10 Things I won't miss about the 2010-2011 Season

The 2010-2011 is long gone, and there is no getting it back. We now have to wait roughly 175 days until sanctioned college basketball begins again. Some of us will fill the void it by projecting next season's field of 68 or the top recruits in the class of 2013. But for us, at least at the current moment, it's high time we start reflecting on what made the past season both special and frustrating.

First up, the top-ten things that we won't miss about the 2010-20112 season. We laud college basketball as the greatest sport on the planet, which it most certainly is. But that doesn't mean it doesn't come with baggage. In order to get the good, you have to deal with some of the bad that goes along with it.

Now, some of these things may return next season, but the next few months will provide some sanctity for our tortured ears and eyes.

The Top 10 Things I Won't Miss About the 2010-2011 Season:

10. The Kansas State Catastrophe

With every day that passed, a new issue arose in "The Little Apple".

Let's see, where to begin.

Well, before the season even began, Dominique Sutton decided to transfer.

But things really went south once the season actually started. (Try to follow along, there's about to be a lot of news thrown at you)

Curtis Kelly was benched early in the season for not living up to the program's standards, then was suspended for receiving illegal benefits, a.k.a he got free swag from a clothing store. Even after those two incidents, he reportedly violated the school's student-athlete honor code. You really have to make an effort to get in trouble that much.

Wally Judge sat out due to personal problems for a few games then sparked controversy for his in-game salute to the Pinstripe Bowl controversy. FIU-transfer Freddy Asprilla left the program, reportedly because he couldn't "handle it". First it was reported that he was going to play pro ball in Europe in order to raise money for his ill mother. Then it was reported that he would be transferring to Canisius.

Jacob Pullen lashed out at fans on twitter, said he wouldn't play in the N.I.T. and was also suspended for receiving illegal benefits. When you add in Frank Martin's ever-colorful demeanor both on and off the court, the Wildcats were almost always in the news. It was good to see K-State turn things around at the end of the season, because we respect Jacob Pullen far too much to wish any of that upon him.

But seriously, that's just way too much news on one team for us to cover.


9. Wiz Khalifa/YouTube Remixes

Who doesn't love hip-hop? If you love hip-hop, like us, then you probably love remixes. I mean, who doesn't?

Wiz Khalifa absolutely blew up in late 2010/early 2011, in large part to his single "Black and Yellow". Listen, I really liked the song, and I still think it's good, even after the unnecessary radio overkill.

But what really tested my limits was the endless, countless college remixes in which some "budding" artist (and I use that term loosely) replaced "Black and Yellow" with the colors of his school. A few of the remixes weren't THAT bad, but some of them were flat-out dreadful.

Listen, if your school colors don't rhyme with "Black and Yellow", you shouldn't make a remix of the song.

End of Story.

Here are some of the examples of people who didn't get the memo.

(The following list is just a small sample size. There are plenty of more out there. But I couldn't bring myself to listening to one remix an infinite number of times)
Alabama - White and Crimson
Central Florida - Black and Gold
Georgetown - Blue and Gray
Kansas - Red and Blue KU
Oklahoma - Boomer Sooner
South Carolina - Black and Garnet
Syracuse - Orange and White
Tennessee - Orange White
UConn - Kemba Walker
VCU - Black and Gold, Black and Yellow

There were a few exceptions to this rule. But it just so happens that these exceptions didn't use Wiz Khalifa's song. Indiana student's put together a solid one, made all the better by featuring some rather attractive co-eds. The Gaels of St. Mary's were repp'd well by "Gaels Gone Wild" which featured a pretty solid beat and a well-produced music video.

Again, these were more "exception" than they were "rules".

This Duke rap however, was no exception. It's awful, and it's not even a Wiz Khalifa remix.

Listen, I'm all for fan-creativity. But a line needs to be drawn. You need to know when enough is enough.

If "Black and Yellow" is still catchy in 2012, or if crappy remixes are still being made, I may have to double-Van Gogh myself.


8. RCN not getting the Big-Ten Network

The B.I.A.H HQ is fully equipped with what-we-were-made-to-believe is the most comprehensive sport-package available from RCN, our trusty television service providers.

It's true, we don't get The Mountain, and we only get a limited number of FSN-West games, but with the innovations in pirated Internet streaming, adjustments for the most part could be made. That is, of course, with the exception of the Big-Ten Network.

All the Google searching in the world couldn't help us find a good stream of the Big-Ten Network, and RCN was not able to help us with explaining why we didn't get The BTN and how we could get it. Now with 374 teams in D-1 hoops, there were almost always a game or two on TV, and with ESPN3 and online streaming, we could almost always watch the games we wanted to see.

At this point, you are probably wondering, "Why do you care if you don't get The BTN?"

I have but one simple answer: GUS JOHNSON.

Sure, Gus-Jeezy is on CBS every week or so after the NFL season concludes. But you have to understand our frustration if the man is providing the public with the sounds of his golden pipes on a weekly basis and we aren't able to listen to him do so. I mean, we did fine with limited coverage of the Big-Ten Network, but everybody could use more Gus Johnson in their daily lives. I know I could.

Do you know how many times I had to listen to Steve Lappas and Sean Farnham? More than I ever cared too. You know how many times I listened to Gus-Jeezy? Not nearly enough. So, RCN, it's your move. Time to step your game up for next season.


7. Bruce Pearl's lack of decision-making skills

Have you ever watched somebody from afar try to pick their nose and eat what they find?

They look around to see if anybody is watching, dig in, pause, look around again, double check, and sneak in the nasal treat, all while you are watching, going "Ahh man, no, don't do it" and "Oh man, he's totally going to do it.....ewwww".

That's kinda like how I will remember Bruce Pearl's final 14 months at Tennessee. He broke a rule, which is fine I guess, everybody isn't perfect. You can't look at me with a straight face and say you have never picked your nose. You'd be lying if you did. But instead of just admitting he was wrong, or flicking the booger away, he decided to see if he could get away with it. But once you do something for the first time, and like it, you are bound to do it again, and that's what Pearl did.

He didn't just break one rule, he broke numerous rules. You know the NCAA was sitting there knowing what he was doing, and just waiting for him to either come clean or continue to dig at his nose. And that's just what he did.

Even in as late as March, Pearl committed an NCAA violation, and it eventually cost him his job.

I know this analogy has been pretty bizarre but hopefully you get the idea.

I will miss Pearl's bravado, but I won't miss his lack of judgement.


6. Twitter Misuse

If it was not for my involvement in sports media, I would never EVER use twitter.

I believe it is a valuable resource for people in marketing, promotions, and public relations. But unfortunately, twitter is over-run by classless fans, athletes who can't spell, people who try to communicate with celebrities and college students who are unaware of twitter's functionality.

Sure, I guess twitter can be used to express your opinions, feelings and frustrations. But it seems like a majority of the D-I college basketball players are unaware that when they tweet something, it's likely to be re-tweeted by thousands of people. Every tweet they send out is eventually seen by TV analysts, national writers, head coaches, and athletic directors.

I'm aware that twitter only provides 140 characters for each thought. But would it kill you to use correct spelling? Oh and by the way, don't try to pull this "my account got hacked" stunt. That doesn't happen. Even if it does, how come people's accounts only get hacked when they say something controversial?

But the athletes are not the only ones to blame. Have you ever seen some of the things people have tweeted at Kyrie Irving, Isaiah Thomas or Terrence Jones? I understand that fans get frustrated. Hell, I do. But I also realize that these athletes are kids working their asses off to represent their school.

Twitter isn't going anywhere, and we will likely see the same type of shenanigans next season. But hopefully fans and players decide to ease up during the off-season.

Do it for the sake of my sanity.


5. JimmerMania

Don't get me wrong, I love watching Fredette play. Every time he brought the ball over half court, I would urge him through my TV to "make it rain" from 40 feet. The kid is polite, full of swagger and has a nice, attractive Mormon girlfriend.

But I liked Jimmer when he was our little secret. I liked it when only the basketball media would drool over his circus shots and his Mormon-moxie. I liked it when "You Got Jimmer'd" was in it's infancy, before he became a regular on every "talking heads" sports show across the country.

I guess I'm taking the indy-hipster-emo-jam band music approach. You know, like when an unknown band that you love suddenly blows up and becomes famous. Once the band becomes mainstream, the longtime supporters decide the music isn't good anymore.

Well, I don't think Jimmer "sold out", but I certainly could have done without the music videos, parodies, and letters to the editor.

For us uncoordinated, unathletic white kids, Jimmer was our hero, our cult-icon. But then the media had to go all ga-ga over him and ruin the special bond we had.

While I will miss watching Fredette launch shots from the souvenir booth, I won't miss the mass hysteria that he produced.


4. Renardo Sidney

There aren't many things more compelling than watching two guys try to punch each other unconscious.

I love fights: schoolyard fights, locker room brawls, donnybrooks, melees, bench-clearing brawls, cages fights, slobber-knockers, street fights, cat fights, pretty much all fights with the exception of boxing matches.

But despite all of this, I found the Renardo Sidney vs. Elgin Bailey bleacher brawl to be somewhat un-nerving.

This wasn't Sidney's first mistake, and while he wasn't the instigator of the fight, he should have known better. Up until December 24th, 2010, Sidney had played in a grand total of two college games. Yet I was forced to read and hear about his attitude problems, weight issues and NCAA violations.

Once he actually started to play, he showed actually showed some signs of promise. He even proved some doubters wrong by deciding to return to Starkville for his junior year.

But for all the buzz around this kid, nothing he accomplished last season made up for the fact that he was the biggest headache in college basketball for a good 12 months.

Seriously, I've never met the guy, and I already hate him.



3. Rule 9, Article 13, Sections 1-3

The elbow rule. Hands-down the most stupid thing done to college basketball since, well, ever.

Coaches and camp counsellors have been teaching rebounding fundamentals since the beginning of time. You can't just decide to implement a rule that would change the way basketball is played right before the season starts. Rules like this need implementation, regulation and most importantly, education. All we got was a graphic during Marathon-Madness and some re-hashing during in-studio halftime reports.

I understand that it was a safety concern, but again, swinging your elbows to clear out space has been part of the game for so long, it's hard to tell gifted athletes to just stop doing what they are doing.

Even if they had decided to make it a rule, which they did, why make it a "flagrant two with possession"? The rebounder is only doing what he has been taught over and over and over again. If anything, the NCAA should just fine players for flagrant contact (Oh wait, I forgot, players don't get paid).

I hope to God the NCAA does some serious thinking during the off-season. This rule needs to go back to whatever dark crevice it came from and should stay there for all eternity.


2. UPS Logistics Commercial

Companies use many advertising tactics in order to make their commercials and marketing campaigns stick. Fresh slogans, celebrity endorsements, even catchy jingles. Some work, others don't.

UPS clearly forgot to schedule any focus groups and must have ignored all feedback and viewer response, because the "logistics commercial" they marched out for the 2010-2011 season had the most annoying, brain-numbing jingle I havee ever listened too.

I never liked the song "That's Amore". So why on Earth would I enjoy that same tune describing the benefits of logistics?



I don't know a god-damn thing about logistics. I've been made to believe that it has something to do with making sure small businesses save money on shipping and handling fees.

Even the overly-repetitive "NAPA know-how" commercial seemed pleasant compared to the "logistics commercial". I know we weren't the only ones who frequently used ESPN3.com and their wonderful replay streams of college basketball games. But did ESPN3 really have to choose the "logistics commercial" as the only advertisement to use over-and-over again?

It got so bad that @ballinisahabit quickly muted his computer or television every time this disaster-of-a-jingle would come on. If you every wanted to add just a bit of misery into his day, tweeting a link of the commercial to @ballinisahabit would do the trick.


1. Jimmy's Jet

Not every production idea or programming segment is a hit, I get that. For every "Pardon the Interruption" there is a "Steve A. Smith Show".

But the "Jimmy's Jet" segment during ESPN-televised games was by far the worst in-game segment I have ever seen, bar-none.

Did not a single programming director realize how corny it was? Did nobody ever wonder to ask if people enjoyed it? How many executives OK'd this idea? I really feel like somebody should have been fired for allowing this to run week after week after week.

True, it was only a 30-60sec segment, but man, those seconds were rather brutal. Just give me a standard-issue Bubble Watch. I don't need aww-shucks-Jimmy Dykes using airplane analogies and foolish graphics to tell me who is on the bubble and who isn't.

I would have paid to see a camera-shot of Brad Nessler's reaction during those segments.

Jimmy Dykes is OK at his job (although if you check any SEC message board, you will realize many fans don't share my sentiments). His southern accent gets on my nerves sometimes, and sure, he has an over-abundance of unnecessary catch-phrases, but ussually he does adequate work.

But this "Jimmy's Jet" thing has to go.

Take it from me, the broadcast production major still toiling in the Internet ranks, "Jimmy's Jet" doesn't work. It never worked, and if I see it again, I may have to do something drastic.

Somebody call Amilia Earhardt, we have another mission for her.