We have four topics today and while Jim Tressel is taking over every show in the world, we decided to start with actual sports first, then get into that whole cheating mess.
• First, Robin Van Persie called the referee that gave him a double yellow in Arsenal’s farewell Champions League match “a joke.” He actually said, “It’s just a joke. He’s been bad all evening. He’s been a joke all evening, whistling against us. I don’t know why he’s here tonight. I think it’s a joke.”
What happens to RVP, or his teammates who sarcastically tweets about how good a job the ref did? Sir Alex was slapped for questioning an EPL referee, but what does UEFA do about it? And how great is it when athletes just don’t care and say what they want? It’s really great.
• Next, we rip on Villanova. A lot. We also talk about ESPN putting the Big East women’s final on the mothership while the Big East men’s first round was on ESPNU. What do you think about that decision?
We also talk about Jay Bilas and Bill Raftery in the same crew, and while we love that, how it spreads some of their other crews too thin. Yes, it makes sense to put your best crews on the best games, but then they go and throw those games on ESPNU, so who knows…
• We wanted to spend more time on this, but we really ripped Villanova a lot. Jim Tressel is a cheater. We don’t talk about that so much as the folks who yell that he should be fired. People who keep their jobs by yelling that someone else should lose theirs…should be fired. That’s not to say Tressel shouldn’t be punished, but…well, look, whatever I write here is going to put in a hole that will take 800 words to get out. So just listen to my thoughts (and Nick’s sound replies) on the NCAA and how we accept the arbitrary nature of NCAA rules yet constantly question the enforcement of those rules. Also, we talk about how our acceptance of NCAA rules compares to the BCS.
• We spend 30 seconds on Tiki Barber’s failed media career. Seriously, with 600 channels, that guy can’t find ANYONE to hire him?