Home cookin'

When the news came out that the Big Ten was setting up its own network, I could have set my watch to the time it would take Frank the Tank to throw a post up. I would have been a few hours behind, he got it up right quick in a hurry.

He's got a ton of good points, but non-sports fans should probably just skim the reading material - it gets a little thick if you don't give a damn.

Aside from citing it's appearance on the Total Choice (basic cable) tier as a sign of strength - I see it as an admission that most people wouldn't pay extra for the service - he's right on. It'll open doors for the conference as a whole and while I'm reluctant to believe it'll flood Direct TV's phone lines through the start of football season, it's a definite muscle flex for all Big Ten sports.

Even the hard core haters will have tough time finding fault with the deal and now the real Big Ten nuts will have their jones for Penn State basketball sated... so there's that, I suppose.

I'm no one to talk because I have the MLB Extra Innings package for the second year in a row after enjoying it last season. I got hooked last year and it more than paid for itself in a few weeks. This year was a no-brainer - we had it ordered before Spring Training ended this year.

Whereas last year allowed me to watch Red Sox games, this year means Cubs games and White Sox games if I have a real need to see local commercials from back home. This also means contending with Hawk Harrelson, so it's kind of like sticking your whole hand in your nostril to make sure there are no bats in the cave before a big date - it's painful, stupid and halfway through you have to ask yourself if there's a better way to go about it.

Granted, Cubs games have been at least as painful and I can't name half the starting rotation, but at least Kerry Wood is back to lying to the media, so at least it's familiar.

So to all you Illini fans in Oregon, you're going to love this on so many levels.

Granted, if your time in college was anything like mine, you'll have a pretty hard time recognizing any local commercials that aired past 9:30 p.m. Or where you live. Or, you know, an acceptable place to urinate.

(Image from Kare11.com)