General

Shanoff’s WUC: Big Ten’s 12th Should Be Navy

Dec 16, 2009, 1:13 PM UTC

Today’s Calls: Big Ten vs. 12 Teams, Roy Halladay vs. Cliff Lee, Gary Patterson vs. Butch Jones, Dion Lewis vs. Andrew Luck, T-Mac vs. Kobe, Jon Scheyer vs. Anyone, Ron Artest vs. Tiger Woods and More.â†µâ†µThe Opening Pitch: As a Big Ten alum, I’m all for expanding the league to 12 teams. And I have the ideal addition.â†µ

â†µâ†µI think everyone is for the expansion -- mostly because there is this idea that it would trigger a Big Ten conference-title game (which I’m still skeptical would happen, even with 12 teams).â†µ

â†µâ†µThe big question is: Whom to invite? Let the Midwestern provincialism kick in!â†µ

â†µâ†µSyracuse? Pitt? Mizzou? Meh.â†µ

â†µâ†µGet a comprehensive list here.â†µMy pick: Navy.â†µ

â†µâ†µHere are (Big) ten reasons:â†µ

â†µâ†µ• Academic credentials are impeccable.â†µ
â†µ• Football program is solid.â†µ
â†µ• Triple-option is “3 Yards/Cloud” 2.0â†µ
â†µ• Can keep trad’l games w/ Army, AFA, ND.â†µ
â†µ• Better than Notre Dame.â†µ
â†µ• Nearly beat Ohio State this season.â†µ
â†µ• Non-competitive recruiting strategy.â†µ
â†µ• But expands B10 footprint in the East.â†µ
â†µ• Feds could use the BCS bowl revenue.â†µ
â†µ• It is entirely uncontroversial.â†µ

â†µâ†µThe talking point is obvious: If the Big Ten hates America, it will dismiss Navy’s value to the conference. If it loves America, it will see Navy’s obvious value and bring them in.â†µ

â†µ

â†µNFL: Would 18-0 Colts vs. 18-0 Saints be the biggest game in NFL history? In sports history? Oddly enough, I'm less intrigued by the battle of unbeatens than simply the notion -- and ultimately powerful symbolism -- of the Saints winning the Super Bowl. It would be wild if they were undefeated when they did it, but I don't care if they play an unbeaten team to get there. (FWIW: Tunison sees the Saints over the Colts in the Super Bowl.)â†µ

â†µâ†µMLB Hot Stove: Hal-Lee-Day is the Brangelina of baseball, two players intrinsically linked by the biggest trade of the year. You’ll want to read a Phillies expert on the Halladay-Lee deal ... Josh Johnson’s agent predicts 2010 will be SP’s last year with Marlins (is this really some kind of news?) ... Juan Pierre’s acquisition by the White Sox makes any fan inclined to using data to make decisions cringe.â†µ

â†µâ†µCFB Awards: TCU’s Gary Patterson wins SN’s Coach of the Year award, and it’s well-deserved. He built on a stellar 2008 with an unbeaten season and a resume that is as good as Texas’s. (More: Pitt RB Dion Lewis was Freshman of the Year. I would have probably given at least half the award to Stanford QB Andrew Luck.)â†µ

â†µâ†µGreat Read: Brian Cook’s Season in Schadenfreude. Charlie Weis! USC! Ohio State losing to Purdue! And, of course, Tim Tebow crying! There’s a ton more.â†µ

â†µâ†µNBA Talking Points: T-Mac is back. It was a nominal stat line (1/2 FG, 3 pts, 3 reb), but he was +12 and seemed to fit in OK coming off the bench -- at least for 8 minutes of PT. How will things work as his minutes double or triple?â†µ

â†µâ†µ(Mark it down: The Rockets are 14-10 and in 5th place in the West when McGrady returns. Best-case scenario: Houston can trade him. It’s not like they need him.)â†µ

â†µâ†µMore: Kobe season-high 42. Enough said.â†µ

â†µâ†µCBB Mania: Jon Scheyer had the best game of his career -- 36 points on 11/13 FG shooting. Yes, it was against Gardner-Webb, but still. I should disclose now that, despite my general loathing of Duke, I am in the tank for Scheyer because he is the best Jewish basketball player in college basketball. You cannot understand how conflicted I am about Scheyer, who is arguably the most disliked player in college basketball. (I do not think Scheyer’s “most hated” rep and his Jewishness are related.) I don’t want to like him. It’s just ... well, you can’t be a spectacularly unskilled Jewish basketball player like me and NOT project personal fantasies of being a high-level college basketball star through Scheyer.â†µ

â†µâ†µCoaching Carousel: Cincy would be wise to go back to the Central Michigan pipeline. You could say that worked out pretty well the last time.â†µ

â†µâ†µTV Ratings: Heisman show draws record audience. Yes, it helps to have star power like Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy, but they were part of the ceremony in 2008, and that still didn’t get the audience of 2009, because 2009 had unprecedented intrigue, even though it involved a couple of finalists that most fans had seen play very little, if at all.â†µ

â†µâ†µAnd so the lesson for future years: Keep the field wide open. (Ironically, for all the record viewer totals, the winner -- Mark Ingram -- was the most conventional choice and had led the straw polls for at least half the season leading up to the ceremony.)â†µ

â†µâ†µThe Last Word: “I can tell you’re a stand-up guy.” -- Ron Artest, in an open letter to ... Tiger Woods?â†µ

â†µâ†µDan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? Email Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/danshanoff. â†µ

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