EsPN's television arm has been in a pickle for a few years- they've got "sports news" programming which is supposed to be fair in its presentation of different sports stories...but they also have contracts with the ACC in basketball and SEC in football that force them to pimp their own self-interests and get a return on investment.
In the oughts, we heard that Urban Meyer's Florida squad was coached in such a manner that few programs in the country could compete with them, their speed and their overall scheme. And when Meyer was hired at an Ohio State University, we were told that he would change the B1G with recruiting techniques and intensity that the league had NEVER seen. Now, there's clearly an easy joke in there someplace about the methodology by which recruits are acquired and retained in the bestest conference ever...but I guess they were right. aOSU's 12-0 record was a result of Meyer's recruiting efforts (please disregard that most of the impact players were from Tressel's classes...those guys are slow, plodding B1G types, I'm told).
But, the story got even muddier today in the EsPN initiative to control the college football narrative. An old Big Ten Olineman, by way of Iowa, then Madison, has landed at Arkansas to be their head coach. That's right, in a shocking move, Arkansas hired one of the least-likable B1G head coaches, Brett Bielema. He's been Wisky's HC for seven seasons and finished atop the conference the last three years...and his teams have done it by running the ball extremely effectively with hard running RBs and massive Nordsman lineman from the tundra of the Northern US. That style of play can't compete in the super-duper-fast SEC, right?
I don't know, and quite honestly, really don't care if Bielema wins a game while at Arkansas...same goes for Urban Meyer for the Bucknuts. As you know, here at BS, we really don't like too many teams within the conference. Perhaps familiarity breeds contempt or unlikable schools and programs just make it easy to not like them. We kinda would like to see both Beilema and Meyer in the SEC together, honestly. One used to cheat there, the other will soon cheat there...but they both suck (click here for a funny article; in hindsight).
But, our dislike for conference foes is outweighed by disingenuous pseudo-journalism displayed on a daily and nightly basis at EsPN (and elsewhere, for that matter). If you're just visiting, before you say it, lemme explain that we aren't journalists- we're Purdue fans who give our opinion on what's happening in sports and other stuff. We never claim to be journalists as do so many on the network. Sure, there are a couple real journalists on that network Van Pelt doesn't seem to have been indoctrinated...and there are others...but they're tough to come by. The company line typically wins out.
So in the very near future, as aOSU is in the NCAA football Final Four and Arkansas is competing in the SEC, look for the mothership to contradict herself with great regularity.
There's also a nugget of info from the Arkansas coach search that with which we Purdue fans can all learn- Sources had said Mike Gundy was going to be announced as Arkansas' coach just in the last few days...didn't happen.
Just as in recruiting, nothing is a done deal in coach searches until a guy is signed. From what the Twitterweb (read as, our pal BMurph) is saying...that might be the case for our Boilers. Guess we'll have to wait and see.