Krut, I noticed you were sleeping with the enemy. RTR LC
--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > http://snipurl.com/8bq3 > > It's our honor and privilege to introduce ... > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > By Ivan Maisel > ESPN.com > > I'm college football, and I'm reporting for duty. > > My fellow Americans, this is the most important > season of our lifetime. > > We come together today because a new season is upon > us. Not just a new season, but a new era. From the > Atlantic Coast Conference to the Pacific-10, from > the Big East to the Western Athletic, we are ready > to embark on a journey to new places. > > We have changed our leagues, we have changed our > rules and we have changed our recruiting of the next > generation of student-athletes, the young men who > provide us with hope and, if we are head coaches, > seven-figure incomes. > > But we cannot go forward without being firmly > grounded. > > We can never forget the traditions that brought us > to this time and place. So it is that when we closed > the door of the Superdome last January, the top > three teams in the nation were LSU, USC and > Oklahoma. And so it is that when our coaches > exercised their democratic right in the preseason > poll, the top three teams were USC, Oklahoma and > LSU. > > My friends, I am honored to share this day with > Tigers coach Nick Saban and Trojans coach Pete > Carroll, who are the living embodiment that every > vote counts, unless you vote in the final USA > Today/ESPN poll. > > To those who say the same teams will forever be at > the top of college football, I say, opportunity > exists for everyone. It is part of the American > birthright. Any university that takes the > opportunity of raising $45 million for an athletic > budget can compete for the national championship. > > With the onset of the 2004 season, Miami and > Virginia Tech have shifted from the Big East to the > Atlantic Coast Conference. When Boston College > arrives next year, it will be, as Maryland coach > Ralph Friedgen put it, truly an Atlantic Coast > Conference. No discussion of which conference is the > best may begin without the ACC. > > Yet we have to be aware of the price that the ACC > has paid in the loss of trust from its allies. The > conferences must leave behind the mindset of, 'I > don't care where I end up, as long as they are as > screwed as we are.' We must look forward to the day > when BC athletic director Gene DeFilippo can dine in > the same room as Big East officials and not employ a > food tester. > > Earlier this year, in a summit of historic > proportions, university presidents agreed to provide > greater opportunity to reach the BCS. In the past, > the BCS conferences believed in college football run > by the right people, their people. They thought that > college football should concentrate wealth and power > in the hands of the powerful. With the guidance of > educators such as Tulane president Scott Cowen, we > no longer have a sport in which there are BCS > members and non-BCS members. There are only Division > I-A members. > > Some of which have a greater chance of going to a > BCS bowl than others. > > The non-BCS, uh, mid-major, uh, historically > challenged I-A conferences are the lifeblood of > college football. My friends, we cannot survive > without the volunteer spirit that made this sport > what it is. Let us not forget that when Alabama > wanted to dump Penn State out of fear of not > qualifying for a bowl and the Crimson Tide needed a > home game it could win, Utah State said send me. > > And when Clemson needed a home game against a > non-conference opponent to slide between midseason > games against fellow ACC contenders Virginia and > Maryland, Utah State said send me. > > And when the Western Athletic Conference, having > been ransacked by Conference USA, which had been > pillaged by the Big East, which had been picked > clean by the ACC -- when the WAC needed local > members, beginning in 2005, Utah State said send me. > > My friends, this season will have its share of > innuendo and half-truths. We do not live by the > bulletin board. I say to all coaches, let's be > optimists, not just opponents. I am also honored to > share this day with Texas coach Mack Brown, who has > withstood a campaign of negativity and pessimism, > and that's just from the Texas Exes. > > We will not allow rumor to go uncontested, untruth > to go unchecked. It is simply not true that when > faced with the challenge of playing Oklahoma at the > Cotton Bowl on Oct. 9, Brown said send Utah State. > > In an age of technological wonder, the truth is > easier to see than ever. We must recognize today the > Big Ten, the conference that represents the > heartland of the sport. The Big Ten will boldly > examine the use of instant replay on an experimental > basis this season. > > The NFL has achieved this milestone with the > possibility of eight camera angles on every play, > and a system in which the coach on the sideline must > weigh the risk and reward of challenging the call on > the field. > > The Big Ten will not employ the NFL system. The Big > Ten will not have eight cameras at each game. The > Big Ten will not leave the decision to the coach on > the field. The Big Ten will put a guy in a booth > with a TiVo, and have him watch replays of whatever > is televised. > > Skeptics say that the Big Ten replay rules are to > the NFL what black-and-white is to HD, and that the > conference's instant replay wouldn't be alive if the > Grant's Appliance up the street from commissioner > Jim Delany's house hadn't run a sale last month. > > But referees can do better, and help is on the way. > > In this information age, no longer will college > football fans in the great stadiums and in their > homes across this land have to look up from the > stack of bills on their kitchen tables and wonder, > who is the dumb @#$%$# who nullified that 25-yard > gain by getting called for holding five yards behind > the play? > > This season, officials will announce the player who > committed the infraction. If you do the crime, you > do the TV time. > > Referees can do better, and help is on the way. > > In this information age, no longer will college > football fans have to employ slide rules and a > gaggle of computer scientists to determine who will > qualify for the BCS championship game. The BCS > formula has been simplified and made more precise, > an indication of what Americans can achieve when we > work together -- after we get the postseason > horribly wrong for the second time in the three > years. > > The BCS can do better, and help is on the way. > > Soon the rules of recruiting visits, which have gone > relatively unchanged since Barry Switzer first > flouted them, will be tougher. The time when the > flow of prospective tailbacks -- and private planes > and lobster dinners and strip-club visits and keg > parties -- across the borders of our campuses is > past. > > Recruiting can do better, and help is on the way. > > The spin masters who embrace the analysis of > anything goes say that the rules of college football > have gotten too restrictive. Well, I say to them > today, that college football is fairer and more > competitive than it has ever been. The pundits like > to slice-and-dice college football into BCS schools > and non-BCS schools. But I've got news for them. We > are one division, all of us, and even the worst > among us will one day challenge the best. > > Even Buffalo can do better, and help is on the way. > Thank you! God bless you and God bless college > football! > > Ivan Maisel is a senior writer at ESPN.com. He can > be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > ______________________________________________________ > RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics > Discussion List > === message truncated === __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - 100MB free storage! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List "Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup!" To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net
