses coming to the #2 team in the country at the time they played.   One of those losses is to LSU by over 40 points.
• LSU - Both losses came in triple overtime to SEC teams.  Won the toughest conference in college football this year.   This team is probably the favorite out of the 2 loss teams.
• Kansas - 11-1, but didn’t beat a ranked team the entire season and didn’t play for their own conference championship.
• Georgia - Probably the hottest team in college football right now with 6 straight wins, but didn’t even play for the SEC championship this season.  With that said, the managed not to lose Saturday, which worked for Ohio State.

Overall, it looks like LSU is the most likely to make it to the championship game to play Ohio State.  I do not think Ohio State deserves to be there, but I also don’t think you can leave them out in this situation.

I think its funny that everyone was so worried about seeing a West Virginia vs. Missouri championship game, because neither team is a college football powerhouse.   Now it turns out that we will have two traditional powers in the title game.  I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same…….

Popularity: 5% [?]