Offseason Roundtable #12

In an effort to not only increase our chatter about the Cards, but to also increase some reader participation, Edge, RV, and Alan will be doing these roundtables every week. Love the answers? Want to post your own thoughts? Of course you do. And you can do so in the Comments section. Because remember, dear readers, a smarmy sarcastic blog about Ball State athletics is only as good as its small yet powerful reader base. Have at it, boys and girls...

1) We never did discuss everyone's thoughts on the Rose Bowl coming to ESPN in 2011, this placing all BCS games on ESPN for at least three years. How does that sit with you?
RV: I don't have a problem with it, the BCS already has an unfair advantage in the CFB world. ESPN might as well botch all of the BCS games rather than let Fox have an opportunity to botch it up. What's the worst that could happen?

Alan: The game itself moving to ESPN isn't nearly as disturbing as the entire BCS moving over to the Worldwide Leader. Not that ESPN ever really championed the conversation about how to improve the BCS or an alternative sort of method to picking a national champion, but you can assume that ESPN will now be lauding the BCS as the greatest thing since the forward pass. It's a real shame, and though I am not a playoff fan, there is probably a better way to facilitate who plays for the championship than the way we currently have. But ESPN won't be engaging in such a discussion now, or ever, and that's a disservice to those of us who watch Gameday, ESPN, or any other major network that has some ties to the current structure.

Edge: I'd be more concerned with viewership than anything. Sure, 95%+ have ESPN, but some still don't. I also totally agree with what Alan said about ESPN not being in the fight for change in the system. Whether or not it needs it, at least one of the biggest voices in sports would have covered it (relatively) unbiased. Not going to happen that way now.

2) Brett Favre. Had enough or can't wait to see how this unfolds?
RV: I still think Kiffin is going to find a way to get him at Tennessee, regardless of how illegal it is. Beyond that, I hope he gets mauled by a hay baler.

Alan: Way done. I always liked Brett Favre. Thought he was fun to watch, a model of someone who wasn't blessed with prototypical talent or physique, yet managed to achieve success like few others in the NFL. He could have retired a Packer, been a God to those fans and that city, and sort of rode off into the sunset of retirement without a sour thought about him anywhere. Over the last year or so, Favre has managed to completely tank all that good will and actually build up some sizeable hatred. Last summer was sort of like a car accident that you didn't want to watch but couldn't look away. This summer is just painful and aggravating, and at some point an athlete needs to know when it's time to walk away.

Edge: Know what would suck? Planning a vacation with Brett Favre. You'd never settle on a destination, and in the end you'd just end up in some mediocre place. He needs to let it go because in the end, it's a no-win for everyone. I felt bad for Jets fans last year, and I feel bad for Vikings fans now. They're put in a bad spot, along with everyone else on the team. Brett, take Mike Tyson's advice and just fade away to Bolivian.

3) Settle a long-standing dispute. The best subs for tailgating: Subway, Blimpie's, or Jimmy John's?
RV: Blimpie's. Good lord, they put Subway to shame. Plus the guy who runs the Blimpie's by work is hysterical.

Alan: Quality or price? Quality? Jimmy John's. Price? Subway. However, their formerly rotund spokesman Jared was a Bloomington guy and IU student. Therefore, I have to go with Jimmy John's. The only good thing about Bloomington is that they are keeping Bill Lynch away from any other school. That's an incredibly generous thing for the Hoosiers to do, and I, for one, am thankful for that sort of kindness.

Edge: Oh come on guys, what's better than showing up and saying, "Hey, I got the five! Five dollar! Five dollar footlongs!" I'll go with Subway since I can't get a Blimpie's anywhere close to the stadium (no, I will not go all the way to Memorial Drive to get Blimpie's), and I'm not Mikey Moneybags like Alan to get JJ's.

4) The release of NCAA Football 2010 is approaching rapidly. What feature has you most excited with this year's installment?
RV: I'm interested to see where they took the online dynasty. I hope they gave it enough attention even though Madden is being updated like gangbusters. Hopefully they've improved the robo-QB and the cyber-LB and made it a bit more realistic.

Alan: Oh sweet jeebus, I simply cannot wait for this game to come out, and will apologize in advance to my girlfriend, employer, friends, and the like, because I can virtually promise you I will be a ghost for a couple of days. The fact that you can run the Wishbone, the fact that you can gain points through achievements for your favorite school, the fact that you can simply play football all week long. What isn't to love? What am I most excited about? Everything.

Edge: I may be requesting a vacation day in July. I am most excited for better adaptive opponents. Just last week I was playing on Heisman difficulty in '09 as Ball State. In two consecutive games, MiQuale had a total of over 1,200 yards. Yes, you read that right. When I can run 3 running plays all game and not get sniffed out after the third one, there's a problem. So, I'm looking forward to the challenge.

5) This summer marks the 15th anniversary of the beginning of the O.J. Simpson murder case. Looking back and reflecting on this, what athlete would not surprise you by "pulling an O.J."?
RV: I'll go outside the box and say Houston Nutt. After the fiasco in Arkansas, it seems that his insanity knows no boundaries and Ole Miss got just enough of a taste of success to turn up the craziness.

Alan: Let's see... to recreate the OJ fiasco, you'd need an athlete who's been in movies, who's past their career, and married to a white chick. Not being specific enough, you'd also need to have someone who clearly isn't well put together, who can't make good decisions, and demands to be noticed, known, and part of the national conversation long after anyone cares about them or thinks they're relevant. So, Brett, when this Vikings thing doesn't work out so well for you, there's always double murder if you're just looking to grab some headlines. Not sure if you have an Al Cowlings to drive you around, but I'm sure someone in southern Mississippi has an SUV you could chill in.

Edge: There's simply too many nutjob athletes out there, and at this point no one would surprise me. I'll have to say that I can see someone like T.O. going O.J. in the future. Especially with Keyshawn at the wheel of the white Ford Bronco (or Escalade, whatever). "This is Keyshawn, you know who this is, damnit!" But who would I like to see this happen to? Jimmy Fallon. He just needs to go to jail. Forever.

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