What is wrong with the Big10?

Indoor facilities make a huge difference in a lot of sports up here in the Upper Midwest.

For example, my son rows. The U of Wisconsin has great indoor facilities. My son used to row at a local Madison club, and they rented the Wisco rowing tanks once or twice a year. He currently rows for the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and they travel to Madison a few times every winter for indoor rowing.

In general, the other Upper Midwest rowing teams do better when there is an early spring, and worse when there is a late spring. Sometimes the clubs from the Twin Cities (either the youth club or the UM club) skip major spring races if the river thaws too late.

There is a H.S. rowing club in Chicago that was able to convince the city and some casinos who wanted to be on the good side of the city to fork over $6 million for world class indoor rowing facilities. Purely by coincidence, the mayor's DD was on that club. Which proves there is no corruption in Chicago.

Lobster Birch said:

I'm skeptical of the weather angle. Minnesota and Michigan have the two best teams in the Big10 and are ranked in the top 25. They find a way to overcome the supposed weather disadvantage. Why can't the other teams in the conference? Likewise, here in the Pacific Northwest it may not be as cold, but it's very wet. Washington and Oregon aren't practicing outside from January on yet they are excellent programs. I know Washington when they can't practice outside use a huge indoor facility; they are not stuck in constricted, tiny batting cages (the UW facility contains a turf football field with a track around the outside). I assume most bad weather schools have something similar, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe not having those facilities is part of the problem?

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Don't totally disagree with you here Lobster. Michigan and Minnesota both do an outstanding job overcoming the weather but that is what they are doing - overcoming a significant obstacle. I do feel that there are teams in bad weather states that use that as an excuse to underperform and that's not acceptable. But, I think we should be aware that playing somewhere between a half to two-thirds of your season on the road is not a small deal.

As far as the indoor facilities, I know OSU and OU both have one and they are fantastic but I don't think they are perfect compared to being out on the dirt on a 60 degree day. But, I may be totally wrong on that.

Excellent point on the Pacific NW schools. Do Washington and Oregon play as many road games as Big 10 teams?

Just checked Michigan's roster 10 (out of 21) are from Michigan and/or Illinois, 3 from New York and the rest from warm weather states.

reagansdaddy said:

Excellent point on the Pacific NW schools. Do Washington and Oregon play as many road games as Big 10 teams?

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Washington has 19 home games this year. I think they had less last year.

Lobster Birch said:

Washington has 19 home games this year. I think they had less last year.

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Ohio State had 14 scheduled last year and I believe they only ended up playing 12 due to a midweek rainout, so it is comparable. I know OU had a double header snowed out today.

I believe LSU plays 35 or so home games in a year. I need to move south!!!

Kendyl Lindaman is bringin' the pain at the plate as of late...
13 HRs so far!
Man, she was destroying the ball in the first game of their double header this week!

Lindaman was playin' raquetball with the homerun balls she was bouncing of that new sports complex wall past the left field fence!

I wonder how far it is to the wall? ~260'?... Horsepower baby!

Lobster Birch said:

I went to see Washington play visiting Penn State Friday night and it wasn't much of a contest. Washington won 15-0 with a freshman pitcher making her 1st start for the Huskies. Washington beat Penn State three times last week by a combined score of 37-2. I've seen local junior colleges be more competitive against Washington.

The Big10 has Minnesota (also lost twice to Washington last week) and Michigan ranked in the top 25. Of the 14 teams in the Big10(?) 8 have a losing record. The conference overall is 138W/149L. Comparatively, the PAC12 is 174/40.

What gives? Why the disparity?

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One of the biggest issues is Big Ten schools not being able to keep the best Midwest pitchers at home. Taran Avelo at Washington (Carroll, Ohio), Miranda Elish at Oregon (Crown Point, Ind.), Maggie Balint (Pa.) of Oregon, ASU's Dale Ryndak (Downers Grove, Ill.), Mississippi State's Alexis Silkwood (East Alton, Ill.), and Georgia's Brittany Gray (Greenwood, Ind.) are just a few quickly off of the top of my head are that within the Big Ten footprint who are playing in the Pac-12 or SEC.