ESPN Signs TV Mega Deal with SEC
The SEC and ESPN have agreed to a cooperative contract that will allow ESPN to broadcast SEC football and men’s and women’s basketball games for the next fifteen years. The reportedly multi-billion dollar arrangement will mean that even more SEC basketball games are on the air for a national audience, something that Final Four Blog readers will probably greatly appreciate.
The SEC has always been one of the biggest, most successful and popular sports conferences in the nation, so it makes sense that a sports media superstar like ESPN would want to get in on whatever they are currently broadcasting, or what they aren’t yet, but could be broadcasting.
According to the Associated Press article we found at SportsIllustrated.com, Alabama football coach Nick Saban said this:
“One of the reasons that this league has developed into one of the top leagues in the country is because we have tremendous exposure. I think we had the best exposure from a TV standpoint in our last contract and this one is only going to enhance it more.”
To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.
Parrish on Caracter
Garry Parrish’s latest column with CBSSports.com’s college basketball section discusses a hoops player by the name of Derrick Caracter. If you don’t follow Louisville hoops, or weren’t up on the latest high school players a couple of years ago, here’s the scoop: Apparently Caracter was a promising middle school hoop star, He was 6-9 in middle school and dominating high school players. In high school he didn’t grow anymore, but still played awesomely, well enough to get a scholarship to Louisville, one of the top college basketball programs in the nation. However, according to Louisville coach Rick Pitino, Caracter never worked hard, never gave it his all, and thus he will leave the university soon, bound for the Oklahoma City University, an NAIA school.
There are plenty of players who do not turn out to be the big deal that they were made out to be, and every time it happens, its quite tragic. Garry gets a little overboard when he says that Caracter will not be able to amount to anything beyond basketball, though. He’s still going to get a degree, and he’s still, by Pintino’s admission, a very bright man. He’s just got to figure out how to work hard. He’s still very young. He’s got time. Hang in there, Derrick.
To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.
American Coach Jones Extends Stay
Jeff Jones coached American to the NCAA Tournament last season, and now he’s reaping the benefits. He was recently signed to stay with the university through the 2013-14 season. This is of some particular interest because Jones was expected to try to use his coaching stint at American, a mid-major school from the Patriot League, to move on to a better, bigger program in a major conference. Jones, as you might know, was the coach at Virginia before several scandals forced him to leave the ACC for work at Rhode Island, where he built back his reputation well enough to get a head coaching job at American. According to the AP article at ESPN about the new contract, Jones has said:
“It’s not just all about what conference or how much money you’re making. At least for me, a big part of it is being wanted and being in an environment where you’re comfortable and happy. And the big one is ‘Are you in a place were you truly believe you can win?’ And all of those things were true for me and have been true for me.”
To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.
Remembering the 1972 Olympic Basketball Team
As this Blog is being posted, the United States is rapping up their victory over Argentina in the Men’s basketball semi final at the Beijing Olympics. The team they have assembled includes most of the greatest American basketball players in the NBA today, including Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carlos Boozer, Jason Kidd and Chris Paul. However, there’s a reason there is a “Dream Team” (or Redeem Team, as it were) out there. It’s the result of the 1972 Olympic basketball game between the previously unbeaten United States and the USSR. Back then it was college kids playing, so, therefore, the Final Four Blog, in the spirit of the Olympics, is going to at elast make a mention of this important event in college basketball history.
The Wikipedia article on the subject doesn’t exactly give the game justice, but it’s a good place to start for any young basketball fan who is not familiar with the event. Basically, there was some questionable officiating calls near the end of the game, which eventually resulted in a re-do of the final three seconds. The United States officially lost the game, but they protested the medal ceremony, and have yet to ever accept their silver medals for the game. Making it more interesting, this game happened at nearly the height of tensions between the U.S. and the USSR during the Cold War.
To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.
Will the Pac-10 Be As Good Next Season?
The Pac-10 got a lot of hype before the college basketball season last year, and for the most part, the conference lived up to the wild expectations set before it. UCLA went to the Final Four, again, and the Pac-10 managed to dominate the NBA Draft. But will the Pac-10 have the same level of competitiveness this season after all of the departures. Kevin Love, O.J. Mayo, Russell Westbrook, the Lopez twins and Ryan Anderson are all gone to the NBA. Other key contributors have graduated as well. Are the freshmen coming into the Pac-10 as good or better than the ones who were there last year?
Although at this point it would only be speculation, the Final Four Blog would chance to say that the new freshmen in the Pac-10 will not be as dominant. It’s the natural reaction of sports bloggers to think that the thing that just happened was the best or the worst, or the greatest or the most of all time, so we’ll check ourselves with some reservation. But for the class of the Pac-10, UCLA, it would be a real struggle to get Kevin Love’s productivity back, considering their strength, as most believe it to be, will be their guards, led by Darren Collison.
To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.
Tom Crean Signs “Tean-Year” Deal to Coach at Indiana
The Indiana Hoosiers have signed Tom Crean to be their head men’s basketball coach for the next “tean” years. The deal, which has been in the works for months, will allow Crean to earn at least $23.6 million. Of course, there are special bonus incentives if Crean can lead the team to certain benchmarks. For example, if the Hoosiers win the national championship in the next ten years while Crean is coaching, he could receive $685,000. Smaller sums will be paid for other goals, such as winning the Big Ten and getting to the Final Four.
The deal should be a great thing for Crean, who will have one of the most secure jobs in college basketball, a sport that’s known for moving coaches around very often. His family can set down roots in Indiana. For the Hoosiers, the program should move further away from the whole Kelvin Sampson debacle, which is a good thing. To note, the deal with Crean has a stipulation stating that if he or his staff are caught disobeying NCAA rules, he can be fired. Considering past events, this is a good idea.
To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.
Preseason Tournaments!!
Yesterday we did a little feature about some preseason tournaments, the Anaheim Classic, the Old Spice Classic and the Maui Invitational. However, those events are by no means the only tournaments that traveling college hoops fans should see. Let’s go over a few of the best ones.
- Maui Invitational: North Carolina, Texas, Indiana, Notre Dame, Oregon, Alabama, St. Joes, Chaminade.
- Old Spice Classic: Tennessee, Georgetown, Michigan State, Gonzaga, Wichita State, Oklahoma State, Maryland, Sienna.
- Anaheim Classic: Wake Forest, St. Mary’s, Baylor, Arizona State, Providence, Charlotte, UTEP, Cal State Fullerton.
- Puerto Rico Tip-Off: Fairfield, Memphis, Missouri, Seton Hall, Xavier, USC, UT-Chattanooga, Virginia Tech
- Paradise Jam: Connecticut, Iona, La Salle, Miami (Fla.), San Diego, Southern Miss, Valparaiso, Wisconsin
- Great Alaska Shootout: Hampton, Louisiana Tech, Northern Illinois, Portland State, San Diego State, Seattle, Western Carolina, Alaska Anchorage
A few other college basketball preseason tournaments, such as Coaches vs. Cancer, CBE Classic, Legends Classic, and the NIT Season Tip-Off, do no have their lineups set just yet.
To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.
Maui, Anaheim, or Orlando? Decisions, Decisions, Decisions…
If you had to attend just one college basketball preseason tournament, would you rather go to the Maui Invitational, the Anaheim Classic or the Old Spice Classic in Orlando? Sadly, many of us will not have the chance to attend any of these tournaments, but for those who have made preseason hoops part of their schedule, this year’s choicest three tournaments will provide some excellent basketball. And some nice scenery.
Here you can see the list of teams that will be making their way to the sunniest corners of this great nation to warm up for the long season of NCAA basketball. Based on the dates of the tournaments, one could possibly make the Maui Invitational and then either fly cross-cross country to Orlando for the Old Spice Classic or skip on over to Anaheim for another three days of hoops. The Maui Invitational goes from November 24-26, and the other two run from November 27-30.
Preseason tournaments are very popular with the traveling sports fan. Not only to they take place is awesome locations, such as Hawaii, Southern California and Florida, but they also typically feature some of the best college basketball teams that do not play against one another regularly during the season.
To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.
Looking at the Big 12: ESPN Shootaround
The Big 12 might have a huge shakeup this upcoming college basketball season. While Kansas won the national championship and would otherwise be a lock to get to the top of the conference standings, the Jayhawks are going to have to refill a lot of empty spots. They saw five of their best players taken in the NBA Draft. You can’t just come back from a total dismantling like that!
However, the experts at ESPN seem to think that Kansas will be just fine with Bill Self guiding the team this year. I won’t spoil their prediction, but suffice as to say that the Jayhawks are expected to get to the Tourney with ease. Other teams to look out for in 2009 include Texas, Oklahoma, Baylor and Missouri. Check out all of the “Shootaround” articles, because they are a good way to get instantly familiar with the storyline of whatever conference you are interested in learning about.
To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.
Fighting Irish Travel to Ireland
Today we have a little tale of international basketball… only we’re not talking about the Olympics. The Notre Dame Men’s basketball team has traveled across the Atlantic to participate in some training camps, play some exhibition games and visit the countryside of the Emerald Isle. Lucky for us, UND.com has Fighting Irish guard Kyle McAlarney’s journal of the trip. Take a look if you don’t mind getting jealous of a summer trip to Ireland.
Guard Kyle McAlarney has written a journal entry for his first day on the trip. Most of the first entry is about the plane ride to Ireland, which included an unscheduled maintenance stop in Boston for a few hours. Not surprisingly, the athletes were pretty jet lagged and tired after making the Atlantic voyage, so the first one isn’t very good. Of note: Kyle read “The Pistol,” a biography of Pistol Pete Maravich, on the way. Also, according to McAlarney, who has the perfect name for an Irish lad visiting Ireland, Ireland is very green.
To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.