Old Big East vs New Big East

I have heard people mention that the NBE is better than the old BE. The reason they give is that the NBE doesnt have RU and Temple (who were both awful as can be) or Pitt who averaged 1.86 BE Ws in the 1990s. So a team like BC had 3 built in Ws. However IMO the top of the old BE was much stronger. So a team like BC would have 3 built in Ls. That is why they went 4-3 or 3-4 every friggin year. I will agree that the NBE is much deeper than the old BE but the old BE was much stronger at the top.

Here are the avg conf records from 1993-2003 (I didnt include 1991 and 1992 since teams didnt play everyone in conf):

Miami 6-1 (66-11)
VT 5-2 (55-22)
SU 4.27-2.73 (47-30)
WV 4.27-2.73 (47-30)
BC 3.36-3.55-0.09 (37-39-1)
Pitt 2.82-4.18 (31-46)
Temple 1.18-5.82 (13-64)
RU 1.00-5.91-0.09 (11-65-1)

Then compare those teams to the NBE 2005-2007 (I didnt include 2004 as it still had BC and didnt have the CUSA teams):

WV 5.68-1.33 (17-4)
Louisville 4.67-2.33 (14-7)
RU 4.00-3.00 (12-9)
USF 4.00-3.00 (12-9)
Cincy 3.33-3.67 (10-11)
Pitt 3.00-4.00 (9-12)
UConn 2.67-4.33 (8-13)
SU 0.67-6.33 (2-19)

So if you go just by records you get:

Miami (O)
WV (N)
VT (O)
UL (N)
SU (O)
WV (O)
RU (N)
USF (N)
BC (O)
UC (N)
Pitt (N)
Pitt (O)
UConn (N)
Temple (O)
RU (O)
SU (N)

However if I were to rank the teams I would go by:

Miami (O)
VT (O)
WV (N)
SU (O)
UL (N)
WV (O)
USF (N)
RU (N)
BC (O)
UC (N)
Pitt (N)
Pitt (O)
UConn (N)
SU (N)
Temple (O)
RU (O)

I think the old is at the top and the bottom, with the NBE in the middle. So what about head to head, 1-8 who would win in a theorectical Bowl Game?

Miami 6-1 vs WV 5.68-1.33
I dont think anyone would argue that WV is equal to those Miami teams. I know it is a very very small sample for the NBE but I think this WV squad is on par with those VT squads. So IMO the NBE's best team is the equal of the old BEs 2nd.
Winner: Miami

VT 5-2 vs UL 4.67-2.33
I think UL was on its way to being on par with these VT squads. They had 2 very good years. But when Petrino left they took a big hit. Who knows how they respond this year. But for comparisons sake I would say they are on par with the old SU, who was the 3rd best team.
Winner: VT

SU/WV 4.27-2.73 vs RU/USF 4-3
This one isnt even close. I would say RU is on par with those BC teams, and BC was the 5th best old BE team. However USF and the old WV seem pretty even.
Winner: SU/WV

BC 3.36-3.66-0.09 vs UC 3.33-3.67
This is at least close. I think BC is better but not by a whole lot. As you can tell by their record, BC was overrated much like RU is now. UC needs to prove they can keep it up.
Winner: BC

Pitt 2.82-4.18 vs Pitt 3-4
Interesting that Pitts place in the standing have not changed. I think the Pitt for 2000-2003 was better than todays Pitt, but the 1990s Pitt was awful. So you have to give the advantage to the new Pitt.
Winner: New Pitt

Temple 1.18-5.82 vs UConn 2.67-4.33
UConns big season last year makes this one a blowout. I would say UConn is the equal of old Pitt, who was 6th in the old BE.
Winner: UConn

RU 1-5.91-0.09 vs SU 0.67-6.33
Wow 0.67. That hurts. WTF happened to Syracuse Football? Even so I think SU wins here. 2007 was an RU like season for SU. However the were competitive in 2005 and were not that bad in 2006. Also RU got to play Temple and the 1990s Pitt. SU doesnt have those type of teams today. Now my view can change this year depending on how bad SU is, but I give the advantage.
Winner: SU

So after 8 games, I have the Old BE winning 5 and losing 3. But the most important games are the ones at the top. No? The old BE 1-5 was much much better. The NBE 6-8 is much much better.

To me the old BE is better. The top half (1-4) of the conf blows away the top of the NBE. I think teams 5-6 are pretty even. However, I think the bottom (7-8) of the NBE blows out the old. But that doesnt make up for the top.

Feel free to vote for yourself.

All Star Game

So I stayed up till 2 in the morn to watch this thing. Usually I dont even watch but Yankee Stadium kept me around. That and the fact I was hoping to see a position player pitch or have Selig finally give in and call it a tie. Those woulda been cant miss moments. Even without those happening it was a great game. There was plenty of drama and great plays (except Uggla) after a boring first few INNs.

Anyway watching the game brought up a very important question: If you are trying to win, why pull the starters? Do you not want your best players in for as long as possible? I mean ARod had 2 friggin at ABs. Why sit him so Crede can hit? Shouldnt the starters all be getting at least 3 ABs? Only the first 3 hitters and Bradley (DH) got to 3 ABs. This isnt Little League where everyone has to play. In this case the problem was magnified because the game went on and on and on. The drama was great but all the stars were out. The players are not "all stars", but just good players. Do we really need to see Drew, Young, Quentin, Guillen, Sizemore, Longoria, Morneau, Kinsler, and Navarro all get to hit? And because of the way the game played out, they all had 4-5 ABs.

BE BBall

In BBall ideally you want 9 or 10 teams so you can play everyone twice. Well to get there the BE would need to cut 6-7 teams. In real life that would never happen. But here in Orangeland, your dreams can come true. We can create a BBall only BE conf. So if King Otto had to make some cuts, this is who would remain:

IN
SU- of course
GTown- hated rival and good road trip
UConn- hated rival
Nova- old time rival and good road trip
Pitt- hated rival
ND- hated rival
St Johns- old time rival and good road trip
Seton Hall- old school BE and good trip
Providence- old school BE

OUT with 9, IN with 10
WV- have a hated HC

OUT
Louisville- great program but too far west
Cincy- too far west
Marquette- waaay too far west
RU- close trip but they suck
DePaul- they are in the BE? Really?
USF- too far south and they suck


So your King would go with the Old School BE with the addition of ND, who replaces BC from the original 9 teams. The 5 CUSA teams have no history in the BE and they are too far away. The former A10 teams (WV and RU) were the last to join. RU has done nothing in the BE and really isnt a good trip (small arena, with nuttin around it). So that leaves WV as the best choice for a 10 team league. That being said I would cut them (not enough history) and go with a 9 team league. If you werent there for the battles in the 80s, you dont belong. I know I included ND, but I needed a 9th team and they are the most eastern-like and fit the private school mold.

MLB Divisions

I would like to see MLB go back to 2 divisions (East and West) with 2 Wildcards. Is it not the fair thing to do? Right now you have Zona and LA both under .500 yet if the playoffs started today one of them would make it. Also I am not a fan of interleague play. They really are pointless games. So eliminate those games as well. Not having the AL and NL play adds more mystery to the World Series. So I would like to see a split to:

AL East
Baltimore
Boston
Cleveland
Detroit
New York
Tampa
Toronto

AL West
Anaheim
Chicago
Kansas City
Minnesota
Oakland
Seattle
Texas

NL East
Atlanta
Chicago
Florida
New York
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
St Louis
Washington

NL West
Arizona
Cincinnati
Colorado
Houston
Los Angeles
Milwaukee
San Diego
San Francisco


For the AL you would play each team in division 15 times and the other division teams 10 times. However that leaves you at 160 games so you would have to play 2 more games. So you would get a 16th game against 2 teams in division. For the NL you would play 14 games in and 8 games out. That gets you to 162.

If these were the divisions right now you would have

AL East
Tampa 55-35 -
Boston 55-39 2
New York 49-42 6.5
Detroit 46-44 9

AL West
Anaheim 54-37 -
Chicago 53-37 0.5
Minnesota 50-41 4
Oakland 49-42 5
Texas 48-44 6.5

AL Wildcard
Chicago 53-37 -
Boston 55-39 -
Minnesota 50-41 3.5
New York 49-42 4.5
Oakland 49-42 4.5
Texas 48-44 7
Detroit 46-44 8

So the playoffs would be Tampa vs Chicago and Anaheim vs Boston. Under the current setup it would be the exact same.

In the NL...

NL East
Chicago 55-36 -
St Louis 51-41 4.5
Philadelphia 49-43 6.5
Florida 47-44 8
New York 47-44 8

NL West
Milwaukee 50-41 -
Arizona 45-46 5
Los Angeles 45-46 5

NL Wildcard
St Louis 51-41 +2
Philadelphia 49-43 -
Florida 47-44 1.5
New York 47-44 1.5
Arizona 45-46 3.5
Los Angeles 45-46 3.5

So the playoffs would be Chicago vs Philadelphia and Milwaukee vs St Louis. Under the current setup it would be Chicago vs Arizona and Philadelphia vs St Louis. Now which one makes more sense? Do you really want a team that doesnt deserve it (Zona) having a chance to get hot and make a run? In that case the regular season means nothing.

Looking back the last 4 years

For 2007

AL
Cleveland vs New York and Anaheim vs Boston. The matchups woulda been the same but Anaheim would have home field instead.

NL
Arizona vs San Diego and Philadelphia vs Colorado. The difference here is Chicago made it over San Diego.

For 2006

AL
New York vs Oakland and Minnesota vs Detroit. The teams were the same but NY played Detroit not Oakland.

NL
New York vs Los Angeles and San Diego vs Philadelphia. This is a big difference as Philly makes it over St Louis, who went on to win the World Series. Which is why I want to make this change. Do we want an 83 win team as the Champs?

For 2005

AL
Chicago vs Boston and Anaheim vs New York. This is the exact same mathcups.

NL
St Louis vs Philadelphia and Houston vs Atlanta. This would have a few differences. First Houston would be the 2 seed instead of the 4 seed, which woulda given Houston home field vs Atlanta. Second Philly woulda made it over 82-80 SD.

For 2004

AL
New York vs Minnesota and Anaheim vs Boston, which is the exact matchups that happened.

NL
St Louis vs Houston and Los Angeles vs Atlanta. The teams are the same but St Louis gets Houston instead of LA. Not only that but LA gets home field vs Atl.

BE FB Fans

If you were to take the BE fan bases and find an equal in the NL or AL East you would find:

Cincy is equal to the Nationals
Both fan bases are small and both live in the shadow of the team most locals care about (tOSU/Orioles) . Both play in inferior leagues (BE/NL).

Louisville is equal to the Braves
For years both fan bases suffered from bad teams. But at least they still had the memory of an All Time Great (Johnny U/Aaron). Then the teams shot up to be the best in the league, only to fall back to mediocrity. Also both teams switched divisions (CUSA to BE/NL West to East).

Pitt is equal to the Orioles
Both play in a stadium that is far from sold out. Other teams have no problem taking over the stadium. No one really cares about the team.

RU is equal to the Mets
Both suffer from a major inferiority complex. RU fans beg for attention and acceptance from their BE brethren. Mets fans pay more attention to the Yanks "failing" then their own team. They have the nerve to make fun of the Yanks for not making it to the World Series when they themselves were NL favorites and choked away the Division to not even make the playoffs. Entering every season both think their team is the greatest and will win it all. And their players are all the best. Especially their prospects (Recruits/Minor Leaguers). Then reality hits in as they realize that "My Entire Team Sucks". Both fans boo at inappropriate times (Navy/Free Agents' first games). Both fans are bandwagon fans who only fill the stadium when the team has buzz. Bottom line both fans are fertilizer.

SU is equal to the Blue Jays
Both only show up if the team is a winner or if a big name team comes to town. Otherwise the stadium is empty. Both care more about another sport (BBall/Hockey). Both teams peaked in the 90s.

UConn is equal to the Red Sox
Both are annoying as they think they are the greatest fans ever. Both play in a small stadium. Both think they are the best traveling fans in the world. Both think the sport started in 2004 and ignore everything before then (joined BE/finally won it all).

USF is equal to the Rays
Both are in Tampa. Both have no one show up even though the team is good. Both are expansion teams (first year was 1997/1998).

WV is equal to the Phillies
Both are dangerous fans capable of killing other team's fans and even Santa. Both like to throw things on the field (Oranges/Batteries).