Big Ten Divisions Announced

Okay, so as all or most of you know, the Big Ten was split into 2 divisions with the addition of Nebraska. So finally, after a lot of debate, the divisions [which are currently unnamed] break down like this:

Division 1: Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota and Northwestern

Division 2: Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana

Is this a good alignment? Well, yes. Of course. HOWEVER, there's two groups of people who are upset about the alignment: Ohio State fans and Michigan fans. Let's look at why they're so damn angry.

For many many years, "The Game" has been played at the same time each year. This divisional alignment could potentially alter that and force "The Game" to be played as the Big Ten Conference Championship Game. So why is that such a bad thing? Well, for Ohio State, it really doesn't. For Michigan, different story. Since the take-over of Rich Rodriguez, Michigan has been terrible. Really terrible. So to be honest, if Michigan and Ohio State don't play every year, so what? That rivalry means nothing now, because it has almost always culminated in Michigan getting stomped on and having the country laugh at them.

So yeah Michigan fans go ahead and complain "But, but, The Game is important". No it isn't. It ultimately right now just culminates in one more loss in your loss column. And, that likely will be the case for many years [unless you get someone in there that's like....good]. Now, does this mean all the great rivalries in the Big Ten are in ruins?? Of course not!! The Big Ten wouldn't do that. The Big Ten does listen, so calm down. The Big Ten established protected rivalries...SO!

Purdue and IU, Minnesota and Iowa, AND Michigan and Ohio State will all still play each other. So before you get your panties in a bunch, remember, those rivalry games are important to the conference.

So who comes out the winner in the split? Next season? Probably Nebraska. The play every one of the bowl teams next season. Ouch. But Nebraska is a great football team, they'll get through that relatively unscathed.

Ummmmmm........except......

What about basketball? If you haven't noticed, for basketball, Division 2 is ridiculously loaded. I think the smart thing to do (although they wouldn't listen to me) is to only divide the conference for football only. Besides basketball, the conference is pretty well balanced in every other sport (ummm.....it'd be a wasted point to talk about volleyball though, Penn State hasn't lost in like 3 years). So, ultimately, splitting the conference into two divisions; good for some, bad for others, I don't know. I just think it's gonna be interesting to see how teams treat Nebraska next year and the following years. I mean, that's one of the best defenses in the country.

But all that aside, strap on your seat belts, the 2010 season is about to start.

The 7 Day Bender

So what originally started as a 3-day birthday bender has turned into a 7 (-1) day bender of deliciousness and pain. After this, I probably won't drink for like 3 weeks because I'm not gonna feel like it. Me and booze are gonna have to take a break from each other because booze(he or she) is acting like a hussy. And I do not have the time to waste on hussies right now. Short post, but prepare for a MUCH longer one tomorrow. This is me warming back up to blogging after a short hiatus.

...F**k.

I'm coming to grips with the fact that in a few weeks I'll be 25 years old. I've been single for 90% of my date-able years (that's the years 13 to 24[25]....no I'm not like the majority of people now who started dating at 9). So now my life is almost 25%+ over. I'm underemployed, single, and I have very little going for myself at this point. ...I guess it was just something I needed to get off of my chest in text form. I'll try to post something more interesting soon enough.

Why I Should Never Let My Thoughts Wander Musically

So...since I've started working, I haven't felt much like writing. It's hard to motivate yourself to write when you are at work at night (and I seem to be mostly a write-at-night type of person; there's something weird about me writing in the middle of the day). However, last night was different. I have done some drum corps writing in the past, but never anything truly serious, you know, like full on corps books.

That is about to change.

Starting July 11th, I will start working on my first complete drum corps package, which right now is called "Three Cities". The piece has 3 movements and it's planned for about 10-12 minutes. I don't really know how this is going to turn out. I mean, I've been listening to corps shows for what seems like eternity, but can I actually put together a consistent, cohesive, interesting and descriptive 10-12 minutes of music? Well, I guess I'll find out.

Now what you're probably wondering is "why in the world set out on this venture?" Well, you can blame one drum corps show in particular. In 2004, Santa Clara Vanguard did a show based off of the music from Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov). For some reason, during watching that show a few nights ago, a light came on. It was almost something asking me "Why haven't you gone that far?". So I'm going to do that.

With the exception of the second movement, I haven't decided on music yet. I think I know how I want everything as a whole to work, but not in its parts. I do have a whole shift of work to decide and maybe get to a piano and hack some things out. Hopefully I'll have it done sometime in mid-fall. Then comes the fun part.

Then I get to find people to help me play/record it. That won't be easy. I don't actually know many of the marching brass players here. Everything else should be easy enough. I'm sure I can scrounge up some drummers to help. I don't anticipate much of any of the movements to be insanely difficult (except maybe the last movement, which will purposefully be difficult).

I'll post updates about the piece as I complete parts, maybe even audio if I can figure out exactly what this blog can do.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

The simple answer to that question is....."Hell Yeah!".

However, I'm in the middle of Big Ten Country. Which, oddly enough, is now 12 teams large. So for those of you who have been paying attention to me, here's where my football alliances are.

NCAA Football: Purdue, Mizzou

NFL: Colts, Rams

Mizzou will probably finish in the middle of the Big XII (which now has ten teams, haha). But the real question is "will Purdue manage to finish above .500 this year?" At first glance, I don't know if I can say yes. Purdue finished 5-7 last season with wins over Ohio State, Michigan, and Toledo. The team also lost to Oregon [away], Northern Illinois [home], and Northwestern [home]. So now, new QB (and likely starting QB) Robert Marve will have some proving to do. As will coach Danny Hope. Purdue football is pretty rich in tradition, and I don't think it would be wise for him to coach his team to another losing season. Yes, I know it's not all on him, but his job is to get his team to perform to expectations, and the team has the talent to get at least a record of 6-6 this year. Ultimately, I think Purdue goes 7-5 this season. They may or may not make a bowl game this year; but, they should make it at least to the 6 win mark.

How do I see this all going down?

@ Notre Dame - If Marve starts, we have a legitimate shot at pulling this one off. ND is starting a new QB. Therefore, I'm giving Purdue the edge in this one. [W]

Western Illinois - I get a strange feeling Purdue's first home game won't be a pleasant sight. Big school + Directional State school = disaster. Purdue still wins, but not by enough to make any fan feel comfortable. [W]

Ball State - Remember the comfort you get from a blowout win? This is where it happens. Purdue wins, likely in a large shut out victory (Think 60 points-ish). [W]

Toledo - If Toledo hasn't had any changes in offense, this might actually be a close game. They were one of the top offensive teams in the country last season. [W]

@ Northwestern - The frustrating part of this game is that we don't get the beating they put on us last year on homecoming day. [L]

Minnesota - *shrug* [L]

@ Ohio State - If we beat OSU two years in a row I would be stunned. [L]

@ Illinois - Illinois has returned to being one of the more questionable teams in the conference. [W]

Wisconsin - Purdue love to lose to Wisconsin. Even when they have a chance to win...see "the fumble heard round the world" (Wisconsin at Purdue, 2004). [L]

Michigan - Once again, can Purdue beat a team they almost never beat two years in a row? In Michigan's case.....I'll say yes. [W/L]

@ Michigan State - Does Purdue dare to lose to Michigan State again? Maybe, I'm giving this one as a toss-up. I'm not sure exactly how this one would turn out. If Purdue were to beat Wisconsin, I think they win this game. Otherwise, this is a loss. [W/L]

Indiana - Come on, the bucket stays. This game is at home. [W]

Final Standings: 6-6, 7-5 or 8-4

Besides all of that, with Nebraska joining the Big Ten next season, it'll be interesting to see the schedule shakedown. Who gets to play them first...you know...to break them in. I was hoping it would be Notre Dame that came into the B10, so they can get stomped on every year. But, Nebraska brings a lot to the table, and I like it. But now, does the Big Ten play an extra game? I know there is talk of having a championship game eventually, but, it'll be interesting to see how the conference splits up. *For basketball, it's almost a non-issue. Nebraska basketball isn't really great.

With the college football season about to start, it's also almost time for the NFL to start up. Yay! While there are two teams that I actually cheer for, the Rams have shown no signs of getting better. However, the Colts are what they are. The great thing about being a Colts fan is that the Colts don't really lose that often. I usually expect less than 5 losses per season from them. And, they just keep adding people who can really add to the system. HOWEVER, in the past draft, they drafted defensive players. HOORAY!! And, they added a kick returner and an offensive lineman. Yay!! Now all that needs to happen is for the Colts to have a consistent run game. I mean, at least 90 years per game. I'd say that number needs to be higher, but with Peyton Manning, do you really need a run game designed to run over people constantly? I mean, why waste 40 minutes scoring 21 points when you can score 14 points in 45 seconds (see Indianapolis Colts vs. Miami Dolphins in the 2009 season).

I hope the Rams can manage to win a few games next season. I mean, it'd be nice to have a team in the NFC and the AFC to cheer for. But the Rams have been so bad in recent history that it almost give me gas to think about it. But my formula still stands as follows:

Rams > Lions > Raiders > Browns

That's right, the Browns are really that bad. I feel bad for the city of Cleveland. There's no hope for them now. Now the best thing that has come out of Cleveland is Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. **As a side note, how ridiculous would it be if Miami and Cleveland met in the playoffs?**

At any rate...how do I foresee the NFL season turning out? I love failing at predictions, but the NFL is usually pretty easy to get at least 50% right.

AFC:

East- Patriots

North- Ravens?

South- Colts

West- Chargers

NFC:

East- *shrug*

North- Packers/Vikings

South- Saints

West- *shrug*

Last year I predicted a Colts vs. Saints Super Bowl.

AFC Championship Game: Indianapolis Colts (38) vs. Miami Dolphins (17)

NFC Championship Game: New Orleans Saints (44) vs. **Doesn't Matter** (21)

**Why doesn't it matter? Because unlike the AFC where 60% of the teams pose a challenge, the New Orleans Saints are clearly the best team in the NFC.

Super Bowl: Indianapolis Colts (21) vs. New Orleans Saints (13)

OR

Super Bowl: Indianapolis Colts (48) vs. New Orleans Saints (45)

You never really know when two teams with such high-powered offenses meet. Sometimes the total score will be in the high 80s or 90s, other times the total score will be in the 10-20 range. But I stand by the fact that the two best teams (Colts and Saints) will meet in the Super Bowl, this time with the Colts winning. (Also, be advised that these two teams may very well meet again in the following year).

I gots me a blogspot...

So, in an effort to keep up with the times, and in an effort to keep everyone informed with my life/daily/semi-daily/various thoughts and projects, I created a blog. Maybe people will even read it. And so for my post today, I present to you two sports issues: LeBron James and a post about baseball...

Part I: LeBron James.

Now, I know that LeBron is great, he might even be one of the best (although he's not retired yet so we really don't know just how good he is), a lot of things are being said about his free agency and I want to clear a few of them up for everyone.

Number 1: Should he stay in Cleveland? Yes. Why? Because, while basically every team wants him on their team, I can't say every player on every team would want him. At least where he is now, he can do what he wants in the market he's played in for so long. Cleveland, while they haven't won a title yet with him, continues to win, and that's pretty important. I mean, you can't win a title if you don't win.

Number 2: Should he have his own special? Yes. And why is everyone so bent out of shape about that? He's one of the best players out right now. Hell, if I were that good I would have my own special and it would just be me eating at a grand slam at Denny's. And speaking of grand slams...

Part II: The State Of Baseball

Okay, right now here is the current playoff picture (yes I know it's before the All-Star break, so what):

AL: Yankees (East), Tigers (Central), Rangers (West), Rays (Wild Card).

NL: Braves (East), Reds (Central), Padres (West), Mets (Wild Card).

--My Predictions (made at the start of the season--

AL: Rays (East), White Sox (Central), Rangers (West), Angels (Wild Card)

NL: Marlins (East), Cardinals (Central), Rockies (West), Dodgers (Wild Card)

Okay, my first problem with the season so far is that ....the Padres are in first place in the West? What the f**k?! The Padres are probably one of the most questionable teams in the NL, and now they're in first place in the division. Yay! That means the whole NL is going to be a bloodbath the second half of the season [because I don't think the Reds will win the Central, and I sure don't think the Padres will win the West that easily]. The second is, everyone is jumping on the Yankee bandwagon again. But let's not forget, the Rays lost like 11 games in a row, and they're still only 2 back. Also, the Red Sox and Yankees have to play each other again (and speaking of the Red Sox, how in the world do they think they're gonna win games with half the roster on the DL?), so it's still up for grabs. Here are my following statements about the rest of the season:

#1: Joey Votto should be an All-Star. So should Kevin Youkilis (although he may now be injured too). And speaking of that, so should Dan Uggla.

#2: The Pirates are terrible.

#3: So are the Cubs.

#4: Everyone should be stunned that Kansas City has an elimination number that is greater than 65.

#5: The AL Central will be the best race of the year.

#6: Does anyone else want to win the AL West? It's almost always one team running away from everyone else.

#7: Best team everyone should be talking about: the Padres. Best team no one is talking about: the White Sox.

I think that's it. So don't forget to watch LeBron's special tonight at 9 PM, and the All-Star show before that (I think it's at 6 PM).