Boise State rumored to be involved in Mountain West expansion; molehills rumored to be mountains
by Kevan Lee on Jul 23, 2009 7:00 AM PDT
in Boise State football
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PrintThere are two things in this world that I cannot stand: misleading headlines and Graham Watson.
On Wednesday, I was treated to both.
Watson, in her eternal wisdom, wrote a post titled "Boise State to the Mountain West? Perhaps," which could just as easily have been titled "Things I think when I've had too many diet Shastas." Nowhere in her quotes from the MWC conference did anyone mention Boise State, yet Watson still managed to set off a firestorm of conversation around the web on when, why, and how the Broncos will be joining the Mountain West.
The Idaho Statesman's Chadd Cripe picked up the story, and at least he had the sense not to sodden his headline with personal opinion. He saved it for his final paragraph, where soddened personal opinion belongs.
Thompson, speaking at the Mountain West media days, said expansion is discussed in nearly every meeting of league directors but they haven’t gotten into specifics, according to a blog post from ESPN.com’s Graham Watson.
...
Boise State is the only team available that would pad significantly the Mountain West’s BCS resume.
Dr. Saturday, one of the biggest college football bloggers in the country, was another to catch wind of Watson's yarn-spinning.
Even hypothetically, there's only one plausible team in the Mountain West's geographical footprint that could possibly "strengthen the BCS cause" in time to make a dent before the next BCS contract is up for renogotiation: Boise State.
Cripe and the Doc were simpling rehashing relevant news about the topic they cover. There's only one problem: It's not really news.
Watson's story is misleading journalism at its finest.
She took a well-researched, informative story on the Mountain West's desire to expand to 10 teams, and she turned it into rampant speculation passed off as fact. I managed to pull this off in my college newspaper's sports section; she has managed to do it on the technopages of the Worldwide Leader in Sports.
When I first saw her headline yesterday, I scurried over to her webpage (the Caldwell of college football blogs) to see what all the fuss was about. I figured that some spirited MWC coach or player had shared feelings on his desire to see the Broncos in the conference. So I looked. And I looked. And not once did I see anyone mention Boise State by name or even a hint that the MWC decision makers were leaning toward a certain team. There was nothing about the Broncos that came from the Mountain West media days. The "news" came from Graham Watson.
On the most basic level, Watson did what she is paid to do: get people to her website. But at what cost? Journalism ethics? Integrity? Maybe I'm the only one who sees it this way, but I can't imagine that I'm the only one who read her story thinking that Boise State news was prominently involved, only to be duped into reading a bunch of quotes on a topic we have already covered ad nauseum.
The real news, that the MWC would add another team if it helped them get to a BCS game, is nothing new, and the notion that Boise State would be that team is nothing that Paul J. Schneider hasn't mentioned before, nearly a year prior.
In essence, the storyline out of MWC media days is that the Mountain West confirmed that it is open to expansion to 10 teams, provided the conference can figure out scheduling and that the incoming team adds value to the MWC's BCS resume. But we fans have been talking about this for months on end. For goodness' sake, I've made a wall calendar of the Broncos' potential MWC conference schedule. It's in my desk drawer. Next to the potential 16-team playoff bracket.
When Bronco fans read the news, they might think that something big is afoot in the world of Western non-BCS conferences. Not so fast.
The only news is that the MWC has talked about expanding to 10 teams. End of story. Or, as Graham Watson would put it, "Boise State to join the Pac-10? Perhaps."
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Whoa! I serisouly thought they meant North Texas!?
I wouldn’t mind a move to the MWC, but our OOC wouldn’t be so hot. The reason being that we’d still have to play our WAC “rivals” (almost lost my bladder typing that) until it becomes less of an event. We’d probably still have in-state “rival” game with Idaho. No matter how useless that game becomes, I still feel that tradition will hold onto it. We’d have to keep playing Fresno St. or say goodbye to the Milk Jug trophy (please the latter, please the latter), and both Nevada & Hawaii have some good WAC historic games with the Broncos.
On the other hand, perhaps Oregon and Oregon St. will recognize the move to strengthen their OOC schedule and keep a consistent annual PAC-10 game vs. the Broncos.
"You know where i'm from, a little suspicion about one's true identity and motives is considered good manners."
-- Nale
Good point, Loque
In a 10-team MWC, you’d have nine conference games every year. That would leave three OOC for the Broncos.
Consider Idaho a must-have. That’s one. Assume that Fresno/Nevada/Hawaii want to keep a rivalry going. That’s two (at least). That only leaves one open spot left for a BCS school. Forget having two BCS games.
It would definitely be a tough sell. But then again, so was playing VaTech at FedEx Field.
"We're not teaching them about sports. We're teaching them about life!" - Tony Perkis
Another take
Having Utah, BYU, Boise State, and TCU in the same conference would prove the MWC formidable against the ACC or Big East. You could have rotating schedules against old rivals. Just as BYU, Arizona State and the like do from the old WAC days. They only play every 4-5 years or so, but often enough to remember those hard feelings, and act accordingly.
The more important factor would be the MWC’s overall strength and representation among BCS conferences. With the big 4 in the conference routinely in the top 25 you’d have legit competition every in conference and real threats to other current BCS teams. Of course it’d probably take a few seasons (2-3) to really make a stand. But its in the realm of possibility.
Boise State - The best in all the land (The land being Idaho, and large parts of California and Oregon.)
And when we visit Hawaii, we’d get an additional game.
(With Idaho on the schedule, there’s no need for a FCS tune-up game like UC-Davis this year.)
by Egnowit on Jul 23, 2009 3:04 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Classic Graham Watson. All bread, no meat. I’ll send her a link to your post Kev.
Boise State - The best in all the land (The land being Idaho, and large parts of California and Oregon.)
That doesn’t sound like a very good sandwich!
The Intern
by OBNUG Intern on Jul 23, 2009 10:13 AM PDT up reply actions
Thanks, Mikrino. I appreciate your badgering her in the name of ethics.
"We're not teaching them about sports. We're teaching them about life!" - Tony Perkis
Ethics be darned!
Spite is my motivator.
I get so tired of her ignorant, one sided, erroneous posts…(I may have just described myself, in which case, ignore this post)
Someone needs to let her know we disapprove of her blatant lack of professionalism.
Boise State - The best in all the land (The land being Idaho, and large parts of California and Oregon.)
Watson!!
Graham Watson is not very good in my opinion, I understand it is hard for one person to write about 55 or so teams. Still she rarely brings much to the table and the latest title was a flat out lie.
Yes, I believe if the MWC were to expand they would go for Boise State, but they were not even mentioned specifically even though everyone knows the MWC wants them to join their league.
I’m excited about ESPN’s move toward hyperlocal coverage as I see it replacing the Graham Watsons who do a horrible job covering 55 teams. Break the coverage down into smaller, localized sections and the content can’t help but improve. (Break the coverage down to sixth graders and the content can’t help but improve.)
"We're not teaching them about sports. We're teaching them about life!" - Tony Perkis
It's a no brainer,
Why not one blogger for EVERY conference??
The “BIG 6” get their own personal bloggers. Why not the rest? ESPN shows their bias for BCS conferences in several ways. Graham Watson covering the NAQ teams is just one of many slaps in the face.
Boise State - The best in all the land (The land being Idaho, and large parts of California and Oregon.)
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Georgia
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Sat 09/03 | W 35 - 21 |
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