Like I said above, today is Day 1 of the Big Ten Media Frenzy in Chicago. First things first, here is the link to BTN's coverage of the events. Looking at the schedule, we'll hear from each coach throughout the day in wonderful 15 minute bursts of energy. After hearing from all 12 of those guys, the Big Ten will grace us with Bill Carollo (Head of Officials), Mark Silverman (President of BTN), and Caesar Delany. With that said, here is the schedule of the day so you know when to tune in as well as the title of their keynotes. If you have the day off, you should probably play the, "Execution," drinking game. Execute in all of its forms equates to a shot of something strong... My guess is you don't make it too far in the day. (All times Eastern for some reason...)
- 11:00 AM Bret Bielema (Wisconsin) "How to Grow a Lineman"
- 11:15 AM Danny Hope (Purdue) "If a Purdue Falls in the Forest and No One is Around, Does it Make a Sound?"
- 11:30 AM Urban Meyer (Ohio State) "I Can Haz All Your Recruits"
- 12:00 PM Tim Beckman (Illinois) "I Can Haz All Penn State's Recruits"
- 12:15 PM Kevin Wilson (Indiana) "I Promise I'm Not Waiting for My Buyout"
- 12:30 PM Bill O'Brien (Penn State) "Well, At Least I Have a Job"
- 1:00 PM Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern) "GO CATS!!! GO CATS!!! GO CATS!!!" (probably not too far from the truth)
- 1:15 PM Jerry Kill (Minnesota) "Beating Iowa: It's What We Do"
- 1:30 PM Brady Hoke (Michigan) "Michigan Men: Even Our Rap Sheet is Longer than Ohio"
- 2:00 PM Bo Pelini (Nebraska) "&#*@#($*)@#$*(&#@$&)#@&$*#@$&)@#"
- 2:15 PM Mark Dantonio (Michigan State) "Hey, Nobody Else Likes the BCS Either"
- 2:30 PM Kirk Ferentz (Iowa) "[stares at crowd with that Ferentz look]"
- 2:45 PM Bill Carollo (Officials Guy) "We're Proud to Say We Now Have 2 Competent Officials"
- 3:00 PM Mark Silverman (BTN Prez) "Money Money Money Money Money... Moooo-ney"
- 3:15 PM Caesar Delany (His Excellence) "I Will Also Be Calling Plays This Year"
As you all know already, there will be no players from Penn State on Day 2 and I'm sure that there will be a lot of talk about Penn State, but I would be extremely surprised if any coach bites on those questions. This is a media event where there are lots of pats on the back and softball questions. I have heard rumors Pelini is especially excited for this year's event. Should be fun! On to the linky links.
Team Links:
- Congratulations Tim Beckman, you are officially the first coach to send a delegation to Penn State... We've all seen the Tweet by now about these antics, but hey, open season, right?
- Mocking The Draft does a preview of Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa as they begin their look at each program's outlook in light of NFL prospects.
- Considering the current feeding frenzy at Penn State, it's nice to see Ferentz at least told BOB about his intentions to poach.
- Yahoo! gives 25 reasons why Michigan fans hate Ohio State... My favorite:
5. Self-Entitled Fans - They forget that it's Michigan that holds the most Big Ten titles in the history of the conference, not the Buckeyes. Check mgoblue.com if you don't believe me.
- Michigan is also losing DB Terrence Tollbertt as he has decided to leave the program.
- Michigan State long snapper Steve Moore is literally lucky to be alive.
- TOC gives us a recruiting update for the Spartans including a blurb on new recruit Devyn Salmon.
- MarQueis Gray is growing both as a Quarterback and a Person.
- A nice update on the huge stadium expansion project in Lincoln.
- The anti-traditions bracket for Cornhusker fans.
- Northwestern will be getting their fancy new digs today courtesy of Under Armour.
- Buckeye Empire breaks down the Ohio State schedule in prep for the new year.
- Penn State players are doing what they can to move on and this is a nice sign of solidarity.
- StateCollege.com looks at eight of JoePa's biggest vacated wins.
- Hammer and Rails are talking Illinois and how the Boilers measure up to them this year.
- BB flips Minnesota recruit Keelon Brookins and Kill doesn't go crying to Delany about it.
Today is all about the Media Days, so I won't bore you with all the normal conference links. Instead, I leave you with this awesome promo video for the Paralympics. Seriously, I want to watch those more than the Olympics.
Channel 4 Paralympics - Meet the Superhumans (Annotated Version) (via C4Paralympics)