What About Bob? Will Bowlsby Be the Next Pac-10 Commissioner?

Yes, it does, as Stanford AD Bob Bowlsby knows

To answer the question in the headline of this post … maybe. How’s that for fine journalism?

The job of Pacific-10 commissioner is officially open on July 1.  Bowlsby, the athletic director from 1991 to 2006 at the University of Iowa, presently holds a similar job at Stanford University.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News lists several potential candidates at http://tinyurl.com/aj2zb6.

About Bowlsby, he wrote this:

Everyone I talk to believes Bowlsby wants the job, and yet he’s on record saying he’s not a candidate.

The way it has been explained to me: After the executive committee reviews the candidates provided by Bowlsby’s committee, Hennessy turns to BB and says, essentially: “We’re not sold on any of them. What about you, Bob?”

Bowlsby worked in the Big Ten and is considered very savvy in the ways of multimedia and TV and business matters.

But just as Al Gore didn’t carry Tennessee in the 2000 presidential election and even the great Alex Rodriguez has been booed in New York, not every Stanford supporter is a Bowlsby supporter. Check the comments portion of Wilner’s blog post to see what I’m talking about.

Speaking of which, here’s the last paragraph of his blog item:

Again, everyone I talk to — Stanford folks, Pac-10 folks, non-Pac-10 folks — thinks the league will eventually get back to Bowlsby and offer him the job. Until there’s reason not to, I’m going to take him at his word.

Bowlsby’s not going to retire as the AD at Stanford. Running the Pac-10 may not be the dream of Condolezza Rice (see Wilner’s article), but it’s got to be a pretty good gig for career athletic-department people.

Hlas Column: Big Ten Basketball is Defense and, uh, Defense

The Michigan men’s basketball team plays Iowa today, giving us hope.

Maybe one or both of the teams will crack 50, 55, or — dare I say it? — 60 points in the game.

The Wolverines did tally 74 in their 12-point home win over Minnesota Thursday. Perhaps the momentum of that effort will send Carver-Hawkeye Arena back in time, when teams sometimes traded scores on consecutive possessions.

Living here, we think offense appearing to be played in quicksand is a Hawkeye thing. Yes, Iowa does rank 304th of the 330 Division I teams in scoring with 60.6 points per game. That’s 31 less than North Carolina averages.

But the Hawkeyes reside in a conference that plays different ball than most other American leagues.

“The Big Ten puts a huge emphasis on defense,” said Big Ten Network studio analyst Tim Doyle. “The ACC and the Big East, they’re more willing to give up a hoop thinking they’ll get a hoop on the next possession.”

OK, Doyle’s a Big Ten Network guy and a former Big Ten player. He played very well for three seasons at Northwestern after transferring from St. John’s, near his hometown on Long Island.

But he doesn’t sound like a Big Ten puppet on the air, or off it.

“I don’t know if it’s in the water,” he said, “but it does seem like guys on the East Coast and maybe the SEC are more athletic. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s what the farmers are feeding us here.”

Through Thursday’s games, these were the points per team in conference games of the six BCS leagues: 1. ACC 73.1, 2. SEC 72.0, 3. (tie) Big 12 and Big East 71.0, 5. Pac-10 67.1, 6. Big Ten 63.4.

“But look at the defensive production,” Doyle said. “Look at points-per-game allowed, field goal percentage defense. Look at the assist-to-turnover ratio. They aren’t gaudy or sexy categories, but the Big Ten dominates them.”

If you like that kind of ball, it’s great. But take the names off the uniforms and which do you think would get more of a following, the Big 12 or Big East with seven teams apiece averaging over 76 points per game, or the Big Ten, with only Michigan State (79th at 73.8 ppg) among the nation’s top 145 teams in scoring?

Seven Big Ten teams are among the country’s top 45 in scoring defense. Iowa is 12th at 58.9 points allowed per game. Even as short-handed as they’ve been lately, the Hawkeyes play good defense.

But the only time defense-dominated ball captures the public’s fancy is when it leads to lots of wins.

Nothing makes Penn State’s 38-33 win at Illinois last Wednesday satisfying. Had that score been posted in a Big East or ACC gym, America would have howled in disgust. But since it occurred in Big Ten play, it’s more amusing than shocking.

Ultimately, though, can Big Ten teams cut through the NCAA tournament? Doyle says yes, and he has history on his side.

Since Michigan State was the last Big Ten team to win it all, in 2000, five more conference teams have been to the Final Four. Illinois and MSU went in the same year, 2005.

In those same eight seasons only the ACC (seven) and Big 12 (six) had as many Final Four representatives.

“I know this is hard to believe,” Doyle said, “but I think the Big Ten is poised to have a nice NCAA tourney.

“Look at the non-conference season. Purdue lost to Oklahoma in overtime, Oklahoma is No. 2 in the country, and Purdue gave that game away. I think Oklahoma shot 50 free throws (46, actually) and Purdue had five.

“Illinois beat the crap out of Missouri (75-59), for lack of a better word, in St. Louis.

“Nationally, the league doesn’t have the sexy rankings or five teams in the Top 25. But it has the strengths-of-schedules, the RPIs that the tournament committee looks at.”

None of which changes the facts the ACC and Big 12 and Big East tournaments will be more enjoyable to watch than the Big Ten tourney.

Nor does it change the fact Michigan-Iowa isn’t likely to be as entertaining as today’s Syracuse-Villanova or Wake Forest-Duke games.

But Doyle says better days are coming for the Hawkeyes. He calls himself a big fan of Iowa Coach Todd Lickliter, and likes Lickliter’s nucleus of young players.

“Jeff Peterson’s improved his game,” said Doyle. “If he and (Cyrus) Tate are healthy, and if (Anthony) Tucker was there, they’d have seven or eight wins in the conference.

“Jake Kelly and (Matt) Gatens, I really like them. Gatens is going to be one of those guys who are rock-solid, and Peterson will be a rock-solid point guard.”

But we live in the present, and Doyle doesn’t pretend the Hawkeyes will wow their Big Ten Network audience with offensive artistry today.

“They would put a glass eye to sleep,” he said.

SUPER BOWL JOURNAL: Snoop Dogg Gets More Respect Here Than Condolezza Rice

Condolezza Rice and former associate

TAMPA, Fla. — I went to the Philadelphia Flyers-Tampa Bay Lightning game Friday night.

Why? The ticket was free, the arena is a block from my hotel, and it was actually a good place to escape the zooiness and claustrophobia of what’s going on around here for a few hours.

In walking toward the Channelside restaurant/nightclub district before the game, a long line snaked down a sidewalk. People were waiting to get into the Bud Bowl, which is no longer an animated television commercial, but instead a concert event of some sort.

Snoop Dogg was the master of ceremonies. And like I said, people were lined up for a long way, waiting to get in. My theory: People love Snoop Dogg.

But … that doesn’t mean it was solid gold box office. Lots of would-be scalpers were on street corners looking forlorn, unable to dispose of Bud Bowl tickets. They were asking $20 a throw at 7:30 p.m., and getting no takers that I saw.

Geez, people down here are spending $20 just to talk to someone about paying much-higher cover charges.

Inside the arena, the Flyers beat the home team like a rented mule, 6-1. Late in the first period, the public-address announcer told the crowd that former Secretary of State Condolezza Rice was in the building, and they showed her on the video screens above the ice.

Some people cheered. It sounded like more folks booed. Either that, or they booed louder than the cheerers cheered. It wasn’t like they really, really booed her. But it was still sort of uncomfortable to witness.

In the grand tradition of public figures, Rice had a big smile and acted as if everyone was applauding.

I don’t know how Snoop Dogg’s Bud Bowl went. I’ll bet he didn’t get booed, though. Except from the scalpers.

By the way, Condi is a candidate to become the next Pacific-10 Conference commissioner. Wonder how that would go over with the people of, say, Berkeley and Eugene?

More on that: http://www.thewizofodds.com/the_wiz_of_odds/2009/01/rice-a-candidate-for-pac10-job.html

The Hlist – Rat Pac-10 and Buckeyes Black Eyes

hlist

Opening kickoff

“Success against weak Big Ten teams has not only been a means to a bad end in title games, but it might have created something of a mirage of football power. Rankings or no rankings, these failures now raise the question of whether OSU has ever truly been a top-five team the past three seasons.” — Bob Hunter of the Columbus Dispatch after Ohio State’s 35-3 loss at Southern California

First downs

1. No. 1 and Only: When Southern California thrashed Iowa, 38-17, in the Orange Bowl six seasons ago, it was just the tip of the iceberg for what Pete Carroll’s program would do to future opponents in big games. The Trojans’ 35-3 savaging of Ohio State was a full-blown Titanic for the Buckeyes.

“We expected to dominate, and that’s what happened,” USC defensive tackle Fili Moala said. “If we come to play like this every week and stay humble, no one’s going to touch us.”

Way to stay humble, Fili.

2. Two Blowouts: First Notre Dame Coach Charlie Weis had his knee blown out when he inadvertently got rolled up by Irish defensive tackle John Ryan. Then his team finished off a 35-17 rout of Michigan.

Weis tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee on the fluke collision.

“I feel like an athlete,” the rather rotund Weis said after the game. “First time in my life.”

“I feel terrible,” Ryan said after the game. “I apologized to him three or four times during the game. I feel awful. I won’t sleep at all tonight.”

Asked if he were still on scholarship, Ryan said, “I hope.”

3. Viva Nevada-Las Vegas: Iowa State may be fighting the odds in Las Vegas come Saturday night.

UNLV is on a roll. It went to 15th-ranked Arizona State as a 23-point underdog and came home with a 23-20 overtime win.

“Sometimes, it comes down to heart and desire over talent,” Rebels running back Frank Summers said. Mike Sanford’s first three UNLV teams won two games each. If the Rebels beat ISU in Vegas, they’ll be 3-1.

“The victory is great,” Sanford said. “We’re thankful and grateful for it. But if we go get blown out by Iowa State, nobody will remember it. This next game is as important or more than the one we just played.”

4. Mountain Do: “Most weekends, Vegas’ upset would rank as a highlight,” wrote Dave Curtis of Sportingnews.com. “Saturday, it was just decoration.”

See, the Mountain West Conference had its best football weekend in its 10-year existence. It went 7-1 against nonconference foes and 4-0 against the big, bad Pacific-10. Besides UNLV’s great win, TCU mauled Stanford, 41-17. New Mexico downed Arizona, 36-28. And Brigham Young brutalized UCLA, 59-0.

“That was probably one of the most fun games I’ve ever been a part of,” said BYU quarterback Max Hall after he threw seven touchdown passes against the Bruins. “It almost seemed at some points like my job was easy.”

Fumbles

1. Buckeye Black Eye: Ohio State is the Big Ten’s football ruler. Thus, Big Ten football is held in low national esteem today.

That 35-3 loss at USC was the latest of OSU’s flops in huge games. The Buckeyes bombed in the last two national title games. Don’t look for them to get a third straight chance.

“I can’t believe that we screwed up so badly,” OSU left tackle Alex Boone said. “I thought this team made it clear after the national championship game — all the gassers we ran, and all the running we did that we weren’t going to mess up anymore. Apparently, that wasn’t evident.”

Running is one thing. Keeping up with superior talent is another. Mark Whicker of the Orange County Register wrote this:

“It was supposed to be the Collision at the Coliseum, but it wasn’t. To have a collision, both objects must be moving.”

2. Black and Blue: Don’t bother yelling “Go Blue!” to Michigan’s football team this week. The Wolverines are blue enough after their debacle at Notre Dame.

Michigan, once a football program of note, fumbled seven times in South Bend, losing four. Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press summarized it neatly:

“The 35-17 loss to Notre Dame was a morass of missed opportunities, poor decisions and atrocious fundamentals.”

“We don’t have our heads down because we know who the better team was,” Michigan defensive back Steve Brown said. “They beat us today. It happens, but in our hearts we know we’re the better team.”

No, the better team would have scored 35 points, not 17.

The Hlist doesn’t believe in ghosts, but will stay out of Ann Arbor this week all the same. The spirit of Bo Schembechler, rest his soul, could be out and about with a fury.

3. Rat Pac: The Pac-10 has USC. Oregon’s pretty good, too.

That’s about it.

The league went 3-7 last weekend. UCLA, Washington and Lehman Brothers Holdings all had their worst week since 1929. UCLA’s 59-0 loss to BYU was its worst defeat since ’29, and Washington’s 55-14 loss to Oklahoma was its worst home loss since the year of the Great Depression.

Arizona offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes said Wildcats senior quarterback Willie Tuitama “played as bad as I’ve seen him play” in their loss at New Mexico.

Arizona State Coach Dennis Erickson’s reaction to losing at home to UNLV: “It’s sickening.”

4. No Offense, But …: Auburn 3, Mississippi State 2

“I am an old defensive coach so I was liking it a little bit but I wish we had scored a few more points,” Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville said.

“Coincidentally,” wrote Steve Hofstetter of Doghouseboxing.com, “3-2 are the odds that both teams will never score again.”

Final gun

“That’s the big problem, having to sort through those five big guys to find where he is. When they all come off at one time, they look like a herd of water buffalo stampeding at you and there’s a gazelle somewhere in behind them.” — Florida Atlantic Coach Howard Schnellenberger on Michigan State’s offensive line and running back Javon Ringer. Ringer carried 43 times for 282 yards in MSU’s 17-0 win over Schnellenberger’s Owls.