tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57122389500033273412024-03-18T23:35:47.891-04:0080 Minutes of RegulationThe Cadence of GamedayCurtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.comBlogger1296125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-61898345516474578152024-03-16T12:17:00.005-04:002024-03-17T13:38:06.666-04:00Already Mad<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTeEQgYXs9tBFJUNjcqKcZM01i-gRd-9hGw1vLH8SboOMHBdec0xV6wlk55bQMKLKH_1tFQjXXOJTre8oTBKSe7MllGjeiQM9ioCdH7hIDrg13CObsek-PcSPY6yP2Bm-5iWW3PeZ4FqJmrtkZ_rZwOxBbbzzsw3mfGCotWtw2jGXa-CJsPD6MkPDiQxo/s600/Already%20Mad%20header.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="600" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTeEQgYXs9tBFJUNjcqKcZM01i-gRd-9hGw1vLH8SboOMHBdec0xV6wlk55bQMKLKH_1tFQjXXOJTre8oTBKSe7MllGjeiQM9ioCdH7hIDrg13CObsek-PcSPY6yP2Bm-5iWW3PeZ4FqJmrtkZ_rZwOxBbbzzsw3mfGCotWtw2jGXa-CJsPD6MkPDiQxo/s320/Already%20Mad%20header.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><br />Much of the nation eagerly awaits Selection Sunday - the field is announced, the bracket comes out, and fans and casuals alike get set for March Madness.<br /><p></p><p>As far as I'm concerned, the madness is already upon us.</p><p>With all due respect to the NCAA and the trademark they hold, the madness ensues about as soon as March hits - with conference tournaments. As talk of potential NCAA Tournament expansion dominates the conversation, conference tournaments already create the opportunities that expansion would hope to solve. With most conference tournaments, everyone plays, meaning even a winless team could, in theory, rip off 4-5 wins and make it into the Big Dance. Every fan base enters with hope - no matter how slight. And for the teams that won't make the field of 68 - 80% of Division 1 - the conference tournament is the final hurrah.</p><p>Everybody but one team leaves the NCAA Tournament with a loss. A few more get to rounds where they hang a banner, or outperform expectations to a level that leaves the season feeling like a success. But for everyone else, when they season ends, it just... ends. Conference championship week/end ends with 32 victors, each of which has the promise of more basketball, and several more who got to improve their resume and sleep a little better on Saturday night.</p><p>Conference tournaments are full of all of the contempt that familiarity breeds. Those who make the NCAA Tournament want to advance, certainly, but the conference tournament is where you can get you last licks in at rivals. They're also easier to attend, as they fall within the geographic footprint (to the degree that such exists) of the conference - or in some cases, on campus. Your east coast team could get shipped to Anaheim, or your southern team may end up in Boise, but there's a good chance you can make it to the conference tourney. And conference tournaments present a tableau to celebrate the league and all of its history, quirks, culture, and yes, even corporate sponsors. So while the Big Dance itself is the goal at a bare minimum, conference tournaments are the heartbeat of the sport.</p>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-38977280379592904792024-02-25T01:15:00.002-05:002024-02-25T14:00:49.516-05:00Cackalacky Championships<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOlbtH1Ao44aCp19ZM4GUAWqlCzT5oota7kbZF1gH6DTJqa_4CjUR4QLNuUiOKuBio2vESyyB3h26uC5Wp-dY2Wu-94bGEpzHp-HOIsf-ICoxcRHERDvhamnNceNXzl6cJ4glB0BvKrC_D-d8mjd_Lcbdb0X4iCdnCv7M71wp0HTlM7ZSmtMF9ZHjuOsA/s1200/426417905_698995835755594_2360306766734950137_n.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOlbtH1Ao44aCp19ZM4GUAWqlCzT5oota7kbZF1gH6DTJqa_4CjUR4QLNuUiOKuBio2vESyyB3h26uC5Wp-dY2Wu-94bGEpzHp-HOIsf-ICoxcRHERDvhamnNceNXzl6cJ4glB0BvKrC_D-d8mjd_Lcbdb0X4iCdnCv7M71wp0HTlM7ZSmtMF9ZHjuOsA/s320/426417905_698995835755594_2360306766734950137_n.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />There's no place like home.<p></p><p>About a week ago, the Atlantic Coast Conference released the future sites of many of their championships between now and 2030. The latest round of realignment has the conference stretching from sea to shining sea, with the addition of Stanford, Cal, and SMU. With an expanded conference, one may have thought that they'd expand the championship footprint as well, but if anything, they've contracted, with every announced championship through 2030 being in the state of North Carolina. Greensboro, Charlotte, and Raleigh take the lion's share, with the Triangle's Durham and Cary picking off a few, and this year's Women's Golf in Wilmington being the sole outlier.</p><p>Even as previous rounds of realignment has stretched the conference north and south to Chestnut Hill and Coral Gables, and west to Louisville and South Bend, the ACC's geographic center has remained pretty close to the league's Greensboro birthplace. Even so, those changes brought about championships up and down the coast - football in Jacksonville, Tampa, and Orlando, and basketball in DC, Tampa, Atlanta, and Brooklyn. The impending expansion will move the center 400 or so miles west along the I-40 corridor, into Middle Tennessee. This puts more metros into play, along with the rest of the Atlantic coast, but the league seems to have closed ranks. </p><p>While it's possible this is the future the ACC has chosen for its championships, there's another possibility that's far more damning. As the Big Ten and SEC consolidate power into a Big Two on the college sports landscape, it's possible the ACC just isn't as attractive a product for potentially bidding cities. The conference is currently held together by the chicken wire that is the <a href="http://www.80minutesofregulation.com/2022/07/rights-and-wrongs.html" target="_blank">Grant of Rights</a>, and even then, Florida State has every lawyer from Pensacola to Key West trying to find a way out. Nearly every corner of the conference shares geographic overlap with the SEC and Big Ten, so those cities may have focused their efforts on luring action from those leagues. Even the men's basketball tournament - arguably the highest profile in the nation - might not be considered worth a bid if there's doubt the conference will even exist by the time your turn is up. Still, whether the Carolina homecoming is a return to their roots or a purgatory born of lack of options, the Old North State is glad to have them.</p>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-8749301979722654852024-02-14T00:18:00.001-05:002024-02-14T00:18:27.151-05:00Greene Pastures<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxrA_wbOVZFanuMBMqiVaieIqLOTxhoFpOF05jCLOmsaAqyR0Az1umhMgVxcCBzV_g1O6CyQHjVIsja_zcpUsRNSZC3-kvgpTXKSjyO8BZWfhu0FILjlEkYMCd9N5uWz2cIyz9gSNHStXVxijfTq-rDCyPh_i4TgANDJU7F4jRAVNr1W2BFB3WXNoOsDI/s4032/IMG_0225.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxrA_wbOVZFanuMBMqiVaieIqLOTxhoFpOF05jCLOmsaAqyR0Az1umhMgVxcCBzV_g1O6CyQHjVIsja_zcpUsRNSZC3-kvgpTXKSjyO8BZWfhu0FILjlEkYMCd9N5uWz2cIyz9gSNHStXVxijfTq-rDCyPh_i4TgANDJU7F4jRAVNr1W2BFB3WXNoOsDI/s320/IMG_0225.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /> Sometimes, you've got to leave Tournament Town for a tournament.<div><br /></div><div>Most years, I spend college hoops conference tournament season at home in Greensboro. Why shouldn't I? We're almost always home to the ACC women's tournament, and sometimes get ACC men's as well. </div><div><br /></div><div>This year, I'm headed south, to another city that boast General Nathanael Greene as a namesake. Greenville, South Carolina plays host to the SEC women's basketball tournament, and after considering it for a while, I'm making the trip this year. <br /><p></p><p>While the ACC currently boasts more ranked teams, the SEC is home to the #1 team, a change of scenery, a new cast of characters, and the loyal fanbases of the sport's old and new guards. And, because y'all know how I get down, a new host of pep bands. I'm headed down for the tourney's two <a href="http://www.80minutesofregulation.com/2017/03/sabado-gigante.html" target="_blank">fat days</a> - the double-doubleheaders of the second round and quarter finals on Thursday and Friday. In doing so I'll catch every team in the league but the two who get ousted on Wednesday, including the top four teams who will double-bye into Friday action. I've also had limited experience with Greenville, SC, which I hear is a pretty cool city, so I'm looking forward to checking it out as well.</p><p>My own city, Greensboro, is a well worn path for me, but Greenville will be new. Help me out - if you've been I'd love your insight, and if you'll be headed there this year, It'd be great to catch you there!</p></div>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-30297692042248476452024-01-31T00:13:00.002-05:002024-01-31T00:13:48.677-05:00Horns Down for What<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcqUNuGJcCyDb29NJ-_5GmJornIrfeqh7Ko_Oq5ARMigWNdNJbkL_6ymioFbK4LkJj5qjO9x1isegr8jdXmJK4oNHwxL2IeEOvBj9H5vc43fFHQJ7qje9psQfTHcMIEeZoq62JgYV8m-HutglX30NrWwmqjGLHewc5f701lD92My2Ut9tnlMtHXbnoYw/s1080/0A38086E-6467-4162-B514-190C821BEBD4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcqUNuGJcCyDb29NJ-_5GmJornIrfeqh7Ko_Oq5ARMigWNdNJbkL_6ymioFbK4LkJj5qjO9x1isegr8jdXmJK4oNHwxL2IeEOvBj9H5vc43fFHQJ7qje9psQfTHcMIEeZoq62JgYV8m-HutglX30NrWwmqjGLHewc5f701lD92My2Ut9tnlMtHXbnoYw/w200-h200/0A38086E-6467-4162-B514-190C821BEBD4.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Big 12 may fine me for this.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Everything's bigger in Texas - including, is seems, the offense.</p><p>The "horns down" gesture - basically, throwing down Texas' Hook 'Em gesture - has been a pain point for the Longhorn faithful for some time. So much so, in fact, that the Big 12 deemed it worthy of a taunting penalty. Most considered that simply a case of handling the league's 1800 pound steer with kid gloves - Texas, after all, already enjoyed the luxury of its own ESPN-backed network, so this just seemed more of the same.</p><p>Earlier this month, the gesture once again became a live wire, as <a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39350746/texas-coach-apologizes-horns-rant-ucf-loss" target="_blank">C.Florida players threw down the horns</a> after defeating Texas in Austin and Longhorns coach Rodney Terry blew up at the Knights, later calling them "classless" for the gesture. Terry later went on to apologize for the emotions of the moment, but Texas' pain around the issue had already been made evident.</p><p>Given my frame of reference, I couldn't help but notice horns down was already in C.'s arsenal, as an affront to rival and former conferencemate USF. Still, it doesn't get under anyone's skin nearly as much as it does Texas. And true to form, when Texas visited BYU the next week, they were greeted by a line of students wearing shirts reading "HORNS DOWN" before BYU administration had them remove them. While Big 12 longtimers may have already taken their shots at the Horns, it seems the conference newcomers want to poke the bull before Texas departs for the SEC at the end of the fiscal year.</p><p>With new foes figuring out immediately how to rattle the Horns, they may need to toughen their cowhide quickly before the conference change. Their travel partners, Oklahoma, and reunited foes in Texas A&M are already well versed in inverting the corna, and the rest of the Southland will catch on quite quickly. And while that maneuver may strike a particular chord with the Longhorn faithful, the rest of the conference will certainly pile on once there's blood in the water. A&M stands at the ready to Saw Varsity's Horns Off once more. Bama can't wait to sling a Rammer Jammer, and a STTDB stands at the ready in Baton Rouge. The burnt orange faithful would do well to prep themselves over the coming months, because if a hand sign is going to rattle you, there's far worse coming.</p>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-50229290416215817422024-01-15T14:38:00.002-05:002024-01-15T14:38:25.080-05:00Rose Colored Glasses<div class="separator"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQNou8GCqbkSTUmJo_2qiExL9moDTEYR-OdmCCCY5YYLPxNJQw4brRscjrsoDAiYcUrNnA8hhXH1C_chUzmGi3K3_NsjG17ug072NYo8lmu1voo6GEMVgdbCCqdrXS7iQOr288crCRTGLyduT6QVnwfnP_meefdM_566Bhyphenhyphent1hmfi_FAOTp9D22mvX3Uo/s3565/IMG_9947.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1610" data-original-width="3565" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQNou8GCqbkSTUmJo_2qiExL9moDTEYR-OdmCCCY5YYLPxNJQw4brRscjrsoDAiYcUrNnA8hhXH1C_chUzmGi3K3_NsjG17ug072NYo8lmu1voo6GEMVgdbCCqdrXS7iQOr288crCRTGLyduT6QVnwfnP_meefdM_566Bhyphenhyphent1hmfi_FAOTp9D22mvX3Uo/s320/IMG_9947.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br />Everything's coming up roses.</div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator">On New Year's Day, Michigan played Alabama in the Rose Bowl, this year part of the College Football Playoff as a semifinal matchup. The game kicked off at 2pm local time in a stadium packed in Michigan maize and blue and Alabama crimson, and at some point about midway through the second half, the sun set over the San Gabriel Mountains - some would say, just as the Good Lord intended.</div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator">The Rose Bowl's idyllic scenery lies in contrast to much of the rest of the major bowl venues. As both a game and a stadium, it's one of college football's cathedrals, while much of the rest of the sport has shifted to NFL stadiums with upgraded amenities but nowhere near the nostalgia. The sentiment is floated each year, but this year, perhaps with eyes turned backwards as the sport enters great change in the coming season, the drumbeat seems louder than ever: Why not make the Rose Bowl the permanent home of the College Football Playoff Championship?</div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator">The groundswell to make the Rose Bowl the championship's forever home illuminates the faction of college football devotees - numerous, to be sure, but also vocal and powerful, that hold the Rose Bowl in high regard. So powerful is this faction that it has, throughout many steps in the sport's change, stood in the way of progress, as its historic conference partners, the Big Ten and the Pac-12 have made decisions about playoff expansion and format based near-solely upon preserving the Granddaddy of 'em All.</div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator">In many respects, I am among those who hold the Tournament of Roses in such reverence. But my point of entry was the Rose Parade - which predates the Rose Bowl game - and that's one of the places where a Rose Bowl championship game, at least signed as the Rose Bowl , breaks down. </div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator">If it were to become the championship game, the Rose Bowl would already have to make one concession: To move off of New Year's Day. The 12 team playoff will push the championship out to MLK weekend, and barring a specific, say, Saturday placement that they'd have to fight the NFL Playoffs for, its solo 2pm local kickoff is already unlikely. For most, that's already a dealbreaker. But if you're still on board at that point, the game would be uncoupled from the parade, which will surely still step off eight hours into the Pasadena new year. </div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator">There's one way to preserve the relationship. It's a wild one, but not much wilder than what's proposed with a Rose Bowl move. Consider this: in the 12 team format, the field narrows from eight to four on New Year's Day in quarterfinal games played in existing bowl games, at least through the 2026 championship game. Want New Year's Day and the Rose Parade to be a celebration of the sport? Fly all of the remaining bands out to march down Colorado Blvd. Playoff games would have to move off of January 1 (or perhaps solo-site them in, say, SoFi Stadium?) but the Rose Parade could showcase not just the two bands playing in the game, but the eight that remain after the playoffs' opening round on campuses. It's a wild proposition, with a ton of moving parts in a very short timeframe, but then, so is the playoff itself. If this thing is truly going to be as outsized as the sport wants, this is one way to own the day.</div>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-40725704386871936522024-01-06T12:09:00.002-05:002024-01-06T12:09:31.056-05:00The Best Laid Plans...<p> </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ot8j8kN9Q4HBS8X_QmwPh2hBfgkZrMqpTxNZ-AUAIxXCj9oFRqJCUzZEjq4RcvJwysKYYAbc5NzDy-X3zxEKO_9RQo_wOiJSrNOO5Yy7ln2jyOx-1IGTq9mOOdgAouDftGk1_qO0AenppGyKUPHhU9-hmTay8Q7KUhoKz-h17QbTY8_8PABaYVKxBbQ/s4032/IMG_9834.HEIC" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ot8j8kN9Q4HBS8X_QmwPh2hBfgkZrMqpTxNZ-AUAIxXCj9oFRqJCUzZEjq4RcvJwysKYYAbc5NzDy-X3zxEKO_9RQo_wOiJSrNOO5Yy7ln2jyOx-1IGTq9mOOdgAouDftGk1_qO0AenppGyKUPHhU9-hmTay8Q7KUhoKz-h17QbTY8_8PABaYVKxBbQ/s320/IMG_9834.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If there was a bowl, it's because my grits were in it.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />I talked a big game about how I was going to end my December, didn't I?<p></p><p>It was just a post ago I planned to head to Charlotte for a pair of bowl games: The perennial Duke's Mayo Bowl, and the one-off Famous Toastery Bowl. Chronologically first, I took a day off of work with the intent of heading down the road for the Famous Toastery Bowl, while the Duke's Mayo Bowl would be our first day back from holiday travel.</p><p>I made it to neither.</p><p>I started feeling a bit off my game the day after my birthday (December 10). No worries - I had taken the day off for vacation anyway, though it turned out both kids were home sick as well. Perhaps that should have been my first indication. I was back among the functional, if not thriving, for what remained of the week, but by the weekend, I had told myself if I was still feeling a bit cruddy, I'd forego the bowl trip to Charlotte on Monday the 18th, and that's where I ended up. As a consolation prize, I did feel well enough to head to the closest Famous Toastery - a chain I had never heard of before the bowl sponsorship - out in Winston-Salem on the day I had already taken off. Enjoyable, but no football game.</p><p>Fast forward a week or so. Whatever we had - on the back end, it seems that we all ended up with sinus infections - had taken root during the holiday break. My still-slow-to-return voice was completely absent on Christmas. So by the time we returned to North Carolina from holiday travel, I had more or less already made up my mind that I'd not be heading down to Charlotte for the Duke's Mayo Bowl. True enough, that trip was always just going to be an atmosphere trip, as the bowl's popularity, combined with a local team (North Carolina) and as well-traveling regional team (West Virginia) kept ticket prices high, even on the secondary market.</p><p>Despite having my wings clipped, I made the most out of the remainder of bowl season through televised games. And Christmas money already has me laying plans for the college hoops season/postseason in the coming months. Stay tuned...</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><br /><p></p>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-89915516406938540692023-11-27T00:30:00.001-05:002023-11-27T00:30:33.110-05:00A Season of Charlotte<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz3FPWPywDKNDBQwNmg_0jewow51Lf4uzqOsv5cZL5NnOHEHjMcmglDEL0fnonQ46pcuSOXW5-KeNpoVz8iyWiy7cSa5EMJght3SwNXFsV0TyduzQvsC9ia1Y4uRKCQnANsKWQsbeasI4GSQttxjt5W6AYI5Knhn1LRw59fBmX7X1CjmrTjP4Nmo1KRzo/s4032/IMG_8460.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz3FPWPywDKNDBQwNmg_0jewow51Lf4uzqOsv5cZL5NnOHEHjMcmglDEL0fnonQ46pcuSOXW5-KeNpoVz8iyWiy7cSa5EMJght3SwNXFsV0TyduzQvsC9ia1Y4uRKCQnANsKWQsbeasI4GSQttxjt5W6AYI5Knhn1LRw59fBmX7X1CjmrTjP4Nmo1KRzo/s320/IMG_8460.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>First, I'll acknowledge it's been quiet over here on the site proper. I've been a bit more active this season on social media, though even then, not terribly much so. As the college football regular season draws to a close, I'm going to back it up to Week 1, <p></p><p>I started the season throughout North Carolina, taking in Elon at Wake Forest on Thursday night; College GameDay before UNC-South Carolina on Saturday, and then back to Charlotte for the HBCU Labor Day Classic Battle of the Bands on Sunday. For each of these, the best of me was found on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/eightyminutes" target="_blank">Instagram</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/eightyminutes" target="_blank">YouTube</a>.</p><p>The season started with a couple of trips to Charlotte, and it looks like it will end the same way. The Duke's Mayo Bowl is already in the plans, but I just learned that the Bahamas Bowl will be held in Charlotte this year - Jerry Richardson Stadium, on the campus of UNC Charlotte, will host the Bahamas Bowl - temporarily rebranded as the Famous Toastery Bowl - while Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau is under construction.</p><p>If bowl projections hold - specifically Jerry Palm's for CBS Sports - the came could pair the Ohio Bobcats and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, and with them the Marching 110 and the Marching Southerners. While I realize bowl projections are just an educated guess, I'm really hoping this comes to fruition.</p><p><br /></p>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-79366082645909248502023-08-25T20:49:00.002-04:002023-08-25T20:49:41.791-04:00Band on the Road Game of the Week - 2023 Week Zero - We're back!<p> It's been a while since the last rendition of the Band on the Road, much less the Game of the Week, but it's back - this time in audio format. Give it a listen!</p>
<iframe src="https://www.swellcast.com/widget/cwt302/6a59bae2-5bd8-49ad-bb08-ec4cb1270830/week-zero-8-2-5?autoplay=0" frameBorder="0" style="margin:0 auto; width:500px; max-width:90vw; height:750px; max-height:90vh; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:8px; overflow:hidden; display:block"></iframe>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-64732647614007148712023-07-26T19:55:00.001-04:002023-07-26T19:55:15.344-04:00Band of the Year<p> </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhNmToxuSyGGobTiQnsOV58IzVEB1vsk3QuANzhPVvq7-tMVlA03DXNN3cTJhD-N_BJkMh7Ek2eBHv51JlvCGrcMeuKI5j4xxA7K94KvVMqWyVJxvBhC6m_WCxuw2-w-o5S_dZBus9HeCoPe83mvBs7oMunzzRCP-wtpkem5Bb2_v2a6gmmzZf_u3PJc0" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="1136" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhNmToxuSyGGobTiQnsOV58IzVEB1vsk3QuANzhPVvq7-tMVlA03DXNN3cTJhD-N_BJkMh7Ek2eBHv51JlvCGrcMeuKI5j4xxA7K94KvVMqWyVJxvBhC6m_WCxuw2-w-o5S_dZBus9HeCoPe83mvBs7oMunzzRCP-wtpkem5Bb2_v2a6gmmzZf_u3PJc0" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ESPN Events Band of the Year logo</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p> This one's for the trophy case.
<div><br /></div><div>ESPN Events <a href="https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2023/07/espn-events-to-host-inaugural-band-of-the-year-national-championship-december-15-at-mercedes-benz-stadium-in-atlanta/?fbclid=IwAR354C3gSBGQhR8zNAuY8HDTJth_5Xvg2Fxo74bHGAYPX6VFHBCDW-XRSXc" target="_blank">has announced</a> its inaugural Band of the Year National Championship, which will take place December 16, 2023 at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta as part of the Celebration Bowl festivities. The championship event will be the culmination of rankings throughout the season, and will invite four HBCU bands - two from Division I and two from Division II - to the final event in Atlanta.</div><div><br /></div><div>It will surprise no one I'm excited for the event, albeit cautiously. I'm always thrilled to see bands get the limelight, and with Honda having gone through various states of tradition, this may add a presence to Atlanta. But I'll always be cautious around band coverage from ESPN. I do know they've used a truly expert panel in the rankings that have been under the Undefeated/Andscape banner for the past few years, so that methodology gives me hope. I am also intrigued by some of the terminology surrounding the event. Their mention of (presumably NCAA) Division I and Division II would bar participation from programs like Talladega and Langston who compete in NAIA. The press materials themselves make no mention of specific conferences, but a signup form specifically mentions the MEAC, SWAC, CIAA, and SIAC. While these conferences are composed entirely of HBCUs, there are now more HBCUs than ever outside of those conferences, including Tennessee State's longtime membership in the Ohio Valley Conference and more recent shifts including Hampton and A&T in the Colonial.</div><div><br /></div><div>But perhaps what I want to see most is how this event fits into the Worldwide Leader's ongoing coverage and landscape of college football, including HBCUs. While the 2023 event is billed as the inaugural, the schedule gets a good deal busier in the years that follow. For years, the Celebration Bowl has stood alone amidst major college football's schedule, a week after Army-Navy and at the outset of bowl season. Starting in 2024, that weekend will have company in the form of the opening round of the 12 team College Football Playoff. The announced schedule has the playoff starting on what would be the very Friday evening occupied by the Band of the Year National Championship. And while it's unlikely to be a conflict in terms of venue - opening round games will be at campus sites - the start of the 12 team playoff will certainly take all of the attention. </div><div><br /></div><div>Much like college football, the hoisting of a trophy won't prevent plenty of varying opinions on who truly is the band of the year, but there will be one band with the hardware to back it up.</div><div><br /></div><div>More information on the upcoming competition can be found at https://espnbandoftheyear.com/</div>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-69629012787059832252023-07-17T17:06:00.000-04:002023-07-17T17:06:01.613-04:00Cleaning Sets<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMh5ZuQKAPT2GWP2l_Snh4UmavUHvjtCFpN9m-WOWViDO2yz5_1RREJXAgsXGpwasFTYoAJWM3G9aPDqsVCdrtnh45HeTpaeapyxD1bckT7hn1W7zPPxlVmIzSVqnH14yt61z7kjlnccQ53aqROna5ZDtaMnMkLriHrViudKSMZ_bAGZDSrY3n5XpDKhA/s530/IMG_20120730_202247.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="530" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMh5ZuQKAPT2GWP2l_Snh4UmavUHvjtCFpN9m-WOWViDO2yz5_1RREJXAgsXGpwasFTYoAJWM3G9aPDqsVCdrtnh45HeTpaeapyxD1bckT7hn1W7zPPxlVmIzSVqnH14yt61z7kjlnccQ53aqROna5ZDtaMnMkLriHrViudKSMZ_bAGZDSrY3n5XpDKhA/s320/IMG_20120730_202247.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>If you happen across the page and it's not looking quite right: First, thank you, as always, for check it out! That said, there are some changes coming to the look of the site and they're still being worked out. Just a little summer cleaning; we should be in season form soon enough. Thanks!<p></p>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-69805151317179678122023-05-28T14:09:00.002-04:002023-05-28T14:09:40.125-04:00Send a Threat, Lose the Bet<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQrmz6SwGAi5Qs5vTqOT3Dd3G6dKWU6tMkxOwOS68W2IciReru9c7NxYXQmcqQ7tkhBkTEEcNdH8j3O8J6qbdODVhAf3rcyMU-QLigpl63U6KWf_V4qWEGDwpCoU9cVcyQLEXxKEhPAFIk8SfWyAh8LlqB1a_0ZGLZFqUzt9sYTjdwoIpqb9fjZDnT/s1280/IMG_7419.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQrmz6SwGAi5Qs5vTqOT3Dd3G6dKWU6tMkxOwOS68W2IciReru9c7NxYXQmcqQ7tkhBkTEEcNdH8j3O8J6qbdODVhAf3rcyMU-QLigpl63U6KWf_V4qWEGDwpCoU9cVcyQLEXxKEhPAFIk8SfWyAh8LlqB1a_0ZGLZFqUzt9sYTjdwoIpqb9fjZDnT/s320/IMG_7419.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div>If you're a sports fan living in the United States and you feel like sports betting is taking up a bit more real estate than you remember, well, you'd be right. Back in 2018, federal legislation changed such that sports betting can become legal in more states than just Nevada, and because of that, it's taking up a bigger piece of the pie - before that ruling, there was about 1% of the population that lived somewhere where sports betting is legal, and that number is now up to 56% and growing. If you consume any sort of sports media, whether that be ESPN or podcasts, you'll hear more from the likes of DraftKings or FanDuel or Caesar's or BetMGM - all of those players are trying to make themselves the preferred destination for many who have a new access to sports betting.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sports betting is not my particular vice. I've got nothing against those for whom it is - different strokes for different folks. There are only a few things I'm at odds with (pun intended). One is the amount of emphasis that it sometimes gets in sports broadcasts. This was particularly evident during March Madness, where during a single elimination tournament, a good deal of time was spent in traditional sports media talking about things like the spread and the over/under that don't play a role in who advances - all, ironically in the context of one of the most gambling-friendly tournaments of the year. Announcers once made surreptitious references to "our friends in the desert" or quipped, "that would have made some people happy" when a final shot or late touchdown lead to a backdoor cover. Allusions to sports betting have gone from implicit to explicit, but that issue is relatively minor.</div><div><br /></div><div>That being said, there is a much more major issue that has been rearing its ugly head: The abuse of athletes - and I'm talking specifically student athletes at the collegiate level - by gamblers. Sports by their very nature are something that people take a little too seriously, even before money gets involved. There have been increasing reports of abusive language up to and including threats on the lives andthe well-being of student athletes, their families, and those around them, and that is entirely out of bounds. Any gambling advertisements you hear will always have the disclaimers and hotlines for if you have a problem with gambling, and frankly, if you are threatening folks' lives, you've got a problem with gambling. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are conversations taking place within the NCAA, conferences, and states aiming to combat these abuses. To me the solution is pretty simple: Send a threat, lose the bet. If you are the sort that is going to threaten student athletes, or really any sort of athletes, over the money that you've got riding on a game, then you should have your gambling privileges taken away. That could be something enacted at the state level but ideally reciprocal such that it's a privilege that you lose across state lines. To those who stand to profit from gambling, that may seem a little a bit extreme, but if the activity wants to be seen as more than a seedy underbelly as its influence expands, those in the sports betting industry would be wise to get out in front of this sort of abuse. Certainly there are a lot of things that people can say that fall short of an actual threat, but if you are the sort that is threatening athletes because of the outcome of a game that you had money riding on, that should be the end of your access to betting, in addition to any civil or criminal charges that come with your actions. As sports betting spreads, protection for athletes needs to spread along with it.</div>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-41370466038237395522023-05-23T16:20:00.002-04:002023-05-23T16:20:21.873-04:00Magnificent?<p> </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8-FQGWQW4Ms-8_EZbuZLczWX5beJCfEhe7CBmQUA-tp5Kv7d3mx_FzpLbR0s0PiTsG_3wRpdj3iOR5VVP3JOl2Z-kITXZUC9j3PkZW1Jv92xVMCv3FRd-OsoMK4MCPjq0hklWEOOiOdnciQ_uvqGmjV4uBeQdK9pJ0KcbC9u1aorqoRQEz8yiOgu_/s4160/20170517_131347.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2340" data-original-width="4160" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8-FQGWQW4Ms-8_EZbuZLczWX5beJCfEhe7CBmQUA-tp5Kv7d3mx_FzpLbR0s0PiTsG_3wRpdj3iOR5VVP3JOl2Z-kITXZUC9j3PkZW1Jv92xVMCv3FRd-OsoMK4MCPjq0hklWEOOiOdnciQ_uvqGmjV4uBeQdK9pJ0KcbC9u1aorqoRQEz8yiOgu_/s320/20170517_131347.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fort Clinch - Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, FL</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Last week, a <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2023/05/15/college-football-expansion-whats-next-power-5-conferences">Sports Illustrated piece</a> by Ross Dellenger, along with <a href="https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1658174167789756433">follow up reporting </a>from Action Network's Brett McMurphy illuminated a faction of seven ACC schools - half of the football-playing conference - who seem to be in talks to try and maximize their opportunities within, or perhaps beyond, the ACC Grant of Rights. The coalition of these seven schools - Clemson, Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia, and Virginia Tech - has been dubbed the "Magnificent Seven" by media, and we came to know of their existence during the ACC meetings in Amelia Island, FL. Their lawyers are reportedly searching for any weak spots in the supposedly bulletproof armor of the <a href="http://www.80minutesofregulation.com/2022/07/rights-and-wrongs.html" target="_blank">Grant of Rights</a>, but barring that, they may be after a bigger piece of the pie, to close the gap between The Undersigned and what their Big Ten and SEC peers are raking in.<p></p><div>If this sounds like DCI in 2010 to you, you're my kind of people.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thirteen years ago, an an "ad-hoc committee" consisting of seven - yes, seven - corps put together a series of "suggestions" that sought to set these corps apart as the premier competitors in the activity, going so far as to set forth an autocentric vision for the future of the activity that included a showcase series grafted onto the tour itself. That series, the Tour of Champions, existed for a number of years, eventually widening its scope to "...and friends" before dissolving altogether. </div><div><br /></div><div>While others have since cracked the top seven - or perhaps more accurately, some of The Undersigned have dropped - it was undeniable at the time that those seven corps, Blue Devils, Bluecoats, the Cadets, Carolina Crown, the Cavaliers, Phantom Regiment, and Santa Clara Vanguard, were the top of the order and top of mind for any "elite" status.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the ACC, it's far less certain.</div><div><br /></div><div>Three schools seem the obvious choices, from both a brand and competitive standpoint. Acknowledging first that football leads any realignment conversation, Florida State and Clemson combine for 11 of the last 12 ACC football championships and three championships from five championship game appearances since 2013. And Miami? The U is one of the biggest brands in college football, and their 2001 championship represents the only other title won by a current ACC school this century. Each of these schools is among the common sense callups for the SEC (or Big Ten, because what even is geography) should the opportunity arise.</div><div><br /></div><div>The path for the other four schools is a bit less clear. Virginia Tech is likely the most football-mad among the bunch, and could be attractive to one of the big two leagues, likely the SEC. UNC and UVA fit the Big Ten's old money, academic prestige profile, and have been mentioned as potential targets but for the grant of rights. Each of these schools is a flagship or land grant university in the footprint of the former confederacy, making inclusion of one or both of these states veritable infinity stones if the SEC, currently the only major conference west of the Rockies that will maintain a geographically contiguous footprint, has completionist aims. Still, no school, or even pair of schools, moves the needle on its own; what's just as likely is that neither of them could reasonably run such an idea up the flagpole without their statemates catching wise, so each is a matched set.</div><div><br /></div><div>And who would be left behind? To the basketball- and rivalry-minded, the inclusion of UNC without Duke seems an anathema. Louisville, whose name found its way into later reports, is both geographically (again, as though that matters) and competitively attractive. Georgia Tech carries the name brand, academic prestige, and major metro area (if that still matters), if not success on the field. </div><div><br /></div><div>The ACC left Amelia Island putting forth a brave face of a united conference, but if there's any crack in the armor to be found, things will get quite interesting.</div>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-25952296166586224412023-03-30T00:08:00.003-04:002023-03-30T00:08:55.260-04:00Three Weeks in Tournament Town<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8WGy-UZivQvm_sEegGh4TMHO98JaxCQYBOAZ4DiU2Dx_Bz-r-SbN_LjOfRx9w3xQF49Ebve5V9pKDpg6mvTEbLJ-q_BQHHT8EXsJrxT5eErRc_Uckrm1W_UWlNFlBO9NhdRK8SINb6vf4ug-0XMfochm6Q2dFScZ-5k7OVBP8Hj0jB7_l90mLM3YV/s5656/7AB8BD53-4262-45EC-9294-C8230AC6D2B1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2828" data-original-width="5656" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8WGy-UZivQvm_sEegGh4TMHO98JaxCQYBOAZ4DiU2Dx_Bz-r-SbN_LjOfRx9w3xQF49Ebve5V9pKDpg6mvTEbLJ-q_BQHHT8EXsJrxT5eErRc_Uckrm1W_UWlNFlBO9NhdRK8SINb6vf4ug-0XMfochm6Q2dFScZ-5k7OVBP8Hj0jB7_l90mLM3YV/s320/7AB8BD53-4262-45EC-9294-C8230AC6D2B1.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Over the span of three glorious weeks in Greensboro: ACC Women's Basketball Tournament, ACC Men's Basketball Tournament, NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament first and second rounds. </div><div><br /></div><div>I gotta be honest. Most of the reason I haven't posted about this yet is because I checked the tape, and I've had pretty much the same things to say: Just how awesome it is to be here and have the chance to take it all in. I switched up my routine a bit, spreading attendance at the ACC tournaments over a few days instead of cramming the bulk of my watching into a one day quadruple-header. The change came largely because my kids have their own activity schedules now, but honestly, I liked how it worked. Over what amounted to six days at the Coliseum in a sixteen day span, I got to experience three tournaments from a variety of vantage points, the fanbases of nearly two dozen schools, and, of course, the pep bands of a good chunk of them.</div><div><br /></div><div>In fact, I can show you better than I can tell you. The best on Twitter is at #bracketbands, and there's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzFFxAnfcRghV_nWUbDSbfFQhstkMleit" target="_blank">plenty to be had on YouTube</a> as well.<p></p><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vvcUSaQHsmM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-76510650068898656582023-01-01T00:06:00.000-05:002023-01-01T00:06:07.294-05:00#bowlbands College Football Playoff Championship - TCU vs. Georgia<p> As with every College Football Playoff championship since the first, the trophy will find a home in the southern part of the US - either returning to Athens with the Georgia Bulldogs, or heading to the Metroplex with the TCU Horned Frogs. TCU punched the Big 12's first championship appearance with its Fiesta Bowl victory, and with the Horned Frog Marching Band advancing, the number of dual Sudler matchups this bowl season stands pat at five.</p><p>TCU:</p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gAW-MpWIMMk" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><p><br /></p><p>Georgia:</p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rxg13pOxUQA" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-22137710810055488422022-12-29T16:19:00.003-05:002022-12-30T17:23:53.475-05:00#bowlbands - CFP Semifinal: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl<p> Sometimes, bluebloods wear red.</p><p>Georgia and Ohio State are two of the playoff era's more successful programs, each boasting multiple title game appearances and a championship since the playoff began. Both teams will bring their Sudler Trophy winning band with them as well. #1 Georgia makes its third trip to Mercedes-Benz Stadium this season, where they started against Oregon in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game and beat LSU in the SEC Championship, while #4 Ohio State makes its first trip south of the Potomac for a chance to return to the 'ship.</p><p>Ohio State:</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eaXRL4m5r1o" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p>Georgia:</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/02HS2ZPcm8k" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-28019533856298873122022-12-29T16:19:00.002-05:002022-12-30T17:22:00.400-05:00#bowlbands CFP Semifinal: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl<p> What a difference a decade makes.</p><p>In 2012, TCU was playing its first season in the Big 12. The move represented a return to the Big Time for the Horned Frogs; after having been a heavyweight as part of the Southwest Conference, the league's dissolution at the onset of the Big 12 left TCU and others on the outside looking in at what would become the BCS auto-qualifying conferences and later the Power Five until their return.</p><p>The next year, TCU alumnus Dr. John D. Pasquale would take up the baton at Michigan as the director of the Michigan Marching Band, and at present is the longest tenured in the role since Dr. William D. Revelli retired in 1971. Pasquale's time in the post has included all of Jim Harbaugh's time in Ann Arbor, including last year's playoff appearance.</p><p>TCU:</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BKl3z7opzdY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p>Michigan:</p><p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5K74FPpMKjY" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-91279426341768571402022-12-16T15:34:00.004-05:002022-12-16T15:34:55.954-05:00Bowl Season Quick Hit Almost-Preview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5d97nOSJyY-17bRRUcZJZVGAVnHFiymgvEyUWXAd_VG7EYGnXdMLthId87s4-IrzUw9529tWT_THtxqcQBC_sFFu7_618d59jyoKflhCroDeNjYxXD2Pv0s-vEozyfoK5rXRqh3rbRVqejXA6NnV6zsEaky_bfg1g2LalSmDSyEWFitjHCZJa978D/s796/IMG_6401.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="742" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5d97nOSJyY-17bRRUcZJZVGAVnHFiymgvEyUWXAd_VG7EYGnXdMLthId87s4-IrzUw9529tWT_THtxqcQBC_sFFu7_618d59jyoKflhCroDeNjYxXD2Pv0s-vEozyfoK5rXRqh3rbRVqejXA6NnV6zsEaky_bfg1g2LalSmDSyEWFitjHCZJa978D/s320/IMG_6401.JPG" width="298" /></a></div>(It's only an Almost-Preview because the Bahamas Bowl is already underway, but neither team even sent a band, so they don't count.)<div><br /></div><div>Happy Bowl Season to all those who celebrate! It's the most wonderful time of the year, and the games are underway. The Final Four will be the #bowlbands preview treatment like usual, but I wanted to note a few things that caught my eye this postseason:<br /><p>-This year's Dual Sudler count - games that match a pair of Sudler Trophy-winning band programs - is at five; six if Michigan wins its semifinal game and goes on to face either Georgia or Ohio State in the championship. Even at 5, if's the most since 2015-16.</p><p>-Cincinnati and Louisville, who shared several conferences before Louisville's move to the ACC, will renew the Keg of Nails rivalry in the Fenway Bowl.</p><p>-Although Deion Sanders has already taken the head coach job at Colorado, he will coach Jackson State one last time in the Celebration Bowl in pursuit of the Black college football championship. They'll face NC Central, who currently has the dubious distinction of being the only MEAC school to have lost a Celebration Bowl. Sanders and Jackson State seek to right last year's loss to South Carolina State.</p><p>-There are two bowls that are typically in reach for my usual holiday season schedule: The Military Bowl in Annapolis, and the Duke's Mayo Bowl in Charlotte. Travel this year puts me in the opposite location for each. I briefly considered heading to the Myrtle Beach Bowl instead, as it's the closest to me at time of game, but I won't.</p><p>-Military Bowl is Duke vs. C.Florida. Can they both lose?</p><p>-Duke's Mayo Bowl gets a Big Ten team every other year, which excited me from a Big Ten bands perspective. This year's team is Maryland, which gives the matchup with NC State an old ACC feel.</p><p>-Word is if the Terps win the game, they're mixing in Old Bay for the mayo dump. I support it.</p><p>-Syracuse takes to the Big Apple in the Pinstripe Bowl, which just feels right.</p><p>-Orange Bowl. So much orange. And Tiger Rag/Rocky Top 473 times apiece.</p><p>-After the passing of Coach Mike Leach, it's melancholy that Mississippi State will play in a stadium with a pirate ship in it.</p><p>-Playoff victories by both Michigan and Ohio State will give us a second playing of one of the biggest rivalries in all of sports, this time with a championship on the line. What's more, it'll be just over nine months after we saw UNC and Duke meet in the men's basketball Final Four. Those riches from less than a year's time in the sports world would be unmatched.</p></div>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-61127552156944656962022-11-27T17:46:00.000-05:002022-11-27T17:46:13.853-05:00Study War No More<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_70jKoMVKEIRVijNd_4CGkHetAfhU1u-uY-mK7E6sQzD8d2P93luQqqN7KkRUK-08t8E778r6rQILSMxT74nWek7KJ32OOy52QkCNxqRvzWMU8bmx4RprmBX84xjq7RjPkvgmzBs-Xk9kC7qiR0SmAuefQmLyehCkKS3LcVApgi8wNw6aSmQ5u2dY/s1198/IMG_6158.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="1198" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_70jKoMVKEIRVijNd_4CGkHetAfhU1u-uY-mK7E6sQzD8d2P93luQqqN7KkRUK-08t8E778r6rQILSMxT74nWek7KJ32OOy52QkCNxqRvzWMU8bmx4RprmBX84xjq7RjPkvgmzBs-Xk9kC7qiR0SmAuefQmLyehCkKS3LcVApgi8wNw6aSmQ5u2dY/s320/IMG_6158.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Following this past Saturday night's game, a 46-39 Central Florida victory in Tampa, the Knights widen their lead in the series to 8-6 and the War on I-4 goes on ice for the foreseeable future. <p></p><p>The rivalry was destined to be. South Florida and Central Florida are two schools of similar size, stature, and age, situated less than 100 miles apart in central (yes, not south) Florida. USF started football in 1997, and the two would first meet in 2005, with USF as a member of the Big East, then a BCS auto-qualifying conference; and Central Florida as a member of Conference USA, which USF had just left. The initial run was four years, with the two being on uneven footing with regards to conference affiliation, access, and resources. USF took those four, and rode off on its high horse. </p><p>In 2013, the two would meet again, this time as conference foes, as the Knights joined the Bulls in the conference now known as the American Athletic Conference. Now on equal footing, the two schools would trade a pair of blows apiece before the Knights ripped off six straight, many during USF's leanest years as a program. The 2017 contest was between a pair of ranked teams, with C.Florida punching its ticket to the conference championship game after their victory. And while a competitively outmatched South Florida squad has caused the Knights some consternation in recent years, the Bulls haven't notched a victory in the series since 2016.</p><p>Central Florida will take a step up into the Big 12 in the 2023 season, and, barring further realignment or schedule changes, the series will go in the cooler until at least 2028, the first year both schools have a vacancy in the non-conference. Even then, the Knights would be well within their rights to see no value in playing the Bulls, both due to previous slights and because it would be high risk, low reward for the Power 5 Knights. In the hiatus, both lose an archrival. The Knights may find a rival in fellow callups Cincinnati or Houston, while USF will soon share both a state and conference with Florida Atlantic, and be conferencemates again with UAB and Charlotte from a previous iteration of Conference USA. Still, both schools would be well served to find one another once again on the gridiron in the future.</p>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-75494999777559109272022-10-21T15:50:00.001-04:002022-10-21T15:50:13.631-04:00Stepping Off<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj890DIEIi1AA86zFPtlPGN9QBnq1L8OC-ac8CVIYUL-Rw0p1riY83rLkjVeJJrUYhqNvQOVOdf4zIsL1C6IMwklaRtEKBewpcrXtbnaLcw1pBCVdRzXWp6HIXqMZccWlC0BBw1i6gtvzzwS93Tu-kvaWbr4VMnk0XIVOO3na6fV8LP2-JimLKgv9rR/s2560/29498F3C-8F53-4C88-9B60-F9D1829B9EA5.jpeg" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1920" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj890DIEIi1AA86zFPtlPGN9QBnq1L8OC-ac8CVIYUL-Rw0p1riY83rLkjVeJJrUYhqNvQOVOdf4zIsL1C6IMwklaRtEKBewpcrXtbnaLcw1pBCVdRzXWp6HIXqMZccWlC0BBw1i6gtvzzwS93Tu-kvaWbr4VMnk0XIVOO3na6fV8LP2-JimLKgv9rR/s320/29498F3C-8F53-4C88-9B60-F9D1829B9EA5.jpeg" width="240" /></a> </p>For more than six years, ESPN has been showing halftime of SEC games - online, at least.<div><br /></div><div>During the 2016 season, ESPN <a href="http://www.80minutesofregulation.com/2016/09/it-just-means-more.html" target="_blank">quietly began</a> airing the halftime shows of SEC games across their networks on ESPN+, accessible online, through the app, or on most streaming providers. This experiment had <a href="http://www.80minutesofregulation.com/2015/07/one-high-step-for-man.html" target="_blank">begun the year prior</a> with the MEAC, though it seems they've since abandoned the practice for that conference. To be clear, they do the absolute least, leaving a high angle camera hot during halftime to capture the action, with no attention to how the band is oriented. I don't know what ratings look like for those feeds, but I watch when I catch them, even though it means shifting from the main game feed, and I'm glad that it's an option. Still, to "yes, and" their coverage, I think there's one space where they could gain even more traction: Pregame.</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the challenges to televising halftime is that it doesn't occur at a set time. ESPN makes the feed available at a reasonable guess of when halftime may commence, but the pace of the first half dictates when exactly the band will step off. Conversely, pregame steps off a standard and predictable number of minutes before game time, every time. Instead of the floating feed at 1-something for a noon kick, ESPN could reliably tell you that the show would begin at, say, 11:37am. Unlike a halftime show that would need to be scouted to provide anything more in-depth than the high cam seed, pregames remain unchanged for years, meaning the show could be scouted, studied, and ultimately directed for a camera crew to best capture its essence. And unlike halftime shows, where copyright issues occasionally present a challenge to broadcast, much of bands' pregame routines are property of the university; in the public domain, or have had the rights secured for quite some time.</div><div><br /></div><div>But there's one more reason to broadcast pregame: Fans would eat it up.</div><div><br /></div><div>Look, I go looking for the halftime feeds on Saturdays, but then, my band nerdiness is well documented. Pregame, in contrast, is part of the lore for the program itself. Fans make it into stadiums well before kickoff for the traditional elements that precede their team taking the field. They're also a slice of experiencing that college town and gameday environment for fans who make the trip. For that reason, average college football fans may very well see the value of catching pregame on ESPN+ before flipping over to the game feed. As ESPN and the other networks that televise college football try to capture the true essence of the sport, they'd do well to open up a feed for pregame.</div>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-57227255126183045092022-10-02T18:53:00.001-04:002022-10-02T18:53:13.601-04:00Slings and Arrows<p> Let's set the scene: It's a Saturday morning, a month into college football season. You get up, as you so often do, and switch on ESPN, expecting the familiarity of the College GameDay set. Instead, you're met with the following message:</p><p>"This content is not available for your package or region."</p><p>After ensuring you're appropriately logged into all of the requisite services, you hop on Twitter to confirm a suspicion: A couple of multinational corporations have failed to make an agreement with one another and left you unable to watch football for the day.</p><p>If you're a subscriber to Dish Network or Sling, this very well may have been your reality. Their deal, which presumably ended on September 30, expired, and due to their impasse, plenty of college football fans - myself included - experienced exactly this. In my experience with previous contract disputes, the television provider runs a campaign of sorts both to warn the viewing public and sway the court of public opinion to their side as negotiations wear on. With Dish/Sling having done neither, we experienced a rude awakening on Saturday morning.</p><p>Now, I'm not placing any blame here. Both sides have the narrative they're pushing forth, and while Dish/Sling will likely feel the brunt of the impasse, it's reasonable to me that ESPN's ask far outpaces previous deals, especially since the network has billion dollar deals on the horizon that it needs to make good on. Still, the coincidence on October 1 falling on a college football Saturday couldn't have done them any favors. If the Twittersphere is any indication, they lost a number of subscribers yesterday to fans who bailed for services that still carried the ESPN family of networks. Indeed, even in the absence of blame, they may very well lose me to results: If the service can no longer provide the channels I signed up for, I'm ultimately going to cancel.</p><p>Here's where I make generalizations from a personal sample size of one, and attempt to apply them to the populace as a whole: For Sling specifically to become incongruent with watching college football could very well be their death knell. Sling seems/ed to be custom made for the college football viewer: While they sport is viewed by fans of all ages, there's a critical mass of us who are cord-cutters. Knowing that live sports are one of the primary drivers of real-time subscriptions, those of us who have eschewed cable need a fix. Enter Sling, which offers a reasonable cost of entry; easy on-again, off-again service (I snooze mine in the off-season); portability; and until recently, the channels we wanted. But, of course, if they are unable to provide the last of these, the other advantages become obsolete. Sling specifically seeks to lose a big chunk of its market share if this isn't resolved quickly. Still, to hear them tell it, the ESPN gouge is what's causing the stalemate, and even if they should reach an agreement, the cost passed onto consumers could make them less advantageous than key competitors like Hulu and YouTubeTV, each of which has surely seen a bump since yesterday morning.</p><p>If college football if your primary driver, you've already lost about 20% of what the subscription offers you in the month of October, and, more damning, the NFL crowd will find themselves without Monday Night Football on ESPN tomorrow. Here's hoping for a swift resolution.</p>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-21349659846174553122022-09-26T14:11:00.000-04:002022-09-26T14:11:13.830-04:00Birdland South<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3OMbg2bC3G34GmGlTb1TXVruOiRhpe9lqvHuMffo7zA8ZVRc99p9A_Mk79i-oRzpxcoFaUYYLAZNurTBvayxf-fnW2gaTTUmt97ZM95zbHYUiHXoZd3rqnaTe9eD1JL0fjl_puWVpZMVfYqo59T2x2RuLUpnXvEshKArlk_ZqwjPTQCSt3B-gmyp/s1785/IMG_5613.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Philadelphia Eagles approaching the Washington Commanders end zone" border="0" data-original-height="1427" data-original-width="1785" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3OMbg2bC3G34GmGlTb1TXVruOiRhpe9lqvHuMffo7zA8ZVRc99p9A_Mk79i-oRzpxcoFaUYYLAZNurTBvayxf-fnW2gaTTUmt97ZM95zbHYUiHXoZd3rqnaTe9eD1JL0fjl_puWVpZMVfYqo59T2x2RuLUpnXvEshKArlk_ZqwjPTQCSt3B-gmyp/w320-h256/IMG_5613.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>All the way live from the 215...<div><br /></div><div>...or at least, it may as well have been.</div><div><br /></div><div>After more than 11 years of being at least across the country from home, my younger brother, who's in the Army, is back out on the east coast, living in NoVA. One of his first orders of business was to get ticket for Eagles at Commanders.</div><div><br /></div><div>My weekend up in the DMV included some time with extended family as we celebrated my aunt's 75th birthday. But Sunday was gameday and we headed over to Landover for the game.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had a reasonable suspicion the Phaithful would make a good showing - we travel well, FedEx Field is a mere 2 1/2 hours down the road from Philly - event closer for those transported further south in the Mid-Atlantic - and I heard from Philly sources of planned bus trips down. Still, I would not have anticipated what I'll conservatively call at 60-40 split in favor of the visiting Birds. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP-v_NWNX4TYYfTIILmLdE2J0AgXLycQIlgowKn2ke_0zxq788Pb7yaMcSCtAmwPLpnbpSmUyagEpYm7hSDBVa4lwToH8LDdkcSga1jZahVhWQfXe8CgjEnj0rYTuzdP8wxlWCQSj5AuQo0AlwZsot9090oSOqO0FM8-fkQfxIigX2LcmMGTd401E4/s4032/IMG_5558.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A crowd dominated by Philadelphia Eagles fans approaches FedEx Field" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP-v_NWNX4TYYfTIILmLdE2J0AgXLycQIlgowKn2ke_0zxq788Pb7yaMcSCtAmwPLpnbpSmUyagEpYm7hSDBVa4lwToH8LDdkcSga1jZahVhWQfXe8CgjEnj0rYTuzdP8wxlWCQSj5AuQo0AlwZsot9090oSOqO0FM8-fkQfxIigX2LcmMGTd401E4/w320-h240/IMG_5558.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br />We arrived in the lot to a sea of green, walked up to the stadium with the same, and ultimately took our seats on the visitor's side among friendly environs. And while one might expect that from the visitor's side, the Eagles majority rounded both end zones, seemingly leaving the home sideline as the only section with a majority in burgundy and gold. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Birds dominated the scoreboard like they did they stands, ultimately notching a 24-8 victory, with Washington's only points coming on a safety and a (questionable?) touchdown with a missed two point conversion. Former Eagle Carson Wentz succumbed to nine sacks and completed 25 of 43 pass attempts. </div><div> </div><div>This was the first division game and only second "home" game with the team sporting the Commanders moniker. Fan gear was a mixed bag; many had Commanders gear, but there was still plenty of their two previous names as well. I was curious about what lyrics the fans would use for the fight song - the rebrand has shoehorned "Hail to the Commanders" into the classic tune - but we didn't get to hear it enough for me to know. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dycQXXVrMAbl3hdOIwZVZTQbDrsbrvB3QH4CpmkWpnam3LLNwiZI0H0WRgTnkzUgSBmOIJnM35SI8-W407Ndw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div>And, of course, I was looking forward to seeing the oldest marching band in professional sports, the Commanders Marching Band, carrying on a legacy that began in 1937. The band took a hiatus for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, amid both the pandemic and the team's rebrand, and the unit that took the field yesterday marched around 30 winds, and street uniforms of black shirts, burgundy polos, and black ballcaps sporting the Commanders logo. They were mic'ed in both field and stands, and took their stands perch above the side 1 scoreboard, getting a few features during timeouts. </div><div><br /></div><div>FedEx field gets a bad rap as a dump of a stadium, but my experience was enjoyable, if not basic. Concessions were ridiculous, as is to be expected, but I didn't encounter any <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/34661577/washington-commanders-jason-wright-assured-jalen-hurts-fedex-field-safety-improvements-sources-say" target="_blank">falling apart guardrails</a>, at least. Beyond good natured jeering, I didn't witness any bad blood from either side among division rivals - the early season nature of the game and Commanders' fans pre-resignation to a loss likely played into this. The game was a good time, and with my brother living in the area now, there's a good chance we make the trip again.</div>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-24382903622169855652022-09-10T16:56:00.001-04:002022-09-10T16:56:39.694-04:00Our Kind of Folk<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHX4W6EVxklMg0m_6X6G5NHYQZ-4z2r-StL5Z9EfGGsDazYrRrAJMUHlQmPCjx-iugJ3TykKt_lk2TRt__F64jf6FnuSBFqAqg2R-15FjA-yRSYBN-uU7RF1vcWY1wmhpzRv1JR7EQ6Nc8ywYu0Z9lKCiSTqgGyBIDSJXnA45ktFl9VWsWaXfK9C4W/s4032/IMG_5394.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHX4W6EVxklMg0m_6X6G5NHYQZ-4z2r-StL5Z9EfGGsDazYrRrAJMUHlQmPCjx-iugJ3TykKt_lk2TRt__F64jf6FnuSBFqAqg2R-15FjA-yRSYBN-uU7RF1vcWY1wmhpzRv1JR7EQ6Nc8ywYu0Z9lKCiSTqgGyBIDSJXnA45ktFl9VWsWaXfK9C4W/s320/IMG_5394.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /> Last night, I headed out to the North Carolina Folk Festival to catch Cold Steel, the Drumline of North Carolina A&T’s Blue and Gold Marching Machine.<p></p><div><br /></div><div>That’s not where the story begins.</div><div><br /></div><div>The National Folk Festival has been going on since 1934. Produced by the National Council for the Traditional Arts, its model has brought the touring festival to more than 30 cities for a three year residence. The festival called Greensboro home from 2015 to 2017.</div><div><br /></div><div>After its stint here, the city and state saw fit to keep the part going, launching the North Carolina Folk Festival in Greensboro the following year, as a few other host cities have done. Except for pandemic challenges, the NC edition has been going strong ever since. </div><div><br /></div><div>But is a collegiate drumline “folk music”?</div><div><br /></div><div>Absolutely.</div><div><br /></div><div>Folk music conjures up a very specific image for a lot of people. In the US, it may include acoustic guitars, perhaps banjos. Internationally, it may feature traditional instruments of the home country or region. But on its face, folk music is exactly that: the music of the folks. </div><div><br /></div><div>To that end: the collegiate marching band is very much folk music, and the HBCU marching band even moreso - a quintessentially American art form with its roots here in the south. Both iterations of the folk festival, both in Greensboro and nationwide - have cast a wide net for folk music such that it has included KRS ONE and George Clinton. As Cold Steel takes the festival stage once more, it continues an inclusive tradition that reinforces that folk is for everyone.</div>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-79776464061460202292022-07-17T01:26:00.001-04:002022-07-17T01:26:09.023-04:00Call Me Deacon Blues<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUvMjnstWsZlso3nwP4Hxg8_qsW78ex0-JqfNKg3-UcXgOIO7AGdUFZlB10q-3W8Ypc9UfbvH_hRQ-v7FRYPD0t6RssWqQ7-TYXpuyu8-0oODssBFeryZW9U_bWNnY0E-rJxFY4LdzYNKn1_-6NKkWrJIh7ieopEa42kPWz4gSEiNiUqbvm-2aIRI6/s3036/IMG_4901.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3036" data-original-width="2277" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUvMjnstWsZlso3nwP4Hxg8_qsW78ex0-JqfNKg3-UcXgOIO7AGdUFZlB10q-3W8Ypc9UfbvH_hRQ-v7FRYPD0t6RssWqQ7-TYXpuyu8-0oODssBFeryZW9U_bWNnY0E-rJxFY4LdzYNKn1_-6NKkWrJIh7ieopEa42kPWz4gSEiNiUqbvm-2aIRI6/s320/IMG_4901.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>It was early to mid December when I first heard the podcast.<div><br /></div><div>I’m confident saying that for two reasons: The first is that I remember where I was: the parking lot of a restaurant I tend to visit just once a year - when my free birthday coupon comes in. I was listening to a then-recent episode of <a href="https://www.npr.org/podcasts/563130946/south-bound" target="_blank">Southbound</a>, but I had somehow missed both the episode header and the title of the book that was being discussed, despite it having been mentioned no less than twice in the intro. The author being interviewed by host Tommy Tomlinson - I later came to learn it was Ed Southern - was speaking about the history of college football in the south, much of which I had explored when researching <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cmb150/id1483678872" target="_blank">CMB150</a>; the south's lean towards the sport and North Carolina's contrasting allegiance to college basketball; the way the world ground to a halt in mid March 2020; and the unintentional-but-no-less-poignant contrast between Bama and Wake Forest present in the Steely Dan lyrics: "They got a name for the winners in the world/I want a name when I lose/They call Alabama the Crimson Tide/Call me Deacon Blues" - his wife's and his college sports allegiances, respectively. I was already intrigued, and when I put my car in park, I went to the episode title to find out the name of the book. Fight Songs: A Story of Love and Sports in a Complicated South. </div><div><br /></div><div>This is the second reason I'm confident of the date: I exercised the restraint of putting the book on my Christmas list rather than running out and getting it right then and there.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sure enough, my mom got me the book for Christmas. At Southern's suggestion and my preference, she headed to a local bookstore - Scuppernong Books in downtown Greensboro. I started reading nearly immediately, and for a few reasons - not the least of which being my not always prioritizing reading and wanting to give it the proper attention - I wrapped up on vacation at the Carolina coast in early May. And while the title Fight Songs spoke to my band nerd heart, the book was "we'll herald the story and die for her glory" and "Dixie's football pride" in premise, if not prose. </div><div><br /></div><div>One of the first things that struck me was that the book was hyperlocal to me, in both time and space. Ed Southern attended Wake Forest and currently calls Winston-Salem - a half hour to my west - home. But it also took place in, functionally, the present day. My reading selections are primarily nonfiction, but they tend to be either evergreen or identifiably in the past. Fight Songs begins at the top of the still-enduring pandemic, as the world ground to a halt. In the exercise of "where were you when..." Southern speaks of the ACC men's basketball tournament - its cultural significance, both in the conference's previous iteration and enduring still, to North Carolina. In 2020, the Greensboro Coliseum hosted the tournament in its ancestral homeland - or half of it, at least. For me, having attended the women's tournament the week before, I had every intention of seeing the men as the pandemic's impact hit the American shores. on Wednesday, we received word that the Thursday quarterfinals - which I intended to attend - would be closed to spectators. Other conference tournaments began calling it off, and by mid-day Thursday, before tip of the Clemson-Florida State quarterfinal, the tournament was canceled.</div><div><br /></div><div>As for Wake Forest, it probably should be my favorite ACC team. Hell, maybe it is. When University of Maryland, College Park was still a member, it was easy, but since their defection, there's no true frontrunner. Wake's the local school, sure, but it's also a small, selective, nondiverse private school, which runs counter to my public regional university roots. Plus, the size of their marching band leaves some to be desired. Carolina and State get my tax dollars, sure, but I've never had much use for flagships, despite the previous mention of UMCP. I've been known to state UVA, with an insider chuckle to the folks who know my particular connection to March 16, 2018. But while I don't claim Wake, I've probably been to their stadium just about as often as any other, including my own alma mater, where I haven't attended a game live in a decade and a half.</div><div><br /></div><div>As a foil to Southern's Demon Deacon allegiance sits his wife's Alabama, boasting more championships than anyone else currently playing college football at the highest level by any reasonable metric. Baked into that dichotomy is a definition of what "south" truly is, as our North Carolina hitches its wagon to college basketball in a way that seems to defy a southern identity. Indeed, Southern's interrogation of a sense of south parallels my own. In Southern's case (and yes, he acknowledges the auspice of his family name) North Carolina is surely south, but is it <i>south</i> south? For me, I still hesitate to consider myself a southerner despite having lived in some definition of the south nearly my entire adult life and having 3 1/2 southern grandparents (my tongue-in-cheek 1/2 reference being a nod to my DC native grandmother, while also acknowledging that DC - especially growing up there Black in the 1920s and '30s - was and is largely a southern city).</div><div><br /></div><div>The book is a love story, to be sure, and speaks of Southern and his wife's courtship, marriage, and life together, against the backdrop of their respective southernness and college sports allegiances, but also of the pleasures and pitfalls of college sports in particular: sports' power to unite; the mismatches born of realignment (and Syracuse fans at Stamey's pales in comparison to what's to come); and the immense wealth generated by sports - especially football - that seems to enrich everyone except the proletariat, except lately with the onset of NIL. It reaches back to college football's march south from its northeastern roots in the long shadow of the Civil War and brings us through integration, in the macro and micro, to the present day. While I'm hesitant to put this into the universe, the book is thorough enough with the legacy of the "complicated south" that certain school systems might be inclined to affix it with a certain three letter acronym and ban it from instruction. Fight Songs pulls no punches, and in such, it digs deep into a sport, a system, hell, a region and country we all love, even while daring to delve into the finer points of its makeup.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are a few books I've been known to revisit, and I've got a good feeling this will be one of them. I encourage y'all to check it out too.</div>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-58690987687134075282022-07-15T10:53:00.002-04:002022-07-15T10:53:38.927-04:00Rights and Wrongs<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzC3v3eh6S9dycVMOB7VPFiOqzuGFgNNjKHeBuN3MXvJjirev-LcZK5rMvjRiPimAXqJMNP8u-9n7Sn1l7sW6MVoLsCrhUTtcI-KfE0Aco3e55kFJpbxNKH8Qcm8_Nzj9W2QTzzn4EwMvoMsxOW5fzI0Vek2ZDne6GGIRW6DXHI0iU1LbjG0GKMJ2/s1440/3833B8AC-9E1B-407F-80B0-E60D893BB550.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1081" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzC3v3eh6S9dycVMOB7VPFiOqzuGFgNNjKHeBuN3MXvJjirev-LcZK5rMvjRiPimAXqJMNP8u-9n7Sn1l7sW6MVoLsCrhUTtcI-KfE0Aco3e55kFJpbxNKH8Qcm8_Nzj9W2QTzzn4EwMvoMsxOW5fzI0Vek2ZDne6GGIRW6DXHI0iU1LbjG0GKMJ2/w320-h240/3833B8AC-9E1B-407F-80B0-E60D893BB550.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The ACC Grant of Rights is either the smartest or stupidest thing its member institutions could have done.<p></p><p>It may be both.</p><p>As another round of college sports realignment hangs in the air, the only teams that don't seem to be in play either already found their seat in growing superpowers the SEC and Big Ten, or are in the ACC. During the last major reshuffle, the member institutions swore what functionally amounts to a blood oath to one another: They contracted to “irrevocably and exclusively grants to the conference during the term all rights necessary for the conference to perform the contractual obligations of the conference expressly set forth in the ESPN agreement..” This means that even if a school were to leave the conference, all assets they would stand to gain from their new landing place through media rights would be remitted to the ACC. Practically, it makes the schools untouchable, so long as the grant of rights remains in play, which at present is until 2036 without some sort of intervention.</p><p>Conventional wisdom is that were the grant of rights not in place, the ACC would be in jeopardy. Geographically - as though that still matters - they already share nearly their entire footprint with the two 800 pound gorillas, and the more football-fronted schools in particular would make an excellent addition to either. The conference members have fortified themselves from poaching, but in doing so have locked themselves into a media rights deal that will continue to fall behind the power players. What the conference gained in stability, they lost in agility. While others can renegotiate and make forays into new media, the ACC remains locked for the next 14 years.</p><p>The grant of rights first came into being in 2013 near the close of a previous round of realignment. The ACC had been a primary aggressor at that point, decimating what was then the Big East, but tasted its own blood when losing the Terps to the Big Ten. Fearing future volatility, the first grant of rights centered around the contract with ESPN at the time; it was modified in 2016 with the groundwork for what would become the ACC Network and set for 20 years, to expire in 2036.</p><p>The thing is, 20 years is virtually an eon when it comes to the everchanging media landscape. Imagine, for example, a 20 year deal inked 20 years prior, in 1996. At that point, there's no way it could have anticipated even ubiquitous high speed internet and wifi, much less ESPN+, conference networks, YouTube, streaming services, and virtually every game being televised in some fashion. Knowing how rapidly the landscape changed in the first dozen years or so of the 21st century, the members had to have known that there was no way to imagine what the landscape would be 20 years hence. In walling off their city, they also shielded themselves from some modicum of progress. </p><p>Time what the future holds for the conference. They may be faced with an impossible choice: Letting the contract stand pat may mean taking less than they're worth, but to seek to rework the terms could provide the out that potential deserters need to answer other calls. Meanwhile, the SEC and Big Ten have reportedly both said there won't be any more moves - for now - and a big piece of that may be that the most attractive candidates are currently bound to the ACC. Should the grant of rights fall, the realignment land grab would likely spring back into high gear.</p>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5712238950003327341.post-60748773954760859312022-07-08T15:00:00.002-04:002022-07-08T15:00:39.621-04:00No Division<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UCysUwI-zWQDeQva6votHYxU8V4X93LF7VPiP2z8gUgw2cjZd7hqEUZZbgc-N1f_R6um6tLAI2IU81RpSzPnmEK54c44-PZFt7_ZZUDzE8uTh6AsZcAcCbIwHEZ33Yl7rza-_KopcV-Kujul0UtXE-ubPD2YFjewqpKxKRa5sVosHxL7vp-puMKy/s1352/ACC%20permanent%20opponents%20web.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1352" data-original-width="1318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UCysUwI-zWQDeQva6votHYxU8V4X93LF7VPiP2z8gUgw2cjZd7hqEUZZbgc-N1f_R6um6tLAI2IU81RpSzPnmEK54c44-PZFt7_ZZUDzE8uTh6AsZcAcCbIwHEZ33Yl7rza-_KopcV-Kujul0UtXE-ubPD2YFjewqpKxKRa5sVosHxL7vp-puMKy/w312-h320/ACC%20permanent%20opponents%20web.png" width="312" /></a></div><br /><i>(Yes, I'm well aware of the huge disturbance in the force that happened just over a week ago. I'm sure I'll get into that that at some point, possibly when/if the dust settles. In the meantime, I did get most of my thoughts out in <a href="https://twitter.com/80mins/status/1542912516531097603" target="_blank">this tweetstorm</a>.)</i><div><br /></div><div>So long, Atlantic. Farewell, Coastal. We barely knew thee.<p></p><p>No, seriously. 17 years of divisional play and I still can't get it right.</p><p>The ACC has done away with divisions, and in doing so will likely be the first Power 5 conference to make the move to divisionless football for a league of 12+ members. Rather than division champions meeting in Charlotte in early December, the two best conference records - tiebreakers withstanding - will play for the championship. The move meets two goals: First, having the top two teams meet gives the conference the best chance to put a team into the College Football Playoff: Whichever team wins will pick up another quality win, and there's no chance of, say, a 7-5 division champion pulling an upset and scuttling the conference's chances. It also ensures that conference teams will meet as often as possible: Each team will play its three permanent opponents annually, and meet the remaining ten teams twice every four years, ensuring a home-and-away experience on each campus for any four year players. In doing so, they combat one of the less savory aspects of large conferences: conferencemates meeting so seldom that any shared affiliation is merely a formality. Famously, SEC conferencemates Georgia and Texas A&M have met just once in the decade that the two have shared a conference.</p><p>The SEC's expansion, in fact, may very well have set the wheels in motion for this style of scheduling. With the expansion to two seven-team division plus a permanent crossover rival, SEC teams could only cycle through the rest of the opposite division opponents once every six years. At that point, someone more clever than I mapped out the 3-5-5 scheduling model the ACC now employs; quite a few folks took a shot at mapping out permanent rivals. <a href="http://www.80minutesofregulation.com/2015/05/dereg.html" target="_blank">I was one of them</a>. Still, the SEC's longevity and relative stability as a conference led to more natural pairings of permanent opponents, such that mot models looked pretty similar in what matchups they preserved.</p><p>In contrast, the schools of the ACC vary greatly in terms of longevity with one another. Charter members like UNC and UVA have faced one another in the South's Oldest Rivalry since 1892, while Louisville, the league's newest member, shared the Big East with a few current members, but as both a temporal and geographic outlier has little history to speak of. Some programs bring history from previous leagues with them; Some rivalries are more recent constructions.</p><p>To begin with, the schedule made all of its lobs, preserving FSU-Miami, Virginia-Virginia Tech, and UNC-Duke and UNC-NC State. Clemson-NC State maintain the Textile Bowl as the Carolinas' land grant PWIs; old Big East tilts like Pitt-Syracuse and Boston College-Miami remain as well (curiously enough, Miami-Louisville, both former Big East members but never simultaneously, are also paired). The slate features a few closed triangles: The northern triumvirate of Syracuse-Boston College-Pitt, and the Research Triangle of UNC-NC State-Duke. Like geographically, Wake Forest breaks with its Tobacco Road brethren, matching only with their Methodist counterparts at Duke. </p><p>Still, even the misses won't be strangers, as league opponents not protected will still play 50% of the time. The ACC is slated to <a href="https://fbschedules.com/acc-football-schedule-format-set-for-2023-through-2026-seasons/" target="_blank">begin this schedule in 2023</a>; the SEC and Big Ten are currently exploring how future schedules will look for them, though recent and future realignment will certainly play a role.</p></div>Curtishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12505126423169799952noreply@blogger.com0