Linkbacker U Wants a Seat at the Hater's Ball

Reason Number #652 Why I Love Deadspin

Yesterday, the good folks at Deadspin released their annual Hater's Guide To The Top 25 in which readers are taught the best way to get under a fan's skin of their particular school. Take for example, Alabama:

Oh hey, look who's numero uno. It's Orange Satan and his little fiefdom of tardbilly mouthbreathers. I liked the Tide much better back in the old days, when Mike DuBose was bending receptionists over his desk. I don't need the state of Alabama to have any pride whatsoever. They should never be allowed to feel good about themselves...

Ohio State:

Oh, sweet fucking Jesus, you people again? Haven't you people pissed away enough titles? Shouldn't you be banished to NAIA so that we don't have to see you lose the national title by 47 points to an SEC team? It's because of YOU that people from the South are actually starting to feel good about themselves again. That is crap...

Iowa:

Iowa is the number one producer of corn among all American states. Many of its farmers are heavily subsidized to grow corn, turn that corn into syrup, and then rape every other foodstuff in the grocery store with that syrup so that you and your kids get fatter and fatter and fatter until you look just like everyone who lives in Iowa...

Penn State of course, was not spared the wrath of the haters. I'll let you take a guess as to what the topic of ridiculing choice was...No, seriously take a guess...

Okay, fine. Here's the entire list, scroll down to #19. And don't say I didn't warn you.


Trey Burke Heads To Greener Basketball Pastures...But Not Really.

Well, it's official: A few months after de-committing from PSU over concerns about the stability of the current coaching staff, point guard Trey Burke has committed to play for Michigan. Color me baffled on this one, Burke was long praised for his athleticism and drew a lot of comparisons to Talor Battle for his willingness to be aggressive with the ball. Michigan coach John Beilein's system is a variation of the slow-paced Princeton offense which puts a heavy emphasis on perimeter shooting (four players start on the outside of the perimeter) and sharing the basketball.

Not to mention, Michigan has appeared to have come down to Earth after that unprecedented NCAA Tournament appearance in 2009 and are expected to duke it out with PSU, Northwestern, Indiana, and Iowa in the Big Ten's basement. We're not sure whether this is the best fit for Trey, but nonetheless here's a reminder of what could've been:


Brian Kelly Now Has Control Of Your Television

It appears that Jay Leno isn't the only person with leverage over at NBC:

Kelly said he and athletic director Jack Swarbrick have had conversations with NBC officials about how coverage plans will work with the Irish's up-tempo style, which is basically hurry-up, no-huddle.

"We've talked to NBC about the way we like to play the game versus maybe how it was played in the past," Kelly said Tuesday. "There is certainly a need for us to address it and I think we're working with NBC to make certain that they get what they need from an advertising standpoint. But, also as the network that carries Notre Dame, that we're able to do things we need to do as well."

Pretty sly tactic on Kelly's part, making sure that NBC doesn't disrupt his team's momentum with a poorly-timed commercial break by getting them to adjust to his offense. Such are the joys when you're Notre Dame and you have your own psuedo-TV network.

And In Other News...

Per Rivals.com: Boise State's AD Gene Bleymaier wants to the NCAA to mandate home-and-home football series. They're just so cute at that age (scroll down to see the article).

Former Michigan State guard Chris Allen has transferred to Iowa State. Coupled with the addition of Chris Babb, Iowa State is swiftly becoming a safe haven for exiled Big Ten hoopsters.





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Jeez, Not This Crap Again: Trey Burke Re-opens His Recruitment

Do you see what happens Curley, WHEN YOU F*CK A PROGRAM IN THE ASS?

What was once mere speculation in Message Board Land is now a startling reality: Penn State's top 2011 basketball recruit Trey Burke has rescinded his verbal commitment and has "re-opened" his recruitment. His reason for the decision? You guessed it: The stability of the coaching staff.

According to Mr. Burke, his son just isn't sure either that Penn State can win or that PSU head coach Ed DeChellis or the prime recruiter on Burke, assistant Lewis Preston, will be around when Burke was set to arrive in the fall of 2011:

Two things you can conclude from this paragraph:

1. Trey has no idea just how committed Tim Curley is to ensuring DeChellis remains the head coach, hell or high water.
2. Trey has in fact, spoken with Curley or with others close to the basketball program and has heard things that suggest this current coaching staff is on its last legs barring an NCAA Tournament berth next season. This would make Curley's prior comments to the media about the program being headed in the right direction nothing more than mere 'window dressing' to help shield DeChellis for now.
   

Now, technically speaking, Penn State is still on Burke's list of potential schools. The harsh reality though, is that almost 99.9% of the time a recruit re-opens their recruitment, they end up choosing a different school than the one they originally verballed to...

But now, according to Mr. Burke and Northland High coach Satch Sullinger, high-majors such as Cincinnati, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Arizona and Wake Forest are beginning to show serious interest.

So yeah, you can just go ahead and kiss Trey Burke goodbye. This most recent de-commit along with the transfers of Chris Babb and Bill Edwards are beginning to resemble a carbon copy of the final years of the Jerry Dunn era. Dunn's inability to keep recruits interested (which can be blamed on Curley for not re-working Dunn's contract extension following the Sweet 16 berth in 2001) plus the revolving transfer door under his watch, led to the program's bottoming out in 2003. Judging from these recent events, it's hard not to feel as if this program is experiencing deja vu all over again.

Of course, this disaster could have been averted if we had an Athletic Director who cares about spending the necessary amount of money it takes to build a foundation conducive to being a consistent winner in the Big Ten*. If we were to have Burke de-committing because he's not comfortable with the brand new coaching staff, then I could live with that. Nothing irks me more as a sports fan though, than having a coach who is viewed by outsiders as a 'lame duck' of sorts still being kept around while transfers and de-committed recruits gradually begin to tank the program back to Square One, it's pure Athletic Director negligence. That NIT championship sure seems like a distant Bizzaro World event now...

* Not that anyone expects Curley to do the right thing when it comes to men's basketball




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