The Confidential

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Archive for the category “Football”

22 Apr 2013
5 Comments

Conference Expansion is Over? Post Grant-of-Rights Moves for the ACC

In case you haven’t heard the big news (see tjcuseacc’s post below), the presidents of the ACC unanimously agreed to sign their media rights away to the conference through the 2026-2027 season today. Yes, even Notre Dame (without football, of course). That’s huge. Now if anyone wants to leave, we can basically still own them even though they’ll be playing other teams. So go ahead, Virginia. If you want to travel and play Indiana instead of Duke you can. But it’ll cost you.

This is the “Grant of Rights” thing that had the entire Internet proclaiming the safety of the Texas (Big) 12, even though they’re about as stable as a broken chair. Despite our huge media markets, overall athletic quality and strong history, it’s the only thing that basically separated us from this level of security. But the gap has been closed.

So take a deep breath. Not only does this pretty much kill all of the WVU-blogger talk that our league is about to explode, but it gives us all hope for the future. How about that, Maryland? So what’s next? The league’s leaders have certainly come a long way in the last few months- inviting Louisville (which looks like the smartest move EVER now), pledging solidarity, announcing the creation of a network study….but there’s a lot more to do.

1) Create the ACC Network- We all knew that it was only a matter of time, and the grant-of-rights is exactly what ESPN has been waiting for. If the network didn’t think that the teams were committed to each other, why would they have wanted to throw a lot of money in our direction? They wouldn’t have…but now they can. What television network wouldn’t want a strong presence in Boston, New York, Pittsburgh, DC, Richmond, Raleigh/Durham, Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami, Louisville? Right. This is pretty much a no-brainer. Yes, the Worldwide Leader has pledged a lot of money to the SEC through its own network. But a lot of the markets overlap, and if bundled together, ESPN would have a hold of the preeminent football and basketball brands in all of college sports. We already knew that the league was studying this. We weren’t sure if ESPN is interested. But after today, they pretty much have to be.

2)  Divisional Realignment/Addition of More League Games in Football- It’s not a secret that most fans don’t like the Atlantic and Coastal divisions. It’s not really the names. They actually make sense, unlike the soon-to-be-defunct “Legends” and “Leaders” in the Confidential’s least-favorite conference. But what should the league do? North and South divisions aren’t really feasible, even if they seem obvious. Every team that would be in the “North” division wants to play a Florida team each year. Recruiting IS important, after all. And slotting Miami into the North, while sensible, due to their Big East roots, seems awkward. You can’t move Virginia Tech either. The Hokies LEFT left the Big East so they could play more Southern teams; they don’t want to be in the North. That and John Swofford doesn’t want to make his most consistent team unhappy. Especially when they have a spot waiting for them in the SEC, grant-of-rights notwithstanding. Let’s not even get started with Virginia.

So what CAN the league do? They HAVE to go to 9 conference games…at least. The Big 12 does it. The Big 10 is doing it. More league games just makes sense. It makes scheduling easier, and more predictable, which is actually what fans want- even if they’ll say they want variety. League games matter. Games against FCS teams don’t. That’s why fans don’t show up, FSU. That’s why the Big 10 has outlawed FCS games for their teams in the near future. UNC is in the same league as FSU to play them all the time…not once every 5-8 years. So let’s say 10 conference games; no FCS games; a permanent out-of-conference rival; plus Notre Dame every three years. With that, a new scheduling model would develop.

What if each team had TWO permanent partners on the other side. UNC’s would be NC State and Wake Forest. That’s sensible. Now what if the remaining 5 teams were grouped into two categories (this is for UNC)- longtime rivals (Clemson, FSU) and new faces (BC, Syracuse, Louisville). What if we had non-permanent partner games with our longtime rivals more frequently than with the new faces? Wouldn’t that make everyone happy and create exciting match-ups for fans and television? Check out some of UNC’s potential future schedules under this model-

2014

Georgia Tech                     Miami

Duke                                     Pittsburgh

Virginia Tech                      Virginia

NC State                              Wake Forest

Clemson                              Louisville

Tennessee                          Notre Dame

2015

Georgia Tech                     Miami

Duke                                     Pittsburgh

Virginia Tech                      Virginia

NC State                              Wake Forest

Florida State                       Boston College

Tennessee                          East Carolina

2016

Georgia Tech                     Miami

Duke                                     Pittsburgh

Virginia Tech                      Virginia

NC State                              Wake Forest

Clemson                              Syracuse

Tennessee                          Maryland

Those are great schedules. You’ll notice that that UNC will play Clemson and Florida State every other year. That’s a win-win situation for fans AND networks. It makes scheduling easy. And it actually feels like a conference again. The new yearly game against Tennessee? Why not? There have been rumors about an ACC-Big 12 scheduling alliance and that really makes sense. But almost half of the ACC teams already have a regular rival in the SEC and our leagues overlap geographically. So maybe we just have to suck it up and play #1.

As a fan, it’s hard to find anything wrong with those schedules. Yes, they would need to be worked out for every team. And it probably wouldn’t be this simple. But the reasons to change the current model are. The league has experience a lot of growth in the past few years. Let’s continue to adapt and change for the better.

What do you think? What do you feel that the ACC’s next move should be?

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in Conference News, Conference Realignment, Football, Schedule, UNC Correspondent, Uncategorized
20 Apr 2013
1 Comment

NC State Spring Football Game

Just finished watching the Kay Yow Spring Game on ESPN3. Not sure why Duke gets an HD broadcast on ESPNU and we Pack fans have to watch blocky streaming video, but we will have to wait for the ACC Network to correct that one.

This was definitely a game of two halves.  Both the Red (first string) and White (everybody else) looked sluggish through thirty minutes, with only Nick Sade scoring as the teams were tied 3-3 at the break.

In the second, though, the switch to a running clock brought out the no-huddle and this is definitely the way for the Pack to go.  Both squads had their moments on both sides of the ball with the Red ending up winning 20-10.

The QB battle wasn’t really very close.  Don’t have official stats, but Pete Thomas looked much more comfortable than Manny Stocker. Thomas reminded me of Erik Kramer; not fiery like Phillip Rivers, but cool and calm in the pocket.  Stocker, however, was handicapped as he is more of a mobile guy in a game of touch where quarterbacks are concerned, so it may yet turn out to be a horse race.

The best of the batch was Florida transfer Jacoby Brissett.  Even with the no-tackle restriction, his speed allowed him to get outside once and get a few yards, and he was the most accurate of the group.  Of course, he cannot play this season and will have to wait until 2014 to be a factor.

In this kind of game, you look for the unexpected player.  In this one, it was Jr running back Milton Hall.  The White squad went down the field in the second half largely on his shoulders. It was Hall up the middle and Hall up the middle again until they moved inside the Red five yard line.  There Stocker rushed a throw into the end zone and the drive ended in a pick.  One more handoff and the White team would likely have scored.

The coaches must have felt the same way.  When the Red team moved downfield deep into White territory on the ensuing drive, they were joined by Hall in a red mesh covering the white jersey and he got his TD after all.  He has a strong ability to find the holes combined with speed and should give Shadrach Thornton and Tony Creecy a run for their money once the season starts.

On defense Freshman CB Cole Burroughs was impressive.  Every time Thomas tried to throw the deep ball to Quintin Payton, Burroughs was there, as he was on several other occasions.  The defense as a whole looked good, but Burroughs was the bright spot.

Another thing that impressed me was the sideline interviews with several members of the new staff, particularly DCoordinator Dave Huxtable.  They were energetic and enthusiastic, and not in a Chuck Amato kind of way.  Of course we will need to see them in adverse situations before we can really judge, but frankly, first impressions were…wow.
So that’s it.  This correspondent has gone from cautious optimism about the 2013 season to the feeling that if this team does manage to claw their way up the Atlantic Division standings, they might not fall back down like other recent Pack teams.

Posted by mikemab2000 in ACC Network, ACC only, Football, Game Review, NC State Correspondent, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
20 Apr 2013
3 Comments

Notre Dame’s ACC Football Schedule Announced

Several months ago, the ACC and Notre Dame announced a football partnership, with Notre Dame agreeing to play 5 games against ACC opponents each year.  With these games set to begin in 2014, the parties have now announced the games that will be played during the first three years.

Without further ado, here is the schedule for the first three years:

2014

Notre Dame at Florida State

Louisville at Notre Dame

North Carolina at Notre Dame

Notre Dame at Syracuse

Wake Forest at Notre Dame

2015

Boston College at Notre Dame

Notre Dame at Clemson

Georgia Tech at Notre Dame

Notre Dame at Pittsburgh

Notre Dame at Virginia

2016

Duke at Notre Dame

Miami at Notre Dame

Notre Dame at NC State

Notre Dame at Syracuse

Virginia Tech at Notre Dame

All those who thought Syracuse would be the team to get two games with Notre Dame in the first three-year period, raise your hands!  Of course, Syracuse had games slated for all three years, so it was a logical plan to keep in place.

Notably, Notre Dame visits three of the more football-oriented programs each year, with trips to Florida State, Clemson, and North Carolina State scheduled.  The following three years will involve travels to Louisville, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Miami.

On Thursday, Notre Dame announced an extension of its television deal with NBC.  The ten-year extension is reported to be worth $15 million a year.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Schedule and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
17 Apr 2013
1 Comment

Louisville Spring Football Game

The Sugar Bowl Champion Louisville Cardinals held their annual spring game this past Saturday in front of a Louisville record crowd of 33,000 fans at Papa Johns Cardinal Stadium. The Red team was fueled by a 27 point offensive explosion in the 2 qtr that included 2 rushing TD by junior Domonique Brown and 2 passing TD by junior QB Teddy Bridgewater. The Red team went on to defeat the White team 34-7 as the White team lone score came off of a 30 yard fumble recovery by senior LB George Durant on the defensive play of the game.

Despite the Heisman buzz surrounding Teddy Bridgewater don’t expect a media campaign from U of L. Soft spoken Teddy prefers to let his performance on the field speak for himself and to keep the focus on the team. Teddy completed 16 of 20 passes for 214 yards and 2 TD and yet gave himself a ‘C’ rating. “There’s always room for improvement,” Teddy explained to reporters after the game. “An ‘A’ is just doing everything right: footwork, being spaced out, throwing the ball on time, no incompletions. Just being perfect.” Teddy’s pursuit of perfection could lead him to better his 3700+ yards passing last season, a possible Heisman trophy and perhaps a shot at the national championship.

Junior Domonique Brown led the running attack in absence of senior Senorise Perry and sophomore Corvin Lamb with 79 yards on 9 carries 2 TD and caught 6 passes for 30 yards. He suffered a knee injury last August and sat out the season. He told reporters after the game Saturday that he wanted to play in the Sugar Bowl so badly that he would have been willing to waive his redshirt and give up a year of eligibility just to play in that one game. Brown showed improved burst through the hole, quicker feet and showed signs of being more than just a power back. Redshirt freshman Brendon Radcliff gained 56 yards on 5 carries.

Junior DeVante Parker hauled in 4 receptions for 102 yards, 44 yard long, and a TD. Parker led this deep and talented group of receivers with 10 TD last season and Offensive Coordinator Shawn Watson says he is ready to go to the next level.

Teddy should once again have ample targets which will include the TE playing a big roll as well. Watson said Teddy will be backed up by freshman Will Gardner who he said has taken a step ahead of everybody else. Will went 10-16 for 85 yards and 1 TD.

6 defensive lineman missed the game but junior Lorenzo Mauldin looked unstoppable with 5 tackles, 2 sacks and 2.5 TFL. You can expect to see 8 players across the front which is a rarity for Louisville. With multiple players out on both the DL and LB positions it is hard to tell how good the defense will be but they should be deep at both of these positions.

Sophomore Jermaine Reve looks to be the front runner to replace All Big East cornerback Adrian Bushell, the only defensive starter lost from last season. Reve showed his versatility last season when he played 4 positions in 1 game. Junior DB Calvin Pryor has made it clear that he expects to enter the NFL draft at the end of the season so developing players at the safety position will be a key point of emphasis.

The 2 biggest questions going into next season will be depth on the OL and special teams play. Louisville will kickoff their season August 31 in PJCS against Ohio. They are poised to start the season ranked in the top 10 and should be favored in all of their games playing next season in The American Conference before joining the ACC in 2014. ESPN College Football Live stopped in Louisville on Monday and broke down the Cards chances of winning the national championship and Teddy Heisman campaign. Louisville worked hard to improve their schedule after the Sugar Bowl victory but negotiations with programs like Texas A&M and Wisconsin among others fell through.

“It was electric in here,” Louisville head coach Charlie Strong said after the game. “It was great for our players. They know this: They’ve got this city behind them, they have all the fans behind them and they enjoyed it.”

Posted by lenvillecards in ACC only, Football, Louisville Correspondent and tagged , , , ,
17 Apr 2013
2 Comments

ACC Players & The NFL Draft

The much-maligned ACC football prowess is somewhat fair when it comes to BCS bowl performance.  But the ACC continues to deliver players to the NFL as if it were a top football conference.  The 2013 NFL Draft will have plenty of ACC football players being taken.  Just take a look at the ESPN projections.

First, let’s review the Todd McShay projections.  For the first round, he has the following ACC players being drafted:

  • Jonathan Cooper, guard, North Carolina: #11 to the San Diego Chargers
  • Xavier Rhodes, cornerback, Florida State: #12 to the Miami Dolphins
  • Sylvester Williams, defensive tackle, North Carolina: #25 to the Minnesota Vikings
  • Menelik Watson, offensive tackle, Florida State: #27 to the Houston Texans
  • Bjoern Werner, defensive end, Florida State: #28 to the Denver Broncos

And this is not even counting the future of the ACC, such as Notre Dame products Tyler Eifert and Manti Te’o, and Syracuse’s Justin Pugh.

Mel Kiper’s two-round projections are a bit less ACC-friendly:

  • Cooper, #8 to the Buffalo Bills
  • Williams, #18 to the Dallas Cowboys
  • Rhodes, #24 to the Indianapolis Colts

Kiper does have Eifert and Te’o in the first round as well.

But Kiper’s second round is full of ACC products, including Watson (#35 to the Philadelphia Eagles); Werner (#36 to the Detroit Lions); Syracuse’s Shmarko Thomas (#37 to the Cincinnati Bengals); Syracuse’s Ryan Nassib (#41 to the Buffalo Bills); Florida State’s Tank Carradine (#42 to the Miami Dolphins);  and Pugh (#47 to the Dallas Cowboys).

The interesting thing is that these lists include representatives of just four teams: Florida State, North Carolina, Syracuse, and Notre Dame.  While Florida State and Notre Dame producing NFL talent is not a surprise, North Carolina and especially Syracuse are a bit surprising.  And we are not talking just one player here–North Carolina will have two players selected in the first round, while Syracuse may have three players selected in the first three rounds.

Not bad for a couple of basketball schools….

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
16 Apr 2013

Clemson Tigers Spring Football News

Fans of the Clemson Tigers expect a lot out of the program.  And head coach Dabo Swinney has been delivering.  The forecast for the 2013 season is most promising also.

Unfortunately, the spring football game brought some bad news in the form of a quarterback injury.  Relax, Clemson fans–it was not Tajh Boyd, who was prophetically held out of the game.  Instead, the injury was to Chad Kelly, who was competing with Cole Stoudt, among others, for the backup quarterback slot.  He suffered an ACL injury, which will likely cost him the 2013 season.  But Swinney is not ruling out a return late in the season just yet:

He had a great start [6-of-7 passing, plus 14 yards rushing and a touchdown pass to Charone Peake] on the first drive. He is going to work hard and come back. It is in his DNA. I heard Jim Kelly [Chad’s uncle] speak recently and he was told his arm was through because of injury. But he came back and ended in the Hall of Fame.

He will overcome it and come back. He could help us late this coming season. Look what Adrian Peterson did for the Minnesota Vikings this year after suffering a torn ACL.

Fans have to be a little bit concerned about the offensive fireworks the backup quarterbacks delivered in the spring scrimmage, as the Orange team defeated the White team, 34-26.  While it is good to see the offenses moving the ball, even without Boyd, an intrasquad game means that those offenses were moving the ball against the Clemson defenses!

But it is Spring, so the emphasis has to be on the positive.  Stoudt, who will be a junior, threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns.  And, according to SB Nation, he did all that in just one half.  And all four touchdown passes were more than 40 yards.  It is not surprise that he was able to connect to Heisman Trophy candidate Sammy Watkins for two of those touchdowns, but remember these names also: Stanton Seckinger (caught a 75-yard bomb); Adam Humphries (caught a 51-yard touchdown); Martavis Bryant (seven receptions for 100 yards); and Tight End Jordan Leggett (50 yard touchdown reception).  The Tigers are simply loaded offensively.

Editor’s Note:  We are still looking for someone to be the Clemson correspondent for The Confidential.  See here for more information.  A good opportunity for a Clemson fan to keep fellow Tigers on top of news, while also letting fans of other ACC schools get a glimpse of what’s going on. 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football and tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,
15 Apr 2013
1 Comment

Florida State Seminole Spring Football News

The Florida State Seminoles kicked off the 2013 football season on Saturday with its annual Spring Scrimmage.  And the news was all about Jameis Winston.

ESPN was essentially gushing over Winston, the favorite to be the Seminoles quarterback this fall.  Consider these quotes:

Jameis Winston had already reached cult status before he arrived at Florida State, but for the past year, the legend has been glimpsed only from afar, burnished by tall tales from secondhand sources and, of course, the occasional YouTube video of the highly touted quarterback chucking footballs over fraternity houses.

But Saturday’s spring game at Florida State was different. The legend took the stage in front of fans for the first time, and Winston didn’t disappoint.

On his first play from scrimmage — just a few seconds into the second quarter — Winston found walk-on receiver David Tyrell for a 58-yard touchdown pass, the first of three scoring drives he’d lead the No. 1 offense on in the game. It was a show-stopping debut on the big stage and also an emphatic exclamation point on a spring that vaunted the redshirt freshman to the forefront of FSU’s quarterback competition.

Yes, Florida State fans, you’ve got yourselves the quarterback for the future in Winston

This is not to say that the defense was unremarkable.  Although the Seminoles were not giving the opposition anything useful to scout, and were not showcasing blitz packages, the defense still looked pretty good.

And, if you think about it, this is a transition season for the Seminoles.  Just take a look at all the coaches who left for promotions in the offseason, courtesy of the Orlando Sentinel:

Mark Stoops, former defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach.  New job: Head coach at Kentucky

D.J. Eliot, defensive ends coach.  New job: Defensive coordinator at Kentucky

Eddie Gran, running backs/special teams coordinator.   New job: Offensive coordinator at Cincinnati

Greg Hudson, linebackers coach.  New job: Defensive coordinator at PurdueDameyune Craig, quarterbacks coach.   New job: Co-offensive coordinator/receivers at Auburn

James Coley, offensive coordinator/tight ends.  New job: Offensive coordinator at Miami

That’s a lot of coaches walking out the door.  So the new coaches at Florida State are just getting to know each other.  Most importantly, one has to think that there will be a lot of new wrinkles.  It will not be the same old, same old for Florida State.  For Seminoles fans, the hope is that the new blood will build off of last year’s return to the top.

Editor’s Note:  We are still looking for someone to be the Florida State correspondent for The Confidential.  See here for more information.  A good opportunity for a Florida State fan to keep the Seminoles on top of news, while also letting fans of other ACC schools get a glimpse of what’s going on. 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
12 Apr 2013
11 Comments

N-C-A-Absurdity

The college basketball season just ended.  You knew that from your bracket.  Heck, even Ned Flanders would think a bracket is too much fun to be immoral.  But the season just ended two days ago.  And guess when the deadline is for college underclassmen to decide whether to turn pro?  Next freakin’ Tuesday, according to Syracuse.com, who laid this all out for Syracuse fans wondering what CJ Fair is going to do.

This is the timeline:

  • April 8, 2013: Championship Game
  • April 10, 2013: The deadline to apply for an assessment from the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee
  • April 15, 2013: The deadline to receive assessment from the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee
  • April 16, 2013: NCAA Early Entry Withdrawal Deadline

That’s right.  The underclassmen in the Final Four have exactly one week to decide that they are not going to make themselves eligible for the draft.  The most important decision of their respective lives, and the NCAA gives kids as little as one week to decide.  Even worse, a kid like CJ Fair can receive his “assessment” on April 15 and get a whole 24 hours to decide.  24 hours.

An NCAA apologist might say that a kid could still decide to go pro between April 16 and April 28.  However, anyone choosing to go pro during that period would give up their NCAA eligibility.  There is no chance to return to college at that point.

It gets better.  The purpose of moving up the dates to crunch this timeline was…. get ready for this… to benefit the student-athlete.  That’s right, the NCAA is actually telling the world, with a straight face presumably, that they tightened the deadlines to help kids.  The Syracuse.com article stated as follows: “The NCAA moved this date up in 2012 ‘to help keep student-athletes focused on academics in the spring term and to give coaches a better idea of their roster for the coming year before the recruiting period is closed,’ according to the organization.”  Right.  The latter part of the sentence is true, but not the former.  This has nothing to do with helping kids.

If the NCAA cared about the players, it would allow them to go all the way through the draft, see where they are drafted, and then decide whether to come back to college.  Indeed, as long as the player did not sign a contract, why should they be deemed to have lost their amateur status?  Larry Bird was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1978.  He played for Indiana State in the 1978-1979 season.  He then went pro for the 1979-1980 season, and the rest is history.  Despite the Boston Celtics holding his rights, amateur athletics did not come to a halt.  Things worked out quite well, actually.

Surely, you say, it would be improper for any current college athlete to be drafted and stay in college, right?  Well, not if you are a baseball player.  The MLB draft is set up to allow the drafting of three categories of players:

  • High school players, if they have graduated from high school and have not yet attended college or junior college;
  • College players, from four-year colleges who have either completed their junior or senior years or are at least 21 years old; and
  • Junior college players, regardless of how many years of school they have completed

A high school player that is drafted, but chooses not to sign gets to go play college baseball.  The NCAA will let him play.  For a while, as the college baseball player will not be eligible again for the MLB draft until he turns 21 or completes his junior season.  So, somehow, the NCAA allows drafted, but unsigned, baseball players to compete.  It works the same way in hockey.

So, why is there one set of rules for baseball and hockey, but a much more onerous set of rules for basketball and football?  If you are an optimist, you think it is because the NCAA makes so much money with football and basketball, that they care a lot more about keeping the amateur ranks clean.  But, if you think about it, that cannot be.  If it was only about ratings and attendance, keeping the best basketball and football players around would be even more profitable.  If you are a pessimist, you might suspect racism.  Right?  The more “white” the sport, the more likely the NCAA is to allow you to be drafted and return to college nonetheless.  At the very least, with a largely African-American sport such as basketball, the NCAA is more than willing to force kids to make a decision, one that will either be smart or terrible, in one week.  Every time a basketball player leaves early, is not drafted, and is never heard from again… it is a warning sign to others that might consider leaving early.  The NCAA will gladly ruin someone’s life to protect their cash cow.  Especially when they are ruining a young African-American male’s life.  Yes, this is a pessimistic view, all right.

Hey… if you can find a rationale for having different rules for the different sports, feel free to share it.  The Confidential would love to hear why it must be different.

Whatever the reason, it is just one more example of just how absurd the NCAA is.  But you knew that already…

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Opinion and tagged , , , , , , , ,
09 Apr 2013
11 Comments

Update on ACC Revenue

CBS is reporting that the future addition of Notre Dame will have an immediate impact on revenue.  Even with just a 5-game football schedule and basketball games, Notre Dame will contribute in excess of $1M additional to the television revenue for each school.  While this is not “catching up to the Big 10” money, the gap between the conferences is not as wide as reported.  This may be why there are lots of rumors regarding schools leaving, but few actually doing so.

That same article also reports as follows regarding an ACC Network:

The ACC is currently considering a 24-hour sports channel with ESPN, which is gathering information and will return to the league with an assessment. If ESPN makes an offer the ACC likes, plans for a channel might commence. The league is evaluating whether a channel makes the most business sense.

Look, who knows if an ACC Network would be successful?  What is clear, however, is that the Big 10 Network is successful. This is where things are headed.  If there is not going to be an ACC Network, then ACC teams might very well end up on the Big 10 Network, to ESPN’s loss.

Perhaps ESPN would benefit from some sort of joint network between the SEC and the ACC, where both channels are a package that is available from the Northeast down to Florida and West to Texas.  That’s a lot of territory to bundle the packages together.  The price could be determined by media market.  The SEC channel could be 90 cents a month in Texas, while the ACC channel could be 10 cents a month there.  But in North Carolina, it could be the inverse.  The extra revenue provided by the bundling would help get both channels more market saturation.

Then again, the Confidential is hardly a financial or television tycoon.  Perhaps ESPN is moving towards jai alai, as that will be the sport of the 22nd century.

What do you think?  ACC Network have ANY potential?

Posted by acaffrey in ACC Network, ACC only, Basketball, Conference News, Conference Realignment, Football and tagged , , , , ,
07 Apr 2013
2 Comments

Plenty to Criticize–Here is Something to Praise

Not going to waste words here.  This is one of the cooler things you can possibly see.  This would be incredibly awesome for any young fan, and it is great that this young fan got a brief respite from his day-to-day struggles to be a hero for a moment.  As someone on Youtube commented: “Faith in humanity, restored.”

See it for yourself:

Posted by acaffrey in Football, Something Positive and tagged , , , , , , ,

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