Bad news for Big East

Not even a day for the Big East to feel good about the Champs Sports. Sun Bowl goes ACC according to the Tampa Tribune. Big East needs another bowl.

More thoughts: This is a devastating blow to the conference. The vibe I got from coaches and the Big East is that they felt good about the Sun coming aboard again. They felt they made a compelling case. If the Big East doesn't replace the Sun with another game, then the agreement is worse than the one that was put together four years ago.

I am sure there is a Plan B, but if they just traded the Champs for the Gator/Sun hybrid, that isn't really that strong a move. That also doesn't protect the Big East No. 2 team as commissioner John Marinatto was adamant in doing. Imagine next year a 10-2 Big East team ranked No. 12 in the country is bumped from the Champs by 9-3 Notre Dame and the alternative is the ACC No. 6 in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Not good. The Charlotte game is a terrific game, but in a year the champs selects Notre Dame, the Big East No. 2 won't have a top opponent to play.

From the Sun Bowl's side I don't get it. The ACC No. 5 isn't a great spot to be. Essentially they would have had Boston College the last two years. In two of the four years it's likely the Sun would get Notre Dame or the Big East No. 2. In the other two years it would get the Big East No. 3. The bowl seems to be run democratically, and whatever the board votes it goes. To each its own.

Perhaps the Music City is available now against an SEC team. Or, does Music City accept ACC No.6 and take it from Meineke? It's a difficult spot for the Big East and a day after they felt they were back on their way, the rug was taken out.

Kind of feels like Charlie Brown kicking the field goal.

-- Post From My iPhone

Black Friday

The one common in a sportswriters home on Thanksgiving is that he is almost assuredly working.

I have been in the business 8 years and have not had a Thanksgiving off. It's just assumed you're working it. Ever wonder where your Black Friday paper comes from?

I went non-stop from Wednesday morning through Thursday afternoon working. I covered Windsor-Bloomfield on Wednesday night. It's refreshing not to have 50 different media people intruding on interviews. It rejuvenated me. I was kind of sick of just writing UConn football. It happens when your a beat guy. I needed some fresh faces. I am sure UConn players are sick of talking to the same guys every week too. Case in point is Donald Brown. Great guy to talk too, except when UConn loses. The best juke he made last Sunday was the quick right he took out of the locker room in Tampa. He nearly made it home free before he was called back for interviews.

Back to football. The Warriors, who clinched a Class L berth and will play Masuk on Tuesday, destroyed Bloomfield. We had early deadlines on Wednesday night and I was under the gun. So what did I do? I didn't wait to interview guys. 41-7 game? With two minutes to go I talked to a couple of the guys on the sidelines. Then I went and got Windsor coach Mark Welch before he even shook hands with Bloomfield coach Roy Roberts. I was in my car headed back to the paper before the handshakes were done.

Did I need to be that quick? I finished everything at 10:00 p.m. Deadline was 10:10.That 's not copy deadline, that's page deadline. You make the call. We were two minutes late.

Never did interview a football player while the game was going on before. That was a first.

Thursday was spent at the Manchester Road Race. It was my first time on the media truck watching the race. We spend the entire race 20 yards ahead of the lead runner watching what's going on. I waved to at least 20 people during the race. The scene is nuts. You got people playing in bands, dancing, and tailgating almost the entire course.

The bagpipes are sounding and I am not sure anyone actually notices the race going on. If you haven't done it before, it's certainly a terrific way to spend Thanksgiving Day.

Let's get back to UConn football. I have no idea what's going to happen with the Bowl lineup except that Cincinnati is going to the BCS and South Florida to St. Pete.

Pittsburgh's win over West Virginia today in the Backyard Brawl certainly muddies things. The Sun Bowl is in play now for Pitt, UConn, WVU and Rutgers. If Rutgers loses it's going to be Notre Dame.

I doubt they would go back to USF for a second year in a row. Especially after the debacle last year.

Could the Pitt-UConn winner be Sun bound? That's not a far-fetched possibility. They may just take the highest ranked team in the Big East, and it figures to be the winner of that game. If USF beats WVU, then that's a strong possibility.

I would say Pitt goes to the Sun if they beat UConn next week. If UConn wins, all bets are off on who goes anywhere.

Let me make some calls this week.

Kiss the Sun/Gator goodbye

It looks like 6-6 Notre Dame can, and will, jump over any Big East team and be in the Sun Bowl.

Via the Associated Press.

I surmise that the ND agreement supercedes the NCAA rule that all 7-5 teams in a conference must be bowling before a 6-6 conference team fills a spot. ND has its own agreement, and the Big East is the tag along.

Of course Notre Dame plays by its own rules.

Here is the money quote:

If the Gator Bowl passes on Notre Dame, Bernie Olivas, executive director of the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, is ready to invite the Irish even if they lose their last two games.

"Notre Dame is coveted by everybody, including by us," he said. "We'd probably be excited by a 6-6 Notre Dame team. El Paso is like 80 percent Catholic, 80 percent Hispanic, and you wouldn't believe how many calls we're getting here: 'Is Notre Dame coming? Is Notre Dame coming?"

Also, Gator said if it is not ND, it will be Big 12. Some pretty good Big East team just found a great season all but certain to end up in Birmingham against a Sun Belt team. UConn could win its final two, move into the Top 20, and end up in Birmingham or St. Pete.

The only out is ND to win its final two and the Cotton Bowl takes the Irish.