Friday Ramblings: TV Deals, Bum Shoulders, and Busted Achilles

It’s the end of another work week and we’re all set for another JMU sports weekend. In case you missed the big news though, the CAA and NBC Sports agreed to a 5-year television deal beginning with the 2012-2013 academic year. The deal specifies that “39 regionally televised men’s and women’s basketball games on the Comcast SportsNet regional networks and additional digital coverage on NBCSports.com.” That’s terrific, but the big story is that 12 CAA basketball games and 5 CAA football games will be nationally televised on NBC Sports (formerly Versus). That’s a huge step up in my opinion from the limited ESPN coverage the league currently gets in hoops and obviously a huge leap forward from the current regional football broadcasts.

As we all know, it’s never too early for baseless speculation when it comes to football no matter how far off the season is. So let’s fire up the old rumor machine and attempt to guess which (if any) JMU football games will get the nod for the national broadcast. The immediate game that jumps out is the match-up against ODU at Bridgeforth on November 17. It’s really got everything a nationally televised audience would want, 2 programs with some of the largest and most passionate fanbases in the league, star players (Dae’Quan Scott, Tayler Heinicke, etc), outspoken and quotable coaches, plus it’s being held in the league’s best stadium. And we’re not even mentioning that despite the fact the teams have only played once, it’s been declared a full fledged rivalry game by several prominent media outlets us. Other potential choices for NBC sports are October 13 home game against William & Mary (Bridgeforth + Thomas Jefferson’s alma matter = viewers?) or the away game at Richmond (small, but packed stadium would look good on television).

The Plague of JMU Hoops

Now that we’ve got the football stuff out of the way, I guess we should talk about our beloved Dukes basketball team. Yes, the very Dukes basketball team that lost Rayshawn Goins for the year in the preseason, saw Julius Wells’ senior season cut short due to a mysterious heart ailment, and recently had Humpty Hitchens go down with a shoulder injury in the loss to Georgia State. But wait, there’s more. Now word comes out of Harrisonburg that head coach Matt Brady blew out his achilles in practice Thursday. Seriously. Perhaps worst of all, JMU drew the shortest of short straws in the Bracketbusters match-up and has to travel to Detroit for a game this Saturday. I don’t know anything about the team their playing, the Detroit University Titans. They might be a tough match-up on the court and they might not. The game is in Detroit, Michigan and no matter what happens on the court, that’s a bad deal for the Dukes. Apparently, the basketball gods weren’t satisfied with the physical pain they’ve inflicted on JMU and they’ve decided to really pile on. I mean, Detroit? That’s just cruel. And before anyone from Michigan jumps on me and starts defending the Motor City (using that annoyingly whiny accent they all seem to have), just save it. I’m from Detroit so I can make fun of it all I want. Technically, I haven’t set foot in the place since we moved to Virginia when I was 1.5 years old, but still. Zip it.

Obligatory Jeremy Lin Comment

Even a grumpy old man like me can’t deny the sheer awesomeness (is that a word?) that is the Jeremy Lin story. It just goes to show you that if you stay focused and work hard, you can achieve anything. Even if you’re just a guy with superior athletic ability and a Harvard education. And did you know that Lin’s parents met while attending ODU? I’ve enjoyed every minute of Linsanity and have been continually amazed each time he takes the court. However, I feel confident that nothing Lin could ever do will amaze me more than the fact that as the offspring of two ODU students he was able to graduate from Harvard.

Beer of the Week

The JMUSB BOTW is typically something we save for football season, but with the current state of JMU hoops I think we all need a drink. Badly. While many of you have accused me of being a beer geek in the past, I’m going to break the mold this week. The JMUSB BOTW is Pilsener of El Salvador. It’s not a particularly unique beer. It’s just what I’ll be drinking this weekend on my getaway to Central America to play the role of Gringo #2 in my buddy from b-schools wedding. If you can’t find Pilsener, just substitute any ice cold fizzy yellow brew. Open the bottle, drain the bottle, and then repeat 5 or 6 times. It will make the JMU vs Detroit game much easier to take.  As for me, I’ll be drinking them with my toes in the sand as I attempt to eat my weight in papusas.