Rub of the green...interim BE commissioner gives a POWERFUL defense of the BE in ESPN interview

[ZooCougar]

Not sure if sarcastic.

I believe Bailey's words are simply stunning. Magnificent:

Q:[ESPN] I have touched a lot on the ACC compared to the Big East this week. How is the future system going to be fair, given these tie-ins?

A: [Joe Churchill Bailey, interim Big East commissioner]
There is the sense that there's a rub of the green. Sometimes it doesn't work perfectly and you have to live with those things, fair, unfair, deserved, undeserved, that's kinda the rub of the green. Sometimes, it's going to happen, whether it's to the Big East or someone else."


http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/34172/bailey-unconcerned-with-access-to-playoff

For some reason I was stirred to find why the depth of his words proved so moving. I racked my brain and realized his interview paralled these words:

"We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old."

Fingers crossed that Joe Bailey carries the Big East flag for as long as possible.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Personally I see what he said as a very uninspired way of stating "we have to play the hand we've been dealt, even if most of the cards have been intentionally stacked against us". It would have been nice if a few stirring, circle the wagons, dig deeper into the trenches, us against the world speech-like comments were included but as he is the interim commissioner, it may be a bit too early to get overly concerned.

 

[UCFBfan]

How about saying, "The Big East is one of premier athletic conferences in college sports. We are confident that any fair and legitimate selection process will include our champion and any other deserving teams from the Big East. We have been deeply involved in these discussions and would be very concerned if this was not the case. We do not intend to be on the sidelines."

SubbaBub for BE Commish!! You got the talk down my friend! I'd feel better about our situation from what you said as opposed to whatever rubbing the green means!!
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[freescooter]

So you believe everything Swofford tells you? It's called spin for a reason.

I owuld take Swofford in a nanosecond and I don't trust him as far as I can through the Brooklyn Bridge, to mix metaphores. That guy doesn't hesitate to promote his (awful) conference and he makes deals, even if they don't all work perfectly. He keeps the ACC in the news in a positive way.

 

[rich1122]

Wow, did he really say that he is not concerned with access to the big bowls and bowl tie ins?

When are we going to get good news?

When we deserve it. i.e. beat somebody that is really good.

 

[mattp]

I believe Bailey's words are simply stunning. Magnificent:

Q:[ESPN] I have touched a lot on the ACC compared to the Big East this week. How is the future system going to be fair, given these tie-ins?

A: [Joe Churchill Bailey, interim Big East commissioner]
There is the sense that there's a rub of the green. Sometimes it doesn't work perfectly and you have to live with those things, fair, unfair, deserved, undeserved, that's kinda the rub of the green. Sometimes, it's going to happen, whether it's to the Big East or someone else."


http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/34172/bailey-unconcerned-with-access-to-playoff

For some reason I was stirred to find why the depth of his words proved so moving. I racked my brain and realized his interview paralled these words:

"We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old."

Fingers crossed that Joe Bailey carries the Big East flag for as long as possible.

Carl Spackler, does rumrunner know you're posting under his name? i thought comparing bowl affiliations to world war 2 was kind of his thing

 

[BlueMAB]

Carl Spackler, does rumrunner know you're posting under his name? i thought comparing bowl affiliations to world war 2 was kind of his thing

And here is what Adelson said about the interview...

Adelson: I have to say, I really thought the Big East was going to be more proactive in hammering home the point that it belongs at the table, with clear examples that the ACC has not outperformed this conference. I even gave him the perfect opening to do it when I got him on the phone last week, and he didn't want to engage. Bailey has mentioned six different Big East teams with Top 10 rankings since 2006 in various interviews. That can't be all he's got! I've got a better stat that should be shouted from the rooftops -- the ACC is 2-13 in BCS games. Feel free to mention the Orange Bowl has had terrible TV ratings the last five years with the ACC as its tie-in school and trouble selling seats. Instead, fans are getting the same old, same old passive Big East. I don't think statements like, "That's the rub of the green," are doing Bailey or the league many favors.

 

[UCFBfan]

And here is what Adelson said about the interview...

Adelson: I have to say, I really thought the Big East was going to be more proactive in hammering home the point that it belongs at the table, with clear examples that the ACC has not outperformed this conference. I even gave him the perfect opening to do it when I got him on the phone last week, and he didn't want to engage. Bailey has mentioned six different Big East teams with Top 10 rankings since 2006 in various interviews. That can't be all he's got! I've got a better stat that should be shouted from the rooftops -- the ACC is 2-13 in BCS games. Feel free to mention the Orange Bowl has had terrible TV ratings the last five years with the ACC as its tie-in school and trouble selling seats. Instead, fans are getting the same old, same old passive Big East. I don't think statements like, "That's the rub of the green," are doing Bailey or the league many favors.

I wonder how they decide who the BE Blogger is. Is it whoever pulls the short straw? I mean, how much must she loathe her job? She writes a worthless blog on a site that has basically come short of openly saying they are trying to keep the Big East down in football. To be honest, I haven't gone to that blog since WVU left the BE. Commenting on it is worthless as it's filled with WVU fans who clearly have nothing better to do than crap on the Big East. Plus, when the majority of those fans went over to the Big 12 blog, there were about 12 regular posters left, and that includes the new teams!

 

[pj]

Bailey did the smart thing, play up the Big East's accomplishments. There's no benefit to denigrating the ACC. Adelson is just wrong.

 

[BlueMAB]

Bailey did the smart thing, play up the Big East's accomplishments. There's no benefit to denigrating the ACC. Adelson is just wrong.

The facts are the facts. Pointing to the miserable record of a conference deemed worth is a perfectly acceptable way making the argument we deserve a spot as much as the ACC does.

Bailey did what every other "smart" Big East commissioner has done, and look what we have to show for it.

 

[noeynox]

Bailey did the smart thing, play up the Big East's accomplishments. There's no benefit to denigrating the ACC. Adelson is just wrong.

I think Bailey isn't trying to ruffle too many ESPN feathers at this point because he knows he has to negotiate with them. After seeing the interview with Tessitore, I'm convinced of this. If the BE signs with someone else, then its time to come out swinging at the ACC.

 

[UConnDan97]

I think Bailey isn't trying to ruffle too many ESPN feathers at this point because he knows he has to negotiate with them. After seeing the interview with Tessitore, I'm convinced of this. If the BE signs with someone else, then its time to come out swinging at the ACC.

I agree with this. I think it may be a bit foolish for the Big East to take that tactic, but I agree with this. If I'm not mistaken, ESPN will be afforded a short period where they have the early and exclusive negotiating period, after which everyone else will be allowed to bid. I guess he just doesn't want to rock that boat before he has to sit down and talk money with them. Unfortunately, the less he defends our conference against the ESPN onslaught, the tougher it will be to say that we are worth money in the negotiations.....with anybody!

 

[noeynox]

I agree with this. I think it may be a bit foolish for the Big East to take that tactic, but I agree with this. If I'm not mistaken, ESPN will be afforded a short period where they have the early and exclusive negotiating period, after which everyone else will be allowed to bid. I guess he just doesn't want to rock that boat before he has to sit down and talk money with them. Unfortunately, the less he defends our conference against the ESPN onslaught, the tougher it will be to say that we are worth money in the negotiations.....with anybody!

I agree with everything you wrote, and personally I wished he would of told Tessitore and ESPN to f themselves, but he is much smarter than me. He has chosen to walk quietly on this before the TV negotiations, lets see if he carries a big stick when its all said and done. I don't agree with how he seems to be going about this, but to me it is clear that this is what he is doing. I can't fault a man with a game plan, even if I don't agree with. The previous commish it seemed had no game plan and even stated publicly that Jim Delaney told him he needed to start thinking strategically, did he think that was a compliment?

 

[ZooCougar]

Why does the Big East always have such pathetic leadership? It was too much to ask for even a competent interim commish?

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

I agree with everything you wrote, and personally I wished he would of told Tessitore and ESPN to f themselves, but he is much smarter than me. He has chosen to walk quietly on this before the TV negotiations, lets see if he carries a big stick when its all said and done. I don't agree with how he seems to be going about this, but to me it is clear that this is what he is doing. I can't fault a man with a game plan, even if I don't agree with. The previous commish it seemed had no game plan and even stated publicly that Jim Delaney told him he needed to start thinking strategically, did he think that was a compliment?

I cannot disagree with you guys more on this. We've been passive all these years. Look where it's gotten us. The time to come out swinging is NOW. Why on earth would we want to sit there and take punches from ESPN before they open TV talks? My God. Do you think they are going to say, "Hey, Big East, you took our punches and were quiet about it, so we're going to reward you with a more lucrative TV deal." Come on guys.

 

[noeynox]

I cannot disagree with you guys more on this. We've been passive all these years. Look where it's gotten us. The time to come out swinging is NOW. Why on earth would we want to sit there and take punches from ESPN before they open TV talks? My God. Do you think they are going to say, "Hey, Big East, you took our punches and were quiet about it, so we're going to reward you with a more lucrative TV deal." Come on guys.

No. But you don't want piss off espn to the point that essentially nbc wont have another bidder. Your going to need them at least to kick off the negotiations. Marinatto biggest mistake was taunting espn about taking the contract out to the open market. Baileys focus right now should be on keeping the schools together and reassuring them that it will be worth their while. Let the media and blogosphere soften the acc's body now, and go for the ko, once the contract/tv situation is resolved.

 

[pj]

I cannot disagree with you guys more on this. We've been passive all these years. Look where it's gotten us. The time to come out swinging is NOW. Why on earth would we want to sit there and take punches from ESPN before they open TV talks? My God. Do you think they are going to say, "Hey, Big East, you took our punches and were quiet about it, so we're going to reward you with a more lucrative TV deal." Come on guys.

It's extremely unlikely that ESPN would outbid NBC or Fox, but you have to keep them in the discussions so that NBC et al don't know how much they can lowball their bids.

Also, the primary method proposed for attacking ESPN was to attack their properties -- the other 5 major conferences, especially the ACC. That wouldn't win the Big East any friends in the playoff or bowl systems. We need games with those conferences to be a power conference and media draw.

 

[UConnDan97]

I cannot disagree with you guys more on this. We've been passive all these years. Look where it's gotten us. The time to come out swinging is NOW. Why on earth would we want to sit there and take punches from ESPN before they open TV talks? My God. Do you think they are going to say, "Hey, Big East, you took our punches and were quiet about it, so we're going to reward you with a more lucrative TV deal." Come on guys.

If you believe that we are being too passive and should come out swinging, then you are agreeing with me, not disagreeing! I said, "I think it may be a bit foolish for the Big East to take that tactic..." I also said, "The less he defends our conference against the ESPN onslaught, the tougher it will be to say that we are worth the money in the negotiations...with anybody!"

I am not one that thinks we should sit back and take it. I'm right with you, Jimmy. The only people that seem to be trying to fight back are UConn and Rutgers bloggers:

http://www.nj.com/rutgers-fans/index.ssf/2012/07/blogger_takes_espn_to_task_ove.html

http://stholeary.blogspot.com/2012/07/does-anyone-care-about-espn-smear.html

I think that we need someone of stature to start saying this stuff, too...