The Odd Couple: Beano Cook and Joe Paterno

What? Beano actually agrees with Joe on something? In one of his patented rants about the Big Ten (usually causing listeners to think he was just taken in for DUI), Cook actually defends Paterno's stance, saying the conference should allow Big Ten games after Thanksgiving. (Scroll down to his video window on the right side of the article.)

I have to say, he's right. Both he-s are right. The Big Ten has been sniffing its own farts for too long. First, it was the Rose Bowl agreement with the Bowl Alliance, then the BCS, screwing up national title after national title. (Think 1994 and 1997) There really is no real good reason to stop playing before Thanksgiving. I really try hard to defend this conference, but sometimes it's impossible.

After all, most of the Big Ten presidents oppose a playoff system, so should it surprise anyone that they want the schedules played their way too? This increasingly disturbing trend across the BCS conferences gets me ripping. It sort of reminds me of when the teams did away with the "classic" games. You know, the Kickoff Classic, Pigskin Classic, Eddie Robinson Classic. Games that actually created some interesting match ups of teams that did well the previous year. After all, at least those games took teams that were decent, unlike the big-name, signed contracts for schools to play one another, like that all-timer pitting PSU against Notre Dame. Cough, Cough.

How great would it be if PSU and Pitt played every year in the snow? or at least PSU and Michigan State? This will someday come to a head, but not any time soon enough.