Want to know why there are so many bowl games?

[Tim_T]

This is a great read and really opened my eyes.

http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2011...ames-ask-espn/

[RoadToad]

Very interesting. This one sentence kind of sums up the whole thing: "Broadsides against the BCS in favor of a playoff from ESPN seem to have stopped, since ESPN got the rights back."

[elnutsmalljaws]

I am pretty sure College Football remains the ONLY sport College or Professional that does not have a playoff format to determine the Champion.

[RoadToad]

A little off the subject, but Elnut, last week they showed a Bats game as the Minor League Game of the Week, on the Major League Network, and one of the guys calling the game (I WISH I could remember his name!) said something that made me think of you, that you would have absolutely LOVED! He was talking about how baseball is basically the only professional sport with any kind of minor league system, and he was rattling off the other sports, and when he got to football, he said, "Jim Tressell is their minor league system."

[DJD]

This is a great read and really opened my eyes.

http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2011...ames-ask-espn/

Very insightful.....I remember being told that the bowl games were a great money maker for schools. This is saying that some schools actually take a loss?? Espn seems like the puppet master in sports.

[elnutsmalljaws]

A little off the subject, but Elnut, last week they showed a Bats game as the Minor League Game of the Week, on the Major League Network, and one of the guys calling the game (I WISH I could remember his name!) said something that made me think of you, that you would have absolutely LOVED! He was talking about how baseball is basically the only professional sport with any kind of minor league system, and he was rattling off the other sports, and when he got to football, he said, "Jim Tressell is their minor league system."

The NBA has the Developmental League that would have to be considered a minor league. Besides, I think Ohio State pays it's players way too much to be considered a minor league system and that is only with the money we know about. There is no telling at how many $$$$ are changing hands that Tressell has not owned up to yet

[the_donger]

Elnut is right.
NBA - D League and ABA and PBL or whatever Jared Carter plays for.
NHL - minor leagues all over Canada
Football - EuroLeague, Arena League, and some other league that started up last fall that I cannot remember the name.
MLB - several minor leagues
MLS - is the minor league for European Leagues

They may not be officially sanctioned by the major sport that they support, but they are out there.

[Tim_T]

Very insightful.....I remember being told that the bowl games were a great money maker for schools. This is saying that some schools actually take a loss?? Espn seems like the puppet master in sports.

Don I am not going to lie, having been a huge sports fan all of my life and having a background as both a professional athlete and a member of the mains tream sports media, I was shocked when I found out some schools take a loss.

[elnutsmalljaws]

Very insightful.....I remember being told that the bowl games were a great money maker for schools. This is saying that some schools actually take a loss?? Espn seems like the puppet master in sports.

ESPN is the puppet master of all sports. Considering they actually report on all sports plus with ESPN, 2, U, Classic, LA, Chicago, New York, the new channel devoted to women's sports and the other who knows how many other ESPN channels they pretty much puppet master the largest part of the sports viewing audience