NU Confirms New Football Unis and Fitz TV Show

NU could once again wear black pants with purple tops in home games.

Big news from NU today was the confirmation of new football uniforms for Northwestern which bring back the Northwestern striping along with the return of black pants which didn’t go so well last time they were worn by NU, but actually were NU’s standard road attire in the 2000 season and that means they were in fashion for the 47-44 OT win in Madison and the “Victory Right” game against Minnesota. Therefore, I think the black pants have taken something of a bad rap due to their most recent appearances. I also think bringing some black back into the uniform isn’t a bad idea. Much of the NU products available feature black as does much of the NU coaches’ gear, so I’m not surprised to see it added to the football uniform.

Now the bigger news from the perspective of basketball is the news Pat Fitzgerald will have a half hour TV program on each week. Back in NU’s Big Ten Title winning seasons of 1995, 1996, and 2000 Gary Barnett and Randy Walker had television programs as did hoops coaches Ricky Byrdsong and Kevin O’Neill. I have no idea if a Fitz show means a Bill Carmody show, but Fitz having a show at least makes it somewhat more likely Carmody could have one in the future if not this season. Honestly, I think Bill Carmody would probably be the prefect coach for a TV show because I have a feeling his show would be very different from other coaches’ TV shows. Most of these coach shows are highlights and positive vibes and basically total spin. Basically totally boring to watch, but as a fan you still watch anyway. I have a feeling Bill Carmody taking his “tell it like it is” approach on to TV would offer a different kind of show. A more interesting show. Carmody has never been one to spin a loss or sugarcoat bad play and I really respect him for that. The man is brutally honest even when it sometimes gets fans upset with him. Look at the firestorm on the message boards whenever he admits he’s not sure about something. The truth is every coach isn’t sure about things at times, but no one else is honest enough to say so.

Carmody’s also very funny with a very quick wit and would no doubt be entertaining to watch. In fact, I think Carmody’s wit would appeal strongly to the type of player NU wants to recruit. With NU recruiting smart kids, they should be the types that can see that most coaches’ shows are just infomercials for a team. Basically, a political ad with basketball highlights. I think a Bill Carmody’s honesty and frankness would standout to the type of recruits NU wants as an appealing characteristic for a potential head coach. Now, will NU give Carmody a show? I have no idea. But the other Big Ten basketball coaches have them and with NU putting together a production team for a show for Fitz, I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t use that same team to produce a show for Carmody.

Some Thoughts as the BTN’s NU Week Finishes

The Big Ten Network’s Northwestern week ends tonight. If you tune this evening you can see NU beat Iowa (always awesome) in hoops 51-48 from 2006 (Thanks to great play by Vedran and Evan Seacat's single biggest moment) and NU beat MSU in football 27-26 (Victory Right Part II) in 2001. Both those are good games, though, they’re a little slow until till the final moments. I did enjoy many of the games the BTN put on this week, but they’re the games we always see and always talk about. At one point I talked with a member of the Big Ten Network’s staff about showing some lesser known “Greatest Games” and he said basically that they get suggestions virtually everyday for what games to show, but getting rights to rebroadcast them isn’t always easy. For example, ESPN still owns the rights to the 1997 NU-MSU football game in which Anwawn Jones blocks the Spartans final FG and every once and a while puts that game on ESPNClassic. Look for it this fall.

Obviously, games that aired on the BTN would be easier to show repeatedly. Considering that, I think the Big Ten Network missed out a couple fairly recent “Greatest Games” involving NU. I’ve mentioned this before, but if I were the BTN I’d constantly rebroadcast football games form the 2007 season and basketball from the 2007-08 season because the BTN had such small distribution that virtually nobody saw those games anyway. They do show NU-MSU from 2007 a lot, but there is much more. For example….

On October 13th , 2007 Northwestern beat Minnesota in double overtime 49-48. Here’s a link to NUBears You Tube highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dylzr0a0j7I&feature=player_embedded


Earlier that year NU scored in the final seconds to beat Nevada and avenge a loss to the Pack in 2006. Once again here’s a link to the highlights (I love the locker room speech from Fitz which starts the highlight)…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtXM4klllE0&feature=player_embedded


Looking at recent basketball history, every NU fans enjoys seeing the ‘Cats upset #7 MSU in 2009, but the ‘Cats also pulled off a great road win at Purdue that year…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VznrhSbbgKc&feature=player_embedded

Finally, going to very recent history, NU’s upset in hoops over the Fighting Illini this year is one of my favorites and likely will remain so for years to come…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDuZ0gg9NSQ&feature=player_embedded

Future NU Broadcast Notes

I don’t usually worry much about what channel the Wildcats are on as long as the game can be seen. I did think was cool NU played a couple games on the ESPN family of networks recently, but I recently realized aside from one contest on February 25th against Iowa (ESPN or ESPN2) all of NU’s remaining games are on the Big Ten Network or bigtennetwork.com. If the Wildcats continue to win and become even more of a national story, the Big Ten Network will have almost exclusive broadcast rights to that story. A Northwestern team that is competing for an NCAA tournament will draw national interest and nearly every college basketball fan will be trying to see NU play. With only one remaining game on the ESPN family of networks, the only place people will be able to see NU will be on the BTN. Hopefully, many of the NU fans around the country will be able to see the BTN broadcasts, because this will certainly be an exciting season.

Big Ten Network Web Streaming Delayed Start Upsets Fans

I don’t want to turn this into a massive complaint about the Big Ten Network, but as I know many readers had this issue I think it is worth mentioning. Tonight many Wildcat fans around the nation went to their computers to watch the start of what many assume is THE year. What they saw was the Big Ten Network logo and a clock counting upwards. Even as the Wildcats took on RMU in the first half this didn’t change. Obviously, technical difficulties can occur in any situation with technology, but the BTN didn’t do itself any favors winning over fans tonight. The positive is that the BTN was willing to quickly refund money and did get the web steam working in the second half, but it certainly wasn’t in HD quality as promoted.

The question I think many fans asked themselves as they stared at the blank screen was, “Did the BTN test this web thingy from Welsh-Ryan?” I don’t know. That’s a good question, though. Especially when past streams from W-R have had issues. If BTN is going to continue to use this type of service they will need to get more consistent in their service.

Changing the Perception of NU Hoops

Football season is very much on the horizon with only 26 days till kickoff and basketball season is actually less than 100 days away. What potentially makes these upcoming seasons very special is both NU football and Men’s and Women’s Basketball have the potential to have big years. One fact which has been somewhat under publicized is that last year both NU’s football and Men’s Basketball team made the postseason in the same year for the first time. Though this fact might make some think of NU’s poor athletic history, I see this as a signal that NU’s major sports are moving forward. I bring this up because several articles about NU sports have been published recently. Skip Myslenski wrote an article for NUsports.com about the changing perception of NU football and an article (linked below) appeared on rivals.com about NU basketball. Obviously, NU’s football program probably has gone a longer way towards changing the perception of Northwestern sports. Certainly there is work yet to be done, and I think certain fans will never change their beliefs. Still, Northwestern’s 24-24 football record since 2003 is solidly in the middle of the Big Ten. Basketball wise, though, NU hasn’t been as successful, but NU did make strong progress from 2002-06 and last year. What Northwestern hasn’t done in hoops, though, is consistently make the postseason. Although I’m as disappointed as anyone at NU’s consistent Bowl losses, NU has made bowl games in 2003, 2005, and 2008. The ‘Cats also should have made bowls in 2004 and 2007. Those might not be Florida numbers, but they aren’t half bad compared to where NU has been in past and where half the Big Ten has been since 2003. If NU makes a bowl this year and wins I think it’ll really change on fans see Northwestern football.

The question, though, is what needs to happen for the perception of NU basketball to change. The easy answer is to make the NCAA Tournament, and that would help, but I think even more needs to happen. Many football fans still think NU had “one good year” that’s why the Wildcats need a bowl win. Therefore, I don’t think just making the NCAA Tournament once would be enough to change how people see NU hoops. A run to the NCAAs would be a great moment for NU sports. Depending how it happens, it might even be bigger than the Rose Bowl, but it wouldn’t swing people’s view of NU basketball as dramatically as we might hope.

The first thing that needs to happen for people to change how they see NU hoops is for the team to consistently make a tournament. It doesn’t have to always be the NCAAs, but finishing consistently above .500 and beating teams in the Big Ten will force other fans to take notice as the Wildcats beat their teams. NU having winning records over more than half of the Big Ten since 1995 is part of what has slowly changed football’s perception.

Another key fact that will help make the perception of NU basketball change is for NU to produce notable star players. I think guys like Fitz, Zak Kustok, Damian Anderson, and Jason Wright really helped non-NU fans take notice of NU football. When a guy wins big awards or puts up historic numbers fans can’t help but want to watch him play. When they see that guy is surrounded by some pretty talented teammates, they gain even more respect for the program that player is part of. I think NU basketball is moving in this direction with Kevin Coble. I also think there is great potential for even more of that with a potentially amazing recruiting class coming to NU in 2011.

A third key way for the perception of NU basketball to change is for NU hoops to be on ESPN or CBS more than once or twice a season. I love the Big Ten Network, but getting on ESPN and ABC was one of the biggest moments of change for NU football. The 1995 Penn State game wasn’t just critical because NU beat Penn State, it was critical because Keith Jackson and ABC sports showed up to broadcast it. ESPN/ABC is still the network which true sports fans watch and has the experts which the most fans respect. If you’re on ESPN and ESPN’s talking heads talk about you, you get the respect of most fans. I am optimistic that after last year’s season NU will appear on ESPN and CBS more this year.

There are probably fifty more things which I could list here, but I want to conclude with one more which I see as critical. That is for Northwestern itself to promote the team. Though many fans started to give NU football the respect it deserved under Gary Barnett and Randy Walker, it seems even more opposing fans are starting to admire NU thanks to Pat Fitzgerald’s ubiquitous presence in the media. I know some people will say media appearances aren’t Bill Carmody’s thing, but I disagree. Carmody actually is a pretty good interview. He’s funny, personable, and more honest than any other coach. He is also, despite what some say, a very good coach who is well respected by the basketball community. Given the chance Carmody could win over just as many fans as Fitz, but I don’t see him making as nearly as many appearances on radio and TV. If he doesn’t want to do so, well, then that’s tough. Somebody has to make him. Not only will it help promote the program, but it might also eliminate another of NU’s negative perceptions—empty seats.

Poll Results Thoughts

A new poll has been posted based on the increasing chatter both in the media and on-line regarding the Wrigley Field game. Before you vote, though, here are some thoughts on the last two polls at Welsh-Ryan Ramblings.

The poll conducted regarding NU’s 1931 Helms Foundation NCAA Basketball National Championship featured about 70% of NU fans supporting NU recognizing the title. The other 30% of voters were split nearly evenly between auguring NU shouldn’t recognize the title and not really caring since the event occurred in 1931. I think what this poll shows is that the majority of NU fans would be supportive should NU recognize the 1931 National Champions. Even those who said they were opposed probably wouldn’t vehemently protest an acknowledgement of the title in the media guide. I think they are more opposed to a banner raising ceremony which comes nearly 80 years late. If I’m missing the boat here please leave a message in the comment section.

The second poll conducted featured the question of what old “kind of” classic game fans might want to see rerun. Aside from discovering that this wasn’t a topic many were interested in (this poll got the lowest vote total in WRR history) it revealed the NU football game against Minnesota in 2007 does have some folks who’d like to take a second look. Personally, I’d love to get the chance to TiVo and watch all the NU wins which aired on the BTN in football and basketball during the 2007-08 school year as at the time I like many others did not have the BTN on my cable system.

News and Notes:
ESPN.com ranks NU Women's Basketball's Recruiting class number 20 in the nation: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/basketball/womens/news/story?id=4352878

Another not quite classic NU game that the BTN could rerun

Whether it’s healthy or not is debatable, but as is evidenced by several past posts I'm always thinking about past NU games I'd like to see again and a recent trip to purchase an HD TV reminded me of another Northwestern football game which was exciting enough for a repeat viewing, though, not particularly important in the grand scheme of NU football history. That game was Northwestern’s 2002 49-40 win at Navy. In that wild contest both Jason Wright and Noah Herron rushed for over 100 yards and in only his third career start freshman quarterback Brett Basanez directed an NU attack which Navy’s defense couldn’t stop. Now, you might ask why did shopping for an HD TV make me remember that contest. Well, that game was broadcast exclusively on HDnet (it was also run on tape delay on Comcast SportsNet in Maryland). Now, I was actually at this game as the sideline reporter on the WNUR broadcast crew so I didn’t get to see the original HD broadcast (my father did since he went to an electronics store with HD TVs instead of listening to me and my colleagues), but I strongly suspect it is sitting in the achieves somewhere at either HDnet’s cooperate offices or the Naval Academy gathering dust. Given this fact, I see no reason why the Big Ten Network couldn’t get their hands on this contest and rerun the game. I have to give great credit to the BTN for the number of games they do in HD. One of my best friends went to a Mountain West school and he often complains about how few games on The Mountain (the MWC’s own network) are in HD. Given that HD TV was in its relatively infancy in 2002 the odds are most NU fans who weren’t in Annapolis never saw this game. Let me tell you, it was worth seeing. I remember it being nearly impossible to keep up with the frantic pace of the game as the running games of both schools plowed through defenses with ease. In fact, in terms of scoring the game is similar to several of the NU classics from 2000 or 2005, the rest of the season in 2002 simply wasn’t as good (Actually it was rather terrible). Still, from my point of view, of the many games rerun on networks like the BTN or ESPN Classic, the most watchable are those with high entertainment value, say a high scoring affair like the 54-51 win over Michigan, or games with great novelty, such as a game very few people saw live. This contest fits both bills and I would love to see it again.
The Wildcats line up on defense vs Navy in 2002

Classic NU games which aired originally on the BTN

NU beat Michigan on the BTN in 2008 and it'd be great to see that win again...

The good news for NU fans is the upcoming Big Ten Network schedule has several repeats of classic NU games listed as airing in the next few days and weeks. This is great, except that other than last year's football final vs Illinois (airing twice Saturday) all the classic games are games which the BTN has already aired a bunch of times. Here at Welsh-Ryan Ramblings we love watching classic NU sports, but we also like variety. As a result, here are a couple classics which one has to assume would be easy to rebroadcast since they aired on the BTN originally.

2007 football vs Nevada: This game featured a great finish which rivals many of NU’s classic conclusions over the years. If it had been against a Big Ten opponent, I think it would rank on the all-time list. As it is, it’s still exciting and well worth a repeat viewing.

2007 football vs Minnesota: I mentioned this on my earlier list of classics which the BTN should air, but I want to add that it’s actually a better game than the 2007 MSU game which the BTN airs all the time.

2007-2008 basketball vs Michigan: It was NU’s only conference win and a pretty good game. Classic Craig Moore if nothing else.

2008-2009 basketball vs DePaul: NU hammers the Demons 63-36, well worth a second (or third) watching.

2008-2009 basketball vs/at Indiana: NU beat the Hoosiers twice last season. They won at home in a dramatic game in Welsh-Ryan and then recorded their first win at Assembly Hall in a blow out.

July 8th is Second NU Day on BTN, What Else Could They Show?

On July 8th Big Ten Network will the 2005 contest in which Michael Jenkins hit the game winner for NU, but what else could they show for NU fans?

The Big Ten Network will air 24 hours of Northwestern programming on July 8th. Unfortunately, many of these games are repeats of games which the Big Ten Network aired as part of its NU day in June. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the 1995 Penn State football game and this NU does include the Michael Jenkins game. However, most of the games are games the BTN has run multiple times. Given that, I want to do today is offer the Big Ten Network my list of classic NU games they need to find and show. I’ve tried to list only games which I know were on television, but if you have other suggestions please post below. It is my honest hope someone from the BTN will see this list and at least inquire to ESPN or whatever the original broadcast network was into the possibility of getting video of these games.

1992 Basketball vs Illinois: Cedric Neloms hit a 30-foot shot at the buzzer to beat the Illini and end Northwestern’s 29-game conference losing streak.

1993 football vs Boston College: The Wildcats get revenge for a devastating loss the year before by beating the nationally ranked Eagles 22-21 on a late two point conversion.

1994 basketball vs Michigan: This to me this is the game the folks at the BTN need to go the extra mile to locate. The Wildcats end a wild season by beating #8 Michigan 97-93 in overtime to clinch an NIT bid.

1994 basketball vs DePaul (NIT): The Wildcats grab their first postseason victory in more than a decade by beating local rival DePaul in the NIT opener at Welsh-Ryan.

1995 football vs Notre Dame: Probably second on the must locate list. The Wildcats upset the Irish 17-15 and start the most amazing season in the history of college football.

1995 football vs Purdue: Yeah, I know there are great games in between ND and this contest, but the BTN does have the Penn State game so I’m giving them a pass. This game was the clincher, NU won the Big Ten Title with the 23-8 victory over the Boilers. It would also be essential to include all post game interviews with Barnett and the players in this rebroadcast to fully appreciate the magnitude of NU winning a Big Ten Title.

1996 football vs Wisconsin: You’ve seen the 2000 Michigan game with the Anthony Thomas fumble on the Big Ten Network several times, right? This is the original version of that game. Ron Dayne fumbles and the ‘Cats eek out a 34-30 victory on a pass from Schnur to Bates.

1996 football vs Michigan: Down 16-0 at the start of the 4th quarter the Wildcats beat the Wolverines 17-16 on Brian Gowins’s field goal(s).

1997 football vs Michigan State: Anwan Jones blocks a field goal and NU holds of the Spartans by two. (This game actually did air on ESPN Classic last fall before NU played Michigan State)

2002 basketball vs Michigan State: Before last year’s win in East Lansing this was the last time the Wildcats beat the Spartans.

2003 football vs Wisconsin and Penn State: On two cold Saturdays in the fall the Wildcats battle the weather for two key Big Ten wins on their way to an appearance in the Motor City Bowl.

2004 basketball vs Iowa: Vedran Vukusic beats the buzzer and the Hawkeyes the year before Michael Jenkins does the same.

2005 football vs Iowa: The last 3:21 of the game sees NU score twice and beat the Hawkeyes 28-27.

2006 football at Iowa: Beating Iowa is always fun and in this contest NU gets its biggest win in Pat Fitzgerald’s first season.

2007 football vs Minnesota: A double overtime thriller which ends when the struggling Wildcat defense holds off a Gopher two-point conversion try.

NU Upset Over MSU is Big Ten Network Game of the Year for 08-09

Northwestern's 70-63 upset over Michigan State was named the Big Ten Network Game of the Year for the 08-09 season on tonight's Big Ten Network Awards. This is a nice win for the 'Cats, though, I'm sure they'd have traded the award for an NCAA bid. Still, it has been a long time since an NU basketball win could have even been considered for such an award. If the BTN was around in 93-94 then NU's OT win over the Fab Four (No Weber) might have taken home the title, but honestly that's about it in the last 15 years (I mean personally I plan to vote the Michael Jenkins game as Game of the Decade, but I think that's more a personal view because of the fun I had that night at Welsh-Ryan than a fair look at how meaningful the win was). Anyhow, I say thanks to the BTN for the award, but like Coach Carmody and his team I'm hoping for bigger and better awards and rewards next season.

As a look back here's my postgame report: http://welsh-ryanramblings.blogspot.com/2009/01/stunner-cats-upset-7-spartans-70-63-in.html

Thanks to NUBears, here are the highlights: http://northwesternhighlights.blogspot.com/2009/02/northwestern-wildcats-basketball-vs_4452.html

Some Final Thoughts on TXAMCC and On to Brown

Some quick additional thoughts from yesterday’s game. The overall performance was very good and it’s great to be 2-0, but some work still remains for NU to do. Most notable is three-point shooting. If NU is going to win games this year they have to be able to shoot close to 40% from beyond the arc. Still, it’s nice to see and for the players to learn that intensity on defense can win games even when the offense falters.

Also, let me say I love the three man center rotation. I think all three have great potential. However, I’m not sure why Ivan Peljusic is slipped so far down the depth chart. I’m honestly not sure the three freshmen do anything significantly better than him. The only notable difference is the fact Rowley and Luka are several inches taller. Peljusic is tall, athletic, and brings a ton of enthusiasm to the court. I really like the kid and hope he cracks the lineup a bit more. I feel the somewhat the same way about Jeremy Nash, but the difference is Nash doesn’t offer much scoring. I think Peljusic has the ability to score in double figures in Big Ten games. Heck, he did it last year. I’m not sure that Rowley and Curletti are at that point yet. For all we’ve heard Mirkovic should be, but it wasn’t really apparent last night.

Brown Game
Okay, so as far as I can tell there are three ways to follow the Brown game. Here they are:

Go to the game – If you live on the east coast I’d encourage you to go and take in this game in person. You’ll instantly become a fantastic resource for the rest of us as the majority of NU fans are going be relegated to listening on the radio or just waiting to see the score on the bottom line during Saturday Night Football.

Pay $7.00 and watch streaming video from Brown’s website - Here’s the link: http://brownbears.cstv.com/multimedia/schedule.html
Honestly, I’m not sure the cost is worth it, but if I weren’t going to be in the Ryan Field parking lot I’m crazy enough I might have paid the cash. I guess I should thank the Big Ten Network for the 2:30 start.

Listen to the game on WNUR - WNUR, NU’s student radio station, will broadcast the game live. I’ll be turning it on in the parking lot at Ryan Field. For those who will be in the warmth of their home, I suggest you visit www.wnur.org/sports and listen in to what the youngsters have to say on-line. WNUR takes some criticism at times, but I know from my experience at NU (which was pretty recent) that those guys put in a ton of time and great effort to bring broadcasts like this life. So I want to offer a big thanks to WNUR’s broadcast team as I’d be pretty angry if all I could do to follow the game was to watch the score trick across the bottom of my TV.

If you have any other ideas on how to keep track of this game please post. I’m sure all of crazy Wildcat fans want to know.

Women's Team Falls to KSU in Nail Bitter

The Wildcats women’s hoops team came very close to pulling off a shocking nationally televised upset last night on The Big Ten Network. They led the Kansas State Wildcats most of the second half until they finally fell in the last minute 57-52. The ‘Cats really lost the game of two successive possessions in which they recorded a shot clock violation and then took a bad shot, got a rebound, and took another bad shot. It was too bad as Kansas State is an excellent program and the win would have been a huge step forward for the Wildcats. What was even worse than the loss, though, was the attendance. I know women’s basketball games at NU have never drawn well, but last night looked like their might have been less than hundred people in attendance even if you included the teams. That’s too bad as Big Ten Network exposure shows the program to potential recruits, but it also shows them how little interest the University and local community have in the program. Now, granted if the men’s team can’t even fill half of Welsh-Ryan it’s hard to expect the women’s team to do so. However, it would be nice if the women’s attendance consistently hit 1,000 or so fans. With the black curtain pulled around the upper levels of the arena, Welsh-Ryan would actually look pretty full on TV.