In With the New in the Big Ten

This ain't your father's Big Ten Conference anymore.

The nation's oldest conference has embraced "new".

The 2011 season features the Nebraska Cornhuskers as the league's newest team.  Their entry into the league will allow the Big Ten to hold a new championship game.  The inaugural conference championship game will be held December 3 in Indianapolis.  The league will also feature new divisions, the Legends and Leaders (I will not pile on in regards to the name choices).  A new logo has also been created to mark this transformation.   

But that's not all.

Four teams will be under the lead of new head coaches in 2011.  The highest profile change came at Ohio State.  Luke Fickell will serve as the interim coach for the Buckeyes this season following the messy divorce between the school and former coach Jim Tressel.  He walks in to a difficult situation as quarterback Terrelle Pryor left school and a number of other offensive players must sit out the first 5 games of the season, including top returning rusher Dan Herron and second leading receiver DeVier Posey.  These suspensions include the Buckeyes' Big Ten opener against Michigan State but will see them return for their inaugural league tilt with Nebraska.

Ohio State's top rival, the University of Michigan Wolverines will also have a new head man on the sidelines in 2011.  Brady Hoke, a former Wolverine assistant, takes the helm after engineering successful turnarounds at Ball State and San Diego State.  Hoke looks to be stepping into a much better situation than Fickell.  Michigan returns 19 starters (10 offense/9 defense) from last season's 7 win season.  The gem of that group is without a doubt quarterback Denard Robinson.  Robinson, the 2010 offensive player of the year, led the Big Ten in total offense and rushing yards last season.  The Wolverines have lost an unprecedented 7 straight games to the Buckeyes, but that could finally end this season.  They get the Buckeyes at home as well as Nebraska, and avoid Penn State and Wisconsin.  They are flying somewhat under the radar but could make some noise this season.

Indiana and Minnesota round up the teams with new head men this season.  Indiana looks to former Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson.  Co-defensive coordinators Doug Mallory and Mike Ekeler will have their work cut out for them.  The Hoosiers gave up 34 points per game last season, including 83 in a loss at Wisconsin.  Jerry Kill will have similar issues taking over for the Gophers.  Minnesota is coming off of a 3-9 season which featured a 9 game losing streak.  Kill is taking over after strong stints at Southern Illinois and Northern Illinois.

Wisconsin will also feature a new face, but not on the sidelines.  Quarterback Russell Wilson chose to transfer to the Badgers as a graduate student after 3 seasons at NC State.  Wilson comes in with 76 career touchdown passes and an additional 17 touchdowns on his own.  The combination of Wilson and running backs James White and Montee Ball behind three returning starters up front should help the Badger offense remain potent after averaging over 41 points per game last season.  White was the conference freshman of the year last season, and he and ball combined for over 2,000 yards rushing.  Six starters return on the other side of the ball.  The secondary should be a strength, but they do need to replace All-Big Ten defensive end J.J. Watt.  Last year's conference co-champ and Rose Bowl participant hopes to build on their 11 wins from a year ago, and look to be the favorites in 2011.

Their toughest competition could come from the new kids on the block.  Nebraska hopes to reach the Big Ten championship game a year after playing for the Big 12 title in their final season (a 23-20 loss to Oklahoma).  Quarterback Taylor Martinez could challenge Robinson as the league's most dynamic player.  Martinez accounted for over 2,500 yards of total offense (952 rushing) as a freshman and should form a dangerous backfield duo with junior Rex Burkhead (951 yards in 2010).  Lavonte David will lead a defense that ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring defense in 2010 and returns 7 starters.  Nebraska's schedule will be tough with road games against Wisconsin, Penn State, and Michigan.  The Michigan game on November 19 could decide the Legends Division champion.

Of course not everything is new in the Big Ten.  Penn State head coach Joe Paterno returns to Happy Valley for his 46th season.  The Nittany Lions return 14 starters but are using pre-season camp to choose between quarterbacks Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin.  Paterno and company hope to build on last season's disappointing 7-6 finish.

Quarterback will not be an issue at Northwestern.  Dan Persa returns for Pat Fitzgerald's squad after an Achilles injury ended his season prematurely in 2010.  8 other starters return alongside Persa as well as 7 on the defensive side of the ball. 

Purdue also returns a lot of experience on the offensive side of the ball (10 starters), but the problem is those starters were part of an offense that ranked 104th and 105th in total offense and scoring offense, respectively.  In contrast Iowa only returns 10 starters total to a team that went 8-5.  Closing will be a focus for the Hawkeyes in 2011 after they held fourth quarter leads in all of their losses last season.  Illinois closed much better last season averaging over 42 points per game over their final 7 games of the season and won a bowl game for the first time in recent memory.  Michigan State could also feature an explosive offense behind quarterback Kirk Cousins and 6 other returning starters, though the defense has some holes to fill.

All in all the first year for the new Big Ten should prove to be extremely competitive.  Nationally though the Big Ten will only improve its perception by producing a national title contender.  In the BCS era the league has only been represented three times in the championship game, all by Ohio State.  The Buckeyes won the 2002 title over Miami, but lost to Florida and LSU in the 2006 and 2007 championship games.  This may not be the year to expect a team to run the table though.  The league has a lot of balance.  Wisconsin and Nebraska look to be the standard this year, but a number of teams will prove to be tough outs.  Ohio State could also contend if they can integrate their suspended stars seamlessly into the fold.

They may continue their BCS championship game draught, but this new era should kick off with a bang.

(I would also like to take the time to thank Brian "Poopa" Smith for nominating me for CBS Boston's Most Valuable Blogger competition.  Any help in the voting would be greatly appreciated.  You can vote once per day through September 9.  You can either click the link under the badge at the top of the page or click directly on this link: http://boston.blogger.cbslocal.com/most-valuable-blogger/vote/sports/ .)


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Ranking Boston's Best Rivalries

A lot of talk on 98.5 The Sports Hub this week has centered around what is currently the best rivalry in Boston sports.  There has been a lot of feedback from callers and a variety of different answers.  The debate centers around four rivalries, one for each of the major teams: Celtics vs Lakers, Red Sox vs Yankees, Bruins vs Canadiens, and Patriots vs Jets.

Now this isn't trying to determine which is the best of all-time.  Each rivalry has had its high points, but these rankings are based off where they each stand in 2011.

Without further ado here are my 2011 rankings of Boston's best sports rivalries...

4. Red Sox vs Yankees

This may be surprising to a lot of people, especially the pink hat crowd, but this is currently the fourth best rivalry.

The rivalry peaked in 2003-2004 when the teams played back to back 7 game series in the ALCS.  The Yankees won in 2003 on Aaron Boone's extra inning walk-off after Pedro Martinez was infamously left in too long by Grady Little and gave up a 5-2 lead in the eighth.  That series was also memorable for the Game 3 hostilities, which included a bench clearing incident and Pedro throwing Don Zimmer to the ground. 

That loss led to an offseason that was almost as hotly contested as the ALCS had been.  The Red Sox made a run at trading for Alex Rodriguez, but that deal fell through and the Yankees swept in and made their own offer.  This brought the hate level in the rivalry to an all-time high.  The Red Sox added their own spice to the rivalry by bringing in 2001 World Series Yankee-killer Curt Schilling.

The 2004 season was highlighted by another brawl between the teams.  This one began with Jason Varitek shoving his mitt in Rodriguez's face after he was hit by a Bronson Arroyo pitch.  The teams met again for the chance to go to the World Series.  As we all know now, the Red Sox fell behind 3-0 in the series after a 19-8 shellacking in Game 3, but came back to win the series in 7 games after heroics from Dave Roberts, David Ortiz, Curt Schilling, Derek Lowe, and others.  Boston went on to end their 86 year title drought by sweeping St. Louis in the World Series.

The problem for this rivalry is that the Sox and Yankees have not played a playoff series since 2004.  They have each won a title since 2004 but neither team had to go through the other to get there.  Even this season the teams are competing for the AL East title, but they are both pretty much assured of making the playoffs so there isn't the same level of urgency in the matchups.

They do seem to be on a collision course for the 2011 ALCS so another heated postseason series could get this rivalry back up towards the top of the list.

3. Celtics vs Lakers

This rivalry has recent history on its side.  Since the 2007-2008 season, when Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined the Celtics and Pau Gasol joined the Lakers, the teams have met twice in the NBA Finals.

The Celtics capped off the greatest single season turnaround in NBA history by defeating the Lakers in the 2008 NBA Finals in six games.   That series also saw the Celtics stage the greatest NBA Finals comeback in history on the Lakers' floor, coming back from a 24 point deficit to win game 3.  It also saw the Celtics lay a 39 point annihilation on the Lakers in the series-clinching victory.

The teams seemed poised for a return date in the 2009 Finals.  The Lakers swept the regular season series, including a tense and testy 1 point overtime victory in Boston.  Both teams were at the top of their respective conferences when Kevin Garnett injured his knee after the All-Star break, effectively ending his season.  The Lakers went on to win the 2009 title over the Orlando Magic, who defeated the Celtics in the second round in 7 games.

The teams met again in 2010 in what once seemed like an unlikely Finals pairing.  The Celtics struggled to the fourth seed in the East that year, but made it through the East and met up again with their arch-rivals.  After a regular season that saw each team win by a single point on the other's floor, the teams played a seven games series in the Finals.  The Celtics held a 3-2 series lead heading back to Los Angeles, but the Lakers won games 6 and 7 on their home court.

This rivalry could be slipping down the list to the fourth spot in the near future.  Both teams are aging and were bounced out of the second round in this year's playoffs.  The labor issues in the league are also threatening to cancel the 2011-2012 NBA season.  Call me crazy but a year without playing each other could hurt this rivalry's current standing.

2. Patriots vs Jets

This rivalry has the potential to slide up into the top spot.  If the 2010 season was any indication then this rivalry could hit a boiling point in 2011.

Last season the Jets confounded New England in the Meadowlands for the second straight season.  The second meeting was a different story.  The Patriots shut down, and shut up, the Jets in Foxboro on Monday Night Football in December to the tune of 45-3.  The Jets would have the last laugh though.  Completely disregarded by the media and fans the Jets came into Foxboro and knocked the Patriots off in the Divisional Playoffs.

This rivalry has always been just as compelling because of the off the field drama.  Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, and Rex Ryan have all contributed to the rivalry almost as much outside of the games as they have during them.  Rex Ryan single handedly has brought the rivalry to a whole new level.  From his introductory press conference Ryan has enjoyed taking jabs at New England and Belichick.  Wes Welker went against Belichick's wishes and engaged in some of the verbal sparring, leading to his benching early in the playoff game.

For the third straight year Rex Ryan has declared the Jets Super Bowl favorites.  They have made back to back AFC Championship games, while the Patriots have won back to back division titles.  Ryan has declared that other teams need to step up and knock off New England besides them.  The Patriots have loaded up to try and take back the momentum in this rivalry.  Their signing of long-time Jet Shaun Ellis led Ryan to publicly state that he would not wish Ellis well. 

This rivalry has been heated off the field leading into the 2011 season, and fans can only hope that the on-field action matches the off-field soap opera.

1. Bruins vs Canadiens

Another rivalry that has been as intriguing off the ice as it has been on it.

The Canadiens' style of play, centered around flopping around trying to draw calls, and their legions of apologists they call fans make them an easy team to hate.  This rivalry has been ratcheted up in recent years, especially this past season.  

The Bruins were the eighth seed in the 2008 playoffs and matched up with the Canadiens.  Despite falling behind 3-1 in the series the Bruins battled back to force a game 7 that Montreal won at home.  The following season the Bruins swept Montreal out of the playoffs.

The 2010-2011 season brought this rivalry to an entirely new level.  February saw the Bruins win an emotional, brawl-filled 8-6 victory at the Garden.

On March 8 Montreal defeated the Bruins 4-1 but the game was marred by Zdeno Chara hitting Max Pacioretty into a stanchion along the boards.  Pacioretty was severely injured and his season was ended.  The hit sent the city of Montreal into a frenzy.  Numerous fans called 911 on Chara and sought to have him arrested.  The Montreal police have investigated the incident and the issue remains unresolved.  The Bruins were able to exact some revenge at home later in the month.  They completely dominated Montreal 8-0.

That victory gave Boston confidence heading into the playoffs, where they were again matched up with the Canadiens.  The Canadiens jumped out to a 2-0 series lead winning the first 2 games in Boston.  The Bruins responded though and came back to win the series in seven games.  Three of their four wins came in overtime, including game 7 at home.  That series served as a spring board to the Bruins' first Stanley Cup in 39 years. 

This rivalry has always been heated but will enter rare territory this upcoming season: with the Bruins clearly on top.  You can bet Montreal will be gunning hard for Boston now that they have the Cup and two straight playoff series wins over them.

Once again this is not a ranking of the best rivalries of all time.  This is just a ranking of where they stand today in 2011.  The great thing about sports is that things are always changing and this time next year we could be looking at completely different list.

We as fans just need to sit back and be thankful that we live in a city with so many great sports rivalries.

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For Ellsbury, Redemption Could Be Spelled M-V-P

The ever-changing nature of sports can be unbelievable sometimes.

A year ago Jacoby Ellsbury was a major topic of discussion among Red Sox fans and the media, just as he is this year.  

Last year Ellsbury was at the center of a controversy that called his desire to play and the Red Sox medical staff into question.  It turned out he had broken ribs and had been previously misdiagnosed.  Ellsbury suffered a lot in the media and in fan opinion.  Popular opinion declared Ellsbury to be soft and a diva, unwilling to play through the pain. 

The diagnosis that he indeed had broken ribs should have helped to sway opinion back to his side, but the reality was that Ellsbury needed to come out and have a productive 2011 to completely regain favor in Boston, especially after the signing of Carl Crawford.  To say he has done that would be an understatement of epic proportions.

Jacoby Ellsbury has transformed himself into an American League MVP candidate this season.

This is not an overreaction to his back-to-back thrilling walk off hits the last two nights.  In reality he has been quietly moving himself into the MVP discussion.  The last two games should help him get some of the national recognition and exposure he has been missing.

He is having the most complete season of his career.  He is contributing to the team at the plate, on the basepaths, and in the field.  He had an excellent first half of the season and has continued his high level since the All-Star break. 

He has also proven that he can be a durable player.  Ellsbury is on pace to play in more games than he has in his career, appearing in 108 out of 109 games this season, including 103 starts.

He has been a steady presence at the top of an excellent Boston lineup.  He is producing at a pace that far surpasses his other 2 full seasons in the majors.  His 18 home runs are more than he hit in 2008 and 2009 combined (17), and his 65 RBI are already a career high with 52 games still to play.  His .317 average (tied for 5th currently in the AL) is also on pace to be far and away his best during his full seasons.

He is also doing a better job of being a leadoff hitter.  He has never traditionally walked a lot, but he has 36 on the season, and his walks to plate appearance rate is the highest of his career to date.  This has helped him to raise his OBP to .373 which would be his career high for a full season.  This all results from working pitchers more than he has in the past.  He is seeing a career high 3.91 pitches per plate appearance this season.

He has also continued to contribute on the basepaths, even if he hasn't been living up to his own standards in that department.  He has 31 steals so far (4th in the AL), putting him on pace for the third 40+ steal season of his career.  His 82 runs scored are a testament to his ability to get on base and run the bases as well as the strength of the lineup behind him.  So far this season he has scored 45% of the time he has reached base.

Ellsbury has also justified the team's decision to keep him in center field over Carl Crawford.  He has not made any errors this season, has contributed 5 assists, and produced 3 double plays.

The last two walk off hits have also brought more attention to the fact that Ellsbury has been clutch this season.  He is batting .395 with 2 outs and RISP, .303 when in "Late and Close"* situations, and .318 in tie game situations.  Also in 35 9th inning at bats this season Ellsbury is hitting .457.

(* Baseball Reference defines "Late and Close" as plate appearances in the 7th or later with the batting team tied, ahead by one, or the tying run at least on deck.)

Adrian Gonzalez is obviously putting up monster numbers for the team as well this season, but Jacoby Ellsbury is finally getting some recognition that he has been just as integral to the Red Sox and their success this season.  He may still have some doubters, but with each game they seem to be dwindling, as Ellsbury continues to produce.  He hasn't slowed down since a hot start and continues to get better.

There may just be two MVP candidates residing in Fenway in 2011.

(Both ESPN and baseball-reference.com were a great help in compiling statistics)

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