Flounders/Jones haters unite! PennLive.com is going to require paid subscriptions for Penn State football content. Do we want to spend money to gain access to those two, I ask?
Verily, newspapers are — and long have been — struggling to survive in an increasingly digital world. The subscription model bumps up the bottom line when ad revenues wane. That’s their problem, not mine. I can do without those putzes, but where do I go for news when others hop on the subscription bandwagon? (Many others have done so already. A sign of the Apocalypse will be the Altoona Mirror heading in that direction).
I gave up The Wall Street Journal earlier this year. The digital subscription was upwards of $450 per annum. Now they’re crying to get me back with exciting discount offers. I ain’t budging.
Am I just a cheapskate who cannot adapt to the realities of modern “news” dissemination? It was OK to pay when you gave the paper boy a couple bucks a week and got one of those tear-off little fingernail-sized receipts. Yeah, but back then, you got straight news and if you didn’t like the editorial opinions of one rag, you could easily switch to another with impunity.
Now, they try to lock you in by front-loading the damn thing. You switch, you lose.
OK, end of today’s rant.
Oh, by the way…
The Nittany Lions were ranked #15 in the AP pre-season poll. (I didn’t get this news reading PennLive.com or The Wall Street Journal).
Obviously, pre-season polls mean nothing. But doesn’t it just grab your chain and give it a tug when you see the favoritism among sportswriters (now available by subscription!) played toward tOSU and Michigan, who they placed at #5 and #7, respectively?
Other Big Ten programs received disrespect similar to PSU: Moo U (#18), BadgerBadgerBadger (#19), The Sockeyes (#20), and Nebraska (#24). Nebraska? NEBRASKA? They haven’t been ranked in the pre-season since 2014. They were 4-8 in their first year under Scott Frost — the fair-haired favorite of the sportswriters who worked miracles at UCF (#17) — how da hell do these clowns expect such a huge turn-around?
Meanwhile, no mention of the mid-tier and bargain basement teams in the B10, of course. I think Purdue could be a dark horse. Penn State plays the Boilermakers on home turf at St. Joe Memorial Stadium at Beaver on October 10.
So, what’s YOUR outlook for the Big Ten this year?
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psudrozz says
Slade becomes a household name this season. For good reasons, obvs.
Big Al says
I don’t pay for a subscription to any news site – there’s too much free stuff available on the internet and a bigger range of opinions.
Re the B1G, I think everyone is on the Nebraska bandwagon because their schedule is Charmin soft. Their 3 B1G East opponents are Indiana, Maryland, and tO$U. None of the other B1G West teams appear to be dominant and Bucky’s B1G East schedule is Michigan, Moo U, and tO$U. I expect a 3 way race for 1st place in the B1G west between Nebraska, Minnesota, and Iowa and Penn State could decide who wins the B1G West.
Re our Kitties, I think State will go as far as their quarterback takes them this year. The defense will be as at least as good as it was at the end of last year and maybe better. Special teams should also be better since they can’t get much worse. The offense should be able to run the ball on the majority of their opponents. The final record will depend upon how effectively State can pass against the better B1G defenses like Iowa, Michigan, Moo U, and the Suckeyes. Sparty has a favorable schedule this year and they might be the dark horse in the B1G East if their starters can stay healthy..
K. John says
Looking at this year, I think the Big Ten is easily the best conference in America and number two isn’t particularly close either. The SEC? Top heavy as usual and nothing but scrubs behind Bama and UGA. The Big Ten East has four teams capable of winning ten games in Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan. The West also has four in Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Nebraska. On top of that, the East has dangerous Maryland and Indiana teams while the west has Minnesota and Purdue. That makes ten total teams that should qualify for bowl games and one heck of a regular season with potential for big wins and upsets every week.
In the East, I have Michigan State winning the division. They had the best defense in America last year despite missing both starting corners for half the season. Sadly for Sparty they lost more games to injury on the offensive side of the ball than I have ever seen, yet they were competitive in almost every game. I can’t imagine what Penn State would look like if we played any Big Ten game without ten offensive starters and Sparty played multiple. This year, they are healthy including 2017s Big Ten MVP Brian Lewerke who played hurt in all but one game he appeared in. The battle for number two is down to Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan. My money is on Michigan with PSU and OSU fighting for third.
Out West, I have Iowa followed by Wisconsin, Nebraska and Northwestern.