Andy's Angle

I'm in the Apple Store to get the iPhone4 for Lindsay and me... I'm blogging from a demo iPad... More at 11!

Phipps has a pretty funny story about Canned Unicorn Meat and the National Pork Board.

Copyright infringement is serious stuff... except, I think, when you're arguing over canned unicorn meat.

...and the first day of Summer Quarter at The Ohio State University. Yours truly is sitting in a hot steamy classroom waiting to kick off his second class of the day. First days of class, particularly when starting on a Monday, don't seem to have any actual content to them. In fact, Professor Number 2 is actually in Singapore at a conference, and we'll have a pinch hitter of sorts today.

So, while I've been killing time between classes, here are some links of interest to start the week:

What About the Boys? I've often commented that in our push to bring young girls on par with young boys in our educational system that we've gone too far, leaving the boys well behind the fairer sex. Dr. Helen has some thoughts on this, and I'll share some more comments in a separate post later in the day.

Who Owns Your Photo After Its Taken? Perhaps its because I'm a Communications major now, but I find discussions like this at NewsBusters particularly fascinating. Lance Armstrong was photographed for the cover of Outside magazine, and photoshopped without his knowledge, or apparently, permission. The question is, who gets to make that call? Once you submit yourself for an interview or photo, what "rights" do you leave at the door?

From my perspective, I like to think of myself as one of the "good guys" in the journalism profession. The photoshopping wasn't necessarily wrong, but clearly Lance wasn't on board with it. From my perspective (were I at the magazine,) I'd be concerned at how Lance would respond the next time I called for a story...

I'm Intrigued by the World Cup... although I haven't actually watched a match yet. The United States is still in the hunt, although the Group round has gotten very interesting due to a series of Draws in the first several matches...

Let me be the first to say (well, not really the first, I suppose) to the University of Nebraska: "Welcome to the Big Ten!!!!"

While I'm confident my enthusiasm for welcoming the Cornhuskers into the dominant league of the Corn Belt is not universal, I am nonetheless well pleased by today's announcement. While little else is known publicly about the shifting conference expansion situation beyond the moves of Nebraska, Colorado, and Boise State this week, we can assume that the drama is far from over.

For my part, I think Nebraska is a tremendous addition to the Big Ten I love so dearly. A legendary athletic program, particularly in the sport of football, is far from the only thing that Nebraska brings to the table. As importantly, I think this is a school that "fits in" with the rest of the league. Beyond mere farm state sensibilities, this is a great Land Grant institution with a respectable academic and research foundation.

From a purely athletic standpoint, who's ready to see Husker Nation and Buckeye Nation go at it in the late season? Count me in, for one. Think Nebraska/Penn State, or Cornhuskers/Spartans won't be fun to watch? Of course they will!

Some good pieces I read on the subject today:

- How did Nebraska get to the Big Ten? From HuskerExtra.com: Big Ten shops for name brand

- People who whine about the money made in college sports drive me nuts. One particularly whiny writer is Mitch Alboom at the Detroit Free Press. In the end, Alboom at least gets it right when discussing why the moaning over money gets under my skin: Once, college sports were a pastime. Today, they pay for the library. And the research center. And the new state-of-the-art stadium. So forget rivalries. Forget driving to the games. This is about networks, packaging, streaming rights -- the kind of stuff discussed at shareholders meetings, not pep rallies.

- Mizzou is now on the outside looking in... Not a great place to be.

- Great point made by a commenter at this story on what happens after Nebraska joins the family: "Would love to see Mizzou still join the Big 10, was also wondering why we haven't targeted Kansas as a possibility. You would think with their basketball background that they'd be a great catch!"

Let's discuss that further for a minute. Football appears to be the largest driving force in the expansion discussion from an athletic standpoint. Money is key to the success of a program, and as I mentioned previously, big money athletic programs build big money academic and research facilities. Look no further than the recently renovated William Oxley Thompson Library here at Ohio State to see what a fiscally stellar athletic department can do for a school off the field.

Given that, it appears that the money to be made watching football and adding a conference title game is far more important that money to be made watching Kansas play Ohio State or the Boilermakers. Those type of marquee matchups can be made in non-conference scheduling, of course, but there are certainly basketball-centric programs that could be worthy of consideration. When was the last time Indiana was a real football dynamo again? Four or five years, at least...

The previous two paragraphs distill why the expansion conversation is about so much more than athletics, money, football, or any other single issue. The decision to welcome a University into what Alboom called a "cartel" is extremely complex, and a potential suitor must have numerous traits to be worthy of inclusion in the Big Ten. Simply having a football dynasty isn't enough, nor is it enough to have an incoming freshman class with an average ACT score of 35.

Like everything else in life, it's all about balance. Balancing academic excellence, athletic excellence, and overall "fit" is why Nebraska is the first team to join the Big Ten in two decades.

I really do have better things to be doing today, but I'll admit I'm captivated by the College Football expansion hurricane blowing across the country, leaving the carcasses of dead conferences in its wake.

Here's what we know (or at least, what the wise men on television are telling us):

- Nebraska is coming to the Big Ten.
- Texas (and everyone else that counts) leaves the Big 12 for the Pac-10.
- The Big 12 will die a sudden and violent death.

Here's what else I've learned:

- Good lord, these Texas people are stuck on themselves.
- It's called the Big 10, deal with it.

Here's what I think:

- I like Nebraska in the Big 10.
- I couldn't care less if Notre Dame joins the Big 10. (In fact, I secretly hope we tell them to go fly a kite)
- Texas joining the Big 10 would be cool, but I like the idea of Ohio State being Master & Commander of the league, and still having someone of note to play in the post-season.

Okay, back to work everyone.