The BCS argument for Sparty over Brutus

Assuming they win out, the argument for picking MSU over Wisconsin for a BCS bowl is simple. MSU beat the Badgers head to head. Plus, it doesn't really come down to an argument because that's the tiebreaker if just MSU and UW are tied atop the Big Ten.

But what if MSU, Wisconsin and tOSU all three win? Well, then it goes by BCS standings and Bucky Badger is almost certainly is headed to Pasadena.

So how could Sparty jump the Buckeyes, and is there an argument to be made for that happening?

In his weekly online chat, I asked ESPN Big Ten Blogger Adam Rittenberg (arguably the finest reporter covering the Big Ten not named Joe Rexrode) what MSU's argument should be over Ohio State. Here's the exchange.

DW: Is there any chance a bowl picks MSU over OSU for an at-large bid? And if you were Mark Hollis/Dantonio, what would your argument be to the Orange/Sugar/Fiesta bowls?

AR: Very little chance, Derek, because bowls like sure things, and Ohio State is a sure thing. If I'm Dantonio or Hollis, I point out the fact that Michigan State hasn't been to a BCS bowl since 1988. I point out how exciting Michigan State has been to watch with all the wild plays. I really emphasize the Wisconsin win. Still, it's a very tough sell.

Unlikely then, but he's sayin' there's a chance...

Final Four Friday: Media Innovations

For today's Final Four Friday, I wanted to take a look at what we consider to be the biggest innovations in media coverage of Michigan State athletics over the past year.

And the nominees are...

ESPN.com launches its Big Ten blog

About a year ago, ESPN.com, the nation's premier sports website, plucked a young sports reporter from the Arlington Heights Daily Herald in Illinois and gave him a blog. Now, Adam Rittenberg's Big Ten blog is an absolute must-read on MSU and Big Ten athletics. You might accuse me of hyperbole here, but it's probably the biggest thing for Big Ten coverage to happen since the launch of the Big Ten Network. Simply put, this amount of Big Ten news coverage had never before been available all in one place - now it is.

Facebook redesigns its status feed

Sure, we could talk about other microblogging websites - Twitter comes to mind - but the much-despised recent Facebook layout change has most changed how Spartan fans watch sports. I watched the national title game against North Carolina at home, laptop in front of me, putting out status updates on my reaction to the game as several friends did the same. It's like watching a game in one giant online living room.

Live blogging of MSU games

The Detroit Free Press is at the forefront of this, with Shawn Windsor tackling MSU games and Scott Bell taking on U of M. The two live blogged football and basketball, as well as the odd Lions, Pistons, Tigers and Red Wings games. Their analysis is on point and, best of all, they're knowledgeable enough about the teams to know, for example, if the third string tight end is primarily a run or pass blocker. It may be a bit too detailed for some, but I'd rather have Shawn and Scott doing in-game commentary than Brent Musberger. But that's just me, moving on...

Comcast caves on Big Ten Network

The nation's largest cable provider and the Big Ten Network announced last June that the two had come to an agreement for Comcast to carry BTN nationwide - and on expanded basic in most of the Big Ten footprint markets. And while the 2007-08 season saw fans grumbling about not being able to see games, 2008-09 saw every football game and all-but one basketball game live on television.

And the winner is...

I'm a big Rittenberg fan, but the whole point of the Big Ten Network was that more people would see Big Ten games. Now in Baltimore, I've been able to keep up with not just football and men's basketball, but women's basketball, wrestling and hockey too. Games that would never have been televised have been, and that exposure is great for the league.

Going Polling - Are You Mad Yet?

In a blatant snub to the results of our recent poll that accompanied this post, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) voted this week to further restrict the transparency of the USA Today Football Coaches Poll. USA Today has released the final regular season ballot for each voter for the last few years, after questions arose surrounding Texas making the Rose Bowl after the 2004 season. Since that change, there have been calls for each ballot to be released every week.

This weeks vote was to eliminate the release of any individual voter ballots, thereby revoking the change made after the 2004 season.

According to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, "This is yet another move to shield the public from pertinent information in a sport that does so more than any other. Making the final votes public can prevent lobbying and adds to the responsibility these men have in participating in these polls."

The rationale given for closing the poll is that secrecy was a recommendation from an assessment of the overall poll made by the Gallup Poll. While secrecy makes sense for that organization, and most polling methods in general, often millions of dollars are not at stake based on the results of a Gallup Poll. Additionally, those surveyed for a typical Gallup Poll don't stand to benefit from the results of the poll they take, financially or otherwise. Those two distinct differences make the change to more secrecy disappointing, especially given that public opinion seemed to favor an increase in transparency.