RyanMcD29

You know, the Big East is being extremely proactive in all this expansion stuff..... http://www.clickorlando.com/knights/23927913/detail.html http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2010/06/16/big-east-commissioner-john-marinatto-thanks-big-12-with-roses/

Don't get me started on the Big West. My cousin plays for NYIT's baseball team (located on Long Island) and plays in... you guessed it, the Big West

If Syracuse gets an offer to the Big Ten, they have to take it. There's no way the Big East is surviving this at all because I think the writing's on the wall that Syracuse and Pitt would be going at the very least. It'll suck for hoops, but at least there's still the non-conference route for keeping rivalries like Georgetown alive. Plus with that much money on the table (especially considering Syracuse has seen a drop in endowments due to the economic downturn), and the fate of the Big East on the ropes, there's really no option left unless they get picked up by the ACC after this raid. Also, although it will suck from the hoops standpoint, football benefits with more possible bowl games (yes I know the Orange are a year or two away from even considering that), plus there'd be no real loss for lacrosse considering our biggest rivals are an independent, an ACC school, and 2 Ivy League schools, not to mention the Orange were and independent until this year (though the BE lax conference will be severely weakened). Sports like field hockey and women's lacrosse would benefit too I think but time will tell with the non-revenues

It makes sense in terms of the Big Ten reaching new markets and Texas joining an elite academic conference, but you know where it doesn't make sense? 1. Location, which coincides with 2. Non-Revenue Sports The traveling the non-football and basketball teams would be doing would end up being very costly. And if that happens, you can expect some of those sports to get the ax. That's where I see the major pitfall in all this

The way I see it, with academics and the rule towards location being key, Notre Dame is the obvious choice but we all know they're not going to ditch their NBC deal. That makes in my opinion then only 4 schools that really qualify 1. Pittsburgh 2. Missouri 3. Syracuse 4. Rutgers All are AAU members and very well regarded academically and all fit the bill with bordering Big Ten states. That being said, there's some reasons why 2-4 wouldn't join. Missouri: Founding member of the Big 8 plus they lose a lot of Big 12 rivalries by joining the Big Ten. Syracuse: This makes perfect sense in terms of academics and football (in terms of rebuilding the program), but there's two big problems with this: men's basketball and men's lacrosse. There's way too many rivalries that Syracuse has with basketball, and to kill off rivalry games with Georgetown, UConn, Villanova, Pitt, and of course playing in the Big East tournament at the Garden outweighs gaining pretty much only Penn State as a rival automatically. Then you realize how without Syracuse, the new Big East lacrosse conference would never be in existence, and considering how much of a hassle that was to create I don't see them ditching that so quickly. Rutgers: This makes sense with the Big Ten expanding to the NYC market, but the problem is it's too far east. In the Big East they're already further east than 6 of their 7 football counterparts, 11 of the 15 basketball counterparts. Then apply that to the Big Ten, which extends much further to the west. It's not economical for a school in New Jersey to be sending their teams all the way out to Iowa and Minnesota for their non-revenue sports, either. Not to mention Rutgers doesn't really bring much to the table in sports outside football and women's basketball. Therefore, I think Pittsburgh's the best choice. As much as it would hurt to see them leave the Big East from a football standpoint, and I wouldn't want to see them go, it makes the most sense. They're the best school academically in the Big East football conference and their location puts them right smack dab in the middle of Big Ten territory. The revival of the Penn State rivalry would be imminent plus considering it is the city of Pittsburgh a rivalry with Ohio State would be quick to develop, too. They're basketball program wouldn't hurt as much as a Syracuse by moving from the Big East to the Big Ten and I see can be a good fit for the conference. So I say if Notre Dame isn't willing to budge out of its independent status, then I'd expect Pitt to be heading over to the Big Ten

I'll post pictures next Saturday now that this is back being active, but the Carrier Dome is literally a mish-mash of stuff. They've got banners for the basketball and lacrosse championships, but then they also have all the bowl games and NCAA tournament appearances and championships (well, at least until 2005-ish, the last lacrosse title they list is 2004 and they have yet to put up the 2009 Sweet 16 run or anything of the like), and if that weren't enough they have large signs for the lacrosse team (not updated for the 2009 championship), the 2003 basketball championship the 1959 National Championship team in football, Roy Simmons Jr, Jim Brown, Basketball HOF members, College Football HOF members (including a new one just for Coach Mac considering he was just inducted), and even one for a Naismith Cup back in the 1920's. Then if that wasn't enough, they then include honored basketball numbers, then retired football numbers, and then a retired "44" football number that's larger than the rest of them. It is really a large variety of things that really have no rhyme or reason to it in terms of matching things

NY Islanders This ones blurry, but its the Isles division and conference banners