Hope everyone got their stockings filled with just what they had on Santa’s list.
And, for those who did find that shiny new Ouija Board under the tree, remember…read the instructions. Nothing worse than a wayward planchette.
On to high school basketball, where several local tournaments kick off this week, offering plenty of great action. Make a point to see some of the many ” Big-11 ” boys and girls teams on the hardwood.
The K-Guard Holiday Classic runs Thursday through Saturday at the Salem Civic Center. Four games each day at 3:00, 4:30, 6:00 and 7:30 p.m. lead up to crowning the tournament winner Saturday night.” Big-11 ” teams in the field include Cave Spring, Hidden Valley, William Fleming and Salem. Those four are joined by Alleghany, Jefferson Forest, Abingdon and Broadway.
Down Peters Creek Road, the Northside Classic kicks off Friday with ” Big-11 ” teams Lord Botetourt, William Byrd and Northside joining forces with Blacksburg, Franklin County, E.C. Glass, Christiansburg and Liberty for day-long action in the Viking gym beginning at 2:30. Action continues Saturday and concludes on Monday, Dec. 30th.
On the girl’s side, the ten team Knights Winter Classic plays out at the Cave Spring gym beginning Thursday afternoon. ” Big-11 ” squads Patrick Henry, Lord Botetourt, William Byrd, Northside and Cave Spring mix it up with Broadway, Abingdon, Jefferson Forest, Heritage and Brookville in a predetermined rotational format over 3 straight days. The five games daily begin at 1:15.
Now, to the college bowl games “by the numbers” , where you might be surprised by a few facts and figures.
The saturation of college bowl games seems to worsen each year and 2013 is certainly no exception. 35 bowl games this year that included so many 5 and 6-loss teams (over 20 % of the 70 participants) it’s hardly worth the time to include records with the matchups. Needless to say, some teams, despite playing in an over-hyped bowl, will finish the season with a losing record.
Bowls are often labeled as the reward to the players for a good season. Might be some validity there, considering players typically receive goodies for participation, from gift cards to TVs.
Appearing in “consecutive bowls” now carries as much weight as much as a sheet of tissue paper. Teams that load their schedule with patsies basically have to just keep breathing to get the requisite six wins for bowl eligibility.
So, the question begs itself, who are the big winners and losers in the bowl carousel? Here’s a look at some startling numbers.
University of Central Florida plays Baylor in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in Glendale Arizona on Jan. 1st. UCF was pointing to the Orange or Sugar Bowl, both convenient travel destinations for their fans, until the Mid-American championship rattled the BCS cage and sent UCF west. The BCS requires all teams to sell 17,500 tickets. As of Monday, UCF had sold around 5,000. Do the math, at $100+ /ticket, on that shortfall.
The Chick-Fil-A in Atlanta pits ACC darling Duke against Texas A&M on Dec. 30th. Interested in going to the game? Doesn’t appear to be a problem without compromising your ticket budget. On Thursday, 861 tickets were available on StubHub for 70 cents each. And, if there’s a late run on those ducats, don’t fret. There were over 5,800 for sale at $1 to $2 each.
How about the Orange Bowl and the beautiful Miami weather? Clemson’s opponent, Ohio State, has yet to sell half its allotment priced by the school at $ 90 to $ 240. No wonder, StubHub has ’em for $ 30 apiece. The Toledo Blade reported the Buckeyes had only sold around 7,000 so far. Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith noted to the Blade that bowl allotments are ” a hard business model that we keep fighting.” Give credit to Smith for honesty.
OK, let’s hit the Sun Bowl where Virginia Tech takes on UCLA in El Paso on New Years Eve. An advertised “Bowl Package” deal was forwarded to me from a die-hard Hokie a couple weeks ago. It offered a three-night stay for $ 730 at a headquarter hotel. Additional cost was a $ 35/ person shuttle fee to the game. No airfare or game ticket included.
A quick scan of StubHub Thursday found tickets galore for $ 18. But, I’ll hook up you Hokies up with a Wild Bill special for those packing the car and traveling by the seats of your pants. Thursday morning you could book the same three nights at the El Paso Hyatt Airport for $ 99 per night including breakfast. On a budget? The Guest House Suites were up for grabs at $ 74.33 per night. Figure this one out for yourself. I feel confident in endorsing the Hyatt.
Conferences and schools ate nearly $ 21 million in tickets lat year, according to USA Today. UConn took a $ 1.8 million soaking for playing in the 2011 Fiesta after a $ 2.9 million loss for 14,729 unsold tickets.
Oh, well. There’s only a couple dozen more bowls to go. As some die-hards contend, “this aren’t any bad bowls.” Egos at work?
Put on your shower cap. A bath is on its way . . .
– Bill Turner